"Dog's Role in Osama bin Laden Raid"

I read this headline and was just awed by how amazing these military working dogs are.  These dogs are trained to sniff bombs, jump out of planes, protect the human soliders and so much more.  Most of us are just happy when our dogs use the restroom outside!!!  Here are some articles/links of military working dogs.  These pics are not from the actual raid,  they just show the dogs in action. Read below to get all the details on Osama.

-The article below is from Fox News Chicago.   There are some great pictures on this page as well.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/news/dogs-role-in-osama-bin-laden-raid-dpgoha-20110506-fc_13082431
  
What Role did Dogs Play in Osama bin Laden Raid?


Updated: Friday, 06 May 2011, 9:37 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 06 May 2011, 9:37 AM CDT

Among details not yet released about the raid against Osama bin Laden's compound is what kind of breed the four-legged commando was.
NPR reported that the Navy SEAL team that headed into Abbottabad, Pakistan, included at least one canine fighter. It follows a practice more than a century old as dogs have seen combat as early as the Civil War and World War I.
Military sources told The New York Times that the SEALs' dog was likely either a German shepherd or a Belgian Malinois. The Belgian Malinois, a breed trained to herd sheep, along with German shepherds and Labradors are often used in such roles as they have the speed, agility and sense of smell valuable in war zones, according to The Washington Times .
It has launched a battle of speculation among breeders.
The New York Times stated that American Belgian Malinois Club president Suzanne Belger said she hoped it was her breed "and that it did its job and came home safe." Laura Gilbert, corresponding secretary for the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, said her breed was the best and that she was sure it was a German shepherd.
Whatever the breed, the UK Sun concluded it was likely an explosives-sniffing dog that dropped to the ground strapped to an assault team member. The SEAL unit had used dogs equipped with infrared night-sight cameras and protected by ballistic body armor in the past.
The dogs are taught to attack enemies carrying a weapon and can crawl into tunnels or rooms to search for enemy combatants, their cameras giving the troops an idea of what is ahead of them.
"Dogs are relied upon to provide early warnings for potential hazards, many times, saving the lives of the Special Operations Forces with whom they operate," U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Maj. Wes Ticer told the New York Times.
The Sydney Morning Herald said a military dog likely was also used when former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003.
Dogs, NPR reported, were first officially inducted into the U.S. Army in 1942. The Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed early in 2010 and numbers are expected to grow


-Here is a link to a War Dog a weekly feature by Rebecca Frankel. Awesome pictures!!

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dc9b8186a168692%2C0

Sweet June, Bug for Short

I am sorry for the time in between posts, but I have been dealing the loss of one of my pets.  This loss is something I have helped many, many clients get through, but have never really had to experience myself.  I have lost several of my childhood pets but never one that was my responsibility as an adult.  I have been so lucky that all my other pets have been super healthy.  My boyfriend and I recently had to euthanize our Labrador June.  This was a hard decision for us, and I find myself even more thankful and appreciative of my veterinary staff.  They cried with me, offered words of solace and advice.  They helped to make this as easy as it could be.  I have wanted to talk about June's disease for a long time but could never seem to find the time to write about it.  I guess now is the time...

June was only 2 years old when she died; she was born with a liver condition.  The fancy name for her condition was a Congenital Portosystemic Shunt.  What happens is; the blood from the puppy's intestines bypasses the liver.  During pregnancy it is normal for the puppies’ blood to bypass the liver (i.e., the mother's liver filters out the toxins for the fetus).  Normally this shunt (the vessel bypass) closes within 3 days after birth.  In animals like June, the shunt doesn't close and the blood continues to bypass the liver.  Because the liver filters toxins, the toxins build up in the body.  This results in the puppy having slow or nonexistent growth.  June was only 50 pounds; she should have been more like 70-80 pounds.  If this is left untreated, puppies are not likely to survive.



June at diagnosis-12 weeks old
So sad...



Signs we saw:

June was diagnosed very early; she was only 12 weeks old.  She was having symptoms like not growing well, not eating well, sleeping alot and drinking and peeing alot.  We diagnosed her when she had more severe symptoms after eating a large meal, she become temporarily blind and had a seizure.  June had alot of symptoms and they occurred rapidly.  This is not a disease that occurs very often in Labradors, it is really more common in little Yorkie Terriers. 

Tests:

We took June for some testing at a specialty veterinary clinic.  They were able to take pictures using an ultrasound and used nuclear medicine to diagnosis and stage her disease.  This step is very important because it can determine if the dog is a candidate for surgery.  This is a disease that is usually very fixable in Yorkies, with appropriate surgery and care.  The problem with June was, she wasn't a Yorkie...  Her shunt was much more involved and deemed a very poor surgical risk.  We contacted numerous specialty clinics and university's to see if anyone had any surgical cures for June.  The answer was the same every time, they all felt that she would either die during surgery or do very poorly following surgery.

Decision Time:
By the time we had went though the tests and talks with specialists, June was doing great on her medical management.  We had a very active and loving puppy.  She was in no shape or form 'normal' but she played and terrorized all the other pets, much to their displeasure....  We decided we would treat her medically as long as she was active and healthy.  I cautioned my boyfriend that she may only make it a couple of months before she began feeling sick again.  But June surprised us all and just kept on doing great!  She went through all her puppy shots, got spayed, and became a beautiful adult dog. 

Medical Treatment:
June's medical treatment consists of by mouth medications to help prevent protein absorption in the intestines.  These proteins are what become toxic to the liver.  Some dogs do great with just one drug.  June was on 4 drugs!  We added drugs as her symptoms progressed.  These dogs are also on special diets.  These diets are very low in protein.  June's was on a prescription food from Science Diet.
Medical management is more a matter of avoiding certain things.  If June ate anything other than her food it would prompt a bout of not feeling good and usually a trip to the clinic for fluids and intensive care. 

Being a Labrador, June was always trying to, and sometimes succeeding in eating things she shouldn't....  She woke us up once at 5am, during a snow storm, wearing the kitchen trash can lid around her waist(she was in the bed)!!!  She had got up very early in the morning and quietly eaten and spread garbage all over the kitchen floor!!!  We so badly wanted to be mad at her but it was just too funny....  Needless to say, eating garbage doesn't make a normal dog feel good, June ended up in the clinic once again on fluids...

Prognosis:
The dogs that are able to have surgical repair of their shunt have a very good long-term prognosis.   Most of those dogs go on to have normal life expectancies.
Those dogs like June, whose shunts aren't surgically repairable live an average 10 months.  There are new studies out there that are saying that with new understanding and medical treatments they maybe able to extend that average to 3 years.  June was right in the middle. 
This is considered to be an inheritable problem.  This means that a dog with a shunt should never be bred because it can pass it on to its puppies.  I would also never breed the parents of the dog affected with the shunt.  There is a very good chance another puppy will be affected.
After my experience with June, I would whole-heartedly encourage people to medically treat those dogs who aren't candidates for surgery.  We had a wonderful 2 years with June!  She was a dog like no other! She had everyone who ever met her falling in love with her!  We will miss her and think of her often... 

Fun Dog Activities

As more places become pet friendly, the opportunities for new activities has sky rocketed.  Dogs are now welcomed everywhere from bookstores to yoga classes!!  I have compiled a list of fun and different activities, along with some helpful websites.  I personally take my dogs just about everywhere but their favorite places are, of course the P-A-R-K (gotta spell this at our house or a riot occurs) and visiting their grandpa and grandma!

-This is a video of June and Ebby waiting not so patiently to go to the park!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RalfCIcJlk&feature=youtube_gdata_player


The first thing I found was some suggestions for children.  This is from the ASPCA website, if you want to check out the entire article.  I always caution people to monitor their pets and children.  You have to look at it from both sides.  To the pets the children are a bit scary! They have these long things(arms) with little pincher's on the ends!!  Then you gotta see it from the kids point of view...  Here is the super soft and fuzzy thing that resembles their stuffed animals, that they chew and pull on!

Activities for kids 6 months to 2 years:

• Your child can lie on the floor and your dog or cat can jump over him.
• You and your child can hide and then call your pet to come find you.
• Young children love peek-a-boo games.  Try holding up a cloth so that your pet is concealed.  Let your child pull the cloth aside, making the pet 'appear'

Kids 3-8 years old:

• Your child and dog can race with each other to a designated finish line.  If necessary, you can run with your dog on a leash.  My 6 year old neighbor and June(my lab) love to race on opposite sides of the fence!!
• Armed with treats, your child can hide while you stay with your pet.  When your child calls out, let your pet go search for him.  When your pet finds him, let your child give the treats as a reward.
• Your child can blow bubbles for your pet to catch.  You can purchase a bubble toy made especially for dogs, such as the Fetch A Bubble Blaster or the Bubble Buddy.  These toys produce flavored bubbles that are safe for dogs to ingest.  Please do not use regular bubble solution.  It can cause mild stomach upset and can sting your pets eyes.

Kids 9-13 years old:

• Children of any age can benefit from attending basic dog obedience classes with their dogs.
• Your child can play soccer-type games and Frisbee with your dog.
• Some children appreciate the challenge of competing with a dog in agility or in games such as flyball.  Your child can search the Internet of library to find new tricks to teach your pet, such as Roll Over, Shake, Sit Up and Beg.

Create a sidewalk pet portrait, and show the world the great pets that live in your neighborhood. Dogs, cats, hamsters, fish, birds --whatever the pet you can create its portrait on the sidewalk.

You just need some chalk, a sidewalk, and your favorite pet as a model.  I need to see if I can get my neighbor boys to come and help me with my sidewalk.

-There are several off lead dog parks in the DFW area.  Make sure your pets are current on all shots and on flea and heartworm prevention before frequenting these places.  Everyone may not be such a good dog owner as you....  Some of the parks are maintained by the city and also require your dog have a city license.  I would check before going, they can/will write you a ticket for non-compliance.  Below is a link with a pretty good list of of parks.  The first on the list is the indoor dog park in Dallas, I've heard that it's closed....  I know there is also a park in Arlington, near the Animal Shelter off Green Oaks, near Collins St.

http://dallas.about.com/od/recreation/tp/Dallas-Dog-Parks.htm


-Here is a site that lists animal friendly businesses.  I personally called Half-Price Books and they told me they were indeed pet friendly!
http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/uscities/guides/us/cities/usonlinecityTXFort_Worth.shtml

-Lastly, I wanted to put a link for doggie yoga- "Doga".  I wasn't able to find any links locally but if your into yoga you may know about one.  Here is a very informational link to a studio in Florida.
http://dogadog.com/

More Dental Products

I just found a great site with Dental Products that have been awarded the Veterinary Oral Health Council Seal of approval.  Some are found only at veterinary offices and some over the counter.  I always make sure people know, not to assume the products at your vets office are more expensive than at Petsmart or Petco.  I have personally comparison shopped and found our prices to be competitive if not cheaper than the pet stores!!

Site for dental products:
http://www.vohc.org/accepted_products.htm

Toxic People Foods

I like to classify people foods into 3 categories.  The first are foods that are 'Toxic'.  These are foods that can kill the pet even in small amounts.  The second is 'Harmful'.  These are those like fried chicken that are going to take more time and a larger amount to cause a problem.  The third is 'OK in moderation'.  These are things like green beans that can help by supplementing a good quality dog food.  Just to clarify 'dog food' is not a bad word....  I personally, think dog kibble is amazing!  It's like the gum off  of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"!  It meets all the pet's nutritional needs in a small bite sized kibble... Amazing!  Let's just hope that no pets become little blueberries...

Here's the video from youtube... LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrDuqlk4ZDA

I'm going to start with the 'Toxic' foods, because they are the most exciting to me.  Animals can die from eating the following foods.  These are not all the possibly toxic foods, just the most common.  If you know your pet has eaten them contact your veterinarian immediately. 

-Chocolate:  All types are toxic but the baking and dark chocolates are the worst.

-Caffeine:  This has a very similar affect as chocolate.  The lethal dose is 140mg/kg.  Instant coffee has ~60mg of caffeine per teaspoon!

-Grapes:  Grapes have been shown to cause sudden kidney failure.  They are still unsure what part of the grape is causing the disease.  I recommend to owners to avoid all grapes and raisins.

-Onions/Garlic:  These can cause destruction of the Red Blood Cells.  I always put this one in, not becuase many dogs like to go around eating onion or garlic...  But, because ALOT of pets eat off their owners plates.  Many of the dishes we cook contain onion and/or garlic.  I know pretty much everything I cook has one or the other!

-Raw Yeast Dough:  I put this one on here because my parent's dog ate a large amount of rising bread once.  Within 20 minutes their little skinny Wiener dog, looked like she was pregnant with 10 puppies!  She literally was growing before our eyes!  The bread will continue to rise in the stomach.  It can lead to bloating and the bread also puts off a gas that has a similar affect to alcohol.  If the dog isn't made to vomit it up the effects will lead to death. 

Next on the list is 'Harmful' foods.  I don't have a strict list of foods for this category.  I feel like this is any food that is high in calories, salt, sugars, and fat!  The first problem with this is obviously that the pet becomes overweight.  I read the other day that over 56% of pets in the United States are overweight!!  The more life threatening problem to me is pancreatitis.  The pancreas has a very important job of helping regulate blood sugar and making enzymes to aid in food digestion.  When the pancreas gets inflamed from eating bad foods we call it pancreatitis.  The pancreas becomes swollen and painful.  It then in turn causes all the organs around it(liver, stomach, intestines) to become inflamed.  These dogs are usually painful, vomiting and having diarrhea.  If left untreated pancreatitis can lead to death.

I will list the most common foods I come across that cause problems, but I in now way can list them all!
-Fried Anything(usually its chicken-it no longer has any good qualities after its fried)
-Sweets: Pretty much any dessert we eat.  Some fruits like bananas and watermelon also have a lot of sugar
-Salt: Chips, French fries, and Hot Dogs(sorry Scrappy) 
-Fats:  Pretty much anything that comes from a drive thru window, hamburgers, cheese, bacon, etc. 
If it's bad for you, it's much worse for your dog!.  Please remember your pet weighs a significant amount less than you do!  That means they need to eat a significant amount less than you do!

Lastly we have "OK in moderation".  This is those foods that I recommend to pets that have health problems.  This can be obesity(from all those burgers) to pets with food allergies.  I think that these foods are ok if given in moderation or as a treat.  I classify a 'treat' as once a day or less.  If it becomes more than that it's now part of the daily diet.  Here is a short list of foods that are OK.

-Green Beans (low salt if you get the canned)

-Plain White Rice

-Boiled-Boneless Skinless Chicken

-Baby Carrots

-Air popped Popcorn (no salt or butter)

If you have questions about other foods I would encourage you to contact your veterinarian. 

Just an addition to Wet Noses...

I saw in a Dog magazine an ad for a dog nose necklace!!!  I thought it was just too great, not to post the add!!
FYI, I'm working on my next blog it's going to be about 'People Food to Avoid'!!!  Stay Tuned...

Why Are Dogs Noses Wet?



Ebby's Nose

This is a question that I actually wondered myself and thought I would research a little and share my knowledge.  I know it hard to believe that as a veterinarian I wouldn't know this....  But contrary to popular belief I don't really know 'everything'...  Don't tell my boyfriend I like to keep him thinking I'm a genius! 

In my research online I found a wide range of thoughts, some very simple and some that seemed a little more scientific.  So the next thing I did was to consult my veterinary textbooks.  Much to my dismay they never had a clear cut/slam dunk answer either.  Soooo, I decided I would share with you what I found online and in my textbooks and end with my own thoughts on the real reason why.

This was an answer written in USA Today as to why noses are always cold:

-We've sure felt them — cold and wet pressed against us — but dogs' noses are not always cold, even when they're well. A dog's nose changes through the day: wet and cool one moment and warmer and drier the next. The nose wetness (or lack thereof) also changes with the humidity. The nose norm varies from dog to dog.

-A dog's nose, though, tends to be cool and moist just as the inside of a human's nose.

-A dog has special glands inside his nose that secrete a watery fluid to keep the inside of the nose moist and to help cool the dog through evaporation," says Holly R. Frisby, veterinarian at Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. This moisture can extend to the outside of the nose, making it shiny, wet, and cold.

-Also, they continually lick their noses.

Here's one from Wiki Answers:

Dogs noses secrete a small amount of mucus which serves two purposes: to help their sense of smell, and to keep themselves cool. The thin layer of mucus helps with the absorption of scent chemicals from the air. In addition, the nose, along with the mouth and the pads of the feet, is one of the locations where dogs bodies release heat.
A dry nose CAN mean the dog is sick, but a perfectly healthy dog may have a dry nose, as well.

Dr. Mason's Veterinary Textbooks:

The nose or 'nasal plate' is kept moist in cattle, pigs, and dogs.  Other species don't have a constantly moist nose!!!  Hmmm, that taught me something..  In dogs this is kept moist from an overflow of secretions, from glands in the nasal sinus (space between the outer nose and the airway).  These gland secretions may have a social significance, hence the nose-to-nose sniffing dogs do when they meet. (-CRAZY-, the things you learn).  These secretions have an important function; they humidify and help cleanse the air before it gets to the lungs. 

I also learned that the nose is actually bare skin!  I had to go look at my dogs nose!  It doesn't look like skin to me!!  The surface of the nose (skin!) is irregularly divided, creating a pattern believed to be individual and therefore available as a means of identification (nose printing).  Book-em Danno!

My Conclusion:

I think the dog's nose being wet is just a side effect of normal nose secretions.  I'm not convinced it was actually designed to be wet, it just happens.  Our noses are always moist on the inside, but the dog just wears its nose on the outside!  I think it’s normal for there is going to be a wide variance of 'moistness', just like in people.  If you see a sudden change either way (runny or dry), I recommend consulting your veterinarian for a physical exam.

I hope this answered everyone's burning questions about 'Wet Noses".  I know that I can sleep a lot better knowing that little wet nose touching me is just a little nose juice!