Pawcurious Vet Blog: With Pet Blogger and Veterinarian Dr. V

Dogs, DNA, and some really incredible pictures.

I’ve had dogs on the mind lately (what else is new?), but the world of purebreds has been there even moreso than usual. The AKC/Eukanuba show I attended in December will air on ABC on the 4th, as you probably gleaned by now since I haven’t stopped yammering about it since then. In addition, I’m also going to Westminster on February 13th and 14th, for no reason other than I just wanted to see it, to marvel at the spectacle.

It’s such a strange confluence of worlds, society-minded dog fanciers and competitive point-watchers and intense breed overseers who make it their life’s work to delving into the pedigree and genetics of a dog in order to improve the health of the breed. And then there’s fascinated outsiders like me, doggie voyeurs who just take in the show. It’s so much fun to watch.

Domesticated creatures are a wonder unto themselves, aren’t they? We busybody primates tinker around with natural selection and breeding in order to create a creature more to our liking: a canine with a commanding bark, or a dog with a natural retrieving instinct. And in the process, we muddled up the gene pool quite a bit. Interestingly enough, as our understanding of genetics evolves at an exponential pace, the very oddities we’ve introduced into the canine genome are providing some unexpected insights into our own genetic makeup. Ah, science. I STILL don’t get how dogs accumulate points in order to be show champions, but start whispering in my ear about the genetic markers for albinism and I’ll perk right up. Now you’re sweet talking.

This month’s well-timed National Geographic (my favorite magazine ever since I was a kid dragging my Jane Goodall issues around) is headlined by this very topic:

National Geographic, Feb 2012

For reasons both practical and whimsical, man’s best friend has been artificially evolved into the most diverse animal on the planet—a staggering achievement, given that most of the 350 to 400 dog breeds in existence have been around for only a couple hundred years. The breeders fast-forwarded the normal pace of evolution by combining traits from disparate dogs and accentuating them by breeding those offspring with the largest hints of the desired attributes.

To create a dog well suited for cornering badgers, for instance, it is thought that German hunters in the 18th and 19th centuries brought together some combination of hounds—the basset, a native of France, being the likely suspect—and terriers, producing a new variation on the theme of dog with stubby legs and a rounded body that enabled it to chase its prey into the mouth of a burrow: hence the dachshund, or “badger dog” in German. (A rival, flimsier history of the breed has it dating back, in some form, to ancient Egypt.) Pliable skin served as a defense mechanism, allowing the dog to endure sharp-toothed bites without significant damage. A long and sturdy tail helped hunters to retrieve it from an animal’s lair, badger in its mouth.

The remainder of the article may be found here at the National Geographic website; or, check out the current issue of National Geographic Magazine on newsstands now.

In the meantime, please enjoy some of the gorgeous images from the February 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine, used with permission. For the full set, check out the National Geographic Gallery of dogs from the 2011 Westminster Dog Show:

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Cat Lady Undercover

Anyone who’s read this blog for a while knows I identify as a dog person. In this world, you’re one or the other, it seems, but just because you lean towards one doesn’t mean you dislike the other. I happen to like cats a lot, too. Which is why I took my daughter to check out the 2012 San Diego Cat Show this weekend. It really is a different world.

Much like a dog show, there are ‘rings’ where the cats are judged.

There’s none of this running around in a show lead, however. The cats wait in a cage until it’s their turn.  (more…)

Hello Olive

Our friends Jeff and Shelia recently brought home a poodle puppy, Olive.

Now, I love these guys to begin with, but when they told me how they prepared for a new dog- being inexperienced owners- I loved them even a little more.

They waited three years, until the time was right and the kids were old enough.

They researched exhaustively, picking a knowledgable breeder who spent hours with them visiting, teaching them about the breed, and making sure they knew the importance of early socialization. The kids have been trained in proper holding of a puppy. These people are prepared for a puppy and all the work that comes along with it, and that is why I am sure they are going to have a great life together.

Ready to play! Let’sgolet’sgolet’sgo  (more…)

The happy place

Do you have a favorite place you dream of? A memory that, when you close your eyes at the end of of a long week, you dig up from the recesses of your white matter and relive in a brief but joyous fantasy of wishing yourself back into the past? I do.

I know I have a bunch of things I was going to write about this week. This is what happens when I don’t write things down. I’m sure there is something I should be writing or that I thought to myself I would write this week, but when I actually sit down to do it I draw a blank and all I can do is think about chocolate, or Africa, or other such things.

I’m sure some of this has to do with the chaos of the holidays now being behind me, and the looming horror of all the work I need to do on the house looming ahead. Plus the fact that our cash strapped school district dealt with their budget issues by adding on an extra week of vacation- surprise!- and the fact that despite several goes with the saddle soap my favorite shoes still smell like a dog pooped on them, which of course he did. All of these things combined kind of make me look wistfully at my old photos and think to myself, surely someone in Tanzania could use the services of a veterinarian for six months or so, right? Just for a wee bit?

And I still haven’t told you my favorite story from Africa, about Graeme the Disenchanted Disillusioned Disgruntled Imprisoned Scottish Balloon Pilot, but that is a whole-day sort of post so I guess I will add that to my New Year’s Resolutions.

In the meantime, just enjoy some pictures my husband finally got around to editing this week. They are from Tarangire National Park, our last stop on safari.  (more…)

Carefree

Scenes from a holiday

The holidays are exhilirating.

Well, for most of us, at least.

Some find them merely exhausting.

While others use them as a time to indulge in the most ironic of activities, such as opening a “Good Dog” ornament from under the tree and chewing it up.

Indeed.

 Hope you all had a great one!

Trouble

Wordless Wednesday: Santa’s Little Helper

Seeing the Big 5 does not come without drama

It’s Africa Thursday! I made that up. But there it is, so here we are. And boy, are you in for a treat today, because today, we are talking about leopards. And colons.

In Africa, the penultimate experience is to see the Big 5. Most people don’t, but if you are exceptionally lucky and hit everything just right, you might. I had gone into this trip with no expectations of accomplishing this goal: my own Big 5 was a little different: chimps, lions, giraffes, elephants, and warthogs.

We got very lucky on our travels in the Ngorongoro Crater the one day we were there, and no I didn’t blog about it yet but oh! It was lovely! And in the crater, armed with binoculars and a guide who was in constant communication with the other guides to find the best game, we managed to see four of the five:

Cape buffalo:

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Wordless Wednesday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Pawcurious photo gear

We like photography, and from time to time get questions about our photo gear.   If your question isn’t answered below, feel free to drop us a line.

Photo Q&A:

Q: What kind of camera do you use?

A: We use Canon and Leica cameras.   The Canon 7D and 30D, and the Leica D-LUX4.   Below you’ll find a more complete list of all the gear.

Q: What kind of software do you use?

A: We use Apple’s Aperture 3 for post production, along with Nik Software’s Complete Collection and onOne Software’s Photoframe Pro.  We also use Photoshop from time to time with MCP Actions MCP Fusion Photoshop Actions.

Q: What Pro photographers do you admire?

A: There are lots, but we really like Paul Barnett Photographics, Joe McNally, and others we’ll add soon.

Here’s what’s in our photo bag:

Camera Bodies:

• Canon 7D
• Canon 30D
• Leica D-LUX 4

Lenses:

• Canon 24-70 f/2.8L
• Canon 70-200 F/2.8L IS II
• Canon 100mm Macro F/2.8
• Canon 15mm Fisheye F/2.8
• Canon 50mm F/1.4

Yawn – Photo of the Week