Pawcurious: With Veterinarian and Author Dr. V

Celebrating the truth that pets make people better.

Brody

Dog vs Stroller

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Here is the lake path I have mentioned in a previous post. With summer upon us, it is even busier than usual (though you can't really tell by this photo.) You see all types on this path: young, old, big, small, athletes sprinting and elderly hobbling. There are tons of dogs, and tons of strollers, and a good smattering of dogs in strollers. Cyclists like this path too, and I've seen such strange sights as unicycles, tandem bikes, and rowing bicycles. ... Read more »

Jiminy Brody

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I had the nicest day yesterday. For a while, at least. I decided to go for a walk down by the water with the Brodester. It was overcast, not yet full of summer crowds, and perfect. "Oh ho!" I said to myself. "Since I'm here I might as well pop on over to the most amazing farm stand in the world." It's a little hole in the wall that you have to know about in order to find, but its small size belies what lies within. I'm not kidding when I say this place has magic produce. Alice Waters ... Read more »

Weekend Recap: By Brody

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5 am: Rise and Shine! There's a balloon in the living room I need to bark at! 7 am: Seriously, these people are lagging. GET UP! GEEEEET UP! I will BREATHE HEAVILY IN YOUR FACE UNTIL YOU WAKE UP AND FEED ME 8 am: The neighbors are moving away?? This is distressing. I really really like talking to their 2 labradors every morning at 6. Oh well, better go stare at the movers and growl out the window. 8:30: food food food yaay it's food food food 10 am: What is this birthday party ... Read more »

CSI: Hands Off (a Pet Doctor Barbie post)

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The other day, my daughter was invited to a birthday party and told to bring a favorite doll. She brought down one of her special amputee Barbies, the arm neatly chewed off below the elbow. "Aw honey," I said, "Do you want to pick a doll that has all her limbs?" She looked at me askance. "ALL of my dollies are like this." She said this without a hint of regret or remorse. "That's just what happens when Brody shares." I guess when all you've known is a pet serial doll killer, it doesn't ... Read more »

Me and my solitude

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I found myself in the strange position this week of wanting to go running. As in, I actually missed running. And that is weird because I kind of hated it, so I thought. I stopped running some time ago after some nagging injuries, and just found other things to take its place. I was fine with that. Brody and I go for lots of walks in the neighborhood, because that is what you do when you have a crazy dog. We like those well enough. But I missed running, with loud music drowning out the ... Read more »

Let’s Go Surfin Now

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When I was eight years old, we moved from Massachusetts to San Clemente, California. If you don't know San Clemente, it is pretty much archetypal beach bum heaven. Perpetual sun, wide sandy beaches, and the smell of the salty ocean air at every turn. I hated it. Me, with my East Coast sensibility and hatred of the feeling of sand in between my toes, wanted nothing to do with the SoCal beach scene and couldn't wait to escape from lala land back to the land of autumn leaves, icy roads, and ... Read more »

Stay thirsty my friends

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I have a sneaking suspicion that Cinco de Mayo may not be as big of a deal elsewhere as it is here in Southern California. This was recently confirmed by my co-worker whose family is from Mexico. "We never celebrated it until we came to the States," he said. "But I'll take any excuse for a beer." Which pretty much sums it up for the rest of us, I think. Cinco de Mayo, which is not technically a celebration of Mexican independence so much as the celebration of one key victory- and beer- is a ... Read more »

Smartypants Showdown

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Brody is many things. Beautiful, yes. Feisty, without a doubt. Fun? Every day. Loving? Like a Care Bear. He is all that and more. Smart, though? Well, I don't know that I would put him on the Lassie end of the spectrum. He was more refractory to training than any dog I've had save Nuke, the elderly agoraphobic irradiated coonhound. It took me 6 months to get him reliably housetrained, despite following my trainer's guidelines to a T. He just didn't seem all that concerned with doing things ... Read more »

The Hairy Hambone in: GUILTY!

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By now I'm assuming many of you have seen Denver the Guilty dog. If not, it's worth it. The behaviorists will tell you, over and over again: Stop anthropomorphizing your pets. They do not feel shame or guilt. I don't know about that. For all the protesting that dogs forget what naughty things they did 5 seconds after committing the crime, that these intelligent beings simply disavow all knowledge and memory of their actions and are merely responding to our own disapproval, I know of way ... Read more »

Brody vs Pool

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Quick housekeeping: Tomorrow is Paws for Japan! Are you ready? We will have a linky blog hop up tomorrow for everyone. If you have a retail website that is going to be participating by donating items or sales proceeds, you can send me the url TODAY and I will include it in tomorrow's post. That is in addition to the linky. If you want the code for the Chip In widget for World Vets, it's here. If you are having trouble with the banner or badge, e-mail me. Well, it's been kind of a heavy ... Read more »

Happy Valentine’s Day: Bronuts Edition

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Ever since I bought the original doggie donut for Emmett back in the day, I've been trying to figure out how to reproduce the results. Donut in shape but granola in texture, crunchy, dog-friendly perfection. I've done zucchini donuts and banana donuts and granola bars, but this latest incarnation is my closest yet to perfection. Here's how: ... Read more »

Love is in the air (at least I think that’s what it is)

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Why do we humans have to make love so complicated? I've spent the last week listening to radio ads appealing to desperate men without a clue what to get for their mate: bears? chocolate? jewelry? pajamas? flowers? massages? Screw this one up and you could be paying for weeks, the ads direly imply. Kids don't have it much easier. When I was in elementary school, I would stress for days over which Valentine to give to which kid. Tommy's gross, so I can't give him the "Be Mine" ones. He gets the ... Read more »

So Cal sledding

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While so many are digging themselves out from snowdrifts the likes of which have never been seen, we're hanging out, like we always are, in the 75 degree weather. Don't get me wrong, there's not much to complain about when you can get out and enjoy the outdoors almost 365 days a year, but there are certain things I miss about not having a winter. Ice skating, for one. My children have learned to improvise with a pair of socks and the hardwood floor. Add a strong Golden with a hardcore tug ... Read more »

The Well Groomed Dog: Molly Mutt Clean and the Dyson Groom Reviews!

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Last week Brody descended into that category known as "ripe". You know, when you go to pet your dog, then your hand comes up in a cloud of dog essence and you have to use your foot to keep him off the bed because you don't want that stank hanging around. That kind of ripe. The timing worked well since I had a couple of items I've been waiting to try out for just such a stinky occasion: Dog shampoo from the Molly Mutt Clean line, and the new Dyson Groom vacuum grooming attachment. Wash by ... Read more »

Oh great, it’s you

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I began my Sunday with a lovely walk through Balboa Park with Brody, my friend Star, and two of her gorgeous birds: a macaw and an African gray parrot. Brody was his usual "OH HI WOW I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE WORLD AND MEET YOU ALL" self, even at 8 in the morning, so Star suggested Brody take a jog around the dog park area before the walk to get out some of his exuberance. We headed down there and found the dog area surprisingly busy for 8 am, but the crowd was fairly sedate. I did say, ... Read more »