Brody arrived at my house with nothing but his vaccine record, a generic collar, and the fur on his back. When I adopted Emmett and Mulan, there wasn't a whole lot by way of internet shopping available- at least not to the extent there is now. While there are certainly myriad options to be found at the local stores, the stuff available if you do a little searching online is so very much cooler. My Brody's wishlist is growing day by day. This dog is going to be spoiled. 1. What dog would ... Read more »
Lifestyle
Cat Genie. Hype? Awesome?
Has anyone used this or heard about it? I have a LitterMaid, but I've never hooked it up and we're still going old school Flushable, washable litter. I'm always the last to hear about these things. You hook it up to a water supply and you don't need to clean it or change it or anything. It even looks like a human toilet. Starting at $329, I'm not sure I could convince my husband this is an experiment worth conducting- but given the $10 a week I spend getting litter, it doesn't ... Read more »
Product of the week
Check out what I have decided is the greatest advancement in pet carrier manufacturing since the faux Louis Vuitton totes: the SleepyPod! I saw this while surfing around at Krazy for Pets (way too much internet spending going on here) and immediately decided that it was amazing. Maybe it's the futuristic shape that reminds me of a little Jetsons spaceship. Maybe it's the fact that you can secure it to a seatbelt and the manufacturer has used crash tests to ensure its safety. Maybe it's ... Read more »
The importance of accoutrements
Seeing as how 80% of the entering class at most vet schools is female, I think a sidenote to talk about mascara in a pet blog is OK. And if you're a guy who likes mascara aka Adam Lambert, that is OK too. We do not judge here. Vets are many things, but "fashion forward" does not immediately come to mind. Sure there are some of us who are well dressed, but as a vet school entrance requirement, not so much. I would say it was maybe 50/50 in my class as to how many people wore makeup at all. We ... Read more »
Pets CAN fly the friendly skies! (or, Woo hoo for real!)
How funny that I just posted last week about Southwest's new "pet friendly" policy, and one of the comments was to the effect of how nice it would be to have an airline where all the pets were welcome in the cabin. Ask, and ye shall receive! Voila- Pet Airways! Their prices seem pretty inexpensive to me (in the mid $100 range each way), especially considering the alternatives. Flying a pet in cargo certainly isn't cheap, nor is hiring someone to drive your pet if you cannot yourself. It ... Read more »
No, no, no
I am admittedly a huge perfume-a-holic. I have an entire dresser drawer devoted to fragrances- bottles of various scents smelling of fresh ginger, sweet vanilla, fragrant gardenia. I can't help it. I'm hopelessly addicted. It's not the most practical thing to have on hand, for, much like high heeled shoes and dry clean only blouses, this just isn't something I can use at work. It would be cruel. Dogs, as you know, have noses that are much more sensitive than our own. They can sniff out corpses ... Read more »
Allergy sufferers rejoice
I've spent a couple of entries deconstructing pet food, but I wanted to take a moment to specifically mention a brand that has done something really good. When we suspect a pet of having a food allergy, it can be very difficult to get to the root of the problem. Pets can be allergic to anything, but usually they have a reaction to one specific protein or carbohydrate. Trying to figure out what it is- fish, beef, chicken, wheat, corn- can be difficult. If you read the labels on your pet food ... Read more »
Friday frivolity
It's amazing the weird, innovative, useless, and useful you can find on the internet when you actually look. I'm not sure what category this one falls into: The Porch Potty, a self-contained patch of grass that waters itself. A mini yard for your mini dachshund. Emmett would destroy that with one big pee, so clearly this is intended more for the toy chihuahua apartment dwellers. If I lived on the 5th floor of a walkup in Manhattan, this would seem a very viable alternative to schlepping a 4 ... Read more »
The cat food experiment, Part 1:
It's been over a week since I started this food experiment, and I am ready with the first round of results. Contestant Number One: Grandma Lucy's Grain Free Freeze Dried Cat Food. I picked this one to try first because it looked cool. Freeze dried cat food? Is that like astronaut food but for cats? The answer is, of course, yes, which makes it more interesting and fun than boring old kibble. Ingredients: Chicken, Ocean White Fish, Potatoes, Flax, Carrots, Celery, Apples, Cranberry, ... Read more »
Not all flea products are created equal.
In news that is not exactly news because it's not saying anything we didn't already know, the EPA is investigating whether it needs to more closely scrutinize spot-on products for flea and tick control. Unlike most veterinary drugs, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, spot on flea and tick preventives are overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency due to their classification as pesticides (the exception being those products that also function as a ... Read more »
Product of the week
Emmett the good sport is currently taking antibiotics and pain meds to combat the swelling and bacteria from Easter Smackdown 09. He usually takes his Rimadyl with no complaint- it's a chewable beef flavored tab- but he's less than enthused about his Clavamox. Normally I just stick the pills in peanut butter and he's happy to take them that way, but my husband is mightily protesting my use of his Jiff stash for such purposes. I've also been known to hide them in aesthetically pleasing swirls of ... Read more »
Terrible product of the day
I've spent lots of time pointing out fun, helpful, and interesting things that a pet lover might be interested in, but today I want to show you something that is a really stupid idea. The Walky Lock car lock may, in fact, be just about the worst idea I've seen in a long time. This is basically a little prop that holds the back of your trunk open just a wee bit. It's kind of like rolling your window down, except it will cost you $20. The ad says, "How many times have you rushed your shopping ... Read more »
Scientific progress goes boink
(Extra points to anyone who knows the title reference without Google!) At least a couple times a week, a client with a particularly hard to deconstruct mutt asks me, "So what do you think my dog is? I've heard schnauzer/chow/Yorkie/pit bull but I'm not really sure." I look at the dog and hazard a guess. "Well, he does have Australian shepherd eyes, and his tail looks like a chow chow...." and we both shrug. Sometimes, people are obviously misinformed. "I bought this Pomeranian/chihuahua mix ... Read more »
Canine Cuisine, Part Three: So, what should I feed my dog?
In Part 1 of the Canine Cuisine trilogy, Name that Food, I talked about how the name of the pet food itself gave you clues as to its content. In Part 2: Name that Ingredient, I went into detail about some of those baffling ingredient names you see on the back. In the last installment, I answer the omnipresent question of, "What should I feed my dog?" This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I get asked as a veterinarian. I wish I could make it easy for you and just say, ... Read more »
Helping hands (and rears)
About 2 years after I adopted Mulan, she had a TPLO surgery. This is a pretty invasive knee surgery, and as part of the requirement she was on cage rest for 6 weeks. She had a very difficult time getting up, and I had to assist her. We were pretty low tech in vet school, and whenever we needed to assist a pet in getting up we would use a towel looped around their abdomen. This is also what we do at work. It works fine, but getting the towel around a recumbent animal and then supporting 40, ... Read more »
Cruelty Free made easier
I suppose this isn't directly related to my job, but I think the concept is one that is of interest to many of my 5 readers so I thought I would share this with you. Long before I became a veterinarian, I was a mini animal rights activist in training. I remember being 6 and hassling my mother mercilessly about her rabbit fur coat: "Eeeeeew mom, that is soooo ugly! Why are you wearing dead bunnies? We live in California! Yuck!" etc etc. She actually stopped wearing it because I hassled her so ... Read more »
Good stuff
I'm not a fan of tennis balls as dog toys. Few vets are. One, they're a choking hazard. You would be amazed at what a determined retriever can lodge in their gullet. Two, they are TERRIBLE on dog teeth. When a dog chews on something wiry and abrasive, be it their own itchy fur or the felt on a tennis ball, it has a sandpaper effect. The teeth on a chronic ball chewer can be worn down to the gums. It's called attrition, and it's not pretty. That being said, I may not be a fan of tennis balls- ... Read more »
Pet pick of the week: The Blocky Dog 3 way leash
Walking a big dog can be a big proposition. Without the use of my beloved Gentle Leaders, for instance, getting Emmett down the block without dislocating my shoulder was a dicey proposition. And when Mulan was in the mix? Forget it. So yes, I do love the Gentle Leaders, and that is nothing new. But when I saw my friend the trainer walking her rambunctious German Shepherd on a clever 3-way leash, I had to know what it was. Check this baby out- the Blocky Dog Lock n Lead has two features that ... Read more »
