Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Back Packing with Miles

2010-03-10T08:25:00-05:00

Miles got his first taste of back packing last weekend. I posted some photos on Monday and have more for today's post. Phil and Alice went along with us and we all had a great time. Miles got a little beat up but it's all part of the learning process for a puppy. He may look like an adult dog but he's still a puppy when it comes to common sense and he'll be that way for another year at least.

One thing he is learning is that not all dogs want to play puppy games all the time.

Alice is only three, but she is way more mature than Miles and she had to lay down the law a few times. For instance, she's up for a game of chase but only to a point. She let Miles know in no uncertain terms when play time was over.

She likes peace and quiet when she is eating, too. She does not like to share her PVD HA formula for a couple of reasons. HA is all she can eat due to her sensitive gut and it's not cheap either. It's kind of like sharing your caviar. Miles made the mistake of getting too close to her pile of food and he's now sporting a small gash over his right eye as a reminder. Alice had him pinned to the ground. Lesson learned.

Miles is learning that he can't just bust through thickets, too. He went headlong into tangle of trees and bushes chasing some Wild Turkeys and came out the other end with some wounds. Scratches really show up well on a Yellow Lab and Miles looked like he'd been in a fight after this trip. Chris commented about how it's a good thing he's not a show dog.

It took some time to adjust to his pack, too. We carry about 20-25% of our body weight in our packs. That's around 30 pounds for me and about 20 for Chris. Miles weighs in at about 80 pounds so we wouldn't put more than 18 pounds in his pack. On this trip we went for bulk. He carried our five pound tent and fly and about two pounds of his own food. Once the pack was on and after a little consternation on his part, he forgot all about it.

His pack came from REI and it may be too big for him. We got a large size pack and even with the adjustments as tight as they'll go, it's a little loose on him. We bough Alice a medium for her birthday and we plan to try that on Miles next time out. I guess a large is for really big dogs.

We'll bring more food for Miles on the next trip. He snarfed down two thirds of his grub on night one and we had to parcel out the remainder over the next two days. As a Vet and as a nutritionist I should have known better. He was burning lots of calories swimming the ice cold river and chasing after Alice. He slept out at night too and that can burn the calories just staying warm. We should have allowed for twice his normal amount of food. We may be carrying the tent ourselves next trio to make room for more dog food.

One alternative would be to buy him some more energy dense food for trips like this. He eats Pro Plan Large Breed formula everyday. This product has fewer calories than other adult products so large dogs don't get over weight and stress their joints. Pro Plan Large Breed has around 385 Kcal's per cup and Miles should get about 4 cups a day.

We feed him a little less than that and he's at ideal body condition. Pro Plan Performance is a high energy food for sporting or competition dogs. This fine product has 493 Kcal's per cup. If my remedial math skill are correct that's 28% more calories per cup. That's probably 30% less space in his back pack.

We may need to transition a little but one of the nice things about feeding within the Pro Plan family of foods is the similarity of ingredients used. Both products are chicken based and the other ingredients are similar. Pro Plan performance owes it's energy density to more fat and protein. It contains over 20% fat and over 30% protein compared to 13% fat and 26% protein for Large Breed Adult. This kind of a switch for high energy pursuits like back packing makes sense.

We probably jumped the gun a little on this trip. It's still winter in our mountains and it was a little cold. The river water was freezing. That made the fishing slow and the wading painful. Except for Miles and Alice. They swam with impunity.

Next month things should be greening up and the water should be lower and warmer. It could still snow but that's unlikely. I'll let you know if the Pro Plan Performance trick works out after that trip.

The Grumpy Old Lady Gets Her Way

2010-03-09T16:55:07-05:00

Oh yes. She does. That would be me, anyway. I'm a cat, of course I get my own way! Sheesh!

Here's what I do... I wail. I wail at the top of my lungs. Mom and Tom think I'm going deaf - after all I ignore most of what they say to me - but the truth is I like wailing. I like talking out loud.

Sometimes I wail because I wonder where the dog is. Don't like him steaking up on me. (him/her - it doesn't matter, the 'dog' word is sufficient!)

Along about 6 a.m. I wail loud enough to wake the neigbors, the better to get Mom and Tom jumping out of bed. I KNOW they need to get up. And, I need my breakyfast. So, I just help things along. If they don't listen...I scratch the new walls. This new house is terrific! The walls make lots of noise when I run my claws over them!

Once I get my breakyfast, I make sure they're both up and off of the bed, and that it's made properly. I like a nicely made bed to sleep in.

And that's how I get my way. So simple...a caveman could do it!

Miles Goes Back Packing

2010-03-08T11:37:06-05:00

Miles has been itching all winter to get out in the back country and this weekend he got his opportunity. It was a super trip and I'll write much more about his adventures this week.

In the meantime, check out the photos.

It may be spring break time but it was still winter in the mountains.

The river was high with snow melting and the water was really, really cold.

Miles didn't notice the cold at all.

The Grumpy Old Lady Gets Fancy

2010-03-05T12:30:07-05:00

Hey, don't bother me...I'm eating my Fancy Feast Appetizers for cats.

Check out my new collar and tag - I'm really the cat's meow. I know ya all are jealous! Mwah!

p.s. I'm holding back on the grumpiness while I eat...unless you keep bothering me! Mom, I mean you...get rid of the camera!

First Clicker Training Class for Miles

2010-03-04T09:49:50-05:00

We've had a run of bad weather the last few weeks so our first clicker training class with Miles was delayed until this morning.

We did have the orientation where we got the basics including the concept behind clicker training. As I mentioned in more detail in a previous post on this topic, clicker training is nothing more than operant conditioning. First you get the dog conditioned to the idea that the noise of the clicker means a reward is soon to follow. Once that is accomplished you use the clicker to identify the behavior you are looking for. When you see the behavior you want, you click and then, treat.

This morning we worked on a few exercises that are designed to make training of specific command like "come" easier to train down the road. The first exercise was to get Miles to move forward and touch my hand with his muzzle. Starting out, if he even looked at the hand he got a click and a treat.

Our trainer, Gail Skee, refers to this kind of activity as capturing and shaping. You capture the dog doing some version of what you want and through good timing with the clicker, you shape the behavior. Any approximation of the behavior is reinforced with the clicker treat until the dog is actually doing what you want. We soon had Miles touching our outstretched hand with his muzzle.

Next, we did some polite walking exercises. Polite walking means that Miles is walking by my side, paying attention to me, without pulling. It's the first phase of teaching a dog to walk at heel. For this exercise, Gail set out some cones in a line about two feet apart. Our task was to walk along pausing at the cones. If Miles stopped and looked at me he got a click and a treat. Within a few minutes he was pausing when I paused and looking at me in anticipation of a click followed by a reward.

Gail gave us some home work. More polite walking and further shaping of the come or recall command. Recall shaping involves getting Miles to practice hand touches.

With each successful hand touch, both left and right hands, he gets a click and a treat. The idea is to gradually make him come touch the hand from increasing distances. To do this you throw the treat a few feet away and then offer your hand again. If he comes and does a hand touch with his muzzle you click and treat. I think you can see how this can evolve eventually into a recall command.

Miles, of course, is way smarter that the other dogs in the class. He already sits and stays on command. He lies down and comes when called, too. My guess is that Gail would be OK with us using the clicker to reinforce these previously learned commands. Chris and I are going to use the neighbor's fenced in yard for some recall, sit, stay, down and off leash polite walking practice in the days to come.

Clicker training is fun. You can see how easy it is to shape behavior with a well-timed click. That's the key. You have to time the click at the exact time the dog is engaging in the action you want to reinforce. Of course it helps to have a brilliant dog like Miles to work with.

More #BlogPawsPawty Twitter Party Details

2010-03-03T08:49:55-05:00

I'm excited to share with you our sponsors, exhibitors and speakers who have donated the prizes we'll be giving away throughout the evening. I think you'll agree they are pretty pawsome. Be sure to join us to have fun, meet our sponsors, speakers and exhibitors and win prizes! See you Thursday!

via www.blogpaws.com

Twitter party details. BlogPaws is having pawty on Thursday! Be there - and join in to win a chance for a free registration - books - toys - gift certificates - lots of GR8 stuff! Remember to register soon - before the best rooms at the Westin are gone! W00t!

For Chai and Pam

2010-03-02T16:39:02-05:00

I received a sad e-mail over the weekend. Pam wrote to tell me that Chai, her Chesapeake Bay Retriever with degenerative myelopathy, had died. It was sad, but not surprising considering the progressive nature of this nasty disease. I was surprised though by the last few posts on Pam's blog about Chai. It's remarkable how devoted some people are when it comes to their dogs.

I often get questions from people with older or sick pets about euthanasia. Mainly they want to know how they can tell when it is time, if all else fails, to end their pet's life in a humane way.

I think some people are looking for permission to do something they really don't want to do. They need a little help with the decision. We struggled with the same issues with Darcie at the end and it seems there's always some lingering guilt. "We could have held out a little longer," the thinking goes. "It would have been nice to have another week or even a weekend." But eventually the time comes when the inevitable is inescapable.

So it was with Pam and Chai. In the end Chai was totally incontinent. She couldn't control her bowel movements or her bladder. The smell of pee was a constant for Pam in the last year. She handled that with courage and a smile. She even tells of taking Chai into our local bike shop to get the tire on his wheeled cart fixed. Chai let go with a big puddle of pee right there in the shop.

I know the boys at the shop well. I spend most of my disposable income there. I was happy with the way they handled the situation. No rancor, just a smile and a wad of paper towels. They had repaired the tires on Chai's cart before and they knew that if Chai and Pam could put up with all this, they could handle a little pee.

Pam intimates that her local vet had recommended euthanasia early on in the disease process. I get the feeling from Pam that the vet didn't understand that Pam was more than willing to do whatever it took to keep Chai around. After all, he was still happy and with the help of his cart and other tools, he could still go for walks.

Pam bought her cart from a place called Doggon Wheels. They make a line of products for people like Pam. People with dogs that are either permanently or temporarily unable to get around on their own. I came across another outfit like this recently. Pet MRC or Pet Mobility Rehab Center, makes carts and a host of accessories for dogs and cats with injuries or illnesses that make normal walking impossible. I spoke with the owner and she had plenty of stories like Pam's. They tell of a Chihuahua named Wheely Willy that lived 18 years with hind limb paralysis, thanks to his special cart.

Unlike Pam's Vet I try not to make judgments about other people and their personal decisions. The end of life decision is highly personal and has to be made by those closest to the pet. I was inspired by Chai. The first time I saw him walking around the camp ground at Chaco Canyon I thought that's an amazing dog. That's a happy dog. I'd like to meet the person walking with him. I wasn't disappointed after a few minutes chatting with Pam. Caring for Chai's special needs was a no brainer for her.

In the end though, Pam knew it was time. Chai had bladder infections and stones due to her loss of bladder function. She was developing dementia and she had stopped drinking. She was no longer happy. She was suffering. It was time.

Chai had lived a great life and Pam had given him an extra couple of years. My guess is that Pam wouldn't trade the last year for anything.

Pam entered Chai's photo in a contest at our local humane society. You can vote for Chai here. It costs a buck a vote and it goes to a good cause. I voted this morning.

Yes, you can come to BlogPaws! BlogPaws or Bust!

2010-03-01T10:32:24-05:00

For regular readers, this announcement will spark LOTS MORE excitement. For new readers, this announcement will spark TANTILIZING NEW excitement. Either way, you'll be excited! How could you not be?

Over at BlogPaws, my other pet project, we're preparing for the first and best pet blogger conference on the planet. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers and sponsors, and our committee members are busy tweeting about the event every day. One thing we've discovered is that this kind of came about rather quickly (it did - we thought about it, created it, and hit the ground running just a few months ago) and some people are dying to come but need a little help.

So, to help folks make it to the best pet blogger conference on the planet - where you will meet hundreds of other pet bloggers, where you will rub shoulders with the executives of major pet brands (like Dr. Larry, who shares his stories and more right here on Scatchings & Sniffings) and of some new, fun pet brands you didn't know about - and where you will learn how to be a better blogger a our educational sessions, we've launched a Sweepstakes.

It's BlogPaws or Bust! Yes, YOU could win a trip to BlogPaws, all expenses (except incidentals) paid! We have two grand prizes and...three second place prizes. If you don't win the grand prize, you can win one of three opportunities to have your registration covered.

Hop over to the sweepstakes and join the fun! And stay tuned...we have something else fun to announce later this week. Oh, ok...I'll give you a hint - anyone up for a pawparty? On twitter? OMG! We're going to rock and roll and have a ball! Join us in our fun, online events...and be sure to check out the blog and blogsite and register today! Or get over to the sweepstakes and enter to win! Then, share with all your pet friends.

BlogPaws wants YOU to be in Columbus, OH on April 9th-10th. Be there! (hey, Columbus is the new Vegas - just ask resident kitties, Romeo and Wabby - they'll give you the Top 10 reasons to come to BlogPaws!) Oh we are just having so much fun! We hope you'll join us.

Vets Without Borders

2010-02-26T10:57:00-05:00

You've probably heard of Doctors Without Borders. This organization travels the globe providing much needed medical assistance in war or natural disaster ravaged countries. They were on the scene in Haiti within days of that disaster.

Turns out we have a similar group of Veterinarians, Animal Health Technicians and Veterinary Students. World Vets is an international animal aid group that currently has projects in 12 countries on five continents.

While they are sending a team to Haiti, their model is a little different than Doctors Without Borders. World Vets focuses on sustainable relationships with partner nations. They work with local authorities, health officials and community leaders to establish ongoing veterinary aid programs in mostly developing nations.

They also provide donations of much needed veterinary medications, vaccines, equipment and other supplies. They focus on communities and developing cross cultural ties between volunteers and local participants. Another big initiative is education and a focus on public health.

Many developing countries have problems with zoonotic diseases. These diseases can be transmitted back and forth between people and animals and World Vets helps establish programs aimed at eradicating zoonotic disease.

If you want to get a feel for what they do visit their blog. Written by CEO Dr. Kathy King, the blog is full of photos. The most recent post details the work they are doing in Loreto Mexico. It looks like they have a genuinely good time doing their good work.

World Vets is a volunteer organization and is funded by members and donations. The Vets, Techs and students pay their own travel expenses when they head out into the field. I think it's pretty admirable to volunteer your time and professional expertise, but to pay for the privilege goes above and beyond the call of duty.

For the most part animals in developing nations don't get the level of care our pets receive. Groups like World Vets serve a critical animal health and humanitarian function. If you have a few extra bucks you can make a donation on their web site. The critters will be most appreciative.

That's One Big Dog

2010-02-24T08:00:00-05:00

Have you heard about George the really Great Dane? He's been all over the news the last couple of days after being named world's tallest dog by the Guinness Book of World Records.

It's a pretty interesting story. Apparently, a Guinness official had to go to George's home in Tucson for an official measuring attended by George's Veterinarian among others. The title was in dispute as another Dane from California was also in the running.

George measured a whopping 43 inches at the shoulder, beating out the California Dane by a mere 3/4 inch. According to the AKC, a male Dane must be at least 30 inches at the shoulder to meet the breed standard. George beats that by one Beagle.

I went to George's web site and it's full of great pictures. He "sits" in a chair much like his people. There is a series of puppy pictures that I really liked. In one of them he's chewing on a raw hide and his feet look huge. I wish I knew how old he was in these photos. If I had to guess I'd say about six months.

In another photo they show him eating from bowls that are elevated off the ground on a little table. I found this interesting. Danes, like many other large, deep chested breeds are susceptible to Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus, or Bloat, as it is sometimes called. In fact GDV is a very serious problem for Danes in particular. The reason the photo caught my eye has to do with GDV.

In the past, it was recommended that GDV susceptible dogs be fed on elevated platforms like the one in the photo. There is conflicting research on whether this is beneficial or not. Apparently George's vet thinks it is. For more on GDV, check out this post we did a while back.

There is a bag of Purina ONE Dog Food in another picture. I would imagine that is exciting for the folks back in St Louis on the Purina ONE team. George goes through about 100 pounds of food a month. My guess is that it's the Large Breed Adult Formula.

As we've discussed before, large and giant breed dogs need special nutrition. They need puppy diets that help control their rate of growth. That can help with developmental bone and joint abnormalities like hip dysplasia. As adults they need lower caloric density foods to help keep them at ideal weight.

Glucosamine can also help maintain healthy joints.

Giant dogs are an acquired taste, in my opinion. You have to make concessions for them. I remember thinking that every time we visited Cedar, Mike and Ellie. They even had a special van to haul Cedar around. Neither Cedar nor George would fit in the back of our Subaru.

I prefer larger dogs, myself. I like to get down on the ground and wrestle with Miles and he seems to enjoy that, too. Hugging a big dog is like hugging another person. Hugging a dog is much lower risk than hugging another human, though. We live in a real hugggy environment here in Nuevo Mexico. It seems de riguer to hug even casual friends if you haven't seen them in the last 24 hours.

I'm not wild about that. It seems kind of forced at times. Not so with a dog. I hug Miles several times a day.

I'm not sure if I'd like to have a dog as big as George. He seems like quite the celebrity these days. He even went on Oprah. His owners sure seem to be into it in a "big "way. Maybe next time we're over in Tucson I can arrange an interview with George and his people. I wonder if I'll have to go through his PR agency?