Allergies

One of our dogs has a mild allergy. We think he's allergic to dry, decomposing leaves because the only time he has trouble is after he's been pushing his nose through (and under) layers of old tree leaves. The only symptom is that Lobo's upper eyelid - usually only one lid - will swell up. He looks rather odd, and it took a while for us to realize what was happening!

Check out this picture to the right, where his swollen right eye shows, to another picture(normal), below.

This snow picture is from 2005, but shows you that both eyes look the same. One article about allergies in dogs, this one: http://www.homevet.com/petcare/allergy.html, gives reasons for a dog's allergies and possible treatments of the allergy. Dr. Feinman mentions inhaled allergens, for instance, as one type of allergy (versus contact allergy or food allergy - among others). The inhaled allergen for a dog can be similar to the inhaled allergen for a person. Putting a name to this type of allergy: Atopy (inhalant allergy).

Personally, I am quite allergic to dust mites, and I react with sneezing, runny nose, and swollen eyes. Apparently, Lobo is allergic to something about the decomposing leaves. He will sneeze, shake his head, and then we'll notice the eyelid swelling. The swelling lasts several hours, but does not seem to bother him, so we don't treat him with any medications. Another web page I've looked at is: http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/allergies.html. If your dog has more severe allergies than ours, you should see your veterinarian first. The vet may recommend a treatment such as an anti-inflammatory, a shampooing or a hyposensitization therapy. Each of these therapies is discussed in brief in the above mentioned web pages. But talk to your veterinarian before trying anything on your own!

Canine Eye Color Reflections

Our shepherd / husky mix dog, Willy, has brown eyes that reflect two different colors. I had never noticed this in another dog, but it probably is at least as common as a dog having two differently colored eyes.

The green reflection, like you see in a cat's eyes at night, is caused by the tapetum lucidum layer on the canine (or feline) retina. That layer is thought to cause a double reflection of light to the back of the eye, which increases the canine night vision (http://www.vet.upenn.edu/schoolresources/communications/publications/bellwether/52/canine_symposium.html).

Obviously, then, Willy lacks the tapetum layer on her right eye since only her left eye reflects green. Our Siberian Husky, Lobo, had red reflections from both of his eyes. We've never specifically tested the dogs, but from the reading I've done, Lobo's night vision is probably not as good as Willy's - even though Willy has just one eye with the tapetum layer.

Do NOT shave your husky for the summer

You may think - gee it's getting warm out and my husky will overheat in this weather. So, maybe I should just have all that fur shaved off. DON'T DO IT! Even if your groomer / vet / friend recommends such radical action, read on first. There are a number of reasons why your northern breed needs the fur during warm weather.

A Siberian Husky, like many northern dog breeds, has two coat layers. The inner, or under, coat consists of short, fluffy, downy soft fur. The other layer is the guard hair layer, which is not shed in general. The guard hairs stay in place while the husky "blows" his coat (the term used for the sudden shedding of the undercoat) - generally in the spring. That guard hair coat has natural oils which keep the husky clean and dry (ours virtually never gets wet to the skin, and does not pick up dirt and debris from the yard in his coat).

Our husky bulks up on this undercoat during the fall so he is warm outside during our cold, snowy winters in Michigan. Now, in the late spring, he has fluffy tufts of fur working loose all over his body. This husky, as you can see from the photo, is a short-hair type. When I scratch him, his fur feels like sheep's wool because the undercoat has become bunchy and tightly packed. The undercoat is creamy colored with a touch of copper at the outer ends. His guard hairs stay in place, and remain copper or white, depending location.



It's a family effort to get the tufts of undercoat loose throughout the spring. Lobo was a rescue, but I don't know if that explains his dislike of grooming. He has sensitive skin, and only plucking at tufts (best done when he's asleep) or holding him down and using a human comb seem to work well. I limit the "holding him down" time to 15 minute sessions.



Why does the husky need his guard hairs in the warm summer? You may ask yourself... why do desert peoples such as Moroccans wear loose, cheesecloth-like clothes that cover the body (http://www.berbertours.net/faq.php#3)? It's to keep the sun off the skin and allow cool breezes to get to the skin. Same thing for your northern-bred dog. He needs the guard hairs to keep sun off of his skin, but breeze will filter through since the undercoat is mostly gone during the summer. Also, the guard hairs protect your dog against biting insects!



If you are in an extremely warm area, you may wish to keep a pool of water, like a kid's wading pool, where your dog can reach it. Of course, change the water frequently to keep it fresh and stop mosquito larvae from hatching. Shade throughout the day, and drinking water should be givens. You may wish the bring the pup inside, too, if you have air conditioning during the peak heat times. Our husky will dig holes to get to cooler dirt to lay in - not that we want him to, but this is one of those behaviors the husky is known for.



And as for the shepherd / husky mix of ours, she has an undercoat the sheds in the spring as well. We can use a shedding blade, or human comb, or wire brush as needed... and she loves to be groomed. Her undercoat is smoother - not as bunchy - as the husky's, and does not bunch up quite the same way. She does have a double coat, and does keep her guard hairs, though.



Further reading and references I've used for this post are at: http://www.sibrescue.com/tip-shave.asp, http://www.ccndr.org/library/shaving.htm, and http://www.siberrescue.com/Flsibes.htm.

Huskies - Great Mousers!

I've read on other websites that huskies are good mousers, and have well-developed hunting instincts. Well, I believe it now, as scarcely a week goes by that one of our dogs does not have a new mouse, chipmunk, or squirrel trophy. Okay - you got me - sometimes a couple of weeks go by, but still, I had no idea we had so many little critters close to the house. A couple of pictures are included at the lower portion of this blog to substantiate this claim. I've chosen the lower area so you can avoid the pictures, if you wish. But there's nothing graphic - it's just that I know some people will think - aawww, the poor little critter.

Lobo, the red full husky, will sometimes completely ignore us humans when he's intent on searching for a small critter. Be wary of that if you're a husky owner - the convenient apparent deafness of your dog. Willy, the shepherd mix, will usually at least listen to us humans, and she definately knows what we mean by "find the mouse!" She gets very intense, and will search all of the surrounding area - especially anywhere we point or poke at with a stick.

Now, the normal hunting zone is, of course, the area each is cabled to by our house when the family is away. There are an abundance of sunflower seeds spilled into my flower garden area, and under the back deck, by the energetic goldfinches (our most abundant visitors). And, we have large beech trees in front that contribute beechnuts for birds, chipmunks, and mice. As the snow melted this spring, I could see where mice had created tunnels through the spilled seeds and shells to get under the deck. BTW, the flowers are fenced in, or I wouldn't have any after a doggie (on a cable) tromped, turned, dug, and laid in them. So some mice get away with months of local living before "their time is up" by sticking to the fenced area and moving when the dogs are inside.

The competition for catching any particular mouse, when both dogs are on the hunt with one of us at the same time, is entertaining to watch. Willy, as the alpha will frequently lead. Lobo, excitable, will follow, run circles, check nearby areas, jump (front feet) on Willy's back (making her mad - she'll grow and snap at him), and (sometimes) try to push his head in front of Willy's. At times, one or the other will give up too soon at a particular area, only to have the rival dog dig at just the right area and !Pounce! on the prize. Still, they each get their share.

Below is a series of three pictures showing Lobo scenting a mouse through a foot of snow, pouncing, and bringing the prize over for inspection. The strange alignment is due to the limitations of the Google's Blogger editing tools. The HTML tags with the photos are weird enough, I'm not messing with them too much.




Here's one that my siblings and family didn't want to see, as they felt bad for the squirrel. Willy caught this black squirrel all by herself. Yes, the dogs will sometimes eat the squirrel (or other rodents), but not always.



Finally, here's a new one. Lobo caught a mole this April, and I have never even seen any mole trails. Yes, it's a snowy Easter week here, too, like most of the eastern United States. So much for our very short spring, and enjoying the crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and forscythia bushes, though I know the warm weather will return.

One more thought. Does your dog like to roll on their catch? Ours do, especially if it's aged a bit. We take turns "losing" the several-day-old prizes in the deeper woods. Phew!

Dairy Queen for Good Dogs

Do your dogs whine, bark, twist in the seat, or stomp on you as you drive past a Dairy Queen red roof? Ours have learned what the local soft-serve stand - including the distinctive red roof - looks like. And, they expect to stop for a treat!

This local DQ give out free drippings, about 4 ounces of ice cream in a plastic cup, for dogs. However, our two spoiled pouches expect to eat the container when the cold, yummy vanilla ice cream has been licked and chomped - thus we purchase cones.

The alpha dog - our husky / german shepherd mix - used to eat her cone at a reasonable pace. With the advent of her doggie competitor, she began to wolf down the cone in about three big bites. You'd be in danger of missing fingers when she got to the cone (not really - but the fingers might hurt) because of her hurry to finish. My husband (aka "the guy") now pulls her cone back as she licks and bites the ice cream to slow her down. He can get the two dogs to finish more or less at the same time. As you can see from the picture at right, she's ahead on this day.

We also are quite memorable, I guess, when we visit our local DQ. People want to come and watch these gorgeous dogs enjoy their ice cream, and ask to pet them when they are done with the treat. That's an important point - always ask an owner first about approaching and touching a strange animal. Our mixed dog is very friendly, and eager to be pet. The husky, as a rehabilitation in process rescue dog, is still a bit shy.

Get out and enjoy the warmer weather, and treat the dogs!

Pet Food Related Deaths - the Contaminate Is... ??

Update on March 31, now the F.D.A. reports that the recalled pet foods were ...

"... found to have been made with a batch of wheat gluten shipped to the United States from China that the F.D.A. said was laced with melamine." ( nytimes.com )

However, there is confusion as to why compound would sicken and kill cats and dogs. Apparently, melamine is used as a fertilizer in China, but not in the U.S. Also reported by the NY Times online was that the list of recalled pet foods could be found at the F.D.A. website (http://www.fda.gov/).

As of March 23, 2007, rat poison is being blamed for cat and dog deaths (bloomberg.com). As noted in my blog, below, Menu Foods, Ltd. was the manufacturer of cans and pouches of "cuts and gravy" style wet food that caused the death of pets in the U.S.

Aminopterin is the chemical, and it is used as rat poison - though the chemical is banned in the United States. According to the Bloomberg.com article, this folic acid derivative can cause birth defects in people, and renal (kidney) damage in cats and dogs. The amount of aminopterim discovered in the food samples tested was 40 parts per million ( www.boston.com ), which is enough to cause the failure of dog and cat kidneys.

Pet Food Recall "cuts and gravy"

A major recall of dog and cat foods has begun in the middle of March 2007. Pay attention to this recall, and don't feed the named (see links, below) wet-style foods to your pet, as the reported problems include kidney failure and death of the pet. Symptoms can include excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. If you feed the named foods, and your pet has any of these symptoms, contact your veterinarian right away!

Menu Foods is the manufacturer of at least 88 different brands of this wet-style cat and dog foods that are affected. The food may be in a pouch or a can, and is - according to reports - a gravy food such as "cuts and gravy." The pet food is manufactured for branded big-names such as Eukanuba, Iams, Special Kitty, OlRoy, and more. As of now, Menu Foods believes that tainted wheat gluten, used as a filler ingredient, is the cause of the problem. The manufacturer reported that reports of pet problems and deaths coincided with the use of a new item from a new supplier in their food (LA Times online).

Business Week (online) reports that the investigation on the federal level is centering around a wheat gluten ingredient. The wheat gluten is used as a protein source and a filler. Menu Foods says that they have changed suppliers for that item. According to the federal investigators, there must be some contaminant in the wheat gluten, such as a heavy metal or fungal toxin, to cause the extreme illnesses (sometimes leading to death) that have been reported by pet owners.

What bothers me the most is that it's reported that Menu Foods started hearing from pet owners as long ago as February 20 regarding cat and dog deaths. The company started their own testing a week later, using between 40 and 50 cats and dogs. Seven of those animals died, apparently from renal (kidney) failure (CBS News online). Reports were that cats are more likely to have trouble that dogs. Why did it take until now to hear about the high death rate and the recall of suspected foods?

According to this report (CBC.ca online news), a Menu Foods spokesperson is telling consumers to hang on to veterinarian bill receipts and packaging (from the offending foods) just in case a compensation offer is made in the future. Hopefully, none of us will be needing reimbursement for any pet illness!

For the full listing of recalled foods, see: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/.

The other trouble with commercially available dog foods that I've encountered involved dry dog kibble in 2005. Apparently, corn used in the food was tainted with aflatoxin - a chemical that is made by a fungus that grows on corn and some other crops (source: MSNBC.com). That recall involved Diamond, Country Value, and Professional brands of dog food. There were deaths of dogs involved with that recalled product as well.