Good Morning America correspondent Dr. Marty Becker and geneticist Dr. Neale Fretwell are conducting satellite interviews on May 6th on the Wisdom Panel Test, the most comprehensive doggie DNA test available today.
With Wisdom Panel MX, mixed-breed dogs will receive the most reliable DNA breed test available.
* Blood-based sampling, scientifically proven to provide the highest quality DNA analysis
* Detecting 157 different AKC breeds (incl. 4 Foundation Breeds) and counting
* Proprietary algorithm providing 90% accuracy
* Backed by a decade of peer-reviewed veterinarian science research on dog genetics
* Detailed report illustrating your dog’s heritage, revealing breed traits and characteristics
This is the first of three segments, hear what the doctors had to say in response to your questions…
If you can’t see the video in your RSS feed, then click here.
What do all the things mentioned above have in common? A study involving dogs in Iditarod worthy shape to see if their fat-burning abilities could help uncover ways to prevent and treat obesity in type 2 diabetes?
Michael Davis is on the trail to find out. Davis, a professor at Oklahoma State University who has studied exercise physiology in sled dogs for a decade, recently completed the first phase of research examining how dogs that train for the 1,100-mile Iditarod become “insulin-sensitive” and convert fat to energy so proficiently.
“If we can figure out what exercise is doing to start the process, then we may be able to find how it can be applied to everyone, whether or not they are physically able to exercise,” he says.
Approximately 24 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise have been shown to help prevent the onset.
I received an email from a member sharing the news with me that PETA is encouraging the USA Network not to air the Westminster Dog Show .
The reasoning, the breeds that are bred for show endure inhumane treatment, bad breeding, and health issues.
The BBC has already decided to pull their version of the Westminster, Crufts Dog Show, from the air. The BBC pulled Crufts after an expose was aired, “Pedigree Dogs Exposed,” raising concerns over the health of dogs bred for the show ring.
In a letter to USA’s president Bonnie Hammer, PETA founder and president Ingrid Newkirk writes, “Since dog breeders routinely use incestuous inbreeding and genetic manipulation…it’s not surprising that as many as one in four purebred dogs is plagued with a serious genetic problem.”
Beagles like last year’s Westminster winner, Uno, are susceptible to a wide variety of genetic health problems like hypothyroidism, epilepsy and demodectic mange, according to PETA.
“Countless dogs suffer painful cosmetic surgeries and millions of wonderful dogs die in animal shelters because of the AKC’s inhumane policies…USA Network can take a stand against the cruel treatment of animals simply by denying air time to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show,” said PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch.
If you would like to express your opinion to the USA Network, letting them know how you feel, go to their feedback page.
Do you think the Westminster Dog Show is good television viewing, that PETA’s questions about health and safety are unfounded? Or, do you think there is something to what they say and it should be pulled?
* Uno picture courtesy Timothy A. Clary / AFP – Getty Images
Drake, a Labrador Retriever, didn’t want to go duck hunting on Saturday. He would much rather been playing fetch at the local park.
To put a stop to this unwanted activity he shot his owner in the buttocks. It worked, duck hunting was canceled.
Marcum was standing in the bay Saturday morning, about to tie up an 11-foot open aluminum boat, when his 3-year-old Labrador, Drake, jumped into the boat and set off the gun, his Father, Henry Marcum, said Sunday. The blast blew a hole in the boat before hitting Marcum.
His son was concerned about the dog, Henry Marcum said. “He’s a good dog. It’s just one of those things. It’s an accident.”
Matthew Marcum is in Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center, recovering from injuries to his legs and buttocks. Not much more I can add to this story.
* I didn’t have a picture of so I posted Dogster member River, who I’m pretty sure never shot his owner.
Over the July Fourth weekend my wife and I were visiting friends in Wilmington, NC. They took us out boating and we were amazed at the number of boaters who had dogs with them. A large percentage of them had doggie lifejackets, but not all. Which leads me to the point, not all dogs are swimmers.
There are certain things we assume dogs know by instinct. Then there’s swimming. It seems so integral to being a dog that we’ve even named a stroke after them, the dog-paddle – so you’d assume that’s another thing that every dog is born knowing how to do.
To keep your best friend safe this summer you may need to sign up for Swimming 101.
Some dogs have to be taught to swim, Diamond said, and others, like bulldogs, take to the water like submarines take to the Cross Bronx Expressway. For the former, there is hope. For the latter, there are those bright orange canine flotation devices.
Is there anything cuter then a dog in a bright orange life-jacket?
Among those that can’t swim at all or swim only with great difficulty are basset hounds, bulldogs, dachshunds, pugs, corgis, Scottish and Boston terriers and greyhounds.
When you teach a dog to swim you use a lot of the same rules as you would when teaching a child. You never want to leave a dog unattended, even one that can swim. Dogs that can swim may jump in a pool and not be able to get out, resulting in drowning. Here is a checklist from Wendy Diamond, founder and editorial director of Animal Fair magazine, of things to do to get ready for Swimming 101:
* Avoid excessive noise
“Take them to an area that’s not so crazy and hectic,” she advised. Like children, dogs can become frightened and confused if there’s a lot of noise and activity around them. The object is to keep them calm and focused on the swimming lesson.
* Use encouragement
As when teaching a child, keep your voice upbeat and positive, she said. “Using treats and toys to encourage your dog to enter the water also works quite well,” she said.
* Never throw them in
Just as you shouldn’t throw a child in the water and expect it to swim to safety, you shouldn’t do that with a dog, Diamond said. “Don’t force the dog. If they don’t want to do it, don’t force them to do it.” Instead, she told Celeste, “Slowly put them in the water and get their paws used to it.”
* Support their weight until they paddle
Even if the dog is wearing a life vest, Diamond said, support its midsection and hindquarters in the water until they start paddling and feel comfortable.
* Show them how to get out
Getting a dog in the pool is only half the battle. Diamond reminded pet owners that they also need to be shown where the steps are in the pool so they can easily get out.
* Keep an eye on them
Even in the water, dogs can wander off. Dogs that swim naturally and well can jump in the ocean and keep swimming until they’re lost, Diamond said. “You want to make sure, like children, that you watch where they’re going,” she said.
If you’re anywhere near Buda, Texas this weekend here’s something fun! Its time again for the annual Wiener Dog Races and like every other sport in Texas, these folks take it very seriously. Okay, seriously with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
And for those of us who can’t make it to Buda this weekend, check out last year’s events with a funny, yet touching DVD titled Lord of the Wiens: A Dachumentary.
Thanks to Mark for barking in about really big toys for you and your dog to share — dog-powered scooters and trikes! How cool is this?!?!?
check out this new Dog Powered TRIKE!
-it gives the rider precision steering control, with great braking
-total stability,
-the ability to help by pedalling, or by hand cranking !
-and the thrill of dog mushing/pulling !
Lifting a large Siberian Husky out of its cage, South Africa’s national dog racing champ excitedly describes what it has been like training for her first competition on snow at this weekend’s world sled dog racing championship in Sweden.
Dog racing injuries increase
More greyhounds broke legs at Dairyland racetrack in 2007
By DON WALKER
Posted: Feb. 24, 2008
Seventy-six greyhounds broke their legs racing last year at Dairyland Greyhound Park, an 18.7% increase over the year before, state records show.
Photo/Gary Porter
A broken leg, or hock, is considered to be one of the most serious injuries a greyhound can suffer at a track.
In all, a total of 462 injuries were reported at the track last year, a 19% increase from 2006.
Thanks to Annie for barking in this excellent article from the OCRegister.com.
Soccer links father, son, border collies
By ANNIE BURRIS
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Terror grips Mark Lukas as he stands on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.
He looks out into the cold, foggy water.
He is looking for his son.
Mark had sensed something was wrong hours earlier when his son was late to a dinner party at the family’s home in Brooksville, Fla. Zak Lukas, 16, was the class clown, the rebellious athlete and everyone’s best friend. Mark hoped his son had blown off the party.
Zak, a soccer star, had gone jet skiing with teammate Jason Lewis in the gulf, 20 minutes away from their home.
Mark had sped to the usual places the boys went to ski.
On his fourth stop, he found Zak’s truck.
Then he saw his son’s ski trailer.
Then he called 911.
Standing on the Gulf’s edge, Mark feels powerless as the coast guard arrives. They refuse to fly over the water to search for the boys because of the winter fog. They decide to send a boat out in the morning.
It is Dec. 7, 2002. The coast guards tell him there is nothing more they can do.
The next morning, a fisherman finds the boys nine miles away from shore.
Mark’s son and his teammate had died of hypothermia.
A cord had been sucked into the jet ski rendering it useless — a death sentence in the freezing Florida waters.
Mark cannot cope with the nightmare unfolding in front of him.
“It was a shock,” he said “It motivated me to change.”
Six months later he left his 20-year marriage and quit the cleaning business he had owned for 19 years. He lost touch with is adult daughter.
Now, five years later, he’s moved to Huntington Beach to seek a new life.
And he’s found it in what may sound like the strangest place, the strangest relationship.
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