The swine flu is on everyone’s mind these days. On the news you hear daily reports about the concern there will be a big outbreak this fall.

If you’ve been wondering if there is anything to worry about when it comes to your pets Bobbi Leder from the Houston Dogs Examiner checked with the American Veterinary Medical Association, here’s what she found.

Well, according to the AVMA, there is no evidence that pets are susceptible to the swine flu as it appears to be transmitted only from person to person or from human to swine. So for now, it looks like dogs are safe from the swine flu although the AVMA goes on to say that there is not enough information to determine if the H1N1 virus can be transmitted to other animals; therefore, it is advisable to wash your hands after handling animals. The good news is that there have been no reported cases (in 2009) of the swine flu being contracted by eating pork. It is believed that the H1N1 virus is not a food-borne disease.

Hopefully this gives some peace of mind to all the dog owners out there.  While we still need to be careful, at least our dogs are safe.

* Shilo Ann checking out the pig pen, no worries.

Did you know the term “dog days” has more to do with astrology and the constellation Sirius than with our canine companions?

It’s true, but who cares, just get out there and enjoy what’s left of the warm dog days of summer. While you’re at it,  have fun reading some cool facts about your dog.

*Panting is very rapid, shallow breathing that enhances the evaporation of water from the tongue, mouth and upper respiratory tract. Evaporation dissipates heat as water vapor.Panting can reach frequencies of 300 to 400 breaths per minute (the normal canine breathing rate is 30 to 40 breaths per minute). Yet it requires surprisingly little effort. Because of the natural elasticity of the lungs and airways, panting does not expend much energy or create additional heat.

And that’s a good thing, because dogs are very easily overheated and prone to heatstroke in hot weather, especially when humidity is also high, which minimizes the effectiveness of panting.

* Follow the bouncing ball, with caution: A golden retriever named Augie holds the record for the most tennis balls held in the mouth at one time – five, according to the Guinness World Records book.

Even when a dog can hold only one tennis ball, though, owners need to take care. Veterinarians warn that tennis balls should be used for supervised retrieving play only, and never as a chew toy. That’s because a dog can compress the ball, which can then pop open in the back of the mouth, cutting off the air supply.

In other words, we don’t recommend allowing your dog to shoot for that record.

* Drink up: The average daily water intake for a dog is about 3 ounces for every 5 pounds of body weight, so a 25-pound dog would drink about a pint of water per day under average conditions. The amount goes up if the weather is hot, the dog is exercising or both. Depending on whether a pet eats canned or dry food, up to half of a pet’s daily water consumption can come from food. Dogs drink a lot of water, not only because they need it for normal bodily functioning, but also to create moist nasal mucous to help them with their keen sense of smell.

*  Computing “dog years”: The idea that one year of a dog’s life equals seven human ones isn’t accurate – but the formulas to replace that easy-to- remember computation are too complicated to ever really catch on.

The first eight months of a dog’s life equal 13 years in human terms – birth to puberty, in other words. At a year, a dog is a teenager, equivalent to a 16-year-old human, with a little filling out still to do. After the age of 2, when a dog is about 21 in human terms, every dog year equals approximately five human ones. But then you have to adjust for the fact that small dogs live longer than big ones.

* Problems with pug noses: Dogs with extremely short muzzles and rounded heads are called “brachycephalic,” and despite their adorable, almost human expressions, they have a host of health challenges related to their nonstandard-issue canine anatomy. (The word “brachycephalic” has Greek roots, combining words for “short” and “head” to define these dogs perfectly.)

From the dog’s point of view, being pug-nosed isn’t much of a plus. The dogs are notoriously heat-intolerant and have such difficulty breathing that air travel is generally not recommended. The malformation of the skull often results in crowding of teeth that can cause dental issues. Snoring and drooling are also issues.

You can read all the cool facts when you buy a copy of  “BowWOW! Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your Dog Won’t Know” by Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori.

I don’t know if Dr. Marty Becker is brilliant or not, but after reading a  preview copy of Bo’s book Bad To The Bone: Memoir Of A Rebel Doggie Blogger he said “Bo is truly the voice of his doggy generation.”  Obviously there is no disputing he is a very smart man.

Read a preview chapter of  BAD TO THE BONE and learn how Bo adopted us.

*Is there anything better than chasing tennis balls at the beach, not according to Arrow.

In Pontiac and Inkster, MI. hundreds of dogs have died from an outbreak of parvo.

Dogs are infected by contact with feces from contaminated dogs and often die three days after symptoms appear.

Hundreds of dogs, mainly puppies, are dying in Pontiac and Inkster because of an outbreak of parvovirus, a virulent disease that is easy to prevent and expensive to treat, veterinarians and animal protection workers said Sunday.

“This is the worst outbreak I’ve seen in Pontiac in the 20 years I’ve been working here,” said Pam Porteous, manager of the Animal Care Network, which operates in Pontiac and Inkster. She said she has been told by shelter workers that Detroit and Flint have outbreaks, too.

Porteous said some 300 dogs have died in Pontiac alone this summer.

Porteous said low-income communities are especially vulnerable because residents often can’t afford to vaccinate their puppies — shots cost $10 to $80 each — and because they typically keep their pets outside as watchdogs, where the animals can be infected by stray dogs with the disease.

Her organization canvasses Pontiac and Inkster neighborhoods to monitor the disease and educate dog owners about how to prevent it. She said the virus is passed through dog feces and easily can be tracked into the yards and homes on shoes, car tires and paws.

“If I didn’t have my dogs vaccinated, I could easily bring it home and give it to them because of the work I do,” Porteous said. Parvo is not passed to humans.

Veterinarians said parvo can kill a puppy within 72 hours if it goes untreated.

An infected dog often shows the first symptoms when it stops eating. By the second day, the dog begins vomiting and experiencing diarrhea. By the third day, the diarrhea can become bloody.

It’s important to make sure your dog is properly vaccinated. If money is an issue check into some of the low cost clinics in your area.  They usually have special days and times set up to offer low cost vaccinations.

*Pic courtesy Michigan Animal Care Network

I received a message from Dogster member Dixie about a new clinic in the Chicago area.

I’m passing on the info for other Dogsters who live around there and may want to check out the new facility at this weekend’s open house.

Exciting news for Chicago-area pups whose pawrents are looking for cutting edge, state-of-the-art veterinary care for their four-legged family members. The Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine has opened a new clinic on Chicago’s Near West Side.

You’ll love the name. Furnetic. And what we love even more than the name is that this clinic is affiliated with the prestigious University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine at Champaign-Urbana. When the Crew fell ill from various diseases/cancers, the UofI Vet Med School was suggested by many people as a place we could go to pursue treatments above and beyond those available at regular veterinary clinics. With the opening of this new Chicago-area vet center, we will have local access to UofI specialists and equipment that can save lives.

Thank you, Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, and thank you University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine at Champaign-Urbana, for answering the prayers of many pawrents in the Chicago metro area and opening Furnetic.

To learn all about Furnetic visit their website and if you have time stop by their open house this weekend.

Admit it. You’re curious. You’ve seen the cool Web site, and you’re wondering what the city’s newest veterinary clinic is really like.

Of course, you’re welcome to visit us at any time, but if you like food and other free stuff, you’ve got to stop in during our two-day, totally off-the-leash open house:

• Friday, July 31, from 2 to 7 pm, and
• Saturday, August 1, from 9 am to 1 pm.

You’ll get to meet our caring veterinary staff, check out our brand-new facility, get your picture taken if you like, sign up for great prize drawings, and walk off with a bag of treats.

You’ll find out that we’re part of the Chicago Center for Veterinary Medicine, a program of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana. So even though we are people who are crazy about pets, we’re all about serious veterinary care.

See you on July 31 or August 1!

Oh, and don’t forget to bring your people along so they can help you fill out the entry form for the free drawings.

* Pic courtesy Furnetic

A woman in Huntington Beach, CA. is credited with saving the life of a Chihuahua using CPR. She learned the technique by watching it on television.

Krisna Torres, 35, and her husband were the first to arrive at the birthday party Sunday for their friend’s 6-year-old daughter. When they got to the house, they noticed two dogs on top of a treehouse in the backyard.

Dog owner, Maricruz Cisneros, says she placed the dogs there and put chairs in front of the entrance to prevent them from running into the street.

Not long after Torres and her husband arrived, a young girl was heard screaming for help.

Charlene Cisneros says she checked on the dogs and was horrified to find one of them — a Chihuahua named Chicuaes — dangling by its leash and choking.

Krisna sprang into action and began breathing into the animal’s mouth.

“Krisna just saw the dog on the floor, picked her up and just started breathing mouth-to-mouth, putting her fingers in,” Charlene told KTLA.

Krisna says the dog’s breath wasn’t the best, but she only cared about saving Chicuaes’ life at that point in time.

And she did just that.

Chicaues gave a gasp and then began breathing after about two minutes of rescue breathing.

The dog was checked out at the vet and given a clean bill of health.

* Pic courtesy KTLA-TV

Lisa and I are very lucky to have a wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Boswell owner of North Cobb Animal Clinic, very near to where we live. Even if she wasn’t so close we would still go to her because not only is she extremely knowledgeable in her field, she is also a caring and compassionate animal lover.

The whole staff is great to deal with. Whenever we call with a question, which we do a lot, or stop by, which we also do a lot, we are always greeted by name and treated like family. We know they really care about the welfare of our dogs, and while the pups aren’t always happy to see them we know they are well taken care of. If anyone lives in or around the Kennesaw, GA. area we highly recommend North Cobb Animal Clinic.

The reason I’m even discussing our vet is because of an article I just read about one in Marietta, GA. who just had his license suspended.  It was suspended for repeated code violations, including keeping dead cats in a freezer alongside food, according to state officials.

It raises the question, “How well do you know your vet?”

The Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine has suspended Dr. Anji Bodana’s license for three years, fined him $3,000 and is requiring the Cobb County vet to undergo continuing education courses stemming from uncorrected code violations found in 2006.

Bodana runs the Cobb Pet Clinic at 1050 E. Piedmont Road in Marietta.

The Marietta Daily Journal reports that Bodana disputes the findings, saying “they’re not right.”

In late 2006, an investigator with the Secretary of State’s Office of Inspector General inspected the facility at the board’s request, according to state documents. At that time, investigator Merry Cagle found dead cats in a freezer with food, pets kept in an unlit room without ventilation, no records of the animals housed in the clinic’s kennel, unlabeled medications, and areas including exam rooms that were “dirty, unkempt and had an offensive odor,” among other violations.

By May of 2007, most of the violations had been remedied, according to the report. However, in January of 2008, Cagle returned to the clinic at the board’s request and found more violations, including: surgical instruments outside of sterile packs, no sterilization machine, syringes (including an uncapped needle that appeared to have blood on it) found on various surfaces and dogs kept in kennels without identifying information and a foul odor throughout the clinic.

Bodana opened the Cobb Pet Clinic in December 2001. He is licensed in Georgia, Alabama and Florida, according to the report.

The moral of the story, spend some time checking out who you are trusting your beloved pet to.  Go to visit the practice you’re thinking about going to and ask for a tour. If they don’t want you looking around there may be a reason. Look online for reviews and ask friends and neighbors with dogs who they go to.

Remember, just because someone puts out a sign saying they’re a vet it doesn’t make them a good one. Take a look at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary website for some good tips on choosing a vet.

Yup, Alfie wasn’t in the doghouse he was in the dollhouse.

The sneaky spaniel snuck into his human sister’s room and stole a toy puppy out of her dollhouse. He then swallowed it whole.

The unusual snack made Alfie sick and, unable to figure out what was wrong, his owners Joanne Dutton and daughter Madeline, seven, took him to the vets.

hey were amazed when the vet’s X-ray revealed the cause of his illness.

“He was refusing to eat or drink and then became very ill. He just looked so sad, which is not like him, so we took him to the vet. He felt his tummy and immediately discovered something there – and it turned out to be Madeline’s toy puppy,” Mrs Dutton, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, said.

Alfie needed surgery to remove the toy from his stomach.

Vet Mark Allington said: “We took an X-ray of Alfie and it was fairly obvious what he had swallowed and it was removed after a couple of hours’ surgery.”

Alfie has recovered from surgery and is back to his old self. Hopefully Madeline will keep her bedroom door shut.

* Pic courtesy MANCHESTER EVENEING NEWS

Since this is a dog blog, a couple times a month our boy Bo (woof!) thought it would be nice to get the news through a dog’s eyes. Bo invites everyone to read a chapter from his upcoming book BAD TO THE BONE at Bo Knows. It’s a funny memoir about the crazy adventures we have shared together over the last 14 plus years, told through Bo’s eyes. Okay Bo, take it from here…..

Chocolate. The forbidden fruit.

I think it’s a fruit because it’s certainly not a vegetable, and truth be told, vegetables are deadly too. It’s just that veggies steal a little of your soul one crappy asparagus tip at a time rather than the quick demise cocoa offers.

Check out how one Polly Purebred cheated death while cheating on her diet in this story from the BBC.

A dog narrowly avoided death after eating more than 20 chocolate cupcakes.

Polly, a one-year-old Patterdale terrier from Southampton, ate the cakes after being accidentally locked in the family’s kitchen by her owners.

Owner Yvonne Taylor found the canine surrounded by chocolate wrappers and, knowing of the dangers of cocoa poisoning, contacted vets.

“They gave her an injection to induce vomiting and then proceeded to wash out her stomach under a general anesthetic.”

“Luckily, Polly pulled through and survived.”

I wouldn’t need the injection. All they would have to do is force me to watch a cat lick itself after hitting the kitty litter box. That would induce plenty of vomiting. Projectile vomiting, to be exact. To me that’s like peeing on a tree, not washing your paws afterwards, and then begging for some paw lickin’ barbeque ribs. Woof!

*Photo courtesy BBC NEWS

The funniest dog blog, written by a dog, on the internet. Commentary on the latest animal news stories of the day. Read a chapter from my upcoming book, BAD TO THE BONE.

Our very own Dr. Barchas,  from the Vet Blog, now has a site on YouTube where you can submit a video question to be answered.

Do you have a video question about your pet for Dr. Eric Barchas? This is the place for you to leave it -http://www.youtube.com/group/askDrBarchas, he’ll answer it on his blog.

Snuzzy, he posts all the snuzzilicous stuff, left Dr. Barchas a question about feeding his cat Tailer too many treats. Go check it out on the Vet Blog.

In December we had a contest to win a Wisdom Panel Test, it’s a  DNA kit for your dog. The test was created by Mars Veterinary to give dog owners an opportunity to find out exactly “Who’s your daddy?”  For anyone who’s thought about ordering a kit but has been reluctant because they have some questions now’s your chance to get answers.

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.

Every Dog Has A Tale:
That’s why Mars Veterinary created Wisdom Panel^TM MX Mixed-Breed Analysis, the gold standard in mixed-breed genetic identification for dogs.

Over 38 million people own a mixed-breed dog. One simple dog DNA test at your veterinarian’s office reveals the untold story of its ancestry.

Separate FACT From FICTION:

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

I’ve been invited to ask the doctors some questions, but I  thought rather than me asking my questions I would let Dogsters submit them. Post any questions you have on DNA testing and I will forward them on, the interview footage will be posted on Wednesday, May 6th.

I want to thank Mars Veterinary and all involved for giving Dogsters this fun and unique opportunity.

* I cannot guarantee your question will be picked to be answered, I won’t know beforehand.