Free Pet Safety Pack

Here is a great freebie from the ASPCA - On their website, you can request a free Pet Safety Pack, which includes a window decal to alert rescue personnel that there are pets inside your home, and a magnet with information for pet poison control. In case of a fire or other emergency, you definitely want rescuers to know there are pets in need of rescue too!

Go to this link for the free decal: http://www.aspca.org/about-us/free-aspca-stuff/free-pet-safety-pack.aspx

iPhone Apps for Pet Parents

I love my iPhone and frequently say that it changed my life. And of course, I love my pets. So naturally, I am always looking for cool iPhone apps related to pets and designed to help out the busy pet parents. Here is a rundown of some of the apps I've tried out:

CU Pet Health

This app was created by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine to help pet parents track health related information. I've probably read about dozens of these "pet health apps," some of which will be discussed below, and most of them have pretty much the same features. You can track your pet's vaccine records / due dates, medications, reminders for vet appointments, medical conditions, etc. You can either input information about your vet or link to your phone's contacts. But what sets this one apart (and why I purchased it even though I already had some of the other apps on my phone) is the "Daily Diet" feature. A little green button on the front page that says "Cal" takes you to an info page about your pet's daily diet. From there, you insert information about what your pet eats on a daily basis, including the serving size and calorie content of each item. In addition to typical dog food items (some of which is preprogrammed), you can add information about treats your dog eats, "human food," etc. Since Mumble eats a combination of organic wet food, commercial dry food, "human foods" including pumpkin and sweet potatoes, and sometimes additional foods to address his digestive issues, I find this feature very useful. Online, I've only ever been able to locate tools that calculate recommended portions based on a single item and its calorie content, so to be able to have a combination of items and see what is recommended, and what the overall calorie intake is from what I'm already feeding him, is amazingly helpful, especially in light of those four pounds Mumble is supposed to be losing.

Natural Pet Health

If you've read this blog before, you probably know that I LOVE Dr. Shawn Messonnier's book The Natural Health Bible for Dogs and Cats because it is such a great resource regarding supplements, holistic and homeopathic treatments, etc, which is such a critical part of keeping a dog like Mumble healthy. Dr. Shawn's Natural Pet Therapies app is like a mini-version of his resource guides, providing information about various pet health topics and remedies. Although it is obviously much less comprehensive than his books (or other resources available), and won't meet your needs if you are looking for in-depth information, it is great for quick on-the-go information at your fingertips. For each health "topic" listed, there is a page with an overview of the health issue, and another page with descriptions of common treatments for that ailment.

Care.com

Care.com is a great online website that provides a directory of available providers for pet care, child care, etc. I've used this to find dog walkers / pet sitters and found it to be very user friendly. The iPhone app is complimentary to the website, and provides on-the-go information. From the app, you can search for providers, check your messages, send messages to possible providers, post a job listing, and other things you could also do online.

OffLeash

The Off Leash Dog Parks app is a park locator that utilizes the iPhone's map / GPS features. This is a brilliantly simple, user friendly app with no unnecessary frills. Simply click on the app, and it will first locate you, and then list out the nearby dog parks in your community. If you click on one of the choices, you will be taken to the iPhone's map application, where you can get directions to that particular park. This would be great for people traveling with their pets or in a new city. (Note: There are other apps that do the same thing, such as - Dog Park Finder Plus and the Eukanuba Dog Park app).

Pet First Aid

This is a great app! Although I don't use it often (thank goodness), I have perused it so that I would be familiar with it should I ever need it. It has quick, useful information about all kinds of pet emergency situations, instructions for first aid and quick treatment, and embedded links between pages for further in-depth reading. You also have the ability to input vital health information about your pets right into the app, so you could use this as a pet health tracker as well.

PetMD Finder

This app allows you to locate veterinary offices and clinics nearby, which would be a great resource to have in an emergency when you need to know the quickest place to take your pet. In addition to locating nearby emergency clinics and vets, you can also use it to find groomers, dog walkers, and other professionals. My only problem with this app is that it doesn't seem to be that thorough / comprehensive, and I'm not sure if all of the available options are really included in what it will show you. Still, it is comforting to know that you can find someone quickly when you need to. PetMD has other available apps, which I haven't yet tried out, including apps with explanations of pet health symptoms and apps with first aid information. There is even one that claims to put "veterinary terminology" at your fingertips.

Pet Dossier

Pet Dossier lives up to its claim to be a "lifestyle information organizer for your pets." In the age when pet owners are busy, but no less caring, and people in general turn more and more to their mobile phones to organize their lives, this is a great app for pet parents. After trying out various pet info organizers on my iPhone, this is the one I've settled on as being the best fit for my needs. I can input separate pages for Rascal and for Mumble. For each pet, you can input general information like microchip and license numbers, health related information, medications, notes, and descriptions related to your pet's lifestyle. Additionally, one of the things I like best is that you can access your iPhone's existing contacts and input them into various contacts categories in the app, like "Boarding," "Pet Sitting," "Training," "Vet," etc. This is a time saver, because really why should you have to retype everyone's contact information again and again? The app has the ability to set reminders for you for vaccines, medications, flea drops, and vet appointments. It then uses "push notifications" (like many other types of apps) to alert you of these reminders. And, of course, you can also upload one of those adorable pictures you took on your phone for each pet's page!

Dog Safety and First Aid!

Pet safety is a topic every pet parent should be educated on. Dogs are pretty accident prone in general - eating things they shouldn't, getting injured in situations ranging from simple accidents while playing to trauma from car accidents, having things caught in their paw, mouth, eye, etc. Dogs (and cats) vomit, get diarrhea, cough or gag, limp, are lethargic, or experience a host of other symptoms from a variety of causes, and our pets can't explain to us how they feel or "where it hurts." If you google the terms "common pet emergencies" or "common pet injuries" you'll get a whole host of explanations for the types of things that can happen!

Here are a few examples of "emergencies" I've experienced with Mumble:

Laceration from moving his crate - When Mumble was 5 months old, on the day he had his neutering surgery, he had to be crated while I took a friend to the emergency room (it was not a good day all around for emergencies). Mumble decided he didn't want to be there in his crate that day, and experienced an "opposite reaction" to his sedative, basically meaning he had super-dog strength. From inside his crate, he moved it about 7-8 feet across the room by continuously throwing his body against the side of it. Problem? There was one of those water bottles attached to the side of the crate that has the little metal spout that the dogs drink from, and this basically gashed Mumble's back open. This didn't stop him from continuing to move the crate, so by the time I got home, the gash was pretty bad.

Eating plastic bags - Mumble went through a phase where he thought plastic bags were the most delicious things ever. I once came home and found part of one on the floor, and thought "at least he didn't eat all of it." Turned out, however, that he had actually gotten inside the kitchen cabinet (a high one) and climbed up it, and pulled all of the plastic bags out of the dispenser and eaten most of them.

Sudden limping - Mumble had an injury recently, and I had no idea when or how it occurred, but suddenly one morning we went out for our usual walk and he was limping.

Allergic reactions - Mumble's had allergic reactions to all kinds of things, resulting in sneezing and wheezing all night, foaming at the mouth, itching and scratching to the point of making the skin around his face bleed, and panting heavily. Mumble also once had an adverse reaction to vaccinations, which made him extremely sick and lethargic.

Car accident - Mumble was in the car with me when I had a car accident. Thankfully, he was not hurt, but it really made me realize how much I need to know what to do in an emergency if he is injured!

Each of these ended up in either a visit to the vet or an emergency phone call to the on-call vet for instructions. Thankfully, none of these incidents has ended up with serious injury or illness, and Mumble has come out ok every time. Still, accidents are not infrequent with pets, so we should all be prepared!

Enter the Pet Safety Seminar at Zoom Room Culver City. The Zoom Room had guest speaker Melanie Monteiro, author of "The Safe Dog Handbook," give a talk to a group of dog owners about pet safety tips, first aid, and emergency preparedness.

First off, I highly recommend Melanie's book. You can order it online at this link. I bought a copy at her talk that night, and I've already read it cover to cover. The book is so practical and user-friendly, it is definitely a must for the shelf of any pet parent. If you google Melanie, you will also not only find her website and more information about her, but also videos on youtube with tips and info about pet safety.

At the talk, Melanie gave us great insight into the importance of being prepared and of prevention. Prevention is the biggest key to pet safety! Even though we've all been told to "puppy-proof" our homes, Melanie explained that poisoning from substances like rat poison is still common!

Being prepared for an emergency includes simple things like having all of your pet's emergency contact numbers handy (the vet, the after-hours vet, the poison control hotline, etc) to having a well-stocked first aid and emergency kit. One of the most interesting things I learned is how to read your dog's vital signs - Melanie explained that it is important to know how to do this not only in response to a crisis but in order to be prepared for a crisis. You should know your dog's vital signs at their "normal" state so that you have something to compare to.

Melanie also demonstrated some pet first aid / emergency response skills. She showed us how to make a muzzle out of gauze, for situations when your pet needs to have medical attention and you want to prevent biting, which can be common in times of stress. She taught us which way to hold a dog that is injured if you have to carry it - with the wound towards your body, cradling the dog from underneath. She demonstrated (on a moving dog dummy) how to give a dog CPR, including the chess compressions and the respiration. For "mouth to mouth" on a pet, you do not breath into your dog's mouth, but into their nose! She showed us how to form a "seal" around the dog's (or cat's) nostrils in order to do CPR properly.

Melanie's book has a comprehensive list of all of the things that you should have in a pet first aid kit. There are also lots of resources online to help guide you. At a later date, I'll put together a list on this blog of all of the things that I have in my pet first aid kit, which I am working on putting together now!

I came away from the class with a lot of useful information, tips, and resources regarding pet safety, and definitely feel like I am now more prepared for emergency situations. I think this type of class is something every pet parent should take! There are lots of options you can find, from seminar-type classes, to intensive skill-based lessons.

Here is a list of resources for pet safety and first aid classes, and other related resources:

Melanie Monteiro's Pet Safety videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MelanieLMonteiro

The Safe Dog Handbook: http://www.thesafedoghandbook.com/index.html

Classes and First Aid Training by Melanie Monteiro: http://www.thesafedoghandbook.com/services.html

PetTech's PetSaver classes on pet first aid, CPR training, etc: http://www.pettech.net/programs.html

Dog First Aid book by the Red Cross: http://www.redcrossstore.org/Shopper/Product.aspx?UniqueItemId=95

Cat First Aid book by the Red Cross: http://www.redcrossstore.org/Shopper/Product.aspx?UniqueItemId=160&Page=1&StartAtPage=1&SId=201374&LocationId=0

PETCO's Pet First Aid online classes: http://www.petco.com/product/100690/PETCO-Online-Pet-First-Aid-Course.aspx

Online info from the American Veterinary Medical Association: First Aid Tips for Pet Parents: http://www.avma.org/firstaid/

Online info from the American Animal Hospital Association: Health Pets - Pet First Aid: http://www.healthypet.com/PetCare

About.com's article on First Aid for Pets: http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/diseasesall/a/farnfirstaidtip.htm

First Aid Kits for Pets:

American Red Cross Deluxe Kit: http://www.entirelypets.com/petfirstaiddx.html
American Red Cross First Aid Pack: http://www.entirelypets.com/nepetfiaidki.html
Pet First Aid Kit: http://www.sitstay.com
Various kits by petfirstaid.org: http://www.petfirstaid.org/products.html

Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recall

While I was out of town last week, and Mumble was being boarded, I had a bit of a scare about his dry food because I heard the news of a recall of Blue Buffalo brand dog food. Mumble eats the Blue Buffalo Adult Chicken dry food mixed in with his wet food every day. This was one of the "flavors" on the recall list, and since I had left his food with the boarding facility in small baggies, pre-portioned for each meal, rather than the entire bag of food, there was no way for anyone to check to see if the food was one of the specific "batches" recalled! I had to have the boarding people just stop giving him the dry food altogether, just in case. Thankfully, they were able to make up the difference in his meals by supplementing his wet food with a little bit of cooked chicken and rice (which I'm sure he thought was much better anyway).

When I got back home I was able to check the bag, and thankfully it wasn't on the recall list anyway! So I don't have to worry about Mumble getting sick from the amount that he ate out of that bag before I heard about the recall.

Blue Buffalo was able to pinpoint exactly which batches of food had been affected, and even ascertained exactly how it happened. You can read the press release on their website here. If you feed your dog one of the "flavors" on the list, the way you determine if your dog food is affected is by looking at the expiration date. Here is the list from the Blue Buffalo website:

Product	Bag Size	Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog)	4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb.	JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog)	11 lb., 24 lb.	AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken	30 lb.	SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P

The recall is due to the discovery by the company of the presence of vitamin D in the product at levels "higher than specifications." According to the Blue Buffalo website, and other information available on the web related to this recall, excessive amounts of vitamin D can be harmful to pets. The FDA indicates that 36 cases have been reported nationwide of illness related to the excessive amounts of vitamin D in the recalled food (read here for more from the FDA on this recall). Blue Buffalo's website states that it will reimburse veterinary bills associated with illness as a result of the recalled food.

I was personally very curious about this vitamin D issue. Mumble eats a pretty healthy diet - his wet food is organic, and he has various supplements added to each meal. I've been reading a lot about supplements and "natural health" for pets lately, due to the high levels of supplements Mumble has to be on. So I was really curious about how a vitamin that you would believe to be beneficial, or at least not harmful, could cause so much concern. What I read was really interesting. According to many articles, etc, including the "Natural Health Bible for Dogs and Cats" by Shawn Messioner (I love this book!), the most common cause of vitamin D toxicity is from a dog ingesting rat poison! Of course, we all know that rat poison is one of the most common causes of poisoning to pets, but I never thought about it being linked to something as benign sounding as vitamin D.

There is an interesting article I found online on this subject, written by a veterinarian. You can read it at this link. According to Dr. Huston, vitamin D toxicity causes hypercalcemia, a condition that causes a whole gambit of problems and affects the dog's internal organs. The list of possible symptoms of vitamin D toxicity in her website is much more extensive, but with some consistency, than the list on the recall information websites. (*You can also read about vitamin toxicities at the PetPlace website).

The most alarming information I found, at least as it directly relates to Mumble, is the link between fish oil supplements and vitamin D toxicity. Apparently, fish oil supplements are known to be a good source of vitamin D, but it is possible for a pet parent to "overdose" their pet by providing too much of the supplement and causing vitamin D toxicity to occur. Mumble is on a fish oil with probiotics supplement, which, after much trial and error with various other probiotics, etc, was the best thing for him in terms of helping with all of his digestive issues. The fish oil also has a positive impact on his skin allergies. So the information about fish oil and vitamin D was definitely a reminder to me about how important it is to be extra careful with giving him the right amounts. It also made me very grateful for our vet, Dr. Shane, who is excellent at natural remedies and holistic approaches to health, and carefully helps me to monitor all of Mumble's supplements and dietary needs.

Mumble, at age 2

Mumble recently had his second birthday, and we had a birthday party at the Zoom Room in Culver City with a few of his dog friends. He jointly celebrated the day with Kihei, who turned 1 two days before Mumble's birthday. The party was lots of fun for the dogs and the people. We had food, favors, and of course birthday cake (both for people and dogs to eat).

Mumble has been through a lot of changes recently. Several months ago, his regular dog walker moved away and we started the lengthy process of searching for a good replacement. Mumble's new dog walker has not been with him very long now, and although I think in general it's working out, she's had her hands full with him as they both adjust to each other. Some days, inexplicably, he simply refuses to go on a walk with her for more than a few yards away from the entrance to my apartment building! He's such a stubborn, independent dog!

Additionally, Mumble had a sprained leg, which resulted in being on "house arrest" for a few months, with no daycare and no agility. He has recently been given the "all clear" to return to both of those activities, but we are supposed to be "slowly working up to full activity levels," meaning that at this point, he can only go to daycare for a few hours at a time.

I don't know if it was the change in his exercise levels, his "depressed" state when he no longer got to go to daycare, all the training we've been doing, or simple maturity, but definitely there have been some changes in Mumble's personality at age 2. He's generally a little less crazy / hyper and a little calmer, although still far from being what you would call a "calm dog" overall.

Health-wise, we are still on the ever-changing quest for the right balance of food, supplements, and medications to keep him healthy with all of his allergies and digestive difficulties. Certainly we have learned a lot, and all of those issues are much more under control than they were when he was still a puppy. It is such a relief to have less frequent allergy attacks, significantly less frequent bouts of diarrhea, and a quicker response to treatment when either of those things still happen!

Overall, I can (a bit sadly) report that Mumble is definitely more and more of a grown up dog and no longer a puppy!

Some pictures from Mumble's Birthday Party

Mumble recently celebrated his 2nd birthday at (of course) Zoom Room Culver City. It was a joint celebration with his friend Kihei, who turned 1 the same weekend! Here are some photos:


Mumble is checking everything and everyone out, and trying to decide if he needed to herd anyone back to where they belonged (according to him, at least). He spent the first half of the evening pretty much over-stimulated and trying to run around and control everything.

Mumble and his birthday hat - the dogs weren't nearly as into it as the humans wanted them to be :) They kept trying to remove them, but we managed to get a few pictures in.
Below is Kihei in his birthday hat!

Chopper hanging out during the party. Sadly, we didn't get pictures of all of the guests, but we did get this one of Chopper's big goofy smile :)

The Birthday cake! (thanks to Mandy)

Mumble and Kihei wrestling

House Arrest Continued, another appointment with the Vet, and a difficult week overall

Mumble has now been on his "limited activity" restrictions for healing of his shoulder & elbow sprain for two weeks (today is Day 15 to be exact), and we've now gone back for our check up with Dr. Shane.

First, I have to start by acknowledging the emotional difficulty of this particular week. It was two years ago this week that I lost Padfoot, and while that is emotionally heart-wrenching for me in general, the stress of thinking about Mumble having any health problems that could be serious on this particular week was not easy for me to deal with. Not a day goes by that I don't miss Padfoot, as much as I love Mumble and am grateful to have him in my life. The thought that I could ever prematurely lose him as well is terrifying, even if that fear is not totally based in rational thought. So I didn't love the fact that we had a vet appointment scheduled for this particular week, and sat in the vet's office today petrified of what she could possibly come back and tell me.

In general, this week was a little easier than last week, however, in terms of Mumble's healing process. The positive impact of having the walk at the beach with Chopper and Mandy over the weekend appeared to have some lasting affects, so while I still had concerns about his loss of appetite and he still had times where he resisted going for a walk, in general I saw an improvement in his overall demeanor. The instances of visible "limping" were extremely rare, so he seemed to also be improving greatly in terms of his physical injury.

I was hopeful going into the appointment with Dr. Shane that Mumble would be given the "all clear" to return back to normal, but such was not the case. Although with the medications, he is improving and his pain is managed, the orthopedic exam still showed signs of tension in the shoulder and elbow, evidencing the sprain/injured joints.

Dr. Shane therefore continued to advise limited activity levels, although modified to start to allow for some increases in a careful, planned manner. Walks are still OK. Additionally, he is permitted to go back to doing some agility activities, although without the A-Frame, the weave poles, or any "sharp turns." Which leaves (I guess) low level jumps, the dog walk, and the table? It's not much but at least he'll have something! We can do this no more than one time per week. As to daycare, a full day would still be too much for him, as would multiple daycare visits per week. Thus, she said he was allowed to do "half-days" a couple of times per week. I don't exactly know how that will work out with my work schedule, but I guess we'll figure something out.

As to medications, Dr. Shane believes Mumble will need to be on the Glucosamine supplements for the rest of his life. I've actually done a lot of research / reading on these supplements, and I believe that this will have a positive impact on his health and well-being going forward, so I am OK with this being a permanent addition to his health supplements. He will no longer take the Traumeel (the homeopathic anti-inflammatory) on a regular basis. Instead, he will only take it "as needed" if he shows any limping or signs of pain without it.

The prognosis? The vet still believes Mumble will ultimately heal and be back to normal, but she wants to reevaluate him in one month. This type of injury, she explained, could lead to the onset of arthritis in those joints if not treated. Thus, if he is still not healed after another 4 weeks, she will do X-Rays and we will decide whether or not surgery is the appropriate treatment option. She stressed that for a very active dog like Mumble, surgery could be the most appropriate thing if he is not healing so that he is not limited by arthritis and joint issues on a long term basis.

Overall, it was overwhelming, but I still feel like we are on the right path and doing the right things, and that ultimately Mumble will get better, hopefully without surgery. I'm thankful that this issue is something we can treat and deal with, and not something potentially life-threatening. I am also thankful for everyone's well-wishes, support, etc during the past few weeks about this!