Category: People and their pets

Picture parade one hundred and thirty-one.

The second set of those beautiful dog and cat photographs.

The first set was a week ago.

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Wish I had weeks and weeks of these for you but sadly that’s all for now! But many thanks, John H., for sending them on.

Happy days everyone!

Such smart animals

As about as different to yesterday’s post as one could get!

The link to this was sent to me by Chris Snuggs, my ex Director of Studies when I was a visiting teacher at ISUGA in France too many years ago.

Dogs are such canny creatures!

The language of love

As our dear dogs speak it.

You will recall that last Friday I featured an item under the title of Private First Class Lingo. The item had been brought to my attention by Constance Frankland.

Well here’s another really special story that Constance came across on a website called Arditor and I wanted to share it with you.

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8 Ways Your Dog is Saying “I Love You“

Although dogs don’t speak our language, they are constantly trying to tell us that they love us and always showing love through their actions. Unfortunately, many shrug their shoulders or get annoyed over their dogs’ love gestures.
Here are 8 ways your dog is saying “I love you”…

Tail Wagging

Similar to a cat, a dog’s tail is a communication tool. In fact it is sometimes more accurate in translating its emotions than barking. Held at different positions, a dog’s wag could communicate excitement, fear, threat or submission. If your dog’s tail is held in a relaxed position and wagging all together with its entire butt, it means it is very happy to see you.

Face Licking

Warm, sticky, wet and stinky! We know this can get annoying but licking a person’s face is a love gesture from a dog. Dogs lick faces for a few reasons. Mainly, if your pet dog is licking your face, he is trying to groom you! Grooming is an intimate gesture only done after a strong connection is made between dogs (so now you know he sees you as one of his kind). On the other hand, if a stranger dog licks your face, it is simply trying to say that he is harmless and friendly.

Following You Wherever You Go

This is another behaviour that can get on your nerves, especially when your dog attempts to follow you to work! However, it is only a dog’s way to show his love, devotion and loyalty to you. Wherever you are, that is where your dog wants to be. Dogs are extreme social creatures and unlike humans, there is no need for solitude.

Sleeping with You

Similar to wild wolve packs, wild dogs curl up together to sleep in the night. Rather than sleeping alone in his designated corner, your dog prefers to snuggle right next to you in your bed. If you catch your dog sneaking onto your bed or falling asleep next to you in your couch, it implies that you are his family.

Smiling

It is no surprise when you see something like a smile on your dog. Dogs do smile too! Research has found that dogs can also show and use facial expressions similar to how humans do. A dog’s smile is another way of showing his love and joy to his owner. Having said that, most of us are guilty of not recognizing our dog’s smile.

Crotch Sniffing

Argh, this is an embarrassing one and how we wished our dogs can quit going around sniffing crotches. But before you start screaming at your dog, try to understand it. This behaviour is in fact a dog’s perculiar way of greeting. More importantly, apart from a hello, it allows the dog to understand and remember you through your scent.

Taking Care of You When You are Sick

Does your dog stay by your bed and watch you the whole time while you are nursing a flu? This is its natural instinct to care for a sick or wounded family member, just as they would in the wild. A dog extends its love and care to its sick or injured owner by quietly and patiently watching over him/her. But make sure you hide any superficial wounds away from your dog! It might actually lick your wound as its form of first aid.

Leaning on You

Whether you are sitting or standing, your dog is leaning on you and wouldn’t budge. You can’t move and you can’t get on with your daily routine. While you are wondering what they are up to, your dog has already got what they needed: your attention. Getting your attention and giving you their attention by leaning on you is their way of showing affection. Next time this happens, stop what you are doing and reciprocate with some love.

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This turned out to be more of a Sunday Picture Parade but it seemed too special to hold it from you until the weekend.

No, our dogs don’t speak a language that we humans would recognise as such but, nonetheless, our dogs communicate in ways that still are as magical and special as our human poetry.

Speaking of poetry, let me close today’s post with this.

Picture parade one hundred and thirty.

Speaking of dogs and cats …

(With huge thanks to John H. for sending these on to me.)

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Another set of these gorgeous photographs next week.

Stay happy and stay warm all of you!

Cold Winter nights.

The last few nights have been so cold we have needed to put an extra dog on the bed!

From left-to-right: Cleo; Hazel, Pedy; Oliver; Sweeny. (Photograph taken at 09:40 last Thursday, 7th January.)

Private First Class Lingo.

Don’t worry son, you’re in the Army now!

Fellow author member of AIM (Authors Innovative Marketing), Constance Frankland, sent me a link to this news item over on Californian station KSBW. Here it is:

and here are the details that were presented on KSBW’s website:

MONTEREY, Calif. —Private First Class Lingo is in the Army now.

The 8-month-old shepherd mix enlisted in a formal doggy ceremony in Monterey on Tuesday, signing up to be treated like any other member of the service.

“He will be uniformed, he will be tracked, he will be documented,” said Defense Language Institute commandant Col. Philip Deppert.

The Private First Class will go down in DLI’s history books as its first-ever mascot. The Presidio of Monterey had a canine mascot back in the 40s, before DLI existed, and his name was Sgt. Tippy.

Lingo is starting at the bottom in his military career, but Deppert said he will have opportunities to move up in rank if he behaves.

“He will also have the opportunity to lose rank, should he misbehave, and not perform as we expect the rest of our service members to,” the colonel said.

But so far the pup has been toeing the line: getting up early for walks, exercising out on the field with the students, and most importantly learning the art of obedience.

Part of Private Lingo’s training is learning how to run in formation because in February he is scheduled to lead the commandant’s run with all the 2,000 plus service members at DLI.

Aside from his normal duties, the rescue dog was brought to the Presidio of Monterey for a special mission, to be the mascot, and so far he is knocking it out of the park.

“He has made about 2,000 new best friends; he is a magnet any place he goes, and it is exactly what he was intended to do,” Deppert said.

Lingo was adopted from the SPCA for Monterey County in November.

Here are two photographs from that story.

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Another example of our incredible dogs.

Precious puppies

Just couldn’t resist these.

I was searching for another item on YouTube and accidentally came across these two videos.

Take a few minutes out of your day and revel in the following.

Published on Dec 29, 2015

Zina, a Maremma/Great Pyrenees mix, does her very best to get her father to play with her. Will he give in? Well, it’s not looking good so far…

Published on Mar 3, 2013

Zoey playing with her dad, Bravo, who was a certified therapy dog. 😦 Sadly, Bravo passed away in February. We are happy he can continue to bring joy to people through this video, even though he is no longer with us.

Dogs of all shapes and sizes bring us humans so much joy.

Big Dog Natural food recall

The first one of the New Year.

Dear Fellow Dog Lover,

Big Dog Natural of Brick, NJ, has announced it is voluntarily recalling select lots of its raw dehydrated dog food products because they have the potential to be contaminated with either Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

To learn which products are affected, please visit the following link:

Big Dog Natural Dog Food Recall of January 2016

Please be sure to share the news of this alert with other pet owners.

Mike Sagman, Editor
The Dog Food Advisor

If you go to that link, you will read the following:

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January 4, 2015 — Big Dog Natural of Brick, NJ, has announced it is voluntarily recalling a select lot of its Big Dog Natural Chicken Supreme raw dehydrated dog food because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The company is also recalling its Fish Supreme product because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The affected products were shipped to online customers during the period from October 31, 2015 through November 13, 2015.

About Salmonella and Listeria

Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can affect animals eating the products.

And there is also risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products — especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

Rarely, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms.

Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting.

Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.

Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.

If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

These products were sold directly to consumers through the company’s online website and in the US.

The recalled products include all weight volumes of the Big Dog Natural Chicken and Fish Supreme.

No additional products are affected by this recall.

What Caused the Recall?

Big Dog Natural became aware of a potential issue after receiving notification from the FDA that an investigative sample of Chicken Supreme tested positive for Salmonella.

And that an investigative sample of Fish Supreme tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

What to Do?

Consumers should discontinue feeding the affected product, monitor their pet’s health and contact their veterinarian if they have concerns.

Consumers who purchased the product can obtain a full refund or exchange by returning the product in its original packaging.

Consumers with questions should contact Big Dog Natural by calling 732-785-2600 from 9 AM to 4 PM ET.

U.S. citizens can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Or go to http://www.fda.gov/petfoodcomplaints.

Canadians can report any health or safety incidents related to the use of this product by filling out the Consumer Product Incident Report Form.

Get Dog Food Recall Alerts by Email

Get free dog food recall alerts sent to you by email. Subscribe to The Dog Food Advisor’s recall notification list.

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Please share this with all other dog owners – thank you!

A tiny bite of this could kill your dog!

Please read, digest and share as widely as you can!

Fellow author, Deborah Taylor-French, recently posted a stark warning for all dog owners. Deborah wrote on her blog, Dog Leader Mysteries, the following:

1 thing more toxic than chocolate for dogs

More toxic than chocolate?

Yes, and it’s everywhere.

Please visit my guest blog post on 4Knines blog “One common thing that is more toxic than chocolate for dogs” Then please comment! Of course, after you comment, I’d love it if you would share far and wide for the love and lives of dogs. After working on this post for about a month I shared it as a guest post so that it may reach a larger audience of dog lovers, beyond my WordPress blog.

(I also can’t resist including the following photograph of Deborah and Syd that was in that post!)

So the balance of my post today is a full republication of Deborah’s guest post as it appeared over on 4knines blog.

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One Common Thing That is More Toxic Than Chocolate for Dogs!

By Deborah Taylor-French | Dog Info

What could be more toxic than chocolate?

Actually, I didn’t know the answer until I did the research. The startling fact that thousands of products contain this substance stymied me. There are no warning labels for pet owners. Because these products are made for people, hundreds of dogs and cats suffer when adults or children leave these foods and products where pets can ingest them.

This substance naturally develops in grapes and onions. Is also an ingredient often added to gum, candy, mouthwash, toothpaste, and ear medications for children, plus it is added to many prepared foods.

Gum, candy, peanut butter all harmless, right?

WRONG! What is okay for people to eat, proves toxic for pets. Chocolate and nuts are two examples of what people can eat, yet can be lethal for pets. Xylitol damages dogs’ livers. In both people and canines liver failure often means the end of life.

A Tiny Bit Could Kill Your Dog…

In an article in The Wall Street Journal, Mark Maremont reported that, “Besides gum, xylitol is used by manufacturers in products including mints, gummy vitamins, toothpaste, specialty peanut butter and melatonin sleep aids—in part because it has about two-thirds the calories of sugar and is safer than sugar for diabetics. Some gum makers cite studies showing dental-health benefits.”

“A type of sugar alcohol extracted from plants, xylitol is well-tolerated by humans, but in dogs causes a sudden release of insulin, resulting in low blood sugar and potentially leading to seizures and brain damage. It also can cause liver failure.” Xylitol has been added to literally thousands of products. It is safe in these many products for people, but it kills dogs and cats.”

Toxin Levels for Pets in Xylitol Products

Hershey’s Ice Breakers contain 10 times the pet toxic Xylitol level per piece

“Xylitol makes up more than half the weight in certain Ice Breakers flavors, about 1.2 grams of xylitol per piece, according to Hershey’s consumer helpline. That’s about 8 to 10 times the amount of xylitol in some other popular gums. A pack of the brand, introduced in 2006, contains 40 pieces.”

Hard candies, breath mints, toothpaste, tooth whiteners, mouthwash, some jams and jellies all contain xylitol. The U.S.A. Federal Drug Administration does not require warning labels on any of these sweet treats.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal article, “A toxic dose of xylitol—enough to potentially cause low blood sugar or other symptoms—is 0.1 grams per kilogram of the dog’s weight.”

one piece of Xylitol could be toxic for a 26-pound dog
one piece is 12 times as toxic as a piece of dark chocolate the same weight
100 times as harmful to dogs as milk chocolate

from Mark Maremont, “Sweetener in Gum Is Causing Surge in Accidental Dog Poisonings” The Wall Street Journal, November 2, 2015.

“Xylitol is extracted from plant material and is available as an ingredient (additiive) in more and more foods, but the amount naturally occurring in foods is very small. In addition to gum, xylitol can now be found in some hard candies, chocolate, table syrup, jams, and jellies.” WebMD.com/ supplements/xylitol

What other health risks does xylitol pose for pets?

“…some animal studies have shown tumor growth resulting from high doses of xylitol over long periods.…” – WebMD Warning for Dog Owners

“If you are a dog owner, be aware that xylitol can be toxic to dogs, even in small amounts”

chewable vitamins
Nicorette Gum
IceBreakers
Peanut Butter (some brands)
chocolate
tooth paste
Xlear Nasal Spray

Note: This list is far from complete.

Please read the labels on anything you put on pet level in your car and home. Dogs love sweets.

Keep these foods containing xylitol away from pets:

onions
garlic
onion like shallots, green onions, etc.
peanut butter
grapes
raisins
chocolate
anything baked with xylitol

Xylitol Poisoning Affects Canine and Feline Livers

Xylitol may kill pets that ingest it. If you suspect your dog of eating any items made with this toxin, immediately rush your pet to a veterinarian.

Symptoms of Poisoning

loss of balance
difficulty breathing
difficulty walking
refusal to drink
refusal to eat
unconsciousness

Please help dog lovers and cat lovers by sharing.

Here’s hoping all dog lovers will receive benefit from my second guest post on 4Knines’ blog. Ready to save pets’ lives? Please share this with dog and cat lovers everywhere. Spread the word about this natural substance, artificially introduced to our homes in dozens of products. Please share and discuss the threat to pets’ health and lives from ingesting even a small amount of xylitol.

Have you had a pet that ingested xylitol? Add to our discussion in the comment section.

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As has been said, please share this as far and wide as you can!

Any experiences or other details that you have please make them known as a comment to this post.

A resolution for 2016

Says it all!

(This was published yesterday on Facebook by George Ball, a friend from my Devon days.)

Here’s to loving our dogs more than ever before in this new year.

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8 Ways Your Dog is Saying “I Love You“

Tail Wagging

Face Licking

Following You Wherever You Go

Sleeping with You

Smiling

Crotch Sniffing

Taking Care of You When You are Sick

Leaning on You

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About Salmonella and Listeria

What Caused the Recall?

What to Do?

Get Dog Food Recall Alerts by Email

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More toxic than chocolate?

One Common Thing That is More Toxic Than Chocolate for Dogs!

What could be more toxic than chocolate?

Gum, candy, peanut butter all harmless, right?

A Tiny Bit Could Kill Your Dog…

Toxin Levels for Pets in Xylitol Products

What other health risks does xylitol pose for pets?

Xylitol Poisoning Affects Canine and Feline Livers

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