Snow Games

We've had a lot of snow here- almost 4 feet in the past week. Juniper and Boodles have found it to be interesting. They both like the snow- in lesser quantity. Yesterday I found Boodles sitting on the back porch, the clip to her tie-out on her collar, but the cable broken. Had this happened any other day, she would have been off like a shot, chasing whatever good smell she could find. This day, she made it as far as the holly bush in the yard- about 10 feet- and then came back to the porch. The snow was just too deep to plow through. Boodles also has big snow-shoe feet- with lots of long fur between her toes. She collects snow in little balls in that long hair, and it is uncomfortable. The snow is a mixed bag for her.
Juniper, with that thick Akita double coat, likes the snow, as much as she likes anything about the out-of-doors. (She tends to be a bit of an inside girl.) When she is convinced to go out in the snow, though, she especially likes to plow through it with her nose, and then throw herself down and make snow dog angels.

It's been cold at the Dog Park.

Who's a big turkey?

We visited our sons over Thanksgiving. Boodles and Juniper are always happy to make the trip, and then dismayed to see who they are visiting. Juniper is standing next to my son's dog, Beefeater Maximus. Juniper weighs 80 pounds, and is by no means a small dog...
And here is Sequoia next to my daughter-in-law. That's a lot of dog.

Oliver and Paco transcend Space and Time

Odd things happened in the dog park on Sunday- Oliver and Paco took advantage of a sstem of connected wormholes to bedevil Gus. Oliver is more skilled than Paco, but then, Paco is just a puppy.



Boodles was haunted by an apparition.



Turned out to be Tucker.

Yes, that's Juniper, sporting a purple bandage. She tore her dew claw running at the dog park last week. We watched it a couple of days, and when it looked like it was not going to heal well on its own, took her to the vet. She got her claw clipped, the fancy bandage, a prescription for antibiotics, and the ever popular and attractive E collar.

She was not happy. However, she only had to wear it the first night- after that she did not try to remove the bandage. She did however, walk VERY SLOWLY when we went out for our walks- unless she saw a cat or squirrel. Then suddenly her foot did not hurt.

Geriatric Dogs

Whenever we choose to love an animal, we open ourselves up for the heartbreak caused by the fleetingness of their lives. They always leave us too soon.

In the past week, I've seen two videos about elderly dogs. This is about Baxter, a chow mix who died last week at age 19. Melissa James, Baxter's person, wrote a book called Moments With Baxter, about his career as a Hospice Therapy Dog


read more about Baxter and his work at Melissa's website

The other video features Otto, a 20 year old dachshund-terrier mix living in the UK who has been officially named (I don't know by whom) as the world's oldest dog. He seems extremely spritely, I would never have guessed he was that old.



I took Juniper to the vet tonight for a Bordetella booster in preparation for a trip. While there, I asked our vet about a flu vaccination (see comment on the last post for more about that) and about some arthritis issues I thought she might be having. After a blood test to rule out Lyme disease (my vet tells me that 68% of dogs who present the symptoms Juniper was showing are Lyme positive)we talked about what to watch for and what to do if her front leg stiffness gets worse. At 5 years old, I still think of her as a relatively young dog. However, she is always one of the older dogs at the dog park; most dogs who come there are less than 2 years old.

Dog Flu

With so much attention focused on H1N1, or "Swine" flu, it's not surprising that a topic of conversation at the dog park would be Dog Flu. Someone had heard about a flu that was highly contagious and fatal, and concern was high.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, H3N8, or Canine Influenza was first seen in 2004, affecting racing greyhounds in Florida. During the summer of 2004, 14 racetracks in 6 states were affected. In 2005, 20 racetracks in 11 states showed outbreaks, and since then 30 states have reported the illness. Currently, Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York are said to have high levels of infections (as of September 2009).

The symptoms of H3N8 are respiratory; cough, sneezing, runny nose. The Canine Influenza FAQ, released by the University of Florida, says dogs do not have a built up immunity to this relatively new virus, and "Virtually all exposed dogs become infected; about 80% develop flu‐like illness, while another 20% do not become ill. " As with human influenza, it is not the primary disease that is fatal but the secondary infections that can set in while the immune system is compromised. The FAQ goes on to say "Fortunately, most dogs recover within 2 weeks without any further health complications. However, some dogs progress to pneumonia, which is usually due to secondary bacterial infections. While the overall mortality rate for canine influenza is low, the secondary pneumonia can be life‐threatening. There is no evidence for age or breed susceptibility for developing pneumonia during canine influenza.

How are dogs exposed to H3N8? Again, as with human influenza, the virus is spread by breathing particulates coughed or sneezed by an infected dog, direct contact with an infected dog, or with surfaces, food and water bowls, leashes, hand and clothing. However, the virus is inactivated by washing with soap and water. The virus is highly contagious, and infected dogs can shed the virus for 7 to 10 days while symptomatic, and infected dogs should be quarantined for 2 weeks. Dogs most at risk are those living in shelters or who spend time in other communal situations with high turn-over; grooming facilities, dog parks, doggie day care, etc. Dogs with minimal contact with other dogs have low risk of infection.

There is a vaccine for H3N8. The vaccine does not prevent infection, but limits the severity and secondary effects of the disease. Vaccinated dogs become less ill, and are less contagious. It is considered to be a "lifestyle" vaccine- appropriate for dogs whose lifestyle causes them to be more exposed to the virus. Dogs who get a Bordetella vaccine might benefit from the influenza vaccine, because the risk groups are the same.

Prevention at the dog park. While we can't keep dogs from mouthing each other (As one dog owner said to me "They don't have hands, this is how they grab each other!"), perhaps it is a good idea not to let dogs drink from a communal water source. Most important would be for owners to keep sick dogs home. I plan to get Juniper and Boodles vaccinated, just to be safe. There is always a lot of dog spit exchanged at the dog park.