May 11 0 comments
Cats, Dogs, Pets

Five ways we pick pets names

A few weeks ago, I asked readers to share their pets’ names. After reviewing your e-mails, I realized that a pet’s name can provide as much insight into a pet owner’s personality as it can about the pet himself. Here’s my take on the five ways we name our pets.

First, there are “human names,” like Maggie and Max, that pet owners may choose to make pets feel like family. “They are mybabies,” says Liz M.

Second are “personality/appearance names” that reflect something unique about the pet’s personality, behavior or appearance. Judith Gunn Bronson of Bandera says she rescued a tiny cat who “chewed on everything.” Her husband said, “You are just a little termite, nothing but teeth and mouth.” So, she was named “Termite.” Erin Harrison’s blue heeler was the runt of the litter who made all sorts of unusual sounds as if he was trying to talk, so she named him “Verbal.”

Third are “discovery names.” These names tell us where the pet was found, rescued or adopted from, like a dog named Freeway. Angela Hoeffler named her Maine coon cat Baby Jessica after the famous Texas rescue. “When we found her, she crawled into a hole in the wall under the bathroom vanity and did not come out for two days,” says Hoeffler. “It was like the rescue of the other Baby Jessica, except our Jessie was in a ‘wall,’ not a ‘well.’ ”

Fourth are “revealer names,” which give insight into pet owners’ favorite things. Who loves Star Trek? Helen Harrison of Cibolo has a terrier mix named “Tiberius” after Captain James T. Kirk and a dachshund mix named Tribble. Her daughter Heather loves poker, so she has a cat named Aces. Joe and Susan Mustacchio appear to love Italian history and literature. They have cats named Nero, Mercuria and Bucharacio.

Finally, the last category I call “Other.” It’s the category where you sort of give up on finding a name and start calling the cat “Kitty.” Lex Caswell explains this category best. As a kid in upstate New York, “my dad came home one day with six cats from the local shelter,” says Caswell. “My four siblings and I were given the job of naming them. We ran out of names so we called the sixth cat the ‘Other’ cat. The name stuck. ‘Other’ was with us for 15 love-filled years.”

What happens when you combine names? Mark Crider of Corpus Christi has a toy rat terrier who is “Blenheim with pink skin where the hair is white and dark where it is Blenheim, which gives her spots all over her tummy,” says Crider. “When she rolled over and showed her speckled tummy, my wife said “Dotty” (personality/appearance). I looked at my reddish latte and said, ‘Latte’ ” (revealer). Since then, we’ve called her “Latte Dotte.” (”Blenheim” is a color description for a reddish brown and white pattern on a dog.)

How do you name your pets?

My most recent pets have been Brinkley (revealer: The movie, “You’ve Got Mail”), Smokey (personality/appearance: Named by our son when he was 5), Maggie (human), and Miss Kitty (other: She came with the name).

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Apr 29 0 comments
Humane Education, Other animals

Who defines humane treatment for farm animals?

While this column focuses on companion animals, my background includes time on Capitol Hill, where I worked on companion animal, wildlife and farm animal issues.

So I am going to step off the curb and address an article by Mike Barnett, publications editor for Texas Agriculture Talks, a publication of the Texas Farm Animal Bureau, about a bill introduced in Congress called the Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act, HR 4733.

The legislation would prohibit the government from purchasing animal products that are not “humanely” produced for school lunch and other federal programs — a step in the right direction for farm animals.

Barrett poses the question, “So who defines ‘humane?” He is worried it will be animal rights groups.

To address this question, I called Adele Douglass, who founded Humane Farm Animal Care about a decade ago to recognize farmers for their transition toward more humane treatment of farm animals. Douglass is not a vegetarian; she believes, though, that farm animals should be treated humanely from birth to death.

So I asked Douglass, “Who should define humane treatment?”

“How about the animals?” she said.

“Right now, current industry standards define humane treatment by whether the animals are producing, eating and growing. If they aren’t growing fast enough, they are given hormones. If they are confined too closely, they are given antibiotics to prevent disease. These are not natural living conditions for the animals.”

Douglass said gestation stalls, battery cages and other confinement housing systems do not allow animals to move naturally.

To put this in terms most people can understand, she quoted Dr. Temple Grandin, who not only serves on the Humane Farm Animal Care’s highly regarded scientific committee but also is considered one of the nation’s top authorities on the development of humane protocols for farm animals.

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Apr 16 0 comments
Pets

Count your Mutt in the Mutt Census

After you fill out your national census form, there’s an opportunity to participate in the National Mutt Census, too. While purebreds are registered and accounted for through the American Kennel Club, there never has been a registry or census for the nation’s mixed breed dogs — until now. Mars Veterinary is conducting the National Mutt Census now through Aug. 31 that they hope will provide insights into the background of the nation’s mixed breed population.

To make sure your mixed breed dog is counted, go to www.muttcensus.com and take a five-minute survey that asks about your dog’s size and weight, his feeding and exercise habits, whether he was adopted from a shelter — as well as other questions about the dog’s health. All participants will be entered into sweepstakes to win prizes for their dogs.

The findings of the Mars Veterinary National Mutt Census will be released this fall. Make sure your dog is counted.

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Mar 01 0 comments
Cats, Dogs, Pets

Xylitol and a major pet emergency

When Tarin Goodnight, a student at Texas State University, ran to the store, she didn’t expect to come back home to a pet emergency. But during the short time she was away, her then 18-month-old Chihuahua, Carmen, had jumped onto her desk and eaten four pieces of nicotine gum, leaving the paper wrappers as the only evidence of her misdeed.

The daughter of a veterinarian, Goodnight reacted quickly. “I remember my dad telling me that if you give a dog some hydrogen peroxide they will throw up,” she says. Goodnight gave her puppy two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide. Carmen vomited in the car en route to the emergency pet clinic. “There were little chunks of gum in the vomit,” says Goodnight. “I was relieved.”

But turns out, nicotine poisoning was just the beginning of Carmen’s agony: She also had ingested xylitol, an artificial sweetener found in many products, including nicotine gum, sugar-free gum, mints and chewable vitamins, to name a few. While xylitol consumption is considered safe for people, dogs that ingest xylitol can develop life-threatening symptoms rather quickly, including liver failure, bleeding and clotting disorders and sudden hypoglycemia.

Rushed from the emergency hospital in New Braunfels, Texas, to a hospital in San Antonio, Carmen spent four days in critical condition. Doctors monitored her glucose levels and hooked her up to IV fluids to flush her system. For Goodnight, it was a huge relief when Carmen was allowed to go home four days later. But veterinarians warned that her dog would remain at risk of sudden liver failure for several weeks.

“I have never worried so much,” says Goodnight. “I think we were just lucky that I found her so quickly and knew what to do. She definitely consumed a lethal dose, and the vomiting might have helped get some of it out of her system quickly.”

Indeed, if Goodnight had come home later or if Carmen had swallowed the wrappers, Goodnight might not have known what happened until the first signs of nicotine poisoning, which is generally hyperactivity — a difficult symptom to detect in a young Chihuahua.

But here’s another big “if”: If Goodnight had not had pet health insurance, would she have been able to pay the emergency vet bill? With a dad as a vet, my guess is yes. But her dad, David Goodnight, DVM, and president and CFO of PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance headquartered in San Antonio, helped her even more. When she got Carmen, he got her an accident and illness pet health insurance policy for the dog.

“As a vet in private practice for 19 years, I have seen many pet emergencies,” he said. “I can take care of Carmen’s preventive care, but I am not the doctor Tarin would need in an emergency. I wanted her to have the resources to care for her dog and for money not to be an issue.”

Goodnight loved the gift. She only had to pay $500 of the $1,500 vet bill.

Pet health insurance has become worthwhile protection for both dog and cat owners who want help with preventive care or to safeguard their pets from economic euthanasia. In talking about PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance, Dr. Goodnight notes that premiums are less expensive for cats. Of course, they are. What cat in its right mind would even consider chewing gum?

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Feb 22 0 comments
Cats, Dogs, Pets

Bella beats Max for six years in a row

Max ruled the top spot in the list of the top 10 most popular dog names.

But Veterinary Pet Insurance crunched the numbers on its more than 475,000 insured pets to determine 2009’s most common pet names, and Bella beat out Max by more than 400 dogs.

Max may have slipped in the polls with dog lovers, but that name still rules No. 1 in the cat world. Tigger dropped four spots to No. 7 for cat names, while Bella jumped five spots to No. 3 in 2009. The newcomer Angel edged in at No. 10, bumping Charlie from this year’s list. Sorry, Charlie.

Here’s the list of the most popular pet names for 2009: Dogs: Bella, Max, Bailey, Lucy, Molly, Buddy, Maggie, Daisy, Chloe and Sophie. Cats: Max, Chloe, Bella, Oliver, Tiger, Smokey, Tigger, Lucy, Shadow and Angel. What about wacky names? That list includes Blue Man Chew, Fuzzbucket and Sergeant Pickles.

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Feb 17 0 comments
Dogs, Pets

Dogs don’t listen? Here’s why

Letters about “stubborn dogs” that don’t seem to listen flood my e-mail. Margie G. says, “Whenever we go for walks, I say my dog’s name, but she doesn’t turn her head to look at me.”

Gina says she must ask her dog to “sit” several times before her dog will even think about complying. “What am I doing wrong and how can I get Allie to sit on the first request?”

R. Rogers says that his dog responds to the stay command, but only for a second. “As soon as I turn my head, my dog is up and about again.”
Does this sound like your dog?

While the desire to please varies among breeds, most of the problem is not with a “stubborn dog” but with a pet owner who might foster indifference with less-than-assertive tones and a failure to see the command followed through on the first request.

For example, the other day, I witnessed a friend asking her dog to “sit,” except she said, “You are getting underfoot, Buttons; either go away or sit.” Of course, Buttons did neither because Buttons didn’t hear a clear request. My friend returned to her cooking. A few minutes later, Buttons was underfoot again. This time, she said, “I thought I asked you to go away. All right, sit. Sit, Buttons. Sit. I said sit.”

Buttons started to “sit,” but then my friend turned her back again before Buttons obeyed the less-than-clear request. Did she want Buttons to go away or sit? I wasn’t even sure what Buttons should do at this point. Buttons looked bewildered.

Dogs that ignore commands have either learned not to comply on the first request or can’t figure out the request because their pet owner is not clear.

As with any learned behavior, repetition is key — but only with the number of times you practice and succeed, not the number of times you say “sit” in one request.

What should my friend, as well as Gina and R. Rogers, have done? All should have said “sit” or “stay” once in a confident tone and then gently helped their dogs to comply by moving a treat over their head or down to the floor to get them to sit or stay.
As soon as their dog complies, they should acknowledge the obedient behavior with a “good dog” response or treat. They should never turn their backs until their dogs have complied with the request. And all requests should be concise and easy to understand.

As for Margie G., she needs to walk her dog, call her dog’s name once and give her a treat only when she turns her head to respond. If she doesn’t turn her head, then stop walking and stand without saying a word until she turns her head to see what’s going on. Then say, “good dog,” give a treat and walk again.

Repeat this process during the walk. Once the dog knows there are treats, she will turn her head every time you say her name. Eventually, this behavior will become ingrained and you won’t need treats to get the desired results.

Dogs listen best to pet owners who know how to communicate with dogs.

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Feb 08 0 comments
Cats, Dogs

Helping children cope with pet’s death

When I was 7 years old, my little dog Pepper saw a cat across the street and ran out the open front door. Before I could get outside to catch him, he ran into the street and was hit by a car. I remember screaming and crying. I was overwhelmed by what I had just witnessed and shocked over what I had just lost in a single instant.

It took awhile to recover from Pepper’s death, but it helped that my parents included me in Pepper’s burial. We read a poem and said some nice things about Pepper. Being part of the ritual didn’t stop me from sobbing for weeks, but it did help me feel like I had been a part of Pepper’s life.

Some parents may feel ill-equipped to talk about the death of a pet with their children. Take for example, my 9-year-old niece’s best friend. Her dog was hit by a car and killed while she was spending the night at my niece’s house. Her parents waited until the next day to tell her the news. In fact, by the time she got home, the family had already buried the pet. Yikes!

I am sure they thought they were protecting their daughter, but what they really did was keep her from sharing in the family’s grief. My niece’s friend did not get the chance to watch how the adults in her life coped and so she learned nothing to help her the next time around.

My niece learned something though. After watching how her best friend found out about her dog’s death, she let her parents know that she wanted to be called if her pets died — no waiting — and that they better not bury any of her pets without her present. (If I know my niece, she has drawn up a contract and had her parents sign it just to be sure they stick to these promises.)

If you have pets and kids, you will eventually have to help your children cope with the death of a pet. My son lost five pets when he was between the ages of 4 and 18. At the time of each pet’s pending death, my husband and I talked to him and, based on his responses, determined what he could handle.

He didn’t need to see the euthanasia of a sick pet at 6 years old, but at 12 he wanted to be there for those final moments. In fact, even though he said it was hard to be present, he felt calmer afterward and knew that in those final moments he was giving his pet a great gift.

Teaching children about the death of a pet is a gentle process. You truly have to know and understand how your child will handle the news before you decide how much information is too much information. But don’t overprotect them by leaving them completely out of the process. They can learn how to handle the death of a pet only by watching and modeling you.

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