Monthly Archives: April 2008

ALERT – Potential Drug Resistant Heartworm

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I just received this email alert and wanted to pass the information along in the case that it may pertain to you. It is directly mainly at pet owners located in the Gulf region. If this is you, you may want to talk to your vet and have your dog tested for heartworm, just as a safety measure.

I want to share something with everyone, not to cause panic or anything, but because this is something everyone with dogs/who deals with dogs needs to know. Last month, one of my dogs, Rosey (small Beagle), tested positive for heartworm. I was absolutely floored. Of COURSE I have all my dogs on preventative. I am religious about it. How could Rosey have gotten heartworms???? The vet suggested that, because I was giving her the “0-to-25 pound” dosage (she is 25 pounds), that perhaps she should have been getting the “25-to-50 pound” dosage. Hmmm… ok.

Then he shared with me that there is a growing concern in the vet community that there is now a strain of heartworm in the Gulf region that has become resistant to Ivermectin. My heart sank. Really? He assured me they were questioning the makers of the preventatives…..

Well, yesterday, Satchmo, one of my Bassets, went for his annual…. And guess what…. he tested positive for heartworm. He is 58 pounds and takes the “50-to-100 pound” dose ­ no under-dosing there!

My vet) and I talked for a long time. There is indeed apparently now a strain of heartworm that is resistant to Ivermectin, they are thinking. They suspect it is related to the effects of Katrina. She said more and more dogs in the Gulf area are testing positive…. Dogs who are ON preventative, regularly, religiously, like mine. I’m so upset, I can’t even think.

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Important Product Alert – ProMeris

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Although this site is dedicated to ‘natural health’ issues, no doubt many people do use resources other than just natural health measures for their pets so I wanted to pass this alert along from my For the Love of the Dog site.

I just received this product alert and wanted to pass the info along ASAP. It was sent to me by a trusted friend and vet. This happened to a friend of hers. The vet said one of the most surprising things is that Fort Dodge is actually paying the med bills without a fight as in the past dealings she’s had with them, they are not so agreeable. That in itself makes me extremely wary of the product.

This is a very important message to my family & friends who have dogs-cats–and to alert you to the hazard of using a new Flea & Tick Preventative called ProMeris.

This is a new product designed to be a more effective product than other flea/tick treatments that was just released this year. It is available thru a vet and not currently on-line. I got ProMeris this week for my 7 dogs (6 Huskies & 1 Golden-Airedale), and the results were debilitating for nearly all of them-including me. Since my incident this week, my vet has pulled it from distribution and alerted the manufacturer, Fort Dodge.

Here are my results: Within less than 2 hours after applying, 4 of my dogs had vomited from 2-4 times, 3 were disoriented and stumbling, 1 was dragging his back leg, 1 was salivating. I had very similar symptoms like an allergic reaction-my lips were swollen, eyes very red, mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth were stinging. I was very disoriented-dizzy equilibrium and not able to drive. To make this a short story-all 7 of my dogs were admitted to the hospital for veterinarian care, and 3 of them remained for care, IV fluids and observation for 24 hours. I was in the emergency room. I’m home now and so are the dogs. We’re all feeling much better.

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Just How Smart Is Your Dog Really? Doggie IQ Test

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My Jezzie is a pretty smart dogI think most people who share their homes and lives with dogs tend to think their dogs are pretty smart. We know dogs sometimes do amazing things, rescuing people, working as companion and service dogs but how smart are they really?

Now we know that some breeds tend to be categorized as smarter than others and some fall further to the bottom of the ‘smart list.’ Dogs such as German Shepherds, poodles and border collies tend to be ranked pretty high while beagles tend to rank relatively low, no offense beagles. 🙂

People can have their intelligence tests with standard IQ tests and now so can your favorite canine companion with a doggie IQ test!

“I think dogs are orders of magnitudes smarter than we give them credit for,” says animal behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall.

“Everybody wants to believe that some breeds are smarter than others,” Dr. Overall says. “And I would be in the camp that says breeds differ in how they show their intelligence.”

Stacy Stubblefield wanted to find a way to prove her dog’s mental mastery. So developed the pooch i.q. kit.

“We came up with different exercises that would test for the different things that are included in intelligence like problem solving and what not,” says pooch i.q. inventor Stacy Stubblefield.

We put her test to the test. We recruited three owners and their dogs to take the pooch i.q. first Enzo, a german shepherd, widely considered a highly intelligent breed.

“I think he’s very smart,” Enzo’s owner said.

Olive also took the test. She’s a beagle, a breed that falls to the back of the brainiac pack.

“I hope to show that they are very smart,” says Daisy Okas, Olive’s owner.

Finally, Stewie, a terrier mix, to represent the mutts of the world.

“Oh, Stewie’s going to beat him hands down. Much smarter,” says Stewie’s owner Harris Bloom.

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Dognapping on the Rise – Protect Your Pets!

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This article comes from my For the Love of the Dog site and is well worth taking the time to read, for the safety of your canine companions;

Lately, if you watch the news, you will have noticed an increasing rash in the number of stolen dogs; from pets stores, shelters, vehicles, people’s homes and even off the street when someone may leave their dog unattended. The largest majority are smaller, purebred dogs because they have turned into a commodity. They’re easy to grab, transport and turn into cash. their popularity has risen dramatically recently especially with the celebs and their pocket pooches. It’s chic and thieves are taking advantage.

Here’s some information and advice to help you protect your canine companion and don’t think it can’t happen to you, it can happen to anyone! Don’t take the chance, be prepared!

Dognapping on the Rise

As the value and profile of purebred and crossbred dogs are on the rise, so are incidents of dognapping. The theft of pet dogs was once a rare occurrence, but has become a specialized criminal enterprise. Like car thieves, dognappers tend to target specific types of dogs. Toy breeds such as Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers and Maltese are especially desirable to dognappers as they are in high demand and can fetch upward of $2,500.

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Plants – Poisonous or Toxic to Our Pets – VIDEO

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Poison I’ve done numerous articles and posts on different things that are poisonous and toxic to our pets; plants, household substances, even trash, as well as other things, not so common, that you might not know about; xylitol, cocoa bean mulch and other substances which are more well know problems such as chocolate. As pet parents and companions, it’s important for us to know these things for the safety of our pets.

Here’s a great video by the ASPCA on problem plants. They go over 17 different plants that are poisonous or toxic to our pets. With spring here and plant season coming on full force, it is more than worth the few minutes it takes to watch the video to safeguard our furry friends from possible disaster and even death!

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