– Kenn

For most people the thunderous roar of fireworks and the cheers that follow elicit a sense of prideful patriotism. The Fourth of July is a day for parties, laughter, and celebration comparable to few other days of the year. It is also a day to celebrate that Summer is in full swing! Unfortunately, many canine citizens of the U.S.A. often have a very different reaction to the brouhaha that goes on. In fact, for some dogs, the Fourth of July is a day dreaded as much as those filled with thunder and lightning.

For those dogs which are reactive to fireworks (or their cousin…thunder) I suspect they experience something similar to what Tom Cruise faced in War of the Worlds. It seems a terrifying end is coming nearer and their only hope is to find a spot to hide, be it under a sofa, in a closet, or in most cases in a tiled bathroom. For our canine companions, shaking, panting, and drooling are the typical outward signs of falling apart inside (unlike Tom Cruise who makes it a habit to face his fears and save the day).

So, what is a family to do when worry for their dog’s well being squelches their hopes of celebrating this special day? As with most behavior modification, it is advisable to break things down into a two pronged approach. Of utmost importance is managing your dog’s environment and time in such a way so as to set them up for the best chance of making it through the night without incident. It is also wise to work on helping your dog become less reactive to loud noises.

You can help your dog to settle in by placing their bed or crate in a room that is as far removed from windows and doors as possible. This will help muffle sounds in addition to having a radio or television playing. Note, many dogs do best in a bathroom with tiling. Be sure your dog is securely contained indoors as the onset of fireworks induced panic can give dogs Superman strength and a Houdini-like drive to escape.

Plan to provide your dog with plenty of appropriate play time (i.e for their health and age) earlier in the day so they are ready to rest as you head out to celebrate.

You might also consider a calmative such as Rescue Remedy, melatonin, or Comfort Zone with DAP. This product mimics the pheromone a nursing mother dog releases to support bonding and comfort and to reassure her puppies and may help your dog cope in challenging or worrying situations.

The anxiety wrap is also an option. It provides a degree of subtle, maintained pressure across your dog’s torso which can help increase the calm factor.

If your dog has a rough go of it this Fourth of July, plan to work on the issue more thoroughly in the coming year so that next Fourth of July they can be most ready to express their patriotic pupness and experience fireworks fear free. Get a recording of fireworks and play it at low volume when your dog is eating, playing with you or their toys. Gradually increase the volume so as to desensitize your dog to these sounds.

If you are lucky enough to have a dog without firework fears, it is still highly advisable to keep them indoors when fireworks are ready to rocket. The loud, blaring sounds, and general over the top excitement of people can send even the calmest dog into an elevated state of arousal whereby their ‘normal’ behavior deteriorates. Further, fireworks are potentially dangerous for people, but are even more so for dogs. Goodness knows there are surely a few enthusiastic hounds out there who might chase sparks about and end up getting burned.

As a final word of caution, be aware that fireworks debris can be hazardous to your dog. So, keep an eye out for leftover parts and be sure to collect and dispose of them to protect your dog as well as other neighborhood animals and wildlife.

Everyone knows that a dog is man’s best friend, but in China it seems that a dog is also a liger’s best friend.

A Chinese zoo official says two rare cubs born to a male lion and a female tiger are being nursed by a dog after they were abandoned by their mother.

Cong Wen of Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in eastern China says four cubs were born to the lion and tiger earlier this month.

On Tuesday the tiger mother fed the ligers for four days but then abandoned them for unknown reasons. Two of the baby ligers died of weakness.

Cong said staff members at the zoo found a dog who had just given birth to feed the surviving cubs. The dog mom is now nursing not just the liger cubs but her own puppies, as well.

She said the two cubs had trouble at first drinking milk from the dog but are now used to it.

Ligers are very rare and are sometimes bred in zoos by mistake.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

If you’re a mail delivery person in Houston, Texas, congratulations, your city has just won the dubious distinction of being the nation’s leader in dog bites on Postal Service letter carriers.

Statistics released this week by the U.S. Postal Service showed that 62 mail delivery people were attacked by dogs in Houston, Texas last year — making the city a runaway winner over runners-up Columbus, Ohio, and San Diego, Calif., with 45 attacks each.

“We often hear two comments relating to the Postal Service, ‘the check’s in the mail,’ and ‘don’t worry, my dog won’t bite’. Given the right circumstances, any dog can bite,” said Matthew Lopez, Houston’s Postmaster.

One other Texas city — San Antonio — made this ignominious top ten list. The Alamo City tied for sixth with 39 attacks.

Nationally, 5,669 postal employees were attacked in 2010 in more than 1,400 cities. That’s just a small fraction of the 4.7 million dog attacks reported annually — the majority targeting children.

The Postal Service says its medical costs from dog attacks amounted to nearly $1.2 million last year. More than one-third of all homeowners’ insurance liability claims paid last year — some $413 million — involved dog bites, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Story By Elaine Furst For Dog Files

Due to a high percentage of Bulldog deaths on their planes, Delta announced that they are banning dogs from that particular canine family on all future flights.

The new no-fly list was created in response to a Delta study that showed that 6 of the 16 pet deaths on the airline were from the bulldog family.

Of the 16 pets that died on Delta flights in 2010, six were bulldogs. A Delta spokesman said “that the airline saw a pattern involving animals that were prone to respiratory issues.”

Michael Markarian, the COO of the Humane Society of the United States, called Delta’s move a “sensible response”. Many short-faced cats and dogs, such as bulldogs, pugs and Persian cats, have difficulty breathing, especially in confined cargo holds.

Other carriers such as AirTran and Southwest only allow pets that can fit in under-seat carriers to fly; American banned snub-nosed dogs and cats last fall.

“The decision to transport animals ultimately comes down to the owner. Our goal is also to continue to work to do a better job of communicating processes and procedures in preparing animals to travel,” Delta spokesman Anthony Black said.

Of course a more sure-fire–albeit more expensive–solution for pet owners would be to fly your pet on PET Airways, which now services nine cities around the country.

Story By Elaine Furst For Dog Files

From WXYZ.com

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (WXYZ) – An amazing new stem cell treatment is underway in Michigan.It’s the first of its kind in our state and it’s for animals, not humans.

The patient is Reuben, a 14-year-old English Springer Spaniel who suffers from hip dysplasia. Normally an animal or human in Reuben’s condition would have to undergo hip replacement surgery.

In an effort to try and ease his pain, Reuben’s owners have invested about $2,000 in a treatment called “In Clinic Stem Cell Therapy.” As part of the therapy, stem cells are harvested from Reuben’s fat and then injected back into him in the hope they help heal the inflamed areas.

Other clinics in Michigan perform the procedure, but this is the first time that the stem cells have been harvested, processed and injected in the same clinic on the same day.

Reuben’s owners have high hopes for the procedure.

We’ll continue to follow Reuben’s progress and bring you an update in about two months.

Click twice on the image to see it at its biggest.

Tiffany Kaiser For DailyTech.com

Border collie “Chaser” can understand the names of 1,022 toys

Cats rule, dogs drool, right? Not this time. It looks like the dogs have won this round thanks to a border collie named Chaser, who has the largest vocabulary seen in any animal.

Alliston Reid and John Pilley, psychologists at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, have been working with Chaser to see if there is a limit to the number of words a border collie can learn. So far, Chaser knows 1,022 words.

While Chaser has the broadest vocabulary in animal history, she isn’t the first to border collie to be trained to learn the English language. Rico, a border collie who was trained at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, knew a total of 200 words. In addition, Rico was capable of using the process of elimination to distinguish new objects within a group of familiar objects.

But Chaser has surpassed Rico by leaps and bounds. Not only does Chaser know 822 more words than Rico, but she can also categorize words of items according to shape and function. According to the study, this is something human children learn around the age of three.

To read the rest. click here.

By Nathan Gonzalez and Kate Jacobs For azcentral.com

There’s a general rule for firefighters: protect life first, then property.

But while residents are often able to escape a potentially deadly fire, many pets aren’t so lucky, said Gilbert Fire Capt. Mike Connor.

“For a lot of people, their family is their pet,” Connor said. “Most of the time what we see are pets left inside homes. The first thing you’ll hear somebody say is, ‘I can’t find my dog.’”

Enter Marie Peck, a Scottsdale woman who started a foundation that aims to have every fire department in the country supplied with equipment that can increase pets’ chances of surviving a fire.

She has donated 10 of her “Fido Bags” to the Gilbert Fire Department. The bags, which run about $275, contain a specialized, elongated oxygen mask better suited for dogs and cats as well as other lifesaving items.

“It just kills me,” Peck said about fire departments’ general lack of equipment that offers a better chance to save pets’ lives. “I really want these bags on the trucks.”

“We see a lot of smoke inhalation injuries,” Connor said. “In the past we have taken human oxygen masks and put it on their snouts, but the masks aren’t made for animals and it’s hard to get a good seal.”

Aside from a specialized mask, the bags contain bandages, splints, burn sheets, thick gloves to handle the animals, restraints, leashes and muzzles.

On Wednesday, 22 firefighters and volunteer members of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Posse watched as Animal Health Services veterinarian Cliff Faver showed how to calm a scared pet and apply an oxygen mask.

“The techniques are not a lot different from what we already do,” Connor said.

Firefighters and posse members were taught how to provide basic life support for animals, including how to effectively perform CPR. That requires putting a dog on its side, bending one of its front legs back and conducting chest compressions where its elbows come to rest.

“We learned some restraint techniques” and some holds, Connor said. “We need to keep eye contact with the animal, try rubbing its forehead and calming the dog down.”

Calming an animal is important to ensure a responder’s safety, Connor said.

“If there’s an animal that’s been hit by a car or burned in a house fire, we need to know how to protect ourselves not to get bit,” he said.

Initial donations of basic medical supplies came from a doctor’s widow through Peck, who started the non-profit Scottsdale-based Fetch Foundation. Other medical supplies were then gathered and Fido Bags were delivered to nine fire departments around the state and in Kanab, Utah.

Chandler and Scottsdale are the next Valley cities to receive the bags, Peck said.

Peck is soliciting tax-deductible donations to help distribute the Fido Bags.

The bags can be embroidered and donated “in memory of” a deceased pet if a sponsor provides a tax-deductible donation of $275.

The bags will be housed at each of Gilbert’s 10 fire stations, Connor said. The town is working to equip the Police Department’s K-9 Unit with them.

“We aren’t going to be doing anything different, we are just going to have better equipment to do it,” Connor said.

Information or to make a donation: www.thefetchfoundation.com.