Still in crunch mode preparing for IAABC! Here’s another guest post, from Ashley Warren.

Most people share a special bond with their dogs and a dog sharing a bed with their owner is not uncommon. This has been going on for as long as people have kept pets, but recent studies have shown that there are some potential health risks to sharing your bed with animals. However, while these studies do supply some pertinent information on animal illnesses, the truth is, as anyone with an online biology degree can tell you, that as long as you follow some common sense guidelines, you should have nothing to worry about when it comes to sleeping with your dog.

A recent study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that dog owners who share a bed with their pet may be at a greater risk for rare diseases. Among the potential diseases is round worm, a common fungus. This is especially dangerous to children and can lead to blindness. Unfortunately, this disease can be contracted when you kiss or cuddle your dog. Many dogs also carry a lot of bacteria in their saliva, which can cause infections if a dog licks an open wound on their owner. There is also the risk of fleas and the potential threats they pose. Another factor mentioned in the study are allergies. Many people are allergic to dog dander, and dogs can carry in pollen and grass from the outdoors as well. Thus, if you spend a significant amount of time in such close proximity to your dog, you may find that you suffer additionally from any allergies you may suffer, which can lead to a weakened immune system in general.

Aside from germs, the CDC cautions that sleeping with your dog can also be detrimental to getting a good night’s sleep. If you make a lot of movements in your sleep, your dog may become agitated and move about itself or even bite you. Additionally, you could hinder your own sleep if your dog keeps you awake. A lot of dogs move around during the night, which could prevent you from getting restful, uninterrupted sleep.

While the CDC study mentions some important issues for dog owners to keep in mind, most people have nothing to worry about. In general, basic common sense should keep you safe from any threat. If you are going to let your dog sleep with you, the first thing you should do is make sure you understand your dog well. Odds are your dog is not easily agitated, especially by you. If you do have a dog that gets angry, you may not want it in your bed. However as long as you have your dog properly trained, is unlikely that you will have to worry about it biting you or interrupting your sleep unnecessarily.

You should also make sure your dog is currently up to date on all its vaccines. Take your dog to the vet on a regular basis to make sure it gets all of the care it needs. This will ensure your dog doesn’t have any worms or other parasites. You should also make sure your dog is properly groomed, which will cut down on any potential allergy risks. Lastly, be mindful of your own health issues. If you have a weak immune system or underlying illness, there is a chance your dog might exacerbate the condition. It is therefore crucial that you make sure you will be fine before letting your dog into your bed.

When it comes to sharing their bed with a dog, most pet owners should have no problems. If you love your dog enough to share a bed with it, you probably love it enough to make sure it has proper care. As long as your pet is healthy, you don’t have to worry about getting sick from sleeping with your dog. Most pet owners teach their dogs proper behavioral habits as well. If this is the case, you probably don’t have to worry about your pet keeping you awake at night.

Ashley Warner is a graduate student working toward her Masters in Conservation Biology. She currently resides in Washington state.

Shelter Dog

For the latest IAABC podcast, I spoke to DSF friend Mary Haight, author of Dancing Dog Blog. She had blogged about the Guidelines of Standards of Care in Animal Shelters, a few weeks ago, and the paper caught my interest. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians, who released this document, have an FAQ about the document on their site.

We had a great conversation about the standards and how they came about. In addition to how the budgetary issues local governments are experiencing are already effecting animals around the country.

Photo Credit: mutts and such

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It’s a busy week at Dog Spelled Forward World Headquarters. So, I just have a very cool tip I picked up from a client this week that dovetails nicely with Sunday’s post at DogStarDaily.com about mental stimulation.

You might be familiar with the Busy Buddy Twist N’ Treat which is usually used to dispense kibble or training treats. But how about a bagel? Maybe even a frozen bagel? Not something you want to do every day, but it certainly makes a nice treat for a special occasion!

Smaller bagels make for more of a challenge, and better portion control. We got to the bagel place a little late.

It’s snowing again in New Jersey. Beautiful powder this (Friday) morning when I took the dogs out for a walk.

Gawker had a great story this week about Jackie, a dog who responded to the cue “Hitler” by giving the doggie equivalent of the famous salute. This apparently irked the Nazis enough that they considered scandalizing her famous industrialist owner. It’s a pity Mel Brooks didn’t know about this. He could have used it in the Producers.

In Fairfax County Virginia, the school system has agreed to give an epileptic service dog a try. Alaya not only senses Andrew’s seizures, she is trained to swipe a magnet in her collar over a device that can help diminish them! Very cool. One thing I do find encouraging about this story is that the reason the school officials had for initialy resisting the dog was over the child’s ability to handle him, and not some of the ridiculous issues like allergies that I have heard before.

It was a good week for bad dog news, so I am going to wrap up with another nice story. Here is some video of kindergartners reading to specially trained therapy dogs from Therapy Dogs International. It’s a great program that has been proven to help children learn to read and give them more confidence because — as we dog lovers all know — dogs are fantastic non-judgmental listeners.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Photo credit: jpctalbot

Buddha is the man, er dog!

Based on how he arrived from the south (terrible teeth with several broken and left in his mouth, and some kind of bullet or buckshot in one shoulder) and his lack of house training, I’ve always been pretty sure Buddha is a country dog. Well, he reacted to the city like a dog who had never been in one before — but he loved it!

We parked uptown on 110th St. near Broadway, and walked over to Riverside Park. Buddha was positively electric! He has never been much of a “puller,” but during the walk he could not pull me to the next place to sniff fast enough. He grew excited enough at one point that if he still had enough teeth, they would have been chattering.

What really made the trip interesting was why we were there. Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, who you may know as the author of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, (affiliate link) is conducting more research on dogs. A call had gone out for volunteers a while back, and Buddha and I volunteered.

You may remember some research into jealousy and dogs’ sense of fairness a few years back. The trials done during our visit were similar. Different people rewarded two dogs differently – sometimes “fairly” and other times not “fairly” at all, and then a test was done to see if the dogs showed a preference for the people based on how the rewards had been given out. (This is a deliberate oversimplification. Check out the research when it’s published – I think it’s going to be fascinating stuff.)

Buddha gave me a little bit of trouble, of course. After each round of fair or unfair treat distribution, it was time to drop his leash and see who he would go to. Well, the first time Buddha though we were demoing a recall and ran right to me. Good boy! Mostly.

We had a great time, and I hope we get a chance to participate again!

I’ll be back in a while. Here’s why.

See you soon.

There’s really no substitute for tooth brushing. The different sprays and treats are good supplements, but regular brushing is really the best way to prevent plaque buildup and gum disease.

Brushing your dog’s teeth shouldn’t be a struggle. It should look like this. This is Gage and Buddha, two dogs that arrived in my house with bad teeth and little experience with handling.

With Buddha, who is missing teeth and can be pretty sensitive, we use the rubber “thimble brush.”

Here is how you can desensitize your dog to having his teeth brushed:

First, let your dog know something good is going to happen by giving him a chance to get used to the taste of the toothpaste. Let him lick some off your finger or the brush. If your dog does not like the taste…try another! Do this for a few days before advancing to the next step. You can see in the video that even though Gage and Buddha are past this step, they expect it. It’s part of the game!

Next let him get comfortable with having something placed in his mouth and against his teeth and gums. Apply some paste to your finger and gently rub it on one of the large canine teeth in the front of his mouth. Do this for a few days now too. Be patient!

Now that he is accustomed to having your finger with the toothpaste in his mouth, the next step is to start brushing. Lift the upper lip gently and place the brush at a 45º angle to his teeth and gum line. Start on the front teeth, where you were working with your finger. Like Dagmar in the video, use a happy voice to talk to him during the process. Gently move the brush (or “thimble,” or sponge,) back and forth. Don’t worry about the inside surface of the teeth (the side towards the tongue). Be sure to praise your dog, keep it happy, and end on a good note.

Gradually, over the course of a few days, work your way around to the other teeth. If you can only do a few teeth at a time, take it easy and work your way up to more in a single session.

You can see in the video that Buddha and Gage are not entirely thrilled with the process. But, there is no struggle and Dagmar can brush both dogs’ teeth while her unhelpful husband stands there with a video camera. This beats having to having to restrain the dogs or having to put them under anesthesia!

In Montana a women saw a black bear attacking her dog. She yelled and this distracted the bear — making him come after her. So she threw a zucchini at him.

It the bear in the head, and he ran away.

Really, what more can I say?

Michael Vick isn’t just back, he’s the starting quarterback for the Eagles now. As David Greene points over at Pet Connection, some think this is actually a good development. As Iago (the Aladdin version, not the Shakespearean one) said “I’m dyin’ from not surprised.” But remember: Vick doesn’t work for the HSUS! No sir! He’s just helping them with some PR. (Or is it the other way around? I get that confused sometimes.)

Meanwhile, the Vick Dogs show the kind of character that their namesake and the HSUS apparent can not. Dancing Dog Blog has a nice list of Vick Dog highlights over here. I’ll be posting a review of The Lost Dogs pretty soon.

New Yorkers! The AKC’s Meet the Breeds is coming soon! My friends at Go Pet Friendly are going to be there as theOfficial Pet Travel Website! Drop in and say hi!