pet connection

A VERY busy week here at the Pet Connection news desk, so let’s get to it:

Defining low calorie is in the eye of the label beholder: Go to any store that sells pet food, and look for products marked low calorie, lite, light or less calorie.  Do you know what you’ll find?  A dizzying disparity in numbers, whether you’re looking at dog food or cat food, wet food or dry.  Very likely you’ll have trouble making sense of which product is best, comparing product to product, head to head. The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has illustrated your understandable confusion with a study out this month in the  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.  Even reading labels won’t necessarily help you.

There is so much information—and misinformation—about pet foods, it’s understandable that people are confused about what to feed their dogs and cats, said co-author Dr. Lisa Freeman, professor of nutrition at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. To counteract these myths, people are accustomed to turning to the labels on food—but, as this study shows, packaging might not always be a reliable source of information.

The evolution of dog identity politics: Far and away the best piece of writing I’ve read all week was forwarded to me by Pet Connection colleague Kim Thornton.  New York Magazine’s John Homans, whose gorgeous dog Stella is pictured here, has written a nuanced, interesting and thoroughly worthwhile essay on the path to where we stand today in the world of dogs.  Mr. Homans covers a broad swath of the landscape, and addresses many of the issues we talk about here on a regular basis.   It’s a long article, but it’s a must read.

The remarkable life of Moscow’s stray dogs: I’ve seen five or six variations of this story, plus two referred separately by loyal readers Linda and Anne.  The Financial Times has the original, comprehensive tale, but my favorite summary is from our friends over at Dogster, and includes a sobering opening line:

Moscow is home to 35,000 stray dogs. That’s 84 dogs per square mile. It’s a hard life, especially in sub-zero winter months.

Read on.  You’ll see that in Moscow, the strays ride the subway, and have jobs.

Run with your dog, or just walk: I take Cami and Harry for frequent walks, but many dog owners like to run with their dogs.   Linda sent me this New York Times story saying, in essence, running with your dog might not be a good idea.

It’s a lesson that Michelle Powe, an English teacher in Midlothian, Tex., learned last summer when trying to run with Mookie, her 90-pound Catahoula.

“He kept trying to herd me,” she recalled. For the entire three-mile run, Mookie displayed the kind of herding behavior that is typical for the breed, throwing his weight against Ms. Powe and nipping at her legs.

Cold nose, warm toes: It started with our Dr. Marty Becker visiting Orange County Animal Care Services in Orlando, and seeing two Italian greyhounds sharing a tiny bed with a pit bull mix because that was the only place they could escape the cold, hard floor.    Dr. Becker’s idea was simple: these dogs need beds so they don’t have to sleep on the floor.  Everyone chip in a little, and we can help a lot.   Almost immediately, the idea caught fire.   We’re now over 30 beds donated, in less than a week.  Yesterday, Good Morning America’s Facebook page picked up the cause (Dr. Becker, as you know, is GMA’s resident veterinarian).  You can help, too.  Here’s the link for donations to Kuranda beds.  From all the pets who will benefit, thank you.

Cat vs. Bear — The Showdown: A bear comes to the back door, with a nose for the trash bag left on the porch.   The cat decides it’s time to protect the property.   The Huffington Post has the video.  Enjoy.  I’m betting that bear isn’t coming back for another visit, and is most likely wondering “What is that thing?”

Got a tip?  Got a story?  Don’t keep it to yourself.  Send it to me, or give me a shout in the comments.

Photo credits:  Stella: Jill Greenberg.  Crowded Dogs: Dr. Marty Becker.

It’s very rare when we put up something completely off-topic, no connection to pets at all. But the situation is Haiti is dire after the massive earthquake, and I’d like to encourage everyone to help in any way possible. For most of us, that’s going to mean a donation. The Los Angeles Times has a list of charities working the relief effort. Please give.

We’re sort of playing with the concept of time away from the keyboards now and then, barring something that needs to be written about. That day, collectively, is going to be Sunday, which we’re going to be mostly taking off for the near future at least.

Of course, it’s not really a day of rest: There’s other work, both the professional (other writing projects for me, for example) or the personal (the laundry, cooking, etc.) But we’re also trying to do some relaxing things: Cuddling the cats, walking the dogs or reading something unrelated to our work, much as we love that work.

Before I start my New Year’s resolution and turn off the social media machine for the day, I want to share the following example of why  I have pets in my life, courtesy of the Land of PureGold blog:

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Pets just make life better. Even in the snow. That tail never, ever stops wagging! And here’s what a cat would be doing, instead:
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Gotta love it!
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And one more (thanks Ohmidog) ….
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See you tomorrow.

When we do things like this to them?

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McKenzie: Hey Woody, you look like an idiot with those on.

Woody: Back off, sister. You might wanna take a look in the mirror before shooting off your yap.

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We’re closed today so everyone can here enjoy the holiday. Back tomorrow!

Image from 2006: I never have been able to figure out where those reindeer “antlers” went after this picture was taken. Hmmmm …

Yes, it’s true: Starting next week our Dr. Marty Becker, America’s Veterinarian, is going to start blogging on our site. I’m not sure if his twittering, texting kids talked him into it, or if Christie and I did. Or if he wants another place to post pictures of his new granddaughter (or his grandpups, for that matter!).

But whatever: I’m delighted.Dr. Becker and I have been business partners for going on three years now, with eight (soon to be nine) books, Parade magazine articles and a syndicated column to our credit — and two more books coming in 2010.

The blog has always been “my thing,” though, in the same way that “Good Morning America” and “The Dr. Oz Show” have been his.

It kind of started when Christie and I got him hooked on Facebook. We set him up with a Dr. Marty Becker fan page and have been helping him figure it all out. Then, Twitter! I guess the only social media left was blogging, and he’ll be joining us here a couple times a week.

I have one more blogger to add besides Dr. Becker, and I just haven’t had time to get him launched. But be patient: Lots of good stuff coming.

But in the meantime, Dr. Becker and I have to get another book project out of the starting gate. And much more.  Funny, you may be seeing less of my blogging even as you start seeing more of Dr. Becker’s.