Events....SPCA Long Beach Adoption Event

The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - Los Angeles (SPCALA) & Long Beach Animal Control are having a big Adoption Event Saturday June 21st, from 10AM-4PM. The event is being co-sponsored with KLOS. Events include training demonstrations, celebrity visits & pet food vendor booths. Find out more information here. The City of Long Beach's website can direct you to The Pitchford Companion Animal Village's Location.

In The News...Michael Vick's Pit Bull

We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to work with many pit bulls. They are wonderfully sweet, surprisingly gentle animals. See what one of Michael Vick's former pits, Leo, is up to:

In The News ... Canine Flu

Canine influenza was recently confirmed in Chicago, adding Illinois to the list of states to confirm this disease in the U.S. The first recognized outbreak of canine influenza in the world is believed to have occurred in racing greyhounds in January 2004 at a track in Florida. However, the virus may have been around as early as 1999.

Of note to our local clients, canine influenza virus (CIV) was confirmed in California during the initial studies in 2004-2006. Since canine influenza can be mistaken and treated as “kennel cough," it is difficult to determine its prevalence or whether it is currently in our local pet population. Previous cases occurred in animal shelters, humane societies, rescue groups, pet stores, boarding kennels, and veterinary clinics.

Currently, there is no canine influenza vaccine. Prevention, early diagnosis and treatment are the mainstay to canine influenza management. Please note that canine influenza is an emerging disease; bordetella or “kennel cough” vaccines do not provide cross-protection to CIV. Unless they were infected with CIV in the past 2 years (hence may have some antibodies to it), most dogs are susceptible to canine influenza if exposed to it. For more information, visit this guideline and this article. An updated guideline will likely be available soon. The basic information is unchanged; statistics and testing recommendations were modified as new information were collected.

Dogs can die from canine influenza. Fortunately, most affected dogs have the mild form and often do well with treatment. Even in the severe form (high fevers and pneumonia), dogs can recover with aggressive and timely treatment. Do not ignore a coughing dog, especially if there is history of exposure (shows, boarding, etc…). A complete physical exam and history will help determine if your pet was exposed to the canine influenza virus. Tests and treatment vary based on the onset and severity of the clinical signs. Early diagnosis and intervention will increase the chance for a successful outcome.

Exercises for You and Your Cat

Previously, we looked at Petfit.com and the exercises we can do with our dogs.  The offering for the cats are limited but there are 3 cat-centric exercises in the Training Room.  They are not as creative as the dog's exercises and mainly centered around cat teasers and dancing lights.

Both "Light" Abs and "Light" Cardio involve using the flashlight (similar to a laser pointer) to engage and entertain our cat while we exercise.  This may work well with curious cats but not so great for others.  Out of my five cats, only the 2 males were interested and followed the dancing lights.  The 3 females were not enticed at all.  Panacea, the shyest one, covered her eyes with her paws and dug deeper under the covers!

For Curious Cat Curls, toys (i.e. Cat Teasers) are tied around dumbbells with elastic bands.  Cats go after the toys as the toys go up and down with the curls.  This worked out well for my cats since they are used to the cat teasers (unlike the flashlight).  They chased and jumped after the toys as I did my biceps curls and lunges.  Use the long, stretched elastic bands.  Avoid the short thicker bands with the stronger recoil unless you want to risk injuring yourself.  Fortunately, I had my glasses on when one of the toys came zinging back to my face as I "curled" the dumbbells.

The exercises for our cats may not be as innovative as the dog exercises.  But they are good modifications to cat games that can also get our heart rates up.  Instead of sitting on the sofa with the flashlight or toy wand, these exercises will give us a workout as we get our cats up and moving.

Exercises for You and Your Dog

I mentioned Petfit.com in a previous Healthy Weight, Healthy Pet post. Its Training Room has videos of seven activities we can do with our canine companions. Trainer Gunnar Peterson was entertaining and motivating in the videos. Check out the video on Dog Squat Tease, especially in the beginning with one of the dog, Kuma, just chilling :).

Elaine and I had a chance to try some exercises from Petfit.com this past weekend. Some of the exercises did not give Elaine much of a work-out (although they had me huffing and puffing!).

Power Dog Walks with Intervals was one of those exercises. While I am busy side-stepping and high-stepping, Elaine was just ambling alongside me. Things improved for Elaine after I went back to the more traditional 5-minute-jog / 1-minute-walk alternating intervals for 30 minutes.

Fetch Abs worked great for me --- I'm still feeling the effect this evening --- but did not do much for Elaine. She did not fall for any of the fake throws and just stood there watching me struggle with my crunches. I must have amused her with my grunts because she did not go for any of the fetches like she normally would when we play fetch.

We did not have access to stairs so did not try the Dog Stairs. The Dogstacle Course was a little too ambitious for us. The video makes it seem to be more of a workout for the human than the canine exerciser though. Maybe we can try it later and I can get Elaine to jump over some obstacles so she can also get a workout. You have to know Elaine to understand that last statement was a joke.

Dog Tag and Fetch Races were fun for both of us. The chasing and scrambling got Elaine panting and me breathless. Make sure your dog is not toy aggressive when you introduce him/her to Fetch Races. Elaine knows her "Give" command and has never been toy aggressive with me. But during the excitement of the chase, she did growled and bared her teeth when she and I reached the rope toy at the same time. It only happened once and she did back down when I claimed the toy with my foot. The growling may be all part of her playing but still, I want to mention it and add that warning to Fetch Races.

Our favorite is the Dog Squat Tease. We modified it into a combination Squat Tease and Fetch --- I toss the rope toy, Elaine chases after it while I'm doing my squats, she comes back with the toy, I do the Squat Tease with her then toss the toy again.

Elaine taking a breather after our Squat Tease and Fetch

The last video, Health Tips, includes a brief demonstration on subjective body score evaluation. Overall, I like the Training Room at Petfit.com so far. I'll take a look at the cat activities and report them in a separate post.