THE BRATTIES, CAUTIONS, HAZARDS, CITRONELLA COLLAR REVIEW, AND COMPANION ANIMAL PARASITE CENTER

This picture shows our two rat terriers (The Bratties). Otis is the tri-color. He is a Hoosier dog. He was born in Kokomo, Indiana. We got him from Raydiant Rat terriers. Tucker is the tan sable with the rabbit ears. Often he is mistaken for a chihuahua. Tucker came from Pocket Puppies in Kentucky.

These guys, in particular, Tucker are terror incarnate. The most recent episode involved Tucker eating three 10 dollar bills. The bills were sitting on a small dresser next to the bed. When we came home from a short trip to the store, there were pieces all over the place. We found enough pieces to recreate more than half of each bill. We haven't yet taken them to the bank to see if they can be exchanged them. If the bank doesn't reimburse us, then that was one heck of an expensive snack.

Update: The bank did replace the half eaten bills.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE.

Why silverware? Because a recent local newscast featured a veterinarian segment warning about the hazards of silverware for pets, particularly dogs. They showed x-rays of animals that had swallowed whole knives, forks, and spoons. And they weren't necessarily huge dogs like Great Danes. Apparently, owners let their dogs lick their plates and bowls and leave the silverware in or on them. If there is a lot of food caked on the utensils, the dogs treat them like bones and try to chew off all of the caked on food. Sometimes, they accidentally end up swallowing the utensils. Be very careful about not leaving utensils around for your dogs to swallow. Likewise, watch out for bones that could be accidentally swallowed. Some have very sharp edges and can cause considerable damage.

Why razors? Because many dogs like to chew them up for some reason. Possibly it is due to oral tactile stimulation from the handles. Many razors have rough handles or other textured surfaces to keep them from slipping out of the user's grip. Regardless of why they chew them, they do and it could be dangerous. Not all dogs seem to like razors, but some do and you should watch out.

We were unaware of this problem until we got Tucker, our newest dog. Tucker really seems to like them. None of our other dogs have never seemed to care. Tucker is the first dog that we have ever had with a fetish for razors (He also has a fetish for women's underwear and likes to chew them up). Luckily he has never swallowed the razor head where the blades are, but has really chewed up the handles. We recently heard of another person's dog that swallowed the head with the razor blades and had to visit the vet. to have it surgically removed. So please be careful. We are also being extra careful. We think that Tucker had been hopping in the tub and getting the razors off of one of the bottom tub shelves. Now, we are very careful not to leave razors anywhere near his reach.

Why gum? Well it's not just gum but also candies and other foods that have been sweetened with xylitol. This is a relatively new sweetner that is proving to be more poisonous to dogs than first realized. It can produce symptoms of depression, loss of coordination, and seizures. Small amounts can lead to delayed onset of symptons (up to 24 hours) while large amounts can lead to symptons in as fast as 30 minutes. Keep your pets safe. Make sure that you are not leaving potentially lethal substances around where your pets can get into them. Although our dogs have never really shown any interest in gums or candies, they do tend to like to chew on little plastic wrappers such as which some gums and candies are wrapped in. We think that this is due to the tactile and audio stimulation (that crackling sound) they get when chewing on the wrapper. Regardless of the reason why they chew them, we have become very cautious about not leaving any candies or gum anywhere that is in within reach of the dogs.

Below is a list of other foods and substances from the ASPCA site that pet owners be careful with.

Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet - Alcoholic beverages - Avocado - Chocolate (all forms) - Coffee (all forms) - Fatty foods- Macadamia nuts - Moldy or spoiled foods - Onions, onion powder - Raisins and grapes - Salt - Yeast dough - Garlic - Products sweetened with xylitol

Warm Weather Hazards - Animal toxins—toads, insects, spiders, snakes and scorpions - Blue-green algae in ponds - Citronella candles - Cocoa mulch - Compost piles Fertilizers - Flea products - Outdoor plants and plant bulbs - Swimming-pool treatment supplies - Fly baits containing methomyl - Slug and snail baits containing metaldehyde

Medication - Common examples of human medications that can be potentially lethal to pets, even in small doses, include: - Pain killers - Cold medicines - Anti-cancer drugs - Antidepressants - Vitamins - Diet Pills

Cold Weather Hazards - Antifreeze - Liquid potpourri - Ice melting products - Rat and mouse bait

Common Household Hazards- Fabric softener sheets - Mothballs- Post-1982 pennies (due to high concentration of zinc)

Holiday Hazards - Christmas tree water (may contain fertilizers and bacteria, which, if ingested, can upset the stomach. - Electrical cords - Ribbons or tinsel (can become lodged in the intestines and cause intestinal obstruction—most often occurs with kittens!) - Batteries - Glass ornaments

Non-toxic Substances for Dogs and Cats - The following substances are considered to be non-toxic, although they may cause mild gastrointestinal upset in some animals: - Water-based paints - Toilet bowl water - Silica gel - Poinsettia - Cat litter - Glue traps - Glow jewelry

Is it tax time again?

Here we see some of our pets modeling their Halloween outfits. The dog in the center is our Bazenji, Taylor (also known as PupPup). She is a barkless dog, but makes a lot of noises. If you bother her when she is sleeping, she makes a mumbling sound that sounds like she is cursing at you. I wish I could record her and put it on the web for you to hear. The cat is known as "Fat Cat," because of his size. It isn't obvious from the picture, but he weighs about 20 pounds. He really isn't very fat. He is just very large for a cat. We didn't have Tucker at the time of these pictures, otherwise I'm sure he would be included. Our Burmese cat was too dignified to participate in these festivities. The Blue things the cat and dogs are wearing are promotional headpieces from Liberty tax service. They are suppose to resemble the Statue of Liberty's headpiece.

Update for the 2007 April tax deadline: We recently completed our taxes for the 2006 tax year with the help of Sabrina at Liberty Tax Service. She did a great job and was extremely helpful in getting us the most for our return. She deserves a salary boost or a bonus.

Unfortunately, there were no promotional give aways this year, so our pets have no Halloween costumes. We were hoping for something like an uncle Sam's top hat.


I'm just looking for a place where I can lay my head.

Actually, we are looking for some reasonably priced bedding for this litte pup that he can't tear up. He was such a cute puppy. Now he has grown up and is a real terror. We gave him a couple of old Disney quilts that the kids outgrew and he just continues to rip the stuffing out of them. He also does the same thing with doggy beds that we have bought him. He tears up the cushions and the cushsioned sides of the beds. We can't keep going to the pet store to replace them. What a naughty naughty dog! Maybe we should call the Dog Whisperer.

Has anybody come across any heavy duty bedding that dogs can't easily tear up? We did some searching on the web and have looked at the local store and haven't found anything in the "cushy" category, but did come across some interesting beds in the form of cots. See petcot.com and kuranda.com. These look interesting. They are suppose to be particularly good for older arthrictic dogs.

You could probably make a similar bed by yourself by making a rectangle out of two by four lumber that was laid on it's side to give it a clearance of about 31/2 inches off the ground and then with some heavy duty staples afix a piece of canvas or other heavy duty material in the area enclosed by the two by fours. Furring strips, which are about one by two inches would make a nice trim to cover the staples. When the weather gets a little warm, we might try making one out of some old lumber that we have left over from another project. If we do it, we'll take some pictures and post them along with any problems encountered. If any readers try it, please let us know how it went.

Citronella Collars - Are they safe and effective?

These collars are designed to stop dogs from barking. They are bark sensitive and when activated by barking, emit citronella odor. Apparently, dogs find this aversive and learn the association between barking and the odor. Once they have learned the association, they cease barking to avoid the odor. A recent Cornell University study suggests that they are basically effective but have a few problems such as being activated by other dogs in the vicinity and citronella stains on furniture (See Cornell study summary or if you like, you can like, you can read the complete study at: Complete Cornell Barking Study). Although these devices appear safe, you should be careful because citronella is on the ASCPA's list of potentially dangerous substances.

Companion Animal Parasite Center

Fleas, ticks, heartworms, and a whole lot of other parasites and keeping them under control is an ongoing problem for pet owners.

The CAPC website has some interesting and informative material for pet owners.