Sunday, October 25, 2009

Staying clean: ground mats




This year, as we do most every year, Peter and I went to the dog show at the Bloomsburg Fair grounds to see all the beautiful show dogs. While Newfy’s were the object of our desire, there were quite a few Great Danes and Bernese Mountain dogs that also captured our hearts. Of course, what is a dog show without vendors and we would be remiss if we did not stop and check out each one!

All the vendors were outside this year rather than inside the building so I was not sure if it was just because the day was nice or if for some reason there wasn’t any room for them inside. It was a warm sunny day so we stopped at each booth to browse and noticed that most of the booths had floor mats that covered the grass under their tents. The mats came in a variety of colors and designs and since I am not into showing dogs, but more into dog gazing, I was a bit perplexed but interested in these mats. So what does one do when they are perplexed about an item? Why they buy it of course! Well actually, they whine and pine over it until their significant other buys it for them!

So that was our big purchase for the day. We thought it would be a good idea to try it out at the upcoming Bloomsburg Fair event that Chance and Steeler would be a part of. Generally you can’t escape fair week without at least one day of rain and our hope was that the dogs could lie on the mat keeping their fur free from dirt and debris. The mat was encased in a handy carry case which was long and slim but not bulky at all.
When we got home from the dog show I unfolded the 6 x 9 mat which is made out of plastic, and laid it partially on top of the carpet and partially on top of the hardwood floor in my bedroom where the dogs and I spend most of our day. Yes, yes, picture them all nestled at my feet as I slave over my computer working and sipping coffee.

My thoughts on this mat? I love it! Not only does it keep the dog smell and hair off the carpet but it also protects my wood floors from dirty wet dogs! In fact I think I would like to get more of them for the other rooms in my home where the dogs and I spend time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not going to take the doggie smell off of your dog, only a bath will do that, but it should keep the odor from oozing into the weaves of your carpet.

I must admit, I was still unaware of what these mats were normally used for and why I never thought to ask the vendor I bought it from I don’t know, or maybe I did ask the vendor but just don’t remember, either scenario is possible! Aside from seeing the vendors using them under their tents that very day, I don’t think I ever noticed them anywhere else. So I asked my friend and co- worker Nancy, who knows much more about showing dogs than I do, what they were used for. She explained that they are laid on the ground under the x pens to keep show dogs free from not only dirt, but also broken glass, cigarette butts ( I guess a lot of show people smoke), and anything that may get caught up in the coat or paws. She also told me that while the mats were good for that purpose, many show dogs have been on them since they were pups and so the dogs also get used to eliminating on them. This can be a problem later when trying to house break the pups. Essentially the pups are learning to eliminate on floor covering so when pups are in the home, how are they to discern that mat from other floor coverings? This is a perfect example of people who potty train their older puppies on wee, wee pads or newspaper laid on the floor. To the pup, the carpet in the home then becomes just another floor covering to pee on. This is not to be confused with laying down papers when you are caring for a very young litter of pups as it is more sanitary to dispose of the waste in this manner. What I am talking about is when someone buys an eight week old pup and is too lazy to take the pup out every two hours so instead they lay down pads, then wonder why the dog has started eliminating on the carpet. An eight week old puppy is old enough to learn that the grass outside is for potty purposes.

Anyway, I digress, and lucky for me my dogs are already potty trained so here’s the message I mean to bring. This is a great mat to place over your carpet or hardwood floors. It keeps the carpet a bit cleaner, the hardwood floors a bit drier, it is light weight so it folds up fairly flat and easy when you need to put it away, and it can be used for any event where you need to keep the dog off of dirty ground. It rinses off with the hose and you can bleach it as well to get off any germs or viruses. Looking at the website I see it can be used for more than just a dog carpet. If you don’t have dogs, you can use it for picnics, camping, or the beach! I’m sure if you’re imaginative and like clean areas you can think of more uses!

After a week on the fairgrounds this mat got a heavy workout from fair foot traffic, and we’re talking hundreds of people walking on it, and it is still in good shape. Once the fair was over I hosed the mat down, let it dry, and back in my bedroom it went.

You can find these mats in dog catalogs and possibly at other dog events where there are vendors. I do believe I will be getting another one in the future! And yes this is a hint to my significant other or a shout out to my kids!

This product gets four paws up from me, until of course some study comes out saying that the plastic can cause cancer!
Mats for x pens http://www.dog-training.com/groundmat.htm

Monday, October 19, 2009

Who's your Daddy?



Who’s your Daddy?

A question came across my doggie desk from woman who had a purebred Bernese Mountain dog which was in estrus and she mated it with another Bernese. The problem? Well, a Heinz 57 dog also got to her purebred dog so her question was, “If the male Bernese was the first to mate with her dog did that mean that he was most likely the father of the pups or could the mutt be the father and should she consider an abortion for the female.”

Thus the compilation of this article. On the left you will see a picture of my dog Babe as well as a random litter of mixed pups on the right.


I remember years ago running to the ASPCA because Pete and I saw that there were St Bernard mixed pups up for adoption. When we looked at the pups that were left from the litter, the facial mask could have represented a St Bernard, but the feet and body were very small.

“I don’t think this is a St Bernard mix.” I said.
“Sure it is!” Peter said. “Look, right here on this kennel card, St Bernard mix.”
“But the feet and body are too small.” I said.
“They wouldn’t say it’s a St Bernard if it wasn’t.” Peter replied.


Was it worth the argument? Nah, a pup is a pup, is a pup, as far as I’m concerned, I love them all!

Babe as we so fondly called her was not even close to a St Bernard! She just about came up to our knees! St. Bernard indeed!

My dog is a mix of:
Mother: Collie.
Father: Beagle, Sheltie, Cocker, Retriever, and St Bernard?


What’s up with that? When you get a mixed pup, there can be many different breeds listed on its adoption papers but can a pup have more than one father? Can the mother get pregnant by many males at once? Can a female get pregnant if there is no tie with the male? Questions, questions, questions!

So here it goes, the dog listed with all its mixes probably doesn’t have that many breeds in it. Possible? Yes, if the mixed mutts have really made the rounds in procreating which I guess is possible with irresponsible owners, but not likely.

Can many males that mate with the female during one estrus cycle contribute to the making of one very mixed variety pup? No, while the female who is in estrus from 4-9 days and can become pregnant by more than one male at a time, there can only be one father per pup. Hmm, so who’s the father if she ties with many males? Well they can all be a father, but each would be the father of one individual egg. So the Collie can be a father of one or more in the litter, the Sheltie can father one or more, and the St Bernard can father one or more eggs and so on. Yet the pup’s heritage or mix listed on the adoption card may be named after what breed or breeds the owner saw mate with the female or by the looks and markings of the pups themselves.



So when you pick a mixed dog be aware that it can list many mixes on the card, but there would be only one father no matter how many mated with the female. The male’s sperm lay in wait a day or two until the female’s eggs mature and make their way down the uterine horns then all the surviving male sperm which has been hanging out on the sidelines, make a mad dash toward the eggs to fertilize them. Who reaches the eggs first is anybody’s guess; it could be the first dog she mated with or the last. I guess it depends on how strong and fast the swimmers are!

Do dogs actually have to tie to make puppies ? Nah, there is such a thing called slip mating so if the male ejaculates at the right place at the right time, some of his swimmers still have a fair shot at getting a dog pregnant, however breeders would prefer to see a tie take place.
You can read about slip mating here. http://www.bernese.tv/stud_dog_2.htm

In recent years DNA tests have been made available for dogs so one can see what breeds of dog make up their mix. Is there importance to know this? Well, it may answer some potential health questions as some breeds may be prone to certain diseases. It may also answer that question, why is my dog so hyper? Or the opposite, why is my dog so lazy? I guess it comes down to the importance to each individual owner and the price they want to pay to find out. These tests can cost anywhere from 49 dollars and up. You can get a kit online or pick one up at Pet Smart.

DNA kits
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GUEA_enUS345US346&q=dna+kits+for+dogs%2Fpetsmart&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Sunday, October 11, 2009

SART at the 155th Bloomsburg Fair

155th Bloomsburg Fair 2009 ~Experiencing it through a Flip Video Camera

Tell tale signs of the Bloomsburg fair: Rain, livestock, traffic, aromas of fried food, funnel cake, complaints about the traffic, smell of livestock, and laughter.

I have not actually walked through the fair in about four years since I became a member of the State Animal Response Team (SART) because along with the team I have become part of the fair attractions. For the last four years Peter and I spruce up the dogs, parade them in front of the SART trailer, and prepare to entertain and enlighten all those who pass us. We prepare ourselves for the same old questions such as how much do they weigh, how much do they eat, do they shed, is there a lot of drool, and can I pet them? Although the questions are the same year after year the faces are not and I love to watch the public’s expressions as they approach Chance or Steeler. I don’t think I ever noticed it quite as much as I did this year when I started taking a video rather than still pictures. When you’re taking still photos usually there are only one or two subjects in the frame. With the Flip video camera I was able to stop the movie into still frames and take snapshots and that is when I really took notice of the expressions of all the people passing by. The gapers, the gawkers, the wowzers, and the holy cow fair goers. This is not an unusual reaction, we have heard it before on Therapy dog visits, but it takes on a different meaning when it is said over and over by masses of people.

For Pete and I this size of dog is normal, but in reality it is not the norm for the general public and working the fair each year reminds us of that.

Steeler loved the attention as he is such a love hog and a big ham always awaiting the next person to pet him. Chance was his normal reserved, ‘yes I’m here and you can pet me because that’s my job’ self!


Chance and Steeler will be seven years old in February and I am not sure how much longer they will belong to the public, but for now, I am glad that they make numerous of people happy and that many remember them from year to year and return to our trailer at the fair just to see them.

For those of you who are not aware of what the State Animal Response Team (SART) does, we aid animals in disaster as it pertains to rescue, shelter, and care until it is safe for them to return home again with their families. It is SART’S mission that no animal be left behind during a disaster situation. We do not take in stray animals and find them new homes! Many people confuse what we do with rescue or no kill shelters that take in animals and find them a new forever home.

Recently the Columbia/ Montour chapter of SART has teamed up with the local chapter of the Red Cross in Danville, so for residents needing to seek shelter with the Red Cross at the Danville High School, bring your animals with you as SART will have a shelter set up right down the hall in the Ag room. We also have shelters at Bloomsburg University, Bewick High school, and Southern Columbia school district.

SART is always in need of volunteers and there is plenty to do for everyone, from rescue to caring for the animals, however it is imperative that you officially sign up with SART and you can do this by going online at www.pasart.us Once you fill out the application you’ll need a brief orientation, and will eventually need to take a couple of 2 – 4 hour classes which can also be done open book on your computer. I always enjoyed taking the courses in an open forum with friends, food, fun, and question asking. You can’t ask your computer a question if you are confused about something. Well, I take that back, you can, but the people around you will think you’re in need of medication!

I am going to place a form below of how a resource volunteer can help as well as an expiation of what is required to be an active SART volunteer. (Don’t let the course requirements scare you, they’re a breeze) Even though it says Columbia/ Montour County, most counties in Pennsylvania have a SART and you can find the one nearest you by going to the SART website, open the map and click on the county where you live. The county coordinator’s name and number will show up on the screen so you can contact them.

So, go to a meeting, or read the meeting minutes online and feel free to lurk a bit before you totally commit to it. Remember the definition of a volunteer is “A person who performs or offers to perform a service voluntarily” It’s not like we’re gonna’ hold a gun to your head and make you do something you are not comfortable with! Everyone has expertise and knowledge in something, just dig deep enough and you’ll find it!
Come, sit, stay, relax, and listen, that’s all we’re asking from you!
To find a SART (or likeness) in other States go to www.sartusa.org

Enjoy the video of Chance & Steeler at the 155th Bloomsburg Fair and for those of you who were there and contributed to SART, we thank you!

Fair video
http://www.youtube.com/user/abigailsrun

Information on the easy to use Flip Video Camera.
http://www.theflip.com/





Columbia/Montour
County Animal Response Team

What is a resource volunteer?

A resource volunteer is someone who can lend either expertise or resources to assist the team when animals are rescued or sheltered. For example, the team may need help grooming recently rescued animals or finding temporary housing for a goat.

What can you do as a resource volunteer?

Provide temporary housing for a variety of species (dogs, cats, birds, horses, cows, llamas, sheep, goats, reptiles, etc.)
Provide expertise about animal husbandry for specific species
Provide food and bedding for sheltered animals
Lend a helping hand in special situations

Lend equipment to the CART for use during a disaster

What is required of a resource volunteer?

Attend one meeting where you will go through a brief orientation.

CAN YOU HELP? Go to www.pasart.us and enroll or mail this form to PASART, 2605 Interstate Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9364
**********************************************************************

Name:_______________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________________

Phone:___________________________________Cell_________________________

Email address:__________________________________________________________

Area of interest:
Animal Experience
Species of interest:__________________________________________
Shelter
Species of interest:__________________________________________
Provide food, bedding or supplies
What might you be able to supply? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team
Columbia ~Montour
County Animal Response Team

Welcome! Thank you for your interest in joining Columbia/Montour County Animal Response Team (CART). CART is a member organization of the PA State Animal Response Team (PASART). Below, you’ll find information on some of the things you’ll need to do in order to get started.

Volunteer Requirements
PASART policy states individuals may volunteer to be members if they are 18 years of age or they are 16 years of age and have submitted a formal written consent from a parent or guardian and must be in compliance with any state and federal regulations regarding the use of minors as volunteers. To be a Level 1 certified responder to an incident or shelter activation, the volunteer must have submitted a Criminal Background Check within 90 days after submitting a membership questionnaire. The volunteer must also submit a signed Code of Conduct, a signed Liability Waiver, a signed Sexual Harassment Policy, and a signed Photo Consent Form.

In order to maintain PASART and/or Columbia/Montour CART certification, it may be required that team members complete or meet a designated requirement as deemed necessary by PASART and/or Columbia/Montour CART. Completion of any additional training as listed on PASART’s website or any training made available through the year by various organizations and other CART’s is optional but highly recommended. In addition, attending and participating in various drills and exercises conducted by any CART is to the team member’s advantage and is encouraged.

A minimum of 8 hours of training per year are required to keep an active status. Meetings for Columbia/Montour counties are held once a month (subject to change periodically) at 7 PM at the Agricultural Center, 702 Sawmill road, Bloomsburg, PA 17815 and is open to anyone interested.

Visit www.pasart.us for more information on a SART near you.

Level 1 Requirements

PA State Police Background Check- https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp

Columbia/Montour SART Orientation

FEMA -IS- 700 National Incident Management system

IS-5A Introduction to Hazardous Materials

FEMA IS-100 Incident Command System

FEMA IS 700 & FEMA IS 100 are available to take on line at http://training.fema.gov/

Friday, October 2, 2009

Rat Virus? Maybe, maybe not, read on.





I recently came across a question that read, “Is there such a thing as Rat Virus ?”

This made me curious as I did not know the answer, so me being me I googled it. There it was in black and white. It was quite a fascinating and scary story to say the least. It was the story of a store clerk who was sent to clean up the storeroom and came across a lot of mouse & rat droppings. Several days after cleaning it up, he came down with flu like symptoms and subsequently died. The article went on to warn people that they should always wipe down boxes and cans of food they purchased from a store as none were exempt from this hazard.

The very thought that humans could get sick or even die from inhaling the dust left behind from rat and mouse droppings is a scary thought and it brought into mind my mother, who grew up in the great depression and had always washed the cans in which she bought from the grocery store.

One day I asked her why she did this because I thought it might  have had something to do with the depression and how mice or rats would be crawling on those cans in the storeroom that no one had  money to buy. Makes sense right? No money, items don’t get sold and they sit around in some storeroom for months.

I also remember her saying how she used to scoop boll weevils out of her flour in order to use the flour for cooking, so that’s where my train of thought was going.

When I asked her why she washed the cans she proceeded with a plain and simple answer. One day when my Aunt Evie was walking to her car after a day's shopping with three children in tow, she saw several pallets of canned vegetables, soup, and the like piled up at a door behind the grocery store. In the near distance, she also spotted a dog and be damned if that dog did not go up and pee on every one of those pallets!

So the can washing had nothing to do with rats, or mice, or boll weevils during the great depression, but rather one lone dog causing havoc doing what dogs do best, marking! That image always stuck in my mother’s mind and so to this day at age 90, my mother still washes her cans! By the way, the story of the dying store clerk turned out to be a hoax but mouse and rat droppings can cause serious illness and I have included a site below for you to read regarding that.

However, the discussion of rats brought back a different memory for me because I do have a story to tell and anyone who has ever gone into a large pet feed store for dog food needs very much to know what to look for.

I was in a local farm store looking to buy my usual 120 lbs of dog food for the week. There were only two 40 lb bags left which laid not on a shelf but on the floor, and as I went to pick one up I saw what I thought was a baby mouse scramble across my shoe and as I lifted the bag a little further, four more mice ran for cover. I quickly dropped the bag and stepped back. I was in a dilemma as I was totally out of dog food and the food I used could only be purchased in this farm store.

So I stood back and stared at the bags and the floor intensely, looking for the slightest movement. My heart pounding from fear at the thought that any moment a mouse would leap from a shelf and go right for my neck sinking its teeth into my jugular! (Too many Stephen King movies!) Never the less, I tapped one of the bags with my foot and stepped back. Nothing.
 Tap, tap, tap, my foot said again against the bag. Still nothing. So with arms stretched, feet back and ready to sprint, heart pounding, I quickly examined the bags for any damage such as holes, and seeing none I picked them up and placed them onto the cart and ran like hell to the counter to pay for them, then loaded them into my van and drove home. Whew, I was free!

When I got home I inspected the bags again for any holes or chewed parts I may have missed but they were sealed and looked fine so I dropped them on the living room floor and laid the bag of biscuits I had also purchased on the couch. All were scheduled to be put away later into plastic bins by one of the male members of the house, but like every household in America with men, these things rarely get done until the bags are just about empty and one can do it without help!
Come dinner time that night for the dogs, I opened the bag with scissors and fed the brood.

The next morning I saw little pieces of the dog food bag scattered on the floor and saw Cody, my old Cocker Spaniel, sucking down the biscuits I had left on the couch. It looked like he helped himself to 3/4 of the bag and his belly looked a bit more extended than normal so I promptly put him outside, for I  thought surely he would eventually bring 2/3 of those biscuits back up!

A week or two went by, the old dog food was long gone and new food was brought in and all seemed to be right with the world. Well, at least until one night when I was bringing in Crazy Benny and he bolted toward the living room couch going nuts jumping and pushing the couch aside like he was trying to get to something underneath, and in a split second out of the corner of my eye I saw a rat run under the table then under my wood burning stove!

Sorry folks, no way to make this long story short!


“Peter” I yelled. “There’s a rat! Bentley’s found a rat!”

Peter surprisingly came running into the living room as I stood on top of the table with the fireplace poker in hand. Now for those of you who do not know Peter, he is not the type to be so brave around things like rats, mice, or snakes so this action was out of the ordinary to say the least. He probably thought I was pulling yet another joke on him and he was not going to fall for it.

“Get the broom!” I shouted. “It ran under the wood stove, we’ll flush him out and let Bentley kill him.”

Peter ran to get the broom and again surprisingly started to swipe it under the stove. Nothing! The rat was gone!

While still standing atop the table I noticed that when Bentley moved the couch with his body trying to get the rat, he also moved the couch cushion exposing the back of the couch and right there lay a half of a biscuit and the chewed up innards of my sofa!

“He lived in there!” I shouted to Peter as I pointed to the couch.
The couch was only about three feet from where I had laid the bags of dog food that I purchased from the farm store on that ominous day.

Peter picked up the couch and turned it on its side and as he did we heard plrrrt, plrrrt, plrrrt ,plrrrt, and I thought that there were baby rats falling to the floor hitting the wooden frame as they tumbled down the length of the sofa. I was ready to run, but what came out were the biscuits that I thought Cody had eaten weeks before along with many, many rat droppings! Ugh, just the thought is nauseating.
A few days later in my basement, I saw a part of my wall chewed by that damn rat and so I laid down a rat trap. Snap! We got that bugger! Thankfully it was not a pregnant rat!

So what happened? How did that rat get into my house?

 I checked the bags before buying them, albeit quickly at first, but once home I inspected them again for any tears or holes and there was nothing!

The dog food bags seemed to be well sealed, but they were not. In fact in many other bags I have since inspected before purchasing, I found almost 30 % of them had little, unseen to the naked eye, openings at the bottom. If you pick up the bag from the bottom where it meets each side you can in many instances put your fingers right into the bag of food touching the nibblets! This is how mice or baby rats can easily get into the bag without chewing through it.
This also explains how many, many, years earlier, when my children were tots and in car seats, how a rat got into the interior of my car and lived there for months! Now that was a freaky experience!

So the next time you pick up a bag of dog food, at least one of the 40 to 50 lb bags, check the seal on the bottom by sticking a couple of fingers through the sides to see if you can feel the food inside. I placed a picture of a dog food bag with an arrow showing where to put your fingers. The dog food in the picture does not represent the brand that I purchased that day; it is a random picture from the internet. So, happy shopping!



CDC information
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hoaxes/hanta-hoax.htm


my couch where the rat lived!