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Why My Dog Won't
Use A Computer
- Can't stick his head out of Windows 95.
- Fetch command not available on all platforms.
- Too messy to mark every Web site he visits
- Can't help attacking the screen when he hears, "You've got mail!"
- Fire hydrant icon simply frustrating.
- Involuntary tail wagging is dead giveaway he's browsing www.purina.com instead of working.
- Three words: Carpal Paw Syndrome.
Salive-coated floppy disks refuse to work.
- "Sit" and "stay" were hard enough; "delete" and "save" are out of the question!
- TrO\{go HyAqR4tDc TgrOoTgYPmE WeljTyH P;AzWqS,.
(Too hard to type with paws!)
Canine Cuisine for you Puppy
Your new puppy, Ralfie, will eat almost anything, and that, unfortunately, includes your leather sofa. The good news is that there are more nutritious, less expensive, and less destructive ways for him to satisfy his puppy hunger.
Today both canned and dry puppy foods are formulated to supply complete and balanced nutrition for growing dogs. But how do you know which type of food is best for Ralfie? It depends more on your lifestyle than on Ralfie's desires.
Dry food is the better choice if you're unable to be at home to feed Ralfie the three times a day recommended for puppies. This way, you can leave him with a day's supply of food. That's because dry food - unlike opened, un-refrigerated, canned food - won't spoil. However, such free-choice feeding can lead to overeating and obesity.
Puppy food is higher in crude protein and fat than foods formulated for adult dogs. If it is making him overweight or if he seems to be growing too fast, try mixing maintenance food with the puppy food starting when the puppy is six months old.
A temptation you might try to resist is feeding Ralfie table scraps because you think his puppy food is too bland. Animals don't seem to mind when every bite of food is identical to the one taken before. Although your puppy's nutritional intake won't suffer if the amount of such tidbits is less than five percent of his daily diet, the truth is that he can grow to healthy, well-adjusted maturity eating the same formulated dog food every day of his life.
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Danger in the Garage !
POISONING BY AUTOMOBILE ANTIFREEZE
Every year; by some estimates, about 10,000 dogs are victims of accidental poisoning by automobile antifreeze. And a dog does not have to drink a lot of antifreeze to be poisoned. A 22-pound dog can be poisoned by less than five ounces of a mixture of 50 percent water and 50 percent ethylene glycol-containing antifreeze, says Larry J. Thompson, DVM, PhD, clinical toxicologist in the Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University.
Antifreeze poisoning commonly occurs in the fall and sometimes in the spring, when car owners replace the old antifreeze in radiators with fresh new antifreeze. But it can occur anytime and anyplace, whenever car radiators boil over or hoses break, releasing the green- colored liquid. According to Dr. Thompson, antifreeze poisoning often happens to dogs who are confined, for one reason or another; to a garage; to whom no other source of water is available; and who gain access to improperly or inadequately stored, sweet-smelling-and- tasting antifreeze. (The taste and smell are attractive to dogs.)
Dr. Thompson describes poisoning by ethylene glycol containing antifreeze as having two stages. In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes alcohol intoxication like symptoms-drunkenness-within 30 minutes, and that can continue for several hours after ingestion. After quickly passing through the first stage, the dog appears to recover. Stage two begins when the dog's liver starts metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. If treated by a veterinarian within 9-12 hours after ingestion, there is a good chance the dog will recover. However; if the dog is brought to the veterinarian 12-24 hours after ingestion, the liver will have already begun metabolizing the ethylene glycol into substances that cause kidney failure and eventually death.
Treating antifreeze poisoning
Getting the dog to a veterinarian fast is the key to successfully treating antifreeze poising. Another source of help is the National Animal Poison Control Center; 800-548- 2423. This call will cost $30, billable to a credit card or your phone bill.
Standard treatment involves continuously administering ethanol (drinking alcohol) and fluids containing sodium bicarbonate to prevent the ethylene glycol from being converted to harmful substances and to allow it to be excreted unchanged. Recently, another treatment for antifreeze poisoning, Antizol-Vet, produced by Orphan Medical, Inc. of Minneapolis, became available. Antizol-Vet is administered intravenously once every 12 hours for 36 hours. Though treating ethylene glycol poisoning is easier with Antijol-Vet than with traditional treatments, Dr. Thompson emphasizes that neither alcohol nor Antizol-Vet is effective if given for the first time 12-24 hours after the dog consumed the antifreeze.
Preventing antifreeze poisoning
Poisoning by antifreeze is easily prevented:
Waste antifreeze should be properly disposed of and containers of new, unused antifreeze should be properly sealed and stored. Dogs should not be confined where antifreeze (or other chemicals, for that matter) is stored. If the dog must be confined in a location where antifreeze is stored, adequate fresh water should be provided.
New, safer; polypropylene glycol-containing antifreezes-like Sierra ® have recently come on the
market and appear to be less hazardous to dogs than ethylene glycol- containing antifreeze, says Dr. Thompson. Antifreeze also contains numerous other substances that, though in smaller amounts, could pose a danger. This is particularly true of used antifreeze, as it contains corroded metal and other substances resulting from the breakdown of the original antifreeze by the heat of the engine.
Symptoms of antifreeze poisoning:
Immediately recognizing the symptoms of antifreeze poisoning and treating within several hours after ingestion are crucial to recovery. Symptoms include:
•Drunkenness: The dog may appear to be in a stupor, stagger, weave, and appear uncoordinated and
disoriented.
•Listlessness: The dog may appear depressed.
•The dog may urinate frequently and will be excessively thirsty.
•The dog may vomit, though this might not be frequent or persistent.
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