Daily Obs

Biking with your Pooch – Part 2: RuffWear's Bark 'n Boots Grip Trex

// June 11th, 2009 // No Comments » // IMHO

by Whitney McKim

The is the second of a three part series! Part 1 is a review of the K9 Bike Jogger, a useful little, universal bicycle accessory to make biking with your pooch safe and easy. Part 2 is a review of RuffWear’s Bark ‘n Boots Grip Trex and their Bark ‘n Boot Liners. Part 3 will highlight one final product that Magnolia the Dalmatian has personally tested on her biking adventures! She know that you’ll enjoy the sport as much as she does once you’re all suited up and ready to roll!

In Part 1 of Biking with your Pooch I reviewed the K9 Bike Jogger, an excellent tool to make your biking trips with your pooch safer and easier! In this edition, I’d like to pass on Magnolia’s review of RuffWear’s Bark’n Boots™ Grip Trex™ along with RuffWear’s Bark’n Boot Liners™.

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Biking with your Pooch – Part 1: The K9 Bike Jogger

// June 8th, 2009 // 9 Comments » // IMHO

by Whitney McKim

The is the first of a three part series! Part 1 is a review of the K9 Bike Jogger, a useful little, universal bicycle accessory to make biking with your pooch safe and easy. Parts 2 and 3 will highlight other products that Magnolia the Dalmatian has personally tested on her biking adventures! She knows that you’ll enjoy the sport as much as she does once you’re all suited up and ready to roll!

Most vets will agree that exercise isn’t just good for you, it’s good for your dog too! I’m not a runner. This is a sad fact for Magnolia. Being a Dalmatian, her forte is in long distance running. She’s not a sprinter, but she can go on and on and on; long after I poop out!

We have found a good form of exercise that both of us can agree on. Biking!

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The Honest Kitchen: a raw diet without the fuss!

// May 13th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // IMHO

by Whitney McKim

Many people are now making the decision to feed their dogs a raw diet. More and more studies show that choosing a biologically appropriate diet for your pets has health benefits that are almost unimaginable. However, feeding a raw diet doesn’t come without it’s drawbacks.

Ideally you’d be able to have the equipment, time, and space to prepare your dog’s food yourself. Making a raw diet at home requires lots of research to ensure that you’re providing the appropriate nutrition in the appropriate quantities. It also requires expensive and specific tools, like grinders to mix everything up properly.

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Update on Hugo’s MCT

// April 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

by Beth J. Bates

We had a little scare last week. The vet has asked us to keep an eye on the area around Hugo’s suture for any returning tumors. Within a couple of days of the surgery, a mass had started to form just below the suture line, so I immediately freaked out and thought it was cancer. We took him to the vet just to be safe (he needed to have his anal glands expressed anyway) and it was only a buildup of fluid under the wound. So we are putting a warm compress on the area twice a day to help alleviate the liquid.

Hugo is scheduled to have his sutures removed tomorrow and we will chat with the vet a little more on follow-up treatment. So far, he is acting like his old self. Our fingers are crossed that this is the last battle with MCT.

Update on Hugo’s MCT – Grade 2

// April 6th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

Well, we got a call from the vet today and the news is not what we had hoped. The tumor was graded a low 2 which means that is likely that it has spread and that it will reoccur back quickly. We will be watching him for more tumors while his body heals from the surgery. If more MCT occurs, we’ll need to look into either prednisone or radiation for the cancer. We have a vet appointment for early next week to have his sutures removed, so we’ll talk with the vet more then.

Waiting on the Cancer News

// April 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

I hate waiting and am in general a very impatient person. We should get news this week on the pathology of the tumor that was reomoved from Hugo. In the meantime, he is running around and being his rambuncious self. We are doing our best to keep him “quiet”. He wants so deperately to play with other dogs, but he has to wait until the stitches come out next week. More to come once we have more news.

MCT Surgery Day and Recovery

// April 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

Hugo Post-Surgery

Hugo had his mass removed today. We dropped him off at the vet at 8:30AM this morning. His surgery was scheduled at 2PM, but the vet had an opening so it was actually completed this morning. I just picked him up and he’s pretty dopey, but doing well. He has a huge incision on his belly. When the mass is removed, they have to cut 2-3cm in each direction to ensure that they cut out all of the cancerous cells. So now he looks a little like Frankenstein.

We should have the pathology back in about five days so we know what the course of action will be. The sutures come out in ten days. We have to keep him indoors and somewhat “quiet” (yeah right) for 7-10 days.

So, my next 7-10 days will be spent keeping the other dogs away from him and trying to keep him “sedate”. I’ll keep you updated on his progress and prognosis. Many thanks to everyone who has given their support. Hugo certainly appreciates it.

Mast Cell Tumors and You

// March 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Pets

Last Thursday we found out that Hugo has a Mast Cell Tumor. I took him to the vet for an eye infection and asked the vet to check a fatty lump while I was there. Ends up that the “fatty lump” is a cancerous tumor. The vet advised that Hugo is in otherwise good health for his age and size and that his lymph nodes are fine. So, we are optimistic that this is Stage 1.

Hugo is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday in which they will remove the tumor. It will then be sent off to a pathologist where they will give it a “stage”. Stage 1 means that they hopefully removed all of the cancerous cells and we will need to keep an eye out for additional tumors. Stage 2 means that the cancer has spread but is treatable and we will look at treatments like radiation. Stage 3 is the most aggressive, but is the most uncommon. This stage generally occurs when the tumor is attached internally (like to a spleen or nasal cavity). Because the tumor is so deep, it is almost impossible for it all to be removed and has already spread.

The good news is that MCT is actually fairly common and is usually Stage 1, so our fingers crossed. The bad news is that we lost another dog to a tumor back in December so this has been particularly tough.

Please keep Hugo in your thoughts and I’ll keep you posted on his progress.

In the meantime, here are a few articles that I found helpful.

• Canine Mast Cell Tumors: A Common Cancer in Dogs
• Pet Owner’s Crash Course in Canine Mast Cell Tumors
• Various Canine Cancer Resources

Your Bad Dog’s Secrets Can Help Homeless Dogs Have a Feast!

// March 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Pets

I was hanging out in my own little Twitterverse today when @dogster sent out a little tweet announcing the great things that the people of Dogfessions are doing for Shelter Dogs! Knowing that Wet Nose Willy’s fans might have a dogfession or two up their sleeves themselves I thought I’d pay it forward and let our fans know what a great program they have going on!

First off, Willy wants to make sure that we’re all on the same page about what a “Dogfession” really is. From the Dogfessions web site:

Dogfessions is a “pet project” for dog lovers who have a secret, a weird fact, or a funny story to share about their best furry friend. From dog training fiascos to letting your dog hog the bed, we all have secrets about our dogs — it’s a relationship like any other. We keep secrets from our dogs and we tell them our secrets — the dogs aren’t going to tell anyone (we hope). We think and feel things about our dogs that we wouldn’t want anyone to know, and often, that we wouldn’t even want our dogs to know!

Anyone wishing to share a dogfession is instructed to create a 4×6 postcard illustrating your particular “dog secret” and send the postcard via snail mail to:

Dogfessions
676A Ninth Ave., #321
New York, NY 10036

But wait!! There’s more!! Rachael Ray has teamed up with Dogfessions to make this an altruistic opportunity! Rachael Ray’s Nutrish dog food has pledged to send 1 pound of dog for each Dogfession post card received. Dogfessions has selected Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue as recipients of the food raised through this effort. Their goal is to be able to donate 3 TONS of food to each shelter — which equates to 6,000 postcards that they need to receive! Currently, Dogfessions has almost reached the 20% mark.

I know that Willy’s pals must have some secrets to share! Let’s all get out there and help our bad dog pals fashion those postcards and get them out to the people at Dogfessions so they can help some needy pooches!

Visit Dogfessions.com to learn more!

Hugo – One Misunderstood Mastiff

// March 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Doggie Mayhem, Pets

Hugo - So Misunderstood

Hugo, Willy’s mastiff brother, got to take a field trip to a large pet-friendly retailer show in Dulles, VA. It seemed like a good idea…until we got there.

We should have been tipped off when we couldn’t find a place to park that this was a bad idea.

To make a long story short…we didn’t even make it into the show. There were SO many people and dogs that it was just too much for Hugo (and me for that matter). Hugo likes to bark at every dog he sees and wants to play. The problem? Hugo is 130lbs and not all dogs want to play with him. And because he is a mastiff, many times his “play” is mistaken for aggressiveness. Which was the case here.

It really bothered me that people walked by and said “Look at the mean dog”. Or parents would tell their kids to stay away from Hugo because he was a “bad dog”.  What do they know about my dog? It was like someone insulting your child. Don’t get me wrong. There were a few GREAT folks who said hello to Hugo and asked about him. Truth is, although he is huge – he is a big baby. His brother George can be 130lbs of crankiness, but Hugo is a lazy, affectionate couch potato.

The moral of my story. Hugo and I will only be hanging out with cool people who understand that not all big dogs are bad and can appreciate Hugo for who he is.