On the First Dog Day of Christmas, . . .

The Twelve Dog Days of Christmas

Day One: Is Your Doggy Soggy? Do You Have a Muddy Buddy?

Bones or Paw Prints - Your Choice

The Soggy Doggy products, super soft and absorbent, have been my Product of the Year for the last two years. Now they have come out with towels in cranberry (red) and in evergreen (green), just in time for Chirstmas. I need both!

Doormats with or without bones in blue, beige, caramel and dark chocolate (bones in oatmeal, bone and red)(about $40)

 

Slopmats in beige, caramel and dark chocolate (about $22)

(Super) Shammies (dog drying towels) in blue, beige and dark chocolate (about $20)

Super Snoozers (dog beds) in beige and dark chocolate (about $85)

And new this year - Slobber Swabbers (to clean car windows) in blue (about $6)

Muddy Buddy: A Water, Dirt and Mud Trapper

Or try the MuddyBuddy products at www.MuddyBuddy.net  I love the Muddy Buddy Paw Mat in chocolate, beige and navy, as well as the Muddy Buddy Dog Mop, a towel with pockets for your hands!

Read more about it: http://patch.com/maryland/columbia/the-twelve-dog-days-of-christmas

Tomorrow: Pet Portraits

Book Review: Animal Madness (dogs, other animals, enrichment, strange doings)

Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves, by Laurel Braitman* (Simon & Schuster, 2014, 373 pages, $28)

“. . . losing our minds. And finding them again. . . . “

Recent months have provided a plethora of incredible dog books: Chaser, Decoding Your Dog, Citizen Canine, Travels with Casey, (the latter two on DogEvals) and now, Animal Madness*, which may be the best (but it’s a close call)!

History - Not Always Dry

The title does not do the book justice but Laurel Braitman’s writing style is entrancing. Her PhD in the history of science may lead one to expect a dry historical tome – not so. It is entrancing (did I say that before?).

Oliver Begins the Tale

Braitman introduces Oliver, her adopted Bernese Mountain Dog, who develops Separation Anxiety, becoming destructive out of anxiety when left alone. Unfortunately, successful treatment is time-consuming, more than the average family can undertake. Oliver became the impetus behind Animal Madness as Braitman sought to understand her dog’s affliction in countless libraries and conversations with experts about animal stories of the past 100 years as well as across the world to Thailand and beyond.

What’s it All About?

Five percent of US military working dogs in combat develop PTSD. Could zoo animals be homesick for their natural environment and, thus, together with the ensuing boredom, exhibit signs and symptoms of mental disorders and emotional problems? What about marine mammals beaching themselves?

Veterinarians treat fear, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and perhaps even autism (animal conditions similar to but probably not identical to corresponding human conditions).

Whose Zoo?

Zoos are news after recent improvements in zoo design (no more pacing in boring, sterile-looking cages) and enrichment for the residents. Captive animals have physical and mental health issues similar to companion animals. However, zoos tend to consider drugs a “management tool” “to ease . . . transition to captivity,” and pharmaceutical companies “advocate . . . drugs to eliminate unwanted behavior.” (p. 196,7)

Many human pharmaceuticals came into common use in the 50s in parallel with similar (or identical but with different dosages) drugs for similar behaviors in animals (antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, etc.) True, there is a place for behavioral drugs in treatment plans but usually in conjunction with behavioral modification.

In the End, Oliver. . . .

Braitman brings the story of Oliver’s difficult and frustrating existence into every chapter as she reveals more about animal mental illness and recovery. Perhaps Oliver’s jump from the 4^th floor kitchen window was a suicide attempt. In the end, Braitman brings us full circle, revealing that Oliver’s discomfort and suffering was finally ended for other medical reasons.

You will not soon forget Animal Madness; it may even move you to do something, if only to learn more and perhaps pass information on to others, for the sake of the animals.

(I would have preferred shorter chapters and more than six, an inconsequential flaw. But on page 149, a veterinarian incorrectly states that anxiety can be rewarded and, therefore, increase in frequency or be maintained.)

Animal Madness will surely make my short list, Best of 2014, for Braitman is an entrancing story-teller.

*TED talk: ‘Depressed dogs, cats with OCD – what animal madness means . . . .’

Book Review: Travels with Casey (dog, dog rescue, RV, dog-human bond)

A modern Travels with Charley!

Travels with Casey: My Journey Through Our Dog-Crazy Country by Benoit Denizet-Lewis (Simon & Schuster, 2014, 341 pages, $26)

Our National Love Affair with Dogs

If you think 341 pages is a long book for a best seller, think again: Travels with Casey was too short!

The cover grabbed me first: a tall yellow lab-type dog holding an old-fashioned type postcard with the book’s title and CASEY in large cut-out letters (each with a partial photo of Casey inside) against a backdrop of a city by the sea (or river). . .

Why have I not read anything by Benoit Denizet-Lewis before? Is it because he writes for the New York Times Magazine and I live in the Washington area? Regardless, I will be looking for Lewis in the future. He is one funny writer – and sensitive to boot! A real canine academic and a true dog-person.

In a Nutshell

Lewis and his yellow lab-type dog set out from Massachusetts in a rented RV to see the country from a dog’s eye view and to explore the bond between man (Lewis) and dog (Casey).

Starting rather weakly with a long prologue comparing Lewis’ relationship with his mother to that of his dog and wanting to mend (strengthen) the latter, Travels  takes us down the East Coast, across the South, up the Pacific Coast and across the Great Plains back again in four months.

Travels is also a commentary on the importance of dogs in contemporary life, reminiscent of One Nation Under Dog (Michael Schaffer, 2010), Citizen Canine (David Grimm, 2014) and perhaps even Travels with Charley (Steinbeck, 1968). Lewis is informative and entertaining – and not to be missed. I am so glad I bought this book at my local bookstore and I will keep it (I usually pass on books I review to dog shelters or rescues). It is a book easy to take with you and read when you have ‘just a minute.’ You will want to return to it often.

How Did He Do It?

Lewis keeps mentioning his aversion to organized neat living, giving example after example, so how he managed to fill four months with interviews of almost all the dog people (daily) in the country you would ever want to know borders on miraculous – from the Westminster Dog Show in New York City, Ingrid Newkirk who founded PETA, the ‘dog poop lady’ in Virginia who was sued for not picking up her dog’s poop, dog rescuer Randy Grim, ‘rez’ dogs, K9 cops, Best Friends in Utah, and on and on. If he did not visit anyone, he at least read the books they wrote and quoted from (Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, Karen Pryor among others).

Lewis and Casey blog about their travels and foreshadow to keep you reading (not necessary at all) about a new member of the family, and about heartache, for example.

Bonus Number One: Roadtripping Through Dog Nation

I, of course, tried to figure out which 18 states they did not travel through. Inside the front and back covers is a two-page map of their trip but with drawings of the RV and dogs met along the way and of other adventures, I wasn’t sure if they cut across a corner of some states (and some of the illustrations covered their path, as well, making my challenge even more challenging). I think I got all but four.

Bonus Number Two: Dogs in America Today

The 21 photos of Casey in the RV, Casey dock-diving, Casey with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background! Some by Amanda Jones, even! My favorite is of the Dog Bark Park Inn in Idaho (‘Sleep inside the World’s Biggest Beagle!’).

What Would I Change?

Although Lewis is well-read on dogs (from Dunbar to Pryor to McConnell to Derr) he obviously wanted to appeal to mainstream America by also visiting the popular Cesar Millan, not always respected by those dog-people in the know.

I might perhaps cut the chapters into shorter versions but that might lose the charming titles, all of which start with “In Which. . . .” 

Or I might recommend Lewis take another trip with Casey!

PS – If you have read this far and are still not convinced, check out the videos on the book's web page, 

Book Review: Citizen Canine (dogs, evolution of dog law)

Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs, by David Grimm (Public Affairs [Perseus Book Group], 337 pages, 2014, $26.99)

The headlines shouted, “Leona Helmsley Leaves $12,000,000 for Her Dog and Nothing to Her Grandchildren!”

What does that tell us about our society today? Is that where we are headed? Is that where we really want to go?

Similar to One Nation Under Dog (by Michael Schaffer), Citizen Canine is easy to read, easy to put down, and even easy to pick up again. However, One Nation covers many dog topics while Citizen Canine focuses primarily on one: whether dogs and cats will ever become more than “just property,” along with the pros and cons and history (and stories) thereof.

Dr. David Grimm

David Grimm, the author, and I have a lot in common. He has a PhD in Genetics. I have an advanced degree in Genetics. He lives in Maryland. I live in Maryland. He is an editor (at the prestigious journal Science). I was an editor (in military intelligence and aerospace R&D). He teaches journalism at the college level. I taught college Biology and Scientific English at the graduate level. And, lastly, he is a good writer while I am a good reader.

In a Nutshell: Family, Person, Citizen (in that order)

Twelve chapters are divided into Family, Person, and Citizen (four chapters each), thus, easy for you to refer to the Table of Contents to refresh yourself on where you are in the timeline and what is yet to come.

Family. Person. Citizen. In that order and yet, a change in terminology is more than mere semantics (p. 150).  The Family third is the most memorable with stories about Henry Bergh who founded the ASPCA, for example. Dogs and cats became family and moved into our houses as we left the countryside for the city and as flea and tick preventives and treatment came onto the market - even more so when we developed dog and cat food (kibble)

Story after Story to Entertain while Informing

Grimm toured the country, from Louisiana to Colorado to North Carolina to California to Minnesota and places in between. He was fortunate to be able to spend time with dog-people like Dr. Marc Bekoff* and Dr. Brian Hare**, fascinating, ground-breaking dog authors in their own right.

Volunteers of ARNO, the Animal Rescue of New Orleans, and LAPD’s Animal Cruelty Task Force (not just the Puppy Police) also received a visit from Dr. Grimm and his magic pen, along with several pages and stories in Citizen Canine.

Local Interest: “My Pit Bull is Family!”

Grimm, who lives in Baltimore and teaches at The Johns Hopkins University, spends a scintillating several pages on Maryland’s recent BSL (breed specific legislation) case: Citizen Canine also highlights one local Baltimore shelter, BARCS, and some pit-bull people I know who worked ceaselessly with the HSUS to overturn Tracey vs Solesky and, just recently (after publication) to implement breed-neutral dog bite liability law. “Ban the deed, not the breed.” (As a matter of fact, not even the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) endorses BSL.) I think we may be finally making progress!

And History Need Not Repeat Itself

Thanks to David Grimm, I will always have a warmer spot in my heart for the story of the ASPCA’s founder Henry Bergh. And, did you know that a study has finally confirmed that those who abused animals are five times more likely than non-abusers to commit violent crimes against people? This includes Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and nearly every other serial killer, all of whom started their infamous careers torturing animals.

And Now, Towards the Future. . . .

Service animals are close to becoming real citizens in that they are working dogs who are allowed to go wherever their person goes. So, too, law enforcement dogs have rights not given to family pets: just as injuring law enforcement personnel is more serious than injuring a member of the public, so, too, is injuring a member of the canine corps more serious than injuring a family dog.

But are we ready for another Leona Helmsley? Will we ever be? Should we be? That is the question in our future and the future of our dogs and cats.

Bonus: Citizen Canine also includes a Brief History of Cats and Dogs!

*Dr. Marc Bekoff, pony-tailed retired ethologist and author of 22 books (Colorado) including Wild Justice and The Emotional Lives of Animals, studies how dogs play.

**Dr. Brian Hare (‘Scientist. Author. Dog Guy.’), dog cognition (thinking and intelligence) professor at Duke in North Carolina and author of the very readable book, The Genius of Dogs