Bye! See you in the "Living" section!

Today's post is my last official "KP's Dog Blog" entry.

I'm sad about it, but as they say, when one door closes, another one opens. We are restructuring our Web sites and now have a brand-new section called "Living." You'll soon be able to read my future entries about dogs under the category "Holistic and Humane Dog Care" here: http://living.peta.org.

We'll also be bringing back some archival posts for those who haven't been reading the dog blog from the beginning.

I hope to "see" you all there! While you're in the Living section, do check out some of the other categories, such as "home and garden," "parenting," "health and beauty," and "family and relationships."

Should be fun!

Koro understood dozens of words and phrases, including some in French and German!

I used to teach English as a Second Language to people from many different countries, and I think many of the principles needed to successfully help foreign students learn English can also be applied to dogs. Consistency, clarity, relevance, repetition—these are all just as important in dog language training as in human language training.

Obviously, dogs are more clued in to human body language than our spoken language (since canine body language is their mother tongue), but it's not hard to get dogs to shift their focus and learn English words (or words in another language). My first dog, Koro, not only knew dozens of words and phrases in English, she also knew many words in French and German (including her name pronounced in three different accents) because we lived together in France and Germany too.

It really gets my hackles up when I see control freaks who communicate with their dogs in only one way—commands. It's like they think they're drill sergeants, and their dogs are lowly recruits. All they do is "bark" orders (pun intended). You see them in vet's offices and at the dog park. It's so frustrating when you know that their communication could be so much more nuanced and enjoyable—both for the dogs and for themselves.

I've been thinking about the many types of verbal communication that can occur between humans and dogs other than commands, and I thought I would jot down some examples.

Apologies: It happens from time to time that we accidentally hurt our dogs. We step on their tails when the lighting isn't good or we drop a spoon on them in the kitchen. This is a good time for a very clear apology—always in the same tone of voice with the same words so that our dogs immediately understand that what happened was unintentional. This is especially important for rescued dogs who have been abused in the past and aren't too sure that we won't turn against them just like their previous owners.

Choices: Our dogs have so little control over their own lives. We decide when they eat, what they eat, when they go for walks, and on and on. It's really nice for them to get to make a few decisions of their own. For example, when you're on a walk with your dogs and you come to an intersection, you can ask, "Which way?" and let them decide. My late husky, Darby, lived for his walks, and he had us going in different directions every single day—no two walks were ever the same.

Suggestions: My dogs and I have a ritual that we engage in first thing in the morning and then every time I come home, but it's purely voluntary. I always propose to them, "Let’s go outside!" No one has to go outside—it's just a suggestion—but, of course, they always take me up on it … unless it's raining.

Requests: These are like commands but not so strict. For example, in my tiny house, we often have traffic jams, so I'll say, "Excuse me!" to get my dogs to move out of the way, but it's like a soft command that I wouldn't necessarily enforce. Or if we're out walking, and I want to cross the street, I'll say, "Let's cross!" so they know that that's my intention, but I'm not going to insist if they haven't finished sniffing something interesting.

Providing Information: Dogs thrive on routine and predictability, yet so much of their lives isn't predictable (to them). They're at the mercy of our daily schedules, which can be chaotic, so they have no idea what to expect on any given day at any given time. We can help add some predictability to our dogs' lives by trying to maintain a consistent daily routine, but we can also tell them what's going to happen next. If we always use the same terminology, they'll understand exactly what we mean. For example, I walk my dogs in three shifts, so before each shift, I simply make an announcement as to which dogs' turn it is.

One very useful, informative phrase is "All done!" Once dogs understand what it means ("The current activity is finished"), the phrase can be extrapolated to any activity, either positive or negative. For example, I can signal the end of a vet appointment or the end of a nail-clipping session by saying, "All done!" and I can also indicate that the last treat that I handed out was the final one. (This makes it possible to give dogs table scraps without having them beg throughout the rest of the meal.)

Also in this category would be "Oops!" which I use to respond to very minor infractions just to convey that I didn't like what they did, such as if one of them gets too pushy.

I also like to be able to convey to my dogs how long I'm going to be away from home. If I'm just going around the block, I use different language from what I would say if I were leaving to go to work. And if I'm embarking on a trip of several days' duration, I communicate the amount of time that I'm going to be gone by counting out the number of days for them. I don't know how much of it they truly understand, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they're able to gain some sense of what to expect over the next few days.

Words of Appreciation: Sometimes I'll look at my whole pack and just lovingly and goofily gush, "How did Mommy get so lucky to have so many ANGELS! I know it's silly and highly embarrassing, but dogs just love that kind of attention. They eat it up. They all start wagging their tails and wiggling and looking very pleased, so I think it really gives them a nice, warm-and-fuzzy feeling.

Songs: I think all dogs should have their own song that gets sung to them regularly. When you sing their special song to them, dogs feel appreciated. You have to try this, if you haven't already. I'll give you some examples. Sophia's song is to the tune of "Maria" from West Side Story: "Sophia! I just met a girl named Sophia. Say it loud and it's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying." Dexter's song is based on a 1979 hit song, "Doctor Doctor": "Dexter, Dexter, gimme the news. I got a bad case of lovin' you." And Sunny has two songs: a Paul Mauriat song from the 1970s, called "Sunny" ("Sunny, thank you for the love that you give to me") and the popular 1940 song "You Are My Sunshine" ("You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away"). You don't have to be a good singer—your dogs won't care at all!

So talk to your dogs as much as possible, using consistent phrases (and a little drama and some silliness wouldn't hurt). They understand a lot more than you think. Much of it they just pick up on without any effort on our part because they're just so exquisitely sensitive and perceptive. I know some people even have to spell in front of their dogs in order to discuss topics that they don't want their dogs to understand!

Markus, one of countless Turkish dogs abandoned in the woods to starve to death

The following is a guest post by my lovely colleague and PETA Germany campaigner for homeless dogs in Turkey, Magda.

If I think about my trip to Istanbul as part of PETA Germany's Turkish stray-dog campaign, I immediately think of a little puppy who was named Markus by Turkish animal activists—the same name as my partner.

We found Markus on our way to Beykoz animal shelter, which we knew of because, day after day for several weeks, we had been hearing horror stories about neglected, traumatized, and starving dogs there.

The little pup was about 4 months old, wandering the back roads far away from any civilization. Probably our foundling was one of the hundreds of dogs who had been abandoned in Beykoz's forests. Turkish officials use this inhumane and absolutely counter-productive method to fight the obvious and pervasive problem of dog overpopulation. If these animals are not found by animal activists, they just starve to death.

We stopped the car to take a look at the intimidated puppy. Markus ducked into a corner and tried to make himself invisible. Yasemin Baban, a Turkish animal activist who has been fighting for animals for years and cares for dozens of neglected dogs in the Beykoz forest every day, lifted him up, saw how emaciated he was, and carried him to the car. Markus was almost completely hairless and had gaping wounds all over his worn-out body—signs of the advanced stages of mange. At first, Markus tried to escape from the back seat of the car, so afraid was he of what was to come. However, after he discovered the dog food stored back there, always at the ready for hungry dogs, he changed his mind and gobbled up everything he could get his little paws on.

While I continued on my mission to document the inhumane conditions at the Beykoz animal shelter, puppy Markus was taken to the rehabilitation center of an animal activist group called SHKD. These activists have been fighting for Istanbul's homeless dogs for years under the patronage of Robert Smith. Their work includes neutering as many dogs as possible—the only long-term, humane solution to a reduction in the overpopulation problem. The group's work and its "forest shelter" will remain in my mind's eye as a glimmer of hope. Twenty-four hours later, I was a guest there.

Upon arrival, I could see "my" little foundling recovering in a pleasant, shady fenced-in area along with three other rescued puppies. I tried to raise his spirits by clapping and offering him words of praise, and he shyly wagged his tail. But the look on his face still seemed rather lost, after all he had been through. Although I worried that he might remain traumatized for the rest of his life, in that moment I could see a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

I was sad and heavy-hearted when I had to leave Markus and the SHKD shelter behind—the only place I saw in Istanbul where dogs have a life worth living. What will happen to all the other dogs on the streets and in the forests who won't be as lucky as the dogs who were found by the animal activists? What will happen to all the dogs wasting away in the horrible conditions of the government animal shelters? What will happen to Markus? Will he recover?

Now back in Germany, I still have to deal with the images I saw in Istanbul. Mother dogs whose puppies died cause they couldn't nurse them; depressed dogs living in the shelters who seemed to have given up and who looked at me with empty eyes; sick, injured, and hungry dogs who had been abandoned in the forests by the hundreds. However, most of the time I think about "my" Markus who—because his illness was too advanced by the time he was rescued—died in the SHKD shelter last Friday, August 8.

If you would like to help stray dogs in Turkey, please contact the Turkish Embassy or Consulate in your country and express your feelings on this subject.

Rogan doing his impersonation of a human smile

If you have a close relationship with a dog, you already know that dogs can empathize with others―it's just so obvious. But some people feel the need to prove it in the lab, so a team at the University of London took the approach of trying to see whether dogs would yawn when faced with a yawning human. Yesterday, they reported their findings in the BBC News, and it was pretty interesting. They found that 21 out of 29 dogs yawned after watching a human stranger yawn!

They made sure that it was more than just copying behavior by setting up a parallel experiment in which the stranger merely opened and closed his mouth, without actually yawning, and not one dog yawned at this. It's well known that dogs are extremely perceptive and sensitive to human body language, so it should come as no big surprise that they might react to a human yawn by feeling like yawning themselves, just as we do.

However, I think authenticity is critical here. I tried the experiment on my six canine buddies, but I really couldn't pull off that many genuine yawns, so I faked some of them. And my results reflected this: Only two out of six dogs yawned back at me (Dexter and Theresa, the two most reactive dogs of the pack). The others just kind of stared at me with a look of concern on their faces. Oh, and Sunny couldn't stand to have me sitting across the room gazing at her―she kept running to put her head in my lap, so I'm not sure how to rate her reaction.

For years, I've been using a variation on this activity to induce calmness and sleepiness in my dogs. When they're a bit hyped up and I want them to settle down, I'll kind of blink at them with sleepy, droopy eyelids and talk to them in a sleepy voice, and they instantly start to look sleepy too. And again, it's not just copying, because they are likely to then roll over and fall asleep. It's pretty cool. I even used this technique on my late cocker spaniel, Rogan, when a friend was taking his stitches out.

But now I'm going to go out on a limb and go one better on the subject of dogs' amazing abilities. Call me crazy, but I believe that not only can dogs empathize, they can also sometimes even read our minds, at least the images in our minds.

Wait! Keep reading. Just hear me out. You be the judge. How else can one explain the following experience, which happened to me almost 20 years ago:

My beloved dog Druzhok had recently died (he was the first one), and I missed him so. He had had the unusual ability to smile and snort like a laughing human. It was so cute and endearing and funny. So one day, I was sitting on the kitchen floor, lamenting to my then-husband about the fact that I was never going to get to see that smile again, when my cocker spaniel, Rogan, suddenly ran into the next room and grabbed an old tennis ball with the felt torn off of it. He then proceeded to chew the ball in half and position half of it in his mouth with the round side down and his lips curling over the edges of the rim. This had the effect of making him look like he was smiling (take a look at the photo). Then he put his face right up to mine and started snorting! If he had had a bubble caption over his head reading, "Look, Mom! I'll smile for you!" it wouldn't have been any more obvious what he was trying to convey.

If that wasn’t mind-reading (not to mention empathy), then I don’t know what is.

Little Miss came away from her grooming appointment with a broken tail.

I've never trusted groomers. I've never felt comfortable enough to leave any of my beloved dogs at a groomer's. Initially, this suspicion stemmed from the horror stories told to me by a professional groomer who came to my house to cut my dogs' nails years ago. And then later, I saw the steady stream of hideous articles about dogs who had been injured at grooming facilities that flowed into PETA's office, filling up a fat file called "Grooming Accidents." There were dogs who had been burned, dogs who had been cut, dogs whose tails had been broken, and dogs who had died of strangulation or heatstroke.

Just last month, a little dog named Bendi came home from a PetSmart grooming facility and had to go straight to the vet because her paws had been burned during a flea treatment. PetSmart paid the vet bill.

I have actually taken dogs to grooming facilities myself, but I've always stayed and watched the proceedings. One year, I wanted to try having my late husky, Darby, shaved down for the summer, so I took him to a groomer. When I made the appointment, I stated that I wanted to watch, so they made me take the last appointment of the day, which was fine. And just last week, I took my three foster Chihuahuas to a local groomer to have their nails trimmed and their anal glands expressed, and I thought the groomer did a wonderful, professional, and very speedy job. We didn't even have to leave the reception area―we were done in less than 10 minutes.

However, I could see back into the grooming area, and what I saw really worried me: An unattended dog with a noose around his neck standing on top of a grooming table. I spoke up and said to the groomer, "Hey, I'm really worried that that dog over there is going to jump and hang himself or get his neck broken." She looked momentarily annoyed with me and then said, "It's fine. I know that dog." Well, I know my dogs, too, but I can't predict their every movement. And when the stakes are that high, I think a groomer should have been standing next to that dog as long as he was on the table.

Many people saw the grooming exposé "Pet Grooming Dangers," on the Today show on August 1, which was prompted by the grooming death of Sushi, the 2-year-old Labrador retriever of one of the Today show's employees. Sushi had been left for a week at a boarding facility and was supposed to get a bath before being picked up. When her guardian, Amanda, arrived to pick her up, instead of the thrill of a joyful reunion, she experienced the horror of learning that Sushi was unconscious. Not long after that, Sushi died at the vet's. Later it was determined that Sushi had been put inside a "cage dryer" for 30 minutes with the temperature set at 100°F.

I took one look at those dryers in the Today piece and shuddered. I couldn't believe my ears as I watched person after person, including someone from The Humane Society of the United States, repeat some version of the mantra, "These cage dryers are safe if used properly." Excuse me? First of all, the cage dryer has a setting that goes up to 100°F, so it has a built-in setting for death. Secondly, machines malfunction. A groomer might think that the dryer was set at 80°F, but in reality, it might go haywire and shoot up to 100°F or even 135°F. Thirdly, there are many dogs who, for various reasons, are automatically going to be at high risk inside one of these contraptions. These include dogs with flat muzzles, older dogs, dogs with heart problems, dogs with respiratory problems, etc. Finally, the dryers are run by mere mortals, who work for a largely unregulated industry. On any given day, a person can be distracted, tired, hung over, ill, depressed, or just plain stupid―any of which could cause a careless mistake, leading to tragedy.

And what is the purpose of these cage dryers anyway? There is nothing inherently necessary about them. According to a leading professional groomer who was interviewed on the Today show segment, a cage dryer "gives the groomer the ability to do more dogs in one day." That's the ONLY raison d'être for cage dryers. Money. Cage dryers don't make dogs safer, and they don't make dogs healthier. They just make groomers wealthier.

I have nothing at all against groomers per se. I think groomers provide a wonderful service, especially for people who are unskilled at trimming nails, expressing anal glands, or giving a dog a summer shave. But a bath can certainly be given at home. (And dogs don't even need to be bathed that often.) In any case, there is no reason on Earth to drop a dog off at a groomer's and just leave. Doing that just so that you can cram more activities into a busy day is just not acceptable. Your dog's life is at stake. In my view, leaving a dog with a groomer is riskier than leaving a child with a sitter because (a) the dog can't tell you what happened while you were gone, and (b) the groomer has a cage dryer.

I think cage dryers should be banned outright. A plain old fan will do just fine.

For more information about grooming accidents, how to prevent them, and basic grooming that you can do at home, click here.

Tammy and Kiwi of Fetch! Pet Care in Virginia Beach

Working at PETA, I'm fortunate to be surrounded by people who care about animals, many of whom would love to earn a few extra bucks, so it hasn't been too difficult to find people to stay with my dogs when I'm away. I've managed to zero in on a couple of very reliable coworkers who allow me to get away without having to worry about what's going on at home.

However, it hasn't always been so. I once employed a pet sitter straight out of the phone book and ended up being very sorry I did: When I got home, my dog and his canine friend had no water to drink. Later, on the phone, the pet sitter admitted that she had been in a hurry that morning and had simply neglected to refill their water bowl!

And leaving dogs in a boarding kennel or at the vet's is just not an option for people who really care about their dogs. Being in a strange, cramped environment surrounded by lots of other stressed-out barking dogs, who might be transmitting diseases to one another, isn't exactly on a par with the vacation being taken by Fido's guardians while he pines away. I know that a lot of newer facilities are trying to make things nicer for Fido, but there's still no comparison with staying in his own familiar surroundings from which he can derive comfort.

I remember when I was in high school and we picked up our beloved Socksie from a boarding kennel after we had been gone for several weeks. She looked horrible. She was sick and droopy. I don't remember what she had contracted, but I'll never forget the contrast between her experience of the previous few weeks and my family's. We learned our lesson: Dogs deserve better.

As family members, dogs deserve to be left in not only capable but also caring hands when we have to be away from home. Therefore, it's well worth our while to submit our potential pet sitter to a great deal of scrutiny in order to avoid coming home to a tragedy or getting a distressing phone call while we're still hundreds of miles away from home.

I recently became aware of a nationwide California-based pet-sitting company called Fetch! Pet Care, and I like what I've read about its policies and practices. To begin with, the company suggests using the following thorough checklist when selecting a pet-sitting service in your area:

[ ] Diligently check all of the company's references—at least three should be voluntarily provided.
[ ] Ensure that the company is fully bonded and insured.
[ ] Confirm that your sitter has undergone a criminal background check and has received proper training.
[ ] Pre-interview the sitter with your pets present to observe interactions and establish a "comfort level" for both yourself and your pets.
[ ] Clearly state how you would like the sitter to use his or her visit time in terms of walking, playing, feeding, cleaning, etc.
[ ] Verify that the sitter can accommodate both your pet's daily feeding and walking schedule and your desired vacation schedule, even during the busiest holidays.
[ ] Ensure that the company offers seven-day-per-week telephone and e-mail availability.
[ ] Provide medical and behavioral history about your pets as well as veterinary and other emergency contact information, and gather all necessary supplies, including food, vitamins, and treats, in one central location.
[ ] Ensure that the company has "backup" measures in place should your sitter have an emergency that prevents him or her from completing your assignment.

This quote from the company's Web site really resonated with me:

Fetch! Pet Care has significantly raised the bar by setting a new industry standard in pet-sitting and dog walking services. Prior to our inception, pet-sitting services were largely provided by independent one- or two-person operations that often quickly booked up, accommodated a limited area, offered a limited range of services, didn't have emergency backups or insurance, weren't professionally trained, and often got overworked or otherwise burned out. Fetch! Pet Care, however, offers professional, reliable, loving care to animals of all kinds, a large professionally trained staff always available wherever and whenever you need them most, a wide range of service offerings, and a satisfaction guarantee that, all combined, are simply unmatched in the field.

I decided to call my local Fetch! Pet Care representative, Tammy Cobb, to see if she was for real. We had a delightful conversation about her company's services and history and about her local operation, and I came away feeling very good about it. She loves her job and has a whole network of contract people on standby, ready to petsit as needed. For a household with two dogs, she would stay from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. and provide two 20- to 30-minute walks—for only $60! (There's a small extra charge for each additional dog or cat.) A 30-minute midday walk/visit is $20. This is very reasonable pricing.

With Labor Day approaching and holiday travel planning already underway for some, Fetch! Pet Care is offering PETA members a 10 percent discount on its services as well as a free in-home consultation. If you're interested, call 1-866-FETCH-ME or visit Fetch! Pet Care's Web site.

Sammy Baxter: "We dogs can overheat so easily―please be careful, especially in the summer!"

The following is a guest post by Lisa Towell, a great writer and friend of PETA.

A few years ago, we took our dog Sydney out for a hike with some friends on a gorgeous hot summer day. The first part of the trail was up a steep, treeless hillside—Sydney made us feel out of shape as she trotted easily up in front of us. Halfway up the hill, we met a man sitting with his Rottweiler dog. The dog was a big friendly fellow, well over 100 pounds, and was panting heavily in the shadeless heat. We asked if the dog needed some water, but the man assured us that he was fine. "King just needs a rest before we finish going up the hill." So we walked on.

Dogs are prone to heatstroke, much more so than their human companions—they can only cool themselves by panting and by sweating through their paw pads. Most people know about the risks of leaving a dog in a hot car, but dogs can easily overheat while exercising on a summer day. Heatstroke is most common in large breeds and in short-nosed dogs like boxers and bulldogs. But other factors can also contribute, like obesity, heavy fur, lack of acclimation to the heat, and even excitement. Dogs just adore running around to explore new sights and smells and don't always show good sense about how hot the weather is.

We had a nice picnic at the top of the hill and made sure that Sydney had lots of water. We started back down toward the car, sweaty and happy, about an hour later. When we got back to where we had left King, we were dismayed to find him stretched out flat on his side, breathing rapidly with foam on his lips. The man waved away our offers of help. "He'll be OK in a few minutes." But we knew this dog was in trouble. We poured our water over his black fur and tried to get him to drink, but he fell unconscious as we tried to help him. We told the man that his dog needed a vet immediately and offered to help transport him down the hill. The man didn’t quite seem convinced, but our two biggest guys hoisted King up and we got moving.

King died before we made it back to the parking lot.

I felt just sick at seeing such an unnecessary tragedy. Could we have saved him if we'd had some medical training? What if we had intervened when we first met the dog, while he was still conscious?

The best treatment for heatstroke is prevention. Try to avoid exercising your dog on a hot day (except for very early in the morning or late at night), and consider whether it's really in your dog's best interests to go with you to the Art & Wine Fair or the flea market when the sun is beating down. If you must take a dog out in the heat of the day, take frequent shady rest breaks, and offer lots of water.

Heatstroke can strike surprisingly quickly. Know the symptoms, so you can recognize it in your own dogs and in other dogs whose caregivers aren't as well informed. Early signs include heavy panting, difficulty breathing, excessive salivation, and lethargy. These are followed by confusion or lack of coordination, dry gums, and possible vomiting or diarrhea. Collapse and coma come next and can quickly lead to brain damage and death. If you see these signs, quick action is needed to save Ginger’s life. First, get her out of the direct sun and offer her water if she's able to drink it. Second, get her temperature down by wetting her thoroughly with cool (not cold) water. It can also help to place cool water-soaked towels on her head, neck, armpits, and groin. Third, get her to a vet as quickly as possible. Some delayed complications from heatstroke are very serious, so it's best to see the vet even if she seems to be recovering.

Every hot day when I see a dog panting in the sun, I remember King. After that heart-wrenching experience, I got some pet first-aid training, and I promised myself that I will fearlessly butt into other people's business if an animal's safety is at stake. But I ache every time I think of King, because what we did that day wasn't enough.

Rogan: "Impacted anal glands are such a pain in the butt!"

The reason why the squeamish must read this is because they are the people most likely not to want to address this problem, which can cause pain and suffering to dogs if neglected. The topic is … anal glands!

The anal glands, which are situated just below the skin under a dog's tail at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively (if the anus were the center of a clock), are supposed to secrete fluid every time a dog has a bowel movement. Things can go haywire, especially with dogs who have skin (read: digestive/immune) problems. The anal glands can fill up and get impacted or even infected. Now, I know that no one enjoys dealing with the "business" end of the dog, but problems down there are pretty common and can be very uncomfortable. Not having anal glands ourselves, we can only imagine what it would be like when they get impacted―probably like sitting on a couple of marbles, only much more painful. So we need to deal with this.

Signs that your dog's anal glands are full include scooting across the floor, chewing at the tail area, and the extremely pungent odor of anal gland secretions, which can overflow out of the glands when they're too full.

I recently received this message from a friend: "Winnie [not her real name] is suffering from anal gland problems―both have abscessed and one of them can't even be expressed. One vet advised surgery to remove them, and two others have said no, don't do that. I prefer not to do it, of course, and probably won't, but I'm afraid these abscesses will return. They are truly horrible."

She went on to say, "The problem is, no one―technician or vet―has been able to express her left gland at all and can barely get anything from the right because it’s so thick. When the right does express, it is with great difficulty and pain for Winnie. They had to knock her out last week in order to apply enough pressure to express both glands. They then flushed them out and inserted antibiotic ointment. She’s going back in about 10 days to see if they can start expressing them on a regular basis―hoping that the infusion of that ointment will help break up the horribly thick gunk."

Here are some suggestions for keeping your dog’s anal glands in tip-top shape:

•Be sure that there is enough fiber in Fido's diet. I once began adding a substantial amount of grated cabbage to my cocker spaniel Rogan's food because he needed to slim down, and his rather severe anal gland problems disappeared forever. Well-soaked, shredded, unsweetened coconut is an even better choice (2 tsp. dried, unsweetened coconut per 30 pounds of bodyweight).

•Upgrade Fido's diet while you’re at it, choosing whole, natural foods and eliminating junk.

•Also add coconut oil to his food (1 tsp. per 10 pounds of bodyweight).

•Be sure that he gets plenty of exercise.

•Make sure that he has ample opportunity to eliminate.

•Do not make him feel too crowded in his own home, i.e., give him a room that he can retire to in order to "get away from it all."

•Have his anal glands expressed periodically by an expert. If you're game, have the expert show you how to do it. It's not hard, and it's such a relief to be able to express the glands immediately rather than having to wait for a vet appointment to roll around. Yes, the stuff that comes out of them smells bad (I believe it's related to a skunk's "perfume"), but it's probably no worse than changing diapers.

If you suspect that there is already trouble brewing, you can take the following steps at home, but if you don’t see substantial improvement within a day or so, then head for your vet's office as soon as possible:

•Administer one single dose of homeopathic Silicea 30C (and remember, with delicate homeopathic remedies, you need to get them into Fido's mouth without touching them, and he shouldn't eat for 15 minutes prior to or after receiving the remedy).

•Make a warm herbal compress by pouring 2 cups of boiling water over 2 Tbsp. dried calendula herb and letting it steep until just warm. Dip a washcloth into this warm liquid and hold it up to the affected anal gland for a few minutes. Repeat several times, twice a day.

•Go ahead and add the well-soaked, shredded, unsweetened coconut to Fido's food if you haven't already. (Better late than never.)

On a personal note, I did all three of the above bulleted items when Dexter had a very sore anal gland a few months ago, and he was completely back to normal within 24 hours. It was quite remarkable!

Louie

I've known a few beagles in my life, and there's only one way to describe all of them: sweetness personified. So you have to wonder what kind of evil lurks inside a person who would purposely harm such a sweet creature. One of our own government agencies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for making sure that pharmaceuticals, biologicals, and medical devices are safe, effective, and of a high quality and also that foods, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting products are safe as well, is very big on using beagles for toxicity tests. In fact, the use of beagles is so widespread in pharmaceutical testing in the U.S. that 65,000 of these sweet puppies are forced to undergo hideous experiments every year.

What are these experiments like? Well, just imagine if you lived in a small prison cell and someone force-fed you every day with a nasty chemical that made you nauseous and dizzy for hours and hours and then, just as you were starting to feel better, came along again to pump some more of the sickening chemical down your throat. Imagine this going on for weeks or months. I have seen footage of beagles in toxicity tests, and it is heart-wrenching. The dogs can barely stand up, they whine, they drool, and they are clearly miserable and suffering. Many of these dogs are slowly and torturously poisoned to death.

Penny

And for what? Most of these drugs don't pass muster anyway. The ones that do are then tested extensively on humans (obviously in much more humane conditions) because the animal tests weren't really reliable to begin with. And even then, according to the FDA, a whopping 92 percent of the drugs fail during the human trials because they end up having side effects that weren't predicted based on the animal studies that were conducted.

The FDA regulations are in need of a massive overhaul, both technically and ethically.

Lulu

This morning, PETA ran a full-page ad in The Washington Post denouncing the head of the FDA, Andrew Von Eschenbach, for supporting these barbaric toxicity tests and calling on him to replace them with modern, reliable, non-animal tests. This is the 21st century! But we are still conducting these torture tests that aren't much different from burning people at the stake, except that they're being done on one of the sweetest, most loyal, affectionate, nonjudgmental, forgiving, and loving creatures on the planet, the beagle. What is wrong with us humans? Where is our sense of fairness and compassion? It's really shameful.

And it's not just beagles―it's lots of other kinds of animals who are being tortured as well. In my view, it's just plain evil to inflict suffering like this on any living being, no matter what can be gained from it. If you put yourself into those victimized animals' "shoes" and really try to feel what they are going through, then only the coldest, most heartless.person could give toxicity tests on them the thumbs-up. Of course, there are many cold, heartless people in the world. Apparently, a large number of them work in animal-testing labs.

Please help us try to change this sorry state of affairs!

Dexter: "Thanks to stinging nettles, I'm itch-free!"

Having home remedies on hand to treat your dogs' minor mishaps will allow you to give them quick relief while also saving money on vet bills and, in some cases, avoiding harsh medications. Just be sure to seek professional veterinary help if the home remedy isn't effective within a reasonable time period.

Arnica Montana: If I were on a desert island and could have only one natural remedy with me, it would be arnica. Homeopathic arnica is perfect for any traumatic injury, large or small. If I see one of my dogs limping, out comes the arnica. Ditto if someone takes a tumble. Arnica speeds healing big-time. You can bet that Rowdy got arnica several times a day after his recent surgery. The only tricky thing about arnica is that as a homeopathic remedy, it's very fragile energetically, so you can't touch it with your fingers―you have to get it into your dog's mouth via the lid of the container or a spoon. Homeopathic remedies are supposed to dissolve in your mouth, so unless you have arnica in a granular form, you'll need to crush the small tablets between two spoons and then just dump the powder into your dog's mouth, holding it shut for a second so that the remedy gets moistened and sticks to your dog's tongue. (Homeopathic remedies don't taste bad, so there's no problem there.) You also have to avoid giving homeopathic remedies within 15 minutes of a meal (because of their fragility). If all this sounds like voodoo, then please just suspend your disbelief―once you've seen how effective homeopathic remedies can be, you'll be a believer.

Calendula: This gentle herb is great for any type of skin rash or irritation. You can get it in liquid form or as an ointment.

Coconut Oil: Luscious coconut oil can be eaten as food or used topically―either way, its secret ingredient, caprylic acid, is going to do battle with yeast. This would be a good thing to feed to dogs with yeasty ears or a yeast overgrowth on their skin. The dosage is 1 teaspoonful per 10 pounds of bodyweight per day. It's pretty fattening, though, so you would need to cut back somewhere else in the diet.

Colloidal Silver: One health-care provider told me that colloidal silver can actually purify sewage. I believe it. It kills bacteria, so it's great to put on small cuts and wounds. Just make sure that you get a reputable brand.

Eyebright (aka Euphrasia): This aptly named herb is great for irritated, red eyes. You can give it to your dogs orally in capsule form and also topically as a popular form of homeopathic eye drops known as Similasan. This double whammy will clear up most garden-variety cases of red eyes without having to resort to antibiotics.

Hydrogen Peroxide: If you see your dog eat something that you know is going to be harmful, such as chewing gum containing xylitol or a hunk of plastic, you want to induce vomiting ASAP. The best way, in my view, is to administer hydrogen peroxide. A tablespoonful for a large dog, less for a smaller dog. It will take up to 10 minutes before your dog actually vomits―just wait for it.

Melatonin: For dogs with thunderstorm anxiety, nothing beats melatonin, which is a synthetic version of a natural hormone that regulates sleep. It can really take the edge off the fear of thunderstorms and calm dogs right down. The dosage is 6 mg for 100+-lb. dogs; 3 mg for 50-lb. dogs; 1.5 mg for 30-lb. dogs; and 0.5 mg for 10-lb. dogs. A very small percentage of dogs might have the opposite reaction (excitement) when given melatonin, so test it out when there is no sign of a thunderstorm in sight.

Pet Calm: This classic combination of herbs, homeopathic remedies, vitamins, and minerals can be used in any situation that is going to evoke anxiety, whether it's a car trip, a trip to the vet, or construction workers on the roof. Give it 20 minutes prior to the stress-inducing event.

Slippery Elm: The herb to reach for at the onset of intestinal distress, such as diarrhea, slippery elm soothes and coats the intestinal walls. I have Rowdy on this right now for his inflammatory bowel disease.

Stinging Nettles: For dogs with that summertime itch, stinging nettles are just the ticket. They have a natural anti-histamine effect, similar to Benedryl but without the drowsiness. I give Dexter two capsules every morning and evening, but for small dogs, like Theresa, who also suffers from the itchies, you can just open up a capsule and pour a small amount into their food. Stinging nettles are also a very nutritious plant loaded with calcium.

Styptic Powder: An essential grooming accessory, this is a must-have for anyone who trims dogs' nails, no matter how good at it they are. When a nail accidentally gets trimmed too close and bleeds, styptic powder can staunch the bleeding very quickly, so it's good to keep it on hand, just in case.

Vanilla Soy Ice Cream: Something I learned recently, when researching seizures after Chihuahua Theresa's recent seizure episode, is that in the aftermath of a seizure, a dog is at risk for a second one because his or her blood sugar drops so dramatically during the initial one. The best way to prevent a second seizure is to immediately offer something sweet and fatty―like ice cream.

Veterinarian's Best Hot Spot Spray: I like this product for sudden hotspots or other skin irritations. It contains aloe vera, tea tree oil, and chamomile; soothes the skin with an anti-itch effect; smells great; and, best of all, isn't tested on animals!

Yellow Dock: This herb will kill ear mites while having a gentler effect on the ear tissue than the standard ear ointment administered by veterinarians, which can sting inflamed ear canals. Before applying the yellow dock, fill a small dropper bottle with olive oil and the contents of one 400 I.U. capsule of vitamin E, and apply a half-dropperful of this mixture into the ears every other day for three treatments. This will smother the adult mites and soothe the ear tissue. Then, as the remaining eggs hatch, apply a tincture of yellow dock into the ear canals every three days for four weeks to kill the "newborn" mites.

Good luck and good health to you and your pups!