Cat Stuck in Your Interweb?

According to the September 2012 issue of Wired magazine "only one thing competes with porn for internet real estate, and that thing is cats."

It's Friday...Let's Play Ball!

Calm and Collected

Kennel Cough

So we hit a bit of a snag yesterday with our plans to take Andy to day camp at Camp Bow Wow. When I called in the morning to arrange to take him in I was told by the owner of the facility that they had some cases of kennel cough in dogs that had recently boarded or been to day camp reported this week and were advising clients to stay away for a bit unless absolutely necessary. While this put a kink in our plans I appreciated his honesty and his concern for his canine clients, especially because he's taking a hit in his profits this week as a result. According to the ASPCA,

Kennel cough is a term loosely used to describe a complex of infections—both viral and bacterial—that causes inflammation of a dog’s voice box and windpipe. It’s a form of bronchitis and is similar to a chest cold in humans. Though it usually clears up on its own, kennel cough is highly contagious to other dogs.

The bordatella (kennel cough) vaccine is typically administered intranasally on an annual basis and is recommended for any dog that encounters groups situations, whether it be at a kennel, a dog park, or even visits to a pet supply store where they may encounter other dogs. All dogs at Camp Bow Wow are required to be vaccinated yet somehow an infected dog brought kennel cough to camp and infected other dogs. I don't know how many dogs have been affected but the owner of the facility said one was too many as far as he was concerned and he wants to nip the problem in the bud before it spreads any further. I hope all the sick pups recover fast. Andy had kennel cough when we first adopted him and it took a while for it to clear up. It was basically like a prolonged cold - lots of sneezing, coughing, and nasal discharge. Looking forward to day camp next week!

Woodchipping Pup

Andy enjoys chomping on a stick now and then. He'll sit down with one and systematically break it up into little bits and pieces. As far as I can tell he's not actually eating the stick, though I'm sure there's got to be some accidental ingestion. I've read nightmare stories online about dogs and sticks involving choking, splinters, and/or surgery. So far we've managed to avoid any negative consequences from Andy's sticky habit but I wonder if I'm being wreckless by letting him chomp on them. I saw a product at the pet supply store the other day called a Durable Stick, from a brand called Petstages. The "stick" is made from a composite of real wood and durable synthetic material and is supposed to be a safe alternative to a real stick that has the potential to splinter and cause harm. Supposedly dogs that like to chew on sticks are attracted to the Durable Stick's shape and smell. Might have to give this a try. 

An Alternative for Andy

The last week of August and the first week of September is always a time of flux for us as the fall semester kicks into gear and we settle into our new schedules. One of our quandaries last week was what we were going to do with Andy on Mondays and Wednesdays (A New Routine), which he answered for us soon enough (About That New Routine...). Over the weekend I came up with an alternative solution for at least one day of the week - on Wednesdays Andy will go to Camp Bow Wow for day camp. This is essentially like bipedal day care: he gets dropped off in the morning, spends the day playing with other pups and "camp counselors," and we pick him up after 6 pm. Two years ago this is something I would never have considered. Day care for dogs? That's crazy! After our experiences with Andy though I'm singing a different tune. One day a week at day camp will be good for him. He'll be supervised, he'll get to socialize with other dogs, and he'll get to blow off some steam. We'll be able to relax while we're at school/work and not worry about coming home to a disaster zone. This is an expense I never anticipated but am willing to absorb given what I foresee will be the benefits. It means we'll be eating out a little less but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.