Author: Jennifer

I’m Sorry – How An Apologist Became an Activist is a new one-woman play that just opened in Los Angeles, starring none other than Adopt-a-Pet.com’s own Director of Partnerships & Promotions, Katya Friedman! The show is a mesmerizing journey following Katya as she bravely shares her deepest family and personal secrets, transforming her insecurities and directionless life into an inspiring tale of personal triumph and helping animals.

Katya portrays over a dozen different characters as well as herself… including two dogs and a cat! She transforms herself, her small stage and minimal props (a chair, and a few slide shows) into many worlds, including a family gathering in a Texas kitchen, an ad agency board room, and an animal shelter filled with people dumping their unwanted pets. Katya melds heartbreaking moments with more than enough humor to make the hour fly by!

Even reading the play’s program is riveting. It explains most of the events in this show are true, but a few are fantasies that have only transpired in Katya’s mind. All of the characters are conglomerations of people she either knows or has met in her imagination. And it reminds us to take Katya’s message and DO SOMETHING!

There are three shows left, Jan 21, 22 and 23. Prior shows have sold out, so best to buy your tickets online at https://www.plays411.net/sorry

Rabbits make wonderful companions! Rather than buying a rabbit for sale at a pet store or rabbit breeder, adopting a rabbit from an animal shelter or rescue organization is the perfect way to add a rabbit to your family. Today’s rabbits are indoor, spayed/neutered and litter box trained. But how do you know if your home right for a rabbit? Here are some questions to ask yourself before you adopt a Rabbit, from our friends over at the House Rabbit Society.

Do you have OTHER ANIMALS animals that could scare, wound or kill a rabbit?  (Many dogs were bred to capture small animals.) Rabbits can die of fright!

Do you have the TIME AND ENERGY to care for a rabbit?  They are high maintenance companions.  Every day, twice a day they need green veggies, pellets, water, and hay.  Their litter box needs cleaning every two days.  Rabbits are social and need human or rabbit company and plenty of space to run around.

ARE YOU PREPARED to care for a rabbit who lives 10+ years?  What will happen to your rabbit when you move, get married, have kids?  What if your kids lose interest?  Your rabbit cannot survive without you.

DOES EVERYONE in your family want a rabbit?  Does anyone have asthma, allergies or hay fever?  People are rarely allergic to rabbits but may be allergic to the hay they eat.

Can you AFFORD the supplies and medical care your bunny needs?  Rabbits can cost $50-$100 per month for supplies alone.  Vet care for rabbits is more expensive than dogs and cats.  Spaying and neutering a rabbit costs more too (unless you adopt from a reputable rescue or shelter).

If you RENT your home, does your landlord allow rabbits?  Will you move if you have to?

Do you have ENOUGH ROOM for a rabbit?  You’ll need a space at least 4×4 ft (minimum) or a room for your rabbit.  Rabbits need to get out of their pen to exercise daily, and need daily social interaction to stay happy and healthy.

Is your home BUNNY-PROOFED with electrical and computer cords covered or placed out of reach?  Have houseplants and dangerous chemicals been moved to safe places?  Anything in your rabbit’s room may be chewed by your bun!

Will you be available to SUPERVISE children when they’re around the rabbit?  Rabbits are easily injured when picked up by someone who doesn’t know how.  Rabbits can bite and scratch when frightened.

BEFORE YOU ADOPT, have all your supplies in place.

WHEN YOU ADOPT, ask questions!  Rescues are happy to help!

Excerpted from House Rabbit Society (http://www.rabbit.org) materials.

There’s a lot to know when you provide a home for a rabbit. You’ll need to learn what to feed them, how much exercise and attention your rabbit needs and many other important things about how to live beside and care for a house rabbit. Rescues can give you the information you need to have a happy (er, hoppy!), healthy, active rabbit friend.

A great resource is the House Rabbit Society at rabbit.org.

Americans love owning a pets!! That’s a generalization,  but one based on statistical facts from huge surveys that are conducted on an ongoing basis, and compiled every year by some very reputable research organizations. There are some very interesting facts that these studies reveal about pet ownership in the U.S. – and we’ve included some of the most interesting and recent ones from below. If you are doing professional or serious research about pets and pet owners in the United States, you can order the detailed reports at the links listed at the end of this article. But for most of us, the summary information we’ve included here is what’s fun to learn, and doesn’t require getting out your calculator! What’s really amazing about this first fact is that it shows that if everyone who bought their pet from a breeder or pet shop instead ADOPTED from a shelter or rescue – that could, in just one year, reduce unwanted homeless pets in shelters by up to 30%!!

• The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. About 15 to 20 percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, 10 to 20 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, and 2 to 10 percent are purchased from pet shops. (Source: Ralston Purina and NCPPSP)
• About 63 percent of all households in the United States have a pet. (Source: American Veterinary Medical Association)
• About 75 million dogs and about 85 million cats are owned in the United States. (Source: Pet Food Institute)
• According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), about 65 percent of pet owners acquire their pets free or at low cost.
• At least 20 percent of cats are acquired as strays. (Source: NCPPSP) Many strays are lost pets who were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.
• More than 20 percent of people who leave dogs in shelters adopted them from a shelter. (Source: NCPPSP)
• The cost of spaying and neutering a pet is less than the cost of raising puppies or kittens for one year.
• The average cost of basic food, supplies, medical care and training for a dog or cat is $700 to $875 annually.

If you’re looking for the studies quoted above, here are three websites to help you: The National Council on Pet Population Study & Policy (NCPPSP) is at www.petpopulation.org, The American Veterinary Medical Association’s U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics are online at http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp, the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association has their most current survey for sale at www.americanpetproducts.org/pubs_survey.asp

A lovely big fenced in yard is a playtime paradise for your and your a dog… but it can turn into a canine version of barking brimstone if another dog walks by outside the fence, or a not-so-friendly neighbor dog appears on the other side. Or maybe a squirrel family is using the fence top as a freeway! The good news is there are many things you can do to restore peace to your yard, and to you and your dog’s yard playtime. Read on to find out how!

The tips below were inspired by the above “Peace at the Fence” photo, and taken from the accompanying note posted by our friend over at Our Pack, Inc.  Pit Bull Rescue www.OurPack.org – their website has more great training tips, and you can see their well-trained dogs for adoption in their Adopt-a-Pet.com listings.

• First and foremost, we suggest that you don’t leave dogs in the yard unattended. Many things could happen. Supervise when they’re outside. When your dog or dogs are out in the yard, you should be there – and be in charge.
• Check your fences regularly. As they age, gaps in between wooden planks can appear.
• A solid fence is the quickest fix: if you can’t install a block wall, install a solid fence covering on chain link and iron fences.
• Some dogs will listen if you intercede before they’ve gotten all the way into an aroused state. Call the dog to you (if they have a solid recall) or physically prevent them before they charges the fence. If you miss the moment, go and calmly retrieve your dog, leashing if necessary. We wouldn’t let our human 2 year old children scream and yell at neighbors, and the same should go for our dogs. If your dog will not come when called in the yard, follow the training exercise below.

Our Pack’s Peace at the Fence Training Exercise

What works for many dogs is to practice when the other dogs, squirrels, etc. aren’t there. Practice calling your dog to you in the yard when it’s easy. Use high value treats especially at first (for folks who don’t like treat training you can fade them out very quickly as I do). Call him to you and surprise him with a treat. Don’t call him if you don’t think he’ll come to you, wait until you think he’ll do it at first. Have the treat sitting on something or hide it. Don’t hold it out and show it to him. Otherwise you might have to show him the money every time. Have your body in a natural position so you don’t have to have the same body position every time. Call him from different areas in the yard as he improves. Make him think that coming to is way more rewarding than going to the fence

Practice with more and more distractions as time goes on. Using our neighbor dog example, the minute you hear the neighbor’s dog come toward the fence and just as or preferably before your dog hears/sees it call him to you and reward.

If you wait until he’s too aroused he’ll go into the “Sorry, Fido’s not in right now” zone and he may not respond to you. This isn’t because he’s bad, dominant or trying to ruin your life. He’s probably just being a dog with no guidance as to what to do in that setting.

As he gets to about 80% reliable on the recall, start fading the treats down to where you only have to treat once in awhile. Always use praise and really tell your dog how good he is for coming to you. Build a working partnership with him, of course you can be senior partner in these scenarios.

If you have more than one dog, practice with each separately until they get it as above then 2 at a time etc. If you do have the neighbor dog scenerio you can try talking to your neighbor and if he’s game, train together or he might be willing to bring his dog in.

Hire a trainer to help you if you become unsure of what to do.

You really can control the fence happenings and have peace through positive management and being a good leader. You are in charge of your dog. As we always say in the Our Pack class, there’s a reason that dogs don’t drive cars or have jobs. 🙂 They really do rely on us for guidance and of course we love them for just exactly what they are.

Peace!

Happy New Year! Well… almost. There’s still time to make this New Year’s Eve a safe and happy one for your pets. We just received this great press release from the LA Animal Services, and thought it was the perfect time to share it here on our blog, as it applies for pets everywhere, not just in Los Angeles. The press release is titled “Celebratory Noisemakers are No Fun For Pets” – and neither are fireworks which also abound this time of year. So read on for their pet safety tips for New Years Eve.

Make this New Years Eve fun and SAFE for you and your pets! Big gatherings, loud noises, and startling fireworks are some of the things we love about the Holidays – but they can be very frightening for our pets. With a little planning and precaution, you can ensure that this New Years celebration is enjoyable for everyone.

Pet Safety Tips for New Years Eve:

1. UPDATE IDENTIFICATION

The biggest risk of all this New Years Eve is that pets will get loose and become lost. Even if a pet is secured inside, the sound of noisemakers, gunfire, and fireworks can cause them to enter an extreme panic mode – sometimes even breaking through glass windows. Make sure your pets are licensed, microchipped and wearing identification tags.

Dogs should be wearing a current license. You may qualify to renew your LA City dog license on line: http://www.laanimalservices.org/serv_animallicense.htm (Other cities check with your local animal control.)

Make sure the microchip company has your current address and phone numbers.

To learn more about microchipping, ask your veterinarian.

Help us help your best friends get home if they get lost by keeping their license up to date and by always updating your address with the microchip company if you move.

2. KEEP PETS INDOORS

Keep your pets in a safe, enclosed room, preferably one without windows. If you’re having guests over, consider keeping pets in a room that’s off-limits to guests with plenty of water and food.

3. CREATE A CALMING ENVIRONMENT

Surround pets with their favorite toys and other familiar objects. Sometimes the smell of an article of clothing from your laundry can help comfort them. Play soothing music and keep the room as quiet as possible by closing doors, windows, and blinds.

4. KEEP AWAY FROM NOISEMAKERS

Even if your pet doesn’t seem obviously upset by noisemakers and fireworks, they can still cause harm to pets. Avoid potential burns, injuries, or possible ingestion by keeping all pets out of the vicinity of celebratory noisemakers and fireworks.

It’s the holiday season, one of the most popular times for families to adopt a pet – and for pets to end up in the vet emergency office! Both new and experienced pet owners are unaware of how many common items can be hazardous – even fatal – to household pets. Plus, during the holidays our homes are often filled with family and friends who may not fully realize the dangers. You may think your pet would enjoy a party, but the safest thing to do is keep all your pets closed away in a bedroom or otherwise away from the guests, who may, in the generous holiday spirit and excitement of the festivities, not realize that giving a begging dog “just one” treat could be fatal. Especially if your home or festivities include any of these pet-toxic foods or decorative items, please be careful they stay safely out of your pets’ reach… so everyone can safely enjoy the holidays!

If your pet ingests any of these potentially fatal items please CALL YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY.

Human Food: Chocolate, grapes, raisins, avocados, Macadamia nuts, onions or onion powder, garlic, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, any type of cooked bones, fish bones, moldy or spoiled food, raw yeast dough, products sweetened with xylitol which is found in chewing gum or mints.

Common holiday items: antifreeze (tastes sweet pets may lick off floor), ice melting products, liquid potpourri, electrical cords, mothballs, Christmas tree water (pesticides used on the tree can leach into the water), ribbons or tinsel which can clog up intestines.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Car trips with your pet can be so much fun! Ideally you set out smiling with the excitement of being on your way to sharing exploring new worlds, be it a friend’s home, camping in the wilderness, or a fido/fluffy-friendly hotel. Then on the way back, there’s the joy of coming home! But for some pets, car trips can be not only stressful, but can make them sick or cause them injury if they are not properly contained. We’ve done dozens of car trips with our own dogs and cats, from cross-country marathons to short trips around town. Based on our experiences and some research, we’ve narrowed our advice down to the most essential 5 Tips for Safe Car Trips with Your Pets:

1. Pet Seat Belt Harness or Crate. Pets should never be allowed to ride unrestrained inside your car/suv, or outside in the flatbed of a truck. Keep your pets safe in a properly fitted car or flatbed pet harness, secured to the seat-belt or tie-downs, or inside a properly-sized travel crate that is securely strapped in place.
2. Windows Open? Oh my, how dogs love to stick their noses out of a moving car window! But is the danger of your pet being blinded or worse worth it? Check out BreezeGuard‘s car window screens! They will let your dog (or even that adventurous cat) enjoy the same windy sensation much more safely. They also keep your pet safely contained, and inside temperatures matching the outside, when you stop.
3. Back seat. Just like with kids, the back seat is the safest place for your family pet to ride – not all the way in the back of a wagon or truck, and not in the front, especially where an airbag could deploy in case of an accident.
4. Car Sick Pets. Motion sickness is really no fun for you or your pet. Try to not feed them 4-6 hours before the car trip. Make frequent stops if its a long trip. Drive slower than usual, especially around curves. Roll down the window closest to them an inch or two for a safe breeze, or use a BreezeGuard car window screen. If they are a smaller pet, elevating them on a cushion, pet car seat, or in their crate so they can see out the window can help too. You can also get your pet used to car trips and less likely to get sick by taking them on daily short rides around the block, gradually lengthening the trip each time.
5. Collar and ID. Every car trip, make sure your pets are wearing a collar with an up-to-date ID tag. Preferably it should have not only your phone number and address, but your emergency contact phone numbers as well – like your vet, or a neighbor/friend who could take in your pet temporarily. What if you are in an accident, your pet escapes, and you are not home or unable to answer your cell phone? Having your pet microchipped with all those up-to-date contacts is a good safety tip too.

Here’s our latest guest blog post from PawPrints the Magazine! Written by Stacy E. Smith, the article is entitled “I Am That I Am – Could your dog have an identity crisis?” Here’s what she has to say about her experiences trying to determine her mixed breed’s dog heritage using a gene testing kit: Remember Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 film “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS” where Moses kneels in front of a bush that appears to be burning? Moses is asked by the bush to remove his sandals citing something about holy ground, some more pleasantries are exchanged between the bush (a.k.a. God) and Moses, until eventually curiosity gets the best of Moses and he asks…

MOSES: What shall I call you?

BUSH (a.k.a.God, not a former U.S. President) in a booming, but soothing other-worldly voice: “I am that I am.”

What the heck is that supposed to mean? It means the voice, the being, the power, etc. is indescribable in any words known to mankind. The phrases, “Just go with it” or “Take my word for it” could certainly have been inserted in a modern day version. There is just no “knowing” and Moses has to just take it on faith that what he heard and was asked to do would all work out for the best. After all, did it really matter? A bush is speaking and that alone might have been enough for most of us.

That’s sort of how it is with many of us and our pets. On one hand there are people that own purebred, pedigreed dogs. They probably even have special papers that prove lineage back to the beginning of time. They assume that is proof enough and so it should be. Besides, how could you disprove it anyway?

On the other hand there is mixed breed pet ownership. Anyone that owns a mixed breed dog has most likely adopted their pet from a shelter or rescue group or perhaps even found the animal as a stray. There is no way to know the animal’s heritage let alone what breed it is. There is often a best guess made and the book on that subject is closed. Certainly everyone wants to know, but we really can’t expect anyone to know for sure. That’s what I have recently started calling the “I-am-that-I-am” factor. There are no facts to back up the claim that your dog is a Saint Bernard/Border Collie mix or a Yellow Lab mix, but for lack of more information you’re willing to go with that and move on with your life. You love your dog no matter what he/she is. Who cares? The only one that asks you to put it in writing is usually your vet whose paperwork asks the breed of your pet. Often an interested person you meet while out and about might ask and you really need something to say. I mean who wants to answer that question with “I don’t know?” You might even feel like knowing can help explain a dog’s personality or be a help in determining special training or health issues. Other than that it probably makes no difference. And, as I mentioned earlier, you can’t really prove or disprove your theory.

Or can you? What if you could find out what breeds made up your mixed breed dog? Would you?

Guess what? You can find out! Right now – today. Well, the process takes longer than a day, but you can actually begin the process before you finish reading this article (although I’d prefer that you finish since I did go to all the trouble of writing it).

Although there are several companies out there now that perform the test we happened to contact MMI Genomics, Inc. which has a subsidiary called MetaMorphix, Inc. Founded in 1994 the company, among other things, uses DNA technology to improve the global food supply. For example, in livestock they help customers produce higher quality, nutritious meat more efficiently. They eventually wandered into the field of canine genetic testing which allowed breeders to prove the lineage of their litters called the Canine DNA Parentage Test. The Canine DNA Identification Test, DNA PawPrint™ product, produces a unique DNA profile of a dog. Since DNA is passed from parent to offspring, these DNA profiles can be used to verify relationships – it is used to determine parents of dogs. Breeders and owners of dogs use this test to ensure accuracy of breeding records, confirm and guarantee pedigrees and protect breed integrity.

But what if none of that is important to you? What if your dog’s history is unknown and is some sort of mix? These days any dog owner is able to find out what breeds make up their mutt. The test developed by MetaMorphix, Inc. just for that purpose is called the Canine Heritage™ Breed Test. At the outset the company was able to test against 38 breeds and is now able to test for over 100.

Being the owners of all mixed breed dogs we couldn’t wait to try it ourselves. I emailed the company immediately to get the ball rolling.

Here is what we thought we had living with us: Keegan, a Border Collie/Shetland Sheep mix (we were 99.9% sure because we knew who the mother and father were); Clyde, a Saint Bernard/who-knows-what mix (we were told he was mixed with a Border Collie, but knowing a lot about that particular breed we knew that was wrong); Seamus, a Saint Bernard/Border Collie mix and Sedgwick, a Yellow Lab/shepherd mix.

The testing kits arrived at our home and were in plastic tubes with the swab, instructions and return address label rolled up inside. The swab really looked like a bottle brush – bristly, not a cotton swab. All that was necessary was to take the brush and run it along the gum/cheek area of the dog for thirty seconds and place the swab inside the designated receptacle. Along with that there were some short forms to fill out and added to the mailing tube and that was it. The mailman took them away and a few weeks later we had the results.

Now at the time we had the test was performed MetaMorphix, Inc. only had the capability of determining 38 breeds. The results have three designations and are described here by MetaMorphix, Inc.:

Primary – This category is intended to help owners recognize when their pet’s DNA contains a majority of a specific breed (i.e. 50% or greater). If your dog has a strong match to one of our [available] breeds, then it is categorized as primary. Most mixed breed dogs will not usually have a breed in this category unless one or both of their parents are purebred.

Secondary – This category reports breeds that are easily recognizable within your dog. While these breeds may have a strong influence on your pet, each breed listed makes up less than the majority of your dog’s DNA.

In the Mix – This final category identifies breeds that have the least amount of influence on your pet’s composition, however, they still appear, at a low and measurable amount, in your pet’s DNA.

So, you want to know the how to get your very own Canine Heritage™ Breed Test kit and more importantly how much it will cost you, right?

The test kits can be purchased on-line at www.canineheritage.com. It can also be purchased at Petco. The best part is that the test isn’t too expensive – only about $120. Either way, your results will be mailed back to you in 4 – 6 weeks and you will even get a certificate suitable for framing that can even include a photo of your pet as long as you’re able to supply one via email.

Speaking of supplying photos… If anyone out there has a DNA test done on their mixed breed dog (no matter what company you choose to perform the test), email your dog’s photo to us at info@pawprintsthemagazine.com, along with the dog’s name and breed results and we’ll post it on pawprintsthemagazine.com!

It’s working! Our friends at PeoplePets.com have been featuring adoptable pets from Adopt-a-Pet.com, and they’ve been getting adopted! PeoplePets.com just put together a gallery of all this year’s success stories, in honor of October being Adopt-A-Dog Month. You can see all the feel good stories here. Make sure to check out all the wonderful Adopt-a-Pet.com animals that found happy forever homes, and thank you for spreading the word that adoption is truly the best option.