http://www.shelterandrescue.org/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:15:29 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/attracting/challenges/window_collisions Birds - How to Avoid Window Collisions How to Avoid Window Collisions Windows Can Be Deadly For Birds. Ornithologists estimate that up to 100 million birds are killed each year by collisions with windows. These collisions usually involve small songbirds, such as finches, that may fall unnoticed to the ground. Sometimes the birds are merely stunned and recover in a few moments. Often, though, window hits lead to severe internal injuries and death. Why Birds Collide With Windows. It's thought that birds hit windows because they see the landscape-trees, sky, clouds-reflected on the glass surface but do not realize that a hard, transparent surface lies between them and that apparent open space. Panicking birds, fleeing for cover to escape predators, are even more likely to fly into windows. A related problem-more annoying than lethal-occurs when birds attack windows. It usually occurs in spring, and is due to birds' urge to defend breeding territories. The male cardinal pecking at your window is fighting what he perceives as an intruding male-he doesn't understand that it's his own reflection. This territorial reaction may be so strong that the bird may exhaust himself, but it usually doesn't result in fatal injury. How to Help a Window Collision Victim If you find a bird dazed from a window hit, place it in a dark container with a lid such as a shoebox, and leave it somewhere warm and quiet, out of reach of pets and other predators. If the weather is extremely cold, you may need to take it inside. Do not try to give it food and water, and resist handling it as much as possible. The darkness will calm the bird while it revives, which should occur within a few minutes, unless it is seriously injured. Release it outside as soon as it appears awake and alert. If the bird doesn't recover in a couple of hours, you should take it to a veterinarian or wildlife rehabilitator. Remember that, technically, it is illegal to handle a migratory bird without a permit. Safeguarding Your Windows For Birds Window strikes are something you should be aware of and try to prevent, especially if you feed wild birds in your backyard. Start by identifying which window is the problem-large picture windows are usually the worst culprits. Go outside near your feeders and look at your windows from a bird's point of view. If you see branches or sky reflected in the glass when you look at your window, the birds can as well. Can you see through the window into the house? If so, the birds can too. Is there another window on the opposite wall of the house? It may give birds the illusion of a fly-through passage to the habitat outside. Try some of these ideas to make your windows safer: Relocate feeders and other attractants. You can start by simply moving your feeders and birdbaths to new locations. Bird strikes usually occur at particular windows, so moving feeders farther away from them may solve the problem entirely. You can also try placing your feeders much closer to the glass-if a feeder is just a foot or two from a window, birds may still fly into it, but not with enough force to injure themselves. Avoid apparent visual tunnels. Bright windows on the opposite wall from your picture window may give the illusion of a visual tunnel through which birds may try to fly. Try making one window less transparent by keeping a shade drawn or a door closed, or by altering the lighting inside the house. You can also make the glass less transparent by taping paper or cardboard on the inside of the panes-unslightly, but a good temporary measure until you can find a better solution. Break up external reflections with stickers or plastic wrap. Break up window reflections by sticking objects to the outside of the glass. Black plastic silhouettes of a falcon, hawk, or owl sometimes work, not because they look like predators but because they disrupt the window's reflectivity. Semi-transparent stickers can also do the job-some have decorative bird shapes, or look like spider webs. Sheets of plastic food wrap may work too. Disrupt reflections with spray-on materials or soap. Try spraying fake Christmas snow on the outside of the window, or drawing streaks across it with bar soap. Again, the goal is to break up external reflections. Attach branches in front of windows. For a more natural look, attach dead tree branches in front of your window. They may cause the birds to slow down and avoid the window as they fly toward it. You can arrange the branches so they don't obscure your view. Attach hanging objects to deter birds. Hang lightweight, shiny items in front of the window so they move in the breeze and dissuade birds from approaching. Try strips of shiny, reflective plastic (hung a few inches apart), old aluminum pie plates, or unwanted compact discs. Reduce reflections with trees or awnings. Reduce the amount of light reaching a problem window by planting shade trees close to it. This will help prevent reflections. However, it will also obstruct your view. Trees take time to grow, so consider shading your window with an awning instead. Either one may help birds by reducing the amount of sky reflected in windows. Cover windows with netting. Place netting over the window. It provides a physical barrier to birds flying into the glass, yet won't obstruct your view. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology installed crop netting-the kind used to keep birds away from fruit trees-in front of a large picture window next to our bird- feeding garden in our original building. The result? No more dead and injured birds. Small-mesh netting is best-ours was 5/8" (1.6 cm) in diameter-so if birds do fly into it they won't get their heads or bodies entangled but will bounce off unharmed. You can mount the netting on a frame, such as a storm-window frame, for easy installation and removal. You could also try insect screening material. Install windows tilting downwards. If you're installing new windows, ask your contractor to position them slightly off vertical, facing downwards. Then the outer window surface will reflect the ground rather than the sky and trees, but won't affect your view from inside the house. Be aware, though, that this may void your warranty. Your contractor or architect may have other useful ideas about how to minimize habitat reflection in your windows. BirdNotes--Making Your Windows Safe for Birds Additional information is available in this edition of BirdNotes. (Requires the free PDF reader.) http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/notes/BirdNote10_Windows.pdf Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - 8/20/08 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/08/birds_how_to_avoid_window_coll.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/08/birds_how_to_avoid_window_coll.html Birds Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:15:29 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/smaller_dogs_aggression_080708. html He's a Biter: Smaller Dogs Show Higher-Than-Average Aggression Levels August 7, 2008 By Adam Goldfarb These days it's hard to find a red-carpet event that doesn’t include the celeb-utante of the month toting around a small dog in a $2,000 purse. These pint-sized pooches might be cute, but a recent study from the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science suggests their bite might be worse than their bark. In the study, dachshunds and chihuahuas showed higher-than-average aggression levels toward both people and other dogs when compared to other breeds. Though breed alone can't determine a dog’s likelihood to bite, this study should serve as a stern reminder that small dogs—as cute as they might be—are still dogs, and any dog can bite. Furry Faux-Pas Despite the pictures that are often featured in celebrity magazines and the movies and television shows that portray small dogs as fashion accessories, animals should never be acquired or treated that way. All dogs, large or small, fluffy or hairless, have special needs. Animals are not dolls, and most do not enjoy being dressed up, unless they need special protection from the weather. Whether you have a petite poodle or a mighty mastiff, dogs are dogs, and they’re best served when their owners remember that. Why Would Small Dogs Bite? A chihuahua sees things from a very different perspective than a Great Dane. Tiny canines are constantly underfoot in a world that's much larger than they are. It's not surprising that such an animal would be fearful. This study supports that idea: dachshunds, chihuahuas and Yorkshire terriers all showed above average fear coupled with aggression. Where Do They Come From? Dachshunds and chihuahuas are both very popular breeds, and there's no shortage of unscrupulous puppy mills selling poorly-bred versions of these dogs online, through newspaper ads and in pet stores. Any dog from a puppy mill is at a greater risk of developing health and behavior problems—including aggression. Read more about puppy mills and how to avoid buying a puppy mill dog by visiting www.stoppuppymills.org. What to Do If you're a small dog owner, don't fret—most of these guys won't turn into demonic ankle-biters. You can help steer your dog in the right direction through early and regular socialization and positive training. • Socialization means exposing your dog to different people, things and situations. It’s especially important for puppies to be well-socialized, but socialization should continue regularly through a dog's adult years too. • Teaching your dog basic skills like sitting, lying down or returning to you on command can help build your dog's confidence. Training through positive reinforcement rewards your dog for succeeding and simply teaching these basic skills can go a long way. • If there are children in the house, make sure they are trained too! Children should be taught that small animals are not toys and should be treated gently and with respect. Always supervise children when they are interacting with a dog. Professional Help Aggression is a problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Dog bites can cause serious damage—even when small dogs are involved. If your dog has developed tendencies to snarl, snap or bite people, professional help may be in order. Consult with a trainer or behaviorist for experienced advice. Adam Goldfarb is an issues specialist for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS. Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - Aug. 10, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/08/hes_a_biter_smaller_dogs_show.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/08/hes_a_biter_smaller_dogs_show.html Behavior Problems & Solutions Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:20:47 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://tinyurl.com/5d2q8s What It Costs to Own a Cat By: Dr. John Williams The cost of owning a cat has gone up. Cost of Owning a Cat Skyrockets Penlights that double as lug wrenches, the latest buffalo meat and chocolate cream pie diet book - ever wonder why all these questionable items are grouped together in the checkout lane? The answer is pretty simple: all of them fall under the heading "impulse purchasing" – things we buy on impulse, without taking the time to consider their usefulness. We are all susceptible. If you don't believe it, look in your garage or "junk drawer." While most impulse purchases are harmless enough, some are anything but trivial. Consider an addition to the family - of the four-legged variety. Often, well-intentioned people see a kitten that captures their heart and, without considering the ramifications, impulsively take the animal home. The expense of owning a pet is probably the most overlooked consequence of any pet-owner relationship. Advances in pet care, especially in the development of pet foods and medical research, have caused ownership costs to increase over the last 10 years. Since it's not likely that this trend will reverse itself any time soon, potential "pet parents" should consider their finances before taking home a new pet. While it is certainly not necessary that a house cat have a diamond collar or a Wedgwood china food bowl, all owners need to provide the basics of professional medical care, quality food and adequate shelter. The only other necessity for a responsible owner to provide is love - and that's free. Listed below are approximate costs of basic care for cats. Costs can vary widely, depending on where you live and specifics associated with each individual pet. The Cost of a Cat Purchase prices of cats and kittens vary according to type and quality of animal. However, many kittens are free for the asking because of the seemingly unending supply of unplanned and unwanted litters. While most house cats are mixed breeds, pure breeds are now becoming popular, and their costs vary as do purebred dogs. Kittens - The First Year Veterinary Care/Laboratory Tests - $150 to $225 Immunizations - $120 to $185 Internal/External Parasite Treatment and Control - $50 to $140 Spay/Neuter - $90 to $200. The cost may depend on the cat's sex and age. Food - $100 to $200 Miscellaneous (toys, beds, bowls, scratching post, litter box, etc.) - $125 to $150 Total: $635 to $1100 Cats - Annual Costs Veterinary Care/Laboratory Tests - $70 to $150 Wellness exams/Immunizations - $80 to $175 Internal/External Parasite Control - $50 to $90 Food - $75 to $200 Miscellaneous (litter, toys, etc.) - $100 to $155 Total: $375 to $770 Note: These costs will vary considerably, depending on special care. Typically, indoor cats require only routine annual veterinary care until they reach their later years - usually after they are 10 years old. In later years, more medical attention, special diets, and medications may be required. You should also note that costs vary between stores, veterinarians and by region. This does not include adoption fees or boarding or pet sitting expenses. Legal Disclaimer If your pet is showing any signs of distress or you suspect your pet is seriously ill, CONTACT YOUR VETERINARIAN immediately. All of the information presented on this website was developed by Intelligent Content Corporation staff members and is the sole responsibility of Intelligent Content Corporation. See the legal terms on the website for additional legal terms. http://www.petplace.com/cats/what-it-costs-to-own-a-cat/page1.aspx?utm_source=catcrazynews001et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=petplace_article&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 15, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/what_it_costs_to_own_a_cat.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/what_it_costs_to_own_a_cat.html Cats Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:38:32 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://tinyurl.com/64cuhd What It Costs to Own a Dog By: Dr. John Williams Penlights that double as lug wrenches, the latest buffalo meat and chocolate cream pie diet book - ever wonder why all these questionable items are grouped together in the checkout lane? The answer is pretty simple: all of them fall under the heading "impulse purchasing" – things we buy on impulse, without taking the time to consider their usefulness. We are all susceptible. If you don't believe it, look in your garage or "junk drawer." While most impulse purchases are harmless enough, some are anything but trivial. Consider an addition to the family - of the four-legged variety. Often, well-intentioned people see a puppy that captures their heart and, without considering the ramifications, impulsively take the animal home. The expense of owning a pet is probably the most overlooked consequence of any pet-owner relationship. Advances in pet care, especially in the development of pet foods and medical research, have caused ownership costs to increase over the last 10 years. Since it's not likely that this trend will reverse itself any time soon, potential "pet parents" should consider their finances before taking home a new pet. While it is certainly not necessary that a dog have a diamond collar or a Wedgwood china food bowl, all owners need to provide the basics of professional medical care, quality food and adequate shelter. The only other necessity for a responsible owner to provide is love - and that's free. Listed below are approximate costs of basic care for dogs. Costs can vary widely, depending on where you live and specifics associated with each individual pet. The Cost of a Dog The costs of a new puppy vary significantly. A mixed breed from a local animal shelter will be a lot cheaper than a pure breed, and the quality of the pure breed will push the purchase price even higher. "Show quality" puppies with impressive pedigrees and desired conformation characteristics will be much more expensive than those designated as "pet quality." In addition, the type of purebred dog will directly affect the costs. Common breeds, such as cocker spaniels, schnauzers and beagles will cost less than the same quality of rare breeds. Small to medium-sized dogs Estimated life span: 14 years First year: $740 to $1,325 Estimated annual costs thereafter: $500 to $875 Total cost over a dog's lifetime is about $7,240 to $12,700. Large to giant-sized dogs Estimated life span: 8 years First year: $1020 to $1,825 Estimated annual costs thereafter: $690 to $875 Total estimated lifetime cost: $5,850 to $7,950. Puppies – The First Year Veterinary Care/Laboratory Tests - $100 to $200 Physical examinations and Immunizations - $80 to $200 Internal/External Parasite Treatment and Control - $100 to $150 Spay/Neuter - $90 to $200. The cost often depends on the dog's size and age. Food - $150 to $250 Miscellaneous (collars, leads, crate, toys, bed, obedience training) - $250 to $285 Total: $770 to $1,285 Dogs - Annual Costs Veterinary Care/Examinations/Laboratory - $150 to $255 Immunizations - $60 to $75 Internal/External Parasite Preventatives - $120 to $190 Food - $150 to $300 Miscellaneous - $100 to $125 Total: $580 to $945 NOTE: Amounts vary considerably, based on factors such as growth rate and size of the adult dog, types of food and unforeseen medical conditions. Generally, puppies require more routine medical attention than adult dogs. However, statistics show that older animals (those over eight years old) will require more veterinary care than younger adults. You should also note that costs vary between stores, veterinarians and by region. http://www.petplace.com/dogs/what-it-costs-to-own-a-dog/page1.aspx?utm_source=dogcrazynews001et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=petplace_article&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 15, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/what_it_costs_to_own_a_dog.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/what_it_costs_to_own_a_dog.html Dogs Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:58:17 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/magazine/13pets-t.html? _r=2&oref=slogin&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin Pill-Popping Pets July 13, 2008 Pill-Popping Pets By JAMES VLAHOS Correction Appended Max retrieves Frisbees. He gobbles jelly beans. He chases deer. He is — and this should be remembered when discussions of cases like his blunder into the thickets of cognitive ethology, normative psychology and intraspecies solipsism — a good dog. A 3-year-old German shepherd, all rangy limbs and skittering paws, he patrols the hardwood floors and wall-to-wall carpets of a cul-de-sac home in Lafayette, Calif., living with Michelle Spring, a nurse, and her husband, Allan, a retired airline pilot. Max fields tennis balls with his dexterous forelegs and can stand on his hindquarters to open the front door. He loves car rides and will leap inside any available auto, even ones belonging to strangers. Housebroken, he did slip up once indoors, but everybody knows that the Turducken Incident simply wasn’t his fault. “He’s agile,” Allan says. “He’s healthy. He’s a good-looking animal.” Michelle adds, “We love him to death.” That is why they had no choice, she says. The dog simply had to go on psychoactive drugs. I arrived the night Max was to receive his first pill. He picked at the food in his chow bowl while the Springs sat at the kitchen table discussing his problems. For starters, there was his overpowering need to be near people, especially Allan. If they put Max outside, he quickly relieved himself and then rushed back indoors; he raced into rooms that Allan was about to occupy; he rested his head against the bathroom door during his master’s ablutions. “Watch this,” Allan said. He and Michelle stood up to hug. The moment they touched, Max unleashed a string of high- pitched barks. “He likes being close to us, but he doesn’t like us being close to each other,” Allan said. These behaviors, however, weren’t what prompted the psychiatric intervention. The Springs led me downstairs to the family room — Max, supper unfinished, bounded ahead. Downstairs, Allan pointed to Max, who was lying on the floor and staring at his tail. He looked angry at it, disturbed by it. “You can see the pressure building in his psyche until he’s ready to explode,” Michelle said. And then he did: Max jumped to his feet and lunged. His jaws snapped, catching only air, and he spun counterclockwise in place, an accelerating blur of fur and teeth and frustration. Tail-chasing is normal — except that Max did it daily, often for hours on end. “He’s like a junkie needing a fix,” Allan said. “At times he can’t not do it. He goes berserk.” Allan went upstairs and returned moments later with a bit of ground turkey and a pill. He hid the pill in the meat and extended his hand to Max, who had stopped spinning. The medicine was chemically identical to clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant used in human psychiatric care, but it came in a green-and- white Novartis box brightened by the picture of a happy yellow lab. This wasn’t Anafranil, the brand name for the human version of the drug; it was Clomicalm, just for dogs. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating separation anxiety, a problem that can occur when dogs are left home alone, the medication is also commonly prescribed off-label for patients with Max’s diagnosis: compulsive disorder. He was the canine version of a person who washes his hands 20 times an hour. Max leaned forward and gulped the pill down. The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior- modification and “lifestyle” drugs specifically for pets. America’s animals, it seems, have very American health problems. More than 20 percent of our dogs are overweight; Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved by the F.D.A. last year as the country’s first canine anti-obesity medication. Dogs live 13 years on average, considerably longer than they did in the past; Pfizer’s Anipryl treats cognitive dysfunction so that absent-minded pets can remember the location of the supper bowl or doggy door. For lonely dogs with separation anxiety, Eli Lilly brought to market its own drug Reconcile last year. The only difference between it and Prozac is that Reconcile is chewable and tastes like beef. Doggy diet pills may be plainly absurd, but scientists in an expanding field known as behavioral pharmacology say that the combination of new drug therapies and progressive training techniques can solve problems that in the past almost always resulted in euthanasia. The supposed effectiveness of psychiatric medicines in treating mood and behavior issues is prompting new questions in the centuries-old debate over what, exactly, separates mankind from the beasts. If the strict Cartesian view were true — that animals are essentially flesh-and-blood automatons, lacking anything resembling human emotion, memory and consciousness — then why do animals develop mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones and that respond to the same medications? What can behavioral pharmacology teach us about animal minds and, ultimately, our own? ON SEPT. 5, 1379, A TRIO OF French pigs, agitated by the squealing of a piglet, bowled over their keeper’s son, who died shortly thereafter of the injuries. As E. P. Evans recounts in his 1906 monograph, “The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals,” “the three sows, after due process of law, were condemned to death” along with several other pigs who had “hastened to the scene of the murder and by their cries and aggressive actions showed that they approved of the assault.” (The accomplices were later pardoned.) Fast- forward to December 2007 to witness a curious animal proceeding of the modern era: Mitzi-Bitzi, a lap dog, modeling a $118,000 diamond bracelet at the opening of Chateau Poochie, a pet hotel and spa near Miami. “She’s just so special,” her owner, Marilyn Belkin, told me later, as if that explained things. The sows and Mitzi got opposite treatment, but the beliefs of Belkin and the pig prosecutors weren’t so different. In medieval times and in the present, we often act as if animals had thoughts, feelings and desires that resemble those of people. How else could you justify the porcine death penalty; why splurge on a blueberry facial when a simple roll on the lawn would do? Marketers have a new name for the age-old tendency to view animals as furry versions of ourselves: “humanization,” a trend that is fueling the explosive growth of the pet industry and the rise of modern pet pharma. Americans forked over $49 billion for pet products and services last year, up $11.5 billion from 2003; other than consumer electronics, pet products are the fastest-growing retail segment. The market expansion is being driven both by more pets and by more spending per pet, especially by affluent baby boomers whose children have graduated from college. A third of the total spending, and the fastest-growing category, is health care, with treatments formerly reserved for people — root canals, chemotherapy, liposuction, mood pills — being administered to pets. “I get asked all the time, ‘What is it with this humanization — do we suddenly love our pets a whole lot more?’ ” says David Lummis, who analyzes the pet industry for the market research firm Packaged Facts. “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet.” Humanization has pharmaceutical companies salivating like Pavlov’s dogs. Surveys by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found that 77 percent of dog owners and 52 percent of cat owners gave their animals some sort of medication in 2006, both up at least 25 percentage points from 2004. Sales of drugs for pets recently surpassed those for farm animals. Eli Lilly created its “companion animal” division at the beginning of 2007 and over the next three years hopes to release several other drugs. Pfizer, whose companion animal revenues have grown 57 percent since 2003 to nearly $1 billion, hopes to develop medications for pain, cancer and behavioral issues. Most consumer spending is still on traditional pet medications like antiparasitics, but Ipsos, a marketing research firm, estimates that at least $15 million was spent on behavior- modification drugs in the United States in 2005. “As people are seeing more complex and sophisticated drugs for themselves, they want that same quality for their pets,” Dr. Melanie Berson, a veterinarian at the F.D.A.’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, has said. People’s willingness to employ behavior-modifying medications stems in part from a growing desire for more convenient, obedient household animals. “Our expectations are really going up,” Lummis says. “Owners want their pets to be more like little well-behaved children.” Potent as a marketing trend, humanization has long been scorned as scientific practice by researchers working in the behaviorist tradition of B. F. Skinner. In “Inside the Animal Mind,” George Page summarizes the reasons: “Since we cannot get inside the animal’s mind . . . and since the animal cannot report what’s going on — not in a ‘language’ we can readily understand — all we have left are guesses and speculation fatally tainted by anthropomorphism.” Strict behaviorists focus instead on observable stimulus-response conditioning: for example, a puppy learning to sit to receive a treat. Actions that cannot be explained this way are usually attributed to blind instinct. As such, hard-core Skinnerian philosophy amounts to a perversion of cogito ergo sum: I can’t prove that animals think, therefore they don’t. In dealing with problem pets, veterinarians with a behaviorist bent don’t concern themselves so much with what might be happening inside the brain of the animal or try to correct neurochemical imbalances with drugs. Instead, a compulsive or anxious animal is seen as one that just needs to be better-trained. The debate about animal minds is at least as old as Aristotle, who posited that men alone possess reason. The 17th-century French philosopher Nicolas Malebranche wrote that animals “desire nothing, fear nothing, know nothing,” while Voltaire asked, “Answer me, mechanist, has Nature arranged all the springs of feeling in this animal to the end that he might not feel?” Darwin’s view was, Of course not. In “The Descent of Man” he wrote, “We have seen that the senses and intuitions, the various emotions and faculties . . . of which man boasts, may be found in an incipient, or even sometimes in a well- developed condition, in the lower animals.” The staggering assertion of Darwin’s theory is that evolutionary continuity applies not just to bodies but to brains. “The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind,” he wrote. For much of the 20th century scientists willfully dismissed this line of thinking, which has been rekindled only in the past three decades with the rise of a field known as cognitive ethology. The guiding belief is that while it is scientifically baseless to assume that animals think and feel just as we do, it is equally foolhardy to assume that they don’t think and feel at all. In laboratory experiments and field observations, practitioners have presented evidence of analogical reasoning by apes, counting by rats and the capacity of pigeons to distinguish the paintings of Picasso from those of Monet. Researchers have demonstrated that animals can grasp basic abstractions like “same” and “different” and use mental flexibility to solve novel problems in the laboratory for which hard-wired instinct couldn’t have prepared them. It is impressive but perhaps unsurprising that a parrot was taught to categorize colors or that dolphins learned the syntactic distinction between “take the surfboard to the Frisbee” and “take the Frisbee to the surfboard” — we already tend to think of these animals as being smart. More eye-opening are glimmers of cognition from way down the phylogenetic chain. Research has shown that bumblebees can remember which flowers they have already visited and that two-inch- long cockroaches from Madagascar can tell the difference between a familiar person and a stranger. (If the bug hisses loudly at you, it’s time to introduce yourself.) Cognitive ethologists have had more difficulty gathering evidence for animal emotion. To any pet owner who has stroked a purring cat or watched a dog cavort when his chow hits the bowl, it seems intuitively obvious that animals experience feelings. But intuition isn’t hard science — it’s just more humanization. Enter behavioral pharmacology, which has provided a tantalizing new window into the animal mind. Dr. Nicholas Dodman, who pioneered the field and founded the Tufts University Animal Behavior Clinic, says that skeptics of the premise that animals have emotional states used to ask him how he could say that a pacing, hyperventilating dog was actually feeling anxious. “Well, how about this?” Dodman would reply. “We’ll give him an antianxiety drug and see what happens.” THE GROUNDS OF THE CUMMINGS School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts sprawl over 640 acres of rolling greenery in central Massachusetts. When I arrived to visit in March, one of the first things Dodman told me was that the campus used to be the site of a state mental hospital. Like other facilities, it had been shuttered in the 1960s following the revolutionary discovery of drugs that treated schizophrenia and other disorders so effectively that many patients no longer required institutionalization. “Ironically, this paved the way for our school, our behavior program, and novel pharmacological treatments for animal behavior problems,” Dodman said. Or, as he later said, “we traded one group of inmates for another.” Dodman, an Englishman, began his career in the early 1970s as a roving country vet in the tradition of James Herriot; he went on to write a popular series of advice books for pet owners, the latest of which is “The Well-Adjusted Dog.” In 1981 he moved to the United States to become a professor of anesthesia at Cummings. Drugs interested him greatly but comatose patients, increasingly, did not, and he began to wonder: Could medications transform veterinary behavioral medicine just as radically as they had human psychiatric care? He says he quickly realized that the field was “completely wide open, like virgin snow.” At a veterinary conference in the late 1980s, he presented his vision of the psychoactive frontier and “saw jaws drop around the room. It was like, ‘Who is this strange masked man?’ ” Three decades later, “it’s almost mainstream for behaviorists to know something about pharmacology,” Dodman says. Inside his small office, Dodman, wearing a tie-and-tasseled- loafer ensemble topped by a white lab coat, received the day’s first patient. A muzzled dog on a short lead towed Joe and Mahala Richards, from Mendon, Mass., into the room. “So here we have Zoey, who’s a yellow black-mouthed cur, 5 years old, and you got her at 7 months,” Dodman said. “I’m already picking up that she’s fearful and anxious, and that usually stems from a disturbed childhood.” “We know she was abused,” Mahala said. “There you go,” Dodman replied. Joe said Zoey’s problem was that she sometimes attacked when food was around. The worst incident had happened a week ago when Mahala was watching television and reached for a piece of cheese. “She just came after me,” Mahala said. Joe added, “Zoey had her on the couch — she’s screaming at the top of her lungs— and Zoey just kept going at her hands.” Mahala held up a scarred wrist. “My God, that’s nasty,” Dodman said. He listened for 20 minutes and then issued a diagnosis: something called “conflict aggression,” which meant that occasionally Zoey forgot that she didn’t need to fight to get her share of food. Zoey was to be kept from hot dogs, peanut- butter bones and any other culinary provocations. High places like beds were forbidden (elevated positions can make dogs feel more confident), and exercise was essential. Outlining what he called the “nothing in life is free” program, Dodman said that Zoey should be made to sit before feeding and that affection was to be rationed. The overall goal was to get Zoey to respect the leadership of her owners, which would raise her inhibition to attack. These behavior modifications alone might be enough to cure Zoey, Dodman concluded. “We don’t want to have to put her down,” Mahala replied quietly. “No,” Dodman said. “A serious bite is a risk factor for euthanasia for the dog, which is why another component of the program might be some medicine. If we were to ask Zoey: ‘Look, if you slip up in the future, and you bite someone like that again, the chances are you’re not going to come out of it alive. But we can make you feel better if we give you some medicine like, for example, Prozac. Would you like to have the medicine that might save your life?’ And she might go, ‘Grrr-rrr rrrup — yeah, yeah, I’ll take the medicine.’ It’s a lifesaving thing.” Joe and Mahala left a half-hour later with a scrip in hand. Aggression is the leading issue that brings animals into clinics; it and other behavior problems are the top reasons that pets are surrendered to shelters. Half of them are euthanized, roughly three to four million animals per year, and an equal number are believed to be put down in private practices. Treatment with psychoactive medications is then a very real alternative to lethal injection. Prozac, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (S.S.R.I.), prolongs the effects of that neurotransmitter to reduce impulsivity, stabilize moods and lower anxiety, Dodman says. He is friends with the noted Harvard psychiatrist John Ratey, and they once compared the drugs they employ to treat violent people and animals. “You superimpose my portfolio on top of his, and it’s the same thing,” Dodman says. He has patented his S.S.R.I. approach and is working with a pharmaceutical company, Accura Animal Health, that plans to bring it to market as the first F.D.A.-approved treatment for canine aggression. (The current use of Prozac and similar drugs is prescribed off-label.) Aggression is a feline problem too. A few weeks after visiting Dodman, I went to the home of a man in West Los Angeles whose pet was on Prozac. The owner, Doug, asked me not to use his last name because he didn’t want business associates to know about what he called his “cougar psycho little miniature stalker” — Booboo the cat. The first incident took place four years ago after Booboo ate some decorative dried flowers. Booboo scaled his cat tree and sat there with his eyes “a little dilated and cross-eyed,” Doug said. He started “growling like a banshee,” released “a high, shrill wail” and lunged. “He ripped my leg up and wouldn’t let go.” Doug fled, and Booboo pursued. Finally he was able to trap the cat in a bedroom. From then on Booboo was different. He would periodically ambush Doug. Over time, Doug noticed that attacks were more likely if he smelled at all abnormal — for instance, if he had been near a woman wearing perfume — so he would take a shower after coming home and then change into his designated cat-wrangling outfit. Doug consulted a behaviorist, Dr. Karen Sueda. One hypothesis was that Booboo suffered from a feline version of schizophrenia — there is evidence that animals experience auditory and visual hallucinations and can temporarily enter deluded states in which they attack. Sueda didn’t think that was likely with Booboo, nor did she think his attacks were motivated by fear, as is often the case with animal aggression. In Booboo she says she saw a dominant, confident cat who “wanted to control his personal territory.” One theory about such animals is that they suffer from a neurochemical imbalance. As Dodman explained in his book “The Cat Who Cried for Help,” “By engaging in and winning aggressive encounters, dominant animals drive up serotonin levels and gain in composure.” Sueda prescribed Prozac to boost the effects of the neurotransmitter. Doug led me up the stairs in his house to the second floor. He donned a pair of khakis that he had lined with heavy-gauge ballistic nylon and washed up because he had shaken hands with me. He crept toward the master bedroom, where Booboo was permanently quarantined behind a door that had been remounted to swing outward to facilitate quick escapes by Doug. “Just behind this door lurks the Tasmanian devil,” Doug said before slipping inside. I squatted at ground level and watched through a transparent doggy door. The 400-square-foot room had a walk-in closet, a four-poster bed and a floor-to-ceiling view of Beverly Hills mansions dotting a scenic canyon. The suite belonged entirely to Booboo, though Doug said he was now able to sleep over a few nights a week. Booboo slinked past the window and gave me a steady gaze. He had a tuxedo coat, mostly black but with patches of white on his feet, underbelly and forehead. Doug scooped him up and they nuzzled face to face. “He’s just warm, soft and fuzzy, and he purrs, and he’s cuddly,” he murmured. Separation anxiety, bane of modern home-alone dogs and target of Lilly’s new Reconcile, is a problem millennia in the making. Archaeologists and geneticists estimate that the domestication of wolves (Canis lupus) into dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) began at least 15,000 years ago. One hypothesis about how this happened is that as humans settled down and established villages, piles of discarded food scraps and plant matter accumulated on the outskirts. Wolves that were genetically predisposed to be slightly less fearful of humans would feed off the free bounty, while the more skittish animals would steer clear. “At this point, natural selection would take over,” Jake Page explains in “Dogs: A Natural History.” “As the dump-loving wolves reproduced with each other, their tameness would probably become more and more pronounced.” The gentler animals were increasingly favored and brought into our lives to the point that many dogs (42 percent, according to a survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association) now sleep in the same beds as their owners. Extreme attachment to people is one of the defining traits of dogs. Extreme attachment, unfortunately, also causes some dogs extreme suffering when deprived of their owners’ company. Martha and Phil Bridges live in Sacramento with a 2-year-old lab mix named Rocco. The Bridges told me that when they left home and went to work each day from 8 a.m to 5 p.m., they would lock Rocco in a large cage in the dining room to keep the young dog from running amok. One day last fall they returned to find the dog loose with his nose bloodied from prying the cage door open. They locked him in it again. The next evening Rocco was still inside but had shredded his pillow bed and reared up so violently that the cage was destroyed. Next the Bridges used a baby gate to block off part of the house so that Rocco would have more room to roam. He stripped five feet of carpeting from the floor. They locked him in the bathroom. Shower curtain shredded, shampoo swallowed, door frame torn. Realizing they needed help, the Bridges took Rocco to see Dr. Rachel Malamed, a resident at the Behavior Service at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. She diagnosed separation anxiety, outlined a retraining program and wrote a scrip. The happy outcome: Rocco “has never had another problem since we put him on Reconcile,” Martha says. An estimated 14 percent or more of American dogs have separation anxiety. The problem signs include home and self-destruction; prolonged whining, barking or drooling; or simply standing by the front door all day in a lonely, panting vigil. (“Nannycam”-type video recorders have captured all of the above.) The terms for Reconcile’s F.D.A. approval were that the drug had to be prescribed with a course of behavior modification. In Rocco’s case, Malamed taught the Bridges to stage mock departures — jingling the car keys, opening the front door — while giving treats so that Rocco would associate their leaving with a yummy reward. When the Bridges left the house for real, they were to slip out with zero fuss; frantic barking and jumping were to be ignored. “We brought on this anxiety with him being so attached to us,” Martha says. “Now we have to break that bond — without breaking it to the point where he won’t know that we still love him.” When it comes to retraining, however, some people are slackers. Dodman estimates that 25 percent of the pet owners he sees don’t take his advice. At U.C. Davis I observed one couple impatiently shrugging off Malamed’s directives. I was watching the appointment via closed-circuit television with another vet, Dr. Jeannine Berger, and she sighed in exasperation. “They just want the magic pill,” she said. “People always want the magic pill.” The studies of Reconcile show why behavioral pharmacologists prefer not to rely on the medicine bottle — or for that matter, retraining — alone. Dr. Steve Connell, a veterinarian at Eli Lilly, told me that “behavior modification by itself works. There’s not any question about that. But if you use behavior modification in conjunction with Reconcile, it works quicker and it works better.” How do researchers know that? The patients, after all, can’t describe the subtleties of their moods to therapists. Efficacy studies instead rely upon people to record signs of animal distress, like barks per hour and household objects destroyed. The study Lilly submitted to the F.D.A. in support of Reconcile involved 242 dogs scattered around the United States and Canada; in the double-blind trial, neither the veterinarians nor the owners involved knew which dogs were receiving Reconcile and which ones got a placebo. All dogs received behavior retraining. The results were strong enough to demonstrate efficacy but hardly earthshaking: 72 percent of the dogs on Reconcile showed improvement after eight weeks of treatment, while 50 percent of those receiving the placebo did. The study also found that more than half of the dogs on the drug experienced short-term side effects, including lethargy, depression and loss of appetite. One thought had haunted me as I listened to the Bridges’ story: If I were locked inside the bathroom all day, I’d swallow the shampoo, too. Although most animal-behavior problems are believed to have genetic roots, their expressions are typically triggered by the unnatural lives that people force their pets to lead. “A dog that lived on a farm and ran around chasing rabbits all day would be more prone to being stable than a dog living in an apartment in Manhattan,” Dodman says. Undomesticated canids, neither confined nor excessively attached to people, don’t suffer from separation anxiety. Some captive horses endlessly circle their stalls or corrals — a compulsive behavior similar to Max’s tail chasing — but such purposeless repetitions have never been observed in the wild. Pharmacological treatments, furthermore, are sometimes more for the convenience of owners than they are for the health of pets. When the dog bites, when the cat pees — “a lot of the ‘behavior problems’ we see are actually normal behaviors for the animal,” Dodman says. Cats aren’t mentally ill if they attack a new feline in the household or claw furniture to mark their domain. Food guarding and aggression toward strangers boost a dog’s survival rate in the wild but don’t cut it in the living room. And both cats and dogs demarcate territory with urine. “If a dog goes to the bathroom on a bush outside, you don’t mind as long as it’s not your bush,” Dodman says. “But when he comes back to the house and lifts his leg on your chair, it’s like, ‘Is the dog mentally sick?’ ” In many other situations, however, a medicated animal may be a better-off one — for his own sake and not just for his master’s peace of mind. Obsessive dogs like Max sometimes injure themselves by spinning right into furniture or chewing their legs or tails until they’re bloody. You could also argue that Max would be happier not spinning and chasing squirrels instead — an anthropomorphic judgment, perhaps, but one that is hard to dispute after seeing the panting, possessed animal on the whirl. Medicating dogs like Rocco, meanwhile, makes some people queasy because separation anxiety is so clearly related to the absentee lifestyles of owners. Dr. Jean Donaldson, director of the San Francisco S.P.C.A. Academy for Dog Trainers, told me that she has always insisted that people who don’t have enough free time shouldn’t own dogs. But she recognizes that many ill- equipped people will do so anyway and supports employing drugs. In her view, our complicity in the problem’s creation doesn’t absolve us of responsibility for finding solutions, even ones with mild side effects.` “Can you imagine having separation anxiety?” she asked. “We’re talking ‘Silence of the Lambs’ here, being in the pit so that you rip off your own fingernails and break your teeth because of the degree of panic attacks you’re having. Do we really think that the problem here is a dry mouth from Reconcile?” NOT EVERYBODY AGREES that America’s pets are facing a major mental-health crisis — or that whatever their problems, that drugs are necessarily part of the solution. One of the most passionate voices in the just-say-no camp belongs to Dr. Ian Dunbar, a veterinarian who has his doctorate in animal behavior and is the founder of a highly regarded instructional empire called Sirius Dog Training. “I have never in my life had to resort to using drugs to resolve a behavior problem,” he says. The rush to the medicine bottle for easily resolved problems like canine obesity — “Just feed the dog less!” — shows a disturbing parallel to the human approach to health care, he says. “We lead an unhealthy lifestyle and then rely on drugs to correct it.” Dunbar lives down a winding lane high in the Berkeley Hills. When I arrived to visit, he led me into the living room, where we were joined by his three bounding dogs, Claude, Hugo and Dune. Claude had been a troubled S.P.C.A. shelter dog. He bit, was often anxious and had a problem known as pica, meaning he compulsively devoured nonfood items. When Dunbar rescued him a few years ago, Claude was recovering from an operation to remove a basketball from his intestines. “He would have been the ideal candidate for a drug treatment, but to me that was unnecessary if you know some of the simplest things about dog training,” Dunbar said. Pharmacological aids are helpful in extreme circumstances, Dunbar acknowledged, but for the vast majority of cases, behavior modification alone does the trick. For problem dogs like Claude, he employs the simple, unswerving strategy of a trainer: Ignore unwanted behaviors and reward desired ones. The magic pill in Dunbar’s arsenal is a rubber chew toy stuffed with food. As I took a seat on the couch, he tossed three of them on the floor. The dogs ignored me completely — there was none of the usual canine pouncing on the visitor — and set to work. Absorbed, they gnawed and shook the toys, which slowly released kibble. It would take 45 minutes before the supply was exhausted. Claude, his attention refocused with the help of chew toys, no longer bit people or gobbled indigestibles. He was calm and the best-behaved of the household’s three canines. “The dog is creating endorphins of his own, his own natural drug therapy, while enjoying a totally acceptable activity,” Dunbar said. To critics like Dunbar, separation anxiety is the attention-deficit disorder of the pet world, a problem that is overzealously pathologized, carelessly diagnosed and liberally medicated. His critique is unabashedly Skinnerian: “We’re confusing behavior problems, which are observable and quantifiable, with terms like ‘anxiety,’ which describe the dog’s internal mental state, for which we have absolutely zero proof,” he says. On a personal level, Dunbar suspects that animals do have thoughts and feelings and can become genuinely anxious when their owners are gone. But he is careful to not let assumptions cloud his professional judgment, because not every situation that looks like separation anxiety is in fact that condition. Lilly’s Web site for Reconcile states that “separation anxiety is a clinical condition in your dog’s brain.” Dunbar offers possible alternate explanations: Some dogs that are physically punished have inadvertently learned that they can get away with whatever they want when the humans are gone. Others are just bored and having fun. “What do we expect dogs to do when we go to work — watch the telly, do the crosswords or read the paper?” he asks. Hiding stuffed chew toys around the house is a good way to keep dogs occupied. “In the wild, the dog’s major activity is looking for food,” he says. “What most owners do is they feed the dog in the bowl, and within two minutes you’ve stolen his raison d’être. So now the dog is looking for activity, which we label ‘trouble’ and diagnose as all sorts of things like compulsion and separation anxiety.” Dunbar is working with a pet-products manufacturer on an electronic dog-sitter that combines the reward elements of a classic Skinner box with the unblinking surveillance of Bentham’s Panopticon. Employing a network of sensors, the device monitors when the dog barks, how many steps it takes during the day, how long it lies down in its bed and when it plays with chew toys. Acting as a sort of robo-Dunbar, the gizmo automatically dispenses small treats when the animal is calm and well behaved. “Rather than the very general deadening of an anxiolytic or tranquilizing drug, what I want is a very specific education effect to teach the dog how he should act,” Dunbar says. Modern owners are increasingly trying to “sterilize” pet ownership, he adds, trying to pharmacologically control dogs so that they don’t act like dogs. “What people want is a pet that is on par with a TiVo, that its activity, play and affection are on demand,” he says “Then, when they’re done, they want to turn it off.” Back in the living room, we watched Claude and his housemates work at the chew toys. “Training is basically about forming a relationship, but for some people, that interactive process is now giving the dog a pill.” TWO YEARS AGO, on the Fourth of July, a dog named Dixie was sitting in the backyard of her owners, Pat and Jen Morphy of Martinez, Calif. Around dusk, the sky above her exploded with the flashes and percussive booms of fireworks. Perhaps kids detonated firecrackers on the street nearby as well. Whatever happened, Dixie hasn’t been the same since. Earlier this year the Morphys brought Dixie to see Rachel Malamed at the U.C. Davis Behavior Service. The Morphys reported that they take Dixie for a walk every day after work and then put her in the backyard. As soon as the sun sets, Dixie bolts for the house and cannot be dragged from it for the rest of the evening. She paces, stares and scans the air overhead. “You can just tell she’s waiting for something to happen,” Pat said. Dixie is eager for bedtime and scootches under the couple’s bed to sleep. But in the middle of the night, Dixie often jumps up on the bed and walks on Jen’s head. When she turns the lights on, the dog looks terrible, shivering and blank-eyed. It takes anywhere from 15 minutes to four hours to calm her enough to go back to sleep. “I can’t live with this dog any more how she is,” Jen said. Malamed put a sound-effects CD into a boom box and set the volume to low. Dixie sat serenely through a trumpet fanfare, a toilet flush, a metal saw, ringing bells and raspy hinges. But at the sound of fireworks, during the long whistle and well before the climactic pop, Dixie tensed up; she tried to climb into Jen’s lap and began trembling. Malamed hit stop. “I’m sorry I had to do that,” she said. Noise phobias, especially those related to thunderstorms, are fairly common in dogs, and Malamed determined that Dixie had a phobia to fireworks. So how did Dixie’s curious phobia develop? A Skinnerian would explain her problems within the bounds of stimulus-response conditioning, unthinking and automatic. On that first Fourth of July, Dixie correctly learned that fireworks are painfully loud but mistakenly linked the traumatic event with nightfall. Now every dark sky scares her. Her odd after-hours activity was very likely strengthened by more conditioned learning: every time she jumps on the bed in the middle of the night, Pat or Jen give her attention. Believing that they are soothing Dixie, they are actually rewarding and enforcing her troubled behavior. But is her problem more complex than that? Most scientists now accept that animals experience basic emotions like pleasure, excitement and fear. These primal feelings provide useful motivation: to mate, kill prey or avoid danger. But whether emotional states like anxiety, obsession and depression exist is more controversial. The difference between fear and anxiety, after all, is the difference between a gazelle spooking at the sight of a lion and a gazelle worrying that a lion might appear. If you believe that the latter is possible, consider that Dixie might have some memory, however dim, of the original fireworks and that when she sees the sun setting, she becomes tense at the thought that they might percuss her eardrums again. In other words, her cognition goes beyond in-the-moment processing of sensory information; to paraphrase Eric Saidel, a professor of philosophy at George Washington University, she is not responding to the world but instead to the way she pictures the world. She thinks and, critically, is aware of her own thoughts. By most any definition, this amounts to consciousness, the trait that people have traditionally been most loath to credit to animals. Many thinkers are hesitant to make definitive statements about any aspect of an animal’s internal life, much less to conclude that they are self-aware. In an influential essay published in 1974, the philosopher Thomas Nagel posed the question “What is it like to be a bat?” What is it like, really, to wheel blindly through the night sky hunting insects and navigating by echolocation? The sum of a being’s unique sensory and cognitive worlds constitute its Umwelt, and Nagel concluded that it was impossible to know any Umwelt but that of our own species. The words we use to describe animal mental states are hazy approximations at best. Hank Davis, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Guelph in Canada who has studied cognition in rats, rabbits and the aforementioned hissing cockroaches, told me that “I am as big an animal lover as anybody I’ve ever met. I can go on and on about how sweet and smart and emotional my pet rat is. But we have to be careful about saying that when my rat appears anxious or obsessive that she is experiencing the identical set of neurological conditions that a human would.” Prescribing drugs under those circumstances, he says, is “questionable ‘Twilight Zone’-type medicine.” The skeptics are correct that there’s no smoking gun proving that human feelings and Dixie’s are similar, but on the flip side, there is a preponderance of circumstantial evidence. The limbic system, critical for human emotional responses, is structurally similar in all mammals. “People have a physiological response to the thing they fear,” says Steven Hamilton, a psychiatric geneticist at the University of California, San Francisco. “They get tremulous. Their heart rate goes up. They perspire. Their respiration will go up. Dogs do the exact same thing.” The clinical presentation of the problem is similar, too. Confronted by what they fear, phobic people and dogs try to get as far away as they can from the dreaded stimulus, be it spiders or fireworks. In both populations, susceptibility appears to be heritable. And finally, “humans respond to particular anxiolytic and antidepressant medications, and we find similar responses in dogs to the same drugs,” Hamilton says. Dodman made the same points to me and concluded, somewhat exasperatedly, “If it looks, waddles and quacks like a duck, then maybe it is a duck.” He bristled at the charge that behavioral pharmacologists practice “Twilight Zone” medicine. The primary source of outrage for most critics is the thought of veterinary kooks dosing helpless animals with human drugs. But that misstates the matter. Long before Prozac, Paxil and the like were taken by people, they were tested for safety and efficacy in legions of laboratory creatures. You can plausibly argue — and Dodman and others do — that humans are in fact using animal drugs. At the U.C. Davis clinic, Malamed told the Morphys that “we need to change Dixie’s emotional response to the noise.” She prescribed Clomicalm, to ease Dixie’s anxiety and make her more receptive to training, and Xanax, which in the short term would dull her panic attacks and help her sleep. She recommended that they play the recorded sound of fireworks very quietly while rewarding the animal for being calm. A few weeks later, Jen reported that Dixie was sleeping through the night. THREE WEEKS AFTER MAX started Clomicalm, Allan and I took him for a walk along a creek. He sniffed the grass on the banks; he barked at a passing dog. We got back to the house, and as we took turns tossing the Frisbee to Max on a lawn out front, I asked how things were going with the tail chasing. “He still does it,” Allan said. “But it’s not as bad as it was.” According to the vet, the drug needed another couple of weeks before it would be fully effective on Max’s neurochemistry, so Allan was withholding judgment until then. A couple of months later, Allan told me that he thought Max was only spinning half as much as he had. Dodman says that the serotonin-affecting drugs like Clomicalm have the effect of “oil on troubled waters” — they may calm the animal but don’t attack the underlying problem. To learn more about why dogs chase their tails, and in hopes of developing more precise drug treatments, Dodman and other researchers at other universities are hunting for the genetic underpinnings of the disorder. Dogs are a geneticist’s dream. Lab rats can be artificially induced to suffer certain problems — for example, electrically shocked to create a fearful state — whereas dogs are natural models, exhibiting anxiety, phobias and compulsions on their own. The canine genome, whose sequencing was recently completed, is considerably easier to analyze than the human one. The canine gene pool has been highly restricted and segregated during the creation of distinct dog breeds, much of which happened within the past 200 years. Members within a breed are highly similar genetically, making mutations that might cause behavior problems easier to spot. Purebred dogs are also excellent for testing theories about heritability. “There are fantastic genealogical resources that can connect dogs within a century for dozens of generations,” Hamilton says. In certain breeds, almost all of the dogs alive today are descendants of a handful of popular sires that exemplified traits that breeders liked — for instance, a snowy white coat or exceptional herding ability. In selecting for these desired traits, however, the breeders sometimes inadvertently selected for the sires’ undesirable genetic mutations. This appears to be the case with canine compulsive disorder. A half-dozen or so breeds are predisposed to get it and in fact are susceptible to particular forms of the disorder — for example, German shepherds tend to tail-chase, while Doberman pinschers suck their flanks. Dodman and his colleagues are running genetic analyses of 146 Dobermans, more than half of them afflicted and the others not. His hunch is that a genetic glitch that leads to overactive glutamate receptors may increase susceptibility for developing compulsive behaviors. The same may be true for people. If this is correct, then it would ratify an approach that Dodman and a colleague have patented for treating both animal and human compulsive disorders with drugs that inhibit the glutamate receptors. Similar hunts are under way for the genetic underpinnings of what looks like psychotic rage in cocker spaniels and phobias in Australian shepherds, and those searches, too, may yield drug treatments for the canine and human versions of those problems. Though certain dogs are probably genetically predisposed, environmental factors are clearly involved as well. “All of the animals I see that have O.C.D. are anxious individuals who’ve been in a rock-and-a-hard-place conflict situation in their lives which precipitates their condition,” Dodman says. Stressful situations in which an animal is repeatedly prevented from doing what it wants to do lead to anxiety, and anxiety can be relieved by indulging in a repeated behavior that long outlasts the original situation. That, it turned out, was exactly the case with Max. Though he lived a perfect dog’s life in California — plenty of love, company and exercise — Allan said that for most of the first year of his life, when he belonged to another owner, he was confined inside and all alone. At end of the day that I visited Dodman, we sat watching video clips of dogs repetitively pacing, chasing shadows and snapping at nonexistent flies. Dodman, leaning back in his chair, launched into a story about a human obsessive-compulsive-disorder sufferer he had met — a man who repeatedly tugged at his beard. Dodman asked him if he had ever stopped, and the man said he did during a hitchhiking trip across Canada. Dodman thought he knew why: “He went back to being a human being. He was watching out for real dangers. He was trying to go to real places. He was concerned about his next meal. He was thinking about where he was going to sleep. And he wasn’t concerned about the stupid beard pulling, because now he had a real life. When did the problem start again? The minute he sat back in front of a flickering computer screen.” Dodman’s theory, essentially, is that the causes of mood disorders and obsessions in humans and our pets aren’t so different — faulty genetics, dreary environments. Whether cubicle- or cage-bound, we get too little exercise; we don’t hunt, run or play enough to produce naturally mood-elevating neurochemicals. Strangely enough, I had already heard this theory — from a pharmaceutical company executive who, for obvious business reasons, didn’t want to be named. “All of the behavioral issues that we have created in ourselves, we are now creating in our pets because they live in the same unhealthy environments that we do,” he said. “That’s why there is a market for these drugs.” James Vlahos writes for National Geographic Adventure, Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. This is his first article for the magazine. This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: July 12, 2008 The cover article this weekend about the expanding market for mood-altering drugs for cats and dogs misstates the revenues Pfizer Animal Health has earned from animal medications. The total for this division, which includes livestock, is $2.6 billion, not “nearly $1 billion.” Its “companion animals,” or pet division, contributed nearly $1 billion to this total. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 12, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/pillpopping_pets.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/pillpopping_pets.html Behavior Problems & Solutions Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:35:26 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=97913 Last Update: 7/5/2008 12:44:00 PM Your dog might make a good exercise companion By Elizabeth Giorgi Reading Eagle Experts say finding an exercise buddy can be a great motivator for people who have trouble sticking with a workout routine. But between issues like scheduling and pacing - or how fast people run and walk - finding a workout buddy can be a challenge for some. "It's very difficult to find another person to run with," said Renee Waring of Douglassville, who said she's run into some of these problems. At the same time, Waring said, "It can get pretty lonely out on the trails." So Waring did what many people do: She looked for a workout buddy in man's - or in her case, woman's - best friend. She and her 1-year-old border collie Cooper run about three times a week on area trails and around her neighborhood. Training him took time and patience, she said, but now she has a companion who's happy to keep up with her. The key to keeping Cooper and other dogs happy when exercising with them is being tuned in to their health and well-being, vets say. Since dogs can't voice their problems - from hot paws to exhaustion - owners need to be vigilant, and be mindful of good athletic training practices for their dogs, even if they don't follow them themselves. "Like in most things, moderation is essential," said Dr. Lee Pickett, a veterinary medical doctor with the Humane Society of Berks County and author of the Reading Eagle's "Ask the Vet's Pets" column. "A lot of the rules are the same." That includes building up slowly, taking into account natural ability, warming up and keeping out of the heat. "A lot of it is common sense," said Dr. Jim Priebe, a doctor of veterinary medicine with the Leesport Animal Hospital. But the consequences of ignoring that common sense can be severe. Every spring, Priebe said he sees a spate of orthopedic injuries in dogs in his office, as owners take pets, unconditioned after a winter of sitting at home, out for runs or other strenuous exercise. And heatstroke is of special concern in dogs, whose fur coats and cooling mechanism - panting, rather than sweating - can make keeping cool in the sun a bigger problem than it is for humans. "And animals can die," he said. "Heatstroke can occur (even) in animals that run all the time." But lest these warnings scare you off, keep in mind that dogs need exercise as much as people do, and that many people exercise safely with their pets. Most who do it successfully are aware of the risks. Waring, for example, chose her dog Cooper knowing she wanted a running companion. Border collies, a herding breed, may make better running companions than breeds meant for other functions - a toy breed, for example. She and Cooper take it slow and avoid running on hot days. During the summer, they run on trails, where the ground is cooler, and she consulted with several veterinarians about how to train Cooper to run before beginning his training as a puppy. She said they started with short distances of only a quarter- or half-mile. And since she's been training him since he was a puppy, she's quite familiar with the signs that he's getting tired. Clyde Godschall is a hike coordinator and often hike leader with the Elverson Walking Club, which allows hikers to bring their dogs with them on many area hikes. Their small groups make bringing dogs easier, he said. He counsels hikers with dogs to be sure the area they want to hike allows dogs, to bring along water and cups for dogs and to check dogs - and themselves - for ticks after the hike. During hunting season, he said many hikers bring vests for their dogs. "The dog might not like it, but they put up with it," he said. George Hetrick Jr. of Bernville is a lifelong dog owner. He tries to accumulate 10,000 steps throughout the day, and many of those steps are accumulated on his twice-daily hikes and walks with his three dogs - two Jack Russell terriers and a toy Australian shepherd. He also leads an annual dog-friendly hike with the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club. He had some advice for hikers with dogs. "The animal needs to work into it gradually and consistently," he said, citing the need for the dogs' pads to get toughened as an example. Walking in the woods, he said he also has to be aware of his dogs' potential to interact with other animals. Hunting breeds will be attracted to those animals, he said. And he said that he treats his dogs for ticks, but also goes over them daily. He said his dogs have too much energy to sit around all day. "You certainly don't need a club membership if you have a Jack Russell," he said •Contact reporter Elizabeth Giorgi at 610-371-5016 or egiorgi@readingeagle.com. Find out which sports are best for which dogs Vets' advice for specific sports Area veterinarians Dr. Lee Pickett, who works at the Humane Society of Berks County and writes the Reading Eagle's "Ask the Vet's Pets" column, and Dr. Jim Priebe of the Leesport Animal Hospital, offered sport-specific advice for exercising with dogs. •Walking: "That's the best thing," Pickett said. "Most dogs enjoy some kind of walk." Walks provide both physical and mental stimulation, she said. Smaller toy breeds may even enjoy snuggling against their owners on longer walks inside a baby carrier, she said. In hot weather, early morning and dusk are good times to get out, Priebe said. •Running: "People who jog have to watch," Priebe said. Dogs aren't built to run long distances, he said, "And they trot - they don't run." Running with dogs can increase the risk of heatstroke, and can put stress on joints, he said. "It's all right to jog, but I'd say keep it under two miles," he said, and on days when it's less than 80 degrees outside. Pickett was less quick to name a maximum distance, saying it's up to the individual dog. The key, she said, is paying attention to signs that the dog is tiring or overheated. Priebe recommends taking breaks, or doing a walk/jog routine with dogs, and sticking to walking on hot days. As with humans, softer surfaces like trails are easier on joints than firm surfaces like pavement. Pavement and asphalt also can burn foot pads on hot, sunny days. Working breeds bred for going long distances at a fairly quick pace - hunting dogs, herding dogs, or breeds like greyhounds - will be better running companions. But don't assume that your working breed dog is built for running, Priebe said. Dogs that come from show lines may be bred more for aesthetics - how they look - than performance. •Backpacking: Working dogs up gradually is important when backpacking, Pickett said. Buy a good-quality, well-fitting, well-padded dog backpack. Start dogs off with an empty pack, and gradually increase the weight, making sure that weight is well-balanced in the pack. Don't ask dogs to carry a weight more than 25 percent of their body weight. •Swimming: "A good exercise in the summer is swimming," Priebe said. And the activity is an obvious fit for breeds, like retrievers, bred for the water, Pickett noted. Dog flotation devices are available, she said. Priebe warned owners who have a pool in their yard to be careful, however. Above-ground pools especially are hazardous, as are pool covers, as dogs can jump in when their owners are away, get tired or trapped below a cover, and drown. •Biking: Pickett doesn't recommend biking with dogs, saying the fast pace is rough, and keeping an eye on them difficult, when on a bike. Here are some tips for exercising with your pet Area veterinarians Dr. Lee Pickett and Dr. Jim Priebe offered some advice for people looking to get active with their pets. Pets and owners Much of the advice the vets offered apply equally to people and pets. For example, when starting a new program, go slowly and get a doctor's OK. Even if you overlook such advice yourself, vets ask that you not ignore such advice when it comes to your dog, who can't tell you when he or she is hurting or overtired. •Get a vet's OK: Vets can evaluate a dog's musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. •Go slowly: As with humans, work up slowly when introducing a new activity. Deconditioned dogs can get injured just as people can. •Don't be a weekend warrior: Along the same lines, a consistent routine is important. As with people, infrequent vigorous activity sets pets up for problems. •Sunburn: Light-colored and short-haired dogs are at risk of sunburn. Sunscreen for pets can be purchased at pet supply stores. Dogs-only advice Even though a lot of advice for exercising with pets applies to humans as well, there are some concerns that dogs don't share with their human family. •Heatstroke: "Dogs have a real tough time thermoregulating," Pickett said. Rather than sweat, dogs keep cool by panting. Hot weather can overwhelm dogs engaged in vigorous activity, possibly resulting in death, Priebe said. Heatstroke symptoms in dogs are similar to humans: disorientation, uncoordinated movement, lagging, glassy eyes and excessive panting. The next step is a collapse, Pickett said, so be alert for earlier warning signs. Flat-faced breeds, young and old dogs and dogs with a black coat may have particular problems, Pickett said. Heavier-muscled dogs like Rottweilers and retrievers are more prone to heatstroke than lighter dogs like pointers or greyhounds, but even well-conditioned dogs can develop heat stroke, Priebe said. •Tender paws: Imagine walking over hot asphalt or sharp rocks in your bare feet, and you'll have an idea what your dog is feeling when you take him or her out on the street on a hot day, or out on the trail anytime. To avoid burns on hot streets and pavement, don't walk during the middle of the day, Priebe advised, and test the heat of the sidewalk with your own feet or hands. "If you can't keep you hand on there for five minutes, it's too hot," he said. Likewise, taking it slow when introducing a new activity can reduce the wear and tear on foot pads and allow them to toughen up, whether you're talking about pavements or trails. Leather boots for dogs are available for hiking, Pickett said. •Keep breed in mind: A Chihuahua won't make a good running companion, but neither will a Siberian husky on a sunny summer day. To make sure both you and your dog are happy exercising together, consider what your dog was bred for. "The water breeds are going to enjoy swimming," Pickett said. Arctic sled dogs are good fits for backpackers - but be mindful of their heavy coats in the heat. And runners should find a working breed known for traveling distances at a steady pace, such as hunting dogs - those breeds that precede hunters casting about for game - or herding dogs such as collies. Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 6, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/your_dog_might_make_a_good_exe.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/your_dog_might_make_a_good_exe.html Dogs Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:46:26 -0500 Karen Davis: Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Apology in Animal Rights http://upc-online.org/summer08/rhetoric.html Moving Beyond the Rhetoric of Apology In Animal Rights Some Points to Consider By Karen Davis, PhD If we find ourselves "apologizing" for other animals and our advocacy on their behalf, we need to ask ourselves why. Is it an expression of self-doubt? A deliberate strategy? Several years ago I published an article in Between the Species entitled "The Otherness of Animals." In it, I urged that in order to avoid contributing to some of the very attitudes towards other animals that we seek to change, we need to raise fundamental questions about the way that we, as advocates for animals, actually conceive of them. One question concerns our tendency to deprecate ourselves, the animals, and our goals when speaking before the public and the press. Often we "apologize" for animals and our feelings for them: "Anxious not to alienate others from our cause, half doubtful of our own minds at times in a world that often views other animals so much differently than we do, we are liable to find ourselves presenting them apologetically at Court, spiffed up to seem more human, capable ladies and gentlemen, of performing Ameslan (American sign language) in six languages. . . ." We apologize in many different ways. More than once, I've been warned by an animal protectionist that the public will never care about chickens, and that the only way to get people to stop eating chickens is to concentrate on things like health and the environment. However, to take this defeatist view is to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the spokespersons for animals decide in advance that no one will ever really care about them, or aren't "ready" for them, this negative message will be conveyed to the public. The apologetic mode of discourse in animal rights is epitomized by the "I know I sound crazy, but . . ." approach to the public. If we find ourselves "apologizing" for other animals and our advocacy on their behalf, we need to ask ourselves why. Is it an expression of self-doubt? A deliberate strategy? Either way, I think the rhetoric of apology harms our movement tremendously. Following are some examples of what I mean. Reassuring the public, "Don't worry. Vegetarianism isn't going to come overnight." We should ask ourselves: "If I were fighting to end human slavery, child abuse or some other human-created oppression, would I seek to placate the public or the offenders by reassuring them that the abuse will still go on for a long time and that we are only trying to phase it out gradually?" Why, instead of defending a vegan diet, are we not affirming it? Patronizing animals: "Of course they're only animals, but . . ." "Of course they can't reason the way we do. Of course they can't appreciate a symphony or paint a great work of art or go to law school, but . . ." In fact, few people live their lives according to "reason," or appreciate symphonies or paint works of art. As human beings, we do not know what it feels like to have wings or to take flight from within our own bodies or to live naturally within the sea. Our species represents a smidgeon of the world's experience, yet we patronize everything outside our domain. Comparing the competent, adult members of other animal species with human infants and cognitively impaired humans. Do we really believe that all of the other animals in this world have a mental life and range of experience comparable to diminished human capacity and the sensations of human infants? Except within the legal system, where all forms of life that are helpless against human assault should be classed together and defended on similar grounds, this analogy is both arrogant and absurd. Starting a sentence with, "I know these animals aren't as cute as other animals, but . . ." Would you tell a child, "I know Billy isn't as cute as Tom, but you still have to play with him"? Why put a foregone conclusion in people's minds? Why even suggest that physical appearance and conventionalized notions of attractiveness are relevant to how someone should be treated? Letting ourselves be intimidated by "science says," "producers know best," and charges of "anthropomorphism." We are related to other animals through evolution. Our empathic judgments reflect this fact. It doesn't take special credentials to know, for example, that a hen confined in a wire cage is suffering, or to imagine what her feelings must be compared with those of a hen ranging outside in the grass. We're told that humans are capable of knowing just about anything we want to know - except what it feels like to be one of our victims. Intellectual confidence is needed here, not submission to the epistemological deficiencies, cynicism, and intimidation tactics of profiteers. Letting others identify and define who we are. I once heard a demonstrator tell a member of the press at a chicken slaughterhouse protest, "I'm sure Perdue thinks we're all a bunch of kooks for caring about chickens, but . . ." Ask yourself: Does it matter what the Tysons and Perdues of this world "think" about anything? Can you imagine Jim Perdue standing in front of a camera, saying, "I know the animal rights people think I'm a kook, but . . ."? Needing to "prove" that we care about people, too. The next time someone challenges you about not caring about people, politely ask them what they're working on. Whatever they say, say, "But why aren't you working on ________?" "Don't you care about ________?" We care deeply about many things, but we cannot devote our primary time and energy to all of them. We must focus our attention and direct our resources. Moreover, to seek to enlarge the human capacity for justice and compassion is to care about and work for the betterment of people. Needing to pad, bolster and disguise our concerns about animals and animal abuse. An example is: "Even if you don't care about roosters, you should still be concerned about gambling" in arguments against cockfighting. Is animal advocacy consistent with reassuring people that it's okay not to care about the animals involved in animal abusing activities? That the animals themselves are "mere emblems for more pressing matters"? Instead, how about saying: "In addition to the horrible suffering of the roosters, there is also the gambling to consider." Expanding the context of concern is legitimate. Diminishing the animals and their plight to gain favor isn't. In acknowledging the seriousness of other societal concerns, it is imperative to recognize that the abuse of animals is a human problem as serious as any other. Unfortunately, the victims of homo sapiens are legion. As individuals and groups, we cannot give equal time to every category of abuse. We must go where our heartstrings pull us the most, and do the best that we can with the confidence needed to change the world. Be Affirmative, Not Apologetic The rhetoric of apology in animal rights is an extension of the "unconscious contributions to one's undoing" described by the child psychologist, Bruno Bettelheim.* He pointed out that human victims will often collaborate unconsciously with an oppressor in the vain hope of winning favor. An example in the animal rights movement is reassuring people you're trying to influence that you still eat meat, or don't oppose hunting, as a "bonding" strategy to get them to support a ban on, say, animal testing. Ask yourself if using one group of exploited animals as bait to win favor for another really advances our cause. In fighting for animals and animal rights - "rights" meaning the claims of other animals upon us as fellow creatures with feelings, lives and interests of their own - against the collective human oppressor, we assume the role of vicarious victims. To "apologize" in this role is to betray "ourselves" profoundly. We need to understand why and how this can happen. As Bettelheim wrote, "But at the same time, understanding the possibility of such unconscious contributions to one's undoing also opens the way for doing something about the experience - namely, preparing oneself better to fight in the external world against conditions which might induce one unconsciously to facilitate the work of the destroyer." We must prepare ourselves in this way. If we feel that we must apologize, let us apologize to the animals, not for them. *Bruno Bettelheim, "Unconscious Contributions to One's Undoing," SURVIVING and Other Essays, Vintage Books, 1980. ©2008. The Rhetoric of Apology in Animal Rights is updated from Karen Davis's original speech presented at the National Alliance for Animals Symposium in Washington DC, July, 1994. Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 4, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/moving_beyond_the_rhetoric_of.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/moving_beyond_the_rhetoric_of.html Animal Protection Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:15:29 -0500 Answers About Dangerous Dogs By THE NEW YORK TIMES July 3, 2008, 10:06 am Adam Goldfarb A 90-year-old Staten Island man was critically injured after two pit bulls attacked him. Following are a set of responses to readers’ questions about dangerous dogs from Adam Goldfarb, an issues specialist for companion-care animals at the Humane Society of the United States. Read Mr. Goldfarb’s biography. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/ask-about-dangerous-dogs/ Q - I, too, own a Rottweiler, and she (her name is Jordan) is a sweet pussy cat, especially around children. But that’s because we had her around family and friends from the second we got her and got her fixed as soon as we were able to. We take her on walks, but when we are not home, she is IN THE HOUSE. Not in the yard, not on a chain. The fact that these pits were allowed to roam free blows my mind. — Posted by Gina A - You’ve brought up some really excellent points that are actually supported by statistics. According to the National Canine Research Council, there are 3 main factors that contribute to creating dangerous dogs and at least 1 of these 3 factors was present in over 90% of fatal dog attacks over the last 3 years. The 3 factors are: The dog is not spayed or neutered. The dog is not properly cared for (for example, the dog is abused, neglected, chained, or allowed to roam). The dog is not kept as a family pet (but instead as a guard dog, status symbol, “yard dog,” etc.). It’s great to hear that your dog is sterilized, well cared for, and lives as a member of the family. You’re definitely doing things right. As a bonus, you mentioned exposing her to lots of different people – also known as socialization. I don’t think it’s possible to understate the importance of early and regular socialization. By exposing dogs (especially puppies) to new people and experiences, their owners allow them to be safe and confident in a variety of situations. Q - In Ontario, where I live, anti-pit bull legislation has been the law for the last few years. Purchase of pit bull and similar (?) breeds is forbidden. The existing dogs are to be muzzled in public. What effect do you think muzzling has on well behaved animals? Could it be deleterious? What do you think of blanket legislation like Ontario’s? — Posted by Muzzle Some Owners A - The effects of the muzzle will depend on the dog, the owner, the way that the muzzle is introduced, and the dog’s experiences while wearing the muzzle. If the muzzle is introduced in a positive way and the dog doesn’t have any negative experiences while muzzled, there aren’t likely to be problems. But if the muzzle is uncomfortable, is forced on the dog, or if the dog is attacked while wearing a muzzle, issues could certainly develop. The Humane Society of the United States opposes breed bans like those enacted in Ontario, Denver, and too many other communities. Breed bans unfairly impact responsible owners and fail to address the root causes of many dog attacks— namely, irresponsible owner behaviors such as abuse, neglect, and aggression training. Additionally, breed bans are ineffective and expensive. Communities that want to address dangerous dog issues are far better equipped to do so through breed-neutral dangerous dog laws, well-funded animal care and control agencies, strong humane education programs, and subsidized, mobile sterilization services. Q - I recently rescued a dog, a chow, that had been abandoned and chained to the lamppost on my corner, while tied there had been attacked by another dog. We took him to animal emergency room, got him stitches and brought him home. While getting him out of the taxi my boyfriend pushed him and he turned around and bite my boyfriend. I have two questions about this experience: What sort of recourse is there/what sort of action should be taken when a dog attacks another dog? When we told people that the dog had bit my boyfriend, albeit after a long and stressful day for it, many people told us we should have it put down. Is this true? We decided not to (it hasn’t done anything like that since and is in our house waiting to be adopted) but is this standard? That when a dog bites someone it is to be put down? — Posted by M A - Thank you so much for helping a needy dog near your home. It sounds like you really went above and beyond. To answer your first question, every community has different laws about dog-on-dog attacks. In some cases, a dog may be declared dangerous for attacking another dog and you’re required to report such incidents to local law enforcement. In other cases, laws don’t address the issue at all. Check with your local animal control office to find out more about your local and state animal laws. With regard to the recent dog bite, keep in mind that there were many factors in play: this dog was abandoned, tied to a lamppost, attacked by another dog, rescued by total strangers, and taken to a veterinarian. That’s a rough day for any dog. A single bite in any situation doesn’t necessarily warrant euthanasia, but it shouldn’t be ignored either. Consider the severity of the bite, the circumstances, and the dog’s history. If you do choose to keep a dog who has bitten someone, you’ll have to be extremely vigilant with that dog, watching for subtle (and not-so-subtle) indications of stress. Also, I’d strongly recommend consulting with a veterinarian, behaviorist, trainer, or other professional in the field. Q - I’ve read Mr. Goldfarb’s advice that one should judge individual dogs, not entire breeds. And it seems to me there has always been one breed or another – the German Shepherd, the Doberman pinscher – that had the sort of reputation for vicious attacks that the Pit Bull does today. I remember the “Spanky and Our Gang,” a popular series of short films for children, had a Pit Bull as its mascot. He seemed as friendly and harmless as his human companions. But because I live near a New York City housing project where Pit Bulls, gold chains and designer sports attire are status symbols, all that reasonable, rational talk seems naive, especially in light of persistent reports of unprovoked attacks. Whether these dogs are trained to be vicious, or simply mistreated, they’re scary and menacing. I will go out of my way to avoid being anywhere near one. Why are some breeds seemingly more prone to be vicious–or more easily trained to become that way? — Posted by bencharif A - You’re absolutely right that there’s always one breed of dog that is regarded (and stigmatized) as the dangerous dog du jour. As long as there are people who acquire dogs as status symbols, guard dogs, or use them for fighting, communities will always have problems with dangerous dogs. I don’t believe that any breed is more prone to being vicious. However, pit bulls, rottweilers, German shepherds, and Doberman pinschers are all extremely intelligent, athletic dogs; they typically take to training very well. Pit bulls especially crave training because it provides the stimulation and interaction with people that they love so much. When these dogs are properly trained and socialized by caring, responsible owners, they’ll be great pets. But if they’re trained by people who want them to be aggressive, they may respond to that training as well. In the 1800’s, breeds like Newfoundlands and bloodhounds were the dangerous dogs of their day, but they’re rarely considered that way today. Like other fads, the popularity of dog breeds waxes and wanes and I’m confident that pit bulls will eventually fade away from the spotlight as new breeds take their place. For more information on the history of dangerous dogs in the United States, read “The Pit Bull Placebo,” by Karen Delise. Q - What is the humane society doing to stop dogfighting and breeding/training of dogs for dogfights in NY? I am in constant fear of walking my dog in my community here in Prospect Lefferts. — Posted by James Greenblum A - The indictment last year of Michael Vick brought animal fighting to the forefront of the national consciousness. In the last year we’ve worked with elected officials, law enforcement agencies, and humane professionals to crackdown on the criminals who would engage in these barbaric activities. 12 states have upgraded their penalties for animal fighting (including Wyoming and Idaho, making dogfighting a felony in all 50 states) and there’s currently a bill in the New York State Assembly (S.6429/A.9421) which both increases the penalties for dogfighting and makes attending a dogfight a felony. Across the country, arrests for dogfighting have tripled. To continue this success, the Humane Society of the United States is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of dogfighters. We’ve paid out 17 of these rewards and 6 more are pending. If you’d like to get involved in New York (or elsewhere), we’re holding seminars, activist meetings, and lobbying days in the near future. Visit humanesociety.org/join to sign up for alerts. Q - There is no evidence that it is the “nature” of the breed that makes the dog violent. The violent reputation of Pit Bulls (or any other breed, for that matter) is nothing more than an accident of history that becomes a self-perpetuating cycle: irresponsible owners looking for a “tough” breed of dog are drawn to Pit Bulls because of their reputation as a violent breed… which causes pit bulls to be owned disproportionately by people who do not train or handle them properly… which in turn causes pit bulls to be disproportionately involved in violent attacks… which in turn feeds their reputation as a violent breed… and the cycle continues. It has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the actual nature of the breed. — Posted by Joel A - You’ve summed up this issue very well, but there are other factors that serve to further complicate the challenges facing pit bulls and pit bull advocates. Right now pit bulls are filling up animal shelters, especially those in large urban areas. Many potential adopters aren’t interested in pit bulls—or are scared away from adopting them—because of the dogs’ poor public image. Those who are interested in pit bulls are often unable to adopt them because their homeowner’s insurance company will cancel their policy, or if they’re renters, they’re unable to find a rental property that will allow them to have a pit bull. Corporate policies that blacklist pit bulls add to their poor public image and act as an endorsement of like-minded legislation. Every company has a right to make its own policies, but by turning away responsible dog owners, these companies are missing out on valuable customers. Q - We are reading and hearing so much more about dog chaining. Is there more of this behavior occuring, is there more media coverage because it sells newspapers or builds viewer, or is the Humane Society of the United States just more aggressive in its involvement in this issue? — Posted by Barry A - A dog’s life should consist of more than just a heavy chain and a broken down doghouse. Dogs are social animals who have been bred to form strong attachments to their human families and studies have shown that chained dogs are at a greater risk to bite. The Humane Society of the United States has been more aggressive in addressing the issue of dog chaining, but progress on this issue has been aided by other local and national groups that focus exclusively on chaining, such as Dogs Deserve Better. Also, the television show “Animal Precinct” on Animal Planet has contributed to public awareness about chaining. Nearly every episode features a neglected, chained dog who is rescued by a humane officer. “Animal Precinct” has done a great job illustrating the debilitating effects that long-term chaining has on dogs. For New Yorkers who would like to help chained dogs, there are currently bills to limit the practice of chaining dogs pending in both New York City and New York State (No. 545 and A.6553/S.2052 respectively). Learn more about this issue at humanesociety.org/chaining. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/answers-about-dangerous-dogs/ Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - July 4, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/answers_about_dangerous_dogs.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/answers_about_dangerous_dogs.html Behavior Problems & Solutions Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:39:20 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116058075161889442.html Trying to Herd a Cat Stat The Numbers Guy by Carl Bialik October 12, 2006 Can a single female cat and her offspring really produce 420,000 cats over just seven years? Hundreds of media reports have repeated that startling stat -- in the past month alone, the number has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the Tulsa World and the Times-Herald of Vallejo, Calif. It also turns up on many Web sites for animal advocacy groups who want to see more aggressive spaying and neutering, and urge people to adopt more cats. I did some digging, and discovered that no one wanted to claim ownership of this stray stat. The number is often attributed to the Humane Society of the United States, which lists it on a page of stats on the Humane Society Web site. But the group told me it's not the source of the figure. "That number is flawed," John Snyder, vice president of companion animals for the Humane Society, told me. "We no longer believe it." He added, "I have no idea where that number came from." Another prominent group, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (which is unaffiliated with the Humane Society), has used the number in press releases and in a cat rescue program on the group's Web site. Local SPCAs in Ontario, San Francisco and Bakersfield, Calif., also use the number. An ASPCA spokeswoman told me the group got the stat from the Humane Society. "I don't necessarily believe it," Stephen Zawistowski, ASPCA's executive vice president, told me about the 420,000 number. He said it may belong in a category of "myths of the field," including one that often turns up around this time of year: that for Halloween, witches adopt black cats from shelters and sacrifice them. ("If a lady with a broom and a black hat comes in, tell her to come back in a week," Dr. Zawistowski advised.) This is one feline number that has nine lives. Though no one I spoke to could say for sure where it comes from, and no one defended it, the myth of the precociously procreating cat has lived on as an advocacy tool for spaying cats for at least 18 years. Often the number is preceded by that favorite word of hedgers everywhere: "theoretically." As Gina Spadafori, a writer about animals who suggested this topic, wrote in an email, "With the word 'theoretically' thrown in there, the numbers *could* be true, I suppose." But she was seeking a number that is "more likely -- and more useful in terms of having real numbers to work with in developing public policy." Though no one has stood up to take credit for the number, it appears to be derived from assuming that each female cat survives into adulthood, and along the way begins reproducing herself at around six months, then continues creating litters every half year. That means 14 cycles of exponential growth over seven years. While this, like just about anything, is theoretically possible, it's highly improbable. "What that number does not take into account is that there are deaths -- kitten mortality, in particular," John New, professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee, told me. "Common sense would tell you, if [the stat] were true, we'd be up to our ears in cats." (Just how many cats? I'll get to that in a moment.) In search of a more reliable number, I found that someone else had looked into the dubious cat stat. The Feral Cat Times, a newsletter of the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project in Seattle, published an article debunking the number in February, and instead proposed a number closer to 100. "It becomes overwhelming" to think that one missed cat could produce 420,000 offspring, Julie White, executive director of the project, told me. (Feral cats live in the wild, and can't be domesticated.) The Feral Cat Times cited research by Michael Stoskopf, professor of aquatic and wildlife medicine at North Carolina State, showing that three quarters of feral cats' kittens in certain North Carolina colonies die before reaching reproductive age. Projected exponentially over 14 cycles of reproduction, that has a big impact on the numbers. The newsletter called on mathematicians at the University of Washington to check the number. The conservative assumptions were that each female cat produced one litter of six cats each year, with three-quarters of them dying before reaching reproductive age and no more dying after reaching adulthood. The consensus: A real-world cat in the wild would likely be responsible for the creation of 98 other cats. In an email to me, Jerry Folland -- one of the mathematicians consulted by the newsletter -- explained how he calculated that total (keep in mind that when you see fractions of cats, he isn't slicing them up King Solomon-style, but instead is calculating what, on average, would happen in this hypothetical scenario): There had better be a male cat around to help get the process started, and it's easier if I include him in the calculation. So at the beginning there is one female cat and one male cat. In one year they produce six kittens, but three-fourths of them die, leaving 1.5 kittens, of whom half are female -- so, 0.75 female kitten and 0.75 male kitten. At the end of the year they join the pool of adult cats, so at the beginning of the second year we have 1.75 female cats and 1.75 male cats. Each of the female cats produces another 0.75 (live) female kitten and 0.75 (live) male kitten for a total of 1.75*.75 female kittens and 1.75*.75 male kittens. At the end of the year they join the 1.75 adult females and 1.75 adult males, yielding 1.75 + 1.75*.75 = 1.75^2 adult females and likewise 1.75^2 adult males. (x^y means x to the y power.) The pattern continues: After seven years there are 1.75^7 female cats and 1.75^7 male cats. Now, 1.75^7 is a bit more than 50, so on rounding off, 50 females and 50 males. If you now remove the original male from the total, since he wasn't explicitly mentioned in the problem, that leaves 50 + 49 = 99 cats. When I told the Humane Society's Mr. Snyder about this calculation, he said, "That seems low to me." (Though he added that he plans to remove the 420,000 number from the group's Web site.) One reason may be the assumption of one litter per year; make it two, and you'd be repeating the cycle 14 times, not seven times. 1.75^14 is a little over 2,500, so under this assumption, one cat could produce 5,000 cats in seven years -- far more than 100, but a far cry from 420,000. To get to 420,000 would require two litters a year from each cat, every year, and that 1.4 kittens survive each litter to live healthy (and productive) lives. (Dog owners, take note: A similar calculation for canines finds one female dog could, theoretically, produce 67,000 dogs in six years; this stat is also popular among animal advocates.) The earliest reference I could find to the cat-reproduction figure was a 1988 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (citing the Humane Society). If you take a mythical cat beginning in that year, and let her and her offspring reproduce at the theoretical rate over the 18 years since, you'd have a cat population of nearly 50 trillion. That would mean the U.S. produces far more cats than coal: If each cat weighed, on average, five pounds, this catastrophically huge feline colony would weigh 120 billion tons -- or about 100 times the amount of coal produced in the U.S. last year. By comparison, there were about 70 million household cats in 2001, according to a survey of pet-owning households by the American Veterinary Medical Association. The Humane Society estimates there are 90 million pet cats and 70 million feral cats today. Prof. New criticized the 420,000 number, but not its use by advocates. "If you can convince someone to spay one more cat, more power to them," he said. Even if the number is wrong? "Well, I think it's exaggerated, and that never happens in marketing," he said, laughing. The ASPCA's Dr. Zawistowski told me that the number could make the challenge of fighting pet overpopulation seem overly daunting, even as there are indicators of success. In the 1930s, he said, more than 95% of cats and dogs brought into New York shelters were euthanized, compared with about 10% today. Yet "a lot of people say, pet overpopulation is getting worse and worse," he said. "A more realistic number will certainly be more useful for the animal-control agencies and humane organizations addressing these problems, as they need to assess the potential impacts of different interventions, associated costs, etc.," Felicia B. Nutter, a wildlife veterinarian who studied feral cats under Prof. Stoskopf, told me in an email. "The big question is: What's going to get the message across to the people who create the problem by not spaying and neutering their pets? I don't have the answer to that one, but sure wish I did." http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116058075161889442.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/trying_to_herd_a_cat_stat.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/07/trying_to_herd_a_cat_stat.html Spay / Neuter Questions & Resources Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:35:12 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080621/LIFE/806210316/1052/OPINION01 Safety comes first when boating with your pet June 21, 2008 Safety comes first when boating with your pet Staff and wire Even if your dog is a born swimmer, the pet needs a life vest if you're going boating this summer. It could be a long, tiring paddle to shore at an area lake or on the Missouri River if they fall or jump in or they could get hurt entering the water and need the support of a vest, says Erin Elm, presentation manager at Petsmart in Sioux Falls. "It's still a good safety precaution," she says. The store sells several vests, which start at about $20, come in neon orange and green and range in sixes from extra, extra small to extra large. Recreational boaters are big customers. "They don't want to leave the dog behind because it is a family member," she says. In the fall, customers who hunt look for the vests because their dog may have to go into water to retrieve a bird, she says. A vest is necessary to keep pets safe on boats or houseboats, say Robert Keene Sr., vice commander and public education officer of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 7-11 in Berkeley, N.J. Having a pet on board, especially a dog, is common, Keene says. "The No. 1 rule is to get a dog a life jacket that fits," he says. "All your dog stores and boating shops have them." Some cats will stay aboard boats, depending on how they were raised, and they should wear a vest, too, he says. Elm says Petsmart doesn't sell vest specifically for cats but because the vests have weights listed, they work for both types of pet. Take stock of your pet Before buying a vest and taking a dog on a boat, know the dog's personality and temperament, says Dr. Peter M. Falk of Ocean County Veterinary Hospital in Lakewood, N.J. "Not all dogs are good swimmers. You may want to first take them to a lake or a pool and wade out with them before taking them on a boat," Falk says. Introduce dogs slowly to boats. "Make the boat pet-friendly. People should look at their boat and ask: 'Is this surface slippery? Will it get hot to walk on?' " Falk says. "Engine noises may upset some. Take the dog on the boat while it's docked and start the engine as an introduction." "Let him walk on and off the boat from the dock. Let him stay in the boat a little and get used to the motion," Keene says. "Then, take him out on short trips first." At all times, have fresh water on board for the dog, Falk says. Pets can dehydrate faster than people. On the water Be sure the dog has been walked before leaving shore and has a place on board to relieve himself, experts say. When walking dogs, be careful of their feet, Falk says. "Asphalt and concrete are very hot for a dog's feet. Sand can be, too. If it's too hot for us, it's too hot for them," Falk says. Onboard, animals must have shade, he says. "It's a good idea to have a basic pet first-aid kit - dressings, bandages, ointments, creams - onboard," Falk says. A dog jumping or falling into the water from a moving boat is a potential danger. Have dogs wear a harness, not a collar, because it's easier to get them out of the water, Keene says. Once a dog goes overboard, stop the boat immediately, he says. The propeller could kill them. "The last thing you want to do is get into the water," Keene says. "Use a boat hook - a long pole with a hook on it - and grab the harness, and pull the dog in." http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/06/safety_comes_first_when_boatin.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/06/safety_comes_first_when_boatin.html General Pet Care Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:56:51 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://www.kren.com/Global/story.asp?S=8495527 Find Out Your Mutt's Family Tree You may consider altering your training style based on behavior related to certain breeds. By Phyllis DeGioia, Studio One Networks The American Kennel Club pedigree of Fallon Flights O’Fancy, an Irish setter owned by Anne Schilling, is a mile long. The stunning purebred from Madison, Wis., justly holds his furry mahogany head high, but he isn’t snooty when he selects his friends. One such canine chum is Frank, a scruffy, shelter-rescued mutt that Fallon met at a dog park. Unlike Fallon, Frank’s family history is a mystery. But thanks to new DNA testing procedures, Frank, and most mutts like him, can have their mixed breed ancestry deciphered. The tests are the scientific version of the best guessing game of all, “What kind of dog is that?” which has kept dog park walkers in conversation for years. The DNA tests cannot reveal every bit of information about your dog, since genetic data isn’t available for every breed and mix, but even if you don't receive a fully positive identification, at least some breeds can be eliminated. How the Tests Work One such DNA testing company is MetaMorphix Inc. of Beltsville, Md., whose cheek swab kit allows dog owners like you to test for about 38 breeds. To participate, you place the provided swab in your dog’s mouth and swoosh it around to coat it in saliva and mouth cells that hold DNA, a cellular material that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of your dog. A blood test from the Rockville, Md.-based Mars Veterinary, part of the same company that makes M&M’S candy, can detect more than 130 breeds. The American Kennel Club currently recognizes over 150 breeds, and the United Kennel Club recognizes 300 breeds, so there are inherent limitations to the current tests. As time goes by, though, these organizations will likely include more breeds, making the procedures more accurate and revealing. Geneticists have identified over 300 DNA markers that help identify specific breeds. The recently mapped canine genome refers to the content and organization of genetic instructions for dogs -- sort of the protein recipe for canines. The ability to identify specifics in the canine genome gave birth to the breed DNA identification tests. “The more dogs these companies test, the more information they’ll have,” says Susan Nelson, DVM, of the Kansas State University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. “Hopefully that information will have medical relevance. Right now it’s mostly just for fun.” Dog Family Surprises Alexa Lewis of Los Angeles, Calif., decided it would be fun to test her two mixed breeds. She used the cheek swab test and felt that the results for her cordy -- a chow chow and Akita mix -- were accurate, but she was surprised about the results on her golden retriever mix, Riley. “Golden retriever was eliminated for Riley even though they couldn’t tell us his primary breed. Riley has three breeds: saluki, dachshund and Labrador. That could explain his short legs.” Lewis plans to give Riley the blood test when they next visit his veterinarian. Another dog owner who has tried out the new DNA testing is Cecilia Castillo of Tewksbury Township, N.J. She used the cheek swab on her purebred border collie and her two border collie mixes. The purebred’s came back as 100 percent border collie. “I knew Sally had to be a mix because she doesn’t act like a border collie, although she looks like one. I thought it would be cool to find out what was in Sally’s genetic makeup -- only for curiosity, no other reason,” said Castillo. “The results on Sally’s cheek swab were missing something, so when the blood test came out, I figured I'd retest her.” The results were different, although both tests revealed two breeds in common: Lab and dachshund. “They both showed that she has no border collie. The cheek swab test showed traces of husky, dachshund, and a significant amount of Lab. The blood test showed traces of Cavalier King Charles spaniel, golden retriever, German shepherd, Lab and dachshund.” So what did Castillo do with the results? “I concluded that Sally is a true mutt.” Health and Behavior Benefits to Testing “Knowing a dog’s heritage can help identify temperament traits,” said Lisa Peterson of the AKC. “Breed-specific training is important. If the majority breed is listed in these tests, it will aid an owner in how to approach training and socialization.” Peterson added, “For example, Cecilia thought she had a border collie, the obsessive compulsive breed of the dog world. Knowing that Sally has some husky, which tends to be more independent, means Cecilia may approach training in a different way.” Like Castillo, you don’t have to do anything with the information, or like Lewis, you can joke about it with your dog park buddies and other friends. Lewis says, “We’ve made a lot of non-dog owners think we're crazy when we tell them about the testing!” Information gained from dog DNA-testing also has the following applications: Training You may consider altering your training style based on behavior related to certain breeds. Sporting dogs like Labradors need significant daily exercise to prevent boredom-based destruction. Guard dogs like German shepherds are naturally protective and can be aggressive without appropriate socialization. Toy breeds like papillons can be notoriously difficult to housebreak, so patience is required. Health Inform your veterinarian if your mix has any breed known to have difficulties with anesthesia. For example, greyhound or whippet breeds have low body fat, and part collies are sensitive to ivermectin, a compound used in some heartworm preventives. Familiarize yourself with the breeds’ predisposition toward certain diseases. Miniature schnauzers are prone to inflammation of the pancreas. Dalmatians are prone to uric acid stones. Old English sheepdogs are prone to a type of anemia. Activities Explore performance activities that you may not have considered for your dog; these may include agility exercises for herding breeds or field tests for hunting dogs. Add to your exercise choices. If your dog’s ancestry includes a water- oriented breed, such as poodle or Newfoundland, see if it will enjoy learning how to swim. Consider going to dog shows to look for visual evidence of other breeds that might be related to your dog. Create a fun pedigree document discussing historical backgrounds of breeds rather than specific parents. Make a scrapbook using your dog’s photos and photos of the known breeds of your mix. Consider including other people’s opinions of your dog’s heritage mix, no matter how bizarre it might be. The scrapbook could even include a funny illustration of your dog by using parts of magazine photos to piece together a collage. Mutt Owners Get the Last Laugh Family history information about your dog’s breed heritage won’t change the way you feel about your pet. You will love your dog just the same, but curiosity killed the cat, or in this case, dog, and satisfaction brought him back. You won’t be lost for words the next time someone asks you about your favorite canine companion, no matter how unusual the breeding turns out to be. In fact, where mutts are concerned, the funkier the mix of breeds turns out to be, the better and more entertaining answers you’ll have. Copyright (c) 2008 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved. About The Author: Phyllis DeGioia is an award-winning writer who lives in Madison, Wis., with two rescued dogs and a cat. She has authored books on animal topics, is a member of the Dog Writers Association of America and serves as editor of Veterinary Partner online. Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - June 21, 2008 http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/06/find_out_your_mutts_family_tre.html http://www.shelterandrescue.org/2008/06/find_out_your_mutts_family_tre.html Dogs Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:00:54 -0500 Forwarded message - for info, please visit http://tinyurl.com/5o8pmw Be Cat-Prepared for Disaster A hurricane marches up the eastern coast toward your town. Do you know how to keep your pets safe? Although we can't prevent many disasters, we can certainly learn how to deal with them. Disasters come in two forms: natural and man-made. Natural disasters, are the most predictable because they are often seasonal. Hurricanes and storms are tracked for days before making landfall. Earthquakes are still random events, though, and tornadoes can occur with little warning. Man-made disasters are often unpredictable. Most are accidents, such as the spilling of hazardous material or accidental fire. Others, as we have witnessed, can be the result of criminal activity (such as arson) or terrorism. Here are a few tips on how to handle five potential disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires. These tips were compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has partnered with the Humane Society of the United States to help protect pets during emergencies. You can learn more about how to handle disasters by visiting FEMA's Web site at www.fema.gov. Preparedness is the key in any emergency, especially if you have pets. You can learn more about how to best prepare yourself and your pets by reading Keeping Your Cat Safe When Disaster Strikes. Hurricanes Although they can be very destructive, hurricanes are very predictable. The National Hurricane Center in Miami tracks weather patterns and notes possible hurricanes long before they pose a threat. The important thing is to monitor a storm's progress to see if it becomes a risk to coastal areas. (A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when winds reach 74 miles an hour; but a storm is still a storm and not to be taken lightly.) The hurricane center issues three levels of warning: hurricane advisory (which tells where the storm is located and direction of movement); hurricane watch and hurricane warning. A watch is issued when hur