A breed apart 

CARY A quick trip to the pet store often becomes an irksome experience for Charlene Augello. As the Harvard resident walks though the store aisles with her pet pit bull, Maggie, mothers often give her the evil eye before they grab their children and walk the other way.
Source: www.nwherald.com

Animals for adoption 
Humane Society
Source: www.reflector.com

The Early Word: Calendars - Far Side is Back! Stitch ‘n’ Bitch, Retro Lemony, Ying-Yang, Miro Miro, Bice Bice Bo  
This installment of The Early Bird - New Books of Notes becomes New Calendars of Consideration as we catch up with the 2007 items that will let you know when you’ve been where you’ve been and will need to be. But be advised: the most popular of these sell out before Christmas. You can be sure that the revived-for-now Far Side calendar will be sold out long before then. And if you
Source: blogcritics.org

Learn How To Take Your Golden Retriever’s Temperature, Read His Pulse, & Collect Potty Samples

As your Golden Retriever’s constant companion, you are probably very attuned to fluctuations in his behavior. If you observe that your dog seems more sluggish or less comfortable than normal, take a careful look at him. Does your dog have a runny nose? A cough? Is his appetite normal? Does he have diarrhea? Is he drooling excessively? Is he whining? These are all examples of warning signs that may accompany an illness and you may have to do some minor investigating. Here are some tips:

How To Take Your dog’s Temperature: If your Golden Retriever seems sluggish, has a hot, dry nose, dull eyes, and/or feels warm, he may have a fever. The only reliable way to take your dog’s temperature is with a rectal thermometer. Shake down the thermometer and grease it well with petroleum jelly.

Not many dogs will stand still while you insert a thermometer into their rectum, so it is best to get someone to help you. If no help is available, make your dog lie down on his side and hold him as best you can, all the while talking to him soothingly. Lift his tail and gently push the thermometer in with a twisting motion. Insert the thermometer from one to three inches, depending on the size of your dog. Hold the thermometer in place for at least two minutes.

Remove it, wipe it clean, and determine the temperature by the height of the silver column of mercury on the thermometer scale. A temperature of 100.5 degrees to 102 degrees is normal. A temperature above 102.5 or below 100.0 is cause for concern, and merits a call to your veterinarian. Do not let go of the dog or of the thermometer. You do not want to risk having the thermometer break in the dog’s rectum. If the thermometer does break off, do not attempt to find and extract the broken end. Give the dog one to two teaspoonfuls of mineral oil and call your veterinarian.

How To Take Your dog’s Pulse: The most reliable way of taking your Retriever’s pulse is to locate the femoral artery. Your dog can either be standing or can be lying on his back for this. Put your fingers inside your dog’s groin, where the leg joins the trunk. Feel around until you detect a pulse. Another method is to press against the rib cage over the heart while your dog is standing. You should be able to detect a pulse just below the elbow joint.

Count how many beats there are in a fifteen-second period, and then multiply that number by four. The normal range is wide - anywhere from 70 to 130 beats per minute. Smaller breeds
and puppies usually tend toward faster pulse rates, while larger breeds and healthy dogs who get plenty of exercise often have a slower pulse.

Collecting Urine Samples: For male dogs, use a wide-mouthed jar. When your male dog lifts his leg to urinate during a walk, reach down gently and collect about a quarter cup of urine. For a female Golden, place a flat pan under her when she squats to urinate.

Collecting Stool Samples: Stool samples are used to determine the presence of intestinal parasites. A sample is often requested as part of your dog’s routine examination. Try to collect as fresh a sample as possible and place it in a plastic bag. If you are taking it from outside, avoid soil; organisms on the ground could make their way into your Golden Retriever’s fecal material, resulting in an inaccurate reading.

Learn How To Hand Feed & Ween Your Golden Retriever Puppies In Case The Mother Gets Sick

The mother of a Golden Retriever litter may become ill, develop an infection dangerous to her puppies, have toxic milk or no milk at all, or just be unable to handle so many puppies. In those situations, it is ideal to have a foster mother care for your needy pups. If your veterinarian cannot suggest a foster mother, however, you will have to take over the nursing responsibilities. This includes hand-feeding, cleaning away the urine and feces from especially young pups, and ensuring that the litter stays warm.

Your veterinarian can suggest the most appropriate feeding formula for your litter. Be sure to prepare a fresh formula every day and to store it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to
feed it to the puppies, heat it up so it is warm to the touch.

Weigh your golden retriever puppy on a daily basis not only to be sure that she is maintaining healthy weight gain, but also to figure out how much food is nutritionally sound for her. Also monitor pups’ food intake to determine when you should feed them. If a puppy has a very small appetite or is weak, you may want to feed her less food more frequently. A puppy with a robust appetite, on the other hand, can have larger amounts of food fewer times a day.

Avoid feeding your puppy with an eyedropper as you could unintentionally force milk into her lungs and cause pneumonia. The best feeding container is a bottle: a regular baby bottle, a doll bottle, or a bottle purchased from a pet store or your veterinarian. Before feeding your puppies, be sure your bottle and your hands are clean and that the fluid flows easily. Enlarge the hole on the nipple if necessary by inserting a boiled, sterilized needle into it.

You may want to place the puppy on a table or on your lap, facing forward, when you are ready to feed her. Elevate the puppy slightly by placing your hand or a small towel under her front legs. Gently wedge the nipple of the bottle into the puppy’s mouth and over the tip of the tongue. Hold the bottle at about a forty-five degree angle and allow the formula to run slowly into the puppy’s mouth. The puppy may want to “knead” as she would on her mother’s teat to stimulate its milk production, so allow her front legs to move freely.

Unsuccessful feeding is a danger to a young golden retriever puppy, especially if she is weak or small. Try dabbing a spot of milk on the puppy’s lips, right at the opening of the mouth. Sometimes this will stimulate a poor appetite. If this method fails, do not force the puppy to eat. Consult your veterinarian, who will feed the puppy by inserting a long tube into her belly. The veterinarian may show you how to do this at home, but it is a delicate procedure and you should be thoroughly familiar with it before you attempt it.

After successful hand-feeding, two important procedures must follow. First, hold the puppy up to your shoulder and pat her back. Burping the puppy much like you would a human baby can release excess air that was swallowed during feeding. After burping, you need to encourage the puppy to go to the bathroom. The canine mother would do this by licking the abdomen and anal area. You should do this by rubbing a cotton ball or towel moistened with warmed water over these areas. You may also use this procedure to clean the puppy, wiping away any milk, urine, or feces that may be on her fur.

This prison program is for dogs  

Inmate John W. Smith kneels on the concrete prison floor. He’s almost at eye level with the two small dogs in front of him. “Wave goodbye,'’ he says in a sing-song voice to Ernie, a shepherd mix puppy. More…

Putting on the dog 

More than 300 costumed partygoers, including celebrities and their canine hangers-on, turned out for Animal Planet’s Roarin’ Howl-o-Ween bash hosted by Hal Sparks at the Highlands club in Hollywood last Wednesday night.
Source: www.calendarlive.com

Charitable groups seek donations, volunteers 
People Helping People is a list of charitable causes in our area that need donations or volunteers. These causes have not been investigated by the Beacon Journal to determine their merit, so potential donors should verify the worthiness of the cause and the tax-deductibility of contributions.
Source: www.ohio.com

Humane society has oodles of ‘doodles 
More than three dozen goldendoodle and labradoodle dogs will be available for adoption, beginning Sunday at the Oregon Humane Society.
Source: www.oregonlive.com

Learn How To Bond With Your Golden Retriever Puppy

Bonding is the key to a great relationship with your golden retriever dog. Bonding means gaining your puppy’s love and trust. It’s usually easy and is a lot of fun. The formula is simple:

1. Be your pup’s buddy.
2. Take him for short romps in the woods or park.
3. Pet him and play with him.

Most golden retriever puppies are very insecure when they first come home from the breeder. Their entire world has been turned upside down. They are suddenly separated from their mother and their litter mates. You can help overcome some of this insecurity by setting up the puppy’s crate is in your bedroom. There he will not feel exiled from his pack during the night. In fact, it will help him feel accepted into his new pack.

Do not undermine your puppy’s growing trust with overly harsh or badly timed corrections. Trust is essential to bonding and to successful obedience training. Strive toward convincing your dog that you would never harm him or put him in a harmful situation. Owners who have their dog’s trust and have formed a close bond with their dog have the highest potential of training success.