Wag Reflex

Mystery Mutt Now Less Mysterious

Once again, here's my dog, Cassidy. If you had to guess, what mix of breeds would say Cassidy is? For reference she's 30 lbs.Take your time.

If you guessed Beagle and something else, you're right where we were. But what else is she? How would you find out? And maybe she's not a Beagle. Maybe she's something cool--like a Doberman/Mini Pin/Raccoon mix. It could happen...right?

To unravel the mystery of Cassidy, we got the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It comes with a little paperwork and some cheek swabs. Here's everything:

All you do is swab the dog's cheek, like so:

Yeah, she's overdue for a teeth cleaning. You have to make sure the dog doesn't interact with any other dogs for a few hours. Otherwise you might get some really fun results. After the swabbing, I sent it off to the BioPet people for analysis. In the meantime we went back to our usual guessing. Coonhound/Chihuahua?

Two weeks later we got the results. They came with some documentation on understanding the results and a nifty certificate of ancestry.

Drum roll, please... The final results are as follows:

• 37-74% Beagle
• 10-19% Bichon Frise
• 10-19% Pekingese
• 10-19% Shih Tzu
• < 10% Brittany
• < 10% Saint Bernard

So there you have it, little Cassidy is a Saint Bernard mix. It was so obvious!

If you want to know what your mystery mutt is, check out the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It won't tell you why your pet looks like it does or why it acts like it does, but it's kind of fun to know a little more about its strange parentage.

--Spanno

Subscribe to Wag Reflex and Win a GPS Pet Locator

If you're not yet subscribed to Wag Reflex, we have really cool incentive (other than great posts) for you. You could win a PetSafe GPS Locator just by signing up. 

Already getting the daily Wag Reflex digest? Don't worry, you can still sign up for the sweepstakes by filling out the entry form. Just make sure to use the same e-mail address in the form as you used when you signed up previously for the digest.

Sign up and read the official sweepstakes rules. No purchase necessary. Enter by 3/23/09. See official rules for details.

--Spanno

My Favorite Things: LitterMaid Litter Box

Our household has officially graduated to the big leagues. We now have an automatic litter box! Though we only have one cat, we have other creatures in the house that pay close attention to the contents of that box. Our fancy cleaner senses when there has been a deposit and rakes it along and into an enclosed container. Out of sight, out of mind for our litter box raiders. Besides the overall benefit of reducing the chances our dogs will snack on cat poop, the self-cleaning box appeases our cat’s sense of cleanliness as both clumped urine and feces are removed.

This particular model (LitterMaid LM900 Mega Self-Cleaning Litter Box) has a sensor with a timer so the raking action doesn’t start until 10 minutes after use. So there is no scary motor that turns on during their private time (which can scare them away from litter boxes forever.)

The unit is large, especially when you attach the carpeted foot ramp (my second favorite accessory). But while it takes up more floor space, it gives the cat more working space--a feature many cats appreciate.

One of the delays I had was finding the appropriate clumping litter. Sounds simple but I had to shop around to find a non-scented premium clumping litter source. My one real worry was that the motorized rake is quite loud. I was afraid it would wake us up if the cat took a midnight pee break but was happy to find a programmable “sleep mode” so the unit doesn’t run for a 9 hour stretch.

As for upkeep, there is a need to buy refills for the litter collection area and it is not as easy to spray completely clean in the sink each week.

The real selling point is what the instruction manual refers to as “the triple action tool.” It is my favorite accessory because of its multi-functional capabilities: loosening steadfast litter clumps, helping remove wedged feces from the rake and accurately measuring the depth of the litter. It looks suspicious similar to a normal pooper scooper but what doesn’t benefit from a touch of marketing magic?

Overall, we are happy with our upgrade--our kitty is very fond of the ramp and the space, our dogs look elsewhere for snacks and we can wait a week between scoopings!

--Dr. Olson
---------------------
Dr. Olson practices small animal medicine in Denver, CO and is a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.

Disclaimer Regarding Veterinary Information

Dremel Your Dog's Nails?

Someone pointed out to me recently that the top selling Dremel product on Amazon.com is a pet nail tool. My first reaction was, "I need a Dremel," and then, "Pet nails? Ouch!".

I read more about it and realized that you don't cut your dog's nails off like you would a metal nail head--you sand it off like that Peticure thing you see on TV. Except this one is less expensive.

According to the reviews there are few pros and cons to consider.

Pros:
- You won't cut the quick
- Fast and painless
- Cordless
- Runs quiet (but not silent)

Cons:
- Not silent--you'll need to get your pet acquainted with it
- Not enough power for bigger dogs--you'll need a better battery

If you already have a Dremel, you just need a set of "fine" sander bands. If my veterinarian wife ever makes me cut my dog's nails, I'm going this route.

--Spanno

Make Sure Your Pet is Never Lost but Always Found

Besides being a Veterinarian with medical responsibilities, I have also been asked to be “Pet Detective”.  The typical scenario is when someone walks into the clinic with a dog or cat that they found, fell in love with, and now want to keep. Part of my job during these “new pet” appointments is to make sure that the “new pet” does not in fact have another home. By now of course, ID tags have been checked and flyers have been posted. However, I have to go a step beyond and check all other pet identification methods before new owners commit to a found pet. Here are all the ID methods I check and all the ways you can help keep your pet identified.

Tags
These are the old stand-by and the first line of pet identification. If your pet is ever lost with their collar on and someone finds them, this is the quickest way for you pet to be returned. Sadly many pets don’t even have collars on their pet or even any tags! Don’t be that owner. Be sure your pet has a collar and a few tags. One should be the typical ID tag with pets name and your cell phone number. The next tag should be proof of rabies vaccination. This can help “Pet Detective” when ID tags are missing because most have Veterinary clinics phone numbers on them and rabies tag numbers.

All this is helpful if your pet’s collar and tags are on, but what if the collar comes off or is taken off?

Microchips
This is the best way to give your pet permanent identification. Microchips are implanted under the skin with a simple one-time injection, done by your veterinarian or local shelter. The Microchip stays under the skin and is found using a scanner, which reveals the microchip number and manufacturer of the chip. Shelters and Vets scan most newly-found pets to be sure they don’t already have a home.  The most important part is that your pet’s microchip is registered to your name and that the contact information provided is current. Using the chip number, veterinarians and shelters call the manufacturer to get the contact information for the pet’s owner.

Tattooing
This is a fairly uncommon pet ID method these days. I’ve most frequently seen it done by European breeders of working dogs or, in the U.S., for purpose-bred dogs (racing dogs for example).

GPS Collars
This is one of the latest methods for pet recovery. Basically your dog wears a collar with a GPS unit on it. There are a variety of manufacturers each with different services associated with their product, so do your homework and see which one is right for you, as most require a monthly fee for their services. One of the more popular ones is Global Pet finder, below is a picture of their collar unit. The catch is that your pet must have the collar on. Sometimes collars come off, so keep that in mind for all collar ID methods.

My best advice is to have a minimum of two forms of ID on your pet. A microchip and a collar ID.

--Dr. Hamilton
---------------------
Dr. Hamilton is an oncology resident at Michigan State's Animal Cancer Care Clinic and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.

Disclaimer Regarding Veterinary Information

Cassidy Gets a New Leg

In 2004, Cassidy, a male German Shepard, was born with a deformed right leg. Three years after it was amputated at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, he will finally have a complete set of limbs.

Orthopedic surgeons at the college will give Cassidy an osseointegrated prosthetic limb, one which is fused to his bones. "The result is a custom-designed, limb-sparing prosthesis that behaves more like a natural limb--and a technique with implications for the future of human prosthetics."

It will be the first time this type of surgery has been performed on a dog.

Read more about Cassidy's new leg on Science Daily.

--Spanno

9/11 Search and Rescue Dog to be Cloned

          

A German shepherd named Trakr has won a free copy...of himself.

BioArts International, a startup biotech cloning company, held a competition to find the most "clone-worthy" canine. Trakr was selected out of a large international pool of pups.

Said Lou Hawthorne, CEO of BioArts, "We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing some truly amazing dogs. But Trakr's story blew us away."

Now 15, Trakr was one of the first search and rescue dogs on the scene of the New York 9/11 attacks and "responsible for ultimately locating the last human survivor under approximately 30 feet of unstable debris.

Read about Trakr's amazing story here.

--Spanno

     

          

Two-Legged Puppy Gets Landing Gear

          

A two-legged Maltese born without front legs got some help from an orthotist, who created "makeshift shoulder joints connected to model airplane wheels." Hope now gets around just fine on her new limbs and can "bound across a room at a surprisingly break-neck pace".

Read all about Hope at Mail Online.

--Spanno

     

Epic Struggle: Robots vs. Pets

Until dogs can be trained to clean rugs, U.S. households are going to have an increasing problem with pet aggression towards robots. With the rise in popularity of iRobot's Roomba vacuum cleaners, Pleo, and other robotic toys, pet owners are becoming vigilant about keeping the peace between robots and pets--or at least videotaping the ensuing mayhem and uploading it to YouTube.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the growing dilemma for pet-loving techophiles. Read all about this distinctly 21st-century problem here.

--Spanno