This Thursday marks seven years since 9/11.

By now, the dust has long settled, the area that once housed the Twin Towers has been transformed, and those who sifted through the rubble have moved on.

While there’s no doubt that the emotional effects of the rescue work still linger, for some of the rescuers, physical issues are also present.

But not so for the four-footed search dogs, who possess no long term side effects from their dangerous, heroic work.

The New York City Police Department dogs who were deployed to the site after the attack were studied for five years and currently show no long term health effects, this according to the July issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Although many human rescuers continue to suffer from increased rates of illness and severity of symptoms related to respiratory tract disease, the 27 dogs observed in the study do not have the same issues.

The dogs were exposed to the same smoke, dust and toxins as their human counterparts, but researchers think the difference lies in the lung defense mechanisms in the dogs.

I guess that’s the silver lining.

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In case you’re not watching The Greatest American Dog on CBS on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT, let me fill you in on all its doggie goodness.

No, there aren’t any greyhounds in the group, but there are plenty of amazing dogs (and owners) as well as a few neurotic dog/owner pairs.

While the show has already backed up these findings, as a Jack Russell Terrier bit an English Bull Dog.

Last week another inexperienced owner and young dog were sent packing, and another owner felt obligated to defend her habit of dressing up her small mutt, which the judges did not look favorably upon.

So far, I’d say handsome Travis and his equally handsome Boxer, Presley, are shaping up to be leaders of the pack (see above photo), although I wouldn’t underestimate Laura and her Pomeranian, Preston, or Bill and his Brittany, Star.

You can get caught up on past episodes here.   

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It turns out bigger might really be better after all. According to a study conducted by researchers Deborah Duffy and James Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, and Yuying Hsu of the National Taiwan Normal University, it seems that the smaller the dog, the more snap.

The researchers gathered data from multiple dog clubs, as well as an extensive online survey which asked owners to report on whether or not their dog nips, or tries to attack, unfamiliar (stranger) humans, owners, or other dogs, including whether or not their dog exhibits any rivalry toward other canines in general.

Ranking in the top ten most aggressive were Dachshunds coming in first; followed by the Chihuahua, which is noted to often snaps at its owners, strangers and other dogs; the Jack Russell terrier; the Akita; the Australian cattle dog; the pit bull; the beagle; the English springer spaniel; the border collie; and the German shepherd.

Among the least aggressive breeds were the Basset hound, golden retriever, Labradors, Siberian husky and greyhound.

Canine aggression studies based solely on reported attacks are often skewed because while most bites from small dogs aren’t serious, bites from large dogs often require medical attention and thus are reported.

While this is just anecdotal information taken straight from the mouths of owners, it does help explain why little dogs are often referred to as “ankle biters”. It’s also a generalization and is not intended to base sweeping breed assumptions upon. Every dog has a different temperment and should not be judged solely on his or her breed.
 
 
 

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In April 2008, the Environmental Working Group released a report, “High Levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Contaminate Cats And Dogs”, by Olga Naidenko, Rebecca Sutton, Jane Houlihan.

In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns.

The results show that America’s pets are serving as involuntary sentinels of the widespread chemical contamination that scientists increasingly link to a growing array of health problems across a wide range of animals—wild, domesticated and human.

According to the findings, dogs and cats were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested, including 43 chemicals at levels higher than those typically found in people, according to our study of plastics and food packaging chemicals, heavy metals, fire retardants, and stain-proofing chemicals in pooled samples of blood and urine from 20 dogs and 37 cats collected at a Virginia veterinary clinic.

Read the full report here.

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According to the ASPCA, cocoa mulch is a no-no for gardeners who have dogs.

In “Cocoa Bean Mulch As A Cause Of Methylxanthine Toxicosis In Dogs”
by S. Hansen, H. Trammell, E. Dunayer, S. Gwaltney, D. Farbman, and
S. Khan, they point out the dangers of using cocoa bean shells, a by-product of chocolate production, as mulch for landscaping.

While homeowners may prefer cocoa mulch because it degrades into an organic fertilizer and provides an attractive color and odor, the unprocessed beans, derived from the Theobroma cacao plant, contain 1 to 4% theobromine/0.07-0.36% caffeine, whereas cocoa bean mulch contains 0.19%-2.98% theobromine.

Unfortunately, some dogs can’t resist and eat small to large quantities. Dogs consuming cocoa bean mulch may develop methylxanthine toxicosis. Retrospective case data suggests clinical signs following ingestion include vomiting and muscle tremors, and high doses can cause death.

The authors recommend avoiding use of cocoa bean shell mulch in landscaping around unsupervised dogs. If you think your dog has consumed cocoa bean shell mulch, consult your veterinarian as soon as possible.

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When I first brought Greta home, I was told that it’s important to use raised feeders with greyhounds, because that way they don’t have to hunch down to drink/eat, and raised feeders also prevent bloat.

So I bought this.

I noticed two things immediately.

First, Greta would jump every time she had her nose in one of the bowls and it would bang or clank.

Two, she would always cough after she drank water.

So I started researching this mysterious cough, and I found a lot of research regarding “high” and “low” feeding.

According to a 1998 to 2004 Bloat (GVD) Study at Purdue University by Malathi Raghavan, DVM, MS; Lawrence T. Glickman, VMD, DrPH; Nita W.Glickman, MS, MPH; and Diana B. Schellenberg, these four (4) factors ARE associated with an increased risk of bloat in large breed dogs:

  1)Raising the food dish more than doubled the risk for bloat
  2)Speed of eating -Dogs rated by their owners as very fast eaters had a 38% increased risk of bloat
  3)Age: The study found that risk increased by 20% with each year of age. Owners should be more alert to early signs of bloat as their dogs grow older.
  4)Family History: Having a first-degree relative (parent, sibling or offspring) that had bloated increased a dog’s risk by 63%.

The Purdue research team concluded these are the things you can do to prevent bloat, including:

  1)Do not raise the feeding dish.
  2)Slow the dog’s speed of eating.

In case you hadn’t guessed, Greta now eats and drinks from bowls placed directly on the floor, and she hasn’t coughed since the switch.

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