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My Kids Want a Puppy: What Kind Should We Get?

As a pet care professional and the mother of four children, I am frequently asked what type of dog a family should get.  I always give the same advice -- stop looking at the cute puppy pictures, all puppies are cute.  Instead ask yourself a few key questions:

• Who is the pet for?  Is it primarily a companion for your children or have you always wanted a dog but your spouse has been reluctant and you're using the kids as an excuse?  Identify the key pet person and make sure you understand their expectations and needs.

 

• What do we want to do with our dog?  Are you an active family?  Do you want a dog who will go on early morning runs with you or are you looking for a dog who will play dress up and ride in a doll carriage?  Make a list of what you want to do with your dog.  For example, my oldest boy wanted a dog who would:  play fetch, be small enough to sleep on his bed, and keep him company at night after his brother had fallen asleep.  This considerably narrowed our search.

 

• What are we willing to do for our dog? Different types of dogs require varying levels of excercise and maintenance.  If you can't get your kids to brush their own hair you may want to pass on a Newfoundland who should be brushed daily.

 

• How much time do we have? It's important to be realistic about how much time your family has to spend with a pet.  Of course you can also hire professionals to provide dog daycare, dog walking, etc., but you will need to plan for those expenses.

 

• Is someone in your family opposed to getting a dog?  Why?  It is important that you fully understand their objections and can successfully overcome them.  You do not want to get a dog only to be forced to return it later.

My favorite book on dog selection is Daniel Tortora's The Right Dog For You.  This book is an oldie but goodie.  He ranks dogs based on a number of factors including sociability with dogs and people, exercise needs, how fast they learn and grooming requirements.  His assessments of the breeds of dogs he reviews are spot-on.  Worth reading even if you know you're adopting a mixed breed because whoever you adopt will be coming from dogs with these traits. If you're local, you can find it at Christopher's Books on Potrero Hill.

Got any questions about selecting a dog?  Send them in! 

Thanks for reading.

SF Auto Show – Really Now, How is this Related to Pet Care?

One of the Thanksgiving traditions in our house (along with drafting the kids into feeding 150 dogs Thanksgiving dinner) is our annual trek to the San Francisco Auto Show.  Every year we go.  We drool over the cars we will never own – not big enough for our family of six or the dogs (both our personal dogs and the dogs staying overnight or doing doggie day care), too fancy, too boring and, of course, too expensive.  The last time we actually went to the auto show looking for a car was in 1999 – about 5 months before the triplets were born.  Well the time has come again.  My 1999 Chevy Tahoe is still in great shape – if a car 13 years old that has been through countless trips filed with dogs and kids can ever be in “great shape,” but it’s still time to start looking.

I know the car of my dreams is waiting for me at the auto show – I also know that I’m not destined to get that the car now and probably never.  So what’s a guy to do?  I need a car that will tolerate four kids and dogs.  Being in the pet care business there is almost always a dog in the car or about to be in the car and don’t even get me started on what those kids do to a car.  And of course, it would be nice to be able to park on the street in San Francisco. 

Any suggestions? 

Thanks for reading!

Celebrate Halloween with Your Dog!

We play with your pets everyday.  But this weekend you humans get to join in the fun!

Saturday, October 29 is Barktoberfest 2011!  Join us from 2 to 5 pm in the Pet Camp Savannah - that's our amazing huge play area.  There will be hot dogs and beer, prizes, a costume contests, a hay bale maze and an all around good time. 

This year we even have a jingle.

 

Best of all - it's all FREE.  It's just our way of thanking our campers and their people.  You can RSVP right here so we don't run out of hot dogs, but feel free to just drop is as well.

 

See you there!!

 

Thanks for reading!

Should your pet sitting friend pay the vet bill?

This summer the New York Times Ethicist column posed a question: when you have a friend pet sit what do you hold them responsible for? 

In the specific case in question, a couple had a friend pet sit their dog-aggressive dog.  The friend who knew the dog was aggressive. But, the friend got distracted during a walk and the dog ran across the street and attacked a smaller dog resulting in a $700 veterinarian bill.  The couple feels their friend should contribute to the bill.  The friend has apologized but not offered any cash. The New York Times invited people to weigh in on this issue for four hours one workday afternoon and apparently 250 people did.  Based on the available summary, most people got all caught up in whether people should have aggressive dogs at all.

Now as a professional pet caretaker I probably have a slightly different take on the issue.  First of all, lots of people have dog aggressive dogs.  I have one.  It doesn’t mean I’m a bad person or the dog is a bad dog.  It just means that I have a special needs dog who must receive skilled care.   So it is incumbent on me to make sure my dog receives the appropriate care when I can’t provide it – and that means going to a pet lodger, a dog hotel or a traditional boarding kennel. 

In my opinion, I’d say the couple asking their friend to care for a dog with special needs (or perhaps asking a friend to take care of any dog) and the financial burden of making a mistake is pushing the bonds of friendship past the breaking point.  If you want this job done properly, you hire a professional and then you have the right to hold them accountable.  What do you think?

Thanks for reading.

A Tribute to the Search-and-Rescue Dogs of September 11

Working in pet care I see a lot of wonderful dogs and cats all the time.  As we commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11, one of the most moving tributes I saw was a photo essay on the search-and-rescue dogs who responded to the attacks.  The photographs by Charlotte Dumas appeared in the Sunday New York Times Magazine and are excerpted from her new book "Retrieved". 

According to her publisher, “Immediately following the attacks of 9/11, nearly 100 trained search dogs and their handlers—enlisted from 18 U.S. states—were deployed by FEMA to join the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Alongside firemen and other teams sorting through the debris, the dogs worked tirelessly around the clock to locate survivors in the rubble—images of which deeply intrigued Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas as the events unfolded in the news media. One decade later, discovering that only 15 of these dogs were still alive, Dumas succeeded in tracking each of them down, visiting and photographing the dogs at their homes throughout the U.S., where they all still live with their handlers.”

According to Michael Slenske in ARTINFO, “With the help of FEMA, Dumas tracked down 15 survivors — down from 90 who originally served the sites — in nine states, from Ojai, California to Ipswich, Massachusetts, where she shot her first portrait of the black Labrador retriever, Tara (pictured above) 'She's the oldest in the series and passed away shortly after I shot her,' Dumas laments. 'It was a tough shoot because she couldn’t really stand anymore and I wanted to portray her in a moment of awareness.'"

The first printing of “Retrieved” has already sold out, you can ask your local book store to get you a copy when they're in stock next month.

Thanks for reading.

Kids and Dogs in San Francisco

San Francisco is a small City.  It occupies only 49 square miles and has only about 750,000 people living in it.  Remarkably it also is rumored to have more dogs than kids living in it - this could explain all the doggie day care locations and dog walkers.  Like most urban environments San Francisco has a limited amount of open space.  No offense to our Recreation and Park Department or our elected officials (many of whom have spent a lot of time working on this issue), but based on the continued fighting between kid parents and dog parents we’ve done a poor job sharing our parks.  I know that there have been plenty of formal meetings trying to find middle ground, but it’s almost as if there are no parents of both dogs and humans – folks who might actually understand both sides of the issue.

Our family might be a bit different from the normal San Francisco family: for a long time we had four 2-legged kids and three 4-legged kids living in one San Francisco house.  Now we have a good size house by San Francisco standards, but with 9 (4 kids, 3 dogs and 2 parents) of us living it you very quickly learn that you need to share space.  It’s a pretty basic notion: there is only so much room in a small house (or a small City) and we just need to work it out. 

It’s hard to imagine the kids and the dogs figuring out the space issues in our house – it was up to the adults to make some sense of it all.  Seems to me that the same rule should apply to our parks: adults need to be adults, be willing to compromise, let our parks be used by both 2-legged and 4-legged kids in a rational way.  For those of you with only 4-legged kids consider doing some babysitting (are you available next Saturday night?) and for those with just 2-legged ones at least go play with someone’s dog!  Maybe, just maybe, seeing how the other half lives will help us all live better together.

Thanks for reading.

Pet Prescriptions: Will A Proposed Federal Law Save You Money?

The American Veterinary Medical Association, the California Veterinary Medical Associationand other groups have lined up to oppose proposed federal legislation that would require veterinarians to provide written information to pet owners about off-site pharmacy options to fill pet prescriptions.

The proposed legislation (H.R. 1406 for you federal legislation junkies who want to read the whole thing) was introduced by Jim Matheson a Democrat from Utah (that there is a Democratic representative from Utah is enough fodder for a host of other blog postings) is modeled after the Contact Lens Consumer Act and is designed to allow pet owners a chance to price shop prescriptions.  According to data released from Matheson’s office (as reported in DVM Magazine) "a study of 18 common pet medication found that on average consumers who purchase from prescribers pay a 248 percent markup over average wholesale prices." 

The veterinarian groups are arguing that the proposed legislation places unfair burdens on veterinarians (who generally are small businesses) by increasing the amount of paperwork required to prescribe medication (whether the medicine is dispensed by the veterinarian or not), that there are state laws in place to address this issue, and that the veterinarian's office is the best place for medical decisions about a pet to be made.

As a large consumer of veterinary prescribed products (from rimadyl for an older dog to fluids and prescription food for a cat in renal failure) and one who sees lots of pet meds at our pet care facility in San Francisco, I am often astounded by the cost of these products.  Recently Walgreen’s began pitching a prescription coverage plan (not insurance they are quick to add) that covers pet medicines.

Like all consumers I want to pay a fair price for what I get and am intrigued by the lower cost options that I hear about.  That said, I also immensely value the skill my veterinarian brings to problem solving and the relationship I have with my veterinarian.  I also understand that sometimes paying more for something is worth it when you are getting more than a fungable commodity.

What’s your take on all this?  Are veterinarians taking advantage of pet owners or is paying more worth it for everything else they do for us?

Thanks for reading.

Are any dog breeds really hypoallergenic?

Ok, so I’m not that bright.  For those of you who know me this is not shocking news.  But here’s some supporting evidence you might not be aware of: I am very allergic to dogs and cats.  Yup, it’s true, I spend my day surrounded by things that can make me pretty sick.  When we first met Virginia didn’t believe me, but then we attended an earthquake preparedness fair where there were some search and rescue dogs.  After a few minutes of playing with the dogs I was covered in hives!  I’ve done the whole allergy shot thing & take drugs – but there are still days that the allergies win.  Given that, why did I choose this career and if I can’t get a job as a really old hockey player – why do I have a Newfoundland rather than a hypoallergenic breed?

Well it turns out that my intellectual slowness may have put me ahead (or at least I haven’t been lapped yet).  In the most recent issue of the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy a study of 190 one-dog families with 60 different dog breeds calls into question if any dog breeds are really hypoallergenic. 

The study found no statistical difference in detectable dog allergen levels in homes with non-hypoallergenic and hypoallergenic dogs.  That's right.  It doesn't matter if you have a labradoodle or a German shepard, allergen levels will be the same.  

Many years ago my allergist in San Francisco told me that even if you are allergic to dogs there are certain breeds that you won’t react to; the problem is finding out which breed(s) are best for you.  Here's what we advise -- get a Portuguese water dog (one of the "hypoallergenic" breeds) if that's what makes you happy, but consider spending time with a variety of breeds you love.  You might find, like me, a very furry best friend.

So let us know if you're allergic and found a breed that works for you.  Thanks for reading!

 

Pit Bull Rescue in San Francisco – An Individual Success Story

We have all heard horror stories about pit bulls.  The most recent tragedy in Pacifica, California reignited a conversation that had barely simmered down about the place of pit bulls in urban society.  This conversation, the issues it raises and the emotions that come to the surface are complex and contentious.  Thankfully, this post is not about any of that…this is about stories with happy endings thanks to the hard work and generous efforts on one San Franciscan: Kate Edwards.

For the past three years Kate has been an active volunteer at San Francisco Animal Care and Control (ACC) and recently joined the Board of the Friends of San Francisco ACC. In addition to the countless hours she spends volunteering at  and raising money for ACC, Kate spends her time, energy and financial resources rescuing pit bulls that ACC has determined to be non-adoptable. 

Now we want to stress that the pits Kate works with have been deemed not adoptable for the most minor of transgressions: a young and excited puppy jumps up onto a person, or a dog that has never been socialized barks too aggressively at a dog walking by.  Rather than letting these dogs remain at ACC as not adoptable, Kate fosters them at Pet Camp and then, in addition to the play time they get at Pet Camp, she arranges for herself and others to take these dogs out for walks around San Francisco.  In just a short while these dogs are socialized to both dogs and people.  Kate then works with Rocket Dog Rescue to get these dogs the perfect loving homes. 

If you would like to learn more about Matty (the cutie pictured here) or if you or someone you know has some extra room in their heart and in their home for Matty please feel free to contact Pet Camp or Kate directly at d4dr@aol.com.  Matty gets along wonderfully with people, dogs and cats.  He is quite the social butterfly.

Thanks for reading.

 

What is the true value of a pet? Pet care professionals don't get it!

For a long time now boarding facilities, veterinarians, groomers and other pet care professionals have taken the legal position that pets have no economic value beyond their replacement cost.  One of Pet Camp’s corporate competitors goes so far as to refer to pets under their care as “chattel” (which for you folks like me who didn’t pay too much attention in first year law school is a fancy word for personal property) and sets the maximum replacement value of a pet at $200.  Pet care professionals argue that if we place an economic value on pets beyond their replacement costs that the cost of operating a veterinary clinic or lodging facility (that’s boarding or a kennel in old speak) will go through the roof because our insurance rates will go sky high.

Well, as much as we hate to pick a fight (or another one) with our pet care professional family – we think that they are wrong.  Who are we kidding? Places like Pet Camp exist only because people place a higher value on their pets than their replacement value. 

If you didn’t value your pet in this way it would be cheaper, in straight dollar and cents terms, to replace your pet rather than pay for a stay at Pet Camp or for stitches at the vet.  Our pets are part of our family - they share our experiences with us, they make our lives better and more complete, and we mourn their loss. 

Now we don’t mean to say that a pet has the same emotional/economic value as a child or a spouse, but clearly we value our pets way more than their mere replacement cost.

We don’t know where the line should be drawn regarding the value of a pet, but we encourage our fellow members of the pet care community to be active members of the discussion rather than simply sticking to a position that lost its validity when as a society we started selling pet insurance, putting MRI machines in veterinarian offices, installing indoor swimming pools for dogs and building greenhouses for urban cats to play “outside.”  The discussion is taking place - we need to be part of it.

Thanks for reading.