www.roanoke.com

Hello blog readers. Sorry that I disappeared on you for a few days. I won't bore you with details but let's just say I needed a bit of tender loving care. I am lucky to have a wonderful family that includes a caring hubby and daughter with cats and dogs, too, so I had lots of love to help me feel better.

People in hospitals and extended care facilities are often not so lucky. A visit from a pet can be just what the doctor can't order to lift the spirits and calm the soul.

And sometimes kids just need a friendly ear that will listen without interruption or judgment, and maybe offer a snuggle of encouragement, too.

That's what wonderful about TheraPets.

Click here to read yesterday's column about the dedicated group of volunteers that spans three generations and includes lots of sweet pooches that help other people feel good.

I also need to clear up an error I made: The phone number for TheraPets is 772-9542. I listed it incorrectly in the information box in the newspaper.

(Photo by  Kyle Green/The Roanoke Times)

My family was doing what we normally do on Sunday night: Watching TV and reading in our family room. It was a nice night and the dogs kept wanting to go outside and play, come back inside and then go back out; typical summer behavior.

The hubby and I kept noticing a not-too-pleasant aroma when the dogs were inside. It was not skunk, we know that fragrance all too well. I thought it might have been more evidence that our dogs belong on the Wall of Shame. But unless they were spewing methane at a rate that would have Al Gore picketing my house for contributing to global warming, I couldn't imagine that was the cause of the stench.

Then Stormy jumped up on the couch with me for a cuddle. Ew. I found the source. He smelled like dirty sneakers and rancid grease. The stinkiest cheese would have faded in the fumes radiating off this ripe dog.

So he was banished from our bed for the night and yesterday my daughter gave him a bath. And to Stormy, b*a*t*h is a four-letter word. (OK, it is a four-letter word, but you know what I mean.)

This pup has always hated baths. In the tub or out in the yard with the hose, makes no difference. His first bath was after he played in the mud as a puppy, so maybe we helped form a negative connotation in his mind: He was having fun and we ruined it.

By comparison, our greyhounds will patiently stand for shampoo-rinse-repeat and almost seem to enjoy it.

By the time we came home from work, Stormy smelled like vanilla oatmeal but was barely on barking terms with our daughter, who was pretty exhausted from the struggle.

Any suggestions on how to make bath time more fun? I am willing to buy him a steady supply of rubber duckies if it will mean he smells fresh.

Here's some good news for our southern neighbors who may be experiencing puppy growing pains. I got this press release yesterday from Chase Inman, director of marketing and development and volunteer coordinator for the SPCA of Martinsville-Henry County.

"Being a new pet parent can be challenging, so the SPCA hopes to help!  This class is for the whole two-legged family members!  Come learn the basics of pet parenthood and how to make your family's adjustment as smooth as possible.  This one hour orientation is purrrfect for new pet parents and those experiencing training issues."

To register call Alice Ann Blevins at 276-632-7424.  Class will be Saturday, July 25, from 1 -2 p.m. Inman said the class is just for pet parents, so leave the pups and pooches at home. The plan is to cover doggy-related issues, but if you are having a kitty conundrum, please let Blevins know and, if there is enough interest, there could be a cat class added to the curriculum.

This recommendation came from blog reader Kim:

"I’ve been keeping up with the blog regarding pet products that work and those that don’t.  I have one for the “works” category to pass along and it is the Gentle Leader head harness/leash.  Before we got it we’d walk Cali on a traditional leash.  She would get so excited that she’d pull very hard on the leash which caused her to choke and gag herself.  She’s so strong that I’d almost have my arm dislocated from my shoulder when she’d make a sudden change of direction. 

My husband bought the Gentle Leader and at first I rebelled because I thought it was mean and Cali absolutely hated it.  However, when we started doing dog training our trainer recommended the Gentle Leader.  Not only does it make Cali walk like a normal dog but it keeps her from damaging her esophagus (and my arm).  It’s not something you can put on a dog and expect them to like it and take to it right away.  It took a step-by-step process of wearing and rewarding for Cali to accept it.  I can’t say that she likes it, but she knows she gets to go for a walk if she wears it and we both have a more enjoyable walk with it on.  If any fellow blog readers have dogs that pull too hard on their leash then I recommend the Gentle Leader."

I second that recommendation, Kim. We had the same problems with Stormy that you described with Cali, and our dog trainer also told us to use the Gentle Leader. He hates it too, but it makes all the difference in walking him. While the Martingale-style collars work best for the long skinny necks of our greyhounds, the Gentle Leader is the best way to handle our bull-headed little terrier.

What other tools have been helpful with leash-training your dogs? Post a comment and share your lead/collar recommendations

Remember Geronimo, the itty bitty kitty who took a big plunge off the Memorial Bridge in Radford last May? Click here to read how the orange tabby has adjusted to a grounded life with his adoptive family. It's a happy tail.

Speaking of pet tails, I did not have a chance to go see the movie "Marley and Me", but apparently millions of other people did as it was the number one box office draw over over the long holiday weekend.

I loved the book and, as most of you who love to read can attest, the movie is seldom as good as the book. I think that has more to do with the experience of reading, where you see the story in your mind, verses seeing that same story through someone else's imagination.  But I am hoping to get to the theater and see it some night this week.

In a surprising move, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals actually gave the movie two paws up. That's surprising because PETA normally objects to amy project that involves animals for human entertainment. The group released a statement that the movie presents the right message that pets are a lifetime commitment, no matter how they behave.

(If you are not familiar with the story, Marley is a hyperactive and ill-mannered pooch that caused his family endless household turmoil, but provided his pet dad endless bad-dog fodder for his newspaper column.)

Of course, PETA also approved that, in the film version, Marley is adopted from a rescue group. Those who read the book know that the real Marley was purchased from a breeder.

If you saw the movie, post a comment. Did you love it? Hate it? Eh, not much emotion either way? Did it compare well to the book? Not even close?

The reviews have been mixed so I would love to hear what pet lovers think of it.

By now you may have heard how Boomer, a Labrador retriever and a member of the Virginia Tech police department, helped solve the mystery of the suspicious noises on campus yesterday. Click here to read today's story. Below is a profile of Boomer published last Wednesday.

By Shawna Morrison/The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG -- For Boomer, days when the Hokies play at home are some of the best days of all.

Those are the days when Boomer gets to work for hours, sniffing the concession stands, luxury suites, trash cans and bathrooms at Lane Stadium.

Boomer's job -- and the job of several other police dogs brought into Virginia Tech's football stadium on game days -- is to sniff for explosives.

"This is play time for him," said Virginia Tech police Officer Larry Wooddell, Boomer's handler, as he watched Boomer sniff a Hawaiian Shave Ice stand, a Reddy Ice machine, a Three Little Pigs stand and a Suntrust ATM on Oct. 4, hours before the Hokies were scheduled to play Western Kentucky University.

He'll do the same Thursday before the Hokies take on Maryland in a 7:30 p.m. game.

The stadium is too big to be searched by one dog, so a handful of bomb-sniffing dogs converge on game days and their handlers split up the stadium.

"We just start at one end and come all the way through and check all the little doors and everything," Wooddell said.

When Wooddell says he has the 66-pound, 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever check everything, he means it. Water fountains, fire extinguishers, wall-mounted TVs, bathroom sinks. If Boomer starts to walk by an item, Wooddell taps on it to get his attention.

"Find it," he tells him. After Boomer checks an area, he gets a hearty "Atta boy."

Police have used dogs to sniff for explosives inside Lane Stadium before football games for years -- since so long ago that Wooddell can't recall when the practice started -- but Boomer is the first bomb-sniffing dog owned by Virginia Tech police.

"There aren't many explosive-detection dogs in the area," Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said. With the number of events on Tech's campus and the number of dignitaries who come to visit, "it just made sense for us to have that asset here on campus." Read more »

Blog entry by Heather Froeschl, written in May of 2007.
Note to readers and Nona: Thanks for the fun! Hope I can offer some entries again in the future. Here's a final entry, not to outdo Nona's beautiful post about her Missy, but as an offering of love to my own cancer victim, Buddy.

When I was a kid I read all kinds of books. My very favorites were stories about having a dog. I so wanted a dog of my own. My grandma had several as I grew up and I adored them but they lived with her and not me. They slept by her bed and tagged along wherever she went. The dogs of my dreams would sleep on my bed, anxiously await me to take them on long walks, go exploring in the woods, fetch sticks I threw in the pond, lick my face and make me laugh, and listen patiently as I shared my fears, hopes, dreams and tears. As a kid, I never had that.

Read more »

Blog entry by Heather Froeschl - filling in for Nona.

Scientists seem to have looked into just about everything. I've sometimes wondered if there was a specific language to decipher in the wag of a dog's tail, but I've never really paid such close attention as to notice which way the sway originates from. "Dogs wag their tails to the left or right depending on how they're feeling," Italian researchers say. Hm. Isn't a wag a back and forth, side to side motion? Here is an interesting article on a study done to research the possible patterns: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/03/29/1884414.htm

Read more »

Listen up, Ohio lawmakers. The most aggressive dog is not the pit bull or the rottweiler or any of the other dogs typically targeted by breed-specific legislation.

The dog most likely to bite is the dachshund.

Researchers found that one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers or other dogs. One in 12 has tried to bite the hand that feeds him.

Second among the 33 breeds listed is another scary species: the Chihuahua. Jack Russell terriers came in third.

Pit bulls ranked in the middle of the list, while greyhounds were found to be among the least aggressive. Score one for my little pack.

The study was published in the journal Applied Animal Behavior Science based on research done by the University of Pennsylvania. The database included 6,000 dog owners and members of 11 AKC breed clubs.

Most statistics of dog aggression are based on dog bites reported to authorities, not direct data from dog owners. Bites by larger dogs are more likely to require medical attention, and thus are reported more often than bites from tiny-toothed breeds.

Read more »

While surfing Google news yesterday, I found an article from the Canadian Press about ways to help a scaredy-dog deal with the fireworks that will be lit all over America in the coming weeks.

This is of particular interest to me since Dexter gets nervous and Coral has an anxiety attack whenever they hear thunder or fireworks. And now we have Storm to think about, and he is sure to pick up on the worries of the big dogs and probably mimic their fear of loud booms and bright lights.

The article quotes several dog trainers who recommend a variety of ways to help your pooch, depending on the dog's age and level of anxiety.

According to the article, you can begin introducing booming noises at low volume while your dog enjoys a favorite activity, like eating or playing with a toy, slowly increasing the volume until the dog becomes desensitized to the noise.

I would think you would want to start this right away to have any chance of it working before July 4.

In extreme cases, the experts recommend making a vet appointment now and getting your dog anti-anxiety drugs to help them stay calm.

You can also get your dog naturally relaxed with pheromone-mimicking scents that are aroma therapy for the pooch, helping to ease anxiety.

We may adopt a divide-and-conquer plan at our house. We have an even adult-to-dog ratio, so we can each take a dog to a different part of the house so they won't feed off each other's energy. We can concentrate on keeping calm with only one dog to worry about, which should help Dexter and Storm.

But for Coral, we may actually need doggy Prozac.

For the whole article, click here