Dear pet owners,

Please don't feed your pets chips, cheese, scones, curry, pizza, ice cream, cake or sweets. These foods are high in fat and not healthy for pets (or humans).

Sorry for stating the obvious, but this article from The Telegraph makes me worry.

" Researchers for The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals found that in the past year there has been a 10 per cent increase in the number of overweight animals.

PDSA senior veterinary surgeon Sean Wensley said the pets' weight gain could be down to their owners giving them fatty and sugary snacks with little knowledge of what harm they were doing.

He said pets were being fed chips, cheese and scones.

"Others that have been mentioned are crisps, curry, pizza, ice-cream, cake, and sweets," he added."

Click here for more information about obesity and nutrition.

Pitbulls sure are a controversial topic.

Last week's poll question divided the PetDoc community. Almost half of all voters are pitbull lovers, more than double the number of people who are not so fond of pitbulls. The remaining voters think pitbulls can be cute, but prefer other breeds of dog.

For me, the question boils down to the classic nature v. nurture debate. I don't think pitbulls are inherently vicious, I think their personalities come from the way they are brought up. See some more voter opinions here.

A poll by Yahoo News found pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent. This led to controversial debate last week over what type of dog Obama should get if elected, a pure bred or a mutt. I'm happy to see that Obama has decided to adopt a dog.  

This brings us to this week's poll: Does pet ownership affect your presidential vote?  Are you more likely to vote for McCain because he has over a dozen pets?

Stories of pets being abandoned and separated from their owners due to foreclosure and the poor economy have been in the news everyday.

I'm glad to hear something is finally being done to alleviate the situation. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) just launched a grant program that will help keep families and pets together during tough financial times.

From HSUS news:

The HSUS is offering grants to animal shelters, non-sheltered rescue/adoption groups and animal care and control agencies to help establish, expand, or publicize services or programs that assist families in caring for their pets during the current economic crisis.

"Dealing with a financial crisis is scary enough," said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for Companion Animals at the Humane Society of the United States. "We hope to ease the burden in some way for families by helping their local shelter help them keep their pet home and part of the family."

Also see the article for some great cost-cutting tips. 

This week's DIY tip isn't necessarily about Fluffy or Fido, but it's so cool I had to share it with you.

Widgets are fun and helpful, and I always thought it would be cool to create my own, but I never had the technical knowledge. Yourminis makes creating widgets so easy, anybody can do it.

Search the site to find a widget that you like. Sign up and remix it to suit your taste and then share it with your friends.

Check out our new PetDoc widget.

Click "copy me" to add it your facebook, myspace, igoogle etc.

Last winter,I became addicted to freerice.com. Time that I should have spent studying, exercising and shoveling was devoted to vocabulary building and saving the world. Free rice donates 20 grains of rice through the UN world food program to help end hunger. It's not exactly saving the world, but it's pretty darn close.

Inspired by this concept, a twelve year old girl from Oregon created Freekibble and Freekibblekat. Everyday you play dog or cat trivia, Freekibble will donate 20 pieces of kibble to a shelter in need. The best part is, you don't even need to know the correct answer. Freekibble will donate even if you give an incorrect answer, which helps even the non-trivia experts feel good.
 

Check out this excerpt from The Today Show to learn more about Freekibble and its creative young founder.

Michael Vick's pit bulls will star in an episode of DogTown, a National Geographic show, airing on September 5th at 9pm. DogTown is part of Best Friends Animal Society and the largest no kill facility in the US. The show will follow vets and trainers as they try to rehabilitate these former "problem" dogs.

Inspired by this news, our weekly poll is: How do you feel about pit bulls?

If you haven't already guessed last week's poll results, sleeping is most pet's summer time activity of choice. Some things never change :)

In preparation for the Olympics next month, Beijing has banned dog meat from the menu at 112 official Olympic restaurants.  According to BBC, the ban is one of several steps taken by China to avoid foreign visitors from being offended by local customs. The measure was implemented to “respect the habits of many countries and nationalities".

This decision leaves me with mixed feelings. I have never eaten dog meat in my life and would never support eating any companion animal, but I am Chinese by heritage and very proud of my background and culture.  I understand why visitors would be alarmed when seeing dog meat on a menu at an Olympic restaurant but I don’t think China should try to hide aspects of its local culture in order to impress foreigners.   

This isn’t the first time dog meat has been banned for reputation’s sake. South Korea also banned dog meat from restaurants in the 1988 Olympics, classifying dog dishes as “food deemed unsightly.”

Here's a link to the full article. What you think about this ban? 

In response to this cute dog posted a few weeks ago with an article about increased demand for pet care services, a reader left us the following comment:

Totally off subject, but what kind of dog is that in the picture?  I've been trying to guess the" other breed" in my mixed dog and that one has similar markings and body style.

It seems mixed breed owners are always curious to discover the different breeds their dog is made up of.  That makes total sense, considering breed information is key to understanding health and behavior - one reason why PetDoc is organized by breed.

To our anon commenter, I unfortunately don’t know the breed of that dog off the top of my head, but I can suggest a resource that may help you uncover your dog’s history. 

DNA testing for dogs is becoming an increasingly popular way for owners to identify the breeds in their mixed breed pups. These tests are safe, simple and becoming increasingly more popular.  Tests begin at $65 and can be administered independently (cotton swab test) or by your vet (blood test). Many tests are comprehensive and can identify over 100 breeds. See the sites below and talk to your vet for more information.

BioPet Vet Lab
Vet DNA Center
Metamorphix

Hope this helps.  Make sure to let us know when you uncover your dog's history!

This weeks DIY Tip comes from PetDoc's very own pet expert Marcie Whidden.  Marcie's dog, Rook, loves these frozen pawpsicles.  Give them a try and let us know if your pooch liked them too.

Cool and Easy Frozen Pawpsicles

• 32 oz Vanilla or plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt
• 1 cup of beef or chicken broth

1. Mix ingredients well.
2. Pour into ice cube trays, small paper ice cream cups and freeze.
3. For more fun add a dollop of peanut butter or a dog cookie in the middle and freeze in a cookie cutter mold with a tray underneath.

We’ve all read dozens of articles on how to keep your pets safe in the summer heat but have you though about how to protect your pets from poor air quality?

Heat intensifies air pollution and causes coughing and wheezing. Cats and dogs lungs are more sensitive than humans and thus are more likely to be affected by poor air quality and have difficult breathing. For more information on respiratory problems see our articles on breathing difficulties in cats and dogs.

The 2008 State of the Air report found that more than 25% of the people in the US live in an area with unhealthy short-term levels of particle pollution.  That also means that over a quarter of all pets in the US are living in areas with high level of particle pollution! See below for the Top 10 most polluted cities in the US.

What can you do to protect your pets from air pollution?

• Keep your cat and dog indoors
• Invest in an indoor air filter
• Avoid strenuous cardiovascular exercise with your dog on especially hot days
• If possible, avoid visiting the cities below during the summer months

Top 10 most polluted US cities
(By short-term particle pollution)
1) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2) Los Angeles, California
3) Fresno/Madera, California
4) Bakersfield, California
5) Birmingham, Alabama
6) Logan, Utah
7) Salt Lake City, Utah
8) Sacramento, California
9) Detroit, Michigan
10) Baltimore, Maryland / Washington, D.C.