Right now, Oscar is a kibble dog.  He gets a mixture of Nutro and Beneful (plus a little taste of whatever I’m eating - I know, bad…) every day and he seems pretty happy about the situation.  He’s only 2 and a half, but seems to be pretty healthy, his teeth are very clean and he rarely has “dog breath”.  So, if it ain’t broke - don’t fix it, right? 

Maybe, but I have a few friends who feed their dogs a raw diet and they SWEAR by it - they believe that their pets have increased energy, thicker/shinier coats and a healthier weight since they switched to feeding them raw food.  Plus there have been a lot of scares lately with processed dog food… 

Experts who recommend the raw food diet cite studies where animals who are fed processed food appear to be healthy when they are young, however, as the animals reached adulthood, they supposedly begin to age more quickly (than dogs fed a raw diet) and also develop chronic degenerative disease symptoms.  These proponents claim that your dog would be healthier if his diet more closely resembled what he would eat in the wild.

And mimicking the type of diet they would have in the wild does make some sense to me.  I was also pretty surprised to find that Oscar seemed to LOVE the raw food meal that he tried at his friends Arnold & Giuseppe’s house.  So, as long as it won’t do him any harm, why not try it?

Well there’s cost and effort…depending on the raw food diet you choose it will probably take more effort that throwing down some kibble and will definitely be more expensive.  Okay, well that’s no problem - I love to feel like I’m spoiling King Oscar. 

My friend recommended the Volhard Natural Diet Foundation (NDF) - AM & PM. 

I’ve also heard good things about The Rotation Diet from Nature’s Variety.  What I especially like about the Nature’s Variety plan is that they encourage switching between types (raw, kibble, cans) of food.  I like the idea of keeping some kibble in Oscar’s diet to keep his teeth clean and breath smelling…well, not like dog breath!  I’m not really into canned food, but the combo of raw and kibble is appealing to me.  I really like the feeding guide on the NV website…it’s easy to use and helps you to figure out how much of each type of food to feed your dog each day. 

So, what do you think?  Should I give it a try?    I would love to hear about your personal experiences with a raw food diet.

So, I’ve stumbled across a few articles that claim to list the breeds of dogs that are best suited for life in New York City, but I can’t say that I agree with their choices.  First of all, neither list includes the Brussels Griffon (unfortunate oversight, I’m sure).  

The Nouveau Native recommends only dogs that are small or medium sized (yet not the Brussels?!?), but I think they are missing out on some great large breed dogs - the giant breeds that tend to be more sedentary (Bernese, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, etc.) seem to do very well in an urban environment.  Although it may not be completely intuitive to have a large breed dog in an apartment, these dogs need far less exercise than labs, goldens or other Sporting or Herding breeds.  The laid back personalities of these large breeds also make them ideal for an environment where they are likely to be exposed to many other dogs and people.

The New York Magazinehad a much more diverse selection of recommended breeds in terms of size and I love that adopting a mixed breed dog was #1, but Greyhounds, Labradors & Portuguese Water Dogs??  Really??  Those dogs need a ton of exercise…I’m not saying that these breeds shouldn’t live in NYC, but the owner really needs to be dedicated to making sure that these breeds get the exercise that they need.  I can’t tell you how many neurotic labs and goldens we see in the dog run and I’m convinced that it’s because they just aren’t getting the exercise that they need.  The good news is that there are now services like dog running to help busy owners keep their pets healthy and happy.

 So, there you have my non-expert opinion.  What do you think are the best dog breeds for NYC living?

Lately it seems like all I do is read bad news about pet food…a salmonella outbreak is traced to tainted dog food, pet food companies settle for 24 million related to the 2007 pet food recall, and now pet the price of pet food is rising along with gas and everything else.

And there is so much conflicting information out there…what pet food is the best?   Human grade?  Ones with ground organs and bones?  The raw food diet?  Meat vs. meal…ugh, I can’t take it anymore.  All I want to do is give Oscy the best, but I can’t even figure out what that is!!

Would love to hear some advice from anyone with some knowledge on the subject…

First, I have to give credit to automoblog.net for the clever DWD acronym.  Surprisingly, there are currently no laws that prevent people from driving with a dog in their laps.  That may change soon, as the California Assembly has just passed a bill that will prohibit DWD.  Before the bill can be passed into law, it will have to also be approved by the Senate.

Ok, listen…clearly having a dog on your lap is dangerous to you and the other drivers/passengers with whom you share the road.  But if you don’t give a crap about them, at least think about the saftey of your dog!!   If you get into an accident while DWD, your pup is going to be in big trouble.  Don’t risk it…click here for details on how Oscar stays safe in the car.

According to Dog Training:  Hot Tips for the Bedroom, about half of dog owners allow their dogs to sleep in bed.  This blog post makes some really good points and offers some excellent advice for those of us who do share their bed with their pups.  However, I think I have inadvertently ignored every single piece of advice given and I will probably continue to ignore this admittedly sound advice.

Why?  For one simple reason…in my book, there is absolutely nothing better than waking up to find that your dog has nestled under your armpit with his chin on your shoulder…

I enjoy this simple pleasure so much that I don’t even mind that Oscar tries to push me out bed!  Yes, you might not believe me, but it is possible for a 20lb dog to push a full-sized human being out of bed.  How, you ask?  Well, Oscar has this amazing ability to continuously adjust so that he is as close to you as possible.  So, every time you move an inch - he takes it.  Before you know it, you wake up in the middle of the night to find that you’re hanging onto the edge of the bed by a cheek and a shoulder.

Now I know someone is going to try to tell me that this is an act of dominance and Oscar is trying to assert himself as pack leader by pushing me out of bed, but that is just pure bull honky!  Little Osky just loves to snuggle!

This ABC News article:  Dogs in Pain May Act Depressed is a little lengthy, but well worth the read.  It’s title is a little misleading, because the article gives great tips on how to recognize the signs of anxiety, depression AND pain in your dog, as well as some suggestions on how to help your dog to feel better.

The article points out that depression in animals is often the result of chronic pain.  Unfortunately, we’ve had some personal experience with this recently.  I have avoided talking about it previously in the blog (mostly because it’s been a sad few months and I didn’t want to dwell on it) but Oscar suffered a broken toe due to an unfortunate accident and spent most of the winter in a splint. 

Making the best of the situation early on…

You might think what we thought a the beginning - a broken toe, no big deal, right?  But alas, it was a very big deal to Oscar who had to wear a big bulky splint that covered the entire bottom half of his leg.  He was also on restricted activity - so no dog run, no long walks, no rough-housing…poor O-Dog.  While wearing the splint, Oscar definitely seemed to be showing signs of depression…he seemed to mope around and be less interested in playing.  But the accident occurred just after his 2nd birthday, so we weren’t sure if some of the change might be due to just growing up and losing that puppy exuberance. 

Here’s a picture of the saddest dog in the world…

To make matters worse, after 8 weeks with the splint (which has to be replaced every two weeks, btw), the x-ray was not showing any “bony healing”.  Our vet referred us to a doggy orthopedic specialist (yes, they really exist!!) and we learned that if the bone did not heal properly, it could cause Oscar permanent pain and the only way to treat would be a very complex surgery (with a 20% success rate) or amputation of his toe! 

After 4 months, we decided to take the splint off even though there is still no evidence of bony healing.  According to our vet, scar tissue has formed between the two ends of the bone which seems to be pretty sturdy.  It’s possible that the scar tissue will be strong enough to enable Oscar to be fully active and keep his toe, but only time will tell.  When the splint first came off, Oscar wouldn’t put any weight on it, but two weeks later he is barely limping.  Because he was in a splint so long, his tendons have stiffened up, his foot muscles have atrophied and he had sores from where the splint would continuously rub against his leg.  We’re hoping the slight limp is just a result of those temporary conditions and we’re still hopeful for a full recovery.

Anyway, back to the point of article…in the last week Oscar’s spirit has improved dramatically!!  We’re still trying to keep his activity level on the low side for a few more weeks at the vets recommendation, but now it seems like he wants to play all the time - he’ll bring us every toy in his basket and squeak them until we give in and play tug-of-war.  The before bedtime ritual of “crazy-time” has been reinstated…this is where Oscar runs in circles around the bed barking and play biting us as we alternately hide under the covers and pounce on him.  In short…Oscar’s back!! 

I’m so happy that he’s been able to bounce back to his good ol’ high-spirited self.  After all, you can’t blame him for being down…his foot hurt and we made him lug around a big heavy cast for 4 months.  He had no way of knowing if it would ever come off!  In our case, we knew that he was in pain, but if your dog suddenly starts acting depressed - take him to the vet, he may be in pain and he has no way to tell you!

On a positive note, you can’t imagine the attention Oscar recieved during his therapy dog visits at the hospital because of his condition.  Patients would immediately forget their own woes and say, “Ohhh……what’s wrong with his foot?”.  Patients on the orthopedic floor were especially empathetic.  We met several people with broken left toes or feet who felt a special bond with Oscar.  Finally, you wouldn’t believe how many people asked us if Oscar was in the hospital for treatment!!!  I have heard of a revolutionary human/veterinary hospital somewhere - I can’t for the life of me remember where it was, but no Oscar didn’t receive any treatment at St. Vincent’s - except the therapy dog got some therapy for himself!!

Well this has been a long one, thanks for sticking with me.  I would be really interested in hearing from any other dog owners who have dealt with a broken toe - especially one with a delayed or non-union.  We’re still holding our breath to see if Oscar will make a full recovery.  As much as the thought of having his toe amputated makes me want to cry, the thought of him not being able to have a full range of motion for the rest of his life makes me even sadder - he’s only 2 years old!! 

Any success stories to share???  Please…

Well this is a very sad topic, but considering the rates of pet ownership and divorce, it must be a pretty common issue.  What happens to your dog if your marriage or relationship comes to an end?  For people who think of their dogs as family members (53.5% of dog owners), it could be one of the most difficult issues to resolve in a divorce or break-up.

I’ve already made it very clear to Josh, that if things between us go sour, Oscar goes with me!!  But perhaps for a more balanced view, you might want to check out this advice from Kathy Santo, aka ”The Dog Shrink”.  She also has a lot of other good advice on a wide range of topics.