THE HISTORY OF THE MIGHT TEXAS DOG WALK

It is the biggest dog gathering in the United States and of course Texas!

Talk about your dog shows. Not only is the event dedicated to a great cause, you will see every breed and some incredible costumes.

You can visit the website and sign up. Participates and their parents come from all over Texas, the United States and the world. Now ours isn't the biggest in the world. This year should be the bone breaker last year the Brits had a gathering of over 10,000 while here in Austin the record turn out last year was a dog hair over 8,000.

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Can Your Dog Text? Might as well!

You will soon be able to track your dog's location on your mobile phone or computer.

AT&T Wireless and location-technology company Apisphere announced they will produce an animal collar that lets owners trace their pet's movements. The collar contains a wireless SIM card that transmits location data across AT&T's wireless network directly to a wireless handset or personal computer.

Owners need to register their pets before they start using the collar. Owners can establish a so-called "geo-fence" around the home, in which the pet can roam freely. Through the tracking software, owners can continuously watch their pets' movements within the virtual fence, or locate them should they leave the established boundaries.

The software transmits street-level data. Owners will have the option to program text, e-mail, video or audio alerts.

The companies say the collar is designed to be used on animals of any weight or neck size.

The collar is expected to available later this year.

Natural-Holistic Diets for Your Dog.

I have had so many of my clients ask my opinion on the proper diet for your dog. Intestinal cancers and related digestive problems are very common in pets. It really is all about what you feed your pooch. The National Canine Cancer Foundation is a great source of information about your dogs diet and health. Did you know that flax seed oil is a great way to improve your dogs health. Find out more on their site.

Have a great Easter Weekend and keep those eggs away from you pets.

Scratching and Itching Thought the Ages

The astonishing, weird and sometimes dangerous flea and tick, produces and egg every hour.

I am sure we all know that dogs have been around for thousands of years but we probably don't think about the pesky flea or the ugly tick. You have to wonder, was there really a Prehistoric Flea ?

A hard freeze really helps curb the flea and tick population. We were fortunate to have several this year but I want to remind you freeze or no freeze you need to take precautions and protect your pets. As you will read, we are a lot luckier than the pet owners of long ago.

Fleas and ticks had a several-million-year head start when prehistoric canines and humans appeared on the evolutionary scene. Back then, we probably scratched, chewed and picked ourselves to distraction to dislodge these tenacious pests. Today, more than 2,500 different flea species have specialized their efforts for every warm-blooded land animal. I am sure we all know that dogs have been around for thousands of years but we probably don't think about the pesky flea or the ugly tick. You have to wonder, was there really a Prehistoric Flea ?

According to the Hutchinson’s Dog Encyclopedia (Walter Hutchinson, 1935), each flea species generally confines its attention to its particular host. However, dog fleas can be found on humans and vice versa. The dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) and the human flea (Pulex irritans) are rare. Ninety-five percent of fleas on dogs are Ctenocephalides felis, the cat flea.

Nancy Hinkle, Ph.D., professor of entomology at the University of Georgia in Athens, wrote her doctoral dissertation on fleas, and has published 12 scientific articles and authored 10 book chapters on them. “This [cat] flea has a very wide host range,” Hinkle says. “It does well on all felids and canids. Once it finds a host, it never leaves, and females produce an egg every hour.”

That’s the good news. According to University of Florida veterinary entomology researcher Phillip E. Kaufman, Ph.D., “The cat flea really is only one flea to worry about, but ticks are diverse. In general, fleas are easier to control.”

Humans obviously had no idea what they were confronting when they began battling these pests in 2500 B.C. Pesticide concoctions appear in the earliest recorded history of China, Sumer and Egypt. Domestic dogs were kept as house pets by all these ancient cultures. This newly popular arrangement intensified problems, although it would be centuries before effective control measures emerged.

Makes you itch? Todays tick and flea applications are a blessing to our animals. I hope you have your pet protected as we get into the spring and summer. I suggest you use them year around. Don't be mistaken thinking that scratching is the result of dry skin. Granted, some pets suffer from skin allergies but better safe than sorry. Keep your pet protected.

Next week a lesson in basic house breaking. Your pups house broken, isn't it.

Don't forget to check out all the latest pet news on my site and book your vacations now and save 10%.

"Hug That Pet"

Don't Lose Sleep Over Your Dog

What's warm, soft and on your dogs top 5 list of favorite places to be? No, its not your lap, its your bed!

According to experts, not only does allowing your dog to sleep in the bed with you have a negative impact on maintaining your leadership role in the household, it can also have a negative affect on other pets in the household. Granting your dog a space in your bed places him on a equal plane with you, meaning he will challenge your authority more often, and a higher plane with other pets in the home—pets that should to be treated equally.

My snuggling, snoring, licking partner, and no, I am not married, dominates the sheets. I start out with good intentions, both dogs on their beds, lights out but then, after I am asleep, Duke sneaks slowly across the sheets and finds his place next to my pillow. Not only does this interrupt my sleep cycle, when you allow your dog to sleep in the bed with you, you are also allowing your dog to bring a host of dirt, bacteria and other substances from outdoors right into bed with you. Most professionals would agree that this practice is very unhygienic. I will be the first to admit, I brush and groom as good as the next guy but that still won't prevent the

hitchhiking critters from joining the sleepover. Not only can you body suffer from bacteria, but any conflict between your and your dog's sleep cycles, or the sound of your dog's snoring or his movement on the bed, can prevent you from getting the deep, sustained sleep you need.

How can you break this cycle ? Provide a dog bed or blanket that fills his need for a comfortable night's sleep. If his issue is that he misses your companionship, give him a few extra-special "good night" toys to distract him from loneliness. The final step is teaching your dog where he should sleep at night. When you remove a behavior from your dog's repertoire — whether it's digging, barking, or jumping on the bed — you're creating a hole in his routine. If you don't fill the hole with something you want him to do, he'll replace it with something equally entertaining. To him. So if you only teach him not to jump on your bed at night, he may decide to hop up on someone else's bed. Worse, he may become restless and decide to take up chewing as his newest hobby. Prevention is the key here.

By the way, I would love to see pictures of your sleeping pups. They sleep in some pretty strange positions and places. I am going to start a pooch picture page and I need to see your best pet entries. Email them to gerry@austincitypaws.com .

Write with your comments and bed times stories. Maybe even some suggestions to share with our readers.

Funniest House Rules for your Dogs and Cats

Last week, I blogged about the serious side of depression and your dog. This week I decided to lighten up and pass along one of the funniest parent to pet letters I have ever read.

I got the following in one of my endless “joke of the day” emails.

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door – nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years — canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don’t.
2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That’s why they call it ‘fur’niture’.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it’s an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less.
2. Don’t ask for money all the time.
3. Are easier to train.
4. Normally come when called.
5. Never ask to drive the car.
6. Don’t hang out with drug-using friends.
7. Don’t smoke or drink.
8. Don’t have to buy the latest fashions.
9. Don’t want to wear your clothes.
10. Don’t need a ‘gazillion’ dollars for college.

And finally,

11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.