Great dog book: The Other End of the Leash

There are also a lot of great reads about dogs. A few of the books I read the past 2 years include:"Dogs Make Great Pets" by Margaret H. Bonham, "How to Speak Dog" by Stanley Coren and "The Other End of the Leash" by Particia B. Mcconnell, PH.D.

My most recent read, "The Other End of the Leash", was very touching and written by an animal behaviorist, Dr Mcconnell, who also runs a sheep farm and uses dog to help her heard her sheep.

She had a chapter dedicated to the topic of puppy mills and how important it is to vet out breeders if you feel the need to purchase a pure bred species. I was saddened to learn about puppy mills across the US. It made me want to ban the sale of puppies in those big box stores like PetSmart. I highly doubt that they are visiting the breeders and ensuring the conditions are not only loving but at the minimum sanitary.

I was also touched by her stories of companionship with her dogs and by the strength of personality she conveyed for each of her dog companions. I was especially touched at the end of the book about grieving for the loss of a loved pet. She really emphasized that the emotional bonds between humans and dogs are very strong and that our society could be gentler to humans who have lost their canine companion. When the author grieved over the death of one of her dogs, it wasn't even in consideration that she could take some time off of work to grieve and be alone. That section had me teary eyed.

Overall, it was a wonderful read -- personal, entertaining, informative and, of course, all about dogs. Honestly, it was my favorite read. What more could you want?

Lucy diagnosed with a urinary trac infection

Lucy was staying with my parents overnight for a visit and they noticed that she didn't sleep well and whined in the middle of the night.

The next morning, she didn't want to go outside and seemed to point behind the door, where she had peed. Once my mom saw it, Lucy ran under the kitchen table with her tail between her legs. She thought that maybe she just had an accident, but at lunch with some friends, a friend said that those were signs of a UTI.

Thankfully, she was able to rush Lucy to the vet. Her friend was correct. She needs antibiotics immediatly. I wonder what caused the infection. The vet, over the phone via my mom said that "it just happens." I googled and found this nice website that discusses causes:

http://www.uti-in-dogs.com/signs-of-uti-in-dogs.php

It seems that possibly drinking water with bacteria or food with some bad bacteria could lead to a UTI. Lucy likes to lick the floor and eat dust bunnies, so it's hard to know how to prevent her from getting bad bacteria. I guess we'll have to swiffer more and make sure we clean out her water bowl more often, daily at least and maybe even more.