Month: December 2022

Bob Barker — game show host, outspoken proponent of animal rights and a man who has been putting his money where his mouth is — turned 98 yesterday.

And he was back on TV for the occasion.

Barker, who stepped down after nearly 35 years as host of CBS’s The Price Is Right in 2007, returned in an episode (taped last month) that aired yesterday, during the show’s celebration of Pet Adoption Week. He was greeted with a resounding round of applause from the audience.

Barker was known for his tradition of signing off with the words, “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.” His successor, comedian Drew Carey, has continued the sign-off.

Barker’s passion for animals goes way back, and in 1987, it led him to resign from hosting the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Universe pageants — when organizers insisted on having contestants wear fur

Blue Buffalo has issued another dog food recall — the third in the last two months.

The company says its Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner Wet Food for Adult Dogs has the potential to contain elevated levels of naturally-occurring beef thyroid hormones.

The voluntary recall applies to one production lot (840243101153). The cans have an expiration date of June 7, 2019,

The FDA said in a press release that affected products were distributed nationally through pet specialty and on-line retailers.

Dogs ingesting high levels of beef thyroid hormones may exhibit symptoms such as increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness. These symptoms often resolve themselves when the use of the impacted food is discontinued, the FDA said.

With prolonged consumption, though, the symptoms may increase in severity and may include vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid or difficulty breathing. Should these symptoms occur,

The amazing and still evolving relationship between dogs and humans is the subject of “Dogs Decoded,” a NOVA episode that airs tonight.

The program looks at how dogs — domesticated for longer than any other animal on the planet — have come to understand us in a way other animals cannot, how they can read our emotions, how that relationhip evolved and where it might lead.

“Dogs Decoded” investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs — with revealing implications for the evolution of human culture as well. It visits Siberia, where the mystery of dogs’ domestication is being repeated in foxes. A 50-year-old breeding program is creating an entirely new kind of creature, a tame fox with some surprising similarities to man’s best friend.

The episode reveals the science behind the bond between humans and their dogs, and it spurs new questions

Dogs can be trained to follow certain behaviors for a variety of purposes. Every dog needs training while it is still small. All training is not performed in the same way. You will need more than a few training sessions to solidify the commands and get the results.

Sometimes you will need to hire a professional dog trainer, or nowadays a profession better known as a dog behaviorist, and you can find here more information on it. And the dog, like any pet, requires enough time, attention, and commitment. Many owners think that it is enough just to house a dog and feed it regularly. However, these pets require much more attention and work with them. The goal is to make them a friend, not trouble in the home. The road to it is very long and you need patience to succeed. We ask you not to be one of

I was lucky to be invited to speak at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Congress in Lima, Peru in October. During the conference, I decided to make a couple of side trips to the Amazon River basin and into the high desert to experience the flora and fauna of that region – admittedly a bit heavy on the fauna! For today’s blogpost, I thought I’d share some of the surprising animals I met on my travels.

Tarantula Mothers

On a night walk in the Amazonian rainforest, our guide pointed out a big, hairy tarantula peeking out of a hole in the ground near the base of a tree. He explained this is a typical tarantula nest. Tarantulas are nocturnal, and she had come out to hunt. Even though they are spiders, tarantulas don’t spin webs; they capture and kill their prey. Our guide told us this was a female