Posts
May 08, 2013
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6:47 PM | Polar Bear Balloon
PolarBearBalloon, a photo by russlings on Flickr.From "MailOnline" story about hot air balloon manufacturer. [Caters News Agency photo; NOT mine]
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3:42 PM | Patently Entertaining
They "failed to mate as hoped", but giant pandas Yang Guang and Tian Tian (a.k.a. Sunshine and Sweetie) have brought a 51 percent increase in visitation to Edinburgh [Scotland].Interestingly, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has involved patent lawyers: "Other retailers and businesses are now banned from selling products called Sunshine or Sweetie under the sweeping, catch-all trademark, which covers scores of commercial activities including cuddly toys, toilet paper, table mats, […]
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3:32 PM | Pekes then and now
Mary Evans Picture Library/THOMAS FALL
There's a good piece by judge and dog-show globetrotter Andrew Brace ("Air Miles Andy" as dubbed by the irreverent Gossip Hound) in this week's Dog Word explaining the mechanics of how and why exaggerations occur in some show dogs. (See the whole article here.)
Brace focuses on the Pekingese, and features the above dog, Ch Caversham Ku Ku of Yam - a 1950's-vintage Peke.
"Although the study by Thomas Fall, who photographed so many of the
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Thanks to grant funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I will be traveling down to the Charleston, SC area for a volunteer training session on June 13th! Jennifer Koches, Craig Watson, and John Stanton have been hustling around to get us a venue, some prospective volunteers, and a sampler platter of museum specimens [...]
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Insulinoma in a dog, showing up a solidary pancreatic noduleIn my fourth compilation of the canine and feline endocrine publications of 2012, I’m going back to disorders of the pancreas. But now let’s move on to islet cell tumors (e.g., insulinoma) and other causes of hypoglycemia.Listed below are 13 research papers written in 2012 that review endocrine hypoglycemia in dogs and cats. These include new aspects in pathogenesis of hypoglycemia associated with insulin-secreting tumors of the […]
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2:03 PM | Demoralizing
For those of us who seek wildlife & also rejuvenation in national parks, specifics of budget-cut news demoralizing: money.cnn.com/2013/05/07/new…— Barbara J King (@bjkingape) May 8, 2013"North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway is closing some 400 campsites."
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If you buy a puppy from a pet store, could you be getting more than you bargained for? It has long been thought that puppies from pet shops might have behavioural problems. A new study by Franklin D. McMillan et al investigates this by comparing puppies from pet stores to those from non-commercial breeders.The puppies that are for sale in pet shops originate from commercial breeding establishments, also known as puppy mills or puppy farms. These are large establishments that breed
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McMillan, F., Serpell, J., Duffy, D., Masaoud, E. & Dohoo, I. (2013). Differences in behavioral characteristics between dogs obtained as puppies from pet stores and those obtained from noncommercial breeders, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 242 (10) 1359-1363. DOI: 10.2460/javma.242.10.1359
McMillan, F., Duffy, D. & Serpell, J. (2011). Mental health of dogs formerly used as ‘breeding stock’ in commercial breeding establishments, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 135 (1-2) 86-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2011.09.006
Westgarth, C., Reevell, K. & Barclay, R. (2012). Association between prospective owner viewing of the parents of a puppy and later referral for behavioural problems, Veterinary Record, 170 (20) 517-517. DOI: 10.1136/vr.100138
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May 07, 2013
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The University of Tennessee School of Veterinary Medicine is one of the most noticeable academic institutions that appears to have been co-opted for the promotion of pseudoscientific veterinary medicine (along with Louisiana State and the University of Florida). I have … Continue reading →
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8:25 PM | "The Best Thing...
...for an elephant is another elephant. Elephants are social species." [Brandie Smith, curator of mammals at the National Zoo]"Bozie has been the only elephant at the Baton Rouge Zoo for about a month. Her companion, Judy, died in March.
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Learn about a funded internship experience available for pre-vet and veterinary students interested in working with turtles & tortoises in southern California.The post Reptile Veterinary Internship with the Turtle Conservancy appeared first on Elliott Garber.
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2:21 PM | AKC - the voices from within
Whoa.... is Monica Barry an animal rights activist? Perhaps she, you know, gets jiggy-jiggywith the Humane Society's Wayne Pacelle? (This was the accusation by one desperate dog breeder re NBC anchor Natalie Moralis in an attempt to discredit the Today Show's item on the AKC last week.)
But no. A quick check reveals that Monica Barry is a Borzoi breeder and exhibitor of some repute.
And she wasn't the only one to offer an opinion on the AKC's Facebook page on the state of the modern
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May 06, 2013
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2:20 PM | Gleaned from the seabird literature
I always keep my ear to the ground for any seabird science that might be of interest to you, dear Seanetters, and today, I have two items for your perusal! The first is a study on the behavior of Manx Shearwaters. These birds nest in underground burrows in colonies mainly in the UK and undertake epic [...]
May 05, 2013
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2:41 PM | AKC v The Today Show
Ever since Pedigree Dogs Exposed, show breeders in the US have looked on in astonishment at the way the Kennel Club "pandered" (as they see it) to the critics. They just don't get why the KC, after a relatively short period of defensive denial, began to implement changes.
There are quite complicated reasons why reform has come. They include:
• strong backing for reform by the veterinary profession
• three major reports highlighting the problems, including one co-commssioned by the […]
May 03, 2013
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1:59 PM | Science...or Art?
Interesting "discussion" between ex-Zoo vet and current animal director about balancing Asian elephants' needs for space and for routine."“What we’re trying to do is ensure the best psychological well-being of elephants. It may well be true they haven’t experienced large amounts of space, that doesn’t mean they won’t benefit from it now,” said [Calgary Zoo's Dr. Jake Veasey], noting the animals could live another 30 or 40 years.""“You’re taking animals out of their home, the […]
May 02, 2013
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9:02 PM | Update from NC Zoo Director
A zoo-wide e-mail just out to all NC Zoo staff from Director David M. Jones begins:
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9:01 PM | Progress Report?
"The Polar Bear pool leak has been reduced significantly, but we are still investigating the source of the more modest leakage problems." [David M. Jones, Senior Staff Meeting Notes, 05-01-13]
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6:25 PM | Ha!
"We have a number of sanity sewer issues in Africa, largely caused by an aging system and tree roots." [David M. Jones, Senior Staff Meeting Notes, 05-01-13]Sanitary problems driving us insane!
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5:45 PM | What Is It?
eten, a photo by belgianchocolate on Flickr.A strange new creature with a yellow crown, captured by belgianchocolate.
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4:00 PM | It Can't Happen Here
But it is reported to have happened in India. One of the Asian continent's wild tigers has walked into the Nandankanan Zoo where he "is roaming around the enclosure of Sara, a tigress, indicating its urge to mate." [BBC News - India] "In a similar incident, a Royal Bengal tigress had jumped into a tiger enclosure attracted by a male's mating call in January 1967" "A 2011 census counted about 1,700 tigers in the wild in India." A century ago there were an "estimated...100,000".The number […]
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Communication key to mitigating liability, experts say
May 01, 2013
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I corrected it. Thanks for the copy edit! :)
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8:10 PM | In Good Voice?
"The governor's office on the remote islands of Svalbard [Norway] is seeking a polar bear spotter to warn researchers doing projects in the region." [AP]The three-week job "starts July 8 and also requires previous experience with the outdoors, good polar bear spotting skills and a competence with firearms. But Helge Solli from the governor’s office says the successful candidate likely won’t have to use a gun “just as long as they have a loud voice” to scare off any bears."
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Learn about this unique opportunity to win up to $50,000 while also guaranteeing yourself a unique job working on the big issues of animal & public health.The post How to Win a $50,000 Veterinary Scholarship and Graduate with a Guaranteed Job appeared first on Elliott Garber.
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Girl. Tiger shark embryos is CRAY-CRAY! It’s really all a matter of defending dad. You see, Mama Shark mates with loads of Daddy Sharks and, thus, has quite the mishmashed litter growing on. But then the biggest, baddest embryo is all like, “My dad is better that your dad.” And then he eats all the half siblings so that only one his dad’s kids (and maybe just him) make it to the end of the pregnancy. NOM NOM NOM.
Don’t believe me? Read all about it in Biology Letters. Seriously,
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With the reintroduction of Vetsulin (porcine insulin zinc suspension) to the U.S. market (1-3), I've received a number of questions concerning the use of this insulin in dogs and cats. Here are the major questions I've received:Is this the initial insulin of choice for dogs? How about for cats? Should this be an insulin that we turn to for our newly diagnosed feline diabetics? If we have a dog or cat that isn't responding well to the current insulin, should they be switched to
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Profound environmental disasters like the BP spill in the Gulf garner justified public outrage. Yet all over the world, news comes in almost every day of smaller spills, many of which are never reported outside a local news outlet. When these events fail to make international headlines it’s easy to think that oil spills are rare. But [...]
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Gizmo is a Turkish Angora with hyperthyroidism whose owners brought him to Dr. Peterson's Hypurrcat treatment center. Dr. Peterson pioneered the radioiodine treatment for cats with hyperthyroidism. This video was taken after Gizmo was treated with radioiodine during his "photo shoot."Gizmo came to us shaved (Turkish Angoras typically have long hair) due to the matting in his fur- failure to groom is a common symptom of long-haired cats with hyperthyroidism. As you can see from the video, cats […]
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Dog training is an unlicensed profession. Sometimes it surprises people to learn there is a science to training, the origins of which can be traced back to Pavlov and Skinner. When studying how ordinary people train their dogs, scientists have to map between technical terms and everyday language. How do they do this?You’ve probably heard the phrase that “dogs do what works”, as explained by Jean Donaldson in her wonderful book The Culture Clash. What this means is, the behaviours
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Arhant, C., Bubna-Littitz, H., Bartels, A., Futschik, A. & Troxler, J. (2010). Behaviour of smaller and larger dogs: Effects of training methods, inconsistency of owner behaviour and level of engagement in activities with the dog, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 123 (3-4) 131-142. DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2010.01.003
Hiby, E.F., Rooney, N.J. & Bradshaw, J.W.S. (2004). Dog training methods: Their use, effectiveness, and interaction with behaviour and welfare, Animal Welfare, 13 63-69. Other: Link
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