Vet practises animal physiotherapy

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on a subject of interest to owners of german shepherds with hip dysplasia. It's a rehabilitative process for animals similar to the ones humans undergo:

Veterinarian Ava Frick is nothing short of a miracle worker. She manipulates their spines, massages their tails, cracks their toes and stretches their muscles to control pain and help them recover from injuries and surgery.

Frick is the founder of the Animal Fitness Center in Union, about an hour's drive southwest of St. Louis. She performs her magic in a metal building constructed seven years ago just outside of Union.

The center's website is here. One of Frick's specialties is the underwater treadmill which she used to effectivly treat a German Shepherd with hip problems.

Elka, (an)r 8-year-old German shepherd, "could hardly get up or down a flight of stairs" before coming to the fitness center in April. "Now, she's back playing and going up an down stairs like a whole new dog," said (her owner.)

Elka, who weighs 80 pounds, spent 15 minutes (going 1.1 miles per hour) in the underwater treadmill at the fitness center to build up strength in her back legs. The water was a warm 87-92 degrees and reached up to the middle of her back legs. The dog occasionally licked at the water as she dutifully kept up the even pace of the treadmill.

Why do police by their dogs in Europe?

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains the trend:

Many dogs are purchased from Europe, due to what Bridgeville Officer Lancia described as lax breeding policies in the United States.

"It's taken away a lot of the characteristics of the German shepherd that we need," he said. "You look at a lot of the German shepherds here in the United States. Their backs are sloping down, which is why there is a big problem here with hip dysplasia.

"Dogs in a foreign country have perfectly straight backs."

If you're looking for a new dog, this is definitely something to look into.

Paralysis hits K-9 who worked September 11

CNN reports that Trakr, a 14-year-old German shepherd, has been a patient at the Pawspice animal hospice for about a year.

The retired police search-and-rescue dog -- one of the first on the scene of the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center -- has a condition called degenerative myelopathy and has lost the function of his hind legs.

"Pawspice provides the support I need to properly care for Trakr at home while preserving his dignity and quality of life," says retired K-9 officer James Symington of West Hollywood, California, Trakr's owner.

"His spirit remains strong and we enjoy every minute that we have together," Symington says. Trakr still enjoys walks and playing catch on the beach thanks to a doggie wheel cart, which helps compensate for his diminished mobility.

"It's been extremely difficult for me to even contemplate the last days of Trakr's life." Symington says. "But I also have faith that I will know just when it's time and (have) the courage to do what is right."

Vets see more drug resistant infections in dogs

Vets say drug resistant staph infections in pets are an under-diagnosed and growing problem but no cause to panic.

Hydrogen peroxide cure for raisins and chocolate

The German Shepherd and Dog News had not heard of using hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting in dogs who have overdosed on chocolate, raisins, grapes or --worst case scenario -- chocolate-covered raisins so we were a little taken aback when a commenter discussed administering such a treatment over at the Scottie News yesterday.

A little research, however, showed she did exactly the right thing.