Ok, I'm a slacker.

Wow!  It's February already.  Hope you all had a great Valentine's day.  We have about 5 feet of snow on the ground at the cabin and the other day I had to go get the BIG snow blower to clear the road.  It is on a big tractor and can clear a path about 9 feet wide through snow 5 feet or more deep.  I'll post a picture when I get back up there.  I'm in Phoenix again to do the radio show.  Lorie told me I need to address more pet problems on this blog and not make it so much of a travel log, but several of you have asked me to keep you updated on our escapades so I have been.  

As far as pet problems,  I hope you ALL know that you can email me anytime with your pet concerns and I will do my best to help you.  My email address is: drmike@drmikethepetvet.com .  We do travel a lot so I might not get back to you right away but it really does bring me great joy to help you and your little ones as much as I can.

Today I want to address "Doggy Alzheimer's" or "C.R.S." as my dad calls it.  Dad has dementia and he jokes about it but I know from personal experience how disturbing it is to have memory problems.  Dogs do get forms of cognitive dysfunction too.  Our old Chihuahua "Max" (aka "Peave")  is showing sign which are worsening daily.  He gets lost, cries in distress, wakes up at night disoriented, etc.  These can be signs of cognitive dysfunction or...vision and hearing loss common in geriatric pets.  The best way to tell the difference is to have your vet examine them for signs of visual or auditory impairment.  You wouldn't believe how many times a client has brought me a blind pet that they had no clue was blind.  I mean COMPLETELY BLIND and the pet was dealing so well the owner had no clue.  I've owned 3 blind pets now and they are amazing.  They adapt to blindness much faster than humans.  If the blindness is of a gradual onset,  the owner often has no clue.  Our yellow lab went blind due to diabetes and I didn't tell my family she was.  It was SEVERAL months before they noticed.  She was on a full out run, chasing a ball in the back yard and ran into a toy the kids had left out.  She knew the yard so well that she could chase the ball by just listening to it and fool them as long as everything was in its proper place.  When "Sage" crashed into the toy, the kids looked at me as if to say..."What the...?"  I had to explain that she was blind and had been for several months.  They didn't believe me till I proved it to them.  After that  they were better about keeping their toys picked up...for a while.

So...If your pet is crying out at the top/bottom of the stairs, acts lost in your home (especially in low light/darkness), stumbles, or you just suspect vision impairment,  flick cotton balls across their field of view and see if they respond.  I say "flick" because if you throw them, your hand and arm movements could be detected by a dog with poor vision and they might look in the right direction even if they cant see the cotton ball.  It has to be something like a cotton ball so it wont make noise when it hits the floor.  Our blind lab could play fetch just fine by hearing where the ball was.  Dropping a penny or something that makes noise may trick you into thinking they see it when, in fact, they are looking at the source of the noise just like you do when you hear an unexplained/unexpected noise.  

If you think their hearing is going, it probably is.  It's very common in older dogs and cats.  To check, make sure you use soft noises in various tones.  Gentle whispers and hisses should be heard before you can hear them.  Don't use my brother's method.  When we were in our teens, there were two deaf gentlemen who frequented our father's business.  My brother thought they could hear because they read lips so well and managed just fine.  To try to prove his point, he would wait till their backs were turned and then drop a phone book on the floor.  They would jump and spin around just like someone with normal hearing.  To my brother this was proof that they were "faking it".  I tried to explain that they could feel the percussion better than we could because their other senses had compensated for their hearing loss.  He didn't buy it until one day, with my dad's permission, they lit an M80 firecracker and scared the crap out of my brother.  They laughed their butts off and signed something then laughed harder.  My point is, a hearing impaired animal is extra sensitive to vibrations/percussion so don't try clapping your hands to test their hearing.

Most veterinarians can test your pet for vision or hearing loss and if there are any doubts, we have specialists in those areas in vet. medicine as well.  

Moral of the story:

You can teach and old dog new tricks, but you probably wont need to.  They seem to compensate pretty darn well on their own.

Have fun kids, and don't hesitate to write.

 

Fall done fell.

Fall is definitely here.  It is amazing how you forget some of the things you knew as a kid when you've been away so long.  After 25 years in Phoenix, I'd forgotten how beautiful the fall colors on the "quaking" Aspen trees can be.  Check out these pictures we took today on our way to the airport.  We're flying to Phoenix for the Beth and Friends show again.  We've had some friends come and visit us from Phoenix and we showed them the beautiful place in which we live.  While floating down the river we saw hundreds of bright red salmon running under the boat and I demonstrated how you can "pet" them if you are sneaky enough.  One of our neighbors got attacked by a Grizzly earlier this week and I guess we were right in the same area.  Scary!  While we were floating the river, we also passed right by some huge moose.  Check out the pictures.

Fun & Games in the Great Outdoors

Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Sometimes you don't

We've been having a blast and keeping very busy.  Some of you have emailed me pet questions and I've been slow responding because we've been out of touch.  Please always feel free to contact me via this blog or my email .  I'm also developing a facebook page to help keep in touch.  When we are at the cabin, internet is sketchy so it may take a while to get back to you.  I will be in Phoenix doing the radio show again on the 19th of August at around 6:45 am with the always lovely Miss Beth.  I hope you can tune in.

We have floated down some incredible rivers and seen so many animals I can't even recall them all.  The other day we had a big bull Moose in our back yard then about a half hour later, a cow and calf came through.  As we floated down the river the other day, we spotted a cow moose with twin calves who were frolicking in the grass. One of them came running right at us then turned and splashed back to the bank.  We were only about 20 feet away and it made mamma nervous so we got back in the raft and left.  Check out the pictures and videos.  Feel free to leave any comments you like.

This cow and her twins were along the bank of one of the rivers we rafted down.
The calves got frisky and almost ran into us.  I'll try to post the video.

This guy was in our back yard.  Notice his antlers are fuzzy.  That's called "In the Velvet".    His antlers will continue to grow and then he will rub off the "velvet" in time for breeding season this fall.

This little lady and youngster came through our yard shortly after Bullwinkle left.

ENJOY!

Hokey Smoke Bullwinkle!

I just can't believe another month has come and gone.  We have been traveling in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and right now Arizona.  We spent about 10 days at Lake Powell jet skiing and camping with friends.  What an "otherworldly" place that lake is.  If you ever get the chance to explore the slot canyons on a jet ski, do it.  Because they are so small, jet skis can access areas most boats can't.

I'll be on KEZ 99.9FM again tomorrow about 7:30 am.  It's always so much fun kidding around with Beth and helping folks with their pet problems.  I hope you get a chance to tune in.  I'm going to ask a trivia question so I'll give you readers a head start on the listeners.  What animal kills more people than any other in North America?  Some of you may of heard about the Grizzly that killed a hiker in Yellowstone recently.  We need to exercise caution when outdoors.  Our neighbors in Idaho have found a Mountain Lion and a badger on their front porch.  A black bear came up on our back porch last summer.  It is wonderful living in the woods but some common sense helps keep one safe.  I'll post some pictures of some of the scenery and "critters" we see regularly up in Idaho.

We have to head back soon to be with my dad for his bone marrow biopsy.  Take it from me, don't let anyone or anything keep you from spending time with loved ones until it's too late.  Regret sucks.

Another Fun Day With Beth!

Had a great time with the oh so lovely miss Beth again today.  She's always so much fun.  And I don't know what got into Dooley today but he was on a roll!

Check out these pictures from Idaho

 This waterfall is only a short distance from our cabin.

This little guy was nibbling on the grass right beside the road.  When we pulled up and rolled down the window he didn't even blink.  I told Lorie to pinch his little butt and she began to stick her arm out the window..."No!  I was Just kidding!"  I yelled.  Even then he never acknowledged our presence.  That's the danger in messing with Bison.  They act all calm and peaceful until you are within easy striking distance.  Then it's too late.  Lesson here?  Enjoy from a distance.

That Time Of The Month

No, It's not THAT time of the month PUH-LEASE!!! It's Beth & Friends time.... This Friday, June 10...7 am hour. I'll be taking your calls (602 260 0999) and  practicing my pet impressions on the very lovely Ms. McDonald.

Check out the big cat Beth had in studio on Wednesday, June 8. Orion is the new baby tiger kitty at the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium.

Hmmm,  when I was a young whipper snapper, I thought I would be the Vet at Seaworld. But that was not to be, instead I've had the pleasure of treating your 4 legged family members.

Check out the picture that I got off the KEZ website. The baby tiger looks like he has something to say....

Check back soon to see some incredible pictures of a place I love in Idaho. Theses pictures will make you fall in love with the beautiful countryside....