With deceptive looks like the Infrared Pet drying room this device wont toast Fi Fi but this odd looking device from Korea will create the perfect environment for sick Fi Fi or any other pet be it a cat, dog or bird to get better. When your beloved pet is not feeling well just pop it in and you can control the chamber’s humidity, temperature, lighting and ventilation all the way to a speedy recovery. At $10,000 a piece I would rather take my dog to a vet like everyone else.

Via – Luxurylaunches

“It’s not (getting the subject used to) the equipment, it’s me, getting them used to me,” says Morrissey, owner of Wild Coyote Studio (wildcoyotestudio.com) in New York. “You don’t want to be the exciting new thing, so to speak.”

So there’s one advantage you have when photographing your pet: Your dog knows you, making it easier to get his personality to come through.

Morrissey, who was the green room photographer at this year’s Westminster Kennel Club dog show and who offers a free forum at nwpphotoforum.com, is happy to share his dog photography expertise.

Degree of difficulty: Practice makes perfect. And hey, it’s your dog. This is fun!

Tools needed: Camera (SLR preferred); props and/or squeak toys, optional.

Equipment: He doesn’t recommend a brand, but does recommend a style: “The best type of camera for pet photography is probably still the SLR (single lens reflex),” he says. “Even the cheapest ones offer a lot of control and snappy auto focus.” If money is tight, consider purchasing a used digital SLR and some third-party lenses. “Digital cameras depreciate quickly, so used bodies may be a very affordable alternative.”

Props: It depends on the dog, he says. Some respond, some don’t. He has very few props in his photos. “Props can be very powerful. I don’t use them frequently. I think you need to be very sparing.” He adds that photography is the opposite of painting. “When you’re painting you’re building a canvas that starts with nothing. Photography is all about reduction. You want to clean up your background, focus on your subject. Whenever you clutter things up it gets harder when it comes to creating a beautiful composition.”

Attention-grabbers: “You should see my arsenal. Turkey calls, duck calls, squeak toys. That’s the fun part of the game, all the toys.” Morrissey finds this especially helpful when photographing two or more dogs. It doesn’t have to be that complicated, he says. A crinkling empty potato chip bag or empty plastic water bottle can grab their attention. He tries to avoid using treats. “I will if I have to. Some dogs are just treat motivated. But I try not to. It creates saliva, and a ruly dog sometimes will become unruly if they’re just fixated on a treat.”

Pet prep: Bathing and grooming are always a positive. “You want to photograph dogs when they look their best. After they’ve been to the groomer, been bathed, that’s a wonderful time to photograph a dog. And before they go in the backyard and get muddied up.”

Lighting: “Most of the people who hire me, I do natural light,” he says. “You want to be there the half-hour, hour after sunrise, or the hour or half-hour before sunset.”

Proper perspective: When he photographs children or small dogs, he says he gets “high up to photograph them – how the world sees them. Generally the trick is getting at their level. I like to photograph a dog at eye level. But sometimes, shooting a Chihuahua or dachshund, I get on a ladder and shoot them from above.”

~Courtesy of MiamiHerald

AKC Family Dog magazine explains the most common causes of canine odor and offers these tips to help keep your dog healthy, clean, and comfortable.

- Ears: Terrible odors can come from your dog’s ears. If they stink or smell yeasty, chances are your dog has a yeast or bacterial infection and needs an antibiotic. See your veterinarian.

- Skin: Yeast and bacteria accumulating on your dog’s skin is a common cause of an overall unpleasant odor. Your best bet to solving this smelly problem is to keep your dog clean. Regularly bathe him (every week or two). Use a gentle, moisturizing shampoo, and make sure to scrub to the skin. Thoroughly clean between wrinkles and paw pads, since yeast and bacteria thrive in these dark and sometimes dirty places. Rinsing very well is also key.

- Coat: If your dog is clean yet still smells bad, the cause may be improper drying. This is common in double-coated breeds. A layer of moisture lingers under the topcoat and gets rancid, not only causing odor, but it can also lead to skin problems if left unchecked. After drying your dog make sure you can run a comb through his entire coat, all the way down to the skin. This will allow his skin to breathe and the coat to dry completely. You can also use a blow dryer to eliminate dampness. If using a human blow dryer, make sure it is set to cool since they can become too hot for dogs.

Now that your dog smells great, let him romp!

Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1b56P)

We watch them on YouTube and post their pictures on Facebook.

But now it’s time for dogs to have a social network of their own. At least that’s what the brains behind a New York startup think.

Take, for example, a dog named Bandit.

“He had plenty of friends back in San Francisco,” his owner Anthony McGee says. “But now it’s time for him to meet new friends in New York.”

So McGee used the startup site MatchPuppy.com to find puppy playdates, a clear indication that social networking has indeed gone to the dogs.

Site founder Michael Chiang says the original business plan was to help with ‘puppy love,’ connecting owners looking to breed their pets. But eventually the team decided “just friends” was okay too.

“We realized there was a bigger need in the market, to help dog owners kind of facilitate playdates online,” Chiang says.

Matches are made by neighborhood, breed, and age. But some pet owners have the same kinds of concerns with it as with ‘human’ online matchmaking.

“I would be a little concerned, because I don’t know the dog,” said prospective puppy-dater Shameika Bloice.

But other dog owners like Lexi Herman say, “It’d be great to meet some other people who have breeds similar to mine.”

And dog owner Brian Huseman agrees. “If there’s a way for dog owners to interact and maybe set up playdates later, I could definitely see some value in that.”

Chiang says the social benefits aren’t for the pups alone.

“Dogs are a great icebreaker,” Chiang says. “And using a website like ours, you find new relationships, new friends, so definitely the human aspect of it is very strong.”

So far the site is limited to New York, but Chiang says other cities are being eyed as future dog-meet-dog worlds.

Don’t assume that a stray dog is simply “out exploring.” A lost dog is about as capable on his own as a toddler. Start by posting a minimum of 10 signs in the immediate area where you found the dog. It is best to use brightly-colored paper. If you do not have any, white paper will do. Then follow these steps:

1.  Knock on doors in the neighborhood where you found the dog to see if someone has lost him or knows who he belongs to.

2.  Call your local police department to see if someone has reported losing a dog who matches the description of the dog you have found.

3.  If the dog is not wearing visible identification, he may have a microchip embedded under his skin that will help in tracking down his guardian. To check, take the dog to a local veterinary clinic where he can be scanned. But before you do, make sure to use a leash (or fashion a leash out of a belt or rope) in order to keep the dog safe while he is in your care.

4.  If you are unable to quickly locate the dog’s guardian through an I.D. tag or microchip, it is best to take him to the animal shelter that services the area where he was found. You may also be able to call the shelter to arrange for the dog to be picked up. The shelter is a central location where the dog’s guardian is very likely to look. If you do not know which shelter is responsible for picking up strays in your area, call your local police department or “411” and ask. If you are unable to physically go to the shelter, calling is the next best thing. Leave a description of the dog with the shelter staff.

5.  If you are unable to take the dog to the shelter or are afraid that the dog may be euthanized if you do, it then becomes entirely up to you to do everything possible to locate the dog’s guardian. Remember, if you choose to hold onto the dog for a period of time and then have to take him to the shelter at a later date, the guardian may have given up searching by the time you take the dog to the shelter.

6.  Post your Found Pet signs at locations where the dog’s guardian might think to look, ie: veterinary offices, pet-supply stores, groomers, dog parks, supermarkets, the post office and other local businesses. And tell your mail person that you have found a dog and his description.

7.  Contact local rescue groups and let them know about the dog who you have found. For a listing of local rescues, google the words animal, rescue, and the name of the city where you found the dog.

8.  Place a Found Pet ad in your local newspaper(s). Most newspapers will not charge a fee to place a Found Pet ad. And be sure to check the “Lost Pets” section of the paper.

9.  Leave out a piece of information that only the true guardian would know, such as the color of the dog’s collar or a distinguishing mark. Sadly, there are scam artists who falsely claim pets who are not theirs.

Stanley rolls around on the floor and chews on a squeaky toy while zombie-like law students wander in, a giant grin breaking out on their weary faces when they see the cuddly boy. Puppy therapy – just in time for finals week.

From Kent State University in Ohio to Macalester College in Minnesota, more and more pooches are around campus during exams to help students relax and maybe even crack a smile or two.

“We had a student who came in and a staff person commented they had never seen that student smile,” said Richelle Reid, a law librarian who started Emory’s pet therapy program this year after hearing about one at the University of California, San Francisco. “It has had positive effects, helping them to just have a moment to clear their minds and not have to think about studies, not have to think about books.”

Pups are in counseling centers for students to visit regularly or faculty and staff bring their pets to lift spirits.

Pet-friendly dorms also are popping up where students can bring their dogs or cats from home.

Want to check out a pet? It’s possible at Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, which both have resident therapy dogs in their libraries that can be borrowed through the card catalog just like a book.

Some dogs, like Harvard Medical School’s resident shih tzu Cooper, hold regular office hours. Researcher Loise Francisco-Anderson owns Cooper and said she got permission to bring him to campus after her husband read that Yale Law School had a therapy dog on campus named Monty.

Cooper, who sports a crimson scarf with paw prints on it, is so popular that undergraduate students have been petitioning for him to spend time on their side of campus. Many of them take the shuttle across the river to the medical school just to visit the pup on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“You can release some of the emotions to a pet that you can’t to a human. A pet keeps it confidential. You don’t have to worry about someone else saying, `Oh, I think she’s having a nervous breakdown over the science exam,’” said Francisco-Anderson.

Most schools, like Emory, partner with organizations that train companion dogs so that the canines get their social training while students get stress relief. Others, like at Harvard, have faculty members bring their dogs – which are certified to be therapy pups – to campus certain hours during the week.

The service is almost always free for students.

Research shows that interaction with pets decreases the level of cortisol – or stress hormone – in people and increases endorphins, known as the happiness hormone. Scant research exists on the how pet programs on college campuses help students cope with stress.

That’s why Kathleen Adamle, a nursing professor at Kent State, hopes to garner a grant so she can conduct research as part of her “Dogs on Campus” program. Adamle launched the program in 2006 with just her dog and has since added 11 other therapy canines to the team that visits dorms regularly throughout the year.

The dogs belong to Adamle or other community members and are certified therapy dogs.

She has plenty of anecdotal evidence that her program works. As soon as there’s a tragedy on campus – a student dies in a car wreck, for example – dorms scramble to book the dog team to help comfort upset students, she says.

“I don’t care if it’s 10 at night, we go to that dorm and sit on the floor. The kids are crying, and they grab the dog and put their face in the fur and just let it go,” said Adamle.

Since 2006, Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., has asked faculty and alumni to bring their dogs to campus during finals as part of the “Dog Day Afternoon” program. At Kenyon College in Ohio, the counseling center and dorms offer puppy play dates with Sunny the yellow lab and Sam the poodle-Chihuahua mix.

Last month, Indiana University students romped around with dogs in the first ever “Rent-a-Puppy” day. For $5, students could book time with one of 20 puppies from the local animal shelter – and could adopt them if they couldn’t bear to say goodbye.

First-year Emory law student Anna Idelevich took a break from studying for exams at the library on a recent afternoon to visit Stanley and Hooch, two golden retrievers training to be companion dogs for disabled owners. The private university brought in the dogs as part of a new program to help students cope with the stress of exams.

“I’ve literally been here every day. This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” said Idelevich, 22. “They couldn’t have thought of a better way to relieve stress. If they don’t do it next year, I’ll be upset.”

~Courtesy of nwsource.com

Hiking offers many benefits to both dog and owner, including a great cardiovascular workout and a healthy way to combat stress.

In the past few years, my dogs, Chipper and Cleo, and I have trekked up and down small mountains, as well as taken weekend camping trips in dog-friendly nature preserves throughout California and Arizona.

Getting Prepared
But before you lace up your own hiking boots, there are some things that you need to know to keep your hike fun and safe for your pet.

Vetstreet turned to Dr. Christine Zink, DVM, Ph.D., a veterinarian who specializes in canine sports medicine in Baltimore, Md., for her top tips for getting the most out of a hike with your pup.

Unfortunately, a huge amount of dogs are sent to shelters and even euthanized because their owners simply cannot deal with separation anxiety in dogs. However, with hard work and leadership, a dog’s separation anxiety may be controlled. It takes lots of dedication, training and patience, but in the end, you and your dog will have a healthy and happy bond.

Dogs have a special bond with their owners. Sometimes the bond between a dog and his owner becomes dependent, and leaving him for any amount of time can cause anger, confusion and anxiety. The stress of dealing with separation anxiety can be extreme, and the problem needs to be dealt with as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

What is Separation Anxiety?

Dog separation anxiety occurs when a dog has a strong, over-attachment to their owner. About 10% of puppies and dogs experience separation anxiety. It’s not exactly known why separation anxiety affects dogs.

It is important to determine if your dog is simply bored while you are gone, or if he has a case of separation anxiety. Dogs may be unhappy when you leave the home, but only dogs with separation anxiety will cause a problem.

Possible causes of separation anxiety may be:

- Puppies who have been separated from their mothers too soon. Puppies think when you leave the house, you will not return. Since you are their new mother, this can be very upsetting for your dog.

- Shelter dogs. These dogs can be troubled. Sometimes separation anxiety may be from a previous abusive owner or being neglected in shelters.

- A change in his environment. This may include moving to a new home, a new addition to the family such as a new pet or a baby or a death in the family may cause separation anxiety in your dog.

- A traumatic experience. An event such as a thunderstorm, car accident, fire or earthquake may trigger separation anxiety.

You can learn more about separation anxiety causes, symptoms, treatments and training tips at www.dogseparationanxietyresource.com.

The train’s engineer, who didn’t want to give his name, said he spotted the woman and her dog on the tracks just after midnight on May 3, according to the Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. He said he tried to stop the train in time, but feared he’d hit them both. When he got out, he found that Spain was unharmed, but the train’s wheels had sliced through Lilly’s front right leg, which was bleeding heavily.

An animal control officer rushed Lilly to an emergency animal hospital in nearby Acton, where Spain’s son, Boston Police Officer David Lanteigne, met them in the parking lot. Lanteigne said he had a feeling of dread as he got out of his car, but Lilly let him know she was OK.

“The first thing I see is just those big, beautiful eyes just looking at me, and next to her, I saw her right front paw was severely damaged,” he told ABC News. “I saw her tail wagging the first time right there.”

Lanteigne said he rescued Lilly three years ago, thinking she’d make a good therapy dog for Spain, who had battled alcoholism, depression and anxiety for many years. He said Spain doted on the dog, and often defrosted packets of green beans to cut them up and put them in Lilly’s food. Eventually, he said, Spain’s drinking decreased.

“We saved Lilly, and Lilly saved my mom’s life,” he said. “My hope is that this story is going to get out and show what pit bulls are truly about. I hope by Lilly going through this, it’s going to get other dogs homes.”

Lilly underwent two surgeries last weekend at the Angell Animal Medical Center. Steel plates were implanted to repair her fractured pelvis and support her left leg. She now has a long scar where her right front leg was amputated. Angell spokesman Rob Halpin said Lilly’s doctors expect she’ll be able to walk again, but adjusting to three legs will be hard for the senior dog.

Spain, who Lanteigne said relapsed before her collapse last week upon hearing some bad news, was arrested on the scene and arraigned the following day in Ayer District Court on charges of obstruction and danger on a railroad track, walking on a railroad track and animal cruelty, Shirely Police Executive Secretary Ann Whiting told ABC News. Spain was not arrested on any alcohol-related charges, but she was placed in protective custody because of intoxication, said Whiting.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio