DOG OWNERSHIP

Taking sides in a presidential election happens only once every four years, but loving or loathing dogs is forever. And while all readers of Your Dog lean decidedly one way, theres a whole universe on the other side that we tend to dismiss out of hand; we put our hands over our ears, so to speak, when they talk.But this is what theyre saying. They dont like our canine friends. In fact, in a LawnStarter…

Jane Derosiers of Weymouth, Massachuetts, usually avoids the busy front entrance of her local dog park. It's not that she minds the rollicking meet-up of dogs glad to see each other for their nightly romp, accompanied by their biscuit-toting parents. It's because her double merle, Lawson, is blind and cannot easily navigate the many barks and bumps of their greetings. Thats why Ms. Derosiers enters by the quieter side entrance, where fewer dogs make the raucous hellos more manageable.

Amputee Callie Mae died on Easter Sunday this year after attending church with her family, the Easterbrooks. After allowing themselves time to grieve their...

Q Is it really seven human years for every dog year?
Dave Rhodes
Dearborn Heights, MI

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Theres a lot of common knowledge when it comes to taking care of dogs - from friends, from the Internet, from companies marketing dog-related products. But common doesnt mean correct. Are you able to separate urban (or suburban) myth from fact about whats best for Fido? See how well you do on this quiz. …

Okay, I admit it. We havent been good about brushing Franklin and Rosies teeth. No, scratch that. We simply havent been doing it, a lapse made all the more unforgivable by the fact that they dont just eat dog food. They eat ice cream, sweetened yogurt, a couple of m&ms here and there, cake icing…. Not a lot, but certainly enough that it cant be good for their teeth. …

[From Tufts January 2010 Issue]

Ever since most dog lovers can remember, theyve heard that kissing a dog - and being kissed back - is risky. The dog has germs, mothers would say.

If you let him lick you, youll get sick.

Thats a contention that Scott Shaw, DVM, a specialist in emergency and critical care at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and head of the schools infection control committee, disputes. In most cases, the risk of contracting anything from close contact with a dog is very low, he says.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has reported that about 60 percent of the 1,461 infectious diseases recognized in humans developed in other species and that animals have transmitted about 75 percent of emerging human infectious diseases in the past three decades. The report didnt specify the extent of dogs role, but they account for only a small fraction of those numbers, Dr. Shaw says. People should not be afraid of their dogs.

Generally, dogs give far more diseases to people than vice versa. There are very few diseases?that dogs can contract from people, says Scott Shaw, DVM, at Cummings School. One notable exception is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Today, its occasionally being diagnosed in dogs. The infection, which affects the skin and other areas, is the 10th leading cause of human deaths in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesnt track canine deaths from MRSA. …