DOG OWNERSHIP

[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. …

[From Tufts June 2010 Issue]

Yesterday my dog had his teeth cleaned by a vet, who has prescribed 100 milligrams of Amoxicillin twice a day for 10 days. I am concerned about giving him too much Amoxicillin over that period of time. What is the correct dosage after teeth cleaning?

The holidays are fast approaching. The prospect of friends and family dropping in for festive visits looms large, and youve procrastinated on your commitment to teach your dog better company behavior. Your biggest concern: Your dog is quite vocal about announcing guests and sharing party conversations. Last year was a nightmare, and you have vowed not to repeat the experience. What can you possibly do in a few short weeks?

[From Tufts August 2011 Issue]

I was eager to read the article in your March issue by Edie Jarolim concerning vaccination choices [Vaccinations present an array of choices/The vet can help determine the best course based on health and life stage, March 2011] but was disappointed that no mention was made of the possibility of auto-immune encephalitis as a reactionto vaccinations.

I got my beautiful little Annie, a Maltese, at 4 months of age in August 2009. In November of that year, about two and a half weeks after her booster shot, she was diagnosed with auto-immune encephalitis. After a month-long battle that included an MRI, hospitalizations, seizures and more, I had to put her to sleep at only 8 months of age. It was a devastating loss and I am immensely concerned that it could happen again.

[From Tufts May 2011 Issue]

An article in a scientific journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made headlines nationwide when it warned that people can - and often do - get too close to their dogs. Bruno B. Chomel of UC Davis and Ben Sun of the California Department of Public Health, writing in Emerging Infectious Diseases, said that about 50 percent of owners in the U.S. allow their dogs to sleep on their beds, but doing so puts them at risk for health problems.

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Im pretty sure Franklin and Rosie view me as a relatively companionable person - a toy breed (Im short), perhaps from the sporting group of humans. That is, Im pretty easy to have around, dont snap at others (much), and most important, can without much difficulty adapt to their ways and learn the behaviors they seek in a biped. …

Because you're in a rush, you call your dog in a somewhat irritated voice to come back to you once he's had his walk off leash. But just to get your goat, it seems, he makes his way toward you slowly — and in a curve rather than a straight line, which only makes him take longer. And the more annoyed you get, the more slowly he goes. So of course you scold him once he gets to you.

Or perhaps you want your dog to do something, and his response is to act "stubborn," or perhaps "distracted." Maybe you're yelling at him to comply one way or another and all he does is sniff the ground.

I'll be out of the office until Monday, March 28, on pawternity leave. I will be checking my email only occasionally.

So went the automatic reply that came to us from a business associate. He had taken several weeks off from work to stay home with his new puppy, which he adopted when the dog was eight weeks old.

Over the top? We dont think so. To bring a puppy into your house after it has been with its littermates, and then the next day go off to work - youre rupturing that delicate bond at the beginning of life, says Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic Director Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, DACVB.

Carol Costello was nervous. "I'd never had a dog before," she says, "and it bothered me that Teddy would be home by himself for so many hours every day while my husband and I were at work and the kids were at school."

Teddy was the malti-poo — half Maltese, half poodle — that the Massachusetts-based Costellos were adopting from a breeder in Spokane, Washington, and Ms. Costello's consternation actually began even before the 12-week-old dog stepped into her house. "I was concerned about his transition all the way across the country," she says. "I didn't want him being ‘shipped' in a crate in the cargo load.

"While it is generally true that all dogs need lots of aerobic exercise," says veterinarian Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, in The Well-Adjusted Dog, "breed requirements...