Turkish Dogs - particularly Anatolian Shepherd Dogs

Earlier this year, the my Arabian mare suddenly passed on. On Friday, just before the last weekend of January 2007, Pentessah (Tessie) colicked during what passes as a cold snap around here. This sort of colic in horses seems to be a seasonal one, often lethal and I have learned that several acquaintances had such a loss this year. Bad year for our horses! All were otherwise healthy horses and the deaths were sudden.

Tess had plenty of water but due to the chill and her light-duty life of happily grazing and enjoying the sunshine, there was no working up a sweat. So for a critical period of time as the cold moved in, she never got thirsty enough to guzzle sufficient water for her internal hayburner metabolism (she was not on grain, just grass and hay). So it seemed sudden to us... Friday, she was rolling and kicking in agonizing pain. She had bed herself down in her favorite snoozing area of her open box. We got her up and walking which is first aid for horse colic. She was cooperative but never really focused on us. She did accept a small piece of hard Holiday candy from me at one point but wouldn't take any more. She became increasingly remote. We got the vet out to see and tubate her as soon as we could. He thought she might have a chance. There was no evidence of sand colic but he found that her packed cell volume was too high. She was seriously dehydrated and wouldn't drink. So he tubed and gave IVs and handed us some Banamine for her. We did what we could do but we were too late, hours passed and we lost her. It all happened in about 24 hours. Such a shock.

She was only twenty years old and had never been sick other than a case of strangles as a yearling. That is twenty years that she was a part of my life, representing a good chunk of happy times and many other changes. A foal from my first Arabian mare, she was symbolic of several childhood dreams come true. In those sad weeks that followed, the weight of her loss was a terrible toll for me. I discovered that I was not only grieving for her but many more things -- I came to realize she was an icon of a special era in my life. It is still taking time. I found it very difficult to write about.

Here's a pic of her as a baby. She was born at a small boarding stable owned by a wonderful retired cowboy who also had filled his past with beautiful working Arabian Horses. Blue Book, he was excited to tell me, sharing what he could about my mare's bloodline. I didn't have my own horse property then and boarding was fine -- but after little Tessie was born, before the year was up, we had moved to our current place, and in almost no time, Tessie was playing on our property with her mother, Saleeb.

Isn't she cute? That's her mom walking out of the picture.

Pentessah, only a few hours old

The photo above is a little damaged with glowing pinkish color on the left. This pic is still one of my favorites of her. I kept it in my office at the lab for years and I think a bit of hand lotion or soap got leaked on to it.

She was born black, looked like a dark bay during her first year, but gradually became a dappled gray. Her mane and tail got so long! At one point, she developed a habit of rubbing her neck on on the fence or pipe corrals so she could scratch an itchy spot. From that point on, the one section of mane there was either always broken off or curled into knots. But still, she was always beautiful. :)


A pic of Pentessah at about 6 years when she was a steel gray.

Life was pretty busy crazy due to the work schedule I had back then and I didn't get to ride her or her mother very often. She was such a mischievous horse! She came when called. Loved to cuddle and mooch for scritches and treats. Always gentle. Fireworks, backfires, tarps and plastic (or paper) bags blowing around didn't faze her. She followed me around when I did chores in the paddock and corral. Mischievous? A self inspired pet trick she liked to do... She'd sometimes go to the wheelbarrow and rock it back and forth with her teeth while I pitched muck into it. She had quite the sense of humor... cos if I were in a hurry and ignored her or didn't react fast enough and yell at her (she WANTED to get a rise out of me), she would wait til the wheelbarrow was about full, then deliberately tip the wheelbarrow over and dash off... with her mane flying out behind her and tail arched over her back. She was an equal opportunity brat, cos she'd do the same thing to James.

With me. She'd first go tearing around the paddock, then come in really close, finally flashy trotting almost in place with her head turned toward me. Her neck arched, shaking her head in my direction as if to say Nyah nyah! It really was such eye candy, with her nostrils flaring, her ear tips turned inward then pointed at me as she watched me laugh. She was showing off, strutting her stuff in that magnificent way Arabian horses have. It always made me laugh. She'd even roll the whites of eyes at me sometimes. There isn't any doubt that she'd done it on purpose. :)

She'd then walk up with her neck lowered and come in for scritches and pats with her eyelids half shut. Definitely a character. :D And she had other games like this too. ;)

She had a sweet friendly greeting nicker. The word 'cookie' got her attention as much as that of any of the dogs. :) She yelled when her supper or breakfast was late (it always was, in her opinion). And she'd kick up her heels and toss her tail over her back and charge around spiritedly, encouraging who ever was feeding her to be quick about it and get the hay into the feeder!

In the last ten years we had her, I had gone completely deaf (idiopathic). She would nicker, and I could 'feel' her greeting. Her nostrils would flutter and the sound would come to my memory. I'd be beaming and calling her name. We'd greet and exchange slow breaths with each other, me blowing at her nostrils and she blowing back. If I were in the paddock, I could give her some chest, belly, ear, neck and head scritches. She'd wiggle her lips happily, with her eyes half closed, head down and ears relaxed and her lower lip drooping... Bliss!


My little mare and me


Tessie, you are missed.

Labels: horse

From Itchmo
Melamine Spiking in Food “Widespread” For Years

No more denials, no more hemming and hawing by the FDA. Time to take massive cautionary action is now. It’s not just animal feed anymore. It’s not just pet food. It’s a crisis. It’s been going on for years. It’s being done in “wheat, corn, soybean or other proteins”.

I'm not surprised that it happens. Cutting corners for profit is not uncommon. Remember the hairy, carcinogenic soy sauce that Japan (the USA as well) had also unknowingly let into the country.

From Mainichi-msn.co.jp-

"It's not the hair that causes cancer," the soy sauce business insider says, adding that it's possibly caused by MCP, a fluid in the body associated with the breakdown of proteins and increasingly accused of having a potential link to the disease.

China is clearly treating human hair sauce as a problem. Japan bans the use of soy sauce made from anything other than organic proteins, so the animal proteins in human hair sauce are naturally banned. [from a scientific standpoint, that's a strange, incomplete comment]

That's not to say some of the controversial sauce hasn't already been imported.

"We confirm ingredients and production methods at 31 inspection points at sea or airports throughout the country and have not had a single report of that nature since the start of this year," a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says. "Perhaps this product was never imported."

Yet, most food inspections at customs are little more than a cursory glance at documents, keeping alive the possibility that some of the human hair sauce may have slipped through.

"It's just not realistic to examine all the soy sauce imported from China," a ministry spokesman tells Asahi Geino. "There's no way we could even possibly do it."

Labels: China, Melamine

What is happening now?

What will be the Future of Dogs?
No on California AB 1634
"California Healthy Pets Act"
Choosing a 'feel good' perky name for a bill perpetuates the GRAND deception

A wave of increasing awareness of Anti-animal legislation is coming to the fore.

Especially in the past, but to a lesser degree now, people have thought that some of these us versus them Animal Rights issues are alarmist, paranoid, or maybe a bit silly. Some still do.

A major wake-up call is underfoot.

The Future of Dogs is a well written booklet by Walt Hutchens. It is available for reading online. EDIT: From the site: "You are welcome to use it in any way it might help you in the fight to maintain our right to own animals. All we ask is that it be properly accredited to Walt Hutchens, Timbreblue Whippets, Virginia, and that you do not change any of the content."
I just contacted him and tweaked this section. Walt says, "[...] the printed booklet is for sale to anyone for any purpose -- not just educational use. It's conceivable that a club could sell them at shows as a fund raiser."

This is a great booklet to provide to new puppy owners, friends and relatives to help spread awareness of what is happening at the legislative front and why it is happening in the first place.

I quote a little from the materials here, but encourage everyone concerned to go read and/or go to this link to purchase hardcopies for distribution, to help spread awareness of what is happening.

Most people are not into Animal Rights at 100%, they are not extreme. The AR movement depends on the non extremists to do most of their work.

[AR breaks down their goals] into small chunks that sound good and sell them one chunk at a time to good-hearted, often busy, people. But the chunks are put together to make something that none of us would ever have approved.

• "People need homes. Please donate to buy a brick."

• Then they use the bricks to build a prison.

---> Many supporters believe that eating meat is wrong.

---> Others think that medical research using animals is unnecessary and cruel.

---> Yet others believe most pet owners are irresponsible.

It is those people -- the ones who are deeply committed to their own small parts of animal rights -- who are the foot soldiers, carrying the movement forward.

Fewer than a thousand run the AR corporations, make the plans, draft the laws, organize the conferences, deliver the speeches, and do the on-the-floor lobbying. Tens of thousands back laws in narrow areas: animal rescuers may support anti-tethering laws to stop irresponsible owners', misguided home breeders back anything labeled as fighting puppy mills,' and animal shelters support close regulation of pet breeders and rescuers.

The money to support the animal rights agenda comes from millions of Americans who love animals and who, without understanding how their money will actually be used, mail checks to HSUS, PeTA, and other lesser known AR organizations.

How Animal Rightists Pass Laws

1. They invent problems or magnify small ones. The real problems generally are much less than the good that comes from the same activity but we are only told about the problems.
2. The animal rightists batter public officials to solve the problems they've announced. Although they are a small minority, they never stop complaining.
3. When officials say "Okay, tell us what to do," the ARs are there with examples of laws passed in other places. They cite misleading or phoney statistics, even outright lies about the success of the law and if pressed on the issue, simply repeat their views.

• For example when they're proclaiming "horrible pet overpopulation" they promote laws requiring all pets to be spayed or neutered and requirements for hobby breeders to get expensive licenses and permits. "This law was a big success in San Mateo," they say.

• If you tell them "This law did not work in San Mateo County" -- they say "This law was a big success in San Mateo."

• If you answer "But the shelter euthanasia numbers went up, and licensing went down in San Mateo," -- they say "This law was a big success in San Mateo."

Surprisingly, when the subject is unfamiliar, the bigger the lie, the more likely people are to believe it. This 'big lie' tactic isn't often encountered by lawmakers and since doing independent research is time-consuming, they often end by accepting the lies.

4. Since the new laws never solve the 'problem,' the ARs seek greater punishments and still more laws to help enforce the old ones, such as a requirement for all pets to be microchipped with the numbers in a government database. They talk only of the good effects . "This will help more lost pets get home" -- although the real purpose is to catch people who are violating their other laws.

They can nearly always find important organizations that will support the proposal because (for example) "Veterinarians can't be against a law that just improves enforcement of something that's already the law."

5. As one law begins to spread, a new 'problem' is identified and the next step begins -- go back to #1, above.

To read the whole thing, go here to the FUTURE OF DOGS

Labels: animal_control

A few more puzzles to add to the cache.

A 221 piece puzzle of my favorite movie poster of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).

Boris Vallejo, 132 pieces, Hieroglyphic Egg.

I love the color in this one.
Fancy Oriental Fish were a near constant part of my childhood in Asia. And not so oddly, have symbolic meaning in my dreams to this day.


Boris Vallejo, 117 pieces, Britorgan.

There's some fantastic twisting tale that goes with this piece. But I thought a winged unicorn, a dragon and a dragonslayer make for a lot of colorful interest for this puzzle.


Boris Vallejo, 96 pieces, Tattoo.

Rather monochromatic for a puzzle, so fewer pieces. This is just here so I can admire the ...tattoo, of course. ;)


See my other post- "Free Anatolian Puppy Jigsaw Puzzles With a Side of Shrimp!" for info on these jigsaws.

Labels: games, puzzles

So a drunk man on a horse goes to the bank and leaves a deposit. . .

Labels: horse, humor

In short bursts, I've had a little fun with a jigsaw puzzle program that Josephine MorningStar shared with me several months ago. She made several (numbers of pieces) versions of a puzzle based on Coco's photo. She has a website which has some of her art available here.

I liked the puzzle program so much that I went ahead and purchased it, made some gift puzzles with Anatolian photos from friends - with their own dogs featured. Josephine has the best ideas! :D

Gift puzzles are stand alone versions that don't have all the features of the full game but are still lots of fun. The full featured game allows you to modify puzzles or create them as gifts.

FREE Puzzle Samples!
Here are a few puzzles that use either my pix or public domain photos.

Here is a yummy photo from http://www.pdphoto.org/, where you can get some public domain, gorgeous FREE photos that can be used any way you want. Did I mention that the pics are free? :)
-- Download this 104 piece shrimp polenta puzzle.Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Another yummy photo decadent shrimp foodies (like me) can enjoy, from pdphoto.org.
-- Download the 221 piece Kung Pao Shrimp puzzle.Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

I had also downloaded some of Jon Sullivan's (owner of PDPhoto.org) other pics, including Mexican food pics (food pics are relaxing!) and travel scenery photos, from which I made a few other puzzles for personal use.


Anatolian Puppy Jigsaw Puzzles!
Click on the puppy names to download the specific puzzle.

A 104 piece puzzle with two Anatolian Shepherd Dog puppies, Jasmine and her brother 'T' relaxing in the grass under an old picnic table.
Aren't they cute? :)


A 110 piece puzzle with my puppy Coco.
This is one of my favorite puppy photos of this little monster her.

No actually, she is a sweetheart and a character! :)
First time I'd ever had a rough coat or a chocolate puppy in a litter.
Lately she sometimes lines up with my walker and keeps along side. Maybe a service dog in the making.




A 110 piece puzzle of gorgeous girl, Jasmine sunning herself on a warm wooden ramp.


How-tos for enjoying your puzzle!
First download to a location that you will remember. I made a folder called Puzzles and saved all of them into that folder.

Once you have your puzzle(s) in your folder, then open your new folder and click on the name of one puzzle.

A window will open and have this menu bar... (see below)


To get started... maximize the window for the open puzzle.

Note the crayons icon. Next to that are puzzle pieces.
Use the puzzle pieces icon to change the size of puzzle pieces. Bigger pieces make the puzzle larger than many computer screens, so you can adjust to make it fit.
The puzzle pieces icon can also alter shapes called FUN PIECES -adding cute cut outs of butterflies and kittens in the selection, try it by clicking directly on the arrows in the box.

While playing, if you need the puzzle enlarged or shrunk, just click on the puzzle piece icon above and adjust!

Another tip to help you get started - use the square outline of squares. That will put the flat sided edge pieces around the edges of the screen where you can see them more easily.

You can save your progress or just leave the puzzle running in the background while you do the 'real work' you're supposed to be doing. ;)

Funfun!!

Depending on individual photos, some are really fun when they have over 300 pieces. Photos with poor clarity and too many objects or too much of the same colors are so much harder! I made one one of these harder ones that 400 some pieces before starting taxes and it took me almost a month to finish. It was a much needed break (and now time for something totally different) & distraction from doing taxes. :( I've associated that puzzle so much with doing taxes, I had to delete it when I was done. LOL

Best part of it is, the pieces never get lost, even if your dog comes to help with the puzzle! :)

The website for the game has free puzzles to play, and if you buy the program, there are free downloads to add to your gameplay. If you like professional, very high quality photos of different subject matter, there are collections that you can purchase to add to your game. For the collections go here and the freebies are at the bottom of the page.

For more puzzles on this blog, click on 'puzzles' below.

Labels: games, puzzles

From About.com-
8 Top Windows Antivirus Software

Internet Security Suites can sometimes burden older systems and cause conflicts for gamers. Standalone antivirus scanners (used in conjunction with a firewall) are a viable alternative.

Here's a list of the top 8 standalone antivirus scanners for Windows.

Speaking of games, I wonder if I'm ever going to find time to play The Sims 2 any time soon.

Labels: compu-internet, games

Below is Sandy according to this vid.



A dog called Maisey on this one


No name given for this dog!

Labels: Video

YOW!

NASA - A Massive Explosion on the Sun

"Solar flares are essentially magnetic," Davis explains. In the maelstrom above a sunspot, lines of magnetic force are twisted and stretched until the tension reaches a certain point—and then the whole thing explodes.

A rubber band provides a good analogy. Take one from your desk, hold one end in each hand: stretch and twist. If you twist, twist and twist to extremes, the tormented band will eventually snap, painfully releasing all the energy you just put into it.

Flares happen all the time on the sun, but this one is amazing due to the technology that captures the force. Comes with a short video clip showing the twist and SNAP. Check it out!

Labels: NASA

No on California AB 1634
"California Healthy Pets Act"
Choosing a 'feel good' perky name for a bill perpetuates the GRAND deception

I've updated a php thread with captured images, including a better rendered version of above, from a few studies regarding dog health and behavior. Above image is about the importance of hormones in the growing dog, its future health and soundness.

Go here http://petoftheday.com/talk/ to see in better clarity and see the posting.

If you have any particular interest in animal health, in dogs, working dogs, service dogs, genetic and environmental implications of dogs as I do, above link may be interesting reading.

Canine Companions for Independence has addressed the question of pediatric spay and neuter in their programs. The results of theirs and of other studies, as well as potential implications thereof may prove to be very interesting to the general public.

It presents a strong argument for encouraging pet owners (specifically) to examine the evidence regarding health and public safety in issues of surgical sterilization, pediatric spay and neutering, and of MSN from the current situation in L.A.

I used some of the good work Laura Sanborn (saveourdogs.net) has shared for
public use. If you have not visited it yet, do go see http://saveourdogs.net/

Labels: animal_control

November of last year (2006), I had a blog post: dog-treat-recipes in which I mentioned a collection of recipes for those making homemade goodies for dogs (includes some recipes for cats as well).

I figured I'd bump attention back to it, in light of the "Melamine for Pets" issues. People who are cooking for their own dogs might want to take advantage of this free collection of recipes. These are not my own originals. You'd have to see the original posting (above archive) to understand why I posted them in the first place. Nevertheless, I still have the recipes available for download but if anyone does find out if the original owner is still hosting the file somewhere and would prefer to keep it there exclusively, let me know.

Here's just a few meal oriented (rather than treat oriented) recipes out of the collection of 300 or more recipes. The collection includes many treats, some weight booster concoctions for skinny dogs, one file on Hot Spots, raising a Service Dog, cooling pads, among other things, but it is primarily food oriented. After unzipping, it can be read as text, or can be incorporated into MasterCook as noted in my previous posting.

Heidi & Braxx's Natural Food

Categories    : Kalgoorlie & Districts Gs Club

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
1               cups  rolled oats -- (1 to 2)
   1/4            lb  raw organ meat -- (1/4 to 3/4)
1              tblsp  honey
1              tblsp  rosemary powder
1                tsp  bran
1                tsp  wheat germ
1                tsp  cod liver oil
1                tsp  cold pressed safflower oil
1           teaspoon  bone meal powder
1                tsp  angivida yeast
1                tsp  kelp powder
1                tsp  apple cider vinegar
   1/4           tsp  Vitamin c powder
1                     vitamin capsule of Biotin
1                     vitamin capsule of Vitamin E
1            handful  finely chopped raisins
1            handful  alfalfa leaves
1         tablespoon  veggie mix
                      Veggie Mix:
6                     carrots -- (6 to 8)
   1/4           bag  spinach
6                     garlic individual cloves -- (6 to 10)
1          container  alfalfa sprouts

Finely puree in a food processor. This mixture keeps well up to 2 weeks.

Soak oats approximately 2 hours with enough water to cover; the amount of oats depends on the size and activity level of the dog. Add raw meat; again the amount of meat will depend on the dog. Add all ingredients; mix well.

This recipe is to be daily 2x. It seems like alot of work but I prepare the food 2 weeks in advance using Ziploc bags. I used to be an avid commercial food user but I've been cured!! The dogs' all Rotties have nicer coats, smell better, no fleas, love their food and are not finicky eaters as before. It takes a little longer daily but well worth it!

Akita Style Lamb & Rice

 
  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1                 lb  ground lamb (beef if you wish)
  1 1/2           cups  brown rice
  2             stalks  Broccoli
  2             medium  potatoes -- (2 to 3)
  3             medium  carrots
  4             cloves  garlic
  1              sheet  kombu -- Sea Kelp (optional)

Brown lamb in a frypan. After it gets going, put on the chopped garlic to brown. Boil water, put about 4-5 cups into a crockpot, so it is already hot while you are fixing the rest of the ingredients. Add cubed potatoes to the frypan. Cut broccoli and add this to the crock. Put the rest of the works in the pot, add enough hot water to cover. Add pepper to taste. Throw in 1/2 cup brown rice and mix.
Courtesy: Kalgoorlie & Districts German Shepherd Obedience Club Inc

Home Cooking

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
5                 lb  ground beef or chicken
   3/4           cup  canola oil
4             cloves  garlic -- (4 to 5)
32              cups  water
8               cups  processed veggies (various) -- (8 to 10)
                      --(carrots, cauliflower, bean sprouts,
                      -- celery, broccoli,
                      potatoes, sweet potatoes, -- red peppers,
                      spinach, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.)
                      NO ONIONS (not good for dogs)
2               cans  kidney beans -- (2 to 3)
   1/2           cup  molasses (optional)
42                oz  oatmeal (quick cooking oats) -- (42 to 45)
                      eggs can be added to boost protein

In a large 24qt pot brown ground meat, add canola oil and garlic. When well cooked, add water. Bring to boil, then add veggies that have been processed, (frozen or canned veggies will work too). I use dried kidney beans and soak them the night before preparing a batch of food. While I am cooking the meat I have the beans in another pot cooking them. Once cooked, they are added to the above mixture. Next, the oatmeal is added. Frequent stirring is necessary at this point as the mixture will stick. Remove from heat, cool and put into containers. The above mixture feeds 3 Boxers for 1 week. I occasionally add pumpernickell bread and some times substitute brown rice for some of the oatmeal. This recipe is very flexible. I also add a mixture called Healthy powder to each meal. I feed twice daily and add 1 tsp of healthy powder to each meal for each dog.

NOTES : Kalgoorlie & Districts German Shepherd Obedience Club Inc,
         Submitted by Shirley Bell   This is a bulk recipe for