The Dog Journal

A casino in Atlantic City has become dog-friendly:

As of Thursday canines will be allowed to check into Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and Casino, making it the first area casino with a pet-friendly program.

Dogs checking in will get to enjoy all the amenities of PetStay: food, a water bowl, treats and a roped-off area on Pacific Avenue to conduct doggy business.

The package also includes disposable waste bags for said business.

Click the link for the full article from 14wfie.com.  Perhaps some of these dogs will bring their owners luck!

Dogs can be blood donors too (for other dogs)! 

“With the advances being made in animal medicine (veterinarians) are able to treat more illnesses and injuries. They’re now doing hip replacements, back surgeries, and many dogs need transfusions when suffering from anemia.”

That’s right.  Some dolphins helped draw attention to a dog in distress:

Earlier this week, an eleven-year-old Doberman named Turbo escaped from his yard and plunged into a canal in Marco Island in Florida. Since the vertical walls of the canal are high, Turbo couldn’t get out, and was forced to tread water against the current for over half a day. Nobody noticed him until, fifteen hours into his ordeal, a lady living nearby heard strange splashing. It wasn’t Turbo, who by that time was exhausted. It was a pod of dolphins who had found him and were staying with him, splashing loudly until they received human attention.

Click the link above for the full article from the NYMag.com.  Kind of a heartwarming story.

A third-grader in Florida invented a device called the “Puff ‘N Fluff” that will dry your dog off after a bath, as this article from the St. Petersburg Times describes:

Marissa Streng didn’t like getting soaked drying her dog, Mojo, after his bath. She turned to science and created a better way to dry her pug.

Marissa’s Puff ‘N Fluff, a dog-drying device the third-grader invented, won the grand prize Feb. 11 in the elementary school division of the University of South Florida’s 2011 Young Innovator competition.

That’s pretty impressive.  When I was in third-grade my greatest achievement was picking my nose. Hopefully this contraption will make life easier for wet dogs and their owners!

Sonny, a miniature schnauzer from Arizona, won the best in breed competition at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show:

Sonny was judged best in breed at this week’s 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the U.S.’s most prestigious canine competition.

Owner Marilyn Lande said she knew something was special about Sonny from the time he was about a year old. But she didn’t get her hopes up as she sent her now 5-year-old off to the Madison Square Garden Center in New York.

“I was about as surprised as anybody could be. I absolutely never expected to win the Garden,” Lande said. “This year, for the first time, I never even sent a picture in for the catalogue because I was pretty sure I’d never win.”

My own schnauzer will always be my personal “best in breed,” but congratulations to Sonny!

The LA Times has an article regarding a study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia which says what I think many dog owners already know:

The teens in dog-owning families logged about 15 additional minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week after the researchers controlled for factors such as gender and socioeconomic status.

Could it be that kids actually walk the family dog instead of the parents (after begging for a dog and promising their parents they would walk the dog)?

Well, no.

“Children and adolescents may not have the primary responsibility of walking the dog but may actively play with the family dog, thus contributing to their overall minutes engaging in physical activity,” the authors wrote.

While this study is limited to teens, I think the notion that having a dog in your life can make you more active applies across the board.  I, for one, know for sure that I get much more exercise thanks to my dog!

This story from the montrealgazette.com tells the story about a deaf dachshund named Sparky.  It seems that Sparky was able to learn sign language as a means of communication with his humans:

Inmates at a Missouri prison trained the deaf dachshund named Sparky in sign language and then asked the Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton to take him in.

Today, Sparky is right at home with the school’s youngsters, who have taught him additional sign language. And a second deaf dog, a Boston Terrier named Petie, may be on his way to the school soon.

Goes to show that dogs with disabilities can still have a great, productive life.

This short article from the sunherald.com provides some tips from the American Kennel Club on keeping your dog’s ears clean.  Sometimes I notice my dog scratching his ears and when he starts doing this I know that it’s time to take a look inside his ears for gunk. 

If his ears look dirty, use a clean cloth, cotton ball, or cotton swab to clean them. Moisten the swab or cloth with ear wash or a little water to remove the dirt or wax. If you decide to use a cotton swab, be extremely careful to not put the swab into your dog’s ear canal.

It’s easy to overlook the ears but they are an important part of your dog’s health. 

Looking for an alternative to the Super Bowl? Then check out Puppy Bowl VII on the Animal Planet channel. Click the link above for pictures from the Orange County Register. Animal Planet describes the activities as follows:

Puppy Bowl VII brings viewers a loveable lineup that’s itching to play in a winning combination of terrier tackles, touchdowns, puppy penalties, fumbles and Fido first downs. Featuring fan favorites like the Water Bowl Cam, tail-gating fans, and the Ice Breakers blimp and its hamster crew, this year’s big game is sure to be a tail-wagger. For the first time ever, viewers can watch the action from the puppy’s point-of-view with the new Puppy Cam.

I love the Super Bowl, but I’ll definitely check out the Puppy Bowl too! Have a great weekend, which ever “game” you end up watching.