All Things Dog Blog

K9 Kamp Seeks to Help Dogs and Owners Get Fit

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Two of my blogging comrades, Jodi and Peggy, have taken up the challenge of helping Fidos and their families get healthy and fit. It's a great goal and I'm totally behind it, so much so that I've donated a prize for their grande prize package and I will be participating in the challenges with Tanner and Oliver. They both voted 2 paws up to get involved!

Today I'm here to share some of the K9 Kamp info with you in hopes that you'll join me and my pups in some of the fun. If you're worried about whether you'll be able to handle the "challenges", please don't. I've already been down that questioning road and learned that all the challenges are flexible. Just like some of you, I have my own exercise and health challenges, so our hosts tell me we can all mold them to suit our abilities and our dogs', as well.

K9 Kamp begins Thursday at Kolchak Puggle and Peggy's Pet Place, and will run through October 13, 2011. Starting with the first challenge on Thursday, there will be increasingly more vigorous activities, along with variations for folks like me who are nursing injuries, or have other challenges to work around. I have to avoid activity during the afternoon heat here in Florida, but the challenges will allow me to pick the time of day or the location, so it's all good. I get the impression we can also substitute more suitable activities, when those suggested don't work for our Fido or us. Safety first!

In addition, your pup hosts, Koly and Kelly, and their human companions, Jodi and Peggy, will be offering great information on diet, exercise and low-calorie treat options for all participants. This is sure to be a fun event. Those who make an effort to complete each week's 1-hour challenge will get appropriate entries into the drawing for the grand prize, as well as the opportunity to win weekly prizes. Sounds great, huh?!

Each week's challenge will become increasingly more vigorous, yet it sounds like all will remain do-able for even the least active participants. I guess all that is to say that it will start out very tame and build slowly, mainly to make sure that safety and good health are the focus. The idea is to build a habit of engaging in healthy activity and eating right along with your pup--your companion throughout the events.

Having two pups, I had to ask if switching off was acceptable. The answer was yes. I guess that means I'll be getting double the exercise of the boys, but I'm sure we'll find ways to work that out.

Before I move on, let me tell you about your hosts, Jodi and Kelly. Jodi is the voice behind Kolchack Puggle. She's quite the dog gourmet and is always busy whipping up something in the kitchen for Kol and his new housemate, Felix. Peggy is known for Peggy's Pet Place. Her most recent claim to fame is the publication of her new book, Dieting with My Dog. Her adorable pup, Kelly, is on the cover.

Since both Jodi and Peggy have a strong interest in healthy weight and diet, they have come together to bring us the K9 Kamp challenge, a series of fitness challenges that will last about 5 weeks. Since Peggy and Jodi plan to include diet and healthy eating tips as well, we'll be able to tackle our personal health from both sides during this series of weekly information sessions and activity challenges. All of this will culminate with a grand prize package, as well as the weekly drawings. I wish I could tell you more about that, but all I'm allowed to say is "WOW--Great swag!" The sponsors, including myself, are all listed at both sites, so check them out for some hints on the prizes. You'll find Jodi and Peggy's blogs at the links above and here are their Facebook and Twitter pages:

Kolchak Puggle's Facebook
Kolchak Puggle's Facebook
Peggy's Pet Place Facebook
Peggy's Twitter handle

I'll post my progress on my own Facebook page also, so if you're wondering how Tanner, Oliver and I are doing with the program, you can check up on us there between our progress reports.

Each new challenge will begin on Thursday. Your first challenge will be posted at the hosts' blogs sometime today, and you'll have one week to complete this and each of the challenges. Since the tasks are all intended to be fun and active, the idea is to bond with your dog while working off some calories together. Don't stress out, though; it's only an hour out of your week. No worries; just Fido fun!

Ask the Vet with Dr. Mark: Controversy About Spay/Neutering Street Dogs

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 09:01 PM PDT

by Mark Nunez, DVM

Dear Dr. Mark:

This question is about neutering. Does the dog lose its unique smell after getting neutered and how does this affect its standing in its pack, if not all members of the pack are neutered/spayed?

I ask this because there is a big controversy brewing in certain cities in India. People want to cull stray dogs to reduce the population, while the animal rescues want to increase the spay/neuter campaign instead. Pet owners and other people, however, keep coming up with stories like spaying or neutering a dog can lead to rejection from a regular pack of other dogs your dog enjoyed playing with. Or they can lose their unique smell or spaying makes the dogs more possessive of their humans, etc. What do you think?

Richa

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Hello Richa,

This is a very good question. Every dogs' smell is unique, regardless of whether it is altered or not. The scent may be stronger in unaltered dogs, but it is none the less unique. What is very different is the level of circulating hormones. It is the hormonal levels, not a change in how an individual dog smells, that affects how altered and unaltered dogs interact.

Semi-feral dogs in an urban setting do not follow the typical pack structure that wolves do, and even wolf pack structure has been shown to not really be what we once thought. The leader of these packs tend to be the most intelligent dog, not the biggest and/or strongest. These dogs also tend to not really travel as packs, but more as individuals, and can be relatively alone during the day, although they may congregate again in the evening. The bottom line is this, spay and neuter as many strays as possible.

At the very least the altered ones will have less status, but will unlikely be shunned. Even if they are shunned, there will be little consequence from this because of a relative abundance of food in an urban setting. The adverse effects of not altering these dogs, namely overpopulation and spread of disease in the dogs and the human population that co-exists with them, takes precedence over everything else. Thanks for the question!

Dr. Mark