I recently listened to a very interesting radio interview about New Zealand Kiwi birds, dogs and the work of the Save the Kiwi Trust:

Tahi, the one-legged Kiwi at Wellington Zoo.

Feature Guest – Hugh Robertson
Our national bird is under threat from predators, cars, dogs, environmental destruction, from poachers, you name it. (duration: 24′45″)
Download: Ogg Vorbis, MP3

Hugh Robertson, coordinator of the Kiwi Recovery Programme. What does the future hold for our national bird? Hugh is joined by his dog Kara, who’s in training to sniff out kiwi.

[Via Radio New Zealand National : Programmes A-Z : Nine to Noon : 2010 09 23.]

One stunning moment in the interview was when Hugh told the story of how one farm dog massacred 500 Kiwi in the space of 6 weeks a while back.

On the other hand, properly trained dogs can help sniff out Kiwi so researchers can protect and study them.

Listen to the interview (links above) to find out more.

It seems that every day we read about someone somewhere suffering from a dog attack. Often it’s children.

Doggone Safe.

That’s not too surprising as kids’ faces are often at the same level as dogs’ faces, and kids are seldom aware enough or able to ‘read’ a dog’s body language. They just don’t know when a dog is ‘saying’ “back off”.

And we adults don’t always understand too well either. Even after living a lot of my life with dogs, I still misinterpret sometimes.

The Doggone Safe organisation, based in Canada, wants to change that:

Doggone safe is a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention and dog bite victim support.

Doggone Safe’s mission is to promote education initiatives for the purpose of dog bite prevention and increased child safety around dogs and to provide support for dog bite victims.

The Doggone Safe Blog also has a lot of useful information, such as one recent post with some “do not” rules like these:

1. Do not hug a dog, put your face close to his face or lie on him. Do sit beside your dog, rub his chest or scratch him on the side of the neck.
2. Do not play chase-me games with a dog. Do play hide and seek – where the dog has to find you or an object that you hide.

Then there’s also the Be a Tree Dog Safety for kids programme:

The Be a Tree ^TM Program is a fun and interactive presentation for children that teaches them how to read dog body language and be safe around dogs. The program is administered by Doggone Safe, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog bite prevention through education, and dog bite victim support. The program is supported by a Teacher Kit produced by Doggone Crazy! that contains photos and games to teach kids how to "Be a Tree" and act safely around dogs.

The Be a Tree program is available across North America and around the world. Approximately 500,000 children have benefited from the lessons learned in this program. Presenters include dog trainers, humane educators, pet sitters, groomers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, teachers, childcare workers and others interested in community service and child safety.

Have you used the Be a Tree programme? What results did you have?

When 3 year old Victoria was lost on a freezing night in Arizona, the family dog, Blue, kept her warm and safe:

“She wasn’t moving when we first came upon her,” Uhl said. “She was kind of just looking face-down on the ground.”

She rose to her knees next. The helicopter landed about 50 yards away, and Tarr, the medic, approached the girl.

At first, Blue seemed apprehensive, as if he was protecting Victoria. The girl smiled, and Blue’s mood changed.

“I think once the dog realized we were there to help them out, he was very excited,” Uhl said. “He ran around while the medic tended to the little girl, and when it was time to go, he jumped right into the helicopter and was ready to go.”

[Via : Family dog keeps lost Ariz. tot safe on cold night.]

Jack O’ Lantern.

There are plenty of times of the year when we go out and about celebrating noisily. Around late October and early November some places go all out for Halloween, while in others Guy Fawkes brings fireworks.

Noise, costumes, party lights, pumpkins, fireworks, chocolates and sweeties or candy all have their hazards.

Fireworks warning.

This is a good time of year to take a bit of extra care of your dogs. There’s excellent advice in the InsideToronto Article URBAN ANIMAL: Tricks and treats not fun for all dogs, cats, as well as some specific information about how dangerous chocolate can be:

Chocolate contains a chemical called “theobromine” which is toxic to dogs, but how dangerous is it?

Baker’s chocolate contains the highest amount of this chemical at 390mg per ounce. Semi-sweet contains 150mg/oz. and milk chocolate contains the least at 44mg/oz. Just 2 oz. of Baker’s chocolate would pose a serious health risk to a 15lb. dog.

Signs of chocolate toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, trembling and in severe cases, seizure and death.

Watch out for all your pets at this time of year, or any time there’s a festival or party. Keep them safe from firecrackers, electric cables, chewable items and scary things:

Not just humans, dogs too had to be taken to hospitals in the past couple of days due to Diwali-related injuries. Many pet owners complained of behavioral changes in their dogs, which are usually sensitive to loud noise.

Veterinary doctors said they faced the biggest rush of the year. Helpless people who saw their pets undergo the changes due to loud explosions rushed the animals to hospitals. Most dogs stopped eating. Others suffered from palpitation, shivering, loose motions and vomiting. A few were allergic to smoke.

[Via : Vetjobs.]

Pumpkin photo credit: Jack O’Lantern, carved and photographed by image uploader, circa Halloween 2007.