6 Month Coyote Greets Us As We Hike

 My friend Tess brought Penny, a three year old Vizsla, along for an eight-mile hike in Las Trampas Wilderness Area.

 Two miles in we came across this lone juvenile coyote howling down at the four dogs and two humans that had dared come into his world. 

 He stayed about 100 yards up hill as we walked the high meadow.

 Up on the ridge to the left I saw a man with his dog taking pictures.  These are his shots

 Kevin Nobel and his golden retriever were enjoying nature on this warm summer morning.

More of Kevin's work can be found on his website.  Excellent.

 

Here is my site where I post my good pics - http://kevinnoble.zenfolio.com/ - Kevin

 

 

 

Front Page "News"

Diane, owner of Outfox Field Guard, ran a front page ad in the Contra Costa Times on July 4th and July 5th.   Hope the ads did well for her business.  Good looking models.

Chloe on the left and Bailey on the right.

Too Hot? Watch the eyes

Today on this 85+ degree summer morning, Bailey and Chloe joined me for an 90 minute hike in the Las Tramps Wilderness Area.

We came across a cow trough about 20 minutes into the hike and the dogs enjoyed a cooling dip and drink before we continued our hike.

  I use these "baths" regularly on hill hikes.

 It did not take long in the dry heat for the dogs to dry off and start getting hot again.  They run hard.

 

The picture below doesn't show it very well but Bailey was overheated about 45 minutes into the hike.  His nose is pinker than normal but the true thing I look for is his eyes.  If the tissue around the eyes are puffy and red, then I know he has to cool down.

We found a shade tree that we hung out under for about 10 minutes.  The dogs drank water from my camel back water pack and just relaxed.   IMPORTANT IN THE HOT MONTHS TO WATCH YOUR DOGS EYES CLOSELY.

Vizsla Study on Neutering and Cancer

Full article here:   Vizsla study on Cancer and Neutering

New Evidence Shows Link Between Spaying, Neutering and Cancer

June 13, 2014

By Dr. Becker

A recent study raises even more questions about traditional spay/neuter practices for U.S. dogs.
The study, titled "Evaluation of the risk and age of onset of cancer and behavioral disorders in gonadectomized Vizslas,"¹ was conducted by a team of researchers with support from the Vizsla Club of America Welfare Foundation. It was published in the February 1, 2014 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Like previous research on Rottweilers and Golden Retrievers, the results of the Vizsla study are a call to action to take a closer look at current neutering recommendations.

Vizsla Study Results

The Vizsla study involved 2,505 dogs, and reported these results:

• Dogs neutered or spayed at any age were at significantly increased risk for developing mast cell cancer, lymphoma, all other cancers, all cancers combined, and fear of storms, compared with intact dogs.
• Females spayed at 12 months or younger, and both genders neutered or spayed at over 12 months had significantly increased odds of developing hemangiosarcoma, compared with intact dogs.
• Dogs of both genders neutered or spayed at 6 months or younger had significantly increased odds of developing a behavioral disorder, including separation anxiety, noise phobia, timidity, excitability, submissive urination, aggression, hyperactivity, and/or fear biting. When it came to thunderstorm phobia, all neutered or spayed Vizslas were at greater risk than intact Vizslas, regardless of age at neutering.
• The younger the age at neutering, the earlier the age at diagnosis with mast cell cancer, cancers other than mast cell, hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma, all cancers combined, a behavioral disorder, or fear of storms.
• Compared to intact dogs, neutered and spayed dogs had a 3.5 times higher risk of developing mast cell cancer, regardless of what age they were neutered.
• Spayed females had nine times higher incidence of hemangiosarcoma compared to intact females, regardless of when spaying was performed, however, no difference in incidence of this type of cancer was found for neutered vs. intact males.
• Neutered and spayed dogs had 4.3 times higher incidence of lymphoma (lymphosarcoma), regardless of age at time of neutering.
• Neutered and spayed dogs had five times higher incidence of other types of cancer, regardless of age of neutering.
• Spayed females had 6.5 times higher incidence of all cancers combined compared to intact females, and neutered males had 3.6 times higher incidence than intact males.

Go to link at top for complete article.