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Equine Expert!
Mary Jo Zanolli is an instructor at Connecticut Equestrian Center in Coventry. She has over 12 years experience teaching beginner and intermediate riders, and over 20 years experience riding horses. Send all of your horse related questions to Mary Jo!
Q: Mary Jo,
My thin-skinned Thoroughbred mare is extremely sensitive to flies. Do you have any tips for helping her to cope?
Sam
A: Sam,
Flies and bugs definitely make summer a hard season for most horses. While there is no getting rid of flies, there are some ways to manage them.
First of all, flies are attracted to manure, so keep stalls, paddocks, and turnouts as manure free as possible. Most owners clean their stalls daily, but try to remove manure from turnouts/fields on a daily basis as well. Pastures can be dragged to spread manure out, thereby drying it, if it isn’t possible to remove the actual manure.
Fly sprays, fly-masks, and flysheets do all offer some degree of protection from the bugs. Make sure fly-masks don’t have holes in them, especially in the ear area, as this invites the bugs in and can make your horse more miserable! Experiment with different types and brands of fly sprays and see which one seems to work best on your horse. There are many roll-on types available as well, which may help sensitive areas like ears/udders/and bellies.
Lastly, the sticky fly tapes and fly traps (away from where horses can get caught up in them) can help keep fly population under control.
Mary Jo
Ask the Vet!
Lauren Mascola is the veterinarian at Petcare Veterinary Services in West Hartford. She studied at UConn for undergraduate and Tufts for Veterinary Medicine. She has over 10 years experience and 2 dogs and 3 cats of her own. She is excited to answer your questions!
Q: Dr. Mascola,
On the Oprah Winfrey show recently they had a large dog that they performed a painless death (euthanasia) and it only took 3 minutes. Is that normal?
What is expected regarding a smaller dog? 20-30lbs.
Louis
A: Dear Louis,
Thank-you for the question. Euthanasia is a tough topic for people to discuss. I hope Oprah's show might make it easier for people to understand what is involved. Although I did not see the show, what you witnessed is probably very accurate. I think many people workup in their minds what a euthanasia might entail, and it is understandably scary. The truth is that it usually is a very quiet and peaceful procedure for pets. When I perform a euthanasia, I will give an injection first of a sedative, which will relax the patient, and might even make them sleep. It takes 5 minutes to take affect. Then the euthanasia injection is given intravenously and only takes a few seconds to administer. The drug given is similar to an anesthetic agent, so it makes the animal sleep almost immediately. But the drug is much more concentrated than anesthesia, so as it circulates, it will stop the heart. This usually takes less than 1 minute. I do not think the patient on the Oprah show was probably given a pre-sedative, so it was a little faster than the procedure I just described. The procedure is the same for large and small dogs, except the amount of drug used is different. I have done euthanasias at my office, but also offer house calls if clients prefer. We try and make it as comfortable as possible for all of the pet's loved ones.
Thanks again for the question,
Dr. Mascola
The Bunny Expert!
Susan adopted her first house rabbit 5 years ago and soon after got highly involved in rabbit rescue. She has volunteered at a local rabbit rescue group and a local animal shelter working with rabbits. She has since co-founded 3 Bunnies Rabbit Rescue Inc. Susan can surely answer all of your rabbit questions!
Q: Hi Susan,
I'm thinking of getting my daughter a rabbit. Is there a specific breed you recommend for a calm personality?
Thank you-
Pam
A: Hi Pam,
This is a very good question. Each rabbit has a different personality just as humans do. Many larger breed rabbits seem to be very friendly. I have met New Zealand mixes and Flemish Giant mixes that have been very mellow. But I have a big Flemish Giant mix rabbit that is skittish, so we have to go back to every rabbit has his own personality. I don't know where you live so I would encourage you to hook up with a rabbit rescue for more education and help. In rescue, the rabbits are in foster homes and the volunteers can tell you what the personalities are like. Rescues will match up the rabbits with the adopters.
Also you don't say how old your child is. Rabbits are not good pets for young children since rabbits have small fragile bones and get scared from fast movement or loud child noises. Also rabbits are prey animals so they are not all cuddly. Adults should be ready for the life commitment. Rabbits are more work to take care of than a dog or cat. Rabbit proofing your home is important as well as plenty of out of the cage exercise time. They make great pets if a family is willing to learn how to care for them to make the rabbit and the human family happy. You can read more about house rabbit care at www.3bunnies.org and also links from there. Hope this helps.
Susan Curtiss
Dog Training!
Lynn Whittaker, Dog Trainer and owner of Bow Wow University has been training dogs for several years, has extensive rescue experience, is a pet sitter certified in Pet First Aid and specializes in aggression management. She is also an Aroma-therapist and a Reiki II practitioner. She has attended professional dog training school and later became the director of the facility she attended. She is currently studying canine athleticism and nutrition. Please feel free to direct your questions to Lynn!
Q: Lynne,
We are getting a new puppy and already have 5 dogs in our house with a variety of breeds/sexes/personalities.
Would you still recommend socialization / puppy play groups for our new dog?
Thank you,
Tina
A: Tina,
Thank you for contacting Bow Wow U! And congrats on your new puppy! WOW 5 dogs, and soon to be 6 ... You have your hands full for sure! With multiple dogs in the household there is no doubt that your puppy will have a lot of socialization, however that would be more "pack" oriented restricting the socialization with your own dogs. Your pup should intermingle with other dogs to give the best opportunity for "outside-life" socialization. This can really boost the personality of a dog, making them great with other dogs as well as helping them with their development. I would encourage you to seek a doggy daycare or puppy classes in your area, and doing this can bring out the very best in your new addition! If you need assistance locating a business in your area, please feel free to contact me and I can get you some recommendations.
Lynne
Ask The Cat Lady!
Sally Bahner is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a private feline consulting practice. She is the "Dear Sally" on Tracie Hotchner’s Cat Chat Radio (www.catchatradio.com), found on Sirius, the Martha Stewart Living channel. She is a longtime editor and writer on everything feline.
Q: Dear Sally,
Ruby is my 5-year-old brown tabby cat who I rescued as an injured stray last October. She had a very difficult life on the streets. The problem or mystery I am having with Ruby is that I think she has some sort of separation anxiety as anytime she is alone or feels alone she drags (carrying in her mouth in the same manner as carrying kittens) any cloth items, from socks, tea towels and/or underwear, all items either clean or dirty. She will carry them from room to room, even up two flights of six stairs each, often dropping and leaving them on the stairs as she goes. It’s like a cat brings a mouse to its master, although Ruby's obsession is more anxiety-related then prize recognition. I have come home to five socks and a tea towel in the hallway at one time and she'll do this all within 15 minutes.
She also panics when I am in the basement (finished), and seems nervous and anxious. She will gather clothing at this time as well.
Perhaps you could help me determine why she drags stuff around. Could she have lost her kittens at a young age? Is it simply because she has been through so much trauma? I might add that Ruby has blended very well with my other three cats from the minute they were introduced. Ruby is actually the best behaved of them all.
Susan
A: Dear Susan,
Wow, considering her background I'm surprised that's the only problem Ruby has! A simple solution would be to keep the clothing and towels put away and substitute soft toys that can be carried around instead. The clothing has your scent, which may make her feel more secure.
Carrying stuff around in itself is not unusual, but it does indeed seem like an anxiety response in her case. My cats Tekla and Coco will drag toys or socks around, but neither has had kittens, Ruby has only been with you a relatively short time, so her anxiety level should abate as she feels more secure.
Check out spiritessence.com since there are several essences that would be appropriate -- Separation Anxiety, Self Esteem, Obsession, Scaredy Cat, New Beginnings, even Feline Training.
Give her plenty of attention and playtime, but be matter-of-fact. Tell her that she’s a good girl and is in a safe place – focus on the present, not on the past. Say, "We’re going to have a lot of fun together" not, "You poor little thing. What an awful experience you had."
It's really good that she's getting along with your other cats – that's usually the biggest hurdle in dealing with rescue kitties.
Kudos to you for rescuing this little girl.
Sally
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