Ponto Shows His Stuff

Ruth and Ponto do their stuff with a really good Standard run at Hamilton..

A Celebrity Boards at Big Times

Petey Caraway is presently boarding with us while his mom is vacationing.. It seem Petey had an incident recently that made the National news and drew attention to a serious health concerns for our pets.. 

Pet Talk: Portland veterinarian launches xylitol awareness campaign

When Phyllis Caraway heard a strange crunching sound one fateful Saturday night, she found that her 20-pound spaniel mix had gobbled up nine pieces of her sugar-free gum.

After researching the gum's ingredient list online, Caraway quickly learned about the dangers that xylitol, a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener, poses for dogs.

 "I almost could not believe what I was reading," she says. "It scared me to death."

Caraway immediately called the ASPCA Animal Poison Control hotline and learned how to induce vomiting in Petey just in the nick of time.

Luckily, Petey is fine now. But when Caraway, who lives in Ohio, discovered on social media a Portland veterinarian's petitions for better xylitol labeling, she was only too happy to sign up.

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Dr. Jason Nicholas, of Preventive Vet, devotes his practice to helping pet owners prevent emergencies. 

So when he discovered that some specialty nut butter companies were using xylitol as a sweetener, he made it his mission to educate pet owners and enlist product manufacturers to include pet alerts.

Dog owners use peanut butter in a plethora of ways: to make medication more enticing, to reward dogs during training sessions, and to fold into homemade snacks.

"Peanut butter is one of those things pet owners use a lot of, and pet owners should know what's in it," says Dr. Heidi Houchen of VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists in Clackamas. "Of all the food we give them, that's a biggie."

If a dog eats a large quantity of peanut butter, it will likely suffer from pancreatitis, Nicholas says, but a dog that eats peanut butter with xylitol – even a small amount – can potentially die.

Aside from nut butters, xylitol is being added to an ever-increasing list of products ranging from sugar-free gum and candies to vitamins and supplements to ice cream and yogurt.

So far, Nicholas and his team have identified more than 700 products containing the sugar substitute and invite people to add to the list. 

Why xylitol is harmful 

In humans, xylitol helps curb bacterial growth, lowering the risk of cavities and ear infections. It contains fewer calories than sugar and doesn't raise blood glucose, so it's good for diabetics.

Yet canines metabolize it much differently than we do, and even a minuscule amount can be extremely dangerous or even fatal.

In dogs, xylitol triggers a massive rush of insulin, causing a dog's blood sugar to plummet dangerously quickly.

According to this chart, ingesting just three pieces of sugar-free gum containing xylitol could be enough to kill a 10-pound Yorkie.Graphic courtesy of Preventive Vet 

Just a tiny quantity– 0.1 grams per kilogram - can lead to potentially life-threatening hypoglycemia. Symptoms such as weakness, lethargy, collapsing and seizures can occur within 30 minutes.

Consuming larger amounts can lead to liver failure. There's no antidote for that, only supportive care, so a dog may need to spend several days in a veterinary hospital. That can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.

"This is something so preventable," says Houchen, who estimates her clinic treats at least 30 pets per year for xylitol toxicity.

Contacting product manufacturers

To that end, Nicholas has reached out to the product manufacturers of the five nut butter companies currently including xylitol in their butters

Dan and Smedley

Smedley Likes the Table

After getting all the tough things right Smedley forgets the end and goes to his favorite place the "TABLE".. Wait till you see his weaves... Go Team "Smed"

Colleen and Cooper get it right

Colleen and Cooper

Colleen and Cooper are working well together.. Colleen layers the dog walk (look at that distance) ... a good contact which sets Colleen up nicely for the wrap and then a nice send to the tire a tight wrap and off to the table....

Cooper Gets It

Expect the Unexpected

Ruth and Kerrie

In each of our agility classes we always try to give the students something new in the way of a course problem... In this class we featured a wrap and a jump over the same jump.. Have not checked the rule book so I am not real sure if it is even legal but we felt it was worth the effort to practice tight wraps.. To add to the problem the wrap was followed by a straight tunnel.. So handlers were stuck at the wrap so the big problem came at the tire...But as you will see the group got it and added another skill to the toolbox.

Here Ruth and Kerrie do the sequence 2 different ways...

                                                                  

      Pivot Wrap

Send and Wrap

Coming Back

After being caught up in major advertising projects, I am now back to my blog and hopefully I will be able to keep up with things.. So starting tomorrow look for updates.. Not sure of my pace but I will try and get as many up as possible.. We are now on Facebook instrgram twitter and the Blog..
I will do my best.. We will continue with photos and videos of our classes and competitions... always featuring our students, our boarding visitors and events around the kennel , the barn and the community and naturally our lives...