A Walk Around the Blogs: We Have to Deal With the Hard Stuff, Too

There are a number of posts in today’s walk that are rather depressing. I’m just warning you in advance. But I think it’s hugely important, as responsible pet owners, that we face the challenges head on, just as we do the joys.

Dog is God in Reverse has recently started having to travel more for her job, not being at home for most of the week. That’s led to a conversation with her husband- if something happened to one of the dogs during the week, Would you want to know?

Over at Borderblog, we get to share in the thoughts of an actual veterinarian. Sometimes we get great stories of dogs overcoming the odds, and sometimes we get stories of three strangers being the last thing a pet sees. It’s never easy, and it’s even harder when it is all Preventable.

Speaking of preventable, though, there is some good news on the dog health front. It appears that there are ways to help prevent Hip Dysplasia in dogs. Since this is a health condition that many larger breeds are prone to, it’s great to know there’s something (in addition to health screenings) that responsible breeders can do- and that’s making sure that the puppies get daily exercise. It turns out that the first 3 months of a dog’s life are critical when it comes to preventing this condition. Thank you to Kenzo the Hovawart and Viva for sharing this with us.

Some things are just so surprising though, we would never think we needed to work to prevent them. This week, 32 years after the actual incident, a family in Australiahas finally been cleared of all charges surrounding the death of their infant. It turns out the Dingo did it. The Poodle (and dog) Blog gives us a look at the story.

And now for something completely different. (Anyone else remember that line?)

Because I can’t be all depressing, I thought I’d share this list of Bella’s nicknames from Bringing Up Bella. It’s important to have nicknames, since apparently, Bella is the most popular female dog name around right now. At our house, Junebug has the most nicknames, but I don’t think her list can rival Bella’s.

And finally, I must admit that I often head over to Two Pitties in the City just for the pictures. Sometimes, I don’t read the words at all. So I loved that this week they decided to give us a primer on Photographing Your Pooch.