Comments on: Long Lived and Well Loved Dogs – Reviewing Pukka’s Promise

By: Andrea

Andrea — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:32:07 +0000

What a really great review! This book is on my “to read” list and I can’t wait to get to it. Whole Dog Journal had an article in their Feb issue that talked about early spaying and neutering. I found it really interesting to read. It makes sense to wait but I think different situations will demand different approaches.

By: Trish B.

Trish B. — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 03:50:07 +0000

I feed my nine rescued dogs and one foster dog grain free food, give them supplements and give them carrots and other veggies and fruits as treats. I love my babies and want them to live as long as possible! Thank you!

By: Misaki

Misaki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:10:18 +0000

Sounds like a great book. Lots of things to think about!

By: Just One Boomer (Suzanne)

Just One Boomer (Suzanne) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:08:03 +0000

Once he got over his puppy chewing phase, our cock-a-poo rescue was given free rein in the house. His problem is that he will eat just about anything. He is extremely good natured at home and on walks (with people and dogs we meet), but if he grabs hold of something he thinks is worth eating, there is absolutely no way to remove it from his mouth without getting bitten. He ended up in a vet hospital for three days for a “dietary indiscretion”. We don’t even know what he ate that time. He will be 8 on March 10th. He was neutered by the SPCA before we adopted him, but so far, he has been in good health. Outside, we keep him on a leash at all times unless we’re at a dog park. He seems to have absolutely no fear or understanding of traffic. I’m afraid that he’s not the smartest dog in the world. He seems not to have achieved the concept of object permanence. Although he loves to go through uncovered trash, he can watch me put a steak into our covered kitchen trash can and he will make no attempt to get into the trash. He must be able to smell it! When he was a puppy and young dog, we realized that we could confine him to a room by simply leaning a gate up against the door opening. Any visiting dogs would knock down the gate within seconds. His vets have always given him the 3 year rabies vaccine. Do you think dogs need yearly bordatella vaccines if they will not be in a kennel with other dogs, but will encounter other dogs in the park? Do you use heartwarm prophylaxis?

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 03:59:33 +0000

Ah yes, if only humans were more responsible, we wouldn’t be forced to spay and neuter our animals at such young ages. It broke my heart to spay and neuter 2 1/2 pound kittens – but I had to be certain that they would not contribute to an already enormous problem.

We have done blood titers for Cali for several years and we had a bad experience when she was spayed. She is our first dog and when we went to pick her up (after doing everything that we read we were supposed to do) they told us that she wasn’t responding well and would need to spend the night. We were devastated! My hubby’s dad lost a dog after a spay and now will not spay another dog. It’s tough to know what exactly is the right thing to do. I think we all just do the best we can. I read Merles Door and really enjoyed it . . .might have to check this one out too!!

By: Donna

Donna — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:04:48 +0000

In reply to Donna. I just went to enter the contest and realized my comment doesn't qualify. :-) One of the things I do (which is actually mentioned in this review) to make sure my dogs live long healthy lives is to do vaccine titers instead of getting vaccines for distemper and parvo. So far only Toby came back low, once, for parvo, and had to be re-vaccinated. The girls however have had consistently high levels of resistance.

By: houndstooth

houndstooth — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:32:37 +0000

This is one of the reasons we’re waiting for Kuster to be neutered. He’s not going to be left to his own devices where getting another dog pregnant is going to happen. We don’t even leave him alone in the yard. But more studies are showing that dogs have better health when they are spayed and neutered after they mature. There’s a very interesting study that was just done by the Penn Vet Working Dog Study that followed a group of Golden Retrievers and tracked their health based on early spay/neuter, after a year spay/neuter and never spayed or neutered. My husband and I were just talking about it last night. It’s interesting to note that in Europe they don’t have a lot of spaying and neutering and have a lot less health problems. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t spay and neuter, but that they should do it at the right time and that we need to teach people about responsible pet ownership overall. If people were being responsible, there wouldn’t be so many unwanted puppies and kittens anyway.

By: Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog)

Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:28:11 +0000

I recently finished Merle’s Door and was left with a strong desire to move to Kelly so Gizmo would have to chance to become an independent thinker…With his personality he would thrive in that environment

I’m now about half way through Pukka’s Promise and find myself liking it less than Merle’s Door…Even given Ted’s understandable need for an extended mourning period, the 5 years that elapsed before he finally selected Pukka seemed excessive and the way he conducted his search gave me the impression that he’s somewhat of a fussbudget…I was a little disappointed in him for refusing to consider a rescue, given the way he acquired his heart dog Merle.

I do love the way he teaches Pukka the names of everything they encounter…In fact I’ve started doing that with Gizmo…

I was already quite familiar with the work of Drs. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz. This was something I’d investigated when my heart dog Murphy was diagnosed with cancer of the snout (like Brower in Merle’s Door) After doing the research I gave up annual vaccinations back in the late 1990’s

Ted is, above all, a thorough researcher and while I may not always agree with his conclusions I do respect the way he presents his ideas…he certainly provides much food for thought and further discussion

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:33:19 +0000

They did a Vizsla health study a few years ago and it was surprising to see that various types of cancer all increased when the dogs were spayed and/or neutered. More so with females and spaying though, and it seemed to be linked with Mast Cell tumors in the breed (which my spayed female V has suffered from).

But of course, over population is one of the biggest killers of dogs, so it is a really hard call. It’s easy to say you will be responsible if you keep your pet intact, until a dog all hiked up on hormones slips out the front door.

P.S. Thanks for having a giveaway.!

By: Kristine

Kristine — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:24:15 +0000

I am actually in the middle of reading this very book right now. There is so much to absorb and it’s not at all merely a book about canine health. I am a bit intimidated when I think about writing a review, though, especially as you’ve done such a terrific job. It’s such a large piece of work and I don’t know if I can do it justice.

When it comes to longevity I really don’t know if we have as much control as we’d like. Some things are predetermined by genetics and no matter what we do, our dogs will only be with us a short time. I do think stress is a large factor in all animal health. Perhaps the largest. If I can keep my dog’s life as free from negative stress as possible, I think that’s really all I can do.

That being said, my childhood dog lived to 17 years of age, quite uncommon for a Siberian husky. Her life was not exactly the ideal life of a dog and yet aside from losing her hearing during her last few years, she remained incredibly healthy her whole life. It’s so hard to say.