Clinic Beautification Underway

You know what they say about the best laid plans.... 

We took advantage of our 3-days "weekend" to have the building painted (yes, the graffiti on the posts are going --- unless new ones appear before the paint dry).  The plan was to have the front part painted and ready for us to re-open tomorrow morning.  The crew will continue to work on the side of the building and in the back lot.  That way, our clients will still have access to our office and the noise (and fumes) exposure to the patients will be minimized.

As it turns out, some additional work is needed on the wooden beams in front of the clinic.  Hence, the paint crew may be working up front tomorrow.  Clients should still be able to access our parking lot and front door.  Even though we have asked the crew to reserve the noisiest work for the times when patients are not around, the clinic environment will surely be unusually chaotic this week.  Please have your dogs on short leashes to keep them from rubbing against any "Wet Paint" areas.  Cats should be safely confined in carriers, even while in the lobby, as sudden noises may startle them.

 

Over the years, we strive to provide quality personal care for our clients and patients.  Much of our efforts were focused on medicine and service, our inner beauty.  It is past time for us to work on our exterior and physical structures to better reflect the pride we have in our practice.

Please excuse any inconvenience arising from our clinic beautification project.  We greatly appreciate your patience and support.

Notes and Thoughts on Gopnik's "Dog Story."

August 8th's The New Yorker magazine has an article titled “Dog Story,” by Adam Gopnik, that examines the complex bond we have with our canine companions. “Dog Story” begins with the author’s persistent daughter (April) lobbying her reluctant parents into purchasing a Havanese puppy. Although Gopnik is an avowed dog-phobic (the result of a dog bite he suffered as a youth), “Butterscotch” quickly becomes a part of the Gopniks’ family. Butterscotch spurs the author’s interest to investigate the allure of the canine species further.



What Mr. Gopnik discovers is that in important ways our views about our closest companions disagree. Worse, not only is there often no consensus, there is often dispute. Even when it comes to the origin of the species itself, (what he calls “dog history”), there is disagreement. When and why did dogs break apart from their wild, wolf brethren and become domesticated? Did dogs begin their domestication as our allies, helping early man hunt, or did they originate as dependents of us from the beginning, scavenging in packs for our throwaways in much the same way as dogs do now in developing countries?

The range of stories such as the two above, Gopnik argues, demonstrates a key facet of our relationship with our companions - that part of our attraction to them is the stories we tell about them. Just as Butterscotch loves certain types of music, many (most?) of us proclaim our companions to have complex emotions (including jealousy, hope, anxiety, guilt and even depression, for example), and behaviors. As examples of myth-making Gopnik cites Millan's (the dog whisperer) pack-animal theories of dog behavior and Grogan’s (the author of the celebrated book “Marley & Me”) portrait of the all-sympathetic dog. At the other extreme we tell stories that try explain those behaviors in mechanical, instinctual terms. Gopnik cites Horowitz, the author of “Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know,” who argues that characteristics we frequently attribute to our canine companions, such as the complex emotions mentioned above, are illusory projections of our own emotions.



To explain, Gopnik describes how Butterscotch sits by the door before their daughter (April) comes home from school. One explanation of this behavior may be that Butterscotch likes April’s companionship, and looks forward to it. But another competing theory may reduce this behavior by arguing that Butterscotch sits by the door all afternoon because she associates that behavior with food stimulus (treats that April often gives her). Under this theory, dogs are the ultimate scam artists: we provide them with food stimulus, and they provide us with the illusion of love. Both competing theories describe the same empirical phenomena, but which one is true? For us dog lovers the second theory is very difficult to accept - could our entire set of beliefs about our canine companions be illusory mirages that disappear upon further examination?



Perhaps we should assume there is some virtue in attempting to navigate towards an Aristotelian middle-course. Indeed, as Gopnik notes we can find a little bit of breathing room in the middle if we remember that while we could also reduce inter-human accounts in the above manner (for example turn love for a partner into disguised sexual appetite and love of our children into a desire to continue our genetic pools) for the most part, in our everyday lives and transactions with each other we don’t.

In fact, many of us already attempt this “middle course.” Gopnik argues the advocacy for animal liberation that Rudy argues for in “Toward a New Animal Advocacy” seems extreme to most of us. At the other extreme, beating a dog or starving it because it doesn't have feelings like ours also seems extreme to most of us. Indeed we seem to naturally favor a moderate view.

Besides, we can reach consensus in certain key respects: we can all certainly agree that our study of dogs is in its infancy. The tensions in the accounts above certainly provide evidence of that. In addition, we can all appreciate that the human-canine bond is rare, and perhaps unique in nature. While there countless intra-species relationships, the human-canine bond is unique in that it’s so familiar to most of us, yet, as the above discussion points out, remains shrouded in mystery. Difficult as it may be, we continue to try to peer into our companions’ souls.

“Dog Story” touches me personally as well; like the author I too had a dog phobia that also began from

a German shepherd bite in my youth. Now, having shared my life with a canine, I also can attest to the warmth, joy, and love that can only come from having experienced dog-ownership. (R.I.P. Mousey, I love you.)

This brings me to a final point, that dog-ownership is one of those experiences that, like child-birth or falling in love, just isn't translatable in verbal terms. The warmth you get when your companion is always around you, the pleasure of a simple game of fetch, the heartbreak when you say your final goodbyes - they're all necessarily experiential. You can describe the experience of owning, loving, and caring for a dog, but no matter how good your description, it doesn't come close to the experience itself.

Gopnik’s article is thought provoking and interesting. It is well-written and well-researched; I highly recommend it. It is in the August 8th issue of The New Yorker. The issue is about $6; alternatively you can sign up for a free trial of the magazine and get free access to the article online at newyorker.com.

Website Update

We've finally managed to complete a task long planned - a small but we hope useful update to our website, thefamilyvet.net.

We've eliminated all use of flash on the site, reduced file sizes for all pages and simplified navigation options. We also eliminated the need to visit a secondary site (alas, thefamilyvet.mobi links will no longer work) for prescription requests and echeck-ins.

Our primary objective was to make the site easier to access and use from most mobile devices, including iPhones, iPads, and BlackBerries and Android phones, while retaining its core functionality. So go ahead, visit our site and submit a prescription request, check-in before your visit, or check-out our twitter feed or our blog -- it's now faster and easier than ever!

Preparing for Google Calendar Appointment Requests

Last month, Google introduced appointment slots in Google Calendar.  We plan to add this feature as an alternative way for clients to request appointments.  We currently offer to schedule appointments via email but, as you can imagine, if the initial offered / requested time is not acceptable, it can result in a lot of back-and-forth emails.  Appointment slots in Google Calendar appears to be a promising feature that will make online appointment request more efficient.  All appointments are requests only until we confirm them with you either via email, phone call, or Google Calendar confirmation.  More details will be posted later when we start implementing this feature.

We are posting this brief tutorial prior to introducing our Google Calendar appointment request option to help prepare our clients who may not be familiar with Google Calendar.  You need a Google account to access our appointment slots in Google Calendar.

If you do not have a Google account, you can easily create one:

Click on image to enlarge

Once you have an account, we need to set up Notifications for your Calendar.  From your Gmail page, you can access your Calendar from the menu bar:

Click on image to enlarge

A list of your calendars is located on the left side of the screen.  If you are new to Calendar, you probably will only have the one calendar that is defaulted to your email address.  You can change the name of the calendar in the settings but, for the purpose of this tutorial, we will skip all that and just do the Notifications.  Access Notifications either through the Settings option or right-click on the arrow.

Setting up Notifications (click on image to enlarge).


Then select the Notifications tab to continue with your settings.

Notifications (click on image to enlarge)

In Notifications, you can select reminder options.  If you are new to Calendar and/or do not already have a reminder preference, we recommend at least email notifications for all new or changed invitations ("appointment requests").

Email Notifications (click on image to enlarge)

Save your changes.
Once you have that set up, you will receive email notifications regarding invitations or appointment requests later.

Email Notifications (click on image to enlarge)

That's it.  You are all set to take advantage of our online appointment request feature later.
We hope we included the details needed to help those not familiar with Google Calendar prepare for the Appointment Slots feature.  Let us know if you need further assistance.  We will post additional information once we start the online appointment request option.

Last Minute Tips for Fireworks-Fearing Pets

From the calls I have received this afternoon (and the way Elaine is constantly on guard), it sounds as though the fireworks are already starting. We have all read, at one time or another, articles about fear of fireworks.  We blogged reminders and recommended starting behavioral modification in April with Spring Into Summer, if needed.  But what if your dog was fine other years (or you were not home and did not know any different) and is terrified this year?  Before panicking and thinking that Rover needs tranquilizers, let's see if he really needs "doggie downers."

There are dogs who are unfazed by fireworks.  Most dogs, though, are fearful and anxious around fireworks.  Their response range from suddenly stopping in their tracks and searching for the booming sounds to panic-stricken, destructive behaviors.  Where your dog falls in this fear-spectrum determines the type of treatment -- from something as simple as cotton balls in their ears and closed blinds to anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers.

Signs of anxiety and fear may include attention-seeking (whining, pawing, climbing on you), hiding under the bed, panting, pacing, drooling or even trying to escape (outside).  Cats can show some of these signs also and you can adapt some of these tips for them.  For the most part, dogs are usually the more affected pets.  Since most of the questions we received were from dog owners, this article will be geared more towards our canine companions than our feline friends.

What does your dog do?  Shakes, whines, and keeps pawing you for attention?
These signs are considered mild anxiety (unless they escalate).  We usually do not recommend anti-anxiety drugs or tranquilizers for these responses, especially in older pets.  Drugs are not without adverse side effects.  Behavioral modification and counter conditioning measures are better options.  The more involved behavioral modification techniques are available elsewhere and is beyond the scope of these quick last-minute solutions.  Try some of the following tips for now (assuming that pets are already indoors):

• Place cotton balls in her ears to muffle the sound
• If she is curled up in a corner, try draping a thick towel over her head, again to muffle the sound and provide some comfort ("If I can't see it, it can't hurt me" feeling).
• Play music with a regular deep/low reassuring beat.
• Keep doors and windows closed if possible (to shut out sounds)
• Cover up windows (blinds, curtains) to reduce the stimulus from the flashes of the fireworks.

If your dog is not too fearful and is still interactive, you can try positive association with some of these techniques:

• Turn on the music and play fetch indoors
• Play games with treats and food rewards that you know she really likes.

If your dog is shaking or whining, do the above activities instead of babying her.  You want to show her that fireworks are nothing to be afraid of, not reinforce the fear behavior.
For the mildly affected pets, an antihistamine can sometimes make them drowsy enough to rest and not be as responsive to the stimulus (fireworks).  It does not work for all pets and does not help the more severely affected ones.  Ask your veterinarian to see if antihistamine is an option for your pets.

The above will work for pets who are mildly affected and are coming to you (attention-seeking) or restlessly pacing around the house.  Do not coax or drag your dog out of hiding to do these positive association.

One of the most misunderstood fear response is hiding.  What to do if your fireworks-fearing dog is hiding in the closet, under the bed, etc...?
Do nothing.

Well, almost nothing.  You can give her a blanket or cover her head.  But do not coax her out so you can hold her and babytalk that everything is okay.....  You will only make things worse.

Hiding is a coping mechanism for dogs.  When confronted with something that trigger fear and anxiety, a dog's normal proper response is to escape to a safe place.  Instead of coaxing your dog out so you can hug him, it is better to let him hide.  You can make these places safer with additional blankets, cover the crate or corner area with a sheet to block out the light flashes.  Keep in mind, hiding is not a sign that your dog needs tranquilizers for the fireworks.  Hiding to get away from something they fear (fireworks) is acceptable as long as they are back to normal when the fireworks end that night or by the next morning.  If you live in an area where the fireworks go on for days, then you may want to consider the behavior modification and counter conditioning measures above.  If that does not work, you are unable to do them, and/or the fear response is too extreme, drug interventions may be needed.

What if your dog gets into panic mode, frenziedly digs at the door, gnaws at the window (to get outside), tries to jump through the window, and/or chews at the crate door?
Those are severe signs that will likely require drugs, such as an anti-anxiety drug or even a tranquilizer, to get your pet safely through the holiday.  You can still try behavioral modification later but, unless you (or someone) can stay at home with your dog AND keep her from harming herself, drugs will be the better option for now.
Contact your family veterinarian for advice.
Reminder to our current clients: Our office is closed but you can still contact us via email or call Dr. Tran on her cellphone.