Why Does My Dog Bark At Nothing?

Written by  Dr. Patty Khuly

Dogs bark for all kinds of reasons. They may be alerting you to something noteworthy; making a request (or a demand, depending on your point of view); aggressively warding off (or confronting) prey, predator, or interloper; communicating stress or discomfort; or engaging in play.

Barking might be a response to a howl heard from half a mile away. Or because a squirrel just chattered in the backyard. Or because your dog wants dinner. Or because you walked in the door and life is just! so! good! In any case, barking is a perfectly normal canine behavior.

Behaviorists categorize barking into these categories:

• territorial barking
• alarm barking
• attention-seeking barking
• greeting barking
• socially facilitated barking
• frustration-induced barking
• illness or injury barking
• separation-anxiety barking

But some dogs bark excessively, seemingly at the drop of a pin. Luckily, there are measures you can take to help reduce his or her sensitivity and/or the volume and frequency of the response. Talk to your veterinarian, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, a certified applied animal behaviorist, or a qualified certified professional dog trainer if you're serious about stopping the noise.

If you believe your dog is barking at absolutely nothing, compulsive barking is a possibility, especially if your dog barks excessively and repetitively while also moving in repetitive ways. For example, a compulsive barker might pace in a circle or walk back and forth along a fence as she barks.

Thankfully, there's help for this problem, too. Ask your veterinarian.

Best Cities For Dog Lovers

Do you love to bring your dog everywhere with you? Of course you do! Your dog is an adorable part of the family! If you love man’s best friend as much as we do, check out our list of the Best Cities for Dog Lovers:

 

Dog-Friendly - San FranciscoThere are endless amenities for you and your pup in San Francisco, whether it’s hiking a trail, shopping, checking out attractions or enjoying the park–all 56 of them. Give Fido a view of the water with Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruises. Your on-leash pet is welcome to join you for this one-hour cruise, which offers gorgeous views of the bridges, piers and more.

 

San Diego

You and your pooch will love San Diego not just for its great weather, but also because it has plenty of pet-friendly accommodations. Go shopping with your canine, play at the park, walk the hiking trails or head to the beach.

There are 16 off-leash dog parks where man’s best friend can stretch his legs, play and run around. Lighthouse Ice Cream & Yogurt even offers Frosty Paws–a sugar-free, soy-based ice cream for your dog.

 NOTE:  Why  you and your dog should avoid Soy  


Why Dog Parks Are A Bad Idea


 
Portland

Portland is the 12th most walkable large city in the US and home to 32 off-leash dog parks. On Saturdays, get out of your Portland apartment and head over to the Portland Market.

You and your canine can enjoy the outdoors while picking up some fresh produce. Get some exercise with Fido by taking him to the Powell Butte Trail–an easy four-mile hike that takes about an hour and a half to complete.

NOTE:  While Portlanders love their animals, the county and animal control has enormously high kill rates, they sanitize the kills rates by claiming that they don't kill any adoptable animals, yet thousands of healthy dogs and cats are kill yearly without counting   Search this Blog under shelters.

It's so bad that we no longer adopt to Multnomah county where Portland is located.







Seattle, Washington

Walk the city of Seattle with your furry friend to any of its 11 off-leash dog parks.

If you need to get some shopping done, the University Village Shopping Center has many outdoor stores in a relaxing, dog-friendly environment.

 You can even add some fun into your day by visiting the Fremont Sunday Ice Cream Cruise. Well-behaved, leashed pets are welcome aboard to enjoy some sweets on the water.






Chicago, Illinois

Dog-Friendly - ChicagoHave some fun in the sun by taking a walk to one of the three dog-friendly beaches in Chicago.

You can take off your dog’s leash at Montrose Dog beach and splash around in the water–or choose one of the 18 off-leash dog parks.

Get out of your apartment and check out one of Chicago’s biggest attractions with Fido: Navy Pier. Dogs are welcome in the outdoor common areas and some merchants and tours permit dogs to join their humans.





Orlando, Florida
Dog-Friendly - OrlandoYou and your pooch can travel to seven different off-leash dog parks to enjoy the fresh air and exercise in Orlando.

There are also nine veterinary clinics, 13 pet stores and nine grooming facilities, ensuring that your pup looks and feels happy and healthy.

 Hit the trails with Fido or go camping at Turkey Lake Park. You both can hike, play games or visit the butterfly garden. At the Downtown Orlando Farmers Market, you can shop for farm-fresh produce, listen to live music and enjoy a drink in the beer and wine garden. Don’t leave without purchasing something for man’s best friend–vendors sell homemade pet treats, supplies, clothing and travel accessories.

Austin, Texas
Dog-Friendly - AustinSouthern hospitality doesn’t just apply to humans in the Lone Star state.

Want to do your morning yoga?

Visit Austin Doga–that’s right, yoga for dogs. Both you and Fido can feel refreshed and reset in this yoga class for humans and canines.

You can also visit one of Austin’s 18 off-leash dog parks, which are great social scenes for dogs and humans alike. If you’re new to the city, go on one of Austin’s guided walking tours, where leashed dogs are welcome.





Las Vegas, Nevada
Dog-Friendly - Las VegasLas Vegas has 25 off-leash dog parks for your and your pooch to choose from.

You can also head over to the Las Vegas DockDogs–a beach where you and your pet can cool off, get some exercise and play fun games.

There are 12 veterinary clinics in the area, so you can always stay up-to-date on your canine’s health.

 Explore the great outdoors by heading to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is less than a half-hour drive from the Strip.

San Francisco, California
Dog-Friendly - San FranciscoThere are endless amenities for you and your pup in San Francisco, whether it’s hiking a trail, shopping, checking out attractions or enjoying the park–all 56 of them.

Give Fido a view of the water with Blue and Gold Fleet Bay Cruises. Your on-leash pet is welcome to join you for this one-hour cruise, which offers gorgeous views of the bridges, piers and more.






Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dog-Friendly - MilwaukeeEver thought you could go paddleboarding with your pup?

 
 


Well, in Milwaukee you can. Juneau Park Paddleboats allows you and your leashed pets to tour the waters on Veterans Park Lagoon. Once you’re done, grab some coffee at the Community Bark Dog Wash & Coffee Bar.

 You can hang with your furry friend inside while grabbing some coffee, surfing the web or just relaxing. You can also visit any one of Milwaukee’s five off-leash dog parks.





Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
Dog-Friendly - Twin CitiesBring your pup into Birchbark Books, where you can search for the latest and greatest novel. Then, head to the Lake Harriet Rose Garden, where you can relax and read while your dog keeps you company. Get some exercise at any of the seven dog parks in the Twin Cities–one of which winds along gorgeous waterfalls in the Minnehaha Park.

What Dogs Think Of Federal Furlough

The Fuzzy — and Not So Fuzzy — Sides of the Federal Government Furloughs

Written by  ohmidog!

Politicians aren’t happy about it. Americans aren’t happy about.

But there may be one group can see a bright side in the federal government shutdown.

Dogs. (Then again, they see the bright side in pretty much everything.)

With their owners spending more time at home, the pets of furloughed federal workers are likely getting more attention, more dog park time, more time to snuggle while watching daytime TV on the couch.
Let’s just hope no one gets too used to it.

The shutdown, while already hurting some pet-related business, is helping some others. The Huffington Post reports that business is booming, for example, at Muddy Mutt, a self-serve dog wash next to Shirlington Dog Park in Northern Virginia.

“I’m getting more business because people aren’t working,” said Andrew Low, owner of the Muddy Mutt, where dog owners commonly bring their dogs in after romping in the river. Low said the business is usually quiet during the week.

 But since the furlough?

“Twenty-five on Monday, 14 on Tuesday, 23 yesterday… We don’t even ever come close to that.”

The furlough might be bad news, though, for professional dog walkers in the DC area.
Christina Bell, owner of Doggy Daze DC, said that business is down by about half since the shutdown went into effect. JJ Scheele says her business, Dog Walking DC, has also taken a hit.

“All the walkers are down anywhere from one to three dogs,” Scheele said.

At Just Walk DC, a dog-walking cooperative, Meg Levine said the decrease of customers, three days into the shutdown, has been slight. But between government-employed pet owners having more time, and less income, a protracted shutdown could hurt dogwalkers badly — not to mention the rest of the country.

“There certainly is a sense of frustration from a lot of my clients, who feel that this is just needless roadblocking,”Levine said. “For the most part, we are continuing to chug along and feeling very hopeful this will end soon. I like D.C. when it functions. Oh, this town.”

Why Does Portland Oregon Intimidate Homeless?

To; Michael Oswald

      Officer Charles Poetz

      Kim Peoples, Director  Community Services

To: Marissa Madrigal, Multnomah County Chair

      Multnomah County Commission

 

Policies and practices toward the public and in particular the homeless and their animals that must be immediately addressed/stopped.

 

I left a voice mail message for Officer Poetz last night about this matter. This is the reason.

 

MCAS enforcement abuse of power

 

Winning animal surrender by any means isn't winning; it is exploitation of poverty and limited circumstances; an abuse of power and authority against the public you are charged with serving.

 

This is one more example. I did seek out Charlie's owner because when a friend of his owner, ( one owner is listed as Daniel Thompson) called MCAS on his behalf within days of impoundment, he believed Charlie had been killed. MCAS refused to confirm or disconfirm. That was a power play and wrong. Why not tell him Charlie was alive and could be redeemed instead of intentionally allowing a misunderstanding?

 

I know Mr. Thompson has called the pound. And I know that you plan to issue him a ticket along with an unachievable condition but don't plan to tell him we are a resource for and can provide free legal help.  Please tell him where to contact us for pro bono help.or that is another power play.After all, you tell those in need of other resources where to find them. "Winning" against a homeless person without resources isn't winning at all. It is wrong. Most citizens need pro bono legal help because  the hearings process is deliberately stacked against them,

 

Finally, the release condition for Charlie is impossible to meet and that is another government power play: i.e.that Mr. Thompson must have a secure enclosure. Do you mean a Vari Kennel as a modification requirement  or a stand up concrete kennel, your usual requirement?  When you insist that homeless persons build a kennel on property they don't have ( by definition they have no home, and no fixed address) you are deliberately exploiting their homelessness and imposing a condition that can't be met to "win" surrender.

 

I have brought this to your attention over and over again and as usual " You can't hear me".

MCAS enforcement is entirely based upon a failed system of severe punishments, escalting fines, then a demand for owner surrender. Instead of prevention/education owner education diversion programs successful elsewhere and/or addressing the particular problems the homeless have on the streets "Street smarts for the street dog" you manipulate your preferred outcome. It is easy to plan constructive safety programs, but hard for the entitled and unmotivated. Fines teach absolutely nothing. Half the time you are charging them against citizens who have no money and  they go permanently to collections where they are never collected. Most citizens need help not the back of you hand. Help goes a long way.

 

I am asking for a response both about Charlie and the repeated listed concerns, not silence.

 

Thank you

 

Gail O'Connell-Babcock

Citizens for Humane Animal Legislation/Watchdog

telephone: 503.625.4563

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Monsanto Protection Act NOT Renewed

 

 

A protester holds up a poster during a March Against Monsanto -- and genetically modified organisms, or GMOs -- in New York in May. Reuters

The so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” has been removed from a Senate spending bill to the delight of those opposed to the controversial provision.

The provision would have stayed on the books under a continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives last week, but U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., led a successful charge to have the language removed from the Senate version of the bill.

“One week ago, I asked, ‘Who pulls more weight on Capitol Hill? The agrichemical companies like Dow and Monsanto, or the food movement?'” Elizabeth Kucinich, policy director for the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of Senator Barbara Mikulski we now know the answer: the food movement.”

Mikulski introduced an amendment to have the language of the bill changed to remove the “Monsanto Protection Act” removed. The amendment was approved earlier this week, and the provision will expire at the end of this month.
A massive groundswell of public opposition to the “Monsanto Protection Act” began in March, when news of its existence hit the mainstream.

The provision, officially Section 735 of the HR 933 continuing resolution passed in March, came under fire because food safety advocates warn that it strips federal courts of the authority to halt the sale and propagation of genetically modified seeds and crops if safety tests reveal concerns about their safety.

The legislation was written by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in collaboration with Monsanto Company -- which has become the public face of the virulent debate over GMOs.

The furor over the “Monsanto Protection Act” and GMOs reached fever pitch in May, when hundreds of thousands of people participated in a global protest known as the March Against Monsanto. The company was even named 2013’s “most evil corporation” in a June poll, which was likely in large part a response to the controversy over the provision.

Mikulski’s amendment was not the first one aimed at repealing the “Monsanto Protection Act.” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced a similar amendment near the height of the controversy in May, but it was not adopted.

Interestingly, the Center for Food Safety blamed Mikulski for allowing the
 provision to make it into continuing resolution via a “hidden backroom deal” back in March.
“In this hidden backroom deal, Sen. [Barbara] Mikulski turned her back on consumer,
environmental and farmer protection in favor of corporate welfare for biotech companies such as Monsanto,”

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, wrote in a statement at the time. “This abuse of power is not the kind of leadership the public has come to expect from Sen. Mikulski or the Democrat Majority in the Senate.”

Outrage at the existence of the “Monsanto Protection Act” was intense even before the bill containing it was passed. In the days leading up to its being signed by President Barack Obama, more than 250,000 voters signed a petition asking him to veto the bill, and Food Democracy Now protesters organized by the Food Democracy Now advocacy group demonstrated against it in front of the White House.

Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of the Food Democracy Now advocacy group, lauded the Senate's move to remove the controversial provision.

“This is a major victory for the food movement and all those who care about openness and transparency in their government,” Murphy wrote in a statement. “And a sign that our voices can make the difference when we are effectively organized.”

Monsanto did not respond immediately to a request seeking comment on the new developments surrounding the “Monsanto Protection Act,” but Kelly J. Clauss, a spokeswoman for the company, sent a statement on the provision to IBTimes back in March.

“A broad bipartisan group of legislators in both the House and Senate have supported the provision dating back to June 2012, and it passed with broad bipartisan support,” Clauss explained at the time.

 “As we understand it, the point of the Farmer Assurance Provision is to strike a careful balance allowing farmers to continue to plant and cultivate their crops subject to appropriate environmental safeguards, while USDA conducts any necessary further environmental reviews.”

This article will be updated if and when Monsanto responds to the request for comment.
UPDATE: In lieu of commenting, a Monsanto spokesman referred International Business Times to the company's blog post on the provision expiring. You can read that blog post here.

Vote YES I522 To Force Genetically Modified/Engineered Products To Be Labeled

I-522 UPDATE $17.1 Million Worth of Lies

How many lies will $17.1 million buy? Enough to sink another GMO labeling initiative?

Opponents of I-522, Washington State’s initiative to require mandatory labeling of GMOs, hope so. They’re banking on their ability to broadcast enough lies, often enough, to enough voters, to defeat I-522.

And if they do, the GMO labeling movement might not recover.

In 15 short days, Washington State voters will begin mailing in their ballots. In 33 days – on November 5 - it will all be over.

That’s all the time we have left to raise enough money to reach every voter in Washington State.

Our opponents are desperate. And filthy rich. A dangerous combination.

Their lies are familiar to us. But maybe not so to millions of voters who are hearing about GMOs for the first time.

Who are “they”? The NO on I-522 campaign is funded by Monsanto. Dow. Dupont. Bayer. BASF. And the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The GMA has kicked in $7.2 million on behalf of food companies like Pepsi, General Mills, Coca-Cola, Kraft and others – cowardly companies that are funneling their donations through the GMA to avoid the kind of bad publicity that came raining down on them last year, when they publicly donated to defeat a GMO labeling initiative in California.

Who are “we”? We are moms who want better food choices for our families. We are students. And grandparents. We are republicans, democrats, independents. We are blue-collar and white-collar workers. We are old. We are young.

We are fed up with letting Monsanto, the giant GMA lobbying group, the FDA and the USDA poison our food. And trample our rights.

We are the GMO labeling movement. And it’s up to us to win this key battle.

Still not sure why GMO is destroying the environment and your health? Check out this page or thousands of others that reveal how many countries around the world have banned it completely and the GM, or GE companies DEPEND on the US as their only suckers who still buy their garbage. Products afraid of labeling their ingredients? Why do they have to deceive?

Please share the word with all Washington Voters!

Climate Expert Warns of Impending Global Cooling Crisis

Wikimedia Commons

BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
September 26, 2013 4:49 pm

A prominent climate scientist says the earth actually faces a global cooling crisis on the eve of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) release of its latest climate change report.

David Archibald, an Australian scientist and visiting fellow at the The Institute of World Politics (IWP) in Washington, D.C., said during an IWP presentation Wednesday that contrary to a perceived consensus among the scientific community, the planet’s climate is not warming. Global temperatures have essentially remained flat in the last thirty years, he said.

While temperatures have increased by a modest 0.8 degrees Celsius in the last 150 years, that rise is unremarkable compared to previous increases in earth’s history, he said. Temperature spikes have occurred for hundreds of thousands of years and were slightly higher in the Roman Empire and Medieval periods, he added, according to a Swedish study and data from ice cores in Vostok, Antarctica.

Additionally, about 80 percent of the warming that has occurred can be attributed to water vapor compared to about 10 percent for carbon dioxide, said Archibald. The IPCC’s report, scheduled for release Friday, is expected to state with 95 percent certainty that greenhouse-gas emissions generated by humans are responsible for 20th century warming.

“The IPCC models have failed,” Archibald said, adding that meetings like the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark are “hilarious.”

Archibald, credited as the first scientist to develop a method for using solar sunspot cycles to predict temperatures, instead said solar activity suggests global temperatures will cancel out previous warming and fall 2 to 3 degrees Celsius by 2040.

That could wreak havoc on the world’s food supply by potentially reducing global grain production by 400 million tonnes—mirroring the skyrocketing crop costs and 200,000 European deaths sparked by the 1816 eruption of Mt. Tambora in Indonesia.

“There will be at least one consolation. Phil Jones, Michael Mann, James Hansen and Al Gore will all, most likely, still be around to see their entire religious belief system collapsing around their ears,” wrote James Delingpole, a writer for the Telegraph, in a post last year on Archibald’s work.

See slides from Archibald’s presentation here.

Should Donations To Portland Oregon "shelters" be Given To Rescues Instead?

To: Michael Oswald

     Officer Michelle Luckey

     Officer Charles Poetz

     Kim Peoples

     Attny David Blankfeld

CC: County Chair Marissa Madrigal

       Couty Commission

I understand Ozzie was killed September 17 despite the fact that you well knew 
 ( as did David Blankfeld) I had humane options for him and indeed had raised money
 for his writ of review appeal ( $500). Why would you do that ? ( and I include David 
Blankfled  in that comment because he was completely involved, asks and well knows 
I help in cases like  this, and did nothing desdpite that information ...on vacation. . 

My concerns are significant also because the same week Ozzie  was killed MCAS 
brokered a  deal with FDNL to release another little dog that had actually killed a dog but as noted in the
 record  " you wanted him to have a second chance." 

Are only dogs affiliated with FDNL and  other large organizations allowed 
"second chances"?

 Not the dogs of the homeless? Why?

You well know that my placement history is very effective, thorough and conscientious.
 I have no idea after you knew my investment in Ozzie, the minor nature of his "crimes"
 why our offers of  humane alternatives were just ignored/not even acknowledged 
( in case the writ of review did not go through for monetary reasons;I had the funds donated). 

Ozzie had chances, his crimes were  minor,  he was a nice dog. you killed him anyway 
after months of unnecessary solitary confinement, just carelessly snuffed out his life.. 

I consider that cruelty.

Meanwhile I am putting together resources for Pucky ( MCAS 541100) and Charlie  
( MCAS  550945)

Please don't kill them. I will deal with my concerns about the circumstances surrounding Ozzie's
 death ( this has happened before) at greater length later.

Thank you

Gail O'Connell-Babcock

503.625.4563

   

Soy Tyranny Video

Soy Tryanny The Tyranny of Soy Agribusiness in Paraguay tells how Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and a series of Brazilians agribusinesses are flexing their muscles in Paraguay, currently occupying 25% of all arable land for the production of genetically modified soy for export.

"The losers are Paraguay's peasant farmers, and they've mobilized to defend themselves, including getting a president into power who promised to help them."