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A Generalized Missing-Indicator Approach to Regression with Imputed Covariates
This paper considers estimation of a linear regression model using data where some covariate values are missing but imputations are available to fill-in the missing values. The availability of imputations generates a trade-off between bias and precision in the estimators of the regression parameters. The complete cases are often too few, so precision is lost, but filling-in the missing values with imputations may lead to bias. We provide the new Stata command gmi which allows handling such bias-precision trade-off using either model reduction or model averaging techniques in the context of the generalized missing-indicator approach recently proposed by Dardanoni et al.(2011). If multiple imputations are available, our gmi command can be also combined with the built-in Stata prefix mi estimate to account for the extra variability due to the imputation process. The gmi command is illustrated with an empirical application which investigates the relationship between an objective health indicator and a set of socio-demographic and economic covariates affected by substantial item nonresponse.
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|28 pages
|Date of creation:
|Date of revision:
|May 2011
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Dardanoni, Valentino & Modica, Salvatore & Peracchi, Franco, 2011.
"Regression with imputed covariates: A generalized missing-indicator approach,"
Journal of Econometrics,
Elsevier, vol. 162(2), pages 362-368, June.
- Valentino Dardanoni & Salvatore Modica & Franco Peracchi, 2009. "Regression with Imputed Covariates:a Generalized Missing Indicator Approach," CEIS Research Paper 150, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 08 Oct 2009.
- Valentino Dardanoni & Salvatore Modica & Franco Peracchi, 2011. "Regression with imputed covariates: A generalized missing-indicator approach," Post-Print hal-00815561, HAL.
- Horton, Nicholas J. & Kleinman, Ken P., 2007. "Much Ado About Nothing: A Comparison of Missing Data Methods and Software to Fit Incomplete Data Regression Models," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 61, pages 79-90, February.
- Dimitrios Christelis, 2011. "Imputation of Missing Data in Waves 1 and 2 of SHARE," CSEF Working Papers 278, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
- Agar Brugiavini & Tullio Jappelli & Guglielmo Weber, 2002. "The Survey on Health, Aging and Wealth," CSEF Working Papers 86, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
- Einmahl, J.H.J. & Magnus, J.R. & Kumar, K., 2011. "On the Choice of Prior in Bayesian Model Averaging," Discussion Paper 2011-003, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
- Magnus, Jan R. & Powell, Owen & Prüfer, Patricia, 2010. "A comparison of two model averaging techniques with an application to growth empirics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 154(2), pages 139-153, February.
- Charles Lindsey & Simon Sheather, 2010. "Variable selection in linear regression," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 10(4), pages 650-669, December.
- Giuseppe De Luca & Jan R. Magnus, 2011. "Bayesian model averaging and weighted-average least squares: Equivariance, stability, and numerical issues," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(4), pages 518-544, December.
- De Luca, G. & Magnus, J.R., 2011. "Bayesian Model Averaging and Weighted Average Least Squares : Equivariance, Stability, and Numerical Issues," Discussion Paper 2011-082, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
- Magnus, Jan R. & Wan, Alan T.K. & Zhang, Xinyu, 2011. "Weighted average least squares estimation with nonspherical disturbances and an application to the Hong Kong housing market," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 1331-1341, March.
- repec:hal:journl:peer-00815561 is not listed on IDEAS
- Jan R. Magnus, 2002. "Estimation of the mean of a univariate normal distribution with known variance," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 5(1), pages 225-236, June. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis using RePEc data.


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am already spayed, in need of an experienced adopter, up to date with shots, and good with kids.
You can read about her progress on her Updates page.
She will be able to go to her forever home in September 2011, when she is 6 months old. Her adoption fee will be $700.
Adopters must be 21 or older, if you are under 18, please have a parent contact us as our adoption agreement is a legal agreement which must be made with an adult. We do welcome volunteers of any age, those under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information visit our website at http://www.s-h-a-r-e.net to review our Adoption Requirements or fill out an Application.
Chrome (needs a name!), a Dewey Quarterhorse was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Quarterhorse for sale in Dewey, or seeking a Quarterhorse from a breeder in Dewey.

subset: commoncrawl


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Student Summit Deemed a Success
Highlights included interactive exhibits and new programs for students and educators.
News Post: 10/1/2012
The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) reports that the 27 student-friendly exhibitors involved in the NIMS Student Skills Center at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) attracted more than 59,000 attendees throughout IMTS week.
Made possible with support and accommodations from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, this year's Student Skills Center featured interactive, thought-provoking exhibitions that visitors could experience with all five sense, the organization says. Highlights included live 3D printing demos by 3D Systems; the Careers in Welding Center, an exhibit from the American Welding Society and Lincoln Electric that featured VRTEX 3D welding simulators, a replica of the Chilean miner rescue capsule and video teasers from "The Edge Factor;" and robot cells connected to hands-on simulators from Fanuc Robotics. Also new this year were Career Launch Pads, interactive information desks staffed by young professionals who provided one-on-one chats with students about skills and career options. Launch pad hosts included DMG/Mori Seiki, Mazak, Sandvik Coromant, Seco Tools, Southwestern Industries and Symbol Job Training. Finally, in partnership with Sandvik Coromant, the event included a mid-week conference designed to help for school administrators and guidance councilors expose students to manufacturing careers.
For more information, visit http://www.imts.com/student/index.html.
Related Suppliers
Gosiger to Host Sixth Biennial Manufacturing Exhibition
ECi Software Is Acquiring Exact's Macola, JobBoss, Max Divisions
Schunk Hires VP, Sales for Tooling and Workholding
Conference to Focus on Understanding, Implementing Industry 4.0 Technologies


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A reeling Atlanta Braves offense knows it is essentially out of the National League East race, but a three-game series with the Washington Nationals with a ton of potential momentum awaits them this weekend at Turner Field.
The Nationals enter Friday with an 8 1/2-game lead after completing two consecutive sweeps, while the Braves are fresh off getting swept by the MIlwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. With 18 games left in the regular season, the Braves currently hold a 5 1/2-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the first Wild Card spot.
Atlanta is also looking to make a statement against their final series with the Nationals, particularly since it is highly likely that the two could meet in the National League Division Series.
"If you gotta win, you gotta win," Jason Heyward said. "You got to beat whoever's across the field from us. It definitely doesn't change anything. We've got to win the baseball game, bottom line."
The Nationals have won 10 of the first 15 games of the season series with their pitchers holding the Braves to a .239 average this season. Though they won't have to contend with Stephen Strasburg, the Braves will still face Ross Detwiler, Edwin Jackson and Gio Gonzalez.
"Whether we face Strasburg or not, they're still a very good team," Heyward said. "Very sound defensively, got good pitching from start to finish, and they've got a good lineup. A tough lineup to pitch against. We've battled them, and I feel like we've gotten better against them gradually as the season has gone on. And we'll try and see what we can do this weekend."
Making matters worse is the fact that the Braves have won just 11 of their last 25 games and have hit .152 with runners in scoring position during that time. They also only managed one RBI over three games against the Brewers. The Braves can take some comfort, however, in that they have already matched last year's September win total when they went 9-18.
The three teams trailing the Braves in the Wild Card – St. Louis, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates – were also swept in three-game series this week, allowing Atlanta to tread water for the time being.Tags: Atlanta, Atlanta Braves, MLB, Washington Nationals


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Since 1995, CWB Architects has steadily grown its practice from a two-person shop focused on historic row house renovations into a multi-disciplinary architecture, preservation, and interior design firm with projects throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the East End.
Our strengths lie in residential architecture adapted for modern living, and commercial and institutional spaces crafted for collaboration and productivity. Adept in historic renovation and modern design, our substantial practical experience and sophisticated design sensibilities ensure imaginative solutions that, in the end, seem effortless.
As a mid-sized firm, we have the ability to provide daily, hands-on project management at the principal level. Our collaborative team consists of three principals, supported by 25+ talented associates and staff. In addition, we maintain relationships with qualified consulting engineers, expeditors, and other specialists in the construction industry. We have extensive experience in the renovation and adaptive reuse of buildings of all types with a particular strength in landmark districts.
Good design is not the superficial application of finishes on complicated forms. Rather, it is the conscientious development of image and form within a project's physical and philosophical contexts; it is the result of a thorough understanding of the program, thoughtful planning, and an appropriate use of materials and methods.
Our primary objective is to identify and implement simple, elegant design solutions using materials and methods that are in common practice, while looking for opportunities to use them in interesting and unexpected ways. We strive for completed work that appears effortless and engenders a sense of belonging and appropriateness in its context.
Every client is assigned a specific design team that stays with the project from start of design through to the completion of construction. Headed by a partner and a licensed architect, each team maintains an open and ongoing dialogue with the client, and throughout the process we continually balance the requirements of budget, schedule, and mechanical infrastructure. We value good design and though we structure our efforts to maintain attention to all aspects of the building process, it is ultimately the design quality of the finished building that our clients value and enjoy the most.
Headed by Brendan Coburn, Ward Welch, and Jason Boutin, the CWB team is composed of a group of creative, bright, and passionate individuals. Our 28 person, 7 dog office features individuals from a far-ranging set of backgrounds and disciplines, all of of whom bring an important contribution to the CWB process.


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|From: Robby Findler (robby at eecs.northwestern.edu)
Date: Sun Jun 13 19:10:08 EDT 2010
On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 1:58 PM, YC <yinso.chen at gmail.com> wrote: > I am trying to install planet package in racket, specifically lizorkin/ssax > (which is on planet) and it returned the error "could not find matching > package". I went back to an older version (4.2.1) and was able to install > the package. Looking on ssax.plt's page it does not appear to have any > maximum version number limits that would prohibit it from being downloaded. I just tried this via the planet command-line tool in version 18.104.22.168 like this: $ raco planet install lizorkin ssax.plt 2 0 and it seemed to install fine. I also tried evaluating this in drracket in version 5.0: #lang racket (require (planet lizorkin/ssax:2)) and it too seemed to install fine (altho there is no main file so I got that error). > Are there any changes to the way packages are being matched? If there are, they'd be bugs, I expect. More specifically, the 4.xx repository also applies to versions 5.xx too. Robby
|Posted on the users mailing list.


text: Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link. All three major indices are trading up today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) trading up 58 points (0.4%) at 15,069 as of Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013, 1:04 PM ET. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 2,347 issues advancing vs. 659 declining with 81 unchanged. The Telecommunications industry currently sits up 0.6% versus the S&P 500, which is up 0.6%. Top gainers within the industry include Mobile Telesystems OJSC ( MBT), up 3.9%, BT Group ( BT), up 2.6%, NTT DoCoMo ( DCM), up 2.2%, America Movil S.A.B. de C.V ( AMOV), up 1.6% and China Telecom ( CHA), up 1.5%. TheStreet would like to highlight 5 stocks pushing the industry higher today: 5. America Movil S.A.B. de C.V ( AMX) is one of the companies pushing the Telecommunications industry higher today. As of noon trading, America Movil S.A.B. de C.V is up $0.65 (3.3%) to $20.40 on average volume. Thus far, 3.8 million shares of America Movil S.A.B. de C.V exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 7.7 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $19.74-$20.40 after having opened the day at $19.74 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $19.75. America Movil, S.A.B. de C.V. provides telecommunications services in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It offers mobile and fixed voice services, including airtime, local, long-distance services, public telephony services, and network interconnection services. America Movil S.A.B. de C.V has a market cap of $77.8 billion and is part of the technology sector. Shares are down 14.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are 2 analysts that rate America Movil S.A.B. de C.V a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 5 rate it a hold. TheStreet Ratings rates America Movil S.A.B. de C.V as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity and growth in earnings per share. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself. Get the full America Movil S.A.B. de C.V Ratings Report now. 3x UPSIDE POTENTIAL: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12-months. Learn more.


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NEW YORK (Jul. 2)
Jacob Katzman, of New York, was elected as general secretary of Farband-Labor Zionist Order, at a special meeting of its national executive committee held here. He succeeds the late Louis Segal, who had served in that capacity for the past 38 years. Mr. Katzman was born in Boston, and attended Boston University, Suffolk Law School, and the Hebrew Teachers College there.


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If historians and anthropologists can look at small figures with movable parts created thousands of years ago and consider them prehistoric puppets, you have to wonder what a prehistoric puppet show would look like. Would it feature people in furs dancing around fire-lit caves grunting as they animate bits of stone and bone? A loud entrance from the woolly mammoth character?
Clearly, it's a spectacle that should be left to the imagination of puppeteers rather than anthropologists, and who better to animate such outlandish speculation than the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. With its headquarters in Calgary and its creators increasingly scattered across the country, Old Trout is always ready to reinvent itself and puppetry in the name of its next show.
"How expressive can a couple of rocks tied to a stick be?" asks Judd Palmer, one of the company's co-founders and narrator of Ignorance, a show about the prehistoric origins of happiness now in the midst of a national tour. "It's a documentary," he adds, "but it's a puppet documentary, which gives us licence to say whatever we want. We have no need for integrity, which is nice."
So, Ignorance is inspired partly by an anthropology book he once read that made dubious claims for prehistoric puppetry, partly by a visit to see prehistoric cave art in France while the group was on tour and partly by every myth about cavemen the puppeteers have been told at cocktail parties or online, where they posted drafts of the show and invited public comment.
The final results are a sort of a mockumentary about how both puppetry and the cerebral cortex evolved, leaving the show's contemporary puppet characters suicidally unhappy.
The prehistoric puppets, built by a group of creators led by Palmer and his two co-founders, Peter Balkwill and Pityu Kenderes, are fashioned from foam made to look like stone, along with bits of real antler and bone, fake sinew and fur, while the more conventional-looking contemporary characters are made from foam. Palmer provides the recorded narration, but the show itself is now performed by a trio of touring puppeteers who have signed on as the original Trouts increasingly try to spare themselves the rigours of the road. Dressed in long johns and sporting turn-of-the-century mustaches and a single horn in the middle of their heads, Nicolas Di Gaetano, Viktor Lukawski and Trevor Leigh both animate the puppets and prance about the stage in the role of demented anthropologists.
This is the Trouts' unusual adaptation of an originally Japanese style of puppetry in which the puppeteer is fully visible. In the Bunraku tradition, the puppeteers are dressed in discreet black robes, and the audience simply imagines them away. The Trouts, on the other hand, draw the audience's attention to their odd presences and sometimes interact with each other.
"Having the puppeteer visible has a sense of play. It enhances the dynamic between the audience, and the performer and the puppet," Judd says, as the troupe debated this approach in a recent interview.
"It's nice not to hide what is apparent: This person is transferring their energy into an inanimate object," Lukawski says.
"I like to see performers sweat," Di Gaetano adds.
The Trouts are always sweating in new ways for their audiences: One of their unusual approaches to puppetry is that they introduce new styles of puppets for each show rather than specializing in a single form such as hand puppets or marionettes. Since the founders first got together on a ranch in Southern Alberta in 1999, they have worn puppets on their heads, used a traditional puppet theatre with curtains and carved wooden puppets, and combined an actor with deconstructed puppet limbs.
"We eschew mastery," says Palmer, laughing, adding that for Ignorance they pioneered a technique of slipping the puppeteers' feet into shoes worn by the puppet to animate the pint-sized contemporary characters. The company subsequently discovered there are Japanese precedents for that technique, too, but they consider their style too chaotic to track influences.
"I don't think we are doing anything other than Alberta style: We make it up as we go along," Palmer says.
Ignorance plays at Canadian Stage's Berkeley Street Theatre in Toronto until Dec. 15 and will be performed in French at L'Espace Libre in Montreal, Jan. 15-19.Report Typo/Error
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blackbaud inc (BLKB:NASDAQ GS)
BOARD MEMBERS AFFILIATED WITH Joyce M. Nelson *
President Emeritus
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Erin Monroe Wesley, who has been in charge of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber's political advocacy since 2009, has been named as the organization's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Wesley will continue to direct BRAC's lobbying efforts, including leading its political action committee, FuturePAC, while managing day-to-day activities of the chamber. She had been acting COO since November, when Giles Whiting resigned to take a job in the private sector. BRAC decided to fold in COO duties into Wesley's responsibilities, and she will work in a dual capacity for the time being.
"I'm certainly excited about the vote of confidence from the board and Adam (Knapp, BRAC president and CEO)," she said.
Wesley, 34, is a native of Shreveport. She earned a bachelor's degree in business from LSU and graduated from Southern University Law Center in 2002. Before becoming BRAC's senior vice president of governmental affairs, she spent about eight years working as an associate executive counsel for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and as executive counsel for former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.
"Erin has been a great asset to BRAC and gained the trust of our staff and board. She has a high level of professionalism, strong leadership skills and a passion for economic development," Knapp said in a news release. "Erin's promotion to executive vice president will strengthen our organization."
Wesley said her top priority will be job creation. BRAC has set an annual goal of creating 1,000 jobs a year. In 2012, the organization played a role in recruiting 13 economic development projects that will add 1,128 direct jobs in the Capital Region.
"We have some exciting things in the pipeline," she said. "My goal is making sure that 2013 is better than 2012, a year when we had great accolades."
BRAC is closely monitoring the tax overhaul plan being developed by the Jindal administration, which has proposed eliminating state income and corporate taxes and raising state sales taxes. By mid-March, the organization should release a broad policy statement, saying what it would like to see in a tax plan, Wesley said.


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healthy living
Dog's Life: Lifestyle
Seven ways to carpe the summer diem.
Sure, you could sit around inside with your dog, sweating and complaining about the heat. But why do that when there are so many ways to take advantage of the season's longer days and warmer weather?
Make your dog a warm-weather flop spot. Look for a shady area in your yard, dig a shallow pit sized to fit your pup, line it with a thin layer of concrete and before the concrete dries, poke holes in it for drainage. Once the concrete has set, fill the pit with playground sand, dampen it and let the fun begin.
Plan a toxin-free and dog-friendly landscape. No snail bait, no cocoa mulch, no lethal plants (check out the ASPCA site for a list of ones to avoid), no chemical fertilizers, no fungicides, no herbicides, no pesticides. Ideal landscaping/hardscaping material doesn't get too hot, is easy on the paws and— in a perfect world—doesn't track into the house on fuzzy feet; pea gravel and pavers fill the bill.
Have some good, wet fun—summer's prime time for water play. A caveat, however: keep an eye on your dog for signs of hyponatremia, aka water intoxication, which can come on fast and is life-threatening. Bone up on the symptoms and make sure your dog takes breaks.
Experiment with a new way to cruise. Rent a dog-friendly camper trailer or houseboat and see the world from a whole new perspective. Some camper rental companies will handle delivery, setup and hauling away; do an online search for a company in your preferred vacation spot. For on-the-water accommodations, check out Houseboating.org.
Take in a drive-in. Remember the al fresco movie experience of yesteryear? Some communities revive this lovely summer tradition, and some even allow you to skip the car and loll on a blanket under the stars. Search for summer + drive-in and see what comes up in your area.
Sign up for summer school and learn new skills or master old ones. Training, agility, herding and freestyle are all on the agenda. Then, there are dog camps—the summer camps of your childhood, but way better. For maximum relaxation, match the activity type and level to your and your dog's temperaments.
Mark your calendar with "dog days" concerts and sporting events. Special offerings tend to pop up this time of the year, perfect for enjoyment with the pooch.
We know we don't have to tell you this, but while you're having fun with the pup, keep safety in mind. Stay out of the sun during the warmest hours, have plenty of water available, dab sunscreen on both yourself and your dog (yes, there are sunscreens for dogs), take lots of well-shaded rest breaks and never, never, never leave your dog in the car. If you're out walking, listen to what your dog's telling you; let him rest if he wants to and don't coax him to go faster. Finally, do your best to avoid areas with foxtails, those sticky, diabolical grass awns (seeds) that burrow into fur and skin and, once well in, don't come out without surgery. If these wild grasses show up in your yard—which they're prone to do—pull them out while they're still green.
Wellness: Healthy Living
Arizona genetics researchers are taking the unusual step of asking for dog lovers' help in fighting a mysterious, potentially lethal infection that plagues both dog and man.
They are looking for dogs to be registered and potentially to have their DNA collected to help combat valley fever, a fungus-based disease once confined to the Southwest desert but is now spreading across the country.
Valley fever can be triggered by inhalation of just a handful of spores of a particular fungus. People, dogs and cats are susceptible to the illness that was once believed to occur only in Arizona and California. The disease is not contagious and is not spread from species to species.
The risk for valley fever increases as climates get drier, say California State University, Bakersfield researchers. Warmer temperatures and less rain basically kill off the fungus' competitors for nutrients and thereby creating an ideal growing environment for the infection-causing fungus.
Valley fever is now being reported in states such as Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota, which never used to see the condition. And the states that typically see the condition are reporting more and more cases: The number of Valley Fever reports is increasing in more than a third of California's counties, putting more dogs at risk for a disease that can lead to lameness, extreme weight loss and coma.
When Charlie, a 75-pound Chocolate Lab, started coughing, it didn't set off any alarms. But then he developed a fever and was diagnosed as having kennel cough, which can be easily treated by antibiotics and steroids. Then the symptoms returned and again it was misdiagnosed as pneumonia. More than two months passed before Charlie was given the correct medication; the delay in a correct diagnosis lessens his chances for a full recovery.
Charlie now spends most of his time sleeping off the effects of valley fever, instead of being his normal playful self.
There is no cure for valley fever. Currently treatments focus on helping dogs beat the symptoms. Vet bills can mount up since a dog may have to get medication for up to eighteen months; in some severe cases, a dog may be on medicine for the rest of his life. It is estimated that Arizona dog lovers spend $60 million per year in caring for dogs with valley fever.
Seeing the increase in valley fever cases across the U.S., Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) researchers are now asking for dog people to take a brief online survey about their pet's breed, health history and lifestyle. After the survey, the dog may be selected to give a saliva sample.
Then after the swabbing is done, researchers will look for differences in the genes of dogs who are sick compared to dogs who show signs of exposure to valley fever but who aren't sick.
"In certain dogs, a minor infection can progress to severe disease, and the reasons for this are unknown," said Dr. Bridget Barker, assistant professor and head of TGen's Northern Arizona Center for Valley Fever Research in Flagstaff, Ariz.
This information would be used to help develop new therapies for both dogs and people, she said.
For more information about TGen's Valley Fever PAWS (Prevention, Awareness, Working for Solutions), visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vfpaws, and on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPAWS.
Wellness: Health Care
Though in many ways, our dogs communicate with us all the time, when it comes to their pain, we have to figure it out on our own. Here to help with that daunting task is Michael Petty, DVM, author of the newly released Dr. Petty's Pain Relief for Dogs in a Q&A with Bark editor Claudia Kawczynska.
What are the most common ways dog guardians can recognize that their dogs are in pain, beyond obvious signs like limping or decreased appetite?
The answer to this is complicated and I probably can't do it justice here. However, if people start to see their dog as lazy, not socially interacting, reluctant to do the things they liked in the past—really, any behavioral change—then pain should be on the list of possible problems. Dogs rarely quit doing the things they like to do because they're old, they quit doing them because there's something wrong. And that usually means disease, commonly something painful like degenerative joint disease.
You note in your book that "there is no one-size-fits-all approach to pain treatment." You also mention something called a "pain examination." What does that entail, and is it something that's perhaps best handled by a specialist?
A pain exam can take many forms. My approach depends in part on the history given to me by the dog's caregiver, the breed, prior medical conditions and watching the dog walk into the exam room, just to name a few.
Every pain exam should consist of a complete physical exam; an observation of the dog's gait when possible; a basic neurological exam (many neurological issues can mimic pain); and a hands-on palpation of the dog's joints, muscles and bones. Based on the fi ndings, X-rays are often indicated, as well as blood work and urinalysis in anticipation of possible pharmaceutical interventions and procedures requiring sedation or anesthesia.
No one specialty "owns" pain. Anesthesiologists are well trained to handle acute pain, but not chronic. Neurologists are trained in matters like intervertebral disc disease, but not osteoarthritis. The list goes on. My fi rst choice would be to seek out someone with a pain certifi cation—a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner—from the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (ivapm.org). This certification takes several years to earn, and program graduates are experts in the fi eld of pain management.
Do most vets understand the importance of neuropathic pain (essentially, a misfire between the sensory/nervous system and a region of the body)? And how is it best diagnosed?
Most of the veterinarians I talk to, outside of those belonging to pain-aware organizations such as the IVAPM, do not have a firm understanding of neuropathic pain. In human medicine, diagnosing neuropathic pain is difficult; it requires both a verbal description of what the pain feels like and verbal responses to certain tests. Without these tools, most of the time, our diagnosis is, at best, an educated guess. However, patient response to therapy for neuropathic pain is one indication that a veterinarian is on the right track.
You note that aspirin is dangerous for dogs. Are there any over-the-counter medications that can be given to a dog who has sustained an injury, to ease pain and infl ammation before taking the dog to a vet?
No. No OTC medications are licensed for use in dogs. Ice and stabilizing injured limbs are about the best you can do.
You support the importance of omega-3 fatty acids as part of a dog's diet because they work to help decrease the production of pain-causing prostaglandins. Why is a fish-based source of omega-3 fatty acids preferred, and do foods such as canned salmon and water-packed sardines and tuna contain enough of it? How do we determine the correct amount?
Fish-based sources are best because of bioavailability. Sources like flax seed are okay for people but useless for dogs, as they cannot convert flax to omega-3s. If you are feeding a food that has salmon or sardines as an ingredient, then you don't have to worry about the amount, as it takes very little of these foods to provide enough omega-3s.
You call out a few botanicals, like ashwagandha, boswellia serrata and turmeric, for their benefits in pain relief and/or in reducing infl ammation. Do you prescribe these in your practice?
Yes. The problem is finding a reliable source of herbs, as they are not monitored by the FDA like pharmaceuticals are. One good option is a product called Dasuquin Advanced, from Nutramax; it has many important pain-modifying ingredients, including several herbs.
The veterinary attitude toward acupuncture seems to have changed a lot. In your experience, which conditions respond best to acupuncture? And how do you know which dogs are good candidates for this treatment? (I had a dog who would shake out the needles!)
Talking about acupuncture is one of my favorite things to do. I cannot imagine practicing without it, especially in my geriatric population, which is more sensitive to the effects of many drugs. I think attitudes have improved—in both veterinarians and dog owners—as more and more research is being published on the benefi ts of acupuncture; also, people hear about someone's dog being helped by it. In addition, it has the support of the National Institute of Health for the treatment of pain.
For many dogs, the proof of being a good candidate is obvious in their response to treatment. Within one to three treatments, we can usually see an improvement in pain scores and observations. If we don't, then sometimes the decision is made to stop treatment. I have had a few clients return and say they didn't realize how much it was helping until it was stopped.
Many people experience what you did with your own dog. Some dogs are needle-phobic and resent even one needle going in. Some dogs are just afraid of being at the veterinary clinic and won't sit still. I sometimes give these patients a mild sedative to get over this hump. A reduction in anxiety for several treatments often means that they eventually accept acupuncture without continued use of the sedative.
Finally, dewclaws. You make the point that a dog's dewclaw, the equivalent of a human thumb, plays important functions in both the mechanics of the front foot and in joint stability, and that ligaments and tendons connect it to surrounding tissues. Yet you also observe that some breeders routinely remove it. How can this horrible practice be changed? Do any vet groups take a position on this?
Both the AVMA and the American Animal Hospital Association discourage any surgery done for cosmetic reasons, but they only name ear-cropping and tail-docking. Unfortunately, I don't think this has had much of an impact, as very few breeders belong to either organization. I cannot speak for every state's practice act, but most (if not all) specify that surgery must be performed by a veterinarian. Every instance where a breeder chooses to perform surgery crosses that line, and they are breaking the law. I feel that the best way to address this issue is through kennel clubs, such as the AKC. If the AKC were to say, "No dog born after such-and-such date who has had cosmetic surgery, including dewclaw removal, ear-cropping or tail-docking, can be shown in AKC sanctioned shows," the practice would grind to a halt.
Wellness: Healthy Living
A Seasonal Heads-Up
Spring officially, well, springs forth in late March, but depending on where you live, it might show up earlier, or later. Either way, if you live with companion animals, it comes with a few cautions. Take note …
In the house. Thinking about dealing with a winter's worth of dust and debris? Think smart about your cleaning products; many are irritating or even toxic for dogs. Invest in eco-friendly products, or make them yourself. (For a passel of cleaning tips as well as other ways to green up your paw print.)
In the driveway. Most often associated with winter, antifreeze poisonings happen in the spring as well. Whether from shade-tree mechanics, unidentified vehicle leaks or even the bases of portable basketball hoops, ethylene glycol–based antifreeze winds up in driveways and streets, where its sweet taste attracts dogs and cats. Even in tiny amounts, it's been known to cause sudden kidney failure.
In the yard. Slug and snail baits combine an attractant, usually apple meal or some other sweet-smelling base, with an active chemical compound such as metaldehyde to poison whatever swallows the bait. Increased rodent activity also means increased use of rat poison, which is one of the deadliest things your dog can ingest. Keep all of them out of dogs' reach.
If you're planting (or replanting), check out the ASPCA's list of toxic and non-toxic plants. A safe choice trumps a dangerous one, particularly if your dog likes to graze in your garden. Go to aspca.org and enter toxic plants in the search box.
Then there are fertilizers; even organic or natural varieties can be harmful. Blood and bone meal can cause vomiting, diarrhea and pancreatic inflammation. Grass and flower fertilizers can also contain toxic chemicals that may be deadly if ingested.
Out and about. If your dog spent a good chunk of the winter crashed on the couch or eating a few too many sweet potato chews, it's a good idea to bound gradually into a spring exercise regime. Monitor your pet and start slow. (This is also applies to the human member of the team.)
If your outings take you to your local dog park or over hill and dale, keep an eye out for foxtails—wild grass awns that begin to sprout in abundance in the spring. They're more obvious later on in the year when they dry out, but they're also a problem at the green stage. Get Dr. Shea Cox's take on the problem.
News: Editors
Spring Tips and Green Ideas
Spring and spring cleaning days are upon us, plus March 20th also marks the start of National Poison Prevention Week. An informative notice from Dr. Denise Petryk, on-staff veterinarian at Trupanion (pet insurance), provides insights into the most common pet poisons and other tips to help protect dogs and keep them out of harm's way:
· Household cleaning products: Soaps, bleach, detergents, specialized cleaners and even sponges can harm a pet by irritating the skin or eyes, as well as damaging and blocking the gastrointestinal system. See better alternatives to these cleaning products.
· Plants: Tulips, Daffodils, Foxglove and Azaleas are all plants that can cause symptoms such as vomiting, drooling and even kidney damage when ingested by pets. Lilies are especially toxic to cats—and popular around Easter time—and can cause kidney problems, while the Sago Palm plant causes health problems such as vomiting, diarrhea and liver failure in dogs.
· Fertilizers: The nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and herbicides that supplement plant growth can cause severe symptoms in pets, such as difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea and intestinal blockage. Be very careful about fertilizing lawn areas where many dogs like to spend time.
· Yard tools: Rakes, shrub sheers and even shovels can be deadly for curious pets if they're not stored properly.
· Pest control substances: Rodenticides and other poisons such as slug bait are toxic to all animals, so owners should take special care to keep their pet away.
For more green ideas and safety tips see our dog-friendly prepping for spring checklist.
Wellness: Healthy Living
Winter Paw Tips
Trim Fur between dog toe pads that can get packed with snow and ice walking painful.
Boot Up Consider dog booties, make sure the fit is correct and start with short walks, with plenty of treats.
Avoid Frozen ponds or streams, dogs may fall through ice less than 2 inches thick.
Lube Up Lubricate paws to prevent skin cracks caused by cold, dry air. A thin coating of products as Bag Balm, Musher's Secret or petroleum jelly will also do.
Quick Wipe Wash paws off after walks. Dogs can lick salt, antifreeze or other chemicals, plus paw pads may bleed from snow or encrusted ice.
Good Dog: Behavior & Training
Eight ways you and your anxious dog can catch a break
It sometimes feels like the dog world is polarized between people who "get" anxious and reactive dogs and people who don't. Worse, the people who don't can be dismissive and unkind, not to mention make it difficult for you to navigate the world with your dog by not respecting personal space.
Lately, however, people are coming to realize that completely calm, bombproof dogs are closer to the exception than the rule. Many dogs have something they're not good with, whether it's alone time, storms, cats or children. This increased awareness has translated into more and easier tactics to help anxious dogs than walking them at 5 in the morning. Here are eight ways to make life with your anxious or reactive dog better for both of you.
1. Seek out a PR trainer. In recent years, modern trainers have learned that an overwhelming majority of dogs who lunge at, bark at and fight with other dogs and humans aren't doing so because they're "dominant" or because they want to be "pack leader." They're doing it because they're scared. A frightened dog, especially one who feels like she can't escape, will turn to aggression to "get him before he gets me." Once we know that aggression is rooted in fear, we know to avoid trainers who "rehabilitate" aggressive dogs by dominating them. Hurting a dog doesn't stop her from being scared, it just makes her shut down. Change the emotion, on the other hand, and you'll change the behavior. A dog who isn't scared of other dogs has no need to bark or fight. Find a good trainer, ideally one who follows positive reinforcement principles and is certified by CCPDT, and you can work wonders together.
2. Make her visible. This might sound like the last thing you want to do with an anxious dog—I've certainly spent my share of time hiding around corners and not opening my door until I've checked that the coast is clear—but drawing attention to your dog's anxiety is a good way to tell other people not to approach. Put a yellow ribbon on your dog's leash, or buy a bandanna or harness that says "nervous" or "no dogs" and you're giving people a heads-up without having to yell at them.
3. Muzzle up. If your dog is reactive and big enough that you could lose control if she lunges, consider a good quality muzzle. A muzzled dog is still seen by most people as a dangerous dog, which can lead to some unpleasantness for the owner, but thankfully, the Muzzle Up! Project is trying to get rid of that prejudice and spread the word that a muzzle is a sign of a responsible owner and a safe dog. By making those with aggressive dogs feel safer, muzzles allow both people and dogs to get more enjoyment from being outside.
4. Consider changing your vet if he/she isn't tuned in to your dog's needs. While some vets are great with nervous and aggressive dogs, others are still very old school; they don't listen to owners and use invasive and rough handling. There are, however, new techniques out there for vets dealing with anxious dogs. Dr. Sophia Yin has developed a program for vets that focuses on low-stress handling, which can make a huge difference in your dog's anxiety levels. And Dogs in Need of Space has a list of vets who go the extra mile for anxious dogs; if you do want to change your vet, it's a good place to start.
5. Learn your dog's body language. Your dog constantly communicates how she's feeling, and the better you understand what she's saying, the easier it can be to avoid stressful situations. Something that was fine for her last week might be too much for her to cope with today due to a phenomenon called trigger stacking (an increase in anxiety-related behaviors caused by the dog experiencing repeated stressful events without enough time in between for the associated stress hormones to leave her system). Avoid this by keeping an eye out for signs that tell you how your dog is feeling.
There are lots of resources for learning the basics; Lili Chin has made some lovely posters, and there's even an iPhone app, so you needn't run out and buy a textbook. Just remember that every dog is an individual, so you might not see all the signs of stress all the time. My dog only pants when she's hot, for example.
6. Try medication. When I tell people, "My dog's on Prozac," most of them laugh; they think it's a funny way of talking about her anxiety. It's not: she really is on Prozac. Many of the same antidepressant medications that millions of humans use have been proven to help dogs with anxiety have the confidence to try new behaviors. A conversation with your vet is the first step on this route. Your vet can refer you to a veterinary behaviorist, a DVM who is knowledgeable about both training and medication; a vet behaviorist can give you a complete prescription tailored to your dog's needs and, ideally, liaise with your trainer or applied animal behaviorist (a professional who specializes in dogs with behavioral problems but is not a vet).
Making the decision to try medical intervention can seem like a big step, but there is a lot of specialist information designed to make it easier. A good place to start is Debbie Jacob's website, fearfuldogs.com. There are also numerous over-the-counter pills and products marketed to help anxious dogs, but be careful if you choose to experiment with them. Most "calming supplements" haven't been tested, and evidence for the ones that have been is sketchy at best. Ultimately, it's a personal choice, but do remember that treatment has its own kind of placebo effect.
7. Find a shared interest. It's okay to be disappointed that your dog doesn't want to go to the dog park, agility trials or pavement cafés. Try focusing on what you guys can do together instead. Set up indoor obstacle courses, go on quiet wilderness hikes, take nose-work classes or just chill at home. Don't try to force the dog you have to be the dog you wanted. In the end, you're likely to make her problems worse, not to mention strain your relationship.
8. Know your limits. If you're really out of your depth, or your dog represents a serious danger to you or your children, it's okay to consider rehoming. Training and medications are expensive, and anxious dogs often require a lifetime commitment. In some cases, it's safer for you and better for the dog to find a new home where she can get what she needs if you don't have the resources or the situation to provide it. You're not a bad person or a failure—you're making the wisest, kindest choice in the circumstances.
With these options, life with an anxious dog doesn't have to be lonely!
News: Editors
A gathering of ideas
There is an astounding amount of research on dogs—academic studies, medical research, social and psychological testing, not to mention reams of data gathered from our everyday lives. Thoughtfully assimilated, all of this information can help us and our dogs live better lives together.
I was reminded of how fortunate dog enthusiasts are to share in this wealth of information upon my return last week from Purina's Better with Pets Summit (November 3). The annual event, this year presented in Brooklyn, NY, was a gathering of pet experts sharing their latest findings with the media. The theme for the day was "exploring the best ideas for bringing people and pets closer together." It was an apt description.
The day started out with an inspired presentation by Dr. Arleigh Reynolds, a veterinarian and research scientist who studies the impact of nutrition on performance on sled dogs. A champion musher himself, Reynolds' talk focused not on a program he's involved with in the Alaskan village of Huslia. This small coastal community was the home of George Attla, a famed champion musher and native Athabascan who ruled the sport for thirty years before retiring. In honor of his son Frank, who died at age 21 in 2010, Attla started the Frank Attla Youth and Sled Dog Care Mushing Program. The program serves many purposes—providing skills, lessons in cultural traditions, and a sense of belonging to the youth population while uniting all townspeople around a common activity, mushing. The program, as described warmly by Reynolds and in a short documentary film demonstrates the power that dogs can initiate in our lives.
Next up was a panel discussion titled "Are Millennials Changing Our Relationships with Cats?"—offering the interesting observation that a new generation of cat people have now formed a community on the internet—so as dog people connect at dog parks, cat lovers now interact online sharing their passion for felines. We met Christina Ha, the co-founder of Meow Parlour, New York's first cat café. Can a canine café be in our future?
The most anticipated panel "Stress, Our Pets, and Us" featured animal behaviorist Ragen McGowan, PhD; architect Heather Lewis (Animal Arts) and Dr. Tony Buffington, professor of veterinary science. McGowan discussed the value of having dogs work for their food citing her studies with grizzlies, chickens and mice on the practice of contrafreeloading (working for food when food is freely available). Lewis's architectural practice specializes in designing veterinary hospitals and animal care facilities around the country, meeting the unique needs of both workers and animals. It's evident that good design can have an important impact on animal friendly environments—from soothing color palettes to calming lighting levels or the simple use of horizontal bars (less stress inducing) instead of traditional vertical bars. The key takeaway: Mental exercise for animals might be as important to their well-being as physical exercise.
"Raising Pets and Kids" featured Jayne Vitale of Mutt-i-grees Child Development Director; Ilana Resiner, veterinarian behaviorist; and Charley Bednarsh, Director of Children's Services (Brooklyn). The Bark features an in-depth article in its Winter 2015 issue on Mutt-i-grees, a program developed by the North Shore Animal League that offers academic and emotional support to students from kindergarten through high school, teaching them how to be ambassadors for the humane treatment of animals. Bednarsh and her therapy dog Paz, team up to assist young witnesses of domestic violence navigate the judicial system (a similar program first reported in The Bark). We were reminded of the important contribution to the health and well-being of the children in these extraordinary programs, and also to common households. Note to self: Don't humanize your dog—study, understand, embrace their dogness.
The afternoon offered a room full of experiential exhibits—interactive displays that provided lessons in healthy environments, cognition, reading your pet, nutrition and your pet's purpose. Manned by teams of experts, the well designed displays presented an immersive course in Dog and Cat 101. I'd love to see the exhibits showcased to the general public, those most in need of education and guidance in the proper care of pet companions. The day was rich with ideas and notes that we'll shape into future articles for The Bark.
Purina's commitment to offering a forum of ideas is commendable. In a similar vein, the company hosted another notable event on November 7—a free live video cast of the Family Dog Project from Hungary—with over a dozen presentations by leading scientists and animal behaviorist exploring everything from canine cognition to sensory perception in dogs. Like the Pet Summit, it was a fascinating collection of concepts and dialogue, enriching to everybody who participated.
For more check out #BetterWithPets
Wellness: Food & Nutrition
Home cooking helps you feed 'em well for less.
When suppertime rolls around, there's nothing like a healthy home-cooked meal. This is true not only for the human members of your family, but for your dog as well. Cooking for your canine companion has many benefits, including fewer preservatives and additives, more varied and potentially better ingredients and, of course, more interest for the canine palate.
Homemade meals may even make it possible to feed your dog well for less. A 15- pound bag of high-end dry dog food costs approximately $42, and a 5.5 oz. can of high-end wet food runs approximately $2. Feeding a medium-sized dog two cans of wet mixed with two cups of dry food costs about $5 per day. That doesn't include the treats, bones and tidbits that inevitably make their way into her tummy! Compare that with four cups of Puppy Stew (recipe here) at $2.25 per day. Add the cost of a vitamin/ mineral supplement and calcium, and it is still less than the cost of feeding high-end commercial food.* (You can also combine homemade meals with commercially available dry dog food. This will, of course, change the nutritional calculations as well as the price, but your pup will still be pleased.)
As both able hunters and scavengers, dogs ate from a diverse menu when they began accompanying humans. An omnivorous diet of protein, carbohydrate and fat sources suits them; dogs in good health can also handle the fat in their diet more effectively than you can— their bodies use it for energy and then efficiently clear it from the bloodstream.
The caveats? Dogs have different nutrient requirements than people. For example, they need high-quality protein, more calcium and more minerals for their proportional body size. Calcium is particularly critical. In The Complete Holistic Dog Book, co-author Katy Sommers, DVM, notes that "calcium is perhaps the single most important supplement for a successful home-cooked diet. Even if you're feeding a variety of foods, you'll need to supply an extra source of calcium." She recommends giving one 600 mg calcium carbonate tablet (or 1⁄2 teaspoon of the powder form) for each 10 to 15 pounds of body weight daily for most adult dogs. (She also points out that, if you're mixing homemade and commercial foods, you don't need to supplement as heavily, as commercial foods contain adequate or possibly even excessive amounts of calcium and phosphorus.) More good advice on this subject can be found in Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, and Susan Hubble Pitcairn.
There are some human foods that dogs should never be given, including macadamia nuts, chocolate, tea, coffee, raisins, grapes, onions or excessive amounts of garlic. And, of course, check with your veterinarian before making big changes to your dog's diet, particularly if she has any preexisting health conditions. Once you get the green light, make the changes gradually to avoid digestive upsets; introduce new foods slowly, substituting a small proportion of the new food for the old over time. Finally, be careful not to provide too many overall calories (energy), as obesity is just as unhealthy for dogs as it is for humans; your vet can help you determine how much your dog should be eating.
Food safety is also an issue. While dogs have many defenses against bacteria, parasites and other food-borne pathogens, they are not immune to them. Be sure to keep utensils clean, perishables refrigerated and ingredients cooked to appropriate internal temperatures to kill off any unwanted bugs. This is particularly important for puppies, old dogs or those with a health condition that makes them vulnerable.
In general, your homemade recipes should contain a high-value protein source (muscle meat, eggs, fish, liver), a fat source (safflower, olive, canola or fish oil; the best and most easily available fish oils are salmon and cod), a fiber-containing carbohydrate (brown rice, sweet potato, oats, barley), and a phytochemical source (fruits, vegetables, herbs). Substitutions can be made; for example, if you know your dog likes whole-grain pasta, substitute pasta for barley as a carbohydrate source. Some dogs, like some kids, hate veggies but will eat fruit, so use fruit instead; fruit can complement meats just as readily as vegetables can. Yogurt, cottage cheese, beans and tofu can occasionally be used as protein sources, but keep in mind that not all dogs can tolerate dairy products, beans or soy and may become flatulent or experience other gastrointestinal "issues"; test tolerance with small quantities.
When you cook a batch of homemade food, let it cool, and—if you make more than your dog can eat within a couple of days—portion it into reusable, washable containers, then freeze and defrost as needed. You can safely keep cooked food in the refrigerator for three days; after that, spoilage becomes a concern.
By adhering to the basic guidelines, you can be creative, provide great homemade meals and know that the ingredients are wholesome. You might even try serving some of these recipes to your human family so they can feel special too.
These recipes are calculated for a healthy adult medium-sized dog (approximately 35 to 40 pounds) who's moderately active. The ingredients listed are standard (not organic) and can be purchased at any supermarket. Dogs of this general description require approximately 1,800 mg of calcium daily, according to Sommers, et al. If your dog is smaller or larger, her total calcium requirements can be calculated using 600 mg for every 12.5 pounds. (If your dog is a senior, still growing or has health issues, please consult your veterinarian— we really can't say this often enough!) For a veterinary nutritionist– developed canine vitamin/mineral (calcium- inclusive) supplement, check out BalanceIT® powder.
Important: Many veterinarians, while acknowledging that pet food recalls and the poor quality of some pet foods are causes for concern, still feel that homemade diets, when fed exclusively, may result in nutritional imbalances and vitamin/mineral deficiencies that may pose threats to canine health. Therefore, if you choose to feed your dog a homemade diet, it is important that you understand and provide what your dog needs to stay healthy; veterinary nutritionists can assist in developing suitable homemade diets. While caution was taken to give safe recommendations and accurate instructions in this article, it is impossible to predict an individual dog's reaction to any food or ingredient. Readers should consult their vets and use personal judgment when applying this information to their own dogs' diets.
*The cost of feeding homemade will vary according to the size, activity level and health of your dog. Dogs who are pregnant or lactating, growing pups and those who perform endurance activities require much more nutrition (calories, protein, fatty acids) and have other special nutritional needs.
Wellness: Food & Nutrition
Some things to know about "low-cal" pet food
There's no denying obesity is a major canine health issue. Obesity contributes to arthritis, heart and liver disease, diabetes, respiratory difficulties, heat stroke, some cancers and more. And somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of domestic cats and dogs in the United States are overweight, according to several estimates. As we do in our personal battles of the bulge, we turn to reduced calorie diets for help. Unfortunately, these may not be the straightforward solution they appear to be.
A study of so-called light or low-calorie pet foods performed at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University revealed a confusing variation in calorie density and feeding recommendations among brands. Researchers found dry dog foods making weight management claims ranged in calorie density from 217 to 440 kilocalories per cup (kcal/cup), and that the recommended intake ranged from 0.73 to 1.47 times the dog's resting energy requirement.
What this means is that well-meaning dog owners following manufacturer guidelines might not see promised weight loss in their chubby pups—in fact, they might see weigh gain—leading to frustration for people and ill health for dogs.
Knowing and counting calories is a priority for weight management, according to veterinary nutritionist Edward Moser, MS, VMD, DACVN, with whom we talked about the Tufts study and canine weight management. Dr. Moser is an adjunct assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, he serves on the National Organic Standards Board Pet Food Task Force.
"It's incumbent on the pet owner to know what calories are in the food and the energy their dog needs," Dr. Moser says. While weight and age are a good starting point for calculating what your dog requires maintain or lose weight, there are other important multipliers to take into consideration, such as whether your dog is spayed or neutered, and the intensity and duration of their daily activity. Also, pregnant or nursing dogs and puppies need more energy (aka calories).
A good way to set a calorie baseline is with a visit to your veterinarian. Since only about 17 percent of owners think their dogs are overweight, according to one study, the first step is breaking through denial. Your vet can help. There are several ways to set a daily calorie count, such as aiming for a one percent of total weight loss each week, or 75 percent of the calories required to maintain a goal weight, etc., Dr. Moser says.
The important thing is to be consistent and engaged. Once you cut back on calories, weigh your dog about every ten days, Dr. Moser says, to see when they plateau. Also, he recommends something called "body condition scoring." The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine website provides an illustrated chart that shows dogs and cats from emaciated to obese. Look at the pictures and ask: Where does my dog fit? You should be able to feel your dog's ribs but your fingers shouldn't fit between them.
Why diet food? Why not just feed your dog less of his or her regular food? "What makes a diet food different is we're essentially diluting calories," Dr. Moser says. There are only a couple ways you can do that including reducing fat content, which decreases calorie density and palatability, or adding fiber or even air, in the case of kibble. The calories in canned food can be diluted with water. "We are making dogs think they are full when they've really only eaten 75 percent of the calories," Dr. Moser says. "The other stuff is just helping you feed more so the dog doesn't beg."
One reason Dr. Moser says people aren't successful with low calorie food is because they leave it out for free-choice feeding. (Imagine a sort of bottomless bowl." "Because even low calorie foods have calories," he says. He agrees with the study recommendation that free-choice feeding is not a good option—in part because food today is extremely palatable and so it's easy for dogs to overeat. The better option is a measured quantity of food a couple times a day, he says.
If you don't see calories listed on your label that's because calorie counts are only required on dog food that claims to be lite, light, less calorie or low calorie. (The Academy of Canine Veterinary Nutrition, to which study co-author Dr. Lisa Freeman and Dr. Moser belong, is advocating for requiring calorie information on all pet food labels.) Foods with a light, lite, or low-calorie designation must also adhere to a maximum kilocalorie per kilogram restriction. However, Dr. Freeman pointed out that more than half of the foods evaluated in her study exceeded this maximum.
Why does it matter if your pup's a little plump? Dr. Moser points to research that shows keeping dogs thin can extend their lives by as much as one and half years—that should motivate us to study labels and get out our measuring cups.
Copyright © 1997-2017 The Bark, Inc. Dog Is My Co-Pilot® is a registered trademark of The Bark, Inc


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text:
|You are in: Europe
Tuesday, 21 January, 2003, 16:36 GMT
Passport plan brings alliance to life
France and Germany are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their co-operation agreement with a declaration promising a whole host of Franco-German goodies.
Alongside pledges of foreign policy and defence co-operation, it includes a proposal for dual French-German nationality which could have a more tangible effect than just renewing frayed ties in Europe's main political engine.
Xavier Froidevaux, a Frenchman living in Germany, cherishes the passport of his motherland.
"I feel very French. It would be a huge shock for my family if I became German - because of our family's history," he told BBC News Online.
Although he is married to a German, at present he could only take on German nationality if he renounced his French passport - an unacceptable demand for him.
But, he says, he and his family would have no problem with him having dual nationality.
"My father reacted stoically, but for my mother it was a problem," she said. "She cried, she felt like she had lost me".
EU citizens have equal rights to work and live in any member state and can vote in local and European elections in other member states - but, importantly for Ms Manach, not in national elections.
"I'd been in Germany 16 years, I was a member of a political party and didn't have the right to vote. I found it terrible to be involved in a party and a society and not have any say over the government".
If dual nationality was available, said Ms Manach, she would immediately adopt it.
"It wasn't very nice to lose my French citizenship - it hurt."
Symbolic move
Andreas Schwab from the Franco-German journal Le Forum, is also attracted by the proposal.
"I'd get dual nationality. I don't need it but it's an emotional thing," he said.
"The declaration for the anniversary of the Elysee agreement needs a symbol that Germany and France - and the German and French people - are very close to one another," he said.
There is a dearth of concrete proposals in the declaration and existing projects such as boosting French and German language learning have had little success on the ground.
And, Mr Schwab says, the next stage of rapprochement - for example the much discussed possibility of a shared seat on the United Nations Security Council - is a step the two governments are not ready to take.
"They wanted to come up with something concrete to show we can still make something happen," he said.
See also:
16 Jan 03 | Europe
15 Jan 03 | Europe
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13 Jan 03 | Europe
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text:
JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: bringing opera to the community and the community into opera.
Jeff is back with that story.
JEFFREY BROWN: A tragic death scene, a lyrical duet and an epic tale of family and history, the very stuff of grand opera.
But this is "Cruzar la Cara de la Luna," "To Cross the Face of the Moon," composed in 2010 and billed as the first mariachi opera. It's part of an experiment by one of the nation's leading opera companies to reach new audiences, become a better neighbor in its community and just maybe help secure the future of an art form.
PATRICK SUMMERS, Artistic Director, Houston Grand Opera: I believe that the responsibility of an arts institution is to broaden our art and take it to as many people as want it, as want to seek it out. We have an educational and an embracing responsibility. And I think that's a bigger responsibility than filling the seats in the theater.
JEFFREY BROWN: Patrick Summers, artistic director of the Houston Grand Opera, is hardly giving up on the classics. On the day of our visit, he rehearsed singers preparing for a production of Verdi's "Il Trovatore."
And the company is mounting a new version of Wagner's "Ring Cycle" in the next few years. But amid rapid demographic change, as Houston has become one of the most diverse big cities in the country, where minorities make up the majority of the population, the company decided it had no choice but to rethink its role.
PATRICK SUMMERS: We absorb each other's culture and what comes out is something very uniquely American. And that's how I view Houston. And that's very much how I view the role of the Houston Grand Opera, to reflect that youthful immigrant city.
JEFFREY BROWN: The effort began six years with a production called "The Refuge," which told stories of refugees from around the world who've settled in Houston.
It was the brainchild of then general director Anthony Freud, who created HGOco, Houston Grand Opera Company Community Collaboration. More than a dozen works have followed, most recently, one called "Memory Stone" about members of Houston's Asian community after the 2011 tsunami in Japan.
All have been based on real people and experiences and are often performed in smaller neighborhood venues around the city.
SANDRA BERNHARD, Director, HGOco: I want to know what you detected as themes. I want to know if some of those themes changed when you sat in an audience with your community.
JEFFREY BROWN: Sandra Bernhard heads HGOco and on this evening wasn't in the opera house, but a community center meeting with Hispanic teens and local leaders.
SANDRA BERNHARD: Our job is to listen to the community. We show up, you listen, you show up again. You listen. You show. You shut up. And you listen again.
JEFFREY BROWN: And then when do you start doing something? And what do you do?
SANDRA BERNHARD: What we do is tell the stories of those who call Houston their home. And we do that through small works, through chamber works, through writing songs about things that people care about.
JEFFREY BROWN: Some critics have asked, this is fine as community outreach, but is it really opera? Bernhard's response: Don't sweat the strict definitions.
SANDRA BERNHARD: Sometimes it doesn't look like an opera and sometimes opera can be defined as storytelling with words and music. And that's how we like to define it. Sometimes, it's not about grand.
JEFFREY BROWN: Last year, the company staged a work titled "Past the Checkpoints," about an undocumented Mexican youth living in Texas.
They partnered with teens in an after-school training program called Digital Connectors and got the young people, including Pablo Flores and San Juana Banda, both 16, to come see and help market the production using their new skills.
What was that like?
PABLO FLORES, Student: I didn't feel overwhelmed, but I was worried that we didn't really have experience for doing this.
JEFFREY BROWN: And what happened?
PABLO FLORES: Well, we took it step by step. We all talked. We were all communicating and I think we did a pretty good job.
SAN JUANA BANDA, Student: I know like a lot of teenagers don't really care about opera. It's not their thing.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
SAN JUANA BANDA: And I think it's important for them to know about opera.
JEFFREY BROWN: If it's not their thing, how did you try to reach them?
SAN JUANA BANDA: By social media. We created a Facebook page. We send invitations about the opera.
PABLO FLORES: People want to see their story being played in the opera. The want to see, oh, I can relate to that; that's what I went through.
JEFFREY BROWN: They also thought it was important for Anglo audiences to see as well.
SAN JUANA BANDA: It shows a part of Houston that is not really told that much.
JEFFREY BROWN: Seventy-four-year-old Yani Rose Keo knows that side of Houston through hard-earned personal and professional experience. Keo fled her native Cambodia in 1975. Several members of her family were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
She eventually came to Houston and started a nonprofit organization that provides job training and social services to immigrants from all over the world. Three years ago, she got an unexpected call from the Houston Grand Opera.
YANI ROSE KEO, Houston: She said, Yani, I want you to talk what you — about your life. I said, are you sure? Because our culture, that we don't tell the world.
JEFFREY BROWN: Your culture is not to tell?
YANI ROSE KEO: No. You are not to tell your own personal story to anyone.
JEFFREY BROWN: Eventually, she decided to work with a writer and composer. And the result was "New Arrivals."
YANI ROSE KEO: The first time I saw it, I cried and cried. I can close my eyes, I see what my family went through, how hard they went through, and even my life, my anger that I went through. I changed my anger into peace and love.
JEFFREY BROWN: Companies throughout the country are watching what is happening in Houston, aware of the need to engage and build new audiences.
In the meantime, "Cruzar," the Mariachi opera, has begun a life beyond Houston. It's been produced in Chicago, San Diego and even Paris. And next year, the company will spotlight a different kind of local community, as it develops an opera based on the stories of Iraq war veterans returning to Houston.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Online, watch an excerpt from the world's first mariachi opera and learn more about how the Houston Grand Opera is engaging with residents.


text:
Friday, January 4, 2013
Eagle turnovers and sharp South Albany shooting kept Hood River Valley's boys basketball team from surpassing .500 for the first time in nine seasons.
Ryan Wheat led the Eagles with 17 and Wyatt Webber added 10 but the visiting Rebels grabbed a 10-point lead early in the third quarter Wednesday and never let the margin get below eight points, wrangling a hard-fought 68-58 win at Vannet Court.
HRVHS led 20-19 after the first quarter but South Albany dominated the second quarter to take a 38-34 halftime lead.
Turnovers plagued both teams, but SAHS effectively employed the trap in the second and third quarters, and gradually gained its three-point shooting accuracy, nailing seven including three in the decisive third quarter.
Every time HRV nibbled the lead to seven or eight, SAHS responded with a three.
"We had 26 turnovers which is 11 more than what we are averaging a game," coach Steve Noteboom said. "We also gave up 17 offensive rebounds. These are the two biggest reasons why we lost the game."
The Eagles looked to have the upper hand early, going up 18-13 on a long three-ball by senior RJ Chavez (9 points) followed by a jumper by junior Wyatt Webber (10 points).
In the third, South put the press on, and while HRV broke it on several occasions, the Rebels' backcourt gamble paid off in several turnovers. South also drove baseline to draw fouls, and kept the Eagles on their heels with effective fast breaks after most HRV scores.
The Rebels went up 34-28 on their third three-pointer of the quarter, and guard Austin Clarke answered with his own to make it 34-31. But that was as close as Hood River would get on the night.
Guard Cesar Romero's efforts in the first half would not show up on the stat sheet but his defense slowed his opponents in the backcourt and halted penetration from the top of the key.
In the second half Romero pulled down three rebounds, including one in the middle of three taller Rebels. Romero scored on a thrilling layup when he split two defenders and speared through the lane for a layup and was fouled.
Wheat picked up his second foul four minutes into the game, and took a while to get going, but scored eight of the team's 12 fourth-quarter points. HRV seemed to have the chance several times midway through the final quarter, but SAHS always had an answer.
South also turned the ball over several times in each quarter, and HRV got the benefit of four offensive foul calls in the second half but could rarely capitalize on the new possessions.
South held its 10-point lead throughout the fourth, and got down by as much as 14.
Chavez showed spark in the second half, defensively and in lane penetration, at one point muscling his way under from the baseline, grabbing his own rebound in traffic, pump-faking and banking in his second attempt from a tough angle, and five seconds later diving to force an SAHS turnover on the other end.
At 2:30 remaining SAHS ran down the clock, passing around the perimeter with controlled dribbling and passing. HRV was down by 10 but would not intentionally foul until 1:11 left.
"We had three fouls to give down the stretch and we should have been more aggressive on the defensive end," Noteboom said Thursday. "We worked on situations like that during practice today."
HRV highlights: Wheat 17, Webber 10, Chavez 9, Fults 7, Clarke 6, Kennedy 4, Romero 3, Weekly 2
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text:
Crime & Punishment of Saturday, 4 January 2014
Source: Graphic.com.gh
The 27-year-old suspected kidnapper who was arrested recently has admitted he was the mastermind of the child kidnappings from some churches in the Accra Metropolis.
Ernest Kwabena Koomson told the Accra Circuit Court he kidnapped the four children in the recent kidnaps and demanded ransoms from their parents.
Appearing before the court, the accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, said he committed the offence without knowing the repercussions.
His 19-year-old accomplice, Isaac Ntie, who was represented by Mr Odei Fianko, denied the offence proffered by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Charles Chester.
The court, presided over by Ms Ellen V. Amoah, entered a plea of not guilty for the kidnapper mastermind and his accomplice and remanded them in police custody to reappear on January 7, 2013.
The court heard that the two were arrested about 8:30 a.m. on December 22, 2013 by police officers from the Greater Accra Regional Police Command who had information that a nine-year-old boy had been kidnapped from the North Kaneshie branch of the Lighthouse Chapel International Church (Quodesh) in Accra.
According to the facts of the case, the father of the kidnapped boy, Mr Kojo Spencer, told the police that his son was at Sunday School on the second floor of the church building with his two other siblings, but about 8:22 a.m., he had a call during the church service in the main auditorium of the church from a man about the kidnap.
Mr Spencer said the caller told him that his son had been kidnapped and that he was to pay a ransom of Ghc5000 before the child would be released.
A second call from the kidnapper warned Mr Spencer not to involve the police and directed him to leave the ransom at the Christ Ebenezer Preparatory School at Odorkor Official Town.
The father of the victim obliged while the police, who had already been informed about the developments, wore mufti and monitored the calls and movement of the accused person and his accomplice.
The money was then put in a plastic bag and deposited at the location indicated by the kidnapper.
The police looked on as Ntie, the accomplice, picked up the bag containing the ransom.
Ntie was arrested together with Koomson while he was handing over the money to Koomson, who was on a waiting motorbike close by.
The prosecutor told the police that the house of the accused where the victim was rescued and handed over to his parents was located through intelligence gathering.
Counsel for Ntie prayed the court to grant his client bail, but the prosecuting officer opposed it, with the explanation that it would affect the work of the police who were conducting further investigations into the matter.
Chief Inspector Chester said the police had retrieved from the accused persons some exhibits, including mobile phones used in two similar offences they had committed early on.
He stated that the accused kidnapper did not have a permanent place of abode.


text:
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I just noticed a business called The House of Teak next to the Hampton Inn at 917 6th Street NW. How long have they been there? I don't have any need for teak but for those who do the signs along the storefront advertise a 75% off sale.
The House of Teak wasn't there the last time I passed by that address. will have to teak a look!
yeah, it adds a nice touch to 6th St, esp as it seems to have later hours.
Is this place open? I dropped by this afternoon, but the door was locked and I didn't see any signs of life inside.


text:
Download simplenews-6.x-1.5.tar.gztar.gz 53.69 KB
MD5: 17f46eef3e5ef837eae054fb45e0e3be
SHA-1: d5c5fd192a6fc154b0f4ca6607d22bb96420e028
SHA-256: 6cf60a990f94924de77b93b497ce6f262b938aad17c3471712d6d59ee2eebd3c
Download simplenews-6.x-1.5.zipzip 60.04 KB
MD5: c17b0c3dae1846d35fd50d645fc7b9d7
SHA-1: e34698dbbd34a28eb075ea166772731625e1e9ab
SHA-256: c028702131704853ea51d04d41aac29cb91d0be8f4dab2f04f26eb97414c947c
Release info
Created by: Berdir
Created on: 16 Oct 2013 at 18:14 UTC
Last updated: 16 Oct 2013 at 18:58 UTC
Core compatibility: 6.x
Release type: Security update
Release notes
This is a maintenance release for Simplenews 6.x-1.x that includes a number of bugfixes including a fix for a security issue, see SA-CONTRIB-2013-080 -Simple News - Cross Site Scripting (XSS) for details.
Changes since 6.x-1.4:
- by Berdir: Fixed subscriber mail is not run through check_plain() on overview.
- #1387648 by anrikun: Fixed Sender name is MIME-encoded twice.
The selected release is the release that will be used for automated testing. Optional projects are only used for testing.
No required projects
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text:
Please complete the form below to apply for space and/or an e-mail address.
Please DO NOT use this form to request additions to any existing accounts. If you wish to change any details of your existing account, please email firstname.lastname@example.com quoting your username and what you require to be added/changed.


text:
Barnet youngster Iffy Allen has joined Ryman Premier promotion challengers Kingstonian on a one-month loan deal.
The 19-year-old winger has found it difficult to break into the Bees' first team this season despite training with the senior squad throughout the campaign.
Barnet director of football Paul Fairclough stated at the weekend that the winger needed to be playing regular football and he could make his debut against Dulwich Hamlet tomorrow.
Allen has made two appearances for the Bees in the Skrill Premier this season. He was introduced as a second half substitute in the 0-0 stalemate with Woking and in the 1-1 draw at home to Woking.


text:
Sofia Vergara Is Too Curvy To Attend The Golden Globes
"Modern Family"'s hot mamma, Sofia Vergara, is in Golden Globe gown hell. Why? Her luscious lady lumps are in the way. She can't find a single designer gown to accommodate her girls. After trying to squeeze into a too-tight frock earlier this week she Tweeted her plan to skip the awards show altogether. "Nothing fits meeee!!!! I'm not going to the Golden Globes!!!!!!!!" she complained. Although I do believe she is making a funny, maybe now designers will get the hint and start making gowns bigger than a size 2. [Celebitchy]


text:
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is once again offering cost-share help for producers enrolled in best management practices and who want to purchase on-site weather stations and temperature sensors.
The only requirement is that the University of Florida be able to access data from the weather stations once they're installed, according to a news release.
Producers may apply for one station and up to five temperature sensors for each operation of less than 300 acres in production.
Producers with larger operations may apply for one station and up to five sensors for each 300 acres in production.
FDACS will provide 75 percent of the cost up to a $50,000 maximum per producer, with a $5,000 cap per station/sensor set.
Download an informational sheet by clicking here or contact Susie Bishop at the Highlands Soil and Water Conservation Service, 863-402-7020.


text:
London (CNSNews.com) - British pro-life groups are urging the parents of unborn Siamese twins who share a heart to resist "enormous pressure" and refuse to separate the babies.
The twins share a heart and a liver, and it is expected that one of them will die if they are separated. The girls' parents were initially offered an abortion when it became clear that mother Tina May was carrying conjoined twins in November, but May and fiance Dennis Smith decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.
May is six months pregnant and will have a Caesarean section at the end of April if the twins - named Courtney and Natasha - are not born by then.
Doctors at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London believe Natasha has the larger part of the shared heart and could survive a separation operation.
"The worst part will be having to let Courtney go having built a bond with her," May told The Sun newspaper. "But one thing that will ease our grief is knowing Courtney would have looked exactly the same as Natasha, so she will be a constant reminder of our lost little girl."
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) urged sympathy for the girls and the parents. But SPUC general secretary Paul Tully questioned why a decision on the separation of the twins has apparently been taken before birth.
"We are very concerned that the parents will face enormous pressure if they try to change their mind and save both their babies," Tully said. "We fully support the use of the best surgical and medical skills to help the twins, but we would urge the doctors to observe the principle that they should not do harm in the hope that good may come of it. They should not end the life of one twin for the sake of the other."
Tully likened the case to a pair of hypothetical patients, one of whom had a bad liver and the other, a bad heart.
"By the logic applied here, doctors could decide to remove the good organ from the weaker patient in order to save the stronger. This would deny equal value and dignity of the weaker patient.
"In the case of Natasha and Courtney, the doctors seem to be taking the approach that a so-called normal life for one is better than both living but conjoined. What does this say of people with disabilities? Are they of less value than others?" Tully said.
The British Pro-Life Alliance (PLA) also condemned a possible separation, calling it an "automatic death sentence for one of the twins."
"The deliberate killing of an innocent child is always wrong," a PLA spokesman said. "Neither the parents nor the doctors have the authority to make such a decision. While the baby rests unsuspecting in the womb, sadly this country allows its life to be terminated, but once it is born the situation changes. From then on it is the clear duty of the state to protect the lives of its citizens."
The PLA pointed to a similar case in Italy where doctors are considering combining a separation operation with a heart-lung transplant for the weaker twin.
"Perhaps (the hospital) will consider such a possibility for the U.K. twins, in which case the right to life of the more fragile baby will have been respected," the spokesman said. "Survival chances are very low but at least the baby has a tiny chance of making it through surgery."
Conjoined twins occur in about one in every 100,000 pregnancies. In 2000, the separation of a pair of Siamese twins prompted a lawsuit that went all the way to Britain's High Court. Judges ruled that the division of Gracie and Rosie Attard should go ahead despite the opposition of their parents.
Michael and Rina Attard, devoutly religious Catholics from Malta who brought the twins to Britain for better medical care, refused the operation on the grounds that Rosie would certainly die. The justices took evidence that indicated that both twins stood little chance of survival if the separation was not performed.
Rosie died during the separation operation, but doctors say Gracie will likely lead a healthy life. The twins' parents have since returned to Malta.
See Earlier Story:
Joined Siamese Twins Pose Dilemma for Catholic Parents (5 Sept. 2000)
E-mail a news tip to Mike Wendling.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.