Hector

"Nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1995." NOAA Statement on January 30, 2006. Major study: Global warming will threaten coasts by 2100 if pollutants aren't reduced So what action do we take? Does it seem like a good idea to do nothing and just hope that the scientists are wrong? Or should the human community worldwide take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the chance that scientists (a majority of whom believe humans are causing global warming) have got it right? Personally I will be gone within 20 years. So I won't live to see what happens to sea level in this century. But I have grandchildren and the planet that we are turning over them is a matter of concern to me. While scientists cannot say absolutely for certain that humans are causing global warming, the evidence is certainly leaning toward that conclusion. And given the seriousness of the problem, I believe that the human race should be heeding the wake-up call from scientists. Researchers in the latest studies believe humans do play a role and say there is time to avert the worst effects if world powers are willing to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants believed to contribute to warming. But at a yet-to-be-determined point midway through the century, the process will become irreversible. "We now know enough in advance to stop it from happening," said Jonathan Overpeck, one of the chief researchers on the project and director of the University of Arizona's Institute for the Study of Planet Earth. "If we let it go another couple of decades, we could be in real danger of crossing the threshold."

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says this: 1. An increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system (The global average surface temperature has increased over the 20th century by about 0.6?C; Temperatures have risen during the past four decades in the lowest 8 kilometres of the atmosphere; Snow cover and ice extent have decreased). 2. Emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols due to human activities continue to alter the atmosphere in ways that are expected to affect the climate (Anthropogenic aerosols are short-lived and mostly produce negative radiative forcing; Natural factors have made small contributions to radiative forcing over the past century). 3. Confidence in the ability of models to project future climate has increased (Complex physically-based climate models are required to provide detailed estimates of feedbacks and of regional features. Such models cannot yet simulate all aspects of climate (e.g., they still cannot account fully for the observed trend in the surface-troposphere temperature difference since 1979) and there are particular uncertainties associated with clouds and their interaction with radiation and aerosols. Nevertheless, confidence in the ability of these models to provide useful projections of future climate has improved due to their demonstrated performance on a range of space and time-scales.) 4. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. 5. Human influences will continue to change atmospheric composition throughout the 21st century. 6. Global average temperature and sea level are projected to rise under all IPCC SRES scenarios. ---------- The above information is taken from HERE. Hector

Carbon dioxide is the principal green house gas in the atmosphere. Increasing CO2 concentrations cause heat to be retained which contributes to global warming. A graph showing long term CO2 concentrations is HERE . Cave men didn't do this. The cause is burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

For anyone interested in the possible catastrophic effects of global warming, an excellent article is The Discovery of Global Warming . If you doubt that global warming is occurring, take a look at this Glacier shrinking in Austria . Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

It is 5:40 p.m. here in the Baltimore Maryland area, and it's now dark. The current temperature is 66F after a high today of 70F. Today's temperatures match the long-term historical average for May 2nd, and here we are on January 15th. What is going on? Hector

Funny video Lots of Meds - humor - somewhat adult

When you drive 12 hours, does your schedule provide for some rest stops of 10 - 15 minutes duration? If you are only stopping for gas/restroom breaks then 12 hours is, from my experience, a very tiring drive. But if you can stop for a 15 minute rest every two hours that would make things a lot easier for both the dog and yourselves. That would give you time to walk the dog, let her go potty, eat and drink a bit. There was an earlier period in my life when I took a 700 mile (one way) trip about twice a year. My preferred schedule was to drive half one day and the other half the next day, with a stay in a motel. That made the drive a lot more enjoyable. But doing that would be dependent on your overall schedule and perhaps the cost factor. I think it would be a good idea to have the dog's crate in your car and take her with you on most trips that you take during the next month, so that she gets more accustomed to spending time in the car. I drive a compact pickup truck that has a fiberglas cap (with windows) on the back. I take my dog with me quite often and he is loose in the back. He loves doing that and gets very excited when he figures out that it is time for a truck ride. I have taken him on drives of eight hours in a day and he gets along fine with that. But he likes being loose in the back of the truck (under the cap) a lot better than being in a crate. Hector

Information on coccidia is here. Doesn't sound like an indoor cat would get this. I was mainly telling you about the bland food.

Sorry to hear that Rohan is sick. When our kitty Skiziks had diarrhea, I took him to the vet who prescribed Albon to get rid of coccidia (detected in a fecal sample). For food the vet had him eat a special bland canned food made for cats that are having digestive problems. That food is a Rx item available only from the vet. I can't remember the name of the stuff, but from the description I just gave I assume the vet would know what this is. Skiziks ate that bland canned food for seven days and then we gradually switched him back to dried cat food.

Makes perfect sense, and I learned a lot. Thanks. Hector

Glad to hear that Black Jack is feeling better. He obviously wasn't harmed by eating the duck tape. Black ice on the highway is definitely ugly. A lot of people with 4wd vehicles drive like they are immune to ice. Those are the SUVs that we see so often in the ditch. Funny that you were driving to a dentist appointment. I visit a dentist three times a year and he is 110 miles from me. Once during the afternoon rush hour that drive took me four hours (one way) on dry roads. So black ice isn't the only thing that can slow down a drive on the Interstate. Hector

Your worries are justified. Hawks have to eat and the puppy, no doubt, looks like a tasty meal for the hawks. My BC-X Bailey weighs 75 pounds and no hawk would consider bothering him. But an 8-lb. puppy -- the hawks could view her as a meal. I would guess that by the time Faith reaches 20 pounds there wouldn't be any risk. I don't know for sure where the safety point for dog size is, but I sure wouldn't want to find it out the hard way. Hector

In late November-early December I went through a similar deal with Bailey, but his was a major laceration on top of a toe. I had an Elizabethan collar for him. Initially he was really scared when he had that on. He didn't want to walk around anywhere, even in the house. I kept him right next to me on a leash and let him go without the collar most of the time. I had to be constantly alert or else he would start licking his leg above the bandage. At night he had to wear the collar. It was a stressful 2 weeks for both of us. I couldn't let him run loose in the house without a leash because he would have been too rambunctious for his damaged toe. I brought him home from the ER about 10 p.m. Saturday night and by 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning I could tell that it was going to be almost impossible to keep him quiet. So I phoned up the ER vet again and asked for a "tranquilizer" for Bailey. I got five tablets, and I found that giving him 1/2 tablet every 12 hours did a good job of keeping him quiet. I did that for 48 hours, then I just gave him the 1/2 pill every evening about supper time. That tranquilizer was really useful in keeping him quiet. You may want to consider that option. Hector

Natalie -- Zoe and the cat must be just precious to watch as they play. That's great that they have so much fun together. I get entertained by Skiziks the 9-lb. cat and Bailey the 75-lb. dog playing together. Sometimes the cat is in zoomie mode and he will be running full speed, take a flying leap, bounce lightly off the top of the dog's head, and keep right on going into the next room. Other times Skiziks comes up to Bailey and jumps and attacks (claws kept in) and then they start tusseling. I try to keep that play somewhat restrained as I worry about Bailey damaging the cat by stepping on him as they are bouncing around. I have had my stocking foot stepped on by Bailey before and it REALLY hurts, so I try to keep the cat and dog from playing too rough where that is a risk. The cat is quicker than Bailey, but Bailey can move pretty fast too. They like each other and will take naps right next to each other, often on Bailey's bed pad. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Kris -- that is a great quote, a real keeper!!! Sandra -- what a wonderful action photo, it just captured the high action perfectly. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Glad to hear that Black Jack is OK. I wouldn't have thought that duck tape would be something tasty to eat! I think the one thing I would be watching for is possible intestinal blockage. My son's dog had that from eating rope that was part of a toy, and it required surgery to fix the blockage. I doubt that will happen to Black Jack but that is definitely something for you to be on the look out for. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

We have two dogs and a cat and they were intermittently having diarrhea. It finally turned out that they had coccidia parasite (a parasitic sporozoan that can cause disease in the gut of humans and animals). There were multiple stool samples that were negative before there was finally a sample that showed the coccidia. It was easy to treat once the vet figured out what the problem was. Apparently it is hard to find the little coccidia beasties in the stool sample. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Here is an excellent book: How Dogs Think - Understanding the Canine Mind. http://product.half.ebay.com/How-Dogs-Thin...473388QQtgZinfo This book will help you understand what is going on and tell you what may work to change the dog's behavior. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

On the subject of the behavior problem (dog aggressiveness) of your foundling pup -- here is my opinion. It sounds to me like the pup is showing an innate tendency to be an alpha bitch. She wants to be the boss and is trying to show that to other dogs. There is a DVD that is absolutely wonderful. It gives very detailed insight into a wolf pack and shows how the alpha male is the boss of the pack and how he enforces his position. The DVD is ?Living With Wolves? and is here: http://shopping.search.discovery.com/Disco...archbutton.y=10 . Product Detail: For centuries, wolves have been characterized as bloodthirsty beasts, tormentors of ranchers and the bane of helpless livestock. Determined to overcome this misconception, filmmakers Jaime and Jim Dutcher ? creators of the Emmy-winning Wolves at Our Door ? spent six years in a tented camp in the wilderness of Idaho, living with a pack of wolves, listening to them and earning their trust. Join the Dutchers as they share their extraordinary experiences living with the Sawtooth wolf pack. Exclusive footage reveals the innermost details of life in the pack ? its unique social structure, how wolf cubs are raised within the group and how these powerful creatures interact with man. Overcoming forest fires, marauding mountain lions and sub-zero winters, the Dutchers and these elusive, intelligent animals share the heartwarming and unique partnership of human and predator. ----------------------------------- The DVD costs only $9.95 plus S&H and anyone who likes dogs and canines will almost certainly really enjoy this. It is highly entertaining, plus it teaches you a lot about how wolves (and dogs) think and behave in a pack situation. I think it would be very useful to you in understanding how to deal with your foundling?s dog aggression. I have a three year old BC/Sighthound-X that I got as an eight week old puppy. I certainly don?t consider myself to be an expert dog trainer, but I did something right with my dog Bailey. When he was about four months old and was testing me to determine his place in the pack, I let him know for certain that I am the alpha. I won?t go into the details right now of how I did that, but suffice it to say that I showed him in no uncertain terms that I am the alpha and I run the household pack (me, Bailey, 10-y-o Sadie, my wife, and my cat.) Note: DW might not agree with that statement. It is a good thing that I did that when Bailey was young. He now weighs almost 80 pounds and is a strong powerful dog. If he didn?t know that I am the alpha now, I would really have my hands full and it could be a very serious problem, as he is large and powerful. So my suggestion is that you buy the DVD, observe how the alpha male runs the wolf pack, and then emulate that kind of behavior. You said that when your foundling pup acts aggressive you say ?NO? and make the dog sit. In the Living With Wolves DVD the alpha male, upon observing that a pack member was getting out of line, would raise his upper lip to reveal teeth and would look at the other dog and begin a growl/snarl. If the other wolf didn?t immediately change behavior and act submissive the alpha would become very physical very quickly. You need to see the DVD to see exactly how that works. My method with Bailey is not identical to the alpha wolf in the DVD, but the general approach is the same, namely instant physical action that puts the dog in his place. What I did with Bailey was a lot more forceful then just telling him NO. And what I did works because Bailey knows 100% that I am the alpha and that he better not mess with me or another pack member in a way that I deem inappropriate. Hector ---------------------------- ----------------------------

Very nice photo. The car lights give it an interesting effect. Hector

Wow! You must be in the right place at the right (wrong???) time. What a little sweetie. She is way cuter than cute. I am glad you found her and got her off the street. Hector The best things in life are furry!

This confirms my favorite saying: "THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FURRY". Looking at your website, you really have a nice crew of dog companions. You and they are very lucky.

I hope all Colorado BB members have stocked up on necessities, as the forecast for the next three days is a lot more snow! Just what you guys need -- NOT !

That sounds like a really cool toy. I betcha that you guys have a lot of fun with that.