2010 Top 10 Dawg Business Blog Posts

Picking only 10 posts from the past year turned out to be much harder than I thought. Particularly with all the wonderful guest posts I had the privilege to publish. But I had to pick only 10 so here it goes.

1. No TV Tonight!

Obesity has become an epidemic, and statistics are showing that it is affecting our dogs in alarmingly increasing numbers. What is worse is the impact it has on our best friends' health.

The content of this post was originally meant to be just an introduction to a real article. But as I was playing with ideas to get your attention, the content took on a life of its own.

Why do we allow our dogs to become obese? 

Dr. Laci Schaible of VetLive wrote an article for Fido Friendly, What to do about an overweight pet: Vet speaks out and asks your advice. One of the questions she raised is,

Why don’t more pet owners realize this?  Food is not love!

I think she hit the nail on the head there. While on an intellectual level we might agree that food indeed does not equal love, our deep down primal instinct is telling us that it is. Food is one of the basic needs of survival.

“The way to a mans' heart is through his stomach.”

How about dog's heart? Dogs are much more in touch with their instincts that we are. Food is of the utmost importance to them.

We use food to tame an animal. We use food to reward an animal. Why? Because it is of high value to them. This naturally results in the following equation.

Food = survival. Sharing food = love.

There is one thing we are forgetting though. While our instinct remained the same, our lifestyle did not. We don't spend out days hunting hoping for a meal, not knowing where our next one will come from. We drive up to the grocery store and load the trunk with food.

The problem isn't with the food but with the amount of it (and sometimes quality) and the ease of access.

That's where our instinct became obsolete.

So please, let's come to our senses! Food? Yes, but in moderation. You are not doing your dog any favors by overfeeding them!

2. The Cancer Antidote that Lies Within: You Will Never Look At Fat The Same Way Again

Because our instincts are hard-wired for the whole food = love thing, we need a darn good reason if we ever going to look at things differently.

Obesity isn't just an esthetic issue! 

Is is a serious health threat! But it is easy to turn the blind eye to it. It doesn't come and hit like a hammer, it sneaks up quietly always, giving room for excuses.

One more treat won't hurt anything.

No, one more treat indeed wouldn't hurt anything. But after the one there is another and another … And while we are lulled into denial, boom!

Bad things happen.

Arthritis. Orthopedic injuries. Diabetes. Liver disease. And even cancer!

So please, go against your instinct and find other ways of showing love.

Take your dog for an extra walk! Spend some quality time.

3. Brad Pitt Doesn't Believe in Germs. Could he be right?

Dino Dogan wrote this article for me. Just because everybody believes something, does that make it so?

Should we just accept truths as they are presented to us or should we try making up our own dam minds?

I asked Dino to use an example from history to show the downside of confusing general belief with truth. Dino chose story of Dr. Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis as an example.

Sometimes it is the odd one out who is right, not the majority!

4. A Tale of Many Tails—and What Came Out From Underneath Stories from My Diary-rrhea

Diarrhea is the most common and probably most misunderstood symptom in dogs.  Dr. Laci Schaible of VetLive wrote an awesome series of articles shedding light on the perma-stain.

Do remember, diarrhea is not a disease but a symptom of one.

Diarrhea can result from primary gastrointestinal (GI) disease or systemic conditions that consequentially affect the GI tract (such as kidney disease).

It is important to understand when you should worry and when you should be rushing to an emergency hospital.

5. Gastroenteritis is when ...

A related article explaining gastroenteritis in simple terms.

6. It's Your Dog's Health

One of several articles I wrote on the importance of finding the right veterinarian.

We learned the hard way how important this is.

Your dog's health is in your hands. You can make excuses and you can blame everybody from the Pope to a mail man, but at the end, you're the one in charge.

From choosing your veterinarian, to educating yourself about your dog's health issue and available treatments, this is the most important thing you can do for your dog.

7. More Than Meets The Eye: Dog Language And Beyond

A series of three articles shedding some light on common reasons why we are often not on the same page our dogs are.

Do you want to understand your dog? Do you want to communicate in a way he can understand? Read some good books and most importantly, observe and learn from your dog.

Dogs are so much better at this than we are! Why? Because they are not as self-absorbed as we are!

8. A Word On Second Opinions

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that there is no such thing as an objective truth.

Any opinion is just an interpretation of the available facts based on previous experience (or lack of thereof). That's why your answer depends on who you ask.

Beware though, the opinion you don't like could be the correct one. Weigh carefully.

9. Interview with Dr. Robert J. Harman, D.V.M., M.P.V.M. - CEO and founder of Vet-Stem, Regenerative Veterinary Medicine

We are big stem cell advocates. Jasmine had the treatment done repeatedly for different issues and we couldn't be more pleased with the results.

Getting and interview with Dr. Harman was so exciting for me! VetStem is the cradle of stem cell therapy for dogs, the likely future of veterinary medicine.

10. Real Life Stories

Ok, this is not a single article, but I really loved the stories people shared on my blog. They told their stories from the heart for the rest of us to benefit from.

You can find them in Table of Contents under Real Life Stories.

Which article(s) are your favorite?