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If You Only Knew ... Reader's Digest offered two dozen doctors a chance to tell it like it really is, and general practitioners, surgeons, shrinks, pediatricians, and other specialists took the challenge. Some wanted to be anonymous; some didn't care. But all of them revealed funny, frightening, and downright shocking things that can help you be a better, smarter patient. We're Impatient • I am utterly tired of being your mother. Every time I see you, I have to say the obligatory "You need to lose some weight." But you swear you "don't eat anything" or "the weight just doesn't come off," and the subject is dropped. Then you come in here complaining about your knees hurting, your back is killing you, your feet ache, and you can't breathe when you walk up half a flight of stairs. So I'm supposed to hold your hand and talk you into backing away from that box of Twinkies. Boy, do I get tired of repeating the stuff most...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Agents selling private health insurance plans to the elderly and disabled would be barred from cold-calling, door-to-door solicitations and pitching their products outside hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies, under a federal rule proposed Thursday. The rule is designed to make it harder to pressure Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for insurance products they don't need or want. It essentially restricts face-to-face solicitations to those initiated by the customer. A new Medicare drug benefit began Jan. 1, 2006. Since then, participants and state insurance commissioners have complained that some agents use false information to enroll people into certain plans, particularly those offering comprehensive health insurance. "We want to make sure that beneficiaries aren't pressured into sales," said Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "In parking lots, waiting rooms and those kinds of places, a s...

ScienceDaily (Mar. 2, 2008) — Cancer researchers at the University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University have found that humans and dogs share more than friendship and companionship -- they also share the same genetic basis for certain types of cancer. Furthermore, the researchers say that because of the way the genomes have evolved, getting cancer may be inevitable for some humans and dogs. Jaime Modiano, V.M.D., Ph.D., University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and Cancer Center, and Matthew Breen, Ph.D., North Carolina State University's Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, collaborated on this research study. Their findings are published in the journal Chromosome Research, in a special edition on comparative cytogenetics and genomics research. Genomes are divided into chromosomes, which act as nature's biological filing cabinets with genes located in specific places. "Many forms of human cancer are associated with specific ...

Severe weather season is just around the corner and the people of one Kansas town nearly wiped off the map last year are still putting their town back together. Now, storm chasers are using pictures and video from last year's storm season to spur the rebuilding process in Greensburg. It's a DVD with some of the biggest storms of 2007 on it, including the Greensburg tornado. Now the storm chasers who put it together are taking the money from the DVD sales and putting it towards Greensburg to help the town rebuild. "We're just interested in the power of the storm and how that formed," says Greensburg survivor Wilma McChristian. "It was so powerful." "Instantly we knew how bad it was and how badly they needed help. It has really become a mission for all of us to really give everything we have to help them out," said Darin Brunin, a storm chaser. It's two hours of the worst storms of 2007, just a fraction of what these ...

I just received some really great comments from Willie and Frankie's breeder on this article: Is Spot Happy? Just Look At His Tail Thought I'd post her comments below. By the way, you know I can find anything on the web. so here's the link to the actual study paper. Ha! ===================== As someone who has worked with dog training, dog and pack behavior as well as spending a lot of time rehabilitating abused dogs the majority of my entire life, and professionally as a young adult up until now, (I'm 42, started at my grandfather's AKC CH Beagel Kennel when I was 8) that's 36 years of multiple breed training, redcue and rehabilitation, competition, and breeding Labrador Retrievers...always learning new thing along the way. In addition to certifications acheieved, etc...now in my older years, I am still a very small-time breeder, having cut down on my kennel size, and I am ANAL when it comes to morals, ethics, education, and plain old common s...

Holy crap, a product that actually works! The Furminator . I got mine at our local pet shop. The groomer there used it on Frankie and it really sold me. Tried it, loved it. The hairballs around the house have virtually disappeared.

Antidepressants Prove Addictive to Some Aug 6, 12:43 PM (ET) By MATT CRENSON When Gina O'Brien decided she no longer needed drugs to quell her anxiety and panic attacks, she followed doctor's orders by slowly tapering her dose of the antidepressant Paxil. The gradual withdrawal was supposed to prevent unpleasant symptoms that can result from stopping antidepressants cold turkey. But it didn't work. "I felt so sick that I couldn't get off my couch," O'Brien said. "I couldn't stop crying." Overwhelmed by nausea and uncontrollable crying, she felt she had no choice but to start taking the pills again. More than a year later the Michigan woman still takes Paxil, and expects to be on it for the rest of her life. In the almost two decades since Prozac - the first of the antidepressants known as SRIs, or serotonin reuptake inhibitors - hit the market, a number of patients have reported extreme reactions to discontinuing the drugs. Two of the best-se...

If you're currently dealing with an undiagnosed medical condition, you may want to consider using Google to search the internet. I've used Google extensively to at least rule out many disorders, but I have yet to diagnose myself. That doesn't mean that you won't have better luck. Here are some tips on using Google to search the internet. These can apply to any type of search. CHOOSING THE BEST SEARCH TERMS The broader your search terms are, the more results you are likely to get. You may end up with thousands of vague results. Here are some basic Google search tips: Narrowing your search: To narrow down a search, try using multiple search terms; if you're planning a Hawaiian vacation, you'll do better with vacation Hawaii than with either vacation or Hawaii by themselves. Capitalization: Google searches are NOT case sensitive. Automatic exclusion of common words: Google ignores common words and characters s...

Apr 20, 5:16 PM (ET) By MIKE STOBBE ATLANTA (AP) - Chronic fatigue syndrome appears to result from something in people's genetic makeup that reduces their ability to deal with physical and psychological stress, researchers reported Thursday. The research is being called some of the first credible scientific evidence that genetics, when combined with stress, can bring on chronic fatigue syndrome - a condition so hard to diagnose and so poorly understood that some question whether it is even a real ailment. Researchers said the findings could help lead to betters means of diagnosing and treating chronic fatigue syndrome and predicting those who are likely to develop the disorder, which is characterized by extreme, persistent exhaustion. "The results are ground-breaking," said Dr. William Reeves of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reeves said the study demonstrates that people with chronic fatigue syndrome are unable to deal with everyday challenges and advers...

There was an article on the AP yesterday about pets getting acupuncture (I posted it below). It reminded me of the time that JoJo, my first Service Dog, needed acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments to help her heal from an almost-fatal ailment. It started suddenly, without warning. I woke up one morning to that find my beloved Service Dog could not use her back legs. I had no idea what was wrong. She seemed in good spirits, did not exhibit any pain symptoms, but her back legs appeared so weak that she could barely hold herself up. She was swaying from side to side and she would just fall over if a breeze blew. We immediately took her to the vet. We were asked many questions: had she had an injury, had she played really rough with Barney, had she strained herself pulling me. All were answered "no". The vet was stumped. The next day we were sent to an orthopedic vet who asked the same questions. Then he did an x-ray of her spine. It showed nothing out of the ordinar...

Below is some information provided by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) that shows how long it takes to train their Service Dogs. This timeline also holds true for us self-trainers, except we do ALL the work. We do everything the CCI volunteers do and everything the CCI trainers do. More importantly, we also can experience the same failure rate shown below. Something all self-trainers have to keep in mind. -------------------------- Only 40% of the puppies that enter the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) program will complete the more than 2-year-long training and be matched with a human partner. Dogs are removed from the program along the way for health, behavior or temperament issues. Puppies that are released from the program are generally adopted by their volunteer puppy raisers or placed in carefully selected homes. At two months old: Puppy is turned over to a volunteer. Volunteers work with their dogs for up to 16 months. They provide a secure and safe home. They...

Gad, I love Cesar Millan. You know, The Dog Whisperer dude? His show is on The National Geographic channel. Almost worth upgrading your cable package just so you can watch his show. He uses the same types of training methods I use and the same tools. He's not a proponent of Clicker Training (a.k.a. operant conditioning or as I call it... The Pavlovian Training Method). He uses prong or slip collars where appropriate, and he uses pack discipline. I like him because he's all about pack behavior and the humans role in it. It's fun to watch the looks on his client's faces when he tells them that it's not the dogs fault, it's theirs. Fun stuff!

There are two primary things that I wish prospective new dog owners would realize before choosing their dog. They are: That all breeds are different and each breed has it's own influence on dog behavior. The supreme importance of Pack Behavior and the humans role within the pack. I've provided some links for each of these items below. The more a dog owner knows about their dog's breed (or mix of breeds) and about pack behavior, the easier it will be for that dog owner to evaluate a puppy/dog before bringing it home. The simpler it will be for that dog owner to assimilate the new puppy/dog into their family. And the easier it will be to train, solve behavior problems, and to have an overall good doggie living in their house. Making a Breed Choice links FAQ's on lots of different dog breeds Choosing A Dog Choosing the breed that's right for you Breed selection: One size doesn't fit all Dog Personality Profiler - a test to help you choose a breed Another test to ...

We've had a loss in our Austin veterinary community this week. A few days ago, Dr. Real Ransom, one of the vets at my clinic (Great Oaks Animal Hospital), died in a plane crash in Houston. He and his wife, who also perished, were the only ones on the plane. I don't have any details about the cause of the crash. Dr. Ransom (and Dr. Lisa Willis) were the first and last vets I interviewed when we moved here to Austin. At the time, JoJo was working for me. Because of the physical demands a wheelchair-pulling dog requires of it's body, I needed to make sure to find a vet that could also have enough expertise to watch for possible bone and muscle issues down the road. Both Dr. Ransom and Dr. Willis spent almost two hours with me, answering all of my questions and providing me with more than enough information that I could confidently make a decision about choosing a vet. They were honest, forthright, funny, and patient with me, and they both had all the right qualifications and m...

Every few months or so, the subject of certifying Service Dogs gets brought up on the Assistance Dogs newsgroup on Yahoo. And, ultimately, it ends in arguments with no solution. The issue of certification is a hot topic amongst us folks who self-train our service dogs. There is a fear that if the government gets involved, only organizations will be allowed to produce Service Dogs and self-trainers would be no more. The trouble right now with this issue is that without certification, we have 2 major problems. We are relying on Joe Schmoe Store Owner to make the determination if our sdogs are "trained enough" or "behaved enough" in their opinion. We have to deal with those damn "impostors". Right now, if a store owner deems my sdog as dirty, not trained enough or not under my control, he/she has the right to try to deny me access. I can, of course, call local law enforcement and fight my case, but the whole incident has the potential of becoming a hu...

Dogs have 3 forms of intelligence: Adaptive intelligence : Consists of both learning ability (the number of experience an individual needs to code something into relatively permanent memory) and problem solving (the ability to put together bits of information into a correct answer or to discover new ways to apply previously learned information to novel situations). Adaptive intelligence allows individuals, both human beings and animals, to adapt to their environments or provides them with the skills necessary to modify their environments to suit their needs. Working or obedience intelligence : Allows dogs to respond appropriately to various commands. The characteristics of working intelligence include a long attention span, the mental flexibility to try another approach when the first responses to a particular command are not rewarded, and the communication skills to realize when its handler is attempting to communicate something. Instinctive intelligence : Defined as those genet...

Since JoJo was my first dog as an adult (I had dogs when I was a kid, the hubby didn't), we had no clue on anything. Housebreaking, training, chewing, it was all a big unknown for us. So we bought this GREAT FANTASTIC book called " Super Puppy ". I recommend it to all new dog owners out there. It's concise, with 1-3 pages for each topic. I can't tell you how many of these books I've given away just so there would be more super puppies out there. Anyway, one of the areas we were most freaked about was housebreaking. We knew (from the book) to let her out often, after eating, after playing, after napping... But we were still freaked about accidents. It's funny, now accidents are nothing to us when we get a new puppy. Must be that "first child" syndrome. So, we decided one way to combat accidents was to keep JoJo with one of us at all times. If I was in the living room and she started leaving down the hallway, I'd call her back. If I ...