Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ask Dr. Brutus Session 2

So it's been a bit longer than planned for my second session of #AskDrBrutus. In between mom and dad leaving us with the dogsitter, grandma coming to visit and finishing up all the details for #Dudefest, my plate has been a bit full. But fear not my dear readers. We got our second snow storm of the season this week so I'll be spending a lot more time in front of the fire answering your questions.

As a reminder, I'm not an expert on anything at all but I love to talk and share my opinion! Anyone is welcome to submit questions of any sort by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus or sending questions to @AskDrBrutus and I'll do some research, tell you what I think and we'll all have a great time.

*Of course, as I'm not a vet, medical expert, trainer, psychologist or any other expert please take my advice as you would that of your furiends and neighbors and consult a real expert if you have serious problems and issues. I don't want anyone to get hurt!

Question: How come hoomans don't got tails?
@AylaLab

Answer: Evolution is a tricky thing and in many ways, humans do have tails, they just aren't like those of dogs and cats because humans no longer need them for everyday functions. Before a human becomes a fetus the embryo does have a tail but it is absorbed during development. Also, the tailbone is a reminent of a tail and can still be broken although it doesn't stick out of their bodies. Personally, I like having a tail. I use it as a weapon and regularly raise welts on my humans' legs. Hee, hee, hee!

Question: How can I tell if Frederick is a girl frog? Also, @FrogBuddha's tankmate Bert acts like a girl when humping. Why?
@AlbinoFrog

Answer: We had a lot of humping questions this session so let's start with the basics. Humping is a basic animal instinct when it comes to reproductive drive. Without getting too graphic, humping is natural and perfectly appropriate action. Sometimes it is also a way for animals to establish dominance.

As to your first question, figuring out what sex a frog is can be difficult and appears to depend on the kind of frog you and Fredrick are. Without knowing that, there are some possible ways including the male frog having bigger ears than their eyes, males are the only ones who call or sing, and females are often bigger in overall size. During the breeding season some male frogs develop what are called nuptial pads on the inner part of their limbs or digits. Some species have no external differences at all. So, if you can compare Fredrick's ears to his eyes or check his legs for pads or if you have never heard him make any sounds, you might be about to figure out if Fredrick is a boy or girl.

Finally, I am not really sure what a girl frog looks like humping. Given the nature of these things, I think that as long as Bert is on top and is the one doing the humping, he's probably the boy!


Question: My Bruder is a lil 4 lb chihuahua. He pounces on Big Eye (see photo), humps like a wild thing and then springs off off him and pants like mad! Da ugly doll's name is Big Eye, but when my Bruder is "dating him" we call him Poked Eye. Go here to watch the video of Spike's adventure with a date before Poked Eye.
@mattiedog

Answer: Well, boys will be boys as they say. And if your brother is without his manly parts, the least you can do is let him go about his business with a toy that is much bigger than he is! Having seen the photo of Poked Eye, the ugly doll does not seem to be suffering any long-term damage (just don't put it in your mouth after he's done, ewww!).

Question: Will too many cookies make my butt look too big?
@no_crybaby_doGs

Answer: Daffy, while it is always a good idea to eat sensibly and get plenty of exercise, a wonderful cookie now and then will not make your butt look big. You've been working so hard collecting all of the bunny niblets for #Dudefest that you deserve an extra cookie. In fact, have 2 on me!

Much more to come on the next session of #AskDrBrutus!

Dr. Brutus

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pigfest--A Celebration of Pork Products

At our weekly #squirrelclub meeting today, @ZackTheMadDog and @PoesTosca were joking about starting a #baconblast or #pigparty to celebrate the wonderful PIG! Come to find out there is a loosely organized #hamclub already so we have determined that it would be mutually beneficial to combine #hamclub and #baconblast into one weekly event designed to properly celebrate anipals' love of pig products (ham, bacon, pork, etc.).

Therefore, my #pigfest co-founder @CobwebDukes and I have put up a poll to the right of this post so that you can vote on the time that #pigfest will be held each week. Please vote now to have your voice heard. Vote by October 20th. The votes are in and #Pigfest will be held each Thursday at 11 am EST. Come one, come all!

*Please note, #pigfest is a funny celebration and not meant to offend anyone's religious or other beliefs. All anipals are invited to attend each week and food items other than pig products will be served including crickets, veggies, yogurt, fish, etc. Bring it if you want it.

An ode from @Gabby_da_Tabby
Da dane he is a mighty Brute
and on occasion he does toot
But at this time lets punce & jig
and celebrate the mighty pig

Cheers for #Pigfest from @Gabby_da_Tabby
Bacon bits, ham steaks, pork chops, roast
Brutus wants to be your #pigfest host
redeye gravy even bacon beer
everyone join dis #pigfest cheer
all those porkie foods give shine to your coat
please go to his blog for da #pigfest vote

On a sidenote, I've been talking about bacon so much that mom decided to write a blog about it herself. If you would like to read it, click here!

Love, Bru

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ask Dr. Brutus--Session 1

My dear furiend Daffy (@no_crybaby_doGs) suggested that I host an #AskDrBrutus column on Twitter. While I'm not an expert on anything at all, I love to talk and share my opinion so we'll give it a whirl! Anyone is welcome to submit questions of any sort by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus and I'll do some research, tell you what I think and we'll all have a great time.

*Of course, as I'm not a vet, medical expert, trainer, psychologist or any other expert please take my advice as you would that of your furiends and neighbors and consult a real expert if you have serious problems and issues. I don't want anyone to get hurt!

So, let's get started. We had a number of questions submitted this morning:

Question:
I am a 3 yo ToyFox. I never took a toy apart 2 see whas inside. Am I ok?
@no_crybaby_doGs

Answer:
Being a terrier, I'm surprised you do not have a strong prey drive but many of the smaller toy breeds have had that trait breed out of them. High prey-drive tendencies are more common in working breeds. We further discovered that Daffy had been treated very poorly in her first home and had a lot of fear prior to finding her forever home. That fear may be the reason she is less "curious" (destructive) than many doggies. You are completely fine my dear!

Question:
Do mollusks have stinky butts?
@AylaLab

Answer:
I first had to learn what a mollusk was myself. Mollusks are shellfish (not actual fish and some live on land) and can be any of 3 varieties:
Hatchet-footed - These live inside of two shells that are connected by a muscular hinge which can open and close the shell. They are referred to as bivalves. Lines on the shell tell how old the mollusk is as the shell gets bigger, the older the shellfish gets. Clams, scallops, oysters and mussels are bivalves.
Belly-footed - These have just one spiral shell and carry their shells on their backs. They are called univalves. The snail, slug, periwinkle and conch belong to this group.
Head-footed - These have a definite head surrounded by tentacles. The squid and octopus are two in this group.

So, now that we know what a mollusk is we must determine if they have stinky butts. Mollusks ingest food through a siphon system that takes it to its mouth before entering a digestive gland and the intestine. Wastes leave via the butt. Therefore, mollusks have stinky butts in the same way that we kittehs and doggies do!

Question:
I'd be interested in knowing the reason why Danes shouldn't have Nylabones?
@MadisontheLab

Answer:
This question was brought up because I said that the rescue organization I came from said that danes shouldn't eat them. After reviewing the packet that I came with when I was adopted, it said that we should not be given rawhides and pigs ears because they are hard to digest and may potentially cause bloat or blockages because danes are prone to bloat. There are many causes of bloat and no one knows for sure how to prevent it entirely so it was a caution against doing things that might cause more occurences. Fact: mom was incorrect when she said that the rescue said not to give Nylabones to me. However, doing some further research, I was particularly interested in this link:
http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/RawhideandChewyTreats.htm

which went into discussions on Greenies, Nylabones, rawhides, stuffed toys, etc.

Overall, given all of the data and opinions out there, it is probably safe to say that owners and their doggies should do some research, test out different products under close supervision and make an educated decision about what we should or should not chew on! Which leads into our next question...

Question:
Why is pet-parents so mean sumtime? Why dey get all upset 'bout little things like chewin' shoes?
@AylaLab

Answer:
Pet parents are territorial just like we pets are. Just like doggies may have their own favorite toy or bone or blankie, hoomans have their favorite belongings to. Many mommies (and some daddies) love their shoes (a lot). We like them too because they smell like our hoomans.

For example, yesterday, I ate my mom's new hardback book she had been reading. I didn't want to read it, I just liked the fact that it smelled like her and I missed her so I chewed on it.

The lesson to be learned here is that we need to respect our hoomans things in the same way that they respect our toys and don't take them away from us and throw them in the garbage when they are chewed up and stinky.

Question:
Do frogs toot?
@MadisontheLab

Answer:
The internet provides a wealth of information about frog poop but nothing about frog toots. Given that @cricketthetoad and @albinofrog regularly send me toots and #FartFriday greetings, I'm gonna guess that they must enjoy a good release of stinky gas now and then. If anyone has any scientific info to add, I'll be happy to post it!

That's all for this week's #AskDrBrutus! Don't forget to submit your questions by tweeting the hashtag #AskDrBrutus and/or post a comment below or tweet @BrutustheDane.

Love, Bru