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6A Daily News – Saturday, May 5, 2012 healthPetsactivities & Some pets do enjoy TV, but the reason remains a mystery By Marc Morrone Newsday (MCT) Last week, I asked read- ers to let me know whether their pets watch TV. I received more than 80 responses about dogs, cats, rabbits and birds of all species. After reading the emails, I still have no idea why some pets watch TV and others do not. I found absolutely no pattern in my informal study. told, watch only with their owners, some by them- selves. Some animals react defensively to the images on the screen, some with curiosity and some with recognition. A few dogs watch only a particular soap opera and leave the room. They come back the same time the next day to watch the soap opera again. Veterinarians tell me the structure of animals' eyes prevents them from seeing the TV in the same way humans do, but it is obvious they see what is important. Why some animals react to TV and others — including my own —do not will just continue to be one of the big mysteries of pet-keeping. Here is one of the replies, from Minneapolis: Some animals, I was retrievers have been TV watchers. Our 3-year-old is an avid viewer. From the couch, he notices any ani- mal that appears on TV, especially dogs. He watches from the couch until his interest level is high enough to run to the TV and put his nose against the screen. The longer he watches, the more involved he gets — he will bark and jump up on his hind legs with excitement. He enjoys anything with animals, from the Westmin- ster dog show to the animat- ed "Up." And if an animal runs off-screen, he will look to the side of and behind the TV to try to find it. He will also watch movies that are somehow unusual. For example, "The Wizard of Oz" gets his attention. Recently I was watching "Slingblade" with him at my side. As Billy Bob Thornton prepared to kill Dwight Yoakum, he began to growl. Perhaps he was getting vibes off me, but he really seems to know when something odd is happening on the set. Both of our male golden hog on YouTube, and now he wants one as a pet. They seem spiny, like porcupines, and I was wondering if they Q: My son saw a hedge- are dangerous. People we have contacted on the Inter- net tell us that the spines really do not hurt, but I also found out that hedgehogs are not legal to be kept as pets in some states. If they are not harmful, then why would they not be legal everywhere? like porcupines, but they are not related. Porcupines are rodents. Hedgehogs are insectivores. They are relat- ed to moles and shrews. The quills from porcupines have a barbed tip and are meant as a weapon. The porcupine can lash its tail at an enemy and embed the quills into its skin where they can do much damage. Hedgehogs have hair that has been modified into a spine with a sharp, smooth tip, and they cannot be pulled out of the animal's skin. When a hedgehog is sleeping or upset, it will raise up its spines at right angles to its body, and then they can hurt if you try to pick the animal up. However, when the ani- mal wakes up and relaxes, the spines are laid flat against the body and they do not hurt at all. You then can pick up the hedgehog and hold it as you would a guinea pig or a hamster. The A: Hedgehogs may look Your Business can be featured in the... hedgehogs we keep as pets are the domesticated ver- sion of the African pygmy hedgehog, and they are truly domesticated. They no longer look or act as their relatives in Africa do because of many genera- tions of selective breeding that hedgehog enthusiasts have performed. Not all regulatory agen- cies follow the scientific definition of what a domes- ticated animal is. Some places ban hedgehogs because they are not consid- ered to be domesticated, not because they are dangerous. Hedgehogs are legal in New York. Q: Whenever I am walk- ing my German shepherd and he is finished urinating, he will scratch the ground with his back legs. It actual- ly does a bit of damage to thecat grass we are walking on. He was neutered at 6 months old. He lifts his leg when he goes. My male beagle who also was neutered at 6 months old just squats when he goes. Can you tell me why the shepherd acts this way? A: Dogs are the most domesticated mammal on the planet _ but they still have instincts left over from their wolf ancestors. The testosterone in a male wolf will cause it to urinate against an object so that its scent is at nose level to other wolves. The scratching of the ground right there pro- vides further evidence of its territorial claim. In addition to the visual indication, the glands between the animal's toes may leave a further scent. Even though your dog is neutered and has no testosterone in his body, he must have gotten a flush of it into his system right before he was neutered, and that is why he started this behavior. Contact Marc Morrone: petxperts2@aol.com. SHIP, Ohio (MCT) — Got geese? Anew sheriff in town when geese invade JACKSON TOWN- Meet Border Patrol Agent Vic, a specially trained border collie guaran- teed to eliminate your pesky, web-footed problem without ever showing a fang. June 9-10, 2012 9,000 total distribution! RED BLUFF magazine format Official Event Program DAILYNEWS Published exclusively in the Thursday, June 7, 2012 TEHAMACOUNTY Online on the front page of the Daily News' website as a digital page-turn edition from June 5-10 3,000 additional distribution at event site, restaurants, hotels and visitor information centers All events at Rolling Hills Casino This major event will be promoted regionally in print, broadcast, and online anticipating attendance by thousands of local folks, as well as thousands of visitors from far and wide, many of whom will spend the whole weekend in Tehama County! Join the sponsors of the hot air balloons in advertising in this exclusive promotional section and event program. Space and Art Reservations Deadline Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Advertising Rates: Ad Sizes 1/8 Page B/W 1/4 Page 1/2 Page Full Page $95.00 $180.00 $340.00 $660.00 Internet rates included in these prices. Full Color add 20% to B/W space charge . Back Page and Inside Front Page Special Full Page Rates Apply (full color included) Inside Front Back Cover $825.00 $850.00 included in these prices Internet rates Call (530) 527-2151 or email advertise@redbluffdailynews.com Contact your Daily News Advertising representative today! P.E.T.S. 1st WALK YOUR BEST FRIEND Tehama County Animal Care Center 2nd 9:30 am to 11:00 am Saturday - May 5, 2012 1830 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080 Live Music by the Blackketter Brothers Band Annual Open House 10:00 am to 2:00 pm WIN Disneyland® Mutts & Meows Mercantile ~ Fabulous Food ~ Pup Tent Games for Kids ~ Pet Picassos Dog/Cat Training Tips ~~ Happy Faces Airbrush Tattoos ~ Information Booths Discounted Adoption Rates ~ Get "Frenched" at the Kissing Booth FREE ADMISSION FOR INFORMATION CALL: 530-527-8702 P.O. Box 1174, Red Bluff, CA 96080 EMAIL: rmcsc@cruzio.com One Day Park Hopper® Tickets Save $5 when you register for the Mutts Strutt BEFORE May 5th Registration includes Event T-Shirt and other goodies Registration - Adults- $25 - Child (17 & Younger) $20.00 Family Fun, Yarn, Demos 529-3298 Livestock Sale Hand Crafters Paradise Fiber/Wool & Guardian Fiber on the Foot May 5th 10th Annual , 9-5 +5 other events @ TDFG Annual Mutts Struff Tabloid, newspaper That's a distinction claimed by Denny and Kathy Ray, owners of Pond Wiser, an aquatic and lawn care business that employs a dog for Canada goose man- agement on and around its clients' lakes and ponds. "Geese droppings are not only a problem on land," said Ray, of Jackson Town- ship, Ohio. "They produce nitrogen that fertilizes algae and weeds" that also plagues pond owners. The company specializes in the installation and main- tenance of water gardens, lakes and ponds. The busi- ness recently expanded into goose control when Ray, who is licensed and certified through the Ohio Depart- ment of Agriculture, real- ized the serious problems the waterfowl are causing his customers. It is estimated that a Canada goose leaves as much as 3 pounds of fecal matter a day around the water sites they inhabit. The birds are so adapt- MCT photo Vic, a border collie, roams the shore as he chases geese away from pond in Jackson Township, Ohio. able and tolerant to Ohio environs, they will establish nesting grounds on any pond, whether it's in a back- yard, golf course or public park. driveway that winds around a lake. The property near the lake got so bad it was like a Slip'N Slide," Ray said. The couple began researching ways to humanely get rid of the vagrants when their num- bers began increasing in the area several years ago. In February, the couple purchased the highly trained, 2-year-old border collie from a Virginia breed- er of sheep-herding dogs. Vic, who was considered too submissive to subdue "One of our clients has a LASSEN MEDICAL GROUP ALL NEW FACILITY Your One Stop Convenience Store ONE STOP 714 Walnut St., Red Bluff 5am to 11pm Expands Red Bluff Urgent Care to 7 days a week. www.lassenmedical.com 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive (530) 527-0414 ornery herds of sheep, has a perfect temperament for controlling the birds, said Barbara Ray, (no relation) owner of Big Bend Farm in Millboro, Va., who sold the dog to the couple. Denny Ray and Vic patrol each of their clients' properties twice each day until the gaggles of geese are gone. The collie earned his stripes about two months ago, shortly after going to work on a Jackson Town- ship, Ohio, property that includes an 8-acre lake. The pond was home to as many as 150 geese when Vic rode into town in Ray's pickup truck. On Wednesday, only a handful of geese were brave enough to venture onto the lake as Vic patrolled. Most had decided dealing with the dog is more trouble than it's worth and had moved to less hostile territory. There has been no evidence of any nesting sites on the property this spring, either, Ray said. "(Border collies) resem- ble a coyote or a wolf, and that is the geese's biggest predator. If they nest, coy- otes will eat the eggs. Just having Vic around discour- ages them," Ray said. The border collie breed is considered very intelli- gent and easily trainable, but responds best to the voice of only one master.