Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Eight forty thirteen to ten Wiba and ask the experts.
Brought to you by Checkout Veteranary online. Checkout vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Great website to learn more
about checkout veterinary. A great design for the website to
kind of show you how convenient it is to get
in and out and of course have a great relationship
(00:20):
with your vet. All available again information at checkout vet
dot com. There right off Highway one fifty one at
twenty seven to ten Prairie Leaks Drive. Super convenient to
get you as well to be of convenience. Open seven
days weeks, seven days a week from nine until five.
And that first visit, if it didn't get any better,
it sure does. First visit is free, that exam is free.
(00:41):
Great day to start that relationship at checkout vet. All
the details online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. And we are joined this morning by doctor
Mardy Greer, recognized as Veterinarian of the Year from the
Westminster Kennel Club. Of course, doctor Greer comes Frost from
Checkout Veterinary dot How you doing this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
What a beautiful day, What a fantastic day it is,
and today is You and I were chatting about this earlier.
Today is National Mutt Day. And mutts are are amazing pets,
great you know, great dogs, and let's talk a little
bit about about that. And you know, I think for
a lot of folks, one of the big things is,
(01:20):
you know, saving a pet from a shelter and other
things they are they are. There's some great benefits to
to to adopting or bringing a mud into the family,
isn't there there are?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
And you know, mutt has kind of a derogatory connotation
to it, so I want to make sure well, yeah,
you know, we used to call dogs mutts or hind
fifty seven or a lot of things, and now you know,
people kind of have pushed back a little bit on that.
So I think it's interesting that there is a National
mut Day. I actually did a little reading about this
from the time that you and I started this conversation
(01:50):
so that I could have a little bit of knowledge
about what that term really means. And it does have
in some ways a negative connotation. Now mutt can mean
any kind of a dog that has mixed breed heritage,
So rather than it being a quote unquote pure bread dog.
Where Golden Retriever is a Golden Retriever, it could be
a Golden Retriever bread to a doodle, And so we
(02:12):
could have a doodle which is technically a mutt. But
those are going to be called designer dogs or purpose
bread dogs and other terms that aren't quite as you know,
mut like, So you know, it's not meant to be
a negative term. I think it's just a way to
classify dogs. Is it a pure bread dog with two
parents of the same breed, or is it another, you know,
another kind of dog. So it does make a difference
(02:35):
in how we classify those and term them. And some dogs,
some mut dogs come from great families. It didn't really
mean to happen, and it just sort of you know, well,
where there's a will, there's a way. Yeah, And when
there's a dog in heat and a male dog around,
they they have pretty strong drives. So a lot of times,
I mean I've had people say, yeah, I was walking
(02:55):
up the stairs and the dog literally knocked me over
and you know, swooped or off of set, and before
I could do anything about it, it was it was,
it was over. So it can happen pretty fast, and
so sometimes they are meant to happen and sometimes they
are not. And yes, a lot of these dogs do
come through rescues and shelters and breed rescue and all
those things. So I think it's important that we talk
(03:15):
about all those sources.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I think what is said Jurassic Park, he says nature
finds a way. Uh, there's a reason. Yeah, there's that's
that's a very profound statement with that. You know, one
of the things we talk about obviously when you're when
you're going the pure bread route, Uh, there are things
that you know, you you have a really good idea
of the qualities of of the particular breed, you know
(03:40):
what to expect with with other types of dogs, you
don't necessarily have that. And I know one of the
one of the areas we've touched on in the past
is things like DNA testing and and and having that
stuff and getting a There's there's medical benefits, but there's
also benefits to kind of understanding what makes your dog tick.
Isn't that right?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Because retrievers are retrievers, and hounds are hounds, and herding
dogs are hurting dogs, and they have different personalities and
different bill sets. And different qualities, and so there's a
lot of different ways to look at it. So the
advantage of a purebred dog is the predictability of some
of those traits. What's their coat going to be like,
are they going to shed? Are they going to need
a lot of exercise? How is their activity level indoors
versus outdoors. You take something like a greyhound or another sidehound.
(04:23):
They're immensely quiet in the house, and you get them
outside and they're dot on the horizon before you can
even blink your eyes because they're gone. So those are
things for people to know. It Siberian huskie does not
stay in your yard unless you have like double fencing.
Those are just traits that are helpful for people to
know so that they kind of know what they're getting into.
But there are great joys in having a dog that's
a little less predictable, and you know, you get them
(04:45):
when they're little at the shelter or maybe half grown,
and you're not quite sure what they're going to grow
up to be. Like I one time, a number of
years ago, I had a client that had lost her
old dog and had lost her husband, and she wanted
a small dog, and I'd gone to the UW for
a a seizon surgery lab, and I had done a
neuter on this adorable little dog, and I called her
and I said, you know, this dog is going to
(05:06):
be available for adoption. He's really cute. I think he'll
be about forty pounds when he grows up. He turned
up to be one hundred and forty pounds. So there's
definitely a risk that goes with taking a dog that's
under you know, under six months of age, that you're
not quite sure what it's going to turn out to act, like,
be like, look like, you know, how big it's going
to be, all those things. So I think those are
(05:27):
important things to realize. But at one point, every single
dog breed we have was a mixed breed dog. You know,
we took basically five lines of dogs historically, like sixteen
thousand years ago when humans became humans, And there's a
lot of discussion about coevolution that people co evolved with dogs.
They didn't just like dogs didn't just move from wolves
(05:48):
into dogs one day in our in our camps around
the campfire, but that over the sixteen thousand years, a
lot of these things have evolved, and there's a really
interesting new book by a Wisconsin author that might be
worth taking a look at, called Familias. I think it
comes out next week. I heard an interview with the
author and it should be fascinating book about dogs, and
(06:09):
so anyway, if you're interested in that, that might be
something fun to read. But basically, Golden Retrievers didn't come
over on the arc with Noah. You know, it's not
like one day they just showed up as a Golden Retriever.
Golden Retrievers were developed in the eighteen sixties by Lowered Tweet,
and we kind of think of Golden Retrievers as being
a dog breed that's been around forever. Well one hundred
and fifty years isn't exactly forever. So there's newer breeds
(06:30):
than that, and there's older breeds in that. There's breaths.
Some of the Chinese and other breeds like Chow's they
go back to like the year one thousand, like they
go back way, way, way far. Some of the sidehounds
are the oldest breeds that they had with the Pharaohs
when they were in Egypt, you know, the Selukis and
the other sidehound type dogs. So there's all these really
(06:51):
interesting evolutionary paths that have evolved, and some of them
evolved with great health, and some of them evolved with
some flaws in their health. So that's where this discussion
comes in, is we think that mixed breed dogs may
be healthier. There's debate about that because number one, we
don't know all of those features. It would take a
study that's much too large to really understand well. And
(07:14):
number two, a lot of the pure bread dog clubs
have done a really good job of establishing DNA tests
and other kinds of screening tests for phenotype like hip
X rays and elbow X rays and those things to
try and get some of those flaws, those developmental or
health flaws bred out of their breath. And those are
the people who are supporting the research at AKC and
(07:35):
universities to try and do that. So we can't uniformly
say that a purebread dog is always less healthy than
a mixed breed dog, because I've seen mixed breed dogs
get really sick when they're really young, and I've seen
pure bread dogs love to be really old. So you
can't just generalize that.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Unfortunately, you know want to, you're mentioning too a little
bit about you know, the development of the kind of
the domesticated dog and how they how they came to be.
I think it was called decoded. It was a nature
on PBS a number of years ago, and I should
dig that up. And it just that's such a fascinating
as you know, you think about that about the you
(08:10):
know how dogs and humans just formed that you know,
that that bond that is it's just the genetic just
it's all fascinating stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
But yeah, glad, Yeah, And Meg meg Olmert wrote a
book called Made for each Other. It's a picture of
the cover has a picture of two feet in a
bed and then a dog's nose poking up between its
and it's again a really interesting book. She's a national
geographic author and has written this book called Made for
each Other. And it's really cool because we you know,
(08:39):
we don't really understand the complete evolution. It's all based
on the position. But we used to say that, you know,
like dogs just showed up one day. Well they didn't.
They co evolved. The dogs that were brave enough to
come close to the camp and eat the meat and
the food that was left over from the human started
to evolve in so they evolved to be closer to us,
and we evolved to be closer to them. Because there
are people I can't understand them, but there are people
(09:01):
who don't like dogs like I can't. I can't wrap
my head around that. But there are people who don't
like dogs, and I get that. I have family members
that don't like dogs. So it's hard for me to
understand because that's kind of what I live is dogs.
But there's definitely a co evolution that happened. And if
you're interested in this, there's so many good resources out
there to do a little reading, so you know, kind
(09:23):
of take a little time and read something fun for
the summer.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Made for each other. I'll definitely, I'll definitely be downloading
that later today sounds so it's fast, and I love this,
you know, this type of conversation about you know, kind
of getting that information about about understanding you know, dogs,
dog breeds and of course whether it's a mixed breed
or a pure bread and getting that information. I want
to talk and of course phone lines are open. I
(09:47):
haven't mentioned this part, and I feel very remiss, and
I feel like I miss an opportunity. If you've got
a question I'd love to have you join us this morning.
One of the great things about having doctor Greer on
with us each and every Thursday morning is the phone
lines are open six so age three two one thirteen ten.
That's six oh eight three two one thirteen ten. If
you've got a question for doctor Greer, we'd love to
get you on the air. Doctor Greer, of course, comes
(10:08):
to us from Checkout Veterinary the website check out vet
dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. They're teugh for
number six oh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred.
That's three one eight sixty seven hundred. Don't forget that
first visit at checkout vet. It is free. That exam
is free again. You can learn more online checkout vet
dot com. We'll continue our conversation with doctor Greer and
take your call next as Ask the Experts with Checkout
(10:30):
Veterinary continues right here on thirteen ten Double U ib
A eight fifty one thirteen ten, Double you I B
A and ask the experts. Watch you by Checkout Veterinary,
talking this morning, of course with doctor Marty Greer. Doctor
Greer comes to us from Checkout Veterinary, the website check
out Vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Today
is National mutdayre we're going called mixed breed dogs this morning,
(10:53):
uh doctor. One of the things too, is, uh we
tend to forget is because of circumstances, sometimes dogs, whether
they're mixed breed or just kind of unknown lineages, end
up in shelters, and we sometimes wonder about the question
marks of what is a puppy going to grow into,
especially as you're talking about mixed breed. If you're adopting
(11:15):
a little bit older pet, you get to see right
away exactly how they're going to grow up because they've
already grown. And what a great gift that is, not
just for the pet, but how rewarding that is to
add a dog to the family that.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Way, Oh for sure. And there's a lot of really
great dogs out there that are looking for homes, So
don't hesitate to go visit a shelter, go to some
of the online sources, take a look at those now.
I am in the process of getting ready to do
a presentation later today on heartworm disease. And don't forget
a lot of the dogs from the South who come
with some baggage, including some of them with heartworm. Even
(11:47):
if it was tested the dog was tested prior to
you getting it. It can take six months from the
time that the mosquito bites the dog until we see
heartworm disease positive on a test. So be careful with
what you're doing. Make sure that the dog is going
to fit your lifestyle size, for activity level, for coat type.
You have people with allergies in your home, things like that,
But look at heartworm testing, look at what vaccines they've had,
(12:07):
if they're spade or neutered. All those things are important
considerations prior to the time that you take them. And
not all riskies are created equals. Some rescue organizations do
a fabulous job and some are eh. You know, they
do the best they can with the resources that they have, so,
you know, just be aware that those aren't always easy
dogs because some of them do come with some emotional
baggage or some behavioral baggage. So just be thoughtful about
(12:31):
whether that's going to work for you, because one you
commit to a dog, you really want it to be
a lifetime commitment. You don't want it to be something
that doesn't work out well, So be careful. You know,
test the dogs behavior a little bit, and some dogs
don't show their true behavior until they've been in your
home for ninety days. They're like a new employee. You know,
you come to work, you're on time, you don't state
too long at lunch, you behave yourself in the lunch room,
(12:52):
and then you get to day ninety one and you're like,
I'm past provision. I guess just kind of let lose here.
So some dogs will change their behavior or in that
ninety day period of time, but many of them are great.
And you know, some people aren't in a position to
take a rescue dog or a shelter dog, but they
still want to help. So be thoughtful again about how
you make your support to those organizations. Support your local shelter,
(13:15):
Support those organizations that are close to you, like the
Dane County Humane Society. Those are the ones you want
to support. Some of the national organizations are actually more
political than they are about dog care, so if you're
making donations to those, they may actually not be going
to the dogcare itself. So you know, if you have
an extra bag of dogs through the sun open, you
can drop it at the shelter. They need paper tells,
(13:36):
they always need paper tells. There's always some things. They
always need cat litter, they always need cat food. So
there's definitely things that you can do to help these
shelters and do it locally so that you know that
your funding dollars are going to boots on the ground,
people in your community, dogs and cats in your community,
so that you're supporting those local organizations because some of
the bigger ones are frankly just political machines, and some
(13:57):
of them have changed their names because they got a
bad road mutation, so be thoughtful about that. But MutS
and mutts much are great dogs. They can be amazing dogs.
I've had some, and actually some organizations breed them on purpose,
like Canine Companits are independence deliberately breed Labradors to Golden
Retrievers for their service dogs, and they have a breeding
program that goes back over thirty years. So those are
(14:18):
technically mutts because they're not purebred, but they know the behavior,
they know the health of those dogs. They ofa the
parents for hips and elbows, and they do help testing
and they do all this stuff so they can produce
them best high quality puppies for those service dogs settings
that they can, so you know, German shepherds are German shepherds,
and those are used as seeing eye dogs a lot.
(14:39):
But some of the other dogs are a mixed breed
because they're wildly successful in those crosses and they know
exactly genetically what they're doing. So there can be some
amazing mixed breed dogs out there and purpose bread dogs
that are technically a mut but are fabulous pets. Doctor.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
One of the things it's great about getting a chance
to talk with you is kind of getting getting different perspectives,
and of course as a medical professional, as a doctor,
is that is I think sometimes people don't use their
vets as as much of a resource as they are.
And when we're talking about mixed breed dogs or other
you know, or adopting or bringing a new pet into
(15:17):
the house, it's not a bad idea to talk with
your vet before you have have adopted. And also you
talk about some of these rescues out there, what a
great resource being able to talk to your vet and saying, hey,
I'm looking for you know, a particular a particular breed
of dog, or looking for a rescue dog, what do
you recommend? That's a I think sometimes we forget what
(15:40):
a great resource you as doctors can be in that
part of the conversation as well.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Right, And I would be more than happy to do
consoles with people before they make those decisions, because some
of them come in with a dog and you're like,
oh man, this is just fraught with disaster. So talk
to your veterinary professional, maybe a vet tech, maybe one
of the people that works at the veterinary office that
may be your veterinarians, but they have really deep resources
on what kind of options you have for adoption. They
(16:07):
may have a client that has a pet that they
can't keep anymore and they're looking for a special home
for them. You know, a lot of the small breed
dogs get sucked sucked up out of the shelters immediately.
They may not even show up on a website or
or anywhe else because they get adopted so quickly. But
we all have clients that find themselves in a position
that they've become ill or aged or moving into a
(16:30):
care facility and they can't keep some of these really
lovely little dogs. So remember that your veterinary staff may
know of a great little dog or a great big
dog that is available and will never see the light
of day on a website, so use them as resources.
Your veterinarians know you, They know what kind of dogs
you've had in the past and what your preferences are,
(16:52):
and so they can really help you make good decisions
about that because it is a long time decision. You
don't want to do this and then just take them
back to the shelter because it didn't work. You want
it to work well.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Talking this morning with doctor Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinarian,
the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot
com our top number six o eight three one eight
sixty seven hundred. That's six eight three one eight sixty
seven hundred. Before we wrap up this week, I do
want to talk about the clinic doctor and what a
great design Checkout Veterinary is, and of course your your
sister clinic check in vet and the other clinic in Marshalling.
(17:23):
Of course you've got one, uh you've got one in
Lamira as well, but check out Vet. Let's talk a
little bit about that experience and kind of how that
how that was developed and the work that you put
into to create Checkout Veterinary.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Sure, so we decided before COVID that there wasn't really
a good pet centric design for veterinary clinics. We talked
for years about fear free and low stress and comfortable
veterinary care and cooperative in arcare, but we really haven't
done a great job of changing the design of veterinary clinics.
So you still have to bring your dog in through
the front door, across the icy sidewalks, or through the heat,
(17:58):
and you know, try to get into the lob and
not run into a dog nose to nose on their
way out that isn't going to like your dog or
somebody with a cat that's going to be a little
bit nervous about being there. So having the opportunity to
pull into a garage bay and that would be your
exam room, you don't have to get out of your
car if you choose to stand in the vehicle. We've
got a window between you and the exam room. So
(18:18):
you can stay in your cars, stay with the kiddos,
stay with grandma if she's not trustworthy behind the wheel,
so you can keep an eye on your pet and
keep an eye on all the people that are with you.
We don't mind if you bring six dogs and four kids.
We've got the space for it in the garage base,
and it really is a pretty fun experience. So dogs
may be more comfortable in the back of the suv
of a minivan, they might be more comfortable in the
(18:39):
exam room. But it's a really wonderful system that you
don't have to experience bad weather and scary things happening
with other interactions with pets. You're directly into the garage bay.
You're the only one in there, so it makes it
really safe.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
You talk about those scary interactions. I until I had
a chihuahua, you never think much about it, and then
you're like, they're always scanning and watching, and what a
great design and what a great setup it is at
checkout Veterinary. A great day to start that relationship. Don't
forget that first visit that exam. It is free. You
can learn more online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
vet dot com. Telphon number six oh eight three one
(19:13):
eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. Doctor. It's always great chatting. Have
a great day and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
News comes your way next right here on thirteen ten.
Wib I
Eight forty thirteen to ten Wiba and ask the experts.
Brought to you by Checkout Veteranary online. Checkout vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Great website to learn more
about checkout veterinary. A great design for the website to
kind of show you how convenient it is to get
in and out and of course have a great relationship
(00:20):
with your vet. All available again information at checkout vet
dot com. There right off Highway one fifty one at
twenty seven to ten Prairie Leaks Drive. Super convenient to
get you as well to be of convenience. Open seven
days weeks, seven days a week from nine until five.
And that first visit, if it didn't get any better,
it sure does. First visit is free, that exam is free.
(00:41):
Great day to start that relationship at checkout vet. All
the details online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. And we are joined this morning by doctor
Mardy Greer, recognized as Veterinarian of the Year from the
Westminster Kennel Club. Of course, doctor Greer comes Frost from
Checkout Veterinary dot How you doing this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
What a beautiful day, What a fantastic day it is,
and today is You and I were chatting about this earlier.
Today is National Mutt Day. And mutts are are amazing pets,
great you know, great dogs, and let's talk a little
bit about about that. And you know, I think for
a lot of folks, one of the big things is,
(01:20):
you know, saving a pet from a shelter and other
things they are they are. There's some great benefits to
to to adopting or bringing a mud into the family,
isn't there there are?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
And you know, mutt has kind of a derogatory connotation
to it, so I want to make sure well, yeah,
you know, we used to call dogs mutts or hind
fifty seven or a lot of things, and now you know,
people kind of have pushed back a little bit on that.
So I think it's interesting that there is a National
mut Day. I actually did a little reading about this
from the time that you and I started this conversation
(01:50):
so that I could have a little bit of knowledge
about what that term really means. And it does have
in some ways a negative connotation. Now mutt can mean
any kind of a dog that has mixed breed heritage,
So rather than it being a quote unquote pure bread dog.
Where Golden Retriever is a Golden Retriever, it could be
a Golden Retriever bread to a doodle, And so we
(02:12):
could have a doodle which is technically a mutt. But
those are going to be called designer dogs or purpose
bread dogs and other terms that aren't quite as you know,
mut like, So you know, it's not meant to be
a negative term. I think it's just a way to
classify dogs. Is it a pure bread dog with two
parents of the same breed, or is it another, you know,
another kind of dog. So it does make a difference
(02:35):
in how we classify those and term them. And some dogs,
some mut dogs come from great families. It didn't really
mean to happen, and it just sort of you know, well,
where there's a will, there's a way. Yeah, And when
there's a dog in heat and a male dog around,
they they have pretty strong drives. So a lot of times,
I mean I've had people say, yeah, I was walking
(02:55):
up the stairs and the dog literally knocked me over
and you know, swooped or off of set, and before
I could do anything about it, it was it was,
it was over. So it can happen pretty fast, and
so sometimes they are meant to happen and sometimes they
are not. And yes, a lot of these dogs do
come through rescues and shelters and breed rescue and all
those things. So I think it's important that we talk
(03:15):
about all those sources.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
I think what is said Jurassic Park, he says nature
finds a way. Uh, there's a reason. Yeah, there's that's
that's a very profound statement with that. You know, one
of the things we talk about obviously when you're when
you're going the pure bread route, Uh, there are things
that you know, you you have a really good idea
of the qualities of of the particular breed, you know
(03:40):
what to expect with with other types of dogs, you
don't necessarily have that. And I know one of the
one of the areas we've touched on in the past
is things like DNA testing and and and having that
stuff and getting a There's there's medical benefits, but there's
also benefits to kind of understanding what makes your dog tick.
Isn't that right?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Because retrievers are retrievers, and hounds are hounds, and herding
dogs are hurting dogs, and they have different personalities and
different bill sets. And different qualities, and so there's a
lot of different ways to look at it. So the
advantage of a purebred dog is the predictability of some
of those traits. What's their coat going to be like,
are they going to shed? Are they going to need
a lot of exercise? How is their activity level indoors
versus outdoors. You take something like a greyhound or another sidehound.
(04:23):
They're immensely quiet in the house, and you get them
outside and they're dot on the horizon before you can
even blink your eyes because they're gone. So those are
things for people to know. It Siberian huskie does not
stay in your yard unless you have like double fencing.
Those are just traits that are helpful for people to
know so that they kind of know what they're getting into.
But there are great joys in having a dog that's
a little less predictable, and you know, you get them
(04:45):
when they're little at the shelter or maybe half grown,
and you're not quite sure what they're going to grow
up to be. Like I one time, a number of
years ago, I had a client that had lost her
old dog and had lost her husband, and she wanted
a small dog, and I'd gone to the UW for
a a seizon surgery lab, and I had done a
neuter on this adorable little dog, and I called her
and I said, you know, this dog is going to
(05:06):
be available for adoption. He's really cute. I think he'll
be about forty pounds when he grows up. He turned
up to be one hundred and forty pounds. So there's
definitely a risk that goes with taking a dog that's
under you know, under six months of age, that you're
not quite sure what it's going to turn out to act, like,
be like, look like, you know, how big it's going
to be, all those things. So I think those are
(05:27):
important things to realize. But at one point, every single
dog breed we have was a mixed breed dog. You know,
we took basically five lines of dogs historically, like sixteen
thousand years ago when humans became humans, And there's a
lot of discussion about coevolution that people co evolved with dogs.
They didn't just like dogs didn't just move from wolves
(05:48):
into dogs one day in our in our camps around
the campfire, but that over the sixteen thousand years, a
lot of these things have evolved, and there's a really
interesting new book by a Wisconsin author that might be
worth taking a look at, called Familias. I think it
comes out next week. I heard an interview with the
author and it should be fascinating book about dogs, and
(06:09):
so anyway, if you're interested in that, that might be
something fun to read. But basically, Golden Retrievers didn't come
over on the arc with Noah. You know, it's not
like one day they just showed up as a Golden Retriever.
Golden Retrievers were developed in the eighteen sixties by Lowered Tweet,
and we kind of think of Golden Retrievers as being
a dog breed that's been around forever. Well one hundred
and fifty years isn't exactly forever. So there's newer breeds
(06:30):
than that, and there's older breeds in that. There's breaths.
Some of the Chinese and other breeds like Chow's they
go back to like the year one thousand, like they
go back way, way, way far. Some of the sidehounds
are the oldest breeds that they had with the Pharaohs
when they were in Egypt, you know, the Selukis and
the other sidehound type dogs. So there's all these really
(06:51):
interesting evolutionary paths that have evolved, and some of them
evolved with great health, and some of them evolved with
some flaws in their health. So that's where this discussion
comes in, is we think that mixed breed dogs may
be healthier. There's debate about that because number one, we
don't know all of those features. It would take a
study that's much too large to really understand well. And
(07:14):
number two, a lot of the pure bread dog clubs
have done a really good job of establishing DNA tests
and other kinds of screening tests for phenotype like hip
X rays and elbow X rays and those things to
try and get some of those flaws, those developmental or
health flaws bred out of their breath. And those are
the people who are supporting the research at AKC and
(07:35):
universities to try and do that. So we can't uniformly
say that a purebread dog is always less healthy than
a mixed breed dog, because I've seen mixed breed dogs
get really sick when they're really young, and I've seen
pure bread dogs love to be really old. So you
can't just generalize that.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Unfortunately, you know want to, you're mentioning too a little
bit about you know, the development of the kind of
the domesticated dog and how they how they came to be.
I think it was called decoded. It was a nature
on PBS a number of years ago, and I should
dig that up. And it just that's such a fascinating
as you know, you think about that about the you
(08:10):
know how dogs and humans just formed that you know,
that that bond that is it's just the genetic just
it's all fascinating stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
But yeah, glad, Yeah, And Meg meg Olmert wrote a
book called Made for each Other. It's a picture of
the cover has a picture of two feet in a
bed and then a dog's nose poking up between its
and it's again a really interesting book. She's a national
geographic author and has written this book called Made for
each Other. And it's really cool because we you know,
(08:39):
we don't really understand the complete evolution. It's all based
on the position. But we used to say that, you know,
like dogs just showed up one day. Well they didn't.
They co evolved. The dogs that were brave enough to
come close to the camp and eat the meat and
the food that was left over from the human started
to evolve in so they evolved to be closer to us,
and we evolved to be closer to them. Because there
are people I can't understand them, but there are people
(09:01):
who don't like dogs like I can't. I can't wrap
my head around that. But there are people who don't
like dogs, and I get that. I have family members
that don't like dogs. So it's hard for me to
understand because that's kind of what I live is dogs.
But there's definitely a co evolution that happened. And if
you're interested in this, there's so many good resources out
there to do a little reading, so you know, kind
(09:23):
of take a little time and read something fun for
the summer.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Made for each other. I'll definitely, I'll definitely be downloading
that later today sounds so it's fast, and I love this,
you know, this type of conversation about you know, kind
of getting that information about about understanding you know, dogs,
dog breeds and of course whether it's a mixed breed
or a pure bread and getting that information. I want
to talk and of course phone lines are open. I
(09:47):
haven't mentioned this part, and I feel very remiss, and
I feel like I miss an opportunity. If you've got
a question I'd love to have you join us this morning.
One of the great things about having doctor Greer on
with us each and every Thursday morning is the phone
lines are open six so age three two one thirteen ten.
That's six oh eight three two one thirteen ten. If
you've got a question for doctor Greer, we'd love to
get you on the air. Doctor Greer, of course, comes
(10:08):
to us from Checkout Veterinary the website check out vet
dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. They're teugh for
number six oh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred.
That's three one eight sixty seven hundred. Don't forget that
first visit at checkout vet. It is free. That exam
is free again. You can learn more online checkout vet
dot com. We'll continue our conversation with doctor Greer and
take your call next as Ask the Experts with Checkout
(10:30):
Veterinary continues right here on thirteen ten Double U ib
A eight fifty one thirteen ten, Double you I B
A and ask the experts. Watch you by Checkout Veterinary,
talking this morning, of course with doctor Marty Greer. Doctor
Greer comes to us from Checkout Veterinary, the website check
out Vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Today
is National mutdayre we're going called mixed breed dogs this morning,
(10:53):
uh doctor. One of the things too, is, uh we
tend to forget is because of circumstances, sometimes dogs, whether
they're mixed breed or just kind of unknown lineages, end
up in shelters, and we sometimes wonder about the question
marks of what is a puppy going to grow into,
especially as you're talking about mixed breed. If you're adopting
(11:15):
a little bit older pet, you get to see right
away exactly how they're going to grow up because they've
already grown. And what a great gift that is, not
just for the pet, but how rewarding that is to
add a dog to the family that.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Way, Oh for sure. And there's a lot of really
great dogs out there that are looking for homes, So
don't hesitate to go visit a shelter, go to some
of the online sources, take a look at those now.
I am in the process of getting ready to do
a presentation later today on heartworm disease. And don't forget
a lot of the dogs from the South who come
with some baggage, including some of them with heartworm. Even
(11:47):
if it was tested the dog was tested prior to
you getting it. It can take six months from the
time that the mosquito bites the dog until we see
heartworm disease positive on a test. So be careful with
what you're doing. Make sure that the dog is going
to fit your lifestyle size, for activity level, for coat type.
You have people with allergies in your home, things like that,
But look at heartworm testing, look at what vaccines they've had,
(12:07):
if they're spade or neutered. All those things are important
considerations prior to the time that you take them. And
not all riskies are created equals. Some rescue organizations do
a fabulous job and some are eh. You know, they
do the best they can with the resources that they have, so,
you know, just be aware that those aren't always easy
dogs because some of them do come with some emotional
baggage or some behavioral baggage. So just be thoughtful about
(12:31):
whether that's going to work for you, because one you
commit to a dog, you really want it to be
a lifetime commitment. You don't want it to be something
that doesn't work out well, So be careful. You know,
test the dogs behavior a little bit, and some dogs
don't show their true behavior until they've been in your
home for ninety days. They're like a new employee. You know,
you come to work, you're on time, you don't state
too long at lunch, you behave yourself in the lunch room,
(12:52):
and then you get to day ninety one and you're like,
I'm past provision. I guess just kind of let lose here.
So some dogs will change their behavior or in that
ninety day period of time, but many of them are great.
And you know, some people aren't in a position to
take a rescue dog or a shelter dog, but they
still want to help. So be thoughtful again about how
you make your support to those organizations. Support your local shelter,
(13:15):
Support those organizations that are close to you, like the
Dane County Humane Society. Those are the ones you want
to support. Some of the national organizations are actually more
political than they are about dog care, so if you're
making donations to those, they may actually not be going
to the dogcare itself. So you know, if you have
an extra bag of dogs through the sun open, you
can drop it at the shelter. They need paper tells,
(13:36):
they always need paper tells. There's always some things. They
always need cat litter, they always need cat food. So
there's definitely things that you can do to help these
shelters and do it locally so that you know that
your funding dollars are going to boots on the ground,
people in your community, dogs and cats in your community,
so that you're supporting those local organizations because some of
the bigger ones are frankly just political machines, and some
(13:57):
of them have changed their names because they got a
bad road mutation, so be thoughtful about that. But MutS
and mutts much are great dogs. They can be amazing dogs.
I've had some, and actually some organizations breed them on purpose,
like Canine Companits are independence deliberately breed Labradors to Golden
Retrievers for their service dogs, and they have a breeding
program that goes back over thirty years. So those are
(14:18):
technically mutts because they're not purebred, but they know the behavior,
they know the health of those dogs. They ofa the
parents for hips and elbows, and they do help testing
and they do all this stuff so they can produce
them best high quality puppies for those service dogs settings
that they can, so you know, German shepherds are German shepherds,
and those are used as seeing eye dogs a lot.
(14:39):
But some of the other dogs are a mixed breed
because they're wildly successful in those crosses and they know
exactly genetically what they're doing. So there can be some
amazing mixed breed dogs out there and purpose bread dogs
that are technically a mut but are fabulous pets. Doctor.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
One of the things it's great about getting a chance
to talk with you is kind of getting getting different perspectives,
and of course as a medical professional, as a doctor,
is that is I think sometimes people don't use their
vets as as much of a resource as they are.
And when we're talking about mixed breed dogs or other
you know, or adopting or bringing a new pet into
(15:17):
the house, it's not a bad idea to talk with
your vet before you have have adopted. And also you
talk about some of these rescues out there, what a
great resource being able to talk to your vet and saying, hey,
I'm looking for you know, a particular a particular breed
of dog, or looking for a rescue dog, what do
you recommend? That's a I think sometimes we forget what
(15:40):
a great resource you as doctors can be in that
part of the conversation as well.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Right, And I would be more than happy to do
consoles with people before they make those decisions, because some
of them come in with a dog and you're like,
oh man, this is just fraught with disaster. So talk
to your veterinary professional, maybe a vet tech, maybe one
of the people that works at the veterinary office that
may be your veterinarians, but they have really deep resources
on what kind of options you have for adoption. They
(16:07):
may have a client that has a pet that they
can't keep anymore and they're looking for a special home
for them. You know, a lot of the small breed
dogs get sucked sucked up out of the shelters immediately.
They may not even show up on a website or
or anywhe else because they get adopted so quickly. But
we all have clients that find themselves in a position
that they've become ill or aged or moving into a
(16:30):
care facility and they can't keep some of these really
lovely little dogs. So remember that your veterinary staff may
know of a great little dog or a great big
dog that is available and will never see the light
of day on a website, so use them as resources.
Your veterinarians know you, They know what kind of dogs
you've had in the past and what your preferences are,
(16:52):
and so they can really help you make good decisions
about that because it is a long time decision. You
don't want to do this and then just take them
back to the shelter because it didn't work. You want
it to work well.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Talking this morning with doctor Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinarian,
the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot
com our top number six o eight three one eight
sixty seven hundred. That's six eight three one eight sixty
seven hundred. Before we wrap up this week, I do
want to talk about the clinic doctor and what a
great design Checkout Veterinary is, and of course your your
sister clinic check in vet and the other clinic in Marshalling.
(17:23):
Of course you've got one, uh you've got one in
Lamira as well, but check out Vet. Let's talk a
little bit about that experience and kind of how that
how that was developed and the work that you put
into to create Checkout Veterinary.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Sure, so we decided before COVID that there wasn't really
a good pet centric design for veterinary clinics. We talked
for years about fear free and low stress and comfortable
veterinary care and cooperative in arcare, but we really haven't
done a great job of changing the design of veterinary clinics.
So you still have to bring your dog in through
the front door, across the icy sidewalks, or through the heat,
(17:58):
and you know, try to get into the lob and
not run into a dog nose to nose on their
way out that isn't going to like your dog or
somebody with a cat that's going to be a little
bit nervous about being there. So having the opportunity to
pull into a garage bay and that would be your
exam room, you don't have to get out of your
car if you choose to stand in the vehicle. We've
got a window between you and the exam room. So
(18:18):
you can stay in your cars, stay with the kiddos,
stay with grandma if she's not trustworthy behind the wheel,
so you can keep an eye on your pet and
keep an eye on all the people that are with you.
We don't mind if you bring six dogs and four kids.
We've got the space for it in the garage base,
and it really is a pretty fun experience. So dogs
may be more comfortable in the back of the suv
of a minivan, they might be more comfortable in the
(18:39):
exam room. But it's a really wonderful system that you
don't have to experience bad weather and scary things happening
with other interactions with pets. You're directly into the garage bay.
You're the only one in there, so it makes it
really safe.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
You talk about those scary interactions. I until I had
a chihuahua, you never think much about it, and then
you're like, they're always scanning and watching, and what a
great design and what a great setup it is at
checkout Veterinary. A great day to start that relationship. Don't
forget that first visit that exam. It is free. You
can learn more online checkout vet dot com. That's checkout
vet dot com. Telphon number six oh eight three one
(19:13):
eight sixty seven hundred. That's six oh eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. Doctor. It's always great chatting. Have
a great day and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
News comes your way next right here on thirteen ten.
Wib I
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