ohmidog!

This ad for Trifexis depicts a dog living in a bubble — albeit it one that’s outside and has plenty of tubes to run around in.

It serves to protect him from heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, flea infestations and all those other frightening hazards that exist in that place where dogs, for centuries, managed to survive:

Outside.

What we find most interesting about it, though, are the disclaimers, which seem to have risen with doggie prescription drugs to the same level they have with human ones, where three-fourths of the advertisement are devoted to a listing of potential scary side effects, quickly recited in monotone, in hopes you — or your dog — won’t really hear them.

With Trifexis, it goes like this: “Treatment with fewer than three monthly doses after the last exposure to mosoquitoes may not provide complete heartworm prevention. The most common adverse reactions were vomiting, itching and lethargy. Serious adverse reactions have been reported following concomitant extra-label use of ivermectin with spinosad alone, one of the components of Trifexis.”

On top of the warnings recited, more appear in small print during the ad:

“To ensure parasite protection, observe your dog for one hour after administration.”

“If vomiting occurs within an hour of administration, give another full dose.”

“Puppies less than 14 weeks of age may experience a higher rate of vomiting.”

In their print ads, the makers of Trifexis additionally advise the drug be used with caution in breeding females, and in dogs with epilepsy. Its use in breeding males has not been evaluated. Print ads also list lethargy, depression, decreased appetite and diarrhea as possible side effects.

The chewable, beef-flavored tablets — administered once a month – are a combination of spinosad and milbemycin oxime, and they serve to prevent heartworm disease, kill fleas and prevent infestations and treat hookworm, roundworm and whipworm infections.

The tagline for the ad is “You don’t have to go to extremes to protect your dog from parasites.”

Apparently you do, though, if you’re selling prescription drugs — for canines or humans — to protect your ass from lawsuits.

To see all our “Woof in Advertising” posts, click here.

This may be a hard pill to swallow for all those worrywarts warning us about zoonotic diseases, but having a dog living inside the home apparently makes for a healthier infant.

A new study reported in the  medical journal Pediatrics says infants living in households with dogs were healthier and had fewer ear infections than those without a dog.

The study, based on 397 children who lived in rural and suburban parts of Finland, found that contact with dogs and, to a lesser extent, cats, helped ward off  respiratory tract infections during a baby’s first year.

Seems all that dirt and bacteria dogs bring inside might actually help build up the immune systems of babies.

“The children having dogs at home were healthier, they had less ear infections and they needed less antibiotics,” said Eija Bergroth, the study’s lead author and a pediatrician affiliated with Kuopio University Hospital in Kuopio, Finland.

Under one measure, children with dogs were reported as being healthy for about 73% of the time, compared with about 65% of children with no dog contact at home, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Bergroth said that children who lived in households where dogs spent 18 or more hours a day outside showed the most healthy days, fewer fevers and the least use of antibiotics compared with babies with no dog at home.

One theory, she said, is that indoor-outdoor dogs bring more dirt and bacteria inside the home, allowing infants to build up immunities.

Bergroth’s study involved children who were born at Kuopio University Hospital in Finland between September 2002 and May 2005. The children’s parents were given weekly questionnaires from the time their babies were nine weeks old until they were 1 year old.

It’s not the first study to document the physical health benefits of shacking up with dogs.  A study funded by the National Institutes of Health showed children exposed to two or more dogs or cats in their first year had lower chances of developing allergies of all kinds than children exposed to one or no pets.

This is Hutch — before and after.

Hutch was one of 20 dogs living in a single room of a mobile home in Louisiana. They rarely got out and ate only dumplings, as that was all their owner could afford.

Authorities were tipped off about the conditions the dogs were living in, at which point several rescue organizations were contacted, including NOLA Lab Rescue, in New Orleans, established a couple of years ago by Kim Breaux.

Hutch resembled a Lab, though it was hard to tell what breed or breeds he was given all the mange, sores, hairless spots and infections.

Breaux was able to find a volunteer to foster Hutch from among her supporters, and after treatment for his mange and other problems, he made the trip to a new temporary home in Tennessee.

Melissa S., the foster mom, recounts the full  story at Animal Hoarding News & Info.

On Nov. 7, 2010, Hutch arrived at his foster home, one he would share with four other dogs.

“He was a little timid at first, but he soon fell into place with the other, eating and sleeping with them. He soon learned how to fetch the Frisbee like all the others. He really didn’t come with much “baggage” … he was house broken in no time at all … he was very eager to listen and learn. You could tell that he craved love and attention and began to blossom.”

“A face that nobody could turn away from” is how she describes him.

“After he was in our home for just a few short weeks, my husband decided he could not bear to part with Hutch, so we officially adopted him. He is such a special boy, he makes us laugh every day.”

Rewards will be offered to pet owners who pick up and properly dispose of their dogs’ waste in Inverness, Scotland.

For the next three months Highland Council enforcement officers will hand out vouchers to “responsible owners,” the BBC reports.

The vouchers, appropriately enough, can be exchanged at a local veterinarian’s office de-worming tablets, aimed at cutting dog roundworm infections.

Most parklands in the city are thought to be contaminated with dog roundworm, which poses a risk to human health, particularly among children, according to the BBC report.

 ”Dog feces are a known risk for the development of disease in people, particularly children,” said Sonia Howell, manager of Crown Vets which is a partner in the project. “But fortunately this is easy to prevent by removing dog waste from public areas and by regular treatment of dogs with an effective wormer.”

Officials pointed out that, though officers will be looking to reward considerate pet owners, they’ll also be prepared to issue citations to the less than considerate ones.

In May, joint police and environmental health patrols were launched in an effort to combat dog fouling and littering in part of Inverness.

Doctors treating people for dog and cat bites should be aware of an increasing risk of MRSA — Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — being transmitted from pets to humans, newly published research says.

MRSA, an uncommon strain of the bacteria in domestic animals, is being seen more often, according to research reported in the new issue The Lancet that focuses on infectious diseases.

“As community-acquired strains of MRSA increase in prevalence, a growing body of clinical evidence has documented MRSA colonisation in domestic animals, often implying direct infection from their human owners,” reports a team led by Dr Richard Oehler, of the University of South Florida. “MRSA colonisation has been documented in companion animals such as horses, dogs, and cats and these animals have been viewed as potential reservoirs of infection.”

“Pet owners are often unaware of the potential for transmission of life-threatening pathogens from their canine and feline companions,” the researchers said. “Clinicians must continue to promote loving pet ownership, take an adequate pet history, and be aware that associated diseases are preventable via recognition, education and simple precautions.”

Each year, dog and cat bites comprise around 1% of accident and emergency visits in the US and Europe. Severe infections occur in about 20% of bite cases, and are caused by bacteria in the animal’s mouth, plus other infectious agents from the person’s skin.