Inside of a Dog, It's Too Dark to Read

• Batch 39, at long last! Very much the miscellaneous and random doggage.
• Bento sub-gallery (one lunchbox, two juubako)
• Photos tagged with 'Puppy' (yes, it's what I call him)
• Photos tagged with 'Dog' (well, I can't call him 'puppy', can I?!)
• Photos tagged with 'Chiana' (the escape artiste)
• Photos tagged with 'Sirius' (you'll have to do a bit of looking to find the most recent ones)
• Knotted style of 'plait'

Down the Hatch

Competitive eating may get a lot of media attention these days, but sword-swallowing has become the first esophagus-busting sport to attract scholarly study.

Competitive eating may get a lot of media attention these days for its negative health implications and general weirdness, but another esophagus-busting sport has become the first to attract scholarly study. As Scientific American reports, the paper “Sword-swallowing and its side effects” gives a detailed medical analysis of the practice.

And if competitive eaters risk diminishing their joy in eating, sword-swallowers have it even worse. There’s the constant threat of perforating the esophagus or puncturing the stomach, of course, but the common condition known as “sword throat” can make it hard to eat for several days. Some performers use butter to lubricate their weapons for a smoother journey, the study says; other authoritative sources talk of cooking oil, olive oil, and Kurobara camellia oil (a nontoxic variety that’s often used in cleaning cutlery).

The study doesn’t get into some of the more fascinating minutiae of the art, but Swordswallow.com sure does. What does it taste like to swallow a sword, you may ask?

In some cases, depending on the type of metal used in the blade, it can sometimes taste a bit metallic. Lady Sandra Reed commented on the taste of metal and Red Stuart often says that your mouth and throat need to learn to overcome the metallic taste so that your throat does not rebel against the strange taste going down your throat.

However, many of the newer swords nowadays have little to no flavor at all—much like the taste of a fork—except as the sword is being removed, at which time there may be the unpleasant taste of the stomach acids.

Kids these days have it so easy. No metallic taste to reckon with … next thing you know, they’ll be lubing up their swords with ice cream.

Posted by Christy Harrison | last wednesday at 4:06pm

D'Argo, Meissa and Sirius are my 'good' dogs (well, mostly; D'Argo's always good).
Annie, Gemma and Chiana are my cheerful problem children.

The boys are the oldest and youngest, with all the girls in the middle.
The corgis are sandwiched between the two 'miscellaneous' girldogs.

Four dogs who come when they're called
Two dogs who don't

Two dilutes (D'Argo and Sirius)
Two brindles (Gemma and Chiana)
Two tricolours (Meissa and Annie)

Two boxers
Two Cardigans
Two... genetic salads.

Two tall girls
Two short girls
Two... boys. (Well, they've got varying heights)

Three corgis
Three not

OMAHA, Neb. -- A recent study has found that an ingredient in some sugar-free products can be very harmful to dogs.

Xylitol is an ingredients mainly found in sugar-free gum and candy. If eaten by a pet, the additive could cause death. It has been used around the world in gum, breath mints and toothpaste for years. It is as sweet as sucrose, but with 40 percent fewer calories.

Recently, a number of dogs have become very ill after ingesting products containing Xylitol. The Animal Poison Control Center of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it has seen an increase in the number of Xylitol poisoning cases in dogs.

There were 170 cases in 2005, up from 70 in 2004. As of August, there have been 114 cases of Xylitol poisonings in dogs this year.

It was originally thought that it takes large amounts of Xylitol to cause problems in dogs, but now it has been found that lesser amounts can also be harmful.

If you find that your dog has gotten into your sugar-free gum stash, or any other product containing Xylitol, take your dog to the vet immediately, the group advised.

...For example, dogs ingesting significant amounts of gum or candies solely or largely sweetened with xylitol may develop a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures. These signs can develop quite rapidly, so it is important that pet owners seek veterinary treatment immediately.  According to experts at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, some data also appears to point to a possible link between xylitol ingestions and the development of liver failure in dogs.