Photo of a large rain gutter.

Wider Rain Gutters Are Life Changing

This episode explores the risks and controversies around GPS dog fences and e-collars, along with the mixed reception of the Big 12’s high-tech LED basketball court. It also touches on LEGO nostalgia, the importance of heartworm prevention in dogs, and wraps up with a quick look at smart home lighting upgrades. Listen to the full episode here.

Show Notes for Season 5, Episode 6

  • GPS Dog Fences
    • Dogs do not understand GPS
    • They will often run through the GPS “barrier” and then not want to come back because they will get shocked again
    • The GPS often fails or the batteries fail
    • Collars fail and dogs will receive random shocks or continuous shocks
    • The dogs might receive random shocks due to inaccurate or floating GPS signals causing fence lines to drift
    • Dogs can get pressure necrosis from the contact points on the collars
    • People who buy these collars and say they will only use the beep or vibration mode are kidding themselves and probably should just hire a trainer or put up a fence unless they plan to do extensive training. If a dog will ignore a human who says “come back” a dog is definitely going to ignore a beep
    • Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Finland, Wales, Scotland and France, with some regions in Australia and Canada have all banned ecollars and GPS ecollars. Also San Francisco has a city wide ban. New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts all have proposed legislation for banning the collars coming up.
    • In East Lansing you cannot use an ecollar legally in public.  While not a ban, animal cruelty laws in Michigan and elsewhere can apply if a collar is used in a manner that causes unjustified pain or injury to an animal.
  • Led Basketball Court for BIG 12 
  • Lego Birthday Set
  • Heartworm Disease
    • Marigold was adopted WITH heartworm disease and had been treated once already – only about 2% of dogs have to be treated twice
    • 100% preventable with FDA approved preventatives
    • Transmitted by mosquitos
    • We use Simparica Trio by Zoetis (does fleas and ticks, heartworms and and roundworms)
    • Buying cheap medications at places like Canada Pharmacies that don’t require prescriptions
      • No Zoetis guarantee
      • Zoetis drugs, but they cover the wrong bugs
        • Australia Simparica covers paralysis tick – USA version covers Deer Tick (Lyme carrier), American Dog Tick, Lone Star Tick, Gulf Coast Tick, and Brown Dog Tick
      • The prescriptions could be counterfeit, stored incorrectly during shipping or expired
    • Six months of Simparica Trio at Costco is about $145
    • Heartworm treatment for a 50 pound dog is over $2,000
    • Steps to treat: (pain management is always needed and sometimes antibiotics are required for secondary infections)
      • Strict rest and restriction of movement during the entire treatment to prevent fatal blockage (pulmonary embolism)
      • 30 days of doxycycline (and sometimes a steroid)
      • 30 days of resting and waiting for the die off the heart worms
      • 1 injection of Melarsomine is given with pain medications
      • 30 days later another injection of Melarsomine is given 
      • 1 day later another injection of Melarsomine is given
      • 6 to 8 weeks of additional strict rest
      • 6 to 9 months later a heartworm test is performed
  • Lights & Cameras

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