An animated short film I made at Ringling College of Art and Design. Featured in the 2009 SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival. www.cathicks.com cathicks.blogspot.com Music by Chris Haigh Sound Design by Charles Vallely Copyright © Catherine Hicks 2009

So you have discovered evidence that your dog has these annoying little pests they call fleas, and now you have no idea how to get them out of your house and home, this article will talk your through the main ways to get rid of these fleas from your dogs coat and from your home.

Getting rid of fleas is no easy task as many other dog owners will tell you, but the chances are that fleas will happen through either another dog coming to play with yours or just picking them up from playing amongst damp fine gravel or sand where fleas like to live and breed.

So let’s take you through the easiest and best ways to rid of theses pests.

The first step is to take your dog or pet to the vet and have the fleas professionally identified to avoid giving your dog the wrong treatment, and get professional advice on possible new products that are on the market.

After this, the vacuum cleaner should come out. This is a very effective way of getting rid of many of the pupae, larvae or eggs that may be lurking beneath the surface of your carpet. Do this often and it will reduce the number of fleas quickly and easily.

The next step is to use household insecticide to clear your house of any flea related growths that your vacuum cleaner may have missed. Although I do not encourage insecticide and other chemicals near your dog or family this is one case where it is vital for getting rid of fleas. Always read the labels carefully and get a well known or professionally recommended product.

After the initial insecticide process and being careful to reach every possible area and corner you may want to insecticide your garden to ensure full removal of fleas, the garden could be more of a problem than the house, and could be where the flea problem began so be sure to target fine gravel or sandy areas where fleas may be living.

Your dog is the next obvious step and there are hundreds of products perfectly safe for your dog that will rid him/her of the annoying itchiness. Go to your nearest pet shop or vet and they should have sufficient products that will help.

After all this, you may think that the flea problem has gone forever but there may still be pupae that has survived the insecticide due to their protective cocoon, taking the same measurements as noted above two weeks later, should help the full removal of all things flea related and your dog will be able to sleep again.

If the problem persists, please contact your vet or other professional advice.

Our dogschool's presentation group made a surprise video for Christmas. It is our first work of this kind, but we are planning more. Enjoy and spread! Our dogs are trained by the Mirror Method. *** more info about the method: mirrormethod@googlegroups.com Kutyáinkat Tükör módszerrel neveljük.

Owners, dogs aid good cause
Dogs and their owners had an opportunity to play at the San Angelo State Park on Saturday while raising money for several worthwhile causes.About 60 people participated in the Concho Kennel Club’s People and Pooch Dog Walk, which raised money for the Friends of the San Angelo State Park and the San Angelo Police Department’s K-9 unit, in addition to the Concho Kennel Club.

Read more on The San Angelo Standard-Times

879 dogs vying for top spot at Fort Myers dog show
The Greater Fort Myers Dog Club All Breed Show kicked off Saturday, with 879 dogs vying for the Best in Show title.

Read more on The News-Press

Dog shedding can be a big pain in some households, and depending on how disciplined you are about your dog clambering around the furniture the fur mess can be more than expected sometimes, and can get absolutely everywhere.

Dog shredding happens as a result of a few different situations, the first and common in all breeds of dogs is to make way for a new shiny coat every now and again, and to get rid of dead hair that is no longer needed. Another cause for shedding is seasonal changes like some breeds are used to in their natural habitat, in theses situation there can be lots of hair being dropped at an almost worrying rate twice a year, but it is actually quite normal for this to happen.

If you are worried about how much hair your dog is loosing, then do some research or go to the vets and find out the different types of dogs that get affected by this seasonal change. In rare cases loosing large amount or fur can be caused by a poor diet and insufficient amounts of vitamins to keep the fur alive. All these can be answered by your local veterinarian.

If you are tired of all this fur and the effects of your dog loosing its coat, keeping your dog well groomed will help to stop the spread of hair and keep your dogs coat healthy at the same time and is always recommended to stop knots or matted hair along with keeping your dog healthier and happier.

To summarise, if you are worried about your dogs shedding and have looked to find the shedding habits of the breed of dog you have then visiting a vet is the best option and they will be able to give you a more in-depth analysis of the situation after an examination of your dog and keep your mind at rest about the health of your dog.

There has been a lot of publicity in the last few years and even recently about dogs being left in hot overheating cars in the hot summers, by now most people know that hot cars are a real danger for dogs but there are still some of you out there that don’t seem to take the situation serious enough, or don’t realise how quickly the situation can change.

Every year dogs die because they are trapped in a heated car while their owners go into a shop, store, or any other situation when the dog will be left for long periods of time.

Dogs do not have the ability to sweat in heated conditions causing them to overheat a lot quicker than humans, along with the dog’s big fur coat; this makes a recipe for disaster on a hot day. As the heat rises outside it can be less than 10 minutes before your dog is screaming to get out in the agonising heat of the car.

You may think that your car windows being slightly open will help your dog and keep them cool, but this is not the case. If your car windows are slightly open then there will not be enough fresh air coming in to cool your dog quickly enough and if you have your windows fully open you risk loosing your dog in an unfamiliar place or even get stolen.

When a dog overheats it causes a very agonising death, if you have to rescue or treat an over heated dog you should cool them down with cool water ( not cold, this could cause to much shock to the system), or use a wet towel and wrap them in it, feed them cool water or a nice ice cube to lick and then proceed to consult a vet about the situation and get a full examination for your dog.

Josh Ritter and the band perform "To the Dogs or Whoever," from the new Fall 2007 album "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter." Filmed and edited by the folks of "Juan's Basement."