We released a fun little game yesterday that I think a lot of you will enjoy. The game is essentially a test of your knowledge of the 157 or so AKC-recognized breeds, and the format couldn’t be any simpler: you are shown a picture of a dog and given a choice of 6 breeds to choose from - correctly identify the breed and gain 1 point for a total possible score of 157. I tested the game before it was released and got something like 150 - I thought I would do better Top scores can be found here.

In the next couple days, we are planning on making a few revisions to the game. The ideas that stand out in my mind are:

1. Changing the name to something a little more interesting. I was thinking something like “Breed Roulette” or “Name that breed!”

2. Creating an abridged version of the game for people who don’t have the time or patience to go through every AKC-recognized breed. I was thinking of a version with 30 or 40 randomly selected breeds shown.

If any of you have thoughts on the game, please feel free to share them in the forums. Have fun!

Well, it looks like dogs have another thing in common with humans these days - they can take drugs to lose weight. The FDA just approved the first canine weight loss drug. Check out the full story here or read below.

WASHINGTON — Is your hound round? Too much flab on your Lab? Is your husky, well, husky? A new drug may provide some help. The government approved the first drug for obese canines on Friday. Called Slentrol, the Pfizer Inc. drug is aimed at helping fat Fidos shed extra pounds.“This is a welcome addition to animal therapies, because dog obesity appears to be increasing,” said Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food and Drug Administration.

A dog that weighs 20 percent more than its ideal weight is considered obese. That takes in about 5 percent of the nearly 62 million dogs in the United States. An additional 20 percent to 30 percent are considered overweight.

The liquid drug appears to reduce the amount of fat a dog can absorb. It also seems to trigger a feeling of satiety or fullness, according to the FDA.

The prescription drug also can produce some unfortunate side effects, including loose stools, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite.

And it’s not for dog owners. The FDA discourages the drug’s use in humans and lists a litany of side effects should anyone ignore that advice. Nor is Slentrol, also called dirlotapide, for use in cats.

In general, dogs need a far fattier diet than humans do to thrive. Fat is an essential source of calories for dogs and is necessary for growth, development, reproduction and healthy skin, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Like all diet drugs, Slentrol is meant to be part of an overall weight management program that includes a complete and balanced diet and exercise, according to its label. Slentrol is not a cure for obesity; its effects cease within a day or two of stopping treatment.

A number of people have told me over the past few days that BreederRetriever.com has come up as a topic of discussion on Showdogs-L. At the same time, I have noticed a marked increase in the number of breeders signing up for our service (several of whom have indicated they were referred by Showdogs-L), which I’ll assume means that most of the comments have been positive. Excellent!

As the number of breeders signing up for our directory increases (we’re rapidly closing in on 1,000), the job of sifting through all those breeders and weeding out the bad ones has become more time consuming and difficult. To all the breeders who have signed up recently, bear with us if it takes a little longer for us to approve your listing. Even though we now have 50+ breeders signing up every day, we are still trying to devote as much attention to each breeder as we did when we had only a handful per day.

On another note, we are going to be releasing a fun little game to test your breed knowledge either today or tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Someone sent this story to me today and asked me to share it with all the Breeder Retriever folks. I got a kick out of it - hopefully you do too. (The full story can be found here and is reproduced below) 

SARASOTA, Fla., (AP) Austin ricochets around the Ritz-Carlton hotel room, bouncing from bed to chair and leaping high to lick the face of his personal masseuse. He’s an energetic 4-year-old pug, so there is a lot of wriggling as his “privileged pup” pet massage begins. But soon his eyelids droop and his tiny muscles relax under the soothing touch of Darlene Davison, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota’s spa director.

“OK, sweetheart, OK. There you go,” coos Davison, creator of the luxury hotel chain’s latest indulgence - the $130 dog massage.

Figure in the hotel’s 20-pound weight limit and the additional $125 nonrefundable pet fee and the “privileged pup” plan comes out to a minimum of $12.75 a pound. And that’s the basic package.

For another $220, the Ritz throws in gourmet dog biscuits, an in-room pet massage, a choice of nail buffing or nail polish, a souvenir photo, a brisk walk over Sarasota’s scenic Ringling Bridge and a gourmet meal of organic stew and designer water served on a silver tray.

Americans spend about $38.4 billion on their pets annually, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturer’s Association. Spending on pets increased an average of $2.3 billion a year since the association started tracking numbers in 1997.

“The trend, in the last year especially, is people enjoying things they can do with their pet,” said Charlotte Reed, the New York-based author of the upcoming book “Miss Fido Manners Complete Book of Dog Etiquette.” Reed has four dogs, three cats and several birds.

“People take their dogs to baseball games,” Reed said. “People are going to fashion shows with their pets. People are going to benefits and art shows with their pets. You all dress nicely, put on your big diamonds and put on your pet’s boa, or tuxedo shirt if it’s a boy.”

The platinum and pocket pup set are defintely the Ritz’s target demographic.

The Ritz packages remain a budget buster for the average pet owner. An hour on the massage table at the Ritz equals an average year’s worth of dog grooming and treats.

Davison said the blow is softened a bit by the obligatory massage lesson. Florida law says veterinary procedures _ including massages _ must be done in a vet’s office unless it is for educational purposes. So Davison and five other dog-certified spa employees use the hour to demonstrate Swedish, sports or relaxation massage techniques to dog owners.

The lesson sold Austin’s owners, Larry and Deborah Colton of Oldsmar, Fla. The couple drove about an hour to the Sarasota Ritz to celebrate Larry Colton’s 59th birthday and do some shopping. They brought their pugs, Austin and 2-year-old Phoenix.

Deborah Colton said she wanted to learn pet massage for her 11-year-old lab mix, Kalua, who has arthritis. Kalua is too big to stay at the Ritz, so Austin got the massage.

“Massage is very important,” Colton said. “I tend to do for my pets what I do for myself. I know the wonderful effects of massage so that’s why I wanted to do this.”

The Sarasota Ritz dog massage program is a pilot program for the whole chain, Davison said. She began offering services about three months ago and said business has varied from a peak of three canine customers in a week to no takers for several weeks in a row.

The hotel is working on more owner-pet pampering packages, although the human indulgences are being planned for the Ritz’s luxury spa. No dogs allowed.

That rubs Reed the wrong way.

“I would spend $250 to get us both rubbed down … so I can look over and smiling adoringly at my pet enjoying herself,” Reed said. “That would be fun for me.”