Common New Born Puppy Health Problems and Diseases

Most newborn puppies are very weak and are vulnerable to health problems. Prevention is always better than cure as recommended; to prevent the opportunity of infections or other health problems, basic to intermediate knowledge about caring for your new born puppy is very important.

Here are some of the few common puppy health problems and diseases that a weak puppy might be susceptible to.

Hypothermia:

Hypothermia is one of the major problems. A tiny new born puppy has difficulty regulating it's body temperature as it's thermoregulatory system may not be fully developed yet. One common solution is to keep a new born puppy in a moderate heated environment of 85-90F degrees for the first two to three weeks.

How can you do that? Simple, use a heated Dog lamp or warming lamp. Also, it is a good practice to use warm bottles (not hot as they might be dangerous) and a puppy warming blanket. Use hypoallergenic cotton blankets as an alternative because they retain some body heat.

Parvovirus:

This is a common diseases for a young puppy and a Dog. As a Dog owner, ensure that your puppy is adequately protected against the deadly Parvovirus disease. Parvovirus is a contagious disease that attacks the lining of the dog or puppy's digestive system. It is usually spread through feces of another infected dog. Parvo can also be carried on kennels, crates and accessories of another dog.

Symptoms include lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, weariness and putrid smelling dog stool. These symptoms have also been linked to high fever which could lead to congestive heart failure.

Make sure that your puppies are vaccinated under a proper program and a health time table. Veterinarians recommend that infected puppies should not be taken to the dog park or even the yard where they can interact with other dogs, until the proper vaccination and injections are administered.

Colostrum:

This is an anti-body that can be given to your new born puppy at approximately 24 hours after birth.

How? Simple, by feeding your puppy the full-bodied first milk of it's mother. This step if available, is critical to your puppy's health and health problems prevention.

If you are concerned about your new born puppy' slower absorption rate; it is quite common, visit your local vet for a consultation about their Colustum's absorption rate. Your vet will usually do a blood test to check your puppy's anti-body absorption rate and if needed, your vet will then proceed to inject some serum from it's mother to speed up the process.

This is Jeremy C.W and thank you for reading. I hope you have found this article useful. Visit dogsnpuppies.com for more articles and tips about puppy health [http://dognpuppies.com/Puppy-Health/index.html], puppy care [http://dognpuppies.com/Puppy-Care/index.html] and everything about dogs.

The Problems With Running an Ostrich Farm

In America there are hundreds of people who own farms or ranches. On these farms they plant crops of corn and wheat as well as other things. They also may nurture creatures like pigs, chickens, and cows. Each farm is unusual and many of them care for these creatures before they sell them off for meat or utilizing their milk for cheese or for people who enjoy to drink milk.

One form of farming that we commonly do not know about is ostrich farming. The ostrich is a flightless bird that we all know and have seen on National Geographic episodes - but rarely are they seen in person. In fact several of us cannot even imagine them being farmed and being sold for meat like cows and pigs.

The ostrich is regarded to be a free wandering livestock that do not require much care when they have reached four months old. In fact many of these farmers feel that they are one of the best environmentally friendly creatures because they do not need as much food.

More than one hundred countries have put money into these farms and have worked hard to create a living from them. In the early 1990's it was believed to be rather profitable - but not long after the business died down because there was not enough who wanted their product. Without anyone to buy them many of the farms were forced to shut down.

However, not everything is hopeless. The few ostrich farms that are still running in the US are asking the government to make things simpler for them. They believe that if the USDA were to scrutinize the meat like they do with cows or pigs then the marketing price might be lowered. Individuals would be much more inclined to purchase them if the price were set to a lower amount. But for now all they can do is wait patiently and trust that something is done speedily.

Ostriches are a type of flightless bird and are very unusual. That is why it is unusual to hear about Ostrich Farms.

Solutions for Problems With International IP Rights Regarding Plants Native To India

I. Possible Methods To Protect Indian Rice Industry

In the past there has been some controversy regarding a patent on basmati rice developed by a company called "RiceTec." RiceTec also uses the term, "Texmati" for its Texas-grown variety of basmati rice. Initially, RiceTec's patent seems to misappropriate India's national heritage in basmati rice. However, after learning about the myriad intellectual property schemes, the extent of the Texmati patent rights seems limited. India may safely grant product patents for Western inventions if India speeds up efforts to patent Indian products. What India needs to protect its indigenous plant knowledge is a combination of "scientific mumbo-jumbo and legal savvy." The CSIR formed a team that identified 400 herbs with medicinal uses. Now the CSIR plans to seek patents for these cures to prevent foreign companies from claiming these remedies.

A. Pursue Cancellation of U.S. Patent

The PTO seldom fully cancels a patent once granted. However, the USPTO may cancel a patent for a limited period after issuing the patent. If a patented invention is shown to not be novel, useful, or obvious, then the PTO may cancel the patent.

For RiceTec's basmati patent, India's best point of attack is novelty. DNA fingerprinting may determine whether RiceTec's rice germ plasm originates from a naturally occurring rice. If so, then India could argue that RiceTec's rice contains no substantial differences from a naturally occurring variety, negating the rice's novelty. RiceTec maintains that their patented rice's breeding material came partly from an agricultural seed repository in Idaho that is available to anyone.

If the rice provides no substantial benefits over natural basmati, India may attack the patented rice's usefulness. RiceTec's patent describes the plant as being cultivated in only the Americas and the Caribbean. RiceTec may seek to counter India's claim of a lack of utility. RiceTec could state that the company's rice plant is useful because it grows in a region that does not naturally allow basmati rice to grow.

Indian government officials and rice industry representatives have publicly stated that growers cannot cultivate basmati rice outside of the northern region of the Indian subcontinent. Similar statements have expressed that RiceTec's rice is the same type of rice grown in India for many years. The Indian government should decide on whether RiceTec's rice is the same as Indian basmati or different. If the patent rice is identical to Indian basmati, then RiceTec's invention is not novel. If the rice is not the same, then India may lose a contest on novelty, but may consider geographic indication protection.

B. Plant Breeder Rights

India currently provides no protection for plant varieties. TRIPs only provides plant variety dispute settlement to countries that have national plant variety protection. The Indian parliament unsuccessfully attempted to pass a plant variety protection law in 1994. If India adopts a plant variety patent law soon, India may pursue international protection of indigenous plants.

However, any protection will only pertain to future acts as TRIPs will not apply plant variety protection retroactively. India cannot use TRIPs to contest foreign plant patents if India does not provide plant variety protection at home. Previous Indian governments did not pass a plant protection act, despite urging by Indian professionals in the environmental, food, and patent fields. If such an Indian plant patent system existed, India would have an easier task of protecting its basmati rice industry today.

Although this avenue is currently ineffective to thwart RiceTec's patent, passing a plant patent act now will be valuable for future disputes. The TRIPs agreement requires that any laws on biodiversity, plant, and microorganism protection be in place before 2000. India has not yet begun enacting such legislation.

C. Trademark, Certified Mark, Co-op Mark

RiceTec has a registered U.S. trademark for "Texmati." The trademark registration claims that RiceTec has used "Texmati" for the previous twenty years. If India cannot refute this statement, passing off is hard to prove.

Again, TRIPs provides no dispute resolution process if a member country does not have a conflicting trademark under its own laws. No Indian trademark exists for "basmati." RiceTec does not have a registered trademark of "basmati" anywhere. In the U.S., the word, "basmati," is not registered alone, although other companies have registrations for phrases containing the term. These registrations contain disclaimers that no claim is asserted to the word, "basmati." India needs to consider whether "basmati" should be trademarked in India first, then in other countries.

If India is unsuccessful in pursuing trademark protection, certified marks or collective marks may be worth considering. A certified mark may indicate to consumers that the rice was grown in the Himalayan region of India, as Columbia's coffee growers demonstrate through their Juan Valdez marketing promotion. Perhaps India's rice exporting organizations should pursue creation of a collective mark to distinguish rice from India's rice growers.

D. Marketing

Perhaps Indian basmati's greatest disadvantage to American basmati is poor marketing by the Indian rice industry. Today, the two basmatis do not compete directly in the U.S. Currently U.S. supermarkets usually do not stock the Indian product. Normally, Indian basmati sells only in large bags in specialty markets. Specialty markets do not sell the American basmati.

Hopefully, improved marketing can allow Indian basmati to prevail over American basmati. India may benefit by aggressively competing directly with Texmati and other American basmatis. If store shelves stocked Indian and American basmatis side-by-side, consumers may choose the Indian variety. Informal taste comparisons seem to show that Texmati's flavor and aroma is inferior to the Indian variety. Indeed, one culinary expert described Texmati rice as being starchier and having less aroma than Indian basmati rice. The Indian basmati rice was more fragrant and saliently superior to the Texmati rice. This important distinction, along with Indian rice being generally less expensive, in the U.S., than U.S. rice, should enable India to increase revenue while diminishing RiceTec's market share.

A recent technological development by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute may increase India's basmati rice production. This development, India's first hybrid basmati rice, may give a higher yield than any current Indian basmati rice. If India's new basmati rice successfully competes with RiceTec's Texmati, then India's exploitation of biotechnology could increase the Indian rice industry's profits. If this Indian hybrid is indeed superior to other basmatis, the Indian government can help the Indian rice industry by passing the appropriate patent legislation and pursuing international intellectual property protection for this hybrid rice.

However, bioengineering of food products does not always spell success in the marketplace. For example, U.S. tomato growers breed varieties of tomatoes that resist damage when hauled in trucks, stay fresh for longer time periods, and even have a square shape to improve the packing arrangement in cans. However, these significant improvements result in a dramatic loss of flavor.

India markets a high-yielding disease-resistant basmati rice variety, "Pusa No. 1," that is not as fragrant or flavorful as traditional Indian basmati rice. Indian basmati rice commands a high price for its delicious traditional flavor. In the eighties Pakistan introduced high-yielding varieties to improve productivity. Some believe that the Pakistani rice industry currently receives a lower price for its basmati rice because Indian basmati rice is perceived as a higher quality basmati rice. Fearing a similar fate, Indian basmati exporters hope that the Indian government designates rices like Pusa No. 1 as "basmati-parentaged" instead of "basmati." They hope that this will help consumers to not become confused by lower quality basmati-like rice.

Even India's food and commerce ministries refuse to recognize Pusa No. 1 as basmati rice. Perhaps the Indian government should also seek to have foreign governments to classify RiceTec's Texmati and similar rices as basmati-parentaged. Such a description may assist consumers in identifying Indian rices and Indian-style rices.

E. Do Nothing

If India were to do nothing regarding RiceTec's patent, India's basmati market may suffer little, if any, damage. RiceTec's U.S. patent provides no advantage over Indian growers. U.S. patent laws do not apply to India.

A patent does not grant the patentee the right to use an invention. A patent merely grants the right to exclude others from using the invention for twenty years. If India successfully convinces the PTO to cancel RiceTec's patent, RiceTec would still be free to use the rice as no other patent exists to be infringed. Canceling the patent only allows anyone to use the rice. Also, India still can continue to sell its basmati worldwide, whether the USPTO cancels the patent or not.

II. Suggested Future Efforts

* Develop home country protection for trademarks, plant variety protection, and geographic indication to take advantage of international agreements.

* Build computer databases to document and protect Indian plants and plant products.

* Employ Indian embassies to monitor patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights in foreign countries.

* Follow Malaysia's practice of conducting research and collecting information on traditional Malay medicinal plants with the intention of patenting them for commercial purposes.

IIII. Conclusion

Initially, RiceTec's patent seems to misappropriate India's national heritage in basmati rice. However, after learning about the myriad intellectual property schemes, the extent of the Texmati patent rights seems limited. As a practical matter quality Indian basmati rice is still superior to Texmati. It is incumbent upon the Indian rice industry to aggressively ensure that this message reaches the consumer. Concerted efforts between Indian business and government can effectively promote the use of India's large pool of scientific manpower to protect indigenous plants from exclusively foreign exploitation. This technologically-endowed work force provides potential for India to profit from improved intellectual property protection.

© Frederic M. Douglas, April 1999; 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Frederic M. Douglas is an IP litigator, dedicated to pursuing practical resolution of problems concerning patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other areas of law.

fdouglas@cox.net
(949) 293-0442
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/frederic-douglas/17/37b/7a1

Collie Dog Breed Characteristics And Health Care Problems Info

Lassie, the popular series on television has made the Collie a recognizable breed to many. The Collie is noted for it's intelligence and deep affection for the family.

Appearance - The Collie descended from Dogs used for herding and this trait is still strong in them. The Collie is a wonderful Dog for the household as they have innate desire to safeguard. Some dogs of this breed can be anxious due to its ancestry, however, most are usually hardworking and smart. The Collie is a member of the AKC Herding Group. The Collie can be as high as 22 to 26 inches tall and weigh in at 55 to 80 pounds.

The Collie is an energetic breed and is known for its perseverance. The Collie has beautifully shaped almond eyes and they reflect their perceptiveness. The eyes can be brown or blue. The Collie can either have a smooth coat or a rough coat, and the rough Collies have a fuller coat. They come in sable and white, tricolor and blue merle markings.

Characteristics - These dogs are not good with apartments since they love to spend most of their time outside. A family that is outgoing and energetic, and in the possession of a relatively big back yard would be the ideal situation for a Collie. The breed is sociable and extroverted but still make excellent watchdogs and protectors. They will sound an alert if there are strange humans or creatures. The do bite gently or nip at heels of the young kids to prevent the children from straying in the wrong direction.

Puppies of this breed are extremely smart and can prove to be a handful as they can be stubborn and get into trouble. Puppy obedience classes work well for them and they learn to socialize at an early age. You will need to demonstrate who is in charge and show the Collie what can be allowed and what is prohibited.

Health Problems and Grooming Issues - There are a few issues associated with the Collie. They can suffer from eye problems or PRA. More likely is the possibility of taking your puppy or dog to the vet for jumping from a moving vehicle or exploring his surroundings than for a health problem.

They like to eat, so ensure that the dog does not put on too much weight or there could be medical issues because of obesity. They enjoy three small meals a day.

Although it has long hair, it does not need as much grooming as one might think. In any case, the Collie's coat must be groomed very often to reduce tangles. The Collie is alert and perceptive, ideal for protecting your household and can bring you much joy for years to come.

Moses Wright owns 3 beautiful obedience dogs. He provides more resources on dog breed info and a list of dog breeds health care problems on his web site.