INPUT ARTICLE: Article: It is important not to breed dogs that have hip dysplasia, as it will be passed onto their puppies. To reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia, good breeders now screen breeding stock for the condition. Thus, only dogs screened by the Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals and found to have good hips scores should be used for breeding.  By breeding from Rottweiler's with healthy hips, in time, the breed's health will improve and countless owners will be spared the heartbreak of seeing an active dog struggling to move and in constant pain.  Make sure any Rottweiler puppy you purchase comes from a reputable breeder who actually follows these guidelines. This is important for the future health of a dog you adopt. It is also important to avoid supporting breeders who continue to encourage this problem through bad breeding practices. The deterioration can be hastened by a poor diet that is not balanced to provide the slow, sustained bone growth of a large breed such as a Rottweiler. To this end, it is best to feed a special diet designed for "large breed growth." Excessive amounts of exercise in a puppy can also make the joints more vulnerable to damage. This can accelerate the onset of the disability caused by dysplasia.  Try to give your dog low-impact exercise. This means exercise that is easier on the joints, such as walking or swimming. This will allow the dog to burn off some of its energy, while not threatening the future health of its joints.  Older dogs with bad joints need to have controlled amounts of exercise as well, but they usually do not have the energy or youthful enthusiasm that makes this kind of exercise likely.

SUMMARY: Don't breed dogs with the condition. Feed your dog special large breed food. Avoid excessive amounts of exercise for puppies.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: People tend to apologize excessively when they feel uncomfortable. Apologizing once is acceptable, but saying you are sorry again and again does not help the person. It only makes the situation more awkward. Remember you are not doing anything wrong. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can suggest that the person ask someone else. Recommending someone else works best if you are turning down the request because you don’t know the person well enough. This also helps to make it clear that your decision is final.  You might say, “Try asking Jill. She’s worked with you for much longer than I have.” If you can’t recommend the person based on his or her performance, try suggesting alternatives. Turn down the request and follow up with “Perhaps Amy might be able to help.” Once you have turned someone down for a reference, do not reconsider just because the person begs, argues, or otherwise attempts to change your mind. If you give in, you’ll only wind up in a trickier situation: providing a difficult reference that compromises your integrity. Stay strong!

SUMMARY: Resist the urge to apologize. Consider suggesting alternative references. Stick to your decision.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You can buy genuine wasabi powder at most Asian grocery markets or online. Measure out 5 teaspoons (22.5 grams) of the powder and put it in a small bowl. This recipe makes about 5 servings of wasabi paste. It doesn’t matter what the water temperature is and it’s totally fine to use tap water for this. You can also choose to use filtered, bottled, or purified water if you prefer the taste of that. Measure out the water and add it to the powder in the bowl. Use a wooden spoon or chopsticks to mix the water and powder together until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. The resulting product should be a thick paste that clings to the spoon rather than drips off. Gather the paste into a ball in the bottom of the bowl. Then, flip the bowl upside and let the paste rest for about 60 seconds so the flavors can develop. The paste is thick and will stick to the bottom of the bowl.  Turning the bowl upside down simply protects the wasabi paste from exposure to oxygen. It starts to lose potency as soon as it's exposed to oxygen. If you prefer, you can cover the mouth of the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap. You can let the paste sit for up to 10-15 minutes if you want the flavor to develop even more. Paste made from genuine wasabi powder tastes best when it's freshly mixed. However, if you made more than you can eat at one sitting, transfer the leftovers to an air-tight container and store it in the fridge. When properly stored, the paste should last for 3-4 months.  Keep in mind that the paste will lose potency and flavor over time. If you see blue or gray specks on top of the paste, it has gone bad. Toss it out and whip up a fresh batch.

SUMMARY: Measure out 5 teaspoons (22.5 grams) of wasabi powder. Add 3 teaspoons (15 ml) of water to the powder. Stir until the mixture reaches a thick, paste-like texture. Turn the bowl upside down and let the paste sit for 1 minute. Serve the paste at room temperature for the best flavor.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: During the mating season, male ducks will have very bright coloration in their plumage to attract mates. After mating season, the male duck will molt and lose his bright coloration and resemble a female.  Mallard ducks are sexually dimorphic, which means the males and females look different to each other. The females are brown and relatively dowdy, whereas the males have a vivid purple sash on the wings and are iridescent colors. The male Canvasback has solid white to light gray plumage. His female counterpart has plumage that is grayish-brown.  The male Wood Duck has gray feathers with blue markings on the wings during mating season. The female's plumage is usually grayish-brown.  Male and female Mottled Ducks have similarly colored feathers, making it difficult to tell them apart by plumage alone. Bill color is another way to tell the difference between a male and female duck. In many duck species, the bill color does not change during mating season, so this physical characteristic will stay the same throughout the year.  In Mallards, the male duck has a bright yellow bill and the female has a brown and orange bill.  In Mottled Ducks, the male duck has a bill that is a solid olive green to yellow color. The female's bill is brown to orange with dark splotches.  Male Wood Ducks have a red bill that has a patch of yellow at the bottom.  During mating season, the bill of the Ruddy Duck changes to a bright baby blue. Across species, male ducks tend to be larger than female ducks. In addition to have a larger body size in general, male Mallards, Rouens, and Welsh Harlequins, have larger heads and thicker necks than the females. Male ducks will have an upwardly curled feather near the tail; this is known as the ‘sex feather.' This feather, which will become noticeable in male ducks when they are between two and four months old, remains after molting. Females do not have a sex feather. Female ducks tend to have a loud and hard quack. The quack of male ducks is usually soft and rough. If you have ducks as pets and you are comfortable handling them, you can gently hold the duck by its tail until it quacks.  The sound of a quack can be used to differentiate between male and female ducks from the time that ducks are about one month old.  In Muscovy ducks, the female's quack sounds like a trill or a coo. A male Muscovy will make a quack that's very deep and breathy (sounds like 'huch-uch-uch').  The female Grey Teal makes a quack that sounds like a cackling noise, which differentiates it from the male Grey Teal.

SUMMARY:
Observe the duck's plumage (feathers). Observe the bill color. Look at the duck's size. Look for a curled feather near the tail. Listen to a duck's quack.