December 2011

Letters

Hydrotherapy; Emergency Health Exam; Gear of the Year

Thank you for posting the article on hydrotherapy (“Walking in Water”) in your December 2011 Issue. I am thrilled that water therapy is finally becoming recognized and talked about as a valuable tool in canine health care. After years of working with horses in rehabilitation and in water, I opened my first pool 18 years ago in Seattle and began offering services to the dogs in my area. I was surprised to learn that this was such a new concept in the canine world.

Clarifying Diagnosis of Addison’s Disease; Excellent New Book

The October and November 2011 issues of Whole Dog Journal provided in-depth discussion of canine Addison’s and Cushing’s diseases. The following information should help clarify other questions that may arise about the diagnosis of canine adrenal disorders. The relationships between adrenal cortisol and sex steroid production is complicated. In chronic illnesses, the body’s adrenal glands can become exhausted or fatigued. The adrenal glands may then respond by increasing the output of cortisol, and the intermediate and sex steroids.

Addison’s Disease; Adding “Real” Foods; Canned Plants

Thank you so much for the recent article published about Addison’s disease in dogs. The day I read it my dog Hayleigh was showing almost every symptom, some she’s had on and off for years. The final clue was the frequent urination, which had started the day before. Because I read the article prior to taking her to the vet I knew to ask for the ACTH test in addition to the urine sample, which came back positive for primary Addison’s.

Breed Discrimination, Guilty Dogs, Funky Noses, and More

Thank you for Lisa Rodier’s excellent article on breed discrimination in the insurance industry (“No Insurance,” June 2011). I am fortunate to live in Pennsylvania, one of the states that forbid such discrimination, but it still exists here due to ignorance and some shady maneuvering on the part of the insurance industry.

Whole Dog Journal’s Readers Improve Their Dog’s Lives, Help Each Other

The article on homeowners’ and renters’ insurance from the June 2011 issue of Whole Dog Journal listed Amica as one of the “good guys.” We had Amica insurance for 22 years for our home and car. We rescued a Pit Bull a year ago and we live in Ohio, so we needed the added dog liability insurance. When we called Amica, they asked about the dog. He (Dillon) has no bite history, goes to the vet, lives with two other dogs, and completed his Canine Good Citizen (CGC). Our yard is fenced and Dillon stays in the house. Amica would not insure us. Farmer’s Insurance did, however.

Bad News for Dog Owners Looking for Single-Antigen Vaccines

I have always run titers on my dogs before vaccinating and my vet provided individual doses when required. This year was different. The office manager called and said their practice could no longer provide individual vaccines, as in the past. I vaccinate only for parvo, distemper when titers are low, and rabies. I was quite upset because one of my dogs needed only distemper and my other dog’s titers were good. I posed the question, “Why offer titers, if you are not able to provide individual vaccines? Big silence! Well, I know the answer.

Even More Frozen Raw Dog Food Manufacturer Information!

I love you, and I wonder if you even know how rare a publication like Whole Dog Journal is. On the same day that I got my Whole Dog Journal, I also got a professional “journal” issue reviewing medical research. Without exception, every article in that magazine was research sponsored by a company that made the product being evaluated. And, surprise! All the research showed wonderful results using their products! I am awestruck every time I read a review in WDJ and it is actual, objective information, not an infomercial.

Bark Back

My husband and I have subscribed to Whole Dog Journal for many years. We were shocked when we read the article about the dog that was shot (“Dog Shootings by Law Enforcement Seem to Be on the Rise,” November 2010). There is so much unthinking cruelty in our civilization toward all animals! The facts about the shooting have haunted me since. I applaud your publication for bringing this shooting and others to your readers’ attention. Keep fighting the good fight!

Letters: September 2010

I was horrified to learn that subsequently the Dalmatian Club of America refused to acknowledge the registration of Bob’s fourth generation back cross, thereby setting back the health of this breed for decades to come. This was pure ignorance on behalf of the Dalmatian Club’s membership – to even think that pure bred dogs were indeed “pure” and had not evolved over time by selective breeding by humans, rather than randomly in nature! I remember that Bob was bitter over this folly at the time, and I don’t blame him one bit.

Don’t Villify Surgery

We received the following long – but very informative – letter from Evelyn Orenbuch, DVM, the vice president of the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians. It helps further our readers’ education about their options for treating canine CCL injuries.

Whole Dog Journal's Dry Dog Food Review Update

Several of our eagle-eyed readers caught an error in dry dog food review in our February issue: “In the February 2010 issue, the picture of the approved dog foods includes Nutro Ultra but it is not listed in the article. Why the discrepancy?” “I see that Nutro Ultra is included in the photo on page 3; its caption says ‘these are just a few examples of premium quality foods.’ However, it’s not included on the ‘approved foods’ list. Can you clarify?” “I noticed that the Nutro Ultra Holistic food is in your picture, but I couldn’t find it in the actual list of approved foods. Is it one of the approved foods?”

Quackery? Or Life-saving?

Reading Whole Dog Journal is one of the most frustrating experiences I have each month. Side-by-side with the outstanding training articles by Pat Miller and Editor Nancy Kerns’ excellent series on dog food and diet, you publish the most mind-numbing foolishness about alleged alternative healing and medicine. Your training as a journalist was seriously deficient if it didn’t teach you to investigate all such claims before your implicit endorsement by printing them.

How Whole Dog Journal Helps

Please remember to mention rescue groups for people looking for specific breeds. We love Newfoundlands, and are celebrating the one-year anniversary of our adoption of Terra, a brown Newfie we rescued. Terra was very stressed by the move and I wasn’t really planning on preparing another BARF (bones and raw food) diet. She doesn’t like kibble, though, so here we are again. BARF diets are a little hard to get started, but once you get a system, they’re not bad. The hardest thing for me is getting enough fresh chicken necks, since my usual grocery store doesn’t stock them, so I have to make a special trip to a different store, but I think it’s a lot cheaper than buying the prepared meat meals.

Blossoming Dogs

I was so pleased to receive my August issue containing a piece (“Your Dog Nose No Bounds”) about scent training, K9 Nose Work, and specifically reference to Jill Marie O’Brien and Amy Herot. I am currently attending one of their classes and it is truly amazing work. The concept that I love the best is that, while most other dog activities are micromanaged by the human, scent work is the opposite, allowing the dog to be totally a dog and be rewarded for following her instincts! I cannot wait to take my other dogs through the program.

Persistence Pays

We were just about to let our subscription expire when we received the March issue and noticed the article, “Starving, Not Starved.” We couldn’t believe our eyes! Our black Lab-mix fit all of the descriptions of this horrible disease, endocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Despite many trips to, and many treatments at, different vets, this condition was never mentioned. We are sending a copy of the article to our vets with the hope that it will prevent suffering by pets thus afflicted. We’ll never know for sure if our dog had EPI, but if she had, and had been diagnosed, what a different life she would have had. Thank you for your excellent publication. We’re enclosing a renewal card and a picture of our late dog, Nala.