March 2002
Building Off-Leash Reliability
Dogs romping, playing, running free. I don’t think there is anything quite as beautiful and exhilarating as watching my dogs take off through an open field – their powerful, long strides, muscles glistening as they race each other through the tall grass. Wild dogs uninhibited by leash or fence. Equally exhilarating is that moment when I call and they turn in tandem, racing each other back to me. After eight years, I am still in awe when my dogs respond with such instant enthusiasm. I am in awe not because it hasn’t happened with amazing regularity – it has. But rather because these two dogs are not the easygoing, stick-with-you type of dogs that make off-leash reliability a given.
Drinking the Purest Water Possible is Important to Your Dogs Health
Subscribers Only Water plays a critical and complex role in the health of all mammals, constituting 55 to 75 percent of the body mass of warm-blooded creatures. A fetus develops in its mother’s amniotic sac and, from birth till death, water bathes and fills every one of a mammal’s billions of cells. In essence, the bodies of people, dogs, and other mammals are water-cooled engines. Releasing water vapor by panting and sweating through its paw pads induces gentle cooling in a dog’s body. Water also lubricates a dog’s joints and muscles, cushions the spaces between each individual cell, and fills up all of the minute hollows in a dog’s body. The principal element of blood, water transports oxygen to all canine body tissues, and helps the white blood cells produced by a dog’s immune system move about its body and fight infections.
Foam Filled Dog Beds
Subscribers Only Not all foam beds can be thrown in a washing machine (we love the ones that can). But at least they can be taken outside and hosed off, which is a good thing to do occasionally, since immersion is an amazing anti-flea technique (see the article "Integrated Pest Management for Flea Control"). It’s a little difficult to wring them out – letting them drain by propping them up on one edge helps – but they air-dry surprisingly quickly. In contrast, many beds that are stuffed with cedar chips, fiberfill, or a combination of the two are almost impossible to wash.
Dangers of Spot-On Pesticides
Subscribers Only Some people will never give up their use of spot-on pesticides, despite the health risks to themselves and their dogs. I know you’re out there, and I understand. Perhaps you have a dog with a flea allergy so severe – a dog who scratches and chews himself so badly that he develops severe hair loss, “hot spots,” and/or worn teeth – that taking time to reap the benefits of an integrated pest management plan seems unthinkable. Giving up these fast, effective flea-killing products may seem like a step back into the dark ages.
Eliminate Fleas Without Poisons
Today, spot-on flea products are advertised in every sort of media available to animal guardians and veterinarians, and are touted as safe and effective. However, the safety record of these products is not as spotless as the manufacturers would make us believe. After all, they contain pesticides, which are poisons, and they also contain toxic ingredients that are not disclosed to consumers – or even veterinarians – without applying through the Freedom of Information Act. The danger presented by these products is apparent in the hundreds of incident reports that sit in the Environmental Protection Agency’s files – not to mention the manufacturer’s own animal laboratory studies.
Understanding Reward Based Dog Training
Subscribers Only In the 1950s, behavioral scientist B.F. Skinner developed a number of principles that are applicable to all living things with a central nervous system. He found that animals are likely to repeat behaviors that are enjoyable/rewarding to them, and not likely to repeat behaviors that result in something unpleasant (punishment). Neutral stimuli – things that don’t matter to the animal – don’t have an impact on behavior one way or the other. Skinner demonstrated that humans can use these simple principles to modify an animal’s behavior. Rewards are the most reliable way to deliberately increase an animal’s offered behaviors; conversely, punishment decreases those behaviors. (See “The Four Principles of Operant Conditioning,” next at end of story). We use these behavioral principles in dog training with great success.
Don’t Panic!
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