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Pruritic Pododermatitis in Dogs: Seriously Itchy Paws

By
Dr. Jennifer Bailey, DVM
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Dog with pododermatitis
Imagine having a severe case of athlete’s foot – on four feet instead of just two! Dogs with pruritic pododermatitis lick their feet constantly in an effort to stop the painful sensation, but the moisture and abrasion caused by the licking makes matters even worse. Photo by Catherine Ashe, DVM

When your dog’s paws seem to be severely itchy – so much that he wakes you every night with slurping sounds as he endlessly licks his paws – and the skin between his toes is red and inflammed, he’s likely suffering from a condition known as pruritic pododermatitis. Pruritic means to be itchy, podo refers to feet or paws, and dermatitis is inflammation of the skin.

There are a few causes of pruritic pododermatitis:

  • Demodex mites
  • Hookworm infection
  • Canine atopic dermatitis (hypersensitivity, i.e., allergy)
  • Malassezia dermatitis (yeast overgrowth)

While many owners are tempted to try home remedies for their dogs’ itchy paws, it’s best to have your dog seen by a veterinarian so the root cause can be treated and resolved. If only the symptom is addressed, the problem will recur again and again, putting the dog through needless distress and discomfort.

Here’s how the most common causes of pododermatitis are diagnosed and treated:

Dealing with Demodex

Demodex mites can also cause pododermatitis in dogs.
While the presence of Demodex mites is normal, a population overgrowth can cause serious problems in dogs including itching, inflamed skin, and hair loss. Credit: praisaeng | Getty Images
Demodex mites can cause a dog to become itchy when their populations suddenly increase. These mites live in the hair follicles and sebaceous glands of your dog’s skin. They are usually a commensal mite; this means that they live on and benefit from your dog without causing your dog harm.
Puppies are more prone to developing pruritus caused by the Demodex mite because of their young age. Adult dogs can also develop demodicosis, but there is often an underlying immunocompromising condition that allows the Demodex mite to proliferate. Demodex mites are not contagious to other dogs.
To confirm the diagnosis, your veterinarian may want to complete a skin scrape test to look for Demodex mites.
The only medication that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for demodicosis is a dip treatment called amitraz (brand name Mitaban). There are side effects to using amitraz, and the odor of the dip is quite noxious.
Other treatments for demodicosis are not FDA-approved for this purpose but are effective at treating the condition. These treatments include:
  • Ivermectin (an oral medication)
  • Milbemycin (found in several heartworm preventatives)
  • Moxidectin (found in some topical flea preventatives)
  • The fluralaner class of drugs (found in several oral flea/tick preventatives)
Discuss with your veterinarian which treatment option is best for you and your dog.

Hookworm

Hookworms can also be a cause of pododermatitis and itchy dog paws.
Hookworms can cause intense pruritic pododermatitis in dogs if they penetrate the skin of the feet. Credit: Cherish Gonzales | Getty Images

Hookworm can also cause pruritic pododermatitis. We often think of hookworm as being an intestinal parasite. Puppies can get hookworms from their infected mothers when they are in utero, or from their infected mother’s milk. Hookworm eggs are shed from an infected dog in its feces. The eggs develop into larvae, which infect other dogs when they are swallowed (often when the dog is grooming himself) or penetrating the dog’s skin, typically the underside of the webbing between the dog’s toes. When it penetrates the skin, hookworm causes an intense pruritus.

This parasite can be treated with several different anthelmintics (dewormers), including fenbendazole, milbemycin oxime, moxidectin, and pyrantel pamoate.

Canine Atopic Dermatitis (CAD, a.k.a. Allergy)

Canine atopic dermatitis can lead to pododermatitis in dogs .
Allergies can cause pruritic pododermatitis in dogs, often leading to excessive chewing or licking that can make paws red and tender. Credit: cheong loksi | Getty Images
Pic for Demodex: https://www.gettyim
CAD is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that other causes of pruritic pododermatitis are first investigated, treated, or ruled out before concluding that a dog has atopic dermatitis. It is caused by hypersensitivities to a combination of contact, inhaled, and/or food allergens.
Treatment options for CAD include medications, diet, and immunotherapy.

 

Treating CAD with Medications

Some of these treatment options—like prescription medications Apoquel and Cytopoint—target a process in the body called the itch cascade. The itch cascade is a series of reactions that begin when a dog is exposed to an allergen. This series of reactions ends with the dog feeling itchy and licking or scratching at whatever is pruritic. When the itch cascade is interrupted, the dog does not reach the stage of feeling itchy.
Medications that modulate the immune system’s response to allergens—such as prednisone and Atopica (modified cyclosporine)—are another treatment option for CAD. There are potential side effects for both of these medications. Baseline bloodwork and periodic monitoring may be necessary when using prednisone or cyclosporine.

Addressing CAD Through Diet

A prescription diet that addresses sensitive skin or food hypersensitivities may also be beneficial for dogs suffering from CAD. Itchy dogs who do not have known food hypersensitivities may benefit from a diet that promotes a healthy skin barrier and flora. This type of diet is available from both Hills and Royal Canin and can be ordered through your dog’s veterinarian.
Dogs with known food hypersensitivities may benefit from a limited ingredient, novel protein diet. Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina all have specially formulated diets that meet these criteria. Unlike limited ingredient diets that are available to purchase without a prescription, these diets are produced separately from other foods to eliminate cross-contamination with proteins that may cause an allergic reaction.

Immunotherapy Treatment for CAD

Immunotherapy is another treatment option for CAD. This involves exposing a dog to low doses of allergens to retrain how the dog’s immune system responds to exposure to those allergens. Testing is completed to determine what a dog is allergic to and how severe their response is to those allergens. Allergy testing can be completed by a blood test or by an intradermal skin test. An immunotherapy serum is created specifically for each individual dog and can be given by injection weekly or by mouth daily. Immunotherapy is continued for at least a year and sometimes longer to achieve a positive effect.

Bacterial and Yeast Infection that Cause Pododermatitis in Dogs

Bacterial or yeast infections can cause red skin and seriously itchy paws.
Often signs of an underlying skin condition, bacterial and yeast infections can cause red, swollen, and itchy paws. Credit: PTG PRO | Getty Images

Another common cause of pruritic pododermatitis is caused by an overgrowth of a yeast called Malassezia pachydermatis. Your dog’s skin naturally has yeast and bacteria growing on its surface. This population of yeast and bacteria is called the normal skin flora. It is part of the skin’s immune system and keeps yeast and bacteria from growing on the skin surface that can cause your dog harm. An infection with Malassezia is often secondary to another underlying skin condition, so it is important to complete a diagnostic workup with your dog’s veterinarian.

Pyoderma is a bacterial skin infection that can cause itchiness of your dog’s paws. Pyoderma can either be superficial or deep. Superficial pyoderma is often caused by an overgrowth of the normal flora on your dog’s skin surface but can be caused by other bacteria that are not part of the skin flora. Deep pyoderma is a bacterial infection that is within the layers of skin. Diagnosing the cause of deep pyoderma may require obtaining a small biopsy sample of the affected skin. The skin sample is submitted to a laboratory for a bacterial culture and sensitivity to identify the bacteria and the appropriate antibiotic.

Like Malassezia dermatitis, pyoderma is often secondary to another underlying skin condition. Both Malassezia dermatitis and superficial pyoderma can be treated with a combination of medicated shampoos and oral medications. Deep pyoderma typically requires a several week course of one or more antibiotics.

Inflammatory Pododermatitis

There is another cause of seriously itchy paws that is much less common than mites, hookworm, allergies, and yeast: chronic inflammatory pododermatitis. Dogs with this condition may have small swellings between their toes that rupture and drain. The underlying cause of chronic inflammatory pododermatitis is not known, but is thought to be more prevalent in dogs with carpal valgus (front paws that turn outward) and those with a deep bacterial infection of the skin or an immunosuppressive disorder. Treatment is aimed at identifying and treating the underlying cause of the condition.

Don’t Wait; See a Vet!

Itchy paws are annoying for both you and your dog, but appropriate solutions will provide relief. Make an appointment with your dog’s veterinarian to determine the underlying cause and start down the path toward itch-free paws.

 

Why is my dog pooping blood?

By
Dr. Jennifer Bailey, DVM
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Nurse Examining a Puppy
In order to determine the reason that your dog is pooping blood, a veterinarian needs to take a medical history, including information about your dog’s diet and medications, and perform a thorough physical examination. Some causes of bloody stool are simple to remedy, but further tests or imaging may be required to diagnose more serious causes. Photo by Getty Images.

If your dog is pooping blood, he should be evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible, because some reasons for bloody diarrhea and vomiting are serious, such as a clotting disorder. There are also simple and straightforward causes for a dog’s stool to contain blood, even if he’s acting completely normal otherwise. After taking a history, including questions about any other symptoms the dog may be having, such as diarrhea or vomiting, and conducting a physical examination, the veterinarian will recommend a diagnostic and treatment plan.

Causes for pooping blood and diarrhea

Inflammatory colitis causes chronic diarrhea, sometimes accompanied by bloody stool. An infection or food intolerance may cause damage to the mucosa (the inner lining of the colon), resulting in the development of scar tissue and ulcers. Ulcers and scar tissue impair the colon’s ability to absorb water and increase the muscular contractions of the colon, resulting in diarrhea that is sometimes bloody with an increased urgency to defecate.

It may appear that your dog is pooping blood clots. This is likely blood mixed with thin layers of the ulcerated mucosa due to inflammation.

An infection with an intestinal parasite called whipworm can cause diarrhea that is streaked with blood and mucus. Your veterinarian may want to submit a sample of your dog’s feces to a laboratory for a fecal analysis to look for whipworm eggs. Bring a stool sample with you to your dog’s veterinary appointment, if possible. Because whipworm eggs are not shed in the feces all the time, it may take a few consecutive fecal analyses or the submission of a diarrhea panel to diagnose whipworm. If whipworm is suspected, then your dog may be prescribed a broad-spectrum dewormer, such as Drontal or Panacur. Most monthly heartworm preventatives are also effective at treating and controlling whipworm infections.

Certain bacterial and fungal infections can cause bloody diarrhea. Bacterial colitis infections with Campylobacter and Salmonella can result from consuming undercooked meat or drinking from contaminated water sources. Salmonella infections are seen more often in dogs who eat a raw food diet. A bacteria called Clostridium perfringens can produce toxins that may result in bloody diarrhea. These bacteria and the clostridium toxins can be detected on a special fecal test called a diarrhea panel. Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that can cause bloody poop. It is caused by a fungus found in soil contaminated with bird or bat manure and is most prevalent in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Histoplasma capsulatum can often be found on a sample taken from the wall of the rectum.

Blood in poop with vomiting

Parvovirus is a life-threatening viral infection that typically affects young puppies and adult dogs who have either never been vaccinated for parvovirus or have had an incomplete vaccination series. Puppies and dogs infected with parvovirus will often have bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and will be lethargic and not want to eat or drink. A rectal swab test is effective at identifying parvovirus but may be negative in the early stage of the disease. Parvo is a serious illness, so your veterinarian will likely recommend hospitalizing your pup for treatment.

Other causes of bloody poop

One of the simplest causes for this condition is an anal sac infection. Dogs have two anal sacs, located just behind their anus, which are lined with glands that produce a foul-smelling liquid. When a dog has a bowel movement, the stool applies pressure to the sacs as it passes through the rectum, pressing the liquid contents of the anal sacs onto the surface of the stool. When an anal sac becomes infected, there is increased blood flow to the area to help battle that infection. This can result in the spread of blood and pus onto the surface of the stool along with the anal sac secretions.

Your veterinarian may recommend lancing the infected anal sac to drain and flush it. Sometimes this may require giving your dog a light sedative to make him more comfortable for this procedure. An antibiotic and an analgesic (pain medication) also will likely be prescribed.

Polyps or masses in the rectum or colon can cause bloody stool. If they are located in the rectum, your veterinarian may be able to feel them on completion of a digital rectal exam. If they are located in the colon, then they may be visible on radiographs but will likely require an abdominal ultrasound or a colonoscopy to locate precisely. Biopsy samples of a colonic polyp or mass can often be obtained during a colonoscopy.

Sometimes bloody stool can be caused by eating non-food items. Foreign material, such as sticks, wood chips, bones, aluminum foil, or anything with sharp or rough edges, can cause blood in the stool. Your veterinarian will likely recommend abdominal radiographs (X-rays) to determine if any foreign material is present in your dog’s small or large intestine. Sometimes radiographs are not conclusive for identifying foreign material or a gastrointestinal obstruction and an abdominal ultrasound may be recommended.

Dogs with a dietary intolerance or a sudden change in their diet may develop blood in their stool. The food we eat does not always sit well with our dogs, especially foods that are high in fat or grease, so sharing portions of our meals can cause diarrhea or bloody stool. Blood in the stool can also be caused by suddenly changing your dog’s diet. If you need to change your dog’s diet, transitioning from the old diet to the new diet over a period of five to seven days will help minimize the risk of developing diarrhea.

Coagulation disorders that interfere with a dog’s ability to clot can cause blood in the stool. Ingestion of an anti-coagulant rodenticide (rat poison), liver disease, medications that interfere with platelet function, and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can affect any dog. The liver is the primary organ for producing clotting factors, so any acute or chronic liver disease can result in bleeding. Medications such as aspirin can interfere with platelet function. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is a condition in which the dog’s immune system erroneously attacks and destroys his platelets.

Rare hereditary disorders can interfere with a dog’s ability to clot as well. Hereditary disorders include forms of hemophilia and a condition called von Willebrand disease. It is important to note that coagulation disorders frequently cause other signs in addition to bloody stool, including blood in the urine and unexplained bruising of the skin. Your veterinarian may recommend bloodwork, including a complete blood count, chemistry panel, and a coagulation panel to determine the underlying cause of your dog’s bloody stool.

Diagnosing the cause of blood in the stool

A diagnosis of inflammatory colitis is made by first ruling out other more common causes of bloody stool, such as bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. A dietary food trial with a prescription diet, such as a gastrointestinal or novel protein food, may be tried. Abdominal ultrasound will allow your veterinarian to see if there any lesions or masses in the colon or if there are enlarged regional lymph nodes. A colonoscopy to visualize the mucosa of the colon and obtain biopsy samples may be necessary to obtain a diagnosis.

Although there are many causes of bloody stool, an examination by your dog’s veterinarian and diagnostics should help to determine the cause and get your dog back into good health.

How to Teach a Dog to Stay

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Training a dog to stay
When releasing your dog from the stay, get excited, encourage him to get up, and praise him when he does. It’s important that he actually gets up when you give the release cue, so you know he understands the stay is over. Photo by Nancy Kerns.

Sometimes you need your dog to sit and stay in one place, such as when the doorbell rings and you need to grab the flower delivery for your birthday. Stay is one of the basic commands, or cues, for dog training, along with sit and down. Note: Dog trainers use the word “cue,” not “command,” when discussing training. The stay cue is a simple opportunity for your dog to earn delicious treats or an enjoyable game with a favorite toy, and it’s a relatively easy behavior for most dogs to learn. Here’s how to teach your dog to sit and stay or lie down and stay.

Teach How to Sit and Stay in Small Increments

The most important part of teaching your dog to do anything on cue is to teach it in small steps and set your dog up to succeed. A good stay consists of your dog remaining in place for some duration, while you are at a distance from him, even in the midst of distractions. However, we don’t attempt to teach a dog all three of these key elements – duration, distance, and distraction – all at once. Each piece is added in small increments, starting with duration, then adding distance, and finally, distraction.

Start With Duration

Training a dog to stay on a mat
It’s easier to teach your dog to stay if you position your dog on a mat – particularly if you’ve already taught him a “go to your mat” behavior. To learn the steps for teaching “go to your mat,” see https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/mat-training-tips/ ). Photo by Nancy Kerns.

With your dog in either a sit or down position, say “Stay” and hold up a treat for 1 second. If he stays, mark the brief stay with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker (such as the word “Yes!”) and feed him the treat. If necessary, hold the treat right in front of his nose at first to keep him in place. If he gets up, say “Oops!” in a cheerful voice, whisk the treat behind your back, and ask him to sit again. You’ll do the cheerful “Oops!” any time he mistakenly gets up too soon. The removal of the treat helps him realize that getting up makes the reward disappear.

Cue the stay a number of times, gradually extending the length of time you have him stay by a second or two every half-dozen successful repetitions before marking and rewarding the behavior, until he’ll stay for 10 seconds or longer. Intersperse longer stays with shorter ones so it doesn’t just get progressively harder and harder for him – set him up to succeed!

After a few repetitions, stop holding up the treat when you give the verbal stay cue, so he’s holding the stay without the food lure.

Training a dog to stay while holding a treat
With your dog in either a sit or down position, say “Stay” and hold up a treat for 1 second. If he stays, mark the brief stay with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker (such as the word “Yes!”) and feed him the treat. Photo by Nancy Kerns.

Always use a release word to end the stay after several repetitions so your dog understands that the stay isn’t over until you release him. The word “Okay” is not recommended because of its common use in conversation. (Perhaps your dog is on a down-stay at the beach. You turn to your spouse and say, “Okay, let’s go to dinner tonight.” Whoops – there goes your dog! Frequently used release cues include “Free,” “All done,” “At ease,” and “Release.” You can, of course, use any word or words you want; they have no meaning to your dog until you associate them with the release.

When releasing your dog from the stay, get excited, encourage him to get up, and praise him when he does. It’s important that he actually gets up when you give the release cue, so you know he understands the stay is over.

Now Start Adding Distance

Training a dog to stay while returning
Remember to mark when you are away from your dog and return to him before you give the release cue, so he understands the stay isn’t over until you return. Photo by Nancy Kerns.

When you dog is holding a 30-second stay consistently, you can start adding distance. Ask your dog to stay (give your cue), take one step back, mark the behavior (click or “Yes!”), and return to him to feed him the treat. If his stay is solid when you take one step away, try two steps. Then three. Then step to the side. Then four steps. Then three steps to the side. Keep varying the distance and direction that you step away, so the behavior doesn’t just get progressively more difficult.

As you increase the distance that you step away from your dog, the duration of the stay will naturally increase, too. Increase the duration gradually, standing at the increased distance for longer periods before you mark and return.

Moving behind your dog is an advanced exercise. Most dogs get uncomfortable when you move out of their line of sight, and naturally want to move in order to keep their eyes on you. Don’t go all of the way behind your dog the first few times you try this. Photo by Nancy Kerns.

If your dog starts “breaking” the stay before you return and release, you’ve asked too much. Return to a distance where he can succeed and increase the distance more slowly.

Remember to mark when you are away from your dog and return to him before you give the release cue, so he understands the stay isn’t over until you return. After you return, pause for varying lengths of time before you release, so he understands that he has to wait for you to give the release cue before getting up. If you release immediately each time, he’ll think your return is the release and won’t wait for the cue. After his stay is solid, you can also teach him that other action cues (such as “Come!”) can also work as a release.

Adding Distractions

Training a dog to stay while adding distractions
When you start adding distractions, begin with only small moves, and advance to more exuberant ones. Have some fun with this! Photo by Nancy Kerns.

Now the real fun begins. Once again, as you introduce something new – distractions – to your dog’s practice sessions, decrease the duration of your stay requests as well as the distance you walk away from your dog.

Start small: Stand in front of your dog, ask him to “Stay,” and jump once, slightly off the ground. If he remains in place, mark the successful behavior (click or “Yes!”) and give him a treat. Repeat until he’s solid with one jump, then gradually increase the amount of distracting movements you make. You can try jumping higher, doing two jumps, hopping on one foot, clapping your hands, getting down on all fours, bouncing a ball – the possibilities are endless! Intersperse easier challenges with increasingly difficult ones, so the challenge doesn’t become inexorably more difficult, and remember to return and use your release cue frequently.

Finally, mix up randomly changing combinations duration, distance, and distractions, always reducing these D’s if your dog is unsuccessful inholding his position until his stays are solid again.

“Two cups a day!” How much are you REALLY feeding your dog?

By
Nancy Kerns
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measuring dog food with scale
A food scale can help you be more consistent about how much food is in each "cup," but unless you use the "gram" settings and do the math to determine how many how many calories there are in each gram of food (given X number of calories per cup and X number of grams per cup – and who, honestly, is going to do that math?), you still don't know how many calories you are feeding your dog. ©Nancy Kerns

Ask any owner who feeds kibble to their dog how much they feed to their dog, and you will invariably get the amount expressed in cups: half a cup, one cup, three cups, etc.

When you’re asking someone who has an overweight dog, the question should be more pointed than that: What do you to measure that food? What sort of cup are you using to scoop that food? Veterinarians joke about the “cup” being a 42-ounce Big Culp cup, repurposed from a trip to 7-11, but it’s actually no laughing matter, because the number of calories represented in “1 cup” of various designs varies widely – and this can contribute to a dog’s failure to lose weight. Which of course contributes to every other sort of health problem a dog can have, especially difficulty with mobility as a senior.

Just for fun, I grabbed a few cups from my cupboard, scooped up a “cup” of the kibble I am currently feeding my oldest and youngest dogs. I took a casual scoop; I didn’t shake the food or scrupulously eyeball the how level the amount of food was in each. I then weighed the amount of food in each.

cups of dog food
“I feed one cup of food, twice a day!” The calorie content of each of these cups varies a lot, more than 200 calories between the smallest “cup” and the largest. ©Nancy Kerns

Most of us are aware that most coffee cups in our cupboards contain far more than an actual “cup” of liquid; coffee enthusiasts may drink from mugs that contain two actual “cups” of coffee. The amount of food in each “cup” varied a lot (although I somehow managed to get the exact same amount in each of the two one-cup measuring cups I used).

  • White cup 6.46 oz
  • Tahoe cup: 8.04 oz
  • Aluminum measuring cup: 4.06
  • 1 cup measuring cup: 4.06
  • 2 cup measuring cup: 4.97

Even with what I guessed was the most accurate tool for measuring accurately, the aluminum measuring cup that has no potential “extra” room at the top (like the glass measuring cup does), it’s possible to scoop with a certain amount of variation.

  • aluminum measuring cup filled level 4.06
  • aluminum measuring cup, heaping 4.66

Kibble size and shape matters, too! It also makes a difference whether you shake or tap the cup after scooping, making all the kibbles shift in order to compact themselves more tightly.

For all of these reasons, a cup is really a terrible way to measure how much we feed our dogs and how we express that amount to our veterinarians, who not only have to interpret what we might mean when we say “cup” but also have no idea of the calorie content of the food we are feeding.

I looked at the calorie content of just a random few foods from WDJ’s searchable dry dog food database and found quite a variety of calories found in regular dog foods (I didn’t look at any of the Weight control” or “lite” foods), from 340 kcals/cup in Solid Gold’s Wolf King Bison & Brown Rice Recipe Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food to 522 kcals per cup in Dr. Tim’s Ultra Athletic Fusion Formula.

dog food serving chart
This label offers “suggested feeding amounts” that are in excess of what I feed my dogs – and the text below suggests that puppies can be fed up to twice that amount! Yikes! ©Nancy Kerns

Some of the dog food companies avoid expressing the caloric content by “cup.” I noticed that Lotus doesn’t offer calories per cup on their label; they cite the more precise calories per kilogram of the food. This is accurate –but how many people will do the math to convert a kilogram of food to ounces or cups? The Dr. Tim’s food mentioned above cites the calories per cup, but they also offer, in parentheses, the number of grams of food that are in their “cup.”

However, the calories are expressed on different dog food labels, when it comes to “Suggested Feeding Amounts,” everyone uses cups! And these amounts are always excessive. The first thing I tell people when I see that they have an overweight dog and they try to defend themselves by saying, “I’m just feeding what it says on the label!” is that the suggestions are just that – suggestions! – and that of course the companies want you to buy twice as much food as your dog really needs!

Honestly, I don’t use calories or cups to determine how much food I give my dogs. If they start looking chunky, or the scale at the vet’s office proves that they are heavier than they were the last time we were there, I scoop a little less for each feeding. If their ribs start feeling a tad too prominent, I scoop a little more. But I am super conscious of their look and feel; I want to see nicely defined waists (when viewed from above) and be able to feel their ribs easily. I shouldn’t need to use a lot of pressure to determine whether they have ribs at all!

If you have to really dig to find your dog’s ribs, or if he resembles more of a tube than an hourglass when viewed from above, I’d strongly recommend that you get yourself a smaller cup, and scoop a little less!

Is Coconut Oil Good for Dogs?

By
CJ Puotinen
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It is rumored that coconut oil is good for dogs for a number of reasons.
After rubbing coconut oil into cracked, dry paw pads, use a clean towel to wipe away any excess. Prevent your dog from licking the area for at least a few minutes so the oil can soak in. © Jomkwan | Getty Images

Coconut oil, an edible fat derived from the meat and milk of the coconut palm fruit, is often touted as a superfood for dogs. At temperatures above 75°F, coconut oil is a clear liquid; at colder temperatures, it’s solid and white, like vegetable shortening.

What Does Coconut Oil Do for Dogs?

The alleged benefit with the most evidence to support it is that supplementation with coconut oil may have a positive effect on dogs with epilepsy, by reducing the frequency and intensity of seizures. Recent studies, such as “Efficacy of medium chain triglyceride oil dietary supplementation in reducing seizure frequency in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy” (Veterinary Record, October 31, 2020), have so far been small in size, and their protocols differ, but most conclude by recommending further research on the use of coconut oil in the management of canine epilepsy. (See sidebar for more study references.)

Used topically, coconut oil has been credited with soothing dogs’ itchy skin and insect bites, combating ear mites, and healing mange, wounds, and ear infections. As an addition to dogs’ diets, it’s believed to help improve arthritis symptoms, dull coats, digestive problems, and unpleasant body odors. Unfortunately, none of these claims have been tested in clinical trials – but as a low-cost, readily available supplement without serious side effects, many owners have conducted their own tests of coconut oil on their dogs and are delighted with the results. With the exception of the studies on coconut oil and dogs with epilepsy, claims about what coconut oil can do for dogs are generally anecdotal reports shared by coconut oil enthusiasts rather than clinical trials and published studies.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been analyzed. Food scientists are aware that it contains medium-chain fatty acids, also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These fatty acids are metabolized differently from other fats as they go directly from the digestive tract to the liver, where they serve as a quick source of energy. The main MCT in coconut oil is lauric acid, which the body converts into monolaurin, which has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Coconut oil’s other MCTs (caprylic acid, capric acid, and caproic acid) fuel the brain, help balance blood sugar levels, reduce chronic inflammation, and aid weight loss.

One group of dogs likely to benefit from coconut oil or MCT oil are those who have issues with fat, such as fat intolerance, high triglycerides, chronic pancreatitis, and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). MCTs do not require pancreatic enzymes to be digested, so they are tolerated by dogs with those issues. This helps affected dogs avoid unwanted weight loss and fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies.

Reports of other promising studies about coconut oil and dogs with epilepsy:

“Efficacy of medium chain triglyceride oil dietary supplementation in reducing seizure frequency in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy” (Veterinary Record, October 31, 2020)

“A multicenter randomized controlled trial of medium-chain triglyceride dietary supplementation on epilepsy in dogs (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, May 2020)

“Dietary medium chain triglycerides for management of epilepsy: New data from human, dog, and rodent studies” (Epilepsia, August 2021)

How much coconut oil can you feed your dog?

The recommended amount for most dogs is 1 teaspoon coconut oil per 10 pounds of body weight (1 tablespoon per 30 pounds body weight) daily.

Coconut oil contains 40 calories per teaspoon (120 calories per tablespoon), which can add up to more daily fat than an older, sedentary dog needs. Reduce the recommended dose to avoid unwanted weight gain.

However much you decide to feed your dog, begin with smaller amounts, such as one-quarter to half of the daily total. If your dog responds well, gradually increase the amount every few days until you reach the recommended dose.

If your dog experiences diarrhea when fed coconut oil, try dividing the daily amount into two servings.

Coconut additions to your dog’s diet aren’t limited to coconut oil. Most dogs enjoy pieces of fresh coconut directly from the shell as well as shredded dried coconut (no sugar added). Coconut water, the liquid inside a fresh coconut, is high in sugar and not usually recommended for dogs.

Is coconut oil safe for dogs?

Coconut oil is often criticized for its saturated fat content. In the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (September 2006), John Bauer, DVM, explained that saturated fats do not impart any increased risk of arterial diseases in dogs, in contrast to their effect in humans. Warnings about coconut oil’s saturated fats being dangerous to dogs are incorrect.

Coconut oil’s main adverse side effects when added to food are diarrhea and greasy stools. These are easy to prevent by feeding small amounts so the body can gradually adjust to the addition of coconut oil in the diet.

Some dogs are allergic to coconut products. Dogs who react by coughing, scratching, or showing other signs of discomfort may be responding to impurities in the oil, in which case switching to another brand may make a difference – or they may simply not do well with coconut oil and should avoid it.

How to apply coconut oil topically to your dog

For topical application, store coconut oil in a glass eyedropper bottle and a small glass jar. These containers are easy to warm in hot water to melt the oil if it’s solid.

Use the eyedropper to apply small amounts of coconut oil to ears, cuts, wounds, sores, or other targeted areas. Use the jar to apply coconut oil to larger areas, such as cracked paw pads.

Keep a towel or tissue handy to remove excess oil as needed. Because most dogs love the smell and taste of coconut oil, distract your dog or cover the treated area for a few minutes so the oil can be absorbed before your dog licks it off.

Choosing the right coconut oil

Once difficult to find, coconut oil is widely sold in supermarkets and natural food stores, with most of it coming from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico. Refined coconut oil (often labeled RBD for Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized) is made from copra (dried coconut meat) and treated to remove impurities. In most cases, the coconuts that produce it are of low quality and chemicals like chlorine and hexane are used in the refining process. This inexpensive coconut oil is safe for human and canine consumption, and it retains most of coconut oil’s healing benefits.

A better choice is unrefined or “virgin” coconut oil, which retains the nutrients found in fresh coconut; this is the first choice of most coconut oil enthusiasts. It is of higher quality and more expensive than RBD oil. For best results, look for cold-pressed (not heat-processed) raw coconut oil sold in glass rather than plastic containers.

Hydrogenated coconut oil, which is solid at temperatures below 92°F, contains harmful trans fats, and is not regarded as a health-promoting food.

Fractionated coconut oil is liquid at all times because it contains only caprylic and/or capric acid. Its lauric acid has been removed. Often labeled as MCT oil, this tasteless, odorless product is more expensive than regular coconut oil and is promoted as a nutritional supplement.

There are many coconut oils on the market and the quality varies. Try different brands to see what you and your dog most enjoy. Avoid any coconut oil that has a pronounced smoky odor or an “off” or rancid taste or fragrance, is yellow in color, or has any other discoloration.

Clonidine for Dogs

By
Dr. Eileen Fatcheric, DVM
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0
Sick Scared Dog
Anxiety affects dogs in a variety of ways. Some may fearfully withdraw from interacting with humans while others may respond with aggressive behavior. Clonidine can be used daily in combination with another behavior medication, or on an as-needed, short-term basis before particularly stressful events, such as veterinary or grooming visits. Photo by Getty Images.

Clonidine is a medication worth trying to treat your dog’s anxiety, especially if none of the more popular medicines (such as fluoxetine, trazodone, or clomipramine) prescribed by your veterinarian have worked so far. It’s not one of the first-line medications typically reached for by practitioners, but it just might be the ticket.

Anxiety in dogs manifests in many different ways, some of which can be dangerous to you, other people and even your dog. Anxious, fearful dogs sometimes lash out with aggressive behavior in an effort to create more space for themselves. Others become destructive, potentially injuring themselves. Clonidine can help dogs with severe anxiety and is an ideal adjunct to gentle behavior modification techniques. Clonidine dosages depend upon the dog’s weight and may be adjusted to find the ideal level for an individual dog.

While there are several medications commonly used in veterinary medicine for anxiety, not every drug will work for every dog. Occasionally a medication may have a paradoxical effect in a dog and cause increased agitation. Sometimes the side effect of a medication makes it unpleasant for you or your dog. Often, a combination of medications is necessary, along with behavior modification. The process may require a fair amount of tweaking in the beginning, trying different medications and dosages in order to achieve the desired effect with minimal side effects.

How does clonidine work?

Clonidine is categorized as an alpha-2 agonist. This class of drugs inhibits the release of adrenaline (norepinephrine) in the central nervous system. It is best used as an add-on medication, as opposed to stand-alone help for anxiety.

Adrenaline is the hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to fear, stress, and anxiety. It’s the one responsible for the “fight or flight” response. When something threatens or scares you, what happens? You get an adrenaline rush. Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases, your muscles tense up, you feel upset, ramped up, and tense.

The same thing happens in your anxious dog. But by inhibiting the release of adrenaline with clonidine before the dog gets upset we can decrease his arousal and overreaction to triggers. It’s imperative for this medication to be given before the stressful or fear-invoking event. Clonidine inhibits the release of adrenaline, but if your dog is already bathing in the stuff, it’s too late. So be sure to give it 90 minutes before the event. It’s short-acting, wearing off after four to six hours; it can be repeated after six hours if necessary.

When used as part of a long-term behavior management plan for anxiety, clonidine is typically given twice daily, along with a longer-acting anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) medication like fluoxetine or clomipramine. One of the benefits of clonidine is that, as an alpha 2 agonist, it’s in a completely different class of drugs than the other anti-anxiety meds commonly used, so you can conceivably add benefit to your medication protocol without doubling up on side effects specific to each class of drug.

Dosage of clonidine for dogs

Most veterinarians start their canine patients on the lowest effective dose and incrementally increase the dosage as needed. The starting recommended dose is 0.01 milligram (mg) of clonidine per kilogram (kg) of the dog’s body weight, and the maximum is 0.05 mg/kg.

Ideal uses for clonidine in dogs

Clonidine works best for treatment of fear-based behaviors. Examples of these would include separation anxiety, leash reactivity, fear-based aggression, noise phobias (thunderstorms, fireworks), and fear associated with veterinary or grooming visits. For these cases, clonidine can be used “as needed” before the inciting situation. You might give a dose to your dog who suffers from separation anxiety about 90 minutes before you leave. If you walk your leash-reactive dog twice a day, you can pre-medicate him for his walks. Thunderstorms may be difficult to predict in advance, but the Fourth of July is a no-brainer. If your dog struggles during veterinary visits in spite of trazodone and gabapentin, a popular combination prescribed by veterinarians for vet-visit anxiety, ask if adding clonidine is an option.

Dogs with daily stressors that can’t be avoided (for example, if you live by an airport or train tracks and the sounds make your dog anxious) may benefit greatly from adding clonidine twice a day on a regular basis.

Clonidine side effects

The side effects caused by clonidine are not too bad. The biggest one is sedation. Because of this, your veterinarian will start with a lower dose, to see how your dog reacts to it. If sedation is not an issue and the unwanted behavior persists, the dose will be increased. Dry mouth is a known side effect of alpha 2 agonists in humans. Some owners observe side effects of increased water consumption and lip smacking, which may be a consequence of dry mouth in your dog. Alpha 2 agonists lower blood pressure and heart rate. Because clonidine is mild, this is rarely an issue, although caution is advised when used in dogs with cardiovascular disease.

When is clonidine contraindicated?

To avoid compounding effects on blood pressure and heart rate, it is best not to combine clonidine with other alpha 2 agonists, like Sileo (oral dexmeditomidine), a sedative that is sometimes dispensed for use at home, or to be given before vet visits. Clonidine should not be used with monoamine oxidase inhibitors like Anipryl (selegiline), a medication used for treating canine cognitive dysfunction. Make sure your veterinarian knows about all medications that you give your dog.

Clonidine is not a federally controlled substance in the United States. There are no currently approved veterinary products that contain clonidine, which means its use is considered extra-label. This is not unusual for behavior-modifying medications in veterinary medicine. Your veterinarian will discuss the risks and benefits of using this medication off-label, allowing you to give informed consent. Rest assured, clonidine has been used extensively in veterinary medicine and is recommended by veterinary behavior specialists on a regular basis.

A relaxed, calm dog is a happy dog and a wonderful companion. If your dog suffers from fear-based anxiety and the medications that have been prescribed for him are not getting the results you want, ask your veterinarian about adding clonidine to your dog’s medication regimen. It has great potential for promoting calm, which helps your dog handle his stressful challenges.

Why Do Dogs Like Squeaky Toys?

By
CJ Puotinen
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0
Left to play alone with a squeaky toy, some dogs fall into a trance, repeatedly making the toy squeak again and again. Others are driven to destroy the toy in a predatory frenzy. Photo by Getty Photos.

If your dog’s favorite toy squeaks when she bites it, she’s not alone. Most dogs love squeaky toys!

Why do dogs like the sound of squeaky toys?

Not every dog responds to squeaky toys, but for dogs who demonstrate strong predatory behavior, squeaky toys resemble the sounds made by small or injured animals, and that makes them irresistible. We may find them irritating, but for dogs, the squeaky sound often signals the beginning of an exciting and primal predatory activity.

The resistance that a squeaky toy provides when a dog bites it adds to the sensory experience. For many dogs the sequence of hearing a squeaker, chasing the toy, biting the toy’s head off, ripping or tearing the stuffing out, and attacking the squeaker is especially rewarding. Dogs who enjoy this combination of sounds and actions can entertain themselves for as long as their toys survive.

Why dogs like squeaky toys so much

Some dogs use squeakers to invite their humans to play with them, such as by standing next to people and squeaking a toy until someone tosses it for them. This activity reinforces the intrinsic satisfaction that squeakers produce along with bonds of affection between dogs and people.

Squeakers can be training aids because they immediately capture the dog’s attention, distract the dog from undesirable activities, motivate the dog in training, and focus the dog’s attention, such as in photo sessions.

Squeaker safety

To prevent the swallowing of squeaker parts, be ready with a high-value treat to exchange for a toy your dog has been shredding. This also rewards your dog for releasing the toy when you ask for it.

Some of the most satisfying toys contain multiple squeakers that make different sounds, and some contain “silent” squeakers that dogs can hear but people can’t, which helps when you’ve heard enough squeaking.

Does Spaying or Neutering Change Dog Behavior?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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3
The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 69% of dogs in the U.S. are spayed or neutered. The American Pet Products Association’s estimate is higher: 78%. Frontiers in Veterinary Science puts the number at 85%. Whichever number is accurate, it’s a higher percentage than anywhere in the world. Photo by Soloway / Dreamstime.com

If you are wondering, “Does spaying or neutering change dog behavior?” The short answer is, “Don’t hold your breath.”

Decades ago, most shelter workers and veterinarians – and many professional dog trainers, too – believed that gonadectomy (surgical removal of the testes in males or ovaries in females) would not just help prevent the birth of unwanted puppies, but also help alter the behavior of dogs.

Note: Debates over medical issues related to spay/neuter surgery are discussions for another day. Here, we’re looking only at how spay/neuter practices affect canine behavior.

It was widely believed that some of the dog behaviors that humans least appreciate (such as aggression, roaming, humping, and more) could be prevented or resolved through spay/neuter surgery.

Today, though, we have the advantage of more and better research into canine behavior. We also have more experience with a population of dogs that possesses the historically highest percentage of spayed/neutered individuals ever (an estimated 70% to 85% of the dogs in the U.S. have experienced a gonadectomy). This combination has led to a reexamination of many beliefs about canine behavior, and many that were regarded as gospel in the 1970s and ’80s are being revealed as myths. We now know that the behavioral benefits – to us! – of canine sterilization are very limited and should not be treated as a panacea for canine behaviors that many owners find problematic.

Dog Behaviors That Humans Tend to Dislike

Dogs are a charismatic, intelligent, social species. They have willingly joined us in our lives, and in return for their companionship and service, we’ve given them privileged spots in our society, homes, couches, and even beds. Despite this closeness, there are many natural and normal behaviors that dogs exhibit that we tend to dislike, including:

  • Aggression (toward other dogs or humans)
  • Barking
  • Excessive excitability
  • Humping
  • Pulling on leash
  • Roaming
  • Urine-marking

Somewhere along the way, many of these canine behaviors came to be blamed on the hormones that circulate in reproductively intact dogs – particularly male dogs. This was not such a stretch, since humans have long castrated male horses and cattle in order to make them more docile.

In the 1970s, as America woke up to the problem of pet overpopulation and the senseless killing of “surplus” dogs, shelter workers and veterinarians alike began to promote spay/neuter surgery in a population-control effort. As spay and neutering became more common, it began to be regarded and promoted as potentially helpful for reducing some of those behaviors that many owners found inconvenient or distasteful. This multi-benefit sales pitch helped convince owners to “de-sex” their dogs, though it was perhaps oversold based on anecdotal reports from owners, trainers, or vets who found altered animals easier to deal with.

Canine Behavior Research

Anecdotal evidence can often convince people that something is true well before scientists have a chance to test the popular assumptions for accuracy. Some of the most commonly held assumptions about dog behaviors that can be altered or improved (from the human standpoint) through surgical gonadectomy have to do with canine aggression. Many dog owners believe some variation of the following statements:

  • Dogs should be spayed or neutered because sex hormones cause unnecessary stress and aggression.
  • Many aggression problems may be avoided by early neutering.
  • Male dogs display hormonally influenced aggression toward each other. Neutering eliminates much of this behavior.

The problem is, that studies conducted by behavior scientists contradict all of these statements, which now must be considered as persistent but untrue myths.

Behavior scientists in both clinical and research settings have done some of this work. But the development and analysis of large populational surveys have also enabled researchers to address some of the most stubbornly held myths about dog behavior. Two tools that were developed to measure behavior and “behavior problems” in dogs have proven to be particularly useful for this purpose.

The first is the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a standardized behavioral evaluation tool developed and validated by Yuying Hsu and Dr. James Serpell at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. C-BARQ is an owner-completed survey that has been available for public access online since 2005. Today, the C-BARQ database contains detailed behavioral evaluations for more than 50,000 pet dogs, comprising more than 300 different breeds and cross-breeds. The survey contains 100 questions about an array of dog behaviors that have been grouped into categories such as aggression, fear, and anxiety.

Another researcher, Dr. Parvene Farhoody, analyzed a set of the C-BARQ data involving some 10,839 dogs in her master’s thesis for Hunter College in 2010.

The results of these two studies were supported by the later findings of a 2018 study from a research team headed by Paul McGreevy of the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney (Australia), with another 9,938 dogs.

All of these studies were in agreement: Sterilized (spayed or neutered) dogs are more likely to show an increase in aggressive behaviors as a result of spaying and neutering, rather than the long-touted decrease. The amount of the increase varied depending on the type of aggression presented (toward the owner, toward strangers, toward other dogs, etc.), ranging from about a 20% increase to more than twice the level of aggression observed in unsterilized dogs.

According to the data, neutered male dogs are more likely to be aggressive toward intact males than intact males interacting with other intact males. And female dogs spayed later in life are less likely to show an increase in aggression than females who were spayed at a young age.

The Dog-Owning Public is Invited to Participate

The C-BARQ was originally designed to measure the prevalence and severity of behavioral problems in privately owned and working dogs, and that remains its primary value and purpose. You can investigate the C-BARQ data, or use the tool to analyze your own dog’s behavior (and enter his personality assessment into the C-BARQ data to be used in future behavior studies).  After you complete the questionnaire, you can compare your dog’s scores to canine population averages in categories including aggression, fear, anxiety, attachment, and more.

Go to: https://vetapps.vet.upenn.edu/cbarq/

Other Canine Behavior Myths Busted

There are other, less specific myths about the effects of canine spay/neuter practices that have been called into question through the analysis of the C-BARQ data, including:

  • Spaying and neutering make pets better, more affectionate companions.
  • Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than do those who have been spayed or neutered.

In fact, the UPenn researchers found a roughly 31% increase in fearfulness for both genders after sterilization, a 33% increase in touch sensitivity, and an 8% increase in excitability. This seems to belie the argument that spaying and neutering make for better, more affectionate companions. While we must always remember that correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, these are, indeed, significant correlations.

It would be worth considering other correlations, such as the age of the dog at the time of surgery. How many dogs are perhaps sterilized during an adolescent fear period, which might contribute to an increase in fearfulness and touch sensitivity? How might the proliferation of puppy mill puppies born to mothers housed in stressful environments contribute to a greater likelihood of the development of fear, touch sensitivity, and excitability following spay/neuter surgery?

On the bright side, neutering does appear to reduce urine-marking behavior and decreases roaming behavior by intact males pursuing females in season.

Still Good Reasons for Spay/Neuter

Gonadectomy prevents the proliferation of puppies for whom there may not be homes, and the widespread prevalence of the practice has definitely helped to reduce the senseless, “accidental” production of unwanted puppies and the deaths of healthy, adoptable dogs by many millions annually. Just don’t think spaying or neutering your dog is going to prevent or solve all of his or her behaviors that you find problematic. Statistical analysis of a huge population of spayed and neutered dogs says that it won’t.

Plants Poisonous to Dogs

By
CJ Puotinen
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0
Be aware that even if your own dogs have never shown an interest in any potentially toxic plants in your home or yard, a foster dog or visiting friend’s or family member’s dog might be more investigative. It’s best to have potentially problematic plants far out of reach of any dog! © Phuttharak Chindarot | Dreamstime.com

We love our trees, shrubs, flowers, and houseplants for good reason. They reduce our stress levels, improve our health, increase our connections to nature, and bring us hours of aesthetic appreciation. Unfortunately, some of our favorite plants can be dangerous to dogs, causing gastrointestinal distress, vision problems, confusion, organ failure, and even death.

 

 

What Are the Signs of Plant Poisoning in Dogs?

Symptoms of plant poisoning in dogs vary by plant, but in general, a plant that causes contact dermatitis will generate painful sores, especially in the mouth and mucous membranes.

The symptoms of poisoning when the dog ingests a plant are often more serious. They can include:

  • Drowsiness
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Lack of appetite
  • Weakness
  • Staggering
  • Loss of balance
  • Convulsions
  • Coma

Plant poisoning requires rapid medical treatment. Depending on the plant, symptoms can appear anywhere from immediately after the dog eats the plant to several days later, so it’s best to get help as soon as you suspect your dog might have ingested—or even just chewed on—a potentially toxic plant.

What To Do If Your Dog Swallows a Poisonous Plant

If your dog eats a poisonous plant, check her breathing and overall appearance so you can provide an accurate description of your dog’s symptoms, including her weight.

Take notes about when and where the exposure occurred or when you noticed symptoms so you can describe the symptoms’ progression.

If you suspect a specific plant but don’t recognize it, take a photo or collect a sample of the plant to help with identification.

Save a sample of the dog’s vomit, if any.

Do NOT give your dog any home remedies such as milk, salt, or oil.

Do NOT induce vomiting without talking to your veterinarian or a poison control center. In some cases, vomiting may be detrimental.

Depending on your dog’s condition and the plant she ingested, your veterinarian might administer a liquid suspension of activated charcoal, which can absorb certain toxins. If appropriate, hydrogen peroxide or a similar substance can cause vomiting to help remove plant material from the dog’s stomach.

Intravenous fluids and medications may be necessary for more serious reactions. Techniques such as total plasma exchange and plasma absorption (using a specialized machine to remove toxins from the blood) may prevent fatal poisoning, such as from a toxic mushroom, if performed in time.

Animal Poison Control Centers

If you suspect your dog has swallowed a toxic plant, don’t wait to ask for professional advice. Keep your veterinarian’s phone number or local pet emergency clinic phone number handy and call for help as soon as you realize there’s a problem. If you can’t reach your vet, call one of the 24/7 information services below. These centers are staffed by veterinary professionals. Visit their websites for authoritative lists of toxic plants, their identification, and the symptoms they cause.

The ASPCA Poison Control Center. aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control. (888) 426-4435. A consulting fee may apply.

The Pet Poison Helpline. petpoisonhelpline.com. (855) 764-7661. $75 fee.

Many more plants are listed as dangerous by various sources, though some warnings apply only to other species or include only minor effects. When in doubt, look for information from reliable sources, such as the poison control centers listed below.

Plants Poisonous to Dogs

If you study reports about plants that are toxic to dogs, the lists can seem endless. Even benign plants, like the beneficial herb chamomile or the stems and leaves of tomato, pepper, eggplant, or potato plants, can be harmful to dogs if they swallow enough. However, the following plants are of greater concern because they can cause a serious reaction, even if only small amounts are consumed:

  • Oleander (Nerium oleander), which is also known as Nerium, is a tall, fragrant, ornamental shrub with rose, white, or yellow flowers. They grow in hardiness zones 8-11, and all parts are highly toxic to dogs. They contain cardiac glycosides, and signs of ingestion include weakness, drooling, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, cardiac arrhythmia, tremors, seizures, and death.
  • Azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron ) are fragrant, flowering shrubs that come in white, yellow, orange, pink, and red. Native to North America, they are found in hardiness zones 6-9. All parts of the plant are extremely poisonous to dogs because they contain grayanotoxin, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, vision problems, and even coma or death.
  • The sago palm (Cycas revoluta, zamia species) is a popular landscaping and houseplant that looks like a miniature palm tree. It grows outdoors in hardiness zones 8-10 but is often grown indoors as well. Every part of the shrub, especially the seed pods and nuts, contains a toxin called cycasin, which is so harmful that any part of the plant, including a single seed, can cause death. Symptoms of ingestion include increased thirst, decreased appetite, vomiting, bloody stools, jaundice, seizures, liver failure, and death.
  • The autumn crocus (Colochicum autumnale), also called meadow saffron, is a member of the lily family is found in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6-10. All plant parts—bulbs, pink-purple flowers, and narrow, grass-like foliage—contain colchicine, which causes gastrointestinal bleeding, severe vomiting, kidney and liver damage, and respiratory failure. Symptoms may not develop for several days, so don’t delay veterinary attention if your dog swallows any part of this plant.
  • Tulips (Tulipa /Narcissus spp.) are popular, winter-hardy, bell-shaped flowers found outdoors in hardiness zones 3-8 and often included in bouquets. All parts of the plant are harmful to dogs, with bulbs being the most toxic. Signs of ingestion include drooling, lethargy, loss of appetite, upset stomach, vomiting, dehydration, cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), respiratory problems, convulsions, and death. Daffodil (Narcissus spp.), hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), gladiolus (Gladiolus spp.), and amaryllis (Amaryllis spp.) bulbs, flowers, and leaves can cause similar symptoms when ingested by dogs.
  • Holly leaves (American, English, Japanese, and Christmas varieties—Ilex opaca/Ilex aquifolium) can cause vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, lip smacking, head shaking, a swollen mouth and tongue, and difficulty breathing.
  • Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is a sweet-smelling plant with delicate, white, bell-shaped flower clusters. Found in hardiness zones 3-9, the entire plant is moderately to severely poisonous to dogs with the main toxin being cardiac glycosides. Symptoms of ingestion include disorientation, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmia, seizures, and coma. Ingesting gloriosa (Gloriosa superba) can lead to similar symptoms while daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.), which are extremely toxic to cats (as are all lilies), cause only gastrointestinal upset in dogs.
  • Pothos (Epipremnum aureum), also known as golden pothos or devil’s ivy, has arrow-shaped, variegated white, yellow, and green leaves. It is found outdoors in hardiness zone 10-12 but is often grown indoors as an easy-care houseplant. Mildly toxic to dogs, these plants contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals in the roots, stems, and leaves that resemble sharp glass. Eating these plants can cause oral irritation, mouth swelling, respiratory problems, skin irritation, drooling, vomiting, trouble swallowing, and coughing. Plants including Elephant’s ear (Caladium hortulanum), English ivy (Hedera helix), plants in the philodendron family, calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica), peace lily (Spathiphyllum), and dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) also contain calcium oxalate crystals and cause similar symptoms when ingested by dogs.
  • Castor bean/castor oil plants (Ricinus communis) are widespread throughout tropical areas. These highly toxic ornamental annuals have large leaves, bright flowers, and seed pods, all of which contain the highly poisonous toxic ricin. They thrive in hardiness zones 9-11. If your dog eats them, symptoms include appetite loss, excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, trouble breathing, loss of coordination, coma, and death.
  • Cyclamen (Cyclamen) is a petite, sweet-scented perennial flowering plant often grown indoors. Found in hardiness zones 9-11, these plants contain irritating terpenoid saponins, especially in the tubers, making them highly toxic to dogs. Poisoning symptoms include drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmia, seizures, and death.
  • Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a tall plant with downward-facing, bell-shaped flowers and is found in hardiness zones 4-9. All parts of these plants, from the seeds to the petals, contain cardiac glycosides, which are extremely toxic to dogs. Signs of ingestion include weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmia, and death.
  • Yew (Taxus spp.) is an evergreen plant frequently used in holiday wreaths as well as being a popular shrub for landscaping across North America, with most growing in hardiness zones 3-8. All varieties contain the dangerous toxin, taxine, in the bright green leaves, red berries, seeds, and stems. Signs your dog has ingested some of this highly poisonous plant include lethargy, difficulty breathing, vomiting, tremors, seizures, heart and blood pressure changes, heart failure, and death.
  • Mushrooms are a seasonal problem in some areas. While most of the world’s 10,000 mushroom species are harmless to dogs, some wild mushrooms can be fatal, even in small amounts. Clinical signs of mushroom toxicity include excessive salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, liver failure, tremors, and seizures.

For a list of more plants poisonous to dogs, see the ASPCA’s Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List.

What Dogs Are at Risk of Ingesting Poisonous Plants?

Any dog can be drawn to a tree, flower, or houseplant that is potentially toxic, but at the top of the risk list are puppies who explore the world by sniffing, tasting, picking up, or swallowing whatever they encounter. Next are active dogs of any age, especially those who love to fetch sticks, dig in the dirt, or search everywhere for something edible.

Prevention is the Best Approach

It’s good to be organized, well informed, and ready to respond to emergencies, but preventing them in the first place is the best approach. Study the plants in your house and yard so you know which are potentially dangerous.

Move toxic houseplants out of your dog’s reach. If a plant is irresistible to your dog, use a pet gate or other obstacle to keep her from reaching it. If that doesn’t work, consider rehoming the plant.

Use positive reinforcement to reward your puppy for staying away from problem plants by focusing on his name and rewarding him for coming when called. The safest place for puppies and adolescent dogs when no one is home where there are potentially toxic house plants is in a crate.

Make house and garden plants unattractive to dogs by spraying them with lemon juice diluted with an equal amount of water. Reinforce the scent by placing lemon slices in plant pots or on the ground outdoors. Bitter Apple, Bitter Yuck, chili pepper sauce diluted with water, and other sprays that discourage chewing can be sprayed on and around harmful plants. Some trainers recommend sprinkling cayenne pepper powder around poisonous plants.

Chicken wire laid on the ground discourages digging. It can also be used to fence off sections of your yard. But the safest thing to do if you have a puppy or a dog who likes to dig or chew on plants is to remove toxic plants from your yard. And if you’re planning a garden, beginning a landscaping project, or deciding what plants to grow in your house, eliminate the risk and choose nontoxic dog-friendly species.

Are Dogs Good With Chickens?

By
Nancy Kerns
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13
dog and chickens
Boone hasn’t even really seemed to register that chickens are living things. He is utterly disinterested in their movements; he just likes looking for their fresh poop to eat. ©Nancy Kerns

When I was about five years old, my parents moved our family from the San Francisco Bay area to a rural farming area about an hour out of the city. Almost all of our neighbors were farmers; there were only a few small properties like ours that weren’t part of a farm. Both of my parents and all of my siblings liked dogs, and this was the 1960s – before widespread spay/neuter campaigns – so in very short order, we had a whole pack of pet dogs. Soon enough, my siblings engaged in 4-H clubs, and despite both of my parents knowing absolutely nothing whatsoever about caring for animals, we acquired a pony and a horse to ride, a steer and a lamb (ostensibly to be raised for meat), and lots of chickens that we raised for eggs.

We were lucky in that only one of the dozen or so dogs that I can name who lived with our family during that time had an appetite for chickens. Sam was a purebred Old English Sheepdog who came to our family after getting banned from his original San Francisco family (friends of my parents) for biting the neighbors’ kids. (He may have been hustled out under cover of darkness; there was some urgency to his arrival at our house.) But once Sam discovered that biting chickens was far more pleasurable than biting children, our flock slowly diminished.

My naïve mother asked the local farmers what they would do with a dog who killed chickens. Somehow, the concept of locking up the dog in a pen was never suggested. Instead, a horrific prescription was made: Tie one of the dead chickens to the dog’s collar and make him drag it around for days. The idea was supposed to be that the dog would soon tire of the smell and burden, and would associate this punishment with the sight of any future potential chicken meals. My mother recruited my 12-year-old brother and some of his 12-year-old friends to accomplish the task of tying one of Sam’s victims to the dog’s collar. The project stunk, literally and metaphorically, and did nothing to dissuade Sam from snacking on the dead chicken as he went about his day. I’m sure the farmer who made this suggestion to my mother laughed as they witnessed the giant dog running through their fields and orchards with the stinking partial corpse of a chicken flying behind him.

If they did laugh, they stopped once Sam moved on to preying on their chickens. Soon, no one who lived within a mile of us had chickens. And then Sam disappeared.

My parents told us that because of Sam’s chicken-killing, they had found him a home on a sheep ranch that we could see from Highway 80 whenever we drove from our rural home back to San Francisco for gatherings with our aunts and uncles and cousins. They explained, “He is a sheep dog! He needed to live with sheep to herd!” and they would encourage us to “Look for Sam!” as we drove by the farm at 70 miles per hour on the highway. Because the large wooly dog resembled a sheep himself, almost always one of us four kids would be convinced we had seen Sam among the sheep. My dad always drove fast, but as the youngest child in the family, it took years for me to realize that he seemed to drive particularly fast past the sheep ranch.

(Funny/not funny story: When I was an adult and my son was about 4 years old, we had a huge family gathering for Easter. Somehow, the topic of dogs came up at the dinner table, and one of our guests said something about their childhood dog being disappeared to – and here she made double air-quotes with her hands – “a farm in the country.” Everyone chuckled sympathetically, but then my oldest sister chirped, “But when we were kids, my parents really DID send one of our dogs to live on a farm – a sheep farm! We used to see him from the highway when we drove by!” I looked down the long table at my parents, who were seated side-by-side at one end. Both were very busy with their food, looking down at their plates. The laughter at the table grew louder, accompanied by quite a lot of choking sounds, as my parents pointedly kept up the pretense of not hearing the discussion and enjoying their food, and my 40-year-old sister’s voice pitched higher as the last vestiges of her childhood innocence were destroyed. “Wait! What? He did go to that farm, didn’t he? Mom? Dad? What? Sam? Really?”)

Anyway, all that was going through my head when I brought my dog Otto home from the shelter a little more than 14 years ago, because it said, right there on his cage card on the shelter pen, “Kills chicken.” That typo has amused me for many years now. Did they mean “kills chickens” or that he “killed a chicken? I’ll never know. But at any rate, I knew I would have to manage my new 7-month-old dog around my three pet laying hens in order to prevent carnage.

otto's kennel card
A copy of Otto’s shelter cage card from 2008. A shelter staffer noted at the bottom, “Kills chicken.”

Perhaps because the pen my chickens were in was quite secure, or because I carefully supervised Otto at all times in the first few months I had him, or simply because the former stray dog was now well-fed, all I had to do was to take Otto to the chicken pen on a leash and tell him “Leave it!” when he looked at them, and give him treats when he looked away. He got it right on day one, and in 14 years, has never harmed any of their poultry successors (though when I introduced him to some newly hatched baby chicks, he did lick his lips a bit hungrily). So much for the “kills chicken” warning.

My middle-aged dog, Woody, has always had a loving, paternal response to any small or young creatures. When he is introduced to chickens, young or adult, his first response is always a soft, happy wag; then he wants to lick them, and especially their nether ends, like a mother dog cleaning her puppies. When my cranky older hens take it upon themselves to run toward him, shooing him away from whatever they are eating, he always shoos, looking sad and puzzled as to why they can’t be friends.

And I’ve been lucky with Boone, at least so far; my 10-month-old puppy seems to be interested only in eating chicken poop, not the chickens themselves, even though I allow my current four hens to wander around my property for hours during the daytime. I think that he’s mostly taken his cues from the older dogs – but he’s also never left with an opportunity to get into trouble. When I’m not home or unable to supervise him (like when I’m in the shower), he’s always contained in the outdoor dog pen, my office, or the house. If he’s outdoors with minimal supervision (say, when I’m in the house but cooking), the chickens are safely locked up in their pen.

I’m not sure why my parents found this so difficult!

Submissive Urination and Excitement Urination

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Dogs communicate with each other with their body language. The Beagle is displaying submission or appeasement behaviors: leaning backward, staying low, with a low tail and ears. Rolling over on his back or urinating would demonstrate his fear and submission even more dramatically. Photo by © Sinseeho | Dreamstime.com

Does your otherwise well-house-trained dog pee when you walk in the door and greet her, or when other people reach to pet her? Yikes! Submissive and excitement urination can be very frustrating behaviors to live with; having to constantly mop up puddles and spray enzymatic cleaners on your carpet can get old fast.

The three most important things to know about submissive peeing and excitement peeing are:

  1. They aren’t gender-biased; they happen with both male and female dogs.
  2. Your dog can’t help it!
  3. Punishment (or even mild disapproval) will only make it worse.

What is excitement urination?

Excitement urination (also known as “glee pee”) is most often found in happy, hyper, young dogs who may not yet have developed full bladder control. Dogs frequently outgrow this unfortunate peeing behavior as they mature, emotionally calm down, and gain better control of their bladders. Meanwhile, if the dog who exhibits lots of excitement behavior is well managed, it’s usually just a matter of waiting a few months (or a few more) for him or her to mature.

Here’s what good management of excitement urination looks like in this case to help stop your dog’s excitement urination:

Provide plenty of aerobic exercise. This means off-leash running around, chasing a ball or flying disc, rough-and-tumble play with an appropriate canine play-pal, lots of “sniffari” opportunities, as well as ample time spent with toys and cognition games that provide mental enrichment. Boring old walks on leash, regardless of how long, just aren’t going to do the trick. (For examples of good enrichment toys, see “The Best Food-Dispensing Toys” WDJ April 2019. For other ideas for games to play with your dog, see “Are Canines Cognitive?” October 2017.)

Train calm behaviors. Teach your dog behaviors that encourage calm, such as “Settle,” “Relax,” or “Go to Your Mat.”

The “Karen Overall Protocol for Relaxation” is another great resource for helping your dog learn how to relax. Complete directions for the protocol can be downloaded at this link: https://bit.ly/Pryor_relax.

Set a calm example. The better you are at being calm with your dog, the easier it will be for her to be calm with you. Quiet, low-key greetings when you come home and an overall peaceful ambiance in the house can minimize glee-pee accidents. Save the excited, high-energy activities for outdoors, where an occasional excitement puddle won’t matter.

No punishment, ever. Remember, your dog can’t help it. If you lose your cool with her over her excitement urination you could end up with a dog who is afraid of you and submissively urinates, a behavior that can be a lot more challenging to modify than adolescent excitement urination. Count your blessings.

What is submissive urination?

While a challenging and frustrating behavior to live with, submissive urination is – among dogs, anyway – a valuable canine communication tool. A dog who feels threatened by another can often successfully deflect the threat by displaying submission or appeasement behavior, with a lowered behind-the-vertical body posture, flattened ears, squinty eyes, and tucked tail. Sometimes this includes rolling onto their back and submissive urination.

It seems that humans just naturally reach for a dog’s head in greeting. While a few friendly, confident dogs are perfectly happy with this greeting, and some tolerate it, many more find it uncomfortable – and dogs who are anxious about greeting new people are likely to find it intolerably over-stimulating and may urinate involuntarily. Photo by Nancy Kerns.

It stands to reason that any angry response or punishment on your part is likely to make the behavior worse, not better, as your dog tries even harder to appease you and deflect the threat. Here’s how to respond appropriately instead to help stop submissive urination:

Approach in a non-threatening manner. Even if you don’t intend to be imposing, if you stand tall, face your dog, stride forward, make direct eye contact and/or lean over her, you can be perceived as a threat. Instead, kneel sideways to greet your dog and let her approach you. And coach all your friends and family members to do the same!

Reach under, not over. Humans seem to have a predilection for patting dogs on top of their heads. A few dogs might actually like this, and a fair number of dogs tolerate it. However, for most dogs, reaching over their heads is at least somewhat aversive – and this is especially true for dogs who are prone to submissive urination because they are already concerned about humans.

Educate yourself to scratch dogs under the chin or on the chest instead of reaching for their heads. Many dogs will appreciate it – and any dog prone to submissive urination will be less likely to urinate.

Move calmly and slowly. The calmer you (and your friends) are around your dog, the less likely she is to feel the need to send that appeasement-pee message.

Manage the pee. Doggie diapers can be a useful stress-reducing management tool while you are working to help your dog overcome the need to pee when greeted. They may not stop the urination, but they can help prevent you from getting annoyed at your dog and minimize puddle clean-up.

Even if you don’t punish your dog for inadvertently urinating, she can read any stressed or tense body language signals that you make in response to the mess; this will send her the message that she needs to be even more appeasing – and release even more pee!

Let your dog greet visitors outdoors. That way, if she does involuntarily urinates, there’s no clean-up needed, and no human stress.

Use counter-conditioning and desensitization in the situations that trigger her urination. Begin by identifying situations that typically elicit submissive urination from your dog. Then, start counter-conditioning her to less-stressful approximations of those situations.

For example, if your dog often pees when you reach toward her, move your hand just slightly toward her, and feed (or toss) her a treat from your other hand. Once your dog is comfortable (with no urinating) with small movements, gradually increase the amount of your reach toward her.

You don’t need to use a marker (such as the click of a clicker or the word “Yes!”); you are not reinforcing her behavior. Rather, you are working to change her emotional response to the stimulus from scared or apprehensive to relaxed and happy. Eventually, you’ll be able to reach for your dog and even pet her (under the chin, not on the head) without a drop of pee on the floor.

Having trusted friends do the same thing so she generalizes her new association (“People reaching for me make treats happen!”) to other people, too. Meanwhile, do the same to counter-condition her with any other human behaviors that prompt her to submissively urinate.

Stay positive to achieve success in preventing submissive urination

As challenging and frustrating as these involuntary peeing behaviors can be, you can help your dog overcome them. When we adopted Bonnie, our wonderful Scottie/Corgi/Poodle-mix at the age of 11 months (after her owners surrendered to a shelter because they “couldn’t housetrain” her), she almost always urinated when greeting humans. My husband and I both worked to counter-condition and desensitize Bonnie to greetings and interactions with humans – and my dog-training academy students got extra credit points if they could greet Bonnie without making her pee! She stopped all submissive urination by the time she was 3 years old and never did it again for the remaining 10 years of her life. You and your dog can do this!

Prenatal Vitamins for Dogs

By
Dr. Debra M. Eldredge, DVM
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Female Dog Nursing Cute Puppies. Newborns Of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Sucking Breast Milk.
Prenatal vitamins for dogs are generally not needed, but you do want to check with your veterinarian about vitamin B9 to ensure a healthy litter of puppies. Jaromir Chalabala / EyeEm

The best prenatal vitamins for dogs are found in quality dog food. Supplementing pre-natal vitamins for dogs is not generally needed, if your dog is in good shape and eating a food that states it is balanced and complete for ALL life stages. That food is where the best prenatal vitamins for dogs are found. Foods marked for “all life stages” include nutrients required for a healthy pregnancy and lactation.

The one exception to this rule is folic acid, or folate, which is vitamin B9. Discuss with your veterinarian supplementing vitamin B9 to your pregnant dog. Not every pregnant dog needs this vitamin added to her diet, but it is a dog pregnancy vitamin that needs to be considered.

This vitamin has been shown to decrease the incidence of cleft palates, especially in brachycephalic (short-muzzled) dogs. Any breed can have cleft palates, however, so it won’t hurt any pregnant dog. It is also associated with the formation of the neural tube, which is the embryonic brain and spinal cord.

The recommended dose of vitamin B9 for pregnant dogs is 5 milligrams, and it should start when the dog you plan to breed goes into heat and continue throughout the pregnancy. This is a water-soluble vitamin, so it is fairly safe, as any excess vitamin will simply be urinated out. Do not supplement with a human prenatal vitamin. Work with your veterinarian to find a quality veterinary source of this vitamin for your pregnant dog.

Your girl will need an increase in her food for the last trimester, but you don’t want her fat. As her abdomen fills with a uterus full of puppies, she may do best during those final weeks with multiple small meals, especially if she has a large litter.

Research has looked at adding some omega fatty acids (specifically EPA and DHA) to improve vision, the ability to learn (easier to train), and memory in puppies. But, again, it’s unwise to add these to your pregnant dog’s diet without checking with your veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist. You don’t want to throw her diet out of nutritional balance, and too many fatty acids can have side effects, including gastrointestinal upset.

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