There’s an old joke about dog trainers: What’s the only thing you can get two dog trainers to agree about? That the third one is doing it wrong!
I would submit that it’s not just dog trainers who often have strong opinions about the right and wrong ways to do things with dogs. And I think you would have to agree, especially if you have ever entered into a discussion about, say, grain-free dog foods, raw diets, Flexi leashes, electric shock collars, fat dogs, dogs with long toenails, dogs who bark, ear- and tail-cropping . . . I could keep going but you get the idea. There are so many hot-button issues in the dog world that it’s almost impossible to talk about anything to do with dogs (besides how cute they are) without getting into a heated argument.
As I write this – the last thing that needs to get done in order to ship this issue to the printer – an online hurricane has broken out regarding an essay published in the New York Times by Alexandra Horowitz, PhD., renowned book author and head of the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College at Columbia University, in New York City. Horowitz posits that the practice of widespread, reflexive spay/neuter practices in this country shouldn’t be standard policy, as they irretrievably alter our dogs’ health, behavior, and personalities. She makes some good points! Even I, a long-time shelter volunteer who is strongly in favor of the standard practice of de-sexing all shelter animals before they are adopted, appreciate and agree with many of the anti-spay/neuter proposals she makes in the article. And yet, already, by midday on the West Coast, I have seen waves of hot words and “unfriending” sprees in online forums and social media as Horowitz’s piece is being shared, discussed, and argued about.
Here’s an idea: Let’s agree that more than one thing can be “right” at the same time. Let’s freely acknowledge that dogs can be trained “properly” with different methods and that they can eat lots of different diets (even really bad ones!) without shortening their lives. Let’s go so far as to propose that what is “best” for shelter dogs in my rural county – one best known for its high poverty and low education levels – should not be considered best for dogs purchased from good breeders and raised in affluent suburbs and urban areas.
Blanket judgments and one-size-fits-all recommendations don’t serve dogs (or their owners) very well. There are just too many different types of dogs and widely divergent attitudes about the place of the dog in society. I propose that we try to learn from one another, educate those who ask for education, make independent decisions regarding our own dogs’ welfare, and try to get along with friends and strangers as well as we expect our dogs to.
One moment, they are just standing around, but if they notice my exaggerated "sneaking away..."
I read a recent
article in The Atlantic about
some scientists who taught rats to play hide-and-seek as part of a larger study
about the neuroscience of play. I’m riveted by animal behavior, I’m a huge fan
of play, and I find neuroscience interesting, so an article like this can send
me straight down a rabbit hole of further reading, investigation, and thinking
while gazing out the window.
The abstract of the
study, which was originally published in the magazine Science, concludes, “The elaborate cognitive capacities for
hide-and-seek in rats suggest that this game might be evolutionarily old.”
… the game is ON! “We’re watching you!”
Animal behavior experts have long speculated about the
purpose of play; it is thought to be a sort of behavioral practice time, when
predator species practice stalking and hunting prey, and prey species practice
escape tactics (such as running and dodging) and rudimentary self-defense
behaviors such as kicking or biting. And of course, all species tend to engage
in playful social behaviors, such as social grooming. The play of humans
incorporates all of these things!
All mammals play the most when they are young, and most
species spend less and less time playing as they mature. Interestingly, humans
and dogs are two species who retain a greater than average interest in play
well into their senior years, though the “games” may change greatly over time.
This is why good dog trainers frequently recommend using play as a reinforcer
for a dog’s behavior that the owner likes or wants more of. Mutually enjoyable
play also helps strengthen the bond between dogs and their humans, and keeps
them engaged and motivated to pay attention to and work with us.
Hard to get them in one frame. Woody is faster…
Interestingly, hide-and-seek is a favorite game of many humans and their dogs, me and mine included. Both my dignified senior dog, Otto, and my always goofy, playful four-year-old Woody will leap to their feet and stare at me if I signal the start of a game by just looking at them and then pantomiming an exaggerated sneaking out of the room: Oh, it’s on! they seem to say. They know to wait for me to whistle before starting their search, without me having to tell them to “stay.” I never taught them this, but if they come and find me before I’m actually hidden, I just tell them, “Aw, you wrecked it!” and resume doing whatever it was that I was doing before I initiated the game. So they learned that if they wait for the whistle, I’m both more difficult to find and I almost always let out that inadvertent squeal of joy and surprise that humans almost can’t help but make when they are discovered hiding by their intensely seeking dogs. And then we all celebrate with laughter and a little bit of roughhousing.
…but Otto is far more observant of clues, like the sound of the camera’s motor drive. The party starts when they reach me. Good dogs!
Mutually enjoyable play is so reinforcing for most dogs, that I would hazard a guess that people who play with their dogs would rate their dogs’ behavior – or at the very least, the strength of their relationship – more highly than people who don’t play with their dogs. Shoot, if I were a scientist with time and money to spare, I’d try to find a way to test this hypothesis. Instead, I’ll just ask you guys: Do you play with your dogs? How and why?
This is Maddie, who stayed with me until the evacuation was over.
We had a little practice fire drill here last week. I mean,
there was an actual fire, and the mandatory evacuations that were ordered were
close enough to have me putting my “go bag” by the back door and putting the
dogs’ collars on and their go bags in the car. But we didn’t have to evacuate,
and the fire crews got the fire subdued within 48 hours of its eruption, so
that was all good.
However, I had the opportunity to help another friend who did have to evacuate, and we learned a
few lessons together.
Lesson #1: Always Have Backup Phone Numbers
When I saw the location of the fire on the maps published by
Cal Fire (the fire-fighting agency that responds to all fires in California
that happen in the spaces between other fire-fighting jurisdictions) on
Twitter, I texted my friend Dorothy right away; she was right in the path of
the thing. No response. Then I called her. The call went straight to voicemail.
Lesson number one: Have backup phone numbers! I have only her cell phone
number, not her home phone number, and she only carries her cell when she’s not
home. So, knowing that ahead of time as I did, I should really have made more
of an effort to get her home number programmed into my phone.
I decided to head to her house. Already, there were
California Highway Patrol cars parked in the area, blocking access to a number
of roads near her – but fortunately her road was still accessible.
As I pulled my car into the front of her house, she was just
getting out of her own car. It turns out that she had just gotten home from a
long day out of town and was scrambling to catch up to the whole situation (and
she never turns her phone on when she’s driving). She heard about the fire on
the radio as she was driving home, and heard that there were mandatory
evacuations on roads very close to her home. I gave her a hug and said, “Tell
me what I can do.”
I should probably mention that my friend is 80 years old.
She’s a very active 80-year-old; in
fact, she is my horseback-riding buddy. She has three horses and still competes
in endurance races. But she also has a 92-year-old husband who is not quite as
active and able as she is, three cats, and one not-very-well-trained dog. We
had some work to do.
The good news: Her horse trailer is always hooked up to her
truck and ready to roll. It contains a dressing room that has a place for
humans to sleep and a miniature kitchen and bathroom, so the cats and dog and
humans can camp out in the there, too. The bad news: It’s a two-horse trailer
and she has three horses.
She told me that she would send her husband to a friend’s
house to stay. She could use some help to clean out a dog crate for the cats,
and to get some feed for the horses and halter them. She would look for the
cats and get her own things together. She said, “I can take the two horses to
Camelot (a stable, the evacuation site for large animals in our area), drop
them off, and come back.” OK, we had a plan.
Lesson #2: Always Have Important Addresses On Hand
I grabbed her dog, Maddie, who was already running around
barking at everything, and put her in my car. I figured Dorothy would be able
to catch the cats much more easily without Maddie underfoot. I filled up a
bunch of buckets with hay cubes, and put halters on the horses. I tried to
check Twitter, to see how the fire fighters were progressing, but I can’t get a
signal at Dorothy’s house.
I said, “Let me take Maddie to my house. I have a big crate
I can put her in. I will also get news about the fire and see if I can find
another spot in someone else’s trailer for the third horse. Then I will call
you on your cell, or text you anything important, so put your cell in your
pocket.” She agreed.
I can’t get a signal until I am about two miles from
Dorothy’s house. That’s why I got a little discombobulated when I reached
another friend who has horses and who might have been able to pick up Dorothy’s
third horse – and I realized I didn’t know Dorothy’s address, only how to get
there. Lesson two: Make sure you have the physical address of the people you
are trying to help!! I could neither ask Dorothy nor look at her street sign
nor the number on her fence. I explained Dorothy’s location to my friend on the
phone as well as I could, and said I would call her back and let her know the
address for sure. I hoped we wouldn’t need the ride for that horse, that
Dorothy had enough time to take two trips.
As I drove toward my home, I realized that I had recently
loaned the crate that I intended to put Maddie in to another friend, who was
out of town. Yikes! So I had to drive to that friend’s house, load the pieces
of crate onto the top of my car and tie it down (it’s a Great Dane-sized crate
made of flat panels that get fastened together in the corners with long rods),
and then drive home. Once there, I checked the fire maps online. They hadn’t
changed – but whether that was because the fire fighters were holding the line
or because the news hadn’t updated yet, I did not know. I texted Dorothy a few
times, with no response. I left Maddie in the big crate and headed back to
Dorothy’s house.
Lesson #3: Always Have Backup Keys
By now, it was pitch dark outside. But as I pulled into her
driveway, I could see that her husband’s car was gone; he had already left to
stay with their friends. And two of the horses were in the trailer, and the
cats were in the big dog crate, in the back seat of her crew-cab truck. Good,
good, good! But Dorothy looked distraught and was near tears. “I lost the key
to the truck!” she told me. “I had it with me, but now I can’t find it!”
Lesson number three: Always have a backup key to your
getaway vehicles!
With smoke hanging thickly in the air, we searched for
almost an hour. In her house. In the barn. Down the driveway. In the car. In
the cab of the truck, the back of the truck, the dressing room of the trailer.
I even opened the horse trailer door, where the horses waited impatiently and looked
around their feet, in case she had dropped the key while tying their halter
ropes. We were nearly in despair when I found the key in a place that Dorothy
had already looked: under the hay that she had thrown to the horse that we were
leaving behind. The horse had been eating this whole time, and the key and its
ring was nearly buried in the dirt and picked-over hay, but I have never been
so happy to see a glint of metal in a horse’s food in my life.
As I write this, days later, Dorothy and I have had a
discussion about our little fire drill. I have put her address and home phone
number into my phone. She is having a spare key made for her truck, and is
going to hide it in a location in the barn that she will disclose to her sister
(who lives nearby and also has horses) and me. We both are going to post a “to
do” list of things that we don’t want to forget in the event of another
evacuation or emergency. (She forgot a cell phone charger and her
prescriptions, which fortunately weren’t absolutely needed to survive for the
two days she stayed evacuated. When I went to her house in the dark, I forgot
the flashlight that sits next to my back door, and nearly ran my cell phone
down to zero battery by using its flashlight function instead. Dumb!)
Important Emergency-Preparedness Link
Here in rural Northern California, wildfire is always going
to be a possibility, so all of us in this situation have to keep an evacuation
plan in mind – for ourselves and for all of our animals. In other parts of the
country, you may have to be ready for other natural disasters: hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, avalanches. Even those who live in cities
should have a go-bag packed and ready with certain items, and a checklist of
things to take along in case of a disaster. I can tell you that there is a huge
difference between how much you will forget when you are thinking about it
right now, while you read this in comfort and security on your computer or
tablet, and how much you will forget if you are in the dark with the smell of
smoke swirling all around and your beloved pets and family counting on you to
get it together. So let this be my annual reminder to you! Make a checklist!
Put together a go-bag! Update your phone and address book!
Here are some emergency-preparedness links I hope you find
helpful:
There are many global environmental disasters that I am
concerned about in a big-picture way, but at this time of year, the one that I
am personally and most immediately afraid of on behalf of my dogs has to do with harmful
algal blooms (HABs), also known as toxic blue-green algae.
When certain types of algae experience a sudden burst of
growth, they can produce toxins that effectively poison the water. Animals that
drink the water, inhale water droplets, or swim in the water and lick
themselves later can all become sick and die from these toxins.
Staying Away Our Favorite “Watering Hole”
The town I live in has a good-sized river running through
it, the Feather River, an integral component of the California State Water
Project. The river flow is actually split into two halves, with half the water
flowing through the center of town in the river’s historic bed, and half
flowing through a canal into two shallow man-made lakes, referred to locally as
the Forebay and Afterbay. There are thousands of acres of open space on either
side of the river, and even more acres of land surrounding these lakes – and
this is where, for 13 years now, I have been walking and swimming with my dogs.
Year-round, we walk in these open spaces, referred to as the Oroville Wildlife
Area, and my dogs drink, wade, and swim, no matter what the weather.
In one of our favorite Afterbay locations in June, when we still had little foster guy Odin with us.
But late this summer, as in the past couple of years, there
have been warnings about toxic algae keeping me away from our favorite places
to cool off.
There are a few small ponds in the Wildlife area that turn
brilliant green late in the summer – and I have avoided those areas like the
plague; that just makes sense. Also, there are a few places on the edges of the
lakes that are particularly shallow and the water is still; it’s never turned
the bright green that often indicates a HAB, but it starts looking greener than
normal. When I see this, I leash the dogs and we walk on until we get to places
where the water looks clear.
It’s Not Just Obviously Green Water
But just this past week I read about a family who lost four
of their five dogs after the dogs drank and swam in a pond on their farm in
Michigan – a pond whose water looked perfectly clear! The toxin in that case
was found in the mud at the bottom of the pond.
And last week, the major newspaper published in our state Capital, the Sacramento Bee, ran an article about how quickly HABs can bloom, and how quickly they can kill dogs (and small children!) who ingest the water – and how the conditions are just right for these blooms to occur in local waterways.
My niece and Otto, paddleboarding on the Afterbay back in June.
This has me avoiding our regular walks,
taking them only to places where there are no natural water sources (carrying
lots of water for them to drink instead), and only taking them to parts of the
river where the flow is vigorous. I miss our favorite places, but won’t take a
chance with this!
We’ve run articles about toxic algae before, here and here. Please read, and know what to look for when out walking with your dogs near water!
A couple nights ago, I awoke in the middle of the night to
that one sound that no dog owner can ignore: that lurching sound of an
impending vomit. I leapt out of bed and saw my younger dog, Woody, standing
near my bed, trembling. He looked exactly like a toddler who woke up feeling
crummy and sought out his mom so he could barf in front of her. Well, that’s
exactly what he did do; he and my
older dog Otto always sleep in the living room.
“Oh, puppy,” I said. “What happened?” I grabbed my phone and
smashed buttons on it, trying to find the flashlight option through bleary
eyes. I scanned the room with the light but couldn’t see any actual puddles of
vomit, so I got up and walked him outside, in case he had to throw up some
more. He walked out onto the lawn and peed, went to the outside water bucket
and drank a little water, and then came back inside. No more trembling. He
settled back onto the couch and I went back to bed.
Sleeping “comfortably” after his vomit
In the morning, with clearer eyes, I found the vomit. It
was, of course, on one of the only two rugs in the house, an antique Persian
carpet runner in my bedroom. In the weak beam of my phone flashlight, I
couldn’t differentiate between the pattern in the rug and the small (now mostly
dried) puddle. There was some slimy stuff that was most certainly just
digestive juices, bits of nearly digested kibble, and . . . a blob of something. I used some paper towel
to pick it up, examining the blob closely.
A mystery from the depths…of Woody
At first I thought it was a piece of bone or glass, but it
was soft, with rounded edges. It was rubbery – if not actual rubber. I
took it to the kitchen sink and rinsed it off. It was for sure a hunk of
something rubbery and opaque. I could make out some molded edges.
If this happened two or more years ago, I wouldn’t have even
blinked. Woody chewed up lots of things when he was a puppy and adolescent dog,
and he vomited up everything that was indigestible, usually within a day or
two. I had a few surprises – as when he vomited up a piece of something I
hadn’t even known was missing – but mostly I was able to say, “Ah, that’s a
piece of that old Kong toy,” or “Finally, that chunk of the flying disk he ruined.”
But this time? He hasn’t chewed up anything for ages and
ages. I can’t even remember the last time he chewed up a toy or a forbidden item.
And I don’t at all recall any toy that we have ever had that was this
particular color, a sort of a slightly translucent, light root-beer-bottle
brown.
Could this thing have been in there for months or years? Is
that even possible? Perhaps, once upon a time, it was colorful and had sharp edges from being chewed up, and it has
lost color and gained smooth edges from marinating in digestive juices for
years?
This was the theory proposed by my husband, anyway. “What
are you talking about, he never chews up anything anymore?” he asked me,
incredulous. “He chews up his Squeak balls all the time!”
On the hunt for damaged toys
The mystery item is roughly the same shape as the hole in one of the dogs’ favorite Planet Dog Squeak balls, but it is about twice as thick (also the wrong color, and a bit translucent).
That is not exactly correct. Both of my dogs like to chew on
their favorite toy, the Planet Dog Squeak Ball, like they are chewing
bubblegum. The Squeak appears to be the perfect texture, or offers the perfect
amount of resistance for their jaws. But I don’t think either dog is exactly
bent on destroying the Squeak balls; they just chew the balls so much, that
eventually, the balls crack and start to fall apart. And when they start to
fall apart, then one of the dogs (usually Otto) will lay down with the ball and
chew it up into bits. It’s a process that takes months, but that goes fast at
the end.
To test my husband’s theory, I hunted around the property,
looking for all the Squeak balls in various stages of repair. I did actually
find one that had a missing chunk that was vaguely the same shape as the perplexing
lump from Woody’s midnight misadventure. But, no: It wasn’t a credible match.
The baffling item is about twice as thick as the “walls” of the Squeak.
So the mystery lives on. What is that thing? How long has it
been in there? Where did it come from? Is there more in there? I might never
know.
Someone sent me a link to this news story about a Texas dog owner being caught on video (taken inadvertently by a neighbor’s Ring security camera) beating her dog. The person whose security camera caught the event posted the clip on a social media site, where it was viewed by neighbors – and eventually, a local law enforcement officer. The local police department shared the video even more widely, asking for the community’s help in identifying the woman. Eventually, the woman was identified and questioned. Her explanation for her behavior? “Police say the woman admitted she hit her dog after she was forced to chase him when he ran from home.”
Well, beating and kicking him is a great way to make him
want to be home. (SARCASM ALERT.)
It should be obvious that hitting and kicking a dog teaches
a dog NOTHING (except perhaps to run faster from his or her abuser next time).
It’s strange to me, however, that many people struggle with
keeping their dogs inside when their doors or gates are open – and with being
able to recall their dogs from some tempting fun.
Train a recall often and make it fun
Waiting inside door, no force or fear required
When people come to my house, they will undoubtedly be met at the door by my canine greeters. When I open the door, many (if not most) people who don’t know my dogs personally will initiate some sort of blocking maneuver, as if to prevent the dogs from escaping out the door. I am forever saying, “It’s okay! They aren’t going anywhere! Look, they come right back!” (Of course, I could tell my dogs to stay inside instead of allowing them to go outside when I’m letting someone into the house; they’re perfectly capable of holding a sit-stay or down-stay indoors – but I rarely consider this, as it’s not even slightly a problem if they slip outdoors; I can call them back without fail.)
I’m not bragging; their recall is something we practice constantly, if not daily. And it’s not a
chore or a drill, I keep it fun! Often when I call them, it’s to initiate a
game of fetch or hide-and-seek. Sometimes they get lunch meat, or scraps of my
lunch. Sometimes I call them in from chasing a squirrel – and their reward for
a prompt recall is encouragement to go chase the squirrel again! I keep our
recall practice unpredictable, enjoyable, and always rewarding in some way.
Here’s how to train – and maintain – a solid recall
For more about keeping your dog’s recall fresh and quick,
see the following WDJ articles:
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After his diagnosis of lymphoma, Scout was given greater latitude to do the things he enjoyed, consequences be darned.
In August 2011 my friend Tory felt a couple of small lumps on the throat of her 13-year-old mixed-breed dog, Scout. Within a couple of days of discovery, Scout was diagnosed with lymphoma.
While Scout was still relatively healthy, Tory’s veterinarian guided her to define what Scout’s quality of life should be so that there were clear guidelines in place as the disease progressed, preempting any “bargaining” that could occur if he declined past those non-negotiable limits. Scout was started on prednisone and underwent the CHOP protocol (with a few breaks between treatments for gastric upset); the lymphoma was successfully put into remission.
At the end of the year, five months after diagnosis, the lumps had reappeared and Scout was panting, lethargic, and generally uncomfortable. Those guidelines Tory had put in place earlier allowed her to be clear in her decision not to pursue any further treatment. Scout enjoyed two weeks of bucket-list adventures, including his favorite meal of a Thanksgiving dinner, before he was assisted with his passing.
Not long after, my friend shared the following observation with me:
“After Scout’s diagnosis, I became way more lenient with his loud mouth. In fact, I began embracing his ‘stand in the middle of the dog park and bark’ antics. I would just watch him and laugh rather than ignore him or try to stop him. When I realized he was at the end of the line, he was allowed to eat at the kitchen table with us. He demanded food and got it served to him on a fork – while we were eating. Although he often ate whatever I was eating anyway, he had always waited until I was finished and then he’d be given some leftovers.
“The most interesting behavior change, though, took place within me. Before Scout’s illness, I wouldn’t let him do those types of things, those things that used to annoy me. After diagnosis, I viewed those behaviors from a different perspective; I found them hilarious and I embraced them.”
Most people are aware that dogs have far more olfactory cells in their noses than we humans do. Dogs also have a far larger area in the brain devoted to analyzing the things that they smell. It’s been estimated that this area in the dog’s brain is 40 times greater than ours. It makes sense, then, that employing the dog’s nose is a great way to engage his brain!
All dogs have noses – and they all know how to use them. Our awareness of our dog’s nose capabilities is nothing new. We humans have long taken advantage of our dogs’ scenting prowess in a variety of ways – hounds who track game, rescue dogs who search for missing persons, narcotics detection dogs who find hidden drugs, and much more. Recently, however, both science and the dog-training world have taken a new look at and developed a new respect for the dog’s olfactory abilities, and what putting them to use can do for your dog’s mental and behavioral health!
Know this about Dog Noses
First, some basic biology. According to Alexandra Horowitz, Ph.D., psychology professor and head of Barnard College’s Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Columbia University in New York, while humans have about 5 million olfactory cells, dogs have between 200 million and 1 billion. Did you get that? Between 200 million and 1 billion. So even the dogs at the low end of that range have 1,000 times as many olfactory cells as we humans!
Dogs also have a “second nose” – the vomeronasal organ (also called Jacobson’s organ), which enhances the dog’s ability to detect and identify scent. These two factors combined help to explain why our dog’s sense of smell is so much better than our own.
Nosing Around
Today, dog noses are employed in a long list of activities that go far beyond hunting for game. The list is ever expanding, and we are just beginning to recognize the benefits the dogs themselves reap from being allowed and encouraged to use their super-noses.
The rapidly growing popularity of K9 Nose Work competition and titling has brought revelations to the dog-training world about the behavioral advantages of encouraging dogs to use their noses. A growing number of shelters and rescue groups are also realizing the benefits of allowing/encouraging their canine charges to engage in scenting activities to make their dogs more adoptable. Many previously fearful dogs have come out of their shells and gained confidence in leaps and bounds as a result of doing scent work – perhaps because it is so innately reinforcing to them, and they are so capable of success.
Most humans recognize how immensely success contributes to our self-confidence. The same is true of dogs (and other species). Even something as simple as the “Find it!” game (described on the next page) can do wonders to help a shy or fearful dog adjust to the scary world. If you are interested in enrolling your dog in K9 Nose Work classes and/or competition there are certified trainers all over the country who can help you; see “Sniff Out These Resources,” above.
Scent and Cognition
Horowitz has been exploring the connection between a dog’s sense of smell and his cognition. A “sense of self” or self-recognition is one of the elements of cognition, and the long-held test for self-recognition has been an animal’s ability to recognize himself in a mirror. The way this is usually tested is to put a dot of colored paint on the face of the subject and hold up a mirror. If the subject touches the dot on his own forehead, the conclusion is that he realizes it’s him in the mirror – he has a sense of self. If he touches the dot on the reflection instead, he supposedly does not recognize himself.
As of 2015, only great apes (including humans), a single Asiatic elephant, dolphins, orcas, and the Eurasian magpie had passed this test. A wide range of species have reportedly failed the test, including several species of monkey, giant pandas, sea lions, and dogs.
Recognizing that dogs may have a stronger self-recognition through scent rather than sight, Horowitz devised a study to test this, by allowing them to smell the scent of their own urine and another dog’s urine. The results of her study seem to confirm her hypothesis. Her subject dogs spent more time sniffing another dog’s pee than their own, indicating a self-association with their own scent, hence a sense of self.
Scent as a Reinforcer: “Premack” It!
Switching from science back to practical (with a touch of science) if you are frustrated by your dog’s constant sniffing on walks, here are a couple of things to consider:
As humans we really rely on our sense of vision. Imagine if you were walking along a path with gorgeous vistas, beautiful scenery, and amazing wildlife, and your guide kept grabbing your hand and dragging you along every time you wanted to stop, take in the view, and maybe take some pictures. That’s how your dog feels.
When you take your dog for a walk, who is the walk for, anyway? If it’s so she has an enjoyable experience, consider her preferences, and let her stop and sniff!
You can use the Premack Principle to teach your dog to walk more willingly with you even when there are tempting scents present.
To employ the Premack Principle, you use a more likely/more desirable behavior as the reinforcer for a less likely/less desirable behavior. (Some people call this “Grandma’s Law”: You have to eat your vegetables before you can eat your dessert.)
You can click-and-treat your dog for walking nicely with you, but if you occasionally tell her to “Go sniff!” as the reinforcer for polite walking, you’ll score big points in her eyes. Do it frequently and you’ll likely end up with a much more willing walking partner who trots happily next to you in eager anticipation of the next “Go sniff!” cue.
The Bond
There is one more incredibly important benefit of encouraging your dog to use her nose: Your presence during her highly reinforcing, very enjoyable scent activities will enhance your relationship with her, and strengthen the bond that you already have. What’s not to like about that?
So, consider the various options for playing with your dog’s nose, from the very simple “Find It!” to finding lost pets and humans, and everything in-between, decide what you want to do, and start getting nosey. Your dog will love you for it!
If competition isn’t your thing, you can do a simpler activity at home with your dog that we call Nose Games. You can do just the easy parts – hiding treats in a room while your dog watches – or go all the way to the advanced stages, where your dog can find missing pets and people.
Not long ago we had a client in our Nose Games class with her 8-year-old son. The family’s enthusiastic 20-pound Terrier mix ultimately learned to find the boy when he hid in the woods!
In Nose Games, you teach your dog to look for and find hidden objects when you ask her to. This is an exceptionally useful activity, as it uses lots of energy and can tire out even a very active dog. Also, it has very practical applications as well – including helping shy or fearful dogs gain confidence. And dogs love it!
We start with treats, since most dogs will happily look for food. You can eventually ask your dog to look for hidden objects (such as favorite toys, or your lost keys) and even hidden or missing humans and other animals!
1. Start by “hiding” treats as the dog watches, in the dog’s plain view.
Have your dog sit and wait/stay. (If she doesn’t know wait/stay, have someone hold her leash.)
Walk about six feet away, show her a treat, remind her to stay, and place the treat on the ground.
Return to her side (remind her to stay!). Turn and face the treat, then tell her “Search!” (If she won’t get up until you release her from the stay, say “Search!” and then give your release cue.) She should run right out and eat the treat. Repeat a half-dozen times.
2. Next, “hide” the treats in really easy places, while your dog watches.
Have your dog sit and stay. Let her watch you “hide” a treat in plain view (behind the leg of a chair, by a waste basket, etc.).
Return to her side (reminder her to stay!). Turn and face the treat, then tell her “Search!” She should run right out and eat the treat. Repeat six or so times.
3. Ask her to sniff an item that has the scent of a treat and add a cue, such as “Scent!”
Have your dog sit and stay. Let her watch you hide several treats in plain view.
Return to her side (remind her to stay!). Turn and face the treats, rub one of the treats you’re using on a paper towel, hold the towel in front of her nose (don’t let her eat it!) and tell her “Scent!” (Don’t worry if she doesn’t appear to sniff it.)
Then tell her “Search!” She should run right out and eat the treats. Repeat six or seven times, asking her to sniff the item that contains the treat scent and giving her the “Scent” cue before each attempt.
4. Hide treats in locations that require a little more effort to detect.
Have your dog sit and stay. Let her watch you hide a treat in a harder place (behind a chair leg, etc.).
Return to her side (don’t let her get up!). Turn and face the treat, do “Scent!”, then tell her “Search!” She may have more difficulty finding this treat. Don’t help her! This is where she starts learning to use her nose. If you help her, she won’t use her nose – she’ll learn to wait for you to tell her where it is. If she truly can’t find it, reset, and hide it in an easier spot. Make sure she watches you! Repeat a half-dozen times.
Gradually hide the treat in harder places, having her “Scent!” before each set. “Harder” spots are on top of things, inside of other things (like a shoe, or on a shelf in a partially opened cupboard or closet), or inside open containers on raised surfaces.
Now hide multiple treats, in easy and challenging spots. Have your dog sit and stay. Let her watch you hide two to three treats in somewhat easy places (behind a chair leg, etc.).
Return to her side (don’t let her get up!). Turn and face the treats, do “Scent!,” then tell her “Search!” She may have more difficulty finding multiple treats. If necessary, indicate an area by spreading your arms and saying “Search here!” Don’t point to the treat! This is where she really starts using hers nose. If she truly can’t find it, reset, and hide it in a slightly easier spot. Make sure she is watching you! Repeat a half-dozen times.
Gradually hide treats in harder spots, having her “Scent” each time before you send her.
5. Hide the treats when the Dog is Out of the Room; NOW IT GETS REALLY FUN!
Put your dog in another room. Hide two or three treats in somewhat easy places.
Bring her back to the room, have her “Scent!” then tell her “Search!” She may have more difficulty finding multiple treats. If necessary, indicate an area by spreading your arms and saying “Search here!” Don’t point to the treat! If you help her, she won’t use her nose. If she truly can’t find it, reset, and hide it in a slightly easier spot. Repeat a half-dozen times, doing “Scent!” each time.
Gradually hide treats in harder spots.
6. Generalize “Search” to Other Objects. Start with her favorite toy!
Generalize her “Search” behavior to other objects as you desire, starting with a favorite toy. Rub the toy on the paper towel, and start back at Step 1, placing the toy in plain view and move quickly through to Step 5.
Next, use less favorite or neutral objects. For humans, rub the human’s scent on a paper towel (have them rub their neck with the paper towel). Then have the human hide, in an easy spot at first (let the dog find the human in plain view, then watch the human hide behind a barrier, or around a corner, then through Step 5.)
7. Teach your dog to perform a specific behavior that will indicate when she has found something.
Pick a behavior that your dog already knows well, or teach her a new behavior like “Speak,” “Down,” “Touch with your paw,” etc., that you want to be the indicator behavior. Teach her a new cue for that behavior, by saying (for example) “Mark!” and then cueing the behavior.
With your dog watching, put a treat in a box with holes in it, or out of her reach, so she can find it but not get to it.
Tell her “Scent!” and “Search.” Follow her to the treat, and when you can tell she has found it, tell her “Mark!” and cue her indicator behavior if necessary (if she doesn’t do it on the “Mark” cue). Repeat until she starts to automatically offer her indicator behavior when she gets to a treat that she cannot access herself.
Stop following her to the treat, and invite her to come back to you to offer the mark behavior, until she comes to you automatically to mark.
Then add other objects, and eventually increase the difficulty by having her out of the room when you hide your objects or humans.
Now you have a dog who can find a lost child in the woods, and come back and use her mark to you to tell you she has found him!
Summer is for reading, yes? These long summer days are a perfect time to relax and enjoy a good, long read that improves your dog’s life. For starters, get completely absorbed in a new training technique, such as Pat Miller’s introduction to “Nose Games”. It’s an enjoyable, effective way to improve his behavior and responsiveness to you. Advocates say that using their noses channels dogs’ energy in a productive way. Interest in this activity is growing rapidly nationwide. Step-by-step instructions follow her article about the benefits of putting your dog’s amazing nose to work.
The record-setter for a long read in this issue, however, is Barbara Dobbins’ article about canine lymphoma. It’s the latest in a series she’s been producing for us about the most common canine cancers. It’s a lengthy piece. While you might be tempted to skip by this chunk of our issue, because your dog doesn’t have lymphoma and you don’t know anyone whose dog has lymphoma, reconsider. When a dog is diagnosed with lymphoma, quick action is needed; with this cancer, treatment should commence within a day or two at most following its diagnosis. That’s not the time to try to understand the complexities of canine oncology.
If lymphoma does strike your dog, or a dog in your extended family, having this detailed article on hand will save you countless hours of online research, sorting through terrible website after misinformed website. We’ve compiled all the information that you or anyone would need in order to make fast, good decisions about the dog’s treatment and health management. All the information you (and even your general veterinarian!) would need, all in one spot. Frankly, articles like this are the reason I recommend keeping print versions of WDJ indefinitely.
I realize current subscribers have access to the digital form of all past articles (all you have to do is register). However, even our search engine doesn’t always immediately point you to the most comprehensive article first, and no website can present the information in a reader-friendly fashion, with sidebars in appropriate positions and meaningful photos and side stories (like the one about Scout).
Now you know I’d rather turn a page than scroll down a screen! But I find that when I’m in a panic about my dog’s health, I want paper in my hand; I want to be able to mark it up with questions, so I don’t forget anything.
I sincerely hope that neither you nor I ever need this article. But if any of our dogs is ever diagnosed with some iteration of lymphoma, it will be early, because we are informed about the early signs of disease and know what to ask for in terms of cutting-edge diagnostic tools and the latest treatment protocols.
This unfortunate pup, picked up as a stray, has a severe fungal skin infection. The only positive thing one can say about this is that it’s easy to get a smear from the draining skin lesions to examine under a microscope in order to confirm a diagnosis of a Coccidioides infection.
If you live in or travel to the Southwest, particularly Texas, California, or Arizona, it is important that you know about a fungal infection called coccidioidomycosis. It is also known as San Joaquin Fever or Valley Fever (VF). This fungus can pose a significant threat to our canine companions, as well as to their human counterparts. There are two well-known species Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii.
Coccidioides species are a hardy fungus that live in the soil. The dry, hot atmosphere of the Sonoran life zone are perfect for it. High winds, dust storms, and earthquakes encourage the release and spread of spores. Infection occurs when the spores (called arthroconidia) are inhaled. Lung disease develops and then spreads throughout the body to the lymph nodes and organs. Every system from the brain, skin, eyes, and bones can be involved. This is known as systemic or disseminated infection. Coccidioidomycosis can be a devastating disease. It is important to know the progression, symptoms, and treatment for this condition.
Valley Fever typically incubates in the body for one to three weeks, but it can lie dormant for years before symptoms develop. This makes it absolutely critical to always let your veterinarian know any travel history (including if your dog was adopted from another area of the United States). It may not seem like important information, but it could be life-saving.
Research indicates that most dogs living in endemic areas are exposed to Coccidioides species and clear the infection without significant illness. They may develop mild respiratory disease from which they recover without specific treatment. A 2005 study showed that outdoor dogs were about five times more likely to contract this condition than indoor pets. Another study showed that dogs with greater than one acre of land on which to roam were at increased risk. Walking dogs on a sidewalk was protective.
Life Cycle
In the desert, Coccidioides species exist as a mold. The mold is in long, partitioned chains called hyphae. These fragment into tiny, individual arthroconidia, which are aerosolized under the right conditions (hot, dry, and windy) and inhaled by hosts including dogs, cats, and humans, settling in the lungs.
This new environment induces them to undergo a change. They turn into spherules that fill with endospores. Once full, the spherules rupture and release the spores into surrounding tissue. The endospores can then turn into spherules themselves and propagate the infection. This is why every system in the body can be involved.
Symptoms
The associated symptoms are seen in every system from the brain to the bones. Initially, the fungus replicates in the lungs, leading to pulmonary disease. In cases where the disease does not spread beyond the lungs, the infection is considered to be localized. It can be mild or develop into pneumonia. Once the infection spreads beyond the lungs and infects other systems, it becomes disseminated.
The most common initial symptoms are lack of appetite, weight loss, malaise, fever, and limping. The limping may shift from leg to leg. These are non-specific signs and can be seen with other fungal infections such as blastomycosis, histoplasmosis, tick-borne diseases like Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and bone cancers such as osteosarcoma.
The following organ changes can be seen:
Lungs. As mentioned above, a fungal infection in the lungs can cause pulmonary disease and pneumonia.
Central nervous system (brain/spinal cord). Coccidioides in the central nervous system can lead to seizures, behavioral changes, and lethargy.
Ocular. Uveitis is common with VF. The spores replicate in the eye tissue causing marked inflammation and discomfort. Outwardly, you may notice a whitish or reddish haze over your dog’s eye, the white of the eye (sclera) may appear red, and weeping may occur. The eye may appear sunken/smaller than normal.
Bones. Valley Fever is particularly damaging to the bones. Osteomyelitis (destruction of the bone as a result of the spores and inflammation) can occur. It typically occurs in the long bones (the limbs), but it can affect any bone in the body. Radiographs (x-rays) usually reveal a destructive lesion and a periosteal reaction – when the bone begins to try to heal the lesion by producing more bone.
An x-ray of a two-year-old Bloodhound with a veritable (and helpfully diagnostic) “fungal snowstorm” in his lungs, caused by a Coccidioides infection.
It is impossible to differentiate between metastatic cancer and Valley Fever changes on x-rays, so this is when travel history, further diagnostic testing, and other information such as signalment (age and breed) become absolutely essential.
Cardiac. Coccidioides can affect the heart tissue, leading to pericarditis, a generalized term for inflammation of the heart muscle. It can also cause an accumulation of fluid in the pericardium (the sac around the heart). This is called pericardial effusion. It can cause heart failure quickly because the heart cannot contract properly.
Skin. Skin lesions are common with Valley Fever. These can look like open, weeping sores and bumps. They may form anywhere on the body. There may be many or a few.
Liver and kidney. Outward symptoms of liver problems caused by Valley Fever can include jaundice (yellow tint to the skin), abdominal distention, and vomiting; symptoms of kidney problems can include increased drinking and urinating.
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Diagnosis
Like many things with Valley Fever, diagnosis isn’t straightforward. Any time a patient presents with signs of significant illness, the first step in determining the cause is a thorough physical exam and history; the latter should always include any travel and adoption/purchase history.
A physical examination should proceed in a systematic manner from nose to tail. This exam should include full vitals, including weight and temperature.
Once these are accomplished, a “minimum database” – a set of tests that will provide the doctor with enough information to get him on the right track – is usually recommended. This generally includes a complete blood count (CBC), chemistry panel, and urinalysis. A complete blood count evaluates the red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts, as well as whether the cells are normal in size and morphology.
In dogs with coccidioidomycosis, blood work changes can include anemia, elevated white blood cells, and low platelets. These findings indicate systemic inflammation and infection but are not specific to Valley Fever. A chemistry panel may show low albumin, an important carrier protein, elevated globulins (proteins that fight infection), and alterations in liver and kidney values, if those organs are involved. Again, these findings are not specific to Valley Fever.
If limping or coughing is present, x-rays are usually recommended. Both the lungs and bones can have marked changes that are very difficult to differentiate from cancer. In the lungs, large, “fluffy” infiltrates can be seen. It is often described as a snowstorm pattern. Again, these look very similar to cancer. The lymph nodes in the chest may also be enlarged (called perihilar lymphadenomegaly). Again, this can be caused by both fungal disease and cancer. In the bones, the changes may include destruction of the bone cortex with extra bone proliferation as discussed above.
Urinalysis may showed elevated protein in the urine, but as with blood tests, this is very non-specific.
As a result, if your veterinarian suspects Valley Fever, more specific testing needs to be conducted to make this diagnosis.
If draining skin lesions are present, your veterinarian may take impression smears and aspirates. This is relatively simple and non-invasive. A microscope slide can be pressed directly onto skin lesions that are oozing. A small needle can also be introduced and a sample taken (called a fine needle aspirate or FNA). Sometimes, the actual Coccidioides spores can be seen in these samples, along with severe inflammation.
If bone involvement is present, aspirates or biopsies of the bone can be taken and submitted to a pathologist. This is more invasive than a skin FNA and can be painful, so it should be done under sedation or anesthesia. Bones affected with Valley Fever are weakened and at risk for fracture during this procedure. They may also fracture with normal activity such as walking and running. This is called a pathologic fracture.
A fungal culture can also be done. This is when the fungus is grown on a culture medium. Ironically, Coccidioides can be difficult to grow in the lab, and this test can take up to two weeks to indicate a positive result. As a result, it is not the most useful test when trying to make a rapid diagnosis. Since Coccidioides is contagious to people, it must be grown in a specialized, biohazard laboratory. It is rarely utilized for diagnosis.
Antibodies
Serologic testing is more specific for Coccidioides. Serologic testing evaluates for the presence of antibodies produced by the immune system. Antibody production is a complex process, but it is fascinating.
Any time a dog is exposed to an attacker like a fungus, the immune system responds quickly. Because the offending organism is not from the body, it lacks familiar markers on the cell surfaces. The immune system recognizes this and attacks. Two particular cells are very important. B-cells attack the fungus directly by coating it with antibodies and preventing replication. It also tags the fungal bodies so that other immune system cells will recognize and destroy them.
Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T-cells are also important. APCs break up the organism and then show the fragments to the T-cells, which then destroy them. After the threat has been neutralized, most of the immune cells disappear. The only exception is memory cells, which hang around. These help the immune system respond much faster the next time this organism is encountered.
Serologic testing takes advantage of our understanding of this process. Your veterinarian will submit a blood sample to a laboratory that can search for antibodies that are specific for Coccidioides. The earliest antibodies produced are called immunoglobulin M (IgM). These are found at high levels in blood and lymph and respond earliest and fastest to infections. The results are reported as a ratio.
A ratio of greater than 1:8 is considered evidence of infection. A ratio that is greater than 1:32 likely indicates an active, systemic infection. IgM levels rise within two to four weeks of exposure and then quickly wane. They can be gone by four weeks.
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is the second responding immunoglobulin and will last longer than IgM –sometimes, it’s detectable for years after infection. Often veterinarians recommend “paired” titers in which an early sample is taken, and then another is taken two weeks later to evaluate how the immune system is responding. This can also indicate active infection. Oddly enough, it is not always clear cut. Dogs have can negative titers (the immune system doesn’t react) and still be infected. They can also have high titers with a relatively mild infection. This is part of what makes the diagnosis of this fungal invader so tricky.
Titer tests for antibodies formed in response to Coccidioides are not 100% accurate. No test is. Other options include the EIA (antibody enzyme immunoassay) from MiraVista Diagnostics. This can be conducted on samples as varied as cerebrospinal fluid and urine. Unfortunately, it cross reacts with other fungal infections like blastomycosis and histoplasmosis, which also have similar symptoms, so an exact diagnosis may not be possible. This is when the dog’s travel history becomes critical.
Treatment
Antifungal drugs are used to target the Coccidioides fungus specifically. While antifungals are often very effective, they can cause side effects, such as loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy, and increased liver enzymes. The drugs that are most commonly used to treat VF are:
Itraconazole. This medicine is considered the drug of choice. It’s a good bit more expensive than the second-best drug, however.
Ketoconazole. Usually the most cost-effective treatment choice. Treatment is generally a minimum of three months and at least two months beyond the resolution of obvious symptoms. With extended therapy, it can cause cataract formation.
Fluconazole. Studies on the efficacy of this drug for Coccidioidomycosis are lacking, but if other drugs fail, it is an option.
Amphotericin B. This drug is often used as a last resort in cases when the other drugs listed were ineffective.
For dogs with systemic involvement, therapy must also be targeted at the affected organs.
In dogs with severe lung disease, treatment may involve hospitalization for oxygen therapy, intravenous (IV) fluids to maintain hydration, IV antibiotics to combat secondary bacterial infections, steroids to minimize inflammation secondary to fungal die-off (this may occurs when antifungals are given and incite an overwhelming inflammation response in the lungs).
In dogs with bone involvement, therapy must sometimes be very aggressive. If the fungus has destroyed bone enough to lead to pathologic fractures, amputation may be the only option. In cases where the bone is damaged but not destroyed, the lesions will sometimes improve with antifungal treatment, as the body regenerates the damaged bone.
In cases of ocular involvement with uveitis, prognosis for vision is guarded. Antifungals do not penetrate into eye tissue very well, and the eyes can serve as a permanent nidus for infection. This is painful. In these cases, enucleation (removal of the affected eye or eyes) is often the only way to rid the body of Coccidioidomycosis.
Prognosis
In cases where only the lungs are involved (localized infection), response rates to therapy are as high as 90%. When other systems are involved, the prognosis drops to around 60%. Response to therapy is dependent on each dog’s immune system and can be very hard to predict. The prognosis is worse if multiple bones and/or the central nervous system are involved.
Once treatment is discontinued, Valley Fever can recur. It is very hard to kill the organism entirely and reports of recurrence years later and in different body systems are common.
starting with a favorite toy. Rub the toy on the paper towel, and start back at Step 1, placing the toy in plain view and move quickly through to Step 5.
