One of my girlfriends called me on Monday, asking if she could come up with her dog and visit for a few days, to escape the barrage of fireworks in her Bay area town. She has a sort of high-strung German Wire-Haired Pointer (is that redundant?) and the seven-year-old dog was already a mess, shaking and panting, from the fireworks he had been hearing.
I said sure, because I would love to see her, but warned her that it might not be much better here in my rural northern state town. But I didn’t emphasize this too hard, because I thought a visit with her would be lovely. Also, in my office/house where she would be staying, there is an enormous old whole-house fan that is so loud, it would surely drown out the racket outside while cooling things off.
She arrived Tuesday, and we had fun hanging out. There were some intermittent fireworks cracking in town on Tuesday evening, and both Luke (her dog) and my senior dog Otto handled it about the same; if they heard the POP or BANG of some firework somewhere, they would turn their heads sharply, stop breathing for a moment, and then pant and shake for a minute or two. We were able to keep distracting them and, with the house fan and the TV volume on high, got through the night.
Neither Woody nor my tenant’s dog (whom I’m caring for during the week, since her owner will be away weekdays at his summer job at a summer camp) nor the last of the puppies (six) that I’ve been fostering, even seemed to notice. So the household count was eight calm dogs and two nervous ones. I thought we might make it through the Fourth unscathed.
On Wednesday morning I left Otto and Woody at my house, and drove to my office/house where my friend was sleeping in with her dog (she likes staying there, rather than my house, as she sometimes has trouble sleeping, and when she stays in the house with no one else in it, she is more comfortable getting up and watching TV or something if she can’t sleep). I fed my tenant’s dog and the puppies, and let them run around the yard to play, before returning to my house to start preparing to have some family come over for lunch (my sister-in-law and niece, who live an hour away, and my sister-in-law’s mom, who is visiting from France.) When I got home, I started busying myself with neatening things up and finding extra chairs, etc. I noticed that Woody was snoozing on the big bed in the living room. I thought, “Wow, he’s really growing up! All that activity yesterday must have worn him out, and he’s napping!”
Wrong!
When my sister and her husband arrived, in advance of my other guests, Woody jumped up to greet them; he loves them! But when he was greeting them with excitement, it was then obvious that he was frisking about on three legs; he wouldn’t set one hind leg on the ground! My sister said, “Oh my goodness! What’s wrong with Woody?!” and I, idiotically, was like, “I have no idea!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t anything too serious… but I felt it necessitated at trip to the ER anyway (after lunch, after my guests left). Somehow (no clue how), in the hour I had been gone, Woody had ripped one of his toenails nearly all the way off (nail avulsion). The nail itself was cocked at a horrible upward angle, with the bloody, sensitive core of the nail exposed and obviously causing poor Woody tremendous pain every time he let that paw touch the ground.
I have had dogs do this before, but almost always when their nails were too long and it was always in a front paw. I don’t have any idea of how he did this in a rear paw, middle toe. He sure is special!
Once again, I’m fortunate to have good pet insurance – with a dog like Woody, I can’t imagine not having it – and a good 24-hour veterinary clinic about a half-hour away. I left Otto home with my husband, and my friend and I got into the car with Woody and her GWP, and drove to the clinic. She generously was going to keep me company while we waited for treatment, and we hadn’t wanted to leave her dog home alone with the fireworks still being set off in town intermittently.
It was about 4 p.m. when we got there – and we were greeted by an unusual sight: an employee of the clinic, putting up a sign in the middle of the driveway entrance to the clinic. The sign read, “No parking except for veterinary clients.” It took me just a second to remember that the clinic’s back border is the city fairgrounds – where that town’s annual fireworks show is held. I started laughing. “Well, if we don’t get out of here by the time the fireworks start, at least they can sedate Luke for us!”
As with any veterinary ER on a holiday, the clinic was busy. We waited about two hours to see a vet, but fortunately she made short work of Woody’s nail. She administered a local anesthetic, clipped away (or pulled off, I didn’t see) the hanging nail, thoroughly cleaned the whole area, and bandaged it all up. We were sent home with antibiotics and some pain relief (the ubiquitous carprofen) and on the way home by 7.
Back in my smaller town, it was sounding like the Civil War. As I hurried around, feeding and cleaning up after the foster pups, my friend’s dog started going into his full-blown panic state. My friend was prepared with a veterinarian-prescribed dose of alprazolam (Xanax), and she gave him his first dose then. (The blood levels of the drug take about two hours to peak, and start to wear off in about four hours, so he needed one more dose to get through the night.) Woody was resting on the couch, obviously having experienced some relief from the procedure at the vet, and oblivious to the fireworks sounds, still audible behind the sound of the house fan and the TV.
By about 8 p.m., I was ready to go home and see how my own fireworks-phobic dog was making out, but as I prepared to leave, my friend’s dog kept pasting himself to my side. It was odd, because he usually doesn’t particularly seek me out for affection; he’s sort of intimidated by me, usually. But my friend was starting to get anxious about his anxiety, and I think that was making him more anxious! “Alright, you two,” I said. “Let’s all go home and stay at my house tonight.”
The rest of the evening, fortunately, was uneventful. A little wine for my friend and me, a little more Xanax for Luke, rest on the couch for Woody, a little pacing and comfort for Otto, and we finally all got to sleep. Thank goodness for modern medicine, and for pet insurance.
In the July issue of Whole Dog Journal, we have an article (“Dog DNA Tests: Mixed Results“) about the mixed-breed dog DNA tests that are available to dog owners for a fairly hefty price.
I have ordered a few of these tests over the years, gathering information about how they work and whether they appear to be all that helpful in identifying the breeds that have gone into a given mixed-breed dog.
In the above-referenced article, I shared the results from the tests I have ordered for my 10-year-old mixed-breed dog, Otto, over the years. All I can say about the results from the two most respected companies is that they mostly jibe with each other – and that both companies explain that dogs may not look anything like the breeds whose genes they contain!
We didn’t have room in the article to share the results of the tests I’ve had done on Woody, my younger dog. One can see that Woody clearly has some sort of bully breed or breeds in his lineage. In my experience, none of the companies are all that good about sussing out one bully breed from another. I can’t say I blame them; neither am I.
Here are Woody’s results from the two most reputable companies that provide these tests:
Wisdom Panel results (2016)
50.0% American Staffordshire Terrier
50.0% Labrador Retriever
This is interesting: Both Wisdom Panel and Embark say they will occasionally update your results, so you should log in to their site from time to time. When we most recently checked Woody’s Wisdom Panel profile, we saw his results had been changed. Now Wisdom Panel says he is:
62.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
25.0% Labrador Retriever
12.5% (mixed)
Woody! Where has all your Labrador gone?
Embark results (2018)
40.8% American Pit Bull Terrier
30.3% Labrador Retriever
19.9% American Staffordshire Terrier
9.0% Olde English Bulldogge
Are there any bully breed experts who care to explain the possible differences between these results, as well as the mix of breeds reported by Embark?
The funniest results came from a much smaller company – one that returned some very silly results on Otto, too.
DNA My Dog results (2016)
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Level 2, i.e., between 37%-74%)
America Staffordshire Terrier (Level 3, i.e., between 20%-36%)
Pembroke Welsh Corgi (Level 4, i.e., between 10%-20%)
Pug (Level 4)
Given both his looks and the fact that Woody stands 24 inches at the withers and weighs 70 pounds soaking wet…I am not sure I can find any room in my heart to buy the idea that he has ANY Corgi or Pug genes.
Want my honest take on these tests? The results from the larger, more reputable companies are fun and interesting, but tend to either confirm that a dog is mostly what he looks like he is, or bring up a breed that one hadn’t considered before because the dog doesn’t look anything like that (like Otto containing either 12.5% % American Staffordshire Terrier [according to Wisdom Panel] or 21.3% American Pit Bull Terrier [according to Embark]- REALLY?). I can’t honestly say the answers are all that satisfying, either way.
Medical research supports the use of local honey for dogs to combat their environmental allergies. Note that we said local honey. A local product contains tiny amounts of the pollen in your area, so that when your dog ingests the honey, his body can adjust to the potential allergens gradually, which should help prevent a full-blown attack. Hint: Be sure you’re dealing with an environmental allergic reaction. Itching, scratching, and hot spots can also indicate a food allergy. See “Suspect Your Itchy Dog Has a Food Allergy?” for more info.
Honey is a time-honored solution for soothing irritated throats and coughs. For kennel cough, you can use local honey, but Manuka honey for dogs with kennel cough may be your best choice. Made by bees pollinating the Manuka trees in New Zealand and parts of Australia, Manuka honey has the highest antibacterial properties of any honey in the world. It’s also the highest-priced honey in the world, and may cost three or four times what you might pay for local honey.
Manuka honey is also a top choice for a natural wound dressing. In fact, Manuka honey is FDA-approved for use on human burn patients. But any raw honey will help keep the wound area clean and moist, which promotes healing. Honey’s natural antibacterial properties reduce the chance of infection and protect the injured area. After cleaning the wound, spread on a thick coat of honey and then apply a light bandage, if necessary. Of course, you may have to also use an Elizabethan collar or similar device to stop your dog from licking the area! Note: Deep, wide or puncture wounds should always be examined by a veterinarian before applying any medicine. See “How to Treat Dog Wounds” for more on this.
4. Raw Honey Reduces Gastrointestinal Upset in Dogs
Honey can be jelpful for a dog’s upset stomach or diarrhea that might come from something simple, such as your dog feasting on fresh grass, a couple of doses of honey may help quiet and soothe his GI tract. Some veterinarians suggest honey for dogs to help control minor stomach ulcers, since honey’s natural antibacterial properties can help destroy bacteria that may be causing the ulcer. Again, you need to be certain about what you’re dealing with, so seeking veterinary advice in these situations is wise.
5. Honey Can Give Dogs More Energy
Honey is a sugar, and sugar boosts energy. Anecdotal evidence shows that honey helps many older dogs regain some of their former spunk and drive. Many owners of canine athletes use honey to promote energy, endurance and vitality.
Otto on the day I adopted him, approximately 7 months old.
Above my desk, I have a five-foot by four-foot poster*, mounted on hard foam-core, featuring a fantastic photo of my dog Otto along with his name and his adoption date on the poster: June 16, 2008.
And yet, when I received a card in the mail earlier this week from a work colleague, someone who works on WDJ’s website and marketing team from our publisher’s headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, wishing Otto a happy 10th “Adoptaversary,” I was flummoxed for a minute. Oh my goodness! Did I actually miss the opportunity to celebrate the TENTH anniversary of the date I adopted my beloved Otto?? And how did my colleague remember when I did not? (I asked! The answer was, in a blog post about vaccinations some weeks ago, I mentioned Otto’s date of adoption, as it related to how long it has been since he has been vaccinated . . . and she actually took note of that date! And found a card that specifically mentioned the 10th “Adoptaversary” of a dog!! And sent it to me on time!)
The fact is, while I have definitely been counting the years that I have shared with Otto, I don’t think I have ever celebrated his “gotcha” date (as other dog owners I know call it). And that’s a shame, since I don’t celebrate his birthday (estimated to be sometime in November), either. And I treasure our time together; I really should be celebrating this date every year – and I’m putting it on my Google calendar so I won’t miss it next year. My sincere thanks to my colleague for the card and the nudge! What’s WRONG with me??
Do you celebrate the date that you adopted your dog? Or his or her birthday, if you know it?
* I got the poster from a chain of California-based pet supply stores, Pet Food Express. They have something called their “My Mutt Program,” whereby a person can send them proof that they have made a donation of $250 or more to a shelter or nonprofit animal rescue group, and Pet Food Express will send a professional photographer to take a photo of their pet, have a huge poster made, and hang it in the Pet Food Express store of their choice for about six months… And after the poster hangs in the store for a while, it will be taken down and the pet owner gets the poster to keep. Check out the link. It’s an absolutely great program that encourages more donations to needy shelters and rescues, and provides owners with stunning art of their pets. And it makes a great gift! You can make a donation to your local shelter in a friend’s name and let THEM receive the photography session and poster.
The question of how best to feed dogs stimulates great debate and evokes strong emotions among dog folks. (Yes, this an intended understatement.) One of the most contentiously defended viewpoints in recent years is that dogs should not be fed diets that contain digestible carbohydrate (starch).
Two primary arguments are used to defend this position. These are:
A) Dogs are carnivores and have no dietary requirement for carbohydrate.
B) Dogs are unable to efficiently digest starch. Therefore, including starch-providing ingredients in dog foods is unhealthy and provides no nutritional value.
Like many persistent beliefs, there is some truth and some falsehood in both of these blanket claims. Let’s start with the first.
PROPOSED: Dogs are carnivores and have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates.
The first bit is false; the second bit is true. Dogs are classified within the taxonomic order of Carnivora, but like many other species within this order, dogs are omnivorous.
The term omnivore simply means that an animal consumes foods that are of animal and plant origin (dogs do this) and can derive essential nutrients from both animal and plant foods (ditto). Based upon this definition, animal nutritionists consider the dog to be an omnivore. By contrast, the domestic cat, along with other felid species, is classified as an obligate carnivore. This classification means that cats cannot derive all of their essential nutrient needs from plant foods and therefore have an obligate need for foods of animal origin in their diet.
The fact that dogs are omnivorous does not signify that they are not predatory (they are), nor that they do not seek out and enjoy eating meat (they do). All that it means is that dogs can consume and derive nutrients from both animal and plant matter.
If we consider the dog’s feeding behavior, it is clear that the majority of dogs enjoy and probably prefer to consume meat in their diet. However, they also scavenge and ingest a wide variety of food types, including starch-containing foods. Nutritionally, just like bears, who also preferably seek out animal source proteins, dogs are omnivores.
Personally, I am baffled as to why “omnivore” has become a fighting word among dog people. This label does not turn the dog into a carrot-munching, Birkenstock-wearing, canine hippie. Rather, it simply describes what the dog eats and is capable of deriving nutrients from: meat and plant matter. That’s all. Time for us all to calm down about this one.
Let’s move on.
So what about carbs? It’s true that dogs have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates; they can derive all the nutrients they need from protein and fat.
That said, cooked starch can provide a highly digestible energy source to dogs when included in their diet. From a nutrition standpoint, dietary carbohydrate spares protein. This means that when a body uses carbohydrate to provide needed energy, dietary protein is conserved from being used for this purpose and continues to be available for use to provide essential amino acids, build and repair body tissues, and support a healthy immune system. Therefore, including at least some digestible carbohydrate in the diet of dogs is generally considered to be beneficial.
The controversy about starch in dog foods revolves more around how much starch is in the food and the source of that starch, rather than its absolute presence or absence. Dogs can thrive on low-carbohydrate diets provided such diets are balanced and contain all of the essential nutrients. Diets formulated in this way are often highly palatable because of their high proportions of protein and fat. These foods are also generally very energy dense (lots of calories packed into a small volume of food), which means that portion control is important to ensure that dogs maintain a healthy weight.
Now for the second persistent statement that is often made about the dog’s nutritional requirements:
PROPOSED: Dogs cannot digest starch.
It should be obvious from the vast majority of dogs who survive on carb-heavy kibbled diets that this is unequivocally false. Dogs efficiently digest cooked starch, just like humans. However, they cannot digest raw starch (and neither can we).
Cooking results in the expansion of the small granules that make up starch, which allows digestive enzymes better access and increases digestibility. This is true for humans as well as for dogs, and this fact explains why we generally do not munch on raw potatoes.
We actually know the exact degree to which cooking increases digestibility of various starches. Ground grains such as rice, oats, or corn are about 60 percent digestible when fed raw to dogs. Cooking these ingredients increases the dog’s ability to digest them to almost 100 percent! This means that if you feed your dog 100 grams of uncooked oats or rice, only 60 grams will make it into his body to nourish him; 40 grams ends up in the large intestine where microbes ferment some of it, and a lot of that 40 grams ends up in your yard, as feces.
Conversely, when cooked, almost the entire 100 grams are digested and absorbed to nourish your dog. Again, not to put too fine a point on this, but the same holds true for humans.
The AMY2B Enzyme
Like humans, dogs have an enhanced ability to digest starch-containing ingredients, a change that has been directly tied to domestication. In 2013, a ground-breaking paper by Erik Axelsson of Uppsala University in Sweden identified a host of genetic changes that occurred as dogs evolved from their wolf ancestors.1 Three of these changes were alterations of key genes that code for enzymes involved in starch digestion, most notably and consistently, one labeled AMY2B.
This gene codes for the production of pancreatic amylase, an enzyme that functions to digest dietary starch. Although variation exists among individual dogs and breeds of differing geographic origin, the increased copies of the AMY2B gene correlate with higher levels of circulating pancreatic amylase in a dog’s blood, which means that higher AMY2B leads to more efficient starch digestion.2, 3, 4
On average, dogs have a sevenfold higher copy number of this gene when compared with present-day wolves. These changes in the dog’s genetic makeup coincide with the expansion of human agricultural practices and increased reliance upon starch-providing plants in both human and dog diets.
Dog Food Diet Selection
It is a fact that domestic dogs are better adapted to scavenging and to a diet that is higher in starch-containing foods than were their wolf-like ancestors. However, just because dogs can consume and digest starch, it does not necessarily follow that a diet that contains a high proportion of digestible carbohydrate is the healthiest way to feed them. One way of determining how much protein, fat, and carbohydrate dogs should have is to ask the dogs directly.
Historically, nutritionists have viewed diet selection in animals principally from the standpoint of energy balance. The basic assumption was that all animals, including dogs, eat to meet their energy (caloric) needs first. However, in recent years this premise has been challenged.
There is evidence that a wide range of species, including many birds, fish, and mammals, will self-select diets containing consistent proportions of the three major macronutrients -protein, fat, and carbohydrate – and that they regulate and balance their nutrient intake to maximize lifespan and reproductive fitness.
The recognition that macronutrient selection can be a driver for appropriate diet selection has led to several new studies with dogs and cats.
Domestic cats were studied before dogs and were found to consistently select a diet that was high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrate.5 This profile is consistent with that of other obligate carnivores and with the cat’s wild feline cousins. Interestingly, a recent study found that cats preferentially balanced their diets to a set protein:fat ratio, even when offered foods of different flavor preferences and containing animal- or plant-based protein sources.6 Although flavor and smell were important influences, the strongest factor for food selection appeared to be the total amount of protein in the food, rather than its source.
To date, only two controlled studies have been completed with dogs. In both, dogs have also demonstrated a similar talent to their feline friends for self-selecting the macronutrient content of their diets.7,8 The studies were conducted by different research teams and used somewhat different methodologies, but both reported that dogs preferentially selected diets that were low in carbohydrate and high in fat and protein.
When expressed as a percent of energy, dogs gravitated to a general distribution of 30 to 38 percent protein, 59 to 63 percent fat and 3 to 7 percent carbohydrate. Interestingly, wolves self-select diets that are even lower in carbohydrate: only about 1 percent. Initially, the dogs in these studies were attracted to very high fat diets, but over a period of several days reduced the proportion of fat and moderately increased protein.
An important finding of the most recent study was that when dogs were allowed to choose these dietary proportions over a period of 10 days, they substantially over-consume calories. Because of this, on average the dogs gained almost 3.5 pounds in just 10 days of feeding.
It’s Complicated
At this point in time, we know that dogs can better digest starch in their diet compared with their wolf ancestors (and with present-day wolves). This increased capability is at least partially due to an increase in the production of pancreatic amylase.
We also know that, like us, dogs digest cooked starches very efficiently, but cannot utilize raw starch. The inclusion of at least some level of starch in a dog’s diet provides an efficient source of energy (calories).
Finally, most recently, we have learned that when given the choice, dogs preferentially select a diet that is low in starch and high in protein and fat. However, self-selection of this type of diet (if fed without portion control) may lead to overconsumption and weight gain.
Still, none of this information provides evidence for the healthfulness of a diet containing some starch versus a diet that contains very low (or no) starch in terms of dog’s vitality, ability to maintain a healthy body weight and condition, development of chronic health problems, and longevity.
This has not stopped proponents of low-carb or carb-free diets from making such claims, however. The fact that dogs gravitate to a diet that is high in protein and fat and low in starch is not to be confused with evidence that such a diet has been proven to be healthier or is capable of preventing illness. We simply do not know.
What we need is evidence of whether or not dietary carbohydrate is harmful, beneficial, or, well, neither. Dogs are generalists after all. It is quite possible that they, like many animals, are capable of thriving on a wide variety of diet types, including those with some level of starch.
Like I said, it’s complicated.
Cited Studies
1. Axelsson E, Ratnakumar A, Arendt ML, et al. “The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet.” Nature 2013; 495:360-364 2. Arendt M, Fall, T, Lindblad-Toh K, Axelsson E. “Amylase activity is associated with AMY2B copy numbers in dogs: Implications for dog domestication, diet and diabetes.” Animal Genetics 2014; 45:716-722 3. Arendt M, Cairns KM, Ballard JWO, Savolainen P, Axelsson E. “Diet adaptation in dogs reflects spread of prehistoric agriculture.” Heredity 2016; 117:301-396 4. Reiter T, Jagoda E, Capellini TD. “Dietary variation and evolution of gene copy number among dog breeds.” PLOSone 2016; 11:e01148899 5. Hewson-Hughes AK, Hewson-Hughes VL, Miller AT, et al. “Geometric analysis of macronutrient selection in the adult domestic cat, Felis catus.” Journal of Experimental Biology 2011; 214:1039-1051 6. Hewson-Hughes AK, Colyer A, Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D. “Balancing macronutrient intake in a mammalian carnivore: disentangling the influences of flavor and nutrition.” Royal Society of Open Science 2016; 3:160081. 7. Hewson-Hughes AK, Hewson-Hughes VL, Colyer A, et al. “Geometric analysis of macronutrient selection in breeds of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris.” Behavioral Ecology 2013; 24:293-304 8. Roberts MT, Bermingham EN, Cave NJ, Young W, McKenzie CM, Thomas DG. “Macronutrient intake of dogs, self-selecting diets varying in composition offered ad libitum.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Nutrition 2018; 102:568-575
Linda P. Case is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting & Dog Training Center in Mahomet, Illinois. Linda is the author of Dog Food Logic, has a new book, Dog Smart, and writes The Science Dog blog.
On a gorgeous spring day in Montana, I was heading back from a romp in the mountains with my three dogs when we stepped out of the woods into a meadow, replete with song birds and a smattering of open range cows grazing peacefully. My trail companions quickly discovered, to their absolute delight, fresh, delicious cow pies.
It occurred to me, however, that I didn’t know the MDR1 (multi-drug resistance gene) status of the newest member of my three-dog crew, Hap. MDR1 is a genetic predisposition to adverse drug reactions to more than a dozen common veterinary drugs, and the gene is found predominantly in herding breeds. Hap looks to be mostly Border Collie with maybe, just maybe, a pinch of Australian Shepherd, so having this predisposition could put him in danger in this situation. Cows are often given ivermectin as an anti-parasitic agent, and the drug can be found shortly afterward in their droppings; eating these droppings can cause a fatal reaction in a dog with the MDR1 mutation. So, I put a moratorium on the afternoon’s pie sampling, much to the dismay of my crew, and off we strolled into the sunset.
When we got home and I began looking up information on MDR1 testing, I learned that many of the genetic tests for breed-typing now also include genetic health screens, including testing for the MDR1 mutation. I thought, why not solve the mystery of Hap’s breed-mix and get health information at the same time? It sounded like fun!
Kathryn Socie-Dunning
How Do Dog DNA Tests Work?
While some of the early mixed-breed identification tests used a blood sample, all of the products on the market today extract DNA from cells swabbed by the dog’s owner from the inside of the dog’s cheek. The swab is sealed in a container provided by the company and mailed off to the company’s lab. There, technicians extract your dog’s DNA from the swab, and use computers to identify and compare specific bits of it to bits taken from dogs of known lineage.
The genome of a dog contains about 2.5 billion nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA); researchers focus on “only” about 200,000 of these individual genes – or rather, microsatellites or repeating sequences of DNA called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced “snips”) that form signatures particular to various breeds.
Researchers must have enough SNPs from enough purebred representatives of each breed in order to have an adequate array of SNPs to which they can compare your dog’s SNPs. The larger the company’s database of samples from purebred dogs, the better. When a company fails utterly to suggest ancestors of candidate breeds that are remotely likely, it’s probable that it lacks enough breeds in its databanks to find good matches for your dog’s SNPs.
– DNA My dog Dog Breed Identification Test, $69. Identification of 92 breeds.
– DNA My Dog Breed Test plus Wolf-Coyote Hybrid Test, $89.
– DNA Breed Identification Test plus Full Genetic Screening, $189. Health screening identifies more than 100 diseases.
– Embark Dog DNA Test, $199. Identification of more than 175 breeds and more than 160 diseases. “We test 20 times more of your dog’s genes than other dog DNA tests.”
– Canine Breed Detection, $85. Identification for 250+ breeds, plus MDR1 and Exercise-induced Collapse (EIC) screening for drug and exercise sensitivities.
– Canine Breed Plus Disease Detection, $150. Identification for 250+ breeds, plus MDR1 and Exercise-induced Collapse (EIC) screening, plus advanced health screening for more than 150 genetic health conditions.
When Your Dog’s Looks Are Deceiving
That said, when dogs of various ancestry reproduce, the resulting pups may visually resemble other breeds entirely – but the genetic signatures inherited from their parents are more telling than the most dog-savvy eye. Take Clara, for example. Clara is a shelter rescue dog, adopted as a young adult, who was presumed to be mostly a Labrador, with a little something more medium-sized in the mix. Her owners, Gianna and Kip Savoie, guessed she had a herding breed somewhere in her lineage, given a lot of Border Collie-like behavioral characteristics they’d seen.
They sent a swab of her cheek to Embark for analysis. What came back was mostly what they had suspected: Labrador Retriever, a splash of Border Collie, but with a few smaller surprises and one very big one. This short-haired black dog was, in fact, declared to be more Golden Retriever (38 percent!) than anything else.
Based on the sharpest visual assessment, this may seem like an error, but it is in fact highly feasible.
Golden Retrievers carry a black gene that is expressed in their nose, the pads of their feet, their glamorous thick, black eye-liner, but not their coat. The black is blocked by the yellow gene, which is recessive, as is their characteristic luxurious long locks. A Golden Retriever bred to a dog lacking genes for yellow coloration and long coat, like a black Labrador, therefore, would result in a black dog with a short coat – a dog that looks a lot like Clara.
Some Puzzling Dog DNA Results…
On the more comedic end of the spectrum, Hap, my happy, hoppy, flying Border Collie/mystery-breed cross was declared by Wisdom Panel to be 88 percent Border Collie and 12 percent – ready for this? – Boston Terrier! Having never even seen a Boston Terrier in Montana in my 20 years living here steeped in all things dog, this struck me as highly unlikely.
Since I live in a rural, ranch-heavy area and the shelter from which I acquired this chap is small and more like a herding dog rescue than a general open-door shelter, I struggled to imagine where Boston Terrier genes could have possibly come from. On the other hand, Hap is definitely the most playful, gregarious dog I’ve known and these qualities fit the personality type of the Boston Terriers I’ve met, so maybe. Perhaps there was a Boston Casanova passing through that visited a ranch at just the right time. Strange things can happen.
But sometimes, the results do test the bounds of credulity. Take, as a case in point, the results returned by DNA My Dog from a sample from Otto, a highly-mixed breed dog belonging to WDJ’s editor, Nancy Kerns. Otto has been tested by several companies (see “Otto’s Results,” below). The two companies with the largest breed databases returned fairly similar results. But DNA My Dog, a much smaller company, returned results that were not just completely dissimilar to the results from the two larger companies, but also incredibly improbable. The breeds suggested are highly unlikely to be present in Otto’s geographic area of origin, and even less likely to be present in the identified combination.
When Dog DNA Results Don’t Make Sense
The companies that offer this service have a few standard explanations for results that don’t seem to make sense.
None of the companies would admit that their reference databases are of an inadequate size to accurately identify the SNPs from your dog – but they might suggest that this could be true of their competitors.
All of the companies will be quick to explain that there are hundreds of thousands of genes that are responsible for a dog’s appearance, and that many breed combinations result in dogs who look very different than what you would expect from that mix of breeds.
Also, genes in mixed breeds do not always combine in the same ways within all litter-mates, so size and physical and behavioral characteristics in the same litter of pups can and often do vary, sometimes wildly.
They also explain that the complexity of your dog’s mix will affect the accuracy of the results. First-generation crosses between two purebred parents are relatively easy to identify, but dogs who don’t have any purebred ancestors within several generations are much harder to identify with much certainty, as the length of the inherited SNPs that are unique to purebred dogs become much shorter with each generation of mixed-breed progeny.
Problems with identification can also arise when there is a lot of divergence within a specific breed-type, like in the case of Australian Shepherds and Border Collies, where you have field-bred lines and show-bred lines. The genetic signatures in the companies’ databases usually correspond with show-bred lines, so field-bred Aussies and BCs might even get assigned to a different breed altogether.
Both Embark and Wisdom Panel make it easy for consumers to contact them and ask questions about their dogs’ results. I called and asked a representative from Wisdom Panel to review Hap’s results with me and was told that the statistical confidence in the Boston Terrier finding was marginal, meaning there is a high probability this result is not correct. Hap could have 12 percent of something not represented in the Wisdom Panel database (such as field-bred Australian Shepherds), but since this unique signature does not currently exist in the database, he was assigned to the breed with the closest matching genetic signature. I was told that updates will be made to Hap’s report as new information is added to the database.
Which Dog DNA Test is Best?
Of the brands available, Embark and Wisdom Panel appear to be the most transparent about their methodologies and about the information available in their databases. They both make frequent updates to their products, while also being accessible to answer consumer questions. This makes them both rise to the top in my book. Note, however, that the basic Wisdom Panel 4.0 Breed Detection test costs less than half the price of the Embark test.
Other companies, like DNA My Dog, has a relatively small database with 92 breeds, very scant information available about their methodology, and I found it difficult to even find contact information to ask questions.
While commercial genetic breed-typing is still evolving, it is interesting and ridiculously fun, which is worth something. More companies are offering genetic health screens as well, which may prove useful for the long-term health care of your dog. A lot of it may not be applicable to your particular four-legged friend, so before shelling out the money, be sure to consult your veterinarian to find out what she or he recommends.
Otto’s Results
Otto’s results have morphed over the past eight years, with the unlikely Basenji disappearing and a bully breed and Australian Cattle Dog appearing in the mix. Note that the results provided by the two leading mixed-breed test providers are pretty darn similar – and that the results from the smallest company offering this service border on fantasy. (Those breeds are highly uncommon in Otto’s area of origin, and would be even more uncommonly seen in the same dog.)
2009: Wisdom Panel
German Shepherd Dog
Basenji
Chow Chow
Border Collie
2016: DNA My Dog
Level 3 (20%-36%): Collie, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Level 4 (10%-20%): English Setter, Norwegian Elkhound
2016: Wisdom Panel
12.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
12.5% Australian Cattle Dog
12.5% Border Collie
12.5% Chow Chow
12.5% German Shepherd Dog
37.5% (mixed)
2018: Embark
21.3% American Pit Bull Terrier
14.1% Australian Cattle Dog
13.2% German Shepherd Dog
12.3% Chow Chow
10.3% Labrador Retriever
8.0% Border Collie
4.3% Rottweiler
16.5% (“Supermutt”)
Kathryn Socie-Dunning lives with her husband and three dogs in Montana.
This morning I got up super early, so I could feed the foster puppies and mama, clean their pen, and still have time to drive an hour to pick up my 8-year-old niece, whom I was in charge of for the day. Her school year ended last week, and her camps and other organized summer activities start next week, and several people are spending a day with Ava this week to bridge the gap.
It’s a beautiful drive from my northeastern Sacramento Valley small town to her historic gold-country town, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. I drive through peach orchards and rice fields, and then start climbing in elevation into oak-studded foothills with cattle grazing the already dry, summer-brown grass, and up into an area whose topography is hidden under a solid canopy of tall pine trees. I like the drive a lot.
Except, this morning, as I drove along the last of the rice fields about a half mile from the two-lane highway that would take me up into the foothills, I saw an obviously lost dog on the road: a well-muscled, short, mouse-colored bully breed dog, an intact male. This isn’t your standard farm or ranch dog – and in case there was any doubt at all, the fact that he was wearing a harness, to which a four-foot leash was attached, ruled out the likelihood (for me) that he was a local dog who had roamed off his property. Most likely, in my opinion, was that he was in the back of someone’s truck, and rolled off when the person made the sharp turn onto or off of the nearby highway and onto or off of this bumpy farm-country road.
When I spotted the dog, he was trotting fast toward my car, right in the middle of the road, and there was a car stopped behind him. The driver, an elderly lady, had her window rolled down and she waved her arm out the window: “Look out!” I think she was trying to say. I stopped my car on the side of the road with the dog between us, and the dog stopped trotting. He looked left and right, and I could tell he was trying to decide which way to run. I got out of the car slowly and called brightly to him. “Hey pup! Buddy, come!” But as soon as he saw me he bolted, past the lady who was IN her car, and headed for the highway. Crap.
So I jumped in my car, sped past him, and stopped on the side of the road again, blocking his access to the highway. I looked back, hoping the other lady would get out of her car and help; she had driven off. But it didn’t matter, because the dog hadn’t hesitated. This time, when I got out of the car, he took off sideways, trotting away down a dirt road between two rice fields. I thought, maybe he would come to a dog. My dog-savvy young dog Woody was with me. I looked both ways, and called Woody out of the car. We trotted together a few feet up the dirt road, and he could see the big brawny dog trotting ahead of us by 150 feet or so. “Go get him!” I said to Woody, and Woody took off at a racehorse pace; he’s fast!
The dog looked over his shoulder when he heard Woody running toward him, and was alarmed enough to spin around to face Woody. I wasn’t worried; Woody has not yet met a dog that he could not either charm, or run away from. In this case, their tails went up, wagging, they sniffed, Woody did a couple of popping sort of playful moves, and for a minute, they just stood there. Woody looked back toward me: “Now what?” I called, “Good boy! Woody, come!” My fingers were crossed, as I trotted backward toward the car in what was meant to be a most inviting way.
No dice. Woody came at a gallop, and the dog headed off further into the rice fields.
I went back to the car, tearing up at the dog’s prospects. I had to get to my sister-in-law’s house so she could get to work. I couldn’t go driving off onto dirt farm roads – and maybe, he would approach a farmhouse and be less frightened of people in that environment. On the other hand, maybe he would head back to the highway and get hit by a car. Ugh.
When I got to my sister-in-law’s house, I posted a description of the dog and his location on a lost-dog page that serves my local area, and called the Highway Patrol, to give them a description and location of the dog, in case someone called them looking for him. And on the way back to my house with my niece, we stopped and scanned the area for 15 minutes or so, looking for any sign of the dog again. No such luck.
I have often wondered what makes so many dogs just TAKE OFF when a human approaches or addresses them when they are lost. And I have also wondered: Would MY dogs come to a strange person if they were in a panic, but someone was addressing them? “Hey Buddy! Come here!” I just don’t know. Could you teach your dog to come to anyone who called him (obviously not using his name, which a stranger would not know)? How could you SAFELY teach your dog to come to strangers in a strange place, when you were not present? Trainers, would you weigh in?
Also, last but not least: I’m sure this is preaching to the choir (our audience is more educated than most), but please make sure that anyone you know who drives with dogs in the back of their truck has their dog crated or secured with cross ties fastened to a harness. I feel so strongly that the dog had fallen out of a truck; he was so near a corner that many drivers take at a fast clip, and 10 miles from the closest town. I just HATE it when I see people taking that risk with their dogs.
I got a little whiny in one of my blog posts recently. I was feeling a little depressed by my latest foster project: a mixed-breed mama and her nine teeny puppies. They were surrendered to my local shelter in sad shape: thin, infected with coccidia, and infested with fleas. The mom knows absolutely not one cue, not even “sit,” though she is super sweet and friendly – how can someone let such a nice dog get into such bad shape, and pregnant to boot? Ugh! Some days it just feels like we humans are making no progress in our ability to care for and manage our dogs.
Days after I wrote that post, my husband and I drove 100 miles south to spend the weekend with one of his cousins and the cousin’s wife. A death in the family reconnected the cousins, and after lamenting the fact that it shouldn’t take a funeral to schedule a visit with one another, my husband’s cousin invited us to come and stay with them.
I’m not going to lie; I had work to do, it was a hassle to arrange care for my chickens, my two dogs (in separate places), and the foster family (who are all receiving medication twice daily for the kennel cough they picked up in the shelter), and I had met the cousin only once and his wife never. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
But my husband’s cousin greeted us at the door with a 12-week-old miniature Schnauzer in his arms, and before really even saying hello, he handed us each a treat and asked us to feed it to the puppy. I instantly cheered up; this was going to be a great visit!
It would take more space than I have to list all the things that they were doing just right for their new puppy, Callie – and that’s in addition to wisely managing greetings to prevent the puppy from alarm barking. Just a few of the most important ones: They had purchased Callie from a reputable breeder they had known for decades and had waited years after their last beloved Schnauzer had passed, so they were really ready for a whole new dog (not just mourning the last one). They had appropriately sized treats and a variety of toys stashed all over, so they could reward the puppy quickly for any good behavior they wanted to reinforce. They had an exercise pen with a comfy bed and a water bowl set up in the kitchen, so the pup could be safely contained while they were busy cooking and eating. They also had a soft crate with a super thick, warm bed set up in the living room, where Callie already put herself to bed when she was tired.
I could go on, but the point is this: It did my heart so much good to meet people who procured and were caring for their new dog in such an educated, intentional, loving way, that the weekend really did end up relaxing and recharging me, and gave me hope that there are people out there doing it all right. Thanks, John and Karen, for restoring my temporarily lost faith in dog owners.
The odor was there. Not overpowering, but “off” and definitely not normal. My six-year-old Bouvier Atle’s breath simply never, ever stank. Yet here it was. Some kind of skanky odor emanating from his sweet little face. Was it time for a dental cleaning?
If you detect a stench coming from what you think is your dog’s mouth, and you chalk it up to dirty teeth, you may want to think again. While the bad breath could be the result of dental disease, the foul odor could be the result of another condition.
When Your Dog’s Mouth Smells
We often consider dental disease – the buildup of plaque and calculus on the teeth and inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) – as the main cause of bad breath in a dog. While the seriousness of dental disease shouldn’t be minimized, there are lots of other reasons why your dog’s mouth might smell off. Other causes of unpleasant odors include:
The tongue
Metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and renal disease
GI issues from excessive licking or swallowing, creating excess gas in GI tract
GI upset caused by megaesophagus, food allergy, bacterial overgrowth, neoplasia (cancer of the stomach or intestines), or a foreign body (bones, rocks, toys, socks)
Dietary (fish-based diets, oral fatty acids, coprophagia, consumption of other fetid foodstuffs)
Trauma (oral foreign bodies, damaged palate from stick chewing, electric cord injury, caustic agents)
Understanding the origin of the smell is your first assignment and may require the expertise of your veterinarian, or veterinary specialist, to pinpoint. T-cell lymphoma, for example, is a rare but deadly disease that can present on the face. It mimics many other conditions and can be difficult to diagnose without a specialist’s intervention.
Like most Bouviers, Atle (pronounced “OUGHT-lay”) has a lot of hair, facial and otherwise. The beard, his time at the beach, and an early-season exposure to a high pollen count all likely contributed to his lip-fold dermatitis.
Why Does My Dog’s Head Stink?!
I became obsessed with examining Atle’s face, closing his mouth, taking a whiff, opening his mouth, taking a whiff…
I thought maybe his beard was the culprit and became zealous about daily beard washing; this didn’t eliminate the stink.
He’s a dog who has allergies, and while I hadn’t noticed him excessively licking any body parts, he can be a “closet” licker; we tried a short trial of Apoquel (a prescription drug for dermatitis) but the odor remained.
Next, we experimented with a course of Pepcid, along with a probiotic, to see if mild GI issues were at the root of his ills, or if licking had thrown off the bacterial balance in the gut. Still no resolution.
Atle’s lip-fold pyoderma worsened when we traveled south, to the point where we finally able to see something, which helped solve the mysterious malodor!
We visited our veterinarian, who reported that his teeth and gums looked pretty good, with just a tiny bit of tartar buildup, but maybe a cleaning was in order. She mentioned that some dogs retain moisture on their faces, but didn’t pursue that issue; his face looked great.
The odor lingered for a few months without any noticeable pimples or growths on his face or in his mouth, until we took a road trip south to Georgia in April. The further south we got, the itchier Atle got. Within a day, there were hotspots on each side of his lower lip.
I sent a photo to his board-certified veterinary dermatologist, Tiffany Tapp, DVM, DACVD, and she quickly diagnosed “lip-fold pyoderma.” She told me how to treat it using topical products and – voila! – by the next day, the odor that had lingered for a few months was completely gone. We’d found our answer.
Dermatologic Causes of Bad “Breath” in Dogs
Lip folds, facial skin folds, and even a dog’s ears can produce odor that appears to be coming from the mouth – but isn’t. Skin folds and ears: I know what those are! But the lip fold completely escaped me. In many dogs, it’s a tiny, barely perceptible crevice on the lower jaw, on each side of the mouth, in the area where lip mucosal tissue meets haired skin.
Lip-fold pyoderma is a form of skin-fold pyoderma (intertrigo complex) and, guess what – it stinks! Wet and warm, lip (and facial) folds provide everything that pathogenic bacteria and/or yeast need to take up residence. The condition is more prevalent in dogs with loose jowls, droolers and slobberers, and those with deeper lip and skin folds on their faces, like brachiocephalic dogs. Spaniels, German Shepherd Dogs, Bulldogs, Mastiffs, and Newfoundlands are just a few of the breeds prone to the condition. But it may also present in dogs who swim or whose lip folds tend to stay wet.
That, evidently was Atle’s issue: daily beach trips and frequent face washes (without drying), combined with normal water consumption, set the stage for bacteria to thrive in his lip folds. When I pushed Dr. Tapp to tell me how, at six years of age, Atle could suddenly develop lip-fold dermatitis, she said he may have experienced cumulative changes in his skin barrier or an increase in allergen exposure. And, horrors – his lip could be getting droopier with age, or he may have undergone subtle anatomic changes, creating a lip-fold issue.
Likely, she thought, it was a number of things, with the most common predisposing changes being moisture and heat. Allergy produces inflammation which leads to heat; daily beach trips, every day slobber, and water bowls contributed moisture to complete the recipe for this stinky, unhealthy issue.
How to Prevent Skin Fold Pyoderma
This tiny little crease, the lip fold, is an oft-overlooked source of foul odors, caused by a bacterial infection and overgrowth.
If your dog fits into one of the above categories, prevention is your best friend for keeping lip-fold (and skin-fold) pyoderma at bay. Some dogs do well if the hair on their lip folds is kept trimmed short. For dogs whose lip and face folds retain moisture, daily wiping of the folds helps. Dr. Tapp likes a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water or an over-the-counter astringent such as Domeboro (available over the counter in most pharmacies).
Dr. Tapp has had good success (and so have we) with veterinary-prescribed Vetericyn VF spray, a pH-balanced, super-oxidized hypochlorous acid (HOCl) solution that is non-toxic, non-irritating, and shows microbial inhibition. The spray is safe to use on the face, lips, and around the eyes; the product mimics the killing power of neutrophils (that produce HOCl during their “oxidative burst”) and works well for maintenance to clean, reduce odor, and kill bacteria without developing resistance since it isn’t an antibiotic.
Wiping with a chlorhexidine wipe or spray such as the pet product Douxo Chlorhexidine may work for your dog, too.
As with any kind of infection, advanced lip-fold pyoderma may require an oral or topical antibiotic and/or anti-yeast medication to treat. Your veterinarian can do a simple cytology test to diagnose whether an infection is bacterial or yeast-based and then prescribe the appropriate treatment.
As a last result, for dogs with chronic lip-fold infections, a fairly simple surgery (cheiloplasty) to eliminate the skin fold may be the best intervention, as it essentially makes the problem go away forever. Yep, your dog may get a face lift before you ever do!
Dog Has Smelly Ears?
I had a hard time believing that a dog’s ears could be the source of an offensive odor that could be attributed to a dog’s mouth. Dr. Tapp was quick to tell me that often, only more severe ear disease is visible to us; early ear disease may not be visible but can omit an “off” odor that’s hard to pin down. Dr. Tapp’s own Golden Retriever’s head sometimes smells, and she says, “Sometimes it’s yeast in his ears, sometimes something gross he ate, and sometimes an inflamed lip fold.” Good to know we are not alone!
Smelling is Believing
In Atle’s case, what was so mysterious was that I saw nothing that looked amiss on his chin or lip fold to indicate a problem. In hindsight, I now realize that the mucosa attached to his lip was inflamed and bright red at times, as opposed to a more subdued, quiet pink.
Atle most likely will continue to be prone to lip-fold dermatitis, but with dedication to keeping the area clean and dry, we’re less likely to see a full blown bacterial infection that would require oral medication.
If you smell “bad breath” there is a good chance that help from a general -practice veterinarian or specialist may be needed to locate and diagnose the problem. Serious signs such as bleeding, redness, oral discharge, unusual eating habits or anorexia are clear signs of a problem. But don’t discount the importance of getting to the root of subtler, stinky issues. Your dog – and your nose – will thank you.
Pawsh Dog Boutique & Salon
Groomer’s Advice: Shave and Dry the Lips
Amy Stempel (seen here) grooms dogs at Pawsh Dog Boutique & Salon in Boston. She has groomed thousands of dogs over her 16-year career, winning multiple awards in professional grooming competitions along the way. And she is familiar with lip-fold dermatitis!
Stempel says she tends to see lip-fold issues in the spring and fall, when allergy season is in full swing. Dogs whose faces tend not to ever dry out – those with hairy damp faces, those who swim a lot, excessive droolers – are the most likely to show up at the salon with lip-fold issues. Like me, most of her clients assume the dog has bad breath or a wet beard smell!
To help with prevention, she routinely shaves hair off of her clients’ lips and recommends keeping beards clean and dry.
Luring can used to teach the dog many fun behaviors, such as spin (seen here), “sit pretty,” and bow
Luring means using something the dog wants, most often a food treat, to draw her or guide her into doing what you want her to do. With her nose glued to the treat like a magnet, you can lure her to sit, lie down, jump up on a surface, spin or twirl, and perform a very long list of additional behaviors by slowly moving the treat in the appropriate direction. Hence the “allure of the lure” – you can use this training technique to easily entice your dog to perform a behavior that you can then reward and reinforce.
There are, however, a couple of potential hazards of using a lure to train your dog. The first is that both you and your dog can become dependent on the presence of the lure. If you don’t quickly fade its use (stop using the lure as soon as the dog learns the behavior), the dog may learn to wait until the lure is produced to perform the behavior, because that’s how she thinks it’s supposed to happen.
The second hazard can occur if you try to lure your dog to do something she really isn’t comfortable doing.
If you avoid these potential pitfalls, luring is a valuable and effective training technique.
Put the treat right under the dog’s nose, and move your hand in the direction you want her nose, head, and body to go.
Fading Away the Food Lure
Since you probably don’t want to go through the rest of your life having to stick a piece of cheese in front of your dog’s face to get her to do what you ask, how do you get rid of the lure? It’s easier than you might think. Here’s how to “fade” the lure so your dog will offer the correct behavior on your verbal cue, without a treat on her nose. Let’s say “down” is the behavior your want to teach your dog.
1. Just Lure
Without using a verbal cue, lure your dog into a down position from a sit, by putting a treat in front of her nose and moving it slowly toward the ground. Aim for her front paws; if you move it away from her, she might stand up to follow it. You may need to mark and reward (i.e., click a clicker or use a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!” and then feed her a treat) your dog several times on the way down, until she figures out what you are asking of her. (We call this lure-shaping.)
If she stops following the lure, you may have to mark and reward (click and treat) her halfway there efforts to encourage her to keep trying.
2. Cue and Lure
When your dog will follow the lure easily into a down position with just one click and treat, add the verbal cue. With your treat out of sight (I put it behind my back), say “Down” clearly and happily, just one time. Pause briefly, and lure your dog down. Click and treat. Repeat this step a half dozen times. It’s as if you were saying, “Dog, the word ‘Down’ means the same thing as me putting the treat on your nose and luring you to the floor.”
3. Vary the Pause
Now, say “Down” as in Step 2, but vary the amount of time you pause before luring. This gives your dog more time to process what you are asking of her and more time to offer a response. In this step, you may see her look to the ground, or make a slight movement, as if she is saying, “I know I’m supposed to do something, but I’m not quite sure what…” Sometimes it’s almost as if she’s asking you the question, “Is this right?” If you see her do any of those things tell her, “Good girl!” and quickly lure her the rest of the way – then click and treat.
Mark (with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker such as the word “Yes!”) and reward her when she completes the desired behavior.
4. Getting Lucky
Some dogs will begin to offer the down on your verbal cue during Step 3. Woohoo! This is a nice shortcut; click and treat and keep practicing. (Just because she does it once doesn’t mean she’s got it; you still need to practice to make it a solid, reliable response.)
5. Fading the Lure
Most dogs need some additional steps before they really understand what you are asking of them and begin offering the down on the verbal cue alone. For these dogs, you need to fade the lure. Start by luring as in Step 3. As you move the treat to the floor, watch your dog closely. When she appears to be committed to lying down, whisk the treat quickly away parallel to the ground, and hide it behind your back. If she finishes the down, click and give her a treat. If she doesn’t finish, bring the treat back out and lure her the rest of the way. Click and treat.
To start fading the lure, give the cue, start the luring motion, but whisk the lure away when your dog will lie down without it.
Next time, lure her a little farther toward the floor before whisking the treat away. Continue to vary the amount of time you wait after giving the cue and before luring.
6. More Fading
Gradually whisk the treat away sooner and sooner, until you are barely luring at all.
7. Success
At some point your dog will begin to offer to lie down when she hears the verbal cue, without you luring at all. Congratulations, you are almost done fading the lure!
8. Generalization
Now you need to practice with your dog in other locations, and with you in other positions, until she will lie down on your verbal cue whenever and wherever you ask her to do so. Remember, even though she does it in the comfort of your own home, she is likely to need some additional coaching in new places and around distractions until she realizes she can do it anywhere. Anytime (for the rest of her life!) that she doesn’t do it when you ask, do a quick refresher session by returning to Step 3, until she is able to respond.
You will use the same procedure to fade the lure for other behaviors as well. Determine how to use your lure to explain to your dog what you want her to do. As soon as she will lure easily into position, begin fading the lure following the steps above, until she will do the behavior on just the verbal cue. Then generalize it so she can do it anywhere, anytime.
Notice that I don’t do any intermediate hand signal or other body prompt in this process, like pointing at the ground or using “air cookies” (where you pretend to have a treat in your hand). If you do, your dog still hasn’t learned the verbal cue, and you still have to go through the process of fading the hand signal or prompt. In my opinion, it’s easier to skip the extra step.
Don’t Lure Toward Frightening Things
This is where people get in the most serious trouble with luring, and all with good intentions: trying to use a lure to get a reluctant dog to do something she doesn’t want to do. The most common example is a dog who is afraid of scary strangers, men, kids, or anything else.
The owner thinks, “My dog is afraid of strangers, so I will give people treats to give to my dog so she will know that strangers make treats happen, and she will like them!”
It seems to make sense – associating scary strangers with treats, counter-conditioning – it should work, right? Wrong! At least wrong if it’s done this way. The problem with this scenario is that the scary person is luring the dog “over threshold” (too close) because the dog really wants the treat. But when the treat is gone and the dog looks up to see the stranger right there in front of him, he is way too close, and the dog may bite the person. If she doesn’t bite, she is still likely to be more sensitized, and more fearful of strangers in the future.
The same holds true for any situation where you try to lure the dog to do something that is fear- or anxiety-producing for her, like getting in the car. You may succeed in that moment, but when the car ride proves to be as unpleasant as she anticipated, she will just be more reluctant, more fearful, and less trusting of you the next time you need her to get in the car.
In general, shaping is a better process for getting a dog to willingly offer behaviors that she’s not sure about. True counter-conditioning – working below threshold, with you feeding the treats, not the scary person – is a far more successful (and safer) approach to helping her become comfortable with things that are scary for her.
Meanwhile, don’t let any naysayers get you down. Properly used, with attention paid to fading the presence of the treat, luring can be a very valuable and effective training technique. Just be sure you do it right.
Historic Bias Against Using Food Lures
Twenty-plus years ago, when positive reinforcement-based training was in its infancy, those of us who were committed to this style of training took a lot of heat from trainers who were still wedded to their choke, prong, and shock collars. We were accused of being “treat-slinging weenies” and were told that dogs were supposed to do what they were told because they knew they had to do it – or else. We defended ourselves staunchly. A group I hung out with at conferences even came up with a song, “I Wish I Were a Treat-Slinging Weenie” – proudly sung to the tune of “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Wiener.”
Now, some 20 years later, using food as a reinforcer in training is widely accepted in much of the training world and supported by the scientific community. There are a number of studies that indicate that positive reinforcement training is not only highly effective, but also avoids many of the pitfalls inherent in coercion training, including a significant risk of eliciting aggression from dogs trained using force and pain.
There are certainly some challenges that we face in the force-free training world – and there are effective solutions for these challenges. We are far more likely to see “demand barkers” in our classes if we aren’t careful to inform our students how to avoid this undesirable behavior. (Hint: Don’t reinforce it, and instead, reinforce an incompatible behavior.) Some dogs who are on restricted diets may not have access to the higher-value treats often used in effective training programs. (A creative trainer can often find effective treats within the dog’s allowed food groups, and there are other reinforcers besides food.) A dog who takes treats too eagerly can bloody the fingers. (We can teach her to take treats gently or use other delivery methods, such as a camping food tube, or tossing treats on the floor.)
One of the challenges that can be more difficult to resolve is dependency on the food lure. We can avoid this problem by using the training technique called “shaping” instead of luring (see “Shaping Your Dog’s Sit” and “Shaping Your Dog’s Behavior“), but shaping requires more patience and very good timing and skill at observing the dog’s body language. Less-experienced handlers tend to get quicker, more encouraging success with luring – as long as they fade the lure as quickly as possible, as described in this article.
You just picked up your dog from boarding after a lovely vacation. Everything seems fine – and then your canine companion starts coughing. He has some nasal discharge. He feels warm, and he doesn’t want to eat. You remember that you just saw on the news that canine flu was causing problems. Oh no! You panic. Has he contracted the flu during his stay at the boarding facility?
It’s certainly possible; boarding kennels and other places where high numbers of dogs congregate are the most common place for dogs to come into contact with one of the flu viruses.
Currently, two strains of flu have been identified in dogs within the United States: H3N2 and H3N8.
The initial outbreak in 2003-2004, identified as H3N8, was restricted to Greyhounds in Florida and had a high mortality rate (38 percent). There was then a lull in cases until 2015; then, in Chicago, another outbreak occurred and was later identified as a new strain of canine flu: H3N2.
The most recent flare-up starting in mid-2017 and into spring of 2018 included both strains, though H3N2 was more prevalent and found to be more virulent. As of now, canine influenza has been reported in 40 states.
Dog Flu Symptoms
Symptoms of flu include sneezing, coughing, runny nose, fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. About 80 percent of the dogs who are infected with the virus will have only mild symptoms, with about 20 percent of infected dogs showing no symptoms whatsoever (these dogs, however, are still able to spread the virus). Most dogs recover in two to three weeks.
In severe cases, however, the flu can progress to pneumonia. Symptoms of pneumonia are high fever; thick, purulent nasal discharge; and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, the illness can be fatal.
Unfortunately, flu represents a diagnostic challenge. The clinical symptoms cannot be distinguished from those of other common canine respiratory diseases such as bordetella bronchiseptica, parainfluenza, respiratory coronavirus, and distemper virus.
Further, there are no point-of-care tests currently available to veterinarians. Unlike in human medicine, where a quick bedside test can be conducted to diagnose flu, testing for canine flu can be difficult. Careful specimen collection and handling is essential, and tests must be sent to outside laboratories. Due to the expense and difficulty of this, often canine influenza is not definitively diagnosed; instead, it’s treated like other canine respiratory diseases.
How to Treat Dog Flu
There isn’t a specific treatment for dog flu; rather, general supportive care is given, especially if your dog is only mildly affected.
If your dog has more severe symptoms or evidence of pneumonia, he may be treated in the hospital with antibiotics (in case of secondary bacterial infection), intravenous or subcutaneous fluids, oxygen therapy, and fever-lowering NSAIDs. Your dog may also be isolated in a low-stress environment to prevent further spread and to help minimize his anxiety.
Canine Influenza Transmission
Influenza is highly contagious and spreads rapidly in social situations. Transmission is via aerosolized droplets (coughing, sneezing) and direct contact. It can also be spread on contaminated objects such as food or water bowls, leashes, and kennels. The flu virus can live up to 48 hours on these surfaces, so proper disinfection is a critical part of prevention.
The most common places for a dog to catch the flu virus include dog parks, grooming facilities, kennels, and daycares.
Dog Flu Vaccines
Could you have prevented your dog from contracting the flu? There are vaccines available that protect against both strains. All of the canine influenza vaccines contain killed viruses.
As with the human influenza vaccine, it is important to remember that the flu vaccine doesn’t always prevent your dog from getting sick. In the event that he does contract the flu, the vaccine helps lessen the duration and severity of symptoms, including pneumonia and lung lesions. Dogs who were vaccinated against the flu but still transmitted the disease will shed the virus into their surroundings for a shorter period of time than unvaccinated dogs.
Side effects of the vaccine are uncommon and generally similar to other vaccine reactions: lethargy, low-grade fever, a lump at the site of injection, hives, and itching. In very rare cases, severe reactions can occur.
Pregnant dogs should not be vaccinated against the flu.
The influenza vaccination has been described by the American Veterinary Medical Association as a “lifestyle” vaccination, not a “core” vaccine (core vaccines are recommended for all dogs). A lifestyle vaccine is recommended for dogs who are at a higher risk due to their increased exposure to other dogs – such as dogs who attend daycare, boarding, or group classes, or frequent dog parks or dog shows. The first vaccine can be given as early as six weeks of age, and in all cases, it is critical that a booster is received two to four weeks later.
Don’t wait until a few days before boarding to get the vaccine. The dog should not be considered protected from disease until two weeks after his second vaccination. After the initial series, the flu shot is given annually.
If your dog is not in social situations or flu has not been reported in your state, the flu vaccine is not necessary. If you’re uncertain whether your dog should receive the vaccine, your veterinarian can help guide you.
Want more information on vaccination protocols for dogs? Find it here.
Conclusions
Overall, while canine influenza can be serious, in most cases the symptoms are mild and self-limiting. Even in severe cases, the mortality rate is low – but some dogs do die from the illness. Vaccination is very effective and should be pursued for dogs in highly social environments.
Catherine Ashe graduated the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008. After a small-animal intensive emergency internship, she has practiced ER medicine for nine years. She is now working as a relief veterinarian in Asheville, North Carolina, and loves the GP side of medicine. In her spare time, she spends time with her family, reads voraciously, and enjoys the mountain lifestyle.
For the past 16 years, I have been teaching puppy kindergarten and adolescent-dog classes at The Canine Connection, my training center in Chico, California. The number of graduates of my classes is likely more than 1,000 puppies – but it feels like I’ve answered client questions about potty training at least a million times. What’s one more time, if it helps someone live more happily and harmoniously with their new dog or puppy?
Potty-training situations are of three types: (1) dogs who have never learned the appropriate place “to go,” (2) dogs who were once housetrained but are having a training regression, and (3) dogs who are pottying involuntarily – that is, they have no control over their urination or defecation. It just happens without any intent and often without the dog even realizing it is happening at all. Let’s look at these in order.
Housetraining For the Never-Housetrained Dog
Perhaps you have a brand new pup or a newly adopted teen or older dog. One thing that is vitally important to building a happy interspecies household is that your new dog becomes housetrained as quickly and reliably as possible. You should be equipped and ready to start housetraining your new dog from the moment that you bring him home.
Housetraining involves more than just learning where to potty; dogs and puppies must also learn to “hold it” until they get to an appropriate potty location and how to notify you to get them there. To help dogs build these skills and to help keep us on track with our housetraining responsibilities, I encourage people to think of housetraining in terms of C.R.A.P. Each letter of the acronym stands for an important part of the housetraining program: Confinement, Routine, Attention, Platinum rewards.
How to House-Train A Dog
Confinement
Preventing your dog from pottying in the wrong place is the first and most important housetraining task. Since most of us cannot keep our eyes on our dogs every minute, having a safe, comfortable confinement area is key to housetraining success. Most dogs naturally avoid going potty in their sleeping areas, so confining your dog in a small enough area that is more bed-like than room-like not only prevents unwanted accidents but also will help him develop bowel and bladder control.
What are appropriate confinement areas? I am a huge fan of crates, used appropriately, once dogs are comfortable with them. An area that is fenced off with a portable exercise pen or a smaller room (such as a bathroom or laundry room with a baby gate across the door) can also serve as a confinement area.
The key is that any confinement area should be small and cozy enough for your dog that he will choose “holding it” over pottying in it. When confinement is in place and used appropriately, there will be a decrease in potty accidents and an increase in bowel and bladder control.
As your dog enjoys continued success at pottying outdoors appropriately and not pottying indoors, you can increase the size of the area where he is confined when not being supervised. Don’t go too far, giving him whole-house freedom after he hasn’t had an accident for a few days. Instead, use an exercise pen to expand his confinement area by, say, 50 to 100 square feet more per week of success.
Routine
Both dogs and humans benefit from a predictable, consistent housetraining routine. This routine should account for confinement time, potty breaks, meal times, play time, training time, walks, and all the other enriching activities that are part of your dog’s daily life.
I recommend my clients create a written routine that includes potty breaks a minimum of every hour or two, depending on the age and situation of the dog. The general rule for “holding it” in a crate or pen is that dogs should have the ability to hold their bowels and bladder, in hours, the number of months they are plus one. So, a three-month-old pup ought to be able to hold his urine and poop for four hours. However, there are so many exceptions to this rule; most notably, that activity often makes a pup have to “go.” The best routines, then, are based on a solid understanding of your dog.
Some important notes about potty breaks:
1. You must go with your dog to the potty area so you can reward the deed when it occurs. By delivering an immediate reward, your dog quickly comes to understand that “Oh my gosh, going pee or poop in this location is nothing short of brilliant!”
2. It can be very useful to teach your dog a cue for pottying behavior. Some people use the simple phrase, “Go potty!” Others use a euphemism such as “Get busy!” Whatever phrase you use, say it once just before he starts to potty (don’t say it over and over again), and then reward and praise him mightily when he’s done. Soon, he will understand that the phrase is a cue – an opportunity to earn rewards for doing what he now knows it means: going potty. This will help him understand what you want when you take him to go potty in a new environment, or under distracting conditions he has not yet experienced.
3. If you expect your dog to potty on- and off-leash, your potty outings with your dog should sometimes be on-leash and sometimes off-leash. Why? From a dog’s point of view, pottying while on- versus off-leash can be a very different experience. Familiarizing him with both will pay off in the future.
4. While it might seem convenient to have a dog who will potty only in your yard (I call these private pottyers), it’s important that your dog learns to potty in other outdoor places, too. Indeed, I want dogs to be public pottyers (with responsible guardians who will clean up after them) so that day and even overnight outings are comfortable for all. I pity the poor dog who has learned to potty only in the privacy of his home when his family decides to bring him on a long vacation!
5. Also in the interest of adaptability to new environments, dogs should be exposed to different surfaces as part of housetraining. Dogs can develop “substrate preference,” the willingness to potty only on specific surfaces, such as grass or concrete.
While your dog’s inclination to develop a preference for pottying on certain substrates can be helpful in creating a defined toilet space in your yard, it can also limit your dog’s adaptability to new environments if he is not allowed the option to potty on different substrates.
6. Potty outings should be mission-driven. if your dog tends to fiddle and frolic prior to pottying, restrict your dog’s access to play until the deed is done. Fiddling and frolicking can then become part of the reward.
7. If you are away from your home for extended periods of time during the day, you must have a plan for getting your dog to his potty spot in your absence. Sometimes it takes a village to housetrain a dog, with friends, family, and neighbors, perhaps assisted by professional pet sitters, dog walkers, or trainers helping with the potty outing shifts.
Attention
The first question I ask when a client asks me a question about a difficulty with their dog’s housetraining is: “Are you catching your dog in the act of pottying inappropriately or just finding the evidence after the fact?” More often than not, people sheepishly confess that they usually find the mess after the fact – and this always means their attention needs to be improved.
There are two huge benefits to maintaining a laser focus on your dog when he is not confined. First, you can start to recognize and reward your dog’s “gotta go” signals. When your dog begins to pace, circle, and sniff, you can applaud his signaling (“Awesome doggie! Let’s go, go, GO!”) and rush him to his potty place. Rewarding “gotta go” signals will encourage your dog to become more demonstrative when he feels the urge – communication that is as helpful to us as it is to our dogs.
Second, when we catch him in the act we can provide immediate feedback. A simple “Hey, hey!” while hustling him to his potty spot will make the point that there’s a difference between the spot where he started and that special place you want him to go.
Platinum Rewards!
When housetraining a new dog (puppy or adult) I make sure I know what my dog considers “platinum level rewards.” Housetraining is a big deal, and it requires that we acknowledge our dog’s success with a fitting outcome for his or her achievement. High-value food rewards should be stored on a shelf or table by the door so you can grab them on the way out with your dog. And the rewards of praise and play should be abundantly part of the potty party that celebrates your dog’s success at pottying in the proper place.
Housetraining Regression
It is distressing when you believe housetraining has been achieved, only to find improperly located puddles or poops. Here are some reasons your dog’s housetraining might unravel:
Urinary tract infections or other medical concerns can result in potty accidents. If your fully housetrained dog begins to potty in the house, your first stop should be your veterinarian. Physical problems must be ruled out before assuming the problem is a behavioral one. Prior to your visit, assess your dog’s water and food intake so you can report any changes that might be part of the picture.
Recognize that a dog’s housetraining may not transfer to new environments. I have had many clients whose dogs’ housetraining fell apart when visiting the home of a friend, after a move, or even in a public place (how embarrassing!).
Just because a dog is housetrained in one environment does not mean he is housetrained in all environments. When you change environments, assume your dog is not housetrained until you have helped your dog understand that the habits learned in one place can also apply to the new setting. To do this, take your dog back to Housetraining 101.
Seasonal challenges. Just as your dog may need to relearn housetraining in a new environment, so may he need to relearn housetraining in different seasons. I have had many clients discover that their summer puppy’s housetraining unraveled at the first fall rain or winter snow.
I always advise clients to be proactive weather-watchers. If your dog’s potty place is outdoors, consider that potty habits can and might change with the season, and you may have to consider creative and proactive ways to keep your dog’s potty habits strong. For dogs who detest rain, the erection of a portable canopy might just ease the pain. A snow shovel goes a long way in helping small dogs deal with deep snow. Some indoor-outdoor carpet can buffer the heat of summer pavement.
Differentiate between relieving oneself and marking. Marking behavior can develop in dogs after their housetraining is concluded, as dogs mature and hormonal levels change. Marking is a natural behavior of both male and female dogs, though more pronounced in male dogs.
I approach marking like all housetraining problems, taking dogs back to Housetraining 101, with the emphasis on keen attention, since it is important to interrupt the urge to mark before actual house-soiling occurs. For dogs who are chronic markers, a belly band that prevents house-soiling may be a helpful management tool.
Consider the possibility of fear or anxiety being a contributing factor. One of my clients was dismayed when her Newfoundland started pottying in the house. As it turned out, the dog was pottying inside because he had become frightened of venturing into his yard following a neighbor’s home being re-roofed. The barrage of blasts from the nail gun had so traumatized the poor dog that he became housebound, leaving him no choice but to potty in the house, causing further anxiety.
In this case, we established an indoor potty area that was used while we worked on rebuilding positive associations with his backyard environment.
Potty Problems that are NOT Housetraining Problems
Involuntary urination and defecation can occur for a number of reasons with the common denominator to all being that the dog simply has no control over it. Here are some common reasons for involuntary pottying:
Excitement urination. Some dogs, especially young dogs, will involuntarily produce a puddle during happy homecomings and other joyful situations. Since most trigger situations can be predicted, the best way to reduce excitement urination is to downplay greetings and other emotionally charged situations by ignoring or only casually greeting your dog.
It also sometimes helps to give your dog something else to do in the moments when he is excited. For example, you might enter your home with one of your dog’s toys in hand, toss it away from you, walk past your dog while he retrieves it, then greet your dog several minutes later once the initial excitement worn off.
Because the trigger for excitement urination is a really big deal to the dog, it’s helpful to set up and practice mock greetings repeatedly so the trigger becomes less exciting – perhaps even a little boring.
Submissive urination. This form of involuntary urination is about social signals. It occurs when your dog’s emotional reaction to a trigger (e.g., a stranger or a family member) is one of appeasement, perhaps even fear. Submissive urination can be distressing to friends and family members who trigger it; they may think it suggests they have been threatening or unkind toward the dog, even when they have not. More often than not, the dog may be responding to the human’s body posture and size, voice volume and tone, or other characteristics that trigger an innate submissive response.
Submissive urination problems can be often be resolved by downplaying greetings, counter-conditioning the presence of the individual (building a positive emotional association with the trigger), coaching individuals who trigger the submissive urination to avoid provocative body language (such as direct eye contact with the dog, looming over or reaching for him, direct frontal approaches, and loud body language and voices).
I have also found that teaching the dog a cue that means someone is about to approach (such as, “Hello, I’m Here!”) can reduce submissive urination by removing the element of surprise from the interactions.
Incontinence. Age and illness can produce urinary and/or fecal incontinence in our dogs. Ill or elderly dogs may leak urine or expel feces while sleeping or may experience sudden urges to potty and be unable to make it out the door. Female dogs with hormonal changes may leak urine, too.
While many people accept incontinence as an inevitable part of their dogs’ health or aging, both western and eastern medicine offer remedies, so a visit to your veterinarian is a must. The use of belly bands, doggie panties, and potty pads in sleeping areas may help lessen the burdens of clean-up.
Essential Tools for Housetraining
It makes the whole housetraining task a million times easier if you are prepared in advance of your new dog or puppy’s arrival with all the things you will need to manage his whereabouts and support his progress. Here are the essentials:
A crate, portable exercise pen, or small room equipped with a baby gate, so you can create an appropriate confinement area for your dog. This will prevent unwanted accidents from occurring. Preventing unwanted accidents ensures our dogs don’t rehearse pottying in inappropriate places and keeps the non-potty places from becoming infused with those potty scents that can trigger a dog into making a mistake.
Some good clean-up products to eliminate potty smells from your home should an accident happen (as it might, since we’re only human and we do make mistakes). While there are many on the market and recipes for potty clean-up concoctions can be found online, my personal favorite is unscented Anti-Icky Poo by Mister Max (available in some pet supply stores and online). It contains enzymes that help destroy the odor-causing compounds in urine.
A ready supply of high-level (as defined by the dog) rewards to dole out to your dog when he or she gets it right. Appropriate pottying is not a minimum wage activity; consider it a canine act of genius when your new dog gets pottying right and reward with the stuff (food treats, toys, and play) that your dog really values.
In some cases, potty pads may be helpful, though I personally prefer to exclude them from my housetraining protocols (it’s one less step to fade out to get to the final goal of the dog pottying in a specific spot).
For some, it’s helpful to create an indoor toilet area – a litter box for dogs, so to speak. If an indoor toilet area for your dog would be helpful for you, the “litterbox” should be available as a potty destination from the get-go.
In cases involving urine marking, belly bands can be a very helpful tool. They don’t prevent marking but they do prevent house soiling, and many dogs seem to refrain from marking when the belly band is on. Belly bands are available in various sizes from pet supply stores and online.
Potty Pads for House Training?
I am not a fan of introducing potty pads as part of a housetraining regime. If the goal of housetraining is for your dog to potty outside, then potty pads create a middle step that must eventually be phased out as part of the overall housetraining plan. I would rather start focusing a dog’s attention immediately on the final destination. Why create an extra step if we don’t have to?
Some people, however, plan for their dogs to have an indoor toileting spot, with potty pads as part of their dogs’ lifelong scenario. This can be convenient, so you don’t have to make that trip outside, by giving a dog a legal potty place indoors. However, they don’t magically attract dogs to eliminate on them; dogs need to be taught to use them, just like they need to be taught to go outdoors. Either task can be accomplished by following the rules of house training 101.
People sometimes decide to use potty pads because they have to leave their dogs alone indoors for longer periods of time than their dogs can hold it. If this is the case with your dog, make sure you leave her in a larger long-term confinement area than the aforementioned crates or cozy confinement area. Make an area for sleeping and hanging out, and a separate space for eliminating on the potty pads.
Dog Doors: Yay or Nay?
As the proud guardian of both a brand new Aussie puppy and a “sudden urge” Greyhound senior, I am grateful for my dog door. My dogs go in and out at will, never needing to call on me to use my opposable thumb to turn the handle to open that door. At my house, there’s no need to find the attendant to get the restroom key; the bathroom door is always unlocked. My dogs go out, my dogs come in. There’s nary a potty accident or worry.
(Note: Some people worry about things that can happen to their dogs outside in their yards if the dog is unattended. The yard that is available to my dogs through my dog door is super dog-proofed and double-fenced. That said, there are more dangers to an unattended dog outdoors than indoors, but this is a risk I have taken with my dogs for many years without a problem. You may make a different choice.)
Without a doubt, my new pup has learned to go outside to potty and I am thrilled that she has learned to use the dog door. When nature calls she hops through and out. There hasn’t been an accident in weeks and I’m off the hook as door attendant. But is my new puppy fully housetrained? The answer is…no!
Besides learning where to potty, our dogs need to learn to “hold it” when they can’t get access to the potty place. And they need to learn how to inform us that they need our help to get from here to there. Without these lessons, housetraining is incomplete and potty mishaps are bound to occur when dog doors aren’t available – perhaps when the dog door is inadvertently left closed or when we’re visiting the home of a dog-door-deficient friend.
My new pup will be traveling with me soon and I don’t think the dog-friendly hotel has a dog door (that’s a bit too friendly). I’d better get going with Housetraining 101, rather than letting my dog door allow me take the lazy way out. And, as an adjunct to the basic training, I’ll be teaching my new pup to ring a “Hey, I gotta go!” bell. It’s pretty simple to train a dog to ring a bell (I think of this as a call for room service) and in terms of my learned response (jump up and attend to her), I’m a pretty quick study. (For instructions on teaching a dog to ring a bell on the door, see “Target-Train Your Dog to Ring A Doorbell“.)
Proper House Training is A Great Investment of Time
This might all sound like a ton of work; it isn’t necessarily so. If you observe the CRAP guidelines (Confinement, Routine, Attention, and Platinum rewards) from the very first day with your new dog or pup, he should quickly figure out when and where to “go” (perhaps on cue!), and how to “hold it” at all other times. His success at these tasks may make or break your happiness at living together, so give it your very best!
How to House-Train A Puppy: Problem-Solving
Amber was a darling Golden Retriever pup who had graduated from my Puppy Kindergarten with honors. She had a strong foundation in socialization and training, which had resulted in her having a happy and positive worldview and good puppy manners. Most importantly, Amber had mastered housetraining. At the time of her graduation, her parents proudly noted that Amber had not pottied in the house in weeks, and when she had to go, she let her parents know by whining at the door.
I next heard from Amber’s mom when Amber was a little over six months old. Completely unexpectedly, Amber had started peeing in the house! While the peeing was problem number one, a second problem was that Amber had started to ignore her owners and seemed generally more “out of control.” The appearance of these two behaviors together led her dad to one conclusion: Amber’s inappropriate peeing, along with her inattentiveness and unruliness, all coming at this teenage moment, was proof positive that she wanted to exert her dominance on her family. Oh, boy.
I had another thought that I shared with Amber’s mom: When a fully housetrained dog starts urinating and/or defecating in the house, one must get thee and thine dog to a veterinarian to rule out a medical cause! Urinary tract infections are a very common reason that a formerly housetrained dog might start urinating in the house; the painful condition causes an urgency that few dogs can resist.
Sure enough, Amber’s medical work-up showed just that. After a course of antibiotics – and her owners’ renewed training practice sessions – Amber’s “dominance problem” fully disappeared.
Sarah Richardson, PhD, CPDT-KA, CDBC, CSAT, is the owner of The Canine Connection, a boarding, training, and daycare facility in Chico, California. Over the past 12 years, she and some of her assistant trainers have often modeled for photos that illustrate articles in WDJ, but this is the first article that Richardson has written for WDJ!
I have never owned a dog with separation anxiety, thank goodness. The condition is hard on the dog who suffers from the condition and hard on the dog’s caretakers, too, including owners, vets, groomers, pet sitters, and dog walkers. Care must be taken to prevent triggering the dog’s panic at being left alone—in severe cases, even just long enough for the person caring for the dog to use the restroom!
