I love WDJ; I’ve been getting it for years. But I had to write for the first time. In “Helping Itchy Dogs” (February 2016) the author speaks about the benefits of regular bathing for dogs who are hypersensitive to allergens that are absorbed through the dog’s skin. But she never mentions anything about drying the dogs afterward.
I am a dog groomer, and have seen too many double-coated breeds who are bathed often or swim regularly who are not properly dried. Their skin starts to almost mildew, especially if they live in the humid Northeast, as I do. They just never dry completely. It really benefits all dogs (but especially the double-coated ones) to be positively conditioned to an air dryer, and well dried after every bath or swim.
Just thought I would mention this as an important addition to a great article.
– Nancy Cusumano The Grooming Room, Ithaca, NY
Thanks for your contribution! And we’re sorry that it took so long for us to include this important information.
Regarding “Bloating in Dogs Treatable with Gastropexy” (WDJ June 2016), your article on surgery to prevent bloat: I opted for the gastropexy when I had my Mastiff neutered at 2½ years old. I know it’s no guarantee, but I felt a bit more comfortable that if he should bloat, it would prevent torsion of the bowel, the most dangerous part of bloating, and give me more time to get him to the ER (in case I didn’t pick up on the symptoms as quickly as I should).
About eight months later, he ended up in the ER and underwent surgery for an intestinal blockage (ham bone, raw, packed for dogs and sold at local dog supply – another lesson learned!). Thankfully, it was a success, but when the surgeon came out to discuss the surgery, he also told me that my dog’s previous gastropexy had failed! So much for peace of mind! I didn’t even know that was a possibility!
This is by no means a commentary on the gastropexy. As long as I have my big boys I will get this surgery; any chance for help is worth it, because this is one condition that scares me to death! I just want people to know that this can happen! If my boy hadn’t had this horrible blockage, I’d have never known it was even possible for a gastropexy to fail. It’s not like there’s a way to see inside them to doublecheck the vet’s work! I do feel confident that the surgery won’t fail this time, mainly because of the experience of this doctor, who was a surgery specialist, and who assured me with confidence as only a surgeon can, that “this surgery will not fail!”
– Robin Slayton via email
We had never heard of a gastropexy failing before, either! It’s a good possibility that owners whose dogs had been previously subjected to the procedure might discount the possibility that their dogs were bloating, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, because they didn’t know that this “stomach tacking” could fail. Thanks for sharing your story! And best of luck with your dog; you’ve had enough bad luck for his lifetime!
I always enjoy the WDJ! Even as a trainer, I always learn something.
I do have a comment about an article in the August 2016 issue. Pat Miller’s article “Fear Aggression” lists credentials for qualified trainers. Jean Donaldson’s Academy graduates are listed as JDAs, but that is incorrect. Graduates of The Academy for Dog Trainers are identified with the initials CTC, which stands for “Certificate of Training and Counseling.” (I happen to be a student at the Academy, so I caught this.)
– Christine Michaud, PMCT, CPDT-KA Family Dog Training, LLC, Fairfax Station, VA
We appreciate you for pointing that out. There are a lot of training credentials today, and a lot of initials to keep straight!
First of all, I love your magazine and have subscribed for years. But I was very disappointed that you didn’t include the original Woof Hoof Tret Bags in your review of treat bags (“The Best Dog Treat Bags You Can Buy,” WDJ August 2016). Yes, the product I like is spelled Tret, not treat. With the magnetic closure, sturdy material, and easy cleaning it is a wonderful small, single-pocket treat bag. We have used them for years and love them. They are a top seller in our small retail store within our 30,000 square foot training center. They retail for around $15. They also offer a slightly larger one with a clicker holder. For more information, see Woofhoof.com.
– Kim Sykes, CPDT-KA Broken Arrow, OK
We’ll have to order one to check out. Dog people are such equipment devotees, and you never know which one will suit you best until you’ve tried several. Thanks for the recommendation.
You are likely done with printing all the interesting behaviors that dogs have taught their owners (“The Cues Our Dogs Learn,” September 2016). But I have to tell you about one more, because it’s so healthy.
My dog has learned to demand having her teeth brushed! I read that coconut oil was very good for dogs. About a year ago, I started using it to brush my dog’s teeth. Every night for the past year, our 2-year-old dog Lila will come to me and paw my leg while staring straight into my eyes, about an hour after her dinner meal. She will not leave me alone until I say, “Ready for your teeth to be brushed?” She looks at me, licks her lips, and runs into the bathroom. I lift her up (she weighs only 18 pounds) to the sink area and dip her brush into the jar of coconut oil. By now, she lets me insert the brush and do the outside of all her teeth surfaces. I know this will keep us from vet bills down the line, and oh my! Her breath smells great! It’s really adorable.
– Michele Smith via email
That does sound adorable, and healthy! Coconut oil makes a terrific “toothpaste” for dogs, and tastes so good that it reinforces the behavior very nicely. Smart!
Can adding herbs to your stiff old dog’s dinner help him run, jump, and play like a puppy? It might. Last month we reviewed causes, risk factors, and nutritional treatments for canine arthritis. This month we’ll explore medicinal herbs that bring relief to our best friends.
Plants were the original pharmacy for humans and animals, and over thousands of years, cultures around the world developed remedies that remain in use today. Herbal teas, tinctures, capsules, poultices, rinses, and massage oils are widely sold. American consumers spent nearly $7 billion on herbal products in 2015, which is $480 million more than we spent on them in 2014, marking the 12th consecutive year of growth. The medicinal herbs industry is thriving.
While it’s true that some herbs recommended for use with canine arthritis have drug-like actions, including contraindications and potentially adverse side effects, the plants mentioned here are easily acquired from reputable sources, widely used, and safe for most dogs. The descriptions that follow include safety notes as applicable. See the “Professional Resources and Quality Control” below for additional information.
Herbal Terms
Although culinary plants and leafy weeds come to mind when we think of herbs, in botanical medicine all plants are herbs and so are all of their parts, including leaves, stems, blossoms, bark, fruits, and seeds.
A simple is a single herb, and whole schools of herbal medicine use one herb at a time to treat a condition until it improves. In contrast, a blend is a combination of herbs – as few as two or as many as dozens. Traditional Chinese remedies often contain 20 or more different herbs. While some herbalists consider blends safer than single-herb formulas because they are less likely to cause adverse side effects, that theory has not been proven. If a blend contains a potentially toxic herb, its smaller quantity may be helpful, but it is not necessarily safer than a tea or other product containing a single well-tolerated herb.
A specific is any herb known for its effectiveness in the treatment of a condition, such as turmeric for arthritis pain. Specifics can be used alone, in which case they are simples, or combined with other herbs, where they act as the blend’s active ingredients.
A catalyst, stimulant, activator, carrier, or emissaryherb can be added to herbal blends to increase their effectiveness, usually by improving circulation and digestion, thus helping other ingredients reach their destination. Some catalyst herbs are used alone but most make up a small portion of an herbal recipe. Cayenne and ginger are examples of pain-relieving catalyst herbs that can be used as simples or in blends for the treatment of arthritis.
Herbs can be given continuously or they can be pulsed by interrupting treatment, such as five days on and two days off per week, or three weeks on and one week off per month. While this approach has not been scientifically tested, some herbalists theorize that the treatment is less likely to cause adverse side effects, allows the body to recover from treatment, and may improve the overall result.
Medicinal Terms
The medicinal properties of herbs have their own vocabulary, and terms most important to the treatment of arthritis include the following:
– Analgesics, also called anodynes, relieve pain. These can be used internally or externally, depending on the herb.
– Anti-inflammatory herbs inhibit the effect of chemicals that cause pain and inflammation in the body at injured areas.
– Antispasmodic herbs prevent or ease cramps and muscle spasms.
– Nervines calm and soothe the nerves, reducing tension and anxiety.
– Rubefacient herbs draw inflammation and congestion from deeper areas, increasing circulation and promoting warmth.
– Tonic herbs restore and strengthen the entire system, producing and restoring normal tone. They are usually well tolerated and safe to take daily for long periods. Most tonics have general positive effects on the entire body.
Canine Arthritis Research
Search the medical literature or the websites of educational organizations like the American Botanical Council, and you’ll see many studies examining the effect of medicinal plants on humans with arthritis. But while canine arthritis is a popular veterinary research topic, only a few canine studies have examined plant-based therapies.
A 2004 study of 29 dogs with degenerative osteoarthritis conducted in Switzerland (“Dietary support with Boswellia resin in canine inflammatory joint and spinal disease” by J. Reichling, et al, Schweizer Archiv Fur Tierheilkunde) showed that boswellia extract significantly reduced symptoms and increased mobility in more than 70 percent of the canine patients.
In “A medicinal herb-based natural health product improves the condition of a canine natural osteoarthritis model: A randomized placebo-controlled trial” published in Research in Veterinary Science in 2014, scientists at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine worked with 32 dogs weighing more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds), all of whom had been diagnosed with arthritis by X-ray and orthopedic exam.
The researchers developed their own combinations of medicinal herbs. Their first formula contained devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata), black currant (Ribes nigrum), white willow (Salix alba), and feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), plus small amounts of EPA and DHA (omega-3 fatty acids). The second formula contained smaller amounts of the first two herbs, along with the same amount of black currant and the omega-3 fatty acids (found primarily in fish), added bromelain (Ananas comosus) and curcumin (Curcuma longa), plus glucosamine sulfate, MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), chondroitin sulfate, l-glutamine, and hyaluronic acid.
Half of the dogs received the first formula for four weeks and the second formula for another four weeks. The other half, acting as the control, received a placebo. To determine results, the dogs were filmed as they walked at a consistent speed over a special platform that captured the strength of each paw; a special electronic collar recorded their daily activities; and owners were asked to provide their own evaluations.
As head researcher Maxim Moreau reported, “After the eight-week course, on average, the strength of the dogs receiving treatment had improved to the equivalent of a kilo of extra strength per paw . . . . None of these dogs saw their health decline, unlike 35.8 percent of the dogs who were given the placebo.” In addition, the placebo dogs became less physically active while the treated dogs became significantly more active.
Helpful Herbs for Arthritic Dogs
Study the labels for products intended to relieve athritis symptoms in dogs (and humans) and you’ll see the following herbs, all of which are widely used for arthritis pain relief and considered safe for dogs.
Note that some herbs inhibit COX-2 enzymes, which promote pain, swelling, and inflammation. Herbal COX-2 inhibitors block those enzymes, as do many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Herbs containing COX-2 inhibitors or compounds related to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) should not be taken together or in combination with COX-2 inhibitor drugs, aspirin, or other NSAIDs.
Arnica (Arnica montana)
A small alpine plant with yellow blossoms. The flower heads, made into tea, tincture, or massage oil, are anti-inflammatory and relieve the pain of bruises, sprains, arthritis, and inflammation. Arnica is used externally.
Boswellia (Boswellia serrata)
A large tree native to India, is a potent anti-inflammatory that effectively shrinks inflamed tissue by improving circulation and increasing synovial fluid viscosity. Boswellia may help alleviate pain and improve range of motion within a week of daily use, and may slow the progression of cartilage damage. A bitter herb, boswellia is usually taken in capsules.
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa)
Describes both hemp and marijuana. As WDJ contributor Mary Straus wrote in “Dogs Going to Pot?” (April 2013), marijuana can be either harmful or beneficial to dogs, depending on dosage. The plant contains more than 60 chemicals called cannabinoids, the most important of which are cannabidiol (CBD), which has therapeutic properties, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is psychoactive but may provide additional benefits when small amounts are combined with CBD.
“Unfortunately,” wrote Straus, “because of the politics surrounding the use of medical marijuana, there is no reliable information about what dosage of marijuana is safe and effective for pets. This problem is further complicated by the wide variety of products, including flower buds, oils, tinctures, and other extracts, as well as the variation in strengths for each of these based on the strain of marijuana grown, the timing of the harvest, and the preparation of the medical product. Concentrated forms in particular can cause toxicity to dogs even in small amounts.”
Given its very low THC content, hemp is not considered intoxicating. Instead, its cannabinoids are known for their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-spasmodic properties. Hemp capsules, oils, and other products containing cannabinoids derived from hemp are sold throughout the U.S. for human and canine use without restriction.
Cayenne (Capsicum annuum)
2016’s official Herb of the Year (see “Cayenne for Canines,” WDJ May 2016). Its active ingredient, capsaicin, makes cayenne a contact rubefacient, which means that it increases circulation to sore joints and painful areas when applied topically. Capsaicin also acts as a nerve block, reducing pain. Cayenne is an important stimulant or catalyst herb that can be added in small amounts to blends, improving their effectiveness, or added to food or given in capsules.
Cayenne is a member of the nightshade family, and while most dogs appear not to be adversely affected by nightshades, some may be sensitive. If cayenne seems to worsen your dog’s arthritis symptoms, try avoiding not only cayenne but its nightshade cousins tomato, potato, eggplant, paprika and other peppers, tobacco, and the medicinal herb ashwagandha (Withania somnifera).
One of the world’s most widely used herbs. This nervine, tonic, antispasmodic plant soothes mind and body, relaxes the nerves, and relieves muscle cramps. Chamomile can be safely added to food or applied topically to dogs of all ages unless they are allergic to plants in the aster family (rare among dogs).
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
The most significant plant source of the cell-growth stimulator allantoin, which speeds the healing of wounds and even broken bones (comfrey’s common name is “knit bone”).
This tonic, anti-inflammatory herb is no longer recommended for internal use because its pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) may cause liver toxicity, but comfrey tea can be safely applied as a rinse or poultice to inflamed joints or sore spines. Alcohol-based comfrey tincture can be applied to sore joints, injuries, muscle strains, and other painful areas.
Devil’s Claw Root (Harpagophytum procumbens)
Native to South Africa, has anti-inflammatory properties, stimulates the lymph system, and is a detoxifying herb for the entire body. Devil’s claw is usually taken in capsules. Unfortunately, overharvesting and adulteration have made much of the devil’s claw sold in the U.S. of little value. To give devil’s claw products a fair trial, look for sustainable sources. This herb contains COX-2 enzyme inhibitors.
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)
A bitter-tasting green plant with daisy-like blossoms, remained an obscure herb until its ability to prevent migraine headaches put it back into home gardens and natural food markets. Because so many arthritis patients report that feverfew’s positive effects continue after they stop taking the herb, it appears to do more than temporarily alleviate symptoms. It’s usually taken in capsules.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
A familiar spice in cooking and baking, is stimulating, warming, and anti-inflammatory. Ginger helps improve circulation and digestion, and it is often added to blends as a catalyst or stimulant herb.
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
A good source of the trace mineral silicon, which plays an important role in bone formation and bone and connective tissue health. Horsetail’s effectiveness may result from its ability to boost silicon levels, which naturally decline with age. Taking this herb internally improves the skin, coat, nails, and joints; applying it externally as a soak, compress, or rinse speeds the results.
Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
Contains anti-inflammatory compounds that reduce joint pain and other arthritis symptoms while improving digestion and respiratory function. In small amounts, licorice root has no adverse side effects, but in large quantities or with daily use it can contribute to hypertension, edema, and hormone imbalances. Products labeled “deglycyrrhizinated licorice” or “DGL” have had the problematic substance removed, though some of the herb’s benefits are removed along with it.
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
A perennial herb with anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic, rubefacient, and analgesic actions. Its leaves, root, rhizomes, and flowers contain volatile oils whose compounds may be oxidized into salicylic acid, which, when metabolized in the gut, act like an herbal aspirin. In fact, the name aspirin is derived from Spiraea, meadowsweet’s old botanical name. This product should not be combined with NSAIDs.
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
While best known as an herb for the respiratory system, has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.
Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata)
A mild sedative, antispasmodic, and pain reliever traditionally used to treat insomnia, nervous anxiety, and pain. It has a relaxing influence and can help relieve discomfort.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
The popular seasoning herb, has traditionally been used to improve memory, relieve muscle pain and spasm, and support the circulatory and nervous systems. Applied topically, rosemary can be used to treat muscle pain and arthritis and improve circulation. Important note: While most dogs respond well to rosemary, which is widely used as a food preservative (including in pet foods), rosemary extract has triggered seizures in some dogs. Avoid this herb if your dog has a history of seizures. If your dog suffers a seizure after consuming rosemary or a food containing rosemary extract, switch to other products.
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)
Has long been used to relieve the pain and discomfort of inflammation in addition to reducing or alleviating anxiety. Skullcap’s active ingredient, scutellarin, is a flavonoid compound shown to have sedative and antispasmodic properties.
Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
Does more than flavor Italian food! Its anti-inflammatory effects make this a popular herb for arthritis, joint pain, and sore muscles. Like other culinary/medicinal herbs, it can be taken internally or applied topically. In addition to improving arthritis symptoms, marjoram is a relaxing nerve tonic that helps relieve nervous tension and stress-related symptoms.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
Contains more than two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds, including six different COX-2 inhibitors. By itself, curcumin – the component in turmeric most often cited for its healthful effects – is a multifaceted anti-inflammatory that can reduce arthritis symptoms. In human studies, turmeric extracts containing at least 20 percent curcuminoids are comparable in their effects to the drug ibuprofen. Combining turmeric with bromelain (the pineapple enzyme) provides even more impressive results.
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Valerian’s distinctive fragrance has been compared to old sweat socks, is one of the most effective nerve tonics available.
White Willow Bark (Salix alba, Salix spp.)
Contains salicin, a chemical similar to acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). In combination with white willow’s anti-inflammatory flavonoids, salicin is thought to be responsible for the plant’s pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. This product should not be combined with NSAIDs.
Yucca (Yucca schidigera, Yucca spp.)
Contains saponins, soap-like chemicals that reduce pain, joint swelling, and stiffness. Yucca is a popular ingredient in animal feeds because it reduces unpleasant odors in urine and feces. It should not be used in large doses for extended periods because it can irritate the stomach lining and cause vomiting.
For best results, use products recommended for dogs, follow label directions, and instead of giving it every day, consider a two-day break from yucca every week and a week-long break every one or two months.
Chinese Herbs for Arthritic Dogs
Conventional Western medicine typically uses symptom-suppressing drugs and therapies to relieve pain. Traditional Chinese medicine takes a different approach, examining the ways in which Chi or Qi (pronounced “chee”), the body’s life energy, might be slowed or obstructed.
Some traditional Chinese herbs used in arthritis remedies, such as stephania root (Stephania tetrandra or han fang chi), have been removed from formulas because they contain aristolochic acid, which can (rarely) cause renal damage.
Fortunately, most traditional Chinese blends contain herbs that are well tolerated, especially in small amounts. Chinese therapeutic categories include “vitalizing the blood,” “resolving hidden phlegm,” and “removing obstacles to the flow of chi” through the body’s meridians or energy channels. Formulas may contain warming herbs, herbs that support the kidneys or blood, or herbs that dispel dampness.
Key herbs used in Chinese blends for the treatment of arthritis include epimedium (Epimedium grandiflorum), rehmannia (Rehmannia glutinosa), peony (Paeonia lactiflora), white mustard (Sinapis alba), safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), angelica (Angelica archangelica), mulberry (Morus nigra), frankincense (Boswellia sacra), cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and ligusticum (Ligusticum porteri).
For best results, use Chinese herbal formulas that are manufactured in the United States or which have been tested for purity and label accuracy. Many herbal products imported from China contain dangerous ingredients or are incorrectly labeled.
Commercial Products
Most pet-supply stores and natural-food markets sell a variety of herbal products, and so do online retailers. Check with manufacturers regarding their guarantees of purity and label accuracy.
To discover which products work best for your dog, follow label directions and complete one course of treatment (typically four to six weeks) before starting another. Make notes about your dog’s arthritis symptoms (such as his willingness or ability to get in the car or jump up on the couch, or how long it takes him to get on his feet after a nap) in your dog’s health journal before beginning any new remedy, and again at weekly intervals. Another good way to track the effectiveness of a new product is to take video of your dog walking, turning, or playing before and after a course of treatment.
If your dog is taking prescription drugs, be sure to discuss herbal products with your veterinarian before adding them to your pet’s medications.
The following are some of the leading herbal blends for relieving canine arthritis symptoms:
Alenza Chewable Tablets, combine Boswellia serrata with a proprietary blend of bioflavonoids to help active and aging dogs manage discomfort, recover from stress or injury, and speed the rehabilitation process. Scored tablets can be given during or after meals or crumbled into food.
Animal Essentials Joint Support (formerly Alfalfa/Yucca Blend) is an alcohol-free vegetable glycerin tincture containing certified organic alfalfa, yucca root, burdock root, and licorice root. The sweet-tasting glycerite can be squirted directly into a dog’s mouth from the measured dropper or added to food twice daily.
Arnica tincture, an alcohol extract of Arnica montana, is made by several herbal product companies for topical application and is widely available, though you’ll find the largest selection online. Arnica tincture is usually effective for acute pain, especially if it is applied topically over the area that hurts as soon as symptoms develop.
The Australian remedy DGP (Dog Gone Pain) contains marine collagen extract, boswellia, corydalis root, wheatgrass, turmeric, feverfew, celery seed, and a proprietary blend of wild rosella, capsicum, aniseed, mountain pepper, and other ingredients along with the enzymes bromelain and papain.
Dr. Christopher’s Complete Tissue and Bone Formula is a dry herb blend containing white oak bark, comfrey root, marshmallow root, mullein leaf, black walnut leaf, gravel root, wormwood, lobelia, and skullcap. It’s named for the late Dr. John Christopher and is available from Dr. Christopher’s Herb Shop.
I like to simmer four rounded teaspoons of the dry blend in a covered quart of water for up to an hour, then let the tea cool to room temperature before straining it into a glass jar and refrigerating. Because of its comfrey and wormwood content, this tea is not recommended for internal use. It can be gently rubbed into the skin around sore joints, poured over the neck, spine, or other affected joints as a rinse, or applied as a compress where needed. Apply frequently, two or three times a day, for best results. Refrigerated tea keeps for about a week.
HerbAprin (formerly Herbal Aspirin) from Glacier Peak Holistics provides a proprietary blend of white willow, feverfew, skullcap, valerian, chamomile, rosemary, passion flower, and cayenne for dogs. It is available in tincture, powder, and capsule form.
Note that HerbAprin contains white willow, which should not be combined with COX-2 Inhibitors or NSAIDs. It also contains rosemary, which is not recommended for dogs with seizure disorders.
Muscle and Joint Support from Pet Alive contains devil’s claw, spirulina, lecithin, and glucosamine sulfate.
Ways to Administer Herbs to Your Dog
Tea is the most basic herbal preparation, and for dogs with arthritis, a properly brewed, room-temperature tea applied as a rinse or simply massaged into the skin can make a difference, as can small amounts of tea added to the dog’s food.
To brew an infusion or tisane (an herbal tea made from leaves or blossoms), add 1 teaspoon dried herb or 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh herb to a cup of water. Start with cold water and heat it to the boiling point in a covered pan before removing it from the heat, or pour boiling water over loose herbs, cover, and let steep. The longer it brews, the stronger and more medicinal the tea. For best results, use a stainless steel, glass, or enameled pan with a tight-fitting lid and leave your tea undisturbed until it cools to room temperature, then strain and use. Tea can be strained through cheesecloth, a kitchen towel, or a wire mesh strainer.
To brew a decoction (a simmered tea made from roots, bark, or seeds), start with cold water and chopped or cut dried or fresh herbs in the same proportions as for an infusion. In a covered pan, bring the tea to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over very low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or longer. Remove the pan from heat and let the tea continue to steep with the lid on until cool. Unlike leaves and blossoms, roots, bark, and seeds can be reused, usually three to four times. As flavor and color decrease with use, extend the brewing time or replenish herbs by adding small amounts of new material.
Tinctures are liquid extracts, usually made with alcohol or vegetable glycerin. Alcohol is the most widely used tincture solvent because it extracts more constituents and preserves them longer than anything else. While a large dog may safely take an alcohol tincture with food, puppies and small breeds should have minimal exposure to alcohol. Fortunately, well-made tinctures are so concentrated that just a few drops contain a therapeutic dose. Some manufacturers offer tinctures from which the alcohol has been removed, or you can use glycerites, which are made with vegetable glycerin. Alcohol tinctures, because they are highly concentrated, can be applied topically to arthritic joints, strained muscles, or other painful areas.
Capsules are convenient because most dogs find them easy to swallow when hidden in food or treats. Encapsulated herbal blends have become popular arthritis treatments for canines and humans.
Poultices are wet herbal packs applied directly to an inflamed, irritated, swollen, infected, or injured part of the body. They are made of fresh mashed herbs or the residue left after brewing tea, and are usually applied cool rather than hot. Use whatever will hold the poultice in place for as long as possible, such as Vetwrap, elastic bandages, plastic wrap, cheesecloth, muslin, or cotton fabric. A layer of plastic over the poultice helps prevent stains on rugs or furniture. Alternatively, fold the plant material into layered gauze or fabric and hold it in place by hand.
A compress is a towel or thick cloth saturated with cold or room-temperature herbal tea and held in place for five or 10 minutes. A fomentation is a hot or warm compress. One or the other may bring relief to a sore spine or joint.
Washes and rinses are just what they sound like. Any beverage- or medicinal-strength tea can be used by itself or as a final rinse after shampooing. For a dog with arthritis, soaking the coat to the skin and gently massaging tea into the neck, spine, or joints can be therapeutic.
Store dried herbs and herbal products away from heat, light, and humidity – in other words, not in the kitchen or bathroom – and tightly sealed. Most herbal tinctures and capsules come in protective packaging such as dark blue or brown bottles.
Where to Start Looking for an Arthritis Remedy
There are so many arthritis remedies available; how should you decide which to try first? And, once you start a supplement, how can you tell whether it’s helping? Individuals respond differently; what works for your friend’s dog might have no effect on yours, and vice versa. Even without treatment, a dog’s symptoms can change from day to day, making it hard to measure improvement.
You have to start somewhere, so it’s worth trying a remedy that helped a dog you know, that was recommended by someone whose opinion you respect, or that for other reasons looks promising.
We suggest experimenting with one remedy at a time, following label directions for a “course” of treatment, which is typically four to six weeks, or until the package is empty. Of course, if the dog has an adverse reaction or seems worse, discontinue that product and try something else.
Is your dog better? The best way to determine that is with an objective measurement of some kind. For example, can she no longer jump onto the sofa or your car’s back seat, climb up and down stairs, or play with friends? If she resumes those activities while on a supplement, it’s probably working.
Mary Straus spent years working with her dog Piglet’s arthritis. “I was always trying something new,” she says. “If I thought I saw improvement, I added it to the regimen. If I didn’t see any change, I stopped giving it after I ran out. That gave me another chance to see if it was helping, because if the product was effective, the dog could get worse after stopping.”
Professional Resources and Quality Control
How can you be sure that an herbal remedy will be safe and appropriate for your dog? While there is no standardized certification in the United States for herbalists who create pet products, they are represented by professional organizations, as are veterinarians who use medicinal herbs.
The American Botanical Council is an important educational resource that promotes good manufacturing practices (GMP) and monitors the quality of plant-based medicines sold in the United States. The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC), an industry trade association of suppliers, manufacturers, and marketers of dietary ingredients and supplements for pets, has endorsed the Botanical Adulterants Program, which is a coalition of the American Botanical Council, the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), and the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR).
You can ask manufacturers for information about the sources, quality, and testing of their ingredients; asking them about any professional affiliations they have with the above organizations is another good idea.
It’s ideal if you can consult an experienced holistic veterinarian and/or herbalist in person. But if you can’t, see the following books for in-depth guidelines on using herbal remedies for your dog:
– Herbs for Pets: The Natural Way to Enhance Your Pet’s Life by Mary L. Wulff and Greg L. Tilford (2nd Edition, Lumina Media; 2009)
– Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care by CJ Puotinen (McGraw-Hill, 2000)
In the next issue, we’ll discuss essential oils and aromatherapy products that can help a dog with arthritis.
Plants were the original pharmacy for humans and animals, and over thousands of years, cultures around the world developed remedies that remain in use today. Herbal teas, tinctures, capsules, poultices, rinses, and massage oils are widely sold. American consumers spent nearly $7 billion on herbal products in 2015, which is $480 million more than we spent on them in 2014, marking the 12th consecutive year of growth. The medicinal herbs industry is thriving.
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Well, here is a pleasant surprise: A company that offers support for dog-related products that were purchased years ago – even more than a decade ago!
I bought this gate a long time ago. It was for sure more than 10 years, because I have been living in my current northern California town for more than 10 years, and I bought it (and used it for at least a few years) in my old rental home in the San Francisco Bay area. And it’s easily the best dog or baby gate I’ve ever had, which is why I brought it with me when I moved.
But I didn’t install it in our new house after I moved. We didn’t have a dog who needed gating at the time. And by the time we did need a gate, I couldn’t find the hardware I needed to install it properly. D’oh! So I have been making do for YEARS with pressure-mounted gates and exercise pens.
So has my sister, who borrowed one of my exercise pens to prevent her dogs from going from her deck, which is accessible through a dog door from her house, into the unfenced front yard. I was there recently and said, “You know, what you need here is a gate like the one I used to have in Alameda…and I think I still have that gate somewhere!” I came home and easily found the gate (in a storage shed), and then quickly remembered the hardware issue. Perhaps, like so many great things today, I could find replacement hardware on the Internet?
I looked all over the gate for a name brand or model number. I found the brand, Kidco, and went straight to the Internet. And lo and behold, at Kidco.com, I found a link for replacement parts, and very easily found a model with the same type of hardware as my dream gate. All the pieces were illustrated, so I could see exactly what parts I needed, and which I did not. The only thing that could have made the process easier was an online order form; instead, I printed out the order form. One can either mail it to the company with a check or fax it to them with a credit card number. For about $15, I will be able to install this terrific gate at my sister’s house (and borrow back my exercise pen!).
The thing that makes this particular gate so great is the hardware. The hardware secures it VERY well- no dog of any size was EVER able push it open, and many tried! It also swings very smoothly and easily, and flattens nicely against the wall when not in use. And it was easy to unlatch and open with one hand; it didn’t require two hands in order to unlock.
I look forward to receiving the replacement parts and fencing my sister’s little dogs in more conveniently and securely. Thanks, Kidco! And thanks, Internet!
Recently, a trainer friend asked me if I would be interested in volunteering my adolescent dog, Woody, to be a participant in some sort of nose work workshop. My friend was asking on behalf of another trainer she knew, and she vouched for her friend, saying that Woody would have a good time and that she thought it would be interesting for me. I didn’t have time to get the details on what the workshop was, but quickly I agreed to the date – a week away, on a day when I would have ample time.
It could not have been more fascinating.
I attended just a few hours that one day, which was part of a six-day certification program for people who were learning how to teach dogs to detect cancer in noninvasive medical samples: blood, urine, and breath.
The course is taught by Dina Zaphiris, founder and CEO of the In Situ Foundation, a 501(c)3, dedicated to training dogs to detect early stage cancer in humans for more than 12 years. The students who were attending the course included medical researchers with a special interest in the ability of dogs to do this work, as well as dog trainers who have a special interest in cancer detection. (Indeed, the first person I asked, “What brought you here?” said that she was a dog trainer who had lost her mother to cancer, and she was interested in anything that could help people detect and treat cancer earlier.)
The students were having a lunch break when I arrived, so I was able to ask a few questions before turning over Woody’s leash to a student. I was happy to see him trot happily off with the student (and her treat bag), to be crated until it was his turn to participate in the training.
Dina apologized to myself and the other owner who had volunteered her adolescent Australian Shepherd for the afternoon’s session, saying that while she’d be happy to answer quick questions, she would be able to explain things in more depth later; the training was for the benefit of the paid participants, who were on their fourth day of the six-day workshop. For me, it was like sitting down in a Ph.D. level course on a topic that always fascinated you, but that you realized you knew little about.
The first thing that I witnessed was one of Dina’s already trained dogs, Stewie, a six-year-old Aussie who has been trained to detect early stage lung, ovarian, and breast cancer, being handled by students in the course. At this point in the workshop, the students had already seen this work; they were now practicing the physical and organization skills necessary to prepare the samples that the dog would be scrutinizing – in this case, a blood sample from a person with breast cancer, as well as “decoy” blood samples from people who had benign tumors – and arranging them in a device used to present them to the detection dog, and bringing Stewie to the testing area. Dina was coaching the students through the process; there are clearly a thousand small details that you have to get just right in order to make certain that the samples are not mixed up or handled in such a way as to either confuse or “tip off” the dog, and that the trained dog is being presented with the various samples in a completely neutral way.
Stewie was released to the device, which had six openings where samples could be placed, and in this case, held one sample with cancer and two samples with benign tumors. It took her less than 10 seconds to sniff all six holes, sniff the one with the cancer sample more deeply, and then signal the “alert” by sitting emphatically down in front of that sample. Boom.
Then she did it about six times again, with different people handling her and moving the position of the samples.
Then it was time for Woody. In addition to learning how to handle experienced, trained detection dogs, Dina was showing the students how to start teaching a completely inexperienced dog how to detect certain scents and alert their handlers when they have detected a scent. Dina explained that if one was actually training the dog (as opposed to demonstrating the various steps), one would practice the steps over many days with many repetitions.
She started by feeding Woody a treat or two, and then tossed one, saying “Find it!” He’s played this game before, and he readily chased after the treat, and then returned to her for more. Once a dog solidly knew the “Find it!” cue, she explained, she’d move on to hiding treats. She loaded a jar with food treats, and loaded the jar into a different apparatus than the one Stewie worked with; the one resembled a merry-go-round, with six places for various scents. She walked Woody on a loose leash by the apparatus, telling him, “Find it!” Since he had just been snacking on the same sort of treat, when he walked by the section of the merry-go-round where treats were hidden, he did sort of a double-take. He had easily smelled the treats, and while he had almost walked right by them, he followed his nose and turned back to sniff the part of the apparatus where the treats were located. When he sniffed that section, Dina clicked a clicker and quickly placed a treat on that section for him to eat. Yay!
Dina spun the merry go round, and they walked around it again. Now that Woody knew there were treats in it for him, he walked around sniffing each section of the apparatus, and quickly found the section where the jar of treats was located. He gave that section a big sniff, and when he did so, Dina clicked the clicker and gave him a treat. Boom. Then she handed his leash to a student, who replicated the exercise, and then another student. They also introduced him to two different types of sample-holders, and used the chance to play with a tennis ball as the reward for sniffing out the treats.
Now, I know that dogs have great noses, and that they can smell far more than we can. And this treat-finding exercise was a super simple introduction to nose work. But I couldn’t help but feel a little like I had just found out that my second grader could play the piano without ever having had a lesson. I was also super proud of the fact that Woody was so comfortable and happy being handled by strangers, in a room full of strangers, with barking dogs in the background (other dogs were crated, waiting for their turns).
I was fascinated by the little I saw of this program, and plan to go back and interview Dina Zaphiris soon, for an article about her work with cancer detection dogs. Who knows? Maybe Woody and I will pursue further training in this area. After the loss of my brother almost two years ago, to a cancer that was only detected when it was a fast-moving, deadly stage 4 (he lived only 8 months after diagnosis), I have a grudge against this horrible disease, and I’d love to participate in any sort of research that could speed up detection.
So, there’s an expression that was coined in 2013, and which is defined by Wikipedia as “a term for a facial expression (or lack thereof) which unintentionally appears angry, annoyed, or irritated.” More to the point, it’s usually used to describe a woman who looks annoyed, and is sometimes shortened to its initials, “RBF.” You can guess what the “B” is for. It rhymes (more or less) with the headline.
The thing is, the usual defense against being accused of having or making a Resting B**** Face is, “It’s just my FACE! I’m not doing anything!” In other words, sometimes people (often women) are accused of looking irritated, but, in fact, they may be completely un-irritated, just spacing out. It’s just their face.
I’m talking about this because it popped into my head the other day that I now have a dog who has the canine equivalent of RBF. We’re going to have to call it “resting pit face” – the face of a pit bull (or any bully breed with a blocky head) who is actually quite relaxed but expressionless. It’s the face of a pit-mix who is neither happy, anxious, tired, interested, affectionate, mad, or expressing any other emotion. It’s just a dog with a neutral expression who nonetheless strikes people as looking scary, aggressive, irritated, or “mean.”
Look at my pit/Lab-mix, Woody. This is him just sitting there, thinking nothing. Does he look scary to you? He looks scary to some people. But it’s just RPF. This is just his face. He’s exuding zero emotion. He’s not annoyed. But he (and thousands of other bully-breed dogs with RPF) get instantly judged as potential threats based on their physiognomy – what their heads and faces look like.
When I take Woody places, I see people see him and do a double take. He gets an extra look. People are cautious about RPF.
It’s true that when Woody puts a happy expression on, no one thinks he’s a threat. His happy face is super happy; his lips turn up and his ears go loosely back, his eyes get squinty and soft, and his whole body wiggles and smiles. But it’s too bad that he (and the thousands of pit-mixes in shelters) have to sort of act like fools like this in order for people to get that they are nice dogs.
Some day Woody will grow up; I wouldn’t expect that as an adult dog that he will still be so wiggly and goofy every time he meets a new person. If he’s calm and well-behaved as an adult - if he’s doing everything I would expect my fuzz-faced mutt, Otto, to do when he meets a new human, that is, sitting politely and calmly – will people think he’s mean?
Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Aroo! Aroo! Aroo! This is how I know it’s Wednesday.
I know it’s Wednesday because every Wednesday there is a gardener who comes to service a property that is occupied by a neighborhood church across my back fence and one lot to the side. The gardener brings his dog, a hound, with him to work, and while the gardener works, trimming and raking and blowing leaves, the hound roams the church property. Well, not the whole property; he pretty much confines himself to running up and down the back fence of the church property, where three other big dogs live. He bays, and they bark. For an hour. Every Wednesday morning.
“Singing the song of their people” is how many hound owners describe the baying of their beloved dogs. I get it – and I love hounds, too! – but I can’t say I love baying. Or barking.
“Dogs should be allowed to be dogs, at least sometimes!” say many dog owners – or at least, the ones who don’t mind a lot of barking. I agree! But only as this relates to a few playful barks, or as many barks as are needed to get my attention when a stranger is at my door, or lingering at my front gate in the middle of the night.
Barking that goes on and on reminds me of humans who have lost their minds, like dementia patients who call for help around the clock, even as they are being helped by patient and sympathetic nurses. Dogs who are locked outside and who bark relentlessly make me just as sad as mad; I strongly sympathize with their boredom, anxiety, and loneliness. It must be so frustrating to live without acknowledgement or regard.
In my town, in order to make a noise complaint about a barking dog, you have to get two other neighbors to sign a statement indicating that the dog’s barking is bothering them, too. This is meant to prevent neighbors who are feuding about unrelated matters from filing noise complaints in order to harass each other. The animal control officers in my town have told me stories about people who deliberately provoke their neighbor’s dogs, by throwing rocks against the fences between their properties, for example, and then calling the police to complain about their neighbor’s barking dogs. When the officers investigate, they learn from other neighbors that the complainant is well-known for purposely provoking the neighbor’s dogs. And sometimes they learn that the people who are being complained about purposely got the dog and encourage it to bark in order to aggravate the complainant. For these and many other reasons, animal control officers often hate getting called out to investigate barking dog complaints.
As bark-phobic as I am, I’ve gathered statements from neighbors and filed a complaint about barking dogs in my neighborhood only one time. There is a family about three doors away that had, at the time, four or five Cattle Dog-mixes on chains and in pens in their back and side yard. (Originally, they had one intact male dog, who used to escape the yard daily, making rounds in the neighborhood, peeing on fences and triggering barking fits from all the neighborhood dogs behind fences. Then they got a female…and when the inevitable puppies came along, they kept two or three of them. And now, all the dogs are penned or chained.) At random times every day, something would set off the pack of dogs and they would all start barking, and it would take them an hour or more to all settle and quiet down.
One day I was working when the cacophony started and seemed not to have an end in sight (sound?). I walked over to the house with a note to leave on their door; I imagined that no one was home, because who could be at home and not step outside and say “HEY! HUSH!”? When I approached the house, I was horrified to see a woman through the front window. She was not only home (and not shushing the dogs) – when she saw me walking up the front walkway, she abruptly closed the front curtain! The dogs who could see me approach the door renewed and intensified their barking, and when I knocked on the door, barking from an uncountable number of small dogs in the house erupted – but no one either came to the door or could be heard attempting to shush the little dogs, either. I could only conclude this person was deaf, crazy, antisocial, or some combination thereof. I left the note, asking if there was anything I, a concerned neighbor, could do to help them manage the barking of their dogs, and when there was zero response a week later, I asked some other neighbors for help, and several added their names to the noise complaint I turned into the city animal control office.
About a week later, I was sitting at my computer and realized that it had been at least a day or so since I had heard any barking! I wondered what happened, and a few days later, I had the answer: I was walking my dogs by the house when I saw several of the former barkers standing behind their wire fence; each had an electronic (shock) bark collar on. Well, crud. I didn’t see that coming. As much as I hated hearing all that nuisance barking, I hate the idea that the dogs are just as neglected and ignored as they were before, only now, they get shocked, too…which is why I haven’t tried to shut down the Wednesday morning barking and baying club.
In the September issue, we published an article about gastritis – stomach inflammation that causes vomiting. I was glad that the article was fresh in my mind when my son texted me about his dog, Cole, an almost-four-year-old American Black and Tan Coonhound-mix, who had vomited bile first thing in the morning, three mornings in a row. My absolute first thought was, “That sounds just like the dogs in the article in this month’s issue!”
I grabbed the issue, and sure enough: The author, CJ Puotinen, had described two cases in which dogs had unexplained vomiting in the early morning hours, and the vomit contained only bile. Radiographs (Xrays) and ultrasound showed nothing amiss . . . but then, after weeks of this recurrent vomiting, the dog in each case vomited up a foreign object – one that in either case couldn’t have been detected with either Xrays or an ultrasound exam. In one case, it was an entire sock, and in the other, a small plastic decoration from a cupcake that the dog had pilfered off a kitchen counter!
I asked my son whether Cole could have possibly eaten something he shouldn’t have. He said nothing was missing, and that Cole is mostly past toy-chewing, though he had a slight concern over the possibility of strings from a rope toy that Cole had stolen from another dog at work. (Cole is lucky enough to get to go to work in an office with my son every day!) Rope toys are great for interactive play, but dogs should never be allowed to chew on them, and Cole had spent a bit of time chewing on one undetected under my son’s desk a week or so before all the vomiting started. But my son said that while Cole was indeed caught chewing the toy, it didn’t look like much was missing. Hmm.
I told my son to try feeding Cole a small meal right before bedtime; the inflammation that causes the buildup of bile (which makes the dog vomit) is worst when the stomach is empty, so the idea is to try to keep a little something in the stomach around the clock, as a short-term approach that might help with the diagnosis. And that of course, if he stopped eating, grew lethargic, had trouble pooping, or had any other symptom, that he should take him into a 24-hour clinic. But Cole stayed his cheerful, hungry self, and the small meals kept him from vomiting two mornings in a row . . . and then he vomited again on the third morning.
Adding to our concern was that my son needed to travel to a sports competition this week (this is here only for the very curious, and the very proud [me]: http://play.usaultimate.org/events/USA-Ultimate-National-Championships-2016/), and I was going to be meeting him to pick up Cole so my granddog could stay with me while my son was gone.
I made an appointment for Cole to be seen by my veterinarian on the day after we had arranged to meet. And then, the day before we met, my son texted me a photo of Cole’s morning vomit – with a plastic bread bag tag in it.
And he didn’t vomit the day we made the switch, and he didn’t vomit this morning, on my watch, so I’m hoping beyond hope that the little bit of plastic was all there was to Cole’s gastritis. I cancelled the vet appointment for now. And while of course I’m going to keep watching him, I’m hoping he recovers as quickly as the dogs in the September issue article, without needing an endoscopic exam (under full anesthesia) to see if there is anything else in his tummy causing a problem. Wish us luck!
Dogs with milder isolation distress might “only” chew furnishings or other household items or urinate in the house when left alone. dogs with severe separation anxiety might scratch or chew through doors or window frames in an effort to escape. These dogs are genuinely panicking, not “acting out.”
I open our back door to let the dogs outside for one of their many daily bathroom breaks. Two of our dogs dash off the deck to explore our fenced yard and hunt for the groundhog who has foolishly taken up residence under the garage. In contrast, our third dog, a Cardigan Corgi named Lucy, suffers from isolation distress, a relatively mild form of separation anxiety. When she steps out onto the deck, she always looks to see whether I am following her. If I come out, she saunters off the deck, relieves her bowels and bladder, and returns to my side. If, instead, I stay inside and close the door, she nervously waits on the deck, staring through the glass panels in the door, shifting back and forth on her front paws, clearly uncomfortable, yet reluctant to venture a few feet farther away from me so she can go potty.
Separation anxiety is my least favorite behavior to deal with, as both a dog owner and a dog behavior and training professional. It is challenging to manage, has a significant negative impact on quality of life for dogs and their humans, requires a real commitment to behavior modification for a considerable period of time, and all too often results in the dog losing his happy home. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the behavior can be modified. With a committed human in his corner, patience, and appropriate interventions, the dog suffering from this behavior can be helped.
Definitions of Separation Anxiety in Dogs
Separation anxiety is a condition in which the dog becomes upset when separated from one or more humans with whom he has hyper-bonded. A dog with true separation anxiety experiences a severe panic attack when he is left alone. Escape attempts by a dog with separation anxiety can be extreme and may result in self-injury. Household destruction often occurs, especially around exit points like windows and doors. Some dogs have even jumped through windows in their desperate attempts to find their humans.
Dogs with separation anxiety often also urinate and/or defecate in the house when left alone. This is a stress response, and is not an attempt to “get even” with their humans for being left alone. Dogs should never be punished or even scolded for their separation-related behaviors. This will only stress them more and worsen their anxiety.
Separation-related behaviors vary in intensity from one dog to the next. Milder forms of the behavior are more appropriately called “separation distress,” while the full-blown panic attack truly deserves the label “separation anxiety.”
A slightly less difficult presentation of this behavior is known as isolation distress or anxiety. With true separation distress or anxiety, the dog must specifically be with one of the humans to whom he has hyper-bonded. A dog with isolation distress or anxiety only needs not to be left alone. For some dogs, this need can even be met by the presence of another animal. Clearly, this is an easier behavior to work with. And thankfully, our Lucy only has a mild level of isolation distress.
Behaviors of Dogs with Separation Anxiety
Typically, symptomatic behaviors may begin either as the anxious dog’s human prepares to depart, or immediately after they leave. The behavior may continue for 30 to 60 minutes or longer, and in more extreme cases, for the entire length of the owner’s absence – even as much as eight to 10 hours.
Destructive behavior is one of the most obvious and difficult signs of separation or isolation anxiety (SA or IA), but it is not the only one. Here are others that can be seen in some (but not all) dogs with SA or IA:
1. Velcro Dog
SA and IA dogs tend to be clingy even when owners are home – following their humans from room to room, and lying as close as possible when owners are seated. The dog may also frantically try to follow his human every time she walks out the door, even if she’s just going out to get the mail or newspaper.
2. Pacing
As you make preparations to leave, your dog recognizes the pending event, and begins to stress – often pacing, panting, and whining in anticipation of your departure.
3. Vocalization
It is not uncommon for SA/IA dogs to be very vocal when their humans are gone.
4. House Soiling
Extreme stress can cause your dog to urinate and defecate indoors. He can’t help it.
5. Anorexia
Many dogs with SA/IA will not eat or drink when left alone. (This renders the often-given suggestion to give the dog a food-stuffed Kong or other toy relatively useless.)
6. Crate Intolerance
Dogs with SA/IA often will experience an even greater degree of panic if they are confined in a crate. Dogs who are destructive in the home due to immaturity and/or lack of house manners are often crated to protect the home, but this is generally not a viable option for SA/IA dogs. Panicked dogs have injured themselves and even died in the process of trying to escape from their crates.
Some dogs may be merely vigilant about the arrivals and departures of their humans until a traumatic event (such as a household move or the loss of a family member) triggers a major shift into dramatically anxious behavior.
7. Excessive Excitement Upon Owner’s Return
Of course, lots of our dogs are excited when we come home. The SA/IA dog may present an extreme level of arousal and excitement upon his human’s return; owners are cautioned to remain very calm, rather than getting excited in response.
Causes and Triggers of Dog Separation Anxiety
We don’t really know what causes separation and isolation anxiety, although it’s likely that dogs who do develop the behavior have a genetic propensity for it. Some dogs show evidence of the behaviors from early puppyhood; others not until later in life.
We do know that this behavior is overrepresented in dogs adopted from shelters, but we don’t know if it’s because the stress of being in the shelter triggers the anxiety, or if they are surrendered to shelters in greater numbers because of their difficult behaviors. We also know that the behaviors can be brought on by other dramatic or traumatic events in a dog’s living environment. These dogs often also have other anxiety-related behaviors, such as storm sensitivities.
Here are some known triggers for canine separation anxiety and isolation anxiety:
Schedule Change
A sudden change in the length of time a dog is left alone, or in the time of day he is left alone, can sometimes trigger SA or IA. When a schedule change is anticipated in advance, if possible, take time to help your dog acclimate gradually. If you’re switching from day shift to night shift at your job, take several days off work and use them to gradually change the hours you are away from home. As you transition to later hours, you might even think about spending a night or two at a motel or a friend’s house, so your dog can experience your absence at night in progressively longer stretches.
Moving
The stress involved in a household move, combined with the lack of familiarity with the new home, can trigger SA or IA in some dogs. Of course it’s not always possible, but if you’re planning a move and you have the luxury of being able to spend time in the new home with your dog prior to the actual move, the change will be less traumatic for him, and less likely to trigger anxiety-related behaviors.
Loss of Family Members
The sudden loss of a family member – a child going off to college, someone moving away, or a death in the family – can elicit anxiety in your dog, especially if the person leaving was particularly well loved by the dog. Again, when possible, make these transitions gradual, so your dog has time to adjust to the change.
Rehoming
Whether he’s been surrendered to a shelter or privately rehomed, getting a new home and owner is a huge life change for a dog. As much as we would love for all dogs to spend their entire lives in one forever home, there are some legitimate circumstances that require rehoming. Again, the more that can be done to prepare a dog for a new home, the better. If you know the person who will be adopting your dog, arrange for her to meet your dog and share several enjoyable outings with him, so your dog gets to know her before the move, and so you can be sure they are compatible.
If you’re surrendering your dog to a shelter, there’s not a lot you can do to help him acclimate to a shelter environment. But you should, at least, do some research to be sure you are giving him to a well-run, bona fide shelter or rescue group, not a hoarder posing as a rescue, or a flipper who sells dogs (they exist!).
If you are the new home, schedule gradually increasing departures for the first week or two when you bring the puppy or dog home to help prevent this.
Traumatic Event
Anything that creates a high degree of stress for your dog has the potential to trigger SA or IA. A burglar breaking into the house while the dog is home, a fire in the house next door with loud sirens and general chaos nearby, an earthquake, even a close lightning strike, can have long-term effects on a dog’s anxiety level.
Separation Anxiety Behavior Modification
Behavior professionals generally agree that it’s difficult if not impossible to modify unwanted behaviors if the dog is allowed to continue to practice them. Management is generally the answer to preventing your dog from practicing unwanted behaviors.
That said, management for IA and especially SA can be very difficult. This makes behavior modification for SA and IA a real challenge, as most people don’t have the luxury to be able to take several weeks off work to implement a gradual program of counter-conditioning and desensitization for their dogs. However, the closer you can come to that ideal, the more successful you will be at helping your dog learn to be comfortable staying home alone.
The management piece is the main reason isolation anxiety is easier to deal with than separation anxiety. You can leave a dog who has IA at a good doggie daycare facility, with a friend or family member, or sometimes with other dogs for sufficient companionship, and he will be perfectly happy. Not so with dogs who have SA. Because this dog has to be with you, he will be just as unhappy at daycare or your mom’s house as he is at home – and the daycare operators and your mother are likely to be very unhappy as well!
Dog owners have long been counseled to desensitize their dogs to pieces of the departure routine, so that each piece is less likely to raise the dog’s stress level. Pick up your keys and set them down throughout the day. Put on your coat and take it off. Put your shoes on and take them off. All this can be helpful, especially with milder cases. However, it’s not likely to deter a dog who has a significant case of SA or IA.
Serious SA/IA modification consists of very gradual counter-conditioning and desensitization to small increases in distance between the dog and his human. We have a saying in behavior modification, “If you think you are going too slow, slow down.” For SA and IA modification, you need to slow down even more.
Trainer/author Malena DeMartini-Price has specialized in separation anxiety since 2001, and has written an excellent book on the subject, Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs. She also offers a training program that certifies trainers who seek to work with cases of SA and IA. Her treatment protocol is divided into five phases. To highlight how slowly a successful modification program goes, she says, “You won’t progress to the next phase until the dog is truly successful in the previous one … For example, if a dog can’t successfully stay behind a baby gate for a few minutes while Mom is out of sight (Phase 3), you can’t advance to the next phase.”
If you are looking for a trainer to help you with your dog’s SA/IA behavior, you can connect with a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) by visiting this link.
Veterinary Behaviorist Dr. Karen Overall has created a 15-day protocol (she calls it “Protocol for Relaxation”) that is perfect for SA and IA (although I caution my clients that it is likely to take far longer than 15 days). For each task on the list, you ask your dog to sit and stay, or lie down and stay. At the conclusion of each task in the list, you feed your dog a treat, tell him stay again, and perform the next task. The protocol can also be helpful for modifying crate anxiety behaviors.
To give you an idea of how slowly you move through the exercises, here is Dr. Overall’s list of tasks to do with your dog on day one:
Day 1: Dog’s Task
1. Sit for 5 seconds
2. Sit for 10 seconds
3. Sit while you take 1 step back and return
4. Sit while you take 2 steps back and return
5. Sit for 10 seconds
6. Sit while you take 1 step to the right and return
7. Sit while you take 1 step to the left and return
8. Sit for 10 seconds
9. Sit while you take 2 steps back and return
10. Sit while you take 2 steps to the right and return
11. Sit for 15 seconds
12. Sit while you take 2 steps to the left and return
13. Sit while you clap your hands softly once
14. Sit while you take 3 steps back and return
15. Sit while you count out loud to 10
16. Sit while you clap your hands softly once
17. Sit while you count out loud to 20
18. Sit while you take 3 steps to the right and return
19. Sit while you clap your hands softly twice
20. Sit for 3 seconds
21. Sit for 5 seconds
22. Sit while you take 1 step back and return
23. Sit for 3 seconds
24. Sit for 10 seconds
25. Sit for 5 seconds
26. Sit for 3 seconds
Slow going, right? Each of the subsequent days takes you gradually farther and farther away from your dog, for increasingly long periods of time. At the end of the protocol you are out of sight (in another room) for 10 seconds. Obviously, you would need to continue your work from there to gradually build up to leaving the house for increasing periods of time. It’s not an easy task.
I also tell my clients they can break it down into even smaller steps if necessary to help their dog succeed. For example, rather than going from 5 seconds (the first task below) to 10 seconds (the second task) they could start at 3 seconds and just increase the difficulty by one second at a time.
Some humans are reluctant, for various reasons, to use medication for canine behavior problems. With most of my clients whose dogs do not have IA or SA, we agree to implement a behavior modification plan, and we usually start to see changes in behavior in reasonably short order. Not so with dogs who have severe anxiety issues. The quality of life for these dogs (and for their humans) is usually so poor that we need to relieve their anxiety as quickly as possible – and the right medication can go a long way toward doing that.
However, medication alone won’t fix the problem. The purpose of behavior modification drugs is to increase the ability of your dog’s brain to receive behavior modification efforts. Stress impairs learning ability, and a dog who is super-stressed (anxious) can’t learn well or easily, so the appropriate medication can be a lifesaver for these dogs.
Identifying SA or IA in your dog early on and addressing it appropriately can make a huge difference in his quality of life – and yours. Hoping that your dog’s undesirable behavior is due to some other cause, and delaying the implementation of effective steps to manage his anxiety may worsen the situation dramatically.
I know this from personal experience. We misjudged the reason for our Lucy’s barking on the back deck when she was young (a year old) and left her outdoors for a period of time in order to not reinforce what we thought was her demand barking to come in. Later, we ascertained that the barking was, in fact, due to isolation anxiety – but this was only after Lucy, in her frantic efforts to get to us, fell off a stone wall, ruptured her left ACL, sprained her left front wrist, and tore the ligaments in her left shoulder. She recovered from her injuries, and sadder but wiser, we took a much gentler approach to helping her learn to be alone.
We still don’t leave her in the backyard unattended, but she is able to be crated and/or left in my office with a baby gate across the door. She won’t eat or drink when left alone, but she doesn’t bark, isn’t destructive, and doesn’t hurt herself. And that’s a huge improvement! We’re all much happier.
The Right Medication for Your Dog
I am not a veterinarian. Therefore, I should not – and legally cannot – tell you what medication or medications you should use for your dog’s isolation or separation anxiety.
I can tell you, however, that most veterinarians do not study behavior in vet school (it is not required at most colleges that offer veterinary medical degrees), and many of them have no more idea than I do (and some of them less) what medications might be appropriate. Many of them are likely to just reach for the same drug they’ve always used, or the one that was promoted most effectively during a recent visit by a drug company representative. I can also tell you that Dr. Karen Overall says that acepromazine is exactly the wrong drug for most behavior modification purposes, and yet it’s the one that many veterinarians reach for simply because it’s been around a long, long time.
There is a small group of veterinarians who have studied behavior and have taken and passed the “boards” – an examination that allows them legally to call themselves “veterinary behaviorists.” There is another small group of veterinarians who specialize in behavior and, although they are not “boarded” in behavior, are educated enough (and know when to ask for help) to make good decisions about the best, most appropriate medication for your dog’s behavioral issues. Prescribing behavior drugs is an art as well as a science. These veterinarians who specialize in behavior are the artists, and fortunately for us they are happy to share their talents.
Most of them are more than willing to do free phone consultations with other veterinarians who are seeking advice on which drugs (and what dosages) they should use for client dogs with behavioral issues such as SA and IA. Any time I start talking drugs with my clients, I urge them to insist their vet take advantage of this service and reach out to a veterinary behaviorist for guidance. I urge you to do the same.
There aren’t very many of them – and your vet may not be able to find one local to you. But they don’t have to be, since they are all just a phone call away. The current list of veterinary behaviorists can be found by following this link.
Arthritis affects one in five adult dogs, and a full 80 percent of dogs who are 8 years old or older! If you’re one of the 50 million Americans who have arthritis, you know the symptoms. It hurts to stand, sit, jump, run, climb, or turn your head. You’re more sedentary, and inactivity can lead to weight gain. You might limp, and because everything hurts, you feel grumpy. We aren’t alone, for our dogs share these symptoms.
Conventional medicine considers arthritis a chronic disease that progresses and has no cure but which can be managed with symptom-suppressing drugs and other therapies. Holistic veterinarians manage arthritis in dogs with diet, nutritional supplements, medicinal herbs, and a variety of noninvasive treatments, many of which dog lovers can provide at home.
Whatever the type of arthritis or its complications, early diagnosis helps keep symptoms from progressing, and understanding the disease may help you slow or prevent its development in your dog.
Types of Arthritis in Dogs
There are a number of types of arthritis that affect dogs:
Osteoarthritis
Primary osteoarthritis results from inherited anatomical problems that put excessive stress on joints. Most dogs develop secondary osteoarthritis, which is caused by damage from vigorous exercise, injuries, excessive jumping, torn ligaments, and other accidents.
Osteoarthritis is also known as “wear and tear” arthritis or degenerative joint disease (DJD). It develops gradually over months or years, and its symptoms can wax and wane. The cause is a loss of cartilage, the slippery material that covers the ends of bones. Cartilage is the body’s shock absorber, and without its protective cushion, bone-on-bone movement creates serious discomfort.septic or infective arthritis,
The main symptoms of osteoarthritis are a deep, aching pain; difficulty climbing stairs; morning stiffness; pain while walking; and stiffness after resting. Joints may be warm to the touch, swollen, and restricted in their range of motion.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
RA is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body’s immune system attacks joints and other body parts, leading to inflammation that can cause severe damage. It’s unusual in dogs, occuring mainly in small and toy breeds between two and six years of age. Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers may also have a genetic predisposition to developing RA.
RA affects multiple joints, including wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, feet, and even the jaw and neck. Stiffness that begins in the morning can last for hours or the rest of the day. Other symptoms include fatigue and a loss of appetite.
Septic or Infective Arthritis
This type of arthritis is caused by infections that enter joints through the bloodstream. An insect or tick bite, road accident, cut, abrasion, puncture wound, or similar injury can allow infective organisms to cause inflammation and discomfort.
Spinal Stenosis, Spondylitis, and Spondylosis
All three of these disorders are degenerative spine conditions that often accompany arthritis.
Spinal stenosis, which can be caused by osteoarthritis of the spine, describes the narrowing of the spinal canal. Symptoms can include changes in bowel and bladder function, leading to incontinence, as well as poor mobility, increased fatigue, reluctance to go on walks or play, and obvious pain when touched on the hind legs, back, or tail. The most common symptom of lumbosacral stenosis in dogs is difficulty standing after lying down, which can worsen as muscles in the hind legs atrophy.
Spondylitis can cause an overgrowth of bones leading to their abnormal joining, called “bony fusion.” Fusion that affects bones of the neck, back, or hips may impair movement. Calcium deposits can create a bony spur or bridge between vertebrae.
Spondylosis develops in older dogs as the spine’s soft tissues degenerate and wear away, leading to pain. Herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and spinal stenosis can develop as a result. Spondylosis typically occurs with no outward symptoms, and the condition is often discovered through X-rays taken for unrelated conditions.
Does Your Dog Have Arthritis?
Your veterinarian can tell for sure, but here are some common symptoms:
Intermittent lameness or a limp
A three-legged or “hopping” four-legged gait
Stiffness after rest or after vigorous exercise
An unusual or abnormal stance when walking
Exaggerated hind leg movement
Dragging the back feet
Reluctance to rise or move
Swollen joints, which can be warm to the touch and tender
Joints that hurt when touched, moved, or palpated
Visible joint deformities
A lack of interest in play or physical activity
An inability to jump onto familiar beds, sofas, car seats, or the back of an SUV
Increased inactivity or sleep
Weight gain from inactivity or weight loss from lack of appetite
Depression or lack of interest
Irritability
Snapping or growling when joints are touched
Risk Factors for Canine Arthritis
Some dogs get arthritis and others don’t, and there’s no way to predict whether a puppy will eventually develop the disease. At the same time, understanding risk factors can help caregivers anticipate, recognize, document, and treat arthritis symptoms before they become incapacitating.
1. Size
Larger dogs are more likely to develop joint problems. This includes large breeds and dogs that are overweight.
2. Age
The risk of arthritis increases with age.
3. Genetics
Any breed can develop arthritis, but some are well known for the illness, including those mentioned earlier, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherd Dogs, along with breeds associated with joint abnormalities.
4. Joint abnormalities
Hip and elbow dysplasia stress the joints, as do injuries that interfere with proper alignment.
5. Stress and trauma
In addition to injuries and illnesses that damage ligaments, tissues, or bones, repeated stress on joints can make high-activity or working dogs susceptible to arthritis.
6. Inflammatory diet
Food is an important factor because some common foods trigger arthritis flare-ups in humans and canines.
7. Tick bites
These arachnids sometimes carry bacteria that can infect joints with Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, or Ehrlichiosis, all of which can cause arthritis.
8. Diabetes
Dogs with diabetes are more likely to develop arthritis than those with normal blood sugar.
9. Vitamin D deficiency
Dogs with arthritis tend to have low D levels, and when their levels improve, so does their range of motion. (See “Vitamin D for Dogs,” a review of vitamin D supplementation, in the July 2016 issue of WDJ, for more information.)
How Diet Affects Arthritis in Dogs
In addition to discussing options with your veterinarian, look for strategies you can use to help your dog avoid arthritis or improve its symptoms. One is helping your overweight dog lose weight, since excess weight on arthritic joints can trigger or worsen the condition.
Diet is an obvious first step, not only for weight control but also because many widely used foods have an inflammatory effect on dogs. Individual responses vary, so a food that causes acute discomfort in one dog may have no effect on another, and vice versa. Experimenting with your pet’s diet can make a difference.
For example, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from soybean, corn, sunflower, and other vegetable oils, along with shortening and margarine, can trigger inflammation. Although cayenne (a member of the nightshade family) is often used to relieve joint pain in dogs and humans, nightshade plants (tomato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, and potato, among others) may trigger inflammation in some individuals. Several grain-free foods contain potato, which might be a problem for your dog.
Compare pet food labels, whose ingredients are listed in order of quantity. Look for foods that contain high-quality, named animal protein sources in the first few positions on the ingredients list. Corn gluten meal and meat by-products from unnamed species indicate that the food has been made with low-quality protein sources.
Raw diets are increasingly popular, and many veterinarians and some pet owners report improved canine health as a result of adopting a balanced raw diet. Raw diets are almost all high in fat, however, which can lead to weight gain that makes arthritis worse. High-fat diets are inappropriate for inactive dogs who eat less than normal for their size.
If you feed a commercial diet, check WDJ’s annual reviews of dry and canned foods for help. Feeding a home-prepared diet makes it easier to avoid any ingredients to which your dog may be sensitive. See “Easy Home-Prepared Dog Food” by Mary Straus (WDJ July 2012) for guidelines. If feeding a commercially prepared raw diet, see “The State of the Commercial Raw Diet Industry” by Karen Becker, DVM; Steve Brown; and Mary Straus (WDJ, September 2015). See also “Helping Your Dog Lose Weight” by Mary Straus (WDJ, September 2009) for how best to trim down your dog.
Dehydration complicates joint problems, so it’s important to provide fresh, good-quality water in clean bowls at all times. To encourage a dog to drink more water, add small amounts of bone broth or other flavorings.
GAGs for Arthritis in Dogs
The most widely prescribed supplements for dogs with arthritis are glycosaminoglycans or GAGs. Also known as mucopolysaccharides, these nutraceutical supplements include glucosamine sulfate, glucosamine HCl, chondroitin sulfate; sometimes, the unprocessed sources of these GAG supplements, such as beef cartilage and green-lipped mussels, are used.
As Mary Straus reported in “Canine Arthritis Treatment,” WDJ March 2007, “GAGs are important because they actually protect the joint rather than just reduce symptoms, by helping to rebuild cartilage and restore synovial (joint) fluid. GAGs may also have some preventive effect on arthritis, though this is speculative.”
GAG supplements may be most effective given between meals, though they can be fed with food if needed. “Always start with high doses, so you will be able to tell whether or not your dog responds,” Straus says. “If you see improvement, reduce the dosage to see if the improvement can be maintained at a lower dose. If you don’t see any change within three to four weeks, try another supplement.”
Straus listed Arthroplex from Thorne Veterinary, SynFlex from Synflex America, Synovi G3 from DVM Pharmaceuticals, and K9 Glucosamine from Liquid Health. Products labeled for human use that contain glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and green-lipped mussel can be used as well, and manganese in the supplement may improve absorption.
GAGs work by decreasing the production of harmful inflammatory compounds that adversely affect the cartilage matrix. In addition to reducing pain and inflammation, GAGs stimulate cartilage synthesis, support new joint cartilage, and increase the synthesis of proteoglycans, the joint lubricant hyaluronic acid, and collagen, all of which are needed for proper joint structure and function.
Individual responses vary, and GAGs are not effective in all animals. A dog may have to take a GAG supplement for one to two months before noticing improvement.
Oral supplements are affordable, convenient, and often effective, but injectable GAGs can be used in addition for faster results. Injectable GAGs include Adequan and Cartrophen Vet, which are administered by veterinarians.
Treatment with Adequan (Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan) involves twice-weekly intramuscular injections for a month, during which it prevents the breakdown of cartilage and may promote the development of new cartilage.
Cartrophen Vet, given in weekly subcutaneous injections, reduces pain and lameness in 80 percent of pets. The series of four injections is given once a year for mild cases and up to three times per year for severe cases. Cartrophen Vet is said to prevent destructive enzymes from breaking down collagen, stimulate the body’s production of cartilage and joint lubricant, clear blood-vessel blockages to deliver nutrition to joints and bones, and stimulate the production of anti-oxidants.
Other Nutraceuticals for Arthritis
S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe, pronounced SAM-ee) is manufactured by the body when the essential amino acid methionine reacts with adenosine triphosphate, a molecule that carries energy. SAMe is used to treat a variety of conditions, including osteoarthritis.
Products containing 200 mg SAM-e are appropriate for most dogs weighing more than 15 pounds.
Methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM) is a naturally occurring form of sulfur produced by ocean planktons and that can also be found in cow’s milk, meat, sea vegetables, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Low concentrations of MSM in the body may result in physical and psychological stress, organ and tissue malfunction, and fatigue. Sulfur deficiencies result in canine skin and coat problems, poor GI and immune systems, joint pain, and arthritis.
MSM supplements are sold as powders and capsules with a recommended dose for dogs of 50 to 100 mg per 10 pounds of body weight. MSM powder can be mixed with food.
DL-Phenylalanine(DLPA) is an essential amino acid used to treat both depression and chronic pain. It works by intensifying and prolonging the body’s natural painkilling response. Studies have shown that the D-form inhibits several enzymes that are responsible for the destruction of endorphins, the body’s endogenously produced pain-killing hormones.
The suggested human dose, which can be adjusted for your dog’s weight, is 750 mg three times a day, taken 15 to 30 minutes before each meal. Most patients respond within one to two weeks. Rather than dosing continuously, DLPA can be given for one week per month to maintain results. Do not combine DLPA with MAOI drugs like Anipryl, used to treat Cushing’s Disease and canine cognitive dysfunction, or amitraz, an ingredient in tick collars.
Hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring polyanionic, polysaccharide consisting of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine and beta-glucoronic acid, is a constituent of joint fluid. It acts as a protective structure stabilizer and shock absorber. Use a product labeled for pet use, such as ActiPet Hyaluronic Acid for Dogs, which contains 20 mg per tablet, or adjust a human product for your dog’s weight.
Cetyl myristoleate or cis-9-cetyl myristoleate is a fatty acid derivative discovered in 1972. It has been shown to help with several health conditions, including chronic back pain, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, and is usually taken as a supplement but can be applied externally. Popular products for dogs include Cetyl M from Response Products (which contains Cetyl myristoleate, marine-source glucosamine HCl, garlic, bromelain, and ginger root) and Myristin Hip and Joint Formula from EHP Products, Inc., (which contains Cetyl myristoleate, glucosamine sulfate, MSM, bromelain, curcumin, vitamin C, manganese citrate, lipase, and lecithin).
Eating the Right Fats Will Help Arthritis
Polyunsaturated vegetable oils like soy and corn oil contain linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid that is essential in the diet. Note, though, that too much can trigger inflammation, especially if the ratio of omega-6 to the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oil is too high. Never add vegetable oils to a commercial diet, and add only the amount needed to a homemade diet.
Coconut oil, which has become a popular pet supplement, contains saturated fats. No one has tested its effect on dogs in clinical trials, but reports published on Internet forums and Dr. Bruce Fife’s book Coconut Therapy for Pets (Picadilly Books, 2014) document how adding coconut oil to food has helped overweight dogs and dogs with arthritis grow leaner, stronger, and more lively. The recommended dose is 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight daily, but start with less, as too much too fast can produce diarrhea. Inactive dogs should receive less in order to avoid weight gain, as each teaspoon of oil adds 40 calories. (See “How Coconut Oil Benefits Your Dog’s Health,” October 2005, and “Updated Alternative Treatments and Supplements,” November 2013, for more information.)
Fish Oils for Arthritic Dogs
Salmon and other fish oils are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation, in contrast to the omega-6 fatty acids in polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Fish oils contain EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which block inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins. They are converted by the body into powerful anti-inflammatory chemicals called resolvins.
Omega-3 supplements with 300 mg combined EPA and DHA are widely prescribed for dogs. Give up to 1 gelcap per 10 pounds of body weight daily, or if using a product containing 500 mg EPA/DHA, give 1 gelcap per 15-20 pounds of body weight daily. Adjust liquid fish oil dosages to 300 mg combined EPA/DHA per 10 pounds of body weight. Higher doses can interfere with platelets and increase bleeding as well as increase rather than reduce inflammation.
Unless they are fermented products, refrigerate liquid fish oils to prevent rancidity.
One ounce of canned sardines, jack mackerel, or pink salmon with bones provides about 300 mg combined EPA and DHA. Krill oil and whole fish contain EPA and DHA that may provide similar benefits in smaller doses.
As Mary Straus explains, “You must supplement with vitamin E whenever you are giving PUFAs such as fish oils, otherwise the body will be depleted of this vitamin. Give up to 3 to 7 IUs per pound of body weight daily, with small dogs getting more per pound than large dogs. You can also give equivalent amounts less often. For example, a dog weighing 100 pounds might get as much as 400 IUs daily, while a 10-pound dog could be given 200 IUs every three or four days.”
Gelatin and Collagen for Dogs
Gelatin, a protein made from animal products, is familiar as a fruit-flavored dessert, but by itself, gelatin soothes the digestive tract and helps improve the assimilation of nutrients. Gelatin contains collagen, one of the materials that make up bone and cartilage, and Type II collagen supplements are derived from cartilage.
Extensive research in the early 20th century showed gelatin to be an important inflammation fighter, and its benefits are being rediscovered. In “Role of collagen hydrolysate in bone and joint disease” (Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, October 2000), Dr. Roland Moskowitz published a literature review on collagen hydrolysate in the treatment of arthritis in humans, concluding, “Clinical studies suggest that the ingestion of 10 grams PCH [pharmaceutical grade collagen hydrolysate] daily reduces pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip, and blood concentration of hydroxyproline is increased.”
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical study of the effectiveness of collagen peptide (linked amino acids) on osteoarthritis published in the March 2015 Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture concluded, “The study demonstrated that collagen peptides are potential therapeutic agents as nutritional supplements for the management of osteoarthritis and maintenance of joint health.”
The Weston A. Price Foundation (westonaprice.org), which advocates traditional diets for humans and pets, promotes the use of bone broth, which is rich in collagen, as a daily digestive aid.
The recipe couldn’t be simpler: just fill a stock or crock pot with bones (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.), cover them with water, add 2 tablespoons cider vinegar and wait for an hour to increase the broth’s mineral content, then cover and cook on low heat for 12, 24, or 36 hours. Strain or remove the bones and store the broth in glass jars. Bone broth thickens when refrigerated and can be added to any dog’s dinner for improved digestion, nutrient assimilation, and joint health. Add approximately 1 heaping tablespoon per 20 pounds of body weight per day.
Alternatively, mix a powdered gelatin or collagen hydrolysate with water before adding it to food. Start with 1 teaspoon for a 50-pound dog and gradually increase to 2 or 3 teaspoons. Adjust for smaller or larger dogs. Look for products made from grass-fed animals.
Digestive and Systemic Oral Enzymes for Dogs
Pancreatin, bromelain, papain, amylase, protease, lipase, and other enzymes are familiar digestive aids. They can be added to your dog’s dinner to improve the assimilation of nutrients.
Clinical trials and anecdotal reports support the use of digestive enzymes with food, digestive enzymes without food between meals, and enteric-coated enzymes between meals for the treatment of arthritis.
Prozyme Enzyme Supplement, manufactured by Lambert Kay, contains lactose, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, and pineapple stem and fruit. Begin with a small quantity and gradually increase to the recommended dose of 1/4 teaspoon for every cup of food given. Double the dose for dogs age 8 and older.
NZymes Anti-Oxidant Treats for Pets, manufactured by Nzymes.com, contain dried ground soybean sprouts, heat-stabilized rice bran, vitamin A, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, selenium yeast, defatted liver natural beef flavor. stearic acid, cellulose, silicon dioxide, and magnesium stearate. Give one treat daily per 50 pounds of body weight.
Systemic oral enzyme therapy uses digestive enzymes but encases them in an enteric coating, which prevents the tablets from breaking down in the stomach. Instead, they release their contents in the small intestine, allowing the enzymes to circulate in the blood to all parts of the body, including inflamed joints.
Wobenzym contains pancreatin, bromelain, papain, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and rutin. Flavenzym, Medizym, and Medizym Fido have similar formulas. Because enzymes have a blood-thinning effect, they should not be given between meals to dogs with bleeding disorders and should be used with caution in combination with blood-thinning medications or immediately before surgery. (See “Alternative Treatment and Supplement Recommendations,” WDJ October 2013, for more information about these products.)
All of the products mentioned here are sold online and in pet supply stores.
In the next issue, we’ll look at traditional and modern plant-based treatments that use medicinal herbs and essential oils to help your best friend enjoy an active life despite arthritis.
CJ Puotinen is the author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care and other books. She and her husband live in Montana with a 13-year-old Labrador Retriever and a 12-year-old Cairn Terrier.
I’m using this space in a novel way this month: as both an editorial and an article. Usually, my editor’s note is confined to this page alone, and is comprised of my personal thoughts, opinions, and notes about dogs and about what’s in this issue. This month, my personal thoughts and opinions about something I learned recently (having to do with the “complete and balanced” claims that appear on the commercial foods we all feed our dogs) have led me to the conclusion that WDJ needs a drastic overhaul of its dog food reviews. The explanation for that decision, and describing how our reviews will change, can’t fit on this page, nor even this page and the next one! So, I’m breaking the usual format this month, and giving you opinions and facts about pet food companies and what they have to do to represent their products as “complete and balanced.”
I won’t beat around the bush. Here’s the fact I learned recently that completely astonished me: Pet food companies don’t have to prove that their products contain the minimum amounts of all the nutrients that are considered essential for dogs before labeling and selling their foods as “complete and balanced” diets. In fact, in all likelihood, some of the products on the market today – perhaps your dog’s food? – may not meet some of the legal requirements of a “complete and balanced” food, even though their labels say they do.
To help you understand how this is possible, I have to dive into a lot of facts, and explain some things about the pet food industry and how the whole notion of “complete and balanced diets” is legally defined and regulated. So, here is the “article” part of the editorial/article.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials: What It Is and Isn’t
A national advisory group, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO, pronounced to rhyme with “laugh-coe”), is responsible for creating and overseeing the evolution of the standards and definitions that are used to guide the players in the pet food industry.
It’s important to understand that AAFCO is not an enforcement agency in any way; by its own description, it “provides a forum whereby control officials and industry meet in partnership” to address animal feed (and pet food) standards and regulations. State feed regulators are voting members of the group, but it invites input from pet food industry participants, veterinary nutrition experts and researchers, and even (recently) consumer representatives.
Pet food is regulated by the feed control officials in each state, and each state’s feed control officials may adopt regulations unique to their own states. However, for the most part, AAFCO’s “model” guidelines and definitions for the regulation of pet food are uniformly adopted by each state.
Defining “Complete and Balanced” Dog Food
Over decades, AAFCO originated and continues to refine the description of what constitutes “complete and balanced nutrition” for dogs. The AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles, incorporating decades of canine nutrition research, establish minimum (and a few maximum) values for the nutrients that are known to be essential for dogs at various life stages. As per AAFCO rules, the “life stage” of the intended recipient of any food must be stated on the label. The canine life stages that may be referenced are:
Adult maintenance
Gestation/lactation
Growth
All life stages (this one would indicate the food meets the requirements for all of the preceding life stages)
The profiles are occasionally changed when new research prompts needed updates. For example, recent research has led to the reduction of the maximum amount of calcium that will be allowed in dog foods that may be fed to large-size puppies (those who are expected to mature to more than 70 pounds as adults). This change was published in the 2016 AAFCO Official Publication and will be reflected in formulation and labelling changes over the next two years.
Assessing the nutritional content of a food is just one method that AAFCO allows to substantiate a “complete and balanced” claim. There are actually three ways that pet food companies can substantiate a “complete and balanced” claim. The three methods are:
1. Feeding trials
2. A “family product” claim
3. Nutrient levels
Let’s look at each of the methods used to substantiate the nutritional adequacy claims.
1. Dog Food Feeding Trials
In feeding trials, a prospective product is fed as a sole diet to a population of dogs for a given length of time, while the dogs are monitored for various indicators of health. If the product sustains the test dogs for the requisite period of time, with various parameters for the test dogs’ health being met (such as the maintenance of certain blood values, and no weight loss), the product can be labelled with the claim, “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate the (name of product) provides complete and balanced nutrition for (name of dog’s life stage).”
Note that the products that use a feeding trial claim don’t have to meet the parameters established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles. They sustained the dogs; the dogs didn’t decline in health or weight; that’s it.
An “adult maintenance” trial lasts at least 26 weeks. A “gestation/lactation” trial must start before female test dogs come into heat, and continues through breeding and pregnancy; the test is concluded when the puppies are four weeks old (so the test is a minimum of 13 weeks). For a “growth” trial, puppies no more than eight weeks old (at the start of the trial) are fed the product for a minimum of 10 weeks.
For an “all life stages” claim, the food must be used as a sole diet in a gestation/lactation trial, followed sequentially (with the same test puppies) by a growth trial.
Feeding trials are expensive to conduct – about $20,000 per food per “life stage.” Feeding trials are routinely conducted by the largest pet food companies, but are not commonly undertaken by smaller companies.
2. Family Member
For this method of substantiation, a prospective diet is shown to be “nutritionally similar” to a lead product that passed a feeding trial. The nutritional similarity of the family product must be established by AAFCO’s “procedures for establishing pet food product families.” If this can be shown, the food is permitted to be labelled with the claim, “(Name of product) provides complete and balanced nutrition for (dogs of named life stage) and is comparable in nutritional adequacy to a product which has been substantiated using AAFCO feeding tests.”
In our view, this is the weakest of the three methods of substantiation. The products labelled with this claim are neither tested with a feeding trial, nor do they have to meet the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
3. Nutrient Levels
This is the most common method used to substantiate the nutritional adequacy of foods made by smaller companies, including almost all – perhaps all? – of the ones that make the sort of foods we like. And now we are getting to the nitty-gritty.
If a company uses this method to substantiate that its products are complete and balanced, it will state on the label, “(Name of food) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for (name of life stage).”
The AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles establish minimum values – and a few maximums – for the nutrients that are essential for dogs. Minimum values are given for crude protein (as well as all of the constituent amino acids required by dogs); crude fat (as well as the constituent omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid); and the 11 vitamins and 12 minerals for which there is a consensus of current scientific evidence to support their designation as essential for dogs.
There are actually two AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles: one for “adult maintenance” and one for “growth and reproduction.” They are very similar, but the minimum amounts of protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and chloride in the growth/reproduction profiles are higher than the minimum values in the adult maintenance profiles. If a nutritional adequacy claim references “all life stages,” the product must meet the minimum nutrient values in the growth and reproduction profile.
No Proof!
Until recently, I was under a false impression – and no pet food company representative hastened to correct it! I thought if a food had a “nutrient values” claim on its label, its maker would have to submit proof that the food inside the can or bag actually contains nutrients in the required amounts. I guess I assumed the products would be tested by third party laboratories and the results would be filed with state feed control officials.
I was wrong.
The actual requirement is this: A company representative must sign and have notarized an affidavit that states, “This product meets the nutrient levels established in the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for (growth/reproduction, maintenance, or all life stages).” And then they have to keep a copy of that affidavit.
That’s it. Seriously.
No lab test results or analysis of the nutrients confirming that the statement is true are required.
And the affidavit doesn’t even get filed with the state! It just has to be kept “on file” in the company’s own files!
No kidding: The company has to, in effect, pinky swear that their products meet the required nutrient levels. And consumers have to just trust that the products do.
Editorial: I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think that’s sufficient.
Why This Matters
This matters because most dogs get most (if not all) of their nutrients from commercial food. They are a captive audience, literally. They are not free to select their own foods, they can’t follow their instincts to drive them to ingredients that contain any nutrients they may be lacking. What’s more, many owners are warned by their veterinarians and other pet professionals against feeding any table scraps or “human food” to dogs. And pet food companies encourage owners to feed their products and only their products, and to use extreme caution when switching products, lest the dog explode (or something) from diarrhea (or something).
Put another way: If most dogs eat a single type of food and nothing but that food, shouldn’t their owners be able to verify that the food truly contains every nutrient their dogs need?
Raising the Bar
I’ve long believed that, for the reasons above, consumers ought to be able to ask for and readily receive a complete nutrient analysis of their dogs’ food – to make sure that the diet contains adequate (and not excessive) amounts of the nutrients that experts agree dogs need – and that was before I knew that it was possible that products that are labelled as “complete and balanced” might not be.
Last year, we surveyed the dog food companies whose products met our selection criteria and asked this question: “Do you make a complete nutrient analysis for each of your products available to consumers? If so, are the analyses available only upon request, or is this information on your website?” As it turned out, very few of the companies had nutrient analyses readily available, and some of the ones that said they had them available were not able (or perhaps not willing) to produce them.
So, this year, we sent the pet food companies whose products have been on our “approved canned dog food” list an email that said, “There will be one significant change in how we will select and present the ‘approved’ foods on our list. This year, we are asking each company to provide us with a fairly recent (within the past year) ‘typical analysis’ for each of the canned dogs foods that they offer, and we will be comparing the values with the AAFCO nutrient profiles for dogs. If we do not receive the analyses, the foods will not appear on our ‘approved foods’ list this year.”
The Results
A few companies promptly sent us what we asked for, and these companies now constitute our gold-star picks – our top-rated producers of canned foods. See the “2016 Canned Dog Food Review” for a list of these companies.
In contrast, there were other companies we didn’t hear back from. We are more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt; maybe they didn’t receive our email? Maybe our phone message got lost? If they respond in the next few months, we will update their information here.
We heard from a few companies that said they would be happy to get this information to us, but they needed more time. So, for them, too, we’re going to reserve space in the next few issues to update their information.
Quite a few companies sent us something that’s close to what we asked for; quite a few sent us nutrient analyses of their products that were generated by computer software. Different companies use different programs to generate these analyses, but they all work in a similar fashion: The programs are loaded with nutrient values for every dog food ingredient you can dream of, and then a formula for a given dog food is entered – so many pounds of this, so many ounces of that, etc. – and the software calculates the amount of nutrients that will be in the resulting food.
Literally every company has these software-driven analyses – projections, really – of their formulas, because that’s how pet food is formulated today. The concern is, how do these projections pan out when compared to actual laboratory analysis of the nutrients?
We put this question to a number of pet food experts – including formulators and pet food company owners – and the answer was, it depends on a lot of things, including:
How closely the food manufacturer hews to the recipe for the food;
What software is used to analyze the recipe;
Whether or not the software takes into account chemical reactions between ingredients that take place when the food is mixed or cooked – reactions that might cause certain nutrient values to test at different levels than the software would predict; and
Whether the pet food company routinely tests their raw ingredients in a laboratory and enters updated nutrient values for those ingredients into the software.
All of these are reasons why computer-generated analyses might return very different values than a laboratory test of the actual dog food.
So, even though these computer-generated analyses are not exactly what we asked for, we’re going to give the companies that sent them to us the benefit of the doubt, too. For now, they still appear on the list of our “approved canned dog foods” that starting on page 8. If they, too, send us actual laboratory test results for their products, we’ll upgrade their status to our gold-star list in upcoming issues.
But we’re also giving all the companies a heads-up: Only the pet food makers that provide lab analyses of their products will appear on our list of “approved dry dog foods” in the February issue.
Why do you want to feed canned food to your dog? Compared to dry dog food, it’s expensive – and it might even be prohibitively expensive if you plan to feed it as your dog’s sole diet, especially if he weighs more than just a few pounds.
Many owners who feed canned food make that selection for a specific reason, for a limited period of time – for example, to motivate an elderly dog or a dog suffering from a health condition that causes weight loss and a poor appetite to eat more. The one exception might be people with very tiny dogs, who may have trouble chewing or swallowing kibble, and whose caloric needs are so minimal, that it might take two days or more to consume a single can.
It’s too bad that it’s so costly, because, fed in appropriate amounts, canned food is a very healthy choice for dogs. Its moisture content is far closer to that of so-called evolutionary diets for dogs, the sort of food dogs ate before they came to rely on us to feed them. Good-quality canned foods generally contain far more meat than dry foods; meat, the most natural canine ancestral diet ingredient, often accounts for as much as 95 percent of a good canned food! And meat is incorporated into canned foods in a much less processed form than the meat used in most dry foods. In top-quality canned dog foods, real, fresh meats from named species are the rule, not the exception. That’s awesome!
But in order for her dog to enjoy these advantages, an owner has to be able to identify these top-quality products! She has to be capable of picking them out of the crowd of lower-quality foods, which may have labels that are just as beautiful – and which, undoubtedly, have lower prices.
You don’t have to be a genius to sort the wheat from the chaff – or, I should say, to sort out the meat from the wheat! You’ll probably need some reading glasses or a magnifying glass, though, because to accomplish this task, you have to read some very fine print on the product labels. And the labels on cans are much smaller than the labels on bags of dry dog food! So, equip yourself accordingly when you head to the pet supply store, and we’ll tell you what to look for.
Our Selection Criteria
Since the main advantage of canning is its ability to deliver a diet with a very high percentage of animal protein in a shelf-stable and bacteria-free form, the first and foremost indicator of a canned dog food’s quality is the amount and type of meat included in the formula.
Water (or broth) as required for processing is often among the first few ingredients listed on a canned food label, but a whole, named animal protein (or two) ought to be right next to it.
“Whole” means no byproducts – although you should be aware that when you see “chicken” (or any other named whole meat) on a label, it doesn’t mean the chicken breasts or legs you might ordinarily associate with the phrase. The official definition of each type of meat includes fat and “the portions of skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh.” The legal definition of poultry (chicken, duck, and turkey) includes flesh and skin, with or without accompanying bone.
In contrast, “meat byproducts” include lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, fat, and stomachs and intestines that have been “freed of their contents.” Poultry byproducts include heads, feet, viscera (“free from fecal content and foreign matter except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice”). We do not consider foods that contain animal byproducts for our “approved food” lists.
“Named” means a specific animal species – such as chicken, beef, or pork – as opposed to “meat,” which can be just about anything.
Because we are looking for products with the highest possible inclusion of top-quality animal proteins, we’d choose a product with meat first on the label over one that listed water first and meat second.
We also want to see named animal fat sources, such as “chicken fat” or “pork fat,” rather than “animal fat.” That could be just about anything – and a mix of everything. If your dog has allergies or food sensitivities, avoiding ingredients with unknown constituents is a particularly good idea.
If vegetables, grains, or other carb sources are used, we prefer to see them in their whole forms, rather than by-products (potatoes, rather than potato starch, for example).
The use of grains and other starches should be limited in a canned food; there is little sense in paying canned food prices for carbs! So a food that contained just one grain or non-grain carb source (such as sweet potatoes) is preferable to one that contains multiple grain or non-grain carb sources. And one that contains a whole grain or vegetable is preferable to one that contains grain or vegetable by-products (such as oat bran, potato starch, or tomato pomace).
Traits of Lower-Quality Foods
There are a number of traits that automatically disqualify a canned food from our consideration. The first and most important is the inclusion of an unnamed animal source, such as:
“Meat” or “meat byproducts”
“Poultry” or “poultry byproducts”
“Animal fat”
Wheat gluten is the next disqualifier. Wet foods often contain some sort of thickener or binder. Various types of “gum” (such as guar gum, from the seed of the guar plant, and carrageenan gum, from seaweed) are common thickeners. Whole grains, potatoes, and sweet potatoes also can be used to thicken wet food. But wheat gluten (and some other glutens) are generally used in wet foods to both augment the protein content of the food (albeit with lesser quality amino acids) and to act as a binder, a substance that holds together artificially formed “chunks” so that they resemble chunks of meat. In other words, it’s a cheap replacement for a greater amount of animal protein. If chunks of meat are present in a wet dog food, they should be actual chunks of meat, not a meat facsimile.
Sugar, molasses, or other sweeteners used in a canned food is another automatic strikeout. A food that contains quality meats shouldn’t need additional palatants to entice a dog’s appetite.
Finally, as always, we disqualify foods that contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. These are rare in wet foods, but do appear on ingredients lists from time to time.
Your Unique Needs
Remember, there is no single “best” food for every dog. Your task is to find the best-quality foods that are within your budget that suit your dog.
As discussed in the Editor’s Note of this issue, make sure you look for the statement of nutritional adequacy (a.k.a. the AAFCO statement) on the product label. Pay attention to whether it references adult maintenance, gestation/lactation, growth, or dogs of all life stages. Remember that if it says it’s for “dogs of all life stages” it is formulated to meet the higher nutrient levels required by puppies and pregnant or nursing moms. Make sure you are selecting a product that is appropriately formulated for your dog’s life stage.
So, keeping that foremost in your mind, the next thing you want to look at on the label is the “guaranteed analysis” (GA). By law, the GA must contain four things: the minimum amounts of protein and fat (they usually actually contain higher amounts, which we’ll discuss in a minute), and the maximum amounts of moisture (water) and fiber.
These four nutrients (and only these four) are legally required to be present on the label, as a consumer protection of sorts. From a nutrition standpoint, protein and fat are the most important factors in feeding an animal, so minimum amounts of these must be guaranteed by the pet food maker. If present in excessive amounts, nutrient-free water and fiber crowd out more valuable ingredients, so maximum amounts of these must also be guaranteed by the pet food maker. The majority of regulatory surveillance and enforcement is focused on these values.
Protein and fat levels in canned dog foods vary widely, so you have to look at the label for a clue as to whether the product you are considering is appropriate for your dog. We used the word “clue” deliberately, because the product might actually have far more fat and at least a little more protein than is stated on the GA. This is done partly to make sure that no matter what sort of variation there might be in the protein and fat levels in the formula’s raw ingredients, the food will reliably deliver at least the stated amount of protein and fat.
A food that contains a higher amount of protein than expected won’t harm the vast majority of dogs, so we don’t worry about the possibility that a food that states it contains 8 percent protein might actually contain 10 or 12 percent. However, a product that says it contains 5 percent fat but actually contains 10 percent or more fat can really cause problems for a lot of dogs, particularly dogs prone to pancreatitis.
The prevalence of under-reporting the fat (and to a lesser extent, the protein) in canned dog foods is just one more reason why we are now insisting on seeing the full nutrient analyses for food that we will include in our “approved foods” lists. Which brings us to our “approved canned dog foods” for 2016 . . .
A Distinguished Class
As I stated in the editorial page linked in the previous section, for this year’s review of canned dog foods, we asked all of the companies that produce our previously approved foods to send us laboratory analyses of their products. We are awarding a higher level of distinction to the products that meet all of our selection criteria, old (as seen in “Hallmarks of Quality,” top right of this page) and new (lab results). The companies that were quickly and readily able (and willing) to share lab analyses for their canned dog foods appear in a separate table of “approved foods”.
A greater number of companies sent us theoretical, software-driven analyses of their formulas, with nutrient values that they expect from their recipes. As stated earlier, however, there are many factors that can cause a lab analysis to return nutrient values that are significantly different than what was expected or forecast by the software that formulated the food.
For now, we are recognizing these companies for their good-faith effort by continuing to include them on our “Approved Canned Dog Food” list. We’d be happy to upgrade them to our “gold star” list if they produce those lab results in the next few months.
Also on our “2016 Approved Canned Dog Food” review, we’ve listed the companies whose products were previously on our approved foods lists (based on our selection criteria involving ingredients), but who either didn’t respond to our inquiry about lab analyses or who asked for more time. If or when we receive lab test results from these companies, we will add them to our “gold star” list, which will be updated in the next few issues.
Two final notes: Depending where you live, the foods on our “approved foods” lists may be difficult to find; most are sold in independent pet supply stores, or high-quality “pet specialty” chain stores. If you can’t find any of the listed foods in your supermarket or pet store, you can still use WDJ tools to help you make a buying decision. See “Buying the Best Canned Dog Food: Behind WDJ’s Approved Wet Dog Food List” for detailed guidelines. And don’t forget that these foods are going to be more expensive than canned dog foods you may find in a grocery store or giant warehouse-type store; quality ingredients really do cost more than low-cost fillers like wheat gluten and animal byproducts.
I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing
