If you’re not part of the dog-show world, you might think of dog shows as ridiculous beauty contests for four-leggers, only with rosetted ribbons in place of rhinestone tiaras. Admittedly, some coated breeds do use their fair share of hair spray – and even hair extensions if you’re in the Poodle ring! And, because judges have different priorities – not to mention different levels of competence – there may be some who make their decisions based purely on cosmetic considerations like flash and showmanship. But the real point of shows is a dog’s “conformation” – how he’s built, and how that structure affects the way he moves and what he can do.
“He has such a beautiful prance,” puppy owners will tell me, describing what they see when their dog is moving freely around their property, motoring over to check if that squirrel has dared to reinsert himself among the azaleas. In fact, the dog is likely displaying the gait I’ve worked hard to maintain in his breed – a smooth, efficient, ground-covering trot that Ridgebacks can ideally use all day long, whether keeping track of the family cat in the backyard or tracking a lion across the savannah in their native Zimbabwe. But I think that novice owners use (or, as the case may be, misuse) the word “prance” to describe movement that even to their untrained eye seems smooth, functional, and sound, even if they don’t quite know the correct jargon for it.
No matter what the breed, the sheer soundness of a dog – the strength and balance of her overall anatomy, and how that translates kinetically in the dog’s ability to move from Point A to Point B – is a huge consideration, whether the dog is trotting around a show ring or jogging around your town accompanying you in your quest for 12,000 steps. Soundness is not just an abstract concept for breeders like me; it’s an absolute goal! We want nothing more than to produce dogs who can be active throughout a lifetime without injury – and look great (and feel good) doing it.
Even the best and most responsible breeders can’t absolutely predict the physical result of every genetic combination, though I assure you we try. Sadly, not all pedigreed dogs are bred with much thought at all, and many, many dogs are the result of human neglect and mismanagement. Whether your dog is the result of a breeding that took decades of planning and anticipation, or a few moments of careless inattention, you should be aware of his degree of soundness before you plan for his canine sport career (or ask him to keep you company as you condition for your own).
If you are aware of your dog’s conformation faults – his points of physical vulnerability – you can take steps to build his condition to improve or preserve as much physical strength and ability as possible. Keep in mind that preservation of his fitness is not just about winning titles in rigorous dog sports, or being able to conduct all-day searches for missing humans; in your dog’s case, it may entail simply being able to jump onto your bed or sofa well into his senior years, or enjoying slow but pain-free walks around the block until the day he dies. A dog’s soundness should be a goal for every good dog owner.
Study Your Dog’s Physique
For all our desire to understand dogs and how best to care for them, we as a dog culture are woefully undereducated about the basics of canine anatomy and construction, and how they translate to our dogs’ well being. Most of us know the very basics, for example, if you have a brachycephalic dog (one with a short head, or flattened face, like Pugs, Boston Terriers, or Pekingese), you should know not to let him overheat in hot weather. If you have a hairless dog, you will surely apply sunscreen before going out on a summer outing, or put on his coat if it’s the dead of winter.
But many owners are completely ignorant about their dogs’ more subtle structural weaknesses, so they can’t possibly factor the vulnerabilities into their dogs’ activities – they don’t know that the deficiencies exist in the first place. And dogs often don’t give us clear signals that something is uncomfortable or painful.
A disclaimer before we begin: Every breed is different, because different purposes require different structures. While all dogs should have a basic soundness that ensures their quality of life, their construction varies depending on breed and purpose.
For example, toy breeds that were created primarily for companionship can’t match the stamina of Retrievers. Similarly, Greyhounds, which are sprinters, aren’t going to have the same structure as endurance trotters like Dalmatians. But even if you have a dog who was bred randomly rather than purposefully, all these same assessments apply; a sound dog is a sound dog, whether or not she has a pedigree. A dog shouldn’t have to limp to give you evidence that he’s not built to go the distance; if your eye has been trained to look for it, little hiccups in movement and structure can signal the potential for weakness and injuries to come, and prompt an alert owner to take steps to prevent problems.
Theresa M. Lyons
The Gait Analysis
The way a dog is constructed reveals itself in how the dog moves, which is why dogs in the conformation show ring are evaluated both standing and moving. They are judged at the trot, despite the fact that some breeds are not natural-born trotters, because the trot is a useful and energy-saving gait. All the exertion in a trot is divided equally over all four limbs, and it’s an ideal gait for traversing long distances, even if the terrain is uneven. Wild animals naturally trot when they are looking for food, and all domestic quadrupeds use the gait as well. (In old African safari books, I’ve even come across photos of a rhinoceros trotting as smartly as a terrier!)
The trot is a rhythmic two-beat diagonal gait, which means that the front left leg and the right rear leg move as a pair, and the front right leg and the left hind leg move together. One diagonal pair moves forward in unison while the other pair swing backward, supporting the dog’s weight. As each front foot reaches its most backward swing, the rear foot on the same side should be at its most forward, dropping onto the ground in the next split second to carry the dog forward. Meanwhile, on the other side of the dog, the front and rear legs are in the opposite position, fully extended.
With most breeds, what you want is a smooth, effortless trot – nothing jarring, no interference between the feet or legs as the dog gains speed. That said, some breeds roll as they trot – in other words, you see a bit of side-to-side movement. You’ll observe that in Bulldogs, for example, as well as in breeds with who carry a great deal of weight and substance, such as Neapolitan Mastiffs. Neither of those breeds were bred to be endurance trotters, though, and if you own one we hope you don’t plan on taking him on 5k (or longer) runs.
Watching from the side as a dog trots can give you a wealth of information about how that dog is structured. If the dog takes short, mincing front steps, or has to lower her head in order to extend her front leg to prevent it from colliding with the rear one, you should take a closer look at her front structure. Similarly, if she reaches by extending her front leg out from the elbow instead of the shoulder – if you see a pronounced “crack” at the elbow, instead of one relatively unbroken line from the shoulder to the toe – she is also likely not built correctly in the front end. If she is out of balance – if she is too short-bodied, or her rear is too angled for her front – then she might crab or sidewind, literally torqueing her body sideways so her rear feet don’t strike her front ones when she moves.
Dog breeders and handlers have evolved a number of evocative names to describe movement faults – pounding, paddling, and goose-stepping, to name a few. But the take-home message is that any imbalance or shortcoming in a dog’s structure can contribute to the dog breaking down over time.
A Full Movement Assessment
In addition to circling around the ring at a trot, every dog at a dog show is asked to move away from the judge and then back again in a straight line. This “up and back” afford the judge a different view of the dog’s anatomy and how it works on the move. As the dog trots away, the judge can gauge the strength of the rear assembly, and on the return trip, she can assess factors like elbow placement and whether there are any deviations from normal front movement, like toeing out (where the forefeet point outward) or paddling (in which the pasterns and feet perform an exaggerated, flipping-outward, circular movement).
As in the side view, the key is to look for smooth, effortless, balanced movement. In many breeds, especially those that are bred to work in the field, the dog’s legs will naturally begin to converge on a center line as the dog gains speed and trots away. This is called single-tracking: If your dog was trotting away from you in the snow, all you would see would be one single file of tracks. (Veterinarian and structure maven Chris Zink simulates this at her seminars, dipping a demonstration dog’s feet in chalk and having him gait over the floor.)
A dog’s rear quarters are his propulsion mechanism. When a dog jumps, he naturally pushes off from his rear. So weaknesses here can have orthopedic consequences if you stretch his abilities too far.
Consider, for example, the rear pasterns (sometimes referred to as the hocks). This is the ankle area of the dog, extending from the foot up to that little round knob on the back of the joint. If the rear pasterns are so high or weak that they compromise stability, a judge can see that as the dog moves away; depending on where the weakness is, the rear pasterns might rub together, or move wide, or even wobble.
Earlier this year, one of my puppy people brought their yearling dog to me to evaluate. Periodically, while playing hard at the dog run, Simba would come up lame. Concerned, his owners took him to the vet to have his hips checked, but all was fine there.
I suspect this was the problem: Simba had hocks that were somewhat high, and his croup (the area from the point of hip to where the tail attaches) was steeper than the ideal, making it difficult to get his legs out from under him. Together, these conformation faults contributed to instability in his rear, which made it easier for him to injure himself roughhousing.
While we couldn’t change Simba’s conformation, we could strengthen it. I suggested hillwork: Walking up and down inclines, eventually graduating to figure eights, can help build muscles to compensate for weakness elsewhere. I also suggested core-strengthening exercises on canine-conditioning equipment like a peanut-shaped stability ball.
Lax hips weren’t Simba’s problem, but even dogs with this fault can be helped. I have a friend with a Newfoundland with less-than-ideal hips who used daily core training to help improve his stability. Building up his rear-leg muscles helped stabilize his pelvic area and made him much steadier on his feet.
The Scoop on Your Dog’s Shoulders
The holy grail in many breeds, especially those bred for endurance – trotting, retrieving, or generally working all day – is a “good front.” The front assembly of a dog involves a number of interrelated factors, including the length and angle of the upper arm; the depth and prominence of the prosternum, or forechest, and the length and arch of the neck. And central to the soundness of a front is the placement of the shoulder blade, or scapula.
The front end of the dog experiences the most wear and tear – 60 percent of the dog’s weight is carried on the front legs. When a dog jumps, he lands on his front feet, but it’s the scapula that acts as a shock absorber, helping dissipate the concussion from that energy transmission.
The general rule is, the more sloped the scapula is, the more effective it will be at the job of shock absorption. Conversely, the straighter or more upright the shoulder, the less effective it will be, and the increased pounding will wear and tear on the dog’s structure, setting the stage for orthopedic problems down the road.
The great irony of breeders who select for good fronts in their breeding stock is that the dogs with poorer fronts are often sold as pets, whose owners may use them as performance dogs.
There is nothing you can do to change the scapula angle that your dog has – that’s genetically determined. But what you can do is avoid excessive wear and tear on your dog’s front whenever possible.
For example, if you have a straight-fronted dog that you want to work in agility, then think about jumps the way a dieter does calories: You want to save them up for when they really count, like at an official trial. When training, minimize the number of jumping efforts. Agility training involves building skills, not jump height, so practice at a lower height to help minimize wear and tear.
Be aware of how much concussion you place on that front end over time. It might hone your awareness to keep some sort of record of how many jumps you ask your dog to take in a day, even if you do this for only a week or two.
Dragonika | Dreamstime.com
The Whole Dog
Virtually every part of a dog has functional implications. Consider, for example, feet. Many of us never do. But a dog with flat, thin, splayed feet won’t be able to travel comfortably on them for long, especially over uneven or rough ground.
Torn cruciate ligaments – the most common problem treated by veterinary orthopedists, and one that has been steadily increasing in the last several decades – also appears to have a connection to canine conformation. Breeders have long suspected that the width of the stifle (also called the knee) correlates to a predisposition to torn cruciate ligaments.
A 2009 study pointed to tibial tuberosity – the protrusion on the front of the tibia to which tendons attach, suggesting that the narrower the tibial tuberosity, the greater risk of ligament rupture. Newer studies with a focus on Labrador Retrievers are focusing on hind-limb conformation and gait, and how they impact Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) disease.
Even some aspects of the dog’s conformation that seem sheerly cosmetic can have effects on his health. Eyelids that are too droopy can lead to chronic redness and irritation of the conjunctiva and eye infections. Individuals of breeds that have folding, rolling skin (like Shar Pei, Bulldogs, Pugs, and more) can have excessive skin folds that can trap moisture and bacteria, and set the stage for persistent skin infections – not to mention body odor. Dogs with crowded or crooked teeth may have trouble chewing, and their teeth may develop plaque and tartar faster than dogs with a proper bite and enough room for all their teeth.
You may not have considered the ramifications of some of your dog’s features on his long-term health, but your veterinarian might have useful insights to share. It’s worthwhile to ask whether she sees anything in your dog’s conformation that may predispose him to any particular health problems, and what you can do to prevent these.
Educating Yourself
The study of canine conformation is a lifetime endeavor, and not something you can master in one magazine article. But, luckily, there are plenty of resources for you to kick off a lifetime of learning. For example, veterinarian and performance enthusiast Dr. Christine Zink offers seminars that explain canine conformation and how it translates kinetically. Visit Canine Sports Productions for a list of her upcoming seminars. Also on the must-read list is Pat Hasting’s book, Structure in Action: The Makings of a Durable Dog.
Perhaps the best way to learn about canine conformation and how it impacts structure is to seek out a mentor who can literally show you what it’s all about. Many breeders and performance enthusiasts with an understanding of structure are often surprisingly happy to share their knowledge, as the adjustments you make to your dog’s fitness-building and -maintenance routines can only help him live a happier, healthier, more comfortable life.
Denise Flaim raises 12-year-old triplets and Rhodesian Ridgebacks on Long Island, NY.
To advocate means to support or promote the interests of another. As a trainer, I’m always encouraging my clients to be advocates for their dogs. To me, this means putting the physical and emotional well-being of your dog before your own needs. This includes protecting your dog from injury, from other dogs, and from other people. It also means that you may need to speak up for your dog in a variety of situations; after all, your dog can’t speak for herself! Also, being your dog’s advocate builds trust between you and your dog. I want my dog to trust that I will only put her into situations that she can comfortably handle.
Here are some important foundation skills you need to in order to promote and maintain your dog’s physical and emotional well-being:
Understand Canine Body Language
Bonita Ash | AshfordStudio.com
Learning how dogs communicate, both with their voice and their body language, is an invaluable skill. Take the time to learn and understand the frequent signals that dogs display. It’s important to learn the nuances of that language, especially as it relates to stress signals, so that you can accurately read the dog’s body language and then draw a conclusion as to what your dog is feeling. Stress develops from an inability to cope with a current situation. By understanding and observing your dog’s body language, you’ll know when to intervene or how to change the environment to reduce your dog’s stress.
Make sure you look at the dog’s entire body, as individual signals have different meanings depending on the context of the situation. Begin first by observing and noting each individual signal you see the dog display. Once you’ve noted the signals, you’re better able to draw a conclusion as to whether it’s a stressful situation for the dog. Breed characteristics can complicate the dog’s message, as can docking of tails and/or ears, so please also take these into consideration.
For more information about how dogs communicate, see “Learn to Read Your Dog’s Body Signals,” WDJ August 2011, and Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide, by Brenda Aloff (Dogwise, 2005).
Develop Situational Awareness
Whenever I am with my dog, her well-being comes first. With my dog, I’m scanning the environment for things that could adversely affect my dog, so I can change direction or adapt appropriately to protect her.
It’s not unlike walking with a small child through a crowded street fair; you need to steer clear of strange (stressed!) dogs, people who have had too many alcoholic beverages, broken glass on the street, and so on, all the while pointing out the beautiful handicrafts for sale, the talented juggler, the aroma of delicious food, the harmonious music being played by an enthusiastic band . . . I’m not saying you should be trying to create an inauthentic world for your dog (or toddler) – just that you, as the adult member of the team, have a responsibility to filter your dog’s experience of the world so that she isn’t unnecessarily traumatized by things that are beyond her ability to comprehend or absorb.
Manage Your Dog’s Stress
There’s not one of us who hasn’t passed the tipping point of our own stress threshold. Imagine this scenario: You get up late. You have a flat tire on the way to work. Your boss makes a snide comment when you enter the office. When you get home that evening, your significant other is fussy about something you forgot to do days ago. That’s enough to make any of us to lose our good humor!
Multiple stressors can compound the stress your dog feels, too. As you understand dog body language, you’ll begin to see how different situations may affect your dog. Is she happy? Is she uncomfortable? Is she scared? As your dog’s advocate you may need to intervene or change the environment to help your dog.
Here are five things you can do to help your dog be more comfortable in a specific situation:
1. Assess the situation. Look around and attempt to determine the stressor or stressors that are causing your dog to feel uncomfortable.
2. Increase distance between your dog and the perceived threat. Sometimes distance alone will help your dog become more comfortable.
3. Be prepared to remove your dog from the situation if increasing distance didn’t help. Don’t be tempted to make the dog endure an uncomfortable environment. Doing so can increase stress and also exacerbate the dog’s behavior.
4. Change your dog’s opinion about the thing that made her uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s a small child and the dog hasn’t been around children. Instead of a dog thinking, “A child is a scary thing!” you want her to think, “A child is a good thing!” Counter-conditioning and desensitization is the appropriate way to accomplish this and is very effective when implemented slowly and consistently over time.
5. If you feel you’re in over your head, call a dog behavior professional who is skilled in positive techniques to modify canine behavior.
For more about managing a fearful dog’s stress, see “Fear Aggression” (this issue) for more information.
Putting Advocacy Into Practice
Now that you have an understanding of the foundation skills, let’s look at the various places to use them:
Advocating At Home
No dog should have to be fearful or apprehensive in his or her own home. As my dog’s advocate, I have learned to offer a polite “no” response to well-meaning friends who ask if their dog can accompany them to our home. Not all dogs immediately enjoy an interloper in their own home and it’s much more fun to visit with my friends without worrying about how our dogs get along. Besides, we have cats in our house, so I don’t trust unknown dogs around our furry felines.
Turnabout is fair play; even if your dog has always interacted well with new, unknown dogs, you should leave your dog at home when visiting the homes of friends or relatives who have pets. Why stress your friends’ or relatives’ dogs in their own homes? They may not respond well, which would be unfortunate for them and your dog.
If you have dogs (or cats and other pets) who don’t get along well, you may have to make some difficult decisions about whether they should live together or not – or, at a minimum, take dramatic steps to stringently manage the flow of traffic in your home so they don’t have any opportunities to harm or terrorize each other. No one should have to live in fear in their own homes, either. As much as it would pain you to miss them, consider rehoming whichever pet or pets have the best capacity for a happy life elsewhere.
I have such appreciation for those who foster dogs. But if you decide to become a foster home for a needy dog, please keep in mind that your ultimate responsibility is to ensure the comfort and safety of the current dog or dogs already in your home. A constant flow of new dogs in and out of a home can be extremely stressful to family dogs. I’ve seen more than a few family dogs develop stress-related behavior issues because of the barrage of new dogs coming and going. As your dog’s advocate, carefully consider if fostering is right for you and your dog.
Your dog should also be comfortable and safe from being hurt or scared by other humans in the house. Young children, teenagers, spouses, and elderly parents should be taught to be kind to and respectful of the dog. If anyone in the home can’t be trusted to be as protective of the dog as you are, then their interactions with the dog should be supervised, or the dog kept somewhere she can be safe from harassment when you are not there to supervise.
For more information about managing life with kids and dogs, see “How to Teach Kids and Dogs to Get Along From an Early Age,” WDJ May 2012, and Living with Kids and Dogs Without Losing Your Mind, by Colleen Pelar (Dream Dog Productions, 2012).
Protecting Your Dog at Parades, Parties and Outdoor Gatherings
While we may enjoy having our canine companions accompany us, many dogs aren’t comfortable at loud events unless they have been appropriately conditioned to enjoy the variety of sights and sounds at events like parades. If you’re unsure how your dog will enjoy a specific event, leave her in the safety and comfort of your own home or be prepared to create as much distance as necessary for your dog to feel comfortable. You may even need to leave the event.
Even when you’ve implemented the best training you know how, things can go awry. After four years of training and socialization with my dog, Willow, who had proven to very comfortable at a variety of loud outdoor dog sport and other public events, I felt she was ready to accompany me to one of our local, small-town parades. I armed myself with her favorite treats so that I could use the food, as necessary, to pair any new and unusual sights and sounds. I was thinking about marching bands, riders on horses – perhaps a fire truck!
Well, I hadn’t considered the possibility of a dune buggy club and 20-plus loud vehicles with their motors revving! As this parade entry grew closer, Willow began to panic and pull me away from the noise. We retreated 30 or 40 feet – but that was still much too close. When I offered her a treat, she looked away from me. My very food-motivated dog had stress anorexia! As her advocate, I needed to retreat with her to a more comfortable distance – which turned out to be a couple of blocks away, where we could sit together and observe the parade while enjoying yummy treats.
As much as you want to enjoy the event you are attending with your dog, if she’s having a bad time, prioritize her experience over yours. You may be sad to miss what you went to see – for example, getting to watch your neighbor’s kids in the marching band – but, trust me, you will be far happier if you don’t have to spend the rest of your dog’s life counter-conditioning her to get over (as just one possibility) her new fear of loud vehicles.
Help Your Dog Feel Safe at Vet Visits
Willow was always over her stress threshold within moments of walking in the front door of our former veterinarian’s office. When she came into our home as a puppy, I was determined to positively condition her to not only like, but love, the vet. Unfortunately, a chronic urinary tract infection that persisted for more than six months, despite treatment, caused her intense fear of that particular vet practice.
Because it’s easier to help a dog develop a positive association with a new location versus changing a negative association with a known location, I decided to switch vet offices. Willow is now comfortable going to see her new vet – especially because the new veterinarian also uses low-stress handling techniques! (See “Less Stressful Veterinary Visits,” WDJ March 2010.)
Few owners recognize signs that their dogs are stressed at the vet. By learning dog body language, you’ll be prepared to recognize stress in your dog at the vet and make the appropriate adjustments.
Observe the waiting room before you enter. Position yourself so that your dog has sufficient space. Take toys or food to keep your dog busy – and speak up if you feel your dog isn’t comfortable with a certain vet-handling technique!
Willow is more comfortable with me than the vet tech when restraint is needed for a blood draw. I ask to have the blood drawn in the treatment room rather than the back of the vet practice, or I ask to accompany her to the back where I can be the one to hold her.
You can also be proactive in training your dog to enjoy body handling, as well as getting your dog comfortable with restraint, a collar hold (if you have to remove the leash) and even a muzzle. If your dog has already learned to “love” a muzzle, it will be one less moment of stress should a vet need to use one.
Safe at Doggy Daycare or Training Class
It’s important to help our dogs learn to navigate in our weird human world. One helpful way to further her experience and education is to enroll in a positive training class with your dog. You’ll learn how to appropriately familiarize her with the variety of sights and sounds she will encounter in her life with you, and you’ll learn how to teach your dog good manners both inside and outside of your home. Training classes should be fun, effective, and build trust between you and your dog that enriches the bond between you.
There are many training classes and workshops available today, however, not all of them provide positive experiences for the enrollees. Please do the research to find a force-free, positive training class where the focus is on teaching the dog what to do, rather than on punishing unwanted behaviors. Interview the trainer and ask probing questions about the exercises that will be taught and what techniques and methods will be used.
If something doesn’t sound right or raises concerns, look for another trainer who will not only have your dog’s best interest in mind, but also listen to and address any concerns you may have along the way. And don’t ever use a training technique on your dog just because the trainer said to do so. You are your dog’s advocate. If you’re not comfortable with the situation, you have the right to say, “No, thank you.”
Workshops provide another educational opportunity for you and your dog. Unlike group classes, where a dog has the ability to become accustomed to the new environment throughout the length of the class (normally six to seven weeks), workshops are usually one or two days. A workshop environment with many handlers and dogs can be overwhelming. Some dogs adjust quickly, others may take a few hours, and others may not be able to adjust in the time allotted.
If your dog grows increasingly stressed in a workshop environment, as your dog’s advocate, it’s better to pack up and leave than force her to endure more than she can handle. Once your dog is secure and happy at home, you can return to the workshop and observe and learn without the worry of an uncomfortable dog at your side.
Use Your Voice for Your Dog
When you bring a dog into your home, you’re committing to a 10- to 15-year relationship with an amazing and wonderful creature who doesn’t have the ability to verbally speak and say “no.” It’s up to you, as your dog’s advocate, to ensure her well-being.
A passionate advocate for humane, science-based dog training, Lisa Lyle Waggoner is a CPDT-KA, a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer, a Pat Miller Certified Trainer-Level 2, and a dog*tec Dog Walking Academy Instructor. She is the founder of Cold Nose College in Murphy, North Carolina, with additional locations in Georgia and Florida. Lisa provides behavior consulting and training solutions to clients in the tri-state area of North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Regular exercise helps reduce stress, another lifestyle factor in the development of cancer. Uncontrolled stress has been shown to exacerbate tumor growth in humans. Signs of stress in your dog vary from obvious (digestive upset or lack of appetite) to subtle (persistent licking with no other cause, yawning, scratching for no obvious reason, dropped tail, drooling, low/back ears). Feed a good-quality food in appropriate amounts to keep your dog fit and slender. Be sure your dog gets plenty of exercise, and address stress issues by incorporating the help of a trainer or your veterinarian to isolate and eliminate the source.
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We’ve had some intense heat in California lately, and lots of dog owners are taking their dogs to pools, lakes, rivers, and the coast to cool off. Allow me to remind you about several water-safety tips to keep in mind:
Too much can be a bad thing.
“Water toxicosis” can affect any dog who drinks too much in the course of swimming, dock diving, fetching toys from water, biting at a sprinkler, or any other activity that involves water. When dogs are hot or particularly excited, they may drink even more. If you notice your dog drinking more than seems necessary – especially if you notice him wobbling, vomiting, or seeming suddenly lethargic, have him take a break in the shade for a while, until his body can catch up and eliminate some of that excess. See https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/water-intoxication-in-dogs/
Use life jackets.
Even good swimmers can get fatigued. It goes without saying that any dog on a vessel at sea should be wearing a canine PFD, but even dogs on river rafts, canoes, paddleboards, and kayaks should be wearing one, especially in swift water, anywhere that they can be swept into a hazardous zone (rocks, overhanging trees or bushes), or if they are going to be out on the water all day and may grow tired. See our recent review of life jackets for dogs in the July issue of WDJ.
Look out for toxic algae.
Blue-green algae thrive in warm, shallow water. While algae may be present throughout the year, it is only when there is an extensive “bloom” that problems occur. Most blooms occur in late summer or early fall, but they can occur earlier as well, particularly when the weather is unusually warm and dry. Toxic algae can be blue, bright green, brown, or red. The component of the algae that produces toxins is called cyanobacteria.
Signs of toxicity in dogs may start with lethargy, followed by vomiting and diarrhea. Tremors and seizures can occur almost immediately. Additional signs range from excess salivation, skin irritation, and pale gums to severe respiratory, circulatory, or neurological disorders. Convulsions and death can occur as little as four hours after exposure. Treatment may include fluids to prevent dehydration, diazepam (Valium) to control seizures, atropine to counteract the poison, charcoal to absorb toxins from the stomach, and adrenaline to help counteract respiratory failure.
Prevention is the best course of action. Keep your dogs away from stagnant water in warm weather, particularly if you notice any of the following:
The water looks like green paint or pea soup, or is cloudy with a green, yellow, or blue-green hue.
It smells swampy or musty.
You see what looks like foam, scum, or mats on top of the water.
If contact occurs, prevent your dog from licking his feet or coat, and wash him off thoroughly with clean water as soon as possible. If you suspect problems, contact your vet immediately. If your dog becomes ill, be sure to notify authorities so that warning signs can be posted to protect other pets and people. See https://www.epa.gov/nutrient-policy-data/cyanobacteriacyanotoxins for more information.
Recently, I dog-sat two little dogs for a friend who went on vacation for just over a week. I like to think of myself as a competent dog owner and foster-care provider, but I experienced just about every sort of problem with medicating one of the dogs that a person can imagine. I have an excuse: I also have three of my own dogs, 12 foster dogs (mother Great Dane and her 11 puppies), and my son’s dog staying with me while he travels for his sport, so I was a TAD distracted, but even so.
Pill Problem 1
Aforesaid Great Dane got the pills down off a shelf in the kitchen that I thought was high enough, and managed to open one bottle, which contained a chewable form of medication, and ate them ALL. I have been through this once before; a few years ago, I fostered a Labrador who swiped a bottle of chewable medication off my kitchen counter and ate them all, costing me a pretty penny at the emergency vet clinic in the middle of the night. Given that the Great Dane foster has already scored butter, bread, and a few other things off my counter, I HAD put the pills on a high shelf – just not high enough.
Given that the Dane weighs 96 pounds, and the Chihuahua that the medication was prescribed for weighs less than 10 pounds, and because the dose was low and the bottle wasn’t full, no harm was done. Except that I had to call my friend’s vet and confess to my incompetence (because I had to buy more medication), which sucks because she’s MY vet, too.
Pill Problem 2
My friend had left written instructions: twice a day, the little dog was to receive one of those pills, one of these other yellow pills, and ½ of yet another pill which was white. One evening, in dim light, I couldn’t tell which ones where white and which were yellow, so I looked at the labels – which BOTH said, “Give ½ pill twice daily.” I should have looked at the labels when my friend had given them to me! It took me a day to reach my friend, who was easily able to clarify that the vet had increased the dose of that one medication recently, though my friend still had some of the bottle whose label indicated the old dose. Moral of that story: Make sure any medications you receive are clearly and accurately labeled, or re-labeled!
Pill Problem 3
I was to give the pills to the Chihuahua in a small piece of thick bologna. Every once in a while, the Chihuahua chewed into a pill and spit it out. I watched carefully and was able to re-administer the pill in another piece of bologna. Except for the time that she spit out the chewable pill and my friend’s OTHER little dog dove for it and swallowed it. I saw the pill hit the floor and saw the other dog dive, but even though I let out a yell and grabbed for him quickly, he was quicker. Moral: Don’t allow any other dogs to stand around looking to mooch a piece of bologna, lest they grab a pill!
I’m not going to be hanging out my shingle for boarding other people’s dogs any time soon. That was nerve-wracking. But apparently, not enough to prevent one further error.
Pill Problem 4
I’ve been keeping the mother Great Dane I’ve been fostering apart from her puppies for the past 10 days or so. She needs to be spayed so she can get adopted, and her milk needs to be all dried up before she can get spayed. The puppies don’t need it anymore, though they still try to grab ahold of her any chance they get. They also jump up at her face, and she – SUCH a good mom that she is – she always obliges by regurgitating any food she happens to have recently consumed. And the puppies dive into the pile of wet food. Yum! It’s a completely natural, instinctive thing – it’s how mama dogs bring food home from the hunt for their babies – and of course, gross by our standards.
It has developed that the mom and the puppies were infested with worms (round worms and tape worms), but even after deworming, they have had persistent but intermittent diarrhea, and have not been gaining weight as nicely as they ought. The vet tech at the shelter asked me to bring in some fecal samples, and it was discovered that they all had coccidia, too. (This is a protozoal parasite that can be transmitted via the fecal-oral route . . . say mom has it and the puppies step in her poop and lick their feet.) We treated the whole family for that, but the diarrhea persisted . . . and so we tested for giardia (another protozoal parasite that can be transmitted via the fecal-oral route), and they all had that, too. So I am currently giving all of them meds twice a day for five days.
The other evening, I had mom in the living room, where I gave her the meds. Then I let the puppies into the kitchen from the backyard, stepped over the baby gate, and put mom out into the backyard via a side door. Then I gave the puppies their meds, one at a time, putting each one over the baby gate from the kitchen into the living room as I administered their medicine. Only, I had one dose of medicine left over. I counted puppies again, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8 9, 10 . . . Where is puppy 11? I look out the window, and there is the mom and puppy 11 . . . eating the food – and meds – that mommy just obligingly regurgitated for him onto the ground. When I let the puppies in, I hadn’t counted carefully enough, and one was still outside. I ran out there, and made the mom and the pup back away from the pile of vomitus, and poked through it myself – fun! but it was too late to see or know. Had she vomited the pills? Eaten them again herself? Did the puppy get them instead? Without making them both vomit, there was no way to know. Shamefully, I had to call the vet tech at the shelter and confess to yet one MORE person that I had screwed up – and what should I do now?
She assured me that there is a LARGE margin of safety with that particular medicine, and that even though the mom’s dose was much higher than the puppy’s, even if the puppy ate all the mom’s meds, he would be fine; but we should add another dose to the end of the mom’s protocol.
So – whew – I somehow skated again, not killing anyone, and not having to go to the emergency vet, but I’m sure not proud. I hope, at least, you can learn from my mistakes. I hope to do so!
What sort of medicine administration errors can you help other dog owners avoid?
Long-time WDJ contributor Mary Straus has been dealing with a health issue with her senior Norwich Terrier, Ella. She came up with a solution that I hadn’t seen before, and I asked her if she could provide us with more information; it may help some of you with your dogs! Here is what she wrote:
My Ella is now 12 years old, and starting to have trouble with the glare of the sun. I had her checked by an ophthalmologist to be sure nothing was wrong, and she confirmed it’s just age-related changes, and that her iris can’t contract as well as it used to, making it harder for her to see in bright light. I asked about Doggles, and the vet agreed that protecting her eyes from the sun was a good idea, but said most dogs hate wearing the Doggles because they’re heavy and block their peripheral vision. She suggested an Optivizor from Protective Pet Solutions instead.
After some work to figure out the correct size, Ella is now happily wearing her new Optivizor on walks. She appears comfortable wearing it, has no trouble seeing or investigating all the interesting smells while wearing it, and may even appreciate its help with the sun’s glare.
I actually used an Optivizor in 2008 on my previous dog following eye surgery, as it was far more comfortable than a cone, and it worked really well. Since then, they have improved the design and lowered the cost!
Ella is wearing the Mini (Regular Snout) size. The Short-Snout version didn’t fit her face (too close to her eyes), and the Toy size was too big for her head, though it might work for a larger Norwich (Ella weighs just under 11 lbs). The only problem with the Mini size is that if her eyebrows are grown out, the visor pushes them down over her eyes, but it works well when she’s groomed properly.
Some of my friends on Facebook have asked me questions about the Optivizor.
Q: How did you determine the glare was difficult for her?
A: She started flinching strongly when walking from bright light into shadow. Since it was a change in behavior, and because flinching can be a sign of PRA, I had her checked by the ophthalmologist just to be safe. She found just normal age-related changes, including iris muscle atrophy that she said was causing the problem seeing in bright light.
Q: I’m going to check out the visor as my youngest pug has 2 good eyes and I’m trying to keep them that way, and Doggles don’t work on his weird pug head.
A: The company makes a special version of the Optivizor for short-snouted dogs that should work well on a Pug.
Q: Do they make a nose protector for Collie nose? My Collie has lupus. I can’t find one.
Q: Great! Can also protect the eyes against the wind too when cycling
A: I’m not sure how it would work for wind – if the dog lifts its head, the visor would catch the wind, with unpredictable results. I think you need something that fits close to the face, like Doggles, for that.
As I said in last week’s blog post, we have received lots of submissions from readers – descriptions of cute, fun, and useful behaviors they have taught their dogs, or that their dogs have taught them! We will post a bunch of these over the next few days. Maybe you will be inspired to teach your dog a cool new behavior!
My Lab-mix LOVES to play fetch. She’s so great at chasing a tennis ball anywhere. She will always come running back with it and kind of toss it back at me to throw it again. If we’re playing in the backyard and I’m sitting down and she tosses it out of reach, instead of getting up from my chair and getting the ball I simply say, “Can’t reach it.” She has learned that means I can’t reach the ball to throw it to her again. When I say, “Can’t reach it,” she will go and get the ball and drop it right at my feet so that I can reach it and throw it for her again.
When people see us do this they all think it’s the craziest, coolest thing! I didn’t actually train her to do it, but boy does it come in handy!
Debbi Merrill & Gumbo Bartlett, Illinois
We suspect lots of owners who have dogs who love to fetch have a similar cue as described in the following submission, without even being aware of it!
I have several fun things that I have been doing with my dogs for nearly 40 years! My students seem to like these words, too, and many have added them to their dog’s vocabulary.
My dogs are taught to bark when I say “Tell” – they can pick that work out of any sentence. For example, when we get a biscuit at the bank I say, “Can you tell them thank you very much?” Or, “Can you tell me what time it is?” (“Good” after appropriate number of barks). Or, “Can you tell her “please?” “Tell them goodbye!” etc…
My current dogs do not lie down and roll over, they “hit the deck” and “capsize”…. Paw is “Ahoy matey” and High-five is “Welcome aboard”….. To jump up on their chair is “crow’s nest” and permission to play roughly is “Mutiny!!!” I clearly had too much time on my hands when they were young!!
And when asking them to stop barking, we say “That’ll do” – from the movie, “Babe.”
Jennifer Kesner Canine Consulting
We love the idea of using “Tell” as a cue for a bark!
I have a Jack Russell Terrier Rescue and have a large pack of my own Jacks. My oldest Jack is 19 years and youngest is 1-1/2 years. One of my Super Senior Jacks, Emma Biaggio, is 14 years old, and the first 10 years of her life she raced with me in the Storm the Bastille Evening Race in Milwaukee, WI. I always used “kick it” and she would rear up like a little horse and bolt. Everyone who was on Broadway (the halfway mark in the race) could not believe their eyes when this little 6 lb. Jack would bolt.
Also, even though I have a large pack, it is very orderly. They have learned the difference in keeping quiet by my saying “House Bark” and “Keep it to a low roar.” “Watch it” is used often. As well as, “On guard,” where they are ready for anything. “Leave it” only has to be said once and when I say “Dancing Queen,” Emma dances and dances.
Penelope J. Wagner President/Founder First Friends Animal Rescue Inc
Now we have the ABBA song stuck in our heads . . .
Our Siberian Husky, Sierra, loves dog biscuits, which we have always called “cookies.” She will whine (aka, Husky woo-woo) when she wants more than she can have, up until she hears, first: “No more COOKIES!” followed by, “TOO MANY cookies!”
She is 10 now, but still able to jump up on the couch if she hears her ‘”fanfare” as she approaches the couch, which goes like this: “Da, ta, da, ta, da, ta, daaaaa…JUMP!” at which point, she will back up, get a running start, and do just that.
When we walk her in the park, she always gravitates to the edges of the woodsy sections where the poison ivy and ticks tend to be. She now knows not to go there, and will back away onto the grass, when she hears, “No EDGES.”
Jan D. Marlan, Ph.D. Pittsburgh, PA
We’d bet there is an adorable sad-faced behavior after the “TOO MANY cookies!” cue!
Raise your hand if you have a perfectly trained dog. Anyone? Anyone? If you raised your hand, good for you! – both of you! For the rest of us whose hands didn’t budge, the reality is a little different. Many of us have a long laundry list of dog behaviors we’d like to work on, eventually.
The list of dog training goals may be quirky little things, ranging from stealing tissues out of the bathroom garbage bin to barking at the sound of a doorbell on TV, digging up the vegetable garden, and snacking from the cat’s litter box.
Your list of dog training goals might also include more serious issues, like your dog behaving aggressively toward strangers, slipping through any door left open and making a run for it, or displaying fearful behaviors when left at home alone. These types of canine behavior problems absolutely deserve our attention and should be addressed sooner rather than later for the safety of others, as well as for the safety and well being of the dog.
But what about those other issues? Is it okay to ignore them? I mean, if it’s not a problem for you, then is it a problem at all?
Establish Training Goals for Your Dog
Recently I celebrated the fifth anniversary of my dog Chili’s adoption. I originally brought her into my home as a foster, because she had been a resident of the local shelter for a while; I planned to work on some of her behavior issues in order to increase her chances of adoption. Chili exhibited a host of behaviors that would be problematic for most families: she knew how to perform zero behaviors on cue, had never learned to walk on a leash, she guarded her food and bones, barked and lunged against the windows when riding in the car, and barked and lunged at the TV when a dog barked on screen – to name just a few.
After a couple of weeks, and once I realized the scope of her behavior problems, I went ahead and signed the adoption papers just to avoid sending Chili back to the shelter when my previously agreed-upon two weeks of fostering were up. I was still going to try to find her a suitable home while we worked on her behavior, however; she wasn’t actually going to stay with us forever.
Weeks turned into months, and by then, my family had grown so attached to Chili that we had no intention of letting her go live elsewhere. She had become a member of our family, as imperfect as she was. And despite nearly nonstop training for more than a year, she really was imperfect. Every day had been, in my eyes, an opportunity to work on at least one of her issues, a chance to improve her behavior, an obligation to turn her into a “good family dog.” Even though I aim to make training as much fun as possible for any dog I’m working with, the fact remains that for Chili, school was always in session. There had been no holidays, no summer break.
After 15 months of this, and during a time of mourning as we dealt with the unexpected loss of our other very special family dog to a sudden illness, it finally dawned on me that a dog’s life is much too short for me to be worrying about achieving perfect behavior. Why was I so concerned? What was I trying to prove, exactly, by constantly evaluating, managing, and tweaking Chili’s behavior?
I thought about it long and hard and came to the conclusion that my motivation to keep training Chili was rooted in pressure – pressure I put on myself, and pressure I imagined coming from other sources. Expectations had grown from the fact that I was a professional trainer, and yet my dog was not perfect. The social pressure – whether real or imagined – that I felt when I was out and about with my imperfect dog was weighing heavily on me.
Focus on Your Dog’s Good Behavior to Achieve Better Behavior
At that very moment, I stopped the daily training and the endless micromanagement of Chili’s every move and social contact. I pledged to her that I would instead focus on making what’s left of her unfairly short canine life the most fabulous time she had ever known. Expectations and judgment from others be damned, I was going to let Chili be Chili.
This approach has allowed us to relax and grow even closer. By taking a step back and getting to know her true personality, I have also come to realize there are a lot of things that Chili does well. I had spent so much time focusing on what was wrong, that I hadn’t really noticed what was right: She has never gone shopping in any garbage bins. She doesn’t bark when someone rings the doorbell or knocks at the door. She greets visitors with charm and class. She has always done her business in a far corner of the yard, without any coaching from me. . . . It turns out she’s a pretty awesome family dog, just the way she is!
This was such a defining moment for me that I now spend a lot of time helping clients to also see the good in their dog at a time when they might feel frustrated about a particular behavior problem.
Teaching a dog new behaviors can be lots of fun, and there are tons of people and dogs who thoroughly enjoy daily training and engaging in various canine sports or activities. However, it’s equally important to give yourself permission to take the pressure off of yourself and your dog if frequent training isn’t your thing.
If there are behavior issues that you simply can’t live with, then of course you should teach your dog to behave differently, or find a trainer who can show you how to make training fun for both you and your dog.
But if you feel you need to work on a behavior just because you think that’s what is expected of your dog, when really you could just as happily leave it alone, then by all means let it be and carry on as you were! It’s far more important that you and your dog enjoy the time you spend together.
The truth is, there is no such thing as a perfect dog, and there is no official rule book that states exactly how every dog should behave. We get to make up most of those rules based on what works for us and our own dogs. Outside of competitive dog sports or dog shows, there is no prize for perfect dog behavior. If your dog is good enough for you, and you’re able to make the most out of those dog years, then you’re already winners.
Nancy Tucker, CPDT-KA, is a full-time trainer, behavior consultant, and seminar presenter in Quebec, Canada. She has written numerous articles on dog behavior focusing on life with the imperfect family dog.
We all need vitamin D – and so do our dogs. Without it, we suffer from bone diseases and a host of other problems. But vitamin D is controversial and not well understood. When it comes to deciding how much is required, which sources are best, and how to supplement safely, experts disagree. Learning about vitamin D can help you make informed choices for your best friend.
Vitamin D research began long before it was identified and named. Between 1880 and 1930, the bone disease rickets affected children in industrialized areas where infections, crowding, and a lack of sunlight were common. Rickets causes soft, fragile bones. Cod liver oil, which contains vitamin D, was shown to prevent and cure the disease, and studies conducted on dogs and other animals proved that a nutritional deficiency of vitamin D caused rickets.
A steroid vitamin which is also classified as a hormone, Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphate, increases bone cell activity, influences the formation and growth of long bones, and speeds the healing of fractures. But vitamin D does far more than build a strong skeleton. Adequate D levels may help prevent heart disease, joint inflammation, skin and coat problems, cancer, vision problems, depression, mental illness, infections, inflammatory bowel disease, dental problems, hyperparathyroidism, and kidney disease.
It is called the sunshine vitamin because sunlight on human skin produces vitamin D, which our bodies convert to a substance known as 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, 25-hydroxy, or vitamin D3. Sunlight is not considered a significant source of vitamin D for dogs. We can help prevent canine vitamin D deficiencies with specific foods and supplements.
Too Much Vitamin D is Toxic to Dogs
Vitamin D deficiencies in dogs can cause health problems over time, but so can an oversupply. Because vitamin D is fat soluble, it accumulates in body fat. Overdoses can be toxic and even fatal.
Most canine fatalities related to vitamin D stem from the accidental ingestion of prescription drugs that contain vitamin D, such as topical medications for human skin conditions like psoriasis, and from the ingestion of rodenticides, which are poisons designed to control rats, mice, and other rodents.
Cholecalciferol (synthetic vitamin D3) was registered as a rodenticide in the United States in 1984. Toxic doses lead to too much calcium in the blood, which can affect the central nervous system, muscles, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, and kidneys.
Although less common, overdoses of vitamin D from foods and supplements can occur. Excessive vitamin D causes hypercalcemia (elevated calcium levels); anorexia (loss of appetite and extreme weight loss); excessive thirst, urination, drooling, and vomiting; muscle weakness; soft tissue mineralization; and lameness. In growing dogs, excessive vitamin D can disrupt normal skeletal development as a result of increased calcium and phosphate absorption.
In 1999, DVM Nutri-Balance High Protein Dog Food and Golden Sun Feeds Hi-Pro Hunter Dog Food were recalled because of excessive vitamin D3 due to a feed-mixing error. This caused the illness and death of at least 25 dogs.
Seven years later, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet recalled four products due to a misformulation in the vitamin premix. Six dogs and five cats were reported to have clinical signs consistent with vitamin D3 toxicity.
In 2010, Blue Buffalo recalled packages of its Wilderness Chicken, Basics Salmon, and Large Breed Adult Chicken dry dog foods because of a sequencing error at the dry-ingredients supplier, which allowed a more potent vitamin D used in chicken feeds to contaminate the dog formulas and increase their vitamin D to unacceptable levels. Vitamin D3 toxicity from the error affected at least 36 dogs.
In March 2016, four varieties of canned Fromm Family Pet Food were voluntarily recalled because the company’s analysis showed that these diets may contain excessive levels of Vitamin D3.
Commercial Pet Foods Usually Lack Sufficient Vitamin D
Dog owners often believe that as long as they feed a commercial diet labeled as “complete and balanced,” their dogs will receive all the nutrients they need, in ideal amounts. But we can’t necessarily count on commercial diets for this!
“It is widely assumed that properly formulated commercial pet foods contain adequate D levels for canine health, but that isn’t true,” says Susan Howell, DVM, who provides veterinary technical support for Standard Process, Inc., a nutritional supplement manufacturer. “Foods are formulated to meet minimum nutrient requirements established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO),” she says. “They are not formulated to meet optimal requirements.”
Dr. Howell cites a 2015 Tufts University study funded by VDI Laboratories that examined the effects of diet on the serum vitamin D levels of Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and White Shepherds. Most of the study’s 320 dogs were fed commercial diets from 40 different manufacturers, and some were fed homemade diets or a combination of commercial and homemade diets.
As the report concluded, “Serum 25(OH)D concentrations in dogs vary widely, which likely reflects varying dietary vitamin D content. Notable differences exist among manufacturers and brands and may reflect differences in proprietary formulations. Given the variability of measured serum 25(OH) D concentrations in dogs and the importance vitamin D appears to have on health status, dietary vitamin D content should be optimized.”
The study found that dogs on home-prepared diets had some of the most deficient vitamin D levels.
“In addition,” says Dr. Howell, “I spoke to a representative from VDI who said they had recently tested three Golden Retrievers, all having the same body weight and all eating the same diet. Each dog had a different serum vitamin D level. This shows that every animal is unique. They are dealing with their own variances, particularly in their ability to absorb and utilize vitamin D. Vitamin D absorption depends on good digestion. In my opinion, if D levels are deficient or insufficient, it may be as much a matter of addressing digestion as an issue of providing more vitamin D.”
Measuring D Levels
Vitamin D levels in humans and pets can be measured with a blood test. Depending on the testing laboratory, results are measured in nanograms of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (Calcifediol) per milliliter of blood (abbreviated as ng/mL) or as nanomoles per liter (abbreviated as nmol/L). To convert ng/mL to nmol/L, multiply by 2.5; to convert nmol/L to ng/mL, divide by 2.5.
Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine began offering canine vitamin D tests to veterinarians in the late 1980s. “That’s when we established a reference range based on the D levels of healthy dogs,” says Professor Kent Refsal, DVM. “The test became a diagnostic tool that helped veterinarians identify dogs with rickets, gastrointestinal disease, or other symptoms of vitamin D malabsorption or insufficiency as well as dogs with excessive vitamin D levels.”
Professor Refsal and his colleagues consult with veterinarians about their patients’ test results. The MSU laboratory’s vitamin D radioimmunoassay reference range for dogs is 60 to 215 nmol/L, or 24 to 86 ng/mL. “We consider this range to be a general indication of adequate to normal vitamin D levels for healthy dogs of all ages,” he says.
Veterinary Diagnostic Institute (VDI), which uses chemiluminescence immunoassay, reports its canine vitamin D blood test results as deficient (less than 25 ng/mL), insufficient (25 to
In the May 2016 issue of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, veterinarians N. Weidner and A. Verbrugghe at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, reviewed the current knowledge of vitamin D in dogs. After discussing vitamin D tests for health screening, research on D levels and canine illnesses, and target D levels for optimum health, they concluded, “Further work is necessary before any consensus statements on blood 25(OH) D concentrations that define sufficiency in dogs can be made.”
In May 2016, researchers at Edinburgh University’s Royal School of Veterinary Studies in Scotland announced a series of research projects on pet dogs and vitamin D. Dr. Richard Mellanby, the university’s head of small animal medicine, explains, “Our research aims to understand whether dogs’ vitamin D levels fluctuate throughout the year, which is important for making sure we’re feeding our pets the right diet. We’re also interested in how vitamin D affects recovery after surgery and whether having less vitamin D is a cause or consequence of inflammation. Untangling this complex relationship will help us to devise new approaches to improve the welfare of animals after surgery.” Dr. Mallanby’s review article “Beyond the skeleton: The role of vitamin D in companion animal health” appeared in the April 2016 issue of Journal of Small Animal Practice.
Pennsylvania veterinarian Linda Stern, DVM, began screening feline and canine patients with the VDI test last fall. “Of the 24 dogs we have tested so far,” she says, “only 29 percent had adequate vitamin D levels.”
Dr. Stern checks her patients’ D levels, supplements as necessary, and retests after 10 to 12 weeks. “Dogs with arthritis tend to have significantly low vitamin D levels,” she says, “and when their levels improve, so does their range of motion. My general observation is that dogs feel better, have more energy, and look happier and healthier when their D levels are adequate. Some show dramatic improvement right away, which happened with one of our patients with liver disease. Monitoring patients with follow-up tests ensures that they maintain safe, optimum D levels.”
Increasing D Levels by Improving Digestion
Dr. Howell recommends feeding dogs a variety of meat-based diets that are free from corn, wheat, soy, rice, white potatoes, tapioca, and peas. “Those foods are alkalizing to the stomach, and dogs need an acidic stomach for food to be digested and nutrients like vitamin D to be absorbed. The other problem with these ingredients is that they cause inflammation, which decreases nutrient absorption. As animals age, their stomachs become more alkaline, which explains why older animals may have a harder time breaking down and absorbing Vitamin D from their food.”
For dogs fed dry food, she suggests adding bone broth or warm water before feeding. “Adding raw organic apple cider vinegar to food helps acidify the stomach,” she adds, “and it provides prebiotics, which feed gut microbes. Add 1/8 teaspoon to each meal for small dogs; 1/4 teaspoon for dogs weighing 21 to 50 pounds; and 1/2 teaspoon for dogs more than 50 pounds.”
WDJ contributor Mary Straus, whose dogaware.com website offers nutrition and feeding tips, recommends supplementing the diet with probiotics (active beneficial bacteria), prebiotics (foods that feed beneficial bacteria), and digestive enzymes to improve digestion and the assimilation of nutrients.
Like other fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin D requires dietary fat for assimilation. In the September 2006 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, John E. Bauer, DVM, compared facilitative and functional fats in the canine diet. Saturated fats are facilitative, he wrote, because they enhance palatability, provide fuel for energy, can be stored in the body for future use, do not pose a health threat unless fed in excessive amounts, and assist in the digestion and assimilation of fat-soluble vitamins.
Coconut oil and butter contain saturated fats and are often listed as good companions to fat-soluble vitamins. Consider adding 1 teaspoon per 25 pounds of body weight to your dog’s dinner to help improve his or her vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D in Home-Prepared Diets
While home-prepared diets may show the greatest variation in canine vitamin D levels, Dr. Howell notes that not every home-prepared diet has to be supplemented with vitamin D. “I’ll refer you back to the Tufts study,” she says. “Animals on balanced home-prepared diets may have sufficient D levels. It’s a matter of feeding foods that contain vitamin D, fostering healthy digestion, and possibly supplementing Vitamin D in a whole-food form or in a synthetic form if necessary. I worry that people may over-supplement unknowingly and cause a toxicity in their pet.”
For this reason, she recommends that owners ask their veterinarians for help with homemade diets or turn to Balance IT, a pet diet-planning website developed by a veterinary nutritionist at the University of California, Davis. Dogaware.com is another source of diet-planning information.
“I’m a big believer in animals getting their nutrients from real food,” Dr. Howell says. “Instead of supplementing with a synthetic form of vitamin D3, I think it’s worth getting some fresh foods into the diet that are good sources of D, such as salmon, liver, and eggs. It’s less likely that you will over-supplement if you give a food source of vitamin D rather than cholecalciferol, which is a high-dose synthetic form of vitamin D.
“If an animal with insufficient D levels doesn’t have adequate levels after trying food sources of D, I think it’s worth looking at digestion and then at a synthetic D supplement,” she says. “A conservative amount of synthetic D can bring an animal into the sufficient range. Some popular synthetic vitamin D supplements are from Rx Vitamins and Thorne Research. These products are liquid and easy to dose and administer to your pet. Both are available by prescription and should be monitored by your veterinarian in conjunction with the diet in order to avoid over-supplementation.”
D-Insufficiency Risks
Any dog can be D-deficient if his or her diet doesn’t supply the vitamin, but older dogs, dogs with compromised digestive health, spayed and neutered dogs, and dogs on corticosteroids, antacids, or anti-seizure medications are at added risk.
Dogs with illnesses like cancer, chronic inflammatory conditions, heart disease, renal disease, hyperparathyroidism, or inflammatory bowel disease are likely to have low vitamin D levels.
A 2014 study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine examined the vitamin D status of 31 dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) and 51 unaffected dogs. The dogs with CHF had significantly lower serum D levels than the unaffected dogs even though their vitamin D intake per kilogram of metabolic weight was the same. The study concluded that low concentrations of 25(OH)D may be a risk factor for CHF in dogs, that low levels were associated with poor outcomes in dogs with CHF, and that strategies to improve vitamin D status in some dogs with CHF may prove beneficial without causing toxicity.
In human heart disease, vitamin D deficiency is associated with disease progression and a poor prognosis. A 2015 cross-sectional study of dogs at different stages of chronic valvular heart disease (CVHD) found a similar correlation. As reported in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, the affected dogs’ vitamin D status declined prior to the onset of heart failure.
In the previously mentioned Tufts study, German Shepherd Dogs were found to have a 26 percent higher median amount of serum vitamin D than Golden Retrievers. “This means that intestinal absorption of vitamin D differed according to breed,” says Dr. Howell. “Spayed and neutered animals were found to have lower D levels than sexually intact dogs, and intact males had significantly higher serum D levels than intact females.”
Synthetic Vitamin D
In the wild, canines obtain vitamin D from the fat of prey animals. In the supplement aisle, D can come from natural sources but it’s more often synthetic.
The pharmaceutical drug cholecalciferol (synthetic vitamin D3) is produced by the ultraviolet irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol extracted from lanolin in sheep’s wool. Unwanted isomers formed during irradiation are removed in a purification process, leaving a concentrated resin that melts at room temperature.
Ergosterol, also called provitamin D2, is found in fungi such as Saccharomyces and other yeasts, mushrooms, and Claviceps purpurea, which causes the fungal disease ergot, for which ergosterol is named. Ergot affects rye, barley, wheat, and other cereal grasses. Ergosterol is converted by ultraviolet irradiation into ergocalciferol, or synthetic vitamin D2.
In 2006, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reviewed vitamin D studies in order to answer the question, “How much vitamin D do you need, and how should you get it?” Although synthetic vitamin D2 is widely used as a prescription drug and is added to some processed foods, the study’s authors concluded that vitamin D3 is superior to vitamin D2 because it is less toxic at higher concentrations, is more potent, has a more stable shelf life, and is more effective than vitamin D2 at raising and maintaining vitamin D blood levels.
Vitamin D Food Sources
If you’re interested in supplying natural vitamin D, it makes sense to look for foods that provide it, but finding them may not be easy.
Salmon is widely described as a significant source of vitamin D, but in 2007 the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology published an evaluation of the vitamin D content in fish. It found that salmon flesh does contain vitamin D, but farmed salmon – which is far more common and less expensive than wild salmon – had only 25 percent of the vitamin D of wild salmon.
The report explained, “It has been assumed that fish, especially oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and blue fish are excellent sources of vitamin D3. However, our analysis of the vitamin D content in a variety of fish species that were thought to contain an adequate amount of vitamin D did not have an amount of vitamin D that is listed in food charts. There needs to be a re-evaluation of the vitamin D content in foods that have been traditionally recommended as good sources of naturally occurring vitamin D.”
Salmon oil may provide some vitamin D along with the fatty acids for which it is famous. In the Tufts study mentioned above, dogs receiving salmon oil as a supplement had higher serum 25(OH)D (on average a 19.6 ng/mL increase) than those not receiving a supplement, but other forms of fish oil surprisingly had no effect.
Dairy products are not naturally high in vitamin D, but milk and yogurt are often fortified with synthetic vitamin D. Check labels to be sure.
Cod liver oil is the traditional food source of vitamin D. A hundred years ago, fermented cod liver oil, which can have a powerfully fishy smell, was the world’s most widely prescribed nutritional supplement. Perhaps your grandparents remember being coerced into swallowing a spoonful daily. Cod liver oil contains vitamins D and A, both of which are essential for human and canine health. But cod liver oil’s manufacturing methods have changed, and so has its vitamin content.
Fully cleaned and deodorized (e.g., molecularly distilled) cod liver oil to which nothing has been added contains very low levels of vitamin A and little or no vitamin D. Some manufacturers add synthetic or natural vitamins A and D to their cleaned and deodorized oil.
To compare brands, read labels – especially their vitamin A and D content – and check product literature or websites for information about manufacturing methods and the source of any added vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D are measured in International Units (IUs). The vitamin A content of natural (unprocessed) cod liver oil is usually two to 10 times that of its vitamin D.
To make cod liver oil more palatable to humans, some brands are available in lemon, orange, cinnamon, mint, or other flavors. Most dogs enjoy the plain, unflavored oil.
Carlson Labs Cod Liver Oil, which is molecularly distilled and bottled in Norway, provides 850 IU vitamin A and 400 IU vitamin D per teaspoon. According to the label, its vitamins A and D, which are added after distillation, are derived from cod liver oil (500 ml or 16.9 fluid ounces, $55).
Garden of Life Olde World Cod Liver Oil, made in Iceland, is molecularly distilled and contains vitamins A (4,500 IU per teaspoon) and D (450 IU per teaspoon). According to the label, these added vitamins are naturally occurring (8 fluid ounces, $17).
Green Pasture’s Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil is made from fermented fish livers; the same process was used to make a health tonic widely used and valued in ancient Rome. Because nutrients vary in fermented foods, the manufacturer labels this product a food without listing its vitamin D content, but current values are available on request. Based on the past four years of test data, one teaspoon of fermented cod liver oil contains approximately 8,500 IU vitamin A and 3,400 IU vitamin D (8 fluid ounces, $44).
Nordic Naturals Arctic Cod Liver Oil is molecularly distilled and no vitamins are added after distillation. Each teaspoon provides 1,580 IU vitamin A and 6 IU vitamin D. While this cod liver oil contains natural rather than synthetic vitamin D, 6 IU is an extremely small amount (8 fluid ounces, $25).
Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil and Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil for Medium to Large Breed Dogs contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin A (550 IU per teaspoon) but do not contain vitamin D; this brand will not correct vitamin D deficiencies.
Nutra Pro Virgin Cod Liver Oil from Norway is separated from fresh cod fish livers using cold-pressing and advanced purifying technologies without the use of chemicals. One teaspoon contains 5,000 IU vitamin A and 500 IU vitamin D (8 fluid ounces, $33).
Rosita Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil, or EVCLO, is manufactured in Norway from wild cod livers using an ancient extraction method that does not utilize heat, chemicals, fermentation, solvents, or mechanical devices. One teaspoon contains 3,000 to 5,000 IU vitamin A and 400 to 500 IU vitamin D (150 ml or 5 fluid ounces, $49).
Unlike “virgin” and “extra virgin” olive oils, whose labels reflect legally defined manufacturing and grading methods, the terms “virgin” and “extra virgin” have no specific meaning when applied to cod liver oil. They imply that the product is minimally processed.
The chemistry of naturally occurring cod liver oil is complicated. According to Christopher Masterjohn, Ph.D., assistant professor of health and nutrition sciences at Brooklyn College in New York, “Research in the 1930s suggested that there were at least four if not six forms of vitamin D in cod liver oil, and recent research has shown that fish metabolize vitamin D into at least three other compounds and probably more.” As conventional tests measure only vitamins D2 and D3, unrefined cod liver oil may provide significant health benefits that are not reflected by its D2 and D3 content.
Vitamin A Safety
Vitamin A is essential to human and canine bone growth, reproduction, immune system health, and vision. Like vitamin D, it is fat soluble. Synthetic vitamin A (retinyl acetate, retinol acetate, vitamin A acetate, vitamin A palmitate, retinyl palmitate, retinoids, or 13-cis-retinoic acid) should be used with care to avoid accidental overdoses, which can cause bone loss, hair loss, liver damage, and confusion.
Is natural vitamin A dangerous? According to some scientists and health experts, cod liver oil’s vitamin A content makes it potentially toxic. In 2008, Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council (vitamindcouncil.org) warned against using cod liver oil because of its vitamin A.
Other scientists and health experts disagreed, noting that vitamin A by itself (such as in molecularly distilled cod liver oil or cod liver oil containing synthetic vitamins) can be dangerous but that traditional cod liver oil contains a safe and effective ratio of naturally occurring vitamins A and D.
In reply to the warnings against cod liver oil, Sally Fallon Morell, founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation, reviewed cod liver oil’s history and safety. “We at the Weston A. Price Foundation have continually pointed out that vitamins A and D work together and that without vitamin D, vitamin A can be ineffective or even toxic,” she explained. “We do not recommend Nordic Naturals or any brand of cod liver oil that is low in vitamin D. But it is completely inappropriate to conclude that cod liver oil is toxic because of its vitamin A content. Similar reviews could be put together showing the benefits of vitamin A and cod liver oil in numerous studies, including studies from the 1930s. Obviously the solution is to use the type of cod liver oil that does not have most of its vitamin D removed by modern processing techniques.
Cod Liver Oil Quarrel
Last summer fans of fermented cod liver oil were rocked by the online report “Hook, Line, and Stinker” by nutritionist Kaayla Daniel, PhD, in which she claimed that Green Pasture’s Fermented Cod Liver Oil is not a cod liver oil at all but rather rancid pollock oil.
Health researcher Craig Elding at the British site Health Cloud, American health writer Chris Kresser, and others examined these accusations in detail. See the Weston A. Price Foundation’s review of the controversy, including Morell’s November 2015 report titled “Hook, Line, and Thinker.” Years of independent tests have never shown Green Pasture’s Fermented Cod Liver Oil to have oxidative rancidity, and its source fish, Alaskan pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), is not a member of the pollock fish family but rather a cod (Gadidae family) fish.
Cod Liver Oil in Home-Prepared Diets
One of the pioneers of home-prepared dog diets is Wendy Volhard, whose book Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog describes years of research she conducted with Kerry Brown, DVM, as they documented the effects of raw, home-prepared diets on hundreds of dogs.
“Since 1984, when I first published my recipes, it’s no exaggeration to say that thousands of dogs have been fed the Volhard way,” she says. “My diet recommends 1 teaspoon cod liver oil daily for a 50-pound dog. This dose was established in 1973, when I started feeding my own dogs a raw, home-prepared diet, and the amount was based on guidelines from the National Science Foundation.”
Volhard’s cod liver oil dose depends on the dog’s weight (1/2 teaspoon per 25 pounds). She says, “We have found no need to adjust the diet to a dog’s age or lifestyle. Puppies grow beautifully and old dogs thrive.” She does not recommend a specific brand but prefers minimally processed, high-quality cod liver oil containing natural vitamins A and D.
Vitamin K Connection
Vitamin K, another fat-soluble vitamin, influences proper blood clotting, healthy bone growth, the conversion of glucose into glycogen for energy storage in the liver, and healthy liver function. Vitamin K is thought to promote longevity and protect against cancers that involve the inner lining of body organs.
Vitamin K exists as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), which is abundant in many vegetables; vitamin K2 (menaquinone), which the body produces in the digestive tract and which is provided by some animal products; and vitamin K3, the synthetic form known as menadione.
Vitamin K deficiencies can cause internal or external bleeding, most commonly resulting from the ingestion of rodent poisons containing warfarin or similar chemicals, and it is used as a first-aid treatment or antidote for dogs poisoned by blood-thinning rodenticides.
Vitamin K toxicity is unusual in pets, though excessive menadione (synthetic vitamin K3) can cause fatal anemia and jaundice. Menadione, which has been banned by the FDA for use in human supplements, is an ingredient in commercial pet foods, where it is labelled Vitamin K supplement, dimethylprimidinol sulphite or bisulfate, or menadione sodium bisulfite or bisulfate,
Supporters of K3’s use argue that natural vitamin K may lose its potency during processing, intestinal disease can prevent gut bacteria from making the vitamin, and not all pet foods contain green leafy vegetables. Opponents argue that synthetic vitamin K can promote allergic reactions, weaken the immune system, cause toxic reactions in liver cells, and induce red blood cell toxicity.
The leading food sources of vitamin K1 are green tea and dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, and cabbage.
Sources of natural vitamin K2 include meat, eggs, and dairy from grass-fed animals; high-vitamin butter oil, extracted by centrifusion from the raw milk of grass-fed cows; and natto (a traditional Japanese food) or MK-7 supplements made from fermented organic soybeans.
Because vitamin D works best in combination with vitamins A and K, some vets recommend supplementing dog diets, especially home-prepared diets, with natural sources of all three vitamins combined with an appropriate fat. Look for whole foods or supplements derived from whole foods. If a vitamin K supplement is used, adjust the recommended human adult dose for your dog’s weight.
In Review
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for canine bone, heart, joint, skin, coat, vision, dental, kidney, and immune system health. Low vitamin D risk factors include advanced age, spaying/neutering, digestive problems, illness, and some commonly prescribed medications.
Commercial pet foods vary in their vitamin D content and sources, and produce different D levels in dogs. Some home-prepared diets contain insufficient vitamin D. Although many dogs are deficient in D, the levels can be safely increased by improving digestion, feeding whole foods that contain D, using vitamin D supplements if needed, and monitoring vitamin D blood levels through testing.
Because vitamin D is fat soluble, it needs dietary fat for digestion and assimilation. Vitamin D combines well with saturated fats such as coconut oil and butter. Its nutritional partners are the fat-soluble vitamins A and K. Maintaining adequate vitamin D, A, and K levels is a simple but effective canine health strategy. Natural, unprocessed cod liver oil is a food source of vitamins D and A. Supplements containing synthetic vitamin D or vitamin A are more concentrated and require more careful monitoring.
CJ Puotinen is author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care and other books.
“Beyond the skeleton: The role of vitamin D in companion animal health,” by R.J. Mellanby. Journal of Small Animal Practice, April 2016
“Current knowledge of vitamin D in dogs,” by N. Weidner and A. Verbrugghe. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, May 2016
“The effect of diet on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in dogs,” by Claire R. Sharp, Kim A. Selting, and Randy Ringold. BMC Research Notes, 2015
“An evaluation of the vitamin D3 content in fish: Is the vitamin D content adequate to satisfy the dietary requirement for vitamin D?” by Z. Lu, et al. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, March 2007
“Relation of vitamin D status to congestive heart failure and cardiovascular events in dogs,” by MS Kraus, et al. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Jan-Feb 2014
“Vitamin D status in different stages of disease severity in dogs with chronic valvular heart disease,” by T. Osuga, et al. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Nov-Dec 2015
“The vitamin D questions: How much do you need and how should you get it?” by D. Wolpowitz and B. Gilchrest, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Feb 2006
“Facilitative and functional fats in diets of dogs and cats,” by John E. Bauer, DVM, PhD, DACVN. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Sept 1, 2006
Holistic Guide for the Healthy Dog, by Wendy Volhard. Howell Reference Books, 2nd Edition, 2000. Paperback, 336 pages, $17
It’s just about the hottest part of the day as I write this. In my part of the country, at this time of year, that’s between 5 and 7 p.m. My husband I don’t have air-conditioning, which strikes everyone we know as an odd choice, but it is a choice. We could afford it, but we both grew up with budget-conscious parents and have environmental concerns about everyone burning fossil fuels in order to cool themselves down all summer. We manage it “old-school,” by positioning fans in every other window to bring in cool air and blow out hot air all night long, and then shutting the house down tight all day. It preserves a cool bubble of air in the house – but this bubble heats up a tiny bit every time someone opens a door to come in or go out, or, more often, to let a dog in or out.
Let me just add that there are currently nine dogs in the house at this moment – another odd choice – so it’s warmer than it ought to be. Before you call an animal control officer from the local shelter, asking for a welfare check on the excessive number of dogs, keep in mind that most of these dogs belong to the local animal shelter! Six of the nine are fosters: Mama Great Dane and five of her 11 puppies. (The other six puppies are being fostered across town by a good friend.)
All of the puppies, and most of the dogs, sleep outside at night, but come indoors during the day to escape the heat. The pups play hard in the early morning and late at night, when it’s cool. Right now, though, it looks like someone melted wax puppies in my kitchen – there are literal and figurative puppy puddles all over the vinyl floor. I’ll put them outside in the shade soon, and start opening windows and mopping the floor. Than I can take my dogs for a swim in the icy cold Feather River, which flows right through my town, just blocks away. Ah, I can’t wait. But first, I have to finish writing this. What was I writing about? I can’t think, it’s so hot!
Happily, it has developed that my newish adolescent dog, former foster puppy Woody, is an enthusiastic swimmer. Given his youth and naiveté, buckling him into a canine life jacket has proven to be prudent, as he has, several times, combined his love of swimming with his interest in ducks, even those that are swimming hundreds of yards away. Lucky for me, I had a couple of weeks’ head start to read over WDJ contributor/dog trainer Stephanie Colman’s review of personal flotation devices for dogs, which starts on page 6 of this issue, so I could buy the best one for my happy, neoprene-covered Woody duck. Even friends who don’t really care for pit bulls smile when they see Woody goofing, diving, and splashing in and out of the river in his bright yellow and blue PFD.
Speaking of ducks, maybe Woody comes by his combined interests honestly. In preparation for an upcoming article on mixed-breed identification tests, I sent a sample of Woody’s (and Otto’s) DNA to different companies to be tested. Woody’s first result came back indicating he’s an American Staffordshire Terrier/Labrador Retriever-mix, and I think that’s likely. His mom looked like a black Lab with a slightly blocky head, and all the pups looked very “pittie.” The result from the second company agreed about one of those breeds, not the other, and added three more. You can guess, what they were if you want, but I won’t reveal the results for Woody’s second test (or Otto’s first and second tests) until the article is done.
And speaking of DNA tests, suspected “pit bulls,” and people’s perceptions thereof, I think you’ll enjoy trainer Linda Case’s article on the facing page. She turns a cool, scientific gaze on a hot topic, and produces great food for thought. You will have to excuse me for that mixed metaphor – it’s really much too hot in here, and the river is calling. Stay cool!
Our youngest dog, Ally, has a “bestie.” Her name is Colbie and she belongs to our friend Amanda, a trainer who also works as an instructor at my training center, AutumnGold. Ally is a Golden Retriever. Colbie is a pit bull, adopted from a local shelter while Amanda was on staff there.
Being young girls, both Ally and Colbie wear pink collars, Gentle Leaders, and harnesses. For Ally, this is simply a fashion statement. For Colbie, given her breed and the breed stereotypes that she may encounter, it means a bit more. Amanda purposefully dresses Colbie in pink, hoping that such feminine attire will present Colbie as the sweetheart that she is.
Although Ally does not care about Colbie’s genetic heritage (or that she wears pink), many people do. Breed stereotypes are pervasive and impact local and state breed-specific legislation (BSL), homeowner’s insurance rates, rental property regulations, and shelter decisions regarding adoption and euthanasia. BSL in the United States and the United Kingdom specifically target pit bulls and other bully-type breeds, and either ban ownership of the breeds outright or impose strict restrictions upon ownership. These laws are based upon two assumptions:
1. Targeted breeds are inherently dangerous.
2. Individuals of the breeds can be reliably identified.
There is much controversy (and no consensus) regarding the first assumption, which is a topic for another time.
In this article, we look at the second assumption regarding reliable breed identification. Is there supporting evidence?
It turns out that there is quite a bit of science on this topic – and the results are quite illuminating.
A Dog Breed Guessing Game
Prior to the development of DNA testing, the only method available for identifying the breed of a dog whose heritage was unknown was visual assessment. A shelter worker, veterinarian, or animal control officer examines the dog and assigns a breed designation based upon physical appearance and conformation. Even with widespread availability of DNA tests, most shelters and rescue groups continue to rely upon visual identification to assign breed labels to the dogs in their care. Given the life or death import of these decisions for some dogs, it is odd that the question of the reliability of these evaluations has not been questioned.
Until recently.
Even the Experts Can’t Agree on Pit Bulls
In 2013, Victoria Voith and her co-researchers (reference 1) asked more than 900 pet professionals to assign a breed (or mix of breeds) to 20 dogs that they viewed on one-minute video clips. A DNA test was conducted for each of the dogs prior to the study, which allowed the researchers to test both the accuracy of visual breed-identification and the degree of agreement among the dog experts.
Results: Poor agreement was found between visual breed assignments and DNA results in 14 of the 20 dogs (70 percent). Moreover, there was low inter-rater reliability, meaning that the dog experts did not show a high level of agreement regarding breed assignments to the 20 dogs. More than half of the evaluators agreed on the predominant breed in only seven of the 20 dogs (35 percent). These results provide evidence that physical appearance is not a reliable method for breed identification.
You Say Pit Bull, I Say Boxer
The following year, researchers in the U.S. and the U.K. collaborated and examined the consistency with which shelter workers assigned breed labels to the dogs in their care (reference 2). A group of 416 shelter workers in the U.S. and 54 in the U.K. were asked to assign a breed or mix of breeds to photographs of 20 dogs. They also completed a questionnaire that asked them to list the specific features that they used in their determination. Of the 20 dogs that were used in this study, more than three-quarters had a bully-breed appearance.
Note: An important difference between the U.K. and the U.S. is that all U.K. shelters are subject to the country’s Dangerous Dog Act, a law that bans the ownership of pit bulls. While such bans exist in the U.S., there is no universal law. Rather, select municipalities or states have various forms of BSL.
Results: Perhaps not surprisingly, U.K. shelter workers were much less likely to identify a dog with a “bully appearance” as a pit bull than were U.S. shelter workers. Instead, the U.K. shelter workers tended to label these dogs as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, a breed that is allowed in the U.K., rather than as a pit bull, a “breed” that is universally banned.
Despite this difference, results corroborated Voith’s study in that the researchers found a great deal of variation among shelter workers in their assignments of breed, and there was a lack of consensus regarding which of the 20 dogs were identifiable as pit bulls.
DNA VS. Shelter Staff
A 2015 study surveyed experienced shelter staff members at several Florida animal shelters (reference 3). At each of four sites, four staff members were asked to assign breed designations to 30 adoptable dogs who were housed at their shelter. Collectively, 120 dogs were evaluated by 16 staff members. DNA testing was conducted on all of the dogs. A primary objective of this study was to examine the reliability of shelter staff’s ability to identify dogs with pit bull heritage and to compare their assessments with DNA results.
Note: The DNA signatures that are used to identify “pit bull terriers” are those of the American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, two breeds that are considered to be genetically identical. The companies that offer DNA tests for mixed-breed identification do not include American Pit Bull Terriers among the breeds they may identify.
Results: About one-third of the dogs who were identified as a pit-bull type breed by one or more shelter staff lacked any DNA evidence of bully breeds in his/her heritage. When inter-rater reliability among the participants was examined, agreement among shelter staff was moderate, but still included a relatively large number of disagreements.
What this means in practical terms is that a substantial number of dogs in this study were labeled as pit bulls or pit bull types and yet had no such genetic background. Even if the shelter staff agreed on a particular dog’s identification, this would be rather a moot point (for the dog) if they both happened to be wrong.
Breed DNA Doesn’t Always Show
How is it possible that a dog who appears to have the characteristic “pittie-type” head shape, muscular body, and other distinctive features, tests negative for pit-bull heritage? The conclusion that many people make from these discrepancies is that DNA testing must be unreliable, inaccurate, or just plain wrong.
However, the fact is that it is not uncommon for the results of DNA tests of dogs who have mixed heritage to identify a set of primary ancestor breeds that look nothing like the dog in question. This occurs because purebred crosses, particularly after the first generation, can result in unique combinations of genes that produce a wide range of features. When several different breeds are involved, some of these features may not be apparent in any of the ancestral breeds.
This occurs for two reasons. First, many of the breeds that we know today were originally created by crossing two or more existing breeds and then selecting for a small set of physically unique traits in subsequent generations. However, the dogs of these breeds still carry genes for a much wider variety of traits, even though the genes are not being “expressed” in the dog’s appearance. When these dogs are then bred to dogs of other breeds the hidden traits may become evident in their puppies.
A second reason is that less than one percent of the canine genome encodes for breed-specific traits such ear shape, coat type and color, and head shape. So, a dog could be a large part (genetically) of a certain breed, while not showing all of the breed’s physical traits, which may have been rapidly lost during cross-breeding with other breeds.
These three studies provide valuable evidence that the use of visual assessments to assign breed or breed-mixes to dogs is inaccurate and unreliable.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this information is of more than just casual interest for dogs like Colbie because pit bulls and other “bully breeds” are most frequently stigmatized by breed stereotypes and impacted by BSL and shelter policies that require automatic euthanasia. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that identifying an individual dog as a pit bull may be a matter of life or death for that dog.
Labels Matter in the Pet Adoption World
A recent paper published by researchers in Clive Wynne’s dog lab at the University of Arizona describes an ambitious series of experiments in which they examined the impact of breed labels on the perceptions of potential adopters and on the eventual outcome for the dog (reference 4). The studies were carried out online and at animal shelters in Florida and Arizona. Participants were asked to rate photographs, videotapes, or live dogs in their kennels. In some conditions the dogs were provided with a breed label and in others they were not.
Results: Two major findings came out of these studies. The first showed that stereotypes about pit bulls are alive and well, and the second showed how this stigmatization ultimately affects dogs:
1. People rated an image of a “pit-bull type” dog as less approachable, friendly, and intelligent, and more aggressive when compared to an image of either a Labrador Retriever or a Border Collie. In another experiment, labeling a dog as a pit bull negatively influenced the perceptions that people had about the dog. When visitors rated a dog who was labeled as a pit bull, the dogs were found to be less attractive in terms of perceived approachability, friendliness, intelligence, aggressiveness, and adoptability compared with when the same dog was not so labeled.
2. Dogs who had been labeled as pit bulls had length of stays in the Florida shelter prior to adoption that were more than three times as long as the stays of dogs who were matched in appearance, but had been labeled as another breed or breed-mix.
When breed labels were removed from the profile cards of dogs offered for adoption, adoption rates for pit bulls increased significantly, length of stays prior to adoption in the shelter decreased, as did euthanasia rates.
Interestingly, not only pit bull-type dogs benefited from removing breed labels from the kennel cards. Dogs from working breeds who were available for adoption, in particular Boxers, Dobermans, and Mastiffs also showed an increase in adoption rate.
Take Away Points
There is a lot to ponder here. We have learned that breed identification using a dog’s physical appearance, even when conducted by experienced dog experts, is flawed in two distinctive ways. First, experts cannot agree consistently about how to label an individual dog. One person’s Boxer-mix is another’s pit bull and is yet another’s Bulldog/Lab mix.
Second, DNA tests do not consistently confirm breed assignments that were based upon physical appearance. Labeling breeds for purposes of shelter retention, adoption, and euthanasia is a highly dubious process, and one that is most critical for pit bulls, American Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and every other so-called “bully” breed and breed-mix.
We have also learned that potential adopters react to a pit bull label in ways that may adversely affect the outcome for the dog. Labeling a dog as a pit bull may increase her length of stay in the shelter, reduce her chances of adoption and increase her risk of being killed, simply because she was assigned a (possibly incorrect) label that changed the perceptions of potential adopters.
And last, we have evidence that removing breed labels from the cage cards of adoptable pit-bull-type dogs (and many other dogs) increases their chance of adoption, reduces the length of their stay in the shelter, and increases their chance of simply staying alive.
Colbie is pretty in pink, for sure. But it’s time that wearing pink becomes a simple fashion statement for Colbie, just as it is for her pal Ally.
What’s a “Pit Bull” Anyway?
Would it surprise you to learn that there is no such breed as the pit bull? This is why it’s not capitalized in WDJ; we do capitalize breed names. There are lots of dogs that are called “pit bulls,” however. Some of them might actually be one of these: The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes a breed called the American Staffordshire Terrier, and another called the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The United Kennel Club (UKC), established in 1898, recognized its first breed, the American Pit Bull Terrier, in 1898. The UKC also recognizes the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Pedigrees be damned, an individual of any one of these dogs would likely be labeled as a “pit bull” if he or she were found in an animal shelter.
As the studies discussed here show, the above-mentioned purebreds, as well as other breeds developed over the years (including the American Bulldog) – and the countless mixed-breed dogs that result from matings with them – are largely indistinguishable to most humans, and even to many dog training or veterinary professionals. If the dog has a blocky head, a muscular body (whether it’s short and squatty, or taller and chiselled), a short coat, and a whippy tail, he will likely be called a pit bull at some point – almost certainly if he ends up in a shelter. If he’s lucky enough to make it onto the adoption row and gets adopted, his savior finds she has also adopted a quandary: Most breed specific legislation, housing regulations, and insurance companies discriminate against any dog with a “pit bull” label – possibly the reason why those mixed-breed DNA testing companies don’t designate any of the dogs they test as American Pit Bull Terriers.
– Nancy Kerns
Linda P. Case, MS, owns AutumnGold Consulting and Dog Training Center in Mahomet, Illinois. She is the author, most recently, of Beware the Straw Man (2015) and Dog Food Logic (2014), and many other books about dogs. See her blog at thesciencedog.wordpress.com.
Cited References
1. Voith VL, Trevejo R, Dowling-Guyer S, Chadik C, Marder A, Johnson V, Irizarry K. “Comparison of visual and DNA breed identification of dogs and inter-observer reliability.” American Journal of Sociological Research 2013; 3:17-29
2. Hoffman CL, Harrison N, Wolff L, Westgarty C. “Is that dog a Pit Bull? A cross-country comparison of perceptions of shelter works regarding breed identification.” Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 2014; 17:322-339
3. Olson KR, Levy JK, Borby B, Crandall MM, Broadhurst JE, Jacks S, Barton RC, Zimmerman MS. “Inconsistent identification of pit bull-type dogs by shelter staff.” The Veterinary Journal 2015; 206:197-202
4. Gunter LM, Barber RT, Wynne CDL. “What’s in a name? Effect of breed perceptions & labeling on attractiveness, adoptions & length of stay for pit-bull-type dogs.” PLoS ONE 2016; 11:e0146857.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146857
With summer well underway, many of us are sharing water-based activities with our dogs, at the shore or in the family pool, or on boats, kayaks, or paddleboards. If you include your dog in water activities, it’s important to take steps to ensure his safety on or near the water. The easiest way to do this is with a well-fitted, good-quality personal flotation device (PFD) for your dog.
Many people think all dogs are natural swimmers; they are not! Even though all dogs instinctively “dog paddle” when they find themselves in water, that alone won’t always keep them safe off-shore. Some dogs dislike the water and are prone to panic when they suddenly find themselves away from dry land. Dogs with significant muscle mass or very little body fat are less buoyant and have a harder time staying afloat – as do older dogs who tire easily, or arthritic dogs. Some are just poor swimmers, bobbing vertically in the water, splashing so much with their front paws that they can’t see where they are going! What about in the case of a watercraft accident, where the dog might be injured? Even athletic, accomplished swimmers can struggle in the water when fatigue unexpectedly sets in after a full day of water play.
In each of these examples, a well-fitting dog life jacket can potentially mean the difference between a day full of happy memories or a tragic ending. Fortunately, there are many dog life jackets to choose from.
A proper life jacket should be bright, making it easy to see, and should have a snug fit. If it’s too loose, it can entangle the dog or come off, or it will float above the dog while the dog bobs along in the water. If it’s too tight, it can chafe and become uncomfortable, making it unlikely the dog will enjoy wearing it. A properly fitting life jacket should not restrict the dog’s movement in or out of the water.
And, of course, a life jacket should be well made, with strong materials and an adequate amount of bouyant material. Some are more buoyant than others – an annoying variable that is not quantified by the pet life jacket makers (see shoulder box at right). But more buoyancy isn’t neccessarily better; one of the most buoyant jackets we tested is also the least stable!
Dog owners also need to consider fit and other functions and features on the vest. Do you need maximum flotation ability for a poor swimmer? A vest that won’t get too hot for a dog who will be onboard a sailboat and needs it for safety, but who won’t actually be swimming much? Are you going to go paddleboarding with your water-loving dog, and need a sturdy handle to help him climb onto the board many times in the course of a boarding/swimming trip? Think about your planned water adventures, and buy accordingly.
We gathered an assortment of canine life jackets, some made by popular manufacturers of dog gear and some made by lesser-known companies with expertise in marine activities, and put them to the test with the help of three “test dogs”: Saber, a 60-pound Golden Retriever; Linus, a 63-pound Labrador Retriever; and Hope, a 28-pound Border Collie.
Top Pick Doggy Life Jackets
Two of the canine life jackets we tried on our dogs rose to the top of the test pool, but displayed different strengths. That’s why we are naming two products as our “top picks.” One is best for athletic, accomplished swimmers; the other is best for beginning swimmers and dogs who need more help in the water.
Our top pick for athletic, accomplished swimmers is the West Marine Neoprene Pet Vest. We included this vest in our review due to its sleek design and its maker’s good reputation as a purveyor of boating-related products. A medium vest fit all three of our three athletic models, though it did need to be adjusted to its smallest dimensions to correctly fit the Border Collie.
The vest is lightweight, flexible, and very form fitting, more like a wetsuit than a life vest. It features a covered zipper closure along the dog’s back and a quick-release buckle at the chest, with a neoprene band reinforced with nylon straps under the dog’s belly. The wide band successfully kept the life vest in place, even as our dogs ran, swam, and repeatedly leaped into the pool.
On top of the vest is a handle with a reflective stripe and a plastic leash clip. While the handle seems to be well sewn into the jacket, I wouldn’t trust the neoprene material to not tear under the stress of repeatedly using the handle to haul a dog out of the water – especially a larger dog. This would not be our pick for a product that was going to be used repeatedly to lift a dog out of the water.
West Marine’s website doesn’t mention how to properly care for the life vest, but, since it’s made of neoprene, we’d expect care considerations to be similar to that of a wetsuit: to keep the neoprene from fading or drying out, rinse well after use in saltwater or chlorine, and avoid exposing to heat or direct sunlight for extended periods of time. Also, keep in mind that neoprene holds heat, which is great for keeping a dog from getting hypothermic in cold water, but could also help a dog overheat if he were to wear the vest out of the water for too long.
The interior foam layer feels thinner and covers less surface area than the other PFDs we reviewed. This is largely what makes the vest fit so nicely, but also means it doesn’t offer as much buoyancy as some of the other products we tested. West Marine says this vest is designed to “help provide swimming endurance,” meaning that it would not be the best choice for a dog who needs significant support in the water.
That said, we were easily able to observe an increase in our slowest swimmer’s in-water body elevation when she wore this vest, compared to when she swam without a PFD. It was more difficult to observe with the harder-charging Lab and Golden, but we suspect it’s a bit like using counterbalance weights to assist with pull-ups at the gym: you’re doing most of the work, but your effort is boosted just enough to increase your endurance.
For dogs who are novice or weak swimmers, our top pick is Ruffwear’s K9 Float Coat. We tested the medium size, which easily fit Saber and Linus; however, it had to be adjusted to its smallest size to fit Hope snugly; truthfully, a small might have fit her better.
The Float Coat features an adjustable, telescoping chest piece and an overlapping belly panel secured by two quick-release buckles. The excess length on the straps can be folded and held in place with an attached hook-and-loop (Velcro-like) closure, eliminating the need to cut the straps to size to prevent the excess length from dangling and potentially getting caught on something. The telescoping nature of the chest piece makes it less bulky than models where the chest piece overlaps.
The handle on top of the Float Coat feels significantly sturdier than the handles on other vests. There’s also a plastic leash clip (though we’re not sure we’d trust as a sole attachment point for restraining a strong-pulling dog), and an attachment point for The Beacon, Ruffwear’s watertight LED light (sole separately). The jacket is trimmed with reflective piping.
The internal foam feels slightly thicker than the foam in most of the other models we tried. According to Ruffwear, the placement of the inner foam panels is designed to support the dog’s natural swimming position, and all three dogs appeared to maintain a natural swim stroke while wearing the vest. The floatation benefit was most visible when the dogs jumped into the water, as they clearly didn’t submerge as deeply as they did when jumping in the pool with other PFDs.
Ruffwear’s K9 Float Coat looks and feels more durable than the other life vests we tested; it’s a good choice for rugged outdoor adventures.
3-Way Tie for Second Place
We’ll call another tie for the products that we like a bit less than our top picks.
Kurgo’s Surf-n-Turf Coat looks similar to the Ruffwear K9 Float Coat but there are many differences between the two products. The top of the jacket features two sturdy handles, sewn at right angles to each other, so a person who was at any angle to the dog she was trying to fish out of the water is assured to be able to grab at least one of the handles – a thoughtful feature. There is a metal ring for attaching a leash (better than the plastic ring on the Ruffwear vest). There’s also a metal bottle opener – a fun touch that adds a whole new layer to the always enjoyable trick of teaching the dog to fetch a beer!
The Surf-n-Turf Coat is secured by two straps with quick-release buckles under the dog’s belly, and the adjustable chest piece overlaps at the dog’s chest, secured with hook-and-loop and buckled straps. It’s longer than Ruffwear’s Float Coat, so we thought it would be more buoyant. Instead, the added length caused the end of the jacket to float up in the water, away from the swimmer’s body. When the Lab swam with this jacket, his stroke seemed awkward, and he didn’t appear to ride any higher in the water.
Kurgo markets the Surf-n-Turf Coat as a life jacket and three-season shell in one. A zipper along the base of the jacket allows the removal of the inner flotation layer, turning the outer layer into a waterproof coat. Upon closer examination, the flotation layer seemed flimsy, and it suddenly made sense why, even though the Surf-n-Turf Coat is larger, overall, than the K9 Float Coat, it didn’t appear to offer improved buoyancy. The inner layer of the product we tested had several loose threads and a seam that was partially undone.
It was easier than expected to zip the flotation layer back into the jacket, but, overall, we’re not thrilled with the idea of being able to remove the potentially life-saving layer. It feels like this product is trying to be too many things at once.
We tried two different products made by budget-friendly Outward Hound: the H2Go Neoprene Life Vest and the Pupsaver Ripstop Life Jacket. Each product had strengths and weaknesses and features that may be more valuable to some users than others.
The foam in the H2Go Neoprene Life Vest is very thick. There are five foam cells in the vest: two on each side of the dog, and one that sits at the dog’s chest.
While the Ruffwear and Kurgo vests are designed with flaps that extend down the sides and cover the dog’s belly, the H2Go vest has only a small patch of neoprene attached to the belly straps. This little patch is important because, when properly fit, it helps anchor the vest on the dog to prevent slipping.
To properly fit this vest, one adjusts the belly straps on both sides to make sure the belly patch is centered under the dog – not coming up the side of the dog. We suspect this design element has to do with making sure the dog doesn’t get too hot – a definite consideration with any life vest, but especially one made out of neoprene, which holds heat like a wetsuit. The vest has a similar design at the dog’s chest; rather than extend the vest as a wraparound piece, the H2Go vest has 1-inch nylon straps that connect to an adjustable foam bar that is positioned in the center of the dog’s chest.
Here, again, we have concerns about the durability of a handle sewn into neoprene, when it must have the potential to hoist 85-plus pounds of wet dog out of the water. Pulling the handle on dry land just once or twice exposed stitching between the handle and the jacket. We’d like to think it would hold up in an emergency, but we suspect it would likely be a “one and done” situation. Not the end of the world, so long as the handle holds up when you really need it, but we wouldn’t select this jacket for applications where we’d need the handle to repeatedly lift a dog, as one might do when paddleboarding with a dog who likes to swim.
Buoyancy-wise, the H2Go offered a lot of visible “lift” in the water. It was almost too much for my strong-swimming dog, Saber, who naturally swims very high and horizontal in the water. At times, it almost looked like the excess lift along his body was tipping his head and chest toward the water line. This might not have been the case if the vest had more flotation material at the chest, rather than just the single bar. Dogs who tend to use their front legs more than their back legs when swimming, with their back ends more under water, might benefit from this vest the most. Seeing how well this vest lifted the bulk of my dog’s body, I can imagine it working well to help level dogs who haven’t yet developed a more efficient swim stroke.
Outward Hound’s Pupsaver Ripstop Life Jacket is similar in design to the Kurgo and Ruffwear vests, but offers a less-contoured fit, especially along the dog’s back. The Pupsaver has neoprene flaps that fully wrap around the underside of the dog, secured by both hook-and-loop fasteners and quick-release buckles. The vest’s interior foam continues in the overlapping chest piece, which is also secured with a hook-and-loop fastener and a buckle. Unique to the Pupsaver is an additional “flap” of foam that lies over the chest closure. The website describes this as a “front float,” which is designed to “keep your pup’s head above water.” This “front float,” plus the foam inserts in the chest piece, definitely gives this vest a lot of flotation material at the front end of the dog.
This vest also has two handles, a thoughtful detail to help better distribute the dog’s weight while being lifted, and to make it possible for two people to work together to lift a heavy dog, if needed. While I would question the long-term durability of the handles if used often, the ripstop nylon seemed stronger than the neoprene handles on other products.
Even when properly sized, this vest looks boxy compared to the higher-end models. It reminded us of the PFDs that are given to a person when renting a boat for a day as opposed to the type you might buy for yourself if you were a regular participant in water sports. Appearances aside, it offers nice buoyancy without appearing to over-lift the dog’s back as compared to the chest/head and seems like a fair choice if your dog needs a life jacket for occasional use.
RANK
PRODUCT/PRICE/CONTACT
SIZES; MEASUREMENTS
1 (tie): Ranked first for dogs with strong swimming skills.
We wouldn’t recommend buying either of the final two products we tested.
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The overall design of the Kong Sport Aqua Float Dog Flotation Vest is almost identical to the Outward Hound Pupsaver Ripstop vest. However, on closer examination, its features appear to be of lesser quality. For example, the quick-release buckles that secure the belly flap are unnecessarily large in size, yet feel somewhat flimsy when in use. The buckle securing the chest piece was smaller, but the nylon strap kept slipping (negating the correct fit) when very little pressure was applied.
The Kong Sport Aqua Float vest covered the most surface area on the dog of any of the vests, and it has the widest belly flap. The extra width of the belly flap meant we really had to cinch it in on the narrow waist of our athletic Lab. Our model, Linus, was at the bottom of size range for the large vest; it’s possible a medium vest might have fit better. Still, it seems like the design of this vest would better accommodate an overall wider dog with a less-defined waist.
The bigger issue is this vest’s lack of flotation support. Even though the product itself is bigger and covers more surface area on the dog, the interior foam feels thinner, and we didn’t notice any obvious support from the jacket as our dog moved through the water.
But the performance of the last vest we tested was potentially far worse. We were actually really excited about trying the MTI UnderDog Pet Life Jacket, because, unlike just about every other pet life jacket, with flotation support located on the top of the jacket, the UnderDog is designed with the flotation material underneath the dog. According to the company’s website, “by moving 90 percent of the effective buoyancy under the chest and neck, the vest is designed to allow a more natural swim angle with the hind legs lower than the front.”
While this might be a common swim angle among dogs who aren’t as comfortable in the water, or who aren’t as skilled in their natural swim technique, I disagree that it’s more “natural” for dogs to swim with their hind legs lower than the front. In my experience, the ideal, efficient swim technique is one that keeps the dog’s body fairly horizontal in the water. Still, a jacket designed to focus on lifting the dog’s front end seems to make sense from a safety perspective.
And so, the design of this vest is opposite that of the other products we’ve described. A mesh panel stretches across the dog’s back, securing the flotation cells underneath the dog, and is secured with hook-and-loop fasteners and plastic quick-release buckles. Another mesh piece extends from under the dog toward his neck, where a thick foam-filled “collar” snaps into place. This vest has, by far, the thickest foam of any of the vest we tried. The foam on the body portion of the vest is 1½”, and the foam in the neck piece is ¾”. With this much sturdy foam, we expected our experienced swimmers to practically walk on water!
Unfortunately, that amount of flotation material makes the vest extremely boxy, and challenging to achieve and maintain a snug fit. We were surprised by how tight we had to adjust the vest to keep it in place underneath the dog’s chest. It’s hard to imagine such a fit being comfortable, even though the under-body flotation did cause Saber to swim noticeably higher in the water.
The real problems started after a short amount of calm swim time. Despite the tight fit at the start, the vest still managed to slide toward Saber’s waist. A difference of only a couple of inches appeared to cause Saber to float almost uncontrollably! In that position, the body of the vest seemed to dramatically counteract his natural movements. If his weight shifted to the left (for example, when turning to go after a toy), the buoyancy threw him to the right; he’d try to counter the shift, which instantly left him fish-tailing like a big rig truck about to jackknife on the highway!
We’re perfectly willing to accept that we might not have achieved the perfect fit with this jacket. It felt snug and looked correct on dry land, but maybe the fit was still off? Also, we wonder if this jacket would do better to support a wider dog? Our test dog is lean and narrow, which meant the vest fit underneath him at a more pronounced angle. On a heavier, more log-shaped dog, the angle would open up, potentially creating greater stability/less overall shift in the water. We’re still intrigued by the design, but, having seen better results with other products, we would not recommend the UnderDog at this time.
Stephanie Colman is a writer and dog trainer in Los Angeles.
