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This is what I’m grateful for this chilly, rainy morning: Three dogs who willingly and quickly go right outdoors and get to work. Not all at once, of course: there is a peeing order that is aligned with the pecking order. The puppy goes first. Tito, the older small dog, goes next. Otto, the benevolent leader of my little pack of three, checks to make sure it’s really happening; Tito is so small it’s hard to tell. Only after everyone else is done does Otto go back over both spots and mark them himself.
This is what I’m sorry for: The fact that I rehomed the foster dog who takes the longest to pee of any dog I’ve ever known with my sister, who lives across the street from me. From my front window, where I sit at my computer and work, I can see the top of her umbrella over her backyard fence. This morning it was there for a very long time; it made me shiver from inside my warm office. Sorry, Pam!
How are you guys holding up this winter? Do your dogs easily do what they need to do when the weather is cold, snowy, or wet? Or do you have to join them in an extended cold-weather experience? Do they have more accidents indoors when they don’t want to get their feet wet or icy?
I’m a big fan of “puppy socials” – a classroom-type setting to which people bring their puppies for socializing with pups of a similar age. It’s a powerful opportunity for the puppies, especially the ones who are being raised with no other dog at home to learn basic canine social skills from – or the ones who DO share their homes another dog, but the dog is super grumpy about puppies.
I first learned about puppy socials from my good friend Sandi Thompson, owner of the famed Bravo!Pup (dog and puppy training) in Berkeley, California (bravopup.com). Sandi was lead trainer for Dr. Ian Dunbar’s pioneering business, Sirius Dog and Puppy Training, for many years, before striking out on her own. Due to the value to the puppies and the popularity among the puppy owners of the “Go play!” breaks within her puppy training classes, Sandi decided to offer the participants in her classes a separate weekly session of “just” playing and socializing. During the sessions, she helps the owners identify and reinforce healthy puppy play, and teaches them how to gently interrupt potentially problematic puppy play. She also prompts the owners to occasionally interject moments of practicing training exercises that they learned in the puppy classes, and then powerfully rewarding the puppies for their compliance in such an off-the-charts distracting environment with the best possible reward: “Go play!”
Ten years ago, I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area, where I was surrounded by wonderful and highly educated dog trainers (including Sandi), to the relative dog-training desert three hours north. But thank dog, there was ONE wonderful and highly educated dog trainer close to me: Sarah Richardson, of The Canine Connection in Chico, California (TheCanineConnection.com). That’s who I sought out for modeling for WDJ articles when I moved here in 2006, and whose training classes I attended with Otto when I adopted him as an adolescent shelter dog in June 2008. And whose puppy training class and puppy socials I am attending with my new pup Woody!
Like Sandi, Sarah offers the owners in her puppy training classes a separate session each week that is devoted to puppy socializing and play only, separated from the training classes – although she guides the puppy owners in reinforcing their puppies’ healthy social interactions and gently but proactively stopping them from practicing any sort of bullying or defensively aggressive ones. The super shy or anxious puppies are given opportunities to come out from under their owners’ chairs and explore while the more assertive and/or brave pups are reinforced for restrained on-leash behavior on the sidelines. And then the strongly social pups are given a chance to run, play, and practice introducing themselves to other puppies in manners both weird and wonderful. They learn what physical body language prompts potential playmates to engage in play and which body language triggers another puppy to take defensive action upon their own person – in other words, it’s a safe place for the little pups to learn kindergarten social skills in a group that is safe from “big kids” or grumpy grownups.
That’s not to say it doesn’t take a certain amount of management to make sure it’s safe for everyone. My friend Leonora, who fostered a litter of six TINY puppies for my local shelter recently, ended up adopting the tiniest one in the litter, Samson – all two pounds of him. I adopted the largest puppy in the litter that I fostered over the same time period, Woody, and we are commuting together to bring both pups to Sarah’s puppy training classes and puppy socials. The puppies get along famously, but they can’t yet be permitted to play together unfettered; one playful gesture of Woody’s can mean a concussion or broken leg for Samson. In Sarah’s puppy social sessions, there may be 20 or more pups of various sizes and play styles, and Samson’s stature and social needs are considered alongside of the big, exuberant puppies. Unfortunately, because all of the puppies present in our first session were so large, Samson did some of his socializing from behind a protective exercise pen, and some on leash, so that Leonora could swoop him to safety, if need be. As he grows a bit, and the pups get more accustomed to the play sessions, we hope he can “Go play!” in a more unfettered fashion.
A side note: I think the people who have big, rowdy puppies are the most likely to avail themselves of these social sessions, because they can clearly see their developing dogs need to play. But this is one of the many reasons that so many small dogs grow up with poor social skills: because their exercise needs can be met readily through less-strenuous outlets, and their owners don’t recognize that ALL dogs need time with other dogs to practice their own “language.” My friend wants Samson to be comfortable with all the dogs he meets, and is taking pains – at the highest level of exposure she can risk – to make sure he gets social time with dogs and puppies of all sizes. Smart!
At our first session, Sarah asked the puppy owner participants to described their puppies in one word, and I used “mellow” to describe Woody. That is ordinarily true, but I’m not sure anyone believed me after his first play session. There was one particularly exuberant, large German Shepherd puppy in the session who seemed to inspire Woody to new heights of both activity and over-arousal, so I had to interrupt my puppy a couple of times and bring him back to the sidelines for a highly rewarding calm-down session. I have witnessed Woody’s genetic predisposition for play-biting with a particularly extended hold on the “bite” part, and I want to nip that behavior in the bud to the extent possible. He’s got a lovely soft mouth when playing with humans, and learned to bite gently when playing with my former foster, Maebe – she would dump him unceremoniously on the ground and quit the game if he tried the bite-and-hold with her – but since Otto won’t brook ANY contact with the puppy, he’s losing practice time at this important skill, and the puppy social is a great time to regain it. I don’t want him to get frustrated, so instead of being put on some sort of punitive time-out when he gets over-the-top with play, or bites another puppy and won’t let go after a second or two, I’ll jump in with a super high-value treat and lure him off to the sidelines to practice some sits and downs for some yummy treats and some low-intensity down/tug with his favorite toy.
TRUTH: It’s true that the likelihood of a serious parvo infection decreases as dogs age, and that most victims are puppies. But adult dogs can become seriously ill or die from parvo.
MYTH: I can protect my dogs from exposure to parvo by maintaining a clean environment and restricting their contact with other dogs.
TRUTH: The virus is everywhere, and it’s impossible to prevent exposure.
MYTH: My dog is strong and healthy. His immune system will prevent him from getting sick.
TRUTH: Under the right conditions, any dog can be vulnerable to illness.
MYTH: Vaccinations will protect my puppy.
TRUTH: Vaccinated puppies can get parvo under certain circumstances.
First, not all puppies have an appropriate immune response to vaccines. It’s rare, but it does happen, that some dogs must be vaccinated numerous times before their immune systems respond by manufacturing protective antibodies.
More common is something called maternal antibody interference. As long as they are active in a puppy’s body, the antibodies received from a protected mother both guard the puppy from infection and prevent vaccines from working properly. These maternal antibodies begin to fade from the puppy’s system anywhere from 6 to 16 weeks following birth.
In order to protect puppies as soon as possible after the maternal antibodies wane, they are generally vaccinated for the first time around 6-8 weeks of age, and then given additional vaccinations every 2 – 4 weeks, until they are around 16 weeks old. But if they’re exposed to parvovirus at any point between the fading of the maternal antibodies and the advent of an immune response to vaccination, they can become infected.
Joanne Levy has bred and exhibited Alaskan Malamutes since 1972 and has finished 17 champions. Last year, she and her husband shared their Rockland County, New York, home with seven Malamutes, one Akita, one Poodle, and two six-month-old Pomeranians.
Their peaceful life changed in December when Jonah, one of the Pomeranians, threw up his dinner. “Because his vomit contained a funky old apple from the tree outside and some asparagus fern, which is toxic to dogs, I thought he might have given himself a wicked tummy-ache,” Levy recalls. “I kept an eye on him, and during the night he vomited little circles of frothy white foam.”
The next morning, at her veterinarian’s office, Levy was asked whether any other dog in the household was sick. “If any of my other dogs had shown symptoms, they would have done a parvo blood test,” she says. “But because everyone else was fine, we approached it as a case of indigestion.
“If he didn’t improve by the next day, I’d bring him back.”
Joanne Levy
That night, Jonah’s symptoms advanced to bloody diarrhea and severe nausea. He stopped breathing, and Levy and her husband performed artificial respiration. Rushed back to the clinic, Jonah received IV fluids and other support therapies. But despite two days of intensive care and a vet bill approaching $2,000, Jonah died on New Years Day.
Three days after Jonah first showed symptoms, so did his brother, Micah. Three days later, eight-year-old Tyrone and two-year-old Vivian, both Malamutes, became ill. Levy caught their symptoms early because she kept all of her dogs confined and followed them individually to check for diarrhea. “Parvo’s diarrhea has such a specific, pungent, metallic smell,” she says, “that it viscerally imprints itself on the nasal passages. I believe I could diagnose any dog that has parvo by the odor of its feces alone.” Micah and Vivian were as ill as Jonah had been, but immediate treatment saved their lives. Tyrone had milder symptoms and did not require hospitalization.
Levy blames her vaccination protocol for the outbreak. In 1994, she stopped giving her adult dogs annual vaccinations and put her puppies on a reduced schedule of shots.
“For eight years I thought I was doing the right thing,” she says. “Then four of my dogs got parvo, three were hospitalized at great expense, and one of them died. I lost a spectacularly healthy, fat, robust, powerful, well-muscled six-month-old puppy who was in excellent condition and a joy to live with – to a disease that’s completely preventable.”
Now Levy is a vaccination advocate. “Losing Jonah was one of the most devastating experiences of my life,” she says. “I will never allow it to happen again. Parvo is terrifying because dogs that die from it suffer horribly and unnecessarily. I absolutely resent people who have their dogs on reduced vaccinations or who don’t vaccinate at all, for the obvious reason that all dogs, their own and others, are needlessly put at risk.”
Levy revaccinated her dogs for parvovirus and distemper and plans to repeat their vaccinations every two years. If she ever gets another puppy, she says she will probably alternate between parvo and distemper vaccinations until the puppy is six months old.
“To me the only valid argument is whether to give a multiple-vaccine cocktail or individual vaccines,” she says, “and I agree with those who favor individual vaccines. A month after vaccinations end, I’ll have the puppy tested. And I’ll keep him quarantined at home until I know he’s fully protected.”
The name Ray Carlisle is synonymous with Doberman Pinschers. A breeder and exhibitor for 40 years, a show judge for the last 20 years, and a former president of the Doberman Pinscher Club of America, the United Doberman Club, and the American Working Dog Federation, the New York resident travels the world on behalf of his favorite breed. “I vaccinated my dogs for many years,” Carlisle says, “but they all had chronic health problems, and many died of cardiomyopathy at age five or six.”
As he looked for ways to improve his line of dogs, Carlisle met breeders of Dobermans, Great Danes, and other breeds whose dogs lived well into their teens. “Some of them hadn’t used vaccines for years,” he says, “and they used remedies I had never heard of. Their dogs were so healthy and in such excellent condition, I slowly started to reduce my vaccinations and improve my dogs’ diet.” Today they eat large amounts of raw meat supplemented by PHD dry food and occasional raw green tripe.
Since 1978, Carlisle has used what he calls “field vaccinations.” In each new litter, he gives one puppy a combination vaccine and places it back in the whelping box. Vaccinated puppies do “shed” the virus in the days after vaccination, and close contact with vaccinated littermates can stimulate an immune response in the unvaccinated pups. Carlisle has faith in this approach; whenever he has tested their titers, all of the littermates, vaccinated and unvaccinated, have shown identical results.
“It’s an interesting coincidence,” he adds, “but in the last 25 years, the only puppies that developed health problems were the vaccinated ones. I save these puppies for people who believe in vaccination. One went to an obedience competitor whose brother is a veterinarian. Following his advice, she had the puppy fully vaccinated, and it died of cancer at age two.”
For three generations, Carlisle has taken puppies from unvaccinated parents and exposed them to everything imaginable during their first eight weeks. “This is the exact opposite of what most breeders do,” he says, “but I’m convinced that exposing puppies to the world protects them, while keeping them in isolation makes them weaker.” In the past 25 years, Carlisle has bred more than 400 unvaccinated puppies, and until last summer, none of them had ever contracted parvovirus, distemper, coronavirus, or other serious contagious illness.
Four years ago, Carlisle kept a puppy who became his favorite companion. UDC Champion Cara’s April Fool, Schutzhund I, was born to a mother who had received only one vaccination and a father who was never vaccinated. “April traveled all over the world with me,” he says, “and she was never sick a day in her life.”
In August, she accompanied Carlisle to his Spring Valley office, then to a large dog park in New York City, and to an obedience class. “That’s where we were when I learned my mother had died, and I spent the rest of the day rushing home, packing, and taking the first flight out.”
April stayed home with Carlisle’s wife. The next morning, she wasn’t hungry, and later that day, she had a small amount of diarrhea. By the next morning, April was severely ill with what her veterinarian called the heaviest case of parvo he had ever treated, and she died the following day.
“I was shocked,” says Carlisle. “She was only three years old, had never been bred, and had her whole life in front of her. She was also one of the strongest, healthiest dogs I’ve ever known. It was unbelievable. This happened almost a year ago and it still hurts.”
Despite this unfortunate incident, however, Carlisle has not changed his aversion to using vaccines. “My attitude about vaccinations hasn’t changed. In a breed that has been steadily declining, my dogs live almost twice as long as they used to, and they’re in excellent condition. Cardiomyopathy, which used to be a major problem for my dogs, has disappeared. There’s absolutely no question in my mind that the benefits of not vaccinating far outweigh the risks.”
For over three months, I had possession of a year-old American Black and Tan Coonhound or coonhound-mix whom I called Maebe. I absolutely loved that dog, and cried when I dropped her off for transport to her new home. AND I’m thrilled and tearful – in a good way – that she found a great new home. That’s the bittersweet experience of fostering.
As a frequent foster person for my local shelter, I had originally pulled her as a prospect for my sister-in-law and her six-year-old daughter. She is one of the sweetest, most affectionate dogs I’ve ever met, loves cuddling on the couch or petting anytime, and is super inquisitive about anything humans are doing. But within days of bringing her home, I could see that she had far too much energy for my sister-in-law’s home and schedule. She needs regular running, or she finds creative/destructive ways to amuse herself in a house. I knew my sister-in-law, a working mom without a partner (her husband, my brother, passed away last year), didn’t have time in her schedule to add in hour-long walks.
Even though I had pulled her with a specific home in mind, once I realized Maebe wouldn’t work out for that home, I couldn’t take her back to my shelter. Once I’ve pulled a dog and have gotten interested in him or her, I just can’t take them back to the loud, concrete row of barking dogs. Instead, I figured I’d advance her training and life experience, and find her another home, while keeping an eye peeled for a different dog for my sister-in-law and niece.
I started work on her house manners, sit, down, wait for the food bowl, not jumping up, and especially, not darting out the door. She was a champion door-darter. She flew out of the car from the backseat over my shoulder once, before I started using a harness and seat belt, even if we were just driving the two blocks from my home to my office. We worked on leash manners, and a recall off-leash. She learned everything really fast. We also worked to reduce her mild separation anxiety, with lots of short, drama-free exits and entrances.
She caused a certain amount of trouble in my home and at my office. She dug up some garden beds. At first, she wailed when left alone for any length of time, even just the few minutes it took me to walk to the post office on the next block and back. She chewed through my Macbook power cord. She ate an entire cake that my sister baked for me one day, a cube of butter another day; she is an experienced and crafty counter-surfer. But she is also the most playful mischievous, likable dog! And she played and played with the litter of puppies I was fostering, and then the one in the litter I decided to keep. She served as a full-time companion and playmate to the puppy, Woody, keeping him from having to get reprimanded sternly by my older dogs, Otto and Tito, every two minutes. She and Woody slept together, switched bowls back and forth when eating meals, chewed opposite ends of the same toys, and romped together all day long.
I marketed her initially to my son’s friends and teammates. He plays a sport that involves a lot of running (Ultimate, better but less accurately known as Ultimate Frisbee), and almost all of his friends are athletes. I’ve found dogs for several of his friends, teammates, and work associates before – three dogs in his office are my former fosters! – but nobody was currently in the market for a canine running partner.
So I reached out to the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue, an organization I’ve talked about before. It’s one of the best breed rescues I’ve had the pleasure of working with. They have a very large and dedicated group of volunteers who foster and transport hounds from areas where they are very much in danger of being euthanized in shelters, and finding them homes with people who can handle and appreciate their unique characteristics. Like many breed rescues, they often take on hounds other than the one the group is named after, and even hound-mixes. And they take on dogs who have health and/or behavioral challenges, and find just the right type and amount of help they need to be appropriately placed.
Within a week or two, the rescue had passed along a couple of inquiries about Maebe to me. I corresponded with both potential adopters, and one lost interest fairly quickly, based on the amount of exercise I suggested that Maebe needed to behave herself. But the other potential adopter wasn’t daunted by that OR the news about Maebe’s other various mischief (door-darting, separation anxiety, and all); she had adopted another coonhound from ABTCR a few years ago, and was well acquainted with coonhound ways. The only catch: she lives in Arizona, almost a thousand miles away.
And then, just a week or so later, the ABTCR came through with transportation, largely provided by volunteers from another amazing organization: Pilots n Paws, a group of aircraft owners and enthusiasts who volunteer to help move dogs from places where they are in danger to new homes or rescue groups, especially across distances that are too far for a simple bucket-brigade of volunteer drivers.
photo by Stacy Gonzalez
I drove Maebe to the ABTCR’s Western region coordinator’s base, a dog daycare in Jackson, California, about two hours away. I wept and sniffled during the whole drive, seeing Maebe’s goofy countenance in my rear-view mirror the whole way. It kills me every time I take one of my foster dogs to a new home, even when I’m certain it’s going to work out perfectly. THEY don’t know where they/we are going. When I hand the leash over to someone they don’t know, they don’t know they won’t see me again, or where they are going to sleep that night. They just know they are in the wind again. Those facts just stab me in the heart. Just as the sight of Maebe’s confused expression did when I last saw her, among a group of dogs at the daycare. “Where are you going? Why are you leaving me here?” I could barely say goodbye to the rescue coordinator, and sobbed once back in my car.
But a day later, I got to see pictures of inquisitive Maebe in a small airplane, flying over California, and being greeted at a small airport a thousand miles away by her new owner. And within another day, pictures of her chewing toys with her new coonhound “brother” in her new home, and snuggling on the couch with her new owner. And I’ve been getting reports from the owner, about how funny and mischievous she is, and how Maebe has already become the exception to the adopter’s mother’s lifelong rules about “no dogs on the couch,” and “no big dogs on laps.” And those things cause an outbreak of happy tears!
I’m completely immersed in puppy-training Woody now, and have a new litter of nine foster puppies to care for, for at least a few more weeks. So I don’t think I will be fostering any adult or young-adult dogs for a while. It’s time-consuming and draining… but eventually, I forget about all that, and with the help of a continuing flow of happy pictures from my former foster dogs’ new owners, I just remember the best news: another dog saved from the shelter, and beloved in a home. And so I bring home another one to foster.
I want to congratulate WDJ’s long-time contributor, dog trainer/writer Stephanie Colman, for winning a Maxwell award from the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA), for her article, “Service, Please,” which ran in WDJ’s July 2015 issue. The award is named in honor of the late Maxwell Riddle, who co-founded the DWAA. The awards were announced on February 14, at the Pennsylvania hotel in New York City at the DWAA’s annualawards banquet, held prior to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Of course I’m biased, since I edited the article, but I thought it better explained the differences between service dogs, emotional support animals, and therapy dogs – including their capabilities and training – than any article I’ve seen before or since. It also discussed the differences between their legal access to public places, why there is so much confusion about what dogs can go where – and why it’s so bad for people to take advantage of that confusion and pass off one type of dog as the other.
Apparently the judges of the DWAA’s annual competition agreed, because it was awarded the top prize in the “Canine Newsletter Article or Column” category.
I’d also like to congratulate two other WDJ contributors who were named as finalists in the same category. Trainer/writer Lisa Rodier had two WDJ articles named as finalists: “Order! Labrador in the Court!”, about a dog who provides comfort to victims in a courtroom, and “Restraining Order,” her report on canine car restraints. And trainer/writer Laurie Williams’ article, “The Healing Power of Dogs,” about how dogs and the dog community have literally saved her life, was another finalist.
What a dilemma! The work of three of our very strong writers battling it out in the same contest! My appreciation and thanks to all of them.
Want to judge for yourself? Click to read the articles mentioned above:
If your dog hops out of bed, stretches, and trots off, thank your lucky stars. He’s likely had a good sleep on a supportive surface. But if he rises slowly, stiff and sore, that bed might be worn out or inferior. Even an old dog shouldn’t wake up stiff and sore. The time is now to spring for a good dog bed!
We gathered nine high-end, medium and large dog beds that were marketed as “orthopedic,” offering full body support. We distributed them to appropriately sized test dogs, most of them in homes with more than one dog. We wanted to see what human and canine preferences emerged, and if these beds truly supported our sleeping dogs.
What Constitutes “Orthopedic”?
There is no legal or technical definition of “orthopedic” when it comes to dog beds. Wikipedia defines an orthopedic mattress as one “designed to support the joints, back, and overall body.” We’d say that an orthopedic dog bed is one that reacts to and supports the dog’s weight in a superior fashion. In our opinion, if you squeeze a dog bed and are able to flatten it, feeling the floor or your fingers on the reverse side, that bed isn’t offering orthopedic support, no matter what the label says.
In search of maximum support, we dismissed “filled” beds – those products that are stuffed full of chunks of foam, fiber, or other small particles. Those beds tend to adjust slowly (or not at all) when the dog gets up. They usually become lumpy and indented, requiring you to “fluff” them up on occasion.
Instead, we selected products with the thickest mattresses we could find. A couple of our selections have mattresses made with slabs of quilted poly fiberfill. But most of the “orthopedic” beds are made with super-thick, high-quality foam – those products being best able to evenly distribute a dog’s weight and offer balanced, cushiony, firm support each time the dog gets on the bed.
Details of the beds we chose for evaluation, along with links to company websites, appear below.
Whole Dog Journal‘s Favorite Orthopedic Dog Beds
BED
TYPE, ORIGIN
DIMENSIONS AND PRICES
COMMENTS
Alden Odor’s Posture Pedic Pet Mats
(866) 364-6367 dogodor.com
Flat, rectangular; Made in the USA
Small: 12″ x 17″ $25
Large: 28″ x 46″ $55
(seven more sizes in between)
These mats are made with two layers of closed-cell memory foam and wrapped with a Cordura cover. Extraordinarily durable and long-lasting. Foam is 2 inches thick. This bed is not soft and cushy, but offers incredible support. This is our top choice for an inexpensive way to provide support for your dog.
Drs. Foster & Smith’s Quilted Super Deluxe Dog Bed
(800) 381-7179 drsfostersmith.com
Rectangular; imported
Small: 36″ x 21″ x 7″ $90
Medium: 42″ x 24″ x 7″ $140
Large: 48″ x 28″ x 7″ $160
X-Large: 50″ x 35″ x 7″ $180
The mattress in this bed is made with a 6-inch slab of orthopedic foam, covered with quilted poly fiberfill, stitched to stay in place and to offer solid support. The poly/cotton quilted cover has an extra heavy-duty zipper; replacement covers and a waterproof liner are also available.
Measurements = sleeping area, not entire bed:
XXS: 13″ x 21″ $50
XL: 37″ x 46″ $194
(four more sizes in between)
Very cozy, nest-like bed with 100% cotton durable cover. Can be ordered with either a polyfill or orthopedic foam mattress, or a combination. Order a size larger than you think you need. Excellent, maximum support.
In the Company of Dogs’ FurFighter Orthopedic Bolster
(800) 544-4595 inthecompanyofdogs.com
Bolster; Made in the USA
Medium: 36″ long $250
Large: 46″ long $280
Arguably the most luxurious bed in the trial. Beautiful. The tightly woven fabric does not allow fur or dirt to penetrate to the foam beneath. NASA-certified memory foam with a poly fiberfill bolster. Provides maximum support.
L.L. Bean’s Therapeutic Dog Couch
(800) 441-5713 llbean.com
Bolster; Made in USA with imported components
Small: 25″ x 20″” x 7″” $130
Medium: 36″ x 28″ x 9″ $180
Large: 44″ x 34″ x 12″ $250
X-Lg: 52″ x 42″ x 13½” $290
This bed has poly fiberfill bolsters on three sides, and a durable 100% cotton denim cover. The mattress is an open-cell memory foam base insert. Nice details! Gussets ensure that the cover fits snugly, and the zipper is covered to discourage chewing. Assembly required; we struggled with it initially to get it put together. Antimicrobial treatment minimizes odors. One of the most durable choices in our trial with excellent support.
Orvis’ s Tempur-Pedic Deep Dish Bed
(888) 235-9763 orvis.com
Bolster; Made in USA with imported components
Small: 35½” x 25½” x 3½” $295
Medium: 40″ x 26½” x 3½” $350
The mattress in this tempurpedic dog bed is high-density foam with open-cell technology. Comes with a water-resistant breathable liner. Available covers include plush microfiber, faux shearling, or tweed bed, and replacement covers are sold separately. We ordered the tweed cover, and it is absolutely beautiful and elegant. This bed offered maximum support.
Petmate’s Dig & Burrow Orthopedic Bed
(877) 738-6283 petmate.com
Flat, rectangular; Bed made in USA, cover made in China
36″ x 37″ x 3 $90
This is the only bed we ordered with an egg-crate foam mattress. The egg-crate foam gives the bed a ripply appearance; its maker says it’s designed to encourage dogs who like to dig and scratch before they lay down, and it definitely attracted that activity. We were concerned that with enough digging and burrowing, the cover would tear, but it survived well. The bed offers good support for lighter-weight dogs, and our medium-sized test dogs loved it, but it would not provide enough support for large or heavy dogs.
Rectangular with a “nest” indent in the center; Made in the USA
Small: 18″ x 18″ x 4½” $30
Large: 35″ x 54″ x 8″ $186
(five more sizes in between)
The mattress in this bed is a single slab of extremely thick foam that has a scooped-out center forming an indented nest. The water-resistant cover goes on like a fitted mattress sheet, with no zippers, hooks, or loops. As far as orthopedic support, this bed provides absolutely superior, maximum support for even the heaviest dog. However, some of our test dogs prefer sleeping on flatter surfaces and shunned the indented nest.
Some beds with mattresses that do not contain foam:
BED
TYPE, ORIGIN
DIMENSIONS AND PRICES
COMMENTS
Ruffwear’s Urban Sprawl Bed
(888) 783-3932 ruffwear.com
Flat, rectangular; Made in Vietnam
Medium: 28″ x 35″ x 4″ $150
Large: 36″ x 48″ x 4″ $200
This two-sided mattress is made with recycled polyester. One side is firm and meant for warmer temperatures or dogs with orthopedic issues. The other side is softer and provides more warmth. The top of the cover is made of microsuede; the bottom is a waterproof fabric, providing a moisture barrier. Mattress can be washed (separately) in a commercial front-loading washer. This is an extremely durable bed, that provides excellent support.
(Not actually a bed, but a stuffable bed cover); Designed in California and made in China
Small: 22″ x 27″ x 5″ $25
Med/Lg: 27″ x 36″ x 5″ $41
Huge: 36″ x 45″ x 5″ $50
Round: 36″ x 5″ $19
We had to tell you about these 100% cotton, durable, well-made dog bed covers. They were designed as an environmentally friendly dog-bed option; the maker suggests that you stuff them with old clothing, blankets, towels – whatever you would like. Given that they are some of the most attractive covers we’ve seen, and inexpensive (especially given the quality of the fabric and the workmanship), we’d consider stuffing them with a slab of high-quality foam from an upholstery shop in order to create our own orthopedic pet bed, or use them as replacement covers for another bed of a compatible size.
Foam-Filled Dog Beds
When it comes to beds with a foam cushion, thicker is usually better – and a thick mattress is an absolute necessity for a larger, heavier dog – as it offers more support and lasts longer. Some dog beds are made of thinner foam slabs that have been glued together. These tend to be less expensive than the ones made with the thickest, single slabs of foam. We noted several claims that a single piece of foam will last longer and offer more support, but the length of our trial (about six months) was insufficient to prove or disprove this theory.
Most of the beds in our trial were made of high-grade, flat, polyurethane foam. If it’s thick enough, flat foam will support your dog.
Many manufacturers use egg-crate foam for dog beds. It’s a top choice in human health care due to its support, shock absorption, and economical price. Egg-crate foam is usually open-cell foam, which, combined with its egg-crate shape, is meant to offer more air flow and a cooler surface than memory foam or flat orthopedic foam. However, today, any foam (even some memory foams) can be infused with air pockets to allow heat to escape.
Egg-crate foam adjusts to pressure immediately. The downside is that it will not have the longevity of memory foam. It can become permanently compressed with time, which means if you start to see the dog’s imprint in the bed – dents and hollows – it’s time to replace the foam. Only one of our selections is made with egg-crate foam.
Memory foam, invented by NASA in the 1970s, is a polyurethane that molds to shape and becomes more pliable as it becomes warmer, including from body warmth. It provides excellent support in thinner slabs than ordinary foam. Since quality memory foam is evaluated by its density, not its thickness, a good memory foam pad that is just two inches thick can offer excellent support. As your dog lies on memory foam, the surface slowly adjusts to the weight distribution, offering a well-aligned support system. Memory foam dog beds also offer the advantage of being a long-lasting choice.
The downside of memory foam is that it can retain heat more than other foams. That’s because most memory foams are closed foam, which means no airflow (some of the newer memory foams have air pockets). The too-warm problem can be circumvented by placing a thicker cover/pad on top of the mattress, or even adding a “cool bed” on top during warmer temperatures. If your dog constantly gets up, circles and lays back down, or pants for no apparent reason (panting can also indicate pain, of course), or sleeps belly up, he may be too warm.
Easily Washed Beds
For our trial, we considered only those beds that had covers that can be removed for washing. Who wants something in their home that a dog will be spending a significant amount of time on and that can’t be washed? Ick!
Happily, we were able to remove, wash, dry, and replace every bed cover in this trial without major problems. Except for the Pet-O-Bed, which has no zippers or closures, all the covers zipped on and off.
A few of the covers were trickier than others to get back on. It was a lot of work to get everything stuffed into the L.L. Bean dog bed, for example. The Pet-O-Bed required close attention to the instructions, but once they were understood, no problem.
The Urban Sprawl fiberfill mattress is the only one that can be washed in a front-loading machine. The foam mattresses in the other beds can be spot-washed or lightly sprayed with a mixture of vinegar and water to help get rid of any lingering odors.
Sun is a great antimicrobial agent, but be careful. It can also damage foam if it is exposed to intense sun rays for very long.
Observations
The Pet-O-Bed product was the thickest foam dog bed in our trial, up to eight inches in its largest sizes. Their high-quality foam was made in the USA, and this is important. Some inferior imported foams can retain a chemical smell. While the odor will usually dissipate if you thoroughly air out the foam prior to use, we advise you to look for that USA label. A notable exception is the Drs. Foster & Smith bed in this trial. While imported, it proved to be a quality choice.
The FurFighter Orthopedic Bolster bed uses NASA-certified memory foam covered with a tightly woven fabric designed to resist dust and hair from passing through. It’s a luxurious bed, and our tester, a veterinarian, believes it offers maximum orthopedic support.
We read a customer review of the Orvis Tempur-Pedic bed, another memory foam bed that performed very well in our trial. The review was the only one-star review online, so it drew our attention. The reviewer wrote that the bed was too hard and took too long to allow the dog to “sink” in. That gave us pause. Memory foam is naturally stiffer in cool temperatures (the review was written in November, so we assume the ambient temperature was cool).
As for the comment that dog didn’t actually sink into the bed fast enough, well, that’s a good thing. Quality memory foam is actually less springy than other foams. It’s supposed to be slower to relax against weight and slower to recover when that weight is removed. If you press your hand on good memory foam, you will leave a handprint, and then it will gradually disappear. Remember, it’s all about support.
L.L. Bean’s Therapeutic Dog Couch uses open-cell memory foam, which offers relief from overheating. Unfortunately, we were not able to judge if that was true, as our trial took place in the fall and winter. However, the bed is extremely durable, withstanding chewing and standing up to the demands of two large Labrador agility dogs.
Ruffwear
The mattress in Ruffwear’s Urban Sprawl bed is made of recycled polyester fiberfill and is reversible! One side is firm, designed to keep the dog cool in warmer temperatures; the other side is soft, both for dogs with orthopedic issues and those who might benefit from added warmth. This durable bed survived a very large Goldendoodle who has destroyed every other bed he’s had. He only managed to scratch a few holes in it, and the tester said “Doodle” loves his bed.
Consider When Buying for YOUR Dog
Different dogs have different sleeping styles, although nearly every dog will relax in every position at one point or another. Before you purchase an expensive dog bed, observe your dog in his napping position at different times. If he tends to sleep most in a ball and likes to cuddle, he might like a nesting bed, like the Pet-O-Bed or the Bagel Bed. Dogs who like to “hide” while they’re sleeping might enjoy the deep, luxurious Bagel Bed from For Your Dogs Only.
Snugglers might also like a bolster bed, which has at least one raised side, usually the back. Most are raised on three sides. If your dog seems to like to use a pillow for his head or rarely sleeps out in the open, preferring the security of a snuggling up against a nearby pillow or cushion, he might be a bolster bed candidate. A bolster bed can also be a good option for a dog who likes to lie on his side, as long as it’s big enough.
Dogs who flop down and spread out as wide as possible are candidates for a rectangular bed, although we maintain that if you’re not sure, the rectangular bed is your most versatile choice. You can place it against a wall with a couple of pillows against the wall to mimic a bolster bed or add a blanket for the “nesting” dog to scratch around on.
Actually, Petmate’s rectangular Dig & Burrow bed was a favorite in one of our testing spots, with every canine family member using it as often as possible. They scratched on its surface, digging and circling for that “perfect” spot. Unfortunately, however, we had to place it in a home with lighter dogs, as its foam seemed to lack what we considered adequate support for heavier dogs. If your dog likes the “dig and burrow” concept, consider purchasing this bed and placing it on top of Alden Odor’s Posture Pedic pad for more support.
The Pet-O-Bed has an inviting “nest” indent in the center of the bed, but our test dogs didn’t settle into it. The Pet-O-Beds feature the thickest foam of any of the products we tested, which, one would think, should have sparked a lot of interest, but our dogs didn’t stay put for long. We suspect the bed may have been too small for our test dogs. Also, the nest indent might not attract all dogs, making us wish the company produced a flat bed, too.
Size is a big issue. Bigger is better, even for little canines. It’s the rare dog who thinks he’s smaller than he is. One of our test dogs, a medium Goldendoodle, determined that one bed was simply too small for him. Once in a while, he would curl up on it, but mostly he used the bed as a pillow. When we measured the dog and the bed, the bed had a spare five or more inches in each direction for the dog but, apparently, he disagreed.
We recommend you ignore breed and weight suggestions on websites for choosing a bed in the “right” size. Instead, grab a measuring tape and measure your dog from nose to tip of tail, from toe to top of the withers. Then, order a bed that’s at least 12 inches longer and wider than the dog’s measurements. Doing this can be especially helpful when shopping for dog beds for small dogs – “small” could mean a lot of things.
We also advise you to check out the company’s return policy. If it’s a local shop, no problem. If you’re mail-ordering the bed and have to return it, the return shipping cost can be a big chunk of change. Either way, for the first day or two, put a large clean sheet on the bed, covering top, sides and at least some of the bottom. You want to protect it from dust, dirt, dog hair, and any signs of use in order to be able to return it.
Adjusting to a New Bed
One of the biggest problems with a new bed is getting your dog to use it. Dismissing the bed, saying the dog doesn’t like it before he’s even gotten used to it, is a disservice to the bed and the dog.
The most important element is the location of the new bed. If your dog’s old bed is beside the couch, you’re going to have to place the new bed in that spot. If it’s a new item, place the bed in a spot your dog often sleeps or in your bedroom if he comes in with you at night. Always place the bed away from drafts and cold areas. Some dogs prefer their beds tucked into a quiet spot they can call their own, while others like to snooze in the middle of all the household activity.
It may help to “scent” the new bed. You can do this a number of ways, but one of the veterinarians who helped test these beds suggests the dog owner curl up on the new bed and hang out there for 15 minutes or so, to make the bed smell like you and like home. You might also toss a few of your dog’s favorite toys on the bed until he accepts it as his own. It’s all part of introducing the dog to the new bed, helping your dog understand the bed is his to use. He’ll soon figure out it’s comfortable!
Finally, the cover material can make a difference. Many of the beds in our trial come from smaller manufacturers who may be willing to take the cover back in trade for a different texture. Maybe your dog doesn’t like denim, but thinks microsuede is luxurious. It can be challenging to determine why your dog walks away from a comfortable-looking bed.
Bottom Line
The biggest waste of money when it comes to dog beds is being cheap. Dogs are hard on beds. They scratch at the covers, nibble on zippers, and occasionally try to drag their beds to another spot. A dog bed needs to be durable, stain-resistant, and have washable covers. Every bed in our trial met this criteria.
At the start of the trial, we climbed onto each bed ourselves to get a feel for the support offered. There wasn’t a bad one in the bunch. However, we felt the most support in the Pet-O-Bed, In the Company of Dogs’ Fur-Fighter, Orvis’ Tempur-Pedic, L.L. Bean’s Therapeutic Dog Couch, and Dr. Foster & Smith’s Quilted Super Deluxe beds.
If your dog is a chewer, meaning you know the bed has a limited lifespan in your household, an egg-crate foam bed or regular foam bed may be the most economical choice. If you want memory foam, choose a brand that makes replacement covers available or investigate those Molly Mutt covers.
For dogs who are kind to their sleeping quarters or have known severe arthritic/orthopedic issues, memory foam is worth the extra cost. In terms of maximum support, we found memory form offer the highest level, followed by flat foam, then the egg-crate foam.
If you’re not at all sure what type of bed your dog might like, we’d go with a flat, rectangular bed just a bit larger than you think you actually need. Every test dog loved the flat beds. Of the ones we had, the Quilted Super Deluxe dog bed from Drs. Foster & Smith earns top choice. While it looked “boring” to us humans, who ooh’d and ahh’ed over the fancy beds from In the Company of Dogs, Bagel Bed, and Orvis, our test dogs couldn’t have cared less. During the bed-sorting and -distribution stage of the test, I more frequently found my dogs on the Quilted Super Deluxe bed than any other bed. For the actual trial, it was shared in a household of Brittanies, and the older arthritic dog – ruler of the roost – claimed it as her own, choosing it even over her owner’s own mattress.
A close second is the Urban Sprawl, which truly gets points for durability and its waterproof fabric bottom.
The Posture Pedic Pet Mat is a bargain to consider, as it offers a lot of firm support. It’s only about two inches thick, but even big dogs get good support when they’re on it. We saw many of these mats used as “under mats” in crates at dog shows and trials with an added cushier soft top layer. Its price is tough to beat, durability is jaw-dropping, and you could combine it with the very fun Dig & Burrow bed.
Note: We didn’t have a completely round bed in this trial, but be aware that if you choose a round bed it must be large enough that the dog can sleep flat out as well as curled up.
Cynthia Foley is a freelance writer and dog agility competitor from New York. Her Papillons enjoyed their time in the sea of dog beds, before they were sent to larger test dogs.
Puppies chew. Everyone knows that. In fact, it’s one of the reasons some of us choose to adopt dogs who are at least six months of age – when those nasty needle-sharp puppy teeth are gone and the worst of the chewing is over. But baby dogs are darned cute, and thankfully plenty of dog lovers are willing to suffer through damaged shoes and table legs in order to experience the many joys of puppyhood.
Why do puppies chew? They chew to explore the world, and to relieve the pain and irritation of teething. But they also chew because it’s a natural, normal activity for all canines, young and old. While puppies do eventually grow up and get past the stage where they feel compelled to put their teeth on everything they see, mature dogs also need to chew to exercise their jaws, massage their gums, clean their teeth, and to relieve stress and boredom.
It comes as an unpleasant surprise to many owners that chewing doesn’t end at the age of six or seven months, when all a dog’s adult teeth are grown in. In fact, significant chewing may continue for the first 18 to 24 months of a dog’s life; given the opportunity, most dogs will happily chew into their senior years.
It’s the rare puppy who makes it through the first year of his life without inflicting significant damage to one or more of his human’s valued possessions. But there’s a lot you can do to stop puppy chewing or at least keep damage to a minimum.
Puppy Chewing Management
Ah, yes, management – the answer to so many behavior challenges. Puppies develop chew-object preferences in the early months of their lives, so the better you are at managing your pup’s access to non-chew items and directing him to desired chew objects, the sooner he will earn house freedom. If you give your baby dog the run of the house and he learns to chew on carpets, throw pillows, books, shoes, and coffee table legs, you will likely end up with a dog who chooses to exercise his jaws and teeth on inappropriate objects for years to come. You’ll find yourself crating him frequently even as an adult dog, or worse, exiling him to a life of loneliness in the backyard, where he can “only” chew on patio furniture, potted plants, and the edges of your deck.
If, instead, you provide a variety of approved chew toys at an early age and manage your pup well to prevent access to your stuff, he’ll earn house privileges much sooner. By the end of his first year, you may be able to leave him alone safely while you go out to dinner, shopping – even while you’re away at work.
When you’re home, your puppy needs to always be under your direct supervision – for house-training as well as chew-prevention purposes. You may need to keep him on a leash or a tether, put up baby gates, or simply close the door of the room you’re in so he’s shut in with you and can’t wander into the bedroom to shred your shoes while your back is turned. If you’re too occupied to supervise, put him in his crate or exercise pen to keep him out of trouble.
Good management also requires “puppy-proofing” the house. Don’t leave shoes – a favorite of most unsupervised dogs – where your pup can get them. Put all inviting objects out of his reach, just as you would for a two-year-old toddler. If you can’t put electric cords out of his reach, you can slide them through a piece of PVC pipe or use a commercial product (such as the CritterCord) to prevent cords from getting chewed. The less often you have to intervene to retrieve something from him that he shouldn’t have, the better.
Supply Side
At the same time, give him a generous supply of “legal” chew objects to keep his needle-sharp puppy teeth appropriately occupied. The pet product industry provides an ever-growing list of fascinating chew toys for puppies and adult dogs. (See sidebar) If you consistently supply your pup with desirable and acceptable objects upon which to chew, he’ll eventually develop a strong preference for chewing on those same objects. He will seek out these items when he feels the need to gnaw instead of chewing on the nearest sofa cushion, and eventually your personal possessions will be safe, even when your back is turned.
Because different dogs chew with varying intensity, it’s impossible to make definitive statements about which types of chew products are safe and appropriate for your particular dog. The safety of chew objects such as rawhide, various bones, pig ears, and cow hooves is a hotly debated topic, but the one universal truth is that you must observe your dog with any toy, and take it away from him if he consumes it or chews it in a particularly vigorous way.
For example, rope tugs are wonderful chew toys for some dogs, but others become bent on chewing off and ingesting the strings, risking serious gastrointestinal complications, even death. One dog may chew a dried cow’s hoof on and off for months, whereas another dog may devote himself to destroying and ingesting the entire hoof in a matter of hours – and then spend the next few hours vomiting. A dog who chews rawhide or a pig’s ear for hours, tearing off and swallowing only tiny pieces at a time, probably won’t suffer any ill effects, but the one who tries to gobble down crunchy, sharp shards of the dried ears, or large pieces of rawhide, is bound to end up at the veterinary ER someday.
Check with your own veterinarian and follow her recommendations regarding the use of these and other chew items for your dog. Regularly check the condition of any chew toys you give your dog, and discard them when they begin to show signs of wear and tear.
If you give your dog rawhide or bully sticks, buy the largest ones you can find, even comically large, and throw them away when they get chewed down to a size that could possibly be swallowed.
Stop Puppy Chewing With A Great Trade
You can reduce the risk of damage to occasional ill-gotten items by teaching your pup to exchange toys for treats, using something that he’s allowed to have and loves, such as a favorite chew toy, or a food-stuffed Kong.
The key to this game is teaching him that if he gives something up, he gets something better in return, and he gets the original thing back as well. Two rewards for the price of one! Then, on the presumably rare occasion that he has a forbidden object, he’s more likely to bring it to you to trade than to drag his prize to his cave under the dining room table for a leisurely chew. The rare occasion that he doesn’t get “the thing” back won’t be enough to overcome the programming you’ve done by frequently playing the “trade” game with him.
In order for this new programming to take hold, you have to stop playing his game of “chase the puppy” when he grabs the TV remote or some other forbidden object. This is often an attention-getting behavior; he’s learned that grabbing “your” toys and dashing off with them initiates a rousing play session. Dogs and puppies who learn the trade game well can actually help protect your belongings, by bringing things they find on the floor to you, in hopes of a good trade!
Here’s how to teach your dog to trade:
1. Offer your dog a food-stuffed Kong (or another favorite toy) and say, “Take it!” Have him on a leash if you think he’ll run off with it.
2. Give him enough time to get fully engaged in chewing, and then say “Trade!” in a cheerful tone of voice and offer him a handful of irresistible treats, such as small bits of chicken or low-fat cheese. Hold the treats under his nose and let him sniff them.
3. It may take him several seconds to think about it, but eventually he should drop his Kong and start eating the treats. When he drops the Kong, say, “Yes!” But don’t let him eat the treats in one gulp! Hold the tidbits in your hand in such a way that he can only nibble them one by one.
4. While he is still nibbling, reach down with your other hand and pick up the Kong.
5. Let him nibble a bit longer, then offer him the Kong again.
6. Repeat the exercise several times, then end the game by giving him back his Kong and letting him chew to his heart’s content.
Play this game frequently, occasionally when he’s engaged in chewing on his toys on his own, or whenever you feel like initiating the game, until he’ll give up his chew object easily, on your “Trade!” cue.
The trade game doesn’t always go as smoothly as you might like. Here are some of the challenges you may face:
– Your pup may not be willing to drop his toy in exchange for the treats in your hand. Try dropping the treats on the floor in a little Hansel-and-Gretel trail. Many dogs are more willing to give up their valued possession if the treats are within easy reach on the floor. Then, while he is following the trail to your hand that’s still holding a reservoir of treats, pick up the Kong with your other hand.
– Your pup may lose interest in his toy after he realizes you have yummy treats in your hand. Try using less valuable treats, or a more valuable chew toy. Or simply play the game when he already happens to be chewing on one of his toys.
– Your dog may guard valuable resources. If he growls, snaps, or even stiffens and looks tense when you try to trade with him, STOP practicing this exercise and seek the help of a qualified and positive training professional to help you resolve the resource-guarding challenge. Meanwhile, supervise him very closely to prevent his access to forbidden objects so you don’t put yourself at risk for being bitten because you have to take something away from him.
Note: When you teach your dog to trade, he may go through a phase, as did Dubhy, my Scottish Terrier, where he looks for things to bring to you in order to get you to play the game. Humor him. He will probably outgrow this stage, and if he doesn’t, it’s still better to have him bring you things than to carry them off to chew on.
I continue to trade my dogs for a treat when I want something they have throughout their entire lives; it keeps them happy and willing to give things up when I need them to.
Graduating
When you think your young dog is ready, start leaving him unattended for short periods of time – 5, 10, then 15 minutes. If all goes well, gradually increase his alone-time until you can trust him to stay home alone, uncrated, as part of your regular daily routine.
Like so many things worth having, your investment of time and energy will help your pup grow up to be the trustworthy and beloved family member you want him to be. You will be able to relax at work, and sleep well at night, knowing your valuables are safe from your canine’s canines. Your shoes will thank you for it.
The secret to happy chewing is variety. Be creative… think rubber, plastic, rope, wood, body parts (pizzles, pig ears, cow ears, chicken feet, chicken necks), fuzzy things, leather things, carrots, oranges, and more. There are advantages and disadvantages to each – they can all break, splinter, shred, be ingested – so it pays to have a chat with your vet about what to watch for when you choose your chews.
Here are some tips on selecting the best chew toys for your own dog. For a chew toy to be effective it must meet three criteria:
1. It must be attractive to the dog. The dog must want to chew it, or it is useless.
2. It must be durable. If it only lasts 30 seconds it won’t help with a long-term chewing problem.
3. It must be safe. It must not contain toxins, or easily break up (or break down) into pieces that can cause the dog to choke or suffer internal blockage or damage.
It’s important to look at individual dogs when deciding which chew objects are safe. Aggressive chewers can splinter objects and swallow large pieces that can choke a dog, cause life-threatening bowel obstructions, or tear the lining of the intestines. Delicate chewers can safely be given items that would be deadly for some dogs. A veterinarian friend gives her greyhounds rawhide chips, which might not be safe for more aggressive chewers. Aggressive chewers and dogs who must be left alone with a chew object are safest with a hard rubber, hollow Kong-type toy that can be filled with something tasty to hold the dog’s interest. Very large carrots can also make ideal chew objects for many dogs.
Over time, any chew toy softer than your dog’s teeth will become worn down. Any chew object harder than your dog’s teeth will cause wear to the teeth. It’s generally preferable to have wear to the toys than wear to the teeth.
Safety requires good judgment. Many chew objects may eventually become too small to be safe and should be disposed of before they reach a dangerous size.
I was delighted to discover that in recent years, the Kong Company has exponentially expanded its line of toys. For more than two decades, they have supplied us with the basic Kong toy – that snowman-shaped, hollow, stuffable rubber toy of varying sizes and toughness (the black ones are the toughest) – high on the list of any dog owner or trainer worth her salt. I still have the very first Kong I bought, a black one from the mid-1980s. Kong and many other companies now offer a mind-boggling array of chew toys; you have to do some research to determine which are most likely to appeal to your dog.
Shop carefully at your local pet supply store; generally, the products sold in grocery stores and discount stores are of extremely low quality and won’t last very long. They may also be made with materials of questionable safety. If you have a particularly strong chewer, ask the store staff for recommendations.
Here are some of our favorite sources of good chew toys:
Kong Company
Reputable toy manufacturer, does not sell toys direct to consumers. (303) 216-2626; kongcompany.com
SitStay
Online retailer that carries many products that might be difficult to find elsewhere. (402) 467-3426; sitstay.com
Clean Run
Specializes in gear for competitive dog sports; has unique toys and chews. (800) 311-6503; cleanrun.com
DogTuff
“Your source for the world’s most durable dog toys and accessories from top manufacturers, all at unbeatable prices.” (877) 341-0633; dogtuff.com
Tuffy Toys
Tuffy Toys are made by VIP Pet Products and sold in pet supply stores and many online retailers. They are rated by the manufacturer on a “Tuff” scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being for the most aggressive chewers. They feature a minimum of seven layers of material and extra stitching and cross-stitching. One online retailer that carries a wide variety of these toys is tuffietoys.com; (866) 478-0848.
I was at the gym recently, swimming laps. After my workout, I was sitting by the side of the pool and a fellow swimmer and friend stopped to chat about dogs. He has never owned a dog, but his daughter has been pressuring him and he thinks she is finally old enough to take on the responsibility of caring for a dog (good dad!). So, I was anticipating a discussion about breeds, where to look, training, feeding, etc. But that is not where this was going at all. Instead, he wanted to talk about poop:
Me: “So, does she have a breed or breed-type that she is considering?”
Him: “No . . . not yet. What I really want to ask you about is . . . the poop thing.”
Me: “Um . . . what?”
Him: “You know. I see all of the people in our neighborhood taking their dogs for a walk in the morning and they all carry these bags with them and then, ugh . . . they all PICK UP THE POOP WITH THEIR HANDS!”
Me: “Well, not exactly; there is a plastic bag involved. But regardless, what is your point?”
Him: “I just find that so gross and disgusting. I don’t think I could do it.”
Me: “Wh . . . What??”
Him: “Ick. Yuck.” (Accompanied by a squeamish expression that I have never seen on the face of a grown man.)
Me: “Okay, let me get this straight. You are a triathlete. You regularly beat the crap out of your body by swimming, running, and cycling ridiculously long distances. You have backpacked and camped all over the country, with no ‘facilities’ and sometimes not bathing for days . . . and you squirm at picking up dog poop in a plastic bag?”
Him: “Yeah, that about covers it.”
Me (laughing): “You gotta get over that, dude. Take a class or something. All dog folks pick up poop. It’s no big deal.”
Him: “Hmm . . . ” (not buying it).
It really is no big deal. Many dog owners are not only comfortable with poop scooping, we also regularly examine the quality of our dog’s leavings as a general barometer of their health and the quality of the food that we have fed them. So, when I learned of a recent study that asked a group of dog owners to do some “poop scoopin’ for science,” I was only surprised that there have not been more published studies of this nature.
Paul Wolf
The Issue
Those of you who have read my book Dog Food Logic know that I personally advocate for increased transparency in the pet-food industry and for the need to provide dog owners with information that is actually useful when selecting foods. Without question, one of the most important measures of a food’s quality is its digestibility – the proportion of the food that a dog’s gastrointestinal tract is able to break down (digest) and absorb into the body for use. Digestibility correlates well with both ingredient quality and proper food-processing techniques, so this information would be helpful for dog owners to have. However, the vast majority of companies do not provide it.
The only (very rough) estimate of food digestibility that we have is what can be gleaned by regularly examining the quality and quantity of our dog’s feces – a behavior that, in addition to providing little solid information, lends itself to weird looks from neighbors, such as my swimming friend. A crappy state of affairs, indeed.
Industry’s Position
When challenged, representatives of the pet-food industry generally deflect criticism by maintaining that current regulations do not require reporting of food digestibility. (The old, “We don’t gotta so we ain’t gonna” defense.) Further, not all pet-food companies regularly measure digestibility, because doing so requires them to conduct feeding trials with dogs, which in turn requires access to research kennels and laboratories. Such studies are expensive and may be cost prohibitive for some of the smaller companies that do not maintain their own kennels or in-house analytical laboratories.
Fair enough. However, what about using dogs who live in homes? Why not enlist everyday Citizen Scientists who are dedicated to their dogs, feed commercial dog food, are concerned about quality – and who do not squirm at picking up dog poop? This would not only lead to increased numbers of dogs enrolled in these trials (thus supporting improved accuracy of digestibility estimates), but also allow needed comparisons among breeds, ages, life styles, and activity levels of dogs. Further, accessible digestibility study results would really help consumers get solid information about food quality.
In addition, in-home studies reduces the need for kenneled research dogs, a clear animal welfare benefit.
Happily, a group of researchers from two universities in The Netherlands were thinking these same things.
The Study
The objective of their study was to develop a simple method of measuring dog-food digestibility that could be used with privately owned dogs living in homes. They recruited a group of 40 healthy adult dogs and asked their owners to feed a test food (and nothing else) for seven days. Amounts to feed each dog were pre-measured and the volume the dog consumed each day was recorded.
In this study, the test diet was a commercial dry (extruded) food formulated for adult dogs. After seven days of feeding, the owners were asked to collect all of their dog’s feces for a period of 24 hours. The feces were frozen and submitted to the researchers for analysis.
See the sidebar for a flow chart showing how a digestibility trial works. It is conducted in the same manner with kenneled dogs, although feeding and feces collection periods can vary.
Results
The owners recorded the amount of food that their dog consumed each day and collected all of their dogs’ feces over the final 24 hours of the study. The researchers then analyzed the nutrient content in the food that was consumed and in the feces that were excreted. From these data, they calculated the proportion of the food that each dog digested, called a “digestibility coefficient,” and average values for the entire sample of dogs.
In this experiment, the food’s dry matter digestibility was 77.4 percent and its protein digestibility was 77.7 percent, values that reflect a food of “low to moderate” quality. The variability among dogs (as reflected by the standard errors), was found to be low. This suggests that the dogs in the trial showed consistency in their ability to digest the food and supports the in-home trial as a valid procedure.
In addition, the study reported compliance in 39 out of the 40 homes, demonstrating some pretty dedicated poop scooping.
Up On My Soapbox . . .
Another recent study evaluated a set of eight commercial dog foods using both nutrient analysis and a set of feeding trials like the one above, but with kenneled dogs. They found a very wide range in the overall (dry matter) digestibility and protein digestibility among the eight products and noted that these differences would not be reflected by information that was provided on the pet-food labels.
The authors went further, stating: “…We have to note that there is no comprehensive list of information available to the consumer to evaluate the quality of commercial diets. A combination of laboratory analyses and estimation of digestibility coefficients is the only way to perform an accurate and complete evaluation of the quality of a commercial diet.” And yet, not all pet-food companies supply consumers with complete nutrient levels for their foods – and no pet food companies regularly provide digestibility coefficients.
The results of this pilot study tell us that in-home studies with privately owned dogs can provide much-needed information about dog-food quality and can allow the study of factors that may influence how well dogs utilize different foods (such as age, breed, size, health status, and activity levels). Compliance was very good; it’s possible to find owners who are willing to do their part, scooping poop for science.
Now all that we need is for pet-food companies to step up and begin to conduct in-home studies and make the information that they provide available to the dog folks who care!
Linda P. Case, MS, is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting & Dog Training Center in Mahomet, IL.
Years ago, I had high hopes for participating in dock diving sport with my now-9-year-old dog, Woody. But it turned out that my high-jumping, strong-swimming dog absolutely hates getting water in his ears!
