Late one summer, my sister and I were walking our dogs along a groomed trail in a state park. It was the same path we had taken the day before on our vacation camping trip, but it was such a relaxing, warm afternoon that we thought we’d enjoy it again. We had stopped to take in the scenery and watch her Labrador play in the water. My Papillon was eagerly exploring whatever was within the reach of his leash. Then, without warning, my Pap began leaping up in the air and shrieking. It was horrifying! I reached for him as he continued to jump, screeching and clearly terrified. I thought he was having a neurologic fit.
My sister came running over, dog in tow. As quickly as she got to me and my dog, her Lab starting doing the same thing! Finally it clicked – “Bees!” We ran as fast as possible, my Pap in my arms, her dog running beside her and the bees in pursuit.
We ran as fast as we could as far as possible, but the bees continued the chase. We took off again, struggling to breathe, eventually crossing a bridge over the lake. That did the trick, and the bees stopped coming.
As we stood there, gasping for air and trembling, my sister – a veterinarian – insisted we go into the lake and let the water cover the dogs as deeply as possible. She wanted to drown any bees hiding in the dogs’ coats. She said it is common for bees to stay in a dog’s coat after an attack (especially a long-haired dog), explaining she’s seen bees flying around the exam room when a dog was brought to her clinic for stings.
When we returned to our tent, her Labrador was trembling and refused to go into his open, airy exercise pen. Instead, he forced his way into my Papillon’s tiny crate, which had a mesh covering over it. The sides bulged out as the dog curled up as tightly as possible. He was clearly traumatized and refused to come out, apparently seeking what he considered a safe environment. My sister left to find some Benadryl to give to the dogs, and I stayed and tried to comfort them.
Though both dogs had experienced a number of stings, after the Benadryl that my sister procured had been administered, they recovered quickly from the physical effects of the bees’ attack. The emotional fallout was much longer lasting. My sister’s Lab had a meltdown a few weeks later at an agility trial due to noticeable but harmless bee activity near the practice jump. It took until the following spring before our dogs no longer became upset when they encountered a bee.
Interestingly, neither my sister nor I realized we, too, had been stung until the next day, when she found five stings, and I found three. Immediately after the incident, we were more concerned about our dogs!
When Bees Attack Dogs
Unless your dog has previously been stung, he may not be aware of the danger surrounding bees or wasps.
If you find or suspect a nest, leave immediately, especially if you are with your dog. When you do, be sure you:
– Avoid loud noises, such as shouting.
– Do not disturb the nest or get too close to it.
– Take warning if a few bees or wasps come out and initially dive-bomb you; that means leave immediately.
– Don’t swat at the insects or attempt to kill them (you will just aggravate them).
– Run if the bees or wasps come after you or your dog. There is no other solution. Make your dog run with you or pick him up and carry him. Yes, you can usually outrun most of these flying insects, but you may find they are determined and you will have to run again.
– Protect your face. If your dog is in your arms, cuddle him as you run.
– Run into the wind, if possible, as it will inhibit the insects’ flight.
– Skip hiding in the water until it’s over, as swarms may hover over the surface, waiting for you.
– Do not stop running until you are certain the bees or wasps have retreated.
Signs a Bee Stung Your Dog
If you are with the dog when a bee attack occurs, you may see him leap up and cry out, as we did. He may also run around in circles, rub at his mouth or eyes, scratch or bite at the site, or just hold his paw up.
If you didn’t see him get stung, you may notice swelling or see him scratching or chewing at the sting site. The site will be painful to the touch. If you know or suspect your dog has multiple stings, you should seriously consider a trip to the veterinarian.
Bees and wasps usually sting in the least-hairy spots on a dog, like the underbelly or around the nose, but dogs can also be stung in hairier areas. If your dog was stung because he was snapping at a bee or wasp, you may find the sting in the ear area, eyes, or even in the dog’s mouth. If he was digging, he probably got stung around his paws.
The severity of the situation depends partially on the degree of swelling and whether he has any reactions that might indicate anaphylactic shock, meaning he is allergic to bee stings. That is a life-threatening emergency.
When severe, these symptoms will most likely appear almost immediately, at least within the first five minutes. “Figure 30 minutes at the most,” advises Dr. Deb M. Eldredge, a veterinarian, dog breeder, and award-winning veterinary author in Vernon, New York.
Signs of a more serious reaction include:
– Excessive salivation/drooling
– Vomiting
– Diarrhea
– Difficulty breathing
– Trembling
– Collapse/fainting (bee-sting reactions can sometimes mimic seizures)
– Pale gums
– Hives
– Mental change, such as unresponsiveness, confusion, or abnormal behavior, such as our Lab retreating into the tiny crate
In these cases, you should seek immediate veterinary care. Your vet may give your dog Benadryl (diphenhydramine HCI) and/or dexamethasone, which is a strong anti-inflammatory drug. Dexamethasone is a synthetic corticosteroid that is only given with extreme caution. Serious sting reactions can require the administration of fluids and possible overnight veterinary care.
If you learn your dog is allergic to bee or wasp stings, it may be wise to carry an EpiPen with you. An EpiPen contains injectable epinephrine to counteract anaphylactic shock. The advisability of this for your dog and the exact dosage must be determined by your own veterinarian.
Be aware that your dog might be fine with a single sting but may go into shock when stung more than once due to the amount of venom released. In most cases, you’ll see some mild swelling and pain, which can be treated with routine first-aid to relieve his symptoms:
Check the area for a stinger; if you find it, scrape the stinger off. “A credit card is good for this,” says Dr. Eldredge. “Don’t use tweezers. Pulling the stinger out with tweezers could actually squeeze more venom into your pet.”
Use a cold pack to help soothe the swelling and reduce inflammation or apply a baking-soda poultice, which is made by adding enough water to the baking soda to create a paste. In a pinch, even a cold-water wash cloth can be soothing. Hold the cold pack on the area for 20 minutes at a time.
Monitor the dog continually for swelling, as severe swelling in the head/neck area can be dangerous. You may see small, localized swelling at the sting site with redness and pain.
Symptoms may remain for several days, but if they worsen, take your dog to the vet.
Your dog may have difficulty eating his regular diet if he was stung in the mouth. Offer ice water and wet food, if possible.
If your veterinarian agrees, it’s usually okay to administer Benadryl as a precaution. The normal dosage for dogs is 1 mg per pound of dog body weight every eight hours. A Benadryl tablet contains 25 mg of medicine, so a small dog, weighing around eight pounds, would receive about one-third of a tablet. But talk with your own veterinarian for advice in advance, especially for very small and very large dogs.
“Generally, dogs more than 50 pounds should be given two Benadryl tablets,” says Dr. Eldredge. “I don’t usually go as high as three tablets.” Dr. Eldredge avoids liquid Benadryl as it has some alcohol in it.
Bee Sting Bottom Line
We learned a lesson: Always be on the lookout for insect activity anytime you are outside. We learned that a nest can be formed within a few hours. And bees seem to be more frantic as the season wanes.
Of course, no sane person purposely disturbs a nest and, fortunately, most bees and wasps do not attack without being provoked (Africanized honey bees, however, may attack with little to no reason). Remember, though, your fearless canine pal – like my little dog – may not be aware that these fascinating bees and wasps must be left alone.
Some perfumes (including those in your or your dog’s shampoo!) can attract bees or wasps. We’ve also learned that shiny jewelry and dark clothing are attractive to the insects. (The dark color may be why my sister’s black Lab was stung more than my white Papillon.) Your picnic food will also draw their attention. If your dog is one of those odd souls who likes to chase or bite at bees, you may want to forego planting flowers or flowering shrubs in the parts of your yard that your dog has access to.
And pay attention! I know that no matter how amusing my sister’s Lab is playing in the water, I will keep one eye on my dog, too, with Benadryl in just the right dosage for my dog’s weight handy in my pocket.
A freelance writer who lives in New York state, Cynthia Foley is an experienced dog agility competitor.
If you’ve ever had little two-leggers in your life, you know that they are issued along with new lenses for the frames of your formerly rose-colored glasses; once you are responsible for a child’s very survival, every object in her environment is assessed through safety lenses for its ability to inflict harm, from the vertigo-inducing monkey bars at the playground to the toxic stew of cleaning products under your kitchen sink.
Eventually, our young humans grow up and assume responsibility for their own safety and survival (though of course, we never completely stop worrying about them).
Perennial grade-schoolers that they are, our dogs never afford us this upgrade. We never have to fret over them running off with the wrong Poodle, or not being able to find a job at the dog park. But we’re stuck with those safety glasses for the lifespan of our dogs, laser-focused on how they interact with the physical world around them, for better or – we fear – worse.
“I wish I could just bubble-wrap him,” said a friend, only half-jokingly, about the toll all this worrying takes on her ability to enjoy her dog.
All conscientious dog owners wrestle with the dilemma: How physical should we allow our dogs to be? How do we balance the risks of letting them indulge their instincts – to let them be dogs – with the desire to keep them in one piece?
While there are no guarantees in life, and freak accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, there are some things you can do to keep your dog from winding up in a full body cast.
Limit Your Dog’s Liability
Knowing your dog’s limits is the first step to keeping her safe.
“People sometimes push their dogs too early without paying respect to their physical and mental ability,” says physical therapist Deborah Gross, DPT, MSPT, of Wizard of Paws Physical Rehabilitation for Animals in Colchester, Connecticut, who works with many dogs who do high-impact sports such as agility. “For example, you shouldn’t be starting an 8-month-old pup out on jumps and grids before they have the mental ability to comprehend what they need to do, and before they have the physical strength to perform a movement.”
Waiting for full growth-plate closure before attempting strenuous activities is also key, Gross stresses. The growth plates are those funny-looking, oversized knobs you see on a puppy’s front legs, though they exist in the bones of the rear legs and pelvis, too. As their name suggests, these plates are areas of tissue at either end of the bone that determine how long the bone will grow. They do not “close,” or stop growing, until a dog is around a year old (and closer to two years in larger breeds). Until the growth plates close and are replaced by bone, they are relatively weak and susceptible to injury – which is why it is recommended that puppies are not jogged for long distances on unyielding surfaces such as concrete or blacktop.
Obviously, if your dog engages in higher-impact activities, he’ll have a relatively higher risk of injury, especially if he’s not been thoroughly prepared for those activities with a solid foundation of conditioning. But even an innocent game of catch can do serious harm.
“Ball playing is a big culprit for injuries,” Gross cautions. “Dogs often get crazy and push themselves through injuries. And ball playing is something many owners say they ‘need’ to do to help with their dogs’ activity level.”
Laurie McCauley, DVM, DACVSMR, of Tops Veterinary Rehabilitation in Grayslake, Illinois, who is board-certified in sports medicine and rehabilitation, says ball-throwing can be made safer if you pay attention to the topography.
“If you’re going to throw a ball and you’re on a hill, always be sure to throw the ball uphill,” she advises. Since dogs always run faster when they go after the ball, and are slower to return with it, you don’t want that initial chasing to happen as the dog goes full tilt downhill.
Gross stresses that owners need to understand and look out for the signs of injury in their dogs. “Often the dogs give us subtle signs but we do not pick up on them,” she says. “They may continue to perform an activity with them, and an overuse injury occurs.”
If your dog seems just a little off – or hesitates or refuses to do an activity that she previously was enthused about – a vet visit might be in order. Yawning, boredom, increased fatigue, and stiffness on rising can also be warning signs. The more in tune you are with your dog, the more easily you will pick up when something just “isn’t right”: What your gut is telling you, even though your brain can’t pinpoint it, is that your dog’s response time and body posture have changed, if only subtly, to compensate for the discomfort she feels.
Puppy Pilates
Just like people who don’t exercise all week and then take an embarrassing header at the company volleyball tournament, dogs can’t just jump off the couch and start zooming around like an agility star. Weekend warriors often pay the price for their part-time athleticism with increased injuries that might have been altogether avoidable.
Your solution to the volleyball debacle might be to become a gym rat, and that potential exists for your dog, too. Agility competitors and other performance enthusiasts often use targeted exercises to strengthen a dog’s core – the muscles around the back, abdomen, and pelvis – which in turn help increase stability and balance. The more control a dog has over her body – how she moves and reacts to her changing physical environment – the less likely she is to hurt herself in the process. Core-building equipment includes:
Stability balls. These brightly colored bouncers are now standard issue in human workouts, and dogs love to stand atop them. But the totally spherical surface doesn’t always work as well with quadrupeds, and there are several oval- and peanut-shaped stability balls on the market designed specifically for dogs.
Balance discs. These inflatable PVC discs create an unstable surface that the dog must compensate for by shifting her weight. The more inflated the disc, the more challenging the exercise.
Wobble boards. You can spend close to $100 on one of these fancy boards, or you can make your own with a circle of plywood nailed to a pivot point, like a softball.
Dominick Cenotti
If someone could invest in only one piece of conditioning equipment, Gross recommends a large balance disc. “Most dogs, big or small, can use one,” she says. (Not to mention that you can work out on the disc when your dog isn’t!)
“I love to incorporate core work into the dogs’ daily life,” Gross says, ticking off some of the scenarios: balancing on a disc while your dog is eating, asking her to perform 10 sit-to-stands before feeding, or having her balancing on a piece of balance equipment while you are watching the news.
An even cheaper option is a leash. Gross says it can be tougher for busy owners to find the time to add some endurance exercise into the mix, “but I usually ask people to try to get in at least one 20-minute walk a day – maybe sneak out at lunch, get up 20 minutes earlier, or stay up 20 minutes more.”
Dr. McCauley says one of the best exercises for strengthening a dog’s back end is getting her to walk sideways or backward. “To get her to walk sideways, you can hold onto the dog’s collar, face her perpendicularly, put your feet between her front feet and back feet, and gently walk into her” so she is forced to go sideways, she says.
For backward walking, put a cookie to the dog’s chest and get her to heel backward. Or, place her next to a wall, with a hand on her collar and another on the belly, and gently get her to walk backward. With toy dogs, Dr. McCauley suggests working on a bed to spare your own back. Frequent praise and treats will help your dog to quickly learn what’s expected, and start moving on her own volition.
Courtesy of Wizard of Paws
Integrating these exercises into your walks can easily make them part of your routine. “Go a block and then walk a house length sideways,” Dr. McCauley advises. “Then go another block and walk a house length backward.”
If you have the time, resources or budget for it, underwater treadmills are a great way to keep a dog toned and fit. Dr. McCauley says that research shows that underwater treadmills, as well as strengthen training, slow down the progress of sarcopenia, or muscle deterioration associated with the aging process. The research did not address free swimming in a lake or pool, but that certainly can improve overall condition and strength, which in turn lowers your dog’s risk of injury.
Dominick Cenotti
Don’t Substitute Real Physical Activity
Dominic Carota of Hallam Hounds, located in Selkirk, New York, is an internationally known breeder of Pharaoh Hounds. But his hounds don’t just do the cakewalk at dog shows; they are also avid competitors at lure coursing, a sport where dogs chase a plastic bag to simulate a rabbit hunt.
Such a physically demanding sport, where the dogs gallop full on and also make relatively quick turns as their “prey” zips around the field, has its risks; dogs can become severely injured, or even die. But Carota has managed to avoid any serious mishaps in the two decades his dogs have been running. He attributes that to a daily conditioning program that basically amounts to lots of mini-sessions of free-running.
Carota’s dogs are given time to free-run, off leash, four times a day. “It doesn’t have to be long periods – even for 10 minutes,” says Carota, who typically lets five or six dogs run together to give them short bursts of continuous exercise. “They need that lateral movement to build themselves up. It keeps them in condition – and not just physically, but also psychologically.”
Carota has set up his kennel property to include several different levels and surfaces: The dogs cross concrete, dirt, grass, sometimes at an incline, sometimes at a decline. While leash walking is great at building endurance, “the problem with straight walking is it doesn’t do a lot in terms of building agility,” he says. “This builds up their pads, and their pasterns, and gives them the agility to pivot quickly, and turn on a dime. I set up my property so they can do it themselves.”
Anne Jones of Alchemy Dog Training in Acworth, Georgia, is also a fan of what she calls “self-exercise.”
In her wooded backyard, as well as on their weekly off-lead runs in the woods, her dogs bound over uneven ground, negotiating random obstacles, and their bodies have to unconsciously readjust where they are in space and time – what’s formally called proprioception.
Even navigating everyday life gives Jones’ dogs a dose of cross-training. “I live in a house with stairs, and the dogs go up and down the stairs at a run,” says Jones, who has Rhodesian Ridgebacks as well as an Australian Cattle Dog and an ancient Border Collie. “It gives them lots of rear-end exercise.”
For those whose full-time work schedules prevent them from devoting much time to letting their dogs work out, Jones suggests doggie day care.
In that free-form environment, “the dog is out and moving all day,” she says. “It’s not like being crated or being in the house all day.”
Learn About Your Dog’s Conformation
That’s conformation with an “o,” not an “i”: Confirmation is what you get when Amazon sends you an email that your 50 Shades of Grey trilogy has shipped (don’t worry, I won’t tell). Conformation is used among dog people to refer to a dog’s structure, and by extension, how those individual body parts work together to affect a dog’s soundness.
Dog breeders and performance enthusiasts will often talk about whether a dog has a “good front” or “good rear.” This isn’t an aesthetic reference, but rather a description of how the respective assemblies impact the dog’s physical ability. In terms of structure, a “good front” is one in which the scapula, or shoulder, is well-angled: Because some 60 percent of a dog’s weight is borne on the front assembly, a well-angled front acts like a spring, absorbing shock with a minimum of wear and tear. A straight front, in which the shoulder blade is more upright, is less ideal in situations that call for a lot of jumping, such as agility.
Similarly, a “good rear” is one that has strength and stability for the all-important job of pushing off and pivoting. Dogs who have weak, high, or slipped hocks, lack of inner thigh muscle, or narrow stifles or knee joints, are at greater risk of injury.
“Dogs who are straight in the front are much more likely to injure their shoulders,” Dr. McCauley notes. “Dogs who are too straight in the rear are more likely to tear their cruciates, while dogs who are very angled in the rear are more likely to have toe and hock injuries.”
“We always want to stack the cards in the favor of the dogs,” Gross adds. “A long-backed dog should not do a lot of excessive jumping secondary to the stress placed on their backs. Any abnormal conformation will place excessive stress on the dogs’ body and lead to a faster breakdown, and a higher risk of osteoarthritis and injury.”
Dogs who have very long backs – such as Dachshunds – or very short ones – such as French Bulldogs – can be prone to back injuries. But this isn’t always breed-specific: Jones, who breeds Rhodesian Ridgebacks, says she spayed one of her females because she had a “bad topline” – in other words, her back was so long that it had a bit of a dip. “When she jumps, she doesn’t land well, because her shock assembly isn’t working,” Jones says. “The better structure they have, the longer they are going to stay sound.”
This doesn’t apply to just purebred dogs, of course, though good breeders pay a great deal of attention to structure, and so have a heightened awareness of it. Jones, who does rescue work, says she always evaluates her incoming rescues in terms of their conformation, so she can determine their physical limitations.
Another word dog people use is “balance,” which is just what it sounds like: The rear and front assemblies complement each other, and so work in tandem when the dog is in motion. “If they’re unbalanced, they’re not going to run well or fast or very long,” Carota says. “They’re going to tire more quickly.”
That pretty “prance” that you see in a well-made dog trotting by is really a fluid, uninterrupted gait; almost always, it means that the dog’s various parts are working together in balance.
If you have a purebred dog, or a dog whose background seems dominated by a particular breed, do some research to find out whether that breed typically has vulnerable structural or physical characteristics. For example, owners of Greyhounds need to be aware that these dogs have skin so delicate that it often needs to be glued instead of stitched, and so a graze from a passing branch or exuberant mouthing from another dog at the dog park can be more significant for them than most other dogs.
Warming Up Before Exercising
Builders of skyscrapers know that they have to allow for a little swaying; otherwise, high-powered winds can literally snap their towering creations in half. Similarly, even well-made dogs need some “give” in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that hold them together.
Jones, who competes with her dogs in agility, always does a warm-up before a run. “You don’t want the muscles to be tight,” she says. “I make sure the dogs bend in both directions, and I make sure they trot. If it’s a particularly cold day, I want to keep them moving, and their muscles warm.”
Even if you are just visiting a dog park, as opposed to taking the starting line in a timed event, walk or trot your dog for three to five minutes before turning him loose to take off at top speed, especially if he’s the type who likes to jump right into the fray.
Hydration is always important when a dog is active, because it regulates body temperature, speeds the transport of nutrients, and lubricates joints. To encourage her dogs to take a few slurps, Jones sometimes adds a little frozen Biljac or molasses to the water bucket. Sometimes she’ll use K9 Super Fuel, a muscle-performance powder. “I just want it to flavor the water,” and encourage them to drink, she says.
It should go without saying, but let’s say it anyway: Being overweight is a huge risk factor for injury. Be sure that your dog is in correct weight for his body frame, not just his size: A Bullmastiff and a Ridgeback are about the same height, but they should have very different silhouettes. Though seeing a slight ripple of rib is normal in some breeds, far too many owners tolerate a few extra pounds in their dogs.
To avoid torn cruciate ligaments, a common injury in large-breed dogs, Gross recommends weight management, because fat dogs are simply at greater risk. Alas, in this, as with us, dieting is not the cure-all: She also recommends exercise, including regular walks, core work on a piece of equipment, and slow walking on hills to build up the hind limbs.
When Your Dog’s Had Too Much Fun
Active dogs, especially youngsters, simply don’t understand the concept of moderation when they are having fun, so you have to watch them and enforce occasional rest periods, and stop the action before your dog is exhausted. Jones has noticed that new dog owners are often unaware of this responsibility. “They assume that as long as a dog wants to keep going, it’s okay,” she explains. “They don’t take the role of advocate. They don’t say, ‘Hey, pup, you’re looking a little tired, your tongue’s a little long.’ They just keep going because the dog wants to keep going.”
And that can end tragically. Jones recalls a friend who took her diabetic-alert dog for an afternoon of swimming a couple of years ago. After playing and retrieving for two hours straight, the exuberant pooch went down – a case of exercise-induced collapse.
“I wouldn’t let any dog retrieve for two hours straight – I don’t care if the dog looks happy,” Jones says. “You have to remember, she’s like a 5-year-old child. She doesn’t know when she’s done.”
Knowing when your dog is showing signs of tiring – and stopping at that point – is very important: Even if your dog is nowhere near the point of collapsing, remember that when anyone gets tired, their tendency for mistakes and missteps increases. Frequent breaks are important.
Carota reminds us that fatigue isn’t just physical. When his dogs are done competing on the lure-coursing field, “I make sure they stay quiet,” he says. “When they’re in the van, that’s their down time, their mental and physical recovery period. It lets their bodies completely relax.”
Maintaining a consistent routine has taught Carota’s dogs that once the van door opens, it’s time to get revved up for another run. But their regular crates and bedding, and the closed van door (which also retains the heat or air conditioning, depending on the season), tells them that it’s time to quiet down and recharge for the fun ahead.
When she is doing strengthening exercises with dogs, Dr. McCauley’s goal is to make sure they are tired so that she knows she is strengthening them, but not to the point of making them sore. “Tired is going to take a nap after the work, then getting up and wanting to play,” she explains. “Sore is getting up slowly, and certainly if they are lame.”
Note how your dog is moving the following day, and watch for signs that she may have overexerted herself.
Dr. McCauley says she always looks at three things before and after exercise: a dog’s stance, or how she holds her body statically; her gait, or how she moves; and transitions, or how she goes from a sit to a down, or a down to stand. “After exercise, they should always be the same or better,” she says. “If it’s worse, you’ve done too much, or done the wrong thing.”
Let Them Be Dogs
At the end of the day, you need to make peace with the fact that even if you follow all the above advice, and your dog is the picture of health and conditioning, mishaps may occur.
Jones points to her weekly runs in the woods as a perfect example. “That’s an accident waiting to happen, always,” she says: No amount of preparation or caution can prevent a dog from getting impaled on a protruding branch, or stepping into a hole and twisting a leg.And here is where a bit of philosophy comes into play: Yes, a bubble-wrapped dog is a safe dog. But, ultimately, it is a happy one?
Jones says she has a friend with Whippets who won’t let her dogs play or run loose because of concerns that they will get hurt. The dogs get long, leashed walks together, so they do get more than enough exercise and interaction with each other. Who is to say whether dogs are any less happy or fulfilled if they don’t get the chance to body-slam and chase and jump on each other?
Jones, however, thinks she knows how the dogs would answer if they could.
“There’s nothing my dogs love to do as much as run in the woods,” she says. “Yes, they can hurt themselves, but it gives them so much pleasure. First and foremost, I let them be dogs.”
Denise Flaim of Revodana Ridgebacks in Long Island, New York, shares her home with three Ridgebacks, 11-year-old triplets, and a very patient husband.
While we know you don’t want to hear it, your senior dog needs a twice-yearly veterinary well-visit. “There are many health issues that can be treated if detected early,” Dr. Taylor says.
Yes, vet visits are expensive and have the potential to get even more costly. But early detection is the most cost efficient and safest for your dog. If money is a concern, discuss financial matters with your veterinarian at the start. Most veterinarians will work with you.
During these visits, report unusual behaviors that might indicate the start of a problem, such as changes in mental processes, unusual barking/agitation/aggression, decrease in appetite, changes in activity, soreness, increased thirst, incontinence, hair-coat differences and so on. Anything different should be reported. No need to give the vet a long story; just state what you’ve observed: “I’ve noticed a few accidents in the house.”
At the wellness exam, your veterinarian will look at your pet’s ears, eyes, and mouth. Typical old-dog problems like cataracts can be found and treatment options can be discussed. Dental problems are huge. Chronically inflamed gums set the stage for many other health issues, such as heart trouble. If you don’t brush your dog’s teeth, this check is critical to your dog and your wallet.
Your vet will palpate your dog for any unusual lumps or pain issues, but let him know if you’re concerned about a certain area.
If your vet hears anything unusual when listening to your dog’s chest and abdomen, he may recommend a radiograph or ultrasound to get a closer look.
If your dog has an extensive vaccination history, he shouldn’t need more vaccinations in his senior years. If your veterinarian is concerned, consider asking for a vaccine antibody titer test, so you can confirm that your dog has adequate immune protection and prevent vaccinating him unnecessarily.
A geriatric-dog blood chemistry panel should also be done annually. Bloodwork, of course, can get expensive in the pinch of a needle, so discuss the tests with your veterinarian. However, be aware that some tests, like a complete blood count (CBC) will be considered mandatory.
For most dogs, a CBC and a basic chemistry panel will suffice. The chemistry panel will look at liver enzymes, calcium, phosphorus, glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, cholesterol, albumin, amylase, electrolytes, and thyroid function. Abnormal results indicate the need for further testing or a repeated test.
Sometimes we don’t want to admit our dog is aging. We ignore the graying muzzle and scoff at the idea of a “senior dog food.” After all, we’re both still running and playing and having fun . . . who’s old? But the truth of the matter is that the best thing we can do for our dogs and for ourselves is look aging right in the face. We need to become highly tuned to the subtle changes in our dog’s behavior and receptive to ways to improve his life – and ours.
You can employ the following 10 management and lifestyle changes to help your senior dog live longer and more comfortably, so you can both thoroughly enjoy his remaining years.
We didn’t immediately pick up on one of the first signs of aging in our Papillon, Raven: his increasing reluctance to enter or cross through our kitchen. He’d always been happy to walk into it before! It finally occurred to us that his issue had to do with the flooring. We placed a non-skid carpet runner in the kitchen, and Raven again trots happily into and through the room. We hadn’t thought of his age as old enough for this to be the cause of his apprehension, but, clearly, it was!
Puppies seem to enjoy slipping and sliding on slippery floors, but any little slip may spell significant pain for senior dogs, so much so that they begin to avoid uncarpeted or especially smooth flooring. At this time in your dog’s life, it’s important to stop and address these potential sources of his discomfort.
Another typical problem involves heights, such as climbing stairs or hopping in and out of the car. If your dog has always enjoyed rides in the car in the past, but begins hanging back when you pick up your car keys, consider getting a portable ramp! There are a number of companies that offer dog/car ramps that fold or telescope out of the way when they’re not in use.
Before you purchase one, though, take the time to measure your car; don’t guess, because you could end up with a ramp angle that is too steep or difficult for your dog. Petclassics.com, an online source of ramps and steps for older dogs, provides a handy chart that shows how long a ramp needs to be in order to provide a navigable angle for cars of various heights. For example, it shows that if your car is 22 inches high, you’d need a 6-foot ramp in order to achieve a fairly easy 18-degree ramp angle for your older dog. Some of the far shorter ramps on the market won’t help matters at all.
This becomes more and more important as your dog ages. Moderation is key. Too much and problems can worsen; too little won’t support muscle development. “Regular walks and park visits help keep your dog’s muscles strong and supple, prevent obesity, or stimulate her appetite as needed, as well as improve her mood and prevent anxiety and boredom,” says Jenny Taylor, DVM, owner of the Creature Comfort Holistic Veterinary Center in Oakland, California.
By the way, if you’re driving your dog to your favorite hiking trail or park, be sure to use a safe seat belt and harness when driving with your dog. “Many older dogs are mellow and used to car rides but still need protection in the car for even the shortest drives,” says Dr. Taylor. (See “Our Safety Harness Recommendation,” WDJ January 2015.)
Discomfort with extreme weather may surface in your dog’s senior years, even if he’s never had a problem with heat or cold before. In winter, he may benefit from a fleece blanket and dog boots (for snow or ice). Indoors, consider a Back on Track coat (see “A Healing Coat,” February 2015), which offers double the bang for your buck, helping to keep him warmer in the house and sending that warmth back into his achy body, helping with musculoskeletal stiffness.
In the summer, be sure your dog can get into shade and has fresh, cool water. There are cooling coats and beds on the market – many of which do a good job – but a simple hosing can be welcome relief when he’s hot (indicated by panting with a very wide tongue). Be sure to hose the dog’s underside, especially the groin area; wetting only his coat will do little to cool him and may even make him temporarily warmer. Kiddie pools can be great fun, too, especially for water-loving dogs like Labradors.
Many young dogs happily sprawl out on the floor – even hardwood floors! – and dream away. As your dog ages, though, he’s more likely to become stiff from snoozing on such unforgiving surfaces. It’s time to consider a super-thick orthopedic dog bed. A thick, warm bed provides a lot of joint support and comfort to an aching body.
6. Spring for some supportive canine therapy.
“If your older dog is limping or seems stiff and painful, there are a number of effective, safe, natural alternatives to conventional pain medication for her pain,” says Dr. Taylor. The following alternative veterinary treatments are growing in popularity because they work without the side effects sometimes caused by prescription pain medications:
– Laser therapy is a cost-effective way to put the bounce back in your senior’s walk. With a class IV cold-laser device, your veterinarian can treat acute and chronic injuries, arthritis, muscle pulls, and other sources of pain. Laser therapy can also promote healing after surgery or an injury. As an overall therapy, the cost should is reasonable. Some clinics even offer package-session discounts. But shop around, as we’ve seen huge variations in cost among local veterinary clinics.
– Even dogs who don’t like water learn to love hydrotherapy, which may include swimming in a warm pool and underwater treadmill work. Benefits are widespread: relieving pain without stressing joints, building cardiovascular health and core strength, helping with proprioception and body awareness.
– Acupuncture can give the dog a better sense of well being, especially with chronic problems. Veterinarians see success with acupuncture in cases of neurologic disorders, musculoskeletal problems, respiratory ailments, gastrointestinal problems, and more. Only very fine needles are used in acupuncture, and most dogs take to it very well, some even sleeping during a session. (See “Using Veterinary Acupuncture,” Nov. 2013.)
– Veterinary physical therapy (PT) is an excellent choice – if you can get in for an appointment. The field is exploding as demand is huge. Animal PT is all about helping the patient regain body function, just as it is in human PT. Under the direction of a veterinarian, a good physical therapist will focus on your dog’s individual needs, offering a rehab program tailored to his problem. It may include physical therapy, hydrotherapy, therapeutic massage and exercise, joint mobilization, and more. With an active owner who maintains the required home therapy between sessions, PT can make a world of difference.
7. Add supplements to your senior dog’s diet.
There are a few supplements that are especially beneficial for senior dogs. Fish oil is widely recommended by veterinarians for its many benefits, including healthy coat and skin and joint support. (See “The Benefits of Fish Oil to Your Dog’s Health,” September 2012.) For moderate arthritis, use dosages that are at the higher end of label recommendations.
A combination glucosamine and chondroitin supplement is the most frequently recommended one for arthritic dogs. Don’t wait until your older dog becomes stiff before trying it, though; these products work better as preventives than as therapies. Note: If your dog is allergic to shellfish, check the label, as many of these supplements are sourced from shellfish.
The trick is to ensure your dog consumes enough of the active ingredients to get the job done. The dosage varies with the dog’s weight and the supporting ingredients in the product, but you want a generous “loading dose” (about twice the normal dosage) to begin with, at least about 500 mg glucosamine and 400 mg chondroitin per 25 pounds of the dog’s body weight, given twice a day. This jump-starts results, so you should begin to see improvement in a couple of weeks; at that point, you may be able to decrease the dosage and maintain the supplement’s efficacy.
Don’t count on your dog’s food to supply joint-support supplements, even if the bag label lists glucosamine or a similar ingredient. Compare the guaranteed dosage on the food label with the suggested dosage above; rarely do these foods contain enough of these ingredients to make a real difference to your dog.
Another supplement to consider is hyaluronic acid (HA), a major component of the lubricating fluid in your dog’s (and your own!) joints. It’s the new kid on the block for joint support, and one that many veterinarians are excited about. Originally used as a joint injection, an oral supplement of HA increases the presence of HA and the synovial fluid viscosity, making movement smoother. Some veterinarians find that liquid HA supplements, like Trixsyn, provide faster, more reliable relief than powdered products, although both produce results.
8. Practice good grooming.
We all know our dogs need to be groomed regularly, but your geriatric pal may need some special help. If your dog comes in from relieving himself with debris remaining on his behind, consider a closer haircut back there the next time you clip him or have him groomed.
By the way, the most important part of a good grooming session may be checking your dog’s nails for excess growth and clipping them (or having them clipped, if you are unwilling or unable to do it). Even a dog who “never needed a nail trim” in his youth may need to be clipped. That’s because the nails get less wear with his naturally lower level of activity. Long nails can cause pain to your dog and make him reluctant to exercise, starting a downward cycle of health.
9. Do a lump-and-bump check when you groom your dog.
If you become familiar with your dog’s normal body, you will more quickly notice new growths. This is critical, as the incidence of growths increases as your dog ages. The sooner you catch a bump, the better. If it must be removed, the smaller the spot, the easier the surgery and the faster your dog will heal. Yes, a lump might be a harmless fat deposit, but it could also be a malignant growth.
10. Adjust his diet.
All aging dogs benefit from food that’s easier to digest, and many need you to reduce their caloric intake to maintain a healthy body weight. “Weight gain can make it more difficult for your older dog to walk, stand, or jump, and reluctant to go on walks,” said Dr. Taylor.
That said, if you have to feed your dog a lot less than the amount recommended on his food’s label, in order to limit his caloric intake, he may not be consuming optimal levels of vitamins and minerals, and a supplement may be needed to make up the difference. Discuss this option with your veterinarian, as adding something you don’t need is hard on your wallet – and your dog.
Your senior dog may also need you to wet his food to help avoid constipation, or to make it easier to chew. A switch from dry to canned food can improve matters greatly for many senior dogs, thanks to its increased moisture content (good for kidneys) and higher-quality protein sources.
Finally, if your senior dog’s appetite wanes, he’s probably not being “picky,” but suffering from a growing health problem. Report this to your veterinarian.
Freelance writer Cynthia Foley is an experienced dog agility competitor. She lives in upstate New York.
Did you know there are still “Nazis” fighting a war? Supposedly, the war is in the dog world, and it’s being fought for the hearts and minds of dog owners over training methods. Apparently, the Nazis – they are scornfully referred to as “Pozzie Nazis” – are on one side, and people who call themselves “balanced” – but who are derided as “brute force trainers” – are on the other. Well, folks, call us Switzerland, because we just won’t fight. Give peace a chance, shall we?
In this publication, we are openly biased toward so-called positive dog training, a.k.a. dog-friendly training, a.k.a. non-force training . . . you get the idea. We strongly believe that you don’t need force or pain to train a dog, and while we recognize that force and pain can be effective in training, in our opinion, it’s not moral, ethical, or defensible.
That said, we make it a point to refrain from denigrating those who use force and or/pain to train dogs. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to advocate training methods that stress respect, learning theory, and kindness, and then go out of one’s way to bash anyone who trains differently.
Some people enjoy discussion and debate about the pros and cons of various dog-training methods, and will gladly spend days composing long emails that attempt to explain or defend their favorite training techniques. We are not those people. We’d rather just promote the methods that we admire and recommend, based on their ease of use, effectiveness, respect for the dog, and low potential for unwanted “side effects.”
There are other publications and forums that explain, promote, and discuss other styles of training; there may even be some that publish information about all styles and schools of dog training in a sort of neutral way, with the goal of “letting the readers decide” which type of training they want to pursue or practice. That’s not us, either; we do have a mission, and that’s promoting training that occurs without pain or force.
At the same time, we want WDJ to be a “safe place” for people who train differently. We don’t criticize methods that employ force in these pages, on our website, or on our Facebook page, and we discourage our readers from disparaging them on our pages, too. After all, many people who subscribe to WDJ do so for the articles on health and safety and nutrition; they tolerate the articles that promote training methods they don’t like because they value our food and gear reviews and in-depth articles on effective healthcare solutions. Respect!
In our view, there is no reason to call names or fight; there is no war – and even if there were, who has time to fight? Not us! We’d rather spend that time taking our dogs for a walk, or sharing information with you about how we taught our dogs to be so fun and safe to walk with.
Were you aware that, according to Federal law, it’s okay for a certain percentage of the chicken you buy in the supermarket to contain some Salmonella bacteria? The legally acceptable amount depends on the kind of chicken we’re talking about; if we’re talking about whole raw broiler chickens, up to 9.8 percent could be infected, but if we’re considering raw chicken parts, the number is even higher. In fact, up to 15.4 percent of the raw chicken parts may contain that pathogenic bacteria, without setting off any sort of recall or hysteria. In contrast, even a single positive test for Salmonella in raw dog food triggers a recall and headlines and a certain amount of hysteria among dog owners. What gives?
Let’s Start at the Beginning. All food-source animals (cows, pigs, poultry, etc.) are capable of harboring bacteria in their digestive tracts that can be pathogenic (capable of causing illness) to humans. The bacteria range in their ability to cause illness in humans who consume them; some are more deadly than others. The most common causes of foodbourne illness are Salmonella and Campylobacter; the most dangerous are Listeria and Escherichia coli.
The more animals that come into contact with each other as they are grown on a food-production facility, the more of them will become hosts to these bacteria. As infected animals are slaughtered and their digestive tracts are removed in processing of their carcasses, a certain amount of this pathogenic bacteria gets splashed about.
The farmers who raise animals take steps to reduce the amount of feces that the animals live in, and slaughterhouse workers strive to reduce the amount of feces that’s on the outside of the animals (as well as the stomach and intestinal content) from getting on the animals’ carcass. But it’s frankly impossible to keep all the poop and meat separate, especially at the fast rate of modern slaughter facilities.
Who Keeps the Meat Clean?
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) is the government agency responsible for is responsible for verifying that “the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled and packaged.” FSIS regulations are constantly shaped and revised as inspections and tests made on samples pulled from the processing lines and stores gauge how well meat industry practices – from production to slaughter and on through processing, packaging, and sale – are performing in terms of delivering safe food.
Illness caused by the consumption of pathogenic bacteria on our food exacts a cost on society, in terms of everything from decreased production when workers are home sick and medical bills for sick people, to the death of the most vulnerable people who become ill. According to the Food Policy Research Center at the University of Minnesota, each year, an estimated one million illnesses, 19,000 hospitalizations, and more than 350 deaths are attributed to Salmonella in the U.S. Our government, then, has a vested interest in continually tinkering with the regulations that in place to protect its citizens.
Change in Federal Law
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA, pronounced fizz-ma) passed into law in 2011 attempts to dramatically decrease the numbers of human illnesses caused by foodbourne bacteria via dozens of dozens of small ways. One of those ways was to institute a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella in “ready to eat” foods – products that are presented to consumers as requiring no further cooking in order to make them safe to handle and eat.
A zero-tolerance policy means that presence of the bacteria on a food product (in any amount and at any point in time) is considered adulteration, which makes the product subject to immediate regulatory action. And this is why up to 15 percent of the chicken parts in your supermarket may contain Salmonella, but your dog’s food would be recalled for the same thing.
It’s well understood that you are going to take raw chicken home and cook it, thus killing any pathogenic bacteria that may be on it before you eat it. In contrast, dog food is presented to the consumer as “ready to eat” – even though most people understand that dog food is actually ready to serve, to dogs . . . . But since dog food is, in fact, meant to be served by humans in our homes (to dogs) without cooking, it must meet the rules for “ready to eat” products; it must not contain any pathogenic bacteria (of any kind, not just Salmonella) – which we have already established is ubiquitous in our nation’s food supply.
By the way, though the main focus of the rest of this article is dog food that contains raw meat, so far, everything that has been covered here so far applies to every type of dog food that is sold with a label indicating it can be served as-is to a dog. This is why so many dry dog foods have been recalled in the past couple of years since the “zero tolerance” rule took effect; previously, only cases of actual illness (human or canine) definitely caused by exposure to one of these pathogenic bacteria in food would elicit a recall.
Raw Dog Food
Cooking kills bacteria. Any pathogenic bacteria present in the raw ingredients of dry and canned dog food are killed in the “cook” step of the food (baking, extrusion, or canning). Bacteria may be inadvertently reintroduced after the cook step of dry dog foods, such as when the kibble is coated with oil or during the drying or packaging of the product, and this explains how dry foods have been recalled for the presence of Salmonella.
But the point of raw-food diets for dogs is that they contain raw meat – and again, though it’s tiresome to belabor the point, it’s been well-established that a certain percentage of even the highest-quality raw meat that you can buy in grocery stores has bacteria in it.
Remember, experienced raw feeders, as they are known, are not afraid that these bacteria will harm their dogs; canine have been eating pathogen-covered food for millennia. (As it is often observed, this is an animal that licks his own behind and still thrives.) Dogs have much sturdier digestive tracts than humans, and only very rarely have a problem eating food that is contaminated with these bacteria, such as when their immune systems have been compromised by illness or chemotherapy. And as long as you practice good basic kitchen hygiene and food safety practices, you really don’t have to worry about your family getting sick, either.
It sure seems like a set-up. How can any manufacturer of raw dog food avoid having to face any number of recalls per year due to positive tests for Salmonella?
Well, there are a couple of ways to kill bacteria that don’t require cooking the meat. One is irradiation; the other is high pressure processing (HPP). We’re not big fans of the first one, but we have begun to embrace HPP. Food manufacturers are divided about it; some consider HPP as the technology that is going to save the raw-foods industry, and others see it as a process that ruins the unique and beneficial qualities of raw food.
HPP, By Any Other Name
It’s interesting that while the initials used to refer to this process are always the same – HPP – the words they stand for are reported variably, as:
– High Pressure Processing
– High Pressure Pascalization (after Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French scientist who experimented with water pressure)
– High Pressure Pasteurization (after Louis Pasteur, a 19th century French chemist and microbiologist)
– High Hydrostatic Pressure (sometimes appears correctly as HHP, but sometimes HPP is used as an inaccurate acronym for this phrase)
Back up a second: A 17th century scientist was messing around with this technology? Sort of; it took a number of years and a number of people to put all the pieces together:
– Pascal conducted a number of experiments to increase our understanding of how water can be pressurized in sealed containers.
– The first person to understand the presence and role of microorganisms in food was another Frenchman, Louis Pasteur. In 1857 he demonstrated that the souring of milk was caused by microorganisms, and that killing the microorganisms present in food made it last far longer. Pasteur and first patented a method of killing microorganisms with heat – Pasteurization – in 1860.
– The first experiments into the effects of high pressure on microorganisms were recorded in 1884. B.H. Hite, an American scientist studying at the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, published a study on “The Effect of Pressure in the Preservation of Milk” in 1899. In 1914, he published a comprehensive report on using high pressure to kill microorganisms in other foods.
– In 1990, the first commercial food products processed with high pressure used to inactivate bacteria came on the market. The technique gained popularity in Japan, where it has been widely used in the production of jam and jelly and seafood.
Modern Use
Today, HPP is accomplished this way: Big water tanks, built to withstand monster pressures, serve as the foundation of the process. Food that is either already prepared and packaged for sale in sealed, flexible plastic material, or sealed in an intermediary flexible package, is stuffed into a cylinder or a net that will be immersed in the center of one of the tanks. Whether a net or a core cylinder is used depends on the machine; in either event, it is stuffed with products and contains them while immersed in the tank. Water completely surrounds the sealed food packages.
Once the cylinder that’s holding the food products is in position, the tank is sealed. Then cold water is pumped into the tank at extreme pressures. The goal is to completely inactivate any live microorganisms that might be present in the food. This is partially accomplished by literally squishing the bacteria to death, but the sudden release of the pressure within the tank is also significant; some bacteria can withstand the high pressure, but not its sudden release.
Because the products are surrounded by water, neither the food inside the packages nor the packages themselves become deformed by the massive squishing. You can do a small-scale experiment yourself: Drop a grape into a plastic bottle of water and then re-seal the bottle. Now, squish the bottle with as much force as you can; you will find that the grape retains its shape and condition perfectly, because the pressure that it was subjected to was completely even on all its surfaces, thanks to the water.
Each type of food requires a customized combination of specific pressures and amounts of time in order to inactivate the bacteria potentially present in that food. However, some foods lend themselves to this process better than others; some have cell walls are damaged enough by the process that they become unattractive, and the taste of some foods is altered by the process. High-moisture foods fare best.
As it turns out, the ideal candidate for HPP is meat. It’s a relatively expensive product, so it’s worth the investment of an additional process. It often is contaminated with pathogenic bacteria that, left untreated, can lead to a devastating recall for a food producer, so, again, it’s worth the investment. The process inactivates any pathogenic bacteria in the food – even in the center of a tube of raw, ground meat – but doesn’t alter its appearance or taste.
Meats, both raw and cooked, generally have a relatively short shelf life, limiting how far these products can be shipped to market, and how long they can be offered for sale one they arrive. Meats treated with HPP look and taste fresh two to three times longer than untreated meats.
For this reason, and whether or not you are aware of it, many of the meat products you buy for your family have been treated with HPP. Costco is a huge investor in this technology; it uses HPP on most of its uncooked, marinated, and “ready to eat” meat products, including sausage and cold cuts. But many other “fresh” foods are now routinely subjected to HPP, including guacamole, hummus, salsa, “wet” salads like potato and pasta salad, oysters, soups, and sauces. The human food industry has widely and enthusiastically embraced this technology.
Raw Enough?
Some proponents of raw food diets – including some people who feed raw meat-based diets to their dogs, as well as some people who consume a lot of raw vegetable and fruit juices – are leery of HPP. These advocates of “super raw” foods are concerned that the process may damage nutrients in the food in potentially harmful ways that we don’t yet fully appreciate. They also decry the inactivation of beneficial microorganisms in food treated with HPP.
Most raw food producers get into that industry because they have strong beliefs about the benefits of a minimally processed, “evolutionary” diet. Most are incredibly resistant to subjecting their products to an added process. But the zero-tolerance war on pathogens in the entire raw pet-foods industry has taken a heavy toll on some manufacturers. The changes that they have had to make (in terms of sourcing and processing their raw ingredients) in order to decrease their odds of having a product test positive for pathogenic bacteria have been costly, difficult, and stressful. Even the largest and most successful among them are tiny in comparison to conventional pet food producers; few have the resources to withstand more than one recall of products that test positive for a pathogen they know is quite unlikely to cause illness. (There haven’t been any reports of illness caused by raw dog foods that were recalled due to bacterial contamination.)
But the fact is, historically, pathogens such as Salmonella have caused all sorts of trouble for humans (and a much smaller number of dogs). Many (if not most) conventional veterinarians are dead-set against raw diets, based on fears of pathogenic bacteria; HPP offers a preservative-free, radiation-free method of eliminating that excuse – I mean hazard – completely. And to date, no ill effects have been shown to result from food that has been subjected to HPP.
Raw Welcome
In late 2013, I toured the American Pasteurization Company’s HPP facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and have been invited to tour its new Sacramento, California plant. I was highly impressed by the company’s executives’ deep knowledge of, experience with, and enthusiasm for raw dog food diets. Some of the raw pet-food companies on our “approved raw foods” lists are just as happy with other HPP providers. Personally, I feel quite comfortable with the process for raw foods, particularly as an alternative to the potential of losing access to any raw commercial diets.
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Last weekend, I was in the San Francisco Bay Area for a quick overnight trip, taking care of some family business. I didn’t have time on this trip to hang out with my son; we were both very busy and so we only had time to have breakfast together. He suggested we meet at a breakfast spot that has tables outdoors; it was a lovely morning and he wanted to bring his dog, Cole, as he wasn’t going to have much time to spend with Cole later in the day.
I got to the restaurant first and selected a table that is in the middle of the sunny sidewalk in front of the restaurant. A few minutes later, my son parked across the street. I watched him and his dog stroll calmly across the street, but I didn’t call out to either of them; I wanted to see how long it would take Cole to recognize me. I was the one who pulled him out of my local shelter a year and a half ago, and he’s spent lots of time at my house when my son has been traveling with his sports team.
It was clear that Cole registered only the sight of “people” sitting at the table that my son was leading him toward, and his tail wagged in a friendly, relaxed way as they approached. I sat perfectly still and quiet. He casually sniffed in the direction of my shoe as my son stopped by the table and suddenly, his head came up and his entire demeanor changed. “Oh, it’s you!!” His whole body wagged and he whined and tried to lick my face as I rubbed his shiny shoulders and caressed his silky long hound ears. My son complained, joking, “He was good until he saw you!”
The cool thing was, once past his surprised and enthusiastic greeting, he was good, the entire meal. He lay quietly on the sidewalk behind my son’s chair, and never once begged for food or attention. Several times, people walked by our table, twice leading dogs of their own, and each time, Cole watched them go by but never acted as if he might get up. Instead, he glanced at my son, and seeing no sign that he might be invited to greet the other dog, he looked away from the other dog, indicating clearly that he wasn’t going to interact. My son takes Cole to work with him a few days a week, and it’s obvious they have been practicing this behavior, which is vital for an “office dog” to know. My son occasionally reached down to rub the top of Cole’s head, and even gave Cole a bit of ham a time or two, reinforcing Cole’s calm, composed “down-stay.” He’s just done a bang-up job with this dog, his first “own” dog, and I could not be prouder of both of them.
The two most common afflictions of the respiratory system are the “common cold” and kennel cough. Both of these ailments are usually instigated by any of a number of viruses, often followed by secondary bacterial invasion. The severity of the symptoms varies widely, but in most “colds” they are mild and include wheezing, coughing, reluctance to move, and perhaps a mild fever.
Kennel cough (a.k.a. infectious tracheobronchitis), on the other hand, can produce symptoms that appear extreme, with a dry, hacking cough accompanied by frequent, intense gagging. I’ve had caretakers rush their kennel-coughing dog in to see me, thinking he has a bone caught in his throat. Despite its appearance, a typical case of kennel cough is not life-threatening, and it tends to run its course in a few days to a week or so. But it is a disease that is frustrating for pet and caretaker alike.
Kennel cough results from inflammation of the upper airways. The instigating pathogen may be any number of irritants, viruses, or other microorganisms, or the bacteria Bordetella bronchiseptica may act as a primary pathogen. The prominent clinical sign is paroxysms of a harsh, dry cough, which may be followed by retching and gagging. The cough is easily induced by gentle pressure applied to the larynx or trachea.
Kennel cough should be expected whenever the characteristic cough suddenly develops 5 to 10 days after exposure to other dogs – especially to dogs from a kennel (especially a shelter) environment. Usually the symptoms diminish during the first five days, but the disease may persist for up to 10-20 days. Kennel cough is almost always more annoying (to dog and her caretaker) than it is a serious event.
For advice on preventing kennel cough as well as natural and effective ways to soothe the symptoms, purchase Kennel Cough Prevention and Remedies from Whole Dog Journal.
Most boarding facilities require proof of Bordetella vaccination for dogs who will be visiting. However, because there are many strains of Bordetella, and because no vaccine protects every patient, some immunized dogs contract tracheobronchitis despite being vaccinated. Veterinary recommendations range from vaccinating every four months to not at all.
“There are two kinds of Bordetella vaccine,” says Stacey Hershman, DVM, a holistic veterinarian in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. “The intranasal vaccine is highly effective and very safe since it is not systemic but goes down the nose into the throat. I do not recommend the injectable vaccine since it can cause negative side effects like lethargy, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.
“I never vaccinate animals more than once a year for kennel cough, and then only if they are going to a boarding kennel. Kennel cough is not fatal in adult dogs, who usually board, therefore it would be over-vaccinating in my opinion to do it more than once a year. Healthy, strong immune systems are resistant and do not catch it, which is another reason not to vaccinate unless the dog is going to a kennel that requires it.”
No matter what your dog’s vaccination status, a few natural preventives can’t hurt, especially whenever your dog is exposed to dogs with active or recent infections.
For advice on preventing kennel cough as well as natural and effective ways to soothe the symptoms, purchase Kennel Cough Prevention and Remedies from Whole Dog Journal.
When Faith Thanas, an aromatherapist who lives in Leicester, Massachusetts, adopted a Doberman Pinscher from Louisiana one year after Hurricane Katrina, Sasha arrived in a van carrying 20 rescued dogs. A few days later, she started coughing.
To help soothe Sasha’s throat, Thanas mixed a blend of essential oils to spray in the air around the dog. She started with Ravensare (Cinnamonum camphora), one of the “must have” essential oils listed by Kristen Leigh Bell in her book Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals. As Bell explains, this gentle and tolerable antiviral, antibacterial essential oil supports the immune system and has tonifying effects.
Thanas then added Eucalyptus radiata, the gentlest of the many eucalyptus varieties available. It is known for its antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and expectorant properties. Bell writes, “Due to its gentleness, it is very appropriate for use in blends for animals for congestion, and it makes an excellent room air cleaner, deodorizer, and flea repellent.”
Eucalyptus globulus, the next ingredient, is the eucalyptus commonly found in chest rubs, cough drops, and cough syrups. It has a fresh antiseptic fragrance and, when inhaled, acts as a decongestant.
Thanas added Spike Lavender (Lavendula latifolia) for its powerful antibacterial properties.
After diluting the essential oils, Thanas used a spray bottle to mist the air around Sasha. “The results were instantaneous,” she recalls. “She stopped coughing, she was able to breathe, and she was so much more comfortable.”
For advice on preventing kennel cough as well as natural and effective ways to soothe the symptoms, purchase Kennel Cough Prevention and Remedies from Whole Dog Journal.
The use of vaccine titer tests can help you decide whether or not your puppy is completely protected from disease after her “puppy shots,” or if your adult dog really needs any more core vaccines.
It’s a similar situation with annual or semi-annual so-called vaccine “boosters” – not many people know much about their dogs’ vaccination status, so they take their veterinarians’ word that their dogs are “due” for more vaccinations.
The truth is, there is no single vaccination protocol that will protect all dogs for all things, without over-vaccinating most of them. Vaccination really ought to be determined on a case-by-case basis, because each dog’s risk factors are unique, based on his age, genetic inheritance, current health, geographic location, and lifestyle.
That said, there is a very useful tool that can help an owner gain solid information about whether her dog is likely to be protected against the most common infectious diseases: the vaccine titer test. Positive test results can also give a dog owner some solid ammunition for countering those who blindly promote (or require, in the case of some boarding or training facilities) so-called “current” vaccinations, which can mean many different things to different people.
