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The Top 5 Things to Look for on a Commercial Dog Food Label

By
Nancy Kerns
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I prowled the aisles for over an hour, shaking my head in wonder and appreciation for the amenities in the store, and the sheer volume of quality products therein. It felt heavenly to a dog-food and dog-equipment geek like me. But at one point, as I was examining all the brands and varieties of dog food in the dry food aisles, I found myself crossing paths several times with another shopper. After the third time that I sidestepped out of her way saying, “Sorry, excuse me” without taking my eyes off the shelves, I finally made eye contact with her. I smiled and said, “I don’t work here, but can I help you find something?” She laughingly replied, “If I knew what I was looking for, I’d tell you. There are too many foods here! I can’t tell them apart and I don’t know what to get!”

pet store food aisle

I agreed with her that the selection was overwhelming – but in my view, it was overwhelming in a good way. I love having a lot of products to choose from! But then again, I know what I’m looking for and feel confident when reading labels. When it’s time to buy food for my dogs, I find it interesting and even enjoyable to move down the aisles checking ingredients lists and “best by” dates as I go: “No. No. Nope. Wow, no way. Hmm, maybe. Maybe. Yes! Here we go! Yes! Whoops! No again!”

The encounter was a good reminder that I may be in the minority in this; some dog owners feel oppressed (rather than excited) by the sheer number of choices at their local pet supply stores. “Read the label,” we always advise in WDJ, but where should they start? What information is trustworthy and important on the label, and what text is hyperbolic marketing gobbledygook? How can a dog owner choose?

Hey, take a breath! Relax! Allow me to explain the top five things to look for on a dog food label.

1. Start with the ingredients panel, Looking for real food ingredients.

That might sound silly, but only if you’ve not yet taken the opportunity to read the ingredients on at least one variety of each company’s dog foods in your local pet supply store. If you’ve never done this, do it as soon as you can; you may end up slightly horrified, because the vast majority of dog foods on the market are comprised of ingredients that bear only a passing resemblance to food.

Look for products with ingredients that you can readily identify as actual food ingredients. If you couldn’t explain to someone what a given ingredient is, it probably isn’t a good thing. If you don’t know what may or may not be legal to include in something like “meat and bone meal” or “chicken by-product meal,” perhaps you shouldn’t feed it to your dog. If you can’t immediately visualize what is meant by “corn gluten meal” or even “brewer’s rice,” you can bet that it’s a waste product from some human food manufacturing process – meaning it’s been processed in one place and then shipped to another, losing freshness and vulnerable to adulteration along the way.

In contrast, things that sound like whole, real food ingredients are desirable – things like chicken, duck fat, rice, oats, apples, or carrots.

As you are looking for real food ingredients, focus on nouns and ignore the adjectives. It can be difficult to disregard the influence of descriptive words, but at least try to be aware that they are present specifically in order to manipulate you. Apples are great; they don’t have to be “fresh, whole, Red Delicious” apples in order to provide beneficial flavonoids and soluble fiber. “Sun-cured” alfalfa is alfalfa; “whole ground brown rice” is brown rice.

Don’t concern yourself too much about the ingredients that sound like chemicals that appear low on the ingredients list. Virtually all dog foods contain vitamin and mineral supplements; if you look them up, you’ll find that most of those chemicals are some vitamin or mineral source.

Owners who get really into food will be picky about these, too – looking for only chelated minerals and food-sourced vitamins, and eschewing anything synthetic. If you are a label-reading novice, don’t worry about any of this for now. There are bigger, far more important details to worry about – things that can have a much greater impact on your dog’s well-being. 

2. Look for meat. 

That is, named meats such as chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, beef, pork, or rabbit. I know it’s confusing, but you don’t actually want to see the word “meat.” “Chicken” can contain only chicken, but “meat” could be just about anything.

The more named meat there is in dog food, the better, so you want to see these named meat sources as high on the ingredients list as possible – ideally, in the first couple of positions on the ingredients list. Remember, on all food labels, for humans and dogs, the ingredients are listed according to how much weight they have contributed to the food. There is more of whatever is listed first on the ingredients list than anything else on the label, so the first thing on a dog food ingredients list ought to be a (named) meat.

3. Now look for the “guaranteed analysis” box and check the protein and fat levels.

Do you know how much protein and fat is present in the food you currently feed your dog? You don’t?! Well, you should – because otherwise, how else would you know whether the new food you are thinking about buying contains twice as much protein and three times as much fat as the one you have been giving him? Go now and look at the label of the food you already have, and note those numbers somewhere.

The range of protein and fat levels in the variety of dog foods present in any given pet supply store will astound you in their breadth. If you’ve always been under the impression that “dog food is dog food,” you will be stunned to learn that one food may have three or more times as much protein and fat than the food sitting next to it on the shelf. There really isn’t a single “ideal” number for all dogs; you have to take your own dog’s age, breed, size, weight, activity level, and health into account when choosing a food that has the “right” amount of protein and fat. And you have to know where your dog is now – how much protein and fat he is already being fed – to know what effect a new food with different amounts of protein and fat will likely have on him.

Pay no attention whatsoever to phrases including Light, Lite, Healthy Weight, Reduced Calorie, and so on. Look at the protein and fat numbers on the Guaranteed Analysis – that’s all, because one company’s “Reduced Calorie” food may contain twice as much fat as another company’s regular Adult food. It’s just another place where you have to dismiss the adjectives and look at the bottom line.

Speaking of calories, you can look for a number, but you may not find it (the calorie content of foods is not yet required on dog food labels in every state) – and you may not be able to easily compare one food’s calorie content to another product’s. One might list kilocalories per cup of food, and another might list kilocalories per kilogram of food. The protein and (especially) the amount of fat listed on the Guaranteed Analysis will be a more useful guide.

4. Look for the product’s “AAFCO” statement. 

You will find the words “complete and balanced” on almost every dog food label – sometimes, in many places on the label. But this phrase, which means that the product contains all the nutrients your dog needs, only really counts in one spot: where it references the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). No, that’s not a branch of the government you’ve never heard of; it’s an advisory group that establishes standards that are adopted by (and regulated by) feed control officials in each state. Pet food may not be labeled as “complete and balanced” in any state unless it has one of two possible statements on it: one referencing AAFCO “animal feeding trials” that have confirmed the nutritional adequacy of the food; or the other, indicating that the food has been formulated to meet the AAFCO nutrient guidelines (or “nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles”).

We’ve explained the differences between and compared the relative merits of these two statements in several past articles in WDJ, and discuss them briefly in all of our annual dry and wet food reviews. For now, though, as long as the product has one statement or the other, let’s not worry about that. To make sure you are buying an appropriate food for your dog, the words you really need to notice in this statement have to do with the dogs mentioned within the statement. Does the statement say the food is complete and balanced for “all dogs,” “puppies,” or for “maintenance” (sometimes specified as “adult maintenance”) only? If it says it’s for “all dogs” (or “all life stages”), the product meets all the standards. The nutrient requirements are the lowest for products labeled as for “maintenance only.”

Note that if a pet food label does not say it is “complete and balanced” anywhere, it should have a statement saying that it is for “intermittent or supplemental feeding” only. It should be obvious that a food labeled thusly should not be used as a dog’s sole diet.

By the way, you may have to look really hard for this statement. It might be just a line or two of really small type, located somewhere inconspicuous. But it has to be there by law; check it out.

5. Find and check the date code and/or “best by” date.

Every product label will have a code stamped on it somewhere, identifying where and when the product was made. These batch codes are used to identify the origin of the product in case of a recall or any problem with the food. However, thatinformation is coded; you won’t be able to find out exactly which manufacturing plant in which state made the food. If you have a problem with the food, and give the date code to the pet food company, they will know, and will use the information to look up batch records and perhaps test their own retained samples from the same batch.

dog food label nutritional statement

While you are standing in the pet supply store, looking at labels, none of that information is important; I only mentioned all that because sometimes the batch code is incorporated into the date codes, and sometimes it’s stamped on the bag separately. When you are about to buy your dog’s food, the critical part of any coding you can find on the label has to do with the date of manufacture. You need to know how old that particular container of food is, because the older it is, the more likely it is to have lost nutritional value. This is less of an issue with canned foods, because they last far longer. But with dry dog foods, the age of the food has everything to do with its potential rancidity. For in-depth information about this, see “Fats’ Chance,” in WDJ’s December 2012 issue. Suffice to say here that rancid (oxidized) fats are really bad for dogs.

Again, though, just to make things a little more challenging than they really should be, this information will be hard to find and inconsistent from brand to brand and label to label. Some companies stamp their bags with a date of manufacture; this requires you to be knowledgeable about how long the food should be expected to last. Other companies use a “best by” or expiration date; that’s far more helpful, but understand that food that is close to these dates is actually months older than it ought to be; ideally, the product would be consumed by your dog within a couple of months of its manufacture. It’s best of all when the company stamps the product with both dates – the manufacturing date and the “best by” date, so you stand the best chance of identifying the freshest product possible.

Consumers who are armed with this information are 
hard on store owners, because they rifle through the nice neat stacks of food and reject the sacks on the top of the piles, which the stock persons have placed there hoping to sell them first, before they expire.

A really good store manager will understand the importance of selling you the most wholesome product possible, however, and will want your dog to have the best possible digestive experience with the food, so you come back to her store and buy some more. What’s more, good managers manage their product orders carefully, so they aren’t stuck with literal tons of products that are close to their expiration dates. If a salesperson gives you a hard time about sorting through the stacks (looking for freshly made foods), or if there are no relatively freshly made foods available, look for another product to buy.

After 17 years of writing about dog food, I still learn new things about the industry and canine nutrition, but these five label-reading tips will do more to help you find an appropriate, healthy diet for your dog than everything else. So grab your reading glasses and start with the label of the food you currently feed! I promise you will learn something new and interesting.

Nancy Kerns is the editor of WDJ.

Interview with Laurel Braitman – Author of “Animal Madness”

By
Barbara Dobbins
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Dogs can change our lives. Little did Laurel Braitman know how much one Bernese Mountain Dog would change hers. Not long after Laurel had adopted Oliver, the 4-year-old dog began to exhibit anxious behaviors, soon culminating in his exodus from the window of her fourth-story apartment. A young neighbor boy witnessed Oliver’s fifty-foot fall and screamed, “Mom! A dog fell out of the sky!”

Laurel Braitman

The boy and his mother found Oliver lying in a heap inside the concrete stairwell of a basement apartment and rushed him to an animal hospital. The veterinarians said they had never seen a dog survive such a fall.

In the months that followed, Oliver inspired Braitman to change her career path and embark on a journey of exploration into the minds and well-being of animals. She wrote a book about what she learned in the process:  Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves;  it was published in June 2014.

Braitman is a Senior TED fellow and holds a PhD in the History of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We spoke recently about Oliver, dogs and other animals, and mental health.

Braitman writes:

“The first real sign of real trouble I discovered by accident . . . I said goodbye to Oliver and locked the house only to realize as soon as I reached my car that I’d left my keys in our apartment. As I headed back up the block to our building, I heard a plaintive yowling – not feline or human and not from the National Zoo, a few blocks away. It was a bark that sounded like the squeak of an animal that was too large to squeak and it was coming from our apartment.”

WDJ: What was your process for reaching a diagnosis for Oliver?

LB: I first started noticing strange behaviors after Oliver had been with us for about six months. I hadn’t asked the breeder or his former family about any issues. I didn’t even know separation anxiety existed! But I also didn’t need a name for it initially. It was clear that he was upset when he was being left alone. I think this is true when pathologizing animals and humans in general. What we call it is less important than recognizing that they are suffering and that we need to do something about it.

That was obvious – he was losing it when we would leave the house. I noticed all these behaviors – pacing, drooling, barking incessantly; there were so many signs of anxiety – and I began doing online research. I read a lot of things by veterinary behaviorists and people who were working with veterinary behaviorists. I delved into the online Bernese Mountain Dog forums. I posted some things about Oliver and asked for feedback. I was advised to “ignore the dog when you return home.” That was probably the first thing we tried – and that didn’t work at all.

We started sticking with a schedule, not really as a form of retraining but just because it seemed like the only thing we could do to keep him from destroying stuff and make him less anxious. We went on more walks. At the point when he jumped through the window, he had been with us for about a year.

Until he jumped, I hadn’t realized how extreme his behavior was. The veterinarian who treated Oliver’s injuries said that he should be on Prozac and that we should see a veterinary behaviorist. He gave us a prescription for Valium – with no refills – and said that this was to keep him from jumping out of the window again. Which was not a problem at that time because Oliver was so injured he couldn’t even approach the window for at least a month. He couldn’t walk. I was so distraught.

I took him to a veterinary behaviorist [Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (DACVB) are veterinarians who have attained specialist status in veterinary behavior] and she gave him the diagnosis of canine separation anxiety and canine obsessive-compulsive disorder.

WDJ: Did the veterinary behaviorist ever refer to Oliver’s behavior as “mental illness”?

LB: No. This is where I really differ from the veterinarians. People are so scared of anthropomorphizing but I think that it’s kind of silly. Why wouldn’t we call what he went through – separation anxiety – the same thing whether the same symptoms were seen in a child or a gorilla or a wombat or a dog? I don’t think canine separation anxiety is the same as separation anxiety in children, but I also don’t think that one child’s separation anxiety is the same as the next child’s. I feel quite comfortable saying that Oliver had a type of mental illness. Do I think it’s the same as other dogs or as people? No, of course not.

WDJ: Veterinary behaviorists, as well as most veterinarians and trainers, usually refer to “behavior problems” or “aberrant behavior” rather than “mental illness.” Do you think the hesitancy in labeling certain behavior problems as mental illness is due to the stigma attached to the label itself? 

LB: Stigma, yes. Mainly, though, it’s a fear of anthropomorphism and projection, because when you say “mental illness” that infers a thought process that we can’t confirm in another animal.

That said, we diagnose mental illness in humans with whom we can’t communicate through behavioral observation. That’s how many children are diagnosed.

It’s funny. Say you’re a dog owner and you go to a veterinary behaviorist with your dog. The behaviorist says [your dog’s problem] is an issue of behavioral training. That is so much less daunting than having them tell you that your dog has a mental disorder – even though that’s what they’re actually “telling” you when they prescribe a psychopharmaceutical and recommend behavior therapy, which is often what happens for a person in the same situation.

I guess I’m not particularly interested in what mental illness is or isn’t. It’s anything that keeps you from whatever your version of normal is. Whether it’s caused by a brain tumor, a pollutant in the environment, some endogenous thing, or triggered by who knows what – the result is the same: it’s something that keeps someone from being himself, from things that he enjoys, or from living a healthy, happy life.

WDJ: If mental illness is deemed to be a medical condition, it might relieve some of the guilt some people feel about having a difficult dog. Not to mention feeling like a failure . . . .

LB: Exactly! “If only I was a better owner, trainer, etc …” That was my overwhelming feeling during this experience. I was tortured by my inability to help my dog.

If you have an anxious dog – or even a dog who is ill with cancer – you feel so bad! You are their sole caretaker in the world and I think that kind of sadness and pressure haunts us all.

WDJ: You write about how, two years after Oliver leaped from the window, he developed a case of gastric torsion during a severe panic attack while you were traveling, and how despite extraordinary efforts to help him, ultimately, you made the heartbreaking decision to let him go. You write:

“We called the veterinarian back and told her to put Oliver down. She assured us that he wouldn’t feel any pain, that he was already unconscious. I made her promise that she would cradle his head and stroke him while he died, that she would call him ‘Beast’ and tell him that we loved him. And then I asked, lamely, ‘Do you think we’re bad people?’ “

LB: I was traumatized by him. If I had been less traumatized, I would have gotten another dog a long time ago. I sometimes think about how many dogs I haven’t helped because I was so saddled with guilt by this one. On the other hand, I have learned so much; I will never be that naïve about another creature again.

WDJ: I know you didn’t write the copy on book jacket and I realize it was probably put there to capture interest, but there is a statement about Oliver suggesting that he may have even attempted suicide. Do animals have to have a concept of what it means to live in order to have a concept of wanting to end that life? Or is it a by-product of other pain/stress that results in further harm?

LB: I don’t think Oliver was consciously trying to kill himself; I think he was in a panic. But I do think that many people commit suicide that way, too. When you’re in such overwhelming discomfort, you just do whatever you can do to end that discomfort. In humans, this can be a rash act, not fully thought out. But if we’re going to call that scenario ‘suicide’ in people, we might also call that suicide in animals.

The issue here is that it’s impossible to prove. There’s an entire chapter on suicide in the book. I don’t want to say that animals do it or not; what I want to say is that some animals probably do it like some people do it, in that they choose a state away from the state that they are in. Animals do that all the time. If they’re hot, they move to someplace cool. If you’re suffering emotionally, of course you move away from the discomfort – and that may have fatal consequences. Maybe you become so uncomfortable that you’d do anything to end that discomfort and that kills you; I think some people do just that.

 Was Oliver thinking, “If I jump through this window I’m going to die”? No, anxious dogs do what anxious dogs are capable of – and he was a big, powerful dog, so jumping out of a closed window was something he could do.

When it comes to other animals, such dolphins and whales, or African grey parrots, or macaws who use tools, who do have a sense of self, who probably have a clear concept of past, present, and future, who knows? We should give them the benefit of the doubt, absolutely.

WDJ: There’s been a shift in the past 50 years in the understanding of the neuro-biological conceptions of the brain; future research will be exciting and no doubt delve deeper into the mind/body connection and the neuromolecular vision of the brain. Where do you see this exploration going?

LB: It’s so fascinating but it is also as mysterious as ever. Contrary to much public opinion, many neuroscientists I consulted argued that current studies don’t prove that specific parts of the brain are associated with certain emotions.

You know the studies where individuals are put into an imaging apparatus to examine how different parts of the brain “light up” when the person has certain types of thoughts? Or even the dogs in the MRI who are shown their owners and their brain reactions recorded? What those studies show is analogous to the experience of walking down a dark street at night and seeing one house with all the lights on with lots of people inside and lots of noise – you could hypothesize that it looks like a party, but you can’t say what kind of party it is. Is it a funeral? A cocktail party? Is the house up for sale? Did someone call the cops?

We can see activity in different parts of the brain. That may mean that such a region is where we process pleasure, and dogs’ pleasure centers may be similar, but it’s hard to know for sure. We’re creating maps of the brain that are interesting, but they are not yet showing us specifically what’s going on. The topic of neuroscience and comparative neurology between humans and other animals is very complicated and there is very little consensus. Eventually I threw up my hands and just decided to present some of the debate in the book.

You know, there is still a lot of discussion among neuroscientists about what an emotion actually is, even in humans! But I think that many of us spend so much time with other creatures that we can use our own animal natures to puzzle it out. It seems very clear when we spend time with a dog that we can tell if the dog is happy or upset or anxious. Sure, that’s projecting – and that’s using human language to describe it.

WDJ: You devote a chapter to the use of pharmaceuticals in animals. One of the things we can’t know is how a given medication will affect an individual dog. With animals, we have to rely on the science of how the medications work within the body and our potentially inadequate skills of observation. In light of this and your research, do you think we underuse or overuse behavior-modifying medications in our treatment of animals?

LB: I know a lot of very compassionate dog owners who have used pharmaceuticals as a bridge – say, to reduce a dog’s anxiety long enough so they can work with a trainer.

As a society, we often overuse medication, but we live in a world where a lot of us are ill-suited to our daily lives, and pharmaceuticals are one of the things that are getting us through the day – humans and dogs! We are not built to sit in front of a screen for 12 hours a day. Both dogs and humans are so social, and we are living much more disconnected lives than we should be.

All of the things you often do to make a dog feel better (exercise, more time outside with humans and other animals, stimulating games and puzzles, a satisfying job, structure, and a healthy routine) are things that might actually work for people. I think the fact that we are missing so many of those things is problematic and one of the ways we are dealing with it is by taking drugs. On that level, I think we should be changing our lives, both humans and dogs.

The drugs can facilitate treatment. But in the long run, they may be overused. Without changing the stressors and the things that trigger certain behaviors in humans and animals, we’re not going to get better.

Medications can be used as a stopgap. If you have a zoo gorilla who is clinically depressed and won’t engage with his troop mates and has stopped eating and can’t be sent back to Africa, then the ethical thing to do is to medicate that ape. It’s just bad that the drugs are used as an excuse when something else could be changed to make him happier.

WDJ: You cite many examples of mental illness or disturbance in animals in the book; it’s fascinating.

LB: Animals are all individuals and have varying susceptibilities to mental problems. Learning that changed me. When I observe pigeons now, I wonder about the individuality of each one: Which one is the scaredy pigeon? Which one is the brave one? Certainly there is a deer in the Marin Headlands who is more of a risk-taker than the others, and probably one who has a tendency toward obsession. Take birds that stare at their reflections and throw themselves into windows – not all birds in the group are doing this.

WDJ: I’m reminded of the popular adage in the dog world that one person’s behavioral nightmare is another’s ideal pet. While you certainly couldn’t characterize Oliver as an ideal pet, he gave you an immeasurable gift and, in turn, you are passing that gift forward to all animals by bringing to light these very important concepts.

LB: I think I’ve always loved the difficult animals best, because they stretch us and they force us to challenge ourselves in often uncomfortable ways that we never would have otherwise. If I didn’t have a dog – one that was literally jumping out of my house – I wouldn’t have been forced to confront the extremes of the canine mind. I would have been content with my rather boring preexisting view of dogs.

Before Oliver, I never doubted that other animals had emotions, but mental illness was something I never would have grappled with without him. It changed my view of other animals, and people too. I owe Oliver absolutely everything.

Animal Madness was published in June by Simon & Schuster and is available wherever books are sold.

Laurel Braitman is at work on a new book – and she’s decided she’s finally ready to adopt another dog. Find out more about Braitman and her research at animalmadness.com.

Barbara Dobbins, a former dog trainer, writes about dogs and studies canine ethology. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her Border Collie, Duncan.

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A Sad Tale from the Vet’s Office

By
Nancy Kerns
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4

A couple of months ago, I was at the vet’s office with my dog Otto. He had a small wound between two of his toes that he kept licking; it looked like a classic foxtail/grass awn hole. These things have to be probed with an instrument to make sure that the awn isn’t still present in the wound and traveling upward (ever upward), the way they do.

As I was waiting, I could not help but overhear a conversation that was taking place on the other side of a swinging door between the waiting area and a hallway to the exam rooms. A young man was growing quite agitated and was raising his voice. He kept repeating, “Oh my dog, my dog!” and “There is no way I can afford this!”

A few minutes into this, I heard someone tell the young man to wait in the waiting room and that a doctor would discuss things with him further in a minute.

He came into the waiting room. He was very emotional. And he absolutely reeked of marijuana. It was as if a skunk who had just sprayed a dog had just entered the small room.  It was that strong.

Where I live, in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains in northern California, there are marijuana farms of various sizes all around. He could have been a worker on one of those farms. Or he could have cancer and using high doses of pot to treat his symptoms. Or he could be suffering from extreme anxiety over his dog. Or he could just be a huge stoner. There’s no telling, and I’m not judging, I swear.

A few minutes later, a veterinarian came into the waiting room. I don’t know why she chose to discuss the matter with him in the waiting room instead of an exam room, but it was at the end of what looked like a hectic day. They started to discuss the young man’s dog. The gist of the conversation was this:

The dog had a broken jaw, several broken teeth, and the broken teeth had become infected. The young man had been presented with an estimate for surgery to remove the broken teeth and put a plate in the jaw, and he said he couldn’t afford it. He wanted to know what absolutely had to be done for the dog, and what could wait. He said the dog had gotten loose on his job site, and had been hit by a forklift or tractor or something, and he had been wetting her dry dog food for a few days, but that she had stopped eating or drinking.

The vet said that so far, all they had done was take an x-ray of the jaw and give the dog something for pain and fluids for her dehydration. She said the dog absolutely had to have antibiotics to treat the infection, and a soft diet (canned food) for the indefinite future. And she (the dog) should also have pain medication – but that the whole thing might not heal properly if surgery was not done, soon, to remove the damaged teeth and repair the jaw.

At this point, the young man emptied his pockets on the counter and started counting cash. He said, “Let me see how much I have been able to raise. I’ve called everyone I know. I just moved here. I don’t have any family here, and I work in construction, and I just met these guys on the job site. They gave me a few dollars, but they don’t even know me yet.”

The vet asked if he had a credit card, or had someone in his family who had a credit card they would let him use. He said no. She asked if he had called and applied for one of those emergency credit cards for veterinary medical bills. He said he had called earlier in the day, when he dropped the dog off, and had been denied credit.

He finished counting, and said, “I have about $140. You can have it all. Just do everything you can for her.” He left the money on the counter and went outside for a minute.

JUST the week before, I had paid an $850 vet bill for relatives who didn’t have money to treat their dog. My mind was racing as I tried to think of what I could do — and shouldn’t do (considering it would take me a month or two to pay off that other bill) — to help a dog I still hadn’t even seen. I knew I had a case or so of canned food samples left over from our last review. I asked the receptionist if it would be much longer before Otto could be seen, and mentioned that I had some canned food I’d like to donate to another patient. She said, “It will still be a while, so if you won’t be long, that would be very nice.” My office is less than a mile from the clinic, so I took Otto and drove quickly to go fetch the food.

When I got back, I carried the food into the reception area and put it down on a chair by the door, and made eye contact with the receptionist to let her know Otto and I were back. A tech had just brought the young man’s dog out from the treatment area. She was groggy, as if she had been tranquilized, but was wiggling and super happy to see her owner. She was a pit-mix, who, judging from her stretched and dangling teats, had obviously had more than one litter of puppies. The young man pulled a piece of rope out from his pocket and put it around her neck; she had no collar (or ID tag, obviously). The techs were bustling about, preparing some antibiotics and some pain meds to send with the dog. I said to the young man, “Hey, here’s a bunch of canned food for her.” He was distracted, but he said thanks. And then the receptionist called my name, and Otto and I went into an exam room.

They were gone when I came out of the exam room with Otto. I saw a different veterinarian than the one who had been discussing the dog with her owner. He probed, but didn’t find a foxtail in Otto’s foot.  He sent me home with some antibiotics, which, honestly, I didn’t give to Otto, whose foot healed just fine. The visit cost me $140.

I don’t know what became of that dog or her owner, but I can’t stop thinking about them. I imagine that cases like these haunt veterinarians, too.

(Dog Food Logic #3) What’s in Your Dog’s Food?

By
Nancy Kerns
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The ingredients that make up a dog food are (and should be) of great concern to dog owners and pet professionals. A food’s ingredients have the job of providing all of the essential nutrients and energy (calories) to the dog who consumes the food, as well as contributing to the food’s flavor, texture and appeal. As a result, when dog owners are selecting and comparing dog foods, the first place that they typically look is the label’s ingredient list. We naturally expect this list to tell us what we need to know. Unfortunately, while the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires that pet food labels (like human food labels) are truthfully labeled and must include all of the food sources present in the product, current FDA and AAFCO labeling requirements fall far short of what is needed to allow informed and well considered choices by consumers.

It is not the purpose of this book to provide yet another list of AAFCO ingredient definitions or to describe the differences between various pet food ingredients. Rather, since the purpose of this book and this chapter in particular is to provide dog owners and professionals with the skills and knowledge that will support smart decisions, let’s start with identifying what exactly you can know about the ingredients in a food, what you can find out with a bit sleuthing, and what unfortunately you will never, ever be privy to (if the pet food introductory continues its current practices). Let’s begin with ingredient information that is readily available to all consumers. . .

. . . The final rule, the 3% rule, has to do with a seemingly simple and innocent-sounding word: “with.” If a pet food label contains that word in its product name, the product is required to have only 3% of the ingredient in the formulation at the time of processing. If you measure out 100 pieces of kibble from a food labeled “with salmon” and then remove three pieces of kibble from the pile, those three pieces are equivalent to the amount of salmon that is found in that pile of kibble. Not much. Yet consumers are expected to know, understand and differentiate between the 95% Salmon Food, the 25% Salmon Dinner, and the 3% Adult Dinner with Salmon foods. This rule is by design imprecise (from 95% down to 25% for food versus dinner, really?) and in practice misleads (and possibly even deceives) consumers. If you wish to feed a salmon (or chicken or turkey or venison) based food, look for one of AAFCO’s qualifying terms (dinner, recipe, formula) and avoid brands with the term “with”. Then, keep reading.

Need help choosing a food for your dog? Want assistance wading through the ads, labels, hype and information bombarding you every day? Learn what matters most by reading Dog Food Logic. Buy it today from Whole Dog Journal.

Portrait of Three Dogs in My Family

By
Nancy Kerns
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Hannah is a 12-year-old Ridgeback-mix, about 70 pounds of lean muscle and bone. She’s a constant companion to my brother, who adopted her from a shelter when she was about six months old (and who is coping with a dire prognosis right now), and to my brother’s daughter, who is almost five years old, and to my brother’s father-in-law, who has Alzheimers. That’s a lot of canine support and therapy to provide, but Hannah pulls it off with grace and patience. She’s more or less constantly pushing her big beautiful head into somebody’s hands, or leaning her gradually weakening, aging body into somebody’s legs. “I’m right here, pet me and we will both feel better,” her huge, shining eyes seem to say.

Sadie is supposed to be a miniature Schnauzer, and she looks sort of like a Schnauzer, but she came from what was probably a puppy mill in Kentucky when she was just a tiny puppy, so there’s no telling what she actually is, besides 7 pounds of nerves and sweetness. She’s my daughter-in-law’s dog, and has been by her side through a number of life’s turns, both difficult andrewarding. She has a shrill, ear-piercing bark that she uses a tad too frequently, and she hasn’t been trained to do anything in particular, but she, too, soaks up human attention like a sponge and rains affection back upon anyone who treats her well.

Otto is my own mixed-breed dog, nearly seven years old and wise. He always knows when I’m feeling down, and positions himself nearby. He’s too polite to whine or paw at me, but will put his chin on my leg as I sit at the computer, and gaze at me patiently. He stands at the gate every time I go to the car without him, clearly analyzing what I’m wearing and what I’m carrying in order to understand where I’m going and when I’m likely to be back. He knows the blue daypack means an overnight absence, and he looks especially bereft when he sees it. On the other hand, he can pick out the sounds of my car from blocks away, and he’s always dancing, wagging, whining, happy at the gate as I pull up to the house.

I don’t have a point today. I’m just so damn grateful sometimes for these dogs and the love they add to my extended family.

Dog-Sitting: A Family Affair

By
Nancy Kerns
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I’ve been helping with a health crisis in my family, which somehow always seems to result in moving dogs all around the state, because pretty much all the members of my family are dog people.

My brother was recently diagnosed with cancer, and it’s been taking a bit of scrambling to get him to medical appointments and cover his many responsibilities, which include being the daytime caregiver for his five-year-old daughter and his father-in-law (who has Alzheimers), and his dog, Hannah, a 12-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback-mix.

Today, my brother and his wife, daughter, and father-in-law are traveling four hours to a specialty medical consultation at a university hospital. I brought my dogs to my brother’s house, where I will stay so I can dog-sit Hannah while they are away. They are taking my son’s dog, Cole, with them. I’ve been dog-sitting Cole for the past few days, while my son was on tour with his sports team to games in Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. My son is home in the Bay Area now, not far from the medical center my brother is visiting, and so my son is going to meet my brother’s family and take his little cousin and my brother’s father-in-law to a park and the movies and out to dinner while my brother and his wife are at the medical center. And of course, this way he gets his dog back without having to drive hours to pick him up. In our family, this is a win — although it means quite a full car. Well, Cole is good at wedging himself into small spaces, having grown up in my son’s car, which is often full of college athletes and their gear.

My husband, who is NOT a dog person, thinks we’re all nuts – first, for having all these dogs in the first place, and then, for not just leaving them in a backyard with a food dispenser and a trough full of water when we leave home for a day or three. I’m exaggerating slightly, but he just doesn’t feel what we feel for our dogs, and doesn’t see why we would drive them for hours in a car to be cared for by another family member when we go places. Well, because they are family, that’s why. We’d never hire some stranger to care for my little niece or her maternal grandfather for a night, either.

Hannah, the matriarch among our canine relatives, requires a bit of special care. Like most Ridgebacks, she’s highly protective of her home and family, so having a neighbor or other relative stranger care for her at her own house can be a bit tricky, especially as her vision and hearing are beginning to decline. She becomes increasingly anxious over time when she’s not home, so even though in the past she has stayed at my house on many occasions and settled in with my “pack” quite nicely, I feel like she’s earned the privilege of being cared for at her own home at this point. And goodness knows, I don’t want anything happening to her right now; she’s a beloved member of the family, and playing an important therapy dog role for everyone in the household these days. 

(When Pigs Fly #1) Shape, Rattle and Roll Fundamentals of Shaping Behaviors

By
Jane Killon
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In this chapter you are going to learn a fun and effective way to teach your dog new skills using a process called “shaping”. Shaping involves slicing the behavior you want your dog to do into tiny pieces, successively clicking and treating each “slice,” until you have built up the finished behavior you want to train.

Here is how shaping works. Imagine you are looking at a frame-by-frame motion picture of your dog picking up a tennis ball. What would the first frame be? Probably turning his eyes towards the ball. Then maybe a direct stare at the ball. Then lowering his head towards the ball. Then about six more frames where his head gets progressively lower and lower. Then touching his nose to the ball, then opening his mouth, then putting his mouth around the ball, then closing his mouth around the ball, then lifting his head for about six more frames. Each of these “frames” is called an approximation – a little step towards the finished behavior or picking up a ball. If you want to teach your dog to pick up a ball by shaping it, you progressively click and treat all of the “approximations” that I have described above in this way:

1. The first step is the dog turning his eyes towards the ball. After you have clicked and treated that glance toward the ball couple of times, your dog will start offering it. By “offering it”, I mean he will deliberately glance towards the ball in an attempt to make the clicker go off.
2. Once your dog is firmly and deliberately offering the glance towards the ball, you can hold out and not click it. Your dog will keep trying the glance, and then, when he sees that it is not paying off, he will offer “improvements” on that behavior, like a bit of a head turn in that direction. Voila! You have frame number two, the head turn, which you can start click and treating.
3. Again, once your dog is firmly and deliberately offering the head turn, hold out for any tiny lowering of his head. Click and treat that a few times, and then, when you are sure he is offering a bit of a head bob, hold out for a bigger head bob. Again, when reinforcements are not forthcoming, your dog will offer different ‘improvements” on the head bob, which will eventually included lowering his head toward the ball more than he had before. You continue this way, reinforcing and then holding out for more through the rest of the “frames” of the “movie” of your dog picking up the ball.

For more advice on training impossible (and not-so-impossible) dogs purchase Jane Killon’s When Pigs Fly! Training Success with Impossible Dogs from The Whole Dog Journal.

 

Yes Power

By
Nancy Kerns
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One of my biggest pet peeves with most dog owners and parents? When the authority figure (owner or parent) more or less constantly says, “No!” (as in, “Don’t do that!”) – and only rarely says, “Yes!” (as in “I like what you’re doing! Keep it up!”). It’s no fun to be around, it’s discouraging to dogs and children alike. Worse, it doesn’t offer the recipients of the message any information about what they should be doing to make their owners or parents proud and happy (or at the very least, happier).

whole dog journal editor nancy kerns

Maybe you think this is new-agey and stupid. Before you judge, though, try this exercise with a friend or spouse: Tell your partner to think up a behavior that they’d like you to perform (or even two or three behaviors that they would find acceptable), and then instruct them to play the “warmer/colder” game in order to get you to perform the behavior/s. Only, instead of calling out “Warmer!” when you start to move in the right direction, they should just be silent. And instead of using “Colder!” as a hint that you are doing the wrong thing, tell them they should say, “No!” every few seconds, as long as you aren’t doing what they want you to do. No. No. No. No. It won’t take long for you to decide this is a stupid game.

I suspect that this is what it must feel like for most dogs (especially puppies) in a new home. Most people give their dogs almost no direction whatsoever about what they ought to be doing, but just wait for the dog to screw up. NO going in Grandma’s room! NO getting on the couch! NO taking that food off of the coffee table! NO going pee in the house! NO barking at the doorbell, TV, or microwave beep! NO chewing that sock! NO bothering the cat (or bird or fish)! It must be daunting.

But, just like kids, some dogs let the stern facial expression or tone roll right off their backs. They may pay attention at first, but very quickly, they may just tune out and ignore the stream of No’s; they just keep it up until they are physically prevented from continuing.

I find it to be so much more powerful to tell my dogs what they should be doing – if not with a cue and a reinforcing reward, by “catching them in the act” of doing an acceptable thing, and rewarding/reinforcing it. For example, when I come home from the grocery store, Otto always comes to the side gate to greet me. He sometimes barks. When he does, I either ignore him entirely, enter the house through the front door (thus avoiding contact with him), or (if I have time), I’ll wait in the car until he stops barking. If he doesn’t bark, I make sure I go to him directly for a happy greeting and at least a pat or chest rub.

As a result, he rarely barks when I get home – though he often greets me with what I call his “wookie” greeting, a long “Woooooo-woooo” sound that I just adore. That, too, gets me to stop and praise him, and kiss him on the head (which he likes). The latest thing he discovered that I can’t resist is to throw himself on the ground in front of me, roll onto his back, and curl his front paws to his chest just so – it’s so cute I can’t resist stopping to rub his chest, which he loves. Jackpot!

Try catching your dog doing something right, many times a day. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, just a happy Yes! and eye contact. You may be amazed at how well behaved he becomes, overnight.

5 Things To Do If Your Dog Snaps at a Guest

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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If you’ve never had to deal with that alarming moment when your beloved dog snaps at a guest in your home, you are fortunate. I hope you never do. But just in case, it’s good to know that, first, you’re not alone – lots of dogs have snapped at guests in their homes (or worse!). Second, it’s not the end of the world; it doesn’t mean you need to euthanize your dog and it doesn’t mean your dog will inevitably maul someone. It is, however, an important heads-up for you. How you handle the situation can often determine if your dog’s aggression toward visitors escalates or diminishes. So if it happens, here’s what you need to do:

dog ready to snap

1. Calmly remove your dog from the situation.

No scolding, no yelling, and no physical punishment. Gently take hold of her collar, lead her to a quiet room away from the action, and leave her there with a bowl of water and a chew toy. Your visitor may expect you to punish your dog, even “alpha roll” her, if he’s watched a certain television show. Don’t let your guest pressure you into doing something you know is wrong and that you will regret later. Your dog is your dog!

2. Calmly apologize to your guest.

Of course you will make sure your guest wasn’t injured (“snap” implies no actual contact). But then it will suffice to say, calmly, “I am sorry Missy snapped at you.” Your guest doesn’t need an anxious, shrill litany of “Omigosh Missy has never, ever done anything like that before! I am so, so sorry she did that to you! I can’t imagine what got into her! I hope we don’t have to get rid of her!” Histrionics will inflame the situation and can turn a minor incident into a major event.

3. Ask questions about the incident.

If this is new behavior on Missy’s part, you want to identify what might have happened so you can take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. (If it is not new behavior, shame on you for allowing it to happen again!) Quietly ask your guest some version of these questions in a non-accusing manner:

– Can you tell me what happened?
– What were you doing when she snapped at you?
– What was she doing just before she snapped at you?
– Did you see any signs that she wasn’t comfortable with you?

4. Make notes of the dog snapping.

As soon as you are able, write down everything you can think of about the incident. Describe the person she snapped at in detail – age, gender, race, size, unusual features (beard, glasses, etc.), what the person was wearing, if there was anything in his hands, and yes, what he was doing.

Include information about where the incident happened, the weather, and any unusual occurrences in the dog’s world over the previous two days (for example, she killed a bunny yesterday in the yard, there was a thunderstorm last night, she didn’t eat her breakfast this morning). Because stress is cumulative and aggression is caused by stress, this may help you come to understand why this out-of-character behavior happened. If additional incidents do occur in the future, you will have a good record to share with the behavior professional you enlist to help you.

5. Closely monitor your dog’s behavior around future guests and other humans in any context.

Watch carefully for signs that she is stressed, including the dog lowering her body and tail, turning her head, averting her eyes, pinning her ears back, panting, licking her lips, avoiding contact, rolling over, and more. (For more information about recognizing signs of stress in dogs, see “Listen by Looking,” WDJ August 2011.) Manage her carefully to avoid putting other guests at risk. Remove her to a safe place if she appears anything but relaxed and happy with visitors. If you continue to see signs of stress or distress around visitors, keep taking detailed notes, and seek the assistance of a positive behavior professional who can help you help her become safer and more comfortable with humans.

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Pat is also the author of many books on positive training. 

Take Your Water-Loving Dog Dock Diving!

By
Lisa Lyle Waggoner
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[Updated February 6, 2019]

Summer! It’s the perfect time for dock diving. In this canine sport (also known as dock jumping), the participating dog jumps off an elevated diving platform into a portable pool and the dog with the longest jump is deemed the winner. I think dock diving is possibly the best canine sport for spectator enjoyment. And, if you decide to compete, you can easily redline the FUN meter! Besides the joy of hanging out with my dog by a cool body of water, the one thing I love about the sport is that with just a few dog and handler skills, any person and any breed of dog and size of dog can participate.

competitive dock diving for dogs

Photos by Tom Feist

I never meant to get involved with the sport, but thanks to a bit of synchronicity, life presented me with the opportunity to discover dock diving with my then-new Australian Shepherd puppy. Because I happen to love the water, I wanted Willow to enjoy the water, too. She loved the shallow creek beside our house, but wasn’t too keen on immersing her entire body into a pond or a lake, so I used Willow’s favorite toy, a Bumi (a floatable toy made by West Paw Design), to encourage her to put her paws in the water. I also took advantage of a trainer friend’s water-crazy Labrador Retriever, Daisy, to increase Willow’s comfort with water through social facilitation – where the intensity of a behavior can increase due to the presence of another dog performing the activity.

Voila! Before long, Willow was easily and happily following Daisy into the water. I added a doggie life jacket as insurance to make sure Willow would be totally comfortable when she took her first few forays into deeper water.

Next I took Willow to watch Daisy perform some fine launching off the dock at a lake for a water toy thrown by her owner, Bob Ryder, CPDT-KA, PMCT, of Pawsitive Transformations in Normal, Illinois. Even though Willow was hesitant to jump off the dock, having a front-row seat for all of Daisy’s fun helped her forget her misgivings about the dock. We practiced sit/stays and down/stays, always reinforcing with food or the chance to fetch her water toy on land. In no time at all, she eagerly followed Daisy off that lake dock – and I was getting hooked.

Not long after, I attended my first dock-diving event, and witnessed firsthand the fun that competitors and dogs have on the dock. I was a goner!

I continued working with Willow’s water skills slowly and steadily. Willow made her first jump off a regulation dock just a year ago. You surely heard this trainer exclaiming with excitement! In only her second dock-diving competition three months later, she earned her DockDogs National Junior Big Air Title, in recognition of attaining five jumps between 10′ and 14′ 11″.

Require Skills For Dock Diving Competition

There are a number of dock-diving organizations (see sidebar, next page), each offering distance jumping competitions, generally referred to as Big Air. DockDogs also has the high jump (known as Extreme Vertical) and the speed retrieve (known as Speed Retrieve, which is sort of a misnomer as it’s really a quick jump, swim, and grab of a bumper on the opposite end of the pool; the clock stops at the release of the bumper).

Willow and I compete in the Big Air competition in which there are two different styles of getting your dog down the dock and chasing a toy into the water.

In the “place and send” method, the handler walks with the dog to the end of the jumping platform and the dog is restrained while the handler tosses the toy. The dog and handler then return to the starting point and the dog is given the release cue to go get the toy. This is a nice way to begin if your dog hasn’t yet achieved a formal wait or stay.

When using the “chase method,” the dog is placed in a stand/stay or sit/stay while the handler walks 40 feet to the end of the jumping platform on the dock. The handler poses with the toy held high in the air and at the handler’s release cue, the dog races down the dock and the handler tosses the toy (also known as the chase object) at just the right moment in an attempt to keep the toy in front of the dog’s nose all the way to the water. Because Willow loves to chase moving things, I chose the chase method.

No matter what method you use, as with any other canine sport, teamwork is the key component of dock-diving training. Both handler and dog need certain complementary traits and skills in order to be safe and enjoy the sport. Let’s start with the dog’s required skills:

Enjoyment of the experience – It’s imperative that your dog truly enjoy the total experience. I’ve seen a few handlers on the dock who were having fun, but whose fearful dogs would have been more comfortable left at home.

Love of the Water – If your dog already loves the water, fantastic. If not, find a lake or pool with a shallow area and bring out the fun! Pair the new experience of two or four paws in shallow water with an enjoyable game of tug or feed your dog high-value treats while her paws are in the water.

But please don’t ever push or throw your dog in the water. You don’t want to end up with a dog who is afraid.

Ability to swim (natural or taught) – Some dogs seem to take to swimming naturally. Not so with our Australian Shepherds; I’ve had to teach both my Aussies how to swim, although you wouldn’t know that to watch them now.

A canine flotation device can help a dog who is learning to swim feel more comfortable. There are a variety of well-made dog life jackets available. I personally use the Hurtta jacket because of its secure fit, multiple buckles for adjustment and wide, stretchable belly band. As with many dog life jackets, the back of the jacket is made with a sturdy handle that allows the handler to easily guide the dog in the water or lift the dog out of the water. To teach swimming skills, once Willow was comfortable wading in shallow water, I entered the water and cradled her under her belly, let her dog-paddle for a few seconds, then quickly set her back down where her paws could touch bottom. I also used other friends’ water-loving dogs to encourage Willow into the water. It’s important to work at your own dog’s pace. 

Good Physical Conditioning – As with any athletic endeavor, your dog should be in good physical condition before beginning training. Playing fetch, swimming, doing agility for fun, tricks training, and using balancing discs can aid you in conditioning your dog.

dock diving dog

Bonita Ash

Stay – Willow already had a solid “stay” before we started dock diving, though this skill was enhanced when the reinforcement for staying changed from food to a toy. I use a sit/stay on the dock, as it’s easier for a dog to launch and gain speed from a sit than a down.

If your dog needs work on stay, select a reinforcer: either tasty treats or a toy. Ask your dog to sit, then cue her to stay. If she sits still for even one second, mark that behavior (the stillness) with a verbal “Yes!” and give your dog the treat or throw the toy. Slowly work up to longer periods of stillness by ping-ponging (randomly longer and shorter) the length of time you ask your dog to stay.

Desire to Chase a Toy – If your dog already loves chasing a thrown toy, great! If not, you can build desire by making the toy mimic prey. Shake the toy and move it rapidly near the ground and in front of your dog’s front paws. When she appears to be really engaged and excited, throw the toy a short distance and wildly praise her for going after it. If your dog is hesitant to give up the toy after the chase, use a second toy or yummy treat in trade for it. (When using two toys, it sometimes helps if the toys are identical, so the dog doesn’t refuse to trade for her “favorite” toy.)

Retrieve –A retrieve isn’t necessary for competition, as there’s always a person with a skimmer pole (long pole with a net on the end) to grab the toy. However, a retrieve is certainly important if you’re practicing at a lake by yourself. Before Willow had a formal retrieve, I lost more than a few toys during winter training when she wouldn’t bring it back and I was too wimpy to jump in the cold water to retrieve it myself.

Many trainers use “backchaining” to teach a formal retrieve (by teaching your dog to first hold the toy, next to drop it, and continuing to work backward training each step through to completion). Another way is to build desire for the toy, and then toss the toy only a few inches so the dog can easily reach and grab it, making it easy for her to return to you for another round of the game.

Jumping – The jumping skill a dog needs for dock diving is similar to the human long jump. The dog needs lots of speed, as well as a very strong launch, in order to gain distance. With practice, the dog actually learns to gauge her run so that her back paws hit and push off of the very edge of the dock in order to most powerfully propel her body forward. The angle of the jump is also important and aided by the handler’s throwing skills.

I first began training Willow to jump off the bank of a lake, transitioned to a very low wooden dock on a lake, and moved to a higher dock on a lake before moving to a regulation dock. The transition to the regulation dock was interesting for Willow, as the clear water allowed her to see the bottom of the pool and made her a bit leery. Please take your time with your dog during this phase of training. You don’t want to push or shove your dog in the water and end up with a dog who is afraid. Game over!

Crate Training or Settle on a Mat – As with any canine sport, there’s plenty of down time while you’re waiting for your turn to jump at a competition. Also, your dog needs rest in between periods of jumping. Her ability to deeply relax in a crate or while settled at your feet on a mat is important. Teach and practice this skill at home, and then move the “relax” training sessions out into the world, until your dog can chill out on cue, even on event sidelines.

Conditioning to Noise – Dock-diving competitions are noisy, with loudspeakers playing music in between announcements, introductions, and comments on the teams.

Long before you ever compete, classically condition your dog to a variety of noises and loud sounds by pairing the new experience with high-value food or playing with her favorite toys. Visit a dock-diving competition or other festival environment; position yourself at the outskirts of the area, and pair the experience with yummy food, fun games, and/or positive training of exercises your dog already knows and loves. Insure your dog is comfortable at the outskirts before moving in toward the busier, noisier areas.

Traversing Stairs – The platform from which the dog jumps is attached to a long trailer, is elevated, and has stairs. Most competition docks have aluminum stairs with an open riser design. Your dog should be comfortable walking on aluminum and moving up and down the open staircase design. If you can find aluminum or metal steps (perhaps in a warehouse store?), practice there.

I helped Willow get used to walking on metal by using the moving metal carts at Home Depot and Lowes stores, and paired the experience with her favorite yummy treats.

Dog Handler Skills

Of course, you, too, need to have a few skills in order to train your dog for dock diving:

Patience – Training at a slow pace will insure that your dog is truly comfortable with each phase of the training before proceeding to the next.

Throwing Ability – The handler throws a floatable toy (her dog’s favorite) as her dog is racing down the dock. The accuracy and timing of the throw aids the dog in gaining speed and momentum in order to maximize the distance of the jump.

When your dog isn’t with you, practice your throws by tossing a toy or other object into an empty bucket or other target. You can also play dry land throw/chase games with your dog. The goal is to have her catch the toy in the air.

Be Your Dog’s Advocate – On any given day or any given moment, be ready to let your dog relax or head home if she doesn’t seem to be having fun. It’s important that she’s happy and enjoying the experience.

Ready To Get Invloved?

There are a number of sanctioning organizations that organize competitions (see sidebar) and hundreds of regional clubs throughout the country where you can take advantage of local or regional events. Most all clubs have practice events or training classes for a small fee. I’ve found that experienced dock-diving handlers are eager to help you and your dog succeed.

Summertime is one of the most enjoyable seasons to get started in this sport, so find a nearby lake or pond, insure your dog enjoys the water, and start having some dock-diving fun! Whether or not you ever step foot on a competition dock, there’s loads of fun to be had doing recreational dock diving in a nearby body of water. However, if you do decide to enter a competition, I’m certain that you’ll go home with a ribbon. In this sport, everyone who participates is considered a winner. How great is that? Get up, get going, and get set to get wet! And, as they say in the sport, “See you on the dock!”

Dock Diving Organizations & Competition Details

Dock jumping first came on the scene in 1997 at the Incredible Dog Challenge. There are now several organizations that run jumping competitions, and each organization has its own rules, regulations, and standards for its trials. Events are listed on each organization’s website. Competitors work their way up and compete in world championships or other major national events.

The dock is about 35 to 40 feet long by 8 feet wide and 2 feet above the water surface, though this differs slightly from one organization to the next. Any body of water or pool that is at least 4 feet deep can be used. The dock’s running platform is covered with artificial turf, carpet, or a rubber mat for better traction and safety for the competitors. Handlers may use any amount of the dock and they may start their dogs from any point on the dock when competing.

Scoring may be scored by eye (two certified judges watching the measuring marks on the pool) or with digital scoring equipment. National events most often have the digital equipment to accurately measure each jump. The distance is measured from the jumping-off point of the dock to the point where the dog’s hind end enters the water.

Dogs of any breed who are at least 6 months of age can participate. Each dog/handler team has two tries in a round-robin format. The best distance of these two jumps is the team’s score for the round. Dock Diving competitions divide the dogs into a variety of classes, primarily based on size and length of jump, and sometimes age or size (“veteran” classes for older dogs, “lap dogs” for smaller dogs). Each organization also has special rankings for youth or junior handler teams.

Distances for each group’s classes are detailed below:

Dock Dogs

Novice: 1′ to 9’11”
Junior: 10″ to 14’ 11″
Senior: 15″ to 19’ 11″
Master: 20″ to 22’ 11″
Elite: 23″ to 24’ 11″
Super Elite: 25′ & above

DockDogs also has Extreme Vertical (a high jump competition) and Speed Retrieve, which involves running, jumping, and swimming, to complete a triathlon-type sport called Iron Dog.

Splash Dogs

Splash: 1′ to 9’ 11″
Junior: 10″ to 14’11”
Senior: 15″ to 19’ 11″
Pro: 20″ to 22’ 11″
Extreme: 23′ & above

United Kennel Club Dock Jumping

Novice: 1′ to 9’ 11″
Junior: 10′ to 14’ 11″
Senior: 15′ to 19’ 11″
Master: 20′ to 22’ 5″
Ultimate: 22’ 6″ & above

Registration for UKC Dock Jumping events is conducted through Ultimate Air Dogs.

Video Links

Using Social Facilitation to Help a Dog Learn to Enjoy Water
http://tinyurl.com/willowanddaisySF

Safety and Comfort with Doggie Life Jacket
http://tinyurl.com/swimmingpractice

Using Patience When Transitioning to Regulation Dock
http://tinyurl.com/regulationdock

Finished Training – National Event
http://tinyurl.com/nationaltitle

Lisa Lyle Waggoner is a CPDT-KA, a Pat Miller Certified Trainer-Level 2, a Pat Miller Level 1 Canine Behavior & Training Academy instructor and a dog*tec Dog Walking Academy Instructor. She is the founder of Cold Nose College in Murphy, North Carolina, and enjoys providing behavior consulting and training solutions to clients in the tri-state area of North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, as well as offering educational opportunities for dog trainers and dog hobbyists throughout the U.S. Stay tuned for Lisa’s Dock Diving DVD from Tawzer Dog, which will be available before the end of 2014.

Tryptophan for Dogs

By
Linda P. Case, MS
-
3

[Updated May 22, 2018]

I grew up with a storybook grandmother, “Nana” to my sister and me. Nana was a great cook and regularly expressed her love through sumptuous meals and comfort foods. Her home was definitely the place to be on all food-oriented holidays, including the ultimate all-American food holiday, Thanksgiving. Like many Americans on this day, my family gorged on all that Nana placed on her overloaded dining-room table – mashed potatoes, stuffing, butternut squash, warm rolls, salads, corn casserole, and, of course, the mandatory roasted turkey. Following this annual feast, my sister and I would fall into food-induced stupors, sleeping off our over-indulgence for several hours before rousting ourselves to eat one more piece of pie.

dogs love turkey

A number of years later I learned that my post-feast drowsiness was presumably caused by a specific nutrient in turkey, the amino acid tryptophan. This theory, first put forth by a nutritionist, proposed that turkey meat contains unusually high levels of tryptophan.

Once absorbed, tryptophan is used by the body to produce serotonin (a neurotransmitter) and melatonin (a hormone). Melatonin helps to induce feelings of drowsiness (i.e., enhances sleep) and the neurological pathway through which serotonin works has anti-anxiety and calming effects. Therefore, the theory goes, after consuming a high-protein meal, in particular one that is high in tryptophan, the body’s production of melatonin and serotonin increases, which in turn causes drowsiness, reduced anxiety, and a calm state of mind. Presto – the post-turkey coma!

The tryptophan/turkey theory became so popular and widespread in the early 1980s that nutrient-supplement companies decided to bypass the turkey part of the equation altogether and began producing and selling tryptophan supplements (L-tryptophan). These were initially promoted as sleep aids and to reduce signs of anxiety. However, as is the nature of these things, the promoted benefits of L-tryptophan rapidly expanded to include, among other things, claims that it would enhance athletic performance, cure facial pain, prevent premenstrual syndrome, and enhance attention in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. (My personal favorite was the promotion of L-tryptophan as a treatment for Tourette syndrome.)

L-tryptophan enjoyed a robust reputation as the nutrient for “all that ails ye'” until 1989, when it was found to be responsible for causing eosinophilia-myalgia in more than 5,000 people, killing at least 37 and permanently disabling hundreds. The US Food and Drug Administration quickly banned its import and sale as a supplement. Although the problem was eventually traced to a contaminant in a supplement that was imported from a Japanese supply company (and not the L-tryptophan itself), the ban remained in effect until 2009. Today, L-tryptophan is once again available as a nutrient supplement, but it has never regained its earlier popularity as a supplement for humans.

Tryptophan and Dogs

It’s odd that L-tryptophan was largely ignored by the dog world until a research paper published in 2000 suggested that feeding supplemental L-tryptophan might reduce dominance-related or territorial aggression in dogs1 (see references on page 10). The researchers also studied dogs with problem excitability and hyperactivity, but found no effect of L-tryptophan on either of these behaviors. However, the paper led to the belief that tryptophan supplementation was an effective calming aid in dogs (which it definitely did not show in the study) and as an aid in reducing problem aggression.

Today, a number of L-tryptophan supplements are marketed for reducing anxiety and inducing calmness in dogs. Interestingly, none of these product offer pure L-tryptophan; all of them  include other agents that are purported to have a calming effect on dogs, such as chamomile flower, passionflower, valerian root, or ginger.

So, what does the science say? Does eating turkey or taking an L-tryptophan supplement reduce anxiety and induce calmness? Can it be used as an effective nutrient supplement to reduce anxiety-related problem behaviors in dogs?

The Turkey Sleepiness Myth

It is a myth that consuming turkey induces drowsiness or reduces anxiety. The theory fails on several counts. First, turkey meat does not actually contain a uniquely high level of tryptophan. The amount of tryptophan it contains is similar to that found in other meats and is only half of the concentration found in some plant-source proteins, such as soy. Do you get sleepy after gorging on tofu?

Second, researchers have shown that the amount of tryptophan that is consumed after a normal high-protein meal, even one that contains a lot of tryptophan, does not come close to being high enough to cause significant changes in serotonin levels in the blood or in the synapses of neurons, where it matters the most.

Third, to be converted into serotonin (and eventually into melatonin), tryptophan that is carried in the bloodstream following a meal must cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain. This barrier is quite selective and only accepts a certain number of amino acids of each type. Tryptophan is a very large molecule and competes with several other similar types of amino acids to make it across the barrier. Following a meal, especially if the meal is high in protein, tryptophan does increase in the blood and is pounding at the blood-barrier door for access. However, it is also competing with other amino acids that are also at high levels (and turkey contains all of ’em). As a result, very limited amounts of tryptophan make it into the brain for conversion following a meal that includes lots of other nutrients.

So, why so sleepy? The real explanation for the drowsiness and euphoria that we all feel following a great turkey dinner at Nana’s house is more likely to be caused by simply eating too much (which leads to reduced blood flow and oxygen to the brain as your body diverts resources to the mighty job at hand of digestion), imbibing a bit of holiday (alcoholic) cheer, and possibly, eating a lot of high-carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, yams, and breads, which leads to a relatively wider fluctuation in circulating insulin levels. Whatever the cause, don’t blame (or credit) the turkey or the tryptophan.

Tryptophan: Flying Solo

That established, the erroneous focus on turkey did have some positive consequences in that it led to a closer look at tryptophan’s potential impact on mental states and behavior when provided as a supplement. As a serotonin precursor, tryptophan (and its metabolite 5-hydroxytryptophan, or 5-HTP) has been studied as either a replacement or an adjunct therapy for serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRRIs), medications that are commonly used to treat depression in people and are sometimes prescribed as treatment for anxiety-related behaviors in dogs.

tryptophan for dogs

Although limited work has been conducted regarding the effects of tryptophan supplementation in dogs, several informative papers did follow the initial dog study of 2000:

Tryptophan and Anxiety

Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands studied a group of 138 privately owned dogs with anxiety-related behavior problems2.

Study design: Half of the dogs were fed a standard dog food (control) and half were fed the same food, formulated to contain supplemental L-tryptophan. Neither the owners nor the researchers were privy to dogs’ assigned groups. In other words, this was a “double-blind, placebo-controlled study” (see my book Dog Food Logic for more about studies), the “gold standard” of research designs. Dogs were fed their assigned diet for eight weeks, during which time the owners recorded any behavior changes they observed. At the end of the study, the researchers also performed a set of behavior evaluations to assess the dogs.

Results: Although blood tryptophan levels increased significantly (by 37 percent) in the dogs that were fed supplemental tryptophan, neither the owners nor the researchers observed any difference in behavior between the supplemented group of dogs and the control dogs. There were moderate changes in behavior over time in all of the dogs, but this change was attributed to a placebo effect (more about placebos in next month’s column). Overall, supplementation with L-tryptophan demonstrated no anxiety-reducing effects in the dogs enrolled in this study.

Tryptophan and Abnormal/Repetitive Behaviors

A group of 29 dogs was identified3, each presenting with a form of abnormal-repetitive behavior, either circling, anxiety-related lick granuloma, light chasing/shadow staring, or stool eating. (Note: One might question the inclusion of stool-eating in this study, since many pet professionals consider eating feces to be a form of scavenging behavior that is normal and common in the domestic dog.)

Study design: This was another double-blind and placebo-controlled study. In addition, the researchers used a “cross-over” design in which half of the dogs are first fed the control and the other half are first fed the test diet for a period of time and are then all switched to the alternate diet for a second study period. This is a well-accepted study design that is helpful when a researcher has a limited number of subjects; it also helps to control for the placebo effect.

The dogs were treated for two-week periods and the frequencies of their abnormal behaviors were recorded daily.

Results: The researchers reported no effect of supplemental L-tryptophan on the frequency or intensity of abnormal/repetitive behaviors. Although the owners reported slight improvements over time, this occurred both when dogs were receiving the supplemental tryptophan and while they were eating the control diet (there is the insidious placebo effect again).

Limitations of this study were that it was very short term and it targeted uncommon behavior problems that are notoriously resistant to treatment. Still, this study did not provide any evidence to support a use of tryptophan supplementation for repetitive behavior problems in dogs. (So, to all you folks who live with poop-eaters: sorry, no easy answer here with L-tryptophan.)

Tryptophan-Enhanced Diet and Anxiety

Dogs with anxiety-related behavior problems were fed either a control food or the same food supplemented with L-tryptophan plus alpha-casozepine, a small peptide that originates from milk protein4.

Study design: This was a single-blind, crossover study in which only dog owners were blinded to treatments. All of the dogs were first fed the control diet for eight weeks and were all then switched to the test diet for a second eight-week period. Because the treatment group always followed the control in this study design, it is impossible to distinguish between a placebo effect and an actual diet effect in this study. (Note: This is a serious research design flaw that the study authors mention only briefly.)

Results: A small reduction in owner-scored anxiety-related behaviors was found for four of the five identified anxiety problems. However, in all of the cases, the initial severity of the problems was rated as very low (~1 to 1.5 on a five-point scale in which a score of 0 denoted an absence of the problem and a score of 5 denoted its highest severity), and the change in score was numerically very small, though statistically significant. This is not surprising since there is not very much wiggle room between a score of 1 and a score of 0. Finally, given that the food was supplemented with both L-tryptophan and casozepine, conclusions cannot be made specifically about L-tryptophan.

Take-Away Points for Dog Folks

First, forget the turkey. While it can be a high-quality meat to feed to dogs (especially if you select a food that includes human-grade meats or are cooking fresh for your dog), turkey contains no more tryptophan than any other dietary protein. Feeding turkey to your dog will not promote calmness (unless you allow him to stuff himself silly along with the rest of the family on Thanksgiving Day – a practice as unadvisable for him as it is for you).

Second, keep your skeptic cap firmly in place when considering the effectiveness of supplemental L-tryptophan or a tryptophan-enriched food as a treatment for anxiety-related problems. The early study in 2000 reported a modest effect in dogs with dominance-related aggression or territorial behaviors but found no effect in treating hyperactivity.

Subsequently, two placebo-controlled studies reported no effect at all, and the single study that reported a small degree of behavior change could not discount the possibility of a placebo effect.

Human nature encourages us to gravitate toward easy fixes for all things that ail our dogs. Hearing about a nutrient supplement or a specially formulated food that claims to reduce anxiety and calm fearful dogs is powerful stuff for dog owners who are desperate to help their dogs. These types of claims are especially appealing because anxiety problems can have a terrible impact on a dog’s quality of life and are often challenging to treat using the standard (and proven) approach of behavior modification.

An additional risk that must be mentioned regarding our inclination to gravitate toward unverified nutritional “cures” is that well-established approaches such as behavior modification may be postponed or rejected by an owner who instead opts for the supplement, wasting precious time that could actually help a dog in need. Until we have stronger scientific evidence that demonstrates a role for L-tryptophan in changing problem behavior in our dogs, my recommendation is to enjoy the turkey, but train the dog.

Linda P. Case, MS, is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting and Dog Training Center in Mahomet, Illinois, where she lives with her four dogs and husband Mike. She is the author of a new book,  Dog Food Logic, and many other books and numerous publications on nutrition for dogs and cats. Her blog can be read at thesciencedog.wordpress.com. 

Cited References:

1. DeNapoli JS, Dodman NH, Shuster L, et al. Effect of dietary protein content and tryptophan supplementation on dominance aggression, territorial aggression, and hyperactivity in dogs. J Amer Vet Med Assoc 2000; 217:504-508.

2. Bosch G, Beerda B, Beynen AC, et al. Dietary tryptophan supplementation in privately owned mildly anxious dogs. Appl Anim Behav Sci2009; 121:197-205.

3. Kaulfuss P, Hintze S, Wurbel H. Effect of tryptophan as a dietary supplement on dogs with abnormal-repetitive behaviours. Abstract. J Vet Behav 2009; 4:97.

4. Kato M, Miyaji K, Ohtani N, Ohta M. Effects of prescription diet on dealing with stressful situations and performance of anxiety-related behaviors in privately owned anxious dogs. J Vet Behav 2012;7:21-26.

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