On March 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it had rejected a petition from environmentalists that would have banned bisphenol A (BPA) from all food and drink packaging. The scientific evidence at this time, said the FDA, does not suggest that the “very low levels of human exposure to BPA” afforded through our diets are unsafe.
288
“The agency has performed extensive research on BPA, has reviewed hundreds of other studies, and is continuing to address questions and potential concerns raised by certain studies,” the news release continued. “The agency takes all concerns about BPA seriously and is evaluating them as part of the agency’s ongoing oversight of food safety.”
This release generated a tornado of disbelief, skepticism, and contempt from environmental and health activists, who frequently fear that BPA may be poised to kill all of us and our little dogs, too. In recent years, many pet owners have expressed concern about feeding canned food to dogs and cats due to the potential for exposure to BPA. How valid are these concerns?
What is BPA? Bisphenol A was first synthesized (with acetone and phenol) by a Russian chemist in 1891. In the 1930s, the substance was found to have the ability to mimic human estrogen in the body, and it was tested as an estrogen replacement therapy for women. In the 1950s, chemists at Bayer and General Electric pioneered its use in plastic manufacturing; its ability to harden plastics – while retaining enough flexibility to keep the material from shattering – made it a wildly popular material.
Over the past 60 years, the industrial use of BPA has become pervasive in the human environment. In addition to its use as a microfilm lining inside food cans (preventing food from chemically interacting with the metal can), it’s used in plastic food and beverage containers, baby bottles, dental sealants, CDs and DVDs, medical equipment, sports equipment, eyeglass lenses and more. It’s also used to make carbonless copy paper and thermal paper – the kind used in many cash register and ATM receipts.
BPA readily enters our bodies via any contact we have with it. Humans ingest BPA that has leached into foods and beverages that are packaged with it. It can be absorbed through the skin by simple contact with products that contain it. (The amount found to be absorbed through the skin by briefly holding cash register receipts made with BPA is higher, in fact, than the amount that typically leaches into food and beverages from BPA-based packaging.) It also can enter the human body through respiration; studies have found BPA in soil and house dust.
BPA is rapidly metabolized and excreted by the body; its transit time in our bodies is quick. But it can be detected in about 95 percent of the population at any given time. This persistent test result demonstrates that we are subject to constant exposure to the substance.
Health Effects Despite the fact that BPA has been known to be an estrogenic substance since the 1930s, no concerns were raised about its potential for causing health problems as an endocrine disrupter until 1997, when adverse effects of low-dose exposure to laboratory animals were first reported. It has been extensively studied since then, with the varied results one might expect from such a widely used product upon which so much industry relies. Some studies conclude that BPA at the currently accepted levels presents no threat to human health; others warn that the average levels found in humans are above those that cause harm in animals used in laboratory research.
In general, endocrine disrupters cause the greatest harm to animals in the earliest stage of their development, i.e., in utero and as infants. In 2006, a U.S. government panel of experts reviewed the scientific literature available on BPA and concluded that “BPA at concentrations found in the human body is associated with organizational changes in the prostate, breast, testis, mammary glands, body size, brain structure and chemistry, and behavior of laboratory animals.” (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers exposures up to 50 µg/kg/day to be safe for humans. No limits for dogs or cats have been established.) Other studies have reported that BPA has adverse effects on thyroid hormone action.
BPA and Cans Canned pet foods are probably one of the most likely sources of BPA in our dogs and cats (their diets are far less varied than ours).
Both steel and aluminum (the two most common can materials) must be lined with a barrier material to prevent interactions between the metal and food acids, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and other substances. Once upon a time, tin was used to line steel cans; this wasn’t perfect, either, as it imparted a distinctive “tinny” taste to foods. But for the past 30-plus years, the liner of choice has been BPA. The North American Metal Packaging Alliance (NAMPA) boasts that since the complete industry adoption of BPA-based epoxy resin liners in food and beverage cans, there has not been a single incidence of foodbourne illness resulting from the failure of metal packaging. Unless you’re 40 or more years old, you may not even be aware that such a thing was possible!
This reliability would be terrific news, if only BPA didn’t leach into the consumable products it was supposed to protect. But it does get into the food, and scientists don’t even fully understand which chemical reactions are responsible; patterns that completely explain the wide range of BPA levels found in food and beverages do not exist. According to one FDA report, “Large variations in BPA concentrations were found between different products of the same food type and between different lots of the same product.” In other words, one brand of green beans may have high BPA levels while another brand of the same type of beans will have low levels. It’s even been observed that BPA levels can vary from lot to lot of the same product from the same brand.
The Search for a Reliable Alternative According to NAMPA, the industry has made some progress in identifying alternatives to BPA, with four materials currently being explored: vinyl, acrylic, polyester, and oleoresins. The organization is not bursting with pride over any of these alternatives, though. “While each offers some of the needed characteristics for use as an interior can coating,” NAMPA states, “none of them meet all the performance and safety characteristics currently met by BPA-based epoxy resins . . . . Like BPA epoxy resin coatings, these coatings allow some migration of materials into the food product. Unlike BPA epoxy coatings, however, these alternatives have significant limitations.
“These other can coatings can impart odor and taste to the food product, have less flexibility, cannot withstand high temperatures required for sterilization, and compromise shelf-life, resulting in potentially higher costs and less choice to the consumer. For example, although often cited as the BPA-alternative of choice in the media, oleoresinous enamel is not viable for most food or beverage items. It represents a very small fraction of the overall canned vegetable market because of its limited performance.”
Companies that compete in the natural or holistic food niche have called the loudest for alternatives to BPA-based can liners. Eden Foods was a pioneer in this regard; about 10 years ago, when Mike Hall, the founder and president of Eden Foods, learned that oleoresinous enamels were used to line cans before the development of BPA, he asked his can suppliers to go back to that material. Until recently, BPA-based liners were still used for Eden’s tomato-based canned foods, because only BPA has been proven to resist deterioration caused by high-acid products. Eden finally gave up the wait for an alternative, though, and now packages all of its high-acid tomato-based products in glass jars.
Pet food companies (especially those that, like Eden Foods, are marketing “holistic and natural” products) are also begging canning material suppliers for alternatives to BPA-based liners. But safe and effective alternatives for pet food cans are simply not yet available. It’s proving much more difficult to find a reliable can liner for a chemically complex product like pet food than for vegetables. Dog and cat diets need to be “complete and balanced,” containing all the proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals that our pets need. All of these ingredients, as well as the carriers, binders, thickeners, and other “functional” ingredients, have the potential for chemical interactions with the can liner. Formulating such a barrier material requires the testing of hundreds if not thousands of different chemical reactions. Many products have showed early promise, but failed “shelf life” tests.
Related Alternatives Note that several of BPA’s close chemical relatives, including bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (usually abbreviated as BADGE but sometimes seen as DGEBA), bisphenol F, bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (abbreviated as BFDGE), and bisphenol sulfonate (bisphenol S), are also used for lining food and beverage cans; these other products are more frequently used on aluminum cans.
Today, almost all small cans – those that hold 3 to 5.5 ounces of wet food – are made of aluminum and lined with either BADGE or BFDGE. These cans are stamped out of a sheet of aluminum and don’t require a welded seam on one side the way steel cans do. A stronger material than aluminum, steel is used for larger cans, and BPA is still considered the most reliable coating for steel. If another coating is used in a steel can, the welded seam is almost always coated with a strip of BPA, and then the alternative coating is applied over that.
Unfortunately, like BPA, all of these chemicals are estrogenic, and all of them have demonstrated their ability to leach into food and beverages. Further, even less is known about these newer chemicals than about BPA.
Marketing The lack of BPA-alternatives for safe, reliable canned pet food liners hasn’t kept pet food companies from attempting to competitively describe and market their products. We’ve seen companies describe their use of BPA as minimal, miniscule, or “less than the amount allowed by the FDA.” Some say that they have “discontinued the use of BPA” in their small cans or that “our small cans are already BPA-free.” They may state they “are actively seeking out alternatives to BPA,” “testing substances to replace BPA,” or “phasing out BPA” as soon as they can find a feasible alternative. (Campbell’s Soup recently made national headlines with this last claim.)
The thing is, all of these statements could be said by any maker of canned foods, and they all mean the same thing. Virtually all canneries use only a small amount of BPA-based can lining material, it all leaches less than what the FDA allows, and the entire industry is frantically researching and testing alternatives.
Watch also for statements to the effect that “our raw can materials” or the cans themselves have no BPA. Technically, these statements are true of every can, too; it’s the can liners that contain BPA. Tricky!
Decision Time As the FDA recently stated, it’s not clear that the amount of BPA present in our (or our pets’) diet is a certain health hazard. But for some pet owners, the decision to avoid this particular chemical exposure is easy; they don’t or won’t feed canned food to their pets.
That’s fine if their alternative to canned food is a fresh home-prepared or commercial frozen diet. But it would be unfortunate for pets whose owners won’t use these alternatives and who would benefit from a wet diet, such as dogs with kidney disease, senior dogs with poor appetites, and all cats (researchers are starting to suspect that many feline health problems are due to eating dry food). And given the ubiquity of this chemical in the modern environment, one can’t even be assured that avoiding canned foods will prevent your pet’s exposure to BPA.
Making meals from scratch is the only way I know to have exactly what I want for my dogs – no ingredients from places with spotty records for quality assurance, no multi-syllabic additives making a label longer than I like. After I covered the pet-food recall in 2007, I changed the way I eat and the way I feed my pets. For my dogs, that meant commercial products from companies I trusted, along with raw-food meals from regional sources of meat, grains, and vegetables.
It wasn’t a huge shift from raw to cooked when my Flat-Coated Retriever, McKenzie, started chemotherapy for soft-tissue sarcoma a few days after her seventh birthday. At the suggestion of her veterinary oncologist, I dropped the carbs, rebalanced the diet with the help of some expert advice, and started feeding “McKenzie Meatloaf” to all three of my dogs. The canine “cancer diet” is essentially carb-free, and cooked to reduce the load of potential pathogens that trouble many veterinarians about diets with raw meat, especially when a dog’s immune system is suppressed by medication.
While it was easy to turn a good raw diet into a good cooked one, I ran into a challenge when it came to treats. The solution? A dehydrator. Allow me to share what I’ve learned about making healthy and irresistible dog treats.
1. If you’re serious, buy a big dehydrator.
Dehydrators come in all sizes and price ranges; I went with a fairly large home model from Excalibur. I’ve been very happy with it, although if I were to do it again, I’d spring for the model with a timer, adding $25 to the cost.
Dehydrators start about $30, and the large one I bought was $250 retail, but I paid $200 online. Check eBay or Craigslist and you can get an even better deal if you are patient; I’m generally not!
For cubed or stripped meats/organs, my nine-tray model will easily dehydrate 20 pounds of meat at once. Because some parts are large (beef hearts are 10 pounds, and livers are large, too) and because I buy even small items in bulk (such as turkey, chicken, or duck hearts packaged in 10-pound bags) I got a large dehydrator so I can process a lot at once.
2. Find quality meats.
Join a raw food buyer’s group or co-op if one is anywhere near you; then you should be able to get meat from humanely cared-for, local animals at a good price. I buy bulk bags of hearts (chicken, turkey, and beef), liver (chicken and beef), and beef trachea from a raw feeders’ co-op about 100 miles from where I live. Other parts are on order, including poultry feet and what are euphemistically called “pizzles” – cattle penis. Even if you don’t have access to a buyer’s group, a custom butcher should be able to hook you up with products you’ll never see in your supermarket.
The biggest surprise? Beef trachea. Raw cattle windpipes – they can be two or more feet in length with a diameter of 3 to 4 inches – are a little hard to handle if you’re squeamish. Tracheas are awkwardly shaped, and require the removal of every other tray in my dehydrator to accommodate their height, so I can dry only five of these at a time. But after eight hours in the dehydrator they dry into perfect chews that are easily cut with a bread knife into two pieces that are just right for chewing by my retrievers.
3. Read the cleaning and safety instructions.
You’re ready to go after reading the booklet that comes with the machine. Precise drying isn’t a problem, since dogs are pretty happy even if you overshoot the “chewy” stage of jerky preferred by humans.
4. Set it up somewhere . . . else.
I don’t dehydrate in the kitchen; the smell of liver drying at low heat was gag-inducing for me – and hard to ignore for my drooling dogs. After the first batch was done, the dehydrator found a permanent set-up in the garage.
5. Prepare the meat.
This is easy. I rinse the meat, cut it to double the size I want to end with, put it on the racks, and turn on the machine for a few hours. That’s it! When it’s reached the level of dryness I want, I store the treats in plastic bags or containers in the freezer, taking out a little at a time for freshness.
So what do my dogs think? They love the treats. The poultry hearts and liver are good for training, and the trachea sections are every bit as popular as store-bought chews.
No matter what the future brings for McKenzie, I suspect I’ll be using the dehydrator to make treats for my dogs for years to come. It’s only been a few months since I bought it, but the dehydrator is nearly paid for in what I’ve saved by not buying organic, top-quality treats.
A resident of Northern California, Gina Spadafori is a syndicated pet-care columnist and the author of more than dozen books on animals and their care. She is also the writing partner of “Good Morning America” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker.
Researchers speculate that the development of diabetes may have a genetic component, including affecting certain breeds more than others.
For years public health officials have reported a diabetes epidemic among America’s children and adults. At the same time, the rate of canine diabetes in America has more than tripled since 1970, so that today it affects about 1 in every 160 dogs. But while many human cases are caused and can be treated by diet, diabetes in dogs is a lifelong condition that requires careful blood sugar monitoring and daily insulin injections.
The medical term for the illness is diabetes mellitus (mellitus is a Latin term that means “honey sweet,” reflecting the elevated sugar levels the condition produces in urine and blood). Diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin to metabolize food for energy, or when the body’s cells fail to utilize insulin properly.
The pancreas’s inability to produce insulin is known in humans as type 1 (formerly called juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes. Type 1 diabetes affects virtually all dogs with the condition. Dogs can also develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
Type 2 (formerly adult onset) diabetes, which is the result of insulin resistance often linked to diet and obesity, is the most common form of diabetes in humans. Most diabetic cats have type 2 diabetes, but there is no evidence that Type 2 diabetes occurs in dogs.
Signs of Diabetes in Dogs
The classic symptoms of diabetes in dogs are excessive thirst, increased urination, and weight loss despite normal or increased food consumption. Acute-onset blindness resulting from cataracts can also be a sign.
The diagnosis is easy to confirm with simple tests for glucose (sugar) in the blood and urine.
Other test results linked to diabetes include ketones in the urine, increased liver enzymes, hyperlipidemia (elevated cholesterol and/or triglycerides), an enlarged liver, protein in the urine, elevated white blood cells due to secondary infections, increased urine specific gravity resulting from dehydration, and low blood phosphorus levels.
Canine diabetes may be complicated or uncomplicated. Complicated cases, in which the patient is ill, not eating, or vomiting, require hospital care. Fortunately, most cases are uncomplicated and can be treated at home.
Dogs at Highest Risk for Diabetes
What causes diabetes in dogs? Diabetes is one of the most common endocrine diseases affecting middle-aged and senior dogs, with 70 percent of patients older than seven at the time of diagnosis. Diabetes in puppies hardly exists – diabetes rarely occurs in dogs younger than one year of age, and it is more common in females and neutered males than in intact males.
Keeshonds, Pulis, Cairn Terriers, Miniature Pinschers, Poodles, Samoyeds, Australian Terriers, Schnauzers, Spitz, Fox Terriers, Bichon Frise, and Siberian Huskies may be at higher risk. Because of these breed connections, researchers speculate that the development of diabetes may have a genetic component.
An estimated 50 percent of canine diabetes cases are likely linked to pancreatic damage caused by autoimmune disorders. These disorders have many possible causes, including genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Many holistic veterinarians speculate that they may be linked to overstimulation of the immune system from multiple vaccinations, processed foods, and other environmental insults.
Extensive pancreatic damage resulting from chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) may contribute to diabetes in 30 percent of canine cases. Pancreatic disease can also cause exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI, resulting in a deficiency of digestive enzymes. When a dog develops both EPI and diabetes, the diabetes typically appears several months before symptoms of EPI.
An estimated 20 percent of canine patients develop insulin resistance from other conditions, such as Cushing’s disease and acromegaly (too much growth hormone), or from the long-term use of steroid drugs, such as prednisone. In females, insulin resistance may accompany the heat cycle, or gestational diabetes may occur during pregnancy. In these cases, symptoms may disappear when the heat cycle or pregnancy ends. Diabetes may also resolve when steroids are discontinued or Cushing’s disease is treated.
Though many people assume otherwise, there is actually no clear evidence that obesity causes diabetes in dogs. However, obesity can contribute to insulin resistance, making it more difficult to regulate overweight dogs with diabetes. Obesity is also a risk factor for pancreatitis, which can lead to diabetes.
Cataracts in Dogs Due to Diabetes
Cataracts are a clouding of the lens of the eye. Diabetic cataracts are a leading cause of blindness in humans, and the same is true for dogs. The majority of canine patients with diabetes develop cataracts within six months of diagnosis, and 80 percent do so within 16 months. The risk of cataract development appears to increase with age regardless of blood sugar levels, so that even well controlled diabetic dogs can develop cataracts.
Surgery has saved the sight of many dogs. Cataracts treated in the early immature stage have the highest success rate and fewest surgical complications.
Hypermature cataracts create inflammation (uveitis), causing pain, eye redness, and pupil constriction. When uveitis is seen prior to surgery, the success rate for pain-free vision six months later is only 50 percent, as opposed to 95 percent for those with no pre-surgical uveitis.
Phacoemulsification to remove the lens is the preferred surgical method for diabetic dogs. After surgery, an artificial lens is installed for optimal post-operative vision. Although cataracts typically affect both eyes, treating just one can reduce costs (estimated between $1,500 to $3,000 per eye) and still restore vision.
Other potential complications from diabetes include decreased corneal sensitivity, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye).
Diabetic nephropathy, a kidney problem, occurs in 40 percent of human patients and takes many years to develop. The percentage of canine patients with diabetic nephropathy is unknown (it’s more common in cats), but its earliest sign is hyperalbuminuria (high albumin levels in urine) followed by an increase in the urine protein-to-creatinine (UPC) ratio and hypertension (high blood pressure), which may contribute to kidney damage. Early changes may be reversed if blood sugar levels improve.
Infections – especially urinary tract infections (UTIs) – are common among dogs with diabetes because sugar in urine makes the bladder an ideal incubator for bacteria. In one study, half of the diabetic dogs tested had occult or hidden urinary tract infections that were not detected by urinalysis. The possibility of UTIs in dogs with diabetes is so great that their urine should be cultured periodically to detect infections. A long course of antibiotics (lasting six to eight weeks) can be administered if needed. Follow-up cultures and frequent retesting are recommended.
Dogs with diabetes are also susceptible to infections of the mouth and gums. Diabetic pets should have their teeth checked regularly and cleaned if necessary. Dental tartar seeds the body with bacteria, and when blood sugar levels run high, infections in important organs can take root. The kidneys and heart are particularly vulnerable. Brushing your dog’s teeth daily or at least twice a week helps to prevent and detect early signs of dental disease.
Liver (hepatic) disease is another common problem, resulting from altered fat metabolism caused by diabetes. In one survey of 221 dogs with diabetes, over 70 percent had elevated liver enzymes. Ultrasound tests and biopsies help differentiate between primary hepatic disease and secondary complications of diabetes.
Hyperadrenocorticism, or Cushing’s disease, is another complication. In one study, 23 percent of dogs with diabetes tested positive for Cushing’s. Most canine patients with both disorders develop Cushing’s disease before the onset of diabetes. About 10 percent of dogs with Cushing’s are also diabetic.
Hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) may coincide with diabetes. In the study mentioned above, 9 percent of diabetic canines were hypothyroid. While the glucose intolerance caused by hypothyroidism could lead to the development of diabetes, it’s unlikely to be a major factor because the two don’t often occur together. However, thyroid hormone deficiency can result in insulin resistance, complicating glycemic control. Thyroid hormone replacement should be instituted gradually in dogs with diabetes since their insulin requirements will decrease and, without dosage adjustments, severe hypoglycemia may occur.
It makes sense to test diabetic dogs for hypothyroidism and hyperadrenocorticism, but only after their diabetes is controlled. Otherwise, the diabetes will affect test results.
Hyperlipidemia usually improves as blood sugar levels are controlled. Persistently elevated triglycerides may be linked to Cushing’s disease and can increase the risk of developing acute pancreatitis. Reducing fat in the diet can help to lower triglyceride levels. Elevated cholesterol is often linked to hypothyroidism.
Insulin resistance can be caused by hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, infections, pancreatitis, drug therapy (corticosteroids), obesity, acromegaly, estrus (heat cycle), and anti-insulin antibodies. Insulin resistance should be investigated in patients who need doses of 1 unit or more of insulin per pound of body weight.
The Life Expectancy of Dogs with Diabetes
The life expectancy of a diabetic dog can be the same as a healthy dog’s with proper care. With proper treatment, diabetic dogs have survival rates very similar to those of non-diabetic dogs of the same age and gender, though their risk is greatest during the first six months of treatment, when insulin therapy is introduced and glucose levels are being regulated. Diabetic dogs are more likely to die of kidney disease, infections, or liver/pancreatic disorders than of diabetes itself. But once their condition stabilizes, diabetic dogs can lead happy, healthy lives.
Consider Buster, a 13-year-old Maltese belonging to Mary Butler in Northern California. Buster was diagnosed with diabetes three years ago after suddenly going blind due to cataracts.
“He had lens implants within a month and has had perfect vision ever since,” says Butler. “My little guy has been stable ever since his diagnosis. He has lots of energy, his coat is thick and shiny, his stools are formed and regular, and his teeth sparkle. I do brush his teeth three times a week, which I am sure helps.”
Dog Diabetes Treatment
What Kind of Insulin is Best for Diabetic Dogs?
Your veterinarian is your best advisor when it comes to medication. There are many different insulin products, and individual responses vary. Finding the right insulin for your dog may require experimentation.
Insulin varies in terms of onset, peak, and duration of action. Most dogs do well with intermediate-acting insulin, such as Humulin N, though some do better with long-acting insulin or mixtures that combine different types. It’s important to use only fresh insulin, switching to a new bottle every 6 to 8 weeks, and to use the correct syringe, which will vary depending on the type of insulin.
Alise Shatoff of San Diego, California, adopted her dog Gryffin five years ago at age four, when he was surrendered after developing diabetes. She feeds a commercial raw diet and says, “We have found that Gryffin does best on Humulin N. This one works really well for dogs on a raw diet. Gryffin has been nice and stable on the Humulin N for four years now.”
Porcine (derived from pigs) and recombinant human insulin most closely resemble insulin produced by dogs, so they usually work best. Although beef insulin was successfully used before the advent of other choices, it is no longer recommended for dogs because it may result in the production of anti-insulin antibodies, leading to poor glucose control.
Diane Di Salvo of Madison, Wisconsin, whose dog, Scout, developed diabetes two years ago, notes that, “Walmart sells Humulin insulin for way less than vets and other pharmacies. It is the exact same insulin that Eli Lilly makes for all pharmacies, but it is packaged for Walmart under their ReliOn brand.”
Insulin is typically administered twice a day, immediately before or after a meal. Feeding just before giving insulin may be safer, to be sure that the dog eats, because without food the insulin’s effect would be dangerous. Assuming your dog is a chow hound, feeding her after administering insulin can be a reward for submitting to the injection.
However, most dogs don’t mind the injections, which are done with very thin needles. Carol Albert of Kensington, Maryland, has a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Henry, who developed diabetes four years ago. “Henry gets insulin shots twice daily after meals,” says Albert. “He knows he will get a treat after the injection so he comes looking for me after he eats to get his shot.”
It is important to give insulin injections properly. One of the most common reasons for problems in achieving regulation is that the owner doesn’t inject the dog correctly. If possible, have your veterinarian observe you giving insulin to your dog.
When a dog is first diagnosed, frequent monitoring, such as every one to two weeks, may be required until the patient is stable and doing well. After that, monitoring every three to six months (veterinary exam, blood test, urinalysis, and urine culture) is recommended.
Measuring fructosamine (glycated serum protein) is a helpful way to monitor glucose control. If it’s not possible to run glucose curves, this test would be the next best option. Blood glucose fluctuations leave a metabolic mark that lasts a week or two, and fructosamine reflects the average blood glucose over that time span. Because fructosamine looks at averages, it will not distinguish excellent control from wide swings of high to low glucose readings, but even with this limitation, fructosamine is worth including in periodic monitoring tests.
Ketones are water-soluble compounds produced as by-products when fatty acids are broken down for energy in the liver and kidneys. Dangerously high levels of ketones, called ketoacidosis, can lead to diabetic coma or death. Symptoms include nausea, lack of appetite, and lethargy. Ketoacidosis is often linked to concurrent pancreatitis, urinary tract infection, Cushing’s disease, or other types of infection or inflammation.
Ketostix are used to detect ketones in urine and can be obtained at any pharmacy. Finding ketones occasionally is not a problem, but a positive dipstick three days in a row requires a veterinary visit.
Food for Diabetic Dogs: Choosing the Best Diabetic Dog Food
In humans and felines with type 2 diabetes, diet is a major component of the illness’s cause and treatment. Because the culprits are carbohydrates and obesity, weight loss and a high-protein, low-carb diet are sometimes all the treatment that is needed.
But for dogs with type 1 diabetes, there is no single recommended diet. The most important factor is that the dog likes the food and eats it willingly. Most diabetic dogs can be well managed with an adult maintenance diet. A prescription diet is not required. If the dog has another illness, feed a diet appropriate for that illness.
Try to feed the same amount of the same type of food at the same time each day, ideally in two meals 12 hours apart. Any change in carbohydrates will affect the amount of insulin needed. Some dogs may need a snack between meals to keep glucose levels from falling too low.
Fiber and carbohydrates are controversial topics in diabetes treatment, and recommendations are changing. Only a few nutritional studies have been done on dogs with diabetes. Different dogs respond differently to varying amounts of fiber and carbohydrates, and dietary needs vary depending on whether a dog is underweight or overweight, so there is no best dog food for diabetic dogs.
Diabetic dogs may not need a low-fat diet unless they have concurrent pancreatitis, Cushing’s disease, elevated triglycerides, elevated cholesterol, or lipemia (fatty blood). However, since the majority of diabetic dogs do have one or more of these concurrent diseases, and since pancreatitis can occur at any time (and chronic pancreatitis may cause problems before it is diagnosed), the majority of diabetic dogs will do better on a diet that is moderately low in fat. To be safe, avoid feeding high-fat diets.
The amount of protein in the diet should be normal or increased, especially for overweight dogs and for underweight dogs with muscle wasting or EPI. Protein should be increased when fat is decreased, to avoid feeding too many carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate Levels in Diabetic Dog Food
Carbohydrates are responsible for the greatest changes in postprandial (after-eating) blood sugar levels. There is a strong association between the insulin dosage requirement and the carbohydrate content of the meal, regardless of carbohydrate source or type. Keeping the amount of carbohydrates in the diet steady is the best way to keep insulin needs stable.
The glycemic index measures the effects of carbohydrates in food on blood sugar levels. It estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of glucose. Glycemic index charts that list hundreds of human foods are widely published.
Low-glycemic foods release glucose slowly and steadily, while high-glycemic foods can cause a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels. Low-glycemic foods include most fruits and vegetables, legumes, some whole grains, and fructose. Medium-glycemic foods include whole wheat products, brown rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sugar (sucrose), and honey. High-glycemic foods include white rice, white or wheat bread, and glucose.
Simple carbohydrates (sugars, such as corn syrup or propylene glycol, which is found in semi-moist foods) should be avoided, as they cause rapid glucose spikes.
Complex carbohydrates (starches) are digested more slowly so that the rise in glucose is spread out and there are no quick spikes. Processing can affect how quickly carbohydrates are digested.
Carbohydrates are digested faster than fats and proteins, and they have the most effect on postprandial glycemic response and insulin needs. Depending on when the insulin effect peaks, it may be important to include a certain amount of carbohydrates in meals so that the peak effect of injected insulin will coincide with the rise in glucose and not contribute to hypoglycemia.
Highly digestible diets designed for dogs with sensitive stomachs can contribute to higher blood glucose levels after eating, which is not the best thing for a diabetic dog.
Dietary fiber or roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods. Fiber slows gastric emptying and the digestion of carbohydrates, which also slows the release of glucose, blunting its postprandial rise (blood sugar increases less after meals). Diabetic dogs do not necessarily need more fiber than healthy dogs, and most do well with moderate amounts of fiber. Dogs with poor glycemic control may benefit from increased fiber, but some diabetic dogs do better with less.
There are two types of fiber. Soluble (also called viscous) fiber ferments in the colon, creating gases. Insoluble fiber is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it moves through the digestive tract. Unlike soluble fiber, insoluble fiber does not produce intestinal gas.
Examples of soluble fiber include fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), pectins, guar gum, lactulose, and psyllium. Most soluble fiber, with the exception of psyllium, is also fermentable. Beet pulp provides mixed soluble and insoluble, moderately fermentable fiber.
Prebiotics are fibers that are both soluble and fermentable. Prebiotics feed probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that live in the digestive tract and make up an important part of the body’s immune defenses. As it ferments, soluble fiber also produces beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
Too much soluble fiber can cause diarrhea and gas, and can actually speed postprandial glucose absorption. Gas is most likely to develop when the fiber is first introduced or when the dose is suddenly increased. To help prevent this side effect, start with small doses and increase gradually.
Insoluble fiber, such as cellulose and bran, regulates intestinal transit time, speeding it during constipation and slowing it during diarrhea. Insoluble fiber increases stool volume, is generally well tolerated even in high doses, and may help with glucose control.
However, in large quantities, insoluble fiber can decrease the diet’s nutrient value by binding minerals. Other side effects associated with diets high in insoluble fiber include weight loss, a lack of interest in food, poor coat quality, vomiting, voluminous feces, flatulence, diarrhea, and constipation. Increased fiber is not recommended for underweight dogs, dogs who refuse to eat because of the fiber’s taste or texture, or dogs who experience adverse side effects.
It is important to provide ample fluids when adding fiber because they pull water from the body, which can lead to constipation and other problems if fluid intake is insufficient.
Examples of products that contain soluble fiber include Benefiber (wheat dextrin) and Hydrocil (psyllium). Citrucel is an example of a product that contains insoluble fiber (methylcellulose).
General Guidelines for Managing Diabetes in Dogs
The amount of starch in the diet is not as important as making sure it’s consistent and properly balanced with insulin. Dogs fed diets containing more starch may need more insulin or a different type of insulin than dogs fed a low-carb diet.
Limiting carbohydrates may reduce postprandial hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), but if the dog continues to have wide glucose level swings throughout the day on a low-carb diet, he might do better with more carbohydrates. If dietary protein is reduced for any reason, carbohydrates will usually increase, especially if fat is restricted. Dogs with gestational diabetes may benefit from a diet that is high in protein with restricted carbohydrates and fats, as long as their nutritional needs are met.
If a thin dog fails to gain weight once there is good glycemic control and the food intake is adequate (and not too high in fiber), concurrent EPI may be interfering with digestion. Overweight dogs who fail to lose weight once their diabetes is controlled may be getting too much insulin.
“We know that in both dogs and cats, obesity in general is a problem,” says David Bruyette, DVM, DACVIM, medical director at VCA West Lost Angeles Medical Hospital, “and obese dogs and cats tend to be resistant to the effects of insulin, so we want to have animals at an ideal body weight. If they are too heavy, they can develop insulin resistance, and if they are too thin, they can develop ketoacidosis.”
The most important factor is that your dog likes his food and eats it willingly every time.
Most diabetic dogs can eat a typical moderate-fiber maintenance diet. They don’t need a high-fiber prescription food.
It is fine to feed a high-protein diet, but that is not a requirement.
The diet must be consistent, particularly in the amount of carbohydrates, and should be fed in the same quantities at the same time each day.
Not every diabetic dog requires a low-fat diet, but because of the disease’s strong links to pancreatitis and other fat disorders, a diet moderately low in fat may be safest, even for dogs who have not been diagnosed with pancreatitis, Cushing’s disease, or hyperlipidemia.
Exercise and Activity for Diabetic Dogs
Exercise has a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels. In humans with type 2 diabetes, exercise reduces blood sugar so effectively that patients who walk or jog reduce their need for added insulin.
But for those with type 1 diabetes, including dogs, exercise can be both a blessing and a complication. Exercise can reduce insulin resistance in obese diabetics, but too much exercise can lead to hypoglycemia.
Exercise should be consistent in terms of the type of activity and time of day, avoiding intermittent or unplanned strenuous exercise. One good approach is to exercise the dog for 20 to 30 minutes before the evening meal and its administration of insulin. Additional exercise can be added to the day’s activities if the insulin dose is adjusted. For example, if a strenuous hike is planned, the morning insulin might be skipped or only half of the usual insulin administered in order to avoid exercise-induced hypoglycemia.
Choosing the Right Diabetes Supplements for Your Dog
Some supplements may help your diabetic dog while others should be added with caution or not at all. Anything that helps lower blood glucose levels may change insulin needs.
When using human supplements, give the full human dose to large dogs, half that much to medium-sized dogs, and ¼ the adult human dose to small dogs. Tiny dogs require even smaller doses.
L-Carnitine, a conditionally essential amino acid, plays a pivotal role in fatty acid metabolism. It may help control diabetes, improve fat metabolism, maintain lean body mass, and protect muscles from catabolism during weight loss. As little as 50 milligrams per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of dry food may make a beneficial difference. Note that beef is a particularly good source of l‑carnitine, with about 80 mg per 3-ounce portion.
Chromium supplements are often recommended for human diabetes patients (especially those with type 2 diabetes), but don’t seem to benefit a dog’s type 1 diabetes. This supplement is recommended only for dogs with a chromium deficiency.
Zinc is an important mineral for diabetic patients, but it’s toxic to dogs if too much is given. Supplementation should be limited to a standard human or canine vitamin-mineral supplement daily.
The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA may help to reduce blood lipid levels (hyperlipidemia) and inflammation as well as regulate the immune system. Human studies show, however, that too much may reduce glycemic control in some patients. EPA and DHA are found in fish, most fish oils, and some algae supplements. An appropriate dose might be 300 mg combined EPA and DHA per 20 to 30 pounds of body weight daily (or per 10 pounds of body weight for hyperlipidemia or kidney disease), preferably split between meals.
Probiotics and cranberry extract can help to prevent urinary tract infections. D-mannose works the same way as cranberry, by preventing bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall, but it is a sugar and some research has found that it may make blood sugar levels harder to control in humans with diabetes.
Digestive enzymes may be helpful for some dogs, particularly those who have had pancreatitis (dogs with EPI need prescription-strength enzymes).
Some products affect blood sugar levels and so should be avoided or used with caution. Licorice can elevate blood sugar, while devil’s claw, ginger, and marshmallow can lower it. Amitraz, the active ingredient in Preventic collars, Certifect (new flea and tick control product), and Mitaban (used to treat demodex), can cause elevated blood sugar and should not be used in diabetic dogs.
Glucosamine, on the other hand, should be safe for diabetic dogs. Early research suggested it might raise blood sugar, but more recent and reliable studies refuted those findings. Monitor blood sugar levels after starting to be sure.
The Best Treats for Diabetic Dogs
Between-meal treats are important, whether they’re training tools, blood sugar stabilizers, afternoon snacks, or rewards for submitting to blood tests and insulin injections.
Avoid treats that are high in carbohydrates or sugar, including all semi-moist commercial foods and treats that use propylene glycol or similar ingredients.
Dehydrated meats make excellent treats, but be sure to avoid those made in China. Chicken jerky treats (also called tenders or strips) manufactured in China have been linked to kidney failure in dogs. Check package labels carefully.
Because dried meat or poultry treats made in the U.S. can be expensive, many pet owners make their own. Simply cut meat or poultry into thin slices for drying in a food dehydrator or baking in a slow oven (250 to 300 degrees F) until they reach your dog’s preferred state of crunchiness.
Other safe between-meal diabetic dog treats include green beans – raw, cooked, canned, or frozen – or fresh, crunchy snap peas or carrot sticks; sardines or tuna packed in water; small amounts of canned pumpkin (plain, not the pie mix); freeze-dried liver; dried salmon; hard-boiled eggs; cheese (be careful of too much fat); bully sticks; dried beef tendons; chicken feet; and most low-carb treats formulated for dogs or cats.
Don’t Be Overwhelmed by the Diagnosis
Caring for a dog with diabetes can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful. In fact, the initial diagnosis can be overwhelming.
According to Dr. Bruyette, “Several studies have shown that euthanasia is a common cause of death in diabetic dogs and cats mainly as a result of the owners’ concerns, real or perceived, regarding the care of pets with diabetes. It is very important that we emphasize to pet owners that while diabetes is a chronic disease, it can be well controlled with minimal disruption of their lives while maintaining their pet’s quality of life.”
Sheila Laing of Lansing, Michigan, cared for her Lab/Shepherd-mix, Zachary, for four years after he was diagnosed with diabetes at age 11. “Zachy was my soulmate and my teacher,” she says. “I am so lucky that I was able to help him lead a healthy normal life in his senior years in spite of the diabetes. People need to know that diabetes doesn’t have to be a death sentence. It can be managed!”
If you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire, could you escape with your dogs? I read this linked news story and have to admire the man who thought quickly and was able to throw a mattress out his bedroom window – on the second story of his home – and then throw his dog, a hefty-looking adult Labrador, onto the mattress. Only then did he jump onto the mattress to escape. Both man and dog suffered some soreness but were otherwise okay.
If I had to make an escape through my bedroom window – assuming the rest of the house was on fire and Otto alerted me to the flames — I don’t know whether I *could* heave Otto up to my windowsill and push him out. (At least we live in a ground-floor house and I wouldn’t have to do the mattress thing – although maybe we should relocate those cacti that are under the window.) Otto is good at going up ramps, though; maybe I’ll stash a plank in the corner of the bedroom (I’m *sure* my husband won’t mind) and practice this with Otto from time to time.
In northern California where I live, fires and earthquakes are the biggest environmental threat to our safety. But those of you who live in tornado- or flood-prone areas have even greater challenges in case of natural disaster. Do you have a disaster evacuation plan for yourself and your family (human, canine, and feline)?
Counter-conditioning involves changing your dog’s association with a scary or arousing stimulus from negative to positive. Desensitization is starting with a very low-level intensity of aversive stimulus until the dog habituates to (or changes his association with) the aversive, and then gradually increasing the strength until the dog is comfortable with the stimulus at full intensity. The easiest way to give most dogs a positive association and to help them become comfortable with a stimulus is with very high-value, really yummy treats. I like to use chicken – canned, baked, or boiled; most dogs love chicken. Here’s how the CC&D process works.
1. Determine the distance at which your dog can be in the presence of another dog and be alert or wary but not extremely fearful or aroused. This is called the threshold distance.
2. With you holding your dog on leash, have a helper present a neutral dog at threshold distance X. (Alternatively, station yourself and your dog at a location where people pass by with their dogs on leash at threshold distance X.) The instant your dog sees the other dog, start feeding bits of chicken, non-stop.
3. After several seconds, have the helper remove the dog, and stop feeding chicken to your dog.
4. Keep repeating steps 1-3 until the presentation of the dog at that distance consistently causes your dog to look at you with a happy smile and a “Yay! Where’s my chicken?” expression. This is a conditioned emotional response (CER) – your dog’s association with the other dog at threshold distance X is now positive instead of negative.
5. Now you need to increase the intensity of the other-dog stimulus. You can do that by decreasing distance by several inches; by increasing the amount of time the neutral dog stays in sight; by increasing movement of the other dog at distance X; by increasing the number of dogs (two or three dogs, instead of one); or increasing the visual “threat” (a large dog instead of a small one, or allowing the neutral dog to make brief eye contact). I’d suggest decreasing distance first in small increments by moving the reactive dog closer to the location where the neutral dog will appear, achieving the CER at each new distance.
6. Then return to distance X and add intensity of the neutral dog, gradually decreasing distance and attaining CERs along the way, until your dog is delighted to have the neutral dog reasonably close.
7. Now, back to distance X, increase intensity again, by having your helper move more quickly with the neutral dog, have the dog do more vigorous behaviors – roll over, catch a ball, etc.
8. Repeat until you have the CER, then gradually increase the length of time you have your dog in the presence of the increased-intensity neutral dog, until he’s happy (but not aroused) to have it present continuously.
9. Begin decreasing distance in small increments, moving the dog closer to the stimulus, obtaining the CER consistently at each new distance.
10. When your dog is happy to have the higher intensity neutral dog stimulus close to him, you’re ready for the final phase. Return to distance X and obtain your CER there, with a full intensity neutral dog – zigzagging toward him, then approaching head-on. Gradually decrease distance until your dog is happy to be in the presence of other dog, regardless of that dog’s behavior. He now thinks the other dog is a very good thing, as a reliable predictor of very yummy treats.
The more intense the reactive dog’s response, the more challenging the behavior is to modify. A fear response is more challenging to modify than an excitement response. True anxieties and phobias generally require a greater commitment to a longer term and more in-depth modification program than less intense fear-based behaviors (see “How an Intense Behavior Modification Program Saved One Puppy’s Life”).
This protocol was used with great success to reduce a challenging puppy’s biting and to increase his tolerance for restraint (see the referring article, “How an Intense Behavior Modification Program Saved One Puppy’s Life“). It can be used to help highly fearful or feral dogs learn to accept and enjoy human contact, too.
1. Touch dog’s shoulder with one hand, feed treat with other hand, remove both hands.
2. Repeat multiple times until touch to the shoulder elicits an automatic look for the other hand to arrive with treat.
It’s amazing how quickly high-value treats can transform a frightened dog’s attitude about touch or restraint.
3. Move touch process to various other parts of dog’s head and body until a touch anywhere on the dog elicits an auto-look for the delivery of a treat. Pay extra attention to any body part where your touch seems to elicit a more intense response from the dog.
4. Start over again at the dog’s shoulder, gradually increasing the duration of touch up to five seconds, feeding bits of treat the entire time. Repeat multiple times, gradually reducing the frequency of treat feeding during the five-second touch.
5. Move the five-second touch process to various other parts of the dog’s body, gradually reducing the frequency of treat feeding at each new touch location.
6. Return to dog’s shoulder, gradually increasing restraint pressure during five-second touch, feeding bits of treat the entire time. Repeat multiple times, gradually reducing the frequency of treat feeding during the five-second touch.
Within just a few repetitions of brief touch followed by treats, this recently feral dog is beginning to relax.
7. Continuing at the dog’s shoulder, gradually increase restraint pressure to ten seconds, feeding bits of treats as necessary to maintain positive association with touch and restraint, and to prevent any mouthing behavior.
8. Move the five-second restraint process to various other parts of the dog’s body, gradually reducing treat-feeding frequency at each new touch location.
9. Gradually increase restraint pressure to 10 seconds at various body part locations, feeding bits of treats as necessary.
10. Randomize touch, restraint, and duration, touching various places in succession, gradually increasing maximum duration of restraint, always feeding bits of treats as necessary to maintain positive association with touch and restraint.
Squid (imitating a gargoyle from a New York city skyscraper) and his proud owner, Claudia Husemann.
Squid almost didn’t make it to the adoption option at the Humane Society of Washington County (HSWC), Maryland. Whole Dog Journal readers who have been with us for a year or more already know part of his story: the eight-week-old Jack Russell Terrier mix was surrendered to our full-service shelter by his owners because they “didn’t have time for him.” (See “Chill Out,” WDJ May 2011.) What that really meant was that the small white-and-tan pup was a heckuva handful: they couldn’t deal with his incredibly high energy level, fierce puppy play-biting, low tolerance for frustration, lack of impulse control, resource guarding, and sudden, intense aggression when restrained. He easily failed his behavior assessment. It’s a good thing he was impossibly cute!
A rare early photo of Squid sitting still. Teaching him to sit in order to “say please” for anything he wanted played a big role in “civilizing” the strong-willed, energetic puppy.
I arrived at the shelter on a Tuesday morning in early spring of 2011 and was met by a shelter staff member, paperwork in hand, a pleading expression on her face.
“This pup failed his assessment,” she said, handing me Squid’s paperwork. “Do you think he’d be a candidate for the Gold Paw program?”
Gold Paw was a newly launched shelter program that I helped create. It was designed to give “marginal” puppies and adult dogs a chance for lifelong loving homes. The program encouraged staff and volunteers to identify canines with adoption potential but who had one or more behavioral challenges that might make them ineligible for adoption, or significantly decrease the likelihood of success in a new home.
If a dog was accepted into the program, he was then placed in a capable foster home for behavior modification. The foster parents would work closely with me to implement a program custom-designed for each dog.
Staff described Squid’s difficult behaviors, and I took a quick look at him. As a young, too-cute-for-words, otherwise highly desirable adoption prospect, Squid was an ideal candidate for the program. Only problem was, the program was so new we hadn’t yet recruited any Gold Paw foster homes. So Squid came home with me to Peaceable Paws for his behavior modification. Between me, my husband Paul, Peaceable Paws staff and apprentices, and our upcoming trainer academies, surely we could fix this pup!
Miller’s other dogs, including Lucy (seen here), helped to tire the relentless pup.
We started by identifying all Squid’s inappropriate behaviors and creating a modification plan for each. Some of the pieces overlapped, so it wasn’t quite as daunting as it might appear – but it was still plenty to work on!
Structure and Consistency We put some rules in place to ensure that no one would reinforce Squid’s inappropriate behaviors, to give him lots of reinforcement for making appropriate behavior choices, and to provide him an environment with clear structure and consistency.
Everyone who interacted with him was to implement the “say please” program to reinforce self-control; Squid needed to sit to get his kennel door opened, to have his leash put on, and to gain access to toys, treats, and attention. An inappropriate puppy nip triggered an “Oops!” and removal of human attention. Because he was so inclined to puppy biting, touching was kept to a minimum unless the handler was actively working on his touch- and restraint-protocol.
The other dogs also helped him learn a little something about modifying the pressure of his bites. Lucy bloodied Squid’s ear after he bit her too hard; Squid was careful to be gentler after that.
Squid would live in a stall in the barn and in one of the kennels adjoining the training center. His energy and intensity were too much to add to the Miller household of five dogs and three cats – particularly too much for Scooter, our Pomeranian. Their one encounter traumatized Scooter badly enough that he suffered a life-threatening bout of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis; it took him several weeks to fully recover.
Exercise was a critical part of Squid’s program. All that energy had to go somewhere – and the best place for it was on the fields and in the woods of our 80-acre campus. Every day, weather permitting, I took Squid for at least two, preferably three long hikes; sometimes with Missy, our Australian Shepherd, and Lucy, our Cardigan Corgi, and sometimes by himself. On days we couldn’t hike, we ran him in circles with a flirt pole and encouraged him to chase toys in the barn until he was tired.
The hikes with the other dogs were good for his dog-dog socialization as well as energy draining. Lucy was particularly good at letting him know when his puppy biting was inappropriately painful – even to the point, early on, that on one occasion she snagged his ear and drew blood with a bite of her own. His bites to Lucy were noticeably less intense after that! He also joined the Miller dogs (Scooter excepted) helping with barn chores morning and night.
Time for Good Manners Of course, basic good manners training was on Squid’s to-do list. A conveniently scheduled Level 1 Trainer Academy was the perfect venue to get him started. He was assigned to a pair of trainers who worked with him every day for a week, teaching him sit, down, come, leave it, trade, targeting, and wait. He tested the patience of his trainers with his sharp puppy teeth, but they discovered the value of using a camping food-squeeze tube for treat-delivery to a hard-mouthed pup, and did an excellent job providing him with a solid foundation for his future training.
A Peaceable Paws Academy student works with Squid on good manners behaviors. We were fortunate to have people available to work with him in a consistent way.
Apprentices continued his training, dropping in on our regular good manners classes as time and space allowed, as did I, on our one-on-one hikes around the farm. During classes he began to demonstrate some reactivity to other dogs; his desire to interact with them, combined with his low tolerance for frustration, manifested as excited barking when he was restrained on leash in their presence. Another behavior to add to his modification list!
Modification Protocols I started Squid’s behavior modification program the day I brought him home, with a protocol designed to reduce his puppy biting and increase his tolerance for restraint (see sidebar, “Touch/Restraint Desensitization Protocol“). We practiced this protocol for only brief periods at first, gradually increasing the duration of our sessions as he grew to enjoy touch and restraint. I also made it a point to always carry a soft toy with me, so I could occupy his teeth with the toy to forestall inappropriate grabs to skin, clothing, and leash.
We practiced this protocol for only brief periods at first, gradually increasing the duration of our sessions as he grew to enjoy touch and restraint. I also made it a point to always carry a soft toy with me, so I could occupy his teeth with the toy to forestall inappropriate grabs to skin, clothing, and leash.
In order to reinforce self-control behaviors, Squid learned “sit” as his default behavior, and we began practicing “wait.” We taught “wait for your food bowl” as a training exercise, and then had Squid wait for everything we could think of: he waited for kennel and stall doors to open; he waited for his food bowl; he waited to go in and out of the training center; he waited to take his toy; and he waited to have his leash attached.
As Squid began to develop some ability to control his biting, we worked on teaching him to take treats gently. If the bite was unbearably hard, I would say “Ouch” in a calm tone of voice and remove my hand. If it was less hard, I would hold the treat in a closed fist and wait for his bite to soften almost imperceptibly before releasing it to him. Over time, we shaped a softer and softer bite, although as often is common with hard-biting dogs, the intensity of his bite would quickly increase again if he was excited.
Squid was clearly making good progress, but we were still concerned about his level of arousal in the presence of other dogs. He wasn’t aggressively reactive, just excited, but it was reactivity all the same, and excitement-based reactivity can easily develop into aggression as the dog matures and arousal increases, if the behavior isn’t modified. An upcoming Behavior Modification Academy was the perfect venue to address this behavior.
Trainer Bob Ryder, of Pawsitive Transformations, uses counter-conditioning and desensitization to modify Squid’s budding dog-reactive behavior.
Trainer Bob Ryder of Pawsitive Transformations in Normal, Illinois, was assigned to work with Squid for the week. He continued to work with the touch desensitization protocol, wait, and basic good manners behaviors, but was also instructed to make a reactivity counter-conditioning and desensitization program a high priority. Bob set to work giving Squid a strong “Where’s my chicken?” response to the presence of other dogs, and by the end of the week the bright little dog was happily and politely controlling his “go see the other dog” impulse in the presence of his academy canine companions.
Squid Goes Home Squid had been at Peaceable Paws for six weeks of intensive training and behavior modification by now, and it showed – he had become quite civilized. My husband Paul and I had grown very attached to the little guy. If it weren’t for Scooter’s intense dislike of him, he might have stayed. But we knew it would be impossible to integrate him into our household. It was time to find him a forever home.
But how? Even given his excellent progress, he needed to go to an above-average owner who would be able to continue his lessons and keep him on the straight and narrow path to adult canine civility. It would have to be an exceptional placement to meet with the high standards of the Miller Adoption Agency! I emailed his information to Jack Russell Terrier Rescue and the organizers posted information about him on their website. I also posted information about Squid on Facebook.
I received a number of applications, but none of the potential adopters were perfect for a dog with Squid’s energy and issues. Then I received a response from positive reinforcement trainer Lydia DesRosche, in New York City. She had a client, she said, who would be perfect for Squid. Claudia Husemann had just recently lost her well-loved Doberman to old age, and was looking for a smaller “apartment-sized” dog to fill the empty place in her heart and her home.
“New York City?” Paul protested. “But Squid’s a country dog!” Nevertheless, Claudia traveled the 275 miles from New York to Fairplay, Maryland to meet Squid, and immediately fell in love. Of course! Yes, she wanted to adopt him. Her application was impeccable, and she had the added credential of already having a relationship with a committed positive trainer.
Claudia returned to the Big Apple to await the shelter’s background check and adoption decision, already making plans to move Squid into her life. Several days later, adoption approved and neutering done, Claudia drove the nine-hour round-trip again, to pick up her new boy. Squid was moving on. With tears in our eyes we bade him a sad farewell, knowing we would miss the big presence of this little dog, and knowing he was in good hands. In mid-May 2011, Squid became “New York Squiddy,” and traded the fields of Fairplay for the haunts of Central Park.
Happily, Claudia has stayed in close contact and has provided the perfect home for Squid. She keeps us posted on his exploits in Central Park. We treasure the videos that Claudia and Lydia post on Youtube and Facebook, allowing us to watch as Squid learns to ring a bell, ride a skateboard, use the Manners Minder, play with a flying disc, and more. The behaviors that caused him to fail his shelter assessment are long forgotten. Live long and prosper, little Squid!
A dog fight that goes beyond a brief scuffle and doesn’t resolve quickly is frightening to behold. In fact, it’s one of the behavior scenarios most likely to result in significant injury to humans, not to mention the dogs. The first, most important thing to remember is keep yourself safe. After that, here are five things to do to try to end the conflict as quickly as possible, with minimal bloodshed.
1. Spray me a river. Blast the dogs with water from a nearby hose – assuming a nearby hose with a powerful enough spray. An easily portable aversive such as lemon juice in a spray bottle can be an effective alternative. In a pinch, even a fire extinguisher makes a handy and effective fight-stopping tool.
2. Sound strategies. Depending on the intensity of the fight, a loud yell might put it to rest. Try dropping one (or several) metal pans on the floor. A lit match held under a smoke detector alarm might also do the trick. Available at boating supply stores, a marine air horn can be effective at breaking up a fight. Warning: they are loud!
3. An object lesson. Keep your hands out of the danger zone by using a physical object to break up a fight. (You have to plan in advance.) Attach two handles to a sheet of plywood. When a fight happens, lower the board between the sparring dogs. The board will push them apart and provide a physical barrier between them to prevent a new grab.
288
Dogfighters – and some bully breed owners who don’t fight their dogs but know their dogs’ potential – always carry a “parting stick” or “breaking stick” with them. This is often a carved hammer or axe handle, tapered to a rounded point at one end. When dogs are locked in combat, the parting stick is forced between a dog’s teeth and turned sideways to pry open the jaws. Caution: Parting sticks can break teeth, and a dog whose jaws have just been “parted” may turn on the person doing the parting.
Tossed over fighters, one over each, blankets muffle outside stimuli, reducing arousal. This also allows humans to physically separate the combatants by picking up the dogs and pulling them apart with less risk of a serious bite; the blanket will cushion the effect of teeth on skin if the dog does whirl and bite.
4. Air supply. When life and limb are at stake, extreme measures may be called for. Wrap a leash round the aggressor’s neck or twist his collar to cut off his airflow. When he lets go for a breath of air, pull the dogs apart. You can also cover the dog’s nose with a plastic bag to cut off the air supply. These are more challenging than they sound. It’s difficult to get a leash around the neck of a dog who is “attached” by mouth to another dog; grabbing a collar to twist puts you at risk of being bitten and your fingers at risk of getting caught in the collar; and the nose is a moving target.
288
5. Let’s get physical. I heard about (never tried) a rather drastic technique observed at a dog show decades ago. The elderly judge was a tiny woman. When two dogs got combative in her ring she had the handlers both grab their dogs and hold on tight. Then she took the dog on top by the tail and jammed her thumb up his rectum. He let go in an instant and whirled around to see what was happening. The judge excused the two dogs, calmly washed her hands, and continued her classes. Note: A client of mine tried this recently. It didn’t work for her.
Here’s another approach for smallish dogs in a one-on-one fight; it is not recommended for a multi-dog brawl. Lift the rear of the clearly identified aggressor so he’s suspended with forefeet barely touching the ground. The dog lets go, and the target can scoot free. Supposedly, in this position the dog is not able to turn on the human suspending him, although I’m not giving any guarantees.
There are no guarantees for any of these methods; the best answer is management and modification. If you have dogs who fight, keep them apart, unless and until they learn to get along. The best of management plans can fail, however. If and when that fight happens, take a deep breath, resist your instincts to leap into the fray, quickly review your available options, and choose the one (or ones) that are most likely to work in that place and time. When the fight is over and no one is being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, remember to take a moment to relax and breathe, and then congratulate yourself for your quick thinking.
It’s a ton of fun to see an athletic, healthy dog sprinting across a sprawling lawn of thick green grass – but could this practice be dangerous to the dog’s health? A study presented in the January 2012 issue of the journal Environmental Research concluded that exposure to professionally applied lawn pesticides was associated with a significantly (70 percent) higher risk of canine malignant lymphoma (CML).
It’s a broad conclusion and light on specifics. The case-control study, conducted between January 2000 and December 2006 at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, was structured around a 10-page questionnaire that was mailed to dog owners who were having their pets treated at the Foster Hospital; the resulting data came from the owners of 266 dogs with confirmed cases of CML and 478 dogs in two control groups (non-CML cases).
The questionnaire was not included in the article; a summary stated that it covered a wide variety of data considerations, including breed, weight, medical history, and the types of chemicals used in the home. The characteristics of the CML cases did not vary much from the controls, other than in the weight category (the CML dogs tended to weigh more than 50 pounds). Exposure to types of flea and tick products and frequency of administration was similar among the groups, as was overall exposure to lawn care products.
What did show cause for concern was that the CML cases were more likely to live in homes that reported professionally applied pesticides and herbicides, though the results were only marginally significant for the herbicides. Exposure to other types of professionally applied lawn care products was not associated with increased risk. There was an increased risk, however, for dogs who live in homes where owners applied lawn-care products containing insect growth regulators – substances that inhibit the development of insect eggs and larvae.
One disappointment: specific lawn care chemicals or insect-growth regulators were not identified. Instead, the umbrella categories of herbicide, pesticide, insect growth regulators, fungicide, rodenticide, and fertilizer were used. It could be that some of these chemicals are already designated as known carcinogenics. The article notes that studies evaluating frequency of exposure and exposure dose are needed; thus it appears that the researchers did not determine which chemicals the dogs were exposed to, in what quantities, or for how long.
Also disappointing was the fact that genetic factors were apparently not considered as part of the study. Three-fourths of the CML dogs were classified as purebred, as was the control group. The incidence rate of CML is not the same for all breeds; increased risk has been reported for several breeds including Basset Hounds, Boxers, Airedales, Golden Retrievers, Saint Bernards, Bulldogs, Bullmastiffs, and Scottish Terriers. This predisposition could indicate an inherited characteristic.
Like the canary in the mineshaft, dogs can serve as sentinels for human disease because they are our close companions and are subjected to many of the same environmental influences. Canine cancers have the same biology and behavior as human cancers, and in some cases have identical histology and response rates to treatment. The goal of this study was to identify risk factors for CML from exposure to environmental chemicals in an effort to provide insight to risk factors for humans in developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Keep in mind that exposure to lawn care products is different for canines than it is for humans. People can know if a lawn has been recently treated with chemicals and thus avoid it and take precautions when handling such chemicals. Our pets have no such option; their uncovered and unprotected bodies come in direct contact with the environment. They see an enticing outdoor carpet, perfect for rolling around on, running across, playing fetch and wrestling with playmates on, and even ingesting. Dogs have their mouths on everything: themselves (grooming), their playmates, their toys and sticks lying in the grass, and yes, the grass itself. And those mouths can be the conduit from external to internal exposure.
Though more study is needed, the preliminary findings of this study suggest that you can reduce your dog’s risk through the following:
–Don’t use pesticides on your own lawns, or allow lawn-service providers to use them on your property.
–Don’t use lawn care products that contain insect growth regulators.
–Prevent your dog from walking on (or rolling on, eating, etc.) any lawns, unless you are able to determine that absolutely no pesticides are used to maintain them. (Most municipalities are required to make their chemical lawn-care regimens available to the public. It says something about these chemicals that their use is prohibited on most public school grounds.)
Because only one out of five Americans has an up-to-date will and only 20 percent of those include provisions for pets, an estimated 500,000 dogs and cats are euthanized every year when their owners die and they have nowhere to go. Is your dog at risk?
Unless you make effective plans for your dog’s welfare in case you die or are incapacitated, the worst could happen.
When setting up a pet trust, it helps to work with an attorney who is familiar with what pets need. Estate planning attorney Heidi Goettel reviews pet trust details with author CJ Puotinen and Seamus, her husband’s Cairn Terrier. Photo by Stephen Nagy
But preparing for your pet’s future can seem a daunting task. Wills, trusts, and financial instruments are complicated enough. Add caretakers, backup caretakers, specific instructions, and veterinary care. No wonder so many of us just hope we’ll outlive our pets.
“Lifetime care planning for pets doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or overwhelming,” says estate-planning attorney Heidi Goettel of Helena, Montana. “Pet owners have many options, and the peace of mind good planning provides is worth the effort.”
Don’t Leave Your Dog’s Future to Chance
If you assume that a friend or relative will love Fluffy as much as you do or that someone will always be there for Fido, think again. Every animal shelter in the country deals with orphaned pets. They arrive for one reason: their owners didn’t plan to die or become incapacitated. That didn’t prevent them from having heart attacks or accidents, and now Fido and Fluffy are homeless.
Worse, they may be alone, starving, and frightened. Does anyone know they exist? Do they need medication? Are they on special diets?
Accidents can happen anywhere at any time, but the following are risk factors for your companion animals:
-You live alone.
-You are a senior citizen, or getting close.
-You have health problems.
-Your pets are elderly or have health problems.
-Your pets are shy or don’t do well when their daily routines are disturbed.
-Even a temporary incapacity – you are hospitalized, require treatment away from home, or have to be away for other reasons – can disrupt your pets’ lives.
Establish a Pet Protection Agreement
The best way to prevent your pets from being harmed by your temporary or long-term absence, say legal experts, is through careful planning.
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person names one or more people to manage his or her estate and transfer its property at death.
You cannot leave money or property to an animal, but you can leave assets to a person who agrees to care for your pet. Even if the person who agrees to take your pet can afford to pay for the animal’s upkeep, you may want to leave both the animal and a sum of money to that individual.
If a financial inheritance will be a hardship for your dog’s new owner (for example, if the money makes that person ineligible for financial assistance from Social Security or another agency), or if the person might not be able to manage a lump sum inheritance, you can leave your pet to the caretaker and the money to another person with instructions for reimbursing the new owner for dog-related expenses.
Because wills are not acted upon immediately – there is a waiting period before wills are read and property changes hands, and, should legal disputes arise, final settlements can be prolonged for months or years – a will cannot guarantee that an animal’s needs will be met in a timely manner. A will that includes specific instructions for an animal’s care cannot be enforced. Wills do not allow the disbursement of funds over a pet’s lifetime. Courts can change the provisions of a will that is challenged by relatives or other interested parties.
These potential problems do not mean wills should not include provisions for pets. Instead, they reflect the need for additional arrangements.
Pet trusts are just such plans. They involve a trustee, which can be an individual, a bank, or a non-profit organization such as a humane society, which handles the finances; a beneficiary, who is the person you choose as your dog’s new owner and caretaker; and you, the settlor, the dog owner who is setting up the trust.
“Technically,” says Goettel, “the animals are the beneficiaries of pet trusts. The caretaker definitely benefits from there being a trust for the animal, and the funds go to the caretaker for practical purposes, but when the beneficiary is defined as the animal or for the benefit of the animal, the trustee, who may also be the caretaker, is legally obligated to use the trust funds for the animal’s care.”
A traditional pet trust, which is legal in all 50 states, instructs a trustee to help a beneficiary by paying for the pet’s expenses according to the settlor’s directions as long as the beneficiary takes proper care of the pet. Traditional pet trusts provide the owner with significant control over the animal’s care, such as by specifying who will be the trustee, who will be the beneficiary/caretaker, what pet-related expenses the trustee will pay, what type of care the pet will receive, what will happen if the caretaker can no longer care for the animal, whether the animal will be buried or cremated after death, and where the pet’s remains will be interred or stored.
A statutory pet trust, which may also be known as an honorary pet trust, is valid during the pet owner’s life as well as after his or her death. This type of trust controls the disbursement of funds, which can occur prior to the owner’s death, and it can include specific instructions for the animal’s care. As of 2010, all states within the United States except for Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, and West Virginia allow this type of trust, which is more flexible than the traditional trust and does not require the pet owner to make as many decisions regarding its terms. State law “fills the gaps,” making a simple provision in a will or other document (such as, “I leave $3,500 in trust for the care of my dogs, Ranger and Rover”) effective.
“When state law ‘fills the gaps,'” explains Goettel, “the owner’s intentions are followed even if they are hand-written on a sheet of paper. This is the simplest arrangement you can make for your pet. It works best if you and your designated caretaker have already discussed your plans and that person understands and agrees with your wishes.”
Baillie, a therapy dog belonging to Marilyn Grant of Helena, MT, will always have a forever home thanks to carefully selected friends who will care for him should she not be able to. Estate planning experts say that finding a willing caregiver is the most important step in planning a pet’s lifetime care. Photo by CJ Puotinen.
A revocable living trust allows you to avoid probate, the legal process for transferring property after death. A living trust lets you make changes or amendments to the trust document; allows the transfer of your personal assets to remain private rather than public; and eliminates most of the family disputes and challenges that a standard will can create. However, revocable trusts provide minimal asset protection, they can generate planning and administrative expenses, and assets must be transferred into the trust name (which won’t affect your access to them).
A testamentary trust is less expensive because it does not take effect until after you die and your will is probated (declared valid by a court). This type of trust does not provide funds for the care of a pet during the period between your death and when your will is probated, nor does it protect your pet if you become disabled and unable to provide care.
Pet Trust Factors to Consider
“The most important and challenging factor in providing lifetime care for your dog is finding a 100-percent committed caretaker,” says Goettel. “The owner is in the best position to identify a care provider. Equally important is that the identified caretaker and care plan are in writing and are found when needed, so that the care provider is notified before the animal is surrendered to a shelter or euthanized at the direction of an uninformed third party. It often happens that people do have a plan, but no one knows of it. That is especially tragic.”
Even if a friend or relative promises to take your pets in, promises can’t always be kept. Today’s uncertain economy is hard on pets, who are adversely affected by unemployment, divorce, home foreclosures, and relocations.
Even if your friend or relative remains willing and has a stable home, additional pets can be a source of stress, not to mention expensive. This is especially so if the animals are elderly, on special diets, on presecription medication, require frequent veterinary visits, and have challenging symptoms like incontinence, seizures, severe arthritis, or confusion. Puppies and young dogs place a different kind of stress on caretakers, including their need for training and exercise.
Your caretaker will be your dog’s new owner. Transferring ownership through your will or the establishment of a trust is important because without this provision, your pet will go to your residuary beneficiary (the beneficiary who inherits everything that’s not taken care of by the rest of your will); or, if you don’t have a will, your pet will go to your next of kin, as determined by state law.
Once you find a willing caretaker, it’s important to sit down with that person and review everything that’s important to you. Does your dog eat a home-prepared diet containing special ingredients? Compete in agility? Have a job? Get monthly massages, chiropractic adjustments, hydrotherapy treatments, or acupuncture? Enjoy a cheese-stuffed Kong after dinner? Require frequent trips to the groomer? Special diets, special treatments, special training, and special activities cost time and money. Well-intentioned friends and relatives who don’t share your interests or income may provide a loving home but not necessarily the one you want your dog to have.
Do you have more than one dog? Are they closely attached? Do you know someone who would foster these pets while looking for someone who would adopt them both?
It’s essential that any prospective caretaker understand what he or she might have to provide. If that person has a full-time job, young children, other pets, limited space, and limited time, the burden might be impossible even if your estate paid all the expenses. It’s much better for you and your prospective caretaker to realize this now, while your estate is still in the planning stage, than to have your caretaker discover that the arrangement won’t work after you have passed away. Your dog might be surrendered to the nearest shelter or given to a stranger who knows nothing about you or your pet.
Seamus says, “I’m worried. I don’t see anything about my raw meaty bones guarantee!” It’s important to review all the details, and build alternatives into the plan in case some aspects of your ideal scenario are not feasible for your pet’s caretaker. Photo by Stephen Nagy
Once you find a willing caretaker, look for another one. Having a backup caretaker can save the day if your first choice loses her job, has to move, is in an accident, falls ill, gets divorced, or is for some other reason unable to accept your pet or continue its care. In fact, having at least two backup caretakers and at least two backup trustees (if you create a trust) is recommended.
Another factor to consider is the size of your estate. The larger it is, the more likely your plans will be challenged by relatives, individuals, organizations, or tax collectors. The legal literature describes many cases in which courts sided with plaintiffs who considered an animal’s share of an estate to be excessive or inappropriate. In 2007, real estate billionaire Leona Helmsley died and left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble. Because Helmsley disinherited several relatives, her will and the dog’s trust were challenged in court, and Trouble’s legacy was reduced to $2 million. In some cases, judges have reduced an animal’s share of an estate to nothing.
An experienced estate-planning lawyer can help you establish a trust that’s more likely to survive with your instructions intact.
To prevent fraud, pet owners should clearly identify pets that are to receive care under a will, pet trust, or powers of attorney. The most effective identification tools are microchips and DNA samples, but detailed descriptions, photographs, and veterinary records can be helpful.
If You Obtained Your Dog with a Contract…
If you purchased your dog from a reputable breeder, you probably signed a contract agreeing to return your dog to the breeder if you cannot keep or are unable to provide for the dog. The same arrangement is used by most animal shelters, service dog programs, and rescue organizations.
“The breeder or organization wants to ensure that the dogs they place always have a good home,” says Goettel. “By making arrangements ahead of time, you spare them the effort and expense of fostering your dogs and finding new homes for them. Most breeders and organizations would be thrilled to learn that the owner or adopter is making plans for the animal, and they would likely make a record of the information. If the care provider does not know about the contract, attaching it to the will or care plan for the animal will ensure that the care provider knows of it and follows its terms. To keep everyone informed, attach your original contract and related correspondence to your will or trust documents, and provide copies of these to everyone involved.”
Make Plans for Future Veterinary Care
Because veterinary care is likely to be the greatest expense incurred by your pet’s new owner, consider the following options for providing the care your dog may need.
If you already have health insurance for your dog, provide funds for keeping it up to date. If your dog does not already have health insurance, consider leaving money for the purchase of health insurance. This option is most appropriate for young dogs in good health as premiums increase as dogs age; some plans exclude dogs age nine and older; most policies have exclusions and limits; and canine health insurance premiums, copays, and deductibles can be just as complicated as they are in human health plans.
You can leave money to your vet. This amount will vary according to your dog’s age and condition along with the treatments you are prepared to pay for. The best way to make this arrangement is through discussion with your vet. You can request that any funds left over when your pet dies be given to a relative, charity, or the veterinarian, though this request is not legally enforcible.
Signing a contract in advance with your veterinarian is a third option. In this case, you leave to the veterinarian a specific amount as credit toward expected services. If and when that money runs out, the new owner will be charged for services provided to your dog. If your dog dies before the money is spent, your contract specifies what will be done with the excess.
If You Can’t Find a Good Caretaker…
If your dog came from a breeder, shelter, or organization that requires the dog’s return, you have a safety net. But what if you don’t know anyone who could care for your pets for the rest of their lives?
Members of dog organizations, such as kennel clubs, dog sport clubs, therapy dog organizations, and rescue organizations, along with those who take their dogs to trainers, can network with fellow members and trainers to find appropriate temporary care (think foster homes) for your dogs if needed.
Many veterinarians are named in wills or trusts as temporary guardians or as the new owners of their clients’ pets. Obviously this arrangement works best when the owner and veterinarian discuss and agree on the details.
The tireless volunteers of rescue organizations save the lives of dogs and cats every day. They provide foster homes, medical care, training, spaying or neutering, and anything else an animal needs to become adoptable. To provide for your animal through a rescue organization, contact the organization now to learn what arrangements will work best.
To find such organizations, search online for your breed, such as Labrador Retriever rescue, Poodle rescue, mixed breed rescue, senior rescue, etc. You’ll find national and regional organizations and networks, some of which are 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, independent organizations, or affiliates of national or regional kennel or breed clubs, all of which are dedicated to matching homeless dogs with good homes. Becoming a volunteer yourself can be a satisfying activity that will keep you informed about fostering and adoption.
Your local animal shelter may be a good choice, especially if your dog is young, healthy, and well behaved, as these dogs find new homes more quickly. Older dogs and dogs with medical problems are usually harder to place, as are dogs with behavioral problems. Shelter volunteers have an inside view of the organization and its adoption process, and because circumstances vary from one shelter to another, becoming a volunteer or consulting with shelter staff about your plans can be an important step toward your dog’s future care.
Pet sanctuaries provide permanent care for the animals they take in. As with conventional shelters, conditions vary from one sanctuary to another, and careful research is a must. Your dog might or might not be happy living for an indefinite time in a sanctuary. Some pet sanctuaries don’t actually provide permanent sanctuary to all of their wards, but seek to rehome as many animals as possible. Before making arrangements to leave your dog to a sanctuary, you should familiarize yourself with the sanctuary’s requirements, and be sure it will accept your animal.
The single owner of two dogs with significant behavioral issues (both exceedingly shy Shar-pei), Mary Straus wrote a pet trust to enable and ensure that her dogs could be cared for in her home in case of her death.
Some veterinary schools and sanctuaries have continuing pet care programs in which the pets either live the rest of their lives on-site in comfortable surroundings or are adopted out or put in foster care. These programs typically require an enrollment fee (such as $1,000) and an endowment (such as $10,000 or more) either at the time of enrollment or as a bequest in your will.
Fund Your Pet’s Future Without You
Once you decide what arrangements you want to make, the important question is where will the money come from to support your pets after you die or when you are no longer able to care for them? Trust funding or direct bequests can come from cash, life insurance, annuities, stocks, bonds, or property that can be sold, such as a vehicle, house, or boat.
-Direct transfers. To create a living trust (which you create now, while you’re still alive), you must transfer money or other property to your trust. Your attorney can help you arrange the transfer so that it is properly executed.
To create a trust in your will, which becomes effective after your death, you will use the property distribution section of your will to specify the amount of money or description of property that fund the trust.
-Pour over will provision. If you create a living trust, you may add property (a “pour over”) from your estate to the trust.
-Life insurance. Pet trusts can be funded by naming your trust as a life insurance policy’s beneficiary. Because life insurance “creates” property when you die, this is an easy way to fund your pet’s future should you not have sufficient assets to do so otherwise. Consult with your lawyer or life insurance agent in order to correctly name your beneficiary.
“Many people believe that naming the caretaker as beneficiary on life insurance or arranging a bequest with just the caretaker’s name and nothing further, is sufficient,” says Goettel, “when they really need to make some reference to a ‘pet trust’ or ‘for the benefit of my pet,’ so the caretaker does not consider the funds an unrestricted gift and so the funds are used as the owner intended.”
-Pay on death accounts, annuities, retirement plans, and other contracts. If you have an annuity, retirement plan, or other contractual arrangement that permits you to name a person to receive the property after you die, you may use those assets to fund your pet trust. Consult with your lawyer, banker, or broker about the correct way to name the recipient of these funds.
-A charitable remainder trust. If you transfer property to a tax-exempt charity, it can serve as trustee of the trust and manage or invest the property so it produces income for you. The charity then pays to the trustee of your pet trust a portion of the income for a specified number of years or for the duration of the trust. When the trust ends, the remainder of the property goes to the charity. Because of its tax advantages, this has become a popular type of trust.
-Durable powers of attorney. This standard financial planning tool authorizes someone other than the pet owner to conduct certain acts on his or her behalf. Such a document can be written to become effective upon the pet owner’s physical or mental incapacity.
A Pet Trust in Action
In 1995, when she left a long-term relationship with a partner who would have cared for her dogs if something happened to her, canine nutrition expert and WDJ contributor Mary Straus found an attorney who specialized in living trusts for pets. “I was 43 at the time and had no health issues,” she says, “but I’m a worrier and prefer to know that everything’s covered, just in case. At the time I owned two genetically shy Shar-Pei, Piglet and Nattie (Piglet was so shy initially that it took three months before she voluntarily let me touch her). These dogs would not be easy to place and they wouldn’t handle disruptions well. I agonized over what I could do to protect them should something happen to me.”
Straus’s attorney helped her create a living trust. “Basically,” she says, “I left my house to my dogs, with instructions to my successor trustee that someone be found to live there and take care of them as long as needed, with much of my estate covering the cost.”
In addition, Straus prepared a separate, non-legal document covering diet, health history, special needs, likes and dislikes, and other information such as what you might leave for a pet sitter but in more detail. “I included what kind of home my dogs might best fit into,” she says, “such as with other dogs, cats, and kids, whether my dogs need to be placed together, and so forth, in hopes that the right kind of home(s) can be found sooner or later. I also included information about friends and rescue people I know who might help find someone to stay at my house or find a home for my dogs.” She updates these dog care instructions at least twice a year.
Straus chose a living trust because it allows her estate to avoid probate.
“A trust relies on your trustee,” says Straus. “Since no courts get involved, you have to trust (hence the name) the person you choose to carry out your wishes. My trust is quite simple and most of it is just boilerplate. The pet trust portion is two paragraphs that come after a paragraph that specifies the amount of money or percentage of the trust estate that will fund the trust.”
Here is the text of Straus’ Pet Trust:
Pet Trust. Settlor’s present and future primary concern upon her death is the safety, welfare, and continued care for her pets. The animals which will be living with settlor at the date of her death will be referred to hereinafter as the settlor’s “PETS”. Upon the settlor’s death, the settlor’s residence and usual furnishings shall remain in trust for a period of ten (10) years or until the natural death of the last of the PETS or until such time as the trustee has found suitable, substitute housing, shelter and care for the PETS (whichever occurs first). The retention of the residence and furnishings is for the primary purpose of providing suitable, familiar housing and shelter for settlor’s PETS during the term of the trust. Settlor expects the residence to be rented during the existence of the trust. In keeping with the settlor’s primary concern for her PETS, settlor directs the trustee to screen any and all potential tenants to assure any renter has the same or similar concern and ability to care for settlor’s PETS as settlor has, and that such care shall be compensated in such a manner that any renter shall receive an appropriate reduction in the fair rental value of the residence with is commensurate with the value of such services.
The balance of the pet trust estate and all income is to be accumulated (i.e., without distributions) during the term of the trust in a reserve account for the real property maintenance and for the feeding and veterinary care of settlor’s PETS through the term of the trust. Upon termination of the trust as described above, the balance of the trust estate shall be distributed in accordance with the residue of the trust as described in paragraph C (11) above.
Nattie passed away in 2005 at the age of 16, and Piglet followed in 2009 at 17. Straus now shares her life with Ella, a Norwich Terrier.
“My trust is still in effect,” she says, “although my successor trustee knows (and I’ve included in my instructions) that my current dog, Ella, would do fine in another home, so there would be no need to keep the house for her. I am still leaving money for her care in an arrangement where veterinary bills and other costs would be reimbursed to the new owner rather than giving that person a lump sum. In my instructions I keep a list of people who I think might provide or help find a good home for Ella. My only problem with her is that she prefers being an only dog, and everyone I know already has dogs!”
Do You Need a Pet Trust Laywer?
For the simplest of care arrangements – your best friend, a member of your family, or someone who loves your dog volunteers to care for him if something happens to you – the transfer of ownership and a simple bequest probably don’t require a lawyer, assuming you live in one of the 44 states that honor statutory pet trusts.
But if your estate is large or complicated, if relatives are likely to challenge your plans, or if you want to maintain as much control of your dog’s future as possible, you need a lawyer.
Some legal firms offer do-it-yourself will-writing software or programs that create pet trusts. “These can be inexpensive,” says Goettel, “but will programs are not usually state-specific, and law on estates and trusts varies from state to state. Also, these will programs come with general, but not specific, advice about estate planning. Although almost everyone believes their estate planning is simple and straightforward, many do not realize they have issues that should be dealt with very specifically. Also, a will document is only a piece of estate planning. Beneficiary designations, joint tenancy ownership, and other property issues need to be coordinated with the planning that is in a will, and the online programs may not be comprehensive in that regard.” In other words, it’s a good idea to check with a local lawyer who has estate-planning and pet trust experience.
Helpful Resources for Starting a Pet Trust
One online resource that comes highly recommended by estate planning attorneys and the animal welfare community is 2nd Chance for Pets, a non-profit organization that helps pet owners provide for their animals’ care should the owners die or become incapacitated.
The organization’s free eight-page Pet Care Workbook, available online or in print, includes Care Instruction Forms that you can complete, make copies of, and share with everyone involved in caring for your pets. As the workbook reminds us, the components of a lifetime care plan are simple:
1. Identify (and communicate with) future caretakers for your pets.
2. Prepare written instructions outlining how your pets should be cared for.
3. Set up a fund specifically for the care of your pets.
A detailed questionnaire includes everything from caretaker information to pet sitters, boarding facilities, emergency contact information, veterinarian information, trustee information, and details about your pet.
The organization also provides Emergency Identification Cards that tell first-responders or medical staff that you have pets, where they are, and who should be contacted if you are in an accident or are incapacitated.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
This website uses cookies and other tracking technologies to offer you a better experience, personalize content and ads, and analyze our site traffic. Before proceeding, you agree to our Terms and that you’ve read our Privacy Policy. Update Settings
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
