While researching this year’s dry dog food review (which starts on the facing page), I was struck by the overwhelming prevalence of two big trends in marketing and formulation. I’m not sure any pet food company is immune from these tactics – and I’m not yet convinced they will prove a benefit to dogs or dog owners.
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The first tactic is the “No!” approach. You know, “No Corn, wheat, or soy!” How tame those claims seem now. I’ve seen dog food bags and pet food company literature that proudly proclaims products free of beef, dairy products, eggs, pork, potatoes, and yeast.
The problem with each of these “no” statements is that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with any of those ingredients. In some of the latter cases, the pet food maker is not actually denigrating those ingredients; its trying to help the consumer identify products that contain less-common ingredients. However, the “no” approach plants a seed of doubt in the minds of many consumers. “Wait; why are potatoes bad?”
Corn, wheat, and soy have been historically overused in low-quality pet foods, in lieu of better-quality ingredients. But that doesn’t mean that the presence of any corn, wheat, or soy in a food is cause for immediate dismissal. Each contains nutrients that can be of some value when the ingredient is used in moderation in a food that is bursting with higher quality ingredients. I don’t want to see any of them in the top five or so ingredients in a food – but the appearance of one of them in an otherwise compelling food does not cause me to drop it in horror.
I also saw products labeled as having no added hormones, added steroids, added sugar, antibiotics, by-products, fillers, genetically modified organisms (GMO), and grain fractions. My favorite? “No potentially allergenic ingredients.” (I could write a book about how that one aggravates me. Anything can be an allergen for a given individual. There are dogs who are allergic to dust. How can anything be free of “potential allergens”?)
There is a valid concern behind each of these statements, and perhaps even a valuable service offered by a product that protects dogs from the threat implied by each. But for any but the most educated consumers, these claims are meaningless and confusing – especially when market rivals publish counter-claims; you know, one company’s “filler” is another company’s “beneficial fiber.” In my opinion, unless these claims are explained by educational material (and supported with valid research), they do more harm to the industry than good.
The other big trend this year is related, I guess: Grain-free (or gluten-free) foods. Everybody has one, and some companies have a bunch. Suddenly, the premium pet food niche is all about a low-glycemic index diet.
There is no doubt that this is a good thing for many dogs – but it’s not good news for every dog. While some improve and thrive on a grain-free diet, some dogs wither. And while it’s true that grains are not a natural part of an evolutionary diet for canines, many dogs can utilize them without problems.
I’m pleased that so much research and innovation is going on in the pet food industry, and I’m happy to have lots of grain-free formulas from which to choose. But let’s educate dog owners so they know to try different products for different dogs, notice the results, and continue with what works best for each individual.
Many years ago, when I was a Customer Care Supervisor at the Marin Humane Society, in Novato, California, we received a frantic phone call from a woman who had glanced over her fence and noticed her neighbor’s adolescent Dalmatian tangled up in her tie-out rope so badly that she couldn’t move. Rushing to the address, the Society’s humane officer did, indeed, find the tangled dog, but there was something suspicious about the scene. The rope was coiled and knotted so neatly around the dog’s legs that it left no room for doubt in the officer’s mind. On a sunny day, Pebbles had been deliberately hog-tied and left for hours with no access to water or shade. The officer quickly untied the dog to restore circulation to her swollen paws, then rushed her to a nearby veterinarian, where it was determined that Pebbles was mildly dehydrated, but, fortunately, suffering from no permanent damage. To add to the mystery, however, the vet found that Pebbles’ right hind leg and hip had been recently shaved for some sort of surgery. An investigation was clearly called for.
When questioned later, Pebbles’ 19-year-old owner explained that he had put his dog on her “punishment rope” because she had peed in the house, and he had forgotten to release her before he left for work. The surgery had been needed to repair a broken leg, inflicted on a prior occasion, when the owner claimed to have shoved the dog off the porch for peeing in the house. You must, he asserted with confidence, punish your dog for peeing in the house or she would never be housebroken. His method of punishment-based training clearly wasn’t working, since at the age of 10 months, poor Pebbles was still peeing in the house.
What the young Dalmatian’s owner didn’t realize was that not only is punishment a relatively ineffective means of housetraining a puppy, but his dog didn’t even have a housetraining problem. Instead, Pebbles was urinating submissively to try to appease her angry, violent owner, and all of the punishment her owner subjected her to was only making the problem worse.
Pebbles’ owner was charged with animal cruelty. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation and, to Pebbles’ everlasting good fortune, forfeited ownership of his dog. She was adopted to a more understanding owner who successfully implemented a proper training program, and in just a few short months Pebbles’ submissive urination was no longer a problem.
If you met Bonnie today, there’s a 95 percent chance you could greet her without having her pee on the floor. That wasn’t always the case. In fact, when we adopted the six-month-old Scorgidoodle six years ago her submissive urination behavior was so extreme I awarded my academy students extra credit points if they could greet her without making her pee. Only a few students earned those points the first year.
In fact, the adorable Bonnie had been surrendered to the shelter because her owners “couldn’t housetrain her.” Far too many dog owners mistake submissive and excitement urination as a house-training problem when they are actually behavioral issues. Sadly, many dogs are punished for these presentations of inappropriate urination; in both cases, this is the worst thing you can do, as it is highly likely to make the behavior worse, not better.
Some behavior professionals consider excitement and submissive urination to be on a continuum of the same behavior, while others make a clear distinction between the two. These are both involuntary behaviors, meaning the dog is not deliberately house soiling, but rather simply reacting to conditions in his environment. The behavior is not under his control.
In both cases, the first step is a trip to your dog’s veterinarian, to rule out any medical or physical causes for or contributors to the behavior, such as a urinary tract infection. Assuming no medical condition, the next step is behavior modification. Of the two behaviors, excitement urination is generally the easier to resolve, so let’s look at that one first.
Excitement Urination for Dogs
This is the canine equivalent of, “Whee! I’m so happy and excited I peed my pants!” This behavior is seen as simple immaturity, particularly common among young, exuberant dogs of many breeds and either gender, who have not yet developed complete neuromuscular control. The dog sometimes doesn’t even squat (or lift a leg), and may urinate while standing, walking, running, or jumping up and down. The best solution is tincture of time; many dogs simply outgrow the behavior as they attain physical maturity. Additionally, you can:
1. If possible, greet your dog outside, and have guests greet him outside. This won’t reduce the excitement urination, but will reduce clean-up chores.
2. Take your dog for more-frequent-than-normal walks so her bladder is always as empty as possible.
3. Teach your dog to relax, by calmly reinforcing relaxed behavior (lying down; standing calmly with four feet on the floor; sitting quietly to greet people). A relaxation protocol such as the one developed by Dr. Karen Overall can be very useful.
4. Provide your dog with more aerobic exercise. Off-leash hikes; playing with other dogs (where safe and legal); and good, hard fetching sessions with a ball or flying disk are all great ways to expend the excitement energy that can cause loss of bladder control. Tired dogs don’t get as excited as underexercised ones!
5. Greet your dog calmly, with quiet body language and a low tone of voice, and/or or don’t greet him at all until he calms down.
6. Instruct visitors to greet your dog calmly, with quiet body language and a low tone of voice, rather than encouraging excitement. (Teaching other humans to alter their dog-greeting behavior is often the most difficult task!)
7. Calmly ignore any damp greetings, and quietly ask your dog for a relaxation behavior you’ve already trained that is incompatible with excitement, such as lying in “sphinx position” or on his side, head on the floor.
8. Do not punish your dog – or yell or behave angrily, even if it’s not directed at him – if he makes a mistake.
Submissive Urination in Dogs
This behavior is more common in young dogs than older ones and in more females than males, and it appears more frequently in certain breeds, including Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, and Dachshunds – but can occur in any dog. Prime candidates for submissive urination are dogs who are also otherwise behaviorally submissive. Unlike excitement urination, a dog who pees submissively may also offer other appeasement behaviors such as a lowered body posture, flattened ears, rolling over, licking, and looking away. The dog may offer a subdued greeting or greet with some excitement.
The more assertive a human’s approach to a pee-prone dog, the more likely a puddle is to appear. Hence, men – especially large, deep-voiced men – are more apt to trigger urination than are soft-spoken, small women. Fast, direct, exuberant approaches by any human are riskier than slow, calm, approaches. Direct eye contact, patting the dog on top of his head, and bending over the dog are more likely to trigger submissive responses – including urination – than are averted eyes, kneeling sideways, and scratching the dog under his chin or on his chest.
Many dog owners are surprised to discover that submissive urination is a natural, normal behavior. It probably stems initially from the mother’s practice of stimulating reflexive urination in young puppies by licking the urogenital area. In the canine world, it keeps a lower-ranking member of a group safe from a higher-ranking member. The dog who squats and pees when greeting another dog sends a strong, clear message, saying, “I am not challenging you, I acknowledge your superiority, there’s no need to hurt me.” It usually works well, with other dogs. With humans, not so much. I try to convince my clients that their submissively peeing dogs are actually giving them a huge “You da boss!” compliment, in an effort to change their perception of – and response to – their dogs’ behavior.
While submissive urination behavior is innate, and occurs in many puppies up to the age of six to eight weeks in the presence of perceived threats to their safety, it normally ceases pretty quickly as the pup matures and gains confidence. However, it is exacerbated and more likely to continue into adolescence or even adulthood if it is mismanaged with inappropriate punishment or excessive control by an overbearing human or dog.
A pup who is punished by his owner for normal housetraining accidents (or other typical puppy transgressions such as chewing) may start offering submissive urination in anticipation of the punishment associated with his owner’s presence. Eventually, any time the owner (or another human) looks at, walks toward, reaches for, or touches the pup, he may urinate. Therefore, to prevent the development of submissive urination in your growing pup, manage his environment to prevent exposure to overbearing, punishment-oriented humans, and limit his access to dogs who may behave aggressively with or bully him, or be otherwise inappropriately assertive.
If it’s too late for prevention, or you are dealing with submissive urination despite your appropriate environmental management, all is not lost. It is possible to modify submissive urination, although it can take a healthy helping of time, patience, and commitment. Here’s how:
1. Whenever possible, greet the dog outdoors. Have someone let him out to greet you in a fenced yard or other safe area when you arrive home. If no one else is home, ignore the dog until you let him out, and then greet him outside.
2. Keep your greetings calm. Rapid body movements and loud or excited voices are more likely to trigger a release of urine in both submissive and excitement urinators. Move slowly and speak in a calm, soft voice. Have all family members and visitors follow the same behavior guidelines. The more consistent and successful everyone is in not triggering the behavior, the sooner it will go away.
3. Take him out frequently to pee outdoors. A full bladder releases more easily – and makes a larger puddle – than an empty or near-empty one.
4. When you do greet, either indoors or out, turn sideways to the dog, kneel down with your upper body straight rather than bending over, avoid direct eye contact, let him approach you, and scratch him under the chin rather than petting him on top of the head or on the back of the neck.
5. If an accident does happen, do not react verbally or physically. Calmly invite the dog outside and then clean up the puddle.
6. Give visitors treats or a toy to offer to your dog. This encourages the dog to increase body height and move forward (more assertive behaviors) and gives guests something to do other than pat the dog’s head.
7. Teach him to target. Like taking a treat, having him target his nose to your hand encourages him to offer a more assertive behavior in greeting. Invite your guests to ask him to target to their hands – open palm, fingers pointed down.
8. Implement other confidence-building protocols such as “Find It” and “Treat and Retreat.” (For more about these bravery-building exercises, see “Building Your Dog’s Confidence Up“.) When you can’t control the behavior of your visitors, perhaps during a large party, keep your dog crated or closed in a safe room, where he won’t be subjected to urination-eliciting behavior.
9. Use one of the various doggie diaper or belly-band products that are availableto catch the urine and prevent damage to carpets and floors while you work on modifying the behavior.
10. Remember that your dog can’t help it. Reminding yourself that he cannot control his response helps you to avoid getting angry and minimizes the possibility that you may inadvertently send body language signals that tell your dog you are upset and as a result trigger more submissive urination.
11. Take your dog to a good, positive training class. Not only can the trainer help you with the submissive urination challenge, but the improved communication between you and your dog that occurs as a result of positive training will help him gain more confidence and end his submissive responses sooner.
12. If modification efforts are not successful and the behavior continues into your dog’s adulthood, consult a veterinary behaviorist or behavior-knowledgeable veterinarian about the use of medications that can increase the dog’s general muscle tone and control, including the muscles of the urethra.
Successful Greetings
If you have a submissive or excitement urinator, you can be very optimistic. Most dogs can overcome these problems relatively easily with appropriate management and modification techniques. Our beloved Bonnie, now almost seven, has been one of the most persistent cases I’ve ever encountered. In addition to her submissive urination, she is one of the less reliably housetrained dogs I’ve ever owned, supporting the theory of weak urethra muscles. She is still crated at night, to ensure an accident-free sleep time.
However, I no longer award extra-credit points to academy students for pee-free greetings. At one time so sensitive that simply walking toward her could trigger a puddle, Bonnie is now mostly pee-free when met with normal low-key greetings. (I do still warn students of the need to greet her calmly.) If I try, I can still elicit a small puddle from her in one circumstance – when she has something in her mouth I need to take from her (she does have a tendency to pick up stuff!). When she does, I avoid a pee response simply by trading her for a treat, rather than just taking the object away (a better approach to retrieving an object from your dog anyway!). However, my husband and I no longer have to use any caution at all when greeting her – we can bend over, pat her on the head, hug her, and do all the other normal, stupid-primate things we humans like to do to our dogs. If Bonnie can do it, your dog can, too.
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Author of numerous books on positive dog training, she lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where she offers dog training classes and courses for trainers.
“I think it’s really important for dog trainers to get a lot of experience being a student before becoming a teacher. Take as many classes as you can, in numerous disciplines, with your own dog. You’ll learn how different classes are structured and what you like and don’t like about them. When not actively working with your own dog, observe the other students and see how the instructor works with a variety of dogs and people.” Dede Crough Give a Dog a Break, Chester Counter, PA
“If it’s a business, not a hobby, you need to know how to run a business. Have a business plan. Know what your start-up costs will be. Know what will be the most effective advertising strategy for the first six months. Plan for your professional development as part of your costs. Get liability insurance. Be professional from the very first day.” Marilyn Wolf, BS, CBCC-KA Korrect Kritters, New Port Richey, FL
“People who want to enter this difficult, but rewarding, profession must be willing to pay their dues. I’ve had several calls from people – including some former clients – who have decided they want to become a dog trainer and want to know how to proceed. When I tell them to join the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), attend conferences, read books, shadow a trainer, help teach classes and volunteer at a shelter, most thank me for my time and never call back. In my opinion [dog training schools] alone won’t make anybody a competent trainer. You need practice, experience, observation of hundreds or thousands of dogs, many workshops and seminars, and lots of reading to be good at what you do. Every book, every workshop, every video holds the potential for giving you the perfect way to explain a difficult concept to a frustrated client, or the best way to get through to a difficult dog.” Rick Riggs, CPDT-KA Happy Training! Dog Training, LLC, Topeka, Kansas
“It is very important that you enjoy problem-solving; not everyone does. Training dogs and their people requires more than being technically proficient. You may know exactly how to change a dog’s behavior, but if the dog’s handler cannot or will not carry out your plan, you must be prepared to switch to Plan B, or Plan C, or even Plan Z. Be flexible, listen to what the client says – and then believe them when they tell you who they are. If they tell you they want a problem fixed now, creating a painfully detailed training plan is unlikely to be successful; perhaps management would be a better solution for that particular dog team.” Christina Waggoner, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP Deschutes River Dogs, Bend, OR
“I think it’s extremely important to schedule specific times to work on the business: accounting, taxes, advertising, networking, etc. It’s important to stay on top of these things. Social media is really taking off for dog professionals, so I spend quite a bit of time adding content to my company’s Facebook page and blog.” Katherine Ostiguy, KPA CTP Spring Forth Dog Services, Randolf, Massachusetts
Despite a lagging economy, the pet care industry continues to thrive, experiencing a steady increase for the past 17 years. According to the American Pet Products Association, we spent more than $50 billion on our animal friends in 2011. With an estimated 46 million American households owning at least one dog, many long-time dog lovers are considering a career partnership with man’s best friend.
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Regardless of what inspires you to explore a career training dogs, it’s critically important to recognize that, above all, dog training is a profession. As such, there are many important considerations and obligations to be aware of.
Dog Training is People Training Don’t let the “dog trainer” title fool you. I once heard Kathy Sdao, an associate certified animal behaviorist in Tacoma, Washington, joke about how, the next time she has business cards printed, she’ll replace the words “dog training” with “primate training.” Even when you think life has “gone to the dogs,” you’ll still find yourself logging a substantial number of hours engaged in the art of dealing with humans. In fact, interacting with people makes up the lion’s share of a career in dog training.
Dog training is a service-oriented profession; dog trainers work with people who happen to own dogs. Even trainers who specialize in board-and-train programs, where they work with a dog in the owner’s absence, must develop and maintain strong “people skills” in order to successfully communicate to the owner how to effectively maintain newly learned skills once the dog is back in the home.
If you’ve ever worked in a service industry, you know about the wide range of personality types that comprise the client pool. Some clients are friendly, attentive, and a joy to serve. Others are argumentative, cranky, and can make the art of good customer service seem just shy of impossible. Guess what? Those same personality types are often dog owners. As a dog trainer, you’re likely to encounter all types of clients: from the dedicated dog owner who is detailed and compliant, to the unorganized complainer who shows up late for lessons, doesn’t log necessary training hours, and still complains about his dog’s behavior.
We can’t stress this point enough. Most people are attracted to a career as a dog trainer because they like working with dogs, and quickly find the real work often lies in working with dog owners. On most days, a good dog trainer is part instructor, part coach and part problem-solver. Other days, being a dog trainer feels more like an ad-hoc relationship counselor as you sit with a couple arguing over who did more (or less) of the training that week; or a potential emergency worker as you do your best to politely yet firmly educate a new client on why the way to “fix” the issue of the dog growling at the toddler is not to help the toddler pin the dog to the ground.
By the time many people come to consult a professional trainer, they’re already frustrated with their dogs and near the end of their rope. They want behavior change and they want it yesterday. They’ve often already received bad advice by well-meaning friends and family that goes against how you believe dogs should be treated. The job of the trainer is to figure out how best to communicate with each client as an individual, in a way that allows the person to be receptive to your input. You might encounter situations where, in your head, all you can think is, “Are you nuts?!” but if you respond as such, even just out of your passion for dogs, you’ll likely alienate the client. If this happens, everybody loses – especially the dog. Trainer and author Ian Dunbar invites his dog training students, when they grow frustrated with a difficult client, to imagine a syringe full of euthanasia solution – the worst possible conclusion if a dog owner can’t achieve some satisfaction with the dog’s behavior. In the end, your ultimate success depends on your ability to motivate, inform, retain, and inspire people.
Learn Before You Earn Dog training is an unregulated industry. Unlike becoming a lawyer or a doctor, anyone can decide to be a dog trainer, advertise herself as such, and begin accepting money for working with dogs.
“There’s not one obvious entry point into the profession,” says Veronica Boutelle of dog*tec, an Oregon-based consulting company for professional dog trainers. “It’s important to recognize that nobody will say you have to, but there’s an ethical obligation to become as educated about dogs, dog behavior, and training as possible.”
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Loving dogs is not enough. “Our conventional wisdom about dogs is misleading in a number of ways,” explains Boutelle. “There are a whole lot of things we, as a society, think we know about dogs, that in reality, we have strangely backwards. Those misconceptions can get us into a lot of trouble when we start working with dogs professionally.”
Dogs communicate via often incredibly complex body language. To the average dog owner, a wagging tail always indicates a friendly dog; the dog who fails to run away when hugged by a child obviously enjoys the interaction; and the snappy little dog must have a Napoleon complex. The educated dog trainer likely sees a different picture by analyzing the rest of the dogs’ body language within various contexts.
In seeking an education, there are several routes to pursue. According to the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, most people employed as dog trainers are largely “self-educated” through extensive reading; attending seminars, workshops, and conventions; and, in many cases, mentoring with another trainer.
For students looking for a more structured academic approach, a handful of dog trainer schools exist, offering both online and in-person programs ranging from six days to six months and costing from $1,200 to more than $5,500. “Most dog trainers who are committed to professional, ethical dog training attend multiple schools in order to get a well-rounded education,” says Boutelle. “Serious dog trainers’ resumes are full of workshops and seminars; it’s an extremely extensive field.”
When researching schools and continuing education opportunities, it’s important to do your homework. We recommend limiting the list to schools that focus on scientifically sound, ethical, and humane training practices as opposed to programs that employ more “traditional” methods involving dominance, intimidation, and physical punishment.
Be cautious of school and programs promoting an ability to produce “certified” dog trainers. Regardless of what school you attend, earning a certificate is the program’s way of acknowledging that a student has successfully completed the fee-based program requirements. This is different from an independent assessment of the student’s general knowledge and ability as a trainer. Trainers seeking an independent certification can, upon meeting certain requirements, apply to test with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.
Experience Needed “One of the biggest issues we’ve found, especially with the popularity of the Internet, is that people coming into the profession have a great deal of knowledge but, often, not a lot of mechanical skills,” says Mychelle Blake, executive director of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. “I’ve seen a lot of people who have a business card and who call themselves trainers, but you hand them a strange dog in a workshop and they can’t get the dog to sit.” She, like Boutelle, stresses the importance of gaining education from a variety of sources, both academic and practical.
“I tell everybody, above all else, get yourself to a shelter. Volunteer. Even if it’s just walking dogs, you’ll learn so much from that,” says Blake. “The ability to ‘read’ dogs is so important. You need to be knowledgeable about different breeds, and you need to see dogs at their best and worst states. In a shelter, you’ll see the most lovely, well-behaved dog who maybe lost his home because of foreclosure, and you’ll see the crazy, adolescent Pit Bull-mix. That kind of experience is so vitally important and it’s something I don’t see trainers, even experienced trainers, doing enough of. It’s such a tremendous educational experience, whether you’re just coming into the profession or you’ve been it for years. It’s also a great public service.”
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Trainers must also remain mindful, throughout their careers, of what types of cases they feel comfortable and qualified to safely and successfully handle. It can be dangerous (and can have legal consequences) to decide to take on a too-difficult case for your level of experience.
Because so much of dog training revolves around working with people, Blake also recommends accruing skills in teaching methods and interpersonal communication. Dog training is rooted in science, but the act of teaching is an art. The ability to present the same information in different ways can go a long way toward helping the human end of your dog-human team achieve success. Some people learn best by listening, some by watching, and others by actually doing. Good trainers know how to develop solid lesson plans and can explain the mechanics of specific behavior skills with an emphasis on each individual learning style.
Susan Smith, owner of Raising Canine, recommends that trainers strive to interact with their human clients much like they do the canine variety. “We need to view clients as learners just as we do the dogs,” she says. “I think dog trainers often assume clients absorb more of the session than they do. We talk at them for an hour or more and impart a lot of information – information we know well. I don’t think it’s possible for them to take it all in and understand and remember it.”
Smith provides a range of science-based education and business services to animal professionals. She says one way trainers can help human students become successful learners is to break things down and be specific. “For example, instead of telling clients to ‘raise the criteria a little bit,’ we need to tell them exactly what the next criteria is. To us a “little bit” might be duration going from five seconds to seven seconds, but to them it might be from five seconds to 30 seconds,” Smith says. This requires good communication skills and the ability to clearly verbalize one’s actions, which is sometimes easier said than done when it comes to something you’ve been doing for so long, it has become second nature.
Smith also recommends using human analogies to help normalize elements of dog behavior. For example, one could explain resource guarding by admitting to imagining sticking her fork in her brother’s hand as he stole French fries off her plate when they were kids.
Dog trainers must also be comfortable with – and skilled at – handling difficult conversations. Trainers are often in the position of helping clients make tough decisions about whether or not a dog should remain in the home, or even, in extreme cases, if the dog should be euthanized. The ability to listen and provide compassionate counsel without personal judgment is an important skill that doesn’t come naturally for a lot of people – especially when dealing with something we’re personally passionate about, like dogs.
Mind Your Own Biz “The reality is that there are very few jobs available for dog trainers,” Boutelle says. Some of the larger training and daycare facilities will provide full-time positions, but not many, and the big chain stores don’t offer full-time training. You can get an independent contractor position, but it’s usually 5 to 10 hours per week. You need to recognize that if you want to do training for a living, in most cases, that will also mean owning a business.”
As the former Director of Training and Behavior at the Academy of Dog Trainers (when it was based at the San Francisco SPCA), Boutelle reports a disappointing long-term success rate among self-employed graduates. “These were great trainers with solid people and dog skills and many just wouldn’t make it; they’d go back to their previous career – not because they didn’t know how to train dogs, but because they didn’t know how to properly run a business.” This phenomenon is what led Boutelle to launch dog*tec in 2003. The company specializes in business and marketing support for dog professionals. Her team’s goal is to “help positive reinforcement training professionals achieve financial success and personal fulfillment,” through one-on-one consulting (including career change counseling) and a host of additional products and services.
“Most dog trainers don’t become business owners because they set out to, or because they have a business background,” explains Boutelle. I think a lot of trainers out there, if they had a choice, would rather draw a salary than work for themselves. We try to take the fear out of it and help them build a business skill set, along with the training skill set, so that people can do what they love – which is train dogs – and make it sustainable for the long haul.” She says the most common mistakes dog trainers make are related to marketing: either not marketing enough or making poor marketing choices such as relying too heavily on word-of-mouth referrals. “Word-of-mouth does not work in this industry until you are established,” explains Boutelle.
Time can be a tricky challenge for dog trainers. While it’s a wonderful perk to be able to set your own hours as a self-employed dog trainer, the reality is that leisure time can be difficult to come by. Few full-time dog trainers enjoy the luxury of two days off, especially in the early days (years!) of starting a business. “In the beginning, you’re working a start-up business; you’re going to put in a lot of unpaid hours,” says Boutelle.
Beware of Burnout Long days (paid or unpaid), scarce time off, and the often emotionally challenging nature of the business, make burnout a real threat to professional dog trainers. To prevent burnout, Blake stresses the importance of scheduling time for oneself. “Do not work seven days a week; you need to make sure there’s time for yourself, your spouse, your kids and your own dogs,” she says. “So many trainers have untrained dogs because we spend all our time working with clients and their dogs. If you don’t make time for yourself, you’re heading for a fall. Even if it seems okay in the beginning, it’s not sustainable.” She also recommends utilizing support services such as in-person and online trainer networks, and participating in a hobby that has nothing to do with dogs or training.
Go Forth and Prosper Despite the challenges, dog training can be an extremely rewarding and successful career. Most trainers agree that even a bad day training dogs is better than a good day stuck in a downtown high-rise. The joy trainers experience when watching a dog and owner transform from adversaries to teammates can make it all worth it – even the scary business-owning part.
“It takes an incredible person to wake up one morning and say, ‘I’m going to do what I love for a living and I’m going to pursue my dream, follow my passion and make it work,’” says Boutelle. “If you truly have the passion and you’ve weighed all the pros and cons and it’s still what you want to do, then you set your foot on the path and you do not let anyone knock you off. Go get the education and learn everything you can about dog training and running a business and then go forth and prosper. To find the strength to do that is really something special.”
Stephanie Colman has been training dogs in Los Angeles for 10 years. She actively competes in obedience and agility with her Golden Retriever, Quiz and enjoys spoiling her retired Whippet, Zoie.
When I compared a nutritional analysis of Preference plus turkey to the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) nutrient recommendations, the minerals zinc, copper, and selenium, vitamins D and E, and possibly some B vitamins were all low. This is because commercial dog foods are designed to meet nutrient profiles established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAF CO), which are based on older research published by the NRC in 1985.
Instead of supplementing with vitamin E alone, Allen could give a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement made for either humans or dogs to help make up for the differences between the AAF CO and NRC guidelines. Most one-a-day multivitamins that are designed to provide 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA ) for people, such as Centrum for Adults under 50, would supply appropriate amounts of vitamins and minerals for dogs when giving 1 tablet per 40 to 50 pounds of body weight daily. Supplements made for dogs could also be used. Allen should use salmon oil rather than cod liver oil if the supplement contains significant amounts of vitamin D.
Deborah Allen, of Boise, Idaho, feeds a dog food diet that combines a commercial pre-mix with raw ground turkey to her two Labrador Retrievers: Hartford, a highly active, 6-year-old working guide dog who weighs 76 pounds; and Lily, a moderately active, 14-year-old retired guide dog who weighs 53 pounds. Their veterinarian says both dogs are healthy, but they have begun losing weight and developing skin problems in the last few months. Hartford is about 4 pounds and Lily about two pounds under their ideal weights.
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Allen is limited in what she can feed her dogs due to their food allergies or intolerances. Hartford has digestive problems (vomiting, loose stools) and gets itchy when fed lamb or chicken. He tolerates beef and bison, but has been only fed small amounts. Lily won’t touch beef or bison, and has the same reaction to lamb that Hartford does. She tolerates small amounts of chicken. Hartford can eat ground elk, but Lily reacts to it similarly to lamb. In addition, Allen suspects that both dogs may have problems with grains and possibly flax. She is concerned that her dogs’ skin problems are due to the lack of variety in their diet.
Here is the diet Allen currently feeds her dogs, which she started last March. These amounts are daily totals, split between two meals:
– 1 dry cup The Honest Kitchen Preference (hydrated with 2 cups of water)
– 2 tablespoons cooked pumpkin
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 2 grams salmon oil
– 1 cup of Pure Vita Grain Free Turkey Formula (1/2 cup for Lily)
– Lily gets an occasional raw chicken wing, and Hartford gets dry homemade beef heart bits, but not regularly
Mixed Company Pre-mixes, such as The Honest Kitchen’s Preference, are designed to provide a complete diet when combined with fresh foods that you add yourself. There are many such products available, but only a few are guaranteed to meet Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient guidelines for “complete and balanced” products when fed according to instructions. Few companies provide a complete nutritional analysis of their products; some, in fact, have never done such an analysis.
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Also, instructions for adding foods vary considerably from one company to the next. For example, one tells you to add ¾ cup of oil per 2 pounds of meat, creating a recipe that derives 67 percent of its calories from fat (41 percent of calories are from the oil alone). This is more fat than even working sled dogs need, and is likely to cause digestive upset and even pancreatitis in susceptible dogs. It could also lead to nutritional deficiencies because the non-fat portion is such a small percentage of the diet.
I trust The Honest Kitchen more than most companies when it comes to pre-mixes. The Honest Kitchen provides a complete nutritional analysis of all of its foods. Only Preference is a true pre-mix, incomplete without the addition of fresh foods, though the product literature encourages you to add up to half a cup of “extras” to each dry cup of The Honest Kitchen’s other products. It advises adding 1 to 2 cups of meat (raw or cooked) per 1 dry cup of its Preference mix, as Allen does, but the number of calories provided would vary tremendously depending on the fat content of the meat.
Diet Details In August, Allen switched from Foster Farms regular ground turkey (with 15 percent fat) to its lean variety (with just 7 percent fat). In October, she noticed that her dogs were losing weight. The difference in calories between the two types of turkey is significant, about 300 calories a day for Hartford and half that much for Lily, which would explain the weight loss. Allen increased the amount of Pure Vita kibble she was feeding, but the dogs are still losing weight.
The amount of protein in this diet is more than adequate. The turkey alone supplies all of the protein that Hartford needs, and most of what Lily should get. Like all meats, turkey is a complete protein source, supplying all essential amino acids as well as taurine (which may be conditionally essential for some dogs).
The fat in this diet would be on the low side without the added oils, especially for Lily, who gets less meat, although not excessively restricted. With the added oils, the diet has an appropriate fat content, about 46 grams per 1,000 calories for Hartford, and a little less for Lily.
While the total amount of fat is fine, the distribution may not be. One-fifth of the total fat in Hartford’s diet and almost one-third in Lily’s diet comes from olive oil, which supplies primarily oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid that competes with essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for uptake in the body. Most of the useful omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in this diet are supplied by the fish oil supplement (they can also be found in algae). Poultry fat is a good source of omega-6 fatty acids, primarily linoleic acid (LA), while beef, lamb, and other red meats are low in LA.
The amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is adequate, but the ratio of LA to EPA and DHA is over 16:1 (not counting the added kibble). Linoleic acid is pro-inflammatory, while EPA and DHA are anti-inflammatory. Since omega-6 fatty acids also compete with omega-3 fatty acids for uptake, it is likely that the dogs are not absorbing enough EPA or DHA. This could explain the skin problems that Allen sees in her dogs. Increasing the amount of EPA and DHA and decreasing the amount of olive oil will help to correct this imbalance and may help to resolve the skin issues.
I advised Allen to reduce the amount of olive oil to 1 teaspoon (down from 1 tablespoon) daily, and either increase salmon oil to 5 grams (about a teaspoon) or add 1 teaspoon cod liver oil. This lowers the ratio of LA to EPA and DHA, and removes much of the competing oleic acid, while only slightly reducing the total amounts of fat and calories. The advantage to using cod liver oil is that most supplements provide about 400 IU vitamin D per teaspoon. Recommended amounts of vitamin D for humans have increased in recent years; more may be beneficial for dogs, too.
I recommended that Allen supplement with vitamin E due to the added oils in her diet, which increase the need for vitamin E. Both dogs should get an additional 25 IU vitamin E daily. Since vitamin E is fat-soluble, it’s okay to give larger amounts less often. For example, she could give 200 IU vitamin E once a week rather than 25 IU daily.
The revised diet is slightly lower in calories due to the decrease in the amount of oil. Allen is adding a duck egg a day for Hartford (which he is more likely to tolerate than chicken eggs) and a chicken wing a day for Lily (a chicken egg would be a better choice) to increase calories and variety. She will also include canned salmon in the diet soon, if her dogs can handle it. Both dogs now get 1 teaspoon olive oil and 5 grams salmon oil plus a human multivitamin daily (salmon oil will not be given on days she feeds fish).
Allen could have returned to the higher-fat turkey in place of the new foods, but the increase in omega-6 fatty acids might have contributed to inflammation, and the diet would have been higher in fat than either dog needs. In addition, variety is always preferred to feeding just a single protein source, even though it does not appear that the lack of variety caused the dogs’ problems.
One month after making the above changes, Allen reports, “The dogs are both doing great! Their coats are noticeably more silky, their food-seeking behavior has reduced, they are more energetic, and they are putting on weight. I will probably have to cut back on the kibble soon.”
Mary Straus is the owner of DogAware.com. Contact her via her website if you would like to submit a diet to be critiqued.
If you use these products, you may need to find alternatives.
It seems like every time I turn around these days, I hear about another drug shortage (more on that topic in an upcoming WDJ article). This time, it’s Novartis Animal Health announcing in late December that it has suspended production of Interceptor, Sentinel, and other drugs while its manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, undergoes “voluntary” improvements. Numerous human and animal over-the-counter drugs are manufactured at this plant. According to reports, the company hopes to know in January when production will be resumed.
If you currently use either of these products, you may need to find a substitute, at least temporarily. Interceptor is a monthly heartworm preventive medication; it should be easy to switch to Heartgard (or generic equivalent), Revolution, or the newer Advantage Multi. Be sure to purchase these from a reliable source to avoid potentially ineffective counterfeit products. See “When Buying Veterinary Drugs Online, Look for Accredited Sites,” (WDJ June 2011)
Sentinel is a combination of Interceptor (milbemycin oxime) and Program (lufenuron), an insect growth regulator that prevents fleas that bite your dog from producing viable offspring, and therefore can be useful in combating a flea infestation. Program is manufactured by Novartis and is therefore almost certainly one of the other products whose production has been suspended. If you don’t have fleas, you don’t need to use lufenuron.
If you do have a flea problem, you can switch to flea and tick products that contain their own insect growth regulators. Advantage II and Advantix II use pyriproxyfen (Nylar), while Frontline Plus and Certifect use S-methoprene (Precor). For more information on these products, see “New Flea and Tick Products Hit the Market” (WDJ December 2011).
And it’s peak tick season where I live right now. The ticks are so bad in some of the areas where I typically walk Otto and Tito (formerly Peanut) that I just have to avoid those trails for a few months. Otherwise, even with the dogs wearing a fresh application of Advantix and me spending a feverish hour when we get home going over them with a fine-toothed comb (literally – I use a flea comb), I end up finding one or two latched onto Otto, engorged with blood. It’s always Otto, too; Tito is small and his coat is short; I can find even the tiny deer ticks on him easily. But Otto is large and his coat is thick and wiry; the ticks can hide from even my flea comb rather easily.
Once upon a time, I used to think ticks were just gross — and of course painful for the dog. But I’ve become increasingly aware of the number of people who have been infected with Lyme disease from tick bites – and in just the past year, newly aware of the tick-borne diseases that dogs can get from tick bites.
Lots of veterinarians today are using SNAP 4Dx tests – an in-house blood test that can detect heartworm infection as well as infection with canine anaplasmosis and canine monocytic ehrlichiosis. Both diseases are caused by organisms carried by ticks. All of the tick-borne diseases have the ability to lie dormant for months and even years in a dog’s body, in what’s called a sub-clinical stage, until something (age or another illness) reduces the effectiveness of the dog’s immune system, and allows the infection to suddenly bloom into a chronic stage of active infection and illness. Allowing ticks to bite your dog means opening the window to possible infection with one of these difficult-to-treat diseases.
Because of this, and because our locals trails are so infested with ticks, I do use pesticides on Otto and Tito, in addition to assiduous post-walk grooming and inspections, and avoiding the most-infested trails. I’ve heard about numerous less-toxic preparations that can help ward off ticks – but I’ve never heard of any remedy that works as well as the commercial spot-on products against ticks. But surely I haven’t heard of EVERY remedy – and anything that’s effective that I could add to my tick-protection protocol would be welcome.
You can ask the powers-that-be at our publishing headquarters: I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to posting on Facebook and writing blog posts. But one thing keeps me coming back to check the blog and the WDJ Facebook page: I really enjoy seeing posts that show or describe the progress that our readers have made with their dogs. It doesn’t matter if they report on a health or training issue; it’s just really rewarding to communicate with like-minded owners who are as concerned (some would say obsessed) or in love with their dogs as we are. It’s even better if we’ve met the dog, or shared his or her story at some point in the magazine.
So share your stories! These winter nights are long and just MADE for telling good dog stories. Post a picture, too. Tell us what you’re working on or what you’ve already accomplished.
Swedish dog owner Nina Ottosson first marketed some of her puzzles and games for dogs in Sweden in 1993; we first heard about them (and reviewed the original wood versions) in 2008. Since then, probably in a defensive response to a number of cheap plastic knockoffs of her designs, Ottosson has developed a line of high-quality plastic toys, though the original, beautiful wood models that are made in Sweden are still available. The wood ones are sturdy and gorgeous – and more expensive. The plastic ones are also quite rugged, holding up to all sorts of clawing and even being picked up and dropped and continuing to work perfectly.
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We tested one of the knockoffs, as well as Ottosson’s plastic “Dog Twister” model; there was no comparison. Our dogs were finished with the knockoff in minutes; but many designs of the Ottosson toys, like the Dog Twister, are designed with several levels of difficulty and continue to provide a challenge for dogs after months of play. In addition, Ottosson makes more complex toys and simpler toys; as her website says, “Whether you have a ‘Forrest Gump’ or an ‘Albert Einstein’, there is a Nina Ottosson game design to suit every dog!” (Even our young cats got into the action, using their claws to manipulate the pieces; Ottosson indicates which of the toys are appropriate for cats!)
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These toys are great for occupying puppies, giving non-ambulatory or post-surgical dogs something to do, or just amusing yourself while amusing your dog!
We purchased from Amazon.com, but the toys are available from a number of online retailers, listed on the website below.
Dog Twister, Plastic – $42
Nina Ottosson Dog Activity Toys Karlskoga, Sweden 46-586-30034 nina-ottosson.com
There is a short list of attributes that we look for in a treat: It should be mostly or all-meat (that’s the definition of high-value, in the opinion of most dogs); it should be dehydrated or freeze-dried (to make it convenient and not greasy in a pocket); it should be small (so we can feed a lot of them without filling up or boring the dog). That’s it!
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Bravo!, maker of top-quality frozen raw diets, recently introduced a line of freeze-dried meat treats that meet all of our selection criteria. They come in four varieties: all-beef “hot dogs,” turkey, buffalo, and “Trail Mix,” which contains those three plus tiny cubes of freeze-dried cheese. We like the latter best, because the variety seems to hold our dogs’ attention longer. Bravo! uses only domestic sources of responsibly raised meats. We purchased from a local pet supply store; retailers are listed on Bravo’s website. Bravo! treats are also sold by online retailers such as cleanrun.com.
I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing
