The weather is just starting to turn brisk, but many short-haired dogs are already shivering. The time to order your dog’s winter coat is now, so you have a cozy coat standing by for the season of the most serious cold snaps. Whole Dog Journal tested a number of dog-warming coats, sweaters, blankets, what have you – for warmth, fit, and ease of application. We also washed and dried the blankets per the manufacturers’ recommendations.
To test how the coats fit and stayed in place, we put them on dogs and threw balls for them so that they’d run and jump.
A significant part of our test concerned how easy it was to put the coats on and adjust them for fit. Since we used a variety of test dogs (including a number of shelter dogs) with a range of responses to “dressing up,” we quickly came to appreciate the designs could be put on easily.
We didn’t concern ourselves with waterproof coats; for most of us, the real concern is keeping our dogs warm, and these features were mutually exclusive in all the designs we found. Besides, based on our own experiences with wet clothing of different fabric types, we are certain that all but one or two of the coats would keep a dog warm even if wet. In the text below, we’ve noted which of the blankets may not perform well when wet.
Interestingly, some of the best coats we were able to find came from equine, rather than canine catalogs; several manufacturers of equine apparel have customized their most successful designs for dogs. These coats were among the easiest to put on and offered the most adjustability. Maybe it’s because horse owners would never buy a blanket that required them to lift and manipulate a horse’s limbs through leg holes…
What can you do if the dog whose barking is driving you insane is not your dog?
Besides leaving a copy of the foregoing articles on the dog-owner’s front porch (maybe they’ll take the hint and train their dog not to bark), you might consider the practical and legal remedies offered by attorney Mary Randolph, author of Dog Law. This outstanding book, published by legal self-help specialist Nolo Press, of Berkeley, CA, covers all legal aspects of owning dogs.
The following is an excerpt from the chapter in Dog Law that deals with barking dogs. The tips contained in the excerpt will be enough to guide most people with nuisance barkers in their neighborhood through an amicable and effective resolution to their problem. However, if you are embroiled in a serious conflict with the balky owner of a problem barker, WDJ strongly encourages you to consider buying Dog Law and reading the entire chapter.
Probably the most common complaint about dogs is the noise they make. The good news for neighbors is that usually problems can be resolved without resorting to legal means, through informal negotiation or mediation. And if that fails, there is almost always a law against noisy nuisance dogs.
If you can’t get these laws enforced to your satisfaction, you can sue the dog owner to get the nuisance stopped and to recover money damages. But substituting a major hassle with expensive lawyers for a small one with a bad-mannered spaniel isn’t much progress. Lawsuits are especially undesirable when the other party is a neighbor – after all, you’ll still be next door to each other no matter who wins.
Below, we discuss the most promising ways to resolve neighborhood dog disputes out of court and stay on relatively good terms with the neighbors.
Confront Your Neighbor About the Barking
The obvious first step – asking the dog’s owner to stop the noise – is either ignored or botched by a surprising number of people. Perhaps it’s not all that surprising approaching someone with a complaint can be unpleasant and in some cases intimidating.
However, talking to your neighbor calmly and reasonably is an essential first step. Even if you do eventually end up in court, a judge isn’t likely to be too sympathetic if you didn’t make at least some effort to work things out first. So it’s a no-lose situation, and if you approach it with a modicum of tact, you may be pleasantly surprised by the neighbor’s willingness to work toward a solution.
Sometimes owners are blissfully unaware that there’s a problem. If a dog barks for hours every day – but only when it’s left alone – the owner may not know that a neighbor is being driven crazy by a dog the owner thinks is quiet and well-mannered. Even if you’re sure the neighbor does know about the dog’s antisocial behavior, it may be better to proceed as though she doesn’t.
Here are some suggestions on how to get the most from your negotiations:
– Write a friendly note or call to arrange a convenient time to talk. Don’t blunder up some rainy evening when the neighbor is trying to drag groceries and kids in the house after work.
– If you think it’s appropriate, take a little something to the meeting to break the ice – some vegetables from your garden, perhaps.
– Don’t threaten legal action (or illegal action!). There will be time to discuss legal remedies if relations deteriorate.
– Offer positive suggestions. Once you have established some rapport, you may want to suggest, tactfully, that the owner get help with the dog. Try saying something like, “You know, my friend Tom had the same problem with his dog, and since he’s been taking the dog to ABC Obedience School classes, he and his neighbors are much happier.” Of course, if you make suggestions too early in the process, the neighbor may resent your “interference.”
– Try to agree on specific actions to alleviate the problem. For example, that the dog is kept inside between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
– After you agree on a plan, set a date to talk again in a couple of weeks. If your next meeting is already arranged, it will be easier for you to talk again. It won’t look like you’re badgering your neighbor, but will show that you’re serious about getting the problem solved.
If the situation improves, make a point to say thanks. Not only is it the nice thing to do, it will also encourage more progress.
Mediation: Getting Another Person to Help
If talking to your neighbor directly doesn’t work, or you’re convinced it’s hopeless, consider getting some help from a mediator. A mediator won’t make a decision for you, but will help you and your neighbor agree on a resolution of the problem.
Mediators, both professional and volunteers, are trained to listen to both sides, identify problems, keep everyone focused on the real problems and suggest compromises. Going through the process helps both people feel they’ve been heard (a more constructive version of the satisfaction of “having your day in court”) and often puts people on better terms.
Mediation provides a safe, structured way for neighbors to talk. They meet informally with one or more mediators, and first agree on ground rules – basic guidelines, such as no name-calling or interrupting. Then, each person briefly states a view of the problem. The mediator may summarize the problem and its history before moving on to discuss possible solutions.
Unlike a lawsuit, mediation is not an adversarial process. You do not go to mediation to argue your side. No judge-like person makes a decision for you. So there is nothing to gain from the lying and manipulation common to the courtroom. People can become amazingly cooperative when they realize it’s in their power – and no one else’s – to resolve their problem.
When two people do agree on how to alleviate the problem, it’s best to put the agreement in writing, which helps clarify everyone’s expectations. And it’s invaluable if later memories grow fuzzy, as they almost always do, about who agreed to do what.
The best place to look for a free mediator for this kind of dispute is a community mediation group. Many cities have such groups, which usually train volunteers to mediate disputes in their neighborhoods.
Other places that may be able to refer you to a mediation service include the small claims court clerk’s office, the local district attorney’s office, radio or television stations that offer help with consumer problems, or state or local bar associations.
State and Local Laws on Nuisance Dogs
If the situation doesn’t improve after your efforts to work something out, it’s time to check your local laws and see what your legal options are. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be better prepared to approach your neighbor again or go to animal control authorities, the police or a small claims court.
In some places, barking dogs are covered by a specific state or local ordinance. If there’s no law aimed specifically at dogs, a general nuisance or noise ordinance will make the owner responsible. Local law may forbid loud noise after 10 p.m., for example, or prohibit any “unreasonable” noise. And someone who allows a dog to bark, after numerous warnings from police, may be arrested for disturbing the peace.
To find out what the law is where you live, go to a law library and check the state statutes and city or count), ordinances yourself. Look in the index under “noise,” “dogs,” “animals” or “nuisance.” If you don’t have access to a law library, you can probably find out about local laws by calling the local animal control agency or city attorney.
Animal Control Authorities and Nuisance Dogs
If your efforts at working something out with your neighbor haven’t succeeded, talk to the animal control department in your city or county. The people there are likely to be more receptive than the police or other municipal officials.
When you call, don’t just make your complaint and hang up. If it’s really a persistent problem, you need to be persistent, too. Ask the person you talk to – and write down his name, so you won’t have to explain your problem every time you call – about the department’s procedures. Find out what the department will do, and when. For example, the department may need to receive a certain number of complaints about a barking dog within a certain time before it will act.
Some cities have set up special programs to handle dog complaints. The animal control department establishes a simple procedure for making a complaint, and follows up promptly – and repeatedly, if necessary. This is a great idea, for two main reasons. First, it gives a specific city official or department – usually the health, police or public safety department – responsibility for the problem. If it’s not clear who’s primarily responsible, someone with a complaint is likely to get shuffled from department to department.
Calling the Police on a Barking Dog
The police aren’t very interested in barking dog problems, and you can’t much blame them. Unless you live in an exceptionally quiet and peaceful place, police have lots more serious problems on their hands. Another reason to avoid the police, except as a last resort, is that summoning a police cruiser to a neighbor’s house obviously will not improve your already strained relations. But if none of the options already discussed works, and the relationship with your neighbor is shot anyway, you might as well give the police a try. The police may be your only choice, too, if you don’t know who owns the offending dog, as can happen on crowded city blocks where you just can’t tell whose dog is making the noise.
The police have the power to enforce local noise laws and laws that prohibit disturbing the peace. As when you’re dealing with animal control people, don’t be afraid to ask the police exactly what you and other neighbors must do to get them to take action. You may well have to make more than one call or written complaint.
Small Claims Court for Nuisance Dogs
If nothing you’ve tried helps, you can sue the owner of a barking dog, on the ground that the dog is a nuisance that interferes with your use and enjoyment of your home. The least painful route is through small claims court. Small claims court procedures are simple and designed to be used without a lawyer. In some states, including California, lawyers are barred from small claims court. Even if they aren’t banned, you will rarely see one there because most people find it too expensive to hire them. Fees in small claims court are also low, and the process is relatively fast – which means you’ll get to court in a few weeks or months, not years.
Winning a lawsuit in small claims court can get you money (and satisfaction), but probably nothing else. In most states, small claims court judges only have the power to order someone to pay money. They can’t give you what you really want – a court order telling your neighbor to make the problematic pooch be quiet.
Still, making your neighbor fork over some money may be even more effective than a simple court order in convincing your neighbor to clean up his (or his dog’s) act. And you can keep going back to court and asking for more as long as the nuisance continues.
If you absolutely must have a court order telling the neighbor to stop (the technical term for this kind of order is an injunction), you may have to go to “regular” court (often called circuit, superior or district court) instead of small claims court. For that, you’ll probably need a lawyer, though you can bring a straightforward nuisance suit yourself, if you’re willing to spend some hours in the law library finding out how to draw up the papers and submit them to the court.
Reprinted with permission of Nolo Press. For information about suing in small claims or regular court, see the rest of Chapter 7 of Dog Law.
We bought Belle as a puppy from a friend, Linda, who is also a very good and conscientious breeder. A couple of Linda’s dogs were notorious for eating sticks and/or other assorted objects. Belle’s mother, in fact, had to have a quarter and a dime surgically removed from her stomach. We like to call that the “not-so cost-effective money retrieval” system! (Linda is also an accountant.)
So, when Belle started finding assorted objects to munch on as well, we joked about it. But we stopped laughing in July of 1996, when she swallowed (whole) a pair of my nephew’s underpants. Later on the same day she ate them, she stood in front of my husband, looking a little green around the gills, and threw them up in one big burp! All the time she was growing, Belle had eaten some pretty nasty things, but this took the cake!
Belle also exhibited a few other strange symptoms. For one, she was a habitual “paw licker,” and would develop “lick granulomas” – not to mention drive me crazy – if I didn’t watch her carefully. And while her appetite for weird things was strong, she was a disinterested eater of dog food. Since coming to us at seven weeks, she had never eaten her dog food with a good appetite; I almost had to force-feed her at times.
I wasn’t really prompted to look further into these conditions, however, until the underwear incident. Shortly afterward, she started to lose weight. When her weight loss reached 15 pounds, I panicked and scheduled an appointment with a veterinarian I sometimes use in Andover, Massechusetts. An endoscopy revealed a blockage that called for immediate surgery. Inside her stomach, they found a hunk of “mixed materials” – a combination of plastic Nylabone, cloth, and other unidentifiable stuff.
After surgery, she recovered fairly well, but still was not eating right. She gained about 10 pounds, but was still all bones. I took her to my regular veterinarian, Dr. Eric Bloomfield of the Northside Animal Hospital, here in Manchester.
Supplement improves situation Dr. Bloomfield took a look at Belle, listened to her history, and heard me cry for about 10 minutes about not wanting to lose her. Then he left the room and came back with a container of green powder. He said, “Don’t laugh and don’t be afraid. This stuff will help your dog, if you use it!” In the container was Super Blue Green AlgaeTM (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae).
I was sceptical, but Dr. Bloomfield was so serious, I decided to give it a try, thinking all the while, “Yuck, if I don’t like the look of it, how will I get Belle to eat it?” I disguised it in several ways, rolling it up in raw hamburger or cheese.
One day, about a week and a half after giving her the SBGA daily, I heard the sound of a bowl being banged in the kitchen. I usually tune out that sound, as our resident “pork chop” Molly, the Pointer, likes to eat ‘round the clock, and that’s how she says she’s hungry. But there was Molly at my feet! I ran into the kitchen, and who should I behold but Belle, standing in front of her dish, whacking it with her paw!
After placing two cups of dry food in front of Belle (whose motto has always been, “What me? Eat dry food? Never!”), I went into shock when she finished it in four minutes flat.
That was the beginning of a new and improved Belle. Within two weeks she gained another 10 pounds, and almost completely stopped eating “bad” things. About five weeks after starting her on the algae, she weighed 115 pounds, ate three meals a day because she asked for it, and has since had very few episodes of chewing or eating inappropriate items. (The exception has been when she’s experiencing a false pregnancy, then I have to double the SBGA I feed her.) She looks great, her coat is now a shiny, deep steel blue, with no more “brown out.” She also lost her skittishness and is more outgoing. She only licks her paws excessively when she’s stressed; otherwise, that behavior is gone.
I did test the algae several times by removing it from Belle’s diet. Each time her consumption of food decreased within four to seven days. She is now on a maintenance dose, getting 1/3 teaspoon of the algae per meal, and she’s doing great.
Of course, since Belle’s success, I started giving the algae to Molly (the Pointer). Molly has chronic pain from a torn ligament, and I had been giving her ascriptin and phenylbutazone for treatment. She couldn’t play with the big dogs due to pain, nor could she chase Frisbees, her favorite sport.
Within a month or so, the pain eased to the point where I was able to wean her off the ascriptin and bute. She now plays with the Danes on a limited basis every day. She is stiff but doing well, with no limping. All my dogs have lovely coats and surprisingly, since the cats have started eating it, we have had a drastic reduction in our flea problem at home. Coincidence? Who knows? But I’m no fool; I’ll continue with what works.
Not a cure-all Dr. Bloomfield explained it to me this way: Algae is not a cure-all, but it does supply raw trace minerals, enzymes, and amino acids, the building blocks upon which bodies build and repair themselves. Nutritionists tell us that the soil that has been intensively farmed for the last 40 years or so has become relatively depleted of trace minerals. For our dogs, who should be eating raw food anyway, this lack of nutrients in farm-grown food (and in the meat-producing animals that eat farm-grown grains) manifests itself in a wide range of symptoms. Many veterinarians speculate that many symptoms signal a nutritional deficiency of one or more kinds.
SBGA grows naturally in Klamath Lake in Oregon, and is harvested and freeze dried immediately. Representatives for Cell Tech, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, the company that manufactures the algae that I use, claim that Cell Tech is the only company that produces the algae in such a way that its elements, minerals, and nutrients are not damaged. (See “Super Supplements” and “Multi-Level Marketing Mysteries.”)
Recently Cell Tech announced the publication of an independent study of SBGA and its effects on the immune system, especially on the activity of the body’s killer cells (the ones which search out and destroy cells such as cancers). The study was conducted by researchers from Magill University at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. They found that eating SBGA triggered the release of a significant number of killer cells from the bloodstream into the tissues, a more effective position from which to launch an attack on abnormal cells such as cancer or virally infected cells.
Again, I don’t know for a fact whether these claims are valid or not. All I know is that the algae made a world of difference to my dogs, especially Belle. I wouldn’t dream of doing without it.
By Lyn Richards
Lyn Richards is a dog trainer and Great Dane breeder who lives in Manchester, NH.
The date was Friday the 13th, so I guess I should have expected something unpleasant to happen, but the news from our family veterinarian that our 10-year-old Belgian Shepherd had, “at the most about six months to live,” came as a bolt from the blue. We had noticed a lump on Jet’s left front leg just above the knee joint for a couple of months, but he hadn’t appeared to be lame on the leg, and the area wasn’t hot to the touch or painful on palpation.
Since Jet is an active dog, always an eager participant in the rough and tumble of life with three other dogs on our horse ranch, I assumed he’d knocked it, and that the lump would simply go down as it healed. When I noticed it was actually increasing in size I took him to the vet to determine the cause – still thinking it was something minor, as Jet was otherwise very healthy and cheerful.
Not so, according to our veterinarian. He sadly informed me that it was osteosarcoma, a particularly aggressive form of bone cancer, and that there was nothing we could do but control the pain (which is usually quite severe) and wait for the disease to take its course.
The veterinarian took x-rays of the leg, which revealed a large mass entwined around the bone tissue at the lower (distal) end of the long bone in the leg. This type of cancer is common in older, large dogs – and there was no doubt that this was what we were dealing with. It was a textbook case.
The veterinarian predicted the cancer would continue to grow rapidly, causing increasing levels of pain as it interfered with the bone and surrounding tissues. Then it would burst through the bone casing, and finally begin to cause an increasingly suppurating, spreading wound on the outside of the leg. He also suggested there was also a strong possibility that the cancer would spread to other parts of the body.
Sometimes in these cases surgical amputation of the whole leg from the shoulder is performed, but the doctor felt the likelihood of the cancer spreading was fairly high, and that amputation was not really a viable option. When I asked about holistic treatments, our veterinarian (who is of the conventional school, but usually puts up with my “alternative bent”), was of the opinion that “anti-oxidants couldn’t hurt.” He couldn’t offer anything other than treating the symptoms pharmaceutically until the inevitable occurred.
Accepting My Dog’s Cancer
My first reaction was initially disbelief, then despair as I visualized losing a very good old friend to a horrible disease. It didn’t help that I’d been to the funeral of another (human) friend the day before, who’d also been the victim of cancer. In a daze, I accepted a bottle of pills from the veterinarian (I still don’t know what they were for!), and left. Driving home, I couldn’t look at Jet’s cheerful furry face in the rear view mirror without tears welling up in my eyes.
By the next morning I’d decided that this wasn’t going to be the way it was at all! I’ve been a firm believer in the alternative therapies for many years, and so I hit the textbooks and the Internet, and started phoning friends for suggestions. I’d worked with a professional herbalist in another state, Robert McDowell, who treats humans, horses, and (I suddenly remembered) dogs, so I emailed him with an outline of Jet’s case.
A friend told us of an veterinarian who used alternative methods and who had successfully treated their Bull Terrier for skin cancer using Chinese herbs. I called the veterinarian, only to be told I should bring Jet to the clinic immediately to amputate the leg. His opinion: “There’s no magic cure for bone cancer – his only chance is amputation, and if you don’t do it immediately, his chances of surviving will decrease rapidly.”
What a dilemma! We hated the idea of amputating his front leg – he’s a very active dog – and his age and somewhat skittish temperament meant the surgery and recovery would be a major trauma for him, with no guarantee of success.
However, the alternative seemed to be losing him very quickly to cancer. To exacerbate the dilemma, by this time Jet was starting to show some discomfort with the leg, favoring it slightly when he walked, and shifting his weight off it when sitting.
The same day, Robert McDowell replied to my email message, saying he had made up an herbal remedy containing equisetum (horsetail), pine bark extract (a really strong antioxidant), comfrey (for bone healing), and yarrow (for its general healing properties), and that it was already in the mail. We were to give Jet 10 drops of this mix twice a day, and McDowell expressed his hope that we could “buy him some time.”
Well, the offer was the most positive thing we’d heard so far, so we nervously decided against the amputation, and to “wait and see” with the herbs. At the same time I started Jet on antioxidant tablets (a mixture of Vitamin E, C, and A, and garlic) , figuring that if they didn’t help him, they surely couldn’t hurt.
Alternative Medicine to Treat Cancer
After we’d been using the herbal mix for about a week, we heard about another veterinarian who used alternative methods and who lived quite close, and I decided it was worth covering all the bases and giving him a call. Dr. Marcel Christiaan runs a mixed practice in the foothills near Perth (Western Australia) and came highly recommended by friends who had taken their cats to him for a variety of complaints, which Christiaan had treated with a mix of conventional and alternative therapies.
Jet took to Dr. Christiaan immediately. Since he’s usually very reserved and nervous with strangers (particularly veterinarians!), this was remarkable. Christiaan agreed with the original diagnosis – he had no doubt that we were dealing with osteosarcoma. He also agreed the condition was advanced. The mass had probably already created its own blood supply, he said, making it very hard to treat.
He also added that he would not recommend amputation in this type of deep-shouldered dog, because the loss of one foreleg would put such pressure on the other leg that he would develop severe arthritis in the joints, and have to be put down anyway. So much for that option.
I explained we had Jet on a mix prepared by McDowell, what it contained, and that we also had him on extra antioxidants and garlic. His opinion was that we doing all the right things, but that he’d like to give Jet equisetum intravenously to make sure he had a sufficient dose, as sometimes the juices in a dog’s digestive tract can interfere with the action of herbs. He’d been using equisetum on cats with feline leukemia with a high rate of success, even with cats that had been in the last stages of the disease, and he felt it was certainly worth a try with Jet. He gave Jet the first dose that day, and booked him in for three more injections over the next week, resulting in a fairly large dose over a short period of time.
Christiaan explained that the herbs and anti-oxidants would strengthen and support Jet’s immune system, and that if the immune system could fight the cancerous cells, then over the next two months we should see some improvement in Jet’s comfort levels. If that occurred, then a remodeling of the bone at the site of the cancer would begin. He stressed that there were no guarantees, but commented as I was leaving, “Jet certainly doesn’t want to give up, so why should we?” Feeling tentatively heartened, we decided simply to take it one day at a time.
Following the last injection a week later, Christiaan asked me to bring Jet back for a checkup in three weeks, and to monitor any changes in his leg but not to limit his exercise as he would do that for himself.
Over the next three weeks, Jet’s energy levels were even greater than usual, his coat gleamed, and his eyes shone. His lameness had decreased, but the lump seemed to be spreading outward – sort of flattening. Suspecting that this probably meant the cancer was still growing; it was with some trepidation that I took Jet back for his check-up.
Dr. Christiaan allayed my fears, saying that Jet was certainly more comfortable on the leg, and that the bone felt as though there could be remodeling beginning to occur! He decided Jet didn’t need another equisetum injection, advised that we continue with McDowell’s herbal drops, the antioxidants, and the garlic, and asked me to bring him back in another six weeks.
About two weeks later, my partner Ron took the dogs for their customary morning walk, only to return ten minutes later with Jet absolutely hobbling lame on his bad leg. Thinking the worst, I called Dr. Christiaan, and his immediate reaction was, “Oh no, I was really hoping that wasn’t going to happen!” Apparently as the bone tissue is remodeling it becomes weak in places, and he suspected Jet had simply landed the wrong way on the leg and fractured the bone.
Dr. Christiaan felt that it was probably only a hairline fracture that would heal rapidly – considering the herbs we had been feeding him – and suggested we give him a crushed aspirin for the pain. If Jet wasn’t noticeably more comfortable in four or five days we were to take him in to the clinic to reconsider the options. When asked whether we should bandage the leg for support, Christiaan said the new bone growth needed to have weight brought to bear on it for healthy growth, and a support bandage would be counterproductive.
We administered the aspirin, and sympathized seriously with Jet over his pain for the first day (he was miserable and very depressed), and were delighted to see that he was markedly better the next morning.
The night before, I’d emailed McDowell to tell him of our setback, and he recommended wrapping the leg with comfrey leaves, which I duly did using a loose-fitting bandage. He also sent another herbal remedy containing additional comfrey, white willow bark and devil’s claw (as anti-inflammatory agents); guiacum (as a lubricant); and Bach Rescue Remedy (for shock). We were to add this to Jet’s usual drops.
Within a week, Jet was completely sound on the leg – which was absolutely remarkable considering the level of pain and lameness he exhibited initially.
Success from Alternative Medicine
Jet’s next check-up (six weeks after his initial visit to Dr. Christiaan) revealed that the bone was still remodeling healthy tissue at the cancer site, and Christiaan was delighted with his progress. He said to continue the herbal drops and antioxidants, and to bring him back in three months, which we did for another positive outcome! Christiaan commented, “You can usually tell whether an animal has the will to live, and there was no way that this one was giving up! He saw it all as a minor inconvenience, really, and once we’d helped his immune system along a little – he did all the rest himself.”
McDowell has also been delighted with continuing positive progress reports. It’s been nine months since the initial diagnosis, and Jet’s still going strong. He still has a bump on his leg where the bone continues to remodel, but has nothing else to show for his close call. In his daily life Jet has never been healthier or more active. His coat is absolutely gleaming, his appetite is voracious, his energy level is higher than when he was a two-year-old, his eyes are bright, and his attitude is overwhelmingly positive. We realize that the situation could change at any time, but are simply delighted that with the help of some dedicated professionals, we’ve been able to buy a good friend some more time with us.
Di Rowling is a freelance writer who lives near Perth, Western Australia.
Ear Infections
I have a seven month old Labrador Retriever who has been suffering with a bad yeast infection in his left ear for at least three months now. The vet has tried several medications and has sent a sample to the lab to verify that in fact it is just yeast. The infection will go away but then returns. Can you suggest any natural remedies for prevention?
-Pat Alvarez
West Palm Beach, FL
WDJ asked homeopathic veterinarian William Falconer of Austin, Texas, to answer this question. Dr. Falconer has practiced veterinary medicine for 18 years, the last 12 with an exclusively holistic practice.
Remember, if you ask a homeopath about how to treat a given condition, you won’t get simple answer. I practice veterinary homeopathy, so my first answer is always. It is a constitutional problem in the dog. In this particular case, I would add that this is not a disease caused by yeast. If yeast is present, it is because the environment of this dog’s ear is calling out for it: OK, you can move in now! The problem lies with the dog’s lack of resistance to the yeast.
As the dog’s owner has seen, conventional medicine doesn’t have a lot to offer in this situation. Conventional medicine palliates the symptoms, but doesn’t do anything for the dog’s constitutional health. In other words, while the dog is treated, the thing goes away, but it returns shortly after treatment stops.
Unfortunately, most conventional practitioners fail to see it quite this way. Instead, they change the medication in this case, the yeast-killing medication or increase the dosage. In my experience, if you keep doing that, the disease only grows worse. If the problem has only been in one ear, it will move to the second ear, and the dog will start to exhibit other symptoms, like itchy feet or skin eruptions. And if his veterinarians keep palliating these symptoms and they will, because conventional medicine sees those as new diseases, and treats them with more drugs the end result will be something far more serious.
As I said before, the real problem is that the dog has a problem at the level of his basic vital life force. A dog who is not healthy tells you so with symptoms: itchiness, body odor, excessive shedding, bad breath, frequent eye discharges, etc. These are all signs of chronic disease.
In homeopathy, the first step is to conduct a thorough health intake. I would ask a lot of questions about the dog’s obvious symptoms, as well as his appetite, thirst, stools, behaviors, when his symptoms are better or worse, past illnesses, temperature preferences, etc.
Armed with all this information, a homeopath selects a specific remedy for that individual that reflects their health status and the pattern of symptoms they are and have been displaying. I would prescribe one or a series of remedies until I’ve gotten this unwound and the dog is truly cured.
In the case of this particular dog, I don’t think it would take that long, because he is so young; the disease hasn’t yet had time to get deeply lodged. If this dog started with ear problems when it was four months, and didn’t come to a homeopath until it was two years old, and the disease had progressed into skin problems and itchy feet and so on, it would be much harder to treat. But the young are very responsive; we typically give one high-potency remedy, watch them over a span of a few weeks, have a follow-up and another dose of something if it is needed, and we often have the animal well in short order.
Once the dog is treated and is well again, thought should be given as to how to prevent future onslaughts of this or other disease states. Because this dog is so young, I would suspect the problem was either an inherited weakness, or, more likely, that the early puppyhood vaccines really stirred up chronic disease in this dog. Why do holistic practitioners always point a finger at vaccinations? Dramatic allergic reactions are the result of an immune system run amok.
What do we do to young puppies that addresses their immune systems? Vaccination! And we do it so often, and with so many viruses in combination! I’ll bet if the dog’s owner looks at the dog’s records, she will see that the problem with the dog’s ears began within a month of one of the vaccination visits. I would suggest supporting the dog’s health by discontinuing the vaccinations and feeding the dog a wholesome diet.
Let me caution you about the very commonly prescribed practice of using ear cleaners. Most ear cleaners on the market (with the exception of Halo’s earwash) contain drying agents, usually acids like salicylic acid and malic acid. Conventional veterinarians almost always prescribe these drying earwashes in addition to antibiotics and steroids. But drying a discharge is, once again, palliating or suppressing a symptom. That ear has a discharge because that dog is trying to get well. And if you go in and suppress, in essence, saying, No, you may not have a discharge, the disease will come out somewhere else typically, in a more and more serious form.
You have to look beyond the symptom, which is an attempt at healing. When it repeats, it is a sign that the dog can’t heal it alone, so we give help with a carefully chosen course of remedies.
What about natural ear cleaners? My caution stands. Even natural products like tea tree oil or grapefruit extract-based products work on the germ-killing theory. But it’s palliation all over again: you’ll kill the yeast for a while, but when you stop using the drops, lo and behold the yeast will come back. There is no use in substituting a natural palliative agent for a non-natural one! the disease that needs to be cured is not at the level of the ear its at the level of the vital force.
I might add that homeopathic medicine may palliate as well! This is common with the combination remedies, but could even happen with a single remedy that’s not accurately assessed. The key is, if repeating the remedy improves the symptoms, but just until the remedy is discontinued, you are palliating. A cure means the symptoms go away permanently and the overall health is improved long-term.
That said, I can add that if the dog swims a lot, you can use a little dilute vinegar (a tablespoon of white vinegar to one cup of water) to flush out the dog’s ears after a swim. (Let him shake his head afterward and blot the excess moisture out with a towel or tissue.) The vinegar solution changes the pH in the ears, making them less hospitable to yeast and bacteria. This is not something I would do for all swimming dogs, only if the dog was having trouble with his ears.
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Old Dog’s Heart Trouble
What do your holistic veterinarians have to say about dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs? I feel I can’t trust my veterinarian; he gave my dog a death sentence.
-Walter Klink
Johnstown, PA
Holistic veterinarian Carolyn Blakey, of Westside Animal Clinic in Richmond, Indiana, answers this question.
Unless your dog is in a really advanced state of disease, I wouldn’t accept the death sentence. Some dogs live a long time with this condition. You do have to recognize the heart is enlarged and it is not operating as efficiently as it used to. But there are a number of drugs and natural treatments that can improve the situation dramatically.
This disease is usually seen in older dogs; essentially, it’s caused by an old heart wearing out. The heart can no longer work efficiently, so the blood pressure drops. Lower blood pressure makes the dog retain fluids; very often these dogs will cough, because there is fluid in their lungs, or they may develop a pot belly, because their abdomens are full of fluids. Of course, the dog will act tired, because his heart cannot supply all his muscles with an adequate supply of blood.
If the disease is very advanced, the dog may also have a bluish tongue, because of the lack of oxygen in the blood. When the dog has reached that point, he’s in trouble. Pneumonia may not be far behind.
There are two types of drugs that are commonly used to treat this condition. First, a diuretic is given to help the body get rid of the excess fluid. The most commonly prescribed diuretic is Furosemide. The second type of drug is given to help the heart beat stronger. These drugs include Lanoxin, Digitalis, and Enacard. Both of these types of drugs are helpful; most heart patients benefit from them.
There are a few dietary changes you can try. First, I would feed this dog fresh food. At a minimum, get away from the grocery-store foods, which are very salty. A good quality, low-salt diet will help a lot.
I would also supplement the dog with Coenzyme Q10. This nutritional enzyme is expensive, but readily available in many dosage levels at health food or drug stores. CoQ10 is a very, very safe enzyme that dogs (and humans) have in our systems, and it seems to particularly help the cardiovascular system. It will help your dog’s heart and blood vessels. (It is also a nice antioxidant, said to be very helpful with gingivitis. It also has an anti-cancer reputation.)
I would give the dog about 10 mg. once or twice a day if he is very small, like a Chihuahua, up to a 100-200 mg. once or twice a day for a very big dog. All the heart patients I have put on CoQ10 do better; it’s the best treatment I can recommend.
Some dogs respond well to natural diuretics, such as the herb burdock. You can feed it dried; dose it according to your dog’s weight, adjusted from the recommended human dosage. Be conservative when using the tincture form; a little goes a long way. But Furosemide is OK, it’s been around a long time and it does a good job.
Your dog may also benefit from homeopathy. It might be worth it to try a low-potency, multi-symptom homeopathic remedy, the kind that is available over the counter. Or talk to a homeopath and get some in-depth support for the animal.
Good holistic health care fulfills the needs of the whole animal being, physically, mentally, and emotionally. A sound, well balanced diet (along with fresh, clean water), appropriate exercise, and proper behavioral education just about covers the bases.
Or does it? Health is individual. Many people consider their animals to be healthy as long as they aren’t sick, but to me, a healthy dog is happy and expressive, exuding resilience. Whether our animal companion denotes health with a gleaming eye, a flashing coat, and an athletic leap for a Frisbee, or a half cocked ear, sly grin, and thumping tail from the Barcalounger, we can best ascertain the level of our friends’ health by observing over time what’s normal for each unique individual.
Healthy animals can and do get sick occasionally. Sometimes a “tincture of time” is the best remedy, as the dog’s body fights off an invading bacteria or virus and the “illness” resolves with the passing of time. Occasionally, you’ll need veterinary help for a pet’s acute or severe problem. But in other times, a minimal treatment provides a sufficient level of care to boost the healing response. That’s where herbal treatments shine.
Why should dogs have herbs?
Plants provide vital natural sources of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements that many of today’s commercial diets just don’t provide, what with poor-quality and over-processed ingredients. And in our increasingly urbanized environment, many dogs don’t have the opportunity to forage and ingest healing plants they instinctively seek out when feeling distressed.
From herbal treatments, animals can derive not only nutritional benefits, but also gentle, non-invasive medicinal therapy. Herbal medicine works by strengthening the body’s physiological systems, rather than treating only individual presenting symptoms. Because our culture is so accustomed to the methods of reactive, allopathic medicine, it’s easy to view herbal remedies as simply replacements for pharmaceutical drugs, but this is a mistake. Herbs aren’t a quick fix in the way drugs often are. Instead, they are usually gentler and slower-acting.
Below, we describe several common canine health problems that can often be quickly and easily remedied with herbal treatments. Even though herbs often serve as the raw material for refined and standardized prescription drugs, you’ll find some variance in the relative strength of plant materials, as well as products prepared in the same manner from different lots of herbs. For that reason, your approach to using herbs should be flexible. Monitor your dog’s behavior and symptoms, and be prepared to increase or decrease the amount you use accordingly.
There may not be one right method of herbal administration for your dog (or you!) but with patience, you may find the right combination of herbal treatments that will support growing wellness in your animal companion.
Arthritis
Just as in people, arthritis is probably the most common chronic health condition in older dogs. It is characterized by chronic inflammation and calcium deposits in the joints, leading to stiffness, swelling, and pain.
A classic herb tea for arthritis uses equal parts alfalfa, burdock, and white willow. The first two are excellent detoxifiers, and white willow is an effective anti-inflammatory and pain relieving agent. In addition, alfalfa is full of nutrients. This is best administered as a tea, mixed in with the dog’s food or water. The liquid has a pleasant taste, but if a dog refuses it, squirt a teaspoon of the mixture into his mouth two or three times a day.
Given that it is such a common condition, it’s a cinch that a number of herbal treatments have been recommended by veterinarians and herbalists. Dr. Richard Pitcairn, a well-known holistic veterinarian and author of “Natural Health for Dogs & Cats”, suggests adding one to three tablespoons of alfalfa to the daily diet, or using the herb in a tea. Juliette de Bairacli Levy, author of “The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat,” suggests feeding raw comfrey and chopped parsley in the dog’s food, and rosemary or nettles tea.
Herbalist Diane Stein, author of “The Natural Remedy Book for Dogs & Cats,” recommends feeding garlic to reduce arthritic symptoms. She suggests other herbs can be used for specific properties, according to their role in the individual’s arthritis. Yucca can be used for its steroid and pain-relief properties. Licorice root can display anti-inflammatory action. Horsetail grass contains silica and aids calcium absorption. For pain relief, Stein recommends valerian root, skullcap, St. John’s Wort, chickweed, or feverfew.
Diarrhea/Gastritis
Diarrhea is a symptom rather than a disease. Diarrhea with no other symptom in an adult dog can be safely allowed to continue for a day or two, as the process works to rid the body of causative agents. However, a dog with diarrhea accompanied by abdominal distention, projectile vomiting, dehydration, fever, or respiratory symptoms, should be seen by a veterinarian as quickly as possible. If the stool contains blood or is black and tarry, there may be intestinal tract bleeding; seek immediate veterinary attention. Puppies suffering from diarrhea also need expert attention – dehydration can quickly result in death to vulnerable pups.
Diarrhea can be caused by many agents or conditions. Toxins from flea collars or dips can cause diarrhea and vomiting. In this case, wash the dog with soap and water and remove the collar.
Sometimes animals eat plants that cause diarrhea to rid their bodies of wastes. Once the animal has removed the causative factor from its system, or toxin been removed, the diarrhea usually stops.
Diarrhea is often the result of your dog eating something laden with bacteria, such as spoiled food or dead animals. If you know your dog has eaten something he shouldn’t have, and suspect that as the main cause of his diarrhea, your first treatment should be to withhold his regular food until the diarrhea has run its course. Then give him one half to one teaspoon of slippery elm syrup or powder mixed with honey or water, three times a day for three days.
Unbeknownst to many people, the same bacteria that necessitates the use of water filters or purification tablets in the mountains (giardia) can cause diarrhea in dogs. If your dog has had the opportunity to drink from rivers or streams that may be infected by giardia, or if you are traveling far from home and the water may contain unfamiliar bacteria, goldenseal can be used to combat the resultant diarrhea.
Ear Infections
Head shaking, pawing, or scratching at the ears, a foul odor, brown discharge, and redness or swelling inside the ear flap all indicate infection. The causative agents may be a foreign body (tick, foxtail), bacterial or fungal infection, or even ear mites (these are usually not common to dogs, but are contagious to those dogs living closely with infected cats). A veterinarian’s inspection with an otoscope, and perhaps a slide prepared with a smear of the dog’s offending ear exudate will offer clues as to the source of his discomfort and subsequent treatment. Foreign bodies may require removal by your veterinarian.
Many flap-eared dogs have hair growing in the ear canals. Trimming this hair will help air flow and facilitate drying after bathing or swimming. A clothespin can be used periodically to hold back the ears of long-haired dogs (take care to close the pin on the long hair, not the tender ear flaps) to expose the insides of the ears to air and help heal infections.
To clean ears, make a solution of half witch hazel, half water, or half hydrogen peroxide and half water, wiping out the ear canal gently with cotton balls.
Mullein and garlic ear oil, readily available from health food stores, works well to clear up infections and reduce excessive ear wax. Clean the ear canal of discharge and wax daily before administering. This is especially useful when the infection is caused by yeast or fungus that is proliferating in the presence of chronic wetness inside the ears. Make sure you refrigerate garlic oil after it has been opened. Botulism spores can proliferate in garlic oil at room temperatures.
Another approach, recommended by Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM, co-authors of “The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog,” is to use a mixture of echinacea and goldenseal as a tincture after cleaning the ears. That mixture, as well as grapefruit extract, has anti-fungal properties that can help eliminate stubborn infections. Each of these are slightly caustic, so dilute the mixtures if the ears are inflamed.
Flea Allergy Dermatitis
The misery induced by flea infestations peaks with the mercury – summer is high season in the flea world. Incessant itching, scratching, and resultant “hot spots” can drive your dog and you crazy. If your dog has fleas, keep in mind that probably only one tenth of the fleas present are on the animal – the rest are in the carpet, in the upholstery, and in the yard, breeding more fleas. (To get the situation under control, see “Flee, Evil Fleas.”)
The itching, scratching, and resultant damage to the skin and coat caused by irritating flea bites are easily treated with a soothing tea comprised of equal amounts of fresh or dried calendula, nettle, red clover, rosemary, and yarrow brewed as a strong infusion that steeps for eight hours or so. If the herbs are fresh, use as much as a handful for each cup of water. Use one to two tablespoons of each dried herb per cup of water. Apply the cool tea to the affected area with a cloth or just pour it on directly as a rinse, repeating the application every few hours. This tea is so cooling and so healing that it reduces inflammation right away.
Comfrey can also help soothe skin problems of all sorts. The fresh or dried herb, or a comfrey tea or tincture can be added to the dog’s food; the latter liquid forms can also be applied to the skin.
Choosing the right food for your dog is an important task, with both short-and long-term consequences. Many veterinarians have come to believe that the best foods for a dog are those that are closest to his ancestral diet: raw meat, in all different cuts and varieties, and a sprinkling of herbal or vegetable matter. But for many of us, providing that kind of diet is inconvenient, time-consuming and expensive. So, for those of us who have gotten used to the ease of feeding dried dog food out of a bag, WDJ can help you become an informed consumer.
This article is confined to a discussion of so-called “premium” dog foods, a classification we’ve established that includes those foods that are priced at $1 dollar per pound and up, and supposedly contain ingredients that surpass in quality the lower-priced brands. Our analysis found that there are big differences in the premium category. High prices don’t necessarily mean high nutritional value. And some so-called “premium” vendors still use artificial preservatives and coloring. Still, we found some very good buys at acceptable prices!
Why quality is important
Not all dried foods are created equal. Experts in canine nutrition, like experts in human nutrition, differ in opinion about what is best, and accordingly, there are dog foods of every conceivable combination on the market. How do you choose? Informed decisions rest on several factors, including the food content’s type, quality, and digestibility. Cost, too, plays a role. Dog foods with good quality ingredients are simply more expensive than foods containing only by-products.
How can you determine whether the ingredients are of the best quality? Admittedly, it’s hard, since the regulations that dictate what food products may and may not go into dog food have largely been made up by the pet food makers. Practically no food item or by-product is too disgusting, diseased, or rotten to be passed over for the manufacture of dog food. Condemned parts and animals that are rejected for human foods are often re-routed to pet food manufacturers.
In fact, there is a phrase, “4D,” for the types of meat that make their way from human food manufacturers to the pet food makers. It means, any meat that is dead, dying, diseased, or disabled. Even animals that have died and have begun to decompose are used. “Meat and bone meal” sounds innocuous, but it is primarily composed of meat that is too far gone to be considered for inclusion into pet foods that call for “meat.” Instead, it is sterilized and rendered, to be born anew as “meat and bone meal,” a major component of many pet foods.
What kind of nutrients, if any, can possibly survive such a journey? Not many, but don’t worry, they’ll add protein from cheaper sources, like corn gluten, soybean meal, and rice gluten, and then “fortify” it with vitamins and minerals, preserve it with artificial preservatives, make it better looking to the owner with artificial colors, and spray on a last-minute coating of vegetable oil to encourage dogs to eat it.
Fresh, wholesome meat and whole grains contain all the nutrients that dogs need, but it’s very hard to find dog foods that contain those things and nothing else. Pet food makers argue that it’s very hard to make a pet food with just those things and get pet owners to pay for it; the price would be too exorbitant. Some have started to move toward less-chemical laden foods with higher quality ingredients, but the shift in consciousness required is so huge, that these efforts are regarded by many holistic veterinary practitioners as next to useless. (See, for example, Dr. Christina Chambreau’s assessment of even the “premium” commercial dog foods.)
You’ve got to start somewhere
Here’s where WDJ draws the line. While some admirable souls in the trenches of holistic medicine insist that only raw meat will do, we recognize that many readers want to feed dried foods – and that some guidance may be helpful. At a minimum, WDJ recommends that you reject any dog food containing any of the following, each of which has been implicated in canine health disorders:
• Artificial color.
• Artificial preservatives like BHA, BHT, potassium sorbate, sodium nitrate (used for dual purposes, preservative and coloring) and especially, ethoxyquin.
• Sugars and sweeteners like corn syrup, sucrose, and ammoniated glycyrrhizin (added to attract dogs to otherwise unappealing fare).
• Anything with the term “flavor” in the ingredients list (like sugar, this indicates the contents doesn’t have enough of its own good flavor – not the hallmark of quality ingredients).
• Propylene glycol, which is used to keep certain foods moist.
• Foods with corn (one of the least expensive grains available to food makers) and/or corn by-products listed more than once in the first five ingredients.
Consider, too, the types of meat in the food. If a food has one or more questionable source of protein (see the link for “What’s in the Bag: A glossary of dog food ingredients.”), it should be rejected. Foods that have whole meat (listed simply as lamb, chicken, beef, etc.) in the top three ingredients are recommended.
Look for whole foods like rice, wheat, and eggs, and foods that are kept fresh with natural preservatives like vitamin C and E (often listed as mixed-tocopherols).
Also, look for something called AAFCO approval; it’s not a very tough standard, but it’s the only one for dog food there is (the standard is fully explained in “Who’s in charge here?”).
And – we can dream on, because we have yet to see a food that offers it – if you were ever to find a dog food that offered certified organic meats, grains, and vegetables, we’d suggest you buy a lifetime supply and put it in a refrigerated vault.
Test your knowledge
Below, you’ll find a list of 13 dogs foods commonly known to the average dog owner. With the exception of Kibbles ‘N Bits, they are considered “premium” foods by the pet superstores (and priced accordingly), and a few are what must be considered “superpremium,” formulated and marketed toward those looking for the very best. Kibbles ‘N Bits represents the high end of low-cost foods, and we’ve included it for comparison purposes.
We suggest you look over the ingredients (we’ve listed the first 10 ingredients only) and nutrition information. Then, though you’ll probably be able to take on this task when you’re done comparing) we’ll tell you which ones we like, which ones we don’t, and why.
You’ll notice four basic values are also presented for each food: the minimum percentage of crude protein and crude fat, and the maximum percentage of crude fiber and moisture. Federal law requires that these values are printed on all dog food labels.
The percentage of protein in a food must always be viewed in context with the actual protein sources in the food. It’s possible for the manufacturers to “load” a food with crude proteins that are virtually indigestible, and thus, useless to the dog. If the protein level of a certain food is higher than average, look for its source in the list of ingredients. Rich in essential amino acids, meats are considered the best source of protein.
The amount of protein and fat a food has should be roughly proportional, since there are metabolic interactions between the two. The more protein a food has, the more fat it should have.
The amount of crude fiber and moisture in each dog food is expressed on the product labels and in our chart on the next page as a maximum percentage. Crude fiber is basically the indigestible matter in the food. Moisture is the amount of water in the food; all foods need a certain amount of moisture to be palatable.
We’ve arranged our sampling of dry dog foods in the chart below according to their price per pound, since the cost of the food affects and informs most dog owners more than any other factor.
Each brand of food is packaged in a variety of sizes; we’ve selected similar weights to compare prices. Just as when buying human food in bulk, these dog foods are less expensive if bought in larger amounts.
Where possible, we sampled the same type of food, choosing each company’s lamb-based product, so you could compare differing but equivalent formulations. Again, before you make buying decisions, review the terms defined on the next page. Your opinion of some foods may change when you learn the meaning of some common phrases on dog food labels. For instance, why is the word “Formula” in so many dog food titles? As you’ll find, it means that the ingredient or combination of ingredients named in the title constitute anywhere from 25 percent to 94 percent of the contents. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know whether the total is closer to 25 or 94 percent.
WDJ Recommends:
CALIFORNIA NATURAL
This food is our clear-cut winner, based on small and simple list of top quality ingredients. In fact, its advertising boasts the irrefutable fact that California Natural has the shortest list of ingredients in the industry. This food contains no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors, and is affordable to boot. It can be found in selected health food stores and independent pet stores. to find a dealer near you, call (800) 532-7261.
FLINT RIVER
Another top-quality food with less than the top price. At risk of limiting their sales, the maker of this food does not make it available to pet store shoppers. Instead, it must be ordered directly from a company representative and is shipped directly to you from the factory, ensuring the ultimate in freshness. The manufacturer claims their ingredients are all human-grade foods. For information, call (408) 464-1178.
PETSMART LIFESPAN
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to pick the most expensive food or the one with the highest protein levels as a candidate for quality ingredients. The maker claims the chicken used is human-quality and free of growth hormones. So far, so good. But why so much corn? To locate a local distributor, call (800) 874-3221.
Not Recommended
KIBBLES ‘N BITS
It’s not fair to compare this with the rest; it’s not considered a premium food. But after the product was called a “winner” in Consumer Reports February 1998 issue for being the unanimous favorite of their panel of test dogs, we had to comment. In a taste test of people on the street, who wouldn’t choose a sugar-filled candy bar over a nutritionally complete granola bar? It sure doesn’t mean you ought to feed that person candy bars from now on.
Kibbles ‘N Bits is the canine equivalent of Twinkies. The ingredients are led off with corn, and each of the animal-protein ingredients are very low quality: beef and bone meal, animal fat, animal digest. Water and corn syrup also appear in the top 10 ingredients, explaining the high moisture content; propylene glycol keeps it sealed in.
BREEDER’S CHOICE AVO-DERM
A much healthier concoction, but we’re not crazy about two things. First, this was the only dried dog food we could find that opted not to pursue feeding trials approved by AAFCO. Instead, its manufacturer sought the lesser AAFCO approval and had its nutrient requirements verified in the lab only. That, and its scarcity of animal proteins (it does contain fish meal, fairly low on its contents list), make us wonder about its palatability. This lack of meat could be used as a tool to market this food to owners of dogs with meat allergies, but interestingly, its packaging makes no note of this absence. To its credit, the food contains no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
WALTHAM LAMB MEAL & RICE
Despite its high price, often indicating quality ingredients, this food features a nutritionally empty vegetable filler (beet pulp), two questionable meat sources (lamb digest and animal fat), and salt (another taste-tempting ingredient) in the top 10. Topped off with not one but three artificial preservatives – on behalf of our dogs, we’ll decline.
As a professional dog trainer, and as someone who teaches other people how to train their own dogs, I find that with the proper instruction, most people can effectively train their dogs with nothing more than a plain buckled collar and regular leash. Contrary to the manufacturers’ claims, no collar, leash, or harness will ever work an effortless training “miracle” on your dog.
However, I have found certain pieces of training equipment to be helpful in specific cases. (A good example is the “head collar,” discussed in “Gear of the Year,” WDJ November 1998.) This month, I looked at several “special purpose” collars and novel leash attachments.
No-Slip Collars
No-slip collars are another special-purpose training tool that can be valuable in certain cases. I use only positive reinforcement training methods, and generally don’t allow the use of choke chains in my training classes. But occasionally a student explains that she uses a choke chain because her dog slips out of a regular collar unless it is tightened to the point of the dog’s discomfort.
In the interest of helping people who have found themselves in similar circumstances, I tested three collars designed to prevent dogs from slipping away. However, these collars prohibit unlimited choking, making them much more humane options than standard choke collar.
CAUTION: Slip collars can choke a dog that is tied up. This risk is less than of choke chains, but regardless, you should Never tie a dog that is wearing a no-slip collar.
WDJ Approves
The Premier Collar, Premier Pet Products, Richmond, VA; phone (804) 379-4702. Also available at most pet supply stores; about $7.
The Premier Collar is the most common of the no-slip collars. It consists of two pieces of nylon linked together by sturdy metal brackets. The main piece is similar to a standard adjustable nylon collar, while the second piece forms a loop that slips through brackets that are sewn in to the two ends of the first piece. The leash ring is sewn into the loop, so that when a dog pulls back on the collar the loop tightens, which tightens the collar around his neck and prevents him from slipping free.
The collar comes in a wide variety of sizes and colors. I liked the concept of the collar, and tried it on several dogs, none of whom objected to the mild tightening. I found it decidedly preferable to a choke chain. All collars were adjusted properly, so that abusive choking was impossible.
Not Recommended
The Check Choke, Coastal Pet Products, Inc., Alliance, OH; available at pet supply stores; about $10.
The highest priced of the three no-slip collars I found, the Check Choke was also the one I liked the least. Instead of a nylon strap, the Check Choke uses a chain as the second loop. Worse, the instructions that come with the collar encourage “a quick, short jerk” on the collar as a correction – something I do not use or approve of in my training. The collar appears well-made, but even the name implies the intent of its use as a force-based, coercive training tool.
WDJ’s Top Pick
The Lupine Combo Collar, Lupine Company, Conway, NH; phone (800) 228-9653l; about $8.
This was my top choice of the three no-slip collars I tested. Although almost identical in design to the Premier Collar, there are two notable differences. The Lupine Combo Collar has a “dead ring” sewn into the collar just next to the loop. When the leash is attached to the dead ring, the collar acts like a regular collar. Nice option!
Also, the quality of the Lupine collar is superior to the Premier, with sturdier, softer nylon and better stitching. Although both collars appear suitable, I like the Lupine better and feel it is well worth the extra dollar, especially since Lupine also offers a lifetime guarantee replacement or refund policy.
Other special-purpose collars
We’ve all seen reflective dog collars, which are usually billed as “designed to protect dogs from being hit by cars,” but what are dogs doing loose in the street at night (or any other time, for that matter) anyway? However, the reflector collar could be a useful safety feature for an owner who walks or jogs along a road with his dog at dusk or in the dark – in which case we hope the jogger also wears reflective clothing!
The most useful refective collar I’ve seen yet is one that boasts a “glow in the dark” feature in addition to the reflecting property.
WDJ Approves
The Safe-T-Bright Collar, The Dog’s Outfitter, Hazelton, PA; phone (800) 367-3647; about $5.
This adjustable nylon reflector collar glows in the dark for more than 20 minutes after exposure to light. I’ll admit that the glow-in-the-dark element was helpful for keeping track of my dark brown dog in the woods at night, but since the glow only works for the first 20 minutes or so, its usefulness seems a bit limited.
However, I can think of one perfect application: How about the dog who “disappears” into the dark corners of the backyard when he’s been let outside to go to the bathroom at night, trying to extend his evening explorations? The Safe-T-Bright collar could help locate the dog more quickly.
“Convenience-leash” collars
Many of us like to drop the leash when off-leash play is appropriate, but it’s also nice to have a quick way to re-secure the dog if need be. A few years ago, I saw a collar with a built-in retractable leash that I thought was quite charming. But even after an hour spent leafing through a tall stack of dog product catalogs, I couldn’t find one! I did see a couple of collars that came close. They, too, were designed to provide a hold on the dog that could be dropped and regained quickly.
WDJ Approves
The Hand-E-Lead, The Dog’s Outfitter, Hazleton, PA; phone (800) 367-3647; about $10.
The “Hand-E-Lead,” a small (2” diameter) retractable lead that attaches to the dog’s collar, came the closest to duplicating the retractable-leash collar I saw years ago.
The Hand-E-Lead attaches to the leash ring on your dog’s collar. According to the package, it’s designed to always be carried on the dog’s collar – a nice idea, but I wouldn’t leave it on all the time. On my 45-pound dog, it hung down and banged on her chest when she moved, which would surely get annoying over time.
The attraction is this: When the handler drops the leash, it retracts, staying conveniently available, but out of the way. However, while it’s compact and easy to use, it is just a little too big to be used on a small or small-to-medium sized dog. The chest-banging might not bother a larger dog, but since the retractable cord is said to “hold up to 150 pounds,” it might not be strong enough to hold a large, exuberant dog. In addition, the handle that you hold is small, which could make it difficult to grip, and therefore, unsafe to use on a hard-to-control dog.
Even given all of these limitations, I have to say that I would attach and use this for specific outings on a relatively well-behaved dog. If you have the right dog, this could be a fun toy for you, eliminating the necessity of dragging a leash along with you everywhere. If you have a large, powerful dog who has not yet learned to walk politely on leash, I suggest you hold off on the Hand-E-Lead.
Not Recommended
The Handler Dog Collar, UPCO, St. Joseph, MO; phone (800) 254-8726; $50.
With a secure and easily grasped handle fastened right to the collar, the idea here is that you don’t need a leash at all. But given its heavy bridle leather construction, this is one hefty, stiff, and expensive collar. My 75-pound test dog hated it, and although it was the right size for him, he looked lost in it.
The accompanying literature says the Handler is supposed to keep the dog by your side for “improved communication and control.” But I felt that the constant contact with the dog’s neck was likely to agitate many dogs rather than increase control. While it might appeal to someone who wanted their big tough dog to look bigger and tougher, I would advise the average dog owner to pass on this one.
-By Pat Miller
Pat Miller is a regular contributor to WDJ. A freelance writer and dog trainer, she lives in California.
Not far below the furry surface of your favorite domestic canine companion lurks a mind surprisingly similar to that of its ancestor and current-day cousin, the wolf. We have stretched and molded the dog’s plastic genetic material to create hundreds of widely diverse breeds – from the tiny Chihuahua to the giant St. Bernard – all to serve our whims. But our dogs’ behaviors and instincts to this day closely mirror those chosen by natural selection to ensure the wolf’s survival some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, when the wild canine was first invited to share the warmth and protection of the fires in our ancestors’ caves.
The genetics that have enabled the dog to become “man’s best friend” come as both a blessing and a curse. The instincts that drive the behaviors we love in our canine companions are the same ones that make us tear our hair out. For example, the desire to be a member of a social group, or pack, is what makes the dog so amenable to family life and training. It is this same social instinct that in some dogs triggers incredibly destructive “separation anxiety” behaviors when a dog is left alone, behaviors that include non-stop barking and howling, inappropriate urination and defecation, chewing, and self-destructive escape attempts.
When their behaviors and instincts are understood and properly directed, our dogs are well-adjusted, cherished family members. The millions of dogs that are abandoned at animal shelters in the U.S. every year are tragic testimony to how often we fail to do this. Let’s look at how we can prevent this from happening to your dog.
Dog trainers commonly hear complaints about dogs that bite, attack other dogs, jump up, bark, chase cats, cars, or joggers, are shy, or don’t come when called. All these activities have a basis in normal, instinctive, survival-based canine behavior. They occur in spite of the owner’s training efforts because the dog is rewarded by them in some way.
Fortunately, each behavior can be modified, either by figuring out how to make the desired behavior more rewarding than the undesirable one, or by managing the dog so he doesn’t have an opportunity to exhibit the inappropriate behavior. Traditional training methods have often relied on human logic to teach dogs how to behave, by punishing the dog for “bad” behavior. But in the minds of our dogs, behavior is neither good nor bad; they are just doing what dogs do, driven by instinct and governed by the consequences of their actions. “Good” behavior is learned behavior. They learn more quickly, effectively, and happily if we focus on rewarding the “right” behaviors, and preventing, or to the extent possible, ignoring, the “wrong” ones.
Start Training Your Dog Early
Early management and training is the best approach, since it’s easier to prevent an undesirable behavior than it is to correct it. For this reason, more and more dog trainers offer classes for puppies as young as 10 weeks. Trainers used to recommend waiting until a dog was six months old to start training classes, in part because of the widespread use of “choke chains,” which can damage the soft cartilage of a puppy’s throat. Now that positive-based training is more widely accepted and available (using a standard flat buckle collar or head collar, and rewards and praise instead of leash-jerk corrections), there is no reason to wait. Owners can take advantage of a puppy’s critical socialization period to teach good behaviors.
The socialization period is a time when puppies in the wild have to learn quickly in order to survive. During the same critical period, domestic puppies learn which behaviors are acceptable to their human pack, which are rewarding, and which things are safe. While some veterinarians still counsel keeping a dog isolated at home until it is fully vaccinated by age four to six months, enlightened animal-care professionals recognize that there is far greater risk to our dogs’ lives (through euthanasia at an animal shelter) if they do not learn to be well-socialized and well-behaved during this critical learning period. Many veterinarians now strongly encourage their clients to pursue puppy classes and other controlled socializing activities as long as the pups have received at least two vaccinations and the owner keeps up with the necessary schedule of puppy shots.
Genetically Shy Dogs
Shyness can be genetic, it can result from lack of socialization, or it can be a combination of the two. While the wolf puppy that takes a “no fear” attitude doesn’t live long, neither does a wild pup who is so afraid of his own shadow that he doesn’t leave the den long enough to find adequate food to eat. Reasoned caution is a good survival skill for all dogs, wild and domestic. But because domestic dogs don’t face the life-threatening forces that wild ones do, genetically shy dogs can and do survive to reproduce, especially when assisted by irresponsible breeders and puppy mills.
While all puppies need to be properly socialized (even the bold ones), it is even more imperative to socialize the shy puppy. Left to his own devices, his timid behavior will intensify and he will grow up to be fearful, neurotic, and dangerous.
With these little guys, the flight response is so strong that it is important to be patient. Let the pup initiate contact with strange people or objects and reward each contact with a tasty treat. Don’t force the pup. Forced contact will aggravate the fear/flight response and make the shyness worse. But don’t coddle him, either. Coddling rewards and encourages fear behavior. Be gentle, patient, matter-of-fact, and upbeat about helping him understand and accept the big, scary world.
Always Train A Reliable Recall
Puppies, wild or domestic, naturally stay close to other pack members. Again, it’s a survival thing; the puppy that wanders away ends up as hawk food. Our eight-week-old puppies usually come running when we call them because they are very dependent and want to be near us more than anything else in the world. We soon believe that they have learned to come when we call them. When they get older and more independent, and start to explore the world on their own, they no longer come when we call. We are convinced that they are being stubborn, ignoring us on purpose.
In fact, they never learned to come when called. Now, if they get reprimanded when they do come back (for not coming when they were called) they are even less likely to come the next time they are called, since they have learned that the consequence for coming is punishment, not reward.
In order to teach a reliable “come”, we capitalize on the dog’s desire to be near us and the instinct to seek rewards. When your pup is a baby and comes to you easily, be sure to reward with treats and praise every time. Never punish “come!” If you have to correct for something (like getting in the garbage), don’t call her – go to the pup to administer the mild correction. If she doesn’t come to you when you need her to, resist the urge to chase after her. She’ll think “chase the dog” is a wonderful game. Instead, turn and run away, doing something to get her attention – like making excited, high-pitched noises, squeaking a squeaky toy, or bouncing a ball. Teaching her to “chase” you engages her prey drive and takes advantage of her instinct to stay with the pack (you) and her strong desire to be a part of exciting pack activities.
Bite Inhibition
Of all unwanted behaviors, biting is the least socially acceptable to humans, and the one that most often results in a death sentence for the dog. Yet biting is a totally natural behavior for dogs, both wild and domestic. Wolf puppies and adults bite each other in play and in warning. Very rarely do they bite each other in order to do serious damage. It is vital to the survival of the pack that all members be strong and healthy. It makes no sense for pack members to engage in fierce battles that might result in serious injury. As pups, they learn the importance of bite inhibition by playing with each other. When a pup bites a littermate too hard, the victim yelps loudly and may refuse to play for a while. Thus the biter learns that the fun of play ends when he bites too hard. Over the first five months of his life, he learns to control the strength of his bite. If he doesn’t have this opportunity, it is much more difficult for him to learn to use his mouth gently later.
Enter the human. We routinely take the domestic puppy away from his siblings at six to eight weeks, sometimes earlier, effectively eliminating the pup’s opportunity to learn bite inhibition. No wonder we end up with shark-puppies who chomp down on our hands, sometimes even drawing blood with their needle-sharp teeth!
Responsible breeders won’t release their puppies to new homes until they are at least eight, sometimes ten weeks of age or older. Progressive animal shelters put litters of young pups in foster homes so they can grow and learn from each other, rather than placing them too early. Yet, trusting in the myth that “the earlier you get a pup the more she will bond with you,” uneducated dog owners clamor for the six-week-old puppy (or younger). Unethical breeders, uneducated backyard breeders and shelters that lack adequate foster programs may oblige.
Even if adopted at eight to ten weeks, pups need to continue their bite inhibition lessons. The best way for the human teacher to do this is to imitate the puppy’s littermates. When a pup bites hard, say “OUCH!” in a loud, high-pitched squeak and remove yourself from the pup’s reach for a few minutes. Then return to puppy play. Each time the pup bites too hard, repeat the lesson.
After several repetitions the pup’s bite will begin to soften. You can then repeat the lesson at gradually decreasing levels of bite intensity until the pup learns not to bite at all. If you try to extinguish bite behavior all at once you will frustrate your puppy’s natural biting behavior, and fail at the task. At the same time you are softening the bite you can also direct the puppy’s biting toward acceptable chew items. (It is virtually impossible for small children to respond properly and consistently to puppy biting, which is why many shelters and responsible breeders discourage families with young children from adopting young puppies.)
Adult dog biting behavior is much more serious. Much of wolf body language is designed to avoid an actual fight, again for individual and pack survival reasons. Growls, stiffened legs, stiffly wagging tails, stares, glares, and raised hackles are signals intended to warn away a challenger. The majority of bites to humans occur because we misread or ignore the dog’s similar warning signs. This is one reason why children are so often the victim of dog bites – they are even less skilled than adults at heeding a dog’s warning – and why it is so important for adults to supervise all interactions between dogs and small children, no matter how trustworthy the dog is believed to be.
A wolf or dog’s reaction to a possible threat is either to stand ground and fight, or flee. Individual canines usually have a preference for one reaction style over the other. Most dogs that prefer to stand and fight will still give warnings. If they are ignored, a bite often follows. We call this “dominance aggression.” A dog who prefers flight will try to escape the threat rather than challenge it, but if the escape route is cut off – when a dog is cornered, restrained, or tied up – a bite often follows. We call this submission aggression, or “fear biting.”
The more a puppy is socialized before the age of five months, the fewer things are ultimately perceived as threatening, and the less likely it is that a bite will occur in the adult dog.
The Jumping Greeter
All creatures instinctively seek rewards. In order to take advantage of instinct-driven behaviors, we just need to figure out how to make the behavior we want more rewarding than the one we don’t want, and then continue to reinforce the “right” behavior until it is a programmed response. Wolves, of course, don’t have much opportunity to jump up on people. They do greet each other face-to-face – sniffing noses and licking faces. Our dogs jump on us in their greeting ritual to try to reach our faces (and will often lick our faces if we let them), to demand attention, and because when they are puppies we pick them up and cuddle them, teaching them that “up” is a very rewarding place to be. When they jump up they are self-rewarded simply by touching us. Everything we do to get them off of us also rewards them. We look at them. Eye contact is a reward. We push them away. We touched them – that’s a reward! We tell them to get off. We spoke to them – that’s a reward too! A sturdy, rambunctious dog can view even a forceful “knee in the chest” as an invitation to play.
If, instead, we ignore the behavior we don’t want (in this case by turning away from the dog, and stepping away so he isn’t even self-rewarded by touching us) and reward the behavior we do want (by waiting or asking for the dog to sit, then turning to him, and giving him a treat, along with the greeting and attention he wants) he will soon learn that he gets rewarding by running up to us and sitting, rather than jumping.
The Thrill of the Chase
The wolf would not survive without a strong prey drive. The lives of pack members depend on their ability to chase, catch and kill things that run away from them. Our dogs have retained a very strong prey drive. In many cases, we use this instinctive behavior to our advantage. The intense herding behavior of the Border Collie is a modified prey drive with a strong inhibition for the killing part of the process. Many breeds of terriers, hounds, and sporting dogs were bred to pursue and kill or retrieve other animals. We encourage this drive in our pets to this day, with mutually enjoyable games of fetch the Frisbee, stick, dumbbell, and tennis ball.
Small wonder, then, that some dogs are driven to chase cats, joggers, bicycles, cars, and other fast-moving objects. This is such a strong drive in some dogs that it is difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate. Prevention is mandatory for your dog’s own safety. Dogs who are allowed to run loose to chase cars tend to have short lives. Dogs who chase cats, joggers and kids soon get in trouble with neighbors and animal control. Dogs who chase livestock get shot. With a real commitment to a long-term training program we can teach our dogs to pay attention and respond to us even in the presence of an enticing prey-distraction, but a dog with a strong prey-drive will always chase if given the opportunity, and must always be securely confined when not under the owner’s immediate control.
Barking
Barking is also a natural behavior. In fact, when Lassie barks to warn us of an intruder, or to tell us that Timmy has fallen in the well, she’s a hero. But if she barks at the mail carrier, a stray cat in the yard, or when Aunt Emma knocks on the front door, we yell at her to “Shut up!” It is a wolf’s job to alert other members of the pack to anything out of the ordinary, and when Lassie barks at the mail carrier, she’s just doing her job. How is she supposed to know when we want her to alert us and when we don’t? Some dogs may well think that “Shut up” is just our way of joining in the barking! A better way to respond is to acknowledge the intruder and thank Lassie for doing her job. Then tell her that you have everything under control, with a “Good girl, that’s all, quiet.” Again, with a positive-reward approach, you wait for the barking to stop, and reward the silence with a treat while you say “Good dog, quiet.”
A dog who barks non-stop in the backyard is a different matter. Non-stop barking is often a sign of a dog who is bored and lonely. She is isolated from her human pack and expressing her natural desire to rejoin the social order. The obvious solution is to bring the dog into the house and let her be part of the pack. Crate-training (teaching the dog to sleep in a wire kennel or airline crate) is an excellent tool to help incorporate the dog into the family without risking damage to antique furniture and Oriental carpets. Dogs are meant to live with others – isolating a dog is a form of extreme mental cruelty, and should not be permitted.
Endless Possibilities
Most dog behaviors are connected in some way to that genetic package of instincts handed down from the wolf. And all dog behavior, if properly managed, can be turned into something positive. Dogs that dig can find truffles in France. Dogs that climb and jump fences are great candidates for agility training. The hound that always runs off with his nose to the ground can learn to track and do Search and Rescue. Dogs that chase can fetch golf balls. Their potential is limited only by our creativity.
The next time your dog does something you don’t like, stop and think before you yell. He’s not being bad – he’s being a dog. What instinct is driving his behavior? How can you work with his instincts instead of against them to modify his behavior into something positive? It’s worth the time it takes to figure it out and apply it to his training. You’ll end up with a happier dog. You’ll be a much happier dog owner. The incredibly rewarding bond that is created between the two of you will guarantee that your dog never ends up in the ranks of the homeless hounds at your local humane society.
Pat Miller is WDJ’s Training Editor. She is a dog trainer and freelance writer from Salinas, California.
We now know that worms do much more than, as the childhood song had it, “play pinochle on your snout.” Manufacturers of deworming products have gone out of their way to let us know that, left unchecked, these pesky parasites can plague dogs that are in poor health, rob them of nutrition, attack vital organs, and cause unthriftyness, illness, and even death.
Well, yes and no. If a dog’s health is poor and he is hosting an uncontested parasite population, all sorts of bad things can happen. It is important to protect our dogs from parasites, but as it turns out, protection largely follows as a result of building the dog’s overall health. Toxic dewormers may be unnecessary to dislodge what few worms a strong and healthy animal might have.
Conventionally trained veterinarians routinely administer de-worming agents for roundworms as part of regular puppy care, for tapeworms when tapeworm segments are observed, for hookworms whenever they are diagnosed, and for whipworms if symptoms indicate a severe infestation. In addition, heartworm preventative is routinely prescribed in areas where that deadly pest has been identified.
But most holistic veterinary practitioners believe that a dog’s ability to withstand parasitic infection is a function of the animal’s overall health, and that tolerance for a low level of parasites is less harmful than toxic dewormers. They may counsel against routine deworming of puppies and adult dogs.
Parasite Prevention is Key
Both schools of medicine support parasite control through prevention, although their concepts of appropriate prevention methods may differ. Take tapeworms, for example. Dogs get tapeworms from swallowing fleas. The dog that never touches a flea never gets a tapeworm. For this reason, and because of all the other problems that fleas can cause, traditional veterinarians tend to focus their preventive efforts on flea eradication.
Holistic veterinarians prefer a multifaceted approach. Dr. Christina Chambreau, a veterinary homeopath from Baltimore, Maryland, says that improving the overall health of the dog is the key. “The main cure for repeated parasite problems is to work to have a healthy animal. Vaccinate the least, feed the best diet, and treat the overall health of the animal. Then they will stop having the problem,” she says.
Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, Ph.D., the author of the best-selling book, Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, suggests that owners tolerate a low level of tapeworms in their dogs, only intervening when the parasites noticeably impact the animal’s health.
When necessary to assist a dog with tapeworm removal, Dr. Pitcairn combines homeopathic, herbal, and nutritional remedies. Feeding whole, raw pumpkin seeds, ground into a fine meal and added to each meal (one-quarter to one teaspoon, depending on animal’s size), is thought to irritate the worms, causing them to loosen their hold and pass out of the digestive tract. Wheat-germ oil, one-quarter to one teaspoon per meal, is believed to discourage tapeworms naturally. Some vegetable enzymes, especially those of the fig and papaya, supposedly eat away at the outer coating of the worm. Filix mas 3X (male fern), given as one tablet three times daily, is a homeopathic remedy for tapeworms.
Treatments for Roundworm
For roundworms, which he also recommends treating only in the case of severe infestation, Dr. Pitcairn again offers a multifaceted attack. He suggests giving the homeopathic remedy Cina 3X (Wormseed), one tablet three times daily for at least three weeks.
This treatment is accompanied by specific additions to the dog’s diet that help “scrub” the weakened worms out of the digestive tract. Pitcairn suggests adding one-half to two teaspoons of wheat or oat bran and the same quantity of grated raw carrots, turnips or beets and one-half to two cloves of fresh, chopped or grated garlic to the dog’s food per day. He also recommends adding one-quarter to one teaspoon of unrefined diatomaceous earth to each meal to irritate the outside of the worms, causing them to loosen their hold on the intestinal lining so they can be flushed out.
Like most mainstream veterinarians,Dr. Joan Freed, DVM, a traditional practitioner and veterinary chief of staff for the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley in Santa Clara, California, takes issue with the “live and let live” approach to roundworms.
“I would agree that a reasonable tapeworm load is relatively non-threatening,” says Freed, “but I would have a hard time advising against routine deworming of puppies. Veterinarians in private practice probably don’t see as many of the distended bellies associated with heavy roundworm infestation that we see in animal shelters.”
Freed maintains that although it is possible that puppies that have enjoyed good nutrition and a healthy environment may be less affected by worms than half-starved strays, even the apparently healthy puppies can suffer thickened intestinal walls resulting from roundworm damage.
The Alternative View to Animal Health Care
Conventional veterinarians and those practicing alternative medicine agree that a healthy dog is much better able to withstand parasitic invasions than one whose health is compromised. To this end, your natural health practitioner may recommend a comprehensive health care program that includes feeding a natural, home-cooked diet rather than prepared dog foods, avoiding the use of any and all pesticide-bearing shampoos, dips, powders, sprays, collars, and dewormers, and implementing exercise and massage programs to keep dogs at their peak of health.
Once a dog is truly healthy, minor visits from occasional parasites may be inconsequential, and major infestations are less likely to occur.
None of the holistic veterinarians we queried are completely opposed to using chemicals to control advanced internal parasites. Even Dr. Pitcairn recommends conventional parasite control when alternative methods are not immediately effective, and for treating or preventing the more serious parasites – such as hookworms – that present an immediate and significant threat to our dogs’ lives.
Dr. Chambreau has some additional suggestions for those contemplating the use of traditional dewormers. “If you have to treat the dog, do it as minimally as possible. If you know exactly what kind of worms the dog has, treat it for that type of worm only. Don’t give a medication that treats hookworms, tapeworms, whip worms, and roundworms when you have only roundworms. And follow up with herbal and nutritional supplements (ground pumpkin seeds, garlic, grated carrots, turnips, or beets, and bran, as mentioned above) to clear the worms completely from the system and to strengthen the dog’s own defenses against future pests.”
Parasites Most Often Infecting Dogs
Roundworms (Toxocara canis)
Puppies are infected in utero by roundworm larvae from the tissues of their mothers. The larvae migrate to developing fetuses and reach the puppies’ intestines a week after birth. Affected puppies have dull coats and are often potbellied and fail to grow. Worms may be vomited and are sometimes visible in the stools. Eggs are shed in the feces, and larvae can migrate in the tissues of many animals, including humans. Because of this, children should not handle lactating females or young puppies that have not been dewormed.
Tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum)
Dogs become infected with tapeworms by swallowing fleas. Signs of tapeworm infestation include unthriftiness, capricious appetite, irritability, rough coat, and mild diarrhea. Small, white tapeworm segments, the size of grains of rice, can be seen in the feces and sometimes clinging to the fur beneath the dog’s tail. In extreme cases, emaciation and seizures can occur. Tapeworms occasionally infect humans.
Hookworms (Ancyclostoma caninum)
Puppies can become infected with hookworm larvae through the milk and colostrum of their infected mothers. Adult dogs can ingest hookworm larva from contaminated ground where infected dogs have defecated. Hookworms are most common in the U.S. in the Southeast, as the eggs require warm, moist soil to hatch.
Hookworms cause severe anemia, often fatal in puppies. The pups that survive develop immunity, but may continue to suffer from chronic anemia. Adult, healthy dogs who harbor a few worms without showing clinical symptoms are of particular concern, as these dogs are the source of infection for puppies and other dogs.
Whipworms (Trichuris vulpis)
In light infections, whipworms produce no clinical symptoms and are relatively benign. If the worm burden increases it can cause internal hemorrhage with resulting weight loss, diarrhea, blood in the stool, and anemia. Worm eggs are easily susceptible to desiccation (drying out), so prevention relies on maintaining cleanliness in all the areas where the dog spends time. Take special care to eliminate moisture around the dog’s bed.
In the relationship between cancer and nutrition, there are few conclusive answers. The modalities of both are complex, and neither is completely understood.
However, enhanced nutrition is of unquestionable benefit to any dog with cancer, and to any dog with an increased risk of developing cancer. And of the many known factors leading to canine cancer, proper nutrition is the one which dog owners can best control, enhancing a dog’s overall health, and improving the body’s natural defense against cancer. Plus, when cancer strikes, there are sensible nutritional guidelines (based on the best available evidence) that seem to help many dogs, improving the response to both radiation and chemotherapy, lessening the side-effects, and giving dogs the strength to extend their lives.
Caution Needed
Those positive words must be followed with some cautions. Cancer diets often emphasize or restrict certain nutrients, in order to promote certain biochemical actions or to thwart others. But nutrition is a whole-body dynamic. A diet can be effective, ineffective, or, worst of all, actually harmful for a dog based on the type and progression of cancer, the dog’s overall health, and almost certainly, nutritional variables which have not yet even been identified.
In short, anyone contemplating a nutritional response to cancer – in particular, an all-or-nothing response, in lieu of conventional treatment – needs professional advice of the highest order available.
So, while we will discuss the best-understood and most promising advances in the science and art of treating or preventing cancer through nutrition, we must stress that the following information should not be regarded as a prescription for any individual dog. Rather, we intend for people who have dogs with cancer, or dogs which are genetically predisposed to cancer, to use this article as the basis for a detailed and individualized conversation with their veterinarians, who will have to conduct lab tests to help tailor a diet to any individual’s needs.
We’ll warn you now: It might be difficult to find qualified veterinarians who offer hands-on nutritional consultations. Lacking immediate access to such experts, and facing a beloved dog suffering from cancer, dog owners are often tempted to embark on a crash course in canine nutrition, and start supplementing their dogs with anything they’ve heard good things about; this can be more dangerous to the dog’s health than cancer. Nutritional intervention can help cancer-stricken dogs, but we can never know the complete clinical picture without the help of a veterinarian and access to chemistry profiles.
To be blunt: In the hands of an expert, nutrition can save your dog’s life. In the hands of an amateur, nutrition could end it.
Of course, we’re being deliberately cautious. To be truthful, if you altered a dog’s diet strictly through the use or restriction of commonly used foods, never supplementing the diet with any oils, powders, vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other additives, you probably couldn’t do any harm. But experienced veterinary experts all have a tale or two to relate regarding someone who supplemented their dog’s diet with several things they had heard good things about, never realizing that the dog’s basic diet already contained sufficient amounts of the same nutritional components, and ended up giving their dog a toxic overdose of those nutrients.
Theories Behind Nutritional Treatments for Cancer
Food consists of macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) and micro-nutrients (vitamins and trace minerals). A dog’s immune status, at any given time, reflects the overall quality of those nutrients; the two ebb and flow in a complex biochemical partnership. While the specific parameters of that partnership are not yet completely understood, in general, when their relationship is optimum, they work effectively to support a healthy immune system. A properly functioning immune system, in turn, is what stops cancer even as it starts.
Poor nutrition, on the other hand, can lead to compromised immunity, in turn resulting in a diminished physical state in which a cancer can take hold, overwhelming a dog’s natural defenses.
It should be noted at the outset that the recommended cancer-fighting diets differ significantly from diets formulated to prevent cancer. While the components of the two diets are largely the same, the proportions change as a result of the way that cancer acquires the energy to survive.
Cancer-fighting diets take advantage of the fact that cancer cells thrive on simple carbohydrates like sugars, starches and grains, and cannot easily utilize fats. The premise of current theory, then, restricts carbohydrates – depriving the cancer cells of easy sources of energy and slowing their growth – while supplementing the fats found in meat with unique molecular structures known as omega-3 fatty acids, which support the dog’s overall energy needs. This is crucial inasmuch as cancer hijacks much of the energy provided by carbohydrates and proteins. Because cancer diverts energy from metabolized protein and carbohydrates, the cancer-stricken dog must subsist to an abnormal degree on stored fat or fat introduced into the diet.
Feed the Dog, Starve the Cancer
Cancer thrives on simple carbohydrates, particularly in the form of glucose, to the extent that metabolized dietary carbohydrates can represent a net energy loss to the dog – the cancer, not the dog, derives the greatest share of nutritional benefit from carbohydrates.
Similarly, the way that cancerous dogs metabolize protein causes amino acid imbalances which benefit cancer more than the canine host. The resulting progressive loss of strength and energy can be a critical factor in survival. Protein, at the most visible level, supports muscle mass, and its depletion saps crucial strength.
While carbohydrates can safely be limited in the short term (the cancer-arresting time frame) protein cannot be restricted for any amount of time, but should be provided in the highest available quality. Research suggests that early correction of cancer-caused amino acid imbalances (in particular arginine and glutamine) leaves dogs better able to survive.
Cancer and Wasting
Weight loss is a serious complication in the majority of canine malignancies. Energy acquisitive by nature, cancer alters many of the processes of a dog’s metabolism, resulting in what is called cachexia, a wasting syndrome occurring in spite of what would otherwise be a nutritionally adequate diet. Cachexia plays a critical role in dog’s ability to survive, not only in robbing the body of nutrients, but also because a malnourished dog cannot fully process many cancer-fighting medications, hence suffering both a diminished quality of life and diminished life expectancy.
It is now known that cancer significantly alters the dog’s normal metabolism at the outset of cancer growth, long before the disease may be detected through visible symptoms. This is emphasized by Dr. Gregory K. Ogilvie, a leading veterinary oncologist who bases his research and practice at Colorado State University. “Our research shows that these abnormalities exist regardless of the type of cancer a dog has, and whether a tumor is one centimeter in size or twenty centimeters,” he says. “We need to train veterinarians and dog owners that nutritional intervention should begin before cachexia becomes evident. The earlier the intervention, the better the outcome. If you wait until phase 3 (the final stage of cachexia, in which weight and strength begin to plummet) you’re in trouble.”
Other Considerations
In addition to the factors mentioned above, the following should be taken into account when planning a diet for a dog with cancer:
• Macro-nutrient ratio: Protein and fat are the mainstays of the cancer diet. The typical ratio suggested by most veterinary oncologists, is roughly 50 percent fat, 40 percent protein, 10 percent carbohydrates. However, these figures will vary depending on individual circumstances, and are likely to need ongoing adjustment, as a dog responds or fails to respond to the diet, and/or other clinical interventions underway.
• Individualization: Each dog is unique. Digestive and glandular patterns are known to vary. Diets should take into account such variables as size, breed, bone structure, reproductive status, energy level, type of coat, local climate, and current cancer status. What is nutritionally sound for one cancer patient may be inadequate, or even harmful, for another. “Each patient needs to be accessed by a veterinarian,” says Dr. Ogilvie. “There are often other concurrent diseases playing a nutritional role.”
• Monitoring weight: There is likely to be a fine nutritional line between cancer control and overall nutritional needs. While weight loss is almost certain (for obese dogs, controlled weight loss can be beneficial), a steady downward trend means the diet is inadequate and needs adjustment. It is important to realize that, for any given dog, there is a point where weight loss alone can be the immediate critical factor in survival, and extremely difficult to reverse.
• Keeping the Cancer Dog Eating: The most sophisticated cancer diet in the world is worthless if a dog won’t eat it. New diets should be introduced gradually, modulated by the dog’s ongoing reaction to the change. Owners of finicky eaters will already know what works in terms of canine “manipulation” (adding small treats, adjusting the presentation, smell, temperature, etc.), but, fortunately, the presence of fresh meat in the diet is likely to be a convincing factor for most dogs. Dr. Ogilvie suggests feeding fresh, aromatic foods that have been warmed to the dog’s body temperature.
Improved nutrition has long been a mainstay of holistic cancer practice. If your dog has cancer, a fresh-food diet, carefully formulated with the help of an experienced veterinary nutrition expert, is the best option. When providing this diet isn’t possible, using the Hill’s Prescription n/d food appears to be an excellent second choice. Either way, your dog will have a diet which supports him in his battle with cancer, instead of helping the disease progress.
Roger Govier, a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to WDJ, lives in San Francisco.
Training chickens? What an odd idea! Yet all across the country, animal owners and trainers are flocking to workshops put on by a legendary husband-and-wife team, learning how to train chickens . . . so that they may better train their dogs. Here’s my account of one such workshop, held recently in Monterey, California.
In the presence of legends
It was 9 a.m., on a cool, cloudy morning in late September. Twenty-two dog trainers, hailing from all over California (and one from Illinois), were perched on the edges of our chairs, waiting with nervous anticipation for the workshop to begin. Bob and Marian Bailey, legendary animal trainers, had towed their little yellow trailer and 16 educated chickens all the way from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Monterey, California, and were now poised at the front of the room, ready to begin the two-day workshop that would unveil the finer points of clicker training to us.
Each of us, over the past several weeks and months, had survived the sheer disbelief, ridicule, giggles and guffaws of our families and dog-loving friends when we told them about the workshop.
“Why chickens?” was the universal reaction.
Training chickens, the Baileys had promised, would allow us to hone our skills on a species of animal that was especially food-focused, and that reacted with lightning speed. This would improve our timing and sharpen our powers of observation, so that we could then go home and apply our newly learned skills to training dogs – or virtually any other species of animal. We could learn from our mistakes with the Baileys’ chickens without jeopardizing our own dogs’ training programs.
I had offered to host the Chicken Clickin’ workshop back in April when the Baileys announced their West Coast tour on the Internet. When they later announced in August that they were retiring their road show in 1999 and this summer tour would be their last appearance in the West, I was triply grateful to be offering and experiencing the opportunity to see and learn clicker training from the Baileys in person.
A positive click
Clicker training is an informal term used by many trainers to mean “applied operant conditioning,” that is, training with positive reinforcement. (For more information about the variety of training philosophies utilized by trainers, see “There’s More Than One Way,” WDJ July 1998.)
The clicker trainer uses treats to reward the animal for a desired behavior. The Click! sound serves as a marker signal, or bridge, that gives the animal instant feedback about what behavior is desired. The animal quickly learns to figure out what behavior produced the treat, and to reproduce that behavior for additional treats. This method of training is easy for the average dog owner to use, because it does not require a lot of practice and skill; it only requires an open mind.
Marian and her first husband, Keller Breland, were the first trainers to use operant conditioning for practical applications, back in the 1940s. The couple founded Animal Behavior Enterprises (ABE) in 1943, and proved that the then-new scientific principles of operant conditioning developed by B.F. Skinner could be used to train virtually any kind of animal, exclusively by reward, without punishment. They worked with Skinner training pigeons to guide missiles during World War II, and created training programs and manuals for dolphin trainers, teaching the methods that are still in use today at places like Marine World and Sea World.
It was during this phase the couple began working with Bob Bailey, who, in 1964, was the first person to make a successful release and recovery at sea of a trained dolphin. Following Breland’s death in 1965, Marie and Bob continued to work together, and eventually married. All told, over the past 55 years, the three trainers have trained more than 140 different species of animals using Skinner’s principles of operant conditioning, and the techniques that they developed and applied over the years.
After Karen Pryor introduced clicker training to the dog training world in 1984 through her exceptional book, Don’t Shoot The Dog, the demand by dog trainers and owners for the Bailey’s knowledge increased exponentially. Their two-day chicken workshops grew in popularity, as did their five-day Chicken Camps, held at their expansive training facility in Hot Springs.
When word spread that the Baileys were retiring from the road, dog owners and trainers rushed to fill the limited openings in my workshop. I had elected to observe the workshop rather than be an active participant. I felt I could better apply the workshop experience to my profession of training people to train their dogs if I could watch the reactions of humans as well as the chickens.
Now, participants and observers alike waited with a sense of awe and historical appreciation for the Baileys to begin. We were in the presence of living legends.
Prerequisites of good trainers
Bob immediately put us at ease with his comfortable manner, easy charm, and sense of humor. He opened with a discussion of what it takes to be a good trainer – quick reflexes, strong powers of observation, and an understanding of the species you are working with, as well as the eccentricities of the individual animal.
Bailey got down to the nuts and bolts of chicken wrangling with the first hands-on exercise, designed to teach participants the finer points of chickenship: how to pick one up (quickly), hold it (wings pinned to prevent flapping), and carry it around (tucked under the arm). We were already learning to understand the species, as well as the eccentricities of the individual chickens we had been assigned.
The first several exercises involved learning the mechanics of delivering the Click! and food reward to the chicken in a precise and timely manner when they demonstrated the behavior we wanted. In the first exercise, the goal was to reward the chicken for pecking a target, to begin with, a large black circle.
“One peck only!” Bob reminded us again and again. “Get the food there faster! Avoid falling into a rhythm or the chicken will learn the rhythm rather than the behavior! Don’t let your body language telegraph your intentions to your chicken!”
The students practiced the mechanics of Click! and reward with varying degrees of coordination and success. Some were adept and followed Bob’s instructions to the letter. Some immediately fell into a rhythmic pattern of reward delivery despite Bob’s and their partner’s reminders.
I recognized that dog owners face similar challenges when marking and rewarding their dogs in a training class. I made a mental note to add a mechanics exercise to my first class, rather than assuming that owners know how to time the Click! and reward their dogs properly just by watching me do it.
If something goes wrong, grab your chicken!
Some participants were quite comfortable handling their chickens, while others were decidedly intimidated. Bob’s suggestion that the more confidently you handled your bird, the less likely you were to get pecked, seemed to do little to ease fears. Only the constant repetition of chicken-handling exercises convinced the less-confident handlers that they could safely handle the birds. Bob also talked about what to do if your chicken got loose on the floor. (“Don’t everybody chase it! Offer the food cup.”) And if you spilled your food cup on the table in front of your bird?
“If something goes wrong,” Bob advised, “grab your chicken.”
These observations also had applications to dog training, where there are also wide variations in confidence levels with dog owners in training classes. Perhaps if I incorporated similar handling exercises the first week of class I could increase some owners’ levels of confidence and competence with their dogs. Certainly it is true that if your dog gets loose, chasing it only encourages it to run away from you – just like the chickens. And just as the workshop chickens were attracted to the food cups, so, too, are dogs that have been trained with positive reinforcement attracted to the reward cues – the rustling of a plastic bag, or a Click! for an instant of rewardable behavior, such as a pause or a glance over the shoulder as the errant dog moves away from you.
Principles of operant conditioning
While we gave the chickens rest breaks in between exercises, Marian Bailey took center stage, teaching us proper training vocabulary and lecturing us on the principles of operant conditioning. A stimulus, she reminded us, is any change to the environment to which an animal can respond or react. Reinforcement means strengthening a response to a stimulus. Extinction is the weakening of a response to a stimulus through non-reinforcement. When we train through positive reinforcement, we reinforce behaviors by marking (clicking) the ones we want, and extinguish the behaviors we don’t want by ignoring them (non-reinforcement) rather than punishing them.
For example, a dog that tries to get attention or food by barking will quickly learn that barking is counterproductive if you turn your back when the barking starts. If you are consistent in your response, the barking will eventually extinguish. He will learn this lesson even more quickly if you Click! and reward him as soon as he is quiet, and gradually extend the length of time you expect him to stay quiet before clicking and rewarding. Most owners inadvertently do the exact opposite, by ignoring the dog when he is quiet and paying attention – “shushing” the dog – when he barks, thus teaching the dog that barking gets him the attention he craves.
Defining basic terms
We also learned the “ABCs of Behavior” – Antecedents, Behavior, and Consequences. Antecedents are events that occur before the behavior. We can increase the dog’s response to the antecedent if we make it more salient – that is, we make it stand out from the other stimuli that are present in the environment by giving it meaning. A cue, or signal, for a dog to do something is given meaning when we show him that the appropriate response to the cue will be reinforced (with a treat).
“Behavior” means anything that the dog does, such as sit, lie down, come, bark, jump up, run away, eating, breathing. A response is a particular piece of behavior we have selected to work with. Consequences are events that happen after a behavior or response takes place.
For example, if your dog sits when you say “Sit!,” you give him a piece of hot dog. The word “Sit!” is the antecedent, the dog’s sit is the behavior, or response, and the piece of hot dog is the consequence. The kind of training you have employed is called operant conditioning because the dog’s response (sit) operates on the environment – that is, it has an effect on and at least to some degree controls the consequence.
Talented chickens
Over the course of the two days we taught the chickens increasingly complex behaviors. While at first we rewarded them for a pecking at a large target, we progressed to a small black circle, and then to a tiny red dot from a laser beam. We discovered that a chicken can be taught to distinguish between several different-colored but similarly shaped pieces of paper and to peck the correct one. (This is called discrimination. An example of its use in dog training is the scent discrimination exercise in Utility obedience classes where a dog must select the article with his owner’s scent on it from among a number of other times that are identical in appearance.)
We also taught our birds to pick up and stretch a rubber band (we held one end, they pulled on the other), and then did “chaining,” which means teaching the animal to perform a series of behaviors. We taught our chickens a simple two-behavior chain – to stretch the rubber band and then peck a target before getting the Click! and reward.
While we trained the chickens, we were learning important concepts for dog training. The timing of the reinforcement is critical. You must know and visualize exactly what kinds of behaviors you will Click! and reward, or you will be late. When your reinforcement is late, you are actually rewarding the wrong behavior.
For instance, if you are trying to teach your Chihuahua to retrieve, you might begin by clicking and rewarding him for touching his nose to a ball. You must Click! the instant his nose touches the ball, and follow the click with a treat. If you are late with the Click! you will be reinforcing him for moving away from the ball rather than for touching it. While an occasional late Click! is not critical, routinely clicking too late can prevent Sam from learning to fetch the ball.
It is also important, we learned, to break down a complex behavior into tiny increments, making sure the animal thoroughly grasps each step before proceeding to the next. According to the Baileys, the biggest mistake most trainers make is trying to go too fast.
For example, when your dog suddenly seems to lose the concept of the behavior you are trying to train, it is a sign that you may have taken too big a step forward. Step back to the last place the dog was doing well, reinforce the behavior there, and figure out how to break the next step down into smaller increments.
Making slow, steady progress
To carry forward my last example, let’s say you have succeeded in getting your Chihuahua to reliably pick up the ball on cue. In your excitement over your success, you now toss the ball across the yard and give the dog the cue to pick it up. The Chihuahua, not being a natural retriever, stands and looks at you uncomprehendingly. You have taken too big a step.
If the dog has been picking up the ball from the ground directly in front of him, go back and repeat and reinforce this response a few times. Now you might try moving the ball just a foot away and giving the cue. If that is too much, you might try six inches, or three, until he gets it, and then continue increasing the distance in small increments, until he will fetch the ball from across the yard.
In order to avoid making the mistake of going too fast, according to Bob, you should analyze the topography, or shape, of the behavior before you begin to train a new behavior. Then you should create a written training plan, and lay out the goals for each session. While you may have a goal in mind for each session, you must also be flexible and be prepared to revise the plan if it isn’t working, by re-analyzing the behavior and looking for different ways to approach the training, perhaps breaking down the steps into even smaller increments.
Reinforce, reinforce!
Another key concept presented by the Baileys was the importance of giving lots of reinforcement. Many dog owners and trainers are too stingy with the Click! and reward. If you don’t give enough reinforcement, you lose your dog’s attention. Our chickens were quick to hit the floor and look for stray bits of food if the rewards were coming too slowly up on the table. Similarly, our dogs are easily distracted in the very stimulating environment of a dog training class if we don’t give them a good reason – plenty of Clicks! and treats – to stay focused on us.
Students also tend to stop giving rewards too soon. My dogs, although they are well-trained and will respond without food rewards, still gets lots of reinforcement, including praise, petting and treats, for doing what I ask. Responding to my requests for behavior is their job, so I make sure I pay them for doing it. Most people wouldn’t continue working at their jobs with enthusiasm unless they got paid occasionally. Why should we expect our dogs to work for free?
Inspiration
As the workshop drew to a close, I listened to the excited chatter of the participants. Inspired, we discussed our plans for going home and training our human and animal students. We were armed with new approaches to resolving stubborn training challenges (visualize the topography of the behavior and break it down into smaller steps). We had new ideas for teaching new behaviors. As one person departed, she announced her intention to go home and train her pigeon, while I entertained thoughts of trying to test my training skills by teaching my desert tortoise to “run” an obstacle course.
Training chickens had improved our dog training abilities by improving our understanding of this powerful, positive method of training, sharpening our behavior-observation skills, and honing our reflexes and timing for rewards. Of course, most of us were already aware that clicker-trained dogs are now winning obedience titles, agility competitions, and joyfully dancing with their owners in musical freestyle events. Yet, training those plain white chickens to perform complex behaviors on cue reminded us of the endless possibilities of positive-reinforcement animal training.
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