Have you ever known exactly what your dog wanted or needed by simply looking into his or her sweet brown eyes? Most of us have experienced this with our dogs. An owner’s insight regarding whether a dog would rather play tug or eat an early dinner may seem relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of things. But for many of us who have a close relationship with our dogs, we may have experienced that intuition on a much deeper level. We can tell, for instance, when our pooch is having an off-day or isn’t feeling well, even if the outward signs might not be visible to anyone else.
Intuition is defined as “quick and ready insight,” and “the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.” In other words, you just know. And one of the most important times an owner can utilize intuition on behalf of a pet is at the veterinarian’s office.
According to New Hampshire veterinarian Myrna Milani, an expert in animal ethology who has authored books on the human-animal bond, we are the most important advocates our dogs have when it comes to health. Dr. Milani believes if an owner has intuitive feelings about a pet’s condition and trusts those feelings, it is crucial to act upon them. “It’s coming from a different place,” she says.
Acting on those feelings may simply be a matter of solid communication skills between an owner and a veterinarian. You should count your lucky stars if you have found a veterinarian who truly listens and considers your observations concerning your dog’s physical symptoms, as well as any suspicions or insight about what’s going on. If a pet is ill, there is no greater gift.
Sometimes, though, unanticipated action on an owner’s part may be necessary – like knowing when to ask about other options if a course of treatment does not seem effective. An owner may also be placed in the position of having to ask the right questions or to expound on the background information that has led up to a pet’s health problem.
If communication between an owner and veterinarian breaks down in part or whole, then being true to intuitive feelings may mean seeking a second or even third opinion. “People need to think more about what they feel is best for their animals,” says Dr. Milani.
Act while you can
It’s important to take action when you get a feeling that you should; no one benefits from learning too late that they should have followed their instincts, whether it was to get another opinion or demand a certain test or diagnostic procedure.
This was the sad lesson learned last spring by Martha Turner of North Richland Hills, Texas. Turner decided to spay Blaze, her five-year-old, AKC conformation champion Rottweiler, after Blaze had produced a litter of beautiful puppies in 2003. Turner felt that one litter was enough, and wanted to eliminate the possibility of certain cancer risks in Blaze’s future.
Blaze’s pre-op blood work was fine. Her spay surgery was performed on a Friday by a vet Turner had known for more than 10 years. Turner picked Blaze up from the vet after work, and settled the dog in for a quiet recovery at home.
Late Sunday morning, Turner contacted the vet’s office asking about getting pain medication; Blaze was trembling and seemed very uncomfortable. Per the vet’s instructions, she gave Blaze aspirin and watched her for the remainder of the day. This seemed to help. By Sunday night, though, she was trembling again and Turner detected shortness in Blaze’s breathing.
On Monday, Turner took Blaze back to the clinic. More blood tests were run, which appeared to be normal. Blaze was prescribed an antibiotic and Turner took her back home. By Monday night, Turner heard “what sounded like fluid” as Blaze breathed. She told the vet the next morning.
Over the course of that week, Turner took Blaze into the vet’s office a total of four times. Blaze had developed a fever, which would spike at night, and her appetite was decreasing. Turner says that Blaze’s blood work was also checked a second time that week, which showed that her liver enzymes were slightly elevated.
By Thursday night of that same week, Blaze’s fever was 105 degrees. “She was stretching her neck out and holding her head up in a way I had never seen before. I didn’t realize it then, but looking back on it, I think she was trying to breathe more deeply,” Turner says.
On both Tuesday and Thursday of that week, Turner says she asked the vet for a chest X-ray because she continued to hear a fluid-like noise as Blaze breathed. That Friday, the vet took one. On the X-ray, Turner says, it looked as though one of Blaze’s lungs had collapsed. The other lung appeared to contain fluid. It also looked as if Blaze’s heart may have been enlarged.
On Friday afternoon, Turner put Blaze in the car and drove her to a university hospital a couple of hours away. A cardiologist ran an echocardiogram. Blaze’s heart was not enlarged, but her blood oxygen level was 77 percent, well below the desirable range of 90-100 percent. The doctor there prescribed two different antibiotics for Blaze and placed her in the ICU respiratory unit. Despite these efforts, Blaze died at 3 pm on Sunday.
Shocked and understandably upset, Turner asked for a necropsy. The report’s interpretive diagnosis and summary revealed that Blaze had “severe acute fibrinosuppurative pneumonia” in all sections of lung examined. The diffuse nature of the inflammation was suggestive of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which ultimately caused acute respiratory arrest.
Blaze’s vet at the university described ARDS as a disease that causes fluid to leak into the airways. It is often secondary to an underlying problem such as pneumonia.
It is Turner’s opinion that if a chest X-ray had been taken earlier that week, as she had requested, it may have increased Blaze’s chances of survival. “If there is anything I can say after going through this experience, it’s to take your pet somewhere else if you have any doubts,” says Turner. “Don’t get in a comfort zone.”
Becoming a health advocate for your dog
There are many ways to become better advocates for our dogs’ health, many of them communication-based. According to Dr. Milani, the ideal human-companion animal relationship is similar to that between a mature parent of the pets’ species and the offspring. “Animal parents initiate interactions rather than react to their offspring, and good advocates for their pets initiate rather than react, too.”
Working out a comprehensive approach to managing your pet’s health is key to Dr. Milani’s philosophy. She says there are several things an owner can do when visiting the vet’s office.
The first is to write out any questions you have for the veterinarian and leave space on your notepad so you can write down the answers. Or, better yet, explain to your vet your reasons for documenting your communication, and tape record the conversation. Your notes or tape will serve as a reminder later, when trying to recall what the vet suggested and why.
Another idea is to take a friend along on vet visits. This is like taking “a second pair of ears,” says Dr. Milani, and it may instill confidence in owners who otherwise might be hesitant to ask questions about a veterinarian’s suggestions.
A third idea is to utilize visualization. We’ve all heard about instances in which athletes who visualize their game improve scores, sometimes as much as those who practice every day. Dr. Milani thinks visualization is especially helpful in a communication scenario where an owner is intimidated by an expert.
Dr. Milani says that people often take one of two approaches. “One group takes an optimistic approach and repeatedly visualizes themselves and the expert having a meaningful exchange under the very best of circumstances. The second group takes a more pessimistic approach that involves visualizing getting the necessary information from the expert under the worst circumstances,” she says. An example could be that your vet is using textbook terminology that is over your head, or discussing a procedure that you’ve had a negative experience with in the past.
The owner utilizing the pessimistic approach, Dr. Milani believes, is likely to be prepared for both the worst and best case scenarios when visiting the vet’s office. In either case, though, by repeatedly visualizing a mental image of the exchange with the vet before the appointment, Dr. Milani thinks an owner is more likely to remain focused on the goal of acquiring the information necessary to make an informed decision.
For non-emergency health situations, Dr. Milani says the owner always has an option to delay commitment to any program if unsure whether it meets the needs of both the owner and the pet. “The majority of medical and behavioral problems that befall our pets did not happen overnight and delaying treatment for a few hours won’t make any difference,” says Dr. Milani. She adds that sometimes professionals and owners want to commit to a treatment program quickly so that the problem can be resolved as soon as possible. “If you’re not sure about a decision, don’t be rushed,” she says. “Take your time and do it right.”
Another opinion
If these suggestions fail, it’s probably time to get another opinion. In my case, I had to go the extra mile of visiting three different vets, before I found who I believed would best benefit my dog, Guinevere, when she had a health crisis (see sidebar).
Dr. Milani acknowledges that moving on is not easy when owners have long-standing relationships with their veterinarians. “You may not want to alienate or offend them. It’s hard. But the question we have to ask is ‘Who is the ultimate authority on my dog?’”
Even when an additional veterinary opinion is sought and utilized, there are no guarantees regarding the outcome. It’s possible that no matter what you do, the situation could turn out adversely, as it did with Blaze. Then again, everything could turn out perfectly or somewhere in between. In any event, even if things go badly, it’s easier to live with the notion that you did everything that could be done.
-Bliss Foster is a freelance writer, attorney, and animal welfare activist who lives near Houston. She is also a council member of the State Bar of Texas Animal Law Section.
By Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD Western medicine’s mechanistic theory regards the body’s joints simply as the anatomic sites where the lever action of bones enables body movement. However, joints are much more complex than this, anatomically, mechanistically, and functionally. And when disease exists within any joint, the result can be completely disabling – not only to the local area but also to the entire body. If we view joints as another of the body’s organ systems with a multitude of functions, we will have a better chance to see their importance in the holistic balance of the animal’s overall well-being.
For starters, it is important to appreciate that joints would have no function at all without their supporting cast of surrounding muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, shock absorbers (spinal discs and joint meniscuses), and lubricant-producing synovial membrane. Further, a joint’s functional surfaces are poorly supplied with blood and lymph vessels, and they are isolated from other tissues by means of a sturdy joint capsule – this lack of circulation and isolation makes healing of any disease process within joints much more difficult. A short list of some of the functions of joints (in addition to their mechanical function as motion-producing levers) includes: • Stability. Joint-stabilizing structures surrounding the joints include ligaments (fibrous tissues that join from bone to bone), tendons (fibrous cord-like extensions of muscles that attach the muscles to bones), and muscles. Dogs with a fit and healthy muscle mass surrounding the hips are best-protected against developing hip dysplasia. • Proprioception. The ligaments, tendons, and especially the small muscles surrounding the joints are rich in proprioceptive nerve endings – nerves that relay to the dog’s brain the position of all its body parts at any one time. Proprioceptive information is vital for body balance, especially when the dog is moving. • Lubrication. Synovial membranes (the inner lining of the joint capsule) produce a slippery substance that acts as lubrication so that joint surfaces can move freely against each other. • Shock absorption. Bone ends are composed of soft, cartilaginous tissue that acts as a shock absorber for moving and weight-bearing bones. In addition, some joints have additional padding – examples include the discs between the vertebrae of the spine and the meniscus of the knee (the knee’s meniscus is a crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous pad located within the joint). The “shock” of lateral and rotational motions is held in check by the joint’s surrounding tissues: muscles, tendons, and ligaments. • Spring action. Tensions on ligaments and tendons create within the joint a spring-like action, in a mechanical fashion much like the tightening and loosening of a rubber band. In addition, the anatomical setup of the joint itself may be spring-like, offering protection during compression and extra oomph during its expansion phase. (Think of the hock here, with its amazing ability to compress down and then spring apart when the dog leaps.) • Whole-body flexibility. Joints are, of course, responsible for the body’s flexibility, but it is important that this flexibility is actively and persistently utilized through movement (exercise) and that it is maintained in balance. • Structural realignment. Joints are the primary sites for structural realignment of the skeleton’s supporting structure. Chronic trauma or excess structural pressures (from anatomically mal-aligned bones) start a process of inflammation and new bone growth, which ultimately creates an increased amount of bony tissue along the side of the joint that is responding to the pressure. This bone growth is often painful and may become so painful as to render the joint unusable. • Pain. Pain located in the region of the joint may become so severe the animal becomes reluctant to move, and as the joint becomes less and less active, it ultimately may produce enough compensatory bony tissue (exostosis) to completely fuse the area into an immovable joint. • Immune function. Scientists haven’t yet determined the exact extent of the immune function of an animal’s joints, but we do know that the joints can be severely affected when the immune system has gone amok – rheumatoid arthritis is our signifier here. It’s my guess that as we further evaluate the joints, we will discover their vital role in maintaining a healthy, whole-body immune system – joints are, after all, involved in every body movement (one of the factors that determines life itself), and they are in constant contact with some of the longest-lived tissues in the body (bone). Joint anatomy Simply defined, a joint is the site where two or more bones articulate with one another, creating a lever that results in motion of the corresponding body parts. There are many ways joints create this articulation, and various classifications of joints result from these differences. The most common classification corresponds to the structural geometry of the joint. This results in terms such as a “ball and socket” joint (such as the hip) and a “hinge” joint (such as the dog’s carpus, similar to the human wrist). Hinge joints typically move like a door hinge, in one line of direction only. A true ball and socket joint would be able to move in all directions: forward, backward, laterally, medially, and rotationally. However, some ball and socket joints are limited in their totality of movement somewhat by the structures surrounding the joint. Surrounding structures Many (but not all) joints are surrounded by a thick and fibrous capsule, which effectively protects the inner workings of the joint and creates a barrier to injury and infections. The joint capsule’s inner lining, the synovial membrane, produces a thick, gelatinous fluid that acts as lubrication for the joint. Most of the nutrients needed for the joint and cartilaginous tissues at the ends of bones come from the synovial fluids – an important consideration since cartilage and the joint surfaces are poorly supplied by blood vessels. Synovial tissues react to trauma and invading infections; the result is an increased thickness of tissue along with increased production of the components of inflammation. This inflammatory synovial reaction can be assessed via needle biopsy. Tendons are fibrous extensions of muscles that attach the muscle to bone; when the muscle contracts, it moves its attached bone across the “lever” of the joint. Ligaments are attached across the joint, bone to bone; their primary function is to stabilize the joint. Both ligaments and tendons are sturdy structures that, when they are healthy, have enough strength (almost as much as bone itself) to withstand many times the forces that a joint would normally be exposed to. Ligaments and tendons are primarily composed of fibrous and cartilaginous tissues, but both also contain some elastic tissue to allow for a certain amount of stretching. Fascia is a fibrous connective tissue that surrounds tendons and ligaments, dividing larger muscle masses into smaller muscle “bellies.” Fascia also protects blood vessels as they course through the muscles. In fact, the contraction and relaxation of the blanket of fascia surrounding blood vessels acts as a secondary blood pump that enhances blood flow through tendons and into joints whenever the dog is active – yet another reason to make sure your dog gets enough exercise. Muscles that surround the joint are also an important component of stability and proprioception. The more fit the muscles, the more stable the joint. There is some evidence that exercise helps develop proprioceptive nerve centers in the smaller muscles around joints, thus providing fit individuals with a better sense of balance. Joint function Proper functioning of the joint depends on several factors, including: • Anatomy that creates proper alignment of the joint surfaces – skeletal alignment that allows the joints to move in the direction(s) they were meant to move in • Surrounding tissues that provide flexibility as well as stability • Articulating surfaces that are relatively smooth and that are lubricated for ease of motion • A functioning proprioceptive nervous system that connects the joints to the brain and that relays an accurate positioning of the body parts involved • A balanced, whole-body immune system that can maintain an immune response to fend off minor infections or injuries AND can do so without creating an overactive immune response (as seen with rheumatoid arthritis, for example). Joints and joint surfaces There have been a lot of recent studies on the physiology of joints, probably because we now recognize that they are a prime site of disease in both dogs and humans. Nearly 70 million people suffer from arthritis or some form of chronic joint pain, and joint conditions – especially chronic conditions – may be the number one disease entity seen by holistic veterinarians. When joint physiology is good, the smooth surfaces where the bones come into contact with each other articulate with ease and their weight-bearing forces are cushioned on impact. The functional health of joints is achieved by a balance of cartilage regeneration and degeneration, coupled with an adequate production of lubricating substances. The cartilaginous ends of bones are mostly water (some 65 to 80 percent of the total matrix), with most of the balance of the matrix being a mixture of collagen and proteoglycans. Within the mix are a small number of chondrocytes, the cells responsible for repair and regulation of cartilage tissues. Collagen is a primary connective tissue that exists in various forms and performs many different functions. It acts like an adhesive or glue-like substance throughout the body, helps maintain structure, and in cartilage, provides a framework to hold the proteoglycans in place as well as providing elasticity and shock absorbency. Proteoglycans are complex molecules composed of sugars and proteins. They interlink with collagen fibers, helping to make the cartilage resilient so it can stretch and spring back into place. Proteoglycans also trap water, acting like a sponge, which gives cartilage the flexibility needed for the constant motion of the joint. Proteoglycans link to core proteins to form glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which are important components used for joint healing. Any excess demand – in the form of wear and tear, or as a result of infection-induced and/or immune-mediated degenerative processes – can be cause for erosion of the bone’s cartilage. Once again, we have created the most common reason for excess wear and tear of the joints; dogs with skeletal structures that are unnatural for the species are certain to be more susceptible to abnormal wear and tear of their joints. Excess joint erosion precipitates an inflammatory response, resulting in synovial membrane thickening and the release of white blood cells and other products of inflammation. As the erosion of the cartilage proceeds, the joint surface becomes rough and eventually the animal may begin to experience pain. Further erosion may remove the protective layer of cartilage, leaving bone to rub against bone. The body’s healing mechanisms interpret bone against bone as excess structural stress, and the body responds by producing more bone to counter the stress. This “new” bone often forms as disorganized clumps of bony tissue (exostoses) surrounding the joint, and these bony proliferations cause more pain (and more inflammation) as tender tissues rub against them. Without something to halt the process, it becomes ongoing, chronic, and progressively worse. Repair of damaged joint tissue can begin after the inciting cause has been eliminated or removed. Then, the few chondrocytes located in the bone ends can begin to (slowly) add new cartilaginous tissue. The key component to the synthesis of new cartilaginous tissue is the production of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), for which glucosamine is the basic building block. Tendons and ligaments Tendons are the cord-like extensions of muscles that attach muscles to bones. It is through this attachment that the tendons move adjacent bones. This levering action depends on the tendon’s ability to slip and slide – an ability made possible by a slippery-surfaced sheath that surrounds the tendon. The tendon sheath is kept functional by a constantly balanced process of new tissue growth and tissue degradation, with the new tissues always being aligned with the tendon’s need to be slippery. Here’s the rub: If a tendon is severely damaged, the body tries to repair it by forming a scar, and the scar’s only purpose is to reunite damaged ends of the tear. As the torn tendon heals, the scar will likely fuse the ends without returning the normally slippery function of the tendon. There are several surgical methods to help maintain normal tendon function, but the caveat is that the surgical attempts must be done immediately (within hours) and that the surgeon be proficient in joint repair. The need for super precise joint movements is generally not so great in dogs as it is in humans (especially in human fingers), and adequate function can usually be retained after “normal” surgical procedures. Tendon repair takes about six weeks. During the first three weeks the opposing ends of the tendon need to be kept immobile; during the next three weeks the tendon needs to have some movement (through less vigorous external splinting) to allow for remodeling that will (we hope) include the addition of a tendon sheath to provide for slippage. Complete healing may take more than a year, and the completely healed tendon will likely be only 90 percent as strong as it was originally.
252
Ligament healing is not predictable; some heal, seemingly spontaneously; others are almost impossible to repair, even with the best of surgical techniques. For these problem ligaments, techniques have been developed to use transplanted fibrous tissues to repair the damage. Another potential problem arises when bone fragments or particles of cartilage flake off from areas of joint inflammation, and they become abrasive “floaters” that add to a joint’s pain and inflammatory process. Usually, the only cure for these floaters is to have them surgically removed. Whenever you suspect severe trauma to a joint – for example, when your dog experiences a sudden onset of limping, exhibits obvious pain when moving, or refuses to walk, climb stairs, jump up on or down from furniture, or rise from a sleeping position – see a vet as soon as possible, and consider getting a second opinion from a board certified veterinary surgeon. Diseases of joints and surrounding tissues • Osteochondrosis is a disturbance in the formation of normal cartilaginous tissue; it’s considered a congenital or inherited disease. Immature articular cartilage separates from the underlying bone and floats free in the joint cavity, causing pain, inflammation, and eventually excess bone growth within and around the joint. The disease may affect the shoulder, elbow, stifle, or hock joints. Osteochondrosis typically develops in large breed dogs, and the lesions occur during the maximal growth phase of the skeleton – when the dog is four to eight months of age. Limiting the growth phase of large breed dogs may help prevent the disease. Floating bits of cartilage (also called “joint mice”) need to be removed surgically, and joint fluid modifiers such as glucosamine may also help with repair and prevent further damage to the articular surfaces. Acupuncture may also speed healing. Prognosis for recovery is excellent for shoulders, good for the stifle, and fair for the elbow and tarsal (hock) joints. • Elbow dysplasia is a generalized term that describes several entities, all of which result in abnormal elbow joint function (some of which seem to be genetic). Elbow problems typically develop in young, large, rapidly growing dogs – affected animals demonstrate abnormal bone growth, joint stresses, or cartilage development. The joint is painful, causing the dog to limp, and radiographs are often needed to confirm the various conditions. Treatment is the same as for osteochondrosis, discussed above. • Hip dysplasia may be the biggest joint problem to confront dog owners and breeders in this country. This multifactorial disease affects a high number of dogs, and we don’t yet have a good handle on what causes it, nor what is an effective cure. Further, there is a definite genetic component to hip dysplasia, but the genetics aren’t clear-cut. Some dogs that aren’t supposed to be affected (according to statistical probability) are, and visa versa. While hip dysplasia is far too vast a topic to cover in this article, the following observations may be helpful. Excessive growth, exercise, nutrition, and hereditary factors all affect the occurrence of the disease. Dogs who grow too rapidly for the amount of muscle mass surrounding their hip joints are more prone to joint laxity, which in turn allows for excess movement within the joint. As the joint becomes increasingly unstable, its excessive movements lead to inflammation and ultimately degenerative joint changes – fibrosis, bony growths around the joint, flattening of the femoral head and the acetabulum (the socket joint of the hip that the “ball” of the femoral head fits into), and possibly subluxation or luxation of the femoral head. The changes of hip dysplasia tend to be progressive; however, dogs do not always have symptoms that correspond to the severity of the changes evident on radiographs. Some dogs are practically immobile with only slight changes; others might have severe changes but appear symptom-free. Dogs with symptoms have varying degrees of lameness that tend to get worse with exercise. The first sign of hip dysplasia is often a dog’s reluctance to climb stairs or difficultly when getting up or lying down. Some dogs with hip dysplasia may exhibit a rabbit-like, hopping gait when running. Radiographs help determine the amount of physical damage to the joint, but don’t always correlate with the dog’s symptoms. Prevention efforts are primarily aimed toward identifying potentially affected individuals (with screening X-rays and palpation) and removing them from the breeding pool. There is new interest in the potential of gene mapping. Each of the methods has its own strengths and shortcomings. Look for a board certified veterinary radiologist to do any final evaluations. Conventional treatments include pain relief and various forms of surgery. I’ve found alternative medicines to be especially helpful for hip dysplasia; I use a combination of acupuncture and chiropractic along with nutritional and nutriceutical remedies and possibly herbal support. • Septic or infectious arthritis can be from penetrating trauma (including surgery) or from a spread of infection from other parts of the body. Pain and swelling are common symptoms of infected joints. A needle biopsy of the joint may reveal increased numbers of white blood cells and possibly the instigating microorganism; X-rays may indicate inflammatory response and/or bony changes. Due to the lack of an abundant blood supply to the area, joint infections often require high doses of the specific antibiotic indicated for the microorganism involved. • Immune-mediated arthritis is the consequence of secondary deposits of immune complexes within joints, usually affecting all the joints of the body. These immune complexes cause an inflammatory response that may erode the joint surface (rheumatoid arthritis) or be nonerosive as with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Joints swell and are painful, the dog becomes lame, and he may run a fever and refuse to move or eat. Treatments are aimed at eliminating the pain and rebalancing the immune system. The immune-mediated diseases are another area where I’ve had especially good results using alternative medicines. Most of the alternative approaches (especially acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbal remedies) can help balance the immune system while the remedies are being directed toward specific areas of disease. • Neoplastic arthritis is rare – fortunately, because it tends to be an aggressive neoplasia; the usual recommendation is to amputate the limb. • Trauma to joints is not uncommon. It may present itself in several ways: Joint fractures may occur in any joint, but they are most common in immature animals. They typically occur within the joint, at the growth plate (physis) of the bone, which is its weakest point. The goal for treating a joint fracture is to bring the fractured ends back together and to hold them there until healing takes place. Ligament tears and ruptures are also common. Pain and swelling are evident, and the intensity of the symptoms depends on the extent of the tear. The anterior/cranial and posterior/caudal cruciate ligaments help stabilize the knee joint by crossing from lateral to medial (thus the term “cruciate”) and spanning across the joint from the femur to the tibia. Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is a fairly common occurrence. It is caused by excessive trauma, weakened ligaments from immune-mediated causes, and/or poor conformation (straight-legged dogs). Diagnosis of a cruciate ligament is made through palpation (to discern the amount of abnormal movement of the knee) and x-rays. Some dogs recover without any treatment; others respond to weight reduction, immobilization of the joint, acupuncture, and physical therapy; still others will require surgical repair. Surgery typically grafts a tendon from another part of the dog’s body to act as a replacement for the one torn. • Traumatic dislocation of the hip, or hip luxation, is often the result of being hit by a car. It results in lameness, pain when the leg is manipulated, and a shortened affected limb. Treatment either involves nonsurgical manipulation of the limb to reposition it, followed by the use of slings to maintain it in the joint, or surgical stabilization using pins or sutures. Treatment overview Treating any ongoing arthritic problem, no matter its cause, involves the following: • Halting the initial reason that caused the inflammatory process • Repairing the damage already present • Returning the joint (as much as possible) to normal function; without function, the joint will ultimately fuse • Enhancing the healing process. Repair of the damaged surface of a joint depends on several factors, including: • Removal of the inciting cause. Examples include removing exostoses and joint floaters, eliminating infection, or rebalancing the immune system in the case of immune-mediated arthritis. • Return to a more normal joint movement (if possible). • Pain control. Returning to normal joint movement usually requires some easing of existing pain, either via acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, or herbal (or other) remedies. And, a joint will remain normal only if its functional way of moving has returned to near-normal. • Provide the necessary basics for healing, using nutrients and nutriceuticals Natural medicines for joints I consider chiropractic and acupuncture as the one-two punch for any problem involving the musculoskeletal system; both are especially effective for treating joint conditions. Chiropractic is used in an attempt to return the joint to its normal function – a necessary prerequisite for any long-term healing of the joints. Acupuncture is a proven therapy for alleviating pain and enhancing the immune system. Plus, it may offer a necessary “energetic” to enhance healing. Homeopathic remedies, especially when used in the classical way, may be curative for joint diseases, but I generally consider them to be more helpful as an acute therapy for pain. Remedies that I have found to be effective for my patients include: Arnica, used early-on for acute pain; Rhus tox for the “rusty gate” syndrome – the limp that gets better with use; Byronia for the limp that gets worse with movement; Hypericum for pain; and Ruta for deep pain. Massage and physical therapy can be vital therapies to help in the healing process. These methods help eliminate pain, and physical therapy, in particular, helps return the joint’s normal function by helping it move through its normal range. There are dozens of herbs that can be helpful for treating joint diseases, and they can be especially helpful for providing nontoxic pain relief and for balancing the immune system. In addition, there are some herbs that have been used to treat specific joint problems. Check with an herbalist who has some experience using herbs to treat animals for the appropriate herbs and their dosages. [Editor’s note: Also see Dr. Kidd’s book, Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care.] Nutrients and nutriceuticals. There has been much recent buzz about using nutrients and nutriceuticals for joint healing, and the interest has been for good reason – many, if not most, animals with joint conditions respond to varying degrees after a month or so of treatment. There are several of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans that have been used. The most popular are glucosamine (the basic building block for cartilaginous tissue) and chondroitin sulfate, which prevents other body enzymes from degrading the building blocks of joint cartilage. Methylsulphonylmethane (MSM) is another substance that is often added to “joint-repair” mixtures. It supplies needed sulphur molecules and seems to provide additional pain relief. There are a variety of these products available commercially, and even some of today’s commercial dog foods contain them (although probably not in amounts that could possibly be therapeutic). My own experience would indicate that it will take your dog at least 30 days to respond to any of the nutriceuticals mentioned. Further, one product does not fit all; in my experience, some dogs respond to one product and not others, and visa versa. If one product doesn’t seem to be working after a few months trial, first try increasing the dosage for a month or so. If that doesn’t work, try another product. In every case I can think of, we have eventually come up with a product that seems to be helpful. Recent evidence indicates that the Omega-3 fats are beneficial for helping with the joint healing process. Manganese is needed for healthy cartilage formation and it is used in several enzymatic processes in the body. Supplemental vitamin C (especially in the form of sodium ascorbate) is also beneficial for tissue healing. For dosages and method of application of the nutriceuticals and nutrients, check with your holistic veterinarian. Also With This Article“Joint Supplements for Dogs”“Identifying Arthritis in Dogs”-Dr. Randy Kidd earned his DVM degree from Ohio State University and his PhD in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. A past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, he’s author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Care.
To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid subscriber. Sign in
If you are logged in but cannot access this content, a) your subscription may have expired; b) you may have duplicate accounts (emails) in our system. Please check your account status hereorcontact customer service.
Immediate access to this article and 20+ years of archives.
Recommendations for the best dog food for your dog.
Dry food, homemade diets and recipes, dehydrated and raw options, canned food and more.
Brands, formulations and ingredients all searchable in an easy-to-use, searchable database.
Plus, you’ll receive training and care guidance to keep your dog healthy and happy. You’ll feed with less stress…train with greater success…and know you are giving your dog the care he deserves.
Subscribenow and save 72%! Its like getting 8 issues free!
The highlight of my summer vacation (two weeks in Italy and Greece, accompanying my 13-year-old son on a school-related trip) was observing the feral dogs in the ruins of the ancient city of Pompei. I did learn a little history as we strolled through streets that were buried under ash and lava in A.D. 79, and have been progressively excavated since 1748, but I can admit to you that mostly I was dog-watching.
As every tourist bus pulls into the lot just outside the visitors entrance to the city, dogs run to greet the people getting off the bus. There are dogs of every mixture and size, but they share one attribute: they are irrepressibly friendly. WDJs Training Editor Pat Miller has frequently told us that dogs do what works for them, and this was crystal clear in Pompei.
288
As dogs ran up to the kids and adults in our group, wagging their tails and pressing their heads into our legs, most of the people responded, Oh! How cute! (Interestingly, not one of the dogs jumped up; they tended to come right to your front and sit or stand politely facing you.) In response, at least half the people hunkered down and wrapped their arms around the dogs, rubbing their ears. The dogs zeroed in on these people, attaching themselves firmly to the most demonstrative and ignoring the ones who ignored them!
Then, naturally, people started going through their purses and packs, looking for food they could share with their new best friends. When one or two dogs tried to steal treats that were being handed to other dogs, the justice was lightning-fast, as the top dogs snarled and snapped, and then just as quickly, replaced the snarls on their faces with amiable expressions for our benefit.
A group of about six dogs followed our group for a couple of hours. Then, obviously aware that most of us were out of treats, they vanished. An hour later, on the way out, we saw our dogs attached to a new, freshly stocked group of tourists.
Some anthropologists have postulated in recent years that dogs probably domesticated humans, rather than the other way around. This hypothesis seemed to me an absolute fact as I watched the dogs in Pompei. To a person, the humans seemed completely clueless that they were being worked, or fished, quite professionally, for the dogs daily sustenance. The people instinctively responded emotionally to the dogs cute and seemingly affectionate overtures, but for the dogs, it was all about survival.
Also fascinating to watch were the interactions among the dogs. The postures, gestures, and vocalizations they used to communicate with each other were much more animated and frequent than those of our household dogs, probably because a lot of normal dog/dog interactions alarm us! It made me realize that we seriously handicap our dogs ability to communicate with each other by insisting that they behave and suppressing their natural expressions. Imagine trying to settle family disputes without being allowed to speakor even gesture.
Most people spend months preparing for the arrival of a new baby. They’re just as likely, however, to bring a baby dog home on a whim, without any preparation at all. Small wonder they find themselves playing catch-up for weeks, months, years, or even “getting rid of” the dog as they struggle to recover from the mistakes made in the pup’s formative months.
For example, a lack of a crate, puppy pen, or baby gates from day one makes housetraining “mistakes” inevitable. This can set back later housetraining efforts by weeks or even months, as the puppy is triggered to eliminate in spots where he smells remnants of his past “accidents.”
The wise puppy-owner-to-be puts much thought into pre-puppy preparation. When I was a preteen, my parents had the foresight one Christmas to put a gift certificate and a dog bowl and leash in a wrapped package under the tree rather than rushing out to buy the Collie puppy I’d been asking for as a living holiday gift. That gave us plenty of time to prepare for the new canine baby as a family, and to give our new dog a carefully structured introduction to our home.
Pre-puppy preparations fall into three categories:
• Supplies and equipment
• Service providers
• House rules and routines
Puppy Supplies and Equipment
There’s lots of puppy stuff you’ll need to make your puppy comfortable, happy, and successful as he learns to adapt to your alien environment. The following is an abbreviated list from “Tools That Make Dog Training a Breeze,” WDJ February 2002.
1. Crate. A crate is an indispensable behavior management tool; it facilitates housetraining and prevents puppy misbehavior by keeping your dog safely confined when you’re not there to supervise. It allows you to sleep peacefully at night and enjoy dinner and a movie without worrying about what the pup is destroying. See “Crate Training Made Easy,” WDJ August 2000.
2. Puppy pen/exercise pen. This is another extremely useful management tool, but it expands the “den” concept of a crate to a slightly larger area, giving a pup more room to stretch her legs, yet still keeping her in a safe, confined area. Many people include a “restroom” facility, by using a tarp underneath the pen and newspapers on top of that at one end.
3. Tether. This is a short (about four feet in length) plastic-coated cable with sturdy snaps at both ends. Tethers are intended to temporarily restrain a dog for relatively short periods of time in your presence, as an aid in a puppy supervision and house- training program, and as a time-out to settle unruly behavior. They should not be used as punishment, or to restrain a dog for long periods in your absence. See “Tethered to Success,” April 2001.
4. Collar, ID tag, leash, and harness.
5. Seat belt. Use a car restraint that fastens to your car’s seat belts and your dog’s harness (never a collar) to keep her safe, and safely away from the driver. See “Dogs Riding Safely and Calmly in Cars,” February 2004.
6. Clicker. Properly used as a reward marker, a clicker significantly enhances your communication with your furry friend and speeds up the training process. See “The Cop and the Clicker,” March 2001.
7. Treats. A clicker, of course, is nothing without an accompanying reward. We use treats as the primary reward to pair with the clicker because most dogs can be motivated by food, and because they can quickly eat a small tidbit and get back to the training fun.
8. Long line. A lightweight, strong, extra-long leash (10 to 50 feet), the long line is an ideal tool to help your dog learn to come reliably when called regardless of where we are or what other exciting things are happening. WDJ reviewed long lines in “Long Distance Information,” February 2001.
9. Kong toys. If we could buy only one toy for our dog, it would be a Kong, a chew-resistant (not chew-proof) rubber, beehive-shaped toy with a hollow center. A Kong can be used “plain” as a toy, but makes an irresistible treat for any dog when stuffed with kibble or treats that are held in place with something healthy and edible like peanut butter, cream cheese, or yogurt. See “The Many Uses of the Kong,” October 2000.
10. Balls, interactive toys, fetch toys.
11. Grooming tools. Choose combs and brushes appropriate for your dog’s type of coat (ask a groomer or vet), shampoo and conditioner, scissors, nail clippers, cotton balls, and toothbrushes. Start using these tools on your puppy early, pairing the experience with tasty treats so she forms a positive association with the task.
It’s never too soon to start researching the corps of professionals who will help you raise your puppy right. That list will include her veterinarian (or veterinarians, including an emergency hospital, holistic vet, and “regular” vet), training instructor, and perhaps a groomer, pet sitter/walker, doggie daycare provider, and boarding kennel. Grab your phone book, make a separate list for each category, and check them out.
Start with a telephone call. If the provider can’t be bothered to be pleasant on the phone, chances are they won’t be nice in person either. Cross them off.
If they pass the phone attitude test, inquire whether you can visit, ask a few questions, and watch them at work. Then visit. Do they handle canine and human clients gently, and with respect? Are the dogs enjoying themselves, or do they at least appear comfortable? Are the facilities clean, without offensive odor? If the answers to these questions are yes, they stay on the list. If not, cross them off. Make notes next to each of the finalists on your list to remind you whom you liked best and why.
Finally, ask for references. Call the references and ask if they’ve been satisfied with the provider, if they seem reliable and consistently dog-friendly. Then pick your favorite animal care professionals, and let them know you’d like to become a client when your pup arrives. After you’ve made your final decisions, make a list of names, addresses and phone numbers to post on your refrigerator along with the phone numbers and locations of your local animal shelters – in case your precious pup should ever get lost.
Editor’s note: We can’t stress enough the importance of finding a good holistic veterinarian as soon as possible. These practitioners tend to have a more conservative approach to vaccinations than conventional veterinarians – important if you want to prevent the mid- to late-life health problems that some experts believe are related to a lifetime of overvaccination (see “Understanding Canine Vaccinations,” June 2005).
You’ll also want a reliable holistic practitioner in your corner if your dog is diagnosed with a serious condition. We receive innumerable calls from people who are frantically seeking an immediate referral to a holistic veterinarian to treat their dog for cancer and other diseases that took a long time to develop. The problem is, it’s not easy to find someone who practices the type of medicine you feel most comfortable with, and certainly almost impossible in an emergency situation.
New Puppy House Rules and Routines
Rules and routines are especially important if there’s more than one human in the house, to encourage consistency, an important element of successful puppy-raising. When your pup joins your family, she’ll experiment with different behaviors to try to figure out how the world works, and how to make good stuff happen – a dog’s main mission in life. The more consistent everyone is, the quicker she’ll figure it all out.
Your rules and routines will reflect your dog-raising and -training philosophies. To develop a relationship with your dog based on mutual trust, respect, and cooperation, implement nonviolent management and training techniques, and avoid methods that require harsh verbal correction and physical punishment. The better you are at keeping your pup out of trouble and reinforcing desirable behaviors, the less you’ll be upset with her and the sooner she’ll develop good habits. (See “Improving the Dog/Human Relationship,” August 2002.)
Here are some issues for your family to discuss and agree on:
• Where will your puppy sleep? We suggest in a crate in someone’s bedroom until the pup’s at least a year old and fully housetrained and house trustworthy; then her own bed or someone’s bed (or wherever else she wants) is okay.
• Will she be allowed on the furniture? We’re okay with dogs on the furniture within reason – not the kitchen table, of course – as long as it’s not creating any aggression or other behavior problems. We like our dogs to ask permission first if we’re on the sofa and they want to join us.
• Where will she be during the day? The best answer is with you, if you have the luxury of working at home or taking her to the office with you, under direct supervision or leashed and crated, with potty breaks every hour on the hour, at first. If you’re not home, she should be indoors, crated – if you can arrange for adequate potty breaks – or in an exercise pen.
• What games will she be allowed to play? There are games, and then there are games! Good games like “Tug” and “Fetch” reinforce desirable behaviors. Inappropriate games like “Body-Slam the Human” and “Jump Up and Bite Skin and Clothing” reinforce undesirable behaviors. Be sure everyone in the family is on board with teaching appropriate games, and playing by the rules.
If family members insist on an inappropriate game like “Jump Up” (biting is never to be encouraged), get them to agree to teach polite behavior first, then teach “Jump Up” on a very specific cue – and allow it only on cue.
• Who will feed her; when, and what? Your pup should be able to depend on regular and high-quality meals from a clean bowl in a quiet place. If you choose to make it a child’s responsibility, you must supervise to be sure the dog is fed properly. Don’t allow anyone to pester her while eating. Rather, have family members walk by and drop extra-special treats in her bowl while she eats, to help prevent resource guarding.
• Who will train her, how, and for what? We urge you to train using positive reinforcement methods, starting with housetraining all the way through the most advanced training you choose to pursue. You can have a “primary” trainer, and then encourage the whole family to participate in training activities; they’ll all be living with the pup, and they can all learn to communicate consistently and effectively in a language she understands (see “Get Your Children Involved in Training the Family Dog,” January 2002).
Make a vocabulary list of terms your dog learns and post it on the refrigerator, so everyone uses the same behavior cues. Add to the list as she learns new behaviors. Remember that your dog is never too young (or old) to learn. Check out basic and advanced good manners training, agility, rally obedience, tricks, flyball, scent detection, musical freestyle . . . the possibilities are endless.
• How will you correct her for making mistakes? Positive does not mean permissive. If your pup is well supervised she shouldn’t have the opportunity to make many mistakes, but they will happen. When they do, calmly interrupt the pup’s behavior with a cheerful “Oops!” and redirect her to something more appropriate. Make a mental note to ramp up your management or training to prevent the situation from happening again.
Puppies develop lifelong habits during the first several months of their lives. Extra management effort early on can save you years of headaches later. If you don’t give your pup the opportunity to learn that chewing sofa cushions is fun and feels good on sore gums, she’ll earn house freedom much sooner than a confirmed cushion shredder. When you see her heading for cushions or the coffee table leg, offer her a stuffed Kong instead, or engage her in a game of tug.
If she’s driving you crazy, grabbing your pants legs, and biting your hands, say “Oops! Time out!” and put her in her exercise pen for a bit. This will give you both a chance to calm down without resorting to corporal punishment. When she realizes that biting makes the fun stop, she’ll learn to control her urge to grab.
Sound like a lot to think about? It should! Accepting responsibility for the life of another living creature requires serious thought and commitment. The way you care for your pup will determine whether she spends the rest of her life sharing companionship and love with you or, like too many dogs, gets passed from home to home in search of one where she will be better understood and appreciated. She deserves a lifelong loving home. They all do.
Pat Miller, CPDT, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She is also author of The Power of Positive Dog Training, and Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog. Miller lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.
Be alert in places where dogs are running loose and possibly aroused enough to behave aggressively – especially when you have small children with you. Teach your children how to “Be a tree” if approached by a scary dog and “Be a rock” if attacked.
The tragedy of the 12-year-old boy killed by his family’s Pit Bulls in San Francisco once again highlights the importance of providing information that will help people survive such dog attacks – and perhaps the need for laws that encourage and require dog owners to be responsible for their dogs.
Any large, powerful breed of dog will, occasionally, cause serious injury, even death. Small dogs can certainly bite, too, though they normally have less potential to do serious harm (the Pomeranian who killed a six-week-old infant in California in 2000 notwithstanding).
You and your family members would be smart to learn how to stay safe around aggressive dogs, by knowing how to avoid provoking an attack and how to protect yourself should one occur.
Easy to say, difficult to do
When I was a humane/animal control officer in Marin County, California, I once handled a report of an aggressive male Rhodesian Ridgeback who was running at large in an upscale suburban neighborhood. As I walked up the front sidewalk toward the house where the dog was reported to live, a reddish-brown flash came speeding around the corner of the house, headed menacingly and directly at me.
I averted my eyes and held my breath, frozen in place as he charged up and bumped me with his nose, hard.
I have no doubt that if I had moved when he hit me with his nose, he would have bitten me, probably badly. Instead I passively held my ground and he backed off, staring at me intensely. Still without making direct eye contact, I backed slowly to my truck and climbed in, reached behind the seat for my control stick, stepped out, slipped the loop over his head and pulled it tight. Then I breathed.
In her excellent book, The Other End of the Leash, Patricia McConnell makes the important point that, as primates, humans tend to automatically do exactly the wrong things when confronted by a dog. Instinctive, genetically programmed primate behavior causes us to make direct eye contact and confront a threat with full-face aggression – stare at the dog facing him directly, perhaps yell, reach, or move toward him or make other defensive moves, escalating rather than defusing the dog’s aggressive behavior.
Programmed by decades of living and working with dogs, I knew to avoid eye contact and movement, and I froze instead. Lucky for me. Many people either scream in fear (or in an attempt to attract attention and help) or shout to try to scare or bluff the dog into leaving. Unfortunately, this usually further provokes the dog.
You can reduce the risk of being attacked, and reduce the likelihood of serious injury if you are attacked, by doing the right things, pre- and post-confrontation. The next time you feel threatened by a dog, remember these tips:
• Be a tree: If a dog approaches you with assertive/aggressive body language, be a tree. Stand perfectly still but relaxed. A tense, unnatural position looks weird to the dog; weird can trigger an attack. Avoid direct eye contact, but keep the dog in your peripheral vision. Keep your arms at your sides, and don’t speak – and certainly don’t scream, which can further excite a dog who is already aroused. By offering appeasement behaviors and not doing anything assertive or provocative, you increase the odds that the dog will back off and move away without attacking.
• Be a rock: If the dog does attack despite your inoffensive body language, you have two choices. If the dog is small or just nipping at you rather than launching an all-out attack, seek safety – climb up on a fence or tree, the hood of a car, or any object large enough to provide sanctuary. You can unobtrusively scope out the landscape for such objects while you’re being a tree.
If you feel you’re being overpowered by the dog, be a rock. Drop to the ground in the fetal position with your hands behind your neck and legs pulled up to your chest, protecting your throat, face, and vital organs. If there are people nearby who could help you, screaming to get their attention could save your life. On the other hand, screaming may also further provoke the dog. If you feel certain that no one will be able to hear you, don’t yell.
• Find a shield: While you’re being a tree, carefully scan the area for possible shields – a gate you scan slip through, a garbage can lid you can hold between you and the dog. If you think the dog will allow it – like the Ridgeback that came after me – back carefully to your shield, keeping the dog in view, and use it as needed to protect/defend yourself.
• Find a weapon: In no way do I advocate hitting dogs in the name of training. But if you’re attacked and have access to a club or other weapon of some kind, do what you need to do to save yourself. Don’t attempt to use a weapon, however, unless you’re prepared to use it with full commitment. Waving a stick feebly at an attacking dog may only antagonize him further. If you use it, either offer it as a target for the dog to bite, or use it as hard as you can. If you walk in an area with free-roaming dogs, consider carrying a club with you, or a shield such as an umbrella, to help ward off dogs.
• Report incidents: Even if you escape unscathed, report the incident to animal control and the police department; the dog’s next attack may be fatal. If you don’t feel local officials are taking you seriously, talk to their supervisors, and if necessary, your local elected representative and the media. You may save the life of the next person the dog would accost. (For more about reporting dog attacks and how to get local officials to act, see “An Accident Waiting to Happen,” February 2004.)
Complications
The first four tips listed above are much more difficult to implement if you’re walking your own dog(s) on a leash, or are accompanied by a child, senior citizen, or disabled person. You may need to use your own body as a shield by calmly moving into position between your dependent dog or person and the attacking dog.
You may be able to lift a child or your dog onto a raised surface for safety, and then climb up yourself. You can still use the fetal position, either while coaching the other person to do the same, or by folding a small child or small-to-medium-sized dog between your chest and knees, or wrapping them in a jacket if you happen to have one with you.
You might practice these maneuvers in advance with lots of positive reinforcement so no one panics if it happens in a real-life encounter. Carrying a weapon of some kind is still an option.
I’m sorry to say that there are no guarantees that the above suggestions will save you from being bitten, or even mauled, but it’s a good bet that if you do the wrong things when a dog accosts you, or do nothing at all if you’re attacked, the damage will be greater. It’s sort of like the terrorist threat: you don’t want the risk of being attacked to alter your regular activities or enjoyment of life, but it pays to be on heightened alert, and to be prepared to defend and retaliate in case of attack.
Maybe I love KongTimeTM so much because it works wonders on a dog I love so much: Carly Hoye, my former-next-door neighbor’s dog. The Hoyes were my neighbors for seven years; their first dog, Sadie, was a frequent model for WDJ. The summer after Sadie passed away, the Hoyes went to a local shelter and brought home a nine-month old Shepherdy-sort of mix they named Carly.
Right off the bat, Carly was a doll, incredibly sweet and affectionate with the kids, bashfully compliant with adults, and playfully submissive to every other dog she met. The Hoyes signed her up for an adolescent dogs class, and Carly learned the basics of good manners training (plus a few cute tricks) very quickly.
There was only one fly in the ointment: As soon as the kids went back to school and Carly was left home alone during the day, things in and around the Hoye’s house began to get chewed. Initially, they thought it was just puppy teething, and to save the rugs and furniture (not to mention the hardwood floors and woodwork around the doors and windows in their restored Victorian) the Hoyes started leaving Carly outside during the day. But she soon advanced to chewing the lattice off the sides of the deck and the shingles off the sides of the house. She also chewed hoses and laundry baskets and any other random item she found in the yard. On the weekend, when the family was home, she continued to be an angel.
The dad, Dan Hoye, grew increasingly irritated with the destruction, but I hastened to explain that Carly’s behavior was not spiteful or some sort of “payback” for being left home alone. This was classic behavior for a dog who was experiencing separation anxiety. Carly was looking for things to do to keep herself busy and feel marginally better about being separated from her pack; it was stress relief.
Situation worsens
The mom, Maureen Hoye, was being very patient with Carly, and actively looking for solutions for managing the anxious dog. As she explained, “This was really the only thing we didn’t like about Carly; otherwise, she was the perfect dog for us.”
However, my explanations about separation anxiety didn’t reduce Dan Hoye’s frustration, especially when Carly added digging to her stress-relieving repertoire. She dug up plants and drilled holes in the lawn. She burrowed so enthusiastically next to the fence on the far side of her yard that she got the home-alone Labrador in that yard digging, too, and together they tunnelled into each other’s yards. Soon, long expanses of the wood fence between the yards began to sway and tip, as each post was undermined and loosened.
I advised the Hoyes to stop feeding Carly in a bowl, and start leaving her each day with a number of food-filled Kong toys, hidden in various places around the yard. This tactic worked brilliantly for a few days, but as Carly learned to hunt for and empty the Kongs more efficiently, it distracted her for only an hour or two. After unstuffing the Kongs, she would go back to work on the yard. Worst of all for me, the work-at-home neighbor, Carly started engaging in long barking sessions.
I had offered to provide daycare for Carly, and at this point, eager to avoid aggravating all the neighbors, the Hoye family took me up on my offer. On many days, Carly would come over and hang out with my dog and me in my office, which has a door to the backyard that I mostly keep open while I work, allowing the dogs to come and go as they please. We even removed a plank in the fence between our yards to facilitate an easy transfer.
The downside of this arrangement was that I’m not always home. Plus, I’m sure the Hoyes weren’t entirely comfortable with the thought of their dog spending many work days bonding with another family!
News of a potential solution
One day, at a photo shoot for an unrelated article, I happened to mention Carly and her family’s dilemma to Sandi Thompson, head trainer for Sirius Puppy Training in Berkeley, California. Thompson frequently models for the training articles in WDJ, and I enjoy talking about dog behavior with her. When I told her about Carly, Thompson grew excited. “She would be a perfect dog to test our invention,” she said.
That’s when I learned that Thompson and David Rucker, her engineer partner (another dog owner who sometimes consults for pet product makers), had dreamed up an idea for a machine that would dispense food-filled Kong toys to a home-alone dog. Rucker had built several prototypes of the machine and the couple was distributing them to a number of professional trainers and behaviorists for evaluation and testing.
That very day, they loaned me one of the prototypes – a large, unwieldy contraption with no resemblance to the machine’s current incarnation. The point was not how it looked; it was how and whether it would work to assuage a bored, anxious dog’s destructive and disruptive behavior.
That evening, I enthusiastically rushed the device over to my neighbors’ house, eager to share this new technology with them. The agreed to set up the machine so it would deliver four food-filled Kongs to Carly the next day.
As per Rucker and Thompson’s directions, they first operated the machine in “demonstration” mode in front of Carly, so she could hear the “preview” tone that precedes delivery of each Kong, and witness the toy itself rolling forth with its goodies inside. (Rucker added this feature to assuage concerns, expressed by some behaviorists, that a dog might wait anxiously all day in front of the machine, afraid to miss it eject a Kong. The tone is loud enough to alert a dog who has gone somewhere else in the house or yard, so the dog soon learns to be confident that the machine will let him know each time a Kong is about to emerge, and he will feel free to occupy himself elsewhere while waiting.)
The KongTime machine can be placed on the floor, or, if an owner is worried that her dog might spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get the Kongs out ahead of schedule, it can be placed on a counter or table. In this case, Rucker suggests that the owner run the machine on “demo” mode, to test the trajectory of the ejected Kongs. If they bounce or roll into a spot where the dog can’t get them, they can cause more anxiety!
A huge success
The Hoyes’ KongTime test went exactly as KongTime’s inventors intended. As Maureen Hoye recalls, “From the very first day, all of Carly’s destructive behavior stopped completely. She quickly learned that the tone meant a Kong was about to come out, and she’d go running toward the machine as soon as she heard it. Of course, it didn’t take her any less time than usual to unstuff the Kong, but she seemed to be content in between the Kong deliveries, knowing that more would arrive later. As far as I’m concerned, it was nothing short of miraculous.”
I was a more-than-interested witness to this miracle, with a front-row seat to Carly’s transformation. From my kitchen window, I could watch Carly in my neighbor’s backyard. Within days, she changed from an anxious dog who paced and dug and barked and chewed when home alone, to a bit of a couch potato. Almost every time I looked out the window, she was either lying on the Hoye’s deck or on the lawn, or chewing a Kong. Occasionally she’d get up to chase a squirrel out of the yard or along the top of the fence. Then she would lay down again. The Hoyes and I were both pleased, and a little surprised. It seemed almost too easy.
The Hoyes used the machine prototype for about two months, until its inventors needed it back. Carly completely stopped all her destruction and barking during that time, and we were all a little worried when we had to say goodbye to KongTime. The Hoyes went back to their original program of hiding food-filled Kongs all around the deck and yard when they left for work, and this time, that seemed to do the trick. Carly stayed destruction-free, with very minor, occasional exceptions.
Worth the wait
It’s a good thing for me and my neighbors that Carly’s problems seemed to be solved, since it took several years for Rucker and Thompson to finish the design process, obtain patents and financial backing, and begin production and distribution of the final incarnation of KongTime. Personally, I’ve been waiting rather impatiently, because I’ve been wanting to promote it in WDJ. I know so many home-alone dogs who would benefit from this tool.
Sadly for me, the Hoyes moved to another part of town. Carly had earned the privilege of spending her days in the house, sometimes with a sliding glass door open so she could go in and out as she wished. I no longer got to talk to her daily over the fence, or have her come over and visit. But the Hoye twins and my son are best friends, so I still see Carly periodically at the Hoyes’ house and at Little League games. And when they go on vacation, I get to dog-sit.
Curiously, Carly has been fine this whole time – no behavior problems despite being home alone all day during the school year. That is, until just a few months ago.
One day, Maureen called me to report that Carly had suddenly relapsed, causing hundreds of dollars of damage to their home. The boys came home from school and found the house in a shambles. The sliding glass door in the kitchen, which had been closed that day, was covered with slobber and footprints, to a height of six feet. All the vinyl window shutters in one section of the Hoye’s living room were chewed up. Several doors and door jambs throughout the house were scratched and gouged, apparently by nails and teeth. And the window-shades in Brendan’s room were chewed and knotted.
Maureen and I talked about the incident and tried to guess what might have set off what was clearly a sustained attempt on Carly’s part to get out of the house. Was she panicked? Or just bored? Since Carly does enjoy watching squirrels out the window, Maureen guessed that the dog might have been running from viewing spot to viewing spot, trying to get at the squirrels. “When is that darned KongTime going to be available for sale?!” Maureen asked me.
I called David and Sandi and learned that, coincidentally, they had just received the first units off the production line. They were nice enough to give one to the Hoyes that day – which also happens to be the last day Carly has wrecked anything.
It’s been about three months, and the Hoyes are still setting KongTime for Carly every day. Now that it’s on the market, they don’t anticipate ever going without the machine again. “At this point, it’s all about breaking up the monotony of her day,” says Maureen.
She also admits that when the family first got Carly, the young dog’s destructive behavior and barking was probably caused by separation anxiety, which the KongTime seemed to alleviate. This most recent outbreak, Maureen speculates, had more to do with boredom. “I think she invented a new game of ‘chasing’ the squirrels that she sees out the window from one window to the next, and she just got swept up in it,” says Maureen. “Reintroducing KongTime – in the nick of time! – broke the pattern.”
Sometimes, the Hoyes set KongTime for Carly on the weekends when they are home. “We like to watch her when we hear the preview tone,” says Maureen. “It’s fun, because she really does enjoy it. When she hears the tone, she runs to the kitchen and grabs the toy, gives it a flip or two to get the loose food out, and then takes it off to her bed or the backyard to work on emptying the sticky stuff.”
Not a sole solution
Despite its success in Carly’s case, Rucker and Thompson are quick to explain that no owner should depend on KongTime to provide the sole solution for a bored or anxious home-alone dog.
“We don’t want people to think Kong-Time is going to be a cure-all,” says Rucker. “A dog who is home all day by himself faces a number of challenges. We’re confident that KongTime will help, but we also feel that it’s best used as part of an overall program to alleviate all of the factors that cause a dog’s anxiety-related behavior.”
Helping the dog’s owner identify the potential contributors to the dog’s stress is where Thompson’s 20-plus years as a dog trainer come in handy. She frequently consults with dog owners on the phone, asking questions to help them analyze the situation. Has the owner stopped allowing the dog access to the outdoors? Has a new cat moved into the neighborhood, one who might be teasing the dog from atop a nearby fence? Is the dog battling a flea infestation or allergy that might be cranking up his discomfort?
All of these problems need to be addressed to effectively improve the dog’s behavior. As Thompson says, “KongTime is a useful supplement to anything and everything else the owners can do to reduce the dog’s tedium and isolation.”
Prevention role
Given Thompson’s long history teaching puppy classes, it makes sense that she would most like to see KongTime used for puppies in a preventive role, rather than as a fix for behavior problems that have resulted from a dog’s home-alone stress. “At some point, puppies have to be weaned from constant attention; eventually, most people have to go to work and leave their puppies home. In my opinion, KongTime is an ideal tool to give those puppies something to occupy themselves, and perhaps prevent boredom and stress-related problems from ever developing.”
Other trainers concur. Dana Cleveland, a trainer and the training and behavior manager for Citizen Canine, a daycare and boarding facility in Oakland, California, volunteered the dogs at her workplace as KongTime testers. “The dogs get good exercise here, but they do have a couple of periods a day when there isn’t much to do,” she says. “David and Sandi asked me to test KongTime in any way I saw fit, so I used it with several young, restless dogs who I thought might benefit from some extra fun and enrichment.”
Cleveland laughs, and then adds, “Also, frankly, I had doubts as to whether the machine would hold up to a couple of these dogs. I chose dogs that I thought might be able to break into and damage the machine; the most likely culprits included a couple of young Labradors, some known major chewers and food pigs.”
To her amazement, KongTime stood up to each of the six dogs Cleveland tested it with. “I gave it to one dog in particular, a seven-month-old Lab. I thought, if anybody has the ability and desire to bust into this machine, it will be this guy – but he never did! He just waited for the Kong, and then I’d see him on his bed, eating his Kong, wagging his tail. In fact, none of my test dogs tried to bust into it; they were just thrilled when the Kongs rolled out.”
All in all, Cleveland says she found KongTime to be a valuable tool for providing dogs with fun and enrichment. “I’d use it for any dog who was home alone for more than a couple of hours,” she says.
“I definitely recommend it to our clients, since many of the daycare dogs are here because they have such bad separation anxiety. KongTime gives them another tool in their toolbox for the times when daycare is not an option. It wouldn’t fix a dog who had very severe separation anxiety, but it’s ideal for the average home-alone dog, and to prevent boredom in home-alone puppies.”
I’m no trainer, but I’m obviously a believer. Consider KongTime for any anxious or under stimulated dog you know. You could really improve his or her life.
Cocoa is a Lab-mix who goes crazy when we are in our pool. She runs around the pool barking and will not settle down. I have tried to calm her verbally, petted her, etc. But as soon as we move in the water, she goes crazy. She will run until she is exhausted. I thought about putting her in the pool with us, but I’m worried she will be too crazy.
Liam Smith, via e-mail
WDJ’s Training Editor, Pat Miller, of Hagerstown, Maryland, responds:
There are several solutions and approaches for Cocoa’s canine behavior. The first, and probably the easiest, is simple management. If you don’t want her to run around the pool endlessly while you and the family are enjoying a dip, give her a luscious stuffed Kong and put her somewhere else – in the house where she can’t see you through a window, in her crate, in the garage – anywhere she’ll relax and be calm until you return to dry land.
The major benefit of this solution is that it’s quick and simple.
The downside is you have to shut Cocoa away from the family fun, and she may object to being isolated from the pool party.
You could, as you suggest, teach her to swim in the pool with you. If you choose this training option, you’ll also want to show her where the steps are and teach her how to get out unassisted, in case she should end up in the pool when no one is there to rescue her.
The benefit of this solution is that Cocoa can be a part of the family fun. However, she may be overenthusiastic and happily maul and submerge family members in her excitement. Or, she may help herself to pool parties she’s not invited to.
Another training option might be to teach her a very solid down-stay or some other behavior that’s incompatible with running around the pool. It would take a high degree of training to achieve reliable compliance in the face of the constant stimulus of your family in the water – and would probably diminish your own enjoyment of the pool as someone would have to constantly monitor Cocoa and reinforce the desired behavior, at least at first.
Behavioral solution
Finally, you could implement a program of counter-conditioning and desensitization (CC&D). When you say, “The dog goes crazy” a behaviorist would say that the dog is having a strong conditioned emotional response (CER) to some stimulus, which suggests a CC&D approach – changing the dog’s emotional response to that stimulus. A CER is a reflexive response; the dog goes on automatic pilot and is literally unable to control her behavior.
The CC&D program for Cocoa’s pool behavior would start with one of you sitting with her, on leash, some distance from the pool. You’ll follow the steps in this program, with multiple repetitions at each step until you see the desired conditioned response (the dog looks at you with a “Where’s my chicken?!” expression) occurs in place of the undesirable behavior.
• Start out by having one family member (FM) in a swimsuit approach the pool at the shallow end. The instant Cocoa starts becoming slightly aroused, start feeding her bits of canned chicken (or some other delicious treat) nonstop, and have FM stand still. Then have FM walk away from the pool, and stop feeding the dog. Mark the spot where FM stopped, and repeat. When you get a consistent “Where’s my chicken?” response at this step, go to the next step.
• Have FM approach the pool and take one step past the original marked step. Repeat this step until you achieve the “Where’s my chicken?” response.
• Have FM approach pool and take two steps past original marker. Repeat until you get the “Where’s my chicken?” response.
• Continue one step at a time until FM is at poolside. Have FM sit by pool and dangle legs in water. Feed chicken. Repeat until Cocoa displays the desired response.
• Have FM get in pool and stand in shallow end. Feed chicken, etc.
• Have FM walk slowly around in pool. Feed chicken, etc.
• Have FM swim a short distance. Feed chicken, etc.
• Continue gradually increasing distance FM swims until he or she can swim the entire pool. Feed chicken, etc.
• Now go back to the first step, and repeat the entire sequence with two family members, then three, until the whole family is in the pool.
• Gradually increase activity level of family members until they are moving and acting as they normally would in the pool. Now gradually decrease the distance you and Cocoa are sitting from the pool, until she can be at pool’s edge without getting aroused.
Alternatively, you could do CC&D with everyone in the pool, starting at a far enough distance that Cocoa doesn’t react, and gradually move her closer to the pool, achieving the “Where’s my chicken?” response at each step.
Sound like a lot of work? It will depend on how much time you devote to the program and how quickly Cocoa responds. Some dogs can work through a 20-step CC&D program quite rapidly. Others can take months. Which is why my first choice for this behavior, if it were my dog, would probably be to manage it by just putting Cocoa away during pool parties.
The bones that dog owners are most familiar with are the ones they buy for their dogs to chew; ideally, these are moist, fresh (or frozen) cattle bones, still sporting tissues that dogs can tear and gnaw off and nutritious marrow to extract. Posing a great deal more risk to a dog’s teeth are the dead, nearly fossilized bones sold in many pet supply stores.
The bones inside the living dog barely resemble the dry, brittle bones sold as recreational chews. Rather, living bone is a dynamic, vibrant organ that is in a perpetual state of flux, constantly generating and dying, accumulating and being worn away.
Living bones perform a multitude of functions. They provide scaffolding for softer tissues and offer protection to inner organs; they are the levers that create movement around joints; their inner core produces all the blood that circulates throughout the body; and, as other body cells circulate through it, the skeleton’s scaffold creates a permanent communication center for kinesthetic, neurologic, and immunologic information to be processed. The skeleton as a whole is truly a multi-tasking marvel.
Physiology and function
Bone is perfectly composed to perform its most primary function: to provide a sturdy base that allows for movement and protects and supports the body’s softer tissues. From a chemist’s viewpoint, bone could be seen as an ideal conglomerate of several kinds of materials that each have a specialized function. The resultant composite that we call bone is a substance that is much like fiberglass: firm without being too brittle, flexible and somewhat rubbery without being too bendable, firmly tied together with a strong interweave of fibrous material.
The hard part of bone is mineral – mostly salts of calcium and phosphorous. Bone’s mineral deposits ultimately align themselves so they are positioned to withstand the normal stresses placed on the dog’s moving limbs and other body parts. Healthy bones carry an extra factor of strength – enough to withstand the extra stresses of the running, jumping, and turning of an active dog. Note that this reserve of weight-bearing capacity occurs in healthy bones, and is enhanced through exercise along with proper nutrition.
For optimal performance, bone needs to be heavy or dense enough to offer protection and to withstand the loads imposed by the dog, including excessive loads, yet light enough that the dog can still move around with ease. One way this is accomplished is with structures that are nearly hollow, with material of much lesser density in the middle, offering maximal strength with minimal weight.
The mineral part of bone is mixed within a matrix of collagen, a relatively rubbery, connective tissue mostly made up of proteins. Collagen is also present in tendons and skin, and it forms the cartilage that protects bone ends as they rotate against each other. Collagen fibers are interconnected throughout the mineral portions of bone via fibrous connecting links, and the collagen and fibrous tissues are aligned in a fashion that allows bones to withstand stresses applied from all directions – an accomplishment that would fascinate a structural engineer.
Veterinary practitioners, however, are more concerned with how to maintain healthy bones, prevent abnormal bone formation, and heal bones that are diseased or fractured. We rely on the basics of bone physiology to help us support these tasks.
Bone growth
If we look at living bone tissue under the microscope, we see mineralized tissue, a proteinaceous matrix, and several types of bone cells. Interestingly, in a healthy bone we’ll see one type of cell that is manufacturing mineralized tissue (osteoblasts) and another cell type that is eating or eroding away mineral (osteoclasts); often, the cells are almost side by side. (A third type of bone cell, the osteocyte, seems to be just sitting in the midst of bone matrix; we’ll see what it is doing later.)
At first glance this simultaneous growth and “decay” doesn’t make sense at all, but it becomes more comprehensible when we understand the dynamics of bone formation.
Bones constantly reorganize in response to the physical stresses placed on them and to the mineral needs of the body. (For more on the latter, see the sections on bone diseases caused by metabolic and nutritional problems, below.)
As a bone is subjected to the stress of bearing weight, the osteoblasts are stimulated to produce additional mineral mass to withstand the additional stress. However, if this went on indefinitely, the bone could grow to tree trunk size, and the dog would no longer be able to walk. So, along with the bone formation (mineralization), there is concurrent de-mineralization somewhere in the bone where the stresses are not as great. The result is a constant dynamic realigning of the bone, with more mineralized mass accumulating where it is needed. Note that this process is ongoing and normal throughout the life of the dog.
Bone lengthening in the growing dog is another almost mystical event. During the time frame when a puppy’s long bones are growing in length, the ends of the bones must maintain a cartilaginous and lubricated surface so they can move against one another through the joint. This means that the bone growth cannot occur at the very ends of the bones. Instead, a puppy’s bones grow outward from the epiphyses, near the ends of the bones. The new boney tissue actually emanates from a line of cartilaginous tissue called the physis or “growth plate,” that runs across the bone. It is evident in radiographs as an area of non-mineralized tissue within the bone.
When a dog (or other mammal) reaches maturity, the growth plates “close” or become mineralized, precluding further growth along the length of the bone. Damage to a growth plate during the dog’s growing phase (an epiphyseal fracture, for example, or the repeated and excessive compression of the growth plates caused by allowing too-young agility candidates to jump too much) can lead to a permanent cessation of long bone growth, with resultant shortening of the affected limb.
At the same time a pup’s bone is growing in length, it is adding more mass to support the pup’s gowing weight. The obvious way to do this would be to add mineralized tissue to the outside of the bone, but if too much bone were deposited, the bone could become enormous. So, once again, the bone balances the mineral that is laid along the outside of the bone with bone resorption along the bone’s inner core.
While this entire process is elegant in its conception, there are times when it goes awry. Prime examples of bone formation gone bad occur when there is abnormal joint movement, as when the dog suffers hip dysplasia or as a result of decreased mobility of a vertebrae. With abnormal joint movement, the bones surrounding the joint try to compensate with excess bone growth (exostosis) that we refer to as osteoarthritis. (We’ll discuss osteoarthritis and other diseases of joints in much more detail in a future installment of the Tour of the Dog).
Boney growths in or surrounding the joint often produce pain and result in a lack of mobility in the joint. If they are allowed to continue, these growths may ultimately totally fuse the joint.
The periosteum, a specialized connective tissue that covers all bones, is highly vascularized and has the ability to form bone. Irritation to the periosteum is painful, and can produce excess bone growth.
Other roles
Bone also produces blood cells. All the blood cells in the adult animal are produced in the bone marrow, located in the relatively hollow core of the bone.
Further, bone plays an important coordinating role in the body. Immune information is processed in the bone as blood circulates through the boney tissues – interesting, given that bone is one of the longest-living tissues in the body. In addition, the skeleton is a primary source (primarily through nerve sensors located in the joints) for providing kinesthetic information to the whole body, informing the animal of its posture at all times.
Unfortunately, boney tissues also provide an ideal microenvironment for trapping cancerous cells that are circulating through the body, and the growth of those tumor cells may continue within the bone.
And finally, we know that those osteocytes that we once thought were simply inert cells that had been isolated within the bone’s calcium matrix are actually intimately connected to one another throughout the entire structure of the skeleton. This interconnection of nervous and immunologic input within long-lived skeletal tissues may some day prove to be one of the most important sites for giving and receiving whole-body communications.
Fractures and fracture repair
Fractures are probably the most common bone “disease” in dogs. Any bone of the body may be involved, usually as a result of a traumatic incident (however, see metabolic diseases, below, for other causes of bone fractures).
When a bone is fractured, the surrounding blood vessels are also usually broken, and blood hemorrhages into the area and forms a clot. This clot is converted into a fibrous mass, and new blood vessels begin to interlace into this mass. As the clot continues to harden, it forms a structure (called a callus) that begins to hold the ends of the bone with reasonable firmness.
After about two weeks the adjacent periosteum produces fibroblasts that begin to develop osteoblastic characteristics. As more and more calcium salts are deposited, the tissue becomes more rigid osteoid or bone. This early bone (cancellous or spongy bone) is not yet organized into fully mature bone, and its relative softness may take months or even years to become fully organized, strong bone.
While most bones will ultimately heal on their own, they will heal much faster (and with less pain for the dog) if some form of stabilization is provided. Fractures in youngsters tend to heal much faster than in older dogs.
The prognosis is guarded, however, if the immature dog’s epiphysis is involved in the fracture. Healing may be prolonged, and/or premature closure of the growth plate – and resultant cessation of the growth of the affected bone – may result.
Infectious diseases
Infections, referred to as osteomyelitis, are a common cause of inflammatory disease of the canine’s bones. Typically a penetrating wound would be involved as the source of infection, or infections may occur following fractures or during surgical fracture repair.
Symptoms include pain (sometimes with refusal to bear weight on the affected limb), local swelling, and fever. As the disease progresses, draining tracts may occur. X-rays will reveal areas of bone lysis (areas where bone mass has been dissolved). If the condition continues, there may be boney growth surrounding the infection and areas where bone tissue has died.
Osteomyelitis may be instigated by many types of bacteria (the most common one being Staphylococcus aureus), but about half of all infections involve more than one species of bacteria. Treatment consists of antibiotic therapy, with culture and sensitivity often needed to accurately appraise the bacteria to match it to the appropriate antibiotic. If the case has become chronic, surgery may be needed to remove extra bone growth and any dead bone tissue resulting from the infection.
Note that there are also several mycotic (fungal) organisms that infect bone tissue, and these often require specialized diagnostic procedures to ferret out as well as specific medications to treat. The more common examples include:
• Coccidioidomycosis – A respiratory disease that occurs primarily in the Southwest U.S.; it also may infect bones.
• Histoplasmosis – A disease of the gastrointestinal tract that may extend to the skeletal system.
• Blastomycosis – A skin or generalized infection that may also involve bone.
• Actinomycosis – The Actinomyces organism is a normal inhabitant of the mouth of most dogs (and cats); penetrating wounds of the mouth may result in infections of surrounding bones.
• Nocardiosis – A respiratory infection that may spread to the skeletal system.
• Aspergillosis – An infection of the nasal passages, noticed as a chronic nasal discharge. Bone tissues may also be involved. Metabolic bone disease
There are a number of diseases that can loosely be categorized as “metabolic” in origin. The primary examples include the following:
• Renal hyperparathyroidism – This tongue-twisting disease is caused by chronic kidney disease, which results in an excessive rate of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion, which in turn causes a softening of the affected bones. Although the loss of hard boney structure is generalized throughout the body, the most noticeable area of involvement is the jaw, and the bone loss here is referred to as “rubber jaw.”
• Nutritional hyperparathyroidism has the same end result (rubber jaw), but in this case the causative agent is an improperly balanced diet – often from an all-meat diet fed to a growing animal. All-meat diets are too high in phosphorous and/or deficient in calcium, creating low blood calcium levels. The body attempts to correct this by demineralizing the skeleton, mining it for its calcium. This can result in bones that are vulnerable to fracture and deformity.
• Primary hyperparathyroidism is a rare disease, typically seen in the older dog. Its cause is a functional lesion of the parathyroid gland that results in a higher than normal level of PTH.
• Hyperadrenocorticism – Can be a result of Cushing’s disease or from prolonged and/or excessive administration of glucocorticoids. This can have several adverse actions on the maintenance of healthy bone. It can inhibit absorption of calcium from the gut (via an antagonistic effect on vitamin D), increase urinary excretion of calcium, and/or decrease proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts and osteoclasts, thus affecting the elaboration of collagen and bone matrix. It can also have a catabolic (tissue destroying) effect on proteins, resulting in abnormal production of the bone matrix. The osteoporosis associated with this disease is usually prominent in the spine and long bones.
• Osteoporosis, a human disease that often affects postmenopausal women, is a disease that has not yet been reported in dogs, at least not in the same, hormonally-related form that is seen in older humans. There are, however, several diseases and toxicities that may result in thinning of dog bones (secondary osteoporosis), including: drug intoxications; the hyperparathyroidism and Cushing’s diseases mentioned above; hyperthyroidism ( a disease more common in cats than in dogs); hepatic toxicities; disuse due to immobilization of the limb; multiple myeloma; cysts; and tumors.
With any of these osteoporotic diseases in dogs (or humans) the telltale clinical sign is a fracture of one or more of the long bones or vertebrae. The prognosis for any of the osteoporotic diseases depends on the severity of the disease and on obtaining an accurate diagnosis for effective treatment.
Note that disuse osteoporosis can develop any time there is a prolonged period (two to three weeks or more) when the limb (or limbs) are not undergoing weight-bearing activity (making an excess of sofa-time, in my mind, as big a risk to skeletal health as anything).
This period of non-weight bearing may occur during the period of immobilization for fracture repair, and the de-mineralized bone will be more subject to fracture immediately after the dog returns to mobility. However, newer orthopedic techniques typically allow for weight bearing during immobilization of the fracture site, so this problem has been minimized. Total remineralization will occur rapidly as the limb begins to fully bear weight again.
Genetic diseases of bone
There are several genetic diseases that affect bones, the cartilaginous tissues between bones, and the joints. As a general rule these are rare diseases, often involving a disorder of the metabolic pathways that create bone or cartilaginous tissue, and are often limited to one specific breed.
A comment should be made about the malformed bones we have created in our dogs through breeding programs that emphasize cuteness, unique body and facial characteristics, and excessive variation in size and type, rather than normal and healthy function. Many of these genetic expressions we seem to treasure should be classified as genetic abnormalities, such as dwarfism and gigantism.
In many cases we continue to breed animals with genetic predispositions to a plethora of bone and joint diseases – hip dysplasia is perhaps the best example here. And we could use a whole litany of genetic-defect terms to describe the faces and mouths of our dogs, muzzles so shortened they can no longer hold a full complement of teeth, for example, let alone produce the normal scissor bite of the natural canine.
The farther we get away from the natural canine’s skeletal structure, the more problems we create; in contrast, the more the dog looks like the wolf or coyote from whence he came, the less apt he is to have debilitating skeletal problems.
Nutrition and bones
There are several generalized nutritional diseases that affect bones. Some nutritional deficiencies may potentiate genetic diseases; we have already seen how nutrition plays a role in metabolic diseases such as nutritional hyperparathyroidism.
Nutritional diseases of the bone have been reported as a result of the following:
• An imbalance of calcium and phosphorous (includes deficiencies and excesses of either or both minerals).
• An excessive intake of vitamin D, possibly from high intake of cod liver oil or other vitamin supplements.
• Too little vitamin D, usually from decreased absorption of the vitamin due to chronic administration of mineral oil.
• Hypervitaminosis A (too much vitamin A), especially from long-term ingestion of a diet limited to, or with excessive amounts of, liver.
• Too little zinc. Some dogs (particularly a familial line of Alaskan Malamutes) require supplementary zinc throughout their lifetimes.
The most critical point to retain is that overfeeding and oversupplementing dogs, especially growing pups (and most importantly, puppies of large breeds), must be avoided to prevent bone disorders. Numerous trials have demonstrated that dogs fed for maximum growth are predisposed to bone abnormalities including hip dysplasia, panosteitis, hypertrophic osteodystrophy syndrome, osteochondritis dissecans, and wobblers syndrome.
In addition, newer studies have indicated that restriction of caloric intake (by about 30 percent) both prolongs length of life and creates a healthier quality of life.
Bone tumors
Osteosarcoma, a malignant primary tumor of the bone and/or surrounding cartilaginous tissues, is the most common bone tumor in dogs, constituting an estimated 85 to 90 percent of all bone tumors in large dogs. It typically affects older dogs (from about seven years of age on), although it can occur at any age. Saint Bernards, Great Danes, Golden Retrievers, Irish Setters, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherd Dogs, Boxers, and Collies all seem to have a higher incidence than other breeds.
Clinical signs of osteosarcomas include a rapid onset of lameness over a two- to five-day period, localized swelling around the lesion – most commonly involving one of the long bones of the limbs – and occasionally fever and anorexia. Fractures may occur. The tumor is often very active; growth rate is rapid and metastasis (most often to the lungs) occurs in a high majority (about 80 percent) of cases.
Chondrosarcomas (affecting cartilaginous tissues) and fibrosarcomas (affecting fibrous connective tissues) are tumors that may occur within boney tissues. Both of these tumors are malignant, and clinical signs depend on the location of the lesion, the extent of invasion into tissues, and occurrence and site of metastasis.
All of these malignant tumors can present extreme treatment challenges. Depending on the tumor, surgical excision, amputation, chemotherapy, or radiologic therapy will be the conventional treatment of choice.
In many cases the prognosis will remain poor, no matter what treatment is used. The very few cases that I’ve thought I had any positive effect on the dog’s lifespan or quality of life were treated with classical homeopathic methods.
In addition, tumors from other sites in the body may metastasize into the bones, including carcinomas, melanomas, sarcomas, fibromas, lymphosarcomas, hemangiosarcomas, reticulum cell sarcomas, and meningiomas. This list is further indication that living bone is continually in contact with the blood and cells from other areas of the body – a resonating scaffolding that I like to think of as the “rhythm” section of the orchestra we call the body.
And finally, there are benign tumors that affect bone, including osteomas, chondromas, and osteochondromas. Some of these will not require any treatment; others will be better off after surgical removal. In my experience, many of the benign tumors respond favorably to alternative medicines such as homeopathic or herbal remedies, or acupuncture.
Unknown etiology
Panosteitis is an inflammatory disease of long bones, the cause of which has not yet been defined. It usually occurs in young, large breed dogs, most commonly German Shepherd Dogs. Symptoms include an acute onset of lameness unrelated to trauma. The lameness may go away spontaneously, only to recur later, and the pain may shift from one leg or bone to another. The only other obvious abnormality may be radiographs that reveal a thickness of the inner cavity of the bone.
An uneventful recovery is the usual course of the disease, and the conventional treatment consists of analgesics, cortico-steroids, and/or anti-inflammatories. Alternative medicines such as herbal or homeopathic remedies or acupuncture may be as effective as conventional drugs, without the increased potential for adverse side effects. Limiting activity may also be beneficial. With recovery, radiographs of the bone will show a return to normal.
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD) is another self-limiting disease with unknown etiology. It affects rapidly growing large and giant breed dogs. Symptoms include mild to moderate painful swelling of the periosteum at the ends of the long bones. The cause of the disease has not yet been clearly determined.
Although many holistic practitioners find therapeutic levels of vitamin C to be helpful for treating HOD, this is controver-sial. Conventional treatment consists of rest, analgesics, and for severe cases, cortico-steroids. Most dogs have a spontaneous remission within a few days to several weeks, regardless of the treatment. And, while some dogs may be left with permanent boney deformation, relapses of the painful portion of the disease are rare.
Bone cysts (areas of demineralization within the bone) are rare, and their exact etiology is unknown. They are generally benign and cause no problem unless the bone loss is severe enough to cause fractures.
Lead poisoning, caused by ingestion of lead paint, linoleum, or other lead-containing materials, can occur in dogs. Symptoms of lead poisoning are generally limited to neurologic, gastrointestinal, and hematologic abnormalities; asymptomatic bone changes (“lead lines,” dense bands of boney proliferation seen in the metaphysic of long bones of mature dogs) may coincidentally be seen on X-rays.
Hypertrophic osteopathy or hypertrophic pulmonary osteopathy (HO or HPO ) is an interesting disease of bones in that its origin is typically a tumor of the lungs. HO produces a generalized symmetrical swelling and periosteal reaction that results in lameness. Exactly how the lung tumor manifests itself in bone changes has not been determined. Treatment is aimed at the thoracic disease.
Alternative medicines
My approach when treating diseases involving the skeletal system is to try to return the function back to normal; if the disease has already changed the structure of the bone, I don’t expect that I’ll have much luck changing existing structures of the bones. What this means is that there are a lot of diseases of bones that I feel are better treated by Western medicine – fractures are a prime example here.
Having said this, I think that if we can help return the function of the bone and associated joints, we are helping the quality of life of the dog. And additionally, if we have enough patience, a functional change (changing the gait of the dog back to normal) has the potential for ultimately changing (via remodeling of the bone) the actual structure of the bone.
With all this in mind, my approach has been to first use chiropractic adjustments to help return abnormal joint movement back to normal. Then I’ll use acupuncture; herbal or homeopathic remedies; and nutritional supplements to help speed up and support the healing process. If indicated, I recommend physical therapy, massage, and/or ultrasound therapy, and although my personal experience is limited, I understand that magnetic therapy may be helpful for the healing process.
Note that I feel the chiropractic adjustment is absolutely vital whenever we’re dealing with a skeletal problem. To my way of thinking, if the animal can’t use his joints properly, or get back to some reasonable semblance of a normal gait, there is no hope for us to get him back to a normally functioning animal, whatever the problem is with his skeletal system.
Acupuncture is an excellent adjunct therapy for anything involving the skeletal system – it diminishes pain, allowing for more normal function, and it has been reported to speed up healing of both soft and boney tissues. The herbal remedy, Symphytum (comfrey) has been reported to aid bone growth, and a number of herbs can be used to counter inflammation or pain or to enhance the immune system.
Homeopathic remedies that apply to bone tissues include Symphytum (to help speed fracture repair), Silicea (where realignment of mineralization may be needed), Hepar sulphris or Hypericum (for pain), and Ruta graveolens (for early inflammation of the periosteum). The spectrum of Calcaria, Phosphorous, and/or Floricum remedies may be indicated for a variety of bone disorders.
It is important to remember that a certain portion of bone is protein and fibrous – proper protein nutrition is thus necessary for bone health and repair, and vitamin C is especially important for maintaining the interconnecting links between individual fibers. (Conventional veterinarians have been taught that a dog manufactures its own vitamin C and therefore does not need supplemental C; most holistic vets – me included – feel we see improved healing when we add supplemental C as indicated.)
Check with your holistic vet for dosage schedules for homeopathic, herbal, and nutritional remedies.
-Dr. Randy Kidd earned his DVM degree from Ohio State University and his PhD in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. A past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, he’s author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Care.
Dear readers: In May 2005, we published an article by longtime WDJ writer and book author CJ Puotinen about dietary considerations for dogs with renal failure. Quoted several times in When to Say No to Low-Protein, was dog owner Mary Straus, a researcher who has exhaustively studied the veterinary literature regarding treatments for chronic renal failure (CRF).
In response to our article, we received a long letter from S. Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine), a scientific spokesman for Hills Pet Nutrition. Dr. Forrester began his letter with a statement that our article contained inaccurate information, and that some of the recommendations in the article could cause significant harm to dogs suffering from chronic kidney disease.
However, after going through Dr. Forresters letter with a fine-tooth comb, we feel confident that our article contained no errors, but rather, statements that represent different opinions from those of Dr. Forrester and Hills.
We shared Dr. Forresters letter with Mary Straus, as, quite frankly, we needed some help finding and checking the 10 footnoted studies Dr. Forrester referred to in support of his critique of our article. Straus not only had the studies on hand, but also was familiar with them. Shortly after she received Dr. Forresters letter, Straus countered with an even longer letter, citing 30 footnoted references in support of her critique of Dr. Forresters letter.
There is some pretty fascinating stuff in these letters fascinating, at least, to us dog food geeks! In recognition of the fact that not all of our readers may be similarly enthralled, we offer below an edited version of the two letters. Interested individuals can contact us if they are interested in receiving the complete text of both letters.
Hills pioneered the field of clinical veterinary nutrition, and has always been the leader of that new industry. Its founder, a brilliant and visionary veterinarian, Mark L. Morris, Sr., may have been the first modern veterinarian to recognize the therapeutic value of adjusting the diet of animals as part of a veterinary response to their disease; the company was founded on a product he developed in 1939 to treat dogs with kidney failure a product that is still a company best-seller.
We respect Hills history and acknowledge its enormous contributions to the field, but also wish to note that its oldest product (Prescription Diet® Canine k/d®) has changed over the years in response to new developments meaning it might change again, perhaps even to incorporate some of the research we cited in our article. Other companies now make foods for dogs with kidney failure, and the resulting products are not all alike.
When to Say No to Low-Protein expressed our support for some different ideas. We dont believe that Hills currently possesses the only correct prescription for feeding a dog with renal failure, nor the best one.
Nancy Kerns, Editor
Hills Scientific Spokesman Writes…
I discovered several inaccuracies when reading When to Say No to Low-Protein. The article summarizes dietary treatment for chronic renal failure (CRF), now known as chronic kidney disease (CKD), in dogs. The author recommends a new approach to feeding dogs with kidney disease and states that newer research has radically changed and fine-tuned dietary recommendations for canine CKD patients.
Some of the recommendations in the article are appropriate; however, others could cause significant harm to dogs suffering from CKD. The readers of your journal should be aware of this information when making decisions about what to feed their dogs with CKD.
The author is correct that newer research has radically changed and fine-tuned the dietary recommendations for canine CKD patients; however, current recommendations made by veterinary nephrologists contradict those made by the author of this article.
The most current findings available are from a clinical study of dogs with naturally occurring CKD conducted at the University of Minnesota by leading experts in the field of veterinary nephrology…These findings further support current recommendations made by veterinary nephrologists to feed a therapeutic food such as Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® to dogs with CKD. Therapeutic foods such as Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® are indicated before kidney disease becomes severe; they should be fed when serum creatinine concentration is greater than or equal to 2 mg/dl. Waiting until kidney failure is more advanced decreases patient survival time and quality of life and also may decrease acceptability of the therapeutic food.
When calculating dietary protein requirements, one must consider digestibility and quality of the protein source. Digestibility refers to the amount of protein available for absorption and subsequent use by the pet. High quality protein sources deliver essential amino acids, those that cannot be synthesized by the pet.
As the quality and digestibility of the protein source increases, the amount of protein required in pet food decreases. Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® contains proteins that are of high quality and digestibility, therefore, a lesser amount of protein can be used to meet maintenance requirements for dogs.
The role of dietary protein restriction in dogs continues to be debated amongst veterinary nephrologists. To date, studies have not shown a conclusive effect on delaying progression of experimentally induced CKD in dogs; however, there have been beneficial effects observed in dogs with naturally occurring kidney diseases.
It is generally accepted that reducing protein intake decreases blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations and ameliorates clinical signs of uremia in patients with CKD. In addition, restricting dietary protein may help ameliorate effects of metabolic acidosis, common in CKD.
Although further evaluation is needed, dietary protein restriction is associated with reduced magnitude of urine protein loss (i.e., proteinuria) in dogs with glomerular diseases (i.e., kidney diseases characterized by increased permeability of glomerular blood vessels that allow protein leakage into the urine).
Protein supplementation (e.g., meat, eggs, tripe) is contraindicated in these patients because it may worsen severity of proteinuria and subsequent hypoalbuminemia (decreased protein concentration in the blood).
The reader should also be aware that feeding a food with reduced protein is only part of the picture when talking about therapeutic foods such as Prescription Diet® Canine k/d®. Other beneficial components of these foods include moderate phosphate restriction, moderate sodium restriction, increased supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), increased B vitamins, and increased buffering capacity (to counteract the tendency toward decreased acid excretion by the kidneys).
In the past, owners of dogs with CKD often found that therapeutic kidney foods were not very palatable. Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® dry and wet formulas have undergone several improvements in palatability during the past several years and most dogs with CKD readily accept these foods.
It is important to slowly transition a dog from the old food to the new therapeutic food over a seven-day period. Dogs with advanced CKD often are nauseated and will not be interested in any type of food. Clinical signs of nausea and vomiting should be controlled before attempting to introduce a new food.
There are no nutritional reasons that support providing excessive amounts of dietary protein; older dogs (> 7 years) do not require more protein than young adults. In fact, subclinical kidney disease may exist in apparently healthy older or geriatric dogs and kidney function can be worsened by feeding excessive protein (and phosphorus) to these patients.
In summary, your readers should be aware that kidney therapeutic foods are routinely recommended by veterinary nephrologists and small animal internists for managing dogs with CKD. Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® contains reduced amounts of high quality, highly digestible protein that is more than adequate for maintenance needs of adult dogs. To date, Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® is the only kidney therapeutic food that has been studied in dogs with naturally occurring CKD. Feeding Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® to dogs with CKD prolongs survival time and improves quality of life for these patients.
S. Dru Forrester, DVM MS
Scientific Spokesman, Hills Pet Nutrition
Researcher Mary Straus Responds…
I would like to respond to the allegations in the letter above regarding supposed inaccuracies in the WDJ article, When to Say No to Low-Protein allegations I believe are wholly without foundation.
Dr. Forresters letter says that current recommendations made by veterinary nephrologists contradict those made by the author of this article, then goes on to give the results of a study that compared the use of Prescription Diet® Canine k/d® (here-after referred to as k/d) with maintenance kibble.
I do not believe that dogs with CKD should be fed maintenance kibble, nor does WDJ advocate this. The article clearly stated that dogs with CKD need a reduced phosphorus diet, and advocated feeding a home-prepared diet that reduces phosphorus without overly restricting protein.
I agree that diet should be modified before kidney disease becomes severe, and the WDJ article specifically suggests reducing phosphorus even with early stage CRF.
I do not agree that protein should be restricted at this stage, or that the level of phosphorus restriction in k/d is required for early stage renal disease. According to the Nutrition Support Service at Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, Results of recent research are changing our recommendations for nutrient modification in dogs with early signs of CRF. Restricting phosphorus intake to about 30 mg/pound/day [about half the amount found in normal diets] as soon as polyuria is recognized, and supplementing potassium intake (with alkalinizing salts if acidosis is a concern) to maintain serum potassium within the normal range may be all that is necessary until patients develop severe disease.
There have been no studies done that Im aware of showing that lower amounts of high quality protein do not cause problems due to protein deficiency in dogs with CKD. Suggestions I saw regarding the use of high quality proteins for dogs with kidney disease specifically suggested not reducing the quantity of protein below levels referenced above, but instead increasing the quality of protein fed.
I would also dispute Hills claim that it contains proteins that are of high quality and digestibility. The ingredients in Canine k/d are brewers rice, pork fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), dried egg product, flaxseed, corn gluten meal, chicken liver flavor, soy fiber, plus supplements and artificial preservatives. Of these, only eggs would be considered high quality protein (and dried egg product is almost certain lower quality than fresh eggs). Corn gluten meal and brewers rice are poor quality and incomplete proteins. None of the other ingredients provide protein at all.
It is true that reducing protein decreases BUN, but this is only significant when BUN is high enough to cause signs of uremia (in general, over 80 mg/dl). Our article did advise reducing protein when a dog is uremic. But no studies have shown that reducing protein improves quality of life, extends life, or slows the progression of kidney disease when instituted before a dog is uremic.
The studies cited by Hills that purportedly show otherwise apply only to dogs with canine X-linked hereditary nephritis (a rare, breed-specific form of juvenile renal disease), and the first study only indicates that a protein restricted diet reduces proteinuria, which is a symptom (comparable to BUN) that is related to the amount of protein in the diet and does not mean that there is any actual benefit from the reduction. The first study also indicates that the dogs fed the low protein diet did not maintain starting body weight or plasma albumin concentration within the normal reference range, dangerous side effects of low protein diets, and that unintended differences in digestibility of protein and energy prevented assignment of the diet effect exclusively to protein. I would argue that this study actually supports WDJs contention that low protein diets can be harmful.
Concerning metabolic acidosis: I looked up the references cited in Dr. Forresters letter. The first one cited is the study noted above, which indicates that low protein diets led to loss of body weight and hypoalbuminemia. Proteinuria may lead to hypoalbuminemia as well, but not because there is too much protein in the diet, but rather because protein is being lost faster than it is being restored.
Proteinuria is a symptom, not a cause, of renal disease. In reality, higher protein diets may be required when dealing with proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia, due to the excessive loss of protein through the kidneys.
Dr. Forrester points our that feeding a food with reduced protein is only part of the picture when feeding dogs with CKD. The WDJ article recommended phosphorus restriction and supplementation with B vitamins. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids was also highly recommended.
Hills admits that their diets have not been palatable in the past, but claims they are improved now. I would suggest that they would have made the same claims in the past, and will at some point in the future likely make further changes that they will then claim make their food more palatable than it is now.
The fact is that low protein foods are inherently less palatable, and that commercial diets will never appeal as much to a dog as fresh food diets. Anecdotally, many people still report their dogs refusing to eat Prescription Diet® Canine k/d®. Even if some dogs are willing to eat this food, it is not unreasonable to suggest alternatives for those that will not, or additives that will make it more appealing, as well as healthier, for dogs with early to moderate stage CKD.
There are many recent studies that indicate older dogs, even those with kidney disease, may need more protein than younger dogs. As to older dogs that may have subclinical kidney disease, low protein diets have not been shown to benefit dogs that do have kidney disease, nor have they been shown to reduce the risk of kidney disease or slow its progression. There are no studies indicating that feeding excessive protein to older dogs is harmful. In contrast, research over the past 10 years or so has shown that protein does not harm the kidney of dogs.
In summary, I stand by the recommendations in the WDJ article. I will continue to recommend that dogs with kidney problems receive adequate amounts of protein, along with fish oil (not the flaxseed found in Canine k/d®) and high quality fresh foods that they enjoy, and that moderate, rather than severe, restriction of phosphorus is all that is needed for early stage renal disease. I also stand by the assertion that older dogs, including those with CKD, do not benefit, and may be harmed, by excessive protein restriction.
Mary Straus
Pleasanton, CA
———-
Two More Types of Collars to Consider
Regarding The Collar of Money (WDJ May 2005):
I dont know how you left out the Lupine collars! They are very fairly priced, come in cool designs and best of all, Lupine will replace them even if chewed! Around here, all you have to do is bring the collar to the store you bought it from; you dont even have to mail it to the company. All their designs are great and they change frequently. I recommend them to everyone in my classes, especially puppies. Lupine even offers matching leashes with the same guarantee. My dog is still wearing the same one after nearly five years and it looks great!
Nancy Freedman-Smith
Gooddogz Training
Portland, Maine
I dont know how I missed mentioning Lupine, either. As you said, the collars are very reasonably priced and available in an amazing variety of patterns. See www.lupinepet.com or call (800) 228-9653 to locate a Lupine dealer near you.
You mentioned in The Collar of Money that many collar manufacturers fail to make sizes (with appropriate hardware) for little tiny dogs. I found the same was true for large and giant breed dogs. As the owner of three American Bulldogs, I have been repeatedly disappointed by the collars on the market that were intended for extra-large dogs and large working dogs. I have seen too many collars with plastic components or single prong buckles break when under the strain of a large, strong dog (creating an unsafe situation for the dog and bystanders alike).
To solve these problems, I started manufacturing special collars with these special dogs in mind. I use double-ply nylon webbing with an average break strength of over 12,000 pounds. The two-inch width spreads out the strain placed on the neck by pulling, putting less force on the dogs trachea. I use only stainless steel hardware, and buckles with double prongs, reinforced by rivets that are capped on the underside for a better seal and no rough edges against the dogs neck.
288
All my collars are double-stitched on all edges with thread that is resistant to rot, mold, mildew and heat. An extra large D-ring makes it easier to grab, and I added a small D-ring is added specifically for ID tags. I also use brass grommets in heat-sealed holes to prevent stretching and fraying.
Blocky Dogs collars are available in nine colors in three styles. View them at www.blockydogs.com, or call for a brochure: (440) 668-0112.
To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid subscriber. Sign in
If you are logged in but cannot access this content, a) your subscription may have expired; b) you may have duplicate accounts (emails) in our system. Please check your account status hereorcontact customer service.
Immediate access to this article and 20+ years of archives.
Recommendations for the best dog food for your dog.
Dry food, homemade diets and recipes, dehydrated and raw options, canned food and more.
Brands, formulations and ingredients all searchable in an easy-to-use, searchable database.
Plus, you’ll receive training and care guidance to keep your dog healthy and happy. You’ll feed with less stress…train with greater success…and know you are giving your dog the care he deserves.
Subscribenow and save 72%! Its like getting 8 issues free!
Walking politely at your side doesn’t seem like it should be so difficult to teach a dog, but it often proves to be the most challenging behavior for dog owners to achieve. Dogs who are letter-perfect with their sits and downs, targeting, and “leave it” exercises in the training center happily drag their owners across the parking lot to and from their cars before and after class.
Why do so many dogs pull on leash? Because they can. Many dogs learn, from the time they’re wee pups, that pulling on the leash gets them where they want to go. They pull, owner follows. There are a number of other reasons that dogs pull:
• We are slow and boring, and the world is infinitely exciting and rewarding. If you take your dog for a hike in a safe place off leash, chances are good he’ll run several miles for every mile you trudge on your pathetic two human legs.
• It’s not a natural behavior. Rarely do dogs plod sedately side by side. They dash, dart, gallop, romp, run, and trot, but rarely do they plod, unless you have a senior citizen who’s feeling his years.
• Lack of consistency. Although they may understand the concept of polite leash training and would like their dogs to be a pleasure to walk, most owners are also eager to get where they’re going, sometimes. If you insist on a loose leash most of the time, but allow him to pull when you’re in a hurry or your attention is elsewhere, pulling is likely to be his first behavior choice when he really wants to get somewhere.
• Behaviors that are intermittently reinforced are very durable. If a dog has learned to pull and is occasionally rewarded for this (by getting to reach what he is pulling toward), he will continue to pull whenever the opportunity arises.
• Sometimes the dog pulls because the owner never gives him slack in the leash. Many owners suffer from “Floating Arm Syndrome” – no matter how many times you remind the owner to keep her arm at her side in order to keep slack in the leash, that arm mysteriously levitates to shoulder height, and the leash tightens, even when the dog is walking politely by her side.
• If I attach a rope to your belt and pull, you’re likely to pull back. If I push, there’s a good chance you’ll push back. This is the “opposition reflex,” a natural response that enables us to maintain equilibrium and stay upright. Dogs have it too, and it kicks in when the leash tightens on their collar – they pull against it.
• It’s not important enough. Some owners rarely put a leash on their dogs because they rarely take them anywhere. For these owners, it’s just not a high priority behavior to practice – so they don’t.
Perhaps it was my early “old-fashioned” obedience training, but I have a real aversion to a tight leash – I find it very annoying to have my dog yanking my shoulder out of the socket. Even though I live on a farm, where dogs don’t often have to be leashed, it’s worth it to me to practice.
Polite walking versus “heel”
Old-fashioned training classes assumed that everyone aspired to the level of precision required for obedience ring competition. We taught students to bark the “Heel!” command and stride forward, using leash “pops” or “corrections” – both euphemisms for punishing the dog with a sharp jerk on the choke collar if he dared stray an inch out of perfect heel position.
You can still find similar old-fashioned training classes today, but increasingly you’ll encounter pet dog training classes, where a cheerful “Let’s Walk!” cue replaces the “Heel!” command, and clicks and treats for reasonably polite walking replace physical punishment for minor missteps.
“Heel” means “walk precisely beside me.” However, a growing number of positive trainers are earning obedience and rally titles for their dogs with enviably high scores by teaching their dogs to walk precisely by their sides without ever jerking on a collar. Rather, sits, heel position, and other required exercises are all taught by shaping, clicking, and positive reinforcement – treats, play, and praise, with the trainer gradually fading the use of clicks and treats before setting foot into the show ring.
Whether your goal is winning trophies and titles in competition or strolling around the block in harmony with your canine pal, you can use the following dog-friendly training techniques and avoid potentially spine-damaging yanks on your dog’s collar. It’s best to practice in short sessions – perhaps 5 to 15 minutes apiece, and to quit while you’re ahead – when you’re having some success and you and your dog are both enjoying the training game.
Free walking
Start with your dog off leash in a safely enclosed area, indoors or out. Yes, you can teach your dog to walk on leash by working without a leash! Have a good supply of tasty treats, and your clicker or other reward marker handy.
Start walking around the enclosed area. Any time your dog is within three feet of you, click! (or use another reward marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and give your dog a treat. Your dog will discover that it’s very rewarding to stay near you and begin to walk with you, at least some of the time. Use a high rate of reinforcement – lots of clicks and treats – accompanied by cheerful praise, to convince your dog you’re more fun and rewarding than the world around him.
When your dog starts to “hang” with you as you walk, pick which side you want him to walk on and start clicking only if he’s on that side. At first, click and treat whenever he’s closer to your chosen side. As he begins to spend more time on that side, click and treat for positions that come closer and closer to your goal walking position. This is called “shaping” – breaking a desired behavior into small steps and reinforcing approximations of the final behavior, gradually tightening the criteria until you eventually have the final goal behavior.
You can use other reinforcers besides food. Pairing your click! and treat with cheerful praise will give your dog a positive association with voice rewards, and help you eventually fade (get rid of) the need for the click and treat. You can also use toys and play as rewards. Hide a small squeaky toy or tug rope in your pocket, and after a stretch of exceptionally nice walking, whip it out, squeak and toss, or play a bit of tug as your dog’s reward. Keep him guessing!
Choosing one side for polite walking will keep your dog from crossing back and forth in front of you and tripping you up. Traditionally, dogs are taught to walk on the left side – possibly a carryover from the time when owners routinely carried and used rifles in their right hands while hunting with their dogs. While some dog sports still hold with this tradition, notably obedience and rally, others, such as agility and canine freestyle (dancing with your dog), ask the dog to work on both sides. Choose the side that works for you and your training goals, and later you can train to the second side as well, if you desire.
When your dog is frequently walking by your side, it’s time to add the leash.
Leash walking
You can start with the leash attached and skip the free walking exercise if you want, but practicing off leash first helps you avoid falling victim to many of the reasons dogs pull on leash. Neither you nor your dog can pull on the leash if it’s not there!
Remember that your dog’s leash is not a steering wheel or handle. It’s a safety belt, intended to prevent your dog from leaving. It’s not to be used to pull him around. To position him by your side to begin walking, rather than dragging him there, use treats and body language to show him where you want him to be.
For left-side walking, start with your dog sitting by your left side. I suggest holding leash and clicker in your left hand (same side as the dog) and having a good supply of treats in your right hand. Make sure there’s enough slack in the leash so it stays loose when your dog is in the reinforcement zone you’ve identified for polite walking. You can also use a waist-belt or otherwise attach your dog’s leash to your body, as long as he’s not big enough to knock you down and drag you.
Use your “Let’s walk!” cue in a cheerful tone of voice and start walking forward. The instant your dog begins to move forward with you, click! and treat. At first, click! and treat very rapidly – almost every step. When your dog is attentively focused on his new, generous, treat-dispensing machine (you!), you can gradually reduce the rate of reinforcement.
Careful! If you reduce the rate too quickly or too predictably, you’ll lose the behavior. As you gradually reduce the rate of reinforcement, be sure to click! and treat randomly – so your dog never knows for sure when the next one’s coming. If he knows you’re going to reinforce every tenth step, he can quit paying attention for nine steps, and zero back in on you on the tenth. This phenomenon is called an interval scallop. We humans are creatures of habit, and easily fall into predictable patterns. Our dogs are masters at identifying patterns.
The manner in which you hold and deliver your treats is critical to success with polite walking. When you walk, have the treats in your right hand but hidden behind your right hip. If you hold them in your left hand where your dog can see or smell them, it will be harder to fade treats later on. If you hold them in front of you in your right hand, your dog will keep stepping in front of you to watch your hand (treats), and you’ll keep stepping on him.
To deliver treats, wait for a second or two after the click! as you keep walking, then bring your right hand across the front of your body and feed the treat just behind your left knee. Quickly move your hand behind your right hip as soon as you’ve delivered the treat. Feeding the treat where you want your dog to be – on your left side – reinforces that position. If you feed the treat in front of you, you’ll reinforce that position, and you’ll be stepping on him again.
Remember to click!, then treat after a brief pause. If you begin to move your treat hand toward him before the click!, he’s just thinking about food rather than what he did to make you click the clicker. For the same reason, you want to lure as little as possible during leash walking. Luring will keep him in position, but it interferes with his ability to think. Your goal is to get him to realize that walking in the desired reinforcement zone makes you click! the clicker and earns him a reward.
If your goal is a show-ring heel, continue to shape for a more precise position as previously described, until your dog will walk reliably with his shoulder in line with your leg. Then change your cue from “Let’s Walk!” to “Heel!” so your dog can distinguish between “now we’re going for a relaxed stroll,” and “now we’re working for that perfect 200-point score.”
The lure of the lure
Of course, it’s not always that simple. There will be times when your dog forges ahead of you and tightens the leash, or stops to sniff something of interest as you walk past him. There are positive solutions for those challenges as well.
When you have to pass a very tempting distraction, use a lure, briefly, to get your dog past the distraction. Put a tasty treat at the end of his nose (the more tempting the distraction, the higher-value the treat must be) and walk him past. As his polite walking behavior improves, your need for luring should diminish.
About face
Direction changes can be very useful in teaching polite leash walking. When your dog starts to move out in front of you, before he gets to the end of his leash, turn around and walk in the opposite direction.
Do this gently; you don’t want him to hit the end of the leash with a jerk if he doesn’t turn with you! As you turn, use a cheerful tone and a kissing noise to let him know you’ve changed direction. When he notices and turns to come with you, click! and offer a treat behind your left knee. He’s now behind you, so you’ll have ample opportunity to click! and treat while he’s in the zone as he catches up to you.
Be a tree
There will be times when your dog pulls ahead of you on a tight leash. This is a great opportunity to play “Be a tree.” When the leash tightens, stop walking. Just stand still – like a tree – and wait. No cues or verbal corrections to your dog. Be sure to hug your leash arm to your side so he can’t pull you forward.
Eventually, he’ll wonder why his forward progress has stopped, and look back at you to see why you’re not coming. When he does, the leash will slacken. In that instant, click! and feed him a treat behind your left knee. The click! marks the loose leash behavior, and he’ll have to return to the reinforcement zone to get it. Then move forward again, using a higher rate of reinforcement if necessary, until he’s again walking politely with you.
Penalty yards
If “Be a tree” is not working, add “penalty yards.” Your dog usually pulls to get somewhere – or to get to something. If he won’t look back at you when you make like a tree, back up slowly – with gentle pressure on the leash, no jerking, so he’s moving farther away from his goal. This is negative punishment – his pulling on leash behavior makes the good thing go farther away. When the leash slackens, click! and treat, or simply resume progress toward the good thing as his reward.
Go sniff!
Sniffing is a natural, normal dog behavior. If you never let your dog sniff, you’re thwarting this hard-wired behavior. He may become frustrated and aroused if he’s constantly thwarted, so when you’re doing polite walking together, you can sometimes give him permission to sniff.
If he stops to sniff keep walking, putting gentle pressure on his leash to bring him with you, giving him a click! and treat as soon as he moves forward. When you know you’re approaching a good sniffing spot, however, you can give him permission by saying “Go sniff!” Give him enough leash to reach the spot without pulling, even running forward with him if necessary. You can also use “Go sniff” as a reinforcer for a stretch of nice leash walking!
Proofing
Proofing is the process of solidifying polite leash-walking behavior in the presence of distractions. This works best with controlled distractions, starting at a distance where the temptation is not strong enough to compel your dog to investigate.
Practice his leash-walking behavior at a distance that works, then gradually bring the distraction closer. Increase the rate of reinforcement or the value of the reinforcer as needed, but try to avoid bringing the distractor so close you have to use a lure to get your dog past it. As you practice with various temptations at closer distances, your dog will learn to keep working with you and you’ll be able to reduce the rate of reinforcement again.
It’s up to you to decide whether you want your dog to walk politely on leash or heel precisely at your side. Dogs want good stuff, and they do what works to make it happen. If walking on a loose leash makes good stuff happen for your dog, the two of you will stroll happily side-by-side into the future together.
I’ve had a number of older owners book lessons with me lately—more than half a dozen individuals and couples in their 70s and even 80s, all wanting some training help with their new dogs or puppies.
