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Much Ado About Muzzles

By
Nancy Kerns
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Let’s be clear about one thing right from the start. A muzzle won’t train your dog. It will not teach your dog to stop biting or chewing, nor will it teach him to love small children, tall men with beards, hats and umbrellas, or your veterinarian. A muzzle is a behavior management tool, properly used as a temporary measure to protect humans (or other dogs) when dogs have to be handled in situations that are too stressful for them to tolerate. A muzzle is also a flashing neon warning sign that it’s time to do some serious counter-conditioning and desensitization so the dog in question can be handled in normal situations without resorting to muzzling. Dogs should not have to be muzzled for basic vet exams, grooming, nail-trimming, or other routine maintenance procedures. (See “Dreading the Vet,” WDJ June 2000.)

However, there are times when muzzles are useful. Muzzles can keep our animal care professionals safe when an aggressive dog must (regrettably) be treated prior to the successful completion of a behavior modification program. (Bear in mind that this is likely to cause a setback in the training program.) Even a well-socialized, friendly dog may bite when in pain, so a muzzle is always appropriate when handling a dog who is injured. Muzzles can also provide a safety zone within which we can implement desensitization and training programs for aggressive dogs without risking our own lives and limbs. Note: a dog who will wear a muzzle as part of a training program needs to be acclimated to the muzzle in the same way we would acclimate him to a head halter. (See “Head Halters Right and Wrong,” WDJ June 2000.)

Since we do need to use muzzles sometimes, we thought it appropriate to review some of the products currently on the market to determine what we like and don’t like about them. There are two basic types of muzzles – soft muzzles and basket muzzles – and a few that fall into a “miscellaneous” class. The important qualities of a muzzle are:

• Comfort for the dog
• Safety for the dog
• Ease of application and adjustment
• Security once in place on the dog
• Effectiveness in preventing biting
• Durability for long term use
• Cost

We evaluated eight different muzzles based on these criteria. In general, we found the soft muzzles far superior to the basket muzzles. Across the board, our test dogs all accepted the soft nylon muzzles much more readily than the basket muzzles. While none of the dogs looked happy about wearing something on their faces, most of them made active attempts to remove the basket muzzles, and just displayed a general air of gloom when wearing the soft muzzles. (We did not acclimatize any of our test dogs to any of the muzzles prior to testing.)

Safety first
Before we comment on individual products, we need to discuss the use of muzzles as it relates to our selection criteria. “Safety for the dog” is one of our most important considerations. However, we have ranked each muzzle for its safety to the dog if used properly. ALL muzzles present a high risk to the dog if used improperly.

None of the soft muzzles we examined seem to present a risk of injuring a dog who was trying to remove them, but all of the soft nylon muzzles restrict a dog’s respiration, which greatly compromises his ability to cool himself through panting. These muzzles should not be left on the dog for longer than 10-15 minutes at a time, less if the weather is warm and/or humid, or if the dog naturally has respiratory problems (such as the short-faced breeds, like Pugs.)

Advantages of fabric muzzles
Speaking of safety, we found it interesting that all of the soft nylon muzzles had packaging that contained instructions for proper, safe application and fitting, as well as appropriate warnings about not leaving muzzles on dogs unattended, or for long periods of time. In contrast, none of the basket muzzles came with any safety warnings or fitting instructions.

All of the fabric muzzles we examined are made of durable, washable nylon, with a simple nylon strap and plastic buckle that snaps close behind the ears. They can all can be shaped to stay open while the dog’s nose is slipped into the cone. If you adjust this type of muzzle to the dog’s approximate size before you slip it onto the dog’s nose, you can tighten the strap with relative ease while the muzzle stays on and prevents biting. When properly fitted, it is very difficult for a dog to remove any of the soft nylon muzzles we tested.

The soft muzzles are designed to allow the dog to eat and drink to a limited degree. This makes them ideal for use in behavior modification programs, since the dog can open his mouth just enough to accept treats. However, it also means that if a person were extremely incautious there is the possibility that the dog could pinch flesh with teeth and break skin, although probably not inflict a severe bite unless someone actually stuck their fingers in the dog’s mouth.

Fabric muzzle ratings
We can’t really say that either of our two top-rated muzzles is significantly better than the other; they both have unique features that we appreciated. Between these relative equals, we’d pick the Mikki Muzzle, which is widely available for a few dollars less.

The Mikki Nylon Fabric Muzzle, is made by Classic Products of Oxnard, California. The dog’s comfort, of course, is one of the most important selection criteria for a product such as a muzzle. The Mikki Muzzle scores high on this mark. While the product’s nylon is slightly stiffer than some of the other brands, this muzzle also has a soft strip of padding sewn on the inside of the front opening which offers an additional degree of comfort. As with all of the open-ended fabric muzzles, a dog wearing this muzzle can still eat treats and lap water.

The Mikki Muzzle comes in nine sizes, including one for Boxer-type brachycephalic dogs. The product is the least expensive of all the soft muzzles we examined.

However, the Cozy Quick Muzzle, made by Four Flags Over Aspen of St. Clair, Minnesota, may be more comfortable for the dog. Four Flags makes slightly greater provisions for the dog’s comfort, including the use of a softer (less stiff) nylon fabric. Also, the upper rim of the “sleeve” that fits over the dog’s nose (the part of the muzzle that rests below the dog’s eyes) is lined with a comfy piece of synthetic sheepskin to prevent rubbing. While the faux-sheepskin fluff could possibly get in the eyes of a shorter-muzzled dog, this can be remedied by trimming the fluff with scissors while still leaving ample padding on the inside of the muzzle.

The Cozy Quick Muzzle is available in an impressive 16 sizes; this wide range provides for a secure fit on any dog. While this product is slightly more expensive than the Mikki Muzzle, it is still reasonably priced.

Four Flags Over Aspen also offers a product called the Quick Muzzle – basically the same product as described above, without the coziness; we prefer the cozier model. This product lacks either the padding at the nose-end that the Mikki Muzzle offers or the sheepskin at the eye-end of the higher-priced Cozy Quick Muzzle. Like the Cozy Quick, this muzzle is constructed of softer nylon than the Mikki Muzzle. The Quick Muzzle, however, is offered in 18 sizes, including two sizes specially designed for short-faced dogs. Only the higher price keeps this product from our top rating.

The Pro-Guard Softie, made by the Custom Cable Company of Brooklyn, New York, offers the first big differences seen in the fabric muzzles. Instead of an open-ended cone, this product ends with a nylon mesh cup that fits loosely over dog’s nose. Because this muzzle has a screen sewn over the nose opening of the muzzle, it does not have to fit the sides of the dog’s muzzle as snugly as the other products we examined. However, the screen totally precludes its use as a positive training tool, since the dog cannot eat treats. For this reason, the Pro-Guard Softie would be a good muzzle to use for emergency protection, but not for a behavior modification program.

The design offers other advantages. First, the closed end minimizes the small potential for biting present with the open-ended muzzles. Plus, the looser fit allows for greater ease of panting than the more tightly fitting conical soft muzzles.

On the other hand, the product is available in only four sizes, which limits the accuracy of its fit. And in terms of durability, the design makes the product vulnerable to rips to the mesh screen, which would negate the muzzle’s value in bite prevention.

About basket muzzles
While the soft nylon muzzles seemed to be more comfortable – as judged by the reactions of our test dogs – basket muzzles offers one advantage to the dog that learns to accept them calmly: These products are designed to fit much more loosely around the dog’s muzzle, enabling him to open his jaws more widely to pant and breathe, while continuing to offer protection from bites. But dogs cannot drink easily while wearing basket muzzles, so, as with the fabric muzzles, these products should not be left on the dog for extended periods.

One danger of these muzzles – one not seen with the fabric muzzles – is that because of the pattern of openings in the wire, a frantic dog could easily get a toenail caught in the wire and rip it off. None of the basket muzzles we reviewed were accompanied by any safety warnings.

The biggest disadvantage of the basket muzzles is that most dogs object to wearing them much more strenuously than to the fabric muzzles, given that basket muzzles are rigid, and tend to bang around on the dog’s face as he moves.

Basket muzzle ratings
The banging action is least objectionable from the Polypropylene Basket Muzzle offered by J-B Wholesale Pet Supplies, Inc., of Oakland, New Jersey. Because this product’s basket is made of plastic, it wears more lightly on the dog’s face. It’s too bad that the product is available in only four sizes, especially because adjusting the fit is more difficult than it should be due to the use of a plastic slip buckle instead of a plastic snap. This could prove tricky with a struggling dog.

Once securely fitted to the dog, however, the Polypropylene Basket Muzzle offers a double safeguard against biting in the form of a plastic insert in the end of muzzle. A second layer of mesh, positioned about a half-inch from the end of the muzzle, puts a double layer of distance between the dog’s teeth and his intended victim. It does, however, make it very difficult to feed treats to the dog through the mesh, so its application as part of a behavior modification program is limited.

Unfortunately, while we liked this muzzle in terms of comfort for the dog (for a basket muzzle), its lightweight construction is much less durable than the metal baskets. Our test model arrived in a box with two of the plastic bars already broken. A dog who really fought this muzzle “tooth and nail” could probably destroy it pretty quickly. On the other hand, it was the least expensive of the basket muzzles we evaluated; you get what you pay for.

The Wire Muzzle offered by Jeffers Pet Catalog, a plastic-coated wire basket that fits loosely over dog’s nose, is more typical in terms of durability (good) and weight (too heavy). The product has a leather loop on the underside of the muzzle that a (narrow) collar would go through, and a leather strap that fastens behind dog’s head. Despite the extra fastening point, the weight of the metal basket caused our test dogs noticeably more distress than with the plastic basket. This could probably be overcome to some degree with proper desensitization before actually using the muzzle.

This product is available in only four sizes. The metal tongue buckle requires even more fussing to close than the plastic slide buckle on the Polypropylene Basket Muzzle. Also, the plastic-coated wire bars are spaced far enough apart that treats could be dropped through more easily than the plastic basket muzzle. (It would require some practice on the part of both dog and owner to perfect their treat-dropping/consuming technique). While this is a good thing in terms of using the muzzle for behavior modification, it also means that someone could conceivably stick a finger through the bars and be bitten.

We found more problems with the Wire Basket Muzzle sold by Drs. Foster & Smith, a bright silver-colored metal basket muzzle that fits loosely over the dog’s nose. Our test dogs hated the faux-leather strap that attaches to the top of the basket and goes straight up between his eyes over the top of his head, attaching to his collar. Another strap fastens around the dog’s neck. This is the heaviest and bulkiest of the basket muzzles, which must have had something to do with their strong objections.

We had objections, too. In our opinion, the wide gaps between the wire bars could rip a toenail or even trap an entire paw. And with only three sizes available, getting a secure fit might be difficult. Once on, it would probably prevent bites as long as you didn’t insert your fingers between the bars.

Other muzzle designs
In addition to the tried and true styles of muzzle design discussed above, we occasionally see muzzles with unique designs come onto the market – but we haven’t seen one worth its purchase price.

One such product is the Velcro Muzzle made and sold by Drs. Foster & Smith. It’s just two long Velcro straps connected by a wide, short elastic strap. One strap fastens around dog’s neck, the other fastens around the dog’s nose. Due to its minimal nature, our test dogs resisted this muzzle least of all the ones we tested. They could eat, drink, breathe – and we’re sure they could bite without impediment. The nose strap fits so high up on the nose that it does little to restrict biting. The only danger would arise from too-tight application of one or both straps. There are no instructions for use included in the packaging.

Perhaps this product would be useful when a muzzle is required by law (such as on public transportation) but absolutely not necessary (as with a well-socialized, well-traveled, friendly dog.)

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Training Your Dog to Comfortably Wear a Muzzle”
Click here to view “Dog Muzzles Are Useful Tools When You Use Them Right”

-By Pat Miller

Pin-Sharp Puppy Teeth

By
Nancy Kerns
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You brought this wonderful puppy into your home and very quickly discovered two things: He has needle-sharp teeth. And he bites! Now you have two burning questions: Why does he do it? What should I do?

A puppy’s gotta chew
Why does your puppy bite?

 

The simple answer is that puppies bite because they are genetically programmed to do so!

Remember, not too long ago (in evolutionary time) dogs were predators and scavengers who lived in groups. Puppies had to learn to use their teeth, mouth, and jaws as their most valuable tools for survival. They had to learn what is food and what isn’t, how to kill prey, and how to chew and otherwise extract nutrition from solid food. Some tasks were more complicated and took a lot of practice to get them right, so Mother Nature endowed the dog with the insatiable desire to use those teeth and jaws.

Puppies also used their teeth and jaws as communication and social tools. They used their mouths to get another living creature’s attention – just clamp those needle-sharp teeth on the nearest flesh and apply some pressure! They also learned to wrestle with other puppies by using their teeth to grab, hold, and move around their playmates. Some puppies learned that if their littermate had a scrap of food or a bone they wanted, they could apply enough pressure with their teeth so that the other puppy would drop it.

Of course, our dogs today are no longer living in wild packs. But the genetic urge to use and practice their mouth skills is still with them; they can’t help but chew and bite everything around them – including you!

Given that most dogs eat commercially prepared food that is served to them in a bowl daily, dogs today don’t really need to practice their chewing and gnawing skills in order to survive. But they still have to learn methods and rules of proper canine communication – both with other dogs, and with their human “packmates.” Sadly, few puppies have the opportunity to grow up in a social setting where they can learn these important skills from their mother, siblings, and other grownup relatives.

Critical lesson
One of the puppy’s most important lessons is learned at this trying time: how hard they should and should not bite, usually referred to by dog trainers and behaviorists as “bite inhibition.” They learn this from their littermates through trial and error. If you have ever watched puppies at play with their siblings, you’ve seen this lesson in action. The puppies roll around with each other, biting each other wherever they can get a grip. If they bite too hard – and with needle-sharp teeth and jaws strong enough to crack bones open, too hard is not very hard at all – their brother or sister will do two things: let out a loud shriek of pain and quit the game, leaving the biter alone and puzzled. Game over.

(Incidentally, young children do much the same thing: they grab their playmates, wrestle, and play-fight. It is extremely rare that they really hurt each other. Usually, they learn how to play so that they can get what they want and have fun. If they are too rough, other children cry and stop playing with them. Puppies learn the same thing.)

What pups learn by play-biting people
After a few dozen repetitions, even the slowest puppy learns that good things come to an end when you bite your friends too hard. It’s a lesson that will be with them throughout their lives – and may even save their lives someday.

You see, bite inhibition is what keeps a dog who does bite someone – another dog or a human – from biting hard enough to seriously injure the victim. All dogs are capable of ripping another dog’s throat open, or slashing your arm to the bone; they have all the equipment needed to do so. But when a dog with proper “bite inhibition” bites, the result is a hard pinch rather than a bloody tragedy.

A dog with poor bite inhibition, on the other hand, may spend his entire life as the most beloved, trusted, calm, and loving family companion, but if or when he decides to bite, the bite is severe and awful. Many a bewildered family has put their beloved dog to death because they couldn’t understand how or why a usually perfect dog could inflict such a terrible bite. These poor dogs never learned how hard they should bite if they do bite; they lacked the subconscious knowledge of exactly what kind of bite pressure will do the job of controlling their immediate social environment.

Just because your puppy didn’t grow up in a litter of playmates, however, doesn’t mean he can’t learn this critical knowledge. By simulating the proper responses, you can teach bite inhibition to your puppy.

Never say never
Unfortunately, this means that at first, you’re going to have to let your puppy bite and chew on you! (But not hard – I’ll get to that in a second.) If you, instead, tell the puppy, “NO!” every time he tries to bite or chew on you, you will deny him the opportunity to learn how hard social bites should be. This knowledge will be nowhere in his conscious or subconscious. And when the day comes that he is in a social setting (with other dogs or people) where he feels overwhelmed and upset beyond his ability to cope, he’ll bite – because that’s what dogs are genetically programmed to do. And that bite will be a bad one.

So, from the very first, you let your puppy bite and gnaw on you – but not hard! When your little friend bites to the point that it hurts you, do what another puppy would do: Say “Ouch!” loudly and quickly, and end your petting or play session. Get up immediately, turn away from the pup, and pay no attention to him for a minute or two. Then, return to your normal interactions with him.

This can be done from the first minute you interact with your puppy until he decides play biting you isn’t very rewarding. With patience and consistency (you’ll have to train all your friends and family to do this, too), your pup will gradually learn not to bite as hard and then not to bite at all.

Please note that I said gradually. It usually takes a few weeks of following the correct procedure before you see a big improvement in this behavior. The reason is simple. Play biting is such an important, natural behavior, that we can not change it immediately unless we use harsh punishment. Don’t use punishment to stop puppy biting. It will undoubtedly stop the biting – but it also may make your puppy fearful or aggressive (that is, act in self-defense, which we often interpret as “aggressive”). It can also end all his opportunities to learn good bite inhibition.

A little relief
Hopefully, you now understand why your puppy should be allowed to gently bite and chew on you for a critical period of time when he is young. But you hope there is something you can do right away to get your puppy to bite less, right? Happily, there is. While your first job was to teach your pup to inhibit the force of his bite, your next task is to work on reducing the frequency of his play-biting.

If you know that your puppy wants to interact with you whenever he has a chance, you can give him something else to do with you besides play biting. All puppies benefit from learning a few simple requests. Sit, Stand, and Down can all be taught in a positive manner using lure and reward, clicker, or any other positive, non-punishing method. If you are prepared, you can start training your pup before he starts to play-bite you. Some pups will play-bite every time they get a chance, some pups will do it only during high-activity periods. Pay attention to your puppy and always be prepared to engage him in a fun training session rather than letting him decide that nipping you is the best way to get your attention.

Start out by taking a small handful of your puppy’s food. Sit in a comfortable chair, rest your forearm on your thigh, say “Take it!” and give the puppy one piece of food. Close the rest of the food in your hand and say “Off” in a calm, gentle, sweet manner. Your puppy will probably try to get at the food by mouthing and/or pawing. Just keep that hand closed and wait. After a short period of trying to get the food, the pup will take his mouth off of your hand for a few seconds. When he does this, just say “Take it!” and give him a different piece of food from your other hand. It becomes very clear to the puppy in a short period of time, that when you say “Off,” if he does not touch your hand for three to five seconds, you will reward him by saying “Take it” and giving him a piece of food.

You are in the process of teaching your puppy that “off” means don’t touch. After a few days of this exercise, you can start telling your puppy not to play-bite by saying “Off” before he gets a chance to put his mouth on you. It is very important that you give him something else to do at this time. Don’t just keep saying “Off!” The puppy wants to play with you. Because you are using positive training methods, the puppy knows training is play and will be happy to have you start a training session. Make sure you do lots of short training sessions whenever your puppy gets to have some of your precious time!

What if this doesn’t work?
If these methods don’t seem to make any difference to your puppy, then you have to figure out why he is still play-biting too frequently or with too much force. Here are some possible reasons and solutions:

• You are saying “Ouch!” in a manner that excites your puppy and causes him to play- bite even more – or saying it in such a normal tone that it’s indistinguishable from your normal interactions. Experiment until you find the pitch and tone that makes him stop.

• You are not spending enough time training your puppy and he just has to get your attention. Have more training sessions. Teach everyone in the family to train the pup.

• Your puppy is too overstimulated or over-tired. If you are doing lots of short training sessions, don’t feel guilty about doing a time-out. Puppies are like children; when they get overstimulated or over-tired, the best solution is a time-out. Take the puppy out to potty, put him in his secure area where he can’t play-bite you or anyone else, let him rest up in peace and quiet for a while, and then he will be prepared for the next fun training session and so will you!

Stay positive!

 

-By Joel Walton

Joel Walton, a founding member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, is a canine behavior consultant in the Washington, DC, area who specializes in aggressive behavior cases. His second book, Labrador Retrievers for Dummies, co-authored with Eve Adamson, contains lots of positive pet training advice.

Teaching Your Puppy Critical Social Skills

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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If you are ever in California, you might want to make it a point to visit Carmel Beach, at the end of Ocean Avenue in Carmel Village, Monterey County. Carmel Beach is a canine utopia. Dogs are allowed, even encouraged, to run off-leash along a breathtaking Pacific Ocean backdrop. On any given day, at any given time, you’ll see Golden Retrievers racing along the sand after tennis balls, Labradors fetching sticks from the surf, Border Collies herding shorebirds, and any and all varieties of mixed-breeds and purebreds romping together in happy groups. Rarely, if ever, does a fight happen. Oh, an occasional brief scuffle maybe, as two ball-obsessed Aussies squabble over possession rights. But it’s hardly ever serious.

Thus the community of Carmel was shocked two years ago when a Pitbull terrier attacked and killed a small Poodle. What happened? Why was there bloodshed on the normally peaceful Carmel Beach?

Dogs are pack animals. Their wild ancestors necessarily had to get along for the very important purpose of survival. Even after thousands of generations of domestication, most dogs still play well with others of their species. When they don’t, it’s usually for one or a combination of three reasons: genetics, learned behavior, or poor socialization.

It’s in the genes
Sadly, humans have bred some dogs for dog aggression, most notably the Pitbull. Dogfighters deliberately selected for dogs who were willing and eager to fight with their own kind until, over time and generations, the quality that they call “gameness” was deeply instilled in the gene pool. A litter of puppies from fighting lines must often be separated by the age of seven weeks or they will fight with each other and cause serious harm. Chances are the tragedy on Carmel Beach was a result, at least in large part, of those genetics.

Other types of dogs were bred for the exact opposite quality. Because they hunt in packs, scent hounds such as the Beagle, Bloodhound, and Foxhound were bred to be exceptionally amenable to pack life. (This is one of the reasons Beagles are often the breed of choice for research colonies.) Other breeds fall on a continuum, from the relatively gregarious sporting breeds like Labrador and Golden Retrievers who are generally good with other dogs, to the guard-type dogs like Rottweilers and Chows, who have a greater tendency to be dog aggressive.

Learned behavior
To some extent, the natural tendencies bestowed by a dog’s genetic package can be influenced by learning. Beagles can be made to be dog aggressive under the right (wrong!) circumstances. Some Pitbulls can be raised peacefully with other dogs, providing care is taken to avoid exposing the individuals to incidents that might turn on their fighting “lightbulb.” This is why it is critical to raise your dog in an environment that doesn’t allow him to be teased, tormented, or attacked by other dogs. Tying a dog up or fencing him in a location where other dogs can agitate the confined one, is a classic recipe for dog aggression.

Poor socialization
But by far the most common cause of inadvertently induced dog aggression is lack of proper socialization. While some veterinarians still urge their clients to keep their young puppies cloistered until they have completed their vaccination series at age four to six months, more and more animal care professionals are recognizing the importance of early socialization with other puppies and dogs in a controlled environment.

Playtime with other puppies and non-aggressive adult dogs gives a puppy the opportunity to learn how to talk and read “dog-ese” through appropriate interactions with and responses to other dogs’ body language. If this doesn’t happen during the pup’s critical learning period, well before the age of six months, you may end up with a canine social nerd whose inept use of the dog’s physical and postural language consistently gets him trouble. This happens either because he sends inappropriate messages or fails to respond appropriately to another dog’s message.

As with virtually all dog behavior problems, prevention is a far better approach than rehabilitation. If you have the luxury of working within your puppy’s critical learning window, you are light years ahead of the game. The more your pup’s breed characteristics and individual personality predispose him to dog aggression, the more critical it is that he be socialized during the learning period. The following steps can maximize his opportunities for socialization while minimizing his exposure to disease:

• DO keep him current on his vaccination schedule. (Some people vaccinate their dogs far more aggressively than others. See “Current Thoughts on Shots,” August 1999 and “Reduced Vaccination Schedule,” September 1999. Also, see sidebar below.)

• DO invite friends over with their healthy puppies and gentle adult dogs to play with your puppy.

• DO enroll your puppy as soon as possible in a well-run puppy class where classmates are allowed to play together. Again, people vary in their willingness to vaccinate their dogs. Most trainers require proof of vaccinations for all participants. People who use fewer than the usual number of puppy vaccinations may have difficulty finding a trainer who understands and accepts this approach.

• DO talk to the trainer and watch the class first. Puppy play should be closely monitored to avoid bullying of small or timid puppies by bigger, older ones. The facility should be clean indoors and out, and training techniques involving the use of choke chains, prong collars or physical force should not be permitted.

• DO intervene if another puppy starts to bully yours. A pup can learn to be defensively aggressive if he is frightened by the intensity of another pup’s play.

• DO intervene if your puppy starts to bully another. A gentle interruption of the behavior every time it occurs combined with brief time-outs if necessary, offset by praise and treat rewards when he is playing well with others, can keep him on the right track. A time out is what behaviorists call “negative punishment.” The puppy’s behavior (being too rough or aggressive) makes a good thing (playing with other puppies) go away. If you are consistent he will learn that he has to be nice if he wants to keep playing.

• DON’T intervene if two pups are engaged in mutually agreeable rough play. Rough play is perfectly acceptable if both pups are enjoying it. Do keep an eye on the participants to make sure they are both having fun, and gently intervene if the tone of play starts to change.

• DON’T take your puppy to dog parks or public areas where lots of dogs congregate. He faces a much greater risk of exposure to disease in those environments.

• DON’T allow your puppy to sniff piles of feces from unknown dogs when you take him for walks around the block.

• DON’T allow your pup to interact with any dogs or puppies who don’t appear healthy, and don’t allow the owners of sick dogs or puppies to play with yours.

If you follow these simple guidelines, your chances of having a well socialized dog are high, and your disease risk is very low. Remember: Far more dogs face tragic ends to their lives due to poor socialization than to illnesses encountered in well-monitored puppy play groups.

Predictors of success
What if you’re not so lucky? Maybe you already missed your puppy’s learning period, either because you weren’t aware of the importance of socialization, or because you adopted a pre-owned older dog. If this just meant that the other dogs wouldn’t play with yours on the playground, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But the most common behavior problems manifested by a dog who is poorly socialized with other dogs are fear and aggression.

Is she doomed to a life of isolation from other dogs because she responds intensely and negatively when she sees other dogs, or because there have been incidents of aggression when you have allowed her to play off-leash with others? Not necessarily. The following factors will be key to the success of a rehabilitation program for your dog:

1. How old is she? The younger she is, the better the prospects for rehabilitation. The older she is the more likely that the behavior has been happening for a long time and is a deeply ingrained habit.

2. How intense are the fights? The more serious the intent to do harm, the more difficult the behavior will be to change, and the more at risk you are (and other dogs are) when a fight does occur.

3. How capable are you of preventing fights? If you cannot control the environment to prevent her from getting into fights while you work to correct the behavior, chances of successful rehabilitation are low. If the kids leave the gate open and she gets out, or if you aren’t willing to curtail your off-leash walks and she continues to get into fights, she is reinforcing the undesirable behavior far more effectively than you are working to change it.

4. What are her breed and temperament predispositions? A submissive young Beagle whose occasional bouts with other dogs are triggered by fear and defensiveness is easier to rehabilitate than a poorly-socialized but dominant Pitbull, Rottweiler, or Akita with a history of violent encounters.

5. How much time are you willing to dedicate to changing your dog’s behavior? This is not an easy fix. Successful aggression behavior modification through counter conditioning and desensitization takes time and patience. Beware of any trainers who offer to fix an aggression problem overnight. Chances are they are likely to use coercive techniques that may drive the aggression underground temporarily but not truly change the dog’s mind-set about other dogs. You must be willing to invest a significant amount of time and effort, maybe even money, if you want to succeed.

Remedial socializing
The more positive answers you had to the above five questions, the better your chances are of ending up with a dog who “plays well with others.” If the problem is still in its embryonic stages you might be able to accomplish the desensitization and counter conditioning on your own. If the problem is more serious, you might want to make use of the services of a competent professional who uses positive methods to work with aggression problems. You will need to be realistic about your goal. Most dogs can be taught to walk calmly on leash around other dogs. Some will eventually be safe off-leash around other dogs, but not all.

Caveat: If at any time you don’t feel confident in implementing the next step of the following training program, you should seek professional help. Similarly, if you feel you are not making progress, or if your dog’s aggression or fear reaction is triggered frequently, look for a trainer to help you. Some trainers offer group classes specifically for dogs with aggression and socialization problems. (See “A Class of Their Own, February 1999.)

Step 1: Counterconditioning
You want your dog to think that being around other dogs is a wonderful thing, not something to be feared. Start by finding a location where you can control the distance between you and your on-leash dog and other dogs in the vicinity. A training class in a park is perfect – you know the dogs will stay in their class location and you can position yourself as far away as necessary. Another potential location is a large parking lot outside a pet supply store.

Find the distance that is far enough from the other dogs that yours doesn’t feel threatened. Setup a lightweight lawn chair (or sit on a park bench) and hang out there for at least 20 minutes. If there is likely to be canine foot traffic passing by, set up signs politely asking people to keep at a distance with their dogs because you are training yours. DO NOT do this in a location where loose dogs are likely to run up to you.

While you are sitting in your chair, toss your dog a steady stream of the most irresistible treats you can find. Take a huge supply with you so you don’t risk running out. Right now, she is conditioned to think that dogs are dangerous, something to be feared. By pairing the presence of other dogs with extra-yummy food, we can counter-condition her to think that the presence of other dogs is a good thing.

At this point, don’t wait for “good” behavior or pair the food with a reward marker such as a Click! or a “Yes!” We are not trying to train a behavior, we are just trying to change the way her brain involuntarily reacts to the presence of other dogs.

Note: Many dog-aggressive dogs will get so tense and wound up over the sight of other dogs that they will ignore your usual treats. This generally means two things: First, you also might have to work a little harder, or be a little more creative in your search for irresitable treats. Then, if especially yummy treats such as pieces of hot dog, meatballs, ham, or smelly cheese aren’t working, it’s a sign that the situation you have built is still too stressful. Increase the distance between your dog and the other dogs until he will take the treats, or consider finding an entirely different, even less stressful environment in which to work.

Also, some dogs will become so stressed by the mere sight of distant dogs, that they will forget their usual treat-eating manners and snap at the treats, endangering the treat-feeder’s fingers! Rather than put yourself in a position where you might feel compelled to verbally “snap” back, toss the treats on the ground in front of the dog. Or, if he’s too preoccupied with the other dogs and doesn’t notice the treats on the ground, wear gloves when you hold the treats near his muzzle! Remember: you want this to be a pleasant experience for the dog. Don’t “correct” his lapses in behavior at this point; it will only confirm his negative feelings about other dogs.

Step 2: Densitization
Desensitization is the process of gradually increasing the intensity of the stimulus that causes a reaction. It often goes hand in hand with counter conditioning. When your dog is eagerly looking forward to her trips to the park, very gradually start moving your chair closer to the training class – or other controlled source of dog presence – until you can sit next to the class and watch without a negative reaction from your dog.

The speed with which you do this will vary, depending on your dog’s response. If she starts acting uneasy when you move five feet closer, you may need to move in one-foot increments. If she is totally sold on the concept of “treats + other dogs = great stuff,” then you can move more quickly. You will still shower her with treats to continue the counter conditioning. You can also, at this point, Click! and reward specific good behaviors, such as a tail wag or happy glance at you when she sees another dog. The reaction we are looking for is, “Cool!! There’s another dog!!! Where’s my treat?”

Step 3: Interacting with others
If and when you get to this point, find a friend with a very calm, easygoing dog, and introduce the two off-leash, in an enclosed, controlled, neutral environment. Many dogs will fight on-leash and be perfectly fine off-leash. This is due in part to something we call restraint frustration (when the frustration of being restrained by the leash raises the dog’s level of arousal, making a fight more likely) and in part to the fact that the owner’s control of the leash inhibits a dog from displaying normal body language signals.

Your dog should now be relaxed and happy when other dogs are around. Let her see the other dog with both dogs on leash, and if her reaction is positive, release both dogs and let them greet each other.

Note: We suggest that you put soft nylon muzzles on both dogs before releasing them for the first time, as an added precaution. Both dogs should be conditioned to wearing the muzzles prior to meeting, so the extra equipment doesn’t add stress. If there is a scuffle with muzzles on no one will be hurt, and you can give them a bit of time to work through the disagreement. If it doesn’t resolve itself after 10-20 seconds then break it up and remove the dogs.

This first meeting should be relatively short. You want to end on a high note so your dog goes away with a positive experience. It is important that you remain calm during this interaction and that any verbal communications with your dog are done in a relaxed tone of voice. This is not easy to do when you are wound tight in anticipation of a possible fight, but any tension in your body or voice will be transmitted to your dog, and increase her level of tension.

Assuming positive results from the first interaction, schedule several more of gradually increasing length. Meanwhile, seek out people with dog-friendly dogs, people who are willing to participate in your training program. When you find yourself relaxing while your dog plays with her first canine friend, it is time to introduce her, one-at-a-time, to other play partners. Once she has several congenial friends you can try a threesome, then gradually increase the size of the playgroup.

Your dog’s reaction to the increased levels of arousal in larger groups will help you decide if she will ever be ready for off-leash play at Carmel Beach, or if discretion dictates that she restrict her recreational activities to pre-screened pals. Whichever you decide, she will have come a long way from where she started, and be able to reap the physical and mental benefits of interactions with others of her own kind.

-By Pat Miller

Pat Miller is a freelance author and a professional dog trainer in Fairplay, Maryland.

Who’s in Charge of Pet Food Manufacturing Regulations?

By
Nancy Kerns
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While most dog owners are certain that “someone” is in charge of regulating the manufacture of commercial dog food in this country, very few people know who that mysterious official or agency might be. But somebody’s gotta be making sure that dog food doesn’t contain any harmful ingredients and does contain what dogs need to survive, right? The FDA? Department of Agriculture? Someone?

Unfortunately, the answer isn’t as clear-cut as a simple, “Yes, it’s all taken care of.” There are numerous government and industry agencies that oversee and purportedly regulate various aspects of pet food production, but there really is no single office that provides seamless overall supervision of the industry. So is there anyone making sure that a “lamb and rice” food really contains lamb and rice? Or testing the food to see whether it really contains a minimum of the 20 percent protein it claims in its “Guaranteed Analysis”? Maybe, but probably not. There are many opportunities for dog foods to fall between the cracks of testing and enforcement. A walk through the many halls of pet food regulation reveals why a reliance on some branch of the government to ensure a food is “nutritionally complete and balanced” is pure folly.

Top dressing

Many people assume the Federal government has some sort of control over the production of pet food. Not really. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. A division of the FDA called the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for regulating animal drugs, medicated feeds, food additives and ingredients, and pet food, making sure that they conform with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

This Act requires that pet foods contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled. However, only in extreme cases does the FDA or the CVM get involved in an investigation of a food maker, and generally, only as a last line of enforcement. Meaningful regulation of pet foods occurs at the state level.

Each individual state has its own regulations and its own Department of Agriculture, which oversees the production and sale of pet food within its borders. Before a new brand or a new type of dog food can be sold in a given state, the maker is required by law to register the new food in each state in which it will be sold.

The state’s feed control officials are responsible for examining the food’s label claims and the food itself. Some states have very proactive feed control officials, who aggressively examine and test new foods being sold or made within their states’ borders. Kentucky, for instance, has a reputation for thoroughness when it comes to testing pet foods. California, in contrast, has a reputation for absolute laxity. We’ve been told that unscrupulous food makers often ship products that have failed tests (or that they know will fail tests) to California for sale, with full knowledge that the California feed control officials do not test foods.

What might the states test for? Not as much as you’d think. The main area of focus is the Guaranteed Analysis (GA), which the FDA requires to be printed on every container of pet food. The states can (and most do) test for everything that is included in the GA. The only things that are required to be in the GA include the minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture in the food; that’s all. Some companies include more information in their GA, adding minimum levels of certain vitamins, fatty acids, or other nutrients they believe the consumer will appreciate. This is going out on a limb for the maker, because it just about guarantees that the states – the proactive ones, anyway – will test for these items, too.

Advisory committee
Before we discuss other tests or standards a pet food might be held to, we have to introduce another organization, one that influences the states’ policies on pet food.

Many people have heard of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), and assume that this is the agency that polices the pet food industry. But AAFCO has no regulatory role whatsoever; it doesn’t have the power to approve or ban foods. Rather, AAFCO is a non-government, voluntary organization of feed control officials (FCOs) from each state, and its role is advisory. AAFCO exists to address issues of quality and standardization for animal and pet food, to suggest nutritional standards for pet foods, provide guidelines for food manufacture and labeling, and outline a course of action for regulators.

AAFCO influences the production of pet foods only in that many states (25) have adopted its “model” regulations, in whole or in part. AAFCO is the place where the state feed control officials can go to discuss issues of feed safety, animal health, and inter-state commerce with other people who have expertise with these issues. Then they go home and set policy for their states.

In order to obtain the best information about every imaginable aspect of pet food formulation, AAFCO invites certain experts from many different fields to join the conversation, as it were, to educate the Association in the finer details of associated specialties. Some of the liaisons come from the USDA and the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, but many come from the commercial pet food industry, as well as the grain and feed industries, the rendering industry, laboratories, farm co-ops, and other groups with an interest in AAFCO’s decisions. My organization, the Animal Protection Institute, has had a liaison position on the Pet Food Committee and Ingredients Definitions Committee for several years. Many of these invited experts participate in AAFCO subcommittees as members and liaisons; there are committees on botanicals and herbs, environmental issues, feed safety, ingredient definitions, state/industry regulations, and many more.

A watchdog, not a pawn
The presence of so many vested experts, all of whom would like to influence the feed control officials to benefit their own aspect of the industry, worries many animal welfare activists, and some even regard AAFCO as a sort of pawn of industry that does not have our animals’ health at heart. However, only the state feed control officials (and on some committees, the FDA and USDA representatives) are voting members of AAFCO; the liaisons are there in an advisory role only. At AAFCO meetings, which are held twice a year, the liaisons often speak on issues where they have an interest or stake in the outcome. Comments are taken under advisement by the FCOs and then the issue is voted on by the FCOs. In my experience, the FCOs are definitely not pro-industry; they take their role as industry watchdog very seriously.

As an example, a few years ago the rendering industry pushed to have the official feed term “by-products” re-named “animal proteins.” This was debated in the Ingredient Definitions Committee (IDC). The proposal was turned down, because the IDC felt it was anti-consumer, and that the new term was being requested not because of a change in the ingredient itself, but to obscure and confuse the issue for consumers.

In spite of that defeat, the renderers approached the IDC last January with another request, this time to change the name “poultry by-products” to “poultry and bone meal.” As a new liaison to that committee, I argued strongly against this change, as did representatives from two major pet food companies and others. The IDC voted unanimously against the change.

Inadequate standards?
Perhaps AAFCO’s biggest legacy to the state feed control officials has been the development of two tools for the standardization of pet food formulation. Most states have adopted these development tools.

The first standard is the AAFCO Nutrient Profiles, an effort to identify the minimum (and a few maximum) levels of “macronutrients” (protein, fat, and fiber) and the “micronutrients” (vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids) that research has shown to be necessary for maintaining the health of dogs and cats. Years ago, pet food makers manufactured foods to the nutritional standards set by the National Research Council, but feed control officials found numerous faults with the studies that produced that set of suggested nutrient levels, and, over time, AAFCO developed and adopted new, better standards.

Although the Nutrient Profile system has done a lot to standardize the business of pet food production, the system is not without criticism. There are studies that suggest some nutrient levels may be too high, and others too low. The Nutrient Profile system of formulation does not address the issue of ingredient quality whatsoever. One critic of this method of feed formulation designed a “food” that met all the AAFCO nutrient profile requirements – even though the food was primarily formulated from old shoe leather, sawdust, and motor oil, with a multi-vitamin-mineral supplement. Obviously, there would be no guarantee that any animal would eat such a food, or could digest it, even though it contained all the vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, etc., that the Nutrient Profiles required.

The second method for pet food formulation addresses those concerns – but contains some loopholes, as well. AAFCO has developed a protocol for feeding trials that can be used to determine whether a food can sustain life in a target test population. One is a six-month test for “maintenance” of adult dogs (or cats); the other is a shorter (10-week) test for young dogs (or cats) in a “growth” or “lactation” phase. The growth/lactation protocol is much shorter than the maintenance test, but requires more extensive blood tests for analysis. A food must pass the growth/lactation test in order to receive an “all life stages” clearance.

Whichever feeding trial is undertaken, the test population is fed nothing but the food in question for the requisite period. If the subjects test normal on a few minimal health parameters, the food passes.

The feeding trials method at least would help a maker demonstrate that the food is palatable and digestible enough to maintain life in the test population – something the Nutrient Profile system doesn’t do. This method is good if a feed maker has some brilliant research that indicates the levels of certain nutrients in the AAFCO nutrient profiles are inadequate for promoting maximum health, and they can formulate a food that they think is better; they can conduct feeding trials to prove their food works.

However, the feeding trials involve only eight test subjects, and require that only six finish the trial. Many nutritional deficiencies or overdoses would not appear in this short period; the feed’s true ability to maintain longevity, or reproductive or multi-generational health would not be demonstrated.

These two systems necessarily miss a lot of potential problems. A food meeting the Nutrient Profile may or may not pass a feeding trial; not all foods that have passed a feeding trial meet all specifications of the Nutrient Profiles. Clearly, it would be possible for a marginal food to pass these tests, yet fail to provide adequate nutrition in the long run, and in fact such problems are well documented. In generational studies, where animals were kept on the same food for three to five generations, researchers at the University of California at Davis found that some foods that pass feeding trials still won’t support animals over the long term. They estimated that, of 100 foods that pass AAFCO analysis criteria, 10 to 20 would not pass the feeding trials, and of those, 10 percent would not be adequate for long-term feeding. A former FDA nutritionist emphasizes, “The formulation method does not account for palatability or availability of nutrients. Yet a feeding trial can miss some chronic deficiencies or excesses.”

In the case of minimum requirements without a corresponding maximum, some foods contain significant nutrient excesses that may actually be dangerous in the long run. The Kentucky feed control official analyzed test data from all pet foods tested during 1994 and 1995, and found that certain nutrients, such as magnesium, iron, and manganese, were present in most dry dog and puppy foods at 200-400 percent or more of their AAFCO Nutrient Profile values. Their conclusion: the AAFCO profile for certain nutrients is not a reasonable indicator of the actual level present in many products. An excess of many minerals, including copper, magnesium, and iron, may produce signs of toxicity over time.

And here is a big wrench in the works: according to both of AAFCO’s methods of certification, manufacturers are allowed to test one food of a similar “family” of foods, and apply that certification to all foods in that family. There is no way for the consumer to know which foods were actually tested for the Nutrient Profiles or Feeding Trials certification.

Up to the states
If a food has met either AAFCO requirement, it may state on the label that the food is “complete and balanced.” These label statements are why many people are under the mistaken impression that AAFCO actually regulates the food industry.

But, remember, it’s the states that are in control – and they are in control of only the pet food manufacturers who try to sell food within their borders. Only the state’s feed control officials have the ability to approve or deny the right of a manufacturer to sell a particular food in their state, or to punish manufacturers for labeling infractions. And the only way they can make these decisions is to test the various foods that the makers register for sale there.

As we said above, some states test only the Guaranteed Analysis information (protein, fat, fiber, moisture). Others test individual nutrients (amino acids, vitamins, minerals) as well. California has a reputation for testing nothing. Kentucky tests nearly the entire AAFCO Nutrient Profile. Nearly every manufacturer has had one or more foods fail various tests at one time or another. Many foods fall short, usually on the stated protein levels. Even more ominous is the failure of tests for major minerals such as phosphorus or calcium. The manufacturers assert that tests on any particular batch or lot of food may not be representative of all their foods, but because such failures are so widespread, from the cheapest generic to the most specialized and expensive foods, it is a very disturbing trend.

Oddly enough, there is no way to test a food to see if it actually contains the ingredients listed. Only DNA testing of the raw ingredients – before a food is made – could determine whether the protein source was really chicken meat, for instance, and not a mixed poultry by-product. Once the food is cooked, the DNA is destroyed and testing is futile.

Failing tests
State feed control officials can and do enforce violations of their states’ regulations, but this process is not sweeping and surely not swift. Depending on the nature of a problem they discover with a food, there are numerous levels of notification and correction; in the mean time, tons of non-compliant food can be sold and consumed by our dogs. Each state compiles an annual report which lists the violations; these documents are public record. Many states publish this data; a few, like Missouri, and Indiana, post it on the Internet.

Regulation and enforcement of the pet food industry varies widely from state to state. Some states have adopted very tough legislation, and others have minimal pet food laws. Some states scrutinize foods carefully, and others hardly at all. And you can’t assume any coordination between the state’s regulatory aims and its follow-through on enforcement. California, for example, has one of the nation’s most restrictive pet food production Acts in the country, the “Pure Pet Food Act of 1969.” It prohibits 4D meat and other bad stuff in pet food. However, the Act isn’t enforced at all. Texas has adopted the AAFCO nutrient profiles, tests the Guaranteed Analysis, and enforces everything. The annual feed report from Texas averages around 100 pages (in very fine print) of violations and actions taken. There are almost 30 pages just listing Stop Sale orders of animal feed and pet food!

In reviewing the states’ reports, it’s obvious that every food fails something somewhere, some time. But the most striking trend is that the foods with the most problems tend to be locally produced and regionally marketed; there are numerous small pet food companies that make foods that are sold in one state only or across one state border only. The national manufacturers stick closer to the rules; if they ship nationally, they pretty much have to make their products to whichever state standards are the strictest.

Worrisome
If you’re like us, the more you learn about the pet food industry, the more you feel you should worry about your pets’ food! The kind of regulation and oversight that many of us assume is present over the industry as a whole really doesn’t exist. Instead, existent regulation and the vicissitudes of the market itself tends to promote the better products, and weed out the “bad actors” over time. It really is amazing that the industry is as “clean” as it is – but this isn’t, perhaps, saying much. In an ideal world, every food in the country would have to pass feeding trials and lab tests that prove sufficient (and not harmful) nutrient levels on an ongoing basis. But in this world, our dogs represent the “test dogs” and we are providing the feeding trials.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Pet Food Labeling Regulations –Know the Facts”
Click here to view “Problems with Artificial Preservatives in Dog Food”

-By Jean Hofve

Dr. Jean Hofve is the Companion Animal Program Coordinator for the Animal Protection Institute, located in Sacramento, California.

Training Your Dog Not to Jump Up On You

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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I have a 1 1/2 year old Labrador Retriever. She is very smart – and very stubborn! My husband and I have been to puppy school, obedience school and we have also worked with a personal trainer. She does the “normal” puppy things – jumping up when I come home from work and when people come to visit, etc. But one of the reasons we went to the trainer was because she seemed to be exhibiting some aggressive tendencies.

When I come home from work I always play with her. We also fenced our yard so that she could run and play freely. However, when I sit down she barks and nips at me. A few times she got really into it and jumped up as she was nipping. She is very strong and I was getting bruised where she would catch me with her mouth. She never broke the skin and I was confident that she would never hurt me, but I was afraid that if she did this to someone else they might get hurt or scared.

The training school we went to told us to walk away when she did this. The problem was that she would follow and keep nipping or just start up again when I returned. Saying “ouch!” in a high-pitched voice was also suggested and did not work. I didn’t know what to do and as she got bigger and stronger – the bruises got worse. So we contacted a personal trainer. I told him it really just happened when I sat down on the couch. If I got up to do dishes or something she would often just rest on the floor near me, but once I sat down, she started in. He suggested a Tri-Tronics collar. Now of course I was not thrilled with this idea, but since nothing else worked I tried it.

The collar worked. I did test it on myself to make sure I wasn’t putting her through a lot of pain – which I wasn’t – but I still don’t like it. She still occasionally gets into these moods and the only way I can stop her is to put the collar on. I rarely need to shock her anymore because she is “collar-wise” and knows when it is on.

Do you have any idea how I can get her to stop these nipping fits once she gets going so that I don’t have to use the collar?

-Debbie Poetsch
via email

 

We asked our Training Editor, Pat Miller, to handle this question. Miller, a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, offers private and group dog training classes from her base in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Miller answers:

I appreciate your resistance to using the shock collar for basic training. Yes, shocking your dog can work, to a point. As you say in your letter, Guiness has become collar-wise and knows when it is on. So you really haven’t trained her not to nip; you’ve only taught her that if she nips when the collar is on, she will get hurt. Don’t kid yourself, by the way, if the collar didn’t hurt her, it wouldn’t stop the behavior.

The question is, do you want a relationship with your dog that requires the threat of pain and shock to keep her well-behaved? Obviously not, since you wrote this letter.

The school you went to gave you good advice, as far as it went. The way to make a behavior go away is to prevent the dog from being rewarded by it. Walking away from a dog who does this often works – except when the dog just follows you and continues the inappropriate behavior. When that happens, a tether can be a good solution.

Too bad, time out!
You will need a six-foot nylon-coated cable with snaps at both ends. Snap one end to an eye-bolt screwed into a wall, or loop it around the leg of a heavy piece of furniture. Put a soft dog bed at the tether location, with lots of enticing chew toys, and have a stuffed Kong handy on a nearby shelf . Hook up the tether in the same room as you, but far enough away from your chair that Guiness won’t be able to reach you. Sit in your chair. If she starts to bark at you, say “Oops, time out!” in a cheerful voice, walk her over to her tether, hook her up, and give her the Kong. Go back to your reading. Now if she barks, just ignore her.

Sooner or later she will pause in her barking, if just to catch her breath. When she does, Click! a clicker or say “Yes!” and toss her a treat. Keep rewarding her for pauses in the barking, and gradually wait for increasingly longer periods of quiet before clicking and treating. As the periods of quiet get longer, start rewarding random periods of quiet – sometimes shorter, sometimes longer – so she can’t anticipate when the next reward is due.

When you can see that her arousal level has diminished – when she is lying calmly on her bed on the tether – walk over to her and quietly release her from the cable. This part is important. She needs to know not only that barking and nipping earns her a time out, but also, that calm behavior wins your attention and her freedom. If she cranks up and starts barking and nipping again, do another “Oops, time out!” and tether her again. If she stays calm while off the tether, remember to occasionally give her attention and praise for being calm and quiet.

Remember that dogs learn through repetition. You want Guiness to learn that “not barking” gets your attention. Once she figures that out, she will “not bark” as hard as she can to get you to look at, talk to, touch, or play with her.

The tether does several things. It controls her inappropriate behavior so you don’t have to keep interacting with – and inadvertently rewarding – her for it. It allows you to repeatedly ignore her for the unwanted behavior and reward her for the acceptable behavior. It teaches her to control her own behavior, rather than relying on physical punishment or the threat of punishment that can damage your relationship with her. And it allows you to do it all without pain or anger on your part, which helps maintain a relationship of mutual trust and respect between you and your dog.

Stubbornness is not a dog trait
I do want to take issue with the description of Guiness or any other dog as “stubborn.” The term “stubborn” is pejorative, and implies a malicious intent that I don’t believe dogs are capable of. I prefer to describe them as persistent – a quality that we are likely to admire. Dogs simply do what works. Guiness has figured out that when you are up and doing dishes you are too busy to pay attention to her, but when you are sitting down your time is hers. When you try to read, she barks and nips at you to remind you that now you are supposed to be paying attention to her, not reading. Because you do respond to her when she barks, or at least did respond at some time in the past, she learned that barking and nipping works.

When we ignore a behavior that has worked in the past, dogs commonly display an “extinction burst” – that is, a very strong exhibition of the behavior that has worked in the past. They try really hard to get the previously successful behavior to work again. By putting her on a tether, you put yourself out of harm’s way, which allows you to ignore the extinction burst without getting irritated by it, and reward the first glimmerings of the desired behavior – in this case, calm and quiet.

 

Pat Miller, Peaceable Paws Dog Training, Chattanooga, TN. Small classes and private training using primarily positive reinforcement training methods. Ph (423) 326-0444. NOTE: You can now cyber-talk to Pat Miller, Peaceable Paws clients, and other positive dog owners and trainers on the Peaceable Paws e-mail list. Subscribe by sending a message to: peaceablepaws-subscribe@egroups.com.

How to Raise a Well-Socialized Dog

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Monica and Tess had an inauspicious start in life. Half Rhodesian Ridgeback and half Beagle, at age five weeks they were on display in a cardboard box at a Salinas, California, yard sale, under the ubiquitous “Free to a Good Home” sign.

They were too young to be leaving their mother and siblings, and adopting two puppies at the same time is rarely advisable, but 83-year-old Marie and her dog-loving caretaker, Eleanor, were concerned that the pups might end up in less-than-caring hands, so they scooped the pups up and took them home to their Pebble Beach estate. There, they were assured of regular meals and a secure home, and safe from deliberate cruelty or abandonment.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite everything dogs need in life to thrive in this world. The elderly Marie wasn’t physically able to work with two energetic youngsters, and Eleanor was too busy with her caretaking duties to pay them much attention. The puppies were completely unsocialized to any humans other than the two women, and not very well socialized to them!

By the age of 10 months these puppies were tightly bonded to each other to the exclusion of human relationships. They had never been collared, and would go into a total panic at a hint of restraint. Any quick movements by humans sent them scurrying into the safety of the juniper bushes. They were well past time for spaying, and Marie and Eleanor knew they had to get them to the veterinary hospital for vaccinations and surgery soon. But how, when they couldn’t be restrained or walked on a leash?

They’ve got to be taught
Dogs aren’t born full-fledged “man’s best friends.” As with all baby animals, there is a period of time in their lives when they must learn about the world in order to survive. This critical period is a window of opportunity for socialization – a time when puppies learn what is safe and good and what is not. Opinions differ as to how long the window is open, but it falls somewhere in the period between four and 20 weeks. After the window closes, anything not previously identified as safe will automatically fall into the unsafe category. Dogs must be socialized to the human world during this time, or they will forever be fearful of – or, at the very least, anxious about – new people, sights and sounds.

Dogs who are well-socialized receive lots of gentle human contact and handling from the time their eyes open on into adulthood. Guide Dogs For The Blind and other service dog organizations who must produce the calmest, most socialized dogs possible send their puppies to live with 4-H families, where the participants try to take their service puppies with them everywhere they go. As they get older (eight to 20 weeks) they are given careful exposure to other stimuli, such as visits to the vet hospital and groomer, walks in town, rides on elevators and escalators, sounds of cars, motorcycles and skateboards, people of different ages, sexes, and ethnicities, people who dress, talk and move in strange ways, people with umbrellas, crutches, and wheelchairs.

Proof positive
Have you ever marveled at the ability of service dogs to remain calm and responsive to their handlers’ requests in the midst of a noisy, bustling environment? Then you have witnessed proof that such a thorough, positive exposure to the outside world really does result in a more confident and well-adjusted dog, and one who will easily accept new stimuli, even without prior exposure to that specific experience.

Unfortunately, there are many poorly socialized dogs around us. Some of them, like Monica and Tess, are the result of benevolent neglect – dogs who were never going to go anywhere and whose owners didn’t anticipate the need for them to be socialized (such as routine or emergency medical care, or even emergency rehoming, if something happened to their caregivers).

More unsocialized dogs, however, are ordinary dogs whose owners simply never knew about or bothered with this important aspect of their dog’s care and training, such as dogs who live with elderly people and freak out and bite when the grandchildren visit, or dogs who the ones whose families raise them in the country and then move to the city, where they overreact to the bustle of urban life and the neighbors complain about their incessant barking. An unsocialized dog is a canine social misfit, and a tragic story waiting to happen.

An ounce of prevention
The easiest way to avoid this problem, as with most serious dog behavior challenges, is through prevention. While your veterinarian, concerned about diseases, may caution you against exposing your new puppy to the real world, failure to do so can result in a poorly socialized adult dog. And, in the long term, lack of socialization can be a bigger threat to your puppy’s well-being than the risk of disease.

The answer to this dilemma is to expose a properly-vaccinated (see “Current Thoughts on Shots,” in the August 1999 and September 1999 issues of WDJ) young dog to a controlled social environment. Take her to a well-run puppy class, where she can meet lots of different people and lots of healthy puppies. Invite friends of all ages and races over and have them dress up in odd clothes, hats, umbrellas, sunglasses, etc. Invite children over to play gently with her and to feed her treats.

The more positive encounters a dog experiences while her socialization window is open, the more well-adjusted, confident and gregarious she will be as an adult.

A positive pound of cure
But wait, you say: I’m the owner of an unsocialized adult dog. Don’t despair. Frequently, steps can be taken to make the world a less terrifying place for unsocialized dogs. The quality of their lives can be improved with desensitization, and with training that gives them confidence and helps them make sense of the world around them. It takes a lot of work and a patient owner, but it can be done.

It should come as no surprise that the methods used to rehabilitate an unsocialized dog must be positive ones. The poor pooch is already terrified of the world. Progress is slow in the best of circumstances, and once she starts taking tentative steps to emerge from her shell, the tiniest correction can send her scurrying back to safety. Each dog will progress at her own pace – some far more quickly than others. You must be patient. Pushing an unsocialized dog too quickly can destroy weeks, even months, of painstaking progress.

Here are the steps to take to encourage courage in an unsocialized canine:

1. Teach your dog a bridge, or reward marker. A bridge is a word or a sound that tells your dog that she has earned a reward. The clicker, a small plastic box that makes a clicking sound when pressed, is often used as the bridge in dog training. Your unsocialized dog may be sound sensitive. If so, you may want to start with a one-syllable bridge word, such as “Yes!” instead of the clicker. “Good Dog!” is not a good choice for a reward marker. It’s too long. A dog can do several behaviors during the time it takes to say two syllables. Which one is getting rewarded? Besides, we tend to say “Good dog!” to our dogs all the time just because we love them. We need a marker that only means “a reward is coming.”

To teach your Timid Tess the bridge, just say “Yes!” (or Click! the clicker if she tolerates the sound), and immediately feed her a small but very tasty treat. She doesn’t have to do anything special to get the Yes! and treat at first, but do try to avoid marking and treating if she is doing something you don’t want her to do, like jumping on you.

If Tess is unsocialized even to you and won’t come close enough to eat treats out of your hand you can toss the treats to her at a distance or scatter treats all over the ground, and Yes! or Click! every time she picks one up. Once she knows that the marker means “Treat!” you can, for the rest of her life, click! (or yes!) and treat her every time she does something good; this will reinforce that behavior and increase the likelihood that she will do it again.

2. Reward-mark her entire meal.
Let this be the only way Tess gets to eat – by being in your company and eventually, when she’s brave enough, by eating out of your hand. She needs to learn that you are the source of all good things. Reward-marking won’t work as well for a free-roaming feral dog – she will have access to other food sources and won’t have to tolerate your presence to find food. Please note – we absolutely do not advocate starving a dog in order to get her to take food from you. You will need to find an environment where Tess feels comfortable eating in your presence – if necessary a large enough room or yard that she can be fairly far away from you at first while she picks treats up off the ground and gets marked.

3. Reward-mark her for calm behavior around others. Once Tess knows that the bridge means “Treat!” you can Yes! or Click! and treat anytime she is being brave. If she is normally afraid of children and she sits quietly next to you on a park bench while a child walks by, Yes! and reward. Look for very small, rewardable behaviors. If she glances at a child and doesn’t react, Yes! and reward.

4. Make a list of her fear triggers. You probably have a good idea of what the things are that frighten Tess. These are her “fear triggers.” Make a list, and include everything you can think of. Ask other family members to help. Then prioritize your list. Now decide which trigger you want to start with in her desensitization program. Start with something achievable. For your dog’s sake and for yours, it’s important to have small successes throughout the process. You might need to take a big trigger and figure out how to break it down into smaller pieces.

For example: if her Number 1 Trigger is tall men with beards and cowboy hats, you might start with tall, clean-shaven men. Start leaving cowboy hats around the house in conspicuous places, and occasionally put one on yourself. Other family members and people who are well-liked by Tess can do the same. Once she accepts tall men, you can advance to clean-shaven tall men with cowboy hats. Meanwhile, work at desensitizing her to short men with beards. Then try tall men with beards without cowboy hats. When you have desensitized her to all the of the pieces, then you can finally put them together as tall men with beards wearing cowboy hats.

This takes time and patience. If you skip steps you may undo all of your painstaking training progress and have to start over.

5. Use counter-conditioning and desensitization. Desensitization is the process of gradually acclimating a dog to the things she is afraid of. Counter-conditioning means replacing her undesirable reaction – fear – with a more desirable one that is incompatible with fear, such as the eager anticipation of a tasty treat.

Let’s say Tess is afraid of strangers. Since we can’t control a stranger’s behavior, we need to create a stranger who will work with us. Get a friend to act as your stranger, and brief him ahead of time. Set up a system of simple hand signals so you can let him know if you want him to stay where he is, come closer, go farther away or move to the side. If your dog’s fear threshold is 30 feet – that is, if she starts acting stressed or scared when strangers are 30 feet away, start with your stranger at 35 feet.

You should be sitting comfortably, with Tess on a leash next to you in a controlled environment. You don’t want some real stranger to wander through and mess up your carefully staged training session! While your dog is calm about the stranger’s presence just beyond her threshold, feed her lots of tasty teats. Handfuls!!!! Then have your stranger gradually move closer . . . very gradually . . . a few inches at a time if necessary.

It helps if your “stranger” is talented enough to act natural, not be furtive or suspicious. Also, he should avoid making any eye contact with the dog. A direct stare is a threat in canine body language, and is especially threatening to a dog who is already stressed.

If the dog starts to get nervous at 29 feet, signal the stranger to stop. Feed Tess more treats until she relaxes, and then end the session. Have the stranger walk away (another huge reward for Tess’ good behavior). Schedule another session for the next day. (I told you this could take a long time!) During the second session you might have your stranger move laterally at a distance of 29 feet to vary the experience. If Tess continues to stay relaxed as the stranger moves around and approaches, give her lots of rewards and stop the session at a reasonable distance before she gets stressed. Don’t push it. Success in slow increments is the key. Slow success is far more important than fast progress. You want Tess to know that the presence of strangers makes good things (lots of treats) happen.

NOTE: In order for desensitization and counter conditioning to work you need to be very good at recognizing your dog’s signs of stress. The book On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals, by author Turid Rugaas, is an excellent resource for learning how to read your dog’s body language signals.

6. Reward-mark while others feed treats. If Tess is more tolerant of people than in the scenario described in Step #2, you can have other people feed her treats when you reward-mark, or they can reward-mark and treat. The ultimate goal is to have Tess believe that people are safe and good, not scary and dangerous. The more she will accept treats from others, the more she can associate them with good things, not just you.

7. Teach her to target. “Targeting” is teaching your dog to touch a target with her nose on cue. It’s easy to do, and it’s a great confidence builder for timid dogs.

To start, hold a target object – such as your hand, a pencil or a short (2-3 foot) dowel – in front of you. Use something that won’t frighten her. When she touches it with her nose, Click! or say Yes! and feed her a treat. (If she won’t touch it, rub a meaty-flavored treat on it so it smells irresistible.) When she is eagerly touching the target, add the cue-word “Touch!” as she does it. Continue to Click! and treat. In short order she will be eager to touch the target when you ask her to.

Dogs love this exercise. It’s like a treat vending machine – they push the button, they get a treat. By placing the target, which they love, near something that they are leery of, you can get them to approach the scary object. When they get clicked and treated for touching the target near the object, they soon decide that the scary thing isn’t so bad.

Don’t ‘protect’ the dog
You must avoid coddling your skittish dog through this process. As tempting as it may be, do not allow yourself to coddle and comfort your Timid Tess. You will be rewarding and reinforcing her timid behavior, not giving her confidence, like you might think. If you act concerned, she will be even more convinced that there is something to be afraid of. You’ll do better to act matter-of-fact, jolly her up and let her know there’s nothing wrong. The target stick works really well in place of coddling.

It’s important to always remember that your unsocialized dog is not acting out of spite or malice. She is truly afraid, even terrified, of the things that she reacts to. Don’t blame her. It’s not her fault. Be patient, and help her to slowly learn that the world is not such a frightening place after all.

Well worth the effort
This process really works. I know it works through numerous personal experiences – as well as from the example of Monica and Tess, the puppy sisters who were taken home from the yard sale and allowed to grow up fairly “wild” on a large estate. When their owners realized that they would never be able to get the puppies to a veterinarian’s office for shots and spaying without professional help, they began calling trainers, and eventually I heard about their plight. I worked with Monica and Tess and their owners in their home. Their progress was slow but very encouraging. At the end of two months, the sister dogs knew the “Yes! and reward” system well. They could sit and lie down on cue, were wearing collars, and were learning to accept the pressure of leash restraint. They had come to enjoy my attentions, and Marie and Eleanor had started inviting more people over, specifically to socialize the dogs. It was working, slowly. Ultimately, Monica and Tess will probably be able to live a reasonably fear-free life in their own home, and will be able to be taken to the vet without causing harm to either themselves or their handlers.

Does Your Dog Eat Grass?

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

[Updated October 10, 2017]

Throughout the ages, veterinarians have developed theories to explain why dogs sometimes eat grass. Many believe that dogs are instinctively attempting to treat an upset stomach with the grass shoots; the fact that eating grass sometimes causes a dog to vomit lends some credence to this theory.

The fact is, fresh young grass shoots – like most fresh, young, green plant sprouts – taste good and are packed with nutrients. Why wouldn’t an “opportunistic omnivore” like the dog be attracted to eating grass?

Due to the environmental pollution and contaminants – not to mention the larval form of some intestinal parasites – that can be found on outdoor grass, we wouldn’t recommend allowing your dog to eat just any grass. However, you could do him a big favor by adding some healthy sprouts to his diet. There are dozens of seed and grain sprouts that are inexpensive to buy and easy to grow, as well as beneficial and easy to digest for any dog.

edible grass sprouts for dogs

Sprouts are Full of Nutrition

If seeds are considered the first stage of life for a plant, sprouts are stage two, the tiniest stems of plants emerging from wet seeds. Most edible sprouts are ready to eat as soon as three days after germinating, although some are grown for as much as 10-12 days. At this stage of life, the little plants are loaded with nutrients; pound for pound, many plants contain far more digestible vitamins, minerals, protein, and enzymes in their sprout stage than they will as adult plants.

For example, by weight, alfalfa sprouts contain more vitamin A than tomatoes, green peppers, and most fruits. Thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2) and niacin are abundant in alfalfa, wheat, rye, and sunflower sprouts. All the sprouted grains – especially wheat, oats, and rye – contain about three times as much vitamin E as in the dried grain form of the food.

The minerals in sprouts are absorbed from the water used to rinse them while growing, and are “chelated” by the plant – that is, bound to amino acids in such a way as to make them maximally bioavailable to the body. Sprouts are good sources of calcium, potassium, and iron, as well as vital trace elements.

While the plant proteins found in sprouts cannot be used to replace animal proteins in a dog’s diet (they lack the complete amino acid profile needed for canine health), they can augment diet nicely, especially if the dog already receives fresh meat in his diet.

Because they are so rich in enzymes – the catalysts that help break food into simpler, more usable forms – sprouts are considered practically “predigested.” Some people who feed vegetables to their dogs add digestive enzymes to the food to help the dog digest them; this is unnecessary with sprouts. During sprouting, much of the starch contained in a plant seed is broken down into simple sugars by amylase. The proteins are converted into amino acids and amides by protease, and fats and oils are converted into more simple fatty acids by lipase.

In addition to these well-understood nutritional benefits, sprouts contain a wealth of chlorophyll, a protein compound found in green plants. Numerous nutritionists think that some dietary chlorophyll benefits humans and other mammals and the supplement makers have responded to the opportunity; there are a number of canine nutritional supplements that include chlorophyll from various sources (blue-green algae, wheatgrass, barley grass, etc.) on the market. Chlorophyll advocates claim the substance is unrivaled in its ability to stimulate the body to repair body cells damaged by wounds or abrasions. These effects are largely unsubstantiated – but if you’re a believer, eat some sprouts! The green ones offer chlorophyll in spades.

And, finally, sprouts contain a lot of fiber and water and, therefore, are helpful in overcoming constipation in man or beast.

Will Your Dog Eat Sprouts?

Most dogs who are accustomed to eating fresh foods will readily try sprouts of different varieties, although, like people, dogs do display personal preferences. Radish sprouts have a zesty, spicy flavor that some dogs love — and sends some dogs away to a corner, licking their lips and looking at you suspiciously. Alfalfa sprouts and clover sprouts are among the mildest and easy-to-grow sprouts, and most dogs lick these up with relish, even if they are simply stirred in with the dog’s food.

Many people who feed sprouts to their dogs prepare the sprouts in a blender or grinder along with the other components of the dog’s homemade meal. Kathleen McDaniel, of Burbank, Illinois, uses sprouts of organic red clover, radish, and peas in her four dogs’ meals, preparing the raw sprouts in a food processor along with other vegetables. “I first noticed sprouts while shopping for organic vegetables for the dogs — always paying attention to their health before mine! Very sad!,” she jokes. “I figured that I would buy some as well as try to find out some information about them. After some investigation and discovering that they do pack a vitamin ‘punch’ as well as being high in saponins, I do put them on salads for myself.”

McDaniel’s dogs range from 1 1/2 to 11 years old, but they all seem to like sprouts well enough. She comments that it’s difficult to say how much she feeds to each dog, since she makes food for her entire pack at once.

“I put about one to two cups of sprouts into the veggie mix that I feed my dogs, and I divide that between four dogs,” she says. Once they are processed, a cup or two of sprouts condenses into about a half-cup of juicy pulp that McDaniel describes as a baby food consistency. For the record, McDaniel says she has never tried to grow the sprouts herself, claiming she is “terrible with green things.” She buys her sprouts ready to eat “and always organic.”

Patty Smiley, of Pine Grove, California, also feeds sprouts on a regular basis to her pack of three dogs: a 13- (or so) year-old Border Collie/Springer Spaniel rescue, a seven-year-old male Flat-Coated Retriever who is a show/performance dog, and a two-year-old female Flat-Coated Retriever, also a show/performance dog.

Smiley says she has been feeding sprouts to her dogs for about seven years. “I first learned about sprouts years ago when the health food movement began. I eat them myself, although I like them only in salads and on some sandwiches. I don’t eat them daily like the furkids do!” she says.

Smiley does grow her own sprouts, rotating between alfalfa, various clovers, broccoli, radish, and mung bean sprouts. She adds the sprouts to the dinnertime veggie mix that the dogs get with their meat-based diet. “A typical meal might include a clove or two of garlic, an organic carrot, five or six dandelion leaves, about 1/4 cup of sprouts, and maybe a small bit of fruit with some water,” she describes. “I put all the ingredients into my blender, whirl them until well pulverized and then this mixture gets divided between the three dogs. It comes out to about a tablespoon, possibly two, for each dog.”

Sprouts are Easy to Grow

I’ve eaten my share of sprouts through the years, and though I thought they were “just okay,” I never enjoyed them until I grew and sampled some. Wow! What a difference! These three-day-old sprouts were sweet, crunchy, and fresh-tasting, not “grassy” or sour like some sprouts I’ve eaten. Now that I know first-hand how easy it is to grow them and how delicious they are, sprouts are definitely going to be added to the family diet – my Border Collie included, of course!

Though all sorts of specialized sprout-growing gear exists, all you really need to grow sprouts are seeds and water. There are all sorts of trays and growing boxes that allow for perfect drainage – but jars work just fine. Experienced sprouters use wide-mouthed gallon or half-gallon jars – but easier-to-find quart jars work well, too. I would suggest using what you have at hand until you see how easy the process is and how well your dog (and you!) like the sprouts before you go looking for sprout-growing kits.

I had to call a few health food stores before I found one in my area that carried various sprouting seeds; they also carried plastic-meshed jar lids that allow the sprouts to breathe and keep insects out of the jars. I tried in vain to find the wide-mouthed gallon or half-gallon jars and ended up using quart Mason jars – ones that my new plastic lids did not fit onto. I made do by covering the jars with cheesecloth fastened with rubber bands; this worked just fine!

Every source of information I had for growing instructions seemed incomplete – until I tried the process and found it really is that simple. Basically, you soak about a tablespoon or two of the seeds you have selected for a few hours (small seeds like alfalfa and clover only require 3-4 hours; larger seeds like wheat can be soaked overnight) in a jar filled with plain water. Then, strain the water off through the cheesecloth or meshed lid; gently slosh the seeds around as you pour so that the seeds settle more or less evenly across the side of the jar. Then, set the jar on an angle so any excess water drains out. I put my jars in the dish drainer next to my sink.

About two to three times a day (more in hot weather, less in cool), runs some cool water into the jar, allowing it to fill. I found it helpful to jiggle the jar so that empty seed husks floated out. Then, drain all the water out, and replace the jar on its side. It’s important to keep the jars angled so that the seeds are not lying in a puddle of water, which can make them rancid.

Avoid draining the seeds so quickly that you bash them about the jar; damaged sprouts will stop developing and begin rotting, wreaking your crop. In retrospect, I was excessively gentle with the tiny sproutlets on days one and two. By day three and four, I realized the resulting sprouts were sturdier than I had thought. Just don’t bang them around.

You don’t need to put the sprouts in a dark place, nor should you place them in direct sunlight; the heat tends to make the jars steamier and wetter than is good for the sprouts (they decompose before they are tasty). I smelled the jars each time I rinsed the sprouting seeds, and was encouraged by the fresh, clean odor emanating from the growing seeds. If I had smelled an “off” odor, I was prepared to dump that batch, but it didn’t happen.

Taste a few sprouts every day as they mature, and “harvest” them out of the jars when they taste good. For me, this happened on day three, when the clover, alfalfa, and radish sprouts tasted perfect. I gave them a final rinse, pulled them out of the jar with a pair of tongs (I didn’t use wide-mouthed jars), and put them in a crisper in the refrigerator, where they remained quite edible for a couple of days. After three days in the refrigerator they began to taste like store-bought sprouts, and I threw the rest out; I was spoiled by fresh-grown sprouts already!

I didn’t like the taste of the wheatgrass sprouts at all, not on day three, or five, or eight, when it had grown far too tall for my little quart jars and began to decompose. I’ll try wheat again in a bigger jar and wait the recommended 12 days before I pass judgement on wheatgrass.

But it’s what your dog thinks of the taste that’s important! For his part, my Border Collie was indifferent to little piles of sprouts in his food dish, but cleaned up all four types of sprouts when I ran them through the blender along with the dressing of vegetables and cottage cheese that I’m putting on his food these days.

Sprout Buying Tips

Are you convinced you have a “black thumb?” We truly believe that even you can grow sprouts – but it’s okay if you really don’t want to. Sprouts are available at many grocery, produce, and health food stores.

When buying mung bean sprouts, (the crunchy white sprouts often used in Chinese cooking), select white, unbruised sprouts. Brownish rootlets or signs of wilt indicates that the sprouts are past their prime.

When buying sprouts that are sold pre-packaged in a plastic container, go ahead and pop open the container and have a good look at the sprouts inside. Sometimes the sprouts look fine from the outside of the container, but when you look inside, you can see saggy or soggy-looking sprouts, or fuzzy white mildew growing between the sprouts. Don’t be disappointed at home, after you’ve paid for and hauled those sprouts back to your kitchen! Go ahead and take a peek at them in the store! Pass on any sprouts that look less than perfect.

Concerns Sprouting Up?

It’s interesting that Dr. Andrew Weil, author of many books on natural health as well as an enormous website of information on complementary health care, has single-handedly caused a huge rift in the sprout-eating community; most sprout advocates are familiar with the dispute.

Several years ago, Dr. Weil began citing a study conducted in the early 1980s that involved a toxic substance called L-canavanine, a precursor of the amino acid arginine that is found in the sprouts of legumes such as alfalfa and clover. In the study, monkeys were fed L-canavanine sulfate tablets, as well as biscuits made from raw, unsprouted alfalfa and immature (not-yet green) sprouts. The diet contained amounts of L-canavanine that far exceeded amounts that any human or dog could ever obtain through eating green alfalfa sprouts, and the test subject monkeys exhibited health problems similar to lupus, an autoimmune disease. Weil extrapolated information from that study to conclude that “the canavanine in alfalfa sprouts can pose a real danger to humans who are susceptible to autoimmune disease.”

However, numerous lesser-known scientists and nutritionists have stepped forward to refute the dangers claimed by Weil. Sprout advocate Steve “Sproutman” Meyerowitz, author of the books Sprouts: The Miracle Food, and Sproutman’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook, has published an article refuting Weil’s claims. Meyerowitz cites research that shows that once alfalfa and other legume sprouts reach the green stage – about three to four days following germination – the potentially toxic L-canavanine is reduced to a trace amount. Meyerowitz claims to have queried Dr. Weil about his statements against alfalfa sprouts and was referred to Dr. Bruce Ames, a toxicologist who told Meyerowitz, “There’s nothing wrong with sprouts.”

Meyerowitz also revisited the original study cited by Weil, and came to very different conclusions. “The thrust of the research was to explore the connection between this toxin (L-canavanine) and the autoimmune disease lupus. It was not a test of alfalfa sprouts . . .” Meyerowitz writes. He also quotes a specialist on lupus who was familiar with the monkey study as saying, “I wouldn’t discourage my lupus patients from eating alfalfa sprouts.”

Considering that Weil cites only one study, and one that does not seem relevant to people (or dogs) who eat only modest amounts of green sprouts, many sprout fans are quite confident that their favorite greens are perfectly safe. As dog owner and sprout-feeder Patty Smiley says, “I admit that some of Dr. Andrew Weil’s comments about alfalfa sprouts has me somewhat concerned, but I have added a rotating variety of sprouts to the veggie mix of my dog’s raw foods diet for seven years – and the prolonged inclusion of sprouts in their daily diet has not caused any apparent harm. Sprouts are green, fresh, and young; I believe they are beneficial.”

Smiley adds, “I can’t say that I’ve seen (sprouts) work miracles, because with the raw diet, and limited exposure to vaccines and chemicals, my dogs haven’t ever had any serious health issues!”

Sprouting Resources
• Sproutman Publications: Books on sprouting and sprout recipes, seeds, specialized growing equipment, etc. Ph (413) 528-5200; www.sproutman.com.

• International Sprout Growers Association: Information about nutrition, safety. Ph (413) 253-8965; www.isga-sprouts.org.

• Sprouthouse: Organic sprout seeds, sprouting trays and jars, recipe books, and books about sprouting. Ph (800)-SPROUTS; www.sprouthouse.com.

Helping Dogs With Hip Dysplasia

By
Phyllis Giroux
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1

[Updated February 7, 2018]

Could you publish something about hip dysplasia? We have a 14-month-old pit bull mix (with German Shepherd, we believe) who has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia. She is a very sweet, loving, active dog whom we adopted when she was seven months old.

Evelyn Goodwin
Oakland, CA

labrador and pointer

We asked Phyllis Giroux, DVM, of Goldvein, VA, to answer this question. Dr. Giroux is a certified member of the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association. She and her partner also breed and train retrievers at their home, Deep Run Farm. Dr. Giroux’s response:

First, I need to make it clear that there are many types of rear end lamenesses that may end up being diagnosed as hip dysplasia, but you really can’t accept the diagnosis of hip dysplasia without hip x-rays. Hip dysplasia is a radiographic diagnosis, not a clinical diagnosis. That may be splitting hairs, but I see many dogs with conditions such as ruptured and improperly healed cruciate ligaments or lower back arthritis that have been diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Only radiographs can determine whether or not a dog has hip dysplasia.

Radiographs are not necessarily definitive, however. Sometimes what we see on the radiograph does not correlate with the dog’s clinical signs. For instance, sometimes we see dogs that exhibit severe lameness but have only minimally visible arthritic changes in their hips, and sometimes we see dogs that exhibit minimal signs of discomfort yet have severe changes showing in the radiographs. A lot of it has to do with the individual, his tolerance for pain, and his exercise level. But in the case of a dog with severe lameness whose X-rays look OK, I am really tempted to keep looking for some other cause of his pain.

Typically the diagnostic radiograph for hip dysplasia is taken with the dog lying on his back with his legs extended. This is a non-anatomic position for the dog, but it offers one of the best views of the hip joints.

What is Hip Dysplasia?

In the dog’s hind legs, the head of the femur (or thigh bone) is shaped like a ball, and it is supposed to fit tightly into the acetabulum (socket); it’s a classic ball and socket joint. Hip dysplasia is a catch-all term for a variety of problems with that ball and socket joint.

Sometimes, we can see the socket appearing shallower than normal, so that the ball can not get well seated in the socket. The ball may become flattened or become distorted. Many times we can see changes where the joint capsule attaches to the neck of the femur; there may be calcium deposits collecting there. In more advanced cases, we can actually see the arthritic deposits in the radiographs, where excess calcium has been deposited along the rim of the socket, and sometimes on the head of the ball itself.

In a classic case, you may also see a number of accompanying signs, including a bunny-hopping gait in the rear limbs, a dog shifting a large proportion of his weight to his front legs, wasting of the muscle mass in the thigh area, stiffness and soreness when the dog gets up after resting, and a reluctance to jump up – to either jump up on his hind legs, or to jump up onto a couch or into a car.

Prevention Starts Before Birth

I raise retrievers, and so I have pretty strong feelings about preventing hip dysplasia. I believe that hip dysplasia prevention starts way back when a puppy is only theoretical – when the breeder plans the mating! If you are going to buy a purebred dog, as opposed to getting a rescued dog, you should start by looking for a puppy with good, healthy, sound parents. Take the time to do some research on the parents, and to make sure you are buying puppies from OFA-certified stock. (OFA is the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, established in 1966. It is a not-for-profit organization originally created to assist breeders in addressing hip dysplasia.) In certain popular breeds, such as Labradors, I think only those dogs with the higher ratings (OFA-Excellent, OFA-Good) should be bred. I won’t consider breeding even an OFA-Fair Labrador.

The OFA ratings are extremely helpful in selecting breeding stock, but you have to remember that the rating is not accurate forever. Hips, like all body parts, are dynamic. Many dogs who get an OFA rating at two years old, especially if it is one of the lower ratings, like OFA-Fair, will continue to show degenerative changes in those hips throughout their lives. Many dogs that will get a passing score with OFA at two years old are not able to pass when they are aged five, six, or seven.

In the best possible world, we would require recertification later in life, perhaps every 24 to 48 months. I think would give us a better handle on what we are doing. When you breed dogs at two years old, you don’t really know what is going to happen to them when they are eight.

I also suggest using dogs that have been evaluated by the University of Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Program (PennHIP). A dog that is OFA-Excellent and scored in the top 90th percentile on the PennHIP scale is a good choice for breeding stock, assuming they have all the other qualities you want! Breeders have a responsibility to get as much information as they can about their breeding stock. They should feel confident that all the dogs that are breeding will remain sound throughout their lives. And if the offspring starts showing problems that appear to have some hereditary nature, the owners should stop breeding the parents.

Good Nutrition for Good Hips

Once you get your puppy or young dog, there are a number of things you can do to reduce the likelihood that he develops dysplasia, or improves the condition in the case of a dog who already has dysplasia. Proper nutrition is the first and foremost consideration.

All puppies and dogs should be fed a good quality diet with a balanced calcium-phosphorous ratio (about 1.2:1.0). Entire books have been written about what constitutes a “good quality diet,” but since this issue of WDJ already contains an article about choosing good dry dog foods, I’ll just say that good foods are rarely inexpensive. Quality sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat – that is, foods that are highly digestible, easily absorbed and utilized by the dog – are more costly than low quality foods; there is just no way around it.

I use a couple of dietary supplements as a matter of course, including the antioxidant vitamins C and E. I have also had success using Perna canaliculus supplementation (I use a supplement called Glyco-Flex).

Perna is a food product containing 57 nutrients, among them glucosamine precursors. Perna seems to be effective for our joints in the same way aloe is good for wounds in the skin: as a complex of nutrients for which the whole result is greater than a sum of the parts. We start all of our puppies on Perna when they start on food, at five weeks, and keep them on this supplement throughout their whole lives. The puppies receive about 20 mg. per pound of body weight crushed in their food. I continue this throughout their lives, although I may double or even triple that dosage if they show evidence of certain problems.

Research has certainly proven that dogs that are kept significantly lean during their first year of life have a reduced risk for developing hip problems later in life. All young dogs should be kept thin – I call it painfully thin. They should look skinny. People who grew up in my era, people who were children in the 1950s, tend to feel very uncomfortable looking at puppies who are that thin. In our era, babies and puppies were all supposed to be chubby. Here at our farm, we keep our young dogs thin and active, and this approach has been very successful.

dog hip dysplasia

Hope for Dysplastic Dogs

But the reader’s dog has already been diagnosed with hip dysplasia; the horse is already out of the barn. Don’t panic; there are many things you can do for a dysplastic dog.

Start with all the things I mentioned for preventing dysplasia. A better diet, glucosamine supplements, and supplemental antioxidants will all help this dog. So will keeping the dog thin. Do not underestimate the importance of keeping the dog thin. I owned a Labrador who was a field champion – and, later in his life, severely dysplastic. The dog lived to be 12, and what made the biggest improvement in his quality of life during his last two years was being thin. When he weighed 73 pounds, he could not get up off the floor. He would stumble and fall, and we would have to resort to giving him cortisone injections to be able to get around at all. When he was down around 65 pounds, he got around well, he was quite mobile and felt good. Joints are made to move. If they do not move, they degenerate further.

Pain Relief is Therapeutic

Speaking of anti-inflammatories and other analgesic agents: My opinion is that if a young dog requires them in order to feel more comfortable and be more active, I think he should receive them. It’s true that these drugs can cause side effects when used over a long time. But exercise will build up the dog’s muscle tone, and strong muscles help support joints, whether they are normal or weak. Dogs who are kept quiet will only get worse and feel worse. Give the dog at least enough to get him fit and comfortable, and then taper or eliminate the dosage whenever possible.

Even if they are in pain, these dogs need exercise. Swimming is a great thing for dysplastic dogs, because it is nonconcussive.

Many veterinarians will tell you to let the dog rest, but that opinion is changing. I graduated from veterinary school in 1977, and at that time, they were still teaching us that abnormal joints need rest, just like broken bones and other injuries need rest. Today, we realize that we did a lot of harm with that advice. Certainly, as a chiropractor, I know that joints have to move. For a long time, deep in my soul, I knew that resting these things was not making them better. Even if we can’t make the joints right, we need to make them functional, so that we can help the dog preserve good muscle tone, good nerve tone, and good energy flow throughout the body.

To that end, regular chiropractic care can be of huge benefit to dysplastic dogs. Certainly it helps keep the body balanced and the joints functional. Many of these dogs are also helped by acupuncture, which is very effective to alleviate pain in dysplastic dogs. Plus, acupuncture has no deleterious side effects, and can be used for as long as it provides good results. And even if a patient quits responding to acupuncture, one could explore other possibilities, such as gold bead implants at acupuncture points.

Surgical Options

There are a number of surgical procedures that are of benefit to some dogs with certain types of dysplasia. Since this in itself is a rather large topic, I’ll discuss it in the next issue.

Training Foster Dogs to Walk Properly On-Leash

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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My husband and I acquired two (temporary) canine foundlings last week. Julie is a five-month-old purebred Akita puppy that we rescued from our local shelter, where her cage card identified her as a Shepherd/Husky mix. Her prospects for adoption were dismal, given that the shelter euthanizes 85-90 percent of incoming animals.

Our second castaway, Princess, is a three-year-old Beagle mix. My husband and I were driving down a busy highway when we spotted her, hunched in the middle of the road, defecating while cars swerved around her on both sides. Princess was wearing a collar and tag, but her owners had moved, and she ended up staying at our house for several days while we tracked down their new phone number and location.

While Princess was with us, I took her out on several occasions to cruise the neighborhood where she was found, to look for her home and to tack up “Found Dog” signs. Each time we went for a walk, I was amazed by the determination with which this little 30-pound dog could pull on a leash. I work with dogs who pull all the time in my dog training business, and believe me, Princess is an Olympic-class puller.

In contrast, Julie (the shelter rescue) heels beautifully. From the moment I took her out of the shelter on a leash, she has shown no desire to pull. Her natural inclination is to stay close to me when we walk, and it was a simple matter, in one short week, to teach her to heel nicely by my side and sit every time I halt, whether she’s on or off leash.

The stark contrast between the walking styles of these two wayward woofers prompted me to ponder the whys and wherefores of leash-pulling behavior.

The gene pull
Dogs pull on their leashes for lots of reasons. Some leash-pulling is attributable, at least in part, to genetics. Scent Hounds – the category into which Beagles fall, and from which at least some of Princess’ ancestors claim heritage – tend toward pulling. They are bred to put their noses to the ground and go, ignoring the discomfort of brambles, briars, icy creeks, or the minor bother of a leash. (Indeed, I once had a Bloodhound, Otis, who was an invaluable hiking companion in California’s rugged coastal hills. When I felt my strength waning, I could put a hand on his collar and let him pull me up the steep paths.) The Arctic breeds – Huskies, Malamutes, Samoyeds and the like – were bred to haul sleds, and are also natural candidates for pulling. Akitas, on the other hand, were Japanese hunting and guarding dogs. They tend to be dignified and docile, albeit protective. Hence, Julie’s genes make her less likely to pull.

Genes aren’t the whole story, however. Genetics are responsible only for our dogs’ predisposition toward certain behaviors. The way we interact with them can influence them toward, or away from, their preprogrammed tendencies – at least to some degree. I know a couple Malamutes and Samoyeds who heel beautifully, and I’ve seen Akitas flying their owners behind them like kites.

Like most behaviors, it’s easiest to teach our dogs good leash manners if we start with blank slates – young puppies who have not yet learned to pull. All of the basic training principles we use in positive dog training apply to the leash challenge. Here’s a quick review of some of the key ones:

• All living things repeat behaviors that are rewarding to them. Behaviors that are consistently rewarded increase in frequency.

• Behaviors that are not rewarded will diminish and eventually extinguish.

• It’s easier and more effective to manage or prevent behaviors we don’t want than it is to correct them after they have become established. (This is why it’s easier to start with puppies, before they have already learned undesirable behaviors like pulling.)

• Rewards (or reward markers, such as the Click! of the clicker) must ideally occur when the behavior happens (or within one to two seconds) in order for the dog to associate the reward with the desired behavior. (See “Clicks for Tricks,” WDJ May 2000.)

• We can train more effectively if we think in terms of what we want our dog to do rather than what we want him not to do. Instead of thinking that we want our dog not to pull on the leash, think about wanting him to walk nicely by our side. Focus on the positive.

Taffy pull
Most dogs who pull do so, whatever their genetics, because we humans are relatively slow and boring. Dogs want to explore their environment, and they want to do it a lot faster than we can move. Think about it. If you take your dog for a hike off-leash, does he trudge along next to you, or does he range ahead, run circles around you, dash up hills and down vales, leaving you to eat his dust? Chances are good that unless he’s in his twilight years or physically impaired he’s still doing donuts around you even when you’re dragging your tired body back to the car at the tail end of the hike.

He also finds the environment to be infinitely rewarding. All the while he’s charging about, he’s being rewarded with great smells to sniff, deer poop to roll in and eat, squirrels to chase, ball and sticks to fetch, other dogs to romp with, ponds to swim in and puddles to splash in. We can only imagine all the spectacular sensory stimuli that thrill our dog during a good romp. It’s no wonder that a sedate walk on leash around the block is dull for him!

Dogs pull because we let them pull. More accurately, we teach them to pull. When John Q. Dog Owner brings eight-week-old Taffy home, he puts on the collar and six-foot leash and takes her out for her very-first-ever walk. A neighbor stops to admire the pup, and stands chatting with John for a few minutes. Taffy gets bored, and spots a beetle 10 feet away that catches her interest. She wanders to the end of the leash and leans into her collar. John eventually notices the pressure, and, still talking to his neighbor, moves in the direction of the Taffy pull. Taffy gets to play with her beetle, and files away a critically important bit of information in her puppy brain: “Pulling gets you where you want to go.” She’ll test this hypothesis several times, and each time it works – when she pulls on the leash to investigate something, John follows. Taffy is soon convinced that pulling on leash is very rewarding – it gets you what you want!

To make things worse, John subconsciously develops a comfort level with a tight lead. Tension on the leash lets him know where Taffy is. So even on those occasions when she is not pulling, John lifts his arm or pulls it back to keep tension in the leash. Taffy eventually accepts that a tight leash is the norm. Not a good foundation for polite leash-walking!

Pulling your own weight
Whenever you and your dog are together, one of you is training the other. The ideal arrangement is that you are the trainer and Taffy is the trainee, at least the majority of the time. From Day One, you need to make sure that Taffy gets rewarded for desirable behaviors, and that you prevent her from being rewarded by undesirable ones.

In terms of leash-walking, this means that you need to make yourself infinitely more rewarding than the environment, at least at first, in order to program “loose-leash walking is the norm” into Taffy’s puppy brain. You need to make a conscious effort to reward her for staying near you (loose leash) and not let her be rewarded when she goes too far away (tight leash). At the same time you have to avoid falling into the common trap of taking up the slack in order to keep tabs on Taffy. That’s what eyeballs are for. Let’s take another look at our friend John Q. to see how he can accomplish this:

John brings Taffy home, puts on her collar and six-foot leash, and takes her out for her very-first-ever walk. In his pocket he has a large supply of tasty treats and a clicker. He heads out the back door to practice in the back yard where he won’t be distracted by neighbors. As soon as he and Taffy reach the patio, he stops and clicks the clicker in his pocket. The sharp sound catches Taffy’s ear and she looks up at him, curious. He feeds her an irresistible treat. “Great game!” Taffy thinks, and keeps her eyes glued to John. He clicks and treats again, several times in a row.

Given this sort of interaction, Taffy has no interest in the surrounding environment – she’s enchanted by this living, breathing treat machine and the funny noise that signals to her that another treat is about to magically appear. She sits so she can watch the man’s face more easily, and the Click! happens again. Cool! She stands up to eat the treat, then sits again to watch John. Click!

A light bulb goes off in Taffy’s head. “Hey!” she thinks. “Every time I put my bottom on the ground, the Click! happens and a treat appears. This ‘bottom-on-the ground’ thing is a great gig!”

Now John starts to walk forward, making sure to keep his hand down by his side and a valley in the leash. Taffy, eager to keep the treat machine in sight, hustles to keep up with him. John clicks the clicker and feeds her a treat. He takes another step, and Taffy is right there with him. Click! and treat.

“Hey!” thinks Taffy. “There’s more than one way to get a treat! I’m stickin’ close to this guy!”

Pushing the envelope, slowly
Just then a leaf falls from a nearby tree, catching Taffy’s attention. The pup’s ears perk up, and she bounces toward the leaf. The leash tightens, and stops her forward progress. Taffy strains toward the leaf – she really wants it! John doesn’t budge. Finally, frustrated, Taffy backs up a step and sits. Click! John lets her know that a loose leash earns a reward. Taffy spins on her tail at the beloved sound and bounces back to John for the tidbit.

As soon as she eats the treat he moves forward quickly so she can reach the leaf without tightening the leash. She sniffs it briefly, decides it isn’t all that wonderful after all, and looks back up at John. He clicks and treats her for turning her attention back to him, then walks forward again, clicking and treating – every one to three steps – to teach Taffy that staying near him with the leash loose is a very rewarding behavior.

If she starts to move out in front of him, he sometimes turns around and goes the other direction. Now she’s behind him again, and he has lots more opportunities to Click! her for keeping the leash loose. He also talks to her in a happy voice, not a commanding one, so that staying near him is fun for her. If Taffy does reach the end of the leash and starts to pull, he stops again, waits for her to put slack in the lead, clicks, treats, and starts forward once more.

After five minutes of this, John stops, unhooks Taffy’s leash, and spends another 10 minutes playing “chase the squeaky” with her. Every once in a while he walks a few steps, and if she walks next to him, he clicks the clicker and feeds her a treat. Taffy starts to realize that it’s rewarding to be near John when she is free as well as when she is on leash. When she takes a time-out from play to pee in the corner, John clicks and rewards her for that as well.

“Wow,” Taffy thinks. “There are lots of things I can do to make that wonderful Click! happen and treats appear – this is very cool!”

Later that day, John decides to try Taffy on the front sidewalk, since she did so well in the back yard. As he works with her, the neighbor comes out to chat. John stops to talk, but keeps an eye on Taffy at the same time. As long as Taffy is sitting or standing quietly near him, he gives an occasional Click! and treat. He hands the neighbor a couple of treats, and tells her that when Taffy sits she can feed Taffy a goodie and pet her. Taffy has no desire to leave. After a short conversation, John politely excuses himself from the neighbor so he can return his full attention to Taffy’s training session.

John has already laid the beginnings for a very solid foundation for Taffy to grow into a well-mannered and well-educated canine companion. If he keeps it up, she will never learn to pull on her leash.

Pulling your leg
The same method that John Q. used for Taffy also works on adult dogs, but you can expect to take more time and make more of an effort to convince the adult dog that pulling isn’t going to pay off any more. The longer a dog like our foundling Beagle, Princess, has been reinforced for pulling, the greater the challenge to persuade her to stop. It can sometimes seem like pulling hen’s teeth – difficult to do and not very productive.

It can be done, however, especially with the help of the right preparation. You may need to find an arsenal of irresistible treats to compete with the known rewards of Princess’ environment. Freeze-dried liver, chicken, steak and roast beef generally rank high for most dogs. You will also need to start working with her in a very low-distraction environment, and graduate to the front sidewalk only after Princess seems to be getting the hang of it. You may also need the help of one of the many helpful no-pull products on the market.

There is a long list of products that – according to their makers – will single-handedly teach your dog not to pull. If you believe these manufacturers, I know of a lovely bridge for sale . . . In truth, no-pull products can help you control your dog while you reprogram her to adopt a more civilized walking style. Head halters (see “Head Halters, Right And Wrong,” WDJ June 2000 and “What A Drag,” WDJ July 1998), stretchy leashes, beepers, and no-pull harnesses can all offer a greater degree of immediate control. Unfortunately, they can also become a crutch – so that your dog will walk nicely while wearing the special equipment, but pull with just as much determination as ever when you take off the halter or harness.

This doesn’t mean that your no-pull equipment of choice is worthless. It can help you teach Princess to walk politely on leash – as long as you combine it with a positive reinforcement training program to teach her to walk nicely, with or without the crutch. Princess needs to decide that it is more rewarding to walk with you than to pull. Combine your favorite gentle control tool with clicks and treats, be consistent about never rewarding her for pulling by allowing her to get where she wants to go, and your Pulling Princess will, in time, be content to prance by your side instead of trying to drag you down the drive.

Our Princess didn’t learn to stop pulling during the short three days she was with us. She returned home to her family, people who love her just the way she is and don’t care if she pulls. She will be an Olympic-class puller for the rest of her life. Julie, the rescued Akita puppy, will be with us for a few more weeks, recovering from kennel cough and getting spayed before we place her in a new, carefully screened home with an owner who will continue to reinforce her good leash behavior. If you’d rather have a Gentle Julie than a Pulling Princess, get out your clicker and treats, and start your leash training program – the sooner the better.

-By Pat Miller

Pat Miller, WDJ’s Training Editor, is also a freelance author and professional dog trainer in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Frozen Raw Meat Diets for Dogs

By
Nancy Kerns
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About frozen raw meat diets for dogs: We’ve got some good news, and some bad news.

Here’s the good news: raw meat-based diets are really “what’s best” for dogs. With their sharp, tearing teeth, jaws capable of crushing bones, and short, highly acidic digestive systems, dogs are made to eat and thrive on diets that are made mostly of meat and bones.

Every holistic veterinarian we know suggests feeding a raw meat-based diet, both to improve a dog’s existing health, or to recover it. Vital amino acids and food enzymes, vital for superior digestion and nutrient absorption, are present in raw meat, and survive the freezing/defrosting process beautifully.

Many, many people today buy their own fresh, raw meat and bones to feed to their dogs. But others find this chore to be expensive or time-consuming or, frankly, so much more difficult than opening a container and serving a nutritionally complete food in one gesture that they just stick with dry or canned foods. And even though they know kibble isn’t the healthiest diet in the world, they buy the best dry food they can (or can afford), and rationalize that it’s the best they can do.

It’s OK! I’m right there with you!

The kernel of good news I promised? For all of us in this latter category, there are now raw meat-based diets available in frozen form, that can be purchased by telephone and shipped to our doors.

The bad news? These products vary widely in quality, formulation, and price. As usual, discerning consumers must know what they are looking for and use the products wisely in order for their dogs to receive the full benefits of this feeding method.

Know what you’re getting
Some of the products currently available are intended to be used solely as the meat component of a meat-based diet; you add your own vegetables, grains, or supplements as you see fit. While you could, of course, just go buy meat yourself, these suppliers have the advantage of buying in bulk (which may result in savings to you, even after shipping costs are figured in).

Also, as experienced “raw feeders” know, a complete diet that is based on raw meats should contain a mix of (mostly) muscle tissue, with a small but important addition of organ tissues (heart and liver) and bone, as well as as a certain amount of vegetables. While many of us are comfortable adding meat and vegetables for the dog to our shopping lists, it takes a very dedicated dog owner to purchase fresh raw organs and grind bones, so commercial sources of meat that include these components are worth the cost to many of us.

Some of the products are formulated as “complete” diets; labeled as such, they are required to meet the minimum nutritional profiles set by the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

A few of the smallest companies formulate their foods as complete diets, but do not represent them as such, in order to duck under the AAFCO radar. In their defense, most of these appear to be good foods, but without a full-scale commitment to a professional commercial operation, consumers may be left wondering about the consistency and reliability of the foods.

Note: As WDJ went to press, we just heard some breaking news concerning the formation of the Raw Pet Foods Association (RPFA), the brainchild of one of the most professional raw/frozen food makers, Steve Brown of Steve’s Real Food for Dogs. Brown is attempting to form a coalition of raw food makers, retailers, and consumers (that’s us!) to share information intended to help manufacturers improve their products. Brown also visualizes the RPFA as functioning something like a political action group that can respond in an organized fashion to legislation or other regulations that may affect the industry down the road. (As this method of feeding dogs grows more popular, distant rumblings are arising from dry food headquarters around the country.

Several raw food manufacturers suspect that the kibble industry may begin to organize against the budding raw-foods industry soon. We’ll announce contact numbers for the organization as it takes shape; in the meantime, interested parties are encouraged to contact Steve Brown, at Steve’s Real Food For Dogs, listed on the next page.)

Finally, just as with dry dog food makers, the raw food manufacturers use meats of varying quality. Many claim to use human-quality meats; a few claim to use only totally organic, antibiotic-free, or growth-hormone-free meats. Again, each individual dog warrants a slightly different game plan. Holistic veterinarians suggest using the purest, most organic foods available for dogs with immune-compromised conditions. This is speculation, but we’d guess that, given the superior bioavailability of the nutrients in these foods, even meats of a lesser quality (not organic nor human grade) would be better for the average healthy dog than cereal-based dry dog foods.

Keeping cold
Let’s consider for a moment, the frozen state of food. Most of the companies sell their products directly to consumers in their local areas, and a few have freezer-equipped retailers that can widen their distribution direct from their freezers to yours. Blessed are those who live close to one of these manufacturers.

Those of us who will receive our frozen meats via UPS, FedEx, or even Priority Mail have more to worry about. Anyone who has ever purchased fresh food from a “shipped direct” manufacturer knows that sometimes, problems with shipping occur. Planes are grounded, storms close highways, etc., etc. About 80 percent of the samples sent to us by the food makers arrived to our editorial office in fine frozen form. Two arrived slightly softened, but still very cold. One, in a classic shipping company mishap, was delivered a day late, and to a neighbor’s door – a neighbor who wasn’t home for a few days. By the time we got the box, the ice packs within had all melted, and the food was thoroughly defrosted. (Good thing that the discovery coincided with our street’s garbage collection day!)

Before you order any product, we suggest that you question the maker closely as to the company policy on shipping problems. Who will pay for defrosted meat? Also, ask them to call you before they ship to give you an estimated time of arrival. It doesn’t do you much good to have a frozen box of meat dropped off on your front porch after you’ve left for work on a hot day!

Safety precautions
Remember: All of these foods contain raw meat, so all of the normal precautions of handling raw meat apply for you and your family, including:

• Keep the foods frozen until you are ready to feed them; then, defrost small amounts (only what your dog will eat within a couple of days) in the refrigerator. Don’t allow food to sit at room temperature.

• People who are immune-compromised should probably avoid handling raw meat.

• Discard any food your dog leaves in his bowl after eating.

• Wash your hands with hot water and soap after preparing the dog’s food.

• Clean countertops or any other surface in the kitchen that comes in contact with raw meat (chopping blocks, knives, grinders, etc.) with a disinfectant, such as a mild bleach solution.

• Wash all the dog’s bowls or other utensils that contacted the food with hot water and soap promptly.

All these precautions are in place to protect you and your family from bacteria such as salmonella or E-coli, if it happens to be present in the food. Can these bacteria harm your dog? According to all the makers of commercial raw meat diets, the chances of a dog getting sick from such bacteria is very slim. First, because freezing reportedly kills these bacteria, and second, because dogs are equipped with powerful stomach acids that can kill harmful bacteria.

Professional advice
Last but not least: Experienced raw feeders will be able to look at the list of manufacturers below and know instantly which foods might be of use to them in planning their dogs’ diets. Those who are new to this method of feeding should, ideally, discuss the idea and plan an appropriate diet with their holistic veterinarian or a professional veterinary nutritional consultant who has experience with raw diets.

For more information on feeding raw meat-based diets, see “A Winning Diet,” WDJ November 1998, “The Meat of the Matter,” January 1999, and “Converting to a Raw Food Diet,” September 1999. The last article listed also contains a list of the best books available on raw meat diets for dogs. We’re sure that the companies listed below are not the only ones selling frozen, raw meat for dogs; let us know about any we’ve missed and we’ll update the list periodically. Please note that we have not ranked the products in any way; due to the “apples and oranges” nature of the products, we are merely sharing our observations and comments about them.

-By Nancy Kerns

Holistic Healing in The Form of Prayer

By
Nancy Kerns
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The second attempt to find a home for Suki, a five-month-old Akita, had met with failure. The well-intended, very loving couple were in tears as they brought her back to the Akita Rescue Family in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. The normal expectations they had of her falling into place as the puppy of their “pack” had been quickly dashed. Suki had relentlessly attacked Lika, their 13-year-old spayed Chow mix, so viscously that the formerly “alpha” female became fearful and intimidated. She spent the last days of Suki’s short stay in a hiding place under the stairwell.

The woman who ran the rescue center from her home had an in-depth history with dogs. Her immediate family of 13 included dogs in a variety of shapes and sizes, but she adored Akitas. Over a 10-year period she trained them, showed in obedience, coached problem behaviors, and had researched their predisposition to certain health imbalances; she knew this breed well.

However, even after three years of experience in rescue work, she was completely baffled by this puppy. Without provocation, Suki would suddenly attack other dogs regardless of their gender, age, size, or social position in the pack. She was a perfect sweetheart with adult humans, but having her around children was out of the question.

Nearly at her wits’ end, the rescue volunteer asked for my help as an animal communicator and intuitive healer. She asked me to “tell” Suki that if she persisted in her aggressive behavior, “it will probably result in her death.”

Taking a deep breath, I bent my head in prayer. I knew that the hoped-for outcome – the desired intention – was out of my hands. But I prayed that things would work out for Suki.

About two months later, on an evening when I was in my office later than usual, the phone rang. It was the rescue volunteer calling with a report on Suki. The Akita youngster had just been placed in a new home, one with another dog and children. As I listened to the heartening changes that Suki had made, I closed my eyes, smiled, and nodded my head in gratitude. Suki had developed an attitude of graciousness with other dogs and overcame her need to challenge their pack rank. She had developed her ability to be more present in the moment and respond accordingly in each individual situation, rather than reacting from some “program” from her past.

Teamwork really helped this case along. Suki is an exceptional dog possessing a focused mind and a deep desire to act in a “correct” manner, one worthy of her high level of self-esteem. Her caretaker had the ability to put the insights and suggestions from our session into action immediately. My role was to provide prayerful intent, which, like a radio, fine tunes and amplifies the link between the good intention of a person, the challenges faced by an animal she loves, and the mystery of the Divine.

What qualifies as prayer?
Intention means fixing the mind to a particular outcome. Prayer can be offering devout, sincere praise or thanks to God (or any vision of a higher power), or making a petition or request for something in a humble manner. These two words have only subtle distinctions and seem to stem from the same core. In my mind, the intentions of our thoughts can be considered prayers. Most of us want “what’s best” for our animal companions, just as we want our human loved ones to be safe from harm and illness. Directing our thoughts of safety and wellness toward others is what’s known as intercessory prayer, and there have been a number of scientific, double-blind studies confirming that this kind of prayer can have power.

One of the most frequently reported studies, published in 1988, showed that heart patients who were prayed for had fewer complications than patients who did not receive prayers, even though the patients in the study did not know which group they were in (the prayer or no-prayer group).

Mental energies
A more recent report, published in the December 15, 1999 Western Journal of Medicine, confirmed the power of intercessory prayer. The study, conducted at the California Pacific Medical Center’s Complementary Medicine Research Institute, focused on 40 patients with advanced AIDS symptoms. For each patient, the organizers of the study recruited “volunteer healers,” people who would focus their mental energies on a single patient’s health and well being for one hour a day, six days a week, for 10 weeks. The healers were given only each patient’s first name and photograph, and the sessions were organized on a rotating basis with different patients being treated by a different healer each week.

The volunteer healers, who had not met the patients receiving their treatments, worked long distance from various locations throughout the United States and Canada. Between themselves they had an average of 17 years experience and represented eight different healing traditions including Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Native American, and Shamanic, as well as graduates of bioenergetic and meditative healing schools. Following the same rigorous criteria for double-blind studies established by the FDA for the approval of new drugs, neither the patients nor their physicians knew who would receive the distant healing. Since this method removes the possibility of the outcome being influenced by a belief or intention, doctors conducting research in this manner work under the assumption that the information collected provides more accurate results.

As this study drew toward its close the data showed that the patients who received long distance healing experienced fewer and less severe illnesses, a decreased need for hospital visits and had longer periods of improved mental outlook and emotional disposition. The conclusion establishes that healing through intention produced documented, substantial improvements in patients with advanced AIDS symptoms.

The science of prayer
At a 1998 course on “Spirituality and Healing in Medicine,” David Larson, of the National Institute for Healthcare Research, called the power of faith the “forgotten factor,” and says that it has been “neglected and mishandled” because of scientists’ attitudes toward religion. He also joked that such research can be called “the anti-tenure factor,” because if you study it, “you can actually go backward” in your career.

But the fact that the conference, sponsored by the Mind/Body Institute and the Institute of Religion at the Texas Medical Center, drew some 700 medical professionals to learn about the healing practices of several faiths, may be a sign that even scientists are opening their minds to the practice of prayer. William Tiller, Ph.D., a physics professor at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California, might seem at first glance to be an unlikely advocate of the power of something as obscure as prayer. However, his studies of quantum physics have led him to believe that one can explain consciousness mathematically, and that the power of thought can have a measureable effect on physical reality.

In his book, Science and Human Transfomation: Subtle Energies, Intentionality, and Consciousness, Dr. Tiller describes his studies of the fundamental subatomic building blocks of our universe and the processes which involve the transference or transformation of energy between these particles in an atomic or molecular state. Professor Tiller says that he has seen evidence which draws his attention toward the elusive link between thought and matter. “I think that consciousness will eventually be discovered to be a quality of the universe that has the capability of generating radiations which eventually beget matter,” Tiller says. Intention, he says, is “a desire to imprint from the level of Spirit.” Dr. Tiller has reported that he is convinced that even DNA (the genetic codes that make us who we are and instruct each cell in our body to perform their unique functions) are susceptible to intention.

Intercessory prayer
I have found that even though my clients usually have a desired result in mind when they ask for my help with an animal, I do not focus on any specific outcome. Instead, I pray that the situation be resolved in a way which provides the highest good for all concerned. In his book Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, author and medical doctor Larry Dossey calls this type of request an “open-ended prayer,” and claims that these open-ended prayers are the most powerful of all.

In Healing Words, Dr. Dossey describes a simple study of seeds that had been soaked in salt water before planting. This practice is harmful to most plants. The seeds were then divided into three groups. The first group received no prayers whatsoever. The second group received prayers of a very specific nature, with predetermined outcomes offered for them. These intentions directed the seedlings to reject the salt water, grow sound and plump, and encouraged them to grow to a certain height.

The third group received an open-ended prayer, to wit: “We surrender these seeds to the goodness of the universe, so they may manifest their highest potential and whatever is in the highest good.”

Dossey reports that the seeds that received no prayers died. The ones that received prayers pinpointing specific requirements and outcomes did much better; most sprouted and actually grew a little bit. However, the seeds that simply had open-ended, good intentions wished for them surpassed the others. Comparatively, those that received the attachment-focused prayers grew only a fraction when compared to the seeds that had been tenderly and lovingly surrendered to their highest good in the universe.

These results demonstrate the importance of being unattached to the outcome occurring in a specific way. Letting go of these ideas helps us build more trust in the process of life. This also allows the unpredictable synchronicity of life to provide us with an outcome that often surpasses our plans.

Emotional detachment
Acquiring the ability for being detached is vital when our intentions are focused on the well being of another we love dearly. Caring for and about an ill or emotionally unwell animal companion can be upsetting. The intense emotional waves rising within us are an integral part of us which must be accepted and honored in order to heal. But as physical beings, we must learn the value of expressing these powerful shifts appropriately, or they can begin directing our thoughts and actions.

When contacted to help with situations that can involve behavior, communication, or health imbalances, I stress that each individual (person or animal) chooses their own path to wellness. I cannot predict what their needed time frame will be. Some move forward one step at a time over a period of weeks or months; others benefit from annual check-ins. These situations produce the best results when periodic infusions of focused healing are provided. Others achieve such dramatic improvements that their stories of recovery are often described as miraculous.

Two years ago when Brightdot’s caretaker asked for my assistance, she was considering euthanasia for the older female Spaniel mix. Brightdot had endured the results of a stroke for several months. Watching her stumble when she walked, having difficulty getting up, and shifting into periods of mental confusion were sad indications that her quality of life was decreasing. Simply supporting the weight of her medium-large frame was strenuous for the Spaniel, and her guardian, who had cared for Brightdot since puppyhood, felt limited in being able to help lift or carry her.

I believe that each time I connect with an animal the work is Divinely guided. Every situation is unique in how I am led to help resolve the existing challenges for the highest good of all concerned. In this situation, Brightdot clearly had an underlying zest for life which aided her in completely transforming her situation. Within a few weeks her caretaker told me, “After your session with her all her problems just went away.”

Trust the outcome
What happens when prayers appear to go unanswered? I think that when the intentions of our prayers – important ones – are passed over, the answers we seek are still within us, not outside of us. Each individual is a unique blend of his or her past, present and hopes for the future, as well as physical, emotional, mental and spiritual qualities. Our attempts at communicating with the Divine can bring us moments of crystal clarity where we know, as if by instinct, what our Higher Self is directing us to do, while at other times we wander without direction or intent. What we believe, choose to turn away from, or are drawn toward is a significant part of our personal growth and development. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, we carry with us the ability to return to our Source whenever we want. There are numerous religious and spiritually based practices which provide an opportunity for each of us to discover our own path.

The years have given me an approach for coping with the sense of disappointment that I used to experience when my carefully offered prayers rise like wisps of smoke, never to be heard from again. Although some insight can be gained from briefly asking why things turned out a certain way, little is gained by digging deeply into this question. Of course, each individual chooses his own path to wellness, even when his instinctive need is different from our desired intentions.

After moving through this, I accept the situation more and can begin relying on trust. I trust that the existence of synchronicity in our universe, which defies explanation, will prevail. I have an unquestioning belief that everything does happen for the highest good of all concerned. I have developed this understanding because I hold hope that one day I may be given clearer perceptions of why things happened the way they did. Through having repeatedly received the gift of hindsight, I have come to know that our perceptions limit us by only allowing us to see a small corner of the total view. Our spiritual petitions, giving acknowledgment, thanks or asking for help, serve as a vehicle for connecting us with the mystery of the infinite. Through this link we receive insights which help us grow in the knowledge that we are all a part of something much greater than ourselves . . . and sometimes our prayers are answered along the way.

-By Leslie Morán

Rev. Leslie Morán describes herself as a holistic animal intuitive and a natural animal care educator from Truckee, California. She is also a Reiki Master Teacher.

Why a Reliable Recall Is So Important

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Caper was a Spuds McKenzie-style Bull Terrier mix – white with a rakish black eye. She spent the first 18 months of her life running free in the small California coastal community of Bolinas, where resident dog owners eschewed leashes and threw bottles at trucks driven by animal services officers. As happens all too often with dogs who are given too much freedom, the energetic terrier got into trouble – she nipped a small child who tried to play with her on the beach. I adopted Caper upon her release from bite quarantine at the Marin Humane Society more than 20 years ago, and immediately enrolled her in an obedience class.

Caper excelled in class despite the fact that in those days I was still using compulsion-based methods. It seemed to me at the time that the vigorous yanks that I applied to her leash and choke collar didn’t dampen her enthusiasm for training in the slightest. When we ventured into the obedience competition ring she was always in the ribbons.

Her recall in the ring was superb. On the judge’s instructions, I would leave her in a sit-stay, march to the opposite side of the ring, wait for the judge’s signal, and then issue the clarion call, “Caper, come!”

Caper would rocket across the ring and slam her compact, muscled body into an unerringly straight sit at my feet, gazing into my eyes with adoration and anticipation. My next command invariably sent her into another faultlessly straight sit at heel position to complete the exercise – a picture-perfect show-ring recall.

Outside of the ring, however, the picture wasn’t quite so perfect. If Caper was within 40 to 50 feet of me, my “Caper, come!” command worked – a good 98 percent of the time. If she was farther away, however, the word “come” more often than not served to lend wings to her heels as she fled directly away from me on some compelling Bull Terrier mission. Was it a coincidence that our show-ring recall was also performed at a distance of about 40 to 50 feet? I doubt it.

I stumbled over a solution to Caper’s recall problem totally by accident. I acquired an Australian Kelpie – a breed with intensely strong herding instincts. Whenever Keli the Kelpie heard the note of hysteria in my “Come!” command that meant Caper was running off again, she would charge after the errant terrier on her lightning fast Kelpie legs and forcefully herd her back to me. Problem solved.

This, however, is not the solution I would use now, and it’s certainly not the one that I can offer my clients today for teaching their dogs a reliable “Come.”

Still a four-letter word
“Come” is perhaps the most important behavior we can teach our dogs – and the most difficult one. The average dog owner spends far too little time teaching “Come” as an exercise. We tend to use it mainly in real life, in situations when we really need the dog to respond, and then we get upset if he doesn’t. When does the average dog owner usually call her dog? When the dog is doing something he’s not supposed to do – something that is infinitely more fun and rewarding than returning to his human.

“Let me see,” ponders Rover for a tenth of a gigasecond. “Chase the deer or go back to my person, who sounds like she’s mad at me, and who is probably going to put me in the car and take me home? Roll in the dead squirrel or go back to my person? Eat horse poop or go back to my person?” The person loses every time! To make matters worse, she starts to use an angry tone of voice when she calls Rover, and “Come” quickly becomes a four-letter word. Rover learns, like Caper did, to run away from people when they use the bad “Come” word.

There is a much better way. If we condition Rover respond to a “Come” cue that means “wonderful things are happening here!,” even if the “wonderful thing” isn’t really as good as eating horse poop, prior positive conditioning can triumph over the allure of tasty horse poop, chasing deer, and perfuming oneself with dead squirrels.

We want our dogs to think that “Come!” is the best thing in the whole world. We do this by teaching a positive association with the come cue, and by making sure that the consequences of coming are ALWAYS positive. We NEVER punish Rover for coming to us, and we never resort to intimidation and threats to make Rover come to us.

Punishment is anything that Rover doesn’t like. This means that if Rover doesn’t like having his nails trimmed, don’t call him to you, evil nail clippers in hand, then nab him for a manicure when he arrives. If you do, you’ve punished him for coming, and he will be a bit more leery about coming to you the next time he is called. If Rover stays in the back yard while you are gone all day at work, but he’d really rather be in the house, calling him to you and tossing him in the back yard just before you leave for work is punishment.

Of course, you do need to trim his nails, and perhaps you do need to put him in the yard when you leave, so what are you supposed to do? You have several choices. You can call him to you, do something very fun for 10 to 15 minutes, and then say, “Oh, by the way, as long as you’re here, let’s trim your nails.” This way, the “bad thing” is far enough removed from being called that he won’t make the association between the two. If you do this too often, however, there is a danger that he may start to realize that bad things often follow being called, especially in a certain context, such as your preparations to leave for work.

You can also walk up to Rover, wherever he happens to be, feed him a treat, take hold of his collar and proceed to trim nails – although if you do this too often with negative things he will learn to move away when you approach. The most elegant solution is to convince him that nail trimming and going in the back yard are wonderful things, so that calling him to you to do those things is a good thing, not a bad thing. If you make it a point to go out in the yard and play with Rover before you leave, he will think going in the yard is wonderful. If you gradually desensitize Rover to the nail clippers with yummy treats, he may never love having his nails trimmed, but at least it will seem more good to him than bad. Meanwhile, you need to teach Rover to come on cue as a fun game, totally separate from doing negative things. Here’s how:

Short-distance, low-distraction come
Start with short-distance recalls in a low-distraction environment – a quiet room in the house – where you are by far the most exciting thing happening. Have a handful of over-the-top tasty treats that Rover doesn’t get during regular training sessions, such as squeeze cheese, string cheese, bits of ham or roast beef, baby food, or anything else that will really make Rover’s eyes light up. With Rover just a few feet away from you, say his name in a cheerful tone of voice. When he looks at you in response to his name, run backwards several steps and say the word “Come!” – also in a very happy voice. The message implied by your tone should be, “Hey, we’re having a party over here, and you’re invited!” Be sure to run backwards. Running triggers a dog’s chase instincts and increases your attraction potential to Rover severalfold over standing boringly still.

As soon as Rover starts moving toward you, use a reward marker that has already been paired with food, such as the Click! of a clicker, or the word “Yes!” You are marking the behavior of coming toward you, and letting Rover know that moving toward you has earned him a reward. This will also enhance the “Come,” since Rover is likely to hurry faster toward you to get his treat after he hears the clicker.

As Rover approaches, stop moving, and tell him what a wonderful dog he is. If he sits easily for you, lift the treat as he arrives at your feet. (Do not ask him to sit.) If he sits, great! Feed him the treat and tell him he’s fantastic. If not, go ahead and give him the treat anyway, and tell him he’s wonderful. It’s nice if our dogs sit when they come to us. It parks them briefly, so we can restrain them if necessary, and it is also much better than coming to us and jumping up. If sitting is a challenge for Rover, however, and we get into a sit-struggle when he comes, then we are punishing him for coming, and come is no longer positive and fun. If Rover doesn’t sit easily, give him the treat just for coming, and make a mental note to work on sit as a separate exercise.

Medium to long distance, low-distraction come
When Rover is happily playing the short-distance come game with you, gradually start increasing the distance between you and Rover when you call him. Remember to mark the desired behavior – coming toward you – with a Click! or “Yes!” as he is coming toward you, to encourage him to keep coming for his treat reward. Be sure to use lots of enthusiastic praise as well, to keep the party attitude.

The “round-robin” come
Now that Rover thinks that “Come” is a fun thing, you can include friends and family in the training game. Have several people in the room, each with a clicker and a handful of equally tasty treats. Take turns calling Rover, in no particular order. Each person Clicks! and treats Rover as he arrives, then another person calls him.

Note: If one person in a group calls Rover, the other people must ignore him if he comes to them instead. No eye contact, no petting, no treats, no talking to him. He’ll quickly learn that only the person who called him has any rewards.

Adding mild distractions
Here’s where most people start to lose the training game. Rover comes beautifully in the house, therefore, he knows what “Come” means and he is trained to come when called – right? Wrong! He is beautifully trained to come when he is called, in the house, if there is nothing more interesting around. Now we have to teach him to come in other places, even when there’s other good stuff happening.

For this exercise, put Rover’s leash on. You are not going to jerk him with it, you are just going to use it to prevent him from being rewarded for going somewhere else when you call him. Start small. Have a friend moving around in the room while you practice short-distance recalls. (Each time you change the rules of the game, go back to short recalls and gradually increase the distance.) Instruct your friend to ignore your dog if he approaches her instead of coming to you. When Rover responds to your “Come” cue even with mild distractions, drop his leash and start increasing the distance, until he will romp to you across the room, even with another person, a ball, a cat, or a child in his path. When he will do this, you’re ready to take the show on the road.

Adding major distractions
Until now, we’ve been working indoors. Outdoors is a whole new ballgame. There are all kinds of wonderfully enticing things for Rover to pursue outdoors – great things to smell, eat, see, chase, roll in – you are going to have to work very hard to make yourself more interesting than the nearest dead squirrel. Arm yourself with your tastiest treats, and go back to square one – short distance recalls on-leash. If you’ve done your homework well in less distracting environments, Rover will catch on quickly, and your progression to longer distance and Round-Robin recalls will happen much faster than your initial training. As you increase the distance, use a long-line to prevent Rover from getting rewarded by getting to run off and enjoy an unanticipated distraction.

Advanced recall challenges: The “Premack Principle”
The greatest challenge of “coming-when-called” is the reality that there will always be something out there that is more enticing than whatever we can offer Rover. In order to overcome this challenge, we use the Premack Principle, which teaches Rover that in order to get the wonderful thing at location “B,” he has to come to us first at location “A”. That is, if he wants to chase the squirrel up a tree, he comes to us first when we call him, then we let him go chase the squirrel.

You can teach your dog the Premack concept through controlled exercises. Start by having a friend stand with Rover, 20 feet away from you. The friend has a handful of yummy treats, and lets Rover sniff and lick her hands, but does not give him any treats. Call Rover to you. It may take a while for him to decide that he’s not going to get any treats from your friend. That’s okay – just keep calling him in your happiest party voice. If necessary, squeak a squeaky toy, jump up and down – do whatever you need to do to get Rover interested in you. When he starts to come to you, Click!, and feed him treats when he arrives. Your friend should follow behind him, and give him her treats after he eats yours. He gets a double reward for coming to you – your treats and her treats. When he will do this exercise easily, he’s ready for the advanced Premack challenge.

Empty a can of canned food (or something equally smelly and attractive that is not his normal food), and set it off to the side. Have your friend stand behind the plate with a bowl that she can use to cover the plate. Show Rover the plate of cat food, then put him on a sit-stay about 20 feet from the plate. Walk 20 feet away from Rover in a different direction so that you, the plate (and your friend) and Rover form the points of an equilateral triangle. Now call Rover. If he comes to you, great! Good boy, Rover! Mark that behavior (Click! or “Yes!”), give him a treat, and then run with him over to the bowl of special food and let him have a healthy mouthful.

But if he heads for the plate first, have your friend quickly cover the plate with the bowl to prevent him from eating the food. Keep calling him until he gives up on the cat food and comes to you. Good boy, Rover! Click!, treat, and run back with him to the plate for a mouthful of food. Keep practicing until he figures out that the onlyway to get the cat food is to come to you first. Now you and Rover are starting to achieve a really reliable recall!

A few final recall tips
If you are working with a dog like Caper, who already has a negative association with the word “Come,” you might want to switch to a new recall word. Some dog owners use “Close” or “Here.” You can use any word you want – it doesn’t have any meaning for Rover until we associate it with the “come” behavior. Just be sure to keep the new word positive, or you’ll be looking for yet another one.

Make a real commitment to teaching your dog a positive “Come.” It doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it can take two or three years to teach Rover to come reliably in the face of his most enticing distractions – if you work at it; it doesn’t happen all by itself.

Meanwhile, don’t put your dog in a situation where his lack of reliable recall can endanger his life. That is, don’t take him off leash in places where he can run away and get into trouble, like I foolishly did with Caper. I was extremely lucky that Caper never got into serious trouble when she ran off, and I was fortunate to find a serendipitous solution to Caper’s recall challenge.

Caper has long since died – of old age, not from a failed recall, thank goodness. I would love to have her back again, to show her how much fun “coming when called” can be, but of course, I can’t. I’ll just have to make it up to her through all of my current and future dogs, through all of my clients’ dogs who come to me for training, and through you, the WDJ reader who can teach your dogs positive, reliable recalls. Let the recall games begin.

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