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Advanced Dog Training Methods: How to “Fade” Prompts and Lures

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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FADE TRAINING LURES: OVERVIEW

1. Examine your training routines with your dog to identify where you use prompts.

2. Determine which prompts you are using appropriately in the early stages of training a new behavior, and which ones are candidates for fading.

3. Create a written training program for each prompt you’d like to fade. How will you go about it? What results do you expect?

4. Implement your prompt-fading programs. Keep a daily journal to monitor your progress. Celebrate each time the two of you succeed in fading your prompts from another behavior!

Old-fashioned trainers – those who use physical corrections as a moderate or significant part of their training programs – often criticize positive training, saying that “foodies” (positive trainers) have to bribe their dogs to get them to do things. This is a shallow, shortsighted view of a powerful, effective tool.

It’s true that in the beginning stages of positive training we do use treats, also known as lures, to show the dog what we want him to do. Some positive trainers also use visual signals and gentle physical assistance as “prompts” to communicate with the dog.

A woman walks in a grassy field with a dog walking at her side
It’s impressive when you can get your dog to sit, lie down, or walk calmly at your heel with just a word or hand signal. More importantly, this accomplishment demonstrates that your dog really does understand your cue; he’s not dependent on a certain context or combination of conditions and body language to “guess at” your intent.

But in a good training program, as soon as the dog performs a behavior easily for a prompt or lure, the trainer proceeds to put the behavior on cue. A cue is the primary signal (or stimulus) you use to ask your dog to perform a behavior. When a dog performs a behavior on cue quickly, anywhere, and under a wide variety of conditions, the behavior is said to be under stimulus control.

Many novice dog owners never make it past luring and prompting. As long as they’re satisfied with that level of training, it’s perfectly okay that they will always have to point, clap, or use a treat to get their dogs to perform. It’s their relationship, and their choice as to how well and clearly they want to be able to communicate with their dogs.

However, there is a huge advantage to working with your dog, gradually fading your lures and prompts and teaching your dog to respond to verbal cues or hand signals, until she can reliably perform certain behaviors on cue. Having your dog respond to cues without prompts gives you more security and versatility in your training; your dog will respond even if she can’t see you, or your arms are full of groceries. With enough practice, your dog will even be able to respond appropriately to your cue while “tuning out” potentially dangerous distractions – say, a squirrel chattering at the foot of a tree across a busy street.

If you would like to move on to the next level of training and communication with your dog, by working to “fade” your lures and prompts and teach your dog to respond to verbal cues or hand signals, read on!

Taking Off Your Dog’s Training Wheels

Your dog is pretty well trained. You point to the floor and say “Down!” Your dog instantly drops to the floor. You ask her to sit as you touch her on her back, and she happily responds by settling onto her haunches. You hold a piece of hot dog over her head and say “Up!” and she lifts her front paws off the ground in a lovely performance of “Sit pretty.” Your friends and family are in awe of your training prowess, and comment on how well-trained your dog is. But is she, really?

From one perspective, she certainly is. She knows how to perform a long list of behaviors, and will oblige you by doing them when you ask her to. But from another perspective, she’s not. For each behavior, you’re relying on back-up information to help your dog understand the cue and perform the behavior. You are using prompts.

Prompts are vitally important dog training tools. We use them all the time when we train a new behavior. A lure is something the dog wants – a treat or toy – that you can use to demonstrate to her what you want her to do, by moving it and having her follow. Because dogs are not native speakers of our language, you can use a piece of hot dog or some other tasty tidbit as a “translator” to explain the behavior you want. Because dogs are natural body language communicators, they respond easily to physical and visual prompts.

Anything you use to back up your initial cue is considered a prompt. A food lure is a very obvious prompt. Gentle physical assistance (for example, a light touch on the dog’s back to tell her to sit) is a less obvious but still very visible prompt. Hand signals are cues if they are the initial request for a behavior, but are prompts if they follow or closely accompany the initial verbal cue, such as pointing at the floor when you ask your dog to lie down. Consciously or unconsciously, all of us also use many more subtle prompts, such as eye contact (or lack of eye contact), the way we stand or move, the position in which we hold our hands or tilt our heads – all of these can be backup communications to our dogs when we give them a verbal cue.

The important thing to keep in mind when using lures and prompts is that the longer you continue to use them after your dog has learned a new behavior, the more dependent you both become on them, and the harder it will be to teach her to respond to a verbal cue alone.

Karen Pryor’s Four Rules of Stimulus Control

Karen Pryor is a scientist with an international reputation in two fields (marine mammal biology and behavioral psychology), and the author of many scientific papers and monographs, as well as seven books on animal training.

In her landmark book, Don’t Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training, Pryor suggests that a behavior is not truly under stimulus control unless or until it meets four conditions:

1. The behavior always occurs immediately upon presentation of the conditioned stimulus (the dog sits when told to).

2. The behavior never occurs in the absence of the stimulus (during a training or work session the dog never sits spontaneously).

3. The behavior never occurs in response to some other stimulus (if you say “Lie down,” the dog does not offer the sit instead).

4. No other behavior occurs in response to this stimulus (when you say “Sit,” the dog does not respond by lying down or by leaping up and licking your face).

In reality, very few dogs are under total stimulus control – particularly as proven by Ian Dunbar’s “sit test.” I consider stimulus control as more of a goal that you are always working toward with your dog.

Take the “Sit Test”

Originally developed by Ian Dunbar, a  trainer and behaviorist based in Berkeley, California, the purpose of the sit test is to provide an objective assessment of performance reliability for basic behavior cues. This helps to remind us that, frequently, we think our dog “knows” a behavior when, in fact, it’s more likely that our dog knows the behavior reliably in response to our cue (under stimulus control) in a relatively limited scope. To wit: Most of us think our dogs know “sit.” Take the test and see how true this is!

Note: The following test is not the same as the one originally developed by Dunbar, but serves a similar purpose.

1. Front sit: Dog sits on cue facing handler

2. Side sit: Dog sits on cue at handler’s side

3. Chair sit: Dog sits on cue with handler sitting in chair

4. Floor/back sit: Dog sits on cue with handler sitting on floor with back to the dog

5. Handler down/sit: Dog sits with handler lying down on floor

6. Down-sit: Handler tells dog to down and stay, steps six feet away, cues dog to sit

7. Across-the-room sit: Helper takes leash, walks dog across room and drops the leash; handler cues dog to sit

8. Come-sit: Helper takes leash, walks dog across room away from handler, and drops leash; handler calls dog; cues dog to sit when dog reaches halfway point.

A result of 80 percent reliability or better (if your dog sat on the first try in 6-8 of these) is considered excellent. If he sat for 4-5 of them (60-70%), that’s good. You both need work if he responded to the “sit” cue in less than half of the exercises.

Fading the Prompt

In order to fade a prompt, whether it’s a lure or a physical or visual prompt, you need to help your dog fully understand the meaning of the cue itself. At this point in your training the verbal cue is often irrelevant to the dog. It makes you feel good to say “Down,” when you point to the floor, and you may think your dog “knows” the word, but here’s an experiment you can try to see if your dog really understands. Point to the floor without speaking. Chances are your dog will lie down. Now say “Down” without pointing to the floor. Chances are your dog will stand there with a happy look on her face, waiting for you to translate. She doesn’t really understand the word.

If she lies down without the point, then she does understand the word, and you don’t need to point to the floor every time you ask her to lie down. You can fade your prompt just by discontinuing its use, and/or you can also use the “point” as your primary hand signal cue for down, and disassociate its use from the word.

Let’s assume your dog didn’t lie down on your verbal cue. Right now, she knows and understands the “point to the floor” cue as the stimulus for the behavior of “lie down.” In order to give meaning to a new cue, the new cue must consistently precede the known cue. That means every time you ask her to down, you’ll need to use your verbal “Down” cue first, give her a few seconds to think and respond, and then use your “point” cue if she doesn’t respond to the verbal. It’s as if you’re saying, in canine shorthand, “Dog, the word ‘Down’ means the same thing as when I point to the floor.”

Some dogs catch onto this translation very quickly, others take some time. If you don’t feel you are making good progress, try these two things:

• Wait longer after you give the verbal cue before you give the prompt. As long as she’s still focused on you and the wheels seem to be turning in her doggie brain, have patience, and give her time to think it through. If you lose her attention, try again with another verbal cue, but don’t wait as long to prompt. Experiment with varying waiting times before giving the prompt. The longer you’ve been prompting, the more repetitions and practice sessions it may take her to catch on to the new concept.

• Gradually fade the prompt itself. Give your verbal cue, wait a few seconds, then point, but point less than you normally do. If your pointing finger usually ends up nine inches from the floor, stop 12 inches from the floor and see if she lies down. If she does, do several repetitions at 12 inches, then try stopping your point 15 inches from the floor. Gradually diminish your point until you are no longer pointing at all.

You can follow this fading program for any of the prompts you use. If you usually get her to sit by touching her back, say “Sit” first, then give her time to think and respond. If she doesn’t sit, go ahead and touch her back, but more lightly than normal, to elicit the sit. You’re saying, “Dog, the word ‘Sit’ means the same thing as this touch on your back.” Gradually fade the amount of pressure in the touch until you aren’t touching her at all.

Dogs Communicate with Body Language

When you’re fading your prompts, remember that your dog doesn’t know the word – she only knows the prompt. Dogs communicate primarily through body language, and it can be difficult for them to learn words, especially at first. It’s easy to get frustrated – spoken language seems so simple to us – but have patience. She’ll get it. Once you work through a couple of prompt-fading exercises it will come more and more easily with each new cue you teach her. I often wonder how frustrated our dogs get with us because we’re so dimwitted about understanding their body language!

Most dogs think the cue for “sit” is a combination of a person standing in front of them with treats in her hands, looking right at them, speaking loudly, gesturing strangely, perhaps only in the house.

In fact, if you watch your dog closely, she may give you body language clues that she’s beginning to understand the word. Many dogs, when they are starting to grasp the concept of “down,” will glance at the floor when they hear the verbal cue, as if they are saying, “I know that word has something to do with ‘down there,’ but I’m not exactly sure what.” Take heart; this means your message is getting through!

When you see her glance at the floor, tell her “Good girl!” and help her with your prompt. You’re telling her “That’s it!” Remember that it will speed her learning if you use a marker – such as a click! of a clicker or a verbal “Yes!” – and give her a treat when she lies down, even if you had to prompt.

Another body language message she may send you is to go partway down and stop, then look up at you. She’s saying. “Is this it? Is this what you mean?” Again, you’ll speed her learning if you acknowledge her question with a “Good girl!” and a prompt to help her lie down the rest of the way. Then click! and treat.

Note: It’s important not to click! and treat until she is all the way down. Your “Good girl!” tells her she’s on the right path; the click! and treat mark the performance of the complete behavior. If you click! the partway behavior, she will think she is only supposed to go partway.

Be Mindful of Your Unintentional Prompts

Anything you do as a regular part of a behavior cue is an unintentional prompt. If you always have your dog facing you when you ask her to sit, then she’ll think facing you is part of the “Sit” ritual; your position is a prompt. If you always bend your knees and lean forward slightly when you ask your dog to lie down, those movements will be unintentional prompts that help to translate the verbal “down” cue to your dog.

If you took the “sit test” (see “Take the Sit Test,”, above) and learned that your dog is highly reliant on unintentional prompts, you now know how well your dog really knows the “Sit” cue. You can create similar tests for other behaviors, such as “Down” and “Come,” to help you discern whether your dog’s behaviors are really under good stimulus control.

But we want our dogs to sit whenever they hear “Sit!” – whether we have treats or not, whether we face them or not, no matter what position we are in, and whether we are inside or (especially!) outside.

Another helpful exercise is to have someone videotape you while you’re doing a normal training session with your dog. Watch the video afterwards, and pick out several body movements or positions that you consistently use with some of your commonly used cues. Now go back and work with your dog again, making a conscious effort to eliminate two or three of those cues. See if your dog is less responsive to your verbal cues when you take away your unintentional prompts.

If your dog doesn’t sit when you ask but seems otherwise focused on your training exercises, it’s likely that you’ve made a subtle change in your prompt. Many people in this situation jump to the erroneous conclusion that their dogs have chosen to deliberately defy them, and they give their hapless companions a “correction” for their “disobedience.” Poor dogs! If your dog stops performing a behavior you think she “knows,” examine your unintentional prompts and see what you might have changed.

Subtle prompts are not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. In fact, obedience competitors make good use of a wide variety of prompts to back up their legal obedience ring cues. Some make it a point to always start off on one foot if they are asking the dog to heel with them, the other foot if the dog has been asked to stay. Many competitors fold their arms across their chests to emphasize their stay “commands” from across the ring, while their arms are relaxed at their sides as required by obedience regulations for a recall from a stay. You may decide to use prompts deliberately on certain occasions as well – nothing wrong with that!

Fading Treats as Lures

Using treats in training is not “bribery.” In early stages of training as described above, treats are lures; after a dog knows how to perform a behavior, when given after the fact to reinforce that behavior, treats are rewards.

Still, there’s value in minimizing the use of treats so your dog doesn’t expect one every time she performs. When your dog gets a treat every time she sits (what’s called a continuous schedule of reinforcement), she comes to expect one every time she sits. Ask her to sit a few times without a reinforcer, and she may stop sitting on cue because it’s no longer rewarding to her to do so. When an animal stops performing a behavior, it’s called extinction.

When you gradually reduce the frequency of treats so that she gets them randomly and occasionally but not every time (in what’s called a random schedule of reinforcement) she’ll keep sitting when you ask because she knows it will pay off eventually – like putting quarters in a slot machine. Putting a behavior on a random schedule makes it very resistant to extinction and makes it more likely that your dog will respond when you need her to, even if you’ve run out of treats.

That said, I always try to have treats in my pockets so I can randomly reward my dogs for giving me behaviors that I ask for. They don’t get discouraged if they don’t receive a reward for one or two or even a bunch of behaviors, because they have learned that they can count on me to eventually reward them in some way.

Thanks to trainer Sandi Thompson of Bravo! Pup Dog & Puppy Training, in Berkeley, California, for modeling for the photos in this article.

Interactive Dog Toys and Instructional Learning Toys

By
Nancy Kerns
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by Pat Miller

First, there was Kong. Originally designed as a fetch item, the hard rubber toy bounced into the lead as a training tool when some enterprising dog person realized you could pack it full of yummy stuff as a doggie distractor. A food-filled Kong can be used to keep a dog occupied while you complete other tasks, or help him stay busy and content after you leave for work. Unstuffing the food is also a self-reinforcing activity, rewarding the dog for persisting in his efforts to chew, lick, and thump the treats free.

The past two decades have seen positive training methods rise to prominence, as well as an increase in number of dogs who spend their weekdays home alone. Not surprisingly, there has been a concomitant increase in the dog training industry’s interest in Kong and other interactive toys as tools to distract and occupy dogs – and to delight dog owners. In the past three or so years alone, there have been a dozen or more of these toys introduced to the market.

We collected as many of these toys as we could for testing and review. The Miller dog pack was very pleased and excited to be called upon to examine them.

The products we found fell into two groups: toys that, as with the Kong, you give to your dog, walk away, and let him lick and gnaw to his heart’s content (we’ll call them “leave ’em alone” toys); and “instructional learning” products, where the dog learns to perform a task, but needs you there to reset the puzzle so he can perform the task again.

Leave ’em alone toys
The Kong has long been king in this category (see “King Kongs,” WDJ October 2000). However, a new line of products from Premier (the “Busy Buddy Treat-Holding Rubber Chew Toys”) may be about to present a serious challenge to Kong. Premier has combined features from several popular dog toys into the five solid rubber products in this line. While not marketed as “indestructible,” the Busy Buddys are made of a tough yet forgiving rubber that will stand up to hours of abuse by most chewers. All are dishwasher safe. We like them a lot.

In our opinion, the best of the bunch is the purple Twist ’n Treat. The inviting rubber material and its innovative saucer shape make it a highly successful treat-dispensing toy. It’s a snap to load with its two-piece, twist-together design, and just as easy to clean. It can be twisted more tightly closed to slow the treat payout rate, or more open to pay out more generously. Blessedly, it lacks the irritating noisemaking capability of the hard plastic Buster Cube and Roll-A-Treat Ball (reviewed in “Treat-Dispensing Toys,” April 2002).

Tucker, our Cattle Dog-mix, was never assertive enough to make the Buster Cube work, but had this toy dispensing treats in mere seconds. With his gentle approach, a full load of treats lasted half an hour. Our more assertive Kelpie emptied the treats in five minutes (I should have screwed it tighter for her!) and then spent the next half-hour pushing it around, convinced there had to be more treats forthcoming.

The grooves in the surface of The Groove Thing, a marrow bone-shaped toy, are perfect for filling with soft cheese or peanut butter. The soft rubber is bonded to a tough, hollow, hard plastic core; this is intended to simulate chewy meat on a bone. The Groove Thing is messy when the grooves are filled with treat goo, so it’s best given to your dog when he’s in a crate, on a dog bed, or outside. All four of our test dogs gave this one an enthusiastic reception. It kept our Scottie busy for 45 minutes with no visible tooth marks on the surface.

The label warns that the ridges and grooves of the product can be chewed off in small pieces. If your dog is an aggressive chewer, we’d suggest choosing one of the sturdier products.

Our dogs immediately appreciated the cheese-fillable grooves on the ball-shaped ends of The Waggle, a dumbbell-shaped toy, but none of them were able to extract treats out of the ends; I could barely get them out when I went to clean it. This isn’t bad news, however, since they spent a good 30 minutes each licking out the cheese, and chewing the ends in pursuit of the treats inside. Big dogs may have more success with chewing on the ends, which have a nice give to them, thanks to the grooves.

The center bar of The Chuckle, a heavy dumbbell-shaped toy, contains a noisemaker; Premier assures us that it’s made of dog-safe components, in the unlikely event that the toy gets chewed open. The ball-shaped ends are hollow, and the holes at the ends have soft, inner-facing rubber prongs designed to randomly dispense treats. None of our dogs played with the toy violently enough to either make it “chuckle,” or to expel treats from the ends, not even Tucker, who likes to shake his pretend prey objects. He was happy to fetch the toy endlessly, however. It’s not interactive for all dogs, but a good choice for dogs who play very vigorously, with lots of shaking and chewing.

The Biscuit Bouncer is a football-shaped toy that, like Kong toys, bounces unpredictably. It’s a durable fetch toy, especially for dogs who are intrigued or aroused by random prey-like movement. Its treat-holding capacity is a little feeble to qualify it as an interactive toy, though, hence the two-paws rating. As a fetch toy we’d give it four paws.

All five of the Premier products can be found in local pet supply stores. Contact Premier to find a retailer near you.

Instructional learning toys
These are soft toys that require the dog to figure out how to operate puzzles, in reverse order from the way people work them; we put them together, dogs take them apart! You generally need to show, teach, or otherwise assist your dog in understanding the problem so he can solve it.

I was initially skeptical of the value of these toys, but I was pleasantly surprised with my dogs’ reaction to them. They are adorable, and offer a great gift-giving value. But more important, they are fun! I found myself having a great time as my dogs and I played with these products.

One caveat: Not all of the toys on the market that are described as “interactive” can meet that description. In our opinion, a toy that the dog simply pulls apart (such as a stuffed toy hamburger with sections that are Velcroed together) does not meet this definition. In our book, truly interactive toys require (and inspire!) the dog to think.

Hide & Seek, a whimsical stuffed cat, was our favorite of the instructional toys we tested. It’s actually a child’s toy – not made to resist chewing by a dog – so definitely not a candidate for unsupervised play.

As the name suggests, the toy is intended to be hidden. Before you hide it, squeeze the cat’s left paw to trigger a recorded voice that says, “I’m over here!” every 30 seconds for the next 15 minutes. A motion-detecting chip inside the toy triggers a new message (“You found me! You found me! Give me a big hug! Let’s play hide and seek again!”) when the toy is found and picked up.

You can teach your dog to find the toy by having him follow the voice to increasingly challenging hiding places. The unique concept is a great training aide to teach “Find it” behavior. It only took a couple of repetitions for our Scottie to understand the meaning of the “I’m over here!” cue (Find it = treat!), and in just minutes he was finding the cat in easy hides across the room.

The Plush Ring Puzzle Toy Frog, a little stuffed frog with three rings around his waist, is a great starter instructional toy. Hold the frog and encourage your dog to pull off a ring. Say “Yes!” and give him a treat when he does. When he drops the ring to eat the treat, pick it up and invite him to remove the next ring. When he gets the concept, give him the toy and see if he can remove the rings by himself.

By far the winner of the “cute” prize in our interactive toy category, the Hide A Squirrel stuffed hollow tree holds three little squirrels with squeakers. Let your dog play with the squeaky squirrels, then hide them in the tree and encourage him to pull them out. It’s more challenging than the frog above, but easily grasped by dogs who have learned to remove the frog rings.

Similar to the frog toy but more challenging, the long blue Intellibone has five rings that fit more snugly than the frog’s. Dogs have to work harder to pull these off.

The IQube is designed with the same concept as the squirrel toy; a dog has to burrow his nose into the soft cube to retrieve four plush, squeaky balls. It’s slightly more difficult to retrieve the balls than the squirrels, but not too hard.

The Egg Baby Turtle is very difficult to operate. Our Scottie, who mastered all the others in short order, hasn’t yet managed to retrieve the green plush eggs that fit very snugly into the turtle’s tummy. This toy might delight a more determined dog, or one who loves to pull the “guts” out of other toys. Also available in Dino, Duck, and Fish guises.

Keep Your Dog Cool and Hydrated This Summer

By
Mardi Richmond, CPDT-KA
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SUMMER PROTECTION OVERVIEW

What you can do…

– Never leave a dog in the car on a warm day, even in the shade and with the windows cracked.

– In hot weather, reschedule your dog walks for early morning or dusk. Carry water and offer it to your dog frequently.

– Keep your dog in the shade as much as possible. Use dog-safe sunscreen on light-haired and pink-skinned dogs.

Summer, my favorite season, is here. The long days provide me and my dogs with extra time to enjoy all our favorite activities: hiking, camping, long walks, and outdoor adventures. Of course, long summer days also bring the risk of heat exposure to dogs.

The consequences of a dog overheating can be very serious. Heatstroke, or hyperthermia, can occur quickly and the result can be deadly. By understanding how dogs keep cool – and what we can do to help – we can ensure our dogs don’t overheat, so we can all enjoy those dog days of summer to the fullest.

Keep Your Dog Hydrated

When Dogs Get Hot

You may have experienced those very hot days when every pore in your body oozes sweat. Sweating is a very effective cooling mechanism; the evaporation of the moisture on the surface of your skin cools your body.

But dogs don’t sweat the way we do, and their ability to cool off is much more limited. Dogs cool themselves primarily through the process of panting and breathing. When dogs pant, the air passing over the saliva in their mouths helps them cool. In addition, the lining of a dog’s lungs serves as an evaporative surface, much like our skin when we sweat. Blood vessels in the face, ears, and feet can also expand, helping to dispel heat from the body.

A dog’s body temperature is normally between 100.2° and 102.8° Fahrenheit. When a dog’s cooling mechanisms are overwhelmed, his body may no longer be able to cool itself adequately, and the dog can become overheated. Dogs who get too hot can suffer from dehydration, heat cramps, or heat stress. If a dog’s body temperature rises past 104°, he’s in serious danger. If the body temperature continues to rise above 106°, heatstroke can occur.

Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that can cause lethargy, weakness, collapse, seizure, coma, brain damage, and even death. If the body temperature reaches 109°, his heart, brain, liver, and kidneys can shut down.

Fortunately, heatstroke can be prevented. And if caught early, in its initial stages, it is reversible. An overheated dog is, quite obviously, a medical emergency. Even if you are able to cool the dog down, you should seek medical treatment if you suspect your dog has suffered from heatstroke. Problems associated with heatstroke – including kidney failure, respiratory arrest, abnormal heart rhythms, and seizures – do not always show up right away. Immediate veterinary treatment can help minimize the risks and save the dog’s life.

Heat Stress in Dogs

Dog’s can suffer from heat stress in just a few short minutes, even when the temperature doesn’t seem that hot to us. How will you know if a dog is at risk for overheating? There is not an exact answer to this question; it depends on the dog and the situation.

All dogs are at risk in extreme temperatures. But a dog who is accustomed to 90° weather may have less risk on a very hot day than a coastal pup vacationing in the Arizona desert. And, the air temperature is only one consideration: humidity, sun exposure (or lack of shade), amount of time in the heat, level of exertion, and availability of water can all affect how well a dog tolerates heat.

Certain types of dogs, including northern breeds like Malamutes or short-muzzled (brachycephalic) dogs like Pugs and Boxers, can have a more difficult time in the heat. Puppies under six months, older dogs, and overweight dogs can also have a much harder time when temperatures rise. Dogs on certain medications or with medical conditions like heart or lung disease will be more susceptible to heat exposure. A dog who has suffered from heat stress or heatstroke in the past is more likely to have problems again.

Plus, we’ve all met dogs who are driven to play or work no matter how tired or hot they get; think of a Border Collie at a Flyball match. Along with the outside temperature and humidity and the health of the dog, you have to take into consideration the dog’s personality and ability to stop himself from playing if he gets uncomfortable.

The best way to know if your dog is at risk for heat illness would be to monitor your dog’s body temperature; of course, this is not very practical in everyday life! You can also become familiar with how your dog responds to heat and the signals he gives that indicate he is getting hot. Panting more than usual, declining to engage in a favorite activity, moving slower than usual, searching for shade, or digging for a cool spot can all mean a dog is hot. If your dog is exhibiting any of these signs, it may mean he is already too hot and you should take immediate steps to help him cool off.

Biggest Risks for Heat Stroke

Leaving a dog in the car is one of the most common causes of heatstroke. On a relatively mild 70-degree day, for example, a closed car can heat up to 120° in a matter of minutes. Because dogs can’t cool off effectively while sitting in an oven-like car, they can quickly overheat. Cracking the windows or parking in the shade may not significantly reduce the car’s temperature.

Dogs can suffer heat exposure at home, too. On a warm day, a concrete dog run can heat up quickly. A backyard that lacks shade, or with fencing that blocks cooling breezes, may make the dog’s environment many degrees hotter than where you relax, comfortable, in the house. Neighborhood walks on warm days can also pose a risk. Hot asphalt and concrete can reflect heat, both creating an uncomfortable walking surface and increasing the risk of overheating.

Vacation time can pose extra risks for dogs. Vacations often lead us to different environments and climates – and often into the heat. Hanging out at a campsite, hiking on a warm day, even riding in a boat can put a dog at risk for heat-related illness. Beaches, especially if the dog is not inclined to cool off in the water, are also a risk. A dog traveling in the back of a car may get too much sun exposure through the window.

Keep Your Dog Hydrated

With the rise in dog sports, more us are asking our dogs to run, jump, and participate in other activities on hot summer days. Dogs, especially those who are keen for games or who desperately want to please us, may continue to play no matter how hot the day, or how overheated they are becoming.

Along with heat illness, dogs can get sunburned. Just like people, dogs with pale skin and light-colored fur are at greatest risk. Sunburn can increase the chance of heat illness. Regular sun exposure over the long term can cause skin damage and put your dog at risk for skin cancer. Areas commonly affected with sun damage are the ears, nose, and eyelids.

In addition, walking in exposed areas and visiting outdoor flea markets or street fairs add the risk of burning the dog’s paws. Hot paws can become sore or even blistered, and walking on a hot surface may add to the dog’s susceptibility to heat exposure.

Shade and Protect Your Dog

A lot of the methods for protecting your dog from heat stress are just common sense:

• Never leave your dog in a car on warm days.

• When it’s hot outside, bring your dog inside. If you need the air conditioning, chances are your dog does, too. If you must leave your dog outside, make sure he has plenty of shade, water, and ventilation.

• Never confine your dog or leave him crated in the sun. Use caution when leaving a crated dog under a shade awning, too. Remember that the sun moves and what was a shady spot can quickly become sun-baked.

• Provide rest breaks in the shade and plenty of water on all outdoor excursions.

• Avoid overexertion on hot or humid days. Even if your dog generally joins you on a walk or run, extreme temperatures call for a change in routine. Instead, walk, exercise, and practice dog sports early in the morning or late in the day when the temperature is cooler.

• A dip in cool water is one of the best ways for dogs (and people!) to cool off. Wet your dog with a hose, or provide water play like a sprinkler or a wading pool. You can also drape your dog with a wet bandana, towel, or T-shirt when it’s very hot.

• If you are going to a hot environment (such as on vacation in Arizona in the summer) consider purchasing a cool mat or other dog-friendly cooling aids. Be very aware of your dog’s response to the heat, provide extra water, and give him several days to acclimate before allowing him to be active.

• At the beach, be sure to provide a cool place (like a towel or blanket under the umbrella) for your dog, too.

• Limit sun exposure during the mid-day hours and use an animal-safe sunscreen on dogs with pink noses or exposed skin. (We found Pet Sunscreen for sale by Doggles, a Jackson, California-based company that also makes goggles for dogs. Call 866- DOGGLES or see doggles.com.)

• Be especially careful with older or high-risk dogs.

Clip the Dog’s Coat?

Expert recommendations vary on the topic of whether you should clip a dog’s coat to assist with heat management. The ASPCA suggests that for a double-coated dog (like a Chow), trimming the dog’s fur may help. But don’t shave the dog! Leave at least one inch of coat to provide some insulation and protection from sunburn. Generally, long-haired dogs with a single coat (like rough-coated Border Collies) should not be clipped, as their coats may not be dense enough to protect them from the sun when cut short.

First Aid for Heatstroke

Heatstroke, or hyperthermia, is when the body’s temperature rises too high. It can cause the heart, liver, kidney, and brain to shut down. A dog who experiences heatstroke can go into shock and may suffer irreversible organ damage.

In spite of your best efforts, there may be a time when you will have to deal with heatstroke. Know the signs of an overheated dog; first aid and immediate medical treatment are essential and can help save your dog’s life. Signs of heatstroke include:

– Excessive panting

– Increased heart rate

– Confusion or disorientation

– Vomiting or diarrhea

– Bright red gums

– Body temperature higher than 104° F

– Collapse, seizure, or coma

What to do:

1. Get your dog out of the heat immediately.

2. Begin cooling your dog down. The easiest way to cool a dog is to wet him down. Use a hose or wet towels. Do not use ice.

3. Get your dog to the vet immediately. You can continue cooling him with wet towels on the way.

4.If you cannot get to a veterinarian right away, monitor his temperature and check for signs of shock. Stop the cooling process when your dog’s temperature reaches 104° F. Do not continue cooling him or the body temperature could drop too low, increasing the risk of shock. Even if you are successful at cooling him off, take him to the vet anyway. Many medical problems caused by heatstroke won’t show up right away. Veterinary treatment is critical.

Water Fun and Safety

Want to cool off your dog on a hot summer day? Think a dip in a river, ocean, or lake is the perfect solution? It may be – especially for those water-loving pooches. But wait. Before you encourage your ball-crazed dog to swim to the middle of the river after his favorite orb, beware of the risks:

– Current, waves, and moving water can be dangerous for any dog, even a very strong swimmer. River currents can be deceptive. Even if the water appears to be moving slowly, the sheer volume of moving water can make it difficult for a dog to swim against the current. Wind and currents on a lake can likewise make for a difficult swim. Ocean waves and rip tides both pose serious dangers to the canine swimmer.

– Underwater hazards like hidden branches, plants, and debris can snag a dog.

– Cold water can cause a dog to tire out much more quickly than normal. A cold dog can develop cramps, lose energy, and be at risk for hypothermia (when a dog’s body temperature drops too low). Does all this mean you should keep your dog from swimming on a hot summer day? Of course not! Swimming is great exercise and water is a wonderful way to cool off when the temperature outside is hot. Just use good judgment!

– In an unfamiliar place, watch the water for a few minutes before allowing your dog to swim. Make sure the currents aren’t too strong. If they are, have your dog splash close to shore rather than dive in for a full swim.

– Check the water temperature. In a lake fed by snowmelt, for example, you may only want to allow a quick dip to keep your dog from getting too cold.

– Remove slip collars or training collars before your dog enters the water. These can snag on underwater obstacles.

– Never take your eyes off your dog when he is swimming. Watch to make sure he is not getting too tired and call him out of the water when he still has plenty of energy. A tired dog has a much higher risk of drowning.

Enjoy the Dog Days of Summer

None of us (including our dogs) want to give up summer fun or the enjoyment of a warm day. But a little awareness and a heavy dose of caution will help you protect your dog from heat illness.

Remember, when dogs get too hot, you can generally tell. They slow down, their tongues hang out, and they may even search for a spot in the shade. Most dogs, given the opportunity, will take steps to keep themselves cool on a warm day.

Our job is to make sure they have the opportunity to cool off and to be careful that we don’t ask them to work or play hard when the temperature is too warm for their bodies to handle. Make cooling activities part of your fun together! With a little caution, you and your dog can enjoy the “dog days” all summer long.

Mardi Richmond is a writer and dog training enthusiast who enjoys spending warm summer days hiking and playing with her two wonderful dogs, Jesse and Blue.

Why Punishment-Based Dog Training Doesn’t Work

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

Karen Overall is a scientist, and has a lot of science-based degrees: BA, MA, VMD and a Ph.D. She ran the Behavior Clinic for 12 of her 14 years at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and now is a research associate in the Penn Med psychiatry department.

I heard Dr. Overall give a four-hour presentation on the treatment of pathological anxiety in dogs at the 2003 Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference. She spent almost an hour talking about the structure and function of the dog’s brain, and more time discussing the chemical actions and reactions that accompany thought, memory, and learning in mammals. It was fascinating.

It was especially gratifying for me to hear Dr. Overall explain why and how teaching techniques that help pupils think in a calm manner are the most effective – and how stress and fear interfere with learning and memory. Later, I had an opportunity to ask Dr. Overall to answer a few short questions for our readers. –Editor

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Punishment Based Training

WDJ: Why is it a bad idea to use punishment when training a dog?

KO: First, because the punishment techniques that are most commonly used with dogs are not about teaching them something. Almost every person I have ever seen punish a dog was angry, hurt, disappointed, or embarrassed, and that’s why the dog got punished, not because the punishment was going to help the dog learn.

By definition, punishment is something that will decrease the probability of the occurrence of a certain behavior. Generally, this punishment involves something that is sufficiently startling or aversive so as to thwart the “problem” behavior. If the dog has benefitted from the behavior in the past, it will take even more startling or aversive punishment to override his expectation of getting that reward again.

Frequently, a punished dog stops attending to you; you become something to be avoided. And if you overstep and really scare the dog – even just once – you have taught him that you are a threat. It should not be a surprise that dogs learn through fear very quickly, and then try to avoid the thing that caused the fear response: you. The amygdala (the area of the brain that’s concerned with generating the fear response) and the hippocampus (the area that’s concerned with how information is processed and stored) sit right against each other. The circuits between the two are hard-wired, allowing dogs to learn avoidance behaviors very quickly. This makes sense, from an evolutionary standpoint. If you want to avoid a predator, hanging around and reasoning it out are not great survival strategies. Fear responses save your life, so they have to be constructed from a straightforward, direct, simple pathway.

Whether or not you end up teaching the dog what you wanted him to learn, he’ll learn that he shouldn’t trust you, and that humans are unpredictable.

WDJ: Why is it important to preserve a good relationship between dogs and people?

KO: Violence not only breaks our bond with dogs, it damages us, too. It affects how we deal with all of our relationships, with particularly worrisome implications for people with children. In my practice, I often see people who have used violent training techniques that have made their animals worse, and they are devastated. They are truly damaged by the terror they inflicted on their animals.

WDJ: Are there any circumstances in which using physical force with a dog is useful?

KO: No. The only circumstance in which I would hit a dog is if the dog was attacking, and I had to defend my life or the life of my human or animal family.

WDJ: Curiously, I have heard people use a similar argument when they advocate the use of shock collars. People argue, “This dog will have to go to the pound and probably be put down if his owners can’t contain him.” Is saving a dog’s life a good reason to use aversive training tools?

KO: Among my patients, all of the dogs who were “treated” with shock by their people became worse and ended up dead.

In my patient population, the single biggest risk factor that dogs have for euthanasia has nothing to do with their behavior. It turns out that if the clients have seriously considered euthanasia, the dogs end up dead. If they have said, “No, we absolutely will not consider euthanasia,” they do everything they can to rehabilitate the dogs – and the dogs get better.

Keep in mind that a shelter surrender is not always the worst thing that can happen to a dog. Some dogs, even dogs with serious behavior problems, do get adopted. They may be one of the lucky ones, like my dog Flash, who had a record of serious aggression when I got him – aggression that was aggravated, if not initiated, by physical abuse in the name of “training.” If they are really lucky, they will find a home where patient, consistent, intelligent handling will help them erase all those previous crimes.

WDJ: So, dogs and our relationship with them can recover from violence?

KO: Absolutely. I now use Flash to work with other dogs with behavioral problems and their damaged people; he’s a genius at this work. I would like to believe that the people who hung Flash by a choke chain are no longer part of his nightmares. I want to believe that that’s gone from him, that his recovery is complete. I hope with all my heart that’s true.

Epileptic Dogs Can Live Normally

By
Maureen Finn
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4

EPILEPSY IN DOGS: OVERVIEW

1. If your dog displays any behavior that resembles the seizures described below, immediately make an appointment with a veterinarian who has clinical experience with canine epilepsy for an examination and testing.

2. If your dog’s seizures are severe or frequent, he should be medicated as soon as possible. This does not preclude your exploration of complementary care. Keep your vet in the loop with all your treatments, as they may affect medication dosage.

Pleasantly slumbering in the early morning hours of a mid-November day with my dogs cozy and warm next to me, my bed began shaking, and I was jiggled half awake. Assuming one of the dogs must be scratching an ear in bed, I mumbled a barely conscious “Stop scratching!” But the jiggling continued. Someone must be chasing bunnies in a doggie dream. I sat up to wake the dreamer.

It turned out to be my male, Cutter, paddling at the end of the bed. He didn’t wake up when I put my hand on him and gave him a little shake, raising my voice to rouse him. I realized something was very wrong when his neck arched and he began choking, or so I thought. About the time my sleep-fogged brain figured out that what I was observing was not a dream, but a seizure, it was over. He lay quietly on his side for a few moments, then got up and leaped off the bed as if nothing had happened. This was my literal rude awakening into the world of canine epilepsy.

Epileptic Dogs

Types of Epileptic Seizures in Dogs

Seizures can occur for a variety of reasons across the whole range of ages, and are the most common neurological disorder found in dogs. Making the diagnosis of canine epilepsy is a process of elimination. If the seizures are caused by a structural abnormality, such as a lesion or brain tumor, they are called “secondary.” Those caused by injury are called “reactive.” Seizures whose cause cannot be determined are called “primary” or “idiopathic” (which means without cause), and this type, unfortunately, is the most common.

Idiopathic epilepsy in dogs usually occurs between one and five years of age. It affects virtually all breeds and is found regularly in mixed breeds as well. Genetic inheritance is a known contributor to the incidence of this disease. Epileptic dogs should never be bred, and responsible breeders will also remove progenitors of epileptic puppies from the breeding plan.

Epileptic seizures range from mild, even barely noticeable “focal” or “partial” seizures to generalized “tonic clonic” or “grand mal” seizures. Behaviors commonly seen with focal seizures include facial twitching or blinking (often affecting only one side of the face), “fly biting,” muscle tremors, and partial loss of motor control with one or more limbs buckling and an inability to coordinate movement. Focal seizures last from a few seconds to several minutes duration.

Classic generalized tonic clonic seizures can occur at any time, though they frequently happen when a dog is relaxed and quiet. (As I learned, waking up to a seizure in the middle of the night is not uncommon for owners of epileptic dogs.) If the dog is awake and moving about, the tonic phase will begin with the dog falling to his side, his legs stiffened, body rigid, and neck stretched out with the head back. At this point the dog is not conscious, though in general the eyes will be open. There may be facial twitching and involuntary vocalization, excessive drooling, and the dog will frequently void its bladder, bowels, and anal glands.

From here the seizure usually moves into the clonic stage, with rhythmic movements such as chomping jaws and paddling or jerking of the limbs. The dog may also grimace and appear to be choking, and often does not breathe for a short time. While the dog’s tongue and mouth may become blue from lack of oxygen, it is imperative that you do not insert your hand into the dog’s mouth, as the animal is not conscious and you risk being badly bitten as the seizure progresses.

The typical tonic clonic seizure lasts from one to three minutes. (If your dog experiences a seizure that lasts longer than four minutes, contact your vet or emergency clinic immediately.)

Experts say that dogs don’t experience what are known as “absence” or “petite mal” seizures in humans. These seizures occur as a temporary loss of contact without losing full consciousness. A person experiencing an absence seizure may stare blankly and blink for a short period of time, but little else. It is believed that, in dogs, what resemble “petite mal” seizures are actually focal seizures.

Needless to say, witnessing a generalized seizure in your pet can be somewhat traumatic for even the most seasoned dog owner. It is important to remain calm and not to exacerbate the seizure with alarmed emotions.

A dog experiencing a tonic clonic does not experience pain, though he may be anxious and disoriented upon regaining consciousness. The post-seizure period, known as “post ictal,” can also include mild or marked ataxia (weakness and uncoordinated gait), pacing, restlessness, and even temporary blindness. The dog may also be ravenous at this point; often, a small snack to raise his blood sugar will help to resolve the post ictal period.

Some dogs do not experience any noticeable post ictal period at all, others for only a few minutes, and some for several hours. The variations in seizure activity are basically as varied as the dogs who have them; no two are alike, even in the same dog.

Is Your Dog Predisposed to Epilepsy?

Epilepsy can occur in any breed, and in mixed breeds as well, but isn’t it mostly a purebred thing? The breeds affected include many of the most popular breeds, and in a 1997 survey of American Kennel Club national breed “Parent Clubs,” 22 breeds reported that epilepsy was one of their top five health concerns. In a collective ranking of 80 diseases, epilepsy came in third.

In a white paper from a symposium on canine epilepsy conducted at the 1997 AKC’s Canine Health Foundation Canine Health Conference, it was noted that “approximately one to six percent of purebred dogs has a seizure problem and most of this epilepsy seems to be genetic. The incidence of epilepsy varies tremendously by breed, with a very large number of breeds, at least 20, having a high incidence of hereditary epilepsy.”

Breeds with an established genetic basis for epilepsy include the Beagle, Belgian Tervuren, German Shepherd, Keeshond, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retreiver, Collie, and Welsh Springer Spaniel. Additional breeds with high numbers of epilepsy that is undoubtedly genetic in nature, but have not been studied in depth, include the Poodle (all three types), Boxer, Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, Irish Setter, Miniature Schnauzer, Saint Bernard, Siberian Husky, and Wire Fox Terrier. The white paper from the 1997 Symposium on Canine Epilepsy states that “Whenever enough data have been collected for analysis, the inheritance pattern has to be most compatible with recessive inheritance.”

Other breeds known to have a higher than average incidence of epilepsy include the Australian Shepherd, English Springer Spaniel, Boston Terrier, Shetland Sheepdog, and Border Collie.

But while we could find no studies that tracked incidence of canine epilepsy in mixed breeds, many veterinarians in an equally mixed practice (ratio of purebreds to mixed breed patients) report epileptic mixed breeds being nearly as prevalent as their purebred epileptics. One clinic reported that about 20 percent of their epileptic patients are mixed breeds, while another said the majority of their epileptics were mixed breed dogs. Obviously these figures are anecdotal and subjective in nature. However, it does hold true that mixed-breed dogs who have one or more parents of breeds known to have increased incidences of epilepsy will themselves suffer increased risk of epilepsy (i.e., German Shepherd mix, Collie mix, etc.).

The Canine Epilepsy Project is a collaborative study into the causes of epilepsy in dogs. It is supported by grants from the AKC Canine Health Foundation, National Institutes of Health, individual breed clubs, and private donations. Researchers are from the University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, and the Animal Health Trust in Great Britain, who are working together to discover the mutations (or markers) responsible for hereditary epilepsy in many breeds of dogs.

Participation by the owners of affected dogs and their relatives is essential to the success of this project. Researchers need DNA samples from dogs who have experienced seizures, and immediate relatives, both normal and affected. Specifically, samples from all available siblings, parents, and grandparents are needed. If the affected dog has been bred, all offspring and mates should be sampled as well. Participation in this research project is confidential; the names of individual owners or dogs will not be revealed.

Diagnosing Epilepsy in Dogs

The first step in determining a cause for a dog’s seizures involves a physical examination and blood test. Serum chemistry and complete blood count tests are run to rule out medical issues like diabetes, hypoglycemia, and electrolyte disorders.

A thorough physical exam is necessary to rule out contributors to seizure activity or potential complications for treatment, including heart disease, liver disease, lung disease, etc. Tick-borne diseases and viral or bacterial infections are also of concern and should be addressed with this exam. A veterinarian can perform the initial exam and discuss the general protocol for seizure control.

Generally, if a dog experiences fewer than one seizure every four to six weeks, it’s considered safe to “wait and watch” without putting the dog on medication to control the seizures. Complementary therapies are of great benefit in these cases. If, though, a dog experiences seizures more frequently than this, or experiences cluster seizures (more than one seizure in 24 hours) or “status epilepticus,” a life-threatening generalized seizure that doesn’t stop, anti- seizure drugs are prescribed.

An examination by a veterinary neurologist is prudent at this time as well. A neurologist in acute cases can assist in determining the presence or likelihood of brain tumors or lesions, with an MRI and spinal tap being two of the most useful procedures for definitive diagnosis.

Epileptic Triggers for Dogs

Toxins and environmental triggers can be a factor, but don’t expect your veterinarian to ask about these; this avenue of inquiry is largely up to the pet owner. Many owners of epileptic dogs report that heartworm preventatives, vaccine boosters, and flea control products lower the seizure threshold in sensitive dogs.

Household cleaners and insecticides, paints and solvents, lawn and garden chemicals, and even air fresheners and aromatic herbs can also trigger seizures in susceptible animals. Keeping a detailed record of each seizure episode witnessed, with recent activities and environmental exposures noted, is an important tool to help determine patterns and begin to gain control.

Conventional Epilepsy Medication for Dogs

For dogs who experience seizures more often than once a month, conventional veterinary medicine will generally recommend starting the animal on one of two drugs. Phenobarbital is the most commonly used, though potassium bromide is becoming more prevalent.

Phenobarbital and potassium bromide are not FDA-approved for use in dogs and cats, but both are accepted treatments for seizure control. Unfortunately, each comes with its own set of significant side effects. It is important, though, to reduce the occurrence of seizures, so it’s wise to at least initially medicate with these drugs as you continue to research and look into other improvements in husbandry to help gain control.

Phenobarbital is a long-acting barbiturate that depresses the central nervous system and blocks seizure activity. The drug must be administered at 12-hour intervals, and since physical drug dependence is common, it must never be discontinued abruptly.

Initial side effects of phenobarbital include sedation, ataxia, lethargy, and increased thirst and appetite. These generally diminish over time, though the increased appetite tends to remain. More serious side effects can include liver damage and liver failure, anemia, and profound depression.

It is critical to perform regular blood tests on medicated dogs to monitor their liver function and check for anemia. Bile acid testing is recommended along with blood serum chemistry and CBC to detect the onset of liver disease. A blood test to monitor phenobarbital levels in the blood is also recommended. This is usually done two weeks after starting or changing dosage of the medication, and then routinely at six month intervals to be sure the concentrations remain in the intended range.

Many holistic veterinarians will recommend that dogs taking phenobarbital also take natural hepato-protective herbs like milk thistle or dandelion to assist in protecting the liver from damage.

Potassium bromide (KBr) is frequently used alone or in conjunction with phenobarbital for dogs whose seizures aren’t controlled with phenobarbital alone. It is the bromide that inhibits seizure activity by reducing excitability of nerve cells in the brain where seizures begin. Because it has no effect on the liver, is often chosen for dogs with liver damage. It must be obtained through a chemical supply company or compounding pharmacy.

It may take as long as four to five months for the blood levels of potassium bromide to stabilize, and more months for the full effect of a dose change to occur, though antiseizure activity occurs before blood levels are completely stable. Side effects can include temporary sedation and ataxia for several weeks until the dog adjusts to the medication (especially with dogs who are also given phenobarbital or any other sedative medication), loss of appetite, and vomiting.

Potassium bromide should be used with caution in dogs with renal insufficiency. Though rare, an increased incidence of pancreatitis has been noted in dogs medicated with potassium bromide. Any diet change must be made very slowly, and even an occasional treat must be considered carefully, because any changes in the amount of salt in the diet can drastically alter the effects of the medication. An increase in dietary salt may decrease the drug’s effects, and a decrease in salt can increase the drug’s effects.

There are several other antiseizure drugs being used in dogs, usually in severe, hard-to-control cases. These include zonisamide, gabapentin, felbamate, clorazepate, valproic acid, and Keppra. All are considered add-on medications to conventional canine anti-epilepsy drugs. These crossover medications from the treatment of human epileptic seizures are generally not as effective due to their short half-life in canines. For example, the elimination half-life of Keppra in dogs is 3.5 hours, compared to 7-10 hours in people.

Hypothyroid a Possible Factor

One often-ignored aspect of seizure activity is the presence of hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid function. The “classic” hypothyroid dog is typically presented to his veterinarian with skin and coat issues, behavior concerns, or reproductive problems, but there are many other indicators of hypothyroidism, not all of them immediately noticeable.

One of the many symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland is seizures. In a report at the 1999 American Holistic Veterinary Association’s annual conference, W. Jean Dodds, DVM, and Linda P. Aronson, DVM, reported that an independent study of 634 dogs with abnormal behaviors (including 189 seizure dogs) found that 77 percent of the dogs experiencing seizures were hypothyroid.

When testing thyroid function in an epileptic dog, it’s important to perform a full panel thyroid test, as opposed to testing only the T4 and/or TSH, as is common. Evaluation of all six aspects of thyroid function is essential to the whole picture of the dog’s thyroid health.

Where a T4 alone may not indicate any abnormalities, the additional information provided by testing the Free T4, T3, Free T3, as well as the T3 and T4 autoantibodies, can help a knowledgeable veterinarian determine whether or not the thyroid gland is functioning normally.

Dogs with low thyroid function should be supplemented with thyroid replacement hormone and retested in six to eight weeks.

Note: Antiseizure medications like phenobarbital are known to cause low thyroid values, though this should be taken into account by the veterinarian when evaluating test results. Thyroid replacement therapy is not recommended in these cases. Once optimum levels are achieved, rechecking once or twice a year is adequate.

According to Dr. Dodds, 80 percent of epileptic dogs found to be low thyroid and subsequently medicated with thyroid supplement see a decline in seizures, with three quarters of these seeing a major reduction and even elimination of seizure behavior.

The other one-quarter of this 80 percent experience lengthened intervals between seizures and/or a reduction in the severity of the seizures. No significant changes to seizure activity was seen in 20 percent of thyroid-supplemented epileptic dogs.

Holistic Epilepsy Treatment for Dogs

What about natural treatments? Holistic care of epileptic dogs is very effective for those dogs whose seizures occur infrequently, or to augment conventional medical treatment. With complementary care, many dogs are able to maintain a lower incidence of seizures on a reduced (or, in some cases, an eliminated) dosage of conventional drugs. Complementary treatments, however, should never be considered a substitute for conventional medical care, and seizures must be kept to an absolute minimum.

That said, an examination and consultation with a holistic veterinarian can open up new avenues for improved seizure control and bring about improved health in an epileptic dog. Acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, chiropractic, Chinese herbs (especially for liver “wind”), and Western herbs have all been used by owners of epileptic dogs to improve health and achieve a successful balance in care.

Of particular note is the use of “gold bead therapy,” in which magnetized gold beads are permanently inserted at acupressure points by an experienced practitioner. This bizarre-sounding treatment has been known to reduce and even eliminate regular seizures in some epileptic dogs. Donna Kelleher, DVM, a holistic practitioner in Seattle, has had success with this procedure and chronicles one case involving an epileptic patient in her book, Last Chance Dog.

Diet and Epilepsy Link

Environmental control is a significant element in gaining better management of your dog’s seizures. Start with what goes into him. Feeding a home-prepared diet, cooked or raw, can make all the difference for some dogs. Though there are virtually no studies to determine whether there is a relationship between diet and seizure activity, many holistic veterinarians report anecdotal evidence that a top-quality home-prepared diet can play a large part in management of seizures.

Allergy testing for grain and protein sensitivities is another tool you can use to identify and remove any potential seizure triggers.

Dr. Kelleher also advocates the use of taurine supplementation for epileptic dogs at a dose of 250 milligrams per 40 pounds body weight daily. Taurine supplementation is especially important for dogs who eat commercial and grain-based diets. This amino acid is found in the central nervous system and skeletal muscle and is concentrated in the brain and heart. It’s unknown whether that has anything to do with the fact that taurine supplementation can reduce seizure activity, especially in those dogs experiencing tremors or noise triggered seizures. Discuss this or any other supplement with your dog’s veterinarian.

If feeding a home-prepared diet isn’t possible, find the highest-quality commercial dog food. Grains in the diet, including treats, should be kept to a minimum.

Keep in mind that many commercial dog foods include rosemary extract and sage, both of which are known to be seizure triggers in some sensitive dogs. Processed treats like rawhide chews and pigs ears should also be avoided with epileptics. Sharing human food containing MSG or cured products like hot dogs and luncheon meats is also not recommended. Many human takeout foods, instant, ready made, and convenience foods also contain chemical ingredients that can be adverse to the health of a seizure-prone dog. Cleaning up your dog’s diet is good incentive to do the same with your own.

Frequent, small meals are helpful in managing epilepsy, as keeping the blood sugar stabilized seems to help. Hypoglycemia can contribute to seizure activity, especially in smaller breeds where the dog’s digestive tract and his meals are proportionately smaller. Grain products are especially suspect in animals who have seizures regularly. Feeding frequent, small meals is also helpful for coping with the increased hunger experienced by dogs who are given phenobarbital. Snacks such as fresh or steamed vegetables or fruit pieces are great low calorie treats that can keep your dog satisfied and increase his seizure threshold.

Other Canine Epilepsy Triggers

Despite the changes in recommended vaccine protocols recommended by most of the major university-based veterinary medical schools, many veterinarians continue to recommend annual vaccinations for their patients. In a seizure-prone dog, a vaccine booster can trigger seizure activity for at least 30 days. This is one reason that Dr. Dodds recommends avoiding routine vaccination for canine epileptics.

Many owners of epileptic dogs ask their veterinarians to test their dogs’ vaccine titer levels instead, to ensure the animals have adequate antibodies to protect them from disease. If the results indicate a dog does not have adequate immune protection for a particular disease, the appropriate vaccination can be administered individually, rather than in a “5 in 1” vaccine combination.

Regular rabies vaccines are required in each state by law. These vaccines can be especially risky for epileptics; owners of epileptic dogs have lots of anecdotal evidence of this. Check with your local municipality to see if proof of adequate vaccine titer test results are acceptable in place of vaccinating an epileptic dog annually . Many towns and cities will accept documented titer tests as proof of vaccination.

Since exposure to many chemicals can trigger seizures in sensitive dogs, it should not come as a surprise that many heartworm and flea preventative treatments that are systemically administered can be disastrous for many epileptic dogs. While elimination of these treatments is not always possible, care must be taken with a seizure-prone dog when preventing heartworm infestation. Several of the most popular heartworm preventatives actually list tremors or convulsions as rare side effects, and can be contraindicated with a dog that is given daily phenobarbital.

Flea products containing insect growth regulator can cause twitching and muscle weakness when an animal is overexposed. Keep in mind these cautions are given for normal canine populations. An epileptic is commonly more sensitive to these products and great care must be taken when protecting them from heartworm and flea infestation.

Epilepsy Management Techniques

The most important thing to remember about dealing with a seizing dog is to keep calm. Sensitive dogs are known to be triggered by stress and loud noises. Household or family tensions can wreak havoc with an epileptic dog. Worrying about and coddling an epileptic can make them more anxious and seizure-prone. Sudden stimulation or excitement can also trigger seizures.

This is where herbs and natural treatments can be very helpful. “Nervines” like skullcap and valerian can reduce anxiety and excitability. Skullcap, or Scutellaria, has been shown to affect the area of the brain where seizures are triggered, and regular dosing can help reduce the frequency and severity of seizures.

Valerian, or Valeriana officinalus, is indicated more for general anxiety and can be used with dogs who experience prolonged post ictal periods of pacing and restlessness. A little goes a long way with valerian;don’t give too much, as it can actually have the opposite of the desired effect, causing hyperactive excitability in some dogs.

Tinctures are considered the easiest way to administer these herbs, with a dose of 10-20 drops for every 20 pounds of body weight given up to three times a day. If your dog is currently receiving conventional medications to combat epilepsy, discuss these herbal remedies with your holistic veterinarian before using them.

Another excellent aid in calming your pet, and especially for post ictal recovery, is melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that is associated with the sleep cycle of mammals. It can be a wonderful relief for dogs who are noise-sensitive, fireworks- or thunder-phobic (see “Bring in ‘Da Noise,” WDJ May 2000) and has also been found to aid epileptic dogs.

Many dogs who typically have seizures at night or in the early morning can benefit from a small snack and some melatonin before bedtime. The food helps to keep blood sugar stabilized and the melatonin assists in maintaining a regular sleep pattern. A dose of 1.5 mg of melatonin for dogs under 40 pounds, or 3 mg. for dogs 40-100 pounds is adequate. Dogs over 100 pounds can take up to 6 mg.

Another area where epileptic dog owners have found melatonin to be beneficial is during the post ictal phase of a seizure. For dogs who have prolonged or profound post ictal symptoms, a dose of melatonin seems to aid in shorter and less intense symptoms. A very few dogs experience increased activity after melatonin is given, and it may not work for every animal.

Rescue Remedy, a combination of five different flower essence remedies, is indicated for stress, trauma, fear, and emergency situations. (Rescue Remedy is the name of the remedy made by Nelson Bach USA, the original maker of these remedies; competing companies sell the same combination of remedies under different names, such as Ellon USA’s “Calming Essence” and Healing Herbs’ “Five Flower Formula.”)

Some dog owners report that it works miracles; others say it just doesn’t affect their dogs. Those who find it helps their dogs use a few drops in the mouth, applied inside the ear leather, or directly on the skin of an actively seizing dog.

Rescue Remedy does not interact with any other medication and can be given as often as needed, with many owners routinely putting it in their dogs’ water. Some dog owners find it helpful to put a few drops of Rescue Remedy on a teaspoon or two of an all-natural vanilla ice cream for a speedier post ictal recovery. The ice cream helps to bring the blood sugar back to normal after the tremendous exertion from epileptic convulsions.

Rescue Remedy is also a great stress-reliever for caretakers of epileptic dogs, and especially helpful with the all-natural vanilla ice cream!

Hope for Epileptic Dogs

There is no cure for epilepsy, but it can be managed in cases. The only constant that seems to be true in managing this disease is that no two dogs will respond the same way to the same treatment protocol. In researching care for your epileptic dog you may learn about many supplements, aids, and treatments that have helped some dogs. These may or may not help your dog, however, and you should discuss any of them with your veterinarian before administering.

Finding a vet who has had clinical experience with epileptics is also important. Developing a rapport and nurturing that relationship will be essential in the care and well-being of your dog. Epilepsy can be managed, but only with a committed, cohesive team of doctor (or doctors, if you add a holistic practitioner to your healthcare team), owner, and patient.

Finally, while even the best care and management cannot always stop regular seizures, with both conventional and holistic treatments, the frequency and severity of seizures can be reduced. Best of all there is hope, and the great likelihood that my dog Cutter and epileptic dogs like him will lead normal, active, happy lives.

Maureen Finn is a freelance writer from Sammamish, WA. This is her first article for Whole Dog Journal.

Letters: 05/04

By
Nancy Kerns
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The following is a letter from Robert Abady, of the Robert Abady Dog Food Company:

Debate About By-Products
Dogs have reached us over the millennia unchanged. Their nutritional requirements are also unchanged. What has changed is their diet. It is the dietary changes that are responsible for virtually every condition that afflicts the domestic carnivore today. Any condition having reached epidemic levels that crosses breed lines and is manifest everywhere has to be dietary in origin.

Breakdown conditions such as allergies, interminable itching, autoimmune conditions, gastrointestinal disorders including sensitive stomach, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, bloat, torsion, breakdowns during growth including: pano, HOD, OCD, Hip Dysplasia, reproductive disorders (including failure to conceive, shrinking litter sizes, resorptions, abortions, many birth defects, uterine inertia, agalactia, weak puppies at birth, lack of avidity in males, and low sperm count), as well as kidney and heart problems all fall into this category.

With an ongoing attack on by-products by marketers and groups of poorly informed individual companies who are rejecting by-products in favor of what they perceive to be better accepted substitutes such as “human grade” chicken, etc. . . have caused a disaster of unprecedented proportions.

Here’s why: By-products (internal organs and other body parts) constitute the largest percentage of the animal-based ingredients in the wild carnivore’s diet. These, combined with flesh, fat, and bone in specific amounts and ratios, are the core nutrition that ensures the survival of carnivores without breakdowns. Those ratios and amounts have been carefully addressed in Abady’s Formula for Maintenance and Stress a formula capable of preventing all the breakdown conditions listed earlier in the text.

By-products vary in quality. The very best are those with the best nutritional characteristics and consist of poultry by-products meal and chicken by-products meal. Poultry by-products meal includes a variety of birds, making it particularly desirable. From a biological value assessment, the chicken by-products meal is equivalent. Nutritionally both are the equivalent or near-equivalent of flesh, but the by-products meals are far less expensive, making it possible for them to be included in vastly larger quantities in a formula. Meat meal, beef meal, and lamb meals are also by-products meals but of a lower order. They are nutritionally valuable nevertheless. “Human grade” chicken solids, for instance, can cost up to 17½ times more than the equivalent amount of poultry or chicken by-products meals. There are no other ingredients that are of such great value nutritionally that can be substituted for them. The high cost of the “human grade” ingredients is what makes it impossible to include more than a thimbleful in a formula. A quarter-pound (113.5 grams) of chicken by-product meal costs the same amount as 6.19 grams of “human grade” chicken solids!

To make matters worse, the ingredient “chicken” includes 75% moisture but is counted as if it were solids, artificially allowing it to be placed at the head of an ingredient panel. To make matters even worse the regulation allows chicken skin to be listed as if it were chicken flesh!

Gluten is the protein of grain. It is nearly worthless nutritionally and as a side effect, it can permanently destroy the ability of the small intestine to absorb nutrients. Abady’s Formula for Maintenance and Stress derives 93.3 percent of its protein from valuable internal organs (by-products and other body parts) and flesh. The only side effects are soundness, good health, and complete safety.

-Robert Abady, President
Robert Abady Dog Food Company, LTD
Poughkeepsie, NY

 

WDJ Editor Nancy Kerns responds:

 

Respectfully, we disagree with Mr. Abady about numerous points, but we’d like to confine this discussion to his disagreement with our stand on by-products.

At one point in the seven-year history of our dog food reviews, we approved of the inclusion of fresh meat by-products and poultry by-products in pet foods. After all, as Mr. Abady points out, dogs have eaten every bit of their prey for millennia, and it’s absolutely true that a batch of by-products can be mixed so as to offer the same (or even better) nutritional profile as a batch of whole meat or poultry. We stated, however, that we preferred to see these products play a supporting role to named species of meat or poultry (muscle tissue). And we balked at recommending foods that contain by-product meal (meal made by rendering by-products), as this is two steps away from what we consider the ultimate: fresh muscle or organ tissue.

The past few years have seen a steady increase in the number of companies making dog foods for the top end of the market. Where we were once hard-pressed to find enough products to make up a list of 10 really superior dry dog foods, we have most recently found ourselves looking for ways to make our food selection criteria more restrictive, to winnow the list of candidates down to a manageable few dozen. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this was to begin eliminating products that contain by-products, not because they are bad; in our opinion, these ingredients are just not the best, which is the object of our reviews.

Understand that “best” is a subjective term. Almost every dog food (not all . . . surprised?) is formulated to guarantee a minimum of certain nutrients the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials referred to on most dog food labels. A pet food maker can formulate its products to meet the required nutritional levels with a vast array of ingredients. (Famously, one critic of the nutrient profile system once designed a food that met all the AAFCO nutrient profile requirements using old shoe leather, sawdust, motor oil, and a vitamin/mineral supplement.) Equivalent nutritional values do not make foods equal; so a food’s “nutritional content” cannot serve as a sole selection criterion.

We decided to use ingredient quality a term encompassing the nutritional content, wholesomeness, and palatability of the food ingredients as our major selection criteria. Higher-quality ingredients (like whole meats and poultry) enjoy a wider range of uses than less-appealing ingredients (such as by-products), so they command a higher price. In fact, cost is one of the few tools consumers have at their disposal to gauge the quality of the ingredients in their dogs’ food.

Of course, a high price doesn’t guarantee quality, but it does help the products elicit the utmost in respect, inspection, and attention during manufacture and transport. Products with a lower economic value (such as by-products) don’t always receive this same care. This helps explain why, as Mr. Abady suggests, the quality of by-products can vary.

The high cost of “human-grade” ingredients does not preclude their use as primary ingredients in the products that we recommend far from it. The makers of the products on our “approved” food lists readily admit that their products cost more because of the high-cost ingredients they use. Cost is not an object to the majority of our readers, who are, frankly, obsessed with quality. The more closely the ingredients of their dogs’ food resembles the type, quality, and safety of the food they eat themselves, the more peace of mind they enjoy.

For these reasons, foods that contain by-products do not meet our current selection criteria, whereas foods that contain whole meats and/or poultry, such as Abady’s New York Natural Lamb and Rice Kibbled Dog Food or New Frontier Chicken Meal-Based Kibbled Dog Food, do.

———-

More about colostrum and transfer factor
Though I think highly of WDJ, I was disappointed in the January 2004 article, “Immune Boosters: Bovine Colostrum and Transfer Factor.”

I perceived a strong bias in the article for colostrum over transfer factor. Many experts recognize that the benefit of colostrum comes from the low molecular weight portion that contains what are known as transfer factors, which are immune-regulating molecules that are identical (safe and compatible) for all species.

Transfer Factor, produced by 4Life Research, has been tested for the activation of our first line of defense: the immune system’s natural killer cells (NK cells) by an independent laboratory. Bovine colostrum increased NK cell activity by 23 percent. Transfer Factor increased NK cell activity by 103 percent. Transfer Factor increases NK cell activity, and is the only true immune system regulator (balancer) that is all natural and has no side effects. The second generation product of 4Life Research, Transfer Factor Plus increased NK cell activity by 248 percent.

Therefore, when evaluating products that help support the immune system, I urge WDJ readers to learn more about the immune system products produced by 4Life Research, including the products specifically produced for dogs. The result could be lower vet bills if the Transfer Factor Canine Products are used daily for prevention.

The best way for readers to obtain our products would be to ask their own veterinarians. Or, readers can call the company at (888) 454-3374, and a representative will direct them to a distributor in their area.

I almost forgot to mention that a veterinarian told us we had a “decision” to make about the future of our Bichon Frise who had been diagnosed with kidney disease. After 90 days on Transfer Factor Canine all signs of the disease were gone.

-Susan Koehrn
Westfield, IN

———-

I was very pleased to see your article on immune boosters and stimulants in the January 2004 issue. I wish to inform your readers that we are an alternate source of colostrum and transfer factor products with direct sales to the public and other retailers. Information about our products can be seen at www.oramune.com or readers can call us at (310) 914-5191.

-Said Youdim, Ph.D
Immune Therapy Research Laboratory
Los Angeles, CA

———-

Seven years of thanks
I read your heartfelt editorial in the last issue of WDJ, and felt moved to thank you for the work you’ve been doing.

It was the January 1999 issue that put Eddie’s Wheels for Pets on the map. You published my letter about our budding canine wheelchair business, and from then on it’s been history. One of your subscribers formed an online support group for people with dogs who have degenerative myelopathy, which alone must have generated 100 orders over the course of the next year. In the first quarter of this year, we will have built as many carts as we built in our first two years in business. We have representatives in Japan and the U.K. and have sold carts in Greenland, Tasmania, and Brunei.

I like to think that we are all part of a new consciousness in acknowledging the responsibility we have toward our animal companions. When my Doberman, Hardy, became quadriplegic a couple of years ago due to severe Wobblers, we cured her without surgery, with network chiropractic, acupuncture, neck immobillization, and nutritional supplements. My vets thought I was crazy not to euthanize her, but she was willing to try, and recovered totally after 12 weeks down. From her we learned all about Wobblers, how to build carts for dogs with weak front legs, cervical spine injuries, and front leg paralysis.

We recently rescued our fourth Dobie, a female found emaciated, infected, and suffering with mammary tumors. I followed your nutritional guidelines to build her up as quickly as possible. My other two dogs totally accepted her since everyone’s diets improved dramatically with her arrival into the household! Five months later, Autumn is totally healed and healthy, bounding through the snow.

Thanks again for all you do to help all of us be the kind of guardians and friends that our dogs deserve.

-Leslie Grinnell, Eddie’s Wheels
Shelburne Falls, MA
(888) 211-2700 or www.eddieswheels.com

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Belated Birthday Greetings

By
Nancy Kerns
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1

There were so many losses this winter. In December, I lost my beloved pal, Rupert. But I know several other people in WDJ’s extended family who also experienced loss. I was very saddened to learn that holistic veterinarian Carolyn Blakey, a very early supporter and warm contributor to the magazine, succumbed to breast cancer in October. Herbalist Greg Tilford’s mother passed away at Christmas. In February, our good friends Claudia and Cameron, at BARK magazine in nearby Berkeley, lost their precious old dog, Callie, in a serious car accident.

Perhaps there is no connection to the season. It sure feels like there is, especially after losing my mother a year ago at Christmas.

But here comes spring, and news of new lives on their way. One of our regular contributors, C.C. Holland, is expecting a baby next month, and is busy acclimating her rescue dog, Lucky, to cribs, baby backpacks, and strollers. She says she’s gotten some funny looks, walking her dog while pushing an empty stroller, but she’s the kind of reporter who researches hard and deep, and applies what she’s learned to her own life, and we applaud her efforts. If the work she’s done with Lucky is any indication, she’s going to be a great mom.

Another of our longtime writers, CJ Puotinen, has a new puppy, Chloe, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to do everything right, right from the start: a modified vaccination program, home-prepared diet, socialization, puppy kindergarten, etc. So many of us, myself included, learned about enlightened dog care, training, and feeding too late in our dogs’ lives to benefit them fully; what a joy it is to have the opportunity to apply everything you have learned to a new companion, still bursting with vitality from a healthy mother.

For my part, I’m embarking on a new start, too. I realized, too late, that I allowed the March issue to go to print last month without remarking on the fact that it represented WDJ’s seventh birthday. Since I made that realization, I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction I’d like to see WDJ take this year.

I’ll discuss it more in the next few months; for now, I’ll give you just a hint: Dog food. Food ingredients, food production, and food selection. Home-prepared, raw and cooked, kibbled, canned, and all sorts of new “just add this or that” formulations . . . I’m going to step up the pace of our food coverage, so hold on to your hats.

My brother sent me this photo recently, taken of me and one of my Poodle’s (accidental) puppies when I was seven. It felt like it was too soon to replace the picture of me and Rupert with a picture of me and my young dog, Mokie. So, on the (belated) occasion of WDJ’s seventh birthday, I thought I’d run this instead. Here is to new beginnings, with love and gratefulness to those who have helped us get where we are today.

 

-Nancy Kerns

Solve Fence Aggression with a Better Dog Fence

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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FENCE AGGRESSION: OVERVIEW

1. If your dog is just beginning to display barrier frustration, take steps immediately to eliminate his opportunities to practice the behavior. The more opportunities he has to practice the behavior, the more difficult it will be to control it.

2. Build a solid fence to prevent your dog from being able to see the things that arouse him and trigger his barking. If you already have a solid fence, keep him in the house unless you are supervising him.

3. Counter-condition your dog to the stimulus that sets him off. If bikes trigger his fence-running and barking, sit in the yard with him and toss delicious treats to him as a helpful friend on a bike approaches and passes by.

As I sit here writing, I hear a ruckus from my backyard. Leaning forward, I look out my window to see Dubhy the Scottie running the fenceline and barking madly at two black Labs who have wandered over from a distant neighbor’s house, still sporting the highly ineffective shock collars that are supposed to keep them home.

As I cuss under my breath yet again at my irresponsible neighbors and get up to call Dubhy in, I have a sudden epiphany. Three years ago when Dubhy’s on-again, off-again dog aggression erupted for the first time, it was directed at a black Lab. I have always wondered why . . . and suddenly I see it. There’s a good chance that Dubhy has a strong negative classical association with black Labrador Retrievers as a result of his irregular but frequent encounters-of-the-fence-kind with our neighbor’s wayward dogs. Duh!

dog fences

In his famous poem, “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost starts out by saying, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” We could revise that slightly to say “Something there is that doesn’t love a fence.”

That “something” is our dogs.

Fence-running, and its close cousin, fence-fighting, are manifestations of barrier frustration, also called restraint frustration. The frustration that a dog feels when he can see – but not reach – his objective can (and often does) give rise to canine obsessive-compulsive disorders (COCD) and aggression, both of which are serious behavior problems caused by stress.

Fence-running can quickly become a COCD. I see a mild version of it with Dubhy – stereotypic running along the fence line, accompanied by aroused barking, and spinning at the corners. He has a path worn around the interior of our large yard, which wasn’t there prior to his joining our family.

I have no doubt that if Dubhy were a (shudder) backyard dog, he would have serious problems. Instead, he’s only outdoors when we are home, and if he starts his fence-running behavior we interrupt it and bring him in. We are fortunate that our fence doesn’t conjoin any of our neighbors’ fenced-in dogs, or we would have to take much stronger steps to manage or retrain the behavior.

Restraint frustration also quickly turns into aggression. Aggression is caused by anxiety and stress, easily triggered by the arousal of fence-running. Some dogs who fence fight are fine if they meet the same dog sans barrier. Others, like Dubhy, may generalize their aggression to some or all dogs even when there’s no fence present.

As dog owners become more and more responsible about keeping their dogs safe at home, the incidence of fence-related behavior problems rises. Even the unfortunately popular underground electronic (shock) containment system fences can give rise to the problem. The barrier is there, even if the dog can’t see it, and the intense punishment of the shock the dog receives if he breaches the invisible barrier can intensify the resulting aggression.

Tying a dog outside also poses restraint frustration problem, and shares a drawback with electronic fences: neither prevents trespassers (human or otherwise) from invading the dog’s territory, putting both the trespasser and the dog at serious risk.

Preventing Fence Aggression and Barrier Frustration

It sounds like you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t! If not confining your dog isn’t safe or responsible, and confining him causes behavior problems, what are you supposed to do with him?

This is a case where prevention and management are much easier solutions than training. There are a number of things you can do to reduce the likelihood and opportunity for fence running and fighting. You can:

1. Install a solid fence

This is the best solution, albeit expensive, and in an increasing number of shortsighted communities, prohibited. If you block your dog’s visual access to the stimuli outside his fences, he’s not likely to get aroused enough to begin the undesirable behaviors. If you live in a no-fence community, you might want to consider moving.

2. Keep your dog indoors

Dogs who are permanent outdoor residents are at high risk for fence-related behavior problems. There are many reasons it’s not wise to leave your dog outdoors when you’re not home; this is just one of them. If he’s out while you’re away, he’ll get lots of opportunities to practice fence-running and -fighting. The more he practices, the harder the behavior is to modify.

Do like we do with Dubhy: let your dog out in the yard for limited periods only when you’re home, and bring him in immediately if he starts the unwanted behaviors.

3. Eliminate the stimuli

Dubhy’s fence problems are triggered by stray dogs and itinerant cats. We eliminated the majority of Dubhy’s fence running by adopting (with the neighbor’s blessing) the neighbor’s cat who had taken up residence in our barn. We had Barney vaccinated and neutered, and brought him indoors, solving a good percentage of Dubhy’s problem. (See “Barney Morphs Into Housie,” next page.) We’re still working on the black Labs.

4. Modify your existing fence

If you have a see-through fence, like the ubiquitous chain-link enclosures common here in Tennessee, do something to make it more solid. There are slats available that you can slide into the chain link to block some of the visual stimuli. This will work with mild fence problems, but won’t deter a dedicated fence-runner or -fighter if he can still see through the gaps between the slats.

You can try the slats to see if they work, and if not, line the inside of the fence with something to block his view completely. FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic) is probably the most durable option, also the most expensive and least visually offensive. Other options might be plywood, or tarps, at least temporarily.

5. Install an “airlock,” another fairly costly option that can discourage fence-fighting

An airlock is created by building a second fence inside your existing one to create a “no-dog’s land” between your dog and your neighbor’s.

As an added benefit, this protects your dog from neighbor children sticking fingers and potentially harmful objects through the fence. While a double barrier can reduce actual fence-fighting, I am confident that this option would not have put a dent in Dubhy’s fence-running behavior.

Retraining a Fence-Aggressive Dog

If you have a dog who already manifests fence-related behaviors, you can do some training that will help you get a handle on the problem. You have probably already discovered how difficult it can be to call your dog to you when he is in a state of high arousal, racing along the fence in futile, frustrating pursuit of his adversary.

Your first challenge is to find a way through the fog in his brain so he can even acknowledge your presence. With Dubhy, I found that standing directly in his path didn’t work. He simply darted around me and continued on his mission. I know better than to try the lunge-and-grab method, which would only serve to make him wary of me. Tossing something like a treat or a ball to try to break his focus was equally ineffective.

I began a two-pronged training program, one to counter-condition him to the presence of the arousal-causing stimuli, and the other to improve his recall response, even in the face of high distractions.

Recall Training and Counter-Conditioning

The recall training was easiest to implement, as I could do it any place, any time. Dubhy already had a rock-solid and speedy recall in the training center, but it was somewhat less reliable in the backyard, and even less so in wide open spaces. I was already fed up with his “maybe” recall, after being forced on several occasions to go out and get him in the dark when he declined to come back indoors after the pack’s bedtime bathroom break.

We embarked on backyard and long line recall training. Several times a day I would play with Dubhy in the backyard, calling him, giving him a high-value reward (such as canned chicken or fish), and letting him go again. Especially since Dubhy prefers outdoors to indoors – the first dog I have ever had who exhibited this bizarre preference – I didn’t want his recall to be a predictor of “outdoors is over” by bringing him indoors every time I called him.

I would also call him to the back deck and cue him to do several of his tricks for high value rewards, since he likes to do tricks. And I called him and had him do several pieces of agility equipment; he loves his agility stuff. Gradually his recall responses improved.

I even used a little negative punishment on one occasion, when he failed to come for dinner call. Rather than trekking out to get him, I let him stay out, and didn’t serve him his meal when he finally did deign to come in. He hasn’t missed dinner call since.

In addition, we worked on recalls in wide open spaces on his long line, until I started getting snappy responses, even spinning on his heels if he was heading in the other direction. We now take a chance on our five acres and occasionally let him off-leash to practice recalls outside the yard. Most of the time, he comes when called. Every once in a while his Scottie brain takes over, and I have to retrieve him before he wanders off the property.

I also did counter-conditioning work with him. Whenever the opportunity presented itself – with the neighbor dogs or Barney – I went out in the yard and waited for a brief lapse in Dubhy’s fence-focused attention, then offered him yummy treats. At first he would grab a treat and go right back to his running and barking. My ability to keep him focused on me and the treats was in direct proportion to the distance to the stimulus. If the neighbor dogs appeared to be just passing through, Dubhy would stay more attentive to me as they moved away. Over time, as we worked on it, he would turn his attention to me and keep it there with the dogs in closer and closer proximity.

Barney, who loved to tease Dubhy by rolling around on the driveway six feet from the fenceline, was more of a challenge. But with time and practice, I could even call Dubhy away from his feline nemesis.

A Cure for Canine Fence Aggression?

What I have accomplished with Dubhy is a compromise, not a cure. He still “goes off” when neighbor dogs pass by; it’s just easier for me to interrupt his behavior and call him into the house. If I were to leave him in the backyard unattended he would continue his arousal behavior and the COCD nature of his actions, especially the spinning, would probably worsen.

I’m still dealing with the collateral damage of his fence behaviors; specifically, his aggression toward some dogs, especially black Labs. When we are out in the world and he sees another dog he will go on alert – tail up, ears pricked, eyes bright, leaning forward. Then, unless it’s a Lab, he’ll swivel his head toward me to ask for his treat – the positive result of lots of counter-conditioning. With Labs, I still have to draw his attention to me; he doesn’t offer it on his own. I can gauge how aroused or relaxed he is by the amount of pressure from his teeth when he takes the treat from my fingers. With Labs, his teeth definitely hurt.

It would be a very large challenge to counter-condition a dogs’ fence-running or -fighting behaviors to the point that the behavior goes away. Even if you succeed in habituating your dog to the presence of the arousal-causing stimuli, the chances of spontaneous recovery are very high; the behavior is likely to resurrect itself with additional exposures to the stimuli.

Prevention is your best course of action, by not putting your dog in a position to develop the behaviors in the first place – not leaving him fenced and unattended. If it’s too late for prevention, management is your next best bet – putting up a solid fence and/or not leaving in him the yard alone.

If at any time you feel that you and your dog are not making progress, or your dog is exhibiting signs of a serious COCD, contact a good positive behavior consultant or veterinary behavorist. She can evaluate your training and help you investigate the possibility of using behavior modification drugs to control obsessive behaviors that may be interfering with the success of your program.

The property we are hoping to purchase in Maryland is in the middle of 80 rural acres, and the backyard is fenced with a solid wooden fence. Sounds like a great management plan to me!

Robert Frost’s neighbor was right; good fences do make good neighbors, and especially better neighbor dogs!

A Challenge for a Former Cat-Chaser: “Barney” Morphs Into “Housie”

Although my husband and l are strong advocates of indoor-only cats, after we adopted Barney it was our intention to allow him to continue his life as a barn cat until we moved. and then transition him into the house. It can be difficult to turn a full-time outdoor cat into a house resident, and we were reluctant to upset the equilibrium of our four-legged family while we were trying to sell the house. Stressed dogs and cats can find ways to make a house less marketable, if you know what I mean.

Barney, however, had other ideas. On a frigid rainy night just after Christmas, Barney sat outside our den windows and cried for an hour. Clearly, he wanted to come in. I tried to ignore him, but when he took to hanging on the window screens and meowing, I couldn‘t stand it. Barney came indoors.

One of the things that worried me about bringing him in was Dubhy’s reaction. The feisty Scottie had developed a strong animosity toward Labs as a result of his fence running: would he generalize the same reaction to an indoor Barney? I had done scads of counter-conditioning with Dubhy when I brought home a kitten 18 months prior; would that help?

Armed with stick cheese, I let Duhhy into the den with Barney. As I’d feared, Duhhy’s radar was instantly on high alert. His tail went up, ears pricked, eyes bright, leaning forward…l held my breath – and he swiveled his head back toward me for his treat. The crisis was over. Counter-conditioning wins again.

Interestingly enough. Barney’s life as an outdoor cat made him fairly pugnacious. If a dog gives him a hard time, Barney holds his own – lunging at the dog and swatting with claws that are now kept clipped. Barney and Dubhy have invented a game that they play together. Dubhy will tease Barney into leaping at him, and then do puppy rushes around the dining room table, occasionally deliberately passing close enough to Barney to elicit
another lunge. They both seem to derive great enjoyment from the game.

And I was worried.

Pat Miller, WDJ’s Training Editor, is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, and past president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She is also the author of The Power of Positive Dog Training and Positive Perspectives: Love Your Dog, Train Your Dog.

Growing Dog-Healthy Herbs

By
Randy Kidd
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by Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD There are many easy-to-grow herbs that are also good medicine for dogs (and their people). But first, a disclaimer: When I say “easy to grow,” in my case I mean that they are easy for my wife, Sue, to grow. Sue is the family gardener; I help pick out the good-medicine herbs from the seed catalogues, and it is my strong back that does the autumn tilling and the forking of donkey dung over the beds. (I actually do some of the day-to-day watering and weeding throughout the summer, but so far, I’ve been able to claim a lingering football injury that lets me avoid the worst of the chores.)

Dog-Healthy Herbs

 

If Sue has her way, I suppose she will eventually transform me into a true dirt farmer (although in 40+ years of marriage it hasn’t happened yet). Sue, as the real gardener in this family, claims she absolutely needs to get her hands in the dirt to feel healthy. I am the gardener-thinker, and I hope some of my ideas on gardening for pets will help you as you plan this year’s garden. Dirt farming It is Sue’s “paws in the dirt” concept that I think is perhaps the most important when we are thinking about gardening for the health and healing of our dogs. I believe that all of us (two- and four-leggeds) absolutely need to “ground” ourselves with Mother Earth. What’s the first thing a dog does when you let him out of the house? Roll on the ground! Unless, of course there’s a cow pie nearby; then he’ll roll in it. Give a dog enough free time on the ground, and (as Elizabeth Marshall Thomas observed and reported in her book, The Hidden Lives of Dogs) she will eventually dig a hole – a place to lie in throughout the day. A place to reconnect with the essence of the land. A place to be cool and calm and to bathe her skin with the healing elements of the soil. Digging in the dirt, grounding, connects us with the soul of the earth, brings us to the calming resonance from the core of our true center. There’s more, especially for the organic gardener: Soils, at least those unharmed by herbicides and pesticides, contain a medicine chest of chemicals produced by the plants, beneficial bacteria, worms and bugs, and a thick weave of healing fungal mycelia. Volatile oils, substances that are used in aromatherapy for healing, are also dispersed by many herbs and are wafted over the garden in abundance. Garden plants utilize all these to help maintain their own healthy integrity, but the hands and paws that work the soil also benefit. Sue and I also believe it is important for our pets to share the healthy aspects of being in the garden, and so far we have been able to train our dogs so they don’t destroy our plantings, just by being there when they have access to the garden, interrupting inappropriate behavior and encouraging good. When Rufus was still alive, he would simply pick a place nearby wherever we were working to lie down for the day. Our new puppy, Pokey, is understandably a bit more of a challenge, but we have been able to limit his diggings to the edges of the garden beds where he insists on burying his bones. Mining the earth Gardening is a way of mining vital minerals and other essential elements from the depths of the soil. Roots from the plants in the garden reach many feet into the dirt, spreading little rootlets throughout a vast expanse of mine-able soil. If we could see below ground level, we’d discover that the extent and mass of a plant’s root system far exceeds the greenery and flowers visible above ground. This entire mass of root system is actively bringing up the essential elements that the plant transforms into the nutrients and micronutrients that ultimately become vitamins, minerals, and medicinally active biochemicals. When it comes to their ability for mining the depths of the earth, it turns out that weeds, with their extensive root systems, are some of the best miners around. Dandelions and burdock come to mind as especially proficient dirt-miners, but the key is to check out your yard and look for the weeds that want to grow there; these will be the weeds doing the work for you for free. Since many of the common herbs are such efficient mineral miners, they also make an excellent material to add to your compost. Medicinal weeds Native Americans (and other traditional healers) thought that plants were sent here to be our healers, and some even believed that you could tell what disease was about to afflict someone in the family by which plant species were growing nearby. (This is one of the “myths” I always tell the folks in my workshops, and invariably I have someone in the group who has a dramatic story to tell about how this has proven true for their family.) Whether or not you believe the myth, it can’t hurt to give a little respect to the weeds growing in your backyard and to harvest them for use as preventive medicine. Conversely, you can do plenty of damage to your surrounding environment and to the critters who walk on that land whenever you apply herbicides to kill weeds or pesticides to kill bugs. Examples of medicinal weeds worth harvesting include: • Chickweed (Stellaria media) – For joint conditions and diseases of the blood or lymph systems. • Cleavers (Galium aparine) – Used for urinary infections, constipation, and dermatitis. • Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale) – A potent diuretic, used for some kidney conditions. Also good for liver and gallbladder complaints. • Lambsquarters (Chenopodium alba) – Leaves are a nutritious lettuce substitute; the seeds, left on the plants, make a good autumn wild bird seed. • Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) – Used for cardiac problems and conditions of the female reproductive system. • Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) – For respiratory condidions. • Plantain (Plantago spp.) – Used externally as a poultice to draw out infections and/or foreign bodies from abscesses. Leaves are used internally to calm intestinal upset and decrease inflammation. • Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) – A mild medicinal for many conditions: asthma, skin conditions, and infections; also reputed to have anti-aging properties. Interestingly, we’ve tried to grow many of the above weeds, planting seeds or transplanting plants and then giving them the full benefit of Sue’s best garden care, to no avail. It seems Nature is once again telling us to leave her alone; she knows best how to handle things. Grow what you love The best gardening advice I ever received came from Kansas State’s sustainable agriculture specialist. She was looking for people who would grow various species of herbs and then scientifically evaluate the plant’s yields in measured plots, to see what plants might be commercially feasible in Kansas. When I volunteered (actually I volunteered Sue), the ag lady asked me, quite seriously, “What plant do you really love?” I thought that was a strange question, especially from a scientist. She explained: “We’ve found that if a person really loves a plant – maybe they think a particular plant is especially beautiful, or they just love the smell of it, or the way it looks in a garden, or they may have a fond childhood memory of it – then that plant has the best possibility to grow to its full potential on that person’s land. Love of the plant seems to be the most consistent variable we can measure for the eventual success or failure of the plant’s growth.” From my perspective as an herbal medicine man, it is not the most important thing to select the exactly correct herbal plant for the patient. Almost all herbs have a wide range of medical effectiveness, able to enhance and assist many organ systems at once. I’ve told my clients many times: “The most important thing about herbal medicine is to use it. Don’t worry so much about learning the thousands of plants with known medicinal value and then trying to learn what each plant is specifically used for. Concentrate on finding an herb that appeals to you and your dog, and you will likely have found the correct herb.” According to the research reported in Cindy Engel’s book, Wild Health, animals have the ability to keep themselves well by selecting the plants they need for healing at any particular time. I’ve found that most, if not all, our dogs can do likewise, and it is easy to give them the chance to do this. Simply give them a selection of several herbs (either by sprinkling herbs over their food or by letting them walk through the garden and observing which herbs tend to attract them), and they will often select the precise herb that should apply to their current condition. Chemicals here and there As a holistic veterinarian who recommends herbs for pets, I am a stickler for using only organically-grown herbs. There are several reasons for this. Herbicides and pesticides are chemicals that have been manufactured and sold because of their ability to kill (or inhibit the growth of) plants and little critters. They are supposedly safe to use, when used as directed. Perhaps . . . But to my way of thinking, any amount of residual herbicide or pesticide is unacceptable and entirely unnecessary on a medicinal herb. Whenever I think about the supposed safety of herbicides and pesticides, I am also reminded of the Big Environmental Mess we have gotten ourselves into by believing that antibiotics are perfectly safe. (See “Dangers of Antibiotic Misuse,” WDJ March 2004.) As with antibiotics, it can’t be good for the long-term ecology of the land that pesticides and herbicides indiscriminately kill a wide variety of the bugs and plants in the field, many of them actually beneficial. Besides, when we grow medicinal herbals (and weeds) there is little, if any, reason to use herbicides or pesticides. Herbs (and the medicinal weeds) are typically resistant to almost all buggy pests. Pests thrive when we plant a large field of one type of a (typically hybrid) plant (monoculture) – the usual way commercial plants are grown. In contrast, herbal gardeners usually grow their herbs in small patches, oftentimes hidden in the midst of a bigger garden. These small patches of herbs avoid the problem of attracting a population of plant-eating pests, and in fact, organic gardeners often plant small herb patches throughout their garden as a holistic means of pest control. About weeds: Remember that many of the so-called weeds are medicinal, so harvesting them simply adds to the overall yield of the garden. Other weeds can be controlled by altering the chemical composition of the soil with organic soil amendments or by applying heavy layers of weed-inhibiting mulch. Finally, if the main reason to garden is to get our hands in the dirt, aren’t the weeds and the time we spend removing them by hand actually helping us achieve this objective? Good organic gardening simply substitutes labor- and brain-intensive methods for the ease (and expense) of using commercial herbicides and pesticides. Any good organic gardening book will describe an abundance of nontoxic techniques to keep weeds and pests to a minimum. Organic gardening techniques from the books will also demonstrate how to adequately fertilize the garden. Composting is the mainstay here, with weeds and leftover table scraps and garden produce often providing plenty of organic matter (humus) for the entire garden. It is important to realize that healthy soil creates its own balance of minerals, and humus is the essential component that allows this balance to occur. It is also important to realize that a healthy soil balance allows plants to produce the bioactive chemicals (medicinals) they are meant to produce. If you alter the balance, the plant may not be able to manufacture those medicinals. Any time we alter the balance of the soil (by adding synthetic fertilizers, for example) we may temporarily increase the yield of green matter, but we will also alter the basic biochemistry (and thus the potential medicinal value) of the plant. A few more tips When picking out the plants or seeds for your herb garden, I suggest going for the wild. Many of the plants recommended for today’s gardeners are hybrids – plants that offer more flower, more smell, different colors, etc. The problem with these hybrids is that, while we have altered some showy aspect of the plant, we may have also altered its ability to produce medicinal substances, or its specific medicinal qualities may have been altered. I’ve heard herbalists complain, for example, that the newer, fancy-colored varieties of yarrow (pink and blue, for example) don’t seem to have the medicinal qualities of the white variety typically found in the wild. When buying seeds or plants, insist on species with the Latin name that you will find in the herbal medicine books. Here’s a hint to help you avoid hybrids: If the Latin name in the seed catalogue looks something like this: Lavendula x intermedia or Plantus officinalis v non-officinalis, then you are probably dealing with a hybrid. In these examples, the x and the v are the tipoffs. Food is medicine; medicine is food. Don’t forget this when you are planting your garden (nor when you are feeding your dog). Tomatoes, for example, contain lycopenes, which have antioxidant properties, protect against cancer, and stimulate the brain. Carrots are a wonderful source of carotenoids, a potent source of vitamin A and antioxidants. Many purple-colored berries contain anthocyanidins, strong antioxidants that fight cancer and allergies and aid the immune system. One final piece of advice: when it comes to gardening, small is beautiful. There’s nothing more discouraging than looking at an acre of garden that is choked with weeds because you didn’t have the time to properly tend it. The best part of growing herbs is that you can harvest pounds of plant medicine on a very small plot. Even a window planter or a few flower pots of herbs can yield lots of herbal medicine. Some failsafe (almost) herbs While the following list represents herbs that are typically easy to grow, how well they will grow in your backyard depends on your climate, the condition of your soil, and the love you have for the plant itself. • Calendula (Calendula officinalis) – Most commonly used externally for wounds; has broad spectrum antimicrobial effects and speeds wound healing. Also used internally for gastrointestinal conditions. • Cayenne (red peppers) (Capsicum annum) – Used internally and externally for joint conditions and muscular tensions. When used internally it is said to enhance the efficacy and distribution of other drugs. • Culinary herbs – Most of the culinary herbs have a wide range of medicinal properties: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and multi-organ system enhancement. In addition, they have high antioxidant values, often higher than better-known antioxidant vitamins C or E. Finally, they add spice to a dog’s typically bland diet and can thus enhance a lagging appetite. Culinary herbs of note include: basil (Ocimum basilicum); lemon balm (Melissa officinalis); marjoram (Origanum majorana); oregano (Origanum vulgare); parsley (Petroselinum crispum); peppermint (Mentha piperita); rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis); sage (Salvia officinalis); and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). • Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) – A medicine chest in one plant. Balances the immune system, fights infection, helps heal wounds, and decreases inflammation. • Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) – Used both internally and as an aroma to calm restlessness and insomnia. • Marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis) – Used to treat irritation of the oral, pharyngeal, and gastric mucosa. • Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) – Used externally to stem bleeding and to help heal old wounds; known as “warrior’s wound wort.” Internally used to treat colds and flu and as an aid to liver problems. Using herbs you’ve harvested For using herbs internally, my advice is to use herbal “sprinkles” from the garden whenever possible; that is, fresh or fresh-dried herbs crumbled on the dog’s food. Use herbs routinely (at least several times a week) for their nutritional value as well as their medicinal components. I consider them as preventative medicine rather than cure, and when a cure is needed, I suggest that you rely on a qualified herbalist to help with the herbal selection, the dosage, and method of application. Using a sprinkle of dried herbs gives your dog a small amount of the herb in its entirety, providing herbal medicine that is most likely to enhance your dog’s healthy whole-body balance. At the same time, this method of administration is highly unlikely to contain enough bioactive substances that could potentially be toxic. Sprinkles also activate the oral component of the immune system, which in turn enhances whole-body immune function. And perhaps most important of all, by giving sprinkles, you promote your dog’s innate ability to select what is best for him. Use fresh herbs whenever possible. Simply let your dog be with you while you work in the garden. Let her absorb the healthy vitality of the entire garden through her pores and nasal passages. Then, take some of the fresh herb and sprinkle it over her food. If you think you must, brew a mild tea from the fresh herb (about a teaspoon to a tablespoon per cup of water), cool to room temperature, and pour it over her food. Or, put the tea into a dish and simply let her decide if she wants to drink it straight. The easiest (and I think the best) way to use herbs topically for dogs is to brew up a tea of the herbs you have selected, let the tea cool to room temperature, then, using a plant sprayer/mister, apply the tea to the affected area as a mist. This way you get the full benefit of the herb without worrying about your dog licking off oily or greasy stuff from ointments or salves. The problem with this method (a problem I actually think may be an advantage) is that the effects of the herbal tea may not last long; you’ll need to repeat the spray several times a day. While fresh herbs are best for either internal or external use, you can dry your excess herbs for storage and wintertime use. Dried herbs are used the same way as fresh, remembering that you only need about one-third to one-half as much of the volume of the dried herb to equal the same amount of fresh herb. You can, of course, produce your own tinctures or capsules from your garden-grown herbs. I recommend using only the non-alcoholic tinctures (glycerine or glycerol) for pets. And, while tincturing is relatively easy to do, remember that no matter what method you use to extract the herbal essence, you have altered the basic biochemistry that the plant offered in its wholeness. This alteration has likely changed the medicinal potency and possible toxicity of the plant, so you need to know what you are doing before you proceed. Summary Let nature do your gardening work for you (or find a good mate). Harvest the weeds first (and educate the neighbors while you’re harvesting). Get your hands and your dog’s paws in the dirt, and enjoy the health-giving aromas coming from the plants. Grow what grows best in your area. Grow what you love. Plant and tend small, manageable plots. Stay away from chemicals. But finally, and most importantly, use your gardening time to reconnect your and your dog’s body and soul with nature. When you give herbs to your dog, think health first, disease prevention second, and lastly, think about curing a specific condition or disease. Keep it simple – use fresh or dried herbal sprinkles whenever possible. If you want to move on to the next step – tincturing or encapsulating your herbs, do some research first. Also With This Article Click here to view “Whole Herbs: A Holistic Look at Dog Care” -Dr. Randy Kidd earned his DVM degree from Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. A past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, he’s author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Care.

Blind Dogs Can Have Normal Lives Too!

By
Mardi Richmond, CPDT-KA
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Chewbacca is, in most ways, a normal, happy, seven-year-old Golden Retriever. He loves to play with the other dogs. Like most Goldens, he enjoys a good game of fetch. He joyfully embarks on daily off leash romps with his guardian, Jenny Alt, and her three other dogs. Chewbacca has one trait that makes him just a little different, however. He cannot see.

Alt and her husband share their home in Lena, Illinois, with Chewbacca, another blind dog named Iris, and two sighted dogs named Honi and Bear. The Alts adopted Chewbacca in 1997 when they were looking for a companion for their older Golden Retriever. As soon as Alt saw Chewbacca on a Golden Retriever Rescue Web site, she knew Chewbacca was going to be her dog. Alt’s experience with Chewbacca has been so positive, that several years later she adopted Iris, a chocolate Lab pup who was born blind.

Blind Dogs
Chewbacca, a blind Golden Retriever, and his blind pack-mate Iris, a chocolate Labrador, don’t seem to suffer in any way from their visual impairment. As long as their owners make a few small adjustments to their environment for safety, blind dogs can and do enjoy normal lives.

While some dogs, like Chewbacca and Iris, are blind from birth or a very young age, others develop vision problems later in life. Blindness can be caused by a multitude of genetic disorders, diseases, or traumas. In some cases, dogs gradually lose their vision. In other cases, dogs may lose eyesight overnight. Depending on the disease or condition, a dog can lose partial vision, lose sight in one eye only, or become completely blind in both eyes.

Though a dog losing sight can be traumatic for both the dog and the dog’s owners, in most cases the dogs do adjust to life without sight. “They are so adaptable,” says Alt. However, a variety of factors can influence how well and how quickly a dog adapts.

According to Caroline D. Levin, the author of Living With Blind Dogs, dogs who are born blind seem to have the easiest time of it. “They don’t miss seeing,” said Levin, “because they have never had it to miss.”

Dogs who lose their vision slowly also seem to adjust well, maybe because they have time to adapt gradually. In some instances, dogs adapt so well that the people don’t notice the dog is losing vision. They may discover their dog is blind only when they move furniture or make other environmental changes, and the dog suddenly can’t find his way around.

Dogs who become blind suddenly or traumatically, however, may have a more difficult adjustment, said Levin. The dog’s age, personality, position in the pack, overall health, family life, and previous training will all impact how well the dog handles the transition from seeing to life without vision.

Levin was inspired to write Living With Blind Dogs when she managed a veterinary ophthalmology clinic. She witnessed people grieving their dogs’ loss of vision and realized that they desperately needed resources to help themselves (and their dogs) through the transition. Levin emphasizes that you can do a lot to help dogs adjust and live a full, happy life. “With training and time, it does get better,” Levin says, even for dogs who are initially depressed or frightened. “They can go on to have good lives.”

In fact, according to many people who have lived with a blind dog, after the initial adjustment the dog’s life becomes relatively normal. Many dogs who have lost their sight still can, and do, play with dog friends, splash in wading pools, romp off leash in safe places, and even chase squirrels. They learn to negotiate a home, stairs, yard, and regular walking routes with little or no assistance. They can retrieve toys, play tug, learn obedience, and generally be happy family members.

Discovering the lay of the land
All dogs – sighted or not – possess a skill called cognitive mapping. This same instinct allows them to find objects they buried weeks ago. Blind dogs use this skill to develop a mental map of the home and yard allowing them to race through the house looking very much like they can actually “see” where they are going.

Alt notes that someone who saw her dogs romping in their home or on their property may not know that two of them are blind. “They just run everywhere.” She says that it took Chewbacca only a day to learn the layout of their home, but Iris took a few months to learn how to navigate the stairs and other trickier aspects of their farmhouse and property.

Levin emphasizes that while dogs may map the layout of the home through trial and error, helping them is kinder and may make their transition easier. You can “show” dogs where things are and provide cues to help them navigate using their other senses. Alt agrees and says that when the environment changes, like a piece of furniture is moved, she needs to let the dogs know. “As long as I show them by touching it and saying, ‘See, this is here,’ they learn.”

Along with “showing” the dog where things are, certain aids may help them navigate the home. For example, you can use carpet runners to mark a clear path inside the home. The dogs can follow the path by noting the differences between its surface and the surrounding flooring. Doorways and steps can be defined using mats or rugs. Outside, you can mark paths for the dogs to follow using a simple mulched trail.

In addition to providing cues to the layout of the house, make sure the home is safe for the blind dog. In a way, this is very similar to puppy proofing a home. Levin suggests blocking off any stairways with a baby gate until the dog has learned to navigate them on his own. Keeping the furniture in the same place, pushing in chairs, and keeping pathways free of obstacles may all be helpful, but it’s also okay to move things around on occasion as long as you let the dog know. Blocking access to unsafe areas such as pools and ponds is essential.

For dogs who have limited vision or are blind only in one eye, using nightlights may provide visual cues to help the dog find his way around. Marking edges of steps and corners of furniture or walls with a contrasting tape may also help the dogs find their way safely through the house. In Living With Blind Dogs, Levin says that even dogs who cannot see the contrasting tape may actually find it beneficial, as the scent of the tape may help them locate the edge of the stair.

Heightened senses
Vision is only one of the many senses that dogs employ every day. Other senses include hearing, smell, and touch. Many experts believe that when a dog (or any other animal) loses one sense, his other senses become heightened. You can learn to communicate better with your blind dog and help him live a fuller life by taking advantage of these other senses.

Blind dogs most definitely learn to orient to sound and respond more to verbal cues. A dog’s sense of hearing is probably the easiest sense for people to take advantage of; most of us naturally talk, whistle, and use other sounds with our dogs. In fact, some of us have trouble not talking to our dogs. When you have a blind dog, you now have an excuse to talk nonstop to your furry friend. The sound of your voice can be reassuring and help orient her to your location. Of course, our voices can be used more directly to give a verbal cue for a desired behavior, too.

You can also take advantage of your dog’s sense of hearing in other ways. Wind chimes, for example, can be placed near the back door to help your dog find his way inside. Bells or noisy tags on your other animals may help your blind dog know who is where in the home. A tabletop fountain can be put in or near a water bowl to orient the dog to the bowl through the sound of running water.

Scenting specific objects in the home can also be very helpful, says Levin. She suggests “scent marking” the three most important pieces of the dog’s environment. For most dogs, those parts of the environment would be their food and water bowls; their beds, crates, or other safe spots; and the dog doors or other access routes to the outdoors. She says that if you mark each of these places with a different scent – using, for example, scented oils (like lemon oil) or cooking additives (like vanilla or almond extract) – the dog may be able to find these places with greater ease.

Alt notes that her blind dogs seem to crave physical touch. They enjoy lying across her feet or cuddling on the couch. Touching your dog may also become an important communication tool, and may be especially important for a dog who is deaf as well as blind. You can teach a dog that a “tap on the shoulder” means pay attention, or that a gentle touch to the rear means “sit.” In addition, teaching your dog to “touch” and follow your hand by scent may help you guide him, for example, through an unfamiliar gate or doorway.

Some dogs may startle if touched unexpectedly, especially if they had this tendency before they lost their eyesight. Just as you might condition a puppy to accept being startled and touched, a dog who has recently lost his vision may need to be conditioned to like unexpected touch. By pairing “touches” with great treats, you can easily teach a dog to accept the unexpected contact. Many dogs can actually learn to enjoy being startled.

Train for everyday activities

Training a dog who cannot see is similar in many ways to training a dog who does see. Luring a dog into position, for example, capitalizes on the dog’s sense of smell. He doesn’t need to see the treat to know it is in front of his nose.

Capturing behavior using a reward marker, such as a clicker or verbal “yes,” can be very effective with blind dogs, as this method depends on the dog’s hearing rather than vision. As with a sighted dog, learning basic cues like sit, down, stay, and come not only improves the dog’s manners, but also helps develop his confidence. In addition, a few specific behaviors can be particularly useful for a blind dog to learn.

• “Careful” or “easy” may be the most important behavior to teach a visually impaired dog. Teach your dog that the cue “careful” means, “Slow down or stop. There is something in front of you.” It may be easiest initially to teach this cue indoors, with your dog on leash. Start by walking with your dog, say “careful,” and assist your dog in stopping through a gentle pressure on the leash or by putting your hand across his chest. Reward him when he has stopped.

Once he has the idea and is visibly slowing or stopping on your verbal cue, you can practice “careful” as you approach an object such as the couch or a wall. Once he has stopped, you can let him move forward enough to discover the object in front of him, but don’t let him actually walk into the object. With several repetitions, your dog will learn that “careful” means that something is directly in front of him. Levin notes that this cue is also helpful if your dog becomes disoriented or confused, as stopping can help him to reorient.

• “Run” or “go” lets your dog know that he is safe to run and may be an especially important cue for a young or high-energy dog. You can practice this in your yard or a safe open area. Just before releasing your dog to run, say the word “go” or “run.” Your dog will soon learn to associate the word with a wide-open space, free of obstacles and dangers.

• “Right” and “left” can be helpful for directing your dog around people or obstacles on walks, or for directing your dog toward a toy or ball. Levin suggests using a slight pressure on the leash to help your dog learn directional cues.

You may also have success with moving a treat past your dog’s nose and giving it a gentle toss. Your dog can orient both to the scent of the treat and to the sound of it landing on the floor. Or if you enjoy clicker training, you could “shape” a turning away or toward you behavior.

• “Step up,” “step down,” and “stairs” can be essential cues for a blind dog to understand. You can use “step up” or “step down” as you approach a step or curb, or as a cue for getting in and out of the car.

Consider teaching a separate cue like “stairs” for a full flight of stairs. When training a dog to navigate steps or stairways, Levin recommends starting on a single step or a small stairway, helping them to master the mini version before moving on to a full set of stairs.

Putting some type of physical clue, such as a rug or mat, at the top and bottom landing may also help dogs identify where the stairs start and end. Some blind dogs learn to take steps and stairs with little trouble; a little coaxing and a trail of treats can motivate them to take a step up or down.

“With Chewbacca, I just tapped the next step, physically helped him move one paw, then he would bring his other paw down,” says Alt. Chewbacca learned to go up and down stairs in a few tries. “But it was very different with Iris,” Alt confesses. Iris was timid, even afraid of the stairs. Going up wasn’t as bad, but teaching her to go down on her own took a couple of months, a lot of patience, and the aid of a non-skid surface. Both Levin and Alt emphasize that patience is key in teaching a blind dog to take stairs.

Games blind dogs play
Blind dogs, like all dogs, need to be active. Walking, running, and playing will help them maintain their health and live a longer, happier life. And, with a little modification, you can encourage your dog to participate in many of the same activities he enjoyed before losing his sight. For example, if your dog is a ball fiend, you can continue to play retrieving games with him. Many dogs will continue to find their toys and balls by sound and scent. If your dog has trouble retrieving a regular tennis ball or toy, however, you can use a ball with a bell, a scented ball, or a retrieve item that can be stuffed with a smelly treat.

Scent discrimination games are a great option for blind dogs and Alt says that these types of games seem to be second nature for her dogs. When Alt plays fetch with Chewbacca, she can toss a toy into a pile of like toys, and Chewbacca will have no trouble finding the current play object every time. For people and dogs who enjoy a more formal training experience, consider teaching the scent discrimination exercise used at the utility level of formal obedience competition.

Other toys and games that seem to be particularly attractive for dogs who cannot see include tug games, food balls (the type the dog noses around a room, dropping treats as it goes), squeaky toys, “Wiggly Giggly” balls, and food-stuffed toys such as Kongs or Toppls.

Many blind dogs, especially after their initial adjustment period, will also enjoy adventures outside the home. On-leash, neighborhood walks are a safe bet for most dogs. But can blind dogs also enjoy off-leash romps? With supervision, some can, depending on the dog and the specific environment. For example, Alt is able to walk her dogs off-leash near her home.

“Walking in the same direction each day helps,” said Alt. Her blind dogs remember the path much the way they remember their way around the house. “If we go the other way though, they will be a little more confused,” she says. Having a warning word is essential, Alt adds, and her dogs know to stop and take a different route if she says, “careful.” Alt also says that a click of her fingers or clap of the hands will help orient her dogs and bring them running back to her if they do get confused.

In less routine environments, however, letting a blind dog off leash may simply be too dangerous. “You do need to protect them more than other dogs,” said Alt.

Social lives
Can blind dogs live happily with other dogs? Absolutely – if they get along with other dogs and are generally a candidate for a multi-dog household. Several owners of blind dogs told me that not only did their blind and sighted dogs do well together, but that the sighted dogs become, in some ways, “seeing eye dogs” for the blind dogs. One woman reported that she could send her sighted dog into a field after her blind dog if the blind dog became confused. Another said that her newly blind dog began following her sighted dog around the home and seemed to find a sense of security in knowing his canine pal was just ahead.

The Alt family pack relaxes at the end of a long, adventure-filled day. Visitors to the Alt home may not be able to quickly identify the two blind members of the pack (the dogs on either end of the sofa).

Levin mentioned that it might be important to use caution around other dogs with a newly blinded dog in the home. Shortly after losing his vision, a dog may be insecure or frightened and behave differently with the other dogs at first. All of the dogs may need an adjustment period, and Levin emphasized that strong leadership on the part of the person is very important at this stage.

Levin also noted that puppies born blind may initially have a difficult time with dog-to-dog interactions because they cannot see and respond to another dog’s body language. For example, an older dog may rebuff an overbearing puppy through body language first, before escalating to a more severe reprimand. If the puppy cannot see and respond appropriately to the older dog, he may get a harsher correction than he deserves. In addition, a blind dog may not see another dog send a friendly signal, such as a play bow. If the dogs’ interactions become confused, it may be necessary for the person to step in and help the dogs interact appropriately.

Not all blind dogs – even those born blind – have trouble with dog to dog communication. Alt is in the unique situation of not only sharing her home with four dogs, but also of providing rescue work for other dogs and for some wild animals. She doesn’t know whether her two blind dogs “learned” body language, or just instinctively knew how to respond to other animals, but both do very well with the family dogs and visiting dogs. Alt says that while the blind dogs may initially be afraid of a new or strange animal in their home, they do adjust quickly.

Dogs who live in the same home or who have regular play sessions seem to learn to communicate in ways that work for both the sighted dog and the blind dog. A sighted dog may adjust his communication style to better engage a blind friend. For example, when Iris wants to play with her dog friend Bear, she picks up a toy and entices him with normal canine body language. When Bear wants to play with Iris, he may initially try to engage her with common play signals such as the play bow. But because Iris can’t see his play antics, Bear has learned to paw her as an invitation to play.

Heart connections
Alt says that she really identifies with the saying, “Blind dogs see with their hearts.” To her, living with blind dogs is a very special experience, and one she cannot imagine living without. According to Alt, the relationship with a blind dog can go to an even deeper level than with other dogs. Perhaps it is the blind dog’s desire for contact and physical touch (a quality most people are drawn to) or our very human desire to be needed. Whatever the reason, for many of those who share their lives with blind dogs, the relationship is very rewarding.

Causes of Canine Blindness
The causes of blindness in dogs include blindness from birth defects; complications during pregnancy or birth; hereditary problems; complications from diseases like diabetes and Cushings disease; and loss of vision from trauma or injury. Some of the more common causes of eye problems in dogs include:

 

■ Cataracts. A cataract is a cloudy change in the lens of the eye. Cataracts are classified according to the age of onset and can appear from birth (congenital), up to about six years of age (developmental or juvenile), or as the dog grows older. Cataracts can be inherited or caused by diseases such as diabetes. Some forms of cataracts do not seriously affect vision, but other forms can lead to blindness. The only treatment for cataracts is surgery, which is often successful in preventing blindness.

■ Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) or Progressive Retinal Degeneration (PRD). PRA and PRD are a “family” of seven genetically inherited diseases. In PRA and PRD, the retina gradually shrinks and the dog loses vision over time. This condition is not painful, but usually causes vision loss in both eyes. It can occur as young as six months or later in life at five or six years of age.

■ Glaucoma. Glaucoma causes a build up of pressure inside the eye. It can be very painful and is a frequent cause of blindness in both people and dogs. Treatment can sometimes save the dog’s eyesight, but if glaucoma becomes more advanced, the dog may lose vision. Surgery can relieve the pain caused by glaucoma.

■ Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS). While this condition is not as common as some eye problems, the incidence of SARDS, first reported in 1980, may be increasing. SARDS causes sudden and complete blindness, but the exact cause of SARDS is not known.

If you suspect your dog has a vision problem, consult with your veterinarian right away. As noted above, treatment can often reduce the symptoms of eye problems, and sometimes even save vision.

 

Also With This Article
“Blind Dogs Can Have Normal Lives Too”
“Structure of the Canine Eye”

Best Dog Grooming Tools for Shedding

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

by Nancy Kerns

The last time we reviewed dog hair removing tools, I missed out. I bought the products, photographed them, and sent them off to Pat Miller, our training editor and regular product reviewer. I ended up with only one tool, a duplicate that I ordered accidentally.

Well, the Millers needed them more than me, I suppose; at the time, Pat and her husband owned four dogs and two cats. I had only one dog and one cat. But I wear black a lot, and my dog had a lot of white in his coat. So I used the heck out of that tool – pretty much wore out the stickiness. And now I’ve got a little yellow and white dog, who has to be picked up and cuddled, dozens of times a day. It was way past time to review hair removers again – only this time, I didn’t let them out of my sight.

It’s been fun, hugging my little dog with impunity, since I’ve got hair removers all over my house and in my car.

Different strokes
A few of the 10 products I tested are tape-rollers; you roll them over fabric until the tape is no longer adhesive; then you pick off the outermost sheet, discard, and begin again. A few use an electrostatic charge to attract loose hair from your clothes or upholstery; then you pull the collected hair off and dispose of it. One uses a “one-way” fabric, so if you brush your clothes in one direction, it wipes lint and hair off (and if you inadvertently wipe the wrong way, you load your outfit with even more hair and lint). The last one, my personal favorite, uses a bizarre sticky substance that securely picks up hair, and can be rinsed off under a tap to start over, good as new.

Looking back over the comments made by Miller in her review of some of the same and some similar products a few years ago, I realized that this is one of the instances when it’s impossible to be completely objective; our regard for products that work almost equally well depends on our personal needs and preferences. Despite the different approaches to the task, most of these products excel at picking up hair (and lint and dirt and other dog-related debris); some are simply better suited to certain applications than others. I’ll take a shot at rating each product, but don’t hesitate to buy a lower-rated product if it is perfectly suited to your needs.

Note: I found these products offered for sale in many catalogs and pet supply stores. I’ve listed just two sources for them, outlets that sold the products for the lowest price – not including shipping. Include shipping costs when you compare prices between catalogs and local pet supply stores.

Top products
The Tacky Pick-Up, made by Classic Products, is my personal favorite hair and lint remover because of its effectiveness, economy, and longevity. It works well on any fabric, strongly attracting any loose hair and debris, but does not require the purchase of refills, like the tape-based rollers. Instead, the lint and hair rinses off the roller under a tap. Using this tool is more time- and labor-intensive than using a tape roller, because it is so effective; it picks up so much debris that completely cleaning a hair-covered coat or sweater, for instance, might require four or five rinses. But you don’t ever have to buy refills!

I’ve had one of these rollers for years, and the sticky material only recently quit rinsing clean, compromising its effectiveness. Unfortunately, in anticipation of the new products’ arrival, I threw it away. The package on the new model says that when the product becomes less effective, the roller can be cleaned with alcohol to restore its stick. D’oh!

Years ago we reviewed a similar product that utilized a sheet of plastic to cover the roller when not in use, and we found it quite difficult to tear the cover off the sticky material each time. Classic Products solved that problem by including a hard plastic case that covers but does not touch the tacky substance. We love it.

Here’s the only drawback: You have to be close to a faucet to use it for more than one pass over your outfit. That would do the trick if you had just a few stray hairs on you, but wouldn’t do at all if you were more liberally covered. So, I’d have to say this is my favorite at-home hair pick-up tool.

For removing hair from my clothes while I’m in my car, at the gym, or on a business trip, I’d carry one of the tape-based devices. It wouldn’t be cost-effective to use one of these tools all the time, but they are perfect for situations where you have to be hair- and lint-free (and there is no sink).

My favorite tape-based roller is Evercare’s Pet Hair Pic-Up. Its label boasts “37% stickier than the leading competitor.” I giggled at that claim – how could that possibly be verified? – until I grabbed both rolls with my bare hands. Well, gosh, the Evercare product is stickier than one competitor I compared it to, Hair Busters; I just don’t know if it’s “37%” stickier. I do know that it’s easier to remove hair-covered sheets from the Pet Hair Pic-Up than from Hair Busters. For these reasons, I’m giving the Evercare product a half-paw higher rating.

Refills for the Pet Care Pic-Up cost us $2.70 each; Hair Buster refills are $2.60. Each contained 60 sheets.

Evercare also makes the Large Surface Pet Hair Pic-Up, utilizing a similarly sticky tape on a 10-inch roller, perfect for cleaning the couch. It cost $10 with a short handle, or $14 for a kit with the short handle and a 50-inch extension handle. Refill rolls cost $5.50 for 25 sheets, or $7.50 for 50 sheets.

At this point I have to mention a new product, the Lint Card. This business card-sized packet encloses four business card-sized adhesive sheets that are clearly not intended for major hair removal, but are perfect for quick, final sweeps over your outfit, say, just before a job interview. The packet fits neatly in even the slimmest wallet or skirt pocket, and the sheets are easy to peel away and dispose. The small size of the product makes it uneconomical to use every day, but I’ve found it to be well worth the price to have a couple in my purse for outfit emergencies.

The Lint Card’s manufacturer sells directly to consumers, but is seeking retail outlets, so ask your local pet supply store to buy them in bulk and carry them for you for a break in the price.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “How To Make Dog Grooming Enjoyable”
Click here to view “The Importance of Dog Grooming and Skin Care”

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A dock diving dog leaps off the edge of a dock into the water.
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Accepting Your Dog

Nancy Kerns 6
Years ago, I had high hopes for participating in dock diving sport with my now-9-year-old dog, Woody. But it turned out that my high-jumping, strong-swimming dog absolutely hates getting water in his ears!
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