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I know Ive said this before, but I really am one of the biggest beneficiaries of the articles in WDJ. Each and every article has helped my dog or some dog I know.
For example, in the course of researching and writing about canned foods for this issue, I found some great new products to give my dog, Rupert. While editing the article on oral health I learned why I had better hurry up and schedule a complete dental exam and cleaning for him. At almost 13 years old, Rupert has never needed a teeth-cleaning before, but he recently began developing tartar and even a little gingivitis. I also know what questions to ask my veterinarian about the anesthesia before scheduling an appointment.
Rupert has a heart condition that is kept under control with medication and a special herb tea. He passed a recent cardiology checkup with flying colors, and his overall energy and condition is good. But there is no denying that hes an aging dog, and his hearing is deteriorating rapidly. Its gotten to the point where you can walk up behind him calling his name loudly, and he only cocks his head and peers forward, with a Did I just hear something? look on his face. Fortunately, he can still hear hand-claps, which is how we now get his attention; then we use hand signals and semaphore flags (I exaggerate, of course) to tell him what to do and where to go. It seems silly with such a well-behaved dog, but Rupe is an obsessively compliant dog who feels more relaxed when told to Down-stay! than when he is left to lie down under his own volition. This is anthropomorphizing, of course, but I think the fact that I can still order him around and reward him for his usual obedience means a lot to him. Pat Millers article on hand signals has helped us a lot.
By the way, in The Price of Prescriptions in the September issue, I mentioned a dog named Chase, whose guardians were paying about $80 a month for his Prozac prescription. When I interviewed them for the article, which was about ways to save money on veterinary prescription drugs, I had encouraged them to shop around for a better price for their dogs prescription. I even found a pharmacy close to them that sold a months worth of a generic form of the medicine for $64.
Shortly after the September issue went to press, I received a message on my voice mail from Kelly. Thank you, thank you, thank you for telling us to shop around, the message began. I took Chases prescription to Costco the other day, and was given a price of just $9.45 for a months supply, and $12.96 for two months worth of Chases pills. Your article has saved us a fortune.
When I was a kid growing up in the country, my family’s dogs ate a pelleted food that came in 50-pound burlap sacks from the same feed store where we purchased hay and grain. The food looked more like chicken feed than anything else, but our dogs cleaned it up.
Until I was about 12, the only canned pet food I ever saw was at my grandmother’s house. She lived with one of my uncles in the city, and fed my uncle’s fat orange cat a small can of food every day. As a tomboy used to romping barefoot around the countryside with a pack of dogs, I thought the city was unbearable, the cat spoiled, and the cat’s food repugnant. Surely only sissy cats and foo-foo dogs ate that stinky stuff!
As I grew into adulthood, I learned to feed my dogs dry foods that have steadily increased in quality. But I overcame my life-long bias against canned foods only a couple of years ago, when I found out that top-quality canned pet foods are actually quite healthy, perhaps more so than dry foods. They should never be dismissed as being a frou-frou luxury for spoiled pets, as I regarded them for decades.
Canned foods are frequently made with higher-quality ingredients than their dry counterparts, including fresh, whole meats, grains, and vegetables. They generally contain a higher percentage of meat than dry foods, if for no other reason than because dry food extruders can’t handle foods that contain more than 50 percent meat. Also, canned foods usually contain way fewer chemical additives than dry foods. Artificial colors and flavors are actually uncommon in canned products; because of the moist, fragrant nature of the meat-based contents, artificial flavoring and other palatants are rarely needed to attract dogs to otherwise unappealing food.
Of course, palatability is why the guardians of fussy old dogs and cats end up buying canned foods you don’t want older or sick animals skipping meals. But the higher palatability of canned foods also indicates that the food more closely resembles what dogs are hard-wired to enjoy, namely, meat! Dogs generally like canned food more than kibble because it tends to contain more meat and more fat than dry food.
Canned food also tends to have a higher energy content, ounce for ounce. Its high moisture content is helpful for dogs with cystitis or kidney disease. The high moisture content can also help a dog who is on a diet feel full faster.
In addition, added preservatives, which are ubiquitous in dry foods are unnecessary and rarely seen in canned foods, due to the sealed, oxygen-free environment that a can offers. (This does not mean the foods are free of preservatives altogether; some ingredients arrive at the food manufacturing plants already preserved. As long as the maker does not augment the food with additional preservatives, this hidden ingredient does not have to be declared on the food label.) Because they lack added preservatives, canned foods must be kept refrigerated after opening.
WDJ’s selection criteria
Of course, not all canned dog foods are full of fabulous, healthy ingredients. As with every other sector of the commercial food industry, there are lots and lots of subpar products on the market, and a small, select group of top-quality products.
Here’s how we determine which foods are which. We required the following for a product to make it into the running for our Top Canned Dog Foods:
We eliminated all foods containing artificial colors, flavors, or added preservatives.
We rejected any food containing meat by-products or poultry by-products. (Please note that in past years, we did select some foods that contained meat and poultry by-products. We don’t think by-products are necessarily bad; they just aren’t as good as muscle meat. In order to winnow down our list to the very best foods possible, we no longer include foods that contain meat or poultry by-products.)
We rejected any food containing fat or protein not identified by species. Animal fat is a euphemism for a low-quality, low-priced mix of fats of uncertain origin. Meat by-products can be from any mammal or mix of mammals. These ingredients come to the food makers at bargain-bucket prices, and accordingly, may not have been handled as carefully as more valuable commodities.
One borderline case: poultry fat. We’d prefer to see chicken fat, for example, than a mix of fats, potentially bought and mixed from various sources. But we have selected a couple of foods that contain poultry fat.
We eliminated any food containing sugar or any other sweetener. A food containing quality meats shouldn’t need additional palatants to entice dogs.
We looked for foods with whole meat, fish, or poultry as the first ingredient on the food labels. By law, ingredients are listed on the label by the total weight they contribute to the product. Water is necessary for the manufacturing process used to make canned foods, but in lower-quality products, water is usually the first ingredient. (Again, in past years, we selected some foods that featured water in the first position on the label; we are tightening up our list.) It’s not a requirement, but we like it when a nutritious meat, poultry, or fish broth is used in place of water.
We looked for the use of whole grains and vegetables, rather than a series of reconstituted parts, i.e., rice, rather than rice flour, rice bran, brewers rice, etc.
We award theoretical bonus points for foods that offer the date of manufacture (in addition to the usual best if used by date), nutrition information beyond the minimum required, and any organic ingredients. Expensive and hard to find
It may come as a shock to learn that the best foods for your dog the ones that contain only top-quality whole-food ingredients are both more expensive and more difficult to find than foods whose names you may be more familiar with. Just as with human foods, the dog foods that are produced and sold in the largest quantities in this country are not the healthiest foods.
This principle is also true of human foods, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. If you go to a large chain grocery store in search of processed foods that don’t contain numerous food fragments, preservatives, artificial colors, etc., you’ll soon discover these sorts of products are uncommon there. You might see 15 different types of macaroni and cheese mix on the shelf, but you probably won’t find even one that doesn’t contain artificial colors, flavors, and more than 30 ingredients unless you go to a health food store or a gourmet food store. In these small, independently owned and operated shops, you’ll find all sorts of foods that were manufactured without additives and fragments. In these stores, a box of macaroni and cheese mix might be $2.79 rather than $0.69, but it will contain just four or five healthy ingredients and taste great, too.
Not rank-ordered
Our Top Canned Food selections are listed alphabetically on the next page. We don’t rank-order our selections; all of the products listed on the chart meet our criteria for top-quality foods.
Please don’t regard the products on our list as the only good foods, or even as the best foods on the market. We don’t pretend to know about every food on the market. There are probably hundreds of foods available somewhere in the U.S. that we dont know about. Some of these may meet our selection criteria for a top-quality canned food; you can easily determine this for yourself by comparing the ingredients listed on the food with our selection criteria.
Which one is best for your dog? We can’t tell you that. Price or local availability influences some dog owners decisions. The most important criterion should be your dog’s response to the food. Keep an eye on his coat, eyes, ears, stool, mood, energy, appetite, and grooming habits. If he develops itchy paws, diarrhea, or goopy ears a week after changing foods, think about changing again. Note the ingredients in the brand and variety you tried, in case you begin to see a trend an intolerance of chicken, for example. But if his health improves after changing foods, you’re on the right track.
By the way, we don’t think any food should be your dog’s one and only diet for months and years. As we discussed in Variety Is the Spice of Life (WDJ June 2001), it’s a good idea to periodically switch foods. Manufacturers tend to use the same vitamin/mineral pre-mix and the same food ingredients for years and years, resulting in a product with a fairly constant nutrient content. If a dog eats the same food and nothing but that food for years and years the brand loyalty that manufacturers love to hear about any nutritional imbalances, excesses, or deficiencies present in the food can eventually affect your dog’s health.
Food allergies and intolerances can also develop in dogs who eat the same food for long periods. Changing from a chicken-based food to one that contains only beef to a fish-based food can help prevent the development of food allergies.
To reiterate: We equally like and approve of all of the foods listed among our selections, and any other foods that meet our selection criteria. But your dogs response to the food is the ultimate criterion.
Does your dog know what “Sit!” means? Most people think their dogs do, because when they stand in front of their dogs looking down at them, pointing toward the ground, and saying, “Sit! Sit! Sit!”- their dogs sit! Voila!
I would argue that, in fact, the average dog who sits in that situation does not know the verbal cue, “Sit!” What he understands is that he should sit when he is confronted by his person standing in a certain position in relation to him, with a certain expression on her face, making a certain sound. If he really understood, “Sit!” he would sit (most of the time) when he heard anyone around him, in any position or posture, say, “Sit!”
You can test my theory. Say “Sit!” to your dog when you have your back to him and are looking up at the ceiling or with your arms crossed over your chest, or when you are hopping on one foot. If he sits when you do these things, then he really does understand the verbal cue, “Sit!”
An important goal of my Level 1 training classes is to teach people to use verbal cues with their dogs. Getting the dogs to perform various behaviors by using a combination of verbal cues, body language, and lures is easy. Getting the dogs to do the behaviors without the prompts, on just a verbal cue, is more challenging, but it’s of the utmost importance. After all, there are numerous situations where you have only your voice to communicate with your dog. There are times when your hands are full – of groceries, school books, laundry baskets, the baby. There are times when your dog cannot see you; he may be behind you, in another room, or behind a tree and about to cross a road. At some time in his life he may become visually impaired, no longer able to see and respond to your body language.
I teach hand signals in my Level 2 class. My students are generally delighted when they discover how much easier it is to get their dogs to respond to distinct body language cues for specific behaviors – much easier than it is to teach verbal cues. It’s easier because dogs are primarily body language communicators, and they have a large body vocabulary. The twitch of an ear, the shift of an eye, a slight turn of the head – these are just a few canine expressions that are rich with meaning to other dogs.
Trainer Sandi Thompson has taught Tater Tot, her 10-year-old “Rat-weiler,” about 30 different tricks, each with a visual cue. Sandi flexes her fingers toward her palm for “Wave!”
I teach hand signals because there are also times when visual cues are the communication tool of choice. You may be talking to someone – on the phone or in person – and do not want to interrupt the conversation in order to ask your dog to lie down. The new baby may finally be sleeping, and you don’t want to risk waking her by talking to your dog. As your canine pal ages, he may lose his hearing and no longer be able to hear and respond to verbal cues. And you may simply love the way your relationship is enhanced when you can communicate silently with your dog.
To review: If a dog is going to be taught just one clear cue for various behaviors, I think it’s most important to teach him an auditory cue. If a person takes his training further, he should learn visual cues, too. In the best of all possible worlds, a dog should know both types of cues for almost every basic behavior you want him to perform.
In past WDJ articles, I’ve mostly discussed teaching dogs verbal cues for various behaviors. Here, I’ll concentrate on how to teach him visual cues.
Training Your Dog with Hand Signals
There are two philosophies about hand signals. Some people like to use small, subtle signals, barely visible to the human eye. A tiny finger movement cues the dog to lie down. Another elicits a sit. A small wave sends the dog into heel position. Impressive – it appears that the dog is mind-reading!
The other school of thought advises that hand signals should be BIG, so the dog can see them from far away. If you want your dog to lie down on the opposite side of a pasture, he won’t be able to see a finger flick.
I advocate teaching both. While a dog cannot learn two different behaviors for the same cue (“Down” means either lie down, or don’t jump on me – it can’t mean both), they are perfectly capable of learning two (or more) different cues for the same behavior. My Scottie knows the cue for “Down” in several languages – a result of his role as a demonstration dog in my classes. When he learned to lie down on the verbal cue “Down,” I had to use a new word in order to be able to show the class what to do when a dog does not lie down for the verbal cue. Dubhy will now lie down in English, French, German, Spanish, and in response to a hand signal.
To teach your dog a new cue for a behavior that he already knows how to perform, first decide what your new cue is going to be. Pick a discrete motion that you can replicate easily; consistency is the name of the game here. Your dog will learn to associate the new signal with the old signal more quickly if the new signal looks the same each time.
Now begin working with the two signals together. Give the new cue (hand signal) a second or two before the cue that he already knows, until he begins to anticipate the second cue upon seeing the first. “Mark” his behavior the moment he does the right thing (I strongly recommend using a clicker or a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and then give him a tasty reward. This sequence, in essence, tells your dog, “This new cue means the same thing as the old cue.”
How to Start Using Silent Cues
Here is how I initially teach hand signals for Down, Sit, and Come. I encourage my students to start with big hand signals, like the ones most people use in obedience competitions. No one wants to risk having their dog miss the signal from across the ring!
• Down: Hold a treat in your right hand. With your dog sitting in front of you, stand with both arms relaxed at your sides. Raise your right arm straight up. A second after your arm reaches its full height, fingers pointed toward the ceiling, say your verbal “Down” cue. Pause for another second. If your dog does not lie down, lower your right hand to his nose and lure him down with the treat. Click! (or “Yes!”) and treat. Repeat this exercise until he will lie down for the hand signal and verbal cue without the lure.
When he has done at least a half dozen downs without the lure, give the hand signal (arm raised) without the verbal cue. If he goes down, Click! and Jackpot! That is, feed him lots of treats, one at a time, in special recognition of his accomplishment. If he doesn’t lie down, do another dozen repetitions with both cues, and then try again with just the hand signal. You will probably be surprised by how quickly he does it.
Say you are talking on the phone with your boss and your dog starts barking playfully at your cat. A finger held to your lips can be used to tell your dog to “Shush.” But if that caller is someone you don’t want to talk to, you can also use a signal (Sandi rapidly opens and closes her hand) to ask your dog to bark like mad, then excuse yourself to “go catch that dog
• Sit: Hold a treat in your left hand this time. With your dog lying down in front of you, stand with both arms relaxed at your sides. Bring your left arm up in a circular motion in front of your chest with your elbow bent, then straighten it out to your left side, parallel to the ground, in a “ta-da!” sort of flourish.
A second after your arm straightens, say your verbal “Sit” cue. Pause for another second. If your dog does not sit, bring your arm down and lure him up with the treat in your hand. Click! (or “Yes!”) and treat. Repeat until he will sit for just the hand signal and verbal cue without the lure.
When he has done at least a half dozen sits without the lure, give the hand signal (arm raised) without the verbal cue. If he sits, Click! and Jackpot! If he doesn’t, do another dozen repetitions with both cues, and then try again with just the hand signal. Keep repeating until he gets it. Then practice this from the “Stand” position as well.
• Come: If your dog is well trained, you can leave him on a sit- or down-stay and walk five feet away. If his stay is not rock-solid, have someone hold him on a leash while you walk away.
Turn and face him, with your arms at your sides and a treat in your right hand. Fling your right arm up and out to your side, as if you wanted to smack someone standing behind you. A second after your arm is out and parallel to the ground, say your verbal “Come!” cue. If he does not come, hold your arm parallel to the ground for another second, then bend your elbow and sweep the treat past his nose, ending up with your hand in front of your chest. If necessary, take a step or two back to encourage your dog to get up and come to you. Repeat this exercise until he will come for the hand signal and verbal cue without the lure.
When he has done at least six or so recalls without the lure, give the hand signal without the verbal cue. If he comes, Click! and Jackpot! If he doesn’t, do another dozen repetitions with both cues, and then try again with just the hand signal. When he starts responding, begin practicing the hand-signal “Come” from increasingly greater distances.
Subtle Hand Signals
You may need to approach the task of teaching tiny cues a little differently. Because a lot of our moving and twitching is not meaningful communication for our dogs, they learn to tune out or ignore most of our small movements, unless we take the time to teach them that a particular small movement has meaning. You may have to start with bigger signals and gradually shrink them down to “mind-reading” size.
• Down: If you train using positive methods, you probably taught your dog to lie down by moving a treat or toy lure toward the floor in front of his nose. He already knows that your hand moving toward the floor is a cue for “Down.” You can teach him a finger-point “Down” by gradually reducing the motion you have been using, but without the lure, until it morphs into a finger point. Or, if you have dog who is very observant, you can simply start with the finger point. In either case, give the signal, give him a second to respond, then say your verbal “Down” cue, and finally, lure him down if necessary. Click! and treat.
• Sit: Similarly, you may have taught your dog to sit from the down position by luring him up with a treat. It’s easy to turn your lure motion into a small upward finger twitch, the same way you did with the “Down” cue. Either gradually shrink the lure motion until it becomes tiny, or start right in with the final motion that you want to use. Remember the sequence: hand signal, then verbal cue, then lure if necessary. Remember to Click! and treat.
• Come: You probably don’t need to lure your dog to teach him to come – you more likely used body language such as moving backward to encourage him to come running to you. Give him a small hand signal such as holding your hand with your palm facing your stomach and beckoning to him with all four fingers. A second later, give your verbal “Come” cue and take a step backward if necessary. Of course, Click! and reward him when he comes. He’ll probably get this one very quickly!
Remember that in order for you to be able to communicate with your dog nonverbally, he has to be looking at you. You may want to teach him a nonverbal “pay attention” cue such as a finger snap, so you can get him to focus on you without interrupting your phone conversation. Just pair that snap with a tasty treat (snap, and then feed him a treat) and he’ll be happy to look at you when he hears that sound.
Also remember that you don’t need to limit yourself to hand signals. Any part of your body can cue a behavior. You could teach your dog to lie down when you duck your chin toward your chest, or tap your foot on the floor. You could teach him to come when you shrug your shoulders, or to sit when you raise your eyebrows. Just follow the three-step process to teach any signal for any behavior: Give the signal you have chosen for the behavior, say the verbal cue, then lure if necessary.
Hand Signals for the Deaf or Hearing-Impaired Dog
Hand signals are an obvious training tool for deaf dogs. Lure and reward training is also a natural for deaf dogs – they will follow your hot dog treat just as easily as any other dog.
A visual signal, such as a thumbs up, can be used to replace a Click! or verbal marker such as “Yes!”
The difference is that you must use a visual reward marker rather than an audible one. Instead of a Click! or a “Yes!” to mark the rewardable behavior (followed by a treat), do something that your dog can see – such as a “thumbs-up” sign – and follow it with a treat. Some trainers recommend a hand “flash” – a closed fist rapidly opened with all fingers extended – as a highly visible deaf “Click!”
Once your dog understands that a juicy piece of hot dog always follows the hand flash, he will be able to learn that whatever he is doing when he sees the hand flash has earned him a reward. He will then offer that behavior more often, in hopes of winning a hand flash and treat.
As long as you remember to signal and reward – very frequently at first, then with reduced frequency later on, if you wish, he will do appropriate behaviors, such as sitting to greet you, easily and consistently.
Training “regular” dogs to respond to verbal cues alone can be challenging. With a deaf dog, you never have to worry about that; you will depend on visual cues only to communicate with your dog and elicit the desired behavior responses.
While some deaf dog advocates recommend learning American Sign Language as used with hearing-impaired humans and using that with your dog, it isn’t necessary. You just need to create a set of clear hand signals for the behaviors you want to teach your dog, and be consistent in how you use them.
Just like words, visual signals mean absolutely nothing to your dog until you associate them with a behavior. Whatever signals you use, be sure to be patient and positive, and take the time your dog needs to help him understand what they mean. Punishing him for not responding will only confuse and frighten him.
TRAINING WITH HAND SIGNALS: OVERVIEW
1. Think about which behaviors you would like your dog to perform without an audible cue. Make up a discrete physical cue for each behavior. Be creative!
2. Teach your dog each visual cue in this order: Use the new cue, wait a second; use the old verbal cue, wait a second; and then lure the behavior, if necessary. Reward him for each success.
3. Be cheerful and patient and make sure your cues are consistent. Your dog will quickly learn to anticipate the old cue after seeing the new one, and begin offering the desired behavior after the new cue only.
Pat Miller, WDJ’s Training Editor, is also a freelance author and Certified Pet Dog Trainer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has served as the president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and is author of The Power of Positive Dog Training.
Thanks to Sandi Thompson of Sirius Puppy Training in Berkeley, California, for demonstrating hand signals for our camera.
Everyone likes to see a beaming, white smile. Perhaps we’re hard-wired to be attracted to those beings radiating health and vigor. Subconsciously, maybe, we understand that clean, strong teeth reflect youth, a robust immune system, and a well-nourished body.
In dogs, that healthy white “smile” is especially significant as an indicator of overall health and function. Dogs use their mouths not only to eat and drink, but also to communicate, groom, play, and socialize. A healthy mouth is vital for adequate performance of all these roles.
Plaque and tartar accumulate on canine teeth just like ours. Plaque is made of proteins from saliva, which interact with bacteria. If left to accumulate on teeth, bacteria quickly multiply and can invade the gums around the teeth, causing inflammation known as gingivitis. If plaque is not removed, inflammation of the gums can spread to the bone around the teeth, leading in turn to bone loss or periodontal disease. Without adequate bony support, teeth may become loose, or even fall out.
Tartar, or calculus, forms when minerals from saliva cause plaque on the teeth to harden. For older dogs and small dogs with small teeth, plaque accumulation and subsequent disease can progress quickly.
Poor oral health poses more than just a social problem for its canine victims; it may also contribute to poor overall health. “There are clear indications that oral health status has a far reaching effect on an animal’s general health,” says Dr. Frank Verstraete, clinician at the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service at the University of California, Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH). “Periodontal disease may cause bacteria and toxins to enter the bloodstream with potentially negative effects on internal organs. On the flip side, poor systemic health may manifest in the oral cavity in various ways, and exacerbate periodontal disease.” Veterinarians often find that chronically ill dogs quickly improve after professional dental cleaning and resolution of oral infections.
Frequent exams
All dogs should have their teeth examined regularly for signs of tartar, gum disease, and cracked or loose teeth. Dog owners should make it a point to look at their dogs’ teeth at least once a month, and to schedule a veterinary exam at least once a year. Large dogs, with their adequately spaced, big teeth, tend to have fewer problems with excessive tartar and resultant gingivitis, but their powerful jaws may earn them more tooth fractures than smaller dogs. Small dogs – especially toy breeds – are far more apt to have problems related to tooth crowding, including tartar buildup and gum disease. In some toy breeds, these problems may be seen in dogs as young as one year old.
Frequent examinations of your dog’s teeth are necessary because there is so much variation in the development of dental problems. Some dogs may enjoy perfect dental health into their dotage; others get a reputation for their bad breath and brown teeth at an early age. Of course, signs of serious problems, such as bleeding or inflamed gums, exposed nerves, and/or broken or loose teeth warrant an immediate trip to the veterinarian for further examination and treatment.
Why teeth go bad
There are many possible contributing factors that explain this wide range of dental experiences.
Oral conformation and perhaps even oral chemistry may be a function of the dog’s genetic inheritance. If a dog is the product of two parents with crowded, crooked teeth, he’s likely to exhibit this conformation.
Some lucky dogs may well be born with genes that are responsible for protective oral chemistry that inhibits bacterial growth. Some dogs have good spit! Saliva helps to wash food down to the digestive tract, and functions as the first step in digestion.
While salivary amylase initiates the first step in carbohydrate breakdown, other salivary enzymes work with the mineral sodium to disinfectant the oral cavity, breaking down bacteria and microorganisms in food. Adequate salivary flow is a dog’s first line of immune defense; if drugs or treatment (such as those used in chemotherapy or radiation cancer treatments) sufficiently limit saliva production, oral health may suffer.
Diet also plays a role in dental health – although the matter of which diet is most beneficial for the dog’s teeth is a lightning rod for controversy.
Holistic practitioners and “natural diet” advocates tend to blame the unnatural preponderance of carbohydrates and sugars in commercial foods for the buildup of plaque and tartar on canine teeth. They also tend to credit an evolutionary diet with the ability to reverse dental disease and/or maintain dental health. These diets feature lots of raw, meaty bones such as chicken backs or necks, which are either given to the dog whole or ground into a thick paste. Veterinarian and author Dr. Ian Billinghurst, one of the earliest proponents of a “Bones And Raw Food” (BARF) diet for dogs, recommends that such appropriate raw bones are given to dogs whole, in order to reap the benefits of chewing and gnawing biological materials to get teeth clean. However, he also asserts that dogs who consume raw, meaty bones gain the same benefit from the biological activity still present in the material.
Veterinarians who practice conventional medicine would rather put their faith in nutritionists and other food scientists to solve dental problems. Commercial dog food manufacturers concur, and encourage science that supports this tack. Untold millions have been spent by industry leaders to research and develop “treatment foods” that can help keep canine teeth clean. Most “dental diets” utilize oversize or tougher food substrates to abrade tartar, cleaning it away. Some commercial food manufacturers add a chemical substance (polyphosphate) that can reduce the formation of plaque (in trials, by 9 percent) and tartar (in trials, by 58 percent) to their regular canine diets.
Chewing on edible or nonedible toys may help some dogs keep their teeth clean and white. Again, though, it’s a crapshoot. For some individuals, regular chewing keeps teeth scraped clean and gums healthy. For others, chewing may result in cracked teeth, bleeding gums, or serious digestive problems resulting from swallowed chew items. Every veterinarian has at least one story about surgically removing objects from the middle of an avid chewer in the middle of the night. (Since I’m married to a veterinarian who specializes in emergency medicine, I’ve heard a lot of these stories!)
Taking action
If you’re lucky, your examinations of your dog’s teeth reveal nothing but strong, white teeth surrounded by tight, pink gums. Keep doing whatever you are doing for that dog!
At some time or another, though, most of us will discover some amount of tartar formation, and possibly, some gum inflammation, too. This may not constitute a medical emergency, but it should prompt you to immediately schedule an appointment with your veterinarian, anyway. A professional cleaning will be needed to get your dog’s teeth back on the fast track to health, which you can then maintain. Routine periodontal treatment performed by a veterinarian includes ultrasonic scaling, subgingival manual scaling, and polishing, all of which must happen under general anesthesia.
Why hurry? Because gum disease can quickly escalate into bone loss. According to Edward Eisner, DVM, Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College, “In a situation of chronic inflammation, the bone will progressively shrink away from the gums, keeping a distance of 1.5mm from the inflammation. Though an Akita tooth may have a root 30mm long, the tooth root of a Chihuahua may be only 5mm long. The Akita has time before there’s a noticeable problem, but if the Chihuahua loses 1.5mm of bone, he’s lost a third of his teeth’s support, and has only a couple of years before radical therapy is needed. Older dogs that have experienced slow, chronic bone loss due to inflammation may also require extensive therapy.”
Prevention is preferable
Perhaps you think you’d rather have your dog’s teeth cleaned every year, rather than forcing yourself and your dog to endure regular toothbrushing sessions? Let’s talk about the monetary incentives to brush. A complete dental cleaning (under general anesthesia, the only way to get the job done right) may cost anywhere from $250 (pretty cheap) to $800 (commonly seen in large urban practices).
Depending on your dog’s condition and your veterinarian’s preferred procedure, the bill might reflect charges for overnight hospitalization, blood tests and urinalysis (to check kidney and liver function, which can affect the dog’s anesthesia experience), anesthesia and monitoring during surgery, antibiotics (to prevent dislodged, bloodborne bacteria from wreaking havoc elsewhere in the body), dental Xrays (to check the condition of the teeth roots and the underlying bone), and, of course, the examination and cleaning and polishing itself.
Shall we start brushing now?
Just do it
Numerous studies have shown that in the absence of plaque, periodontal disease will not develop. Nothing succeeds at plaque removal like toothbrushing, and it takes just a few minutes a day.
For tips on this simple matter, we turned to another expert from the UC Davis VMTH, Cecilia Gorrel, DDS, MRCVS. Dr. Gorrel is a dental clinician and lecturer, and an enthusiastic advocate of introducing your dog to toothbrushing gradually, and as early in life as possible.
Dr. Gorrel says it’s relatively easy to get a puppy to accept and even enjoy having his teeth brushed. She suggests that you start with maybe 30 seconds the first time, just rubbing your finger over his teeth and gums. Make him comfortable, approaching from the side rather than the front. Small dogs can be held in your lap.
Dr. Gorrel also recommends that you use a piece of gauze the first few times you try to touch the puppy or dog’s teeth. A folded-over piece of cloth serves as a good introductory toothbrush. Try moving up to a “fingerbrush” during the training phase, but every attempt should be made to get your pet to accept a soft nylon filament toothbrush, says Dr. Gorrel.
Using a tasty toothpaste will help win your dog’s compliance. But don’t use human toothpaste, which contains foaming agents that are irritating to a dog’s stomach; use a toothpaste formulated (and flavored) for pets, instead.
If you try to clean every single tooth in the dog’s mouth during your first session, you might not see your dog again for a while. Try starting with just a few teeth, gradually increasing the number of teeth cleaned each time until the whole mouth can be cleaned in a single session.
Also, suggests Dr. Gorrel, the dog’s mouth doesn’t even need to be opened; it’s mainly the outer surfaces of the teeth – especially where the gum and tooth meet – that need brushing. Lifting the lip and cheek away from the teeth with the mouth closed will allow access to the outer surfaces of the teeth furthest back.
With daily practice, your dog will quickly get used to the routine, says Dr. Gorrel. Homecare is more likely to be acceptable to an older pet if it is introduced as an extension of a pre-existing routine, such as an evening walk, grooming, or play time. Offer a reward at the end of the session, such as a game, walk, or a treat. Encouraging saliva flow also helps rinse the mouth, flushing the dental surfaces.
A little warning: Daily toothbrushing constitutes doing as much as you can do to keep your dog’s teeth clean, but it may not preclude the need for professional cleaning for his whole life. “We all brush our teeth everyday, but still need to get our teeth cleaned periodically,” explains Dr. Gorrel. “Consider that even with daily toothbrushing, most animals still need to have their teeth professionally cleaned at variable intervals.” And imagine how short those intervals would be if you have a plaque-prone pooch and you didn’t brush.
Don’t delay
Well, go ahead. Lift your dog’s lips and take a look. Don’t think because your dog is young that you’ve got time to do this later. As the UC Davis veterinary dentist Dr. Verstraete says, “According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, more then 80 percent of dogs develop gum disease by the age of just three years. Gingivitis is reversible and periodontal disease is preventable. When plaque is removed by tooth brushing, the gums and bone around the teeth will stay healthy.”
Recently, we explored the explosion in the numbers and kinds of canine commercial foods aimed at capturing consumers on the basis of their dogs’ age, size, and breed (see “A Special Food for Every Dog?” WDJ June 2002). But as we will see, even “medical” diets seem to have multiplied like rabbits!
Medical diets are the ones formulated for dogs with health problems, from vexing but garden-variety conditions such as itchy skin or digestive issues, to more serious health problems such as cancer or kidney disease. Some of these foods are what we’ll call “veterinary diets” (available only from veterinarians); the rest are over-the-counter (OTC) products, available in any pet supply store.
The number of products available in both types of medical categories has dramatically increased. OTC foods claiming to “promote” healthy coats or “support” digestive function are ubiquitous in pet supply stores and even grocery stores. Hill’s Pet Nutrition was once the only maker of foods that are available only with a veterinarian’s prescription; there are now several major manufacturers offering competing product lines, including Eukanuba, Innovative Veterinary Diets (IVD), Purina, and Waltham.
Vet-Prescribed and OTC Dog Foods: What’s the Difference?
While all of these medical diets claim to benefit dogs with certain health conditions, there are some significant differences between veterinary and OTC products.
Veterinary foods are available only from veterinarians. In theory, a dog would receive a “prescription” for one of the foods following a specific diagnosis, and the vet would monitor the effect the diet had on the dog. If a manufacturer wants to claim that its product can prevent or treat disease, the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), a branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), requires research that proves this. The maker must provide extensive documentation that the food is both safe and efficacious – that it does what it says.
In contrast, OTC food labels are couched in very general terms. They can’t say their products “prevent” or “treat” anything; those are medical claims. Instead, they use vague verbs such as “support” or “promote.” Because they do not make medical claims, the makers of these foods are not required to prove that their products actually do what they say they do.
Another difference is that while the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets the standards for OTC pet foods, and the individual state feed control officials regulate the manufacturers in their own states, veterinary diets are solely within the purview of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. The labels on veterinary foods must still comply with AAFCO’s general guidelines, but the CVM oversees and enforces the medical claims.
Below, we examine the products – both veterinary and OTC – aimed at each major category of medical conditions. Keep in mind that the differences among foods in each of these categories – especially the products made by the five big veterinary diet makers – are more subtle than the differences we noted between products made for dogs based on age, size, or breed. The parameters for conventional treatment of a particular disease tend to be narrow, necessarily making these diets similar in theory and content.
Vet-Prescribed Kidney Diets
Hill’s founder Mark Morris pioneered the concept of “prescription diets,” as well as Hill’s methodology of naming its products with lowercase letters (so annoying to editors!). Hill’s k/d (kidney diet) was Morris’ first prescription diet, a low-protein, low-phosphorus food he created to save a guide dog named Buddy who was suffering from kidney failure.
Today, there are at least eight different foods promoted for dogs suffering from chronic renal failure. The thing to note here is that these diets are beneficial only to dogs that have already been diagnosed with this condition. There is no proven benefit to feeding such a diet to older dogs that have normal kidney function; these diets do not prevent kidney disease, and are so low in protein that they may actually be detrimental to healthy dogs.
That said, these diets are excellent for managing the symptoms of kidney failure, and at least one study claims that life expectancy is increased in dogs fed such diets. According to representatives from Hill’s, its h/d (heart diet) formula can also be used for chronic renal failure, since it is also relatively low in protein and phosphorus as well as sodium. One competitor claims that Hill’s l/d (liver diet) also falls into this category, though Hill’s does not – l/d is low in protein but not restricted in phosphorus.
Eukanuba makes two kidney formulas, Early Stage (which contains somewhat less protein than its normal foods, at 18 percent as fed), and Advanced Stage (containing 13 percent protein as fed). IVD’s offering in this category is Select Care Modified, which can do double duty for kidney and heart disease. Purina NF (kidNey Failure) is similar to Hill’s k/d, and Purina’s CV (CardioVascular) is similar to Hill’s h/d. Waltham has one kidney formula, Low Phosphorus Moderate Protein, which is referred to in its advertising as “Restricted Protein,” maybe just to confuse us.
There are no OTC foods made to address kidney failure, although some weight loss or senior formulas may contain lower protein than many maintenance foods.
Vet-Prescribed Urinary Tract Diets
While we’re on this tract (sorry!), we should also mention that there are a number of veterinary diets designed to minimize, prevent, dissolve, or otherwise have an effect on the formation of bladder stones. Interestingly, this concept has yet to be realized in the OTC market for dogs, though there are many such diets for cats on your grocery store shelves.
In dogs, stones are usually either struvite or calcium oxalate, though there are a few other more unusual stones such as urate and cystine, and stones may contain combinations of mineral types. This is a case where a vet’s reading of your dog’s test (urinalysis) results would be critical for effective prescribing. Some breeds are prone to one or more types of stones (for example, urate in Dalmatians, struvite and calcium oxalate in Schnauzers). Hill’s makes three types of stone diets: s/d (intended to dissolve struvite stones by extreme acidification of the urine), c/d (also acidifying but intended for prevention), and u/d (for urate and cystine).
IVD’s Select Care provides Control (for struvite), Modified (for calcium oxalate), and Vegetarian (for the “metabolic” stones, urate and cystine). Oddly, Purina only makes a struvite diet (UR) only for cats, and Waltham has only one struvite diet, S/O Lower Urinary Tract. Perhaps Hill’s is so entrenched in this market that its main competitors don’t think it’s worth trying to steal its market share.
Vet-Prescribed Cardiac Diets
Once again, Hill’s was the early entry in this field with its h/d. Hill’s also claims cardiac benefits for its k/d and g/d (geriatric diet). Eukanuba’s contribution to this category is its Advanced Stage kidney diet; IVD’s offering is its Select Care Modified kidney diet. Purina does have its CV formula, but allows that its NF formula can also be used. Waltham has just come out with an “Early Cardiac Support” diet.
The main feature of cardiac diets is low sodium – even though there has never been any real evidence that sodium has any effect on hypertension or heart disease in dogs. Even for human health, the latest research shows that unless you are sensitive to sodium, salt may not raise blood pressure – and salt sensitivity is rare, even among individuals with high blood pressure.
However, manufacturers are catching on to the connection, long known in felines, between taurine, carnitine, and heart disease. CV, h/d, and Early Cardiac Support all contain added taurine and carnitine; the levels of taurine and carnitine in CV are somewhat higher than in h/d. Early Cardiac Support is a rice and fish-based food using menhaden (a kind of herring) meal, which is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Foods with more carnitine and taurine may be better for a dog with heart problems, and the antioxidant and other health-promoting properties of Omega 3 fatty acids may also be helpful.
We’ve not yet seen any OTC entries in the cardiac care category.
Joint Health Diets for Dogs
Numerous studies have shown glucosamine and chondroitin to be beneficial supplements for people with arthritis for relieving joint pain and improving mobility. Numerous OTC adult and senior dog foods, as well as a few large breed puppy foods, now include glucosamine and chondroitin with the advertised purpose of promoting joint health, implying (but not claiming) that they can prevent arthritis.
In the veterinary diet arena, Eukanuba has introduced Senior Plus, which includes glucosamine and chondroitin as well as added antioxidants, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, carnitine, and chromium.
Waltham also has a veterinary diet (Joint Support) which contains perna mussel powder from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus. This shellfish contains large amounts of glycosaminoglycans similar to glucosamine and chondroitin as well as the Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. At least one study showed dramatic improvement in arthritis pain in people taking perna mussel; however, there is no evidence that it will prevent arthritis.
While glucosamine and chondroitin (and probably green-lipped mussels) appear to be safe in the numerous studies examining them, few dog foods contain them at an amount that could reasonably be expected to have any effect at all, and few makers of these foods even tell you how much is present in their products.
Also, believe it or not, inclusion of these ingredients has never been approved for use in animals and is currently considered illegal by the FDA and AAFCO, although only a few states have attempted to stop the sale of foods containing them. A petition was recently introduced to AAFCO to approve a definition for glucosamine, but no action has been taken as yet.
The most significant problem with these “joint support” foods is that there has never been any scientific evidence that supplemental glucosamine or chondroitin will prevent arthritis. Virtually all studies of these ingredients were done in humans who already had arthritis. Also, we are not aware of any evidence demonstrating that these supplements arrive in the dog’s bowl (or in her tummy, let alone her joints) in a form or at a level that has been proven to be beneficial to either prevent or treat arthritis.
Oral/Dental Health Dog Foods
Hill’s Science Diet and Nutro are currently the primary makers of OTC dental care formulas. Hill’s actually makes another, more convincingly proven dental formula called “t/d,” which is available only through veterinarians. Hill’s claims that its OTC “oral care” formula will actually remove tartar from the teeth.
If the lack of visible tartar on the teeth gives you a false sense of security to the point of not brushing your dog’s teeth, or not visiting a veterinarian at least annually, these foods may ultimately do more harm than good. Other scientific research on the subject suggests that some “oral health” dog foods merely produce less tartar than other dry foods, certainly not zero tartar. In one study comparing an unspecified oral health diet to regular dog food plus a special chew, dogs on the oral health diet had more tartar, and worse, lost weight and condition.
Vet-Prescribed Diabetes Diets
Who knew so many dogs were diabetic? There must be a lot of them, because there are a lot of these diets.
The mainstay of diabetes treatment in pets has always been a high-fiber diet, which theoretically slows digestion and maintains a steadier blood glucose level. Recent research in cats has dramatically reversed this thinking, with high-protein, high-fat, very low-carbohydrate/fiber diets such as Purina DM or even canned kitten food providing the best results in terms of reduced insulin levels, normalization of weight, and symptom control. Canine research has yet to catch on to this concept. Most diets making a claim for diabetes management are also used for weight loss.
Eukanuba has taken the boldest step into this arena with its frankly named Glucose Control diet, with 25 percent protein, 5.5 percent fat, and 5 percent fiber as fed. Its Restricted Calorie diet (generally considered a weight reduction diet at 22 percent protein, 5 percent fat, and 7.5 percent fiber as fed) also qualifies.
Hill’s makes two diets that take the prize for fiber: r/d (reducing diet) at 20 percent protein, 5 percent fat, and 26 percent fiber, and w/d (weight diet) with 15 percent protein, 6 percent fat, and 20 percent fiber, as fed, on the theory that if a little is good, a lot must be really good – but it doesn’t seem to leave much room for actual food!
IVD’s Hifactor comes in at 23 percent protein, 10 percent fat, and 13 percent fiber. Purina makes DCO (Diabetic/COlitis diet), which comes in at 23 percent protein, 10 percent fat, and 10 percent fiber, and OM (Obesity Management) diet at 26 percent protein, 4 percent fat, and 16 percent fiber as fed. Waltham offers its High Fiber with 18 percent protein, 6 percent fat, and 5 percent fiber as fed.
We’re not aware of any OTC diets for diabetic dogs.
Veterinary Foods for Dog Obesity
We discussed OTC “light” foods in “A Special Food for Every Dog?” (June 2002). But the list of veterinary diets for treating obesity is almost the same as the diabetes diets. This should come as no surprise; most dogs who get diabetes are overweight, and the treatment for both is traditionally the same.
These veterinary foods all provide between 200-300 calories per cup of kibble, compared to 300-400 for most maintenance-type foods (including most other veterinary diets). Eukanuba’s Restricted Calorie contains 238 calories per cup, and its Glucose Control has 253 calories per cup, as fed. Hill’s r/d contains 220 calories, and w/d 243 calories, per cup as fed. IVD’s Hifactor contains 230 calories per cup.
Waltham has two special entries in this category in addition to its High Fiber (227 calories per cup as fed): Low Fat (19 percent protein, 4 percent fat, 2.5 percent fiber, and 264 calories per cup as fed) and Calorie Control (27 percent protein, 4.5 percent fat, 3.5 percent fiber, and 212 calories per cup as fed – the lowest of all).
Vet-Prescribed Geriatric Dog Food
Again, we discussed OTC “senior” foods in the June 2002 issue. The OTC market in mature and senior foods is booming as our dog population becomes larger and older over time. In general, these foods are lower in fat and calories than maintenance foods, but you have to watch the labels, as some makers seem to be formulating their senior dog foods for skinny old dogs, not fat ones.
Veterinary diets for obese old dogs include Eukanuba’s Restricted Calorie and Glucose Control diets; Hill’s w/d also falls into this category. IVD has Select Care Mature (289 calories per cup as fed).
Hill’s g/d (Geriatric Diet) contains 358 calories per cup as fed, making it a better choice for skinny old dogs. This food is specifically intended for dogs “at risk” for heart and kidney disease.
Dog Foods for Allergies and Gastrointestinal Disease
This is where things really get complicated! If we look at all the veterinary diets intended to treat all types of allergies including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), we find 16 basic diets, with several additional variations on the theme. Some are promoted to treat allergic skin disease, while others address food intolerances, true food allergies, and a variety of GI ailments, but there is a great deal of crossover in these categories so we will consider them all in this section.
Food intolerances and allergies in dogs tend to manifest in two primary ways: skin disease and gastrointestinal disease. Allergic skin disease (such as rashes, itchiness, ear infections, and lick granulomas) is most commonly caused by inhalant allergens (dust, pollen, etc.), but dogs can be truly food-allergic. Diarrhea and other GI signs can be caused by a food allergy, but are more often the result of a food intolerance, rather than a real immunologic reaction to a food component, which is the hallmark of a food allergy. Let’s consider some of the more distinct syndromes in this category, starting with the gastrointestinal diseases.
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Not everyone agrees that IBD is a food allergy, but it is certain that diet can play a large role in its management. Symptoms of IBD include vomiting and diarrhea, though not necessarily both, and not necessarily at the same time.
Two dog foods fall more into the IBD management category than the others, and they are also touted for their ability to treat pancreatitis, colitis, diarrhea, constipation, and gastrointestinal disease in general. These are Eukanuba Low Residue, and Purina EN (ENteric, meaning intestinal). Low Residue contains moderate levels of soluble fiber, is overall low in fat but with a “balanced” Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratio, and is highly digestible. EN is low in fiber and fat, and provides extra medium-chain triglycerides, all of which theoretically make it easier to digest. IVD’s Select Care Neutral, also a relatively “hypoallergenic” diet, can be used as well.
• Pancreatic disease. Pancreatitis in dogs is correlated with dietary fat, so the IBD diets may be particularly well-suited to treating that condition. Hill’s i/d (intestinal diet) is considered a good diet for pancreatitis, and is often the first choice of veterinarians for just about any digestive problem. Failure of the pancreas to produce sufficient enzymes for digestion can result in incomplete digestion and assimilation of food. IVD’s Select Care Neutral, Sensitive, and Vegetarian formulas all contain digestive enzymes that may be helpful. Purina EN is also recommended for these problems due to its low fiber and high digestibility. Diabetes is sometimes a consequence of primary pancreatic disease, so the diabetes diets might also be appropriate.
• Diarrhea or constipation. Since these are kind of “opposite” conditions, you might expect that diets for these two conditions would be completely different. However, the use of fiber to moderate gastrointestinal motility – slowing it down in the case of diarrhea, or speeding it up in constipation – creates the ability to use some of the same diets for both. Therefore, most of the weight management diets could be used here.
Eukanuba’s Nutritional Intestinal Formula Low-Residue can be used for both of these as well as other problems such as flatulence, vomiting, and colitis (inflammation of the colon). Hill’s i/d is frequently used for these conditions as well. IVD’s Select Care Neutral is indicated for chronic GI diseases, small bowel diarrhea (increased volume, frequency, and water content of stool), and IBD, while its Select Care Sensitive is more suited for acute GI diseases – viral or bacterial diarrhea, perhaps, or recovery from an episode of “garbage gut,” where a dog ate something he shouldn’t have eaten. Purina EN and Waltham High Fiber also cover these conditions.
• Colitis. Inflammation of the large intestine (colon) can result from many causes, including stress, parasites, allergies, or cancer. While this can lead to constipation, it is more often associated with diarrhea. The dog needs to go more frequently, although the amount of stool is typically small, and there may be mucus or blood present on or in the stool. Parasitic colitis, of course, must be treated with an appropriate dewormer.
But for dietary or stress colitis, high fiber is, once again, the most common treatment. (In a few cases, excessive dietary fiber may actually irritate the colon, worsening the problem.) Eukanuba Low-Residue, Restricted Calorie, and Glucose Control, Hill’s i/d and w/d, IVD’s Hifactor, Purina’s DCO and OM, and Waltham’s Calorie Control and High Fiber might all be appropriate for dogs with colitis.
• Skin reactions. The primary theory behind diets for allergic skin disease is that allergies develop to items that the dog has been exposed to for a long time. By feeding ingredients the dog has not had before, the immune system is no longer challenged by the original allergens, and things should calm down. This was the origin of the “lamb and rice” diets. However, so many foods now contain lamb and rice that these ingredients have become less useful for treatment (though rice still seems to be fairly benign for most dogs). Manufacturers have had to scramble to find other “novel” or “alternative” protein and carbohydrate sources.
This is why we now have Eukanuba’s Nutritional Skin & Coat Formulas (Fish & Potatoes, Kangaroo & Oats), Hill’s d/d (Lamb & Rice, Rice & Duck, Rice & Egg, Rice & Salmon, and Whitefish & Rice), IVD’s Select Care Vegetarian and IVD Limited Ingredient Diets (Rabbit, Venison, Whitefish, and Duck with Potatoes or Green Peas), and Purina’s LA (Limited Antigen) diet (rice, salmon, and trout).
A slightly different theory about food allergies has spawned Hill’s z/d and z/d ULTRA, and Purina’s HA (Hypo-Allergenic) diets. The idea is that the immune system reacts only to large proteins (such as those found in chicken, corn, or beef) that are absorbed intact. If you chop up all the proteins into little tiny pieces before the dog eats them, they will essentially “fly under the radar” of the immune system and not provoke an allergic reaction. This is a great theory, and allows the use of ordinary ingredients (chicken, in the case of z/d) as long as they go through a special process that breaks down the proteins. The dog can fully utilize the amino acids contained in these proteins, so the food still provides complete nutrition. Purina HA is actually a vegetarian food using soy protein instead of meat.
The only problem with this theory is that it doesn’t always work. There have been cases where an animal has become allergic to z/d or a similar diet. It’s uncommon, but it lends credence to the idea that it’s wise to change foods periodically, so the immune system is not bombarded with the same ingredients year after year. Your dog may be far less likely to develop a food allergy in the first place if you follow this advice.
There are a number of OTC dog foods that attempt to mimic some of these veterinary diets – without making specific medical claims. Hill’s makes “Sensitive Skin” and “Sensitive Stomach” formulas. Precise also makes a “food allergy” type formula, “Sensicare,” which also claims to protect the skin. Hill’s skin formula contains egg protein, plus extra Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and antioxidants compared to its regular adult maintenance food. It’s certainly true that these ingredients will help keep the skin and coat in better condition.
Oddly enough, Hill’s “Sensitive Stomach” food has an identical list of ingredients and identical guaranteed analysis. However, according to a Hill’s customer service representative, the products have different formulations, which is possible if the proportions of ingredients are different.
Both foods claim relatively (compared to other brands) high levels of the antioxidant vitamins C and E. Those other brands must not have much vitamin C, since a dog would have to eat a pound of Hill’s kibble just to get 100 mg of it! The vitamin E content is higher, since it is also contained in the preservative system. Most of Hill’s veterinary diets are preserved with artificial preservatives BHA, BHT, and propyl gallate, so its OTC foods in this category may be a better choice on that criterion alone.
Growth and Recovery Dog Foods
There are several veterinary diets available for animals who are just plain sick, or who are recovering from illness, injury, or surgery. These high-fat, high-protein formulations are available only in cans. Hill’s a/d is a standard for animals who need a lot of energy packed into a small amount of food. It is also extremely palatable and easy to digest; its smooth, pudding-like texture makes it perfect to force-feed by syringe, or to administer through an implanted feeding tube. IVD’s SC Development and Euka-nuba’s Maximum Calorie have somewhat similar characteristics and indications.
Hill’s p/d (pediatric diet) is also a high-calorie, easily digested food, designed for puppies but suitable for older dogs who need big-time nutrition fast. It comes in both canned and dry versions.
Unique Formula Dog Foods
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, long the leader in veterinary diet innovations, has three unique formulas that are worthy of mention, and have not (yet) been imitated.
Hill’s l/d (liver diet) is designed for animals with liver disease, such as canine hepatitis. It features low copper and can be used in dogs (primarily Bedlington Terriers) with metabolic copper storage disease. It contains a mix of amino acids thought to maximize liver function, and high levels of antioxidants to protect the liver.
The company’s n/d (neoplasia diet) is based on research conducted at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on canine cancer and diet. It seems that cancer cells are particularly fond of carbohydrates. Dry dog foods generally are composed of half or more carbohydrates, and even most canned dog foods contain a fair amount of starch. Feeding canine cancer patients lots of carbohydrate-based foods may well be feeding their cancers.
To address this, Hill’s developed n/d, a high-protein, very high-fat diet with minimal carbs. Cancer patients benefit from extra protein and fat, which can help prevent muscle wasting and theft of protein and fat by the tumor. The n/d formula also features very high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, which have anti-cancer properties, and high levels of the amino acid arginine, which aids immune function. Studies show that, even after the tumor has been surgically removed or killed by chemotherapy or radiation, cancer-induced alterations in metabolism persist, so n/d should be fed “forever” to dogs who have had cancer.
Hill’s newest entry in the field of veterinary diets is b/d (brain diet). According to Hill’s promotional literature, b/d has been shown to “improve alertness, increase attentiveness to problem-solving tasks, and improve enthusiasm, so they feel younger.” Just exactly how they asked the dogs how old they felt is not disclosed, but that’s the claim. This food contains high levels of antioxidants. Oxygen free radicals are thought to be the major contributor to human aging, so antioxidants should reduce the signs of aging. This appears to be the mechanism of b/d. This food also contains some nice veggies like spinach and carrots, to appeal to those looking for a more “natural” food than is usually associated with Hill’s.
Conclusions
While Hill’s is probably not all that thrilled with sharing a market that was once Hill’s alone, the competition in both veterinary and OTC diets is good news for dogs whose medical conditions improve with nutritional adjustments. If your veterinarian prescribes a certain diet for your dog, but your dog does not like the food or doesn’t do well on it, or his condition doesn’t improve as much or as rapidly as expected, try one of the other formulas in the same category.
Remember that OTC foods cannot be expected to produce the same results as veterinary diets; they are not as rigorously researched and are allowed onto the market without proof that they work like their labels say they do.
And finally, keep in mind that medical diets are formulated to address specific medical concerns, not to maintain long-term health in dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds. These foods rarely meet WDJ’s normal selection criteria for top-quality foods (see “Choose the Best Dry Food,” WDJ January 2016). As a rule, the smaller, independent food makers who produce the sorts of foods we regard as supreme in quality do not offer diets for medical conditions.
Jean Hofve, DVM, of Englewood, Colorado, is a regular contributor to WDJ.
There are just a few companies who specialize in chew toys for canines with shark mouths – dogs who instantly shred the majority of toys. If you are looking for something that an aggressive chewer can take under the kitchen table and gnaw on for any stretch of time, you’d best stick to those few. (See sidebar.)
However, “chew” is not the only game that dogs like to play – even dogs who also happen to be aggressive chewers. Alas, when you have a strong-mouthed dog, just about any game that involves chasing, retrieving, tugging, or pushing a toy is over before you really get going. With a habitual chomper, a game of fetch with a standard plastic Frisbee (for example) generally lasts for only three or four throws – at which point you have to “call” the game due to the lacerations on the dog’s tongue and gums, and maybe even your hands.
For this article, we wanted to find toys that could last long enough to entertain us and our shark-mouthed dogs for more than a few hours or days.
My Scottie was delighted when we were given the assignment to find a variety of tough toys that would stand up to the rigors of shark-fetch, shark-tug, and other interactive games. Teeth ready, Dubhy and I unpacked boxes of toys and, to our delight, found a number that passed the tooth test in several categories.
However, we also found many toys that were not suitable for aggressive chewers. Generally, we list and describe all the products we reviewed, good, bad, and indifferent Rather than listing and describing all of the duds in this specialized niche – really, the majority of toys on the market – we’ll focus only on the toys that met our criteria for four-paw or three-paw products (see our rating scale, in products sidebar).
Remember, we found the following toys to be the most likely to survive rowdy romps with a “mouthy” dog; these are NOT toys intended for hours of lie-down and chew-your-heart-out activity.
Flying discs
There are a number of important properties for a good canine flying disc. It should fly long and true, be sturdy enough to stand up to an aroused dog’s teeth, soft enough that it won’t cause undue wear to a dog’s dentition, easy for the dog to pick up, and light enough that it won’t knock out a tooth or cause injury if a miscalculation causes a mid-air dog-disc collision. In addition, if a tooth does puncture the surface of the disc, it should not leave any sharp edges that might lacerate the dog’s lips, tongue, or gums on the next retrieve.
The original Frisbee falls short of these standards in several areas. Anyone who has tossed one of these plastic discs for their dog knows that they quickly succumb to a dog’s canines, often on the first fetch, leaving dangerously sharp, jagged edges. In addition, if a standard Frisbee lands on a flat surface such as cement or asphalt, it can be very difficult for the dog to grasp the lip of the disc and pick it up.
However, a number of flying disc products have been developed specifically for dogs, and many of those do meet our criteria for a decent dog disc. Here are some of our favorites:
The Soft Bite Floppy Disc was one of the earliest flying discs made for dogs, and it continues to be a favorite. It is a classically-shaped disc made of soft neon pink and green nylon, sewn over a flexible rim.
It exhibits excellent flight capabilities, soaring straight, flat, and far, even for a novice disc tosser (me). It’s easy for the dog to grab out of the air, and it’s also extremely resistant to tooth punctures. Its soft nylon would not cause harm to the dog’s mouth even if he did manage to puncture it, and the light weight of the disc poses no danger if it hits the dog. The Floppy Disc is also easy for a dog to pick up from any surface. It folds up and stuffs into a pocket, and floats well enough to make a good water-fetch toy. Its bright neon colors make it easy to find in deep grass. We also appreciate the fact that it comes in two sizes, with the small one sized just right for little disc dogs.
The Chuckit Flying Squirrel rates high on the cuteness scale. It is a flat square of blue and orange nylon with a small bump on one side for the head, and a foot added onto each corner, so that it resembles a flying squirrel. This would be a great “something different” gift for your friends who have disc dogs.
We’ll give it a “good” rating in flight-worthiness. You have to be careful to keep it level as you toss if you want it to fly straight and flat. It scores better in toughness, seeming extremely resistant to tooth puncture and made of heavier nylon than the Soft Bite disc. While the light weight of the disc poses no danger if it hits your dog, the spinning feet could conceiveably cause damage in the unlikely event that they happened to hit your dog in the eye. The Flying Squirrel is easy for dogs to pick up from any surface, and its bright orange color makes it easy to find in deep grass.
The Fling Thing is a completely different sort of flying disc, and a fairly new entry to this market. It’s an eight-inch triangle-shaped toy that flies well, made of a uniquely soft, lightweight, almost squishy but durable rubberized material. As the warning on the package says, this toy is not a chew toy and should not be left for dogs to play with unattended – yet it’s a surprisingly tough toy. Aggressive chewers can sink their teeth into the toy, but can’t seem to puncture or tear it – not while engaged in play, anyway. (If they were left alone with it, that might be a different story.) The maker claims that dogs’ teeth actually get cleaned as they bite the toy. West Paw Design also makes a ball (the Bowwowzer Ball) and a ball on a rope (the Throw-N-Go) out of the same material.
Tug Toys
Trainers disagree as to the value of playing tug with your dog. I stand squarely in the “Tug is a Great Game” camp, provided you play it with rules that don’t allow the dog to become too pushy or aggressive in play (see “Play and Train by Tugging,” WDJ March 1999). A tug toy should be sturdy yet gentle on the dog’s teeth, appealing to the dog, long enough that teeth are far away from human skin, and comfortable for the human to hold onto. With lots of tug toys to choose from, here are some of our favorites.
JSR Enterprises makes two tug toys we like a lot: the Braided Buddy Tug Pull Toy & Large Tug-N-Tassel Toy. These two-tone toys are made of very durable braided nylon webbing. They include a comfortable loop handle on the human end, and a two-inch knot for the dog to grab. Our only concern is that a dog’s tooth could snag in the braid, although our test dogs did not experience this in extensive play.
The length of any tug toy is of supreme importance. You want the dog’s teeth a safe distance from your hands, in case he regrips when you aren’t paying the utmost attention. The 20-inch Tug Pull Toy is an ample length, even for a dog just learning the rules of Tug. The knot of the Tug-N-Tassel is six inches closer to the handle, and should be used with dogs who already know the rules of Tug.
The Donkey Tail is a four-foot long piece of braided synthetic fleece. This product has risen in our estimation since our first review of it several years ago. Although we were turned off initially by the fluffballs that it sheds when new and the fact that it stretches over time, we have since been impressed by its longevity. We have one that has survived extensive supervised canine abuse for five years!
The soft fleece is very attractive to most dogs, and is soft on the human’s hands, although, with no handle, it’s kind of hard to hold onto with a strong puller. At four feet long, there is plenty of distance to keep your dog’s teeth at a safe distance from your hands.
Jolly Pets took their very popular Jolly Ball, made a channel through the center, ran a cotton tug rope through, and knotted the ends to create the Romp-n-Ball, a fun hybrid between a tug toy and a ball. Although you could use it for human-dog tug games, the best application is for tug between two dogs – our two canine tug players loved alternating between playing “tug” and “chase me” games with each other – or for a dog who likes to grab the rope and drag or fling the ball around.
Jolly Balls can generally stand up to buckets of abuse. Because of the channel through the center, this one might be a little more vulnerable to chewing damage. Considering this, and the rope, this should be used for supervised play only.
The total length of the toy is 20 inches – ample distance to keep teeth away from hands. The ball in the middle also prevents dog teeth from creeping up to human skin.
Balls for fetch
Dogs and their humans have long been captivated by ball-chase games, and there are so many different kinds of balls on the market it will make your head spin!
The ideal ball is indestructible, and too big for your dog to accidently swallow. But the other requirements for the ideal fetch ball are contradictory. Fetch balls should be soft and light enough that they won’t knock the dog out if there’s a miscalculation, but solid enough that they aren’t easily destroyed. This leaves out the ubiquitous tennis ball, which an aggressive chewer can strip of its covering in mere minutes. A solid Cressite rubber ball is probably the best fetch choice for a dog who assertively chomps the ball as he brings it back to you; just be careful when you throw it, so you don’t clonk him on the head.
You don’t have to worry about that with Jolly Tug ’n Toss Balls. These are soft, low-density plastic, undeflatable balls with handles. Dubhy loves to play fetch with his 6-inch Jolly Ball, and the 10-inch version has survived more than a year at our Chew Chew Doggie Day Care Center. They don’t come much tougher than that!
However, unlike the regular Jolly Ball, the Jolly Tug ’n Toss Balls are not indestructible. They are made of a softer material than the regular Jolly Balls, and feature a handle. This handle enables the balls to be used for fetch and tug, but is also vulnerable to dedicated chewing. The material is durable enough that the toy will hold up to all sorts of play – the punctures that result from play don’t damage the integrity or usefulness of the ball – but if your dog lies down to chew, take the toy away.
We were skeptical about the durability of the Giggler Ball when we first saw it, but the manager of one of our favorite independent pet supply stores encouraged us to give it a try. Her own “test dogs” had been unable to damage the toy in supervised play sessions, and we enjoyed the same results with our testers.
This is a hard rubber fetch-sized ball with a hollow interior that contains a “giggler” mechanism that makes a noise that many dogs find to be very stimulating. You can use the Giggler Ball to entice a dog who normally turns his nose up at boring “regular” balls. The material resisted all sorts of assertive mouthing with only minor dents and no punctures. It could succumb under the long-term attention of an aggressive chewer, and the small “giggler” mechanism inside could pose a health risk if ingested; so put it away when you are not supervising play and discard the toy if your dog chews it open.
Push balls
Jolly Ball Push ’n Play Balls are the most durable toys we’ve ever seen. Made of sturdy polyethylene, they can survive years of unsupervised play with barely a scratch.
We have only two caveats: The ball should be sized appropriately so that it is too big for the dog to grasp in his mouth – he is supposed to push it around with his nose or paws. And we’ve heard of dogs who have worn the skin off their noses by obsessively pushing balls around; truly obsessive fans of the balls may need to have their playtime meted out accordingly.
The large sized ball offers one unique feature: It can be filled with sand or water to make it heavier, to give large dogs more exercise.
Zanies Jumbo Tennis Ball is a nine-inch tennis ball – way too big for dogs to pick up, or even get their teeth around in an attempt to peel it, as so many aggressive chewers like to do with tennis balls. The ball comes deflated, but the package includes a needle for inflation with a bicycle pump.
Because the ball is inflated, it must be taken away from your dog immediately if it is punctured and the ball deflates, but the size of the ball makes this unlikely.
The owners of dogs who enjoy pushing Jolly Balls around will enjoy the fact that this softer ball does not crash as hard into furniture and roll as loudly as the Jolly Ball.
In its own category
We couldn’t fit the Gum-Gum Bar into any of our other categories, but this latex fetch stick is such a great and simple toy that we had to include it in a class of its own. We tested both the longer, thinner bar and the shorter, thicker bar.
Surprisingly durable for something that’s so squishy, our test Gum-Gum bar survived repeated bouts of two-dog fetch, where one dog fetches the stick and the other tries to take it away, ending in a raucous game of tug. Not even a puncture mars the surface of our bar, although it would probably not survive constant attention from an aggressive chewer. The Gum-Gum Bar is lightweight, and unlikely to cause an injury if your dog accidently gets hit by a bad throw. It also floats, and makes a great water retrieve toy.
Image of a heartworm through a microscope stained and on a slide.
Credit: Ed Reschke | Getty Images
Concerning your article, Reflections on Heartworm, WDJ August 2002:
Last summer in July, we adopted Casey, an 11-month old, 13-inch Beagle. All was well until we gave her the first monthly Heartgard medication. Casey was fine for about 24 hours, after which she developed diarrhea and became lethargic. We took her to our veterinarian, who told us that this incident was just coincidental, and that the medication couldn’t possibly be the cause of the reaction. He gave her an antibiotic and Casey recovered over a period of about a week.
A year later, just about a month ago, we debated about whether we should give her another Heartgard. Foolishly we opted to do so, trusting our veterinarian’s judgment that the medication was necessary. We got the same reaction, only more severe! We are certain that Casey survived only because she is young and strong. Now we know she should never have this medication again, and we are looking for a new veterinarian.
-Luke and Mariana Thompson
Coral Springs, FL
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My beloved pet of two years is a Miniature Schnauzer named Jack. I almost lost him. We went to the vet for his yearly booster about four weeks ago and the vet suggested I get the ProHeart 6 injection for Jack instead of the monthly chewable since I forgot to give him a dose.
Exactly two hours later, Jack began throwing up, itching uncontrollably, and trying to escape from the house. I called the vet at 7:25 p.m. (five minutes before the office was supposed to close) and after consulting the vet, the nurse told me that it couldnt be a shot reaction because they gave him a shot of Benadryl. She told me to wrap him in a towel and call them in the morning.
Five minutes later, the vomiting was more violent. I called the office back and their answering machine was on. I rushed him to the emergency vet and they gave him fluids and another shot of Benadryl. Jack was depressed and avoided me for about a week. The emergency vet told me, Don’t be quick to blame the ProHeart injection for your dog’s reaction. However, I have seen several other cases just like Jack’s and coincidentally, they all had just received the ProHeart 6.
I realize that heartworm prevention is better than getting heartworm, but I will give him the monthly chewable and only during mosquito season.
-Paige Michalski
via e-mail
———-
I gave a Heartgard chewable to my four-year-old Maltese, Pookie, on November 1, 2001. He had just had his annual physical and was healthy, a very playful, energetic, and loving dog. Starting November 8, he slowly became lethargic, didn’t want to play, had one episode of diarrhea, didn’t want to walk, and stopped eating. On November 12, he lost his balance, had two seizures and he died that evening at an emergency veterinary clinic, going into cardiac arrest while having a blood transfusion and while I was holding him. His platelet count was very low and the diagnosis was immune mediated thrombocytopenia.
This has been such a terrible loss and experience, and I still can’t believe that my healthy sweet little dog died. There were no warnings on the package, like death or serious illness being a possible side effect.
-Barbara Marsden
Pasadena, CA
I am so sorry to hear accounts like these. We would never advocate that the preventives for heartworm should not be used; clearly, they have their uses.
However, we’d like to see dog owners and veterinarians regard them with more caution. Many vets are unconvinced that the medications that they use so frequently without problems can cause some dogs illness, and by discounting this possible link, precious time is wasted that could be spent treating the animal for poisoning.
We’ve said this in a number of articles about the potential dangers of using toxic pesticides on dogs; serious illness or death is a possible side effect of all of them. Many dogs tolerate the use of these products without problems; some probably experience mild side effects that are never associated with the pesticides; and a few do suffer serious illness.
So, even if your veterinarian doesn’t do it, it is vitally important that YOU report your loss to the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. They maintain a database of adverse drug experiences suffered by animals. There is a form you can fill out online (www.fda.gov/cvm/index/ade/adereporting.htm) or you can call (888) FDA-VETS. Both reporting systems are confidential.
While the Adverse Drug Experience reports don’t “prove” links between a health problem and a drug, they can help highlight areas where further study or caution is needed. Editor
———-
As a former user of black walnut, I feel compelled to share with you what I learned from my holistic veterinarian. He informed me that black walnut can have very astringent effects on the lining of the digestive tract, and that over a period of time can actually harden the gut, inhibiting the nutrient transfer process. Black walnut contains a high level of tannins, which can ultimately interfere with absorption of vital nutrients. He discouraged the long-term use of this herb extract as a preventative for heartworm, instead encouraging immune system support and proper nutrition. He is also an advocate of a topical mosquito repellent, Buzz Away (made by Quantum, quantumhealth.com or 800-448-1448). This is a combination of cedarwood, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and peppermint oils, and is available in a pump spray and towelette form.
-Ann Schmidt
Nantucket, MA
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I enjoyed “Living with a Difficult Dog” (September 2002) and the accompanying sidebar that encouraged owners to rule out physical causes an often overlooked cause of aggression.
At four years old, our female Shar-Pei/mix started being aggressive. She lunged at someone who petted her, and a few weeks later bit a small boy who was running by. We took her to our trainer for a refresher course, but after two more incidents, we thought we might have to put her down.
While looking her over one night, I happened to check her mouth. She flinched and jumped as I ran my fingers around her gums. I got her to lay still while I peered inside. Imagine my horror when I found four broken molars with pink roots exposed, causing excruciating pain! An outstanding veterinary dentist told us that the hard knuckle bones Calypso loved to chew were the cause of her problems; she had ground her teeth down to the roots. Her problems were solved with several root canals and stainless steel crowns.
Five years later, Calypso is the sweetest, best-loved dog in the neighborhood. She eats raw turkey necks and chicken backs to keep her teeth in good condition, and at nine years old, her veterinarian always exclaims, “What great teeth, and what a sweetheart!”
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As I mentioned last month, my family is caring for my sisters family dog, a young long-haired Chihuahua, Mocha, for the summer. Better known as Mokie around here, the winsome six-pounder has fit into our household quite nicely. With tons of exercise, lots of toys and chewies, and consistent training, hes gone from being needy and yappy a caricature of a bratty little dog to being genuinely fun to be around. Hes stopped barking when hes alone in the backyard, he now comes when called ( a huge improvement), and hes even learned to sit when he wants something.
My sister called a few weeks ago to ask how her dog was doing, and passed along a warning from her husband, a veterinarian. She said, Bill told me to tell you to watch out for BDLD. Huh? Thats what they write in the charts at the clinic Big Dog/Little Dog syndrome when they see little dogs that have gotten torn up by big dogs, she explained.
Although I am new to the world of little dogs, I could see how such a thing could happen. Lots of little dogs seem to have chips on their shoulders, and approach bigger dogs with an ill-advised macho demeanor. Maybe its bravado to let the other dogs know at the outset that they arent pushovers. Or maybe its defensiveness a fear-based attempt to get in the first punch in case of trouble. But Mokies approach to other dogs is good; from puppyhood, he was well socialized with dogs of all sizes. It never occurred to me that a BDLD incident might happen without any sort of provocation from the little dog.
So I was surprised when Mokie got jumped by a bigger dog when we took him on a family backpacking trip recently. We saw other people hiking with their dogs, and most passed by without incident. But one dog, who looked like a Boxer-cross, took one look at the little dog and instantly lunged for him. I think if he had managed to pin Mokie in that first pounce, he would have grabbed and shaken him; he looked just like he was about to dispatch a rabbit. Maybe he thought Mokie was a rabbit.
Fortunately, Mokie squirmed free and dashed to me for protection, and I snatched him off the ground (not easy to do with a backpack on!) as the other dog trotted up and even jumped up on me, still intent on grabbing the little dog.
From then on, my husband (leading on the trail) would call back, Dog! whenever he saw one approaching, and I would call Mokie to me so I could pick him up and carry him past the other dog. Several people commented, Aw, poor little dog; you have to carry him? And Id explain, Its just a safety precaution; some dogs think hes food.
Im sure they thought, Little dog owners what overprotective nuts!
Deborah, one of the members of the local dog-training club, regularly fills her prescription for Synthyroid at a large chain pharmacy in town. She will take this drug for life due to her underactive thyroid gland. Deborah regularly checks pricing for the drug at several pharmacies to ensure she continues to pay competitive rates.
Susan, also a club member, regularly purchases Soloxine, a lifetime prescription medication also indicated for an underactive thyroid condition. Both prescriptions have the same basic active ingredient: Levothyroxine.
Susan, however, administers the prescription she buys to her dog, Jo.
Like many guardians of companion dogs, Susan is faced with new options about deciding where to economically and safely purchase prescription medicines for her dog.
Traditionally dispensed solely from the veterinarian’s office, prescription drugs for companion dogs represent a ripe peach – ready for picking by retail chain pharmacies and emerging Internet-based pharmacies that have sniffed out a promising new niche in the lucrative pharmaceutical market. These drug retailers have discovered the more than 35 million dog owners in the United States who anticipate the same access to sophisticated medicines for their dogs as they have come to expect for themselves.
As quickly as animal pharmaceutical companies rush to the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) with applications requesting approval for new drugs or new drug uses for animals, the pharmaceutical retailers are rushing to the consumer with discount price offers. But just how attractive are these discount drug deals, and how will this increased competition for the guardian’s dollar in the companion animal drug market affect the veterinarians’ practices?
New competition
When the telephone company was affectionately known as “Ma Bell,” it held a monopoly position in telephone communications. AT&T sometimes used revenues collected for its most profitable services to subsidize less lucrative activities, such as providing telephone service to remote towns at affordable rates. Then, competitors focusing on the most profitable pieces of the market, like long distance service in major cities, picked off those segments of the business, leaving the less-lucrative segments behind. Thus began a restructuring of the telecommunications industry’s rates, with each individual service either fully supporting itself or disappearing.
Until very recently, most veterinary practices ran their businesses much like the Ma Bell of 20 years ago. The sale of veterinary pharmaceuticals was a profitable part of the average veterinary practice, accounting for about 20 to 30 percent of the total average practice income. Most veterinarians follow the recommendations of practice consultants and drug manufacturers to mark-up pharmaceuticals about 100 percent over their cost of the drugs. This subsidizes other veterinary services, such as affordable spay and neuter programs and upgrades in medical equipment. It also helps to hold fees at moderate levels for hospitalization, radiographs, and professional services like examination and diagnosis, thereby enabling these procedures to be available to a greater number of animals.
In other words, just as in the “old Ma Bell” model, many of the services provided by the veterinarian’s office are not priced to the consumer in direct relationship to the veterinarian’s cost of providing the service. And today, just as with the lucrative long-distance slice of the telephone industry, one of the most lucrative segments of the veterinary market – long-term prescription drugs – is under siege by other drug retailers and Internet pharmacies.
Some veterinarians, feeling the pinch as more and more clients request written prescriptions that they can fill elsewhere (rather than purchasing their dogs’ medications from the veterinarian), have instituted a charge for writing prescriptions.
However, other veterinarians say they understand why some clients, especially those whose dogs require long-term or especially expensive drug therapy, need to economize where possible, given their significant and ongoing investment in their animals’ care.
Different prescription needs
Generally speaking, there are a handful of situations involving prescription veterinary medications. Some lend themselves to bargain hunting; others do not.
In the first scenario, a dog has an acute illness of some kind, requiring the immediate administration of a short-term medication. Say, he’s got conjunctivitis, and needs an antibiotic ointment, or a urinary tract infection, and needs antibiotic therapy for a week. Most of us, in situations such as these, would gladly pay the veterinarian for the relatively inexpensive medications, and take them home with the dog.
Emergency medical situations are another example of a time when most of us would rather pay our veterinarians for immediate access to any medications required– at almost any price – to save our dogs.
But there are other situations where doing some bargain hunting makes sense. One is in the case of common veterinary preparations that a dog owner might use fairly frequently, such as Heartgard, a heartworm preventive. Typically, these items are marked up 100 percent, but they can be found at prices representing as much as 200 or 300 percent of their wholesale price. Finding a discount outlet for these brand-name items, especially if one has several dogs, only makes sense.
More significant is the case where someone has a dog with a serious medical condition that calls for expensive, long-term drug therapy. People whose dogs receive prescription medication for long-term health problems such as heart conditions, thyroid, seizure disorders, Cushing’s Disease, and even serious behavior problems may spend as much as hundreds of dollars a month on their dogs’ drugs. (See “A Tale of Two Prescriptions” sidebar) Saving half of that money by buying the drugs for less from an outlet other than the veterinarian may well be imperative for preventing what some veterinarians call “economic euthanasia,” where an owner feels forced to put a dog to sleep because she can’t afford the medicine needed to keep him well.
Keep in mind that insuring your dog with a veterinary health insurance plan or joining a membership discount organization may eliminate the need to shop for discounted prices. For more information on these plans, see “Covered Pup,” WDJ July 2002.
Pricing a prescription
The most important piece of information to take away from this article is that prescription drug prices vary dramatically among retailers. It takes a bit of work to gather all the relevant information from the possible sources of prescription medications for your dog, but it’s well worth the effort.
First, check for human brand name equivalents and generics. Ask your veterinarian if she can prescribe a human drug with the same ingredients as the veterinary drug. Sometimes, the equivalent human drug costs less than the veterinary drug, even though there may be absolutely no difference between them. The practice of giving drugs that have been approved for humans to animals is known as prescribing “off-label,” and is restricted by the FDA to animals not used in the production of food for human consumption.
An example of this is Etogesic, manufactured for animals by Fort Dodge Animal Health, and Lodine, the human equivalent manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals. Both drugs are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories commonly prescribed for pain. Both utilize the same active ingredient: Etodolac. Price both prescriptions for a full accounting of available costs for the drug.
Next, call every pharmacy in your area and ask how much they charge for that prescription. Make sure to ask for the price of the veterinary drug, its human equivalent (if it has one), and its generic form. Make sure you confirm the dose and the amount with the pharmacist.
If the drug comes in tablets, ask about “pill splitting.” Often, drugs cost less, compared milligram to milligram, in higher-dose tablets than lower-dose tablets. For example, say your dog is supposed to take 80 mg of a drug per day; 40 mg in the morning and 40 mg at night. It may be less expensive to buy 80 mg tablets and cut them in two, feeding him half a tablet twice a day, than to buy 40 mg tablets. (This won’t work with capsules, and works best with tablets that are scored in the middle. Tiny tablets may be too difficult to cut accurately.)
Trying alternative pharmacies
You may be able to realize further savings by taking your veterinarian’s prescription to an Internet or catalog pharmacy. These outlets can sometimes offer deeper discounts than “brick and mortar” businesses, since they have less overhead. However, keep the following in mind when shopping at mail-order pharmacies:
For an accurate price analysis, add shipping and handling costs to the price quoted for the medicine. These factors may erase any savings that you thought you would realize by purchasing from a catalog or Internet pharmacy.
It’s easier for unscrupulous pharmacies to get away with illegal practices when they don’t maintain local retail outlets. There have been numerous complaints that Internet pharmacies, especially, dispense “knock-off” and foreign drugs, or drugs not approved by the FDA for use in animals. Ask for a written guarantee that the pharmacy offers only drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), does not use bulk drug chemicals manufactured for overseas production to concoct imitations of approved drugs, and does not sell foreign-made versions of U.S. products. Some U.S. drug companies will not accept responsibility for their products purchased in the U.S. over the Internet if the products were manufactured to non-U.S. specifications. (See “Problems with Internet Pharmacies” sidebar.)
Your veterinarian must be kept “in the loop.” Several Internet pharmacies have engaged “staff” veterinarians to write prescriptions for consumers who order drugs online. In all but a few states it is illegal to dispense prescription drugs without the benefit of a traditional doctor-patient relationship. This law ensures that a medical professional monitors the condition of any patient taking the prescription medication, including making a proper diagnosis, checking for drug interactions, and managing the possible side-effects of the drug.
The administration of some drugs to a dog may require follow-up blood tests, urine tests, or other actions to monitor the impact of the drug on the dog’s various body systems. Also, a veterinarian should check dogs taking multiple prescription medications for the possible harmful effects of drug interactions. No matter where you buy your dog’s medications, their use must be monitored by your veterinarian.
Mail-order pharmacies may not be fast enough. Some prescriptions, such as antimicrobials prescribed to treat infections, should be administered to the animal immediately. Adding time for shopping, ordering, and shipping drugs may endanger the dog’s health.
Work with your vet
We’re not trying to put the squeeze on veterinarians, but we do think that cost-conscious guardians who purchase prescription medications can be responsible consumers by buying from a reputable source while maintaining the doctor-patient relationship between their veterinarian and their dog.
If you contemplate buying medicines from retailers, catalogs, or Internet sources, run the prices by your veterinarian before making your purchase. Several veterinarians we interviewed mentioned that, if their good clients find a much lower price for prescription medications outside their practice, they would do everything they could to at least meet the price.
-by Lorie Long
Lorie Long lives in North Carolina with two Border Terriers, Dash (a three-year-old female and agility queen) and Chase (a five-month-old male with an agility future).
“She’s a wonderful dog at home. But I can’t take her anywhere because she simply goes crazy when she sees another dog.”
“I was asked to leave my agility class because my dog kept barking and lunging at the other dogs. We have to channel her energy somehow. What are we going to do now?”
“I just don’t know if I should keep him. He’s a great dog with us, but he’s so wild around other animals and people. I’m afraid he’ll hurt someone or get into a serious dog fight.”
Does this sound like your dog? Every dog gets “wild” sometimes. But some of us live with dogs who exhibit difficult or wild behaviors every day!
It might help you to learn that many dogs who exhibit “difficult” behaviors such as hyperactivity, aggression, and destructive separation anxiety do so as a result of stress. The behaviors that we find so troublesome – barking, overenthusiastic greetings, dragging us around on leash, destructiveness, etc. – are all efforts by the dog to relieve his stress.
By your own standards, your dog’s life may not seem all that stressful – after all, he doesn’t have bills to pay, does he? But when you apply the more scientific definition of the word – anything that alarms or excites him, triggering his sympathetic nervous system into action and flooding him with the “fight or flight” chemicals adrenaline and noradrenaline – you may be able to see how many seemingly unrelated things in his environment actually contribute to his “misbehavior.”
Again, the triggers could be anything the dog sees as exciting or threatening. For some dogs, this may be strange people or dogs. For others, visual stimulation such as the sight of squirrels or cars going by out the window could trigger stress. Auditory cues such as trains, sirens, or garbage trucks might set off their internal alarms. For emotionally needy dogs, being left home alone might trigger a stress reaction.
And imagine how difficult it must be to not act out in some physical way while being flooded with adrenaline! (For a long discussion of the physiology of stress, see “Stressed Out?” WDJ January 2000.)
There is hope
Dogs whose stress results in behavior issues like nonstop barking or even aggression are often labeled “difficult” dogs. Living with a difficult dog can be unpredictable and sometimes even frightening. Simple things – like friends or family coming to dinner, going for a walk in the neighborhood, even taking him to the vet – can be an ordeal.
I know, because I live with a “difficult” dog. My Jesse is sweet, sensitive, playful, and a great companion. She is also, to put it mildly, difficult in many day-to-day situations. My family has dealt with typical stress issues such as separation anxiety, hyperactivity, and jumping, as well as more serious stress-related problems, like dog to dog aggression. Jesse’s natural response to stress manifests in fight rather than flight.
Yet today life with Jesse is so easy and enjoyable that I sometimes forget that she is a difficult dog. What has made the difference? It hasn’t been one single change, but rather a holistic approach. By integrating a positive attitude, lifestyle changes, training, and behavior modification, life with our difficult dog has become much easier than I ever thought possible.
I am what I am
Changing your attitude about your dog is the first and possibly the most difficult step in developing a saner life together. It probably seems obvious that a positive outlook can make a huge difference. But when you live with a dog who sometimes behaves in a frightening way (like snarling at other dogs), it’s hard to remember his wonderful qualities. It’s also hard to have faith that things can and will get better.
Focus on your dog’s good traits. Every dog has traits we see as positive and some we see as negative. By identifying your dog’s good traits, you’ll begin laying a foundation for strengthening those traits and bringing out the best in your dog. Try writing down all of your dog’s good qualities. Post them on the refrigerator or somewhere else where you will see them often.
Take some time to re-frame the negative traits, too. I used to think about Jesse’s protectiveness and aggression toward other dogs as a “problem.” Like many trainers, I assumed her behavior issues were because of a lack of something – like not enough early socialization or not enough training.
Then, one day, I challenged myself to think about what Jesse, a cattle dog mix, would be like on a working ranch. In the city, her ushering other dogs away from her home and family is seen as aggressiveness. On a ranch, her protectiveness over her “flock” would help keep predators away. Her hyperactive nature, which is difficult to cope with in a small home with a small yard, would lend itself to endless hours of herding. Even her relentless hunting of small furry creatures (like rats, gophers, and squirrels) would most likely be appreciated in a rural setting where it is important to control the vermin population. On a ranch, she would not be seen as a difficult dog. She might even be a prized dog!
Identifying the aspects of your dog’s nature that are natural and normal can help you understand that your dog is not being bad – or even difficult – but just being true to her genetically inherited nature. Many of the qualities that I think of as “difficult” in Jesse would actually be desirable under the right circumstances.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I can just ignore Jesse’s natural behavior traits. After all, I don’t live on a ranch. But by looking at your dog’s positive qualities, and re-framing the challenging behaviors, it may be easier to appreciate who your dog is, and not expect her to be someone she isn’t.
Prevent emotional overload
Before implementing any training or behavior program with a difficult dog, you will need to figure out a short-term management plan to help prevent the emotional overload that leads to stressful outbursts. A stressed dog can’t learn and a stressed person can’t teach.
Management means controlling your dog’s environment to the extent that he doesn’t have the opportunity to become hyperreactive, anxious, or aggressive – at least long enough for you to help him learn new coping skills. Management may involve confinement, head halters, changing routines – anything to help prevent the dog from acting out. Remember, each time a dog has the opportunity to act out, he stands a good chance of being rewarded for doing so, increasing the likelihood that he will act out again in the future.
Consider this example: Muffin and her human companion are walking down the street. Muffin sees another dog coming her way. Perhaps Muffin is worried and unsure how to behave. She barks and lunges in hopes that the other dog will move away. The human companions of both dogs cooperate, by moving the dogs to opposite sides of the street. For Muffin, her barking and lunging just successfully resulted in the other dog moving out of her space. While she may not have been given a single treat, Muffin was definitely rewarded for her behavior.
Of course, from the human perspective, if a dog is acting aggressively toward another dog while on a walk, crossing the street is a perfectly reasonable solution. So how can you avoid rewarding a dog like Muffin for aggressive behavior?
If possible, do not give her the opportunity or place her in a situation where she is likely to be aggressive. Hyper-vigilance on the part of Muffin’s human companion could be the initial management strategy. By turning corners, walking the other way, or crossing the street when another dog came into sight, before Muffin had a chance to bark or lunge, Muffin’s human could successfully prevent Muffin’s angry outbursts. Walking her earlier in the day, before the prime dog walking hours, could also help.
In addition, it would help to use a head halter on Muffin for all her walks so that her head could easily be turned away when she did see other dogs.
Train for the brain
According to James O’Heare, executive director of the Academy of Canine Behavioral Theory, the best strategy to get a dog through a stressful event is to focus the dog’s attention on a specific cognitive task. In other words, give him something to do – engage his brain. A dog whose brain is engaged is much less likely to react emotionally in any given situation. (Conversely, a dog who is in an emotional state generally cannot think or focus on a specific task. In our home, we say that the dog has “lost his brain” when emotions take over.)
Teaching a dog an incompatible behavior is one of the first courses of action and will help both in physically managing the dog and with gradually desensitizing him to the stimuli that sets him off. For example, teaching your dog to watch you while heeling can be a terrific management tool for dogs with compulsive greeting problems or on-leash aggression. If the dog is watching you, he can’t lunge at that other dog!
In addition, develop a repertoire of fun and engaging behaviors to help your dog de-stress. These should not be control exercises, but rather, active behaviors that are strictly for fun and play. For some dogs, catch games with a ball or toy work very well to de-stress. Use these fun activities to help your dog unwind after a stressful event.
For example, if you are walking down the street and pass a strange dog, have your dog heel and watch you, keeping her engaged and offering plenty of great treats until you are well past the other dog. Then, let loose with a few fun games to help you both let go of any residual stress. Are there specific behaviors your dog does well and enjoys doing? Make the behaviors you love in your dog the highlight of your training. This can, in and of itself, help defuse stress-related behavior.
Improving, one treat at a time
I am a huge fan of classical conditioning. In Jesse’s case, classical conditioning is what tipped the scale, shifting her from a well-behaved stress case, to a mostly relaxed, engaged, and happy dog.
Classical conditioning shifts a dog’s emotional response from a negative one to a positive one. For example, you can use classical conditioning to help a dog who is stressed or afraid of kids, other dogs, or even scary sounds, to learn to love the very things that used to scare him. While training a dog can help him behave in stressful situations, behavior modification can shift the very way the dog views those same situations.
Classical conditioning works best when you can expose your dog to specific stress producers at very low levels of intensity, simultaneously pairing this with something that is purely positive and enjoyable. If your dog gets overexcited or stressed when he sees kids, exposing him to children at a great distance while feeding him wonderful treats can help him learn that children make good things happen. As he becomes more comfortable with kids in the distance, you gradually position yourself and your dog ever closer to the children, all the while pouring on the treats.
This technique is not an immediate solution to most stress-related behavior problems, however. It takes time and commitment. (For in-depth information about this powerful behavior-altering tool, see “Classical Conditioning” in the June 2001 issue.)
Solutions abound
The above strategies are just a few of the many available to those of us living with difficult dogs. Many others tools are also available, including visualization, TTouch, massage, and homeopathic remedies. But perhaps the best tools we have are our positive outlook, and faith in our dogs.
The journey we travel with our difficult dogs can be a gift (though admittedly, it is sometimes disguised as a curse). My difficult dog has taught me to evaluate what is important in my relationships with my dog friends and to change my expectations of both my dog and myself. But possibly the most important thing she has taught me is that living with a difficult dog doesn’t really have to be all that difficult.
Mardi Richmond is a freelance writer and trainer living in Santa Cruz, California, with her two wonderful dogs, Jesse and Blue. She is also the co-author of Ruffing It: The Complete Guide to Camping with Dogs.
I have never owned a dog with separation anxiety, thank goodness. The condition is hard on the dog who suffers from the condition and hard on the dog’s caretakers, too, including owners, vets, groomers, pet sitters, and dog walkers. Care must be taken to prevent triggering the dog’s panic at being left alone—in severe cases, even just long enough for the person caring for the dog to use the restroom!
