When Maggie, a young Australian Cattle Dog-mix, first walked into our agility training yard, she was obviously scared. As I crouched near her, hand outstretched with a treat, she slunk away. When another dog moved on the opposite side of the yard, she jumped. When her handler led her gently past a tunnel, she tried to escape and run away. When a truck drove by on the street nearby, she cowered.
Maggie was, quite literally, afraid of everyone and everything. I’m sure that if the sun had been out that day, she would have been afraid of her own shadow.
Yet this morning, less than a year later, Maggie confidently marched into the same training yard. She approached another dog, tail wagging. She excitedly ran up to each person in the class (including a couple of people she did not know) asking for attention and treats. Then, at her handler’s direction, Maggie leaped through the tire jump, raced over the A-frame, ran through the tunnel, jumped three jumps, pushed through the chute, and banged down the teeter. And she did all of this while cars and trucks noisily passed on a nearby street.
How did Maggie overcome her fears and learn to confidently approach strangers, interact with other dogs, and charge through an agility course all the while tuning out loud rumbling trucks? The key was a powerful learning experience called classical conditioning.
Positive associations
Classical conditioning, quite simply, is learning by association. It is when a person or animal associates one stimulus with something that was not previously associated. For example, if you ran an electric can opener in front of a dog who had never eaten anything out of a can before, he may not respond to the sound in any way. But if you begin feeding the same dog canned food, he’ll soon learn to associate the sound of the electric opener with the advent of his dinner, and begin to display great excitement whenever the electric can opener runs.
Classical conditioning happens everywhere, all the time, with or without our help or knowledge. Most of us have dogs that get excited when they hear the jingle of keys. A set of keys, by itself, has no special meaning for dogs. But when those keys are linked with walks or car rides, they can trigger as much excitement as the walks or car rides themselves.
While classical conditioning occurs naturally, we can also consciously use it as part of training and socialization. Classical conditioning is one of the most powerful (and often underutilized!) training tools available.
Shifting emotions
Classical conditioning differs from other types of training; in fact, it’s not training, per se, although it can play an important role in the training process. The goal of training is to get the dog to exhibit certain behaviors – or cease to exhibit certain undesired behaviors – on cue. For example, you want the dog to sit when you use a verbal cue, or you want to teach the dog not to jump up on you. Most training is accomplished through the use of operant conditioning, the use of rewards and/or punishment to encourage or discourage the dog from displaying certain behaviors. Praise, petting, or feeding a dog treats when he is sitting increases the likelihood of his sitting behavior; punishment such as ignoring the dog and turning your back on him will decrease his jumping behavior.
With classical conditioning, on the other hand, changing the dog’s behavior is not your immediate goal, but rather, a “backdoor” sort of result of changing his feelings about a given stimulus. Your immediate focus is how the dog feels; you use classical conditioning to make the dog unconsciously react a certain way. This is called a conditioned reflex. The power of classical conditioning comes from its ability to help shift the emotional reactions that drive his behavior.
To use Maggie as an example, we used classical conditioning to help her relax and enjoy being in the training yard. The process was simple: her handler showered her with great treats each time she came into the training yard. Within a few weeks, Maggie’s fears started to subside; strange people, new dogs, spooky obstacles, and noisy trucks no longer triggered a fear response – these things now meant treats! She quickly began relaxing while in the agility yard and anticipating the treats she would receive there. Soon, we were able to start teaching her agility.
As I said, even though classical conditioning does not train a dog to perform behaviors on cue, it can play a powerful role in a behavior modification program.
Conditioning training tools
One of the most common ways to use classical conditioning in a positive training program is in the initial steps of clicker training. The clicker, at first, has no special meaning to the dog. But as soon as the Click! of the clicker is repeatedly paired with great treats – also known as “charging” the clicker – it becomes a powerful tool in training. The “charged” clicker elicits the same emotional response in the dog as the treat itself.
Classical conditioning can also be used to help dogs learn to accept training tools that they don’t like at first, such as head halters, muzzles, or crates. Take head halters as an example. Many dogs will, without conditioning, resist or even actively dislike wearing a halter. But through associating pleasant things with the halter, most dogs can actually learn to love wearing one. At first, you might give your dog treats when you take out the halter. Next, you give your dog treats, praise, and other enjoyable attention while you hold the halter near the dog, and eventually, you lavish this enjoyable treatment on the dog while he wears the halter. Once the dog can wear the halter without any signs of distress, you can reinforce the conditioning by always having the halter signal the start of fun activities: walks, ball play, training, and other adventures.
Becoming a social animal
Behaviorist and author Jean Donaldson, who directs the behavior and training department at the San Francisco SPCA, calls the use of classical conditioning in conjunction with early socialization “a puppy insurance policy.” Each time you pair the presence of children with treats, for example, you are paying into an insurance policy that will protect you and your dog from behavior problems around children later in life. The more you put into the insurance policy, the bigger your protection! Here’s how it works:
By introducing a puppy or young dog to kids of all different ages, he will be more likely to accept kids. When you provide classical conditioning through feeding treats in the presence of children, the dog will not only learn to accept kids, but also will learn that when he is around kids, good things happen. If you also have the children actually feed your puppy treats or play his favorite game, he will learn that children not only equal good things, but also are the source of good things!
If you incorporate classical conditioning in all of your socialization efforts, you are more likely to have a dog who not only likes the things he’s already encountered, but may also learn to simply enjoy new experiences.
Dispelling fears
Classical conditioning is a good tool for helping the dog to overcome most types of fears, including fear of people, noises, and new places. One of the great advantages of using classical conditioning to overcome a dog’s fears is that you don’t have to know why the dog is afraid. You just need to figure out what she is afraid of and then condition her to “like” that thing.
For example, a dog that is afraid of umbrellas may be afraid because she hasn’t seen many umbrellas, because an umbrella bopped her on the head when she was a pup, or maybe because a person carrying an umbrella looks like a big, bad monster. You may not know what caused the fear, and truthfully, you don’t need to know in order to help your dog overcome her fear of umbrellas. (See “Putting Classical Conditioning to Work,” below, for step-by-step instructions for using classical conditioning to dispel your dog’s fears.)
Decreasing aggression
Fear and aggression are usually considered flip sides of the same problem. Dogs that respond to stressful situations with “flight” are considered fearful. Dogs that respond to stressful situations with “fight” are considered aggressive. But the underlying stress reaction may be similar.
I became intrigued with classical conditioning because of my own dog’s problems. Jesse has displayed fear-based dog-to-dog aggression on numerous occasions. I consulted another trainer for this problem, and together we worked on helping Jesse overcome her aggression through remedial socialization, teaching incompatible behaviors, and management.
After years of work, and lots of help from the trainer, Jesse could walk down the street past another dog without acting out, she could perform in dog classes, and she even learned to safely negotiate with other dogs in off-leash play areas. Still, while Jesse was under good control and had improved social skills, she was never relaxed or confident when other dogs were present. And, if her stress level shot too high, the aggressive behavior would resurface.
About a year ago, we began to incorporate large doses of classical conditioning into our work with Jesse. Each time she saw another dog – no matter what she was doing – we showered Jesse with treats. Within six months, her stress response around dogs was noticeably lower. Last week, for perhaps the first time in her life, she stood in the center of a small group of dogs, tail wagging, relaxed, and confident. I would in no way consider her “fixed” at this point, but she is farther along than I would have thought possible just a year ago.
Watching a dog (or cat, or person, or any animal for that matter) overcome a strong fear is a magical experience. So is seeing our dogs becoming calmer and more confident in everyday and especially in strange, new environments. When a dog can learn to relax or even enjoy things that used to be scary, life becomes easier. Quality of life for both of you will dramatically improve.
I love the commercial where the lady puts down a bowl of new dog food down, and the dog shoves it under the rug. The voice-over gravely intones, “(Our food) . . . every day.” It’s very clever advertising, directly aimed at getting all of your pet food dollars into just one manufacturer’s pocket. But the concept is all wrong.
Imagine that you have a child, a two-year old boy, and you take him to the pediatrician for a checkup. The doctor bustles in, very jovial, looks Junior over, then plunks a big can of “Allinheres” down on the exam table. “Good news,” he beams. “Chef Kidardee has put all the vitamins, minerals, and a perfect balance of nutrients that Junior needs into New Complete Allinheres. Now all you have to do is make sure Junior gets three servings every day.” The doctor wags his finger at you as he continues, “But since this food is perfectly complete and balanced, don’t feed Junior anything else, like apples or oatmeal or broccoli or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because it might cause a nutrient imbalance!”
Well, this sounds a little weird, but you trust the pediatrician, and you go ahead and put Junior on a diet exclusively comprised of Allinheres. Junior grows, and it sure is easy and convenient to feed him. The next year you bring him in for his checkup, and the doctor is very pleased.
“He looks great,” says the Doc. “I see you’ve been keeping him on Allinheres. Terrific! Now, I have more good news for you! Allinheres now comes in All Life Stages! You’ll keep him on Allinheres Growth until he starts kindergarten. Then he’ll go on Elementary Allinheres until he hits middle school. Then Adolescent Allinheres until he’s 18, when he can be weaned onto Adult formula. And you can eat it too! It’s complete and balanced for adults up to 65 years old.”
Then he takes a closer look. “Hmph,” he says. “Maybe Allinheres Lite for you.”
Ridiculous? Of course! What rational parent would feed a child only one food for years on end. Even if the food is, in fact, complete and balanced, most of us would consider such a practice unnatural, even cruel to the child. Never give Junior a cracker or a carrot? No fresh food at all? Preposterous!
Then why does everyone think it’s okay to do this very thing to a dog? We would think a pediatrician who recommended a single food diet for a child was bonkers, yet when the veterinarian recommends a single food for our pampered pooch, we obey without question. Yet, feeding a dog is not all that different from feeding a kid. There are numerous reasons why a dog should eat different foods on a regular basis – if not a fresh, ever-changing homemade diet, then at least a rotating commercial diet.
Nutrient imbalances In the veterinary literature, there are many documented cases of animals with nutritional deficiencies (or excesses), and in virtually every one, the problem arose (or was discovered) because the animal was kept on one food for a long period of time.
Cats, being rather odd creatures with strange dietary requirements, have been the unintended victims more frequently – taurine, copper, vitamin E, and potassium deficiencies have turned up in cats on some foods. Dogs, whose metabolism is more adaptable, haven’t had as many problems, though zinc and fatty acid deficiencies have occurred on certain poor quality foods. An excess of zinc in a commercial dog food sickened author Ann Martin’s dogs and started her on a course of research into commercial pet food manufacturing and regulation, resulting in her book, Food Pets Die For in 1997.
But wait a minute . . . Aren’t we talking about “complete and balanced” foods? How can a complete and balanced food have deficiencies or excesses of nutrients? Unfortunately, even for the best commercial dog food, there are several places along the road to the store shelf where the food’s nutritional value can go astray:
• First, the standards by which the food is made aren’t perfect. Animal nutrition is an evolving science, and we don’t yet know all there is to know about it (if we ever will!).
• Second, the exact amounts of nutrients in a given ingredient may not be known, or may be inaccurately assessed. A batch of cornmeal might be assumed to have a certain nutritional composition, based on past batches of cornmeal, but depending on the weather where the corn was grown, the soil conditions, and the type of fertilizer used, the exact amounts of each nutrient in any one batch can vary quite a bit.
• Third is supplier error. A vitamin-mineral premix added to the food may guarantee minimum levels of each item, but if the quality control on that premix was poor (as it may have been in the food Ann Martin’s dogs ate, which tested very high in zinc), the finished dog food will compound the error.
• Also, because of the nutritional standards themselves, which specify minimums for most nutrients but not maximums, pet food makers may not test for the probability that their finished product is too high in some nutrient. Excesses of certain minerals, for example, can wreak havoc on dogs’ health. Even a wide divergence between the stated and actual amount of something like protein or fat can cause problems for some dogs.
Say you choose a food for your dog, an older, sedentary Spaniel with kidney problems based on its stated protein content of 19 percent – a comparatively low-protein food. But the amount guaranteed on the food labels is a minimum. In other words, the label says the food contains at least that 19 percent protein; it may have much more. After all, some foods are produced on a “least cost” basis, and the ingredients may change significantly from batch to batch. (For more information about “actual” amounts of nutrients in commercial foods, see “Comparing Apples to Apples: The Dry Matter Comparison,” January 2001.)
• On the other hand, some manufacturers develop a formula – a recipe, if you will – for making their food, and they will stick with that recipe no matter what. If their recipe results in a food that is typically at the very low or high end of acceptability for some nutrients, you can imagine that after years of feeding the same food, your dog’s body will eventually exhibit the effects of that chronic over- or undersupply of those nutrients.
We like to think of the production of food, even pet food, as a fairly scientific affair but the truth is, all pet food manufacturers make mistakes in formulation or production that result in nutrient excesses or deficiencies. Look through the state feed control reports from around the country; it becomes obvious that virtually every manufacturer – no matter how good, bad, or indifferent its reputation – at one time or another fails one or more tests for protein, calcium, magnesium, or other nutrients.
Intolerance and allergy A very different pitfall of feeding a single food for years and years is the potential for your dog to develop an intolerance or allergy to one or more ingredients. Food intolerances and allergies can often cause similar symptoms, but there are significant differences between them.
A dietary intolerance is a reaction to something in the food, but this reaction does NOT involve an immune response. The list of suspects is a long one, and includes food ingredients, as well as additives such as flavoring agents, coloring agents, emulsifiers, humectants, stabilizers, thickeners, text-urizers, and dozens more. Signs of gastrointestinal disturbances (especially vomiting and diarrhea) are far more likely to be caused by food intolerance than by a food allergy. A food intolerance can develop at any time in the dog’s life.
True food allergies – immediate immune responses triggered by exposure to a certain food – are thought to be fairly rare. Food allergy usually causes skin reactions, such as papules, rashes, and ear infections (actually, the inflammation sets up the scene, and then bacteria and yeast that are normally present cause secondary infections). Histamine is part of this reaction; it is a pro-inflammatory chemical that affects the local cells and blood vessels and also summons other inflammatory cells onto the scene.
However, most skin reactions are due to atopy (inhalant allergies); only a small percentage turn out to be caused by food. It usually takes months to years of exposure to a food to develop a food allergy, and food allergies are usually caused by proteins. Proteins are found in animal products, of course, but also to some degree in cereal grains. Thus, switching foods every three or four months, from chicken and corn, to lamb and rice, turkey and barley, or duck and potato, may help prevent your dog from becoming food-allergic in the first place.
Preventing fussiness The last big reason to periodically change foods is to prevent finicky eating. In a past column (“He Likes It! Hey Mikey!” November 2000) we discussed palatability enhancers, the products that dog food makers use to transform otherwise unappealing processed food into irresistibly tasty nuggets. Consequently, a dog fed a single food may become “addicted” to one particular flavor. Most of us have heard of dogs who will eat nothing but one brand, or even, one flavor made by one brand of food; if the owner runs out of that food the dog goes hungry until the distraught owner manages to find some of the flavor in question. It’s best to have your dog develop more cosmopolitan tastes, and be willing to eat whatever you give her.
Making the switch For all of the reasons listed above, it’s a good idea to change foods occasionally – as much as every three to four months. There is some evidence in people that avoiding a particular “problem food” for four months may resolve the issue and the body will again tolerate it. Also, that’s a short enough period that allergies are unlikely to develop.
But when you get ready to make the transition from one food to another, be sure to plan ahead. You don’t want to run completely out of one food and just plunk down a bowl of something new in front of Rover’s nose. If you’ve trained him right, he may not push it under the rug, but a sudden switch could cause tummy upset.
For most dogs, a four (or eight) day changeover works best. Young dogs usually adjust quickly; older dogs may need a little more time. For the first day (or two), feed 75 percent of his old food mixed with 25 percent of the new food. After a couple of days, feed 50 percent each of old and new food; then 25 percent of his old food and 75 percent new food, and finally all new food. This gives the dog’s resident gut bacteria time to gear up to handle the new ingredients properly.
For the first two weeks on a new food, monitor your dog’s appetite, stool quality, and energy level, and watch for unusual symptoms – itchiness, runny eyes, diarrhea – that could indicate the food is not right for him. Eventually, you’ll be able to settle on three or four different foods you can rotate between. As always, your dog’s skin and coat quality, activity level, and appetite are the best indicators of whether the food is contributing to his optimal health.
-By Dr. Jean Hofve
Dr. Jean Hofve is the Companion Animal Program Coordinator for the Animal Protection Institute, located in Sacramento, California.
Every so often I put together an issue that only afterward strikes me as being, well, completely about my canine interests and needs! There is not a single thing in this issue that is not useful to me and my dog right this minute.
I guess thats a nice perk of the job; I get to assign authors to go out and research topics that I am personally interested in, or about subjects that will ultimately benefit my dog and your dogs, too, I hope! Im not being completely selfish; I suspect that most of us are in the same boat: While we may have had dogs our whole lives, were really only now learning how much we dont know about proper nutrition, holistic medical care, and effective training methods. We get a lot of enjoyment from our dogs but there are things about our relationship with them that could stand some improvement. And most of us would like to keep our dogs with us on this planet as long as possible, in as vibrant a state of health as is possible.
I had to assign myself one article to write for this issue: Choosing a Raw Food Guru, which appears on the next page. Ive noticed over the years that most raw feeders tend to follow the doctrine of one of three main experts when planning their dogs homemade diets. Its almost become one of those personality quiz questions, such as Who is your favorite Beatle? Until I read their books, and interviewed each one, I couldnt answer that question; I wasnt familiar enough with the philosophical and practical differences between the well-known authors diets. Now I can!
Of course, as the owner of an obsessive, restless Border Collie, Im always looking for new and better toys; Rupert needs things to do besides shadowing me from one side of my office to the other! Pat Millers enthusiastic review of the best new toys sent me straight to my computer to order a toy or two.
Mardi Richmonds article on classical conditioning came as a revelation to me. When she proposed the article, it sounded to me like something our readers would be interested in even though I wasnt exactly sure what it was. Once I read her article, I realized how many times I could have used the techniques to convince 11-year-old Rupert that there was really nothing to be frightened of . . . not laundry, brooms, strangers, loud voices, the clink of a fork on a plate, or any of the other 40 or so things that make Rupert nervous. I think well start with the fear of strangers thats been the most troublesome; weve gotten used to Rupe leaving the room for most of the others!
Every dog owner, myself included, is forever looking for the perfect veterinarian a skilled diagnostician with a warm manner. When you also require a holistic approach someone with a knack for intuiting the most effective and the least harmful treatment available the quest takes on quixotic proportions. Randy Kidd, a talented holistic veterinarian himself, does a great job of explaining how we can assess a practitioners depth of knowledge and commitment, even if we dont know that much about holistic principles yet, ourselves.
Because of Rupes lack of interest in getting anywhere near other dogs and strangers I dont take him with me when I go to the dog park in my town. But I go pretty frequently, because I enjoy watching the dogs play so much (and there are so many great photo opportunities). It wasnt until I read Pat Millers recommendations for evaluating a dog park that I realized how really perfect the park in my town is! If your city doesnt have a dog park, or has a subpar facility, check out Millers suggestions for organizing a user group to improve your situation; your local dogs will thank you.
All in all, I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have.
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Recently I received a letter from a reader who had received a free sample issue, and was writing to let me know that she was sorely disappointed with what she read.
After studying her letter, however, I realized that anything we published couldnt have made the writer happy. In the June issue, she complained, all four of our recommended dog biscuits, and even our recipe for homemade biscuits, included wheat, yet we made no mention of how many dogs are extremely allergic to wheat, including one of mine, who suffered with diarrhea and terrible skin for two years before I learned about wheat and got him completely off of it. She continued, Corn is another allergen, which is an ingredient in two of your recommended biscuits.
Its true; wheat is a common allergen, and it would have been helpful to some dog owners if we had included a wheat-free biscuit on our list. (We did note that some dogs are dairy-intolerant, and we included a dairy-free biscuit.) But its impossible to make (or recommend) a biscuit that NO dogs are allergic to! Many dogs are allergic to corn and wheat, but many others are allergic to chicken, beef, lamb, rice, etc.
Next, the letter complained about our article on dog shampoos. Two of WDJs shampoo recommendations, she alleged, contain extremely questionable ingredients. The source of her opinion? A booklet called 10 Synthetic Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid, published by the maker of a line of natural cosmetics.
The writer concluded by saying she would decline subscribing. I think the above is sufficient to make my case that WDJ does not share my view of what natural means, or that, by my lights, it is capable of providing me with information that is authoritative or reliable.
I have to wonder at the wisdom of believing spokesmen for a company with a monetary interest in sounding an alarm over the unsubstantiated dangers of a substance. While remaining open to the possibility that we could miss a credible report documenting the dangers of a substance, I prefer to trust our independent advisors.
But then, our approach isnt for everyone. WDJ is too radical for folks who will never stray from the path of traditional veterinary medicine, and too conservative for those who are devoted to using only completely natural or alternative methods and products. Thats because we want the publication to be about whats best for dogs the most effective treatments and foods with the fewest side effects.
I believe and I hope you do, too that there is value to a publication that doesnt have an axe to grind. We wont run an article based on knee-jerk opinions just because we read it somewhere. Until we have examined reports for and against a product or service, examined the sources of the information, and compared our findings with a few independent sources, were just not going to get excited.
For instance, Ive seen several partial and total versions of 10 Synthetic Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid on the Internet, and none of them worried me. Every version of this list I saw contained two indications of questionable content: (1) The early use of an opening quotation mark, which marks the beginning of an inflammatory quote by some expert but is never followed by a close quote, so you dont know where the experts opinion ended and the website authors took over, and (2) a sales pitch for an alternative product. In my book, the pitch alone seriously undermined the credibility of the information.
Elizabeth M. Whelan, executive director of the American Council on Science and Health, once said that health alarmists should consider the proven not just theoretical dangers of a substance before crying carcinogen. Constant warnings lacking scientific proof, she said, will only help cancer now the second leading cause of death in the U.S. to continue ravaging those who have become too numb to false alarms.
Regarding the natural flea-erradication tactics you published in the June issue: Trying to pick fleas off of my 18-year-old Timber Wolf can be a very dangerous proposition as she regards those fleas as hers to eat! Nor does she tolerate the application of powder or sprays. So what I have done through the years is apply a little caster oil to the base of her tail and above her hips. When the fleas run up over her back and through the oil, it suffocates them. You have to heat the oil slightly and rub it down to the skin with your fingers. I do this two or three times a year, washing off the old caster oil and drying the fur thoroughly before applying the new. She still gets fleas, as we walk through the woods every day, but in a couple of days they are gone.
She also suffers from separation anxiety (also mentioned in the June issue). When I leave the house now I leave the TV on and place a small cardboard box on the floor that she can tear up. This saves the rest of the house and the TV puts her to sleep, until I can return.
-Tom Stewart Freeport, PA
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I use a number of the preventive measures that you mentioned in “Fighting Fleas Naturally,” but I also do an additional one. Feeding fresh garlic to my dogs helps reduce the numbers of flees that I find. I have three dogs, and each weighs between 70 and 90 pounds. They each get one teaspoon of garlic twice a day with their food. I mix the garlic in a food processor with olive oil. They prefer extra virgin first pressed olive oil. I mix enough oil in to get a paste and start feeding them small amounts in mid-June, the start date for fleas in my part of New England. I slowly increase the amount over a few days until I get to the one teaspoon twice a day. I have gotten success only using fresh garlic. Bottled and dried just didn’t seem to help.
Overall, I’m extremely happy about Whole Dog Journal. I’ve been showing it to other dog lovers, hoping that more people will turn to “alternative” methods first.
-Mark Valery Billerica, MA
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More Than Expected
I just received my first issue of Whole Dog Journal and I must say it is far more than I expected. It is full of valuable things you should know about your dog. I have a Maltese I love dearly and I always want the best for her. I especially enjoyed “Herbs for Common Canine Ailments” (Volume 1, #4), since I’m a herb grower. I always rub my dog’s fur with penny-royal after her nightly brushing, and I really enjoyed Nancy Kerns’ editorial, “What’s Best for Dogs.” I’m looking forward to each issue from now on.
-Eunice McGarvey Palmyra, PA
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We Love The Buster Cube
To defend the Buster Cube (reviewed in WDJ Vol. 1, # 3): It arrived at our house by UPS at 5PM. Pepper, a mix we got from a shelter, got very frustrated that first night but the next day had it figured out. A few days later she could maneuver it out of tight places. I put a cup of food in it every day, and one cup in her bowl. She eats it whenever she gets hungry.
I enjoy WDJ; it’s very informative. I was very glad to know about the propylene glycol in treats. We no longer buy that kind. I look at the ingredients in dog food now, as well as our food!
-Darla Terry Sierra Vista, AZ
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A Better Biscuit?
Your Journal fills a huge void! I can now begin to make my own educated decisions regarding the well being of my dogs. You have already helped me decide on an alternative to antibiotics for my dog’s giardia; the goldenseal worked! (“A Garden of Benefits, WDJ Vol. 1, # 4). In the future, please include suggested dosages when you write about these alternatives).
My only complaint is that you wasted valuable space in your journal complaining about MLM companies! There are retail stores with annoying pushy sales people as well – I find that a simple “No, thank you,” works to halt the pitch. You must have been very annoyed with them!
At some time or another, every dog lover has endured a blast of bad breath from an ardent canine companion. Foul-smelling breath is so prevalent among pooches that the very phrase has come to be an insult, as in, “Get lost, dog breath!”
Even so, a mention of the idea of preventative dental hygiene for dogs strikes some people as weird, if not nearly ridiculous. “Toothbrushes for dogs? You’ve got to be kidding!”
But it’s no joke. Chew on these findings: a 1995 University of Minnesota epidemiology study of 67,000 dogs and cats showed oral disease to be the most common canine and feline clinical disease. And a 1996 Kansas State University study showed periodontal disease to be associated with chronic internal organ diseases of the heart, kidneys, and liver.
Our own dog husbandry practices are to blame for most of the factors that contribute to the poor condition of our dogs’ choppers – including the diets that we provide for our dogs and human-engineered breeding programs.
Fortunately, this means that dog owners also have the power to reverse this unhealthy trend: You can observe their teeth for early signs of trouble, enabling you to treat small problems before they worsen; you can give them nutritional support for healthy teeth and gums; and you can help keep their teeth clean. By implementing a thoughtful plan for dental health, you can help ensure your dog’s teeth will contribute to his longevity and zest for life, not to mention, help make his doggie “kisses” fresher!
A Dog’s Clean Teeth Contribute to Overall Health
The focus of all dental care is the removal of plaque, which is composed of a mixture of oral bacteria, bacterial sugars, salivary proteins, and food and cellular debris, and dental calculus, or tartar, which is comprised of a mixture of mineralized concretions of salivary calcium and phosphate salts, and plaque. The presence of plaque on the teeth can cause gum inflammation or “gingivitis,” visible as a reddening of the tissue along the gum line. (Tartar does not directly cause gingivitis; rather, the calculus serves as a spot for plaque to collect and for bacteria to multiply.)
With dogs, “cavities” in the teeth are rare; it’s gingivitis that wreaks havoc with the dog’s health. Initially, it’s the pain of gingivitis that diminishes the dog’s quality of life; not only do dogs use their mouths for eating or drinking, but also for grooming, social interaction, and playing with toys. If a dog is reluctant to use his mouth for any of these activities, his gum problems can worsen due to reduced circulation.
If the gingivitis advances to a full-blown infection, it can make the dog very sick. “One single infected root can make a dog – or a person, for that matter – seriously ill,” warns Dr. Nancy Scanlan, a veterinarian with a holistic practice in Sherman Oaks, California. “And oral infection can constantly enter your bloodstream and cause trouble elsewhere in the body. It can wreak havoc with the joints, lungs, kidneys, liver . . . you can get into multiple body problems from one little tooth.” Learn the signs and symptoms of infected teeth in dogs here.
Dogs’ Teeth are a Man-Made Problem
As mentioned above, dog owners are responsible for many of the factors that contribute to the poor condition of their dogs’ bad teeth. No one is likely to verify this first-hand, but wild canines like wolves and coyotes are unlikely to share domesticated dogs’ dental problems, in large part because our dogs don’t use their teeth in the same way as their wild brethren. The sharp front teeth of dogs are designed for cutting through tissue and tearing raw meat; the powerful jaws and sturdy back teeth are best used for gnawing on and crushing bones. Wild canines who engage in these activities daily generally have strong teeth that are scraped clean, with healthy gums.
But the efficient design of the dog’s teeth is wasted on our domestic pets, who usually eat kibble or canned food. Dog teeth were never intended to chew foods like these. (Ironically, it’s humans, who manufacture and provide this food for our dogs, who have teeth that are ideally suited for chew nuggets of dry dog food – grinding teeth with flattened tops.) Canned and soft food are even worse for dogs’ teeth; they lack even the minimal abrasive action provided by dry food, and are more likely to contain sugars that contribute to dental disease. I’d bet a buck that the insulting phrase “dog breath” originated in the 1950s, when the commercial dog food industry was born and feeding commercially-prepared food to dogs became de riguer.
Humans have also expedited their dogs’ dental problems through hundreds of generations of breeding to create a tremendous variety in the shape and size of dogs, especially in the canine head. Unique characteristics have been refined in different breeds over time; still, most dogs have 42 permanent teeth, regardless of size or shape of the jaw. In many breeds, this has resulted in crowding of teeth, which can lead to increased retention of plaque, gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), and eventually, to loss of teeth and infection. Today, tooth extractions are routine in a multitude of breeds; without extractions, many dogs would be unable to survive the crowded, dysfunctional mouths they have inherited.
Taking Teeth Cleaning into Your Own Hands
While occasional professional cleaning is important, according to Dr. Eisner, toothbrushing is the best way to remove plaque from the dog’s teeth.
Any soft-bristled toothbrush may be used; it doesn’t have to be a special brush for dogs, although several manufacturers have innovated brushes that can make the task marginally easier.
Nylabone, for instance, makes a handy two-sided brush that allows you to scrub both sides of a tooth at the same time. The bristles of Crazy Dog’s “Easy Grip PetAdent” are arranged in a semicircle, for the same purpose. The PetAdent’s bristles are black, reportedly because they are easier to see against white teeth. Several manufacturers also make rubber or plastic “fingertip” brushes that you slip on like finger of a glove; they have bristles affixed to the tip. Four Paws Products makes a longhandled brush with a large head at one end and a small head at the other – great for long-nosed dogs and big dogs. These novelties are useful, but not necessary.
However, there is one toothbrushing product on the market that Dr. Eisner is vigorously opposed to: the Plaque Whacker. The cleaning brush on this device resembles the scrubbing material that kitchen sponges are sometimes backed with, only it’s much stiffer. This device is brutal against delicate oral tissues and the thin enamel of dogs’ teeth. It can also cause microscopic etch marks on the teeth, creating sites for plaque adhesion.
The Value of Toothpaste
Toothpaste is not necessary to get the dog’s teeth clean, though it can make the project easier. Don’t use the stuff from your family’s medicine cabinet, however. Special meat- or peanut butter-flavored toothpastes for dogs have two advantages: they are far more attractive to dogs than minty “people” toothpastes, and they contain substances that are better suited to killing the bacteria found in dog mouths.
Toothpastes can work two ways: mechanically and chemically. Some contain inert abrasive materials such as calcium or silicate, which take a significant mechanical role in helping scrub plaque and other matter from the teeth and gums. But even those pastes without abrasives can play a mechanical role, by lubricating the bristles of a toothbrush for better action.
Toothpastes can also work chemically. Today, a variety of substances are employed to kill the bacteria that lends itself to plaque formation. Two such substances are chlorhexidine and hypothiocyanate. The former kills the aerobic (oxygen-dependent)
bacteria commonly found in a healthy dog mouth. The latter is aimed at killing the pathogenic (illness-causing) anaerobic bacteria that multiply in and “infect” periodontal pockets in an unhealthy dog mouth. Which type of product you use should depend on the condition of your dog’s periodontal area (the gum/tooth margin). If the dog has tight, pink gums and teeth with little tartar, the chlorhexidine products are more appropriate. The hypothiocyanate products are helpful when the dog is known to have periodontal problems.
Delivering the Goods
All of these substances are available in several delivery systems: toothpastes (which are generally scrubbed onto the teeth and gums), gels (topically applied to the gums), liquid rinses (which are squirted into the mouth), rawhide chews that have been impregnated with the substances, and small cloth pads (which are wiped onto the teeth and gums). In Eisner’s estimation, the most effective are the toothpastes and the rawhide chews, because of the abrasive action they provide; the least helpful are the pads.
“If you think about your own teethcleaning experiences, it’s easy to judge these different forms,” he says. “The goal is to apply the dentifrice to as many surfaces of the teeth and gums as possible. One benefit of the liquids is that they readily wash into crevices and crannies in the dog’s teeth and gums. But a shortcoming is that they provide no abrasive or scrubbing action; imagine only using mouthwash, and never brushing your teeth.”
Eisner finds the teeth-cleaning pads to be the least useful delivery system, since they can neither deliver the dentifrices to every surface of the dog’s teeth or gums, nor scrub the teeth very efficiently.
Teeth Cleaning Controversies
Everyone agrees that dogs’ teeth should be clean. But as soon as we begin to talk about ways to remove plaque from our dogs’ teeth, arguments ensue. The people who maintain that by feeding our dogs a diet that is as close to that of wild canines as possible (consisting largely of raw meat and bones), contend that dogs should be able to maintain clean teeth all on their own. Others say that feeding raw meat and bones is time-consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous to the dog. Dogs can die from ingesting bacteria in raw meat and slivers from bones, they argue, and they are more than happy to brush their dogs’ teeth, if that’s what is necessary to keep their dogs “safe” from the pitfalls of the meat and bones diet.
One truth that stands above the fray is that you don’t have to stand by helplessly while sinister events are taking place in your dog’s mouth. Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to every dental health approach. As always, you will have to choose the options that make the most sense for you and your dog.
Regular Doggy Dental Exams
That said, be aware that most veterinarians maintain that the first part of a good dental health program is professional evaluation. An oral exam should be an integral part of every veterinary checkup, starting from a puppy’s earliest health examination. Your veterinarian will check your puppy’s bite to make sure the teeth mesh well, and to monitor the loosening of her deciduous (or “baby”) teeth and the eruption of her permanent teeth.
Normally, in the process of shedding the deciduous teeth, the roots dissolve and the newly unmoored teeth fall out, in order to make way for the permanent teeth. When these baby teeth are said to be “retained,” it’s because the roots have failed to dissolve normally. If a tooth is erupting awry, or the deciduous teeth are retained, your veterinarian will be able to judge whether or not to intercede with an extraction, or whether some method of orthodontia should be used to bring errant teeth to the appropriate place.
As your dog ages, your veterinarian will also be able to monitor the condition of any teeth your dog may have broken or worn down to the nub. These conditions don’t always require treatment, but they must be observed for signs of infection or other problems with the roots.
Professional Cleaning Teeth Cleaning for Dogs
In addition to examinations, many veterinarians feel that dogs should have at least one annual prophylactic teeth cleaning to support all-around health – even though some dog owners have concerns about the anesthesia required for these procedures (see link to the right). In an effort to expose the dog to as few drugs as possible, as long as the examination showed that a dog’s teeth were clean and white, some veterinarians would sanction passing up the annual cleaning.
But given the number of serious health concerns that bad teeth can cause, other veterinarians make a case for a more aggressively preventative plan. According to Edward Eisner, DVM, Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College, “Ideally, a dog should have its teeth cleaned within the first 18 months of life. A perfect time to do this is while the dog is being anesthetized for spaying or neutering. Teeth cleaning visits should also include an educational session with the pet’s owner, to teach toothbrushing.”
During this initial educational visit, Eisner suggests that veterinarians gauge the owner’s interest in home dental care. The suggested interval between teeth-cleaning visits, he says, will depend on the condition of the dog’s mouth and the owner’s interest in or ability to maintain the dog’s clean teeth.
According to Dr. Eisner, a thorough cleaning will include ultrasonic scaling to remove plaque and calculus above and beneath the gumline, in addition to manual work with hand-held dental tools. Periodontal therapy, he describes, goes a step beyond routine cleaning, by scaling the root surfaces. Finally, polishing the tooth surface is accomplished with a tiny, vibrating rubber cup and abrasive dentifrice to discourage plaque adherence.
One of the reasons these thorough cleanings are necessary, says Eisner, is because dogs with periodontal disease may or may not exhibit problems. Their owners may report nonclinical signs of tooth problems, without recognizing them as such. These behaviors include poor self-grooming, incessant nose licking, hesitancy to open or close the mouth all the way, decreased chewing of toys or treats, pawing at the mouth, facial rubbing, head or mouth handling shyness, or a sudden preference for soft food. Other symptoms include bad breath, sneezing, and one-sided nasal discharge.
Owners of small dogs and older dogs need to devote more time and attention to their dogs’ teeth, says Eisner, because these dogs have a much higher incidence of periodontal disease than do large or young dogs. “In a situation of chronic inflammation, the bone will shrink away from the gums at a rate of 1.5 mm per year. An Akita tooth may have a root 30 mm thick, a Chihuahua only 5 mm thick. At the rate of 1.5 mm per year of bone loss, the Akita has time before there is a noticeable problem, but the Chihuahua has only a couple of years before radical therapy is needed,” Eisner says.
The “Dangers” of Anesthesia to Dogs
If the tartar buildup on your dog’s teeth becomes noticeable, or if he exhibits signs of gingivitis or infection, a thorough professional examination and cleaning should be performed, and more extensive dentistry may be required. Many people shy away from these procedures due to fears of anesthetizing their dogs. But while it’s true that there are some risks associated with anesthesia, even veterinarians with completely holistic practices say that if a dog has a serious dental problem, the danger of failing to treat the problem is far greater than that posed by anesthetic.
The most common problems that can be suffered by dogs due to anesthesia are organ damage and, to a much lesser extent, asphyxiation due to aspiration of vomit or other fluid. These cases have diminished every year as more effective monitoring equipment and faster-acting drugs have been developed.
Giving a thorough medical intake
The purpose of anesthesia is to render the dog unconscious for a short period of time, as required for a medical procedure. A variety of drugs may be used in the process; to select the most appropriate drugs and the dosage, the attending veterinarian or veterinary anesthesiologist must have as much medical information as possible about the individual dog.
“Anesthetic protocols are designed for young, healthy animals,” explains Dr. James Gaynor, associate professor of anesthesiology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. “To avoid injury or death from anesthesia, all others – such as geriatric patients, immune-compromised animals, organ-dysfunctional, or sick animals – need to have protocols designed specifically for the individual.”
Included in the information the anesthesiologist needs to consider is the expected duration of the procedure, the age, weight, and breed of the dog, and the dog’s past history of reactions to drugs. Drugs are removed from the dog’s body by the lungs, liver, or kidney, depending on the type of drug used, so if the dog is more than five or six years old (which increases the odds that he has metabolic problems), has a history of sensitivity to drugs, or has any history of liver, kidney, or heart problems, the anesthesiologist should require a blood test prior to surgery. The blood test will show whether or not the dog has elevated liver or kidney enzymes, which would indicate that these organs were not functioning optimally.
Preventing organ damage from anesthesia
Most drugs used for anesthesia make the blood vessels dilate. Imagine water coming through a garden hose at high pressure. If the same volume of water was sent through a hose the size of a fire hose, though, the water would pass through with very reduced pressure. So when the dog’s blood vessels dilate, the blood pressure drops, which “pushes” the blood through the body – and most significantly, through the liver and kidney – at a slower rate. The liver and kidney are the main blood-purifying organs in the body; if they cannot filter the blood at an adequate rate, toxins can quickly accumulate in the dog’s bloodstream to the extent that the organs may suffer permanent damage.
To counter these effects, veterinarians can alter their usual protocol in a number of ways. They can use drugs which require less participation from the liver and kidney to metabolize out of the dog’s system. They can also administer intravenous fluids before and during surgery (imagine adding lots of extra water to the dilated fire hose) to increase the volume in the blood vessels, which keeps the blood pressure up. And by monitoring the dog’s blood pressure throughout the procedure, they can be alert to the need to adjust or even stop the anesthetic if the blood pressure gets too low.
The more monitoring equipment, the better, says Dr. Gaynor, though he admits that monitoring equipment (and another person in the operating room to operate it) can add quite a bit to the cost of any medical procedure that requires anesthesia. “Monitoring blood pressure is the most critical,” says Gaynor. “While this adds expense to the overall procedure, for geriatric dogs, or those with a poor health history, the more precise level of drug administration makes the expense worthwhile.” The precision of today’s monitors, Gaynor says, have led to “the discovery of drugs that allow sicker patients to be anesthetized in a safer manner with fewer adverse effects than ever before.”
Dogs are generally intubated (a tube for breathing is passed down their throats to deliver anesthetic gas and oxygen directly to their lungs) so that they don’t accidentally inhale water or other fluids; lots of water is used in the dog’s mouth during teeth cleaning. In addition, the dog should be kept warm while under anesthesia; some clinics provide a special, heated waterbed or warming blankets during the procedure.
Preventing asphyxiation
Most veterinarians require (or at least request) that a surgical patient spend the night prior to surgery at their clinics. This is to guarantee that a dog gets absolutely no food for 12 hours or water for six hours before surgery; dogs sometimes vomit as they are losing or gaining consciousness, and if the stomach is not empty, there is a danger that the dog will aspirate the vomit and asphyxiate. It’s not necessary for the dog to spend the night at the clinic, as long as the dog’s owner can keep the dog from food or water for the required periods.
If a dog responded poorly to anesthesia in the past, the veterinarian will want to review the drug combination and dosage last used on the dog, and make some changes. Using a different drug may prevent the dog’s nausea.
Drug considerations
Today, anesthetics take effect and leave the body much more quickly than in even the recent past. The drug of choice for today’s veterinarians is isofluorene, a gas anesthetic with minimal effects on the cardiovascular, liver, and kidney systems. It also provides for rapid recovery, even after hours of use, and so is deemed safe for even geriatric patients.
Rapid recovery is the reason that Dr. Nancy Scanlan, a holistic veterinarian with a practice in Sherman Oaks, California, prefers to use only this type of gas for old dogs and dogs with a history of kidney and liver problems. “It stops acting the second you turn off the gas,” says Scanlan. The main drawback to using only gas anesthesia is that some animals experience a few moments of stress and panic when the gas mask is first placed over their nose and mouth.
A more common protocol for young and healthy animals involves the use of a drug (or combination of drugs) injected prior to receiving gas anesthesia. These drugs calm the dog, making him sleepy and compliant prior to receiving gas anesthesia; they are also responsible for his “dopiness” following surgery.
Following the dental work, the veterinarian may opt to administer a “reversal,” a drug that quickly brings the dog back to full alertness. The reversal decision rests largely on the expected need for pain reduction. A healthy dog who had a simple teeth cleaning shouldn’t require it, but a dog who required extractions or root planing can benefit from a couple of drowsy, pain-free hours post-surgery.
Caution, not fear
According to Dr. Scanlan, anesthesia is absolutely contraindicated (not recommended) only when a dog is already on death’s door; it’s not a surprise situation. “These are the dogs that have
blood panels (results of blood tests) that are all wrong — the white count is high, the red count is low, and every enzyme in the body is elevated,” Scanlan describes.
“Though the expert anesthesiologists say it can be done, I’m real nervous about putting these dogs under anesthesia. If a dog came in with (blood test) results like this, and he had obviously infected teeth in addition to other health problems, I’d rather try to treat him with echinacea (for the infection) and antioxidants and hope for the best,” she says.
If your dog is obviously ill, and his blood tests fit the above description, your veterinarian will undoubtedly discuss your options with you long before making an appointment to proceed with dental work.
No matter what your dog’s health, it’s a good idea to ask your veterinarian how he or she plans to anesthetize your dog for a dental — or any other — procedure. While a layman can’t be expected to be able to determine whether or not a veterinarian is a skilled anesthesiologist, dog owners should be as informed as possible about the procedures, so they can gauge whether the doctor’s level of caution and knowledge is on a par with their own comfort level.
“People should have the notion that anesthesia is dangerous,” says Dr. Gaynor, suggesting that consumers should seek out the best-equipped clinic with the most experienced personnel for their dog’s medical procedures. “If administered inappropriately, there is potential for killing an animal, even with ‘safe’ drugs. I like to lead off my lectures to veterinary students with the adage, ‘There are no safe anesthetics, only safe anesthetists.”
The “Ancestral” Dog Diet
There are dog-care experts who feel that brushing and cleaning a dog’s teeth is completely unnecessary if the dog is fed a diet similar to that of his wild ancestors. One of the most well-known advocates of this approach is Dr. Ian Billinghurst, an Australian veterinarian and author of “Give Your Dog a Bone,” published in 1993. Billinghurst says that a diet of raw foods, particularly bones and meats, stimulate health in the whole animal in every way, but particularly for oral health.
Billinghurst states in his book, “Prior to recommending bones as an essential part of a dog’s diet, I had to deal with masses of revolting, stinking, disease-ridden mouths, just like every other vet. Gradually, as my clients took my advice and fed their dogs bones, that unpleasant job was on the wane.”
Due to the vocal advocacy of holistic breeders and veterinarians like Billinghurst, the number of people who feed their dogs only meaty bones and other raw foods is increasing. Yet most conventionally trained veterinarians are still warning their clients about the dangers of such a diet. They tell horror stories about dogs with bones stuck in their throats and dogs with intestinal impactions caused by bone consumption.
“The jury is still out among conventional veterinarians, mainly due to the problems associated with a dog eating too many, or the wrong kinds of bones,” comments veterinary homeopath and nutritionist Dr. Jan Facinelli, of Denver, Colorado. “However, dogs can learn to handle raw foods and bones, especially if they are started young, in controlled situations. I see a number of dogs who eat only raw and home-cooked foods, and, generally, they are very healthy animals. There’s something about fresh foods that contributes to good nutrition – and good nutrition supports healthy gums and teeth.”
Dr. Facinelli recommends that her clients feed their dogs large knuckle bones with cartilage on the joints as a good chewing source with teeth cleaning benefits.
But other holistic practitioners feel that if a dog’s diet is truly healthy, and he has plenty of opportunities to exercise his teeth and gums, he should not require any routine dental cleaning. Facinelli, however, feels there’s no substitute for occasional toothbrushing. “The benefits of brushing the dog’s teeth are huge, even if it’s just once every two weeks,” she says. “Plus, it takes just five minutes, and is well worth the effort.”
Chew Toys
Today, necessity is the mother of marketing; as a result, there are literally thousands of products advertised as beneficial to dogs’ dental health. And, of course, there are also thousands of opinions about the dangers or virtues of each of these products.
For instance, rope-based toys have gained popularity as “dog dental floss,” and there are dozens of toys that incorporate knotted ropes into their designs: mint-scented ropes, ones that “crackle,” ropes with plastic pieces that are meant to be chewed, and so on. As consumption of these products increases, increasing numbers of veterinarians are extracting rope and string from various parts of their patients’ anatomy. The same can be said of every other type of toy; most veterinarians have performed surgery on at least a few dogs with hunks of Nylabone, rawhide, Frisbee, or other toy materials impacted in their intestines.
We asked Eisner to help us formulate chew-toy recommendations. His first caution is to use simple common sense: watch your dog when he’s chewing on anything. “Each dog is different, and can be judged on a continuum, from irrational chewers to speculative ones,” Eisner laughs. Just because a dog has never chewed up or swallowed one toy is no guarantee that he won’t ingest the next one you give him, says Eisner. “Supervision is required any time you give your dog something to put in his mouth.”
Next, Eisner recommends choosing chews which either soften as the dog chews them, or products that “give,” but do not readily crack or split. One such toy is the Dental Kong, described by Eisner as, “a terrific device, made of non-harmful materials, and resilient.” What about rawhide chews, or animal products, such as pig ears? “There is dental benefit to rawhide, but it’s critical that you keep an eye out for little pieces coming off and being swallowed,” Eisner said. “When rawhide toys get soft enough to start coming apart, they must be taken from the dog.”
There has been much debate about the dangers of the preservatives and other chemicals present in rawhide. Holistic veterinarian Dr. Facinelli feels the benefits of rawhide as an oral cleaning device outweigh their chemical dangers. “You can’t be too rigid,” says Facinelli. “Of course you should limit your dog’s intake of additives, but look at the benefits of achieving a clean mouth!”
Eisner gives slower approval, and a stronger warning, to the concept of raw (never cooked) bones used as a dental cleaning agent. “Of course, raw bones can get the job done, but you must supervise your dog as a safeguard against the bone splintering and subsequent slivering. Without supervision, dogs can easily end up swallowing sharp pointy objects that may injure the delicate lining of the digestive tract,” he warns.
Council for Further Study
If a group of veterinarians who are dedicated to dentistry are able to form a consensus opinion better than the rest of the canine community, picking the best dental-health products for our dogs will soon be much easier! Recently, a number of interested veterinarians formed a group that is devoted to providing an objective, credible means of identifying veterinary dental products that are effective in controlling accumulation of plaque and tartar. Members of the group, the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC), were concerned about the advertising “noise” in the marketplace, especially in the absence of any objective means of recognizing efficacious products.
“The VOHC is a new regulatory body that will function in a fashion parallel to the American Dental Association, endorsing products with a seal of acceptance for veterinary use,” Eisner describes. Based on the results of tests devised (but not conducted) by the Council, they will award a seal of approval for products that are shown to help control plaque and/or help control tartar. On the eve that this issue of WDJ is going to press, the VOHC is releasing its list of products that have been approved thus far.
This Council should also attract the involvement of the veterinarians who have special interests in dentistry, provide a concentrated source of information about developments in the field for interested dog owners – and journals!
Most of us just can’t resist giving our beloved canine friends a little snack now and then. Many of us are trained by our dogs to run for the doggie biscuits at the cock of a brow, a whimper and a nudge, otherwise known as “the biscuit shuffle.” I am convinced there is a biscuit “look” that no one can refuse.
Treats are fine; after all, we snack between meals! But, just as with our snacks, what treats you choose to give your dog should contribute – not take away from – the overall healthfulness of his diet.
There is a huge variety of biscuits on the market in these dog-friendly days, and variety is great for our canine friends, as long as we know which ingredients to seek and which to avoid.
In order to make our “A” list, a biscuit must meet a minimum set of conditions we impose on all foods that cross our dogs’ lips:
• No artificial colors.
• No products with the term “flavor” in the ingredients list. This indicates the contents don’t have enough of their own good flavor – not the mark of quality ingredients.
• No artificial preservatives like BHA, BHT, potassium sorbate, sodium nitrate (used for dual purposes, preservative and coloring) and especially, ethoxyquin.
• No propylene glycol, which is used to keep certain foods moist.
• Since we’re shopping for a treat, not a food the dog will subsist on, we’ll be lenient about our usual restriction on sugars and other sweeteners, which make the snack more palatable. However, we will insist that the sweetener be a higher-quality type, such as molasses or honey, instead of artificial or lower-quality substances such as corn syrup, sucrose, and ammoniated glycyrrhizin. Keep in mind that flavor enhancers such as salt and sugar are used to make poor-quality ingredients more attractive to your dog. If the product contains “good stuff,” your dog will want it, even without sweeteners.
• Look for top-quality, whole ingredients like rice, wheat, and eggs, and foods that are kept fresh with natural preservatives like vitamin C and E (often listed as mixed-tocopherols).
• Meat ingredients should be whole, too. This is indicated by the notation “Chicken,” “lamb,” “beef,” etc., rather than “lamb by-products,” for instance. “Lamb meal” is better than “lamb by-products,” but just plain “lamb” would be bettera. A product made with “organically raised lamb” – if it existed – would be best of all.
Other considerations
The major difference between buying a healthy dog food and a healthy biscuit is that the biscuit does not have to be 100 percent nutritionally complete – presuming, of course, that your dog does not subsist on biscuits alone! On the other hand, your dog’s favorite biscuits shouldn’t be so full of “junk” that they undo all the good work you’ve done by providing him with the healthiest dog food.
There are some not-so-obvious ingredients to avoid when choosing nutritious dog biscuits. These are the very cheap “filler” ingredients with little to no nutritional value. Some of these include beet pulp, wheat middlings, and any by-products.
A word about protein, fat, and fiber. You are the best judge when it comes to your dog. If you have an overweight or less active dog, you probably ought to look for a “light” biscuit lower in protein and fat, and higher in fiber. If you have a very active dog choose a biscuit higher in fat and protein. While you’ll want to consider the cost of Fido’s treats, you can’t use price alone as a guide to quality. While good ingredients generally cost more, the vagaries of the marketplace are many, and the prices of some products are puzzling; who knows why some terrible products are expensive and some good ones are not?
Finally, if buying, rather than making, your dog’s cookies make you feel like a “bad parent,” I’ve included a recipe for bake-them-yourself treats. “Bone” appetit!
-By Valerie Cline
Valerie Cline is the owner of Barney’s Choice, a mail order source for books about holistic care and nutritional supplements for animals. She lives in Montreal.
Recently I witnessed an intriguing “conversation” that took place on an Internet bulletin board between two owners of older dogs. One of the individuals inadvertently started a small fracas when she characterized her seven-year-old Great Dane as old.
“What are you talking about?” demanded another party to the discussion. “I have an 11-years-young Dane who is just as active and healthy as ever. How is your dog bred? If your dog looks old at seven, I’d like to avoid that particular line of dogs!”
To serious dog breeders, a denigrating comment about a dog’s breeding is “fighting words!” But the owner of the seven-year-old dog calmly resisted the bait, and made a wise and notable point in her reply:
“My dog is just as active and healthy as ever, too,” she wrote. “But I’m not ‘in denial’ about his age. By recognizing that his needs are changing as he gets older, I can tailor his diet, exercise, and care to maximize his longevity.”
Granted, a breeder who has produced a Dane that lives to be 11, without exhibiting overt signs of old age, is to be commended. However, of the two people in the discussion I observed, the owner of the seven-year-old is the sagacious one. She has realized that if you are alert to the signs of aging in your dog – to a certain extent – they can be headed off at the pass. In fact, failing to “see” signs of aging puts a dog at a higher risk of succumbing to a whole range of age-related illnesses.
Common conditions The onset of “old age” in dogs varies by breed and size, but generally, the larger the dog, the fewer years it takes for him or her to appear geriatric. This is the average scenario, however; disease, stress, inadequate nutrition, and indifferent care can cause premature aging, as well as hasten the end of the dog’s life.
Fortunately for us canine caretakers, the conditions that plague older dogs are fairly easy to observe – if you know what you are looking for. Most are also easy to treat, as long as you are willing to make some changes in your dog-care plan.
Over the next few months, WDJ will discuss some of the most common health problems of the older dog, along with some common-sense treatments for them. This month, we’ll look at one of the classic diseases of aging dogs: osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease.
Common but cruel Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of bones in the joint deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement as bone begins to rub against bone. The chronic inflammation causes deterioration of the joint and the pain and limited movement.
A dog with osteoarthritis is typically stiff in the morning and after naps. He will usually “warm” out of it as he gets up and walks around a little, though cold, damp weather can temporarily cripple him with pain.
These are classic symptoms of a fairly common disease, however, a veterinarian’s opinion should be sought before you begin any course of home treatments for the condition. Dogs with other reversible diseases can also exhibit these symptoms, and if you automatically treated the dog for arthritis when he, in fact, had something else, you’d have wasted the best (i.e. the earliest) opportunity to treat his real illness.
Treatments One of the first considerations is reducing the dog’s pain. A dog that is too sore to exercise often gains weight (which aggravates the arthritis) and becomes depressed (which makes him more reluctant to exercise). These dogs need to exercise to both prevent excessive weight gain and to maintain muscle strength.
Buffered aspirin is often given to dogs with osteoarthritis. Aspirin is considered the most effective and safest drug for relieving some of the dog’s pain. Like all drugs, it’s not without potential for side effects. Some dogs who have been given aspirin for long periods of time or in high doses may develop gastrointestinal bleeding or ulcers. Using buffered aspirin can help prevent this.
Most other herbal and nutritional treatments for this disease are focused on reducing the inflammation that causes pain.
For humans with osteoarthritis, the new generations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been highly effective in reducing inflammation, and thus, reducing pain. However, they have not been shown to be as effective in dogs; aspirin is still the veterinarian’s treatment of choice.
“Neutraceuticals” In recent years, glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate have emerged as the most highly touted arthritis “cures.” Some human arthritis patients swear by these supplements; some report no benefits at all.
Countless medical breakthroughs have emerged from the following model: As medical researchers learn about the role of any chemical component of the healthy and diseased human body, their first step is often to replicate any substance that they discover to play a role in a disease process. Then they supplement a diseased person with the substance, to see whether added amounts of the substance will slow or stop the disease. That’s how these substances made their way to the marketplace.
Glucosamine is naturally produced by the body, and plays an important role in the repair and maintenance of articular cartilage. Manufactured glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are artificially synthesized salts of glucosamine. In the short term, these substances seem to stimulate the cartilage cells to rebuild themselves, rather than degrade as a result of the osteoarthritis process. Long-term studies have not demonstrated the substances’ ability to control the osteoarthritis disease process.
Cosequin is the best-known supplement for dogs that contains both glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate; it also contains vitamin C and manganese, and is available only through veterinarians. (For more information, call Nutramax Laboratories, 800-925-5187.) There are also a plethora of other manufacturers of the substances; any health food store’s shelves will be full of these products. One advantage of Cosequin is not having to guess at dosages.
Adequan (polysulfated glycoseaminoglycan) is another commercial form of glucosamine, but is injected rather than fed. It is theorized that this artificial cartilage matrix substance deposits in the various joints of the body and replacing the cartilage in the arthritic joint and thickening the fluid surrounding the joint. Adequan has been approved by the FDA for use in horses, but is still unapproved for use in dogs; nevertheless, it’s used on dogs daily. The maker (Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, 800-458-0163) expects to have FDA approval soon.
Nutritional supplements In recent years, a number of nutritional supplements have been used to treat arthritis with some success. Perhaps the most exciting is vitamin C. We’ve seen great results from vitamin C supplements of 500 to 2,000 mg. per day, depending on the dog’s size.
Vitamin C is often combined with other nutrients in “arthritis” formulas. One such mix is “ACA,” which contains pure ground alfalfa leaf – another traditional herbal remedy for arthritis), vitamin C, selenium, vitamin E, and chromium (available from The Natural Pet Care Catalog, 800-962-8266).
Another supplement formulated specifically for arthritic conditions is “Winston’s Joint Formula,” made by Winston’s Best (310-277-6120). This contains vitamin C along with a plethora of other nutrients, including shark cartilage (thought to help rebuild the dog’s cartilage), and bromelain (taken from pineapple enzyme and meant to replicate a collagen structural protein).
Fresh or dried alfalfa can also be used to promote healthier joints. Willow is a natural pain reliever, and taken as an infused tea internally mixed with alfalfa and burdock, provides pain relief. Fresh garlic seems to help many canine arthritis patients; chop 1/2 to three cloves (depending on the dog’s size) into his food.
Dog keeping strategies There are a number of things you can around the house to make your arthritic dog more comfortable. For instance, using a raised feeding stand can keep a dog from having to bend down to eat. Dogs that are having trouble negotiating stairs would probably appreciate ramps where it is possible and feasible to build one. If the dog lives outside, providing an exceptionally warm place for him to sleep, well off the ground, will help him from waking up sore every day.
Giving the dog the thickest, softest bedding available will help also him as much as it would a human. Ideally, use a bed with thick “egg crate” foam, which will help distribute his weight evenly on the bed and reduce pressure on any individual joints. The thickest foam dog bed we’ve seen is the “Super Deluxe Bed’ from the Drs. Foster & Smith catalog (800-826-7206).
Another item which seems to have a growing number of proponents is the Nikken Magnetic Pet Pad (Kenko PetPad). Theoretically, magnets ease arthritis pain by properly “polarizing” the dog’s own magnetic field. Nikken is a multi-level marketing company (see “Multi-Level Marketing Mysteries, May 1998, WDJ), but we know two representatives who promise not to try to sell you anything other than what you express interest in: Mary Ann Land, 612-494-9732, and Edith Montoya, 888-841-6073.
Finally, touch therapies can soothe the achy muscles the dog may suffer from altering his gait and movement in an effort to escape the aches from his joints. (See “A Touch Should Do It,” July 1998 WDJ for TTouch, massage, and acupressure resources.) Acupuncture, too, has been shown to be helpful in relieving the pain and stress of arthritis. For a local acupuncturist, call the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society at 303-258-3767.
Consider your dog’s dinnerware, a topic more complicated than you might have thought.
A visit to your local pet superstore, for example, will reveal dozens of choices, in plastic, stainless steel, glass, nylon, ceramic, and possibly aluminum. Among them are many simple, practical and economical models, meant for long-term everyday use, which are the focus of this article.
Of course, bowls also come in a million different “specialty” models – to feed automatically, repel ants, resist spilling, fold up for travel, and so on. But in essence, dog bowls function in pretty much the same manner: they hold food or water. You can spend a few dollars on a practical stainless steel model, or a few hundred for a kidney-shaped granite job with legs. What’s most important, however, is not what they look like or how much they cost, but whether they contain that food and water without contaminating it with any chemicals of their own!
Many people are unaware that certain types of dog dishes (and people dishes!) are capable of leaching dangerous substances into the foods and liquids that fill them. Concerns have been emerging for some time, for instance, about the use of aluminum cookware, and the possibility of lead poisoning from unsafe pottery glazes. Some experts believe that carcinogenic substances can seep out of plastic dishes, too.
But there are so many attractive, inexpensive, and perfectly safe products on the market – including products made for humans – that there is really no reason to take a chance with your dogs. After all, they might use the same dishes day-in and day-out throughout their lifetimes.
Purpose-Built Dog Food Bowls
If you’re like many dog owners, you feed and water your dog in dishes culled from your own supply of culinary containers. Recently, after visiting the kitchens of a number of dog owners, WDJ came home with some interesting data: most used vessels unintended for the purpose. Some of the dishes were perfectly safe, but we also found among these ad hoc substitutions a cheap aluminum two-quart pot, a chipped glass bowl, a variety of plastics, and a pretty (but possibly dangerous) ceramic dish purchased in a Mexican street market. In every case, we were told those dishes were “temporary situations” whose permanent solutions hadn’t yet made it to the top of the agenda.
We have no problem with using safe “people” dishes, even permanently, but think about it! Using cast-off dishes that aren’t safe for people is even less safe for our dogs, who may be exposed to far more toxins in their short lives than we are!
NOT RECOMMENDED:
Foreign-Made or Old Ceramic Dishes
There are a lot of pretty bowls in the world, and some that are painted and sold for use by dogs are too cute for words. But if you don’t know how or where they were made, it’s best not to use them.
The reason is that ceramic glazes contain lead, which can leach into food and water. Lead is a highly potent toxin that accumulates in the body – once in, it can not be gotten rid of easily or inexpensively. Prevention is the only realistic “cure” for lead poisoning.
Exposure to lead can cause a multitude of health problems, including brain and organ damage, impaired vision and hearing, stunted growth, impaired motor function, cancer, and reproductive complications. The smaller the dog, the more this toxicity is magnified.
In the U.S., manufacturers have been required since 1971 to fire pottery at temperatures high enough (in theory) to make glazing safe – that is, impervious to surface degradation. However, the FDA tests only a small percentage of imported pottery. In reality, a consumer has no way of knowing whether a dish was fired at temperatures adequate to prevent seepage. While the only way to know for sure that a dish will not leach lead is to have it tested, the following cautions should be observed:
• Use only stoneware or porcelain products, both of which are fired at extremely high temperatures.
• Not many people feed their dogs on old, fine china, but if you do – stop! These heirlooms were made before lead was recognized as a hazard.
• Use only those ceramics, foreign or otherwise, which are certified safe. It is important to note, however, that repeated washing and scrubbing can cause glazes to deteriorate; again, this seems to be most common with earthenware, not with properly fired stoneware of porcelain. If a dish’s glaze is corroded, or develops a dusty, chalky gray residue after washing, stop using it at once! The residue is characteristic of a faulty glaze, and it could be very dangerous.
• Avoid dishes with raised decorations on the interior surfaces of the dish. Glazes might not cover all of a textured surface.
• If you suspect your dog has been exposed to lead, ask your veterinarian for a blood test immediately. Chelation therapy can diminish the amount of lead your dog has already accumulated, though the procedure is expensive and difficult. Alternatively, a veterinarian may prescribe a course of action to reduce its effects. For instance, nutritional deficiencies can exacerbate lead poisoning, so a dog that has been exposed to lead would benefit from regular vitamin and mineral supplementation.
• If you are sentimentally attached to ceramic pet dish of questionable origin, you can have it tested at a laboratory, though this can cost anywhere between $35 and $80. Or, you can use a home-test kit. LeadCheck Swabs are available for about $8. Note that these swabs don’t test whether lead is present in the dish, but whether lead is leaching from the dish at the time of testing.
ALSO NOT RECOMMENDED:
Aluminum Dishes
Aluminum is a neurotoxin that can cause cognitive dysfunction and bone damage. Studies have shown that aluminum migrates or leaches into food, though exactly how much is a matter of dispute. Anodized aluminum, as used in high-quality expensive cookware, is thought to lessen or eliminate this interaction with food; this too is a matter of dispute. However, pet dishes made of aluminum are not anodized.
Plastic Dishes
Plastics used in food storage and preparation are an increasingly controversial topic. Plastics can contain a number of substances, such as formaldehyde, chlorine, and resins known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Among these are polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene, which have been shown to migrate into food at high temperatures, such as those produced by microwave ovens.
To prevent this, don’t use plastic dishes if you are in the habit of warming your dog’s food in a microwave, or if you pour very hot water over his kibble a few minutes prior to serving it to him.
If your dog is apt to chew on plastic, or has ever gnawed on the edge of his plastic bowl, you should probably replace his dinnerware with something he can’t chew. Even if the chemicals in the plastic prove to be harmless, ingesting chunks of sharp-edged plastic could be fatal.
Dirty Dishes
These come in every size, color, and description, and they can be as dangerous as any carcinogen. Unless you routinely wash (with hot water and detergent) and thoroughly air-dry your dog’s food and water dish, these containers may provide an ideal site for the growth of harmful bacteria, which can cause mild or severe gastrointestinal upset and even lethal food poisoning.
As far as the food bowl goes, this risk is not great if you feed your dog nothing but dry kibble every day, but it is magnified greatly if you feed your dog raw meats and table scraps. In that case, you MUST wash his bowls daily to prevent harmful bacteria from gaining a foothold in your kitchen. It is wise to rotate water bowls, so one can air-dry while another is in use. Bacteria doesn’t grow in the absence of moisture.
So, look at your dog’s bowls. Are they covered with bits and chunks of old food? Coated with a greasy film? Is there slime growing in the water bowl? . . . Has your dog’s stomach been upset lately?
WDJ RECOMMENDATIONS:
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel, without doubt, is the number one choice of most professional dog breeders and handlers. It is safe, inexpensive, comes in a variety of sizes and shapes, and is also extremely durable and easy to clean. Stainless steel does not interact with food or water, and dogs can’t chew on it. Most pet stores and pet supply catalogs sell stainless steel dishes in a wide variety of sizes, for less than $15.
Glass
This material is a very minor player in the dog bowl trade. We include it because all of us sometimes feed and water our pets with whatever is handy, and if you must use a cast-off, glass is one of the kitchen’s safest materials – as long as it is not cracked or chipped. (If you were in the habit of licking your bowls as clean as dogs do, you’d understand.) From personal experience, however, I must add that any breakable dish that is regularly left on a kitchen floor will get broken. Call it Govier’s Law, if you will – just don’t call my dogs late for dinner.
Roger Govier is a freelance writer. He lives in San Francisco with two mixed-breed dogs.
There are seat belt laws in most states now, and young children are legally required to be restrained in safety seats in cars in all states. But nowhere is there a law requiring dogs to be safely contained in vehicles.
Those that do only address restraint for dogs in the back of open pick-up trucks. (And even when dogs are safely restrained in the back of a truck, the potential for the dog to be severely injured in an accident is great. The risk of damage to eyes from flying debris, the discomfort from exposure to the elements, and the encouragement of aggressive dog behavior, and the real possibility of jumping or falling from trucks are other good reasons not to allow your dog to ride in the back of trucks.)
We do believe, however, that dogs inside vehicles should be restrained, for their own safety as well as that of other passengers. Unrestrained, an excited or frightened dog can interfere with your driving, causing a serious accident. But even the best-behaved dogs can be violently thrown into the seat in front of them, or, worse, into or through the windshield in an accident.
If dog and passengers survive impact, a panicky dog can escape through broken car windows and become an instant traffic hazard. In fact, my brother lost his Australian shepherd in an accident when, panicked in the confusion, she leaped through a shattered windshield and was struck and killed by an oncoming car.
Crating is one solution, but many cars are too small to accommodate a portable kennel. A reasonable alternative is a restraint system that holds your dog securely in place. There are two basic types: the canine safety harness, and the canine car seat.
Please note: All these systems utilize car seat belts. In many of today’s cars, the front seat belts (and some rear belts) only tighten on impact; during normal travel they expand to allow for passenger comfort. In order to securely fasten any canine restraint system, you may have to use a rear, solid belt or come up with an alternate strap around the front seat to provide a stable base for the attachment. Unless you are mechanically proficient, we would recommend having a solid seat belt installed by a professional.
There are at least a half-dozen different brands of canine safety harnesses on the market. Each consists of a body harness that attaches to the car seat belt. Important criteria to consider are: strength and durability of straps and hardware, comfort, cost, and ease of use. WDJ tested three brands of canine car safety harnesses.
Safety Harnesses
WDJ Recommends Four Paws’ Pet Safety Sitter: This is WDJ’s top choice of the restraint products we reviewed. It is well made, with strong, soft, double-stitched nylon and sturdy hardware. The instructions are clear and well-illustrated, and the harness is relatively easy to use.
Best of all, our test dog found it comfortable, and liked the amount of freedom that it provided her in the car. An added feature is the sturdy metal ring stitched into the back of the harness that you can clip a leash to so it doubles as a walking harness.
The Pet Safety Sitter is available for about $12 through pet stores, or from Four Paws Products, Ltd. in Hauppage, NY; (516) 434-1100.
Guardian Pet Specialties’ Pet Safe-T-Belt For reasons detailed below, this product is our second pick.
The most expensive of the three harnesses we tested, the Pet Safe-T-Belt is also the sturdiest. Consisting of a body harness, frame attachment, and front seat strap, it comes in four sizes and ranges in price from $29.95 for toy dogs (3-7 lbs.), to $44.95 for large breeds (51-100 lbs.). It is completely adjustable, and made of strong, soft nylon, with stitching and fasteners on the outside, away from contact with the pet, to minimize rubbing. It is a bit complicated to assemble and install.
While exceptionally secure, the dual-sided-restraint design caused our test dog some anxiety by unduly restricting her movement. This is a good choice for owners who want a high-end sturdy product and are willing to help their dogs adjust to the high level of restraint that it offers.
The Pet Safe-T-Belt can be ordered from Guardian Pet Specialties, (709) 745-3308.
Not Recommended Top Paws’ Safe N-Go In stark contrast to the Pet Safe-T-Belt, this harness is obviously a low-end product. The nylon is narrow, stiff, and the plastic snaps and metal hardware are cheap. The packaging doesn’t indicate which size harness is contained inside, and the instructions for use are cryptic, ungrammatical and hard to follow. The Safe N-Go is available for around $12 at pet stores, but don’t look too hard – WDJ gives it an emphatic “paws down.”
———-
Canine Car Seats The selection among canine car seats is limited at best. We evaluated three, the largest of which could only accommodate dogs up to 30 pounds. All three retail in the $50 range. For small dogs the car seat can provide an effective restraint system, but it is not an option for larger dogs.
WDJ Recommends The Dog-Gone Device: If car safety for your dog is your main concern, we recommend the Four Paws Pet Safety Sitter, mentioned above. However, if you have a small dog (20 pounds or less), and like to carry your dog as much as drive him or her around, this carrier is for you.
The Dog-Gone is primarily a backpack-style animal carrier that doubles as a car seat. Its adjustable mesh fabric pouch is attached to a lightweight frame. Four restraint loops hold the dog’s collar as the dog sits in an upright position, and an extending leg allows the device to stand on its own – that is, as long as the dog is sitting still.
No installation is required; the carrier is simply placed on the seat of the car and strapped in by the seat belt around it. A seat belt that stays tight is mandatory to keep the carrier from tipping over when you brake. The Dog-Gone Device might be a kick for owners who want to take their little dogs with them for errands or other short trips, but don’t want to travel at a little dog’s pace. Hiking, biking or shopping, your canine companion can watch the world go by from her perch on your back.
But as a car seat only, it leaves room for improvement. The dog is held upright and can’t lie down. We would only recommend it as a car seat for short trips. Any dog would find it too confining for longer drives. The Dog-Gone Device retails for $59.95. An optional head cover for shade is $14.95. Both can be obtained from Sanjo, Inc., Pet Products in Las Vegas, at (800) 367-7303.
Not Recommended Foster & Smith’s ComfortRide Pet Seat The ComfortRide is a flat, molded plastic, padded seat frame that attaches to the car seat belt. Nylon straps attached to the sturdy frame clip to the dog’s collar. It is compact, lightweight, easy to install, and will hold dogs up to 30 pounds. At $49.99, it has the lowest retail price of the three. Although it is well-made and able to accommodate larger dogs, the ComfortRide Pet Seat relies on restraint via the dog’s collar, which could result in serious damage to the dog’s neck in an accident.
Other Products We found several other products that were essentially modified leashes, intended to be used with a dog’s usual harness or collar. Please note: WDJ does not recommend attaching a vehicle restraint strap to your dog’s collar as the primary means of restraint.
Although this would work to keep him contained during normal travel, in an accident the force of impact could damage the dog’s trachea, injure the spine, perhaps even break his neck. For just a few dollars more you can purchase the Pet Safety Sitter, and know that your dog is safely and securely restrained in your car.
-By Pat Miller
Pat Miller is a dog trainer and freelance writer from Salinas, CA.
Crates are perhaps second only to choke collars as the most misused training equipment forced upon dogs. However, unlike choke collars, there is a terrific training principle behind the use of crates.
A crate, or, in other words, short-term close confinement, can be used to help dogs teach themselves two very important skills. The first is eliminating only when and where it is appropriate. The second skill is keeping out of trouble – behaving appropriately in the house. Without these two skills, a dog doesn’t have much of a chance in this world.
But before I tell you how to help your dog learn these skills, let me say what crates should not be used for.
What Dog Crates are NOT For
They are not for punishing your dog for doing something wrong; if used in this way, the dog will quickly learn to avoid ever going in the crate, or how to be as obnoxious as possible in order to get let out.
They are not for “warehousing” a number of dogs, so you don’t have too many underfoot. I have to say that breeders abuse the use of crates more than all other dog owners. You often see breeders who don’t actually want to live with the dogs they breed and raise; they use crates to contain their “merchandise,” keep it out of the way until it’s ready to sell. This is in itself objectionable, even more so when they force this prison concept of the crate upon the people who buy their dogs and puppies. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken to who faithfully lock their perfectly well-behaved dogs in crates for hours every day because the breeder they bought the dog from told them they had to.
Puppies are Babies
Crates are also not for keeping puppies out of trouble all day. Puppies are just like babies; they need to be watched every minute, and few puppy owners seem to understand this. People make arrangements for their new babies to be supervised when they are at work or school or going to the movies and so on; they have to learn to do the same with puppies.
Recently, I was talking about this to a dog trainer friend from Manhattan. She was discussing this with a number of students in a dog training class, and several people were having trouble accepting it. Finally, frustrated, she told them, “Look, I’m sorry, I must end the class now, because my two-year-old daughter is at home on her own and I’ve been away for several hours, so I should get back and see how she is.” Everyone went, “WHAT?” And she said, “See? Actually, I don’t have a child, but you accept that you can’t leave one kind of baby alone; why is it any less dangerous or cruel to abandon another one?”
When the puppy gets older, say, six to 12 months old, you can begin leaving it for longer periods of time. However, you can’t just go out the door and hope for the best. You have to teach your puppy how to cope with short-term close confinement, and later, with long-term confinement.
Simply stated, crates are not for long-term close confinement of puppies or adult dogs. They are too small; any animal suffers when it is forced to stay that closely confined for more than a few hours.
Long-Term Dog Confinement
Until your new dog is house-trained, you can’t give it the run of the house all day while you are at work – it would get into trouble – but you can’t put it in the crate, either.
In my opinion, you can view each mistake a dog makes while you’re gone all day as 20 mistakes, because one puddle, or one little chew, sets the precedent for many other mistakes. And when the dog’s bladder and teeth get bigger, and bigger mistakes are made, the dog will be put outside, where it will then learn to dig and bark, and then the neighbors will complain, and then it goes into the garage as a temporary stop, before it goes to the humane society to play the Lotto of life, where only one out of eight dogs win.
So, instead, when you’re away from home, you use long-term confinement to keep him or her out of trouble. The most suitable place for teaching long-term confinement would be a bathroom, one with all the toilet paper, towels, shower curtains, and carpets removed. You’d leave only a few things in there: the dog’s bed (which could be a cozy blanket placed in a crate with the door open), an adequate supply of water, some safe hollow chew toys which are stuffed with food treats, and the dog’s toilet. For the latter, I suggest something like two short rolls of turf on a sheet of plastic. The benefit of this, rather than those commercial puppy pads, is the dog will train itself to urinate on turf or dirt.
If your new dog is extremely anxious, and it takes desperate measures to escape, such as tearing the bathroom door apart, you can’t use this method. You will need to consult a professional for advice on dealing with about extreme separation anxiety.
The long-term confinement method is a temporary measure, only meant to keep your new dog out of trouble until you have the time to potty- and house-train it.
Crates for “Potty Training”
All right. Back to what crates are for! The first proper use of a crate, as I said, is for teaching a puppy or dog to eliminate only when and where it is appropriate.
You can teach this to an adult dog within three days. This is something we did with the San Francisco SPCA in the mid-1980s, when I started the animal behavior program there. We taught the volunteers how to take home dogs that weren’t house-trained and house-train them using the umbilical cord method, where the dog is tied to your waist, so you can watch it every second. Then, every hour on the hour you take it outside, to the place where you want it to eliminate. When they do, you give them three liver treats, take them back inside, and let them off the leash for a little while. If they do not eliminate, they do not get a treat, and they go back inside still on the leash. By four days of this, there were no longer any mistakes; the dog thoroughly wants to use its dog toilet.
Puppies may or may not take a little longer to potty-train. Your consistency will make all the difference.
When at home, confine the puppy all the time that you can not watch it 110 percent. Few dogs or puppies will soil their bedrooms unless they are really desperate; don’t keep the puppy (or a dog, for that matter) in there long enough to get desperate.
Every hour on the hour, release the puppy, saying, “Let’s go potty!” and run with it to its doggie toilet. (Running is helpful because you don’t want an accident to happen on the way to the toilet, and because running “jiggles” its bladder and bowels.) Most puppies will urinate within two minutes. If it does, give it three liver treats, and go back in the house. By doing this, you actually give the puppy the desire to wait until you come home and take it outside to eliminate, because that’s the only time it can cash in its urine and feces for liver treats.
Once it has eliminated, then you can take it back into the house and turn it loose, where your empty puppy can spend some time exploring the house under supervision. Then you’ve only got to watch that it doesn’t chew the wrong things! After an hour or so, put it back into the crate, and start the process over again.
However, if it doesn’t eliminate, it goes back in the crate for another hour, and you start over again.
House-Training Your Dog
“Potty-training” is what most people are worried about, of course, but what I call “house-training” is just as important, and, fortunately, it’s a nice side-effect of crate-training. In just a matter of days, the dog will learn that every time he is confined, he gets to chew on toys, and soon, he’ll become addicted to chewing toys. That means he won’t destroy the rest of your house, and it mean he won’t become a recreational barker. He’ll still alert when the doorbell rings, but recreational chewers almost never become one of those annoying chronic barkers.
The dog will also self-train itself to settle down and to enjoy time spent when at home alone. After a week or two of this procedure, the adult dog can safely enjoy the full run of his home for the rest of his life. Again, I do not advise that puppies are left alone – for any length of time – until they are at least 12 amonths old.
Crate-Training Mistakes
The most common mistake I see people making with their crates is using it as a prison, or shoving the dog into the crate when he’s been “bad.” That’s the very best way to teach him to avoid going into the crate at any time.
Instead, a dog should regard the crate as his play room, his doggie den. Confining a dog or puppy to a crate should be on par with confining your child to a room with a TV and VCR, a Sega, and a ton of toys. This is a simple thing to teach puppies. When a puppy is tired and hungry, you put him in the crate along with his dinner and some toys, and you leave him there. He’ll eat his dinner and fall asleep.
If someone has taught an adult dog to have apprehensions about the crate, though, it will probably take at least a few days to overcome them. The process here will be a little different; he’ll need additional time to get over his anxiety that he will be locked and trapped in the crate. While you are trying to convince him of this, don’t lock and trap him in the crate!
Dog Training Theory
The point of “training” is to make the dog want to do what you want it to do. If your dog doesn’t want to be in the crate – if he has only unpleasant associations with it – use your head. How can you make a dog want to be in the crate? Food is one way.
First, I would always feed this dog in his crate, and make the most of his daily ration by feeding it to him in numerous courses – as many as a dozen, even. I’d put a little food in the crate, let him go in and eat it, and then let him out right after he’s finished. I’d also make the final course of the day a big one, mixing his kibble with some juicy canned food. Put the bowl in the crate and then shut the door, with the dog on the outside, and let the dog think about this for a while. After a minute, he’ll be saying, “Hey! Open the crate door! Let me in!” This is what training is all about. When your dog is pleading to get in its crate, let it in!
Here’s another tactic. Throw a bit of kibble in the crate. Let him go in and get it; he’ll come right out again. Do this three or four times. Then, throw a bit of kibble in, and when he goes in to get it, shut the door and immediately feed him another couple of bits of kibble through the bars. Then, let him out, and ignore him for three minutes. Then, put a bit of kibble in the crate, shut the door, feed him five bits of kibble through the bars, and then let him out and ignore him for five minutes.
The next time, put a bunch of kibble in a Kong toy, along with some freeze-dried liver and a bit of honey in the Kong, so it is difficult to get the food out, and put the Kong in the crate. Let the dog in and shut the door. Before he’s finished trying to get all the food out, after about 10 minutes, open the door, let him out, take the Kong away, and ignore him for five minutes.
What is the dog learning? “When I’m in the crate, my owner talks to me all the time, she sits next to me and reads me a book, and keeps feeding me. And there are toys in the crate. There are no toys anywhere else – that crate is OK!”
If a dog is expressing dissatisfaction with its lot, you haven’t really done your job as a trainer to teach him to want to do what you want him to do.
Every dog develops favorite places to lie down. If you’ve crate-trained your dog properly, that favorite place will be in the crate with the door open. If the dog goes there of his own accord, it’s a good sign that you have done a good job as a trainer.
Dr. Dunbar is the founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the creator of the K9 Games, and is best known for his SIRIUS Puppy Training program.
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!
