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Letters: October 1998

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Human-grade or Bust!
I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for WDJ. As a member of a non-profit rescue group in my area, I became interested in canine nutrition and holistic therapy after seeing all the health problems you mentioned in your September 1998 issue on canned dog food, plus an alarming rate of cancer, skin, kidney, liver problems and other diseases in many of our dogs. Your publication is invaluable in helping these wonderful animals.

Of particular interest was your statement, “It also means meats that are human grade when referring to the best quality ingredients available in commercial dog food.” I am all too aware of the inclusion of grain and vegetable discards and “4-D” meats in dog food (not to mention rancid oils and other fats). You tell it like it is regarding the pet food industry’s practices and I agree that an ingredient unfit for human consumption is not fit for my dog.

With that in mind, I was disappointed to see that out of the top 10 canned dog foods featured, only two, California Natural and Spot’s Stew, were listed as using human-grade ingredients. The other foods were given high marks for being “forthcoming about the sources of ingredients” and “devoted to quality ingredients” but I cannot understand why some of these companies use human-grade ingredients and others don’t. After all, they are targeting a market of people who want the very best for their dogs and are willing to pay a premium price.

If these companies are devoted to the health of our dogs as they claim, they should use the highest quality ingredients, which to me means human-grade. In addition, why would I pay $1.79 a can (in my area) for food with organic beef in it if the other ingredients are not human-grade? By the way, that particular company used to advertise human-grade ingredients and when I called the company to ask why they stopped I got “no comment” as my answer. Most dog food manufacturers are tight-lipped about their ingredients – a red flag if I ever saw one and not exactly a sign of product pride.

I agree that these top 10 companies are the best of the best but if they want my business, they’d better pull their socks up and guarantee only human-grade ingredients.

By the way, I made that appointment with my friendly neighborhood butcher three years ago and feed only fresh human-grade meat, grain and vegetables to my five dogs. If you learn to shop wisely it doesn’t cost much more than dog food and saves lots of money on vet bills.

-Billie Cecero
Palm Beach Gardens, FL

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Supplement for Arthritis
I just finished the article about caring for older dogs (WDJ August 1998). I have a 14-year-old German Shepherd. His health is generally good, but he started going down on his back legs due to the start of degenerative myelopathy.

I have already had to put three dogs down – two due to DM, and one to arthritis in her hips. All three dogs were 13 1/2 to 14 years of age, and all were German Shepherds.

This past Christmas, I received a card from a friend in which she told us about her Shepherd’s arthritis. Her dog cried even while lying down, worse when she tried stairs. Our friend’s veterinarian put the dog on a supplement called Cartiflex, and the dog’s pain started to diminish within two weeks! After six weeks she was pain-free.

I called my friend right away to find out more about this wonderful stuff! After a long search, I found it. I started my dog on Cartiflex on February 16, 1998 and in four weeks I could see the difference in his rear end. He was definitely standing up better on his back feet and legs.

This dog had been so bad that he would drag his back toenails when he walked. Simply walking on cement (in his exercise area) had worn down his nails so short that his toes started bleeding. I had to bandage them and put booties on them. But now he’s much improved! He hardly drags his rear feet; he picks them up higher – almost like when he was young. My veterinarians are amazed at his improvement and I hope I’ll have my dog with me at least another year.

Cartiflex contains glucosamine, chondroitin sulfates, Omega 3 fatty acids, sea algae powder, DL methionine, vitamin E, and selenium. My dog weighs about 75 to 80 pounds. I started him on three capsules per day for about seven weeks, then cut him to two a day, which I am still giving him. As long as he continues to do well, I will keep him on them. I hope this information will help other dog owners.

-Lila C. Neviska
Hurricane, UT

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Helpful, But Not Supportive
Although I certainly agree with your disdain of multi-level marketing “schemes” you mentioned in “Multi-Level Marketing Mysteries” (WDJ May 1998), there are many other avenues by which you may obtain blue-green algae. Try L & H Vitamins, Inc. in Long Island City, New York, (800) 221-1152 or contact the manufacturer directly at (800) 800-1300.

Regarding car safety for canines (WDJ June 1998): I recommend The Car Safety Strap, available from Master Animal Care in Hazelton, PA, (800) 346-0749. This snaps onto any harness and actually clips INTO the seatbelt BUCKLE. This way your buddy cannot pullllll that seatbelt out and distract you with kisses or get in your lap while you are driving.

I found your publication very narrow in scope and not very well-informed. Good luck anyway.

-Linda Rosas
via email

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Snuggling up to the Snuggle Ball
We are new subscribers to WDJ. Upon reading the first issue we would like to comment on “Strange & Wonderful Bedfellows” (July 1998).

The article does not recommend the Flexi-Mat Snuggle Ball. We have purchased several dog beds for our Beagle and German Short-Haired Pointer. We tried one of the large Snuggle Balls and it quickly became the bed of choice for the Beagle. It is a little small for the Pointer, but she also loves to relax in it.

We have purchased additional Snuggle Balls and they are always the first beds chosen, though we’re not sure why.

Our Beagle likes to have support against his back. The Snuggle Ball gives this support completely around the bed. We have another bed which supports only one side of the dog and it is visited only occasionally.

We also think our dogs like the feel of the fleecy sheepskin-type material. And the beds wash wonderfully in a commercial front-loading washer.

-Bill and Connie Kiessling
Pine, CO

The Canine Cancer Crisis

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They are among the words you least want to hear: Your dog has cancer. But the odds are you will hear them someday, especially if you have more than one dog in your lifetime. One in four dogs get cancer; half of the dogs over 10 years of age die from or with it.

Much of what is known about canine cancer closely parallels what is known about cancer in humans. Dogs are at risk of the same types of cancer afflicting humans, and treating canine cancer successfully is dependent upon the same variables found in human cancer treatment: the type of cancer, the wisdom of the attending doctor in choosing the most effective course of treatment, the availability of advanced medical techniques, and the willingness and ability to pay for them.

There are other similarities. Statistically speaking, cancer is a disease of middle and old age. Certain cancers are largely preventable with prudent lifestyle choices. Early detection is almost always a critical factor. Cancer is hereditary, sometimes running in canine families. Variables like nutrition and toxic exposure seem to play a prominent role.

And always there is a highly individual response to disease. For some dogs, the immune system rallies, and the treatments seem magically precise. For many, if not most, treatment becomes a holding pattern, an evolving equation of modulated therapy versus quality of life. For still others, hope fades as quickly as the once-playful antics of a dog’s life.

Detecting Cancer Early is Key to Survival

Just as with humans, early detection offers by far the most realistic hope for your dog’s survival, particularly for those cancers which aggressively metastasize. Make it a regular practice to examine your dog’s body for unexplained swelling or lumps. Tumors developing in the upper layers of skin are the most common types of cancer in dogs.

Many early warning signs of cancer, however, are more subtle. While many of these signs – behavioral changes, loss of appetite, increased water consumption, persistent wheezing or coughing – are universal and require only basic observational skills on the part of the owner, other signs require a more sophisticated knowledge of your own pet.

Cancers are often traced to the site of earlier injuries, traumas, wounds, or fractures, so knowledge and examination of these injury sites can be helpful.

Dogs with long snouts and dogs who live on commercial farms, exposed throughout their lives to herbicides and pesticides, are more prone to nasal cancer.

However, dogs in general have a higher incidence of nasal cancer than humans. This, as they say, is a lifestyle issue; a dog keeps his nose to the ground, sniffing up whatever carcinogens happen to be present.

Oral melanoma, the fourth most common type of canine cancer, is much more common in dogs with dark pigmentation in their mouths. If you own such a dog, you need to be especially alert to unexplained oral swellings or signs of dental disease.

Mast cell tumors are common, but far more common in short-nosed breeds like boxers and Boston Terriers. Large and giant breeds are at much higher risk of developing bone cancer, particularly in the long bones of the legs. Cocker spaniels are prone to an otherwise rare type of ear cancer. Skin cancer is prevalent where ultraviolet light is strong, and particularly for short-haired, fair-skinned breeds like Boxers.

Before buying a certain type of dog, you should ask several breeders about the prevalence of cancer in that breed, and in that particular canine family. Heredity is a major determining factor in cancer; it is thought that boxers, for example, are more prone to cancer than any other bred. These statistics should not necessarily make you shy away from that breed, but inform your level of vigilance.

You should also be aware that, as in humans, there are cancer-causing genes, called oncogenes, which are more prevalent in one family than another. As dogs age, they are increasingly prone to both growths on the skin, and to fatty deposits just under it. Most often these growths are benign, but even a veterinarian can’t reliably tell just by looking. It is crucial to aspirate (withdraw cells via a thin needle) and, if necessary, biopsy (analyze the tissue sample under a microscope) these growths upon detection.

Even benign growths should be monitored closely; they have the potential to become cancerous. In addition, a dog might have a number of seemingly identical growths, of which only one is malignant.

As your dog ages, the likelihood increases that your dog will get cancer in any of one hundred different forms. Simple awareness, clearly, can go a long ways toward providing a happy outcome.

Diagnosing Cancer in Dogs

Approximately one in four dogs will get cancer; nearly half of all dogs reaching 10 years of age will die of it. Although we don’t know, in any given dog, precisely what factors caused a particular type of cancer, we do know that cancers seem to derive, over time, from an immune system stressed by toxins, injuries, poor nutrition – and probably stress itself.

If cancer is suspected, your veterinarian will order a series of tests leading to a diagnosis. These tests might include, depending on the cancer in question, aspiration, biopsy, blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, and ultrasound.

In some cases, your veterinarian might recommend exploratory surgery, or even one of the advanced, accurate, and expensive scanning technologies available to human patients.

When a cancer is present, however your veterinarian has arrived at the diagnosis, he or she should present you with a realistic prognosis. This process, called staging, identifies both the extent of the cancer’s spread (metastasis), and determines the treatment options available.

Common Canine Cancers:

Lymphoma

Lymphoma, also known as Lymphosarcoma, is a cancer of the blood cells and tissues associated with the lymphatic system. Generally afflicting middle-aged and older dogs, it is a cancer whose most common type (other forms originate in the gastrointestinal tract, chest, skin, or bone marrow) involves multiple external lymph nodes.

Frequently examine your dog’s body for abnormalities; it is of particular importance here, as lymphoma is the third most common cancer diagnosed in dogs. It is usually a simple matter to locate swollen lymph nodes at the base of the jaws, in the rear legs behind the knee, armpits, groin, and in front of the shoulder blades.

While true cures, for all practical purposes, remain out of reach, lymphoma responds exceptionally well to chemotherapy; what constitutes an acceptable quality of life, however, will sooner or later be the overriding issue for you as a dog owner.

Osteosarcoma

This aggressively malignant bone cancer most often strikes large or giant breeds, typically in the long bones of the legs. It tends to spread to the lungs very early in the course of the disease, and accounts for some 80 percent of the primary bone cancers found in dogs. The median age at diagnosis is seven years. In addition to targeting large dogs (only five percent of cases occur in dogs less than 25 pounds), osteosarcoma has also been linked to dogs with previously broken bones, and with hairline fractures occurring when bone growth was incomplete.

Initially, osteosarcoma might be labeled a mere sprain, but persistent symptoms later lead to a correct diagnosis, which is invariably grave. While new techniques are emerging, amputation is still the therapy of choice, since it removes both the primary cancer site and the primary source of pain. With amputation alone, however, only 10 percent of patients survive a year. When chemotherapy is applied, the one-year survival increases to 50 percent.

Skin Tumors

Dogs are prone to a great many classifiable lumps, cysts, growths, deposits, and tumors, the majority of which prove benign; some 20 percent are malignant or, rarely, become malignant over time. Because these growths are a normal part of the aging process, it is important to keep an eye on them, and bring them to your veterinarian’s attention.

The three most common types are called histiocytomas, or button tumors; lipomas, or fatty tumors; and mast cell tumors, which are by far the most serious.

Fatty tumors, to which breeds like the Labrador Retriever are prone, are unsightly but not dangerous in most cases. Most dogs, if they get any at all, will have more than one. Most veterinarians aren’t eager to remove them unless they inhibit the dog’s quality of life – they can reach the size of baseballs – by growing in an armpit or the crook of a knee.

Histiocytomas are referred to by what they resemble on the skin – raised, red, and often angry-looking “buttons” of rough tissue. Appearing in a spot where a dog is forced to leave them alone, they sometimes disappear without treatment. However, dog owners should never wait for the situation to resolve itself. Again, tumors cannot be safely identified by sight alone, even by experienced veterinarians.

It is the nature of mast cell tumors that they are very difficult to remove surgically, and surgery is the standard protocol. For this reason, veterinarians often recommend radiation and/or chemotherapy in conjunction with surgery, depending on the tumor’s appearance when the dog is brought in. In its early stage, this cancer is of uniform appearance (in medical terminology, “well-differentiated”), and can often be successfully excised. Otherwise, it is known for metastasizing to almost any part of the body.

Mammary Cancer

The risks of this largely preventable cancer are directly correlated with whether, and when, a female dog has been spayed. (While extremely rare, this cancer also occurs in males). For those dogs not intended to be bred, owners can virtually eliminate the risks of mammary cancer by spaying prior to the female dog’s first heat.

Mammary cancer, like most canine cancers, is closely associated with age. The average age of onset is ten years, and probably half of all cases are benign. And even for malignancies – almost alone among the serious dog cancers – this one has a significant rate of cure, but only when caught early, and the tumor is still localized. When the cancer has spread, the treatment goal hinges on quality of life issues, rather than possible cures.

Oral Melanoma

There may very well be a lifestyle link with this common and often grave cancer.

According to the most prevalent theory, carcinogens lodge on a dog’s coat, and are absorbed into oral tissues as a dog grooms. Even long-banned chemicals like DDT remain in the environment. Airborne carcinogens, in particular, settle to the ground; many of us fertilize our lawns, or spray pesticides in our gardens.

Because dogs spend their lives at toxicity’s ground zero, the potential for cell-altering damage is high. Fortunately, a major positive benefit of the growing emphasis on canine dental care is that this type of cancer can be diagnosed early.

Unless complete surgical removal is possible (and only follow-up x-rays will reveal if the cancer has metastasized), the options, once again, will be limited to a patient’s quality of life.

Preventing Cancer in Dogs

Of course, there is no magical diet, supplement, or vaccine that prevents cancer. But, as a dog owner, you can make some relatively simple choices to improve the odds.

As already mentioned, early spaying enormously reduces the risk of mammary cancer in females. Dogs spayed prior to initial estrus carry only half the risk of those spayed after the first but prior to the second heat cycle. Dogs spayed as young adults, or never spayed at all, have a risk factor increased by several hundred percent.

In male dogs, testicular cancer is common; neutering, obviously, eliminates that risk, and reduces the risk of both cancerous and non-cancerous prostate conditions, as well as anal cancer. (For show dogs and other unneutered males, fortunately, canine testicular cancer rarely spreads, and therefore has a relatively high rate of cure.)

Pale-skinned dogs have a higher risk of skin cancer. A striking example of this risk is the Dalmatian, a breed currently high in popularity. Cancer is known to surround – but not enter – a Dalmatian’s black spots. If you own a fair-skinned, short-haired breed, it would be best to limit your dog’s sun exposure, especially at the times of day when the sun’s rays are the most direct.

Moving beyond these few proven risk factors, however, takes us into the realm of nutrition and environment, where the human experience may or may not apply to our dogs as well. However, common sense – and growing clinical evidence – tells us that it does.

Environment

It isn’t any secret that the fewer environmental toxins our dogs are exposed to, the better. Long-term toxic exposure can destroy a dog’s liver, and weaken the immune system, which is the first and last line of defense against cancer.

Limiting your dog’s exposure to toxins is harder than you might think, however. After all, our dogs spend their lives on the earth’s most toxic layer, the ground, and in contact with the toxin-covered surfaces in our homes: carpets which have been cleaned with potentially harmful chemicals, floors which have been sprayed with ant and roach killer, garage floors which have absorbed all sorts of toxins.

Then there are all the chemicals we pour onto our dogs, most notably, flea-killing chemicals of every description: powders, sprays, shampoos, dips, and ointments.

The Prevention/Nutrition Link

Free radicals are active chemical substances which react with and alter our body’s cells. Those most capable of damage are associated with food additives, pesticides, air pollution, and radiation. It is thought that these damaged cells can “lose” their genetic programming, which limits and controls cell replication. Cancer, by definition, is uncontrolled cell growth. As is by now well-known, there is strong evidence that antioxidants (such as vitamins A, C, E and many other nutrients) help to neutralize free radicals absorbed from our environment. In theory, neutralizing free radicals could be a potent cancer preventative.

All of us “get cancer”; we probably have cancerous cells present in our bodies at all times. A properly functioning immune system will detect these cells and eliminate these cells before “cancer” takes hold. Cancer kills us when our immune system fails.

For dogs, and dog owners, the best possible advice suggests maintaining our immune systems at optimum levels through nutrition, weight control, and regular exercise.

Dr. R. H. Anderson, an holistic veterinarian in Dallas, Oregon, suggests a health-building and disease-preventing protocol for all his clients, and as a result, says very few of the clients who have followed the protocol end up developing cancer. “I have my clients work up to feeding their dogs at least a 50 percent natural diet. I clean up the dogs’ livers, and I make sure their immune systems are functioning normally. Every dog is different, but these three things seem to work pretty well.”

Cancer Treatments for Dogs: Traditional, Holistic, and Experimental

In the next issue of WDJ, we’ll examine the world of canine cancer treatments – conventional and unorthodox – as well as describe the most promising developments in cancer research.

Knowledge of the latest treatments is helpful, but it doesn’t alter cancer’s basic conundrum: What is the best outcome for my dog, and how do we get there?

Many holistic veterinarians believe that some conventional cancer treatments are pointless, inhumane, and often counterproductive. Many mainstream veterinarians roll their eyes at the very suggestion that alternative therapies are effective – or even more effective – than modern drug and radiation therapies.

While no one can give any definitive answers – every dog is different – in our next issue, we will tell you about the best treatment options available today, and what those options will look like in the future.

Roger Govier, a freelance writer and frequent contributor to WDJ, lives in San Francisco, California.

Acupressure Techniques for Treating Dog Pain

A woman wakes up one morning and goes into the kitchen to make some coffee and let out her dog. When he sees her, he rises from his bed and begins to yawn and stretch. He interrupts himself, though, with a yelp of alarm and a fit of head shaking. When the woman calls his name, he stops, and walks to her holding his head at an angle. “Oh, honey, is it your ears again?” the woman asks. She gently lifts one of the dog’s ear flaps, and confirms her suspicion. The interior of the dog’s ears are red, inflamed, and sour-smelling.

For many people, this episode would be followed with a trip to the veterinarian and a treatment of an antibiotic, to kill the bacteria that has infected the dog’s ears. Some people become accustomed to taking the trip to the veterinary clinic several times a year, because their dog’s condition is something that spontaneously recurs again and again.

In this case, however, the woman takes a couple of deep breaths and begins to touch the dog’s head and ears. She applies pressure to specific areas on the back of the dog’s neck, the top of his front leg, and a spot on the outside of his ear. Within several minutes, the dog takes several deep breaths and lowers his head. When the woman rises, and opens the door to let her dog outside, he trots outdoors with his head held normally, temporarily relieved of the pain of his inflamed ear.

Helping The Body Heal Itself
The dog hasn’t been cured by this application of acupressure, the use of pressure on specific locations on a human’s or animal’s body. But the touch has prompted the dog’s body to release its own store of pain-killing chemicals into the bloodstream, giving him temporary relief from the ear infection. Additional help from an experienced acupuncturist can affect the workings of the dog’s entire body, including its metabolism, circulatory system, internal organs, and the very life force of the dog. Bringing his body into a balanced state, say practitioners of this ancient medicine, will enable him to fight the infection on his own.

More and more people, veterinarians included, are beginning to discover the benefits of these healing practices which have been used and trusted for over 4000 years. Acupressure, probably the oldest form of Chinese medicine, is the application of pressure, usually by the fingers, thumbs, and hands, to specific points on the body to stimulate the body’s own healing ability. Acupuncture, fully developed by 400 BC, uses needles that penetrate the skin to prompt the same acupoints on a deeper level. Even though the explanations of how they work may require the mind to stretch, the truth is, these methods work well, work consistently, and many times, even work when conventional treatments have failed to cure.

One of the best things about acupressure is that all dog owners can use it to increase their dogs’ health and well-being. It is also invaluable in times of crisis, and can increase your awareness of your dog’s body.

According to historical accounts, acupressure and acupuncture was first used on horses and other livestock, probably because of the indispensable nature of animals at that time. The healing methods that evolved in China are based on an entirely different view of the body and its workings than those we are familiar with in the western world. Contemporary Western medicine sees the body as an amalgamation of individual parts that can be looked at and also healed as separate and distinct pieces. We have specialists for every part of the body who have amassed enormous knowledge about how each part works both in health and disease, and how each responds to treatment.

This medical model has brought about spectacular advances – such as antibiotics, vaccines, and laser surgery. But because modern medicine sees the body much like a machine made up of specialized parts, doctors usually go to the site of the symptom and either “fix” it with drugs (like antibiotics), replace the damaged part (as with a hip replacement), or just cut it out (like an appendix or tonsils).

Although many of these procedures produce amazing results, cures for conditions that affect the body in less specific ways (like Pre-Menstrual Syndrome and migraines, for instance) remain elusive. Many times, if thae cause of dysfunction doesn’t originate from a specific place in the body, doctors are unable to cure the symptoms. The same often holds true for modern veterinary medicine. Think of the mild but persistent lamenesses that have plagued dogs you have known. Their problems often go undiagnosed regardless of how many tests the veterinarian runs. If a defective or diseased body part cannot be pinpointed, modern veterinary science is unable to recommend any “cures” except rest and painkilling or anti-inflammatory medications.

The Chinese view of the body is more holistic. It sees the body – canine or human – as an intricate system where all the elements are intimately intertwined. Chinese medical practitioners address symptoms as signposts leading the healer to an imbalance of the system at large. They seek to find and heal the root cause of the symptom, not the symptom itself.

Instead of seeing the body like a machine, practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) view the body more like a lush garden where the whole is seen as a complex and interdependent ecosystem. If you douse aphid-infested plants in the garden with poisonous chemical insecticides, the whole garden will need to heal from the effects to the soil. Similarly, if you address an allergy problem with steroids as a long-term solution, you may cause a loss of bone calcium in your dog, resulting in bone weakness and even fracture, causing a whole new problem for the body to deal with.

Chi is the Key
TCM looks at the body as a whole and uses methods that treat the system as an entire network of linked components, not individual parts. Central to this view of health and healing is the concept of energy, called “chi” (chee). By energy, we mean the life force that flows through all of us, glowing bright when we are healthiest and happiest and dimming when we are sick. Look in the sparkling eye of a fit, healthy dog and compare it to the eye of a dog in pain. Chi twinkles in the first and fades in the second.

Practitioners of TCM hold that the entire universe is suffused with chi, and that it is chi that animates the dense physical matter of all living things. Although chi infuses every cell of our bodies, it is concentrated in set pathways, called “meridians,” which pass like rivers throughout our bodies. Each meridian has a route through the body. It also has a certain quality, purpose, and energetic task to perform in the body. The tasks relate to functions in the physical, emotional, and spiritual body. For instance, the heart meridian governs the workings of not only the physical heart, but also the emotions of love and joy and the quality of spirit.

Energetic Irrigation
In the perfectly balanced body, all of the energy pathways (meridians) conduct the flow of energy in an unimpeded manner, like a newly built and spotlessly clean irrigation system feeding water and nutrients to the garden. However, most of us have parts of our energy system that have become blocked or congested from emotional (internal) or environmental (external) stresses. When a dog loses a close buddy, or begins a new and challenging training schedule, for instance, he needs special care like rest, proper nutrition, and gentle attention, to allow his body, mind, and soul to adjust. Without this care, the body’s energy can stagnate, clog, or diminish.

Acupuncture and acupressure seeks to rebalance the body by realigning the energetic “irrigation system” so that the chi may flow smoothly. In a sick dog, like the one described at the beginning of this article, the energy flow is definitely not moving in a normal, health-producing manner. Touching specific acupressure points stimulates the release of the dog’s own internal chemicals which naturally rebalances the body and helps it return to proper function.

Traditional Chinese doctors were once paid only for maintenance visits because their primary role was to help the client remain healthy. Should the patient become sick, the doctor was obligated to provide free care. TCM was best utilized in a preventative manner, instead of a curative one, and can be used in a similar manner to keep your dog well.

I suggest using both the Eastern and Western systems for what they each do best. Western medicine is remarkable for severe problems like life-threatening accidents and disease. Regular acupressure and other tools of TCM can build health, improve performance, and prevent illness.

-By Susan Tenney

Author Susan Tenney, CMT, lives in Sonoma County, CA. She is a regular contributor to The Whole Horse Journal.

Best Dog Winter Coats

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The weather is just starting to turn brisk, but many short-haired dogs are already shivering. The time to order your dog’s winter coat is now, so you have a cozy coat standing by for the season of the most serious cold snaps. Whole Dog Journal tested a number of dog-warming coats, sweaters, blankets, what have you – for warmth, fit, and ease of application. We also washed and dried the blankets per the manufacturers’ recommendations.

To test how the coats fit and stayed in place, we put them on dogs and threw balls for them so that they’d run and jump.

A significant part of our test concerned how easy it was to put the coats on and adjust them for fit. Since we used a variety of test dogs (including a number of shelter dogs) with a range of responses to “dressing up,” we quickly came to appreciate the designs could be put on easily.

We didn’t concern ourselves with waterproof coats; for most of us, the real concern is keeping our dogs warm, and these features were mutually exclusive in all the designs we found. Besides, based on our own experiences with wet clothing of different fabric types, we are certain that all but one or two of the coats would keep a dog warm even if wet. In the text below, we’ve noted which of the blankets may not perform well when wet.

Interestingly, some of the best coats we were able to find came from equine, rather than canine catalogs; several manufacturers of equine apparel have customized their most successful designs for dogs. These coats were among the easiest to put on and offered the most adjustability. Maybe it’s because horse owners would never buy a blanket that required them to lift and manipulate a horse’s limbs through leg holes…

Also With This Article
Click here to view the products reviewed.

-By Amber Heintzberger, Maureen Gallatin, and Nancy Kerns

Solving the Barking Problem in Your Home

Dogs bark to communicate. If we start with that simple understanding, the idea of dealing with a “problem barker” becomes a whole lot easier. It changes our focus from doing anything we can to make the dog “shut up,” to figuring out what the dog is trying to say – so we can address his concerns, and finding more constructive and quieter ways for communication to occur.

We’ve asked two canine behavior experts to step in and help us solve the barking problem. TTouch practitioner Sabra Learned, of Berkeley, California, teaches us how to hear what our dogs are saying, and how to establish more quiet and effective lines of communication with them. Trainer Dr. Ian Dunbar shares some methods that can be used to teach any dog when and how to bark, and when and how to stop.

But what should I do if there is a dog barking all night outside my window and, stealing a line from the Pink Panther movie with Peter Sellers, “It is not my dog”? Some of us have neighbors who don’t seem to know or care about their dog’s incessant barking. For relief from this kind of noisy onslaught, we are pleased to offer practical and legal remedies from attorney Mary Randolph’s indispensible book, Dog Law, published by Nolo Press.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Why Dogs Bark and How to Stop Them”

The Best of Dog Toys, the Worst of Dog Toys

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The Buster Cube
Your dog needs to be mentally stimulated,” claim the makers of the Buster Cube, so they produced a product that purports to do just that. The result is a blue, hollow, hard plastic cube with rounded corners, designed to resemble a large die, even down to the spots on each of its six sides. The one-spot is actually a hole that you can pour kibble into, so that it fills the interior of the double-walled cube. When the dog pushes the Cube around, bits of food fall out of the hole. The theory is that problem behavior can diminish or even disappear entirely if a dog is given mentally stimulating tasks.

The theory is valid; dogs who are kept mentally active through basic training classes and more advanced problem-solving challenges are almost invariably better behaved than their bored and frustrated canine brethren, even those who are given ample physical exercise. (See “Getting Beyond the Basics,” this issue) But we found the Buster Cube to be a creative but unfortunately largely unsuccessful approach to accomplishing this purpose.

Dog Toys

Our dog training consultant tested it on several dogs of varying sizes and temperaments, and found, for starters, getting the dogs to use the Cube was nowhere near as easy as the product literature claims it to be.

“All you have to do is start the game by offering the Cube and your dog will do the rest,” the pamphlet enclosed with the Cube promises. This wasn’t true with any of the four dogs tested (all of whom have been trained with positive reinforcement, using treats, and are eager and willing to “work for food”). Each dog was tested separately for about 10 minutes on the first try. Each was initially curious when offered the Cube, but simply sniffed at it for a minute or two and then sat, laid down, or walked away and ignored it. Loading the cube with tastier, meaty-smelling treats still didn’t get enough of a response to get the Cube rolling. When we rolled the Cube so the food would fall out it elicited considerably more interest, but only one dog cared enough to conduct further experiments on her own.

During a 10-minute session the following day we managed to get the Terrier-mix interested enough to use her paws to roll the Cube. She had several “wins,” which sparked her interest more, but she was still quick to give up unless we continued to encourage her to try. The Kelpie progressed rapidly, pushing the Cube around with vigor. Still, if it got stuck in a corner she gave up fairly easily and needed encouragement to re-engage. The Pomeranian had no interest in pushing around an object almost as large as he was, although he waited happily and attentively for a human to push the Cube over and provide him with a treat.

The Cube’s pamphlet states that your dog might be ill and need a trip to the veterinarian if she won’t play with the Cube, or that a dog behaviorist can help. It also suggests that withholding food to make her hungry might stimulate her interest. Most owners purchase the Cube as an educational toy, and wouldn’t expect to have to turn it into a major project with trips to the vet and the trainer, or deprive their dogs of dinner in order to get them to play.

We can cautiously recommend the Cube for dogs who are bold and active (the herding breeds, especially), as long as their owners are willing to put the time into teaching their dogs to use it. Owners who will make that kind of commitment are probably already doing other things with their dogs to foster good behavior and provide mental stimulation.

The Buster Cube ranges in price from $20 to $30, and can be found at most pet supply stores.

The Twidget
We can best describe the Twidget as a terrific toy and training tool for the tennis ball-obsessed dog. The Twidget is a low-tech, delightful toy consisting of two tennis balls strung on a 12-inch rope with three inches of rope between the balls, knotted on the outsides to prevent the balls from slipping off the rope. In contrast to the Buster Cube, this toy is simple to use.

As a toy, the benefits are obvious to any ball-crazy dog. Golden Retrievers, Labs and Border Collies put this one high on their Christmas list – retrieving two tennis balls is infinitely better than chasing just one! It is also suitable as a tug-toy. (Although some schools of thought counsel against playing tug-of-war with dogs, WDJ recognizes that it can be a fun game for dog and owner, and a useful training technique if the dog is taught to stop the game and release the tug-toy on cue.)

The Twidget also gives a tactical advantage to the owner of the over-possessive ball-crazy dog. It can be exceedingly frustrating to play fetch with a dog who loves to chase the ball but has a hard time with the concept of giving it back!

With the Twidget, we can calmly take hold of the second tennis ball as it dangles from the dog’s mouth, and offer to trade for a treat. When the dog opens his mouth for the cookie, we already have the toy in hand and can quickly remove it from his reach, thus easily (and without using force) training the dog to release the ball when we ask. Our consulting trainer vouches for this after working with the Twidget and a very determined, ball-loving Golden Retriever.

We do suggest using the Twidget for monitored play only. It would be easy for a dog to chew through the rope that holds the tennis balls together and defeat the value of having the two balls linked together.

The Twidget retails for $7 to $10, is available at pet supply stores and through many pet products catalogs.

The Eezi-Crate
If your dog is crate-trained, and you bring his crate with you when you travel, you’ll love the Eezi-Crate. It’s a light-weight, collapsible crate, resembling a backpacker’s tent when set up. The purchase of an optional shoulder strap makes carrying the crate even easier.

For dogs who are already crate-trained and well-behaved in a crate, this is a terrific buy. (Crate-training, when done and used properly, is a fantastic dog-management tool. But like any training tool, it can be abused.) It is not designed to stand up to a dog that will test confinement by chewing or digging to get out. The manufacturer’s one-year warranty only covers product defects – it excludes damage from chewing, scratching, or normal wear and tear.

But for those of us with dogs who are content – happier, even – when securely snuggled into the familiar and protected confines of their favorite “cave,” this is a lifesaver. Standard plastic and wire crates are heavy and awkward, especially for large dogs, and don’t fit into most passenger cars. Some dog owners drive vans and trucks in order to accommodate one or more dog crates. Other owners just leave their dogs’ crates at home. The collapsed Eezi-Crate takes up very little space and will fit into most passenger cars, making it possible for more dogs to take their “little piece of home” with them wherever they travel.

The Eezi-Crate is made of a nylon mesh fabric, has sturdy seams that are glued and sewn, solid fiberglass rods to reinforce the exterior, and a marine-grade glued and double-stitched zipper for the door. It comes in four sizes, from 24”x 20”x 20” to 42”x 32”x 32”, and weighs from four pounds (the smallest size) to seven pounds (the largest).

The cost of the crate ranges from $100 to $220 depending on size, and the strap is an additional $10. For more information or to order an Eezi-Crate, call the manufacturer at (803) 365-9798.

-By Pat Miller

Quiet Barking in Your Neighborhood

2

What can you do if the dog whose barking is driving you insane is not your dog?

Besides leaving a copy of the foregoing articles on the dog-owner’s front porch (maybe they’ll take the hint and train their dog not to bark), you might consider the practical and legal remedies offered by attorney Mary Randolph, author of Dog Law. This outstanding book, published by legal self-help specialist Nolo Press, of Berkeley, CA, covers all legal aspects of owning dogs.

The following is an excerpt from the chapter in Dog Law that deals with barking dogs. The tips contained in the excerpt will be enough to guide most people with nuisance barkers in their neighborhood through an amicable and effective resolution to their problem. However, if you are embroiled in a serious conflict with the balky owner of a problem barker, WDJ strongly encourages you to consider buying Dog Law and reading the entire chapter.

Probably the most common complaint about dogs is the noise they make. The good news for neighbors is that usually problems can be resolved without resorting to legal means, through informal negotiation or mediation. And if that fails, there is almost always a law against noisy nuisance dogs.

If you can’t get these laws enforced to your satisfaction, you can sue the dog owner to get the nuisance stopped and to recover money damages. But substituting a major hassle with expensive lawyers for a small one with a bad-mannered spaniel isn’t much progress. Lawsuits are especially undesirable when the other party is a neighbor – after all, you’ll still be next door to each other no matter who wins.

Below, we discuss the most promising ways to resolve neighborhood dog disputes out of court and stay on relatively good terms with the neighbors.

Confront Your Neighbor About the Barking

The obvious first step – asking the dog’s owner to stop the noise – is either ignored or botched by a surprising number of people. Perhaps it’s not all that surprising approaching someone with a complaint can be unpleasant and in some cases intimidating.

However, talking to your neighbor calmly and reasonably is an essential first step. Even if you do eventually end up in court, a judge isn’t likely to be too sympathetic if you didn’t make at least some effort to work things out first. So it’s a no-lose situation, and if you approach it with a modicum of tact, you may be pleasantly surprised by the neighbor’s willingness to work toward a solution.

Sometimes owners are blissfully unaware that there’s a problem. If a dog barks for hours every day – but only when it’s left alone – the owner may not know that a neighbor is being driven crazy by a dog the owner thinks is quiet and well-mannered. Even if you’re sure the neighbor does know about the dog’s antisocial behavior, it may be better to proceed as though she doesn’t.

Here are some suggestions on how to get the most from your negotiations:

– Write a friendly note or call to arrange a convenient time to talk. Don’t blunder up some rainy evening when the neighbor is trying to drag groceries and kids in the house after work.
– If you think it’s appropriate, take a little something to the meeting to break the ice – some vegetables from your garden, perhaps.
– Don’t threaten legal action (or illegal action!). There will be time to discuss legal remedies if relations deteriorate.
– Offer positive suggestions. Once you have established some rapport, you may want to suggest, tactfully, that the owner get help with the dog. Try saying something like, “You know, my friend Tom had the same problem with his dog, and since he’s been taking the dog to ABC Obedience School classes, he and his neighbors are much happier.” Of course, if you make suggestions too early in the process, the neighbor may resent your “interference.”
– Try to agree on specific actions to alleviate the problem. For example, that the dog is kept inside between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
– After you agree on a plan, set a date to talk again in a couple of weeks. If your next meeting is already arranged, it will be easier for you to talk again. It won’t look like you’re badgering your neighbor, but will show that you’re serious about getting the problem solved.

If the situation improves, make a point to say thanks. Not only is it the nice thing to do, it will also encourage more progress.

Mediation: Getting Another Person to Help

If talking to your neighbor directly doesn’t work, or you’re convinced it’s hopeless, consider getting some help from a mediator. A mediator won’t make a decision for you, but will help you and your neighbor agree on a resolution of the problem.

Mediators, both professional and volunteers, are trained to listen to both sides, identify problems, keep everyone focused on the real problems and suggest compromises. Going through the process helps both people feel they’ve been heard (a more constructive version of the satisfaction of “having your day in court”) and often puts people on better terms.

Mediation provides a safe, structured way for neighbors to talk. They meet informally with one or more mediators, and first agree on ground rules – basic guidelines, such as no name-calling or interrupting. Then, each person briefly states a view of the problem. The mediator may summarize the problem and its history before moving on to discuss possible solutions.

Unlike a lawsuit, mediation is not an adversarial process. You do not go to mediation to argue your side. No judge-like person makes a decision for you. So there is nothing to gain from the lying and manipulation common to the courtroom. People can become amazingly cooperative when they realize it’s in their power – and no one else’s – to resolve their problem.

When two people do agree on how to alleviate the problem, it’s best to put the agreement in writing, which helps clarify everyone’s expectations. And it’s invaluable if later memories grow fuzzy, as they almost always do, about who agreed to do what.

The best place to look for a free mediator for this kind of dispute is a community mediation group. Many cities have such groups, which usually train volunteers to mediate disputes in their neighborhoods.

Other places that may be able to refer you to a mediation service include the small claims court clerk’s office, the local district attorney’s office, radio or television stations that offer help with consumer problems, or state or local bar associations.

State and Local Laws on Nuisance Dogs

If the situation doesn’t improve after your efforts to work something out, it’s time to check your local laws and see what your legal options are. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be better prepared to approach your neighbor again or go to animal control authorities, the police or a small claims court.

In some places, barking dogs are covered by a specific state or local ordinance. If there’s no law aimed specifically at dogs, a general nuisance or noise ordinance will make the owner responsible. Local law may forbid loud noise after 10 p.m., for example, or prohibit any “unreasonable” noise. And someone who allows a dog to bark, after numerous warnings from police, may be arrested for disturbing the peace.

To find out what the law is where you live, go to a law library and check the state statutes and city or count), ordinances yourself. Look in the index under “noise,” “dogs,” “animals” or “nuisance.” If you don’t have access to a law library, you can probably find out about local laws by calling the local animal control agency or city attorney.

Animal Control Authorities and Nuisance Dogs

If your efforts at working something out with your neighbor haven’t succeeded, talk to the animal control department in your city or county. The people there are likely to be more receptive than the police or other municipal officials.

When you call, don’t just make your complaint and hang up. If it’s really a persistent problem, you need to be persistent, too. Ask the person you talk to – and write down his name, so you won’t have to explain your problem every time you call – about the department’s procedures. Find out what the department will do, and when. For example, the department may need to receive a certain number of complaints about a barking dog within a certain time before it will act.

Some cities have set up special programs to handle dog complaints. The animal control department establishes a simple procedure for making a complaint, and follows up promptly – and repeatedly, if necessary. This is a great idea, for two main reasons. First, it gives a specific city official or department – usually the health, police or public safety department – responsibility for the problem. If it’s not clear who’s primarily responsible, someone with a complaint is likely to get shuffled from department to department.

Calling the Police on a Barking Dog

The police aren’t very interested in barking dog problems, and you can’t much blame them. Unless you live in an exceptionally quiet and peaceful place, police have lots more serious problems on their hands. Another reason to avoid the police, except as a last resort, is that summoning a police cruiser to a neighbor’s house obviously will not improve your already strained relations. But if none of the options already discussed works, and the relationship with your neighbor is shot anyway, you might as well give the police a try. The police may be your only choice, too, if you don’t know who owns the offending dog, as can happen on crowded city blocks where you just can’t tell whose dog is making the noise.

The police have the power to enforce local noise laws and laws that prohibit disturbing the peace. As when you’re dealing with animal control people, don’t be afraid to ask the police exactly what you and other neighbors must do to get them to take action. You may well have to make more than one call or written complaint.

Small Claims Court for Nuisance Dogs

If nothing you’ve tried helps, you can sue the owner of a barking dog, on the ground that the dog is a nuisance that interferes with your use and enjoyment of your home. The least painful route is through small claims court. Small claims court procedures are simple and designed to be used without a lawyer. In some states, including California, lawyers are barred from small claims court. Even if they aren’t banned, you will rarely see one there because most people find it too expensive to hire them. Fees in small claims court are also low, and the process is relatively fast – which means you’ll get to court in a few weeks or months, not years.

Winning a lawsuit in small claims court can get you money (and satisfaction), but probably nothing else. In most states, small claims court judges only have the power to order someone to pay money. They can’t give you what you really want – a court order telling your neighbor to make the problematic pooch be quiet.

Still, making your neighbor fork over some money may be even more effective than a simple court order in convincing your neighbor to clean up his (or his dog’s) act. And you can keep going back to court and asking for more as long as the nuisance continues.

If you absolutely must have a court order telling the neighbor to stop (the technical term for this kind of order is an injunction), you may have to go to “regular” court (often called circuit, superior or district court) instead of small claims court. For that, you’ll probably need a lawyer, though you can bring a straightforward nuisance suit yourself, if you’re willing to spend some hours in the law library finding out how to draw up the papers and submit them to the court.

Reprinted with permission of Nolo Press. For information about suing in small claims or regular court, see the rest of Chapter 7 of Dog Law.

Digestive Disorders and Blue-Green Algae

We bought Belle as a puppy from a friend, Linda, who is also a very good and conscientious breeder. A couple of Linda’s dogs were notorious for eating sticks and/or other assorted objects. Belle’s mother, in fact, had to have a quarter and a dime surgically removed from her stomach. We like to call that the “not-so cost-effective money retrieval” system! (Linda is also an accountant.)

So, when Belle started finding assorted objects to munch on as well, we joked about it. But we stopped laughing in July of 1996, when she swallowed (whole) a pair of my nephew’s underpants. Later on the same day she ate them, she stood in front of my husband, looking a little green around the gills, and threw them up in one big burp! All the time she was growing, Belle had eaten some pretty nasty things, but this took the cake!

Belle also exhibited a few other strange symptoms. For one, she was a habitual “paw licker,” and would develop “lick granulomas” – not to mention drive me crazy – if I didn’t watch her carefully. And while her appetite for weird things was strong, she was a disinterested eater of dog food. Since coming to us at seven weeks, she had never eaten her dog food with a good appetite; I almost had to force-feed her at times.

I wasn’t really prompted to look further into these conditions, however, until the underwear incident. Shortly afterward, she started to lose weight. When her weight loss reached 15 pounds, I panicked and scheduled an appointment with a veterinarian I sometimes use in Andover, Massechusetts. An endoscopy revealed a blockage that called for immediate surgery. Inside her stomach, they found a hunk of “mixed materials” – a combination of plastic Nylabone, cloth, and other unidentifiable stuff.

After surgery, she recovered fairly well, but still was not eating right. She gained about 10 pounds, but was still all bones. I took her to my regular veterinarian, Dr. Eric Bloomfield of the Northside Animal Hospital, here in Manchester.

Supplement improves situation
Dr. Bloomfield took a look at Belle, listened to her history, and heard me cry for about 10 minutes about not wanting to lose her. Then he left the room and came back with a container of green powder. He said, “Don’t laugh and don’t be afraid. This stuff will help your dog, if you use it!” In the container was Super Blue Green AlgaeTM (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae).

I was sceptical, but Dr. Bloomfield was so serious, I decided to give it a try, thinking all the while, “Yuck, if I don’t like the look of it, how will I get Belle to eat it?” I disguised it in several ways, rolling it up in raw hamburger or cheese.

One day, about a week and a half after giving her the SBGA daily, I heard the sound of a bowl being banged in the kitchen. I usually tune out that sound, as our resident “pork chop” Molly, the Pointer, likes to eat ‘round the clock, and that’s how she says she’s hungry. But there was Molly at my feet! I ran into the kitchen, and who should I behold but Belle, standing in front of her dish, whacking it with her paw!

After placing two cups of dry food in front of Belle (whose motto has always been, “What me? Eat dry food? Never!”), I went into shock when she finished it in four minutes flat.

That was the beginning of a new and improved Belle. Within two weeks she gained another 10 pounds, and almost completely stopped eating “bad” things. About five weeks after starting her on the algae, she weighed 115 pounds, ate three meals a day because she asked for it, and has since had very few episodes of chewing or eating inappropriate items. (The exception has been when she’s experiencing a false pregnancy, then I have to double the SBGA I feed her.) She looks great, her coat is now a shiny, deep steel blue, with no more “brown out.” She also lost her skittishness and is more outgoing. She only licks her paws excessively when she’s stressed; otherwise, that behavior is gone.

I did test the algae several times by removing it from Belle’s diet. Each time her consumption of food decreased within four to seven days. She is now on a maintenance dose, getting 1/3 teaspoon of the algae per meal, and she’s doing great.

Of course, since Belle’s success, I started giving the algae to Molly (the Pointer). Molly has chronic pain from a torn ligament, and I had been giving her ascriptin and phenylbutazone for treatment. She couldn’t play with the big dogs due to pain, nor could she chase Frisbees, her favorite sport.

Within a month or so, the pain eased to the point where I was able to wean her off the ascriptin and bute. She now plays with the Danes on a limited basis every day. She is stiff but doing well, with no limping. All my dogs have lovely coats and surprisingly, since the cats have started eating it, we have had a drastic reduction in our flea problem at home. Coincidence? Who knows? But I’m no fool; I’ll continue with what works.

Not a cure-all
Dr. Bloomfield explained it to me this way: Algae is not a cure-all, but it does supply raw trace minerals, enzymes, and amino acids, the building blocks upon which bodies build and repair themselves. Nutritionists tell us that the soil that has been intensively farmed for the last 40 years or so has become relatively depleted of trace minerals. For our dogs, who should be eating raw food anyway, this lack of nutrients in farm-grown food (and in the meat-producing animals that eat farm-grown grains) manifests itself in a wide range of symptoms. Many veterinarians speculate that many symptoms signal a nutritional deficiency of one or more kinds.

SBGA grows naturally in Klamath Lake in Oregon, and is harvested and freeze dried immediately. Representatives for Cell Tech, of Klamath Falls, Oregon, the company that manufactures the algae that I use, claim that Cell Tech is the only company that produces the algae in such a way that its elements, minerals, and nutrients are not damaged. (See “Super Supplements” and “Multi-Level Marketing Mysteries.”)

Recently Cell Tech announced the publication of an independent study of SBGA and its effects on the immune system, especially on the activity of the body’s killer cells (the ones which search out and destroy cells such as cancers). The study was conducted by researchers from Magill University at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. They found that eating SBGA triggered the release of a significant number of killer cells from the bloodstream into the tissues, a more effective position from which to launch an attack on abnormal cells such as cancer or virally infected cells.

Again, I don’t know for a fact whether these claims are valid or not. All I know is that the algae made a world of difference to my dogs, especially Belle. I wouldn’t dream of doing without it.

By Lyn Richards

Lyn Richards is a dog trainer and Great Dane breeder who lives in Manchester, NH.

Holistic Treatments for Osteosarcoma in Dogs

[Updated January 28, 2019]

The date was Friday the 13th, so I guess I should have expected something unpleasant to happen, but the news from our family veterinarian that our 10-year-old Belgian Shepherd had, “at the most about six months to live,” came as a bolt from the blue. We had noticed a lump on Jet’s left front leg just above the knee joint for a couple of months, but he hadn’t appeared to be lame on the leg, and the area wasn’t hot to the touch or painful on palpation.

Since Jet is an active dog, always an eager participant in the rough and tumble of life with three other dogs on our horse ranch, I assumed he’d knocked it, and that the lump would simply go down as it healed. When I noticed it was actually increasing in size I took him to the vet to determine the cause – still thinking it was something minor, as Jet was otherwise very healthy and cheerful.

Not so, according to our veterinarian. He sadly informed me that it was osteosarcoma, a particularly aggressive form of bone cancer, and that there was nothing we could do but control the pain (which is usually quite severe) and wait for the disease to take its course.

belgian shepherd with osteosarcoma

The veterinarian took x-rays of the leg, which revealed a large mass entwined around the bone tissue at the lower (distal) end of the long bone in the leg. This type of cancer is common in older, large dogs – and there was no doubt that this was what we were dealing with. It was a textbook case.

The veterinarian predicted the cancer would continue to grow rapidly, causing increasing levels of pain as it interfered with the bone and surrounding tissues. Then it would burst through the bone casing, and finally begin to cause an increasingly suppurating, spreading wound on the outside of the leg. He also suggested there was also a strong possibility that the cancer would spread to other parts of the body.

Sometimes in these cases surgical amputation of the whole leg from the shoulder is performed, but the doctor felt the likelihood of the cancer spreading was fairly high, and that amputation was not really a viable option. When I asked about holistic treatments, our veterinarian (who is of the conventional school, but usually puts up with my “alternative bent”), was of the opinion that “anti-oxidants couldn’t hurt.” He couldn’t offer anything other than treating the symptoms pharmaceutically until the inevitable occurred.

Accepting My Dog’s Cancer

My first reaction was initially disbelief, then despair as I visualized losing a very good old friend to a horrible disease. It didn’t help that I’d been to the funeral of another (human) friend the day before, who’d also been the victim of cancer. In a daze, I accepted a bottle of pills from the veterinarian (I still don’t know what they were for!), and left. Driving home, I couldn’t look at Jet’s cheerful furry face in the rear view mirror without tears welling up in my eyes.

By the next morning I’d decided that this wasn’t going to be the way it was at all! I’ve been a firm believer in the alternative therapies for many years, and so I hit the textbooks and the Internet, and started phoning friends for suggestions. I’d worked with a professional herbalist in another state, Robert McDowell, who treats humans, horses, and (I suddenly remembered) dogs, so I emailed him with an outline of Jet’s case.

A friend told us of an veterinarian who used alternative methods and who had successfully treated their Bull Terrier for skin cancer using Chinese herbs. I called the veterinarian, only to be told I should bring Jet to the clinic immediately to amputate the leg. His opinion: “There’s no magic cure for bone cancer – his only chance is amputation, and if you don’t do it immediately, his chances of surviving will decrease rapidly.”

What a dilemma! We hated the idea of amputating his front leg – he’s a very active dog – and his age and somewhat skittish temperament meant the surgery and recovery would be a major trauma for him, with no guarantee of success.

However, the alternative seemed to be losing him very quickly to cancer. To exacerbate the dilemma, by this time Jet was starting to show some discomfort with the leg, favoring it slightly when he walked, and shifting his weight off it when sitting.

The same day, Robert McDowell replied to my email message, saying he had made up an herbal remedy containing equisetum (horsetail), pine bark extract (a really strong antioxidant), comfrey (for bone healing), and yarrow (for its general healing properties), and that it was already in the mail. We were to give Jet 10 drops of this mix twice a day, and McDowell expressed his hope that we could “buy him some time.”

Well, the offer was the most positive thing we’d heard so far, so we nervously decided against the amputation, and to “wait and see” with the herbs. At the same time I started Jet on antioxidant tablets (a mixture of Vitamin E, C, and A, and garlic) , figuring that if they didn’t help him, they surely couldn’t hurt.

Alternative Medicine to Treat Cancer

After we’d been using the herbal mix for about a week, we heard about another veterinarian who used alternative methods and who lived quite close, and I decided it was worth covering all the bases and giving him a call. Dr. Marcel Christiaan runs a mixed practice in the foothills near Perth (Western Australia) and came highly recommended by friends who had taken their cats to him for a variety of complaints, which Christiaan had treated with a mix of conventional and alternative therapies.

Jet took to Dr. Christiaan immediately. Since he’s usually very reserved and nervous with strangers (particularly veterinarians!), this was remarkable. Christiaan agreed with the original diagnosis – he had no doubt that we were dealing with osteosarcoma. He also agreed the condition was advanced. The mass had probably already created its own blood supply, he said, making it very hard to treat.

He also added that he would not recommend amputation in this type of deep-shouldered dog, because the loss of one foreleg would put such pressure on the other leg that he would develop severe arthritis in the joints, and have to be put down anyway. So much for that option.

I explained we had Jet on a mix prepared by McDowell, what it contained, and that we also had him on extra antioxidants and garlic. His opinion was that we doing all the right things, but that he’d like to give Jet equisetum intravenously to make sure he had a sufficient dose, as sometimes the juices in a dog’s digestive tract can interfere with the action of herbs. He’d been using equisetum on cats with feline leukemia with a high rate of success, even with cats that had been in the last stages of the disease, and he felt it was certainly worth a try with Jet. He gave Jet the first dose that day, and booked him in for three more injections over the next week, resulting in a fairly large dose over a short period of time.

Christiaan explained that the herbs and anti-oxidants would strengthen and support Jet’s immune system, and that if the immune system could fight the cancerous cells, then over the next two months we should see some improvement in Jet’s comfort levels. If that occurred, then a remodeling of the bone at the site of the cancer would begin. He stressed that there were no guarantees, but commented as I was leaving, “Jet certainly doesn’t want to give up, so why should we?” Feeling tentatively heartened, we decided simply to take it one day at a time.

Following the last injection a week later, Christiaan asked me to bring Jet back for a checkup in three weeks, and to monitor any changes in his leg but not to limit his exercise as he would do that for himself.

Over the next three weeks, Jet’s energy levels were even greater than usual, his coat gleamed, and his eyes shone. His lameness had decreased, but the lump seemed to be spreading outward – sort of flattening. Suspecting that this probably meant the cancer was still growing; it was with some trepidation that I took Jet back for his check-up.

Dr. Christiaan allayed my fears, saying that Jet was certainly more comfortable on the leg, and that the bone felt as though there could be remodeling beginning to occur! He decided Jet didn’t need another equisetum injection, advised that we continue with McDowell’s herbal drops, the antioxidants, and the garlic, and asked me to bring him back in another six weeks.

About two weeks later, my partner Ron took the dogs for their customary morning walk, only to return ten minutes later with Jet absolutely hobbling lame on his bad leg. Thinking the worst, I called Dr. Christiaan, and his immediate reaction was, “Oh no, I was really hoping that wasn’t going to happen!” Apparently as the bone tissue is remodeling it becomes weak in places, and he suspected Jet had simply landed the wrong way on the leg and fractured the bone.

Dr. Christiaan felt that it was probably only a hairline fracture that would heal rapidly – considering the herbs we had been feeding him – and suggested we give him a crushed aspirin for the pain. If Jet wasn’t noticeably more comfortable in four or five days we were to take him in to the clinic to reconsider the options. When asked whether we should bandage the leg for support, Christiaan said the new bone growth needed to have weight brought to bear on it for healthy growth, and a support bandage would be counterproductive.

We administered the aspirin, and sympathized seriously with Jet over his pain for the first day (he was miserable and very depressed), and were delighted to see that he was markedly better the next morning.

The night before, I’d emailed McDowell to tell him of our setback, and he recommended wrapping the leg with comfrey leaves, which I duly did using a loose-fitting bandage. He also sent another herbal remedy containing additional comfrey, white willow bark and devil’s claw (as anti-inflammatory agents); guiacum (as a lubricant); and Bach Rescue Remedy (for shock). We were to add this to Jet’s usual drops.

Within a week, Jet was completely sound on the leg – which was absolutely remarkable considering the level of pain and lameness he exhibited initially.

Success from Alternative Medicine

Jet’s next check-up (six weeks after his initial visit to Dr. Christiaan) revealed that the bone was still remodeling healthy tissue at the cancer site, and Christiaan was delighted with his progress. He said to continue the herbal drops and antioxidants, and to bring him back in three months, which we did for another positive outcome! Christiaan commented, “You can usually tell whether an animal has the will to live, and there was no way that this one was giving up! He saw it all as a minor inconvenience, really, and once we’d helped his immune system along a little – he did all the rest himself.”

McDowell has also been delighted with continuing positive progress reports. It’s been nine months since the initial diagnosis, and Jet’s still going strong. He still has a bump on his leg where the bone continues to remodel, but has nothing else to show for his close call. In his daily life Jet has never been healthier or more active. His coat is absolutely gleaming, his appetite is voracious, his energy level is higher than when he was a two-year-old, his eyes are bright, and his attitude is overwhelmingly positive. We realize that the situation could change at any time, but are simply delighted that with the help of some dedicated professionals, we’ve been able to buy a good friend some more time with us.

Di Rowling is a freelance writer who lives near Perth, Western Australia. 

Dog Training Videos Offer Tips!

We dog training enthusiasts are lucky; there are any number of information resources available to help us learn about our favorite preoccupation. First-hand learners can go to a class, or work with a trainer in private sessions. Readers can choose from a bewildering array of books. For the computer-phile, there are even a few CD-ROMs that offer dog training tips!

But videos are absolutely one of the easiest mediums to learn from. Like classes and private training, videos have the benefit of being a visual medium, but with an advantage – you can play them over and over until a concept really sinks in. Although you miss out on the personal feedback that is provided by a real live trainer, videotapes enable you to learn directly from the world’s best trainers and behavior experts and to experience canine events from around the world. It would cost far more time and money to visit these people and events in person than the average dog owner has available for these pursuits.

Perhaps the only problematic aspect of learning about dog training from videos is selecting which ones to buy! How can you determine which of the hundreds of available titles are worth $20 to $50 of your hard-earned dollars? To help inform your decisions, WDJ will periodically review a number of videos. All the following tapes available from Direct Book Service (800-776-2665), unless otherwise noted.

 

Answers From Experts – 05/98

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What’s right for tartar?
We adopted a female 3 1/2 year old toy poodle who proved to be unproductive as a breed bitch and far too nervous to show. By the age of five years she fell heir to progressive retinal atrophy and the beginning of cataracts.

With the help of a holistic veterinarian in Tampa, we were able to hold this condition at bay for a full year, though, later, the retinal atrophy galloped away with her. Now both eyes are fully covered with cataracts, the lenses in both eyes have luxated and fallen forward, causing her discomfort which we now manage by a daily application of Neopredef into the eyes and Prednisone orally as needed, both of which I dislike but I feel I have no alternative.

But my main reason for writing is the tartar on her teeth, which she has always had, notwithstanding a change to a more raw and healthy diet. Can you shed any light on what homeopathic medicine, how much, and how administered could help our little girl, who still has terrible tartar buildup?

-Helen A. Karkeet
Hernando, FL

We turned this question over to Dr. Charles E. Loops, a veterinarian with a 100 percent homeopathic practice. Dr. Loops lives and works in Pittsboro, North Carolina, consulting with many of his clients over the telephone. He has a special interest in cancer treatment.

Treating chronic disease homeopathically is what we refer to as constitutional prescribing. This is the determination of the one, most similar, homeopathic remedy that matches the overall symptoms, characteristics, and mental attributes of a given individual animal. This is in marked contrast to allopathic medicine, where similar symptoms in dissimilar patients are often treated with the same remedy. Used in the traditional Western manner, the same homeopathic remedy would be administered to every patient with tartar on their teeth. That’s not how homeopathy really works, however.

Homeopaths don;t automatically prescribe remedy A for every case of dental tartar. Instead, we look for the remedy that best suits each individual. In your dog’s case, we would also take into consideration her nervous temperament, breeding difficulties, retinal atrophy, and all other significant medical and temperamental data, in order to choose the correct remedy.

When resonance occurs homeopathically, changes will occur within that individual correcting all the symptoms of imbalance which exist in that particular animal. These corrections will not come all at once, but over time. Usually the more recent problems disappear first and the older, possibly suppressed imbalances resolve later.

Excessive tartar build-up is one of those characteristics which can resolve with the correct prescribing of one dose, or several doses over time, of the correct homeopathic medicine. Determination of the correct homeopathic medicine to prescribe is what a veterinary homeopath does when he takes the case of an individual animal. You need to find a classically trained homeopath and consult with that individual either by phone or with a visit if there is one near you.

Homeopathic consultations for animals with chronic disease usually require 30 minutes to one hour on the telephone with a practitioner and cost from $75 to $150. This is very inexpensive healthcare when you consider that one consult can sometimes result in curative effects for a condition which could require years of conventional treatment and great expense over time.

All right, I’m newly convinced that I should feed my dog raw red meat for optimum health. But how do we transition a dog from a diet of dry food? My first attempt at red meat was a disaster, as I discovered on the kitchen floor the morning after I first gave my Peek-a-Poo Molly her first taste of meat. Should I introduce it slowly? Is there a particular cut that is beneficial? What should I ask/look for? Can we feed it twice a week instead of every day? Won’t this be expensive?

Sign me,
-Just Plain Pooped in CT
via email

To answer this question, we turned again to veterinarian Pat Bradley, of Conway, Arkansas. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Bradley practiced conventional veterinary medicine for 10 years before opening an all-holistic practice five years ago. Bradley strongly advocates feeding dogs a diet comprised largely of raw meat.

First of all, congratulations on your decision to feed meat to your dog. I’m certain that you will be happy to see improvements in her health and even possibly her temperament with an improved diet. You’ll also be glad to hear there are a number of things you can do to make the transition to an all- or mostly meat diet easier on your dog’s digestive tract and your kitchen floor!

When a dog (especially one who normally eats only commercially prepared dog food) eats a food she has never, or rarely, had before, diarrhea is often the result. That’s because most dogs guts contain only a limited amount and variety of digestive enzymes and bacteria with which to process foods. That situation can be improved in a number of ways.

I’m not sure why, but one of the most helpful things you can do is to fast your dog (liquids only) for one day immediately prior to making a dietary change. Fasting seems to prepare the gut for a change.

The next trick is to introduce new foods slowly enough to give the gut time to adjust its chemistry. A standard veterinary protocol has you start out by feeding a quarter of the new food and three-quarters of the old food for several days, feeding half and half for the next few days, three-quarters new and one-quarter old for several days, and finally, nothing but the new food. How many days several turns out to be should depend on your dog’s sensitivity to diet changes. Draw the process out if she exhibits signs of digestive upset.

Supplementing the intestinal flora can also be very helpful. Some veterinarians recommend giving dogs supplemental digestive enzymes, which are manufactured to replicate enzymes produced by the pancreas to help break down food. These supplements can be very useful, but not all animals tolerate them well. Friendly bacterial supplements, like acidophilus, can also be useful. If a dog can handle yogurt, you can add anywhere from a tablespoon to half a cup of yogurt a day, depending on the size of the dog, while you’re making the transition. The yogurt you use must contain an active yogurt culture; not all supermarket brands do. But, again, some dogs don’t like yogurt, and some are sensitive to milk products. In those cases, you can buy acidophilus culture as a dried powder in capsules.

Try a tonifier
Slippery elm can also be used as an intestinal tonifier. It is especially good for animals that are sensitive to food changes. The dried powder comes in both capsules and loose. I use it this way: Mix a tablespoon of dried powder with one cup of cold water in a small pot. It’s kind of like a corn starch and water combination; it’s difficult to stir it up well.

When it is well mixed, put it on a stove, bring it to a boil for about a minute and then let it cool down. Add about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it. After it has cooled, you can give your dog a small amount. I use a syringe to squirt it directly into the dog’s mouth. Use about a teaspoon for a little dog, and up to a couple of tablespoons for the giant breeds. If you administer it about a half hour before the dog eats, it helps to coat the gut and help keep it from being irritable. The mixture can be kept in the refrigerator and used for several days. It will help with any kind of gut problem, whether it is diarrhea or constipation.

Types of meat
Regarding the cuts or types of meat: If you have a dog that has never been fed any type of meat or table scraps, I would suggest you start her out with a lower-fat meat. Most dogs that I have seen who have had problems with meat were actually having problems with the fat content.

While it is admittedly the easiest and most inexpensive meat to buy and feed, ground meat (hamburger) is not the best meat to feed. Every time a piece of meat is cut, it both loses some of its nutritional value, and it risks greater exposure to contaminants. It’s far better (and less expensive) to buy big chunks of meat and cut them up yourself. Many of my clients buy big pieces and freeze them, thawing each day’s portion a day in advance.

Ideally, you can find a market with a butcher, and explain what you need to him or her. Butchers can tell you what they might have that is less expensive. Be sure to mention you would prefer meat that is not too fatty, and cuts that people would be unlikely to buy, such as heart muscle, are good for your dog.

Organ meats
Many veterinarians recommend feeding organ (kidney, liver) meats once or twice a week, though others warn against organ meats, fearing that these meats contain a higher accumulation of toxins than most meat. My dogs LOVE organ meat, which makes me think there is probably something in it that is good for them. Still, I wouldn’t feed it more than twice a week.

Don’t forget to ask your butcher for some bones, too. Bones are an important addition to the healthy dog’s diet, both for their ability to clean and strengthen the teeth and as a natural source of calcium. There are also nutrients concentrated in bone marrow, and dogs just love it. Again, if the dog has never been given raw bones before, you have to make sure to offer them gradually. Some dogs get diarrhea if they eat too much raw bone at once; others get hard, white stools or get constipated. Limit the dog’s access to the bones at first, until the novelty wears off; the dog will get less avid for them as they get used to having access to them

Finally, feeding meat several times a week beats not feeding meat at all. I have some clients who have several large dogs, who simply couldn’t afford feeding meat to all the dogs every day. They do give the dogs meat a couple of times a week, though, and that has made all the difference in their health and attitudes.

Letters – 05/98

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First, I would like to compliment you on your newsletter. I subscribe to several dog-related newsletters/magazines and, after just two issues of Whole Dog Journal, consider yours the cream of the crop! Your articles are informative, well written and pertinent. Best of all, they don’t insult my intelligence. Please keep up the good work.

Regarding the article in the April issue titled “Are Premium Foods Worth It?”, I was quite surprised and somewhat disturbed that your list of foods did not include the “Innova” dog food manufactured by Natura Pet Products in Santa Clara, California (they are also the manufacturers of California Natural). Our household is run by four Golden Retrievers and one “who-knows-what,” all of whom we love dearly. Wanting them to have the best nutrition, we went in search of the best dog food on the market (short of cooking our own). Our search led us to Innova. I won’t take your time with the details, only to tell you that after switching from NutroMax to Innova, we observed a noticeable improvement in our dogs’ coats and overall health.

I should mention that I am not affiliated with Natura Pet Products in any way, except as a devoted customer!

-Jill Besl
via email

 

Thanks for your compliments, as well as for mentioning this great food. We didn’t (and couldn’t) list every dog food made by every manufacturer, and were more impressed with the California Natural food than the Innova. This isn’t intended to knock Innova at all; from all angles, it, too, looks like a truly “premium” dog food.

Compare its first 10 ingredients with the foods listed in the “Are Premium Foods Worth It?” article in the April issue: Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, whole ground barley, whole ground brown rice, whole steamed potatoes, ground white rice, chicken fat (preserved with natural vitamin E and vitamin C), herring meal, whole raw apples.

These are top-quality ingredients, and the rest of the label (including all of the rest of the ingredients) look just as good. Its guaranteed analysis: crude protein (min.) 24 %, crude fat (min.) 14 %, crude fiber (max.) 3.0 %, moisture (max.) 10 %.

We’ll repeat the phone number: Natura Pet Products, (800) 532-7261.

– Nancy Kerns, Editor

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I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing