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Teaching Fetch Using Positive Reinforcement Techniques

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Who has not watched in awe as a Border Collie at a local park sails through the air, snatches a FrisbeeTM in mid-flight and dashes back to her owner, dropping the Frisbee and waiting in eager anticipation for the next throw? Playing fetch with your dog is fun. It’s also a great way to strengthen the dog/human bond, satisfy your dog’s prey/chase instincts, and provide enough exercise to work off that excess energy that can make him a challenge to live with. A formal retrieve is also required for upper levels of obedience competition.

Some dogs are natural retrievers. Teaching them to fetch is a matter of directing the behavior into the right channels. Other dogs are not, and while teaching them to retrieve may look like an insurmountable challenge, it’s not as difficult as it seems. There are limitations, of course. Your 150-pound Newfoundland may never sail through the air like a Border Collie, but she can certainly learn how to fetch.

The old way

At one time in the not too distant past, the dog training world almost universally agreed that dogs had to be taught a “forced retrieve.” If you wanted a reliable retrieve, dogs had to know that they would be punished if they refused to pick up the designated object and bring it back. Years ago, my terrier mix, Josie, was the unfortunate victim of this training philosophy.

Against my better judgment, convinced that my trainer knew best, I taught Josie to retrieve using the traditional coercive “ear pinch.” We were preparing for the Open Class show ring exercises, Retrieve On The Flat and Retrieve Over High Jump. My trainer was a top ranked, nationally-known obedience trainer and competitor. I admired and respected her. I was just a lowly dog owner – what did I know?

Ignoring my uneasiness, I dutifully folded her ear flap over the choke chain, said “Take It!,” and pinched. When she open her mouth to yelp in protest, I popped the dumbbell into her mouth. Voila! She was learning to retrieve.

It worked. We flew through the Open Class with ease and earned our CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) title in three shows, with a high score of 197.5 out of a possible 200 points.

Meanwhile, we started training for Utility, where we would have to do the Scent Discrimination exercise. In Scent Discrimination, the dog doesn’t just retrieve a dumbbell, he must distinguish the one that has his owner’s scent on it from several lying together on the ground, and retrieve only that one. The exercise is done twice – once with leather articles, once with metal. The leather dumbbells were no problem for Josie, but she hated the metal ones.

Lots of dogs don’t like to hold metal in their mouths. Teeth scraping on metal must give them a “fingernails-on-the-blackboard” sensation. There are tricks trainers use, such as spraying the dumbbell with a clear plastic coating. We tried all the tricks. Josie still wasn’t buying.

“Pinch harder,” my trainer encouraged. “You have to make her do it.”

Josie and I practiced hard. The Directed Jumping and Directed Retrieve were easy for her. The Signal Exercise was a snap. But when I brought out the Scent Discrimination articles the light faded from her eyes and she gave me pleading looks, begging me not to make her do them. I persisted – until one day when I brought out the articles Josie hid under the deck and wouldn’t come out.

Finally, I realized how wrong the ear pinch was. I put away the articles and never brought them out again. If training meant destroying the relationship between me and my dog, I was no longer interested.

Negative reinforcement
Many trainers still subscribe to coercive methods for teaching the retrieve. The ear pinch is a widely-used, force-based method of training that utilizes a concept known as “negative reinforcement.”

Negative reinforcement means that the dog’s behavior makes a bad thing go away. We pinch the ear (bad thing), the dog takes the dumbbell, the ear pinch goes away. The dog learns that if he doesn’t retrieve, he will be hurt. He chooses to retrieve. As with many force-based training methods, it works with a lot of dogs, a lot of the time. It worked with Josie until we encountered the metal scent articles.

Unfortunately, there is a very real potential for negative side effects when we use physical force to train; side effects that can permanently damage the relationship. The dog learns to associate your hands with pain. He may lose his enthusiasm for training. Worse, he may lose his trust in you. Although traditional trainers like to believe that a forced retrieve teaches the dog that he has to fetch even if he doesn’t want to, in reality the dog can always choose not to retrieve and risk the consequences, like Josie did when she hid under the deck. The dog always has a choice.

The ear pinch is not the only coercive method used to train the retrieve. Blanche Saunders (now deceased), a highly respected obedience trainer in the 1950s and 60s, teaches a forced retrieve in her book, The Complete Book of Dog Obedience. Her method of teaching the dog to hold the dumbbell is inarguably harsh:

“Every time your dog drops the article, hold him tight while you cuff him across the nose. Say ‘Phooey!’ in a displeased tone of voice . . . Each time he drops it, the correction becomes more severe.”

I’m happy to say I never cuffed Josie across the nose.

Positive reinforcement: The new wave
Whether you just want your dog to bring back the tennis ball you throw for him in the back yard or you have your eye on advanced obedience titles and Frisbee championships, there is an effective way to train your dog to fetch, using the concept of positive reinforcement (in which the dog’s behavior makes a good thing happen).

In positive reinforcement training, you get the dog to offer the behavior you want without using force, and then reward him for it. All living beings repeat behaviors that they find rewarding.

When you want to train a simple behavior, like sit, it’s easy to see how it works. You hold a treat over the dog’s head, he sits, you use your reward marker (such as a Click!, or the word Yes!) to let him know that he just did a rewardable behavior, then you feed him a treat. By clicking and rewarding the sit repeatedly, you get the dog to offer sits more and more frequently and reliably. Once you are sure he will sit, you add the verbal cue, “Sit!” so he offers the behavior when you ask for it, not just when you move the treat over his head.

Over time, you reduce the use of treats through a process known as random (or variable) reinforcement, clicking and rewarding some sits, but not all. At this point, if you consistently Click! and reward only fast sits, for instance, you can “shape” the dog to sit more quickly when asked.

The retrieve is a complex behavior. While some dogs are natural retrievers who pick things up easily and willingly, others are not, and have to be encouraged to take things in their mouths. Even natural retrievers may learn behaviors like “keep-away,” that interfere with a good game of fetch. How much effort you need to put into training the retrieve depends on your dog’s natural inclinations as well as your training goals. A formal show ring retrieve is considerably more complex than simply asking your Lab to drop his tennis ball at your feet so you can throw it again.

Breaking tasks into steps
Whenever you want to train a complex behavior, you need to visualize the final product (in this case, the retrieve), and break it down into small steps. For the back yard fetch you want to throw the ball, Frisbee or toy and have your dog run after it, pick it up, bring it to you and give it back. Broken into small steps it would look like this:

1. Wait politely until I throw the ball
2. Run after it when I throw it
3. Pick it up
4. Hold it in your mouth
5. Bring it back to me
6. Drop it when you get here

Let’s look at how you would train this simple “back yard fetch.”

Although we are going to examine the steps of the retrieve in order, you don’t have to train them in order. Once your dog knows each of the steps you can put them together in the right order to make “Fetch” happen.

• Wait For Me To Throw
Dogs who are excited about retrieving are often obsessed with their Frisbee or tennis ball, sometimes to the point of being dangerous. You can lose a finger if Skippy tries to grab the ball from your hand as you get ready to throw. We can use negative punishment to teach Skippy to stop jumping. Although we associate the word “punishment” with harsh corrections, negative punishment is not harsh or physical at all. It simply means “the dog’s behavior makes a good thing go away.” Positive trainers frequently use negative punishment because it doesn’t involve the use of physical force.

Ask the dog to sit, and hold the ball up to throw. If he leaps for it, whisk it behind your back and wait for him to sit again. Every time he sits, the ball appears. Every time he leaps at you, the ball vanishes. The first time he stays sitting when you bring out the ball, say “Yes!” and quickly throw it. (This will happen much sooner than you think – it often takes less than five minutes.) This part is positive reinforcement: Skippy’s behavior (sitting) makes a good thing happen (you throw the ball). In this case you don’t need a food treat. Skippy gets a “life reward” – he gets to chase the ball, which is even better than food! From this moment on, Skippy never gets to chase the ball if he jumps up; only if he sits. Once he figures this out, he’ll sit his little heart out to try to get you to throw!

• Run After It When I Throw
Lots of dogs will chase something that is moving but won’t pick it up. That’s OK – the pick-up is a separate behavior. Choose a toy that your dog really likes, play with it with the dog until he gets excited, then toss it a short distance. If he runs after it say “Go!” and when he gets to it Click! or say “Yes!” and feed him a treat. He may even pick it up. If he does, be sure to Click! and reward. At first he may only go part way toward it. That’s OK too. Just be sure you Click! while he is headed toward it, not after he turns around. Remember, the Click! marks the behavior you want him to repeat. If you Click! too late, you reinforce him for coming back to you, rather than for going toward the toy.

As he gets the idea, you can Click! only for increasingly closer runs to the object. If he does a short run, don’t do anything at all. Don’t say “No,” don’t Click!, and don’t say “Go!” again. Just wait. When he realizes he’s not going to get clicked he may head for the object again. (This is a very good time to Click! and reward.) If he doesn’t, calmly try again, tossing it a shorter distance this time. This may be a sign that you have raised the criteria too quickly and you need to take a step back. It is a common training mistake to try to move ahead too quickly. It seems logical that if Skippy will run after the object when you toss it five feet, he will do the same at 10 feet. But he might not. We might need to increase the distance by increments of one foot rather than five feet.

• The Pick-Up
This can be either the easiest or the hardest part of a retrieve. A natural retriever will do the pick-up in his sleep. In fact, most puppies naturally pick things up. If you constantly punish your baby dog for puppy pick-ups, you can squelch a budding natural retriever. Instead, if you put away all inappropriate items and consistently reward him with a Click! and a treat for picking up his toys, you will encourage his retrieving tendencies.

If your dog is not a natural retriever, don’t despair. Designate his most favorite toy as his fetch object. He only gets to play with it when you do the fetch game. Now set it on the ground. (Don’t throw it!) If he picks it up, Click! and reward. If he only sniffs it, Click! and reward. If he just glances in the object’s direction, Click! and reward.

In the beginning, reinforce the dog just for paying attention to the object. In any series of “attention” responses with the fetch toy, sometimes he will sniff or touch it, sometimes he’ll just look at it, and sometimes he will put his mouth on it – maybe even pick it up.

Once he understands the game, you can up the ante (this is called “raising the criteria”); you only Click! and treat if he touches it. Later, you Click! only if he actually puts his mouth on it, and finally, only if he picks it up. Once he is routinely picking up the toy, add your verbal cue of “Fetch!,” “Take It!,” “Get It,” or whatever you plan to use.

If at any time your dog “quits,” that is, he stops playing the game, you may have raised the criteria too quickly, or you may have trained for too long. Training sessions should generally be five to 15 minutes in length, several times a day. If you get two or three really good responses in a row, stop the session with lots of praise and a “Jackpot!” – a whole handful of treats. It’s always better to stop when you and your dog are having fun and winning, rather than when one or both of you are bored or frustrated.

• Hold It
The pick-up is only half the battle. Skippy has to hold it in his mouth if he’s going to bring it back to you. In any series of pick-ups, sometimes he will hold it longer than others. Once he is picking the toy up easily, gradually raise the criteria by clicking and rewarding for longer and longer holds.

“Gradually” is the key here. Your increments will be in fractions of seconds at first, and it is critically important that you Click! while the toy is still in your dog’s mouth! If you consistently Click! too late, after he has dropped the toy, you are rewarding him for dropping, not holding.

• Bring It Back To Me
Now it gets easier. As soon as Skippy is holding the toy for three to five seconds, back away from him when he is looking at you. (You can try calling him to you, but sometimes saying his name will make him drop the toy.) He should start moving toward you, hopefully with the toy still in his mouth. Click! and reward. He will probably drop the toy when you Click!, but that’s OK, as long as the Click! happens while the toy is still in his mouth.

Gradually raise the criteria so he comes closer to you before you Click!, and in short order he will be bringing it all the way.

• Drop It
You can practice this piece of the “Fetch!” any time Skippy has something in his mouth. Offer him a treat. When he opens his mouth to take the treat, say “Drop It!” or “Give!” in a happy tone of voice. (If you use an angry or intimidating tone he may hold tighter rather than drop.) Eventually he will “Drop!” on the verbal cue without the treat. Then you can Click! and treat after he drops, and by using random reinforcement, over time you can fade the use of the treat. (This is also a useful exercise for teaching him not to be protective or aggressive to you when he is playing with his toys.)

If he doesn’t want to trade the object for the treat, try dropping one or several treats on the floor, or use a tastier treat. Do this a lot with his own toys. You can then give the toy back (or toss it for him) as a reward also. He will learn that giving you the object keeps the game going. If you only do this with things he is not supposed to have, he will learn that when he drops an object he loses it forever, and he will become less and less willing to give things to you when you ask.

You can decide if having Skippy drop the object at your feet is acceptable, or if you want the object placed in your hand. Dropping at your feet is easier. Just let it fall when you offer him the treat. If you think he will try to grab it when you reach for it, keep him occupied nibbling the treat in your hand while you reach down and pick it up. Then let him have the treat. If you want him to place it in your hand, you will need to slip your hand under the object at first so it falls into your hand when he drops it. Later, you can insist he place it in your hand by ignoring it if it falls on the floor, until he picks it up and tries again.

Putting the pieces together
Now that Skippy knows all of the pieces, we can put them together. He sits and waits politely until you throw his ball. He runs after it when you throw, picks it up, holds it, brings it back to you and drops it when you ask. His tail is wagging, his eyes are bright, and he is eager for you to throw again. Yes, he has a choice to retrieve or not. He always has a choice. If you’ve trained well, he’s having fun and enjoying the game. What do you think his choice will be?

Today, Josie fetches a wide variety of objects with a wagging tail and a happy gleam in her eye. In recent years, when I reintroduced her to the retrieve using positive methods, I realized that she had never really been very happy about retrieving, despite her 197.5 scores. She used to dutifully retrieve the dumbbell under stress, in fear and anticipation of a correction. Now she joyfully chooses to fetch when asked, confident that she won’t be punished. We never went back to the metal scent articles; I’m not anxious to resume a show career. But I’m confident that we could, if we wanted to.

-By Pat Miller

Keep Your Dog Cool in Hot Temperatures

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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0

With temperatures in the 90s and 100s in recent weeks, WDJ decided it was a perfect time to test products designed to keep canines cool during the dog days of summer. We found a number of products that utilize the same technology: polymer crystals that absorb several times their weight in water, then release the water over a period of several days. The evaporation of the water creates the cooling effect.

We were somewhat concerned that there would be little variation between the products, but to our surprise, we found a huge difference in the quality and effectiveness of the various brands. The products we liked best “plumped up” quickly, evaporated slowly, were made of durable materials, and appealed to our test dogs.

Keeping your dog cool may not be much of a challenge when you’re at home, but what about at dog shows, when he must be crated in warm weather, or on car rides? In a stifling environment, these products could make all the differencefor your dog.

Please note that all of these pads release moisture from underneath. Indoors, they must be placed on a waterproof surface.

Click here to view “Keep Hot Dogs Cool This Summer”

-By Pat Miller

Teaching Fetch and The Best Fetch Toys

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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0

There is no such thing as the one best fetch toy. The best fetch object is something that your dog really likes. So when WDJ asked me to review fetch toys, I was at a little bit of a loss. For one thing, if you walk into a large pet supply store or look in a catalog there are a bazillion choices – from various flying discs to flavored tennis balls to bumpers to squeaky toys. There’s no way I could review them all. For another, my test dogs’ favorite fetch toys may well be very different from your dog’s favorite fetch toy.

What I could (and did) do, however, is test a sampling of toys, point out the pros and cons of each, and tell you how I evaluated them. The most important points to consider are safety, durability, attractiveness to the dog, suitability for your environment, aerodynamics, and cost.

In general, heavy toys such as solid rubber or plastic bumpers (dummies), should only be used for structured retrieves where the dog sits (or downs) and stays while you throw, and then is given the cue to “Fetch.” Otherwise you may risk causing broken bones, bruises, cracked teeth or concussion! Other, lighter plastic fetch toys such as the ubiquitous FrisbeeTM are easily shredded and can lacerate your dog’s mouth with the resulting sharp edges, or cause intestinal problems if she swallows chunks of jagged plastic.

Also, please note that any activity you do with your dog that encourages her to fly through the air and land heavily on the ground inflicts wear and tear on joints and can contribute to arthritis problems later in her life. To minimize this risk, play on soft surfaces rather than hard ground or pavement, and do plenty of long, flat throws, not just spectacular aerial ones.

Fetch toys should be reserved for retrieve only; most are not sturdy enough to survive the abuse they would receive as chew toys. Your dog will be more interested in playing fetch if you reserve one special set of toys for retrieving games only. While the most durable fetch items may stand up to chewing, constant gnawing on hard objects can damage your dog’s teeth. Even tennis balls can wear down your dog’s teeth over time! Chew toys are for chewing – fetch toys are for fetching.

Because fetch item preference is a highly personal (dogonal?) choice, our favorite fetch toys may be entirely different from yours, but our experience should help you know what to look for when choosing fetch toys for your own dog.

-By Pat Miller

Colitis: An Urgent Problem

By
Nancy Kerns
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10
Colitis in dogs

Our six-year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Killian, was recently diagnosed with colitis. I am so worried about my sweet 110-pound puppy dog. Could you please give us information on treating colitis in dogs?

We addressed this question to Dr. Russell Swift, a veterinarian from Tamarac, Florida. Dr. Swift utilizes homeopathy and herbs in his practice, and takes a special interest in nutrition and formulation of nutritional supplements.

Conventional medical practitioners use the word colitis to indicate inflammation of the colon (the large intestine), as opposed to inflammation of the small intestine or the stomach.

One of the large intestine’s most important roles is to absorb water. If the colon is not functioning properly, a lot of water is left in the stool; that’s diarrhea. There are many different types of diarrhea, and, unpleasant as it may be to contemplate, the characteristics of the diarrhea help us identify which part of the dog’s digestive system is not working properly.

An individual with inflammation of the colon would have frequent diarrhea, with the dog experiencing great urgency to defecate; he may have difficulty “holding it in.” In contrast, a dog with irritation of the small intestine usually produces diarrhea that is not as frequent and is more easily held in and controlled. Very frequent diarrhea and accidents in the house usually indicate large intestine irritation.

The other big difference between colitis and irritation of the small intestine is that, since most of the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs before the food gets to the colon, few dogs with colitis suffer weight loss; they have absorbed most of the nutrients already in the small intestine.

Dogs with colitis are often treated for colitis pharmaceutically, with drugs that will stop the diarrhea. But anything that is solely designed to stop the diarrhea is just suppressing a symptom. Most people feel that if the diarrhea goes away, the problem is solved. But the problem is NOT solved; the dog simply no longer has the ability to express its health problem in that way. The question that must be asked is, “Why does the dog have diarrhea?” It’s important to recognize that you can also palliate or mask symptoms without drugs. If you add psyllium or a lot of high-fiber carbohydrates into the food, you may be able to stop the diarrhea. But by suppressing or palliating symptoms – even with “natural” remedies – over a long period, the underlying condition will likely get worse and the dog may develop far more serious symptoms later in life. If you must give the dog something that is really not a natural component of a dog’s diet in order to keep the bowel function properly, you’re just masking. Use of psyllium or marshmallow root for a short time (to give the dog temporary relief) can be useful as long as you keep this in mind.

Colitis can be caused by nutritional deficiencies or it may be a symptom of underlying chronic disease. I usually use a three-step approach to treating a dog with colitis.

Usually, the first thing I recommend for a dog with chronic colitis is to eliminate any external toxins on his body and in his environment: flea sprays, flea dips, carpet cleaning chemicals, ant sprays, etc. Also, if the dog is taking any medications, I’d like to look at the possibility that some of them can be reduced or eliminated, depending on the medication. Of course, this has to be done with proper guidance and supervision of an experienced veterinarian who understands what you are trying to do; not all veterinarians will!

Next, I look for nutritional deficiencies. Diet is the most important factor you can address. If you have an individual that is essentially healthy and you give him the wrong food, it’s like taking a car with an engine that’s in perfectly good shape and putting in the wrong fuel; it will develop symptoms of something not functioning properly. On the other hand, if there is something wrong with the engine AND you’re putting in the wrong fuel, you’ll see all kinds of problems that may well confound diagnosis. Say you’ve got a problem with the electrical system and you’ve got the wrong fuel. When you add the right fuel, the problems will shift so that you can detect and address the symptoms of the chronic problem – the electrical system.

The diet that I recommend for most dogs, but especially for dogs with colitis, would be a raw food, carbohydrate-free (personally, I do not use grains in my dog food recipe) diet, supplemented adequately with probiotic bacteria and digestive enzymes. (See Dr. Swift’s recipe for a homemade diet, above.) If the diarrhea was mild, I would try that for four to six weeks. If the diarrhea was very severe, you should consult a holistic veterinarian. If the symptoms do not improve significantly with the diet changes, it is an indication that the dog has an underlying imbalance. I would recommend classical homeopathy in an effort to find a remedy that would get to the deeper problem – whether it’s a vaccine-related problem, an emotional problem, an inherited tendency, or anything else.

Don’t dismiss the notion that an emotional problem could be contributing to the colitis. The digestive tract can indicate how well an individual is “digesting” life in an emotional sense. In this model, the colon has to do with getting rid of emotional waste. I’ve seen some cases in which an emotional issue seemed to be contributing to the dog’s colitis, and in most cases, this was treated successfully with a classical homeopathic approach.

Preventing Hot Spots

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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6

[Updated January 30, 2019]

Upon waking up one morning many years ago, I greeted Mandy, my six-year-old tri-color Collie, who slept beside my bed. As I leaned over to stroke her luxurious black coat, I gasped. There was an angry, oozing sore the size of a grapefruit on the outside of her right hind leg. It was cherry red, inflamed, and looked incredibly painful. I was horrified. I worked at a humane society at the time. This looked like the kind of wound we would investigate an irresponsible owner for, for not providing proper care and attention! I was sure it hadn’t been there the night before. What had happened to my dog? I rushed her to my veterinarian.

Mandy had a “hot spot,” due to, according to my vet, a flea allergy. I felt terrible. I was a bad dog owner. Even when my veterinarian assured me that it didn’t mean Mandy was infested with fleas, that a single flea can trigger an allergic reaction in a flea-sensitive dog, I still felt like I had somehow neglected her.

We treated the wound, it healed without complication, I tried to improve my flea-control methods, and Mandy never had a recurrence of the ugly condition. We were lucky. It’s not always so easy to win the hot-spot battle.

westie with hot spot

What is a Hot Spot?

A hot spot, according to Terry G. Spencer, DVM, of the Animal Health Center in Salinas, California, is known formally as “acute moist pyoderma,” and is a signal of an underlying skin disorder. The most common disorder is a flea allergy, but hot spots are also linked to other conditions such as food allergies, poor nutrition, and thyroid disease.

Acute moist pyoderma is caused by the microorganism Staphylococcus intermedius. The organism is commonly found on the skin, and opportunistically takes advantage when the integrity of the skin is compromised by some underlying disorder. The skin is an organ whose vitally important function is to form a protective covering for the rest of the body, preventing the entry of foreign organisms that can infect and destroy the other organ systems. It’s our dog’s primary armor against any kind of bad bug. (And ours!)

When the staph. organism invades the skin at a weakened point (such as a flea bite in an allergic dog) it produces endotoxins that are destructive to skin cells. The body’s immune system kicks into high gear, sending an army of mast cells, histamines and other defensive bodies to the site of the hot spot. As the ensuing battle rages, the damage spreads, killing and consuming the skin in the process. The red angry appearance of a hot spot is not simply a sign of irritated skin. The skin is actually gone.

“A hot spot is a critical medical emergency similar to the skin loss of a burn victim,” says Dr. Spencer. “It can occur within a few hours, is intensely itchy and painful, and can progress to life-threatening if not treated. I have seen lesions grow from the size of a quarter to baseball-size within hours, and I have seen dogs with their entire sides sloughed away by this condition.”

Dr. Spencer received her degree in veterinary medicine from Colorado State University in 1995, and worked at several California veterinary clinics prior to opening her Animal Health Center in 1998. She utilizes veterinary orthopedic manipulation, works closely with a human chiropractor who is certified in veterinary chiropractic, and is in training to receive her veterinary acupuncture certificate. She routinely integrates complementary modalities into her treatment protocols and is a firm believer in the holistic approach to veterinary care. Despite her strong interest and belief in complementary medicines, she treats hot spots traditionally because of the severity of the condition. Once the crisis is resolved she then uses a more natural approach to prevent further hot spots.

Traditional Treatment for Hot Spots on Dogs

The standard veterinary treatment, according to Dr. Spencer, starts with clipping the hair around the affected area. The staph. organism is characterized by an oozing serum that congeals and mats the surrounding fur. Clipping makes it easier to treat the wound and keep it clean. Then the area is scrubbed with a disinfectant.

“It is important,” she cautions, “to use a disinfectant that is antiseptic (to kill the staph. and any other invading organism) but not caustic. I usually sedate the dog for this procedure because the hot spot is so intensely painful. Then I scrub with Chlorhexaderm or Betadine. Products like alcohol and peroxide must be avoided at all costs – they are extremely painful to an already excruciating wound, and peroxide will cause even more damage to the skin.”

After scrubbing the area, Dr. Spencer recommends application of a topical antiseptic steroid spray such as Dermacool or Gentocin.

“It is critically important to halt the progression of damage as quickly as possible,” she says. “Until we kill the staph. organisms and calm the hyper-reacting immune system the skin will continue to be eaten away. You can use a more natural approach with an oatmeal spray, but you run the risk of letting the infection get out of control. I prefer to use emergency measures to halt the damage. Then I’ll talk to the client about how to improve the overall health of the dog holistically in order to minimize the chance of recurrence.”

The Cortisone Controversy

There is no question that steroids can do nasty things to our canine friends. Dogs are very sensitive to steroids. The powerful drug suppresses the immune system, which leaves the patient vulnerable to other problems that run the continuum from mild to serious – from a simple bladder infection to the potential for onset of diabetes.

Use of steroids can also be damaging to the adrenal system. Adrenal glands secrete steroids, and when these are administered medically it sends a signal to the adrenal glands to stop production. This can sometimes totally shut down the body’s production of steroids. Steroids also cause our dogs to pant more, drink more, urinate and eat more, and can cause subsequent problems with incontinence and weight gain.

Dr. Spencer thinks steroids are a good thing to avoid unless they are absolutely necessary. In her opinion, hot spots make the use of steroids absolutely necessary.

“I do use steroids topically for hot spots, and I may give one injection of a short-acting steroid for stubborn cases, but,” she adds, “I don’t give oral steroids. If an owner doesn’t give all the pills and keeps them in the cupboard, she may be too tempted to pop a few into her dog’s mouth the next time he’s a little itchy. This is a good way to get into trouble with steroids.”

Other holistic practitioners we queried were less enthusiastic – and even rather condemning – about even sparing use of steroids for hot spots. Steroids do effect quick healing, but at a cost; they act in a suppressive manner, rather than supporting the body’s homeostasis, or natural return to balance.

Holistic Hot Spot Prevention

Once she has resolved the emergency through aggressive intervention, Dr. Spencer reverts to her holistic bias.

“The hot spot is just a symptom of an greater, underlying problem,” she reiterates. “Flea hypersensitivity is the most common cause, but there are others. Contact dermatitis can cause the condition. For example, people think tea tree oil is good for skin problems, but some dogs are highly allergic to it. I have seen a number of hot spots caused by contact with strong concentrations of tea tree oil. Also cedar allergies – many dogs are allergic to the cedar chips that are contained in some dog beds. Generalized allergies – food, pollens, anything that compromises the skin and the immune system – can provide the environment for the staph. organism to take hold. The constantly ‘itchy dog’ is the most likely victim for recurring hot spots.”

Dr. Spencer’s answers to the prevention question are simple: Use good flea control. Provide excellent nutrition. Identify allergens and reduce exposure. Maintain good grooming practices. Look for (and treat) signs of anything that might be suppressing the immune system, such as low thyroid. Do everything you would otherwise do to keep your dog in the peak of health. Healthy dogs are not likely to suffer from hot spots.

Flea sensitivity truly is the number one cause of hot spots. Regular flea combing, vacuuming, diatomaceous earth and nematodes are just some of the non-toxic, natural methods available for controlling those pesky bloodsuckers that can send out an open invitation for a staph. invasion.

Good nutrition not only aids in effective flea control, it also strengthens the body’s immune system, reducing the likelihood of allergy problems. The Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids, given in the proper ratio (5:1), have been shown to fight inflammation and to help promote healthy skin. Speaking of healthy skin and coat, keeping your dog well-groomed – no oily, dirty skin – will also help stave off the staph.

Overvaccination is now suspect in canine skin allergies as well, so you might want to talk to your veterinarian about revisiting your dog’s vaccine schedule with an eye toward reducing the number of booster shots she gets. And, just like it does for us, exercise contributes to our dogs’ overall good heath and condition. If your pooch is a couch potato, it might behoove both of you to add a 20 to 30-minute aerobic hike up the hill to your daily routine.

The holistic philosophy says that organisms function as complete units that cannot be reduced to the sum of their parts. If your dog gets a hot spot, by all means treat the “part,” but then be sure to look beyond the immediate emergency to find the source of the problem. With hot spots, as with so many other health issues, if the complete unit is healthy it follows that the parts will also be healthy.

Holistic Help For Hot Spots

Some skin problems are caused by specific deficiencies including vitamins A, E, C, or zinc. For any dog with skin problems, we suggest using a daily multiple vitamin and mineral supplement, and additional vitamin C.

A thorough but simple discussion of how food allergies can trigger hot spots can be found in Dr. Donald R. Strombeck’s 1999 book, Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, along with a number of Dr. Strombeck’s suggested diets for allergic dogs.

Grapefruit seed extract, found in most health food stores, is an effective antibacterial agent. Dilute the 33 percent extract in five to six parts water and spray directly on hot spots. The unpleasant taste of grapefruit seed extract is helpful to discourage a dog from further licking and chewing of the hot spot.

Diluted half and half with water, apple cider vinegar can be sprayed on hot spots and the surrounding area to discourage bacteria growth, soothe the skin, and repel fleas and ticks.

In her book, The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, herbal expert CJ Puotinen recommends making a 15 percent solution of tea tree oil for use on hot spots as an all-purpose disinfectant.

 

tcm for dogs

Puotinen recommends thoroughly mixing two tablespoons of tea tree oil with four tablespoons of 80-proof vodka, vegetable glycerin, or sulfated castor oil, and then adding either pure water, pure aloe vera juice, or comfrey or calendula tea to make a total of 3/4 cup of solution. This 15 percent tea tree oil solution can be sprayed on a hot spot, and also used on any surface where a safe disinfectant is needed.

Also, because some dogs have displayed sensitivity to tea tree oil, you should apply only a very small amount of this diluted formula the very first time you use it. Wait at least three to four hours before applying more, and discontinue use if the hot spot worsens.However, in our experience, most problems with tea tree oil are due to use of full-strength preparations.

Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) would explain that hot spots are areas of “stagnant heat” that have risen to the surface of the body. In her book, Four Paws, Five Directions, veterinarian and TCM practitioner Dr. Cheryl Schwartz, of San Francisco, California, suggests using acupressure to clear the heat and dampness of hot spots and encourage circulation. Specifically, Dr. Schwartz suggests using acupressure behind the ears at Gall Bladder 20, or in front of the shoulders at Governing Vessel 14, Large Intestine 11 at the elbows, and Urinary Bladder 40 behind the knees.

To find the acupressure points shown here, palpate the area indicated. If you go slowly and don’t push too hard, you’ll find soft or hollow areas or areas where your fingers just want to stop; this is an acupressure point.

Once you locate an acupressure point, hold the flat pads of your fingers on the general area and press down slowly. Once you find a depth of pressure your dog is completely comfortable with, remain still for 30 to 60 seconds to allow him to adjust to your touch. Then begin to move the skin and tissues below the surface around in slow, deep circles.

Plant your fingers as you circle; do not slide over the hair. If your dog holds his breath, fusses, or moves away from you, reduce your pressure and just hold gently on the point. Resume the circles once he relaxes. Massage the point for one to three minutes, alternating between simply holding the steady pressure and circling.

Reduced Vaccination Schedule

By
Nancy Kerns
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In the August 1999 issue, we published an article on the trend toward reduced vaccination schedules. We also published a chart that compared one sample of a more traditional vaccination schedule with a reduced schedule designed by holistic veterinarian and leading veterinary immunologist W. Jean Dodds. Due to an error in layout, the reduced schedule appeared to recommend as many as, rather than far fewer, vaccinations than the traditional schedule. We are printing the correct version of this schedule to clarify Dr. Dodds’ schedule.

Also, please note that the traditional vaccination schedule is somewhat more minimal than those used by some veterinarians. There are still veterinarians who suggest administering the six-antigen DHLPPC vaccine (see below) every TWO weeks to puppies from the age of six weeks through the age of 16 weeks.

The following are Dr. Dodds’ comments on her suggested vaccination protocol:

This schedule is the one I recommend, and it should not be interpreted to mean that other protocols recommended by a veterinarian would be less satisfactory. It’s a matter of professional judgment and choice. The following protocol is particularly recommended for breeds or families of dogs susceptible to or affected with immune dysfunction, immune-mediated disease, immune-reactions associated with vaccinations, or autoimmune endocrine disease.

• An annual booster using distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, killed or modified-live virus parvovirus is given at one year of age. Thereafter, boosters are given every three years until old age. Beyond 10 years of age, booster vaccinations are generally not needed, and may be unwise if aging or other diseases are present. For animals at high exposure risk to parvovirus disease, an additional parvovirus vaccination can be given at the six-month point, if killed parvovirus is used. This extra booster is typically not needed if MLV parvovirus is used.

• I use only killed 3-year rabies vaccine for adults and give it separated from other vaccines by at least two and preferably three to four weeks. A booster at one year of age is usually required, followed by every three years thereafter.

• I do not use Bordetella, corona virus, leptospirosis, or Lyme vaccines unless these diseases are endemic in the local area or specific kennel. Furthermore, the currently licensed leptospira bacteria do not contain the serovars causing the majority of clinical leptospirosis today.

• I do not recommend vaccinating bitches during estrus, pregnancy, or lactation.

• I recommend that distemper-measles vaccine be given without hepatitis between six to eight weeks, because of the reported suppression of lymphocyte responsiveness induced by polyvalent canine distemper and adenovirus vaccines (Phillips et al., Can J Vet Res 1989; 53: 154-160).

• For animals previously experiencing adverse reactions or breeds at higher risk for such reactions (e.g. Weimaraner, Akita, American Eskimo, Great Dane), alternatives to booster vaccinations should be considered. These include avoiding boosters except rabies vaccine as required by law; annually measuring serum antibody titers against specific canine infectious agents such as distemper and parvovirus; and homeopathic nosodes.

Please note: This last option is considered an unconventional treatment that has not been scientifically proven to be efficacious. One controlled parvovirus nosode study did not adequately protect puppies under challenge conditions. However, data from Europe and clinical experience in North America support its use. If veterinarians choose to use homeopathic nosodes, their clients should be provided with an appropriate disclaimer and written informed consent should be obtained.

–By W. Jean Dodds, DVM

Is Your Dog Hiding a Talent?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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We always knew that Josie, our mixed-breed terrier, was an exceptional dog. We just didn’t realize how exceptional she was until the day Fred went missing.

Fred was a 14-inch, 15-pound, South American yellow-foot tortoise who lived in our yard along with his same-species companion, Barney. Every evening when I got home from my long work day at the Marin Humane Society, Josie would accompany me to the back yard as I collected the turtles and stashed them under the heat lamp in their basement pen for the night.

One summer evening I couldn’t find Fred. With Josie by my side, I looked in all his favorite hiding spots. He wasn’t hiding beneath the blackberry branches or tucked under any of the boards we had provided as hiding places. He wasn’t wedged under the deck stairs, or nestled behind the artichoke plant in the garden. I started to worry, and as I tend to do when I’m worried, I talked to Josie.

“Where’s the turtle, Josie?” I asked rhetorically – or so I thought – using the same question that I often posed as we rounded up the turtles each night.

Josie darted away from my side and stood next to the fence, wagging her tail. I thought nothing of it, and resumed my turtle search, to no avail. Several minutes later I paused again, and voiced the same question. Once again, Josie ran to the exact same spot in the fence, sniffed the ground and wagged her tail.

I may be slow, but I’m not stupid. This time I got Josie’s message. I walked over to where Josie was standing and looked. Sure enough, there was Fred. He had fallen in a crevice and was trapped between the chain link fence and a retaining wall. If not for Josie, he would have died there.

Lest you think this was an accident, Josie has since found missing turtles on numerous occasions, most notably when Jammer, our African hingeback tortoise, discovered a loose board on the fence and decided to explore the neighborhood. Josie tracked him straight to a neighbor’s yard and found him buried six feet deep in a lush patch of ivy. Recently, Josie’s turtle-finding talent was called into service every night for several weeks when weed-whacking fell to low priority on the chores list and the grass in the turtle yard grew waist-high. Using a terrier nose to find tortoises each evening was much more efficient than searching through the deep grass for them.

Untapped skills
All of our dogs are capable of far more than we ever ask of them. Their senses, especially their hearing and ability to smell, are so highly developed that they can perform feats that appear miraculous to us. Their physical abilities can cause us to gape in awe, as demonstrated by the prowess of highly-skilled Frisbee and Agility dogs. And they have all kinds of talents that, unless we look for them, we may never notice; hidden talents that reveal their versatility and breadth of their potential to think, reason and learn.

We asked members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) from around the country to tell us about their dogs’ hidden talents. The APDT promotes positive training methods which tend to encourage our dogs’ willingness to develop and demonstrate spontaneous behaviors. The following are some of their stories. We hope that they will inspire you to study your own dog for behaviors that could be channeled and encouraged for the purpose of helping and entertaining you and your friends and families.

A dog retriever
We all know dogs who can retrieve tennis balls, Frisbees, ducks, and even sheep, but a dog who retrieves other dogs? Barbara Esenberg, of Happy Tails Dog Training in Riverside, California, was working with a client’s Siberian Husky in a large (625 acres) fenced property. The exercise for the day was “Come,” and the Husky was having none of it. For a lark, Barbara told her own dog, Bandit, to “Go get her!”

Bandit took off like a shot, body-slammed the Husky, then ran back toward Esenberg. When the Husky didn’t follow, Bandit figured more extreme measures were called for. He ran back, grabbed the other dog’s neck and growled, then headed back toward Esenberg. This time the recalcitrant Husky came along. Esenberg says she has made use of this talent of Bandit’s on a number of occasions since, and Bandit has yet to fail to convince the other dog to return.

Will hunt for food
Every wild mushroom hunter knows that Chanterelles are one of nature’s true gifts in life. Betsy Cambareri of San Bruno, California, reports that her dad always searches for Chanterelles when he takes Maggie for hikes in the foothills. Maggie has caught on to the game, and on at least two occasions has found the luscious golden mushrooms and brought them to Dad without being asked. At a retail price of $15 to $20 per pound for this earthy delicacy, Maggie may have found herself a lucrative career akin to that of the truffle-hunting pigs in France!

Food is a powerful motivator. We take advantage of that fact in positive reinforcement training to get our dogs to offer behaviors that we can reward and thereby reinforce. Food sometimes reinforces behaviors of its own accord and without our blessing, whether we like it or not.

Carol Clark’s Border Collie, Duke, of Kansas City, Missouri, took the art of food hunting to a higher plane. (After all, Border Collies are over-achievers!) He learned how to open the refrigerator and help himself, and he even shared with his friends. One day Carol came home to find her Siberian Husky devouring a block of cheese in the living room, while Duke munched on the kitchen floor with a bottle of white wine and a bucket of Popeye’s chicken. Needless to say, Carol was motivated to find a way to shut Duke out of the food source, first with Bungee cords, finally with a Velcro strap.

Serious service dog
Wheelchair-wielding Debi Davis, of Tucson, Arizona, clicker-trains Papillons as her service dogs. She notes that the problem-solving ability of dogs trained with positive reinforcement, rather than through the use of force, is nothing short of astounding. One day, her wheelchair rolled away from her. Her service Papillon immediately tried to bring it back but a front wheel got stuck behind a table leg. His several attempts to unstick the wheel were unsuccessful. The creative little dog looked at Davis, sniffed the air, and caught a whiff of the garlic chicken treats in her bait bag.

Turning and facing the chair with renewed determination, he backed up ten feet, took a running jump, and landed in the seat of the chair, the weight of his small body effectively dislodging the wheel from the table leg. He proudly brought the chair the rest of the way to Davis and received his Click! and garlic chicken jackpot.

Bedside manners
Teoti Pulli, of Thoughtful Paws Dog Training in Lexington, Kentucky, is one of those “early to bed” people. One day her husband mentioned to her that it would be really nice if she would leave a light on for him, since he always came to bed later than she did. “But I do leave the light on!” she insisted. They proceeded to have one of those marital “discussions” that ends with no satisfying conclusion for either party.

The next night, just as Pulli was drifting off to sleep, she felt Merlin, her loyal Sheltie, rise from his sleeping spot at the foot of the bed. Peeking through half-closed eyelids, she watched him tiptoe over to hubby’s side of the bed and plant his black button-nose on the lamp. Since the bedside light was a “touch-on, touch-off” lamp, the light blinked off. With the pesky light no longer in his eyes, Merlin ambled back to the foot of the bed for a good night’s sleep.

Later, it was ridiculously easy to put this behavior on cue, so neither Pulli nor her husband has to so much as reach to turn the light on or off; they just ask Merlin to do it!

A different finish
Sometimes when we think we are teaching our dog one thing, we are actually teaching him something else entirely.

In obedience competitions there are two ways to get a dog to do a “finish” (where the dog goes back to heel position after sitting directly in front of you following a recall). For the first, known as “back” or “swing,” the dog goes to your left, makes a half-circle toward you and sits at your left side facing forward. For the second, known as “get around,” the dog goes to your right, circles behind you, comes up on your left side and sits, facing forward. Either one is allowed in the show ring. Small and athletic dogs are generally taught the left-hand finish, and may even execute it with a stylish leap and spin in mid-air. Some large dogs find the tight turn required for the left-hand finish to difficult, and are more frequently taught the right-hand finish.

Lynn Richards, of Manchester, New Hampshire, tells of spending months working diligently to teach her nine-month-old Great Dane to do the right hand finish, patiently luring him behind her with a treat, day after day after day. One day, fed up with his lack of progress, she just looked at him and said, “Apollo, Heel!” To her surprise he leaped in the air (all 140 pounds of him), spun, and did a perfect left-hand finish. Richards figures he must have been watching her other dogs do the “swing” finish all those months.

Puppy etiquette instructor
Mandy Book, of Oz Training in San Jose, California, adopted a puppy when her mixed breed female, Tonka, was two years old. Tonka, who never played with toys on her own, learned that if she squeaked a squeaky toy, the pup would run over to investigate and then play with the toy for a while, leaving all the human attention for Tonka!

Tonka also took it upon herself to teach food manners to every visiting pup. Tonka would stand in front of her food bowl and deliberately take out one piece of kibble and drop it on the floor. When the pup (naturally) went for it Tonka would promptly administer an effective canine correction. The visitors quickly learned to leave Tonka’s food alone.

Talents or troubles?
Some hidden talents are useful, like finding lost turtles, fetching other dogs, and retrieving stuck wheelchairs. Other talents, like raiding the refrigerator, are behaviors we could live without.

Every dog has hidden talents. Maybe your dog has already revealed his to you. If he hasn’t, start watching him more carefully. If you are observant, and encourage your dog’s creativity by rewarding spontaneous behaviors, you will discover what they are. Reinforce the behavior you find entertaining or helpful with a marker signal (a Click! of a clicker or an enthusiastic “Yes!”) and a treat. In time, perhaps you, too, could have Chanterelle mushrooms on your dinner table tonight!

Also With This Article
“More on Hidden Talents”

-By Pat Miller

Readers Add to Product Reviews

By
Nancy Kerns
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I am a (very happy) subscriber to your Journal and recently read an article you had prepared that reviewed water containers for dogs (WDJ May 1999). In this article you reviewed the Dog Canteen and the Handi-Drink. I own the dog canteen and have found it to have the same problems that you outlined (it leaks). The Handi-Drink sounds perfect since I need something like that to take on our walks (I have two Labradors).

I have searched in at least 10 dog supply catalogues and in my local pet stores and I cannot find the product. Nor could I find this company on the Web, or from Directory Assistance.

-Janine Hicks
via email

 

We apologize for the inconvenience. We had no trouble locating the product in our catalogs, but were completely unsuccessful in our own search for the company’s phone number before we went to press with the May issue. Macke Inc. can be reached at (877) 241-5300.

 

I have to tell you that your article on apple cider vinegar (WDJ May 1999) was excellent. I raise and show English Cockers, and one of the persistent problems we have with this breed is lip fold infections. Other English Cocker owners have used Listerine, antibiotic creams, and medicated powders (which I have also used). Although they seem to work for a while, the infections come back rather quickly. I always hate to use antibiotics unless there is no other way of fixing a problem, so I decided to try a 50-50 apple cider vinegar/water solution to clean the lip fold area.

First, my dog didn’t seem to mind the taste (she definitely “minds” the Listerene!). Second, the infection cleared up overnight! Now I give her mouth a regular “bathing” with apple cider vinegar just once a week. My other dogs also seem to like the taste so they every so often get a little in their water.

-Stephen Smith
via email

 

I just finished reading the section on “Reader’s Favorite Arthritis Supplements” in your May 1999 issue and was surprised that none of your readers mentioned “Fresh Factors.”

After trying several supplements (including human grade glucosamine) on our nine-year-old Lab/Shepherd mix with no success, my husband and I were really at a loss in deciding what we should do next. She had stopped running around the yard and climbing more than four stair steps is difficult for her. Although our vet advised that she is not seriously impaired and suggested some remedies, we want to delay any progression of the problem by using natural supplements.

A couple of months ago, I received a catalog from Springtime Inc. that provides natural supplements with information and testimonials from a multitude of horse and dog owners that have witnessed very positive results from the use of Fresh Factors. (They also make supplements for people).

After less than two months, she is running and playing with our younger dog and inviting my husband and me to play fetch with her. I can’t begin to tell you how pleased we are with the results so far.

Springtime Inc., of Cockeysville, Maryland can be contacted at (800) 521-3212 or (410) 771-8430.

-Shirley Douglas
Uniondale, NY

 

Editor’s note: A number of people have inquired about California Natural, the dog food used by the owner of the dog featured in our July Case History. California Natural, one of our 1999 “Top 10 Dry Dog Food” selections, is made by Natura Pet Products, Santa Clara, CA. To find a dealer near you, call (800) 532-7261.

However, please note that the dog’s seizures were also non-existent when he received a diet of Eukaneuba dog food, which is not one of our top 10 selections. The lesson the dog’s owner carried away from the experience is that if a dog is experiencing symptoms of poor health, improving the dog’s diet should be the owner’s first course of action.

Essential Fatty Acids For Increased Canine Health

By
Gregory L. Tilford
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[Updated December 3, 2018]

Most animal lovers know that dogs need high quality protein, fat, and a complete complement of vitamins and minerals in their diet to remain healthy. We know that the foods our canine companions eat should come from clean, wholesome sources, and that a good diet must be combined with ample exercise and a healthy living environment. But when planning a diet for a companion animal, many of us overlook some very important aspects of what constitutes complete nutrition for an animal. In fact, some important nutritional elements are omitted from the diets of millions of dogs, contributing to chronic disease and perhaps even premature death.

Selecting the proper type and quality of food for our dogs is just a start. We also must be assured that the foods we select actually contain the nutritional values that are needed, and that these values are delivered to the body in a form that can be readily absorbed and properly metabolized.

There are many factors that interfere with nutritional quality of pet foods. First, we must consider that many pet foods are comprised of ingredients that are of a much lower quality than humans demand, and lower quality foods are more difficult for an animal to digest and assimilate.

dog in the ocean

Second, we must consider that even the best brands of commercial pet foods (and many home-prepared diets) are prepared at high temperatures, meaning that many of the nutritional components they once contained are destroyed before they reach the food bowl. Third, we have to consider the effects of oxidation in commercially-prepared pet foods – especially kibble.

Many important nutritional components of dried kibble begin to degrade shortly after the food is manufactured, and often the food will sit in a warehouse for months before even reaching the retailer. Because of this, the discriminating animal guardian should never assume that everything on a pet food label still exists in the bag at the time of purchase.

Essential Fatty Acids Are Important to Dogs

At the top of the list of things commonly missing from the companion animal diet are essential fatty acids (EFAs). EFAs are fat-carried nutrients that every mammal needs to maintain healthy function and structure of smooth muscle organs (i.e. heart, reproductive system), to protect and build liver cells, and to maintain healthy skin, coat, and strong joint tissues. They have also been linked to retinal development and antioxidant activities, and they are responsible for the synthesis and modulation of various prostaglandins – chemicals that serve as mediators of various physiologic processes in the body. Most notably, prostaglandins act upon smooth muscle contractions of the heart and digestive tract, the initiation and regulation of inflammatory responses, and serve to inhibit excessive clotting of the blood.

In other words, if a body (animal or human) does not receive sufficient amounts of EFAs, critical body functions can be severely disrupted. Dogs and cats that are deficient of EFAs typically develop chronic skin and coat disorders, digestive problems, cardiovascular disease, degenerative eye disease, and allergies. Even animals who show no obvious signs of chronic disease will usually display dramatic benefits of an EFA-enriched diet very quickly. A shinier and softer coat, less shedding, healthier skin, fewer fleas, and better tolerance to flea bites and other allergens can be seen within just a few weeks of first feeding a top-quality EFA supplement. With all of this in mind, it’s easy to understand why EFAs should not be regarded as supplemental measures of nutrition, but as fundamental components of good health.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 for Dogs

Scientists categorize EFAs into two general groups. The first (alpha-linolenic acid) comprises the Omega-3 fatty acids, which are derived mostly from animal fats but also from flax seed oil (the richest source) and a few other vegetable oils. The second (linoleic acid) comprises Omega-6 fatty acids, which are available from many vegetable sources, most notably the seed oils of borage, evening primrose, and black current.

It’s just as important for the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFAs to be correct as it is for dogs to have them in their diets. A ratio of about 4-1 Omega-6 to Omega-3 is considered optimum for dogs. Many commercial dog foods contain EFAs in ratios of 20-1; ratios of 50-1 or more (often seen in foods that contain lots of corn, which contains high levels of Omega-6 EFAs) will result in an Omega-3 deficiency.

All sources of EFAs are very unstable, meaning they tend to oxidize and break down very quickly, and are destroyed by heat, light, and oxygen. This is where our pet food problem begins.

The cooking of food (or canned food sterilizing) destroys the critical EFAs our animals need, and exposure to air breaks them down and renders them useless very quickly. Fish oils (an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids) are the fastest to go rancid. The oxidation and subsequent EFA degradation of flax seed, borage seed, evening primrose seed, or black current seed oil occurs more slowly, but nevertheless, these oils cannot be expected to remain viable for more than a few months – especially if the oil is exposed to oxygen (which, in a bottled or powdered supplement, can happen every evening at the dog’s meal time).

EFA supplements are often provided in the form of a bottled oil mixture that is added to the dog’s food daily in small amounts. But in the few weeks or months it can take to use a bottle of oil, the EFA content will progressively diminish. By the time half of a four- to eight-ounce bottle is gone, we will only be able to guess how much essential fatty acid is actually left.

While they sound like a great idea, EFA-fortified commercial foods are not a reliable source of EFAs. Not only are most prepared with heat (which can destroy naturally-occurring EFAs), they are also subject to oxidation. Even vacuum-packaged dry foods contain oxygen within each kibble, and there is no way of telling how much EFA remains in the food at the time of purchase, much less after the substance sits in an opened bag for several days.

The bottom line is this: the only way you can assure that your canine companion is getting sufficient amounts of EFAs is to add an EFA supplement to your dog’s diet yourself, using a guaranteed-fresh source packaged in an oxygen-free container.

I personally like the Animal Essentials Essential Fatty Acid Supplement that is produced by Merritt Naturals. This formula provides a diverse and balanced complement of EFAs as well as additional nutritional factors that promote healthy blood and skin structure. Best of all, they have contained the oils in convenient, easy-to-open soft gel capsules that prohibit air from contacting the formula until the feeding time. This optimizes shelf life of the product and helps assure that your companion actually receives the essential fatty acids he needs.

EFA Requirements and Dog Dosages

No exact requirements of these supplements have been established as yet. Exactly how of much of each type of essential fatty acid a particular animal needs remains questionable, but most experts agree that dogs need a balance of both Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids in their diets. Some EFAs are synthesized within an animal’s body, while others must be derived exclusively from dietary sources. EFA requirements may also vary according to animal type. For example, dogs can produce arachidonic acid (an important EFA component) whereas cats cannot. Instead, cats must receive arachidonic acid directly from their diets. Animal fats, evening primrose oil, and borage seed oil are all good sources of arachidonic acid.

Because the dietary needs and metabolic rates of EFA absorption vary between the type of oil and the systemic variations of each individual animal, it is best to feed EFAs from a variety of fish and vegetable seed oil sources. A commonly accepted dosage is about 400-600 mg. of the combined oils, fed daily for each 20 pounds of a dog’s body weight (e.g., a 60-pound dog would require 1200-1800 mg.).

essential fatty acids for dogs

Gregory Tilford is an herbalist and co-owner of Animals Apawthecary, of Conner, Montana, a source of herbal supplements for dogs and cats. He is also founding president of the Natural Pet Products Association and author of several books on wild medicinal plants.

Holistic Help For Everything

By
Nancy Kerns
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I am new to alternative medicine for pets, and would like to share my experience so far. I have two dogs, a six-year-old Golden Retriever and an eight-year-old German Shepherd. Both have benefited from holistic care.

It started with Riker, my Golden Retriever. I got him as a rescue at eight weeks of age. He had kennel cough and almost didn’t survive. My allopathic vet helped me nurse him through it, and he has been healthy since. I trained him in obedience; Riker loves to work and will do anything to please.

I had his hips checked at age two before seriously jumping, and all checked out OK. I had never trained a dog for obedience before, so it was a new learning experience for both of us. We got our CD, then our CDX, and on to Utility. Riker is not your average Golden; he is extremely soft and would panic in the ring, especially on the exercises he had to work on his own across the ring.

We got through two of the three legs needed for the title before tragedy struck.

One day, after a grueling four-day show, I noticed when he stood up from lying on the floor, he would not use his right rear leg for several steps; it just dangled. After a few steps he was fine.

Nevertheless, I brought him to my regular vet. Her concern was that Riker might be about to burst a disk in his spine. She ran all sorts of tests: X-rays, thyroid, and a myleogram (an x-ray film taken after injection of a dye into the spinal cord). The tests revealed degenerative hip dysplasia.

The veterinarian said she had only two imperfect remedies: pain killers and surgery to replace at least one hip. She thought there was no possibility that Riker would ever compete again, and foresaw a life of pain and more degeneration for Riker.

Determined to find options
I started reading and researching. If we could never compete again, I knew there were at least alternatives to a life of pain and stiffness. I read up on nutrition and physical conditioning. I changed the diets of both my dogs, adding antioxidants, glucosamine, raw veggies, and raw meat. I started swimming Riker three days a week.

The breakthrough came when several friends recommended a local holistic veterinarian who had done wonders for their dogs. I called and Dr. Larry Bernstein came into our lives. He took a medical history and asked me what the traditional veterinarians told me could be done. He explained his ideas and treatment plan, including nutrition and acupuncture.

Dr. Bernstein also started an acupuncture treatment program and supplementation with Chinese medicinal herbs. He gave me some moxa sticks (cigar-like sticks that are made out of a slow-burning herb and held near the skin to warm the area and increase circulation, and are often used in conjunction with acupuncture) showed me how to give Riker a moxibustion treatment. Every night I give him 10-15 minutes of moxibustion on his back and hips.

Riker returns
I have to admit, the turn-around was not instantaneous, but with several treatments, swimming, and super nutrition, Riker was soon running and jumping the bushes out in front of my house to get the morning paper again.

After three months, I entered in one last show. It was a purely selfish thing, but I really wanted Riker to get that UD title. We practiced without any jumps, and then, a week before the show, I had him take two small jumps every other day during training.

When we entered the ring, he looked at me as if saying, “We can do this, Mom.” We were both cool, calm, and collected. And we did it! We not only qualified, but earned a score of 191 1/2 (out of 200). The house came down. All my friends who had been following our ordeal cheered, and there were a few wet eyes.

The kicker came the next day, when we qualified again. Our score wasn’t quite as good, but to qualify two days in a row in Utility was something we had never done before.

U-CD Commander Wm Riker, UD, WWCD, CGC and I are no longer competing. We play catch/fetch games, though, and do lots of swimming. We see Dr. Bernstein every six weeks for an acupuncture treatment, and it has made a world of difference in Riker. I now realize he was probably in pain for a long time, but he wouldn’t let me know.

Different problems, same solutions
My eight-year-old Shepherd Troi (U-CD Nirenberg’s Deana Troi, CDX, WWCD, CGC) has also benefited from Dr. Bernstein’s holistic methods. She always had skin problems; allergy tests showed she is allergic to everything except dust and cats! She was constantly on prednisone, and was overweight and lethargic. With the diet change, however, she lost weight, has a beautiful, soft coat, and acts like a puppy again.

A few weeks ago, one of my soft-sided crates fell and hit her back. She was in pain, but a good massage relieved the immediate cramping. I made an appointment to take her to see Dr. Bernstein.

She limped into Dr. Bernstein’s office, and he gave her an acupuncture treatment and a chiropractic adjustment. When she got up, she ran around in circles, no limp, no cramps, just joy! When he left the room, she sat at the baby gate separating the treatment room from the rest of the building, wagging her tail, going “Woof woof!’ in a “Come back, come back!” tone.

After three sessions, she is back to jumping on the couch all by herself, and herding Riker when he retrieves – all without any prednisone. She now gets a nightly moxa treatment; it is very relaxing and a bonding experience. Troi’s last health episode was a lump on her elbow. Both Dr. Bernstein and the allopathic vet recommended removing it, so she had surgery. Before and after surgery she got Chinese herbs to help with clotting.

Two weeks after surgery, her elbow suddenly swelled up – soft, mushy and tender. I took her to emergency care (it was a Saturday afternoon), and the vet on duty checked it out. He thought it was just joint swelling; he didn’t observe any pus or infection, but he said that if it didn’t go down, the surgeon might want to put in a drain.

The next day we had our regular appointment with Dr. Bernstein, and he used a therapeutic laser over the incision and swelling. He also have her a homeopathic remedy to help flush her system from the anesthesia and surgery. By evening, the swelling was 90 percent gone, and two days later, completely gone. The best news: the lump was benign.

Amazing alternatives
In less than a year I have been amazed at what natural holistic care can do. I’ve been using some of what I learned on myself and my husband, with great success! Recently I began researching my next dog – I’d like to get a Belgian Tervuren – and I found an email list of people who are raising Belgian Tervurens holistically. Hurray! I’m definitely looking forward to starting out with a healthy dog and keeping it healthy with good food and holistic care.

-By Cathy Nirenberg

WDJ reader Cathy Nirenberg lives in Hollywood, Florida.

Change of Dog Food Stops Seizures

By
Rona Distenfeld
-
37

On April Fool’s Day 1996, my soon-to-be-husband took me to get a puppy. We already had one dog, Ladybird, but she was getting older and we felt a young friend would encourage her to be more playful. We also hoped Ladybird would pass on some of her fine qualities to the puppy.

We drove out of town to a place where people play paintball. There were more than a dozen young dogs running around, and the owner told us to take our pick. One young female seemed to want my attention more than any of the others, and I fell in love with her pretty face. We took her home and named her Cheyenne.

We knew very little about Cheyenne’s lineage, but she appeared to be part Lab, with a little hound and quite a but of “who knows” thrown in. She was sweet, afraid of anything new, and very anxious to please. I took her to the veterinarian’s office for a complete checkup the next day and started her on vaccinations, flea pills, and heartworm pills.

Cheyenne seemed happy and healthy. Having been little better than a stray she had fleas and worms, but both conditions were quickly taken care of. The vet guessed she was about three to four months old. She quickly settled into our home and became part of the family.

Initial Problems

About three months after we adopted Cheyenne she had her first seizure. We had hardwood floors, and I heard her skittering across them. I went to see what she was up to and found her laying on the floor, absolutely rigid. Her toes were curled in, she was drooling uncontrollably, and only her eyes were moving.

Those eyes followed me as I approached and watched me in confusion and fear as I examined her and realized I couldn’t move any part of her. I immediately grasped what was happening, but was helpless to do anything except sit with her and stroke her head.

The incident lasted more than 15 minutes. Finally, she started to come out of it. Her tail started to wag, and she could move her head. It took a few more minutes for her to completely regain motor control over her legs, but once it was all over she seemed to be fine. She got up, drank some water, and went outside to play. It was as though nothing had happened.

I called the vet, of course. He advised me to keep an eye on her and see if it happened again before we took any corrective action.

Over the next year Cheyenne had a seizure every three to four months. She came to recognize the signs of an impending seizure and would do her best to get to a place she felt safe (either next to me or in her bed) while she could still move. Since I work at home, I was usually there and would sit with her, often putting her head in my lap, stroking her until it was over. That seemed to help her get through it with less fear, but each incident was terrifying to me.

The seizures continued to last 15 to 20 minutes, with total rigidity. Our vet examined her and we discussed possible causes and treatments. Labradors are often prone to seizures, and he suggested that we might put her on anti-seizure medication if they became more frequent. Their length concerned him, since most neurological reactions last just a few minutes, at most.

From Bad to Worse

In the early summer of 1998 Cheyenne had three seizure episodes just 10 days apart. She also started to convulse during the episodes, whereas before she had been completely rigid. My vet and I decided to do some very extensive and expensive blood work to try to diagnose her problem.

When the blood work results came back I was told she had a liver shunt. This meant that one of the veins that carry blood to her liver was “incomplete” or not properly connected. Depending on where the shunt was it might or might not be operable.

The next step would be to take her to Texas A&M where they have an excellent veterinary college and hospital. One of my friends was about to enter her second year of vet school there, and my husband and I decided to wait until the school year began so that Sue could keep an eye on Cheyenne during the week when we left her for testing. We also needed to save some money since the tests and surgery would cost a minimum of $1,500, if there were no complications. In the meantime, we watched Cheyenne carefully, hoping she’d hold her own until we could get her help.

Seizures + Hot Spots

As though the seizures weren’t bad enough, Cheyenne had also developed some bad “hot spots.” These were places she would lick continuously until they became red and raw. Ladybird was also licking herself, especially her paws, for hours at a time.

Our vet asked what we were feeding the dogs. I had started Cheyenne on Science Diet as a puppy, but Ladybird would eat all the puppy food while Cheyenne would eat the generic brand food my husband bought for Ladybird. By this time I had them both on Pedigree Lamb and Rice, which I thought was a good dry dog food.

The vet suggested we try giving them a Eukaneuba prescription formula for allergies. The food was expensive – $42 for a 35-pound bag – and they were going through two bags a month. It did help the “hot spots” clear up, however, and made their coats smoother and softer.

About a week after starting on the new food, Cheyenne had a seizure; happily, it seems to have been her last. Months went by, summer became fall, and still no seizure. We were definitely on to something with the food. I postponed the trip to A&M.

When I started them on the new food, I had also stopped giving the dogs commercial dog treats, like Milk Bones and Beggin’ Strips. After several months with no hot spots, the vet suggested I could reintroduce these treats, so I did.

Ladybird was thrilled to have her treats back. So was Cheyenne, but 24 hours after her first treats, she was licking brand-new “hot spots.” The treats went into the trash.

Following this last incident, I put all the pieces together; finally it was obvious to me that Cheyenne had a serious food allergy!

Food Switching

Toward the end of 1998, I subscribed to this publication. One of my first issues carried a review of better quality dry dog foods. One, California Natural, sounded like it was tailor made for my sensitive dog. With just four ingredients – all whole, real foods – it would be nutritious and digestible, with much less risk of setting off Cheyenne’s allergies.

I called the manufacturer and tracked down a distributor in my area. Now for the acid test – would my fussy dogs eat it?

They loved it. There was never a problem at meal time, yet I noticed that I filled their bowls less often (my dogs just eat when they’re hungry; if they’re not hungry they leave the food until they’re ready for it).

A 36-pound bag was about $35, slightly less expensive that the prescription food, but it lasted longer since my dogs ate less of it. Best of all, Cheyenne continued to be seizure-free, her coat had never felt better, and she had loads of energy.

Quality Food Benefits All Dogs

Meanwhile, Ladybird seems to be benefiting from the improved diet as well. She even slimmed down a bit, going from 81 pounds to 76 pounds, while showing more energy.

Ladybird is now 12 years old, and, prior to our food switch, was starting to have trouble getting up steps or even out of bed. She had been my husband’s dog for most of her life, during which time he gave her the most inexpensive dog foods because he thought all dog food was the same. I started giving her vitamin C, which definitely helped her feel better. With the introduction of the California Natural food, she is running and chasing rabbits with Cheyenne, and you’d never know that just two years ago she needed steroid shots to get around.

There is no doubt in my mind that changing Cheyenne’s diet put an end to her seizures and her hot spots. It save her from a surgery she didn’t need, and saved me a lot of angst and money.

California Natural also makes treats from the same ingredients as the dry food, and both my dogs love them. I still have to be very careful about giving Cheyenne anything else, however. Recently I started Ladybird on a supplement with glucosamine, yeast, biotin, bee pollen, and bovine cartilage to help her aging joints. I gave them to Cheyenne, too, and within a week she had “hot spots” again. It was probably the yeast that did it. So even “good” things may be bad for her. But now that I know how sensitive she is to what she eats, I can quickly alter her diet to keep her healthy.

Rona Distenfeld is a freelance writer from Florence, Texas. 

Identifying and Treating Bloat in Dogs Before It’s Too Late

By
Shawn Messonnier
-
14

Gastric dilatation-volvulus, or “bloat” for short, is a feared disease among many dog owners. I have worked as an emergency veterinarian and have observed first-hand the horrible effects of this condition on a number of my patients, and I can certainly attest to its devastating effects.

Knowing what bloat is, and learning to recognize its clinical signs early is important for all dog owners so you can ensure prompt treatment before simple bloat progresses to irreversible and fatal whole body shock. Certain dogs are more likely to become a victim of this horrible stomach disorder, so it helps to know what those breeds are in case your dog is one of the more statistically likely candidates for the illness. And finally, it also helps to know how it is treated, and whether there are any preventive measures that can be taken to keep your dog from ever becoming a victim of bloat.

What is Bloat in Dogs?

giant breeds prone to bloat

The technical term for bloat is gastric dilatation. Simply put, this means the stomach dilates and enlarges. The main constituent of this dilation is air, although food and water are usually present in the stomach as well. This makes bloat quite different from a simple case of over-eating, where the pet engorges on food and the stomach fills rapidly with the last meal eaten.

Why does the stomach fill rapidly with air? The main cause seems to be aerophagia, where the pet literally swallows a large amount of air. Most commonly this is from eating too quickly. Unfortunately, for some reason, the air is not passed into the intestines or belched back out the esophagus. No one knows what causes the stomach to retain air.

Another theory is that after eating, some pets swallow air as they exercise, causing the stomach to bloat. While many doctors advise clients not to allow their dogs to exercise immediately after eating, I do not know of any controlled studies that show conclusive proof that exercise restriction prevents bloat. In many of my patients there was no history of exercise immediately after eating that contributed to the bloating. And since wild dogs and their ancestors (wolves) may need to be on the move after a meal (although, given the chance they usually rest to digest their food and recover from the recent kill), I doubt that exercise is a major factor in bloating. Still, until evidence proves otherwise, many veterinarians discourage exercise for 30-60 minutes after eating.

One of the myths regarding bloat is that only large dogs can develop bloat. It is true that bloat is more commonly found in large and giant breed dogs and deep chested dogs, usually two to 10 years old. The most commonly affected dogs include Great Danes, German Shepherds, Saint Bernards, Labrador Retrievers, Irish Wolfhounds, Great Pyrenees, Boxers, Weimaraners, Old English Sheepdogs, Irsih Setters, Bloodhounds, and Standard Poodles. However, any dog can develop bloat.

Another myth involves feeding your dog from a raised bowl as a way to prevent bloat. Feeding from a raised bowl can be very helpful in some dogs with a disorder called megaesophagus (where the dog repeatedly vomits up his food because the food has difficulty passing into the stomach). However, I have not seen anything in the veterinary literature that confirms that a high feeding table can prevent bloat (although, as you’ll see, there are some things you can do to minimize the chance of your dog bloating).

Some owners feel that feeding only cereal-based foods will cause bloat, or that dogs eating raw diets will not bloat. It is true that cereal-based foods ferment more in the gastrointestinal tract, which can cause excess gas, but this occurs further along in the intestinal tract (mainly the large intestine.) The only thing I have seen repeatedly suggested in the literature is that excess calcium in the diet, and excess air being ingested with the diet, may contribute to bloating in some dogs. Dogs can develop bloat no matter what diet is fed.

Bloating is a Life-Threatening Condition

Regardless of the actual cause, bloating in dogs is one of the few true emergencies in veterinary medicine. Dogs can and do die if not treated promptly. As I’ve mentioned, with bloat the stomach fills with air that it cannot expel. The bloated stomach compresses blood vessels in the stomach wall and abdominal cavity, causing hypovolemic shock. In severe cases, this bloated stomach can actually twist on its longitudinal axis. This twisting or torsion is called volvulus. As the stomach twists, it may pull the spleen with it, causing torsion of the spleen. If not treated promptly, both the spleen and stomach will die as the twisting cuts off the blood supply to these organs. Treatment involves decompression of the air-filled stomach and surgery to reposition the stomach if rotation occurs.

In an emergency case of bloat, pressure may be quickly relieved by inserting a large gauge needle (14-18 gauge) through the skin and right into the bloated stomach. This is only temporary treatment, but it does buy time and give the dog quite a bit of relief. After this temporary needle decompression, the dog is lightly anesthetized with an intravenous anesthetic (due to the shocky condition of most patients, less than half of a normal dose of anesthetic is usually all that is necessary to cause anesthesia).

Then two tubes are passed into the dog’s mouth: one goes into the trachea (windpipe) and one goes down the esophagus into the stomach. The stomach tube will be used to “pump the stomach,” removing food, water, and any remaining air. The tracheal tube is used to protect the airway so that no food or water accidentally enters the lungs. Other conventional therapies that may be used include IV fluids and corticosteroids (for shock) and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. Homeopathic therapies such as Arnica can be used in the post-operative period to assist healing, and acupuncture can be used for pain control.

Surgery for Bloated Dogs

Dogs with volvulus will require surgery. Surgery has two objectives: to assess the damage done to the stomach, spleen, and other organs, and to reposition the stomach into the proper position. Stomachs that sustain severe damage cannot be repaired, and these patients must be euthanized. Stomachs with mild damage can usually heal after repositioning. Veterinarians hope that the surgery prevents future occurrences, as well.

The techniques to reposition the stomach is called a gastropexy, and involves literally sewing the stomach to some part of the body. Most commonly a circumcostal gastropexy is performed. In this technique, the stomach is sewn to the rib cage. The surgery is quite effective in preventing future episodes of volvulus, but no surgery can prevent bloating.

Owners of larger breed dogs (who might be prone to bloat and volvulus) have asked me about the feasibility of performing a gastropexy to prevent any episodes of bloating. I advise against this for several reasons:

• We can’t prevent bloat with this surgery, only the torsion (volvulus) that can accompany episodes of bloat.

• While nothing is guaranteed, following certain prevention tips can help reduce the incidence of bloat.

• I prefer not to subject pets to the inherent risk of unnecessary surgeries.

• I have seen no evidence that this prophylactic approach is worthwhile since gastric dilatation volvulus may never occur in any given pet.

If you are considering such a prophylactic surgery, I would advise you to talk with your veterinarian and carefully consider all options first.

Preventing Dogs from Bloat

This is one of those conditions where prevention is much preferred to treatment. While there is no 100 percent effective prevention, here are the guidelines I use in my practice.

• Avoid feeding your dog too much calcium. Many supplements contain calcium. If you are feeding your dog more than one type of supplement, check the labels carefully and “do the math” the determine how much calcium he receives from his diet and supplements.

• Feed small, frequent meals (2-4 meals per day). It’s a hassle, but the payoff is worth it. (There are some trainers who never feed their dogs out of a bowl, but who feed their dog its food as rewards for doing certain requested behaviors!)

• For dogs who tend to gulp their food, try placing large bricks or rocks in the food bowl. This forces the dog to eat around these obstacles, and slows the eating. Also check out these tips to slow down a fast eater from Dogster.

• No exercise for 30-60 minutes after a meal, and nothing hard (no hard running or playing.)

Because bloat is a true emergency, I encourage owners to be prepared at home. Ask your doctor for several large gauge needles to add to your first aid kit, and have the doctor show you how to properly perform needle decompression. This technique could save your pet’s life!

Dr. Shawn Messonnier is a holistic veterinarian in Plano, Texas.

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