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Toxins That Can Arise in Dry Dog Food

By
Nancy Kerns
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8

[Updated June 26, 2017]

For those of you just coming on board: In the July 2000 issue, we published an article called “Hidden Killer in Dog Food.” The article was inspired by a “case history” we received from a reader who had been through a harrowing experience with her dog. It took the reader several months – and a small fortune – to determine that the sudden onset of very strange and serious neurological problems with her dog was caused by a naturally occurring toxin in her dog’s food.

As we stated in that article, a number of toxins can arise in dry dog food during its production, storage, and transportation. Most of the toxins are produced by various molds that grow in the food, or in certain ingredients of the food, and are referred to generally as “mycotoxins.”

Some mycotoxins are highly dangerous to dogs; “aflatoxin,” the substance that made our reader’s dog ill, is one of these. Aflatoxin generally causes neurological problems in its victims, and it can kill dogs (and it has), though some dogs are more sensitive to the substance than others. It should be noted that aflatoxin is already present in the raw foodstuffs before they are made into food; dog food manufacturers generally test for the presence of aflatoxin in the foodstuffs they receive prior to making them into food.

“Vomitoxin” is another, more common mycotoxin. As the name suggests, it tends to cause digestive disturbances, and while it can kill vulnerable individuals, it usually only makes them sick for a short period of time following consumption.

Neither of these mycotoxins are necessarily visible or easily detected by smelling the food.

Visible Mold is Another Matter

Recently, we’ve had the unfortunate opportunity to learn that there are other molds that can grow on dog foods without being toxic. We say “unfortunate” because just as our article about mold and mycotoxins was being read by thousands of subscribers, a mold problem had raised its ugly head in the products made and marketed by at least two dog food companies: Natura Pet Products and Natural Balance. We heard the names of a few other foods as well, from one person apiece, which would seem to confirm what we stated in the July article: Under the “right” conditions, any dry dog food can mold, whether it is naturally or artificially preserved.

We need to stress this: Just because a food is moldy, doesn’t mean it contains mycotoxins or is toxic. However, ingesting the moldy food can cause temporary stomach upset in some dogs; other dogs seem to handle it without incident. Certain dogs who are allergic to molds may have an allergic response. But these responses are nowhere near as dramatic or dangerous as a brush with mycotoxins like aflatoxin or vomitoxin.

Prevent Mycotoxin Poisoning AND Problems with Mold

We’ve updated the following list of recommendations concerning dry dog food, mold, and mycotoxins:

• Check the date of manufacture on the food you buy. Try to buy foods that are as fresh as possible.

• If you discover mold on the food you buy, return the remaining product to the store where you bought it and ask for a replacement. If the store management is unwilling to replace your food, contact the food maker. They will undoubtedly wish to make things right and replace the food.

• Purchase smaller bags of food so you don’t have to store it for long.

• Keep your dog’s food in a dry place with a cool, stable temperature. Temperature swings from hot to cold can cause moisture to develop in a food bag or plastic tub. Moisture, especially in combination with heat, can trigger the growth of molds, and toxins may develop in the food.

• Experts suggest that you do NOT dump dry food out of the bag into a plastic container, as moisture and mold can accumulate on the plastic over time. And old kibble on the bottom of the barrel is more likely to mold and infect the newer food.

• Never feed your dog food that has gotten moldy or smells “off.” Never pressure your dog to eat food that he refuses, especially if he vomits after eating some of it.

• If your dog develops strange behaviors or signs of illness soon after eating – or shortly after you start feeding him from a new bag of food – immediately discontinue feeding him that food. Return the food to the store where you purchased it.

Inquiries About Foods

But we had dozens of reports about Natura’s Innova and California Natural, and a few reports about Natural Balance’s Ultra Premium food – all three of which, not incidently, we have included on our past lists of “Top 10 Dry Dog Foods.” All over the country, dog owners were ripping open bags of these foods, and discovering kibble that was covered with a powdery whitish or greenish mold. Some of these people were terrified by the fact that in their bags, the mold was not discovered until they were halfway into the bags; their dogs had eaten some of the moldy food. Suddenly we were getting inundated with calls and letters regarding these moldy foods: Were they dangerous?

Natural Balance Responds

We turned to the companies themselves. We had an immediate response from Frank Coch, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Natural Balance, who flatly stated that yes, indeed, they had some problems with mold on their food in May and June.

Coch stated that the problem originated at the plant that made the food, and was caused by an overly high moisture content in some of the food. When the moisture in a dry food exceeds 10 percent, he told us, mold can develop on the food in the bag, especially in warm weather conditions. “It can – and does – happen to any and every food occasionally,” Coch said.

Coch also stated that their tests indicated that the mold was not toxic, but it was unpalatable and unattractive cosmetically.

“What have you done about the problem?” we wanted to know. Coch stated that, fortunately, they had discovered the problem fairly early on, and had been able to isolate the problem to certain production runs and to pull most of the affected bags off the shelves before too many consumers had taken the food home. People who did purchase the moldy food were encouraged to return it for a new bag of food.

Most importantly, Coch said, Natural Balance had moved production of the food to a new manufacturing plant in another state. “We’re selling a high quality natural product, and if the manufacturer can’t do it right, we have to find someone who will,” he said.

We asked Coch whether this was a difficult decision to make; surely there were financial repercussions of such a move? “In that particular matter,” Coch responded, “we had to do the fastest thing possible, and that was to get the food into proper production so it didn’t happen again. The financial side of it we’ll address later.”

Our next question prompted an unexpected level of candor. “How is it,” we asked, “that you had the instinct to deal with this so quickly and with such force?” Coch responded, “Well, let’s see. About four or five years ago, when I was a vice president at Nature’s Recipe, we had a $20 million recall due to a problem with vomitoxin. That was probably the most serious recall I’ve ever seen in the pet food business – and I guess it taught me a few things.”

According to Coch, the problem with Nature’s Recipe bloomed into a bigger problem than it should have, as the company investigated the cause and extent of the problem, and, Coch says, released several different versions of the event to those who inquired. Coch admitted that it looked bad, even though it was not meant as a cover-up or a denial. “We thought at first that it was an isolated problem, and that we had it taken care of. And then it turns out that it was a global problem. We thought we had the problem solved, and then came to find out that, ‘Oh, guess what guys? It wasn’t just that run; it was the last 50 runs.’ It was a nightmare.”

While Natural Balance is not nearly as big as Nature’s Recipe was at the time of the vomitoxin incident (it has since been acquired by Heinz), and while the scale and seriousness of the current mold incident is not nearly as extensive, Coch says it’s just as unacceptable. “We (Natural Balance) are making a top quality food, and we want it to be the healthiest food possible. We ascertained that the plant that was making the food for us didn’t have the capability of correcting the problem, so we pulled out of there,” he says.

Natura’s Response…

At our request, Natura sent us a statement in response to our questions about the incidents of mold in their Innova and California Natural foods, and indicated their willingness to answer more of our questions. Unfortunately, this communication occurred on the very eve of publication. We hope to include their answers to our follow-up questions in the next issue.

We have some concerns, since we have learned that at the time of the mold incident, Natura’s foods and those made by Natural Balance were being made by the same manufacturing plant in New York. The powers-that-be at Natural Balance decided that the manufacturer could not remedy the problem to their satisfaction. We are eager to learn how (or if) that manufacturer satisfied the powers-that-be at Natura that the moisture problem was resolved.

Hidden Killers in Dog Food

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

I own a beautiful German Shepherd named Xeus. He comes from very well-known, healthy, wonderful lines. Xeus is sound, has personality galore and a wonderful temperament – he’s just an all-around great German Shepherd. One Saturday in late June 1999, a really nice, hot summer day, my entire family was hanging out in our back yard, enjoying our pool, as we watched Xeus enjoy his kiddie pool. All of a sudden, Xeus jumped out of his wading pool and made a bee-line for the house. I watched him go in, thinking he was just looking for another toy to bring out, but he didn’t come back out. After a minute or two I went in to see what he was doing, and I found him hiding in a corner of the bathroom, shaking like a leaf. I immediately assumed he had gotten stung by a bee, because chasing and eating bees is one of his favorite hobbies. I checked him over, but found nothing.

I tried to coax Xeus into coming back outside but he would have no part of it, so I figured he just got spooked by something and I would leave him inside until he was ready to come out. He has a dog door so he can come and go freely. However Xeus refused to come out the entire day. I kept going into the house to check on him, and though he wasn’t displaying any symptoms that made me feel it was necessary to rush him off to an emergency vet – this was a Saturday, after all – he was not himself and had me worried.

That night and the next morning Xeus seemed better. He woke up happy, anyway. The first sign that something was still wrong with him, however, was the fact that he refused to go out into the backyard to relieve himself. With some encouragement, he did go out into the front yard with me, but he ran right back into the house as soon as he had gone to the bathroom. I became convinced that whatever was wrong with him had something to do with the backyard – something spooked him when he weren’t looking, I thought. Inside, Xeus seemed better, and his temperature was normal.

As the day progressed and Xeus was still behaving strangely, I called my vet’s office and asked if I could bring Xeus in. My regular veterinarian was on vacation, but his partner examined Xeus, and took a blood and urine sample, but found nothing amiss. After hearing my story, the veterinarian was convinced something had spooked Xeus and he’d probably be fine in a day or two. Feeling somewhat silly, I took my German Shepherd home.

When we got home, I fed Xeus his usual bowl of kibble. It sounds crazy, but about 20 minutes after he ate, he got all weird again, shaking, hiding in a corner, almost like he was in a pre-seizure mode. I immediately brought him back to the vet’s office, but of course the trembling subsided and he just seemed very, very nervous. This time, the vet was more concerned – and I was scared to death! I was certain Xeus was having some kind of pre-seizure activity, and the vet thought the same. He suggested giving Xeus some Phenobarbital, but I have some knowledge about epilepsy and knew that unless we absolutely were sure that Xeus had epilepsy, I did not want to start messing with anti-seizure medications. Instead, we agreed to consult a specialist in neurology the next day.

Bringing in specialists
First thing on Monday morning I contacted a specialist and got an appointment to see a neurologist – three hours from my house! The neurologist did not feel Xeus had any kind of neurological disorder, and he sent me back to the veterinarian’s office with a list of two things to check for: a whipworm test and a bile acid test. Both were done, and both came back negative.

However, Xeus’ symptoms and total change of personality continued. He seemed to be really bothered by light, and would hold his urine all day, not going outside until the sun went down. He spent all day planted in a quiet corner, or with his head under the couch, and he had totally lost all his play drive. There was definitely something wrong, but what?

We made an appointment with another specialist who tested Xeus for all kinds of things, from tick-borne diseases to autoimmune diseases, to having all kinds of radiographs and ultrasounds, to continued blood work, but everything kept coming back normal.

Owner’s observations
In the meantime, I started to notice that Xeus’ worst clinical signs took place 20 to 30 minutes after he ate. I also noticed that he was his best when he had to fast for the tests. When I asked the vets if they thought Xeus’ food could be involved, they all thought that this was highly unlikely, since he had been eating the same brand of food for at least six months before this happened, without any problems. I had been very happy with the food and regarded it highly; in fact, it was a food that made WDJ’s “Top 10” list. Nevertheless, I decided on my own to change his food. It couldn’t hurt! I found a brand of food that had a totally different list of ingredients and began feeding it to Xeus. While I waited to see if there was a difference in his behavior, I got the idea of having his food tested. For what? I didn’t know! It just seemed like a good idea, although I admittedly did not know what kinds of things might be wrong with dog food!

I called my state health department to ask where I could have Xeus’ food tested. About this time, my regular veterinarian returned from vacation and I spoke with him, catching him up on all of the details of Xeus’ case. He suggested that I ask the lab to test the food for mycotoxins, explaining they were toxic substances that could grow in moldy food that can cause problems in some animals.

The State Department of Health referred me to the State Department of Agriculture, and I quickly found an interested person there. They actually sent a representative to my house and gathered up the dry dog food, the canned dog food, and even the biscuits Xeus had been eating. It was all very clinical and I felt confident in their work.

As we waited for the results to come back on the food, the veterinarians kept conducting tests on Xeus, to no avail. I, too, continued to examine my poor dog, and started to notice little strange things. For instance, the whites of his eyes seemed very yellowish to me. Also, I noticed that if I could coax him outside, he would still chase a ball if I threw it into the shade, but if I threw it into a sunny area, he would just stand there. His pattern of urine elimination seemed different than before, too. He would hold his urine all day, and then pee prodigiously at night. What these things meant, I had no idea.

Days crept by. Although Xeus seemed incrementally better, he was still not anything like his old playful, carefree self. My vet had scheduled an MRI and considered a spinal tap, but we kept postponing those tests as Xeus held his ground. He didn’t get any worse, but his improvement – if you could call it that – was so slow that it was almost imperceptible.

Given all the normal test results, one of the specialists we had consulted was beginning to think that Xeus’ problem was behavioral after all. He gave me a referral to a behavioral specialist, who sent me a long form to fill out, detailing all of Xeus’ behavior history. I wasn’t happy about all this, because I knew the change in my dog had happened literally in one day, and that nothing noticeable happened to Xeus that day! It wasn’t as if he had been attacked, or had run away, or had a trauma with fireworks or anything out of the ordinary.

Toxins in the food
Then the breakthrough came. The results of the food tests came back from the State Department of Agriculture. The canned food was fine, the biscuits were fine, but the dry food was found to contain a mold-based toxin called aflatoxin. I called my veterinarian with the news, but he was able to tell me little about mycotoxins – except that this indeed could have caused Xeus’ strange symptoms.

According to the results from the State Department of Agriculture, the level of aflatoxin found in Xeus’ food was 40 parts per billion (40ppb), double the amount generally considered to be tolerated by dogs. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have discovered the first possible explanation for Xeus’ problems, but it took several months’ worth of detective work before I was able to learn much more about this insidious toxin. I found it very, very difficult to find information regarding mold toxins in dog food.

Xeus slowly returned to normal as I spent my entire summer and fall researching the topic. I posted messages on the animal nutrition boards and the German Shepherd boards on America Online, and looked up everything I could about aflatoxins.

I found lots of information about the effects of toxin on livestock – this is apparently a much bigger and well-documented problem in livestock feeds – but the only reports I could find about aflatoxins in dog food were all related to cases where aflatoxin poisoning affected large numbers of dogs at once. There were a lot of reports about a case in 1998 where 25 dogs in the southern US died from aflatoxin poisoning. But I couldn’t find any documentation on sporadic incidents. I tried calling toxicologists at veterinary hospitals but they didn’t even have the correct documentation regarding aflatoxin in dog foods.

Finally, I called as many dog food companies as I could and spoke directly with their nutritionists. I explained what happened, and they were quite interested. Several food makers sent me information on who, what, and where to call for more information.

I was also given a number of Alltech, Inc., a Kentucky company that makes chemicals that helps preserve foods and eliminate toxins in animals feeds and Bingo! I finally got some answers. Alltech actually publishes a highly specialized newsletter for the feed industry called Mycotoxin Monthly, and several of their back issues were published on the Internet, including one that discussed mycotoxins and companion animals (see www.alltech-bio.com, click on “Technical Publications,” and look for the Mycotoxin Monthly).

Toxins you should know
I learned that aflatoxin is just one of more than 200 mold toxins commonly found in animal feeds. It affects different species of animals and animals of varying ages in different ways at different levels; dogs are more affected than cats, for example, and old and young animals are more seriously affected than middle-aged animals. However, one common theme is that aflatoxin affects the liver of all of its victims. Even though my veterinarians had conducted liver tests on Xeus, the specific damage caused by aflatoxin had gone unnoticed; I’m told this is rather common, unless one is looking for this exact effect. The most common signs of aflatoxin poisoning are lethargy, vomiting, heart problems, liver damage, and yellow discoloration of the skin and hair.

While some mold-originated toxins cause feed refusal and severe vomiting (such as one common mycotoxin known appropriately enough as “vomitoxin”), I discovered that many of the mold toxins found in animal food go unnoticed because the dog will continue to eat normally. Often the food will probably not even have a noticeably different odor. Indeed, Xeus had eaten the food with the same appetite he had always had, he never vomited and he never had diarrhea. But I did notice his worst neurological signs were always after he ate.

I also learned that aflatoxins often cause light sensitivity, neurological disorders, and can even kill a dog if the levels are high enough. While some dogs can tolerate a certain amount of the toxin, other dogs are highly sensitive to substance at any level.

Dog food manufacturers are constantly studying aflatoxin and other mold toxins and looking for new ways to try to eliminate this problem in all animal feeds. “Nearly all ingredients used in pet food, particularly corn and soybean meal, can be highly contaminated by aflatoxin, a potent carcinogen and immune system suppressant,” according the Mycotoxin Monthly. (Xeus’ food, incidentally, did not contain corn.) Most feed ingredients are tested individually – the grains, the meats, the fats – and the food is tested again after being mixed. The food manufacturers must concern themselves with testing for the molds at every level of production, how the food is packaged and transported, and even how it is stored in the pet stores. Anytime that moisture and/or heat (the combination of the two is the worst) can affect foods, molds can grow and produce their deadly toxins.

However, other foods that people feed to their dogs can also be infected with mycotoxins. Mycotoxin Monthly quotes Dr. John Richard of Romer Laboratories as saying he has heard of cases of mycotoxicosis in dogs who have eaten moldy walnuts, bread, or cream cheese.

While all breeds of dog are equally affected by mycotoxins, certain factors can influence the susceptibility of individual dogs. According to Mycotoxin Monthly, dogs in poor health are more likely to be affected, as are dogs with marginal nutrient deficiencies. Dogs that are already suffering from drug interactions or heat or environmental stress are more likely to have problems following mycotoxin exposure. And, obviously, dogs who were exposed to higher amounts of mycotoxins, or exposed for a longer period of time, are more likely to develop signs of poisoning.

Little-known problem
One thing that really bothers me is that, despite the ample opportunity for problems of this kind to crop up in pet foods, there was so little information available about the dangers of mold poisoning and prevention for the average dog owner. Never in my life had anyone warned me about the effects of mold toxins in dog foods, whereas the livestock people deal with this all the time and are constantly made aware of this problem. Livestock producers even have kits that they can use to check the feed before they give it to an entire herd of animals.

In my case, our bag of food was new; it had been open for just two weeks. I had bought the bag in early June 1999, and it had a “freshness date” of April 2000. Unlike many people, I always keep my dog food in a cool, dry place, but I didn’t know that preventing mold growth is why all bags recommend that you store the food in this way.

In a sense, we were lucky. As far as we know, Xeus had been exposed to the aflatoxin for just two weeks, and the amount in the food was not fatally high. However, there is a chance his immune system was affected. I do take special precautions now, minimizing his vaccinations, for instance. Instead of using all the regular booster shots, we have titer tests done to try to determine how necessary each vaccine might be.

Also, I now feed Xeus a dog food that comes directly from the plant to my home, to help ensure freshness. I buy smaller bags, and I supplement his kibble with a wet food mix that I cook. I have never used chemicals on our property, and I do not use any chemicals on his body. The only thing I still continue to use is heartworm preventative, since heartworm is deeply entrenched in the part of New York where I live.

If your dog has a major personality change, and the vets can’t find the problem, please consider having your dog’s food checked by either a veterinary college that has a toxicology lab, or your State Department of Agriculture. You will need a referral from your veterinarian, but ruling out the food is a must when trying to get to the bottom of a hard-to-diagnose illness.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Toxins That Can Arise in Dry Dog Food”
Click here to view “Pet Food Disaster”

Author’s note: I would like to thank all the vets and staff at Aqueduct Animal Hospital for their care, concern, and help. Thanks, too, to my friends on the German Shepherd message boards on America Online for their invaluable help and encouragement as I went through this crisis with Xeus.

-By Cindy Cramer

Itching and Wondering

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

Last summer, when my sister Sue was visiting from Colorado, she took Rupert for a walk around the block. I was in the shower and, not wanting to pound on the door to ask me where Rupe’s collar and leash were, Sue simply grabbed a couple of “poop” bags, whistled for Rupe, and they walked out the door.

As my longtime jogging companion, Rupert is perfect off-leash. He stays close without being nagged, has never developed a “pee on everything” habit, ignores other dogs and pedestrians, and waits at every curb in that classic herding dog crouch until he is given the command to cross the street. But if I had known Sue was taking him out, I would have told her to grab the leash anyway, since it was after 8 a.m. and the Animal Control officers were likely to be prowling for loose dogs. I live just around a corner from a park where noncompliance with the pooper-scooper laws is a real problem, and while I really do appreciate their efforts, I don’t walk Rupert off-leash during their work hours for one reason: Rupe wasn’t licensed, because his rabies shot was overdue, and I didn’t want to revaccinate him.

Long story short? Rupe got a ticket for walking off leash and for being unlicensed.

Had this been, say, a $40 fine, I would have simply paid it. But the fine was a whopping $271, and I had to get Rupert licensed or the fine would rise. And, of course, to get him licensed, he’d need a current rabies vaccination. We’ve explained in past articles on vaccination that, if you have a titer test done, and the results indicate that the dog has enough antibodies to suggest he has sufficient protection from the disease (and a letter from a veterinarian explaining this), sometimes an enlightened animal control officer will waive the rabies vaccination requirement for licensing. (Of course, this is not true in areas where rabies is endemic.) I had long planned to have Rupe’s rabies titers tested, so when he got busted, I kicked myself.

If I had been proactive, and had gotten the titer test done, and had gone to the city with a letter and the test results I feel certain that I probably could have gotten him licensed without the rabies booster. But given the new situation, I thought the easiest thing to do would be to get the shot, get the license, and hope the judge would reduce my fine after these corrections were made. Happily for me, he did.

Unhappily for Rupert, just a couple of months later, he broke out with severe itching.

As I explained last month, when Rupert started scratching, I thought a change in the formulation of his kibble was responsible. The more I think about it, the more I wonder about that last vaccination. Could it be that the booster triggered this wave of allergic self-destruction?

In his youth, Rupert was always itchy. Today I feel certain that all those booster shots (I always took him in to the vet promptly when I received the “boosters due” notices) and all that supermarket dog food was to blame. But for the last three years, Rupe’s allergies have been quiescent, and I came to feel that this was surely due to the change to a high quality kibble. Now that he’s itching again, I’ve changed his diet five times in the last seven months including a seven-week raw food trial but none of these foods have made much of a dent in his relentless scratching and chewing.

I’ve been giving him some herbs prescribed by a holistic vet, as well as some antioxidant supplements, with negligible results. I’m going to try consulting with a homeopathic veterinarian next. I’ve heard that homeopathy can sometimes “clear” the ill effects of vaccination on the immune system. But I’ll tell you one thing: Rupert is never going to receive another vaccination again.

Swimming is Great Exercise for Dogs

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

Tucker, our six-year-old Cattle-Dog mix, loves to swim. Every morning when we walk the quarter-mile down our driveway with our four-pack of dogs to pick up the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, Tucker casts longing glances at the pond in our next-door-neighbor’s front yard. As long as we occasionally remind him to stay with us, he’s fine. But if we let our attention lapse for too long, especially if it’s a particularly warm day, a loud “Splash!” announces in no uncertain terms that Tucker has once again gone for an unauthorized swim. You would never know that Tucker used to hate the water, and that we had to make an effort to convince him to give recreational swimming a try.

Labrador Retrievers, Newfoundlands, and many of the herding dogs are among dozens of breeds renowned for their affinity to water. Newfie owners laugh about how their dogs drag them out of lakes even when they don’t need saving. (Newfoundlands have been bred for generations to do water rescue work.) Labs are commonly seen at parks, belly-slamming into ponds and lakes with spectacular spectator-drenching leaps as they dive into the water after sticks and tennis balls. And many Border Collies, Cattle Dogs, and Australian Kelpies like nothing better than a refreshing dunk in the livestock tank after a hard, dusty day of herding sheep, cows, or tennis balls.

It’s not always natural

Instinctive and genetically programmed as some of these behaviors may be, many dog owners are surprised to discover that, like Tucker, their future water-loving pals need some serious coaxing and coaching before they come to fully appreciate the joys of swimming. While some dogs are more inclined to water sports than others, most of them, even Poms and Chihuahuas, can learn to swim if it’s done properly. If your Retriever is a candidate for a class in remedial doggie paddle, take heart. It may be easier than you think.

One approach often used in the past to teach a dog to swim was to toss him into deep water and let him learn the hard way. While that method may work for some dogs, others are so badly terrified by their sink-or-swim experience that they never want to go near the water again. Obviously, we don’t recommend that approach. Like every other training challenge, we use a gentle method that invites the dog to offer the desired behavior voluntarily, and uses rewards to reinforce and encourage more of the same.

Swimming is a complex behavior, so we will use the process known as “shaping” to get Surfer in the water, rather than expecting him to offer the behavior all at once. Shaping consists of breaking down the final behavior into very small increments, rewarding small steps along the way to the final goal behavior. Rewards can be food, praise, playing with a ball or stick, contact with us, or anything else that our dog likes. In the case of swimming, we can often use balls and sticks to encourage Surfer to get brave about water – somehow swimming and fetching just seem to go together!

NOTE: Dogs, just like people, display varying amounts of aquatic ability. Many dogs swim well with little practice. Others bob in the water vertically like corks, unable to steer well and squinting their eyes against the splashing of their front paws. While some of these swimming-challenged canines improve with practice, some never learn a graceful doggie paddle. If your dog fits this description, you may wish to curtail his beach invitations, or consider buying a canine life jacket.

The training plan
It helps to write our plan down in advance when we are trying to shape a complex behavior, so we know where we are trying to go and how we intend to get there. When Surfer accomplishes one step of the plan we are ready to move on, without stopping to think about what’s next. Always keep in mind that a good trainer is flexible. Surfer may surprise us and leap ahead several steps in the plan, in which case you need to be ready to leap forward with him. Or he may need one or more steps broken down into even tinier increments. In this case, rather than getting frustrated and angry with his slow progress or trying to force him, use your brainpower and creativity to figure out how to make it possible for him to succeed.

Here’s one sample training plan for swimming:

1. Sit in a folding chair near the edge of the lake. (Always start your water-training with a very calm, shallow water source.) Toss Surfer a treat every time he goes near the water. (Define “near.” Depending on the dog, near could mean six inches, it could mean six feet, or it could mean 20 feet!) If you train with a reward marker, such as the Click! of a clicker or the verbal marker “Yes!”, mark the “near the water” behavior with a Click! or a “Yes!” each time just before you toss the treat.

2. Gradually raise the criteria. If you were rewarding for six inches, you will see Surfer starting to spend more time within six inches of the water. Part of that time he will be even closer. Start rewarding for four inches, then two inches, then only when he actually touches the water.

3. You can speed up the shaping process by luring (encouraging) Surfer into the water. If he loves tennis balls, place one just into the water, so he has to lean over the lake to get it. Click! and reward him by tossing the ball on dry land for him to run and fetch. Then try another in the edge of the water. (If he won’t give you the ball that he has in his mouth, carry several balls and toss a different one for him to retrieve. Work on his “give” behavior as a separate exercise some other time.)

4. When Surfer is eagerly and easily grabbing the ball out of the shallow water’s edge without stepping into the water, roll the ball a few inches away from the edge. With luck, he will take a step into the water to get it. Click! and toss the ball onto dry land. Repeat this step until he walks into shallow water easily to get the ball.

5. Now toss the ball a little farther out. Be patient. You can verbally encourage him, but don’t try to force or help him to get it – let him figure it out himself. If he won’t, you have taken too big a step. Toss another ball in the water, not as far as the first one. Make it possible for him to succeed. When he’s off chasing his reward ball on dry land you can retrieve the one he wouldn’t get.

6. Continue this process until he is moving deeper and deeper into the water, and eventually swimming. When he starts to look forward to going into the water after the ball you can start tossing the ball back into the water as a reward, and you’re home free.

Other training plans could include having you walk into the water and encouraging him to follow you (using yourself as a lure).

We overcame Tucker’s fear of the water by parking ourselves on lawn chairs in the middle of a shallow, slow-moving stream on 90+ degree days. Eventually his aversion to heat overcame his fear of the water and he joined us. Once he realized that the water cooled him off, he became a huge fan of swimming – the cooling factor of the water was the greatest reward we could have engineered!

You can also use a kiddie wading pool in your back yard, gradually increasing the depth of the water in the pool. Of course, this won’t get Surfer swimming unless he’s a tiny toy breed, but it will get him to start associating being in the water with fun times and rewards.

Puppy paddling
Even a young puppy can learn to swim. In fact, it’s easier if you start young. Puppies have a critical socialization period, during which time they learn what is safe in the world. This stems from their wild heritage, when, for survival purposes, after about the age of four to five months anything not known to be safe is assumed to be unsafe. The more positive experiences we can expose our puppies to during this early window of time – including swimming – the better. Because puppies also learn to make very strong negative associations with things that are not safe during their critical learning period, it is triply important to use positive methods when training a pup to swim.

A wading pool is a great starting tool for puppy swimming. Lots of happy play sessions in a gradually deepening pool can convince your pup that water is a very fun place to be. Then it’s an easy transition to deeper water in the lake – you’ve already accomplished the first five steps of our six-step training plan!

Safety first
As much fun as swimming can be, it’s important to remember that dogs – just like humans – can drown. In addition to all of the standard safety precautions that the Red Cross offers for human water safety, there are a number of things to keep in mind for canine water safety:

• Beware of fast moving currents, surf and undertow. I’ve spent many hours walking with my dogs on the California coast, and it always amazes me how cavalier some owners are about tossing sticks and balls far out into the surf for their dogs to retrieve. My dogs tend to be a bit leery of moving waves, and I encourage their caution.

Dogs have been swept out to sea and drowned, and in at least one recent case an owner was drowned trying to rescue his dog from the ocean. Rivers can also kill. It can be difficult to judge the strength of a current, and it’s easy for Surfer to get carried far downstream if you misjudge. Err on the side of caution, and avoid the temptation to test Surfer’s strength and swimming skills in swift water.

• Beware of unattended swimming pools. Once Surfer has learned to love the water, he may decide to leap into the backyard pool. Ideally, the pool should be fenced off to prevent unplanned swims by dogs as well as children. If that’s not possible (or even if it is and you want to teach Surfer to swim in the pool under supervision), it is vitally important to teach him out to get out of the pool. Show him where the exit is, and how to use it, by starting close to the steps and helping him find his footing so he can climb out. Gradually move him farther and farther away from the steps and reward him for swimming to them and climbing out.

Since all edges of the pool can look similar, it’s a good idea to mark the steps with an orange cone or flag so it’s easy for Surfer to find them if he is in trouble. Dogs can fall into swimming pools by accident, especially ones with pool covers, so it really is a good idea to fence them off to avoid tragedies if at all possible.

• Beware of ornamental garden pools. Many of these pools have steep sides with absolutely no way for a dog to get out.

• Check the beach or diving area for underwater obstacles. It is great fun to throw a ball off a dock or bank so you can watch your water-loving dog launch through the air and splash into the water below. Dogs love it, and we love watching them. No problem – as long as you make sure there are no rocks or sharp objects hiding under the water to impale your dog when he lands.

• Keep an eye out for poisonous snakes – they often can be found sunning themselves on the rocks around natural water sources. In some areas of the South, alligators are a serious threat to water dogs. Scope out the area carefully, and don’t risk Surfer’s life (or yours) in an area likely to be inhabited by large meat-eating reptiles.

• Choose water-fetch toys carefully. Anything you throw in the water for your dog to fetch should float well, so your fetch-obsessed dog doesn’t drown himself trying to retrieve something that has sunk under the surface. Fetch items should neither be too small (because a dog who snaps at the floating toy can accidentally swallow and choke on a small ball, for example) nor too large (because a heavy or awkward fetch item can interfere with a dog’s swimming).

• Keep a safe distance from your swimming dog. If you are using yourself as a lure to encourage Surfer into deeper water, be careful. A swimming dog has claws and strong front legs. He can scratch you badly, even push you under the water, especially if he panics in mid-swim. Until you know that Surfer can handle the deeper water, be sure to have a human buddy around who can help you if the two of you get into trouble.

• Know when to call it quits. Some dogs will naturally protect themselves from over-exercising by declining to fetch once they are tired. Obsessive/compulsive types will try to fetch until they are exhausted and sinking lower and lower in the water. Seize and put away all available fetch items and encourage your dog to take a break. If friends or beach acquaintances won’t stop encouraging your tired swimmer to “Get it!” put a leash on your puddled pooch and enforce some rest.

On the positive side
Don’t let us scare you. The benefits of swimming far outweigh the risks, and all of the hazards described above are avoidable if you use good common sense. Swimming is great exercise for your dog – and you! It’s low-impact exercise, and can be especially beneficial therapy for dogs with joint or arthritis problems. It’s a good survival skill for your dog to know. And water-fetch is a very rewarding game for both dog and human, that can help strengthen the bond between you and your canine companion. Maybe it’s time for the two of you to get in the swim of things!

 

-By Pat Miller

 

The Force MAY Be With You

By
Nancy Kerns
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I wanted to write you and tell you of an extraordinary experience that I had using homeopathy for my dog.

Last summer our seven-year-old Shepherd-mix developed a hard lump near her shoulder. It grew to the size of a large marble. We took her to our vet, who performed a needle biopsy. It came back as reactive lymph tissue – baffling because there should be no lymph tissue in that area. To be safe, he recommended surgery, since a needle biopsy can only test a fragment of the lump. The surgery would have to go deep because the lump was imbedded in her muscle.

I took a deep breath, listened to my own inner calm and immediately decided to boost her immune system using the herb astragalus and a maitake mushroom tincture. I also boosted her vitamins.

We wasted no time and took her to two natural-oriented vets. One gave us more supplements and recommended surgery. The next immediately sent us to a surgeon. The surgeon, of course, wanted to do surgery, telling us if there were any lumps in her lungs that there was no point in trying, it would be a death sentence. I sat in our car and cried.

But before we took action, I took another deep breath and again trusted my inner voice. The lump was still there. We went back to our original vet who did another needle biopsy. He sent it to a pathologist and it came back the same, except this time, interestingly, it had macrophages surrounding it – the “killer” immune system cells that go in to remove foreign substances from the body, which is exactly what astragalus is supposed to do. It was great to have scientific proof that it does have an immune bolstering effect.

Then I went to a homeopathic pharmacy. I told the pharmacist the problem and he recommended a homeopathic remedy called Silicea, 30c, which is for the lymph system. I gave her three pills, three times a day on an empty stomach and guess what? Within two weeks the lump was gone, much to the shock of the four vets that we saw. It has been months with no sign of the lump and our girl is as happy and healthy as ever. This is the third time that we have avoided surgery by listening to our inner voices and going the natural route. The other two times were for recommended knee replacement surgery on two of our other dogs. They have both completely healed. I always tell other dog owners, “Listen to your Spirit and keep on trying.”

-Janet Katz
via email

 

From my experience, Doggie Dooleys (reviewed in the June 2000 issue of WDJ) are a great concept. What could be more convenient for disposing dog poo? No more bags, no more smell? Great! The only problem is they don’t always work. Their effectiveness is greatly influenced by the climate and soil type. When we lived in Tennessee, we had clay soil and it wouldn’t drain. In addition winters were cold enough to stop the biological processes necessary to break down the waste.

Now we live on the coast of Oregon (and I do mean on the coast, 300 yards from the beach). Our soil is very sandy, and summers and winters are mild. Now our soil is too sandy! In the summer, the pyramid-style Dooley drains too fast, so not enough water stays in to maintain the decomposition process even when I add five gallons of warm water each day. In the winter, our water table sometimes rises to the point where the water is standing in the yard for several days. Also the temperature still gets too cool in the winter and fall. So it still doesn’t work.

I have the larger model and only one dog. I also made the Dooley even deeper by adding a row of cinder blocks. Doggie Dooley suggested some “super start-up” enzymes to jump-start the process. I was adding water and enzymes each day as per their instructions. No luck. Very disappointing. Nine months after not adding any waste to the Dooley, there is still partially decomposed material in it.

While it is possible the “bucket type” (similar to the one we had in Tennessee and as opposed to the open bottom which we have now) might be more effective in our current location, I am reluctant to spend another $50 to try again.

-Patricia Riley
via email

 

We admit that the Doggie Dooley worked so well for US, that we didn’t consider how it would work in challenging soils like hard clay or extremely sandy soil. Readers? Any other ideas for environmentally friendlier poop disposal?

 

Lately I’ve been wondering how I could use my talents to perhaps raise money for animal causes. I would like to find some way to reach an animal-loving audience who might be interested in purchasing artwork, knowing that most of the proceeds would go to such a cause.Where would I start?

Just Friday I dropped off two paintings to a framer and asked if he would give me a break on the frames as I am donating the pictures to our local Humane Society. He said he would. Our Humane Society has built a new facility and put a notice in their newsletter asking for art for their new walls. I’ll be bringing these pictures to them when they’re framed and asking them for any ideas as well. I got my Shepherd-mix from them last August and am eager to do more but need ideas.

-Susan Mandl
Rochester, New York

 

Again, we put out a call to our readers: Who knows some creative ways to benefit their local shelters?

When Feeding a Raw Diet Use Safe Meat Handling Practices

By
Kim Campbell Thornton
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One of the greatest concerns many people have about switching their dogs to a raw diet is the fear of bacterial infection, either in themselves or their pets. News reports of people dying from E. coli and salmonella poisoning have no doubt fanned the flames of that fear. But most people who have successfully transitioned their dogs to a raw diet report no problems are delighted with their dogs’ health and appearance. The secret, advocates say, is in good food handling practices. Dog owners who neglect safe handling techniques are certainly more at risk of infection from any pathogens (a list of the usual suspects is discussed in great detail in “What Evil Lurks Within,” page 9) that happen to be present in raw meat. This is especially true of children, whose immune systems are immature and inexperienced, and people with compromised immune systems. But keeping your meat safe and your kitchen clean is not exactly rocket science, folks! Anyone can learn to do it. Keep it cool

 

Perhaps the most critical factor in handling raw meat is attention to refrigeration. Keeping foods refrigerated slows the growth of any organisms that happen to be present. “Huge numbers of bacteria can result from providing pathogenic bacteria ideal reproductive temperatures for only short time periods,” Dr. Dunn says. “Generally, as long as some moisture is present, and the temperature range is 50 to 90 degrees, pathogenic food-borne bacteria have a reproductive bonanza.” This means that frozen meat should always be defrosted in the refrigerator – NOT on the counter or in your sink. Defrosting at room temperature means that the outside sections of the meat are at an unsafe temperature while the inside sections are still defrosting. Read and follow the safe handling instructions on the meat’s label. Refrigerate or freeze raw food if you don’t plan to feed it immediately. Vegetable mixtures can be refrigerated for three to five days, but meat mixtures probably shouldn’t be refrigerated for more than 48 hours. “Safe length of storage time is highly variable because time, temperature, type of organism, moisture levels and numbers of organisms originally present all interact to impact the safety of each food item,” Dr. Dunn says. Larry A. Bernstein, VMD, is the owner of Natural Holistic Pet Care in North Miami Beach, Florida, and a passionate advocate of diets built on feeding raw meat. Dr. Bernstein recommends that all meats are kept frozen following purchase, and thawed on the day they are fed to the dog. Freezing is said to have a detrimental effect on the nutritional quality of meat, but the difference is not significant. And freezing is less detrimental to nutritional quality than the heat from cooking. “Feeding food fresh is great,” Dr. Bernstein says, “but if feeding it after it has been frozen allows you the flexibility to feed raw food diets more often, then the benefits far outweigh any deterioration that might happen in the freezer.” When thawing meats in the refrigerator, put them on the bottom shelf or drawer, so that any blood or juices don’t drip on any other food in the refrigerator. Many dog owners are under the impression that freezing can kill any potentially harmful organism that may be present in the meat. According to Dr. Dunn, “Freezing is not very effective in killing any pathogenic bacteria already present on the food product. Freezing will only impede any further growth of those bacteria already present. Parasites, if present, must be frozen at temperatures so low that household freezers probably will have no effect on killing any parasites such as Trichinella.” Keep it clean Safe handling practices recommended by experts include washing hands before and after touching raw meat; careful cleansing and disinfecting of dishes, utensils, cutting boards, grinders, and other equipment used in meat preparation; and proper storage of prepared food. “Almost all foods we purchase from the grocery store have bacteria present on or in them,” says T. J. Dunn Jr., DVM, director of veterinary services for PetFoodDirect.com and ThePetCenter.com. “Only specific strains of specific bacteria have the potential to cause disease and then only when their numbers develop to fairly high levels. If pathogenic bacteria are present when the consumer purchased the food and the consumer ignores safe handling procedures, those organisms may proliferate to a point where their numbers may cause disease in humans. The organisms may proliferate on utensils, containers, cutting boards, washcloths, anywhere there is organic material upon which to grow.” Thorough cleaning with hot, soapy water is the best way to prevent problems. It’s a good idea to use a disinfectant for items that are porous or difficult to clean, including cutting boards and food grinders. Dr. Bernstein recommends using a disinfectant compound or a little bleach in dishwater, or running items through a dishwasher. “And there are some new [disinfectant] wipes for the kitchen that we use to wipe down the cutting board,” he says. Be careful with knives, as well, Dr. Bernstein says. “You really need to clean them off well. You don’t want to put good knives in the dishwasher, but you want to soak them in something.” Be aware that chopped or ground meat is more likely to become contaminated than whole pieces of meat. That’s because bacteria such as E. coli generally contaminate the surfaces of a food product. Mixing, chopping and combining other ingredients can distribute the organisms throughout the food. Under certain temperature or moisture conditions, this could enhance the organism’s proliferation in the food. “I don’t recommend chopped or ground meat unless it’s done fresh – you grind it at home,” Dr. Bernstein says. “Grinding expands the surface area so there’s more room for bacteria to grow, and there’s more oxidation of the meat. When oxygen gets in contact with the meat, it causes deterioration, so the more you open up the surface area, the more you speed up the deterioration. So feed meat in chunks, little cubes, or cut it up and freeze it. And if you’re going to grind it, grind it right before you feed it.” Whose hands should stay off? If you want to be really careful, shouldn’t you wear rubber or plastic gloves when handling raw meat? Maybe, maybe not. If you have a cut or sore on your hands that’s open to infection, gloves could certainly be a good idea. Ditto for people with compromised immune systems. In general, though, healthy people don’t need to go to such extremes, Dr. Bernstein says. When raw meats are being handled and/or fed to the dog, a couple of types of people deserve special consideration: people who have any sort of immuno-suppressed condition and children (especially infants and toddlers). Since these people are at greater risk of infection with any pathogens, they must be prevented from coming into contact with the dog’s raw food and dirty dishes. This entails “following the trail” of any potentially harmful organisms far beyond casual cleaning. For instance, if you have a toddler in the house, it’s not enough to prevent her from touching the dog’s food bowl; you have to imagine that a dog who just finished eating a meal that contained raw meat might immediately drink from his water bowl, potentially transferring a certain amount of the theoretic pathogen to the water. Toddlers should be prevented from having any sort of contact with the dog’s water bowl, too. Some people feel that’s going a bit bit overboard. Nancy O. Johnson of Vancouver, British Columbia, suffers from a compromised immune system herself but says she doesn’t take any extraordinary precautions when it comes to feeding a raw diet to Harpo, her Chinese Crested. “I buy only from reputable butchers, and I wash everything with soap and water, although I use the dishwasher on occasion. Neither I nor my dogs have ever had a problem related to feeding raw meat.” But others say, “Better safe than sorry!” Among the safety precautions taken by Joanne Nash of Los Altos, California, are using separate cutting boards for the dogs’ raw food and for anything she and her husband eat. “We use antibacterial dishwashing detergent for all dishes, cutting boards and so on, with separate sponges for dogs and people. We always wash the dog bowls after a raw meat and bones meal. And I use disposable plastic gloves when I am preparing a batch of meat and vegetable mix. I’m also more conscientious about washing my hands after I’ve been mixing or feeding the raw food.” Cleaning the meat What about disinfecting the meat itself? A number of sources suggest using grapefruit seed extract (known for its disinfectant qualities) or food-grade hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria before serving meat. It can’t hurt, but it’s not really necessary, say raw-diet advocates. “Over the years, people have advocated using grapefruit seed extract (GSE) or food grade hydrogen peroxide to sterilize or decontaminate the meat – you marinate it before you feed it,” Dr. Bernstein says. “I think you’re dealing with personal preference here. We’ve fed our dogs raw foods for years and hundreds if not thousands of patients have done it, and some use GSE or peroxide and some don’t, and across the board, I really can’t think of a problem.” Betty Lewis of Amherst, New Hampshire, occasionally sprays her counters and cutting boards with a dilution of grapefruit seed extract, but she doesn’t use the product on the meat itself. “Dr. Ian Billinghurst (a well-known proponent of raw diets for pets) feels that dogs are capable of dealing with a fair amount of bacteria that is normally present in their environment,” Lewis says. “If we sterilize their food, we do them a disservice by not fostering this natural capability. Then, if they’re exposed to a larger than normal amount of bacteria, they may not be able to overcome it.” Nash had trouble finding grapefruit seed extract or food-grade hydrogen peroxide when she first starting feeding raw food to her Cavaliers and Dalmatians. Determined to feed her dogs raw meat anyway, she experimented with another method of disinfection: Dipping raw meat in boiling water.This was so messy and time-consuming, Nash says, she gave up the practice after the first few times – and has had no problems with her dogs. Whether you detoxify meat is strictly a matter of personal preference, Dr. Bernstein says. “There’s a certain fear factor involved, so if you’re nervous, go ahead and use the grapefruit seed extract or the hydrogen peroxide. I usually recommend that with poultry anyway; for some reason I’m more cautious with poultry. If you’re really scared about feeding raw meat or if your animal is reticent to eat it, cook it a little bit. After you become a little less fearful, cook it a little less. After a while you find that it’s not worth bothering to cook it because they love it the other way, and then you’re well on your way.” Shelter from the stuff? All of these safety procedures help protect us from illness, but what about our dogs? They’re the ones eating the raw diet. What kind of protection do they need? Not as much as you might think. “I don’t have much concern about the dogs getting sick (from eating raw meat),” says Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, Ph.D., of the Animal Natural Health Center in Eugene, Oregon and author of Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, one of the earliest books advocating a raw diet for pets. “Dogs are carnivores and they have experience for millennia eating raw animals. I haven’t seen any problem myself in my practice.” Pitcairn explains that dogs have much stronger stomach acids than people do, so they are far more capable of battling any pathogens that may be present in the meat. Their intestinal tracts are also quite a bit shorter than ours, giving bacteria less of an opportunity to take hold and flourish. “I think dogs are quite well adapted to handling meat; in the natural state dogs will eat meat that’s decayed,” Dr. Pitcairn says. “They bury it and dig it up days later, stuff that would probably kill us.” “The potential for disease is related directly to the individual idiosyncrasies of the organism, the numbers and types of organisms impacting the individual, and the individual’s physical state of health,” says Dr. Dunn. For example, he explains, a free-roaming dog that is accustomed to scavenging meals is usually more acclimated to the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria in its digestive system than, say, an apartment-dwelling Poodle. That’s why it’s important to introduce a raw diet gradually, over a period of five to seven days. Don’t follow the example of one of Dr. Bernstein’s clients, who introduced her 18-year-old dog to a raw diet by giving him four different kinds of meat in large quantities. “The dog did get diarrhea, but that’s because the owner wasn’t being sensible or moderate,” Dr. Bernstein says. “I think that’s the only case where I’ve seen an older dog have a negative reaction, and we can understand why that happened.” Dogs that shouldn’t eat raw Can dogs with impaired immune systems eat a raw diet? Many holistic veterinarians believe that a raw diet can benefit the immune system, but they caution that such a dog should only eat a raw diet under veterinary supervision. Animals that are weak or predisposed to illness might have problems, especially if there’s an overwhelming bacteria load in the meat, Dr. Bernstein says. A veterinarian who has experience with raw feeding should help the owner supervise this dog’s diet. Dr. Bernstein finds that feeding raw foods can be very beneficial to such an animal, but stresses that in such a case, you have to be even more careful with the cuts of meat, the quality, and the freshness. Puppies, too, should be introduced gradually to a raw diet. Wait until they’re weaned, and then start mixing in small quantities of meat gradually. “Until they’re six or eight weeks old, I don’t think their guts are really competent to handle large quantities of meat, so I would be most cautious with a young animal,” Dr. Bernstein says. “After about eight weeks, it’s probably pretty safe.” Naturally, experiences vary. Australian Cattle Dog breeder Deb Casey of Dallas, Texas, starts feeding a raw diet to her puppies when they are four weeks old. “The puppies are the best I have ever raised,” she says. “They do not smell like dog food, and the poop is very small and firm.” Ruth Beetow of Springville, New York, also feeds a raw diet to her Norwich and West Highland White Terrier puppies and has never had a problem. According to Dr. Dunn, when problems arise with raw diets, it’s usually due to improper handling procedures on the part of the consumer. Good sanitation, in combination with modern processing methods and regulations, are the key to successful raw feeding.

Natural Balance Dog Food

By
Nancy Kerns
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Welcome to the premier of WDJ’s new monthly food review column! We have been reviewing dry dog foods in our February issue for three years running, and each year we’ve run into the same problem: We hear about all kinds of great new or newly reformulated foods following publication of our article.

In order to keep up with the arrival of superior new foods on the market, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at dry dog foods in every issue. We’ll repeat our selection criteria in each installment, so newcomers know why we like what we like in a dog food, and pan what we don’t. However, for our most exhaustive discussion of dry foods, please refer to the February 2000 issue.

We selected Natural Balance as a Top Dry Food in our February 2000 issue, but the food was recently reformulated and bears almost no resemblance to its former self. This incarnation is very impressive. The food now has three major protein sources – chicken (appearing first on the list of ingredients), duck (number third), and lamb meal (fourth), providing a nice complement of amino acids. The makers have also omitted corn, soy, wheat, eggs, white rice, dairy products, and sunflower oil from the food, in an effort to avoid many ingredients that allergic dogs have problems with.

Like many companies jumping on the nutraceutical bandwagon, NB has included glucosamine (beneficial for arthritic conditions) and extra vitamin C (for general immune health) in the food. However, without any information as to the amount present in the food, there is no way to say whether the inclusion is at all beneficial.

We sure wish all dog food makers would include the date of manufacture on all foods; like most companies, Natural Balance includes a “Best Used By” date, which doesn’t give you any idea of how old the food already is when you buy it. We also wish all food makers would include a figure for the kilocalories per cup of food, rather than just the suggested feeding amounts (a few commendable manufacturers include both).

Also With This Article
Click here to view “WDJ’s Approved Dry Food Dog List”

-By Nancy Kerns

Holistic Veterinarians Take on The Annual Vaccination Schedule

By
Nancy Kerns
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Holistic veterinarians have long decried the annual vaccination schedule recommended by many conventionally trained veterinarians for all dogs. Many holistic veterinarians suspect that many of the complex ailments that plague our modern dogs – from allergies to digestive problems to aggressive behavior and so on – have their roots in immune system problems brought on by excessive and unnecessary vaccination.

However, many of us are convinced by our veterinarians that our dogs won’t be safe unless they receive these boosters every year. Fortunately, a recent study indicates that most dogs retain humoral antibody protection from past vaccinations for longer than previously thought.

The Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) will shortly be publishing the results of a research study, conducted by Lisa Twark, DVM, and W. Jean Dodds, DVM, of Hemopet and Antech Diagnostics, that examined the serum antibody titers of 1441 healthy dogs brought to veterinary clinics for routine health checkups and/or revaccination. The titer tests were conducted at a time when most dogs would typically be given annual booster vaccines.

It was the authors’ intention that those results could be used by veterinarians as a guide for advising their clients about the necessity of annual revaccination of dogs against canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine distemper virus (CDV).

A very high percentage of the dogs had adequate titers – more than 95 percent for CPV and more than 97 percent for CDV– indicating that annual vaccination for CPV and CDV is unnecessary in most cases.

The CPV vaccination history was available for 444 dogs, and the CDV vaccination history was available for 433 dogs; the interval between the dogs’ last vaccination and serum antibody measurement ranged from one month to six years, with the majority (60 percent) being between one to two years. Age, breed (purebred or mixed breed), and sex of the dogs were not significantly associated with the adequacy of serum CPV or CDV antibody titers. The authors commented that in the presence of adequate serum antibody titers, there is little reason to introduce unnecessary antigen, adjuvant, and preservative, as well as to increase the risk of adverse events and client costs associated with administering booster vaccines.

Source: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Pet health insurance offered to employees
The national unemployment rate is at an historic low, and employers are looking for creative ways they can attract and retain quality employees. While on-site child care centers or gym memberships increase some employees’ loyalty to their companies, dog owners might get more excited about a new perk being offered to some employees: pet health insurance.

Veterinary Pet Insurance Inc., of Anaheim, California, has sold individual pet policies since 1982, but group plans for employers only began to take off in 1999, according to Rebecca Lewis, VPI vice president for marketing and communications. VPI offers a typical indemnity plan, with average premiums of $200 a year and a $40 deductible.

As great as this sounds for employees who can use some help with their dogs’ medical bills, the plans are not without the usual catches. Just as with human health insurance policies, you end up paying quite a bit more if you sign up for a plan that will cover extensive care for serious or long-term medical conditions such as diabetes or cancer treatment. Nevertheless, having an employer’s help with the monthly payments is welcome relief for many dog owners.

A slightly different type of health plan is offered to employers by Pet Assure, of Dover, New Jersey. Described as an “HMO for pets,” the plan lacks a traditional deductible and co-pay structure. Instead, members – or, in this case, the members’ employers – pay a small fee, generally taken as a small monthly payroll deduction and receive a 25 percent discount at network providers. Pet Assure enrolls all pets, regardless of age, infirmity, or species.

Source: Associated Press

New law makes airlines’ animal safety
records available to consumers
On April 5, President Clinton signed a comprehensive aviation bill that carried a provision to require airlines to begin reporting any incidents of animals being lost, injured, or killed during transport. The Department of Transportation (DOT) will begin to tally such incident reports, and make the results available to consumers, as well as notify the United States Department of Agriculture. In addition, the DOT will begin working with air carriers to improve employee training on air transport of animals.

According to the Air Transport Association, more than 500,000 animals are transported each year. The ATA has estimated that perhaps one percent of those animals encounter problems of some level of seriousness. Undoubtedly, that number will rise now that incident reporting is mandatory. Following publication of WDJ’s article on air transportation safety for dogs (“Leaving on a Jet Plane?” March 1999), WDJ received a number of letters from concerned airline employees who warned that flying is often dangerous for dogs.

Source: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Adverse effects of arthritis drug
spur changes in labeling, marketing
Each year, the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine compiles and releases information about adverse drug experience (ADE) reports received from veterinarians and consumers. On December 1, 1999, the Center released figures for 1998, which indicated that one medication intended for use on arthritic dogs, Rimadyl (carprofen), was responsible for 39 percent of all the ADE reports made in 1998, “considerably more than that received for other drugs,” according to the CVM.

A recent “Update on rimadyl” released by the Center explained that for any one ADE report, there is no absolute certainty that the suspected drug caused the effect, and that the adverse effects seen in Rimadyl’s ADE reports were “consistent with those expected for NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs)” which typically involve the gastrointestinal system, renal/urinary system, hematopietic (blood) system, neurological system, and the liver. Approximately 13 percent of the 1998 Rimadyl ADE reports involved the death of the dog.

Based on the ADE reports received since Rimadyl was marketed, a number of actions have been taken to update the safety information that veterinarians receive when they purchase the product, so they are well-prepared to discuss the risk and benefits of the drug with dog owners. At the CVM’s request, Pfizer also developed and distributed an information sheet to be given to owners at the time Rimadyl is dispensed. The CVM also insisted on “death” being added to the list of possible adverse reactions that appear on the drug label and in the advertising for the drug (a move that caused Pfizer to pull all of its television ads for the product).

Rimadyl has made a positive change in the lives of many arthritic dogs, but WDJ encourages dog owners to use medications cautiously and to try to use minimal dosages whenever possible. If you give your dog Rimadyl, you should immediately discontinue use of the drug and contact your veterinarian if your dog displays any of the following common adverse reactions:

• loss of appetite or loss of thirst

• unusual pattern of urination, blood in the urine, sweet-smelling urine, an overabundance of urine, urine accidents in the house

• vomiting or flecks of blood in vomit

• diarrhea or black, tarry stools

• lethargy, drowsiness, hyperactivity, restlessness, aggressiveness

• staggering, stumbling, weakness or partial paralysis, full paralysis, seizures, dizziness, loss of balance

• jaundice (yellowing of the skin, mucus membranes and whites of the eyes).

Some dog flea-control
products poison cats
If you use “spot-on” flea-control chemicals that contain permethrin on your dog, watch out – you just might end up poisoning your cat.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has reported adverse reactions by cats to concentrated, spot-on flea and tick products that contain permethrin and are intended for dogs. The AVMA has sent a letter to the EPA asking for the requirement that such products include a warning label that alerts pet owners to the dangers of incidental but potentially fatal exposure of the product to cats.

Any cat that has close contact with dogs that have been treated with the products can develop signs of toxicosis, says the AVMA, including seizures, depression, labored breathing, or discoordination.

Your cat can be exposed to enough permethrin to become ill if he and your dog so much as sleep in the same place (and not necessarily at the same time), such as your sofa or bed.

Cats are far more sensitive to organophosphates than most other animals. There are some flea-control products labeled for use on cats that contain permethrin, but these products generally contain less than 0.1% permethrin. A typical dog’s flea-control product may contain as much as 45-60 % permethrin, so the risk of unintentional high exposure to a cat roommate is high.

Veterinary Acupuncture is Becoming Mainstream

By
Nancy Kerns
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It is generally accepted that the practice of human and veterinary acupuncture had their beginnings in ancient China. According to legend, veterinary acupuncture was discovered when lame horses were used for battle and became sound after being pierced by arrows at distinct points.

Regardless of the accuracy of the folklore, there is evidence that veterinarians practiced acupuncture around 2000-3000 BC. The early use of the technique on animals was probably prompted by the economic importance of horses, camels, elephants, cows, pigs, and chickens as sources of transportation and food. Now, veterinary acupuncture is used worldwide to treat all types of animals including many exotics.

Acupuncture gets its name form the Latin words acus, which means needle, and pungare which means to pierce. Most of us can conjure up images of an acupuncture session, but few understand the reasoning behind needling – perhaps because there are several schools of thought that purport to explain the effectiveness of the practice.

According to practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are channels of energy, called meridians, that run in regular patterns through the body and over its surface. The energy, called Qi or Chi, flows in these meridians just like water flows in a stream. If something blocks the flow of energy, it backs up, much as water would back up if a dam were placed across a stream. Disease results from disturbances or imbalances in the energy. Placing needles at specific points, called acupuncture points or acupoints, unblocks the obstructions in the meridians and reestablishes the free flow of energy.

The theory is that by restoring energy circulation through the meridians, acupuncture treatments allow the body’s internal organs to correct imbalances in digestion, absorption, and energy production. This is thought to encourage the body to use its own healing powers to correct imbalances and disharmony that manifest as disease or lameness. Acupuncture, therefore, is a means of balancing the energy in the body and allowing the body to heal. Because acupuncture helps maintain the body’s balance, it is also a powerful tool for preventing disease.

The Western perspective
While it was clear that acupuncture has a long history of effective treatment of many injuries and diseases, scientists using traditional diagnostic tools have been unable, until recently, to explain how therapy works. In the last 25 years, however, Western scientists have made enormous strides toward understanding the curative mechanisms and the physiological basis of acupuncture.

For example, scientists have learned that the epidermis at acupuncture points is usually thinner than that of surrounding areas. Below the surface of the skin, each acupuncture point has a unique structure composed of a thin connective tissue column surrounded by thicker connective tissue. The column or acupuncture point contains a lymph vessel, arteriole, and vein that are surrounded by a network of nerve fibers.

Bruce Pomerantz, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the University of Toronto, has done extensive research on the nerve pathways that are affected during acupuncture therapy. Dr. Pomerantz has published his research in numerous scientific articles and eight textbooks on acupuncture.

Dr. Pomerantz’s research has shown that when an acupuncture needle pierces the skin and underlying muscle, it stimulates some of the nerve fibers which carry messages to brain to release endorphins, morphine-like compounds that block pain pathways in the brain.

Endorphins are often referred to as “the feel-good” substances that are released naturally and account for feelings of euphoria such as the “runner’s high.” Only those acupoints associated with treating pain are involved with the release of endorphins.

Other acupoints provide effects such as the release of cortisol, a natural steroid. Research is ongoing to determine how stimulation of these acupoints affect the body.

Acupuncture and moxibustion
Acupuncture therapy involves the insertion of very thin needles into precise anatomical locations or acupuncture points on the body to balance the body’s energy and produce a healing effect.

Acupuncture needles are solid, flexible, stainless steel needles with a smooth shaft that is rounded at the tip. At most, there may be a momentary sensation of pain as the needle is inserted. No pain should occur after the needle is in place. This is unlike hypodermic needles that are pointed and have sharp cutting edges surrounding the hollow barrel and may be painful when inserted. Both reusable needles that must be sterilized after each use and disposable needles are available. Both types are designed to stimulate the acupoints and produce a result such as the release of endorphins from the brain.

As noted above, other types of acupoints produce other types of physiological changes within the body. The goal of acupuncture therapy is to encourage the body to promote natural healing and to improve function.

Needling isn’t the only way to stimulate acupoints. As a matter of fact, the Chinese word for acupuncture is zhenjiu. It comes from zhen, which means needle, and jiu, which means moxibustion. In Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion are considered part of one therapy. Moxibustion is a method of heating or stimulating acupuncture points by burning an herb over them. Moxa, from the Japanese moe kusa or burning herb, refers to the herb mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) which is related to the chrysanthemum family. The mature leaves of the plant, which have a wooly underside, are harvested, cured by drying in the sun, and ground into a fine powder or “wool” that is shaped into cones.

Commercially available moxa sticks are 6-12 inches long and about a half-inch in diameter. The end is ignited and then blown out so that it burns much like the red tip of a cigar. This hot end is held about an inch to an inch and a half above an acupoint while being moved up and down or in a circular pattern for three to 15 minutes to stimulate the acupoint. Veterinary acupuncturists can include this technique when warranted by the animal’s condition.

Conditions commonly treated with acupuncture
While acupuncture is not appropriate for all medical problems, it is used effectively to treat a number of disorders. Acupuncture is primarily used to treat functional problems such as paralysis, pain, and noninfectious inflammations including allergies. This encompasses a host of common canine complaints such as arthritis, spinal disc problems, many musculo-skeletal problems, lick granuloma, asthma, gastrointestinal problems and certain reproductive disorders.

Narda Robinson, DO, DVM, provides acupuncture therapy at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Robinson very commonly treats dogs with arthritis and disc disease, but she finds acupuncture important during postoperative recovery of animals as it maximizes the animal’s comfort level, promotes healing, and stimulates the immune system.

Acupuncture is one of the safest animal therapies when administered by a trained veterinarian. Rarely do side effects occur. You should know, however, that some animals may be sleepy or lethargic for 24 hours following a treatment while the condition of others may seem to worsen for up to 48 hours after therapy. These symptoms are indications that physiological changes are occurring and are usually followed by a noticeable improvement in the animal’s condition. The types of changes that you might see in your pet should be explained by the veterinarian at the time of treatment.

Choosing an acupuncturist
Whether your pet is the victim of an accident or develops symptoms for no apparent reason, it is essential that you see a veterinarian to have the health of the whole dog evaluated. Signs that you interpret as minor may be indicative of a more serious condition that requires professional diagnosis by a veterinarian. A thorough physical examination and competent diagnosis of your pet’s general health and specific problem are key to successful treatment and recovery.

Therefore, it is imperative that you choose a licensed veterinarian who has had formal training in the field of veterinary acupuncture, such as that offered by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS), based in Longmont, Colorado.

Dr. Robinson believes that lay acupuncturists pose a serious threat to animal health. Lay practitioners can not provide the option of laboratory tests and certainly not a veterinary diagnosis of the animal’s condition. Cancers and other serious illnesses can be missed, allowing them to progress to untreatable states. At Colorado State University, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues often combine conventional veterinary medicine with acupuncture, herbology, and massage to affect the best course of recovery for each individual animal.

Most states consider acupuncture a surgical procedure and therefore require that a practitioner be a licensed veterinarian to perform acupuncture treatments on animals. You can check the International Veterinary Acupuncturist Directory (303-682-1167) to find acupuncture societies and qualified veterinarian acupuncture practitioners in your state.

Cost-effective treatments
As you might imagine, the cost of acupuncture for an animal varies with the type of problem requiring treatment. Acupuncture for a simple problem (including a thorough initial examination) generally costs about $100, with additional visits costing anywhere from $35 to $80, depending on your location (areas with few practitioners and high demand often result in higher fees).

According to Dr. Robinson, treatment for something like severe hip arthritis might require three to four treatments. Sometimes the body becomes so entrenched in patterns that it need more time for the healing process to take place. Even though she frequently sees improvement in an animal’s condition after one treatment, she wants to see continue therapy for three to five sessions and then evaluate the progress. Then acupuncture treatments might be spaced several weeks or even months apart as a maintenance course. Dr. Robinson’s goal is to improve the animal’s quality of life and keep it comfortable while weaning the pet off of treatments.

Acupuncture is not a silver bullet that can mend all ills, but experienced veterinary acupuncturists such as Dr. Robinson say it’s common to see as many as 85 percent of their patients respond favorably. Consider this powerful and safe tool the next time you have an injured or ailing pet.

-By C. Sue Furman

Sue Furman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO. She is also active as a free-lance writer and teaches equine and canine massage classes.

Dog Training Books

By
Nancy Kerns
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Summer is here again, and those eagerly-awaited long, sunny days give us the perfect excuse to catch up on our reading – it’s too hot to train the dog! (Or jog, or clean house, or weed the garden, or…)

Dogs are a hot topic these days (no pun intended) and it seems that every publisher under the sun has a new dog book to promote. We are thrilled by the number of new books we can choose from to help us expand our knowledge and understanding of our canine pals. But it’s important to be selective when choosing which of the many offerings to bring home. Not all training books are created equal; some promote training methods that are ineffective or even downright cruel, especially in the hands of training novices.

Fortunately, there are a number of really outstanding training books out there as well, and we’ve highlighted the best ones below. As our regular readers know, we have a bias when it comes to training methods – we promote the use of positive methods, and condemn the use of punitive methods. So, for this review, our book selection criteria included:

• The author must advocate and give solid instruction in the use of positive training methods

• The book must offer lots of useful information on dog care and training to a wide audience

• The more photos that clearly illustrate the methods, the better

• The book must be enjoyable to read and well-written.

We hope you enjoy our selections. Pull out the lawn chair, a cookie jar for you and one for your dog, and happy reading!

Click here to view The Power of Positive Dog Training

-By Pat Miller

Action Packed

By
Nancy Kerns
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This is an action-packed issue.

On the next page, we introduce dog owners to the concept of pediatric spay and neuter surgery – performed when a puppy is just six to 14 weeks old. Animal protection professionals regard the procedure as the tool that may finally make a significant dent in the animal overpopulation problem, a cause we wholeheartedly support. Immediately following that article, however, is one that addresses concerns about the procedure that some holistic veterinarians have (“Can I Spay Later?”). Is it more important to take the action that will help the entire canine population, or the one that will be best for your individual dog? We try to help you find a win/win solution.

We’re also proud to bring you a comprehensive article about why – and more importantly, how – to utilize the most amazingly effective training tool to come along since the invention of the dog treat. It’s becoming more and more common to see people using head halters to control their dogs without choke or pinch collars. Unfortunately it’s also fairly common to see the halters misused, or to hear about someone whose dog objected to the halter so mightily that the owner decided the tool was without value. Pat Miller, our lead writer on training issues, shows us how to properly introduce the halters for maximum control (and peaceful, effortless walks!).

We’ve featured Case Histories of many grievously ill dogs who have recovered full health and vitality with the help of homeopathy. Freelance writer Debbie Stover, a newcomer to WDJ’s pages, presents the first part in a two-part series on this mysterious system of medicine. Accepting that the super-diluted homeopathic remedies can actually effect a canine cure may require a “leap of faith” on the part of some skeptical dog owners. All we ask is that you keep an open mind – and keep homeopathy in mind when faced with a condition your vet deems as “incurable.” We’ve had hundreds of dog owners tell us amazing stories about their beloved companion’s recoveries (and their own conversions!).

The Case History is another “raw food saves the day” story. In this case, a sickly Setter is restored to glowing health through food. When he was sick, the rescued dog could hardly bear to be touched; today he’s a therapy dog, being hugged and kissed in convalescent hospitals weekly.

Janet McClay, another writer who is new to WDJ helps us figure out how to safely shave a pound or two (or even 10-20) off our portly pooch. You probably already knew that the answer is diet and exercise . . . but what kind of diet? And how much exercise? See the article to find out.

In the February issue, we reviewed a number of products designed to make it easier to clean up after your dog on walks: poop bags, scoops, and carrying cases! We mentioned that the ability to biodegrade was important to us when choosing a poop bag – which sparked an immediate flurry of mail from readers who suggested that landfill garbage dumps are simply not the best place for dog poo, whether it’s in a biodegradable bag or not. We share our current best thinking on the weighty subject of environmentally friendly dog doo disposal.

Finally, we present the story of a reader who had a bad experience at a vet’s office: where the vet sort of manhandled her growling (but frightened and muzzled) dog. Positive trainer Pat Miller explains how the dog who is afraid of the vet’s office can be – and should be, quickly – trained to feel better about necessary visits to sometimes unpleasant places.

It’s a lot to take in, but you’ve been warned!

-By Nancy Kerns

Spay and Neutering Information

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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3

For decades, the standard in the veterinary profession was to spay female dogs and cats at the age of six months, and neuter males at nine months. This standard has contributed significantly to the tragedy of pet overpopulation, since most cats and many dogs have reached physiological sexual maturity by that time. Fortunately, the standard is changing.

Female dogs can come in season (and get pregnant) prior to age six months. A dog’s estrus cycle can be messy, leaving spots of blood on carpets and furniture, and a dog in heat can be a real nuisance. Every unsterilized male dog for miles around will make supercanine efforts to reach her. Packs of eager would-be lovers congregate in the street, fighting among themselves and threatening passers-by.

Having a fence adequate to keeping your female dog confined is not always sufficient to keep amorous suitors out. Determined male dogs have been known to scale tall fences in a single bound, tear boards off of fences with their bare paws, and even crash through plate glass windows to get to the objects of their desire. Even the most careful dog owner can be surprised 63 days later, when Virtuous Violet presents a litter of puppies sired by the athletic Adonis who managed to breach the back yard defenses and claim his prize while family members were all at work or at school.

Male dogs can reach sexual maturity and begin exhibiting unacceptable behaviors such as fighting and uncontrollable leg lifting well before nine months of age. Once Fido has started fighting with other male dogs you have a significant behavior problem on your hands; it can be very difficult, sometimes impossible, to convince him to stop.

Shelter statistics convincing
Twenty-five years ago, when I had just started working in the Customer Service Department at the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California, we sometimes took in as many as four to six litters of puppies on a single summer Saturday. We had nowhere near enough room for that many baby dogs – only a small percentage of them had the good fortune to eventually find homes. On the shelter forms that owners filled out when they gave up an animal was a blank for “Reason For Surrender.” All too often, the reason given was that “Violet got pregnant before we could get her spayed.”

Shelters have been working diligently for decades to solve the problem of pet overpopulation, promoting spay/neuter practices and responsible pet ownership in their communities, and requiring adopters to sign sterilization contracts as part of the adoption process (contracts that are notoriously difficult to enforce).

A 1987 survey conducted by the American Humane Association (AHA) concluded that less than 60 percent of adopted puppies and kittens were spayed or neutered after being adopted. Profoundly disturbed to realize that their own adoption programs were contributing to the overpopulation problem, many shelters redoubled their efforts to encourage compliance with their adoption contracts. A handful of shelters (including the one I worked for) succeeded in attaining compliance rates in the upper 90th percentile by committing significant staff and volunteer time and resources to pre-sterilization of dogs and cats six months and older, follow-up phone calls to adopters of puppies and kittens, citations for violations of local or state laws requiring sterilization of shelter adoptees, and “repossession” programs – the actual impoundment of animals for the purpose of spay/neuter surgery. (Most impounded animals were returned to their owners once the surgery was completed.)

Despite these aggressive programs, a 1993 survey from AHA found that many shelters still hovered in the 50-60 percent compliance range; an unacceptable failure rate of 40-50 percent, for shelters that were collectively euthanizing 10 to 12 million unwanted animals each year.

The surveys revealed, however, that a significant contributor to that high failure rate stemmed from the adoption of puppies and kittens who were too young to be sterilized prior to adoption. For a long time, however, a solution to that problem hovered on the horizon: lowering the accepted age of spay/neuter to seven to eight weeks. Drastic? Perhaps, from the conventional perspective. But the ongoing euthanasia of as many as 18 million companion animals a year called for drastic measures.

A historical perspective
Where did the tradition of six- and nine-month spay/neuters come from anyway? Not from any scientific basis, says Joan Freed, DVM, a free-lance veterinarian in the San Francisco Bay area whose specialty is prepubescent spay/neuter.

“In the 1930s and 1940s when the ages became standardized,” says Dr. Freed, “the spay ‘hook’ (a surgical tool that resembles a crochet hook and enables a veterinarian to more easily snag the elusive uterus) had not yet been invented, and it was difficult to find the uterine horn on a young kitten or puppy. After the first heat the uterus was enlarged and easier to find. Even after the spay hook was invented, tradition continued to dictate the accepted ages of six and nine months for sterilization of females and males, respectively.”

One theory was that if the animals didn’t reach sexual maturity prior to sterilization their growth would be stunted, and they could potentially suffer serious health and developmental problems (such as urinary blockages) due to the lack of hormones. This theory was never scientifically tested. In fact, studies conducted in the early 1990s proved just the opposite. Dr. Freed obtained her veterinary degree from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in 1982, and is a strong advocate of prepubescent sterilization. (Author note: I prefer the terms “pediatric,” “prepubescent” or “juvenile” spay/neuter to “early” spay/neuter, since “early” implies that we are doing it too soon. In fact, it is not “early” spay/neuter, it is “on-time” spay/neuter!) Dr. Freed has worked with animal shelters for almost a decade, beginning at Alachua County Animal Services in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. Her experiences with shelter animals headed for the euthanasia room have fueled her intensity as an advocate for juvenile spay/neuter.

“I’m so gung ho on it, it’s just obnoxious. But it’s so much easier on the animals,” she insists. “The surgery is so much easier.”

Some of the most significant research in the field of spay/neuter ages was conducted by two of her colleagues at the University of Florida, Mark Blomberg, DVM, and Kathy Salmari, DVM. Drs. Blomberg and Salmari conducted two separate studies, one with dogs, one with cats. The kittens and puppies were divided into three groups: those spayed or neutered at age seven weeks, seven months, and a control group that wasn’t sterilized. Results of the studies showed no differences in physiological or behavioral development between those animals sterilized at age seven weeks and those done at seven months. Of special significance was the finding that there was no difference in urethral pressure between any of the groups, implying that juvenile spay/neuter is not a contributing factor to urinary blockages.

There were some measurable physiological differences. The control group (intact) animals tended to weigh less than their sterilized counterparts, confirming conventional wisdom’s insistence that sterilized animals tend to “get fat.” (You can control this effect with relative ease by providing your sterilized dog with more exercise and/or fewer calories.) The growth plates in the legs of the sterilized animals closed later than those of the intact animals due to the absence of sex hormones that, among other things, promote growth plate closure. This means that the sterilized animals actually grow taller than their intact compadres, by an almost imperceptible few millimeters – the exact opposite result of the “stunted growth” fears.

Behavioral differences between neutered and unneutered male dogs are well known. Intact males are far more likely to roam, fight, (and risk injury and exposure to diseases such as parvovirus and distemper, not to mention impoundment by animal control), lift their legs obsessively, and bite than are their neutered brothers. Neutering earlier, rather than later, is likely to forestall unacceptable behaviors that can be extremely difficult to resolve once they are established.

Anecdotal evidence
The concept of prepubescent spay/neuter first came to the attention of much of the animal protection world when Leo L. Lieberman, DVM, published an article promoting the practice in the September, 1987 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Associationm (JAVMA). According to the article, several shelters had been performing juvenile spay/neuter for quite some time.

The SPCA in Medford, Oregon, reportedly sterilized 8,000 puppies and kittens at 6 to 12 weeks of age from 1974 through 1980, without any adverse effects reported by their owners. During this period the shelter documented a 68 percent decrease in euthanasia, from 14,332 animals in 1973, to 9,750 in 1979. The Vancouver, BC SPCA began doing juvenile spay/neuter as early as 1976, and the municipal animal shelter in Memphis, Tennessee, began a similar program in 1987 following the publication of Lieberman’s article.

In February of 1988, Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Health Newsletter supported Lieberman’s position. Citing the static figures of animal euthanasia in animal shelters, the newsletter’s cover story stated ” . . . it might be well for animal lovers to get behind the trend toward early neutering.” The ball was rolling. Pediatric spay/neuter became a hot topic at national animal protection conferences, and more and more shelters began lowering the age at which they sterilized their adoption animals.

The bandwagon rolls forward
A 1992 study conducted by the Massachusetts SPCA found that while 73 percent and 87 percent, respectively, of all dogs and cats in homes had been neutered, 20 percent of all neutered animals had been allowed to reproduce prior to neutering – a practice that definitely contributes to the overpopulation problem.

In 1992, AHA issued a policy statement in strong support of prepubescent spay/neuter, reassuring shelters that were fence-sitting on the issue. The number of shelters performing sterilization of young kittens and puppies began to steadily increase. That same year, the July-August issue of Pet Veterinarian published the results of a non-scientific survey they had conducted, indicating that 65 percent of their veterinarian readers believed that pediatric neutering was a good idea for animal shelters, and that 40 percent of veterinary readers had themselves performed sterilization surgery on animals 6 to 12 weeks of age. Even private veterinarians were climbing on the pediatric spay/neuter bandwagon.

The January 1993 issue of California Veterinarian focused on “early” spay/neuter, with articles that overwhelmingly supported the practice – including one from the prestigious UC Davis Department of Veterinary Surgery proposing a prepubertal spay/neuter program at the Davis Veterinary School. In 1999, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA ) finally caught the pediatric spay/neuter train, and passed a resolution and issued a public position statement supporting prepubertal spay/neuter.

Best for your dog?
It’s all well and good to agree that pediatric spay/neuter is an important part of the solution to the pet overpopulation problem. It’s something else entirely to look at the bright ball of fur pushing her Buster Cube around your living room, and imagine her sliced open on the surgery table. Isn’t surgery incredibly stressful on such tiny babies?

“There are some concerns that are easily addressed with changes in protocols,” says Dr. Freed. “In general, however, prepubertal surgery is much easier on the animals. They heal much more quickly because they are in a rapid stage of growth. When we neuter a male puppy we can’t even see the incision eight hours later. Kittens and puppies wake up after surgery, bouncing, eating and playing with an abundance of energy, as if nothing even happened. Older animals are still groggy hours after the babies are fully recovered.” (Note: Dogs who are spayed at age six months or later generally have visible or palpable spay scars for the remainder of their lives, so a vet can usually tell if a dog has already been spayed. Many veterinarians now tattoo a tiny dot or letter “S” on a female puppy’s abdomen during surgery since the spay scar will not be visible when she grows up.)

“There are three things to be aware of,” Dr. Freed continues. “Babies can’t regulate their body temperature well, until around the age of four months. Prior to that we must help them maintain their body temperatures or they can become hypothermic. We need to surgically prep and moisten the smallest area possible, and during recovery use a warm water blanket or Thermal BarrierTM heating pad type product designed for animal surgeries.”

The second medical consideration, says Freed, has to do with the overnight fast that veterinarians typically require before surgery. “Kittens and puppies are also at risk for hypoglycemia, so we don’t fast them overnight like we do with adults. They can eat up to an hour before surgery, and again as soon as they are fully awake.”

The third concern is for a young animal’s less-developed immune system being challenged by the stress of surgery. For shelter animals, this is in addition to the considerable stress created by the shelter environment itself.

“I am aware that some other shelter vets have reported problems with disease following surgeries,” says Dr. Freed, “but this has not been my experience. Naturally, we must adhere to common sense sterile surgical procedures. When I neuter two puppies from a litter of five and the neutered puppies break with kennel cough, invariably so do the three puppies who did not undergo surgery. The sterilized puppies seem to have no more difficulty recovering from the URI than do their unsterilized littermates.” Bottom line? “I have spayed and neutered some 7,000 puppies,” Dr. Freed continues, “and not had one serious post-surgical problem. Not one.”

Breeders should neuter early
Pediatric spay/neuter is not just for shelter puppies. It is also the perfect solution for dog breeders, who have previously had no real control over whether their “pet quality” pups were actually sterilized. A responsible breeder requires spaying and neutering in the sales contract when selling a pet puppy, but, like shelter adoption contracts, these are extremely difficult to enforce. By having puppies spayed and neutered before selling them, a breeder can know for certain that none of her dogs’ offspring will contribute to the pet overpopulation tragedy.

There is no question that responsible dog owners will spay and neuter their pets. The only question is “When?”

When arguing for pediatric spay/neuter, Dr. Freed answers that question with a question of her own: “Of course you are going to sterilize – the sooner the better. Why make it any more difficult on your dog?”

-By Pat Miller

Author Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She and her husband Paul live in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where Pat offers dog-training classes and courses for trainers.

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