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Canine Diabetes, A Common Yet Serious Problem

By
Kim Campbell Thornton
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Romeo’s owners live in an upper unit condominium, so they sat up and took notice when the little white dog began demanding numerous daily trips outside to urinate. Romeo’s appetite changed as well. He had always liked his food, but suddenly he was ravenous, eating every bit of his meals and still wanting more. Despite his avid appetite, he was losing weight. A trip to the veterinarian was definitely in order. After seeing the results of Romeo’s blood test and urinalysis, the veterinarian delivered the bad news: Romeo had diabetes.

Diabetes is a common and serious problem in pets. Formally known as diabetes mellitus (the sweet sickness), it’s a disorder of the pancreas gland. The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, whose purpose is to drive nutrients, specifically glucose, or blood sugar, into the cells. It’s the body’s most important fuel molecule.

When the body doesn’t have enough insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, a condition called hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Having no place else to go, the excess glucose spills over into the urine, resulting in excessive urination. Because their bodies are losing so much water, diabetic dogs compensate by drinking a lot, which in turn leads to more frequent urination.

Even when dogs eat more, the cells aren’t getting the nutrients they need to function, so diabetic dogs lose weight and become weak. “Basically, the system can’t run without proper fuel, and the fuel isn’t being made available to it,” says William Pollak, DVM, of Fairfield Animal Hospital in Fairfield, Iowa.

Which dogs are at risk?
The cause of diabetes onset is unknown, but contributory factors include genetic predisposition, infection, insulin-antagonistic diseases and drugs, immune-mediated disease, and inflammation of the pancreas.

Breeds with a high incidence of diabetes include Golden Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, Keeshonden, and Poodles, but any breed or mix can develop the disease. It’s seen more commonly in females than males and usually develops at six to nine years of age. Obese dogs and dogs that have had recurrent bouts of pancreatitis seem most prone to the disease, says Ellen Paul, DVM, of Lipton Animal Hospital in Urbana, Illinois. Long-term treatment with corticosteroids can also predispose a dog to diabetes.

Alternative explanations
Some holistic veterinarians offer other possible explanations for diabetes onset in dogs, but these reasons are controversial. Practitioners who advocate meat-based homemade diets for dogs often blame the presence of processed, high-carbohydrate foods in doggie dinner dishes. “I feel that commercial, processed, grain-based diets contain far more carbohydrates than are appropriate for the well-being of our dogs,” Dr. Pollak says.

Michele Yasson, DVM, who has an international homeopathic practice based in Rosendale, New York, says that when dogs are fed commercial foods instead of home-prepared diets, the result is a degree of malnourishment, creating stress for the body to cope with.

Dr. Yasson also believes that vaccinations play a role as well. “Vaccines stress the physiology in such a way that you wind up with chronic abnormalities in physiology,” she says. “The extra stress of that tends to lead to all sorts of chronic disease, including diabetes.”

Dr. Pollak suggests that diabetes may also be an allergic phenomenon. “When you feed a processed diet, the biological system isn’t functioning on the quality octane fuel that it was designed to function on, so you get abnormal metabolic processes. You get excessive heat in the body because of the abnormal breakdown, the rate of the breakdown as well as what’s being broken down,” he says. “The system is agitated. It doesn’t work right, so what happens is that the system starts attacking itself.”

Treatments
Diabetes cannot be cured, per se, but it can be managed successfully and sometimes even reversed if detected and treated early enough. Conventionally, diabetes is managed with once or twice daily insulin injections, a high fiber diet, and regulation of the dog’s mealtimes. Exercise is important as well, because it leads to weight loss, which can improve a diabetic animal’s condition.

Among the alternative therapies that can affect the disease’s progress are acupuncture, traditional Chinese herbal remedies, and homeopathy. “Each dog is different, so working with an experienced veterinarian is important,” Dr. Paul says.

Usually, the first step in bringing diabetes under control is to start the dog on daily insulin injections. Insulin types include a combination of beef and pork insulin, pork insulin, or synthetic human insulin, all of which are effective in dogs. It’s scary to think of giving a dog an injection, but the technique is easily learned after a little practice on a thin-skinned orange. Your veterinarian will show you how to prepare the syringe and inject the insulin. Insulin injections are given subcutaneously, meaning under the skin, and are much less painful than intramuscular injections. Some dogs don’t even notice them after a while, especially if they’re rewarded with a meal immediately afterward.

While holistic veterinarians start their patients on insulin if necessary, they prefer to manage without it if possible. Instead, a change in diet is mandated. “I introduce a raw diet,” Dr. Pollak says, “but I do whatever I have to do to stabilize them and maintain adequate, normal levels of blood sugar. If you get it early enough, the sugar levels will come down with less and less insulin, and many times you can get them off the insulin.”

Dr. Paul prefers a homemade diet for all pets. “A diabetic needs to have complex carbohydrates,” she says, “and brown rice is a good choice. I would add some psyllium for extra fiber. Fiber helps to slow down the digestion and absorption of foods, preventing rapid peaks in blood glucose levels. I also advise a pancreas glandular supplement.”

On the other hand, Dr. Yasson, who starts treatment with classical homeopathy, prefers complementing the homeopathy with a high-protein diet. “A high-fiber diet is normal and appropriate for people with diabetes, but for carnivores such as dogs I find that a high-protein diet with raw meat serves very well,” she says. Whatever the diet, dogs with this disease need two or three equal-size meals each day, spaced out at intervals determined by your veterinarian.

Supplements are also important. “I use chromium, a good multivitamin, and essential fatty acids (EFAs),” Dr. Yasson says. “The EFAs affect the metabolism of hormones and the glandular system. I find that the EFA that usually makes the most difference in my cases is flax oil-based, but a good balanced fatty acid will work as well.”

Blood sugar tests
If diabetes is to be brought under control, the urine and blood must be monitored regularly for sugar levels. “You want to give the least amount of insulin that results in just a trace amount of sugar in the urine,” Dr. Pollak says. At-home urine testing is easy with dipsticks available from your veterinarian or a drugstore. To collect the urine, Dr. Pollak says, simply take a wire coat hanger, open it up, and bend the end. Stick a paper cup on the bottom, and as the dog urinates, place the cup beneath the stream. Your dog may look at you as if you’re crazy the first time you do this, but it’s a generally successful method of collecting urine.

Glucose levels should be checked on a regular basis as well to make sure the insulin dosage is appropriate, Dr. Paul says. This is especially important during the first stages of treatment, when the proper insulin level has yet to be determined. Each dog is an individual, and changes in dosage or type of insulin are often necessary to bring the disease under control.

The test for blood sugar levels is called a blood glucose curve. This involves a day at the veterinary clinic for a diabetic dog. Over a period of 12 to 24 hours, blood is drawn at given intervals to see when the blood sugar peaks and decreases. This allows the veterinarian to better determine the amount of insulin given and the timing of the injections.

“If it is difficult to regulate his insulin level, have him checked for Cushing’s disease,” Dr. Paul advises. She also recommends regular blood tests at least every six months to check for other conditions that could aggravate the diabetes. Common complications of canine diabetes that can be identified with the aid of a blood panel include liver disease and infections.

Regular urine cultures are important as well, Dr. Paul says. “Diabetic dogs are prone to bladder infections, so urine cultures should be done to check for them. Dogs may not show signs of bladder infections, and a urinalysis may look normal. Cranberry supplements may help to control bladder infections,” she says.

Schedule
One of the most important aspects of managing diabetes is keeping the dog on a regular schedule for feeding, exercise, and insulin injections. Meals and insulin injections should be given at the same time every day.

If it’s difficult to be at home in time for the evening meal, the purchase of timed feeders, which can be set to open at the appropriate hour, can solve the problem. For dogs on raw diets, such feeders are available with refrigerated compartments to keep food fresh.

“Regularity in feeding is very important in taking the workload off the system,” Dr. Pollak says. “The biological system metabolically is able to settle down and create a less agitated state, and in that clear-functioning state it’s able to maintain itself at a higher level of wellness, the result being that the disease symptoms will subside.”

While diabetes is a serious condition, it’s important to approach it with the idea that there is hope, Dr. Yasson says. “Not every case is curable, but I find that although there are some cases where you can really get stumped, the majority are relatively simple and straightforward to treat. If people are willing to do the little bit of work that’s necessary with supplements and diet and so forth, treatment can be very successful.”

-By Kim Campbell Thornton

Kim Campbell Thornton is a frequent contributor to WDJ. She lives in Lake Forest, California.

Dogs Who Are Harness Escape Artists

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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A Harness Escape Artist

My dog, Bear, has developed extreme cunning in getting out of whatever device I have on him – buckle collar, body harness (two different styles), Halti head halter – or any combination of these. The only time he was unable to free himself was when the buckle collar was too tight for safety or comfort. Bear’s strategy appears to be to face me, pull backwards, and hop around on his back legs until he pops out of his restraint. Even with the belly band of his harness on tight, he managed to wiggle his elbows through it and pull out backwards.

Also, he’s not easily trainable. He’s smart enough, but he doesn’t really care that much if he pleases us by doing what we say, and he’s not well motivated by food. He’s simply disobedient.

This is getting to be a real problem. Bear gets free so often that my son and I are almost afraid to walk him. As a result, he’s not getting much exercise, and that makes his behavior worse. We’ve been lucky so far that he hasn’t come to grief during his wild getaways, but we can’t go on like this.

dogs

-Krista Gimeno
via email

Pat Miller, WDJ’s Dog Training Editor, answers this question for us. Miller, a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, offers private and group dog training classes from her base in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

You are right to be concerned. As you are aware, Bear risks his life every time he escapes, and his lack of cooperation diminishes the quality of the relationship that you and your son have with him.

In fact, the collar problem is just a symptom of the relationship problem. Bear is not motivated to do what you want, and he has discovered a very successful strategy for getting to do what he wants instead. I can give you a solution for the collar-slipping problem, but that won’t solve the relationship problem. That’s a bigger challenge, and one that needs to be addressed in greater detail than we have room for here. I would suggest that you locate a good positive trainer in your area to help you find the key to motivating Bear to do what you ask.

You can find trainers who are Association of Pet Dog Trainer members on the APDT website. Please take time to read the “Guidelines for Choosing a Dog Training Professional” that are posted on the web site. While the APDT promotes and endorses the use of positive training tools and techniques, not all APDT members are committed to positive training to the same degree. Be sure to look for one whose philosophies are aligned with yours before putting Bear’s training in his or her hands.

By the way, it’s a misconception that any dog tries to please us. All dogs try to please themselves. It just so happens that what pleases some dogs also makes us happy. These are the dogs that we call “eager to please.” They are really eager to please themselves, and we are fortunate that their “please factor” is aligned with ours. All dogs are motivated by something, and a good positive trainer will be able to help you identify what Bear’s “somethings” are.

Also, dogs who appear to be indifferent to food sometimes just haven’t found the right food yet. A good positive trainer will have access to a virtual smorgasbord of treat options to experiment with in order to find a food that Bear will work for.

Now, back to the collar. A different brand of head halter might be the answer. Many trainers find the Halti is the easiest of the head halters for dogs to escape from. (See “Proper Use of Head Halters for Leash Training,” WDJ June 2000). The others are not escape-proof, however, particularly for a dog who has found collar-slipping to be a successful behavior strategy.

I would strongly suggest you try the Premier Collar, also known as a martingale or limited slip collar. When properly fitted, this collar will tighten only if Bear tries to back out of it, and only enough to prevent his escape, not enough to choke him or cause damage to his trachea. (See “Looking at Dog Collars as a Restraint Tool,” WDJ, October 2000). This collar should keep Bear safe and secure while you find a trainer to help him (and you!) fix the underlying relationship problem.

A Clicker That’s Not So Loud?

Have you ever heard of a “quiet clicker?” I have been experimenting with all kinds of noisemakers, including the click of a ball-point pen, in hopes of finding something that delivers a well-timed click without making a racket. Many trainers are so enthusiastic about clickers that they use them everywhere, even though they are incredibly disruptive and annoying in many situations. I found something called the Sound Leash on-line but haven’t sent for it yet. It’s battery operated and has a volume control. My dog’s hearing is excellent. When she’s standing next to me, she doesn’t need a click that can be heard a block away. Any ideas?

Miller answers:

Hmm – volume controlled clickers – sounds like a great marketing idea to me! Your experiments with ball point pens are on the right track if you want a quiet clicker. Virtually anything that makes a sharp, abrupt sound can be used as a reward marker. Many trainers use a mouth click, a finger snap or a word – a verbal reward marker – that is reserved, like the clicker, to mean only “the behavior you were doing when you heard the word (or other sound) has earned you a reward.” Some behaviorists theorize that the sharp “Click!” of the clicker is more effective than a word, because it reaches a part of the brain that directly reacts to the sound, rather than having to be filtered and interpreted first.

dog training clicker

Also, because the clicker (or some other mechanical sound) always sounds exactly the same, it is a more consistent signal than a word, whose sound can vary depending on your mood, tone of voice, or health. I teach my dogs both a Click! and the word “Yes!” so I can use one or the other, depending on the circumstances.

There are cheap plastic frog clickers that make a softer click, available from mail-order places like the Oriental Trading Company. It can still be a pretty annoying sound, however.

The easiest way to get a soft clicker is to take a regular box clicker and place strips of white adhesive tape over the dot on the metal side of the box. (This handy tip comes from legendary clicker-trainers Bob and Marian Bailey. See “Training Other Species to be a Better Dog Trainer,” WDJ December 1998.) The more tape strips you place over the dot, the more the sound is muted. We use this to desensitize dogs who are fearful of the clicker, by starting with a very soft Click! and gradually removing pieces of tape until it is full strength. But if you wanted to leave the tape on and have a permanently muted clicker, you certainly could!

My Dogs Are “Undressing” Each Other

I hope you can help me with a small but strange problem: I have two Labs who refuse to wear collars. It’s not that they struggle to get out of them; it’s that they have learned that they can take turns chewing each others’ collars off! Needless to say, I have gone through a small fortune in nylon and leather collars.

I now remove the collars when they are left alone. Unfortunately, this action leaves me nowhere to attach their dog licenses or identification tags. I also don’t want to use choke collars for fear they could get snagged on something and do as their name implies.

I’m hoping you may have some recommendations on chew-proof collars or suggestions on how to correct this behavior. By the way, I’ve tried soaking the collars in everything I can think of that will leave a bad taste in their mouths. They seem to appreciate the additional flavoring!

Pat Miller writes:

Clicks to you for being aware of and concerned about the dangers of keeping your dogs without their identification on at all times. You do have a dilemma, don’t you? We can address it a couple of different ways. You could have your dogs tattooed and/or microchipped as identification insurance – not a bad idea even for dogs who don’t chew their collars off, since collars can be removed by other means. (See “Microchip Your Dog to Get Him Home Safe,” WDJ November 1998). These are not perfect I.D. solutions either, but every little bit helps…

A training solution is probably not the answer. Since the behavior happens in your absence, it would be very difficult to come up with a positive approach to preventing the undesirable behavior and rewarding a desirable alternative. You say you have used every taste aversion you can think of. If that means home remedies, you might try the commercial preparations like Bitter Apple. If you’ve tried those to no avail, talk to your veterinarian’s staff. They may have access to veterinary products that are used to prevent dogs from chewing on bandages, products that are significantly more bitter and bad tasting than Bitter Apple.

Actually, your chew-proof collar question made me think of a whole new application for a collar that I previously had no earthly use for. You know those ugly leather spike collars with the metal studs that stick out from the collar, most often seen on Pit Bulls and Rottweilers? Might be worth a try! I would test it for short absences at first, to make sure your dogs don’t ignore the pain and cut their mouths up on the spikes. They are Labs, after all, and tend to have a high pain threshold so they can run through the briars and retrieve fallen ducks from ice-cold lakes.

The other management options are separating them when you’re gone, which I doubt would make anyone very happy, or putting them in doggie daycare, where they can be more closely supervised during the day.

Electronic-Collars – Opinions Often Vary

By
Nancy Kerns
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Because we feel deeply that dog training should be pleasurable and effective, and because we have personally witnessed innumerable successful demonstrations of completely pain- and fear-free training, we have taken the position that training tools and methods that inflict pain are inferior (a strong word, we know) to those that do not.

We have a history of speaking out against training tools and methods that are, arguably, capable of hurting or scaring dogs (please note that we offer alternatives to these tools and methods in every issue). Recently, we mentioned that we thought it incongruous that two of the largest so-called “humane” organizations in the world had formed professional alliances with companies that make and sell electronic training collars (“What’s a Seal of Approval Worth?” WDJ October 2000).

However, the enduring popularity of these collars makes it clear that many people see nothing wrong with the collars. Lots of people swear by them – including some professional trainers, veterinarians, and experienced competitors in canine sports.

Dr. Phyllis Giroux has all three of the above-described credentials. She graduated from Michigan State University as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Masters degree in Animal Behavior, and later became a certified Canine Animal Chiropractor. According to her biography, Dr. Giroux has special interest in integrated canine medicine, including chiropractic, homeopathy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. She has been active in purebred dog events in breed, obedience, and field since 1974, and has owned numerous breed champions, earned many obedience titles, working certificates, and has owned and campaigned Retriever Field Champions, Master Hunting Retrievers and Master Hunters. She currently co-owns and operates Deep Run Canine Health Care and Training Center in Goldvein, Virginia, with a business partner, Jack Jagoda.

As you may have guessed by now, Dr. Giroux wholeheartedly advocates the use of electronic training collars. Recently, she and Jagoda completed the first in what they anticipate to be a series of instructional videotapes on the subject of training dogs with the help of electronic training collars. Produced in association with PetSafe, maker of “remote training systems,” the videotapes will demonstrate and explain the trainers’ methods and philosophies. Dr. Giroux was kind enough to forward a copy of the first tape prior to its official release so that we could review it.

We found the tape to be very professionally produced, concise, and informative. The training advice offered and demonstrated by Giroux and Jagoda was sound and reasonable – if you’re not opposed to the use of electronic training collars, which we still are.

Are we being stubborn? Closed-minded? We hope not. We readily admit that the intelligent and restrained use of the collars can produce the desired effect – dogs who perform certain tasks when asked. We can even see how the collars could be used to elicit a response from a dog who would be unreachable in any other way – loose, at a distance, and in the midst of a spontaneous charge toward certain dangers, a busy road, for instance.

But we still feel that there are other training tools and methods that can produce dogs that are trained just as (if not more) quickly and reliably, with absolutely no fear, pain, or potential damage to the relationship between dog and handler. And with these alternatives available, we don’t see the pressing need for electronic collars.

We’ll step back and let Dr. Giroux and Pat Miller, WDJ’s Editor for Dog Training (and an experienced, professional dog trainer with a deep commitment to positive methods) offer their opinions about the controversial collars. You’ll have your own opinion, of course. Why not let us know what that is?

–Nancy Kerns, Editor in Chief

Jan. 2001 Letters: Limited Slip Collars Rock!

By
Nancy Kerns
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Thank you for printing my story about my dog Sassy (“Adoptee Arrives With ‘Baggage,’ ” WDJ November 2000). I hope that it will help other people realize that, many time, they can work through the problems they have with their dogs, rather than simply “getting rid of” the problem dog.

Last month I called Premier for a catalog after reading your review of limited slip collars (“Slip-Sliding Away?” WDJ October 2000). I knew that Premier’s collars were of very high quality because I already had the “Gentle Leader,” Premier’s head halter. I received my order and I was very happy with the quality. The collars were also very attractive on my three “girls.” But would they work?

I was using conventional chain choke collars for Jasmine and Sassy’s walks. (Daisy doesn’t need one; she’s close to perfect.) Jasmine has a bad habit of lunging toward passing cars and I always worry about her slipping out of her collar. The choke collar worked but she was always gasping for air. Sassy is very good until a stray or loose dog runs up to her. I can’t take the chance of her slipping out of her collar, either.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous taking the dogs out with the new collars for the first time. If the collars didn’t work correctly, Jasmine could be under the tires of a passing car. Well, they worked great! Jasmine no longer sounds like she’s choking.

Then, last night, the collar passed the ultimate test. When we were walking, a neighbor’s dog came out of the sagebrush in the dark and ran right at us. It was not good. If my husband had lost control of the leash, there could have been a bad fight. I managed to chase the dog off. We had the Direct Stop spray with us, but I couldn’t get it to spray; it was jammed.

But anyway, the collar worked great. Neither of our “fighting dogs” was in danger of slipping out of her collar.

Thanks again for being such a great resource.

-Tina Diedrichsen
Elko, NV

——–

For several years I have researched human vaccines, and so I was concerned about canine vaccines as well. We have a three-year-old Beagle that was fully vaccinated for her first two years. Last summer, she had an allergic reaction to either a bee sting or insect bite. It was pretty frightening as she lost control of her bladder, bowels, and legs. The local vet put her on a steroid for a few days and she recovered completely. I decided to ignore the notice that she was due for shots until a notice for the rabies booster came. I did speak with a holistic vet and was advised that if the dog bit someone, without proof of a vaccination, the dog may have to be destroyed.

Well, within an hour of the booster shot, the poor thing was vomiting and swelling over her entire body. Back we go to the vet for additional treatment. Our poor dog was miserable for the rest of the day but has since recovered. I do not know if the vet reported the reaction but have done so myself. Thank you for providing the information on where to report adverse events (“Reporting Problems With Medications,” August 2000). The vet and I did discuss titer tests and we will do that next time the booster is due.

-Jacque Jones
Buffalo, WY

Sit Happens

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Sitting on cue is one of those basic behaviors that every dog should know, and happily, it is an absurdly simple behavior to teach. In fact, I remind my students that their dogs already know how to sit – it’s just the “doing it on cue” part that we have to work on!

Nowhere, perhaps, is the difference between positive and compulsion training more beautifully obvious than with the “sit.” A considerable part of the first session of many compulsion classes is spent teaching owners how to force their dogs to sit by jerking, pushing, and manipulating various body parts. I spend my first night of class talking with my students, explaining how (and why) we are going to train our dogs without using force. Meanwhile my demonstration dog for the night – an obstreperous, untrained dog provided by one of my students, a dog whom I have never met before – emphatically offers sit after sit after sit. Magic? Not really – just an application of the positive reinforcement elements of “operant conditioning,” a training technique that teaches a dog to voluntarily offer the behaviors that we want.

Magic Markers

The key to positive training is remembering to notice and reward the dog when he does something right. A dog sits dozens of times a day, all on his own. If we make it a point to reward him a good percentage of the times when he does, he’ll do it even more, because all living beings repeat behaviors that are rewarding to them. This is why so many dogs jump up on people. We tend to ignore dogs when they’re sitting quietly, and pay attention to them when they jump up. They get rewarded for jumping, so they jump more.

A reward marker is a word or a sound that tells a dog the instant he has exhibited a desirable behavior. Clickers are commonly used as reward markers because the Click! sound is so distinctive and consistent. Reward markers can also consist of the word “Yes!” (or any other word you choose), a “mouth click,” the click of a ball-point pen, or any other consistent, distinct sound. The Click! or “Yes” (or other reward marker) is a promise to the dog that a treat is forthcoming, and every Click! earns a treat.

Positive trainers use treats as rewards because food is a primary motivator – all living things need food to survive – and because a dog can quickly eat his treat and get back to the fun of training. It is possible to train without reward markers and treats by using toys, play, petting, and/or praise as rewards; but in my experience, it’s less effective and less efficient.

Let’s take a look at my first-night demo dog and see how the reward marker works.

I begin class by introducing myself and talking about the philosophy of positive dog training. While I do that, I also have the demo dog’s leash in my hand. I test his response to the clicker by clicking it in my pocket to muffle the sharpness of the sound. Then I feed him an irresistible treat. I click and treat several more times and then, assuming he doesn’t react badly to the sound of the clicker, I bring it out of my pocket and continue the clicks and treats while I talk. Usually, it takes no more than a half-dozen treats to convince the dog to rivet his attention on me.

Once this happens, I stop the constant flow of treats, and hold one up near my chest. Often, the dog will try to jump up for the treat. If he does, I simply whisk the treat out of sight and turn away, without making eye contact or paying him any attention. Eventually he will sit, because it’s easier to look up at me (and the treat) when he’s sitting. The instant he does, I Click! and treat.

It takes most dogs less than three minutes to become sitting machines, offering sit after sit in order to make the Click! happen and earn the treat reward; this is the secret of the “magic marker.” The dog learns that he makes the Click! and treat happen. Trainers jokingly call this the “Helen Keller moment.” Once we open that door, the dog is ready for training.

Putting Sit on Cue

Although the class listens to my comments while I work with the designated demo dog, they also watch his miraculous transformation from an out-of-control busy bee, to sitting at my feet, paying rapt attention to me. His behavior, more than any words I could speak, underscores the effectiveness of positive training.

At this point, I point out that I have not yet asked the dog to sit. With operent conditioning, we get the behavior first, then we add the verbal cue. There is no point in using a word to ask the dog to do something when he has no idea what it means. Once we know we can get the dog to offer the behavior, then we add the word so that he can start to make the association between the word and the behavior.

This is easy with the sit. I take a step backward. The dog gets up to follow his newfound treat machine. I stop, and he sits to make the Click! happen. As his bottom touches the floor I say “Sit!” then Click! and treat. I am telling him – in verbal shorthand – that the behavior he just did is called “Sit.” I repeat this several times, and then I start saying “Sit” just before he sits. By watching his body language, it’s easy for me to predict when he is about to sit. Now I am teaching him that the “Sit!” sound precedes his sit behavior. I click and treat every time.

I suggest to the class that an uneducated observer would think that the dog was responding to the verbal cue when he’s really not. I am predicting the dog’s sit behavior with the word. He does not yet understand that the word is his prompt to sit.

We test this assertion. I ask the dog to sit at a time when his body language tells me he is not about to sit – he is distracted, sniffing the floor, or looking away from me. Lo and behold, he doesn’t sit! I explain that he has not “refused” to sit on cue – he simply didn’t understand the slightly different context. I don’t nag at him with several repetitions of the “Sit” cue. Rather, I get his attention, and when I can see that he is ready to sit, I say the word. He promptly responds. The class gets the message.

Downhill from Here

Teaching the down is not quite as easy as the sit, since dogs are less apt to “offer” the down behavior in a training session than a sit. Once again, a food-treat motivator comes in handy. You can lure your dog into a down by putting a treat in front of his nose and moving it slowly toward the ground. Lots of dogs will follow the lure easily and end up in a perfect down on the first try. Click! and treat!

Some dogs won’t, however. They may not understand what you want them to do, and so they stand up when you try to lure them down. Some dogs are reluctant to lie down because they feel more vulnerable in the down position. In these cases you can “shape” the behavior. Shaping means breaking the final desired behavior into small steps and clicking and rewarding the dog repeatedly at each step along the way. Here is one way to shape the down:

1. Have the dog sit facing you. Hold the treat in front of his nose and move it two inches toward the ground. Click! and treat. Repeat several times until he shows no sign of trying to stand when you move the treat.

2. Have the dog sit. Hold the treat in front of his nose and move it five inches toward the ground. Click! and treat. Repeat several times until he shows no sign of trying to stand when you move the treat. If he does get up, say “Oops!” in a cheerful tone of voice, and try again. If he consistently gets up, go back to two inches, and when he can do two inches without getting up, try three inches. (When your dog has trouble with the transition from one step to the next, make the steps even smaller.)

3. Keep moving the treat closer to the floor until your dog’s nose is touching the ground. Now move the treat away from his nose along the floor, toward you, a few inches. Click and treat when he follows it with his nose. Gradually move the treat farther and farther away from his nose, clicking and treating as he follows without getting up. Eventually he will move one paw forward as he follows the lure. Click! and treat, then continue to lure him with the goodie until he is all of the way down. Click! and jackpot! Give him several treats, one after the other, while you tell him what a wonderful dog he is.

Bingo – you’ve done it! Or rather, the dog has done it. Once. Fortunately, it’s usually much easier the second time. Keep practicing until he will lie down for you easily when you lure him, and then start adding the verbal cue, “Down,” as he does it. Remember, you’re not asking him to “Down” yet, you’re telling him that the behavior he is doing is called “Down.”

As soon as your dog has had an opportunity to hear the word with the behavior a half-dozen times or more, you can use the word first, then lure to help him lie down.

Fading the Lure

Now comes the real challenge – getting your dog to lie down on the verbal cue without the lure. You must “fade” the lure – that is, reduce his (and your) dependence on the treat to get the “Down.”

Have your dog sit facing you, and hold the treat behind your back. Say “Down” in a cheerful tone of voice. He probably will sit and look at you, since he doesn’t know what the word means yet. Give him several seconds to think about it, then put the treat in front of his nose and lure him down. Click! and treat. Then do it again.

Watch him closely when you say “Down.” If he looks at the ground or makes a tentative motion as if to lie down, it’s almost as if he’s asking you if that’s what he’s supposed to do. Tell him “Good boy!” and quickly lure him the rest of the way down for a Click! and treat. If you encourage his tentative movements, you will speed up his response to the verbal cue.

Another way to fade the lure is to use smaller and smaller motions toward the ground with the treat until you’re not moving it at all. Or, motion toward the ground with your empty hand; Click! when he goes down and feed him the treat.

How quickly you accomplish the verbal down depends on the dog and you. I have seen dogs go down on a verbal cue in as few as three repetitions, and I have had students who still need the lure at the conclusion of a six-week class. Timing and persistence are key. If you frequently forget to pause after the verbal cue before you lure, your dog will focus on the lure, and won’t learn the cue.

Formula for Learning

Remember that the more complex a behavior is, the more likely it is that you will have to shape it. The better you are at breaking the behavior into small steps, the easier it is for your dog to understand what you want. Once he figures out that he makes the Click! happen, you can use the same training formula to teach any behavior. Figure out how to get the behavior, Click! it, and put it on cue. Simple. Not always easy – but simple.

The most valuable aspect of this training method is that it teaches a dog how to learn. This is a skill that the two of you can rely on for the rest of his training career – whether for formal competition, or to perform new tricks to impress your friends. His ability and interest in learning behaviors that please you will also help make him a more enjoyable housemate and companion.

Pat Miller is a freelance author and a professional dog trainer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.

Thanks to trainer Sandy Thompson, of Sirius Puppy Training in Berkeley, California, for her help demonstrating these techniques in these photographs.

An Interview with Donna Duford on Kids and Dogs

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Like peanut butter and jelly…like macaroni and cheese…like Lassie and Timmy, dogs and kids just naturally seem to go together. Still, for every heartwarming story we hear where a loyal Shep pushes his toddler out of the path of a speeding car, it seems we read about an equally bone-chilling tragedy where Cujo mauls a child.

Dog bites are responsible for a minuscule number of fatalities per year an average of 19 per year over the last 20 years, not all of them children compared to thousands of children’s deaths from auto accidents, house fires, and domestic abuse. According to the Centers For Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, however, non-fatal dog bites are the number one health problem for children in this country, outpacing measles, mumps, and whooping cough combined.

It is an unusual child who does not, at some point in his childhood, want a puppy more than anything else in the whole wide world, and it is an unusual parent who does not, at some point, succumb to those wishes. It’s also unusual for a child to reach the 12th grade without having been bitten by a dog on at least one occasion. Since, thank goodness, kids will have and love dogs, it is critically important for parents and the dogs juvenile caretakers as well to do all the right things to make sure they end up with a Shep rather than a Cujo.

Donna Duford is an internationally-known positive dog trainer and behavior consultant. Her dog training business, Companion Dog Training, is based in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, where she frequently sees clients with kids and dogs. Duford has a special interest in child/dog relationships, and has presented information on the subject to other dog trainers at the annual conference of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), a professional organization that promotes dog-friendly training and ongoing trainer education.

Duford says there are so many wonderful things that happen in positive dog/kid relationships, that it’s hard to know where to begin! Children who have good relationships with dogs often learn about responsibility and develop great empathy for a species different from their own, she says. I have seen many children gain self-esteem from caring for and/or training their dogs.

On the other hand, Duford recognizes that there are myriad ways that the child/dog relationship can turn sour. She has seen dogs with every conceivable negative reaction to children, and has been consulted by countless families to solve problems between dogs and kids in a household. WDJ caught up with Duford at November 2000 APDT meeting in Houston, where we discussed ways to train dogs and kids to build the strongest and safest relationship possible.

WDJ: What are some of the problems you see occuring between kids and dogs?

Duford: The negative aspects of the dog/child paradigm that I see most frequently are children teasing dogs, and dogs chasing, mouthing, and sometimes mounting children. The good news is that these problems are quite treatable if the family is motivated to work on them.

The worst thing I see in child/dog relationships is antagonism, deliberate or not, that results in aggression. When the family dog bites a child it is a traumatic event. It is scary, there may be injuries, and it causes great emotional upheaval for the family, not to mention financial liability.

WDJ: Clearly, the largest part of the responsibility to create good dog/kid relationships falls on human shoulders. What are the most important things that you teach parents to do to dog-proof their kids?

Duford: Dog-proofing falls into three categories: dogs in general, the family dog, and strange dogs.

To be dog-proofed, kids need to have respect for dogs, and they need to understand strict rules about dog safety. Parents should teach their children empathy and respectful behavior to all dogs.

Parents also need to teach dog safety much the way they teach fire safety with a clear, strong message. Children need to know that they must not bother dogs when they’re eating, chewing on a bone, or playing with other dogs. They must never approach or run from an unknown dog. They should be taught to ask owners of unknown dogs if they may pet the dog, and they need to be taught the correct way to pet.

Also, all children need to know that all dogs can bite. Dog bites are serious and the topic should not be sugarcoated.

With respect to the family dog, very young children under five years of age should not be encouraged to hug or kiss the dog. Even if the family dog tolerates or likes it, children of this age are impulsive and not old enough to understand one set of rules for one dog and different rules for others. If a young child routinely hugs and kisses her dog, she will be more likely to try it with strange dogs, which could have devastating results. Older children can be taught, if it is appropriate, that there are different rules for the family dog and other dogs.

WDJ: Let’s turn it around. What can dog owners do to kid-proof their dogs?

Duford: Socialization to children is paramount. Building a positive association with children by exposing the dog to friendly, polite children is a great start. Playing the dog’s favorite game or giving her special food treats when children are around is even better.

Another child-proofing measure I teach all my clients is to help the dog to have positive associations with all kinds of handling. We do this by pairing various types of touching with something the dog loves, like a special food-treat or toy. This should be done systematically, starting with very gentle handling and working up to rough, toddler-like handling such as tail-pulling, hair grabbing, and poking. The handling should not actually hurt the dog, and is best done under the supervision of a qualified dog trainer.

WDJ: Are some breeds of dogs better choices for kids dogs?

Duford: This is a tough one I hesitate to classify dogs by breed. There certainly are tendencies, within breeds, but each dog is an individual and I would hate to deprive a dog or a kid of a great companion based on a generalization. Instead, I would look at temperament qualities.

Good qualities for family dogs are high sociability and responsiveness, and low to moderate energy and excitability. This is somewhat dependent on the age and number of children and the family lifestyle, of course, but you stack the deck in your favor by choosing a dog who likes people, one who actively seeks them out. A social dog chooses to be with people when given the chance. This is different from a dog who likes people but doesn’t actively engage with them.

Dogs who are responsive take direction easily and are easy to train. Energy level and excitability are especially important considerations for families with small children. Dogs who are easily aroused and have a high energy level are likely to get overstimulated by children running, playing, and squealing.

If there is one breed category I would steer clear of with young children it would be toy dogs. Bigger dogs are sturdier and will fare better when accidentally stepped on or tripped over.

Also, with young families, I usually suggest adopting an adult dog. Most families with young children do not need the extra work required to raise a puppy or adolescent dog. It is also often easier to evaluate the temperament of an adult dog and its suitability to living with children.

WDJ: What are some of the worst things a parent can do in a dog/kid relationship?

Duford: Lack of supervision is a big problem. Dogs and kids should not be left unsupervised. Even the best-behaved children and dogs slip up. Accidents happen. Forcing dogs to interact with kids is also a big no-no. If the dog doesn’t want to be with kids, she is sending a clear message.

Pushing kids to take too much responsibility for the dog is also something I discourage. Unless we are talking about a teenager, dogs should always be the total responsibility of the adults in the household. Children do not have the maturity or self-discipline to care for another being, and parents need to understand that the kids should, at best, play a supporting role in dog care and training.

WDJ: Once a dog has bitten a child, can he ever be trusted with children again?

Duford: This is a loaded question. It depends on the severity of the bite and the circumstances surrounding the incident. Some dogs are fine with the family children but not with strange children. Some dogs are wonderful with children of a certain age and not with others.

Occasionally, the dog will be fine in all situations except the one in which the bite occurred. For instance, a dog may be wonderful with the kids except when they approach the dog’s food dish. Regardless, if the dog has bitten, or even growled at a child, everyone should sit up and take notice. This is not a fluke. The dog is communicating something and there is every reason to expect that if she finds herself in the same situation she will bite again.

Also With This Article
Click here to view more on “Kids and Dogs”

Long Distance Information

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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For many dog-owner teams, the transition from leash-training to long-distance work can be a frustrating challenge. Some dogs frequently disregard our cues when they cross an indiscernible (to us) threshold. But he knows what come means! Z client wails, and points as proof to the fact the Ranger comes impeccably, every time, when called in the training center, the house, or the back yard.

The fact is that Ranger does know what come means in the training center, in the house, and in the back yard. He also knows that when he’s hiking in the woods with his human guardian, chasing squirrels and rabbits is far more entertaining and rewarding than coming back when he is called, especially since Come! Often means the hike is over, the leash is going on the collar, and we’re returning to the car.

How do you manage to make the transition from come reliably when called within a safe, controlled area to come reliably when called regardless of where we are or what other exciting things are happening?

Enter the long line: a behavior management tool that you can use very effectively to prevent Ranger from being rewarded by dashing off. The fact that he can’t leave also gives you the opportunity to convince him that coming to you is irresistibly rewarding regardless of the circumstances.

Long lines come in many forms, from retractable leashes to light nylon lines, nylon check cords, or cotton training leashes, and range in length.

The purpose of the long line is simply to restrain Ranger so he can’t get his adrenaline fix by tearing after Bambi in the woods it’s then up to you to make yourself interesting and exciting enough to get him to return to you. The long line is not for yanking or pulling a dog back to you  that will only serve to confirm his opinion that playing in the woods is more fun than hanging out with you!

The following are some tips on the right way to use a long line as a training tool.

• Train a solid come response in controlled circumstances (for more information, see Total Recall, WDJ December 2000). Practice both with a long line in controlled circumstances as well as doing off-leash recalls, so the long line doesn’t always predict an adrenaline-generating adventure to the wilds of the woods.

• Use enclosed areas of different sizes to practice with Ranger on and off of the long line. If you practice only in your own back yard, and your own back yard is 30 x 50, Ranger is learning to come only from a maximum distance of 50 feet. Find a friend with a securely fenced pasture of an acre or more or go to a fenced community dog park during low-usage times when Ranger won’t be distracted by other dogs. You have to be able to do this off-line work without worrying that your dog will disappear into the National Forest for days at a time.

Note: If you plan to drop your long line and let the dog run with it attached to his collar, be sure you are not training anywhere where he might run off into the woods and get inextricably tangled around trees and brush.

• Whenever you arrive at a new location, do 5-10 minutes of recall practice (coming when called) on the long line, interspersed with other good manners training practice, before removing your dog’s leash. Then do a few minutes of focused off-leash training. This will teach him that training happens even in exciting places that a trip to his favorite park does not mean total lack of control, and that removing the leash is not an invitation to charge off into the brush.

• When you first let Ranger off the leash, do some short recalls and make them very rewarding use his absolute favorite treat that he gets only when he comes when called, or a quick game of fetch with a toy or ball that he obsesses over.

• As you hike around the large enclosed area with Ranger, look for opportunities to call him when he very likely to come that is, when he is looking a bit bored, not when he is fixated on a squirrel up a tree or totally preoccupied with digging a hole. When he comes, make wonderful things happen, then let him go play again. This teaches him that “come” means wonderful yummy fun-stuff break and then go play, rather than funs over, time to go home!”

• Several times during the outing, put the long line back on Ranger’s collar, hold onto the end, and walk with him no more than 10 feet away from you on the line (this works in open pasture it does not work well in heavy woods and brush). When you (and he) spot a squirrel or a rabbit, call the dog to you. If he doesn’t come, don’t get angry and don’t drag him back to you with the long line, just wait until he realizes he can’t get to the squirrel, and is willing to return to you. When he does, tell him what a wonderful dog he is, have him sit, feed him a treat if he’s interested, then release the line, and say, “Go Chase.”” Run toward the squirrel with him to encourage him, if he needs it.

This exercises teaches your dog the Premack Principle, which says that in order to get something really wonderful, he has to do something less wonderful first. In this case, the road to squirrel is through come to my person. As he gets better and better at responding, let him range farther and farther out on the long line until he will Premack back to you from 50 or more in order to earn his squirrel chase. (By the way, this also gives the squirrel a significant head start to the nearest tree and ensures that Ranger won’t commit squirrelicide on his outings with you.)

Every once in a while, don’t release him to go chase you need to put the Go Chase on a variable schedule so he doesn’t think he gets to chase every time. Sometimes, like when it’s the neighbor’s cat, or the squirrel is across the street, a chase reward won’t be appropriate.

• When Ranger will return to you reliably from the distant reaches of the long line even in the face of thundering squirrels and rabbits, you are ready to try Premack off-leash. To increase your likelihood of success, do your first off-leash test when Ranger is near you. When the opportune moment arises say, when Ranger sees a squirrel at a distance call him to you, reward him with a treat if you like, have him sit, and then tell him to Go Chase! If he takes off after the squirrel anyway, don’t keep calling. Wait until he tires of the squirrel, then call him back to you in a pleasant tone, and go back to practicing on the long line. Do not punish him!

The temptation doesn’t have to be small speeding animals. It can be other dogs playing, an invitingly cool pond on a hot day, or an appetizing pile of horse manure. The reliable recall, trained with the help of a long line, can serve you well in an endless variety of challenging circumstances. You could be the dog owner who can proudly say, Ranger knows what come means everywhere, and every time!”

-By Pat Miller

 

Family Squabble

By
Nancy Kerns
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For me, one of the best things about working for Belvoir Publications (WDJ’s publisher) is that the company has a long history of and a dedication to consumer-oriented, advocacy journalism. In other words, because Belvoir magazines accept no advertising, Belvoir editors are free to examine and truthfully critique products without fear of losing income from offended advertisers. We are allowed to take informed but subjective editorial positions (and defend them!) on any subject that is of concern to our readers.

This is a liberating position for me and my fellow editors; in most publication offices, writers and editors are constantly warned to remain carefully “objective” in print, no matter what our real opinions are. Understand, kowtowing to advertisers is taught to journalists early. I’ll never forget my first editorial meeting at the huge national parents’ magazine where I interned while I was getting my Bachelor’s degree in journalism many moons ago. An argument broke out between the editorial staff (on one side) and the publisher and ad saleswomen (on the other) regarding an article titled, “Family Flapjacks.” The author of the article had written that if you can afford to splurge for real maple syrup to pour over the pancakes on special occasion breakfasts, you should do it. The ad staff, who had sold full color, full page advertising to an (artificially maple-flavored) syrup company, wanted those lines stricken from the story. The power of advertising dollars is formidable and insidious.

Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with any of that anymore. It’s wonderful. Not only do I get to take a stand on issues in the dog world, I am encouraged and supported by my publishers to do so.

Usually, this is appreciated by our readers. Most people who subscribe to one of the 28 Belvoir Publications’ magazines because they value our (hopefully) informed and (absolutely) independent opinions.

Of course, not everyone who reads our opinions agrees with them!

WDJ has a dual focus – holistic health care and non-violent training. We find that these things work well together, and many of our readers agree. But some people admit that they subscribe specifically for information about one of those areas, and disagree with our positions in the other area. They embrace holistic care, but they think clicker training is for the birds. Or they love our gentle training tips, but prefer to leave raw diets and such to the wolves. (Of course, if they don’t appreciate either focus, they subscribe to something else!) Generally, these folks can just flip past the material they don’t like to something that they do.

Once in a long while, though, one of our strong positions on some subject aggravates someone who usually really likes us – so much so that they can no longer appreciate us at all. And guess what? We did that recently.

In the particular case I’m talking about, the person we annoyed was someone we like and respect, someone who has contributed valuable information to this very publication. We feel we owe this person an opportunity to publicly disagree with us. We know she is not alone; we’re sure there are other readers who agree with her. So we’re going to air the arguments on both sides of the issue – just a little – and let you make up your own minds. Check out “A Buzz About E-Collars” on page 20. I don’t think we’ll ever sell our viewpoints on the subject to our esteemed (former?) associate, and goodness knows we’re not convinced of the superiority of her views. But that’s okay. The important thing is to stay respectful, kind, patient, and open-minded – that’s our New Year’s resolution.

-Nancy Kerns

Stressing On Fresh

By
Nancy Kerns
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Somehow, I ended up with a pet hermit crab. Do I have a “Home for Wayward Pets” sign on my back? A neighbor’s child brought it home from a carnival she attended with friends; she won it in a contest. For various reasons the neighbors didn’t want it, and didn’t know what to do with it. Okay, we’ll take it. What kind of habitat does a hermit crab need? What do hermit crabs eat?

My son and I hit the Internet. We learned that hermit crabs need to be kept warm and moist, they need some spare shells to grow into, and most importantly, they need tiny amounts of a whole variety of FRESH foods daily: meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables, grains, etc. When I say tiny, I mean infinitesimal; I have never noticed anything missing from the food we dutifully place before the crab each day. He must be eating something, because he’s still scuttling around, months after he arrived.

But he’s definitely more high-maintenance than some of our other animals. Our finches and our fish thrive on dried foods; the crab needs fresh. You’d think it would be easy to come up with a quarter-teaspoon of something fresh, raw, and whole every day, but it’s not! On some days, I can honestly say I don’t have anything in the kitchen that could nourish a growing crab! I mean, you can feed a kid macaroni and cheese or pizza for dinner every once in a while with few ill effects, but I really wouldn’t expect a crab to thrive on such artificial, processed fare.

Then, on one of our frequent trips to the pet supply store, we spotted a row of jars labeled “Hermit Crab Food: A Vitamin-Enriched Food for all Land-Type Hermit Crabs.”

I’m fully aware that no commercially prepared food pellets could be as good for a crab as fresh, real food. But I sure am glad to have something to give him on the days when the groceries run out – just like I have a top-quality dry dog food to feed my dog, Rupe, on the days when I just can’t seem to get it together to buy and/or prepare a fresh, nutritious dinner.

People have asked me why WDJ takes so much space to discuss commercial dog food when it’s so obvious that we are aware “fresh is best” – we have published dozens of articles about homemade diets, and will publish many more. However, for many of us, feeding dry or canned food is a less-than-perfectly-healthy diet necessitated by our modern go-go-go lifestyles. We may not be able to feed our animal (or human!) families the healthiest food every day. But we would like to, at the very least, feed the healthiest commercial diet in the world, whether our animal companions weigh 10 pounds, 110 pounds, or just 10 grams.

With that in mind, we hope you appreciate our “2001 Top Dry Dog Foods” review. We’ll try to steer you to the very best food in bags.

-Nancy Kerns

Whole Dog Journal’s 2001 Dry Dog Food Review

By
Nancy Kerns
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Here at WDJ, we talk about dog food all the time, in every single issue. And why not? We feed our dogs every day. Many dogs eat the same food every day of their entire lives (though this is not something we recommend, as we’ll discuss later). Though many veterinarians are just beginning to figure this out, the food that a dog eats has a profound effect on his health. We can quite happily spend an entire day discussing pet food ingredients, say, or regulation of the industry.

So, why on earth does it make us crazy when people call or write to us with the simple and innocent question, “What’s the best food for my dog?” Maybe you had better sit down. This might take a while to explain.

There is no best food for every dog and dog owner
First, you have to understand that every dog is an individual, just like us! While there may be similarities between dogs of similar age, breed, or condition, each individual dog has a unique physiology and metabolism. If your Dalmatian is prone to urinary tract infections, he would probably be better off with a food that has a lower pH. Say you have a Golden Retriever from a family loaded with victims of cancer; you may want to consider fighting his genetic predisposition to developing the disease with an organic food, ideally one with a higher percentage of a quality fat source loaded with Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

Every dog’s personal preferences and sensitivities are unique, too. We’ve heard of dogs that won’t touch food that contains beef, and dogs who turn up their noses at the smell of fish oil. We’re intimately familiar with dogs who vomit and suffer from diarrhea if they eat corn, and dogs who can’t stop itching for a month after consuming a meal that contained chicken.

What about the dog’s age, weight, and activity level? Is she a fast young Greyhound whose skinny frame carries no fat whatsoever? She’ll probably need a higher-fat, higher-protein food to keep from disappearing altogether. An older couch potato Cocker Spaniel who never goes out for walks? A low-fat, high fiber food is indicated.

And what about the dog food buyer? Is our nightmare caller on a terribly tight budget? Or is money no object when it comes to his dog? We have taken calls from people who order food on the Internet and have it shipped across the country, and talked with people who say they simply refuse to shop anywhere except Safeway for their dog’s food. We’ve also heard from people who called to say that they have 10 big dogs, and can’t possibly afford high-quality food for all of them; what can you possibly say to someone like that?

So, as you can see, we have our reasons for refusing to tell you what the best dog food is.

But this drives our callers crazy. They just want to know what to feed their dogs! Why can’t we tell them that? So, next, in an effort to trick us into telling them what they want to know, they’ll often ask us, “Well, what do you feed your dog?”

Our selection criteria
By now, you have probably realized that we’re just not going to tell you which food to buy for your dog. Sorry! But we will tell you how you can evaluate a food for quality, and tell you what we look for and look out for in a food. We’ll also give you the names of some foods that we thoroughly approve of, and tell you why we like them. But only you and your dog can determine which is best for you both.

First, however, we have to explain a few things about our selection criteria.

We DON’T conduct lab tests to make sure the Guaranteed Analysis printed on the label accurately reflects the contents; that’s the job of state feed control officials, and way beyond the scope of our resources.

We DON’T inspect manufacturing plants or investigate the manufacturers’ Boards of Directors. It would be interesting and even enjoyable for us to do so, but come on! The costs associated with such a project would be prohibitive, to put it mildly.

 We DON’T select foods on the basis of protein or fat content; more is not always better. Many people labor under the misconception that the more protein a food has, the better it is for their dog, so they seek out the highest protein foods on the market. And some manufacturers try to equate high protein with high quality. But some dogs should not eat the highest protein foods. Giant breed puppies, for example, can suffer complications of too-rapid growth on overly high protein diets. Talk to your veterinarian about an appropriate amount of protein and fat in your dog’s diet.

We base our selections on a review of the ingredients and Guaranteed Analysis on the food label. We have acknowledged in previous articles that few states actually test the foods made and/or sold within their borders for labeling violations and inaccuracies.” We have also previously informed you that food makers have up to six months to change their labels after changing the ingredients and/or the formulation of a food.

Despite these unfortunate facts, we stand by our decision to make food selections based on the ingredients and Guaranteed Analysis printed on the food labels. After all, the label is all that the average consumer has to go on. And we definitely want to teach you how to analyze a label by yourself; it’s not rocket science.”

Also, a quick scan of the ingredients list can tell you a lot about the intentions and philosophy of the company who makes the food. If a maker admits to using artificial preservatives, say, or lots of grain fragments or animal by-products, you can be reasonably sure you’re not dealing with a top-of-the-line product. Conversely, if the ingredients list is headed with a quality protein source, and packed with whole, healthy foods, you know you’re in the ballpark.

We don’t examine every food on the market. There are thousands of foods on the market, some nationally distributed, some that are sold only in a single state, and some that are sold very locally. We can’t look at every one.

However, we make every effort to track down products made by companies that make (or claim they make) premium or natural foods. Frequently there is nothing premium or natural about the products; that’s to be expected, because those terms have no legal definition! But it sometimes signals an intent on the part of the food maker to create a truly top-quality, healthy food.

In truth, despite the fact that there are so many food makers scattered across the country, a tiny percentage of them produce WDJ kinds of foods! We think we’re aware of most of the good ones, but there are new players entering the market every day, and some regional companies we’ve never heard of. If you’re aware of a food that meets our selection criteria but is not listed among our top picks, send us some information about it. We frequently review new or newly improved foods throughout the year.

But please, oh please DON’T call and ask us if it would be best for your dog, or if we could tell you over the phone if it’s any good. Hold that label up to our criteria list, below, and YOU can tell US whether it’s good stuff!

So, without any further ado, let’s look at WDJ’s Approved Dry Dog Food List (click here to view).

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Dog Food Manufacturers and the Food Labeling Skepticisms”
Click here to view “Labelling Dog Food Like People Food”
Click here to view “Which is the Best Type of Dog Food?”

Holistic Treatments for Canine Skin Rashes

By
CJ Puotinen
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Nancy Strouss lives and works with dogs. As the owner of People Training for Dogs in Valley Cottage, New York, she teaches group and private classes from puppy kindergarten to advanced obedience. Her own Golden Retrievers compete in the show ring, obedience, and agility, and when time permits they visit nursing homes as therapy dogs.

Juniper (Shady Lane Juniper, CDX, NA, TT, CGC) is a spayed 7½-year-old Golden Retriever who has been on a well-balanced raw diet for the past four years, prior to which she ate high-quality kibble and a variety of raw foods. Strouss, the dog’s co-breeder, raised Juniper without heartworm medication or unnecessary vaccinations. “She has been a very healthy dog with minimal need for veterinary care,” says Strouss. “Juniper has had an occasional hot spot, but otherwise, her health has been excellent. Her only regular veterinary appointment is a monthly maintenance adjustment from a veterinary chiropractor.”

Spilled food starts problems
As part of her training business, Strouss sells training equipment, natural pet foods, and supplements. Recently a local pet food store that was going out of business asked Strouss to carry its customers’ favorite reduced-calorie kibble. The food’s first ingredients are ground yellow corn, poultry by-products, wheat flour, poultry by-product meal, oat flour, and beet pulp.

“Some of its ingredients, like poultry by-products and beet pulp, are controversial,” says Strouss, “and I have serious questions about foods that contain large quantities of grain. At the same time, this food does not contain chemical preservatives, flavoring agents, or dyes. As a convenience to the store’s customers, I agreed to carry it.”

One day a 40-pound bag of the food broke open while Strouss was moving it. She put the spilled kibble into a container with a tight-fitting lid, but a few days later someone moved the container, the lid came off, and Strouss’s assistant discovered Juniper helping herself to the kibble. Strouss and her assistant weren’t concerned because Juniper hadn’t eaten much, and she seemed fine.

That night after teaching her classes, Strouss took her dogs outside to play ball, after which the dogs, as usual, drank plenty of water. She waited an hour before feeding them dinner.

“My dogs are all good eaters and never miss a meal,” she says, “so I was startled when Juniper refused to touch her food. I remembered the stolen kibble and immediately thought of bloat. Sure enough, her stomach and sides were distended. Of course, it was after hours and no vets in the area are open for emergencies, but fortunately I have a friend, Beverly Cappel, who is a holistic veterinarian. I decided to call her before making the 40-minute trip to the emergency hospital in New Jersey.”

Juniper was in the early stages of bloat and not yet showing the dangerous symptoms of panting, drooling, trying to vomit, or having difficulty lying down. Dr. Cappel suggested that Strouss give Juniper charcoal capsules, walk her for at least 15 minutes, and try to get her to burp.

“I did this right away,” says Strouss. “After a 15-minute walk, Juniper burped a few times and then defecated. I brought her back inside and kept a close eye on her. Her stomach was definitely less distended, and she lay down on a cool part of the floor and fell asleep. Half an hour later, she jumped up onto my bed and fell asleep again.”

The next day, Juniper seemed completely well, but Strouss decided to feed her a very small morning meal, just in case. “Late that afternoon I again noticed the early symptoms of bloating,” she says. “This time it happened during office hours, so I decided to take her across the street to my conventional veterinarian. Her stomach and sides were once again distended, but only slightly. We decided to repeat the charcoal and walk-till-you-burp routine, and again her symptoms disappeared.”

New signs of trouble
Juniper was her happy, healthy self for the next few days. Then Strouss noticed her licking an area on her inner thigh. At first it was a small, inflamed lesion, like a hot spot, but as the day went on, the inflamed area spread until it took over her entire belly, both inner thighs, and the sides of her ribcage. “It was like a wildfire burning out of control,” Strouss explains, “like a severe burn with a poison ivy rash on top of it. Ouch! The skin was red hot and moist. Juniper was obsessed with licking the area and had difficulty standing, walking, and sleeping due to pain and discomfort.”

Strouss contacted a veterinarian whose line of natural skin-care supplements she carries, describing Juniper’s symptoms. “Go see your local vet,” he told her. “This could be a superficial spreading pyoderma that will require antibiotics for about three weeks and may require short-term prednisone to put out the fire.”

However, after hearing this, Nancy Strouss didn’t follow his advice. Instead, she took matters into her own hands. Why?

“Juniper is a seven-year-old Golden Retriever,” says Strouss. “That’s an age/breed combination that tops the charts these days for developing cancer. Juniper has been raised and cared for holistically all her life. My goals for her have always been good health, good quality of living, and greater longevity. A conventional approach to the problem would have provided relief from her extreme discomfort, but at what price? In the long run, the excessive use of steroidal drugs and antibiotics destroys the body’s immune response and, I believe, leads to the development of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”

Turning down the heat
Strouss cut all the hair away from the inflamed area and continued to trim it as the inflammation grew in size. “Every hour or so until bedtime, I took Juniper outside and sprayed her gently with cold water from the hose,” she says. “Sometimes she would stand in the wading pool, telling me it was time to hose her down. This brought her enormous relief. Had it been winter, I would have done this in the bathtub.” After each soaking, Strouss gently dried the area with soft towels and a hair dryer set on “cool.”

When Juniper’s skin was dry again, Strouss sprinkled the area with Gold Bond powder, a drug store talc powder that contains menthol, zinc oxide, acacia, eucalyptol, methyl salicylate, thymol, zinc stearate, and salicylic acid. “It’s recommended for skin irritations like burns, poison ivy, and prickly heat rashes,” says Strouss. “She lay on her back as I applied it, and I was careful to keep it away from her nose and mine, so we wouldn’t inhale its dust. Then I covered the area with a towel and held it in place for several minutes.

“These steps minimized her pain and allowed her to rest for about an hour, when we began again. Thinking about what was going on inside her, I gave her Traumeel, a homeopathic remedy for the symptoms of pain and inflammation, and Rescue Remedy, the Bach flower remedy recommended for stress, which I gave her orally whenever I noticed her panting or acting anxious. I diluted the Rescue Remedy with distilled water and sprayed it directly on the inflamed skin and in the air around her.”

Strouss also supplemented Juniper’s diet with digestive enzyme tablets (one or two every hour or so), extra vitamin C, two echinacea/goldenseal capsules three times a day to boost her immune system, and her usual raw diet. Juniper eats raw meat, raw meaty bones, and raw vegetables pressed with salt to produce lactic acid to feed her beneficial bacteria. Also, for several days Strouss added raw garlic to Juniper’s dinner for its immune system support.

Positive outcome
Juniper’s ordeal lasted one week, from the first symptoms of bloat and inflammation to their complete resolution. The rash disappeared, her skin stopped itching, and her playful disposition returned.

“Caring for a sick dog holistically can take longer and make more demands on the dog and owner than the use of symptom-suppressing drugs,” says Strouss. “I knew that in the long run, preserving Juniper’s own healing abilities was the right thing to do, but there were moments when I found myself fantasizing about prednisone.

“The temptation to treat these symptoms conventionally is overwhelming, both from the perspective of the dog’s discomfort and the amount of time and effort needed from the owner,” admits Strouss. “For many, like those who work away from home, hourly treatments are out of the question. If I didn’t have a flexible schedule, I would have used conventional therapies. But I was able to spend time with Juniper, so when I weighed the long-term benefits of natural care against the quick fix offered by conventional drugs, I decided in favor of Mother Nature, and I’m glad I did.

“Juniper is completely well, and she isn’t having to deal with the residues or side effects of cortisone, antibiotics, and other prescription drugs. I hope that, as a result, she will have a longer, healthier life.”

-By CJ Puotinen

CJ Puotinen is the author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care and Natural Remedies for Dogs and Cats. She is a frequent contributor to WDJ.

Preserve Us!

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

Many consumers have begun to question the presence of preservatives in dog food. Whether we like the idea or not, preservatives must be used in dry foods to combat the ill effects of exposure to oxygen. Preservatives are used in dog food primarily to stabilize fat. Since canning is itself a preserving process, additional preservatives do not have to be added to canned food.

The problem that preservatives address is the interaction of oxygen with fat known as oxidation which causes rancidity. Most fats used in dog food are pre-treated with antioxidants (compounds that prevent this reaction) before they are even shipped to the pet food manufacturer. Pet food makers generally tell their suppliers which antioxidants they will and will not accept. In the past, preservatives added by the supplier were not usually disclosed on the label, in defiance of an FDA regulation which required this. However, the majority of manufacturers now list the fat preservatives on the label, so you will usually see something like: Chicken fat (preserved with BHA).

Besides preventing rancidity, preservatives can also retard the growth of microbes like bacteria. While extruded foods are relatively sterile after departing from the high temperature and pressure environment of the screws, they may be re-contaminated during the drying process, or by bacteria lurking in the sprayed-on coating materials. Mold spores, which are ubiquitous in the air, can also sneak into the bag with the food. Preservatives also help prevent deterioration of vitamins (especially the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K), energy value, and amino acid availability of the food.

Artificial preservatives
There are several synthetic antioxidants that are commonly used in dry dog food. Propylene glycol, the main ingredient in the new safer antifreeze, is a close relative of the highly toxic ethylene glycol. It is banned for use in cat foods because it damages feline red blood cells. No evidence has been found, however, that this occurs in dogs. It is mainly used in soft-moist foods, such as the squishy bits and chunks found in some dog foods.

Ethoxyquin, made by Monsanto, is a very effective antioxidant, but it has come under fire for suspected harmful effects. The pet food industry contends that no one has ever proven that Ethoxyquin is unsafe, but consumers complained of numerous health problems in dogs who ate foods preserved with the product. Today, Ethoxyquin is rarely seen in over-the-counter dog foods, although some makers still use it in their veterinary prescription-type diets.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are very popular preservatives in the pet food industry and the human food industry. They are chemically similar, but BHT is more toxic to the kidneys than BHA, according to researchers at Michigan State University. BHT is prohibited as a food additive in England.

All of these chemicals are quite effective preservatives, providing a stable shelf life of at least 12 to 16 months under ideal storage conditions.

Interestingly, synthetic antioxidants have been shown in studies to have a protective effect against certain liver toxins and some tumors in animals, although some appear to actually promote other cancers, such as stomach, kidney, and bladder cancers. Ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT are well known to cause hypersensitivity (contact allergies) in chemical industry workers whose skin is chronically exposed to these chemicals. There is some evidence that Ethoxyquin may contribute to chronic kidney disease.

Because fats, oils, and other ingredients may be treated with antioxidants before they get to the pet food manufacturer, even canned foods (which don’t need preserving due to the oxygen-free environment in the can) are likely to contain them. One industry supplier claims that it is very difficult to buy stable animal fat, poultry by-products, meat meal and fish meal without Ethoxyquin. In fact, fish meal, which is a very common ingredient because of its rich flavor and nutrient value, is heavily preserved because of its unfortunate tendency to auto-combust in warm temperatures. (Several cargo ships carrying unpreserved fish meal have even experienced fires or explosions due to the heat generated by oxidation reactions!)

Too much?
Federal and state regulations restrict the levels of the artificial antioxidants in animal feed, including pet food, generally to 0.15 to 0.02 percent of the fat content. A total Ethoxyquin level of 150 ppm is permitted in animal feed, fish food, and pet food by law. In 1997, the FDA requested that pet food manufacturers voluntarily limit ethoxquin to 75 ppm based on new data from Monsanto. However, the only manufacturer still using Ethoxyquin in its over-the-counter foods recently stated that Ethoxyquin levels in its foods do not exceed 200 ppm, well over FDA’s suggested limit. Oddly enough, Ethoxyquin is allowed by federal regulations only in canned pet food not dry. However, the pet food industry has amply demonstrated its propensity for disregarding such inconvenient laws, and FDA lacks the manpower and resources to enforce them.

By way of comparison, Ethoxyquin in forage crops for food-producing animals is limited to 5 ppm. In human food, ethoxyquin is restricted to 100 ppm as a color preservative in chili powder, paprika and ground chili not exactly high-consumption items! and maximums of 0.5 ppm in eggs, zero in milk. BHA and BHT, however, are widely used in foods for human consumption.

Natural preservatives
Many pet food makers are now using so-called natural preservatives: ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and mixed tocopherols (vitamin E); and some even use such exotic items as rosemary extract. (Actually, what we consider vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, is not an antioxidant itself, but the rest of the tocopherol complex, about seven compounds in all, do have that action).

Natural preservatives may not provide as long a shelf life they are said to be most effective for seven to nine months, though some companies have managed to stretch this to 12 months by combining several natural preservatives. Even if they are somewhat less reliable, natural preservatives are at least not harmful to our dogs, and may even provide a few extra vitamins.

How long can this last?
So, now we have a finished dry dog food in the bag, complete with preservatives what happens next? If there is a limited shelf life, don’t we want to make sure that the food we buy is safely within those limits?

There is no legal requirement for manufactured on, expiration or best used by dates on pet food packaging, nor is there even an accepted industry-wide standard. A few years ago, most dog food labels were coded in a way that very deliberately obscured the actual date of manufacture. Fortunately for us, this has shifted toward providing more consumer-friendly information.

After a period of confusion where various labeling schemes were used, the largest companies have set a sort of de facto standard: rather than stamp the manufacturing date on the package, they use a best used by date. This date is usually 12 to 16 months after the date of manufacture. But it is still impossible to tell from the label exactly when the food was made or what the shelf life should be.

Lamentably, some companies don’t use a date stamp at all, and a few still use coded stamps that prevent you, the consumer, from knowing anything about when the food was made at all, or how long it is supposed to last. It is probably best to avoid such foods, if for no other reason that to reward the manufacturers who do provide such information for being honest and above-board.

The manufacturers agree that, when it’s present, the best used by date is just that do not buy a food that is nearly at its date, if you plan to be feeding it for several weeks. The period of time the bag is at your house and being fed, right down to the last kibble, must be included in the shelf life.

It is extremely important to check every bag you buy for a date stamp. In my research, I found several lots of food that had best used by dates that were long since passed. They were still sitting on store shelves months after they should have been discarded! The manufacturers rely on the stores to rotate their stocks, but even at the big pet food retailers, this does not always happen.

It is preferable to buy food that is closer to its manufacture date than a food that has been sitting in a warehouse or on a shelf for 10 or 11 months. No matter what preservatives are used, there will always be some deterioration of the food over time. The nutritional value will be compromised, and the food may even become unpalatable to the dog. I recommend buying only the freshest foods and using them as soon as possible especially the naturally preserved foods.

Finally, it is important to remember that, no matter what preservatives are used or what the expiration date is, any dog food will deteriorate rapidly if exposed to adverse conditions, such as widely varying temperatures, excessive heat, or moisture.

-By Jean Hofve, DVM

Dr. Jean Hofve is the Companion Animal Program Coordinator for the Animal Protection Institute, located in Sacramento, California.

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