: If you are fairly sedentary, have limited mobility, or just like lower-energy dogs best, consider these breeds for your next canine companion. Photo by Cavan Images, Getty Images.
You have realized that your lifestyle is best suited for a low-key canine companion. So which of the breed-types are known to be low-energy dogs? These calm canines range from small to giant, so you have your choice of size. If you’re also looking for a dog who is easy to care for take note: Some low-energy breeds also have extra grooming or medical needs. Here are some of the better-known options:
Low-Energy Large Breeds
Many giant breeds are known for their calm demeanor – but also for short life spans (6 to 10 years on average). These big guys may be particularly prone to several health conditions, including hip dysplasia, dilated cardiomyopathy, and bloat/torsion – and some of them are fairly well known for their propensity to drool! But the dogs of these breeds tend to be very mellow, easy-going temperaments:
Bernard – Usually lovable, gentle goofballs who enjoy cuddling.
Newfoundland – Typically gentle and sweet-tempered.
Great Pyrenees – Generally confident, strong-willed but gentle dogs.
Bernese Mountain Dog – Often called “gentle giants,” intelligent and loyal.
Irish Wolfhound – Known as particularly patient, thoughtful, and dignified dogs.
Great Dane – Described as devoted, gentle, and reserved.
Low-Energy Medium-Sized Breeds
Many mid-sized dogs are high energy (think herding, sporting, and working breeds). Here are some that tend toward calm. Some of the health issues common to these breeds include hypothyroidism, hip dysplasia, canine atopic dermatitis (particularly in breeds with skin folds, like the Shar Pei), breathing issues (in flat-faced breeds such as Bulldogs), dilated cardiomyopathy, and back problems (particularly in short-legged, long-backed dogs such as Bassett Hounds).
Chow Chow – These reserved and dignified dogs can be cautious around strangers.
Shar-Pei – These independent dogs can also be suspicious of strangers.
English Bulldog – Described as kind, friendly, and dignified.
Bassett Hound – Sweet-tempered, affectionate, and gentle.
Clumber Spaniel – Tend to be dignified, loyal and calm.
Low-Energy Small Dog Breeds
Appreciate the value of a low-energy lap dog! Some do have very significant health issues, especially breathing problems with the currently very popular brachycephalic (short-nosed) breeds (such as the French Bulldog, Pug, Boston Terrier, Pekingese) and the adorable but afflicted Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (skull too small for the brain, breathing problems, eye problems, heart problems). If buying a puppy, look for breeders who can provide health records for the pup’s parents. Also, note that some of these breeds have high grooming needs.
Bichon Frise – Generally friendly, intelligent, and cheerful.
Maltese –Reportedly smart, playful, and sweet with a mild demeanor.
Havanese – Described as friendly, affectionate, playful, and intelligent.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – Known to be affectionate, playful, gentle, and sociable.
Pug – Tend to be affectionate, charming, gentle, and playful.
French Bulldog – The current darling of the dog show ring, known as bright, easygoing, and affectionate.
Boston Terrier – Friendly, affectionate, and gentle.
Pekingese – Loyal and loving, can be aloof and protective with strangers.
Regardless of which breeds have a reputation for being low-energy dogs, remember that each dog is an individual. If you make the mistake of snatching up the first Bassett Hound you come across (or purchasing one sight-unseen after an internet search) you could end up with a wild-and-crazy non-stop energizer doggie. Be sure to carefully evaluate the dog in front of you to make sure she’ll be the right fit for your low-key world. Don’t forget that all dogs need enrichment and mental stimulation, even if they don’t need lots of physical exercise, and you’ll need to watch their diet so you don’t end up with an obese low-energy dog.
You can use the same poop bag to collect your dog’s fecal sample as you use to clean up after him. Credit: Petko Ninov | Getty Images
Bringing a stool sample to the vet’s office may feel gross and weird, but it’s how to check for worms and other parasites in your dog’s poop. The dog fecal test can contain useful information about why he isn’t feeling his best! So, grab that plastic bag! Here’s how to do a good stool sample collection:
Dog Fecal Sample Collection
You can collect a stool sample from your dog using any poop bag just like when cleaning up after your dog. You don’t need much poop. Enough to fill a shot glass is plenty. And throw in any worms or tapeworm segments that you see.
If you don’t have any poop bags handy, put them on your shopping list and grab any intact plastic bag (grocery bags frequently have small holes, so use them with caution). Invert the bag, place it over your hand like a glove, grab some poop, and then fold the bag right-side-out so that the poop is contained. Then seal or tie the bag closed and head to the vet right away because fresh poop is best.
Fresh, uncontaminated samples are the best for identifying worms and parasites in stool. And be sure that the poop is from the right dog. The best option is to go out with your dog the morning of your appointment and collect the stool as soon as your dog defecates. If the appointment is in the afternoon, you can store it in a refrigerator temporarily.
When to Get a Fecal Test for Dogs
A dog fecal test is usually in order if your dog has any of these signs:
“Grains of rice” in stool or around rectum (Hint: They aren’t rice)
Some signs are obvious indications of what is wrong, such as a visible parasite in poop shows that your dog has worms.
Others, like diarrhea and weight loss, are a little more general and can be caused by a variety of infections and illnesses. But a fecal test for your dog is a quick and inexpensive way to rule out parasites as a cause of your dog’s troubles.
Types of Fecal Tests for Dogs
Almost all veterinary facilities can do a simple dog fecal test in the office. Veterinary staff will take a small amount of the stool sample and mix it with a specific solution. This poopy mixture then sits, allowing time for the parasites and parasite eggs to float to the top while the food debris stays at the bottom.
A vet tech or veterinarian will then look at the sample under a microscope. These fecal flotations usually reveal eggs from worms but can also show protozoa such as giardia. Your veterinarian will identify the parasite in stool and prescribe your dog a medication to target that parasite.
Your vet can also send the stool sample out to a lab for more thorough testing. This helps find more subtle infections and can evaluate blood in your dog’s stool.
A little Frito chips smell from your dog’s feet might be icky, but it’s likely not a problem unless you see him licking and/or chewing at his paws.
Credit: C. Karin/FOAP | Getty Images
There are three primary reasons why your dog might smell like Fritos or other corn chips:
He raided your stash and ate all your chips.
His feet just smell that way.
He has a bacterial or fungal infection on his paws, ears, or skin like pseudomonas or proteus.
Dog Frito Feet and Ears
Dogs naturally have a variety of bacteria and yeast living on their skin. Under normal conditions, these microbes live in harmony with your pup and don’t cause any trouble. If your dog’s feet have a slight eau de corn chip, don’t worry. This smell is just from the normal bacteria that end up on dog feet throughout daily life.
These “Frito feet dogs” will often have a reddish tinge to the skin and hair on their paws from licking and may have a greasy discharge. More extreme cases may also show swelling and flakey skin.
Ears are the other common site for yeast and bacterial infections. Ear infections can have a discharge ranging from oily black to flakey beige and everything in between. Along with the discharge and odor, your dog’s ears may also be red and irritated and you may notice frequent scratching and head shaking.
Home Remedies for Frito Feet Dogs
As long as there are no symptoms of infection, you can leave your pup be or just wipe his paws clean with a damp cloth and then dry them thoroughly.
But if your dog’s feet also show signs of irritation or you notice your dog is licking his feet a lot, something is amiss. Home remedies for dog Frito feet, such as mixing baking soda and apple cider vinegar with water for a foot bath, might help with the smell but will not necessarily address the underlying infection.
Instead, be smart. Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian. Paw and ear infections are not an emergency, so you can wait for an appointment in regular business hours. Your veterinarian will take a swab of any discharge to look at under a microscope and identify the cause of the infection.
You will likely be sent home with topical medications to target your dog’s type of infection, like ear meds for ear infections and/or ointments or perhaps a medicated shampoo for paw infections. Systemic oral meds are reserved for chronic or severe cases. If your dog is prone to these infections, your veterinarian will also discuss strategies for preventing them, including routine ear washes or medicated wipes for paws.
Remember, a little dog Frito feet smell isn’t necessary a worry. The problems start when an infectious type of microbe moves in, or a health condition such as allergies or skin irritation allows normally harmless microbes to grow out of control.
When too many microbes build up in an area, however, they can cause irritation, discharge, and an unusual odor. Yeast and certain types of bacteria (including Pseudomonas and Proteus) can cause a distinctive odor that smells just like the beloved Fritos corn chips.
If we’re fortunate enough to have them live to old age, at some point, most of our canine companions begin to lose their hearing and may eventually be, for all intents and purposes, deaf. It’s painful to watch a beloved dog become less and less responsive to his environment because he’s unaware of what’s going on around him, and even more so when it limits your ability to communicate with him. The thought of a hearingimpaired dog wandering off and not being able to hear your calls is frightening. Here are five things you can do if your dog’s hearing isn’t what it used to be:
Purchase a disaster whistle and condition it as a recall cue, by pairing its sound with high-value treats. The Storm Whistle, reported to be twice as loud as any other mouth-blown whistle in the world, is available in stores, catalogues, and from stormwhistles.com (314-436-3332). We used a Storm Whistle as our recall signal when our aging Kelpie, Katie, lost her hearing; it worked like a dream. Instead of having to walk the fenced backyard looking for her, we could just blow the whistle, and she’d come trundling out from behind the garage. Blow the whistle, and give your dog a high-value treat until your dog gets the whistle-equals-food association. Then you should be good to go. (By the way, you might want to first try the whistle outside, and cover your ears or use earplugs. It’s really loud.)
Use hand signals. Every time our dogs reach the old-age-can’t-hear stage I appreciate having taught them basic hand signals as well as verbal cues. Since dogs communicate primarily through body language, hand signals are easy to teach, especially if you do it when your dog can still hear well. As your dog ages, it’s a great opportunity to expand your visual cue vocabulary. Some owners use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with their hearing-impaired dogs.
Run interference at home. This is all about management. If you have a multi-dog household, one or more of your other dogs make take offense when your geriatric pal doesn’t respond quickly enough to their signals – because he doesn’t hear them, and therefore doesn’t look and notice their body language. Manage your household to prevent encounters that cause tension due to his lack of hearing and subsequent lack of response. This often includes keeping potential problem dogs separated when you are not home.
Run interference in the real world. There are many situations outside your home where your increasingly hearing-impaired dog may run into trouble. If you’ve been casual about letting her be off-leash near traffic, tighten up the reins. She may no longer be able to hear oncoming cars, and a misstep could be deadly. Same thing if you hike on bike paths and sidewalks; you may not be aware of the extent to which she has relied on her hearing to move out of the way of approaching bikes, skateboards, and joggers. She may also need help around other non-family dogs, since she can’t hear them coming either. You could try scheduling supervised play dates with a small circle of appropriate canine friends instead of trips to the dog park, where you have little to no control over her dog encounters.
Make reasonable accommodations and give her the benefit of the doubt. Keep in mind that she’s not ignoring you; she can’t hear you! It’s easy to get cross when your dog doesn’t respond to your cues. Condition her to an unexpected touch from behind (touch makes chicken happen!) so you can let her know you’re there and need her to move – or go around her. And if you feel yourself becoming annoyed with your dog, take a deep breath and remember that she probably didn’t hear you. Heck, if it’s age-related hearing loss she could be losing her vision too, so she may not even see as well as you think. Don’t be annoyed if she doesn’t move out of your path as quickly as she once did, or she fails to come flying to your call. She’s doing the best she can; be patient with her.
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Woody and Boone, beloved alumni of the Northwest SPCA in Oroville, CA.
For my family of origin, Thanksgiving was always been the best holiday of the year. I was born in the 1960s, and my parents had moved us from a large city, to suburbs, and, by the time I was making memories, to a rural community where my brother rode dirt bikes and my sisters and I rode horses. And, of course, we had a lot of dogs – sooooo many dogs. Spay/neuter was not a thing in those days, so pretty much every dog we owned procreated, some more than once. We always found homes for the mixed-breed puppies – often, sending our aunts and uncles and cousins home from sharing our Thanksgiving dinner with a puppy or two.
Today, I wince when I think about all those puppies and that casual Thanksgiving gifting of puppies. After more than 20 years of volunteering in animal shelters, and fostering (at last count) about 150 puppies for my local shelter in the past 10 or so years, I am a bear about spay/neuter for all dogs except for those owned by the most responsible, dedicated, and educated people imaginable. Last week, I spent a couple of hours doing an audit of my local shelter, which provides services to the small town where I live as well as all the unincorporated areas in my rural county. We had 94 puppies under the age of four months in the shelter, 42 who were brought into the shelter from my town, and 52 who were brought in from the county.
How many irresponsible owners contributed to that astonishing population? The 42 puppies from town came to the shelter from 12 different places; the 52 puppies from the county came from 13 different places. That’s at least 25 mother dogs, and 25 owners who failed to either have their dogs spayed, or prevent them from being bred. As a result, if all the puppies survive, the shelter will be responsible for the vaccination, microchipping, and spay/neuter of 94 puppies – not to mention feeding and cleaning up after all of them for the weeks or even months that it takes to find them all homes.
And this is in addition to the 80 or so older puppies, adult dogs, and senior dogs that are also sharing the shelter’s 56 kennels.
Under my Thanksgiving table this year there will be eight dogs, six of whom are alumni of my shelter. The six include my two large dogs (Woody and Boone), my friend Leonora’s tiny dog (Samson, Woody’s BFF), my son and daughter-in-law’s coonhound (Cole), and two of my sister Pam’s small dogs (Lucky and Dinah). Pam’s third dog, Daisy, will also be present; she came from a Jack Russell rescue over a decade ago. My sister-in-law’s Rat Terrier (Alice) will also be present; she was rehomed from a ranching family who bought her from a breeder, but were disappointed in her lack of interest in dispatching rats and other vermin on the ranch. The three tiny puppies that Leonora is fostering for our shelter will be at her home; I know she will excuse herself from dinner early to tuck them in for the night.
Yes, my family (relatives and chosen family) is still dog-crazy. All of us are deeply grateful to our dogs for the joy and companionship they bring us, the adventures we share with them, and the comfort they give us in hard times. Out of gratitude for these priceless gifts, we donate to shelters and rescues, and we foster and adopt to help to save dog lives.
Immense, boundless thanks to the shelter workers who will be feeding dogs and cleaning kennels while we enjoy the company of our friends and family and all of their dogs today. I’ve sent an extra donation to my local shelter in honor of their workers; won’t you do the same?
During a professional dental cleaning at your veterinarian’s hospital, your dog will be under general anesthesia. This will be initially induced by an injected drug, but will be maintained by a gas anesthetic through an endotracheal tube in his airway (trachea). This also protects his respiratory system from the bacteria that will be aerosolized by the ultrasonic scaler during his dental cleaning. iPhoto by Chalabala, Getty Images.
Cleaning a dog’s teeth is far more complicated than the same procedure is for humans. There is much more involved in the process, from when you drop off your dog at the veterinary hospital to the time you pick him up at the end of the day.
Before the dog’s teeth cleaning begins
After your dog is checked in to the hospital, his dental team will begin preparing him for the dental procedure. A veterinary technician will place an intravenous (IV) catheter, and collect a blood sample for pre-anesthetic blood work, including a complete blood count (CBC) and chemistry panel. The CBC checks for anemia and any problems with his platelets or white blood cells. The chemistry panel gives his team a view of his overall organ function, including kidney values, liver enzymes, proteins, and electrolytes.
Your veterinarian will perform a complete physical examination of your dog. Your veterinarian will contact you if any abnormalities are found on his physical exam or blood work that may increase his risk for an adverse event under anesthesia. Your dog’s dental procedure may be rescheduled for another day after these abnormalities are either addressed or resolved.
A customized sedation and anesthetic plan will be created by his veterinarian. This plan takes into account your dog’s age, pre-existing health conditions, and any medications your dog may be taking. Your dog will receive medications first to sedate him and then to induce anesthesia.
Once your dog is anesthetized, the veterinary technician will place an endotracheal tube in his airway (trachea). The endotracheal tube delivers both oxygen and anesthetic gas directly to his lungs and keeps him asleep during his procedure. It also protects his respiratory system from the bacteria that will be aerosolized during his dental cleaning.
The next step is to connect your dog to the anesthetic monitoring equipment that will be keeping a constant vigil over his vital signs while he is anesthetized. His heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram (ECG) are displayed on an anesthetic monitor. This allows the veterinary team to intervene should changes to his vital parameters occur during his procedure.
When to see a board-certified veterinary dentist
Most primary care veterinarians are able to perform routine dental procedures and tooth extractions. But there are situations in which your veterinarian may refer you and your dog to a board-certified veterinary dentist. These situations include:
Extraction of lower canine teeth. Dogs have four canine teeth – the long “fangs” at the front of the mouth. Canine teeth have very long roots that sit at a 45- to 60-degree angle within the bone. The process of extracting diseased lower canine teeth can cause the lower jaw to fracture. Veterinary dentists have the tools and expertise to minimize the risk of a jaw fracture when extracting these teeth.
Root canal of otherwise healthy but fractured teeth. Veterinary dentists have the expertise to preserve the health of the fractured tooth as well as the teeth on either side of the affected tooth.
Excision of oral masses. Surgically removing an oral mass often means removing adjacent teeth and bone. Veterinary dentists are trained experts in these procedures.
Orthodontic therapy to correct malocclusions. Yes, there are doggie braces! If the position of one or more of your dog’s teeth is causing damage to other teeth or the roof of his mouth, a veterinary dentist can help get those wayward teeth into the correct position.
Oral trauma. Traumatic jaw or tooth fractures are best handled by a veterinary dentist.
Tools and techniques for a dog dental cleaning
The veterinary technician begins the dental cleaning by removing dental calculus from his teeth using an ultrasonic scaler – the same tool that your dental hygienist uses on your teeth. The technician will also use the ultrasonic scaler to remove tartar that has accumulated underneath the gum line.
Then dental radiographs are taken of all your dog’s teeth. Most adult dogs have 42 teeth: 20 on the upper jaw and 22 on the lower jaw. Depending on the size of your dog, as few as three teeth and as many as eight teeth can be imaged on a single x-ray. Smaller dogs will need six radiographs to image all of their teeth while larger dogs may require up to 14 radiographs.
As you can see from this radiograph of a dog’s lower front teeth, the roots of the lower canine teeth (the “fangs”) are very long. If one of these teeth are diseased and need to be extracted, it would be wise to have this performed by a board-certified veterinary dentist, as opposed to a primary-care veterinarian.
The veterinarian will then begin the process of examining the crown – the visible part – of each tooth. She will look for fractures, excessive wear, discoloration, and mobility of the teeth. Teeth that are fractured, gray or black, or that can be wiggled back and forth will likely need to be extracted.
The vet will use a dental probe to look for deep pockets between the teeth and the gingiva (gums). The presence of a deep pocket is indicative of underlying periodontal disease. She will also examine the radiographs of his teeth and take note of any damaged or diseased tooth roots or bone loss around the teeth. Teeth that have damaged or diseased roots or that have significant bone loss around them will likely need to be extracted.
Cost of dental cleaning
A routine dental cleaning, full oral examination, and dental radiographs with no extractions or other advanced care required will typically cost $500 to $1000. The exact cost will depend on your geographic location and the size of your dog. If your dog needs to have any teeth extracted, the cost of the dental procedure may be $1500 to $2500 with a primary care veterinarian. The cost of having a dental procedure performed by a board-certified veterinary dentist is typically higher because your dog is receiving specialized care.
Buyer beware: Not all veterinary hospitals perform pre-anesthetic bloodwork and dental radiographs. Depending on the veterinary practice law for the state in which you reside, a veterinary technician may be extracting diseased teeth, not a veterinarian. Always ask about the details of what the dental procedure includes and who performs each task. If the price of the dental cleaning is too good to be true, it probably is.
Most pet insurance policies include an option for covering annual dental prophylaxis and any additional dental work that may be required.
Note: While an “anesthesia-free dental cleaning” may seem like a bargain compared to the cost of a professional veterinary cleaning, this procedure is neither safe nor effective – and can, in fact, cause myriad problems. For details, click here.
Dog tooth extractions
Extracting a dog’s tooth is a multi-step process. The first step is to numb the region where the offending tooth is located by injecting a local anesthetic. Dogs can still feel pain even when they are under general anesthesia. Injecting a local anesthetic prior to extracting a tooth ensures that your dog will not feel pain during the procedure.
The next step is to create a gingival flap. A small incision is made in the gingiva on either side of the tooth. A flat, spoon-shaped tool called a periosteal elevator is used to lift the gingiva away from the tooth and the underlying bone. A high-speed dental drill is used to carefully burr away the bone that overlays the roots of the tooth. This process is called “making a window” over each root. Each tooth root is completely surrounded by bone. The only part of the bone that is removed is the part that covers the most superficial section of the root. This allows the veterinarian to visualize the root’s position within the bone and aids in extraction of the root.
Dogs have two types of teeth: single-rooted teeth and multi-rooted teeth. Multi-rooted teeth may have two or three roots. Prior to extraction, the crown of a multi-rooted tooth must be split into single-rooted sections. A high speed dental drill with a long cutting bit is used to carefully divide the crown along the position of each root.
Each tooth root is attached to the surrounding bone by a band of tissue called the periodontal ligament. This ligament needs to be carefully stretched and torn in order to release the root from the bone. A tool called a dental root elevator is used to stretch the periodontal ligament.
A dental root elevator has a long stem with a tapered half-moon shape at the end. The end is inserted into the space between the tooth root and the bone; this space is called the root socket. Then the elevator is gently rotated in one direction within the socket and held for 10 seconds. Pressure is released and then the elevator is rotated in the opposite direction and held for 10 seconds. This process is repeated until the root is mobile and can be elevated from the socket.
Elevating a single tooth root can take as little as 30 seconds for roots that are already loosened by severe periodontal disease. But if scar tissue has developed around the root or the root has become brittle, it can take up to 15 minutes to cleanly extract a single root. Brittle roots can break into multiple pieces, creating a situation where more of the surrounding bone has to be removed in order to retrieve each piece of root from the socket. This can be a long and frustrating process – and many swear jars have been filled to the brim during these types of dental procedures!
Once the tooth has been extracted, a dental radiograph is taken of the region to verify that all of the tooth roots have been completely removed. Any sharp edges of the surrounding bone are softened with a high speed dental drill using a rounding burr. The gingival flap is pulled over the top of the bone and sutured to the gingiva on the other side.
What happens after the dental cleaning
The final steps of the dental procedure include polishing your dog’s teeth and applying a dental barrier sealant. Polishing the teeth buffs out the microscopic scratches that the ultrasonic scaler can leave on the enamel. Plaque loves to grab on to those scratches and hang on, so polishing the teeth reduces the grippiness of future plaque deposits. Applying a barrier sealant prevents plaque-forming bacteria from attaching to the teeth for the first two weeks after a dental procedure.
After the dental procedure is finished, your dog will be woken up from anesthesia. His veterinary technician will remove his endotracheal tube and stay with him while he recovers from anesthesia. He will be ready to go home with you once he is able to stand and walk.
Your veterinarian will give you specific instructions about when to give your dog his first meal after his dental procedure and what to feed him over the next several days. You may observe some blood-tinged drool and facial swelling over the next 24 to 48 hours that will gradually subside. Your dog will go home with pain medications to take over the next several days. If he had a tooth root abscess, your dog may also be sent home with an antibiotic.
You will also be given instructions on how to maintain your dog’s clean and healthy teeth. This at-home dental care plan will likely include daily tooth brushing or dental chews (see “At-Home Dental Care for Dogs”). An annual dental prophylaxis (routine cleaning and examination under general anesthesia) will also be recommended.
When you start brushing your dog’s teeth, use the softest brush you can find; otherwise, your dog’s gums may bleed for the first couple of weeks of brushing. Use a wet brush and very small amounts of dog toothpaste; you don’t need or want a lot of foam in your dog’s mouth. Photo by Ilona Shorokhova, Getty Images
Most dog owners are disappointed to hear that brushing their dogs’ teeth is a necessary part of maintaining the health of their dogs. Regular oral examinations and professional cleaning by a veterinarian is also needed, but this professional service is an adjunct to, not a replacement for, regular tooth brushing.
We brush our teeth at least twice a day. You may have noticed that the surface of your teeth will start to feel fuzzy when you get close to the next time you are due to brush your teeth. When you eat and drink, bacteria in your mouth begin to accumulate on the surface of your teeth. This creates a biofilm, which feels fuzzy when you run your tongue over it.
As the biofilm accumulates layer upon layer, plaque is formed – both on the surface of your teeth and below the gumline. Over time, plaque that is not removed by brushing and flossing becomes hardened and mineralized, forming dental calculus.
This same process occurs in your dog’s mouth. It does not matter if your dog eats canned food, dry kibble, frozen fresh food, or a home-cooked diet. Any food in the mouth promotes the production of biofilm, plaque, and dental calculus. The exception to this are kibble diets that have been specifically formulated to remove plaque and tartar accumulation, such as the Hills t/d prescription diet.
Brushing your dog’s teeth twice a day promotes good oral health and minimizes the risk of developing periodontal disease. However, even brushing just three times a week has been shown to provide a benefit.
How to brush your dog’s teeth
The key to introducing a dog to tooth brushing is to take it slow. Start with just rubbing your finger or a soft damp washcloth on the outer surface of your dog’s front teeth. Rub with a back and forth motion and concentrate on where the teeth meet the gums.
Once your dog is accustomed to this routine, start advancing toward the back teeth. The teeth on your dog’s upper jaw overhang the teeth on his lower jaw, so you may need to open his mouth slightly to rub the lower teeth.
If your dog will let you open his mouth to access the middle and inner surfaces of his teeth, add this into the tooth-rubbing routine. Many dogs are resistant to this, so if this is a game-changer for him, then don’t push it. You want the tooth-brushing experience to be a good one, not one that he dislikes.
Now you can move on to the next step. Introduce a soft toothbrush or a finger brush to the routine. Again, start with the front teeth and gradually move to the back teeth. You can use a toothbrush that is made for dogs, a rubber brush that fits over the end of your finger, or a soft toothbrush made for human babies. If your dog objects to the toothbrush but is still comfortable with a damp washcloth, you can use the washcloth as your brush.
The final step is to introduce dog toothpaste. Dog toothpaste comes in many flavors, such as chicken, beef, peanut butter, and mint. Put a little dab of toothpaste on your finger and allow your dog to investigate the smell and flavor. If he reels away from it, try a different flavor!
Do not use human toothpaste; it is not meant to be swallowed. We are not able to instruct our dogs to “rinse and spit,” so we need to use a toothpaste that is safe for his gastrointestinal tract.
Don’t be intimidated by the number and variety of dog toothpastes on the market, and read more about these products here. Look for the VOHC logo. Photo by Nancy Kerns
Look at the toothpaste you use for yourself and look at the label. You will probably notice a small emblem on the label that states “ADA Seal of Acceptance.” This means that the toothpaste has met the standards set forth by the American Dental Association to benefit your oral health.
Your canine companions have a similar organization looking out for their oral health. The VOHC was formed in 1997 and has the support of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry and the American Veterinary Dental College.
The VOHC does not test dental products. Instead, they accept applications from manufacturers of dental products to receive the seal of approval. The VOHC completes a rigorous review of the scientific studies backing the manufacturer’s claims. If the product meets the stringent standards set forth by the VOHC, then the product is accepted and is added to the VOHC list of approved products.
This is a voluntary program. A product that does not carry the VOHC seal of approval does not mean that the product does not work. But a product that has the VOHC seal of approval gives you peace of mind that the product has met a set of stringent standards, is safe, and is proven to work as intended.
Look for the “VOHC Accepted” logo when selecting a dental product for your dog. A list of approved products can be found here.
Alternatives to tooth-brushing
If your dog really objects to having his teeth brushed, there is no need for despair. There are several treats, chews, and additives that you can put in your dog’s food or water to help minimize the production of plaque in your dog’s mouth. Twice daily tooth brushing remains the gold standard for at-home dental care, but using one of these alternatives will provide some benefit to your dog.
There are many treats, chews, and food/water additives that claim to be beneficial for your dog’s oral health.
Brushing your dog’s teeth is not enough!
It is important to note that starting an at-home dental care plan after periodontal disease has been diagnosed will not reverse that disease or stop its progression. If your veterinarian suspects that your dog has periodontal disease, the first step in addressing that problem is a professional dental cleaning and oral exam. Then you can successfully start an at-home dental care program once your dog’s mouth is a clean and healthy slate.
We don’t recommend anesthesia-free teeth cleaning for dogs. While a skilled technician maybe able to scrape away some of the tartar that has developed on the surfaces of the teeth that you can see, it’s impossible to address the surfaces under the gums where periodontal disease develops. And it hurts! Photo by Hillary Kladke, Getty Images.
Anesthesia-free teeth cleaning for dogs is offered by anesthesia-free dental clinics and by many groomers. This may sound like an attractive option, as many people are anxious about having their dogs undergo general anesthesia. But the reality is that cleaning the teeth without the benefit of general anesthesia will do more harm than good.
During this procedure, the operator uses a tool called a hand scaler to remove dental calculus from your dog’s teeth. A hand scaler is a long, thin metal tool with a hook on the end. The hook has a sharp edge on the inside of the curve and ends in a sharp point. If your dog moves his head even slightly during the procedure, the operator can lose control of this sharp instrument and cause serious damage to your dog’s gums.
Hand scalers are not effective at removing dental calculus from underneath your dog’s gums or between the teeth. Dogs may not allow the operator to reach the teeth at the back of his mouth, meaning that only the front teeth can be scaled. Most dogs will not allow an operator to scale the inside surfaces of their teeth.
Anesthesia-free teeth cleaning does not allow for a full oral examination of all tooth surfaces and the gums. And the majority of early to mid-stage periodontal disease is hidden below the gumline. Only dental radiographs can give us the full picture of what we cannot see on the surface.
Anesthesia-free teeth cleaning can be painful and traumatic for your dog. It may even make him averse to any dental care plan (like tooth brushing) you try to implement at home.
While hygromas are most common in large dogs, small dogs can develop them, especially in places with only hard surfaces such as shelters. Photo by Nancy Kerns
A hygroma is a large, fluid-filled lump on a dog’s elbow – or, actually, a fluid-filled lump on any bony point on your dog that frequently comes into contact with the ground when he sits or lays down. Elbow hygromas are the most common, especially in large breed dogs, but some dogs in shelters or other places with hard floors develop hygromas on their hocks. It’s much less common, but very thin dogs may develop hygromas on the bony points on their butts (ischiatic tuberosity) from sitting on hard surfaces.
These fluid-filled sacs develop as a result of repeated trauma or pressure over a bony prominence. Think about the Great Dane or St. Bernard who clunks himself down for a rest on hard surfaces like tile or hardwood floors. This repeated irritation to the elbow causes tissue damage and inflammation, resulting in fluid accumulation.
Uncomplicated elbow hygromas in dogs
Usually, these fluid-filled lumps are what veterinarians call uncomplicated hygromas – meaning they are not painful or infected. Often, we can get hygromas to resolve by protecting the elbows by providing cushioned bedding in any area where he frequently rests – and by limiting his access to areas where he prefers to lay on hard surfaces.
Some owners use protective neoprene sleeves that pad their dogs’ elbows – Dogleggs was one of the first companies that made a product for this purpose, though you can find many others today (search for “dog elbow pads”).
Complicated hygromas in dogs
This dog developed hygromas on his hocks while staying in a shelter. He also had an underlying condition called Ehler-Danlos syndrome, an inherited disorder of the connective tissue, which contributed to his tendency to develop hygromas. Photo by Nancy Kerns
Because hygromas don’t seem to cause the dog any pain, some owners choose to ignore the swelling. This is a big mistake. Left unaddressed, an uncomplicated hygroma can become a painful, disastrous, complicated hygroma in a hot minute.
Draining an uncomplicated hygroma can remove the fluid accumulation – but this is not recommended because of the risk of introducing infection. Additionally, draining the hygroma does not address the underlying cause, which is repeated trauma and pressure on the elbows. Most drained hygromas will fill again within a day.
Drained or not, some hygromas become infected, at which point they become very painful and won’t heal without veterinary attention. Sometimes the skin surface becomes ulcerated, and sometimes the whole thing breaks wide open. In these cases, treatment with antibiotics alone is usually not enough. The lesion needs to be surgically drained and flushed. To keep it draining while the infection resolves, your veterinarian will place a soft, open rubber tube called a Penrose drain. This stays in place for several days until the drainage slows or stops. Daily bandage changes are required to protect the site and prevent new infection from ascending up the open drain.
Further, unfortunately, this first line approach doesn’t always work. The final option for complicated hygromas that don’t resolve with surgical drainage is surgical removal of the hygroma. This, however, should not be undertaken lightly. Most surgeons reserve this option for severely infected, painful, non-responding hygromas, or if there is suspicion of cancer. Hygroma removal can have severe complications, especially when it comes to healing.
his makes sense when you think about it. The hygroma developed as a result of repeated trauma and pressure on the elbow. It is difficult to protect the elbow from these challenges. Now, add in a surgical incision with sutures whose job it is to keep the skin edges together. In addition to the trauma from lying down, there is so much movement at the elbow joint, it’s almost impossible to immobilize that area to aid healing. Because of these challenges, sutures can fail and incisions can break open. Sometimes special techniques like skin flaps or grafts are necessary to close the surgical wound. Your best bet is referral to a highly skilled, board-certified veterinary surgeon for this procedure.
Take immediate steps to prevent hygromas from getting worse
While a hygroma may not initially be a problem for your dog, it’s not something you should ignore. If you find a soft swelling on your dog’s elbow or other bony prominence, schedule a veterinary exam right away. This is the best way to ensure the swelling is indeed a hygroma, not something worse, and to get advice and guidance on how to treat this one, and prevent the next one. And immediately provide your dog with super-cushioned resting places and prevent his access to hard resting surfaces.
There isn’t a valid one-size-fits-all recommendation for the distance or amount of time that you should walk your dog. There are many relevant factors, specific to each individual’s health and needs, that should determine how often you should walk your dog, including:
Age: Young puppies and senior dogs generally don’t need as much exercise as adolescent and middle-aged dogs; in fact, you can easily cause them physical harm if you try to do too much, either walking them too far or too many times in a day.
Fitness: A lean, fit dog can go for several long, energetic walks a day. An overweight, out-of-shape dog needs to take it very easy, with slow strolls – and not too far.
Elimination Habits. Some dogs poop just once a day; some poop three times on every walk. And some dogs won’t (or can’t seem to) poop until they’ve walked for a mile or more. When you’ve determined what works best for your dog, it will keep his physical discomfort at a minimum if you maintain a consistent schedule for his opportunities to eliminate.
Health Walking should always be reduced in duration and frequency for short-term conditions like a scraped or lacerated paw pad, heartworm treatment, or temporary recovery from surgery. Longer-term health challenges such as chronic breathing problems or painful conditions like arthritis call for slower, shorter walks.
Breed or Type: In general, dogs bred for high activity – sporting, herding, and working breeds, for example – can (and should) get a lot longer walks than the short-legged brachycephalic breeds like the English Bulldog, French Bulldog, and similar short-nosed dogs, or giant breeds like the St. Bernard or Mastiff.
Environment: Your dog can suffer from extreme heat or cold, and your walks should be shortened considerably at these times. Again, it can be breed-specific to some degree; your Siberian Husky, bred to pull sleds in cold and snow, can stay out a lot longer in sub-freezing weather than your Chihuahua can, while your Pomeranian (whose ancestors were also originally bred to pull sleds!) is likely to suffer heat stress a lot sooner than the Greyhound, bred centuries ago to chase wildlife in the Egyptian desert.
Desire: While we tend to assume that every dog loves to hike for miles, we are increasingly paying attention to our dogs telling us what they want to do! Dogs need mental and physical exercise and enrichment to thrive – but this doesn’t always have to be delivered by a walk! A “sniffari” (a slow exploration of a field or park on a long leash, completely at the dog’s pace, allowing him to sniff everything for as long as he’d like) can be as tiring – and more enjoyable for the dog – as a five-mile walk. In contrast, chasing a ball or flying disc in the backyard can be more fun and more tiring than a boring human-pace walk. Think about what your dog likes to do best, and, at times, deliver up exactly what she’d most enjoy.
A couple caveats: If your dog is an exercise addict, always wanting to go farther and faster, longer and faster walks may not be in her best interest – and may lead to her over-eager anticipation of a half-marathon or footrace every time you attach her leash. To develop a more balanced approach to her walks, alternate the long walks with shorter ones, encouraging her to sniff and look around.
If, in contrast, your dog sometimes balks on your walks, laying down or pulling for home, you are likely overdoing it – and she maybe experiencing some physical discomfort you can’t appreciate; a consultation with your veterinarian is in order. There is no valid reason to force your dog into an activity she doesn’t enjoy.
There may be medical considerations that go beyond the ones we mentioned above. Your dog’s vet is the expert when it comes to physical concerns about too much – or not enough – exercise for your dog.
Eventually, your dog will walk on a loose leash, with his attention mainly focused on you. Credit: fotografixx / Getty Images
Excerpted from How to Walk Your Dog by Pat Miller, CPDT and Mardi Richmond, MA, CPDT-KA
Does your dog know how to target? If not, the two of you may be missing out on one of the most versatile behaviors to come along since the rise in popularity of the positive dog training philosophy.
Targeting simply means teaching your dog to touch a designated body part to a designated spot the end of a commercially produced target stick, your hand, an object, a location, or anything at all. While much targeting is done with the dog’s nose as the designated body part, you can actually teach your dog to touch with a front or hind foot, his hip, shoulder, ear, or any other moveable piece of his anatomy.
We teach nose targeting in my Basic Adult and Puppy classes. Whenever I introduce the exercise to a new group I get puzzled stares from most of the humans in the class. I can just see them thinking, “Why on earth would I want to teach my dog to do that?!” proof that the concept of targeting still has miles to go before gaining familiarity and acceptance in the mainstream pet dog community.
The list of reasons why you want to teach your dog to touch is as long as your arm, and then some. From the serious to the sublime, targeting is useful and fun for canines and humans alike. You can use targeting to teach good manners and dog behaviors such as “Go to your place” and to help your dog learn polite leash walking. “Touch
the target” can be used as an emergency recall, or your dog’s cue to ask to go outside.
It also has widespread application for a number of service dog behaviors, can be used to teach agility dogs to hit the contact zones, and give search dogs a tool to communicate that they’ve located sign of the missing person (or pet). Finally, targeting can come into play with an endless variety of entertaining tricks and games. There’s something for everyone.
Before you begin target training your dog, download the How to Walk Your Dog eBook today!
I’ve had a number of older owners book lessons with me lately—more than half a dozen individuals and couples in their 70s and even 80s, all wanting some training help with their new dogs or puppies.
