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Visiting National Parks with Your Dog

By
CJ Puotinen
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goloden dog statnding in front of waterfall in yosemite california
That’s a beautiful picture of someone’s dog at Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park – too bad his owner broke National Park Service rules in order to take the photo (dogs in national parks need to be leashed at all times, on a leash that is a maximum of 6 feet long). It would take only a moment for the dog to spot one of the many wild animals who are native to the park – including deer as well as black bears – and cause some serious trouble. Photo by Barna Tanko, Getty Photos

Are national parks dog-friendly? The answer depends on your definition of “dog-friendly.”

If you think dog-friendly includes letting your dog hike all of a park’s trails, run off-leash, and go everywhere with you and your family, then, no, national parks are not dog-friendly. If your well-behaved dog enjoys on-leash walks in designated areas with a maximum leash length of 6 feet, the answer is maybe. But an unequivocal “Yes!” answer depends on your ability to find a national park that is a good match to you, your dog, and your family.

Each national park has its own rules, but most prohibit dogs in public buildings, on trails, at swimming beaches, and on public transportation. Dogs cannot be left unattended on trails and in campgrounds, and they should never be left in a car in warm weather.

Service dogs (park rules mention guide dogs accompanying visually impaired persons and service dogs for hearing) are allowed in most areas, always on leash.

In national parks that allow hunting, dogs used in support of that activity are permitted as regulated by the park’s superintendent.

Which parks can I visit with my dog?

There are 423 national park sites in the United States and its territories, 63 of which have “National Park” in their names (there are also national battlefields, military parks, historical parks, lakeshores, monuments, and more). National park scenic trails, recreation areas, and historic locations make them popular vacation destinations, but whether you and your dog will enjoy the journey depends on your research and planning.

Dogs are allowed on some trails in only some national parks, such as Acadia, Grand Canyon, Cuyahoga Valley, Padre Island National Seashore, and Congaree. In most national parks, however, dogs are prohibited on hiking and scenic trails, and are welcome only on leash and only in campgrounds, parking lots, and other developed areas.

The website NPS.gov lists all the national parks, historic sites, national monuments, and other areas of interest. Search for parks in the states or areas you plan to visit, then study their basic information, calendars of events, current conditions, maps, alerts, and other details. Alerts identify roads or trails that are closed to visitors, hazardous weather warnings, smoke from wildfires, construction delays, and other current conditions.

Then go to this page, which features a map of the U.S. and all its national parks, with a link to each park’s rules concerning pets and where they are allowed.

National park dog rules

If all dogs were perfectly behaved, there wouldn’t be a need for restrictions, but dogs in national parks can:

  • Chase or disturb large and small wild animals
  • Negatively impact the behavior of native animals
  • Damage a park’s ecosystem by digging up plants and harming fragile vegetation
  • Stress, frighten, or injure people or other dogs
  • Be injured by wildlife, other dogs, or accidents

In short, dogs can be a nuisance. But many dogs travel well and are safely under their handlers’ control in new environments, which makes them appropriate park visitors. The National Park Service rules about dogs were adopted to keep the parks safe while allowing visitors to enjoy their pets’ companionship, at least in some national parks.

Things to consider

As you research national parks, consider your dog’s personality, health, and exercise needs along with your own interests. Don’t forget to factor in the weather; extremes of heat and cold will affect your dog’s comfort and safety.

Does your dog travel well? Is he comfortable staying or sleeping in a crate? What time of year do you plan to visit? What environmental conditions (mosquitos, fleas, ticks, wildlife, snakes, cactus, heat, wind, rain, snow, paved roads, dirt trails, crowds, traffic) will affect you and your dog? How does your dog react to wild animals, other dogs, or people? For your dog’s safety, plan to keep a respectful distance from all three.

If you enjoy hiking, check to see which trails are open to dogs and study their descriptions to decide which match your dog’s capabilities. Most medium to large adult dogs in good condition can carry supplies weighing 10% to 12% of their body weight in a well-fitted dog pack (a maximum for conditioned canine athletes is about 25% of their body weight). To help your dog prepare for carrying a pack, start at home with small loads and build up gradually.

Will you stay for just a day or for several days? Will you be in a camper van? A tent? Will you camp inside the park, in an area adjacent to the park, or stay in a motel that allows pets? Is there a nearby boarding facility that can care for your dog if your inside-the-park plans don’t work out? Are there activities near but outside the park that you and your dog can enjoy together?

Your destination park’s website may have information about nearby boarding kennels, dog day care facilities, veterinarians, or other resources that can help with your planning.

Getting ready

If you decide that a trip to one or more national parks with your dog is a good idea, consider the following equipment:

  • Water (bringing your own or filtering water is recommended because streams and lakes can carry waterborne pathogens such as giardia)
  • Food, snacks, storage containers, and food bowls
  • Pick-up bags and cleanup supplies
  • An appropriate hands-free or hand-held leash, maximum length 6 feet
  • A collar and/or harness
  • An ID tag with up-to-date contact information and microchip details
  • Contact information for your veterinarian, online veterinary information services, and veterinary clinics near the park that you’ll be visiting
  • Appropriate canine attire such as a cooling vest or scarf in hot weather or an insulated dog jacket in cold weather
  • Dog first-aid kit, grooming tool, drying towels, and paw protection
  • Insect repellent or sunscreen, as needed
  • Life vest or dog flotation device for lakes or river
  • A comfortable dog bed
  • For your car, extra towels or a canine seat cover

Do your research, come prepared, use common sense, and stay flexible. That way you, your dog, and your family will have the best possible park visit.

Be a BARK Ranger

Introduced as part of the Healthy People, Healthy Parks Initiative in 2018, this ranger-led program helps visitors enjoy positive experiences with their pets in unfamiliar environments. BARK stands for:

Bag your pet’s waste

Always leash your pet

Respect wildlife

Know where you can go

The program teaches dog owners about the importance of following the BARK principles, and participating parks offer a short training program that includes a BARK Rangers swearing-in ceremony and BARK Ranger collar tags, stamps, wooden badges, or certificates. Some parks have customized tags for their location while others offer generic BARK Ranger tags.

Weirdly, there isn’t a list of the 60 BARK-participating parks on the NPS site, but there is one here.

Dog Incontinence Medications

By
Dr. Debra M. Eldredge, DVM
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Dog in diaper. Senior Yorkshire terrier lying on his bed and wearing a diaper for urinary incontinence.
For male dogs with urinary leakage, a simple belly band is easy to use and appears comfortable for the dog. You can get washable ones to reuse or disposable ones, much like baby diapers. For females, a panty-style diaper is necessary. Credit: Baldo | Getty Images

For old dogs who have age-related physical changes that cause urinary leakage, dog incontinence medications with hormone replacement therapy and alpha agonists can help. These include:

It may take a little experimentation or a combination of therapies to help your dog gain control over urinary leakage and/or loss of nerve and muscle control over urination. Female dogs, especially spayed dogs, may respond best to a low dose of estrogen. Incurin is a short-acting estrogen that is extremely safe.

Female Dog Incontinence

Oklahoma State University estimates that 5% to 20% of spayed dogs develop urinary sphincter mechanism incompetence (USMI) and says that the larger the dog, the more likely it is to happen. (See “The Best Age to Spay Your Dog” for more information on the connection between USMI and spaying.)

A recent study looked at injecting muscle stem cells into the urinary sphincter muscles in an attempt to regenerate healthy tissue. While the study only had 15 female dogs in it, 14 of them showed dramatic improvement.

Complementary Medicine Options

Acupuncture may improve incontinence for some dogs, and many people do try different herbal compounds, such as corn silk or palmetto. Organic soy supplements somewhat mimic estrogen in activity, but most find the results to be weak at best.

Tips on Dealing with Old Dog Incontinence

The most important thing to do is to get a diagnosis and treat any underlying medical conditions. For middle-aged dogs, barring congenital defects such as ectopic ureters, the most common cause is a bladder infection. That can be ruled out with a urinalysis. A urinalysis, with a complete blood panel, would catch health problems like diabetes and kidney failure.

You can help your older incontinent dog with management. Try to get her outside frequently or provide “pee pads” or a litterbox. Put waterproof, washable pads over her bedding and in spots where she likes to rest.

Most dogs will accept wearing a doggy diaper – just be sure to clean and dry that area daily to prevent urine scald and skin irritation. Change the diaper frequently.

Lyme Disease in Dogs

By
Dr. Jennifer Bailey, DVM
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This photo looks like a Lyme disease recruitment poster! Keeping your dog on a trail and out of tall grass or shrubs can help limit his exposure to ticks. Hopefully, the man is wearing permethrin-treated clothing and the dog received both a tick-preventative medication and a Lyme disease vaccine. Photo by Crispin la Valiente, Getty Photos.

Each spring and summer brings increased chatter on the internet about tick-borne diseases affecting dogs, particularly Lyme disease in dogs. For those of us who live in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, upper Midwestern, or Pacific Coast states though, Lyme disease is a year-round problem.

The most prevalent cause of Lyme disease in dogs (and humans!) is the spirochete bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through the bite and feeding of infected black-legged ticks. These ticks remain attached to their host for two or more days. If a tick is a carrier of B. burgdorferi, it typically begins transmitting the bacteria to its host after being attached for 24 to 48 hours.

Symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs

Only about 5% to 10% of dogs who have become infected with B. burgdorferi will develop symptoms of Lyme disease. Of these dogs, most will develop Lyme arthritis. The first symptoms of this are acute lethargy, lameness in one or more limbs, fever, one or more swollen joints, and enlarged lymph nodes. These dogs feel lousy; they have no energy and typically will have no desire to eat or drink.

A smaller percentage of dogs who have become infected with B. burgdorferi will develop Lyme nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys). Dogs with Lyme nephritis may show a chronic history of weight loss, lethargy, vomiting, and inappetance. Their water intake gradually increases over a period of two or more weeks and they urinate more often. In advanced stages, dogs may develop edema (puffiness) of their limbs.

Contrary to what is seen in humans, dogs do not develop a bulls-eye rash after a tick bite that transmits B. burgdorferi. Dogs may develop a small bulls-eye lesion on their skin after being bitten by ticks, mosquitoes, or black flies. This is related to the insect bite itself, not the transmission of tick-borne disease.

Treatment of Lyme disease in Dogs

Dogs with suspected Lyme arthritis are typically treated with an antibiotic called doxycycline for 30 days. An analgesic such as gabapentin may be prescribed to alleviate the joint pain. Response to therapy is typically rapid, with most dogs showing resolution of their symptoms in the first 24 to 72 hours of starting doxycycline.

Unfortunately, a complete course of doxycycline may not clear all of the Lyme bacteria from your dog’s body. B.burgdorferi has been shown to be very good at evading the immune system and may hide in select body tissues for years after treatment.

Lyme nephritis is a condition that is not well understood. It is suspected that, in a valiant attempt to clear B. burgdorferi from the body, the immune system causes irreparable damage to the kidneys. The portion of the kidney that is damaged is the glomerulus – the filtration unit of the kidney. This condition is called immune-complex glomerulonephritis (ICGN).

Dogs with Lyme nephritis are treated like any other dog who has ICGN, regardless of the cause. Treatment may include hospitalization with IV fluids and medications for high blood pressure, protein loss through the kidneys, vomiting and nausea, and prevention of abnormal clotting, in addition to treatment with doxycycline and an immunosuppressant. Unfortunately, the prognosis for dogs with Lyme nephritis is poor.

How Lyme Disease Is Diagnosed

Diagnosis of Lyme disease is challenging. B. burgdorferi travels through a dog’s skin and other tissues, like joints and tendons. Although B. burgdorferi can rarely be found in the bloodstream, this does not appear to be its preferred mode of travel in the body.

Since B. burgdorferi is rarely found in the bloodstream, the blood tests currently available for Lyme disease instead measure a dog’s antibodies to B. burgdorferi. A positive “Lyme test” – more accurately, a B. burgdorferi antibody titer test – tells us that a dog has been exposed to B. burgdorferi and has developed antibodies to that bacteria, but does not tell us if a dog’s symptoms are being caused by Lyme disease.

A different type of test looks for B. burgdorferi itself. This bacteria prefers to live in a dog’s body tissues – like skin, joints, and tendons – so we can use a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test that can detect the genetic material from B. burgdorferi in a tissue sample. Collection of these samples is a little more invasive than obtaining a blood sample. It involves taking a biopsy sample of skin or other tissue or obtaining a sample of joint fluid from an affected joint. Skin biopsy samples need to be obtained from the site where the tick bit your dog. Since many tick bites go undetected, it may be nearly impossible to know where to obtain a skin biopsy sample. Joint fluid can be obtained from the joint that is sore and swollen. A positive PCR test confirms a definitive diagnosis of Lyme disease.

Many veterinary hospitals use rapid blood tests for Lyme disease that provide a result in about 10 minutes. These tests detect antibodies that your dog has developed to B. burgdorferi. If your dog is showing symptoms of Lyme disease and he tests positive on the rapid blood test, your veterinarian may draw the conclusion that your dog’s symptoms are being caused by an active Lyme infection and prescribe a course of doxycycline. If your dog’s symptoms resolve within 24 to 72 hours of starting doxycycline, his symptoms were most likely caused by Lyme disease.

If symptoms continue – your dog does not improve after 72 hours of doxycycline – then there is likely a different cause for his symptoms. The positive test indicates that your dog was exposed to B. burgdorferi and mounted an immune response to that infection at some point, but if doxycycline did not reduce or eliminate your dog’s symptoms, they are very likely being caused by something else. Your veterinarian may want to re-examine your dog and order additional diagnostics.

Tick analyses have shown that many ticks carry more than one disease-causing bacteria. If your dog tests positive for Lyme, talk to your veterinarian about testing for other tick-borne diseases that are common in your area.

What if a rapid blood test is positive – again, meaning that your dog was exposed to B. burgdorferi and developed antibodies to that bacteria – but has no symptoms whatsoever? It turns out that most dogs who are exposed to B. burgdorferi are subclinical for Lyme disease; they never show symptoms of Lyme disease but they may test positive on their annual combination heartworm/tick test.

Treating a seropositive, nonsymptomatic dog with a course of doxycycline is controversial; there is no consensus in the veterinary community on whether treatment might possibly be beneficial or is an unnecessary use of antibiotics that can contribute to antibiotic resistance. If your dog meets this description, discuss the pros and cons of treatment with your veterinarian.

Life Cycle of the Black-Legged Tick

Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterial spirochete that causes Lyme disease, is transmitted through the bite and feeding of the black-legged tick. There are two species of the black-legged tick. In the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwestern states, Ixodes scapularis is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease. In the Pacific Coast states, Ixodes pacifica is the culprit.

Black-legged ticks have a two-year, four-stage life cycle. The first stage is the egg that is laid by an adult female tick in the spring of year one. Each egg develops a larval tick that hatches from the egg in summer. The larval stage of the tick is extremely small – about the size of a poppy seed – and has six legs.

A tick is shown “questing” – hanging onto grass and waving its front legs, waiting for an animal to walk by that it can grab onto. Photo by kmatija, Getty Photos.

Larval ticks need a blood meal from a suitable host to complete their transition to the next life stage. Both species of Ixodes larval ticks feed on mice, squirrels, shrews, and birds. Ixodes pacifica larval ticks also feed on lizards. The white-footed mouse is the reservoir for the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Larval ticks that feed on an infected white-footed mouse become infected with and carriers of B. burgdorferi.

Once the larval ticks have obtained a blood meal, they morph into nymph ticks between the fall of year one and the spring of year two. Nymphs are about twice the size of larval ticks (still really small!) and have eight legs.

Nymph ticks need a blood meal to morph into an adult tick, so they look for something a little bigger – like dogs, cats, and humans. If the nymph tick picked up B. burgdorferi when it was a larval tick, that nymph tick can transmit B. burgdorferi to its new host.

Nymphs morph into adult ticks in the fall of year two. Adult ticks are about twice the size of nymph ticks. They look for their final blood meal from a suitable host (such as deer, humans, and dogs) before winter sets in. Again, if the adult tick was a carrier for B. burgdorferi as a nymph, the adult tick can transmit B. burgdorferi to its new host.

Adult ticks mate while on deer in the spring. The male tick dies after mating. The female tick leaves the deer host and lays thousands of eggs in the environment. The female tick dies after laying her egg cache.

During the winter months, nymph and adult ticks will seek shelter in leaf litter, shady places, and under snow. If the ambient temperature rises above 37 degrees Fahrenheit and their snow shelters have melted, nymph and adult ticks that did not find a suitable host in the fall will actively seek a host for a blood meal in the winter.

How to Prevent Lyme Disease

There is no way to completely prevent your dog from developing Lyme disease. But you can reduce the risk of him being exposed to B. burgdorferi with the following three-pronged approach:

  • Use a high quality flea/tick preventative all year long. Nymph and adult ticks can become active in winter when the ambient temperature is above 37 degrees Fahrenheit and there is no snow on the ground.
  • Check your dog nightly for ticks. Ticks that are removed within 24 hours of attaching to your dog are less likely to transmit burgdorferi.
  • Talk to your veterinarian about vaccinating your dog for Lyme disease if you live in a region where Burgdorferi is prevalent. Most Lyme vaccines are more than 90% effective at preventing Lyme disease. But like most vaccines, their effectiveness can wane over time.

Lyme and other tick-borne diseases are here to stay. But we can take preventive measures to minimize our risk of exposure, both for us and our dogs.

How Ticks Find Your Dog (and You!)

Removing ticks before they bite your dog, or as soon as possible after they bite, will reduce the chance for a potential infection with B. Burgdorferi, so don’t skip those post-walk tick checks! Photo by Nancy Kerns

Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not jump, fly, or fall from trees. They hang out on blades of grass, at the top of leaf litter, or on the tips of shrubs. They hang onto vegetation with their rear legs and wave their front legs while waiting for a suitable host to come along. This activity is called questing.

When you or your dog brushes up against the tick’s hangout, the tick grabs on to you or your dog with their front legs. Then the tick spends 30 minutes to two hours or more walking all over their new host’s body, looking for the perfect spot to insert their mouthparts and begin taking a blood meal. This is often in a warm location on the body, such as the armpits, groin, neck, or ears.

Wearing clothing that has been treated with permethrin can help prevent ticks from hitching a ride on you and your dog. Permethrin causes a condition called “hot-foot” with ticks. A tick’s legs have a burning sensation when they make contact with permethrin, and they run away as quickly as possible.

Dog Skin Tag Removal

By
Dr. Debra M. Eldredge, DVM
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Dog skin tag removal is usually not a medical necessity unless the skin tag is on a dog's eyelid.
Until you’re certain you can identify a skin tag on your dog, ask your veterinarian to look at the growth. You don’t want to assume it’s a skin tag and learn it’s a cancerous lesion. Credit: RelaxFoto.de | Getty Images

Many older dogs get skin tags, just as older people do, and don’t need veterinary attention. Even a black skin tag on a dog is usually harmless, although sometimes people opt for dog skin tags removal for cosmetic reasons. An exception to the harmless rule of thumb is a skin tag on the dog’s eyelid.

Skin tags on a dog’s eyelid may require veterinary intervention. In that location, skin tags may rub on or irritate the cornea, leading to eye discharge and/or corneal abrasion. If you notice the dog’s eye seems red or your dog is rubbing the eye, you should check with your veterinarian immediately.

Technically, skin tags are fibrovascular papillomas. They are most commonly seen on Poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Miniature Schnauzers or mixes of these breeds. The color of the dog’s skin tag may vary with the skin that the tag grows out from.

Skin Tag or Tick

Skin tags and ticks on your dog can appear similar, but ticks are generally brown with a reddish or gray tint, while skin tags tend to be the same color as the dog’s skin. If need be, use a magnifying glass and look for legs on the spot. If you see legs, it’s a tick, and it should be carefully removed.

Dog Skin Tag Removal at Home

While few skin tags require removal, none should be removed by you at home. Removal could be painful, bloody, and leave an open sore that could require a veterinary visit and antibiotics.

Unless a dog’s skin tag is in an area where it gets irritated and may ulcerate – such as around a collar – they are usually left alone. Do a monthly exam of your dog to keep an eye on changes in any skin tags. Growth, irritation, ulceration, and chewing or licking at an area are reasons to get a quick vet check.

If your veterinarian has any concern about a skin tag, she will do a needle biopsy or remove the tag. Removal can be done surgically, with laser, or via electrocautery. If your dog is having anesthesia for another reason, you can ask your veterinarian to remove any skin tags that bother your dog (or you), although it will be an extra fee. See also “Finding a Mole on Your Dog” and “Skin Lesions and Cancer.”

What Is That Skin Thing?

Skin LesionAppearanceColorSize
MoleFairly flat against the skin with a broad base; smooth surfacePink, white, gray, or blackAbout a quarter inch in diameter
Skin tagProtrude from the skin, usually connected by a thin stalk; can be smooth or bumpyNormally the same color as the skinA bit smaller than a pencil eraser tip
TickLike a brown dot with tiny legs that grows larger as the tick feeds on the bloodReddish-brown to grayish brownFrom nearly microscopic to the side of a sesame seed with growth as it feeds
WartUsually has a cauliflower-like appearance; starts as small flat bump that grows and becomes bumpyWhite, gray, pink, or darkStarts small and grows larger and bumpier; can appear in clusters, so size varies
CancerCancerous lesion colors, sizes, and appearances vary widely. Any growth you are not confident identifying should be evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as it’s found. The quicker a cancerous or pre-cancerous growth is removed, the better the dog’s prognosis.

How To Put Weight on a Dog

By
Dr. Debra M. Eldredge, DVM
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Young woman jogging with her dog
Most dogs are natural athletes and feel best when they are fit and trim, just as we do. Credit: Lechatnoir | Getty Images

The simplest way to help your dog gain weight is to feed additional meals every day. If he’s usually eating twice a day, up that to three or four times a day, gradually increasing the amount of food, but keeping meals evenly spaced out. You can also try:

  • Feeding a higher calorie dog food, usually labeled for performance dogs
  • Including wet food in his meals
  • Adding a high-calorie topper
  • Choosing a weight-gain supplement made for dogs
  • Incorporating a little human food in his meals, like dairy, rice, eggs, or lean meat
  • Use cooked meat, string cheese, or high-calorie dog treats for training
  • If you feed homemade meals, go to balance.it to be sure your recipe is nutritionally sound

Best Dog Food for Weight Gain

If your work schedule makes feeding an extra meal difficult, look for the best dog food made for weight gain. These foods contain more calories – often listed in tiny type under the ingredients list – and may be labeled as weight-gain dog food but probably not. It’s more likely you’ll find them labeled for performance or active or sport dogs, which are dogs who need more calories because they use more energy. These foods tend to be more expensive. Switch over to the new food over a course of about a week.

Be careful, though. Be sure your dog is truly thin because most dogs, just like humans, tend to carry too much weight, and we can become accustomed to that appearance. If your dog is at an ideal weight, you can feel his ribs through a thin layer of fat and note his waist, which is located right in front of his hips. He has a tucked-up appearance. If you can see his hip/pelvic bones or the tops of his ribs, he’s too thin.

Weighing your dog monthly is a good guide. Just pick the dog up and step on your bathroom scale. Then weigh yourself alone and subtract the difference to get the dog’s weight. Dogs at a healthy weight live longer lives.

Why Is Your Dog Thin?

While most dog owners are fighting the battle of the bulge and working to keep their canine companions thin, some dogs do need to gain weight. The usual groups who need to add some weight include juvenile boys, some senior dogs, and dogs with cancer or other chronic illnesses.

So, before you embark on a weight-gain program, take your dog to the veterinarian to be sure he is healthy. Your veterinarian will likely check for intestinal parasites and heartworms, as well as doing a physical exam. A complete blood panel is usually not cost-prohibitive and can be worth doing to rule out many disease conditions.

How to Help Your Dog Gain Weight

If your dog is a picky eater, consider adding a home-cooked meal for some of his meals. While there are recipes online for making home meals and treats that can pack on pounds, they may be nutritionally lacking. Companies like Balance It (balance.it) use veterinary nutritionists to help you design a balanced diet based on what you want to feed. There’s a charge, but it’s well worth doing this correctly.

Additional ways to get your skinny dog to eat include:

  • You can also add toppers that are high in calories, such as duck egg omelets, but remember you want to maintain that balanced diet.
  • Mixing some canned food in with kibble can entice many dogs to eat more. Add a tablespoon or three of warm water to increase the food’s aroma.
  • Some dogs will benefit from you adding a probiotic made for dogs (not humans!) to their food. Others do better with a digestive enzyme additive.
  • You can feed human food to your dog to gain weight, but add them to his nutritionally balanced meal not as the sole meal. Milk and dairy are nutritional powerhouses, and many dogs enjoy them.
  • Think about your training treats. Instead of using your low-calorie kibble, reward with string cheese or cooked meat. Many doggie treats are higher in calories. Keep these to 10 to 15% of your dog’s daily food intake though as many aren’t balanced.

Certainly, a too-thin dog is cause for concern, but be careful, especially if he’s also at all lethargic or “not himself.” A trip to your veterinarian is the best way to start the weight-gain efforts (see sidebar).

How to Help a Dog’s Runny Nose

By
Kate Basedow, LVT
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The sleeping dog's nose has a runny nose.
A dog’s runny nose that is a clear watery discharge is rarely anything to worry about. But, if the discharge changes color or your dog seems to be having difficulty breathing, you should call your veterinarian right away. Credit anakeseenadeen| Getty Images

A dog’s runny nose producing clear, watery discharge is usually nothing to worry about. It is likely a minor response to an allergen such as pollen or something else that irritated the inside of your dog’s nostrils.

A thick, pus-like, greenish, or bloody discharge is much more concerning, even in small amounts. This type of runny nose could indicate a foreign object stuck inside the nose, an infection, distemper, or even a polyp or tumor.

How to Help a Dog’s Runny Nose

If your dog just has a mild runny nose and no other symptoms, you can care for him at home. A clear, watery discharge will usually dry on its own and not cause your dog any discomfort. For thicker discharge, wipe your dog’s muzzle regularly with a damp cloth to remove crusts, prevent buildup, and keep his airway clear.

Your dog should see a veterinarian if he has:

  • A runny nose and other symptoms of illness
  • Trouble breathing because of the nasal discharge
  • A persistent runny nose that keeps coming back
  • A thick, mucoid, or bloody discharge

Your veterinarian will start by examining your dog and then may run other tests to figure out what is causing the runny nose. This may include swabbing the nose to do a bacterial or fungal culture, allergy testing, bloodwork, or x-rays.

My Dog Has a Runny Nose – What Can I Give Him?

If your dog has a runny nose, call your veterinarian’s office. Do not give any over-the-counter medications unless instructed to do so by your vet – many of the medications that are safe for humans can be dangerous for dogs.

A mild runny nose is usually nothing to worry about and can wait until regular business hours to be seen. Clean your dog’s muzzle as needed to keep his nostrils clear and prevent buildup of debris.

If your dog is having trouble breathing or is bleeding heavily from the nose, this is an emergency. For a nosebleed, you can try applying gentle pressure as you head to the veterinary hospital, but many dogs will not tolerate this. Instead, focus on keeping your dog as calm as possible.

How to Clean Dog Ears at Home

By
Kate Basedow, LVT
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Groomer with a dog
Cleaning your dog’s ears at home is simple, provided you have the right tools and you know why your dog’s ears need cleaning. Credit: MAYA | Getty Images

For dogs who get a lot of ear infections, cleaning the ears at home can be helpful. If you have a drop-eared dog – especially one who loves water – you’ve probably experienced gunky or infected ears. Prick-eared dogs can also get bacterial, yeast, or ear mite infections.

The first step with an ear infection is to get a veterinary exam to determine the cause of the infection and get the right medication. But cleaning the ears will be part of the treatment plan and preventive care for dogs who are prone to recurring ear infections.

What Can I Use to Clean My Dog’s Ears at Home?

You don’t need much to clean your dog’s ears:

  • A dog-safe ear cleansing solution
  • Cotton balls
  • Optional: some gauze and/or cotton tipped applicators
  • Optional: premade dog ear wipes

The ear cleansing solution is the most important item. These cleansers are safe even if your dog has a ruptured ear drum and contain a drying agent so that your dog’s ears will dry quickly once you are done with cleaning. You can purchase an ear cleanser at your vet’s office or any pet supply store.

In a pinch, equal parts of water and white or apple cider vinegar may work, but this is not the best choice for long-term care. Unlike an ear cleaning solution, this mixture does not dry as quickly. Persistent moisture in your dog’s ears can encourage more infections because bacteria thrive in a warm, moist environment.

The cotton balls and gauze are perfect for wiping out ears. Cotton-tipped applicators can be used to remove gunk from the nooks and crannies of the ear but only use these in areas where you can see. Reaching too deep could accidentally rupture your dog’s ear drum.

How to Clean Dog Ears

  1. Apply ear cleansing solution to a cotton ball.
  2. Place the soaked cotton ball in your dog’s ear and squish it around. Most dogs tolerate this better than squirting the cleanser directly into the ear.
  3. Gently wipe the ear with cotton or gauze, using a new piece each time until it comes back clean. Note: If your dog’s ear starts to bleed, stop cleaning. The tissue is too sensitive.
  1. Use a cotton-tipped applicator to carefully remove debris from nooks and crannies of the ear that you can see easily. Do not reach deep into the ear, as you could accidentally rupture the ear drum.
  2. Repeat with the other ear.

Follow your veterinarian’s instructions for how often to clean the ears. In many cases, cleaning will be a couple times a week while treating an infection, and then weekly or every other week for long term care, but this protocol can vary.

Find the Best Trainer for You and Your Dog

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Women With Dogs
When you look at the photos and videos on a dog trainer’s website and social media pages, look for congruency between the written descriptions of the trainer’s methods and the gear and techniques shown in any photos or video. Professionals who are genuinely committed to positive reinforcement-based training won’t be shown with dogs who are wearing choke, prong, or electronic collars. Photo by Yellow Dog Productions Inc / Getty Images

Finding a good trainer for you and your dog may sound simple, but it’s not. Sure, you can search online or ask your veterinarian, groomer, or your dog-owning friends whom they recommend. That doesn’t mean you’re going to find the trainer who’s right for you or your dog.

An online search or a reference from an acquaintance might help you find a decent trainer. Just keep in mind that there are no legal requirements in the U.S. for someone to call themselves a dog trainer or behaviorist. Your plumber could hang out his dog trainer shingle tomorrow with absolutely no dog training experience and start working with clients.

Trainers referred by your friends and animal care professionals may – or may not – be up to speed on what are current and best practices in the dog training profession. And they may – or may not – use safe, effective, and humane training methods.

As a professional trainer myself, I’d like to share with you how I would go about finding and choosing a dog trainer.

Where to look for training candidates

The most reliable places to search are trainer directories of professional organizations that have education requirements and hold their students, members, or certificants to reasonable standards in the application of humane, science-based dog training methods and ethics.

Training and behavior professionals who care about professional standards pursue ongoing education and membership in and certification offered through one or more dog-training organizations and companies. We have a strong preference for professionals who have been certified by organizations that support and promote dog-friendly training, including all of the ones in the sidebar, “Recommended Dog-Trainer Certifying Organizations,” below.

Research Your Dog Trainer

Once you find a certified professional near you, however, your real job has just begun; you’ll need to do some research to make sure the candidate is suitable.

Start by looking at the candidate’s website. Read the information there and scrutinize the photos. While certifying organizations do their best to ensure that members are adhering to their mission and ethics, sadly that’s not always the case. If you see photos of dogs wearing prong or shock collars on the website, cross that trainer off your list!

Also check out the candidate’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) to confirm that the text, photos, and videos displayed there are congruent with your own force-free training philosophy. If they have a blog, read several of them. If they’ve written articles for publications, find and read them. If they’ve written a book or books, try to find and read (or skim) at least one. Make sure you are comfortable with everything you find.

Interview the trainer

I also recommend that you interview the trainer or their training staff. They should happily answer your questions about methods and training philosophy – after all, you’ll be entrusting them with your dog’s well-being! Have your questions ready before you call and feel free to add more if some come up for you during the discussion.

Here are questions that I’d recommend you ask a prospective trainer:

  • What training and experience do you have? How long have you been working in the field? Look for a trainer who has made the effort to pursue her professional education and who has some boots-on-the-ground experience.
  • What is your educational background? What do you do for continuing education? What certifications do you have? There are constantly new findings in behavioral science. Trainers should be certified by a professional organization that promotes dog-friendly training, and should stay current in the field with regular continuing education at educational conferences, workshops, and/or seminars.
  • What is your training philosophy? Look for a trainer who is dedicated to a force-free training philosophy that allows the dog choice and agency, and seeks to create relationships between dog and human based on mutual love, trust, and respect.
  • What do you do if a dog makes a mistake or doesn’t listen? The correct answer is, “Figure out how to help him get it right.” There is no place for “corrections” or physical or verbal punishment in modern, humane dog training.
  • What methods and tools do you use? The answer here should be science-based “positive reinforcement” or “force-free.” Ask if they would ever use a choke (slip), prong (pinch), or shock collar (also called “electronic collars” or “e-collars”). We don’t recommend trainers who use these tools.
  • Do you guarantee results? The answer here should be, “No!” Dogs and humans are sentient, unpredictable creatures, and no ethical professional guarantees training results. This is a classic sign of a bad or shady trainer.
Instructor giving direction to a line of owners with their dogs during a dog training class.

When the trainer or their staff members answer your questions, listen – really listen – to their words. A recent study that examined the websites of 100 popular trainers found that trainers who use aversive methods are more likely to use the phrases like “pack leader,” “mother nature,” “electronic collar,” or “e-collar,” may talk about using a “balanced” approach, and brag about training without using treats.

In contrast, force-free trainers tend to talk about positive reinforcement, support the use of food in training, and are likely to call “electronic collars” by their more appropriate name: shock collars – and they don’t use them.

After talking to a trainer or her staff, ask to observe a training class. Make sure the trainer puts force-free training methods into practice, not just using buzzwords. Aversive and “balanced” trainers (those who use aversive training and positive reinforcement) have learned that there’s marketing value in the term “positive reinforcement” and they use it to attract clients. We’d keep looking if they mix treats and yanks on the leash.

Finally, ask for references: Good trainers are happy to supply you with contacts from past clients who can attest to their work. Don’t just look at them; call or email at least a couple to ensure that they are happy with their training experience.

Recommended Dog-Trainer Certifying Organizations

These organizations have unique education and experience requirements for trainer certification. Each promotes dog-friendly training; some go a bit further and specifically disapprove of dog-training methods that include force, pain, or fear.

Academy for Dog Trainers

Created by Jean Donaldson (author of the groundbreaking book The Culture Clash), the Academy for Dog Trainers is a two-year, part-time online virtual university program for dog trainers, offering education in all aspects of dog training, dog behavior, behavior modification, and more. Find Academy graduates here.

Animal Behavior Society

The Animal Behavior Society certifies behavior professionals with advanced degrees and experience in applied animal behavior. Find Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists (CAABs) here.

Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers

This organization requires its certificants, called Certified Professional Dog Trainers (CPDTs), to document at least 300 hours of training experience, provide references, and pass a written exam. CCPDT also certifies behavior professionals (CBCCs). Find CPDTs and CBCCs here.

International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants

The IAABC offers certification for behavior work with a variety of species, including dogs, cats, horses, and birds. Find Certified Dog Behavior Consultants (CDBC) here.

Karen Pryor Academy

Karen Pryor is a former marine mammal trainer and author of the landmark book Don’t Shoot the Dog (originally published in 1984), which launched the positive training movement. The Karen Pryor Academy, now administered by noted behavior professional Ken Ramirez, offers myriad courses, including the Dog Trainer Professional course, which awards a Karen Pryor Training Partner certification. Find KPA CTPs here.

Peaceable Paws LLC – Pat Miller Certified Trainer

I offer four levels of certification (PMCT) for trainers who have completed Peaceable Paws academies, starting with Basic Dog Training and Behavior and advancing through academies on Behavior Modification, Aggression, and Cognition Find PMCTs here.

Pet Professional Accreditation Board

The Pet Professional Accreditation Board (of the Pet Professional Guild) offers the only Accredited Training Technician & Professional Canine Trainer certification for professionals who believe there is no place for shock, choke, prong, pain, force, or fear in training and behavior practices. Find PPAB certificants here.

Veterinary Behaviorists

Veterinary behaviorists are veterinarians who have done an additional intensive course of study in animal behavior. They address relationships between an animal’s health, environment, experiences, and behavior. They have extensive knowledge of psychotropic medications and are licensed to prescribe them when indicated. Veterinary behaviorists can be found through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (here) and through the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (here). The latter also provides a list of non-veterinary PhD behaviorists.

Victoria Stillwell Academy: School for Dog Trainers

Founded by world-renowned dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior educates and empowers aspiring dog training professionals to change the lives of people and dogs through positive training. Find VSA Certified Dog Trainers (VSA-CDTs) here.

Oh, Mama

By
Nancy Kerns
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mother dog feeding puppies
At about five weeks, their combined weight is more than their still-skinny mother. ©Nancy Kerns

I didn’t plan to foster this year – not until Otto has passed. But a friend, the vet tech from my local shelter, called in a special favor, and for the past few weeks, I’ve had a little mama dog and her five puppies staying here.

I was already aware that, at the moment, the shelter is caring for an extraordinary number of mothers with puppies (and motherless puppies, too), and I was keeping my heart hard, holding that space for my own dogs as we negotiate what is likely to be my increasingly rickety old dog’s last months. Also, I’ve taken on a part-time teaching position at a friend’s training center; I have NO EXTRA TIME right now!

But my friend said this particular mama dog was causing problems for the shelter staff; she is a very good, protective mother – to the point where the staff was having a hard time keeping her kennel clean. She didn’t want anyone near her pups, and would jump at the cage door and bark and growl at and menace every person who passed by. Once separated from her pups, she’s almost frantically friendly. But separating her was a challenge several times a day for an already too-busy shelter staff.

The shelter workers are accustomed to a certain amount of aggressive behavior from some of their highly stressed charges; after a while, they don’t even flinch as they walk by the kennels containing truly dangerous dogs, who leap at the cage doors, roaring and snarling. But, to their credit, they recognized that not only was this poor little mother dog stressed out of her mind, she was about to start stressing the heck out of her puppies, too.

puppy
Six weeks is the sweet spot. They are inquisitive, social, and adorable, and are starting to embark on small adventures when out of the kennel – but they still sleep a lot. ©Nancy Kerns

Did you know that puppies’ ears are essentially sealed closed until they are about 12 to 14 days old? That they can’t hear until then? WDJ’s contributor Kathy Callahan taught me that recently. I was sure she was wrong – but every authoritative source confirmed this. Well, that made me feel better about the poor pups being born in the noisy shelter, but at three weeks of age, they were already flinching and ducking for cover every time their mom exploded from their bed, barking in warning at every shelter worker passing by.

I have an outdoor pen that’s all set up for stray or foster dogs. It’s covered and shaded and pretty much escape-proof, sitting on a concrete slab that had a giant (and defunct) spa on it when we bought the house. The weather is nice enough that the mother and puppies alike would be comfortable outdoors, without having to completely rearrange my office to accommodate them indoors. I told my friend I would take the little family until the pups were ready for adoption and the mother was ready for heartworm treatment (of course she is positive for heartworms! Ugh!) and spay surgery. I put an electric heating pad (the hard plastic kind that is meant for pets) in the doghouse for the cooler nights, and also provided the mama with a bed on an elevated platform so she could escape the pups when she needed space.

Phoebe was one of 20 dogs that were seized by our county animal control in a neglect case. She and all the other dogs were dangerously underweight when taken into custody, but given that all the dogs were intact, the shelter staff knew that some of the females were likely to be pregnant. They hoped that the wheels of the law-enforcement bureaucracy would churn quickly enough to put pressure on the owner to sign over the dogs to the county as soon as possible – quickly enough so that the shelter could perform spay surgery on the females, aborting any pregnancies in the process, before they gave birth. But three of the seized dogs, including Phoebe, gave birth in the already crowded shelter.

I am sure it sounds insensitive, this talk of aborting puppies. But the shelter was already caring for four litters of puppies (totaling 24 puppies) and about 10 other puppies that had been surrendered to the shelter individually or in pairs before these three mamas added 17 more puppies to the shelter population. That’s 17 more mouths to feed for at least three months (and sometimes five or six months), 17 more spay/neuter surgeries to pay for . . . But they are here now, so, let’s move on.

mother dog playing with puppies
Boone hasn’t had a female playmate before, and he’s riveted by the boobalicious young mother, especially since she’s no longer trying to menace him when he’s near the puppies. ©Nancy Kerns

It’s been a joy to watch Phoebe decompress from her shelter stress (and what had to have been a stressful life in a home of 20 dogs living together with very little food). She was highly protective of her babies at first, but we made friends at a distance from them, and within a day or two she was no longer growling or barking at me or my dogs, though for the first week, she would still give me a wagging but closed-mouth muzzle punch if I bent over the puppies too quickly, and was quick to put herself between the pups (and her food) and my dogs if they dared to come close to her pen. She takes such assiduous care of the pups, I’ve hardly had to clean up after them; they are taking up far less of my time than most litters. And now that she’s been here for about three weeks, she will allow any of my dogs to approach and sniff the pups, and is no longer guarding her food. That’s a very fast transformation; she’s a very nice little dog. She hasn’t bothered Otto in the slightest, and is starting to play with Boone and Woody, abandoning her now-6-week-old puppies to flirt like the teenaged mother she is.

I’m glad my friend at the shelter pulled me into the project, even though I have NO EXTRA TIME.

puppies playing
They are just getting to the right age to interact with “Fun Uncle Woody,” puppy wrangler extraordinaire. ©Nancy Kerns

Puppies and Kids: How to Set Up for Success

By
Kathy Callahan, CPDT-KA, FDM
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Puppy teeth are sharp! Making sure your kids always have a toy in reach helps puppies learn that they can play a mouthy game with those fun little humans, but only if there’s an object in between. Photo by Briana Watts

Everybody knows they need to prepare their home for a puppy’s arrival, but often parents don’t realize just how much they need to prepare their children for that moment. Puppies and kids go together well, but it takes prep work with both the child and the puppy.

Puppies jump! They have sharp teeth! It’s key to talk to kids ahead of time about what puppies can be like — and to put structures and rules in place to protect all the vulnerable parties from unintentionally hurting or scaring each other.

Creating the right environment, routine, and habits in those first intense months is worth every bit of effort, because few things in life beat the puppy-and-kid-growing-up-together experience. Here are eight keys for helping canine and human kids to go beyond just getting along and end up bonding for life.

  1. GET IN THE ZONE

First step: parental mindset. It’s demoralizing to be thrown off guard by challenges day after day. (“Mom! She chewed my doll!” “Dad! He knocked Jimmy over!”) Instead, take a deep breath and expect those issues. Not only does that help you psychologically gird yourself for a certain level of frustration, but it will result in preparation that means far less of the unfortunate stuff will actually occur.

  1. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT PUPPIES

On display in the background is the #1 predictor of a happy kid/puppy home: a pen providing an easy ability to separate the two when need be. Photo by Veronica Jarvinen

The adults are not the only ones who need psychological prep. Kids need to be taught that the puppy is just a little kid like themselves – and one of a puppy’s favorite things to do is to play The Puppy Game. This is the beautiful chase/jump/bite/wrestle game she played endlessly with her littermates before you brought her home. Now the small humans in your home are the closest thing she has to the canine friends she misses so much – they even squeal like puppies! Kids are usually sympathetic to learning that their puppy badly misses her sibling playmates and the fun games they used to play all day, every day.

Even when they understand that, most kids need reminders to help them be their best selves around the puppy. Practice these sentences:

  • She’s just a baby.
  • We are her teachers.
  • She is doing all the things that are normal for puppies to do! We need to teach her what humans like to do.
  • I know those teeth hurt, but she didn’t mean to hurt you! Puppies play like that with their very favorite littermates. We need to help her find a different way to play with you.

  1. USE GATES, PENS, & CRATES

Sometimes the mouthiest, jumpiest puppies are that way because they are not getting enough rest during the day. Over-tired puppies in active households hop up whenever they hear something interesting happening. Building in routine quiet crate time can make an enormous difference in a puppy’s ability to fall sound asleep and then be her best self later. Photo by Jennifer Kyle

Having the tools to easily separate kids and dogs on a regular basis is the single biggest predictor of household happiness in the puppyhood months. Puppies and young kids simply cannot hang out together without being managed carefully – period! Yes, I know that this might be devastating news for parents who thought that a puppy would help keep kids off screens and playing in a wholesome manner while parents can focus elsewhere, but, nope. Not yet. One day!

If you want to reach that “one day” sooner, you need to do the groundwork by refusing to let bad habits get established. And it’s certain that unsupervised kid/puppy interactions will result in the puppy playing The Puppy Game – and a kid coming crying to you. There is a lot to teach children about how to act in a way that won’t draw out The Puppy Game in the puppy, but while that’s a work in progress, the key is to have quick separation options at your disposal. Do not hesitate to fill your house with them all. Crates, pens, gates, sofas moved just so, etc., are valuable tools for keeping all the kids safe and separated when you’re not able to actively supervise their interactions.

  1. GET MORE CHEW TOYS (NOPE, YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH)

There’s nothing like a kid and a puppy growing up together – so creating the right environment for that relationship to thrive is worth every bit of effort. (Fun fact: All of the puppies featured here are siblings from the author’s latest foster litter.) Photo by Jennifer Kyle

Without even seeing your set-up, I’m going to tell you this: You don’t have enough chew toys, and/or they’re not in the right places. “Huh? My basket is overflowing!” I know. But that’s just it, they’re over there in the basket, and your kids need to be able to reach them RIGHT NOW, because the puppy is about to greet your kindergartener by jumping up and sinking in some teeth.

For people who love to keep the house and yard straightened up all the time, this is challenging news indeed. But your kids must be able to reach out whenever they’re going to encounter the puppy and grab a long fluffy fox, a braided felt rope, or a big squishy ball. They need to be able to – over and over and over – teach the puppy that teeth go on the toy, not on the kid. It may be hard for kids to remember to set themselves up for success this way, which is why the adults have to make it easier by keeping those toys easily within reach.

  1. SET AND TEACH THE RULES TO YOUR KIDS

Creating clear, easy-to-remember guidelines for how to interact with the puppy is a lifesaver, because normal kid behavior includes a lot of things that will bring out the worst in the puppy. Save yourself a lot of trouble by having a family meeting (or two, plus a quiz!) to discuss these guidelines:

  • Let the puppy choose whether to interact! If there were only one rule, it would be this one. This is not a stuffed animal to be grabbed, picked up, trapped in a long hug, moved here and there, and argued over. Show the kids how to entice the puppy instead, using squeaky toys, happy voices, and treats. If you want your future adult dog to be safe around kids, make sure your kids treat this impressionable puppy with respect.
  • Find your slow body. A running/jumping human creates a running/jumping puppy.
  • Use your quiet voice. High pitched, loud noises get a puppy aroused, and aroused puppies jump, chase, and use their teeth to interact.
  • Sit on the floor if you want to hold the puppy. In my house, kids are criss-cross applesauce on the floor when they hold my foster puppies. If you feel this is Draconian, I will tell you stories of dropped puppies with broken legs, or of dogs who growl at the approach of their own child. Kids love to walk around the house holding a puppy – and almost all puppies hate that.
  • Let sleeping dogs lie. Puppies need a lot of sleep, and they should be left alone to get it. This can be really difficult when you have a very mouthy/jumpy puppy, because sometimes kids only feel safe approaching the pup when he’s sound asleep on the floor. Promise me at least this: If the pup moves away, respect that choice immediately.
  • Play fair. Dangling something in front of a puppy without ever actually giving it to him teaches him not to trust you. That’s the opposite of what we want to teach. Use the Golden Rule: Play the way you’d want to be played with.
  • Respect the crate. It must be the puppy’s safe, quiet, private refuge. No climbing in. No surrounding a pup who wants to be alone.

  1. MAKE PUPPY PLAYDATES

If you’ve ever watched puppies with their littermates, you know that life is one long version of The Puppy Game. Reasonably enough, that’s what puppies want to do with us, since we took them away from their playmates. It is utterly unfair to then spend every day saying, “No. No. No. No. No.” Instead, it’s on us to help them find a new friend who’ll love to wrestle, bite and chase.

People new to puppyhood often feel awkward or nervous about asking neighbors for a puppy playdate. We experienced puppy people say: Nothing will improve your puppyhood experience faster than finding an awesome puppy friend nearby. It will match your puppy’s over-the-top energy, give him a healthy outlet for his biting and jumping, and build his doggy communication skills which will keep him safer in encounters with other dogs. (Here are tips on how to supervise that playdate.)

If I could conjure up the perfect scenario, I’d say start every day with a 20-minute cup of coffee in a fenced yard with a neighbor, and maybe add another 20-minute session right before the kids come home from school in the afternoon. That may be beyond the ability of many new puppy owners, but do what you can!

  1. ORGANIZE STRUCTURED TOGETHERNESS

Free play between kids and puppies often ends in chaos, and that’s not a habit we want them to practice. Having a handful of activities on tap that put a bit of structure on the scene is key. Here are a few examples:

  • A walk is a great option. Heading out on an adventure together can be a perfect way to bond. All parties are interested in the surroundings, so they won’t be 100% focused on each other. Maybe the kids are on a bike or a scooter. The pup is on a leash so it’s easy for the kids to pop out of range if The Puppy Game threatens to start. Bring a treat pouch (always) and have the kids reward when the puppy responds to her name with eye contact.
  • Playing the recall game is a two-fer: It’s fun and it teaches the puppy that it pays off to come when called. Just get in a circle and take turns calling your pup with a big, fun, cheery, “Come-come-come!” When puppy spins and runs to the person who called, they deliver a treat. Even tiny kids can play this game, and it teaches the pup to listen to everyone in the family.
  • “Find it” can be shockingly helpful. First, the adults need to teach the pup that the magic phrase “Find it” means it’s worth looking on the ground because they’ve just tossed something there. Once pup is enthusiastically seeking out those bits of kibble, this becomes an incredibly useful game. Keep a ceramic jar of kibble where the kids can reach it, and teach them to toss a bit of kibble and say, “Find it!” Pup will snuffle after the treat and then turn back to see what’s next. Kid says: “Find it!” and tosses in a different direction. Repeat, repeat, repeat. As you advance, the pup sits to start the next round. (Jumping or mouthing puts a stop to the game.)
  • Training is the best game of all when kids are old enough (or the right temperament) to take part. Good positive reinforcement training should feel like a fun game to the dog, and for the right kid it can be a wonderful thing to do together. Parents need to be totally on it, though, in terms of deciding what that should look like. If your puppy is just learning “sit,” but you let your 2nd grader come in and demand sits in a big voice without rewarding at the right time . . . you’ve just set your training back. (Some kids love telling dogs what to do, so it’s key to emphasize that we’re teachers, not drill sergeants.)

  1. CREATE A NAP-FILLED ROUTINE

Setting up a daily routine is hugely helpful in fostering better interactions between kids and puppies. There are going to be times where either a child or the puppy is too wound up (or too tired) to be at their best. Instead of trying to react in the moment to those constantly shifting winds, you can overlay a structure that stacks the deck in your favor.

Building puppy naps into the routine is critical! Often the puppies who are the most jumpy/bitey are the ones who are not getting enough sleep because of their active household. Young puppies should be sleeping at least as much as they’re awake for the first few months! (i.e., awake from 7–9; asleep from 9–11.) Just like toddlers, many puppies think they don’t need a nap, so they don’t take one by choice. This is where a nice, quiet crate comes in, maybe with a box fan on or classical music playing to mask household noise.

To find the right routine, start with your family schedule, add in the natural rhythms of your puppy, and come up with a daily outline for when meals, walks, playdates, indoor training sessions, outdoor fetch and tug, and nice big naps will typically take place.

Then adjust as necessary! If your pup is over-the-top when your kids first come home from school, experiment with your routine. Does she need a giant nap before being her best with the kids? Or does a big walk or a 20-minute romp with the neighbor pup take the edge off and help her be ready to play without all the teeth?

Mind you, this kind of careful planning won’t be necessary forever! But in the beginning, while you’re teaching good habits about how to act around each other, aim to put kids and puppies together when they’re both at their best.

PUPPIES AND KIDS REALLY ARE THE DREAM

This list of suggestions could have you throwing up your hands and saying, “Hey! I thought puppies and kids were a natural match!” They absolutely are – when they’re set up for success. For a child, there’s nothing like growing up with a friend at home who loves you unconditionally; for a puppy, there’s nothing like a playful, snuggly kid who has all the time in the world for you. And from a parent’s perspective, it’s a beautiful thing to get to witness for years and years . . . so a few months of this focused management ends up being a drop in the bucket on the way to creating the dream.

Is Your Dog Crying and Whining?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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A dog crying and whining is most likely suffering from seperation anxiety.
Conventional wisdom of yesteryear was to ignore a dog or puppy who was whining or crying in his crate at night – to let him just “cry it out.” That strategy does more harm than good! Photo by CMannPhoto, Getty Photos

It can be pretty darned annoying when your dog whines or cries at night, keeping you from getting enough sleep! But as annoying as it is for you, think about it from your dog’s perspective: she’s crying because she’s in distress. The key to ending the fussing is to ease her distress.

In years past, dog training professionals counseled clients to let the dog cry it out. “If you go to them,” we said, “you’ll reinforce them for crying and they’ll just learn to cry longer and harder.”

This was very bad advice. I suspect many dogs with mild separation-related stress had their anxieties turned into pathological separation anxiety by having their distress cries ignored.

I was guilty of giving this bad advice myself on occasion in the past (a long time ago). But when we know better we do better, and we teach better. Now we know that a dog who cries for longer than just a few minutes is trying to tell us something. Most often she is telling us that she is in distress, and she is crying out for help. This dog needs soothing and relief from her stress, not ignoring.

What to Do with a Crying Dog

The first thing you need to do with your whining, crying dog is to comfort her. Remove her from the situation that’s causing her distress and do whatever you need to do to alleviate her stress. Pet her. Hold her. Lie on the floor with her. Speak softly to her. Play soft music. Massage. If she’ll play, play with her.

Then address the environment that’s causing her distress by using management and behavior modification. The most common cause of continuous crying is separation-related behavior. If you have a dog who’s whining and crying all night, I’d bet you’ve probably got her shut away from you in another room, perhaps crated. Bring her into your bedroom. Then work with a force-free professional to address the separation distress. (See “Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Symptoms and How to Modify the Behavior.”)

Generalized anxiety can also be a cause of persistent vocalization. Again, management is in order to reduce your dog’s exposure to the anxiety-causing sights, sounds, or other stimuli, along with modification to help change your dog’s perception of those stressors.

Your dog might also be in distress as a result of a medical condition of some kind, so a full veterinary workup is in order if you can’t identify other obvious reasons for her distress vocalizations.

For persistent vocalizing, especially if it’s determined to be anxiety-related, anti-anxiety medications may be appropriate – either short-acting or long-acting, depending on the circumstances. You’ll want to have this discussion with your behaviorally knowledgeable veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist. Do it sooner, rather than later. For an anxious dog, medication should be a first-line defense not a last resort.

Help Your Crying Dog

Bottom line – your crying dog is in distress and calling out to you for help. Help her. It’s what you would want someone to do for you.

Download The Full June 2023 Issue PDF

By
Nancy Kerns
-
20
  • Fresh Kibble?
  • A Sudden Tilt
  • Managing Bitey Puppies
  • Top Dog-Walking Gear
  • Weirdly Colored Poop
  • Alternatives to “Cones”
  • The Hand that Feeds
  • Mushroom Poisoning
  • Prepare for your Puppy
  • Shaving Against Advice
  • Foam with his Coughing
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Nancy Kerns 10
I recently fostered a dog who first greeted me at the shelter that I sprung her from by jumping up on me. I spent the first two days with her almost exclusively working on preventing her from jumping. When I introduced her to a friend, my friend immediately held her arms out and greeted the dog’s enthusiastic jump up with a big hug, petting, and cooing
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