Pour the entire skunk-spray deodorizer recipe on the dog who got sprayed by the skunk and let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. Repeat, if necessary. Credit: Tonkovic / Getty Images
When your dog gets sprayed by a skunk, there’s more to worry about than how to remove skunk smell from the dog. Although rare, compounds in skunk spray can cause chemical reactions in the body that damage red blood cells and hemoglobin. This can be deadly.
While this reaction is least likely to happen if your dog is sprayed in open air, small dogs who get sprayed while trying to dig skunks out of burrows can collapse and lose consciousness so quickly that they must be dug out of the burrow themselves to be rescued. Hemoglobin damage occurs within minutes to hours. Signs include chocolate-colored gums, chocolate-colored urine, trouble breathing, weakness, collapse, seizure, and coma. Red blood cell damage may take three days to show up. Signs include weakness, lethargy, loss of appetite, and trouble breathing.
So, the first thing to do when your dog gets sprayed by a skunk is to be aware of this rare but deadly consequence and carefully monitor your dog’s mucous membranes, urine, and breathing for several days after a skunk encounter. If you have any concerns, call your veterinarian immediately.
On to how to remove skunk smell from your dog. Skunk smell can last on your dog and anything else it touches for up to three weeks! The sooner you begin to remove the smell, the better.
The homemade recipe is the absolute best remedy for removing skunk odor from your dog. Nothing else comes close. Don’t waste time heading out to purchase commercial products while your dog stinks up your home. Keep these ingredients on hand at home, and you can be done with this smelly nightmare as fast as you can say “pee-yoooo.”
Ingredients:
1 quart FRESH 3% hydrogen peroxide (“fresh” means a previously unopened bottle)
¼ cup baking soda
1 tbsp liquid dish soap (preferably Dawn)
First, bathe your dog with Dawn dishwashing liquid to remove as much of the oily film as you can. Next, mix the ingredients in a bowl and use the entire contents, rubbing it into your dog’s coat, focusing heavily on the areas directly sprayed, for 5 minutes. Then rinse. As long as you have treated every area hit by spray, your dog should be fresh as a daisy and good to go. Remember that:
You cannot mix this anti-skunk smell recipe ahead of time.
If the dog got sprayed in the face, you must treat the face. Be careful to keep the solution out of the eyes, and hold the eyelids closed while rinsing the face.
Do not leave this remedy on the dog longer than 5 minutes as it may bleach the coat.
It is OK to repeat as needed if necessary, rinsing between.
This is a decent sized panty-style diaper, probably being used for heat cycles. We hope it has a hole for the dog’s tail, because even short tails are better outside of the diaper. Credit: Firn / Getty Images
Do you have a dog who leaks urine while she’s sleeping? Do you have a male dog who lifts his leg to urine mark indoors? Has your un-spayed female dog come into heat? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a dog diaper could be a helpful management tool. Even without these specific needs, you may find dog diapers are especially useful when you’re traveling—with all those new scents to excite your dog—to prevent accidents in a hotel room or an AirBnB (we don’t want to lose our ability to find dog-friendly accommodations by letting your dog pee on the furniture!).
First, though, let’s be clear: Diapers for dogs are not a suitable replacement for house training. It is best for your dog not to be in diapers all the time, so teaching your new canine family member to toilet outside, on a pee pad, or in a doggie litter box is one of the first priorities after adopting a dog. However, as discussed above, there can be some special situations or medical conditions that make a diaper useful.
Dog diapers come in disposable and washable forms, and the styles vary depending on the sex of the dog and particular medical condition. Female dogs require a diaper that looks like a panty, and there is usually a hole that the tail can go through so that it stays out of the mess.
Male dogs, who have different anatomy, can use a belly band, which is wrapped around the abdomen and secured over the lower back. The washable panty or belly band can be lined with a human incontinence or menstrual pad and can be found in a variety of plain or fun styles to suit your individual dog’s personality.
The best way to make a dog diaper stay on is to get the right fit. You may have to try several better-quality brands to find the one that best fits your dog, but it’s worth the trial. We recommend you target quality dog diapers, like the one from PeeKeeper that was a 2019 Whole Dog Journal Best Gear of the Year finalist. You can also purchase things like dog suspenders to help hold belly bands in place and choose panty diapers with tail holes whenever possible for added stability and comfort.
A word of caution regarding diapers: Make sure you check the inside of the diaper frequently to be certain that the dog’s skin is not in contact with poop or pee for a prolonged time. Dogs, like babies, can get diaper rash, and if this occurs, it will often require veterinary medical attention. Also, remember to remove the diaper prior to letting your dog out into the yard to toilet! Failure to do so will provide a test of the fluid-holding capacity of the diaper you chose to use, which is not really something you want to experience.
Some dogs suffer from separation anxiety when their owners are at work—or even the grocery store—and react by destroying things, like their beds. Credit: smrm1977 / Getty Images.
Melatonin is safe for dogs and particularly useful in older dogs with some cognitive dysfunction that causes a disruption of the normal sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin also is often used to help with anxiety in dogs, including nighttime anxiety, noise phobias, and separation anxiety.
While you can give the human supplement melatonin to your dog, a safer, simpler route is to use a melatonin product made for dogs. The package’s dog dosage chart will be correct for melatonin levels in that product or, better yet, check with your veterinarian for your dog’s melatonin dosage. My usual melatonin dosage for dogs under 30 lbs. of bodyweight is 3 milligrams (mg) of melatonin twice a day. For dogs 30 pounds and over, I use 6 mg twice a day.
If your older dog is sound asleep all day and up and pacing all night, try keeping him active during the day, preferably out in sunshine, dim the lights two hours before bedtime, and give melatonin right at bedtime. This should help reset your dog’s natural circadian rhythm and help you both get a good night’s sleep.
Melatonin can treat certain types of hair loss. Seasonal flank alopecia usually happens during the winter months when we get less natural light. It occurs most often in Boxers, Bulldogs, Chow Chows, Pomeranians, Poodles, and Alaskan breeds. Your veterinarian will likely suggest giving melatonin two to three times daily for months, until the hair grows back. If your dog suffers from this every year, starting melatonin a couple of months in advance may help prevent hair loss from occurring. If your dog is hard to medicate, ask your veterinarian about Dermatonin, an implant similar to a microchip, which releases melatonin for six months.
Cautions to take before giving your dog melatonin:
Melatonin side effects for dogs are usually mild and include drowsiness and gastrointestinal upset.
Do not start melatonin without first checking with your veterinarian. Melatonin may interfere with certain medications, like immune-suppressive agents and blood pressure medications. Melatonin is potentially useful in some autoimmune diseases but should not be used in others.
Recommended melatonin dosages for dogs vary, so check with your veterinarian.
Do not give your dog the melatonin gummies made for humans, as they may contain xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is deadly to dogs. Read all labels and ingredients.
Do not use in animals intended for breeding as melatonin may interfere with natural sex hormones.
Does your dog gleefully start the day the split second you stretch or roll over? She’s learned the unwelcome pattern that your movement signals getting up. Fix it by teaching her a new one: Nobody ever gets out of bed until the alarm goes off. Play the alarm sound right before you get up, every time. Eventually your dog will stay in sleep mode until she hears that sound. Photo by Nancy Kerns
Predictability is how you calm an anxious dog. It’s your best friend when you live with a dog – particularly when you live with multiple dogs. Your enemies are The Unexpected, The Unknown, and The Unsure. The Un’s tend to make dogs jump up and run hither and yon, barking their questions, ideas, warnings, and enthusiasms. Then we humans have the job of directing the scene before us: Come! Sit! Stay! Place! Off! Leave it!
Consider this: It doesn’t have to be this chaotic, or this much work. We can significantly decrease the Un’s for our dogs by creating some precise, everyday, predictable patterns. Try it, and enjoy the newly peaceful atmosphere as both you and your dogs relax into knowing exactly what comes next.
“The Pattern Hack” Key to Calm an Anxious Dog
Kim Brophey, owner of The Dog Door Behavior Center in Asheville, North Carolina, and author of Meet Your Dog, teaches what she calls “The Pattern Hack” in her L.E.G.S. Family Dog Mediation course.
“Any animal’s brain is wired to find patterns,” she explains. “It’s a key survival skill. Patterns make the world more predictable, which saves an animal effort.” Meaning: If they can anticipate what’s next, they can allocate their precious energy appropriately.
Anybody whose dog explodes with joy when they put on those hiking shoes – or gets sad at the sight of the suitcase – has noticed that dogs are amazingly good at detecting patterns. Brophey encourages owners to take advantage of this, and identify, strengthen, and formally teach the patterns that are hiding in their daily lives to their dogs. Creating a consistent predictable pattern will help calm an anxious dog.
Visualize, then practice
Establish a pattern for how your dog can interact with a visitor to your home – such as bringing a toy to play tug – to create a less overstimulated visit. The doorbell then sends your dog to go find her toy, rather than jostling at the doorway and jumping on your guest. Photo by Kathy Callahan.
The first step is to analyze the things you do every day that can sometimes get a little too crazy. Feeding the dogs? Getting ready for a walk? Welcoming a guest? Pick one scenario you wish were going more smoothly, and visualize exactly how you’d like it to play out.
The more precisely you can map out the desired scene, the better. While small differences may seem insignificant to us, they loom large for our dogs; a slight change means the situation is up for grabs. So, as you develop the pattern, remember that the more consistent you are about its details, the easier it will be for your dog to settle into it.
Once you have a clear pattern for the scenario you’d like to improve, put it into consistent daily practice. For example, here are some patterns you could establish:
WAKE-UP TIME. If your dogs nudge you to get up earlier than you’d like, teach the pattern that nobody ever gets out of bed until the alarm goes off. Whether you’ve actually set an alarm or not, always play that sound right before you get out of bed. Eventually (hopefully soon!), your dogs will stay in sleep mode until they hear that sound.
HEADING OUT THE DOOR. If your dogs jostle for position at the doorway, teach the pattern that the door never opens until all are sitting politely. It shouldn’t take long for your dogs to learn that your hand on the doorknob means that sitting will get the door open more quickly.
GUEST ENTRY. Teach that the doorbell always results in treats scattered on the dog bed, so the dogs learn to run straight to the bed at that sound, while your guests enter peacefully.
COUCH RULES. If your dogs are allowed on the couch or bed only when invited, you can make that simpler by creating a pattern around a special blanket: If the blanket is on the couch, dogs are welcome; if it’s not, dogs stay on the floor.
DOG MEALTIME. Maybe rather than jostling and whining, three dogs wait in “downs” at their specific spots as bowls are prepared, with bowls delivered in the same order each time. (Of course, if you are like my husband Tom and enjoy the chaotic anticipatory glee, you do you!)
Once you have a clear plan for a pattern or two you’d like to establish, get all the relevant humans on board with the idea that this will be the approach from now on; it will not work if the approach is haphazard! Then start teaching the dogs what you’d like to see. Precisely because these are everyday scenarios, the practice is built-in if you’re consistent. Sticking to this pattern will help calm anxious dogs and help them remain calm over the long term.
Beware of unintentional patterns
Keep in mind that patterns can work for good or for ill in your life with your dog. Sometimes we unintentionally train a troublesome pattern! That’s when it’s time to create a replacement.
Long ago with our first dogs, Tom and I would drive to a giant woodsy park for an adventure, hiking with Shadow and Kela off-lead. They’d be so good – romping, but staying within a nice little perimeter of us and always checking in – until we headed for the parking lot and the car was in sight. That’s when they’d suddenly take off for one last zoom.
We’d cool our heels for 15 minutes – calling, worrying, feeling dumb – until they’d lope back, tongues hanging out, grinning. It wasn’t until they’d done this several times that we realized that our dogs had learned this pattern: car → awesome hike → car → end-of-fun. Our solution at the time was to put the leashes on earlier and earlier, which seemed a shame.
These days, I know I should have created a new pattern: The return car has to be the Next Fun Thing. Let’s say 100% of the time there’s a bully stick or other chew toy waiting in there for the ride home. They would have learned: car → awesome hike → car → awesome-treat-that-we-only-get-in-this-scenario. The dogs would have stuck right with us, and leapt into that car.
The environment is the cue to calm an anxious dog
One of the coolest parts of the Pattern Hack is the moment you realize you don’t need to direct your pup with a string of verbal cues anymore. Instead, each scenario is its own cue: The sight of you cooking at the stove sends the dog to “settle” on his mat, and a family car pulling into the driveway sends him running for the favorite tug toy that produces a jump-free greeting. If you are consistent with how you construct and manage each situation, the environment itself cues the behavior that’s proven most rewarding for the dog.
From the behavior science point of view, Brophey says, “Patterns build and hold behavior in place far more effectively and naturally than cues ever could.” What’s more, dogs who can hang their hats on a lot of patterns often seem calmer and less anxious. These adjustments may seem small – remembering to put Spot’s bowl in front of the oven, and Rover’s by the fridge – but it all adds up to make our human world feel more predictable to our dogs. On a very deep level, they feel safer and this sense of safety is ultimately what calms an anxious dog.
A dog who is reluctant to leave your home may have a physical problem (and is trying to avoid pain), or may be experiencing severe fear or anxiety about something out in the world. An appointment with his veterinarian should be made immediately, followed by a veterinary behavior consult and work with a force-free trainer who has experience with fear-based behaviors.
At a recent social event, an acquaintance who knows I have something to do with dogs said a bunch of very wrong things to me about her own dog. “My dog is a psycho!” she said. “She’s scared of her own shadow! I have to drag her out of the house to go for a walk sometimes! What should I do about that?”
I hate to hear anyone denigrate their own dog – especially when it’s based on the dog being fearful, of all things. Since I don’t really know this person, and couldn’t yet gauge whether she was serious about getting help for her dog, I initially responded with a vague, “Poor sweetie! She needs some help! How long has this been going on?”
The woman, not yet knowing whether I might have any concrete advice, probed a bit further. “She’s been getting worse and worse for months – it’s been maybe a year since it first started,” she said. “So, what do you think? A different kind of collar? A trainer?”
Since she had persisted to this point, I addressed her a bit more directly. “I would definitely recommend looking for a trainer who uses force-free training methods and is experienced with behavior modification,” I told her. “But you should also make an appointment with your vet, because there may well be a physical problem that’s leading to your dog’s reluctance to leave the house – and even if there is not a physical problem, you may need a veterinarian or even a veterinary behaviorist to prescribe a medication to help your dog.”
“Medication?” the woman asked, frowning. “Like what?”
“It depends,” I told her. “There are several different classes of medication that can affect behavior and each class has different indications. There are antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs…. If your vet doesn’t know a lot about these medications, she can give you a referral to a veterinary behaviorist. Fear-based behaviors tend to improve fastest when addressed with both medication and behavior modification.”
Unfortunately, my conversation partner had heard enough. “Are you talking about stuff like Prozac?” she asked. When I nodded, she went on dismissively, “People have gone way overboard with all these drugs. Prozac for dogs? Ridiculous!”
“Actually, I’ve seen some incredibly dramatic transformations when dogs were medicated for their chronic fear or anxiety,” I said – but I could tell she was done with the conversation. “Well, thanks,” she said, “but I’m not going to drug my dog. She’s just being a diva!”
It was on the tip of my tongue to retort, “But it’s okay to drag your dog, instead?” But I didn’t. Keeping that poor, scared dog in mind, I smiled and got a business card out of my wallet. I handed it to her and said, “If you need help finding a trainer in your area, let me know; I probably know someone who could recommend someone good. Just keep in mind that dogs who behave as if they are afraid most likely really are afraid. You’ve likely heard the expression, ‘They are not giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time?’ It’s wonderful that you have noticed she’s having a hard time, and want to get her some help! Just make sure that the help is kind, and takes her fear seriously…”
Medications that can help relieve a dog’s fear or anxiety enough so that they can learn and progress past their fears are so valuable, so capable of helping a dog make a major behavioral breakthrough – I have no idea why their mention is so frequently met with skepticism or hostility. I can only guess that it’s a holdover from similar attitudes about their need by humans. But as someone from a family with members who suffer from bipolar disorder, major bouts of depression, chronic anxiety, and eating disorders, I have a difficult time thinking of behavior-altering medications as anything but literally life-saving. If a dog’s daily Prozac keeps his anxiety level low enough to allow him to be leashed and picked up without biting his owner every single time, yes, it’s a life-saving drug for that dog. If another dog’s Xanax means the difference between living peacefully with the family’s other dogs and cat instead of constantly exhibiting aggressive behavior in an attempt to increase her personal space, then yes, it’s a life-saving drug for that dog (and possibly the other family pets, too).
I could go on and on, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll ask one of our veterinary contributors to write a new article about the use and value of these life-saving drugs. And in the meantime, if you are curious, here are some past articles where we’ve discussed them before.
The length of time it takes for a dog to digest food depends on the dog’s age, body size, and the food itself, but 24 hours is a pretty good average. Credit: NickyLloyd / Getty Images
It may seem like the time it takes for a dog to digest his food is short. After all, puppies need to poop almost as soon as they finish dinner, which naturally places “after eating” on the puppy bathroom schedule.
In reality, it’s not that fast. Gastrointestinal transit time—the veterinary term for how it takes for dogs to digest food—averages 24 hours. The time to digest food varies depending upon the dog’s age, size, and the fiber and fat contents of the diet.
Puppies poop right after eating because, when a meal is consumed, nerves in the stomach wall sense the stomach’s distension and communicate “full stomach” status to the nerves in the colon, which activate the large intestinal contraction. This is why taking a puppy for a potty walk shortly after eating is a good idea. Caution: Avoid anything more than an easy walk for about two hours after a meal. Heavy exercise right after eating can cause life-threatening bloat (gastric dilation-volvulus, or GDV). Bloat occurs when food, water, or air fills overfills the stomach, causing it to twist. When a dog exercises heavily, he pants and ingests air, which adds to the stomach’s contents and raises the risk of bloat.
How many times a day you should feed a dog depends upon the dog’s adult size, age, physical health, and behavioral health. In general, a healthy dog does well on two meals, although some are fine with one meal. Certain dogs need multiple meals per day:
Young toy-breed puppies need food multiple times a day to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Senior dogs are sometimes unable to eat larger meals
Large and giant breeds are at an increased risk of bloat
Diabetic dogs need meals associated with insulin injections
Dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome (vomiting bile due to irritated stomach linings) need multiple meals to prevent the stomach from being empty for longer periods of time
For dogs in training, multiple meals give you the chance to practice and reward with the dog’s meal
If you suspect any health problems, or you have a toy or giant breed, discuss these factors with your veterinarian.
For some dogs, tail docking is the only way to stop the constant injury from happy tail syndrome. Credit: K64End / Getty Images
They call it “happy tail syndrome,” but if your dog gets it, nobody’s happy. It’s a frequent dog tail injury, especially in happy dogs, but treatment is difficult.
Happy tail syndrome occurs when joyful, exuberant dogs with long, slender tails wag ferociously and traumatize the tip of their tail when it bangs on hard surfaces. Once there’s damage to the tail skin, the wound opens more every time they bang it. And it bleeds. A lot. It may form a clot, or a scab, while the dog is resting, but as soon as the dog is up and wagging—and hits something—the scab comes off, the wound opens up, and it bleeds again. It’s extremely frustrating.
What to do? Happy tail syndrome treatment involves finding a way to protect the tail tip from the repeated trauma. If you can, you might be able to get it to heal.
Creativity is key. It’s not easy to keep a bandage on these crazy tails, and dogs aren’t always willing to leave them in place. People have tried all kinds of things, including toilet paper rolls, cut water bottles, pool noodles, foam pipe insulating tubes, and syringe cases from your vet. Commercial kits are available that help protect the dog’s tail using protective padding devices that go into a bandage on the tail.
A couple of hints: Whatever you try, make it as lightweight as possible. The heavier the bandage, the more likely it is to go winging off with the wagging. I use white first-aid tape that runs the length of the tail for several inches and is then incorporated into the bandage over the injury. The purpose is to give the bandage more “grab,” so it can stay on. Don’t make it too tight! Leave the end open inside the protective tube for air circulation to the tail tip.
Sadly, even if you do get your dog’s tail to heal, it’s likely to happen again. You can try padding the walls, corners, and whatever he keeps hitting his tail on, but that’s hard to do and a bit unsightly when guests come over. You can try to interact with your dog only where there’s space to do so, but that’s not practical either.
Bottom line? If you can’t get it to heal, or if you’re tired of coming home to a bloody scene right out of a horror film, talk to your veterinarian about tail amputation. The procedure will take care of the traumatized tip, and if you go short enough, it will never happen again. Some of these dogs end up with cute little bob tails. They can still wag as hard as they want, and you’ll avoid the blood splatter.
It’s natural for dogs to want to share our tasty food. Their sense of smell is thousands of times more powerful than ours; our food must smell irresistible. So they whine, paw at us, “sit pretty” with bright eyes – anything they can think of to get our attention, in hopes that we will share your food with them. It’s sort of cute – but the begging for food behavior can get so over-the-top that you can’t enjoy your meal in peace!
Don’t despair; behavior is almost always modifiable. The chances are good that you can teach your dog to do something that’s more acceptable to you while you’re eating – as long as the begging behavior isn’t being reinforced by a family member who surreptitiously slips bits of food to her when you’re not looking.
Manage the Situation
To change your dog’s behavior around food, first you’ll need to change some human behavior. Everyone in the household (including visitors!) needs to refrain from feeding the dog during the family’s meals, whether it’s served at the dining room table or consumed while watching TV from the couch. If you can’t trust everyone to comply, you’ll need to secure your dog somewhere away from the dining area, or your no-begging aspirations are toast.
To allay feelings of guilt over your perhaps hungry dog, feed her dinner before you eat yours. Then, until you teach her a new dinner behavior, put her in another room, a crate or exercise pen, or tether her away from your eating area. Give her a long-lasting chew of some sort to keep her engaged and happy while you eat in peace.
Train a Different Behavior
It’s perfectly okay to stop there – to simply prevent her from having an opportunity to beg – without taking further steps to modify her behavior.
But if you’d like to work on changing her behavior around your family’s food, your best approach is to reinforce an incompatible behavior – something she can’t do and beg at the same time.
This is yet another valuable application of a well-trained “Go to your mat” cue. A strategically placed mat allows you to enjoy your dog’s company at meals while keeping her a polite distance from your plate. Select an inviting mat for your dog – soft and comfy usually does the trick. Teach her to go to her mat by using your “Mat” cue and luring her onto it, then cueing her to lie down. Mark the moment she lies down on the mat (with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker such as the word “Yes!”) and give her a treat. (You can also “shape” the go-to-your-mat behavior; see “Mat Training Tips,” WDJ January 2020.)
After a few repetitions, pause after you give your mat cue to see if she starts moving there herself. She may also start to offer the “down” when she gets there. Continue to help her as she needs it, luring with a treat and/or prompting by taking a step toward the mat, and/or pointing. Gradually decrease the luring until she goes to her mat on cue.
Now add distance and duration. When she’s on the mat, mark and treat with longer and longer pauses between reinforcements. Start cueing her to go to her mat from farther away, in small increments – a half-step at a time – until she’ll happily go to her mat from across the room and relax there for an extended time.
When she can do that, invite her to go to her mat while your family dines, and mark and treat when she does. Remember to give her a long-lasting chewie to keep her extra happy on the mat. Look ma, no begging!
Dogs’ tails are docked at a variety of lengths, according to the various breed standards, from very short to about two-thirds of their natural length. The American Kennel Club’s standard for the Boxer (as seen above) says, “The tail is set high, docked, and carried upward. An undocked tail should be severely penalized.” Photo by Nancy Kerns
Dogs come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Each breed has different physical attributes, including the shape and length of the tail. But why do some breeds have long tails while others have short tails? Why are some dogs born with long tails sporting short docked tails later in their lives?
Although some breeds of dogs are born with a naturally bobbed tail (such as the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Boston Terrier, and Jack Russell Terrier), other dog breeds may have a “docked” tail, where a portion of their tail was removed when they were puppies. It’s a common practice to dock the tails of some dogs – but not without controversy.
How are puppies’ tails docked?
Tail docking is a procedure that is typically done within a puppy’s first five days of life. A portion of the tail may be severed with a pair of scissors or other sharp instrument. Anesthesia is typically not administered and neither is an analgesic. The wound is often left open and not sutured closed.
Puppies can experience pain in their tails, even at such a young age. A study published in 1996 found that puppies will vocalize for more than two minutes following the tail docking procedure and can take up to 15 minutes to settle and go to sleep after their tails have been docked.
Another method is to apply a tight rubber band to the tail in order to occlude the blood supply to the unwanted portion. Once the blood supply is cut off, the skin, muscle, cartilage, bone, blood vessels, and nerves on the caudal (farthest from the head) side of the band will die.
It typically takes several days for the dead end of the tail to separate from the living section of tail, but it can take up to two weeks. A puppy will feel the sensation of pain in his or her tail and the pressure of the rubber band while it is in place.
Complications from Docked Tails
Several complications are possible with tail docking. With the severing method, the open wound can become infected; with the banding method, the dead and necrotic tissue can become infected. The development of a neuroma (a disorganized growth of nerve cells at the site of a nerve injury) is possible with either method. A tail neuroma is a thickening of the stump at the site of the tail amputation. Neuromas are very sensitive and can send searing pain through nearby tissues when even lightly touched.
Tail docking involves the severing of nerves in the tail. Anecdotally, some dogs with docked tails exhibit behaviors (such as aggressively chasing and/or chewing their tails) that may be associated with neuropathic pain. A study published in 2012 examined the development of neuropathic pain in adult rats who had undergone a procedure to injure nerves when the rats were just 10 days old. The researchers found that these rats developed lifelong neuropathic pain associated with the nerve injury but only once the rats reached full maturity. A similar phenomenon has been observed in humans who suffered a traumatic nerve injury as an infant.
Why are dog tails docked?
Tail docking is done for only certain breeds of dogs to meet a breed standard. A breed standard defines the accepted appearance, gait, and temperament of a specific dog breed. Breed standards are created and maintained by kennel clubs, such as the American Kennel Club (AKC) in the United States and the European Kennel Club (EKC) in Europe.
According to the AKC’s website, the breed standard is the breeder’s blueprint to which all dogs of that breed are compared. The breed standard is used by judges of a dog show to determine the best entrants that represent that breed. And it’s not just the dogs that are judged; the breeders are judged by how well they produce dogs that conform to the breed standard.
Dog breeds whose tails must be docked to meet the AKC breed standard include the Doberman Pinscher, German Shorthaired Pointer, and Miniature Schnauzer. The breed standard for the Doberman Pinscher states that the tail must be docked to the second joint; this means that all but the first two vertebra are removed from the tail. For the German Shorthaired Pointer, 60% of the original tail must be removed to meet the breed standard. The Miniature Schnauzer breed standard requires that the tail be docked to the point of just being visible beyond the backline of the body.
Advocates of tail docking usually cite a reduced incidence of tail injuries in working and hunting dogs and improved hind end hygiene in long-haired dogs. A study published in 2010 found that dogs with docked tails were less likely to experience a tail injury. However, it was also found that the incidence of tail injury was so low that 500 dogs would need to have their tails docked to prevent just one tail injury.
It is also interesting to note that while some hunting dog breeds – such as the German Shorthaired Pointer – have their tails docked, other working and hunting breeds – such as the German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, and German Longhaired Pointer – do not have their tails docked.
Hind-end hygiene is an important issue for dogs, especially for those with long fur. While docking the tail in those breeds will minimize the risk of feces getting stuck in the fur on the underside of the tail, it will not prevent fecal contamination of the fur on the backs of the thighs and, in female dogs, the fur around the vulva. Although the breed standard for some long-haired breeds require that the tail be docked, other long-haired breeds – such as the Collie and Afghan Hound – do not have their tails docked.
Docking is decreasing
While the AKC and many breeders support the practice of tail docking, there are many organizations and people that do not. Most veterinary professional organizations around the world have issued statements that oppose tail docking. In the United States, these organizations include the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in both Australia and the United Kingdom have taken a stand against tail docking.
Tail docking has been banned in several countries around the world, including Australia and most of Europe. The procedure has also been banned in several Canadian provinces, including Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. A law banning tail docking was recently passed in Quebec and is slated to take effect in February 2024.
In the United States, only the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania restrict the docking of a dog’s tail. Proponents of the passage of these laws cite pain, the potential for short- and long-term complications, and the lack of functional reasons to dock a tail as reasons to ban the procedure except when medically necessary.
Breeders in the United States are not required to dock the tails of puppies in their care. While many breeders dock tails to conform to a breed standard, some breeders choose not to dock their puppies’ tails. When selecting a breeder for a dog breed that traditionally has a docked tail, be sure to inquire about the procedure. Select a breeder that matches your goals and your conscience.
Tail-Docking Is Not the Same as Tail Amputation
Tail amputation is the surgical removal of part of a dog’s tail for medical reasons. Most commonly, tail amputation is necessary due to a condition known ironically as “happy tail,” which occurs when a dog sustains an open wound on his tail through trauma by wagging. The wound closes but then reopens and bleeds when he wags the tail and smacks it against a hard surface (this is common with overstimulated dogs in shelters with concrete walls). Although the wound can be healed with proper veterinary intervention and management, in rare cases the tail will not heal and must be amputated near the point of the recurring injury.
Crushing injuries to the tail that do not heal and result in necrosis of the injured section typically require amputation of the affected tail portion.
Cancerous tumors can also arise on the tail. Since there is no excess skin on the tail, it is nearly impossible to obtain clean surgical margins by removing only the tumor. Therefore, the portion of the tail containing the tumor is amputated to save the life of the dog.
Rock salt (sodium chloride) helps humans by melting ice that makes walking and driving dangerous, but it harms our dogs’ paws by causing irritation, burning, and even frostbite. And if dogs lick their paws in an effort to remove the salt, they can suffer from vomiting and diarrhea.
If you live where rock salt is commonly used to melt icy roads, sidewalks, and/or parking lots, plan ahead to make this a safe winter. Limit walks in salted areas. If your dog walks where salt or other de-icing agents have been spread, clean her paws by rinsing them in cool or warm (not hot) water. Salt dissolves in water so you won’t need soap or special rinses. Simply dip her feet into a container of water, massage water into her paw pads, and dry with a clean towel.
Protect your dog’s paws from ice melting chemicals
Boots are a great direct line of defense for protecting your dog’s paws. They take getting used to, but many dogs adjust to wearing booties that fit well, are the right size, and attach securely. Treats and patience speed the process. Even if rock salt isn’t widely used where you live, booties can make below-zero temperatures more comfortable for dogs.
You can also protect your dog’s paws with products like Musher’s Secret, which contains white and yellow beeswax, carnauba wax, and candelilla wax. These waxes form a protective layer that prevents salt from reaching the skin, plus they prevent cracking, dryness, and hardening of the paw pads.
Apply by gently massaging a thin layer into your dog’s paw pads, between toes, around the central pad, and around the nails. A second layer helps with salt protection.
Other products recommended as protection against rock salt feature oils such as mango, coconut, shea, and cocoa butter. Bag Balm, another popular paw protector, contains petrolatum, lanolin, and paraffin wax. Apply and let the oils absorb for a few minutes before going outdoors.
“Pet friendly” ice-melting products
Dozens of ice-melting products claim to be “pet friendly.” That claim is often the only difference between an expensive product sold in pet supply stores and identical (and much less expensive) ones sold in home improvement stores. The term “pet friendly” is meaningless and not subject to any enforcement; ice melts are not regulated by any government agency. And few of them list their ingredients on their labels, leaving consumers without any way to investigate the “friendliness” of the products.
The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center classifies all ice-melting products as chemical irritants and warns that these products can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea plus topical irritation to the paw pads and skin.
Most de-icing products are sold in the form of pellets or crystals that are meant to be sprinkled on the iced-over areas where melting is desired. It’s easy for these pellets to get stuck to or wedged between the pads of a dog’s paws, where they can cause a burning sensation. And when the dog licks his paws for relief, he consumes the rock salt or chemicals in the pellets – not good!
Even ingredients that melt ice without harming skin, such as ethylene glycol, can be toxic and even fatal if ingested. Ethylene glycol is the active ingredient in antifreeze. A safer ingredient is propylene glycol, but it doesn’t work as effectively so it is often combined with urea, which makes it toxic to cats and ruminants such as cows and goats if ingested.
Safer for dogs: Chloride-free de-icers
Chloride-free de-icing products contain no salt or any other form of chloride (such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, or magnesium chloride) to melt ice and snow. In contrast, most chloride-free ice-melts use calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), which doesn’t work as well to melt snow or ice that has already accumulated – but works well as a pre-treatment, before snowfall or freezing weather, to prevent the formation of ice. CMA products do not contain chloride, urea, or nitrogen and have minimal impact on storm water run-off. They are less irritating to dogs’ paws than chloride salts.
CMA products are more expensive than rock salt and are less effective than salt at de-icing at the coldest temperatures, but are biodegradable and less corrosive to concrete, metals, flooring, and other surfaces.
We like the CMA product called Play Safe Ice Blocker. Unlike most of its competitors, Play Safe Ice Blocker lists all of its ingredients (on its label and on its website), a practice that we strongly support. It’s also applied as a liquid, sprayed onto surfaces to prevent ice formation; there are no pellets or crystals to get stuck to your dog’s paws use caution
If ice is a problem on your sidewalk or driveway, compare labels and ingredients before buying an ice-melt product that claims to be “pet friendly.” Store it where your pet can’t reach it, use it cautiously, and rinse it off of your dog’s feet as necessary. If your dog ingests a chemical ice melt product or rock salt, contact your veterinarian or a pet poison control center:
I just received the annual renewal notice for my senior dog’s pet health insurance policy, and, sadly, made the decision not to renew it. I don’t think Otto is going to live long enough to receive the full benefit of the increased price, and as much as it pains me to say this, I’ve decided that his next big health crisis will be his last.
Despite being on three daily medications for his arthritis pain, he’s obviously still in some discomfort and is losing mobility. His nighttime anxiety waxes and wanes, but never goes away completely; overall, his quality of life is still okay, but sinking. And as the fall temperatures drop, his preference for being outside at night is getting less practical. When it was still warm, even as recently as a few weeks ago, he would go outside at bedtime and preferred to be outdoors all night. Now, it’s getting too cold for that. On my front porch, I just set up a dog house with a special pet heating pad in it, a hard plastic model meant for outdoor use, but so far, he has eschewed its use, preferring to scratch at the door to be let out at midnight, in at 2 am, out at 4 am, and back in at 6 am…. This is a little hard on me, but I’m getting so I can shuffle to the front door almost in my sleep. The bigger problem is that the cold and damp is making his arthritis pain worse, and he’s having more trouble getting up.
In the past few years, I wanted to have him insured so that I could afford almost any cost that he might incur for anything from diagnostics and treatment to advanced dentistry, to keep him going. But with his pain rising and quality of life sinking, making those “at all costs” efforts doesn’t seem like the humane thing to do anymore.
Math problems
This past year, the policy still penciled out to my benefit, even though I was paying a whomping $230.57 a month for the plan. It was worth it, because, after a $250 annual deductible, the plan reimbursed me for 90% of all Otto’s veterinary bills and medications. In the past few years, Otto’s internal medicine specialist has recommended that we do an abdominal ultrasound and a chest x-ray each year, to monitor his liver (which had some benign tumors growing on it a few years ago, and still shows some irregularities) and his lungs (he’s had pneumonia before, with few symptoms). The vet also prescribed a relatively expensive medication for his arthritis; I’ve been paying $108.90 a month for it. His other medications cost much less, but they add up.
The monthly premiums added up to $2,766.84 in the past year.
I paid $5,141 for Otto’s veterinary bills and medications in the past year. Nationwide Pet Insurance reimbursed me for 90% of that (less a $250 annual deductible), for a total of $4,401.90 in reimbursements.
So, all in all, I paid a total of $3,530.90 for Otto’s insurance premiums, deductible, and the 10% of the bills that were not covered. I saved a total of $1,610.10 by having him covered by pet insurance.
But the premium was about to go up to $341.84 a month for the same plan – quite an increase. And because of Otto’s age and current health status, if he suddenly experiences a health crisis, my veterinarians and I agree, we will spare him any extensive diagnostics, and instead provide just comfort care until it’s time to provide him with permanent relief from pain. At this point, I will just pay for his medications out of pocket – and for the cost of his euthanasia, too (which would have been covered by the insurance plan).
This feels like a sad but practical decision – a step closer to the end – but one I have to take in order to make sure I can afford the care for my other two dogs, too.
Training your dog enhances the quality of life for both of you, allowing you to involve him in more of your activities – but the prospect of a training a dog can be daunting for first-time dog owners. Using a combination of good management and effective, science-based force-free methods, it may be simpler than you think.
Just a few decades ago, coercive training was all that was available. It was often difficult for dog owners who were beginners at training to accept that they had to hurt their dogs to train them. Thankfully, you can now easily find resources to help you educate your new canine pal using gentle, effective methods. Force-free training and behavior professionals who offer in-person or Zoom sessions, books, magazines, and video courses abound. You just need to get pointed in the right direction.
Dog Training Philosophy
The first, vitally important step is to commit to your training philosophy. We endorse and promote force-free training, aka “positive training” – that is, training that employs copious amounts of positive reinforcement to teach dogs what we want them to do. This is not just because we want to be nice to our dogs. Several recent studies confirm that the use of coercive and/or pain-causing tools results in a poorer quality of life for dogs, and is more likely to result in significant behavior challenges, including aggression.
Not only will you learn how to train your dog in a group dog-training class, and your dog will get practice at working with you calmly around other dogs, but you will also have the opportunity to observe other owners and their dogs. Often, class participants learn just as much from watching other novice dog handlers’ successes and failures as their own! Photo by Nancy Kerns
Your first mission is to find resources that support your philosophy. This can get tricky. “Positive training” has become a useful marketing tool but there is no industry-wide accepted or legal definition for the term, so you can’t just take someone’s word for it when they say they are a “positive” trainer.
Some call themselves “positive” because they start out with a clicker and treats – but they may be quick to revert to choke chains, prong collars, and shock collars if they don’t get immediate results. Others claim to be “positive” because they feed the dog a treat after they shock or yank on the prong collar. You’ll need to dig deeper than a trainer’s own self-label to really know who they are and what they do.
Check out their website. They should openly explain their training philosophy and the methods they use. If they don’t, they’re likely hiding something. They should proudly display their credentials: certifications, memberships, and affiliations. Again, if they have no education (past and ongoing) in dog training and behavior and are not members in good standing of reputable training organizations, their methods are likely outdated.
Read their blogs. Talk to them. Ask questions such as, “Is there ever an occasion for which you would use a prong collar or shock collar?” When you like everything you see and hear, you’ve found a professional you can work with.
Puppy Training Classes
Dogs who exhibit reactive or aggressive behavior and their new owners will benefit from private instruction to establish some baseline skills and communication in a lower-stress environment. Photo by Nancy Kerns
If you’re starting with a baby dog (8 weeks to 4 or 5 months), we strongly recommend that you begin with a “puppy kindergarten” class that emphasizes the importance of puppy socialization and gives your pup ample opportunities to play with other puppies.
Playtime should be carefully monitored to ensure appropriate interactions between players. Low-key, hesitant pups should be paired with gentle playmates, while rough-and-tumble players will delight in romping with like-minded puppies.
Also likely to be included in your puppy kindergarten class are force-free handling and husbandry discussion and practices, and the teaching of important foundation behaviors such as sit, down, come, and polite leash walking.
Adult Dog Training
A visual barrier (in this case, a folding exercise pen covered with a sheet) can help distracted or overwhelmed dogs get accustomed to working with their owners in a less visually stimulating environment. Photo by Nancy Kerns
If your dog is over the age of 5 months, look for an adult “good manners” class. More and more force-free trainers have moved away from the term “Obedience” and the coercion that it implies. (Some may still use it, however, so that isn’t necessarily a rule-out in your search.)
The instructor should supply you with a curriculum that explains what you and your dog will learn during your class. The list can include a wide variety of behaviors such as sit, down, come, leash-walking, polite greetings to humans, wait or stay, touch, trade, leave it, go-to-your-mat, settle, and maybe some tricks and cognition games to keep it light and remind everyone that training is supposed to be fun!
What to Expect in a Dog-Training Class
Whether it’s a puppy kindergarten or adult-dog class, the first session is often an orientation, with dogs left at home. This is so your trainer can talk to you without distractions – so human students can focus on what she’s saying rather than worrying about what their dogs are doing.
The instructor will probably have a dog with her to demonstrate the first-week basic behaviors that she’ll want you to practice with your dog. If she’s a clicker trainer she may hand out clickers and have you do some exercises with them to start practicing your clicker skills.
The instructor will also share tips on what kind of treats to use and how many to bring to class, and give you the lowdown on important information: what to do when you arrive the following week with your dog, where and when to enter and exit the training space, and to avoid letting dogs interact on leashes.
Finally, there should be ample time for discussion and questions. This is your opportunity to ask about anything you don’t understand or have concerns about. Be sure to take advantage of this!
Before your next class, practice the behaviors that the instructor demonstrated – and not just once! Practice several times a day with your dog, for even just two to three minutes at a time. The more you practice, the easier the next class will be for both of you. Because, for your second class, anticipate chaos. This is an exciting time for dogs and their humans! Some dogs may be quite aroused by the proximity of other dogs; there could be some (or a lot of) barking until everyone settles. Humans are likely to be surprised, stressed and/or embarrassed by their dogs’ behavior and/or vocalizing.
You may want to leave your dog in the car while you carry in any equipment you bring with you, so you can keep your full attention on your dog when you bring him in. Keep his leash short as you enter the training facility and have a generous handful of high-value treats (such as roasted or canned chicken, cut or shredded into tiny bits) to hold in front of his nose as you pass by the others, to keep him focused on you and behaving reasonably well.
Some trainers provide “alcoves” – training spaces with barriers between you and the other dogs to reduce visual stimuli and help everyone settle down. Over time, the barriers are removed so you and your dog can learn how to work in proximity to other dogs and their humans.
Find your training space and help your dog settle on his mat. You can drop several treats on the ground in front of his nose and use a “kissing” noise to get his attention. When he starts to focus on you, practice a few of the behaviors you’ve been working on. This helps get his brain in training mode and helps you both be ready when the instructor starts the class.
Continuing Education
When you and your dog have graduated from your puppy kindergarten or “basic good manners” class, you’ll find that there are many options for your dog’s continuing education. It’s not too soon to start thinking about what you might want to do with him next: more advanced training for faster and more reliable responses or off-leash work? Perhaps a therapy dog preparation class, or beginning-level instruction in a canine sport such as agility, flyball, nosework, or musical freestyle?
As you can see, you have many options. The important thing is, if you’re new to the wonderful world of dogs, there is lots of help available for you as a beginner. Please take wise advantage of those resources so you and your dog can successfully build your lifetime partnership together.
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.
