Our resident training expert, Pat Miller, often sends me dog-related news articles; she’s practically a one-woman canine news service! A couple of months ago, she sent me a disturbing article about a dog who was euthanized after attacking his owner, who had been trying to clip his nails. We agreed that we should remind our readers why they should regularly trim their dogs’ nails – and how to use positive training techniques to teach their dogs how to absolutely love the process.
288
One important aspect of the sad story of the euthanized dog was that his owner had previously used intimidation to force the dog to go along with the practice. When he growled at her, expressing his discomfort and fear with the process, she told him “No!” Pat reminds us why a dog owners should never scold or punish a dog for growling. (It doesn’t make the dog feel any better about what he’s growling about, and if you succeed in suppressing his growl, you’ve just eliminated the only warning you might get before he bites you in the face of overwhelming stress.)
Last month, experienced triathlete Susan Sarubin described how to safely start a running program with your dog. This month, she discusses cycling with canines; we will present her article on swimming your dog in an upcoming issue. I should note that Sarubin largely disapproves of one practice that I indulge in regularly with my dog, Otto: mountain biking with him off-leash. I learned a lot from her warnings about this activity, and while I plan to continue our bike rides, I am going to put some of her suggestions into practice.
Some readers have asked me about how my dog Otto is doing; I haven’t said much about him in the past two issues. I appreciate your interest, and share an updated report on his continuing progress (and occasional setbacks) in “Social Matters,” Also in this issue is a primer on what is sometimes a devastating disease: EPI, or Endocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, written by a dog owner with first-hand experience with the disease. See “Starving, Not Starved.”
Corrections
In “Choosing Good Foods,” in the February issue, we listed Taplow Feeds as the company that sells FirstMate Pet Foods. FirstMate is manufactured in the company’s own plant, which is called Taplow Feeds, but the company name should have been listed as FirstMate Pet Foods. We apologize for the error.
We also failed to include one company on our “2009 Approved Dry Foods” list, whose information we had obtained and whose products we admire. Champion Petfoods Ltd., of Morinville, Alberta, makes its Orijen and Acana (high-protein, low-carb) dry dog foods in its own plant. See orijen.ca or call (780) 939-6888 for more information.
