Some people have ice cream in their freezer, but in the top shelf of the author's freezer door, there are just food-stuffed toys! On the top shelf, we see two hollow marrow bones, stuffed with food and with peanut butter smeared inside, as well as two sizes of food-stuffed Toppls. On the bottom shelf there are red Kongs - the classic, original design - as well as some black ones (meant for extreme chewers) and dark blue Kongs, which are made of radiopaque rubber and available only through veterinary retailers.
Enrichment toys for dogs are popular, and for several good reasons. They can be great boredom busters, helping to channel a dog’s energy into an acceptable activity. They can slow a dog’s habit of eating too quickly, thus helping prevent choking. And research suggests that dogs may prefer working in some way to obtain their food to eating food that’s readily available in a bowl.
One of the oldest enrichment toys on the market is the Kong, first developed in the 1970s when company founder Joe Markham discovered his German Shepherd’s love of a discarded rubber auto part. The original toy that Markham invented is now considered a classic, easily recognized by its original bright red color and hollow beehive shape. Today, Kong toys are available in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes – and there are just about as many ways to stuff a Kong as there are trainers to think them up!
While the Kong Company is a leader in innovating and refining more and more canine toys that can be stuffed with food, many challengers have brought other exciting food-puzzle toys to market. One of our newer favorites is the Toppl, made by West Paw. Its wide opening is more enticing for those dogs who are put off by the more difficult task of getting food out of the Kong.
Whatever toy you use to hold food for your dog to unpack, these tips will help you stuff the most fun and functionality into the toy for your dog to enjoy:
1. Get the right size. I prefer to start my puppies with whatever size they’ll use as adult dogs, to make sure outgrown toys don’t accidentally become choking hazards later on. And, for pups and young dogs,I use food-dispensing toys to feed the entirety of their meals – I only rarely put their food in a bowl. Any bit of time that they are fully engaged in a safe activity is time I can use to do something else!
The goal, then, is to find a toy of just the right size, or a combination of toys of the right sizes, to contain their meal. This takes some experimentation, and depends on the kind of diet you feed (kibble, canned, rehydrated, commercial raw, or home-prepared).
Classic Kongs come in six different sizes, from XS to XXL. Toppl comes in two sizes (small and large); the two sizes can be used as a pair, with the smaller one inserted into the larger one to create an additional challenge (the dog has to separate them before he can start getting the food out).
Here’s an array of healthy and nutritious ingredients ready for stuffing a week’s worth of food-dispensing toys.
2. Teach your dog how to get the food out – and make it easy at first! When first introducing your dog to a food-stuffed Kong, you should make the contents especially tasty and particularly easy for your dog to extract; some dogs lose interest if it’s too difficult to unpack.
Let your dog watch you add a small handful of kibble mixed with some small favorite treats. Excitedly shake the Kong before offering it to your dog. Set the Kong on the ground and gently manipulate it until a few treats fall out. Encourage your dog to interact with the toy and calmly praise his success.
After he understands that moving the toy around can make treats fall out, start adding a smear of peanut butter, creamed cheese, or canned dog food just inside the rim of the toy. Hold the toy for him and manipulate it so that he can reach all the yummy goodness inside with his tongue. Then reload it and put it on the ground for him to try without help.
As long as he’s motivated to work persistently to get the food, you can keep increasing the difficulty of the food-extraction challenge with each food-stuffed toy you offer him. Next, you might pack the toy with wet food or a mix of kibble and something like peanut butter or yogurt; these foods require a combination of licking and tossing or dropping the toy to extract.
Here are some more ways to keep ratcheting up the difficulty of the food-extraction challenge:
If using kibble or other small treats, add a few larger, oddly shaped treats (such as dried beef lung or a large piece of biscuit) that will get in the way of the small treats and require more work to extract the contents.
Tightly pack the contents into the toy. Don’t be afraid to really shove stuff in there! I sometimes use the back end of a butter knife to tightly compact the contents of the toys.
Prepare a number of food-stuffed toys in advance and freeze them for an added challenge and as a cool treat on a hot day. An advantage to freezing is that you can prepare several at once so they’re always on hand when you need one. (Pro Tip: Muffin pans, coffee cups, or ramekins work well to hold Kong toys upside down in the freezer as they set, especially when using liquid contents that might drip.)
Teach your dog to search for treats and toys and then hide the food-stuffed toys somewhere in the house.
Put the food-stuffed toys in a cardboard box or folded-up paper bag and encourage your dog to do whatever it takes to “get the toy!”
3. Be creative and change recipes to retain your dog’s curiosity and interest. Anything that’s safe for a dog to eat can be added to a food-dispensing toy. Kibble, canned dog food, dog treats, fresh fruits and veggies, meats, cheese, yogurt, canned pumpkin, mashed sardines, dry cereal, even select leftovers pulled from the fridge all make great ingredients. (Always introduce new foods in small amounts to help prevent digestive upset.) See the recipes below for some of my dog’s favorite “Kongcoctions.”
4. Make adjustments for dogs who need to count calories or who are on a limited-ingredient diet. If your Westie is watching his waistline, or your Labrador’s diet is limited, stuff their food-dispensing toys with their regular diet, with the addition of perhaps just a few low-calorie treats or tidbits that won’t trigger an allergic reaction.
Here’s a tasty way to increase the appeal of your dog’s usual kibble without adding too many calories: If your dog enjoys peanut butter, whisk a tiny bit into hot water and use the peanut butter water to coat the kibble before stuffing it into the toy.
5. Keep it clean. A quick soak in warm soapy water and an old toothbrush or bottle brush works well to address any remaining food particles stuck inside. Kong and Toppl toys are also safe to wash in the dishwasher (but use the top rack!).
Quick and Easy Food-Stuffed Favorites
These recipes are simple and easily make enough filling for multiple toys. Much like doing my own meal prep before the start of a busy work week, I set aside about 30 minutes to prepare a “flight” of food-stuffed toys for the freezer. Don’t be afraid to get creative; dogs don’t care about strange combinations. Sardines and blueberries? Sure! Chopped apples on a layer of liverwurst? Why not? Have you seen what dogs pull from the trash and eat? Their food palette is on an entirely different planet than ours when it comes to culinary choices.
Peanut Butter Kibble
Dilute one tablespoon of peanut butter with two tablespoons of hot water. Whisk until combined. Add one cup of kibble. Mix until coated and spoon into toys.
Fruit Salad
Chop dog-safe fruits of choice. (We like apples and assorted berries.) Add directly to toys or stir into a mixture of canned pumpkin and plain yogurt.
Something’s Fishy
Drain a tin of sardines (use the ones that are packed in spring water). Shred the fish with a fork. Mix with pumpkin and yogurt. Spoon into toys. Adding kibble to this mix will stretch the sardine mash a little farther. These are best served outdoors; they are stinky!
Reconstituted Dog Food
I don’t use dehydrated dog food for meals, but I do keep some on hand to use as an easy, healthy meal replacement served out of a toy.
Higher-end pet supply stores have found dehydrated or freeze-dried foods to be very popular with dog owners, who report their dogs do very well on these diets.
Freeze-dried or dehydrated dog foods have certain benefits when compared to traditional wet (canned) or dry (kibble) dog foods. Before incorporating these foods into your dog’s diet, it’s important for you to learn more about those benefits, as well as the process for making these foods, including safety measures.
BENEFITS OF FREEZE-DRYING OR DEHYDRATING
The methods used to radically lower the moisture content of rehydrated or freeze-dried foods have the following advantages over baking or extruding the foods at high temperatures:
These methods preserve the food (nearly stopping the biological activity that causes a food to decay) with less damage to the ingredients’ natural enzymes or vitamins than cooking temperatures cause.
This means the meats and other ingredients are, by strict definition, raw. For those who believe in the benefits of raw diets, this is huge. (We’ll discuss those who consider raw foods to be dangerous in a minute.)
When rehydrated, these foods are highly palatable to most dogs. It may be due to the concentration of flavor in freeze-dried food ingredients or their minimal processing. Dogs with poor appetites (like very senior or chronically ill dogs) may accept these foods when nothing else appeals.
As a generalization, the makers of these products are targeting the top end of the market and have an extraordinary commitment to sourcing top-quality ingredients
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FREEZE-DRYING AND OTHER DRYING METHODS
Freeze-dryers expose foods to low temperatures, freezing them relatively quickly, and then to high air pressure. When the pressure inside the freeze-drying chamber is high enough, small heating units are turned on, heating the trays that the food sits on, and causing the frozen water (a solid at that point) in the foods to transform into a gas (water vapor). Pumps pull the vapor out of the chamber while keeping the internal air pressure high.
Like freeze-drying, air-drying can be accomplished at low temperatures, but it takes longer and leaves meats and fats vulnerable to oxidation (spoilage); most foods are dried with temperatures of 140ºF to 180ºF. At these temperatures, the food is actually lightly cooked; the cellular structure (and thus the aroma and taste) of meats, fruits, and vegetables actually changes and the taste and appearance. In contrast, proper freeze-drying doesn’t affect the appearance or taste of foods as much.
The freeze-drying process sounds extreme, but the process actually leaves most foods less damaged than dehydration, which toughens meats and other ingredients.
RAW SAFETY
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 contains zero-tolerance policies for pet foods that test positive for pathogenic bacteria. For this reason, some of the manufacturers of freeze-dried raw foods subject their products to a “kill step” known as high-pressure processing (also known as high-pressure pasteurization, and in either case abbreviated as HPP); they don’t want to risk increased surveillance or recalls from food control officials.
The owners of some other companies, however, believe so strongly in the benefits of raw foods that they refuse to use a kill step. Instead, they rely on the quality of their ingredients and their own food “hazard analysis and critical control points”(HACCP) plans to prevent selling contaminated products. They understand that the FSMA policies are present to protect dogs and their owners, and that today’s human food supply does sometimes contain pathogens – but they also have observed that most healthy dogs can easily digest and benefit from raw foods – even raw foods that may contain some pathogens. (Few healthy dogs have trouble with Salmonella, for example, though Listeria and e. Coli are another story.) And, importantly, they engage and educate their consumers about these facts.
There are food-industry experts who feel strongly that HPP is a very safe technology, and others who worry that it may alter foods on a molecular level. We feel fine about HPP; we’ve been to HPP plants and observed the raw dog food before, during, and after treatment and have confidence that it is not harmed or made unsafe to feed. On the other hand, we respect the right of owners to feed raw foods that have not undergone a kill step – as long as they are informed about the risks to which they are subjecting themselves and their dogs.
Some of the companies utilize a “test and hold” program whereby finished products are tested for pathogens and not released for sale until results indicate the products are uncontaminated. Buying a product from companies that employ a test-and-hold program is a good way to ameliorate fears about a raw and unpasteurized diet.
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I recently fostered a litter of eight puppies for my local shelter. Every time I foster a litter, I develop a favorite puppy – and this litter was no different. The runt of the litter was half the weight of the largest pup, but she had an outsized personality, augmented by the rakish look lent to her by the sudden emergence of a single stand-up ear. She was also the sweetest, most snuggly puppy in the litter. Whereas most of the pups were more likely to greet me by grabbing my ankle or shoelaces, the little red pup would make intense eye contact and wag furiously, willing me with her direct gaze to pick her up. When I followed her command, she would burrow under my chin and lick my neck, making delicious little grunting noises, wagging her little tail nonstop. She never failed to put a smile on my face.
If I was in the market for another dog, I absolutely would have kept her, but as it turns out, one of my former foster puppy adopters – a woman who has become a good friend and frequent model for WDJ – decided it was time to adopt a second dog. Yes, I cried happy tears when Jessie called to tell me she was adopting my favorite and naming her Nyx.
Jessie has messaged me asking for information about puppy food, vaccinations, kennel cough (Nyx came down with the ubiquitous “shelter sniffles”), what to do about resistance to crating, and I forget what else. Thank goodness for 23-plus years of back issues; she’s a subscriber, and I pretty much always have a back article I can direct her to for the answer to her questions (did you know that all the back issues are available to current subscribers online?). I also receive near-daily snapshots of the latest cute thing that Nyx is doing, and these warm my heart – it’s almost as fun as having a new puppy myself! I’m looking forward to Nyx joining our small stable of regular photo models for WDJ.
Sadly, though, the number of our frequent models will stay the same. Our most senior canine model passed away on the evening before this issue went to press. When I still lived in the San Francisco Bay area, trainer Sandi Thompson of BravoPup! was my go-to model for training articles, and her landlords’ dog, Milo, who spent nearly as much time with Sandi as he did with his legal owners, was Sandi’s frequent partner as she demonstrated various training techniques for our articles. Milo was whelped in 2003 and first appeared in WDJ in 2006. He passed peacefully at home at the remarkable age of 18, leaving behind broken hearts and a record of WDJ appearances that is unlikely to ever be matched in length by another dog. Sandi, we’re so sorry for your loss. Milo, thank you for staying so long. You can go play now.
Here's the goal: A dog who walks at your pace on a loose leash, happily engaged with a handler who notices, praises, and richly reinforces the dog's polite leash-walking behavior.
The super-fun walks described in our “Walk This Way” article in last month’s issue aren’t always possible; there are times when dogs do need to walk in close proximity to their person’s side at a human’s relatively slow walking pace. When this is the case, we all too often see dogs who are either gagging and choking while being restrained on a very tight leash, dragging their humans, or looking bored and unhappy as they plod along next to their people.
There is a reason for this: Walking politely at a slow human pace is a very unnatural behavior for your dog. Dogs generally move slowly of their own volition only when they are very tired, old, ill, obese, fearful, tense, or sniffing.
The good news is that there are ways to make leash-walking at your pace a lot more fun for your dog and successfully achieve her happy participation in this necessary activity.
The key word here is “fun.” This means engaging with your dog as you walk – not texting, talking on the phone, or chatting with your spouse or friends while ignoring the dog. This process starts with taking the time to actually teach the behavior known as “polite leash walking,” and then continuing to use a high rate of reinforcement and variety of training techniques to keep your dog engaged with you while you walk, as you generalize the behavior.
TEACH LOOSE-LEASH WALKING
if necessary, hook your thumb into your belt loop or pants pocket to prevent yourself from automatically pulling up or back on the leash.
Loose-leash walking is a staple of every basic Good Manners class – or at least it should be. Here’s the basic force-free technique; no choke chains, prong collars, or leash-jerking allowed.
Keep your arm by your side and your wrist against your hip so the leash stays loose. Use a happy voice, treats, toys, and coaxing – not force. If your dog lunges forward and pulls on the leash, stop, and maintain gentle pressure on the leash. When she stops pulling and looks at you as if to ask why you have stopped, mark that behavior (with the click of a clicker or using a verbal marker such as the word “Yes!”) and offer a treat from the hand that isn’t holding the leash, next to whichever knee she normally walks beside.
If she doesn’t look back at you, wait 10-15 seconds, then invite her back with a kissy noise/happy voice. When your dog returns to you, give her the treat and start walking again, using a high rate of reinforcement (marking and giving a treat at nearly every step).
I walk my dog on my left side, holding the leash and clicker in my left hand, and feed treats from my right hand by bringing my hand across the front of my body and offering it behind my left knee. When I am walking, my treat hand is out of sight behind my right hip.
While dogs are traditionally taught to “heel” on the left side, there’s no law that says you have to. The primary reason for sticking with tradition here is if you want to compete in Obedience or Rally or other canine sports that require left-side heeling.
Start indoors or in another low-distraction environment. Keep the rate of reinforcement high – step, mark, treat, step, mark, treat. Technical note: The author teaches students to hold the leash with the hand on the same side as the dog, and to feed treats with the other hand (crossing the body,) so the treats are clearly a reward, not a lure.
When you first start teaching leash-walking, begin in a low-distraction environment, such as your living room. Decide on the cue you want to use to tell your dog to walk and use that word every time you move forward.
Use a very high rate of reinforcement and be sure to keep the leash loose! Take one step and (as long as your dog is still right by your side and the leash is still loose), mark (click or “Yes!”), and treat. One step, mark, and treat.
It can help to frequently change direction. One step, mark and treat, and turn! One step, mark and treat, turn. Use your happy-voice praise to keep your dog engaged and attentive to you.
Occasionally, pull out a toy and engage your dog in a quick game of tug before resuming your step-mark-treat routine. Alternatively, squeak and then toss a small stuffer squeaker toy for her to catch and play with (see “Rules for Playing Tug,” WDJ December 2016). Then trade her a treat for the toy and walk on (see “How to Teach Your Dog to Trade,” February 2017). A variety of high-value reinforcers, including play, will keep the walking game fun and interesting for your dog. “Fun and interesting” is the key to happy leash walking.
Keep things fun and unpredictable; surprise your dog by whipping out her favorite tug toy and initiating a game of tug as a reinforcement.
It is also useful to do this indoors sometimes without the leash, still maintaining a very high rate of reinforcement and lots of happy-voice and play. Removing the leash ensures that you aren’t accidentally keeping tension on the leash – that your dog really is choosing to walk with you; it’s not the leash that keeps her close.
Whether on or off leash, as your dog begins to stay close and attentive to you, gradually increase the number of steps you take between your mark and reward. Remember to keep her engaged with happy conversation and praise as well as your mark-and-treat-or-toy reinforcer.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE
When your dog will walk with you politely in your very low-distraction environment it’s time to up the ante – take it outdoors! Set her up to succeed by starting in a relatively low-distraction environment – your private yard, a condo courtyard at a low-usage time – not the dog park, a city sidewalk during rush hour, or the school playground during recess!
Put her back on the leash to start (and plan to keep the leash on if you’re not in a safely fenced area). Return to your initial “one step, mark, and treat” protocol until you’re sure she’s with you, then gradually reduce the rate of reinforcement, increasing the number of steps between your mark-and-treat.
Practice increasing your speed as well, doing some short jogging sessions with your dog. If you’re in an area where it’s safe to do so, graduate to off-leash walking when you feel she is ready. Remember to use voice and play reinforcements as well as your treats!
When your dog can walk politely in a quiet outdoor environment, start increasing the distraction level. Ask your child (or borrow one from a friend if you don’t have your own) to play in the yard while you walk – quietly at first, then with more and more energy. Ask a dog-owner friend to bring her dog over to walk in the yard a distance from you, quietly at first, then with more energy, gradually decreasing the distance between you. Invite other friends over for a picnic and some lawn games while you and your dog walk around them. Get creative.
TAKE IT ON THE ROAD
Now that she’s a polite-walking star in your yard, it’s time to take your dog out in the real world. Again, start at low-activity times at first as you head down the sidewalk, practice in shopping mall parking lots, walk past schools, and leash-walk outside the dog park. Each time you increase the distraction level, go back to your one-step protocol, then gradually increase the number of steps between reinforcement as she shows you that she can stay tuned in to you while you move together.
OTHER HELPFUL HINTS
Here are more things that can enhance your dog’s leash-walking success:
*Use the Premack Principle. This can be a useful option for delivering a high-value polite leash walking reinforcer. The Premack Principle says that you can use a higher value/more likely behavior to reinforce a lower value/less likely behavior. It’s also known as Grandma’s Law: “You have to eat your vegetables before you can eat your dessert.” Trainers have made the phrase a verb in training jargon, as in “Hey, you can Premack that behavior!”
For many dogs, sniffing is a much higher-value behavior than walking politely by your side. You can identify upcoming desirable sniff-targets as you walk with your dog, then Premack a stretch of polite walking with a happy “Go sniff” cue, moving forward quickly with your dog to the desired sniff spot. Be sure to stop and give her plenty of time to sniff to her satisfaction.
You can also allow your dog to “Go play!” as a reinforcement fora stretch of polite walking. This works best if you are walking with a long line, so you could let her romp around a while before asking her to walk with you again.
*Targeting. Yes, your dog’s much-loved behavior of targeting can be useful for leash-walking! (See “The Moving Target,” below).
*Putting on the brakes. If your dog stops walking and doesn’t want to move forward, you need to figure out why. If she’s worried and needs to look at something, let her look, then use your kissy noise and cheerful voice to invite her forward. Pull out your cheerful voice and toys and invite her to have a party where you are! Or ask her to target to your hand and use her happy association with targeting to get her moving forward. Then start walking again.
You can also suggest movement by briefly putting very gentle pressure on the leash, but if she resists do not maintain pressure and definitely do not drag her forward! If she happily walks when you start out but puts on the brakes when headed home, it’s probably because she doesn’t want the walking fun to end. Get in the habit of doing something very reinforcing to her upon your return so she looks forward to going home as much as she looks forward to walking.
If she continues to be reluctant to move, it could be a medical issue – be sure to have your veterinarian check her out – soon.
*Keep it short and fun. Do several short practice sessions each day at first, then longer walks when your dog is walking well. Keep the outings exciting with lots of changes of pace and direction, voice, play, sniff and treat reinforcements to keep your dog interested.
Moving Target
Thanks to Camille Funke, training assistant at The Canine Connection in Chico, Calif, for demonstrating these techniques.
Does your dog love to target? If so, nose-targeting is another useful tool in your leash-walking learning kit. Here’s how to use targeting to enhance your dog’s polite walking:
*Supercharge your dog’s “Touch” behavior by making it really fun. Reinforce with toys, play and your excited happy voice (sound familiar?).
* Teach him to nose-target to a target stick or wooden spoon (especially useful for small dogs – you won’t have to bend over to offer the target, and after he touches you can smash a goodie on the stick and lower it to him for treat delivery).
* Ask him to “Touch!” and move your target hand/stick away so he moves toward it and puts more energy behind his nose touch. Mark and treat/toy/play.
* Ask him to “Touch” and run away so he runs after you to touch the target hand/stick. Mark and treat/toy/play.
* Ask him to “Touch” when he is 10 to 20 feet (or more) away from you and run away so he really has to run after you to touch the target. Mark and treat/toy/play.
* If he’s physically able, ask him to leap up in the air and/or over a jump to touch the target. Mark and treat/toy/play.
* Now that his targeting behavior is supercharged, as he’s walking with you on-leash (or indoors off-leash, as shown in the photo below), put your target where you want his nose to be while you walk, and ask him to “Touch!” Mark and give him a treat or initiate play with a toy each time his nose touches the target, which you continue to hold in the zone where you want his nose to be.
You can use this to reinforce your dog when he is walking in his polite-walk position, to invite him back to the proper zone when he gets out of position, or to help him walk past something he’s afraid of.
Well-trained assistance dogs can open the door to increased confidence, independence, and mobility for people living with a variety of disabilities. It’s been estimated that there are more than 500,000 assistance dog/handler teams in the United States.
Within the United States, assistance dogs are not required to be trained by a professional organization, but many of them are. And most of the time, those program dogs begin their journeys toward becoming working assistance dogs in the homes of volunteer puppy raisers.
At Guide Dogs of America / Tender Loving Canines (GDA/TLC), where I serve as the puppy program coordinator, we like to say, “Puppy raisers make teams come true!” We literally can’t fulfill our mission of “transforming lives through service dogs” without the support and commitment of our volunteer puppy raisers.
Our puppy raisers spend a little more than a year raising, training, and socializing our program dogs to the big world around them. Raisers attend training classes and monthly meetings, and work to incorporate the dogs into much of their daily lives. Dogs accompany raisers everywhere they go: to the office, market, post office, dentist, on public transportation, etc. College students bring their program dogs with them to classes, and in some cases, our high school-age junior handlers get permission to bring program dogs to school.
All of this is to help ensure our puppies grow into well-behaved, confident adult dogs ready to begin learning specialized guide dog and service dog skills when they return to our campus at about 15 months old.
Puppy Pick-Up Day
People often say, “I’d love to raise a service dog puppy, but I could never give it up.” When it’s time to send your program puppy “off to college,” of course it’s bittersweet. But here’s the thing. You aren’t “giving the dog up,” you’re “giving the dog forward.” You choose to raise a program puppy to help a veteran experience relief from debilitating PTSD. You raise a program puppy so a child with autism learns communication and social interaction skills. You raise a program puppy so a person who is blind or visually impaired regains independence and stands tall and proud as they safely walk down the street – just to name a few of the specialized training programs that exist.
You raise a program puppy to transform a life.
And the best part? Most people discover it’s not just the disabled clients whose lives are transformed. Puppy raising changes lives every step of the way. From the friendships that develop working alongside fellow raisers to the intense feelings of pride when you learn your dog has been matched to a partner and you meet the new team, you’ll likely feel your life has been transformed as well.
Still not sure how you’d handle puppy turn-in day? Attend the graduation of a local service dog organization and hear from the newly matched teams themselves! You can even tune-in online on Saturday, Oct. 2 as GDA/TLC broadcasts our next guide dog and service dog graduation via the organization’s Facebook page. There’s rarely a dry eye in the house.
Raising a program puppy is a wonderful way to blend a love of dogs with a desire to make a difference. If you’re in Southern California, I hope you’ll consider raising a puppy with Guide Dog of America / Tender Loving Canines. Not in So. Cal? A quick Google search for “service dog puppy raising in AREA” will likely surface a local option. There’s *always* a need for volunteer puppy raisers.
Fostering large litters frees up shelter staff from the highly time-consuming task of keeping this many puppies clean. It's also difficult for a busy shelter to keep a close eye on each puppy in a litter; if one's appetite is poor or another spikes a temperature, it's hard for shelter staff to notice and respond quickly. Foster providers do better at this, though, yes, we do get attached in the process of closely caring for vulnerable infants and letting them go is difficult.
I’ve been fostering dogs and puppies for my local shelter for 15 years. Wow! Time flies – until I thought about it, I didn’t realize it had been that long.
Recently I was talking to another long-time foster provider, Kathy Callahan, trainer and author of 101 Rescue Puppies. I shared with her that, on the day I brought my most recent litter of puppies that I had been fostering for my local shelter back to the shelter to get spayed/neutered and adopted, someone who had seen me crying my eyes out over bringing the puppies back to the shelter said to me, “I could NEVER go to a shelter, it’s too sad!” Well, this snapped me out of that crying spell; I whisked over to “furious” in just a few seconds!
“Sad?!” I snorted. “I’ll tell you what’s sad: The fact that too many people would rather ‘rehome’ their intact dogs or ‘accidental’ puppies to other individuals, who fail to spay, neuter, or contain THOSE dogs, so the cycle goes on. It’s not ‘sad’ if puppies in shelters ALL get vaccinated, neutered, microchipped, and placed in a screened home, it’s SUPER HAPPY NEWS.” Whew! I was seeing RED.
I got hot again when recounting this conversation to Kathy, and fortunately she laughed wryly, completely understanding my emotional whiplash. She said, “I’ll tell you what makes ME see red…” and within the space of a few minutes, we had a Top Five Stupid Things People Say to Foster Providers.
We agreed that number 1 is this: “That puppy/dog loves you so much! You HAVE to keep him/her!” (Rebuttal: One of our most important jobs as a foster provider is to help the dog or puppy/puppies learn to love and trust humans. If they love me and the other people in my fostering circle, they should be able to learn to love and trust other humans, too. Plus, if I keep this one, my fostering days are likely over. You see, I have only so much time, money, and energy for my dogs. One more dog at home will max out one or more of those limited resources, but if this dog gets placed in a loving home after growing to an adoptable age/recovering medically/improving behaviorally, then I can help several more dogs this year!)
A close second: #2 is, “Those two dogs/puppies love each other so much! They HAVE to get adopted together!” (Rebuttal: Usually, when two puppies or dogs are super tightly bonded, this affects their ability to bond to the humans in a household. Tightly bonded pairs tend to look to each other for support, comfort, and direction, and avoid the less-familiar attention of the humans they just met. Separating them may seem harsh for a day or two, but they will almost always start to pay more attention to and seek attention and comfort from humans once they are separated. Only then can real work begin to get them socialized and happy with humans – a prerequisite for finding “forever homes.” It’s far, far more difficult to find families who will take two dogs than one, and almost impossible to find families who want two dogs who want little to do with humans.)
One of my longest-term fosters was Odin, who was one of seven starved, mange-covered puppies brought into my local shelter. I fostered the whole litter (though two didn’t survive their serious conditions), but I had Odin for many months, and many trips to the veterinary ophthalmology department at UC Davis, trying to save his injured eye. I would have loved to keep him; he was a total sweetheart. Fortunately, he found a terrific family who ADORES him — and I have room to keep fostering.
Number 3 is the first one that Kathy first shared with me: “I love dogs too much to foster! I would want to keep every one!” (Rebuttal: Our love for dogs is exactly why I and Kathy foster: We want to help as many dogs and puppies as possible learn the social skills they need to succeed in homes and then find good homes. The idea that someone who doesn’t foster loves dogs more than us is ridiculous. We love dogs so much that we want to see as many of them in homes as possible.)
My trainer friend Sarah Richardson, owner of The Canine Connection in Chico, California, offered #4 and #5: “You’ve put so much work and training into that dog, don’t you just want to keep him/her?” and “It seems cruel to send that dog to another home, now that he/she is so comfortable with you!”
Sarah has had some very long-term foster dogs, including one that she took on from my local shelter following an environmental disaster (the collapse of the Oroville Dam spillways). This dog was on the list to be euthanized by the shelter, likely right after all the evacuated animals were returned to the shelter – but this particular dog (and about 15 others) happened to be taken in by Sarah, who had volunteered her facility as a temporary safe space while the shelter had evacuated due to the potentially collapsed dam. The dog had massive, serious health and behavior issues – and she also loved humans with a joyful spirit that just grabbed at Sarah’s heartstrings. Sarah dedicated herself to saving this foster dog’s life, and spent literal years and thousands of dollars solving the dog’s physical and behavioral issues – and keeping her either safely away from other animals (since predation and dog-aggression were her most serious issues) and happily engaged with enriching toys and activities, to maintain her mental health.
Since Sarah has several of her own dogs, keeping a dog-aggressive dog means neither her own dogs nor the foster dog can ever be completely relaxed and comfortable – or enjoy full, free access to Sarah’s entire home. But letting the dog-aggressive dog be placed in a home with other dogs (or other small animals) sets up that dog for inevitable failure. And so it took years to find a safe, suitable, only-dog home for that dog. Anyone else would have lost hope for finding that dog a home and given up; Sarah was a superhero for holding the line at finding the dog a genuinely qualified spot, and keeping her own dogs and the foster dog as safe and happy as possible until that happened – but she did it. That dog finally found a home with people who love and appreciate her affectionate, playful, joyful spirit and perfect leash manners.
I fostered this little guy for only a couple weeks. He had an irreparably broken leg – an old injury – and had to have the leg amputated. I kept him as quiet as you can keep a five-to six-month-old puppy until his surgery date, and wept over both his giant scar and his bravery at adapting to life with just three (albeit pain-free) legs. But he found a wonderful home with a family – and I was fostering again two weeks later.
(So, the rebuttal: “When I foster, my goal is not to just get rid of the dog as quickly as possible, it’s to equip the dog with the skills and health he/she needs to succeed for the rest of her life in a home, to help find a home that can meet the dog’s unique needs, and to help the dog and the family learn to love and trust each other. When I foster dogs with significant health and/or behavior problems, accomplishing these goals can take a long time – sometimes, much longer than I had planned or hoped. But it makes no sense to settle and rush the dog into a placement that is likely to fail. And when the right adopter comes along, someone who is ready and able and excited about providing everything the dog needs, it makes all the time and money and energy worth it. And then I can go back to enjoying my own dogs full time, without guilt over the one who was euthanized because no one cared enough to put in the work she needed.”)
Do you foster? What’s the stupidest thing someone ever said to you about fostering? Or, have you inadvertently said something stupid to a foster provider? Spill it, and we can likely rebut it for you. 😊
The man with the leashed dog doesn't look concerned about the fast approach of the unleashed dog, but his leashed dog looks apprehensive – or is he just anticipating play? The point is, some dogs are on leash because they have unpredictable, aggressive, or terrified responses to being approached by dogs. Allowing your dog to run up to people and their leashed dogs is dangerous and inconsiderate.
Say you are in a grocery store with your best friend and her child, and you both see the child take something, perhaps a candy bar, and start eating it. You look at your friend to see if she’s going to say anything to her child, but she just shrugs. Then you notice that another shopper has also seen this, and that person glares at you, as if to say, “Well, aren’t you going to do something about this?” You smile and shrug helplessly, and the best you can say is, “It’s not my kid!”
Well, that was me. But it was at a park where a bunch of dogs were playing off-leash, in spite of the signs ringing the park that indicated dogs were supposed to be on leash. I was walking with a friend and her dog toward the middle of the park, toward the swirl of off-leash dogs, and across a narrow zone of people walking their dogs ON-leash and across a busy bike path. Each time my friend’s dog ran right up to a leashed dog (and of course, the humans at the other end of the leash), I would look back at my friend, who always seemed to be doing something else – looking through her pockets, looking at her phone – I don’t know WHAT she was doing!
I whistled for my friend’s dog a couple of times, and he came back to me once. But when he ran up to an older person who was walking a little West Highland White Terrier and who looked up and glared at me as his walk was interrupted by the two dogs greeting, all I could come up with at the moment was “I’m sorry, it’s not my dog!” There was no growling or aggression, but I was so uncomfortable! This isn’t how I would manage my own dogs!
And by the time two people on a tandem bike had to come to a complete halt to make sure they weren’t going to hit my friend’s dog, who was trotting along on a diagonal on the bike path, and they couldn’t easily ascertain which way he was going to go, my nerves were fried.
I think we can all agree that allowing your dog to run up to other people, and especially people with leashed dogs, is incredibly rude and potentially dangerous. It can set back a training and counter-conditioning program of a dog whose own behavior with other dogs is reactive. I know that my friend’s dog has been attacked and bitten by an off-leash dog before. So why on earth would she let her off-leash dog run up to other leashed dogs?
After the moment with the Westie, I did say to my friend, “You know, it’s pretty rude to let your dog run up to people with a leashed dog. If their dog was totally comfortable with other dogs, they’d probably have it off-leash.” My friend’s response? “Oh, I know, but XXX (my dog) is totally good with other dogs.”
All I could say is, “Well, this is hard for me to be around…”
I’ve been thinking this ever since. I guess I’m one of those people who can never think of what to say at the time, who thinks of the perfect thing to say later. But I still haven’t thought of what I should have said and done. I know what I would have liked to say: “Hey! Put the dog on leash, or keep him with us until we are in the middle of the park with all the other off-leash dogs!” But she’s an adult and I’m not her boss.
But this morning I thought, perhaps someone else knows just what to say in this situation, or any situation where you are with a friend or relative and they do something you feel is very wrong. What’s the perfect approach to preserving your relationship, while expressing your discomfort with what your friend or relative is doing? Because simply deciding never to walk with them and their dog again feels bad, too – but that’s the best I have been able to come up with so far.
What would you do or say? What would be a tactful but educational approach to take? (Those might be two different answers!)
The bottom of the Wash 'n Zip bed is a smooth but tough, dirt-resistant fabric. The top can be ordered in a fleece fabric (seen here) or a smoother, plush material.
Warning: The following is an ardent product endorsement.
Each January, we publish a feature in WDJ called “Gear of the Year,” where we tell subscribers about the best dog-care and –training items we’ve seen and used and appreciated all year. In January 2021, one of our occasional contributors, North Carolina dog trainer Lisa Lyle Waggoner, wrote a glowing review of a dog bed called the Wash ’n Zip Pet Bed – a quilted bed that has a zipper along three sides. The zipper allows you to unzip and unfold the bed into a larger rectangle for easy washing in a standard washing machine – or to use as a larger blanket on the lawn, sofa, or car seat. I was sold on the bed just from Lisa’s description and from photos of the various covers and sizes on the company’s website.
We published the review and I guess a bunch of you ordered beds, because Stan Pelz, the owner of the company, later sent me a note of appreciation – and one of the beds to try out myself! Well, for my dogs to try, anyway. He not only sent me a beautiful extra-large bed, but a “Puppy Proofer” – a large slipcover-like cover for the bed that helps protect the bed from getting chewed by bed-chewing puppies.
My senior dog Otto really liked the bed; I put it, zipped up and covered with the Puppy Proofer, in his favorite spot to nap during the day, inside a door-less crate in my office.
Then, recently, I started fostering a litter of eight mixed-breed puppies. Otto’s favorite crate and the Wash ’n Zip bed got called into more pressing service. All the other dogs beds I have on hand are huge, deep, foam-filled beds – and when you have to wash a bed every few days, or even every day, because tiny puppies walk through their formula and wet food (and poop!) and then crawl into bed – the huge, foam-filled beds don’t cut it. Even though the covers zip off to launder, they are a pain to “dress” and “undress.” The Wash ’n Zip bed, though – wow! What a breeze! In the few weeks that they were using the bed, I washed the Puppy Proofer cover about eight times, and the bed itself just twice. The cover handled most of the abuse; none of the puppies’ crusty messes soaked through the cover. I had to wash the bed only when it got messy when the puppies were using it while the cover was in the laundry.
This is not a great picture of the Wash ‘n Zip bed, but because I was so busy with puppy-care and grandson-care while working, I didn’t take many pictures of this litter of puppies. Due to an early and prolonged spell of extraordinary high temperatures, I had to keep the puppies in my cool office each day for the peak heat. I had a tarp on the floor, with wood shavings to capture the poop and pee, a rubber mat for feeding them on, and the bed. It was soft and comfy – and the wood shavings brushed right off the PuppyProofer cover.
Then it was time to take the puppies back to the shelter for adoption. Now, I’m ALWAYS a mess on that day. The puppies have been cared for at my home ever so tenderly, and with an eye on enriching their social and physical experiences while sheltering them from becoming frightened or uncomfortable. Going from a safe, loving home with a lawn to romp on to a concrete-walled kennel in a building with more or less constant loud barking is traumatic for them, and seeing their fearful, uncomprehending little faces in the kennel is always traumatic for me. I know that they will adjust (and, in fact, they have), but if there’s anything I can do on that first day to make them more comfortable at the shelter, I do it. And in this case, it was giving them their familiar bed to sleep on. Even so, tears were rolling down my face as I left the shelter.
I was also verklempt because, on the same day I brought the pups back to the shelter, I was flying with my husband and our grandson back to the East Coast, returning that grandson to his mom near Boston and then visiting our other grandson in New Jersey. (Returning the grandson to his mom after a long stay with us is just as emotional for me as it is taking the puppies to the shelter, even though Liam doesn’t have to be left in a concrete kennel. We are going to miss him and hate saying goodbye!)
It was a whirlwind trip, but it was still five days before I was back home and could go to the shelter to see the pups, now available for adoption – and to look for the Wash ’n Zip bed. I was apprehensive, because I hadn’t alerted the staff that I would be coming back for the bed (I was crying too hard when I left) but I was confident, because of its washable nature, that it would be laundered and I would find it somewhere on the premises.
Maybe some of you don’t know how most animal shelters handle bedding. All shelters have a perennial wish list for towels and blankets to be used as pet bedding. When they get donations of thick, heavy pet beds, they accept them and use them – until they get soiled. Then, they usually go into the Dumpster. Yes, those giant $80 (and up) beds go into the trash once they get wet and soiled. If the dog who is using the bed is extremely house-trained and won’t go potty in the shelter, and the staff realizes this and the dog gets taken outside frequently, a big, thick bed might last the dog’s entire stay. More frequently, though, the beds get wet because the dogs have to eliminate in their kennels, and there isn’t enough room for the poop and pee to stay separate from the eating/sleeping area, or because there isn’t a good way to hose out the kennel without the bedding getting wet. Smaller blankets and towels get washed. Large, thick quilts or pet beds usually get tossed.
If the shelter is large or has a big budget, they may have commercial-size washers that are capable of handling thick or large bedding. Most shelters I’ve been in, though, including my local shelter, have just a row of ordinary washers and driers, which can’t handle giant blankets or beds. That’s why these things usually get thrown away when dirty.
Zipped open, you can see that the sheets of polyester batting that pads the bed are sewn into place, so the bed doesn’t get misshapen or lumpy with laundering. (Editor’s note: I initially wrote that the padding was cotton; I stand corrected. The company describes, “The inside of the Wash ‘n Zip consists of sheets of 100% polyester batting that are sewn into the outer seams of the bed and then box-stitched, so the padding stays in place and the bed keeps its shape over time. The polyester batting dries quickly in the dryer.“)
You see where this is going. I had a joyful reunion with the puppies – who had all happily adjusted to their new environment, no longer looking shell-shocked – but couldn’t find the Wash ’n Zip bed anywhere. It wasn’t in any of the 64 kennels in the shelter. I looked in the shelter “kitchen” where the laundry gets done and dog dishes are cleaned. It wasn’t in any of the four washers or four dryers, nor in the stacks of clean bedding, nor in the shopping carts full of dirty bedding – and, yes, I did paw through all four shopping carts of poopy, wet towels and blankets that had come out of the kennels that morning and were waiting their turn in the washers.
I quizzed the staff: The person who cleaned the dog-adoption kennels on the weekend (right after I left the pups there) remembered the bed; she said she put it back in the kennel after cleaning the kennel, but the person who cleaned the kennel on the weekdays following said he didn’t remember a bed being in there. Most likely, it got wet (and/or poopy) and was put into the shelter Dumpster. Because of the Puppy Proofer slipcover, the staff member surely never saw that the bed could be unzipped and put in an ordinary washer! ACK!
I went out to the Dumpster to see what I was up against. It was full to the brim – due to be emptied later that day. It gets filled with not only wet dog bedding, but what gets cleaned out of all the cat litter boxes, and all the other garbage that comes out of a large animal shelter. Given that the bed had likely been discarded days before, several layers down in the Dumpster, and that I was not equipped with a scuba-diving mask, suit, and gloves I had to accept the fact that I had screwed up and lost Otto’s favorite nap bed – and an extremely useful one, at that.
Yes, the bed was a gift; losing it didn’t cost me a dime. But guess what? I loved it so much, it was SO damn useful, I’ve had to order another one – and they are not cheap! And they shouldn’t be! They are so well made, so versatile, so washable (even if this was not apparent to the shelter staff, alas), that I hate the idea of not having one here for Otto or any future foster pups. The extra-large size, with the additional Puppy Proofer cover and shipping, cost me $170 – ouch, that was a costly mistake! But that’s also how you know when a particular dog-care product is truly extraordinary – when you decide that no matter the price, you can’t live without it.
If you've ever had a bad massage, you know that it's possible for a poorly educated or badly trained massage practitioner to make you less comfortable and even make your physical ailments feel worse! Good training and education is important, and the educational tools recommended here can help you learn to help your dog (and perhaps others, too!)
Photo Credit: Martin Schlecht / Dreamstime.com
It’s been so long since we reviewed instructional canine massage media that our original headline said, “WDJ Reviews Videotapes That Teach Massage.” Remember videotapes?
The search for video demonstrations used to take time and effort, but today’s DVDs and streaming services make it easy to collect information about canine massage, master the basics, enhance your dog’s life, and even work toward canine massage therapist certification – without leaving home.
For dogs, as for humans, the benefits of massage include relaxation; the release of tension, pain, and muscle spasms; increased flexibility; enhanced immune function; improved athletic performance; faster recovery; and body alignment corrections that help prevent injuries.
Targeted techniques improve the health of elderly, infirm, and handicapped dogs; working livestock or hunting dogs; sports competitors; and family pets. Pre-activity massage prepares a dog for active exercise, while post-activity massage helps the dog recover from exertion.
Professional massage therapists offer instruction in more than just providing therapy for the dog; you will also learn how to protect your own body while working on your dog. Photo Credit: Martin Schlecht / Dreamstime.com
At-home massage enhances the emotional bond between dogs and their caregivers, and frequent massages make it easy for owners to notice unusual lumps or other symptoms that should be checked by a veterinarian.
Some of the massage schools recommended in our 2002 article have grown, and new presenters have added innovations and variety. Here are updated descriptions of the instructional-product offerings we’ve reviewed:
* Jean-Pierre Hourdebaigt combined traditional and modern massage techniques for dogs and horses when he founded the Massage Awareness Method in 1995. Hourdebaigt offers downloadable video clips that demonstrate proper positioning, hand sensitivity (pressure, contact, and rhythm), basic massage movements, relaxation routines, stretching guidelines, hydrotherapy (heat, cold, and ice-cup techniques), methods that reduce edema and inflammation, trigger-point massage, stress-point massage, and other approaches.
Training tools include free online articles, instructional videos, DVDs, and consulting services. See animalawareness.com.
*Joanne Lang, executive director of the Lang Institute for Canine Massage, offers a 688-hour course that trains professional canine massage therapists by combining home study with a four-day hands-on practicum in which students practice specific techniques.
“Most people know very little about structural faults in animals,” Lang says, “or even that they exist. Understanding structure helps owners support weak areas and prevent cumulative injuries.”
Lang’s favorite success stories involve dogs who could not walk but who, thanks to massage, went on to lead active lives. “You don’t have to be an expert to improve your own dog’s health and life, for even gentle massage can make a big difference,” she says. See dogmassage.com.
* Mary Schreiber, who created Equissage in 1991, claims to have trained more than 20,000 animal massage therapists. The Equissage Equine and Canine Sports Massage training has been available as a home-study program since 2000. Though she originated her methods on horses, Schreiber adapted a sequence of massage strokes for canine use.Owners of canine athletes who sled, racd, and hunt, and enjoy other sports are her most enthusiastic students.
“I use the same basic sequence for dogs and horses,” she says, “but I added some new sports massage strokes for dogs. While this muscle therapy was designed for all dogs, it’s especially well suited to dogs whose muscles are overused and overworked.” See equissage.com.
* Patricia Whalen-Shaw became a licensed massage therapist for humans and in 1992 expanded to animals by holding clinics for horse, dog, and cat massage. In order to train animal massage therapists, she created Integrated Touch Therapy, which combines Swedish and sports massage with other techniques in a logical, progressive system.
“My method is designed to do no harm and cause no pain,” she says. “It’s soft and requires patience. That doesn’t mean it isn’t deep or that it isn’t effective. It just doesn’t overwhelm the animal. We never force muscles to do anything. Instead we stay within the animal’s comfort zone and wait for the tissues to soften and for the protective contracture, or tensing of muscles, to stop.” See integratedtouchtherapy.com
*Jonathan Rudinger, a licensed massage therapist for humans, began working with horses in 1982 and in 1997 became a canine massage therapist. During a TV program that featured Rudinger, the interviewer brought out an elderly Golden Retriever and announced, “Dogs get stiff necks, too. What can you do to help?” A minute later, the dog melted into Rudinger’s hands. “That was the turning point,” he says. “I knew I had skills and techniques that I could share with people to bring comfort to their animals.”
Rudinger went on to establish the PetMassage Training and Research Institute in Toledo, Ohio. In his videos, Rudinger demonstrates hand positions and conventional massage strokes. To these he adds thumb-walking on the face and along the spine and clasped hands, which gently lift the chest and abdomen. His head-to-tail massage includes the eyes, mouth, and gums.
In addition to training professional massage therapists, the Institute offers home-study books and DVDs, including “Pet Massage for the Family Dog” and “Pet Massage for Kids.” “If you work with your dog’s permission and follow instructions,” he says, “you can’t make a mistake.” See petmassage.com.
*Angelique Barbara, D.C., is a chiropractor for humans whose training includes a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and a master’s in veterinary pathobiology. She offers online training in canine massage therapy certification as well as a home-study course for dog owners who want to learn the basics of pet massage.
Her online Canine Massage Course for Dog Owners examines the history of massage, foundation massage strokes, Swedish massage techniques, myofascial release, basic stretches, and related methods, including aromatherapy.
According to her website, “Dr. Barbara was one of the first practitioners to start utilizing kinesiology tape on animals and she was so impressed with the results that she decided to develop an entire seminar dedicated to the taping applications she developed. Her background in both the clinical and research animal health care world as well her experience as a human chiropractor give her a unique perspective on animal bodywork, which is evident in her courses.” See holisticanimalstudies.org.
* Christin Finn, DVM, is a veterinarian with credentials in chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, veterinary acupuncture, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. She and her staff at the Canine Rehabilitation and Integrative Veterinary Center in Kingston, Washington, approach mobility and health issues by treating the whole animal, rather than single ailments, while correcting imbalances in the body’s movement and structure that create pain and illness. “Optimal health and happiness can be achieved when all systems are in balance,” she explains.
Dr. Finn produced a series of YouTube videos for dog lovers, showing how to breathe while massaging your dog, how to use passive range of motion techniques on younger and older dogs, and how to massage small dogs. See finndvm.com.
*Nick Scott and Jamie Roth founded the Ojai School of Canine Massage in 1999 in Ojai, California. Their home-study program combines Skype, audio, and video instruction with their 250-hour onsite certification program’s education in dog-gait and conformation assessment, professional documentation, dog nutrition, business, anatomy, physiology, remedial exercise and stretching for dogs, and First Aid.
Students also learn canine acupressure, myofascial release, Swedish massage, trigger point therapy, TTouch for dogs, sports massage, and energy work for dogs.
As the school’s website explains, “We are devoted to a holistic approach to healing. Our courses are designed to provide each student with a thorough and well-rounded education, while providing the most current information available in the dog massage field. We prepare our graduates to successfully enter the workforce as professional canine massage therapists.” See ojaischoolofmassage.com.
* The Canine Massage Therapy Center in the United Kingdom offers in-person and remote training for pet lovers, clinical canine massage practitioners, dog trainers, sporting dog handlers, and owners of performance/competition dogs. While its 2021 schedule is still being arranged, U.S. residents can study instructor Natalie Lenton’s “Essential Guide to Safe, Effective Canine Massage at Home (Canine Massage in 3 Easy Steps)” by ordering this 2011 DVD from amazon.com or other retailers.
The “three easy steps” are a dot-to-dot introduction to your dog’s skeleton and main muscle groups; a tutorial that demonstrates six massage techniques; and a step-by-step whole-body massage routine that addresses aching muscles and stiffness. See k9-massage.co.uk.
YouTube Offerings
Streaming videos give us instant access to long and short demonstrations of every description. One of them features the well-known author, “It’s Me or the Dog” TV presenter and dog trainer Victoria Stilwell. In this video, Stilwell introduces Melanie Phillips, a certified dog trainer and dog massage specialist, who explains how to use massage to help your dog recover after an injury or to simply relax. See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-MelaniePhillips.
Narda Robinson, DVM, director of the Colorado State University Center for Comparative and Integrative Pain Medicine, demonstrates simple techniques you can do at home to help alleviate your dog’s pain and discomfort in a four-minute video that demonstrates compression (gentle limb squeezing), effleurage (long, soothing strokes), and petrissage (kneading or rolling motions). See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-NardaRobinson.
Marc Smith, DVM, a veterinarian from Nashville, Tennessee, explains in a 10-minute video how to alleviate a dog’s arthritis pain with simple at-home massage. Starting at the knee, Dr. Smith moves to the hip and back, demonstrating how to move and hold a leg or joint to break up adhesions that contribute to pain. He also describes how to respond if a dog is uncomfortable while being touched. See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-MarcSmith.
Jenny Youdan at K9 Elements Massage Therapy in England is certified in Swedish massage, sports or deep tissue massage, and myofascial release. In the video at the link below, Youdan gives an overview of clinical canine massage, explaining the basics of canine anatomy and massage therapy. She describes what can go wrong, why dogs may feel stiff after exercise, and how massage can help with muscle strains and other problems. See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-JennyYoudan.
Jen Carver, a veterinary technician, certified canine rehabilitation practitioner, and canine massage therapist in Ontario, Canada, demonstrates in a 14-minute video how to perform a relaxation massage.See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-JenCarver.
Leilani Alvarez, DVM, is head of the Animal Medical Center’s Integrative and Rehabilitative Medicine Service in New York City. This 50-minute video shows Dr. Alvarez demonstrating canine massage on a Golden Retriever patient, followed by corrective exercises, during which she emphasizes the importance of owner participation in any pet-rehabilitation program. See tinyurl.com/WDJ-massage-LeilaniAlvarez.
There are many more canine massage hints, tips, and how-to demonstrations at YouTube and other online resources, yours free for downloading. Between short streaming videos and more detailed recordings on DVD or at massage-related websites, you’re sure to find guidelines that fit your schedule and experience level so that you and your dog can benefit from and enjoy massage’s healing touch. And who knows? You may decide to pursue canine massage as a vocation!
This is an adult female American dog tick. Ticks that are in the nymph (juvenile) phase of their lives are much smaller, perhaps the size of the grayish shield (sputum) on this tick's back.
Ticks are blood-sucking, disease-spreading parasites that are genetically related to spiders. They are found worldwide and pose considerable risk to your dog (and you!) because of the bacteria they carry and transmit through their bites – bacteria that can cause serious, even life-threatening illnesses, including Lyme disease. It’s important to defend your dog from ticks to the extent possible, and promptly remove any ticks you are unable to prevent from reaching your dog, in order to protect him from tick-borne disease.
KNOW THY ENEMY
This grape-sized engorged tick probably had been feeding on a dog for many days. It can be difficult when the tick is this engorged, but you must take great care to not squeeze the tick as you remove it. Squeezing the tick can force any pathogens present in the tick into the dog. Instead, use a tick-removing tool that will slide close to the dog’s skin and pull the tick away without squishing it.
There are two main types of ticks with very different anatomies and lifestyles. Hard ticks, members of the Ixodidae family, are the main concern for you and your dog due to their free-ranging life style. Soft ticks, members of the Argasidae family, tend to stick close to the nests or burrows of their hosts. This means we are less likely to encounter them when walking in the park or playing in the yard.
Ixodid ticks include the deer tick, also known as the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineous), the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), the Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), and the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni).
Ixodid ticks free range in the environment looking, or waiting, for their next victim. They hang out on vegetation, sticking two of their eight legs out and waving them around, in a behavior called “questing,” so they are ready to grab on to the next passerby. Once they have grabbed onto an animal, they crawl around and make their way down to skin. There they cut the skin with their mouth parts to make a feeding hole. Their saliva contains a cement-like material, which they spit into the hole to secure themselves tightly while they feed for days.
As if all this isn’t gross enough, once they reach a certain point in their feeding, they continuously regurgitate back into the host. This regurgitation is how they infect the host with the disease-causing organisms they carry within them.
Each of the diseases spread by ticks is caused by an infection with a bacteria or protozoa that is carried within the ticks. Each species of tick tends to carry different organisms within them, though some ticks may carry more than one pathogenic organism.
Most of the diseases caused by an infection of these tick-borne pathogens are named after the bacteria, protozoa, or virus they carry. Thus, anaplasmosis is caused by an infection of the bacterial species Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Babesiosis is caused by an infection with the protozoa Babesia microti.
Other infectious diseases spread by ticks include hepatozoonosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado fever, ehrlichiosis, and of course, the infamous Lyme disease.
Another deadly condition caused by ticks in dogs is called tick paralysis. Tick saliva contains a neurotoxin that causes a progressive paralysis in susceptible dogs. This will result in the death of the dog unless the tick is found and removed. Fortunately, if the tick is removed in time, most dogs will make a full recovery. (See “Tick Paralysis,” WDJ July 2013 for more detail.)
Signs of tick-borne diseases in dogs vary somewhat depending on the disease, but most include fever, lethargy, and inappetence. Some will cause anemia, enlarged lymph nodes, bruising, muscle pain, and joint aches.
The upside is that, while these diseases can be fatal if left untreated, most respond favorably to appropriate antibiotic therapy and supportive care, if diagnosed sooner than later.
Screening for these diseases, to catch them before they make your dog sick, makes good sense. This is easy to do, as the annual blood test recommended for all dogs, which originally only tested for heartworm disease, now additionally tests for antibodies for Lyme, ehrlichia, and anaplasma. Proactively screening for these diseases is the best way to ensure early detection and a good outcome, should your dog be exposed.
Been Walking In Tick-Infested Areas?
Whether your dog has been treated with a tick-preventative product or not, if you’ve been walking where ticks are likely to be, you should check your dog for ticks before letting her into the house (or car, if you’ve driven to a walking site).
A tape roller – the kind most of us dog owners carry to remove dog hair from our clothing – is a handy way to capture loose, crawling ticks on our dogs’ coats. Another way to remove loose ticks is to wipe down your short-haired dog with a microfiber cloth; if your dog has a thick or long coat, go over them with a brush or comb.
Check your dog again later in the evening, perhaps after dinnertime, when you and your dog are relaxed, and you can thoroughly feel your dog for any ticks who may have already bitten and attached to your dog.
KEEPING YOUR DOG SAFE FROM TICKS
Ticks, as opposed to fleas, are difficult, if not impossible, to control in the environment. They are ubiquitous – found literally everywhere in the world.
Additionally, they spend only a short amount of time on their hosts compared to the time they spend in the environment, they have amazing survival mechanisms, they reproduce like crazy, and they live a long time (they can go as long as two years without a blood meal!). Eliminating them from the environment, sadly, is impossible.
Your best bet is to avoid them if possible. If tick exposure is even a remote possibility, preventing them from attaching and transmitting disease is paramount. For humans, this means long-sleeved shirts, long pants tucked into our socks, bug spray, and keeping yards clear of long grass and leaf debris.
For our dogs, this means using an effective tick preventative.
Luckily, there are many good choices on the market now. Your choices for effective tick prevention boil down to oral products, topical products, or one very popular, highly effective collar.
* Oral preventatives. Oral products, like Nexgard (Boehringer Ingelheim) and Bravecto (Merck Animal Health), contain isoxazoline derivatives that negatively affect the tick’s nervous system, resulting in death of the tick.
Oral products are effective and convenient. The tick does need to bite the dog, however, so you may find dead ticks on your dog or in your home. It can take anywhere from 12 to 48 hours for the tick to die with these products. Since it takes at least 48 hours for a feeding tick to start regurgitating and transmitting disease, using Nexgard or Bravecto will effectively prevent tick-borne disease.
Oral products, as opposed to topical products, are absorbed systemically by the dog and distributed to all body tissues. They are gradually eliminated through the liver, unchanged, into the bile and out through the feces. They are eliminated without requiring any work by the kidneys or liver.
Oral products that contain a class of chemicals called isoxazolines can cause seizures in susceptible dogs, however, the incidence per doses sold is extremely low. Dogs who have experienced seizures prior to any exposure to these drugs are at the highest risk of an adverse response to them.
Merck uses an isoxazoline-class chemical called fluralaner in both its oral and topical products called Bravecto. According to Merck, no direct link has been made between the oral form of fluralaner in Bravecto and seizures (though Merck’s site says, “Use caution in dogs with a history of seizures”).
* Topical preventatives. Effective topical tick preventatives, like K-9 Advantix (Elanco, formerly Bayer) and Frontline Shield (Boehringer Ingleheim), contain pyrethroids like permethrin and flumethrin. Pyrethroids are insecticides, so they will kill the tick. But they also repel, which means no ticks biting or attaching to your dog. They do this by what’s called the “hot-foot” effect. The chemicals literally burn the ticks’ feet, so they want to get off the dog.
Another aspect of topicals, in addition to their ability to repel ticks, is that they are not systemically absorbed. They translocate to the skin’s oil glands, where they slowly dissipate over the next several weeks. They are waterproof, so swimming and bathing doesn’t reduce their effectiveness as long as it’s not within 24 hours of application.
*Tick collars. Our final category in tick preventatives is collars. In this author’s opinion, the Seresto collar (Elanco, formerly Bayer) is the only collar to choose.
The Seresto collar contains flumethrin and imidacloprid. It has the hot-foot effect for repelling ticks, and it paralyzes the tick’s mouth parts within 10 minutes. The ingredients are not absorbed systemically (testing of blood and tissue showed no detectable amounts). They collect in the skin’s natural oils, releasing small amounts of active ingredient daily. The collar remains effective for up to eight months. Dogs who swim a lot should have their collars replaced every five months.
Recently, USA Today reported that the Seresto collar was responsible for causing serious illness and deaths in dogs, but the allegations made in the article were refuted by both Elanco and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The article made a lot of buzz, but most veterinarians, including me, were skeptical about its allegations; we just haven’t seen many adverse events caused by the collars.
And, again, the number of legitimately reported adverse events is minuscule compared to the millions of collars sold. No direct cause and effect has been discovered to date – and, given the number of counterfeit Seresto collars that have been intercepted by customs agents, the possibility is very good that at least some, if not many, of the adverse effects reported have been caused by counterfeit products with undetermined safety and efficacy. These counterfeits look very much like Elanco’s Seresto collars, right down to the packaging.
The best way to make sure that the product you are buying is not a counterfeit is to purchase only from your veterinarian or by sellers that are authorized by Elanco. To find authorized sellers, go to petbasics.com/where-to-buy.
* Please note:. If your dog experiences any adverse effect following the use of any tick preventative, keep a note of the type of product used (including its ingredients) and don’t repeat that product or use another product in its class. Instead, discuss alternatives with your veterinarian.
Also, we don’t recommend low-cost pesticide products that are sold over the counter in grocery stores and big-box stores. The lowest-cost products sold in these markets tend to have the highest rate of adverse effects and lowest effectiveness.
TICK BITES
See “How to Get the Tick Out” July 2019 , for a review of tick-removing tools that easily remove ticks without squishing them. This is the Pro-Tick Remedy, our favorite.
What should you do if you find a tick on your dog, despite your best efforts to prevent this?
If you are comfortable removing the tick yourself, do so. If you are uncomfortable with this, call your veterinary clinic. A licensed veterinary technician will be happy to help.
If the tick does not appear to be engorged (big and fat from a large blood meal), the likelihood of disease transmission is low; the tick is unlikely to have regurgitated any pathogens into your dog yet.
If the tick is engorged, or if you just want to be sure your dog was not infected by the tick, schedule a tick test in six weeks. It takes six weeks for your dog to seroconvert (show detectable antibodies after exposure), so testing earlier could result in false negative results. If your dog shows any of the signs of tick-borne disease discussed above, see your veterinarian right away.
Some health departments and human hospitals offer testing of the tick to determine if it may have been carrying disease. These tests are not always reliable, and even if the tick tests positive for a disease, it does not necessarily mean it infected your dog. For these reasons, having your dog’s blood tested six weeks after the bite is a better recommendation.
Saber wears our top pick for boating safety, Bay Dog's Offshore Canine Life Jacket.
As we ride out the dog days of summer, many of us are enjoying water-based activities with our dogs. Whether at the shore, in the family pool, or on a boat, kayak, or paddleboard, it’s important to ensure your dog’s safety with a good-quality, well-fitted personal flotation device (PFD) for your dog.
Even though most dogs instinctively “dog paddle” when they find themselves in water, that alone won’t always keep them safe when away from dry land. Some dogs dislike water and are prone to panicking. Dogs with significant muscle mass or very little body fat are less buoyant and must work harder to stay afloat, as do older dogs who tire easily, or arthritic dogs. Some dogs are just poor swimmers, bobbing vertically in the water, splashing so much with their front paws that they can’t see where they’re going.
Even athletic, accomplished swimmers can struggle in the water when fatigue sets in after a full day of water play. What about in the case of a watercraft accident, where the dog might be injured or rescue is delayed?
In each of these examples, a well-fitting dog life jacket can potentially mean the difference between a day filled with happy memories or a day that ends in tragedy.
Why No Buoyancy Ratings for Dogs?
It’s important to note that, unlike human life jackets, which are rated by the U.S. Coast Guard based on how much buoyancy they provide, no such rating exists for canine PFDs.
For several years, the Center for Pet Safety (CPS), best known for its independent crash tests of canine car safety harnesses, has been accepting donations for a planned study of canine life jackets (in partnership with the Western University of Health Science, College of Veterinary Medicine) in an effort to follow-up on the university’s pilot study which identified concerns about PFDs on the market at the time. To date, it appears the study remains unfunded.
Our own tests of these products consisted of simple observation of the dogs wearing the jackets in and around the pool and the lake; we did not attempt to scientifically measure the buoyancy provided by the PFDs. We have described our impressions of and experience with the buoyancy of each product we reviewed to the best of our abilities, but can’t quantify precisely how much flotation any of these products provides.
How can a dog owner know how much buoyant material is enough for their dog? You have to consider your dog and your planned water activities.
Are you planning to sail the Pacific Ocean and want to protect your dog in case of an emergency? Are you looking to support an inexperienced swimmer or an older dog? (If so, look for the most buoyant products.)
Do you need a life jacket with a sturdy handle to help return your dog to the paddleboard or kayak should one or both of you take a spill into the water?
Or, are you looking for more of a “flotation aid” versus a “life jacket” – meaning, a product that is less bulky and best used in calm water where quick rescue is expected?
ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD CANINE LIFE JACKET
A life jacket should be bright, making it easy to see, and should have a snug fit. If it’s too loose, it can entangle the dog or come off, or it will float above the dog while the dog bobs along in the water. If it’s too tight, it can chafe and become uncomfortable, making it unlikely the dog will enjoy wearing it. A properly fitting life jacket should not restrict the dog’s movement in or out of the water.
Just as with flotation devices for children, there are dozens of low-quality canine flotation devices on the market. From our past reviews and experience, we are aware that a life jacket should be well constructed with sturdy materials and an adequate amount of buoyant material inside. When gathering products to review, we rejected dozens of products that appeared to be made with narrow straps, flimsy buckles, shoddy or inadequate stitching, uncomfortable-looking design, and/or minimal amounts of buoyant material.
That initial cut left us with six products with dog-friendly designs and good-quality workmanship and materials. We put them to the test with the help of two water-loving retrievers: Saber, a 55-pound, 9-year-old Golden; and Finley, a 58-pound, 1-year-old Labrador.
One canine life jacket rose to the top as our all-around pick based on its impressive buoyancy, overall design, and affordable price: EzyDog’s DFD.
The body of the DFD is comprised of the thickest internal foam of any of the jackets in our test, measuring ¾ inches thick compared to the ½-inch thickness of the other jackets we reviewed. The fit of the jacket reminded us of a turtle shell; its thickness gives it an overall higher profile than most of the other models we tested.
The DFD jacket is secured at the chest with a quick-release buckle and along the dog’s body via two additional wide straps and heavy-duty, quick-release buckles. The straps slide through nylon loops along the side of the jacket, which keeps them from sliding out of place.
The extra-wide under-body straps of the EzyDog DFD are kept from slipping out of place by the nylon loops on the side.
We especially appreciate how the body straps expand into 3-inch-wide neoprene strips that pass under the dog. The width and placement of these strips help keep the jacket securely in place. This prevents chafing, and we imagine the soft, wider straps are far more comfortable for the dog when being lifted in the jacket than the narrower nylon straps found in the other products.
Our one criticism of this jacket is minor: The handle on top of the size medium jacket is only 4½ inches long, potentially making it difficult for those with larger hands to get a deep grip when lifting a dog out of the water (especially if the smaller sized jackets have even smaller handles).
Saber appeared to ride higher in the water than usual as he swam in this jacket. He also sprang to the surface very quickly after leaping off the dock into the lake, and was happy to run around wearing the jacket.
The added thickness of this jacket gives it the potential to be warm, especially on a dry dog in the sun. Fortunately, the DFD comes in both red and yellow. The bright yellow should reflect a bit more heat than the darker red color; it might be the better choice to help keep the dog safe and comfortable on hot days.
When it comes to serious open-water activities, Bay Dog’s Monterey Bay Offshore Canine Life Jacket is in a class of its own for its unique design, maximum flotation, and ability to keep a dog upright in rough water. Like many of the canine life jackets we tested, the Bay Dog’s internal foam layer measures approximately ½-inch thick over much of the jacket. But it also offers added buoyancy with two 1½-inch-thick foam pontoon rails along the top of the jacket – and a 1-inch-thick pentagon of foam at the dog’s chest. Our test dog, Saber, practically walked on water with this life jacket!
The Offshore Canine Life Jacket slips over the dog’s head with an adjustable, telescoping neck hole. The belly section and top section get connected by a 3-inch x 5½-inch strip of hook-and-loop fastener and are further secured with two sturdy quick-release buckles. It took some work to perfect the fit and properly secure the various adjustment points, and we were grateful for Saber’s willingness to stand patiently as we tinkered with the jacket; this would be challenging on a wiggly dog. Once it was well adjusted, however, the fit was terrific.
Saber reminded us of a pontoon boat as he wore the Offshore jacket, and with good reason. The placement of the pontoon rails keeps the wearer upright in rough water, making it our top pick for boaters, where an accidental dog overboard or other incident would be especially dangerous.
The back of Bay Dog’s Monterey Bay Offshore jacket has two reinforced handles for pulling your dog out of the water and onto a boat or dock.
We particularly like how the Offshore jacket features two reinforced perpendicular handles along the back by which the dog can be lifted out of the water.
The jacket is sturdy and appears well-made, and while we think it may be overkill for daily and weekend water adventures, the effect of the stabilizing pontoons could prove useful in teaching a reluctant swimmer to find their sea legs – or, of course, actually saving a sea dog’s life.
If they were for humans, the remaining four products in our test pool (no pun intended!) would likely be rated as “flotation aids” versus “life jackets.” They are less bulky than our top picks, and best used in calm water where quick rescue is expected.
They are also so similar that we struggled to offer a competitive ranking. (They’re all good jackets, Brent!) Each offers about the same thickness of internal foam; it was difficult to observe any increase in Saber or Finley’s in-water body elevation, as they are both hard-charging, accomplished swimmers. (Again, here’s where a scientific test of the amount of flotation provided by the jackets would be beneficial.)
It was a struggle, but for basic assistive support for novice swimmers or additional safety for accomplished swimmers, we gave a slight edge – a half-paw advantage – to two of the four remaining products that we’d recommend.
3 1/2-PAW SELECTIONS
Finley models ExyDog’s DFD X2 Boost Canine Life Jacket, which slips over the dog’s head; the neck opening is adjusted from the back of the jacket.
EzyDog, the manufacturer of our top overall pick, makes another appearance with the DFD X2 Boost Canine Life Jacket. The DFD has an overall thickness of approximately ¼ inch. The jacket slips over the dog’s head and fits close to the body, connecting with two straps and quick-release buckles under the belly.
Unique to this jacket is how the chest fit is adjusted via a buckle on the back of the dog’s neck. This arrangement made that aspect of the jacket much easier to adjust (you pull up rather than to the side). It also makes for a much wider opening as the jacket goes over the head, making it a good choice for head-shy dogs who are learning to be comfortable with gear being passed over their heads.
We also like that fitting instructions, including a diagram, are printed directly on the inside of the jacket, offering a reminder of how the jacket should fit each time it is used.
The rescue handle is thick, sturdy, and roomy enough to accommodate hands of all sizes. The top of the jacket features a high-strength alloy D-ring, and reflective piping for added visibility (a necessity for nighttime water rescues).
Ruffwear’s Float Coat has been redesigned since we reviewed it in 2016. It not features a reflective screen print for superior visibility in low light.
Our other 3½-paw rating goes to Ruffwear’s Float Coat, which features a telescoping chest piece and belly panels secured by two quick-release buckles.
Ruffwear recently redesigned the Float Coat, and, in addition to being very different aesthetically, the belly panels on the current Float Coat are about one inch shorter than on the original model, to which we gave top honors in a 2016 review. As a result, the belly panels didn’t quite meet or overlap, leaving about an inch of Saber’s belly exposed and subject to direct contact by the nylon straps.
With this development, I’d be a little concerned about chafing from the straps, or that they’d dig into his body if I needed to lift him out of the water by the handle. His girth measurement is at the top of the suggested range for the medium jacket, but the website recommends sizing down when between sizes. It’s possible this just isn’t the best-fitting jacket for Saber’s body type.
The telescoping nature of the chest piece makes it less bulky than models where the chest pieces overlap and are secured with hook-and-loop fasteners and a buckle, but this also makes for a closer fit as the jacket goes over the dog’s head.
The Float Coat’s handle is sturdy, and the top of the vest has a plastic attachment for the leash and an attachment point for The Beacon, Ruffwear’s watertight LED light (sold separately).
The current Float Coat appears to be made from a finer-weave material, making it more flexible than its previous incarnation. Instead of reflective piping, it now features a same-color reflective screen print to improve visibility in low light.
Consumer comments on a Ruffwear-related Facebook page reveal mixed opinions about the new design, with many people commenting about the shorter belly panels and some suggesting they don’t think the current model is as buoyant as the original.
3-PAW SELECTIONS
Kurgo’s Surf N Turf is a bit longer than the other jackets we reviewed, making it a good candidate for longer dogs.
Kurgo’s Surf N Turf Coat is similar in overall shape to the Ruffwear Float Coat and EzyDog DFD X2 Boost, but there are many differences between the two products.
The top of the jacket features two sturdy handles, sewn at right angles, potentially making it easier to hoist the dog out of the water from any angle. There’s a metal ring for attaching a leash, and a second, concealed attachment point that doubles as a bottle opener – a fun touch, especially if you’ve trained your dog to fetch beverages from the cooler!
The Surf N Turf Coat is secured by two straps with quick-release buckles under the dog’s belly; the adjustable front piece overlaps at the dog’s chest, where it’s secured with hook-and-loop fastener and a buckle. The fact that the chest piece overlaps, rather than telescopes, allows for maximum variability in size, potentially making the Surf N Turf a superior choice for broad-chested breeds.
It seems the belly panels on the Surf N Turf are not designed to meet or overlap, as the size medium, recommended for dogs with a chest measurement of 24 to 32 inches, left a gap of about three inches on Saber (his chest measures 29 inches). Once again, we’d worry about the potential for discomfort with that much strap in contact with his skin.
This jacket is longer than our top two picks, potentially adding additional support in the water, and making it worth an extra look for dogs with longer backs.
Kurgo markets the Surf N Turf as a both a life jacket and a simple shell coat; a zipper along the base of the jacket allows removal of the inner flotation layer.
We were initially unsure of this feature, thinking maybe it was the product trying to be too many things at once, but ultimately decided it does potentially give consumers more opportunity to use the jacket, and, given that dog life jackets aren’t cheap, maybe that’s a good thing? Also notable is Kurgo’s lifetime guarantee, protecting purchases for life against manufacturing defects.
The Kong Sport AquaPro features reflective strips for additional visibility in low light or nighttime boating.
The Kong Sport AquaPro is similar in overall design to its higher-rated competitors. The jacket is secured at the chest with hook-and-loop fastener and a quick-release buckle, with two straps that pass under the dog’s belly. Here, too, the belly panels failed to meet or overlap, leaving part of Saber’s belly exposed directly to the nylon straps.
The Sport AquaPro looks and feels slightly less sturdy than the other jackets we tried, though it’s much improved over the similar Kong Sport Aqua Float, which we tested in 2016. It was difficult to notice any difference in Saber’s in-water appearance, but the jacket feels flimsy in comparison, making it difficult to rank higher.
One feature we appreciate – and wish other manufacturers would emulate – is the elastic band used for excess strap management. Tucking the “tails” of the excess strap length under a band of elastic is much easier than rolling them up and securing the roll with hook-and-loop fasteners, as is common on some of the other jackets we tested.
WDJ’S TOP PICKS IN CANINE LIFE JACKETS
WDJ Rating
Product Name/Maker Information
Price
Sizes
Comments
4 out 4 Paws
EZY dog DFD
EzyDog LLC, Ponderay, ID
ezydog.com
$55 to $67 from Amazon
5 sizes. Smallest (XS) fits a dog with a 19- to 32-inch girth; largest (XL) fits a dog with a 30- to 48-inch girth.
Two colors (red or yellow). Top honors for buoyancy, comfort-minded features, and affordability. Very thick buoyancy foam used in this jacket. Under-body straps are especially wide for comfort. Small complaint: handle (for extracting dog from water) is on the small side.
4 out of 4 paws
Montery Bay Offshore Dog Life Jacket
Bay Dog, Annapolis, MD
baydog.com
$65 to $75 from West Marine
5 sizes. Smallest (X Small) fits a dog with a 7- to 10-inch neck and a 12- to 16-inch girth; largest (X Large) fits a dog with a 21- to 27-inch neck and a 34- to 46-inch girth.
Two colors (orange or yellow). Our pick for maximum safety in open water; excellent choice for boaters or in situations where rescue might be delayed. Jacket contains unique pentagon of buoyant foam in the chest section and two more “pontoons” of foam along the sides for a high ride in the water; this would be especially helpful for a dog negotiating waves in an ocean environment.
3.5 out of 4 Paws
EZY dog DFD X2 Boost
EzyDog LLC, Ponderay, ID
ezydog.com
$79 from Amazon
5 sizes. Smallest (XS) fits a dog with a 18- to 21.5-inch girth; largest (XL) fits a dog with a 34- to 41-inch girth.
Two colors (red or yellow). Innovative adjustment point at the back of the dog’s neck helps ensure a proper fit. (The fit on this jacket was especially good with our deep-chested, small-waisted test dogs.)
3.5 out of 4 Paws
Float coat dog Life Jacket
Ruffwear, Bend, OR
ruffwear.com
$90 from Amazon
6 sizes. Smallest (X-Small) fits a dog with a 13- to 17-inch girth; largest (XL) fits a dog with a 36- to 42-inch girth.
Three colors (blue, red, orange). A recent redesign has been met with mixed reviews from users of the previous design, but our test dogs found it to be flexible and comfortable. We’d prefer wider straps under the dog (if another redesign happens).
3 out of 4 Paws
Surf N Turf Coat
Kurgo, Knoxville, TN
Kurgo.com
$46 to $70 from Amazon
5 sizes. Smallest (X-Small) fits a dog with a 9- to 13-inch neck and a 14- to 20-inch girth; largest (X Large) fits a dog with a 28- to 36-inch neck and a 28- to 44-inch girth.
One color (red). Versatile design; converts from a life jacket to a lightweight shell coat when the swimming season is over; nice! Shorter belly flaps potentially expose dog’s undercarriage to nylon straps.
3 out of 4 Paws
Kong Sport AquaPro
(The Kong name seems to have been licensed for this product; jacket not sold by Kong Company.)
$60 to $80 from West Marine
5 sizes. Smallest (XS) fits a dog with a 16- to 20-inch girth; largest (XL) fits a dog with a 33- to 41-inch girth.
One color (green/gray). Similar in concept to others in our test, but feels less durable overall. As with the Ruffwear and Kurgo designs, the side flaps don’t meet under the dog, so the narrowness of the under-belly straps gives us pause.
A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”
