One of the worst moments in my life came about a year and a half ago, when the dam that looms over my town – the largest earthen-filled dam in North America, mind you – was proclaimed in an emergency broadcast to be in danger of imminent failure. I was 20 miles away, perfectly safe, with my younger dog, Woody.
But my husband and my heart dog, Otto, and my son’s dog, Cole, were all at my house, just five short miles downstream of the dam, and three blocks from the river channel that would likely be obliterated by the 3.5 million acre-feet of water behind the dam. My mouth went dry and my heart was pounding as I tried to call my husband. Despite the fact this requires pressing only two buttons, with shaking hands it took me over a minute to make the call.
No answer. No answer. No answer. He had been planning to mow the lawn that afternoon. I could just picture him trudging back and forth with the mower and then the string trimmer, phone in the house. I practically screamed at his voice mail. “Brian, grab the dogs and get into the truck and get out of town! NOW!” I sobbed. I sent him texts, too, and paced in circles, trying to catch my breath. THINK, Nancy, I told myself.
I finally reached him by calling each of my neighbors, and asking them to please go yell at him as they packed their cars and tell him to pick up his phone. He finally did look at the phone, and only when he saw my panicked texts did he realize he had been seeing a lot of police cars and fire trucks going up and down the streets of our town. Don’t get me started about men who can focus on only one thing at a time.
As it happens, we were more or less prepared for the several-day evacuation that followed. We had filled a pickup truck with our most precious possessions, important paperwork, and spare clothes, and parked it upstream of the dam at a friend’s house. I had leashes and dog beds and dog food in my car. When Brian called me to confirm that he had the dogs and had joined the traffic jam of thousands of people who were ordered out of the way of the potential wall of water, I could finally breathe, safe in the knowledge that we had friends we could stay with out of the way of danger.
As I write this, dozens of friends and acquaintances have been evacuated out of the way of wildfires that are scorching hundreds of thousands of acres in California. Dozens more are volunteering at human and animal shelters, assisting the evacuees. The most prepared victims managed to bring all the members of their human and animal families with them; the less-prepared have had to bring pets to shelters for safe-keeping, and – the tears start rolling down my face as I even think about it – the most unfortunate had to leave pets behind. My heart breaks for them as I check to make sure my own family’s emergency evacuation kit is ready to go. Is yours?
Taurine Is Needed For:
1. Healthy heart function
2. As a component of bile acids
3. Retinal function
4. Reproductive health
Dietary Risk Factors for Reduced Taurine Status:
– Low-protein diet (limited taurine precursors)
– Heat-damaged or poor-quality protein sources
– High dietary fiber (i.e., rice bran, beet pulp, cellulose)
– Lamb and rice diets (speculated)
– Plant-based protein sources (peas, lentils, legumes) (speculated)
Possible Risk Factors for Taurine-Deficiency DCM:
BREEDS
American Cocker Spaniel
English Setter
Golden Retriever
Labrador Retriever
Newfoundland
St. Bernard
SIZE
Large-breed dogs
Dogs with slower metabolic rates
DIET
Factors that reduce taurine production
Factors that increase taurine-degrading microbes in the intestine
Factors that reduce bile acid production
In mid-July 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an alert to veterinarians and pet owners regarding reports of increased incidence of a heart disease called canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). This disorder is characterized by weakening of the heart muscle, which leads to a decreased ability of the heart to pump, and if untreated, to cardiac failure. The reported cases occurred in breeds that are not considered to be genetically predisposed to this disorder.
Further, a significant number of the dogs were found to have reduced levels of circulating taurine in their blood and have responded positively to taurine supplementation. It is speculated that these cases are related to the consumption of foods that negatively affect taurine status, leading to taurine-deficiency DCM. Foods containing high levels of peas, lentils, other legume seeds, and/or potatoes were identified by the FDA as potential risk factors. These ingredients are found commonly in foods that are formulated and promoted as “grain-free.”
As these things go, there followed a lot of hype and a fair bit of hysteria in response. Let us avoid this type of reaction and instead look at the evidence: What do we currently know about the role of diet and taurine in the development of DCM in dogs – and how is it that “grain-free” foods have been recently targeted as a possible dietary cause?
Signs of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Dogs
DCM is a disease of the heart, which causes the heart muscles themselves to weaken, which, in turn, reduces the ability of the heart to pump blood through the dog’s body as it should. The heart becomes enlarged and flabby, and fluid begins to accumulate in the dog’s lungs. As this condition progresses, it causes congestive heart failure.
Early signs of DCM may include:
– Lethargy, decreased energy
– A persistent cough
– Difficulty breathing, rapid or excessive breathing, or seeming shortness of breath
– Episodes of collapse
– Anorexia (chronic loss of appetite)
By the time these DCM signs appear, the disease may already be fairly advanced. That’s why it’s important to make an appointment to see your veterinarian right away if your dog displays any of these signs, or more than one of these signs. Often, owners of middle-aged or senior dogs think that their dogs’ symptoms are “just old age,” but a quick diagnosis and treatment can restore an affected dog’s quality of life to nearly normal – and extend the dog’s life far past an untreated dog’s prognosis.
DCM treatment usually involves medications that help the dog’s heart to contract, slow his rapid pulse, help control the accumulation of fluid in his lungs, and dilate his blood vessels – all actions that will improve the heart’s performance.
What is Taurine? Why Do Dogs Need Taurine?
The nutrient taurine is a unique type of amino acid, called a beta-amino sulfonic acid. It is not incorporated into proteins but rather is found primarily as a free amino acid in body tissues and circulating in the blood. Taurine has many functions, but two that are important for this discussion involve its role in normal heart function and its presence as a component of bile acids, which are needed for fat digestion. Most animals obtain adequate taurine to meet their needs by producing it endogenously (in the body) from two other amino acids, methionine and cysteine.
This means that while most animals require taurine physiologically, most do not have a dietary requirement for taurine. The exception to this rule is the cat. Cats (but not dogs) always require a source of taurine in their food. If they do not have it, one of the diseases that they can develop (and possibly die from) is – you guessed it – DCM.
Taurine-deficiency DCM is well documented in cats. We also know quite a lot about the dietary factors that contribute to this disease in that species. In contrast, dogs (usually) do not require a source of dietary taurine. However, we know that some dogs still develop taurine-deficiency DCM. Why does this happen? The history of DCM in cats can help in untangling what may be occurring in dogs.
Taurine-Deficiency DCM in Cats
Looking back, I cannot avoid a sense of déjà vu. In the early 1980s, veterinarians began reporting increased incidences of DCM in pet cats. By 1987, a role for dietary taurine was suspected. In a seminal study, a veterinary researcher at UC Davis reported low plasma (blood) taurine levels in 21 cats with clinical signs of DCM. 1 When the cats were supplemented with taurine, all 21 recovered from the disease. This discovery led to a series of controlled studies that supported the existence of taurine-deficiency DCM in cats who were fed diets that contained sufficient concentrations of taurine.
What was going on?
It has to do with bile acids. Another role of taurine in the body is that it is necessary for normal bile acid function. Taurine is linked to bile acids in the liver to form bile salts. During digestion, these compounds are secreted into the small intestine, where they function to aid in fat digestion. Animals are very efficient at conserving the taurine that is secreted into the intestine by reabsorbing the bile salts back into the body further down the intestinal tract. This occurs through a process called “enterohepatic reutilization” and prevents a daily loss of taurine in the feces.
Herein lies the problem for cats with DCM: If anything happens during digestion that causes the degradation of the bile salt taurine or that inhibits its reabsorption into the body, more is lost in the feces. If this happens consistently, the cat will experience an increase in his or her daily need for dietary taurine. Simply put – if anything causes the cat to poop out more taurine-bile acid complexes (or their degraded by-products), the cat will be in danger of a taurine deficiency if a higher level is not provided in the diet.
This is exactly what was happening in the cats with taurine-deficiency DCM – and is possibly what we are seeing today in dogs. The difference is that we know what diet factors caused taurine deficiency in cats during the late 1980s. These factors are not yet fully understood for dogs (but we can make a few guesses).
What We Know About Diet and Taurine Status
The studies with cats found that several dietary factors influenced taurine status. These were the level and type of dietary protein, the amount and type of dietary fiber, and the degree of heat that was used during food processing. These factors could affect taurine status in three ways:
1. Bile Acid Binding
Certain fibers and peptides (small protein chains) in the food can bind with bile salts in the small intestine and make them unavailable for reabsorption into the body. This results in an increased daily loss of taurine in the feces and a subsequent increase in daily taurine requirement to replace that loss.
2. Increased Microbial Degradation
Thermal processing of protein (extrusion or canning) can lead to the production of Maillard products – complexes of sugars and amino acids that are poorly digested in the small intestine. The undigested complexes travel to the large intestine and provide an intestinal environment that favors increased numbers of taurine-degrading bacteria. An increase in these bacterial populations reduces the proportion of taurine that is available for reabsorption and reuse by the body.
3. Reduced Taurine Availability
Taurine is found naturally in animal-based proteins but is not found in plant-based protein sources. Therefore, providing diets that include a sufficient level of high-quality animal proteins (that are not heat damaged) should ensure adequate taurine intake.
However, protein that is of low quality or that has been excessively heat-treated will be poorly digested, reducing the availability of taurine and of its precursor amino acids, cysteine and methionine.
In the early 1990s, in response to this new information regarding the interaction of dietary factors and taurine status in cats (and their relationship to DCM in cats), the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) increased the recommendations for dietary taurine in extruded and canned cat foods.
Taurine Deficiency in Dogs
Unlike the cat, dogs who are fed diets containing adequate levels of protein should be capable of synthesizing enough taurine from cysteine and methionine to meet their needs. Therefore, a requirement for dietary taurine has not been generally recognized in dogs.
However, there is evidence – evidence that we have had for at least 15 years – that certain breeds of dogs, and possibly particular lines within breeds, exhibit a high prevalence of taurine-deficiency DCM. Genetically predisposed breeds include the American Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Saint Bernard, Newfoundland, and English Setter. Although the exact underlying cause is not known, it appears that some breeds have either a naturally occurring higher requirement for taurine or a metabolic abnormality that affects their taurine synthesis or utilization.
A second factor that affects taurine status in dogs is size. There is evidence that a large adult size and a relatively slow metabolic rate influences the rate of taurine production in the body and may subsequently lead to a dietary taurine requirement. It is theorized that increased body size in dogs is associated with an enhanced risk for developing taurine deficiency and that this risk may be exacerbated by a breed-specific genetic predisposition.
There is additional evidence that large and giant breed dogs have lower rates of taurine production compared with small dogs. Ultimately, studies suggest that certain dogs possess a genetic predisposition to taurine depletion and increased susceptibility to taurine-deficiency DCM and that this susceptibility may be related to the combined factors of breed, size, and metabolic rate.
Taurine in Dog Food Diets
The recent spate of cases and media attention to taurine-deficiency DCM in dogs suggests that this is a very new problem in dogs. However, it is not new. A connection between diet and DCM in dogs was first described in a paper published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2001. What is new is the sudden focus on certain pet food ingredients and the target that appears to have been placed upon the backs of all “grain-free” pet food brands by some bloggers and veterinarians.
Not to put too fine a point on this, but the 12 cases of taurine-deficiency DCM described in the 2001 paper were collected between 1997 and 2001, years before grain-free dog foods had arrived on the pet food scene. Rather than disparage one class or type of dog food (or pet food company), it is more important to look at specific dietary factors that may be involved in DCM in dogs.
Generally speaking, these are expected to be the same as those identified for cats, including low protein levels, poorly processed or heat-damaged proteins (leading to Maillard products), and the inclusion of a high proportion of plant-based protein sources such as peas and legumes.
Over the past 15 years, reduced taurine status in dogs has been associated with feeding lamb meal and rice diets, soybean-based diets, rice bran, beet pulp, and high fiber diets. As with cats, there appear to be multiple dietary (and genetic) factors involved.
For example, it was theorized that the perceived (not proven) association between lamb meal and taurine status was due to low levels of available amino acids present in the lamb meal, or to excessive heat damage of the protein, or to the confounding factor of the inclusion of rice bran in many lamb meal-containing foods. To date, none of these factors have been conclusively proven or disproven. However, the most recent study showed that three types of fiber source – rice bran, cellulose, and beet pulp – all caused reduced plasma taurine levels in dogs when included in a marginally low protein diet, with beet pulp causing the most pronounced decrease.
Complicated? You bet. This is why it is important to avoid making unsupported claims about certain foods and brands. Taurine-deficiency DCM has been around for a while in dogs and continues to need study before making definitive conclusions about one or more specific dietary causes.
Current Considerations of Taurine in Dog Food
We know that any dietary factor that reduces the availability of taurine precursors, binds taurine bile salts in the intestine, or causes an increase in the bacteria populations that degrade taurine, can reduce a dog’s ability to synthesize taurine or will increase taurine degradation and/or loss in the feces. These changes could ultimately compromise a dog’s taurine status (especially if the dog was genetically predisposed) and affect heart health. In extreme cases, as we are seeing, this can lead to taurine-deficiency DCM (see “A Few Things to Know About Taurine” above).
The FDA report identified foods that contain high amounts of peas, lentils, legume seeds, or potatoes to be of potential concern. The FDA also stated that the underlying cause of DCM in the reported cases is not known and that at this time, the diet-DCM relationship is only correlative (not causative). However, this has not stopped various bloggers and even some veterinarians from targeting small pet food companies and/or grain-free brands of food, and implying that these foods, and these foods alone, are causing taurine-deficiency DCM in dogs. Their reasoning is that peas and legumes are present in high amounts in foods that are formulated and marketed as grain-free.
However, the truth is that many companies and brands of food include these ingredients. More importantly, there is no clear evidence showing that a particular dog food type, brand, or even ingredient is solely responsible for taurine-deficiency DCM in dogs.
Rather, it is more reasonable and responsible to speculate that one or more of these ingredients, their interactions, or the effects of ingredient quality, heat treatment, and food processing may play a role. Furthermore, the underlying cause could be the protein, starch, or fiber fractions of these ingredients. As plant-source proteins, peas, lentils, and legumes include varying amounts of starch (both digestible and resistant forms) and dietary fiber. These protein sources are also generally less nutritionally complete and less digestible than are high quality animal source proteins – additional factors that could influence a dog’s ability to both produce and use taurine. Potatoes, in contrast, provide a digestible source of starch in an extruded food but also contain varying levels of resistant starch, which is not digested and behaves much like dietary fiber in the intestinal tract.
Conclusions on Grain-Free Food and DCM
Because any or all of these dietary factors could be risk factors for taurine-deficiency DCM in dogs, and because peas, legumes, and other ingredients identified by the FDA report have not yet been fully studied, the heart of the matter is that no conclusions can yet be made about the underlying dietary cause or causes of taurine-deficiency DCM in dogs.
But given what we do know, we recommend feeding a diet that contains sufficient levels of high-quality, animal-source protein, does not include plant-source proteins as primary protein sources, and does not contain high levels of dietary fiber.
If you are worried about your dog’s taurine status or heart health, whether due to his diet history or physical signs that are of concern, see your veterinarian for a complete physical examination and, if needed, to measure plasma levels of taurine.
Cited Studies
1. Pion PD, Kittleson MD, Rogers QR, et al. “Myocardial failure in cats associated with low plasma taurine: A reversible cardiomyopathy.” Science 1987; 237:764-768.
2. Earl KE, Smith PM. “The effect of dietary taurine content on the plasma taurine concentration of the cat.” British Journal of Nutrition 1991; 66:227-235.
3. Hickman MA, Morris JG, Rogers QR. “Effect of processing on the fate of dietary taurine in cats.” Journal of Nutrition 1990; 120:995-1000.
4. Hickman HA, Morris JG, Rogers QR. “Intestinal taurine and the enterohepatic circulation of taurocholic acid in the cat.” Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1992; 315:45-54.
5. Freeman LM, Rush JE, Brown DJ, et al. “Relationship between circulating and dietary taurine concentrations in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy.” Veterinary Therapeutics 2001; 370-378.
6. Backus RC, Ko KS, Fascetti AJ. “Low plasma taurine concentration in Newfoundland dogs is associated with low plasma methionine and cysteine concentrations and low taurine synthesis.” Journal of Nutrition 2006; 136:2525-2533.
7. Ko KS, Backus RC, Berg JR, et al. “Differences in taurine synthesis rate among dogs relate to differences in their maintenance energy requirement.” Journal of Nutrition 2007; 137:1171-1175.
8. Fascetti AJ, Reed JR, Roger QR, et al. “Taurine deficiency in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy: 12 cases (1997 – 2001).” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 2001; 223:1137-1141.
9. Delaney SJ, Kass PH, Rogers QR, Fascetti AJ. “Plasma and whole blood taurine in normal dogs of varying size fed commercially prepared food.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 2003; 87:235-244.
10. Torres CL, Backus RC, Fascetti AJ, et al. “Taurine status in normal dogs fed a commercial diet associated with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 2003; 87:359-372.
11. Ko KS, Fascetti AJ. “Dietary beet pulp decreases taurine status in dogs fed low protein diet.” Journal of Animal Science and Technology 2016; 58:29-39.
Linda P. Case is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting & Dog Training Center in Mahomet, Illinois. Linda is the author of Dog Food Logic, has a new book, Dog Smart, and writes The Science Dog blog.
All dog owners know the feeling of coming home after a work day and smelling that smell. Uh-oh. Your dog has diarrhea. Dog diarrhea is a pretty common affliction of our canine friends. Now comes the inevitable question: “Should we go to the veterinarian?”
The truth is, much like people, sometimes dogs just get diarrhea. Much as we do not see the doctor for every bout of diarrhea, similarly, dogs do not always need medical attention for a short-lived enteritis (inflammation of the intestines). Often, dog diarrhea can be managed with at-home therapy and convalescent care.
Why Do Dogs Get Diarrhea?
The causes for acute diarrhea in the absence of other signs are varied and include dietary indiscretion (for example: getting into the garbage), gastrointestinal bacteria including Campylobacter, and GI parasites such as hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and protozoal infections. In most cases of acute, self-limiting diarrhea, a cause is never identified.
If your dog seems otherwise normal, and he is currently on monthly parasite preventative medication, then symptomatic treatment at home is appropriate. Usually most diarrhea will run its course within two to four days, although in some cases, it can last longer. If there are any other signs of illness like vomiting, loss of appetite, depression, or pain, a veterinary trip is in order.
At-home treatment for acute diarrhea can include the following: a bland diet such as boiled hamburger or chicken with broth and rice for a few days, a probiotic such as Fortiflora (available only through veterinarians) or an over-the-counter probiotic and frequent walks. Avoid using human remedies such as loperamide, also called Immodium. This medication has an opioid in it, and it is easy to overdose a dog unintentionally.
If your dog continues to do well other than diarrhea, three to four days of at-home treatment is appropriate.
Diarrhea can make anyone sad and miserable, but if your puppy doesn’t respond to symptomatic treatment in a couple of days, or your dog fails to respond within three or four days, it’s time to head to the vet for an examination and testing.
If Your Dog’s Diarrhea Doesn’t Go Away:
If diarrhea doesn’t resolve with treatment, or your dog develops other signs, it is time to seek a veterinarian’s opinion. Diarrhea is considered chronic when it persists for more than three weeks despite treatment.
Dog diarrhea may seem like a simple problem, but it can actually be very complicated. Your veterinarian will proceed in a stepwise fashion (outlined below) to find the cause:
Thorough Questioning
Your veterinarian will ask a series of questions about your dog’s overall health, diet, vaccine history, and preventive care strategy. He will then ask more in-depth questions about the diarrhea itself. This will help determine what kind of diarrhea is occurring.
Diarrhea can be characterized as small bowel, large bowel, or mixed. In the case of small bowel diarrhea, you may see a normal to increased frequency, small volumes of loose, watery stool that can be tarry or black (representing digested blood). Often, your dog can “hold it” until going outside.
In the case of large bowel diarrhea, there will be an urgency to go. Your dog may not make it outside unless you are paying close attention. There is often mucus covering the stool, and there may be bright red blood as well. Your dog will usually strain for quite some time during or after having a bowel movement.
In some cases, the diarrhea can be mixed small and large, and this can be more difficult to sort out. Your veterinarian will likely ask many questions during this part of the visit.
Head-to-Toe Physical Examination
Next comes a thorough physical examination. Initially, your pet should be weighed. Weight loss is always a concerning sign. The exam will include checking the eyes, mouth, ears, palpating the lymph nodes, listening to the heart and lungs, deep palpation of the abdomen, and a rectal exam.
The rectal exam is the most important part! This will help the veterinarian see what the diarrhea looks like, as well as feel for any problems in the rectal area and descending colon. A temperature should also be checked. If a fever is present, this can help focus your veterinarian’s attention to certain areas such as viruses and bacteria.
Once this is completed, your veterinarian should have a good sense of what type of diarrhea your pet is having, possible causes, diagnostics, and treatment options.
Small Bowel Diarrhea
Generally, veterinarians will start out with conservative diagnostics and treatment for this type of diarrhea. The causes for small bowel diarrhea can be incredibly varied and run the gamut from fairly benign and treatable (parasites) to more serious (Addison’s disease).
Initially, a fecal examination may be the only test conducted. This requires a small sample of stool from your dog. The veterinarian will check this to rule out parasites such as hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, protozoal organisms, and bacterial overgrowth.
Even if your dog is up-to-date on monthly prevention, it is still possible to find breakthrough parasitic infection. This is why a fecal is done. If parasites are found, your veterinarian will treat with an anti-parasiticide like fenbendazole, pyrantel, and/or Albon. He will also discuss environmental control, as these parasites can persist in the soil for long periods of time.
If nothing is found on the fecal, your veterinarian will likely still prescribe a course of the dewormer fenbendazole in case of a false negative fecal. Other treatments at this stage should include a novel protein diet, as your pet may have a dietary sensitivity or allergy. This means switching your dog to a protein and carbohydrate source to which he has no previous exposure. Examples include bison, venison, duck, and kangaroo usually paired with potato, rice, or pea.
At this stage, many veterinarians also prescribe metronidazole (also known as Flagyl). Metronidazole is an antibiotic, but it is also thought to have immunomodulating properties that help calm an inflamed GI tract. Many dogs will have an “antibiotic-responsive” diarrhea that will clear up with this treatment.
With this initial approach, your dog should be back to normal within three to 10 days. If within a week, you are not seeing improvement in your dog’s signs, then your veterinarian will move on to further diagnostics and treatments.
A complete blood count and chemistry analysis should also be run (see “Physical Exams for Senior Dogs“). This will give a global picture of your dog’s health. Significant dehydration, a decrease in protein levels, or changes in your dog’s condition (loss of appetite and/or weight loss) can indicate a more systemic health problem.
If metronidazole is not helping, then Tylosin may be used. Tylosin is another immunomodulating antibiotic that can help with GI inflammation. It may also have a probiotic effect in the gut by increasing the numbers of enterococci bacteria in the small intestine. It is very unpalatable to dogs and cats, and your veterinarian will have this medication compounded, in most cases (or have you place it in their food).
Again, your veterinarian will monitor for around a week. If symptoms do not improve, more advanced testing will be recommended.
A gastrointestinal panel (blood test) must be submitted to an outside laboratory. The veterinarian will likely recommend fasting your dog beforehand. This evaluates levels of vitamins found in the body – particularly cobalamin (vitamin B12) and folate (vitamin B9). Dogs with gastrointestinal disease often display impaired absorption of these critical vitamins. This diagnostic also evaluates trypsin-like immunoreactivity. These tests can indicate whether there is a bacterial overgrowth or a condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
In the case of bacterial overgrowth, antibiotic therapy may be needed.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a common disorder of German Shepherd Dogs, as well as other breeds. With this disease, the pancreas does not secrete appropriate digestive enzymes. Treatment is supplementing the diet with enzymes to help break down food and assist your pet in absorbing nutrients.
Another test that may be done concurrently is a resting cortisol test. Cortisol is a steroid made by the adrenal glands. In Addison’s disease (also called hypoadrenocorticism), the body does not produce enough cortisol or water-regulating hormones (called mineralocorticoids).
Addison’s can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms can present in many ways including weight loss, shivering, decreased appetite, lethargy, chronic diarrhea, intermittent vomiting, and electrolyte imbalances.
Treatment for Addison’s involves replacing the cortisol and mineralocorticoids that the adrenal glands are not making. There is also a form of Addison’s called atypical. This occurs when only cortisol production is reduced. Replacing this lack with oral steroids can manage this condition.
If all of these tests are normal, and no obvious cause is found for the ongoing diarrhea, your veterinarian may offer referral to a veterinary internal medicine specialist (DACVIM). At that time, more extensive testing such as abdominal ultrasound, exploratory surgery, and biopsy may be recommended. These will rule out invasive fungal infection such as histoplasmosis and pythiosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer.
Large Bowel Diarrhea
Large bowel diarrhea presents a diagnostic dilemma. Frequently, the causes are difficult to fully diagnose. In many cases, a response to treatment rather than extensive testing is used to make a presumptive diagnosis.
Like small bowel diarrhea, large bowel diarrhea can be caused by parasites, particularly whipworms. An initial diagnostic test will be a fecal examination. Keep in mind, however, that whipworm eggs are very heavy and are not always found on a fecal examination.
If your veterinarian does not find parasites, as with small bowel diarrhea, he will likely still recommend a course of fenbendazole, an effective anti-parasiticide that kills whipworms. They persist for long periods of time in the soil, so managing the environment is critical to preventing re-infection. Further, not all preventives cover against whipworm infection. Check with your veterinarian regarding your monthly treatment to ensure that your dog is protected against whipworms.
An antibiotic trial may be the next step. Clostridial colitis is a possible cause of large bowel diarrhea. It is poorly understood, as some dogs can have Clostridium bacteria but not be ill, while others can become very sick. Diagnosis is very tricky and recommendations change continually. Generally, clostridial infections respond very well to amoxicillin or Tylosin, so your veterinarian may try a course of antibiotics to both diagnose and treat the diarrhea.
A fiber trial – a dietary trial with a fiber-enriched food – may also help diagnose and resolve the problem. In some cases, the addition of a fiber-enriched food may be all that your dog needs to get back to normal. Your veterinarian can help select a fiber diet appropriate for your dog.
Many dogs are allergic to certain components in food (the immune system responds and causes the diarrhea), while other dogs are just “sensitive to” to specific dietary items (immune system is not involved). Again, diagnosis might be tricky. As a result, your veterinarian will likely prescribe a dietary trial. In this case, your dog will be placed on a hypoallergenic diet. There are several on the market that are made from hydrolyzed protein. This is when the protein is broken down into such small units that the immune system does not recognize the initial protein. This type of diet must be rigorously followed if it is to be successful. Treats, flavored heartworm medications, and table food will render the trial useless.
At this point, more blood tests will likely be called for. If your dog has evidence of bloodwork changes and weight loss, concerns for more serious systemic illnesses such as fungal disease and cancer come to the forefront. At that time, you should consider that referral to a veterinary internal medicine specialist (DACVIM) is likely best for your dog.
A Note About Boxers
About 30 years ago, Boxers were noted to have a severe, progressive disease of the colon (histiocytic ulcerative colitis) that caused very bloody, mucoid, large bowel diarrhea and resultant weight loss.
It was recently found that this is highly responsive to a common antibiotic called enrofloxacin (also known as Baytril). If empirical treatment is attempted, it must be continued for several weeks to ensure that all the bacteria are killed; if the bacterial population is not completely eliminated, the most resistant bacteria can come back with a vengeance.
If enrofloxacin doesn’t work, a biopsy of tissue from the colon is the best way to diagnose or rule out other possibly treatable diseases such as fungal infections.
Dog Diarrhea: Not A Simple Matter
As you can see, diarrhea can be a complicated problem to solve. Keeping a thorough history on your dog, documenting his diet and parasite prevention strategy in particular, as well as monitoring bowel movements closely, can help your veterinarian tremendously.
When diarrhea becomes chronic, it can take weeks to months to sort out the underlying cause and find an effective treatment. Be patient and work closely with your veterinarian. Follow recommendations and do not try random remedies recommended by random sources! With time, patience, and a good veterinarian, a solution can generally be found.
Every time your dog jumps on someone and they say, "Oh, it's okay, I don't mind!" and then pet and fuss over her, your dog is being reinforced for jumping up.
On any given day, depending on the circumstances, a dog might have a multitude of opportunities to meet and greet a number of other creatures: dogs, cats, horses, a variety of other species, and all sorts of humans. Some dogs seem to do it with aplomb, while others are clearly overexcited and unable to contain themselves. I suspect most if not all of us would far rather have the dog who’s calm, cool, and collected rather than the other option. So how do we get there?
Undermining Your Dog’s Success in Greeting
When our dog jumps on someone, we all tend to roll our eyes and apologize. A well-behaved dog shouldn’t do this! Why is learning to greet people without jumping on them such a challenge for so many of our dogs?
The answer is intermittent reinforcement – which means that the behavior is sometimes reinforced. “But wait!” you say. “I don’t reward my dog for jumping on people!” Perhaps not. But perhaps you aren’t aware of all the other times or ways your dog is being reinforced for the behavior. Every time your dog jumps on someone and they say, “Oh, it’s okay, I don’t mind!” and then pet and fuss over her, your dog is being reinforced for jumping up.
It’s also likely to be reinforcing for your dog every time she jumps on someone and he physically pushes her away – “Yay, he touched me!”
Intermittent reinforcement makes a behavior more resistant to extinction – harder to stop. It is the same force at work when a human finds it difficult to stop playing a slot machine; as long as you get rewarded occasionally (enough so that you don’t run out of money!), you may just keep playing and playing. Similarly, your dog may just keep playing the jump-up game, thinking, “Eventually I will win. Maybe this time it will pay off and I will get petted… Jackpot!!”
I’m going to describe three important elements to successfully teaching your dog to greet humans politely; the first and most important one is aimed at putting an end to that intermittent reinforcement.
It’s a great idea to teach your dog to both greet people calmly, and “not greet” just as calmly, passing by humans and/or dogs without fussing or pulling. Don’t expect this to happen without practicing and rewarding your dog for the behavior you want!
Best Place to Start: Basic Good Manners Training Classes
Most things in life with our dogs are easier if they’ve had some basic good manners training. A well-run force-free group class is my first choice for working on this; it gives your dog the opportunity to generalize her good manners to new environments and distractions, especially other dogs and humans. Your class instructor and assistants will also be able to give you feedback on your own skills – something you miss if you do all your training on your own.
A common goal for basic good manners training is for your dog to learn that her highly reinforced “sit” is a good “default” behavior (the best behavior to offer when she’s not sure what to do), which comes in very handy when teaching polite greetings. In addition, most good manners classes formally teach polite greetings to humans and provide coaching on how to help your dog behave appropriately in close proximity to other dogs.
Reinforce your dog for NOT greeting when he’s not been invited to do so! If you do this consistently, he will learn to “check in” with you for direction as you are approaching people.
3 Steps to Greeting Humans Politely
1. Manage the situation.
In this context, “management” means controlling your dog’s environment so she isn’t intermittently reinforced for jumping up. This mainly entails always keeping her on a leash when she greets people, and providing very clear, simple instructions to everyone who wants to greet her – family, guests, and random humans on the street – regarding how they should interact with her to reinforce polite greeting behavior.
Sometimes, this may mean sacrificing politeness for firmness when you encounter one of those “Oh, it’s okay!” dog lovers. Be ready to tell him no, it’s not okay, and you’d love to have him pet your dog if he will follow instructions. If he scoffs or gives you the sense that he’s going to do what he wants to do anyway, be prepared to say, “Whoops! Sorry!” and do a quick U-turn with your dog away from the would-be management underminer.
When visitors come to your home, consider using a tether to keep your dog away from the door, or park her behind a baby gate, so you can greet your guests without worrying about dog-jumping. Once the initial excitement of your guests’ arrival is over, it’s easier to instruct them on how to greet your dog properly.
Another alternative, if you want your guests to be interactive with your dog at the door, is to set them up to succeed with treats, toys, and a few basic instructions on how to use these to help your dog practice good greetings. This is a fun way to enlist the help of visitors to teach your dog to sit to greet people at the door.
Place a basket of toys by your door – toys your dog really likes. Tape a sign next to it instructing visitors: “Take a toy before you come in. When Bouncy runs up to you, hold the toy at your chest. When she sits, throw the toy for her to chase. If she brings it back, you can do it again.”
For a dog who doesn’t get excited about toys, you can use high-value non-perishable treats instead. (Real Meat Treats are my favorites for this; see realmeatpet.com.) Break the treats into small pieces in advance, hang a reusable, resealable bag of treats by the door, and tape up a sign that instructs your visitor to take a handful, wait for Bouncy to sit, and then fling some treats behind the dog.
Both of these methods reinforce Bouncy for sitting to greet your guests and directs her energy away from them as she chases after the toy or treats. Plus, it’s fun for your dog and your guests!
2. Reinforce her for sitting a lot – every chance you get!
In what I call a “Say Please Program,” your dog’s sit makes everything good happen. A sit makes her dinner arrive. A sit gets her leash clipped on and another one gets the door to open for your walk together. Sits also elicit a toy or a treat. This will help make sit her default behavior and increase the odds that she will offer a sit when she is approached by someone.
3. Practice polite greetings.
You can do this yourself by tethering your dog to a solid object and repeatedly approaching and feeding her a treat when she sits. Have everyone in the family try it, too!
If she tries to jump up on you when she isn’t tethered, say “Oops!” in a cheerful tone of voice, turn your back and step away from her.
The tight leash, high tail, stiff body, and hard, direct gaze tells us that the dog on the left shouldn’t be allowed to greet the smaller dog; the smaller dog agrees. With her lifted paw, curved body, indirect gaze, and laid-back ears, she is indicating fear and apprehension.
You can also practice this with friends or anyone else who would like to greet your dog. Hold your dog’s leash firmly, not allowing your dog to stretch your arm toward the greeter. As your acquaintance approaches, tell him not to interact with or give your dog a treat until she sits.
No Non-Consensual Dog-Dog Greetings
Just last week I was sitting with my new dog Sunny in our vet’s waiting room, and a man walked in with his 8-month-old, 120-pound Great Dane, who immediately began straining to come see my 16-pound dog. To my amazement and consternation, the man walked forward, allowing his dog to approach. I held up my hand and said firmly, “Please, no!”
“No? He likes little dogs,” the man responded. “He lives with a Pomeranian and they are best friends.”
“No,” I answered firmly, not bothering to add that my dog doesn’t live with a Great Dane and was showing signs of concern about the giant canine looming just six feet away.
The man took a seat on the other side of the small waiting room, and I did a little counter-conditioning with Sunny while both of us regained our equilibrium. Then I engaged in polite chat with the Dane’s owner, suggesting that lots of little dogs don’t like being approached by big dogs. He nodded, seeming to understand.
A few minutes later a woman walked in with a dog half of Sunny’s size, and the man again let his dog approach. The little dog was even more worried that Sunny had been, crying out, backpedaling on his leash, and trying to hide behind his human. This went on for many long seconds, until the woman finally picked up her dog and took a seat just out of reach of the Dane. Sigh…
Not only do dogs who are routinely allowed to greet other dogs on leash come to expect being allowed to do so, they can become quite frustrated and aroused when their desire to meet and greet is thwarted. There is a whole class of reactive dogs who are known as “frustrated greeters.” These are often the dogs who seem to play happily with other dogs when they are off-leash, but when the leash goes on they appear to turn into Cujo.
Guidelines for Greeting Other Dogs Safely
In order to avoid creating frustrated greeters, or worsening the behavior of the dogs who are already frustrated, my rule for dogs in my classes (and for my own dogs) is, “We don’t greet other dogs on leash. Period.” I see far too many dogs who are routinely allowed to greet other dogs on leash and whose behavior is very problematic. As soon as they see another dog they bark, scrabble, and pull, dragging their human toward the other dog until contact is accomplished, whether the other dog likes it or not.
Hence my solution: Allow dogs to greet and interact only in a safely enclosed area, where leashes can be dropped with a “go play” cue when it’s evident the dogs are compatible. Leashes stay on for the first few minutes of interaction, in case the dogs need to be separated, but are removed as soon as it’s clear that the dogs will play together well.
I do understand that this isn’t always possible. Dog owners who live in cities may find safely enclosed dog-play spaces hard to come by, not to mention compatible playmates accompanied by humans who are willing to arrange play dates. Sometimes, the only social options of urban dogs are on-leash greetings. If you are in the “really have to/want to” category, here are some suggestions to help you avoid future problems:
Teach your dog to approach other dogs on a loose leash.
(See “Loose Leash Walking: Training Your Dog Not to Pull“.) Pulling and straining on leash to reach another dog can send unsettling body language signals to the other dog, making the encounter less likely to be successful. It also increases arousal in your dog, again making the encounter less likely to be successful.
Teach a solid “Walk Away” behavior so you can easily interrupt an encounter that seems to be getting too intense.
Even if the intensity is playful. Pulling a dog away forcibly on leash can add tension that causes an otherwise successful encounter to go south. (See “How to Teach Your Dog to Just ‘Walk Away’“.)
Managing leashes on dogs who want to play is always challenging – but if your dog is wearing all the wrong gear, like the choke chain and chain leash on the tan and white dog, you shouldn’t even try.
Greet other dogs only occasionally.
Most of the time, your dog’s job when she is on leash is to be with you. Just as you give her permission to go sniff when it’s appropriate to do so, have a cue that gives her permission to greet another dog – and use it sparingly. Far more often than not, you want her to “not-greet.”
Use high-value treats and consistently reinforce your dog for paying attention to you in the presence of other dogs.
If we have our dogs’ attention, we can get them to work with us. If we can keep their attention, we can keep them working with us in the face of distractions. (See “It’s All In Your Dog’s Eyes“.)
Know what type of dog yours is likely to be comfortable with.
Even dogs who do well with other dogs don’t necessarily like to engage with all other dogs. Size, energy level, and play style are just three factors that may determine play-pal predilections. Some dogs have breed or size preferences; a bad experience with a particular type of dog in the past can give your dog a negative association with that type for life.
When you see a dog you would like yours to greet, ask permission from the other owner first, and respect their wishes. If they say no, it’s a no – don’t try to talk them into it. Conversely, be politely firm with your “No” if someone wants to approach yours with a dog you’re not comfortable with. Be your dog’s advocate.
Ready to Greet
Here is how to proceed when you are ready to do on-leash greetings, and you see a dog who fits the bill and whose owner has agreed to the encounter.
Start out by doing some parallel walking first, so the dogs get a little more information about each other prior to actually engaging – and you get a little more information about the dogs! Watch both dogs’ body language throughout the entire encounter and be prepared to abort if appropriate. (For more information about canine body language, see “Listening to Your Dog’s Body Signals“.)
If their body language tells you they are comfortable walking in proximity to each other, coordinate with the other owner and give the “go play” cue.
As the dogs engage, keep the leashes loose! This is so critically important it bears repeating: Keep the leashes loose! If there’s tension between the dogs as they greet, a tight leash greatly magnifies the tension and can cause what otherwise might have been a very successful greeting to fail. This usually take some fancy footwork on the part of the humans; as the dogs circle, sniff, play bow, and bounce you will need to circle with them and always be prepared to move forward to give extra leash slack as needed.
It’s a good idea to interrupt the encounter if play starts to get rowdy. You simply cannot manage leashes well enough if dogs are getting very excited. If the two look like they both want to be rough-and-tumble run-and-chase play buddies, you really do need to find that elusive “safely enclosed area” so they can play together to their hearts’ content.
If You Love Dogs Jumping Up On You
There’s almost always at least one member of a family who likes the dog to jump up on them. (I’m not naming any names, but there’s a possibility I could be guilty of that myself…) No worries – just teach your dog a cue that means “jump on me,” and reward her for jumping only if she does it when the cue is given. Choose a cue that is something people won’t do inadvertently, such as touching your hands to both shoulders, as opposed to something like patting your leg, which many people do when greeting dogs. Then, if you encounter someone who really wants your dog to jump up to greet them, you can say, “If you want her to jump up, just touch your shoulders!”
This article was originally published as a sidebar to “How to Teach Your Dog To Greet Politely – or Not Greet at All.” The protocol described here was adapted from Kelly Fahey’s Resource Guarding protocol, which was adapted from Chirag Patel’s “Drop” protocol.
Being able to teach your dog to move away from something when asked is an invaluable tool, both for your dog’s safety and for your sanity. Note: Be sure to repeat each step eight to 12 (or more) times, until your dog eagerly responds to the cue before progressing to the next step.
1. Say “Walk Away” in a cheerful tone and toss several treats on the ground six to eight feet behind the dog. Turn and move away with him to encourage him to move quickly. Note: you are trying to get your dog to do a 180-degree turn to get to the treats behind him.
2. Place a neutral (not valuable to the dog) object on the ground. Walk your leashed dog toward it, and when he reaches to sniff it, say “Walk Away!” cheerfully and toss several treats on the ground four to eight feet from the object, behind him. Turn and move away quickly with him, trying to get the dog to do a 180-degree turn away from the object to the treats behind him. Make it a party! Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately and happily moves away from the object in response to the cue. Practice this step with a variety of neutral objects.
Step 2: A neutral item is placed on the ground. Just as the dog is approaching it to sniff it, give the “Walk away!” cue and toss some treats in the opposite direction.
3. Repeat Step #2 eight to 12 (or more) times but begin hand-feeding the treats to your dog instead of tossing them on the ground. Continue to move away from the object as you feed him the treats.
4. Place a low-value object (something your dog is mildly interested in) on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog move away from the object. Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the object in response to the cue. Practice this step with a variety of low-value objects.
5. Place a medium-value object (to your dog) on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog quickly and happily move away from the object. Make it a party! Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the object in response to the cue. Practice with a variety of medium-value objects.
6. Place a high-value object (one of your dog’s favorite things) on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog move away from the object. Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the object in response to the cue. Practice with a variety of high-value objects.
Step 6: An item that is a high-value object to your dog (such as this dog’s favorite ball) is placed on the ground. As he approaches it, the handler has given his “Walk away!” cue and is about to give him several treats as he turns away from the ball.
7. Place your dog’s empty food bowl on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog move away from the object. Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the bowl in response to the cue.
8. Put a handful of low-value food (dry kibble) in your dog’s bowl and place it on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog move away from the object. Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the bowl in response to the cue.
9. Put a handful of mid-value (dry kibble mixed with a little canned) food in your dog’s dish and place it on the ground. When your dog sniffs it, say “Walk Away!” and feed treats from your hand as you and your dog move away from the object. Remember to make it a party! Repeat at least eight to 12 (or more) times until your dog immediately moves away from the bowl in response to the cue. Then repeat with high-value food in the bowl.
10. Finally, generalize the Walk Away behavior to other tempting attractions – a cat or squirrel on your walk, the cookie in a toddler’s hand, the greasy fast-food wrapper on the sidewalk, or the playful Poodle that is straining to greet your dog. Who knows? The Poodle’s owner might just ask you how you taught your dog to behave so well, or ask if your dogs could get together for a play-date sometime!
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As omnivores, dogs can digest plants as well as meat. Many nutritionists believe a mixture of both is important for a healthy dog. My darling baby boy is a 12-year-old German Shorthair Pointer mix. When he was around 6 years old he started to put on some weight. Based on a suggestion from a friend, I did some research on what vegetables dogs can eat, cut back on his commercial dog food, and added a handful of frozen green beans to his dinner. The vegetable slowed down the gobbling up of his food, added volume without many calories to help him feel full, and easily fit into my budget. The trick worked! My pup slimmed down.
Which Vegetables Are Good for Dogs, And Which Aren’t?
Leafy Greens
A good rule for finding leafy greens that your dog can eat is to stick to those that you would consume. Lettuce, spinach, chard, cabbage and kale are all okay for dogs. Besides being rich in vitamins A, C, and K, calcium, iron and potassium, leafy greens are also a good source of fiber. Much like humans, dogs get the most nutrients when the veggies are uncooked. Of course, if you want you can steam your dog’s vegetables for something a little different, or bake them for a crunchier treat. The high fiber in leafy greens can cause some dogs to have an upset stomach after initially added to their diet. Introduce any new food slowly to keep your dog’s tummy safe.
Root Vegetables
In general root vegetables like carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and parsnips are safe to feed your dog. These vegetables are starchy and high in sugar, which means you do want to limit the amount you give to your dog (especially if his commercial or raw dog food already contains root vegetables – many do).
This includes vegetables like celery and asparagus. It may be a little harder to get your dog to enjoy these types of vegetables, but they are safe for dogs to eat. Some don’t like the taste, and some find them hard to grind up in their teeth. To help, cut stalky vegetables into small pieces and/or steam them.
Squash
Squash of all varieties are safe for dogs to eat. Pumpkin and butternut squash can help dogs with bouts of diarrhea, and most dogs don’t mind the taste of squash. Use up all your excess summer squash from the garden by steaming it up for your dog, or cut up and bake this year’s jack-o-lantern after Halloween for your dog to eat. It’s best to limit your pup’s consumption to the meat of the squash, keeping the seeds and skin away.
Legumes
This vegetable group includes bean and alfalfa sprouts, mature beans such as kidney, pinto, and lentil, and peas. The topic of legumes in dog food has been in the news lately. The reason is due to a recent FDA update which states there are reports of canine dilated cardiopulmonary (DCM) in dogs eating pet foods containing legumes or potatoes high up on the ingredients list. If the protein of your dog’s diet relies heavily on legumes or potatoes, you should not only avoid giving more of this plant group to your dog, but also consider reducing the levels of legumes in his main dog food, i.e. changing dog foods. A note on green beans: Green beans may be the most widely-fed vegetable to dogs because of their taste and easy digestion. Please be aware that, despite their name, green beans are not actually classified as beans, and therefore don’t warrant the limitations recommended for true legumes.
Alliums
Alliums are bulb vegetables like onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and shallots. Do not give your dog access to these plants, as they are toxic to dogs. Negative side effects of eating onions or garlic for dogs range from a stomach ache to developing anemia which, at it’s worse, can cause organs to shut down.
Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower, Corn and Cucumber
All of these veggies are safe for your dog to munch on but, like other vegetables, keep it to small quantities – especially if your dog isn’t used to eating these types of foods. Remember to take the corn off the cob before handing it over to your dog. Although the cob itself isn’t bad for a dog to consume, it is easy to swallow in chunks or whole, which can cause choking or intestinal obstruction. Whenever changing your dog’s diet make sure to check with your vet, go slow, and pay attention to your dog. If you follow these guidelines, adding vegetables to your pup’s food can help him receive a more varied, nutritionally complete profile in his diet.
Tips for Feeding Your Dog Vegetables:
* Frozen bags of vegetables are often on sale. Stock up. Have a blend ready to grab in a Tupperware bowl in the freezer. * If your pup is sensitive to the cold of a frozen vegetable, put a small bowl in the refrigerator for easy treat access. * For a summer treat, add vegetables to a 1:1 mixture of chicken broth and water in an ice tray. Once frozen, pop out one or two for a delicious hot day treat. * When cooking, set aside the unused vegetable trimmings that are safe for your dog to consume. A great no-waste alternative to throwing it in the garbage. * If your dog doesn’t want anything to do with vegetables and you want to supplement what he is getting in his regular diet, you can chop or puree them and mix them into his meals. For treats, adding some dog-safe peanut butter (no sugar, just peanuts) can get your dog started. Eventually you should be able to back off on the addition and feed the vegetable plain. * Vegetables are a great reward in treat puzzle games. As always make sure you watch your dog when those are in use and that all edible treats are cleaned from the puzzle before storing away.
Summer is here, which means fresh fruit is everywhere. While fruit is a great and (relatively) healthy sweet snack for people, not all fruit is safe for dogs. To learn more about what kinds of fruit is okay to share with your dog and which fruits you should not allow your dog to eat, we connected with Dr. Tina Wismer, Medical Director of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center (APCC).
What Fruits Are Good for Dogs?
The fruits safest to share with your dogs are: apples, blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and bananas, as Dr. Wismer advises.
Dogs are individuals with different preferences when it comes to treats, so you might need to try a few of these fruits to find one that your dog is interested in eating. Dr. Wismer cautions, “Some dogs love all kinds of fruit; others are not impressed.”
Unfortunately, no fruit is good for dogs to eat because of how high in sugar most varieties are, as Dr. Wismer explains. While fruits like pears and pineapple do provide nutrients to dogs, Dr. Wismer advises that fruit should only be given to your dog as an occasional treat. In other words, it should not make up a significant part of your dog’s diet.
Dreamstime
What Fruits Are Dangerous to Dogs?
Dr. Wismer explained that you should always avoid giving your dog grapes and raisins (the dried form of grapes) because they can cause kidney damage. The reason grapes are so toxic to dogsis not entirely known, but they can destroy kidney cells and result in kidney failure.
Dreamstime
Some people believe that peaches, nectarines and apricots (stone fruits), as well as apples, are dangerous to dogs due to the presence of cyanide. However, Dr. Wismer’s perspective was that although these fruits do contain very small amounts of cyanide in their seeds and pits, they shouldn’t be a cause for concern. She says dog parents shouldn’t panic if their dog, for example, eats an apple core. Just like for humans who swallow apple seeds, there is no risk of a dog who ate seeds or pit developing cyanide poisoning. Though, to be extra safe it’s a good idea to remove the core/pits before offering fruit to your dog because choking is always a potential concern.
As Dr. Wismer explains, even fruit that is nontoxic to dogs isn’t really healthy for them because of its sugar levels, and should be given in very limited quantities. She recommends feeding your dog pieces of fruit only as treats, and even then, she adds that, “calories from treats should not make up more than 10% of a dog’s diet”.
Sassafras Lowrey is an award-winning author. Her novels have been honored by organizations ranging from the Lambda Literary Foundation to the American Library Association. Sassafras is a Certified Trick Dog Instructor who lives and writes in Brooklyn with her partner, a senior Chihuahua mix, a rescued Shepherd mix and a Newfoundland puppy, along with two bossy cats and a semi-feral kitten. Learn more at www.SassafrasLowrey.com.
When it comes to dental health in humans, it’s simple—combine twice daily toothbrushing with a quick flossing session and a swig of mouthwash, and we’re protecting ourselves against cavities, tooth decay, and other issues. But how many of us take the time to provide the same level of care for our pet’s teeth? Moreover, does the average pet owner even know what to do when it comes to caring for their dogs’ teeth?
According to Scott Linick, DVM, a Fellow of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry and chairman of the public relations committee of the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry, brushing your pet’s teeth is the gold standard for home dental care – and it should be done every single day. But, unfortunately, he says that fewer than 10 percent of dog owners brush their pet’s teeth on a regular basis…or at all.
“Home dental care is one of the most important things you can do for your pet next to giving him food and love,” he says. “It’s because 75 to 85 percent of dogs and cats over the age of four experience some degree of dental disease…which has been associated with systemic diseases, such as heart and kidney disease.”
Of course, you can’t just pick up your own tube of human toothpaste and start brushing your dog’s teeth. Just like our dogs don’t have the same dietary requirements as we do, dog toothpaste differs from toothpaste for people in several ways. “It’s important to use a toothpaste made specifically for pets, because human toothpaste contains fluoride and detergents that are not meant to be swallowed,” Dr. Linick says. “No matter how brilliant your dog is, you cannot teach him to rinse.” Additionally, dogs tend to really dislike the taste of mint; you might make the teeth brushing experience even more unpleasant for your dog by using your own toothpaste.
Though there are also toothbrushes designed for pets, according to Laura M. LeVan, DVM, Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College, any new, soft-bristled toothbrush can be used for your dog. Look for a brush with a long handle and a brush head that’s small enough to fit inside your dog’s cheek. “And a dog’s toothbrush should be changed at least every three months, or whenever the bristles have worn,” she says.
According to Dr. LeVan, as plaque collects on teeth due to the combination of saliva, food particles, and bacteria, gingivitis will occur in the soft tissues around the teeth. If this plaque remains, it will harden into tartar—and once that happens, your pet’s normal cleansing action of chewing is no longer enough to keep his or her mouth clean. “Plaque builds up on human teeth six to eight hours after brushing, and the same process happens in dogs,” she adds. While the normal immune system in the mouth can neutralize the harmful effects, she notes, periodontal disease can occur. “Often dog owners think this is normal and call it “doggy breath”—but it’s not normal, and it is a sign of disease,” she warns.
When choosing a dog toothpaste, you can start by seeking out the VOHC Accepted seal, though it’s not entirely necessary. “Most pet toothpastes are antibacterial and may have enzymes (lactoperoxidase and glucose oxidase) in them that react with the saliva to become antibacterial,” Dr. LeVan explains. Even if the dog toothpaste you use does not bear the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal, it is probably still effective in ridding your dog’s mouth of plaque and tartar.
After applying the toothpaste, Dr. LeVan advises dog owners to slip the toothbrush underneath the cheek to ensure that the back teeth are brushed; as your dog closes his or her mouth, the outside of the lower teeth brush the inside of the upper teeth, and the tongue action brushes the inside of the lower teeth, so pet owners can concentrate their brushing on the outside (or buccal) surfaces of the teeth.
“Owners should brush their dog’s teeth every day. Although that may sound daunting, it’s actually easier to brush the teeth daily than a few times a week or month—studies have shown that brushing infrequently does not control oral disease, so it’s a waste of time,” she says. “Believe it or not, the whole procedure should only take 30 to 60 seconds. If owners are spending more time than that, they’re making it more complicated than it need be.”
While it’s best to start training your dog to get used to teeth brushing as a puppy, when taking care of an adult dog’s teeth, try to make it as positive of an experience as possible. Many dog toothpastes are chicken or beef flavored; try purchasing a few flavors to see which your dog prefers. If your dog loves the taste of his toothpaste, the chore of toothbrushing might become a lot easier. “It’s important, especially with adult dogs, that you make brushing a positive experience. If you grab your dog in a headlock and start ramming the toothbrush in its mouth, it will be a one-time experience because your dog will run from you,” Dr. Linick says.
Dr. Linick recommends starting slowly, wiping or brushing one or two teeth initially with toothpaste, and giving plenty of praise and treats as you expand your efforts. And if Sparky still refuses? Last resort alternatives to brushing a dog’s teeth exist.”From most effective to least effective, there are pads you can use to wipe the teeth, as well as rinses, chew toys and treats, and water additives that have ingredients to promote oral health,” Dr. Linick concludes. None of these, we will add, are as effective at keeping your dog’s mouth clean as brushing with a toothpaste made for dogs.
A warning from the FDA about a recently reported spike in the number of dogs developing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (linked here again) and a possible connection between DCM and the inclusion of peas, lentils, legumes, and potatoes in the diets of a majority (not all) of the dogs means we are going to be talking about diet a lot for a while.
I read the comments on both my blog from last week and Whole Dog Journal‘s Facebook page (where a link to the blog is posted), and I have also been reading messages and emails sent directly to me, and one thing jumps out: So many people have been feeding grain-free diets with absolutely no reason or justification for their decision. Some people have gone so far as to accuse WDJ of promoting these grain-free dog food diets over diets that contain grain – oh, no you don’t! That is just flat untrue.
The Popularity (Overpopularity?) of Grain-Free Dog Food
When the first few grain-free dry foods began appearing on the market about 10 years ago, we were happy to see products that could be fed to dogs who were allergic to or intolerant of grains. Mind you, these dogs are in the minority. Nevertheless, the fact that some commercial grain-free dog foods were available meant that more people who suspected that their dogs might have an allergy to or intolerance of some grain or another could try one of these foods and see for themselves: Did their dogs improve? Get worse? Or did it make no difference whatsoever? The commercial availability meant they could do a feeding trial that didn’t take a lot of time to research or money (for a home-prepared diet trial).
Lots of people tried grain-free foods and some of them noticed that their dogs’ allergy symptoms or digestive problems went away. When you have been dealing with a chronically itchy dog, or one with persistent diarrhea or gas, and these symptoms cease – well, it’s almost like a religious conversion. These folks often go out and preach.
Between the feeding success of these foods in some dogs, the enthusiasm of the owners of the success-story dogs, and the relentless hype coming from the “bones and raw food” / “biologically appropriate raw food” / “evolutionary diet” people (many of whom have strong anti-grain sentiments), grain-free just took off. I complained in a blog post over a year ago that it has gotten to the point where I was having a difficult time finding a food that did contain grain in pet specialty stores.
It came home again about a month ago, when three different people who were adopting the puppies that I had been fostering for my local shelter each asked about food recommendations and each said, “Should I get a grain-free food?” In each case, I asked them, “Why do you ask?” And not one person had a real answer. “I heard grain-free was better!” seemed to be the consensus. (My answer to that: It’s better for dogs who have problems with grain!)
If pressed about my misgivings about grain-free dry dog foods for any or all dogs, I say this: There is a far shorter history of dogs eating the carbohydrates that are being used in these diets than there was of dogs eating grains. I don’t like putting my dogs on the front wave of anything, whether it is the latest/greatest heartworm prevention medication (when ivermectin works just fine, and has been for decades), or flea treatments, or diets. I tend to want to hold back and see whether an inordinate number of adverse experiences are reported as these things hit the market.
Dogs Need Balance Over Time in Their Diets
But, perhaps more importantly, feeding ANY type of food every day, all year, for years and years, goes against my longest-standing food recommendation. We have always encouraged owners to switch foods frequently – at least several times a year – and switch manufacturers, too. Many food makers use the same vitamin/mineral premix in all their products, making us worry that any nutrient excess, deficiency, or imbalance would become essentially entrenched in the body of a dog fed an exclusive diet of that company’s foods.
Home-prepared diet advocates talk about “balance over time.” The concept is this: If you change the ingredients and recipe of your dog’s diet – exactly as most of us feed ourselves and our human families – as long as you include everything that a dog needs over the span of any, say, week’s worth of meals, the dog will be fine. In other words, every single meal doesn’t have to be “complete and balanced” – you can accomplish this over the course of several meals.
I look at the feeding of commercial diets the same way; I think you can similarly achieve balance over time by feeding different commercial products from different manufacturers, and, in this way, hedge your dog’s nutritional bets, rather than going “all in” on any one manufacturer or set of ingredients.
Whole Dog Journal‘s General Dog Food Recommendations
When I am asked to make diet recommendations, these are the things I say:
1. Feed a variety of products, rotating both among and between several manufacturers of products, for nutritional balance over time, and to avoid problems caused by long-term exposure to any formulation problems or nutritional imbalances/excesses/inadequacies in your dog’s diet.
2. Feed the best food you can afford and that your dog does well on. This doesn’t mean spend the most that’s possible; if your dog does great on mid-range foods, great! But super cheap food should be avoided. The difference in the ingredients of cheap foods versus mid-range foods is staggering.
3. DO READ ingredient labels. You should recognize most of the foods in the food; if things are weird, and only sound sort of food-like, they are likely highly processed food fractions. You don’t want to see a lot of those. If the front of the label says the food is “chicken and rice” you had better see chicken and rice high up on the ingredient label, not buried four ingredients back below chicken by-product meal, corn, wheat, and pea protein.
4. Feed grain-free foods only for good reason (dog intolerant of/allergic to multiple grains). Feed limited-ingredient foods only for good reason (dog intolerant of/allergic to multiple ingredients). Feed exotic protein sources only for good reason (as a part of a formal food allergy trial, or to a dog intolerant of/allergic to multiple “common” protein sources).
5. Above all: Trust. Your. Dog! If it works for him, it’s okay. If it doesn’t work for him, change!
Many common foods in the human diet are great for dogs too. Some foods, of course, are toxic to dogs, like onions, grapes, and chocolate. Other foods are nontoxic to dogs, but aren’t healthy either, like ice cream and bacon. (Newsflash: these are bad for you too.) Overall, people foods that are poisonous to dogs are really the exception, not the rule.
The canine digestive system has evolved alongside humans’ for longer than history has been recorded; they’ve adapted to eat a lot of what we eat, and get nutrients from a variety of foods you simply don’t find wild dog species munching on in their respective habitats (namely, grains).
Dreamstime
There are foods people designate strictly for human consumption which our dogs could (and arguably should) be eating regularly too. Yogurt and eggs top that list. Raw honey is a well-known and tasty way to treat canine ailments like kennel cough and topical wounds. And do you personally know a dog who can resist a scoop of peanut butter when presented with one? These are the more widely accepted human foods for dogs, but there are plenty of other great foods to taste-test with your dog.
Let’s explore 10 less obvious human foods for dogs, which you can add to a store-bought dog food or include in your home-prepared diet plan. The following foods can be as nutritious to dogs as they are to people, but please always consider your specific dog’s needs and sensitivities when feeding new things. Just like humans, dogs can be allergic to or intolerant of any type of food.
10 Human Foods for Dogs
1. Oatmeal
Dogs do not need to eat grains as part of a complete canine diet, but most of them can without problems. Oatmeal is one of the better grain choices for dogs, as long as it is cooked. High in fiber, oatmeal is very binding in the digestive tract. For dogs with irregular bowel movements or just a case of diarrhea, a little oatmeal can do wonders.
2. Avocado
Some sources say avocado is toxic to dogs and to never feed it. At Whole Dog Journal, we know that isn’t true. The concern with dogs eating avocado is around a chemical called persin, which is present in the highest amounts in the avocado skin and seed, which are not fed to the dog anyway. The potassium and fiber levels of avocados make them a worthy addition to your dog’s diet, just make sure you don’t feed too many, as they are quite caloric and high in fat.
Juana María Gonzalez Santos | Damedeeso/Dreamstime
3. Pineapple
Dreamstime
Pineapple is fine for most dogs if it is fresh, skinned, and cored. Canned pineapple is generally packaged in a corn syrup liquid – no good for dogs, as we know processed sugar can lead to obesity and diabetes. But freshly sliced pineapple chunks make naturally sweet treats for dogs, whether straight from the core or frozen. The skin of pineapples has a spiny, scaly texture that gives the fruit its signature look. Your dog probably won’t want to eat the skin, but don’t give him access to it regardless. The rough skin and large, hard cores of pineapples present choking and esophageal damage hazards to dogs who try to swallow them.
4. Turmeric
The practice of using turmeric as an anti-inflammatory aid dates back about 4,000 years with roots in India. It is antibacterial, anticoagulant, anticarcinogen, and anti-inflammatory. Though there are few existing clinical studies on how turmeric directly benefits dogs, the anecdotal evidence that turmeric works as an anti-inflammatory for dogs is robust. For dogs with arthritis, especially, feeding this ancient spice as a supplement in their food can really improve mobility and comfort.
Dreamstime
5. Blueberries
Dogs have no problem digesting (and enjoying) blueberries. Of course, there is always the possibility that your specific dog is allergic to berries – try feeding your dog just a few at first. Blueberries, because of their size, sweetness, and nutritional contents, make excellent training treats. They are a great way to keep your dog hydrated and engaged during summer training sessions!
6. Cinnamon
Cinnamon is another spice we humans use in our food often but may not think to share with our dogs. Dogs tend to like the taste of cinnamon, and similar to turmeric, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of this spice make it a good remedy for arthritis pain in dogs.
7. Basil
Fresh green herbs of most varieties are great additions to a dog’s diet. Like any new food, you should monitor your dog after feeding basil or other herb in case of allergies. The phytonutrients and essential oils present in fresh basil leaves have insect-repelling and anti-inflammatory properties, and their wonderful smell and taste make them easy for dogs to eat in moderation.
8. Cayenne
Cayenne peppers are spicy – hotter than chili powder and found consistently in Mexican and Cajun food. So how could this burn-inducing spice be good for dogs? Turns out cayenne is the most effective herbal remedy for heart disease in dogs. Cayenne improves nutrient absorption in the body, for both dogs and people, and is surprisingly soothing when applied to topical wounds. There are precautions you need to take if a cayenne supplement is something you’d like to try with your dog, however.
For anyone who cooks their dogs’ meals themselves, the concept of dogs ingesting canned sardines is not anything new. Considered a top source of the healthiest fats for dogs (EPA and DHA), sardines packed in water without salt make excellent additions to store-bought and homemade dog foods. Just be sure to avoid feeding fish packed in olive oil, or any oil for that matter. Oils like corn, safflower, sunflower and olive are quite rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which are not an essential component of the adult dog diet (but are for puppies – see here to learn more) and can be overfed.
10. Coconut oil
Whole Dog Journal readers have heard about coconut oil for dogs before. Packed with lauric and caprylic acid, which kill fungus and balances insulin, coconut oil is well documented to fight topical and internal infections in dogs. Dogs typically like the taste of coconut oil, so adding it to a dog’s normal food is rarely a problem. Perhaps the best reason to feed your dog coconut oil is for its deodorizing properties – if your dog tends to be smelly and greasy, we seriously recommend adding coconut oil to his food. There is much documentation of skin and coat improvements in dogs who are given a daily dose of coconut oil.
I’ve been getting calls, emails, social media messages, and countless forwarded articles from other websites and publications about the grain-free dog food warning – perhaps even from you! And the first thing I want to tell you is to take a breath!
The FDA issued a warning (linked here) that it is investigating a possible link between diet and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs.
The grain-free dog food warning spread like wildfire through social media channels, but unfortunately, it also rapidly got dumbed down to a ridiculous level; it quickly evolved into something like “grain-free foods cause canine heart disease,” or worse yet, “boutique foods might kill your dog. The FDA characterizes the issue as a “potential association” between diets with very specific attributes (and certainly not ALL grain-free diets) and canine DCM – not a cause.
Please note that the FDA’s headline did not say anything about “grain-free diets” causing heart problems – though almost all the blog posts and articles in other publications have been saying exactly that. If you read the FDA’s statement, you will see that they said there may be a link between some grain-free diets and canine DCM, but there are also many other things going on that may be responsible for an observed rise in cases of canine DCM.
Linda Case, long-time animal nutrition expert and author of Dog Food Logic, has written an in-depth article for WDJ’s September issue that goes into lots of detail about what is known about the dietary causes of DCM, including several issues regarding taurine and the amino acids (cysteine and methionine) that dogs use to produce taurine. Click here to read her article about the connections between diet and DCM in dogs. Hint: It’s not as simple as the possibility that the diets are lacking the amino acid precursors to taurine.
But for now, hopefully to put your mind at ease, I’m going to briefly discuss some of the pertinent facts that make the story a little more complicated than the “grain-free diets cause heart disease” headlines.
What We Know About Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Dogs
The FDA received a report from Cardiac Care for Pets, a practice that employs 19 veterinary cardiologists in Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia, and Texas, that they had seen a spike in canine DCM cases – and not just in the breeds that have a genetic predisposition to developing DCM, but also in breeds that are not known for an inherited propensity for the condition. Their report also included the fact that all of the cases had something in common: all the dogs had been eating diets heavy in peas, lentils, chickpeas, and potatoes.
Other veterinary cardiologists were noticing the same thing. The FDA received reports recently of about two dozen additional cases, including three dogs that died of the condition. After reviewing the medical records of these dogs, the FDA felt it was prudent to issue a measured warning, in part to alert dog owners and veterinarians to be aware of signs of the condition in potentially affected dogs (which, it is hoped, will elicit more data). Its warning, specifically, stated that vets and dog owners should be alert for signs of DCM in dogs eating foods “containing peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as main ingredients.”
That’s our emphasis, but it is repeated in the FDA’s warning:
“Diets in cases reported to the FDA frequently list potatoes or multiple legumes [our emphasis again] such as peas, lentils, other ‘pulses’ (seeds of legumes), and their protein, starch, and fiber derivatives early in the ingredient list, indicating that they are main ingredients.” [Again, our emphasis.]
What is a “main ingredient”? There isn’t a legal definition, but in our book, it’s anything in about the first five ingredients on the list. As you probably know, food ingredients are listed on labels (by law) in order of their weight in the formula before the food is cooked. The first four to six ingredients generally represent the majority of what is in the food.
That said, the FDA’s warning also addressed “multiple legumes.” Our readers should be alert to the fact that food manufacturers sometimes list smaller amounts of several similar ingredients, or several constituent parts or “fractions” of the same ingredient. This not only visually minimizes the seeming presence of those ingredients in the food, but also makes the total of the ingredients ahead of these fractions seem to be present in more significant amounts than they actually are.
For example, it would appear that a food that lists its ingredients as “Chicken, peas, pea protein, pea fiber…” contains more chicken than any other single ingredient. But if you added up the total amount of pea-based ingredients, they would surely outweigh the chicken. This is what the FDA is getting to with its warning about “multiple legumes” – foods in which the legumes, taken together, might outweigh the animal protein sources.
If You Feel Your Dog’s Food is Connected to DCM:
Based on the FDA’s report, here are our first take-away points:
No matter what your dog eats, if she has any signs of DCM – including decreased energy, cough, difficulty breathing, and episodes of collapse – you should make an appointment to see your veterinarian ASAP, preferably one who can refer you to a veterinary cardiologist.
If you feed your dog a food that contains any potatoes, peas, lentils, or other seeds of legumes (such as chickpeas/garbanzo beans, soybeans, other types of beans, and alfalfa seeds), look at the ingredients list. If the food contains one or more of these ingredients high up on the ingredients list, has several of these ingredients, and/or is a limited-ingredient diet – typically, one containing only one animal protein source and one or two carbohydrate sources – the possibility is good that the food is one of the type that is being looked at as possibly causing a higher incidence of DCM.
In contrast, foods that are not limited-ingredient foods and contain just one of those ingredients, or that have one or two of these ingredients fairly low on the ingredients list (say, as the fifth or sixth or lower-level ingredient/s on the list), are not the kind of diet that has been connected with DCM.
If you feed your dog a diet that meets the description of the foods that have been described by the FDA as potentially problematic (foods that have potatoes, peas, lentils, or other seeds of legumes as main ingredients), consider these points:
– Are you feeding your dog this food because it’s the only diet you have been able to find that does not trigger other health problems in that dog? If so, continue feeding the diet, but carefully monitor your dog for any hint of signs of DCM. Also, discuss possible alternative diets and/or a blood test for taurine levels, with your veterinarian.
– Are you feeding your dog this food because you like the company, or it was recommended to you, or for no particular reason? Then consider switching to a diet that either contains fewer or none of these ingredients, and read on for more recommendations.
Not All Grain-Free Foods Are Under Suspicion
Within a matter of days of the FDA’s press release, we watched in dismay as the issue was reduced to, in the majority of cases, “grain-free diets cause heart canine heart disease. ”
Please understand that there are grain-free diets that do not contain potatoes, peas, lentils, or other seeds of legumes as main ingredients. For example, there are many raw diets, fresh-cooked/frozen diets, canned diets, and even some dry/kibble diets that are grain-free that do not contain potatoes, peas, lentils or other seeds of legumes. Not all grain-free diets have been implicated as concerning as regards canine DCM.
But, as we have been saying for some time (most recently here), grain-free diets have gotten inordinately popular for no particular reason. Many dog owners buy these products because they have heard some vague argument that “grains are bad for dogs” – an ill-informed blanket generalization we have fought against for ages. There is no particular advantage – and actually, several disadvantages – to feeding a grain-free diet (of any kind) to a dog who doesn’t have any problems with eating and digesting grain.
Points to Consider About Grain-Free Dog Food
Grain-free diets are often far higher in fat and calories than many dogs require. In dogs who gain weight easily, there is a very real danger of having to reduce the amount of food that one feeds the dog so much (in order to keep him from gaining too much weight), that he is at risk to become malnourished. In other words, if you cut his portion of a super-high-calorie diet to a reasonable number of calories, he may not get enough of the vitamins and minerals he needs.
Commercial diets that contain grains have been around longer and have been more thoroughly tested (in clinical settings and through common use) for far longer than diets that use increasingly novel non-grain sources of carbohydrates.
As Linda Case explains further in her article in the September 2018 issue, certain types of diets (specifically, diets that contain lamb meal and rice diets, soybean-based diets, diets high in rice bran or beet pulp, and high-fiber diets heavy in soybeans), have been previously identified as possible dietary causes of low taurine levels in dogs – something that is known to contribute to the development of DCM.
Our advice has long been to feed a grain-free diet only to dogs who have a problem with digesting multiple grains. (And, if you know which grain is giving your dog problems, you could also find a food that contains different grains, instead.)
However, we would not want to be on the record as saying “all grain-free foods are bad.” That’s another ridiculous overstatement. There are some terrific grain-free foods on the market – and some dogs do far better on these products than any grain-containing foods they have been fed. Owners have to look for products that work well for their individual dogs – and be willing to change as their dogs’ needs change.
Overreaching by Those With an Axe to Grind
It was bad enough to see the FDA’s warning reduced by a combination of poor reporting, poor reader comprehension, and social media hysteria to “grain-free foods cause canine heart disease.” But some media outlets also included statements from an animal nutrition expert whose opinions on diets are consistent with those of the pet food industry corporate giants; she has repeatedly been quoted as implicating “boutique” pet foods in the current rash of reported cases of DCM. What’s a boutique food? She doesn’t define this, but we suspect it’s anything made by any company whose annual sales are less than umpteen million…
This same expert has also implicated foods that contain “exotic ingredients,” which she provided a partial list for in one article: “kangaroo, lentils, duck, pea, fava bean, buffalo, tapioca, salmon, lamb, barley, bison, venison, and chickpeas.” Hmm.
All in all, we have lost track of the number of times she has been quoted as saying that pet owners should avoid “boutique, grain-free, or exotic ingredient diets” – and, unfortunately, this over-broad and ill-defined description is finding its way into more and more discussions of this concerning issue.
We have one more bone to pick with this expert; one of her articles on this topic suggests that dog owners do themselves a favor and “stop reading the ingredient list!” This makes us absolutely see red, as it harkens back to the “bad old days” of pet food. Twenty years ago, the making of pet food was a black box. “You guys, we are the experts here, trust us!” was the message of Big Pet Food. Consumers could no more find out where a food was made or where its ingredients were sourced than find out where the company CEOs ate breakfast. A suggestion that consumers shouldn’t worry their pretty little heads about what is actually in the food they buy for their dogs, and which is listed on the label by law for the protection of consumers and their dogs, is downright insulting.
We’d like to suggest that concerned owners keep reading labels and educating themselves about canine nutrition, and, for now, limit themselves to the facts that are currently known by the FDA about this spate of canine DCM cases (here is that link again!). Also, Linda Case’s excellent article in the September issue of WDJ will also help shed much-needed light on this complex and concerning issue.
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?”
