First, a confession: I do not walk my dogs on leash very often. I’m fortunate to live in a rural area with lots of open space and trails and not very many people. I rarely see another person when I’m out with my dogs.
But when I foster dogs who do not yet have reliable recalls, or I travel down to the San Francisco Bay to visit friends and we take our dogs for hikes in that area’s popular parks and on crowded trails, having a hands-free leash is a gift. Such a product allows you to walk or run with a natural arm and shoulder motion – something that is perhaps most appreciated by older athletes who exercise through the aches of age and former injuries – while maintaining control of your dog. You can even drink from the water bottle, take photos with your cell phone, or pick up dog poop without losing control of your dog or getting tangled in the leash.
Until recently, however, I hadn’t seen a hands-free leash-attachment product that was well-made, comfortable, convenient, and secure. But now there’s one I can recommend!
Ruffwear’s Trail Runner System
The Trail Runner System is comprised of a wide, lightly padded, adjustable belt that is fastened (with a wide plastic side-release buckle) in the front. (The belt fits waist sizes from 25 to 45 inches.) To secure the leash to the belt, you thread a separate strap through the hand loop in the end of a leash, and fasten it with a plastic cam buckle. The cam buckle is a safety feature; this type of fastener is secure, but in case of emergency, it releases instantaneously if the end of the strap is pulled backward across the buckle.
All the competing products I’ve seen employ a D-ring sewn onto the belt to connect your leash to the belt; you either use a snap or loop the leash through the D-ring. On some products, it’s clear that it wouldn’t take much pulling to rip the D-ring off the belt and release the dog. In contrast, both ends of the leash-attachment strap are well-sewn onto the belt of the Trail Runner.
Ruffwear
The advantage of this strap versus a fixed D-ring is that the leash can slide from side to side across the front of the wearer’s body, helping prevent tangles and enabling the dog to be positioned on whichever side of the wearer that is preferred.
Though any leash can be used, Ruffwear’s Ridgeline Leash is included. This leash uses Ruffwear’s “Wavelength stretch webbing,” which is not made of fabric-covered rubber bands as in some stretchy leashes, but made of a unique woven elastic webbing. When relaxed, the leash is conveniently short (2.5 feet), but can be stretched to 4.25 feet to provide shock-absorption if your dog suddenly pulls ahead or one of you trips. (The Ridgeline Leash is also sold separately in a 3.3- to 5.9-foot length.)
Other Features
The Trail Runner has a few other features that add to its utility, but not so many as to make the product unwieldy. There is a zipped pocket that can hold even a long cellphone, with an opening for an ear-bud cord; inside the pocket is a sewn-in clip for a key-ring. A small stretch-mesh pocket holds a roll of poop bags.
Also included is a 21-ounce water bottle with a push/pull lid, which nestles securely in an angled holster on the back of the belt. The position and design keeps the bottle from bouncing on the wearer’s body, which can bruise and cause fatigue. These features actually make the Trail Runner useful on walks even if you don’t fasten your dog’s leash to it!
Are you looking for a great harness to attach the Trail Runner to? We reviewed the best.
About half of the litter of nine puppies that I have been fostering for my local shelter got altered and adopted this week; the other half are scheduled for surgery next week. I’m sure they are going to get adopted within a day or two; they are adorable, friendly, confident little things – right up there in the top three of the most charming litters of puppies I’ve fostered.
Well, that begs the question: How many litters has that been? I’ve lost track. I’ll have to go through my cloud storage and look at the past few years’ worth of photos. I lose
countless hours trying to get good photos and video of all the pups.
Some of the most entertaining video footage I get every time I foster results from taping my one and only “foster failure,” Woody, as he plays with the foster puppies. Most of you must know the expression; it means I was supposed to only foster him and his eight siblings, but I “failed” by keeping one (him). When I count how many puppies I have fostered, I will have to run a separate tally for how many he has helped me with.
I posted a video of Woody playing with this batch of puppies on WDJ’s Facebook
and Instagram, and bragged what a good puppy-raiser he is – the best! One of my best
friends commented, “But what about Maebe?”
Ah, yes. Woody is the puppy-raising expert he is thanks to Maebe, the young adult Black and Tan Coonhound who helped raise him. About two and a half years ago, I was fostering Maebe for my local shelter when they called to ask if I could also take in a litter of nine three-week-old, pit-mix puppies. Maebe had been living with me for a month or two at the time; she was an extremely active, curious dog with a little bit of separation anxiety that was making it difficult to find her a home. She enjoyed helping entertain the puppies as they grew, offering them toys and then snatching them away, trying to bait the pack of puppies into chasing her.
I ended up falling hard for one of those pups – Woody – so Maebe got to raise him for a couple more months. She was brilliant with him: endlessly playful, kind, and generous.
They ate from the same bowls, chewed on the same bones, and slept draped all over each other. The whole time, I was training and promoting her. At last she found a home after the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue group posted a courtesy listing for me. Maebe was flown to southern California by a volunteer pilot from Pilots N Paws and picked up there by her new owner, who lives in Arizona.
Maebe’s owner and I have become fast friends through social media. I love seeing photos of them in Arizona – and was happy that Maebe’s owner got to see Maebe getting credit for Woody’s puppy-raising prowess! Best, she got a great dog, I got a great dog, and Woody gets to keep raising good dogs, too.
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Social media has been an incredible tool for us dog owners. We can share photos, videos, and stories about our beloved companions, and our friends and relatives and even casual acquaintances can get to know our dogs – laughing at their cute or funny antics, commiserating with us over canine behavior we find problematic, or just smiling in recognition of those tiny moments that “dog people” savor: from the quizzical puppy head tilts to the senior dogs sleeping deeply, peacefully entwined with one another.
Mike and Linda Cases, dog, Chip
But sometimes, our involvement with each other’s dogs means we also feel each other’s pain at the loss of a special canine friend. And if you’ve ever lost a “heart dog” of your own – and who among us haven’t? – the story of a friend’s dog’s death can hit you hard, bringing up echoes of your own canine loss or losses. You know exactly how your friends feel – bereft, hollow, aching – and all you can do is try to say something to let them know you are sorry for their pain.
Sarah Richardson’s Aussie, Rhodie
It’s been said before, but every time I have experienced the loss of one of my dogs, or have witnessed someone else’s, I think to myself: That this is the price of all that love we have for our dogs, and all the love and joy we’ve received from our dogs. If it seems too much to bear, well, remember that the amount of pain we are going to feel is directly related to the love. Those “heart dogs” – the companions we love as much as life itself? Well, their loss is going to hurt the most, the deepest, and the longest. Keep it in mind as you hurt; this is the price of all the happiness we had together.
Paul and Pat Miller’s dog, Bonnie
It’s easy to forget as we are enjoying our canine partners, playing, working, swimming, training, sleeping, and eating together. But, given our lifespans and their all-too-short ones, in the back of our minds we know that the price will have to be paid in our lifetimes. It’s a steep price – but also worth the pain.
To all my friends who have lost their beloveds, recently, and in the past year:
Lisa and Brad Waggoner, who just recently lost young Willow
Brad and Lisa Waggoner’s Aussie, Willow
Sarah Richardson, on the loss of Rhodie
Pat and Paul Miller, on the loss of their Bonnie
Linda and Mike Case, who lost their senior dog Chip
Nancy Tucker and her husband Tom, on the loss of Chili
One of my girlfriends called me on Monday, asking if she could come up with her dog and visit for a few days, to escape the barrage of fireworks in her Bay area town. She has a sort of high-strung German Wire-Haired Pointer (is that redundant?) and the seven-year-old dog was already a mess, shaking and panting, from the fireworks he had been hearing.
I said sure, because I would love to see her, but warned her that it might not be much better here in my rural northern state town. But I didn’t emphasize this too hard, because I thought a visit with her would be lovely. Also, in my office/house where she would be staying, there is an enormous old whole-house fan that is so loud, it would surely drown out the racket outside while cooling things off.
She arrived Tuesday, and we had fun hanging out. There were some intermittent fireworks cracking in town on Tuesday evening, and both Luke (her dog) and my senior dog Otto handled it about the same; if they heard the POP or BANG of some firework somewhere, they would turn their heads sharply, stop breathing for a moment, and then pant and shake for a minute or two. We were able to keep distracting them and, with the house fan and the TV volume on high, got through the night.
Neither Woody nor my tenant’s dog (whom I’m caring for during the week, since her owner will be away weekdays at his summer job at a summer camp) nor the last of the puppies (six) that I’ve been fostering, even seemed to notice. So the household count was eight calm dogs and two nervous ones. I thought we might make it through the Fourth unscathed.
On Wednesday morning I left Otto and Woody at my house, and drove to my office/house where my friend was sleeping in with her dog (she likes staying there, rather than my house, as she sometimes has trouble sleeping, and when she stays in the house with no one else in it, she is more comfortable getting up and watching TV or something if she can’t sleep). I fed my tenant’s dog and the puppies, and let them run around the yard to play, before returning to my house to start preparing to have some family come over for lunch (my sister-in-law and niece, who live an hour away, and my sister-in-law’s mom, who is visiting from France.) When I got home, I started busying myself with neatening things up and finding extra chairs, etc. I noticed that Woody was snoozing on the big bed in the living room. I thought, “Wow, he’s really growing up! All that activity yesterday must have worn him out, and he’s napping!”
Wrong!
When my sister and her husband arrived, in advance of my other guests, Woody jumped up to greet them; he loves them! But when he was greeting them with excitement, it was then obvious that he was frisking about on three legs; he wouldn’t set one hind leg on the ground! My sister said, “Oh my goodness! What’s wrong with Woody?!” and I, idiotically, was like, “I have no idea!”
Fortunately, it wasn’t anything too serious… but I felt it necessitated at trip to the ER anyway (after lunch, after my guests left). Somehow (no clue how), in the hour I had been gone, Woody had ripped one of his toenails nearly all the way off (nail avulsion). The nail itself was cocked at a horrible upward angle, with the bloody, sensitive core of the nail exposed and obviously causing poor Woody tremendous pain every time he let that paw touch the ground.
I have had dogs do this before, but almost always when their nails were too long and it was always in a front paw. I don’t have any idea of how he did this in a rear paw, middle toe. He sure is special!
Once again, I’m fortunate to have good pet insurance – with a dog like Woody, I can’t imagine not having it – and a good 24-hour veterinary clinic about a half-hour away. I left Otto home with my husband, and my friend and I got into the car with Woody and her GWP, and drove to the clinic. She generously was going to keep me company while we waited for treatment, and we hadn’t wanted to leave her dog home alone with the fireworks still being set off in town intermittently.
It was about 4 p.m. when we got there – and we were greeted by an unusual sight: an employee of the clinic, putting up a sign in the middle of the driveway entrance to the clinic. The sign read, “No parking except for veterinary clients.” It took me just a second to remember that the clinic’s back border is the city fairgrounds – where that town’s annual fireworks show is held. I started laughing. “Well, if we don’t get out of here by the time the fireworks start, at least they can sedate Luke for us!”
As with any veterinary ER on a holiday, the clinic was busy. We waited about two hours to see a vet, but fortunately she made short work of Woody’s nail. She administered a local anesthetic, clipped away (or pulled off, I didn’t see) the hanging nail, thoroughly cleaned the whole area, and bandaged it all up. We were sent home with antibiotics and some pain relief (the ubiquitous carprofen) and on the way home by 7.
Back in my smaller town, it was sounding like the Civil War. As I hurried around, feeding and cleaning up after the foster pups, my friend’s dog started going into his full-blown panic state. My friend was prepared with a veterinarian-prescribed dose of alprazolam (Xanax), and she gave him his first dose then. (The blood levels of the drug take about two hours to peak, and start to wear off in about four hours, so he needed one more dose to get through the night.) Woody was resting on the couch, obviously having experienced some relief from the procedure at the vet, and oblivious to the fireworks sounds, still audible behind the sound of the house fan and the TV.
By about 8 p.m., I was ready to go home and see how my own fireworks-phobic dog was making out, but as I prepared to leave, my friend’s dog kept pasting himself to my side. It was odd, because he usually doesn’t particularly seek me out for affection; he’s sort of intimidated by me, usually. But my friend was starting to get anxious about his anxiety, and I think that was making him more anxious! “Alright, you two,” I said. “Let’s all go home and stay at my house tonight.”
The rest of the evening, fortunately, was uneventful. A little wine for my friend and me, a little more Xanax for Luke, rest on the couch for Woody, a little pacing and comfort for Otto, and we finally all got to sleep. Thank goodness for modern medicine, and for pet insurance.
In the July issue of Whole Dog Journal, we have an article (“Dog DNA Tests: Mixed Results“) about the mixed-breed dog DNA tests that are available to dog owners for a fairly hefty price.
I have ordered a few of these tests over the years, gathering information about how they work and whether they appear to be all that helpful in identifying the breeds that have gone into a given mixed-breed dog.
In the above-referenced article, I shared the results from the tests I have ordered for my 10-year-old mixed-breed dog, Otto, over the years. All I can say about the results from the two most respected companies is that they mostly jibe with each other – and that both companies explain that dogs may not look anything like the breeds whose genes they contain!
We didn’t have room in the article to share the results of the tests I’ve had done on Woody, my younger dog. One can see that Woody clearly has some sort of bully breed or breeds in his lineage. In my experience, none of the companies are all that good about sussing out one bully breed from another. I can’t say I blame them; neither am I.
Here are Woody’s results from the two most reputable companies that provide these tests:
Wisdom Panel results (2016)
50.0% American Staffordshire Terrier
50.0% Labrador Retriever
This is interesting: Both Wisdom Panel and Embark say they will occasionally update your results, so you should log in to their site from time to time. When we most recently checked Woody’s Wisdom Panel profile, we saw his results had been changed. Now Wisdom Panel says he is:
62.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
25.0% Labrador Retriever
12.5% (mixed)
Woody! Where has all your Labrador gone?
Embark results (2018)
40.8% American Pit Bull Terrier
30.3% Labrador Retriever
19.9% American Staffordshire Terrier
9.0% Olde English Bulldogge
Are there any bully breed experts who care to explain the possible differences between these results, as well as the mix of breeds reported by Embark?
The funniest results came from a much smaller company – one that returned some very silly results on Otto, too.
DNA My Dog results (2016)
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Level 2, i.e., between 37%-74%)
America Staffordshire Terrier (Level 3, i.e., between 20%-36%)
Pembroke Welsh Corgi (Level 4, i.e., between 10%-20%)
Pug (Level 4)
Given both his looks and the fact that Woody stands 24 inches at the withers and weighs 70 pounds soaking wet…I am not sure I can find any room in my heart to buy the idea that he has ANY Corgi or Pug genes.
Want my honest take on these tests? The results from the larger, more reputable companies are fun and interesting, but tend to either confirm that a dog is mostly what he looks like he is, or bring up a breed that one hadn’t considered before because the dog doesn’t look anything like that (like Otto containing either 12.5% % American Staffordshire Terrier [according to Wisdom Panel] or 21.3% American Pit Bull Terrier [according to Embark]- REALLY?). I can’t honestly say the answers are all that satisfying, either way.
Medical research supports the use of local honey for dogs to combat their environmental allergies. Note that we said local honey. A local product contains tiny amounts of the pollen in your area, so that when your dog ingests the honey, his body can adjust to the potential allergens gradually, which should help prevent a full-blown attack. Hint: Be sure you’re dealing with an environmental allergic reaction. Itching, scratching, and hot spots can also indicate a food allergy. See “Suspect Your Itchy Dog Has a Food Allergy?” for more info.
Honey is a time-honored solution for soothing irritated throats and coughs. For kennel cough, you can use local honey, but Manuka honey for dogs with kennel cough may be your best choice. Made by bees pollinating the Manuka trees in New Zealand and parts of Australia, Manuka honey has the highest antibacterial properties of any honey in the world. It’s also the highest-priced honey in the world, and may cost three or four times what you might pay for local honey.
Manuka honey is also a top choice for a natural wound dressing. In fact, Manuka honey is FDA-approved for use on human burn patients. But any raw honey will help keep the wound area clean and moist, which promotes healing. Honey’s natural antibacterial properties reduce the chance of infection and protect the injured area. After cleaning the wound, spread on a thick coat of honey and then apply a light bandage, if necessary. Of course, you may have to also use an Elizabethan collar or similar device to stop your dog from licking the area! Note: Deep, wide or puncture wounds should always be examined by a veterinarian before applying any medicine. See “How to Treat Dog Wounds” for more on this.
4. Raw Honey Reduces Gastrointestinal Upset in Dogs
Honey can be jelpful for a dog’s upset stomach or diarrhea that might come from something simple, such as your dog feasting on fresh grass, a couple of doses of honey may help quiet and soothe his GI tract. Some veterinarians suggest honey for dogs to help control minor stomach ulcers, since honey’s natural antibacterial properties can help destroy bacteria that may be causing the ulcer. Again, you need to be certain about what you’re dealing with, so seeking veterinary advice in these situations is wise.
5. Honey Can Give Dogs More Energy
Honey is a sugar, and sugar boosts energy. Anecdotal evidence shows that honey helps many older dogs regain some of their former spunk and drive. Many owners of canine athletes use honey to promote energy, endurance and vitality.
Otto on the day I adopted him, approximately 7 months old.
Above my desk, I have a five-foot by four-foot poster*, mounted on hard foam-core, featuring a fantastic photo of my dog Otto along with his name and his adoption date on the poster: June 16, 2008.
And yet, when I received a card in the mail earlier this week from a work colleague, someone who works on WDJ’s website and marketing team from our publisher’s headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, wishing Otto a happy 10th “Adoptaversary,” I was flummoxed for a minute. Oh my goodness! Did I actually miss the opportunity to celebrate the TENTH anniversary of the date I adopted my beloved Otto?? And how did my colleague remember when I did not? (I asked! The answer was, in a blog post about vaccinations some weeks ago, I mentioned Otto’s date of adoption, as it related to how long it has been since he has been vaccinated . . . and she actually took note of that date! And found a card that specifically mentioned the 10th “Adoptaversary” of a dog!! And sent it to me on time!)
The fact is, while I have definitely been counting the years that I have shared with Otto, I don’t think I have ever celebrated his “gotcha” date (as other dog owners I know call it). And that’s a shame, since I don’t celebrate his birthday (estimated to be sometime in November), either. And I treasure our time together; I really should be celebrating this date every year – and I’m putting it on my Google calendar so I won’t miss it next year. My sincere thanks to my colleague for the card and the nudge! What’s WRONG with me??
Do you celebrate the date that you adopted your dog? Or his or her birthday, if you know it?
* I got the poster from a chain of California-based pet supply stores, Pet Food Express. They have something called their “My Mutt Program,” whereby a person can send them proof that they have made a donation of $250 or more to a shelter or nonprofit animal rescue group, and Pet Food Express will send a professional photographer to take a photo of their pet, have a huge poster made, and hang it in the Pet Food Express store of their choice for about six months… And after the poster hangs in the store for a while, it will be taken down and the pet owner gets the poster to keep. Check out the link. It’s an absolutely great program that encourages more donations to needy shelters and rescues, and provides owners with stunning art of their pets. And it makes a great gift! You can make a donation to your local shelter in a friend’s name and let THEM receive the photography session and poster.
The question of how best to feed dogs stimulates great debate and evokes strong emotions among dog folks. (Yes, this an intended understatement.) One of the most contentiously defended viewpoints in recent years is that dogs should not be fed diets that contain digestible carbohydrate (starch).
Two primary arguments are used to defend this position. These are:
A) Dogs are carnivores and have no dietary requirement for carbohydrate.
B) Dogs are unable to efficiently digest starch. Therefore, including starch-providing ingredients in dog foods is unhealthy and provides no nutritional value.
Like many persistent beliefs, there is some truth and some falsehood in both of these blanket claims. Let’s start with the first.
PROPOSED: Dogs are carnivores and have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates.
The first bit is false; the second bit is true. Dogs are classified within the taxonomic order of Carnivora, but like many other species within this order, dogs are omnivorous.
The term omnivore simply means that an animal consumes foods that are of animal and plant origin (dogs do this) and can derive essential nutrients from both animal and plant foods (ditto). Based upon this definition, animal nutritionists consider the dog to be an omnivore. By contrast, the domestic cat, along with other felid species, is classified as an obligate carnivore. This classification means that cats cannot derive all of their essential nutrient needs from plant foods and therefore have an obligate need for foods of animal origin in their diet.
The fact that dogs are omnivorous does not signify that they are not predatory (they are), nor that they do not seek out and enjoy eating meat (they do). All that it means is that dogs can consume and derive nutrients from both animal and plant matter.
If we consider the dog’s feeding behavior, it is clear that the majority of dogs enjoy and probably prefer to consume meat in their diet. However, they also scavenge and ingest a wide variety of food types, including starch-containing foods. Nutritionally, just like bears, who also preferably seek out animal source proteins, dogs are omnivores.
Personally, I am baffled as to why “omnivore” has become a fighting word among dog people. This label does not turn the dog into a carrot-munching, Birkenstock-wearing, canine hippie. Rather, it simply describes what the dog eats and is capable of deriving nutrients from: meat and plant matter. That’s all. Time for us all to calm down about this one.
Let’s move on.
So what about carbs? It’s true that dogs have no dietary requirement for carbohydrates; they can derive all the nutrients they need from protein and fat.
That said, cooked starch can provide a highly digestible energy source to dogs when included in their diet. From a nutrition standpoint, dietary carbohydrate spares protein. This means that when a body uses carbohydrate to provide needed energy, dietary protein is conserved from being used for this purpose and continues to be available for use to provide essential amino acids, build and repair body tissues, and support a healthy immune system. Therefore, including at least some digestible carbohydrate in the diet of dogs is generally considered to be beneficial.
The controversy about starch in dog foods revolves more around how much starch is in the food and the source of that starch, rather than its absolute presence or absence. Dogs can thrive on low-carbohydrate diets provided such diets are balanced and contain all of the essential nutrients. Diets formulated in this way are often highly palatable because of their high proportions of protein and fat. These foods are also generally very energy dense (lots of calories packed into a small volume of food), which means that portion control is important to ensure that dogs maintain a healthy weight.
Now for the second persistent statement that is often made about the dog’s nutritional requirements:
PROPOSED: Dogs cannot digest starch.
It should be obvious from the vast majority of dogs who survive on carb-heavy kibbled diets that this is unequivocally false. Dogs efficiently digest cooked starch, just like humans. However, they cannot digest raw starch (and neither can we).
Cooking results in the expansion of the small granules that make up starch, which allows digestive enzymes better access and increases digestibility. This is true for humans as well as for dogs, and this fact explains why we generally do not munch on raw potatoes.
We actually know the exact degree to which cooking increases digestibility of various starches. Ground grains such as rice, oats, or corn are about 60 percent digestible when fed raw to dogs. Cooking these ingredients increases the dog’s ability to digest them to almost 100 percent! This means that if you feed your dog 100 grams of uncooked oats or rice, only 60 grams will make it into his body to nourish him; 40 grams ends up in the large intestine where microbes ferment some of it, and a lot of that 40 grams ends up in your yard, as feces.
Conversely, when cooked, almost the entire 100 grams are digested and absorbed to nourish your dog. Again, not to put too fine a point on this, but the same holds true for humans.
The AMY2B Enzyme
Like humans, dogs have an enhanced ability to digest starch-containing ingredients, a change that has been directly tied to domestication. In 2013, a ground-breaking paper by Erik Axelsson of Uppsala University in Sweden identified a host of genetic changes that occurred as dogs evolved from their wolf ancestors.1 Three of these changes were alterations of key genes that code for enzymes involved in starch digestion, most notably and consistently, one labeled AMY2B.
This gene codes for the production of pancreatic amylase, an enzyme that functions to digest dietary starch. Although variation exists among individual dogs and breeds of differing geographic origin, the increased copies of the AMY2B gene correlate with higher levels of circulating pancreatic amylase in a dog’s blood, which means that higher AMY2B leads to more efficient starch digestion.2, 3, 4
On average, dogs have a sevenfold higher copy number of this gene when compared with present-day wolves. These changes in the dog’s genetic makeup coincide with the expansion of human agricultural practices and increased reliance upon starch-providing plants in both human and dog diets.
Dog Food Diet Selection
It is a fact that domestic dogs are better adapted to scavenging and to a diet that is higher in starch-containing foods than were their wolf-like ancestors. However, just because dogs can consume and digest starch, it does not necessarily follow that a diet that contains a high proportion of digestible carbohydrate is the healthiest way to feed them. One way of determining how much protein, fat, and carbohydrate dogs should have is to ask the dogs directly.
Historically, nutritionists have viewed diet selection in animals principally from the standpoint of energy balance. The basic assumption was that all animals, including dogs, eat to meet their energy (caloric) needs first. However, in recent years this premise has been challenged.
There is evidence that a wide range of species, including many birds, fish, and mammals, will self-select diets containing consistent proportions of the three major macronutrients -protein, fat, and carbohydrate – and that they regulate and balance their nutrient intake to maximize lifespan and reproductive fitness.
The recognition that macronutrient selection can be a driver for appropriate diet selection has led to several new studies with dogs and cats.
Domestic cats were studied before dogs and were found to consistently select a diet that was high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrate.5 This profile is consistent with that of other obligate carnivores and with the cat’s wild feline cousins. Interestingly, a recent study found that cats preferentially balanced their diets to a set protein:fat ratio, even when offered foods of different flavor preferences and containing animal- or plant-based protein sources.6 Although flavor and smell were important influences, the strongest factor for food selection appeared to be the total amount of protein in the food, rather than its source.
To date, only two controlled studies have been completed with dogs. In both, dogs have also demonstrated a similar talent to their feline friends for self-selecting the macronutrient content of their diets.7,8 The studies were conducted by different research teams and used somewhat different methodologies, but both reported that dogs preferentially selected diets that were low in carbohydrate and high in fat and protein.
When expressed as a percent of energy, dogs gravitated to a general distribution of 30 to 38 percent protein, 59 to 63 percent fat and 3 to 7 percent carbohydrate. Interestingly, wolves self-select diets that are even lower in carbohydrate: only about 1 percent. Initially, the dogs in these studies were attracted to very high fat diets, but over a period of several days reduced the proportion of fat and moderately increased protein.
An important finding of the most recent study was that when dogs were allowed to choose these dietary proportions over a period of 10 days, they substantially over-consume calories. Because of this, on average the dogs gained almost 3.5 pounds in just 10 days of feeding.
It’s Complicated
At this point in time, we know that dogs can better digest starch in their diet compared with their wolf ancestors (and with present-day wolves). This increased capability is at least partially due to an increase in the production of pancreatic amylase.
We also know that, like us, dogs digest cooked starches very efficiently, but cannot utilize raw starch. The inclusion of at least some level of starch in a dog’s diet provides an efficient source of energy (calories).
Finally, most recently, we have learned that when given the choice, dogs preferentially select a diet that is low in starch and high in protein and fat. However, self-selection of this type of diet (if fed without portion control) may lead to overconsumption and weight gain.
Still, none of this information provides evidence for the healthfulness of a diet containing some starch versus a diet that contains very low (or no) starch in terms of dog’s vitality, ability to maintain a healthy body weight and condition, development of chronic health problems, and longevity.
This has not stopped proponents of low-carb or carb-free diets from making such claims, however. The fact that dogs gravitate to a diet that is high in protein and fat and low in starch is not to be confused with evidence that such a diet has been proven to be healthier or is capable of preventing illness. We simply do not know.
What we need is evidence of whether or not dietary carbohydrate is harmful, beneficial, or, well, neither. Dogs are generalists after all. It is quite possible that they, like many animals, are capable of thriving on a wide variety of diet types, including those with some level of starch.
Like I said, it’s complicated.
Cited Studies
1. Axelsson E, Ratnakumar A, Arendt ML, et al. “The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet.” Nature 2013; 495:360-364 2. Arendt M, Fall, T, Lindblad-Toh K, Axelsson E. “Amylase activity is associated with AMY2B copy numbers in dogs: Implications for dog domestication, diet and diabetes.” Animal Genetics 2014; 45:716-722 3. Arendt M, Cairns KM, Ballard JWO, Savolainen P, Axelsson E. “Diet adaptation in dogs reflects spread of prehistoric agriculture.” Heredity 2016; 117:301-396 4. Reiter T, Jagoda E, Capellini TD. “Dietary variation and evolution of gene copy number among dog breeds.” PLOSone 2016; 11:e01148899 5. Hewson-Hughes AK, Hewson-Hughes VL, Miller AT, et al. “Geometric analysis of macronutrient selection in the adult domestic cat, Felis catus.” Journal of Experimental Biology 2011; 214:1039-1051 6. Hewson-Hughes AK, Colyer A, Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D. “Balancing macronutrient intake in a mammalian carnivore: disentangling the influences of flavor and nutrition.” Royal Society of Open Science 2016; 3:160081. 7. Hewson-Hughes AK, Hewson-Hughes VL, Colyer A, et al. “Geometric analysis of macronutrient selection in breeds of the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris.” Behavioral Ecology 2013; 24:293-304 8. Roberts MT, Bermingham EN, Cave NJ, Young W, McKenzie CM, Thomas DG. “Macronutrient intake of dogs, self-selecting diets varying in composition offered ad libitum.” Journal of Animal Physiology and Nutrition 2018; 102:568-575
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.
On a gorgeous spring day in Montana, I was heading back from a romp in the mountains with my three dogs when we stepped out of the woods into a meadow, replete with song birds and a smattering of open range cows grazing peacefully. My trail companions quickly discovered, to their absolute delight, fresh, delicious cow pies.
It occurred to me, however, that I didn’t know the MDR1 (multi-drug resistance gene) status of the newest member of my three-dog crew, Hap. MDR1 is a genetic predisposition to adverse drug reactions to more than a dozen common veterinary drugs, and the gene is found predominantly in herding breeds. Hap looks to be mostly Border Collie with maybe, just maybe, a pinch of Australian Shepherd, so having this predisposition could put him in danger in this situation. Cows are often given ivermectin as an anti-parasitic agent, and the drug can be found shortly afterward in their droppings; eating these droppings can cause a fatal reaction in a dog with the MDR1 mutation. So, I put a moratorium on the afternoon’s pie sampling, much to the dismay of my crew, and off we strolled into the sunset.
When we got home and I began looking up information on MDR1 testing, I learned that many of the genetic tests for breed-typing now also include genetic health screens, including testing for the MDR1 mutation. I thought, why not solve the mystery of Hap’s breed-mix and get health information at the same time? It sounded like fun!
Kathryn Socie-Dunning
How Do Dog DNA Tests Work?
While some of the early mixed-breed identification tests used a blood sample, all of the products on the market today extract DNA from cells swabbed by the dog’s owner from the inside of the dog’s cheek. The swab is sealed in a container provided by the company and mailed off to the company’s lab. There, technicians extract your dog’s DNA from the swab, and use computers to identify and compare specific bits of it to bits taken from dogs of known lineage.
The genome of a dog contains about 2.5 billion nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA); researchers focus on “only” about 200,000 of these individual genes – or rather, microsatellites or repeating sequences of DNA called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, pronounced “snips”) that form signatures particular to various breeds.
Researchers must have enough SNPs from enough purebred representatives of each breed in order to have an adequate array of SNPs to which they can compare your dog’s SNPs. The larger the company’s database of samples from purebred dogs, the better. When a company fails utterly to suggest ancestors of candidate breeds that are remotely likely, it’s probable that it lacks enough breeds in its databanks to find good matches for your dog’s SNPs.
– DNA My dog Dog Breed Identification Test, $69. Identification of 92 breeds.
– DNA My Dog Breed Test plus Wolf-Coyote Hybrid Test, $89.
– DNA Breed Identification Test plus Full Genetic Screening, $189. Health screening identifies more than 100 diseases.
– Embark Dog DNA Test, $199. Identification of more than 175 breeds and more than 160 diseases. “We test 20 times more of your dog’s genes than other dog DNA tests.”
– Canine Breed Detection, $85. Identification for 250+ breeds, plus MDR1 and Exercise-induced Collapse (EIC) screening for drug and exercise sensitivities.
– Canine Breed Plus Disease Detection, $150. Identification for 250+ breeds, plus MDR1 and Exercise-induced Collapse (EIC) screening, plus advanced health screening for more than 150 genetic health conditions.
When Your Dog’s Looks Are Deceiving
That said, when dogs of various ancestry reproduce, the resulting pups may visually resemble other breeds entirely – but the genetic signatures inherited from their parents are more telling than the most dog-savvy eye. Take Clara, for example. Clara is a shelter rescue dog, adopted as a young adult, who was presumed to be mostly a Labrador, with a little something more medium-sized in the mix. Her owners, Gianna and Kip Savoie, guessed she had a herding breed somewhere in her lineage, given a lot of Border Collie-like behavioral characteristics they’d seen.
They sent a swab of her cheek to Embark for analysis. What came back was mostly what they had suspected: Labrador Retriever, a splash of Border Collie, but with a few smaller surprises and one very big one. This short-haired black dog was, in fact, declared to be more Golden Retriever (38 percent!) than anything else.
Based on the sharpest visual assessment, this may seem like an error, but it is in fact highly feasible.
Golden Retrievers carry a black gene that is expressed in their nose, the pads of their feet, their glamorous thick, black eye-liner, but not their coat. The black is blocked by the yellow gene, which is recessive, as is their characteristic luxurious long locks. A Golden Retriever bred to a dog lacking genes for yellow coloration and long coat, like a black Labrador, therefore, would result in a black dog with a short coat – a dog that looks a lot like Clara.
Some Puzzling Dog DNA Results…
On the more comedic end of the spectrum, Hap, my happy, hoppy, flying Border Collie/mystery-breed cross was declared by Wisdom Panel to be 88 percent Border Collie and 12 percent – ready for this? – Boston Terrier! Having never even seen a Boston Terrier in Montana in my 20 years living here steeped in all things dog, this struck me as highly unlikely.
Since I live in a rural, ranch-heavy area and the shelter from which I acquired this chap is small and more like a herding dog rescue than a general open-door shelter, I struggled to imagine where Boston Terrier genes could have possibly come from. On the other hand, Hap is definitely the most playful, gregarious dog I’ve known and these qualities fit the personality type of the Boston Terriers I’ve met, so maybe. Perhaps there was a Boston Casanova passing through that visited a ranch at just the right time. Strange things can happen.
But sometimes, the results do test the bounds of credulity. Take, as a case in point, the results returned by DNA My Dog from a sample from Otto, a highly-mixed breed dog belonging to WDJ’s editor, Nancy Kerns. Otto has been tested by several companies (see “Otto’s Results,” below). The two companies with the largest breed databases returned fairly similar results. But DNA My Dog, a much smaller company, returned results that were not just completely dissimilar to the results from the two larger companies, but also incredibly improbable. The breeds suggested are highly unlikely to be present in Otto’s geographic area of origin, and even less likely to be present in the identified combination.
When Dog DNA Results Don’t Make Sense
The companies that offer this service have a few standard explanations for results that don’t seem to make sense.
None of the companies would admit that their reference databases are of an inadequate size to accurately identify the SNPs from your dog – but they might suggest that this could be true of their competitors.
All of the companies will be quick to explain that there are hundreds of thousands of genes that are responsible for a dog’s appearance, and that many breed combinations result in dogs who look very different than what you would expect from that mix of breeds.
Also, genes in mixed breeds do not always combine in the same ways within all litter-mates, so size and physical and behavioral characteristics in the same litter of pups can and often do vary, sometimes wildly.
They also explain that the complexity of your dog’s mix will affect the accuracy of the results. First-generation crosses between two purebred parents are relatively easy to identify, but dogs who don’t have any purebred ancestors within several generations are much harder to identify with much certainty, as the length of the inherited SNPs that are unique to purebred dogs become much shorter with each generation of mixed-breed progeny.
Problems with identification can also arise when there is a lot of divergence within a specific breed-type, like in the case of Australian Shepherds and Border Collies, where you have field-bred lines and show-bred lines. The genetic signatures in the companies’ databases usually correspond with show-bred lines, so field-bred Aussies and BCs might even get assigned to a different breed altogether.
Both Embark and Wisdom Panel make it easy for consumers to contact them and ask questions about their dogs’ results. I called and asked a representative from Wisdom Panel to review Hap’s results with me and was told that the statistical confidence in the Boston Terrier finding was marginal, meaning there is a high probability this result is not correct. Hap could have 12 percent of something not represented in the Wisdom Panel database (such as field-bred Australian Shepherds), but since this unique signature does not currently exist in the database, he was assigned to the breed with the closest matching genetic signature. I was told that updates will be made to Hap’s report as new information is added to the database.
Which Dog DNA Test is Best?
Of the brands available, Embark and Wisdom Panel appear to be the most transparent about their methodologies and about the information available in their databases. They both make frequent updates to their products, while also being accessible to answer consumer questions. This makes them both rise to the top in my book. Note, however, that the basic Wisdom Panel 4.0 Breed Detection test costs less than half the price of the Embark test.
Other companies, like DNA My Dog, has a relatively small database with 92 breeds, very scant information available about their methodology, and I found it difficult to even find contact information to ask questions.
While commercial genetic breed-typing is still evolving, it is interesting and ridiculously fun, which is worth something. More companies are offering genetic health screens as well, which may prove useful for the long-term health care of your dog. A lot of it may not be applicable to your particular four-legged friend, so before shelling out the money, be sure to consult your veterinarian to find out what she or he recommends.
Otto’s Results
Otto’s results have morphed over the past eight years, with the unlikely Basenji disappearing and a bully breed and Australian Cattle Dog appearing in the mix. Note that the results provided by the two leading mixed-breed test providers are pretty darn similar – and that the results from the smallest company offering this service border on fantasy. (Those breeds are highly uncommon in Otto’s area of origin, and would be even more uncommonly seen in the same dog.)
2009: Wisdom Panel
German Shepherd Dog
Basenji
Chow Chow
Border Collie
2016: DNA My Dog
Level 3 (20%-36%): Collie, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Level 4 (10%-20%): English Setter, Norwegian Elkhound
2016: Wisdom Panel
12.5% American Staffordshire Terrier
12.5% Australian Cattle Dog
12.5% Border Collie
12.5% Chow Chow
12.5% German Shepherd Dog
37.5% (mixed)
2018: Embark
21.3% American Pit Bull Terrier
14.1% Australian Cattle Dog
13.2% German Shepherd Dog
12.3% Chow Chow
10.3% Labrador Retriever
8.0% Border Collie
4.3% Rottweiler
16.5% (“Supermutt”)
Kathryn Socie-Dunning lives with her husband and three dogs in Montana.
This morning I got up super early, so I could feed the foster puppies and mama, clean their pen, and still have time to drive an hour to pick up my 8-year-old niece, whom I was in charge of for the day. Her school year ended last week, and her camps and other organized summer activities start next week, and several people are spending a day with Ava this week to bridge the gap.
It’s a beautiful drive from my northeastern Sacramento Valley small town to her historic gold-country town, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. I drive through peach orchards and rice fields, and then start climbing in elevation into oak-studded foothills with cattle grazing the already dry, summer-brown grass, and up into an area whose topography is hidden under a solid canopy of tall pine trees. I like the drive a lot.
Except, this morning, as I drove along the last of the rice fields about a half mile from the two-lane highway that would take me up into the foothills, I saw an obviously lost dog on the road: a well-muscled, short, mouse-colored bully breed dog, an intact male. This isn’t your standard farm or ranch dog – and in case there was any doubt at all, the fact that he was wearing a harness, to which a four-foot leash was attached, ruled out the likelihood (for me) that he was a local dog who had roamed off his property. Most likely, in my opinion, was that he was in the back of someone’s truck, and rolled off when the person made the sharp turn onto or off of the nearby highway and onto or off of this bumpy farm-country road.
When I spotted the dog, he was trotting fast toward my car, right in the middle of the road, and there was a car stopped behind him. The driver, an elderly lady, had her window rolled down and she waved her arm out the window: “Look out!” I think she was trying to say. I stopped my car on the side of the road with the dog between us, and the dog stopped trotting. He looked left and right, and I could tell he was trying to decide which way to run. I got out of the car slowly and called brightly to him. “Hey pup! Buddy, come!” But as soon as he saw me he bolted, past the lady who was IN her car, and headed for the highway. Crap.
So I jumped in my car, sped past him, and stopped on the side of the road again, blocking his access to the highway. I looked back, hoping the other lady would get out of her car and help; she had driven off. But it didn’t matter, because the dog hadn’t hesitated. This time, when I got out of the car, he took off sideways, trotting away down a dirt road between two rice fields. I thought, maybe he would come to a dog. My dog-savvy young dog Woody was with me. I looked both ways, and called Woody out of the car. We trotted together a few feet up the dirt road, and he could see the big brawny dog trotting ahead of us by 150 feet or so. “Go get him!” I said to Woody, and Woody took off at a racehorse pace; he’s fast!
The dog looked over his shoulder when he heard Woody running toward him, and was alarmed enough to spin around to face Woody. I wasn’t worried; Woody has not yet met a dog that he could not either charm, or run away from. In this case, their tails went up, wagging, they sniffed, Woody did a couple of popping sort of playful moves, and for a minute, they just stood there. Woody looked back toward me: “Now what?” I called, “Good boy! Woody, come!” My fingers were crossed, as I trotted backward toward the car in what was meant to be a most inviting way.
No dice. Woody came at a gallop, and the dog headed off further into the rice fields.
I went back to the car, tearing up at the dog’s prospects. I had to get to my sister-in-law’s house so she could get to work. I couldn’t go driving off onto dirt farm roads – and maybe, he would approach a farmhouse and be less frightened of people in that environment. On the other hand, maybe he would head back to the highway and get hit by a car. Ugh.
When I got to my sister-in-law’s house, I posted a description of the dog and his location on a lost-dog page that serves my local area, and called the Highway Patrol, to give them a description and location of the dog, in case someone called them looking for him. And on the way back to my house with my niece, we stopped and scanned the area for 15 minutes or so, looking for any sign of the dog again. No such luck.
I have often wondered what makes so many dogs just TAKE OFF when a human approaches or addresses them when they are lost. And I have also wondered: Would MY dogs come to a strange person if they were in a panic, but someone was addressing them? “Hey Buddy! Come here!” I just don’t know. Could you teach your dog to come to anyone who called him (obviously not using his name, which a stranger would not know)? How could you SAFELY teach your dog to come to strangers in a strange place, when you were not present? Trainers, would you weigh in?
Also, last but not least: I’m sure this is preaching to the choir (our audience is more educated than most), but please make sure that anyone you know who drives with dogs in the back of their truck has their dog crated or secured with cross ties fastened to a harness. I feel so strongly that the dog had fallen out of a truck; he was so near a corner that many drivers take at a fast clip, and 10 miles from the closest town. I just HATE it when I see people taking that risk with their dogs.
I got a little whiny in one of my blog posts recently. I was feeling a little depressed by my latest foster project: a mixed-breed mama and her nine teeny puppies. They were surrendered to my local shelter in sad shape: thin, infected with coccidia, and infested with fleas. The mom knows absolutely not one cue, not even “sit,” though she is super sweet and friendly – how can someone let such a nice dog get into such bad shape, and pregnant to boot? Ugh! Some days it just feels like we humans are making no progress in our ability to care for and manage our dogs.
Days after I wrote that post, my husband and I drove 100 miles south to spend the weekend with one of his cousins and the cousin’s wife. A death in the family reconnected the cousins, and after lamenting the fact that it shouldn’t take a funeral to schedule a visit with one another, my husband’s cousin invited us to come and stay with them.
I’m not going to lie; I had work to do, it was a hassle to arrange care for my chickens, my two dogs (in separate places), and the foster family (who are all receiving medication twice daily for the kennel cough they picked up in the shelter), and I had met the cousin only once and his wife never. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
But my husband’s cousin greeted us at the door with a 12-week-old miniature Schnauzer in his arms, and before really even saying hello, he handed us each a treat and asked us to feed it to the puppy. I instantly cheered up; this was going to be a great visit!
It would take more space than I have to list all the things that they were doing just right for their new puppy, Callie – and that’s in addition to wisely managing greetings to prevent the puppy from alarm barking. Just a few of the most important ones: They had purchased Callie from a reputable breeder they had known for decades and had waited years after their last beloved Schnauzer had passed, so they were really ready for a whole new dog (not just mourning the last one). They had appropriately sized treats and a variety of toys stashed all over, so they could reward the puppy quickly for any good behavior they wanted to reinforce. They had an exercise pen with a comfy bed and a water bowl set up in the kitchen, so the pup could be safely contained while they were busy cooking and eating. They also had a soft crate with a super thick, warm bed set up in the living room, where Callie already put herself to bed when she was tired.
I could go on, but the point is this: It did my heart so much good to meet people who procured and were caring for their new dog in such an educated, intentional, loving way, that the weekend really did end up relaxing and recharging me, and gave me hope that there are people out there doing it all right. Thanks, John and Karen, for restoring my temporarily lost faith in dog owners.
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?”
