It usually happens when you’re grooming or bathing your dog: You notice a strange little lump you haven’t seen before. The first thing to pop in your mind is the C-word. It can’t be cancer, can it? Chances are it’s just a hemangioma, but don’t ignore it.
A cutaneous hemangioma is a benign neoplasm (growth) on the skin that looks a lot like a blood blister (angiokeratoma). That makes sense, because hemangiomas are vascular lesions, formed by endothelial cells, which are the cells that form blood vessels. The color can vary from red to black, and the lesion can ulcerate. A hemangioma can grow, making it prone to bruising, laceration, and infection.
The cause of hemangiomas is idiopathic (unknown). These growths usually don’t appear until at least middle age. Thin-skinned, light-colored breeds often experience hemangiomas. You’ll most likely find a hemangioma on the dog’s trunk or legs, especially hairless areas like the lower abdomen.
Having your veterinarian remove the hemangioma via surgical excision or cryosurgery is often the best option.
“Because these are very vascular, they may ulcerate and drain. In those cases, you need to keep the area clean and consult with your veterinarian on a topical antibiotic or wound cream,” advises Debra M. Eldredge, DVM, a veterinarian in Vernon, New York.
Skin Cancer Signs on Dogs
Any new lump or growth on your dog is a call for an immediate veterinary exam. While chances are greater that it’s benign, there’s still a strong risk that it is not. Because some cancers appear on the skin only after invading internal organs, time is of the essence. While the classic sign of skin cancer is a lesion that just won’t heal, other symptoms to watch for include bleeding, change in color, crusty look or layer, inflammation, itchiness, swelling, or a wart-like appearance.
Diagnosing Hemangiomas
It is debated in veterinary literature whether hemangiomas are more accurately categorized as a neoplasm or simply a vascular malformation. One thing is certain: Hemangiomas are not malignant. The problem, however, is that they closely resemble an aggressive cancer called hemangiosarcoma. By the time a hemangiosarcoma is seen in the skin, the cancer has usually spread to the dog’s organs.
A veterinarian will not be able to tell you if the growth is a hemangioma or a hemangiosarcoma just by examining it; a biopsy, or at least a cytology, is required. “To be completely sure which type of tumor you are dealing with, a biopsy is best. In most cases your veterinarian will do an ‘excisional biopsy,’ totally removing the growth,” says Dr. Eldredge.
In a cytology, cells from the neoplasm are removed with a needle, sent to the laboratory, and examined under a microscope by a pathologist. While a cytology is less invasive than a biopsy, the results aren’t as conclusive and can be misleading, so a biopsy is preferable for diagnosis.
Depending on the size, location, and depth of the lesion, the biopsy may be done with a local anesthetic and a sedative, or it may require the dog to be fully anesthetized. “A local is fine,” says Eileen Fatcheric, DVM, owner of Fairmount Animal Hospital in Syracuse, New York. “They just can’t be on a super sensitive or movable part of the body, like near the eyes. Some areas, like a toe, can be difficult with just a local.”
The lesion will be sent to pathology for an analysis. The biopsy results will confirm or rule out the presence of cancer.
Waiting for a lump to go away on its own can prove to be a costly mistake. The sooner a diagnosis can be made, the better, especially if you have to move forward with treatment.
Learn about other abnormal skin conditions on dogs here.
Cynthia Foley is a freelance writer and dog agility competitor in New York.
I would like to make a few comments regarding the article, “Training an Over-Aroused Dog,” in the March issue of WDJ. For starters, kudos to author Jill Breitner for her excellent work with Indy. Highly aroused dogs can be frustrating to live with and challenging to work with. The significant improvement in his behavior is clear evidence that she was doing all the right things.
That said, there are many very energetic dogs who can and do benefit from an increase in appropriate types of exercise, and I would encourage dog owners to not rule out exercise as a possible solution to their highly energetic dog. There are different ways to exercise, and sometimes it’s a matter of finding the right way to exercise your dog. For example:
1. If I use a fetch-game of some sort for an energetic dog, I also build in various impulse-control elements, such as having the dog sit or lie down in order to prompt me to throw the ball, and teaching a “Wait” after the ball is thrown until she gets the release cue. Eventually I may even teach the dog a “release/down/wait/release again” sequence.
2. For dogs who do get too aroused for fetch – or for those who won’t play fetch – an off-leash hike (or a hike on a long line) can be a less-arousing but still highly effective way to provide adequate exercise.
WDJ March 2018 issue
3. Finally, exercise doesn’t have to be highly physical. Scent work is surprisingly good exercise for dogs. Because they are so good with their noses, we tend to think scent work is easy for them, but it is, in fact, very tiring – which is why wild dogs, despite having excellent noses, will use vision to hunt as much as possible. Shaping and other mind games can also be very effective at tiring out a dog who is bouncing off the walls.
In my experience, many dogs deemed “hyperactive” can and do thrive on an increase in appropriate exercise. I have had numerous clients successfully help their high-energy dogs by doing so and have fostered a variety of shelter dogs labeled “hyperactive” who settled nicely after a few weeks here on the farm.
In fact, I don’t even use the term “hyperactive” with my clients’ dogs unless I am seeing the rare dog who truly appears clinically, pathologically, unable to control their level of activity. My concern is that it gives humans an excuse for having an out-of-control dog, as opposed to one who just needs more of an investment of their humans’ time and energy.
Author/trainer Jill Breitner responds:
Indy was labeled hyperactive by his owners, who increased and increased his exercise in an effort to tire him out and calm him down. In his case, it was the wrong thing to do, because the label was wrong to begin with.
Indy actually isn’t hyperactive or over-energetic. He was in a constant state of hyperarousal, and that’s why more exercise wasn’t what he needed, though it often is what other highly active dogs need. Physiologically, Indy was in a state of chronic stress. He needed less exercise and more rest, so that he could destress and find some peace and calm in body and mind.
I agree with Pat that exercise is crucial for dogs and that highly energetic dogs will usually benefit from increased exercise. However, the thing that many people get wrong is to increase exercise at the expense of mental stimulation and training. As Pat points out, appropriate exercise is key.
I still threw a flying disc for Indy and I still hiked with him, but I didn’t let him get “over threshold” – the point at which a dog goes from showing no anxiety to showing signs of anxiety: panting, agitation, inability to focus, inability to settle.
Pat’s suggestion of using scent work, shaping, and other “brain games” to help tire out highly energetic dogs is great. Scent work is particularly good for mentally and physically tiring out energetic dogs, as well as hyperaroused dogs like Indy. Indy loves scent work and is able to stay under threshold when engaged in this task.
There are many ways to add mental stimulation to a simple game of fetch. For example, we can ask the dog to jump onto a platform and lie down before we throw a disc for him. We can ask him to go through an agility tunnel before catching the ball. The important thing to recognize is when the dog is getting over threshold and stopping the game or reducing its intensity until the dog calms down. If you know the signs of hyperarousal, depicted in the infographic in the original article, then you will be more able to help your dog.
Every dog benefits from exercise, but it must be looked at as part of a program of meeting the dog’s mental, physical, and emotional needs.
I’ve never owned a dog who HAD to exercise at a fenced dog park, but I’ve fostered a number of them. I’ve been able to train all of my dogs to perform a solid recall, even when faced with tempting distractions (deer, rabbits, other hikers with dogs, etc.), and have always lived in places where I had access to off-leash trails. But when I’ve fostered wayward adolescent dogs, there have been times when I thought the dog would benefit greatly from a long period of exercising hard, but I needed the security of a fenced area, because we hadn’t yet had enough time together to build a solid recall. At those times, I’ve turned to a dog park – but only with extreme caution, because I think the hazards and risks of dog parks, in very many cases, outweigh the benefits.
The most extreme risk is also the most common at dog parks: that of other dogs hurting (either physically or by intimidation) or even killing your dog.
I’m writing this today because I just read this chilling, very abbreviated account of a completely avoidable dog park fatality. A woman was at the park with her small, middle-aged dog. This particular park doesn’t have a separate area for small dogs, so in my mind, that’s strike one. I would never take a small dog to a big park where there are big dogs running around! Even if they don’t get attacked or harassed by bigger dogs, small dogs can be seriously injured or killed if they accidentally collide with a big dog who is running fast.
Plus, a few-seconds-long video clip of the dog playfully rolling around on the grass was enough to show me that this was not a dog who *needed* to be exercised at an off-leash park! She looked like her exercise needs could easily have been met on a long line in any small open space. This little dog was attacked by two large dogs who were at the park with a dog walker who had been hired through a popular app – in other words, someone who didn’t necessarily know the dogs, and (probably) did not have the experience or education to know that the dogs were dangerous to other dogs.
I don’t ever go to a dog park blindly. I won’t take a dog with me the first time I go to ANY dog park; I want to see it first, walk its fence line, locate any potential hazards or things that might be dangerous or challenging for my dog. I’ll never forget the time I was at Point Isabel, a famous open-space off-leash area in Richmond, California (near Berkeley, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay), and there were a number of people trying to help a woman capture her dog, who was swimming in the bay, and kept swimming farther and farther from shore in pursuit of seagulls and other birds he saw. She was sobbing and kept crying out, “I didn’t know they could just get in the water! I thought there was a fence! I didn’t KNOW!” She apparently had never been to the shoreline park, but had taken her water-loving dog there and unclipped his leash anyway. Oops.
It also helps to know the best time to visit any given park. Perhaps it doesn’t matter so much if you have a big, super gregarious, playful dog, who loves all other dogs and doesn’t mind being bossed around by more assertive individuals, but if you have a dog whose social grace depends on NOT having other dogs in his face, you might want to figure out when very few other people and dogs are at that particular park. If there is literally no time when the park is empty, I would find a non-dog-park fenced space where no other dogs are present to exercise that dog off-leash. I just wouldn’t risk worsening that dog’s social skills by setting him up to fail!
In my opinion, very few of the dogs who are taken to dog parks need that sort of space; most of the dogs who are there really shouldn’t be there. Even if they are in no way aggressive, dogs who don’t enjoy other dogs shouldn’t be there, because they WILL be approached by other dogs; that’s a given. For example, my 10-year-old dog Otto can get along with any other dog – as long as they pretty much leave him alone. He doesn’t want to play with other dogs, he doesn’t want to go sniff them, and he certainly isn’t going to put up with any other dogs sniffing HIS butt. So there is no earthly reason to take him to a dog park, where he will undoubtedly be forced to suffer all sorts of fools approaching him and trying to smell him. In no time at all, he’d snap at some dog, and some younger, bigger dog may just take offense and – ugh, I can’t even think about it.
Puppies and young adolescent dogs certainly benefit from the opportunity to run, socialize, and play with other playful dogs. But taking an inexperienced adolescent to a dog park is something else I would never recommend. There are too many playground bullies at dog parks – dogs who get a little charge out of creaming “new kids” at the park. Think about it: You do your pup no favors to take him to a place where, in the middle of the most fun he can have, he’s going to get violently assaulted and/or pee-his-pants scared. It might work if there is a separate area where he can play with the small dogs – and poses no risk to the small dogs himself. Otherwise, I’d suggest sticking with organized puppy socials offered by your trainer or private play dates set up with other local puppy owners.
Same goes for timid dogs. I would never bring a socially fearful dog to any dog park. Period.
Private dog parks are a concept with a lot of promise. You’d pay for the safety and cleanliness of the park, and because all the park-goers would be pre-screened for friendliness. Park attendants would enforce the rules and educate users about appropriate and inappropriate dog behavior.
But public dog parks? I’d avoid them unless you HAD to use them, and then, only with extreme caution.
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Have you seen this video – the one where the guy was in a hospital for five weeks and is now home, and his dog doesn’t recognize him at first? The dog is released from somewhere off camera, and there are enough voices that you can tell that there are a number of people gathered, so it’s understandable when the dog comes running toward the group and is barking and a little alarmed. The man remains sitting, and talks to the dog a little, and the dog, spooked, approaches slowly and suspiciously, and carefully reaches his nose toward the man for a sniff – and the SECOND he smells the man, his face LIGHTS up and his body explodes with joy. “IT’S MY OWNER!” Everyone laughs as the dog goes crazy with happiness, rolling around in the man’s arms.
I can’t tell you how many times I have watched this video, because my two-year-old dog Woody has done the same thing to me and some of my friends – in fact, a number of times. I’ve even seen him put up his hackles and growl, approaching someone he knows well, looking spooked, and the MOMENT he sniffs them, he transforms instantaneously, seemingly overwhelmed with delight. “My FRIEND! OMG IT’S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!”
Do dogs have really poor vision? Is there such a thing as an eye chart or a vision test for dogs? What is up with this?
Last September, I had a little brush with mortality. I had a routine colonoscopy, which found a mass that the surgeon said had to come out as quickly as possible. It turned out to be benign, but the whole event (including waiting for weeks for results of CT scans and biopsies) was pretty scary.
One of the things I told myself while mentally reviewing my life and health was that I really ought to take more vacations. It’s something my husband and I rarely do – but to get things off on the right foot, from my hospital bed post-surgery, I booked a trip to Maui for the following February. I thought, “Well, the issue in which we publish the dry dog food review will be behind me, and I can take a little time off.”
That was before my husband and I decided to start looking for a new house, one on a couple of acres outside the town we live in. Thanksgiving week, a perfect property (for us) came on the market and after some lightning-speed negotiations and a relatively quick escrow, we found ourselves with two mortgages, the dry dog food review to do, a move, and a lot of work to do to prepare our house in town for sale. I ignored as much as possible about the impending move as I could while working on the dry dog food review, and the day it shipped to the printer in early January, I started moving us. Even though we were moving only about four miles, it took pretty much all of January to move, and the first few weeks of February to clean and paint our soon-to-be-former home.
My husband and I found ourselves lamenting the fact that we had a vacation in Maui coming up. Oy! In the last two days before our trip, I was sweeping and scraping moss off the roof, and walking around touching up the paint inside the house, and my husband was repairing the sprinkler system that we hadn’t used for a couple of years, and doing some intensive gardening.
And of course, the night before we got on the plane I felt my throat tightening and my nose starting to run. I’m writing this post from Maui, where I am absolutely miserable with a cold (and probably making the rest of the family miserable with all my coughing and sniffing).
Well, I had intended to write a blog post for this week BEFORE I left and I never was able to, so I will use this space to update you on the dog-related aspects of our move:
I mentioned here that my 10-year-old dog Otto initially was not enjoying our new house one bit. It has tile and hardwood floors – both of which he regards as too slippery for safety. For the first few weeks in the house, he would walk with the utmost delicacy, panting with concentration and stress, and every so often, just stall out and freeze, like he just got to the end of an ice floe and had no more good options. He’s long had issues with slippery floors – or, I should say, floors he regards as slippery (most of them aren’t all that slippery; it’s in his head!). In our old house, we had to keep carpet runners in the long, narrow hall, which had Pergo floors. I put the runners to good use, making paths through the house for Otto to enter, eat, drink, and get to the sofa.
I also bought some sticky foot spray (which he didn’t mind but it didn’t change how he walked at all) and some of those balloon-style booties, which he minded so much it made things worse. I was also giving him lots of treat and happy talk for all his bravest attempts in navigation. I was getting around to ordering some of Dr. Buzby’s Toe Grips, which we’ve featured in the magazine before, but thankfully, after about three weeks, he pretty much started walking like a normal dog in the areas where the carpet runners were. One by one, I removed the runners and voila! He’s managed to adjust, and can now walk around the house more or less normally – a little more carefully than Woody, but without the shaking and panting of the first week.
Otto was also traumatized in the early days by the security system in the house, which makes a beep every time a door or window is opened. No friend of electronic beeps, at first Otto panted every time he heard the beep. We haven’t yet tracked down the former owners to learn the security code that would allow us to discontinue the beeps, but again, fortunately, Otto adjusted. He realized that the beep signaled someone coming in or going out of doors, so now when the beep happens, he jumps up and runs to the door to see what’s up, and whether he can go outside.
Two-year-old Woody is the one who is THRILLED with the house. Every morning when I get up and let the dogs outside, he takes off at a swift gallop into the two-acre-field behind the house, running, it seems, for the sheer joy of running. Within the first minute, he will stop and pee, and then run over to a tree in the field that has a hollow trunk. He sniffs around its base, and stands on his hind legs to sniff the inside. There must be SOME animal living in there, or going in there on a regular basis.
He also has discovered gopher holes. We didn’t have gophers in town – like, NONE. But on this property, there are fresh mounds of dirt pushed up on the front lawn and in the back field daily. He is quick to spot the new ones, and will run over to give the mounds a couple of swift digs with his front paws, and SHOVE his nose down into the hole. He hasn’t seen a gopher yet, but I’m hopeful that he might be enlisted into some gopher control at some point.
Interestingly, Otto has zero interest in Woody’s excavations. He will take a casual sniff, and then step back, wagging his tail and looking like, “This kid is nuts!” He all but rolls his eyes when Woody starts digging.
Also interesting: The first year that I adopted Otto, he got skunked twice. The first was a direct hit that had Otto (and me!) gagging and coughing and pawing at his face. The next time he saw a skunk, he apparently approached it with more caution, because he received a light misting only of skunk spray. After that, I would sometimes hear him bark in the front (fenced) yard at night, and see a skunk family walking down the sidewalk – but he wouldn’t go anywhere NEAR the skunks. I was so proud! He was the only dog I’ve even known who seemed to learn his lesson about skunks!
Perhaps you noticed: “Was.”
About two weeks ago, I woke up one morning to a couple of puddles of vomit in the house. Both dogs seemed cheerful and wanted breakfast, and I was mystified as to who it was who might not have been feeling well. So, the next night, when Otto came (shakily) into my bedroom at about 3 am, whining to go outside, I thought, “Oh! It must have been Otto who isn’t feeling good!” I jumped up and scurried to let the dogs out. Woody did what he always does now, taking off into the back field for his usual fast lap. And Otto went, too, which is more unusual. After a minute, I whistled for the dogs. Woody came blasting up to me immediately, but Otto did not! I pride myself on Otto’s quick recall, and this was odd. I called into the black night: “Otto, HERE!” (our emergency recall cue).
The distinctive skunk odor arrived before Otto did, rubbing his face with his paws and sneezing. A direct hit, then – and no peroxide (a vital ingredient in the anti-skunk spray) was in the house. I was beside myself. What happened to my dog who knew better??
I didn’t want to let him into the house, nor the car, and my fences weren’t complete yet. So I locked him into a crate on the back deck, and drove to a 24-hour supermarket for several quarts of hydrogen peroxide. (The formula is a quart of 2% hydrogen peroxide to a quarter-cup of baking soda, with a squirt of dish soap stirred in to help the formula stick to the dog’s coat. You have to mix it fresh, in a bowl or bucket (because it fizzes, you can’t put it in a jar), and sponge or pour all over the dog, taking care not to get it into his eyes or nose (it stings). After he was covered with the formula and the odor knocked down, I took him into the shower for a bath, and then had to clean the bathroom given all the hair that flew around. It was about five am by the time I was done; I never did go back to bed.
So I’m being a lot more careful about letting the dogs out at night: no more fast laps of the back field, or disappearing into the dark. If you need to pee or even puke, I tell them, do it where I can see you!
Last update: My fences are going in while I’m sniffing and sneezing here in Hawaii. My sister, who is dog-sitting Otto while I’m gone, has been giving me daily reports about the progress. I will be so happy to allow Woody (especially) to stay outdoors for as long as he wants to dig up gophers or run laps around the field, without me having to watch him every moment, in case he follows a bird or squirrel onto the road. That might be the best part of this trip: Coming home to a (finally) secure private dog park, of sorts. That is, if I survive this cold! Wah!
Keep introducing your adolescent dog to kids,old people, and people who look different from you and your family.
Just about everyone knows to be prepared to deal with crazy/relentless puppy behavior, but way fewer dog owners, it seems, have been warned about the other challenging period in a dog’s life: adolescence! A quick Google search on the topic produces results peppered with words like “surviving,” “dealing with,” and “misbehavior.” These pages offer up a long list of things that can go wrong when dealing with teenage dogs, and suggest it will be more than difficult to get through. Goodness, it sounds horrible! It’s true that this period involves a ton of changes to your dog’s biological, physical, and psychological makeup. By extension, his behavior is affected. It’s also true that there are times when this transformation is accompanied by some challenging moments. But rest assured it’s not all doom and gloom! For every challenging feature of canine adolescence, there is an equally awesome element that makes this a very special time. The adolescent period typically begins around six months of age, and will be over when a dog reaches physical maturity around two to three years old. The most pronounced behavioral issues will be noticed between six to 12 months old. Keep in mind that although hormones have a lot to do with adolescent changes, they’re not the only thing responsible for some of the behaviors you may see (even neutered dogs will exhibit these behaviors). Your dog’s brain is growing and developing, and the apparent quirkiness of the process is all perfectly natural. As a trainer and a person who is currently in the adolescent trenches with my Border Terrier, Bennigan, I can testify that it’s not all bad. Here are some facts about canine adolescence that you may not be aware of, and some tips that, I hope, will help guide you through this challenging time with your “teenaged” dog.
1. Bonding with your teenage dog is important.
The foundation of your relationship with your dog is taking shape and getting stronger. If you’ve had your adolescent dog since puppyhood, time has been on your side. You’ve had several months to get to know each other and to build a bond. That’s a very good thing. It’s always much easier to forgive and to exercise patience with someone (or a dog) we care deeply about. So while puppyhood antics may have pushed your buttons and left you scrambling for a moment’s peace for several weeks in a row, adolescent shenanigans can be surprisingly easier to tolerate, thanks to that bond. You’ll still need to draw deeply from the patience pool during this time, but by now your dog will have improved in other departments: He’ll know some basic cues thanks to your training; he’ll be housetrained; and his needs won’t always require an immediate response on your part, like when he was a young pup.
A puppy’s molars erupt between 4 and 6 months of age. Once the molars are fully erupted, the adolescent dog’s obsession with chewing should begin to wane. Photo by Nancy Tucker
2. Teething is almost done!
Most of the really difficult teething phase occurs before adolescence, and while it doesn’t really wrap up until about seven to nine months old (on average), it’s not nearly as dramatic as the earlier stages. Some dogs remain power chewers throughout their adult life, however, and it’s important to evaluate and adjust the types of chew toys you’re giving your adolescent dog. What was suitable for a five-month-old puppy might no longer represent a safe option for your dog’s newer and more powerful jaw. For example, if it used to take him an hour to work his way through a bully stick several weeks ago, it might now only last him 10 minutes and he should be watched closely. Or he may now be able to chew off chunks of a chew stick that previously he could barely dent.
3. Adolescent dogs have different sleeping schedules.
Remember when your puppy used to spend more time asleep than awake? Yes, well. Those days are gone. Your teenage dog now seems to have access to an endless supply of energy! If you arm yourself with lots of short, fun training sessions and brain games, you’ll fare much better than if you rely solely on physical exercise to tire out your young dog. Besides, you’ll want to avoid any serious physical activity that involves sudden stops and turns, or jumps and bounces. Your dog’s skeletal structure isn’t quite done taking shape yet, and you’ll want to protect his joints until at least 12-18 months of age, depending on his size. (Speak to your vet for advice about this.) Back to sleeping: Your teen dog will very likely experience some disruptions in his nighttime sleeping pattern, which means you’ll also experience a few sleepless nights. He might snooze the entire evening away, and just when you’re ready to call it a night at 11 pm, he’s suddenly wide awake and ready to party! There’s little you can do to convince him to settle down. Don’t worry. These episodes will come and go, and all that’s needed is a little bit (okay, a lot) of patience and time.
4. Socializing your teenage dog is important!
Socialization needs to continue. You’ve done a wonderful job socializing your pup during the sensitive socialization period (before 12-16 weeks of age), but it shouldn’t stop now that your dog is a teenager. Even if you’ve just adopted an adolescent dog and his socialization history is unknown, it’s important to continue to carefully expose your dog to different places, people, other dogs, and different situations (like riding in the car) while associating these events with something positive. You might notice that your dog may quite suddenly appear wary or even fearful of things or situations that he previously had no issue with. This is normal. These moments will come and go several times during adolescence and may last anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks. He may give a scary fire hydrant a very wide berth during your walk, or he might decide that new people or dogs (or trees, or shadows) should be barked at. Don’t worry. Handle these moments with calm and patience, and understand that your dog isn’t always able to control his emotions during these phases. Don’t push or force him to “confront his fear,” and don’t scold him for what may look like rude behavior. Give him time to process whatever spooked him. If he wants to turn away and avoid the scary thing, that’s fine. If he barks at it, that’s fine, too. Often, just crouching next to him and talking with a gentle voice is enough to calm the barking.
Some people “lay low” when they notice their dog is experiencing a fearful phase, opting to avoid situations that cause their dog stress, like busy streets or large crowds (such as a fair or a dog sporting event). When their dog shows signs he’s feeling more confident, activities resume as normal.
5. Teenage dogs become more interested in going for walks.
Many young puppies balk at wandering too far away from the safety of home. They’ll take a few steps on-leash and then will suddenly slam on the brakes and stand still like a statue. Nature designs them this way, for good reason. Adolescence serves to create just the opposite: A biological urge to wander further from the nest and to explore new places. You’ll notice your adolescent dog also has more stamina to keep up with you during daily walks, and that he enjoys investigating the various scents. Adventures with your dog now become a lot more fun. Resist the urge to let him off-leash, unless you’re in a safely fenced area. Remember that he’s genetically predisposed to explore! His recall isn’t nearly as reliable as it was when he was a puppy (very normal), so don’t count on how good he was just a few weeks ago. Use a long leash if you want to give him more freedom. Keep practicing calling him back to you and reward him with a very yummy treat every time he comes. You’ll want to maintain this high rate of reinforcement until he’s an adult. Speaking of unreliable cues…
6. Your dog’s training might seem to come and go.
Remember how proud you were of your puppy’s training results? How quickly he learned to sit, to lie down, to come, to leave it, to drop it, etc.? Where did all of those skills go? If it seems as though your dog has forgotten all of his training, don’t worry – he hasn’t. The information is still there, floating around in that rapidly developing brain of his. He’s just having a bit of trouble accessing all that knowledge right now. This too will return to normal when he’s done with the teenage phase. Keep teaching, keep rewarding, and keep breathing. All of your efforts will pay off later. Nancy Tucker, CPDT-KA, is a full-time trainer, behavior consultant, and seminar presenter in Quebec, Canada. Her Border Terrier, Bennigan, is smack dab in the middle of adolescence.
Studies show owning a dog can decrease stress, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, combat feelings of loneliness, and encourage people to get more exercise. But when you’re the estimated one in 10 allergy sufferers who react to dog-related allergens, life with dogs is a mix of spectacular and sneezes.
Those of us who struggle with allergies of any type can thank our immune system for its tendency to over-react to certain perfectly harmless things in the environment. In the case of an allergic reaction to dogs, the body is reacting to harmless proteins in the dog’s urine, saliva, or dander.
Because the allergic reaction is triggered by the protein, the truly “non-allergenic” dog is a mythical creature. Breeds known for less shedding, either due to lack of an undercoat, such as Poodles, or with an overall coat texture that is less likely to freely release dead hair into the environment, such as the Bichon Frise, are often easier for people with dog allergies to tolerate. Such dogs might be referred to as “hypoallergenic,” meaning they have less allergens than the average dog.
Certain breeds are less likely to trigger symptoms in allergy-prone individuals, but people who are especially sensitive may still experience a reaction when interacting with low-shedding breeds because the reaction is caused by the protein, not the coat itself.
Dog Allergy Management Techniques
What’s a dog-loving allergy sufferer to do? We reached out to readers who choose to share their lives with dogs despite having allergies to them, and asked how they manage their allergy symptoms. Here’s what we learned:
1. Avoid carpet in favor of hard floors.
Carpet fibers can easily trap microscopic dander, especially in high-pile carpeting. If you do have carpeting, vacuum often using a machine with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. With extreme allergies, wear a mask when vacuuming, as the cleaning process can stir up allergens that have settled in the fibers. Frequent steam cleaning is also recommended.
Anti-allergen carpet sprays and shampoos can help neutralize allergens in the environment. On hard floors, invest in a good steam cleaner and consider getting a robot vacuum to run throughout the day (or at night, whenever you are less likely to be nearby) to help keep allergens to a more manageable level.
2. Ditch the dry dusting.
For an allergy sufferer, feather dusters are the devil’s plaything! Dry dusting simply relocates dust and other allergens throughout the environment. Instead, dust with a damp cloth. Keep surface areas as uncluttered as possible (fewer nooks and crannies where allergens can settle), and if it’s really bad, don’t forget to occasionally wipe down walls. Allergens are sticky!
3. Cover the furniture.
Thankfully slipcovers have come a long way from the early plastic variety of the 1950s. Whether it’s a fitted slipcover or a spare bedsheet, covering upholstered furniture and frequently washing the covers can be a life saver for allergy sufferers, as it’s much harder to extract allergens from the upholstery itself.
4. Protect your sleeping area.
If your allergies are really severe, designate your bedroom as a “no pets” zone, even keeping the door closed to limit the amount of airborne allergens that waft their way into your sleeping area. Wash main bedding often, and consider investing in anti-allergen bedding, especially for the difficult-to-clean pieces like the mattress and box springs, and the pillows, since they’re closest to your face.
5. Invest in a quality air cleaner.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recommends running an air purifier at least four hour per day to help minimize allergy symptoms. Adding a HEPA filter to central air and heating units can also help remove allergens from the air.
6. Feed your dog high-quality food.
Feed the best diet for your dog. Diet affects a dog’s skin and coat. A poor diet can lead to dry, itchy skin.The more the dog scratches as a result, the more allergens that are released into the environment.
7. Bathe your dog as needed and brush often.
Allergists agree keeping a dog clean will help temporarily reduce the allergen load, both in terms of pet dander and other environmental allergens that might collect on the coat, but overall, the benefit is short-lived. Plus, bathing too frequently can cause dry skin, which leads to more scratching. We recommend bathing sparingly. Some readers reported success with the Nature’s Miracle Allergen Blocker line, a collection of sprays and pet wipes designed to neutralize allergens on contact. A quick look on Amazon shows numerous positive reviews for the products.
Daily brushing, done outdoors whenever possible, can also help reduce allergens by removing pet hair before it has a chance to drop in the environment.
8. Keep yourself clean.
Changing clothes after prolonged interaction with a dog, washing your hands often, and even swabbing exposed skin with witch hazel after contact can help lessen an allergic reaction.
Consider limiting your “pack” to one dog, or very small dogs. The less total canine surface area that there is in the house, the fewer allergens will be present. Someone would have to have life-threatening allergies before we’d recommend not having dogs at all. But having one short-haired dog, or one whose coat is hypoallergenic, may be tolerable to people who can’t handle living with two or more dogs.
9. Medicate as needed!
Fortunately, people who suffer from allergies have numerous over-the-counter medications to choose from, along with the option of exploring prescription medication and immunotherapy. Many readers reported a need to experiment a bit when it comes to finding the right medication regimen to best keep symptoms at bay, so if one brand of allergy medication isn’t working, consider trying something else. For some people, a more natural approach, including herbal remedies and/or accupuncture, is beneficial.
Nobody likes to turn into a wheezing, watery-eyed mess when in the company of their best friend. Fortunately, for many people, a few lifestyle changes, a penchant for cleanliness, and some natural or pharmaceutical support (as needed) means we can still enjoy life with our four-legged friends. And that’s nothing to sneeze at!
Stephanie Colman is a writer and dog trainer in Southern California.
It seems that every year when we compile our “Approved Dry Dog Foods” list in the February issue we accidentally leave a company that we admire off the list. Well, this year we somehow left off two: Annamaet and Zignature. We regret the omission.
We have included information about both companies’ offerings below. We have inserted this into the online version of the approved foods list so you can see where these companies’ foods fit into the complete list, which was presented this year in descending order by the average price per pound of the companies’ foods.
Judging by the mail we have received so far, ordering the list this way (as opposed to our usual alphabetical method), was unpopular with our readers. Many were frustrated by how long it took them to find their favorites.
We thought readers might find it interesting to know which foods are the most expensive products on the market and which are the least expensive foods that are on our approved foods list. We also thought that readers might be interested to learn which products are in the same price “ballpark” as the foods they feed their dogs. Okay; though we might include the average price per pound in our food coverage again in the future, we’ll return to an alphabetical list next year.
Interestingly, a number of people have commented that it would be more helpful to them if we would rank the foods – to list them in order of “quality.” The thing is, this year’s list, with the foods ordered by average price per pound, probably comes closer to doing that than any list we’ve created in the past 20 years. As we often say, you can’t buy filet mignon at hamburger prices; the use of top-quality ingredients (especially from certified organic, humane, and/or sustainable sources) necessarily results in higher-priced foods.
What some people seem to want us to do is something we can’t do: tell them which foods are “best” for their dog. Only your dog can “tell you” that, by his response to the foods you feed him. All of the products on our list are great foods. Choose some that are in your price range, see how your dog responds, and switch to another if he doesn’t thrive.
– Nancy Kerns, Editor
Whole Dog Journal
Challenges of Puppyhood
I just wanted to thank you with all my heart for “The Puppy Raising Challenge,” from the November 2017 issue.
I had a frustrating, exhausting, miserable day yesterday and today with my 12-week-old mini goldendoodle and was about to tear my hair out after he almost choked on his eleventh acorn today. I was feeling very much alone and that I had made a terrible decision to get this puppy at my age (68). The house is a mess, laundry is piling up, nothing is getting done, and I didn’t even get the “puppy socialization list” even nearly done and he is 12 weeks today, so I missed my chance for the perfect puppy. Guilt, guilt, guilt!
I happened to see the November WDJ sitting under the huge pile of unopened mail and Christmas catalogs and somehow saw the puppy article highlighted on the front page. I stuck my little guy in his crate and collapsed in a chair and read it.
A rainbow suddenly appeared in my kitchen. I felt SO much better – like I wasn’t a total failure and somebody actually understood what I was going through. And maybe I can do this after all! And it is okay that Lorenzo hasn’t met farm animals yet!
Thank you so much for that article. It really gave me the boost I needed to plow ahead and made me feel like I am not the worst puppy mama in the world. You really made a difference to someone who needed you today.
Many people are surprised when they learn that there is NO single, correct way to vaccinate a puppy. (If you didn’t know that: seriously, there isn’t.)
For humans in the United States, there is a more-or-less universally accepted vaccination “schedule.” Published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s adopted and used by most pediatricians, unless the baby/child has a health condition that requires some modification of the vaccine protocol or the parents ask for modifications.
For dogs (and cats), it’s less universal. True, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has some vaccination guidelines that it promotes, based on the work and recommendations of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). The AAHA vaccination guidelines are the closest thing there is to a universally accepted canine vaccination protocol.
One reason for some of the variation in protocols is something that veterinarians might have in common with pediatricians – something I call the “old doctor” syndrome – the doctor who hasn’t changed his or her vaccination protocol since he or she graduated medical school and doesn’t see any reason to change it. This person might not be aware that AAHA has refined and reduced the number of “core” vaccines (distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and a bit later, rabies) that puppies should receive, and is very specific about the conditions under which pups should receive non-core vaccines such as bordetella, leptospira, Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme), and canine influenza (H3N8).
Younger veterinarians will surely be more aware that in recent years, many studies have indicated that puppies can be fully immunized with fewer vaccinations.
But another reason for some of the variability in puppy vaccinating protocols doesn’t generally arise when vaccinating human babies. It has to do with walk-in vaccination clinics and the availability of “do it yourself” vaccines sold in some pet supply stores. I’ve been present at clinics being held in pet supply stores where owners were being pressured to buy more vaccines than their puppies needed, and it made my stomach turn. People would ask, “Does my puppy really need this?” and the clinic technician would say something like,” Well, leptospirosis is a really bad disease…” without asking any sort of lifestyle questions, such as where the person and its owner live or what sort of areas they frequent on walks. Many small-breed dogs who live in apartments, as just one example, might never be in an environment where lepto is most commonly transmitted.
Another time, I was with my sister when she brought one of her small dogs to a vet clinic for a lameness exam. The veterinary technician who first came into the room asked my sister about the dog’s medical history, including vaccinations. She then proceeded to attempt to pressure my sister into giving the dog a number of core vaccinations that day, saying they were “due” (because the five year old dog had not been vaccinated in the past three years) and making a sales pitch for the rattlesnake venom “vaccine.” When my sister asked, “Is that really necessary?” the technician said, “Well, does the dog go into your yard?” In that case, I intervened and said firmly, “No vaccines today, thanks! We are just here for the lameness exam!”
Also, I don’t think ANY of the owners were told that they could ask for a vaccine titer test a couple of weeks after the last recommended “puppy shot.” Vaccine titer tests can confirm that the pups’ vaccinations had done what they were supposed to: cause the puppies’ immune system to develop its own antibodies to the diseases for which they were vaccinated, conferring as much protection from disease is possible to gain (without actually getting sick from and surviving the disease – a tactic which leaves the dog with higher levels of antibodies than those typically triggered by vaccination, but, of course, also risks the dog’s life!).
Vaccines shouldn’t be a matter of sales; in our opinion, owners should be fully educated about what is truly needed to protect their pets, and no more!
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 20 years, you’ve probably heard of clicker training. Chances are good you’ve seen it, and maybe even done it yourself. But on the off chance you haven’t, or in case you have but still aren’t sure what it’s really about, read on.
In 1984, dolphin trainer Karen Pryor published a small book titled Don’t Shoot the Dog. A small book – but it was destined to accomplish big things. Although intended to address human interactions – to teach people how to use positive reinforcement to change the behavior of other humans – the book was seized upon by the dog-training world (no doubt due to the title) and soon a seismic shift was under way for the Rin Tin Tins and Lassies of the world.
In the book, Pryor described how a clicker or other conditioned reinforcer could be used to accelerate learning. Dog trainers (in particular) found the methods Pryor described to be easy, fun, and successful; over time, the phrase “clicker training” became a popular slang term for positive reinforcement training that uses a “reward marker” of some sort, and the clicker became the method’s emblem.
Clickers Work Because They Provide A Consistent Signal
A reward marker is a reproducible signal that indicates to the training subject that she has just earned a reward of some sort. The reward marker doesn’t have to be a clicker; it can be any consistent sound, word, or even a gesture that always means a reward is coming.
The reward marker also serves another purpose: It bridges the time gap between the subject’s behavior and the delivery of the reinforcing reward. It might take only a second or two to deliver a treat to your dog’s lips when he sits in front of you and you have clicked a clicker, but if you are teaching him to turn on a light switch that is across the room, the click of the clicker (or other reward marker) lets him know that flipping the light switch was the behavior that has earned him a reward, which he will enjoy as soon as you go to him or he returns to you!
The secret to the clicker (or any other marker) is this: When beginning training, the marker is paired with a high-value reinforcer (most frequently a food treat) until the dog has made a classically conditioned association between the sound and the treat.
If you use a clicker as your marker, you would create this association initially by clicking the clicker and then immediately feeding the dog a treat. You repeat this a number of times – click, treat; click, treat; click, treat – until your dog’s eyes light up when she hears the click and she looks for the treat. We sometimes refer to this process as “charging” the clicker; we’ve given the click significance, and the dog understands that the click means a reward is coming.
Your Dog Training Reward Markers Doesn’t Need to “Click”
A clicker is a small device that makes a consistent, discrete clicking sound. Some make a very sharp sound; some make a softer (though still consistent) clicking sound, like the sound of a ballpoint pen being retracted or extended with the press of a button. But markers don’t have to be a click; any distinctive, consistent sound, gesture, or event can work.
I sometimes use the verbal marker “Yes!” with dogs, in a distinct, consistent, bright tone of voice (so it doesn’t get confused with a “yes” spoken in casual conversation). I have also perfected a loud “mouth click” by suctioning my tongue to the roof of my mouth and pulling it off with a resounding “pop” – very useful when working with horses and I want both of my hands free to handle a 1,000-pound animal and related equipment. (Yes, you can clicker train horses, cats, pigs, chickens, fish – just about any animal with a central nervous system.) In fact, dogs who are sound-sensitive may do better with a verbal marker than a plastic clicker.
But the marker doesn’t have to be a sound! People who train deaf dogs often use a thumbs-up gesture or a momentary flash of a small flashlight to mark the desired behavior displayed by their canine students. Any signal that is consistent and easily noticed can work as a reward marker.
Charging a Clicker for Dog Training
Once you have charged your clicker, you are ready to begin training with it. Now you cue, prompt, lure, or just wait for the dog to perform a certain behavior. The instant that the behavior happens, you click and immediately feed her a treat. After you do this several times, you will see that your dog will quickly come to understand that whatever she was doing when she heard the click is what made the click happen and the food appear. She will also quickly realize that chances are good that if she displays that behavior again, she’ll get clicked and treated again.
By the way – you do not have to click to reinforce every behavior. Remember that the purpose of the click is to bridge the gap in time between the behavior and the treat, so the dog knows what behavior is being reinforced. Technically, if you are close enough to the dog to deliver the treat immediately after she does the behavior, you don’t have to click first. But most “clicker trainers” will testify that the use of a discrete signal seems to help most animals quickly discern and deliver the desired behavior.
The whole premise behind positive reinforcement-based training is that behaviors that are reinforced repeat or increase, and behaviors that are not reinforced extinguish. So, if we are good at reinforcing the behaviors we do want, and preventing reinforcement for behaviors we don’t want (management!), we end up with a dog who chooses to do behaviors that we like.
The last step in this type of training is to add cues. A cue invites the dog to do the desired behavior, the marker tells her when she’s done it, the reward reinforces it, and voila! Your training is well under way. If you do this process well, punishment, pain, and coercion are totally unnecessary for a successful training program.
Use the Clicker for Training, Not Forever
Does this mean you will always need to click and treat your dog for doing any desirable behavior for the rest of her life? Not at all. You do need to provide prompt reinforcement if you use a reward marker; your marker is a promise that a reinforcer is coming. In fact, there are studies now that suggest using a marker without a reward (a click, but no treat) can cause your dog’s response to deteriorate pretty quickly.
But you can put behaviors on a variable schedule of reinforcement (gradually!), so your dog comes to know that eventually a marker and reward will happen. “Lassie, sit! Good girl! … Lassie, sit! Good girl! … Lassie, sit!” Click, treat. Like a gambler at a slot machine, if you vary the reinforcement schedule, your dog will keep playing the training game, waiting for it to pay off. But note this: If you get too stingy or reduce reinforcement too quickly, your dog may well quit playing, just as you might if you were sitting at a slot machine that only rarely gave you a small reward.
There are now clicker trainers in practically every community in the United States. If you’re looking to give it a try and want some help, seek one out. There are also many books and websites that can guide you in your clicker training journey. Ready, set…click!
Clicker Training Resources
Here are some resources to get you started on your clicker journey:
Books
The Power of Positive Dog Training, by Pat Miller
Clicker Training for Dogs, by Karen Pryor
The Thinking Dog: Crossover to Clicker Training, by Gail Fisher
Look for trainer referrals at the Pet Professional Guild. They may not all be clicker trainers but they are all committed to force-free training, so most of them will be.
Clickers
Most pet-supply stores now carry clickers, as do your friendly neighborhood clicker trainers. You can find them easily online as well. In general, the box clickers are louder; the button clickers make a softer sound.
It’s hard to say which is worse: running your hand over your dog and brushing against an attached tick, or seeing a tick skitter across your dog’s face. Either way, the unwelcome arachnid must go. What should you do?
1. Remove the tick.
If it is walking on your dog, you can grab it with your fingers or use something like a paper towel if you don’t want to touch it. If it is attached, you will need to pull it off, making sure that you get the head out of your dog’s skin.
There are a variety of tick removers on the market that work well (our favorite is the Pro-Tick Remedy, pictured here). Keep your tick remover somewhere you can easily find it when needed, and read the directions on the package for best results.
If you do not have a tick-remover tool, tweezers will do the trick. Grip the tick’s head as close to your dog’s skin as possible and slowly pull it out using steady pressure. Don’t tear quickly, or you could leave the tick’s head behind, which still leaves your dog at risk for contracting a tick-borne disease.
I always flush any ticks that I find to be sure that they are out of my house and space. You can also drown them or put them in the trash in a sealed container (just in case they aren’t actually dead). Burning them with a lighter can be satisfying; just do not try to burn the tick while it is still on your dog!
You can also save the tick in a sealed container to show to your veterinarian for identification purposes or to submit for Lyme-disease testing.
2. Clean the bite area.
Plain old soap and water will work fine, or you can use an alcohol wipe. Cleaning the wound, no matter how small, reduces the risk of secondary bacterial infection.
3. Check for more ticks.
Where there is one tick, there could easily be more. Go over your dog’s entire body checking for any more eight-legged stowaways, including in his armpits, around his face, and in his ears. A fine-tooth comb can be very useful for getting through a longhaired dog’s coat and will catch larger ticks. Also check yourself and any other pets that were in the area where your dog most likely got the tick.
4. Review your preventatives.
Is your dog on a regular flea and tick preventative? If not, this would be a good time to start. There are a wide variety of options, including topicals, collars, and oral medications. The fleas and ticks in some areas are becoming resistant to some preventives, so even if you have been using a preventative regularly, it may be necessary to switch if you are seeing a significant increase in ticks on your dog.
Consult with your veterinarian before choosing a product to make sure that it will fit your situation. No matter which product you choose, be aware that the vast majority do not actually repel ticks and may require the tick to bite to kill it. Ticks have to be attached for a period of time before tick-borne diseases are transmitted, so killing the tick quickly reduces your dog’s risk.
5. Schedule blood work to check for tick-borne diseases.
It takes several weeks for most tick-borne diseases to be detectable on blood tests, so there is no need to rush to the vet unless your dog starts to show clinical signs of illness. The most common tick-borne diseases that affect dogs can all cause fevers, lethargy, and lameness.
If you live in an area with lots of ticks, screening for tick-borne diseases is a good thing to do as part of your dog’s annual appointment to catch any developing issues before they become a major problem. If your dog does become ill or is acting off, mention to your veterinarian that he was bitten by a tick.
Kate Eldredge is a licensed veterinary technician from Plattsburgh, New York. She also trains, shows, and breeds Belgian Tervuren and is working on her canine-rehabilitation certification.
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?”
