Recently, on the drive home from our annual vacation in Maine, our 11-year-old Brittany, Vinny, suddenly and inexplicably awoke from a sound sleep, and began to tremble, pant, pace, and obsessively lick at the sides of his travel crate. When I crawled back over the seat to find out what was wrong, I observed that Vinny’s eyes were “squinty,” and he avoided looking at me as he continued to lick and pant.
It’s important for dog owners to recognize and respond to signs of stress and fear in our dogs. If we are sensitive to their emotional states and are accurate in our interpretations, we can respond appropriately to situations in which a dog is uncomfortable, stressed, or frightened. Because nonspecific stress-related behaviors can be the first signs of illness or injury, attending to these promptly may help us deliver medical attention to our dogs before conditions worsen or escalate into an emergency.
It is well known that perceiving and understanding the emotions of others is a basic human social skill – and that studies have shown that these abilities vary tremendously among individuals. It follows that those of us who share our lives with dogs display a similar variability in skills when recognizing and interpreting the emotions of our canine friends.
However, until recently, the accuracy of our perceptions of dogs’ emotional states had not been studied. Two research studies examined the cues that we use and our levels of accuracy when we perceive fear and stress in our canine companions.
Signs of Fear in Dogs
The first of these studies was conducted by researchers in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University in New York1. The study team produced a series of video clips of dogs and embedded them in an on-line survey. Participants viewed the videos and then were asked to classify each dog’s emotional state using one of five possible descriptors (angry, fearful, happy, sad, or neutral). The first four of these are called “primary emotions” and were selected because research has supported the existence of these emotions in dogs and other animals.
Although the study participants had five choices, the videos in the study showed dogs demonstrating one of only two expressions: either happiness or fear. All of the videos had been pre-categorized into the two emotion categories by a panel of dog behavior experts prior to the start of the study.
After identifying each dog’s emotion, participants were asked to describe the specific features of the dog that led them to their conclusion. For example, if a person classified a dog as showing happiness, she might say that the dog’s facial expression, ear set, and wagging tail were important features that conveyed this state to her. Last, the participants were asked to rate the level of difficulty that they experienced while attempting to interpret the emotions of each dog and to provide an estimate of overall confidence in their accuracy.
More than 2,000 people completed the survey and were divided into four categories based upon their dog ownership and professional histories: non-owners, dog owners, dog professionals with fewer than 10 years of experience, and professionals with more than 10 years of experience.
The vast majority of people who completed the survey – more than 90 percent – correctly identified happy dogs in the video clips, regardless of the person’s level of dog experience. This means that most people, even those who have never owned a dog, could look at a happy dog and see a happy dog! This is good news.
However, when it came to recognizing fear in dogs, the news was not quite so positive. While more than 70 percent of dog professionals correctly identified the fearful dogs, this proportion dropped to 60 percent of dog owners, and to only 35 percent of non-owners. Put another way, 40 percent of dog owners and 65 percent of non-owners were unable to correctly identify signs of fear and stress in an unfamiliar dog.
Moreover, a substantial number of the non-owners (17 percent, or about one in six people) misclassified a fearful dog as a happy dog!
This latter statistic is especially troubling, given the potential for a dangerous outcome of such mistakes. A person who approaches a fearful dog with the perception that the dog is friendly will, at the very least, increase the dog’s fear and distress, and could potentially cause a defensive response in the dog, leading to a snap or bite.
The features of the dogs that participants used to make their decisions also varied with experience level. A person’s tendency to focus on a dog’s facial features (eyes, mouth, ears) increased significantly along with experience. Inexperienced participants used primarily the dog’s tail and body posture to inform them about the dog’s emotional state. Conversely, more experienced people identified both facial expressions and body postures as important features when assessing a dog.
Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the results of this study are consistent with studies of human abilities to perceive and interpret the expression of emotions in other people. We are generally more sensitive to and more accurate at interpreting happy facial expressions in other humans than we are when experiencing fearful expressions. Moreover, while social experience seems to have little effect upon our responses to happy faces (we show a proficiency to do this at a very young age), having varied and extensive social experience is an important factor in determining our success at perceiving fear and stress in other humans.
This study tells us that dog-related training and experience enhance our tendency to pay attention to dogs’ facial expressions and body postures, and enhances our ability to correctly perceive fear.
Stress and Your Dog
While the first study provided a general test of how people perceive fear in unfamiliar dogs, the second examined the ability of dog owners to recognize signs of stress in their own dogs2. This Italian study was conducted by researchers at the University of Pisa, with a group of almost 1,200 dog owners recruited through veterinary clinics.
Participants first completed a questionnaire in which they were asked about stress in dogs and its potential health and behavioral consequences. They then identified what they believed to be signs of stress in dogs and estimated the level of stress in their own dog.
More than half of the owners (60 percent) were found to have a clear understanding of what stress is and how it can affect a dog’s emotional state and health. However, about 20 percent of owners (one in five) believed that experiencing stress had no negative physical or emotional consequences on dogs. (In other words, while they agreed that it occurred, they thought it was no big deal.)
The behaviors that owners most frequently identified as reflecting stress in their dogs included trembling, whining/crying, excessive barking, and panting. In contrast, very few owners identified more subtle behaviors, such as avoiding eye contact, turning away, nose licking, or yawning as signs of canine stress.
Those owners who self-reported as being highly concerned with their dog’s stress level were more likely to identify these less obvious signs as important. Overall though, owners tended to miss many of the facial expressions (squinty eyes, avoiding eye contact, changes to ear set, retracted commissures) that most trainers look for when assessing a dog’s stress level.
Like the first study, this suggests that it is these more subtle facial cues of stress and fear that may be missed if a person is only paying attention to the more obvious body posture signs.
Take-Away Points for Dog Folks
These studies provide complementary information about the behavior cues that people pay attention to when attempting to decipher a dog’s emotional state. The first showed that even inexperienced people were able to correctly identify a dog who was feeling happy. However, perceptions of fear were strongly correlated to how much prior experience a person has had with dogs. As experience level increased, people were not only more likely to be correct, but also more likely to pay attention to a dog’s facial expressions, compared with people who did not spend much time with dogs. We also learned that dog owners are more likely to focus attention on their dog’s body posture, vocalizations, and movements than on the more subtle signs of stress that involve a dog’s facial expressions and eyes.
Accurately recognizing fear and stress in dogs is an important skill set to possess. Understanding our own dog’s emotional state allows us to respond by helping him out of situations that cause fear and reducing or eliminating triggers of stress when they are under our control.
For trainers and behaviorists, working with owners who are sensitive to their dog’s stress response promotes the development of a more effective training and management plan. On a societal level we all benefit from a universal understanding of the behaviors, body postures, and facial expressions that convey happiness versus fear or stress in dogs. Correctly interpreting a dog’s behavior is always enhanced by attending to both body posture and facial expressions.
However, interpretation of dogs’ facial expressions may not come naturally to many people. This knowledge emphasizes the importance of teaching the subtleties of canine facial expressions in training classes, behavior-education courses, and bite-prevention programs.
Moreover, the statistic suggesting that one in five owners do not consider the effects of stress in their dogs to be of negative consequence tells us that education is also needed regarding the health and welfare impacts of stress and fear on our dogs’ well-being and quality of life.
Quick Response to Stress Signals
My husband and I are still uncertain about what caused Vinny’s acute stress response during our vacation. As quickly as possible, Mike pulled over to a rest area and we got Vinny out of the car. As soon as he was on the ground and moving about, Vinny relaxed, looked at us calmly, gave each of us a nice Brittany hug, and off we went for a little walk. Perplexed, we thought that maybe he had to eliminate (nope, no urgency there), was feeling carsick (no signs), or had had a bad dream (who knows?). Within less than a minute, our boy was his typical happy self, showing no signs at all of distress. We loaded all of the dogs back into the car and Vinny continued the journey home with no further incident.
Weeks later, Vinny has not had a recurrence and seems¡ healthy and happy, but we continue to monitor him carefully. As Vinny has aged he has become somewhat more sensitive to sounds, which is not unusual in senior dogs. However, even though we responded quickly at the time and he apparently recovered, we did not learn enough from the episode to determine a possible underlying cause. Perhaps we’ll never know. Regardless, I do know that paying attention to all of Vinny’s signs – body language, facial expressions, and eyes – will help us to understand, care for, and love him as best we can.
Linda P. Case, MS, is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting and Dog Training Center in Mahomet, Illinois, where she lives with her four dogs and husband Mike. She is the author of a new book, Dog Food Logic, and many other books and numerous publications on nutrition for dogs and cats. Her blog can be read at thesciencedog.wordpress.com.
Few dogs behave in ways that please us all day every day – especially puppies, adolescent dogs, or newly adopted adult dogs who have little experience living closely with humans. “Training” is what we usually call our formal efforts to teach dogs how to behave in ways that please us more – and most frequently, dog owners use that term to describe what is needed to prevent their dogs from causing chaos in or destruction to their homes, or upsetting or harming other members of the household (whether human, canine, feline, or anything else). But when discussing behaviors that we’d like to prevent our dogs from practicing, many trainers would likely say that what’s needed in many of those vexing situations is better canine management, not training!
What’s the difference? “Management” generally means using simple tools – such as leashes, fences, doors, and gates – to prevent the dog from practicing behaviors we don’t want him to do (such as wandering away from home, chasing your cat through the house, chewing your sofa cushions, helping himself to food from the kitchen garbage or on the counter, or jumping on visitors).
In contrast, “training” usually refers to situations where we are teaching the dog what to do.
Both management and training are highly effective in modifying our dogs’ behavior so that they can share our lives and homes more peacefully and pleasingly – but it’s helpful to be aware of the difference between the approaches, and use each to its best advantage, in order to most effectively and efficiently (and humanely) get our dogs to behave the way we’d like them to.
I’m a trainer, and believe me, I love training, and am fascinated by any pain- and fear-free method that can be used to teach dogs to perform behaviors that are helpful or just plain enjoyable to us. But there are many instances when training is not the most efficient or effective way to change a dog’s behavior!
“Counter-surfing” is a perfect example. When a dog has learned to help himself to food that’s on the kitchen counter, some people will set up elaborate traps that are meant to scare the dog and teach him not to jump on the counters any more, or spend time teaching him “off” or “leave it.”
However, dogs who are highly motivated by food may find the prospect of finding food so rewarding that they gladly run the risk of whatever traps their owners devise (or learn to identify the traps and detect any time the traps haven’t been “set”). And expecting a dog to perform a behavior in the many hours you are absent is unrealistic; why would you expect him to “leave it” for hours when you would never expect him to, say, hold a “down/stay” for the same period of time?
In this case, managing the dog’s behavior – by preventing him from being able to do it at all, by, say, using a baby gate to keep him out of the kitchen altogether – is a far simpler solution than training.
In contrast, there are also instances when we can use a tool to manage the dog’s unwanted behavior, but it would be even more helpful if he learned to do something that we like better. That’s when training is indicated.
Complementary Dog Training Techniques
Here’s an example: If you have a dog who is prone to chasing your cat in the house, you can manage his behavior by keeping him on a tether at all times, or using gates that your cat can jump over, go through, or run under to evade your dog’s pursuit. This is a good, first-line-of-defense strategy that will protect your cat, especially when you are not present. But teaching your dog to look at you or come to you when he sees the cat will be a better long-term solution, one that may eventually result in the animals’ peaceful co-existence.
I have lived this example for the past 10 years, ever since my husband and I adopted a young Cardigan Welsh Corgi from a shelter. Lucy spent six months’ worth of evenings on a leash next to me on the sofa so I could prevent her from leaping after Barney, our black-and-white tuxedo cat, when he bounced into the living room. That was management.
But while I managed Lucy’s cat-chasing behavior, I also worked to convince her that cats appearing in the living room makes treats appear for her to enjoy. That was training – and it pays off to this day, almost 10 years later. Just this evening, as I sat on the living-room sofa, fingers on my laptop keyboard and one eye on the television, I noticed Barney waltz into the room. Next to me, Lucy sparked alert.
I watched and waited. A second later, her head swiveled toward me. Ah! Good girl! I usually reward her with a treat; I almost always have some in a pocket or on a nearby table. Sometimes her reward for a behavior that I like – such as looking at me – is a few moments of petting and praise, or a chance to chase a toy.
The Right Time for the Right Dog Training Tool
When does it make the most sense to manage your dog’s unwanted behavior and when should you work to train him to do something you like more? It’s almost always most effective to immediately manage the dog’s environment to prevent him from practicing (and being reinforced for) the unwanted behavior. In some cases, that’s all that’s needed – especially when a simple management tool replaces unrealistic training expectations. For example, if you really don’t want your dog to snooze on your sofa while you are at work all day, it would be far easier and more effective to simply block her access to the room with the sofa than it would be to devise, set up, and monitor some sort of remote surveillance and training system to teach her to stay off the sofa when you aren’t there.
In other cases, it makes sense to manage the dog’s environment (again, to prevent your dog from practicing the unwanted behavior) for just as long as it takes you to teach the dog a new, more appropriate behavior. For example, you may want to use a head halter or front-clip harness to prevent your large dog from pulling you off your feet when you take him on pottying walks, while you also take a class or work with a trainer to teach him to walk politely with just a flat collar in slowly increasingly distracting environments. This will set him up for eventual success, while (we hope) preventing him from ever experiencing the thrill of pulling the leash out of your hand in order to bolt after a squirrel on the sidewalk across the street.
Caveat: Behavior Management Failure Factors
I’m a big fan of management – good management tools and practices can often salvage a previously frustrating dog/owner relationship – but management does have a bad name in some training circles. “Management always fails,” some will pontificate, meaning that there may be a high price to pay if you rely solely on a gate or leash to control your dog’s behavior, and someone forgets to latch the gate or the leash breaks. I try to avoid saying “always” or “never” to my clients, though. I prefer to say, “Management has a high likelihood of failure, so if you plan to manage a behavior, be aware of the potential for failure and what the risks are if management fails, and make training and management decisions accordingly.” It’s not as snappy a sound bite, for sure, but it is far more accurate.
When you do decide to employ management – whether as an alternative or a complement to training – it pays to be thoroughly aware of its potential for failure and the potential risks of any possible failures. What do I mean by this? Let me flesh out one of the examples above. Say you have adopted a large dog who hasn’t yet been trained to walk nicely on a leash, and who is reactive to other dogs. You are taking a group class with a good trainer, and working hard to improve his social and on-leash skills, but his behavior is much better if he gets a lot of exercise. So, even though it’s challenging to take him on walks, you use a front-clip harness (management tool) to help control him on walks, which you take very early in the morning (management technique, to try to avoid seeing many other dog walkers).
There are many risks of this approach: The harness or leash could break; the dog could pull the leash out of your hand with a strong bolt; he could pull you over (if there is a size/strength disparity between the two of you); or someone else’s dog could get loose and come after your dog and you might be unable to pull or summon your dog away. If your dog got loose in one of these ways, he might run off and get hit by a car, or initiate a fight with another dog.
Then there are the mitigating factors: you bought good equipment; you check it frequently to make sure it’s not chewed or frayed and that the leash snap is not cracked and its mechanism is working properly; and you keep your cell phone in your pocket and stay attentive to the appearance of any other dogs on the horizon, so that you are ready to execute a quick turn in the other direction. All of these things will minimize the risk of your temporary management strategies.
Potential for Behavior Management Failure and Failure Risk
When considering management, short- or long-term, as an option for dealing with a behavior, it’s important that you make a realistic assessment of the potential for and risk of management failure.
Factors that contribute the likelihood that management will fail include but are not limited to:
Poor-quality equipment (such as frayed or chewed leashes, doors that don’t latch properly, inadequately installed gates, fences in poor repair)
Children in the home
Lots of activity/traffic in and out of the house
Multiple residents in the home (especially if some aren’t conscientious about management protocols)
Lack of commitment to or inability to implement management protocols
Consider, too, the potential risks (to your dog or other family members, or other people or animals) if your management techniques or tools fail. What is the most serious or tragic thing that is likely to happen if your management does fail?
Management is not an appropriate option if the likely consequences are very serious, such as someone (a human or animal) being badly bitten or even killed, animal-control action being taken against you, someone filing a lawsuit against you (and possible loss of homeowner’s insurance), or significant damage to valuable possessions.
Remember, every behavior and training scenario invites you to make choices about how much to manage and how much to train. Choose wisely – your dog’s well-being depends on it.
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where she offers dog-training classes and courses for trainers.
Behavior Challenge: 10-month-old Yorki-Poo is not housetrained; still having several accidents per week.
Failure Factors: Lack of commitment to management protocols; anxious dog.
Risk Factors: Damage to carpeting and floors; owner losing patience with dog and rehoming or euthanizing.
Management Solution: Manage his environment so he doesnt have the opportunity to urinate or defecate in the house. The umbilical cord approach (keeping your dog leashed to you at all times) is very useful. When hes not attached to you, crate him but never for so long that hes forced to soil his crate. If he must be left crated all day while you are at work, make arrangements for a pet sitter to come midday to take him out.
Training Solution: Take your dog out more often than he has to go initially every hour on the hour. Take him on leash to his designated bathroom spot, and wait quietly there until he goes. When he does, give him a Yes! and a treat and then play with him. If he doesnt, no play take him back inside and crate him or keep him leashed to you, then take him out again in 20 minutes and try again. When you know hes empty he can have 10-20 minutes of house freedom, then leash or crate him again until his next bathroom break. As long as he is successful, gradually increase the time between potty trips and house freedom time. If he has an accident, proceed more slowly.
Behavior Challenge: Your newly adopted 8-year-old rescue Pomeranian fiercely resource-guards his food bowl.
Failure Factors: Intensity of behavior.
Risk Factors: Someone could be badly bitten.
Mitigating Factors: Despite intensity of behavior, your dogs bites have never broken skin; the behavior is very predictable it happens only with his food bowl and high-value resources; household consists of two adults, very little activity.
Management Solution: Feed him in his own space (such as a laundry room) with the door closed, and leave him alone when he has a high-value resource. If you do need to take something away from him, trade him for a very high-value treat.
Training Solution: Implement a behavior-modification protocol if you feel its necessary, dropping high-value treats as you approach and pass by, to convince him that you are not a threat to his good stuff, but rather that you make more good stuff happen! However, opting for management only in this case, as the risks are low, is a perfectly acceptable solution in this case.
Heartworms might more accurately be called heart-and-lung-worms; these life-threatening parasites are almost as frequently found in the lungs of infected dogs as their hearts. But perhaps the term also references the owners of infected dogs, because when we learn our beloved dog has been diagnosed with these horrid parasites, our hearts are very much affected, if only figuratively. Treatment for heartworm can be risky, expensive, and inconvenient – altogether, quite a source of fear and anxiety for dog owners. The more information you have before initiating treatment, though, the better you will be able to support your dog through the process. Jennifer Dodge of Wichita, Kansas, knows that fearful, anxious feeling all too well. In 2010, she rescued Holly, who had been living on the streets for three years after her owners abandoned her. Wary of strangers and covered with mange, Holly was underweight and had a disturbingly deep cough.
When Holly’s heartworm test came back positive, Dodge was devastated. “I had never been through this before,” she remembers. “And I thought, ‘I just lost this poor dog.'” After canvassing the Internet for as much information as she could find, Dodge started a Facebook page called Heartworm Survivor, where other owners of dogs who had gone through treatment for a heartworm infection could share their experiences and resources. Most people who post there have specific questions about heartworm treatment and potential alternatives. Most significantly, people who come to the page want reassurance that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Heartworm experts stress that when it comes to this disease, prevention is the best defense, because no treatment is without risk. But for those who are weighing the pros and cons of different treatment options, it is comforting to know that the choices have gotten better than they used to be.
How Heartworm Spreads
According to Dr. Stephen Jones of the American Heartworm Association, at least 1 million American dogs are infected with heartworm at any given time.
Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos. When a mosquito bites and drinks the blood of a heartworm-infected animal (host species include dogs, coyotes, foxes, wolves, and ferrets), it also inadvertently consumes microscopic larvae. These larvae, called microfilariae, are little more than fertilized eggs that are produced by adult female heartworms after mating with adult male heartworms. The microfilariae circulate in the host animal’s blood, but can’t develop into adults in that host; they can develop further only in the digestive tract of a mosquito. It takes about two weeks of camping out in the mosquito that consumed them for the microfilariae to develop into their next life-form: infective larvae.
Once they have reached this stage, the larvae can abandon their mosquito host when it bites another animal, swimming out in the mosquito’s saliva. Once they have been deposited under the skin of their new and final mammal host, they develop into their next life stages. First, they transform into larvae that burrow through the animal’s muscle tissue toward the major blood vessels, a journey that takes about 45 to 60 days. Once there, the larvae develop into immature worms, and make their way through the circulatory system to the major pulmonary arteries. There they continue to mature and grow, reaching reproductive adulthood in about six to seven months.
The heartworm tests used in most veterinary practices detect hormones produced by adult female heartworms. This means it’s possible for a dog whose test is “negative” to be infected; if the dog was infected with larvae less than seven months prior to the test, his heartworms won’t be mature enough to produce the adult female hormones that the test is designed to detect. It’s also possible (though not common) for a dog to be infected with only male worms, who won’t, of course, produce those female hormones that the test looks for.
“There are probably more false negatives than we realize,” says Dr. Jones, noting that some dogs carry antibodies to the antigen used in the heartworm test: Though these dogs may indeed be infected, their results will come back as clear. “There are ongoing studies now looking at shelter pets who have negative tests,” he says, “and they are finding a large percent of those samples are actually positive.”
Geography has always been a key indicator in heartworm prevalence: Those parts of the country where mild temperatures mean an extended, if not perpetual, mosquito season, such as the Gulf Coast, the South, and Hawaii, have long had endemic heartworm problems.
But increasingly, says Dr. Jones – who practices in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, itself a high-risk state for heartworm infestation – the disease has pushed out from those historic boundaries.
“Follow the Mississippi River up through Ohio, go to a big city like Chicago and other parts of the country that you might think would be too cold, and there are practices there seeing 100 cases of heartworm a year,” he says. And in locales where the disease is endemic, increased exposure raises the worm load that a dog might be carrying. In addition to climate, sociodemographics can play a role in the spread of heartworm: Communities whose residents cannot afford monthly heartworm prevention often have reservoirs of infected dogs. Since wild canids can harbor the disease, growing populations in increasing proximity to human residences – in particular, the coyote boom – mean greater risk, too.
Arsenic as a Heartworm Treatment
Arsenic, that old favorite of surreptitious murderers in mystery novels, is the treatment of choice for heartworms, too. Today, veterinary medicine uses an analog of the notoriously poisonous metalloid: melarsomine dihydrochloride, sold under the brand name Immiticide, which was introduced to the market in 1995.
Compared to Caparsolate, the only other drug that has ever been approved to kill adult heartworms, Immiticide is a vast improvement. The use of Caparsolate gave rise to the sentiment that the cure for heartworm was arguably as bad as the disease itself; side effects were common and dramatic, and the drug wasn’t even that effective – it killed all the adult heartworms in less than half of the dogs treated with it.
In contrast, when used as directed, Immiticide kills 98 percent of the heartworms present, and is metabolized very quickly. “The dose administered doesn’t take long to get out of the body, and it doesn’t pose great risk to liver and kidney function,” Dr. Jones says. The injection needs to be administered deep in the muscle, and can cause soreness, pain and, sometimes, permanent lumps or abscesses at the injection site.
Typically, for a dog with “severe” disease (referred to as a “Stage 3 infection,”) veterinarians administer one injection of Immiticide, and send the dog home for a month, during which the owner is instructed to severely curtail the dog’s movements (more about that in a moment). Thirty days after that first dose, another injection is given, usually followed a day later by a third and final injection. Ninety-eight percent of dogs treated in this way (regardless of the state of disease) will be cleared of heartworms.
If the dog has Stage 1 or 2 disease (a mild to moderate infection), the vet may administer a second injection 24 hours after the first one. About 90 percent of dogs with Stage 1 or 2 infections will be cleared of adult heartworms by this protocol. A third injection would be indicated if the dog still tests positive four months after treatment. Because of the higher efficacy rate of the three-injection protocol recommended for Stage 3 dogs, many vets use the same protocol for even Stage 1 and 2 dogs.
Some (not all) veterinarians require overnight hospitalization after each injection so the dog can be monitored for adverse effects, especially if the test results indicated that the dog had a heavy worm burden (as indicated by high heartworm antigen levels). The biggest problem with conventional heartworm treatment is its aftermath: The treatment kills the adult worms – and suddenly, the dog has a bunch of dead and decaying worms in his major blood vessels and lungs. It takes a bit of work for the body to clear out the dead worm corpses, which are protected by a tough cuticle surface. “When you kill a worm, it becomes a limp spaghetti noodle,” Dr. Jones explains. “It crumples into the artery, much like a spaghetti noodle in the sink drain. As the worms decompose, they can trigger blood clots, which can cause more blockage.”
During this time, dogs must be kept as quiet as possible and inactive, ideally in a crate or small pen. Most vets recommend that the dog be taken out to potty only on a leash, and then returned to a crate. Roughhousing with other dogs, or even a quick romp back into the house after pottying, can raise the heart rate and increase the risk of embolisms.
All dogs should be maintained on heartworm preventive medications throughout and following treatment, and tested four to six months after treatment, to ensure the infection has been completely cleared.
Irreparable Damage from Heartworm
The danger is greater for dogs who have particularly severe heartworm infections (many adult worms) or whose circulatory and respiratory systems have been damaged by a long-term infection. Some of the effects that can result from a severe heartworm infection include:
All sorts of vascular disease: thickened or damaged pulmonary blood vessels; thrombosis (clotting), nodules on the inside of the blood vessels (granulomas caused by a chemical reaction to the attachment of the worms), inflamed blood vessels.
Reduced cardiac output with resulting hypertension (high blood pressure), which can lead to heart enlargement and heart failure.
Fluid accumulation in peritoneal cavity and lungs, cough, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance.
Caval syndrome – typically associated with large numbers of adult heartworms in the pulmonary arteries, causing pallor, tachycardia, sudden collapse, as well as hemolytic anema (red blood cells are destroyed and removed from the bloodstream before their normal lifespan is over), hemoglobinemia (excessive amounts of hemoglobin in the blood plasma), and hemoglobinuria (when unusually high concentrations of hemoglobin are found in the urine).
To visualize the damage that heartworms do, Dr. Jones has necropsied more than three dozen dogs who had been successfully treated for heartworm, and all, he said, had noticeable damage in the pulmonary arteries as a result of the infection. “I still found dead pieces of mummified worms, thickening of the arteries caused by nothing other than heartworm,” he says. “I’ve never found a dog that didn’t have long-term disease, scarred lung lobes, vascular disease, or lung tissue damage. The scar tissue doesn’t go away.”
Dr. Jones notes that a dog’s body can do a tremendous amount to compensate for lost lung function. A heartworm-positive dog may appear clinically normal, perhaps only getting winded a bit early after intense physical exertion. “It’s really hard to clinically judge the real function of lungs and arteries in a dog who appears normal,” he says.
Mitigating Heartworm Treatments
Depending on the condition of the dog and the stage of his disease, stabilizing treatments may need to be administered before or concurrently with treatment for the heartworm infection. A dog with serious damage to his circulatory and respiratory systems may require therapy with corticosteroids (to reduce inflammation), diuretics (to reduce the excessive fluid in his lungs or peritoneal cavity and reduce that burden on his circulatory system), vasodilators (to improve blood flow), and/or positive inotropic agents (drugs that strengthen the contractions of the heart, so it can pump more blood with fewer heartbeats).
Dead worms don’t just disappear; it’s the disposal of their dead bodies, in fact, that causes the major difficulties of heartworm treatment. To understand why, remember how the heart works with the lungs: The gas exchange that enables life takes place in the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs, where carbon dioxide is released into the lung for exhalation, and oxygen is taken into the blood vessels for distribution throughout the body. The heart provides the driving force for this gas exchange, driving oxygen-rich blood from the alveoli out to the body, as well as driving the “used” blood, now full of carbon dioxide and other waste products from the various tissues of the body, back to the lungs for disposal.
As the heartworms die and lose their attachment to the interior of the dog’s heart, lungs, and pulmonary arteries, and as their bodies are released into the bloodstream, the decaying fragments are deposited into the alveoli, where they can plug up the bronchioles and cause tissue death in the lungs. This, in turn, can cause fluid accumulation (as the lungs are overburdened by this new task), coughing, gagging (to the point of causing vomiting), and bacterial infections.
Dogs should be closely monitored and supported through this process. They may feel so weak that they refuse food and water; if they don’t drink (especially if they develop a bacterial infection and resulting fever), they can become dehydrated, which can complicate their recovery further. Sometimes supportive fluids (IV or subcutaneous), antibiotics, and/or corticosteroids may be needed to address these secondary symptoms.
In recent years, it’s become more common for veterinarians to pre-treat their heartworm patients (especially those dogs with Stage 3 infections) with doxycycline – sometimes, for as long as a month before the conventional Immiticide treatment. This pre-treatment reduces the occurrence of bacterial infections and adverse secondary symptoms once the Immiticide is administered.
How Heartworms Die
Jennifer Dodge says one of the most often asked questions on the Heartworm Survivor Facebook page is whether to consider the so-called “slow kill” method for heartworm infection. In this approach, instead of Immiticide, the dog receives a long-term program of ivermectin (the same drug used as a heartworm preventive drug) and daily doxycycline (an antibiotic).
The ivermectin kills any larvae that have been deposited by mosquitoes (preventing the development of any more adult worms) as well as the microfilariae that the adult worms are producing (which interrupts the reproduction cycle and reduces the chance that the dog will be a reservoir to infect other dogs).
The doxycycline accomplishes two things: First, it kills Wolbachia, a symbiotic rickettsial organism living inside the heartworms (yes, parasitic heartworms have their own parasites!), and the death of the Wolbachia seems to weaken the weakest heartworms. The doxycycline also renders the adult female worms unable to reproduce. Eventually, the worms die, but it is a process that can take 18 to 24 months.
Proponents of the slow-kill protocol say that it’s kinder on the body, allowing the worms to die gradually so they don’t burden the dog’s lungs by dying (and decaying) all at once. A 2008 study published in Veterinary Parasitology showed that after nine months, dogs treated with ivermectin and doxycycline showed a 79 percent reduction in worms (compared to 100 percent for those treated with Immiticide alone).
Still, many veterinarians, as well as the American Heartworm Association, caution against the approach. “It’s not the first line of treatment for heartworm disease,” says Herb Maisenbacher, VMD, of Veterinary Heart Care in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “Yes, it doesn’t sound good to inject a dog with arsenic, but in most cases the actual outcomes of conventional treatment are usually quite good, with fairly mild and manageable side effects. It really is the only way to kill adult worms in a reasonable amount of time.”
As its name suggests, the slow-kill method can take a year or two to totally eliminate all heartworms, as opposed to a few weeks or at the most months with Immiticide. And that’s precisely the problem, Dr. Maisenbacher says: “In that time, the worms are still there, still causing damage.” Also, some dogs experience serious stomach upset from doxycycline – severe enough to refuse to eat. And production shortages of the formerly inexpensive and abundant antibiotic have resulted in uncertain supplies and radically increased prices.
Dr. Maisenbacher says there are some cases where the slow-kill approach might be valid – for example, the dog is too sick to tolerate the arsenic-based drug, or the owners are unwilling or unable to pay for the conventional treatment, or restrict the dog’s activity. But it’s not his preference, by far; he’s had cases in his practice where dogs who were on the slow-kill method developed worsening heartworm disease in the interim.
Betsy Harrison of Wimberley, Texas, a former veterinarian who decided to pursue a career as a homeopath, did treat some dogs with the “slow kill” method when she was practicing. She points out that the ivermectin stops new worms from infecting the dog, and “eventually the adults that are there will die of their own accord, and they’ll only die one or two at a time,” mitigating the risks of a massive die-off. As for concerns about permitting heartworms to continue to live in the dog while the long-term kill off takes place, she turns the table to ask: “How much damage is the arsenic doing?” (The counter to this argument is that the Immiticide is cleared rapidly from the body, whereas it could take years for heartworms to die.)
Unlike some holistic-minded practitioners, Harrison does not have a problem with the judicious use of ivermectin, though she notes that care must be taken with those breeds, in particular collies and sheepdogs, that have a genetic sensitivity to the drug. “I don’t think it’s all that toxic,” she says. (Some veterinarians have an altogether different concern about using ivermectin to treat heartworm, arguing that it will lead to resistance to the drug over time.)
Harrison adds that constitutional treatment, to restore and bolster the vital force of the dog, would be the homeopathic approach. “From the homeopathic perspective, the issue is always the health of the overall system,” she explains, adding that a good, biologically appropriate diet is an important starting point. “Worms are kind of like a bacterial infection; they are a reflection of the animal’s state of health more than a disease in and of themselves.”
Surgical Intervention for Heartworm
In some advanced cases, surgery can be performed to remove the heartworms while they are still alive, eliminating the need for the body to clear out the debris from heartworm die-off.
In the procedure, similar in approach to an angioplasty in humans, the veterinary surgeon makes an incision over the jugular vein, then uses special grasping forceps to inch her way to the pulmonary arteries, where the worms are extracted.
“You don’t damage the lungs themselves – you stay within the blood vessels,” explains Dr. Maisenbacher, who performed the surgery many times during his previous tenure at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “The benefit is that the body doesn’t have to clean the worms out after they die off. But the downside is that it requires general anesthesia, which is much higher risk,” especially for dogs whose bodies have been compromised by a heavy worm load.
Because the surgery is highly specialized, requiring advanced imaging equipment and extensive post-operative care, veterinarians who perform it will likely be located at veterinary schools and large specialty hospitals. And the price tag is steep, potentially $2,000 to $3,000.
In the most advanced heartworm cases, the large number of worms in the pulmonary arteries reduces blood flow, and the dog may cough, be lethargic, and even faint and collapse. Inside the lungs, the worms begin to fall back through the vena cava into the right chamber of the heart, giving this severest form of the disease its name: cava syndrome.
In these cases, worm die-off in the heart cavity is not an option; the worms must be surgically removed before they compromise cardiac function. Though this surgery is slightly less complicated than removing worms from the pulmonary arteries (the veterinarian goes directly into the right atrium of the heart), the prognosis is worse. “In dogs with cava syndrome, the liver, kidneys, and lungs are all compromised, and anesthesia alone can destabilize them,” Dr. Maisenbacher says. “In those cases, the survival rate is 50 percent – not good.”
Non-Active Duty
Pat Collins of Lapeer, Michigan, had two of her English Cocker Spaniels come up positive for heartworm last year after they spent time in Louisiana: 2-year-old Isaac and 3-year-old Jackie.
Collins opted to use the conventional Immiticide treatment, and her anxiety about the treatment centered around the injection itself. “That scared me,” she admits. “Jackie is very soft, and it scared me that she wouldn’t be able to handle the deep muscle injection next to the spine.”
Like any drug, Immiticide can cause allergic reactions, says Wendy Mandese, DVM, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. “And like with any caustic substance, sometimes there’s administration error, like the injection being given too close to the surface of the skin.” Experienced veterinarians scrub the skin surface thoroughly, give the needle a half-turn before removing it to avoid tracking the drug up through the injection site, and hold their finger over the hole, creating pressure so the drug doesn’t travel upward through the needle track. Collins’ fears turned out to be unfounded: Both dogs returned from the vet’s office with a few days’ worth of pain meds and no major side effects, basically sailing through the medical process.
Keeping her two dogs confined for two months was “extremely difficult for both them and me,” Collins says – in particular for the very active Isaac. While she took both dogs on frequent leash walks, “it was very hard to keep him from running and jumping up on furniture. I let him play with his toys a little bit, but I didn’t want him to get wound up and start panting.”
“We don’t want that heart pumping and blood flowing at a high rate while the worms are dead or dying,” Dr. Mandese explains. “Walking around the house and short, on-leash walks are okay. But you don’t want the dog tearing around.”
Creativity counts in situations such as these, and mental exertion is a must. Owners can use this time to fine-tune training and teach targeting, tricks, or other desired behaviors … anything that the dog can master, provided the training process doesn’t get him too excited. That old standby, the Kong stuffed with peanut butter, then frozen, can help wile away a few hours. So can puzzle-style toys, like the Buster Cube. “We have on occasion prescribed sedation, just to take the edge off,” says Dr. Mandese, who has used Acepromazine and even Xanax to send a tough customer off to a dreamier place. Diffusing calming essential oils such as lavender, or pheromone-release products such as the D.A.P. diffuser, may also help.
Find a Heartworm Treatment That Works for Your Dog
As with all things in life, balance is important. Jogging with a dog undergoing treatment would be clearly dangerous and irresponsible, but, Sockness says, it’s important to remember that “emotionally you can’t shut down a dog, either, because that’s part of their immune system.” While a dog’s activity needs to be curtailed, “let them enjoy a lifestyle.”
She also cautions against taking a sky-is-falling approach. “If your dog tests positive for heartworm, don’t call 911 and freak out,” she says. “You have options. Heartworm is not a death sentence.”
Dodge – who says the day the results came back proclaiming her dog Holly to be heartworm negative was “the best day of my life” – also recommends taking the long view. “It is not the end of your dog’s life!” she echoes. “Search for facts, especially from your vet, and follow the instructions. Stay calm – if you are scared and nervous, the dogs sense it.”
No matter what your treatment approach you take, tender loving care is compatible with all of them. “Baby your baby, spoil him!” she urges. “Do anything to get both of your minds off what you and your dog are going through.” And, of course, the best cure for what ails them – and you? “Lots of kisses.”
Denise Flaim of Revodana Ridgebacks in Long Island, New York, shares her home with three Ridgebacks, 10-year-old triplets, and a very patient husband.
Cooper, my service-dog-in-training, trotted briskly at the side of my power wheelchair as we headed to the veterinary clinic, a mile from home. He was overdue for a routine dental cleaning, and my regular veterinary clinic was not within rolling distance. I decided to take a chance on a new vet, since it was just a standard dental cleaning. I dropped him off and rolled back home, relieved that I was finally able to afford the procedure.
Author and retired service dog trainer Debi Davis had both legs amputated due to vascular disease, and requires a wheelchair for mobility. Her service dogs are a huge help to her – but the potential of her newest dog in training was recently in jeopardy due to problem with his teeth.
Later that morning, my cell phone rang. The new veterinarian called to let me know that Cooper, a 7-year-old Papillon-mix, had advanced periodontal disease, and needed 11 teeth extracted. Already numb with shock, I shuddered with disbelief when she added that six more teeth were starting to get loose, and would need extracting within six months.
Seventeen teeth? It was a death-knoll of hope for a service dog career, since his primary job would be retrieving items for me. With 17 missing teeth, his career was ending just as it was starting.
How could I have not realized his mouth was in such poor condition? His breath smelled rank, but I thought it was just mild gingivitis. I’d noticed some redness and swelling of his gums, and a small line of tan plaque at the gum line. I had been certain that it was nothing that a professional cleaning wouldn’t take care of. I had noticed he was no longer interested in playing with his soft toys, and that he was shunned dental chews, but I thought it was just because his gums were sore. The damage, however, had been happening beneath the gum line, where I couldn’t see.
How Cooper Got Periodontal Disease
I’d let his mouth go without a professional cleaning for a couple of years, because Cooper was the youngest and healthiest of my four dogs. I had three retired elder service dogs living with congestive heart failure, each of whom required expensive medications and blood work, which had depleted my bank account. My focus was on helping the elder dogs through the last years of their lives. They still were able to do retrievals for me at home.
Cooper’s teeth just before his first veterinary cleaning. They didn’t look so bad, right? Not great, but not horrible, either. And yet, the plaque under the gum line, where it can’t be seen, had caused serious damage.
My time with Cooper was spent training for public access, helping him to be stress-free and comfortable in every possible environment. Cooper enjoyed every training outing, and was quiet, biddable, and reliable in stimulus-rich environments. I’d planned to start his task-training once the elder dogs’ lives had ended.
I was finally able to schedule Cooper’s dental cleaning after the last of my elder service dogs had passed away. I had also started work on Cooper’s task-training. His personality and calm demeanor convinced me he’d be a fine service dog for me.
But my hopes crumbled like a stale cookie as the vet delivered the heartbreaking news that Cooper had advanced periodontal disease. I’d let my dog down in the worst possible way. And that $150 routine dental cleaning was now estimated at $1,200, with a recommended followup dental in six months estimated at another $1,000.
Like many people who’d struggled to care for multiple dogs in today’s tough economic times, I could see no way to stretch my budget any thinner. I told the vet that I could not afford the extractions at that time, and to just do the cleaning, root planing, and polishing. She replied the teeth were not abscessed, just loose from bone loss, and that some teeth would probably fall out on their own in a few months’ time. She agreed that Cooper could likely go six more months without being in tremendous pain, but would need to be put on a soft diet.
A Second Opinion Saved My Dog
I had no idea what to do, so I called on a personal friend, a veterinarian in the process of retiring and closing her practice in another state. I explained my dilemma, and she told me to take a deep breath; she would help get me started on trying to save as many of Cooper’s teeth as possible.
These x-rays, taken recently, reveal that Cooper still has some pockets between his teeth and furcations under his teeth. But these gaps are starting to fill in with scar tissue – which doesn’t look as white as the alveolar bone does on the xrays. But Davis can tell it’s there; she says she used to be able to use brushes that are four sizes larger than the only ones that she can fit into those gaps to clean them.
My friend explained that she had saved many dogs’ teeth that other veterinarians had given up on, and that diligent mechanical care in brushing, combined with oral antibiotics, could do wonders, as long as there was enough bone left to hold the teeth in. She said that while the soft alveolar bone that held the teeth in the mouth would not grow back, she’d often seen enough fibrous scar tissue form to hold the teeth in place.
My friend further explained that it would require a twice-daily commitment to a strict home care regimen, but she felt that many, if not most, of the teeth could be saved with dedicated effort on my part.
My relief was palpable. I was willing to devote whatever it took to keep as many teeth as possible in Cooper’s mouth.
My veterinarian friend had already explained that an oral antibiotic was critical in helping save the teeth and stop the progression of periodontal disease. The antibiotics would work to keep the infection from restarting down deep in the pockets where the bone had been eaten away, and where a toothbrush could not reach. She also advised giving the antibiotics as “pulse therapy” – in which the antibiotics are given for a week to 10 days, then stopped for three weeks, and this on-and-off again regimen is repeated.
Armed with all this information, and filled with resolve, I contacted the young veterinarian who did Cooper’s dental cleaning. She was not familiar with antibiotic “pulse therapy,” and was skeptical about it. She said she normally only used antibiotics when teeth were extracted, but she finally agreed to prescribe Clindamycin, an oral antibiotic routinely used to treat soft tissue, dental, and bone infections, on my veterinarian friend’s recommendation.
Research on Canine Periodontal Disease
To help me feel comfortable that I was doing the right thing, I began researching canine periodontal disease. I read every website published by board certified veterinary dentists. I studied canine dentition, and learned a whole new vocabulary.
Unfortunately, the veterinarian who had performed Cooper’s cleaning did not have dental x-ray equipment, so I could not see the extent of the bone loss. I could only go by the chart she had provided that identified each of Cooper’s loose teeth. Researching online helped me to see what I was up against.
One expert had a standout website: Dr. Jan Bellows, a board-certified veterinary dentist practicing in Weston, Florida. His website offered the most detailed information about canine dentistry and home care, with photos, illustrations, and x-rays. The “12 Steps of the Professional Teeth Cleaning Visit” page in particular provided step-by-step instructions on how to perform the most effective home oral healthcare for pets.
I emailed Dr. Bellows, and he gave me permission to reprint anything on his website, explaining that he felt strongly that home healthcare was a key to a healthy mouth, and the more people who understood how to do thorough oral home care, the happier he’d be. He offered to answer any questions I might have on the information shared on his website. It was clear that he cared about all dogs, not just his own clients’ dogs, and he encouraged me to share the information.
This is one type of interproximal brush that Davis used to clean between her dog’s teeth, and to enable the antibacterial rinse to reach every surface possible under Cooper’s gums.
Dr. Bellows’ clients are not just sent home with a pet toothbrush, toothpaste, and rinse after a dental procedure; instead, each client is given a hands-on lesson on proper brushing techniques with her dog, and how to treat problem areas. The client practices the brushing techniques under supervision before they are sent home with their dog.
Dr. Bellows mirrored much of the advice my friend had given me, and was also was an advocate for antibiotic pulse therapy to combat periodontal disease. I was on my way! Maybe I could save most of Cooper’s teeth. Maybe I couldn’t. But I was committed to the challenge, and I would give it my all.
Starting My Dog’s Oral Hygiene Routine
Twice a day, I brushed, irrigated, and rinsed Cooper’s teeth. I thought about how I might be able to get down into the pockets between the teeth, where the infection had destroyed the bone. I had used interdental (also called interproximal) brushes on my own teeth, to get into tight spaces to clean between them and under bridgework.
Davis uses an interdental brush between Cooper’s teeth, as well as in any exposed furcations (gaps under the teeth, between the tooth roots).
Interdental brushes are very narrow spiral bristle brushes, available in several shapes and sizes. I picked up a package of every size, to help get that antibacterial enzymatic rinse down into those hidden infected areas where bacteria multiplies and thrives. Normal dog toothbrushes cannot reach down that deep under the gum line.
Dr. Bellows’ website explained that the most critical areas are the upper back teeth on the outside surface, and to concentrate on keeping these areas especially clean.
I read that, “Proper technique involves applying the bristles at a 45-degree angle to the gingiva (gums). Use small circular motions around the outside of the teeth, being sure to get the bristles under the gum line. It is not as important to brush the inside of the teeth, as dogs do not have the buildup of tartar on the palatal or lingual (tongue) side of their teeth as people do.”
Cooper’s lower teeth were also a problem, with furcations already visible without probing. A furcation is the area between multi-rooted teeth where the bone has already dissolved, leaving a hollow area between the roots. This becomes an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive and quickly multiply, which rapidly destroys the bone.
Once the dental cleaning was completed, and Cooper’s gums were given a few days to heal, I was able to use the interdental brushes to keep these areas clean, allowing the scar tissue to help fill in the hollow areas where the bone had been destroyed.
The furcations and pockets between the teeth where bacteria multiply can be easily seen on the x-ray of a few of Cooper’s teeth. The dark areas show the bone loss. I’ve added a line where the bone should be, showing just how much bone loss is already present.
My Home Dental Kit
My home-care dental kit includes a long-shanked double-ended toothbrush made for dogs. The long shank helps reach the back teeth easier. I use the wide bristled end for all the teeth except the front incisors. I use the narrow end for cleaning the upper and lower incisors (front teeth).
The tools in Davis’ do-it-yourself dog dental care kit.
Cooper likes the taste of poultry- and meat-flavored enzymatic canine toothpastes. Human toothpaste should not be used on dogs, as it contains foaming agents that cause upset stomachs, vomiting, and diarrhea. Human toothpaste is meant to be spit out and the mouth rinsed with water afterwards. Toothpaste made for dogs is made for swallowing. There are many brands available at veterinary offices and pet supply stores.
Saliva is slick, and using fingers to pull back the lips can be difficult. A gauze pad, a small piece of terrycloth or a dental mirror can be used to make it easier to hold the lips away from the teeth so the brush can reach all the way back to the carnassials – the back molars.
I also have a three-sided toothbrush, meant to clean both the inside and outside of the teeth at the same time. It’s a U-shaped brush with bristles on the sides and bottom. I use this only once a week, knowing the tongue does a good job keeping the inside areas of the teeth clean.
An antibacterial enzyme rinse made for dogs is also an important part of my dental kit. I pour a bit of the rinse in a small bowl, and dip the toothbrush and interdental brushes into it, once I have finished cleaning the teeth with the toothpaste. I also use a small piece of terrycloth dipped in the rinse to wipe and polish the teeth at the end of the dental routine. Cooper likes the taste of this, and gets to lick the bottom of the bowl as a treat when we’re finished.
Finally, I keep a small bottle of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide in my kit to soak the brushes for a few minutes after each cleaning, as advocated by microbiologist Dr. Philip Terno, who also advises this for human toothbrushes.
In the beginning, I spent about 15 minutes twice a day working on Cooper’s teeth and gums. Now it takes about five minutes per session, as the scar tissue is filling in, and I don’t have to use as many different sizes of interdental brushes, only the thinnest one. I’m also building up more skill and facility at doing a thorough job in a shorter amount of time.
Cooper’s teeth six months after his first veterinary dental cleaning – and six months of assiduous home care, including brushing, interdental cleaning, and the use of antibacterial rinses. Sixteen of the 17 teeth that were loose six months ago are now held in place firmly enough to enable Cooper to retrieve items in his service dog capacity! He can also eat hard food again without pain.
Cooper’s Periodontal Disease Recovery
Cooper had a second dental cleaning done six months later by my regular veterinarian, Dr. Bullard, who owns the dental clinic where I normally have my dogs treated. He took a full set of x-rays to give me a “roadmap” of the problem areas. With these x-rays, I can easily see where I need to concentrate my cleaning efforts, and it will also be used to compare the x-rays that will be taken on the next visit, five months from now.
Dr. Ballard called me during the cleaning, and said there was only one tooth (a lower front incisor) that needed to be removed, as about 70 percent of the bone had been lost and the scar tissue was not holding it in firmly. He said the rest of Cooper’s teeth were stabilizing fine, and he found no tartar or calculus anywhere. He praised my home-care regimen, and told me I’d done a spectacular job, and that he’d never seen a cleaner set of teeth.
He removed the one very loose incisor, but said everything else looked very good, and he thought most of the teeth could now be saved, as long as I kept up my twice-daily regimen. I beamed with joy, not expecting to hear such great news. Home care was working!
Today, Cooper is again able to eat harder food without pain, and is carrying around soft toys, shaking and playing with them. I have not begun to have him attempt to hold harder objects yet, as I want to give the scar tissue a chance to continue filling in the areas of bone loss, for more comfort and stability.
I won’t be able to have him do any tugging using his front teeth, because even though they are stabilizing, there is not enough bone for the front upper and lower incisors to safely be used. Instead, I will train him to tug sideways, from behind the canine teeth on the premolars and molars. He’ll be able to open doors and drawers outfitted with a pull rope by grasping the rope in this crosswise manner.
Prevent Periodontal Disease for Your Dog!
Dr. Bullard said that by the age of two, 80 percent of the dogs he sees already show signs of periodontal disease. Starting a daily tooth brushing regimen can extend the time between professional cleanings, and can prevent periodontal disease when started on puppies.
Teaching a dog to relax, and starting the brushing slowly, a few teeth at a time in short sessions, helps the dog learn to accept cleaning without stress. Behaviorist and trainer Donna Hill has a very helpful video showing how to shape a dog incrementally to accept and enjoy tooth brushing, and includes teaching the dog rest his chin in the palm of her hand. Donna’s YouTube video can be seen here.
If your dog has not had a dental cleaning recently, and you see any signs of swelling on the gum tissue, bleeding, plaque accumulation, or foul breath, then your dog needs a professional cleaning under anesthesia before you start a brushing routine. Without a thorough scaling to remove the hardened plaque (calculus), and polishing so that new plaque finds it harder to form, brushing will be painful to the dog, and could cause the dog undue stress over a daily procedure that should be painless and pleasant.
If you have multiple dogs, provide each dog with his or her own toothbrush, as contamination of bacteria can be spread from one dog to another.
This routine will pay off greatly in the dog’s senior years, when illnesses can prevent the dog from safely undergoing anesthesia. If the teeth are kept clean, senior “trash mouth” can be avoided.
Both my retiring veterinarian friend and Dr. Bullard note that small dogs with misaligned teeth are among those at greatest risk of having periodontal disease early in life, and worsening rapidly. I now realize that, to keep a dog healthy for life, daily tooth brushing is right up there with a healthy diet, exercise, mental stimulation, problem-solving games, walks and sniffs, training, and unconditional love.
The value of daily brushing is threefold: It will save money on dental cleaning bills, extend the time between professional cleanings, and it will save teeth and gums. It’s a winning trio.
Debi Davis is a retired professional calligrapher and service-dog trainer. She is a former faculty member of Clicker Expo, and has presented at service-dog training seminars and workshops. Debi is an advocate for reward-based training, and enjoys being an informal ambassador of goodwill in the service-dog and disability communities. She currently lives in Las Vegas with her husband and service dog in training.
Maybe you’ve heard about turmeric? It’s all the rage, you know. I’ve recently been exploring the 4,000-year-old history of human use of this plant product and what it can do for you and your dog. Though I’ve had turmeric sitting in my spice cabinet for longer than I can remember, it wasn’t until February of last year that I found out just how beneficial this plant-based substance can be for people and for dogs.
My annual physical last year happened to coincide with a raging bout of tendonitis in my elbows. I could barely lift a pen, much less anything heavier. Thankfully my doctor practices integrative medicine. In discussing a variety of traditional and natural options to treat the tendonitis, she recommended that I add turmeric to my diet. “Turmeric?” I asked. She went on to explain how turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties would likely benefit my arms. She was right. In less than two weeks my tendonitis had disappeared. And those niggly aches and pains of getting older? Yep, they seemed to disappear, too.
My success with turmeric got me thinking about the journey we began in 2012 to help Cody, our then-4-year-old Australian Shepherd, with his chronic lameness. In addition to his lameness, which seemed to move from limb to limb, Cody had pretty severe skin issues, and several bouts of fever of unknown origin – all seemingly unrelated. In an attempt to get to the root of what was happening, we visited 12 veterinarians and veterinary specialists in two years. After Cody was finally diagnosed with autoimmune disease, we began treating him with both conventional and holistic veterinary medicine.
Cody had been on a daily low dose of prednisone for several months; it had initially caused his limp to disappear, but to our dismay, it had recently returned. We were considering giving Cody an increased dosage of the steroid when the mention of turmeric by my own doctor caused me to remember that at least one of Cody’s 12 vets had suggested adding turmeric to his diet.
I keep a behavior and health journal of Cody’s treatments and results, so I know the exact date: we began giving Cody a half-teaspoon of organic powered turmeric twice a day on May 5, 2014. Twelve days later, on May 17, my notes show “Cody’s not limping at all today.”
Today, six months later, we’ve been able to cut his prednisone dosage in half and Cody remains agile, active, and limp-free. Because of the other health benefits of turmeric, especially its antioxidant properties, we began adding it to our other dog’s diet, too.
Turmeric as Medicine
Turmeric is derived from the root of the turmeric plant, Curcumin longa. It’s a perennial in the ginger family, native to south Asia, and has quite a long history of medicinal use. Curcumin is the most active component of turmeric. According to Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects (Taylor and Francis Group, 2011), the use of turmeric dates back nearly 4,000 years to the Vedic culture in India, where it was used as a culinary spice. “In 1280, Marco Polo described this spice, marveling at a vegetable that exhibited qualities so similar to that of saffron.” It was also used as a dye. The bright color of the powder was traditionally used to color the robes of Buddhist monks.
Turmeric is a yellow-orange powder that has a slightly bitter, but also sweet taste. It’s oftentimes referred to as “Indian saffron” and is an ingredient in curry powder. It is also used in manufactured food products, such as mustard, pickles, yellow cakes, ice cream, cake icing, and cereals, among other foods. I frequently use turmeric in rice dishes, sauces, and marinades.
Human Health Benefits of Turmeric
Though anecdotal, my own experience with the use of turmeric certainly made me a believer in turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties. It has been used for treating a wide range of health issues because of its qualities as an antibacterial agent, anticoagulant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogen, and neuroprotector.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, tumeric can be used for indigestion (dyspepsia or upset stomach), ulcerative colitis, heart disease (keeps the LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, from building up in the blood vessels), bacterial and viral infections, and uveitis (inflammation of the iris).
Researchers are looking at tumeric for both the prevention and treatment of cancer. The American Cancer Society has information about some of those studies on its website. Some studies have shown that turmeric can reduce the harmful effects of chemotherapy. Curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) has been shown to kill cancer cells in laboratory dishes and slows the growth of the surviving cells. A UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Study by Marilene Wang, MD, and Eri Srivatsan, PhD, showed that curcumin can be used to treat human patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth.
Randy J. Horwitz, PhD, MD, medical director for the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine calls turmeric “one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatories available.”
Turmeric’s Effect on Dogs
With all these amazing health benefits for humans, people were bound to try giving it to their dogs to see if might be equally beneficial for that species. There is abundant positive anecdotal information from pet guardians and veterinarians who give turmeric to dogs for a variety of conditions, but so far, few clinical studies on its use in canines. Those I’ve found have very small sample sizes, though one study worth noting does discuss an oral bioavailability problem – meaning that turmeric isn’t well metabolized when given orally.
According to Demian Dressler, DVM, co-author of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (Maui Media, 2011) and dogcancerblog.com, the absorption issue can be overcome by mixing turmeric with lecithin and water and making a slurry. Lecithin is very gooey. Dr. Dressler recommends mixing four parts water to one part lecithin to the turmeric; some low sodium bullion can be added to improve the flavor.
Other turmeric advocates suggest mixing the turmeric with coconut oil or olive oil. However, my husband and I don’t do anything other than mix the turmeric powder into our dogs’ food – and our dogs have definitely reaped the intended benefits.
I’m already on the turmeric bandwagon – for my own benefit as well as my dogs’. I know other pet guardians who have used it at the recommendation of their veterinarians for its anti-inflammatory properties. Todd Czarnecki, DVM and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist at Hanging Rock Animal Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, says he recommends turmeric for a variety of situations, but especially for dogs who have inflammation and stiffness that worsens in cold weather, and as an aid to circulation in general. Dr. Czarnecki says these dogs respond very well to the addition of powdered turmeric to their diet. He recommends mixing the turmeric powder into a home-cooked diet. If you feed dry dog food, he suggests softening the kibble with water before mixing in the turmeric powder.
As with any other dietary supplement, it is always wise to check with your veterinarian, especially if your pet has any pre-existing conditions or receives medication daily, but if your dog suffers from an ailment that causes chronic pain or inflammation, turmeric could be beneficial. The recommended dosage for dogs is 15 to 20 mg per pound of body weight.
Our own dogs don’t mind the powder mixed into their home-cooked diet, but some people tell me their dogs dislike its taste. If that’s the case, look for turmeric in tablet form or capsules, which can easily be disguised in a bit of peanut butter or cream cheese.
With healing herbs, we always suggest looking for organic sources. My husband and I use Organic Turmeric Root Powder from Starwest Botanicals. You can find organic powdered turmeric for $9 to $15 per pound. Light and heat affects the potency of the powder, so be sure to keep it in a cool, dry, dark location.
Contraindications of Turmeric for Dogs
Some studies suggest that turmeric may aggravate existing liver issues, so consult your veterinarian before giving the supplement if your dog has liver disease. Because turmeric is a binding agent – useful, in fact, for treating loose stools or diarrhea – be sure your dog always has plenty of fresh water available. We add a bit more water to our dogs’ meals to counteract any potential constipation. Turmeric is also an anti-coagulant, so it makes sense to discontinue the use before any surgery. And remember how turmeric was used to color the robes of Buddhist monks? Well, it will color nearly anything it comes into contact with, so be cautious and mix it well into your dog’s food or he will likely be sporting a bright yellow doggie moustache.
From 250 BC to 2014, this brilliant yellow spice has been helping people and animals. It certainly has spiced up the life of our guy, Cody. Seeing him once again streak across our pasture at full speed brings tears of joy to my eyes. Perhaps it’s time for you or your dog to give it a try!
Curious about how other popular spices work for dogs? Here is a great list from Dogster.com!
A passionate advocate for humane, science-based dog training, Lisa Lyle Waggoner is a CPDT-KA, a Pat Miller Certified Trainer Level 2, a Pat Miller Level 1 Canine Behavior & Training Academy instructor, and a dog*tec Dog Walking Academy Instructor. The founder of Cold Nose College in Murphy, North Carolina, Lisa provides behavior consulting and training solutions to clients in the tri-state area of North Carolina.
Okay, readers, it’s confession time. I’m about to tell you something that I haven’t ever confessed in these pages, not even hinted at it in 17 years: I once was so pig-ignorant about dog care that I allowed my dog – my best friend at the time, my stalwart, beloved Border Collie Rupert, to develop heartworm disease. It’s true, and deeply painful to think about now.
In my defense, I grew up in an area without heartworm, and didn’t know a darn thing about it when, just out of college, my then-boyfriend purchased the sheep-farm dropout puppy for me. Rupe outlasted that relationship by more than a decade – but only because I took immediate action to treat my dog once I learned he was infected.
You see, when my son turned one (and Rupert was three years old), he became fascinated with toddling – lurching, really, Frankenstein’s monster-style, arms outstretched – toward Rupert whenever he spotted the dog. And Rupe, as it turned out, was deeply uncomfortable with toddlers. It took only one air-snap toward my son’s peachy cheek for me to decide to send Rupe to live with my parents for a while. By that time, my relationship with Eli’s father was already over, and as a single mom working in my own startup business, I was exhausted. I realized I couldn’t possible keep my two boys separated every minute – and Rupe loved it at my parent’s home. They lived on 20 acres in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains, not far from a lake . . . . Cue the ominous music; today I recognize this as heartworm country.
Rupert stayed with my parents for about two years. After I sold my business and got a job for another magazine, and Eli was old enough to listen to and follow directions concerning the dog, I brought Rupie home to live with me again. It was wonderful having him, and once Eli learned to throw a ball for the typically ball-obsessed Border Collie, their friendship cemented. Everything was good. And then I took Rupe for some vaccinations at a new veterinary clinic.
It was the first time in my life I had ever been asked if I wanted a heartworm test for my dog. “What’s that?” I distinctly remember asking. I had no clue.
Long story short: It turned out that where my parents live is a Ground Zero for heartworm-infected mosquitoes, and Rupe had a heavy infection. I spent the few months nursing Rupert through treatment for heartworm disease. But in one tiny way I was lucky: The young vet at the modern clinic I had taken him to was an early adopter of the brand-new heartworm treatment, Immiticide, which was miles and millions of times more effective and less harmful to the dog than the previous treatment. Even so, Rupe had a rough time. The first week after each treatment, he spent coughing, gagging, drooling, and vomiting. He didn’t eat and didn’t drink. He ended up getting pneumonia, and spending days at the clinic receiving IV fluids, antibiotics, and steroids. It cost a fortune – and was so hard to watch. The heartworms had damaged Rupert’s lungs, and he was still intolerant of exercise for about six months after he had been cleared by the vet to run and play again; if he tried to chase a ball, sometimes he would suddenly collapse, panting, and I’d burst into tears. What had I done to my dog?
But he did recover – and lived to the age of 14. I don’t think he would have made it to age six with the heartworm burden he was carrying.
Today, veterinarians know far more about how to mitigate and even prevent the side effects that Rupert suffered in treatment. Prevention is better, of course (and today, I’m an absolute bear about giving my dogs heartworm preventives). But heartworm infection is not a death sentence; its treatment is a life-saving gift. Read about how to do it right in “Heart of the Matter“.
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Why do people expect dogs to be calm and quiet when they are left outside for hours and hours, with minimal protection from the weather – or at least, a lot less than they get indoors – and nothing in particular to do? It has to be one of my top three dog – owner pet peeves. For me, there is just nothing as aggravating as listening to a dog barking incessantly. I both feel for the dog and feel murderous at the same time. Who do I want to murder? Alternately, the dog, the owner, and myself!
I’m ranting right now because there has been a rash of barking dogs on my block lately. My next door neighbor is dog – sitting for her sister, and suddenly there are two dogs who don’t feel at home spending most of the day in a strange (to them) backyard. There are no dog houses or covered areas in that yard, so there is no warm and cozy spot to curl up and take a nap; so the dogs are up and awake the whole time they are left outdoors. And it’s understandable that they don’t understand that there are cats, dogs, chickens, and humans who routinely walk around my backyard, and who do not constitute a threat to their own temporary quarters. But what is not understandable to me is that my neighbor doesn’t seem to realize, unless I call her, that the dogs barking every time I walk out my own back door is a nuisance.
There is also a dog over my back fence who lives outdoors 24/7 – which, now that I think about it, is my number one pet peeve of all time – and who barks whenever any other dog in the neighborhood barks. (Genuine watchdogs are one thing; neglected, untrained pets in town are another. What possible use is a dog in an urban yard who never gets attention, and how cruel is it to isolate an individual of a social species in this way?)
And then there are the neighbors on the back of the block I live on, who have two or three small dogs who set up a ruckus worthy of 10 dogs when people walk by their yard. The owners will occasionally yell “SHUT UP!” at the dogs, and eventually bring the dogs back into the house, but why not just bring the dogs inside without screaming at them?
I get distracted enough by the sound of barking dogs that I have done all sorts of things to prevent my own dogs from being nuisance barkers. I have habituated them to being outdoors regularly. I make sure they have ample fresh water and comfortable places to sleep. In the summer, I wouldn’t dream of leaving them outside unless the dogs’ sandbox is well wetted down before I left; it’s in a shady corner of the yard, and really the only cool place on my property when it’s hot. I have two dog crates out on my deck, situated next to the house under a porch roof, and covered in insulated crate “jackets.” The crates have the doors taken off, and I allow the zippered flap of the front of the crate cover to hang like a tent flap, so the dogs can slip inside for a cozy snooze any time. I have nice, thick fleece mats inside, and I take them out and wash them at least once or twice a month, to keep them clean and smelling nice. The dogs often spend time outside when I am home, so it’s not a new thing to be left outside when I am not home.
I can leave my big dog, Otto, outside when I am away from home for even a half day or more, and I do expect him to refrain from barking incessantly when I do this. I’ll usually leave him with some food – stuffed Kongs or a nice big fresh juicy marrow bone. But I also let my neighbors know I’m going to be gone, and ask them to call me if they hear Otto barking; I can have a friend come over, if need be, and put Otto in my house. And I check with my neighbors: “Was Otto okay yesterday? Not barking while I was gone?”
I have two dogs, remember, but I don’t leave Tito the Chihuahua outside unless I am going to be gone less than a half – hour, because he does bark when he gets bored or anxious. When I am home, he will bark only when the mail delivery person or UPS person comes in the gate. But if no one is home, he ratchets up the security level to unbearable, and barks at anyone walking down the sidewalk in front of my home (which is one block away from the town’s main post office, so we do get some foot traffic!), anyone parking in front of the house, and the sound of any other neighborhood dog barking.
Anyway, I guess I am barking now. Maybe it’s strange for someone who likes dogs so much to be so unhappy about barking dogs. But I assume that the dogs who have nothing better to do than bark are just as unhappy as I am, and I really do feel their pain and anxiety, too.
There are a host of other things you can do to lower general stress in your dogs environment.
Exercise can be immensely helpful in minimizing overall tension. Physical activity uses up excess energy that might otherwise feed your dogs aggressive behaviors, (a tired dog is a well-behaved dog). Exercise also causes your dogs body to release various chemicals, including endorphins and norepinephrine, helping to generate a feeling of well-being; an exercised dog is a happy dog! Happy dogs are simply less likely to fight.
For more details and advice on aggressive dog behavior, purchase Whole Dog Journal’s ebook Modifying Dog Aggression.
I’ve mentioned a bunch of times that I have helped find homes for a number of foster dogs, and helped friends who were looking for a certain type of dog to find one who fits into their family perfectly. As far as I know, all the dogs I’ve placed into homes continue to live happily in those homes – with one exception.
A couple of months ago – on the same trip to my local shelter when I picked up my recent litter of foster puppies – I saw the cutest little dog in the adoption ward. He looked like a miniature Border Collie, or a Sheltie-mix, and was perhaps six or seven months old. He had been picked up as a stray and had been in the shelter for about three weeks. He was a little shy with people at first, but once you had him in your lap (he weighed only about 20 pounds) he would give his heart right over to you (and yours to him). So sweet, so sharp, so cute. I took a little video of him dancing for attention in his kennel and sent it to a friend who had been looking for either a Border Collie (she lives on a ranch 20 miles from the closest town in the mountains) or a nice little “couch dog.” This dog was like a perfect combination of her separate visions for her next dog or dogs.
She loved the video, and wanted the dog. The next day I picked up the little guy so I could foster him for a week in advance of his neuter surgery, so I could start his training and get to know him well enough to offer phone support for further training. My senior citizen friend has no income besides Social Security, so I paid the adoption fee. At the end of the week, he knew a few basic cues, how to behave in the house, not to chase the cat or chickens, and that sleeping in crates (with your own private stash of bones and toys) is pretty cool. On a day that I had someone else to feed the litter of foster puppies, I put the little guy in my car and drove the 80 miles or so to my friend’s house.
My friend loved the dog, and the dog loved her, and it seemed like he was fitting right in. The ranch cats schooled him (“Chase us, will you? Well, we will chase you right back, you ignorant puppy!”), he learned not to enter the horse pasture unattended (he got chased out of there, too), and while alarmed at first when my friend shouted during football games, he quickly saw that excitement as a fun opportunity to bark and shout, too. My friend joked that she was going to call him “Velcro,” because he stayed glued to her side as she went slowly about her chores, feeding the chickens and the horses and checking the water troughs. Until one afternoon when he vanished.
My friend didn’t see him go. She says he was there one minute and the next – poof.
She says she called and called, and drove up and down her dirt road calling. She let all her friends and neighbors (such as they are, miles apart) know she was looking for a little Sheltie-looking dog. He was wearing one of my collars and tags, and he is microchipped. But no one reported seeing him. She decided a couple days later that coyotes must have gotten him.
I was on deadline with the last issue of WDJ while this was happening. If I could have, I would have driven immediately over and spent days walking those dirt roads and calling for him. As it was, four days later, after the issue was sent to the printer, I drove over and put up “lost dog” signs for miles around. There has been no sign of him nor word about him.
I know this happens – obviously, or the shelters wouldn’t be full of stray dogs. Heck, he came into the shelter as a stray, picked up by county animal control! But my county is more populous than my friend’s; where she lives, the odds of someone seeing him and calling animal control are abysmal. And she’s right; out where she lives, the coyotes probably did get him.
Every time I see his picture – I took a bunch while I had him, he was so darn cute – it makes me feel so sad. I can’t bear the thought of him running through the woods, lost. Despite all the fun I had fostering (and placing) the puppies, I’m kind of burned out on fostering for a while. I miss that little guy like he was my own dog.
I could not WAIT for them to go to their forever homes, and the last one went home on Saturday… and now I miss them unbearably – their relentless exploring and fooling around, tireless curiosity, darling miniature barks and howls and growls,
and cheerful learning during our many-times-a-day-for-just-one-minute training sessions. It didn’t help that I let the last puppy sleep with me in my bed, the last two nights I had him.
(That’s what happens when you leave on business trips, Mr. Husband!) I hope his new owner allows him to sleep on the bed; he’s the snuggliest puppy I’ve ever known.
Otto is getting a lot more kisses, however, so he’s quite happy.
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?”
