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A Healthy Pancreas for Canine Diabetes Prevention

By
Randy Kidd
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0

[Updated March 22, 2018]

The pancreas is an elongated gland, light tan or pinkish in color, nestled alongside the small intestine and adjacent to the stomach. The organ is composed of two functionally separate types of glandular tissue, each which performs a vital and disparate role in the dog’s body.

Digestive Functions of the Pancreas in Dogs

“Exocrine” refers to the process of releasing outwardly through a duct, so the majority of pancreatic tissue is known as the exocrine pancreas, because its secretions are delivered through the pancreatic duct directly into the duodenum (small intestine), where they assist digestion.

The exocrine portion of the pancreas contains grape-like clusters of cells (called acinar cells), each of which can produce more than 10 different digestive enzymes. Pancreatic enzymes digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Enzymes that digest proteins could potentially be harmful to the pancreatic cells themselves, so these enzymes are synthesized and stored until needed within the cells as protectively coated zymogen granules.

Enzymatic secretions from the acinar cell clusters pass through ducts lined with cells (centroacinar cells) that produce a watery secretion rich in sodium bicarbonate; pancreatic secretions thus have a basic pH to neutralize the highly acidic secretions of the stomach. And since both the pancreatic secretions and the bile from the liver empty into the upper portion of the small intestine, most of digestion occurs there.

The flow of pancreatic juices is stimulated by several mechanisms: the sight and smell of food, distention of the stomach, and release of partially digested foods from the stomach into the duodenum.

Each of these mechanisms stimulates the release of an appropriate enzyme, depending on the quantity and type of food ingested. Fatty foods, for example, stimulate a different enzymatic response than do proteinaceous foods. All enzymatic response is finally regulated by a feedback mechanism that produces enzymes when food is present and halts the production when the dog’s belly is empty and there is no food nearby.

The Endocrine Functions of the Pancreas

“Endocrine” glands do not have ducts, but release their secretions directly into the bloodstream and affect the function of specific target organs. The endocrine portion of the pancreas represents a much smaller percentage of the pancreatic tissue, but it plays an important role as the origin of several hormones, insulin most notable among them.

The endocrine portion of the pancreas is arranged into discrete islands, called the islets of Langerhans. Four different cell types make up these islands of endocrine tissue, and each produces a different hormone:

• Beta-cells are the most numerous and produce insulin;
• Alpha-cells produce glucagons;
• D-cells (sometimes referred to as Delta-cells) produce somatostatin; and
• F or PP cells produce pancreatic polypeptide.

While these hormones have different functions, they are all involved in the control of metabolism, especially glucose metabolism. I’ll discuss each hormone and its function in turn.

Insulin (produced by the Beta-cells) is amazingly similar between species. For example, cattle, sheep, horses, dogs, and whales differ only in the amino acids located at three sites (among a total of 21 amino acid sites) along one of the two protein chains that make up insulin. Canine insulin is similar to human insulin and identical to porcine insulin in its amino acid structure. (Feline insulin is most similar to bovine insulin.)

The function of insulin in animals is to facilitate the use of glucose, the primary source of energy from food. Its net effect is to lower blood concentrations of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids, and to promote intracellular conversion of these compounds to their storage forms (i.e., glycogen from glucose, triglycerides from fatty acids, and protein from amino acids). The presence of insulin is critical to the movement of glucose through the cell’s outer membrane into the cell.

Insulin has many target organs and it affects nearly all cell types throughout the body, with the liver being an especially important target organ. Glycogen is a storage product of glucose metabolism, and insulin promotes its production in the liver, in fatty tissues, and in skeletal muscle.

Via several mechanisms, insulin promotes protein synthesis and inhibits protein degradation, thus promoting a positive nitrogen balance throughout the body. Additionally, insulin promotes the synthesis of adipose tissue (mature fat) from the fatty acids circulating in the blood.

The primary controlling factor for insulin secretion is the concentration of blood glucose; an increased concentration of blood glucose initiates the synthesis and release of insulin by the Beta-cells of the pancreatic islets. To a lesser extent, the presence of amino acids and fatty acids in the intestinal tract also stimulates the release of insulin. In all, at least a dozen factors influence insulin secretion, ranging from the type of diet to several hormones, and these all interact by stimulating or inhibiting production to create a whole-body energy balance.

Glucagon (produced by the Alpha-cells of the pancreatic islets) works in harmony with insulin in the control of glucose metabolism. Its main effects are the opposite of insulin. An increased activity of glucagon results in an increase of glucose in the blood.

Somatostatin is produced by the D-cells of the pancreatic islets and by areas of the gastrointestinal tract and parts of the brain. Somatostatin is an inhibitory hormone, and its main functions in the pancreas are to inhibit the secretion of insulin, glucagon, and pancreatic polypeptide. (In the gastrointestinal tract it decreases nutritive absorption and digestion and diminishes normal gut motility and secretory activity. In the brain it inhibits the secretion of growth hormone.)

A protein meal stimulates the production of pancreatic polypeptide, which is produced by the F cells of the pancreas. Pancreatic polypeptide inhibits the secretion of other pancreatic enzymes and increases the motility of the gut and the speed of gastric emptying.

In a healthy pancreas, the pancreatic hormones work together to maintain a harmonic and functional balance.

Pancreatic Problems in Dogs

The disease that results from pancreatic problems depends on what part of the pancreas is not working properly. First, let’s look at dysfunction arising from the exocrine pancreas.

Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) more commonly affects middle-aged to older dogs, obese dogs, and female dogs. The cause of pancreatitis is not often known, but localized trauma or the ingestion of a fatty meal are often implicated. The disease may be mild to severe. Complications may arise when the stored digestive enzymes (zymogens) are released into the pancreatic and surrounding tissues where they can cause an inflammatory reaction, and in severe cases they may begin to digest the dog’s own tissues.

Signs are often nonspecific and vary depending on the severity of the disease. A dog with mild pancreatitis may simply appear to have a “belly ache,” and mope around and lose her appetite for a day or two. More severe cases may include a sudden onset of vomiting, loss of appetite, depression, fever, abdominal discomfort, and dehydration. Symptoms may be severe enough to lead to shock and collapse.

Diagnosis is not always easy due to the nonspecific symptoms, but blood tests may be helpful. Serum amylase and lipase or the newer pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (PLI) or pancreatic trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) tests may be most useful. Radiographs, ultrasound, and CT scans may also be helpful.

Pancreatitis frequently recurs in those critters I refer to as “garbage hounds” – dogs who love to get into the household garbage pails and wolf down forbidden foods with glee. The tendency is for each bout of pancreatitis to be more severe than the one before; the theory is that these recurrences of acute pancreatitis – due to the repeated inflammation, immune response, and tissue necrosis and scarring they create – eventually lead to an increased risk for developing diabetes mellitus.

Treatment is generally nonspecific, varying with the severity of symptoms. A severe case of pancreatitis – intense vomiting, pain, etc. – is a medical emergency: See your vet as soon as possible. Pain control may be necessary, and intravenous fluids may be indicated in cases where shock is a possibility.

After a course of the disease, the pancreas should be rested by restricting food and water for 4 to 5 days. Particularly fatty foods should be severely reduced in the diet, and measures should be instituted to avoid the onset of diabetes: prevent obesity, plenty of exercise, and maintain a nonstressful, dog-friendly environment. The dog’s long-term prognosis may not be good, depending on the severity of the lesions suffered by the pancreas.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is caused by a deficiency of pancreatic digestive enzymes that eventually results in malnourishment. In dogs it appears most commonly in German Shepherds. Affected animals typically lose weight even though they have a ravenous appetite (these animals will often eat anything they can get their mouths around). They typically pass large volumes of semi-formed, greasy feces (since dietary fats are not being digested).

Fecal examination will often confirm the problem; your vet can check for undigested food particles and the presence of enzymes in the feces. Most dogs respond favorably when commercially available pancreatic enzyme supplements are added to the diet. However, since pancreatic tissue doesn’t regenerate, treatment will generally be lifelong.

Pancreatic Tumors

The most frequent pancreatic tumor is an islet cell carcinoma (insulinoma) derived from the insulin secreting Beta-cells. These tumors generally are found in dogs 5 to 12 years old; they are frequently hormonally active and secrete excessive amounts of insulin, causing hypoglycemia.

The resulting symptoms are those associated with low blood sugar, including muscular twitching and weakness, exercise fatigue, mental confusion, changes of temperament, and occasionally seizures. The symptoms often come and go, but they typically become worse and more frequent as the disease progresses.

Symptoms are easily confused with other primary neurological diseases such as epilepsy or brain tumors. Dogs with insulinomas typically have abnormally low (< 60 mg/dL) fasting blood glucose. Some veterinarians recommend that any older dog with neurological signs should have his blood glucose monitored.

Cancers of the exocrine pancreas are rare, but when they do occur, they can be aggressive and invasive.

Diabetes: the problem of the endocrine pancreas

Diabetes is a general term referring to disorders characterized by extreme thirst (polydipsia) and excessive urine excretion (polyuria).

The “diabetes” that most of us are familiar with is diabetes mellitus, which comes in several forms (including Type I, Type II, and Type III), all of which involve a relative or absolute insulin insufficiency. Since it is a condition of the pancreas, diabetes mellitus will be discussed here.

Much of the endocrine function of the pancreas is devoted to the production of insulin; 60 to 70 percent of the islet cell population are insulin-secreting Beta-cells. Insulin is the key factor in the metabolism of glucose (the energy-creating end-product of carbohydrate digestion), but insulin is also involved in the metabolic pathways of fats and proteins.

Glucose does not readily penetrate into cells (except for a few tissues such as the brain, liver, and blood cells); as stated earlier, insulin is critical for the movement of glucose through cell membranes into the cells. The net effects of insulin are to lower blood concentrations of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids, and to promote intracellular conversion of these compounds to their storage forms (i.e., glycogen from glucose, triglycerides from fatty acids, and protein from amino acids).

The most important factor in the control of insulin secretion is the concentration of blood glucose; it is a positive feedback system in which increased concentrations of glucose (after a meal, for example) lead to increased secretion of insulin.

Diabetes mellitus is a insulin-deficient condition where there is either not enough insulin produced for the amount of glucose in the blood, or where the insulin that is produced is not functionally normal and thus is not able to produce the required cellular reactions.

Some breeds – notably Keeshonds, Pulis, Miniature Pinschers, and Cairn Terriers – seem to have a genetic predisposition to diabetes, and some, including Poodles, Dachshunds, Miniature Schnauzers, and Beagles, have an increased potential for developing the disease.

Symptoms of Diabetes in Dogs

As mentioned earlier, dogs with diabetes are forever thirsty, and as a consequence they urinate frequently.

The urine from dogs with diabetes mellitus animals will contain glucose. When the blood glucose levels exceed about 180 mg/dL, glucose begins to spill over into the urine, where it can be detected by urine dip sticks – or the good old taste test. If we were living in past centuries, we would simply dip our finger in the urine and taste it; today we have urine dipsticks that measure glucose content. Ancient practitioners also noted that bees were attracted to the urine from animals with diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic and insidious disease. Although dogs are hungry and eat a lot, they lose weight and gradually become weaker. Muscle mass will gradually deteriorate, and the animal will not want to exercise.

The abnormal utilization of fat for energy may lead to an overproduction of ketones. Affected animals will often have the typical diabetic “fruity-sweet” smell of ketones. Note that only some people have the scent receptors that give them the ability to smell ketones; for others (I am one of the others) ketones are a “non-aroma.” Ketoacidosis is a severe overproduction of ketones and may cause disorientation, lethargy, and ultimately collapse. Test strips are available to detect the presence of ketones in the urine.

Many diabetic dogs develop cataracts, and the whitening of the eyes may be the first overt sign the caretaker notices.

Affected animals also become more susceptible to recurrent infections; cystitis, bronchitis, and skin problems are common, perhaps due to decreased neutrophil function associated with the excess of sugar in the blood. The liver, due to increased mobilization of body fats, may enlarge, and its function will be impaired by the fatty accumulations.

Human diabetic patients commonly incur retinitis and/or blood vascular conditions that may ultimately lead to limb amputations, but fortunately these two conditions are not common in diabetic dogs.

Canine Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis

Diagnosing diabetes mellitus is based on persistent fasting hyperglycemia (blood glucose levels higher than normal) and glycosuria (the presence of glucose in the urine). The normal fasting value for blood glucose in dogs (and cats) is 75-120 mg/dL. Some animals may have a transiently high blood glucose level as a result of stress (especially cats), and some drugs (glucocorticoids and others) may elevate blood glucose levels.

There are two additional tests that may be helpful in diagnosis: serum glycosylated hemoglobin and fructosamine. These tests rely on the fact that glucose binds to many proteins in the body, and the “average” amount of glucose present in the blood over a period of time can be determined by evaluating its concentration on these proteins.

Glycosylated hemoglobin measures the average amount of glucose that the hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs) was exposed to over their lifespan, and since canine RBCs live for about 120 days, the measurement gives us a picture of average blood glucose levels over those past 120 days. Fructosamine measures glucose amounts bound to serum albumins; values indicate the average glucose concentration over the previous 1 to 2 weeks.

For diagnostic confirmation, to judge the severity of the disease, or (more commonly) to monitor the progress of the therapy being used to control the disease, your vet may want to do a glucose-tolerance curve, which is a way to test the animal’s efficiency in the removal of an excess of ingested glucose over a short period of time.

Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus has nothing to do with blood sugar, insulin, or the pancreas. The only characteristic it shares with diabetes mellitus is that its victims experience extreme thirst and urination. In diabetes insipidus, this is due to the lack of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which normally limits the amount of urine made, or by a failure of the kidneys to respond to ADH. Diabetes insipidus is treated with drugs that reduce the amount of urine made and/or help the kidneys respond to the ADH that is present.

Predisposing risk factors for diabetes in dogs:

Surveys indicate that extensive pancreatic damage, likely from chronic pancreatitis, causes about 28 percent of canine diabetes cases. Environmental factors such as feeding of high-fat diets and allowing the animal to become obese are associated with pancreatitis and therefore are likely to play a role in the development of diabetes in dogs.

Diabetes diagnosed in a female during pregnancy or diestrus is comparable to human gestational diabetes. Interestingly, at least one (human) study has shown that secondhand smoke is related to an increased incidence of diabetes, and other studies have demonstrated that correct dietary levels of calcium and vitamin D (or exposure to adequate sunlight) may help prevent diabetes.

While there is not yet any actual published data that show overt Type II diabetes occurs in dogs or that obesity is a risk factor for canine diabetes, an open-minded observation of the actual animals that have the disease leads me to believe that at least some dogs resemble the human Type II diabetes and that obesity is at least one of the causative factors involved in the development of the disease in dogs.

Diabetes Treatment for Dogs

Successful therapy, no matter the course chosen, will require that the dog’s caretakers be willing to undertake long-term and vigilant monitoring of blood glucose levels. They should also should endeavor to thoroughly understand how both the disease and its treatments work, so they will know, by the symptoms of the dog, when to change the rate or dosage of the medicines. They must be willing to give daily insulin injections (if necessary), and be prepared to deal with a hypoglycemic crisis if it occurs from an insulin overdose.

Conventional treatment begins with a combination of weight reduction and diet (high in fiber and complex carbohydrates). Intact females should be spayed, as their blood sugar may prove more difficult to control during estrus.

If diet and weight reduction do not control the disease, injectable insulin will be necessary. There are more than 20 forms of injectable insulin available, with several made especially for dogs. Each form of insulin has a unique time of onset and duration of activity. Your vet will likely recommend the one with which she is most familiar and successful. Insulin injections may be required once or twice daily.

Types of Diabetes and the Need for Insulin in Diabetic Dogs

In humans there are fairly distinct types of diabetes. The most common are Type I diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM), and Type II diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or NIDDM). A third type, latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA), occurs as a slowly progressive disease that shows up in middle-aged or older people. About 90 percent of all human cases are Type II; the cases in most dogs more closely resemble the human Type I or the LADA type.

“Gestational diabetes” (frequently called Type III diabetes) affects pregnant women (about 4 percent) and other pregnant animals. Its cause is unknown, but it is likely related to the mother’s hormone changes and the interactions between the hormones of the mother and the baby that occur during pregnancy. This type of diabetes generally responds to dietary therapy, and it usually goes away after pregnancy.

Type I diabetes is the result of a lack of insulin production due to the destruction of pancreatic Beta-cells; in humans it typically occurs in younger patients; and it is not usually associated with obesity. It is not clear what causes Type I diabetes, but it is likely an autoimmune disease.

Type II diabetes is typically associated with obesity. Here, a lack of sufficient insulin is not the problem. However, problems arise because the insulin that is produced does not interact with its target cells properly.

Human patients with Type I diabetes will almost always require insulin injections, whereas many Type II diabetics can be treated with dietary and lifestyle changes, possibly with the addition of minimal use of injectable insulin.

Most veterinary endocrinologists think that a majority of diabetic dogs have Type I diabetes, since most show serum antibodies to insulin – the keynote of Type I in humans.

All well and good…except that, by definition, Type I diabetes is a due to a lack of insulin production, and this often leads the practitioner to the conclusion that all diabetic dogs will require insulin therapy. My experience would indicate that some diabetic dogs respond quite nicely to alternative medicines, coupled with nutritional therapies and lifestyle changes.

Since this is true, I see absolutely no reason to avoid alternative therapies at the outset of the disease. You can always go to the injectable insulin if it is needed after a few months or so.

I agree with the endocrinologists who think most dogs have something more like the LADA form, given that most are middleaged dogs with a slow onset of the disease.

Holistic Diabetes Treatment for Dogs

Nonconventional therapies for diabetes run the usual gamut of medicines, including acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal, and nutritional therapies. Life style changes will almost certainly be needed; more exercise to reduce weight and attention given to reducing stress are commonly prescribed. Therapies such as calming herbs, massage, flower essences, and aromatherapy may be indicated to reduce the dog’s stress.

For the obese animal, specific nutritional supplementation should include a high fiber, weight-reducing diet. There are some commercial products available that purport to be supportive of diabetic animals. Check with your holistic veterinarian.

Niacin (vitamin B-3) plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism, and research shows that one of its precursors, niacinamide (the substance found in most “enriched” grains), can protect pancreatic cells from diabetes-inducing factors. Biotin and vitamin B-6 are also important nutrients in carbohydrate metabolism and for helping prevent diabetic complications.

Vitamin E has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics, and thiamine plays a huge role in the proper regulation of glucose metabolism and pancreatic Beta-cell function. Vitamin C is important for blood sugar regulation in humans and animals; supplementation with vitamin C has been shown to decrease insulin resistance and improve glucose regulation (in mice).

Poor control of diabetes has been associated with low serum magnesium, and as already mentioned, low levels of calcium and vitamin D are associated with increased chances for developing diabetes. Zinc and selenium, too, have a proven role in preventing diabetes. Chromium, in just micro doses, appears to be very helpful for some cases of diabetes. Chromium picolonate is the biologically active form, and its action is to increase the number of cell receptors for insulin; it would thus be most helpful for Type II diabetes.

Note: In all cases of nutrient supplementation, be certain that you are providing a balanced level of the nutrients. Check with your holistic veterinarian to be sure.

Worldwide there have been more than 1,200 herbs that have been used to treat diabetes. Out of these, several have shown promise on animals, including: fenugreek, dandelion, garlic, cinnamon, and Madagascar periwinkle. Ask a qualified herbalist who has worked with animals for correct dosages and ways to use the herbs.

I have had success when using classical homeopathy and acupuncture with diabetic patients. Admittedly my cure rates were not as high as with other diseases, but they were high enough to justify the recommendation to try an alternative approach initially.

One final caveat: Diabetes may be the most-discussed disease on this planet – meaning the Internet is chock full of information (correct and incorrect), good and bad advice, cure-all proclamations, and downright hooey. You can learn a lot about diabetes on the Internet, but … buyer and user beware!

PANCREAS HEALTH AND DIABETES IN DOGS: OVERVIEW

1. Don’t allow your dog to become overweight. Obese dogs have a higher risk of pancreatitis and diabetes.

2. If your dog has had pancreatitis, control his food intake, level of dietary fat, and potential access to garbage or forbidden foods to prevent another attack.

3. If your diabetic dog’s blood sugar levels are not too extreme, consider trying to control his diabetes with diet and complementary therapies.

Dr. Randy Kidd earned his DVM degree from Ohio State University and his PhD in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. A past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, he’s author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and, Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Care.

Letters: 06/06

By
Nancy Kerns
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Dear readers: The response to our article on Dog Gone Pain, featured in “Safe Pain Relief” (May 2006), has been heavy and swift. Quite a few of the letters we received resembled the following:

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I ordered DGP for my seven-year-old Labrador, who has had a shoulder problem for two years, and noticed improvement quickly. She sees a chiropractor and receives acupuncture, but this really seems to help her pain.

Diana Pintel, Mistypoint Labradors
Lake Almanor, CA

But then, we also received letters like this:

As the owner of a senior Golden Retriever suffering from bilateral hip dysplasia and spinal arthritis, it was with great interest that I read your article on DGP. Our guy, Teddy, is clearly suffering, so we decided to ask our veterinarian about it. Our vet practices conventional, holistic, and Eastern medicine, and is very open-minded.

His answer was surprising. He said the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) strongly advises against recommending any product with undisclosed ingredients. He further stated that because of the undisclosed ingredients, he can’t guarantee there will not be negative interactions with the two medications Teddy must take, soloxine for thyroid and Enalapril for his kidneys.

As Teddy’s options are limited, we will try anything to make him comfortable. Conventional medications are no longer effective, so we will cautiously try DGP, but we expected a more positive response. Perhaps it could be suggested to the manufacturer that they be more forthcoming with the ingredients so American veterinarians can be comfortable talking about and recommending this product.

Donna Zeiser
Levittown, NY

Thanks, Donna, for your thoughtful and caring letter. I was unaware of the veterinary community’s anxiety or wariness about undisclosed ingredients until my recent correspondence with Dr. Susan Wynn (our interview appears in this issue). Dr. Wynn expressed her concern with DGP this way:

“As long as they keep secret their ingredients, no veterinarian will ever be able to ethically recommend the product. And while I think the stuff works, who is to say that it’s not working because they added a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, the way some unscrupulous Chinese herb producers do?”

I’ll be contacting the makers and distributors of DGP and asking them for a response to these very valid criticisms. I absolutely agree that any legitimate supplement maker should be happy to disclose all of its ingredients, especially to interested veterinarians.

I must say that I have only rarely heard vets express concern over the undisclosed ingredients in things like spot-on pesticides and so-called inert ingredients in the conventional drugs and topical medicines they sell and prescribe. On the other hand, though, at least those things have been tested and approved by the FDA. I could debate both sides of the issue all day; let’s move on to more critiques!

I was very taken aback by “Safe Pain Relief.” I am a clinical psychologist (and dog fanatic, of course) and have extensive training in experimental design. The fact that the “experiment” designed by Jan Skadberg did not include a control group of any sort, nor utilized a double-blind design, renders the results useless, in my opinion.

The entire body of results could easily be explained by the placebo effect (in other words, the owners knew they were giving something potentially helpful to their dogs, which may have altered the owner’s behavior toward their dogs, which in turn may have affected the dogs behavior, resulting in the findings reported). It would have been so easy to make this a double-blind study. In this way, the placebo effect, which has been proven over and over again to be very powerful, would be removed as a variable.

Beth Fishman, PhD
El Prado, NM

I proudly own two wonderful Tibetan Terriers and am an interventional cardiologist. I have always tried to practice “evidence-based medicine.” I support the NIH initiative to scientifically evaluate nontraditional medicine and have a completely open mind to the conclusions.

That said, your article on DGP was naive and ill-advised. DGP may be a wonderful remedy, but the “study” you reported was amateurish and would be laughed at by any respected scientific journal.

Alan S. Brenner, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Elkins, NH

For what it’s worth, the article’s author didn’t misrepresent her methodology; it was admittedly homegrown. And she did state that her goal was simply to test the product on enough dogs to see for herself whether her own dog’s experience was a fluke. If it performed well, she wanted to publicize this in hopes of inspiring more appropriate and experienced researchers to initiate a large-scale, conventionally structured study.

Ah, well, if you didn’t like the DGP article, you’re going to hate the one in this issue on Willard Water. I’m skeptical about Willard Water myself, but I can’t count the number of readers who have been begging us to publish an article about it after they tried it with wondrous results.

As penance, Dr. Susan “Evidence-Based Medicine” Wynn has assigned me the task of writing an article for WDJ about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various types of scientific evidence: case studies, meta analysis, in vitro testing, clinical trials, and more. I’ll be in my room.

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Visit to a Pet Food Factory
Thank you for accepting our invitation to tour Natura Pet Products California baking facility and our state-of-the-art dry food manufacturing plant in Fremont, Nebraska. I’m pleased that you had the interest to learn about the different programs and certifications it takes to provide the best and most healthful foods for companion animals.

As you accurately pointed out in your dry foods review (“The Right Stuff,” February 2006), using high quality ingredients isn’t enough. A total, almost fanatical, commitment and focus to quality manufacturing processes and quality assurance programs is the only way to give pet owners the confidence they deserve when choosing a product to feed their pet. This has become magnified in light of the unfortunate recent event in our industry. [Editor’s note: Atkins is referring to the death of a number of dogs in December 2005 due to poisoning from aflatoxin in some foods made by Diamond Pet Foods.]

Natura is committed to the highest standards for safety, reliability, and consistency by achieving and maintaining all of the third-party certifications that you listed: the American Institute of Baking (AIB) Superior Rating Certification, Organic Production Certification, USDA APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Registration and the ISO 9001:2000 Compliance Certification. By pointing out the importance of these processes and certifications, WDJ helps pet caretakers make an informed choice when choosing foods to feed their companions.

Peter Atkins
Vice President, Natura Pet Products
San Jose, CA

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More “Completely Convenient” Frozen Raw Diets
We missed the opportunity to include at least two (and surely more) manufacturers of frozen, raw diets in our April 2006 article about these products.

Oma’s Pride is a division of a meat-packing company that has produced meat and poultry for restaurants for more than 50 years. The company states that the Oma’s Pride products are made out of the same USDA-inspected and -approved ingredients as its parent company uses. Products include a chicken- and a turkey-based mix (each consisting of 70 percent meat/ground bones, 10 percent organ meats, and 20 percent vegetables); a beef mix (also 70 percent meat/ground bones, 10 percent organ meats, and 20 percent vegetables); and a lamb mix (80 percent meat/ground bones and 20 percent vegetables). The company also sells raw, recreational chew bones, tripe, organ mixes, and other meat products. Available via direct shipping, in some retail outlets, and from the manufacturing plant itself.

Oma’s Pride – Avon, CT; (800) 678-6627; www.omaspride.com.

Pepperdogz presents its frozen raw diets in 8-ounce “chubs,” kind of like a little frozen log. This form and size, the company claims, best resists freezer burn and snow, yet is easy to thaw. Three varieties are offered: “Perky Turkey,” described as a low-fat alternative to chicken, contains turkey, ground turkey bones, and turkey liver and heart (all from cage-free, antibiotic-free poultry); “Kick’n Chicken” is similar, only with chicken; and “Go Go Buffalo,” which utilizes range-fed buffalo as a beef alternative. All three contain vegetables, fruit, natural oils (flax seed, oil, evening primrose, and safflower), and a variety of supplements. Available from select locations in Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, and online from Only Natural Pet Store (www.onlynaturalpet.com).

Pepperdogz – Petforia, LLC; Bellevue, WA; (866) 866-DOGZ; www.pepperdogz.com.

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Corrections
“Completely Convenient,” in the April 2006 issue, contained some errors.

The home office of BARFWorld, Inc., is now located in Danville, CA. Also, we stated that Dr. Ian Billinghurst is no longer connected to BARFWorld, Inc. In fact, Dr. Billinghurst is still a shareholder in the company. However, since April 2003, he is not on the Board of Directors of the company and has not been involved in its day-to-day operations.

We incorrectly reported that the vitamin/mineral component of the raw, frozen diets made and sold by Nature’s Menu, of Lake Geneva, WI, is sold separately. This is incorrect. Nature’s Menu’s diets do contain a vitamin/mineral supplement and are formulated to be “complete and balanced.” We regret the errors.

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Giardia Addendum
We have some additional information about “A Water-Lover’s Worry” (May 2006). First, regarding when to recheck a dog’s stool after treating her for a Giardia infection: We reported that parasitologists advocate retesting the dog three to four weeks after treatment ends, and the practicing veterinarians we consulted observed that guideline. But we’ve since learned that researchers are now urging veterinarians to follow treatment with another Giardia test no more than 7 days later. Dr. Andrew Peregrine, Associate Professor of Clinical Parasitology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, explains that, if results are positive, waiting longer than this makes it difficult to know whether the drug failed or the dog got reinfected.

Also, we’ve learned of another method of testing that deserves mention. The SNAP Giardia® Test is similar to an ELISA test, but has the advantage of being done in your veterinarian’s clinic. It appears to be more reliable than a float test or fecal smear; however, the jury’s still out on whether it’s as effective as an in-lab ELISA. It’s been available in the U.S. since 2004, and just became available in Canada.

Download the Full June 2006 Issue PDF

By
Nancy Kerns
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Science Based Holistic Veterinarians

By
Nancy Kerns
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By Nancy Kerns

Frequently, we refer to “holistic” veterinarians in the pages of WDJ, as in, “Discuss this with your holistic veterinarian.” What we generally mean by this is a vet who offers her patients complementary and/or alternative methods of healthcare, in addition to her conventional Western medical treatments. The goal of holistic practitioners is to look at the entire animal patient – body, mind, and spirit – and to do more than treat his illness in times of crisis; they must also promote his total wellness, with an eye toward disease prevention.

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Nutrition plays a huge role in holistic medicine, both in preventing and treating disease. Advanced training in nutrition is often a cornerstone of any holistic veterinarian’s “toolbox,” enabling the practitioner to make smart, targeted suggestions for her patients’ diets and supplementation.

The rest of the holistic vet’s tools may differ widely. Some pursue advanced training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and use Chinese herbal medicine and/or acupuncture in their practices. Some become certified animal chiropractors. Some use Western herbal medicine or homeopathy. Some use esoteric tools, such as kinesiology, Reiki, medical intuition, or crystals.

As varied as the professional offerings are, however, it seems to us that there are simply not enough holistic practitioners. In the parts of the country where interest in alternative medicine is high, the most competent doctors often seem to have crazily busy practices, which can make it hard for them to recruit, train, and retain additional vets, which, in turn, can lead to the practice owners’ early burnout. In other parts of the country, nonconventional practitioners sometimes go out of business before they can find enough clients to support themselves.

So when we say, “Ask your holistic veterinarian,” some of our lucky readers (especially on the coasts) can make a mental note to do just that, while many others grit their teeth in frustration. “But I don’t have a holistic vet!” they howl. (We know this because they often call us to howl!)

All we can do is to suggest that they contact the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) in order to look for a practitioner near them; we put the contact information on page 24 of every issue.

But Susan Wynn, DVM, is doing more than that. Dr. Wynn, AHVMA’s current president-elect, has made it a mission to help bring an appreciation for holistic medicine to veterinarians, and vice versa. She is author or coauthor of three books aimed at vets interested in holistic medicine: Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: Principals and Practice, written with Allen Schoen, DVM, and published in 1998 by Mosby; Emerging Therapies: Using Herbs and Nutraceutical Supplements for Small Animals, published in 1999 by the AAHA Press; and Manual of Natural Veterinary Medicine: Science and Tradition, written with Steve Marsden, DVM, and published in 2003 by Mosby. Dr. Wynn and Barbara Fougère, BVSc, are currently completing a book for Elsevier (due to be published in late 2006) on herbal veterinary medicine.

While obviously a student and fan of some forms of holistic medicine, Dr. Wynn does not have equal regard for all complementary and alternative medicine (often referred to as CAM). She devotes much of her time to critically reviewing research supporting the use of veterinary CAM, and a portion of her lectures to conventional and holistically inclined veterinarians always include references to “evidence-based medicine.”

In addition to a busy lecturing schedule, writing books and papers, volunteering for AHVMA and the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association (VBMA), Dr. Wynn sees patients three or four days a week at the Bells Ferry Veterinary Hospital in Acworth, Georgia.

I’ve heard Dr. Wynn speak several times at AHVMA’s annual conferences, and always left with a notebook completely filled with undecipherable scrawls (she speaks quickly and covers a lot of useful material!). Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing her make a presentation – and the opportunity to interview her – at a venue close to home. Dr. Wynn was an invited speaker at the 2006 symposium of the Holistic Veterinary Medicine Club at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, sponsored by Natura Pet Products. Fortunately, this time I was permitted to bring a tape recorder!

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Did you have an interest in holistic medicine back in vet school?

No, I wasn’t exposed to it until after I got out of vet school. I did an internship in Washington, DC, and there was a holistic vet in that practice. She used a lot of homeopathy, but what really got my attention is that she would change the diets of almost every dog she saw, and I witnessed some amazing changes. That’s how I got interested in nutrition.

What about herbal medicine, which has become an area of specialty for you? Are herbs the closest thing to your heart?

Yes, nutrition and herbs. I was a gardener when I was a little kid, and I still really enjoy gardening. But herbs and nutrition are related. To me, they are simply molecules that our bodies understand. I really enjoy working with them.

I understand you have a strong bias toward the use of whole herbs.

Every herbalist does. That’s what herbal medicine is. It’s the scientists who want to take a single molecule out and study it to death, and that’s fine, if it turns out to be safe and effective. But to me it’s inefficient. We understand how the whole herbs work. We have an empirical database that’s 2,000 years old, in many cases. So why aren’t we studying whole herbs?

Where do you start with a new patient, when the dog is a mess?

I change the diet.

To what?

To something different! Obviously, it’s an individual thing, but if they have been on lamb and rice, I suggest switching to fish and potato. We look at what the dog has been fed, and feed him something else. Sometimes I suggest changing the form of the diet. If it’s commercial, try homemade. If it’s homemade – people don’t want to hear this! – try a commercial diet.

There are data out there suggesting that the overwhelming majority of published recipes that claim to provide a complete and balanced diet are not – they are actually deficient. And these are recipes in some of our favorite authors’ books! Often, I put my patients on a more reliable source of a complete and balanced diet and see what happens. People don’t want to hear that, but it helps sometimes.

So, you might suggest that someone who is using a homemade diet try a commercial frozen raw diet instead?

Sometimes, I suggest a kibble. I like the complete and balanced raw frozen diets, so that could work as well, but if the dog has already been on something like that, and still looks a mess, sometimes you have to change the form completely.

In WDJ, I try to tell dog owners to improve their dogs’ diets, no matter what they are feeding. Of course, some people are already feeding their dogs the ultimate raw, grass-fed, home-prepared diet …

But you are making judgments about what constitutes an improvement, and I don’t think we know enough about nutrition to do that. I’ve seen too many dogs on a good, supposedly balanced homemade diet improve when they were put back on kibble. I’m not smart enough to know why some improve. I think it’s a pretty artificial system to say we know this is better than that; to me, the dog is the only one qualified to tell us what is best – the dog tells us. And we just have to keep trying things until we find something that works for him.

I do have some biases, of course! My big thing is variety. A lot of people, I think, when they read your kibble issue (dry dog food reviews), go “Okay, this is the one.” You are very careful to not say “This one is the best,” but somehow they make those determinations. And my whole thing is, “No, there isn’t just one ‘best’ food. You’ve got to try a lot of things.”

Variety is especially important in puppies. It’s clear that we’re seeing more allergy and immune-mediated disease in dogs. It’s now documented in people, too, where it wasn’t so much, say, 10 years ago. In my opinion, one of the biggest contributors to this is the fact that many people put their dogs on one diet for the dog’s entire life. Often, eventually, the dog develops an allergy to the ingredients in that food.

The immune system learns by being exposed to a lot of variety, so I think with puppies in particular we have to start people out right and say “Use variety; don’t pick just one food.”

I’m also now recommending that people give probiotics for the first six months. The data in people are really interesting. Probiotics are kind of my new thing.

There are a couple of really interesting studies where they gave probiotics to infants who came from families with a predisposition to developing atopic dermatitis – eczema. In this study, they gave one group formula and another [group received] formula plus probiotic. There was a 50 percent reduction in the incidence of atopy in the infants fed the probiotics. To me, those are stunning numbers coming from a large clinical trial. They followed the babies out for four years and they still didn’t develop allergy as much. That’s such a discovery.

I think we need to teach people from the beginning about the hygiene hypothesis: don’t be too clean, don’t be too fast to put your puppy on antibiotics for just a couple of little papules, give them a variety of diets. That’s what holistic medicine is, of course: prevention.

So you’re not a diet purist?

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Actually, I have a reputation as being anti-raw.

But you are not actually anti-raw …

No! I’m not anti-raw! But because I have told some people they should put their dogs on a commercial diet, some of the diehard raw advocates can’t stand me. I’ve been kicked off some of the raw feeding lists because I won’t make some kind of statement that I’m exclusively for raw feeding.

Here’s the thing: If your dog is not doing well on a home-prepared, raw diet, you need to do something different! I see many people ignoring evidence that is in front of their very eyes, because they believe so strongly that what they are doing with the diet is the “best” – even if their dog looks and feels awful. If it works for your dog, if he looks great, raw feeding is fabulous. But if you come in to my clinic and you are using a raw feeding plan and your dog doesn’t look good, I might tell you to change. That doesn’t mean I am anti-raw.

Frequently, the dog is having a hard time because he’s allergic to something in the diet, but because the client is so convinced they are doing the right thing by feeding a home-prepared, raw diet, they sometimes don’t consider that the dog might be allergic to something in the food. I’ve had patients whose raw-fed dogs had horrible skin conditions, and they spent years trying homeopathy and all sorts of other stuff, when the problem was in the diet all along. That’s upsetting to me.

They couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Right.

Here’s another problem that seems to arise more frequently among the raw feeders: When we do decide to put a dog with signs of allergy on an elimination diet, we often find there isn’t anything the dog hasn’t eaten that we can use for the elimination trial. Because so many raw feeders are such advocates of feeding variety – and because so many pet food companies now offer novel proteins like duck, rabbit, and venison – we often find ourselves with nothing to use for an elimination diet.

I’ve had to send clients off to get kangaroo or alligator from Oma’s Pride (a frozen, raw food maker) to use in an elimination diet, because the client had at some time or another fed everything else. You have no idea how expensive it is to feed alligator to a German Shepherd! It’s really too bad. So many people are feeding novel proteins, for no good reason. Or mixing the novel meats with common meats.

So your advice to owners is to stay away from novel proteins unless you absolutely have to go there?

Yes, steer clear of the novel proteins unless you are doing an elimination diet. I mean, there is plenty of variety in fish, chicken, beef, venison, turkey, lamb, and pork. Go ahead and use those, and keep back the kangaroo and duck and rabbit for an emergency.

The other part of this is, people also have to learn how to properly construct an elimination diet trial. People come in (to the clinic) and say, “Well, I’ve tried rabbit, I’ve tried duck.” But they tried it while they were still giving the dog pig’s ears and Milk Bones.

That’s a good idea for a WDJ article! I’ll get on that! What are your other pet peeves, things you wish the average dog owner would learn?

That’s the big one. I see a lot of dogs with allergies.

How do you feel about the really far-flung unconventional therapies?

I’ve heard people say, “Well, it can’t hurt.” I have a problem, though, when the treatment delays proper therapy. It’s obviously not an issue if the animal is not uncomfortable, but for me, holistic medicine means the animal has to be comfortable throughout. Medicine is supposed to mitigate pain and discomfort, so that’s the bar I use.

I worry that when people try the really far-out stuff, they tend to run out of hope and money. I’ve seen people give up, saying they’ve tried everything, but all they’ve really tried is the weird stuff.

That reminds me of another pet peeve: When owners get sucked into using just one practitioner, even if that person doesn’t seem to be helping the animal.

Owners need to use second opinions more. You’ve got to remember that whole hammer and nail thing [“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”]. It really is all about teamwork now. You can’t just use a homeopath or herbalist or a general practitioner who uses conventional medicine; you have to build a team that can work together and communicate well. It’s hard, but not impossible.

Here’s another article idea for you: Teaching dog owners how to critically evaluate the results of a therapy, whether it’s a diet change or homeopathy or whatever. In my practice, I have written up these visual analogue scales, and defined our outcomes to help owners give us better information about how the dog is doing, such as, “Goes upstairs: Zero means they don’t even try, 100 means they bound up the stairs.” You’ve got to be able to really critically evaluate the outcomes to help us decide what works.

Ah! Evidence-based medicine!

In my opinion, evidence-based medicine is the gold standard to which all medicine, alternative or conventional, should aspire. I mean, case histories and anecdotal evidence are great – for the people involved in the dog’s happy recovery. But they are not as useful as randomized, blind, controlled trials.

How do you feel about animal testing?

I like what the VBMA (Veterinary Botanical Medical Association) has come up with. When we get to the point where we can fund trials (which will be a long time from now), we decided we were not interested in experimental studies using lab animals; they have to be clinical studies on animals that are already sick. Good quality clinical trials can be done. There is no reason to do it any differently, in my opinion.

In herbal medicine it’s a little different. When you’re talking about a drug, an isolated constituent, a nutraceutical – those have not been given for 2,000 years. With herbs, we’ve got a pretty good idea of what they do; it’s not like starting out with something potentially toxic, where you have to start in the test tube and then the lab animal.

In my opinion, clinical trials with animals who are already sick are the be-all, end-all.

In the patients’ homes?

Sure, client-owned pets? It can be done; it has been done!

Some players in the pet food industry are moving in that direction, testing their products in consumers’ homes, or shelters …

Yes, I recently read a study about a food trial with client-owned dogs done by people at the University of Georgia, where they compared two diets. The dogs were mostly vet students’ dogs, or faculty dogs – but still client-owned dogs. It’s been done, it’s easy to do, you just gotta have proper design.

Are the vet schools starting to take more interest in CAM?

Absolutely. And the different schools are coming up with different focus areas, which is appropriate. They have a survey [of holistic veterinary medicine] class at the University of Minnesota, and their program is probably going to be TCM, because of the interests of some of the faculty there. I’m adjunct faculty at University of Georgia, where we offer an introduction to herbal medicine – mostly Western herbs. We don’t have a survey course – the students don’t get exposed to acupuncture and stuff like that. I understand that Tuskegee’s is mostly acupuncture. Florida has a survey class … As the schools work out what they are interested in, I’m sure we’ll get centers of excellence for various modalities.

I’ve heard that on some campuses, some of the faculty are very resistant to classes in CAM being offered.

I’ve only heard this secondhand, from vet students who say they have experienced resistance [about bringing CAM classes to the curriculum]. It’s my guess that the faculty just does not have time to talk about what is good evidence and what is not good evidence.

That’s the gap I try to bridge. I hope my books give the conventional vets enough evidence-based information about alternative medicine that they will consider it when appropriate.

I really didn’t want to become yet another expert for dog owners. I don’t usually talk to the dog magazines – you’re the exception! I decided long ago that the most efficient way to promote evidence-based holistic medicine is to teach as many vets as possible about it. I think the bigger change is going to come from teaching the vets. And that’s what I’m really trying to do.

Activity-Related Canine Injuries

By
Gregory L. Tilford
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by Gregory Tilford He’s fearless. Reckless. Senseless? Or perhaps my Australian Cattle Dog, Cedar, is just accident-prone. Yesterday he slammed head first into a door jam during rough play with my Shepherd-mix, Willow. Today he did a nose dive off a five-foot embankment in pursuit of his favorite all-natural dog toy: a pine cone. As always, he retrieved the cone, chewed it into a slobbery clump of fibrous goo, and dropped it at my feet. On his trot back I noticed he was limping, holding his front leg off the ground. I palpate his shoulder and leg, ignoring the anticipated snarls and growls that he invariably produces with any unsolicited physical manipulation. Mobility seems fine, no tenderness upon touch, I cannot find any evidence of a fracture. It appears that he has suffered a minor sprain. As always I immediately reach for my trusty little vial of homeopathic arnica 30C. The diminutive, white sugar pill is easy to feed – just a quick drop from the vial cap into his mouth and first aid is done. In about 30 minutes Cedar’s limp is barely noticeable. Could the arnica really work that quickly? Or is it just that his injury is less serious than I thought? I honestly don’t know – nor do I care – because my little boy is feeling better. Plus, there is no harm in exercising precaution with a harmless, yet potentially effective homeopathic remedy. In an hour or so I’ll give another pill, and check his leg for swelling, but for now it seems that my reckless little dog got off easy again. Indeed, arnica is an amazing first aid remedy. I use it for myself as well as my dogs, and I would never venture anywhere without it. Awesome herb Preparations made from the bright yellow, daisy-like flowers of arnica have been used for centuries as an effective herbal medicine. Often used by professional athletes in the form of gels, liniments, or oil infusions, arnica is massaged into the site of sprains, bruises, or other closed-tissue injuries. Its contributions to the healing process can be dramatic and almost immediate; the herb acts to quickly dilate peripheral capillaries and lymph ducts. This results in increased circulation and drainage of tissues that are engorged with fluids as a result of injury. The healing process is accelerated by the improved flow of lymph, blood, and platelets in and out of the affected area. Topical preparations of arnica are especially valuable for treatment of horses and other large animals that are subjected to rigorous exercise. Arnica gels or oils can be used on dogs, but measures must be taken to prohibit dogs from licking it off, as preparations of this plant can be toxic if taken internally. This is especially true if any internal bleeding or inflammation is present. And, because arnica stimulates blood flow in tissues where it is directly applied, it should never be used to treat open wounds. Nor should herbal preparations of arnica be applied prior to a surgical procedure. Homeopathic arnica The rules of safe and effective use of homeopathic arnica are quite different. Comparing an herbal preparation of arnica with its homeopathic counterpart is almost like comparing apples with the smell of apple blossoms. Homeopathic arnica is made with such dilute concentrations that scientific analysis of the finished product cannot detect any physical presence of the herb itself; only the “energies” of the plant remain. Instead of working directly upon physical structures of the body through direct chemical interactions (as concentrated herbal preparations do), homeopathic arnica works by stimulating the healing process at sub-physical, bioenergetic levels. The theory is that only a few molecules of the plant are needed to trigger a positive response by the recipient body. Sound far-fetched? Just wait till you use it and see the results! I use “Arnica Montana 30C” – a preparation that is 3,000 times more dilute than the herbal tincture from which it is made. Homeopathic arnica is readily available through health food retailers and comes in a variety of potencies. Homeopathic arnica is very safe and can be used as a first line of treatment for virtually any type of closed injury. I keep a bottle of the tiny sugar pills with me wherever I go – for my dogs and myself. When a twist, sprain, or overextension of a leg results in a limp, I just slip one tiny little pill (smaller than a peppercorn) into my dog’s mouth and wait 30 minutes for a result. If no results occur, I repeat the dose one more time. In many cases, that’s all that’s needed. Like any medicine, homeopathic arnica may not work for everybody. And if you suspect a bone fracture or other serious injury, get your pup to a vet. -Greg Tilford is a well-known expert on herbal medicine for animals. An international lecturer and teacher of veterinarians and pet owners alike, Greg has authored or co-authored four books on herbs, including All You Ever Wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets (Bowie Press, 1999).

Seek and You May Find

By
Nancy Kerns
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What, now even our dogs are all stressed out? Is this something we really need to worry about? Or just yuppy puppy pseudo-angst?

That probably would have been my reaction if, a decade or so ago, I had read an article about signs of stress in dogs. Today, though, I get it. Trained to recognize the telltale body language and behavior of on-edge dogs by WDJ’s professional trainer contributors, I now see stressed-out dogs just about everywhere I go.

When I first read Pat Miller’s article on this topic (“Stress Signals” in this issue), I could plainly picture a number of dogs in my own life who regularly exhibited certain stress signals. There was my parents’ mixed-breed, Andy, who would stop in his tracks and seemingly idly scratch his ears with a hind foot if any of our voices sounded angry or loud. My darling Border Collie, Rupert, used to flick his tongue out and lick his nose constantly around strangers and especially small children.

Carly belongs to a family I know well. It’s become a tradition for me to take a photographic portrait of their sons every Christmas, and Carly is required to be in the pictures, too. We’ve always thought it was funny that Carly always yawns repeatedly and deeply every time we make her sit for these portraits. In fact, we save and collect these comical yawning shots from year to year. Is it the sitting still, being called (to make eye contact with the camera) without being allowed to move, the noise of the camera? Whatever it is, I now realize something about the experience is stressful for her, and her yawning helps relieve that anxiety.

A few times a year, I dog-sit Paws, a high-octane yellow Lab, when his family goes on vacation. At seven years old, Paws still acts like an uncouth puppy. He’s so frantic and whines so loudly that it’s quite unpleasant to take him anywhere. I recently brought him to a do-it-yourself dog bathing facility, where he whined so constantly and at such a high volume throughout his bath that I half expected a round of applause from the other customers when we left. Also, while he can take treats from my hand with the greatest of delicacy and care at home, when we work on his training out in the world, he snaps and grabs at them, often biting my fingers by mistake. But now I get it. His hyperactivity and whining are not just misbehavior; they are signs that he is incredibly stressed and overwhelmed when he does get taken out.

Pat gives a number of good reasons for us to pay attention to our dogs’ stress signals (bite prevention is one very compelling rationale).

Less dramatic but just as tragic is the fact that dogs, like all other mammals (humans included), have a difficult time learning and retaining what they have learned when they are stressed. Numerous studies with a wide variety of species have shown that increased levels of cortisol (a potent hormone released during stress) impair the brain’s ability to process and store information.

Understanding this will certainly give me more patience with Paws. It will also change the way I’ll work with him in the future, so he can relax and retain his lessons after all these years.

-Nancy Kerns

Signs That Your Dog Has Stress

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Recently, there was a video clip of a two-legged dog making the e-mail rounds. Faith, a gold-colored Lab mix, is missing her front legs due to a congenital deformity. Several people sent me the clip with their comments about how wonderful it was that the dog could walk and hop around on her two hind legs and lead a relatively normal life.

I watched the clip a number of times, and found the footage more disturbing than uplifting. I was concerned that every person who sent me the clip thought Faith looked “happy.” I wondered if we were watching entirely different videos! What I saw was a dog who was noticeably stressed in almost every bit of the footage, with the exception of a few seconds showing Faith lying under the covers in bed with her owner.

I suspect that the people who sent me the video saw the heartwarming miracle of a dog who survived against all odds. I saw a dog who was stress-panting, ears pinned against her head, eyes large, anxious whenever her owner walked away from her, and avoiding contact when admiring members of the public reached out to touch her. Why was there such a huge difference between our interpretations of the dog’s behavior?

Please note: I’m not saying Faith appears to be on the verge of biting someone, or has any tendency at all toward aggression. But she certainly does appear stressed – at least when she’s been filmed.

Many of the folks who sent Faith’s clip to me are above-average dog people. They read WDJ, frequent good training e-mail lists, and read the right books. If they missed a package of behaviors that signaled to me that Faith was not calm and relaxed, it’s not surprising that so many average (and worse) dog owners are fairly poor at recognizing signs of stress.

The smart, aware owner is always on the alert for signs that her dog is stressed, so she can alleviate tension when it occurs. Those whose dogs are easily stressed often become hypervigilant, watching closely for tiny signs that presage more obvious stress-related behaviors, in order to forestall those unpleasant reactions.

If more owners were aware of the subtle signs of stress, fewer dogs would bite. That would be a very good thing.

Why Stress Signals Matter

There are many reasons why it’s important to pay attention to stress indicators, including the following:

1. Stress is a universal underlying cause of aggression.

2. Stress can have a negative impact on the dog’s health.

3. The dog’s ability to learn is impaired when she is stressed.

4. Dogs respond poorly to cues when stressed.

5. Negative classical conditioning can occur as a result of stress.

For all of these reasons, and more, it’s worthwhile to monitor your dog for signs of stress, and take appropriate steps to make his life a little easier.

Signs of Stress in Dogs

Listed below are some stress behaviors that are often overlooked. With each behavior, the appropriate immediate course of action for you is to identify the stressor(s) and figure out how to decrease the intensity of that stressful stimulus. In many cases this can be accomplished by increasing the distance between your dog and the stressor, be it a child, another dog, a noisy street sweeper, a person in uniform, men with beards …

If possible, remove the stressor from your dog’s environment entirely. For example, if he’s stressed by harsh verbal corrections, shock collars, and NASCAR races on TV, you can probably simply stop exposing him to them. For stressors that can’t be eliminated, a long-term program of counter-conditioning and desensitization can change the dog’s association with a stressor from negative to positive, removing one more trigger for stress signals and possible aggression. (See “Different Dog Reactions to Touch,” August 2004, to learn how to carry out a counter-conditioning and desensitization program.)

1. Anorexia: Stress causes the appetite to shut down. A dog who won’t eat moderate to high-value treats may just be distracted or simply not hungry, but this is more often an indicator of stress.

2. Appeasement/deference signals: These don’t always indicate stress. Appeasement and deference are important everyday communication tools for keeping peace in social hierarchies, and are often presented in calm, stress-free interactions.

Appeasement and/or deference signals are generally offered by a lower-ranking dog to a higher-ranking member in a social group to promote the tranquility of the group and the safety of the lower-ranking member. When offered in conjunction with other behaviors, they can be an indicator of stress as well. Appeasement and deference signals include:

• Slow movement: Lower-ranking dog appears to be moving in slow motion.

• Lip licking: Lower-ranking dog licks at the mouth of the higher-ranking member of the social group.

• Sitting/lying down/exposing underside: Lower-ranking dog offers submission by lowering body posture, exposing vulnerable parts.

• Turning head away, averting eyes: Lower-ranking dog avoids eye contact, exposes neck.

• Avoidance: Dog turns away, shuts down, evades handler’s touch and treats.

• Brow ridges: Furrows or muscle ridges appear in dog’s forehead and around eyes.

• Digestive disturbances: Vomiting and diarrhea can be a sign of illness, or of stress; the digestive system reacts strongly to stress. Carsickness is often a stress reaction.

3. Displacement behaviors: These are behaviors performed in an effort to resolve an internal stress conflict for the dog, and are not related to hierarchy. They may be observed in a dog who is stressed and in isolation (for example, a dog left alone in an exam room in a veterinary hospital), differentiating them from behaviors related to relationship or hierarchy.

Displacement behaviors include:

• Blinking (eyes blink at a rate that is faster than normal).

• Chattering teeth.

• Nose licking (dog’s tongue flicks out once or multiple times).

• Scratching.

• Shaking off (as if wet, but dog is dry).

• Yawning.

• Drooling or foaming: This may be an indication of stress – or a response to the presence of food, or an indication of a mouth injury.

• Excessive grooming: Dog may lick or chew paws, legs, flank, tail, and genital areas, even to the point of self-mutilation.

• Hyperactivity: Frantic behavior or just restless pacing, sometimes misinterpreted as ignoring or “blowing off” owner.

• Immune system disorders: Long-term stress weakens the immune system. Immune related problems can improve if dog’s overall levels of stress are reduced.

• Lack of attention/focus: The brain has difficulty processing information when stressed.

• Leaning/clinging: The stressed dog seeks contact with human as reassurance.

• Lowered body posture: “Slinking” or acting “guilty” or “sneaky” (all misinterpretations of dog body language) can be indicators of stress.

4. Mouthing: Willingness to use mouth on human skin – can be puppy exploration or adult poor manners, but can also be an expression of stress, ranging from gentle nibbling (flea biting), to hard taking of treats, to painfully hard mouthing, snapping, or biting.

5. Obsessive-compulsive disorders: These include imaginary fly-snapping, light- and shadow-chasing, tail-chasing, pica (eating nonfood objects), flank-sucking, self-mutilation, and more. While OCDs probably have a genetic component, the behavior itself is usually triggered by stress.

6. Panting: Rapid shallow or heavy breathing – normal if the dog is warm or has just been exercising but can be a sign of stress in the dog who is not physically exerting himself or is over-warm.

7. Stiff movement: Tension can cause a noticeable stiffness in leg, body, and tail movements.

8. Stretching: To release stress-related tension in muscles, many dogs perform elaborate, deep stretches (may also occur after sleeping).

9. Sweaty paws: Damp footprints can be seen on floors, exam tables, or rubber mats.

10. Trembling: May be due to stress (or cold!).

11. Whining: This high-pitched vocalization, irritating to most humans, is an indication of stress. While some may interpret it as excitement, a dog who is excited to the point of whining is also stressed.

12. Yawning.

As I reread this list, I find myself making note of my own dogs’ signs of stress, past and present. I recall the time my dearly missed Pomeranian, Dusty, was earning the third leg of his Companion Dog degree. As I released him from the three-minute Long Down, I noticed tiny, sweaty pawprints on the rubber show-ring mats where his little paws had rested. Only in that moment did I realize how stressful that exercise must have been for him.

Our sound-sensitive Corgi, Lucy, trembles violently with the approach of a thunderstorm, long before I can hear the distant booming, while Tucker, our Cattle Dog-mix, just comes and leans against me – also well before I can hear the storm. With dogs like those two, who needs weather forecasters? Dubhy, our dog-reactive Scotty, normally takes treats with exceptional gentleness – except when he’s stressed in the presence of another dog. Then it’s fingers beware!

Even we humans succumb to the natural biological need to use body language to express and relieve stress. I used to show hunters and jumpers (horses). Every time I sat on my horse outside the over-fences classes waiting for my turn to compete, I would be afflicted with the uncontrollable need to yawn – and yawn – and yawn. Only recently did I realize why. Stress! It affects us all.

Book author and trainer Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ‘s Training Editor. She and her husband Paul live in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.

Teaching Your Dog Self Control

By
Mardi Richmond, CPDT-KA
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By Mardi Richmond

Recently, at a dog-related event, I had the opportunity to witness dozens of acts of self-control. There was the cute Lab who sat patiently in front of a five-year-old, ice-cream-eating child. There was the mixed-breed dog who politely turned her head and moved away when an adolescent Pug lunged in her direction.

One of the strongest examples was a young Border Collie who noticed a great game of Frisbee happening a short distance away. He started toward the group, obviously eager to join the game. He took one step, and then seemed to remember that he was with his person. He glanced up at his person (who was chatting with another person and unaware of her dog’s dilemma) and then the Border Collie made the choice to sit and patiently watch the game instead of trying to join it.

Of course, there were also a few “out of control” exchanges at this same event. And in a few instances, only the owner’s vigilant management prevented the dog from becoming out of control. So what made the difference? Why do some dogs exhibit such great self-control while others are lacking?

Self-control is often thought of as an inherent quality – something a dog (or person) either has or doesn’t have. Admittedly, some of us may be more naturally capable of self-control than others!

But self-control is much more than just behaving calmly or even resisting excitement. It is more than being well trained. It is an emotional skill. Self-control can be taught and developed much the way physical skills like loose-leash walking can be taught.

How Dogs Learn Self-Control
Dogs, like people, learn self-control through life experiences and through interactions with dogs and people. They learn from the “consequences” of their actions when they experiment with behavior. All types of consequences (both positive experiences and negative experiences) influence the development of self-control.

Puppies and young dogs, for example, may learn to have self-control around dogs during play. If a puppy plays nicely and with restraint (showing good self-control), the play session is likely to continue. However if the pup bites too hard, becomes too rambunctious, or is otherwise “out of control,” the other dog may offer a warning and then disengage from the play.

Since most of us live with our dogs in a controlled environment, with fences and leashes that enforce our control, it may be difficult for some dogs to learn self-control strictly through their daily interactions; they may need a little help from us.

This is where training for self-control comes in. You really can help your dog gain this fundamental skill. Training exercises to teach self-control involve three elements:

• Teaching the dog that being calm is an option.

• Allowing the dog the opportunity to experiment (safely!) so that he begins to understand that self-control is a rewarding option.

• Teaching the dog to “listen” in the face of excitement or arousal.

Step One: It’s OK To Be Calm
For some dogs, being calm comes naturally. But many dogs, especially dogs with self-control issues, actually need to be taught that being calm is an option and a good choice!

• Sit calmly. Sit or down are good foundation exercises for self-control. When a dog sits and stays sitting (or stays in the down position) for several minutes, he learns how to be calm. In her book, Understanding and Teaching Self Control, Suzanne Clothier writes, “A dog who is lacking self-control simply does not know that it is possible to sit quietly in the face of distractions.” We have to show our dogs that it is possible!

Start with practicing “sit” or “down” in a low-distraction environment for one to five minutes. If your dog has trouble holding a sit or down, you may need to start with only a few seconds and build up slowly to a minute or longer. (See “Way to Stay,” March 2006 for more tips on teaching your dog to sit/stay.)

Once your dog does well in your living room and other easy places, start practicing out in the world. Slowly increase the difficulty of distractions. A dog who can sit or down and hang out for several minutes in the face of distractions is learning that being calm is an option.

Note: In the rest of the article, we’ll refer to asking your dog to “sit” as a default calm behavior. If it’s easier for your dog to lie down than sit (many breeds find it to be more comfortable due to their conformation), substitute “down” for sit in the instructions that follow.

• Relax in new places. When your dog has the idea of sitting calmly, take the exercise a step further. Teach your dog that he can “hang out” quietly with you in new but low-stimulation environments. Head for a quiet space – perhaps the neighborhood park, under an oak tree in a field, or even a new spot in your backyard.

Take a book and perhaps a blanket to sit on. Keep your dog on leash, and invite him to sit or lie down (whichever he is more comfortable with), open your book, and settle in for a few minutes. When your dog settles, quietly praise him.

• Sit for exciting events. You can reinforce the sit calmly by asking your dog to sit for all exciting events in his life. For example, ask your dog to sit before going outside to run, before walking through the front door, before having the leash put on, before being fed dinner, and even before being let off leash to play with other dogs.

Step Two: Self-Control Is Rewarding
Dogs with good self-control have had the opportunity to learn that restraint is a rewarding behavior. These exercises help dogs understand how rewarding it can be to control their own behavior!

• Leave it or off. The “leave it” or “off” is when you teach a dog to back away or look away from an interesting object, dog, or person. It is commonly used to train puppies to refrain from mouthing or playing with the wrong items, and to help overexcited dogs learn to disengage from other dogs. While this exercise is usually taught as a safety behavior – a way to teach a dog that leaving something alone is the best option – it is also a great way to encourage self-control. (See “Off Limits,” January 2002, for more about teaching the “off.”)

In the early stages of the off exercise, you may cue the behavior by saying “off” when you want your dog to leave something alone, but for self-control practice it is essential to start rewarding your dog for offering the off. You can actually set up an “off practice course” by laying out 5 to 10 interesting objects (toys, cones, socks, etc.). Walk through the course one or more times asking your dog to “off” when you pass each object and rewarding him generously each time he does.

After your dog walks through the course once or twice, he is likely to begin offering the “off” before you ask. When this happens, jackpot by rapid-fire feeding him treats and lavishing him with praise!

Watch for opportunities in your daily life – on walks, for example – when your dog notices something or someone and then looks to you. If you can catch these opportunities, you will help your dog learn that disengaging (which is a part of self-control) is a great choice.

• Wait for the ball toss. In the early stages of practicing this game, you will want to simply have your dog sit, and then toss the ball as a reward. As he learns the game, you can increase the time he waits before the ball is tossed.

Next, watch for opportunities to reward the offered sit – where your dog actually sits before you ask. Your dog will be learning that his act of offered self-control (sitting and waiting for the ball toss) is more rewarding than dancing around and demanding the throw. Of course, this means that you should limit the number of times that you throw the ball for him when he is demanding the throw with exuberant behavior, even when you are not actively “training” him!

Step Three: In The Face Of Arousal
When I asked friends with dogs what it meant for a dog to exhibit self-control, they all agreed that the most impressive examples of self-control were dogs who did what they were taught to do, in spite of their strong urges otherwise. One example was the Frisbee dog who waited patiently – even while quivering from head to toe with excitement – until she was cued to retrieve the plastic disc.

Hunting, herding, and even dog sports like agility encourage dogs to exhibit self-control while in the midst of excitement and arousal. Here is an at-home exercise that can also help dogs learn to turn on and off their excitement, and to listen to you in the face of arousal.

• Tug-sit-tug. Tug games can be great fun and great exercise. For dogs who get wound up when tugging, this game can be a powerful tool for teaching a dog to exhibit self-control even when excited. Start by making sure your dog knows how to “drop” the tug toy on cue. (For more on this, see “Tug: Play It By the Rules,” October 2004.) Start with a calmer version of tug (at a lower arousal level), and every 3 to 5 seconds stop pulling and ask your dog to drop the toy. At first, if you need to, you can reward your dog for dropping the toy with a treat.

Once your dog can easily and quickly drop the toy on cue, start requesting a sit after he drops it, so the sequence is tug-drop-sit. You can use the tug game as the reward. Begin increasing the length of time your dog sits before you start tugging.

When your dog is “good” at this game, start gradually increasing the intensity and excitement of the game by playing harder or longer (5 to 7 seconds, for example) before you ask for the drop and sit. Your dog may start to “offer” the sit after the drop; that’s great!

Asking Vs. Offering
Several times when describing the above exercises, I recommended rewarding your dog for “offering” a behavior before you ask. When you ask or cue your dog to do a specific behavior, and your dog responds, he is listening to you or under your control. Sometimes just being able to follow direction does show a degree of self-control, but when a dog offers an appropriate behavior, especially a behavior that shows restraint or calmness, he is definitely exhibiting self-control. When you selectively reward self-control oriented behaviors in daily life, you have provided the opportunity for your dog to experiment with behavior and learn that calm, controlled behavior is the best choice. Let your dog know that you notice and appreciate his good choices!

Keep It Positive

When I am helping people help their dogs develop self-control, invariably the question comes up: Wouldn’t he learn it faster if we “corrected” his impulsive behavior? Aside from the obvious that training with positive methods is kinder, I also believe that self-control is stronger when it is learned through reinforcement, rather than punishment.

Possibly the best example is the herding dog who exhibits amazing self-control around sheep. The dog learns that waiting patiently earns him the “reward” of working those sheep. Without the reinforcement of getting to move the sheep, the same dog might have a tougher time learning restraint in the face of incredibly strong drives.

Also, attempts to “correct” behavior may accidentally reinforce it. For example, if your dog jumps on you as a way to gain your attention and you scold him, he has just been rewarded for jumping! Scolding is a form of attention. In contrast, if you calmly disengage (showing self-control on your part!), you ensure the out-of-control behavior is not inadvertently rewarded. You also send a clear message that being out of control is not going to earn attention.

What can you do if you have a dog who regularly blows it in terms of self-control? First, identify and respect what your dog can and cannot handle! Then get busy and start training self-control behaviors. Make it clear to your dog that self-control oriented behaviors – like calmness in the face of distractions, restraint around temptations, and listening when excited – are always the most rewarding choices.

 

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Help You Dog Learn Self Control”
Click here to view “How Can You Know What Your Dog is Feeling?”

-Mardi Richmond, MA, CPDT, is a writer and trainer living in Santa Cruz, California, with her partner and two wonderful dogs.

Supporting Your Dog’s Immune System

By
Randy Kidd
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CANINE IMMUNE SYSTEM SUPPORT OVERVIEW

– Support your dog’s immune system with fresh foods, ample (not necessarily strenuous) exercise, daylight, and loving, hands-on attention.

– Don’t overvaccinate! Use titer tests to determine whether your dog’s immune “memory” needs “boosting.”

– Take your dog’s chronic health problems as a sign that you need to take further steps to balance him immune system; the complementary therapies are excellent in this regard.

The immune system is a dog’s “great protector.” To be immune (from the Latin immunis, meaning free or exempt) is to be protected from infectious diseases by either specific or nonspecific mechanisms.

It is the great protector’s job to respond to infectious challenges and antigenic stimuli from the outside world and respond to them appropriately. An appropriate immune response will mount a defense against the body’s challengers without in turn destroying the host animal itself; this type of response presupposes that the immune system can recognize or differentiate its “self” from the invader, the “not self.”

blood tests for dogs

Studies of the immune system include its basic structure and function along with all the biological, serological, physical, and chemical aspects of the immune phenomena. In addition, immune function is involved in immunization (vaccines), organ transplants, and blood transfusions.

Functional testing of the immune system may include laboratory tests of the cellular and humoral (pertaining to the “humors” or fluids of the body, especially involving the blood) components of immunology, and the use of antigen-antibody reactions (serology and immunochemistry). Easy-to-perform clinical pathology tests (a CBC or needle biopsy, for example) might be used to indicate the current status of the animal’s immune system.

The physical part of the dog’s immune system extends from the subcellular level to the whole organism. Each and every cell and all organ systems have their own components of immunity, and in turn, each has some sort of independent, inner regulator. Recent evidence indicates that an animal’s emotions have a profound effect – sometimes positive, sometimes negative – on an animal’s immunity. And even environmental factors such as noises, odors, light patterns, and/or environmental pollutants can have an effect on the biochemistry and cellular components of the immune system.

The immune system has been extensively studied by the reductionist model of Western science. From the viewpoint of the holistic practitioner, however, the most important aspect of the system as a whole is that each individual component of immunity is intimately connected. Through these connections all the microscopic parts of the system are in constant and intimate communication with all other parts.

It is this inner communication that becomes important when taking a holistic approach to the dog’s wellness. While Western medicine typically concentrates on confronting one component of a disease, holistic medicine tries to incorporate all aspects of that great protective inner web and outer blanket that is the immune system, ultimately trying to bring them all back into balance. “Balance” is the operative word here – imbalance in either direction, either a hypoactive or hyperactive immune system, will ultimately lead to disease.

The Canine Immune System

The best-known components of the immune system are those found in the blood and lymph systems – the circulating immune system. Lymphocytes and immunoglob-ulins tend to be the media darlings of the immune system. Many practitioners give short shrift to other, equally important components, such as the skin and other body barriers, the mucosal linings of many body surfaces, the gastrointestinal tract, the lungs, hormonal input into the system, and the interconnecting immuno-communication system.

Traditionally, the circulating immune system is divided into two components: cellular (primarily lymphocytes) and humoral (complex proteins that are referred to as immunoglobulins or antibodies).

Cellular components of this circulating system include two types of lymphocytic cells: B-cells and T-cells. One purpose of the lymphocyte population is to recognize antigens. An antigen is any substance that is capable of inducing an immune response; bacteria, viruses, and parasites are antigens.

After recognizing a substance as “not self” and “not-good-for-the-self,” lymphocytes may enter directly into the process of destroying and removing the foreign intruder. Or, via the production of antibodies (immunoglobulins), they can activate other cells – including the white blood cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes – that do the dirty work for them. Total white cell numbers and the ratio of the kinds of white cells seen in a sample (observed on a CBC, or complete blood count) may be helpful in determining the type of disease present (see “How to Utilize Your Dog’s Next Blood Test,” November 2003).

There are several classes of T-lymphocytes: helper cells, cytotoxic cells, and suppressor cells. Each class acts in its own way as a coordinator and/or stimulator of the immune system. In addition to their actions on the circulating white cells of the blood, T-cells also influence lymph nodes, the thymus, spleen, intestines, tonsils, the normal flora of “good guy” bugs that exist in various areas of the body, and the mucosal protective coating that lines many tissues.

B-lymphocytes are the memory cells of the immune system, and they are the cells primarily responsible for humoral immunity. B-cells produce proteins termed immunoglobulins that act as antibodies, and these antibodies interact with antigens that have been introduced to the body. This interaction typically forms a protein complex that can be removed from the body.

There are several classes of immunoglobulins: IgA, IgE, IgG, IgM, and IgD. The immunoglobulins are found in the gamma globulin portion of the blood serum. Each immunoglobulin class has a typical area of the body where it is most often found; each has specific antigens it interacts with, and each has its own way of producing a removable antigen/antibody complex.

For example, IgE activates immediate hypersensitive reactions, and IgA is generally involved with immune functions of the secretory organs. IgG is the only class transferred across the placenta, and it is responsible for the maternal antibodies that protect puppies for several weeks after birth.

There are specific tests used to determine the class and the relative amount of immunoglobulin present. While these tests are generally nonspecific, they may give some indication as to the type of ongoing disease process.

B-cells are long-lived, perhaps as long as the entire life-span of the animal. As they are exposed to antigens throughout their lifetime, B-cells store the memory of these antigenic exposures so that they can mount a response against them when exposed at a later date.

Vaccines rely on stimulating B-cells so they will be encoded with a memory of the specific antigen found in the vaccine. The idea of the vaccine antigens is to provide this memory of the antigen without causing disease (we hope!); this memory will then (again, we hope!) stimulate an appropriate response to an actual exposure to the antigen at a later date.

Depending on the health status of the individual, lymphocytes comprise some 20 to 40 percent or more of the cells in the blood, and they also have their own method for circulating throughout the body: the lymphatic system. Unlike blood, which is pumped throughout the body by the heart, the lymph system has no active pump and thus has to rely on muscular activity to move its lymphocyte-rich fluids from one area of the body to another.

Lymph nodes occur at various points along the body’s lymphatic circulation. They are accumulations of lymphocytes and other cells including macrophages (literally, big eaters), cells that kill, eat, process, and eliminate foreign substances.

In healthy animals the lymph moves as a seamless river, transporting immune information from one part of the body to another, bringing activated lymphocytes to areas where they are needed, and helping to remove accumulations of debris and toxins. Lymph will flow into an area of inflammation, and contribute to the swelling that occurs there. Fluid lymph can also accumulate and contribute to edema whenever an animal (or a normally moving part of the animal) is inactive for any length of time, and noticeable swelling may result.

Even in the healthy animal some lymph nodes are large enough to be located by palpation in certain areas (especially along the neck and hind legs), but they can also enlarge into very visible lumps when they are actively draining an infected area or when affected by tumors – lymphosarcoma, for example, or other tumors that have metastasized to the regional lymph nodes. Simple needle biopsies can be helpful in determining the cause of lymph node enlargement.

In addition to the moving (lymphatics) and stationary (lymph nodes) network of the lymph system, lymphocytes are a prominent part of other parts of the body. In fact, the largest accumulation of lymphoid tissue in the body is located in the gut (more about this below).

The new kids on the block of the immune system are the dendritic cells. Dendritic (branched like a tree) cells are difficult to isolate, so study of them is in its infancy, but they may prove to be one of the most important components of the immune system.

Dendritic cells are generally located where maximal microbial encounters occur – the skin, gut, and lung. They can be thought of as local surveillance cells, acting as a bridge between innate and acquired immunity by initiating specific cellular and humoral immune responses.

Dendritic cells use their branching “limbs” to feel the local environment for intruding antigens. They physically carry this antigenic information to local lymph nodes for processing and subsequent activation of the whole body’s lymphoid immune system. Thus dendritic cells and the lymphoid system interact to create an intricate web of communication from locally exposed cells outward to the far reaches of the body.

Dendritic cells have retained many pattern recognition receptors of the ancient immune system and have the unique ability to sense stimulations such as tissue damage and necrosis as well as bacterial and viral infections. These pattern recognition receptors are encoded in the germ line of each animal, and they are passed from generation to generation – perhaps one of the reasons dog breeding lines seem to inherit their parents’ immune capability, whether good or bad.

Other Systems With Immune Function

In addition to the blood and lymphatic systems, all organ systems are involved, in one way or another, in the function of the immune system, and all are likewise affected – positively or negatively – by the animal’s ability (or inability) to mount an appropriate immune response. There are, however, some organ systems that are especially prevalent in the immune response.

• Normal flora. The normal, healthy animal literally teems with bugs. It’s been said that there are many times more bugs on and in a healthy animal than the total number of cells that animal has in its entire body.

dog massages

As an example, each square centimeter of healthy (human) skin contains 10,000 to 100,000 bugs! And, depending on where the sample is collected, a persistent bug counter will find anywhere from 100,000 to 1,000,000,000,000 bugs in each gram of intestinal contents. These good-guy bacteria produce many biochemicals that destroy other, pathogenic bacteria.

• Skin. Everyone knows that a dog’s skin, the largest organ of his body, acts as a physical barrier. But is also contains intrinsic factors that enhance his overall immunity. We’ve already seen that skin is replete with good-guy bugs. In addition, hair follicles produce sebum, an oily substance that contains lactic acid and fatty acids, both of which inhibit growth of some pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

Too-frequent bathing or persistent use of antibiotic-type soaps can destroy the natural immune function of the skin by drying it (opening pores and minute skin cracks to invasion of bacteria), eliminating beneficial bugs, and removing the protective layers of oils and acids.

• Mucosal barriers. The inner linings of several organs – the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, urethra, and urinary bladder, as examples – are lined with a thick and tenacious layer of mucus that traps (and may kill) foreign bodies, including microorganisms.

• Gastrointestinal tract. From its beginning to its endpoint, the gastrointestinal tract is actively involved in the animal’s immune functions. Lysozymes in the saliva (and also occurring in healthy tears) can break down the walls of some bacteria. The normally acidic environment of the stomach is an effective barrier to many incoming germs. The lining of the intestinal tract is also coated with mucus, another effective way to prevent the invasion of microorganisms.

As discussed above, an extremely important component of the gut’s immune function is the presence of the normal flora, the naturally occurring bugs of the gut.

Finally, the gut is a prime source of lymphocytes, containing more of these immune cells than any other part of the body. This accumulation of lymph cells is collectively called GALT, for “gut associated lymphoid tissue.” GALT begins with the lymphoid tonsils in the throat and is further expressed by large patches of lymphoid tissues, called Peyer’s patches, that are located along many areas of the intestinal tract. The job of GALT is to recognize incoming foreign particles that may be harmful.

• Lungs. The innate and first line of defense of the lungs includes the germ-trapping mucosal lining of the inner lung walls along with tiny hairs whose ciliary action, along with sneezing and coughing, ejects living and nonliving things. Dendritic cells are also an active component of the lung’s immune system, along with a healthy population of white blood cells and immunoactive cells in the epithelial lining.

It is interesting to note that some of the immune pathways of the lungs are activated by mechanical stretching, further adding to the notion that exercise is healthy for the immune system.

• Liver. The liver is another prime site for immune function, and it is healthily supplied with lymphoid tissues as well as liver macrophages (Kupffer’s cells).

The liver is also a prime organ for processing and eliminating all sorts of toxins, and its antitoxic abilities are crucial for the health of the animal’s immune system. In light of this, it is interesting to note that the most common cause for withdrawal of drugs from the human pharmaceutical market is drug-induced liver injury (often referred to as DILI).

Drugs can be either directly toxic to liver cells, or they can adversely affect the liver’s immune function. This latter reaction may not show up until days or weeks after the beginning of drug use, and it is easy to miss the connection. According to one report, in humans DILI accounts for more than 50 percent of acute liver failure!

• Hormones. Many, if not all, of the hormones of the body have either a direct or indirect effect on the immune system. Of particular interest are the thyroid and sex hormones.

Many practitioners feel that the thyroid is the master gland of the body. The thyroid can also be easily affected by outside influences – one of interest to holistic practitioners is that vaccines and/or the preservatives in vaccines have been linked to thyroid dysfunction.

The overall capability of the immune system may also be adversely affected by sex hormones, and particularly the female sex hormones. Autoimmune problems such as diabetes, lupus, hypothyroid, and rheumatoid arthritis are much more common in females than males.

Immune System Disruptions in Dogs

There are several ways normal immune function can be disrupted or inhibited. The following are some of the most common.

Many diseases, especially those caused by viruses, can directly attack the cells of the immune system. Or they can be more insidious and slowly infiltrate one or more components of the immune system and ultimately cause diminished effectiveness.

Stress, especially if it is prolonged and if the animal can’t avoid it, can eventually overwhelm the ability of the immune system to respond, ultimately leading to increased susceptibility to disease. However, some stress is good for the body and soul, rather like working the immune-muscles to make them stronger.

An interesting study recently demonstrated that short-term moderate stress to animals (two hours of restraint) enhanced the immune response of the skin. This response was measured to be two to four times more robust than a normal response, it occurred quicker than normal, and it remained strong for weeks to months after the stress had ended.

“We believe that in many situations of acute stress, the body prepares the immune system for challenges such as wounds or infections,” says Firdaus Dhabhar, one of the study’s coauthors. “The immune system may respond to warning signals (such as stress hormones) that the brain sends out during stress. These prepare the body to deal with the consequences of stress.”

While antibiotics can help the immune system by decreasing the numbers of pathogenic bacteria, they can also destroy much of the animal’s protective mechanisms by killing the good-guy bugs that normally inhabit the gut, the skin, and other parts of the body.

Corticosteroids may be used to inhibit a hyperactive immune process, but excessive or prolonged use may inhibit the system to the point that it is no longer functional.

Vaccines are meant to stimulate the immune system so that it will be able to mount a later attack against the specific disease the vaccine is directed against. Problems with vaccines occur when the immune stimulation is too much for the animal to handle. This may cause anaphylaxis – a rare but immediate hypersensitive reaction that can be life-threatening.

More commonly (at least in the minds of holistic practitioners), the repeated introduction of vaccine antigens, along with the presence of modified viruses shed into the environment, may provide the final insult that exceeds the immunological tolerance threshold of some individuals. These individuals may exhibit any number of immune-related diseases, including arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, cystitis, and skin conditions.

Immune System Diseases Affecting Dogs

Most holistic practitioners (including me) feel that nearly all diseases have a direct link to an imbalance of the immune system, and those that aren’t directly involved eventually have an adverse effect on the system. There are some diseases that are known for their involvement with the immune system, and these can be loosely divided into those where the system is hyperactive or where it is hypoactive.

Anaphylaxis is the term used to describe any acute, systemic manifestation of the hyperactive interaction of an antigen as it binds to an antibody. (This is also termed a Type I reaction, and it is typically the result of IgG immunoglobulins triggering a reaction with mast cells and basophils.) Possible causes include stinging and biting insects, vaccines, drugs of any kind, food substances, and blood products (transfusion from an improperly matched blood type, for example).

Clinical signs of anaphylaxis include restlessness and excitement, itch, edema, salivation, tearing, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, difficult breathing, shock, convulsions, collapse, and possibly death. Unlike other animals that typically have severe respiratory signs, the organ that is primarily affected in the dog is the liver; gastrointestinal signs rather than respiratory signs are more apt to be seen in dogs.

Anaphylactic shock and total collapse can be the result. Or more focal reactions may occur, including hives, itching, and facial swelling, especially around the eyes. Other diseases considered to be anaphylactic or Type I reactions include allergic rhinitis, chronic allergic bronchitis, allergic asthma (less common in animals than in man), food allergies, and atopic dermatitis, a chronic itchy skin disorder.

Other immune-related diseases are related to the self-production of antibodies that are toxic to various cells within the animal’s own body – a classic case of the immune system not being able to recognize “self.” The inciting agent for the self-against-self reaction is not always evident, but often appears to be related to drugs or to an oversupply of antigens from outside sources (vaccines).

The most common diseases in this category (also termed Type II reactions) include the complex of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) and autoimmune thrombocytopenia. In general, autoimmune skin disorders fall into the various “pemphigoid” conditions.

Myasthenia gravis is a rare disease that causes extreme muscular weakness. Its symptoms are the result of autoantibodies that are directed against receptors that energize muscle activity.

Another way the immune system can run amok is by producing immune antigen/antibody complexes that are deposited in various areas of the body. These complexes interfere with normal function, and symptoms depend on the area affected. Examples of these (Type III) reactions include canine rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and glomerulonephritis (a kidney disease).

A final category of hyperactive immune diseases (Type IV reactions) activates the cell-mediated portion of immunity. Diseases in this category include contact sensitivity, autoimmune thyroiditis, and keratitis sicca.

At the other end of the spectrum, the hypoactive immune system, there are several diseases that result in poor immune performance. The most common of these result from infection with various viruses – for example, canine distemper, parvovirus infections in dogs and cats, and AIDS in humans.

Maintaining A Healthy Immune System

Maintaining immune health is a matter of trying to keep the whole of the system in balance with itself as well as in balance with the animal as a whole. Following are some general (and user-friendly) ways to help balance the immune system:

• Massage and exercise. The easiest and most enjoyable way to enhance your dog’s immune system is to put your hands to fur. Massage has been proven to increase lymphocyte numbers and to enhance lymphocyte function. The relaxation that comes with a good massage is good for emotional health, which has also been proven to be good for the immune system. The best part of massage is that it benefits the giver as well as the receiver; you enhance your own immune system as you help your best buddy enhance his or hers.

Exercise is another easy-to-implement activity that has proven, direct benefits for the immune system. In addition, the muscle activity helps cleanse the body of toxins and helps to move important components of immunity from one part of the body to another.

vaccines for dogs

You don’t have to be overstructured about massage or exercise. Simply rub your best buddy in a way you’d like to be rubbed, and take a daily walk or romp in the park.

• Nutrition. The immune system demands good nutrition. Conversely, a diet deficit in any of the necessary nutrients will almost certainly cause immune-related disease. Specific nutrients that are indicated for immune-system health include: vitamins A (beta-carotene), C, E, and B-6; zinc; selenium; linoleic acid; and lutein.

Many of the above nutrients are high in antioxidant activity, and this may be the reason they are immune-supportive. Herbs and unprocessed vegetables are also excellent sources of antioxidant activity. It is interesting to note that recent studies have shown that the effects of antioxidants is much more profound when they come from a natural source rather than in the form of a pill or capsule.

• Herbs. Some herbs demonstrate a direct immune-enhancing activity. In most cases this enhancement actually balances immune function rather than being purely stimulating. For example, when given as the ground-up parts of the entire (fresh or dried) plant, echinacea has been shown to increase lymphocyte numbers when they are abnormally low, thanks to one of several biochemicals it contains. The same plant contains another biochemical that actually decreases the lymphocytes when their numbers are abnormally high.

Many herbs, ounce for ounce, have as much or more antioxidant activity than that found in vitamins A, C, and E. Herbs can be given on a daily basis, in the form of a pinch of fresh or dried herb sprinkled over your dog’s food or a mild tea made from the herb and poured over his food.

• Alternative medicines. Acupuncture is said to enhance the flow of chi, that immeasurable energy that flows throughout the body. It is thus a balancing medicine, and as it balances all parts of the body, it likewise helps to balance and enhance immune function.

Homeopathy works by enhancing what homeopaths refer to as the vital force, again by helping to balance this immeasurable vital force throughout the body. Many homeopaths equate the vital force to the immune system; its actions are similar, if not the same, as an intact and healthy immune system.

Flower essences and aromatherapy have been shown to enhance an animal’s immune function. It is likely these two work by modulating emotions which in turn enables the mind/body connection to ease the immune system into more optimal performance.

Dr. Randy Kidd earned his DVM degree from Ohio State University and his PhD in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. A past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, he’s author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and Dr. Kidd’s Guide toHerbal Cat Care.

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Dog Gone Pain: A Safe Arthritis Pain Relief Product For Dogs

By
Jan Skadberg
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4

[Updated December 7, 2016]

As the sole practitioner of a small animal practice encompassing massage, acupressure, homeopathy, and custom-blended flower essences, I’m always looking for products that may be effective for my clients’ animals. The most obvious, positive, long-lasting results I have seen have come from the use of acupressure, massage, and homeopathy. Yet when I heard from a third client about a product called Dog Gone Pain (“DGP” for short), I decided it was time to investigate – especially after witnessing how the client’s dogs who received the supplement enjoyed an increase in flexibility, decrease in joint pain, and obvious elevation in spirits.

I researched the ingredients in the DGP product and felt comfortable with them. I decided to try DGP on James, my 110-pound Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. If anyone needed relief from arthritis, it was James.

James came to me as a rescue at 3½ years of age. Having lived in a crate his entire life prior to his rescue, his back, rump, and thighs were terribly atrophied. I arranged for him to receive treatments by a chiropractor (which relieved much of his back pain and muscle spasms) and an acupuncturist, and placed him on a raw diet with supplements. Within a year, with a lot of physical therapy, James was easily able to take long hikes in the mountains with me.

But at about 5½ years of age, he began having an increasingly difficult time sitting down and standing up, and wasn’t as mobile, flexible, or as happy as he had been at his peak. I knew that giant breeds can exhibit health problems at what most dog owners would regard as an early age, and that they don’t always live very long, so I chalked up James’ problems to getting older.

Since I was unwilling to use the com-monly prescribed pharmaceuticals, I began the process of investigating a more holistic brand of anti-inflammatory, one without the risk of the NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or corticosteroids. I tried two different nutraceutical products, without seeing any noticeable improvement in James’ pain and mobility.

That was about the time I heard about my clients’ success with DGP. I ordered some and started giving the supplement to James the moment I received it.

The results were remarkable and obvious. Within five days he was an obviously much happier dog; he was running around the backyard like a puppy! What was most amazing, though, was the change in his spirit. He was back to the old James, with no obvious sign or symptom of pain.

I kept giving DGP to James for the rest of his life. We enjoyed another two and a half years together before he succumbed to bone cancer at age 8. I credit the DGP with helping him feel good – perhaps even pain-free – throughout his illness.

Taking Responsibility as Pet Owners

There is a lot to be said for a positive anecdotal experience. My three acupressure clients were sold on DGP, based on their dogs’ experiences, and I was certain the tablets did wonders for James throughout the two-plus years he received them.

But I am also a practicing RN with 30 years of hospital experience. I understand that just because one dog – or four dogs – benefit from a therapy does not mean it will work for all or even most dogs. I appreciate and rely on data-driven, scientifically based protocols and studies to inform the decisions I make for myself and my animals – and so it gradually occurred to me that I should conduct a study involving more dogs and DGP. In fact, I felt I had a responsibility to do so.

Amazingly, I was taken seriously when I called American BioSciences (the company that holds the sole rights to distribute DGP in the U.S.) and offered to facilitate a study of DGP. Stephanie Johnson, product manager for American BioSciences, readily agreed that a formal (if small) study would help the company legitimize the terrific anecdotal accounts so frequently recounted by their grateful customers. Johnson didn’t hesitate even when I told her my goal was to write an article about the study results, regardless of the outcome. Over successive conversations, Johnson secured her company’s interest in and commitment to the project.

Then I had to find out exactly how one goes about constructing a research study!

Johnson had some ideas, I had some ideas (as an avid reader of medical studies for humans and animals), and I also asked a number of people I knew and respected about the most useful protocols for my proposed project. My friends and professional mentors, the well-known acupressure instructors and book authors Amy Snow and Nancy Zidonis, helped me a great deal, as I strived to design a trial that would demonstrate whether or not DGP really helped dogs with arthritis – and if so, how much. I wanted the dogs to be observed in their homes, throughout the course of their regular activities, by the people who knew them best – their full-time guardians. I wanted the owners to administer the supplement regularly, and then reliably report on any changes they observed in the dogs.

We agreed that the dogs in the study should have really noticeable gait, posture, and/or behavior problems that were verifiably attributable (with a veterinarian’s diagnosis) to arthritis. They should be of different breeds, sizes, ages, and activity levels, and if possible, be from different parts of the country.

We decided that the dogs’ owners would have to agree to take the dogs off all other supplements and pain medications for a week prior to and the entire duration of the study. They also had to take their dogs to a veterinarian for pre-study lab work (Lyme disease, CBC, and “super chemistry panel”) and post-study lab work (CBC and super chemistry panel).

American Biosciences agreed to pick up the tab for all this veterinary work, and to provide the owners with DGP for the study dogs at no cost.

Once I had the study architecture planned, I began to solicit dog owners and veterinarians for participation. Vets referred some clients. Friends and fellow acupressure practitioners put out the word on various canine listserves and bulletin boards. I talked to or exchanged e-mail with hundreds of people who were interested in the study, and finally selected 14 from a list of 87 people who expressed a strong desire to participate. I had to disqualify two dogs (a Beagle and a Lab) whom I had originally accepted for the study after pre-study testing demonstrated they were positive for Lyme disease.

Enthusiasm ran particularly high among owners of Golden Retrievers and Labradors – dogs with a high incidence of certain types of arthritis in their elder years. Because I wanted to include a range of dog breeds, sizes, activity levels, and primary diagnoses, I accepted only three Goldens, one Labrador, and one Lab-mix. I also included a Sheltie, a Pembroke Corgi, an Australian Kelpie, a terrier-mix, two Beagles, a 45-pound mixed breed, a Jack Russell Terrier, and an English Setter. The youngest dog in the study was 5 years old and the oldest was 13, with a mean age of 9 years of age.

I supplied each of dogs’ guardians with a packet of paperwork to fill out. The bulk of the work came in the beginning, as I asked them to describe their dogs’ health status in as much detail as possible, including information about age, weight, medical history, exercise/activity level, pack status, diet, appetite, elimination habits and characteristics, and much more.

I also asked the owners to rate, on a scale of 0 (defined as clinically normal) to 4 (defined as nearly incapacitated), their dogs’ lameness/ability to bear weight, joint mobility, pain on palpation of joints, and willingness to bear weight on their “good” limbs. I provided them with instructions on how to examine and handle the dog to assess these criteria.

With the pre-treatment paperwork out of the way, the weekly assignment for the owners was much less involved. At the end of each week I asked the owners to methodically assess the overall condition of the dogs: where the pain seemed to be located, what the dogs’ movement and gaits were like, how much flexibility they had, and how their behavior, attitude, or mood seemed. I also asked them to note any adverse reactions the dogs displayed – lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, behavior change, dermatitis, or anything else.

At the end of the study, the owners again rated (on a scale of 0 to 4) the dogs’ physical abilities.

The recommended dosage for DGP is one tablet per 30 pounds of the dog’s body weight. Due to the severity of arthritis, all dogs in this study were started on a double-dose regimen for the first two weeks, then given the normal dosage for the remainder of the six-week trial.

Study Findings

I need to say, first off, that all the dogs in the study showed improvement while taking DGP. The first and most obvious sign of improvement in 100 percent of the participants was an elevation of spirit – the dogs seemed happier. This occurred within the first week for all the dogs. Was this due to decreased pain or a balancing effect of the herbs on all of the body systems? I don’t know. Three participating owners queried me as to whether there are any mood elevators in the ingredients of DGP; there aren’t.

All of the dogs’ owners reported seeing noticeable improvement in the dogs’ mobility, soundness, and activity levels while on the DGP. The mean onset of musculo-skeletal improvement was one to three weeks, with only one dog waiting to see a peak cumulative effect in the sixth week. The composite scores reported by all of the dog owners improved by at least one notch on the 0 to 4 scale; 70 percent improved by two or more notches.

Only one dog experienced adverse effects that could be related to the DGP; we removed the dog from the study in the second week due to reactions to the supplement, including vomiting, soft stools, and a marked increase in her environmental allergies (chewing of feet, accompanied by an increase in watery eyes). Her owner deeply regretted having to stop the DGP, as the dog’s arthritis symptoms markedly lessened while receiving the DGP, but of course, the adverse reactions warranted our actions.

It was also notable that there was no change in any of the participants’ pre- and post-study lab values. Granted, this was only a six-week trial, but it was important to document whether DGP caused any of the possible side effects caused by NSAIDs, namely liver, kidney, and hematologic abnormalities. None were seen.

In addition to the striking improvements in the dogs’ movement, several other findings in this study also bear mentioning. One is the fact that almost all of the participants assumed their dogs’ infirmities were just the natural progression of aging and that little could be done to offset the symptoms – just like I had, with James. It was not until we had seen our dogs’ improvement on DGP that we realized how crippled our dogs actually were prior to starting the supplement.

In fact, three of the participants elected to discontinue the DGP after the study was over – and then quickly started their dogs back on the supplement when the dogs’ arthritis signs dramatically resurfaced. Each expressed that they hadn’t realized how powerful the effect of DGP was until they stopped the supplement. Fortunately, the dogs were judged by their owners to be restored to a peak level of soundness and comfort within two days of being given DGP again. With the exception of the (possibly allergic) dog with the adverse response, all of the dogs are still receiving DGP today.

Last, what was glaringly obvious in this study is the effect of pain on a dog’s behavior. Qualified by their severe arthritis, the dogs were all described by their owners before the study as sleeping a lot, depressed, withdrawn from socializing with their people and pack, irritable, grouchy, and less mobile. But every single dog in this trial demonstrated an improvement in mood, demeanor, and/or attitude within the first two weeks of taking DGP.

A Future for Arthritic Dogs

This study validated my findings with James. It showed me that DGP enhanced the lives of severely arthritic dogs on many levels. In the majority of the dogs sampled (93 percent), DGP was judged by the dog owners to be as or more effective as the NSAIDs and pain medications the dogs had been given prior to the study. At this point, I feel confident in suggesting it to the guardian of any dog with arthritis.

The main caution I relate to dog owners who are considering DGP for their dogs is to make sure to initially limit the dog’s physical activity once he has been on DGP for a few days, until he gets used to feeling good. I have often seen arthritic dogs feel so much better, that they (and, unwittingly, their owners) overexercise and end up in real pain, with muscle soreness and stiffness for days. This can be avoided if the dog’s activity is moderated.

My hope now is that someone will see fit to conduct a large-scale study of the supplement. A number of holistic veterinarians I know have expressed an interest in participating.

No single product can be considered a cure-all for every canine musculoskeletal ailment. That said, I think that DGP is a great product to try as a first resort for those dogs with mobility/arthritis issues, and whose guardians do not want to assume the risk of the side effects of corticosteroids or NSAIDs.

For more information about DGP, check out the website here.

Jan Skadberg is a registered nurse and a certified legal nurse consultant. She also offers acupressure and massage for canines from “4 Paws,” her practice in Charles Town, West Virginia.

Is Your Dog Bullying Other Dogs?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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2

You can find them everywhere – at dog parks and doggie daycare centers, in dog training classes, in your neighbor’s yards … perhaps even in your own home. “They” are canine bullies – dogs who overwhelm their potential playmates with overly assertive and inappropriate behaviors, like the out-of-control human bully on the school playground.

Jasper is a nine-month-old Labradoodle from a puppy mill, currently enrolled in one of my Peaceable Paws Good Manners classes. He was kept in a wire cage on a Pennsylvania farm until he was four months old, when his new owners purchased him. Katy Malcolm, the class instructor, asked me to sit in on the first end-of-class play session with Jasper because she was concerned that his lack of early socialization could present a challenge. She was right.

Sam was a 10-week-old Golden Retriever puppy, well bred, purchased from a responsible breeder by knowledgeable dog owners who immediately enrolled him in one of my Peaceable Paws Puppy Good Manners classes to get him started on the right paw. Sam unexpectedly also turned out to be a challenge at his first end-of-class puppy play session.

dog bullies

These two dogs had considerably different backgrounds, but when it came time to play, both dogs exhibited bullying behaviors to other dogs: Jasper because he never had a chance to learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs; Sam because – well – who knows? Genetics, maybe? Early experiences in his litter, maybe? Regardless of the reasons, both dogs required special handling if they were ever to have a normal canine social life.

Is Your Dog Bullying Other Dogs at the Playground?

In her excellent book, Fight!, dog trainer and author Jean Donaldson defines bullying dogs (not to be confused with “Pitbull-type dogs”) as those dogs for whom “roughness and harassment of non-consenting dogs is quite obviously reinforcing.” Like the human playground bully, the bully dog seems to get a kick out of tormenting less-assertive members of his playgroup. Donaldson says, “They engage at it full tilt, with escalating frequency, and almost always direct it at designated target dogs.”

When released with permission to “go play,” the poorly socialized Labradoodle, Jasper, immediately pounced on the back of Mesa, an easy-going and confident Rott-weiler who was playing nicely with Bo, a submissive but exuberant Golden Retriever. Jasper barked insistently, nipping at Mesa’s back as she tried to ignore his social ineptness. Finally, fed up with his boorish behavior, she flashed her teeth at him one time, at which point he decided Bo was a better target for his attentions. Indeed, Bo found him overwhelming, a response that emboldened Jasper to pursue him even more energetically.

We intervened in his play with Mesa several times by picking up Jasper’s dragging leash and giving him a time-out when his behavior was completely unacceptable, then releasing him to “Go play!” when he settled a bit. Each time we released him he promptly re-escalated to an unacceptable level of bullying, until Mesa herself told him to “Back off, Bud!” with a quick flash of her teeth.

Human-controlled time-outs, however, made no impression on Jasper. The canine corrections were more effective, but didn’t stop the behavior; they only redirected it to a less-capable victim. Because Bo wasn’t assertive enough to back Jasper off, we ended the play as soon as Jasper turned his attentions to the softer dog.

Like Jasper’s preferred victim, Sam’s favorite bullying target was also a Rottweiler – not a breed you’d expect to find wearing an invisible “bite me!” sign. Max was a pup about Sam’s own age, who outweighed Sam considerably but was no match for the smaller pup’s intensity.

Sam had given us no indication during class that he had a play problem. In fact, he was a star performer for his clicks and treats. However, when playtime arrived his demeanor changed from an attentive “What can I do to get you to click the clicker?” pupil to an “I’m tough and you just try to stop me!” bully.

Several seconds after the two pups began frolicking together, Sam suddenly pinned Max to the ground with a ferocious snarl, then released him briefly, just to pin him again in short order. Needless to say, we also intervened quickly in that relationship!

What Does Appropriate Dog Play Look Like?

Owners often have difficulty distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate play. Some may think that perfectly acceptable play behavior is bullying because it involves growling, biting, and apparently pinning the playmate to the ground. Appropriate play can, in fact, look and sound quite ferocious.

The difference is in the response of the playmate. If both dogs appear to be having a good time and no one’s getting hurt, it’s usually fine to allow the play to continue. Thwarting your dog’s need to play by stopping him every time he engages another dog, even if it’s rough play, can lead to other behavior problems.

With a bully, the playmate clearly does not enjoy the interaction. The softer dog may offer multiple appeasement and deference signals that are largely or totally ignored by the canine bully. The harassment continues, or escalates.

Any time one play partner is obviously not having a good time, it’s wise to intervene. A traumatic play experience can damage the softer dog’s confidence and potentially induce a life-long fear-aggression or “Reactive Rover” response – definitely not a good thing!

Some bullies seem to spring from the box full-blown. While Sam had, no doubt, already been reinforced for his bullying by the response of his softer littermates, he must have been born with a strong, assertive personality in order for the behavior to be as pronounced as it was by the tender age of 10 weeks. Jasper, on the other hand, may have been a perfectly normal puppy, but months of social deprivation combined with a strong desire to be social turned him into an inadvertent bully.

There can certainly be a learned component of any bullying behavior. As Jean Donaldson reminds us, the act of harassing a “non-consenting dog” is in and of itself reinforcing for bullies.

By definition, a behavior that’s reinforced continues or increases – hence the importance of intervening with a bully at the earliest possible moment, rather than letting the behavior become more and more ingrained through reinforcement. As with most behavior modification, prognosis is brightest if the dog is young, if he hasn’t had much chance to practice the unwanted behavior, and if he has not been repeatedly successful at it.

How to Modify a Bossy Dog’s Behavior

Successful modification of bullying behavior requires attention to several elements:

• Skilled application of intervention tools and techniques: Leashes and long lines, no-reward markers (NRMs), and time-outs.

• Excellent timing of intervention: Application of NRMs and time-outs.

• Reinforcement for appropriate behavior: Play continues or resumes when dog is calm or playing nicely.

• Selection of appropriate play partners: Dogs who are not intimidated or traumatized by bullying behavior.

The most appropriate human intervention is the use of “negative punishment,” in which the dog’s behavior makes a good thing go away. In this case, the most appropriate negative punishment is a time-out. Used in conjunction with a “no-reward marker” (NRM) or “punishment” marker, this works best for bullying behavior.

The opposite of the clicker (or other reward marker, such as the word, “Yes!”), the NRM says, “That behavior made the good stuff go away.” With bullying, the good stuff is the opportunity to play with other dogs. Just as the clicker always means a treat is coming, the NRM always means the behavior stops immediately or good stuff goes away; it’s not to be used repeatedly as a threat or warning.

My preferred NRM, the one I teach and use if/when necessary, is the word “Oops!” rather than the word “No!” which is deliberately used to shut down behavior – and as such is usually delivered firmly or harshly and unfortunately often followed by physical punishment. “Oops!” simply means, “Make another behavior choice or there will be an immediate loss of good stuff.” An NRM is to be delivered in a non-punitive tone of voice; it’s almost impossible to say “Oops!” harshly.

Timing is just as important with your NRM as it is with your reward marker. It says, “Whatever you were doing the exact instant you heard the ‘Oops!’ is what earned your time-out.” You’ll use it the instant your dog’s bully behavior appears, and if the bullying continues for more than a second or two more, grasp his leash or drag-line (a long, light line attached to his collar) and remove him from play. Don’t repeat the NRM. Give him at least 20 seconds to calm down, more if he needs it, then release him to go play again. If several time-outs don’t dampen the behavior even slightly, make them longer and make sure he’s calm prior to returning to play.

If a half-dozen time-outs have absolutely no effect, end the play session for the day. If the NRM does stop the bullying, thank your dog for responding, and allow him to continue playing under direct supervision as his reward.

Another sometimes-effective approach to bully modification requires access to an appropriate “neutral dog” – a dog like Mesa who is confident enough to withstand the bully’s assault without being traumatized or responding with inappropriate aggression in return. A flash of the pearly whites as a warning is fine. A full-out dogfight is not.

It’s important to watch closely during interactions with the bully. Any sign the neutral dog is becoming unduly stressed by the encounters should bring the session to an immediate halt. A neutral dog may be able to modify your bully’s behavior, and have it transfer to other dogs – or not. If not, you may be able to find one or two sturdy, neutral dogs who can be your dog’s play companions, and leave the softer dogs to gentler playpals. Not all dogs get along with all other dogs.

Say No to Saying “No!”

Dog owners are often puzzled when we suggest they not use the word “No!” with their dogs. “How else,” they wonder, “will my dog know what he’s not supposed to do?”

A dog’s goal in life is to get good stuff, and his mission is to do whatever makes good stuff happen. You can teach your dog what not to do by controlling the consequences of his actions. If inappropriate behaviors consistently make good stuff go away, your dog will stop those behaviors. His goal is to make good stuff happen, not make it go away.

If you’re good at managing your dog’s environment, then he’ll learn to do appropriate things to get good things, without your use of the word “No!” If you’re poor at management, he’ll be reinforced for his inappropriate behaviors, like jumping up on counters or tipping over garbage cans to look for food, and those behaviors will persist. That said, there are plenty of trainers who do use the “No” word, in various ways.

I use it on rare occasions, for extreme emergencies, and when I do it comes out as a loud roar, indeed intended to stop all behavior. When I’m compelled to use it, I always try to pause afterwards, analyze the situation, and figure out where I need to shore up my management and/or training to avoid having to use it in that situation again.

In contrast, trainer and behaviorist Patricia McConnell uses “No!” as a positive interrupt. She teaches her dogs that “No!” means “Come over here for a treat” – no matter what tone of voice is used. When her dogs hear “No!” they happily run to her to see what she has for them, necessarily interrupting whatever inappropriate behavior they may have been engaged in.

If you do still use “No!” as an aversive in your training program, be sure to avoid coupling your dog’s name with the loud, harsh “No!” It takes only a few repetitions of “Fido, NO!!!!” for your dog to start having a negative association with his name – and you absolutely want to preserve the sanctity of your dog’s positive association with his name. “Fido!” should always mean very, very good stuff!

Outcomes

Sam’s owners were exceptionally committed to helping their pup overcome his inappropriate play behaviors. We continued to allow him to play with one or two other sturdy, resilient puppies, using an NRM and his leash to calmly but firmly remove him every time his play intensity increased. We moved him away from the other pups until he was calm, then allowed him to resume his play. By the end of his first six-week class he was playing appropriately most of the time with one or two other pups, under direct supervision. After two more six-week sessions he played well with a stable group of four other dogs, under general supervision, without needing NRMs or time-outs.

The last time I saw Sam was an incidental encounter, at Hagerstown’s Pooch Pool Plunge event. Every year when the city closes its community pool for the winter, they open it up on one Saturday for people to bring their dogs for a pooch pool party. Sam, now a full-grown adult dog, attended the Plunge at the end of Summer 2005, with more than 100 dogs in attendance. His behavior was flawless.

Jasper may have a longer road, but I’m optimistic that he’ll come around as well. We plan to continue having him play with Mesa, as long as she’s handling him as well as she did in last week’s class. Between Mesa’s canine corrections and our time-outs, we’re hopeful that he’ll learn appropriate social skills and be able to expand his social circle to other appropriate dogs. Is there a Pool Plunge in Jasper’s future? We’ll just have to wait and see.

DOG BULLIES: OVERVIEW

1. Watch your dog when he plays with other dogs. Intervene promptly if he’s being a bully – harassing a “nonconsenting” dog.

2. Watch your dog’s playmates, too. Intervene promptly if someone is bullying your dog – if he isn’t having a good time with the intensity level of play.

3. Allow your dog to play roughly with others as long as everyone’s having a good time and no one’s getting hurt.

4. Educate other dog owners about the importance of allowing appropriate play and intervening when a dog is being a bully.

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. Miller lives in Hagerstown, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.

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