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Heartworm: Don’t Take it Lightly

By
Mary Straus
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By Mary Straus

People have learned of the benefits of a natural diet and limited vaccinations, and have seen the health improvements in their dogs from these changes. Now, many want to know if they can discontinue administering heartworm preventatives to their dogs, or whether those can be replaced by natural options.

Heartworm preventatives can cause serious side effects in some dogs, including depression, lethargy, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, dilation of the pupil, loss of balance, staggering, convulsions, and hy-persalivation. Some dogs are especially prone to side effects from ivermectin, the main ingredient in one of the most widely used heartworm preventatives. Also, some of the preventatives are combined with drugs aimed at killing other pests such as fleas, mites, roundworms, and hookworms.

On the other hand, heartworm can be a devastating disease. Dogs with moderate or severe infestations display a chronic cough and can’t engage in much activity, as worms choke their heart and major blood vessels, reducing their blood (and thus oxygen) supply. The disease often leaves its victims incapacitated, incapable of doing much more than a slow walk without gasping for air, and kills many dogs. Even the treatment for heartworm disease can be deadly, regardless of which method is used, so it is important to understand the risks that you take if you choose not to give your dog heartworm preventative.

In fact, most (certainly not all) holistic veterinarians consider the use of pharmaceutical preventatives to be less harmful than a heartworm infection.

Some argue, but…
As the co-moderator of an e-mail list on dog health and nutrition, I frequently see people allege that as long as you have a healthy dog, feed a raw diet, and do not over-vaccinate, your dog will not get heartworms. If only this were true! These measures may help to some degree, but they are not foolproof. The only way to know for sure that your dog is protected is to give heartworm preventatives.

Christie Keith, who lives in an area of Northern California where heartworm is relatively uncommon and has raised Scottish Deerhounds naturally for over 19 years, learned this the worst way.

“I went 16 years not using any form of allopathic preventative on my dogs. At the end of that 16-year period, on routine testing, I found that two of my dogs were heartworm-positive,” says Keith. “One of the positive dogs was Raven, a Deerhound I bought from another breeder. She came to me at 17 weeks with bad ear infections and severe allergies, and no one could argue that Raven was healthy or had a normal immune system.

“In contrast, my dog Bran was a third-generation, naturally reared dog of my own breeding. He was unvaccinated other than minimally for rabies. He was raw-fed. His mother and her mother were raw-fed and unvaccinated other than minimally for rabies. He was, by any definition available, extremely healthy and robust. He had never been sick a day in his life.”

Christie successfully treated both her dogs, though Raven almost died of a pulmonary embolism during treatment. Bran became heartworm-free after months of using the “slow kill” method of heartworm treatment, with no sign of any adverse effects. Unfortunately, Bran died of acute renal failure not long after that. Necropsy results were inconclusive, showing that Bran had glomerulonephritis, but not why.

In her research to try to find the cause of her dog’s death, Christie discovered that glomerulonephritis is a potential side effect of heartworm infection. Although she and her vets eventually came to the conclusion that Bran’s renal failure was caused by Lyme nephritis rather than heartworm disease, it was disturbing to realize that heartworms can affect more than the heart and lungs.

“I have no intention of ever living through what I lived through with Raven and Bran. I can’t keep silent when I see people starting to believe that healthy animals don’t get heartworm and that we can blithely forgo using preventatives if we don’t overvaccinate and feed raw. It’s just not so. And it’s not realistic to rely on the health and natural disease resistance of our dogs to protect them from a threat that they are exposed to frequently, as is the case in heartworm-endemic areas.

“No creature is in a static state of health 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If our dogs are frequently exposed to an infectious parasite, eventually they may well succumb to it, no matter how healthy they are normally.”

“Alternative” preventatives?
Some holistic practitioners recommend various herbal or homeopathic preparations for heartworm prevention, and anecdotal evidence from some dog owners can be found on many discussion lists devoted to natural dog care. However, consumers should be aware that none of these alternatives have been studied for safety or efficacy, nor are there any studies indicating that they are effective at protecting against heartworm infection. In addition, some herbal dewormers, such as wormwood and black walnut, are potentially toxic when used at dosage levels needed to control intestinal parasites.

Some homeopathic practitioners advocate the use of homeopathic nosodes for heartworm prevention. Again, there are no studies indicating that they are effective. In his book, Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs, Don Hamilton, DVM, says, “I do know of some cases where the nosode did not protect, however. I believe it does offer some protection, though it may be incomplete. … If you decide to try the nosode, you must understand that its effectiveness is currently unknown.”

What is known, is that conventional heartworm preventatives are the best form of protection currently available. Fortunately for those of us who worry about the side effects of using the conventional drug preventatives, there are numerous ways you can minimize their use and still protect your dog. I’ll discuss these methods after introducing the most common preventatives.

Conventional preventatives
The two most common (and generally considered safe) heartworm preventative ingredients used today are ivermectin (used in Heartgard by Merial, and other products) and milbemycin oxime (used in Interceptor by Novartis).

There is also an older, daily heartworm preventative available, diethylcarbamazine or DEC. For many years, this drug was available from Pfizer as “Filaribits.” Though Filaribits has been discontinued, you can still find generic versions of DEC.

DEC is very safe in terms of side effects, but can be life-threatening if given to a heartworm-infected dog with circulating microfilariae, due to the risk of a rapid die-off of the microfilariae and resulting anaphylactic reaction. Also, missing just one or two days of medication can allow your dog to become infected. If you use DEC, it is essential that you test for heartworms before starting this drug, and every six months while using it. (Avoid Filaribits Plus, which has oxybendazole added to control intestinal parasites and has been known to cause liver damage.)

There are other heartworm products that include drugs for other purposes. Heart-gard Plus adds pyrantel to control intestinal parasites, including roundworms and hookworms. Adult dogs rarely have problems with roundworms, but if your yard has been infested with hookworms, this product might be good to use until the hookworms have been eliminated.

Sentinel is a combination of the products Interceptor and Program (lufenuron). Lufenuron is a medication that acts to prevent fleas from reproducing; it’s not a pesticide and does not kill fleas or keep them from biting your dog. This may be helpful for a short time if you have a flea infestation, and employ several nontoxic methods to get the flea problem under control, such as diatomaceous earth to treat the house and nematodes to treat the yard.

I’m less enthusiastic about selamectin (found in Revolution by Pfizer), a more recent entry to the market. Selamectin is a topical product that is also indicated for fleas, one kind of tick, ear mites, and the mites that cause sarcoptic mange. While this may well be great if your dog had mange, fleas, ticks, and ear mites, I strongly prefer drugs with a minimal and targeted action over ones with broad-spectrum activity.

The injectable product moxidectin (ProHeart 6 by Fort Dodge) has been withdrawn from the U.S. market due to numerous reports of adverse effects, including death. I do not recommend the use of injectable heartworm preventatives at all, as there is no way to remove them from your dog’s system if there is a bad reaction, and the time release drug will continue to affect your dog for months.

Temperature and timing
So, how can you reduce your dog’s exposure to conventional heartworm preventative drugs, without decreasing his protection from the nasty parasite?

First, it is not necessary to give heartworm preventatives year-round in most parts of the country. Heartworm development in the mosquito is dependent upon environmental temperatures. Heartworm larvae cannot develop to the stage needed to infect dogs until temperatures have been over 57 degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Centigrade), day and night, for at least one to two weeks. The amount of time it takes will vary depending on how warm it is; the warmer the temperatures, the faster the heartworm larvae develop.

If temperatures drop below that point at any time during the cycle, development may be prevented, but I wouldn’t rely on this. Temperatures can vary according to where the mosquito lives, and may be warmer under the eaves of houses or in other protected areas than the general ambient temperature.

Heartworm preventatives work by killing heartworm larvae that have already infected the dog, but before they can mature into adult worms that cause damage. When you give your dog heartworm preventative, you are killing any larvae that have infected your dog within the last one to two months. Any larvae that have been in your dog longer than 60 days are more likely to survive the treatment and go on to mature into adult worms.

Also, your dog may become infected the day after you give heartworm preventative; the drugs do not provide any future protection at all.

If your goal is to provide full protection for your dog with minimal drug administration, you’ll have to monitor the temperatures in your area. Mosquitoes may be capable of transmitting heartworm larvae to your dog around two weeks after your local temperature has stayed above 57 degrees Fahrenheit day and night.

Give the season’s first dose of preventative four to six weeks after that to destroy any larvae that infected your dog during that time. Thus, the first dose should be given six to eight weeks after daytime and nighttime temperatures first exceed 57°F. Continue to give the preventative every four to six weeks, with the last dose given after temperatures drop below that level on a regular basis.

For some parts of the country, this can mean giving preventatives only between July and October, while in others, where temperatures remain mild all year, they may have to be given year-round.

If you do not give your dog heartworm preventatives (because the area you live in is very low risk or because the temperatures are not right for heartworms to develop), and then take your dog to an area where heartworm is a problem, you must treat him with heartworm preventative upon your return to protect him.

Dosage amounts
With at least one drug, you can give your dog less than the recommended dosage of preventative, without compromising safety.

Milbemycin oxime, the active ingredient in Interceptor, has been approved by the FDA at one-fifth the regular dosage to kill heartworms only, without controlling intestinal parasites, including roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. Novartis has a product, “SafeHeart,” with this lowered dosage of milbemycin, but has not yet marketed it.

The actual recommended dosage of milbemycin oxime for heartworm prevention only is 0.05 mg per pound of body weight (0.1 mg per kg). Contrast this with the recommended dosage of Interceptor for control of heartworm and intestinal parasites: 0.23 mg milbemycin oxime per pound (0.5 mg/kg) of body weight. Heartworm can be prevented at a much lower dose than that needed to control intestinal parasites.

SafeHeart contains 2.3 mg of milbe-mycin oxime for dogs from 2 to 50 pounds, and 5.75 mg for dogs 50 to 125 pounds. Interceptor contains 2.3 mg for dogs up to 10 pounds, and 5.75 mg for dogs 11 to 25 pounds. So if your dog weighs more than 50 pounds, you can give the Interceptor for dogs 11 to 25 pounds; otherwise you can use the one for dogs up to 10 pounds.

Frequency of preventatives
It may not be necessary to give heartworm preventatives every month. The monthly dosage schedule was devised to make it easy for people to remember when to administer the drugs, and to ensure that dogs would still be protected if a dose were somehow not swallowed or later vomited before being absorbed.

The FDA approvals cite studies showing that Heartgard, Interceptor, and Revolution provide protection beyond 30 days. If you are very good about remembering to give medications, and you can watch your dog after administering the pill to be sure that it is not spit out or later vomited, it may be safe to use heartworm preventatives less frequently than every 30 days. Dosing your dog every 45 days is a conservative way to safely stretch your dog’s dosage schedule.

The drug manufacturers’ pre-approval tests indicate that even longer dosing sched-ules may convey protection from heartworm – but I wouldn’t stake my dogs’ well-being on dosage schedules extending beyond a somewhat arbitrary 45 days.

The original FDA approval for Heartgard states, “The target dose of 6 mcg per kilogram of bodyweight was selected from titration study 10855 as the lowest dose providing 100 percent protection when the dosing interval was extended to 60 days to simulate a missed-dose circumstance.”

The original FDA approval for Interceptor states, “Complete (100 percent) protection was achieved in dogs treated at 30 days post-infection, with 95 percent protection at 60 and 90 days.” This does not apply to SafeHeart, which was tested only at a 30-day dosing interval.

The original FDA approval for Revolution states, “Selamectin applied topically as a single dose of 3 or 6 mg/kg was 100 percent effective in preventing the maturation of heartworms in dogs following inoculation with infective D. immitis larvae 30 or 45 days prior to treatment, and 6 mg/kg [the recommended dosage amount] was 100 percent effective in preventing maturation of heartworms following inoculation of infective larvae 60 days prior to treatment.”

Splitting pills
The issue of splitting heartworm pills comes up frequently. I have spoken to representatives from Merial (maker of Heartgard) and Novartis (maker of Interceptor). Both said that their active ingredients are mixed into their products before the pills are formed, and therefore should be evenly distributed (though they cannot guarantee this). However, both manufacturers advise against pill splitting.

Splitting pills is inexact and may result in the dog getting less or more of the medication. If you do decide to split the pills, use a pill splitter (available at any drug store) and do not try to give the minimum dosage, as you cannot be certain that your dog will get enough of the medication.

No guarantees
It is important to realize that, if you do decide to modify the way these medications are given – by splitting pills, giving pills less often than monthly, or using reduced dosages – the guarantees provided by the manufacturers will be invalidated. Under normal usage, if your dog develops a heartworm infection while on one of these heartworm preventatives, the company will pay for treatment, but this is not true if you are using the drugs other than as directed on the label.

It is important to understand the risk that heartworm infection poses to your dog. Rather than relying on unproven alternative methods of heartworm prevention, or the unreliable method of depending on your dog’s health to keep him from getting infected, all of the methods discussed above will offer you ways of safely reducing your usage of conventional heartworm preventatives, while still giving your dog complete protection from heartworm infection.

Next month, we’ll discuss treatment – what you can do if your dog’s heartworm test comes back positive.

-Mary Straus does research on canine health and nutrition topics as an avocation. She is the owner of the DogAware.com web site. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her dog Piglet.

Fun Dog Training Techniques Using Shaping!

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Shaping, or as it’s formally known, “shaping by successive approximations,” simply means breaking down a behavior into tiny increments, and reinforcing the dog at each incremental step until you’ve achieved the full behavior. Some trainers believe that shaping is the ultimate approach to operant training, and that any steps that stray off the pure shaping path are detrimental to ultimate results. Others incorporate shaping as I do – as a valuable part of a multi-faceted training program.

The Science Behind Behavior Shaping

The shaping process works because behavior is variable. In any series of repetitions of a behavior, your dog will give you variations in the manner that the behavior is performed – faster/slower, bigger/smaller, higher/lower, harder/softer, etc. If you wanted to shape your dog for a perfect obedience competition sit – straight, fast, and in proper heel position — you’d break the behavior known as “Sit” into those three components and work on them one at a time, capitalizing on the variability of your dog’s behavior for each one.

Perhaps you choose to start with speed. Your dog’s average sit time might be three seconds. Your goal is a one-second sit. In any given number of repetitions of “Sit,” some will be faster than three seconds, some will be slower, and some will be right on the three-second mark.

If you were to be scientific about your shaping program, you’d time the sits with a stopwatch, only click and treat (mark and reward) those that were three seconds or faster, and keep a written journal of your progress.

If you are less rigorous, you’d guesstimate the times and strive to click the faster sits. Over time, your dog’s average elapsed sit speed time would decrease, perhaps to two seconds, as he realized that only faster sits get clicked, and deliberately tried to sit faster to make you click more often.

Now you raise the bar – only sits that are two seconds or faster get clicked. By breaking your goal of fast sits into smaller increments of time, you gradually shape your dog to do that lightning-fast one-second show-ring sit that you covet.

Shaping is not just for the show ring. It has a number of important applications and benefits for all kinds of training, including:

• Accomplishing a behavior that your dog finds physically difficult or confusing, such as a teaching a Greyhound to sit.

• Encouraging your dog to perform a behavior that he finds mentally difficult or confusing, such as teaching a crate-wary dog to enter his artificial doggie den.

• Fine-tuning a behavior your dog can already do, such as teaching fast, straight, close sits.

• Helping your dog learn how to offer behaviors, try new things, and think creatively in order to solve problems, through shaping games such as 101 Things to Do With a Box (below).

Shaping Techniques

There are several ways to shape a behavior. You can use “lure/prompt shaping” as a sort of hybrid technique: you’re still showing the dog what you want him to do by luring with a treat, or prompting with a target or other body language, and reinforcing increments of progress to the final behavior.

Shaping “purists” tend to scoff at lure/prompt shaping, but it can be very effective at getting behaviors more quickly, although slower at teaching dogs to think creatively and offer behaviors freely. Dogs in basic good manners classes are often taught the “Down” with lure-shaping, by luring the dog’s nose toward the floor with a treat, clicking and rewarding as the dog makes any progress toward the floor with his nose or other body parts.

You can use “basic shaping,” where you have a goal behavior in mind and, without any prompting, reinforce small increments that the dog offers, such as described above for a faster sit. And you can “free shape” – by doing training exercises without any preconceived notion of where you want the behavior to go. Free shaping is the most difficult concept for novice trainers, who are often legitimately perplexed by the idea of training without knowing what behavior you’re trying to train.

Lure/Prompt Shaping

Greyhounds are notoriously difficult to teach to sit. Theories abound as to why this is so; one theory has to do with the Greyhound’s unique anatomy – a body shape that makes sitting an uncomfortable position. Whatever the reason, it does seem that while most dogs offer sits easily, these long, lean, muscular dogs are somewhat reluctant to do it.

To lure-shape a sit in a reluctant sitter, hold a treat at the tip of your dog’s nose and lift it up slightly. If he lifts his nose to follow the tidbit, click and treat. Repeat this step, lifting the treat slightly higher and a little bit back over the head.

When each step seems easy for the dog, progress a little farther, continuing to move the treat back over the head. At the same time, watch for a bend in the hind legs. Be sure to click the slightest bend in the hocks, and when you start getting a consistent bend in the hocks, even a small one, keep luring, but only click the leg bend, not the head lifts. Reinforce gradually deeper bends in the legs until the dog is sitting.

Why not just push the dog into a sit, or “tuck” him into a sit by pressing in gently above the hocks? Certainly, some trainers do, and teach the sit successfully in this manner. However, some dogs are reluctant to sit due to back or joint pain, and need to learn to find a way to move into a sit that doesn’t hurt; your push may cause excruciating pain.

shaping your dog
“Lure/prompt” shaping can be used to quickly get a new behavior; however, it doesn’t require the dog to figure out for herself what exactly it is that you want.

Other dogs resent being physically manipulated. That may or may not be the reason I had a recent client whose Scottish Terrier caused serious injuries to his prior trainer when she tried to push him into a sit. He resisted her first two push-sit attempts, and on the third try went up her arm with his teeth.

But other dogs may have other reasons for failing to catch on quickly. A case in point is a shelter dog I saw in my Intern Academy last summer – a beautiful English Pointer who had been purchased for hunting trial work but disqualified from competition due to a minor congenital rib deformity. At age four, he had never been asked to sit, and just didn’t seem to understand what we were asking of him.

In fact, he was the classic example of a shut-down dog – unwilling to offer any behavior at all. It took four days of the six-day academy, but on Thursday when his trainer finally got him to sit, the whole class applauded wildly. Best of all, the dog got it! His eyes lit up, and he proudly offered sit after sit after sit. In the remaining two days of the course he and his trainer caught up on all the lessons that had been on hold while they worked on the sit, and both graduated with flying colors and big smiles.

Basic Shaping

Some trainers profess to teach their entire entry-level classes using basic shaping only. I’ll admit I’m not that brave, but we do introduce the concept of basic shaping with our “Go to Your Place” exercise. I explain to my class that shaping is a Zen exercise – it takes patience and close observation, and that we’ll be splitting behavior rather than lumping. Lumping means to reinforce large chunks of behavior – capturing a sit, for example. In contrast, splitting means to look for the tiniest piece of movement, click and reinforce that, and build toward the final behavior. Splitting is the essence of shaping.

To shape a “Go to Your Place” behavior, set out a carpet square, dog bed, or blanket to designate “Place.” You can actually do this without a physical object to mark the place, but it’s easier for canines and humans to succeed with a visual marker – and then you can generalize the behavior easily by moving the marker to another spot.

Now stand back several feet from the carpet square and watch your dog very closely. You’re going to click and treat the tiniest motion toward “Place” – one step, a turn of the head, a flick of the ear … it doesn’t even have to be directly toward the spot – “in the general direction” will do.

If you’ve already reinforced your dog consistently for offered behaviors, he’ll probably catch on quickly. As he starts repeatedly making deliberate movements toward the rug to get clicked, you’ll hold out slightly longer to build more behavior. Just slightly! You want him to get a little frustrated and try harder (harder = bigger behavior), but if you hold out too long he may give up and quit offering behavior altogether.

As he gets closer to the mat you can move forward with him in order to keep delivering treats – but not ahead of him – that would be luring or prompting!

When he’s reached the mat, reset. Move yourself and your dog several feet back and start again. The goal is to shape him to go to the mat, not just to be on the mat. When he offers to go to the mat easily, start shaping him to lie down on it. The value of this exercise is to be able to park your dog there for a while. When he’s consistently offering to go lie down on his mat, you can add the verbal “Go to Your Place!” cue.

If your dog doesn’t offer behaviors easily, it may take longer to shape the Place behavior. Be patient, and remember to split – look for the tiniest of movement to reinforce. If he wants only to gaze adoringly into your eyes, look at the rug instead of him. If he just lies down at your feet for a snooze, invite him back to his feet, reposition him, and look for movement to reinforce as he repositions. The more you can find to reinforce, the less likely he is to lie down for another nap.

Dedicated shapers may write out their complete shaping plan, considering each potential step in the process, and measuring their progress against the written plan. Less scientifically disciplined trainers may work with just a mental picture of their shaping plan. You can do each shaping session for as long or as short as you like. Assuming your dog is happy to play the game, you can keep on playing! As with all training, try to end the session while your dog is still enthusiastic and successful.

Dubhy’s Picnic

shaping dog behavior
Every piece of furniture is now a potential prop for Dubhy!

I decided to shape Dubhy to flip open a picnic basket with his nose. I could have used pure basic shaping, in which case the steps in our shaping plan might have looked something like the one below. Because I’m doing basic shaping with a behavior goal in mind, not free shaping, I wouldn’t click random offered behaviors that aren’t in the shaping plan.

Note that I would click and treat several times at each step, unless, of course, Dubhy took a quantum leap over several steps, in which case I’d be prepared to leap with him.

1. Looks at basket
2. Moves toward basket
3. Sniffs basket
4. Sniffs basket closer to basket lid corner where opening is
5. Sniffs basket at basket lid corner
6. Nudges lid corner (here I might need to hold out to wait for stronger behavior to get the nudge)
7. Nudges lid corner harder
8. Nudges hard enough to move lid corner
9. Nudges hard enough to lift up lid corner
10. Nudges hard enough to lift lid corner higher
11. Nudges hard enough to flip lid open

When I put my plan into action and began training Dubhy to flip open the basket, I chose to take a shortcut and do a little prompting with a target stick. That allowed us to skip steps 1-4 and go directly to step 5, sniffing the basket lid corner. From there, it only took a few minutes for Dubhy to repeatedly offer a strong, reliable “open the basket” behavior.

Now that we have reliability with the goal behavior of opening the basket, I could incorporate it into a trick routine – perhaps packing picnic supplies into the basket, or unpacking them and laying them out on a waiting picnic blanket. Or perhaps he could find a small “lost” dog who was trained to lie quietly hidden in the basket. Or…?

Free Shaping

Free shaping is great for encouraging a dog who is somewhat shut down to offer behaviors, because he can’t be wrong. Anything he does that even remotely relates to the exercise gets clicked and treated. Once the dog is easily offering random behaviors, then you can, if you choose, switch to basic shaping with a goal behavior. Here are a couple of free shaping exercises you can experiment with:

karen pryor shaping
Every move is a winning one when playing “101 Things to Do With a Box.”

101 Things to Do With a Box – You can use any old cardboard box for this, or it doesn’t even have to be a box! You can play “101 Things to Do With Anything.”

Your dog can be on leash, or off, if he’ll stay and keep working with you. Set a chair a few feet back from the box or object, sit in the chair, and wait. As with the “Place” exercise, you’re looking for tiny pieces of behavior to click and treat – any behavior that relates to the box – a look, a step, a sniff, a push … only this time you have no specific goal in mind, and you don’t have to build up to a behavior – random behaviors are fine.

If your dog gets hung up on one particular behavior you can stop clicking that one and wait for something else. The more confident your dog is about offering behaviors, the more easily you can just quit clicking one thing and wait for another. At some point, if you wish, you can decide on a goal behavior based on the ones your dog has offered, and shape it into something specific – front feet only in the box; hind feet only in the box; all four feet in the box; turn the box over; fetch the box; or…?

Body Parts – Body Parts shaping helps your dog learn to offer behavior, and it also helps you realize how precise this process can be for shaping the tiniest of movements.

Sit in a chair with your dog facing you, and watch your dog closely for a movement in one of his body parts. Even a tiny movement will do. For example, you could watch for a flick of his ear, a turn of his head, the lift of a paw, or a tongue flicker.

shaping your dog
This dog is learning to flick a light switch. At first, she’s rewarded for merely sniffing or licking it. Next she’ll have to actually flick the switch before she gets a treat.

When you have captured one of these movements with your click and treat, that’s the one you’ll continue to focus on. Sit and wait for another movement of that same body part. Click and treat. Your goal is to reinforce that accidental behavior until your dog begins deliberately offering it. When he does, you can name it, incorporate it into a trick routine, or keep working with it to shape it into something bigger if you choose.

I really came to appreciate the power of shaping when I first purchased agility equipment, set it up in the backyard, and ran to get Dubhy, to see what he’d do with it. To my delight, as I introduced him to each piece of equipment, he immediately started doing stuff – sniffing it, pawing at it, biting it, jumping on it, just trying out different things to see what he needed to do to get me to click. Made training a breeze!

Karen Pryor’s 10 Laws of Shaping

In her landmark book, Don’t Shoot the Dog, behavioral biologist and past dolphin trainer Karen Pryor says, “…a well-planned shaping program can minimize the required drilling and can make every moment of practice count, thus speeding up progress tremendously.” She also tells us that the successful application of shaping principles makes the difference between shaping that is frustrating, slow, boring, and disagreeable, and shaping that is happy, fast, and successful.

karen pryor dog training book

Here are the 10 principles that Pryor suggests you follow for the most enjoyable and successful training:

1. Raise criteria in increments small enough that the subject always has a realistic chance for reinforcement.

2. Train one aspect of any particular behavior at a time; don’t try to shape for two criteria simultaneously.

3. During shaping, put the current level of response onto a variable schedule of reinforcement before adding or raising the criteria.

4. When introducing a new criterion, or aspect of the behavioral skill, temporarily relax the old ones.

5. Stay ahead of your subject. Plan your shaping program completely so that if the subject makes sudden progress, you are aware of what to reinforce next.

6. Don’t change trainers in midstream; you can have several trainers per trainee, but stick to one shaper per behavior.

7. If one shaping procedure is not eliciting progress, find another; there are as many ways to get behavior as there are trainers to think them up.

8. Don’t interrupt a training session gratuitously; that constitutes punishment. (Author’s note: For example, you’re in the middle of training and the phone rings. You drop what you’re doing and run to answer the phone. This is “negative punishment,” because the dog may perceive that whatever he did made a good thing [you/ training] go away. Instead, take time to gracefully end what you’re doing with the dog to attend to an interruption. I use an “all done” cue that lets the dog know the training session is over.)

9. If behavior deteriorates, “go back to kindergarten.” Quickly review the whole shaping process with a series of easily earned reinforces.

10. End each session on a high note, if possible, but in any case quit while you’re ahead.

The Canine Central Nervous System

By
Randy Kidd
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By Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD What’s on your dog’s mind? You may never know, but it can be helpful to know at least a little something about his brain – and the rest of his central nervous system (CNS). The CNS describes the system of neurons formed by the spinal cord, brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebrum. This month’s installment of the Tour of the Dog focuses on the CNS, its diseases and disorders, and treatments for those ailments. The peripheral nervous system (PNS), comprised of the cranial and spinal nerves (specialized nerves that carry information to the brain stem or spinal cord), are beyond the scope of this article. Macroanatomy

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The CNS “organ system” includes nerve cells (neurons) as well as tissues and cells that support the function and health of the nerve cells. The brain itself lies within a protected vault, encased by the protective “headgear” of the cranial bones. Extending backward from the brain is the brain stem, and continuing on from this stem is the spinal cord. The spinal cord extends inside the protective coverings of the spinal vertebrae to just beyond the bones of the pelvis, providing branching motor and sensory nerves to the limbs and organ systems along the way. A connective tissue called the meninges acts as a protective outer membrane surrounding the CNS tissues. It’s actually a collection of three layered membranes: the dura, arachnoid, and pia maters. The outer, dura mater (literally, tough mother) is a tough and fibrous outer covering. Internal to the dura is a thin meninge called the arachnoid mater, and its cobweblike structure (thus the term arachnoid, or spider) unites the dura with the pia mater. The pia mater is a thin and highly vascular membrane adhering closely to the surface of the brain. Note: When we consider the moving animal, it is important to appreciate that the meninges extend from the fibrous capsule they form around the brain, backward along the length of the spinal cord. The meninges thus offer a resilient membrane that gives elastic support to the flexing, contracting, rotating spine. In addition, since it is continuous, whenever a spinal vertebra is “stuck,” that “stuckage” will be reflected at other point(s) along the spine. This means that a chiropractic adjustment necessary in the lumbar region, say, probably will also necessitate additional adjustments somewhere else along the spine – say, in the neck region. Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), produced by large ventricles that lie within the inner part of the brain, circulates in the subarachnoid space. The CSF helps maintain a constant environment for the neurons and glia by transporting metabolites from the blood and removing by-products of brain metabolism. It also helps connect the brain to rest of the body’s immune system, and creates a fluid cushion for the brain to float in. A sample of CSF fluid can be collected and examined as a diagnostic aid. Slice into the main part of the brain and you will see that most of its innards are white, with a thin outer layer, the cerebral cortex, that fits over the white matter like a glove. The cerebral cortex (cortex is Latin for “bark”) is extensively folded, which allows for much more surface area than would be available on a flattened surface. This increased surface area makes room for more cells; theoretically, the more intensely folded the cortex, the smarter the animal. The brain is physically divided into a left and right hemisphere, and the hemispheres are connected at their base by a horn-shaped structure called the hippocampus. For many years it was thought that the functions of the left brain (the logical, linear, focused-thinking brain) and right brain (emotional, global-thinking) were entirely separated, and each hemisphere was solely responsible for its designated function. Today’s research, however, indicates that there are many more connections and cross-overs between the hemispheres than originally thought. Thus, even when a human is engaged in linear, logical thought, the emotional brain is always tuned in, meaning that even the most logical of thoughts are being processed, at least to some extent, in an emotional fashion. Realizing this to be true, recent brain science has led to an extended appreciation of the mind/body connection. Archeology of the brain The brain has evolved over eons, with certain anatomical parts (and thus certain functional capacities) of the brain developing more in some animals than in others. The brainstem is the oldest part of the brain. It evolved more than 500 million years ago, and because it resembles the entire brain of a reptile, it is often referred to as the reptilian brain. It determines the general level of alertness and warns the organism of important incoming information, and handles basic bodily functions necessary for survival, breathing and heart rate, as examples. The cerebellum is attached to the rear of the brainstem. Among other functions, the cerebellum maintains and adjusts posture and coordinates muscular movement. Memories for simple learned responses may also be stored here. The limbic system is the group of cellular structures located between the brainstem and cortex. Two key parts of the system are the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Although it is only about the size of a small pea, the hypothalamus regulates eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, body temperature, balance, and many other functions. It also directs the pituitary gland, the gland many consider the “master gland” of the body. The limbic system evolved sometime between 200 and 300 million years ago. Because it is most highly developed in mammals, it is often called the mammalian brain. In addition to its other functions, the limbic system is involved in the emotional reactions that have to do with survival. The cerebrum is the largest part of the dog’s (and other mammals’) brain. It is divided into two halves, or hemispheres, each of which controls its opposite half of the body. The hemispheres are connected by a band of nerve fibers, called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is the largest fiber pathway in the brain – a “bridge” of several hundred million nerve fibers. Covering each hemisphere is a thin layer of intricately folded nerve cells called the cerebral cortex. The cortex is the area of the brain where we and our dogs are able to remember, communicate, understand, and create. The cerebrum’s cortex first appeared in mammals about 200 million years ago. It is the part of the brain that is more highly developed in the human species than in any other animal. The cerebral cortex is further divided into several lobes, each with its own function. (“Mapping” of the brain is an ongoing process, and most of the work has been done in humans using a variety of electrical-, chemical-, and heat-based ways to analyze areas that are active during the time that specific activities or thoughts are being undertaken by the experimental subject.) The frontal lobe is primarily involved in decision-making and purposeful behavior. The parietal lobe, located just behind the frontal lobe, represents the body and its actions. The temporal lobe lies beneath parts of the parietal and frontal lobe; some of its functions include processing of auditory sounds, perception, and memory. The occipital lobe lies behind and beneath the parietal lobe and just above the cerebellum; its function is concerned with vision. Note that the importance of understanding at least some of the functions of the various brain parts is that it makes it easier to localize a lesion if one occurs. Microanatomy of the CNS Neurons are the cells that conduct nerve impulses. They are responsible for relaying sensory input (such as pain, pleasure, and the senses of smell, hearing, seeing, etc.); for proprioception (knowing where the body parts are at any time); and for transmitting impulses to the muscles to incite them to action. However, about 90 percent of the cells of the CNS are termed glial cells (meaning glue). There are several types of glial cells, each with its own function. Astrocytes and microglia provide physical and nutritional support for neurons; oligodendroglia and Schwann cells provide insulation to neurons; and satellite cells offer physical support for neurons. The brain, like the rest of the body, bathes in a soup of biochemicals that, when activated, create a variety of reactions that are essential for life. Neurons function by moving electrical impulses from one area of the body to another, and the chemicals responsible for this movement across nerve connections (synapses) are called neurotransmitters. Included in this category are epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, histamine, and glutamate. Each of these is a protein that requires certain amino acids for its production; each has its specific function, and many have a specific target organ in which the function occurs. Recent evidence demonstrates that the health of neurotransmitters can be enhanced in several ways: good balanced nutrition, exercise, hand-to-fur contact such as massage, and living in a household full of love. The neurological exam Indicators for the possibility of neurological disease include behavioral changes, seizures, tremors, stumbling, or paresis or paralysis of one or more limbs. A complete neurological exam can be an extensive (and expensive) process, and, in the end, the diagnosis often resorts to simple deductive reasoning to narrow a large list of possibilities to a smaller list of more probable causes. Information about the time of onset, the course, and the duration of the complaint can be helpful. Congenital and familial disorders are most common in purebred animals at birth or within the first few years of life. Inflammatory, metabolic, toxic, and nutritional disorders can occur in any species, breed, or age. They tend to have a rapid onset and are usually progressive. Traumatic and vascular injuries have an acute onset, and they rarely become worse after the first 24 hours. Most degenerative and neoplastic disorders occur in older dogs; they tend to have a slow and gradual onset, and the symptoms often become worse over time. A complete physical may reveal nerve-related conditions. For example, a generalized bacterial infection may extend into the brain, meninges, or spinal cord; tumors may originate in one organ system and metastasize to nervous tissues; chronic inflammatory diseases may reside in organ systems, including nervous tissues; and metabolic problems that affect nerves also usually affect other organ systems. A neurologic exam should include an examination of the head, neck, thorax and thoracic limbs, lumbar and pelvic areas, pelvic limbs, anus and urethral sphincter, tail, and the animal’s gaits. Often, a veterinary chiropractor can thoroughly evaluate these areas, and, while the evaluation is in process, adjust the joints that feel “stuck” back into their normal range of motion. If the neurological deficiency is localized, the site of the lesion along the spine (or in the limb) may be evident. For example, a front limb dysfunction may be due to a lesion along the spine anywhere from the first cervical vertebra to one of the first two thoracic vertebrae. Or it may be caused by a lesion somewhere along the length of the limb, including the paws and toes. In addition to evaluating the dog’s posture and gaits (walking, trotting, turning, backing, etc.), there are many specific neurologic tests that are designed to evaluate isolated parts of the nervous system. Further tests may also be helpful. Clinical pathology may reveal a generalized infection, liver or kidney dysfunction, or hormonal or metabolic conditions that also affect the nervous tissues. Blood test results may reveal the presence of certain toxins that have caused a problem. For example, a particularly low level of serum cholinesterase suggests acute organophosphate (a common ingredient in anti-flea and tick products) toxicity. An evaluation of the cerebrospinal fluid may be helpful, especially for infections or inflammation. Radiographs can be used to detect fractures and some tumors. Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be used to detect smaller lesions. An electroencephalogram (EEG) records the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex, and it is a good aid for detecting hydrocephalus, meningoencephalitis, head trauma, and cerebral neoplasia. Interestingly, the EEG is not especially proficient at diagnosing many of the more common forms of epilepsy. Diseases of the brain As you’d expect when dealing with an organ system that has a variety of cell types and a multitude of functions, there are many diseases and causes of diseases of the CNS, making diagnosis a real challenge. Almost every part of the CNS can be affected by any number of disease processes: congenital or familial, nutritional, metabolic, infectious or inflammatory, toxic, traumatic, vascular, parasitic, neoplastic, immunological, degenerative … or iatrogenic (resulting from the activity of the health practitioner) or idiopathic (of unknown origin). A diagnostic approach for any potential disease of the nervous system will entail a multidimensional approach. Often, an accurate diagnosis will depend on correlating several factors into one final picture.

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A clinical evaluation will assess the totality of clinical symptoms. Are the symptoms diffuse or focal; symmetric or asymmetric; painful or nonpainful; progressive, regressive, or static; mild, moderate, or severe? An anatomic location of the lesion may be evident from the prevailing signs. Potential mechanisms of the disease are considered (from the entire list above), and hopefully a short list of the most likely possibilities can be generated. Congenital disorders are most common in purebred animals at birth or shortly thereafter. Some familial disorders cause a progressive degeneration of neurons in the first year of life, while others (such as inherited epilepsy) may not manifest for several years. Trauma is a major cause of neurologic dysfunction due to physical damage, hemorrhage, edema, and progressive formation of oxygen-containing free radicals. Traumatic conditions have a rapid onset of symptoms, and the damage is generally complete within 24 to 48 hours. In other words, clinical signs will usually not get worse than they are one or two days after the traumatic event; whether the signs gradually improve depends on the extent of the original damage and the success of the treatment given. Infections (meningitis – infection of the meninges, and encephalitis – infection of the brain) can be caused by any of many agents including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, prions (a minute particle of a virus), and algae. Rabies and canine distemper are two examples of viral diseases that have a serious nervous system component. The most common neurological toxicities in dogs are caused by insecticides (such as those found in many flea and tick products), but the list of neurotoxins in the environment is almost endless. Metabolic alterations that result in nervous signs include hypoglycemia, hepatic dysfunction, uremia (kidney failure), and alterations in mineral metabolism. Both hypo- and hyperthyroidism can cause neurological signs, as can hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease) or hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease). Vitamin deficiencies can cause ataxia, stupor, coma, and/or seizures. Vascular lesions are usually due to septicemia or bacterial embolism within the CNS. Unlike their human counterparts where cerebrovascular disease from arteriosclerosis (thickening and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls) and hypertension (high blood pressure) are fairly common, these two are rare diseases in dogs. Nervous system neoplasias (tumors) are reported more often in dogs than in other domesticated species. Overall frequency of tumors reported varies considerably, depending on the survey – from almost 3 percent of all dogs examined at necropsy to less than 0.02 percent of the examined dogs. One survey found that the most common sites for neoplasia in young dogs were located in the hematopoietic (blood forming) system, the brain, and the skin. Brachy-cephalic breeds – such as Boxers, English Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers – are at increased risk for developing certain tumors of the brain tissues. Each and every one of the many cell types present in the CNS can be altered to grow into its own tumor types – for example astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and glial cells, respectively producing astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and gliomas. Furthermore, each tumor type has its own propensity for growth or its ability to spread and become malignant. It is therefore an extreme challenge to accurately diagnose nerve tissue tumors and to offer a prognosis for how they will perform in the future. Holistic approach Given the difficulty of accurately diagnosing and adequately treating a disease of the nervous system, it is important that we think in terms of prevention of CNS disorders rather than cure. And while the CNS is all-inclusive in terms of its impact on the whole body, there are some general ways to help your dog maintain a healthy CNS. • At the top of the list is exercise. In the case of the CNS, we are referring to whole body/mind/spirit and heart exercise. Daily, moderate exercise will bathe all the body’s nerves with health-sustaining nutrients, and activity helps to keep all systems in balance. But the nervous system also needs to have its thinking, reasoning, creativity “worked” on a daily basis. Dogs (and people) who are exposed to novel experiences and whose day-to-day activities require creative reasoning are able to maintain healthier brains well into old age. Take your dog for a walk, meet new people and other animals, continue basic training and add “tricks” that stimulate the brain – all good prescriptions for a healthy brain. • Nutrition. While good nutrition is absolutely essential for a healthy nervous system, sometimes I think we make it too difficult. The basic keys to nutrition are easy: a balanced diet of good, high quality ingredients; absence of potentially toxic substances; species-appropriate foods (grass and grain for horses; meats with some veggies for dogs); and moderation. The older I get, the more I believe that a really balanced diet (lots of choices during the week’s meals) may be most important. You cannot beat fresh, organic, unprocessed, unpreserved foods for a truly top-quality diet. • Supplements. Use supplements if you have a compelling reason to do so; in some cases they can be helpful. But keep in mind that evidence is mounting that supplements given in the form of pills or capsules are not nearly as effective as their counterparts found in natural foods. And, out-of-balance supplements or those given in excess may be more problematic than helpful. Examples of nerve-enhancing supplements include antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E; a balanced vitamin B supplement; and magnesium (given in a format that balances it with other minerals). Gingko (Ginkgo biloba) improves nerve function, possibly due to its ability to enhance oxygen flow to the brain. Other herbs such as hawthorn berries (Crataegus species) enhance blood flow, and most herbs contain high levels of antioxidants. • Socialization. In today’s crowded world, dogs absolutely need to be socialized. Any dog that hasn’t learned to stay out of the street (or that isn’t being walked on a leash), or that has not learned how to approach other dogs without inciting a fight, is a trauma case waiting to happen. • Chiropractic. There is nothing better for health and healing, especially for the nerves that come from the spinal cord and supply peripheral body parts, than periodic chiropractic adjustments. A “well-oiled” spine is an essential component for overall health, allowing for a full range of pain-free movement and creating a flow of healthy nervous input to dependent muscles and organs. Conversely, “stuck” joints often create irritated nerves, which then adversely affect the organs and muscles they supply. • Homeopathy and acupuncture are two powerful medicines that may be helpful for treating many nervous system diseases. Many practitioners have had good success treating epilepsy with acupuncture, and particular homeopathic remedies seem to fit some of the symptoms of a variety of nervous system diseases. The protocol for using either of these medicines will vary with the disease symptoms, as they are presented. Don’t be surprised if the way of diagnosing and the approach to providing alternative therapies differ from the way conventional Western medicine typically approaches disease and healing. • Tincture of time. It was once thought that nerve cells did not regenerate and that animals did not generate new nerve cells, but recent evidence clearly shows this to be wrong. Damaged nerve cells can regenerate, and nerve cells continue to develop as long as we stimulate the need for them (i.e., as long as we stimulate the brain to think and act). Often, especially after a traumatic event, all that is needed for healing is to be patient and wait for it to happen. • Heart to head connection. Consider your dog’s emotional health as an integral part of her/his nervous system. A little loving contact goes a long toward creating and maintaining a healthy CNS. The recent advances into the science of the brain indicate that it may truly be the body’s inner health maintenance organization. When the brain is emotionally relaxed, satisfied, and happy, it sends the message to all other body parts that everything is under control, that homeostasis has been achieved. On the other hand, however, putting the animal under emotional stress alters the biochemical messages being generated by the brain, and the result is that all other body parts are also stressed.   Also With This Article“What You Can Do”-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.

Prevention Plus

By
Nancy Kerns
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Readers may be surprised to learn from this month’s article “Heartworm: Don’t Take It Lightly” that we recommend the use of conventional heartworm preventative drugs. Our usual suggestion is to minimize the use of pesticides, vaccines, artificial food additives, and toxic chemicals on or around dogs, so one might guess that we’d also be opposed to heartworm preventatives.

One can readily find numerous anecdotal reports about raw-fed, holistically supported dogs who successfully resist heartworm infection without the benefit of preventatives, or even dogs who live well into their senior years while hosting a small population of heartworms. Some holistic practitioners believe this is the natural state of a healthy dog. A properly fed dog with a vibrant immune system, they say, should be able to live in a state of relative health and balance with parasites.

Challenge studies have demonstrated that if dogs who were never previously exposed to heartworm were deliberately infected with 100 heartworm larvae, between 60 and 75 adult worms will develop in about 90 percent of the dogs. This suggests that dogs do have some small amount of natural resistance to the parasites. But we think it’s folly to bet your dog’s life on the notion that you can build his resistance to heartworm solely with a natural diet and holistic healthcare – particularly in areas where heartworm disease is prevalent.

That’s because we’ve also heard stories from people like Christie Keith, a Scottish Deerhound breeder and longtime advocate of raw diets and holistic healthcare for dogs. Keith opted not to administer conventional heartworm preventatives to her dogs for 16 years – but was converted to their use after two of her raw-fed dogs developed heartworm infections. We’ve heard other heartworm tragedies, but Keith’s story is particularly resonant. If such an experienced and dedicated proponent of holistic healthcare wasn’t successful in a low-risk environment at preventing infection in her dogs, perhaps it just can’t be done. It may well be that dogs were never meant to have to resist year after year of repeated exposure to the parasites.

However, we have determined that there are a number of ways that you can minimize your use of the conventional preventatives and still fully protect your dog. Researcher Mary Straus brings these findings to light in the heartworm article.

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Training Tips
We also have two really great training articles in this issue: Mardi Richmond’s “Way to Stay” and Pat Miller’s “The Shape of Things to Come.” Both articles offer detailed instruction on fun, positive methods for producing a happy, well-behaved dog who is highly motivated to figure out what you want and do it.

There is, however, a catch – one that should be apparent from the length of the articles: you have to actually practice with your dog to achieve your training goals! Try it! You’ll be amazed at what you and your dog can accomplish in just a few minutes of positive training a day – every day.

-By Nancy Kerns

Self-Taught?

By
Nancy Kerns
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Our goal for WDJ is to give our readers information they can put to use immediately to help improve the health and behavior of their dogs. Of course, I consider the magazine a success when I receive letters from readers thanking us for helping save their dogs’ lives, but I also feel a deep satisfaction when I realize me and my dog benefit from things I’ve read in WDJ.

For example, I read a long article in the Washington Post today about a scary infection that is killing people and worrying public health officials. A very common bacteria, Clostridium difficile, has mutated into a virulent form that causes fatigue, stomach cramps, nausea, and severe diarrhea – and alarmingly, it is resistant to many antibiotics. In fact, people who are taking antibiotics are the most common victim. Modern heartburn drugs, which reduce the production of stomach acid, are also emerging as an agent that can make a person vulnerable to the infection.

What does this have to do with dogs? As I read the article, I felt that I fully understood the gravity of the situation only because longtime WDJ contributor Randy Kidd, DVM, PhD, precisely described the potential for this scenario in his March 2004 article, “Dangers of Antibiotic Misuse.” Dr. Kidd warned against giving your dog antibiotics for any but the most compelling bacterial infections. This reduces the risk of promoting antibiotic-resistant bacteria in your home, and preserves the protective bacteria in your dog’s digestive tract.

Dr. Kidd’s article noted that you don’t even have to be the one taking an antibiotic to become resistant to it; he cited studies that show resistant bacteria can infect every species of animal within reach of the animal that was given the antibiotic. He also noted that antibacterial soaps and cleaners speed the development of resistant bacteria and should be avoided. Kidd’s article is definitely worth rereading.

For a photo to illustrate Pat Miller’s article on teaching your dog to “target” (“Right On Target” in this issue), I followed her instructions and taught my Chihuahua, Mokie, to ring a bell that I hung on the back door. It took about 10 minutes. Mokie already knew how to touch his nose to my hand – the result of target training I did with him in March 2001, when we published our last article on target training. Shaping the behavior to get him to touch his nose to the bell instead of my hand, and then using his paws to really make it ring took just a few minutes.

It’s taking a bit longer to get him to ring the bell when he wants to go outside. I’ve been asking him to ring the bell every time we go outside, so he gets the idea that he rings the bell, and then we go out. My hope is that he’ll realize that ringing the bell makes it possible to go outside, and he’ll start offering the behavior when he needs or wants to go out.

So far, he offers the behavior only when someone is eating, in hopes of getting a treat for his new trick. I think he’ll figure it out – as soon as I can train the kids not to give him food for ringing the bell because they think it’s so cute. I guess I need to ask Pat to write an article for WDJ on that.

 

-Nancy Kerns

Whole Dog Journal’s 2006 Dry Dog Food Review

By
Nancy Kerns
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Last month, in “A Super (But Secret) Industry,” I discussed the difficulty of getting into a factory where wet pet food is made – a task I have not yet managed to accomplish. Happily, I have been able to tour a few facilities that manufacture dog treats and dry food. This hasn’t resulted in any huge surprises to me, but sure helped me understand the many challenges facing manufacturers who want to produce the very best dog food possible.

As we have described in our annual food reviews since 1998, this task starts with top-quality ingredients. To mix a metaphor, you really can’t make a silk purse out of sows’ ears, chicken heads, bovine tumors, restaurant grease, rendered fat from animals that died on farms, and cheap grain by-products left over from the human food manufacturing industry. Many people say, “Oh, for goodness’ sakes, they are just dogs! Why can’t they eat guts and stuff?” Well, they can, of course, and most dogs do! The vast majority of pet food produced in this country is made with what we would consider to be poor-quality ingredients.

For optimal health, every credible human nutrition expert in the world advocates eating a balanced varied diet of a varying menu of fresh, top-quality foods. There is no biological reason to expect dogs (or any other animal) to be any different. Pet bird experts now realize that an all-seed diet is unbalanced and inadequate for avian health; birds also need access to fresh plant material (fruits, vegetables, green foods such as sprouts, etc.) to thrive. People who keep rabbits as pets now know that alfalfa pellets alone don’t sustain rabbits as well as a diet that includes a variety of fresh hay, root vegetables, and green, leafy vegetables.

Dogs are just the same. A balanced, home-prepared diet of a variety of fresh, healthy ingredients is optimum; a commercial diet made with the same ingredients is leagues better than a commercial diet made with cheap fats discarded from restaurants, inexpensive carbohydrates produced as waste from the brewing industry, and plant proteins such as corn gluten meal (animal proteins have a much more complete amino acid profile than plant proteins).

Of course, the best ingredients cost a lot, and a reliable supply may be difficult to find. Pet food makers who are committed to producing foods for the top end of the market have to continually hunt for ingredients that meet their standards – and be prepared to reject shipments that fail to pass their inspection.

We strongly believe that ingredient quality is the key to a dog food’s quality, as well as the criterion that is easiest for the average consumer to judge, based on a simple review of the ingredients listed on the label. See “WDJ’s Dry Dog Food Selection Criteria,” page 4, for a detailed description of what is desirable and what is best avoided when scrutinizing the ingredients’ panel on your favorite dog foods.

Good manufacturing practices
Ingredients aren’t the whole story, of course. A company that spends the lion’s share of its budget on the ingredients for its foods, but, as one example, expends few resources on laboratory testing to confirm the product meets its label guarantees, may cause the food to flunk inspection by state feed control officials and stop its sale.

Tough standards (and top compensation) for employees, good employee management, superior packaging, proper storage, reliable transportation, smart marketing, education of sales staff at retail locations, knowledgeable and responsive customer service and support . . . these are all areas where a company needs to shine to garner the long-term support of consumers who will pay top dollar for top-shelf products.

Manufacturers who neglect even one of these areas are just asking for trouble. If your plant employees don’t read well or communicate well with their supervisors and coworkers, they may fail to properly inspect a load of corn that arrives at the plant, allowing toxin-laden grain into production (see “Yes, Dog Food Can Kill” sidebar); or accidentally contaminate production equipment with an improperly diluted cleaning agent; or add a dangerously high amount of the mineral supplement to a batch of food, which can cause a life-threatening overdose in exposed dogs.

Most hazards to the wholesomeness of a pet food can be controlled through rigorous planning and management. However, a company must have the resources and commitment to expend those resources to continuously maintain vigilance over the product management from ingredient purchasing to consumer support.

Consumers have few resources available to determine whether dog food makers have “the right stuff” in these areas. In our opinion, one of the best indictors of a company’s commitment to quality is reflected in its ability to respond quickly and intelligently to consumer questions and concerns. Noncompulsory manufacturing certifications (such as the ones described in the “Further Attributes of a Top-Quality Food” sidebar), are another way a company can unequivocally demonstrate its commitment to quality.

Compare for yourself!
In the “2006 Top Approved Dry Dog Foods” chart we’ve listed some dry dog foods that meet our selection criteria. It’s vitally important that you understand the following points regarding these foods:

• The foods on our list are not the only good foods on the market. Plus, we’ve named just one variety in each line by each maker. Usually, all the other varieties in a given line also meet our criteria.

• Any food that you find that meets our selection criteria (see “WDJ’s Dry Dog Food Selection Criteria” sidebar), is just as good as any of the foods on our list.

• We have presented the foods on our list alphabetically. We do not “rank order” foods. We don’t attempt to identify which ones are “best,” because what’s “best” for every dog is different.

• The proof is in the pudding. If your dog does not thrive on the food, with a glossy coat, itch-free skin, bright eyes, clear ears, and a happy, alert demeanor, it doesn’t matter whether we like it or not.

Using the selection criteria outlined above, and perhaps taking into account some of the “extra credit” criteria listed on the next page, go analyze the food you currently feed your dog. If it doesn’t measure up, choose a new food based on quality, and what works best for you and your dog in terms of types of ingredients, levels of protein and fat, local availability and price. Then, try it and see how it suits your dog.

Our list of approved “Top Dry Dog Foods” is offered as a starting place, and for its value as a comparison to other products you may find.

Also With This Article

Click here to view “How to Compare Nutrient Levels in Canned Dog Foods with Dry”
Click here to view “Your Dog’s Diet: A Dry Food Discussion”
Click here to view “WDJ’s Approved Dry Food List”

Train Your Dog to Target

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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[Updated June 29, 2018]

TARGET TRAINING FOR DOGS: OVERVIEW

1. Teach your dog to target as a way to help him focus his attention on you. This can be useful when trying to get him safely and calmly past something that scares or arouses his aggression.

2. Start by teaching your dog to target to your hand; use a target stick (homemade or commercially made) later to extend the range of the target.

3. Even old or nonambulatory dogs can be taught to target with their noses; use this sort of behavior to keep your dog engaged and his mind sharp.

During the two-plus decades that I trained my dogs in old-fashioned obedience classes, I never learned the pervasively useful and versatile behavior of targeting. The closest I came was the narrow application to “go-outs” in advanced level competition classes – not really the same thing at all. Even today, despite its usefulness, targeting is not a widely known behavior outside positive professional training and competition circles. When I introduce the concept in my basic good manners classes I get a sea of blank stares in response, as if each human client is thinking, “Why on earth would I want to teach my dog to do that?”

Targeting means teaching your dog to touch a designated body part to a designated location. Nose targeting is most commonly taught, but it can also be trained with a front or hind paw, a hip or shoulder, even an ear or tail! The designated target can also be anything imaginable, including the palm of your hand or your closed fist, a finger, target stick, spot on the wall or door, or just about any object you choose to ask your dog to target to.

dog target training

The question is, why would you want to teach your dog to touch his nose (or other body part) to a designated spot on cue? The reasons are legion. For example:

• Targeting can be used to boost the confidence level of a timid dog.

• It can prompt a dog to offer a new behavior without a food lure.

• You can use it to keep a dog’s attention focused on you instead of on distractions.

• Your dog can turn appliances on and off, close doors, ring bells.

• Target as an “emergency recall” cue.

• Targeting is used to teach dogs to locate the contact zones in agility.

• Your dog can learn to play the piano!

• It’s useful for teaching lateral movement for Canine Freestyle (dancing with your dog) and APDT Rally.

• It’s easy to train, it’s just plain fun, and dogs love it!

Target Practice is Easy for Dogs!

It’s ridiculously easy to teach. We start in our classes by having the dog target to his owner’s hand, since that doesn’t require yet another piece of equipment to juggle along with clicker, treats, and leash. Hold out your open hand at your dog’s nose level, palm facing him, fingers pointed toward the ground. When he sniffs or licks your hand, click! your clicker and give him a treat from your other hand. Make sure his nose actually touches your skin – “close” only counts in horseshoes. Be sure to click! the instant his nose makes contact with your skin. If you consistently click! too soon, you might teach him to stop before he touches you. If you consistently click! too late, you’ll teach him that moving his nose away from you is the way to earn a reward.

When you’ve clicked and rewarded your dog’s first touch, remove your target hand, then offer it again, in the same position. When he sniffs, click! and treat. Do it again. And again. Notice you have not used a verbal cue yet!

Most dogs will do the initial sniff easily, due to a behavior phenomenon known as novelty of stimulus. “What’s this?!” your dog says, and sniffs to check it out. Be sure you’re ready to catch that first curious sniff with your click! and treat, and you’re well on your way.

If your dog doesn’t sniff your offered palm, rub some hot dog or other moist treat on your skin to make your hand more enticing. When he sniffs or licks, click! and treat.

Your dog may sniff your newly offered hand a few times and then ignore it, looking directly at your treat hand. Novelty of stimulus has worn off, and he’s going directly to the source of the treat. You can almost hear him say, “Why am I looking at this hand? The GOOD STUFF comes from over there!” When this happens, hide your treat hand behind your back, offer him the target hand, and wait. He should soon sniff the offered hand. If he doesn’t, rub a treat on it and offer it again. If that doesn’t do it for him, take a step or two backward and offer him the target as he moves toward you. When he touches, click! and treat.

Repeat this step over and over, until he deliberately bumps your hand with his nose. This is the heart-stopping “Aha!” moment that positive trainers love – when you can see that your dog knows that the way to make the click! happen is to touch your hand.

Some dogs “get it” very quickly. Louis, a Border Collie client of mine in Santa Cruz, California, got it in three repetitions. Others take longer for the light bulb to go on, depending on variables such as the owner’s skill and timing, the dog’s interest in the training game, the desirability of the treat reward, and the level of distractions in the surrounding environment.

You can enhance your dog’s learning speed by working in a quiet location, using very delicious treats, and paying close attention to your click! timing.

Teach Your Dog to Touch Moving Targets

As soon as your dog is deliberately and consistently bumping your hand with his nose you can add the verbal cue. Say “Touch!” just before his nose touches your skin. Click! and reward. Gradually offer the verbal cue earlier and earlier, until he associates the verbal cue with the targeting behavior, and is responding to the cue.

Now you can raise the bar. So far, your dog understands that he’s supposed to touch his nose to your hand when he’s sitting in front of you and the target is presented to him at nose level. It’s time to change the criteria.

Now you want him to touch the target wherever it is, even if it’s moving. Back away from him, offer the target and say “Touch.” As he gets up to follow you, keep moving slowly backward. When he catches up to you and touches the moving target, click! and treat. Move your hand off to one side and ask him to touch it. Click! and treat. Move it to the other side. Move it lower, toward the floor. Move it higher, so he has to jump up to touch it. Put it above a chair seat, so he has to place his front feet on the chair to reach up and touch it.

When he’s really confident about touching the target, put the behavior on a schedule of “random reinforcement” – ask him to touch two times before you click! and treat. Then three times. Then once.

dog targeting

Then once. Then four times. Then two times. Vary the number of times you ask him to touch before he gets clicked; don’t always make it harder and harder, or he may get frustrated and give up.

Introducing New Targets

Now you can teach him to touch other targets. A target stick can be a small branch off a tree, a dowel from the hardware store, a pencil or Tinker toy (for small dogs), or an “official” target stick purchased from a pet supply source. If your target is homemade, put an eraser topper on one end to designate the actual target. You will accept touches near the topper at first, but you’ll ultimately shape the touches to the actual target by clicking only those touches that get closer and closer to the topper.

Hold your target stick perpendicular to the ground with the target end near your dog’s nose. Some dogs will sniff the end of the target stick the first time you offer it. Click! and treat. Others may need a bit of hotdog rubbed on the topper to motivate them to touch this new object. Still others may be afraid of the stick. If your dog is afraid, hold the stick so most of it is hidden under your arm with only an inch of the tip protruding from your hand.

When your dog will touch the tip, extend the stick a little at a time, until he’s touching it at full-length. “A little at a time” varies from one dog to the next. Some dogs will accept a six-inch increase, others will tolerate only half-inch increments. Start small to avoid frightening your dog, and work up to larger increases if he seems to be tolerating them well. As soon as he’s readily touching the tip of the stick start using the verbal “Touch” cue.

When he’s proficient at touching the target stick, use it to extend your reach. With three feet of arm length and three feet of target stick you can get him to touch things a full six feet away from you. Place the tip of the target stick against a door, wall, or other object to teach him to touch other things, including people. This is a useful tool for encouraging a timid dog to be brave. When he’s very confident about touching his target stick you can place the target closer and closer to a scary object; your dog will become braver about approaching the scary object because of his very positive association with targeting.

You can also teach your dog to touch things by holding the target object in your hand. Hold a bell tied to a string in the palm of your hand and say “Touch!” He tries to touch your hand, but the bell is in the way so he touches it instead. Perfect! Click! and treat. Repeat several times, then add the word “bell” to your verbal cue. Say “Bell, touch!” He’ll respond to the familiar “Touch!” part of the cue. Click! and reward. When he’s associated the word “bell” with touching that particular object, you can drop the “touch” part of the cue. Gradually pay out string so the bell hangs below your hand.

Using just the “Bell!” cue, do several repetitions of click! and treat at each new length of string, until the bell is hanging full length below your hand.

You may need to shape for touches that are strong enough to actually make the bell ring. If he touches it too softly, start shaping by clicking only the harder touches, until he is consistently bumping the ball hard enough to make it ring.

Now his “Bell” behavior can alert you to whatever you desire. Many people hang the bell on a door and teach the dog to ring the bell when he has to go out.

How to Teach Your Dog to Target with New Body Parts

Front paws are the second most frequently used body part for targeting. If your dog is “naturally pawsy” you can capture the behavior with a click! and treat when he’s pawing at something – something it’s okay for him to paw at. Or elicit the behavior by punching holes in the top of a baby food jar and putting something scrumptiously delicious inside. When he paws to get at it, click! and treat. Repeat this until you can predict the paw behavior, then add the cue. Be sure to use a different cue. If you want “Touch” to mean “touch with your nose,” then you might use “Foot” to mean “touch with a paw.

If your dog won’t paw at a desirable object, use a treat lure over his head to get him to lift a paw off the ground slightly. Move the treat slightly to the right (his left) to put him a bit off balance and get him to lift his right front paw. Click! and treat. Repeat until he’s offering to lift his paw, then hold that baby jar or other target object where his foot will touch it as he lowers it. Then add the cue.

When he’ll touch the jar on cue, you can use your “Foot” cue to teach him to touch different objects. This behavior is often used as a signal in scent work, so the dog can tell his person that he’s found the designated scent, object, person, or animal.

Dogs naturally use front paws and noses to do things, so it’s easy to teach them to use those body parts to target. Other body parts – hind paws, hips, shoulder, ears, tend to just go along for the ride. It can be more of a challenge to teach the dogs to be aware of these parts, and to use them deliberately.

A hip touch can be useful for getting lateral movements often utilized in Canine Freestyle and for the side-step in APDT Rally obedience. Desensitize your dog to a hip target such as a Ping Pong paddle by touching him on his hips and hindquarters with the object until he doesn’t react. If he’s quite worried about it, feed treats as you touch him until he’s no longer worried.

Now put the target aside, and just work on getting a side-step by holding a treat in front of your dog’s nose as you stand by his right side. Move the treat slowly in an arc toward his left hip. As he steps to follow the treat, his right hip will move toward you. Click! and treat. Repeat until he does this easily, then practice on the other side as well so his left hip moves toward you.

Build up to several steps on each side, and then you’re ready to pick up your target again. Hold your target next to your dog’s hip and use a treat to get him to side-step. When his hip bumps the target, click! and treat. Gradually increase distance until he will move his hip six inches to the target. Be sure to click! and treat each time.

When he’s doing this easily, add your verbal cue. Remember to use a new cue for the new body part – you might select “Bump” as your Hip Touch cue. Gradually fade the use of your treat lure following your “Bump” cue, until he will touch his hip to the target on cue without the lure.

Endless Applications for Targeting in Dog Training

Need more ideas? You can utilize the nose-touch behavior to move your dog into heel position and keep him there by using your hand as a target next to your leg, or a target stick, for a small dog. You can teach him to close cupboard doors by having him target to a spot on the door. (Nose-touch is a better choice than a paw for this, unless you want him to scratch at doors!) You can teach him to turn lights on and off by pushing up on a stick attached to a light switch or by touching a “Touch Lamp” with his nose or paw. He can do object discrimination by learning to identify and use nose or paw to touch various objects (or people) by name. A hind foot touch can be useful for “stacking” a dog in the confirmation ring.

As you can see, the opportunities for application of the touch behavior are virtually endless – limited only by your creativity.

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is Whole Dog Journal’s Training Editor. Miller lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.

What Are the Alternatives for Treating Cancer in Dogs?

By
CJ Puotinen
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18

By CJ Puotinen

The high-tech world of modern medicine has so many weapons that its “war on cancer” arsenal promises something for everyone. But all along, there have been patients, physicians, veterinarians, and animal caregivers who refuse chemotherapy, radiation treatments, surgery, prescription drugs, and other oncology protocols.

What do they use instead? Everything from an improved diet to homeopathy, medicinal herbs, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and energy therapies. The aim of all of these treatments, which are used singly or in combination, is to engage the healing properties of Mother Nature while avoiding debilitating side effects.

dog cancer treatment alternatives

Rather than describe every alternative cancer treatment – an impossible task that would fill a book – we’ll describe several frequently used alternative therapies. These protocols tend to be simple and affordable, especially compared with conventional medical therapies. In some cases, they completely cured a dog’s cancer. In others, they significantly improved the patient’s quality of life, resulting in companionship and an active lifestyle for months or years beyond the original prognosis. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees, for no treatment always cures cancer or extends the patients’s life. Sometimes, nothing works.

If you decide to use one or more of these protocols, please do so with the help of a knowledgeable holistic veterinarian – or a sympathetic conventional vet – who can monitor your dog’s condition, document his or her progress, and provide support throughout the dog’s treatment.

This can be especially important when the patient goes through rapid detoxification or a so-called “healing crisis” – where the dog gets dramatically worse before getting better – something any natural therapy might trigger. “Information, encouragement, and assistance from someone who understands what’s going on can be a blessing, especially if the symptoms are unexpected or dramatic,” says trainer Nancy Strouss, of Nyack, New York, who has lost six Golden Retrievers and one black Lab to cancer.

For information on product sources, dosages, and specific recommendations, see the “Resources” sidebar.

Nutrition
Diet is so important in the treatment of cancer that all holistic veterinarians encourage their clients to improve the quality of their dogs’ food. Organizations like the Weston A. Price Foundation and your local farmer’s market or co-op can help you locate organic, pasture-fed ingredients, including raw or cultured dairy products.

Unlike products from factory farms, the meat and milk of pasture-fed animals contain conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which inhibits the development of tumors. Upgrading to pasture-fed ingredients can actually help your dog fight cancer.

As mentioned in “Don’t Despair, Just Care” (January 2006), carbohydrates feed cancer cells, while fats do not. This may explain why some dogs with cancer have responded well to a diet recommended for human patients by the late Johanna Budwig, PhD. A German pharmacologist, chemist, and physicist, Dr. Budwig is best known for her research on fats and oils and for her use of flaxseed oil and sulphur-rich quark cheese (a cultured dairy product similar to cottage cheese) to treat cancer. She advocated the use of nutrition, sunlight (a natural source of vitamin D), and stress management as a stand-alone alternative cancer treatment.

Five years ago, Misty, a German Shepherd Dog belonging to Craig Stauffer in Sunnyvale, California, developed mammary cancer. Following the biopsy of two tumors, Misty was given six months to live. “The recommended treatment was the removal of all mammary tissue followed by chemotherapy,” says Stauffer.

Instead, Stauffer researched alternatives and learned of Dr. Budwig’s treatment. He began supplementing Misty’s dog food with flax seed oil, cottage cheese, ground flax seed, garlic, and broccoli. Misty’s cancer disappeared, and she enjoyed an active, athletic lifestyle with no recurrence of the disease. “We lost her in May 2005 to old age,” Stauffer reports, “shortly before her 14th birthday.”

Because flax seed oil is highly perishable and quickly goes rancid at room temperature, this ingredient requires constant refrigeration. Coconut researcher Bruce Fife, ND (see “Crazy About Coconut Oil,” October 2005), suggests replacing the flax seed oil in this protocol with coconut oil. “Coconut oil is far more stable than flax seed oil,” he explains, “and it has significant anti-tumor properties.”

Carbohydrates feed cancer cells, so feed canine cancer patients a grain-free, low-carb or no-carb diet. (See “Feed the Dog, Starve the Cancer,” November 2003.)

Antioxidant supplements
Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that protect cells from damage caused by oxygen molecules known as free radicals, which are believed to encourage the development of tumors. Antioxidants include beta-carotene (found in carrots, cantaloupe, and other orange-colored foods), vitamin E (found in nuts, wheat germ, and some vegetables), vitamin A (found in liver, egg yolks, and cod liver oil), vitamin C (found in citrus fruit, hot peppers, and leafy vegetables), and the mineral selenium (found in grains).

Human clinical trials suggest that synthetic vitamin E may contribute to, rather than prevent, certain illnesses, something that advocates of whole-food nutrition have long maintained.

Some herbs and nutritional supplements used in the treatment of cancer are (or are claimed to be) powerful antioxidants. Antioxidant supplements may be helpful in combination with most natural cancer treatments, but they can interfere with others. Be sure to study a protocol carefully before adding antioxidants, and for best results use food-source rather than synthetic products.

Other supplements
Melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain’s pineal gland in response to darkness, helps us sleep and has potent antioxidant properties. It is a popular treatment for canine thunder phobia and separation anxiety, and because it has been shown to help humans recover from breast and prostate cancer, it’s being given to some dogs with these conditions.

Several years ago, shark cartilage seemed to be the most promising alternative treatment for cancer, but uneven results, quality problems, insufficient research, and concern about the ecological effects of shark hunting reduced its popularity. Bovine cartilage shares similar properties, and some holistic veterinarians prescribe cartilage supplements for cancer.

When New Jersey resident Gayle Roberson’s 11-year-old Toy Poodle developed an almost non-stop gagging cough and a heart murmur, an X-ray revealed a major mass in his chest. None of the medications his veterinarian prescribed produced results, so Roberson experimented with bovine cartilage. “By the end of the first bottle, he was coughing less,” she says. “After the second, he was so much better that I had his chest X-rayed again. The mass had almost completely disappeared and his heart murmur was downgraded from a 5 to a 1. This was sensational, and he lived to be 17!”

Beta glucan (more correctly called Beta-1,3/1,6-Glucan) is a simple sugar derived from the cell wall of Saccharomyces ceresvsiae, common baker’s yeast. Researchers have been testing its immune-boosting properties since the 1940s.

Ted Keller, a registered pharmacist in Colorado, says he has seen dramatic results with beta glucan in human and animal cancer patients. “The best example I can give is a dog diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma and given six months to live. Thanks to beta glucan, the dog was still alive two years later, to the amazement of her veterinarians. . . . The earlier the diagnosis, the better the beta glucan works. For melanoma, beta glucan works wonders as long as it hasn’t metastasized to the brain.”

Herbal treatments
Search online for herbal cancer treatments and you’ll find thousands. A few are backed by serious research, some are hyped by multilevel-marketing companies, most are described with exaggerated claims, many have been used for centuries in traditional medicine, and some have saved dogs’ lives. Distinguishing one from the other requires careful study or the help of an herbalist.

Several reputable companies make herbal tonics, teas, extracts, and other products that help dogs fight cancer. Some contain medicinal mushrooms (such as maitake or reishi), aloe vera, cat’s claw, or Chinese herbs, all of which are highly regarded as natural cancer treatments. All You Ever Wanted to Know about Herbs for Pets, a terrific book by Mary Wulff-Tilford and Gregory Tilford, is helpful for anyone interested in treating pets botanically.

The Tilfords’ favorite anticancer herb is red clover, which, they say, inhibits the activities of carcinogenic compounds, helps improve blood structure, and strengthens lymphatic functions that are crucial in cleansing cell tissues throughout the body.

Red clover also contains plant sterol constituents that may inhibit the production of blood vessels that feed newly formed tumors. Herbs for Pets includes instructions for making a tonic/support formula for cancer patients by combining red clover, the Chinese immune-boosting herb astragalus, dandelion root (which gently stimulates the liver, improves digestion, and assists with the removal of waste), and garlic (which has its own anticancer, antitumor properties).

The herbal formula Essiac (described in “Don’t Despair, Just Care,” January 2006), is another tonic tea that enhances immune function and helps the body heal itself.

The yellow spice turmeric is becoming known as a cancer fighter, even by conventional medical practitioners. Turmeric’s key ingredient is curcumin, a phytopolyphenol pigment with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties. Curcumin helps starve tumors by disrupting their blood supply, and it stimulates the immune system, enhances cardiovascular function, and improves digestion. Some cases have been reported in which turmeric or curcumin caused tumors on a dog’s head or body to turn black and disappear.

We introduced WDJ readers to Australian herbalist Robert McDowell in “Buying Time to Spend Together” (October 1998), which described how McDowell helped Jet, a 10-year-old Belgian Shepherd, recover from bone cancer. The herbalist continues to work with canine cancer patients around the world. His standard approach to all cancers involves maritime pine bark extract, an immune system tonic, in combination with a specific support formula directed at the patient’s particular cancer. “Maritime pine is a special antioxidant nearly 25 times more powerful than vitamin C,” says McDowell.

Chinese herbs
Chinese herbal medicine is a primary component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In conventional Western medicine, drugs are chosen for their ability to exert specific physiological actions; in TCM, the practitioner chooses treatments, including herbs, based on the manifestations of disease and energetic imbalances he detects in each individual’s body. In other words, a TCM practitioner may prescribe different herbs (and other treatments, including acupuncture) to different individuals with the same disease. Most of the herbs (and mineral or animal-based ingredients of predominantly herbal medicines) used by TCM practitioners have been used to treat people for thousands of years.

When Audrey Blake’s nine-year-old Golden Retriever, Dylan, was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in November 2002, Blake knew she didn’t want Dylan to undergo conventional therapy.

“Surgery wasn’t an option because his liver was involved, and I didn’t want to put him through chemotherapy,” says the Riverhead, New York resident. “Another factor was that two of my friends had just lost their Goldens to hemangiosarcoma. Both dogs died a few weeks after surgery. The odds weren’t good, so I decided that even if all we had was three months together, I wanted those months to be as comfortable as possible for him.”

Fortunately for Dylan, his veterinarian was Dr. Jiu Jia Wen, who majored in acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine at Beijing Agricultural University in China. Dr. Wen prepared a blend of 20 Chinese herbs that Blake added to Dylan’s food. The herbs were easy to administer and affordable, she says. By their next checkup, the tumor had stopped growing, and by the following month, it was shrinking.

“I was ecstatic,” says Blake. “Dylan was active, playful, and happy.” After about a year, the tumor began to grow again and a second herbal blend was added to his food. Eventually, the cancer won out, and Dylan died shortly before his 12th birthday.

“I still miss him,” says Blake, “but I have no regrets. I would use this same protocol again, and I recommend it to others. Older dogs and hemangiosarcoma are never a good combination, but the Chinese herbs worked incredibly well.”

Artemisinin
Three years ago, WDJ introduced readers to artemisinin, an extract derived from the Chinese herb Artemesia annua, also known as sweet Annie or annual wormwood (see “New Hope for Treating Cancer,” May 2003). A traditional cure for malaria, the plant is now a treatment for cancer. Like the parasite that causes malaria, cancer cells hoard iron in order to replicate their DNA. When artemisinin comes in contact with iron, it becomes a toxic chemical, releasing free radicals that destroy affected parasites or cancer cells.

For a while, it seemed artemisinin might be the magic bullet that would quickly cure cancer in humans and pets. In 2003, a research study was under way at the Washington Cancer Institute Department of Orthopedic Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center, vets who used the herb were reporting promising results, and an “artemisinin and cancer” online forum attracted hundreds of members.

Now the dust is settling. The research study was cancelled for lack of funding, and not every dog who took artemisinin improved. In addition, some veterinarians worried about adverse side effects.

Despite these disappointments and concerns, artemisinin remains a popular alternative. Henry Lai, PhD, Narendra P. Singh, MD, and other researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, have published artemisinin studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Because of their solid theoretical and experimental results, even conventionally trained veterinarians take artemisinin seriously.

“I can think of at least three reasons why some dogs have not been completely cured of cancer by artemisinin,” Dr. Lai told us. “First, artemisinin treatment is usually started too late, when dogs are at an advanced stage of cancer. Second, I don’t think artemisinin is completely effective unless we can prolong its half-life of action and increase its selectivity. We are working on solutions for that problem, but they will be expensive. The third reason is that a lot of owners feed high doses of antioxidants such as vitamins C and E to their dogs, and antioxidants counteract the action of artemisinin.”

Artemisinin works as an oxidant, explains Dr. Lai; therefore its action is opposite that of antioxidants. “It is known that antioxidants decrease the effect of artemisinin on malarial parasites, and we have experimental data showing that this is also true for cancer cells. It seems that people in developing countries respond better to artemisinin than people in the U.S., possibly because they don’t take a lot of antioxidant supplements.”

Giving antioxidants to dogs several hours after artemisinin is one possible solution. “But some antioxidants, such as vitamin E, stay in the body for a long time,” says Dr. Lai, “so they would continue to counteract artemisinin. Stopping antioxidants during the initial phase of artemisinin treatment might produce better results.”

Even if cancer returns and causes the patient’s death, dogs on artemisinin often outlive their original prognosis. Kathy Rowley’s Greyhound, Tera, was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her lower left hind leg. “That was on a Tuesday,” Rowley recalls. “The following Saturday we started her on artemisinin. The next day she seemed to feel better, and on Monday she was bouncing off the wall and acting totally normal. We couldn’t believe it.

“Two weeks later our vet examined her leg and was shocked that she had no pain. He suggested we do X-rays in three months, even though we knew the odds of her still being alive in three months were slim. But she kept getting better, and after three months, the tumor had shrunk dramatically. The vet said he would not have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.”

Tera’s tumor didn’t disappear but it didn’t begin to grow again until the following spring. “We increased her dose of artemisinin,” says Rowley, “but for some reason it just stopped working. When pain began to incapacitate her, we knew it was time. Tera died in July 2004, shortly before her 10th birthday. The artemisinin might not have cured her, but the extra 14 months that we shared with our lively, happy dog were nothing short of a miracle.”

Cancer salves
Escharotic salves, often called black salves, were so popular in the early 20th century that entire hospitals were devoted to their use. The name comes from the eschar (thick dried scab) that develops after the salve destroys tissue to which it is applied. Most such salves contain bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and zinc chloride, a preservative said to enhance the effectiveness of the salve.

Holistic health guru Andrew Weil, MD, revived interest in cancer salves when he wrote about using one on his six-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Coca, who developed a growth on her right side near the shoulder. Dr. Weil describes the experience in his book, Spontaneous Healing, concluding, “The end result was a perfectly circular, slightly depressed area of skin, with no trace of tumor. The bloodroot had removed it more neatly than one could have done with a scalpel. Later, hair grew over the spot, concealing it completely. I could not have asked for a better outcome, especially as the dog had shown no signs of discomfort.”

dog cancer treatment alternatives

In humans, treatment with escharotics can be painful and scarring. While dogs tend to have higher pain thresholds than humans, this is still not a treatment to approach casually. Keeping the affected area bandaged and attending to its healing can be a challenge.

In 1998, Gail Tenney of Mahwah, New Jersey, learned that Jo, her 11-year-old mixed-breed dog, had mesenchymal neoplasm, a non-specific slow-growing cancer of the soft tissue. Jo had two tumors, one on a toe on her front foot, the other on a back leg.

“The oncologist I consulted said he would remove Jo’s leg and toe,” recalls Tenney. “I rejected that idea right away. Even surgery to remove the tumors without amputation could be dangerous because of her advancing heart disease and elevated liver enzymes. I had already used a black salve to remove a wart from the top of her head, so in March of 1999, I decided to try this method.”

The tumor on Jo’s foot, now the size of a walnut, responded just like Coca’s skin growth. The second, near her tail, was larger than a baseball. Following the advice of the salve’s distributor, Tenney asked Jo’s veterinarian to inject the tumor with salve diluted in saline solution.

“Exactly like the first tumor,” she recalls, “on the third day it started to turn hard and black, then began to peel away from her body. It bled all over her bed, and she really hurt. Even on pain pills, she whimpered. On the fifth day, the tumor fell off. What a mess! There was a huge opening on her leg with all kinds of green-yellow pus oozing from it. The open wound was the size of my fist.

“For two weeks I did nothing but clean up blood and attend to Jo 24 hours a day. Another vet I consulted told me to wash the wound twice a day and apply betadine. I used a garden hose to really clean the sore, but it still oozed fluid. What was interesting is that as soon as the tumor fell off, Jo seemed really happy with no discomfort at all, even when I touched the wound. Like the wound on her foot, it gradually healed.”

Jo died in January 2000, of congestive heart failure. “If I had it to do over,” says Tenney, “I would have used the salve right away, when the tumors were tiny. In general, I would say this is not a treatment for the faint-hearted, and the best way to do it is with the support of a sympathetic veterinarian.”

Patricia Weissleader, who lives near Palm Springs, California, has treated several of her rescued dogs with black salve. “In every case,” she says, “the salve removed the tumors and the dogs were healthy.”

Weissleader now runs an online group devoted to black salves. “The salve will always remove visible tumors,” she says, “and we’re always learning about ways to speed the healing of the area after that.”

Homeopathy
Few approaches to healing are as controversial as homeopathy, in which extremely dilute substances are matched with symptoms on an individual basis and given, usually one at a time and often only once, to stimulate a healing response. Because it is so different from what they are used to, most mainstream physicians, veterinarians, and researchers consider homeopathy irrational, ineffective, or dangerous.

As cancer researcher Ralph Moss, PhD, says, “The argument that any positive results reported for homeopathy have to be due to the placebo effect seems arrogant. Homeopathy is no weirder than the basic postulates of quantum mechanics, which were vehemently resisted by the older generation of scientists, only to become the foundation of today’s particle physics.” He notes that 3,000 peer-reviewed articles deal with homeopathy, including 140 clinical trials and 100 articles on randomized controlled trials.

New York veterinarian Stacey Hershman, DVM, a classically trained homeopath, uses homeopathy as a support therapy rather than a stand-alone cancer treatment. “I just haven’t seen spectacular results, especially in advanced or complicated cases,” she says. “I love homeopathy and I use it every day, but for cancer patients I use it in combination with other holistic treatments, addressing symptoms as they develop. I think it’s excellent for that.”

While there are many home-study guides for treating animals with homeopathy, cancer is a complicated subject. For best results, consult an experienced veterinary homeopath.

Cryosurgery
When surgery is the best option, an alternative procedure called cryosurgery can sometimes be used to destroy cancer tissue by freezing.

In October 2004, Labrador Retriever breeder Ed Katz of Elka Park, New York, discovered that his three-month-old puppy, Doc, had an aggressive mast cell tumor on his paw pad. The cancer had already spread to his lymph nodes and his spleen was enlarged. Doc’s veterinary oncologists recommended amputation, 25 radiation treatments, and intensive chemotherapy.

Instead, Katz took Doc to Marty Goldstein, DVM, in South Salem, New York, who performed a 23-minute cryosurgery procedure and sent the puppy home with artemisinin and nutritional supplements. Doc healed quickly and today, says Dr. Goldstein, you can’t tell which paw was affected.

According to Katz, Doc is the most athletic, happy, intelligent, bouncy, resilient Lab imaginable. He celebrated his first birthday last summer, continues to take his artemisinin and supplements, and has been cancer-free, with “perfect” blood tests, for more than a year.

Cryosurgery is not always successful, warns trainer Nancy Strouss, whose nine-year-old Golden Retriever, Valley, underwent the procedure to treat a mast cell tumor on her toe. “The cryosurgery was painful,” says Strouss, “and the cancer came right back. When her toe was amputated, it came back again, and soon it metastasized through her body.”

Enzyme therapy
No discussion of holistic cancer treatments would be complete without mentioning enzyme therapy. Enzymes are most familiar as digestive aids that break down fats, proteins, and other foods, but they are taken between meals on an empty stomach when they are used to treat cancer.

Bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme found in pineapple, has cancer-fighting as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Familiar enzyme products for dogs include Prozyme, a plant-based powder that is sprinkled on food to improve digestion, and Wobenzym, described here in January 2001 (“Banking on Enzymes”) and October 2005 (“Digest These Benefits”). Both products contain bromelain; Wobenzym contains pancreatic enzymes as well.

In our 2001 article on systemic oral enzyme therapy (the term used to describe the administration of digestive enzymes between meals), New Hampshire resident Susan Appelin described her two Greyhounds, one with hemangiosarcoma, the other with a mast cell sarcoma. When a holistic physician told her about Wobenzym, she added between-meal enzymes to her dogs’ home-prepared diet. Both dogs recovered and enjoyed more than a year free from cancer.

Systemic oral enzyme therapy is usually well tolerated by dogs of all ages. However, Wobenzym and other products containing bromelain can thin the blood. Note the safety issues raised in our 2005 article to prevent adverse side effects.

Cancell/Protocel
One of the more controversial alternative treatments for cancer is a product called Cancell, also called Protocel, Cantrol, Entelev, and Cantron. It was created in the 1930s by a Dow Chemical biochemist who claimed that the product balanced the vibrational frequency of cancer cells, returning them to a healthy state.

Protocel’s ingredients are copper, sodium, potassium, and a proprietary blend of tetrahydroxyquinone, rhodizonic acid, inositol, croconic acid, catechol, triquinoyl, and leuconic acid. According to its manufacturers, Protocel is a powerful antioxidant that helps cleanse the cells, thus supporting immune function.

“Cancell has been the subject of a long-running guerilla war between its enthusiasts on the one hand and the FDA on the other,” says Dr. Moss. “Every time it is suppressed under one name, it pops up under another.”

Animal studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) decades ago concluded that Cancell lacked substantial anticancer activity and that no further research was warranted. In 1989, the FDA was granted a permanent injunction against Cancell’s manufacturers, prohibiting them from distributing an unapproved drug. However, many have argued that the NCI falsified its reports of the tests it conducted, and some of the evidence against Cancell does appear to be biased.

Daniel King, DVM, of Tolono, Illinois, is one of a handful of veterinarians who use Protocel. In the past eight years, he has treated 50 cancer patients with the product and consulted on more than 200 additional cases. He estimates that 65 to 70 percent have responded well. “In most cases,” he says, “the cancer doesn’t go away, but it does stop growing; it doesn’t metastasize, it stops causing pain, and the patient lives a normal life span, usually dying of something other than cancer, like congestive heart failure or kidney disease.”

Dr. King’s favorite Protocel patient is Duke, a Boxer who was 11 years old and vomiting red blood when he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the stomach in January 2002. “Somehow his owner, Gus George, who lives in nearby Tuscola, heard about my work with Protocel and brought him in,” he says. “In less than a week on the Protocel, Duke stopped vomiting and started feeling better. After eight months, he returned to the veterinary clinic that had diagnosed him for follow-up tests, and they could find no sign of cancer.” Duke died in January 2005 at the age of 14.

In Dr. King’s experience, about 15 percent of patients treated with Protocel are fully cured of cancer; almost all of those, he says, had cancers that affect the mucous membranes, such as adeno-carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma.

Bioresonance therapy
For Gigi Gaulin, DVM, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the leading edge of alternative veterinary medicine is a technology developed in Germany 30 years ago and used in 65 countries around the world. “Bioresonance therapy” utilizes a patented device that measures the patient’s “electromagnetic oscillations” through electrodes placed on the body. The frequencies it measures are then returned to the patient as a form of healing energy, with “bad” frequencies inverted and “good” frequencies enhanced.

Dr. Gaulin is one of nine veterinarians in the U.S. who are using Bicom Resonance Therapy equipment. Where cancer is concerned, she says, the treatment proceeds in stages, clearing underlying conditions. “Cancer isn’t an entity all of itself. It’s part of a process; eliminating cancer is a process, too. You start by removing energetic blocks, opening up the lymphatic system, and supporting the organs that help the body correct imbalances.”

Treatment sessions last anywhere from 20 to 90 minutes, and are commonly used on a weekly basis. Dr. Gaulin reports that most patients experience improvements in energy, attitude, appetite, specific symptoms, and overall condition. As they become stronger, she says, their quality of life increases and cancer growth slows. “The changes and improvements that result can be truly astounding,” she says.

Also With This Article
Click here to view “Cancer Treatments for Dogs”
Click here to view ” Dog Cancer Diet”
Click here to view “Special Diets for Dogs with Cancer”

-A long-time contributor to WDJ and author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs & Cats, and other books, CJ Puotinen lives in New York with her husband, a Lab, and a tabby cat.

The Canine Shock Collar Debate

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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1

The chasm between those who abhor the electronic/shock collars as an abusive dog training tool and those who support and promote it as an exceptionally effective and humane training tool is so huge it will probably never be bridged.

In more moderate positions in the middle of that chasm are those who believe that the collar can be an effective training tool for very limited circumstances in the hands of skilled professionals, and those who prefer not to use them but feel compelled to educate clients who insist on using them on how to use them properly.

How could the dog training/behavior community be so divided over a simple tool?

Perhaps because the tool is not so simple; perception in large part depends on what you read, who you believe, and your own personal training philosophy.

I’ll be clear: Like many other trainers and behavior professionals who adhere to a positive training philosophy, I find the idea of using the shock collar abhorrent under any circumstances. And WDJ’s mission statement asserts, “The methods we discuss will endeavor to do no harm to dogs; we do not advocate perpetrating even minor transgressions in the name of ‘greater good.’ ”

We receive numerous inquiries from dog owners who have heard about “remote training collars” that can be used in a positive or dog-friendly training program.

We’ll borrow the definition of “dog-friendly” from the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), an international organization with more than 5,000 members worldwide. One of the APDT’s stated missions is to advocate for dog-friendly training, which it has defined as “training that utilizes primarily positive reinforcement; secondarily negative punishment, and only occasionally, rarely, and/or as a last resort includes positive punishment and/or negative reinforcement.”

The following is a description of the electronic collar training products on the market, and why we regard them as inherently unsuitable for use in a truly positive or dog-friendly training program.

How they work
A “remote training system” is comprised of a controlling transmitter that is held by the dog handler, and a collar that holds a small unit that contains a radio receiver and batteries, which power the electrical shock delivered by the collar. Metal “contact points” protrude from this unit, and the collar is fitted on the dog tightly so that the points come in snug contact with the skin on the dog’s throat. The handler uses the controls on the transmitter to cause the unit on the dog’s collar to deliver an electrical shock to the dog.

Trainers who use and like the e-collars argue that the products sold today don’t even remotely resemble the shock collars of yesteryear.

Collars commonly used 15 years ago generally featured settings that delivered three to five levels of shock or “stimulus.” According to the companies that sell them and the trainers who use them, today’s collars are much more sophisticated, and can be adjusted to very low levels and very momentary action. Their intent is to create a non-aversive stimulus (sometimes referred to as a “nick” or “tap”). Indeed, Innotek’s ADV-1000 model has 15 levels, while the Dogtra 200NCP goes even further, with a dial that ranges from 1 to 100.

Other improvements over the years include increasingly sophisticated technology that:

• Reduces the likelihood or prevents your dog’s collar from being “set off” or interfered with by “stray” radio signals – or even someone else in your area using the same type of collar.

• Offers the operator the ability to quickly and easily change the level of the stimulus from the remote control.

• Enables the collar to respond instantaneously to the signal sent by the controller, so there is not a “lag” or delay in delivering the stimulus to the dog at the exact moment that is desired.

• Increases the distance at which the collar can be activated by the transmitter.

• Reduces the potential for the unit on the collar to malfunction (especially in wet conditions) in such as way that causes physical or emotional trauma to the dog.

Of course, these improvements tend to be reflected in the higher-quality, higher-cost products on the market. Unfortunately, low-cost, low-quality products are readily available to consumers.

How they are used
Shock collars were initially used primarily for the administration of harsh “positive punishment” and/or “negative reinforcement” (for definitions of these terms, see “the Four Principles of Operant Conditioning” sidebar). If your duck hunting or search and rescue dog took off after a rabbit when he was supposed to be doing something else, you’d hit a button on a hand-held remote control device to shock/stop him with a significant electrical jolt. In behavioral terms, this is called “positive punishment”: the dog’s behavior of “crittering” makes a bad thing (shock) happen and the behavior consequently decreases.

Or, if your dog didn’t come promptly when you called, you’d hit the button and keep the button pressed, delivering a constant and unpleasant stimulus until the dog came and sat in front of you; then you stopped pressing the button. This is “negative reinforcement”; the dog’s behavior of coming to you makes a bad thing (shock) go away, and the behavior of coming when called increases.

Again, “dog-friendly” trainers primarily use positive reinforcement and secondarily negative punishment, and only rarely and/or as a last resort use positive punishment or negative reinforcement. That would seem to rule out the use of shock collars.

Some trainers use a noise or vibration feature on some of the new e-collars as a behavior marker for basic training. Rather than using a reward marker such as the word “Yes!” or the click! of a clicker (followed by a reward), these trainers use the noise or vibration feature as a “keep going signal” to tell the dog he’s doing the right thing and to continue doing it. Some of these trainers also use the “stim” feature on a low setting as a mild “interrupter” – like a tap on the shoulder, to say, “Hey, look at me!”

Proponents of the collars frequently tout miraculous results, such as rehabilitating a fearful, unsocialized dog in 20 minutes, or installing total off-leash control in five days or less – all resulting in happy, unstressed, well-behaved dogs and greatly enhanced relationships between dogs and owners.

Fans of the technology argue that the label “shock collar” is no longer appropriate, and create new names for their tools and techniques, such as “e-collar,” “electronic collar,” “e-touch,” “stim,” and “tap.”

Of course, the collars do work – at least some of the time. When querying some on-line training discussion groups about their experiences with the collars, I had one particularly enthusiastic report from Jeff Dege of Edina, Minnesota:

“After a year of not being able to ‘proof’ my Jack Russell Terrier’s recall (and several incidents of a failed recall that could have killed him), I decided to give remote training collars a try. I did a fair amount of research, checked into a number of gun dog trainers, identified the one I thought best understood both what he was doing and how independent breeds respond to corrections. Then I bought a quality remote collar and paid the trainer for private lessons.

“It worked amazingly well, and very quickly. We were doing off-lead agility exercises in the back yard by the second week. When Bear headed down the driveway to explore whatever, I’d give him the recall command and if he didn’t respond, I’d give him a correction, at a setting lower than I could feel when I tried it on myself. He’d come back immediately, and as far as I could tell, eagerly. In the second week, in perhaps a dozen sessions, I corrected Bear twice. Since then, I always have him wear the collar when we practice off-lead in the back yard, but I’ve never needed to correct him.”

Dege concludes, “I do not, and will not, recommend electronic training collars without qualification. They’re easily misused. But I think they have their place, used in moderation, with some dogs.”

Of course, if the collars didn’t work sometimes, they wouldn’t be as widely sold and used as they are. Success stories about electronic underground fence collars, remote electronic training collars, and electronic bark collars abound.

But so do horror stories.

What can go wrong?
Even with the new and improved products, things can go wrong. In response to my inquiries, I received a number of compelling stories from owners and trainers who related a wide range of negative experiences (see “Shock Collar Stories From Trainers and Owners” sidebar) they had with both training collars and “electronic containment systems.” (We have included some of their comments regarding fence systems, though we aren’t really discussing those here. See “Simply Shocking,” February 2003, for an article on “e-fences.”)

Part of the conflict in perception of the collars’ effect may come from different trainers’ interpretations of, and responses to, the body language of dogs when the shock is applied.

Two trainers recounted their observations from a seminar put on by a prominent e-collar trainer who promotes his methods as positive and humane. One trainer wrote a glowing report of how several poorly socialized, fearful shelter dogs were “cured” in a miraculously short time, and turned into happy, outgoing companions. But another trainer who attended the same seminar reported that the dogs appeared completely shut down, offering stress and appeasement behaviors throughout the ordeal, and demonstrating classic “learned helplessness” behavior at the end of the session.

Some trainers argue quite convincingly that they use electronic collars only at a low setting as a gentle way of communicating with dogs. If pressed, however, most of them will readily admit that they do turn up the dial if/when the dog stops responding to a low level “tap.” Most will also insist that it’s appropriate to use higher settings when they feel it’s necessary to apply positive punishment to a dog.

My fear is that if you’re tempted by those trainers’ arguments to use a shock collar in your training, you won’t know until it’s too late if your dog will be one of the successes or one of the failures. By the time you find out, it may be too late to undo the damage to your dog, your relationship with him, and his relationship with the rest of the world.

The eternal divide
Steve Lindsay, a well-respected behavior consultant and author from Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, supports the limited use of electronic collars in educated hands, and argues for calling them “electronic” rather than “shock” collars.

In his recently released Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training: Volume Three, Procedures and Protocols, Lindsay writes, “The combined advantage of immediate and reliable radio-controlled delivery of precisely regulated electrical stimulus make electronic training a viable and humane alternative to any traditional techniques for applying negative reinforcement and punishment.”

Lindsay bemoans the fact, however, that “large numbers of radio-controlled e-collars are sold in pet stores to relatively naive and inexperienced dog owners without much in the way of appropriate instruction regarding their use, misuse, and potential for abuse.” He acknowledges that potential for abuse is all too real.

Lindsay also chastises collar manufacturers for not being more forth-coming with critical information about the electrical output of their collars (voltage, current and power, pulse and waveform characteristics) along with an explanation of the significance of the information, so consumers can select the product best suited to their needs.

Holding an opposing opinion is Dr. Karen Overall, a highly respected veterinary behaviorist and author who ran the Behavior Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School for more than 12 years. “Let me make my opinion perfectly clear,” says Dr. Overall. “Shock is not training. In the vast majority of cases it meets the criteria for abuse. No pet owner needs to use this technique to achieve his or her goal.

“I know there’s a lot of discussion about what we call electronic collars. But they are all ‘shock’ collars by the definition of physics and their mechanism of action. They all seek to be aversive.” Dr. Overall also warns, “Dogs who cease to exhibit a problem behavior (through the influence of a shock collar) usually also cease to exhibit normal behaviors.”

Despite any amount of positive feedback from shock-collar proponents, and in consideration of the negative reports I continue to receive, I choose to use only those training tools and methods that are clearly dog-friendly – designed to encourage dogs to think and offer behaviors without fear of aversive consequences.

In the end, owners must make their own decisions about whether shock collars are appropriate tools for their dogs.

Letters: 02/06

By
Nancy Kerns
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Cosmetic or Not?
I read with some interest and frank dismay your article on cropping and docking (“To Crop and Dock? Or Not?” December 2005). While I do agree that ear cropping is purely cosmetic, and should probably be banned, I strongly disagree about your position on dewclaw removal. It is ridiculous to assume that a vestigial toe could affect a dog’s balance, except possibly detrimentally. I have had several litters of AKC registered dogs and always had their dewclaws removed. We never had any unusual aftereffects or odd gaits associated with these puppies. Many achieved their championships.

As far as the tail issue, I do not think it is responsible to give such a narrow opinion base, and use it as fact. Two people are quoted in this article, and that is simply not a good total picture – especially when they seem to practice such “out there” type of medicine.

I must also comment on your cancer articles. I recently lost a dog to liver/spleen cancer. When I was told that the oncologist wanted to do surgery, which might prolong her life by a few months, I chose not to prolong her suffering. How can I justify a few months with my dog who gave me everything she had during her life, and put her through such pain? This is much more cruel than removing a puppies tail at three days!

Anyway, I am sure you don’t care what I think, since it doesn’t coincide with your own thinking, but I felt it necessary to respond to these articles.

Denise Bruhn
via e-mail

I don’t usually feel defensive when I read critical letters, but I had to respond to the above writer when she suggested I wouldn’t care what she thought. However, when I tried to reply to her e-mail, my note kept bouncing back to me with an explanation that her e-mail server had rejected my note as spam, and the directions it offered to get past the spam filters didn’t work. The fact is, dialogue is educational; I do care.

———-

After reading your article on cropping and docking, I have noticed that Bodean, my little Lab-mix with a cropped tail, does not sit as comfortably as Josie, my German Shepherd-mix. He frequently will sit to the side so as to not put pressure on his tail. Although I did not dock his tail (he came into the shelter with a litter of pups that already had their tails docked), I wish now he had his full tail. He is visibly uncomfortable. I have taken the advice of the article and frequently stretch and massage his docked tail. Surprisingly, he does not fight this at all and seems to enjoy the massage. Thank you!

Kelli Baltzell
Omaha, NE

———-

Finally! An article on the “tradition” of mutilating our best friends.

Usually ear cropping is done in the puppy’s most formative time period. The advice from the vet: no play with other dogs to prevent infection or further injury. The result? The pup cannot develop proper doggy social skills if contact with other dogs is withheld for months.

Let’s look at docking tails, particularly when it comes to meeting unfamiliar dogs. How can a docked Rottweiler show submission or fear without a tail? His anal gland scent is still exposed so what is the more dominant dog to think? That his higher rank is not recognized? This can result in fights because the dogs don’t understand each other.

It starts with the puppy buyers. Refuse to buy a docked puppy and do not greet your new puppy in his new home by taking him to the vet to have his ears cropped. Me? I’m the proud owner of four dogs with four tails and eight floppy ears.

Irma Kapsenberg
Good Dog! Gentle Dog Training
Corvallis, OR

———-

Thanks
It’s been more than a year since I read “What Promotes Bloat?” (January 2005) but it helped save my dog’s life. She is not in the high risk category, but after observing abnormal behavior one Sunday recently, my husband noticed her stomach big and hard as a rock. Thanks to your article, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Yikes, bloat, let’s get her in to emergency.” She was in surgery within a half-hour. We were in disbelief and so thankful we recognized the problem right away.

Interestingly, all of my dog world (obedience competition) friends know about bloat but none of the pet people I talk to have heard of it. I don’t know if I would have recognized what was going on without your article. Annie is doing great in her recovery. Thank you!

Pat Sorlien
Bellevue, WA

———-

Thanks for the rockin’ article on preventing the flu (“Fending Off the Flu,” December 2005). I was amazed at how densely packed it was with solid information. I have used Standard Process products for myself in the past, and went right to my source at www.RiteCare.com to order the items mentioned in the article.

I also really enjoyed Susan Weinstein’s article, “Defeating Disease Differently” (November 2005), about Caleb and his brush with distemper. I appreciate the book references she gave and plan on building my home library in that direction.

Liza Burney
via e-mail

Download The Full February 2006 Issue PDF

By
Nancy Kerns
-
0
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Please Keep Talking

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

Would you want to read a magazine that contained only information that you already knew and agreed with? Would it be worth the price of the subscription? For me, the answer is no – and, yes, I really do subscribe to and buy a number of magazines that publish articles or display an editorial slant with which I frequently strongly differ. (For that matter, the editorials in my own hometown newspaper frequently make me mad enough to spit!) But some people, it seems, have no tolerance for exposure to information or opinions with which they disagree.

I’ve been thinking about this since the publication of our last issue, which contained an article about a controversial topic: cosmetic surgery for dogs.

I’m being purposely provocative for using the phrase “cosmetic surgery” as a catchall phrase for the topics discussed in the article: tail docking, ear cropping, and dewclaw removal. (The author of the article, Shannon Wilkinson, was also deliberately provocative by referring to these practices as “amputations.” At the risk of starting a dictionary war, let me say that we understand that some define that word as “the removal of a limb or portion of a limb,” but others define it as “the removal of part or all of a body part that is enclosed in skin.” So its use was accurate, if startling.)

The word “amputation” is dramatic; people usually think of amputations as being un-planned and shocking, which, of course, crop-ping and docking surgeries are generally not. But the purpose of its use in our article was not to pass judgement on those who dock or crop; we did not once describe the practices as “cruel” or anything equally inflammatory. We did, however, want to get our readers’ atten-tion, to cause them to look at some common dog-care practices in a new light, and perhaps get them to reconsider the importance of those practices, or at a minimum, weigh them against their potential – some would call them “alleged” – adverse effects.

So, while I admit I knew the topic was controversial, and it was our stated goal to be thought-provoking, I was (as I always am in these situations) surprised when I received several calls and letters from people who wanted to cancel their subscriptions to WDJ to express their dissent with the article.

We have never purported to hold an exclusive contract on what’s “right.” But our stated goal – expressed in the mission statement that appears below – is to offer useful, dog-friendly information that helps owners help their dogs. Our unstated mission (one that should be apparent due to our intentional lack of advertising) is to provide reliable information on topics you can’t find in mainstream publications, where, in consideration of conventional, commercial interests (which contribute the vast majority of advertising dollars), hardly anything appears that runs counter to conventional practice.

Anyway, I’m happy to report that at least a few people saw fit to extend, rather than cut off, a “conversation” with us about cosmetic surgeries. Some of their letters will appear in the next issue.

-Nancy Kerns

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A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”
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