Even at 12 years old, Sheba had the look of a regal Irish Setter. Her rich, red, silky coat flowed as she pranced. Still sleek and lean, her white face and telltale shorter gait were evidence that she was a healthy example of a senior-dog citizen. Sheba’s naps were getting longer and upon rising, her hind legs would need some coaxing to get going.
About this time Sheba and I had to move from Denver to Philadelphia. I planned to take my time driving cross-country so we could stop often and enjoy the trip. At the end of the first day of driving, Sheba jumped out of the back seat of my sedan with a little bounce. When we made stops on day two, she would look at me, stand up on the seat, and then step down with care. On the third day, she lay on the seat and needed to be cajoled and bribed to make the effort to get out of the car for every outing.
By the time we arrived in Philadelphia, Sheba was very stiff and in great discomfort. It took weeks of short walks and building toward longer walks to work out most of her arthritic kinks.
I wish I knew then what I know now about helping older dogs be more comfortable when traveling or being confined for a period of time. The ancient healing art of acupressure offers our senior friends a lot of relief from the aches and pains of aging. It is very common for a dog to suffer the same difficulties we do as their years advance. Canine acupressure can:
• Relieve muscle spasms
• Strengthen the dog’s immune system
• Lubricate the joints to improve mobility
• Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
• Enhance blood circulation for better function
• Release endorphins and natural cortisone to relieve pain and increase the dog’s general comfort level.
Making a difference
Today, my 11-year-old Chesapeake, Shayna, has the benefit of receiving weekly acupressure treatments. She had serious hindquarter problems as a puppy and had to have the spinal processes near her tail removed when she was 13 months old. As she grew older, her spine fused naturally and during the last three years, she has suffered from severe arthritis. And she still wants to run, jump, and play with the gusto of a dog a quarter of her age! Our senior canines want to do all the great things they used to do; we just have to help them feel better before, during, and after these activities.
We have taken a holistic approach in keeping Shayna healthy and happy. Along with regular acupressure treatments, she receives a mix of raw food, natural supplements, and a high-quality, dry kibble, plus quite a bit of exercise on uneven terrain to keep her muscles strong and joints well lubricated, and regular check-ups with a holistic veterinarian.
Acupressure has proven to help relieve the pain and stiffness of arthritis for humans and canines. Sitting or lying in one position for a long time while traveling can cause achy, stiff limbs. As animal acupressurists, we recommend using specific acupressure points during a treatment session every other day while traveling or to simply help your senior canine be more comfortable.
Now you try it
To get started, review the instructional guide included with this article. Then, take a few minutes to look over the three diagrams. Each one features points intended to help one portion of the dog’s body. You can use acupressure points from all three diagrams, but per acupressure session we suggest not using more than six to eight acupressure points.
Additionally, if you have not visited your veterinarian in more than six months prior to launching your vacation, we suggest you do – just to determine whether your dog is showing signs of increasing discomfort. Acupressure is not a substitute for appropriate veterinary care. However, it is an excellent complement to conventional care and something you can do for your animal yourself.
Dogs are highly attuned to acupressure since they love to be touched. By adding your healing intention to help ease his soreness, hurts, or pain, he knows and will demonstrate his appreciation in so many ways. You will both enjoy your travels together much more.
Nancy Zidonis and Amy Snow are also the authors of “The Well-Connected Dog: A Guide to Canine Acupressure”; “Acu-Cat: A Guide to Feline Acupressure”; and “Equine Acupressure: A Working Manual”.
Everyone who cares about their dogs wants to feed them “good food.” By and large, our readers – and a growing number of non-subscribing dog owners – want to take that one step further. They have learned that improving a dog’s diet can result in improved health. So they want to feed their dogs the very best diet that money can buy.
So far, so good. We love people who love their dogs and want to take care of them in the best way they can.
Unfortunately, for some strange reason, when it comes to a discussion of the relative merits of top-quality store-bought food versus top-quality homemade diets, otherwise rational people have been known to lose their cool.
At conferences, rooms full of concerned dog owners and dedicated canine nutrition experts have exploded into shouted arguments while debating minute aspects of the topic. At dog parks, casual conversations have ended in pointed recriminations, and dogs get whisked into cars, fast.
It’s obvious to us that good-quality commercial and home-prepared diets offer certain advantages and disadvantages to dogs and their guardians. And before you decide “what’s best” for your dog, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with all of the arguments, pro and con, complete with rebuttals.
How commercial foods replaced homemade
The commercial pet food industry began manufacturing dog food to meet a nationally accepted standard of nutritional requirements only in 1953. The industry itself is only about 100 years old; before that, all pets were fed home-prepared diets, and with enough success, apparently, that the species is still hanging out with us today.
The fact that the industry has enjoyed such fantastic success is due to many factors. Many of us are too busy to shop and cook for ourselves, much less our dogs. Many people believe the slogans and promises printed in industry publications and on the food labels themselves; many have simply never questioned the fact that the food-making companies profits depend on convincing them that the commercial products are “best for dogs.”
Another critical contributor to the success of the pet food industry has been its sustained and successful efforts to intertwine and ingratiate itself with the veterinary profession. Veterinarians tend to tell people to use commercial food, but then, they have been strongly indoctrinated to truly believe that this is the only wise choice a dog owner can make; they learned it in vet school! But it’s no secret that the dog food companies sponsor veterinary nutrition textbooks, provide grant money for university research, and give vet students free dog food throughout school.
So, what with one thing and another, commercial food has come to represent the norm – what most people feed their dogs. This has been true long enough that a predictable backlash has begun to build momentum. Today, homemade diets are gaining in popularity, as evidenced by an ever-increasing number of books, lectures, and Web sites on the subject, and people who make their dogs’ food.
Keep this history in mind as we explore the benefits and drawbacks of feeding dogs commercial and homemade diets.
Conclusion
So, would it be better to stay with kibble, the quick, convenient option preferred by the majority, or to venture onto the lesser-trod path of home-prepared food?
As always, it depends on the dog and his guardian. There is no single type of food or type of preparation that will produce unblemished health in all dogs, just as there is no diet that suits all humans. The “best” food for a dog depends on its age, sex, breed, genetic inheritance, state of health, level of activity, geographic location, reproductive status, etc.
Individual human factors must also be taken into account, since the selection, storage, and administration of dogs’ diets depends on us. As evidenced by the wide variety of adult human shapes and health conditions, people have varying levels of ability to wisely plan, shop, prepare, and safely store their own diets. Not everyone has what it takes to “pull off” a good diet for themselves; not every well-meaning dog owner has what it takes to successfully formulate a home-prepared diet for their dogs, either.
We actually are firmly convinced that a proper home-prepared diet, carefully tailored to its individual recipients and guided by an informed, open-minded veterinarian is, truly, “best for dogs.”
However, we are averse to blanket prescriptions for all dogs and directives for all people. Some dogs are probably better off with a commercial diet. If a person doesn’t have the time, resources, and interest in preparing a “complete and balanced” homemade diet for their dogs, or if a dog doesn’t seem to thrive on the homemade diet his owner has provided for him, he undoubtedly has better prospects on a top-quality commercial food. Or even a well-considered mixture of the two.
In order to make intelligent decisions, a person has to be informed about all the advantages and disadvantages of each of her options, and then weigh her own individual circumstances against the general conditions. We hope that the abridged depictions of the pros and cons of the two types of feeding dogs will help inform your own dog feeding deliberations – and even offer rebuttals to anyone who criticizes your decision.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a flowering plant in the Aster family. A native of Europe, it has been used since the time of the Roman emperors as a liver tonic. Milk thistle is one of very few traditionally used herbs that has been widely accepted by conventional science to have significant medicinal value. Using milk thistle for dogs is also believed to have a number of beneficial effects.
Today we know the active ingredient of milk thistle seed extract as a flavonoid compound called “silymarin.” Most milk thistle extracts available today contain about 80 percent silymarin.
Milk Thistle for Dogs
Silymarin, which is itself a combination of several other active compounds, has been extensively studied around the world, and has been shown to be safe and effective in treating a variety of liver diseases and other conditions. It specifically protects the liver against toxins (including some drugs and heavy metals), activates protein synthesis, and stimulates growth of new liver cells to replace those that are dead or damaged. Milk thistle also has strong antioxidant (destroys oxygen free radicals) and anti-inflammatory actions.
Silymarin reaches high levels in the bile and liver (it also reaches significant levels in the lungs, pancreas, prostate, and skin). It can be used in the treatment of hepatic lipidosis, chronic hepatitis, cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), and pericholangitis (inflammation of the tissue around the bile ducts). It may be useful in preventing or treating gallstones by thinning the bile. Many dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have concurrent inflammation of the liver/bile system and the pancreas. This suite of symptoms is called “triaditis.” Because milk thistle’s beneficial actions concentrate on the liver and bile systems, it may also be helpful in dogs with IBD.
Milk thistle should be considered as an aid to healing after drug therapy, vaccinations, and infections such as canine parvovirus, as well as an potential adjunct treatment for cancer. Researchers at Case Western University concluded from their work that “silymarin possesses exceptionally high protective effects against tumor promotion . . . ” One human study even suggests a role for milk thistle in diabetes mellitus through its normalizing effects on red blood cells. It may also help prevent diabetic neuropathy, a common complication of the disease that causes degeneration of the nerves controlling the hind limbs, which consequently produces weakness and an abnormal gait.
Milk thistle generally supports the immune system through its powerful antioxidant, free-radical scavenging action, its ability to preserve the supply of another important antioxidant, glutathione, as well as direct effects on immune cells. Glutathione, which is stored primarily in the liver, naturally declines over time, and depletion of this protein appears to accelerate the aging process.
While it’s not exactly the fountain of youth, milk thistle clearly has wide-ranging positive effects throughout the body. However, before you add this potent herb to your dog’s daily regimen “just in case” it might do some good, it’s important to consider that some herbalists believe milk thistle is best reserved as a treatment for existing disease, rather than being used by itself in a healthy dog.
While moderate use of milk thistle is very safe, there is some experimental evidence to suggest that long-term ingestion of very high dosages of milk thistle will eventually suppress liver function.
Milk Thistle Dosage for Dogs
The standard dosage of milk thistle extract is based on a silymarin content of around 80 percent; most supplements contain anywhere from 50-500 milligrams (175 mg is typical). As with many supplements, it’s probably better to buy a milk thistle derivative rather than a silymarin-only or other fractional supplement, since there may be other compounds found in the whole herb that significantly enhance the effects of what science has decided is the main player.
Because of its excellent safety record and lack of adverse drug interactions, when I’m treating a very sick dog with advanced liver disease, I do not hesitate to use up to 200 mg per 10 pounds of body weight of milk thistle extract daily. For most canine purposes, however, one-third to one-half of that dose is more than adequate. (Dogs with liver disease typically will not eat, but it’s a simple matter to open up a capsule, mix the appropriate amount of powdered herb with a little blenderized food or baby food, and feed it to the dog in a syringe.) Too high a dose can cause an upset tummy, gas, or mild diarrhea; these are easily resolved by giving less.
Human research studies have shown that it is more effective to administer this herb in three or four small portions over the day than in one large daily dose. When it is not possible to split the daily dose and administer the fractional portions three or four times a day, give it at least twice a day.
The capsule form is easy to find – any health food store, and even most pharmacies and grocers, will have them in stock. The herb also comes in a liquid extract, but most human products contain a fair bit of alcohol. If you prefer a liquid preparation, get one specifically intended for use in animals.
One safe, reliable source of a liquid extract is Animals’ Apawthecary (available through some pet specialty shops and many mail order suppliers).
Jean Hofve, DVM, is a regular contributor to WDJ. Her veterinary practice is in Englewood, Colorado.
Who hasn’t heard of CoQ10? A powerful antioxidant, coenzyme Q10 is one of America’s most popular supplements. Literally every cell of the body contains CoQ10. In fact, its other name is ubiquinone, reflecting its widespread distribution in the body.
CoQ10 is most concentrated in the mitochondria, the portion of cells that produce energy. The heart and liver contain more mitochondria per cell than other body parts and thus contain the most CoQ10. Human and animal deficiencies are not yet well understood, but low CoQ10 blood levels have been reported in patients with heart disease, gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), morbid obesity, muscular dystrophy, and AIDS.
As a nutritional supplement for humans, CoQ10 is used to treat angina, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, mitral valve prolapse, diabetes, gum disease, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), AIDS, and infertility, and to improve athletic performance. In dogs, it is most widely prescribed for congestive heart failure and gum disease.
CoQ10’s Effect on Dogs
Not everyone agrees that CoQ10 works. Bruce West, DC, dismisses CoQ10’s popularity as unsubstantiated hype. In the November 2000 edition of his popular Health Alert newsletter, Dr. West cites a double-blind study showing CoQ10 to be useless in the treatment of congestive heart failure in humans. He expects CoQ10 supplements to simply die a slow death. “It will be around for years, create plenty of millionaires, and then disappear,” he predicts.
Yet other studies have shown completely different results, and many holistic veterinarians and physicians credit CoQ10 for improving their patients’ health dramatically. One explanation may be the type of CoQ10 that is used, as oil-based preparations are usually considered more effective or more easily assimilated than powders. Oil-based CoQ10 is sold in soft gel caps, while crystalline CoQ10 is sold in capsules, tablets, or powders.
Like many veterinarians, Stephen Blake, DVM, of San Diego prescribes daily doses of one milligram (mg) oil-based CoQ10 per pound of body weight for dogs with congestive heart failure and twice that amount (two mg per pound of body weight) if powdered CoQ10 is used. Similar recommendations are common for dogs with gum disease and other health problems.
The October 2001 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients offers additional insight. In a short article, retired chemist Wayne Martin describes his conversations with two leading CoQ10 researchers, Karl Folkers and William Judy. Martin’s friend Karl Folkers, Ph.D., who died in 1999, discovered vitamin B12 in 1948 and later worked with CoQ10 at the University of Texas at Austin and at an institute he founded. According to Martin, Professor Folkers hoped for a better way to get CoQ10 into blood circulation, as the crystalline form of CoQ10 does not pass easily through intestinal mucosa. Because CoQ10 is fat-soluble, Professor Folkers recommended taking it with a teaspoon of coconut oil.
William Judy, Ph.D., a colleague of Professor Folkers, investigated the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer with CoQ10. He discovered that one way to improve the absorption of CoQ10 into the blood circulation is by melting it. Coenzyme Q10 melts at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, which is only slightly above normal body temperature. In Dr. Judy’s highly successful trial, patients taking CoQ10 consumed it in a cup of hot coffee or tea to which fat was added.
How to Give CoQ10 to Dogs
A dog’s normal body temperature (100.5 to 101.5 degrees F) is higher than the normal human temperature but still lower than the melting point of CoQ10. “If one can get a dog to drink warm water,” says Martin, “this should be a good way to give coenzyme Q10 to a dog.” Consider stirring the appropriate amount of CoQ10 into a small amount of hot water to which you have added a teaspoon of coconut oil or butter. Most dogs enjoy the taste of fats and oils, which simplifies its delivery. If necessary, the water/CoQ10/oil mixture can be poured over a favorite food.
In our follow-up interview, Martin explained that all of the world’s CoQ10 comes from a single Japanese supplier. Supplement makers may mix it with oil or put it in different types of capsules or tablets, but the main ingredient of all these products is identical.
Considering the price of CoQ10 supplements, it is reassuring to know that with the help of hot water and a small amount of saturated fat, inexpensive CoQ10 can be more easily absorbed and more thoroughly assimilated than the most expensive oil-based CoQ10 gel cap.
CJ Puotinen is the author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, Natural Remedies for Dogs and Cats, and several books about human health including, Natural Relief from Aches and Pains, published last summer. She and her husband live in New York with Samantha, a nine-year-old black Labrador Retriever, and two cats.
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Poor Rupert. I guess having embarrassing stories told about your childhood is one of the hazards of being raised by a journalist. Believe it or not, I try not to talk about my poor dog in every issue. But Pat Millers article about dealing with submissive urination totally brought me back to my first, very challenging year with Rupie who used to leak like a sieve if you gave him so much as a hard look.
Rupert piddled when we called him, dribbled when we walked in the door, and peed on every friend I used to have! And despite the theories forwarded by everyone I knew, he had never been beaten or abused; he was just a super-sensitive little guy. Voices could make him pee his pants loud, high, deep, excited, or disappointed voices. Gestures such as waving or pointing could cause him to spring a leak, even if they werent directed toward him.
In fact, we had to take Rupes sensitivity into account whenever he was within earshot. Once, when my boyfriend and I were arguing about something not loudly, but with some tension Rupert went missing. I found him an hour later hiding silently in the bathtub. I might never have found him if hadnt noticed the shower curtain trembling as I used the toilet.
After reading Millers article for this issue, I now realize that my boyfriend and I probably initially triggered Ruperts inborn submissive urination by letting out a shout when he did something wrong in the house and before long, it was as classically conditioned as Pavlovs dogs. (Miller explains how this happens quite thoroughly.) But as it turns out, we did end up solving the problem in a manner that is not philosophically unlike Pats. By the time he was a year old, his leaks were mostly sealed.
First, we never corrected him with our voices or anything else when he did something wrong, we just ignored it. We let him outside to pee before we would even look at him. And I told friends to ignore him in the house, and to hunker down and look the other way, petting him in an absentminded way if he greeted them outside.
This was not the advice of a trainer, but the suggestions of a famed animal communicator, Penelope Smith. When Rupert was about six months old, I consulted with Smith and asked her to ask Rupert what about his piddling. She responded that Rupert was just as upset about all the peeing incidents as we were, and that what was most upsetting for him was that he knew he was letting us down, but he couldnt help it.
When asked what we should do to help him get control of himself, Smith quoted Rupert as saying, He said to ask everyone to leave him alone; he says it doesnt happen when hes by himself!
When parvo strikes, it moves fast. Infected dogs may appear to be in perfect health one day and violently ill the next. Emergency veterinary care is expensive, and unless dogs are diagnosed and treated early, many die from this serious disease.
However, reactions to parvovirus vary widely – both among dogs and their human caretakers. In a world in which parvovirus is ubiquitous – it is literally everywhere except environments that have been sterilized – parvo kills some dogs and leaves others unscathed. And in the debate about vaccination against this disease, some people vaccinate their dogs early and often, while others refuse to vaccinate against parvo at all.
In this article, we’ll discuss a number of parvovirus prevention and treatment approaches taken by veterinarians and dog guardians today. We’ll also share personal stories from two people whose dogs had parvovirus, and describe how these guardians’ experiences affected their healthcare strategies.
But we won’t tell you which approach you should take with your dog. That, like all health-related issues, is a personal decision that must be made after you learn as much as possible about the risks and benefits of the various approaches.
Understanding Parvo
The smallest and simplest of the microscopic infectious agents called viruses, which cause disease by replicating within living cells, parvovirus consists of a single strand of DNA enclosed in a microscopic capsid, or protein coat. This protein coat, which differs from the envelope of fat that encases other viruses, helps the parvovirus survive and adapt.
Parvoviruses infect birds and mammals (including humans), but until the 1960s, parvovirus did not infect domestic dogs or their wild cousins. The original canine parvovirus, later labeled CPV-1, was discovered in 1967. Eleven years later, CPV-2 emerged in the United States. It apparently mutated from feline distemper, which is the feline parvovirus. CPV-2 quickly infected dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, and other canines around the world. A second mutation, CPV-2a, was identified in 1979, and a third, CPV-2b, is in circulation today.
Infection takes place when a susceptible host inhales or ingests the virus, which attacks the first rapidly dividing group of cells it encounters. Typically, these cells are in the lymph nodes of the throat. Soon the virus spills into the bloodstream, through which it travels to bone marrow and intestinal cells. The incubation period between exposure and the manifestation of symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea is usually three to seven days.
When it attacks bone marrow, parvo damages the immune system and destroys white blood cells. More commonly, it attacks the intestines, causing copious diarrhea and debilitating nausea, which further weakens the dog’s system. Dogs who die of parvo typically do so because fluid loss and dehydration lead to shock, and/or because intestinal bacteria invade the rest of the body and release septic toxins.
Any dog that survives a parvovirus infection is believed to have lifelong immunity; serum antibody titers tend to stay high for prolonged periods after recovery from the virus.
Young puppies and adolescent dogs whose maternal antibodies no longer protect them but whose immune systems have not yet matured are at greatest risk of contracting parvo. Most parvo victims are less than one year old, but the disease can and does occasionally strike adults, too.
Some breeds are particularly susceptible to contracting parvovirus, including Alaskan Sled Dogs, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, Rottweilers, and American Staffordshire Terriers.
How Parvo Spreads
Veterinary experts agree that virtually all of the world’s dogs have been exposed to canine parvovirus. The virus begins to “shed,” or be excreted by a dog, three to four days following his exposure to the virus, often before clinical signs of the infection have appeared. The virus is also shed in huge amounts from infected dogs in their feces for 7-10 days; a single ounce of fecal matter from a parvo-infected dog contains 35,000,000 units of the virus, and only 1,000 are needed to cause infection.
In addition, the virus can be carried on shoes, tires, people, animals (including insects and rodents), and many mobile surfaces, including wind and water. Because it is difficult to remove from the environment and because infected dogs shed the virus in such profusion, parvo has spread not only to every dog show, veterinary clinic, grooming salon, and obedience school, but every street, park, house, school, shopping mall, airplane, bus, and office in the world.
While a dog that is diagnosed with parvo will be quickly isolated by his veterinarian and his recent environment will be cleaned and disinfected, some infected dogs have such minor symptoms that no one realizes they are ill. Infected dogs, with or without symptoms, shed the virus for about two weeks. If conditions are right, the virus can survive for up to six months. Although parvo is destroyed by sunlight, steam, diluted chlorine bleach, and other disinfectants, sterile environments can be quickly reinfected.
Medical Treatment
Most veterinarians treat parvovirus with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. In addition, treatment may include balancing the blood sugar, intravenous electrolytes, intravenous nourishment, and an antiemetic injection to reduce nausea and vomiting. None of these treatments “cure” the disease or kill the virus; they are supportive therapies that help stabilize the dog long enough for his immune system to begin counteracting the virus.
According to Los Angeles veterinarian Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, “Every day that goes by allows the dog to produce more antibodies, which bind with and inactivate the virus. Survival becomes a race between the damaged immune system, which is trying to recover and respond, and potentially fatal fluid loss and bacterial invasion.” Puppies and very small dogs are at greatest risk because they have the smallest body mass and can least afford to lose vital fluids.
Bill Eskew, DVM, sees more parvo patients than many veterinarians because he specializes in emergency care. A veterinarian for 25 years, Dr. Eskew currently works in busy clinics in California and Florida. He says fluids and electrolyte balance are the most important aspects of parvo treatment.
“My typical parvo patient is a four-month-old unvaccinated or partially vaccinated puppy,” says Dr. Eskew, “and I see as many as 20 a week. I’m convinced that of all the treatments we use, intravenous fluids make the most difference. In one case I treated a litter of puppies for a man who couldn’t afford antibiotics or other drugs, so I used fluids alone, and the pups all recovered. In fact, as far as I know, all my parvo patients have survived.”
While antibiotics have no effect on viruses, they are considered an important aspect of treatment, especially for puppies. The parvovirus causes the gastrointestinal mucosa, which usually serves as a protective barrier to infection, to slough away, leaving the puppy vulnerable to bacterial infections. Antibiotics protect the puppy from infection until his body’s own system of protection recovers.
CPV Recovery Rates
According to Dr. Brooks, an estimated 80 percent of parvo-infected dogs treated at veterinary clinics recover.
Dr. Eskew credits his success rate to early diagnosis. “The minute we see a puppy that’s been vomiting or has diarrhea,” he says, “we give it a parvo test. The one we use is a rectal swab that shows results within 10 minutes.”
Of course, such early detection tools can be used only if the dog’s guardian is alert to the early signs of illness and hustles him to the veterinary clinic as soon as possible. The sooner the dog receives supportive care, the better his odds of recovery.
Vaccines: Imperfect Protection
Properly administered, vaccines protect most puppies and dogs from parvovirus. But there are cases of vaccinated canines contracting the disease.
In late 1998, WDJ received a letter from a reader whose nine-month-old puppy had contracted (and, happily, recovered from) parvovirus. She was perplexed as to how her properly vaccinated puppy could have become infected, especially since she also owned a brother from the same litter who did not become sick, even though both pups had received the same vaccinations and had been exposed to the same things and places!
The experience of the letter writer’s next-door neighbor added to the mystery. After hearing about the puppy with parvo, the neighbor took her six-month-old, vaccinated puppy to the veterinarian for titer tests, to make sure this puppy was protected. The test indicated that the puppy had no immunity to parvovirus, so she had the pup revaccinated immediately.
For explanations for all these puzzling events, we turned to Jean Dodds, DVM, an expert in veterinary hematology and immunology. Dr. Dodds is also founder and president of Hemopet/Pet Life-Line, of Garden Grove, California. Hemopet is a national nonprofit animal blood bank and adoption program for retired Greyhounds.
Dr. Dodds offered numerous explanations as to why, sometimes, the parvovirus vaccine fails to work as intended.
First, she made clear, no vaccine produces 100 percent protection 100 percent of the time. “Vaccination is not a sure thing,” she explained. “It certainly improves the odds that an animal will be protected from disease, but it does not guarantee this. There is no way, even with the best vaccines, to be sure that any given individual’s immune system will respond in the desired way to protect that animal.”
Not all dogs have perfectly functioning immune responses, and, similarly, not all vaccines function perfectly, either. “There will always be an occasional case of a ‘vaccine break,’ which is what we call it when a vaccine fails to protect an individual against an infectious disease challenge,” said Dodds. “However, when a break occurs, if the animal has been appropriately vaccinated, it will usually experience only a mild form of the disease.” Dr. Dodds speculated that this is the most probable explanation for what happened with the infected puppy mentioned above.
“While there are some rare exceptions, where an appropriately vaccinated animal nonetheless experiences a lethal form of the disease, it is far more typical that such an animal will experience only a mild form of the disease and will recover quickly,” she said.
However, the most common reason for vaccine failures in puppies is maternal antibody interference. Dr. Dodds explained that if a puppy receives a particularly high level of antibodies (passive immunity) from his mother’s colostrum (and to a lesser extent, in utero), these maternal antibodies may cause any vaccine antigens that are administered to be neutralized. Then, when these antibodies wane (usually between 6 and 16 weeks of age), the puppy is left without adequate protection, and has not become actively immunized.
“Maternal antibodies wane at an unpredictable rate, which is why puppies are vaccinated several times at intervals of two to four weeks apart,” said Dr. Dodds. “This is designed in an effort to cover any potential gap in protection or ‘window of susceptibility’ that arises from the waning of maternal passive immunity and the onset of active immunization and protection by vaccination.”
Because of this, a test for serum antibody titer or an additional vaccination is sometimes recommended at 15-16 weeks, especially in high-risk breeds.
Trouble with Titers
Regarding the neighbor’s vaccinated puppy, whose antibody titers showed no antibody protection for parvo: Dr. Dodds thinks that the chances are very good that the puppy actually did have adequate protection from parvovirus, despite the misleading titer test results.
“There are two types of titer tests commonly offered by most veterinary medical laboratories,” Dr. Dodds explained. “One type is intended to detect whether or not a dog has the disease (a viral infection); the other type of titer test checks the level of immunity the dog received from vaccination. In the latter case (a vaccine titer test), antibody levels are expected to be several titer dilutions lower than those conveyed by active viral infection.
“When a veterinarian requests an immunity or antibody level measurement for parvovirus or other disease, the laboratory typically assumes that disease diagnosis, rather than vaccine immunity, is to be performed. When the lab technicians do a test to see whether the dog has parvovirus, they start with a much greater dilution in the test system than is normally used for the detection of vaccine titers. They do this to conserve reagent and reduce cost of testing. But because vaccine titers are lower than disease titers, they won’t be detected until the test reagent dilution is set lower.
“I’ll put it a different way: If they utilize disease exposure methodology, when what is really wanted is a test to assess the adequacy of vaccination, the results will be negative nearly every time,” said Dodds.
While this scenario sounds like an obvious oversight, Dr. Dodds said she has seen it numerous times. Given her expertise and research on vaccine-related issues, many veterinarians consult with Dr. Dodds regarding supposed vaccination failures.
“I’ve seen it again and again: The owner calls me and says, ‘But I keep vaccinating this animal, and my veterinarian keeps testing him and there is no immunity; what do I do?!’
“Very often,” said Dr. Dodds, “it’s a case where the veterinarian looked at the lab catalog and selected the test called ‘Parvovirus Antibody’ rather than the intended one, which would be ‘Parvovirus Vaccine Antibody’ or ‘Parvovirus Vaccine Titer.’ Meanwhile, the poor animal has been vaccinated repeatedly and unnecessarily, and when we finally get the correct measurement, we find that the animal actually had good immunity all along.”
Not Necessarily Parvo
Back to the puppy who was vaccinated but was stricken with parvo anyway: A final explanation is that his illness might have been incorrectly diagnosed. Dr. Dodds explained that veterinarians diagnose parvo by its symptoms – fever, depression, diarrhea, vomiting – and by checking the dog’s stool for presence of parvovirus or serum antibody level. But other gastrointestinal diseases can produce symptoms that closely resemble those of parvo. And even the presence of low levels of parvovirus in the stool doesn’t necessarily mean that the dog’s symptoms are caused by it.
“Dogs who are vaccinated and fully protected against parvovirus may still shed the virus in their stool if they are exposed to the disease agent,” said Dr. Dodds. “Unless the stool sample revealed a moderate to heavy parvovirus infection, I would suspect that the dog’s symptoms could be caused by something else, or a combination of parvovirus exposure and another infectious agent. For example, the puppy could have been exposed to both parvovirus and corona virus, and then suffered diarrhea and other symptoms as a result of the corona virus alone, because he was adequately protected by vaccination against parvovirus.”
Preventive Measures for Unvaccinated Dogs
Can a superior diet protect unvaccinated dogs against parvo? When parvovirus first infected the world’s dogs, thousands credited Juliette de Bairacli Levy’s Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat and its Natural Rearing philosophy for saving their dogs’ lives. Levy was the first to advocate a well-balanced raw, natural diet for pets.
Marina Zacharias raised four Basset Hound pups on the Natural Rearing diet. When they were six months old, they played with a puppy the day before it was diagnosed with parvo. “For 10 days after exposure, I gave them one of Juliette’s disinfecting herbal formulas plus homeopathic remedies to help boost their immune function,” she says. “On the tenth day, one of my pups started to show symptoms so I treated it with castor oil to help sweep away the virus as Juliette describes in her book, and I continued with homeopathics. Within two hours this pup was completely back to normal. The other three never showed symptoms and remained healthy.”
Zacharias has received similar reports from numerous clients whose raw-fed, unvaccinated puppies were exposed to parvo. Homeopathic nosodes, which are highly diluted remedies made from the disease material of infected animals, have become popular alternatives to conventional vaccines. But many veterinary homeopaths believe their use as surrogate vaccines is inappropriate.
One is Maryland veterinarian Christina Chambreau, who explains, “The best time to use a homeopathic nosode is after exposure. If you know your dog has been exposed to parvo, you would give a single dose of a 200C-strength homeopathic parvo nosode. This treatment can be given any time after exposure and before the animal gets really sick, such as when it shows minor symptoms like throwing up once or having soft stools.”
Dr. Chambreau says she is aware of about 50 cases in which unvaccinated or minimally vaccinated litters of puppies, kennels of dogs, or individual dogs were exposed to parvo, and after a single treatment with the parvovirus nosode, either did not get the disease at all or had only minor symptoms.
Dr. Chambreau also recommends feeding the best possible diet and boosting the dog’s immune system with supplements such as vitamin C and infection-fighting herbs like echinacea. It is not uncommon, she says, for holistically raised, unvaccinated puppies to have parvo without being diagnosed.
“Many of my clients choose not to vaccinate at all,” Chambreau says, “and it’s not uncommon for their puppies to get sick with a mild case of diarrhea or vomiting that we treat homeopathically or with other holistic therapies. These puppies recover quickly, and what’s interesting is that later, when they’re directly exposed to parvo, they don’t catch it. That minor bout of diarrhea was probably parvo. It’s possible to raise puppies so that they get a natural exposure rather than a vaccine exposure to parvo, and that builds a better immunity than the vaccine in most animals.”
California veterinarian Gloria Dodd first dealt with parvovirus when it appeared 20 years ago. “When parvo first mutated from the Feline Distemper virus, it hit the canine world hard,” she says. “Here was an entire population with no immunity to this new viral infection. In a single week, I was overwhelmed with 55 dogs that had severe clinical infection with bloody diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and shock.” The virus affected dogs of all ages, from puppies to 15-year-old dogs with congestive heart failure and others with liver and kidney disease.
“To treat this new illness,” she says, “I made an autoisode. An autoisode is a homeopathic remedy made from the secretions, excretions (saliva, urine, or feces), blood, and hair of the infected animal, for these substances contain the infective agent. I used them to make a sterile intravenous injection and gave this to all of the animals. I didn’t lose a single patient.”
The 30C potency parvovirus autoisode that she made during the epidemic has become the basis of her homeopathic parvo prevention, and she is not aware of any animals, either her own or her clients’, breaking with parvo. “On the contrary,” she says, “it has proven to be protective for unrelated infections by building and strengthening the dog’s own immune system to ward off other infective agents. When I gave it to a Connecticut kennel of Boston Terrier show dogs, they were the only dogs that did not contract kennel cough during an outbreak at a dog show in Massachusetts.”
Weighing the Risks
We want our dogs be healthy and to live forever. Conventional veterinarians see parvo-virus as an easily prevented, unnecessary illness, and vaccination as a simple, inexpensive component of basic care. Many holistic vets take a different view. Both sides make compelling arguments.
“These are difficult decisions,” says Dr. Chambreau. “Which is more devastating: To have an animal die at any age from an acute disease? Or to protect it from the acute disease and watch it develop chronic skin problems, allergies, or autoimmune disorders before it dies of cancer? There are no easy answers.”
The phone call came into the front office of the Marin Humane Society from a woman who had glanced over her fence and noticed her neighbor’s adolescent Dalmatian, apparently tangled up in her tie-out rope so badly that she couldn’t move.
Rushing to the address, the Society’s humane officer did, indeed, find the tangled dog, but there was something suspicious about the scene. The rope was coiled and knotted so neatly around the dog’s legs that it was obvious to the officer that it had been applied to the dog on purpose. On a warm, sunny California day, the dog had been deliberately hog-tied and left for hours with no access to water or shade. The dog was given veterinary care and taken into protective custody, but an investigation was clearly called for.
When questioned, the 19-year-old owner of the dog explained that he had put her on the “punishment rope” because she had peed in the house, and he had forgotten to release her before he left for work. You must, he asserted with confidence, punish your dog for peeing in the house or she would never be housebroken. His method of punishment-based training clearly wasn’t working, since at the age of 10 months, the young dog still peed in the house.
The Dalmatian’s owner was unclear on at least two major concepts: First, punishment is a highly ineffective means of house training a puppy, and second, his dog didn’t even have a house training problem. The dog was actually a submissive urinator, and all of the punishment her owner had meted out only made the problem worse.
Inherited behavior
In the canine world, when one dog wants to show deference to another, more dominant dog, he may urinate as a sign of submission. The more threatened he feels, the more likely he is to urinate. This is an involuntary reaction, an instinctive behavior that all dogs are born “knowing” how and when to exhibit.
In a pack of dogs, this programmed behavior is a valuable survival mechanism. Puppies are extremely vulnerable to the wrath of adult dogs in the pack, and built-in submissive responses signal normal adult dogs to automatically shut off the aggression, thus keeping puppies from being hurt. These programmed responses (submission from puppies, turning off adults’ aggression) support survival of the pack. As puppies mature, they eventually become more skilled at detecting and avoiding aggression sooner, and no longer need the submissive urination to protect them (except in dire situations, where under a fierce attack, this involuntary response may again get triggered).
Speaking different languages
Unfortunately for humans, as we raise young puppies and dogs, actions that seem perfectly natural and innocuous to us, such as bending over a puppy or patting him on the head, can be very threatening gestures in the DogSpeak dictionary, and inadvertently trigger the involuntary bladder-release response. It is a relatively common behavior in puppies, and more prevalent in some breeds than others. Cocker Spaniels, for example, are notorious submissive wetters, giving rise to the trainers’ joke:
Q: How do you get a Cocker Spaniel to urinate on cue?
A: Pat him on the head!
If properly handled, puppies usually grow out of the behavior as they mature. However, if an owner misperceives the behavior as a house training challenge and punishes the puppy, the problem worsens.
That’s because, unlike normal elimination, which the dog has some control over, submissive urination can quickly become a classically conditioned behavior; the presence of a particular stimulus automatically triggers the response.
Think of Pavlov’s dogs, who drooled at the sound of a bell that had been associated with the arrival of food. Pavlov’s dogs didn’t decide to salivate when they heard the bell – it just happened. A submissive dog doesn’t decide to pee when approached – it just happens.
It might take only one episode of punishment for peeing to condition the dog to automatically pee when she sees or hears stimuli that she associates with the punishment. Sadly, the harder the owner punishes, the more the puppy pees in order to acknowledge the owner’s superiority and deflect his wrath. The more the puppy pees, the harder the owner punishes.
And “punishment” in this case doesn’t only refer to cruel and unusual treatments such as hog-tying the dog outside. One loud squawk of alarm from a surprised person may frighten an extremely sensitive individual enough to classically condition her to pee every time she hears a shout, whether it’s a happy shout of “Good dog!” or even just, “Honey, I’m home!”
This is clearly an interspecies communication problem that begs the intervention of a translator before it does permanent damage to the relationship between dog and human. Humans don’t like dogs who pee in the house, and dogs become fearful and mistrusting of humans who are always yelling at – or worse, hitting them despite their best efforts to appease.
Get out the cork
The most effective way to modify a dog’s submissive urination is to stop doing the things that make him pee. This means avoiding all of the behaviors that are considered threatening to dogs and are likely to trigger the involuntary response.
This may be more difficult than it sounds, as many of the behaviors that are threatening to dogs are instinctive greeting behaviors for humans, such as making direct eye contact, approaching in a straight line (head-on), bending over the dog, patting him on top of the head, and speaking in a loud or deep voice.
Visitors, as well as all family members, must be counseled and frequently reminded to approach and interact with Spot in a non-threatening way until the dog matures and gains enough confidence that he no longer releases his bladder so easily.
It is critically important to avoid getting angry with your dog when an accident or some other misbehavior occurs. Dogs are masters at reading body language, and even a slight stiffening of your body or change in the tone of your voice can release a stream from a very sensitive dog. It is easier to stay calm if you can remember that Spot has no control over his submissive urination – when the stimulus is presented, the response occurs involuntarily. He can’t help it.
If you take full advantage of all available behavior management tools it will prevent most incidents from occurring, and will greatly reduce the environmental damage done when an incident does occur, making it easier for you to stay calm in the face of Spot’s occasional flood.
How exciting!
Excitement urination is a little different, but a very close cousin to submissive urination. It occurs when a puppy gets so excited that he “wets his pants.” Again, this is an involuntary response that the dog cannot control, and nothing is gained by punishing him.
Calm human behavior – body language and voice – are also important with the excitement urinator. Greetings are best accomplished by ignoring the dog until he settles of his own accord, then acknowledging him very calmly and quietly. Give him opportunities to empty his bladder outside on a regular basis, and implement a “Practiced Calm” program so he learns to control his own behavior, eliminating the trigger for the inappropriate urination. (See “Practiced Calm,” WDJ February 2002.)
Success stories
If you have a submissive or excitement urinator, you can be very optimistic. Most dogs can overcome these problems relatively easily with appropriate management and modification techniques.
Pebbles, our hog-tied Dalmatian, is a great example. Her owner pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation and, to the dog’s everlasting good fortune, forfeited ownership of his dog. She was adopted to a more understanding owner who successfully implemented a proper training program, and in just a few short months Pebbles’ submissive urination was no longer a problem.
When it comes to choosing a dog food, the number of choices currently found on the shelves is nearly overwhelming.
Thanks to niche marketing – a position from which an opening in a market can be exploited, or a specialized but profitable segment of a commercial market – the production of dog foods is following the trend in human products for increasing specialization. There really is something for everyone: big dogs; medium dogs; small dogs; working dogs; dogs with tender tummies, stinky breath, or itchy feet; couch potatoes and elite athletes – all dogs can get a diet specifically designed just for them. Whether or not there are predictable or well-reasoned differences between the foods in these niches is debatable, however, as you will see below.
How big a deal is this, anyway? Pretty big, if the major dog food manufacturers are any indication. Iams is fairly sedate, with only 10 dry food varieties, but it also makes Eukanuba, which weighs in with 14 different foods, giving the Iams Company a total of 24 dry dog foods. Hill’s Science Diet makes 18 different “over-the-counter” foods and 17 “prescription” diets.
Nature’s Recipe makes 13; Nutro makes 16 in 2 lines (Max and Natural Choice); Eagle makes 17 in 3 brands (Hy-Ration, Eagle Pack, and Prism brands); and Breeder’s Choice makes 14 in 4 lines (including AvoDerm, Avo-Active Care, Pinnacle, and A.P.D.). The grand prize goes to Royal Canin, with 32 different dog food formulations among its 4 brands (Royal Canin Size Nutrition, Natural Blend, Sensible Choice, and Excel).
Even grocery store dog foods are getting in on the act – Ralston Purina boasts 26 different dry foods under 7 brand names, and was itself recently swallowed by an even bigger fish, Nestlé S.A., maker of Alpo, Mighty Dog, and Come’n Get It. Since most foods come in at least two bag sizes – and we’re just talking about dry foods here! – you can see that making such a large number of foods is a substantial commitment on the part of the manufacturers. But the specialization strategy must be working for them, or they wouldn’t continue it.
So how did the pet store shelves suddenly blossom with a food for every occasion? It all started in 1977, when one savvy manufacturer took a hint from the new (and very popular) light beers, and created “Skippy Lite” dog food. The idea caught on quickly, and today most manufacturers produce a number of different “formulas” in each of their lines of foods.
It’s in the fine print
But while the names or descriptive labeling of some foods may suggest that they have been tailor-made for this or that dog, the average consumer would be hard-pressed to distinguish the differences between a company’s specialty product and its “regular” food.
We fervently wish that dog food makers were required to spell out exactly how their niche foods are unique, and quantify those differences in comparison to their original, plain food. But they don’t and they won’t, explaining that specifying the differences would give away their trade secrets and market advantage. Instead, we’re supposed to take it on faith that they know things that we don’t know about the special needs of (fill in the blank) dogs, and they have addressed those needs to a T.
However, if you’re like us and you want to know if those differences are significant – or even appropriate for your dog – you have to examine food labels for specific clues. You can’t simply buy any “senior” food for your old dog, because there is absolutely no consensus among dog food makers as to “what’s best” for old dogs; as with “regular” foods, senior foods vary in ingredients as well as proportions of major nutrients such as protein and fat.
You see, all dog foods – regular and specialty products – that claim to be a “complete and balanced” diet for dogs by virtue of meeting the “Dog Food Nutrient Profile” (see sidebar, “Don’t Miss This Important Label Information, right) contain at least a minimum of the same nutrients, although they may differ in proportions and maximum levels.
Beyond this basic set of requirements, it’s really anybody’s guess as to how each company will choose to deal with the problem of feeding certain dogs. Given the prevalence of terms like “senior food,” “large breed food,” etc., most people imagine that there are official standards or requirements for food labeled this way. AAFCO has nutritional guidelines for two categories of dogs: adults, and dogs who are in a growth or reproduction phase of life. It does not approve or suggest nutritional guidelines for senior dogs, large dogs, little dogs, giant dogs, etc.
It seems to come as a surprise to most people to learn that there are few trends that hold true for any given category across all food manufacturers. One company’s “light” food may contain more fat and calories than another company’s regular food. One maker’s “small dog” food contains more protein than its regular food; another company thinks small dogs should have less protein. Frequently, products that are marketed as tightly and scientifically formulated to suit the needs of a specialized group of dogs are indistinguishable from the main, plain foods in the same lines.
So, as usual, it comes down to reading the label and understanding what you’re looking at. We’ll examine each of the most popular types of foods on the market today, and give you hints about the most common trends in each type. Then you’ll know how to compare the “niche” food you are considering to the regular food made by the same company, or to a niche product made by another company.
Regular adult foods
Protein levels in the adult maintenance foods we examined for this article spanned a huge range – from 17.5 percent to 34 percent protein as fed, or 19-38.6 percent on a dry matter basis (see sidebar, “How to Calculate the ‘Dry Matter’ or Actual Nutrient Levels,” next page). The majority fell in the 22-26 percent range as fed.
The AAFCO nutrient profile lists minimums for fat (again, this is just for those foods qualified as “complete and balanced” by their nutrient profile, rather than feeding test). “Nutrient profile” adult foods must contain at least 5 percent fat on a dry matter basis. Keep in mind that foods qualified as “complete and balanced” by feeding test are not limited to minimum or maximum nutrient levels.
The vast majority of adult foods contain significantly more fat than the nutrient profile minimum, because the higher amount of fat in a food increases palatability – very important to a food maker’s success. Also, extremely low fat diets tend to result in flaky skin and dry coats. In the regular adult foods we examined, we saw a range of 6-20 percent fat as fed (6.5-22.7 percent dry matter); 12 percent as fed was the mean.
AAFCO’s dog food nutrient profile does not include either a minimum or maximum requirement for fiber, but labeling laws require the crude fiber content to be listed on the dog food label anyway. Most regular dog foods contain 3-5 percent fiber.
Puppy foods
AAFCO’s dog food nutrient profile says that puppy (“growth/reproduction”) foods must contain a minimum of 22 percent protein on a dry matter basis. We found puppy foods to vary widely in both protein and fat. Most are in a range of about 26-28 percent protein as fed, although we saw foods as low as 25 percent and as high as 36 percent protein as fed (27 percent and 41 percent dry matter). The 36 percent (as fed) protein puppy foods we found were designated for large or giant breeds.
In the puppy foods we examined, we saw a high of 10 percent and a low of 20 percent fat as fed. Most staked out the middle of the road at 16 percent as fed. Since puppies really do need adequate fat to grow properly, nobody (at least not yet) makes a food that is labeled as “light puppy food,” although large breed puppy formulas could meet the definition. They contain the least fat of the bunch, commonly 14 percent as fed.
Puppy foods generally contain a little less than the adult food average of 3 – 5 percent fiber.
Again, note that the trend is moving toward increasingly small niches. To that end, one enterprising manufacturer came up with the name “puppy weaning formula,” but its guaranteed analysis is identical to that of the same company’s regular puppy food.
Senior foods
What exactly is a “senior” dog? One company suggests feeding senior food to dogs three years old and older; others designate 7-year-olds as senior dogs. Dogs of different sizes and breeds age differently, with small dogs having the longest average life span and giant breeds having the shortest. We’ll leave this call up to you and your vet.
We’d like to think that there is a specific dietary “prescription” that will benefit all older dogs, but it’s not really true. Most senior dog foods are comparable to (and in some cases, interchangeable with) light foods, drawing on the theory that most older dogs are overweight. Compared to adult maintenance formulas, senior diets generally contain less protein and fat, and perhaps a bit more fiber. However, there are a few senior foods that have higher levels of protein (up to 27 percent as fed), though most are still lower in fat.
Food manufacturers have taken this direction due to the prevalence of “fat old dogs,” not because it has been proven that all older dogs benefit from less fat or protein. In fact, if you have an active older dog, you would probably do him a disservice by feeding him a low-protein, low-fat “senior” food; he’d likely get too thin on such a diet.
It is interesting to witness the different approaches taken by the manufacturers with those subspecialty “bridging” foods. For example, Royal Canin’s “Senior Large Breed” food contains less protein and less fat than their regular senior food, while Nutro Natural Choice’s “Senior Large Breed” food contains more protein and less fat than their regular senior food. Just one more good reason to read the label of the food you are considering, as well as the other foods in that line, and comparable foods from other brands. (Maybe you’d better add a notebook and pencil to the list of things you bring to the store. I take a clipboard with me, and it earns me lots of strange looks from the employees!) And always watch your dog’s weight and condition.
Light foods
There are two factors that the food makers generally manipulate in this category: the fat and the fiber contents. In comparison to their regular foods, some makers decrease the fat, some increase the fiber, some do both. However, you can’t assume anything in this category. We noticed that some light foods contain more fat than some regular adult foods! That’s because “light” means “light in comparison to our regular foods.” How can you tell which is which? You must compare the label information!
Performance foods
“Active,” “high stress,” “competition,” or “performance” foods generally contain high levels of protein and fat. Most of the foods we saw contain around 20 percent fat as fed, but some were as high as 27 percent as fed – more than a quarter of the total weight of the food. Since a gram of fat contains more than twice as many calories (9) as a gram of protein (4), such a food may contain more than half its calories as fat. Your dog had better be pretty darn active if you choose a food like that!
However, at least one food falls in this category that doesn’t call itself by any of those terms. Nature’s Recipe’s “Special Formula” is intended for fussy eaters – a lot of small dogs fit that description. This particular food contains 30 percent protein and 20 percent fat as fed. Dogs find protein and fat more attractive, so this is one way to hook a finicky dog, but it may also be a good way to end up with a 15-pound Yorkie, or a Lhasa Apso who could mop the floor while walking! This food was formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles, rather than proven in feeding tests like most of this company’s other foods. Maybe they didn’t want to know what six months of high calorie feeding would look like!
Large breed foods
Large breed adult formulas tend to be on the low end in fat, and low to moderate in protein. If you have a very active large breed dog, you’ll want to watch his weight and condition if you select one of these diets.
Generally, calcium and phosphorus are lower in large and giant breed puppy formulas, which is good, because calcium and other minerals are of concern in growing large and giant breed puppies. However, the amounts are not required by law to be listed on dog food labels, and so for the most part, you won’t see the minerals listed. Argh! However, you can often get this information from the company or its Web site.
Small breed foods
The most reasonable difference between the small breed foods and other foods has to do with the size of the kibble. It makes sense to give tiny dogs with tiny jaws and tiny teeth a smaller-sized nugget to crunch.
However, some of the small dogs foods are also higher in fat, which is not necessarily a good and healthy thing for an inactive lap dog – it may, of course, be just fine for that rare Chihuahua who runs several miles with his guardian every day. As we said above, smaller dogs tend to be fussier eaters and higher-fat foods are more tempting, so monitor your dog, and feed her less if she starts gaining too much weight.
People who feed small amounts of food tend to buy small packages. Note that the price markup (profit) is higher on the smaller packages – a great incentive for the makers to produce “special” food for small dogs.
Breed-specific foods
About 20 years ago, some breed and nutrition experts began to advocate breed-specific diets. The theory behind them generally had to do with historical and geographical connections between certain breeds of dog to certain foods – rice-based diets for Asian breeds, for example, or fish-based diets for Northern dogs – and inherited tendencies toward food allergies or intolerances thought to be triggered by “non-native” foods. So “breed-specific” diets generally differ in their major ingredients and, thus, in their protein, fat, and fiber levels.
While the likelihood is good that certain breeds may do better on certain diets, the fact remains that every dog is an individual and must be fed accordingly. Just as there are Italians who are allergic to wheat and therefore can’t have pasta, there are Akitas who can’t tolerate rice, and Northern dogs who do best on low-fat diets.
Nature’s Recipe has most extensively explored this niche, offering foods for herding, hound, sporting, terrier, toy, and working dogs. Each food has been slightly tweaked from its brothers, with major ingredients appearing in slightly different orders, differences in the herbs they contain, protein and fat levels up and down by one or two percentage points, and a varying kibble size.
“Special needs” and prescription diets
In a future article, we’ll look at “prescription” diets (foods that are available only from veterinarians) as well as the “special needs” foods: those that allege to address arthritis, joint health, sensitive stomachs, sensitive skin, oral/dental problems, and food allergies.
If you spend your time in the company of dogs, you’re probably used to walking – long walks, short walks, walks for potty stops, walks for exercise, walks to relieve boredom, and walks for walking’s sake. So, what’s the difference between walking and hiking? In practical application, not much. But in attitude, everything!
Think of hiking as an adventure, getting wild, and leaving the mainstay of human existence – even if only for a few hours. And sharing the hiking experience with a dog offers rewards beyond explanation.
I’ve heard people warn that hiking with a dog scares off the wildlife, that you’ll see or hear less. In my experience, hiking with dogs brings me deeper into the adventure.
Recently, I was walking with my dog friend, Jesse, through a wilderness area on the edge of our city. As we were passing through a large meadow, I was distracted by the views of the ocean. But I noticed Jesse’s stance change. She air-scented for a moment, then the set of her ears shifted. I looked in the direction of her ear set. Her eyes followed mine. At that moment, I saw him, about 100 feet away – a beautiful young coyote. He’d been watching us, but I hadn’t noticed.
Jesse and I both stood still, eyes fixed on the coyote. When the coyote realized he had a captive audience, he began dancing through the tall wildflowers. He did not approach or retreat, but instead he rolled on his back, spun circles, made playful leaps into the air. It appeared as though he was inviting Jesse to come and play.
Jesse watched with interest, but stayed calm next to me (thanks to the leash!). After a few minutes, the young coyote must have decided we weren’t going to play and gave up his antics. He headed past us through the meadow and disappeared into the tall grass. We also continued on our way, but that experience – one that I would have surely missed if not for my dog friend – is forever etched in my mind.
Prepare Your Dog for the Woods
If you’ve never hiked with your dog, but are thinking of trying it, you are in for a lot of fun. You may want to start out with a casual adventure – close to home and not too long. I’ve witnessed a few city dogs who became nervous when walking in the woods for the first time. But by making the experience fun (bring along lots of great treats or your dog’s favorite toy), you can assure that he’ll soon overcome his nervousness and be as excited about hiking as you are.
Even for those dogs who obviously love the great outdoors, be sure to choose an adventure that suits both of your abilities. Think about the kind of physical condition you are in, and how adapted you are to the altitude, the outside temperature, and the terrain. For example, a dog (or person, for that matter) who lives and hikes regularly along the coast may have a tough time when hiking in higher altitudes. Likewise, a dog from a cool region may have some trouble in the heat of a summer desert. Muscles that are well suited for level or gently climbing trails may tire much faster on a steep climb. Don’t try to go too far or climb too high if you or your dog is not up to the challenge.
Finding the Right Dog Trail
Finding a great place to hike with dogs can sometimes be a challenge, especially if you live in an urban or other populated area. Many places that offer great hiking are off limits to our dogs. Some areas will allow dogs, but only on certain trails or at specific times of the year. But places to hike with dogs are out there – you just have to look!
Probably the best way to find fun hiking spots is to talk with other people who like to hike. Ask your friends, or the folks who work at the local outdoor equipment store or feed store. You can also search through hiking guidebooks – there are dozens in most libraries and bookstores. Some say if dogs are allowed in the area, and sometimes they even include leash restrictions.
You can also check online resources. A quick search for “Hiking in Santa Cruz,” for example, came up with a few great sites, complete with directions to the trailheads and maps of the area. Once you’ve got a place in mind, double-check the dog rules. It’s disappointing to get to a trailhead only to discover that an area that was once open to dogs is not anymore.
Here are a few additional tips for your search. National Forests can be a gold mine for hikers with dogs – dogs are allowed on most trails, and are often permitted off leash. National Parks, on the other hand, are usually less dog-friendly and rarely allow dogs on trails. Other places to check are local wilderness areas, county parks, and state parks. Rules and regulations vary dramatically from place to place and park to park, so call ahead to find out the specifics about dog regulations.
Leave Only Paw Prints
Hiking with dogs has become an endangered activity in some areas. More and more places are restricting access for dogs. The reasons may be obvious. Wilderness areas are shrinking, the population of people and dogs is ever-growing, and the places where the two meet have become more congested. Those of us who love the great outdoors are rightly concerned about the well-being of our wilderness areas, and about the future of hiking with dogs. So what can you do?
Respect wildlife and help your dog do the same.
If your dog enjoys a good chase, keep him on leash! While a wild animal is likely to outrun a domestic dog (though not always), your dog’s chase could leave the animal tired, and much more likely to become another’s dinner. Also, the animal or bird may be an overworked parent, foraging for its young. Using its energy resources to escape your dog may cause it to fail to provide food for its vulnerable babies.
Try to have as little impact on the area as possible.
Pack your trash. Scoop your dog’s poop and carry it out. Try not to disrupt plants and other natural features. Use special care not to pollute water sources, too.
Act as an ambassador for all dog people.
Always follow posted guidelines and rules for dogs. It’s hard to remember, but not everyone likes dogs! It could be terrifying for some people to have your dog bark and run up to them on the trail – or just plain rude to allow your wet, dirty dog to crash some other hiker’s picnic lunch. Help others see that those of us who hike with our dogs really care about others and the wilderness. We want to see it remain available and untouched for all to enjoy — dogs included!
Respect the wilderness as a precious and fragile treasure. “Take only memories, leave only paw prints.”
The Hiking Dog Basics
When you’re heading out for a hike – whether it be a quick romp through your local woods or an all-day adventure – remember this rule of thumb about what to bring: If you need it, your dog will likely need it too. For even the shortest of hikes, you will probably need to bring a few basic items:
A Leash
Of course. Even if the area is open to off-leash dogs and your dog is reliably responsive to your voice control, you may need a leash under certain circumstances (like if you run into a skunk on the trail and don’t want your friendly dog to investigate).
Identification
Your dog should always wear identification, with your contact numbers and, if you have traveled far from home, the best number to reach you locally. (See “Proper Identification Tags,” WDJ October 2001 for sources of permanent and temporary identification tags.)
Plastic Bags for Scooping Poop
If you’ll be a distance from a trash can, take an extra, heavy duty Ziploc bag for double-bagging so you can stash the goods in a pack.
Water for You and Your Dog
A hiking dog may need to drink two to three times as much as he does when hanging out at home. Give your dog drinks of water frequently when hiking. Use caution not to wait until your dog is so thirsty that he’ll want to drink too much, too fast.
Note: It’s not a good idea to let your dog drink straight from streams, rivers, or lakes as many harbor waterborne diseases such as giardia. If it’s not safe for you to drink, it’s probably not safe for your dog.
Snacks and Training Treats
I get hungry when I hike so I bring raisins, cheese, apples, and other yummy snacks. My dogs are always hungry, but they get a bit more so when hiking too. I like to give my dogs’ their hiking snacks as rewards for sticking close and coming when called.
First Aid Kit
You may not need to bring a first aid kit for a short walk in a local park or close to home, but for longer hikes and wilderness adventures, a first aid kit for you and your dog is a must.
In addition, you may want to have a few items stashed in your car, for those “just in case” moments. If your dog enjoys romping through puddles and creeks, or is likely to roll in that delightfully smelly something, grooming supplies can make the ride home a little more pleasant for the human half of the team. I like to bring a couple of dog towels, a jug of water, and a comb and brush. That way I’m prepared for Blue’s mud baths and Jesse’s odoriferous rolls. Plus, I’d rather leave the ticks and burrs at the trailhead than carry them home in the car!
Other Gear and Gizmos
While the “basics” above will be enough for many adventures, you may want to consider a few additional items:
Dog Booties
When I think about hiking, especially long hikes, I think about how to avoid blisters on my feet. My dog’s feet may need protecting, too – especially if I’m hiking over rough surfaces, hot sand, or through the snow.
Dog booties come in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials and it’s important to pick a type that will be both easy to put on and appropriate for the elements. Nylon or neoprene booties that fasten with Velcro are easy to get on and off your dog. Look for booties with heavy duty soles, such as those made with Cordura. Leather booties lace up and are a bit of a task to get onto a dog’s paws, but may hold up well in seriously rough conditions (like traveling over shale or volcanic rock). Polarfleece may be a good choice in cold and snow. (For a review of dog booties, see “The Best Boots for Your Dog,” WDJ January 2001.)
Dog Packs
Many dogs love carrying packs. Most dogs who weigh more than 30 pounds can safely carry a pack. Hip dysplasia, back problems, and other health issues can make packing unsafe for some dogs, so if your dog has any health problems, it’s a good idea to check in with your veterinarian before fitting your dog with a pack.
Dog packs come in different sizes and styles, from daypacks to heavy-duty mountaineering packs. If you’d like your dog to pack his own stuff, you’ll want to train him to wear the pack before you head out on the trail.
Get your dog used to wearing a pack:
Most dogs love wearing packs once they get used to them. Strutting down the trail on hikes or backpacking trips, your dog can help lighten your load. Dog packs come in a variety of styles, from daypacks to heavy-duty mountaineering packs.
Just how much weight can a dog carry in a pack? Most experts suggest that the average dog not carry more than about 10 percent of his body weight. Packs vary in size from small to extra large, and should be carefully fitted to your dog. And, as with people packs, the more padding they have the more comfortable they will be for long treks. Many packs have padding along the saddle and the straps. Here are a few additional tips to ensure comfort and safety.
The pack needs to fit properly. It should ride high on the dog’s shoulders and the straps should be snug but loose enough so that you can stick your finger between the strap and the dog’s body. Your dog should be able to move his legs freely, and he should be able to lie down in the “Sphinx” position without the pack touching the ground.
Balance the pack. If your dog is carrying his food, for example, divide it into two bags and put one on each side of the pack. Also, pack heavy items near the bottom and lighter items near the top.
Use plastic bags to protect items that could be damaged by moisture. Dogs always get wet when you don’t expect them to.
Spending a little time getting your dog used to wearing a pack before you hit the trail will pay off with a happy hiker:
Make the experience fun. The first time you show your dog the pack, have a handful of treats in your pocket. Place the empty pack across your dog’s back and focus his attention on you. When he stands for a moment with the pack on, give him a treat. Then take the pack off and repeat the process. When he stands easily with the pack on his back (for some dogs this happens after a few times, for others it can take 10 times or more), you can go on to the next step.
Fasten the empty pack securely around your dog and take him for a short walk in a safe, comfortable place. This could be around your neighborhood or even in your backyard. If your dog is at all hesitant about the pack, continue to feed him treats and keep his attention on you. Repeat this a few times until you are sure your dog is comfortable with the pack on his back.
When your dog can walk comfortably with the empty pack, start adding light items. At first, put in soft items that won’t shift around with the dog is walking. Gradually increase the weight in the pack until your dog can easily and happily carry 10 percent of his body weight.
Watch out. Once your dog is a happy hiker and packer, he may start subtly suggesting that you take longer, more adventurous hikes – or even head out on a backpacking trip.
Collapsing Water Bowls and Handy Bottles
I love those collapsing water bowls, the kind that fold or twist and can be stashed in a pack. And the water bottles with built-in bowls for dogs to drink from? Very cool. In a pinch, however, you can use an extra plastic bag; simply roll down the sides for an “instant” bowl.
Protection from the Elements
Being too hot or too cold can be dangerous for people and dogs. Be sure that you are both prepared for the expected conditions – and if you’re going more than a few miles, make sure you are prepared for the unexpected, too. For example, if your dog needs a sweater or coat for cold days at home, take one along on your hike if the conditions warrant it. If you’re taking a long hike or backpacking in extreme conditions, check into a lined parka with a waterproof shell for your dog; she’ll appreciate it.
In addition, be sure your pooch doesn’t overheat on your adventure. Keep her cool by wetting her down.
Wildlife Encounters on Hikes
I’d like to say that every wild animal encounter will be as pleasant as the day Jesse and I spent a few moments in the company of the coyote. Most are, but there are exceptions, and “better safe than sorry” is a code all hikers should follow. Certain wild creatures can pose a real danger to you and your dog. It’s not just the big animals (like mountain lions and bears) that can be trouble, either. Some of the biggest risks come from the smallest beings.
Ticks, spiders, and other things that crawl can certainly be trouble for dogs. In many states, for example, ticks carry Lyme’s disease. In other areas, they may carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If you’re hiking where ticks live, check your dog frequently and remove any that you find. Some places are home to black widow or brown recluse spiders, both of which can be dangerous to dogs. Most snakes, scorpions, and toads are not harmful to dogs (your dog will generally pose more of a risk to them!), but there are a few exceptions. Rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes, for example, can all be dangerous to dogs.
Perhaps I don’t need to mention the problems with a dog running into a skunk? But in case you haven’t considered it, just imagine the car ride home if your dog does decide to investigate a skunk.
Wild dogs, mountain lions, and bears are all serious concerns. If you are traveling in an area where these animals live, it is imperative that your dog is with you and on leash at all times.
Small furry creatures, like gophers, squirrels, and mice, will generally be in more danger from dogs than the other way around, as will deer and elk. Don’t allow or enable your dog to chase animals – for his safety and theirs. A simple chase, even if your dog is not likely to catch or hurt them, can tire an animal, making it an easier target for another predator. A dog chasing any animal can easily become lost – many people have permanently lost their dogs in this very way. And a dog who becomes accustomed to chasing every animal he sees is likely to cause a serious accident someday, when he encounters someone on a horse.
Along with taking care around animals, you’ll want to be aware of other natural features that may pose a hazard to you or your dog. For example, fast-moving or very cold water can also be dangerous. And some dogs are oblivious to the risk of cliff edges; keep them close to you.
If the area where you hike features poison oak, ivy, or sumac, take special care to protect yourself. Dogs seldom suffer the itchy, painful rash associated with these three plants. A more realistic fear is that your dog will play in the poisonous plant, and the oils will get on you when you pet him.
The rash that humans get from these infamous plants is caused by a chemical called urushiol, which is present in the plant’s leaves, bare branches, and even its roots. Under hot, humid conditions, the poisonous oil becomes harmless in about a week. However, under dry conditions, the oil can retain its harmful effect for as long as six weeks.
If you are particularly sensitive to the rash, keep your dog away from these plants, even if it means keeping him on leash for the entire hike. If he does romp through the plants, try not to touch him until you’ve bathed him, which you should do as soon as possible. Use a soap (like Fels Naptha laundry bar) or a commercial solution formulated to cut the oil, and wear rubber gloves and protective clothing.
Hiking is Habit-Forming
Don’t be scared off by all of these words of caution and hints at possible dangers. In the 25 years I’ve been hiking with dogs, I’ve only encountered problems a handful of times, and none was terribly serious.
Still, it’s good to know what might be there, so that you can take the simple precautions needed to protect yourself and your dog. If you’re new to hiking or traveling to a new area, how do you find out what animal, plant, and other natural dangers might be found along the trail? Many trailheads have signboards that will update you on animal sightings and any special dangers.
If the area you are visiting has a ranger station, you may be able to call ahead and ask. You can also quiz people who have visited the area and look in the guidebooks. If these options aren’t available, simply be aware of your surroundings and use common sense.
Hiking is, in my opinion, one of the most wonderful experiences you can share with a dog. Traveling down a trail together lets you share the adventure and fun. Plus, when hiking with a dog, you will get to see the wilderness through different eyes – your dog’s. Pay attention when her ears go up, or when she lifts her nose to the wind. Her canine curiosity may lead you places you would never go on your own.
For more information on hiking, backpacking, camping, and other outdoor adventures with your dog, check out Ruffing It: The Complete Guide to Camping with Dogs, by Mardi Richmond and Melanee L. Barash. The book includes what-to-bring checklists, tips for getting your dog into shape for long hikes, a complete first aid section tailored to outdoor adventures, and much more.
Summer is upon us, with its irresistible invitation to visit parks, trails, and beaches, accompanied by our favorite canine companions. Along with the doggie days of summer comes the hidden threat of dehydration – for us and our dogs – and its deadly companion, heat stroke.
Every good hiker knows how important it is to stay hydrated. We also know that water can be hard to come by on those rugged mountaintop trails, and that the only water at some beaches is briny and undrinkable. What’s a responsible canine caretaker to do?
Lots of dogs have learned to lap from the end of their guardian’s sports bottle, but that coats your sports bottle tip with dog slobber, and wastes the water you worked so hard to bring along. Pet product companies have come to the rescue. The active dog owner can choose from a variety of water bottles designed with the hiking hound in mind.
A good dog bottle should be sturdy, easy to fill, easy to dispense water from, hold an ample water supply, come with a workable dish from which your dog can drink, be comfortable to carry, not leak (duh!), and be reasonably priced. Insulated sleeves to keep water cool are a bonus, and also provide a nice padded cushion for that bottle that is banging on your hip.
We evaluated five water bottles, and found at least a couple that we would be more than happy to take along on our next hike.
We like how the Walk-n-Water, a relatively tough, flask-shaped plastic bottle laid comfortably flat against our side when we slipped the nylon carrying-strap over our heads. Plus, the bottle and its own plastic water bowl snap together snugly to make a tidy, unobtrusive package. The bottle does not leak, either lying down, held upright, or even held upside down. It holds about four cups of water and is easy to fill.
We especially appreciated the products that allowed humans and dogs to share the water – without having to share the bowl! With its separate bowl for the dog, and a pop-up spout similar to those on sports bottles, you can squeeze water into the bowl, and drink from the spout yourself. The mid-range price on our top-rated bottle is icing on the cake!
The plastic water bottle provided with the thermo-Sac holds 1.5 liters (about six cups) – the greatest capacity of any of the products we evaluated, making it a better choice, perhaps, for those all-day hikes with multiple dogs. But we found it less comfortable to carry than the flatter, sleeker Walk-n-Water; being rounder, the thermo-Sac bangs more against your side.
Banging aside (sorry), we liked the sunshine-yellow insulated water bottle carrier with its matching folding water bowl. The top of the insulated sleeve zips open in order to accept the bottle. The bottle slides in snugly but easily. It takes a little extra pressure to pull the top over the bottle and fit the spout through the hole provided for that purpose, but it wasn’t difficult, and it’s nice that the bottle absolutely cannot bounce in or fall out of the carrier. The insulation keeps the water cool for several hours.
The soft, folding water bowl (the pet-Sac) attaches to the carrying-strap with a Velcro loop, so it is easy to remove for use at watering time. Again, it’s wonderful to be able to drink from the bottle yourself, and squeeze water into the bowl for your dog, without having to worry about swapping germs.
However, we would appreciate a second strap that goes around the wearer’s hips, or something else that could keep the bottle from banging against the person carrying it, and we would probably stuff the foldable bowl into our daypack or pocket rather than leaving it attached to the strap, where it can get in the way.
Like our top choice, the Handi-Drink2! plastic water bottle also snaps into its own dish, but the similarity ends there.
This is a round bottle that folds into a box-shaped trough that the dog can drink from, so it doesn’t lie as neatly against the hiker’s side as the Walk-n-Water. The unit either clips onto your belt or daypack by a plastic hook, or hangs around your neck by a slender nylon cord. Yes, cord; this is the only product we found meant for carrying water that didn’t come with a wide nylon strap. Just imagine that cord cutting into your neck or shoulder! This must explain why we see these bottles in people’s hands at the dog park, but we don’t see them out on the trail.
Also, the water-dispensing nozzle is made of rubber or rubberized plastic, with several slits cut in it, so as to release water into the trough when the bottle is squeezed. Unfortunately, there is no way to close the slits, so while the bottle does not leak when upright or laid flat on a surface, any inadvertent squeezing causes water to ooze out. It has a smaller capacity bottle than our top choices – holding only about 2 cups, but it is the least expensive of the water bottles we evaluated. This product may be fine for short hikes, but don’t cross a desert with it!
We found the Cool Pooch Bottle sold all by itself in stores, and we also found it sold by thermo-Sac, Inc., in combination with that company’s dual-Sac for $16. We like the insulated sleeve – which keeps water bottles cool and gives you a nylon shoulder strap or a Velcro belt-loop option. But we’re not fans of the Cool Pooch bottle.
It’s a clever idea, however: a plastic bottle that enables a dog and a person to share the water, with the person sipping from a straw, and then using that straw to squeeze more water into a separate cup. It’s a good idea, but in our opinion it takes a little too much work to make it work, at least, when serving the dog. A person can sip water directly from the bendable straw. To fill up the dog’s cup, one bends the tube, pointing it into the cup, and squeezes the bottle to force water into the cup for the dog to drink. Three hands would work better than two: one to bend the tube and two to squeeze the bottle (and then there is the matter of holding your dog’s leash at the same time).
The bottle’s wider mouth makes it easy to fill, but its shape and protruding tube are annoying when the bottle is worn around the neck or over a shoulder. Also, the bottle leaked if it was laid on its side and leaked more when squeezed. On the plus side, it has a capacity of 22 ounces (almost three cups).
The Travel Canteen is a plastic version of the good ol’ Western movie canteen, except that instead of unscrewing a small cap, the entire top unscrews to reveal a bowl that the dog can drink from. And therein lies the rub. When the canteen arrived, we couldn’t get the top off to save our lives! It took several people and several attempts to accomplish, and when we finally got the lid off, we found directions inside, along with a warning not to screw the top on too tightly, and not to leave it where it can get too hot, which contributes to the lid-lock. The instructions indicated that placing the canteen in a refrigerator for a couple of hours would break the seal.
This is a pretty serious design flaw for a canteen – what good will it do your dog in the middle of the desert if you can’t get the lid off?
So, while it holds an ample amount of water (four cups), certainly doesn’t leak, and is reasonably comfortable to wear, we’d advise against this one. Oh, and you wouldn’t want to share this water, either, once your canine pal slobbers into the bowl.
As is often the case, following publication of our review of frozen, raw-meat-based diets, we learned about a number of makers of these diets, of whom we were previously unaware. As a service to our readers, we have listed product information for the companies whose products we just learned about; we’ll include them in our frozen food review next year.
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Correction on frozen food
Also on the topic of our article on frozen diets, please note the following corrections. First, Nature’s Menu’s diets are formulated to meet or exceed the dog food nutrient profiles of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Nature’s Menu is one of the few companies whose products we reviewed have been substantiated as complete and balanced for all life stages, even without the addition of supplements or vegetables, which would contribute additional nutrients.
Second, we indicated that the product sample we received from Nature’s Menu had arrived defrosted. We have confirmed with the company that this was due to a shipping error, where the product was supposed to have been delivered overnight but was not. A company representative has assured us that Natures Menu would gladly reship product at no further expense to any consumer who experienced this problem. Nature’s Menu may be reached at (800) 909-7010 or www.naturesmenu.com.
We regret any misunderstanding that may have resulted from these errors.
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Harness corrections
We also heard from a reader who had two comments about the review on harnesses (Harness the Power, May 2002). Bobbi Palsa, of Richmond, Virginia, wrote, “as a loyal customer of both WDJ and Premier Pet Products, I wanted to point out that your comment regarding Premier’s harness that their smallest size is 12 inches should be amended to say that they will make custom sizes on request! My Great Dane, Catherine, is proud to model her custom-made Premier Surefit Harness and finds it perfectly suited for her many public appearances and social engagements!”
Finally, the prices we listed for the Premier harnesses were the wholesale, not the retail prices. The actual range is $14-20. We apologize for any confusion this caused.
I took my two dogs—Woody, age 9, and Boone, age 3—to see their vet a week ago. I wasn’t looking forward to being chided for allowing him—nay, facilitating him—to gain a few extra pounds this winter. But I wasn’t at all expecting the health problems that my vet found.
