My three-year-old Jack Russell Terrier has begun displaying aggression (to people and other dogs) and Ive been told that a regular trainer just wont fix his problems. Various friends (including my veterinarian) have told me to consult a trainer, a positive trainer, a behaviorist, a behavior counselor…Excuse me, but is there any real difference between these people other than the titles?
-Name withheld by request
We put this question to Pat Miller, WDJ’s Training Editor. Miller is a professional dog trainer residing in Fairplay, Maryland, a freelance writer, and author of The Power of Positive Dog Training (2001, Howell Book House). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Miller responds:
I’m not surprised that you are mired down in terminology; it is confusing, even for those of us who work in the training profession. This is in large part due to the fact that unlike the medical profession (and many others), most of the positions in our field presently require no formal education, certification, or licensing other than a standard business license.
The only exception to this is the title of Certified Behaviorist, which denotes that the titleholder has been certified by the Animal Behavior Society (ABS) as an Applied or Associate Applied Animal Behaviorist. These folks all have letters after their names they hold either DVM (or VMD), PhD, ScD or MS degrees, or a combination thereof. There are currently about 30 of these worldwide on the ABS list.
Although not mandated by law, it is also generally accepted in the training profession that the title of behaviorist denotes someone with a graduate degree in animal behavior, though they are not necessarily certified. Trainers who do not have graduate degrees in behavior but who consider themselves experienced in and capable of dealing with behavior modification challenges and who offer such services, generally use the titles of behavior consultant or behavior counselor.
Those who call themselves trainer usually narrow their focus to the teaching of specified behaviors, such as basic and advanced levels of good manners training, and more specialized training for the many and various canine sports. They may do some behavior problem-solving as well, but tend to leave the serious stuff, like aggression, for those who present themselves as behaviorists or behavior counselors.
My definition of positive trainer may and probably does vary greatly from that of many others who promote themselves as positive trainers. It may also differ from yours. Training methods and philosophies range on a continuum from very compulsive to very positive. I am aware of trainers who have moved toward the gentler end of the scale and as a result now describe themselves as positive, but who still routinely use choke chains, collar corrections, and even shock collars. I do not.
At least one organization has wrestled with the idea of certifying trainers so as to establish and ensure professionalism in the industry; the Association of Pet Dog Trainers recently developed a Level 1 trainer certification program, implemented under an independent affiliate of APDT. The Certification Council of Pet Dog Trainers administered its first test at the APDTs annual training conference in late September 2001. APDT also has visions for the future of offering more advanced levels of certification.
Titles don’t make the trainer
So, that explains the titles but it doesn’t tell you which type of expert is best qualified to handle your dog’s issues.
In my experience, you can’t assume that the person with the most letters after his or her name will be the best person to solve any particular dogs problems. Titles and formal education or a lack thereof do not determine whether or not someone is a good trainer or behaviorist. While Certified Behaviorists and behavior counselors may possess a greater body of knowledge about the science of behavior and learning, this doesn’t guarantee that they are good trainers or teachers!
Experience, teaching skills, openness to new methods and ideas, and a natural affinity with dogs, and an understanding of canine behavior all play important roles. This is why I recommend that you observe any prospective trainer in action before agreeing to work with him or her.
You are your dog’s advocate and guardian. He trusts and depends on you. Whether you utilize the services of a trainer, a behavior counselor, a behaviorist, or a Certified Behaviorist, it is your obligation to protect him from harm. Have faith in your own instincts.
Finally, if your animal care or training professional ever does or asks you to do anything that you don’t want done to your dog, you have the absolute right as well as the obligation to intervene and stop the procedure. Dont ever let anyone talk you into doing something to your dog that you know in your heart is wrong. Your dog’s trust is a priceless gift. Be worthy of it.
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Pat Miller’s dog training book is finally out in print. You’ve got to get a copy. The Power of Positive Dog Training (as it is called) is simply the best book I’ve ever read about training. Miller clearly explains why you should train your dog without pain or force, and then she explains how to do it, simply, easily, and without any breach of your dog’s trust or confidence.
What I most admire about Pat is that she not only talks the talk, she walks the walk.
I’ve worked with Pat for almost five years, but it was only recently that I got to see her in a competitive arena. Pat hasn’t been in a show ring for years. She competed in obedience and numerous other canine events over the 30-plus years she has been training dogs, but she quit competing in the early 1990s.
At that point, Pat had not yet been introduced to the positive-only style of training she now uses and teaches. Instead, she was using an old-fashioned “ear-pinch” method of teaching her Terrier-mix, Josie, to retrieve metal dumbbells for a Utility title and Josie was having none of it. The day that Josie ran under the deck and hid when Pat got out the dumbbells for a training session was the day Pat quit training for competition.
Soon after that crisis, Pat was introduced to a newer style of training, one that, as she describes, used treats, not choke chains to get dogs to comply. The new method was not only effective, it “felt” good to Pat and her canine students. She’s been committed to developing her skills in positive training ever since.
Last year, Pat learned about a new sport called Rally Obedience, which we promoted in the July 2000 issue under the headline “Rally, Rally Fun.” Unlike classic Obedience, in Rally-O, handlers are allowed to verbally cue, encourage, and praise their dogs in the show ring. While the exercises must be performed in a satisfactory manner, the dog’s attitude, attention, and response to the handler are considered more important in scoring. Rally is made for positive dog training enthusiasts and it’s gotten Pat back to the show ring.
Unbeknownst to her, I watched Pat compete with two of her dogs in the Rally ring at the Association of Pet Dog Trainer’s annual meeting, held in upstate New York in late September. She was there to try to qualify two of her dogs for a Rally-O title. The candidates were Dusty, Pat’s 12-year-old Pomeranian, and Josie.
I saw her run with Dusty first. It was a good performance, and the duo scored a 192 (out of a possible 200 points). Dusty looked happy, Pat looked pleased, and overall, my first impression of the sport was, “Fun!” I watched a few more competitors, and then saw Pat enter the ring with Josie.
Did I mention Josie’s age today? She’s 14, and her clock is running down a little. Under her characteristically fuzzy Terrier coat, she’s getting a little bony, despite the fact that Pat has her on a diet of whatever Josie wants to eat, whenever she wants to eat it. She also doesn’t hear very well, and is a little cautious when she does the “Down.” But you can see from 100 yards away that she loves Pat, and loves doing whatever Pat wants her to do. After a decade of love and positive training, running and hiding under a deck is no longer something Josie would consider.
I get tears in my eyes every time I remember watching Pat and Josie compete that day; I had a torrent running down my face when I was there! It was a sight to see: Josie’s bright black eyes riveted on Pat’s face, the happy little bounce she made every time Pat told her, “Good girl!” which was often throughout the course. Josie was precise and Josie was happy, trusting, and confident. The run earned the pair a score of 199. And that delighted little dog earned my eternal respect for her owner. I’m proud to feature her work every month in WDJ.
CCD has been shown to have a genetic component. Compulsive fly-snapping is found in a number of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel families.
The dainty, 18-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel appeared perfectly normal and happy when she and her owner greeted me at the door, but I knew better. Her owner had already advised me over the phone that Mindy was a compulsive “fly-snapper,” and that the stereotypic behavior had intensified in recent weeks, to the point where it was making life miserable for both Mindy and her owner.
Indeed, it was only a matter of minutes before I saw Mindy’s expression change to one of worry, then distress and anxiety, as her eyes began to dart back and forth.
Shortly thereafter she started snapping at the air, for all the world as if she were trying to catch a bevy of irritating flies that our human eyes could not see. Her efforts grew more frantic and her demeanor more anxious, and included stereotypic tail-chasing, until she finally ran from the living room into the safety of her crate in the darkened pantry.
Given the opportunity, this Jack Russell Terrier would spend hours each day compulsively licking his favorite toys. His eyes glaze over, he drools, and he loses interest in all other activities.
Fly-snapping is one of a number of repetitive behavior syndromes from which dogs may suffer. Other such behaviors include spinning, tail-chasing, freezing in a particular position or location, self-mutilation (biting or licking), and flank-sucking. Some behaviorists also include pica – the ingestion of inedible objects such as rocks, sticks, socks, and who knows what else, in the compulsion syndrome family.
While these behaviors are very similar to the condition known as obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, many behaviorists believe that the term canine compulsive disorder is more appropriate to describe the behaviors in dogs.
In human psychology, obsessions are persistent, intrusive thoughts that cause extreme anxiety and that the patient tries to suppress or ignore. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that the patient performs in order to prevent or reduce the anxiety. Behaviorists argue that because we don’t know whether dogs actually have obsessive thoughts (although Border Collie owners could argue this!), we should omit the word “obsessive” and use the term “canine compulsive disorder” (CCD) to describe the syndrome in dogs.
Clinical signs, causes, and treatment
Very little research has been done into CCD – much of what we know about the syndrome is based on anecdotal evidence, and even that is relatively rare. The primary cause is believed to be a situation of conflict or frustration to which the dog must try to adapt. The disorder often begins as a normal, adaptive response to the conflict or frustration. Eventually the response becomes removed from the original stimulus and occurs whenever the dog’s stress or arousal level exceeds a critical threshold.
Strong evidence exists that genetics play a role in at least some compulsive behaviors. There is a higher-than-average incidence of tail-chasing in Bull Terriers and German Shepherds, fly-snapping in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and excessive licking (acral lick dermatitis) to the point of causing a lesion (lick granuloma) in many large breeds, including the Doberman Pinscher, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepherd. Flank-sucking is an often-seen compulsive behavior in Dobermans as well.
Trainers and behaviorists suspect that CCD is probably underdiagnosed, as very few veterinary schools give their students thorough training in animal behavior, and many owners don’t recognize or don’t report compulsive behaviors. A behavior falls into the compulsive category when it becomes a stereotypy – a repetitive and unvarying pattern of behavior that serves no obvious purpose in the context in which it is performed. Compulsive behaviors often evoke a response from the owner, and thus may be unwittingly reinforced as a result.
Early intervention helps
That was certainly the case with Dodger, an eight-month-old Golden Retriever in Carmel, California, whose owner was battling with the challenge of pica. Perhaps because they are bred for a genetic predisposition to hold things in their mouths (i.e. retrieve), Goldens and Labrador Retrievers seem to suffer from a higher incidence of pica than many other breeds of dogs. Dodger was allowed outside only under strict supervision, as he would compulsively eat sticks and rocks, and had already had one emergency life-saving surgery to unblock his digestive tract.
Now Dodger was beginning to chase his tail. Since the pup already was engaging in one compulsive behavior, his owner was rightfully concerned that tail-chasing was another manifestation of CCD. Physical restraint – chaining, kenneling, or other close confinement – is one of the situations of conflict or frustration that can contribute to compulsive behavior (see “Conflict and Frustration,” next page). Frustration refers to a situation in which an animal is motivated to perform a behavior but is prevented from doing so.
The obvious solution to Dodger’s tail-chasing was to give him more freedom and exercise in his fenced yard, thereby reducing the confinement frustration while also, hopefully, tiring Dodger out to the point that he didn’t have enough energy left to chase his tail (from the “a tired dog is a well-behaved dog” school of behavior modification). Because of his pica problem, this wasn’t an option for Dodger.
We hypothesized that owner attention was also feeding the tail-chasing, so we established a modification protocol that consisted of the owners immediately leaving the room as soon as the behavior started, and making an effort to pay more attention to Dodger when he wasn’t chasing his tail.
Dodger was fortunate. His owners, despite the considerable responsibility of a new-born baby, adhered faithfully to the modification program while also increasing the length and frequency of Dodger’s supervised walks. Inside of a month, the tail-chasing had subsided.
Several factors contributed to the unusually quick and complete success in Dodger’s case. Dodger was young, and his owner noticed and reported the behavior very early in its development. Early implementation of a behavior modification program provides for a much more positive prognosis than does a situation where the dog has had years to practice the stereotypic behavior. Dodger’s tail-chasing had a clear attention-seeking component, so removing the reward of the owners’ attention for the behavior was an effective approach. Finally, both owners were committed to the training and were consistent about applying the recommended treatment, which was instrumental to success.
Don’t use drug therapy alone
Mindy was not as fortunate as Dodger. Her fly-snapping behavior had started when she was about six months old. Because it was relatively mild at first, her owner didn’t seek treatment. When she did report it to her veterinarian, she was told that it was a form of mild seizures and that the only treatment was a lifetime of drug therapy – Phenobarbital – which has serious side effects and is highly likely to shorten the dog’s life expectancy.
Mindy’s owner was understandably and rightfully reluctant to resort to such an approach, and believing there was no alternative, chose to do nothing. By the time I saw her a year later, the behavior was well-established, very strong, and extremely difficult to modify solely through a behavioral approach.
At one time, seizures were believed to play a role in fly-snapping behavior, but that is no longer the case. Behavioral scientists also hypothesized at one time that an endorphin release accompanied the performance of compulsive behaviors, which was believed to reinforce the behavior, but recent research has also determined this to be untrue.
While the cause of CCD is still not well understood, there is some evidence of serotonin involvement, and drugs that inhibit serotonin re-uptake have been used effectively to treat dogs with CCD.
Treatment program
Treatment consists of both environmental and behavioral modification, and, often, pharmacological intervention. Here are 10 steps to a successful treatment program:
1. Intervene as early as possible.
2. Have your veterinarian conduct a complete physical examination and evaluation to identify and eliminate any medical conditions that may be contributing to or causing the behavior.
3. Identify and, if possible, remove the cause(s) of the dog’s stress, conflict, or frustration.
4. Avoid rewarding the compulsive behavior. Remember, it can be rewarding for the dog simply to have his owner pay attention to him.
5. Eliminate any punishment as a response to the compulsive behavior.
6. Provide sufficient exercise on a regular schedule.
7. Consult with an alternative practitioner to apply alternative modalities such as massage techniques, herbal therapies, acupressure, and acupuncture, to help relieve the dog’s stress.
8. Interrupt the behavior when it occurs and replace it with an alternative behavior using positive reinforcement training methods. For instance, teach a dog who licks his paws excessively to lie with his head on the floor between his paws, then reward him consistently for this behavior. Work with a qualified behavior consultant to implement an appropriate behavior modification program.
9. Manage the behavior to the extent possible. For instance, you can use an Elizabethan collar on the licking dog when you are not present to supervise his behavior.
10. Utilize appropriate drug therapy as needed, using serotonin-related drugs such as Clomipramine (Anafranil) and Fluoxetene (Prozac) rather than Phenobarbital. Remember that these drugs are not a cure, but rather are intended to be used in conjunction with a behavior-modification program. The goal is to eventually wean the dog off the serotonin re-uptake blockers. This must be done very gradually, in consultation with a veterinarian and behavior consultant. If done too suddenly, there may be a rebound effect, and the compulsive behavior may reappear more strongly than ever.
Good prognosis
There is hope for dogs with CCD. A study conducted in 1997 at the behavior clinic of the Ontario Veterinary College (now Purdue University) by A. U. Luescher, DVM, Ph.D, Dipl. ACVB, resulted in successful behavior modification for approximately two-thirds of the dogs participating. The remaining third included owners with poor compliance as well as owners who chose not to participate in the treatment program. An analysis of the cases in that study found that the longer the duration of the behavior, the less positive the outcome, thereby confirming the importance of early treatment in cases of CCD.
And what of Mindy, our fly-snapping CKC Spaniel? Conversations with her breeder elicited the information that her sire and at least one of her littermates are also fly-snappers, which supports the genetic predisposition theory. Sadly, both of those dogs are being kept on regular doses of Phenobarbital – essentially keeping them tranquilized – and their owners are making no attempts to modify the behavior. The breeder has not contacted the owners of any of the other puppies from the litter to determine if they also are exhibiting signs of CCD, and he has no plans to change his breeding program.
Mindy’s condition is slowly responding to a combination of drug therapy and behavior modification. Her owner is very committed to the modification program, which bodes well for Mindy’s future, and we have high hopes of eventually being able to wean her off of the re-uptake drugs. Mindy is very fortunate to have a human companion who is committed to providing her with a long and happy life.
Bogey, my 15-year-old Australian Shepherd-mix walks funny. He paces, moving his left legs and his right legs together in the same direction when he walks. Instead of moving in the standard gait pattern of the canine walk, where the dog’s diagonal legs move nearly in unison, Bogey shuffles along like a little old man cross-country skiing down to the mailbox.
He hasn’t always paced. I can’t remember exactly when he first began adopting the pace, but it’s been a few years. When I finally noticed it, I attributed the eccentric gait to his mellow, ambling temperament, and his ripe old age of nearly 15. Then I learned better.
In a normal walk pattern, each of the dog’s legs move individually in a four-beat gait, with the diagonal pairs of legs moving nearly together. For example, the left hind and the right front legs move forward almost together, with the left hind paw landing a fraction of a second before the right front paw; then the right hind leg goes forward closely followed by the left front. If each footfall of the paws on the ground made a noise, you’d hear a nearly constant, even rhythm: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4.
However, many dogs adopt a “pacing” walk, where the lateral pairs of legs move together, with the lateral pair of right hind and right front moving forward and backward at the same time, and the left hind and left front the moving together opposite them. As in a normal walk, the hind foot may strike the ground a fraction of a second before the front foot on the same side to produce a four-beat rhythm with a little hiccup in the middle (this is sometimes referred to as an “amble”), but many others swing their left and right legs together in a synchronous 1-2, 1-2 beat.
Who cares? Well, for one, conformation judges care. Pacing in the walk gait is considered undesirable in the conformation show ring in many breeds, including the Weimaraner, Collie, and Labrador Retriever. Others, such as the Old English Sheepdog, English Springer Spaniel, and Neapolitan Mastiff, have an inherited proclivity for the gait, and are not penalized for its appearance in the show ring.
But canine chiropractors and other physical therapists who work on dogs look upon any sudden onset of the pacing gait as a warning sign – an indication of something anatomically amiss.
Why Do Dogs Pace?
Dogs can pace for a variety of reasons, some innocent, some ominous. Conformation, age, weight, fatigue, and injury all can play a part in causing dogs to move unilaterally at some point in their lives. Dogs of a certain breed and size may pace naturally throughout their lives (see Natural Pacers, below.)
“Each dog is very different,” says Suzanne Guyton, DC. In 25 years as a human chiropractor and an American Veterinary Chiropractic Association-trained practitioner for dogs, cats, horses, and other companion animals, the California-based Guyton has seen many variations of the pacing gait. Dr. Guyton stresses how important it is that dog owners take into account many factors when assessing their dog’s pacing gait and trying to determine if it’s a result of genetics or degeneration – or both. “Herding dogs of all kinds tend to pace,” she says, “but it can be further complicated by spinal injury and degeneration.”
“It could be health-related,” agrees Linda More, a professional handler, judge, and breeder who works at the American Kennel Club’s headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. More administers special programs, such as judges’ education, for the AKC. Injury may be one reason that some dogs suddenly show an inclination to pace. “It could be some sort of injury or discomfort that no one has identified yet,” says More. “Sometimes it’s a clue that something isn’t quite right.”
However, More also hastens to mention that there are other physical explanations for the sudden onset of pacing in a dog. “It could be condition, where the dog simply isn’t in very good physical shape,” she explains. “It could be that the dog has exercised to the point where it drops into this gait as a resting gait, as some of the wild canids do. It could be structure, where the dog simply is not in good balance structurally. One of the things that we might look at in the show ring, if it’s a breed where we really do not want them to pace, is whether the angulation of the forequarters is not quite in balance with that of the rear quarters. The dog may compensate by preferring to pace.”
In the case of young dogs – especially large breeds – the pacing may be a way of coping with uneven growth. Puppies tend to grow in stages. The front end grows tall, then the hind end catches up, and pacing may be the animal’s way of compensating during a gangly and awkward, but otherwise healthy, time of physical growth.
Still other dogs adopt a pacing gait as a way of matching their handler’s slower gait. At a recent Rally Obedience competition, we observed numerous dogs who paced alongside their handlers, who were not walking fast enough for them to trot or even for a four-beat walk. These dogs seemed to prefer to pace in order to best match the speed of their handlers’ gait, especially when gazing intently at their handlers as obedience dogs are encouraged to do.
Natural Pacers: No Cause for Concern
It’s important to keep in mind that there are some breeds where pacing is actually the preferred gait of the dog when moving slowly.
The Old English Sheepdog is one breed where pacing is considered a desirable trait – not a show-ring faux pas nor sign of trouble. Bred to drive large flocks of sheep over long distances, Sheepdogs developed a type of pace – also called an amble and variously described as a ‘shuffle’ – that would allow them to conserve energy as they made slow treks across long distances. “The (walk) pace can have several speeds,” the AKC’s Linda More points out. “Some dogs will do it slowly as a walk; some dogs do an amble, which is like a four-beat version of a pace.”
The Sheepdog’s size – large-breed dogs are more prone to pacing – and shortbodied conformation lends itself to comfortable, natural pacing.
Check the breed standard for your dog. Most breed descriptions will include information regarding the dog’s desired gaits, including whether pacing or ambling is common or undesirable.
Pacing and Physical Pain
While it’s comforting for some owners to know that there are dogs who will pace naturally throughout their lives, the owners of mature dogs who suddenly begin pacing when walking at liberty (as opposed to on-leash, while matching their handler’s pace) would be wise to investigate further. A dog who begins to adopt the gait after years of a “normal” walking gait may be suffering from a physical problem.
At one end of the scale, the trouble could be as simple as fatigue. “In a perfectly normal, healthy dog, the pace can be used as a resting gait, sometimes called a fatigue gait,” says Linda More. “If you have a team of sled dogs that has just done 50 miles, by the time they finish they are not as fresh as when they were when they started. They might drop into a pace because apparently it requires less exertion.”
Physical problems can come in the form of illness, too. “Pain from some source should be considered as a possible trigger for pacing behavior, especially when there is no apparent imbalance in structure,” says Mary Lou Sandvik, who shares her La Puente, California, home with the Papillons she breeds and exhibits. Sandvik was once asked to evaluate a young dog that had recently started pacing. After watching the dog in the ring and later at liberty, she noticed that he seemed generally uncomfortable. While the Papillon’s owner was unaware of any injury, she, too, agreed that the dog appeared to be in pain. The next day, a veterinarian discovered the dog had Valley Fever, a serious infectious disease endemic to parts of California and Arizona. The young Papillon was considerably uncomfortable and required aggressive treatment, but a few weeks later was back to normal – and no longer paced.
Even more seriously, pacing can definitely be a sign of injury, points out Diana Thompson, who specializes in helping dogs and horses with movement and behavior problems using massage, acupressure, and other physical therapies. “It’s a gait pattern that, to me, can mean spine and muscle trouble.”
Thompson, who is based in Fulton, California, goes on to explain that gait patterns such as pacing may often be a sign of pain, injury, and physical degeneration. Pacing is a deep survival mechanism, as evidenced by dogs who pace in order to expend less energy. It’s also a way to avoid discomfort, maintains Thompson. “They’re taking the path of least resistance. If your knee is stiff, you just swing from the hip. You don’t even think about it – you just start altering your gait pattern to protect the knee.”
In order to illustrate this point in the animal massage classes she teaches, Thompson has participants try walking same-sided, their right arm swinging in the same direction as their right leg. “In order to propel your right arm and right leg forward at the same time, you’ll see that you freeze up the whole spine,” Thompson explains. “There’s no pelvic tilt, or open and shut; there’s no undulation of the spine.” Without the normal tuck and open of the pelvis, the spine becomes essentially one big stick, with the legs shuffling independently below – nature’s magnificent way of minimizing pain and discomfort by immobilizing the back.
Because dogs twist so much when they work and play (as opposed to larger animals such as horses), they are predisposed to lower thoracic problems. Many dogs develop a pacing gait pattern in order to avoid putting stress on an already injured part of the body. “Then the injury heals, and they’re still stuck in that pattern,” says Thompson. This pattern can then go on to debilitate other parts of the body such as hips, hocks, or stifles, and the cascade of physical problems has begun.
Such was the case for one young Golden Retriever who survived a fall out of a second-story window, suffering an injury that healed but left the dog with a legacy of physical problems. By the time his owners came to Thompson for help, he was dragging a foot and shuffling badly. Thompson saw that the initial injury had healed, but the Golden continued to compensate for it with a pacing movement; his neurological system had become thoroughly patterned to this motion.
Thompson used one of her most trusted tools – ground poles or a similar substitute – to help the dog. In the Golden’s case, a garden hose substituted for poles because that’s what was available to the owner. “I had the owner lay out the hose in a snaky pattern, and then walk the dog slowly over the hose, so that his pattern (of shuffling and pacing) was interrupted. He had to differentiate that he had legs and just couldn’t shuffle them along the ground without picking them up,” Thompson explains.
Signs of Spinal Problems in Dogs
Pacing can also be an outward manifestation of some sort of structural and/or neurological dysfunction. Spinal troubles are often the culprit – the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There’s a variety of things an owner can use to help a dog with spinal degeneration, including massage and bodywork; chiropractic care; acupuncture, acupressure, and moxabustion (using heat on acupuncture points); herbs; and flower essence remedies.
Because spinal abnormalities can have such a profound effect on an animal, Dr. Guyton stresses the importance of identifying the cause of an abnormal gait. “Have a veterinarian check the dog, and then have a chiropractor check the spine,” she suggests.
Thompson agrees. “The muscles and the joints of the spine that are frozen up don’t just control movement, they affect the inner organs. The nerves that run through those areas – whether it’s the joints of the spine or the adjacent muscles – they get pinched and limit the nerves that go down and communicate with the stomach, the large intestine, the bladder. Then the dog starts to have internal organs that are weaker and weaker because they don’t get nerve information and communication from the brain.”
Dr. Tim Grund, a chiropractor from Santa Rosa, California, concurs that gait pattern changes can be a window into the neurological workings of an animal. “Literally, the spine is the house of your life blood,” he states emphatically. “It’s part of your central nervous system, an extension of the brain. The spinal cord comes down from the brain stem, and the brain stem is an extension of the brain, and the nerve roots come out of the spinal cord and run out to innervate the organs and the muscles.”
Hands-on Care for Pacing Dogs with Spinal Trouble
Bogey, our sweet, reserved Australian Shepherd cross, has worn a neat little path around our house. Every morning and every afternoon, the gentle old guy shuffles along the bare dirt ring we’ve started calling “Bogey’s loop.” At almost 15, Bogey’s nearly blind and deaf; his hind end is weak and wobbly, and even his sense of smell seems dull, so this path is important to him. It’s security in a world that’s slowly going dim.
Bogey’s pacing gait seemed attributable to age, spinal degeneration, and related neurological deficits. But it wasn’t until I started researching pacing that I decided to learn more about why our beloved old guy had developed such an odd way of walking, and what I might do to help him.
I made an appointment with massage therapist Diana Thompson, who spent a morning with Bogey and me. What I expected to learn and what I came away with were two different things. Our session with Thompson taught me some lessons about healing – and love.
My expectations: Thompson would tell me that Bogey was really far-gone. Totally messed up. A physical nightmare. And I would have to feel even more guilt that I hadn’t done better by him. But with a busy life – two other dogs, two cats, three horses, a husband and young children to be concerned with, I just didn’t have the time to give Bogey hours of massage or to ferry him around to chiropractor appointments.
We were all settled on the floor of a carpeted room where Bogey could rest comfortably and move about without having to negotiate our dreaded, slippery hardwood floors.
As Thompson began touching Bogey, he grew extremely worried, guarded, and fearful. “He has some thoracic issues,” she said. “His back is really frozen. His lower back is roached (rounded).” The pacing gait allowed Bogey to immobilize his own back in order to reduce discomfort. We speculated that the pain and inflammation in his thoracic region might have been the result of an old injury; Bogey had exhibited sensitivity in this part of his body since he had joined our family at the age of eight.
“Massage might be too invasive,” said Thompson to my surprise. “I think chiropractic would be the best start for Bogey,” she continued. Because Bogey had built up such a barrier to touch, he grew anxious and fearful when Thompson first attempted to work on him. Then it dawned on me that I had touched Bogey less and less as he had aged. As he became older, I felt sadly disconnected from him.
Thompson gave Bogey a flower essense remedy called Rescue Remedy, to help him settle down; she also prepared a second combination remedy of Mimulus, Red Chestnut, and Walnut in order to help alleviate his fears and worrying. We agreed that it would be best to proceed with me doing the massage work and Thompson instructing.
“Remember how astonishing it is that he’s 15 and is doing so well,” Thompson said, impressed by how vibrant Bogey’s life force seemed to be. The warmth in Bogey’s hindquarters signaled to her that he still had heat or life in his hind limbs – a sign that his hindquarters were not quite as disconnected as I had pictured.
For a dog of very advanced age like Bogey, our goal was simple: To make him feel more comfortable. In this sense, she encouraged me to do “any type of touching” that Bogey would accept. “Start with places they like. It’s wonderful if you have training in massage and acupressure, but people who love their animals can work on them intuitively.”
I started out by holding my cupped hand just a few inches above his back – over the second and third lumbar joints. Here, I was to work on an acupressure point called Guardian Vessel Four, also known as “The Gate of Life.” Without even touching Bogey, Thompson said the energy of my hand would help wake up Bogey’s neurological system. “Start slowly,” she encouraged. “The electrical field doesn’t stop at the skin. Just touching with warmth, heat, and energy opens the neuropathways.”
Somewhat overloaded by the Reiki-style work we were doing, Bogey left us frequently, suddenly getting up to walk into the kitchen and look suspiciously back in our direction. “Always allow him to walk away and take breaks,” said Thompson. “It’s disconcerting to the owner, but important to the dog.”
But Bogey did return, a sign he was beginning to enjoy the work. Next I focused my fingers on his sternum. Slowly, I moved down the sternum, gently placing my fingertips between the ribs. This was a non-threatening way of working with the troublesome thoracic joints at the top of the ribcage.
Bogey started to relax. At this point, I had done a total of about three minutes of touch work on him. Then he got up again and walked into the kitchen, this time without pacing. His hindquarters were squarely underneath him – his movement reminiscent of a younger Bogey. “Just two or three minutes,” said Thompson. “That’s as simple as it has to be. You’re just trying to wake up their neurological system.”
We quit on that note, Thompson explaining that Bogey’s body would continue to integrate the changes we had helped bring about. She further encouraged me to also massage Bogey’s ears, the base of his tail, and to use my hands to gently suggest a bend and lift to Bogey’s ribcage. This, she says, is part of the overall goal: To wake up the body and remind Bogey’s brain that there is a whole dog there.
The most important – and least expected – result of the session was that it gave me permission to touch Bogey again. I saw that he was not aloof; he was guarded – and he needed my help. By working with him gently, with respect, intuitively, and with love, it would be possible to help a very old dog feel just a little bit better. “If we can give them just five percent of their bodies back,” said Thompson, “that’s a lot.”
Time for Assessment?
Given that there are several innocent reasons for a dog to pace, as well as a number of ominous ones, it’s important to determine whether your dog’s tendency to pace at the walk is related to the former, the latter, or a combination. Again, there is a big difference between a dog whose breed has a predilection for pacing and who has paced regularly throughout his life, and a dog who has recently begun pacing. If your dog has begun pacing in the aftermath of an automobile accident or sports- or play-related injury, or has begun to display other signs of back pain (a reluctance to jump into the car or up onto furniture, trouble negotiating stairs, etc.), a visit to your veterinarian is in order. In addition, a reference to a veterinary chiropractor, or a veterinarian who specializes in sports medicine, would be well worth the investment.
Most health practitioners agree that anything a dog’s owner can do to assess a problem and offer some physical support can go a long way in helping dogs who display injury-related pacing. Whether they use simple home massage or a more comprehensive approach including chiropractic care, “I’ll bet you’d be surprised at how much they could get back,” says Thompson. “A little bit does an unbelievable amount toward making these dogs more comfortable.”
Katie Margason-Moore is a freelance writer based in Sonoma County, California. Her family includes dogs, cats, horses, children, and an understanding husband.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” –Yogi Berra Yogi’s take on giving directions is about as enlightening as the directions most herbalists try to give clients. The problem with herbalists is that, when they initially came to Yogi’s fork in the road, a good many of them chose the wrong way. Can’t say I really blame them, though. Because most herbalists are trying so desperately to pass through the gates guarded by the false gods of our newest pseudo-religion, Science, they’ve been listening only to the whispers of the deities who claim to know the “One and Only Right Way.”
Let me explain. Every practicing herbalist, early in her career, comes to Yogi’s fork in the road, and, based on her background and training, or on her desire to be among the “Enlightened and Accepted,” or on her intuitive feel for the road, she begins her path by following Yogi’s admonition and she takes one or the other of the forks. Hypothetical fork “A” Let’s trail along as our herbalist chooses fork “A.” Next to this pathway we see a brilliantly colored sign that looks suspiciously like a full-page drug company ad seen in any peer-reviewed veterinary journal. The sign says simply, “Our Way, The Only Way.” Looking down, she sees that if she chooses this path, she will walk on the flagstones marked, “Scientific Principle, The Way of Enlightenment.” Down this path she will be able to see herbs only in terms of their biochemistry. She will be led to believe that by pulverizing an herb and isolating the biochemicals it contains, she will be able to determine how it works to help her patients. If she is a devout follower – but one who thinks for herself – she may question how anyone, even a Great Deity of Science with the most powerful computer in the world, could possibly categorize the countless biochemicals contained in one herbal plant; how she could then take this array of biochemicals and analyze the many ways each of them interacts with the patient’s body (and mind! and spirit!); how she could then decide which one or two of the biochemicals were the most important to the treatment of the patient’s condition; and then, finally, how she could possibly put all this together and come up with a way to extract precisely what the patient needs and be able to give it in the correct milligrams-per-pound dosage. Where her questioning may lead her, we can only guess. We do know, though, she will encounter at least one major obstacle along her path: The Boulder of Scientific Methodology, which recognizes only double-blind studies performed in the United States as valid indicators of an herb’s efficacy. She will not be able to budge this boulder, a rock so firmly entrenched that it is actually worshipped by the Great Deities of Science. It’s much like an iceberg – there is more rock hidden than there is above ground. Being a persistent herbalist, she may dig into the dirt that surrounds the boulder. Digging there, she’ll discover that, although the Great Deities of Science would have us believe that double-blind studies (supposedly the “gold standard” of scientific methodology) were passed to us as firmament from above, they’ve really only been around since the late 1950s. If she continues to dig, she’ll discover that a double-blind study is nothing more than a form of evaluation whose purpose was supposed to remove examiner bias, though it does nothing of the sort. In fact, when put under true (unbiased) scientific scrutiny, double-blind studies actually enhance or increase examiner bias. In other words, while double-blind studies may be helpful in some instances, they give us no better evaluation of a drug’s (or herb’s) efficacy than many of the other methods of evaluations that have been used throughout history. What’s more, if our herbalist has the courage to dig further into the true underpinnings of the boulder’s foundations, she will come to the realization that the most consistent benefit of double-blind studies is that they make it easy for drug companies to make their products appear more beneficial than they really are. We can only wonder how the thinking herbalist on the “Our Way, The Only Way” path will react as she unearths this information. Hypothetical fork “B” Back at Yogi’s fork in the road, let’s follow a second herbalist as she takes the other fork. This herbalist has only a small sign to point her way. The sign, painted in green, says, “nature’s way.” On this pathway our herbalist will find that further signposts are her patient’s results, good or bad. As she becomes more experienced, she will learn which of the signposts are reliable and which are not – just by listening to her patients as they describe how they feel during and after the herbal treatments . . . and by critically reading the accounts of millions of herbal users over many millennia. On this pathway our herbalist will constantly receive hints from the surrounding woods – hints of how the totality of the herbs are more potent than the sum of their biochemistries. The trees and plants themselves will speak to her: “Look,” they’ll say, “There is a synergistic effect among our biochemistries.” She will come to realize that herbs are safest when used whole; most herbs contain many chemicals that act bi-directionally – one chemical causing one reaction in the body; another causing the exact opposite reaction, and the two being utilized by the body as need be, to meet its present needs. Traveling a pathway through the woods and over the grassy hillsides, our second herbalist will observe firsthand this and many more of nature’s unexplainable miracles. And, as she develops her ability to observe, she will come to accept the magic of the herbal essences she uses. If she can learn to open her heart to her inner intuition, she may be able to sense and understand the teachings of the spirit of the Green Beings, the spirit that Native Americans and other indigenous peoples initially relied upon to teach them how to use the herbs correctly. While our herbalist may be extremely curious about the “scientific” workings of the herbs, she will also be aware that, using scientific logic, she may never be able to fathom all the interactions between the biochemistries of the plants and the various biochemistries and physiology of her patients. And, if she ever does come to one of the boulders of the Great Deities of Science (the double-blind study, for example), she will likely view it with curiosity . . . and simply walk around it. After all, it’s patient response that’s important, not her ability to prove how the herbs work in a manner accepted by the Great Science Deities. Where is this storyteller coming from? Now that you’ve taken both of Yogi’s “forks in the road,” you might ask, which one have I taken? Actually, when I came to the fork in the road, I respected Yogi’s advice . . . and I took both paths. Remember that I am, first of all, a twice-over scientist (DVM and Ph.D), so I am fully aware of the benefits of science and scientific methodology. However, I never accepted science as my theology, and being an observant scientist (and I hope an unbiased one to boot), I’ve come to recognize some of the shortcomings of science. First of all, there is simply too much substance to each herb to be able to measure all of it with any methodology. Accurate measurements of any herb would entail evaluating hundreds of biochemicals, each interacting with each other – then each of these interactions having myriad effects on the physical body of the patient, some of them additive or synergistic, others balancing or bi-directional in effect. To try to diminish all these chemical interactions down to one or two biochemicals that are supposedly the “active ingredients” of the herb is impossible. When we try to use a reductionistic scientific paradigm to evaluate herbs, the only folks who benefit are the drug companies who want to trademark the extracted biochemical so they can sell it at a profit. In my experience, using whole herbs rather than a concentrated amount of one or two of their extracted biochemicals results in a less pronounced (and therefore less severe) reaction in the patient (that’s a good thing!). Because the individual herb is a mix of many biochemicals (often in minute amounts), I don’t have to worry too much about such scientific things as the correct dosage of the herb in milligrams per pound. In fact, I’ve found (following the lead of many other traditional herbalists I know) that very small doses often work as well as (or even better than) a dose that would represent the “recommended dosage” according to those still following scientific dictum. Furthermore, the herbs I’ve found the most helpful are almost always the herbs that have been used by millions of people, across cultures, throughout the centuries of recorded history. These are not necessarily the herbs that have been “validated” through extensive, scientifically oriented studies, nor are they the most “media-popular” herbs of the day. On the other hand, as a scientist, I have studied the herbs with a critical eye. I know which ones have been scientifically validated and which ones have not. I know which ones have been reported to cause adverse reactions, and I know which of these adverse reactions were caused by a concentrated biochemical of the herb rather than by the whole herb. And, in my practice, I tend to be conservative in my approach: I try to recommend herbs I am comfortable with after I have observed many patients’ results, and after I have read the published literature reviews. Furthermore, I am now teaching graduate courses at a university whose focus is energetic medicine, and our students are in the process of scientifically validating much of what we have long suspected about the energetics (or the Spirit) of a variety of the “alternative” medicines, including herbs. Finally, the more I am involved with herbs and other alternative medicines, the more I realize there is definitely something more to any format of medicine than we’ll ever be able to measure. With herbs it may be the “spirit” of the herb, or it may be the intention of the practitioner, or it may be the focus of the universe through the herb, accessed by the clarity of the healer. Whatever it is, it has the capacity to create deeper and more profound healing than anything else I’ve ever been associated with. In summary: I think science is wonderful, and I know it has given us much to be thankful for. However, I don’t worship it. Nor do I worship herbs, although my association with them is much closer to a spiritual level than is my belief in science. As a practitioner with a foot in each of Yogi’s forks in the road, I try to access all the scientific know-how I can. The herbal portion of my practice has always been pretty much a “seat of the pants” herbology, following scientific principles when they apply and following the spirit of ancient and traditional herbology when that applies. And finally, I am now realizing that the more open-hearted access to Spirit and the spirit of the herbs I am able to generate, the better I am becoming as a holistic practitioner overall and a herbalist in particular. -by Randy Kidd, DVM, PH.D Dr. Randy Kidd has a DVM degree from Ohio State University and a Ph.D in Pathology/Clinical Pathology from Kansas State University. He is a past president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, and author of Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Dog Care and Dr. Kidd’s Guide to Herbal Cat Care.
Whether or not they think about it, most people who care for dogs have at least a vague notion of what they consider cruel or humane treatment of a canine companion. Definitions vary wildly, however. Some people have no compunction about smacking or yanking their dogs in an attempt to make them behave as they would like them to. Others may completely eschew the use of physical force on their dogs. The definitions of “cruel” or “humane” treatment tend to reflect an individual’s own experiences and conscience — which may be completely divergent from the societal norm.
In 2001, two separate books were published with the express purpose of enlightening dog trainers and dogs owners about the range of training methods available, and understanding the differences between them. The two books were conceived from the same origins, but developed into very different – and differently useful – documents.
In August, the Delta Society, founded in 1977 and based in Renton, Washington, published its Professional Standards for Dog Trainers: Effective, Humane Principles. As the title indicates, the Delta Society intends for the book to provide guidelines for professional dog trainers. And in early September, the American Humane Association, founded in 1877 and based in Englewood, Colorado, published its Guide to Humane Dog Training, which, in their words, “introduces dog owners to the use of positive reinforcement in training, a highly effective method that rejects the use of force and strong punishment.”
With great interest, we followed the evolution of the projects, from their origins in a single committee, through an editorial split, and into two separate book projects produced by two different organizations. We also reviewed the finished products. Was there really a need, we wondered, for two different publications purporting to guide trainers and dog owners in the art and science of humane training?
We concluded that each book, in fact, does provide meaningful assistance to dog trainers and owners, and that each will play an important (and slightly different) role in helping people and dogs to live peacefully together.
Why training guidelines are needed
While it can certainly be argued that dog owners – like parents or guardians of children – ought to be guided by carefully thought-out definitions of cruelty and humaneness, dog trainers have a professional responsibility to examine their own definitions and behaviors very closely. When they accept payment to either train a dog or to teach a person to train a dog, their ideas, attitudes, and methods represent a model of “correct” training. Many people who attend their classes will automatically accept whatever they do (or advocate doing) to a dog as acceptable training practice.
However, there is no universally accepted “code of conduct” that guides the actions of dog trainers. There is as much variation in trainers’ opinions about cruelty as there is in the general population. And unfortunately, sometimes this results in a legal matter. There have been cases – including a number that were publicized last year – in which trainers have injured or even killed clients’ dogs in the process of trying to train them. In several of these cases, courts were called upon to determine whether the trainer’s treatment of the dogs was criminally cruel or inhumane; in others, distraught owners brought suit against their former trainers, seeking compensation for damages done to their dogs. In still others, owners did nothing, convinced by the trainer that the tragedy was a rare and unfortunate by-product of the application of necessary training methods.
Courts generally rely on their state-defined cruelty statutes – and the interpretations of those statutes made by the prosecution and defense attorneys – in order to decide whether the trainers prosecuted in cases such as these are criminally cruel or negligent. The courts may also hear evidence concerning what is “standard practice” in the field.
And there lies the rub. There are so many diverse training methods and philosophies employed in the field of dog training, that it’s sometimes difficult to build a case against a trainer for clearly cruel and inhumane acts, even ones that result in dead dogs. In at least one such case, in which a dog suffered permanent brain damage from his trainer’s methods, the trainer was acquitted because the methods used were described in a popular and best-selling book about dog training. In the absence of a published and credible resource to the contrary, the court accepted that the methods were standard practice in the dog training industry and found the defendant not guilty of the cruelty charges.
Paradigm shift
In the 1960s and early 1970s, most, if not all, professional dog trainers believed that it was acceptable (and perhaps necessary) to administer pain and punishment – at least to some degree – in order to teach dogs to behave.
This philosophy was perhaps most famously espoused in books written in the 1960s by trainer William Koehler, who outlined his methods of using leash corrections, scruff shakes, and alpha rolls among other punishment-oriented training techniques. Koehler also described force-based methods such as hanging (lifting a dog off the ground with the leash and choke chain) and helicoptering (swinging the dog around in the air with the leash and choke chain) for dogs who weren’t getting the picture with less-physical techniques. Acceptance of these methods was nearly universal in that era; one of Koehler’s books was even selected as “Best Dog Book of the Year” by the Dog Writers Association of America. And some trainers still regard force-based training as useful and acceptable.
But over the past 15 years or so, the dog training profession as a whole has experienced a significant paradigm shift, with most trainers moving noticeably toward the more positive, dog-friendly end of the training continuum. A growing cadre of trainers believes that the use of physical force or harsh verbal punishment is rarely, if ever, necessary or appropriate (and WDJ promotes that view). The majority of trainers are somewhere in between, moving away from the use of force and toward more positive training programs, but still willing to resort to physical or verbal punishment and other aversives in varying degrees when a training challenge arises that is beyond their knowledge or abilities to resolve with positive methods.
Proposing guidelines
In recent years, a number of trainers have expressed interest in creating an industry standard that describes which training methods are acceptably humane and which are not. The impetus for this discussion was, in part, disappointment and anger stemming from the inability of the courts to hold trainers responsible for injuring or killing clients’ dogs. Also, as dog trainers have become increasingly educated about their business, and as dogs themselves have become more valued and integrated into human society, some trainers felt it was high time for the development of a document that would help professionalize the industry.
In 1998, the American Humane Association, with funding from the Delta Society, launched an ambitious project to create a credible resource that would challenge the “standard practice in the industry” defense and help hold abusive trainers accountable for their actions. The AHA wanted to provide industry guidelines for trainers as well as for the judicial system, and support the position that violence to animals in the name of training is unacceptable.
The AHA convened national working committees of more than 40 animal training professionals from around the globe. Those groups attended a facilitated meeting at the 1998 annual conference of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where they were divided into five subject areas: Mission and Ethics; How Dogs Learn; Equipment and Its Use; Business Practices; and Instructor Skills. Each group began by defining their topic area in a concise statement of core principles, and then created a set of standards – testable guidelines – against which trainers could compare their conduct. The intent was to provide a framework for effective, humane training based on the principles of animal learning, and specifically on the behavior of dogs.
However, as the project came close to completion, a number of the trainers who had helped develop the content reviewed an early draft – and felt it had strayed from their original vision. Ultimately, the AHA and Delta each took the unfinished project to different individuals for completion, and in the fall of 2001, not one, but two very different documents were released – one from each organization. While both are based closely on the work of the committees, the two are markedly different.
“Professional Standards for Dog Trainers”
Delta Society’s 42-page softcover book is titled Professional Standards for Dog Trainers: Effective, Humane Principles. This book comes closest to fulfilling the original goals of the project. It faithfully reproduces the work of the committees in a narrative enhanced with clear graphics and charts. It is a no-nonsense, well-organized, “just the facts” document that dispassionately defines and describes various tools, methods, and practices for the professional dog trainer.
The content adheres to scientific principles of learning, and “endorses the use of non-aversive training techniques and presents alternatives to primary use of aversives.”
While it rigorously avoids taking a position on recommendations for or against specific pieces of dog training equipment, the appendix offers a list of acts that are “not part of any humane dog training program, due to their potential to cause lasting harm or severe distress.” The list includes acts such as biting a dog, throwing a dog against a solid object, sharpening the prongs on a prong collar, repeatedly or forcefully hitting a dog with any object to a point of inflicting pain or injury, repeatedly pinching or squeezing sensitive parts of the dog’s body, use of shock on sensitive parts of a dog’s body, hanging, helicoptering, drowning or near-drowning, choking, intentionally jerking a dog off his or her feet, and more.
Delta’s Professional Standards is well-written, scientifically accurate, and laudable for its clear rejection of some of the abusive techniques made popular in the 1960s and 1970s. However, it is likely to disappoint some of the most dedicated positive dog trainers by its failure to take an emphatic stand against the use of some tools, such as electric shock collars, that have a high potential for being applied abusively. Trainers who regularly use such tools, and dog owners who resort to them, often without thoroughly exploring positive alternatives first, may well use this document to defend their punishment-based training choices.
“Humane Training Guidelines for Dog Owners”
Rather than educating dog trainers, the AHA’s Guide to Humane Dog Training is written for dog owners. It only very loosely follows the material developed by the original project’s working committees, and has been supplemented with a lot of additional information about canine behavior and training advice. The booklet is longer (57 pages), and contains less white space, includes numerous photographs (many of them borrowed from WDJ) and certainly addresses an important niche in the training book market. It could have benefited greatly, however, by the gentle hand of a skilled editor, both technically and grammatically. Readers who are disturbed by poor grammar may be irritated by the multitude of awkward sentences and violations of grammatical rules found in this book.
Even more serious are the abundant factual errors that are scattered throughout the text. For example, the book claims there are three methods used to teach dogs to repeat or stop performing behaviors – positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment. In fact there are four principles of operant conditioning used to increase or decrease a behavior: positive and negative reinforcement, and positive and negative punishment. The distinction between positive and negative punishment is an important one, and one that AHA’s book has completely overlooked.
To the dismay of many trainers, this book also perpetuates the “Lassie myth” with statements such as, “Dogs have a seemingly innate desire to be close to humans . . .” Animal behaviorists have long observed that dogs have no innate desire to be close to humans at all – we must carefully cultivate that desire by energetically teaching young puppies and dogs that humans are the source of all things wonderful. If we don’t, we end up with dogs who are unsocialized or undersocialized, or even worse, feral.
Unfortunately, there are many more examples of factual errors in the AHA document. It is disappointing that an organization with the long-standing presence and reputation of AHA would not take a little more time and effort to confirm the veracity of the book contents.
On the other hand, AHA comes out with clear statements in the section on “Equipment and Its Use,” making bold pronouncements about which tools it recommends and which it does not. Many positive trainers will be pleased to see that AHA gives an unequivocal “not recommended” to choke collars (unlimited slip collars) and electric shock collars.
So, we like some aspects of each book. The Delta book is far more accurate and more completely accomplishes the original mission of the project by providing a credible resource for trainers and prosecutors in their attempts to protect dogs from abusive training methods, but is not likely to appeal to Jane Q. Dog Owner. There is a crying need to reach the public market as well, which the AHA book could do.With some minor corrections and revisions, AHA’s book could be extremely valuable, with broad appeal to a huge market of the dog owners who are, in the end, the consumers who drive the market demand for more positive training methods and trainers.
We applaud the publishers of both books for their efforts.
-by Pat Miller
Pat Miller is a freelance writer, author of The Power of Positive Dog Training (2001, Howell Book House), and a professional dog trainer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.
Commercial dog foods today contain anywhere from two to dozens of main ingredients, as well as vitamins, minerals, preservatives, and other additives. People have become sensitized to the presence of certain ingredients that have a bad reputation – some deservedly, some not.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the “controversial” ingredients in dog foods. We have included several ingredients that we’ve seen pet food manufacturers either hype (in the case of ingredients they use) or denigrate (in the case of their rivals’ ingredients). We’re not going to address the hype, pro or con, but just tell you the facts.
Alfalfa
This leguminous plant is a source of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and several important minerals. It contains some protein, but not enough to be a major source at the levels used in dog food. Its use in dog food is probably mostly for market appeal. Alfalfa is considered a tonic herb, and has mild laxative and diuretic properties. In dogs with kidney disease, it may be best to avoid alfalfa, since it may contribute to dehydration.
Antioxidants This seems to be the “additive of the month,” and many dog foods are now specifically listing their content of various antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and so on. While the benefits of antioxidants to humans has not been conclusively demonstrated by studies, what all experts do agree on is that people should eat more fresh fruits and vegetables – the dietary source of many natural antioxidants. Since most of us are feeding primarily heat-processed commercial dog food to our canine friends, and little if any spinach salad, it may indeed be a good idea to supplement those doggy diets with healthy, helpful antioxidants.
Are the amounts now being added to those bags and cans enough to do any good? Well, they won’t hurt anything, but if you’re really serious about a healthy diet, a vitamin C supplement and a nice alpha-tocopherol supplement is probably the way to go. (Alpha-tocopherol is the only one of the eight tocopherols that the body can use as an antioxidant; the others are used by some manufacturers to preserve the food in the bag, that is, outside the body.) Some dogs also love carrots, and if your dog is one of them, that’s a bonus – carrots provide a nice crunchy tooth-cleaning action along with a bunch of beta-carotene.
Canola oil Poor canola oil has gotten a very bad rap, mainly from a single article that has been widely propagated on the Internet, featuring extensive fear-mongering allegations. The plant from which it comes, rape (Brassica napus), is a member of the mustard family, along with other Brassica siblings such as the eminently edible cabbage, broccoli, turnip, horseradish, and watercress. The correct name for the product is thus rapeseed oil; the word canola derives from “Canadian Oil,” and was substituted many years ago to avoid the unpleasant connotations of “rape.”
Ordinary rapeseed oil contains a high percentage (30-60 percent) of toxic erucic acid, but in the 1970s, rapeseed varieties with a low erucic content were introduced. Canola oil now contains only trace amounts of this compound, if any at all. Canola oil is lower in saturated fat than other plant oils, and higher in monounsaturated fat than any except olive oil. It contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (10-15 percent) than any other plant oil except flaxseed. The major downside is that most canola being grown today is a genetically modified (GM) product.
Corn/ground yellow corn/corn meal The main corn product used in dog food may be listed as any of these terms. There is nothing wrong with corn per se as an ingredient, as long as it’s free from mold contamination (major manufacturers routinely test incoming batches for the most common fungal toxins). Corn tastes good, and provides bulk, calories, nutrients, and texture to dry dog food. However, there are at least three potential problems with corn and corn products in dog food.
1. Because corn does contain protein (mainly in the gluten), dogs can develop allergies to it; however, this is relatively rare.
2. The presence of corn products (particularly if they’re high on the list of ingredients) may indicate that corn has been used instead of a more expensive alternative. For example, corn gluten meal is a concentrated source of protein that can be substituted for costlier animal protein. It is low in some essential amino acids such as cystine and methionine, but these are then added in a purified form to make up the difference.
3. About one-quarter of the corn produced in the United States today is GM.
Corn gluten meal This is an extract of the high-protein gluten fraction of the corn kernel. It is usually listed separately from “corn.” In many bargain dry dog foods, corn gluten meal provides a large proportion of the total protein in the food. It can cause allergies in some dogs. Our main objection is when its use displaces higher quality, more digestible forms of protein such as meat.
Chicory, inulin, FOS These little items are included in dog food to promote “colon health” and its population of “friendly bacteria.” The colon, or large intestine, is the site of water absorption, protein breakdown and absorption, and other important functions. It is definitely important to keep the cells lining the colon happy. These ingredients do provide certain beneficial nutrients as they’re broken down by colonic bacteria. They won’t hurt anything and may actually do at least a little bit of good.
Glucosamine and chondroitin These anti-arthritis ingredients enjoyed a brief popularity spurt in late 2000, but on the shelves today, few foods include them on their labels. Glucosamine sulfate (or hydrochloride) and chondroitin sulfate are both components of cartilage. The point of taking them orally is to increase their concentrations in the joint (synovial) fluid, thus nourishing the cartilage, which has no direct blood supply and must get its groceries from that fluid.
There has been considerable debate about whether or not these compounds are absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut, and even if they are, if they ever make it into the joint fluid. The upshot seems to be that glucosamine is very well absorbed, chondroitin less so.
While human studies have shown that taking high amounts of glucosamine and chondroitin can be beneficial in arthritic patients – reducing pain and enhancing mobility – here are no studies showing a preventive effect. That is, feeding glucosamine and chondroitin to a normal dog has not been shown to prevent the development of arthritis. Given that the stated purpose for using them in dog food is to “support” or “promote” healthy joints, this claim seems specious. In fact, when I asked a major premium food maker for citations of research supporting their use of these compounds, all the studies they sent were done in people who already had arthritis. Moreover, at the minute levels of these compounds in dog food, it is unlikely that they have much of an effect at all, except to enhance the market appeal of the food.
There is one other sticky fact about glucosamine and chondroitin – they are not approved ingredients, and so far, no manufacturer has petitioned AAFCO to obtain approval. For this reason, when these ingredients first made their appearance in dog food, at least three states promptly slapped “stop sale” orders on the food. This is rather a big deal to the manufacturer, who is temporarily prohibited from selling that food in those states. However, promises and politicking by the manufacturer got the orders lifted. The state officials are waiting for FDA to take a position on the use of these ingredients; meanwhile, most manufacturers appear to have stopped using them.
Soy The soybean is a very nutritious, high-protein legume that is grown primarily for livestock feed, but is also used in some dog foods. Dogs reportedly lack an enzyme needed to break down part of the carbohydrate content of the bean, and therefore large amounts of soy in the diet may cause gas and flatulence. However, there is not, and never has been, any scientific evidence linking soy to bloat in dogs. Vegetarian dog foods are commonly soy-based, and many dogs do very well on them. Soybeans are relatively high in fat, but “soybean meal” has had the oil and most of the moisture removed. Soy is another agricultural product that has spent a lot of time in a lab – more than half of all soy grown in the United States in 2000 was GM.
Wheat Like corn, wheat contains gluten, a protein-rich fraction that can cause allergies. Bear in mind, however, that very few dogs ever develop a true food allergy. The vast majority of allergic reactions in dogs is to airborne allergens that the dog inhales, like pollen or dust mites. Most food reactions are due to a food “intolerance,” rather than a real allergy. In that case, wheat is no more likely than any other food ingredient to be at fault.
Yeast A single-celled fungus, yeast is a tiny powerhouse of protein and B vitamins. If added to the food after the cooking process, it also provides live enzymes that can aid in digestion. Most dogs love the taste of yeast, making it a desirable dog food ingredient. As usual, however, the protein can serve as an allergen in sensitive dogs.
Yucca schidigera The natural saponins (soap-like compounds) in the yucca, a desert plant with long spiky leaves and waxy white flowers, are thought to have steroid-like anti-inflammatory properties. Yucca has been used for generations by Native Americans and folk healers for both rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis. Again, whether or not a food maker can (or should) include therapeutic doses of yucca in their products is highly debatable. However, yucca is also used in pet food to reduce fecal odor which – much to my pleasant surprise – it does quite well (although it is technically not “approved” for that use).
-by Jean Hofve, DVM
Dr. Jean Hofve is a holistic veterinarian with a private practice in Colorado. Dr. Hofve is also a contributor to Whole Cat Journal.
Dogs can eat garlic and it can have benefits provided the amounts are carefully controlled.
Can dogs eat garlic? Well, one dictum for dealing with an ailing dog is to make sure he doesn’t get sick in the first place. And one way to achieve that noble end is to feed him a maintenance dose of garlic, a “wonder herb” that has a long list of beneficial effects for the dog in your life.
Garlic has antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties. It can be used as an anthelmintic (deworming agent). It acts as a potent expectorant (helps bring phlegm or mucous up and out of the airway). It can lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots. And it can support the formation of good bacteria in the digestive tract.
For the latter reason, it is “absolutely brilliant” when given to dogs following treatment with conventional antibiotics, according to Hilary Self of Somerset, England, founder of Hilton Herbs, an international supplier of herbal supplements for horses and dogs. Self calls garlic the best-known and most widely used herb in the world.
In the U.S., garlic is commonly fed to dogs due to its reputation for repelling fleas and ticks. The sulfur in the garlic is excreted through the dog’s skin, keeping fleas at bay. This is clearly a benefit, according to Self. But it’s not garlic’s most valuable attribute. Given garlic’s many powerful applications, it might be difficult to say which one is.
Garlic’s gifts
Garlic, that is, Allium sativum, is a humble little plant and a member of the lily family. It grows all around the world, and it looks unimpressive, at least from on top of the soil. Underneath the ground, it develops a bulbous root, which breaks up into teardrop-shaped sections called cloves. The many benefits inherent in the roots become apparent after the plant is dug up and harvested.
People have eaten garlic to improve their health for centuries. Ancient Egyptians are said to have worshipped garlic (its virtues were described in inscriptions on the Cheops pyramid), and regularly fed it to their slaves to keep them strong and free of illness. Hippocrates (460 B.C.) is believed to have used garlic to treat uterine cancer. There are records of Chinese doctors using garlic as early as the sixth century (500 A.D.) More recently, Native Americans used garlic as a remedy for earaches, flatulence, and scurvy. The forefather of antibiotics, Louis Pasteur, studied garlic extensively and found it highly effective at killing bacteria.
Modern uses for garlic
Garlic’s magical properties have not escaped modern researchers. Recent studies have proven that garlic can lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure and raise the levels of anti-clotting factors in the blood. Other studies suggest that garlic can prevent and eliminate heavy-metal poisoning. Scientists have demonstrated that garlic can slow the growth of certain types of tumors. Garlic has even been shown effective in treating opportunistic infections in AIDS patients.
Humans, of course, have shared their good fortune in exploiting this powerful and beneficial herb with their animal companions. Garlic is good for dogs, as well! Dogs seem to be able to benefit from garlic in many ways.
Perhaps garlic’s chief use lies in its ability to promote general wellness. While herbalists discourage feeding daily doses of garlic (or any other herb) year-round, in most applications, experts recommend feeding garlic three to five times a week for a period of a month or two, followed by a reduction or elimination of the dose. Careful observation needs to be maintained. If the sparkle goes out of the dog’s eye, just begin the garlic again.
How to feed garlic to dogs
The most important ingredient in garlic is a substance known as “allicin,” which is formed from a combination of two enzymes found separately inside garlic cloves. The first, “alliin,” is a nonvolatile, odorless sulfur amino acid. When a clove is cut (or chewed), alliin comes into contact with another enzyme called “alliinase.” Combined, the enzymes become allicin, a pungent, volatile sulfur compound that gives garlic its distinctive taste and smell.
Allicin is unstable; it converts into other compounds if it is not stabilized during manufacturing. Heat, in particular, drastically reduces allicin yield. Due to intense competition in the market, most companies that make garlic supplements for the medicinal benefits for humans monitor the amount of allicin in their products. Many state their stabilized and standardized allicin yield on their packaging. If you feed dried garlic, whether in a powdered or granulated form, the important thing is to get garlic that has not been heat-treated.
Fresh garlic is the least expensive option and is the most potent form of the herb. But not everyone is willing to spend time chopping it up for their dogs to eat, and not all dogs will eat it, even if it is mixed into their food. You may have to experiment a little to determine which form is most palatable for your dog. The fussiest eaters may benefit from pure, cold-processed garlic oil, which several manufacturers produce in gelatinous capsules.
Begin with a low dose, introducing garlic in increasing amounts over a week or two until you are feeding the entire dose. According to Self, an average dose of garlic for large dogs should be about one fresh, crushed garlic clove per day. If you feed pure, cold-processed garlic powder or granules, the equivalent is about a half-teaspoon. The suggestion for medium-sized dogs is half a clove (or 1/4 teaspoon of powder); for small dogs, give just a quarter clove (or a pinch or two of the powder).
As with any drug or herb, it’s important to watch for any sensitivities particular in your dog’s body. While garlic is safe for dogs to eat, every dog’s dietary restrictions are different. Some herbalists say that a high daily dose of fresh garlic, given for long periods of time, can deplete the intestinal flora. If the condition you are treating is seasonal, or if the treatment is successful, slowly decrease the dose after the dog improves and maintains the improvement.
Often, after we have reviewed a certain type of product, we get calls, letters, and e-mail from Whole Dog Journal readers telling us about similar products that we did not review. While we do not – and cannot – test every example of a product concept, when we learn about an exceptional or unusual one that we missed, we like to bring it to your attention. The following are a few notable additions to our product reviews from the past year.
Likeable leashes
Way back in February, we reviewed long lines – extra-long leashes that can be used to help teach a dog to come (“Know Your Lines”). White Pine Outfitters has quickly leaped to the top of our list of favorite suppliers of long lines. After we tested their wonderful product, we tossed out all our others. The White Pines long lines are costly but well worth the price; the soft, supple, and strong tubular webbing used makes them exquisitely gentle on the hands. In addition, they don’t tangle easily or pick up undue amounts of debris, and they dry quickly even after soaking. If you use a long line for any purpose, you will want one (or more) of these.
The innovation in Aspen Pet Product’s “Comfort Leash” does not lie in the six-foot nylon leash but in the handle: A padded fabric handle made to be worn comfortably around the wrist, with another padded section that is grasped in the palm of your hand. The handle also features a small pocket for a key, poop bag (unused), or a tiny supply of dog cookies.
We like the concept, and found the padded leash handle very comfortable, if a bit warm in hot weather. However, the leash part of the product is made of the lowest-quality nylon we’ve ever seen in a leash: thin and rough. We can’t recommend this product as-is, but if Aspen Pet were to improve the quality of the leash, they’d have a real winner.
Here’s an interesting concept – a Flexi-lead that your dog carries for you! The Click-3 Collar Leash is a retractable 20-inch leash that can be clipped onto your dog’s collar for him to carry when you want to let him off-leash. When you want to put him back on-leash, you simply press a button that releases the plastic casing from a clip that stays fastened to his collar. The Flexi-leash retracts into and out of the casing, which doubles as the handle of the leash. It sounds bulky, but it’s small enough for you to grasp in your hand. To let your dog off-leash, you allow the leash to retract all the way, and then snap the handle/casing back onto the clip on his collar.
This product does have some shortcomings. The maker claims it can be used on well-trained dogs up to 110 pounds, but we’re not confident we’d want this to be our only restraint on a strong puller of any size. And while the handle is comfortable in the hand, it is easy to drop if the dog pulls.
Another drawback is that the leash clip fits only on flat collars that are one inch wide or narrower. Small as it is, it might be too bulky for a very small dog to wear clipped to his collar. Also, the product may also attract the attentions of a habitual chewer; we found our Scottie happily chewing on the handle when our back was turned. Because of the potential for getting chewed, the Leash Collar should not be left on dogs unattended, nor is it suitable for group play environments such as dog parks.
With these caveats in mind, we like it as a handy emergency leash for well-behaved dogs – perfect for temporary restraint during a beach jog, for example.
Car safety restraints
In May 2001, we reviewed car safety belts for dogs (“Safest Canine Seat Belts”). Following that review, two products we had never seen before were sent to our offices for review. We examined and tested the products on our dogs, using the criteria of safety, comfort, ease of use, quality, and cost.
We absolutely love the Safety Seat Vest Harness made by Four Paws Products Ltd. This moderately-priced harness is well designed and constructed, with medium weight soft nylon straps and reasonably sturdy plastic buckles and metal fittings. The fleece-lined yoke that rests against the dog’s chest oozes comfort, and the large size fit our 75-pound test dog like a glove. The Vest Harness can also be used as a comfortable walking harness by attaching the leash to the D-ring at the top of the harness.
Our favorite feature is the simplicity of the design and the ease with which it can be put on the dog. Without even looking at the package instructions, we got it buckled properly onto our test dog on the second try.
The Safety Seat Vest Harness does have a couple of flaws, however. Because the seat belt passes through the harness loop, if he pulls gradually on the harness the dog can move about in the car more than we would like. With the exception of old-fashioned, fixed seat belts, or the fixed belts sometimes found in the middle of the back seat, most modern seat belts will yield and lengthen in response to a gradual pull, just as they do when you move around with your seat belt on. Our top pick of previously reviewed seat restraints (the Doggie Catcher) solved this challenge by buckling directly into the seat belt clip receptacle.
There is also the question of product strength and car safety. As the manfacturer of another seat restraint (the Roadie, mentioned in just a moment) pointed out, we did not conduct laboratory tests to determine the tensile strength of the various seat restraint products. The maker of The Roadie claims that its tests determined that very few canine seat belts come anywhere near meeting the requirement of 5,000 pounds for human seat belts; The Roadie, the maker claims, offers 6,675 pounds of test strength.
Again, we don’t do laboratory testing, nor do we slam on the brakes to test the product in automobile accident conditions. But the Vest Harness appears to us to be up to the job of securing our dogs in the car.
Ruff Rider Products, LLC, is the maker of The Roadie, which is another harness-type car-safety restraint device. According to Rough Rider, The Roadie beats all the other canine car seat restraints on the market in the strength department, and we’ll go ahead and take their word. There is more to a car restraint device than strength, however, and The Roadie falls quite short in several of the other criteria that we examined.
For starters, it is extremely challenging to put on the dog! We are reasonably intelligent, but this harness had us tearing our hair out. Putting it on without instruction was out of the question, and even with help of the printed instructions we failed miserably. Finally, with the help of the instructional video also provided in the packaging (!) and one very patient dog, we succeeded in putting it on. Total elapsed time, 40 minutes. With an uncooperative dog or an owner who is less than agile and dexterous, it would have been impossible.
Also, once on the dog, the harness didn’t fit well. It gapped under the legs, and there were strap ends flapping. Of course, we could not find a size indicated anywhere on the packaging or the harness itself, which the manufacturer sent to us, so perhaps the one we had was just too large for our tester – except that we couldn’t get it on our next-size-up dog at all. The unlined straps also have the potential to chafe the dog’s armpits. Ruff Rider does sell another model that is lined with sheepskin to prevent chafing, but it sells for a prohibitive $75!
We don’t discount the importance of a product that is strong enough to do the job, but if a device is too complicated for the average dog owner to decipher, it won’t get used. If Ruff Rider put more effort into making this product user-friendly, it would rate more WDJ paws. A car restraint harness won’t do you or your dog any good if it’s at home in the dog supply drawer.
Basic rubber ball
At least one more ball bounced its way into our mailbox, and it’s one that we couldn’t pass up.
We have to admit, we have yet to meet a Kong product we didn’t like, and the new Kong Ball is no exception. This is your basic red rubber ball, but made of Kong’s trademark solid, puncture resistant, natural rubber. It is 2.5 inches in diameter, so is suitable only for small to medium-sized dogs. Our most reliable toy tester, a diehard ball enthusiast/Scottie, was so excited about it that he couldn’t wait for us to get it out of the package – he grabbed it up, cardboard and all, and we had to retrieve it from him to release the ball from its packaging.
Our only caveats about recommending this ball are ones we repeat for any toy: Remember that its safety depends in large part on appropriate size for your dog, as well as your own dog’s propensity and determination to chew objects into tiny bits. Although the rubber is tough, it’s not indestructible. Take the ball away from your dog if his oral attentions are causing wear and tear. And make sure that any ball you give your dog is size-appropriate so he cannot get it stuck in his throat.
Finally, the Kong Ball is a hard, solid object, so if you throw it for your dog, and your arm is strong but your aim is off, you could deliver a pretty hard “thunk” to your dog’s head or body. Now, go play ball!
Solid Gold Ingredients Solid Gold is not only the best commercial food I can find to feed my dog, but also the only commercial food I will feed my dog. So I was somewhat dismayed to see (in Top Canned Foods, October 2001) you list ingredients in the Lamb, Brown Rice, Barley & Carrots formula that I was certain it did not contain, chiefly, turkey which my dog is allergic to. I ran to check the label of the can I had fed that evening to my dog, and discovered that you had apparently made a mistake. Or did Solid Gold change the formula?
-Robin Gilroy New Jersey
JUST when we thought we had created the first-ever error-free chart of canned foods, this. Were sorry; the two-page chart we ran last month contained a LOT of minutiae, and we tried so hard to get every little thing right. But we blew it on the ingredients of the Solid Gold food, by listing the ingredients of their Turkey, Ocean Fish, Potatoes & Carrots food instead. Solid Golds canned Lamb food does not contain turkey. Both, however, are great foods. Did we mention that?
We are particularly sweaty over this error, since last year we reported an incorrect phone number and Web address for the company. And its the food we feed our dogs! We couldnt be sorrier for the error.
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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.
