We’ve had a sudden burst of questions regarding “Alpha dogs” in a multiple-dog household. We decided to have our ever-practical training expert, Dr. Ian Dunbar, answer these questions. Dr. Dunbar is a veterinarian and dog trainer residing in Berkeley, CA. A native of England, Dr. Dunbar is the founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the creator of the K9 Games, and is well-known for his renowned Sirius Puppy Training program, which he describes in his popular books and instructional videos.
Is the female always the Alpha in a two dog house? I try to give my four year old male a treat first, I greet him first and consider him to be #1, but am I doing the wrong thing or going against nature? Our one-year-old female seems to run the show now!
-LuAnne Marshall
via email
We have two female dogs: a five year old Newfoundland and a two-year-old Shih Tzu. They are rivals. They both like to chew on rawhide bones, even if I give them the exact same kind. As soon as the Newf gets up off of her “place” the Shih Tzu goes and steals her bone. Then the Newf wants the Shih Tzu’s bone! This occurs even if the Shih Tzu has a very small bone. Another annoying behavior is that the Shih Tzu barks in a very threatening way whenever the Newf barks to be let back in the house. The Newf goes outside frequently to enjoy the air, so this is very annoying. We would like the Newf to be the Alpha dog. What can we do to keep her position?
-Laurie Pevnick
Milwaukee, WI
I have two female German Shepherds: Casey, who is four and a half, and Tasha, who just turned three. They started fighting when we moved four weeks ago and have fought once a week since then. This is the second time they have had fights when there was a major change in the household. The first time this happened was in November 1998, when they fought about five times. We hired a trainer who deals with aggression and she taught us about hierarchy and showed us some exercises. We established Casey as the Alpha because she had always been the leader. They didn’t fight again until the recent move.
This time, Casey seems to always be the culprit. It seems that she wants to establish territory, that she’s jealous, and that she is not happy with our schedule changes. She attacks Tasha for what seems to be no reason. When they fight she won’t stop even when Tasha submits. It’s been terrible! Since June, I’ve been keeping them in separate rooms; they are together only when we are there and they are leashed.
Last week I took both dogs to a university behavioral clinic. Basically, the behaviorists felt that Casey is controlling, jealous, aggressive, and very anxious. They gave us exercises to do to relax them and teach them to “look” at us and defer to us.
They also said that, because of Casey’s inappropriate behavior, we should treat Tasha as the Alpha dog, meaning that we should do everything with her first, like we used to do with Casey, including putting her in the least liked room. The idea was that she would realize that she acted inappropriately and that Tasha has some status in our home. And, that we will have to do this for the rest of their lives, not just as a correction. But we are afraid of doing this because we think Casey will take it out on Tasha. We think she will get mad because Tasha is being preferred in our eyes and she is already jealous of her.
Should we change the hierarchy for the rest of their lives even though Tasha has always been the one to submit? Or could we just change it as a correction when Casey acts inappropriately with Tasha?
-Mary Hager
via email
Dr. Ian Dunbar replies:
There certainly is a lot of interesting information out there about Alpha dogs and submissive dogs and so forth, isn’t there? It is fascinating stuff, I agree, but when it comes to living with the dogs, what good is it doing anyone? Let me give you my version of relationships in a multiple dog household, and then tell you what I would do about the dogs that are causing trouble in the latter two letters.
It’s true that male dogs do establish a very firm and respected hierarchy, which male dogs respect. However, when you bring one bitch onto the scene, the whole thing just falls apart. Female dogs have a number of amendments to male hierarchical law, so many, in fact, that they often end up as the “top dog” in the household, even if they are much younger (as in the first letter) or much smaller (as with the Shih Tzu and the poor Newfie) than the male dog. And a two-female household is likely to be somewhat chaotic. But everything mentioned in the letters above is perfectly normal female dog behavior, and nothing to be worried about.
However, the writers also mention that they found the behaviors alarming and annoying. That’s different!
As to the dogs in the second letter: In my opinion, the discussion about maintaining the Newf’s alpha dog position is kind of a moot point – and actually laughable in the Shih Tzu’s eyes – because the Newf isn’t the alpha dog. It sounds to me as if the Newf and the Shih Tzu have worked out a very harmonious living relationship. The business of one dog wanting the other’s bone and so on is the normal behavior of any two dogs living together – like any two humans living together! And both dogs are females … This is classic girl-dog talk!
The real issue is, however, that it is irritating to have to witness the dogs’ little scenes. Simply establish a very simple “settle down” command so they will not be dashing across the room stealing this toy or that toy. If one of the dogs disregards the command to settle down, then ask that dog to leave the room, and remain in the room with the one that is obediently laying down. When my dogs are being too active, agitating around the room, doing all this chew toy stuff when I just want to sit down, meditate, have a cup of tea, or read a book, I just say, “Dogs: Lie down, thank you.” And if one dog breaks the “down-stay,” I say to that dog, “Newf, outside.” That ends that problem.
Hard work should pay off
The owners in the last letter are to be commended for trying so hard to do the right thing. But, personally, I don’t see the use of labeling the problem or coming up with complicated reasons why the dog is doing this or that. Trying to “put” one or the other dog in the dominant position is absolutely ridiculous. Plus, if you were to invoke a human analogy, you would never go for the solution that has been prescribed. If you have two kids squabbling, you wouldn’t say, “I am going to make this child the high ranking child, because he has been here the longest” or something like that. You simply get the kids to knock it off!
I think these owners would be a lot better off focusing their efforts on teaching the commands I just mentioned: “Settle down!” and “Outside!” But let me back up a moment. With any dogs that are squabbling, the first question that must be asked is, “Do these dogs hurt each other when they fight? Have you ever had to take one to the vet for stitches after a fight?” In the letters above, the answer to that question seems to be, “No.” Obviously, these dogs have had many altercations over the past year, and with that number of fights, it is very unlikely that the dogs are hurting each other, or even denting the skin, let alone puncturing it. So, what we are dealing with here has nothing to do with aggression, it has to do with two animals living together and having regular little altercations and arguments every day – no different than the average pair of siblings or the average married couple. These dogs are both perfectly normal in the respect that they have learned to resolve their various difficulties without causing harm to the other.
My own two dogs are great examples of this. On an average day, my female Malamute, Phoenix, and the male Oso, a mutt, have probably have half a dozen snits. I ignore these, unless it is a situation in which I want there to be quiet, whether I am concentrating at the computer or reading a book. If the snit goes on longer than three seconds, which seems to be my maximum tolerance, then I just tell them, “Outside! Leave the room!” Before I can even turn around, I have to laugh because I know I’ll see two heads in the doorway, saying, “Can we come in, please? We’re best friends now . . .”
As long as the dogs have good bite inhibition, and they are not hurting each other to the point where you are having to take them to the vet, don’t worry about the squabbles. If, on the other hand, the dogs are fighting for real, with blood and trips to the vet, that’s another story.
In the next issue, I’ll discuss what I would suggest doing in the case of dogs that fight to point of injury and bloodshed.
We adopted our rescue dog about a year ago. She had been a stray, and at the time we adopted her the vet thought she was about ten months old. Ever since we’ve had her she has had the same symptoms – she doesn’t seem to be able to properly digest her food. She is ravenously hungry all the time. She will eat unlimited amounts of anything – fruits, vegetables, yogurt, bread, anything she can get her paws on. And her stools are not normal; she has about four bowel movements per day, and they get progressively softer throughout the day.
She has been dewormed several times, had blood tests (for pancreatic enzymes, vitamin absorption, etc.), stool tests, had an endoscopy and a biopsy (they found a thickened abnormal intestine lining, but nothing else), she has been treated with various antibiotics, steroids, pepcid, we have tried different foods. Nothing seems to make a difference. She has seen two vets, one an internal medicine specialist.
The good news is she is a beautiful dog, she has a healthy coat, she is playful and never seems to be uncomfortable.
-Amy Mall Los Angeles, CA
We directed this question to Carolyn Blakey, DVM, of the Westside Animal Clinic in Richmond, Indiana. Dr. Blakey has been practicing veterinary medicine for 32 years, the last four in an all-holistic practice. She especially enjoys serving as a holistic veterinary consultant to clients all over the country.
First, the reason the dog is so hungry is because she is starving – not starving for lack of food, of course, but she is starving for a lack of nutrients.
This dog sounds like she has a disorder called pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, which is characterized by a ravenous appetite, voluminous stool, and failure to gain weight. It is caused by a loss of function of the portion of the pancreas that produces the digestive enzymes, and generally, this can be determined by measuring the pancreatic enzymes in the blood. Digestive enzymes help the dog move food to the molecular level, and are critical to proper digestion. Even though you mentioned that the vets had checked the dog’s pancreatic enzymes, and presumably found her enzymes to be in the “normal” range, I would suspect that she’s not getting the pancreatic enzymes she needs to properly digest and benefit from her food.
In my experience, if you give these “hungry” dogs a simple digestive enzyme supplement, the problem will resolve itself. There are many digestive enzyme supplements available (see “Resources,” page 24, for a some suggested products). I might also suggest putting the dog on a really good vitamin-mineral supplement. Wysong makes a product called C-Biotic that contains digestive enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, and it seems to make a tremendous difference. I’d give this supplement to a dog that is always hungry, or always having loose stools, or any dog with symptoms of maldigestion. Even if blood tests show that the pancreas is allegedly kicking out “enough” enzymes, supplementation with additional enzymes can reduce the burden that a stressed pancreas has to carry.
Some veterinarians have theorized that some of these hungry dogs don’t have enough stomach acidity to digest their food properly. I’ve also had great results with giving the dog one of Standard Process’ supplements for this – their product called “Betaine Hydrochloride” helps acidify the entire gastrointestinal tract; making the stomach a little more acid makes it do its job better. One experiment that might be worth trying is adding raw apple cider vinegar (a tablespoon for medium to large dogs, a teaspoon for small to medium dogs) to the dog’s food, to see if that improves her digestion and decreases her appetite.
And of course, you have to be thinking about a real food, natural diet for this animal. And particularly, consider finding food that the dog has to chew up; the digestive enzymes in dog saliva are very important for their digestion, much more so than ours. Dogs tend to just snarf their kibble and canned foods; there is very little chewing involved, which eliminates a very important digestive aid. So, if you can find a way to get that saliva going and mixing with the dog’s food before it gets down the dog’s throat, they have got a better crack at digestion. The best way to do this is feeding the dog raw bones that have chunks of meat all over them. The dog who has to chew and pull and wrestle to get his food off the bone gets the most digestive enzyme action.
Improving the quality of the dog’s food would help, but so might a simple change of the dog’s food. I have found dogs that can’t handle certain brands of foods. Often, it’s not even a matter of one or two ingredients that causes a problem, it’s just something about the formulation. You can sometimes feed a dog a different food with all the same ingredients, but made by a different manufacturer, and the dog starts improving. You mentioned that you’ve tried a few foods; if you can’t feed a “real food” diet, at least consider trying another food manufacturer or two. Good luck!
The July 1999 issue of WDJ contained an answer from an expert concerning urinary incontinence in the spayed female dog. Our readers had several additional suggestions for treating this condition:
I was so excited to read your article concerning urinary incontinence in the spayed female. For the first time in many years of owning spayed females, I have a Labrador who at four years of age had symptoms of this problem. Not wanting to use hormone replacement therapy, I looked for an herbal combination containing the best herbs for menopause in women. I have been using “Women’s Menocaps” from Wise Woman Herbals for over a year now, two capsules a day. They contain dong quai, burdock, black cohosh, motherwort and licorice.
Only once, when I ran out of capsules for a couple of days, has she had an accident. Otherwise, my girl can sit with me on the family room couch and sleep with me in bed without fear of accidents.
-Sue Nolen Warrenton, VA
Wise Woman Herbals, of Creswell, OR, can be contacted at (800) 532-5219.
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My spayed, older Giant Schnauzer had urinary incontinence. At one time she was on DES, before my vet stopped using it. He suggested at that time that I try her on black cohosh. This has worked successfully for over a year. She gets one capsule a day along with her meal. Black cohosh is readily available at any natural food store, and no prescription is needed.
-Katie Britt McCloud, CA
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I’ve had good luck with a homeopathic solution made by HomeoPet for my dog’s urinary incontinence. I buy the small bottles of liquid remedy from Chamisa Ridge, a catalog order company that features a wonderful selection of natural products for dogs, cats, horse and rider.
A hint: don’t put the homeopathic drops in your dog’s water bowl if other dogs drink out of it or else it could precipitate the symptoms in otherwise healthy animals. (Ask me how I know!)
-Debbie Underwood, Flatwallet Farms Roswell, NM
HomeoPet, of Westhampton Beach, NY, can be reached at (800) 556-0738. Chamisa Ridge, of Santa Fe, NM, can be reached at (800) 743-3188 or www.chamisaridge.com.
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I have a five-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, Mattie, who we adopted at one of our local shelters when she was one year old and already spayed. We noticed very soon on that she was incontinent at night. She was completely housebroken, but puddles – usually small, but sometimes large – would appear where she slept. I had her on phenylpropanolamine for about three years while I continued to look for a more natural method. I, personally, was not pleased with the side effects I read about in the Merck Veterinary Manual.
About a year and a half ago, I found a product made by HomeoPet called “Urinary Incontinence” at my local health food store. I’ve had excellent luck with this product. I also always try to make sure that she goes outside to potty before evening bed and before work, etc. I can’t recall the last “accident” she had. I’m just now experimenting with trying her on the product once a day (I believe it calls for 2-3 times a day, I was doing twice a day).
The product is definitely more expensive than the pharmaceutical, but in my opinion, worth the cost. Two catalogs come to mind immediately that currently carry it: Chamisa Ridge (which also carries “Devil Be Gone” flower essences discussed in an earlier WDJ issue, another great product) and The Vitamin Shoppe. Each bottle costs about $9.95 and I’m sorry to say I can’t tell you how long it lasts as I’ve never kept track (I suspect about three weeks at 10 drops twice a day).
Air Travel Advisory I wrote to you some months ago regarding airline safety while transporting dogs. I feel compelled to report an incident on Delta that occurred this week. While traveling from Philadelphia to New York, a dog was kept on the tarmac for about two hours, then in a non-air-conditioned cargo hold for the duration of taxi (one more hour). This occurred in 98 degree heat of late afternoon. Arrival in New York was no better; the dog was kept in the compartment for about another hour during ground holds in the same temperatures.
The owners were distraught and were not permitted to check on their dog. We, (the flight attendants) were the ones to check to see if the dog was OK. The dog was, in fact, OK, but not well.
So much for the airlines’ purported policy of keeping animals out of extreme heat during airline travel. I’m sure that this was not this summer’s only incident like this. Anything to turn a profit!
On my days off (Ha!), I’m not an activist. I don’t stop people whose dogs are wearing choke chains to preach to them about the virtues of headcollars, nor do I take the opportunity to tell the people in front of me in the supermarket line to put that Dog Chow back and get some real food!
But sometimes, just participating in a friendly, casual discussion with other dog owners at our local park results in my being “outed” as an agitator for holistic dog care.
For example, just the other day, as Rupert and I played a little fetch at the park, I found myself drawn into a conversation about vaccinations. People were talking about itchy dogs, comparing notes on which foods seemed to trigger allergies in some dogs and which ones didn’t. I was holding my tongue. Then someone said, “Your dog’s coat is so beautiful; what do you feed him?”
I told them the name of the food (I’m not a “raw feeder” yet, but soon!) and added, “Rupert’s coat has looked great ever since I changed his food and stopped vaccinating him.”
As I said this, several people in the group immediately shot sharp glances in Rupe’s direction, as if looking for signs that he was diseased, or somehow posed a threat to their dogs. One woman asked me incredulously, “You don’t vaccinate?” It was as if I had said I never fed my dog.
It didn’t happen that day, but more and more, when I inadvertently expose myself as a vaccination rebel, I see nods of understanding and agreement, rather than stern, accusing expressions. Other “outlaws” are having similar experiences. I was at an animal shelter one day when a woman came in and started telling the clerk, in a very defensive tone, all the reasons why she couldn’t possibly vaccinate her elderly, sick dog for rabies, as per local animal regulations. The clerk cut her off with a smile, saying, “Just bring us a note from your veterinarian and we will waive the requirement for your license.” The woman walked out looking dazed; she had clearly expected a fight.
And I’m happy to hear that, even at shows and training camps, more and more event organizers will accept high titer tests in place of recent vaccinations in order to attend.
Just the other day, I received the following e-mail from a reader, Aimee Schilling:
“I am very glad that you are addressing the vaccination issue, but feel there is more information that needs to be presented. I just came back from Jack and Wendy Volhard Top Dog Training Camp where both dogs and owners are trained in obedience AND nutrition and health. Wendy Volhard has been researching the health of dogs for more than 30 years. At this conference she talked about a meeting with Dr. Ron Schultz of the University of Wisconsin, a noted professor of immunology for both the vet and med school. His current recommendation for vaccinations of new pups are as follows:
“1. Have the breeder draw a blood sample of the mother after whelping to check her titer level. There is a chart called a nomogragh which Dr. Schultz uses to predict how long the mother’s protection is available to the pups.
“2. Vaccinate for Parvovirus at 12 weeks.
“3. Vaccinate for Distemper at 16 weeks
“4. Titer four weeks later and check immune levels and this should protect a dog for life.
“Currently I titer on an annual basis for my own peace of mind. My dog Murphy is four and has not had a booster since he was a year, though he is on the three year rabies program per the law.”
Activist or not, I’m thrilled to see people using (and discussing) more reasonable vaccination practices. The proof is in the pudding; my dog has never been healthier.
Let’s get one thing straight: A dog’s gotta chew what a dog’s gotta chew. Dogs chew to exercise their jaws, to clean their teeth and gums, and to relieve boredom. It’s a completely instinctive and healthful activity. Once upon a time, dogs chewed happily on bones that were left over from our meals. However, this age-old practice has slowly changed as humans have come to rely (largely) on processed foods. Today, few home kitchens provide a steady supply of bones to the household dog.
As our eating habits changed, so have our perceptions of food safety. Over the years, real bones vanished from our dogs’ recreational and nutritional menu as “responsible” dog owners were advised to avoid them – something we are now coming to see was misguided.
Unfortunately, if a dog can’t chew one thing, he will chew another. We realized that one of our dogs’ most basic needs had been left unmet, and a billion-dollar market was born.
Aside from the original rawhide chew – of which there are innumerable brands and types available – there are now “sushi” chews, pig snouts, jerky-flavored turkey necks, and peanut-butter basted rawhide rolls. There are lamb ears, donkey hooves, and supposedly succulent pork “tenderloins” made from pig unmentionables. There are sterilized bones, smoked bones, plastic and rubber bones, and many petrochemical bones – one held together by a polymer similar to Elmer’s Glue.
But with the advent of the commercial dog chew market, the safety consciousness that led us to take real bones away has been diffused. While it is now easy to find products aimed at our dogs’ need to chew, in fact we know less and less about what they are made of – and, therefore, how healthy for our dogs they may or may not be.
How Regulated Are Chew Toys?
In theory, dog treats and chews are subject to an overlapping web of regulation. The federal Department of Agriculture oversees the manufacture of livestock feed and various agricultural grains. Our ultimate food authority, the Food and Drug Administration, examines the enormous family of food additives. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine investigates product health claims, such as dog foods classifiable as drugs, an d has published guidelines pertaining to edible dog products. The Federal Trade Commission regulates interstate business activities. The Environmental Protection Agency sets toxicity levels for food products and industrial production. And the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) oversees the manufacture of dog foods.
We would like to assume that these regulators are watching over the interests of our dogs, that any products we can buy at a store to feed or entertain our dogs are safe, that independent laboratories are regularly analyzing those products for toxins and contaminants, and that product labels accurately represent what those products contain. Unfortunately, none of these assumptions would be justified.
In fact, to examine real-world government oversight of the pet food industry – from a consumer perspective, is to walk through the looking glass – into a legally-sanctioned yet unethical world where deception has been codified, where products are often both more and less than the sum of their listed parts. In the real world, none of these federal agencies exercise meaningful regulatory oversight of the pet food industry, much less the dog chew industry.
The best candidate for the job, clearly, is AAFCO. But for all practical purposes, AAFCO is a trade association. While AAFCO is comprised of state and federal feed control officials, as well as representatives of the feed industry, it is not a government agency, and adherence to its minimal nutritional standards is voluntary. From the perspective visible to the average consumer, AAFCO is almost solely concerned with establishing labeling definitions for dog food manufacturers subscribing to its standards.
A “Value Added Industry”
It’s meaningless to discuss the chew market without briefly addressing the larger picture of the dog food market, since they are parts of the same economic equation. Today, most pet foods are made by agricultural conglomerates, which maximize profits through the minimized waste made possible by vertical integration.
When animals and crops leave factory farms, they are quickly transformed into a vast range of commodities – in general, what humans eat or use, and then what’s left: grain tailings, stripped animal carcasses, and those animals deemed unfit for human consumption. Pet food brings some $10 billion annually into the economy, based largely on products that would otherwise be wasted as “unfit for human consumption.”
According to the Pet Food Institute, a commercial trade association, “The purchase and use of these ingredients by the pet food industry…provides an important source of income to American farmers and processors.” Few dispute the American farmer’s right to make a living, but many dispute the manner in which these ingredients are marketed.
In the mildest terms, low quality foodstuffs, often heavily preserved, are sold as something other than what they are. Controversial artificial preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin, which the FDA has designated as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS), have been linked to canine health problems like heart and kidney disease, cancer, and immune disorders.
Manufacturers legally “hide” preservatives and other synthetic chemicals added by upstream suppliers – mills, rendering plants, etc. – whose organic products require preservation. They need list only those chemicals which they themselves add to a product. As a result, many manufacturers choose to market their products as “all-natural,” which may or may not be true by any reasonable understanding of those words, and which, in any event, carry no legal authority whatsoever.
Many of these products claim to be “healthy,” “premium,” “all-natural,” or “gourmet.” In fact, these products may or may not contain better or safer ingredients than products that don’t make these claims. According to the Food and Drug Administration, however, none of these claims have any official regulatory standing. Consumers are largely left to fend for themselves: The makers of “Treats and Chews,” as this market segment has been designated by the FDA, face significant oversight only at the level of permits required for production.
Chews Are Not Really “Food”
And since treats and chews are exempt, with the exception noted below, from AAFCO guidelines, we should briefly review the FDA’s guidelines regarding dog treats. As long as the product does not make claims of nutritional completeness (as some dog biscuits do) it is not required to list a “guaranteed analysis,” or any information other than net quantity, the manufacturer’s name and location, and the product’s list of ingredients, or single ingredient if that is not made obvious in the product name. Unfortunately, the issues for your dog are very serious. At the very least, manufacturers are unilaterally – and legally – making decisions about your dog’s long-term health, and not telling you what those decisions are, or how and why they were made.
According to Sharon Benz, an animal scientist at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, “There is no pre-approval for food products required by the FDA, provided their ingredients are generally recognized as safe…It is the responsibility of the manufacturer/distributor to ensure the products they are placing into commerce are safe and in compliance with FDA regulations.”
It is only fair to state that human health is the FDA’s primary mandate; as Benz forthrightly stated, dog treats and chews are a “low priority.” In general, the FDA investigates overt product health claims and specific, documented consumer complaints.
Let the Buyer Beware
The message to dog owners here is: Caveat Emptor. It isn’t just a question of what your dog is eating for dinner. Most of us give our dogs treats and chews, and these often add up to a significant dietary factor. The fact is, we can’t be sure of what these products really contain, and whether those ingredients are safe. Until complete and honest labeling is required, dog owners should avoid those products with minimal, incomplete, or obviously deceptive labels – and when in doubt to contact manufacturers directly. Finally, use common sense. With a little practice, it is easy to spot the more absurd product claims: A length of bone filled with semi-moist meat by-products, with an implied shelf-life stretching to eternity, is not – and cannot possibly be – either all natural, or chemical free, in any reasonable understanding of those words.
Chiropractic is one of the most effective, dramatic, and embattled health care modalities currently available to dog owners. The many amazed dog owners whose limping, stiff, sore dogs had to be lifted in and out of the car on the way to the chiropractor’s office, and who were surprised to see their dogs leap unaided into the car to return home after a chiropractic adjustment, can attest to the therapy’s effectiveness and drama. But, in trying to relate the story of their dog’s miraculous recovery at the hands of a chiropractor, many people learn how controversial the therapy is, especially to the uninitiated. “You took your dog to a what?!” they are likely to be asked.
While the earliest record of soft-tissue manipulations dates back to 2700 BC, modern chiropractic stems from the latter part of the 19th century, here in the US. The word chiropractic comes from the Greek words cheir, which means hand, and praxis, which means practice; taken altogether, this means “done by hand.” Exactly what is done by hand varies from one school of chiropractic to the next, but essentially, veterinary chiropractic practitioners seek to affect the nervous system by manipulating the animal’s joints, especially (but not limited to) the joints of the spinal column.
Early chiropractors focused on moving joints in small increments to position the bones in an alignment thought to remove or prevent nerve “impingement.” Regarding the system of nerves in the spinal column and elsewhere as similar to an electrical system, practitioners sought to align the joints in such a way as to prevent electrical “shorts.”
Later practitioners have largely rejected this model as overly simplistic. Today, most describe the goal of chiropractic in a broad sense, as building the body’s health by improving nerve function. Some of what its most ardent fans see as chiropractic’s most powerful gifts – enhanced range of motion, restored joint function in aging or injured animals, and increased vitality and energy – are viewed by modern chiropractors as charming but secondary effects of improved general health.
Most of the controversy surrounding chiropractic stems from the lack of a unified and solely scientific explanation for the modality. As with many of the alternative and complementary health care modalities, chiropractic shines in anecdote; the sheer number of dogs whose health improved with chiropractic care is convincing enough for many people. Laboratory studies that could either support or disprove the benefits of chiropractic don’t exist.
“We don’t have clinical studies where we have taken 500 dogs from day one, and treated half of them and withheld treatment from the other half, and determined how many of each group developed arthritis 10 years later,” says chiropractor Michael Gleason, an instructor who teaches veterinarians and chiropractors at the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, in Port Byron, Illinois. “But in practice, the basic principles hold up.”
Candidates for chiropractic
Obviously, people whose dogs’ health improved with chiropractic defend the unconventional therapy. Which dogs are the most likely to benefit?
Dr. Phyllis Giroux, a breeder, trainer, and veterinarian from Gold Vein, Virginia, offers chiropractic care in her small-animal practice. Dr. Giroux says that lameness and/or another abnormality in a dog’s gait are what generate most of her client referrals; in fact, this is what drove her to seek out information about chiropractic in the first place. “I felt I needed to know more about the causes, prevention, and treatment for lameness, and so developed an interest in chiropractic,” Dr. Giroux explains. “Typically, I see patients when their conventional practitioner hasn’t been able to resolve a lameness problem.”
Since much of her practice consists of sporting dogs, issues of lameness and injury come up more than with the average practitioner. “Fully 70 to 80 percent of my clients have hunting or field trial dogs, a group of highly competitive, athletic animals. Chiropractic care definitely optimizes their athletic effectiveness,” she says.
Dr. Gleason, whose San Francisco Bay Area practice consists of chiropractic on small, large, and exotic animals, says that his “average canine patient” is less likely to be a competitive athlete (though he finds work on this type of animal to be especially rewarding), and more likely to be a middle-aged or older companion dog. “My classic canine patient is a dog that is starting to get older (and that age varies by breed and individual) who is starting to have trouble going up and down stairs, getting in and out of the car, or getting on and off of the couch,” he describes. “Those things, by themselves, don’t always prompt an owner to pursue chiropractic. But when, for instance, the dog yelps and ducks when he gets petted on the back, people more readily think of calling a chiropractor.”
Arthritic dogs make up a large percentage of most animal chiropractors’ practices. While Gleason is clear that nothing will cure arthritis in a dog, he’s seen chiropractic care slow and even stop the progression of the disease.
The above-described lame and sore patients are the “classic” clients, but are by no means the only dogs that chiropractors can help. For his part, Dr. Gleason describes dogs without discernible problems as being in the best position to benefit from chiropractic care. “I see a lot of patients whose goal is relief of symptoms, but chiropractic is not just about ‘fixing problems;’ it’s really about health care,” he says. “In traditional Western medicine, what we call ‘health care’ is actually disease care. But the purpose of chiropractic is to keep the nervous system healthy, and the job of the nervous system is to keep the body healthy. So I’m pleased when I see animals whose owners have the goal of wellness, or even of enhanced performance.”
Chiropractic for the aged
Gleason describes a couple who owned three German Shepherds, all of which developed crippling and painful arthritis when they were around 10 years old, and died at age 12. Frustrated, they sought out chiropractic care for their last dog when the animal was about 10. Though this animal, too, died at age 12, his condition was so much better than that of the other two dogs at his age, that they became converts to chiropractic.
And, when the couple bought their fourth German Shepherd, they began bringing it to Dr. Gleason for chiropractic evaluation and treatment every few months, starting when the puppy was just 12 weeks old. “These people are exceptions; not many dog owners have this kind of foresight,” says Gleason. “Adjusting puppies is not as visibly gratifying as when you instantly improve a middle-aged dog. But it may well prevent the pathetic, crippled old age that so many dogs have to suffer through.”
In fact, even though Gleason is happy to be able to help arthritic old dogs with chiropractic, improving their mobility for a period of time, he says it gets frustrating at times, knowing that the dog’s compromised condition could have been avoided, had the owner supported optimum health care earlier in the dog’s life.
“It can get depressing when I have a day where all I see are 15- to 18-year-old cats and 12- to 15-year-old dogs with crippling arthritis,” he says. “Even when I can help them, I realize that it’s just putting a Band-Aid on their condition until they die; the damage has been done, and there is no way to reverse it. That gets to me.
“I’d much rather have a younger practice, and dogs that are brought in to improve athletic performance,” Gleason says. “It is really exciting to take a dog that’s had a minor injury and is not winning – say, one that had a track record of winning but is now off a little bit – and adjust them and within a few weeks they are back in the show ring taking the blue ribbons. That’s exciting.”
Cautions and considerations
As excited as he is about chiropractic, and even though he says that sometimes chiropractic is the single most effective thing that can be used to improve a dog’s health, Gleason cautions against people thinking that the modality constitutes a magic bullet. In fact, he says, it is a huge mistake to think that chiropractic cures anything. Instead, it helps the body work to its potential so it can heal itself. “I don’t treat diabetes, cancer, or thyroid conditions; I treat an animal that may have those conditions,” he says carefully. “My goal is to get the nervous system working better, so the body can work as well as it can so it can best fight those conditions.”
Sometimes the dog’s genetic makeup or structure will limit what chiropractic can accomplish. But in other cases, the treatments are so effective at improving the overall function of the animal’s body that adjustments must be made in the dog’s traditional care. This is often the case, says Gleason, in cases of dogs who are receiving thyroid medication, insulin for diabetes, or medications for respiratory disorders. In any of these cases, the dog must be carefully evaluated by a veterinarian concurrently with the chiropractic treatments to make sure his medication level is appropriate to his level of illness (or wellness!). Gleason has heard of cases where an animal who did not receive this veterinary attention experienced an overdose of medication – even though it was administered at a level that was appropriate previous to chiropractic treatment – and had to seek emergency medical care.
And then there are the unexpected cases where a dog declines with chiropractic treatment. Of course, this can happen with any health care modality; everyone has heard of at least one case where the most effective treatment for a given condition caused a serious problem in a patient. Says Gleason, “Even the best chiropractors can have a patient react negatively to their care. And sometimes you can make a mistake in what technique is appropriate, and the result is that the animal is worse after the treatment. Or you can overdo a treatment. Say a dog has severe osteoarthritis, and you use an overly aggressive adjustment; you can aggravate the arthritis and cause a flare-up, and the dog can experience quite a bit of pain for days. It’s not common if you know what you are doing, but it does happen.”
Contraindications for chiropractic?
Gleason asserts that chiropractic can help most dogs become healthier, but does caution his veterinary and chiropractor students about a few conditions under which chiropractic care may be detrimental. “Knowing when not to adjust is just as important, if not more important, as knowing how to adjust,” Dr. Gleason says. “Generally, the contraindications for chiropractic include fracture, tumors, acute inflammation, and acute infection. The interesting thing is, that doesn’t mean the patient won’t experience a benefit from chiropractic; it means you don’t adjust the site of the fracture, for example. An experienced practitioner can modify his or her techniques and work around the conditions. But if you are going to adjust a dog where contraindicated, you really have to know what you are doing,” he says.
Gleason gives the example of a dog with an active infection in a front paw. A skilled chiropractor could adjust certain parts of the thoracic spine and increase blood flow to the front limb, to get more white blood cell activity into that area. But increasing the blood flow in a manner and amount such that the infection was spread all over the body could be disastrous. Says Gleason, “I hate to point the finger in any one direction, but if you are a massage therapist who took a weekend seminar in chiropractic, for instance, this is the case that you are going to screw up.”
Even though he has enough experience that he feels comfortable working on an animal who has one of the above mentioned contraindicated conditions, there are some animals that Gleason refuses to treat. One would be an animal who has experienced a recent trauma, but that has not had x-rays taken to ascertain the extent of the trauma. “If I think there may be a fracture or other internal injury, and the owner doesn’t want to pay to have x-rays taken, I won’t adjust that animal,” he says.
Another case is a dog with degenerative myelopathy, a disorder of the spinal cord. “I know from experience that we can go in with chiropractic and acupuncture and nutrition to help those animals, but it’s a temporary help,” Dr. Gleason says. “They may have improved function for a while, but if the animal experiences emotional or physical stress, you can lose all the gains you’ve made in months of care overnight. I’ve seen German Shepherds that were falling over with every third step, and knuckling over so badly that they had sores on the tops of their paws, and with chiropractic, acupuncture and nutrition we get them so they are chasing ducks without tripping. Then they get stressed, for instance, being subjected to a chemical stress like a trip to the vet where they were sedated to get their ears cleaned, and the next day they were right back where we started. I have a hard time justifying treatment, at a cost of hundreds of dollars, that can’t protect them from falling apart overnight.”
Qualified practitioners
Then there is the matter of untalented and unsafe practitioners. A talented person can use chiropractic to work miracles on dogs with all kinds of ailments. But a poorly trained individual – or even a well-educated but unskilled individual – can wreak havoc on a dog’s body and psyche.
Most states permit only two classes of professionals to perform chiropractic on animals: veterinarians who have received “adequate training” in chiropractic, and chiropractors who have received “adequate training” in animal anatomy and physiology. Officially, there is currently only one educational program that seems to qualify as providing this training: the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA), which offers a 150-hour postgraduate course in animal chiropractic. The AVCA admits only doctors of veterinary medicine (DVMs) and doctors of chiropractic (DCs) to this program.
Founded in 1989, AVCA’s mission statement includes “a commitment to the continuing advancement of chiropractic as a health care choice for animals in the world community, and to bringing the veterinary and chiropractic professions together for a common and higher goal of health care of animals.”
The AVCA courses leading to certification consist of 150 hours of study; these are divided into five modules, four of which address chiropractic techniques, with the fifth module combining the technique work into a comprehensive look at veterinary chiropractic therapy, along with case management. A practitioner must have intimate knowledge of all vertebrate processes, orientations, and articulations. Then, the physical skills of palpation – to be able to identify spinal irregularities during clinical examination – and adjusting are honed with continual practice.
Be aware that there are a number of weekend and other short courses available to chiropractors, veterinarians, and even lay people in the use of chiropractic for animals. None of the professionals interviewed for this article thought that any training less that the AVCA’s 150-hour course would be sufficient to provide adequate training.
Which professional is best?
As you might imagine when any two fields of knowledge collide, there will be prejudices and bias as to which type of specialist you should choose to facilitate chiropractic health for your dog.
Dr. Gleason achieved the AVCA’s “Certified Animal Chiropractor” title by entering as a doctor of chiropractic. Not surprisingly, his bias is toward recommending chiropractors with AVCA training. He feels that a chiropractor is simply the better trained person to provide chiropractic care – as long as the person is working under the direct supervision of a veterinarian. “This way, the animal receives the best care from two trained professionals,” he says.
Gleason feels that chiropractors are vastly better prepared than even the most experienced veterinarians to perform manipulations on animals. “To become a chiropractor, you spend about 4000 to 4400 hours in training. About 2000 hours of this cross over with other medical students’ training: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, systems pathology, diagnosis, etc. But chiropractors spend 1500-2000 additional hours in chiropractic college doing static palpation, muscle testing, and technique; it takes that long to get your hands to do that kind of work.”
Even though, legally, a chiropractor with AVCA training needs a referral from or to be working with a veterinarian on a case, Dr. Giroux, a veterinarian who took the AVCA training, feels more comfortable possessing a veterinary education herself, rather than depending on another professional to provide that aspect of health care to the patient. “I like being able to provide my clients with all of the information I think they need to coordinate the total care of their dogs,” she says.
“For instance, new nutritional research may influence how I address the energy, vitamin and mineral, and bone-health needs of dogs in my care – all things that can affect the animals’ chiropractic health. A recent study, for example, showed that only 41 percent of dogs with hip dysplasia had it as a result of genetic influence; inappropriate or inadequate nutrition caused the remaining 59 percent to have poor skeletal health, and that could have been avoided!
“As another example, glucosamine supplementation has been shown to benefit aging and rehabilitating cartilage, as well as promote healthy joint growth in young dogs. A chiropractor can’t legally discuss and recommend these supplements, but as a vet, I can and do,” she says.
Veterinarian Michelle Tilghman also provides chiropractic care for animals from her Loving Touch Animal Center in Stone Mountain, Georgia. But Dr. Tilghman does so without benefit of the AVCA certification; in fact, she was practicing veterinary chiropractic since before the certification program was offered, having studied chiropractic in short courses offered in the mid 1980s by AVCA’s founder, Dr. Sharon Willoughby. However, she feels the AVCA training is the best thing going for newer practitioners.
“I do feel that certification is the best way for people to know that a practitioner has good training and education, that they know what they’re doing,” she says. She, too, has a preference for the practitioner to be a veterinarian first. “Advanced training in chiropractic theory and technique is so important, but knowledge of animal anatomy is paramount; animals are so different from humans. Because animals can display sore back symptoms even when their problems are rooted in something completely – a blocked ureter, for example – a non-veterinary chiropractor might want to make an adjustment that may be inappropriate.”
Subtle factors
Deciding which type of trained professional to employ to help your dog is just half the task. It would be great to be able to report that all you have to do is to call up the AVCA and ask for their list of program graduates in order to find a qualified professional to help your dog. But the reality is that one cannot assume that all graduates of this program are skilled and safe animal chiropractors. “I would like to say, ‘Just look for AVCA training,’ but that doesn’t mean the practitioner is going to be good,” says Gleason, an instructor for the AVCA. “There are people who have taken our training and passed our tests, but I wouldn’t refer to them because I don’t like what they do. It’s just like at vet school or med school: In the board exams, they don’t test how well you can treat patients, they test how much you know about treating patients.”
Ideally, says Gleason, a dog owner would be able to see their prospective chiropractor work on a patient or two. But lacking direct witnessing of the practitioner in action, a dog owner should, at the very least, ask for the names and numbers of a few of the chiropractor’s clients, and follow up on these references.
Dr. Tilghman agrees. “Be aware; in the wrong hands, chiropractic can hurt, not heal. Ask your potential practitioner for references, check them out, and trust your instincts.”
One thing to look for in a practitioner is compassion for and rapport with the animal, adds Dr. Giroux. These things are just as important as the education and training of the practitioner, she says. “Chiropractic is an energy medicine; you have to open yourself to an animal’s inner energy, and try to sense where they hurt. And intention is very important. Make sure you work with someone you feel comfortable with. If you don’t sense you are simpatico with your health care provider, neither you nor your animal will gain much from them.”
Dr. Gleason also feels the practitioner’s “bedside manner” is critical. It is very rare for a reluctant, sedated, or restrained animal to be helped by chiropractic, he says. “Every once in a great while you will find an animal in so much pain that no one can get near him to help him, but this is a great exception,” says Gleason. As an example of one of these rare cases, he describes one of his patients, a cat that he adjusts two or three times a year. “When this cat is feeling good, his owner can pet him and he is friendly. When his back starts hurting, his owner can’t touch him; he’ll attack her – that’s how much pain he is in. When he’s in this much pain, it might take two other people to hold him down while wearing welders gloves so I can adjust him. But after his adjustments he gets better, and gets friendly again. I’ve told the owner, ‘I’m more afraid when I’m treating your cat than when I adjust the tiger at Marine World!’ ”
All of the practitioners interviewed for this article also agreed that all chiropractic manipulation and adjustments should be very gentle. Competent chiropractors should never need mallets or ropes to accomplish their adjustments. Our professionals approved of the very occasional use of a handheld tool called an “activator,” but stressed that the mark of a truly gifted chiropractor is the sole use of hands to make adjustments.
What to expect
Say you have decided that chiropractic just may help your dog. What should you expect from your dog’s first visit to the qualified practitioner you have tracked down?
First, if the practitioner is a veterinarian, he or she will perform a general health examination in addition to a chiropractic evaluation. (If the person is a chiropractor, he should require a referral from your veterinarian, to ensure the dog does not have any health conditions that could contraindicate chiropractic.) The practitioner should ask questions about your goal for chiropractic treatment: are you seeking treatment to improve a specific condition, or to improve the general health of your dog?
The chiropractor may make small, gentle adjustments to joints on your dog’s legs, shoulders, neck, and back. When the adjustments are made, your dog should not show any signs of pain or alarm (beyond, perhaps, a quick glance at the practitioner following a particularly big adjustment). A few dogs, especially those suffering from chronic pain or those who are always extraordinarily guarded about their bodies, may react more. If your dog protests the treatment, talk to the practitioner and ask whether he or she could use less forceful techniques. If he is unreceptive, or if the treatments do not benefit the dog, try another practitioner.
The practitioner should also tell you what to expect following the adjustment, and approximately how many more treatments he recommends. Dr. Gleason says he tries to detail the full range of possible reactions to adjustments, and tells the clients to expect something in the middle. “I tell them the worst and the best possible things that can happen, and that what they will see will probably be somewhere between.
“Sometimes, the animal will get worse before it gets better. These are the reasons: One, chiropractic stirs things up, it asks joints to move that haven’t moved for years. So you might see some irritation, inflammation, or even some stiffness or discomfort. Two, chiropractic changes patterns in the nervous system, and this can change the perception of pain. For instance, sometimes, the patient will have a limb where the nerves that are supposed to tell the brain what’s going on with that limb have been numb for years, almost asleep. An adjustment can ‘wake’ that up, and the animal suddenly starts to perceive discomfort, and may lick or chew the feet or limb. It’s similar to when your hands are so cold they get numb, and then when you start to warm them up, they get painful.
“Your animal may also feel a whole lot better. Chiropractic will sometimes block the pain signals, so that the perception of pain reduces, and their body says, ‘Yippee, I can run again!’ If this happens the animal will often go out and overdo its activity,” Dr. Gleason says.
Post-adjustment adjustment
For the abovementioned reasons, Gleason recommends keeping the animal’s activity controlled for a few days following its adjustments. “I want them to move, but in a controlled manner, for at least four to five days. I like to see the dog being taken out for a four to five very short walks per day – perhaps two to five minutes each, depending on the dog’s ability, and perhaps one slightly longer walk, say, 10 to 15 minutes. If this is an active dog, this might be minimal. But even this might be too much for an older dog. Even a walk to the end of the driveway, or up and down the hall a few times, is better than nothing. If the animal doesn’t move, the adjustment will freeze up; it won’t take. I ask them to do this for at least four to five days before returning to their normal schedule.”
Ideally, within a few days or weeks of treatment, you should notice an improvement in your dog’s physical and emotional state. His allergies may be soothed, his energy level and spirits risen, and his appetite sharpened. If you fail to observe these or any other improvements after three or four treatments, you may wish to consider consulting another practitioner. The effectiveness of this healing modality truly hinges on the knowledge, skill, experience, and intuition of the chiropractor, so give another individual a chance to help your dog before giving up on chiropractic. Your dog will appreciate your persistence.
For thousands of years, Mother Nature has fed her dogs and cats raw food. Their wild cousins continue to dine on freshly captured prey, but most American dogs and cats eat commercial pet foods from cans and packages or home-cooked grains and meats. The result, say a number of veterinarians and nutritionists, is deteriorating health in our canine companions. In response is a growing trend toward home-prepared diets for our dogs, away from cooked food and toward more natural fare. While commercial pet food companies developed and promoted their product lines in the 1940s and 50s, Afghan Hound breeder Juliette de Bairacli Levy fed her dogs raw meat, raw bones, raw goat’s milk, raw fish, raw eggs, and a variety of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oils. Supremely healthy and intelligent, her dogs won numerous championships. De Bairacli Levy described her “Natural Rearing” philosophy in a series of books, and gained a devoted following around the world. Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst has converted many dog owners to raw food with his books Give Your Dog a Bone and Feed Your Pups with Bones. His well-known BARF diet (Bones and Raw Foods, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods) consists of raw meaty bones, occasional raw eggs or ripe fruit, small amounts of raw pureed vegetables, and other extras, such as kelp, herbs, and table scraps. Billinghurst does not use cooked grains, explaining that they contain relatively poor quality protein, interfere with calcium absorption, stress the pancreas, and contribute to mineral imbalances, allergies, and diabetes. Making the switch Although some dog owners have switched from cooked to raw in a single day without incident, such a drastic change can trouble some dogs. Here are some common-sense guidelines that help dogs and owners make a smooth transition to a new diet. First, change your dog’s feeding schedule. This is especially important if you’ve been leaving food out all day. In the wild, dogs hunt when they’re hungry, gorge themselves when they catch prey, and go hunting again on an empty stomach. No animal in the wild lounges beside a food dispenser. Feed your dog once or at most twice per day, wait 15 minutes, then pick up whatever is left over and put it away. Do this six days per week, and on the seventh day, give your dog only water. Young puppies, miniature or toy breeds, and dogs with certain illnesses should not be fasted for more than half a day (ask your veterinarian), but most dogs respond very well to this feeding cycle. They become more alert, attentive, and energetic – and no, it isn’t because they are starving. Removing food between meals and fasting one day a week gives their digestive organs a well-deserved rest and sharpens the body’s response to food. The younger, healthier, and more omnivorous the dog, the safer a rapid change from commercial pet food to raw fare. The older, less healthy, or more finicky the dog, the more important it is to move slowly. Most of the dogs whose owners I have surveyed made the change within a month or two, but some took as long as a year. If you have any question about your dog’s health before or during the transition, consult a holistic veterinarian or a breeder who has raised generations of your breed on an all-raw diet. Start by adding new food to old, maintaining the familiar taste and texture for as long as necessary. For young, active chow hounds in good health, combine 75 percent old food with 25 percent new food for a few days or a week, then feed half and half for a few days, and gradually reduce the old food to 25 percent or less, until the dog is eating all raw food. For older dogs, go more slowly. If your dog walks away from unfamiliar foods, hide a fraction of a teaspoon of raw meat in the middle of his dinner. After several days, add more. If your dog has a favorite treat, add it, too. One dog I know refused to taste raw meat changed his mind when his owner mixed it with his all-time favorite food, asparagus! Introducing raw meaty bones Most of the breeders and owners who feed a bone-based natural diet use whatever meaty bones are available at reasonable cost, such as lamb neck bones, chicken backs, and beef oxtails. To introduce a dog to raw bones, however, most experienced “raw feeders” use chicken wings or poultry necks. “I recommend gradually switching dogs from cooked to raw foods and smashing or grinding raw bones until the dog is eating a completely raw diet, without any grains, yeast, milk, or dairy products,” says Schultze. “If the dog has had digestive problems or has been on pharmaceutical drugs, especially antibiotics, within the past year, I would make the switch with the aid of digestive enzymes and non-dairy probiotics.” Probiotics are beneficial bacteria such as acidophilus. Start with a fraction of the amount recommended on the label, gradually increasing to the recommended dosage. Depending on its metabolism and activity level, a dog may need more or less, but two percent of its weight in raw meat and bones is a safe ballpark figure for a dog’s total ration of food (one pound for a 50-pound dog). To provide the stomach exercise that helps prevent bloating, meat should be whole or in large chunks, not minced or ground. De Bairacli Levy recommends that bones be fed last, after the raw meat and vegetables, so that they are cushioned in the stomach. Dogs new to bones often experience temporary diarrhea, constipation, or both as their systems adjust, especially if they eat large quantities. Remember to feed small amounts at first, start with bones that are easy to chew, smash them with a hammer to help your dog digest them, feed them last, and give adult dogs a digestive enzyme during the transition to raw food. Chicken wings and necks are perfect “first bones” for teething puppies. Ann Mandelbaum, who breeds Standard Poodles in Connecticut, introduced a recent litter of pups to raw chicken wings when they were four weeks old. “Every day I gave one wing to each pair of puppies and let them work on it together,” she says. “At first they gnawed most of the meat off and left the bones. By the middle of the week, they were nibbling on the ends, and by the end of the week, the bones were disappearing.” In addition to their nutritional benefits, raw bones provide dental floss in the form of gristle and tendons. “You can always tell a bone-chewing dog,” says holistic veterinarian Beverly Cappel, of Chestnut Ridge, New York. “They have the whitest, strongest, cleanest teeth.” Even when they appreciate the benefits of feeding raw bones, some owners are reluctant to provide them due to messiness (feed them outside!), because they have been frightened by veterinarians or another authority figure, or because they feel overwhelmed by the logistics of changing to a raw diet. Unfortunately, not including raw bones in a mostly-meat diet may create nutritional imbalances that cause serious harm. Billinghurst warns against the use of substitutes such as heat-sterilized bone meal and calcium supplements, for they can disrupt the natural balance of minerals in growing bodies and can cause, rather than prevent, hip dysplasia and other structural problems. There are over a hundred important elements in raw bones, bone marrow and connective tissue, all of which are vital to the health of joint cartilage, intervertebral discs, vascular walls and other parts of the canine body. Raw bones that are soft enough for your pet to bite through, swallow and digest contain all of these nutrients. A small number of commercial supplements made from cold-sterilized raw bones contain most of them (see “Raw Resources,” next page). If you are reluctant to feed your dog raw bones but want their nourishment, you can substitute either company’s products or you can grind raw meaty bones in a meat grinder, keeping in mind that supplements and freshly ground bones cannot provide the tooth-cleaning benefits, hours of chewing pleasure, or stomach exercise that raw meaty bones provide. What about bacteria? Healthy dogs in the wild can eat just about any raw meat and survive, if not thrive. However, dogs on commercial food may not produce all the hydrochloric acid and beneficial bacteria they need for protection from pathogens. If you are concerned about bacteria, you can disinfect large pieces of raw meat, raw bones, or eggs in the shell, soak them in a solution of 1/2 teaspoon original formula Clorox bleach per gallon water, several drops of 35-percent food-grade hydrogen peroxide in a sink of cold water (enough to create small bubbles but not enough to change the meat’s color), OR 1/2 teaspoon liquid grapefruit seed extract in a sink of cold water. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes, rinse by soaking in plain water, and drain. However, it should be mentioned that most raw feeders discontinue these disinfection practices as they gain confidence in their healthy dogs’ ability to handle any bacteria that may be present in their raw food. Most of the breeders and owners I have interviewed say their dog’s raw meals are surprisingly easy to prepare. Some buy their meat at the supermarket while others arrange bulk shipments of organically grown meat and bones through holistic veterinarians, co-ops, dog clubs, and local hunters. For convenience, some manufacturers prepare raw food for dogs and freeze it for shipping. “People are unnecessarily intimidated by raw-food diets,” says pet nutritionist Pat McKay, author of Reigning Cats and Dogs. “That’s unfortunate because it isn’t difficult or time-consuming. In fact, if you spend more than 10 minutes a day feeding your dog, you either love to be in the kitchen or you’re doing something wrong.” Also With This ArticleClick here to view “When Feeding a Raw Diet Use Safe Meat Handling Processes”Click here to view “How-To Books For Feeding Raw Diets”Click here to view “Raw Food Dog Diet Recipes” -By CJ Puotinen
You’ve played this game thousands of times. You’ve got a few minutes, and your maniacally loyal canine companion is eager to play fetch, begging for it, ball in mouth, dropping it at your feet, barking in joyful anticipation. Like the thousands of times before, you pick up the slobbery orb, and launch it once, twice, 10 times, 20 times.
Rod Rogers recalls one such day, a day different from hundreds of others that preceded it because of a freakish accident. The bone-chilling cold November day was not unusual for that time of year, not in the sagey hills of Gunnison, Colorado, at 7000 feet elevation, where Rogers and his family live. “We’d gotten some snow, so I was outside shoveling,” Rogers remembers. “To keep Willie, our five-year-old Border Collie, from diving at the snow I was throwing off my shovel, I’d stop every few digs and throw the ball. Pitch, run, catch, return. Pitch, run, catch, return. As usual, Willie was going for the ball at 110 percent.”
Then it happened. Willie slipped, tried to stop, and twisted into a ball with a yelp. He lay paralyzed from the middle of the back down, lying quietly on the frozen ground as Rogers rushed over.
“Though he was immobilized, he didn’t seem to be in pain,” Rogers describes. “My wife, Mari, is a nurse. She slowly ran her hands over Willie’s body to feel for broken bones. We carried him carefully into the house, and tried to call our vet.”
But it was after hours, and the vet’s office was closed. With no emergency clinic within striking distance, and since Willie didn’t seem uncomfortable, his owners decided to keep the dog under close observation, letting him rest until the next day when the clinic would open. The couple were encouraged when the dog drank some water, and carried by his owners, even managed to relieve himself outside.
First thing the next morning, the couple carried Willie to the car and took him to see their veterinarian, Dr. Tim Holt at the Town and Country Veterinary Clinic in Gunnison.
How bad is it, Doc? Technicians took Willie’s vital signs, and noted that he’d refused food since the accident the day before. Dr. Holt physically examined Willie, looking at his eyes and gums to check for shock, and running his hands over the Border Collie’s wiry body to check for broken bones or swellings.
Interestingly, the reflexes in Willie’s hind legs were fine. In response to a pinch of his hind leg, Willie quickly turned his head, reaching back to see what had “bit” him. That was good news! Most important to the neurological exam was Dr. Holt’s finding that Willie could still perceive “deep pain,” which indicated that the spinal cord was not severed, perhaps merely bruised. No broken or fractured bones were revealed in the X-rays, but the films couldn’t confirm the diagnosis that Dr. Holt suspected: either a herniated disc (the cartilage between the backbones) or pinched nerve.
A spinal disc is a cushion that sits between the vertebral bodies of the spinal column and acts like a shock absorber. It’s made up of a rim of tough cartilage that has a gel-like center. When a disc herniates there is a break in the fibrous capsule that allows the inner nucleus of the disc to push through the opening and pinch the cord or put pressure on the dorsal nerve roots. Herniated discs commonly give rise to pain, weakness, paralysis, or loss of sensation.
Dr. Holt told the Rogers that they would have to take Willie to a clinic where a myleogram or magnetic resonance image (MRI) could be used to unequivocally diagnose Willie’s problem. These sophisticated tests would help explain specifically what had happened to Willie, which would then influence routes to treatment. A myleogram entails injecting contrast material into the spinal canal to reveal the herniation on X-rays. Surgery may be indicated if the herniation were severe enough.
Treatment tailored for the dog The couple discussed their options. The closest clinic that could conduct the tests suggested by Dr. Holt was in Denver, a five-hour, winter drive over icy mountain passes; diagnosis and treatment at such a clinic would also entail a huge expense.
Then there was Willie himself, not a great candidate for care at a large veterinary facility, especially one where he would be left in the care of a rotating crew of strangers. “This dog is the happiest animal we’ve ever seen, and yet, by nature he’s extremely shy, unusually reluctant to get to know somebody,” explains Rod. The couple agreed that the high-strung Border Collie might well wither in such an environment. Given these obstacles, the couple urged the doctor to try whatever he could, right there, right then.
“We felt that Dr. Holt is not just a medical technician; he’s a healer, and he exudes compassion and caring,” says Rod. “Willie picked up on that. So, when Dr. Holt listed our options, and one of them was treating Willie with a combination of conventional and complementary procedures, it made sense to us. We agreed to go ahead with steroidal therapy and enforced rest, to be followed by gentle massage and acupuncture.”
The couple left Willie at the Town and Country Veterinary Clinic, in the care of Dr. Holt. The veterinarian’s initial care for the suspected herniated disc was completely traditional. It began with administration (every six hours) of intravenous dexamethasone, a corticosteroid that would help stabilize the damaged capillary membranes and possibly prevent further swelling and inflammation. To prevent gastrointestinal complications due to the dexamethasone, he administered doses of Pepcid AC orally for the 24 hours that the steroid was administered.
By the morning of the second day in the clinic, Willie was able to bear weight on his left rear leg, but his right rear leg was still limp. Dr. Holt changed Willie’s medications from IV to an oral steroid in decreasing doses, along with Tagament to prevent stomach upsets.
Home recovery Four days after his accident, Willie was sent home with his folks, still dragging his right rear leg, but able to bear weight on his left side. Dr. Holt strongly cautioned the couple to keep the Border Collie resting and quiet, and to administer the oral steroid and Tagament. Willie was also to come back to the veterinarian’s office for re-exam in a week.
Once a disc has been injured, healed, and calcified, the disc itself and surrounding areas may stay vulnerable to injury, setting the scene for chronic disc problems. While the area should be protected against unusual stress or strain, to fully heal the injury, circulation should be promoted. For this purpose, Dr. Holt showed the Rogers some very general massage strokes, long, smooth strokes paralleling Willie’s spine to promote circulation. Rod found the massage routine easy; in the evening he could sit for hours in his favorite chair watching TV, with Willie totally relaxed and stretched out alongside.
Though improving, Willie’s right leg still dragged when he walked a week later, and his foot was sore. The Rogers took pains to keep Willie calm and quiet, to try and keep him off his weak leg allowing his sore foot to heal. The dosage of steroids was decreased yet again, and plans for acupuncture treatment were outlined.
By three weeks after his accident, the Border Collie had regained about 90 percent use of his left rear leg, and about 75 percent of his right. Dr. Holt began acupuncture treatments, immediately accelerating Willie’s healing. Within two weeks, Willie was so much better that the steroids were completely discontinued, and Willie was permitted to begin light exercise again. Soon Willie was begging to join his family in one of his favorite activities, cross country skiing! (They allowed the eager dog to join them for a very short ski, just to let him feel included again.) “Willie was back to his usual 110 percent, which was exciting for us all, but we had to monitor him to make sure he didn’t overdo it,” Rod recalls.
The Rogers brought Willie to Dr. Holt’s office for acupuncture treatments every three weeks, and later, every four weeks, for several months. Massage continues on an “as needed” basis, when Willie looks tired, a little limpy, or just for fun and bonding.
Some seven months later, Willie has about 95 percent use of his left rear leg, and about 90 percent use of his right rear leg. As Rod says, “Border Collies were bred to be working dogs, and Willie still has to ‘work’ and be active. His gait is a little gimpy while walking, but at a gallop, you’d never guess he had been compromised in any way. Now that summer is here and it’s hiking season, Willie is with us on the trails, right at our heels.” A big challenge, say the Rogers, is to keep the over-eager Border Collie from wearing himself out; he does limp if he overexercises.
And, of course, resisting his invitations for a game of fetch when it’s icy!
The following story was sent to us from a reader who found herself following a “holistic path” to save her Fox Terrier, Spike, from troubles that may have been caused by mainstream feeding and veterinary care. I think Spike ought to be WDJ’s “poster child” for natural, holistic care! – Editor
The Whole Dog Journal often contains articles about the benefits of feeding dogs a natural diet for optimum health. I want to share a story about my wire-haired fox terrier, Spike, which portrays the extreme benefits of not only feeding your dog a natural diet, but also of treating your dog holistically. Spike’s experiences before and after we started him on a natural diet (at the age of 10) astounded me, and I hope his story can be a good example for the rest of the WDJ readers!
We bought Spike at a pet store, not knowing at that time anything about “puppy mills.” What we found was a darling four-month-old puppy who had been in the cage at the pet store for five weeks. We could not bear the thought of leaving this adorable puppy alone in that cage one more night, so we bought him on the spot. It was love at first sight, and we couldn’t wait to introduce him to our six-month old Airedale puppy (we were into puppies!).
Spike eased into our household without any problems, and we wanted nothing but the best for our two dogs. We had them vaccinated each year per our veterinarian’s instructions (we brought our dogs to a veterinarian who practiced traditional medicine until the dogs were age 10) and fed them what we thought were premium dog foods, like Science Diet, Iams, Nature’s Recipe; you name it, we tried it.
First signs of trouble
Everything was fine until Spike was about two and a half years old. One Sunday afternoon, I walked into the living room and found Spike sprawled out on the floor, his entire body trembling and stiff as a board. Not knowing what was the matter, my husband and I rushed him to the emergency room. The emergency room veterinarian determined that my dog had had a seizure and took blood tests. The blood test showed elevated liver enzymes, five times the normal amount. We never chose to give Spike the drug, Phenobarbital, since it is processed through the liver and the tests indicated that he already had severe problems with his liver. His seizures continued about every two months over an eight-year-period, and although they were petit-mal seizures, they’d last for about nine minutes each time. It was heartbreaking to see Spike go through these seizures.
On top of the seizures, the emergency room veterinarian recommended we have Spike tested for Cushing’s Disease, for he was showing symptoms: a thin coat, distended stomach, and urinating a lot. Tests confirmed Cushing’s Disease, so we started him on doses of Lysodren.
From the age of about three to 10 years old, Spike was on Lysodren every week. This was a horrible medication, for Spike’s dose would have to be changed about every five weeks because the medication given seemed to make him react differently to the various stresses in his life. He’d have to have doses of 5/8 of a tablet to 2/3 of a tablet, and being that these Lysodren tablets were very hard and dense, it was difficult to get the dose just right. Any minuscule amount too much would send Spike into a crisis; he’d be so weak and wobbly he wouldn’t be able to stand or walk. We’d then have to counteract the Lysodren with cortisone, which sort of defeats the purpose of Lysodren! We were reluctant to make plans on any Saturday, medication day for Spike, for he needed very close monitoring.
Crisis forces change
Spike’s life changed dramatically around Christmas when he was 10 years old. He was extremely lethargic and would not get off of his dog bed for anything. After about 24 hours of this behavior, we brought him to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital. They ran blood tests and discovered Spike’s platelet count was way out of whack. They did an ultrasound on him as well, as they strongly suspected liver cancer and spleen cancer.
Following the tests, the veterinarians advised us that Spike’s only treatment was to have surgery to take out the portion of his liver that was cancerous (at least 1/3 of his liver), as well as his spleen. Provided he survived the surgery, they said, they recommended chemotherapy treatments for him. If he survived chemotherapy treatments, they gave him three to six months to live.
My husband and I did not want what we thought were Spike’s last few months to be spent living in pain and having chemotherapy treatments. But we did not want to call it quits, either.
Holistic approach
In a desperate search for an alternative we could feel better about, we contacted a holistic veterinarian, Dr. Will Winter, who has a practice right in our city, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Dr. Winter looked at Spike’s very lengthy medical history and advised us not to have the surgery on Spike; he thought the surgery was much too risky. Instead, he said what we needed to do to give Spike any kind of a fighting chance was to get him off of commercial dog food and feed a healthy, natural diet, wean him off of the Lysodren for his Cushing’s, and add supplements to Spike’s diet. His final recommendation was to continue showing Spike all the love we had shown him all these years.
Dr. Winter explained why the natural diet was imperative for Spike. The concept behind the natural diet was to mimic as closely as possible what wolves in the wild might eat. Some people are reluctant to switch immediately from a commercial dog food diet to a natural diet but, for Spike, we did not have time to be reluctant. It was then or never, and there could be no taking a half-way approach; we had to accept the holistic approach to treating Spike in its entirety (no feeding kibble and supplementing with vegetables).
I found myself realizing what the term “leap of faith” meant, since we had to jump into the holistic way of treating Spike without having much time to think about it. According to Dr. Winter, if we didn’t follow these instructions explicitly, we would be jeopardizing any chance that Spike might have to fight this liver and spleen cancer.
Intuition pans out
As it turned out, my intuition that Dr. Winter’s approach was the best thing to do was right. Two-and-a-half years later, Spike is still with us and is fairly active for a 12-year-old wire-haired Fox Terrier. His diet consists of an oatmeal mixture (Sojourner’s Oatmeal), raw meat, raw green vegetables, yams, and supplements. He also gets raw, organic liver one night per week (after one day of fasting with broth only).
Spike absolutely loves this diet and leaps up and down continuously as I am preparing his dinner; he is so excited to eat it! He is totally off the Lysodren, which has made an incredible change in his personality, his energy level, and his aura, too.
Spike has had only two seizures in two years, and each one lasted only one minute (unlike his previous pattern of nine minute seizures). The oatmeal-based Sojourner’s dog food is a natural nerve tonic which, I’m sure, helps in alleviating Spike’s seizures. He lost about 10 pounds, which was good for him, and people on the street think he is two years old and can’t believe it when I tell them he is over 12 years old. He still walks at least a mile a day (except when our Minnesota winters are a little hard on him) and showers us with love and kisses every day.
I know in my heart that Spike would never have survived these past two years without being on a natural diet which supported his immune system to help him fight off the cancer. The supplements he is on gave him the added nutrients he needed at a critical point in his life, and the love we’ve shown Spike (and our other dog) gave him the peaceful environment where recovery could be achieved.
Dr. Winter was instrumental in Spike’s recovery as he guided us down the holistic path that would help Spike, and his encouragement helped me a great deal as we switched to the holistic way of treating our animals. Dr. Winter was the only veterinarian who told me to “follow my heart” when I was trying to decide if surgery and chemotherapy would help Spike, or if I should totally drop the conventional veterinary ways of treating Spike and change to the holistic way of treating Spike’s cancer. I did follow my heart and have never looked back. My only regret is that I did not pursue a natural diet and the holistic ways of treating my dogs years earlier; how much healthier they would have been! I’m just glad I switched to the holistic way of treating Spike in time for it to save his life.
Who has not watched in awe as a Border Collie at a local park sails through the air, snatches a FrisbeeTM in mid-flight and dashes back to her owner, dropping the Frisbee and waiting in eager anticipation for the next throw? Playing fetch with your dog is fun. It’s also a great way to strengthen the dog/human bond, satisfy your dog’s prey/chase instincts, and provide enough exercise to work off that excess energy that can make him a challenge to live with. A formal retrieve is also required for upper levels of obedience competition.
Some dogs are natural retrievers. Teaching them to fetch is a matter of directing the behavior into the right channels. Other dogs are not, and while teaching them to retrieve may look like an insurmountable challenge, it’s not as difficult as it seems. There are limitations, of course. Your 150-pound Newfoundland may never sail through the air like a Border Collie, but she can certainly learn how to fetch.
The old way
At one time in the not too distant past, the dog training world almost universally agreed that dogs had to be taught a “forced retrieve.” If you wanted a reliable retrieve, dogs had to know that they would be punished if they refused to pick up the designated object and bring it back. Years ago, my terrier mix, Josie, was the unfortunate victim of this training philosophy.
Against my better judgment, convinced that my trainer knew best, I taught Josie to retrieve using the traditional coercive “ear pinch.” We were preparing for the Open Class show ring exercises, Retrieve On The Flat and Retrieve Over High Jump. My trainer was a top ranked, nationally-known obedience trainer and competitor. I admired and respected her. I was just a lowly dog owner – what did I know?
Ignoring my uneasiness, I dutifully folded her ear flap over the choke chain, said “Take It!,” and pinched. When she open her mouth to yelp in protest, I popped the dumbbell into her mouth. Voila! She was learning to retrieve.
It worked. We flew through the Open Class with ease and earned our CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) title in three shows, with a high score of 197.5 out of a possible 200 points.
Meanwhile, we started training for Utility, where we would have to do the Scent Discrimination exercise. In Scent Discrimination, the dog doesn’t just retrieve a dumbbell, he must distinguish the one that has his owner’s scent on it from several lying together on the ground, and retrieve only that one. The exercise is done twice – once with leather articles, once with metal. The leather dumbbells were no problem for Josie, but she hated the metal ones.
Lots of dogs don’t like to hold metal in their mouths. Teeth scraping on metal must give them a “fingernails-on-the-blackboard” sensation. There are tricks trainers use, such as spraying the dumbbell with a clear plastic coating. We tried all the tricks. Josie still wasn’t buying.
“Pinch harder,” my trainer encouraged. “You have to make her do it.”
Josie and I practiced hard. The Directed Jumping and Directed Retrieve were easy for her. The Signal Exercise was a snap. But when I brought out the Scent Discrimination articles the light faded from her eyes and she gave me pleading looks, begging me not to make her do them. I persisted – until one day when I brought out the articles Josie hid under the deck and wouldn’t come out.
Finally, I realized how wrong the ear pinch was. I put away the articles and never brought them out again. If training meant destroying the relationship between me and my dog, I was no longer interested.
Negative reinforcement
Many trainers still subscribe to coercive methods for teaching the retrieve. The ear pinch is a widely-used, force-based method of training that utilizes a concept known as “negative reinforcement.”
Negative reinforcement means that the dog’s behavior makes a bad thing go away. We pinch the ear (bad thing), the dog takes the dumbbell, the ear pinch goes away. The dog learns that if he doesn’t retrieve, he will be hurt. He chooses to retrieve. As with many force-based training methods, it works with a lot of dogs, a lot of the time. It worked with Josie until we encountered the metal scent articles.
Unfortunately, there is a very real potential for negative side effects when we use physical force to train; side effects that can permanently damage the relationship. The dog learns to associate your hands with pain. He may lose his enthusiasm for training. Worse, he may lose his trust in you. Although traditional trainers like to believe that a forced retrieve teaches the dog that he has to fetch even if he doesn’t want to, in reality the dog can always choose not to retrieve and risk the consequences, like Josie did when she hid under the deck. The dog always has a choice.
The ear pinch is not the only coercive method used to train the retrieve. Blanche Saunders (now deceased), a highly respected obedience trainer in the 1950s and 60s, teaches a forced retrieve in her book, The Complete Book of Dog Obedience. Her method of teaching the dog to hold the dumbbell is inarguably harsh:
“Every time your dog drops the article, hold him tight while you cuff him across the nose. Say ‘Phooey!’ in a displeased tone of voice . . . Each time he drops it, the correction becomes more severe.”
I’m happy to say I never cuffed Josie across the nose.
Positive reinforcement: The new wave
Whether you just want your dog to bring back the tennis ball you throw for him in the back yard or you have your eye on advanced obedience titles and Frisbee championships, there is an effective way to train your dog to fetch, using the concept of positive reinforcement (in which the dog’s behavior makes a good thing happen).
In positive reinforcement training, you get the dog to offer the behavior you want without using force, and then reward him for it. All living beings repeat behaviors that they find rewarding.
When you want to train a simple behavior, like sit, it’s easy to see how it works. You hold a treat over the dog’s head, he sits, you use your reward marker (such as a Click!, or the word Yes!) to let him know that he just did a rewardable behavior, then you feed him a treat. By clicking and rewarding the sit repeatedly, you get the dog to offer sits more and more frequently and reliably. Once you are sure he will sit, you add the verbal cue, “Sit!” so he offers the behavior when you ask for it, not just when you move the treat over his head.
Over time, you reduce the use of treats through a process known as random (or variable) reinforcement, clicking and rewarding some sits, but not all. At this point, if you consistently Click! and reward only fast sits, for instance, you can “shape” the dog to sit more quickly when asked.
The retrieve is a complex behavior. While some dogs are natural retrievers who pick things up easily and willingly, others are not, and have to be encouraged to take things in their mouths. Even natural retrievers may learn behaviors like “keep-away,” that interfere with a good game of fetch. How much effort you need to put into training the retrieve depends on your dog’s natural inclinations as well as your training goals. A formal show ring retrieve is considerably more complex than simply asking your Lab to drop his tennis ball at your feet so you can throw it again.
Breaking tasks into steps
Whenever you want to train a complex behavior, you need to visualize the final product (in this case, the retrieve), and break it down into small steps. For the back yard fetch you want to throw the ball, Frisbee or toy and have your dog run after it, pick it up, bring it to you and give it back. Broken into small steps it would look like this:
1. Wait politely until I throw the ball
2. Run after it when I throw it
3. Pick it up
4. Hold it in your mouth
5. Bring it back to me
6. Drop it when you get here
Let’s look at how you would train this simple “back yard fetch.”
Although we are going to examine the steps of the retrieve in order, you don’t have to train them in order. Once your dog knows each of the steps you can put them together in the right order to make “Fetch” happen.
• Wait For Me To Throw
Dogs who are excited about retrieving are often obsessed with their Frisbee or tennis ball, sometimes to the point of being dangerous. You can lose a finger if Skippy tries to grab the ball from your hand as you get ready to throw. We can use negative punishment to teach Skippy to stop jumping. Although we associate the word “punishment” with harsh corrections, negative punishment is not harsh or physical at all. It simply means “the dog’s behavior makes a good thing go away.” Positive trainers frequently use negative punishment because it doesn’t involve the use of physical force.
Ask the dog to sit, and hold the ball up to throw. If he leaps for it, whisk it behind your back and wait for him to sit again. Every time he sits, the ball appears. Every time he leaps at you, the ball vanishes. The first time he stays sitting when you bring out the ball, say “Yes!” and quickly throw it. (This will happen much sooner than you think – it often takes less than five minutes.) This part is positive reinforcement: Skippy’s behavior (sitting) makes a good thing happen (you throw the ball). In this case you don’t need a food treat. Skippy gets a “life reward” – he gets to chase the ball, which is even better than food! From this moment on, Skippy never gets to chase the ball if he jumps up; only if he sits. Once he figures this out, he’ll sit his little heart out to try to get you to throw!
• Run After It When I Throw
Lots of dogs will chase something that is moving but won’t pick it up. That’s OK – the pick-up is a separate behavior. Choose a toy that your dog really likes, play with it with the dog until he gets excited, then toss it a short distance. If he runs after it say “Go!” and when he gets to it Click! or say “Yes!” and feed him a treat. He may even pick it up. If he does, be sure to Click! and reward. At first he may only go part way toward it. That’s OK too. Just be sure you Click! while he is headed toward it, not after he turns around. Remember, the Click! marks the behavior you want him to repeat. If you Click! too late, you reinforce him for coming back to you, rather than for going toward the toy.
As he gets the idea, you can Click! only for increasingly closer runs to the object. If he does a short run, don’t do anything at all. Don’t say “No,” don’t Click!, and don’t say “Go!” again. Just wait. When he realizes he’s not going to get clicked he may head for the object again. (This is a very good time to Click! and reward.) If he doesn’t, calmly try again, tossing it a shorter distance this time. This may be a sign that you have raised the criteria too quickly and you need to take a step back. It is a common training mistake to try to move ahead too quickly. It seems logical that if Skippy will run after the object when you toss it five feet, he will do the same at 10 feet. But he might not. We might need to increase the distance by increments of one foot rather than five feet.
• The Pick-Up
This can be either the easiest or the hardest part of a retrieve. A natural retriever will do the pick-up in his sleep. In fact, most puppies naturally pick things up. If you constantly punish your baby dog for puppy pick-ups, you can squelch a budding natural retriever. Instead, if you put away all inappropriate items and consistently reward him with a Click! and a treat for picking up his toys, you will encourage his retrieving tendencies.
If your dog is not a natural retriever, don’t despair. Designate his most favorite toy as his fetch object. He only gets to play with it when you do the fetch game. Now set it on the ground. (Don’t throw it!) If he picks it up, Click! and reward. If he only sniffs it, Click! and reward. If he just glances in the object’s direction, Click! and reward.
In the beginning, reinforce the dog just for paying attention to the object. In any series of “attention” responses with the fetch toy, sometimes he will sniff or touch it, sometimes he’ll just look at it, and sometimes he will put his mouth on it – maybe even pick it up.
Once he understands the game, you can up the ante (this is called “raising the criteria”); you only Click! and treat if he touches it. Later, you Click! only if he actually puts his mouth on it, and finally, only if he picks it up. Once he is routinely picking up the toy, add your verbal cue of “Fetch!,” “Take It!,” “Get It,” or whatever you plan to use.
If at any time your dog “quits,” that is, he stops playing the game, you may have raised the criteria too quickly, or you may have trained for too long. Training sessions should generally be five to 15 minutes in length, several times a day. If you get two or three really good responses in a row, stop the session with lots of praise and a “Jackpot!” – a whole handful of treats. It’s always better to stop when you and your dog are having fun and winning, rather than when one or both of you are bored or frustrated.
• Hold It
The pick-up is only half the battle. Skippy has to hold it in his mouth if he’s going to bring it back to you. In any series of pick-ups, sometimes he will hold it longer than others. Once he is picking the toy up easily, gradually raise the criteria by clicking and rewarding for longer and longer holds.
“Gradually” is the key here. Your increments will be in fractions of seconds at first, and it is critically important that you Click! while the toy is still in your dog’s mouth! If you consistently Click! too late, after he has dropped the toy, you are rewarding him for dropping, not holding.
• Bring It Back To Me
Now it gets easier. As soon as Skippy is holding the toy for three to five seconds, back away from him when he is looking at you. (You can try calling him to you, but sometimes saying his name will make him drop the toy.) He should start moving toward you, hopefully with the toy still in his mouth. Click! and reward. He will probably drop the toy when you Click!, but that’s OK, as long as the Click! happens while the toy is still in his mouth.
Gradually raise the criteria so he comes closer to you before you Click!, and in short order he will be bringing it all the way.
• Drop It
You can practice this piece of the “Fetch!” any time Skippy has something in his mouth. Offer him a treat. When he opens his mouth to take the treat, say “Drop It!” or “Give!” in a happy tone of voice. (If you use an angry or intimidating tone he may hold tighter rather than drop.) Eventually he will “Drop!” on the verbal cue without the treat. Then you can Click! and treat after he drops, and by using random reinforcement, over time you can fade the use of the treat. (This is also a useful exercise for teaching him not to be protective or aggressive to you when he is playing with his toys.)
If he doesn’t want to trade the object for the treat, try dropping one or several treats on the floor, or use a tastier treat. Do this a lot with his own toys. You can then give the toy back (or toss it for him) as a reward also. He will learn that giving you the object keeps the game going. If you only do this with things he is not supposed to have, he will learn that when he drops an object he loses it forever, and he will become less and less willing to give things to you when you ask.
You can decide if having Skippy drop the object at your feet is acceptable, or if you want the object placed in your hand. Dropping at your feet is easier. Just let it fall when you offer him the treat. If you think he will try to grab it when you reach for it, keep him occupied nibbling the treat in your hand while you reach down and pick it up. Then let him have the treat. If you want him to place it in your hand, you will need to slip your hand under the object at first so it falls into your hand when he drops it. Later, you can insist he place it in your hand by ignoring it if it falls on the floor, until he picks it up and tries again.
Putting the pieces together
Now that Skippy knows all of the pieces, we can put them together. He sits and waits politely until you throw his ball. He runs after it when you throw, picks it up, holds it, brings it back to you and drops it when you ask. His tail is wagging, his eyes are bright, and he is eager for you to throw again. Yes, he has a choice to retrieve or not. He always has a choice. If you’ve trained well, he’s having fun and enjoying the game. What do you think his choice will be?
Today, Josie fetches a wide variety of objects with a wagging tail and a happy gleam in her eye. In recent years, when I reintroduced her to the retrieve using positive methods, I realized that she had never really been very happy about retrieving, despite her 197.5 scores. She used to dutifully retrieve the dumbbell under stress, in fear and anticipation of a correction. Now she joyfully chooses to fetch when asked, confident that she won’t be punished. We never went back to the metal scent articles; I’m not anxious to resume a show career. But I’m confident that we could, if we wanted to.
With temperatures in the 90s and 100s in recent weeks, WDJ decided it was a perfect time to test products designed to keep canines cool during the dog days of summer. We found a number of products that utilize the same technology: polymer crystals that absorb several times their weight in water, then release the water over a period of several days. The evaporation of the water creates the cooling effect.
We were somewhat concerned that there would be little variation between the products, but to our surprise, we found a huge difference in the quality and effectiveness of the various brands. The products we liked best “plumped up” quickly, evaporated slowly, were made of durable materials, and appealed to our test dogs.
Keeping your dog cool may not be much of a challenge when you’re at home, but what about at dog shows, when he must be crated in warm weather, or on car rides? In a stifling environment, these products could make all the differencefor your dog.
Please note that all of these pads release moisture from underneath. Indoors, they must be placed on a waterproof surface.
There is no such thing as the one best fetch toy. The best fetch object is something that your dog really likes. So when WDJ asked me to review fetch toys, I was at a little bit of a loss. For one thing, if you walk into a large pet supply store or look in a catalog there are a bazillion choices – from various flying discs to flavored tennis balls to bumpers to squeaky toys. There’s no way I could review them all. For another, my test dogs’ favorite fetch toys may well be very different from your dog’s favorite fetch toy.
What I could (and did) do, however, is test a sampling of toys, point out the pros and cons of each, and tell you how I evaluated them. The most important points to consider are safety, durability, attractiveness to the dog, suitability for your environment, aerodynamics, and cost.
In general, heavy toys such as solid rubber or plastic bumpers (dummies), should only be used for structured retrieves where the dog sits (or downs) and stays while you throw, and then is given the cue to “Fetch.” Otherwise you may risk causing broken bones, bruises, cracked teeth or concussion! Other, lighter plastic fetch toys such as the ubiquitous FrisbeeTM are easily shredded and can lacerate your dog’s mouth with the resulting sharp edges, or cause intestinal problems if she swallows chunks of jagged plastic.
Also, please note that any activity you do with your dog that encourages her to fly through the air and land heavily on the ground inflicts wear and tear on joints and can contribute to arthritis problems later in her life. To minimize this risk, play on soft surfaces rather than hard ground or pavement, and do plenty of long, flat throws, not just spectacular aerial ones.
Fetch toys should be reserved for retrieve only; most are not sturdy enough to survive the abuse they would receive as chew toys. Your dog will be more interested in playing fetch if you reserve one special set of toys for retrieving games only. While the most durable fetch items may stand up to chewing, constant gnawing on hard objects can damage your dog’s teeth. Even tennis balls can wear down your dog’s teeth over time! Chew toys are for chewing – fetch toys are for fetching.
Because fetch item preference is a highly personal (dogonal?) choice, our favorite fetch toys may be entirely different from yours, but our experience should help you know what to look for when choosing fetch toys for your own dog.
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.
