Consider a beauty contest. The point is for the contestants to look as good as they can, act as well-behaved as they can, and demonstrate how smart and talented they are. To make the contestants look as good as possible, they are housed in luxury hotel rooms, fed gourmet food, treated courteously, and given lovely clothes to wear.
Now, just for a minute, imagine how much harder it would be for any of them to succeed if they had to ready themselves for competition while being housed in a crowded homeless shelter, fed strange food, and, rather than appearing clean and well-coifed, they had to be on display with dirty, matted hair.
The latter challenge is one that almost every dog housed in an animal shelter must rise above. Once the dogs have resided in a shelter for a requisite number of days (long enough to determine that there will be no joyous reunion with their “lost” owners), they are thrust into a beauty contest of sorts. Only, in this competition, the grand prize is being given a chance to live in another human’s home, and the losers lose their lives. The stakes are high, and the degree of difficulty even higher.
Shelter staffers, of course, are sympathetic to their charges; they know better than anyone how challenging this contest is! But when all is said and done, there is only so much they can do for each individual canine contestant; at most shelters, there are too many dogs, and not enough staffers to help the dogs look, feel, and act their best.
This is where you come in.
By volunteering at an animal shelter, you can directly increase the number of dogs that “win” the contest of their lives. Shelters are almost always under-funded, and their staff members are almost always over-worked. But when you add hundreds of volunteer hours to those worked by paid staffers, the difference in the dogs’ lives is nothing short of miraculous.
Dog Shelter Volunteering Does Not Just Mean Poop-Scooping
Perhaps every volunteer’s fear is that he or she will end up as nothing more than an unpaid kennel cleaner. While it’s true that the cleaner the kennels are, the happier the dogs (and prospective adoptees) will be, picking up poop is not the only thing that volunteers are desperately needed to do. (In fact, some shelters specifically forbid the use of volunteers for cleaning kennels, to keep the volunteers cheery, fresh, and willing to return!) Most shelters now offer a variety of ways for people to get involved. In fact, the more ways that shelter managers can put volunteers to work, the more fully they will be able to utilize the talents of their professional staffers.
Of course, one of the best ways (and most enjoyable, for many people) that volunteers can help the dogs behind bars is to help them look and act their best. The cleaner, calmer, and better-behaved the dogs are, the more likely they are to “win” the contest and find a home. It simply follows that the more time that people spend with the dogs – washing and grooming them, walking and petting them, and maybe even teaching them a few basic niceties of canine behavior (“sit,” for instance) – the more it will help the dogs look good. Young and athletic dogs with lots of energy especially benefit from a lot of exercise, since most people are put off by a dog that appears to be hyperactive in his cage, but may only be desperate for a walk.
This point is taken as seriously as a commandment by the staff and volunteers at the San Francisco SPCA, where some 2000 volunteers, in about 22 different volunteer positions, contributed 90,346 hours to the shelter – the equivalent of 43 full-time employees. Those volunteers who choose to work hands-on with the dogs are put to work in the Dog Behavior Division, where they can work in one of several capacities such as a dog handler, dog trainer or dog socializer. Here they play a major role in preparing dogs for adoption, and that’s not always easy, because most of the dogs in the Adoption Center are adult dogs who have had little, if any, training.
Obedience training is mandatory for each dog in the Center. Twice each day, volunteer trainers, working under a staff trainer, put each dog through its paces. The primary focus of the training is on-leash work, so that prospective adopters will have a positive first experience when they take a prospective pet for a walk. Dog socializers and handlers also spend time with each dog in its “condominium,” giving each dog some human attention, grooming it and reinforcing basic obedience commands. Dog Behavior Volunteers work with certain dogs who are targeted for behavior modification according to plans by staff behaviorists.
The San Francisco SPCA’s phenomenal success rate is in large part due to the volunteers’ good work. For example, only 200 of the 5,000 animals (including dogs) the San Francisco SPCA handled in 1997 had to be euthanized.
Providing Foster Care for Shelter Dogs
Some dog owners like the idea of helping their local shelters, but don’t feel all that comfortable spending time in the shelter environment. A dilemma? Not for the devoted dog lovers who occasionally provide foster care for special-needs shelter dogs.
The arrival of certain high-needs dogs – orphaned puppies, for example, or dogs that need round-the-clock medication – can burden shelter staffers to the point that they cannot provide sufficient care to their other wards; most shelters lack the human and financial and resources to handle anything but routine matters. It can greatly ease the staff members’ minds, therefore, when they know experienced dog people who are willing to care for these special dogs until the shelter staffers are able to take over.
Foster homes are also occasionally needed to lodge dogs when a shelter is suddenly overwhelmed with an unusually high number of dogs. This has happened in the case of seizures by local law enforcement agencies (in cases of “animal collectors” or “puppy mills”), and when animal research projects are concluded and the former test subjects are in danger of being euthanized.
Advertising the Shelter Dogs
Handling the shelter dogs can be fun and productive, of course, but it’s not the only thing that can help bring dogs and potential owners together. Another great way to accomplish that matchmaking feat is to help attract potential adopters to the shelter in the first place. Writers, photographers, graphic artists, and public relations executives could ply their trades to help publicize shelters in their communities, and even help promote individual dogs in the kennels.
One person who has done this very thing with great success lives in my hometown of Alameda, California. For the past seven years, Dr. Claudia Roberts, a chiropractor by vocation and an ardent animal advocate by avocation, has been writing a column that appears in our local newspaper every Tuesday. In the column, called “Adoptable Animals,” Dr. Roberts profiles a couple of animals currently in residence in the Alameda Animal Shelter – dogs, cats, or rabbits that she feels are most in need of good PR.
Over the years, Roberts’ column has brought literally hundreds, perhaps thousands, of potential adopters to the town’s only animal shelter. Sometimes they come with the specific intention to adopt the dog they read about in the paper; in other cases, reading about the available animals just put them in the mood to visit the shelter to meet all the dogs. Roberts herself is shy about taking credit for the column’s success, claiming that, more than anything, it’s the accompanying photos, taken by the newspaper’s photographers, that bring potential adopters to the shelter, rather than her warm and appealing descriptions. Either way, the combination has proved to be a potent combination in our small town, increasing not just adoptions, but also the number of people who volunteer at the shelter, and even financial donations to the shelter.
Roberts admits that she selects many of the dogs she profiles because they have proven difficult to place. She often uses her column as a way to buy more time for dogs whose time is running out. She considers every dog she saves from an untimely end as a personal triumph.
Giving the Dogs Tender Loving Care
It is indisputable that volunteers often make the difference between life and death for many dogs. So, even if it’s just for a couple of hours a week, consider helping out at your local shelter. Don’t wait until some fuzzy point in the future, when you anticipate being retired and having gobs of time. Most of the volunteers we spoke with have busy career and family lives and very little time to waste. These altruistic people simply chose to make working for abandoned animals a priority – and whether they realize it or not, the canine race is grateful.
Writer Dan Hoye, of Alameda, California, wrote “Canine Health Food Stores,” for our December issue.
As a holistic behavior consultant, I believe that most problems people experience with their dogs are not really dog problems but rather communication problems. Dogs don’t have problems being dogs; they have problems being dogs who live with humans. Most humans don’t even know how to communicate with each other!
Every interaction you have with a dog teaches the dog something about living with a human. However, people speak a verbal language without understanding the language of the body, and dogs don’t speak a language but are masters at understanding the subtleties of body language. So, regardless of what your words say, your dog mostly responds to the sound of your voice, your facial expressions, your body language, and actions.
When dogs interpret your message differently than the way you had intended, they may well respond with behavior that makes no sense to you but makes perfect sense to them. If a dog begins to respond to you and to things in your world with behavior that seems unusual, and is troublesome to you, don’t ask, “What’s wrong with the dog?!” Instead ask, “What am I doing that causes my dog to behave this way?” When you have the answer to that question, then you can change what you are doing and the dog’s behavior will change, too.
When YOU Are Your Dog’s Trigger
This concept was amply illustrated in a case I helped solve.
I received a call from Karin, a woman with a husband and two young children, and a wonderful Golden Retriever named Leon. Karin was very distressed and desperate about some of Leon’s behavior. It seems that the dog, a neutered, adult male who was usually sweet, kind, and trustworthy, had become a serious menace whenever there were people at the door. He had actually bitten two children who had come over to play with Karin’s children. His door manners were totally out of control and nothing they had been told to do had altered his behavior.
The family’s major sources of information had been Leon’s previous trainer and their veterinarian. The trainer had told them to grab his collar, stare him in the eyes and yell NO! in his face. This caused him to stop for the moment but each subsequent encounter at the door became worse.
Their veterinarian told them that when Leon went ballistic at the door they should grab him, choke him with a choke collar, pin him down, and yell at him to stop. Karin and her husband tried everything that had been suggested, but Leon’s door behavior had worsened. On the recommendation of a friend, and as a last resort, they called me. If I was unable to change the dog’s behavior, they were going to put him to sleep.
If they hadn’t cared so much for the dog, the family would never have tried so hard to remedy the situation. But – except for this single dangerous behavior – Leon was a perfect canine companion for Karin and her family. He was devoted to each family member, patient to a fault, and exhibited a lovely, playful, gentle sense of humor when he romped with the children. They adored the dog, and couldn’t for the life of them understand why visitors to the house brought out the worst in him.
Get to the Root of the Aggression
It was easy for me to guess that Leon was associating a knock, the doorbell, and/or the arrival of people at the door, with an unpleasant response directed toward him. It was confrontational, painful, and invasive. A smart dog like Leon could very easily become convinced that whoever was on the other side of the door should just go away!
The other thing that I considered – as I always do in every behavior case – was that Leon may be in need of medical attention. Very often, behavior problems have their roots in a health problem: a sore back, say, or an infection of some kind.
I asked about Leon’s health history, and my suspicions were confirmed: Leon had been treated with antibiotics several times for recurrent infected ears before his veterinarian realized that his infections may have been caused by a food allergy. Allergy tests determined that Leon was allergic to almost every food available.
The veterinarian prescribed a special Fish and Potato diet that the family could buy only through him. The infections in Leon’s ears still became infected now and again, but less frequently than before the change of diet. It’s easy to see how a dog with multiple food allergies and painfully infected ears might respond irritably to a loud, chaotic scene. I suspected that these health problems – and perhaps other, undiagnosed problems – might have played a part in the development of Leon’s behavior problem. To eliminate the possibility that other health issues were contributing to the escalation of the hostilities, I asked that Karin take Leon back to her veterinarian and have a blood work-up and urinalysis performed.
No Hope for an Aggressive Dog
It was a week or more before I heard from Karin again. She told me that had taken Leon to the veterinarian, as I requested, but following the visit, her whole family had been ill. I was sympathetic, but asked how the veterinary visit went.
Well, she told me, when she brought Leon into the veterinarian’s office, he was very harsh with her. He told her that since Leon had already bitten two people she should just put him to sleep. He said that if another bite occurred and she wound up in court, he would testify against her for being a negligent owner! No wonder the whole family immediately got ill! They were literally “sick with worry” over this new threat to their beloved dog.
Fortunately, the test results came back without abnormalities. I told Karin that I could not promise that we could fix the problem, but that there were many things we could try.
Experimenting with Solutions
The first thing I suggested was a change to a fresh food diet. The diet was to include a large variety of foods with an emphasis on carbohydrates. Some evidence suggests that increasing the carbohydrates in the diets of aggressive dogs seems to reduce their levels of aggression. However, due to the lectures Karin had received from her veterinarian regarding “strange foods,” she was reluctant to “stir things up” with Leon’s diet again.
Next, I emphatically advised that the family stop “attacking” the dog at the door. It was my opinion that the advice from the trainer and the veterinarian had actually made the situation worse. Leon now knew that when the doorbell rang he would be attacked and he was very resentful of this. The sound of the bell made him furious and he really wanted whoever was there to just go away so he would be safe.
I also explained how to teach Leon some basic word recognition using the click/treat technique. He very quickly learned Sit, Down, and Stay. For the first time, he seemed to enjoy the learning process because there were food treats instead of choking jerks.
Now that he understood these words, the next step was to set up a “mock visitor” scene at the door. Karin’s husband would ring the bell and when Leon dashed to the door in his furious way, Karin would quietly tell him to Sit and Stay, and only when he had done so would she open the door. Karin was to keep her attention focused on Leon and he was to be leashed during this process.
After two weeks of trying this, Karin reported some improvement in Leon’s behavior, but not as much as I had hoped. This led me on an investigative journey to determine what else was going on.
I requested they make an appointment with Dr. Anne Smith, a holistic veterinarian. I hoped that by considering the “whole dog,” Dr. Smith might be able to detect some physical issues that had not shown up on the lab work. Also, I thought Dr. Smith might be able to overcome Karin’s hesitation to change Leon’s diet.
A Toxic Diet
Upon examining Leon, Dr. Smith pointed out that the dog was overweight and had a layer of fatty tissue that was hard and sensitive. This implied to her that Leon was not getting good nutrition and needed to detoxify.
Dr. Smith recommended feeding Leon fresh food, as I knew she would. She explained that the inflamed ears were his body’s way of trying to detoxify itself. The poisons take the path of least resistance and very often that leads to the ears. The allergies were a sign of the poor nutrition and the body being overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the vaccines, allergy shots, poor food, drugs, stress, etc., that he had been subjected to. She prescribed some supplements, a homeopathic remedy, fresh food and an ear cleaning system.
Three weeks later, on their follow-up visit, Leon exhibited vast improvement. His ears were much better, he had lost a little weight, he was tolerating many foods and he definitely was not as jittery as on the first visit.
Seeing the Entire Picture
Now that he felt better, it was time to resume behavior work. I wasn’t sure of what I was going to suggest next, since the scene that I had suggested earlier hadn’t seemed to make much of a difference. However, when you are in the dark, often someone will turn on a light.
As it happened, the light turned on while Karin and I were on the phone. We were discussing the problem when Karin’s doorbell rang. Karin’s voice immediately tightened and rose in pitch, and she blurted out for me to hold on. She dropped the phone and I could hear her running away from the phone, presumably toward the door. The chaos that followed was very illuminating.
At the sound of the bell, Leon had begun barking ferociously. Karin’s children began yelling at the person on the other side of the door, “Who’s there? What do you want?” Karin was yelling at Leon and the kids. The noise was so loud I had to take the phone away from my ear! When Karin came back on the line, I told her we needed to set up another appointment immediately, and that every person in the family must attend!
At this meeting I told them what I had learned from this phone call. The situation definitely involved everyone in the family. Leon was not the only one who was out of control; the whole family was overreacting! Karin was obviously distressed and worried that Leon would attack the visitor. The children were nervous with anticipation of another dog-biting scene, and overly excited about the prospect of visiting with their friends. Because most of the people who rang the family’s doorbell were friends, most of the visitors were also aware of the whole scene and responded with understandable uneasiness. Leon responded to the chaos and confusion with a very predictable, learned response.
Think about how the scenes at the front door must seem to Leon, I told Karin.
You can actually picture it like a play:
Stage left: The doorbell rings. Center stage: Children run to the door, screaming with excitement and concern. Golden Retriever is following them and then dashes ahead of them.
Stage right: Nervous, anxious mother approaches, screaming out orders to the children and the unknown person on the other side of the door with great fear and worry. She grabs the dog, and as the door opens and new people arrive on the scene, she begins yelling at and choking him. Everyone in the scene is agitated, excited, and concerned.
I suggested that this scenario probably repeated itself with perfect, precise performances each and every time the cue of a knock or the door bell was given, like a miniature stage show waith every character playing his role to perfection. The key would be to change the script!
Putting a New Plan in Place
In our next meeting, in simple terms that even the young children could understand, I explained my “play” analogy, and that everyone would be receiving new parts and new lines in the new play. From now on, the family would be calm, cool, and collected when the bell rang – whether it was a training exercise for Leon or whether someone was really at the door. No more yelling. No more running. No more crowds at the door.
Next, they would practice a new “scene,” set up to help Leon get over his anticipation of pain and discomfort that the bell brought on. Someone would ring the doorbell and no one would respond at all. At first, Leon would probably run to the door and bark – and none of them should respond. Everyone in the house would continue as if they had never heard the bell, or Leon’s barking. I instructed the family to do this over and over, as many times a day as possible.
As soon as they noticed that Leon no longer dashed to the door at the sound of the bell but instead, looked to see what the other members of the family were doing, then one person, not the entire family, would calmly walk to the door, saying nothing at all. They were to open the door, admit the person who rang the bell (usually, this was to be another member of the family), close the door and go back and sit down.
Under no circumstances was any family member to become noisy, excited, or animated when the doorbell rang, even if they had a visitor “for real.” They needed to calmly and quietly greet their friends and then leave the door area.
Leon’s Breakthrough
After several days of doing this, Karin called to say that they had made great strides. She also told me about an experience that really “opened the door” for more success. She and Leon had been in the front yard, with Leon on a leash. When she tried to get back into the house, she discovered that the front door was locked, so she rang the bell to get one of the children to open the door.
At the sound of the bell, she said Leon looked totally stunned. He looked at her and looked at the door. He knew that sound but this time he was on the other side of the door. It totally bewildered him how this could have happened! He just kept looking at her and looking at the door. When one of Karin’s children answered the door (calmly, of course!), he just sat down and stared at everyone. It was as if he had a revelation. Suddenly he was the guest, trying to get in!
The combination of all these approaches – top-notch laboratory work, holistic veterinary care, fresh food, positive reinforcement education, changing the family’s response to the cue of the doorbell – finally did the trick.
After a few weeks with their new “script,” Leon still exhibited a little excitement when the bell rang, but he no longer responded with furious, out of control behavior. The children, too, learned not to get wild with excitement when someone comes to visit. Karin and her husband also became much calmer and no longer had to suffer a spike of high blood pressure when the doorbell rang!
Author Linda Goodman is a frequent contributor to WDJ. She also operates PORGIE Teaching Center in Riverside, CA.
Everyone knows a thunderstorm horror story. A terrified dog leaps off a balcony or breaks through a plate glass window before jumping a fence, running into traffic, and meeting an unhappy fate. Or the animal simply disappears and is never seen again. More common and just as distressing are the panic attacks that overcome stay-at-home dogs when thunder roars or the neighbors light firecrackers.
Conventional veterinary medicine treats thunderstorm and other noise phobias with powerful tranquilizers or psychoactive drugs, none of which cure the patient and all of which have adverse side effects. These medications are really not a good solution to this syndrome, which disrupts the lives of many companion dogs, show dogs, and working dogs.
In May 1999, WDJ described an effective desensitization training program that has helped some thunder-phobic dogs, but as the article points out, the treatment is time-consuming, requires careful monitoring, and has a discouragingly low success rate in severely afflicted dogs.
In this article, we will discuss every other holistic remedy for thunder- and noise-phobic dogs.
Fear of Thunder in Dogs
Few veterinarians know as much about thunderstorm phobia as Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, MRCVS, author of The Dog Who Loved Too Much and Dogs Behaving Badly: An A-to-Z Guide to Understanding and Curing Behavioral Problems in Dogs.
Although thunderstorms are obviously noisy, Dr. Dodman suggests that the condition may not be caused by noise alone but by static electricity that generates painful shocks, especially in larger, heavy-coated breeds. “This is not to say that fear of loud noises (including thunder), darkening sky, lightning, wind noise, and rain are not also involved,” he explains, “just that they may be secondarily conditioned fears.”
In support of Dodman’s theory, dogs are often found hiding from storms in areas that provide excellent electrical grounding, such as bathtubs, showers, and the floor behind toilets; some clients have reported receiving electrical shocks from their dogs during storms; and when their owners applied anti-static products, some dogs became noticeably calmer.
Electrical fields may be magnified by storms, but they occur everywhere, and very large animals can be affected by stray electrical fields even in calm weather. The resulting “tingle voltage,” which strikes at random, can be measured with a voltage meter held to the affected animal. Dairy cows in shock from tingle voltage are unable to release their milk, which is how this phenomenon came to be discovered.
Perhaps there are two types of thunderstorm phobia, one induced by the discomfort of electrical energy in combination with loud noises (thunderstorms), the other triggered by sound alone (fireworks, gunshots, cannon fire, garbage trucks, airplanes, and other noises).
Although it affects some puppies, a fear of thunder more commonly develops in older dogs with no history of sound phobia. “In my experience,” says Dr. Dodman’s colleague, behavioral consultant Linda Aronson, DVM, “thunderstorm phobia is unusual in very young dogs.”
Belgian Shepherd breeder Judy Johnstone, who has a special interest in thunderstorm phobia, agrees. “I think a dog can be born with a propensity to be afraid of noise,” she says, “so it’s possible that a puppy or very young dog might develop this problem, but most of the dogs I know developed their phobias at two or three. My older dogs were that age when our house was hit by lightning, and both are still afraid of thunder.”
Most of the thunder-phobic dogs in Dr. Aronson’s practice developed their fear between ages four and seven. “This correlates to a decrease in thyroid function, which is an important component in behavioral problems,” she says. “In most cases the actual cause is unknown, but dogs that develop a fear of thunder for no apparent reason may do so because of some unwitnessed trauma.”
Treatment Options for Dogs Afraid of Thunder
Homeopathy
Homeopathy, the 200-year-old system of medicine that uses extremely dilute remedies, is popular with pet owners because it often works well and has no adverse side effects. Although nearly all of the trainers, owners, and therapists interviewed for this article tried homeopathy for thunderstorm phobias, it was either ineffective or, at best, helped only somewhat. “That’s not surprising,” says Larry Bernstein, VMD, president of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. “Over-the-counter formulas that are sold for fear and anxiety combine several remedies and are given repeatedly. While this sounds sensible from a pharmaceutical point of view, combination remedies violate the rules of classical homeopathy, in which a single remedy is selected because it matches the patient’s symptoms and is given only once. Combination remedies tend to be most effective for acute infections and least effective for chronic conditions.
“Even classical homeopathy has a difficult time treating thunderstorm phobia,” he observes, “and its reduction or elimination often requires extended therapy. There is no specific treatment. All the books list Phosphorus, but I have not found it to be any more effective than other remedies for this condition. In homeopathy, you have to examine the whole syndrome, which means addressing not just the reaction to storms but all of a dog’s anxieties, the source of those anxieties, and everything else that’s going on in the dog’s life and mind. The owner working with over-the-counter remedies is at a serious disadvantage.”
Flower Essences
In the early 20th century, Edward Bach, an English physician and homeopath, placed small glass bowls filled with spring water and freshly picked blossoms in direct sunlight for three hours. He preserved and diluted the resulting flower essences with brandy.
Bach’s most famous preparation is a blend of five of his 38 remedies, now made by several different manufacturers and sold under the brand names Rescue Remedy (which is made by the company founded by Bach), Calming Essence, and Five Flower Formula. As its names suggest, this formula is appropriate for all emergencies; it combats shock, panic, and mental paralysis.
In addition to Bach’s original remedies, hundreds of flower essences are produced by practitioners around the world. “Flower essences have a subtle but profound effect on pets as well as people,” says Patricia Kaminsky, co-director of the 60,000-member Flower Essence Society. “They work best on behavioral and health problems that have an emotional cause.”
Drops can be massaged into the gums with a finger, placed on a small amount of bread or other soft treat, diluted with water and sprayed around the dog, squirted into the mouth, or added to a small amount of water that the dog will drink before the essences evaporate. Frequent application rather than dosage size is the key to success with this therapy. In addition, many herbalists and aromatherapists report good results from combining flower essences with herbal tinctures, essential oil blends, or distilled flower waters (hydrosols).
Rock Rose, a Rescue Remedy ingredient, is often used by itself to treat fear. Connecticut herbalist Christine Dunnak and her Royal Poodles lived in Vermont when a sudden storm so terrified the dogs that they fled and didn’t return for 24 hours. Their thunderstorm phobia intensified as the summer progressed. Today Rock Rose flower essence helps one of the Poodles stay calm during storms, and the other responds to Rock Rose followed by an herbal tincture.
Wisconsin dog trainer and laboratory animal technician Kathy Edstrom first tried flower essences when her younger German Shepherd, then two years old, became terrified of storms. He spent the night pacing, panting, and looking for places to hide, which made her older dog anxious as well. Edstrom experimented with Rock Rose, which she added to the dogs’ drinking water, and it made such a difference that, intrigued, she started classes with the Flower Essence Society. Her research led her to Aspen and Mimulus, which she combined with Rock Rose in equal parts. “Within two weeks of starting that combination,” she says, “my dogs were no longer afraid of thunder.”
Edstrom, now a flower essence practitioner, recently completed a case study on a three-year-old intact male Belgian Tervuren who was extremely frightened by thunder and other loud noises. After having six drops of the rock Rose/Mimulus/Aspen combination placed in his mouth three to four times a day, the dog’s behavior changed dramatically. Now instead of trying to climb into his owner’s jacket to hide, he remains calm and focused around gunshots, thunder, fireworks, and other distractions. “Correct application is essential,” says Edstrom. “At first the owner reported only slight improvement, but he was dosing the dog just once a day on a hard dog biscuit. As soon as he applied the drops three or four times a day, the transformation was amazing.”
Medicinal Herbs
Several herbs called nervines, which nourish and support the nervous system, are prescribed for all types of anxiety, panic, and hysteria, including thunderstorm phobias.
The most widely recommended nervine is the odoriferous valerian root (Valeriana officinalis). People either like valerian and call it earthy, or they gag over its raunchy “sweat socks” aroma. Cats are notorious for clawing through packages to reach it (valerian’s effect on them is similar to catnip), and many dogs enjoy its taste. Valerian’s volatile components are so fragile that the best way to preserve them is in a tincture or liquid extract made with fresh roots and alcohol, vegetable glycerine, or cider vinegar. Valerian loses much of its potency when dried at high temperatures, powdered for capsules, or exposed to light and humidity.
Valerian is nontoxic even in large amounts, and although often called a sedative herb and sleeping aid, it does not interfere with coordination. In fact, experiments conducted on humans show that valerian improves physical dexterity and mental focus. However, valerian doesn’t work for everyone; an estimated seven percent of humans (and possibly some dogs as well) react as though it contains caffeine or a similar stimulant. Try valerian when your dog is calm, and if it produces nervousness or agitation, substitute a different herb.
Although most tincture labels recommend small amounts, many of the herbalists polled for this article give their dogs generous doses. Tina Finneyfrock, an herbal practitioner in Earlville, NY, treated her 70-pound mixed-breed dog for thunderstorm phobia with valerian tincture and Rescue Remedy. “I gave the valerian as soon as I noticed her acting funny,” she says. “She always sensed a storm long before I did. I put 80 drops of undiluted valerian tincture on a small amount of wet food. It never made her pass out, but within 20 minutes, she was calm enough to weather most storms. If the thunder was severe, I gave her Rescue Remedy as well.”
Skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia) is a sedative tonic herb with antispasmodic properties. It is used to control epilepsy in dogs as well as people, and it may help dogs who are sensitive to electrical fields. Skullcap tincture can be squirted into the sides of the mouth or given with food; start with 10 to 15 drops for an average size dog and repeat as needed at 15 to 20 minute intervals. An additional dropperful can be massaged into the skin on the back of the neck.
In Arizona, canine massage therapist and herbalist Lisa Walk combines valerian and skullcap for dogs with thunder phobias. “The dosage is higher than usual for herbal tinctures,” she says, “because extreme fear can override an herb’s effects. The same is true for prescription drugs, which is why veterinarians give heavier sedatives to dogs with panic disorders.
“With commercially prepared tinctures I start with one-third of the recommended human dose for a 50-pound dog, which is five to 15 drops, depending on the manufacturer,” describes Walk. “I then increase the dosage if necessary. A client’s German Shepherd needed 45 drops (three dropperfuls) to ease his panting, pacing, whining, and nervousness. To treat a Terrier-mix frightened by car travel, I started with 15 drops but found she needed 35 to feel comfortable. She weighed far less than the German Shepherd but needed proportionally more.” Walk recommends a raw, natural diet for its psychological as well as physical benefits and adds a mixture of nettles, oatstraw, and raspberry leaf, all of which nourish the nervous system, to the dog’s food.
Australian herbalist Robert McDowell, who specializes in herbal therapies for dogs and horses, has treated numerous cases of thunderstorm phobia using vervain (Verbena officinalis), a relaxing nervine, and St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), best known as an antidepressent.
“Vervain is for the sensitive and rather ‘on edge’ nervous disposition in which spiraling reactions escalate out of control,” he explains, “and hypericum is for the nervous system which is so physically sensitive that loud noises actually produce pain as well as fright.”
For an average-size dog, McDowell recommends five drops of each tincture twice daily in food for at least three months, by which time the reaction pattern should be dramatically reduced. “The tincture should be made from fresh herbs at a 1:2 ratio,” he notes, “which is a very concentrated extract made with one pound of plant material for every two pounds of vodka or other liquid.” The herb companies listed in “Noise Phobia Resources” box on page 11 typically use this ratio.
McDowell recommends combining three fluid ounces (six tablespoons) each of vervain and St. John’s wort tincture to make a three-month supply for the average dog. To this mixture he adds two drops of each of the following flower essences: Mimulus for fear, Walnut for over-sensitivity, Rock Rose for the spiral energy of panic, Cherry Plum for the loss of control due to fear and panic, Honeysuckle to help break habit patterns established in the past, and Larch to support the self-confidence needed to trust the retraining process. Give five drops of the blend to small breeds, 10 drops to average-size dogs, and 15 drops to large-breed dogs. Administer the drops twice daily. The Polynesian herb kava kava (Piper methysticum) is a musculoskeletal relaxant that helps people and dogs cope with stress and distractions.
Because it prevents the muscle contractions that produce body postures characteristic of panic and hysteria, kava may prevent thunder phobia by maintaining a relaxed physiology, and it helps dogs respond to massage and other manipulations that realign the body.
In very large amounts, kava interferes with coordination and produces symptoms similar to alcohol intoxication; in humans, frequent overdoses produce an unsightly skin rash. Liquid extracts work faster than capsules or tablets, but both work well for most dogs. Follow label directions, giving giant breeds the amount recommended for humans; divide the recommended dose in half for dogs weighing 60 pounds, by four for 30 pounds, and by eight for 15 pounds. The dose can be repeated if necessary (dogs with a fast metabolism may need more and, as noted, so can dogs with extreme fear), or kava can be combined or alternated with valerian, skullcap, or other relaxing herbs.
Aromatherapy
To most Americans, aromatherapy means perfume, bath salts, air sprays, and similar products. One woman told Kristen Leigh Bell that she would like to try aromatherapy for her dog but felt uncomfortable at the thought of lighting candles on the floor all around him. “Mainstream aromatherapy is a booming business,” says Bell, a certified aromatherapist, “but it has nothing to do with the therapeutic use of pure, plant-derived essential oils and hydrosols.” Bell, who specializes in aromatherapy for dogs and cats, is completing a master’s degree at the highly regarded Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. Her thesis topic is aromatherapy for pets.
In blending massage oils and spritzes that address thunderstorm phobias as well as other canine fears, Bell chose from a variety of essential oils that have proven sedative effects on the central nervous system.
“Some, such as basil (Ocimum basilicum) and ylang ylang (Cananga odorata),” she says, “are excellent for stress, anxiety, grief, and mental fatigue.”
Bell says the essential oils with the most profound calming effects are lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), valerian root (Valariana officinalis), spikenard (*Nardostachys jatamansi), mandarin petitgrain (the leaves of *Citrus reticulata), red or green mandarin (the peel of the same plant), sweet orange (*Citrus sinensis), sweet marjoram (*Origanum majorana), bergamot (the peel of *Citrus aurantium), and neroli (the same plant’s blossoms).
“My ‘Calm Down’ blend and ‘Fear/Anxiety’ blend share some of the same oils but are very different in scent,” Bell says. “Some clients find that using both blends works best for dogs with serious anxiety.”
Some who have used these blends to treat their dogs’ thunderstorm phobias and other noise-related fears combine the essential oil blends with flower essences, or they give an herbal capsule at the same time and, as the essential oils begin to wear off, the digested herbs become effective. “Essential oils have an almost immediate effect,” says Bell, “because when their volatile chemicals are inhaled and absorbed into a dog’s large and very active nasal cavity, they affect the central nervous system.”
Combining Remedies for Noise Phobia
Linda Walker, who raises Akitas in Michigan, took Speedo to her first dog show when the puppy was seven months old. “That was a big mistake on my part,” she says. “It was a National Specialty held outdoors under a huge white tent, and the noise level was astronomical, with big crowds, shrill whistles, and people screaming, yelling, clapping, and cheering. Speedo did well, including winning her class, but she was badly frightened, and she absolutely hated dog shows and loud noises after that.”
Walker tried Bell’s Calm Down and Fear/Anxiety blends in combination with the Rescue Remedy she had previously used alone without success. “I discovered that it works best to use Fear/Anxiety before leaving the van; then I switch to Calm Down,” she reports. “You can see the tension leaving her as soon as I spritz her chest and neck. It has taken some work, but by combining these spritzes with flower essence sprays and calming signals, we have made tremendous progress.” Walker also uses the blends for dogs who fear the veterinarian’s office.
To make a calming massage oil blend at home, Bell recommends mixing 10 drops of any of the essential oils listed above (15 drops for a large dog) with one ounce (two tablespoons) sweet almond, hazelnut, jojoba, sesame, or other cold-pressed vegetable oil. “Lavender, sweet orange, and marjoram are the least expensive therapeutic-quality essential oils,” she says, “and they are easy to find. The more daring might try valerian root, bergamot, and ylang ylang. Experiment until you find your dog’s favorite blend.”
To apply the oil blend, massage it into the dog’s neck and chest. “Always take advantage of making this a rewarding experience,” says Bell, “with lots of positive reinforcement.”
To make a spritz, mix 15 to 30 drops of essential oil with one ounce (two tablespoons) vodka and add enough water to make one cup of solution. Spray the air around your dog as often as desired.
Alternatively, apply several drops of essential oil to a bandana handkerchief and tie it around your dog’s neck, or purchase a nebulizing diffuser, which releases essential oils into the air.
Hydrosols, also called hydrolates, distillates, herbal waters, flower waters, or floral waters, are a by-product of the distillation process. They contain traces of essential oils and all of a plant’s water-soluble components, giving them the therapeutic properties of both an herbal tea and an essential oil. Because they are very dilute, hydrosols are safe for use on and around pets. They can be added to food or drinking water, applied topically, squirted into the mouth full-strength, sprayed on the animal, or sprayed around the room, car, crate, or kennel.
Jan Scanlan Coles lives in Toronto with four dogs, including two four-year-old Border Collies and their nine-year-old mother. One of the dogs hides downstairs whenever a storm begins. “I mix half a teaspoon of chamomile hydrosol with a small amount of bread or other soft food,” she says, “and that helps her stay calm.”
Suzanne Catty, one of the world’s leading authorities on hydrosols and the roommate of a Labrador Retriever, suggested chamomile to Scanlon, who works as her assistant. “The hydrosols of both Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) and German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) work well for stress and fear,” says Catty, “and so do neroli, lavender, and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). In addition to giving the hydrosol by mouth, you can spray it on your hands and wipe them over the dog’s face, starting at the nose and moving back to and around the ears. Do this twice and repeat the treatment every few minutes until the dog is calm.”
Hydrosols make a very effective base for flower essence sprays. Because they are perishable, Catty recommends buying hydrosols from dealers who maintain fresh stock, transferring hydrosols to sterilized spray bottles as soon as they arrive, and storing them in a cool place. Discard any hydrosol that has an “off” odor.
More Remedies
Try these other ways to counteract your dog’s extreme fear of thunderstorms. Consider medication if your dog’s fear of thunder is still unmanageable after exploring other options.
Author CJ Puotinen is an herbalist, holistic pet care expert, the author of Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, and a frequent contributor to WDJ.
There are some very high-profile illnesses that can result from handling raw meat – scarifying things like E. coli, salmonella, and trichinella. The mere idea of these threats prevents many people interested in “raw feeding” from giving this type of highly beneficial diet a try. So, we’re going to demystify everything that could go wrong with raw meat (but probably won’t). We’ll describe some horrible diseases, and how they would affect a person who got them, and how they would affect a dog.
But don’t be put off; these things just don’t seem to happen to the kind of educated, conscientious dog owners who are reading this article and trying to provide their dogs with the healthiest diets possible.
In fact, we made inquiries with several veterinary nutrition experts, and none of them had ever personally seen a dog who had become infected with one of these pathogens by eating human-grade raw meat. They’ve seen problems with ALL-meat diets – of course! Dogs are omnivores, and require more than meat alone!
They’ve seen problems with feeding dogs so-called 4-D meat, that is, “condemned meat” that came from animals that were dead, down, dying, or diseased animals that could not pass for human-grade food. Of course problems would result from feeding this sort of unhealthy meat!
And they’ve seen problems with dietary imbalances; most of us still have a lot to learn about designing a nutritionally complete homemade diet. (In fact, we’re going to talk about formulating homemade diets in an upcoming issue this fall.)
But none of the experts we spoke with could cite a case where a dog contracted one of the illnesses we discuss below from eating human-grade raw meat.
Terms of engagement There are several ways that illness-inducing organisms in raw meat can pose a danger to you and/or your dog:
1. Your dog eats harmful pathogens present in raw meat that is infected and becomes ill.
2. In the process of preparing your dog’s raw meat, pathogens that are present in or on the meat infects your food preparation tools or area, and, in turn, infects your food and causes illness in your human family.
3. Your dog eats harmful pathogens present in raw infected meat and becomes ill. You come into contact with a later stage of the pathogen, in the form of organisms shed in the sick dog’s diarrhea.
According to experienced “raw feeders,” fastidious meat selection, preparation, and storage techniques can prevent most of the illnesses we’re about to discuss in detail. However, people who are still nervous about these risks can employ various levels of precautions to protect themselves, their dogs, and their families while optimizing the dog’s diet through at-home preparation of the dog’s food.
To begin with, if feeding raw meat is just too terrifying for people to contemplate, they can cook the meat! Thorough cooking kills all of the potentially infective agents mentioned below – and we would rather see people feeding their dogs a diet that includes cooked meat than one that includes kibble!
Virtually all of the people who have warned us over the years about the potential dangers of feeding raw meats either work for or have done research for dog food companies; these are people with a vested interest in warning people away from feeding real food to their dogs. It’s hard to trust people who have something to sell, and dog food is a multi-billion-dollar industry these days.
We’d rather trust the hundreds of people who have written to us to describe how much healthier, stronger, and energetic their dogs are, and the holistic vets who have told us how their clients’ dogs are less prone to illness, injury, or disease since they began feeding raw meat. We’ll believe the people who have actually tried feeding a meat-based diets, and found that it really works for dogs.
BACTERIAL THREATS
Campylobacteriosis This infectious disease is the most common cause of diarrheal illness in the U.S. It is caused by contact with Campylobacter bacteria, generally through the handling or consumption of raw or undercooked infected poultry. More than 10,000 human cases are reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) annually, but many more cases go undiagnosed or unreported; the CDC estimates two million people each year are infected.
People who become ill with Campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever within two to five days of exposure to the organism, although some people who become infected do not experience symptoms. The diarrhea may be bloody, and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness typically lasts one week. In people with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter can spread to the bloodstream and cause a serious, life-threatening infection.
Campylobacter lives in the intestines of infected chickens, contaminating the chicken meat during slaughter. According to the CDC, more than half of the raw chicken in the U.S. market has Campylobacter on it. The best way for people to avoid infection with this bacteria is to practice stringent safe handling of raw poultry.
Dogs may be infected with Campylobacter and suffer no symptoms; dogs and cats appear to be better adapted to the bacteria than humans. When clinical illness develops in a dog, it is generally in puppies less than six months of age and/or under unusual stress. Treatment with oral antibiotics often takes care of the illness, but many strains are proving to be resistant to antibiotics, due to the aggressive use of antibiotics in animal feeds.
E. Coli There are actually four recognized classes and hundreds of strains of E. coli, and the effect and relative dangers of each is different. But whether exposure to E. coli causes diarrhea in dogs is as yet unresolved. The danger of E. coli-infected meat would appear to threaten only the humans in the household, and only through shoddy meat handling practices.
The organism lives in the intestines of healthy cattle. Meat can become contaminated during slaughter, and organisms can be thoroughly mixed into beef when it is ground. Bacteria present on the cow’s udders or on equipment may get into raw milk. Contaminated meat and milk looks and smells normal.
E. coli also naturally resides in the intestines of healthy humans, so person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is often seen as a mode of transmission. Infection can also occur after drinking raw infected milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water.
Some strains of E. coli are harmless; mild forms of E. coli cause what is commonly referred to as “travelers’ diarrhea.” The most potent form (known as E. coli O157:H7) can cause intensely painful, bloody diarrhea. In some people, particularly children under five years of age and the elderly, the infection can cause a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. About two to seven percent of infections lead to this complication, which usually must be treated in an intensive care unit and may require blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Most people, however, recover without antibiotics or other treatment in 5-10 days. An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the U.S. annually.
Listeriosis The is a serious infection caused by eating food that has been contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes. The symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea or nausea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, or convulsions may occur. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild flu-like illness, but this can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth.
As estimated 2,500 people become seriously ill with Listeriosis each year, and about 500 of these die. At increased risk are pregnant women (who make up about one-third of the affected people); newborns; people with weakened immune systems or AIDS (AIDS patients are 300 times more likely to get Listeriosis than people with normal immune function); people with cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease; and the elderly. Healthy adults and children occasionally get infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill. The infection may be identified only with a culture of the patient’s blood or spinal fluid.
Raw meat can be infected with Listeria monocytogenes, but because the bacteria is naturally found in soil and water, vegetables and dairy products are also included on the list of suspects when Listeriosis strikes.
We could find no record of dogs becoming infected with Listeria from eating infected meat. There have been cases of dogs with Listeriosis, but the route of infection was thought to be oral contact with infected dirt or silage.
The disease in dogs is sometimes referred to as “circling disease,” as an infected dog often displays neurologic signs such as ataxia (loss of balance), circling, or head tilting. Treated early with vigorous antibiotic therapy, the prognosis is good.
Salmonellosis The Salmonella bacteria lives in the gastrointestinal tract of infected humans and animals, and is present in their feces; people and dogs can be infected with the bacteria without any signs of illness.
People who do become ill generally develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment, although the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems may experience severe illness. In some cases the diarrhea may become so severe that the person needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection can sometimes spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and can even cause death unless promptly treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, some Salmonella bacteria have become very resistant to antibiotics, largely due to the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of food animals.
About 40,000 cases of Salmonellosis are reported each year in the U.S. The CDC estimates that the actual number of cases is perhaps 20 times greater than this, since most cases are not diagnosed or reported. An estimated 1,000 people die annually due to Salmonella infections.
Pet reptiles, especially turtles, are particularly likely to harbor Salmonella; people should always wash their hands after handling reptiles. But Salmonella is often transmitted to people by eating foods that have been contaminated with feces from an infected animal. It should be noted that such foods usually look and smell normal. Beef, poultry, milk, or eggs are the most commonly infected foods, but even vegetables may be infected.
Dogs may harbor Salmonella bacteria for years without suffering gastrointestinal problems, until illness is triggered by unusual stress. The stress of hospitalization, anesthesia, immuno-suppressive therapy, concurrent disease, and overcrowding has been correlated with an increased risk of Salmonellosis in dogs.
Signs of infection in dogs are variable, and most occur within a few days of stress or hospitalization. Fever, malaise, and anorexia are noted initially, followed by vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Because Salmonella gastroenteritis is usually self-limited, and because antibiotic resistance is so common, antibiotics are generally not used to treat the infection. Supportive therapies for effects of diarrhea are helpful.
PARASITIC AND PROTOZOAN THREATS
A quote from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, may be instructive here: “The presence of parasites in meat is repugnant to the consumer whether or not the parasites are transmissible to humans.” In other words, parasites are one thing that meat inspectors really look for when examining meat for human consumption.
There are two types of parasites of meat animals in this country that are directly transmissible to humans through the consumption of meat: Trichinella, most often observed in pork but sometimes found in beef, and tapeworms.
Trichinosis This disease is caused by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the larvae of a species of worm called Trichinella. The parasite can infect beef, but is almost always seen in pork.
According to the USDA, Trichinella is unique among the parasites encountered in meat inspection in that it cannot be diagnosed by examination of the carcass and, as yet, there is no test that will guarantee freedom from the presence of the parasite. Therefore, they advise the consumer to “assume that all swine are infested and must be sufficiently treated to destroy Trichinae by heating, freezing, curing, or use of irradiation. The consumer is expected to thoroughly cook those fresh pork cuts that have not been processed to destroy Trichinae.”
Trichinosis is very rare in dogs, but the disease in humans is so serious that the disease is always mentioned in discussions of feeding raw meat. For this reason, few raw feeders utilize pork in their dogs’ diets.
Infected meat actually contains worm larvae, which develop into worms in the new host. These worms travel through the arteries and are transported to muscle tissue, where they encyst. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, and abdominal discomfort are the first symptoms, occurring within a day or two of eating infected meat. Further symptoms – headaches, fevers, chills, cough, eye swelling, aching joints and muscle pain, itchy skin, diarrhea or constipation – usually start within two to eight weeks. The severity of the symptoms is directly related to the number of infectious larvae consumed. Often mild cases of trichinosis are never diagnosed or assumed to be the flu or some other illness. A blood test or muscle biopsy is needed to diagnose trichinosis.
Though this disease was once considered very common in the U.S., infection is considered by the CDC to be fairly rare today, with an average of 38 cases being reported each year. The decrease is attributed to legislation prohibiting the feeding of raw meat garbage to hogs, commercial and home freezing of pork, and public awareness of the danger of eating raw pork products. Freezing cuts of pork that are less than six inches thick for 20 or more days at 5 degrees F. will kill any worms present; however, similar treatment will not kill larvae present in wild game meat.
Tapeworm There are numerous types of tapeworms that can infect dogs and people, and some are transmitted through the ingestion of infected meat. Echinococcus granulosus and E. multiocularis, also known as “hyatids,” commonly infect lamb; Taenia saginata, also known as the common tapeworm, is usually found in cattle. A related tapeworm, Taenia solium, exists in the larval state in the muscles of the hog. The larvae exist in the muscles and organs of these food animals. If they detect tapeworms, meat inspectors condemn the carcass or compel the meat to be rendered safe through a special freezing or heating process; however, one must imagine that not every infection can be detected.
Cooking meat kills the larval form of all tapeworms; freezing the meat does, too. However, the temperatures required to kill any tapeworm larvae present are rarely approximated by home freezers. Most home appliances are set to a temperature just around freezing (32 degrees F.) The USDA uses temperatures of no more than 15 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 20 days to inactivate tapeworm larvae.
Infected dogs rarely show signs of disease unless the tapeworms are present in very high numbers from multiple exposures.
Meat is not the only vehicle for tapeworm transmission. The most common route of dog-to-human tapeworm infection is through accidental ingestion of infected flea larvae or lice, or through eating vegetation such as nuts, berries, or herbs that became contaminated through infected dog, cat, fox, or other canid feces.
Protozoal Infections There are numerous protozoans (single-celled creatures) that can infect dogs if they are present in meat and are consumed. Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan that causes the disease known as toxoplasmosis, is the best known, but its habits and effects are not completely understood. The creature generally replicates in intestinal walls, although it can invade and colonize in the central nervous system. The disease in humans may resemble as little as a mild cold – or can lead to hepatitis, pneumonitis, myocarditis, or meningoencephalitis.
Carnivores and omnivores can become infected by eating raw infected meat, but infection can also be congenital (present from birth due to transmission in utero from an infected mother), or a result from exposure to infected feces. Since many dogs eat feces occasionally (and a few eat feces whenever they can), this must be considered as a probable cause in many cases. According to some estimates, about 40 percent of all cats and humans in the U.S., and 20 percent of all dogs in the U.S., already have Toxoplasma gondii present in their bodies. The disease usually develops only in animals and humans with an immuno-deficiency.
Cooking meat inactivates any tissue cysts that are present. Freezing meat inactivates many – but not all – protozoal tissue cysts.
In recent years, another protozoan has been widely reported as causing disease in dogs. Infection with Neosporum caninum causes a disease called neosporosis, which is characterized by paralysis and atrophy of the hind limbs.
Early studies are showing Neosporum caninum to be ubiquitous in the worldwide cattle population, so concern has increased that dogs (and people) could become infected with the protozoan through the consumption on uncooked or undercooked meat. However, the only proven route of transmission in dogs is transplacental.
Are we vegetarians yet? The more you learn about the potential dangers of food, the less you want to eat anything; meat is perhaps the worst example. But dogs need meat – preferably raw, but cooked meat is better than none.
Not every food animal that is infected with a potentially harmful pathogen can be detected and rejected from the human food supply, but considering the scale of the project, food inspectors do a heroic job. If you do your part – buying the best meats from reputable markets, handling and storing the meat assiduously, and feeding it to healthy dogs – the odds are, neither you nor your dogs will ever experience any of the problems described here.
Dogs love a good massage. If you don’t believe me, ask any dog. Slow rhythmic massage moves can improve circulation, reduce stress, and relieve discomfort from a recent injury or a chronic condition like arthritis.
But there is another type of massage that we sometimes overlook. Prior to a competition, an invigorating sports massage can do wonders to get a canine athlete physically pumped and mentally psyched. This is true for any competitive endeavor whether it is lure coursing, agility, obedience, Frisbee, fly-ball, tracking, herding, field trials, or some other activity. After the competition, the dog can definitely benefit from another, more relaxing sports massage.
Trainers routinely have human and equine athletes stretch and exercise to warm up in preparation for a strenuous competition. Afterward, they cool down by walking out and perhaps doing a few more stretches.
So why do we often see a canine athlete go straight from his crate into competition without the benefit of warm-up or massage? All too often, our athletic friends also go back into their crates without adequate cool-down. I believe this is just an oversight, because our canine buddies are so willing to please and so slow to complain. Because they are so agreeable, we sometimes neglect to provide them with a proper warm-up and cool-down. Perhaps we just forget to treat them like the athletes that they are. The truth is our canine friends can benefit greatly from a pre-competition warm- up and a sports massage and a post-exercise cool-down and another sports massage.
I maintain that all dogs are athletes so we shouldn’t forget our often unsung canine companions who are ever-ready to chase a ball or a squirrel. This is hard work, too. Then there are our older friends who may have slowed a bit, but who are all tail wags when it comes time for a leisurely walk with their human. These pals can also benefit from sports massage before and after their activities.
Pre-Competition Massage for Dogs: Be Light and Quick
We have presented a number of massage techniques in our massage series and explained how they could be used to promote relaxation, soothe sore muscles, or enhance range of motion. Many of these same techniques can be incorporated into sports massage routines to invigorate the canine athlete before a competition and to relax him after he crosses the finish line. By changing your intention, your touch, and your speed, you can accomplish a totally different result with massage moves you have already learned.
When you set your intention for a routine relaxation massage, it is usually to relax the dog’s muscles, to decrease stress, and/or to address a specific physical problem. Sports massage requires a slightly different mindset. The intent for a pre-competition massage might be to warm the tissues and help the dog move freely. After competition, the intent for a post-competition massage might be to relax the dog and help him cool out. In either case, it is a good idea to think the dog’s name and a positive thought about the massage.
For example, before a lure coursing competition, I might think to my dog, “Gabbie, this massage will warm your muscles and get you ready to run.” Sometimes it works well to think in pictures that portray the benefits of the massage. You might picture your dog feeling good during and after the massage and competing with zest. Help your dog be physically and mentally ready for the job at hand. When you are preparing for the post-competition massage, picture a job well done (regardless of his place in the competition) and the dog becoming relaxed.
The touch or pressure for sports massage is generally light and the movements are quick. Slower, deliberate movements are great to induce the deep relaxation of a maintenance massage.
Don’t Forget Your Dog’s Exercise Warmups
Pre-competition massage is not a substitute for an actual physical warm-up for the dog, but it can reduce warm-up time and help the dog prepare for the task ahead. The massage should increase circulation, reduce muscle tension, and increase flexibility. This helps muscles work more efficiently and to enhance the athlete’s sense of well-being.
A warm-up massage should be relatively light and nonspecific. Do not spend too long on any body area. The idea is to warm the muscles, but you do not want to massage them to the point of total relaxation which will make them flaccid. This is an exercise in stimulation and is not the time for the muscles or the dog to become relaxed. It goes without saying that the dog should be standing for the pre-competition massage. The entire pre-competition massage should take 5 to 10 minutes.
Post-Competition Massage
The post-competition massage can be very similar to the pre-competition massage with a few changes. First, each area of the body should be opened and also closed with effleurage. The pressure should be moderate and the general speed of the massage should be a bit slower than for a pre-competition massage. The average post-competition sports massage should take about 10 to 15 minutes, which is still much shorter than a regular maintenance massage. Since the dog has just completed a hard work out, the idea is to promote general relaxation, reduce muscle tension, relieve swelling, and help prevent soreness.
Agility: A Fun, Fast Sport for Good Sports
Agility is a sport in which a handler directs her dog over a timed obstacle course. Dogs race against the clock as they jump hurdles, scale ramps, burst through tunnels, traverse a see-saw and weave through a line of poles. With scoring based on “faults,” similar to equestrian show jumping, dog agility has become an exciting spectator event. Best of all, any breed of dog (including mixedbreeds) can compete; the dog’s height determines its division.
The sport was originally developed in Great Britain, but there are several organizations in the U.S. that promote agility and organize competitions, the first and largest of which is the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA). In addition, many clubs form on the local level to provide members with shared training facilities (including obstacles) and assistance in training their dogs.
Though agility is a competitive, athletic sport, the USDAA also promotes dog agility as a community sport, as it offers families a fun alternative for spending quality time with their pet. The obstacles are relatively easy to train, and a dog can do reasonably well and have fun without the hours of training required in other competitive canine activities; however, as with any sport, considerable time and energy is required to be highly competitive.
Sue Furman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO. She is also active as a free-lance writer and teaches canine and equine massage classes.
It’s funny how special dogs come into one’s life. A friend had found Diamond at a dog show. Only seven months old, shed been returned to a breeder because of her dysplastic hips. The breeder planned to have her euthanized. With her big radar ears and eyes wise beyond her young age, she loved everything and everyone, especially young children. My friend offered to have her spayed and find her a good home in exchange for a reprieve, and in October 1993, she became my dog.
One of the first things I did was to make an appointment with a holistic veterinarian, Dr. Anne Rice of Williamstown, Michigan. I had hoped that Dr. Rice might have some new or different advice for dealing with Diamond’s hips. This dog should have no more vaccinations, she advised. And a natural diet would be best for her.
I’ve always taken good care of the animals entrusted to my care, but this advice did not work for me. Diamond received traditional care for her dysplastic hips, starting with one hip replacement surgery in 1995, and another in 1996. I was busy and bags of food were easy, so Diamond ate commercial pet food. I faithfully took her to a conventionally trained veterinarian for her annual vaccinations and the hip surgeries, and casually popped the heart worm prevention pills with chemical flea and parasite controls into her system, because that’s the way I had always done it.
But my care did not result in a problem-free dog! Diamond had numerous ear infections, constant problems with parasites, and teeth that always seemed to need cleaning, despite the promises of the special dental-plaque removal food.
One step forward, two steps back
It wasn’t until the winter of 1998, when I came across a book called Give Your Dog A Bone by Dr. Ian Billinghurst, that something finally clicked in my mind. A natural diet to boost the immune system? To eliminate the nagging problems that had plagued Diamond for so long? I liked the sound of that! In no time at all, I had a 30-pound box of frozen turkey necks in my freezer!
In very short order, things started improving for Diamond. Her ears cleared up. The thick, brown plaque wore off her teeth until they gleamed white. Her parasite problem vanished. I felt we were finally on the right track.
However, my vision of holistic health care was not very complete. Although I was feeding her a natural diet, I was not quite ready to abandon or alter her traditional veterinary care. So when I received a notice that Diamond was due to receive her annual vaccinations, I took her right in. In March 1999, just a few weeks after receiving those booster shots, Diamond became extremely arthritic. When she walked, she actually sounded like a creaky skeleton. I did add some chondroitin and glucosamine supplements to her diet, without much discernible improvement.
In August, one of her knee ligaments blew when she was playing with another dog, and had to be rebuilt surgically. The veterinary surgeon’s parting words were, “By the way, if that lump on her front leg changes AT ALL, get her in and have it taken off. It feels harmless, but keep an eye on it.”
I had noticed the lump before, but I hadn’t made much of it, since it didn’t seem to bother Diamond at all. I assumed she had bumped her leg while hunting groundhogs behind our barn, her favorite pastime.
Diamond’s overall health had me more worried. She looked much older than her six years. The supplements of chondroitin and glucosamine weren’t helping her arthritis much.
Eventually, as I fretted over my dear dog’s slow deterioration, I remembered Dr. Rice’s advice concerning vaccinations. Diamond’s arthritis had really kicked in right after the last round of vaccinations she had been given in March. Could there be a connection? I headed for the phone, wondering what Dr. Rice would have to say.
Holistic consultation
Thankfully, Dr. Rice was patient and understanding. She seemed to understand that it takes people time to absorb the holistic paradigm. This time, I listened much more attentively to what she had to say. After all, everything she had said to me years before had proven to be true. She talked to me about ways to eliminate the toxins I had been pumping into Diamond’s system. She explained the benefits of fasting, which frees up the digestive system to break down the toxins stored in the liver and other tissues. She reiterated her opinion that annual vaccinations were not necessary, especially for a six-year-old dog in poor health.
Since traditional care had not seemed to prevent a multitude of problems from afflicting Diamond, I was determined to follow all of Dr. Rice’s advice. I discontinued use of the chemical flea preventatives and began giving Diamond a flower essence product called Flea Free, which is given, a few drops a day, in the dog’s water. However, I also understood that purifying Diamond’s system might be a long-term project.
A new crisis
Around this time, I noticed that the lump on Diamond’s leg getting bigger. I brought Diamond to my traditional veterinarian, who removed the lump, and called me with the results a week later, on January 24, 2000. I knew we were in trouble when she said, “I’m SO sorry this happened to your dog.” The official diagnosis: hemangiopericytoma.
“What are my options?” I asked.
She kindly explained to me that it is impossible to completely remove this type of soft-tissue tumor surgically because they always recur, each time more aggressive than before. This usually lead to further surgeries and eventually amputation.
Dogs do surprisingly well on three legs, she offered. Radiation is also a possibility. These tumors have a low rate of metastasis. We could schedule an appointment for you at the University. Michigan State University Small Animal clinic is only 20 miles from my home.
I promised to think it over, but I knew the answer before I hung up the phone. There would be no more surgeries for Diamond. She’d been through enough already in her short life. Somewhat blindly, I made a trip to my local health food store and inquired about supplements to fight cancer. I came home with quite an assortment of products. I bought something that promised it was the ultimate antioxidant, and powerful herbal remedies that suggested they were what every body needs. I knew this was crazy, but I felt like I had to do something.
Diamond had a different idea. The dog who had always been willing to take anything suddenly had no use for my assortment of powders and pills. Just three weeks after having the tumor removed, the lump on Diamond’s leg was already as big as it was before the surgery.
Dr. Rice came out for a re-check. “What can I do?” I asked her. “I have a pile of supplements that she won’t touch.”
“This dog has come to teach you,” she said. “You have to listen to what her body tells you. The body knows what it needs.”
Her words constantly played through my head. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that Diamond could heal herself if she were given what she needed to work with. But what was the key?
Cancer treatment alternatives
I spent hours every night looking up information about canine cancer on the Internet. I found lots of information about the type of cancer that she had, and the typical treatment protocol was always the same: surgeries and radiation.
Then I swerved off in a new direction. I began looking for alternative treatments for humans with the same type of cancer. I found a website devoted to information about a German scientist and biochemist, Dr. Johanna Budwig, who had conducted extensive research on the healing properties of flaxseed oil combined with sulphurated proteins. She had had some success with curing cancer patients by giving them simple, natural foods with no chemicals or preservatives, as well as a supplement of flaxseed blended with low-fat cottage cheese.
About this same time, a friend suggested that I look up a website called Shirley’s Wellness Cafe. There I found lots of information about complementary and alternative pet care, including many testimonials from owners who were treating their animals various problems with a combination of … flaxseed oil and cottage cheese! Everyone seemed to be feeding 1/4 cup of cottage cheese plus one tablespoon of flaxseed oil three times daily.
Maybe this is it, I thought. On February 4, I started supplementing Diamond’s diet with the flaxseed/cheese mix, and I never looked back. Because she is less active than most dogs, I give her 1/4 cup low fat (1 percent) cottage cheese with 1 1/2 tablespoons of Barlean’s organic flaxseed oil two times a day (Barlean’s is the oil that Dr. Budwig recommends in the U.S.). I whip it until the oil is completely mixed into the cheese. When I place it in front of Diamond, she licks the dish clean and looks around for more.
The only vitamins I give her are a single 500-mg. Ester C (with bioflavonoids) gel cap, and one 400-iu vitamin E with selenium, both opened and mixed with her food daily. Several times a week, I give her a small amount of juiced vegetables, and I add a Vegyzme capsule to this, to help her digest the vegetables.
One day a week is fast day. On that day she gets none of her usual food, except for the oil/cheese mix and fresh water.
The fact that she’s still here with us already tells you that this protocol has worked. But how it worked still amazes me.
The tumor area on her leg continued to grow for the first three weeks after I began feeding Diamond the oil/cheese mix. I must have checked the puffy, lumpy area a hundred times a day. “This is going to work,” I told my husband.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” he cautioned. It was too late for that! I watched Diamond carefully during this time, and listened hard. Her arthritis was improving. She had more energy. Everything but her leg looked good.
On the morning of February 28, an amazing thing happened. The tumor definitely appeared smaller! And from that point on, it continued to shrink. By May 1, her leg looked completely normal. The last time my traditional veterinarian saw Diamond, she said, “I can’t even tell which leg it was!” She’s still kind of scratching her head over this case.
Today, Diamond is out back in the tall grass behind the barn, searching for groundhogs. Her arthritis is greatly improved, a plus from the flaxseed oil/cottage cheese mix that will always be a part of her diet, as will regular fasting.
The last time Dr. Rice saw her, she said, “Diamond looks great!” You can’t argue with success. I felt good about that, but it never would have happened if she hadn’t taught me the value of listening, searching for answers. Our animals bodies truly do know what they need. It’s up to us, as caretakers, to try and provide it.
Some twenty years ago I got a new puppy. Keli was an Australian Kelpie, acquired by the Marin Humane Society to be my Canine Field Agent, partner and assistant in my daily duties as an Animal Services Officer. Being selected for this program was a huge honor and responsibility. I was determined to do everything right in caring for and training my pup.
I had heard about a new technique in puppy-raising, called crate-training, where you put your dog in a small kennel at night, and whenever you had to leave him alone. I was skeptical. Put a puppy in a cage? It sounded cruel! Still, determined to provide cutting-edge care for my pup in this cutting-edge program, I decided to try it. After all, the puppy would be with me most of the time in the animal services truck, so we were really only talking about nighttime crating. Unconvinced but determined to try, prior to bringing the pup home I purchased a crate and set it up in my bedroom.
When I brought the 10-week-old pup home, I braced myself for the two most trying challenges of puppy-raising: house training and chewing. I was about to be pleasantly surprised. The first night in her crate, Keli cried for a few minutes – typical behavior on the first night away from her mother and littermates. But then she curled up and went to sleep.
At 2 a.m. she woke me with insistent crying. She was telling me she needed to go out – WOW! I got up, took her out to pee, then returned her to the crate and went back to bed. After another perfunctory period of protest she went back to sleep. When I woke up the next morning her crate was clean, I didn’t have to worry about stepping in – or cleaning up – puppy piles or puddles, and thanks to the boundaries of the crate, there were no chewed up shoes or electrical cords. My skepticism started to fade.
Two nights later it vanished completely when I went to put Keli in her crate and found Caper, my three-year-old Bull Terrier mix, already curled up on the soft pad in Keli’s airline kennel. Caper looked up at me and thumped her tail several times, clearly saying, “These are cool! Can I have one of my own?” I went out the following day and bought Caper her own crate, and I’ve been a crate convert ever since.
The Dog Crate as a Home Within a Home
The crate is a sturdy plastic, fiberglass, wood, metal or wire box just big enough for a dog to stand up, turn around and lie down in comfortably. It can be used with the door open, at your convenience, or with the door closed, when mandatory confinement is called for.
When the crate is properly introduced using positive training methods, most dogs love their crates. Canines are den animals and a crate is a modern den – a dog’s personal portable bedroom that he can retire to when he wants to escape from the trials and tribulations of toddlers and other torments. He can take it with him when he stays at boarding kennels, and when he travels with you and sleeps in hotels and motels.
Owners love crates because they generally make house training a breeze and prevent damage to the house, furnishings, and personal possessions. They can give a new puppy-owner peace of mind when Baby Buddy has to be left home alone. They can be used for a positive time-out when visitors tire of Buddy’s antics, or when he insists on begging at the dinner table.
The crate is also a great tool for convincing owners of backyard dogs to bring their hounds into their homes (where they belong). By bringing the dog indoors but keeping him confined, at least at night, hesitant owners can ease their fears about mayhem and ruined rugs while at least partially integrating the deprived dog into the family.
The Crate is NOT a Punishment
A crate is not a place of punishment. Never force your dog or puppy into a crate in anger. Even if he has earned a time-out through inappropriate behavior, don’t yell at him, throw him in the crate, and slam the door. Instead, quietly remove the dog from the scene and invite him into his crate to give both of you an opportunity to calm down.
Nor is a crate appropriate for long-term confinement. While some puppies are able to make it through an eight-hour stretch in a crate at night, you should be sleeping nearby and available to take your pup out if he tells you he needs to go.
During the day, a puppy should not be asked to stay in a crate longer than two to four hours at a time; an adult dog no more than six to eight hours. Longer than that and you risk forcing Buddy to eliminate in his crate, which is a very bad thing, since it breaks down his instinctive inhibitions against soiling his den. Dogs who learn to soil their dens can be extremely difficult, sometimes nearly impossible, to house train – a common behavior problem for puppies from unclean puppy mills.
Training Your Dog to Get into a Crate
Most puppies, even the majority of adult dogs, can be crate-trained with relative ease. Remember that the crate should be just large enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably. He doesn’t need to be able to play football in it. If you want to get one large enough for your puppy to grow into, block off the back so he has just enough room, and increase the space as he grows. Cover the floor of the crate with a rug or soft pad to make it comfortable and inviting, and you’re ready to begin training.
Start with the crate door open, and toss some irresistibly yummy treats inside. If he is hesitant to go in after them, toss the treats close enough to the doorway that he can stand outside and just poke his nose in the crate to eat them. If you are training with a clicker or other reward marker, each time he eats a treat, Click! the clicker (or say “Yes!” if you are using a verbal marker).
Gradually toss the treats farther and farther into the crate until he steps inside to get them. Continue to Click! each time he eats a treat. When he enters the crate easily to get the treats, Click! and offer him a treat while he is still inside. If he is willing to stay inside, keep clicking and treating. If he comes out that’s okay too, just toss another treat inside and wait for him to re-enter. Don’t try to force him to stay in the crate.
When he enters the crate to get the treat without hesitation, you can start using a verbal cue such as “Go to bed” as he goes in, so that you will eventually be able to send him into his crate on just a verbal cue.
When he happily stays in the crate in anticipation of a Click! and treat, gently swing the door closed. Don’t latch it! Click! and treat, then open the door. Repeat this step, gradually increasing the length of time the door stays closed before you Click! Sometimes you can Click! and reward without opening the door right away.
When your dog will stay in the crate with the door closed for at least 10 seconds without any signs of anxiety, close the door, latch it, and take one step away from the crate. Click!, return to the crate, reward, and open the door. Repeat this step, varying the time and distance you leave the crate. Don’t always make it longer and farther – intersperse long ones with shorter ones, so it doesn’t always get harder and harder for him. Start increasing the number of times you Click! and treat without opening the door, but remember that a Click! or a “Yes!” always gets a treat.
It’s a good idea to leave the crate open when you aren’t actively training. Toss treats and his favorite toys in the crate when he’s not looking, so he never knows what wonderful surprises he might find there. You can even feed him his meals in the crate – with the door open – to help him realize that his crate is a truly wonderful place.
If at any time during the program your dog whines or fusses about being in the crate, don’t let him out until he stops crying! This is the biggest mistake owners make when crate training! If you let Buddy out when he is fussing, you will teach him that fussing gets him free.
If, however, he panics to the point of risking injury to himself, you must let him out. You may have a dog with a separation anxiety challenge. A crate is generally not recommended for dogs with separation anxiety, since they tend to panic in close confinement. If you believe your dog has a separation anxiety problem, stop the crate training and consult a behaviorist or a trainer who has experience with this behavior.
Instead of letting your dog out whenever he fusses or whines, wait for a few seconds of quiet, then Click! and reward. Then back up a step or two in the training program until he is again successful at the task you’ve set out for him. When your dog is doing well at that level again, increase the difficulty in smaller increments, and vary the amount of time, rather than making it progressively longer. For example, instead of going from 5 seconds to 10 to 15, start with 5 seconds, then 7, then 3, then 8, and so on.
Maintaining Dog Crate Reliability
Sometimes dogs and often puppies can do the whole crate training program in one day. Some will take several days, and a few will take weeks or more. Once your dog is crate trained, you have a valuable behavior management tool for life. Respect it. If you abuse it by keeping Buddy confined too much, for too long a period of time, or by using it as punishment, he may learn to dislike it. Even though he goes to bed willingly and on cue, reward him often enough to keep the response happy and quick. Keep your verbal “Go To Bed” cue light and happy. Don’t ever let anyone tease or punish him in his crate. (Kids can be especially obnoxious about this. Watch them!)
All of my dogs quickly learn the “Go to bed” routine. I don’t even have to use the verbal cue; usually, when I emerge from brushing my teeth, they are already curled up in their crates for the night.
Pat Miller is a freelance author and a professional dog trainer in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The crate has long been proven to be an invaluable in-home dog behavior management tool. It is also extremely useful on the road. For a long time, the only downside of crates has been that they are big, heavy, and awkward to lug around. A crate big enough for a Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler or (imagine) Great Dane won’t even fit in most cars – which is one reason why a lot of big-dog owners drive vans and SUVs!
Take heart, compact car owners, and any of the rest of you who are tired of struggling with unwieldy plastic crates: the era of portable crates has arrived! There now are a number of brands of lightweight cloth-and-mesh crates to select from — crates that fold up into tidy packages that you can carry with your little finger and stash in your trunk or behind a seat. WDJ reviewed portable crates a couple of years ago, but there are some newcomers on the market and some innovations to the old-timers, so we thought we’d check them out again.
As much as we love portable crates, we need to start with this caveat: Portable crates are not for any dog who is unaccustomed to being crated. Of necessity, the materials that portable crates are constructed from are less sturdy than those of regular crates – which is why they are light and collapsible. They simply won’t withstand the teeth and claws of a dog determined to escape his crate. Use portable crates only with dogs who readily and comfortably accept crate confinement.
We evaluated three brands of portable crates using the following five criteria: Sturdiness, ease of setup, portability, cost, and aesthetics. Of course, we don’t expect them to be as sturdy as a standard crate, but they do need to stand up to the rigors of traveling. Ease of set-up is important, as we are often in a rush to get our act together when we arrive at a show grounds, or cranky and short-tempered after driving all day.
Of course, portable crates should be easy to move and carry, both assembled and collapsed. Cost is always a factor in our product review process, though we are always willing to pay a reasonable amount more for good quality, if necessary. Aesthetics are important for portable crates, especially since they are big, visible, and often end up sitting in the middle of our living space. If we have to look at it constantly, we’d like it to be attractive!
By the way, our test dogs did not discriminate – they voluntarily entered and slept in each of the three crates we tested with equal frequency.
WDJ’s Top Pick: Cabana Crate
Made by Doggone Good!, San Jose, CA; (800) 660-2665; www.doggonegood.com
The Cabana Crate was our top pick two years ago, and it’s our top pick again. This well-made rectangular crate has an attractive Cordura floor and trim, with nylon mesh sides. The Cordura is available in your choice of four vibrant colors and the mesh can be ordered in one of three colors. It is the fastest and easiest of the three crates to set up and take down, and has a nylon handle for easy carrying, or D-rings for an over-the-shoulder strap. (The D-rings also double as attachment points for clip-on accessories, mentioned below.)
The biggest design change since our previous review is the incorporation of spring-loaded brace poles, which make set-up a breeze. Simply unfold the two ends of the crate, and insert the two brace poles through the open crate door into the holes provided for that purpose. It takes less than a minute, with virtually no effort. A child or senior citizen could set this crate up with ease.
The Cabana frame is lightweight aluminum – sturdy and light; easy to carry either set up or collapsed. Although it is more expensive than our “Not Recommended” crate, it is comparable in price to its closest competitor, the Cool-Crate” that we have listed in the “WDJ Approves” category, and it is more attractive and far easier to set up.
The Cabana comes in five sizes, from Small (24x18x19, 5 pounds, $119) to Extra Large (42x30x33, 10 pounds, $199). Doggone Good also sells a wide variety of accessories, many of which are so clever and well-made that you may have a difficult time deciding which ones you can live without. These include a fleece crate mat with rubber backing ($9-23, depending on size), a carrying bag that can hold one or two crates ($45-58), a zippered mesh storage bag that clips onto the outside of the crate to hold treats, toys, or grooming supplies ($13.50), and clip-on vinyl food/water cups ($5).
In our book there is simply no contest – we pick the Cabana Crate every time.
The Cool Crate has a number of excellent features that put it a close second to the Cabana. It is an aesthetically pleasing arched-shaped crate with very sturdy stainless steel wire supports. The arch-shaped ribs are sewn into the fabric; the straight ribs that stretch the crate lengthwise are inserted into slender pockets, kind of like tent poles.
The crate fabric is PVC coated polyester yarn, advertised as flame resistant and good for blocking UV rays of the sun. (Don’t take this to mean you should set your crate up in full sun – your dogs can easily still get too hot!) While the cloth shouldn’t be expected to hold up to the abuse of a dog who scratches or paws (this dog should be in a solid crate under supervision), we will note that this fabric is stronger and thicker than the mesh of the other two crates we tested.
Our only real complaint with the Cool Crate is that it is a serious challenge to assemble. The straight steel supports were unbelievably difficult to insert in the sleeves provided for that purpose the first few times, so much so that we kept thinking we were trying to put them into the wrong places. Although these tight little sleeves have stretched out a bit and are somewhat easier to deal with each use, this crate is still far more difficult to set up than the Cabana.
Other than that, the Cool Crate is solid, sturdy, attractive, easy to move either assembled or collapsed. The Cool Crate is available in a wider range of sizes than the Cabana – a total of 10 sizes, from Mini (20x16x16, 2 pounds, $90) to Super Giant (54x32x40; 11 pounds, $280). We do consider this crate to be a reasonable choice, especially if you have a dog who is too large for the largest-sized Cabana.
Not Recommended: Canine Collapsible Crates
Made by Timbercreek Acres, Cincinnati, OH; (513) 648-0055; www.timbercreekacres.com
This is one of those cases where we would willingly pay more for the better quality product. While this crate is by far the least expensive of the crates we tested, ranging in price from $50 for the Small (12x13x20, 2.5 pounds) to $135 for the Large (30x26x40, 8 pounds), in our opinion, it’s far flimsier than the other crates we tested.
The frame is made of several pieces of PVC pipe and various elbows, T’s and bars. It is by far the most complicated of the three crates to construct, and when completed, it is not terribly stable.
With only one top brace and movable elbows and T’s, we found it difficult to move when assembled – the brace slides and the elbows twist. The instructions suggest gluing the frame together, which then, of course, reduces its collapsibility. If you leave the top pole unglued, according to the instructions, the crate will still supposedly collapse, but not, it seems, to the degree the others do.
The mesh material (available in three colors) fits very loosely on the frame.
The food we looked at this month is quite close to qualifying for our “Top Foods” list. It’s an interesting example of the progressive creep of the dog food industry toward the use of better ingredients – at least in the high-quality foods sector of the dry dog food market.
The maker of Health Food For Dogs, Breeder’s Choice of Irwindale, California, has a much better food on the market: Pinnacle, one of our favorite foods. Despite the optimistic name and cold claims on the front label (“Finest Meats & Grains . . . Nutritionally Superior”) this entry falls somewhere in the middle of their offerings in terms of quality; they have better, they have worse.
We far prefer the use of chicken meal to their mixed ingredient “poultry meal,” especially as a number one ingredient, but appreciate the use of lamb meal and fish meal to offer a rounded complement of amino acids. Aside from the “natural flavors” in the tenth position on the ingredients list, we don’t find anything wildly objectionable included. “Natural flavors” could be anything; in general, “flavors” are added to attract dogs to what otherwise be unappealing fare. With such basically decent ingredients, it seems unnecessary here.
Like many food makers who are rushing to include popular nutraceuticals in their foods, Breeder’s Choice has included herbs such as rosemary, sage, and yucca schidigera extract, some probiotics (bacillus subtilis and aspergillus oryzae), and plant enzymes (bromelain and papain, which are supposed to improve digestion) to appeal to supplement addicts – er, aficionados. The problem is, we don’t know how much of any of these are included, nor whether their inclusions would constitute a “therapeutic dose.” Therefore, we’d have to conclude the addition is just for show.
We thoroughly applaud the inclusion of the guaranteed kilocalories per cup of food (ME 400 Kcal/cup) on the label, as well as the “Best If Used By” date. We prefer for foods to also include a date of manufacture so we can buy the freshest food possible.
Have you hugged your local animal shelter manager lately? He or she could probably use some support about now.
This spring, a crisis developed when the countrys only maker of euthanasia drugs trickled dry due to a regulatory snafu. Many shelters overflowed as employees were forced to use less humane methods of dispatching unwanted dogs and cats.
Now some shelter managers are facing a new challenge: Finding a new outlet for the carcasses of the dogs and cats they have euthanized. The disposal of thousands of tons of companion animal carcases is an enormous problem in this country. For instance, the city of Los Angeles sends some 200 tons of euthanized dogs and cats to a local rendering plant each month.
As gross as it may seem, rendering is considered the best of a limited number of options. The enormous burden cannot be resolved through landfill, and incineration is costly. Rendered carcasses, at least, can be recycled into products such as fertilizers and garden supplements, as well as proteins for poultry feed.
However, rendering plants that produce and sell products for pet food are becoming increasingly reluctant to take on the job of rendering pets. They fear that consumers will reject any pet foods that are suspected of utilizing any substance that could be linked to recycled pets.
This was the case recently, when Valley Protein Inc. of Winchester, Virginia, gave notice to some 75 area animal shelters in Maryland and Virginia that it would no longer provide the carcass removal services it had extended for a fee to area animal shelters for the past 50 years.
The companys president, J.J. Smith, is adamant that the rendered pet products never crossed the line into the pet food products the company makes from other animal sources. Nevertheless, when some of his pet food clients expressed concern about the origin of their products, he felt it was necessary to discontinue the companion animal rendering, lest he lose their far more lucrative accounts. The pet food industry has understandable concerns that the remains of pets could be included in the pet food they sell to their customers, he said.
Valley Proteins decision meant that the areas animal shelters have had to seek out alternative methods of carcass disposal. Most have engaged the services of crematories, but the fees charged by these businesses are about 10 times more than the amount the shelters were paying for disposal by the rendering plant. Unfortunately, this may even result in a reduction in the number of animals that the shelters can afford to house, or shorten the amount of time they have to try to find new homes for adoptable animals.
John Mudd, supervisor of the Tri-County Animal Shelter in southern Maryland, estimates that his shelter disposes of about 90 tons of animals each year. The fee paid to Valley Proteins for that service was about $9,500. The fee charged for disposal of the same amount of animal carcasses by the cremation service he is using now will be in excess of $90,000. Its going to amount to at least a 25 percent overall increase in our total operating budget, which is, of course, outrageous, says Mudd.
Source: Washington Post
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Reporting problems with medications can help drug makers ascertain their true safety
All too often, dog owners regard their pets bad reaction to a medicine or a topical preparation as an isolated incident. Usually, both the dog owner and the veterinarian are so concerned with treating that individual, it never occurs to them to report the incident to either the drugs manufacturer or the FDA. But drug companies (and their Federal regulators) need feedback from the ultimate test population our dogs to ensure continued refinement and development of safe drugs.
If your dog becomes sick, or worsens after taking or being exposed to any drug, immediately take your dog to your veterinarian, and ask her to report your dogs reaction to the drug maker and the FDA. Sometimes the drug manufacturers are already aware of certain problems that may occur, and can discuss suggested courses of testing and/or treatment with your veterinarian.
Dog owners need not depend on the vet to do this, however. Anyone can report suspected drug reactions to the FDA by calling (888) 332-8387 or by using a form on the FDAs website.
In the June 2000 issue, the weight-loss article (“A Weighty Issue”) suggested using vegetables as a low-calorie, high-fiber filler for the dog. But I was dismayed to see onions on the list of vegetables that could be added to the dog’s food! It’s my understanding that onions are poisonous to dogs.
-Maryann Yuran Phillipsburg, NJ
You’re quite right; too many onions can cause a condition called “Heinz body anemia” in dogs, and though it actually takes quite a whopping dose of onions to cause harm, they are not recommended for dogs in any amount. An editing error saw the inclusion of onions on the list of vegetables that can be added to a dog’s diet. We apologize for the error.
Dr. Richard Pitcairn states that chopped parsley, alfalfa sprouts, finely grated carrots, and finely grated zucchini are dogs’ favorite raw vegetables, and corn, peas, green beans, and broccoli are best fed cooked.
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I have two dogs that I walk together, including a large, strong Border collie-Chow mix named Bear, who used to practically pull my arms off on every walk. I can’t count the times I have eaten mulch when he’s caught me off balance. My big, 21-year-old son could control him, but Bear was tough even for him.
I was working on getting Bear used to a head halter according to your article’s day-by-day instructions (“Head Halters, Right and Wrong,” June 2000), when a friend told me her Chow-mix had also been a strong puller, but stopped pulling almost entirely when they walked her with a body halter. Since Bear really protested the head halter, I tried the body halter, and it worked. My teeth have been dirt-free ever since! Bear still pulls a little, but he is very controllable, even for me. I’m not sure what the brand is, but it works well for me.
-Krista Gimeno Manassas, VA
Pat Miller reviewed anti-pulling collars and harnesses in the July 1998 issue. She, too, found a harness (the Holt Control Harness) that she thought worked very well for many dogs. However, she also warned readers away from another product, the Pro-Stop! Harness, which had straps that encircled the dog’s front legs; she found that most dogs were simply befuddled by the intense pressure applied by this harness.
Stay tuned; we’ll be looking at the newest crop of no-pull training products in an upcoming issue of WDJ.
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I have several dogs and I walk two on head halters because they are incorrigible pullers. Your article on head halters mentioned the fact that some dogs can pull a head halter off; this has happened to me. Once it was because the plastic buckling mechanism broke, and once because the dog pulled it over the back of her head, not off her nose. Both times the dog was truly loose but, thanks to good training, came straight to me when called.
One of my girls is a real Houdini as well as a puller, so I didn’t want to give up on the head halter idea. Since I walk all my dogs together, using extra leashes was not an option. However, a simple coupler, usually marketed as a way to walk two dogs with one leash, proved a perfect solution. I clip the dog’s leash to the “O-ring” in the center of the coupler and then snap one end of the coupler to the Halti and the other to the dog’s regular collar. Problem solved.
-Theresa Szpila Sunnyside, NY
As a veterinary dermatologist in Southern California, I recently had the opportunity to read one of your articles, “WDJ’s Top 10 Dry Dog Foods” (February 2000). A client asked for my opinion regarding some of the topics within the article. While I would agree and disagree with various points, I respect the fact that there are many differing opinions regarding nutrition and food values by different people. Some of these are based on bias, others on experience, while others on scientific merit.
While nutrition is not my specialty (I bow to those with superior knowledge of that area), dermatology and dermatologic disease is and I would like to address a statement made regarding food allergy in dogs.
Like many clients, your article made the statement that “there are more dogs that are allergic to wheat and corn” than any other dog food ingredients. While this is a commonly held belief, there is no basis for it in fact. While food allergies are themselves often diagnosed, their prevalence in the general population of dogs is believed to be quite low among dermatologists. Part of this is a result of the confusion between food allergy and food intolerance.
Food allergy, as I am sure you are aware, is a situation in which there is an immunologic response to a protein or carbohydrate (most commonly). This immunologic response involves a hypersensitivity type reaction (either Type I or Type IV) and results in increased pruritus and often secondary infections.
In contrast, a food intolerance is a non-immunologic reaction to a food or food component which generally results in gastrointestinal disturbances of various types. Many clients will report that their dog is “allergic” to a certain food because it vomits or has other gastrointestinal disease present while, in fact, it is strictly a food intolerance. Without appropriate food trials and rechallenge of individual ingredients to confirm a hypersensitivity reaction, food allergy is difficult at best to diagnose.
When those challenges are done, the results are often surprising. Dr. Phil Roudebush, a respected member of the veterinary dermatology community, recently completed a complete review of the veterinary literature of the last 30 years. He consolidated the information for all confirmed food allergy dogs in the literature that had been rechallenged and verified.
His results showed only 253 cases in the literature. Of these, beef accounted for 81, dairy for 50, wheat for 40, chicken for 18, eggs for 18, lamb for 13 and soy for 3. There were a few other miscellaneous reactions, but those numbers were minimal. This generally concurs with the clinical implication of most dermatologists that beef, chicken, dairy and wheat are more common than most. So, while wheat may have more numbers than many, it is certainly not the most common reactive ingredient.
On the other hand, corn (though commonly assumed to be implicated) cannot be proven based on the literature available. In my clinical practice, I have seen a few corn allergies, however, those numbers pale in comparison to most other ingredients. Corn would fall under a second category of “food stuffs commonly implicated but rarely confirmed.” This would include things such as additives, preservatives, rice, and potato.
The veterinary communities understanding of foods and food allergy has come a long way and I am sure will continue to evolve of time. Everyone’s interest and input is important and I appreciate the hard work you do in attempting to educate your readers about their pets.
-Rusty Muse DVM, ACVD Animal Dermatology Clinic Tustin, CA
January 26 was a bad day for dogs everywhere. That was the day the now-infamous pair of Presa Canario mastiffs attacked and brutally killed a woman in a San Francisco apartment building. There isnt a dog owner in the country and especially right here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live who isnt getting dirty looks from the non-dog-owning public. Heck, even dog owners are giving other dog owners hard looks now, especially if the recipients dog is having a bad hair day with excitement, or heaven help him, aggression in any form. All because of the horrific act committed by two bad dogs.
But its not just the dogs who ought to be hanging their heads in shame; in my admittedly angry opinion, its not just the dogs who ought to be euthanized for their crime. In my opinion and Im sure, the opinion of every relative, friend, and student of the outgoing, caring teacher who was murdered by the dogs every person who had a hand in the creation of this tragedy-waiting-to-happen ought to be punished in some serious way. That includes the breeders, who, according to news reports, specialize in the production of fighting dogs; and it includes every person who ever had a hand in the purchase, ownership, care, and (lack of) control of the dogs.
Dogs do occasionally kill people. Not all that often about 15-20 times a year in this country. Why am I so upset about this case?
Partly because, in this case, it seems there were many opportunities to prevent the tragedy. The people who lived with the dogs, of course, are the guiltiest parties in this respect. They handled the dogs daily; how could they fail to note and respond to the many danger signs of escalating aggression?
But there were a lot of people who failed to protect that innocent woman and for that matter, who failed to protect the criminal dogs themselves. Within one week of the incident, investigators had already collected dozens of allegations of the dogs past misdeeds. People who lived nearby told stories about the dogs lunging toward them in the halls; one neighbor said the male dog had once grabbed him by the leg of his pants as he walked by the leashed animals. Other dog owners from the neighborhood reported incidents of aggression toward both people and other dogs. One man claims that the dogs attacked his Sheltie when the dogs passed each other while being walked by their owners; the Sheltie reportedly received serious injury, including a punctured liver.
Its impossible to know exactly how many people failed to report these cocked-and-loaded canines to the police or animal control officials. Or how many of the dogs owners and handlers failed to properly socialize, train, and even equip the dogs for safe exposure to the world with muzzles and head halters, for a start.
So, whos responsible?
Mostly, the handlers, of course.
Whos taking responsibility?
No one.
Its hard to believe, but the people who were living with and handling these dogs will not admit any responsibility for the attack. They are both lawyers, sure, but real human attorneys, I would think, would admit some accountability. But no; one of these caretakers (the dogs legal ownership is shadowy) went so far as to say, in a letter to the District Attorney, that the victim had several opportunities to avoid the attack but didnt avail herself of them she brought the attack on herself, he seems to say. In the same letter, he describes eight separate incidents of aggression between one or the other dog and other dogs or people, and in each incident, he blames the other parties involved.
Today, it feels like the dog world has gone crazy. Lets take responsibility.
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.
