The number of dog friendly hotels is increasing. Keeping your dog under control and behaving ensures this trend will continue to grow. Credit: NoSystem images / Getty Images
Dog friendly hotels are a lot easier to find today than they were 30 or even 20 years ago. Almost gone are the days when you had to sneak your dog inside. Why? Because as more people consider pets part of the family, more people are traveling with their dogs and not leaving them at a boarding kennel, as was done decades ago. And, because hotel owners want customers, they’re meeting the needs of those of us who travel with our dogs. They want our business.
The list of pet-friendly hotels starts with the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City (at $1,295 per night!) and runs to the nearly as famous Bellagio and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Most Airbnb rentals are also dog friendly.
The good news on the more affordable level is that at least 16 hotel/motel chains—including Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hyatt Regency, La Quinta, Red Roof Inns, Fairfield Inns, Motel 6, and all Westin Inns—are pet-friendly. They may charge a fee, ranging from $30 to $100 per stay or per night, to keep your dog in the room with you, but some do not. The fee depends on the individual hotel, even within a chain, however, so expect variance.
Finding dog friendly hotel chains is not difficult, but a few individual hotels—even in a chain—may not be dog friendly. It’s best to check online (bringfido.com or gopetfriendly.com are two sites to try), or you can call the hotel’s front desk (or the Airbnb manager) before you make a reservation to be 100% sure your dog is welcome. If you have more than one dog, always ask what the limit is on dogs per room. Write down who you spoke with and when.
Remember, too, that even if the hotel is dog friendly, not all customers are. So, the rules of common courtesy toward other guests apply during your stay:
Make sure your dog is completely house-trained.
Don’t allow him to bark excessively.
Avoid leaving him alone in the hotel room, as this can result in annoying barking.
Always carry a poop bag and clean up after your dog. It matters. Don’t let your dog urinate on the hotel walls, trash cans, outdoor furniture, or anywhere near entrances.
Keep your dog on leash and away from other guests. If other guests enter the elevator, politely wait for the next ride. Try to use side or back doors for entering and exiting, avoiding the main doors and lobby when possible.
Treat your hotel room like you would your home:
Clean up if your dog has an accident in your room or anywhere in the hotel.
If your dog destroys something, let the front desk know (you may have to pay for it, but it’s important to ensure the hotel remains dog friendly).
Bring a bed sheet from home to put over the bed your dog sleeps on to minimize dog hair.
If your dog sometimes urinates in excitement or anxiety, keep a disposable dog diaper on him.
Bring a dog crate with you and crate him at night if there’s any chance he may not behave while you sleep
Bring food and water bowls. Don’t use the ice bucket for a water bowl, and remember that toilets may have chemical cleaners your dog shouldn’t consume.
Those who frequently travel with dogs highly value nice dog friendly hotels. The only way to keep them available is to be courteous.
Anything that breaks the skin, like mange mites (pictured) or fleas, would make the dog susceptible to a skin infection like Staph.
Most skin infections in dogs are caused by Staphylococcus (Staph) bacteria. The most common culprit in dogs is Staph pseudointermedius. This infection is different from MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the super bug that can be deadly to people. And, although MRSA is highly contagious and can transfer from dog to person, Staph pseudointermedius in a dog rarely transfers to a person. Dog staph infection treatment depends on the severity of the infection.
Staph infections in dogs can be superficial or deep. With superficial infections, you may notice redness, hair loss, dry flakes, and pimple-like lesions that may or may not bother your dog. The infection may be localized to one area, like the groin, or widespread. Deep infections have similar lesions, but they include pain, swelling, disruption of the skin surface, and oozing. The classic, nasty “hot spot” on the neck or cheek is a perfect example of a deep bacterial infection.
The initial treatment for a minor dog staph infection may be done at home. It involves frequent bathing with an antimicrobial shampoo. Products with 4% chlorhexidine, like TrizChlor4, are effective and available without a prescription. Your veterinarian may recommend daily bathing with this medicated shampoo, although the minimum protocol is twice a week.
In addition to the antimicrobial action of the chlorhexidine, bathing helps remove the scabs, crusts, scales, and grease that harbor bacteria. If bathing is not possible, 4% chlorhexidine is available in wipes, sprays, and foams. If the infection fails to resolve, you must see your veterinarian.
Because of the ever-increasing occurrence of drug resistance in bacteria, many veterinarians will initially treat superficial infections topically before reaching for oral antibiotics. This topical-first method of treatment is called “antibiotic stewardship,” and it is important for the health of everyone.
Your veterinarian may recommend mupirocin, a generic antibiotic ointment available by prescription only, as it is highly effective against Staph infections in dogs. If topical therapy does not resolve your dog’s superficial Staph infection, oral antibiotics will be prescribed. Two to three weeks of treatment is usually sufficient.
Deep infections may require treatment with oral antibiotics for up to 12 weeks. Choosing the right antibiotic and keeping the dog on it long enough to kill the bacteria is important to avoid recurrent infections. Recurrent infections create resistant bacteria like MRSA. Your veterinarian will require follow-up visits to ensure full resolution of the infection before discontinuing antibiotics. These follow-up visits are extremely important. Some recurrent infections require culture and sensitivity testing to find the right antibiotic.
Most Staph infections are caused by another problem, so if your dog keeps getting skin infections, your veterinarian will try to identify and treat any underlying causes. The most common predisposing factors for Staph are:
Finally, if your dog has a Staph infection, remember that resistant infections are an ever-increasing threat to everyone. Washing hands and bedding frequently helps keep everyone safe.
Hard rubber toys, like the original Kong shown here, are your best bet for an indestructible dog toy. Credit: Tepepa79 / Getty Images
There is no such thing as an indestructible dog toy for an aggressive chewer. Unless it’s made out of lead. Hard rubber chew toys are durable dog toys that need replacement far less often.
Dogs can have a strong bite force—between 200 to 700 pounds per square inch (PSI)—and an aggressive chewer with a strong biting or chewing instinct will work on a toy-destruction project endlessly. Maybe not all at once, but day after day after day.
Looking for an indestructible stuffed toy? Forget it. Dog toys with parts that stick out or are stuffed and fluffy are especially vulnerable—any kind of adorable doll. They almost always have legs and a head that a dog can grab with his teeth and pull. These toys often also have a squeaker inside. Dogs love to chew or eat stuffing, and a squeaker is even more fun because it makes noise. (It’s potentially dangerous, too, because the squeaker could get stuck in their throat or on a tooth or swallowed.) And if the doll has hair too—well, that’s even more fun.
So, you have to constantly buy new toys and clean up all of the pieces.
The toys that come closest to being indestructible are hard rubber dog toys. The leader among these rubber dog toys is the original Kong, a bell-shaped piece of rubber that costs $8 or $9 and can be stuffed with something yummy. The original Kongs aren’t fun to look at, but dogs like them, and all types or hard rubber Kong toys will last your dog a long time.
Don’t be fooled. Kevlar—that synthetic material that’s said to be stronger than steel and is used in protective vests—is used to make durable dog toys. But, yes, your dog can chew through Kevlar and swallow strands of the fiber, which is not good. If you really need an indestructible dog toy, choose hard rubber Kongs, which are available almost anywhere dog toys are sold.
A stressed dog is withdrawn, refusing to move toward you, ears are down, and he may be cowering—among other things. Talk with your veterinarian, a Fear-Free trainer, or behaviorist to get help before the dog’s anxiety worsens. Credit: Robert Way / Getty Images
Your ability to recognize critical signs of stress in a dog is an important aspect of taking good care of your dog. Stress can lead to medical and worsening behavioral problems you’d much rather prevent. You need to recognize dog anxiety and take steps to help your dog manage his stress.
Learn to recognize signs of dog anxiety, so you can help your dog feel more comfortable in a situation. Examples of potentially stressful situations for your dog include unwanted confinement, leash restriction when other dogs are free, new people or pets in the house, new home, and scary noises like rattling shopping carts or plastic bags flapping in the wind. But there can be more, which is why you need to know signs of dog anxiety. Dog stress symptoms include behaviors that are known to mean a dog is feeling stress:
Barking
Circling
Cowering
Dilated pupils
Excessive drooling
Flattened ears
Front paw lifting
Head shaking
Heavy panting
Losing control of bladder or bowels
Nose licking
Obsessively licking one spot
Refusing to look directly at something
Scratching himself
Shying away from/refusing to move toward something
Trembling
Whining/vocalizing
Yawning (when obviously not sleepy)
Bloodshot eyes in your dog aren’t necessarily stress. Yes, sometimes anxious dogs or even happily excited will get bloodshot eyes, but you shouldn’t assume bloodshot eyes just mean stress. Medical problems like conjunctivitis, dry eye syndrome, and glaucoma can cause bloodshot eyes, too. If you see bloodshot eyes in your dog, get an appointment with your veterinarian.
In addition to the signs of stress listed above, dogs exhibit certain behaviors that signify chronic stress. These include:
Compulsive licking at a limb creating a “lick sore”
Destructive behavior like tearing up his bed or destroying household things
Diarrhea
House soiling
Loss of appetite
Low activity
Restlessness/pacing
Shut down (withdrawn, unresponsive to stimuli and people)
Withdrawal from family/less interactive
Vomiting bile
If your dog is exhibiting any of these signs of anxiety/dog stress, seek professional help. Your veterinarian can make sure there are no underlying illnesses involved and give you guidance on best ways to manage your dog’s stress. You may need to make adjustments to his environment and your handling, slowly increase his socialization to build confidence, or consider some medications that can help modify his behavior.
Pour the entire skunk-spray deodorizer recipe on the dog who got sprayed by the skunk and let it sit for 5 minutes, then rinse. Repeat, if necessary. Credit: Tonkovic / Getty Images
When your dog gets sprayed by a skunk, there’s more to worry about than how to remove skunk smell from the dog. Although rare, compounds in skunk spray can cause chemical reactions in the body that damage red blood cells and hemoglobin. This can be deadly.
While this reaction is least likely to happen if your dog is sprayed in open air, small dogs who get sprayed while trying to dig skunks out of burrows can collapse and lose consciousness so quickly that they must be dug out of the burrow themselves to be rescued. Hemoglobin damage occurs within minutes to hours. Signs include chocolate-colored gums, chocolate-colored urine, trouble breathing, weakness, collapse, seizure, and coma. Red blood cell damage may take three days to show up. Signs include weakness, lethargy, loss of appetite, and trouble breathing.
So, the first thing to do when your dog gets sprayed by a skunk is to be aware of this rare but deadly consequence and carefully monitor your dog’s mucous membranes, urine, and breathing for several days after a skunk encounter. If you have any concerns, call your veterinarian immediately.
On to how to remove skunk smell from your dog. Skunk smell can last on your dog and anything else it touches for up to three weeks! The sooner you begin to remove the smell, the better.
The homemade recipe is the absolute best remedy for removing skunk odor from your dog. Nothing else comes close. Don’t waste time heading out to purchase commercial products while your dog stinks up your home. Keep these ingredients on hand at home, and you can be done with this smelly nightmare as fast as you can say “pee-yoooo.”
Ingredients:
1 quart FRESH 3% hydrogen peroxide (“fresh” means a previously unopened bottle)
¼ cup baking soda
1 tbsp liquid dish soap (preferably Dawn)
First, bathe your dog with Dawn dishwashing liquid to remove as much of the oily film as you can. Next, mix the ingredients in a bowl and use the entire contents, rubbing it into your dog’s coat, focusing heavily on the areas directly sprayed, for 5 minutes. Then rinse. As long as you have treated every area hit by spray, your dog should be fresh as a daisy and good to go. Remember that:
You cannot mix this anti-skunk smell recipe ahead of time.
If the dog got sprayed in the face, you must treat the face. Be careful to keep the solution out of the eyes, and hold the eyelids closed while rinsing the face.
Do not leave this remedy on the dog longer than 5 minutes as it may bleach the coat.
It is OK to repeat as needed if necessary, rinsing between.
This is a decent sized panty-style diaper, probably being used for heat cycles. We hope it has a hole for the dog’s tail, because even short tails are better outside of the diaper. Credit: Firn / Getty Images
Do you have a dog who leaks urine while she’s sleeping? Do you have a male dog who lifts his leg to urine mark indoors? Has your un-spayed female dog come into heat? If you answered yes to any of these questions, a dog diaper could be a helpful management tool. Even without these specific needs, you may find dog diapers are especially useful when you’re traveling—with all those new scents to excite your dog—to prevent accidents in a hotel room or an AirBnB (we don’t want to lose our ability to find dog-friendly accommodations by letting your dog pee on the furniture!).
First, though, let’s be clear: Diapers for dogs are not a suitable replacement for house training. It is best for your dog not to be in diapers all the time, so teaching your new canine family member to toilet outside, on a pee pad, or in a doggie litter box is one of the first priorities after adopting a dog. However, as discussed above, there can be some special situations or medical conditions that make a diaper useful.
Dog diapers come in disposable and washable forms, and the styles vary depending on the sex of the dog and particular medical condition. Female dogs require a diaper that looks like a panty, and there is usually a hole that the tail can go through so that it stays out of the mess.
Male dogs, who have different anatomy, can use a belly band, which is wrapped around the abdomen and secured over the lower back. The washable panty or belly band can be lined with a human incontinence or menstrual pad and can be found in a variety of plain or fun styles to suit your individual dog’s personality.
The best way to make a dog diaper stay on is to get the right fit. You may have to try several better-quality brands to find the one that best fits your dog, but it’s worth the trial. We recommend you target quality dog diapers, like the one from PeeKeeper that was a 2019 Whole Dog Journal Best Gear of the Year finalist. You can also purchase things like dog suspenders to help hold belly bands in place and choose panty diapers with tail holes whenever possible for added stability and comfort.
A word of caution regarding diapers: Make sure you check the inside of the diaper frequently to be certain that the dog’s skin is not in contact with poop or pee for a prolonged time. Dogs, like babies, can get diaper rash, and if this occurs, it will often require veterinary medical attention. Also, remember to remove the diaper prior to letting your dog out into the yard to toilet! Failure to do so will provide a test of the fluid-holding capacity of the diaper you chose to use, which is not really something you want to experience.
Some dogs suffer from separation anxiety when their owners are at work—or even the grocery store—and react by destroying things, like their beds. Credit: smrm1977 / Getty Images.
Melatonin is safe for dogs and particularly useful in older dogs with some cognitive dysfunction that causes a disruption of the normal sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin also is often used to help with anxiety in dogs, including nighttime anxiety, noise phobias, and separation anxiety.
While you can give the human supplement melatonin to your dog, a safer, simpler route is to use a melatonin product made for dogs. The package’s dog dosage chart will be correct for melatonin levels in that product or, better yet, check with your veterinarian for your dog’s melatonin dosage. My usual melatonin dosage for dogs under 30 lbs. of bodyweight is 3 milligrams (mg) of melatonin twice a day. For dogs 30 pounds and over, I use 6 mg twice a day.
If your older dog is sound asleep all day and up and pacing all night, try keeping him active during the day, preferably out in sunshine, dim the lights two hours before bedtime, and give melatonin right at bedtime. This should help reset your dog’s natural circadian rhythm and help you both get a good night’s sleep.
Melatonin can treat certain types of hair loss. Seasonal flank alopecia usually happens during the winter months when we get less natural light. It occurs most often in Boxers, Bulldogs, Chow Chows, Pomeranians, Poodles, and Alaskan breeds. Your veterinarian will likely suggest giving melatonin two to three times daily for months, until the hair grows back. If your dog suffers from this every year, starting melatonin a couple of months in advance may help prevent hair loss from occurring. If your dog is hard to medicate, ask your veterinarian about Dermatonin, an implant similar to a microchip, which releases melatonin for six months.
Cautions to take before giving your dog melatonin:
Melatonin side effects for dogs are usually mild and include drowsiness and gastrointestinal upset.
Do not start melatonin without first checking with your veterinarian. Melatonin may interfere with certain medications, like immune-suppressive agents and blood pressure medications. Melatonin is potentially useful in some autoimmune diseases but should not be used in others.
Recommended melatonin dosages for dogs vary, so check with your veterinarian.
Do not give your dog the melatonin gummies made for humans, as they may contain xylitol, an artificial sweetener that is deadly to dogs. Read all labels and ingredients.
Do not use in animals intended for breeding as melatonin may interfere with natural sex hormones.
Does your dog gleefully start the day the split second you stretch or roll over? She’s learned the unwelcome pattern that your movement signals getting up. Fix it by teaching her a new one: Nobody ever gets out of bed until the alarm goes off. Play the alarm sound right before you get up, every time. Eventually your dog will stay in sleep mode until she hears that sound. Photo by Nancy Kerns
Predictability is how you calm an anxious dog. It’s your best friend when you live with a dog – particularly when you live with multiple dogs. Your enemies are The Unexpected, The Unknown, and The Unsure. The Un’s tend to make dogs jump up and run hither and yon, barking their questions, ideas, warnings, and enthusiasms. Then we humans have the job of directing the scene before us: Come! Sit! Stay! Place! Off! Leave it!
Consider this: It doesn’t have to be this chaotic, or this much work. We can significantly decrease the Un’s for our dogs by creating some precise, everyday, predictable patterns. Try it, and enjoy the newly peaceful atmosphere as both you and your dogs relax into knowing exactly what comes next.
“The Pattern Hack” Key to Calm an Anxious Dog
Kim Brophey, owner of The Dog Door Behavior Center in Asheville, North Carolina, and author of Meet Your Dog, teaches what she calls “The Pattern Hack” in her L.E.G.S. Family Dog Mediation course.
“Any animal’s brain is wired to find patterns,” she explains. “It’s a key survival skill. Patterns make the world more predictable, which saves an animal effort.” Meaning: If they can anticipate what’s next, they can allocate their precious energy appropriately.
Anybody whose dog explodes with joy when they put on those hiking shoes – or gets sad at the sight of the suitcase – has noticed that dogs are amazingly good at detecting patterns. Brophey encourages owners to take advantage of this, and identify, strengthen, and formally teach the patterns that are hiding in their daily lives to their dogs. Creating a consistent predictable pattern will help calm an anxious dog.
Visualize, then practice
Establish a pattern for how your dog can interact with a visitor to your home – such as bringing a toy to play tug – to create a less overstimulated visit. The doorbell then sends your dog to go find her toy, rather than jostling at the doorway and jumping on your guest. Photo by Kathy Callahan.
The first step is to analyze the things you do every day that can sometimes get a little too crazy. Feeding the dogs? Getting ready for a walk? Welcoming a guest? Pick one scenario you wish were going more smoothly, and visualize exactly how you’d like it to play out.
The more precisely you can map out the desired scene, the better. While small differences may seem insignificant to us, they loom large for our dogs; a slight change means the situation is up for grabs. So, as you develop the pattern, remember that the more consistent you are about its details, the easier it will be for your dog to settle into it.
Once you have a clear pattern for the scenario you’d like to improve, put it into consistent daily practice. For example, here are some patterns you could establish:
WAKE-UP TIME. If your dogs nudge you to get up earlier than you’d like, teach the pattern that nobody ever gets out of bed until the alarm goes off. Whether you’ve actually set an alarm or not, always play that sound right before you get out of bed. Eventually (hopefully soon!), your dogs will stay in sleep mode until they hear that sound.
HEADING OUT THE DOOR. If your dogs jostle for position at the doorway, teach the pattern that the door never opens until all are sitting politely. It shouldn’t take long for your dogs to learn that your hand on the doorknob means that sitting will get the door open more quickly.
GUEST ENTRY. Teach that the doorbell always results in treats scattered on the dog bed, so the dogs learn to run straight to the bed at that sound, while your guests enter peacefully.
COUCH RULES. If your dogs are allowed on the couch or bed only when invited, you can make that simpler by creating a pattern around a special blanket: If the blanket is on the couch, dogs are welcome; if it’s not, dogs stay on the floor.
DOG MEALTIME. Maybe rather than jostling and whining, three dogs wait in “downs” at their specific spots as bowls are prepared, with bowls delivered in the same order each time. (Of course, if you are like my husband Tom and enjoy the chaotic anticipatory glee, you do you!)
Once you have a clear plan for a pattern or two you’d like to establish, get all the relevant humans on board with the idea that this will be the approach from now on; it will not work if the approach is haphazard! Then start teaching the dogs what you’d like to see. Precisely because these are everyday scenarios, the practice is built-in if you’re consistent. Sticking to this pattern will help calm anxious dogs and help them remain calm over the long term.
Beware of unintentional patterns
Keep in mind that patterns can work for good or for ill in your life with your dog. Sometimes we unintentionally train a troublesome pattern! That’s when it’s time to create a replacement.
Long ago with our first dogs, Tom and I would drive to a giant woodsy park for an adventure, hiking with Shadow and Kela off-lead. They’d be so good – romping, but staying within a nice little perimeter of us and always checking in – until we headed for the parking lot and the car was in sight. That’s when they’d suddenly take off for one last zoom.
We’d cool our heels for 15 minutes – calling, worrying, feeling dumb – until they’d lope back, tongues hanging out, grinning. It wasn’t until they’d done this several times that we realized that our dogs had learned this pattern: car → awesome hike → car → end-of-fun. Our solution at the time was to put the leashes on earlier and earlier, which seemed a shame.
These days, I know I should have created a new pattern: The return car has to be the Next Fun Thing. Let’s say 100% of the time there’s a bully stick or other chew toy waiting in there for the ride home. They would have learned: car → awesome hike → car → awesome-treat-that-we-only-get-in-this-scenario. The dogs would have stuck right with us, and leapt into that car.
The environment is the cue to calm an anxious dog
One of the coolest parts of the Pattern Hack is the moment you realize you don’t need to direct your pup with a string of verbal cues anymore. Instead, each scenario is its own cue: The sight of you cooking at the stove sends the dog to “settle” on his mat, and a family car pulling into the driveway sends him running for the favorite tug toy that produces a jump-free greeting. If you are consistent with how you construct and manage each situation, the environment itself cues the behavior that’s proven most rewarding for the dog.
From the behavior science point of view, Brophey says, “Patterns build and hold behavior in place far more effectively and naturally than cues ever could.” What’s more, dogs who can hang their hats on a lot of patterns often seem calmer and less anxious. These adjustments may seem small – remembering to put Spot’s bowl in front of the oven, and Rover’s by the fridge – but it all adds up to make our human world feel more predictable to our dogs. On a very deep level, they feel safer and this sense of safety is ultimately what calms an anxious dog.
A dog who is reluctant to leave your home may have a physical problem (and is trying to avoid pain), or may be experiencing severe fear or anxiety about something out in the world. An appointment with his veterinarian should be made immediately, followed by a veterinary behavior consult and work with a force-free trainer who has experience with fear-based behaviors.
At a recent social event, an acquaintance who knows I have something to do with dogs said a bunch of very wrong things to me about her own dog. “My dog is a psycho!” she said. “She’s scared of her own shadow! I have to drag her out of the house to go for a walk sometimes! What should I do about that?”
I hate to hear anyone denigrate their own dog – especially when it’s based on the dog being fearful, of all things. Since I don’t really know this person, and couldn’t yet gauge whether she was serious about getting help for her dog, I initially responded with a vague, “Poor sweetie! She needs some help! How long has this been going on?”
The woman, not yet knowing whether I might have any concrete advice, probed a bit further. “She’s been getting worse and worse for months – it’s been maybe a year since it first started,” she said. “So, what do you think? A different kind of collar? A trainer?”
Since she had persisted to this point, I addressed her a bit more directly. “I would definitely recommend looking for a trainer who uses force-free training methods and is experienced with behavior modification,” I told her. “But you should also make an appointment with your vet, because there may well be a physical problem that’s leading to your dog’s reluctance to leave the house – and even if there is not a physical problem, you may need a veterinarian or even a veterinary behaviorist to prescribe a medication to help your dog.”
“Medication?” the woman asked, frowning. “Like what?”
“It depends,” I told her. “There are several different classes of medication that can affect behavior and each class has different indications. There are antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs…. If your vet doesn’t know a lot about these medications, she can give you a referral to a veterinary behaviorist. Fear-based behaviors tend to improve fastest when addressed with both medication and behavior modification.”
Unfortunately, my conversation partner had heard enough. “Are you talking about stuff like Prozac?” she asked. When I nodded, she went on dismissively, “People have gone way overboard with all these drugs. Prozac for dogs? Ridiculous!”
“Actually, I’ve seen some incredibly dramatic transformations when dogs were medicated for their chronic fear or anxiety,” I said – but I could tell she was done with the conversation. “Well, thanks,” she said, “but I’m not going to drug my dog. She’s just being a diva!”
It was on the tip of my tongue to retort, “But it’s okay to drag your dog, instead?” But I didn’t. Keeping that poor, scared dog in mind, I smiled and got a business card out of my wallet. I handed it to her and said, “If you need help finding a trainer in your area, let me know; I probably know someone who could recommend someone good. Just keep in mind that dogs who behave as if they are afraid most likely really are afraid. You’ve likely heard the expression, ‘They are not giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time?’ It’s wonderful that you have noticed she’s having a hard time, and want to get her some help! Just make sure that the help is kind, and takes her fear seriously…”
Medications that can help relieve a dog’s fear or anxiety enough so that they can learn and progress past their fears are so valuable, so capable of helping a dog make a major behavioral breakthrough – I have no idea why their mention is so frequently met with skepticism or hostility. I can only guess that it’s a holdover from similar attitudes about their need by humans. But as someone from a family with members who suffer from bipolar disorder, major bouts of depression, chronic anxiety, and eating disorders, I have a difficult time thinking of behavior-altering medications as anything but literally life-saving. If a dog’s daily Prozac keeps his anxiety level low enough to allow him to be leashed and picked up without biting his owner every single time, yes, it’s a life-saving drug for that dog. If another dog’s Xanax means the difference between living peacefully with the family’s other dogs and cat instead of constantly exhibiting aggressive behavior in an attempt to increase her personal space, then yes, it’s a life-saving drug for that dog (and possibly the other family pets, too).
I could go on and on, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll ask one of our veterinary contributors to write a new article about the use and value of these life-saving drugs. And in the meantime, if you are curious, here are some past articles where we’ve discussed them before.
The length of time it takes for a dog to digest food depends on the dog’s age, body size, and the food itself, but 24 hours is a pretty good average. Credit: NickyLloyd / Getty Images
It may seem like the time it takes for a dog to digest his food is short. After all, puppies need to poop almost as soon as they finish dinner, which naturally places “after eating” on the puppy bathroom schedule.
In reality, it’s not that fast. Gastrointestinal transit time—the veterinary term for how it takes for dogs to digest food—averages 24 hours. The time to digest food varies depending upon the dog’s age, size, and the fiber and fat contents of the diet.
Puppies poop right after eating because, when a meal is consumed, nerves in the stomach wall sense the stomach’s distension and communicate “full stomach” status to the nerves in the colon, which activate the large intestinal contraction. This is why taking a puppy for a potty walk shortly after eating is a good idea. Caution: Avoid anything more than an easy walk for about two hours after a meal. Heavy exercise right after eating can cause life-threatening bloat (gastric dilation-volvulus, or GDV). Bloat occurs when food, water, or air fills overfills the stomach, causing it to twist. When a dog exercises heavily, he pants and ingests air, which adds to the stomach’s contents and raises the risk of bloat.
How many times a day you should feed a dog depends upon the dog’s adult size, age, physical health, and behavioral health. In general, a healthy dog does well on two meals, although some are fine with one meal. Certain dogs need multiple meals per day:
Young toy-breed puppies need food multiple times a day to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Senior dogs are sometimes unable to eat larger meals
Large and giant breeds are at an increased risk of bloat
Diabetic dogs need meals associated with insulin injections
Dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome (vomiting bile due to irritated stomach linings) need multiple meals to prevent the stomach from being empty for longer periods of time
For dogs in training, multiple meals give you the chance to practice and reward with the dog’s meal
If you suspect any health problems, or you have a toy or giant breed, discuss these factors with your veterinarian.
For some dogs, tail docking is the only way to stop the constant injury from happy tail syndrome. Credit: K64End / Getty Images
They call it “happy tail syndrome,” but if your dog gets it, nobody’s happy. It’s a frequent dog tail injury, especially in happy dogs, but treatment is difficult.
Happy tail syndrome occurs when joyful, exuberant dogs with long, slender tails wag ferociously and traumatize the tip of their tail when it bangs on hard surfaces. Once there’s damage to the tail skin, the wound opens more every time they bang it. And it bleeds. A lot. It may form a clot, or a scab, while the dog is resting, but as soon as the dog is up and wagging—and hits something—the scab comes off, the wound opens up, and it bleeds again. It’s extremely frustrating.
What to do? Happy tail syndrome treatment involves finding a way to protect the tail tip from the repeated trauma. If you can, you might be able to get it to heal.
Creativity is key. It’s not easy to keep a bandage on these crazy tails, and dogs aren’t always willing to leave them in place. People have tried all kinds of things, including toilet paper rolls, cut water bottles, pool noodles, foam pipe insulating tubes, and syringe cases from your vet. Commercial kits are available that help protect the dog’s tail using protective padding devices that go into a bandage on the tail.
A couple of hints: Whatever you try, make it as lightweight as possible. The heavier the bandage, the more likely it is to go winging off with the wagging. I use white first-aid tape that runs the length of the tail for several inches and is then incorporated into the bandage over the injury. The purpose is to give the bandage more “grab,” so it can stay on. Don’t make it too tight! Leave the end open inside the protective tube for air circulation to the tail tip.
Sadly, even if you do get your dog’s tail to heal, it’s likely to happen again. You can try padding the walls, corners, and whatever he keeps hitting his tail on, but that’s hard to do and a bit unsightly when guests come over. You can try to interact with your dog only where there’s space to do so, but that’s not practical either.
Bottom line? If you can’t get it to heal, or if you’re tired of coming home to a bloody scene right out of a horror film, talk to your veterinarian about tail amputation. The procedure will take care of the traumatized tip, and if you go short enough, it will never happen again. Some of these dogs end up with cute little bob tails. They can still wag as hard as they want, and you’ll avoid the blood splatter.
It’s natural for dogs to want to share our tasty food. Their sense of smell is thousands of times more powerful than ours; our food must smell irresistible. So they whine, paw at us, “sit pretty” with bright eyes – anything they can think of to get our attention, in hopes that we will share your food with them. It’s sort of cute – but the begging for food behavior can get so over-the-top that you can’t enjoy your meal in peace!
Don’t despair; behavior is almost always modifiable. The chances are good that you can teach your dog to do something that’s more acceptable to you while you’re eating – as long as the begging behavior isn’t being reinforced by a family member who surreptitiously slips bits of food to her when you’re not looking.
Manage the Situation
To change your dog’s behavior around food, first you’ll need to change some human behavior. Everyone in the household (including visitors!) needs to refrain from feeding the dog during the family’s meals, whether it’s served at the dining room table or consumed while watching TV from the couch. If you can’t trust everyone to comply, you’ll need to secure your dog somewhere away from the dining area, or your no-begging aspirations are toast.
To allay feelings of guilt over your perhaps hungry dog, feed her dinner before you eat yours. Then, until you teach her a new dinner behavior, put her in another room, a crate or exercise pen, or tether her away from your eating area. Give her a long-lasting chew of some sort to keep her engaged and happy while you eat in peace.
Train a Different Behavior
It’s perfectly okay to stop there – to simply prevent her from having an opportunity to beg – without taking further steps to modify her behavior.
But if you’d like to work on changing her behavior around your family’s food, your best approach is to reinforce an incompatible behavior – something she can’t do and beg at the same time.
This is yet another valuable application of a well-trained “Go to your mat” cue. A strategically placed mat allows you to enjoy your dog’s company at meals while keeping her a polite distance from your plate. Select an inviting mat for your dog – soft and comfy usually does the trick. Teach her to go to her mat by using your “Mat” cue and luring her onto it, then cueing her to lie down. Mark the moment she lies down on the mat (with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker such as the word “Yes!”) and give her a treat. (You can also “shape” the go-to-your-mat behavior; see “Mat Training Tips,” WDJ January 2020.)
After a few repetitions, pause after you give your mat cue to see if she starts moving there herself. She may also start to offer the “down” when she gets there. Continue to help her as she needs it, luring with a treat and/or prompting by taking a step toward the mat, and/or pointing. Gradually decrease the luring until she goes to her mat on cue.
Now add distance and duration. When she’s on the mat, mark and treat with longer and longer pauses between reinforcements. Start cueing her to go to her mat from farther away, in small increments – a half-step at a time – until she’ll happily go to her mat from across the room and relax there for an extended time.
When she can do that, invite her to go to her mat while your family dines, and mark and treat when she does. Remember to give her a long-lasting chewie to keep her extra happy on the mat. Look ma, no begging!
A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”
