The Raw Diet Experiment

Well in case you didn't know one of the biggest factors in bloat/torsion is a dry dog food diet. Recent studies have shown that feeding canned food reduces the risk of bloat by 30%, while feeding actual human food, in other words non-processed meat, cuts the risk by 60%.

And if you didn't know it, torsion is the second leading cause of death for large breed dogs.

I've already had 3 cases of bloat among German Shepherds I've owned. Two ended in the sudden deaths of the dogs, and the third cost me a lot of money in surgery. So I've decided to throw out the dry kibble.

My first stab at it involved a plain raw diet of food I picked up at the grocery store. I got the idea for this from leerburg kennels, a nice website that has lots of info on raw dog food diets. I followed their suggestion and began feeding my dogs chicken leg/thigh quarters, raw ground beef, and eggs.

Apparently the bones are safe to feed to dogs if they're raw. They are softer and pliable and the dogs chew them up pretty good, so no chance of brittle shards injuring the dog. I wasn't so sure about that and found one of my shepherds basically swallowing the chicken legs whole. Then they got diarrhea and my Weimaraner, Lucy, had a major vomiting session. OK raw chicken is out.

This was kind of disappointing because it wasn't all that expensive. Compared to dry kibble it is, but I was feeding one of the shepherds canned food. He weighs 90 pounds so was getting 4 cans of Purina One per day. These run roughly a buck a can, so that's $4 per day.

Chicken quarters have been going for 89 cents per pound at the local grocery store. You're supposed to feed a 90 pound dog about 2 pounds of meat per day, so on chicken he would be costing me around $1.80 per day! WOW! Less than half the cost of canned food.

But alas I couldn't use my dogs as guinea pigs any longer, and had the good fortune to come across some mildly processed raw dog food. First I found some "Country Pet" rolls at Whole Foods, which are pasteurized rolls of chicken and lamb. I am sure they have beef available too but I haven't seen it. Besides being pasteurized and eliminating the bacterial pathogen factor you've got from raw chicken at the store, they have ground bone it it, so the dog still gets the benefits of eating bone.

The problem is this stuff is pricey. It costs $6 per roll. Not bad if you have a small dog, but a dog like Jake, checking in at 90 pounds, is going to eat a little more than an entire roll per day. So he would be costing me around $7 or so in food per day. That is a bit much.

Learn About Country Pet Dog Food

I also came across some patties at a local specialty pet store called "Stella and Chewies". This is frozen raw meat with some veggies, vitamins etc. thrown in for good measure. Also certified to be bacteria free. Jake seemed to really like those. It was $25 for 16 patties, which lasted about 4 days.

Read About Stella and Chewys

The food is frozen, so you have to plan ahead and defrost. But the dogs definitely LOVE the patties. Another good side effect is their poops get a lot smaller when on a raw meat diet, so less cleaning up to do in the yard.

I'm not quite done with the experiment, I ordered two cases of chicken patties from barfworld. Check out their website, you can learn all the wonders of the raw dog food diet.

Prophylactic Gastropexy

Update on the bloat. I call my regular vet, and he proposes doing a larthroscopic prophylactic gastropexy. Got that?

Basically this is an operation where the surgeon uses some kind of microscope thingy to look in the stomach area. They grab the stomach, and basically staple it to the body wall. The idea is that while the dog may bloat again, his stomach can't turn over and kill him. While its initially stapled, over time the tissue grows together and the stomach becomes permanently attached to the body wall.

I've already had 2 dogs die of bloat/torsion, so its a no brainer to get this done. Here's the catch: the cost is $1263.

Well I went ahead and got it done. Once a dog has bloated, and Tony is only 3, chances are very high they're going to bloat again. Next time I might not be so lucky and get him to the vet on time.

The surgery was scheduled and I dropped him off at 7 AM. Everything went smoothly and I picked him up and took him home the same night. Instructions were relatively simple, keep him quiet and don't let him romp around for 21 days. Kind of hard since I've got 4 dogs.

The first night after the surgery he was quite groggy. They gave me some pain meds that would last about a week, and let me tell you the first week was kind of rough. His belly got kind of swollen and he was just acting "under the weather" the whole time. I was worried something had gone wrong, but then he started pulling out of it. By about 2 weeks time, he was getting back to his old self.

If you are considering getting prophylactic gastropexy, I strongly advise it if you've got a large dog prone to bloat. Generally this includes breeds like Great Danes, Boxers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, etc. and to a lesser extent labrador retrievers and the like. It is expensive, but its alot cheaper than surgery for torsion and better than risking the sudden death of your dog.

Another Case of Bloat

About 6 weeks ago another one of my dogs bloated. It was about midnight and he was kind of puffing air out of his mouth. I thought that was odd so stayed up with him for awhile. It seemed to stop and he went and laid down, so I went to sleep thinking I had come ever so close to another bloat and potentially dead dog, but avoided it.

I woke up around 6:30 AM and found him puffing air out again, and then he began throwing up foam. OK at this point there is no doubt that it was bloat. I quickly got dressed, put him in the car, and drove to the nearest emergency vet. Luckily I got him to the vet on time, and they were able to stick a tube down his throat and evacuate the gas.

But while I was waiting, they are thinking they're going to have to do surgery. So they get in and do x-rays to see if he's had torsion, and how bad it is. Then the vet comes out with a cost estimate. She says $6,000. I about fell out of my chair. At this point what are you going to say? They wanted half down, and I wasn't going to say "yeah OK just euthanize him". I gave her my credit card and ouch! they charged me $3,000. I slinked away depressed, they said they would call me later and let me know how things were going.

It was a few hours later that they called and informed me the surgery wouldn't be necessary. Turns out there had been no torsion-so death looked in the eye and averted-this time. The dog is a German Shepherd so I knew he was at high risk.

So they sent me home with some gastric motility medication, and instructions to feed him 4 times a day and get a prophylactic gastropexy.

Dogs are smarter than they look

You always hear that cats can find their way home but with dogs, well that proposition is kind of dubious. But one summer I found out that dogs are pretty smart about finding their way around.

One night I was out walking the two German Shepherds I had at the time, Sam and Brandy. I lived right at the entrance to the foothills of the Sandia mountains, so usually took them on mountain hikes, but since it was at night I was just walking them around the neighborhood.


When we just about got home I saw 3 dogs out running loose. Being a nut for animals, I always try and save dogs that have gotten out loose. There was a black lab, a small pit bull cross, and a boxer. I was able to get the pitbull and the boxer but the black lab got away.

Sam kind of had a reputation for being vicious because he was a big male German Shepherd who barked with vigor. But he was all bark and no bite, so I never hesitated bringing dogs home. I tied Sam's leash through the collars of the little dogs and we went home.

It was kind of funny but the instant we got in the house the two little dogs I had picked up seemed happy as could be. The little pit bull immediately got attached to me and followed me all over, and he ended up sleeping right next to my bed on the floor. The boxer kind of fell into the "pack" with my two shepherds and slept with them-they liked sleeping on the leather couch in the living room.

The next morning I put a lost pet ad in the news paper. For the next week the two little dogs became members of the household. They were having a great time, playing a lot with Sam and Brandy and each night the little pit bull would sleep next to me.











Sam on the leather couch

Finally someone called, and a man described the dogs perfectly so I knew they were his. It turned out that the pit bull's name was Max, which seemed to fit him perfectly because he looked like a little gangster. The man said his son (who was about 20) was devastated by losing the dogs.

That afternoon he comes to the house and picks up the dogs. To be honest, he seemed kind of harsh with them and it seemed like they didn't want to go with him. But he finally got them in the car and off they went.

My mother, who was following this little episode, said that the little dogs would be back. Sure enough her observation proved right.

About a week later, I was reading in my bedroom one afternoon. I heard this scratching sound by the window. I looked out and to my surprise there was Max the pitbull!










Brandy the Shepherd

Somehow max had found his way back. I let him in and he was full of cactus needles. If you aren't familiar with the area, the western face of the Sandia mountains is desert at lower elevations. Not only that but little max was dying of thirst. The poor little fellow had escaped from his home and crossed through the mountains and come back to my house!

I have to admit I was tempted to keep him, but I gave them another call and once again the man came to pick him up. This time the man was not happy at all and was even kind of stand-offish towards me.

This was back in the summer of 2006 and I often wonder what became of those little dogs. But it goes to show that dogs can find their way around.

Bloat: A Top Dog Health Threat

Pet Dog Health: The Danger Of Stomach Torsion

Author: David McMahon

It may be the worst thing that can happen to a dog owner: coming home and finding your "best friend" suddenly dead-when the dog had seemed completely healthy. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened to me one October afternoon, when I came home to find one of my German Shepherds dead on the floor. What could it be? A stroke? A heart attack? After getting over my complete state of shock-the dog was not "aged" and seemed completely healthy-I began digging for answers.

It turned out that the cause of death was an event called "stomach torsion" that comes about from "bloat". This is a serious issue in pet dog health, its the second leading cause of death for large dogs. But at the time, I didn't know very much about it.

Becoming educated on this issue could mean the difference between death and several extra years of life for your dog.

OK-so what is it? Let's try and describe it in laymen's terms. Bloat is basically a condition where a lot of gas or fluid gets trapped in the dogs stomach. This really isn't all that different from what might happen to you if you drank too much root beer on a full stomach, but in dogs, and in particular large dogs, this is a serious problem. This is because the stomach isn't as well set in the body cavity as ours is, a dogs stomach is kind of hanging loose if you will. When it becomes over-engorged with fluid or gas, it can twist around.

When it does, the result is a medical emergency. The blood supply to many vital organs gets cut off when this happens, and the dog goes into shock. Death will result if surgery is not performed. A symptom that this is happening is that the dog will be throwing up clear liquid or attempting to throw up.

One tragic aspect of this condition is that onset can happen rapidly, and so you may become aware of it when its too late. That's what happened in my case, my dog was fine when I left the house. I was gone for a few hours, and when I got back she was dead. Its a sad state of affairs but the progression from bloat to stomach torsion to death can happen in as little as an hour.

We can't be with our dogs 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but what we can do is take steps to reduce the risk of it happening. Here are a few things you can do:

• Break up your dogs feedings. The less food a dog takes in when it eats the lower the risk. A dog that eats just once a day has a higher risk than a dog that has its meals split into two or three portions a day.
• Watch out for dry food. Dogs that eat all dry food have a higher risk. Consider feeding canned food, or mixing dry and canned together. When you do this substitute a can of moist dog food for a cup of dry food. This helps because dry food tends to expand when liquified in the stomach adding stress to the stomach.
  
• Feed using raised bowls. There is a bit of controversey about this one, but feeding using raised bowls may help reduce the risk. This is because some dogs gulp down air when they eat, and its believed by some that bowls raised off the floor cut down on the amount of air gulped in. This in turn cuts the risk of bloat happening. Raised pet bowls are available for sale on the internet.
• Watch out for diarrhea. If a dog has chronic diarrhea, it may increase the risk. Make sure to get diarrhea treated.
• Never exercise right after feeding. Let the dogs stomach "settle" for an hour or two before going out for exercise.
• Avoid feeding immediately after exercise. After a long walk, a dog probably wants to drink lots of water. Doing that and then eating can be a fatal recipie.
• Don't feed late at night.

Before this happens I had no idea what a serious problem this was in pet dog health. Interestingly, it often takes dogs in their prime: most victims are aged between 4 and 7 years of age. But dogs of any age can get it, and although males have a higher risk, female dogs die from it as well.

In the end we can't prevent every bad event from happening. But at least taking these steps will put your mind at rest since you'll know you were aware, and took responsible steps to control the risk.

More information on pet dog health: click here

About the Author:

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/pet-dog-health-the-danger-of-stomach-torsion-815044.html

Dog Food Secrets

Do you ever wonder what's really in your dog food? I know I do, and that's why I've been checking out ingredients on dog food packaging for some time. When you do that you're probably not going to be too impressed in a lot of cases, and you may consider a home made dog food diet. 

When reading dog food labels, the order of the ingredients tells you how much of each item is in the food. This isn't an exact amount, but what it does tell you is relative amounts. For example, if the label reads like:

corn meal, chicken, rice

Then the dog food has more cornmeal in it than chicken, and more chicken in it than rice. 

So the first thing I look for is where animal protein figures on the list. The reason I do this is that dogs have descended from a long line of carnivores. Dogs were domesticated from wolves a long time ago. Wolves are meat eaters and so it makes sense that the best thing to do for your dog is give him what he naturally needs-meat. Sure he can get by on cornmeal, but that isn't necessarily  the best thing for his health. 

The second big item to note when it comes to analyzing dog food is that some meat items are listed as "by products". What on earth is a by-product? According to About.com, chicken by-products are described as follows:

Definition: Chicken by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.

Well, that's not exactly breast and thigh meat. Do you want your dog eating chicken feet as his main source of protein? Probably not. I don't either, so I prefer brands of dog food that have by-products lower down on the list of food items. 

Unfortunately if you're looking for bargain food you're going to be getting items like corn, corn meal, and by-products as the top ingredients. An example I like to use is comparing Purina Dog Chow to the more expensive line sold by the same company, Purina One. Dog Chow consists of lower quality ingredients like chicken by-products and corn meal. Purina One, on the other hand, has real meat in it. How do you know this? Its going to say "chicken" instead of "chicken by-products". I think this is better food for dogs.

Here's a secret tip: be careful changing your dog's diet. Dogs have sensitive digestive systems and changing your dogs diet abruptly can lead to problems like diarrhea. It could even lead to bloat, but I can't prove that. So start off by mixing in the new dog food a little bit at a time.

All of this begs the question-if you want your dog to eat real meat, why not just put her on a home made dog food diet? That's exactly what thousands of people are doing.

If you do a home made dog food diet, some items you might consider are cooked chicken, steak, pork, and a carbohydrate like rice. You're going to need to do some research to make sure that your dog is getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs, to maintain proper dog health supplements are going to be necessary on that kind of diet. Vegetables will also have to be included. 

I own a large number of dogs, so preparing home made meals is just not realistic for me. I barely have the time to make my own dinner. But if you only have one or two dogs, it might be something you should consider. But talk to your veterinarian to make sure your dog is getting all of the nutrients she needs. 

Bloody Diarrhea in Dogs

Every dog gets diarrhea from time to time, but in most cases it will disappear pretty quickly. But while most cases of diarrhea in dogs are not serious, there are a few occasions when diarrhea means more than just cleaning up the mess. Two things immediately come to mind: when your dog has diarrhea that lasts more than a couple of days, and second, if your dog has bloody diarrhea. In this article we're going to address the second issue. 

The first thing to note is that diarrhea really isn't a "condition" or disease all in itself. When a dog has loose stools that is a symptom that something else is wrong. For example, it could mean that your dog is passing his stools more rapidly than he should. If the diarrhea is bloody, then that tells us (obviously) that the dog has internal bleeding somewhere. 

Here's our first clue. Bloody diarrhea in dogs can come in two colors:

• Black
• Red

If the diarrhea is black, that means the blood has been in the stool longer, because the black blood isn't "fresh", so to speak. This indicates bleeding further up in the gastrointestinal tract. it might even be in the stomach, or it could be in the small intestine. This could happen if the dog had ulcerations in the stomach, for example.

If the blood is red, then there is bleeding in the large intestine closer to the exit or even bleeding in the rectum. 

If you have a puppy, bloody diarrhea especially red, bloody diarrhea is a serious concern. This is because bloody diarrhea is a sign of a parvo virus infection, a serious medical emergency in dogs that is often fatal for puppies. If your puppy has bloody diarrhea get her to a vet right away. 

Actually any case of bloody diarrhea in dogs should mean a trip to the vet. Besides parvo virus, the list of possible causes is very long. It may be that the dog has eaten something that led to ulceration somewhere. Or it could mean cancer if its chronic, although dogs don't get colon cancer as often as we do. Dogs are much more likely to get other types of cancer. However when dogs do get cancer of the GI tract, it tends to be aggressive. 

The bottom line: Get your pet to the vet at any sign of bloody diarrhea in dogs. 

Read more here

BARF Dog Food

Recently I came across something called "BARF Dog Food". Well its not what you think-it really doesn't have anything to do with barf. The BARF diet is about bones and raw food. Makes sense, that's what dogs would eat naturally if given the choice.

Any-who, here is an article about doggie diets you might find helpful. 

What's Really Going into Doggie's Dish?

The AAFCO sets the standards for pet food safety and nutrition, and the testing done by the AAFCO is used to determine whether or not specific ingredients are acceptable as pet foods. But the AAFCO will rate both low and high quality ingredients as being nutritionally adequate, because there is a demand for pet food in all price ranges. So you need to learn how to read past the AAFCO approval statement on your dog food labels if you want to know what Buster is really consuming.

Reading a Dog Food Label

The label tells us many important facts and figures that may otherwise dissuade or persuade us from purchasing the food. In short, it is important to read the labels. To actually read that label, and not to just give it a cursory glance, we will have to first know a little something about what can be found there and what it means.

The first thing most of us notice on any label is the product name. The product name may also contain primary ingredient names such as “Beef Dog Chow”, or what kind of dog the food is intended for, such as “Puppies, Adult, Lactating”, etc.

If, in the product name, an ingredient is listed, say for example that “Beef Dog Chow”, that beef must be at least 95% of the total weight if there is no water required for processing, and at least 70% when water is included. So, for dry kibble, 95% of that weight needs to contain beef.

When the title contains “dinner, formula, nuggets,” and other similar words, the ingredient named must be at least 25% of the weight. So in a product named Lamb Dinner, 25% of the total weight for the product must be lamb.

But, if only ¼ of that entire product needs to consist of lamb, the lamb may not (and probably is not!) the main ingredient. Ingredients must be listed in a descending order of weight. So, even though the bag says Lamb Dinner, the lamb may be fourth in order.

Information on the BARF dog food diet: Click Here

Example:

    * Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Corn, meat and bone meal, wheat, lamb.

In that Lamb Dinner, the main ingredients are really the corn and meat and bone meal. Not desirable for a healthy meal.

On the other hand if the ingredients listed were

    * Premium Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Lamb, ground rice, ground yellow corn…

This presents a more desirable meal and one that your dog can actually consume and digest properly.

When it comes to the words “flavored” or “flavor” such as Lamb Flavored Nuggets, no exact percentage of the named ingredient, the lamb, needs to be present, but enough of that ingredient needs to present as to be detectable

Often times, the main ingredients will not be present in the title. In such a case, these foods often include items such as: ground yellow corn, meat byproducts, tallow, and other items that are not particularly digestible for your pet. The actual named ingredient will probably be down the list and make up only a very small part of the product.

Besides naming an ingredient with the product name, other phrases and adjectives are used.

Premium Dog Food, or X Premium and other like titles are making a justified boast, as these products complied with the nutritional standards for a complete and balanced dog food. This is definitely something to take into consideration when shopping.

Natural Dog Food means that there are no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

If a product has given the calorie content on the bag, “Premium Beef Dinner: now with lower calorie content,” this is done so voluntarily as a service to the consumer. Because the calorie content of pet foods does not have to be displayed in their labels, however, here's a formula to help you make sure Buster is not eating too much:

Multiply the carbohydrate by 4.2kcal (kilocalories) per gram, the protein by 5.65, and then the fat by 9.4 kcal per gram. If you need to convert the kilocalories to kilojoules (another unit of measurement for energy) simply multiply the total by 4.184. Of course, rounding to the nearest ten might be helpful, as long as you keep in mind that it’s an approximation erring on the low side.

Where's the Fat?

A good way to find the higher quality dog foods by reading the ingredient list is to search for that first source of fat. Everything that is listed before that fat source, and including it, is the main part of the food. Everything else is generally used for flavor, preservatives, vitamins, and minerals. 

For example:

    * Food A:Ground yellow corn, meat meal, chicken fat, ground wheat, chicken byproduct meal, dried beet pulp …

    * Food B:

      Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, ground white rice, chicken fat, apples, carrots, sunflower oil…

The importance of finding the source of fat and where it is listed is so you can find ingredients that may or may not be harmful to your pet, such as beet pulp or corn gluten meal. 

Learning to read the labels on dog food is the single most important thing you can do if you intend to feed your pet a commercial diet. Buster may be the smartest dog who ever wore a collar, but he can’t read, and he needs to rely on you to keep him healthy.

If what's in that can or bag doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, it's probably not something your dog would eat if there were an alternative. So take the time to learn the language of labels! 

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition". She is the proponent of the BARF dog food diet.

Visit the link below now for more information.

The BARF dog food diet

Dogs Mast Cell Tumors

If you find that your dog is suddenly getting lumpy nodules on the legs, belly, nose, or mouth, your dog might have a mast cell tumor. This type of cancer is common among older dogs, and although just about any type of dog can get a mast cell tumor, they are typically seen in boxers and boston terriers.

On average, dogs get mast cell tumors at about 7-8 years of age. 

A dogs mast cell tumors can be loosely described as looking like a pencil eraser growing on or just below the surface of the skin. They can grow singly or in groups. Not all mast cell tumors are malignant, some 2/3 of them are actually benign, harmless growths. 

If a dogs mast cell tumor grows larger than an inch, it should be considered cancerous. But don't try to figure that out yourself, a visit to your veterinarian should be in order to find out. 

Mast cell tumors are typically treated with surgical removal. More in depth treatment may be necessary if the growth is cancerous and it has spread throughout the body. 

Cancer of Dogs

For any dog owner concerned with pet dog health cancer has to be at the top of the list of worries. In older dogs, cancer is a leading cause if not the leading cause of death. What's worse, is that cancer in dogs is as serious as cancer in people, often leading to expensive drawn out treatments that in the end buy a little time but don't stop the inevitable. 

Luckily, there is a silver lining in the clouds when it comes to cancer of dogs. First of all, you can greatly reduce the risk of your dog getting cancer by spaying or neutering your pet. So if you're not planning on breeding your dog, by having him or her "fixed" you are off to a great start. 

The first reason is that breast cancer is a major cause of cancer when it comes to female dogs, and the risk of contracting it is greatly reduced by having the dog "spayed". Breast cancer represents a very large proportion of all canine cancers, and according to some references it accounts for nearly 70% of all cancer among female dogs.

The earlier that the dog is spayed the better the protection. If the dog is spayed before her first heat, she gets a large reduction of risk. The more heats the dog goes through, the less the protective effect. However its  still there and any female dog can benefit from being spayed.

Among male dogs-you might have guessed it-testicular cancer and prostate cancer are two big killers. But get this: dogs are the only non-human species for which prostate cancer occurs in any large numbers. And while prostate cancer can be somewhat controlled in humans, its particularly aggressive in dogs.

Testicular cancer is also a problem, but obviously only in un-neutered pets. This is particularly so if the dog was born with undescended testicles. By neutering the dog, obviously the risk of testicular cancer is eliminated, and the risk of prostate cancer is reduced.

Dogs can get many other types of cancer. Lymphoma is fairly common, as are cancers of the nasal cavity. Dogs can even get lung cancer. The only way to deal with these is by having your dog checked up regularly at the vet.

One particular type of cancer to watch out for is skin cancer. This is something you can do yourself, by periodically checking over your dogs skin and taking her to the vet if you notice something unusual. Breeds like boxers are particularly susceptible to a type of skin cancer called mast cell tumors.

Cancer is scary, and if your favorite pet comes down with it that's going to be a stressful time. But before it happens, do some research and find out if there is anything you can do in order to reduce the risk. 

For more information on pet dog health: click here

Taiwan Dog Rescue

Something that really bothers me, something I'd rather not think about is how dogs are treated in parts of Asia. Several years back I saw a horrific video about the fur trade in China. They skin German Shepherds alive there to get their furs. This is not made up stuff, you can see the video for yourself on YouTube. Its so horrific and disturbing I'm not going to post it here.

Luckily there are people in countries like Korea, China, and other places that are doing something about how dogs live in those places.

Animal Rescue Korea

Here is a good video about a dog rescue in Taiwan by a motorcycle obsessive I follow on YouTube:

Dog Training 101: Fear Biting

A fear-bite is a bite that occurs out of sheer panic. It’s not to be confused with dominance-aggression, which is a sign of deep-set personality problems; a fear-biter isn’t necessarily a ‘fierce’ dog. He’s just scared. Why does fear-biting happen? A fear-biter bites because it’s his only way of expressing his extreme fear or panic, and his only way of telling his owner that he can’t handle the situation. Almost all cases of fear-biting are actually caused by well-meaning, but ill-advised, humans: they see what’s clearly a scared dog, and – intending to either comfort the dog or to show him that there’s ‘nothing to be afraid of’ – they approach too close, and push an already-anxious dog over the edge. Dogs can’t ask us to please leave them alone. They can’t tell us that something’s bothering them, or that they need some space: all they can do is sign the message to us through their body-language. It’s easy to tell when a dog’s feeling scared or panicky once you know what to look for. Fear-biting never just happens ‘out of the blue’: it only occurs when people ignore the signs. Fear-biting: the warning signs Fear-biters are submissive dogs. When faced with a new situation or unfamiliar people, they do not react with the customary effortless confidence of a well-socialized, well-adjusted dog: instead, they become nervy and on edge. A scared dog, when faced with the unfamiliar, will assume a distinctively submissive posture, and will display several marked behaviors. The more common of these are listed below. Posture - Tail tucked (or, if docked, the back legs will crouch down and the haunches will ‘tuck’) - Hunched, lowered back - Ears flat against the head - Elbows bent in a slight crouch Behaviors Excessive panting (hyperventilating) Yawning (an attempt to reduce tension) Avoidance of eye contact In extreme cases, a dog may also urinate or defecate out of fear What makes some dogs into fear-biters? All dogs undergo what’s called a fear-imprint stage when they’re about eight weeks old, and another one at about fourteen weeks. During this period of a dog’s formative puppyhood, he’s significantly more prone to ‘spookiness’: being excessively startled by new experiences and situations. If a dog has a scare during this time which isn’t properly dealt with by the owner (ie, after receiving a scare, he isn’t then taught not to be frightened of that thing), he may develop a life-long phobia towards that object. For example, if he’s been frightened by a repairman arriving at the door unexpectedly, and isn’t then acclimatized to that person, he may develop a long-standing phobia of men who resemble that repairman (men with beards, men in overalls, men holding toolboxes, etc). Some dogs are also just highly-strung and more prone to anxiety because of their breeding. Certain breeds – typically, the more intelligent ones, and the ones emotionally dependent on close, regular interaction with humans – have proven themselves more likely to develop phobias and excessive shyness than other, more emotionally stable breeds. A few of these ‘anxious’ breeds include Weimaraners, Great Danes, and Border Collies. A history of trauma or abuse is another major cause of fear-biting: many abandoned or abused dogs develop anxiety problems, which, without proper treatment, may progress into fear-biting. The difference between shyness and fear-biting It’s quite natural for some dogs to exhibit signs of shyness towards unfamiliar situations. It doesn’t mean that that dog is a ‘difficult dog’, or that he will grow up to be a fear-biter – some shyness is to be expected in almost all dogs at one point or another. Shyness only becomes a problem when it begins to interfere with the course of daily life: when a dog can no longer be trusted around strangers, for example, or if his behavior is endangering his own safety (scared dogs often bolt, sometimes across busy roads), or when your own life becomes significantly restricted by your dog’s fear. How to cope with fear-biting First of all, make sure your own attitude to the problem is realistic. While the behavior of a fearful dog can often be significantly ameliorated by careful training and acclimatization, on other occasions – and sometimes, despite your best efforts – a dog will remain fearful to the end of his days. You cannot force your dog to overcome his fear. Treatment requires patience, persistence, and consistency: rough treatment (anger, frustration, shouting, a take-no-prisoners approach) usually worsens the problem, because it increases the dog’s anxiety levels instead of decreasing them. You cannot train a scared dog not to bite: he’s responding to a powerful blend of instinct and sheer panic. No training in the world can counteract these two things – as motivators, they’re just too strong. What you can do is, firstly, build up your dog’s confidence, to reduce his overall anxiety and tension levels; and, secondly, pay close attention the cause of his fear, and work to desensitize him to it. Building up his confidence Obedience training is a great vehicle for doling out praise and rewards: simply dispensing treats at random won’t do any good, since the issue here is drawing attention to achievement and good behavior (your dog can tell the difference between an earned and an un-earned reward!). Start small, with basic obedience classes, and practice the commands for five to ten minutes every day. Remember to set him up for success: start off with the easy commands, and make sure he’s thoroughly comfortable with them before progressing to the next level. Always treat and praise liberally for good behavior. Desensitizing him to the fear-object Desensitizing your dog is all about slowly accustoming him to whatever it is that’s eliciting the fear response, at a pace that’s comfortable for him. The emphasis is on maintaining comfort levels: your aim here is to keep your dog happy and serene (as much as possible), so that he learns through direct experience that the cause of the fear isn’t actually scary after all. So if he’s afraid of, say, the vacuum cleaner, start integrating it into daily life. Remember to move slowly and not to push him too far, too fast: start by simply leaving it out in a prominent position, where he’ll have lots of incidental contact with it (for example, in the middle of the lounge carpet). Allow him plenty of opportunity to sniff it and walk around it, Play with him near it; feed him near it. Integrate the object or the situation (whether it’s the garbage truck, strangers approaching the door, small children, driving in the car) into normal, everyday life as much as possible. Counterconditioning Once he’s become desensitized enough to the fear-object that he’s reasonably calm around it (so, he might be exhibiting signs of fear, but isn’t panic-stricken to the point of wetting himself or hiding), you can start counterconditioning: teaching him to associate good things with the fear-object. You can do this by dispensing treats liberally, and doling out lavish praise for any improvements in his fear-levels. Do’s and Don’ts Do: Cue your dog. He takes his emotional and psychological cues from you, so make sure you’re a good role model. Adopt a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude, and stick to it. When he’s frightened, talk to him in a relaxed, don’t-be-silly manner, keeping your tone matter of fact and direct. Socialize him frequently and thoroughly. Even though the most critical socialization period is from eight to sixteen weeks, it should still be an ongoing process throughout your dog’s life. The more opportunity he has to accustom himself to the ways of the world, the easier it will be for him to see that, really, there’s not much to be scared of. Be patient and move slowly. Don’t try to rush your dog, or force him to confront objects, people, or situations that he’s scared of – you’re trying to countercondition his learned fear-reflex, and you’re not going to do that by teaching him to associate feelings of anxiety with the fear-object. Pay attention to his body language at all times. Some whining and trembling are OK, but if he’s wetting himself, hyperventilating, and showing the whites of his eyes, he probably needs some space. Even though a fear-bite isn’t inflicted out of a direct desire to cause harm, it’s still a bite, so give him what he needs! Don’t: Crowd him. Scared dogs need space, more than anything else – you won’t make things easier for him by entering his ‘personal bubble’. If he’s really scared, back off, and wait for him to approach you. If he’s hiding, or strenuously resisting your direction, pay attention to what he’s trying to tell you: that he’s not comfortable enough to proceed yet. Forcing him outside his comfort zone is when bites happen. Don’t coddle him or reward his fearful behavior with special attention. It’s great to praise, pet, and cuddle him for good behavior, increased calmness, and being brave enough to approach/sniff/explore the object of fear – it’s not good to reward him for fearful behavior. Save the special attention for when he deserves it: remember to reward the behavior you wish to see repeated; ignore the behavior you don’t. For further information For more information on problem behavior in dogs, check out SitStayFetch. It’s a comprehensive training manual for dog-owners, and covers just about everything you could ever want to know about raising a happy, healthy, well-adjusted dog: from canine psychology to dog whispering to preventing and handling problem behaviors to obedience training, SitStayFetch has it all covered. You can visit the SitStayFetch website by clicking on the link below:

Kingdom of Pets: Sit-Stay-Fetch

Brandy (July 13,1999-October 10,2008)

I was shocked to come home tonight and find my dog Brandy dead on the floor. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, there was something wrong as Brand had been having diarrhea the past 2 weeks. At first I thought it was because I changed the dogs diet a couple weeks ago. But I changed her food back but she was still having problems. I had it in the back of my mind to take a stool sample to the vet next week. I certainly wasn't expecting this.


The sad thing about a dog dying is nobody except you knows what the dog meant. There won't be any funeral, no monuments or prizes to remember the life by. But Brandy was an angel in fur. Her life started out hard. In 1999 I wanted another German Shepherd and saw this ad in the paper. I went down and saw Brandy and her brothers and sisters by the river. They were in dirty surroundings so I had second thoughts.

I kept thinking about Brandy so after a week went by I called the guy and he said he still had her. So I picked her up and brought her home. She was covered in ticks and vomited roundworms, but after that recovered and was on her way.

Brandy was sweet as pie but always a little shy around strangers. I remember once I enrolled her in an obedience class and she was shaking like a leaf the first day. By the end of the class though, she was doing great. They had these contests and she won the "sit" contest. I feel silly but I was very proud of her.

When I got Brandy I had a male German Shepherd named Sam who was a couple of years older. Sam and Brandy were always the best of friends, throughout Sam's life until he died last year. They kind of reminded me of an old couple.

Brandy, like most dogs-had two favorite pasttimes-walking and chasing balls. Brandy loved chasing balls, and she loved hiking in the mountains. I have owned lots of dogs and I have to say without a doubt Brandy loved going out in the mountains more than any other dog.

The past few weeks I guess it was obvious something was wrong, but I never would have imagined it was life threatening. I will feel guilty the rest of my life for not having done something soon enough.

Pay attention to the health of your dog. Today might be their last day on earth.

Book Exerpt: Dog Health From A to Z

Dog Health from A to Z is a quick glance guide to health conditions and illnesses you need to be aware of that can affect your dog. The guide is meant to be easy to read and quick and to the point, telling you what a given disease or condition is about, what the symptoms are, and how its treated. In this sample passage, we discuss roundworms.

In a Nutshell
One late summer afternoon, my new puppy Brandy, an 8 week old German Shepherd, threw up in her crate. To my horror there was a big pile of worms there—long white, featureless yet disgusting looking fellows. Brandy had a roundworm infestation.
Unlike tapeworms, roundworms have solid, unsegmented bodies that some people describe as looking like spaghetti. They can be big-adult females are around 7 inches long. They can also be nasty for puppies, causing malnutrition and even intestinal blockage.











Brandy, a roundworm survivor

Where do they come from?
Roundworms can be obtained in basically one of four ways:
If the mother is infected, puppies can obtain the infection while in utero
Puppies can also obtain the infection from their mothers milk while nursing
Dogs can pick up roundworm eggs from the soil
Eating an infected rodent like a rabbit can transmit roundworms

Roundworm eggs are passed out into the environment from the dogs feces. As a result, roundworm is detected by testing a fecal sample at your veterinarian's office. When the eggs are picked up by the got, usually by picking up some dirt containing eggs and ingesting it, the eggs hatch in the intestinal tract then a rather complicated life cycle begins. Are you ready for this? Let's break it down into stages:

The baby worms migrate to the liver where they hold up in encrusted cysts.
At some point, they decide to get out of the cysts. From there, they migrate to the lungs.
Once in the lungs, they utilize the air passages to make their way to the throat. This stage is often indicated by a dog which is coughing.
When the worms are coughed up into the throat, they make their way back down-to the intestines again!
This time they mature into adult worms. They mate, absorb nutrients from the dog and lay eggs which come out in the dogs feces.
Strange fact: If the dog is pregnant, the worms hatching out from encrusted cysts in the liver don't go for the lungs, instead they find the puppies and infect them. Brilliant strategy!

Symptoms
When my dog Brandy vomited up a whole pile of worms, well it was pretty obvious what was going on. But you may not be so lucky. So here are some symptoms of roundworm infection you should be aware of, especially if getting a new puppy:

• Coughing

• Pneumonia

• A pot-bellied appearance

• Vomiting of worms

• Diarrhea, especially in puppies

In serious infestations, there can be so many roundworms that they clog up and choke off the intestines. This can be a serious health problem for the dog.

Treatment
While discovering the worms can be quite unnerving, the treatment is actually very easy. Roundworms can be treated easily using an orally administered de-wormer. Some effective dewormers include Heartgard Plus, Febantel and Panacur.

Dog Food Update

Well last night was the clincher. At about 3 AM my German Shepherd Brandy walked out into the hallway, waking me up. I didn't pay much attention until I heard a big explosion: of the diarrhea kind! Almost complete liquid. Brandy is a really good dog and has never had problems with going potty inside, but she looked awfully happy after this episode! I was miserable, having to clean up dog poop that was completely liquid at 3 AM! Luckily I had some Nature's Miracle on hand that made it much easier. Anyway so this afternoon I stopped by PetSmart and picked up a big bag of Nutro. Give that a few days to see if it clears up the digestive problems with the dogs. If not I guess I will have to head to the vet and see if its something else, but at this point I'm pretty sure the Solid Gold just hasn't been agreeing with the dogs. I am putting Brandy all on Nutro right away, but will be mixing half and half Solid Gold/Nutro for the other dogs.

Thumbs Down on Solid Gold

Well my experiment with Solid Gold dog food is coming to a disappointing close. Despite the rave reviews given by most people it just isn't sitting well with two of my dogs, who have been having chronic diarrhea since being on it. I was hoping that they would become acclimated to the food and the problems would fade. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening. Not sure where to turn next, I could just go back to Purina One. I did feed my dogs Nutro at one point, which is supposed to be a good dog food, I may try that.

Bringing Home Lucy the Weimaraner

My 3 year old weimaraner Lucy is completely nuts. So when I knew I had to keep Tony the German Shepherd Dog confined for 42 days straight because of heartworm treatment, I thought getting a vacation from Lucy was a good idea for all of us. So off Lucy went to my mom's house for a little vacation and an extended visit with my mom's German Shepherd, Smokey.

Well now that Tony is over his heartworm, Lucy has returned. Bringing Lucy home has drummed up some old issues. For one, I have 3 female dogs and 2 male dogs. Once, a long time before I had 5 dogs, I asked a vet which is better: multiple male dogs or multiple female dogs? The vet, perhaps speaking from a point of view best described as naive, insisted that having multiple female dogs was far better.

Whoa could anything be further from the truth. Just like a caddy of women at the office, having multiple female dogs is a serious problem. Here is my take on it. You get multiple male dogs, and yes they are going to fight. Once. That's it. One time, end of story. They sort out who's in charge, then after that everything runs smoothly.

Not so with the um...bitches! Female dogs are constantly jockying for position. Like I said, its just like having an office with nothing but women. Two female dogs, well that seems to work out OK. But three represents some kind of tipping point.

A funny observation: over the past 8 weeks while Tony was undergoing his treatment, my female Akita Naomi has been skimping on her food. Not eating at all sometimes. Hell this is a good thing because Naomi is a bit overweight despite walks in the mountains. But since Lucy came back-all of the suddent Naomi's got to eat every last crumb.

Unfortunately for my German Shepherd Dog Brandy, who is a real sweetee-she is at the bottom of the female heirarchy. Brandy is basically a real gentle dog, but for some reason she likes taking her stress out on the males. She used to bark like crazy and do lots of fake attacks on Sam the German Shepherd. Now she takes her anger out on Jake and Tony. But for some reason, when it comes to the girls Brandy is real passive. She won't fight back at all when Naomi and Lucy pick on her, and even seems afraid to get a drink of water (Naomi and Lucy growl and bark near the water bowl, despite my objections). Since Lucy has been back home Brandy's been spending lots of time hiding.

Well things will work themselves out, they always have. But that vet was seriously mistaken. My male dogs have always gotten along great but female dogs never seem to sort it out. It always seems to be contant battling and bickering amongst female dogs to see who is on top and who is in the middle. They don't seem to sort things out all in one go the way male dogs do.

Well what is your experience? If you've had large numbers of dogs I'd like to hear how they sorted out their heirarchy.

Heartworm Update

Well the heartworm treatment for my dog Tony is apparently over, although I won't know for sure for about 6 months. It will be then that the vet will do another heartworm test to find out if the treatment worked. At least I am able to let Tony out of the crate for now and he can resume a normal life. A dog that has tested positive for heartworm must be on heartworm preventative year round from that point on.

Anyway I let Tony engage in one of his favorite past-times, which is chasing the laser light. Lucy, my weimaraner loves doing that too. She also likes chasing flashlights shining on the ceiling. You can get the laser toys at Pet Smart, they're a great investment for your dogs. Here is a short video. Tony is the black German Shepherd Dog. Sorry for the mess I've been doing some remodeling ;)

Where they used to Drown the Dogs

Believe it or not, in New York City they used to take care of stray dogs by drowning them. God help you if your dog got loose and wasn't identified by a collar and tags. To understand the scale of the operation, in a single day 738 adult dogs and 20 puppies were purposefully drowned in 1877. I find it hard to believe a person could carry out such an act, but carry it out they did. The dogs were put in cages that were purposefully put under water for 10 minutes. The dead dogs were then sold for their furs. Thank God Americans now find the idea of dog fur horrific.

I guess there is a bright side to everything. About ten years ago I saw a horrific report on the dog fur trade in China. At least the dogs in New York were drowned before their furs were taken. In China, dogs are skinned alive to obtain their fur. On a news report I watched they showed a gorgeous German Shepherd being skinned alive by some wacko Chinese woman who was a fur trader. I hope she burns in hell.

Well if the good people of New York can go from a city that once drowned dogs to one that will be entirely no kill by 2015 (their current goal), maybe the Chinese will give up their torture of dogs and the dog fur trade. Interestingly the humane societies, which were originally formed to stop horse abuse, took action in the late 1800s to stop the practice of drowning dogs in New York. Here we are more than a hundred years later and great progress has been made, last year the percentage of dogs euthanized in NYC dropped from 75% to 43%. This is a goal every city should strive for.

Final Week of Dog Heartworm Treatment

My German Shepherd Dog Tony is entering his last week of heartworm treatment. Or more accurately his last week of being confined. Thank God for that. I can barely take it anymore, and neither can Tony.

Dogs seem to have an amazing ability to bounce back. I think they're a little healthier mentally than humans are. Think about it. Heartworm treatment for dogs involves locking them up for 6+weeks (turned out to be 9 weeks for Tony). Plus the dog has no idea why you're suddenly shutting them up. Imagine if you woke up to find yourself locked in a small room, with someone bringing you food and water now and then-and not knowing why you were in there. A person would go bonkers under those circumstances.

You're supposed to keep the dog in a crate, or at least in a small room so that they don't get active. Tony was going nuts in the crate so I've been keeping him in an unused bedroom. He hasn't been too unhappy, after all he has this big mattress to lay on. Nonetheless he's been pretty lonely and has really gotten restless the last two weeks. Well anyway just 6 more days of this nonsense, then the vet says Tony can resume his normal dog life.