Wonder what dogs think about? Food! In nature, dogs would need to be hunting or scavenging for a major part of each day. If they were blessed enough to get a full tummy then they could take a break and rest, but as soon as that meal was absorbed they would be right back at it. Eating is a vital part of your dog’s world and it is important to do it right.

It is essential to teach your dog to eat in a timely manner, and that the food belongs to you not him. Leave the food down for your dog for approximately 10 minutes. If you leave the food down for too long then the dog begins to believe it belongs to him and will not feel the need to finish it right away. He will come and take a little bit at a time and walk away from his food to chew it elsewhere. This is not what a dog’s body was created to do. He is built to gorge now and digest later. If the food is in the bowl for only ten minutes he learns that you, as the leader, will take it away and he will condition himself to eat it all at once.

This is important when your dog is older and/or ill. He needs to eat a hearty meal – not just take little bits here and there. Eating a proper meal can help insure a faster recovery, or keep an older dog more alert and enthused about his feeding routine. It is also great for when you have to feed in a hurry. You are on a road trip and you need the dog to eat now so that you can keep driving. This way the dog is more cooperative and the whole schedule runs more smoothly.

If you say, “but my dog is a slow eater and he is rather picky”, then our reply is – if he were living in a natural state he couldn’t afford to be so picky. You have actually trained him to be this way. We had a friend who thought her dog would only eat if she fed it by hand – no, in fact she had trained the dog to believe that if it waited long enough to eat, she would rescue it by hand feeding it. If you begin the ‘ten minutes down and then it’s gone’ routine today, in approximately three days he will be eating much more quickly and looking forward to his meals.

Feeding Schedules

Young Puppies (6 weeks to 6 months) – need to eat three times a day
Older Puppies (6 months to 12 months) – should eat two times a day
Adults (12 months and older) – can eat once a day. Preferably in the morning so that they have the whole day to burn it off.

Giant breeds need to continue their dinner meals longer than smaller breeds because the largest breeds can take up to four years to complete filling out. The bigger breeds also have disproportionately smaller stomachs in relation to their larger bodies, and the smaller breeds have larger stomachs in proportion their bodies mass. The giant breeds benefit from having an evening snack. It doesn’t have to be as large as the morning meal, but needs to be substantial enough to prevent him from getting a grumbly tummy in the middle of the night, or you might notice them throwing up yellow bile in the middle of the night. Try feeding a light evening meal and see if this helps.

Dogs with deep chests (sight hounds, Great Danes, German Shepherds…), or who gorge their food, have a tendency towards bloat and need to be monitored in their eating habits. Do not feed them and then vigorously exercise them, or visa versa, this causes the food to expand more quickly in their heated bodies and can lead to bloat, or cause the full stomach to flip and cause torsion. Deep-chested dogs could benefit from their largest meal being feed at night, so they can digest their food during quieter hours of the evening.

Diet

Kibble: Kibble is the hard cereal-like substance you buy in a bag that makes life a little easier for us all at mealtime. Kibble has only existed for a very short time in the history of dogs, as it was created from the surplus in the processed foods industry. Some one thought that the ideal use for these by-products would be to convince the public that it was good to feed to their pets.

The problem is that this product is typically manufactured with very poor quality ingredients (wings, beaks, feathers, feet, noses, diseased tissue, corn, corn husks, even newspaper, etc.) and processed at extremely high temperatures, then extruded into the kibble that you scoop into your pet’s bowl. The extrusion process is similar to dehydration – the moisture is removed and the product is reduced in volume. When the animal drinks water (which it always does right after it eats kibble) the kibble begins to expand in the animal’s stomach – this is not natural or healthy for your pet. Even if the kibble were made from the best ingredients possible, the processing removes and destroys most of what was ever good in it in the first place. There are some kibble products that are baked and those are at least better than the extruded.

Kibble is touted to be the miracle tooth cleaner for dogs, yet we are now being asked by our vets to brush our dog’s teeth and have them cleaned professionally every year to the tune of hundreds of dollars. If wolves’ teeth were at risk to the degree that our canine companions are today, then wolves would have died out a long time ago. They would not be able to take down an animal, tear at the meat and crush the bones because their teeth would be weak and infected – too painful to function properly. Instead wolves have thrived for thousands of years, because they clean their own teeth on the bones they are eating. They work on a large marrowbone for hours scraping away the marrow along with bits of calcium. They work all of their teeth as they shave pieces from the bone. Their gums are exercised beautifully and any tartar that might be there is cleaned off. The pH of a naturally fed animal also creates less tartar in the first place – so there is less to be concerned about. Heck, if we ate more naturally our teeth would be better off as well.

A Natural Diet: 

If you know that dogs are wolves inside, then let’s look at what a wolf might eat in the course of a week. He might consume: a rabbit, some mice, some apples that have fallen from a tree, a nest of eggs, a little grass, a bird, the bones of a dead deer left in the woods. You get the picture. Wolves and dogs are hunters and scavengers – they are built to be hungry 24 hours a day. Today might be a feast, but tomorrow might be famine, so eat all you can today.

Think about this wild diet – did he peel the meat off of the rabbit and sauté it over a nice fire? Were the mice filleted? Were the apples the best he could pick from the tree? Did he crack the eggs over a hot rock and serve them sunny side up? The old dead deer – yuck, way too much contamination– what was he thinking?

Do you get the point? Dogs can eat it all and do just fine. It is important to remember that the raw state of most foods is what is natural and best. To imitate the wolf diet you need to think raw most of the time.

Grains and Vegetables: The only foods that must be cooked are the grains and vegetables. The wolf would get these from the stomach of the animal he is eating and therefore are already predigested and help him break it down more easily. Grains expand when heated with water, so you need to cook them in advance to prevent expansion in the stomach. Some dogs will eat grass (especially in the spring), usually as a cleanser and it will make them vomit – don’t panic, they wouldn’t do it if they didn’t know they needed to.

Dairy: Dairy doesn’t exist naturally in the adult dog’s life, they do not have the enzymes to digest it and they will get diarrhea. The counterpart to that theory is that yogurt and cheese are great for your dog – full of good protein, bacteria and enzymes. Your dog would love a tablespoon of yogurt (plain or vanilla) in every meal or cheese for treats.

Eggs: The eggs are raw and should be fed on a minimal basis – the wolf would only find a nest full of eggs on a rare occasion, but one egg two times a week is good for your dog.

Fruit: The fruit is not picked from the tree, but scavenged after it has fallen to the ground and is slightly over ripened and digesting in its own enzymes. Your dog can have all kinds of fruit – when it is a little too soft for you it is perfect for him. He will have his own tastes and love some fruit and not others. Be patient, some fruits are an acquired taste. Do not feed raisins or grapes: they have been related to renal (kidney) failure.

Bones: Your hackles are probably raising at the thought of your dog eating chicken bones. We have been told to never feed our dog a chicken bone – it will splinter and tear him up inside. Well, a cooked bone just might do that. It becomes more brittle and far less nutritious when you cook it. A raw bone is easily crushed and digested and full of good nutrition. Our dogs have been eating raw chicken bones for years now and we have yet to see a problem. They are loving the food, digesting it well, and pooping out glorious poops that are so full of leftover calcium that they just crumble into the ground (and they don’t stink!). Our clients who have taken the step towards a natural diet see all kinds of changes in their animals. They experience digestive improvements, energy shifts, allergy corrections, coats that glisten, over all health improvements, some even swear to a change in their relationship with their dog.

*This is not to say that a dog has never had an ill effect from eating raw bones. If you are at all uncomfortable with allowing your dog to chew up bones, then consider putting some chicken wings in the blender and break them up into small bits in advance. Feeding chicken necks is great because they are just cartilage and there are no bones to worry about.

Yes, we do feed a high quality kibble to our dogs, heck, our family eats breakfast cereal too, but all things in balance ~ make sure you supplement with fresh foods as well.

Article Reproduced by permission by Tenderfoot Training 
Tenderfoot Training encourages responsible animal parenting, healthy socialization, humane use of training tools, natural nutrition, and sensitivity to the animal heart, mind, and body.

Sherry Bedard is an animal behaviourist and trainer working in Montreal. She founded Animal instincts school in 2005 and she teaches people how to become dog trainers. She also consults on a 1-to-1 basis with dog owners that are having problems with their dog. Sherry also teaches canine and feline behavior to students in the adult education program at Vanier College and regularly volunteers her time and expertise at local animal shelters in Montreal.

Related video – How to give a pill to a cat

When is the last time you learned something new: new software on the computer, a new sport, a new card game?  I bet it wasn’t so long ago and it wasn’t too hard to learn.  So why do people assume that a dog is too old to learn?  Not only should you continue teaching your old dog new tricks but you should never give up on his good manners or the wonderful communication you have fostered over the years.

Many older dogs are turned into shelters everyday because their people have given up on teaching them good manners; they just assume it’s too late to change them.  We are here to promise you it is not too late.  The beauty of dogs is they are incredibly flexible in their behavior and are able to learn new things everyday.  The challenge is for the people to take the time to engage their dogs mind so that they can enjoy learning – one of our favorite things to tell people is ‘when the person changes the dog changes too’.

Give yourself credit for everything your dog does well; however everything that annoys you about your dog you have also helped create.  It is simply a matter of learning how you have enabled the behavior and changing what you do.  If your dog barks at the door do you shout ‘quiet!’ and do nothing to stop him or show him what you do want?  He might not have a clue you are even speaking to him, and might just think you are simply joining in the barking.  Does your dog pull on the leash and every effort you have made does nothing to change him?  Well, if you allow him to pull you even one inch in the direction he is headed then you have just taught him pulling works!  Everything you do communicates something to your dog; you just need to learn how to clearlycommunicate the things you want him to understand.

So often when someone brings a new dog home they sign up for training classes and put lots of time and effort into teaching their dog tricks and manners.  As the dog learns and succeeds the person seems to think their job is done and they back off.  A few months/years go by and it seems the dog has forgotten his manners.  The person is bewildered and wonders where it all went wrong and how did their once wonderful dog get such bad habits?  It is the same in all relationships, people work hard in the beginning to start things on a good foot, but as time goes by they slack off and the relationship suffers, sound familiar?  Dogs need their people to engage their minds, keep the relationship fresh and in balance.

Mental stimulation is vital to a dog’s well being, but most dogs end up just hanging around the house and left to do as they please.  They get bored and either act out to relieve the boredom or act up in order to get the families attention, either way it can lead to unhappy families with out of control dogs.

Take a long look into your dog’s eyes and remember laughing at her antics as a pup, the fun hikes, the times you couldn’t stop staring at how cute she was, or just cuddling on the couch.  Now think about what you can do today to start recreating a strong relationship again, get to work engaging her mind, and don’t hesitate to call a good trainer to help you teach her some new tricks, and repair some bad habits. It is time well spent together.

Article Reproduced by permission by Tenderfoot Training 
Tenderfoot Training encourages responsible animal parenting, healthy socialization, humane use of training tools, natural nutrition, and sensitivity to the animal heart, mind, and body.  (Article updated  03/19/2015)

But when it comes to respecting the personal space(s) of humans, many dogs ignore our personal boundaries and invade our personal spaces when we don’t want them to. This space can be our immediate personal space or any space we choose to set boundaries for (like when we are using a kitchen or a bathroom). This pet podcast teaches you how to get your dog to respect your personal spaces through boundary training. (Updated Dec 17, 2014)

Shownotes and links of interest:
Tenderfoot Training DVD

You can download this pet podcast directly by clicking the first link in this post link or listen to it almost immediately, with the embedded player below. This podcast is 00:30:52 in length.

Shownotes and links of interest:
Tenderfoot Training DVD

You can download this pet podcast directly by clicking the first link in this post link or listen to it almost immediately, with the embedded player below. This podcast is 00:39:24 in length.

Pet podcast 60 – Separation anxiety in dogs

Sherry Bedard is an animal behaviourist and trainer working in Montreal. She founded Animal instincts school in 2005 and she teaches people how to become dog trainers. She also consults on a 1-to-1 basis with dog owners that are having problems with their dog. Sherry also teaches canine and feline behavior to students in the adult education program at Vanier College and regularly volunteers her time and expertise at local animal shelters in Montreal.

Related video – How to give a pill to a dog

Shownotes and links of interest:
Cesar Millan Live – Upcoming Canadian Tour information
Cesar’s Way – Cesar’s website
Thundershirt.com

You can download this pet podcast directly by clicking the first link in this post link or listen to it almost immediately, with the embedded player below. This podcast is 00:21:48 in length.

Pet podcast 59 – Interview with Cesar Millan

Atopy is the term we use when we are describing an allergy to different particles in the environment.  The severity is often related to changing seasons.  Pets may become allergic to pollens, moulds, and dust particles (often dust mite “bits”).  We used to categorize atopy as the inhalant-form of allergies.  An animal would breathe in a specific particle that the immune system would recognize as foreign and set up an inflammatory response in reaction.  The inflammatory response usually involves the release of histamine molecules from particular cells concentrated in specific parts of the body-around the face and ears, the paws, belly, and around the anus.  This reaction results in pruritus, also known as itchiness.  The pet may start showing signs for a few weeks during the seasons when the offending particles are present in the air, but over time these periods may lengthen to the point that the pet shows allergic signs year-round.

We know that the inhalant route of exposure is very important, but research shows that dogs and cats are also being exposed to allergenic particles (proteins that cause your pet to develop an allergic reaction) through the digestive system and direct contact with the skin.  For example, during times of high pollen counts, your dog may be literally bathing in these invisible particles every time he goes outside.  When he licks a puddle, he may be drinking in these same particles.  Dogs don’t do well living in bubbles, so how do we diagnose and treat atopy?

Your veterinarian will diagnosis atopy based on a number of considerations.  Certain breeds are more prone to atopy than others including the Golden retriever, Dalmatian, West Highland white terrier, Shar Pei, Labrador retriever, Cairn terrier, Lhasa Apso, Shih Tzu, Boxer, and Pug.  The doctor will look for lesions or signs of scratching.  An atopic pet can have sore ears or red, swollen paws.  Dogs with allergies may have actual crusty sores on their bodies or may only have small areas of missing hair where they have been chewing.  Cats tend to have crusting around their faces and necks with or without signs of ear problems.  There are a number of tests recommended to ensure that there are no concurrent problems.  Skin samples will be taken to look for fleas, lice, Demodex, Sarcoptes, and other critters that can live on the pet and produce skin lesions.  Culture samples may be collected to rule out the presence of bacterial or fungal infections.  A large number of patients will develop secondary infections that require treatment at the same time as the allergies are being addressed.  Other conditions that cause skin disease may also need to be ruled out, and your veterinarian may advise specific testing for thyroid disease and other hormonal or immune-mediated problems.  Specific diet trials may be initiated to ensure that there is no food allergy component to your dog’s condition.  Specialized allergy testing is a great way to determine which allergens affect your pet.

Intradermal skin testing has long been considered the “gold standard” when diagnosing which specific allergens are causing problems for a pet.  The veterinarian will shave a small area on the patient’s side and draw a grid to keep track of the different allergens being tested.  A small amount of each substance is injected into the top layers of the skin and the spot is monitored for reaction.  Allergic pets will mount a “histamine response”, i.e. there is pin-point swelling and redness in the area.  The degree of reaction is rated by the veterinarian and recorded.  Some dogs and all cats will need to be sedated, because the histamine reaction we are looking for can be very itchy and uncomfortable.

Serum allergy testing certainly does have its place where clients do not have access to assessment by a dermatologist.  A small blood sample is taken from the patient and sent to a specialized laboratory that measures the amount of immunoglobulin E (a type of antibody) against specific allergens.  As an aside, although serum tests often offer food panels, most veterinarians recommend food allergy assessments through specialized diet trials.  The results for both intradermal skin testing and serum allergy testing need to be interpreted by an experienced veterinarian in light of the individual patient’s clinical symptoms, lifestyle, and environment.

As you can see, we generally don’t diagnose and successfully treat atopy with one visit to the veterinary hospital.  You may be asked to help control your dog’s environment with regular vacuuming and washing of bedding.  Stuffed toys and indoor plants may need to be removed from the home.  Air filtration devices incorporated into your air conditioning and heating systems can be very helpful in decreasing indoor allergens.  Once the doctor has ruled out other potential problems and treated any secondary skin or ear infections, therapy can be guided toward treating with prescription medications, and using hyposensitization techniques which allow patients to slowly become “immune” to their allergies.  Prednisone and other types of cortisone-type medications can be very useful in relieving allergy symptoms, although they are known to cause a number of side effects when used long-term.  Cyclosporine is another drug which may be of great benefit in the right patient.  Dogs and cats may have only a limited response to over-the-counter antihistamines, and your veterinarian will let you know if your pet is a candidate for these types of medications.  Nutritional supplements and topical products can also be used in addition to these main forms of therapy to decrease inflammation, boost the immune system, and soothe the skin. For most pets, atopy or other forms of skin allergies require chronic management. A great working relationship with your veterinarian will be the biggest factor in successfully reducing your pet’s symptoms and keeping the itchiness under control.

Article by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance

Dr. Colleen Skavinsky
Chief Veterinary Officer
Petsecure pet health insurance

To learn more, visit: www.petsecure.com

With only hot air to breathe, a dog’s normal cooling process-panting-doesn’t work. A dog can withstand internal body temperatures of 40°C for only a few minutes before brain damage or death can occur.

Signs of canine heatstroke/heat exhaustion include;

1. Rapid heartbeat

2. Heavy panting

3. Lethargy

4. Lack of coordination

5. Weakness or muscle tremors

6. Unconsciousness

7. Glazed eyes

8. Convulsions

If you see an animal that may be suffering from heat exhaustion, and the owner can’t be quickly located, call the Ottawa Humane Society’s emergency phone line at 613-725-1532.

A hot car is no place for a pet. The OHS advises people that when it’s hot, leave your pet at home, with access to shade and plenty of fresh water.

For an eye-opening view of what it’s like in a sweltering car, view the video made by an Ottawa reporter who sat in one for 20 minutes.

A word about the Ottawa Humane Society:

The Ottawa Humane Society is a registered charity founded in 1888. The Society works in and with the community to provide leadership in the humane treatment of all animals, to address the causes of animal suffering, to encourage people to take responsibility for their animal companions, and to provide care for animals who are neglected, abused, exploited, stray, or homeless.

The Ontario Veterinary College published a paper in 2010 which showed that 564 dogs tested positive for heartworm in Canada.  Over 75 percent (431 in total) of these dogs lived in Ontario.  There are also pockets of heartworm disease in southern Manitoba, southern Quebec, and southern mainland British Columbia.  This study showed the presence of heartworm infection in dogs increased by nearly 60% since the last study of its kind in 2002.  Researchers speculate that one factor may be the adoption of heartworm-positive rescue dogs from the southern United States after Hurricane Katrina or through other rescue programs from American states where there is a higher prevalence of heartworm disease.   Other studies suggest that cats may be infected at approximately 1/10 the rate of dogs in heartworm prevalent areas.

Let’s look at the life cycle of heartworms in the dog.  Dogs become infected with heartworms through mosquito bites.  Mosquitoes “suck up” microfilariae, microscopic larvae, when they bite and feed from dogs, coyotes, and foxes who already have contracted heartworm disease.  The larvae mature in the salivary glands of the mosquitoes who then feed from an uninfected dog.  The larvae are then transferred into the tissues of the new dog and go through a maturation process in the dog’s body.  The larvae eventually become adult worms who travel through the lungs and bloodstream and end up in the pulmonary blood vessels and the heart.  Once they arrive here, they can mate and produce thousands of the tiny microfilariae.  It takes between 5 to 7 months for one female heartworm to mature and begin producing these tiny larvae.  The microfilariae travel through the bloodstream where they are available for the next mosquito to come along and feed.    Thus the cycle repeats itself.

The adult heartworms can grow to be 15 to 30 centimetres in length.  Severely affected dogs may carry 30 to 100 worms within their hearts and lungs.  The presence of these parasites over time can lead to lung and liver disease and heart failure.  While the worms themselves don’t necessarily kill a dog, these conditions can certainly be fatal.  Treatment often involves the killing of the adult worms with an arsenic-based compound which can result in severe complications.  Prevention on the other hand is quite easy and with minimal adverse effects.  Preventive medication is aimed at killing the microscopic larvae in the dog’s system before they have a chance to reach the heart and the lungs.  Prevention may come in the form of a tablet, a chew treat, or a spot-on product that you apply over your dog’s shoulders and back.  Normally these medications are prescribed on a monthly basis and are given during the summer months, according to a local area’s “mosquito season”.

The American Heartworm Society recommends annual testing and preventive medication for dogs that live in heartworm prevalent areas of the country.  While we pet parents who routinely give our dogs heartworm medication may wonder why we need to re-test annually, there are a couple of very good reasons.  Some studies suggest that 1 in 10 positive dogs may have been given a preventive in the year prior to having a positive test.  While the medications themselves are very effective, some of us may forget to give the pill on time or may miss a month or two at the end of the mosquito season.  Some dogs are quite wily and will appear to have swallowed their tablet but may spit it out in the backyard or behind the sofa.  A dog who eats grass “just because she likes it” may accidentally vomit the pill in the backyard without your ever realizing it.  These dogs may be unprotected for a whole month of heartworm-infecting mosquito bites.

Mosquitoes do not discriminate against small dogs and dogs who spend much of their time indoors.  These dogs may be at risk for heartworm disease depending on where you live and will benefit from preventive medication.  Your veterinarian will be able to offer you the specific statistics for heartworm prevalence in your area to help you determine if prevention is a good idea for your dog and how often your dog should be tested.  Also remember that dogs who travel to the United States or areas of Canada with a higher prevalence for heartworm disease should be prescribed a preventive medication during travel and in the month afterward.  These dogs will need to be re-tested 6 to 12 months after they return home.

Cats are not considered a natural reservoir host for heartworms, but we can still see the disease in this species.  While the life cycle is similar, cats tend to develop infections with smaller numbers of worms and are as likely to develop breathing problems or an asthma-like condition as true heart failure.  Cats most at risk are those who spend time outdoors at dusk and dawn.  Heartworm testing is more complicated in feline patients but preventive medication is available.  Please ask your veterinarian if your cat would benefit from a heartworm prevention program.

Article by Petsecure Pet Health Insurance

Dr. Colleen Skavinsky
Chief Veterinary Officer
Petsecure pet health insurance

To learn more, visit: www.petsecure.com