12 minute read

Ask the Vet…

from 2023 March Downeast Dog News

from 2023 March Downeast Dog News, page 4

Furry Words

by Dr. Judith Herman

Kellie T. has a bullador(bulldog/ lab mix) who will be 9 this month. She has been acting a little strange lately and completely under foot at all times. She’d like to know what's going on with her. Ok, I have a few questions that I wish I could ask you right now! Are you pregnant or were you pregnant? If so, were you afraid you would lose the child? I feel like she’s picking up on your energy and is afraid she’s going to miss a really important milestone in your life. If you’re pregnant, I’m not predicting a miscarriage at all, so don’t panic! She can essentially hear/feel your thoughts. What are you worrying about? Put on the frozen soundtrack and “Let it Go!” I also want to tell you that we can make all the plans in the world, but if it’s in our best interest for the timing to be different or for it to play out in a way other than what we expect, it is something we need to learn to say “Thank You” to.

Connie R. said, “We had Scooby for a short 99 days. Never did find out how his liver failed him. He was a Great Dane.” His liver feels like it was born with a deficiency. That word is the one I’m being told to say, and for me, it looks like it wasn’t completely formed or if it was there, was an adhesion or something that prevented it from growing with him. He says, “Don’t worry! I loved you more and had a blast with you! He energetically checked out before his physical body passed, and he still hangs out in your home. Imagine being a foster child and knowing you hit the lottery with the family you’re with for 99 days. You learn that you are actually lovable, that you have a voice, that you are an equal regardless of your “other” home. Scooby took it all in, and you made him shine. He is forever grateful. He’s also sending you pennies from heaven. He’s pretty funny- I’m trying to keep the answer short and sweet, but he keeps talking! www.enlightenedhorizons.com

Diane H. asked how her fawn Boxer named Baby was doing and how she is feeling. I actually feel really good considering! She makes my left upper inner arm feel a little sore. I’m not a vet, but it feels more like lymph than muscular. The other image that flashed in my mind is my son and when he had a growth spurt, his body hurt, and I think her growing pains were real. She simply adores you, and I feel like you wake up to her staring at you. Then she gets super excited like the first person to wish you happy birthday!

Sara Moore now has an office in North Conway, NH (pets can’t join you unfortunately), offers phone readings internationally, and has podcasts available on Anchor and Spotify. Look up Enlightened Horizons with Sara Moore to listen!

Q. Holistic, alternative, complimentary, conventional, allopathic, what do all these medical modalities mean?

A. People talk about conventional medicine, also known as allopathic medicine, and alternative, or holistic medicine. What does all this mean? Let’s break it down one modality at a time. First, the word modality means the way in which a disease or illness is diagnosed and treated by a doctor.

Conventional modality is the mainstream medicine most of us use for ourselves and our best friends. The major track of medicine taught in medical school for centuries has been conventional medicine. Some people call this western medicine since the research and practice has been predominantly in Europe and North America. The treatment avenue has been the use of drugs and surgery.

Over the last few decades, conventional medicine has been adding other modalities in treating patients forming complementary or integrative medicine. This is the use of nutraceuticals, Eastern and Western herbs, acupuncture, chiropractic techniques, massage, energy treatments and more. Many veterinary practices in Maine have an acupuncturist on staff, have a cold laser in the treatment area, and nutraceuticals and herbal medicines in their pharmacies.

Holistic medicine is a catch-all word for any medical modalities that take into consideration every aspect of a patient’s life. Here are some of the most common modalities.

Acupuncture is ubiquitous in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians do post graduate study in this well-known Eastern medicine. Once the requirements are met, these veterinarians are certified in acupuncture. The other arm of Eastern medicine besides acupuncture is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here the practitioner will take a thorough history and exam and then build an herbal formula to treat your dog’s illness. This includes diet recommendations too. Not all veterinary acupuncturists are proficient in TCM.

Veterinary chiropractic medicine, known as veterinary medical manipulation, is less commonly available but can be found in Maine. These veterinarians also go through rigorous training and are certified once all the requirements are fulfilled. Misalignment of the joints in your dog can create many symptoms normally not associated with joint pain.

Ayurvedic medicine, another very old medical system, developed in India is not as popular in Maine. It may be difficult to find a veterinary Ayurvedic practitioner. This modality uses medicines that combines plants and can include elements derived from minerals, metals, and animals. Like all holistic modalities, Ayurvedic treatments include diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

Homeopathy used to be the most common form of medicine in Maine. Many people today remember parents and grandparents treating simple everyday maladies with little sugar pellets. Though there is a strong homeopathic community of practitioners in Maine, there are only a few certified veterinary practitioners in Maine. To acquire certification in veterinary homeopathy, the veterinarian needs to complete an accredited course in veterinary homeopathy and a certification process that can take 2 years. Like all holistic modalities, homeopathy encompasses a detailed history, examination, diet, and lifestyle changes, and a medicine derived from plants, animals, and minerals.

There are several supportive treatments available to you for your best friend.

Nutritional therapists are people trained in using nutrition to treat and support good health. By assessing what you are feeding Fido and what symptoms are being expressed, they can develop a dietary plan to bring him back into balance, resulting in better health. They may also add nutritional supplements, such as glandulars, herbs, vitamins and minerals besides what you feed in the daily diet. Most holistic veterinarians incorporate nutrition in their treatment plan. Conventional medicine is also following the lead of holistic veterinarians by adding nutraceuticals to their treatments for chronic disease, such as arthritis, gastrointestinal disease, chronic urinary track disease, skin disorders,

See ASK on page 14 animals. With spring approaching, it’s a good time to clean out toxic items and replace them with pet-friendly or green alternatives. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if there’s a new puppy in the home—they’re naturally curious and into everything. Hazards

We need cleaners that address dirty floors and rugs from muddy paws or stomach upsets. When purchasing, if labels have ingredients such as bleach or words you cannot pronounce like MEA (monoethanalomine), DEA (diethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine), pass by. Opt for no heavy metals, phosphates, or dyes. Gravitate towards those that advertise pet-and kid-friendly when used as directed.

Keep edibles such as chocolate, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, garlic, undercooked meat, and dough out of reach. Marijuana and alcohol are a definite no. Check the labels on peanut butter, yogurt, and toothpaste for the sweetener Xylitol, for it can cause liver failure among other issues. The ASPCA warns any product starting with “xyl” may be related, so steer clear. Xylitol can also be known by the following names: wood sugar, birch sugar, and birch bark extract.

Plagued with mice and moles? They do not discriminate. (I cringe here. I still remember the mole that got into my family room. I screamed and ran upstairs, while Brady, the always-chill Golden, just watched it. My husband eliminated the mole with a broom. No harm to the dog!) Pellets, liquids, and bricks designed to kill can be a disaster waiting to happen. Ingestion may lead to internal bleeding and organ damage. Exterior metal bait boxes are billed as tamper resistant, but most have a disclaimer that they’re not foolproof. True, entrance holes are so tiny that only rodents can access, but they may leave the box with pellets, depositing them around the yard. A family member’s Cav passed from ingesting the poison moved to a pumpkin patch.

Don’t neglect your garage or basement. Check those craft supplies and glues if that’s your thing—stash in a spot where your nosy friend can’t find. If you use pesticides, place on a high shelf or lock in a cupboard. For those with a “buggy” house like me, consider an extermination service that will treat your interior and exterior several times a year with safe products.

Refrain from weed treatments on grass. For beds, finely chopped woodbased mulches are better choices. Be aware of what not to plant, especially if you have a pup who chomps. Stay away from calla and peace lilies, tulips, azaleas, daisies, chrysanthemums, mistletoe, English ivy, American holly, and Autumn crocus. For your vegetable garden, keep tomatoes, rhubarb, onions, and chives out of reach, or skip. For a more detailed list, visit aspcapro.org/ resource/17-plants-poisonous-pets.

Green Alternatives

To clean those floors, baseboards, and rugs, look for products with words like organic and sustainable. For the DIY-er, use your fav search/ discovery engine to find inexpensive solutions. (Pinterest is my go-to.) To freshen rugs, shake baking soda around, wait fifteen minutes and vacuum. Your rooms will smell terrific. (An easy idea comes from a friend for less floor washing. She stocks up on rugs during back-to-college dorm sales and uses them for her entryways to grab dirt. When the dog muck dries, she simply vacuums. When the rugs wear out, she pitches.)

For snacks, try small bites of fresh green beans, bananas, watermelon, and strawberries. Visit local pet boutiques and talk to the sales associates. They’ll steer you to their healthy baked goods that your dog will flip for.

As far as rodents, a few green alternatives are irritating to them. Soak cotton balls in peppermint or clove oil and rub at suspected entry points. You can find many alternatives out there, but I believe the best option is a cat. We had far more mice before the neighborhood feline took a liking to us. We returned from a weekend away—twice—to find a dead mouse presented by our front door.

For indoor foliage, check out colorful African violets, orchids, ferns, Swedish ivy, and prayer plants. For a nice outdoor garden, plant sunflowers, snapdragons, camellias. If you’re an ambitious home-cook who delights in creating tasty, flavorful dishes, you can grow basil, rosemary, dill, thyme, sage, cilantro, and savory without worry.

These are only a few green alternatives to try, as well as those that may be hazardous. If you’re not sure, please check the web or consult your vet. I thought I was-versed, but I had a close call with Brady and an unbeknownst-to-me lethal dried arrangement of eucalyptus. Thankfully Brady’s stomach wasn’t happy with the twig and eliminated it, but I dialed up the poison control hotline anyway for pointers. distance or distractions.

If you have a Brady and think he’s eaten something dangerous, call your veterinarian, or a pet poison control center such as ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, 888-426-4435, aspca. org/pet-care/animal-poison-control, right away. Note there may be a consultation fee.

(See DDN, March, ‘22, “What’s that Noise?”)

2. Jump, Jump, Jump!! [“Ah, might as well jump (jump!) Go ahead and jump. Jump!]

1. “Doesn’t come when called”

2. “Jumps on people”

3. “Pulls on leash”

These things come up, time and time again, as the top three issues people have with their dogs. Are you in the same club? I hope this article will help you and your dog walk that training path together with more ease and understanding. He ain't misbehaving. He is simply behaving. Don’t blame the learner.

1. Coming when called

Your recall cue should elicit such a sense of anticipation and happiness in your dog that when he hears it, his reaction is reflexive, instantaneous, and joyous. The reason why we lack success in training recall is that we often go about it in the opposite way we should. We choose a word - a noise to our dog - that we want him to respond to, whether it’s his name, “come” or whatever, then we say it, hoping our non-verbal companions will magically understand. When it doesn’t work, we repeat it, louder, like the typical rude American in a foreign land asking for directions. We blame the listener for failing to comply with instructions he neither understands nor has any reason to respond to.

The Dinner Bell StrategyChanneling Pavlov!

Part I: Classical Conditioning*: Recall Cue then Party Heartily

Train it in reverse. That’s right. Without expecting any behavior whatsoever from your dog, say your recall cue just once then immediately, within 2 seconds, throw a party for him. The party should consist of whatever he values at that moment and should last about 5 seconds.

Example:

“Fido!”, then treats fall on the floor at your feet

Repeat

During this phase, do not make

by Diana Logan

the mistake of saying “Fido” and failing to produce the goods. How would you feel if the dinner bell rang, but it rarely meant the feast you were anticipating? You’d likely start to ignore it. Why bother?

Part II: Classical to Operant Conditioning*

Assuming you’ve done enough repetitions of Part I to the point where your dog clearly expects something awesome will happen after he hears the recall cue, you will add a bit of distance so that he moves toward you when you call him. Be inviting; turn away from him and start to move away so he must chase you down, but don’t go too far yet. Just before he gets to you, drop those treats on the floor.

Example:

“Fido!”, move away, then treats fall on the floor at your feet just before he catches up

Repeat

Gradually build your dog’s understanding of the cue by strategically and carefully adding complexity. If there is a failure at any point, a) go back to Phase I, b) increase the value of the reward, or c) make it easier by decreasing the

Many dogs would be great stars in their own version of a Van Halen music video. Jumping up on people can be “oh so much fun” for our pups, and they learn quickly that it either works or doesn’t work. “‘Works’ or ‘Doesn’t Work’” are the basic questions our ever-clever dogs are asking themselves, and they base their future behavior on the answers. If your pup tends to jump up on people, the answer is clearly, “this strategy works for me.” As with many behaviors, if we want them to change, we need to change the consequences. If we want more of a behavior, we have to pay for it; if we want less, we have to withhold payment. With jumping dogs, the typical payment is attention. From their perspective, it’s wickedly exciting when a person squeals and wiggles and thrashes about. Do the opposite: say nothing and stiffly and abruptly move into the dog’s space before his paws make contact with you. Fold your arms against your body. Save others from being victims of your jumping dog; it’s not their responsibility to train him. This may mean keeping him on leash around other people, at least until he settles down and is less likely to jump. Start teaching young puppies that jumping up on people will not result in payment of any kind. If they learn it’s a fun strategy, it quickly becomes a habit and is likely to follow them into adulthood.

(For a more in-depth article on jumping, see DDN, Jan ‘20 “Get a Jump Start on the New Year”)

Start teaching young puppies that jumping up on people will not result in payment of any kind. If they learn it’s a fun strategy, it quickly becomes a habit and is likely to follow them into adulthood.

(For a more in-depth article on jumping, see DDN, Jan ‘20 “Get a Jump Start on the New Year”)

3. Pulling on Leash

Walking nicely on leash has to be one of the least natural behaviors we expect our dogs to do. It’s admittedly a tough one, but the same rules apply: if pulling works for the dog, it’s a strategy he will employ in the future. Unfortunately, most puppies learn from the getgo that pulling works, then they get bigger and stronger, and it continues to work. Because leash walking is a dog’s ticket to the larger world, when it’s a struggle, the world is often very small. We owe it to them to learn how to teach them.

There are many, many methods and angles to teaching good leash walking. Here are just a few: Train heel position as a stationary behavior.

This concept is fairly new to me, but it has made a world of difference! If your dog realizes that heel position (either side) pays generously, he will want to be there, just like he gravitates to the feet of the highchair where Johnny tends to drop tasty things onto the floor. Practice inside your house. Start off by standing still and inviting Fido to come to your side. Remain standing still and feed your pup one treat after another after another (“fast feeding”) before you step forward a tiny bit. See “Walk 'n' Dine with 8-week-old puppy” on my Vimeo channel. https://vimeo.com/ user98115786/walkndine

Prevent Pulling.

Fit your dog to an anti-pull (frontclipping) harness or head halter. No gear is fail-safe; you still need to train.

Do not go with the pull; if you do, you are teaching your dog to pull. Make heel position a great place to be! Play tug with your pup at heel, move in fun and exciting ways, so he’ll want to stay close. Reward, reward, reward!