Summary: Dog Blog

My dogs and other things canine

Feeding for health and longevity: Raw vs. kibble vs. calories

In May last year I changed the dogs' teatime meal to a commercially prepared, 'ready-made' raw food diet. At the time and for a long time beforehand, I believed that raw was the best way to feed a dog, but six months down the line, the diet wasn't working out well for Tilly. I had to stop and re-evaluate my thoughts about raw feeding being the healthy option, and question what the domestic dog's 'species-appropriate' diet really should be.

Dogs are carnivores, there is no doubting this, but carnivores fall into different types. There are true or ‘obligate carnivores’ – animals that depend solely on the nutrients found in animal matter for their survival. While they may consume small amounts of plant matter, they lack the physiology required for the efficient digestion of plants. All felids including the domestic cat are obligate carnivores, requiring a diet consisting of primarily animal flesh, bones and organs.

Dogs and other canids are ‘facultative carnivores’. ‘Facultative’ means contingent, optional, or not required – in other words, while the primary diet of dogs is meat, dogs are actually capable of surviving without it. Studies of the wolves of Yellowstone National Park in the USA reveal that even when prey animals are in plentiful supply, on average, the wolves only eat fresh prey every 2-3 days. This can drop to only a few times per month during the winter, with the rest of the diet being made up of carrion (sometimes only frozen hide and bones) and whatever pickable, edible vegetation happens to be available. In the wild, wolves don’t eat much, not even much of their primary food – fresh, raw prey – and they will go for days without eating anything at all.

Dogs are also scavenger carnivores, meaning that although the meat that they would naturally consume may well be raw, it may not necessarily be fresh. The decomposing flesh of carrion is in essence partly digested, with bacteria having already done some of the ‘eating’.

Being a carnivore, the dog’s dentition is geared towards a diet of flesh and bone. Each side of an adult dog's upper jaw has 3 incisor teeth, 1 large canine tooth, 4 premolars and 2 molar teeth, and the lower jaw has 3 incisors, 1 canine tooth, 4 premolar and 3 molar teeth.

The number and types of teeth reflect those of a ‘mesocarnivore’. The earliest Carnivora family of Miacidae, of which Miacis, the earliest known ancestor of the domestic dog was a member, were mesocarnivores. Modern day mesocarnivores include wolves, coyotes, foxes, civets and skunks, as well as dogs.

Beyond the teeth, the dog’s gastro-intestinal system is that of a carnivore, being much shorter in proportion and in comparison with the GI tracts of herbivores. The overall length of the canine GI tract (from mouth to anus) is about 5 times the dog’s total body length, whereas the length of the herbivorous equine GI tract is about 15 times the horse’s total body length. The human GI tract is 10 times longer than the length of the body.

The natural diet of a mesocarnivore would ideally consist of 50-70% animal and 30-50% plant matter. In comparison, the diet of ‘hypercarnivores’ (e.g. cats, eagles, sharks, salmon) consists of more than 70% animal, and that of ‘hyopcarnivores’ (e.g. Black bear, raccoon) less than 30% animal. While virtually all animals display omnivorous feeding behaviour according to conditions such as food supply, etc, animals generally prefer one class of food or another, for which their digestive processes are optimised accordingly. The classification ‘omnivore’ refers to the adaptations and main food source of a species in general. The main food source of an omnivore is variety in itself – pigs for example are true omnivores – but a plant-eating carnivore or a meat-eating herbivore is neither individually nor as a whole species omnivorous. It may surprise you to learn that humans are not omnivores either, and neither are we carnivores or herbivores. Like all of our primate ‘cousins’ we actually belong to a class of plant-eaters called ‘frugivores’, or fruit-eaters. Just as carnivores can and do eat plant matter, frugivores (also herbivores, nectarivores, florivores and granivores) can and do eat meat. The dog is a facultative carnivore, a scavenger carnivore and a mesocarnivore, NOT an omnivore.

Being a mesocarnivore, the dog’s diet would ideally consist of 30-50% plant matter, but unlike herbivores, dogs lack the bacteria in their gut that produce the enzyme ‘cellulase’ and therefore the ability to break down cellulose – the major component in the rigid cell walls in plants. Certainly, when some cellulose-rich foods are fed, they are still intact and recognisable within the dog’s faeces, for example, sweetcorn kernels, and grass (as anyone who has had the displeasure of removing grass-dangley-poops from their dog’s bottom will know). For herbivores, the result of the digestion of cellulose is glucose, which is how they obtain their energy.

Dogs also lack the salivary enzyme ‘amylase’ needed to digest starchy plant matter found in cereals, grains and fibrous vegetables. Coupled with the fact that dogs also lack grinding molars, the lack of salivary amylase is often used to uphold the theory that dogs are carnivores and therefore should not be fed plant matter at all, however, grinding molars and amylase are not needed for the digestion of ‘softer’ plant material composed mainly of water and simple sugars, such as fruit. What is also often omitted in the ‘Prey Model’ of feeding is that although dogs lack salivary amylase, amylase is produced in the pancreas, so the digestion of starch-rich plant matter is possible once this has passed into the dog’s small intestine.

Contrary to popular belief, wolves do not eat the stomach contents of large, herbivorous prey animals. Stomach acid is highly corrosive and would burn the mouth and oesophagus if eaten (and also corrode tooth enamel). Occasionally, wolves will eat the stomach wall of large herbivorous prey animals, but only after shaking out the stomach contents. The stomach contents of smaller prey animals such as rabbits, mice and birds is eaten, but only as a result of the entire animal being consumed – claws, fur, beak, feathers and all.

So … based on the domestic dog’s carnivore types (facultative, scavenger and mesocarnivore) and given its likely evolutionary route and self-domestication from the small Asiatic (Arabian) wolf, it could be concluded that the most ideal, most natural, most appropriate doggy diet ideally should consist of 50-70% small, raw, whole prey (flesh, bones, organs, fur, feathers, etc) including mammals, birds (and their eggs), reptiles and invertebrates such as worms and insects, and scavenged carrion (this could include fish and large animals), and a 30-50% mix of the stomach/intestinal contents of small herbivorous and omnivorous prey (e.g. rabbits, squirrels, mice, birds), ripe fruits and berries and various other ‘pickable’ plants and botanicals. However, the latest DNA evidence suggests that the dog began to branch away from the wolf between 100,000 and 135,000 years ago. We also know that around 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice-age, dogs became the domesticated canines that we know and love today. During this time, and particularly so during the past 3,000 years of intentional, selective breeding, numerous anatomical and behavioural changes have taken place as a direct result of the domestic dog’s strategy of life, to stay near humans for the best chance of survival (which includes eating our food).

The dog has not been a wolf for many thousands of years, and numerous features of the dog’s anatomy including skull, teeth, skeleton and GI tract differ significantly from those of wolves both of the past, and of the present. This means that according to the domestic dog’s strategy of life – to stay near humans for the best chance of survival – the 50-70% animal part of the ‘dog as mesocarnivore’ diet should also include table scraps such as cooked meat and dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese, etc) and the non-animal part, raw, cooked and partially cooked vegetables, cereals and grains, as well as a smorgasbord of excreted poop from humans and the local domestic and wild animal populations. This gives a whole new perspective on ‘natural feeding’, and one that implies that popular raw diet formulae such as Prey Model, Natural Raw Diet, Raw Meaty Bones and BARF (Bones and Raw Food, Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) are all flawed in some way or another.

What to feed is a personal choice that we make for our dogs based on what we believe to be the best. There is no scientific research to support the claimed, nutritional benefits of raw feeding, only anecdotes and testimonials, however, there is scientific evidence to the contrary both in nutritional analysis studies of raw food diets for dogs and in veterinary case studies of cats and adult dogs and puppies fed various raw diet formulae. Certainly in six months of feeding a commercially prepared, 'ready made' raw food diet to my dogs, both of whom were in great, general health to begin with anyway, I have seen no obvious beneficial health changes but instead the opposite, when throughout October and November Tilly began to suffer worsening, nightly abdominal discomfort that upon switching her back to her breakfast kibble (Acana) for her teatime meal, ceased completely. Wanting to ensure that she was back to good health I had her blood tested, and although symptom-free at the time of these tests, she tested positive for pancreatitis. Two months on since stopping the raw food and her blood lipase level is still double the norm, but I'm hoping that this will continue to drop now that I have switched her onto a bland, low-fat wet food (Chappie). I am very thankful that my dogs sleep next to my bed, otherwise I would be none-the-wiser to her nightly discomfort and the seriousness of what was developing. I am also thankful that I am not so far up my own bottom not to be able to change my long-held belief that raw just has to best, or to delude myself that Tilly's symptoms of digestive upset after 6 months of raw feeding must either be normal, or due to something other than the food. However, I have seen the apparent health benefits of raw feeding in a client dog who had a multitude of infected tick bites on its head that despite several months of antibiotic treatment had failed to clear up. After only four days on a raw food diet, the tick bites were no longer infected, and a fortnight later there was no evidence that the bites had ever been there. I don’t think that this was coincidence and I do think that the healing was directly connected to nutrition. Protein is needed for cell development and repair. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids are critical to life and have many functions in metabolism. Some protein sources contain higher levels of certain amino acids than do others, and some protein sources contain a broader range of amino acids than do others. Cooking alters the molecular structure of protein, which may make assimilation difficult, and the cheaper commercial kibbles use lower quality protein sources in their formulae. Before switching to a raw food diet the dog was being fed what I consider to be a low quality kibble (high in cereal, low in meat, and a minimum level of vitamin D). I think that the raw food gave him a much needed protein and vitamin D super-boost, which finally enabled his body to repair the damage, and quickly too. Many of the raw feeding anecdotes are along similar lines – "dog with chronic illness gets well when fed a raw food diet". Maybe it would be more appropriate to use raw feeding as medicine for dogs, not as the primary diet, and like any course of medicine to stop giving it once the illness has been cured.

And perhaps there is nothing wrong with long-term raw feeding if the nutrition truly is balanced, complete, and doesn't contain excessive amounts of fat, however, laboratory analyses of five raw diets including two that are commercially produced have shown up nutritional shortfalls in a wide range of minerals including iron, zinc, potassium, manganese, calcium and phosphorous, as well as vitamin E, and nutritional excesses including vitamin D and magnesium. Similarly, whether homemade, canned or kibbled, there is nothing wrong with feeding a cooked diet that is nutritionally balanced and complete (according to AAFCO) and includes a small proportion of cereal or grain. But whatever the diet, quality of the ingredients is important, and by quality I mean ‘additive free’. Many raw-fed dogs are fed fatty, domestically raised animals that have been pumped full antibiotics, hormones and vaccines, and while raw animal flesh, bone and organs are worthy of inclusion into the dog’s diet, feeding fatty, ‘adulterated’ raw meat really is not the healthy option. Feeding a raw diet that does not consist of between 30-50% digestible plant matter is, in my opinion, not dog-appropriate, and the practise of supplementing a raw or home-cooked diet with probiotic bacteria, digestive enzymes and/or vitamin/mineral/amino-acid rich ‘super-foods’ when the nutritional content of the diet itself has not been thoroughly analysed, is questionable both in benefit and ‘appropriateness’.

Adding supplements also suggests that the dog can’t get enough nutrition from a raw-food diet. ‘Ah but …’ say many raw-feeders, ‘… in the wild, dogs and wolves would eat all of the carcass, so the nutrition would be balanced and complete.’ So disregarding the fact that dogs are not wolves and have not been living ‘in the wild’ for a very long time, let me get this right – the eating of the ‘non-meat’ parts of a raw carcass makes a meal balanced and complete, but commercially produced pet foods that may contain these ‘derivative’ parts (e.g. hair, hooves, feathers, beaks, sinews, tracheae, guts, eyes, snouts, bum-holes, etc) should be avoided like the plague because they are inferior, junk ingredients? The fact is that predators will selectively eat for nutritional value, for the best balance of protein, fat and other nutrients, but this has nothing to do with eating an entire carcass, it has to do with having a much, much wider menu from which to self-select. Self-selection as well as a huge variety of different foods is what today's feeding practices lack, regardless of whether or not the food given is raw or whole. The dog's choice of what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat it, is limited. We decide for them. The dog's natural feeding practice is 'buffet-style', but we take away this choice to feed naturally. We prohibit the dog's natural inclination to self-select for balanced nutrition.

I’m not suggesting that all kibbles are nutritionally 'complete'. They may be complete as per AAFCO standards and balanced in the nutritients that they actually contain as in there are no excesses or no deficiencies of those ingredients, but some may be lacking in certain vitamins, protein amino-acids and nutrients essential for optimum health simply because there is no legal requirement for pet food manufacturers to include them, or they are included at minimum levels that aren’t sufficient for some dogs to remain in gleaming health (e.g. those with digestion or assimilation problems or chronic illness). But at least the commercial kibbles aren’t pretending to be something that they are not, and supplementing a commercial kibble diet with a weekly portion of oily fish, the occasional whole, raw egg, a raw, lean, meaty lamb rib (as a meal replacement), a carrot, a broccoli stalk, a handful of blueberries or a few mg of ‘super-greens’ now and again is more likely to enhance overall nutrition than unbalance it. Incidentally, the past and present feeding practices of captive wolves show that they live longer and remain healthier when fed commercial dog food. No word of a lie. According to the leading specialists in wolf husbandry and medicine, feeding commercial dog food, not raw prey, is the recommended practice. To provide enrichment for the wolves and bait for husbandry purposes raw meat and bones are fed, but not as the main diet.

But whatever diet choice we make for our dogs, whether that be raw or cooked, commercially produced or home prepared, fresh on the bone, canned, pouched or kibbled, expensive or cheap, one thing is absolutely certain - overfeeding reduces lifespan. Overfeeding is perhaps the biggest error that pet owners make – even those who feed to manufacturers’ recommended guidelines and according to ‘ideal’ breed weight. More than 60 years of scientific research shows us that calorie restriction is the only nutritional intervention that consistently extends the lifespan of animals. For example, in a controlled study of 48 Labradors, feeding 25% less food than the calorie requirement for ideal body weight saw an average lifespan increase of around 2 years. In addition, compared to the control dogs who were fed to maintain ‘ideal’ body weight, the food restricted dogs weighed less, had lower body fat content, lower serum triglycerides, triiodothyronine, insulin and glucose concentrations, and the onset of the signs of chronic disease was delayed.

Calculating the ideal daily energy requirement for a dog is a little complicated, but not difficult. First, we need to know the dog’s ‘ideal’ weight. The standard guideline is to be able to easily feel the ribs beneath the coat, see a definite waist when viewed from above, and an abdominal tuck when viewed from the side. We also need to know the Metabolic Energy value (kcal/kg) of the food that we feed. This information is usually easy to find on the packet label of commercially produced, complete kibbles and some canned and pouched foods. The final piece of information that we need to calculate daily energy requirement is the dog’s age, sexual status and activity level. Tilly’s ‘ideal’ weight by eye and feel is around 14 kg. She is between 5 and 7 years old, spayed, and typically active.

According to the dog food calculator (picture left), this gives me two category choices – ‘typical’ and ‘senior, neutered, inactive’. She is neutered, but she is neither senior nor inactive, so ‘typical’ more accurately describes her.

I feed her Chappie original canned, which has a Metabolic Energy value of 850 kcal/kg. The resulting calculation is that she requires 796 calories per day and I should be feeding her 940 grams of Chappie per day, however, to follow the 25% food restriction diet to increase lifespan, a further calculation is needed.

To calculate 25% of 796, we need to divide 796 by 100 (7.96) and then multiply this by 25 (199). This gives a reduced daily calorie intake of 597 (796 – 199).

We know that 940 grams contains 796 calories, so to reduce this by 25% we divide 940 grams by 100, which gives 9.4 grams (1% of 940 grams), and then multiply 9.4 grams by 25 to give 235 grams. 940 grams minus 235 grams is 705 grams. So actually, Tilly requires 705 grams of Chappie per day.

Beau’s ‘ideal’ weight by eye and feel is 32 kg. He’s 3 years old, neutered, and very lazy, so even though he’s a young dog, I place him in the ‘senior, neutered, inactive’ category. I feed him Acana Grasslands kibble, which has a Metabolic Energy value of 3750 kcal/kg. According to the dog food calculator, this works out at 1211 calories and 320 grams of Acana Grasslands per day. To feed for increased lifespan, this is reduced to 908 calories and 240 grams of Acana Grasslands per day. If I went by Acana’s daily recommendation for an inactive, 32 kg dog, I would be feeding him 320 grams per day – 80 grams more than is needed. Beau’s ‘feeding for increased lifespan’ weight is around 31 kg. Feeding for increased lifespan drops the ‘ideal’ weight by 1 kilo – that’s a whole kilo of excess fat! Visually, the difference in my dogs between ‘ideal’ and ‘increased lifespan’ weights is that the ribcage is more defined, with the outline of the last three ribs visible beneath the coat (picture right).

It is much, much harder to calculate how much raw food to feed because meats, vegetables, plants, etc, differ greatly in their individual Metabolic Energy values. The general guide to feeding raw food is around 2% of the dog’s ideal body weight per day. For Tilly this works out at 300 grams per day in which to pack 796 calories (her ‘ideal’ weight calorie count). To feed for increased lifespan, we need to reduce the calories to 597, but to feed for variety, the quantity of food fed per day will fluctuate greatly in order to provide the correct calorie count per meal. For example, there are around 85 calories in 100 g of raw tripe, which means that an all tripe day for Tilly weighs in at 705 g, but if fed according to the 2% rule would provide her with a meagre 238 calories. Raw lamb ribs are around 284 kcal per 100g, so an all lamb rib day for Tilly weighs in at 210 g, but feeding lamb ribs according to the 2% rule would provide her with 796 calories (and a huge quantity of fat). Because the Metabolic Energy values of different foods is so inconsistent, realistically, the best way to feed a raw food or home-cooked diet is by calorie content, not by weight, whilst trying to keep the overall quantity of the meal at around 2% of the dog’s bodyweight. That way, meals that combine meat, bone, offal, fish, egg, dairy and veg, fruit, grain, cereal, herbs based on the mesocarnivore 50-70:30-50 animal:plant ratio of the human-food-eating domestic dog could be made without overloading or starving the body with such wildly fluctuating daily calorie intakes and meal weights, although the ratios per meal would need to differ from dog to dog to accommodate individual calorie needs.

But calories are only a part of the story. Even if increased lifespan calorie counts for an individual dog can be achieved at around 2% of bodyweight per meal formula per day, the levels of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals will continue to remain inconsistent across each meal. This could have three possible outcomes:

over time the inconsistencies balance themselves out
over time the inconsistencies saturate the body’s organs and tissues with excess waste (toxaemia)
over time the inconsistencies leave the body deficient in some way (malnourishment)

It’s tricky enough even with all the right information to get the long-term balance right with a home-prepared diet, and while it may be safe to assume that the producers of commercial ‘complete’ raw food diets have taken care of this for us, the full nutritional content with nutrient levels, along with Metabolic Energy values, are unavailable. Some list the % values for moisture, protein, fat, ash and fibre. Some also list vitamin, mineral and amino-acid content, but none list the levels of these nutrients and so do not provide enough information to know for sure that according to the 2% rule (or thereabouts) the food contains a complete and balanced compliment of vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. If feeding only one meal variety that contains just one meat source (e.g. chicken only) and the same vegetable/fruit/‘other’ combination and meat:plant ratio as other meal varieties, this WILL give rise to nutritional deficiency or excess over time, unless the formula has been adjusted accordingly for balance (which to my knowledge, none have). Even feeding a range of meal varieties is no guarantee of balance because they each tend to be made to the same meat:plant ratio and the same combination of 'plant', with the type of meat being the only element that changes.

My own journey into raw feeding has turned out to be nothing more than a detour, and even though I truly believed that raw was the best way to feed my dogs and to some extent still do, somewhat of a learning curve too. I’m neither for raw nor against it, but until the commercial, ready-made raw food diet producers can supply complete and balanced nutrition along with full analyses and Metabolic Energy values of their meals and they can achieve this with a fat content of 4% or lower, I will continue to feed Chappie (Tilly) and Acana (Beau) as the primary diet – with the occasional added extra (fish fillet, handful of blueberries, chunk of apple, etc) for variety and to boost basic nutrition.

I want my dogs to remain healthy and to live as long as possible, and the scientific evidence shows that reducing the daily calories of a commercially produced, complete and balanced kibble by 25% allows for an average increased lifespan of two years. Quality and appropriateness of ingredients is important. Complete and balanced nutrition is also important – but ultimately, it’s reducing the calories that counts in the longevity stakes.

Less really does mean more – more years, and better health for longer.

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Bibliography & Resources

Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation.
L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani.

Canine Behavior: A Guide for Veterinarians.
Bonnie V. Beaver.

The domestic dog: Its evolution, behaviour and interactions with people.
J Serpell.

Dog Food Calculator
Mike Sagman.

Dog Food Advisor: Saving Good Dogs from Bad Food.

Nutritional analysis of 5 types of “Raw Food Diets.”

L. Freeman, K. Michel.

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 2001;218(5):705.

Raw food diets in companion animals: A critical review.

Daniel P. Schlesinger, Daniel J. Joffe.

Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs.

Richard D. Kealy, PhD; Dennis F. Lawler, DVM; Joan M. Ballam, MS; Sandra L. Mantz; Darryl N. Biery, DVM, DACVR; Elizabeth H. Greeley, PhD; George Lust, PhD; Mariangela Segre, DSc; Gail K. Smith, DVM, PhD, DACVS; Howard D. Stowe, DVM, PhD.

Science-based medicine ~ “Raw Meat and Bone Diets for Dogs: It’s Enough to Make You BARF”.

Dr Brennan McKenzie, MA, VMD.

Predators Hunt for a Balanced Diet
Science Daily

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Tilly update, 10th February ~ Re-test for cPL has confirmed that finally, this has decreased to a normal level again. The bad news is that proximal inflammation/damage to her small intestine as a result of the pancreatitis has left her with a folate (vitamin B9) deficiency, so I am working to increase this via dietary supplementation. I will be re-testing cPL and folate levels again in a month's time to see whether we have continued, normal cPL, and an increase in folate.

Date Published: Jan 11, 2012 - 8:16 am

Nail trimming can be fun!

Nail trimming is an incredibly stressful experience for many dogs and their owners, but it doesn't have to be that way. It is completely possible to train a dog to accept having its nails trimmed or filed, and if done correctly it can take as little as 5 minutes to completely desensitise the dog to the experience, however, handler timing is of the utmost importance and in my experience, most people's timing is too poor to bring about an effective and lasting result.

Another way to keep on top of the task of nail trimming is to clip just one sliver from just one nail per day, which if carried out with confidence can be over and done with before the dog even realises its nail has been trimmed.

Lots of walking on concrete or tarmac helps to keep the nails short, but even though I do around 20 minutes of brisk walking/jogging on pavements with my dogs every day, this isn't quite enough to keep their nails at the perfect length, so they still need some extra attention every so often.

The method that I use is the most fun way to trim nails. It requires no clippers, no file, no treats, is completely 'hands-off' and 100% effective.

Are you dying to know what I do? Okay then, I'll tell you ...

We play 10 minutes of fetch along the concrete path in the garden. That's it.

Here's the result ...

... Tilly's nails, perfectly filed.

Throw the fetch-toy so that your dog has to turn to run and fetch it from alternate sides ~ this ensure that the hind nails wear evenly. If your dog is a really frantic fetcher, throw the ball and make her wait, before releasing her to fetch it ~ that way she'll be facing in the right direction and won't need to turn, so she won't wear the hind nails down quicker than the fore nails. Certainly with Tilly, her hind nails stay pretty short anyway, so it's the nails of her front paws that need a bit of an extra trim now and again. If you don't have a concrete path or similar area at home, use a concrete or tarmac footpath or cycle path instead (not right next to a road, obviously!)

For dogs with joint problems this method may not be suitable, but for fit and healthy dogs that need a pedicure just once in a while, it really is the most fun that a nail-trim can be. It gets a big 'paws up' from my two anyway!

Date Published: Jan 07, 2012 - 6:31 am

Head-collars

A standard 6-foot leash and flat collar is universally accepted as the norm for walking and training dogs, but for large or powerful dogs, such basic equipment offers the handler very little in the way of effective restraint or ease of control.

With pet stores stocking a huge range of leads, collars and other equipment that claim to resolve unruly on-leash behaviour, deciding what to choose for the best is a confusing and daunting prospect. As well being an effective tool for the facilitation of training of desirable behaviour, training equipment should not cause the dog physical or emotional distress when used as the design intends, and so with manufacturers using words like ‘gentle’, ‘natural’, ‘kind’, ‘comfort’ and ‘easy’ to describe their products, it’s reasonable to assume that these training aids are humane. Head-collars are a popular choice to control various on-leash behaviours, from plain old pulling to aggression, but in my experience of speaking with clients and watching dogs being walked, I have yet to meet a single dog that appears to enjoy wearing the type of head-collar known as a ‘muzzle-clamping head-collar’. Muzzle-clampers include the Halti, Gentle Leader, Cannycollar and GenCon. Dogs are just miserable wearing these, and many learn to fear the sight of them. This is because muzzle-clamping head-collars, as the name suggests, are designed to tighten around the dog’s muzzle and head in some way, which the manufacturers describe as producing ‘calming pressure’. However, because all of these popular head-collar brands when under tension fit so tightly around the dog’s head, the ‘calming pressure’ that the manufacturer told you about is actually felt as pain, which is why, for the dog whose only crime is to pull on the leash, these head-collars work to stop pulling behaviour ~ dog pulls, feels pain around its head, backs off, leash goes slack. The ‘learning theory’ terminology for this training sequence is ‘positive punishment’ (+P) followed by ‘negative reinforcement’ (-R), and when wearing the head-collar the dog learns that in order to avoid pain, it needs to not move too far away from its handler’s side. In addition to painful pressure, muzzle-clamping head-collars can make nervous dogs and those who experience frustration on-leash feel even more trapped than they do already, which can exacerbate fear, active-defence behaviour and aggression. I know this, because I have worked with and rehabilitated such dogs.

If we look at the dog’s natural reflexes, it is a fact of physiology that dogs move INTO physical pressure, not away from it. Moving INTO pressure is why dogs pull against a taught leash, pull away when we try and hug them close, and generally resist being pushed and pulled about. This is due to the ‘opposition reflex’ (thigmotaxis, stereotaxis) whereby physical force applied to a dog in one direction elicits thigmotaxic reflexes that cause the dog to increase its efforts in the opposite direction to the force applied. Dogs also move into pressure when they are stressed. They lean against walls and push themselves into corners. This provides feedback to the brain to calm the body down. This is why anxiety wraps and ‘thundershirts’ are effective at reducing fear ~ the consistent, gentle pressure all over the dog’s body continually feeds back to the brain and so regulates the stress response. Just as dogs naturally move into pressure, moving away from pain is also a reflexive behaviour, and this is why dogs are so uncomfortable wearing muzzle-clamping head-collars ~ leash tightens, dog feels pain around its head, dog moves away from pain. If it really was ‘calming pressure’, the dog would pull into the head-collar, not draw away from it.

The manufacturer of one of these muzzle-clamping head-collars claims that the reason why dogs do not pull when wearing their brand of head-collar is because the pressure from the strap behind the ears causes the dog to move back into it, so essentially, the dog continually ‘pulls backwards’ and so walks forwards on a loose leash. However, this manufacturer also says that to achieve this, the correct fit requires the noseband to be loose and the headband to sit snugly just behind the ears, which actually is impossible. The noseband HAS to be tight in order for the headband to fit snugly. It is impossible for the noseband to be loose and the headband be tight. It is impossible for the noseband to be loose and the headband remain in the correct position behind the dog’ ears. In fact in order to get the headband to fit snugly and remain in the correct position, the noseband has to be so tight that the dog’s mouth is completely clamped shut, and the noseband drawn back along the muzzle so far that it rides up into the dog’s eyes. The picture left shows a Boxer wearing one of these head-collars, incorrectly fitted, despite this being the manufacturers own picture! The noseband does indeed have some slack in it, but as you can see the headband is sitting half way down the dog’s neck, several inches from its ears. The first time that this dog swipes at the head-collar noseband with a paw, it will slide straight off its face.

Other common claims by manufacturers of muzzle-clamping head-collars is that the pressure of the noseband mimics the ‘calming’ action of the dominant, parent dog’s jaws around its subordinate, youngster’s muzzle, and that the pressure of the headband and noseband correspond with natural acupressure points on the dog’s head and face. It is true that a wild wolf mother uses the ‘muzzle-grasp’ as a way to elicit passive submission from her very young cubs, but even if all dog-puppies learnt and understood this piece of dominance language (which many do not), it would naturally be an ‘on-off’ grasp, not a sustained grasp, so the continual ‘grasp’ of a muzzle-clamping head-collar is in fact most unnatural (bearing in mind that the noseband of at least one of the popular brands has to be a tight fit in order for the head-collar to remain on the dog’s face). It is also true that acupressure points exist along the dog’s muzzle-flaps and around the ears that when massaged, do produce a calming effect, but what I see are dogs who are far from ‘calm’ when wearing muzzle-clamping head-collars. I see many who are very shut down, sometimes to the point of being unable to move at all, whilst others simply are avoiding the pain of pulling. And then there are those who face-scrape, and twist and thrash about. I have yet to see a dog looking relaxed because the head-collar is massaging its acupressure points.

To some extent, the sensation of a band around the muzzle can help to regulate emotional arousal by sending feedback via touch receptors to the limbic system, the emotional control centre of the brain (the mouth is directly connected to the limbic system), but the noseband has to be nonrestrictive and bring gentle awareness to the mouth area with a light touch (not painful pressure) such as that from the elasticated 'calming band'. This effect is lost though when a dog’s defence mechanisms kick-in and kick-back against the restraint and feeling of being trapped when the noseband is too tight, or when it applies enough force to close the dog’s mouth.

So although muzzle-clamping head-collars are marketed as ‘gentle’, ‘kind’ and ‘natural’, I consider them to be highly aversive as training tools go. This is why I neither use nor recommend their use under any circumstances. They clearly cause distress to the dog even when fitted and used correctly, never mind incorrectly, and for the dog who twists and flips and thrashes about whilst wearing one there is always the potential for it to do serious damage to its neck. However, not all head-collars are bad news. The reason why a head-collar can be a good choice for walking an unruly dog is the control over the dog’s head that a head-collar provides ~ control the head, and the body follows ~ but we can effectively control animals much larger and considerably more powerful than even the biggest dog with ‘non-muzzle-clamping’ or ‘fixed action’ type head-collars, i.e. those that do not clamp the animal’s mouth shut and tighten around head when the animal pulls. There simply is no need to use a head-collar that tightens around a dog’s head, causing pain and adding to the anxiety or frustration that a leash-reactive dog is already under.

What I recommend and use to train large and powerful dogs that display over-emotional behaviour on-leash is a non-muzzle-clamping, fixed-action head-collar, in combination with a neck collar and double-ended, 6’ leash. First, the head-collar. Dogmatic, and George Grayson’s Dogalter (also branded by Pets at Home as the ‘Control Head Collar’) are non-muzzle-clamping, fixed-action head-collars with the point of control beneath the dog’s chin:

Dogmatic head-collar

Dogalter/Control Head Collar

These brands of head-collars do not tighten around the dog’s face but instead provide a non-clamping, secure fit, and allow the handler to gently and effectively turn the dog’s head away from whatever is causing it to over-react without causing the dog to feel pain. Dogs who have previously been made to wear Haltis, Gentle Leaders and the like, seem to have no problem accepting and wearing a non-muzzle-clamping head-collar ~ no turning tail and hiding at the sight of it, no scraping faces along the ground, no thrashing and twisting. Even dogs who have never worn any type of head-collar before can be desensitised to wearing a fixed-action head-collar in a matter of minutes, with no backsliding after. Dogs seem to like wearing these head-collars, which suggests to me that their design and use does not cause physical or emotional distress.

Next, the collar. A flat, buckle collar is fine to use to walk the dog who rarely pulls on the leash, but for hardened pullers or those who lunge, all that forward motion is concentrated into a single pressure point, encouraging the dog to pull harder and potentially causing damage to the windpipe (picture right).

For hardened pullers and lungers, my neck collar of choice is the ‘limited-action slip-collar’ (also referred to as martingale-style collar). Unfortunately and incorrectly, this design has also picked up the names ‘half-check’ and ‘half-choke’. ‘Checking’ or ‘choking’ the dog was never the collar’s intended use, and it should never, ever be used in this way. When fitted correctly, the limited-action slip-collar remains loose around the dog’s neck when the leash is slack, and when the leash tightens, is designed to apply consistent, non-choking, even pressure all the way around the dog’s neck. The collar cannot continue to tighten because the action is limited to the correct fit of the collar, i.e. precisely the circumference of the dog’s neck, so when the sliding part of the collar is drawn up, that’s it, the collar fits snugly around the dog’s neck with no further tightening. This has three benefits ~ 1. The dog cannot back out of the collar, 2. The pressure is not concentrated into a single point so the power of the opposition reflex is diminished, and 3. Using the leash to apply ‘pulsating pressure’ by alternately closing and releasing the collar, stimulates receptors along the inner walls of the carotid sinuses (major blood vessels situated either side of the dog’s windpipe) that send a signal to the brain to lower heart-rate and blood-pressure, which naturally helps to de-arouse the dog and therefore help him to control his emotions:

The closing and releasing of the collar should be just that ~ absolutely NO yanking, snapping, popping or jerking. The collar should never be used to 'check' or 'correct' behaviour, but rather to apply light, pulsating on-off pressure when the dog is aroused and needs physical help to calm down. If when you close and release the collar you end up 'rocking' your dog back and forth, you are being too heavy handed. Your dog should not visibly move when you are working the collar. I do not recommend all-chain limited-action slip-collars under any circumstances. The main part of the collar should be made of webbing or soft leather of an appropriate width for the size of the dog. The sliding part can be chain, as this part of the collar is only ever in contact with the dog's neck when the collar is loose. When tightened, only the webbing/leather section is in contact with the dog's neck. Limited-action slip-collars also come as an all-webbing version, with the sliding part as well as the main part of the collar being made of webbing. Finally, the leash. The double-ended leash has a trigger hook at each end. When used in conjunction with a fixed-action head-collar and a limited-action slip-collar, the larger of the two trigger hooks is attached to the slip-collar sliding ring, and the smaller trigger hook to the head-collar control ring. This gives the handler two points of control, and allows for the slip-collar and head-collar to be used independently of one another. Most of the time the dog will trot along with barely any tension on either end of the leash because the design of both head-collar and slip-collar allows for the feeling of free movement, but when needed, the dog’s head can be turned towards the handler by applying finger-tip pressure to the head-collar end of the leash, and the stress-reducing action of the slip-collar can be activated by applying pulsing pressure with the collar end of the leash.

I am 5’3” tall and weigh a little under 60kgs. I work with dogs, often large and powerful ones, who display a range of potentially dangerous on-leash behaviour issues. I have used the fixed-action head-collar/limited-action slip-collar/leash combo for training Rottweilers, Mastiffs and Great Danes with complete control every time, and with no stress to the dog. What’s equally important is that my clients can see that their dogs are so much more relaxed in a non-muzzle-clamping head-collar, and feeling in control themselves with the head-collar/slip-collar/leash combo, perhaps for the first time in years, they are able at last to start enjoying walks with their dogs and finally get down to the business of safely and successfully resolving their dogs’ various on-leash issues.

As a dog learns to be less emotional and engage in alternative, acceptable on-leash behaviour, the leash can be attached to the collar alone, while the head-collar is still worn to provide backup control for potentially tricky, beyond-handler-control situations when the small trigger hook can be unclipped from the leash and attached to the head-collar ring in seconds, allowing the handler to remain in control and so deal effectively with the situation.

Of course it’s not the head-collar/slip-collar/leash combo itself that resolves on-leash behaviour issues. Good on-leash behaviour comes through providing a dog with the right training, and that’s where the guidance of an experienced dog professional comes in. What the head-collar/slip-collar/leash combo does provide is a truly gentle and effective way of handling a powerful dog, and puts the dog’s owner back in control, both physically and emotionally. It’s not so much a case of ‘control the head and the body will follow’ but rather ‘relax the brain and the body will relax also’ ~ handler’s and dog’s!

Date Published: Nov 23, 2011 - 5:33 am

Behaviour problem trends

I was wondering the other day whether dog-dog aggression cases are on the rise as it seems that I have been dealing with this problem a lot more of late. It has also felt like I've seen more rescue dogs lately too, so I took a look back over my case-load from the past three years. The results do indeed confirm my thoughts, with my rescue dog cases having increased from 33% in 2009 through to 42% in 2011, and % dog-dog aggression problems with rescue dogs having also steadily risen. The other noticable trend is an increase in general training being requested for non-rescue dogs (i.e. those owned by the same owner from puppyhood).

I have broken down my case-load into five types of problem: SDS (separation distress syndrome), dog-dog aggression, dog-human aggression, fears & phobias, and general training. General training includes basic obedience training (e.g. stay, recall, leash-training), general de-stressing, overcoming hyper-arousal, compulsive behaviour and handling problems, teaching acceptable greeting behaviour (e.g. for dogs who jump up, mouth, etc), house-training, etc. Although the other four problem types may have included behaviours such as barking, destructive behaviour, house-soiling, etc, these are symptoms of each problem type, not the problem itself.

Here's some pretty pie charts to demonstrate:

Well ... it's interesting to me anyway. What's also interesting ~ or rather, concerning ~ is that bar two, all non-rescue dogs and puppies that came under the 'general training' category had already attended local, general obedience type training classes prior to their owners seeking my help!

Date Published: Nov 11, 2011 - 9:56 am

Pleeeeease don't leave me!

It's normal for our dogs to want to be close to us and know where we are. They depend on us for everything, not just food, water and shelter, but company too. Domestication has seen the dog's natural social partner change from canine to human, and so it's no wonder that most dogs experience some degree of agitation and confusion when we leave them home alone.

For some dogs, separation is truly unbearable and highly distressing. The underlying emotion responsible for separation-induced behaviour is panic. Panic is one of the emotions involved in the dog’s social drive.

Most separation-induced behaviours occur within the first 10 minutes of the owner leaving the house, with general agitation and stress having already been building for some time beforehand.

It is incorrect to call it ‘separation anxiety’. Anxiety is a fear-based emotion and has its root in defence drive, not social drive. The correct term for separation-induced behaviour is ‘separation distress syndrome’ (SDS) and is defined by the presence of two or more of the following behaviours:

Excessive attachment (clingy behaviour).
Pre-departure restlessness – pacing, over-activity.
Aggression towards owner leaving.
Vocalisations – agitated barking, howling, whining.
Destructive behaviours – barrier frustration (escape behaviour) evident by aggressive scratching and biting directed at doors, windows, etc, also chewing (often items belonging to owner, furniture, anything other than own chew toys), shredding, digging, and self-injurious/self-mutilation behaviour rooted in excessive grooming (biting, chewing paws, etc).
Physiological behaviours – hyper-salivation, panting, trembling.
House-soiling – peeing and pooping only when owner leaves.
Separation-induced anorexia.
Psychogenic vomiting.
Searching out items of owner’s clothing or belongings.
Excessive greeting behaviour.

There are a number of reasons why some dogs develop SDS. Sensitisation to social isolation or never having any experience of being left are two possible factors. Shelter dogs may have had a similar problem before their previous owners gave them up, or maybe the actual experience of abandonment predisposes some dogs to quickly form dependent attachments to their new owners. Certainly, statistics show that dogs with SDS are 3 times more likely to have come from an animal shelter than are dogs with other behaviour problems. They are also more likely to be female, of mixed breed, and have been a stray.

Genetic predisposition and temperament type may also be involved with some dogs.

C-type dogs may display sustained distress as a result of loss and frustration, tending towards barking persistently and scratching aggressively at doors. S-type dogs rarely show any distress upon separation, but if agitation is evident, these dogs can be easily distracted and quickly comforted with a food-filled toy. M-type dogs are often highly distressed at separation. P-types tend to be more restrained in their distress response but may become progressively distressed by longer separation. S- and C-types tend to bark more than whine, whereas P- and M-types whine more than they bark. S- and C-types appear to respond better to food, whereas P- and M-types appear to derive more comfort from owner-scented clothing.

Some dogs have a greater dependency on people and therefore have a tendency to limit their own success by relying only on the presence of people in order to feel secure. In this respect, failure by these dogs to remain with the people on whom they rely for their survival may play a big part in the development of SDS, so prone or predisposed dogs need to be able to rely on other, predictable events in order to feel secure and confident. Such dogs really need routine and structure in order to feel secure, and confidence-building leadership goes a long way towards allowing a naturally dependent dog to feel successful and therefore able to rely on itself when the owner is absent.

SDS has nothing to do with a dog thinking or feeling that it needs to keep the pack together because its owner is a ‘weak leader’ and obviously not up to the job, or because it thinks its owner is a ‘puppy’ that needs to be kept close. Prone, pre-disposed or dependent dogs simply cannot cope with being abandoned because their entire coping strategy is built around remaining close to the people who provide for them. Certainly these dogs need leadership – not the sort of pseudo-leadership that involves the owner pretending to be some kind of uninterested and aloof, two-legged, person-shaped ‘pack leader’ – but leadership that allows a sense of independence and security to develop, with which comes a more confident and relaxed attitude towards separation and being alone.

It’s important to identify whether behaviours are separation-induced or opportunistic. Videoing the dog is an essential first step, to see the extent and intensity of the behaviours and when they occur. As dogs with SDS will show a combination of behaviours, if the main behaviour is barking, establish whether it is prolonged or sporadic. If prolonged, is it accompanied by pacing, whining, staring at the front door, is it rhythmic (compulsive) – if so, it’s SDS. If it’s sporadic with no other noticeable behaviours and on the whole the dog seems able to settle, the barking is much more likely to be in response to noises, either from neighbours or from outside activity, so not separation-related.

If behaviours are opportunistic in nature as opposed to being separation-induced, so if dog seems relaxed when the owner leaves and once gone, chooses to have some destructive fun ripping up a sofa cushion or going on a fridge or bin raid, or if the behaviours happen well after the owner has left the house or only happen if the dog is left for a second time in the same day, increasing the dog’s daily exercise (physical and psychological), modifying the home environment to reduce the likelihood of opportunistic and destructive behaviours from happening, providing activity toys, using taste aversion if necessary and teaching ‘leave’, should work to dramatically decrease or even cease these behaviours.

If a dog is suffering with SDS, I use the following plan on which to base its behaviour therapy:

“ALONE TIME”

Alternative activities. These should provide acceptable outlets for behaviour as well as forming a positive association with the owner’s departure – food dispenser toys such as Kongs and Dog Pyramids, chew toys, etc. Association must first be made in a ‘safe place’, e.g. dog’s bed, while the owner is present, to create a rewarding and successful association with the activity. Many dogs with SDS won’t eat while the owner is absent, so for these dogs to engage with food when alone, the activity has to hold some previously conditioned, positive association. Giving a dog a frozen stuffed Kong without first doing the groundwork will not work.
Leadership. NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free), reward-based training, ‘can do’ behaviours, bringing all attention, affection and interaction under owner influence (not control) so that the dog learns to make successful, predictable choices that have a positive, reliable outcome. Leadership builds self-confidence and therefore independence.
Owner odour. Once-worn item of clothing (e.g. t-shirt), slept on blanket/towel, as a ‘security blanket’. Dogs with P- and M-type temperaments respond particularly well to this.
Nutrition. Casein, oleic acid, serotonin, chewing, omega 3. See my Mood Food article for further information.
Exercise. Daily aerobic exercise to release energy, daily moderate exercise to enhance brain chemistry. Proving exercise before leaving a dog home alone also provides opportunity for the dog to toilet.

Training. Graduated departures, new leaving routine/ritual that creates a positive association with the owner’s departure, ‘stay’ training (very important, dog learns that ‘stay’ means ‘if I stay here my owner will return’).
Identify triggers. Keys, clothes, bags, shoes, rituals, sounds, etc, can all be triggers for separation-induced behaviour and must be identified and changed and/or desensitised/counter-conditioned.
Mask outside noises. Leave a radio/CD on moderate volume to mask outside noises that may trigger nervous barking. This will also provide some background noise in an otherwise silent environment – homes are never really silent when we are in them and some dogs may well associate some level of noise with us being present.
Environmental modification. Remove valuables, clear worktops, bolt cupboards, use taste aversion on furniture, doors, etc (this has to be previously primed), provide comfort, limit space (e.g. stair gates, crate), turn phone ringer off, draw curtains/blinds, etc. As with using food, if using a crate to confine a dog, a positive association with confinement and remaining in the crate has to made before the dog is left alone. If the groundwork is not put into confinement training, an even bigger problem can be created with the SDS, barrier-frustration-suffering dog trying to break out the crate (as it would doors or windows). This carries a huge risk of the dog injuring itself in the process.

Even dogs who don’t show full-blown SDS can benefit from some of the elements of the ‘ALONE TIME’ plan. Many dogs only tolerate being alone at best, and it’s these dogs for whom a sudden change in owner working hours can trigger separation-type behaviour. It should never be assumed that just because a dog doesn’t bark excessively or rip up the house, it is happy to be left alone, and helping any dog to relax and enjoy being alone is therefore always desirable. It is quality of life that matters.

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Please note that ‘ALONE TIME’ is only an OUTLINE plan for SDS. If you think that your dog is suffering from SDS, particularly if the behaviours are excessive and injurious, my advice to you is to enlist the help of a reputable dog professional who fully understands the psychology behind separation-induced behaviour and who is equipped with the training knowledge necessary for behaviour therapy to be effective – not someone who thinks that your dog is trying to control your movements by assuming the role of ‘pack leader’ because you haven’t. Dogs with SDS don’t need us to be 'assertive', ‘pack leaders’ or ‘alphas’, but they do need us to provide leadership and a predictable, reward-based departure routine in order to remove the helplessness from their natural dependency upon us and so rebalance, enhance and strengthen the human-dog bond.

Date Published: Oct 21, 2011 - 12:56 pm

What's in a wag?

Why do dogs wag their tails has to be one of the most frequently asked behaviour questions. The short answer is that tail wagging is a form of communication. I’m sure that most of us think that we are able to recognise and differentiate between a ‘happy wag’ and a ‘nervous wag’, but there’s more to wagging than immediately meets the eye.

WAG MECHANICS

A continuation of the dog’s spine that extends beyond the body, the tail is comprised of a highly mobile string of between 6 and 23 bones (caudal vertebrae).

What makes the tail move are the caudal muscles, which lie over the bones of the lower back (lumbar vertebrae and sacrum) and insert into the tail bones exclusively. These muscles are attached to the tail bones by tendons, and along with musculature associated with the rectum, anus and pelvic diaphragm, are served by 4 to 7 pairs of nerves. All this makes the tail capable of finely graded movements in all directions and along the entire length of the tail, with the caudal muscles being responsible for making the tail wag.

The caudal muscles are composed of ‘sarcomeres’ (contractile segments into which a fibril of striated muscle is divided). When the dog’s brain stimulates the spinal nerves, signals from those nerves cause the release and absorption of sodium and potassium in the caudal muscles. This causes the sarcomeres to slide together, and the vibrations from these sliding contractions travel along the tail, which begins to wag.

WAG THIS WAY

Just as our facial expressions indicate how we are feeling, the dog’s response to emotive stimuli is conveyed in the wag of its tail through something called ‘tail bias’, or the degree to which the tail is wagged to the right or to the left. This asymmetry of tail wagging was highlighted in a study by Giorgio Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste in Italy, and two veterinarians, Angelo Quaranta and Marcello Siniscalchi, at the University of Bari, also in Italy. The study, published in the March 2007 edition of ‘Current Biology’, looked at the tail wags of 30 pet dogs in response to four different sets of social stimuli – the dog’s owner, a stranger, a cat, and an aggressive, unfamiliar dog. What they observed was that the dogs’ tails wagged to a greater degree to the right of their rumps on seeing their owners, the stranger and the cat, and a greater degree to the left when they saw the aggressive dog. The result was not so much a surprise, but a conformation that like us and many other animals including birds, fish, frogs and insects, dogs have ‘brain asymmetry’ when it comes to emotions, with the muscles in the right side of the tail reflecting a positive emotional state and the muscles in the left side reflecting a negative emotional state.

The brain is comprised of two hemispheres. The left hemisphere specializes in behaviours involving what the scientists refer to as ‘approach and energy enrichment’. This means that in humans, the left hemisphere is associated with positive feelings like love, attachment, safety and calm. The left hemisphere is also associated with certain physiological markers such a slow heart and breathing rate, eating and relaxing. The left brain hemisphere controls the right side of the body. Birds generally seek food with their right eye, honeybees learn better when using their right antenna, frogs generally flick their tongues to the right to catch insects, and the muscles of the right side of the human face reflect happiness. With the tail wag experiment dogs, when shown something that they were attracted to, including a benign, approachable cat, their tails wagged more to the right.

The right hemisphere deals with behaviours involving ‘withdrawal and energy expenditure’, such as fleeing. These behaviours are associated with negative feelings like hate, loneliness, danger, and anxiety. Physiological markers of the right hemisphere include a rapid heart and breathing rate, shutdown of the digestive system and vigilance. The right brain controls the left side of the body. Birds generally keep a look out for predators with their left eye, frogs are more likely to jump away if approached on the left, male chameleons display more aggression when looking at another chameleon with their left eye, and the muscles of the left side of the human face reflect sadness. When shown something that elicited a withdrawal response, the dogs wagged their tails to the left.

Although the dog’s tail is at the body’s midline, the nerves and muscles that control the wag of the tail are not central – the tail has musculature on either side, meaning that the ‘left wag’ muscles are controlled by the dog’s right brain hemisphere, and the ‘right wag’ muscles are controlled by the left brain hemisphere. The muscles on either side of the tail therefore reflect the registering of emotions like fear and happiness – when a dog feels a positive response towards something or someone, his tail wags more to the right side of his body, and when he feels a negative response, his tail wagging is biased to the left.

This tail wagging asymmetry may also extend to postural asymmetry in the form of lateral flexion of the spine, but because of the way that the tail wagging experiment was carried out, no obvious body asymmetry could be observed, however, Tilly and Beau’s greeting behaviour towards me certainly suggests this, as both flex their bodies to the right in an extension of a right tail wag bias.

It’s likely that brain asymmetry is also reflected in other areas of canine body language such as scratching, which is a displacement behaviour often engaged in when a dog is under pressure or feels agitated. Again, my own observations when working with clients’ dogs suggests that pretty much every time a dog engages in this behaviour, it’s the left hind leg that does the scratching, indicating that the dog is experiencing uncomfortable, negative emotions.

Perhaps I need to design my own experiment to explore these other brain asymmetric behaviours!

So this brings me back to what makes a wag happy or nervous – is it tail position? How much of the tail is wagging? Wag speed? While these aspects play a part in determining confidence levels and the intensity of the dog’s energy, primarily it has to do with tail bias – if the dog is happy, its tail will wag more towards the right of its rump, if it is nervous, towards the left. A low wagging tail, if the bias is towards the right, indicates a submissive but positive state of mind, not nervousness. And beware the higher wagging tail if the bias is towards the left, because this indicates a less inhibited but negative state of mind, not happiness!

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Read about Vallortigara, Quaranta and Siniscalchi's study on 'Asymmetric tail wagging responses by dogs to different emotive stimuli' here.

Date Published: Oct 13, 2011 - 1:33 pm

Spirulina

Spirulina is pretty amazing stuff. One of the first life-forms on the planet, this microscopic, blue-green algae has been around for over 3.6 billion years. During its lifetime, it has survived various climate changes and catastrophic events that have wracked Earth including meteorite bombardments, thousands of years of hurricane force winds, ultra-violet radiation, global glaciation and ice-ages, and major extinction events. The first photosynthetic life-form, Spirulina turned sunlight into energy and filled the Earth’s atmosphere with the oxygen needed in order for higher life forms to start evolving. As well as producing life-giving oxygen, the cellular makeup of spirulina contained everything that life needed to grow and evolve. In a very real sense, we owe our lives to spirulina.

Humans have been eating Spirulina since prehistory, and today, this tiny aquatic plant is widely regarded as the worlds greatest 'super food' – its long, thin, spiraling threads consisting of up to 70% protein (dry weight), the elements of which consist of 18 types of amino acids, vitamins A, C, E, K, B (1, 2, 3, 6, 12), various minerals, enzymes, anti-oxidants, and phytonutrients including essential fatty acids, polysaccharides, and sulfo-lipids, and chlorophyll and carotenoids, which give Spirulina its dark green colour. It has green credentials too, producing more protein per acre than any other food source on the planet. The blue colour in Spirulina comes from phytonutrient called ‘phycocyanin’, which in one study was shown to inhibit cancer-colony formation. Other studies suggest that Spirulina enhances enzyme activity at cell nucleus level, and helps to repair the copying errors that can occur during DNA synthesis. It has anti-inflammatory properties and supports the immune system, raising the levels of three cytokines, generating new blood cells, enhancing bone marrow, stem cell and macrophage activity, inhibiting viral replication, stimulating T-helper cell activity, and producing ‘T-memory cells’ that last longer in the bloodstream than T-helper cells and so provide long-term defence against infection.

So what’s all this got to do with dogs I hear you ask? After all, this is a dog blog, not an algae blog!

Well, it’s because of Tilly. Earlier this year, she began to nibble her left fore-claw and eventually, x-rays confirmed that she had osteomyelitis (infection of the bone) in that toe. Osteomyelitis is a notoriously difficult condition to treat and by all (human) accounts, very painful. During May, my vet put her on a 4-week course of the antibiotic ‘Antirobe’ (specifically prescribed for osteomyelitis as well as deep-wound and dental infections). This reduced the nibbling considerably, but once the course was finished, the nibbling increased again to pre-treatment levels.

Amputation of the toe was an option and guaranteed to get rid of the infection, but my vet would do this only if the condition of the toe was seriously affecting Tilly’s quality of life.

Osteomyelitis does not just clear up of its own accord and so in the meantime, the only available conventional treatment option consisted of another long-term course of antibiotics, and pain relief from NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs), but given that long-term (and often short-term) use of NSAIDs can cause serious organ damage, I really did not want go down this route.

We were stuck between a rock and a hard place and it was incredibly difficult to know what to do for the best. I would have given the go-ahead for amputation regardless of whether it was ‘seriously affecting her quality of life’ as this appeared to be the inevitable solution anyway, and getting it over with sooner rather than later would save her from suffering unnecessarily. But how to measure ‘seriously affecting quality of life’? It was clear that it bothered her a lot – she was chewing and nibbling at the toe at least 3 times an hour during the day and it was waking her (and me) up at night too. I was beginning to spend a ridiculous amount of time keeping my eye on her to try to prevent her from nibbling, and when my vigilance slipped, sounding like a broken record telling her to leave it alone. It was both distracting and distressing, for her and for me. She’s my special girlie who came from a heart-breaking background of abuse and neglect, and it saddened me greatly to know that she was uncomfortable.

During July and August, it was bothering her more so than ever before. Every few days I gave the area around the claw a good old clear out of the build up of bits of dead skin and ‘crystalline hard stuff’ (not sure what this was!). For topical treatment we tried neem oil, but as she loves the taste, it didn’t work as a ‘no-nibble’ and for all its anti-bacterial/fungal/inflammatory claims, it didn’t seem to deliver any improvement to the toe’s condition at all, although it mat well have kept any secondary, external infections at bay. Similarly, aloe vera gel squeezed directly from a freshly cut leaf gave no obvious improvement. So then I tried propolis, which is supposed to taste so bad that it is notoriously difficult to get dogs to eat it. Not Tilly, she loved the taste, but while it didn’t work directly to stop her from nibbling the toe, it did appear to bring a few hours of relative relief from the need to nibble once applied and soaked in. For it’s anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and bone ‘smoothing’ properties I was also giving her rosehip powder, but as with the topical treatments, this didn’t appear to bring any obvious or lasting improvement.

Anyway … back to the amazing stuff that is Spirulina. Earlier in the year and pre-osteomyelitis, we attended an Applied Zoopharmacognosy course where Tilly enthusiastically self-selected Spirulina.

There was no mention on the course about Spirulina being anything other than highly nutritious, a good immune system supporter, and a very popular selection choice for the majority of dogs regardless of state of health.

So on a hunch, I bought a huge tub of organic Spirulina powder and started by allowing Tilly to take as much as she wanted, which turned out to be just over 4 full teaspoons for the first week, and then gradually, day-by-day she began to take less.

She’s currently taking about ½ a teaspoon a day, and for the past 3 weeks, NO TOE NIBBLING AT ALL!

I have since come across this piece of information about Spirulina: “(Spirulina) alleviates any general fluids dyscrasia (abnormal or pathological condition) within the bone tissue or skeletal structure that leads to conditions involving osteomalacia (skeletal deformities), osteomyelitis (infectious pathogenic bone disorders), osteoporosis (brittle bone conditions) or spinal degeneration, and eliminates any form of cachexia (state of malnourishment and general debility) throughout the bone tissue or marrow and skeletal system.” Interestingly, the same source suggests bee pollen for bone conditions, so it would appear that we were on the right track with topically treating the area with propolis.

So having gone from constant nibbling to no nibbling at all within just a few weeks, it would appear that after 5 months, Tilly’s ‘naughty toe’ has finally healed and we have actually beaten osteomyelitis – not with antibiotics, NSAIDs or amputation, but with a 3.6 billion year old algae. Truly. Amazing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read more about Spirulina’s physiological action and therapeutic uses here: http://www.alternativescentral.com/phf12a-spirulina.htm

Learn more about Applied Zoopharmacognosy here: http://www.rose-therapy.co.uk/id38.html

Please note that osteomyelitis is an acute or chronic infection of the bone, and although Spirulina appears to have successfully treated the condition in Tilly’s toe, this article is not meant to be taken as a substitute for conventional veterinary advice and treatment. Please also note that Spirulina is not the same blue-green algae that occasionally blooms in ponds and lakes in the UK. This blue-green algae, called Cyanobacteria, is poisonous and should never be eaten. Spirulina on the other hand carries no known contraindications or toxicity.

Date Published: Oct 08, 2011 - 5:49 am

Thundershirts are go!

Remember remember the 5th of November ... it's only a month away, but if previous years are anything to go by, the fireworks will be starting any time now. If you have a firework-phobic dog, now is the time to ensure that you are prepared! See my last year's blogpost Fireworks ~ How to help your dog cope for lots of useful tips and advice to not only get the firework-phobic dog through the fireworks season, but to ensure that there are no knock-on effects over the course of the winter. Every year around January/February time I take calls from owners with dogs who have developed what is essentially agoraphobia due to extreme noise sensitivity triggered by the fireworks in November. This of course can be prevented by reducing the dog's fear levels during the fireworks season itself.

As well as following my own advice for Tilly, I have bought her a 'Thundershirt' for this year. As you can see, she looks suitably relaxed in it!

Date Published: Oct 04, 2011 - 3:08 am

Cheesy Marmite stars

My maiden name before I married was 'Baker', and so to live up to family tradition, I like to create a new recipe once in a while, usually a dessert of some kind, but today's offering is a doggy treat!

'Cheesy Marmite stars' are made with potato flour, making these tasty, crunchy biscuits a nutritious treat for gluten-intolerant dogs, and suitable for dogs whose owners choose to feed them a cereal/grain-free diet. You can buy potato flour from health food stores (e.g. Holland & Barrett).

Ingredients (makes about 120-140 biscuits):

250g potato flour

50mls cold water

2 generous teaspoons of Marmite

50g finely grated mature Cheddar cheese

1 large free range egg

Method:

Preheat over to175C and line a large baking tray with a sheet of baking parchment. Mix together flour and grated cheese in a large bowl. In a jug, beat together water, Marmite and egg. Add Marmite mixture to the cheese/flour and mix to a stiff dough. You may need to add a little more water. If you have never used potato flour before, if you add too much water the dough will resemble silly putty and be too runny to roll out, so add any extra water a tiny bit at a time. If you do end up with silly putty, add a little more flour. Once your dough is at handling consistency (it may be a bit sticky, but this is okay), place onto a floured board and roll out to around ¼ - ½ cm thick. Using a small (3 – 4 cm wide) star-shaped biscuit cutter, cut out one star at a time, placing each on the baking tray before cutting the next. The reason for this is that potato flour dough doesn’t hold its moisture very well, and if you cut and leave each biscuit in-situ with the intention to place them all on the tray once you’ve finished cutting, they will have stuck to the board (trust me, I’ve made this mistake!) Bake near the top of the oven for 30 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

And don’t just save them for the dogs – if you're a Marmite lover like me, they make a tasty savoury snack for humans too!

Date Published: Sep 19, 2011 - 10:35 am

Jumping, fetching and running about.

I filmed our training session on the paddock yesterday – just for fun and with no intention to blog about it, but also, as I have learned from filming training sessions in the past, it’s a great way to see why a dog won’t do this or that or appears confused by what is being asked. Being able to watch yourself train with your dog is a real eye-opener, and I can guarantee that 100% of training mistakes are due to handler error – this handler included. The point is, that once you’ve got over the embarrassment of seeing yourself on film (I still have a problem with this, I’ll never be a TV celebrity ‘dog expert’) you can start to learn from these errors, rectify where you are going wrong, and get it right. Believe me, this can truly be revolutionary, and if you’ve not had the benefit of a dog professional’s analytical eye upon you, learning to be your own critic is essential to your role and progress as an owner/handler.

These days I have learned to recognise immediately where I go wrong and I take that extra couple of seconds thinking time to avoid mistakes. I didn’t make any glaring training mistakes yesterday, but I did walk into a jump (ouch) and a while later, tripped over Beau who was minding his own business truffling for treats in the grass. To save myself unnecessary embarrassment I’ve left these ‘You’ve Been Framed’ moments on the cutting room floor, and the video is made up of the ‘best bits’ of our session – not the perfect bits, I’m a pet dog trainer, I don’t train to competition standard in any discipline, I simply want to see happy, responsive dogs enjoying what they are doing. So this 5-minute film is a mix of agility, obedience and retrieving, and when I watched it back this morning it struck me just how much my dogs have had to learn in order to achieve all this – and that’s the reason for this article, to let you know that there are no short-cuts, just lots of learning from mistakes, and that it takes time, patience, knowledge and effort to make things look easy. So I hope that you enjoy watching our little session, and that the explanations for each clip provide some insight into how we did it:

Beau agility (0.05 – 0.46). Commands used: ‘close’, ‘over’, ‘this way’, ‘tunnel’, ‘tyre’. I use ‘close’ as we start off, Beau is always a reluctant starter but gets into it once he’s moving. I use ‘over’ for the jumps, and as the tyre is his favourite and along that left side he has a tendency to carry on through the tyre unless I direct him with a ‘this way’ in order to send him over the central jump. Tilly likes to be involved too and will chase us about with her ball, hoping for a throw!

Tilly retrieving (0.47 – 1.09). Commands used: ‘sit’, ‘wait’, ‘go fetch’. Tilly loves to retrieve – I would go as far to say that she lives for it. But it took a while to get her so keen, and we did it in stages. So for Tilly to learn to retrieve a ball, I had to first get her interested in chasing a ball. We tried a variety of types of balls and toys, and eventually she showed interest in small, latex squeaky balls – chasing after them, grabbing them, and then lying down to kill them. I then had to teach her to ‘drop’ by going up to her and swapping the ball for a treat. She had already learnt ‘come’ but this proved to be a problem as once she was away with the ball, if I recalled her she left the ball and then came to me for treat, so I had to work out how to maintain her prey drive for long enough for her to keep the ball in her mouth for the return. We’d already done a bit of agility, so I set up a low jump in the garden, threw the ball just the other side of the jump and then sent her over. The first few times, she grabbed the ball and then lay down with the ball in her mouth on the other side of the jump, but then one time, with a bit of encouragement and with her focus on the jump, she jumped back over, ball still in mouth, I told her ‘drop’ and then immediately threw the ball back at her. And that’s when it clicked for her – if I bring the ball back, I get to chase it again! From then on, we made rapid progress. There is no requirement to tell her to ‘drop’ any more – in fact she practically throws the ball back at me – and there’s no need to swap the ball for treats as she retrieves for the ball alone now, every time. She’s not even interested in treats when retrieving – even if I present her with even the tastiest morsel, all she wants is the ball. Sitting and waiting for a retrieve is challenging for her, but she’s good at because the retrieve serves to reinforce the wait. In training, this is called the ‘Premack Principle’ or more commonly, ‘grandma’s law’ – if you do this totally unrewarding thing first, you get to do this amazing thing after, or in other words, if you finish your greens you get to eat pudding. Gradually, finishing your greens (or in Tilly’s case, sitting and waiting) not only becomes a means to an end, but as a behaviour, it grows in strength and will want to be repeated. Once Tilly has waited for a retrieve, I always follow this by throwing the ball again.

Tilly retrieving (1.10 – 1.27). Commands used: Tilly – ‘sit’, ‘wait’, ‘go', fetch’. Beau – ‘leave’. Although Beau seems oblivious to what’s going on around him when I’m training with Tilly, he’s actually paying attention. If I send Tilly to retrieve, he’ll often run in too. If I’ve hidden the ball or she’s not seen where it’s landed and she has to search for it, he’ll sometimes run in and find it straight away. In this clip, he runs in – at the point where he veers off to the left (1.19) I’m telling him to ‘leave’.

Beau retrieving (1.28 – 2.12). Commands used: ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘go fetch’, ‘come’. Beau is somewhat of an unenthusiastic retriever and it takes a lot to keep him interested. Tilly provides competition, which helps, but whereas Tilly will work fast and for the ball alone, what suits Beau is a retrieve to hand in exchange for a treat or two. Most of the time he comes straight back with the ball, albeit at his own sweet pace, but he can lose interest half way and so sometimes I need to recall him as he’s making his way back to me to keep him going. At this point, I know he’s had enough and so once he’s returned with the ball and we’ve done our ball-treat swap, I let him have the ball back so that he can take it off and lie down and have a little play on his own for a while. There’s no point in pushing him once he’s reached his limit and as it’s taken a while to get him this interested in retrieving, I’m not about to put unnecessary pressure on him and risk him shutting me out. In this clip, I use the ‘watch me’ command as I approach Beau after placing the ball near the fence, just to hold his attention while I move around to his right side and open a clear path for him to retrieve. This helps to keep him place as I’m cueing him up to ‘go fetch’. By applying gentle pressure to his chest with the back of my left forearm, I engage the ‘opposition reflex’ whereby he naturally pushes forwards into my arm, so that when I eventually release him, he’s already moving forward and so moves faster towards the ball. In this clip, Tilly cuts across his return and he veers off to the right. At this point he’s lost the drive to return to me with the ball so I have to recall him (‘come’) before he loses interest in returning to me with the ball.

Beau retrieving (2.13 – 2.59). Commands used: ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘watch me’, ‘go fetch’. In this clip, I throw the ball into the tunnel. While Beau is in a sit-stay, Tilly tracks down the paddock over the cavaletti poles to the tunnel. Beau decides to return to me via the tunnel and so flushes Tilly out, who decides to beat him on the return and get in a sneaky throw while he’s still on his way back to me!

Tilly retrieving (3.00 – 3.40). Commands used: Tilly – ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘watch me’, ‘go', 'fetch’. Beau – ‘leave’. I use the ‘watch me’ command sooner with Tilly because she is so keen to retrieve and I don’t want her to break her sit-stay until I send her away. Beau is watching from the sidelines all along and again, I need to tell him to ‘leave’ (3.29).

Beau retrieving (3.41 – 4.04). Commands used: ‘sit’, ‘wait’, ‘go fetch’. In this clip, I set Beau up so that he can’t see where the ball is going to land. He still hears it land, but I’m covering his eyes! Once he’s found the ball, he decides to return, unprompted, through the tyre, his favourite piece of agility equipment.

Tandem retrieve! (4.05 – 4.56). Commands used: ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘watch me’, ‘wait’, ‘go fetch’. I tell Tilly to ‘wait’ as I’m walking back from placing the balls near the fence and hold Beau’s attention with a ‘watch me’ – interestingly though, although my eye contact is with Beau, Tilly is also watching me as she waits for me to send her in for the retrieve. Beau almost breaks his stay as Tilly runs down the paddock because I take a step forward, which he takes as a signal to move forward, but I realise my mistake and a sharp ‘wait’ holds him. Tilly gets in a couple of quick-fire retrieves while Beau, making his way back up the paddock, drops the ball on route but then makes up for it by returning, unprompted, over the jump.

If you're wondering what the accompanying earworm-like track is by the way, it's the 12" remix of 'Stone Fox Chase' by Area Code 615 – the original theme music for The Old Grey Whistle Test (oops, showing my age ... ! )

Beau, making himself useful as an agility obstacle!

You may also be interested to read my agility and search & retrieve articles.

Date Published: Sep 16, 2011 - 6:07 am

Take the Canine Mind Temperament Test

Before I work with a dog, I spend a couple of hours on the phone talking to the dog’s owner and noting down its case history. I start by asking the owner for some very basic and standard information – contact details, vet details, dog’s medical history and the like – and then we spend some time discussing the main behaviour problem. I then ask the owner another series of questions, and as we start to go through them I often detect an air of ‘why is she asking me this?’ from the other end of the phone-line. At that point I explain that although the questions may not seem to bear any relevance to the problem itself, the answers will enable me to gain an insight into the dog’s general temperament.

Temperament is an important factor in working out how best to resolve a behaviour issue. Temperament determines how an individual dog responds to the world, and so provides me with a predictable foundation on which to base a dog’s behaviour therapy and training plan.

Take the Canine Mind Temperament Test! Which set of the following temperament traits best describes your dog?

Set 1:

Friendly and bold
Lively
Responsive
Focused
Takes an ‘approach and explore’ attitude to novelty
Enthusiastically plays fetch and tug
May be startled by sudden noise or movement but recovers and adapts
Will tolerate close contact and petting when eating and will allow food items to be removed without objection

Set 2:

Friendly but passive
Controlled
Calm
Quiet
Takes a considered approach to novelty
Willingness to fetch and tug but lacks enthusiasm
Not easily startled by sudden noise or movement
Will tolerate close contact and petting when eating and allows food items to be removed without objection

Set 3:

Anxious
Inhibited
Helpless
Shy
Lacks the ability to problem solve and avoids novelty
Ignores toys, half-heartedly chases a ball but then walks away, won’t take hold of a tug-toy
Takes flight or freezes when startled and shows lingering signs of fear, may become defensive if cornered
Moves away from food items when approached and allows their removal without objection

Set 4:

Excitable
Touch sensitive
Impulsive
Reactive
Irritable
Demanding
Does not habituate to change and novelty
Intolerant of restraint
Possessive of toys, all take and no give
Tendency to bark when startled and may lash out
When eating will stiffen up and/or threaten anyone who approaches or attempts to remove food items

If set 1 best describes your dog, he shows traits of stability and extroversion.

His temperament type is sanguine – ‘S-type’.

If set 2 best describes your dog, he shows traits of stability and introversion.

His temperament type is phlegmatic – ‘P-type’.

If set 3 best describes your dog, he shows traits of instability and introversion.

His temperament type is melancholic – ‘M-type’.

If set 4 best describes your dog, he shows traits of instability and extroversion.

His temperament type is choleric – ‘C-type’.

(NB ~ I have used 'he' and 'his' only for descriptive purpose, replace with 'her' and 'she' if your dog is female!)

S-type ~ It is uncommon for owners of S-type dogs to call me with a problem unless the owner is not devoting enough time to exercise or providing the dog with social, environmental and breed-specific enrichment and basic training – in other words, the dog is bored and seeking stimulating and rewarding activity (what we see as destructive and hyperactive behaviour). Occasionally S-type dogs can be overly-sensitive to sudden noise or movement, but with the right training approach and their otherwise stable temperament, this threshold can be raised.

P-type ~ It is very rare for owners of P-type dogs to call me with a problem unless the owner’s circumstances have changed and the dog is experiencing longer periods of separation than it is previously used to.

M-type ~ Fear, anxiety, nervousness, separation and compulsive behaviour issues are common with M-types. Around a third of the dogs that I am called on to help with are M-types.

C-type ~ Without a doubt, the C-type dog presents more potential for problems than the other temperament types. C-types have low stress and emotional tolerance thresholds, making them extremely sensitive to social and environmental stress that involve loss, novelty, change, aversion, threat and punishment. Excitability, frustration, impulsivity and aggression issues are common with C-types. Around two-thirds of the dogs that I am called on to help with are C-types. I often refer to them as my ‘training school drop-outs’ because many have already passed through the doors of at least one training school where inappropriate handling and training methods have done nothing to resolve the ‘bad’ behaviour (or have made it worse), or the owner has been asked to leave the class because of the dog’s persistent barking.

There are of course degrees of temperament traits and expressions of behaviour, but ultimately it’s a dog’s temperament that determines how he reacts to the world around him, and in turn, how the world reacts towards him shapes his temperament. If introverted dogs are mismanaged they can become progressively unstable and move towards M-type traits, however, under the influence of stability-enhancing training activities, introverted dogs can learn to cope more effectively with social encounters and their environment and make the shift towards P-type traits. Systematic desensitisation and counter-conditioning techniques should be used to overcome fear and nervousness issues. When resolving M-type separation behaviour, it will initially be owner scent, not a food-stuffed activity-toy, that allows the dog to cope with being left alone. An M-type dog will never become extroverted, and there may be situations that the introverted dog who tends towards instability, will find stressful. Respecting an introverted dog’s social limits is therefore important if the development of M-type traits are to be discouraged.

If extroverted dogs are mismanaged – particularly if they are subjected to threats and punishment for intrusive, impulsive and excessive behaviours – they may become progressively unstable in the direction of C-type traits. C-types are prone to panic-evoked aggression. C-types react negatively to punishment – they do not learn from negative consequences and therefore require highly structured, reward-based training activities aimed at reducing social conflict and tension, alongside management strategies that minimise the provocation of reactive behaviour. This approach helps the C-type to learn to control impulses and delay gratification (waiting for the good stuff), which in time helps to make the gradual shift towards S-type traits. Rehabilitating and training a C-type dog is hard work. C-types need a lot of exercise and focused attention. Dietary changes may be necessary. Training is often an around-the-clock affair – it’s exhausting, and can at times be frustrating, but as handlers of C-types, we simply have to keep our cool and positively focus our training efforts. Many C-types end up in rescue or worse, are put to sleep, because they are misunderstood and mishandled.

Because the brain is malleable, because all dogs, whatever their temperament type, have the same underlying instincts and emotional command systems, under the right social, environmental and training conditions, desirable temperament traits can be encouraged and learned. With the right approach, the instabilities of M- and C-type temperaments can be overcome to varying degrees, with an observable move towards the stable traits of S- and P-type dogs. M-type dogs can grow in confidence and become more relaxed – they can even learn to retrieve with the enthusiasm of an S-type – and C-type dogs can learn tolerance and impulse-control through reward-based training methods.

Your dog’s behaviour is an expression of his temperament traits, and understanding his temperament type is key to how you can influence and shape his behaviour ... for the better.

Date Published: Sep 09, 2011 - 5:59 am

Birthday Beau

Usually with rescue dogs it's complete guesswork as to how old they might be. 'Gotcha Days' replace birthdays to mark the dog's adoption date, and how long dog and owner have been together.

We rehomed Beau privately from a local family who had had him since a pup so his birthday and age was known, and although he does have a 'Gotcha Day' (29th September 2009), I choose to mark his birthday instead. And by chance, me and Tilly did meet him as a pup when co-hosting a puppy party at our local vets ~ not that I suppose he remembers this!

So Happy 3rd Birthday beautiful Beau ... enjoy your cake!

Date Published: Aug 12, 2011 - 12:34 pm

Feed: Dog Blog - AggScore: 47.2

Summary: Dog Blog

Feeding for health and longevity: Raw vs. kibble vs. calories

Nail trimming can be fun!

Head-collars

Behaviour problem trends

Pleeeeease don't leave me!

“ALONE TIME”

What's in a wag?

Spirulina

Thundershirts are go!

Cheesy Marmite stars

Jumping, fetching and running about.

Take the Canine Mind Temperament Test

Birthday Beau

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