Cropped, Docked and Chopped

In today’s society cosmetic surgery is a widely popular and socially accepted practice. This is also true in the dog world but I think there is a big distinction between someone making the choice to get surgery done on themselves and doing it to an animal that cannot speak up for itself. Indeed, dogs don’t get a say about whether or not someone will lop off hunk of their ears or tail. Although I can’t read the minds of dogs, I’m pretty sure that given the choice, they would shout a hearty “NO!” to the question of ear cropping and tail docking.

Dogs were originally selectively bred to perform certain tasks for humans and we did everything in our power to make sure they did their jobs effectively. To make hunting dogs more efficient we docked their tails so that they would suffer fewer injuries to their tails when running through thick brush. Guard and fighting dogs got their ears cropped so that their opponents (both human and canine) had less to grab onto.

Although I understand the purpose that man originally cropped the ears and docked the tails of various breeds, I still have a hard time accepting it. I believe that we are truly blessed to have dogs integrated into the human world and that we should appreciate our unique relationship with this once wild animal with gratitude – not by taking a scalpel to their bodies for our selfish purposes.

Even if I was to go along with cropping and docking for the purposes of enhancing the dogs abilities to accomplish the tasks they were bred for, why the hell would you do it to dogs that are used as family pets? Chopping off the tails of Weimaraners and Doberman Pinchers, and hacking off a large portion of a Pit Bulls and Boxers ears serves no purpose in the everyday life of the pet dog. It’s done only so the dog will look like the breed standard, which was created a long time ago by very different kinds of dog owners.

Besides my obvious objection to putting a dog under anesthesia unnecessarily to remove pieces of a living animal for appearance reasons only, loosing part or all of their ears and/or tail greatly compromises their ability to communicate. A good portion of a dog’s body language is conveyed with the position of the tail, as well as the orientation of the ears. There have been studies done that have found that dogs with docked tails can be significantly handicapped in conveying fear, caution, aggression and playfulness. The main way dog’s communicate and build their relationships with one another is through body language, and when part or all of their ears and/or tail is missing their ability to signal to other dogs socially is greatly hampered.

Now that most dog breeds in the U.S. are not being used for their original purpose and are being bred to be pets, I think it’s time that the general public demand that breeders and kennel clubs re-evaluate the standard. Let’s stop this needless mutilation of our dogs and rethink what we are really doing. Instead of going along with cropping and docking just because that’s been the tradition, let’s think what’s really in our dogs best interested and do right by our dogs.

Dog’s put up with a lot of our human foolishness on a daily basis, so let’s start treating them with the love and care that they deserve. Let’s raise the bar of our compassion and better shape the course of our relationship with our pals, the domestic dog.

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Making Sense of Dogs

As many of you know I’m an avid reader and can’t resist a new dog book when I see it. Recently, I finished reading Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behavior Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet and thought I would give you my quick review of the book.

Dog Sense is book based on the scientific study of the domestic dog and enlightens the reader by separating fact from fiction. Since the world of dog training has so many differing training styles and ideas on how we should relate and train our poochy pals, it’s nice to have a book look into the actual facts that are backed up by real research. There’s way too much speculation and assumptions being made by many dog trainers who are stuck in outdated and ineffective training methods (many of which are harmful both mentally and physically to our dogs), so I for one was very happy to see a book with so much detail and rock-solid research to enlighten the masses.

The book is packed with so much information I almost don’t know where to begin telling you about it. One thing that I found most interesting was the history of how the dog was domesticated from the wolf. Bradshaw lays out the evolution of how the wolves of yesterday became the dogs of today. I also appreciated his discussion on pure bred dogs and how they are so genetically unhealthy. The general public has long been disillusioned thinking that a pure bred dog is genetically superior to a mutt. I love how Bradshaw compares breeding pure bred dogs to having kids with your cousin. I think that really puts it into perspective.

The book goes on to set the record straight on why using wolf behavior as the basis of how we understand our dogs is inaccurate.

"The main [myth] ... is that wolves are essentially an intrinsically aggressive animal that is continuously trying to take over whatever group they find themselves in and dominate it. And the new wolf biology really exposed that as an artifact — that particular view of wolves came from wolves in zoos and in wildlife parks, where a bunch of unrelated wolves were basically put together and told to get on with it and, not surprisingly, they got on with it by being aggressive toward one another. The new picture of wolf society is that wolves are harmonious animals. They live in family groups. They get along really well together, and they're almost never aggressive to one another. The aggression comes out when two families meet, so they have very strong family ties."

The big downside of the book is that it is written by a scientist and can sometimes read like a textbook, which makes it a bit of a hard read (I got the audio book which makes it much easier to handle), and may have too much info and go into too much scientific detail for the average dog owner. He does discuss some actually ways to train your dog, but I found them a little superficial (which is fine because this is not a dog training book).

All in all I found this book very educational and enlightening. For those looking for a light, quick read about dogs, you will probably be a bit frustrated and disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a very detailed, scientific look into the world of the domestic dog and its ancestry than this is the book for you.

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Timing is Everything

I’ve heard the story too many times to count and it goes like this: “My dog pees/gets into mischief/is destructive when I’m away from home, so when I come home I scold/hit/yell at him. And he knows he’s done something wrong because he always looks guilty when I come home.” Sound familiar? There are a number of variations to the tale but the gist of it is always the same. The dogs does something it shouldn’t, owner comes home, reprimands the dog and now the dog shows signs of guilt when they arrive home.

Here’s the dog’s side of this situation: “My crazy owner comes home and sometimes does some very bizarre/hurtful/cruel things to me, so I just make myself as submissive as possible so he’ll leave me the hell alone. It’s really scary and I’m starting to get really afraid of him.”

Trust me when I tell you that dogs DO NOT feel guilt in any way. They can’t make associations to past events – they live in the here and now. What happened one minute ago is gone forever, never to be dwelled upon by your faithful poochy pal again. Because of this simple truth your timing of when you give praise and corrections is critical to your dog’s ever understanding the rules you set for him.

Basically you have about a two second window of opportunity to lay on the praise or give a correction and have your dog actually equate it to the behavior. Two seconds – that’s it. If any more time goes by you’ve missed your chance to teach him anything. That’s why supervision is so important for puppies and adult dogs new to a home. If you’re not there at the precise time your dog makes the blunder or does something good, you’re missing value opportunities to instruct him how to live in your world.

I see this all the time: Owner lets the puppy outside into the back yard but is too lazy to go out there with him and merely watches from the doorway. The puppy ambles into the grass, pees and trots back to the house where the owner is happily waiting with a friendly voice and a yummy treat. Congrats, you just rewarded coming inside, which although may be nice, it’s probably not what the owner thought he was rewarding. The pup has no clue that was for the peeing in the yard – that was eons ago.

If you come home and your dog has misbehaved or had an accident. Take a big tall glass of suck it up, clean up the mess and move on. Reprimanding after the fact is not only ineffective but detrimental. I don’t care how guilty you say he looks, he has no clue what’s going on. He only knows that you are insane and unstable.

Since you now understand that you need to supervise to show your dog exactly how to behave, also remember that every dog is good much more than they are bad. So you should be praising him much more throughout the day than giving corrections. If you’re not praising 90% of the time on any given day, you’re missing just about everything. Even the most disobedient dog is good most of the time, and you should be letting him know.

Take a look at how you praise and correct your dog, be honest about your timing and do better tomorrow. When you do, you and your dog will enjoy each other a whole lot more.

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So Many Good Dogs

This past weekend I had the honor of being a part of the Best Friends Animal Society’s yearly East Coast Super Adoption event. This year the venue was in White Plains, New York, where thousands of people came out in hopes of meeting their new furry best friend. Over the course of the weekend around 300 dogs and cats found new homes. And although that’s a pretty impressive number for just two days, there were still hundreds left in cages on Sunday afternoon.

My job at the event was to help people choose the right dog for them and supervise meet and greets between potential adopters (sometimes with their existing dogs) and the dogs looking for homes. During the course of the two days I was struck by how many great homeless dogs are out there. Many people think that dogs in shelters and rescues are damaged goods with issues and problems. But the reality is that this is rarely the case.

Most homeless dogs are there because of human error. Often people don’t think the decision through before they get a dog and soon realize that they are not able or willing to deal with the responsibilities that come with having a dog. Or they fall for the cute face without realizing that the dog is not a good match for their family or lifestyle. Or they are irresponsible and don’t get their dogs spayed/neutered and now they have puppies out there with no one to care for them. Sometimes the dogs do have issues that need to be addressed, but often they are easily treated with some knowledge and time.

What I saw this weekend was dog after dog that was just plain great. I couldn’t believe how many truly lovable and adoptable dogs were there. I remember seeing one big, super sweet Mastiff/Great Dane mix on Saturday morning and I thought, “Wow, this guy will be gone before lunch.” When I saw him still hanging around on Sunday afternoon I was shocked. How could no one have snatched this great dog up?

The reason was because there were so many other great dogs available. Dog after dog that I worked with impressed me. They were all so great. If I came to this event and saw the 700 dogs there, I’m not sure how I would ever be able to choose just one to bring home – they were all so deserving.

It was hard not to come home with one myself, but I always promise my wife as I leave for these kinds of events that I won’t come home with anything that barks or meows. And indeed I saw more than a few volunteers leaving with dogs that they didn’t necessarily intend to come home with.

The point is that dogs in shelters and rescues are not damaged or inferior. On the contrary, they are most likely healthier both mentally and physically than most breeder dogs. They are just dogs with bad luck.

So don’t ever judge a dog by the cage it looks through. Meet them and see for yourself how many great dogs are out there waiting. But beware; once you meet them it will be hard not to bring them home.

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Dogs are Not Impulse Buys

When it’s time to get a new pair of jeans you head out to your local clothing store, try a few pairs on, making sure the style is to your liking and the fit is good for your body type. Although you might get lucky, finding the first pair of jeans you grab fits and looks great, it’s more likely that you’ll have to spend some time in the fitting room until you find the one that works the best. This can be a lengthy process sometime but since you’ll most likely be wearing these jeans for years to come, it’s important to get the ones that are the best for you.

I’m amazed at how people can scrutinize intently over the purchase of a pair of jeans, while giving very little thought to adding a dog to their lives. The decision to bring a dog home should be home should be a family one that is researched and considered carefully. There are many factors that need to be examined both in dog and in the household.

I’ve had to do too many sessions trying to help people with behavioral issues because they got the wrong dog for their situation, or they rushed into bringing the dog home without taking the time to think out if they had the time, resources and/or desire to take care of a dog.

Puppies tend to be the victims of this much more than adult dogs. You see that cute little face and your heart tells your brain to shut up and just bring the cute little guy home to cuddle. A sad statistic is that over half of the puppies that get taken home won’t be there by their first birthday. The reason is usually that not much thought was given into getting a puppy and once the people realized all the work and effort that goes into raising a pup, they freak out and want a do over. However this is not some book you bought on Amazon – it’s a living thing.

Returning that pair of jeans is easy, but re-homing a dog is a bit trickier – especially for the dog. So think long and hard before you make the life altering decision to bring a dog home. If you do decide to do it, make sure it’s an educated decision so you get the right fit for your family and lifestyle. I give free consultations to help discuss what the best kind of dog is for each individual situation, yet I’m rarely taken up on it. Dogs can be a great addition to your family, but they can also be the very last thing you should get.

Get informed and think long and hard to make sure you making the right choice for both you and the dog. If more people considered the decision to get a dog more carefully there would be more dogs with only one human on their resumes.

Survey: Are you the first and only owner to your dog?

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Guest Blogger Jeff Coltenback: Joint Health

Keeping pets healthy and happy is what I try to do on a daily basis. Every day I am afforded opportunities to help or educate pet owners and their pets on natural pet care. It’s my calling in life so to speak. It’s my passion. I always first promote proactive prevention for our pets. If a pet is healthy, is fed well, has adequate exercise, proper leadership, is not exposed to unnecessary toxins and lives in a healthy environment, offering natural supplements KEEPS that animal healthy. Unfortunately, many of our pets will get sick or injured, as only “children” can. It happens. So, reacting to their body’s needs is important. Natural supplements available to us today are abundant. There are animal parts (organs, glands, tissue, etc) that play a role in immune support. There are natural herbs that help fight infection. And, there are plenty of whole food supplements that aid in reactive and proactive health. And, of course, there are plenty of supplements out there that support the skeletal and connective tissue components of a dog’s body. You may even take them yourself. So, let’s take a brief look.

One of the most common types of supplements I often recommend is related to joint health. Dogs, like us, benefit from dietary supplements that contain ingredients like glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and/or Vitamin C. A joint supplement containing glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM is, in my opinion, most effective. Glucosamine is a precursor to a major component of joint cartilage and connective tissue and can help degenerative conditions both reactively and proactively. Chondroitin is also a major component of cartilage. MSM, or Methylsulfonylmethane, is widely used for its reported efficacy as an anti-inflammatory agent. Aiding the dog’s body in controlling inflammation is crucial to recovery. There are also more and more joint supplements nowadays available in herbal form. The decision of which type and how much to use is best discussed with your Veterinarian or pet professional. This short article is not conducive to in-depth analysis. I will, however, offer that I prefer liquid forms of glucosamine/joint supplements. Many health professionals have cited the fact that liquid is more easily absorbed by the body. But, I have seen similar effectiveness from pills and joint chew treats. As for dosage of joint supplements, most commercial products have recommended servings listed on the packaging. I often recommend higher doses; of course you should always consult a professional if you are going to increase dosage.

For example, a recommended dose for my nine year old, 50lb Pit Bull is 750mg a day. Yet, I often give her up to 5200mgs a day depending on what her body is telling me. If she has an unusual period of activity, I may load her on this dose for a week or so (proactively). Then I drop down to a maintenance dose of 3000mg (spilt between morning and night). On normal, maintenance servings, she gets about 1500mg a day (twice the recommended dose). As pets age, they may need more or less for their specific situation and health status – just like humans. Depending on the breed and size of a dog, I will recommend starting them on a joint supplement at a certain age. For the purpose of this article, I will be general. For healthy dogs, I recommend starting them on a joint support regimen once they reach 5 years of age. If they are large breeds or have a history of joint problems, I may start them sooner. One of the most important aspects of a supplement regimen is that each owner trusts their own intuition as to what their pet needs. But, proper diet along with a natural supplement protocol is a great alternative to reactive or conventional methods of pet care.

Jeff Coltenback, founder Paradise Pet
specializing in nutrition and behavior
48 West Passaic ave, Bloomfield, nj 07003
973-338-0795
www.njpetshop.com

A picture from the photo shoot for our upcoming performance. Jeff's the one in the middle with a mouth-full of wood.

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The Perfect Bedside Manner

I’ve been sick for about 2 weeks now and the consensus seems to be that I have walking pneumonia. I think one of the reasons that I can’t seem to shake this illness is that my kids have been on and off sick for about a month and in a violently coughing fit I bruised or broke a rib or two. What all this means is that I have not gotten a decent nights sleep in about a month and I’m exhausted.

Wow, that’s quite a pity party I just threw. I don’t mean to be a complainer, I’m just sooo tired.

This past weekend after a night of almost no sleep and feeling pretty yucky, there was just no way I could function. My wife took one look at me and sent me up to take a nap – my first of two that day. As I was about to walk up the stairs to my bedroom my gaze drifted past my dog who was laying on the living room floor looking up at me.

I stopped and locked eyes with her and immediately could read her mind. Her gentle face very clearly communicated, “I know you’re not well and I’m here if you need me.” From just her look I immediately felt comfort and with a twist of my hand she followed me upstairs and into my bed where she curled up between my legs under the covers. Together we had a very restful nap.

One the best qualities of dogs is that they are always there for us and have a unique ability to quietly comfort us just when we need it most. In the same situation people tend to verbalize too much and although they mean well they feel it necessary to give advice or an opinion when sometimes just quiet reassurance is all that is needed.

That’s where the bond with a dog shines above all other relationships. No matter what, they don’t judge, they have no opinion, and love you the same whether you are rich or poor, happy or sad, or well or sick. They are always waiting and available just when you need them most.

Today I woke up with my ribs aching and, due to a late night trip to the ER with my daughter, my head heavy and tired. As I slowly made my way down the stairs my first sight was good old Hayley looking up at me saying, “I’m here for you if you need me – just say the word.”

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