FEEDING YOUR DOG - Judgment

There is a saying that "If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise." I like it, but I'm also saddened by it. I'm saddened because I do think it's harmful to make your dog overweight. We've created a relationship in which our dogs depend on us for everything. When we give too much food and treats, and too little physical exercise, the harmful effects of too much body weight on our dogs' frames and organs are our fault. I'm also saddened by the mean judgment of it all. Humans are always meanly judging other humans in an effort to make themselves feel better about their own faults.

I am sometimes judged as having a "vicious dog" because Foster looks like one of the several dogs described as "Pit Bull." My dogs are each a wonderful weight and they have excellent coats and cardiovascular fitness, but I am not judged as a great dog owner because of that. If my dogs were overweight, I'm sure I'd hear about it.

The judgment I care about the most is a judgment I'll never receive - the judgment of my dogs. My dogs don't judge me daily. They appreciate everything I give to and do for them. It's sentimental, I know, but it is one of the clearest facts in my life. So, I judge myself, and I feel how and with what I nourish my dogs is paramount. Without their health, there is nothing, and much of their health comes from how I feed them. They depend on me. I hope I'm the best person for the job!

FEEDING YOUR DOG - Supplements

While I feed my dogs the highest quality food I can afford, I also add vitamins and powders and whatever else might be fun and healthful into their diet.

My dogs have needed antihistamines and antiemetics and probiotics and minerals and joint support and liver support and digestives and anti-inflammatories and vitamins. I've made powder supplements from bonemeal, yeast and lecithin as well as vitamin, mineral and herb "cocktails." At one point, my dogs' pill boxes were of the huge variety!



Presently, Luna and Foster are taking just a few supplements and three powders.

Vitamin E - for its antioxidant properties
Acidophilus - a probiotic that is good for digestion and is also an anti-inflammatory
Fish Oil - for brain and heart support

Allercheck

Contains Larch Arabinogalactan, Quercitin, and Tumeric Root Powder which are antihistamines that are not dyed hot pink.

Joint Check - just for Luna

Contains Glucosamine HCL & Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate and Vitamin C, Ginko Biloba and other herbs for joint health.

Health Check

Contains N-Acetyl L Cystine, Citrus Bioflavanoids and Siberian Ginseng for supporting healthy organ function.

I also add vegetables to their dry or home-cooked food. Luna and Foster like green beans and sweet potatoes best, but they also like pumpkin, steamed spinach and steamed carrots. I measure out about 100 calories of vegetables for each dog, and include them in their two meals. The fiber of the vegetables seems to keep their digestion regular which helps with predicting their elimination needs. Veggies are just good for my dogs all over!

I don't know that you could consider treats supplements, but there are supplements that seem like treats. They're often prescriptions, such as for joint support. Satchel used to take one that smelled like vanilla frosting! The treats I give Luna and Foster are just pure treat, but I think that can be part of a healthful diet too. Just a little something special. Foster actually chews his treats. I think Luna just swallows them whole. To each her own!

FEEDING YOUR DOG - The Food

There are so many options for feeding your dog. So so so many options. I've provided almost every kind of diet for various reasons since I started taking care of dogs in 1978.

When Satchel came to us, I attempted to continue with the raw food diet his foster family was providing. Satchel was so thin, and had been under so much stress, I didn't want to alter his diet. After researching canine nutrition a little, and raw food diets, I decided it wasn't for Satchel. First, the calorie content was not nearly enough. At the time, Satchel weighed about 70 pounds, and he should have weighed 80-85 pounds. That was not the fault of the diet. I could have increased the calories, but I was interested in the explanation that though dogs, and other animals, in the wild do eat raw meat in the form of killed prey and carion, they actually go for the partially digested food in the stomach and intestines first. Stomach acid slightly "cooks" the meat and vegetation, therefore, a raw food diet isn't completely primal. There are benefits to people and animals from a raw food diet, but I decided it wasn't for Satchel.

No matter what type of diet you decide to feed your dog, it's important to feed him the right amount of calories. Your dogs' calorie needs depend not so much on breed, but size, activity level and life circumstance. Pregnant dogs and puppies need more calories than the average adult dog, but a working dog, or dog in physical competitions such as agility or flyball, will need just as many or more calories as a puppy.

From the books I've read, and from a canine nutritionist I met along the way, the average dog needs about 15 calories per pound of ideal body weight. Your vet should be able to help you assess what your dog's ideal body weight is. Commercially prepared dry and canned foods usually provide calorie content on their packaging or websites, as do treat boxes and bags. With this information, you can measure how much food, and how many treats, your dog should have each day to meet her caloric needs.

When Satchel was diagnosed with cancer, and for managing Koko's colitis, and when trying to figure out to what Luna was allergic, I provided a home-cooked diet. The greatest resource I found was "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats." Satchel thrived on a beef, rice and beans recipe. Koko felt great, and lived 2 years longer than anyone but we expected, on chicken breast and rice recipes, and with a venison and vegetables recipe, I learned Luna lives more comfortably eating little to no grains. Home cooking is time consuming and expensive, but I feel it was one of the best things I've done for my pack.



Presently, my dogs eat a commercially prepared dry dog food. I add powders and vegetables and give my dogs supplements, which I will post about later this week, but for my family's needs right now, I'm happy with dry dog food. I researched brands and ingredients and feel the two most important elements are:
1. The food must be made in the USA from ingredients raised and grown in the USA.
2. The first ingredient must be meat. We happen to be a chicken family.

There are several high quality dry foods available, and they can be expensive. I recently read an article that suggested dry food rotation to decrease ingredient sensitivity and allergies. We're usually told to not change our dogs' food to avoid stomach upset, but I found that foods whose first ingredient was meat caused my dogs to have no issues. I also found that one of the foods they seemed to like a lot would cost ~$80 per month. I'm sticking with the ~$60 per month food that has no grains and I occasionally provide home-cooked meals. My dogs' weights are great, their nutrition excellent, their coats beautiful, and they're always ready for an adventure. I think our diet is a keeper!

FEEDING YOUR DOG

Luna is shedding like crazy. She's always shedding, but right now, it is a constant explosion of thick, coarse, Black Lab hair. If you are bothered by dog hair, never ever ever ever consider a Labrador Retriever. For some reason, maybe it's her genetic line, Luna sheds much much more than our Yellow Lab Satchel did, and trust me, he shed a ton. Luna just sheds and sheds and sheds and I Furminate her everyday, but she is just exploding hair right now. I'm wondering if that is why more people are commenting on her perfect shape and weight lately. With less hair, they may be seeing more of her.


One swipe with the Furminator down Luna's back


For comparison - a couple of swipes with the Furminator down Foster's back

Luna was overweight when she first came to us at 10 months old. After a check-up, and asking our vet how much she should weigh, Luna started exercising and receiving the right nutrition. Now at nearly 10 years old, Luna enjoys walking 1-3 hours per day, racing the waves of the ocean and Lake Michigan, hopping snowbanks, and running through our agility tunnel dozens of times. At a weight of between 70 and 75 pounds, Luna is going to live, and live well, for a long time.


Luna's Little Waist

When our Yellow Lab Satchel was diagnosed and treated for soft tissue sarcoma, we were told his survival chance was "significantly increased" because he was not overweight. We learned that fat is an inflammatory "organ," and since the disease of cancer has an inflammatory component to its growth and spread, Satchel being fit and lean improved his ability to recover from surgery, radiation and then cancer itself. Satchel was 10 years old when he was diagnosed and showed us he was the strongest life force we'd ever met through two months of treatment. Satchel the Strongest died one month shy of his 16th birthday, and not from cancer. He taught me a lot about canine nutrition, and solidified my belief that optimal amounts of food and exercise are two of the best ways to honor, appreciate and love our dogs.

This week, I will share how I've decided what to feed my dogs and with what I supplement their diets. I'll also share some of the ways we exercise. I am not a vet. I do not have a doctorate in veterinary medicine or science. I will simply share what I've learned from veterinarians, canine nutritionists, books and my dogs.

Energy - Hard vs Soft - HARD DOESN'T HAVE TO MEAN MEAN

I think people mistake harshness and anger for the energy that builds respect. Cesar Millan makes the perfect point that humans are the only creatures on Earth who will follow an unstable leader. Acting out of anger causes you to be seen as weak and unstable to dogs. Sure, your dog may do what you were yelling at him to do, but that doesn't mean he respects you. If your dog cannot trust you to predictably provide for, protect, direct, and interact with him, he won't respect you. For me, if my dogs respect me, they will follow me and my directions anywhere.

Having a soft energy, I have had to educate myself about where, when and how a harder energy can be useful. Anyone who has heard me call Foster's name as he runs towards the woods knows I can be just as tough and serious as I am soft. I have learned to exhibit the energy required to meet the energy of the situation.

Luna is very social and sweet, but when she wants to be social and sweet with someone in the cul de sac just outside of our driveway, I am fierce about enforcing the rule of not walking into the road without me. Luna doesn't always feel the border between driveway and cul de sac, but she hears and feels my hard energy when I call her to come back over the boundary! I have met some dog owners over the years whose hard energy has been positive in their relationships with their dogs, and some whose hard energy has not.

Andy and Vicki lived on a three acre farm-style property. They had a few sheep, a pig, a duck, some chickens and three spaniel mixes. One of their dogs kept running away when outside with Vicki. When the dog was with Andy, she stayed within the boundaries of the acreage. Not only did Vicki feel badly putting "Runaway" (not her real name!) on a leash, she felt badly "yelling" at Runaway to come back. Vicki's soft and unsure energy was not inspiring Runaway to stay near.



Andy's energy would be described by most people as hard. What I observed was clear communication and a confident demeanor. Out on the property with all of his dogs, Andy could talk to me while knowing where each one of them was. When Runaway seemed to focus on a scent, Andy said, "Runaway, stay in your yard." If she stayed focused on the scent, Andy said, "Runaway! Come!" His commands were loud and Runaway knew he was serious. She came and sat down next to him. He petted her. Andy's hard energy created comfort and safety for his dogs. When he and his energy were present, his dogs wanted to stay. We taught Vicki that being confident and enforcing the property boundary was showing love through discipline and not a harsh punishment.

Sam and Missy had a Black Lab named "Jake." Jake was undisciplined and not much fun to be around. Sweet, but not fun. He jumped on guests and counters and his owners. Missy did not feel confident in preventing Jake from jumping so she would send Jake to the basement if she was having anyone over. Sam used physical direction and a loud voice.



Sam showed me how he yanked Jake's collar to bring Jake to the ground then dragged him to the basement with the words, "You! Just! Don't! Listen! So you have to be in the basement!!" When I called Jake over to me in Sam's presence, Jake peed and crab-walked a few feet. Sam's harsh, out-of-control attempts to correct the issue created an insecure dog with no one to trust. I worked with the family to use fewer words and more food and affectionate rewards to build trust with Jake. We developed a plan that would show Jake what they wanted from him instead of only yelling about what they didn't like.

In Sam's case, hard did mean mean, but we worked together with his harder energy to turn harshness into confidence and benevolent leadership. Dogs want to know what we want, not just what we don't, and if we act only out of anger and frustration, dogs can only absorb the imbalance of us. Dogs need us to be secure, confident and kind. Whether you do that with softness or hardness is up to your personality and what works best with your dog's personality. Dogs can bring out the best in us as we try to bring out the best in them.

Energy - Hard vs Soft - SOFT DOESN'T MEAN WEAK

Here are some examples of how my "soft" energy has had a positive effect on dogs.

FOSTER
Foster is a sensitive dog. I don't look at him as a "shelter" dog, or worry about what his life was like before we adopted him at 2 years old, but I have noticed that loud, harsh voices and strong leash corrections cause him to duck his head. He doesn't respond to the command, he freezes.

I tend to speak in soft tones for most commands or "conversations" with dogs, and I use as few words as possible. I also find that pulling on a dog's leash causes him to pull against you. I encourage with "Let's go this way," and I give direction for what I want instead of giving corrections and "No!" for what I don't. Foster has responded so well to this "soft" energy that he is THIS close to passing the Canine Good Citizen Exam (http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm), and Luna has already earned this honor. She's also received recognition for being able to perform 100% of the tasks 100% correctly years after completion. My soft energy seems to work for my family. I am still a leader and a teacher.

FIREWORK
Firework was a training client's Jack Russell Terrier. The family had a few issues with Firework, but something they could not remedy was Firework's desire to take toys outside. Firework would take toys outside, but never bring them back in and they would become ruined. Family members would try to tell him to "Drop it!" before he went out, or try to remove it from his mouth. These attempts resulted in him not dropping the toy as well as a tug of war.



After walking with Firework for a little while and then returning, I asked him if he would like to go outside. Firework grabbed a toy and ran for the door. I gently held the toy while it was in his mouth and quietly said, "Can I have that? Can you drop it?" He stopped wagging his tail, but did not pull against me. I quietly said again, "Can I have that?" and waited. I counted. In 12 seconds Firework dropped the toy. I put the toy by the window by the front door and let Firework out. He went out, ran around, and came back in. He picked up his toy and lay down in his bed. It was adorable. The family witnessed that a soft voice, patience and the promise of the toy being returned helped Firework let go.

PETEY
Petey's family did not like taking him for a walk. Petey seemed to have a sense of urgency about everything. He would catch a scent and need to immediately get his nose 2 millimeters away. His family complained of strained shoulders, elbows and wrists. They also became frustrated that they could not get him to move on from the urgent spot of interest. They would pull and pull and their 97 pound dog would not budge.



After teaching the family a few techniques to reduce pulling on the walk, we stopped, and Petey became interested in something in the grass. He did not budge when the family member tried to pull him away. Instead of pulling, I held the leash loosely and said, "Petey, let's go this way!" and helped him catch the scent of a treat. I gave him the treat when he followed me. Any time he stopped to sniff, we let him sniff for a few seconds then said, "Petey, let's go this way!" and gave him a treat. Soon we were able to say, "This way," and he followed. No pulling. No straining. No yelling. Just "This way."

"Soft" doesn't mean weak.

ENERGY - HARD vs SOFT

In discussing the human-canine relationship, there is a lot of reference to human dominance, humans being dominant and domineering and holding dominion over dogs. Dominion and dominance, in this arena, tend to mean a less than benevolent overpowering, and I just don't agree.

One of my favorite animal behaviorists, Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., wrote in The Other End of The Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs, "Aggression is not a necessary component of dominance...A hierarchical social system allows individuals to resolve conflicts without having to fight. Any individual who truly has a lot of social status has enough power that he or she doesn't need to use force."

I love this. This is the value by which I try to live each day with my dogs. I believe this social status, or respect, can be earned best though your natural energy whether it be hard or soft. I know "hard" or "soft" is a limited way of describing the many variations in human energy, but they are simple examples of seemingly opposing energies.

I believe I have what would probably be described as "soft" energy. I know of others who would be described as having a more "hard" energy. This week, I hope to describe how "soft" does not mean "weak," and "hard" does not mean "mean."