#adosk replies

[alldogownersshouldknow]

Hello. My daughter spilt rice krispies over the kitchen floor this morning, and my dog managed to get good amount of it before I could get him out the room. I was just wondering how bad for him this could be. He seems okay, but I'm not sure if I should be worried. Any idea?

I don’t think Rice Krispies are a danger to dogs! Granted, they shouldn’t be a main or regular part of a dog’s diet, but unless your dog has allergies to rice, it shouldn’t hurt them.In future, I would suggest calling your vet if your pup consumes anything of possible danger. They probably won’t charge you for something simple like that! I would be surprised if they did.

After-hours, if you are concerned about something your dog has eaten, the ASPCA Poison Control is a reliable, 24-hour resource. However, they do charge US$65 which can be a steep fee for many people. Google may also be a helpful resource, but I would suggest checking multiple sites and thinking critically about if the site seems trustworthy.

[alldogownersshouldknow]

I always heard the raised dishes -prevent- bloat in bigger dogs?

Here’s an article that explains it. I’ll quote the most relevant part:

In any case, here’s the finding in the largest study of its kind (1,634 dogs), one you can read and dispute at your leisure: “Cumulative incidence of GDV during the study was 6% for large breed and giant breed dogs. Factors significantly associated with an increased risk of GDV were increasing age, having a first-degree relative with a history of GDV, having a faster speed of eating, and having a raised feeding bowl. Approximately 20 and 52% of cases of GDV among the large breed and giant breed dogs, respectively, were attributed to having a raised feed bowl.” (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000;217:1492–1499)Despite the impressive nature of these stats, it’s true that this is but one study, the only one that ever attempted to discern whether raising a bowl made any difference whatsoever. We have no conflicting research. Not yet. Though we keep looking for clues, preventing bloat remains one of veterinary medicine’s most elusive grails. More research needs to be done, certainly, but in the meantime, what can I say? Raise your bowls at your own risk…for now, anyway. 

While raised feeding bowls were recommended for a while, veterinary opinion seems to be swinging back the other way, and in matters of health I listen to vets’ opinions!

If you want to see for yourself, google “raised food bowls bloat” and you’ll see that all the results on the first page are about how raised food bowls can increase the risk of bloat in large-breed dogs; several of the first articles are from vets.

[alldogownersshouldknow]

hey, first thanks for this blog i rly like it :) i was wondering if you knew if i could do something about my dog... she looks way calmer than usual and eats less too. i was wondering if it was normal (she just passed 3 y/o so ive been told shes maturing)and if i could do something about it! thank you for your time and pardon my english :)

It’s hard to say without knowing the dog personally. Sometimes dogs do just mature, and will get calmer. Dogs also need to eat less as they grow up. However, if she’s 3 and just now eating less, I would wonder if she’s healthy. Any change in behavior can be a clue that the dog could be sick.

One of our dogs seemed almost depressed after our other dog passed away; however, when we mentioned this to our vets they did a blood test and found out that he had hypothyroidism.

I would suggest asking your vet if they think there could be anything wrong. It’s very possible that she is fine, but you don’t want to miss something if she is sick!

[alldogownersshouldknow]

We just got My three year old dog. She was a rescue, and they told us she was potty trained but she often has accidents. She pees and poops without any warning, she just goes. Is there any way to get her to stop?

It’s possible she was potty trained in the environment she was in previously, but she doesn’t apply that to her new environment! It’s also possible the rescue was lying; some aren’t as honest as they ought to be. I would first get her vet checked to make sure there’s nothing medically wrong with her; training can’t fix a medical condition!Whether with a puppy or adult dog, if you’re having multiple accidents on a regular basis, I would go back to square one. Prepare a small room or, preferably, a crate to be her “home base,” where she goes when she can’t be closely supervised. It should be fairly small - she should have room to lie down, stand up, and turn around, though. Have some wonderful, yummy, smelly treats stashed by the door so you can grab them whenever you take her outside. Dried liver works well.Until you figure out her schedule, take her out every fifteen minutes that she’s not in her crate. Choose either to stand in one spot in your yard/wherever you want her to potty for three to five minutes, or take her on a short walk. Her potty walk should be the same route every time, but her exercise walks can and should vary!

If and when she goes potty outside, calmly praise her and give her three treats, one after the other. Once you’re able to predict when she’s about to pee, start associating a cue with it - “go potty,” “pick a spot,” “sniff,” whatever works for you - by saying the word(s) right before she squats.

If she has an accident inside, know that you need to take her out more often, kindly put her in another room, and clean up the area with an enzymatic cleaner. I’ve always used Nature’s Miracle, which is easy to find and works well.

Don’t scold her or act sad or annoyed or angry when she potties inside. This will make your training more difficult - she will try to avoid going potty when you’re around, and will hide somewhere in the house to potty.

Don’t leave her alone outside during the training process. If she potties outside without you, you lose a chance to reward her for a job well done!Here’s one guide that I like. Here is Dr. Ian Dunbar’s guide, which I also recommend.

[alldogownersshouldknow]

Why are raised food dishes a risk for bloat? My dogs have raised food dishes, but their tracheas sometimes collapse, which causes them to pass out because they can't breathe, and the raised dishes help them not have to bow their heads so much. Should they still have dishes on the ground?

Raised food dishes can increase the amount of air accidentally swallowed while the dog eats. I am not a vet, but I think the collapsing tracheas are more of a concern than possible bloat - if they were my dogs, I would continue using the raised food dishes, but I would also make sure that for an hour beforehand and two hours after eating, or even longer, that they don’t do any playing or running, or extended periods of walking. You can also ask your vet for their opinion!

[alldogownersshouldknow]

Gotta ask, what sort of training do you support? Clicker training I hope!

Clicker training is great!My personal philosophy on dog training is summed up by the “LIMA” principle - “Least Invasive, Minimally Aversive.” I like to find the safest way to train the dog, in a way the dog finds pleasant if possible or the least unpleasant method if that doesn’t work. The Humane Hierarchy is a good guideline that closely aligns with my preferences.As an example of why I don’t say I’m positive reinforcement only, one of the dogs I take care of is dog aggressive. He also doesn’t give a flying rat’s tushy about any food or toys outside. So my go-to favorite, counter-conditioning, isn’t easy to use in this situation! There’s nothing that I could give him that would create that wonderful “other dogs mean great things happen” association. So for him, I had to go to another method, BAT. It is slightly aversive, in that you do have to take the dog close enough to the thing they dislike that they notice it, but then you mark for calm behavior and move away as a sort of reward. (The real thing is a bit more complex than that, but there’s the basic principle.) It worked well for him and he was making great improvements, but then his family came home and wouldn’t keep up with the training. Training the humans is always the hardest part!My parents’ German Shepherd was the reason I got into R+ based training. She was hugely dog reactive, and the methods our old-fashioned trainer was using were not helping at all. A bit of research later and I knew why! After a few weeks of counter conditioning, she went from “bark, lunge, spin, and rage at a dog 100 yards away” to “walk calmly past a lunging dog five feet away.” I’ve never gone back.