Stuffed Dogs

We've added two dogs to our pack! Two stuffed dogs, that is. A Boston terrier and a yellow Labrador retriever. They are going to help me with evaluating dogs, teaching clients about body language and equipment use, and are great decoy dogs. It's much safer to use a stuffed animal with a potentially reactive (aggressive) dog than to use one of my own dogs. Stuffed animals are much more easily stitched up. They are also great decoy dogs to use when teaching things like for the dog to look away from a distraction, leave it, or keep attention on the handler. They are great for counter-conditioning and helping change a dog's reaction to other dogs.

Of course the reaction to stuffed dogs do not create a 100% reliable predictor of how a dog will react to a real dog. They don't move, unless you physically manipulate them. They smell very different, and their bodies aren't anatomically correct from head to toe. They may have weird wrinkles, bends, and postures. So why do some dogs attack them or become fearful as if it was a real dog? Who knows! The best guess, according to Trish King, who has extensive experience using stuffed dogs, is that dogs believe their first sense much as humans do. We see a snake on the ground while walking and startle even if it's actually a stick. We see a glass of water and are disgusted when it's Sprite, because even if we love Sprite it's not what we were expecting. Dogs see the stuffed dog and believe their eyes.

A normal reaction for a dog to have to a stuffed dog is to curiously approach and investigate it, sniff it, taste (lick) it, determine it's a toy, and treat it as such. Some dogs may mouth it and shake it, some may simply leave it alone. They have soft wiggly playful bodies, and are not tense or jumpy. Dogs often try to elicit play with the stuffed dog. Abnormal reactions include fear and aggression, and dogs who cannot seem to accept that it is a toy and not a real dog. Signs of anxiety include stressed body language in the eyes, ears, tail, and body posture. Dogs may avoid the stuffed dog and try to escape, or "space shift" in which they are very skittish and jumpy, leaning forward and pulling back. It's important to remember that the stuffed dog does not move and has a very hard direct stare. It is stiff and does not offer any normal calming or play behaviors that could help a reactive dog respond positively, and it can elicit a more stressed response from a normally friendly dog. When a dog offers a play behavior and the stuffed dog remains frozen and staring that can be a problem.

Trish King has observed common breed type patterns. Herding and hunting dogs are often confused, reactive, and tentative about the stuffed dog. Herders and sighthounds are very visual dogs. Terriers are often headstrong, reactive, and in general respond least to stuffed dogs because the stuffed ones are so still. Terriers respond to motion. Bully breeds are often action oriented, strong, serious, persistent, and more likely to not accept that it's a toy. Bullies also use their weight and paws more, and will often knock the toy over with their paw or by body slamming and then stand over it or lean down on it. Dogs do play by body holds, but the holds are usually very brief and are accompanied by loose playful body language and other play behaviors.

Dogs often react differently to different stuffed dogs too, which played a big role in my choosing the stuffed dogs I did. Black dogs are harder to read since there is almost no contrast in their face. Dogs with upright pointed ears are also often targeted. This is why I chose the Boston terrier, because he is black and has pointed ears. I chose the yellow lab because it is lighter colored, has floppy ears, and has a different body position and has a turned head. It's standing whereas the Boston is sitting. Body position is important too, as we'll see with Denali's reaction.

I got my stuffed dogs from Melissa & Doug.

Boston Terrier

From M&D website

Yellow Labrador

From M&D website

I let each of my dogs sniff each stuffed dog. They responded about how I expected.

Denali first. She has been hesitant with stuffed dogs before. Previously she has displayed a lot of space shifting, plants her back feet and leans in so she has a quick escape. She has been a bit tense, tail low, ears back and forth. She is wonderfully curious though. This has always been her personality, to be unsure about something new but curious enough to be brave and investigate it. She surprised me this time be showing no hesitation to greet the dogs. She approached happily, with loose body posture, tail waving. She did avoid a little, her typical stress/avoidance behavior is to sniff. Notice with the Boston that she turns to walk away, sniffs around the box, the chair and table, before returning to investigate more. I did think she'd grab it to play more but she didn't. She did mouth the nose of the lab and chew it a little, a sure sign she viewed it as a toy. Curiously, Diesel had previously done the same thing but to a greater extent. The thing to note with Denali is the piloerection (goosebumps, for people) on her shoulders. Her fur stays down when investigating the Boston but when she sees the lab it raises very quickly. She almost always raises her fur when greeting a new dog. Perhaps the standing position and larger size of the lab caused the difference in reaction. It's caused by a rush of adrenaline, rooted in excitement in her case to meet a new friend.


Kaytu next. Her reaction was the same for both stuffed dogs, here is the Boston. She curiously investigates without hesitation, same as Denali. Denali joins her and they investigate together.
 
Finally, Diesel. His reaction was not as strong and bully-type as I expected. When he greets a real dog he has a very bully breed way of doing it. He goes right up and smacks a paw on the dog's shoulder, and puts his head over the dog's back. Pretty rude body language to most dogs! I expected a similar reaction but instead he was quite polite. With the Boston he went through the normal process of sniffing the butt, then face, and continuing to investigate. He did knock it over but didn't stand over it the way I would have expected, and knocking it over was accidental and not an intentional action of pushing his weight into it or pawing it down. Once it was knocked over he really realized it was a toy and mouthed and licked it. With the lab, he sniffs the face first then licks and mouth it. He again accidentally knocks it over, tipping it upward while sniffing the butt. He then started mouthing the nose, typical destruction of a toy. I told him "uh-uh" and he had a very strong reaction to quickly back far away from it, but he came back to investigate more and actually seemed to position himself in a way to allow the stuffed dog to sniff him.

Homemade Liver Treats

My dogs and cats all love these treats, and I also use them as high value training treats professionally and have never had a dog turn them down.

I cut my training treats quite small, about the size of a pea. I do this for a few reasons. It's quicker for the dog to eat which saves time as you don't have to wait long for the dog to be ready to go again. Dogs don't really seem to care if they get a treat the size of a pea or the size of a marble, a reward is a reward. The smaller you cut the treats the more rewards you have, meaning you have more chances to reward behavior and you're also able to give more treats for the same cost. A marble-sized treat is one treat, but if you cut it into 4 pieces you can use it to reward 4 times, and instead of using 4 treats you only used one. To me it's worth the time it takes to cut the treats up small, but you certainly don't have to.

Liver is a bit smelly. When it's raw it isn't too bad (to me) but when it starts cooking it can get smelly. Open the kitchen window and turn the stove fan on. The final product is not stinky or smelly at all, and is not squishy or gross either.

This was 2 lbs of liver (2.07 to be exact) and ended up making about 12oz of treats. Raw meat is mostly water, so after boiling and baking most of the water, and therefore the weight, is gone.

Step 1: Cut up the liver. I usually use beef liver. Chicken livers are a bit small to deal with. You can use any type of liver though. Pork, sheep, goat, venison, elk, and so on. Liver is slimy and bloody and can take some getting used to. I cut it up into pieces about the size of a playing card, maybe a little smaller, just to make it all fit better in the pot.

Step 2: Boil it about half an hour. A brown foam forms on top, I skim it off periodically.

Step 3: Strain and cool. I pour it into a colander and run cool-warm water on it to rinse any of the foamy gunk off.

Step 4: Get cutting. Cut the chunks into treat-sized pieces, however big you want them to be.

I butterfly any pieces that are thicker than I want.

Some chunks may be oddly shaped. Butterfly and cut any odd bits off as needed to cut them down to size.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 250*. You can also use a toaster oven for smaller batches. Spread the treats on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Step 6: Bake for about an hour. I like the treats to be dry and firm and a bit crisp on the outside, and the inside still a bit soft and chewy. These were baked for an hour and ten minutes.

Store the treats in the fridge. They're fine to be left out a couple hours and won't get funky, but do keep them refrigerated.

Chicken Treats From China

Finally!! The pet community has rejoiced as chicken jerky treats that are products of China are being recalled. Waggin Train (Nestle), Canyon Creek Ranch (Nestle), Milo's Kitchen (Del Monte Corp), IMS (Cadet Brand), and store brand Publix treats have all been recalled.

There have been ongoing issues for nearly 6 years. Thousands of complaints that pets have gotten sick and died after consuming these treats. Main brands include Milo's Kitchen, Waggin' Train, and Canyon Creek Ranch among others made in China. More than 2,200 pets have been sickened and over 360 dogs and one cat have died.

Here's some history, and a summary paragraph at the very end.

In September 2007 the FDA made their first statement of caution. (bold added)
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm048029.htm

September 26, 2007
The Food and Drug Administration is cautioning consumers of a potential association between development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA has received more than 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs that experienced illness that their owners associated with consumption of chicken jerky products.

A year later  the FDA issued a preliminary warning.
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/UCM054448

December 19, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to caution consumers of a potential association between the development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA continues to receive complaints of dogs experiencing illness that their owners or veterinarians associate with consumption of chicken jerky products. The chicken jerky products are imported to the U.S. from China. FDA issued a cautionary warning to consumers in September 2007.

MSNBC did a report in December 2011 (bold added)
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/12/28/9747728-chicken-jerky-treats-sicken-353-dogs-owners-report

The federal Food and Drug Administration has logged at least 353 reports this year of illnesses tied to imported chicken jerky products, also sold as chicken tenders, chicken strips or chicken treats, a spokeswoman said.

Dr. Dan McChesney, director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance at the FDA CVM said: (bold added)

On average, about 40 complaints regarding chicken jerky are filed every week when there is little to no press coverage occurring. The number of reports per week raises drastically whenever the media turns it's attention to the issue, however.

In September 2012, the FDA made another statement. (bold added, Fanconi syndrome link added)
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm319463.htm

The FDA has received approximately 2,200 reports of pet illnesses which may be related to consumption of the jerky treats. The majority of the complaints involve dogs, but cats also have been affected. Over the past 18 months the reports have contained information on 360 canine deaths and one feline death. There does not appear to be a geographic pattern to the case reports. Cases have been reported from all 50 states and 6 Canadian provinces in the past 18 months.
--
China has grown 85-fold (see table). It is estimated that nearly 86 million pounds of pet food came from China in 2011. Pet treats, including jerky pet treats are currently considered the fastest growing segment in the pet food market. 

What are the signs of the illnesses?
The majority of the cases in dogs report primarily gastrointestinal signs, including vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with blood and/or mucus, and can involve severe signs such as pancreatitis or gastrointestinal bleeding. The next most common signs relate to kidney function, including frequent urination, increased urine, severe thirst, kidney failure and some cases resemble a rare kidney related illness called Fanconi’s syndrome. Typically Fanconi syndrome is found in certain breeds of dogs that are pre-disposed to hereditary Fanconi syndrome (e.g. Basenji).

In 2012, on average more than one dog died every day and 2,245 dogs were affected. (bold added)http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/report-from-meeting-with-fda

From January 1, 2012 to December 17, 2012 (less than 12 months)
1,872 Reports have been received by FDA related to the jerky treats.
Within these 1,872 reports – a total of 2,245 dogs suffered a reaction, 6 cats suffered a reaction.  383 dogs died, 1 cat died.

Of significance, Dr. McChesney stated the FDA has received 112 diagnosed cases of Fanconi linked to the Chinese imported jerky treats.  Dr. McChesney shared Fanconi is a difficult disease to diagnose, typically only found in rare instances in Basenji dogs.  With such a high number of clinically confirmed Fanconi diagnosed dogs, Dr. McChesney shared this proves “something is going on” with these jerky treats.

You can read consumer complaints in this report, which covers from 1/1/07 - 7/2/2012. Takes a couple minute to load as it's 97 pages.
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofGlobalRegulatoryOperationsandPolicy/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM314415.pdf


On January 9th, 2013, there was a breakthrough made by the New York Department of Agriculture. They discovered residual amounts of antibiotics in the treats, prompting several companies to recall their products. (bold added)

The move [recalls] came after the New York Department of Agriculture and Marketing told federal Food and Drug Administration veterinary officials this week that trace amounts of residual poultry antibiotics had been found in several lots of each of the brands of jerky treat products.

The agriculture agency found very low levels of four antibiotics that are not approved for use in poultry in the U.S. and one antibiotic that is approved for U.S. poultry use, but is limited to nearly undetectable levels in the finished product, said Joe Morrissey, a department spokesman. The antibiotics include sulfaclozine, tilmicosin, trimethoprim, enrofloxacin and sulfaquinoxaline, he said.

The antibiotics are approved in China, where most of the treats are made, and in other countries, according to company statements.

The FDA has yet to issue a recall.

Although individual companies are issuing recalls now that a potential cause has been discovered, the FDA has not issued any recalls and seems to think the residual antibiotics are not the true cause of illness and death.

Susan Thixton explains further on her website The Truth About Dog Food. (bold added)

Why are these drugs illegal for use in animal feed in the U.S.?   One reason – specific to the sulfa drugs – is allergies.  Dr. Cathy Alinovi, DVM told us “many people are allergic to sulfa drugs – as are many animals.”  From the Vetmed.tamu.edu veterinary information on sulfonamides (sulfa drugs) states: “Hypersensitivity to sulfonamides – Renal function impairment.”

Quoting the Vetmed.tamu.edu sulfonamides veterinary information sheet “A large majority of the animals in which idiosyncratic toxicosis (allergic reaction) occurs have had a previous exposure to a sulfonamide combination.  Most cases involve a trimethoprim and sulfonamide combination.”
The New York Department of Agriculture found sulfa drugs and trimethoprim – this exact combination – in the jerky treats they tested.

One part of the theory:  The reason some dogs became ill and others didn’t was some were highly allergic to sulfa drugs.

But, there is more concern.  From the same Vetmed.tamu.edu sulfonamides veterinary information sheet it states: “Dogs are considered to be unable to acetylate sulfonamides to any significant degree.”

What does this mean?

From The Free Medical Dictionary (bold added): “acetylation – one of the synthetic biotransformations which operate in the metabolism of drugs in which metabolites are produced that are more readily excreted than the parent drug. Dogs are exceptional amongst the domesticated species in that acetylation does not occur in their tissues. Acetylation is one of the principal metabolic pathways of the sulfonamides.”

Dr. Cathy Alinovi told us in layman terms this means “In order to break down sulfa drugs, the body needs to add an acetate molecule to the sulfa. Then, the liver says – oh, I know what to do with this – it can detoxify, break down and excrete the sulfa. Dogs cannot do that, so the liver says what the heck is this and the sulfa drug will not break down, so it isn’t removed from the body.”

So what does this all mean? It means thousands of pets have been getting sick and hundreds have died over the last 6 years from chicken treats but the direct cause was unknown. Without a reason, the treats could not be recalled and without recalls the treats continued to sicken and kill pets. The trace amounts of antibiotics discovered by the New York Dept. of Agriculture a few days ago finally gave a reason to recall the treats. The FDA remains unconvinced which I think may be a good thing in the long run. With brands voluntarily issuing their own recalls, the FDA being unconvinced means they will continue testing and researching the chicken treats. The products will be off the shelves and the FDA can look for a potentially more dangerous issue. Treats from China are the only ones in question as far as I know. If you see the C word on any package of treats or food, leave it on the shelf!

Photos and Diesel Update

The latest news on Diesel is that he will be staying with us until his owner returns. This is because she's supposed to be coming home soon!! Her deployment is most likely going to end within the next several weeks. Supposed to.. most likely.. as a military wife myself, I'm well aware that nothing is for sure until it's actually happening but for now it looks very likely. It's stressful for a dog to move to a new home and I see no reason to do it with the owner coming home so soon. Even though it's not set in stone yet and haven't even notified the organization, we're not looking for a new foster. Diesel and Kaytu have been getting along much better too. I'm not sure if it's more that he's learning to back off, or that she's being more tolerant. Probably some of both. He still doesn't fit well with us and I wish we could have gotten a foster back when I started harassing the organization back in July. Yes, over 5 months ago. I will never work with the organization again. His heart is in the right place but it's very unorganized and unprofessional. Not only did I have to take it upon myself to try to find a new foster, but I haven't even been reimbursed for expenses since summer and am owed almost $500. That's quite a chunk to be missing from our bank account. Nothing gets done in the organization unless you pester and harass, and even then progress is painfully and aggravatingly slow.

Ok enough ranting, it's picture time! Diesel is looking great, and his wounds are almost invisible now!

Denali is pretty as ever.

Kaytu insisted on smelling the breeze and rolling around but I managed to get a few decent shots.

 

Training Tricks

I want to teach all the pets more tricks simply for the fun of it. I recently ordered a Clik Stik and have taught all 3 dogs to target it but haven't used it much yet. I mostly intend to use it professionally when working with tiny toy breeds, and also with my cats however they are both refusing the treats I have so no training is happening with them right now. I'm compiling a list of all the basic and simple tricks and behaviors I can think of as well as a few more complex ones that need more steps or shaping like skateboarding and blowing bubbles. I don't think both my dogs will ever learn everything on this list, the list is more to have ideas. Watching canine freestyle also gives me lots of ideas, I'm consistently blown away by how creative handlers are.

All behaviors and tricks can (and should) be taught without the use of physical manipulation or force. Luring, capturing, and shaping behaviors is easier, more motivating, and much more fun for everyone.


Shake/paw with either paw
High five with either paw
Bow
Crawl

Shake head "No"and "Yes"

Beg/sit pretty

Side/play dead

Roll over

Cross paws

Spin (all paws on floor)

Twirl (up on hind legs)

Stack objects

Rear end awareness

Speak

Back up

Cover eyes

Jump through hoop/over bar

Jump though your arms/legs

Stand on your feet

Blow bubbles

Close drawers

Leap Frog (jump over other dog)

Limp 

Weave through legs

Skateboarding 

Currently I'm teaching Denali crawl, leg weaving, and to stand between my legs with her front paws on my feet. Here's a video of her leg weaving, prior to this video she'd only done one ~10 minute session. I still need to do an exaggerated gesture (put my leg very high and wide) and lure her (hand under my leg) but she is doing very well!

Kaytu is learning beg, under the cue "Stick 'em up!" where she is also required to raise her paws up. She has done several short sessions of the beg position to build her muscles and balance. I also am teaching her "Bang!" where she lays flat on her side. I work Stick 'em Up and Bang! separately as she still needs to work on them individually (and get her a cowboy hat) before I string them together and have her go directly from beg to side position. For the sake of the video I put them together.