Doggie Dentures?

If you have not seen this commercial yet, get ready. I nearly spit up my drink when it came on. It is a commercial for a dog chew that promotes good oral hygiene called Dentastix. When I finished laughing I started to think: What do I do to take care of my dogs teeth?





We take good care of our dogs and their shots and other items, but other than feeding them dry food I cannot think of anything we actively do to take care of our dog’s teeth. I asked many other dog owners what they were doing about it, and most looked and me and blinked. This response can ONLY lead me to believe they a) did not speak English, or b) did not understand that it was an issue they should be doing something about.



So it was time to start asking the experts (meaning Bekki’s dad!) who ‘learned me up on it. This is a very important health related issue for dogs. They are living longer and as such their oral care can become a much bigger issue. He told me all about their morning ritual their vet got them started on about 6 years ago and they have been doing it every morning since. The dogs line up in the bathroom with the humans to have their teeth brushed. The dogs love it. Why? Chicken flavored toothpaste. Each dog has their own toothbrush too. Each dog also gets a yearly cleaning. So far zero cavities for his dogs! Better than my kids.



Another great thing you can do, and frankly the easiest thing you can do,  is provide specific dog chews and treats designed to help clean the teeth while they chew. The idea is that because of their shape and or what is in them they will help scrape the ‘bad stuff’ (I am so technical sometimes) off their teeth while they chew. The dog gets a treat, you get to ‘kinda’ clean their teeth while reading your email; a win-win!



The following is a list of some of the brands available, you will need to see which your dog will like (Hondo HATES the greenies!):

• Bright Bites and Checkup Chews for Dogs - all sizes
  
• Canine Greenies® - all sizes
  
• Canine Greenies® Lite - all sizes
  
• Canine Greenies® Senior - all sizes
  
• Del Monte Tartar Check® Dog Biscuit: Small & Large sizes
  
• Friskies Cheweez Beefhide Treats for Dogs
  
• Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Diet for Dogs
  
• Hartz Flavor Infused Oral Chews - Large Dogs and Small Dogs Sizes
  
• Healthymouth antiplaque water additive
  
• (Hill's) Prescription Diet Canine t/d: Original & Small Bites
  
• Iams Chunk Dental Defense Diet for Dogs
  
• Purina Veterinary Diets DH Dental Health brand Canine Formula
  
• Purina Veterinary Diets Dental Chews brand Canine Treats
  
• Science Diet Oral Care Diet for Dogs
  
• Tartar Shield Soft Rawhide Chews for Dogs
  
• Vetradent Dog Chews marketed as 'Bluechews' and 'dc Dental Chews'
  

For additional information here is a great article on Doggie Dental Care and what should be included in your program. It is a great start for any questions you might have.



Whatever it is you are currently doing you can, like us, do more. Please take a few minutes a day to help prevent COSTLY health issues for your dog.

Product Review: Newman’s Own Organic Dog Treats

Most dog owners want to feed their dogs better quality of food, and if they don’t they should. The biggest reason why that better food = smaller poop, seriously. So if for no other reason you should now want to feed your dog better, but what does that mean. So you have selected a quality food, but what about the treats your dog gets? This can be as much as 20% - 25% of their daily intake, and you must look at these labels too.

I have found a great product you can use and feel good about it. I will admit right up front, I have been a fan of Newman’s Own products for some time. The work that the Newman's Own funds behind the scenes is wonderful, and 100 % of the profits go to their charities. Best part is they generally give you a good product for your support and your money, although they are normally a little more expensive than similar products.

So in my local PetSmart I saw a Newman’s Own Organic s Premium Dog Treats and decided to give them a try. Something I liked immediately (and is stated right on the front of the package) is they contain no wheat or corn in any way, and most ingredients are “certified organic.” The ingredients list reads like my shopping list (OK, that’s a lie it is actually better) and was very impressed with the thought that obviously went into the selection of each. So, I bought the Turkey & Sweet Potato flavor (both certified organic) because they come in a medium size treat but are scored to break in half. I have both a big and a small dog, so this makes giving both a treat easier. I paid $4.99 for a 13 oz bag. A little expensive, but like I said I understand and support this.

Now in a human product I would have to say that this whole organic thing would spell tasteless and unappealing, so I was most interested in whether Hondo would like them and, most importantly, would he work for them. Jethro is an omnivore and will work for any kind of food, food product, something that smells like food, or something that maybe reminds him of food. Hondo on the other hand is a picky eater, and has turned down treats in the past because they just didn’t “do it” for him. 

The treats are a good size and are scored to easily break in half, and for that half to be big enough for Jethro. He is an 80 pound dog, so this should give you some point of reference. They are hard so not greasy or messy, but they break pretty easy. I have had some treats that you needed hammer and chisel to break in half. The other half also breaks well, but require more force, so Hondo gets 2 pieces. One good part of being a small dog I guess. The product seems to have a pleasing scent to both humans and dogs, as both of the lads came-a-running when the bag was opened.

Surprisingly Hondo was very attentive and was really wanting to do his sit and down or shake or whatever to get one of these new things, but that is generally attributed to them being new. He ate his pieces vigorously and seemed to enjoy them, but he always likes new stuff. The best news is even after a couple of days he was still willing to work for one, and this is a good sign.

Not surprisingly is the fact that they were a big hit with Jethro. He loved them and seems very happy working for them, but like I said above we would work for a tin can that smelled like food.

Overall I would say that this is a good product for both the human owner and the pet in question. The owner can feel good that they are giving their dog high quality treats and are supporting some amazing causes, and the dog can feel good because the owner feels good so will probably give them MORE TREATS!

The very definition of a win-win!

Woman Tries To Mail Puppy In Box

One of my friends emailed me an article that was so amazingly horrifying that I had to not only share it but felt compelled to comment. We require people to take a test and get licensed to drive a car, we should make this mandatory to own a dog. WHY? The headline below says all that needs to be said:

Woman Tries To Mail Puppy In Box

Stacy Champion wanted to send a puppy to a friend, but to REALLY ship a dog is quite expensive, some times as much as $200.00 - $300.00. So she had the brilliant idea to send the little poodle-mix through the US Postal Service! She also thought ahead, and decided to pay extra, a whopping $22.00, to ship the poor dog Priority mail so it would be there in 2 days. I guess she figured imprisoned in a dark, cramped box for 2 days with no food or water would be fine for the young pup.

The only reason this handsome dog is still alive, is because during the sorting at the Post Office the dog must have started moving, causing the box he was imprisoned in to fall from a table. The Postal Worker that picked up the box said he could hear panting inside, so they ended up opening the box. Had this package gone into the unheated, unpressurized baggage compartment the puppy would certainly have died.

Perhaps even more disturbing that the behavior of Ms. Champion, is the fact she can still get the puppy BACK! A quote from the article really shows how serious we are about punishing abusers of animals:

“Champion has until Friday to make an appeal to animal control to get the puppy back. If animal controls says she can’t have the puppy back, it will go up for adoption.”

Get it BACK? Either locally for cruelty to animals or federally for mail fraud (or some such), my primary question is why is she not in jail? This is one of the most abhorrent examples of owner stupidity and blatant cruelty and yet no one seems willing or able to punish this person to the level she deserves.

The report says she was charged with animal cruelty; however on a local level this generally means a fine of some kind and perhaps community service but rarely any jail time. 

Effective Marketing is a Joy!

I will absolutely admit that this video has no dog training value other that seeing what some great person was able to teach a dog to do, and what some funny director was able to shoot, but I gotta tell ya it made me nearly spit coffee all over my desk. Some of you may have seen it before, but a lot of you have not, It is REALLY worth the couple minutes. Very well done!

For those of you out there in business, specifically sales and marketing, you should be watching this with an eye to how much effective marketing works, and how much being yourself and letting that shine through can have amazing results.

For the rest of you this is funny and should be shared with everyone you know. Really! They will THANK YOU for it!

Patience is the Thing

As responsible dog owners we have done our research into training methods, how you should do this and that, and in general learned what we want be doing and teaching our dogs. This might sound like the simplest part, however with all the different methods and styles and tools out there even deciding how to train your dog can take more time than the actual training.

We are NOT training experts, but students and observers of dog behavior. We have taken a compilation of a number of different philosophies and approaches and have started down the training path with our now 2 dogs. I will say that for the most part, either by talent or dumb luck, we have been pretty successful. Our dogs will sit, down, and stay and they also walk well on a leash without pulling, among other things.

There are some challenges, I will be honest, but they are usually on my part and not the dogs. After all, they are dogs and I am supposed to be smarter than they are.  One of the biggest I have is at feeding time, but is not the same one that many of you have; in fact it is probably the opposite. My dogs do not rush me and try to hurry the process along. Instead they leave me standing there with their bowls in hand while they run around the yard play (to impress dad while he is watching is my suspicion) and will eventually come back to me and start eating. Instead of just putting the bowls down and letting them fend for themselves, we have been working on getting the dogs to know it is feeding time, to come to whoever is feeding them, and sit down politely and wait. They will then get fed.

It is very easy, and ‘some others’ in the house do it frequently, to say “forget it” and just put the food down and go back to watching American Idol or whatever.  I totally get that this seems easier in the short term, especially to the person who really does not want to be doing the job. However in the long run this is very counterproductive and makes the process of training your dogs take much longer. Not taking that extra 3 – 5 minutes for the dogs to give you the behavior you are working for sets your efforts back significantly.

In order to get the behavior we want the feeder needs to fill the bowls (which gets their attention and into the yard) and take them outside, and stand there and wait. After 10 – 15 seconds the commend ‘Come’ is given, and then stand their patiently. The desired behavior (and believe me they KNOW what we want of them) is to walk up to the feeder, sit, and patiently wait for the bowl to be put down. If the dogs do not come in the next 30 – 45 seconds the command is given again and then nothing.

The longest I have waited in 6 minutes, but only once. Usually it takes less than 3. The good news is they come and sit much quicker than they have been, so patience DOES pay off. The most important things, and you will have seen these in previous articles, are:

1. Set Realistic Goals
2. Get Everyone on the Same Page
3. Be Consistent – Same Way, Every Time

No matter what it is you are working for or training for, be patient. Take the time to allow the dog to ‘think it over’ and give you your reward, then be sure to give them theirs. They earned it!

The Dedication of the Dog Owner

If you have known me for long, or have been reading this blog at all, you will know that I constantly rage about irresponsible dog owners and the problems they cause. While I will not review the litany again here, suffice to say it is a long list that costs us, the taxpayer, a substantial amount of money.

So conversely, when I see a responsible dog owner really taking care of their dogs, I also like to make a big deal about it. I figure if other dog owners start to see what a "responsible dog owner" is they might emulate some or all of the behaviors. I believe that we become what we see, so seeing responsibility will with luck breed more responsibility. Monkey see, Monkey do!

It is for this reason that I wanted to share with you all my friend Kent, and his utter dedication to his dog Summit. Kent sent me the attached pictures to prove what he goes through for his dogs, and he included the following message:

"Your dog doesn't know that it's 18 degrees with a 10 MPH wind, he just knows it's the regular time that you go out for HIS walk. Gear up and enjoy moments when you have the entire park to yourselves ... your dog will thank you too."

Well Kent, it is to you and all the other dog owners that go the regular mile as well as (in your case) the extra mile to care for their dogs, that I say well done! This is truly outstanding and shows that you get it. They are not animals, they are not dogs, they are our friends and loved ones.

If you have a similar story we invite you to share them with us by emailing them (WITH PICTURES PLEASE!) to us at capawblehands@gmail.com.

How is your Dogs Weight?

At the beginning of every year we all are prone to take a look at our lives, access the state of things, and many of us make resolutions to better our lives in one way or another. After all, we as humans have been doing this every 365 days or so for a millennium, and it is a good thing.

So you are looking at yourself, looking at what improvements you can make, and it is a high probability that are now working on your weight. GREAT! Getting healthier is always a noble goal, and losing weight is very high on the list of annual resolutions, but I have a question for you:

How about your dog’s weight?

Obesity in dogs is a problem that is on the rise in America. We as humans are eating more and becoming less active, therefore our dogs are also eating more and exercising less. Just like in humans this increasing over-eating and inactivity can lead to a HUGE number of very real health issues such as:

• Diabetes
• Damage to joints, bones and ligaments (especially in large dogs)
• Heart disease
• Increased blood pressure (yes dogs too, can suffer from high blood pressure)
• Decreased liver function
• Difficulty breathing
• Decreased stamina
• Heat intolerance
• Increased anesthesia risk
• Digestive disorders
• Immune dysfunction
• Skin hair and coat problems
• Increased risk of cancer
• Decreased quality and length of life

I love my dogs (sometimes more than my children) and I want them to have long and healthy lives. I want their lives to be filled with running and jumping, not IV’s and pills and being drugged all the time. This is why we are very diligent about the feeding of our dogs. This leads to one of the biggest questions a dog owner will have:

How much SHOULD I be feeding my dog?

This can be a more difficult question to answer than you might think. If you have a medium to low energy dog it gets even more difficult. Did you know the ‘recommended feeding suggestions’ on the back of dog food is aimed at an “intact, male working dog?” Since your dog is NOT intact (and if it is you need to get it altered now, but that is another article) and it is probably not a working dog (meaning herding or pulling all day), this means that if you are following these suggestions  you are over feeding your dog, and potentially by a large amount.

A dog that is healthy should  always be hungry. This is a behavioral throw back to the wild dog days. Since they never knew when or where their next meal might be, they would eat anything they found when they found it. Since your dog is NOT a wild dog foraging for food, they should be on as schedule. Whether once a day or twice a day is up to you, but you need to be consistent. Same amount, same way, every day.

As far as making a recommendation goes I will only tell you what we are doing for our dogs. For the new reader we have Hondo, a 2 ½ year old Shiba Inu who is 19 pounds, and Jethro, a Pit Bull that is about 78 pounds. We feed them twice a day, and Hondo gets 2/3 of a cup and Jethro gets 1 ½ cups at each feeding. We feed them a good quality dry food (no corn of gluten please!) and put a little hot water on top of the dry food to make a little gravy in the bowl. We will occasionally mix in with this some drippings or other scraps.
Exercise is also a very important part of the equation, just like for you. “The Boys” and I walk generally at least once a day, and we walk at least a mile or so up and down hills. On top of this we have a large yard that they use and run around in during the day, so they get a decent amount of exercise.

If your dog is obese or overweight or you feel it may be, the first step is of course to consult your Vet. They are the first and best source for information on the health of your dog. However, here are a few suggestions:

• Start a weight chart, and begin to track your dogs weight.
• Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! – Not only will this help your dog’s weight, but will have a surprisingly positive effect on yours (I am down about 30 pounds in a year!)
• Feed a better quality food, in smaller amounts, twice a day. We have found this better than a big meal every morning
• Limit treats, and make sure they are GOOD treats. You would be surprised at how bad some of the commercial treats are for your dog. Make sure you read the packages, and find a good quality treat. Honeycomb cereal is one of Jethro’s favorites, but then again, he eats everything

I will bet a lot of these things sound surprisingly like the same things that YOU should also be doing for you weight. So, make your resolution, but include your dog.Work on your eating and your weight, but help them to work on theirs also. They would like to look slim and hot this summer too!