How to Calm an Anxious Dog

December 29, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dealing With Dog Anxiety

Anxiety in Dogs — mexitographer/Deposit Photos

Dealing with an anxious dog can be stressful. As his owner, you’re probably always looking for the next best solution to calm your anxious dog. Allow me to introduce you to DAP therapy, which stands for Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP). I was a bit skeptical in the beginning. Then, I witnessed the calming effect pretty quickly during private lessons and group classes.

What is Dog Appeasing Pheromone Therapy?

DAP mimics a mother dog’s pheromones, which she produces while nursing her puppies. This pheromone has a calming effect for most dogs. There’s a version for cats too, which is especially useful for urine marking or pottying outside their litter box.

How Should I Use It?

DAP is produced by many different companies. Personally, I’ve had the best luck with Comfort Systems. However, try different brands to find the right one for your dog. Choose from diffusors, sprays or towelettes. Each form of DAP emits pheromones into the air.

Diffusers: They work best in a small room. Plug it in next to your dog’s crate.
Sprays: Mist in air before leaving, spray on a cloth toy/ bedding in dog’s crate, or spritz on a bandana and tie around your dog’s neck.
Towelettes: Wipe along your dog’s bed or carry during car rides.

Will it Help My Dog?

Yes. I’ve noticed a decent improvement for most dogs. Many vets, who are board-certified in animal behavior, recommend DAP as part of their behavior protocols. Some will mist the air during consultations.

DAP works well for separation anxiety, chronic stress, fearfulness, aggression (symptom of anxiety), thunderstorm phobia, reactivity to loud sounds and so on. Keep an eye on your dog. Sometimes–it’s very rare–it can make things worse. As with any treatment, there are side effects.

Now, this is not a miracle product. It’s always best to use DAP with a combination of products for maximum effectiveness with anxious dogs. DAP works really well with music therapy, Thundershirt and supplements. It’s definitely a great product and worth the money.

WATCH: Anxious Dog Tips: How to Calm Stressed Dogs

Teaching Dogs Self-Control

December 29, 2014 by Fanna Easter

How to Train a Dog to Leave It

By far, this is my favorite behavior to teach puppies and dogs. You’re teaching them to control themselves. This is a must-have for adolescent dogs. I call this “Puppy Zen.” It teaches dogs polite behaviors while remaining still.

Teaching Self-Control

The goal of “leave it” is to have your dog ignore a chicken bone, dropped medication, previously chewed gum or a dead squirrel. “Leave it” is not hard to teach if taught in sections so I’ll explain how to teach the first part. Follow each step in order for best results.

Hold a treat in your left hand. Completely close your hand around the treat so he can’t nibble or take away the treat.
Place your closed fist holding the treat in front of your dog’s nose.
Wait until he stops licking, nibbling or nuzzling your hand. Click the moment you don’t feel him touching your hand and give him the treat.
Practice 5 times in a row.

Usually, by the fifth or sixth time, your dog will ignore your hand, meaning he will not nudge it. Click and treat. This is what you want.

Refrain from saying the cue. We want the behavior taught first, then we’ll add the cue. This will be in “Leave It Part 2.”

Homework

Practice 5 times per day. Always keep practice sessions short or your dog will get bored. Maybe take a few pieces of kibble and practice before meals.

Next Step

Practice Part 1 for 3-4 days, then move to Part 2.
In Part 2, you’ll learn how to add the cue.
Part 3 explains how to use “Leave It” for items on the ground.

Leave It Part 1 (Teaching Self-Control)

How To Give Your Dog Medicine (Powder Or Liquid)

December 22, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Easy Way to Give Powder or Liquid Medicine to Your Dog

How to Give Medicine to Dogs — Barbara Helgason/Adobe Stock

We can hide pills in peanut butter. That’s easy. But when your vet prescribes an icky tasting powder or liquid medicine for your dog, then you might run into some trouble. Fortunately, I have some tips to help you give powder or liquid medicine to dogs. I’ve recently had to hide Tylan Powder, a foul tasting antibiotic prescribed for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Now, imagine trying to hide an entire teaspoon of that from a 120-pound Rottweiler. Yes, loads of fun.

Giving Powder Medication to Dogs

Powder medicine is probably the toughest medication to give dogs, especially bitter tasting formulas. If your dog is able to eat regular food and has no known allergies or digestive issues, then cottage cheese is the best food to hide powder medicine! Cottage cheese is strong smelling with a great consistency for mixing in powders. Depending on the amount of powdered medication, I add a bit of cottage cheese first, then mix in the meds. Add additional cottage cheese until the powder is no longer visible. For example, I mix one teaspoon of powdered medicine with one tablespoon of cottage cheese.

If your dog has allergies or digestive issues, mix the powder with a canned version of prescription dog food. Some canned food lack moisture, so mix in a tiny amount of water until the mixture is the consistency of porridge.

I highly recommend giving powder medications separate from meals, meaning medication isn’t mixed in with their regular meals. I usually give my dogs their medicine porridge and then feed their meals, as most medications should be given with food.

Bitter Tasting Medications

If your dog refuses to eat her med porridge, drizzle a bit of honey all over the top just enough to provide a sweet taste. Most dogs will gobble it right up. Plus, honey is healthy for dogs. For diabetic, allergic and digestive issue-prone dogs, add more canned dog food to the medicine mixture. This will cancel out the bitter taste.

Giving Liquid Medication to Dogs

An easy way to give liquid medicine to your dog is by hiding it. Again, I recommend my favorite, good old cottage cheese to hide liquid medicine. 🙂 Yogurt is also good, but it’s a bit runny. For dogs with allergies or digestive issues, mash canned prescription food in a bowl. Then, whisk in liquid medication. Most dogs will lap it right up.

WATCH: Tips on Giving Dogs Medicine: Powder or Liquid

Food Puzzles For Dogs

December 22, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dog Food Puzzles

Food Puzzles for Dogs — Feed meals from a food puzzle instead of a bowl.

Is your dog eating out of a food bowl still? Try using food puzzles instead. This extends meal times to 15-20 minutes while providing mental stimulation. What does this all mean? A tired dog! 🙂 Give food puzzles for dogs a try. You’ll thank me.

What is a Food Puzzle?

Food puzzles for dogs have become all the rage lately, but why? Food puzzles not only feed and reward dogs, but they also make dogs think, which exercises their brains. We all know how mentally tired we are after solving a complex issue. Well same goes for dogs. Plus, the “use it or lose it”saying applies to dogs’ brains too even for senior dogs.

Every morning, dogs wake up with a full tank of energy. We need to find ways to burn their excessive energy or they will find their own way. Food puzzles work perfectly. Feed morning meals in the bathroom while you’re getting ready for work. Feed evening meals while you’re cooking or eating dinner. Most dogs need a nap afterwards.

Choosing a Food Puzzle

Food puzzles range from plastic to wooden, and both have their pros and cons. Plastic is super easy to clean; wooden food puzzle toys work best for dogs with sensitivities to plastic.

As a general rule, choose an easy food puzzle for novice puzzle solvers. If it’s too hard, most dogs will give up. My favorites are Kyjen Dog Feeder and Green Interactive Feeder by Northmate. Again, as with anything, each has its pros and cons. Kyjen works great if your dog eats a raw diet. It’s easy to clean with less nooks and crannies for bacteria to grow. Also, this toy works really great for impatient eaters, as dogs are less likely to tip over the toy. Green Interactive Feeders work great for dogs with medium to long muzzles, are super easy to sprinkle kibble between the grass blades and are easy to clean.

For food puzzle wizards, give Nina Ottosson’s puzzle games a try. They vary in difficulty depending on your dog’s experience. Some of her food puzzles can hold a dog’s entire meal while others need to be refilled as needed. Either way, your dog will have a blast!

Does your dog inhale his food? Try food puzzles!

WATCH: Feeding Your Dog With Food Puzzles

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How to Cure Your Dog’s Upset Stomach

December 19, 2014 by Fanna Easter

Dog Upset Stomach Treatment

Sobek, my 2-year-old Rottweiler, has an upset stomach. Diarrhea and discomfort have periodically reared their ugly heads for two weeks now. I want to share his story, as the Internet is filled with conflicting information on dog upset stomach.

Dog Upset Stomach Symptoms

The first dog upset stomach symptom was discomfort. Sobek seemed restless, and it began instantly. Within 12 hours, his stool became cow pie-ish with mucus, but no blood. While his stool wasn’t too alarming, his noxious gas and behavior were worrying me. He was in pain. I had to take action: give my dog a bland diet.

What to Give a Dog With an Upset Stomach

Immediately, I began a bland diet to relieve painful bloating and loose stools.

Bland Diet Recipe for Dogs With an Upset Stomach

For my 118-lb dog, I fed him this every day:

6 baked skinless chicken breasts
2 cups white rice
½ can pumpkin

Before we began my dog’s bland diet, I fasted him for 12 hours, which worked best overnight. The next morning, he was fed his daily ration, but split into five smaller meals, which helped calm his upset stomach.

Usually, giving my dogs a bland diet for an upset stomach would stop intestinal issues in their tracks. This time, it was only somewhat holding back symptoms (loose stool and some gas). The main dog tummy issue was still lurking, so I reached for supplements.

Slippery Elm for Dog Upset Stomach

Supplements help, but be careful of OTC medications, such as Pepto or Imodium. They can provide a false sense of wellness. While both medications relieve intestinal spasms, providing a firmer stool, they can make conditions worse if your dog has an intestinal infection.

Try slippery elm for dogs instead. I purchased organic slippery elm powder, which worked pretty well for my dog’s upset stomach. The bark from slippery elm trees coat, lubricate and soothe an inflamed digestive tract, which reduces pain and gas.

Reviews stated powder medicine provided quicker pain relief than capsules. Following the slippery elm dosage recommendation from Dogs Naturally Magazine’s article “The Soothing Qualities of Slippery Elm,” I combined 3 teaspoons with hot water. Once I added water, the slippery elm powder turned into a thick custard consistency, which Sobek refused to swallow. To motivate him, I stirred in ½ teaspoon of yogurt and he quickly inhaled his flavored slippery elm porridge.

Within an hour, he finally rolled over on his side and slept. He snored for two hours straight. One thing about slippery elm for dogs is it’s best to supplement several times a day—usually three hours after a meal. Give medication first and wait 30 minutes to an hour. Then, provide slippery elm, as this supplement can prevent complete digestion of certain medications or foods.

When to Seek Help

While I was able to hold back Sobek’s nasty tummy demon bug with a bland diet and slippery elm, I wasn’t able to completely squash it, so we scheduled a vet visit. I brought in a stool sample, and our vet confirmed it was filled with mucus. They sent his stool sample to rule out giardia, which is a nasty protozoa found in stagnate water or animal feces.

Final verdict for the upset stomach: Colitis, which is an inflammation of the large intestine and colon. Cause is unknown, but the giardia test was negative. He took metronidazole for five days and his continued bland diet did the trick!

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