Dog Food, Feeding and Behaviour

Does diet have anything do do with dog behaviour problems? Many trainers and behaviourist have been tearing their hair out over this question..... Why are some dogs absolutely happy on some dog foods and others seem hyper or bitey or skinny or even perhaps aggressive? Is high protein good or bad? Are carbohydrates good or bad? Are additives good or bad?

Well, ever since I first realised that food feeds the brain, I've been studying the topic of canine nutrition and trying to unravel the question on whether food affects behaviour.

Is diet part of the equation?

As time and studies progressed, it has become clear that every dog is an individual and some appear to be affected by some ingredients in food and some don't.

Many dogs are happy eating just anything. But, when dealing with behaviour or training problems, or indeed, health problems, it just seems sensible to look at the big picture and to look at the ingredients in the dog's food - whether that's manufactured food or a home made diet. Analysing the ingredients can provide information on whether food is more or less likely to be part of the problem.

The Good Dog Diet is a book that allows readers to answer these questions by themselves. Most books on canine nutrition simply tell you what to do. Sure, they cover some of the basics of canine nutrition, but they may be written from a particular stand point: either by food manufacturers or by those who feel that all manufactured food is wrong, and feed home prepared foods - raw of cooked.

This book is unbiased. It provides the pure knowledge on what food is and how it is digested. In doing so, it helps to dispel some of the myths, and helps lead to clearer answers. Consider for instance, a thought held by some, that fat is more easily digested by dogs than people. This is a myth that has developed probably due to the fact that dogs don't appear to suffer quite so much from clogged arteries as we do. However, the actual process of fat digestion is the same for dogs and humans. The reasons behind the health problems are not due simply to digestion.

The book continues on to looking at the variety of causes of behaviour problems and therefore allows the reader to judge whether diet should be questioned. Nutritional balance is key, and nutritional imbalance is as important as the quality of food fed. Insufficiencies or excesses of vitamins and minerals and of the major nutrients can cause all sorts of health and behavioural problems.

So, if you're looking at dog behavioural problems or are concerned about your dog's health, then have a read at The Good Dog Diet, and be happy with your dog food decisions.

www.TheGoodDogDiet.com
Author : Anna Patfield

Behavioural Calming Aids

When our dogs are anxious or scared of something, many of us turn to some form of drug for help. Many of course don’t, and are really reluctant to use any form of medication.

However, there are many different options for us nowadays: herbal pills, treats with added calming ingredients, nutritional supplements, pheromone therapy, plug ins, collars, clinical medication, homeopathy and Bach flower remedies.  There are also calming aids such as the Thunder Shirt, the Canine Lullaby CD, and Calming Caps.

Generally we’ll try something because a friend has said that it works for their dog, or perhaps we’ve just come across it on the web. It’s all quite confusing, so I thought it might help to provide a wee summary of the options.

Herbal pills and calming treats: These have a variety of different herb mixes.  They are not all the same. It seems possible that one may be better suited to a particular situation than another. And it’s also possible that one dog will respond best to one or the other.

Nutritional Supplements: These are clinically active and tested ‘drugs’, correctly termed Nutraceuticals. They variously contain: the calming nutrients from milk, potatoes, some vitamins and proteins. The contents are based on food and are therefore considered natural and having fewer or no side effects.

Pheromone Therapy: There are devices that emit the same pheromones as a mother just after she’s given birth to her litter, providing a similar feeling of safety. There is a plug in device, a spray and a collar. Cats and dogs need different pheromones.

Medication: There are a number of different products, obviously only available though your vet.  These can help by working on the brain chemistry to provide a more relaxed state of mind.

Homeopathy & Bach Flower Remedies: These are said to work on the holistic emotion, mood and character of the animal. Many people would pick up a standard product, perhaps thinking that it works for all. It may well be that it would help, but the recommendation is to determine the right mix for your individual pet and situation.

The Thundershirt is a jacket that’s designed to fit snuggly and provide the dog with a feeling of security. It was originally devised for helping with fireworks fear but can help in many other circumstances, including travel problems.

And the Canine Lullaby concept is based on a regular heart beat rhythm combined with calming music to relax the dog.

So how can you choose? Do you just pick one and hope for the best. Many times people call me for help, saying that they’ve tried everything. Some will say that they’ve tried all these pills and things and nothing has worked. Others will only have tried some training measures.

Generally the problem with trying ‘everything’ is the scattergun approach. Too many random things have been tried. What works best, is a logically thought through, consistent, step-by-step program.

This then is where the calming aids above are of most benefit. It is generally believed that all these products work best in conjunction with behaviour therapy.

My recommendation therefore would be to speak with your vet or behaviourist. They will be able to determine which, if any, product is most likely to work and when and how to help you towards a quicker result, with less frustration along the way.

Copyright by Author : Anna Patfield

First published in the Northern Times, May 2014

For further information and help, please look at www.pawsability.co.uk or email anna@pawsability.co.uk

How to choose your behaviourist or trainer

 Even as little as just 10 years ago, if you had problem with your dogs behaviour, then you’d probably just find the local dog training club, or perhaps ask your vet for help.

Nowadays, dog behaviour has become a profession, with new education courses and qualification options being advertised on line and in all the dog magazines. Who knows whether Victoria Stillwell or Cesar Milan have done more to promote the desire to join the merry band of dog lovers who believe that they can help you fix your dog behaviour problems.

Sadly, just a few months ago, I was asked to help a lovely couple that were just about to have a baby and had 2 problematic puppies. They realised that the dogs were going to be handful shortly after they came home and tried to find some help. Their story follows.

They went to the behaviourist’s training location to talk about biting, jumping, house training problems, separation problems, chewing problems and problem with one of the dogs constantly biting and fighting the other puppy.  They were asked a few questions then the person got down his hands and knees and tried to get one of the puppies to walk beside him as he crawled. An attempt at heel work. Nothing else was addressed.

Six months later, with no progress, much stress, and many of the problems having become worse, they contacted me. We now had only 6 weeks before the baby was due.

I’m sorry, but I have to say that I felt just awful that this lovely couple put their faith in someone proclaiming to be a behaviourist. With such poor service, how would they think anything other than that all behaviourists may be the same. Now I’m not magical, nor am I arrogant, so I’m not saying that I could fix all these problems in 6 months so that the puppies were perfect when the baby was born. However, I do know that they would have been in a much better place had the problems not been allowed to develop.

There are so many other situations similar to this, such as when people have been told to use a choke chain or pin their dogs or ignore them when they come home. All of these approaches simply serve to make the problem worse. They are dangerous. They hurt. And most importantly, they do nothing to teach your dog what you want, and they certainly do nothing to improve how your dog feels about life.

So how can a pet owner figure out whom they can trust? Despite what may be published on any web site - there is no regulatory body, and probably never will be.

Well, your vet is probably the best place to start. They should have a list of qualified and experienced behaviourists that they work with. Alternatively yes, look on line, but look at the qualifications that your prospective behaviourist has. Then go there and check up on the details of the qualification. I’m not saying that your behaviourist needs a degree. Far from it. But there’s a raft of difference between a 4 week on-line course, and qualifications that are regulated through a board such as OfQual – the government’s official education / qualifications regulator. 

Have a look here to find out more about the types of qualifications that your behaviourist should have – www.COAPE.org

And have a look here to find a COAPE qualified and trusted behaviourist – www.CAPBT.org.

If you’re in any doubt at all about someone you’ve found, I’d be very happy to check things out for you – no matter where you live.

You can contact the author – Anna Patfield – at http://www.pawsability.co.uk.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Dog Training

I was just reminded of this recently - after writing about - Stop Stopping, Start Doin. It was originally posted in 2014 (gee where does the time go...) after reading an article called The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Business Web Sites by 'That Wordy Bird', thank you!

...which made me think about:




The Seven Deadly Sins of Dog Training! 

1. Start Late

2. Don't do your homework

3. Only practice in 1 place

4. Don't mix business with pleasure

5. Work too hard

6. Pay too much

7. Use Punishment.

Hey, I thought I'd just leave the list like that. It certainly makes amusing reading as a list. But just in case this is taken the wrong way - remember, these are the 7 Deadly Sins. The only thing you'll guarantee if you followed that list would be that you'd certainly need a behaviourist for your 18 month old mad puppy.

Now, that would perhaps mean more business heading toward our Pawsability Dog Behaviourist, but it wouldn't be very useful for you, now, with your new puppy.

So, let's revisit the list again.

1. Start Late

Traditional dog trainers said that puppies couldn't be trained until they were 6 months old. That's a lot of brain time to learn bad habits. Puppies are perfectly trainable using modern reward based methods at 3 weeks of age, and certainly at 7 weeks old when you get them home from the breeder. Start teaching your puppy how to sit and that it's good to come to you as soon as you get them home. You'll be hard-wiring the training, and it will put you in a good place with later learning.

2. Don't do your homework

Many people take their puppies to class and come home and think that's it til next week! Go on - be honest! Well practice makes perfect and just a couple of minutes a few times a day, practicing your kind, rewarding training will make you the star of the class and the dog-park.

3. Only practice in 1 place

Something else that's often overlooked is that practice is only done in the class and in the living room. Sadly, puppies and dogs just don't learn that way. They need to be taught what it is that you want them to do, in many different places. So practice in the house, but in various different rooms, and then in the garden, then a different place in the garden, and in the dog park, the woods and the beach.

4. Don't mix business with pleasure

Dogs just want to have fun. So really mix up play time with training time. Play fetch, and throw in some sits and downs before the next fetch. And have fun out on walks by keeping your dog or puppy engaged with you, by doing random recalls, sits, and downs. Give your dog a reason to pay you attention when they're out and about. Otherwise they'll just find a way to amuse themselves.

5. Work too hard

Training a pet dog or puppy is best worked on for a few minutes several times a day. Setting aside an hour in the evening will most likely put you and your dog off the training excitement and fun. Fitting it into your every day life, whilst the kettles on, a minute before dinner, 2 minutes when out on a walk, takes up no time at all. What's great too is that randomly throwing wee bits of training in throughout the day helps build your dog's responsiveness to you, and his enjoyment from working with you. Training sessions that go on too long end up with a tired you and a tired dog. Always end whilst you both still want more.

6. Pay too much

Think about the value of your training treats. Use high value yummy treats when your dog is working hard, and a lesser value treat when they're not working so hard. e.g. kibble dog food treats in the living room should be fine, and perhaps tasty liver based treats are needed in the dog park. If you're using a high value treat in the living room, you have nothing left to raise the game value outside.


7. Use Punishment.

It goes without saying that physical punishment is bad - choke chains, pinning and pinch collars are just plain wrong. However, punishment is really also any time you tell your dog or puppy off. For instance, the best way to stop a retriever puppy retrieving is to tell them off when they bring your socks or pants to you. Instead, tell them they're good and encourage them to drop them in the laundry basket (if they can reach it)! If you find yourself telling your puppy or dog off, then take a step back and think - how are they managing to do that? How can I prevent it? If you're working on a training exercise, and they're getting it wrong all the time, then stop! Think about how your training could change so that your dog always gets it right. Ask for less? Be more clear with your signals? Ask for only 1 thing at a time? Use a higher value reward? Use a toy instead of a treat?


For help on training specific tasks such as recall or heel, please have a look at the author's web site - www.pawsability.co.uk

Go here to get helpful tips and advice direct to your mailbox

And avoid sinful dog training by working on these simple dog training guides:
How to stop a dog pulling
How to stop a dog barking
How to build a perfect recall

Anna Patfield

1-1 Dog Training Inverness and the Highlands

Training your dog is important. It's not just about ordering your dog about. It's about helping your dog or puppy to understand you. Once they understand you and you understand them, then your life with your dog will be much happier.

Many people think that puppy training shouldn't start until about 6 months. That's a really old fashioned way of thinking about dog training, and means that training starts after lots of bad habits have been learned. So, not only does your dog need to learn what to do, they also need to unlearn things too - you know how difficult that is!

Pawsability Dog Training is not about training your dog. Well of course that features highly. But would it not be just great if you learned "how to talk to your dog".

Training Classes are great, provided that they use modern methods of learning - reward based training. And provided that your dog is coping in that environment and not being stressed out and provided that you're not going home stressed out too.

Really the best place to train your dog is in a peaceful environment, away from other dogs and distractions. As your dog learns things, then gradually you can start to introduce distractions into the training, to help them to progress with learning.

A 2 hour 1-1 Dog Training session is about educating you, to help you to really understand what you're doing, and to put you in a good position to be able to train by yourself - but also to get more out of the classes that you're going to. If you've already got the basics well practiced, then the socialisation aspects of classes will work far better for you.

The sessions generally cover

• How your dog learns
• How to teach your dog a task
• How to practice that task
• How to progress 

The most common training problems such as

• jumping up
• pulling on the lead
• ignoring you

can all be dealt with. Once your understand the Dog Training Cycle, it will all become clear and you really will be able to 'Talk Dog"

So, please just call Anna on 01863 760004 to set up your dog training education session. Your private session starts from only £25 in the Ardgay Pet Behaviour Centre. All dogs from Inverness to Golspie can benefit from 1-1 training.

Anna does also travel down to Inverness, Dingwall etc, and across to Aberdeen, so may well be able to fit you in for a home visit.

For more information and help with your dog training, please have a look at the web site

How to train your difficult dog

A thought occurred to me this morning as I was practicing guitar. I'm just learning, and it's really quite difficult. I have some great tutors tho including web coach guru  justinguitar.com and folk legend Dave Goulder, and Jas Smith not to mention all the other incidentals that happen to cross my path when learning tunes or at concerts / sessions  / practicing with friends  etc... (many thanks all)

Anyhow, that's not particularly important.....

Here's what is.

Many people have problems getting their dogs to "just get it" and can't figure out why.

Well - have a think about it this way - when was to last time your taught yourself something - or tried to learn something? Cooking? Cake decorating? Music? Golf? a Language? or had to speak in public?

We dog trainers say - dog's don't learn the same way that we do - they need lots of practice in lots of different places. I've used the phrase myself.

This morning, it just occurred to me that my thoughts are flawed.

For me, playing something on the guitar inside the comfort of my own home, is completely different from sitting in the pub folk session, plucking up the courage to play and sing! in front of a (albeit very friendly and patient) - small - crowd. It's tense. It's anxious. Fingers trip over themselves. Words come out muddled and fuddled. Sweaty palms. Heart racing..... (well hi local friends, that's how most of the aaamms team feel - you know that.... well you do now....LOL). Actually it doesn't even need a crowd - just a different place really makes it feel different.

So, why should a dog - especially one that gets emotional in some circumstances - whether that's excitement or fear aggression - be any different? (Yes, they're emotional when they're barking lunging, cowering - no they're not just being bad or naughty!)

It's very very difficult to overcome emotional surges and be able to think straight and act calmly.

Learning progresses best with
- tons of simple repetition - sit/stand/sit/stand (or for guitar - C/D/C/D/C/D)
- then add in one friend - overcome that embarrassment
- then 2 friends
- then go somewhere else and practice the same thing
- then add in 1 new factor, like another new friend, or another place
- and all within your coping levels - ah now am I talking guitar or dog training now....

see - what's the difference?

How well do you need to know something - a speech? a joke? a tune? a language? before you can 'perform' in public?

So to help with your dog training, have a think about that the next time your dogs having difficulty walking nicely on the lead past a cyclist or another dog or person, or even sitting.....

more thoughts and ponderings to come along as they strike me :O)

Happy training......

How to keep your dogs teeth clean and healthy

When was the last time you checked your dog's teeth? Teeth harbour infection and may well cause all sorts of medical problems, as your dog ages.

It's easy to ignore brushing your dogs teeth because when they're young, they seem to manage to keep their teeth sparkling. But when was the last time you looked?

The only way to keep your dogs teeth clean and keep them healthy into old age is to brush them every day from a young age. If you don't , tartar will build up and by the time they're 6 you may well be looking at having to have their teeth scraped and cleaned by the vet; an expensive operation usually, as the dog needs to be anaesthetised.

Prevention - Puppy Teeth cleaning.

During the early socialisation and training phase, get your puppy used to the feeling of getting her teeth brushed by firstly using just your finger, and then moving onto a wee finger toothbrush, or small sized dog tooth brush. Don't bother with tooth past at this stage, you're just getting your puppy used to the process. Do this just for a few seconds each day.

NB - if you're puppy prefers to bite and nip you instead of sitting still, don't be forceful. Remember that you're trying to build up a nice experience for them. Ask your behaviourist or trainer for help if you're struggling.

Gradually build this up and then when they're adult teeth are in and grown, you can start to use the tiniest amount of tooth paste. Please note that this has to be dog tooth paste. There are several flavours out there including beef and chicken. Why not ask your vet nurse for a wee trial at teeth brushing to see what flavour your puppy prefers.

Fixing plaqued up teeth.

The first thing to do really is to contact your vet for advice here - to see how bad the problem is, and whether they feel that it's fixable without scaling.

There are remedial products such as tooth gel and plaque off that can significantly improve the state of your dog's teeth. If you use these to kind of loosen the plaque and then use a nylon bone like a nylabone or dentease bone, then that will further help to remove the plaque.

In addition, however you want to start to brush your dogs teeth on a daily basis. You might need to start to accustom them to this as per the puppy teeth cleaning guide above. Then build up to a daily brushing regime.

There's more information here on how to keep your dog's teeth clean.