Parsley: foil foul breath with this nutritious addition to your dog’s food

I’m excited to share something new that I recently learned! 

Not long ago I was sitting on the floor with Leopold, giving him a head massage and rubbing his ears, when he decided to give me kisses.  ….Stinky, smelly, eau de dead-animal, rotten kisses.  Bleh!

We’ve been putting up with bad doggy breath around this house for a while, but it was then that I decided to finally try something I had read about a while ago in a book: adding a little parsley to a dog’s food is said to help fight bad breath! (I’ve heard it works on humans, too).

We’ve been putting parsley on Leopold and Halo’s food off and on for the past week or so.  Every time we put parsley on their food, their breath is noticeably better!  And their breath goes back to being kind of stinky the times we forget to add parsley.  The parsley seems to be a bad-breath-exterminating success!

In addition to now being able to withstand being in the same room with my dogs when they yawn, I can also feel good about adding some extra nutrients to their food.  Parsley is a source of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, and iron.  Some think that it may even help prevent cancer! 

I plan on making parsley a daily addition to my dogs’ meals from now on!

Reference:

Brown, Andi.  Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats.  New York: Celestial Arts, Crown Publishing Group, Random House, Inc, 2006. Print.

Eleanor and Milo: an online store that sells unique, eco-friendly dog toys!

Leopold as a puppy playing with toys from Eleanor and Milo!

When I first got Leopold, I bought a plethora of different types of toys because I wasn’t sure what he would be interested in playing with.  Some of the first toys I got for him were purchased from a small online business called Eleanor and Milo.  The business owner, Kate Butler, is a dog enthusiast with a creative soul and the skills to actualize her ideas and designs.  The dog toys and accessories she sells are all high-quality, one of a kind, and are hand-made from reclaimed fabrics.
I truly love the toys she makes (and so does Leopold!).  The toys are durable, delightful, chewable pieces of art!  And the cherry on top is that they’re also eco-friendly. 

Leopold has many toys from Eleanor and Milo and they are among his favorite toys.  I love watching the joy he gets from throwing around his stuffed ball or his toss toys.

To help you get to know Kate and her business a little better, I’ve included a short interview:

L- How did you get started making dog toys?

K- I have always been a maker. I have combined my passion for sustainability with my endless need to make things for as long as I can remember; early on that looked more like sculptures made of found metal, plants, handmade papers and woven vines. However, through getting a degree in Industrial Design, I developed a more holistic understanding of product research, manufacturing methodologies, and bringing a product to market. Eleanor and Milo began with my desire to dip my toe into that world… and I’ll be honest… my desire to have a GIANT box of toys for my dogs.

L- Why do you make them?

K- I make Eleanor and Milo dog toys because I love the idea of creating a product that will result in a tail wag… and maybe even a smile. When I hang out with my two dogs their joy and openheartedness is contagious. I find that one of the best ways to open my own heart is to interact with them - with intention and caring - and that giving them toys and treats is one way to do this. It’s just so good for everyone involved.
On a personal level, I adore spending time in my studio, behind my humming industrial sewing machine, with my dogs on the floor behind me and my music blaring in the background while I piece together one of a kind toys and accessories.

    L- How do you make them--what sort of qualities are you going for?  

    K- Simple – Sustainable – Fun
    Every toy is made with at least two layers – sometimes more – of heavy-duty repurposed upholstery fabric, and then stuffed with re-purposed strips of fabric and a squeaker protected in its own denim pouch. Every single seam is sewn with upholstery grade threads and an industrial sewing machine. I like to use pretty simple construction methods for both the simple aesthetics and because in general the fewer seams the stronger the toy is.

L- Where do you get the materials?

K- Every material in Eleanor and Milo toys, besides the thread and squeakers, is up cycled or reclaimed. The upholstery grade thread I use is made in the US. The majority of my upholstery fabrics are –unused– remnants from the furniture manufacturing industry in High Point, NC. For exciting fabrics, denim for the squeakers, and jersey for the cowls I have two local thrift stores that I frequent. Both thrift stores amazingly donate their profits to animal organizations. And then on top of that I donate 5% of all proceeds from the toys to Independent Animal Rescue each year.

Leopold tries to play with all the toys at once!

L- And is there anything else you might want people to know about your awesome toys?

K- My primary focus with Eleanor and Milo is to offer adorable toys and accessories that have a super small eco-footprint and encourage joy and lighthearted play. I think of each toy as a gift to both the people that order them and the pup that gets to play with them so, I gift wrap each toy in 100% recycled tissue and kraft paper then add a simple ribbon and note. I adore making Eleanor and Milo products, and hope that people continue to discover these toys and share them with others. Thanks!!

If you’re interested in purchasing some of Kate’s amazing toys for your own dog, check out her Etsy store front! I'd also like to mention that Kate does custom work, so if you don't see what you want, make an inquiry: click "request custom item" under shop info.

“Raisin” Awareness: A common food you might not have known is potentially toxic to your dog.

It seems a little random, I know, but did you know that grapes (and their dried counterpart, raisins) can be very harmful to dogs? I was surprised to find this out when I first got Leopold (and consequently delved into the world of dog knowledge!).

Grapes contain a toxin that can cause the kidneys to fail in some dogs, which will lead to death if untreated. This does not happen in all dogs and I’ve heard many stories about people who feed their dogs grapes all the time without observable consequences. I imagine that, just like humans, tolerance to certain foods varies from dog to dog. Unfortunately, some dogs have dangerous reactions to consuming grapes and raisins, and this fruit has been known to cause the untimely death of many canines. The risk is high enough that the general advice is to just not give your dog grapes and raisins at all.

What can happen if a dog eats grapes or raisins?
A dog might start to have some gastrointestinal upset including vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, and in some cases lethargy and depression. Following that, a dog’s kidneys can start to fail (acute renal failure). Renal failure is very serious and will lead to death if left untreated.

Why does this happen?
As someone who is forever interested in the mechanistic components involved in everything, I’ve been looking into what exactly it is about grapes that are bad. Unfortunately, like many topics I research online, information varies. On the boards, I found some that say it’s only the seed (“My vet told me…blah blah blah”), some say it’s the skin. Many published resources say it is an “unknown” toxin. Basically, they just don’t know yet what about the grape causes the problem. What IS known is that sometimes grapes can cause a dog to go into renal failure and die. Personally, I’d rather not take the risk and I don’t ever give my dogs grapes or raisins. The way I see it, there are lots of other yummy treats available (blueberries, for example) that are known to be safe and even healthy. So why risk it?

What should you do if your dog eats grapes or raisins?
Take them to the vet! Right away! I’ve seen more than a few dogs come into the emergency clinic because they ingested raisins or grapes. When we have a dog come in that has eaten grapes or raisins, we generally try to induce vomiting if the grapes/raisins have been eaten within the past few hours. We once had a pair come in that had gotten into some holiday cinnamon-raisin bread (which was particularly disgusting because the cinnamon made the vomit smell delicious. Bleh!). We also sometimes feed the dog a substance that soaks up any toxins that might still be in the dog’s gut, and we monitor blood chemistry to help evaluate kidney function.

Grapes may be a tasty treat for humans, but they’re best left out of your dog’s diet.

Reference:
McKnight, Katrina. (2005). "Grape and Raisin Toxicity in Dogs" (PDF). Veterinary Technician: 135–136. retrieved 06.25.2012

Humpty hump and canine hierarchy.

I was at the dog park today during a time when it was hopping!  (Literally, as there were some dogs so happy to play that they were hopping around!)

One reason I love going to the dog park, aside from the satisfaction of getting to see Leopold and Halo be so utterly free and happy, is that I get to talk to other owners.  Dogs really do bring all sorts of people together, which I love.  Today on two separate accounts I witnessed owners remark on the significance humping—both owners commenting on the sexuality involved in the act.  One was saying that she had her dog neutered recently so she figured he’d stop humping, and the other owner assumed it was a male hormone-related behavior.

Humping is actually a dominance-related behavior (unless, of course, there is actually mating going on…).  But under normal circumstance, the humping behavior is just one dog telling another that they’re “top dog”.  Even females partake in this declaration of doggy hierarchy.  Halo has humped Leopold on more than one occasion to assert her dominance.  Because this sort of humping has nothing to do with procreation, spaying and neutering isn’t going to stop the behavior.  Leopold was neutered before he was even ten weeks old; and he humped at least four dogs today at the dog park. 

Though, I should say he tried, as I shooed him off all the dogs he was attempting to assert his dominance over…  I, personally, don’t like my dogs to partake in that behavior for a couple reasons.  The first being that it’s a little embarrassing because, come on, my dog is humping someone else’s dog…. And some owners don’t understand what the behavior really means and instead think my dog is being inappropriate.  The other reason is that some dogs REALLY don’t like being humped and get very angry at any dog that tries.  From what I’ve seen, it seems like humping is a very insistent assertion of dominance, and some dogs really don’t respond well to that.  Leopold has made a couple of dogs angry this way, which is never good.

Interestingly, asserting dominance by humping isn’t just a canine behavior.  Rabbits also partake in the activity.  I was once bunny-sitting for some friends and witnessed it first hand.  The smaller, female rabbit asserted her dominance over the much larger male by humping his head.  Ha!  It was quite funny to watch because the female was so much smaller.

Whether you want to shoo your dog off of others is up to you, but it’s good to know the motivation behind the humping behavior—as some dog fights can start when one dog over-steps its bounds when trying to assert its dominance over another. 

Train your dog and keep your fingers, too! Tips on how to teach your dog to take a treat nicely.

When I was at the AASPCA today, some of the dogs I was working with had yet to learn how to take a treat nicely from a person’s hand. I figured it would make for a good topic to discuss right here on my blog.


The problem.

I’m reminded of an owner whom was in one of the classes I was helping with when I was training to become a pet training instructor at Petsmart. Whenever the owner would offer her (huge) dog a treat, the dog would lunge at the treat (and the owner’s hand). The owner would then basically drop the treat and snatch her hand back; it was very obvious that she didn’t feel comfortable offering her dog a food treat for fear the dog would accidentally eat a little bit of her hand in addition to the treat.

If this happens to you, then this is a great post for you to read! No owner should have to be afraid that their dog is going to accidentally bite their hand. When you’re training your dog, you want to be focusing on the training, not on the safety of your hands.
So if you have a dog that doesn’t take treats nicely, the first thing you need to do is stop trying to train your dog to do anything else! Let’s get this problem solved first. It shouldn’t take long.


Why do you need to take care of this problem now, rather than later?

Because every time your dog lunges for a treat and is successful at getting it, the dog has been rewarded for the lunging behavior and will only continue to repeat this bad behavior in the future! Ah! That’s not what we want!

So from now on, the rule is: dogs don’t get treats unless they take them nicely.


The solution.

The first thing I do is I make sure to hold the treat in the flat of my hand—I sort of hold it between the sides of a couple of fingers. When I do eventually let the dog have the treat, I give it to them with the flat of my hand towards their face. I’ve found that this leads to fewer incidents of accidentally bitten fingers due merely to the fact that they can’t fit their mouth around my hand when it’s in this position.

The next thing I do is offer a treat slowly. As soon as I see the dog start to lunge for the treat, I pull my hand away. They know the treat is in my hand and will learn that the longer they hold still, the closer the treat gets to their face (dog: “yay!”) and closer to their mouth (dog: “yay!”). And eventually they’ll learn that when they sit still and don’t lunge, they actually get to eat the yummy treat. (dog: “YAY!”).

When I finally do give the treat to the dog, I prefer to (gently) pop it in their mouth instead of letting them take it from my hand (some dogs are just a little too rough with their teeth when they try to take the treat themselves).

My dogs both take treats very nicely these days (I’ve even had people comment on how nicely they take treats), and it’s because I follow this simple rule: dogs only get treats if they take them nicely!

the Star Spinner toy for dogs: good for slowing down fast eaters!

I’m always looking for new toys to help keep my dogs’ minds active. I recently tried a toy called a Star Spinner Dog Toy Puzzle.

What is the Star Spinner?
The Star Spinner is a toy that is advertised as “a brain workout for your dogs”. It has two star-shaped levels of five chambers on each level. The levels spin, the idea being that the dog has to work spin the levels to expose treats or food that you put inside the chambers. Difficulty can be changed by tightening the spinning mechanism so that it’s harder to make the levels spin.
I’ve been using it for Halo at meal time. I fill the chambers with her kibble and let her go at it.

My opinion of this toy.
In terms of mentally stimulating a dog, this toy is on the right track, but I don’t actually think it does a good job of keeping a dog mentally entertained for any length of time. It’s way too easy to figure out.
In terms of difficulty, the instructions say “Continue to challenge your dog by adding more treats inside more chambers”. I do not agree with this. The makers also tried to give the toy different levels of difficulty w/ the tightening mechanism, which is a good design element, but it doesn’t actually make the game more mentally challenging. It makes it more physically challenging, encouraging the dog to scratch at the toy more.
It’s the overall design that makes this puzzle too easy. As soon as the chambers are revealed on a level, they’re all revealed and the game is over for that level. There are only two levels, so the game ends quickly. Halo, who really isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, figured out this puzzle very quickly. It only takes her a couple of minutes, even on the “difficult” setting, to get at all of her food.
I think it would be better if some of the chambers became covered at the same time as some of the chambers were opened. I also wish it had at least one more level, maybe even two. Additionally, I wish it was a domestic product (it’s made in China and I prefer to buy domestic products if I can).
I think this toy has a good foundational idea, but the design needs some work if they want to be able to honestly advertise it as “a brain workout for your dogs”.

A good use for this toy.
While I don’t think this toy is particularly successful at being a mentally-stimulating toy, I do think it does a good job of slowing down a dog that tends to almost inhale their food because they’re eating so fast. Halo scarfs her food down as quickly as possible, and this toy did a good job of slowing down her eating a bit.



the star spinner in action!  :

Walkin' Easy with the Easy Walk Harness

Walking your dog is an easy enough concept.  But I’ve learned that going for a walk with your dog is not the same thing as going for a pleasant walk with your dog. 

Most dogs do not know how to walk nicely on a leash at first.  It takes time for them to learn and there are many things you, as an owner, can do to help your dog on his path to walking nicely on a leash.  Ultimately, what a dog really needs is training, but how can you train your dog if you can’t control him to begin with?—this is of particular concern for large, powerful dogs. 

Leopold and Halo are large dogs.  They’re not gigantic, but together they weigh more than I do.  That’s a lot of pulling power—and their strength gives them the potential to pull me all over town if they wanted to.  But they don’t.  If I’m walking the dogs by myself, I take them both out at the same time and we all go for a pleasant walk together.  So how do I manage?

One key to my success in walking two large dogs at once lies in the type of restraint I use: the Easy-Walk Harness.

I was first introduced to the Easy-Walk harness years ago when I was volunteering at a humane society in Madison, WI.  Easy-walk harnesses were pretty standard at the shelter because of their humane-ness and effectiveness.  The clever Easy-Walk harnesses allowed all volunteers to manage dogs of any size.

What is an Easy Walk harness?

an Easy Walk Harness

First, I’ll tell you what its NOT.  It is not a regular harness:  On a regular harness, the leash attaches to a ring somewhere on the back.  In terms of physically restraining and controlling your dog, these normal types of harnesses are the worst thing you could possibly put on your dog because they actually make it easier for a dog to pull their owner around.  When the dog pulls, its entire strength is “caught” by the harness, the force of which then transfers to the back, which is attached to a leash, which is attached to you.  Regular harnesses, while they prevent choking, are best used on dogs that have already learned how to walk nicely on a leash.  They are for trained dogs.

The easy-walk harness, however, is a great tool to help you maintain control of your dog so that you can successfully work on training.

The trick of the Easy-Walk is that the leash attaches to a ring on a loop on the chest.  (I’ve seen knock-off brands that have a similar design; but they don’t use a loop—and the loop is key!).

How does an Easy Walk harness work?

It was explained to me by staff at the humane society years ago that the easy walk harness works so well because of the loop.  When a dog pulls, the loop pulls the two sides of the harness together at the chest, which causes a bit of constriction.  The dog’s movements are restricted just enough that it can’t continue pulling so hard.  The manufacturer (Premier) claims that the Easy Walk works by causing gentle pressure across the chest and shoulders that steers your dog to the side and thereby redirects its attention back towards you.  Whatever the reason, the Easy Walk Harness works.  And from my experience, it seems to work better the bigger the dog is (I think this has to do with the angle that the loop is being pulled).

I’ve tried many different kinds of restraint devices including regular harnesses, gentle leaders, choke chains, and prong collars.  Nothing I’ve found works as well as the Easy Walk Harness.

At this point my dogs are trained to walk nicely on a leash and normally don’t actually need physical restraint anymore.  However, I still like to use Easy-Walk harnesses because occasionally they decide it’s important to chase a bird or enthusiastically greet another dog, and they are difficult for me to control (especially both of them at once) without the harnesses on.

If you're interested in trying out an Easy Walk harness, I've seen them sold in most pet stores.  I would recommend actually taking the harness out of its package while still in the store and trying it on your dog.  Most pet stores are ok with you doing this and will probably even help you get the fit right.

The easiest way to get one of these things on.

The ins and Outs of an Easy Walk 

Getting a dog into and out of an Easy Walk is very confusing for people at first.  I’d like to give a few tips to help make it easier. 

First, leave all the clips shut except the one that goes under the belly (the manufacturers have cleverly used a different color of webbing for the strap that goes on the belly for the user’s convenience).

 

If you only unclip the belly strap, the loop that’s left is the one you slip over your dog’s head.  Hold onto the strap that does not attach to the leash and slip it over your dog’s head.  Then reach under and behind the legs to clip the belly strap on. 

I keep my hand under the clip so I don't pinch my dogs' skin.

Be careful not to clip your dog’s sensitive armpit skin in the harness!  We’ve accidentally done this to both dogs (poor Leopold and Halo!), so now I like to keep my hand between the clip and my dog’s skin when I snap it shut.

You may notice in my photos that Leopold's Easy Walk harnesses look a bit different from ones you’d see in the store.  I’ve added some fleece to areas of the harness that were rubbing his fur off.

Want to get started walking your own dog with an Easy Walk Harness?  I've seen them for sale at most major pet stores, or you can get them from amazon.com here: PetSafe Easy Walk Harness for Dogs  Most pet stores allow you to take the harness out of the box to fit it to your dog; when I worked at Petsmart, we would help customers fit the harness to their dog right there in the store to make sure it was the correct size before they purchased it.  If you get the harness online, refer to the size chart on the product page.

Happy walking!



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