Excessive Barking

By: Drs. J. Michelle Posage & Amy Marder

Excessive barking is a common canine behavior problem that can lead to sleepless nights for the dog owners, frustration, angry neighbors, legal action and even eviction. For the dog, this behavior can lead to abandonment, abuse by neighbors or owners, or even euthanasia.

However, most barking dogs are not behaving abnormally. Rather, they are responding to an environmental stimulus and/or displaying normal alerting behavior. Some breeds tend to bark more than others. Whining and howling often accompany barking.

To solve a problem with barking, a definite cause for the behavior must be sought and addressed. Barking is a sign of a problem, not a diagnosis. There are many reasons why dogs bark excessively. Some of these include:

Separation anxiety: Dogs that become anxious when separated from their owners often bark or make other noises. They may also become destructive or eliminate in the home. The barking usually begins at or shortly after the owner's departure, and may be continuous or intermittent for up to several hours. This type of barking only occurs in the owner's absence, and is usually predictable.

Reaction to specific stimuli: Some dogs bark in response to certain exciting stimuli, such as delivery people, loose dogs or cats, squirrels or unfamiliar noises. This type of barking may be merely an arousal response or a combination of alerting, protective and fearful behaviors. Unlike dogs with separation anxiety, these dogs bark despite the owner's presence, and the barking stops when the stimulus is removed. This type of barking may be self-reinforcing. For example, take the dog that barks at the approach of a postal carrier: That person leaves after dropping off the mail, but the dog believes his barking caused the person to leave, thus emboldening him to do it again. Dogs will also bark as part of a chain reaction: one dog barks at something and others join in.

My 13yr old dog Neko has increased his barking episodes in relation to his loss of sight & hearing!

Why Do Dogs Bury Bones?

By: Virginia Wells

Why do dogs bury bones in the ground? Because they can't bury them in trees! You may have heard that old chestnut, but in reality, burying bones is a serious business for dogs that is driven by heredity and instinct.

To understand why your dog buries his bones, even though you feed him twice a day, you have to understand his nature. You can do this by looking at your dog's genetic heritage. Although dogs have been around for millions of years, they have only been domesticated for a few thousand years, and they spent a lot of time developing behaviors that helped them to survive.

One of the most important behaviors had to do with finding and maintaining an adequate food supply. Being carnivores, dogs might sometimes kill a prey animal large enough to feed the entire pack, like a moose or a mammoth. Alternatively, when small prey animals were abundant , they might kill many of these bite-sized creatures. Either way, they often found themselves with more food than they could eat at once. However, they could never be sure when they would be able to find and kill another prey, and much time could pass – sometimes weeks – without them finding another meal. So to be on the safe side, they carried the bones, which were filled with nutrient-rich marrow, back to their lair, and buried them nearby. When food was scarce, they could always rely on the bones to keep them fed.

This process is called caching or hoarding, and it is common among dogs, wolves and foxes. In fact, other animals practice a form of caching; squirrels gather enough nuts to last through the winter, and camels store enough food and water to last for several days in the desert. Our domesticated dogs may have their food handed to them each day in sufficient quantities, but they still carry this caching trait and bury their bones or toys in the back yard – or even under your pillows – to guard against a possible shortage of food.

So, why do dogs bury bones in the ground? Because it's in their nature.

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Porkhide Bones are safe and healthy alternative to rawhide treats. Rawhides are cured with harsh chemicals (like ash-lye solutions and bleach) and are known to cause choking, throat irritations and intestinal blockages. Why risk the safety of your precious pup on an inexpensive product, when there’s a better option? Our Porkhide Bones are gourmet chew treats made with 100% natural pork skin and have a lasting, mouth-watering flavor your dog will love! These yummy treats are naturally high in protein, low in fat and are highly digestible. The shape of the bone fits inside the mouth for maximum contact, which helps promote healthy teeth and gums. And they are safe for dogs of all ages. Your dog will love these safe, healthy and delicious treats!

Mold Reported in Purina One Beyond Cat Food!

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Mold Reported in Purina One Beyond

Posted by Susan Thixton on May 23, 2013 at 3:03 pm

Pet food consumer Carrie P. shares she found bluish green mold at the bottom of her Purina One Beyond cat food. She tells me she feeds lots of strays and is very concerned. The cats had only eaten two meals from the bag (she found this mold within 24 hours of purchase), however one cat is vomiting. This incident has been reported to Purina, FDA, Department of Agriculture and the store she purchased from. Here are the pictures…

Carrie P. states the food is Purina One Beyond Salmon & Whole Brown Rice Recipe. The lot number is 308710832219L01 and the “good until” date is September 2014.
We do not know at this point if regulatory authorities will investigate. The pet owner does have the pet food in her possession. Carrie told me Purina did not offer to test the food, did not ask to see her pictures, but offered to send her coupons.
A pet food insider looked at these pictures for me and shared…
Mold like this in a pet food could be caused from warm pet food being sealed in packaging before it has properly cooled. Important: this insider also explained that should FDA or State Department of Agriculture wish to investigate this mold, batch times are required to be documented at every pet food plant. Batch times would show mix times, then extrusion time, followed by the time the pet food was bagged. Thus, it would be very easy for FDA or Department of Agriculture to learn if the pet food was not properly cooled before being bagged (also it would be very easy for the manufacturer to know if this is the case).
There is also a possibility that warm/moist warehousing conditions could escalate mold growth.
If any pet food consumer finds mold in their pet food…

• Stop feeding the food immediately. Consult your veterinarian.

• Take pictures. Document the lot number and best by date. Document when the food was purchased, where the food was purchased. Double bag the food (in its original packaging) and store in the freezer (if you have room – cool dark room if not).

• Report the mold to the pet food manufacturer, the FDA, and your State Department of Agriculture. Tell the FDA and/or the State Dept of Agriculture Investigator you would like for them to look over the manufacturing records for this pet food; tell them you want assurance the mold was not caused by bagging the food when warm.

How to House Train Your Puppy

By: Dr. Ilana Reisner

Using a Crate:

By using a puppy crate or confined area, and plenty of rewards for outdoor urination and defecation, you can successfully train your puppy to "go" outdoors.

For many new puppy owners, house-training is the first order of business, after lots of cuddling. It is also the first hurdle encountered by new puppy owners. The good news is that, unless the new puppy was previously confined for long periods in dirty living conditions, she will naturally tend to avoid doing her "business" in places where she must sleep or eat. This instinct is important when it comes to house-training. It's also one of the reasons for acclimating your puppy to a crate, or some other small area for times when she can't be supervised.

How Long Can She "Hold It"?Even young puppies can be expected to "hold it" for at least a short period of time. As a general rule, that can translate to one hour for each month of age, give or take an hour. For example, your 3-month old puppy might easily resist urination for three to four hours and should be fine in the crate for that short time.

Probably because she sleeps for much of the time, she'll often learn to stay dry overnight before she can repeat her performance during the day. If it's necessary to leave her for longish intervals, your puppy shouldn't be crated. Instead, consider the use of a baby gate to confine her to a slightly larger area, such as the kitchen or laundry room. This will still allow her to maintain a natural cleanliness because she can eat and sleep away from the areas where she has soiled.

To ease cleanup and train your new pup to urinate and defecate on a specific surface, place newspapers in the previously soiled area. The use of newspapers, so-called paper training, can be avoided altogether if you can take your puppy outdoors frequently.

Your Time – Your Responsibility

The best situation, of course, is to be home with your puppy, or at least to have a flexible schedule allowing home visits every few hours, until she's house trained. She should be taken outdoors to a designated "toilet" area every few hours but if you take her too often she may become confused about the purpose of the visits. Immediately after urination or defecation, reward her with a small food tidbit.

If the toilet visit is unproductive, go back indoors after just a few minutes and restrict the puppy in a crate, gated area, or even on a leash near you for 15 minutes and then try again. With persistence, she'll quickly learn to associate that outdoor area with elimination. Once she has urinated and defecated outdoors, she can have freedom indoors for a short time, at least. 

Don't Punish Your Pup

Because punishment can be both mentally and physically harmful to your young puppy, it should not be used during house-training. If you catch your pup in the act, a simple handclap will distract her so you can quickly move her outdoors to finish the job. If a mess is found after the fact, punishment will only confuse her. Instead of scolding, try to figure out how to avoid the accident next time. For example, perhaps other family members can watch her more closely the next time you're busy with dinner.

With some time, patience, and the help of a crate or confinement area, and with rewards for using the outdoor "bathroom," your puppy can be successfully trained to keep both her "den" and yours clean and dry.The best situation, of course, is to be home with your puppy, or at least to have a flexible schedule allowing home visits every few hours, until she's house trained. She should be taken outdoors to a designated "toilet" area every few hours but if you take her too often she may become confused about the purpose of the visits. Immediately after urination or defecation, reward her with a small food tidbit.

If the toilet visit is unproductive, go back indoors after just a few minutes and restrict the puppy in a crate, gated area, or even on a leash near you for 15 minutes and then try again. With persistence, she'll quickly learn to associate that outdoor area with elimination. Once she has urinated and defecated outdoors, she can have freedom indoors for a short time, at least.

Don't Punish Your PupBecause punishment can be both mentally and physically harmful to your young puppy, it should not be used during house-training. If you catch your pup in the act, a simple handclap will distract her so you can quickly move her outdoors to finish the job. If a mess is found after the fact, punishment will only confuse her. Instead of scolding, try to figure out how to avoid the accident next time. For example, perhaps other family members can watch her more closely the next time you're busy with dinner.

With some time, patience, and the help of a crate or confinement area, and with rewards for using the outdoor "bathroom," your puppy can be successfully trained to keep both her "den" and yours clean and dry.

Re-posted Text from: 

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