Many dogs experience stress and anxiety when their people leave them unattended at home. This is commonly referred to as separation anxiety. How do we know if Samson is suffering from such anxiety?  He may react to the stress in one or more ways. He may simply become depressed as you get ready to leave. He will become lethargic and just lay down, showing you his big sad brown eyes. He may cling to you more than usual as you move through the house getting ready to leave. He may begin to whine, cry or even bark. He may even try to start a game with you in the hopes you’ll stick around and play. Or he may not do any of these things before you leave. Samson may mess in the house shortly after you leave. Or he may be destructive – digging at and/or tearing up toys, paper, furniture; chewing on furniture or wood molding throughout the house. If he’s left in the back yard, he may be destructive out there – digging frantically, destroying patio furniture, jumping the fence or trying to dig out under the fence. If he’s crated, Samson may actually injure his mouth or paws as he frantically tries to chew or scratch his way out of the crate. Your neighbors may tell you that Samson was crying, barking or even howling for minutes or possibly the entire time you were gone.

We need to be careful that we do not confuse boredom for separation anxiety.  Most separation anxiety behaviors will manifest within the first 10-15 minutes after you have left. If you are able to determine that Samson is fine for the first hour (or four) that you are gone, and then he begins to tear up the furniture or destroy your pile of bills, then we are looking at a dog who has become bored and is trying to entertain himself. This is not separation anxiety; rather it is an announcement that he needs to have more interesting toys and entertainment options available to him when you will be gone for long periods of time.

The most common separation anxiety issues I deal with are indoor potty while unattended and destructive behavior. I will address each in turn.

POTTYING AS A STRESS REACTION TO SEPARATION ANXIETY

First, pick up Samson’s water about an hour before you need to leave, and make sure he has a supervised potty break prior to you leaving. This can be on-leash if necessary to keep it from turning into to play time. Be patient. Be encouraging. Be quiet. Take him to the correct spot, tell him your command to indicate that it's potty time ("go potty", "do your business", etc). Wait quietly and patiently. Give him a chance to sniff around and find the right spot. The process sniffing actually helps dogs to go. Once he starts to potty, whisper a praise, "Good potty, Samson." When he's done, make a fuss over him. Tell him what a good boy he is and how smart he is for pottying where you want him to. You can offer Samson a treat while you’re still standing right there at the potty spot, or you can remove his leash and let him run around for a minute. You can even toss a ball and play fetch for a minute or two. Then take him back inside.

If you are going to be gone for more than an hour, instead of leaving water down, put a bowl with a half dozen ice cubes in it. He can lick the ice directly, eat the ice, or lick up whatever melts. Any of these are fine. The idea is simply slowing down how much water he ingests at one time. Just like humans, if he takes it in slowly, the body has more time to absorb and use the water, rather than simply flushing it straight through his system. Think about this: if you slurp down a 32 oz soda in 20 minutes, you will very likely need to pee about an hour later. If, on the other hand, you nurse that 32 oz soda over the course of 6 or 8 hours, you might not need to potty at all during that entire time. The more slowly you ingest it, the more easily your body can absorb the liquid.

NOTE: Dogs retain a small amount of urine even after they "empty their bladder" for the purpose of marking, so it is still possible that Samson would be able to mark even immediately after you witness him potty outside. So, if his indoor urinating is more about marking territory and less about separation anxiety, then there will still be work to be done.

In the meantime, anywhere that Samson has already pottied should be cleaned with a product such as PetZyme or Simple Solution. You are looking for a product that contains nonpathogenic (friendly) bacteria. I find this works much better than enzyme based cleaners as the living bacteria literally eats and digests the enzymes in the urine that make it smell like urine. Follow the instructions for application, and you may need to apply more than once for complete cleaning. If you are not certain of all the places where Samson has pottied, invest in a portable black light. You can conduct your own little CSI experiment. After sundown, turn off all the lights and run the black light about 6 inches above the surfaces. Urine will glow fluorescent yellow. After the cleaning product has worked, the area in question will glow either smaller, or not glow at all because it has been properly cleaned up. If you still see a glow, reapply the product for a second round of cleaning.

IF YOU FIND A PUDDLE AFTER HE HAS FINISHED, ALL YOU CAN DO IS QUIETLY CLEAN IT UP. YOU CANNOT SCOLD SAMSON FOR IT AFTER THE FACT OR YOU WILL TEACH HIM ONLY TO FEAR YOUR ARRIVAL. IN FACT, IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH A TRUE SEPARATION ANXIETY, THEN THE LESS OF A BIG DEAL YOU MAKE OF IT, THE BETTER BECAUSE ANTICIPATED ANGER OF YOUR ARRIVAL MAY INCREASE SAMSON’S ANXIETY WHEN ALONE, AND MAKE ALL HIS DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS WORSE, INCLUDING POTTYING. FURTHER, IF SAMSON MAKES THE ASSOCIATION THAT YOU ARRIVE HOME ANGRY WHEN THERE IS POTTY IN THE ROOM WITH HIM, HE MAY ATTEMPT TO HIDE THE EVIDENCE OF THIS STRESS REACTION BY INGESTING (EATING) THE POTTY (PEE OR POOP). SO YOUR ANGER AT SEEING A POTTY MESS CAN INADVERTENTLY ENCOURAGE OTHER NOT-SO-APPETIZING BEHAVIORS IN SAMSON…

OTHER DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR CAUSED BY SEPARATION ANXIETY

First, I should point out that it's not necessary to allow Samson the run of the whole house. Putting him in a single room where he has not been destructive before may be sufficient to curb this unwanted behavior. Many dogs feel it is their job to protect and guard the house while you are gone. If we remember that a dog’s natural home (den) would be only large enough for him to comfortably lay down, then your 1200- 1500- 2500-square foot house can feel like an overwhelming amount of territory to guard all by himself. One bedroom, a single bathroom or even a decent sized laundry room may be as much space as he is comfortable with while alone in the house. Put in a nice bed for him, a couple of toys at a time (that get rotated every couple days with others to keep them interesting), a long lasting chew such as real marrow bone or a Kong stuffed with peanut butter (and frozen to make it last even longer), maybe even have a radio on your local NPR station for some quiet conversation.  All of these comforts and distractions, along with a much smaller space, may help him feel calmer and more secure, and therefore less destructive.

PRACTICE YOUR LEAVING ROUTINES

You can work with Samson on departure routines to help desensitize him to the process. I suggest this because dogs read our signals very well. In the beginning it may only be when you actually leave that he becomes stressed. But he will quickly learn that when you pick up your keys, that means your leaving, and when you put on your shoes that means you're about to get your keys, etc. This signal reading can cause Samson to connect the dots and get anxious earlier and earlier in the process of your leaving preparations. So we can work with him to learn that just because you're doing some of these things does not mean that you are definitely leaving. It can help Samson learn to remain calm even when faced with signals that were previously making him upset.

So, every day, at least 3 times when you're not leaving, put on your shoes and walk to the door. Do not speak to him or make physical or eye contact. Simply put your shoes on, walk to the door, stand there for half a second, return to the main space, remove your shoes and go back to what you had been doing. Once your shoes are off, and if Samson has remained calm throughout the process, give him a treat and some good love and praise. Wait 10-60 minutes and repeat that exercise. Vary how long you wait as you do these exercises over the next few weeks so that he is not anticipating your next move.

After you have done that at least 3 times per day over about 6 days, then start adding things to your routine one bit at a time. Put your shoes on and grab your keys, go to the door, return, put keys down, take off shoes and go about your business. Always refrain from interaction during the exercise, but treat and praise after the exercise is complete if Samson remained calm, to reinforce his calm behavior.

After 5 or 6 days of successfully doing that 2-part step (shoes and keys), add the next bit: shoes, keys and the coffee-to-go mug if you usually take one (or whatever else you usually grab). Repeat as above. Then start adding in the actual opening of the door.

Initially you will literally just open the door and promptly close it again. Depending on Samson’s reaction, you may even need to baby-step it further: hand on knob but don't actually do anything; hand on knob and turn but don't open door; turn knob and just barely crack door then promptly close; turn knob crack door a little further and then close; open door but don't step through and promptly close; open door count to 3 close door; open door step through and promptly return; open door and step through start to close door (but only halfway) then promptly return; open door and step through then almost close door and promptly return; open door and step through then close door and immediately open again and return; etc. Build up to the point where you can close the door all the way and be outside for 10 minutes before returning, while Samson remains quiet inside.

Building up time is done slowly. At first you will close the door and promptly open it, then you will close the door and count to 3 and open it. Then 5 seconds, then 7, then 10, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 45, 1 minute, 1 minute and 10 seconds, 1 minute and 20 seconds, etc. In this way you are building on baby-step successes. This is important. If Samson can allow you to leave and remain calm and quiet for 1 minute, but when you attempt 1 minute and 10 seconds, he starts to freak out, back up to something you know he can do successfully. In this case, I would go back to 45 seconds. Do at least 6 repetitions of the exercise at 45 seconds to reinforce his success and then build up more slowly: 45 seconds, 50, 55, 1 minute, 1 minute and 2 seconds, 1 minute and 4 seconds, 1 minute and 6 seconds, 1 minute and 8 seconds, 1 minute and 10 seconds... We want to build on success, and so we will take as small an increment of change as necessary to ensure that success. Do multiple repetitions at each time increment to ensure he truly is successful at that stage before you add more time.

This back-up process is true for any stage in this training. If Samson is fine with you doing all the inside stuff, but when you open the door and step through, he starts to freak out, back up to where you just turn the knob and start there and work up more slowly to better ensure those successes of calm, quiet behavior.

During all of these exercises you want to refrain from looking at him, touching him or speaking to him as you "get ready to go". When you have completed the exercise for that round, if Samson has remained calm throughout, then make a quiet fuss over him - love, pet, praise and treat to reinforce that calm and quiet behavior gets rewarded. If he freaks out during any of these exercises, don't freak out with him or that will reinforce his behavior. Simply tell him, "Not it" or "No sir" or whatever command works for you - but not just an angry "No." I’m suggesting a phrase that brings about a tone of "That's not the correct answer, sorry. Try again." Not an out-and-out scolding.

As Samson becomes comfortable with your routine (shoes, keys, whatever else your normal routine includes like brushing teeth, pouring coffee, etc) you can start to add in giving him a yummy interactive toy. Vary when you happen to offer the toy so it's not always in the same place in the routine. Great toys are real marrow bones, Kongs stuffed with low fat peanut butter or low fat cream cheese - these can be frozen to make that treat last longer, PetStages Jack which can also be loaded both with kibble and soft treats like the Kong, flavored Nylabones, etc. Try to avoid raw hide as they are not great for the digestive system. Try to avoid pigs ears and other things that can be devoured in seconds. The idea is to offer something that can occupy his attention for 10 or more minutes.

With these interactive toys, be sure to introduce them when you are around as well. Offer them to him when you're home with him. Let him have the toy for long enough to really enjoy it, but not so long that he gets bored with it. This may be anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on Samson. Take it away from him before he gets bored with it. Put it in a drawer or on top of the fridge so that when it's not available to him, it's not even on his radar. When you take the interactive toy away, promptly turn Samson’s attention to another toy or game or a meal time, so that he is not being "punished" but rather simply redirected to another activity. By making it part of Samson’s regular activity with you, then it will not scream out that you are about to leave when you offer it during your departure routine. In fact, many dogs come to like our departure because it means they get to spend more time with that toy they love.

So, to recap: For the stressed potty, pick up water an hour before you leave and make sure there is a properly supervised potty break prior to your departure. Leave ice cubes in a bowl for him if you’ll be gone more than an hour.

For the destructive behavior, confine Samson to a single, small space rather than having the run of the whole house. Make sure he has a bed, a couple of regularly rotated interactive toys including long-lasting chew toys, and perhaps leave a radio quietly on a talk radio station so that he has voices to keep him company.

In general, you should keep 10 or 12 toys in a place inaccessible to him and rotate just 2 or 3 toys every couple days to keep them new and interesting for Samson. When you're home, do the exercises described above to help desensitize him to the steps of your departure routine. You can fit the training in to the rest of your schedule by multitasking. During commercial breaks is a great time - instead of fast forwarding the TiVo, simply let the 2 or 3 minutes of commercials run while you do a round of departure routine. While food is in the microwave or you're waiting for the water to boil, do a round of training, etc.

Be patient. Separation anxiety will take some time to work through. If you remain calm, and patient, continue to work with him on the departure routines, and set him up for success with the methods described above, Samson will almost certainly learn that being alone for a little while is not the end of the world and that you will return.

        

Puppies bite. It’s a fact. It’s normal and natural behavior. But is it something that we have to just accept? Do we just put up with it – taking all the nips, scrapes, actual blood – and just hope that Puppy grows out of it? Absolutely NOT.  Some dogs are more exuberant than others when playing and so may bite more and/or harder than other puppies. But all puppies bite both during play as well as at other times. It's part of what puppies do. They are exploring the world around them with the only tool they have - their mouth. They do not have a clear understanding of their own strength and do not have an innate understanding of how to be gentle. It is up to those around Puppy to teach her how to be gentle.

Further, puppy teeth are like little needles. They are razor sharp and it does not take much pressure for a puppy to break the skin. This is nature's only way for Puppy to defend herself. As a puppy, her jaw muscles are not yet strong and developed so she needs that edge, the advantage that a mouth full of little needles provides. In a wolf pack (and other wild canid packs), pups are left in the den while adults go out on the hunt. Those razor sharp puppy teeth could save her life should an intruder try steal her. Look closely at the teeth of a puppy compared to that of an adult and you'll see that the adult's teeth are larger and more rounded than the puppy's. This means that the same bite force from an adult will be less painful and cause less physical damage than that of the puppy. Surprising, I know… but true.

Puppies lose their teeth usually between 4 and 6 months of age. So you might see an increase in biting behavior as they loose their teeth and teethe while the adult teeth are coming in. Further, it takes roughly 12months for adult teeth to firmly set in the dog's jaw. This means that chewing/biting behavior may continue for the first 2 years of the dog's life. Some dogs will need to chew for a lifetime as it's fun and comforting; others completely grow out of it. If you understand why the dog is chewing/biting it can help you emotionally and make it easier to retain your patience as you guide your dog to the appropriate alternatives and help them learn what they can and what they cannot bite.

During the puppy stage dogs learn what is called ‘bite inhibition.’ This is the process of learning how to control the force of the bite (inhibit the desire to bite down fully) so that it is acceptable play and not aggressive or actually damaging to the recipient.  The very best way for a dog to learn this is from other dogs. Dogs are significantly better at teaching what I call 'Doggie Etiquette' than humans. Those little needle teeth play a big role in learning bite inhibition because such little force is needed to cause pain. If they bite a little too hard while wrestling with a littermate, that puppy will yelp and cry and not want to play anymore. While playing with older dogs, a too-hard bite from puppy teeth will result in the older dog correcting Puppy by way of a snarl, growl and (if necessary) a corrective nip to teach a younger or less well-mannered dog to back off. The more socialization Puppy can get the better. Dog parks are great places for this. Now, it is necessary to supervise and make sure things don't get out of hand because if she doesn't heed the lesson, she may end up in a scrap that she didn't want to be in. Scraps like that can be excellent lessons, but can also cause damage to one or both dogs and embarrassment for the humans, so we have to find a balance of letting the dogs teach and learn with each other, but also ultimately supervising and intervening when necessary. If Puppy is being overzealous in her biting play with another dog, try to count to 10 and see if the other dog can make itself clear. See if she learns the lesson and backs off. If she doesn't then you'll need to intervene and remove her from that situation. Pay attention. If the other dog is continuing to play with her and is not looking stressed, is not growling, snarling or snapping directly at her face, then they may be playing happily. If the other dog is doing any of the above, or trying to just run away from Puppy, it is time to intervene. If the other dog seems intimidated, is on the ground, showing the belly and/or yelping in fear possibly with hackles raised and tail between its legs, it is time to intervene. We don't want Puppy to become a bully.

CAVEAT: If you interrupt an encounter or split up a scuffle out in public, it is hugely important that you DO NOT LEAVE the area immediately. If you leave on that sour note Puppy will end up associating the park (or wherever you are) with sour encounters and it will either make her hesitant to go again or she will be on guard from the moment of arrival and more likely to "get into it" with another dog at future visits. If there is a need to break up a fight, put her on her leash and walk the perimeter of the park. Give her time to sniff things and enjoy being there again. Give yourself time to catch your breath and calm down. It's important that the last moment of this visit is a positive one. If possible, try to encourage her to have a positive encounter with another dog before leaving - a polite greeting** - so that the parting moment for both her and you is a positive one. That will help make everyone feel better about returning. Be honest with other owners and tell them you're trying to socialize your puppy while she's still young so she can learn to be a polite dog and you're doing your best to let the other dogs teach her - with your ultimate supervision - so that she learns the lessons well.

**Polite Greeting:  If Puppy is having trouble greeting dogs politely, ask the owner of a dog that appears to be friendly and fairly calm if they can help you to train your dog. Most dog owners are happy to help. Hold your puppy so that her bum is facing the other dog. The puppy should be on the ground, but you are physically restraining her so she cannot turn around. If necessary, you can put Puppy’s head between your legs/knees so that her head can’t snap around unexpectedly. Allow the other dog to sniff your puppy. The dog will likely sniff the genitals, belly and may even approach the head. Do not allow the head sniff just yet. Once the other dog has had a good sniff, ask that dog’s owner to do as you did – turn their dog around, hold them steady and if necessary, secure the dog’s head between the owner’s knees/legs. Allow Puppy to get a good sniff. Once Puppy has sniffed the genitals, belly, etc., then back her up and have the other owner “free” their dog. Allow the dogs to greet calmly and sniff each other’s ears and face. This may lead to a game – if so GREAT! That was a perfect greeting! It may lead to one or the other dog staring down (challenging) or snarling a little. Pay attention! If this happens, you want to interrupt it before anything happens. It was still a good greeting exercise, they just aren’t going to be friends that day.

All this Dog Etiquette socialization is great, but how do we get Puppy to stop biting US?!?!
As far as her interactions with humans, it is about a consistent response.
Here's what has worked for me:

1. Consistency in response: No teeth contact at all. If you feel teeth, the game ends immediately. Period. And a correction is made (more detail below).

2. Redirect the behavior: Have a toy right there so that when Puppy bites, you can correct her and immediately redirect her to an appropriate alternative.

2a. Have a variety of toys - soft and plush, hard but rubbery so there is some give, hard Nylabone or plastic and even real marrow bone that can crunch and break if she works at it long enough.

3. Encourage gentle behavior: and praise, praise, praise when she is behaving politely.

4. Proper correction (from #1 above): If you feel teeth there is a series of things that will happen simultaneously. The verbal response should mimic that of Mommy dog. I know many suggest mimicking the puppy 'yelp' but I have found that this is usually more encouraging than discouraging. I have had excellent luck with Mom's reaction instead. This makes sense because you are in an alpha role and you're educating your puppy. So, how does Mom respond? With a low, sharp growl. This is not a loud response nor is it high pitched. Men have a much easier time with this because they tend to have deeper, more gravelly voices naturally. I tell women to find their "inner demon". You want this voice to come from deep in your throat/chest and it should be growly/gravelly. The words should be a sharp and quick, "No bites!" and it should sound like a growl; the volume of this is somewhere between a whisper and normal speaking volume. The command you're using is No Bites. This is an important difference from a simple "No" command that we may use at other spontaneous moments of misbehavior. You want to be consistent and specific that you are teaching a specific behavior change and a specific command for it. This will allow you to use that command in other situations in the future, say if Puppy starts to chew/bite furniture or your favorite shoes or even the cat...

As you speak this "Nobites!" command (yes, you want it to be quick and sharp enough that it really does almost run together into a single word), you will simultaneously pull your hand away from the dog's face and pull your fingers into a fist. No, you are not threatening to strike your puppy. You are removing targets from her space. Fingers are moving targets and they are super fun to try to catch - like a gnat that flits around her face. By making a fist you remove all such targets. So at the same moment you are giving a firm, sharp, growly verbal correction you are also removing the target of the dog's efforts to make oral contact. Then immediately grab one of the toys and offer it up. In your sweetest, chirpiest, high-pitched, most playful tone (even a little baby-talkish) tell her, "Bite this instead." You can even get into the game by saying, "Get-it, get-it, get-it!" The important thing in this is to make it exciting. Don't just shove the toy in her mouth. Move it around a couple inches in front of her. Make it a target for her to attack and encourage her to do so. Once she's involved with it, you can play a little gentle tug (nothing wrong with that game - more later) or you can toss it and encourage her to chase it and pounce the toy. When she is making full mouth contact with the appropriate alternative (a toy), tell her what a good girl she is for playing with the right thing.

If she continues to go after you, rather than pick her up and put her in her crate (physically interacting with her more) for a “time out,” simply get up and walk out of the room. Close the door if necessary to keep Puppy from following you. Wait 30 seconds, then return and offer up a toy for a game. This is how to properly end a game when Puppy is not playing nice. You don't want to increase your interaction with her when she bites, you want to end your physical and verbal interaction altogether and immediately. But upon your return, you must act as though nothing happened. Dogs do not carry grudges and she will not understand why you are angry with her when you return. So act as though you're just greeting her for the first time that day and you happen to have an awesome toy to play with.

The other half of this is teaching her what gentle oral interaction is acceptable. After you have given her a Mom's correction and redirected her to a toy, you can offer her the back of your hand (fingers tucked out of reach) or the flat of your palm and encourage gentle interaction – sniffs and kisses. If she sniffs, praise her. If she kisses/licks, praise her. Don't let her get obsessed with licking - three or four, maybe 6 licks while telling her "good girl. We like kisses." and then tell her simply and firmly (but not growling) "enough" and remove your hand from her space. This way you will be teaching her both what is unacceptable interaction and what is absolutely acceptable and appreciated interaction. You can decide if you do not want her to kiss your face or any other particular body part, simply by telling her "no" and redirecting her to an acceptable location. Some people like to have their feet licked, but not their hands - or their hands but not their face. It's up to you. The important thing is that for every "No" you give her, you must also give her a "Yes." Just like with human children, this is how Puppy will learn the boundaries and this is how she'll learn to play gently.

Also, when Puppy is calm, half asleep and just relaxing with you, offer her the back of your hand or the flat of your palm (or whatever body part you’re most comfortable with) and encourage that gentle interaction. She is even more likely to just sniff or lick when she is totally chill and even half asleep. This is an excellent opportunity to capture that gentle behavior and praise her for it. When she is calm and relaxed, your praise should be quiet and calm as well.

Regarding playing tug: Tug is an excellent game for both owner and dog when played appropriately. It is good exercise for the dog's chest muscles and jaw muscles and is good eye-mouth coordination practice. It is a great way to bond with your dog. The rules, though, are important. Tug should never pull you off balance. If Puppy pulls harder than you'd like, simply drop the toy and turn your back. After a brief pause, you can resume the game. If teeth make contact with your hand, the game ends - drop the toy and walk away. Teeth-hand contact typically only happens out of zealousness for the game and the dog’s effort to get a better or more complete grip on the toy, but you need to teach the dog boundaries - that they cannot get too close to your handhold during the game. It is OK to let the dog win a couple rounds of tug - that's what makes it fun, but you decide when the game ends and it ends one of two ways: First (and this is better), you end up with the toy. Second (this can work too, but is not quite as good), you simply let go and walk away. If you wind up with the toy in the end, then you have had a good game that had give-and-take, but in the end you retained your alpha status both by deciding when to stop playing and by keeping the toy for yourself. If you simply walk way, you still retain the alpha status because you decided when you were done, but the dog has the toy and that can possibly leave the dog feeling like they might be able to truly "win" it next time which can make her more competitive. Also, by ending the game the same way you are correcting if there is teeth-hand contact, you may confuse the dog.  If when the game ends, she did not have mouth contact with you, it may make it more difficult for her to learn the lesson (make a strong association) that the game ends, or is at least interrupted, under specific circumstances: when she puts her mouth on you. If you don’t want to actually take the toy with you, you can end the tug game with the toy in your hand, and then toss it so Puppy can go chase after it and then you are free to shift your attention or leave the room. Once you’ve abandoned the toy that way, there is no power struggle or even power suggestion when she retrieves the toy.

        

PLANTS AND OTHER MISC. STUFF

IF THIS IS AN EMERGENCY AND YOU BELIEVE YOUR PET HAS INGESTED A TOXIC SUBSTANCE. DO NOT WAIT. CALL THE ANIMAL POISON CONTROL CENTER AT 888-426-4435.

More than 700 varieties of plants have been identified as having the ability to cause toxic reactions in our pets. These toxic reactions can range from mild tummy upset to localized irritation of the mouth/throat (if ingested) to death. I am not going to even try to list all of them. This list has a dozen of the most common plants that may be found in homes. They are not in a particular order, so please read through the entire list.

** This list is geared toward dogs, but you can assume that if it is harmful to dogs it is likely to also be harmful to cats. In many cases, these plants are significantly more harmful to cats than they are to dogs. Please research any plants that your cat may have access to in order to ensure its safety.

If you have a plant in your home, garden or other area of your property that is not listed here, please check the following websites for further information.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

This is the ASPCA website. Here you can look for plants that are toxic to dogs, cats and horses, or you can limit the search to a single animal. This site includes pictures of the plants for easy identification

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/dogs/index.html

This link is to Cornell University’s Department of Animal Science site for toxic plants. The list is broken down into categories such as household plants, garden vegetable plants, trees and shrubs, etc.

PLANTS:

MARIJUANA:  I mention this one first because it is already very common, and with more states legalizing the medicinal use, its presence in pet-homes is growing. The toxin is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Pets are more likely to be affected by ingesting the plant than by inhaling the smoke from the plant, but it is not a good idea to try to give your pet a “contact high” as symptoms may develop from that as well. Symptoms can vary based on individual dog, dosage exposure and potency of product.  Symptoms begin 30-90 minutes after ingestion and include: dilated pupils, excessive drooling, disorientation, recumbency (leaning, not holding their own weight), incontinence, increase or decrease in heart rate, extreme sensitivity to touch/pain/other stimuli (hyperesthesia), lethargy, lack of coordination resulting in a wobbly or staggering gate (ataxia), tremors, seizure, depression, excessive sleep (somnolence) which can approach coma, slow or shallow breathing (respiratory depression) and potentially death. THC is stored in the fat cells, so symptoms may last up to 72 hours. Immediate attention from a veterinarian is appropriate if you suspect marijuana ingestion. Veterinarians are not obligated to report to the police, so do not let that stop you from seeking assistance if your dog (or other pet) has discovered your stash.

APPLES, APRICOTS, PLUMS, PEACHES, CHERRIES: Unless your dog has a particular allergy, small bits of the flesh of these fruits should not cause your dog harm. The stems, leaves and seeds of these fruits contain cyanide which can be toxic if eaten. Symptoms include: dilated pupils, breathing difficulty, panting, drooling, dark red mucous membranes, vomiting, lethargy and shock.

ALOE: As an ingredient in shampoos and the like it is not toxic. Ingesting aloe gel can cause diarrhea and vomiting in dogs. It may also cause loss of appetite, abdominal pain, swollen tongue, pale gums/tongue, muscle tremors or full convulsions.

ELEPHANT EARS (CALADIUMS): This common decorative plant can cause irritation to the lips and tongue, vomiting and difficult swallowing.

DEVIL’S IVY (GOLDEN POTHOS): This is the # 1 household plant, so if you have plants in your home, you probably have at least one of these leafy green guys. Ingesting some of this plant can cause your dog to experience vomiting, excessive drooling, difficulty swallowing and localized irritation around the lips and tongue.

LILIES: While pretty, lilies should not be a treat of choice. Most varieties of lily are toxic to some degree to dogs and cats. Symptoms vary based on type of plant, but can include: diarrhea (possibly bloody), vomiting, difficulty swallowing and burning of the mouth and tongue. More serious symptoms may include a drop in blood pressure, arrhythmias (out-of-rhythm heart beat), tremors and convulsions, liver damage, kidney failure and even a suppression in the production of bone marrow.

CYCLAMEN: A very pretty pink or red flower, but it is potentially deadly to our dogs. Immediate veterinary treatment is necessary if your dog ingests any of this plant. Symptoms include vomiting and death.

GLADIOLAS: Often part of bouquets, these flowers can cause depression, excessive drooling, abdominal pain, vomiting (potentially bloody) as well as diarrhea – also potentially bloody.

AZALEA/RHODODENDRON: This is a highly toxic plant. Ingestion can cause a host of symptoms that begin within just a few hours of ingestion. Symptoms include acute digestive upset displaying as excessive drooling, loss of appetite, vomiting, incontinence (diarrhea or frequent bowel movements) and colic. You may also see depression, ataxia (loss of muscle coordination, leg paralysis, weakness), and recumbency (leaning against objects/humans). These symptoms can last for 2 or more days. There may be signs of recovery at that point, or the animal may slip into a coma and die.

DIEFFENBACHIA: This common house plant can cause difficulty swallowing, excessive drooling, vomiting, and oral irritation including an intense burning of the mouth, tongue and lips.

DAISY: This very common garden plant can cause skin irritation, excessive drooling, vomiting, diarrhea and lack of coordination.

DOG DAISY: While it has a name that we may like, ingesting this variety of daisy can cause skin irritation, diarrhea, vomiting and increased urination.

CALIFORNIA IVY: Found in the yards of many west coast homes, ingestion of this ivy can cause abdominal pain, excessive drooling, diarrhea and vomiting. In this case the leaves are more toxic than the berries, but neither should be ingested.

MISCELLANEOUS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS:

Next is a list of various other items that might be found in your home that could harm your pet. This list is far from exhaustive. If you are concerned that something your pet has eaten may be poisonous or in some other way potentially harmful, please contact your vet immediately. If it is after hours, please contact the animal poison control center at (888) 426-4435.

HUMAN VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS: These pills are dosed for humans and not dogs. Giving them without direct supervision by your pet’s veterinarian can cause damage to the liver and kidneys as well as direct damage to the lining of the stomach and intestines.

TYLENOL: Dog livers do not have the enzymes necessary to break down acetaminophen. Small dogs can have severe reactions to as little as two regular strength tablets. Symptoms include abdominal pain, excessive drooling and lethargy.Immediate intervention by a veterinarian is in order if ingestion occurs.

POTPOURRI: While the individual flower petals in a bowl of potpourri may not be toxic in and of themselves to your pet, the essential oils that are on the petals can be quite toxic. These essential oils can cause burns to the mouth, esophagus and tongue. These burns can be severe. Please keep potpourri and the oils used to refresh it well out of reach of your four-legged companions (this includes cats who can get up on higher shelves).

CITRUS OIL EXTRACTS: Can cause vomiting.

FERTILIZER: Ingesting fertilizer can cause severe damage to the digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, intestines) as well as gastrointestinal blockage that can be fatal. Do not allow your dogs to have access to an area that has just been fertilized. Check the instructions on the product to determine how long you must wait before allowing your dog to enter that area.

MOUSE/RAT POISON: If you need to use a mouse or rat poison at your home, be sure to keep your dog away from that area. This is one of the most toxic things your pet can come in contact with. There are three common types of poisons found in these products, all of them can be fatal to your pets. Bromethalins cause central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction while cholecalciferols can dramatically increase calcium levels – resulting in seizures prior to death. The most commonly found poisons in these rodenticides are anticoagulants. Anticoagulants reduce the production of blood clotting factors, allowing the animal that has ingested it to bleed to death. A general rule of thumb: if it can kill one type of small mammal, it can kill another – yours.

STRING/RIBBON/FLUFF: We may think of string and ribbon as a fairly innocuous item, but ingesting it can cause intestinal obstruction. This can be extremely serious and may require surgical intervention. This is true of the string fringe on rope toys and the stuffing from plush toys. This does not mean that your dog can never play with these toys. What it does mean is that they should be supervised toys so that you can remove the strings or fluff as they become separated from the toy. This way the dog can enjoy the toy and you can help to ensure that they do not ingest the bits that can harm them.

TOBACCO: Ingesting tobacco (eating a cigarette) can not only cause digestive upset, it can also have adverse affects on the nervous system. This can cause a rapid heartbeat, collapse, coma and potentially death.  Second hand smoke is not quite as toxic, but can have similar affects on our pets as it does on humans, including lung cancer and emphysema.

BATTERIES: Dogs will sometimes swallow the weirdest things. Batteries, from big D cell down to watch batteries and even hearing aid batteries are potentially deadly. Within 12 hours of swallowing a battery, the alkaline acids can cause a fatal ulceration of the stomach lining. If you fear your dog has swallowed any kind of battery, get them to a vet’s office immediately!

MOUTHWASH: It may taste good, but we don’t swallow it and neither should your dog. Drinking mouthwash can cause excessive drooling, vomiting, seizures and coma.

ANTIFREEZE: Antifreeze tastes sweet and is inviting to your pet to lick it up. But the main ingredient, ethylene glycol, is highly toxic. Symptoms of antifreeze toxicity include vomiting, lethargy, stumbling, seizures and kidney failure. Without immediate treatment, this can quickly become fatal.

MOTH BALLS: We may not think about mothballs as harmful, just a bit smelly. But they contain an insecticide. As mentioned with rat/mouse poisons, if it can kill one type of animal, it can have adverse  effects on another type as well. In this case, you will see central nervous system (CNS) excitation and seizures. If not treated immediately, your pet can experience liver failure. Unlike many toxic items your dog may get into, this is one case where you DO NOT WANT TO INDUCE VOMITING.

        

IF THIS IS AN EMERGENCY AND YOU BELIEVE YOUR PET HAS INGESTED A TOXIC SUBSTANCE. DO NOT WAIT. CALL THE ANIMAL POISON CONTROL CENTER AT 888-426-4435.

Dogs love to eat. Dogs love to investigate the world around them and they do most of their investigating first by smelling objects, then by tasting them. Oftentimes this is harmless, if annoying, behavior. Most of the things that dogs get into are not going to cause illness or possibly death, but there are some things out there that could. Many of these potentially deadly things are items found commonly in our homes. Many of these items are foods and medications that are perfectly safe for humans, but can cause devastating results if ingested by our four-legged friends.

I cannot speak to the toxicity of the following items in relation to cats, as my expertise is with dogs. But it is probably safe to say that if it is dangerous to a dog, it is probably also dangerous to a cat. Always check with your veterinarian if you have questions or concerns.

For more information and details on what to do if you fear your dog has been poisoned (gotten into something), please see the animal poison control website at:
www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/?gclid=CKyl38mpyKACFRJaiAodnwEjaA

This blog will list the potentially toxic item as well as the symptoms that can occur from ingesting it. It will be presented in two sections: The first blog will be Foods, while the second entry will address Medications, Plants, Miscellaneous other household items.

COMMON FOODS:
These are not in alphabetical order, but rather start with some of the more well known toxic foods, and then move through lesser known items.

CHOCOLATE/COFFEE (CAFFEINE): We know that caffeine is bad for dogs, but there's more to it than just caffeine in chocolate and coffee that make it so dangerous to dogs. There are substances that are collectively called methylxanthines (theobromine and theophylline), which are found in cacao seeds. Symptoms of ingesting products with these substances can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting,excessive thirst/urination, abnormal heart rhythm, hyperactivity, tremors,seizures or death.

ALCOHOL (WINE, BEERS, HARD LIQUORS): As funny as it may seem to get your pup intoxicated, I do not recommend it. Giving your dog alcohol can do a lot more than just get him tipsy. It can also cause: vomiting, diarrhea, lack of coordination, depress the central nervous system (brain function and thus heart function), cause breathing difficulties, tremors, coma and even death.

BONES: Fish bones, chicken bones, other small bones.Bones can cause lacerations to the esophagus, stomach or intestines. Bones can also cause intestinal obstructions which, if left untreated, can cause death. Treatment for obstructions is surgical intervention.

FAT TRIMMINGS: Too much fat in the diet can cause pancreatitis – that is inflammation of the pancreas. This is an extraordinarily painful illness that can cause abdominal distention, lack of appetite,dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, yellow/greasy stool, depression, a hunched posture (holding the stomach) and fever. If the pancreatitis is severe, it can cause a body-wide infection known as sepsis, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat), breathing difficulties, internal hemorrhages. If inflammation is severe enough, it can cause the pancreatic enzymes to release into the abdominal cavity causing the organs surrounding the pancreas to begin being digested by those enzymes. It is an extremely painful and extremely severe condition that can cause death if not caught quickly enough.

TABLE SCRAPS: Table scraps are not nutritionally balanced and can lead to obesity. We all want to give our pets a treat now and again, but table scraps should never be more than 5% of the daily diet. As a general rule, if it is a scrap – a trimming that you are not prepared to eat yourself – then do not feed it to your pets. Obesity and all the diseases related to it, including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, pancreatitis, and cancer are all observed in dogs just as they are in humans.

LESSER KNOWN TOXIC FOODS

CAT FOOD: Most cat foods are higher in fat and proteins than dog food and thus can cause health and obesity issues by including too much fat or protein in the dog’s diet.Too much protein in a dog’s diet can actually cause behavioral issues such as hyperactivity and aggression.

MOLDY, SPOILED FOOD/GARBAGE: Spoiled foods can contain all sorts of toxins, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea and potentially affect other organs depending on the particular type of toxin.

ONIONS:  Raw,cooked, powdered… any way you slice it, onion in large quantities is bad for dogs. Onions, and to a lesser extent garlic, contain sulfoxides and disulfides,which can cause anemia (iron poor blood). This anemia can reach a critical level and cause death. Avoid onions altogether. Garlic is much less of an issue and the amounts typically found in dog foods and treats is not likely to cause any harm. But, do not offer your dog garlic directly, or foods that have been cooked with large quantities of garlic.

BABY FOOD: Baby foods often contain onion powder (see onions above). The formulation of baby food can also cause nutritional deficiencies if ingested in large quantities.

GRAPES/RAISINS: The toxin in grapes and raisins is still unknown, but there is clinical evidence to show that ingestion of grapes or raisins can cause kidney failure and death in dogs. Grapeseed extract does not seem to be correlated to any kidney issues.

MACADAMIA NUTS: The toxin in macadamia nuts is not yet known, but clinical evidence shows that ingestion can cause malfunction of the digestive system,nervous system and muscles.

PERSIMMONS, PEACH PITS, PLUM PITS: Persimmon seeds,and fruit pits can cause digestive obstructions. As mentioned earlier, obstructions typically require surgical intervention, and if left untreated can cause death.

LEAVES OF POTATO, RHUBARB AND TOMATO/STEMS OF POTATO AND TOMATO PLANTS: The leaves and stems of these vegetables contain oxalates.Oxalates affect several systems including the digestive, urinary and nervous system. This is likely only going to be an issue if you have an active garden that the dog can access or live on a working farm.

MUSHROOMS: Toxins in mushrooms can affect multiple body systems, cause shock and possibly even cause death.

RAW EGGS/RAW FISH: Both raw eggs and raw fish can cause B vitamin deficiencies. Raw eggs contain avidin, an enzyme that can decrease the absorption of biotin(a B vitamin). Raw eggs may also contain salmonella which can cause all the same symptoms in dogs as it does in humans. You may also see skin and hair coat problems with the consumption of raw eggs. Raw fish can cause a deficiency of thiamine (a different B vitamin). A lack of thiamine can bring about loss of appetite, seizures, and potentially death.

LIVER: Lots of liver can cause vitamin A toxicity, affecting muscles and bones.

MILK: Just like humans, some adult dogs lack the lactase enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar called lactose. Ingesting milk and dairy products by dogs who are lactose intolerant can result in diarrhea, stomach discomfort and flatulence.There are specifically lactose free products available for dogs. If you drink lactose free milk, small quantities would be acceptable.

AVOCADO: Every part of the avocado is dangerous to dogs (as well as birds and rodents). The plant’s leaves, the stone, the skin and the flesh of the fruit all contain something called Persin. Persin can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs.

RAW YEAST DOUGH: Yeast dough can continue to rise after ingestion by a dog. This can cause gas to accumulate in the digestive system and cause something called Bloat.Bloat is extremely painful and goes beyond just a distended feeling. It can actually cause the stomach or intestines to twist on itself or even rupture. This is potentially fatal.Once the dough has risen completely and been cooked, the risk goes down considerably. Small bits of bread are OK to offer your dog, but it should not constitute more than 5% of the dog’s daily diet.

SALT: Ingesting large quantities of salt can cause electrolyte imbalance and possibly even sodium ion poisoning. Symptoms include:excessive thirst/urination, vomiting,diarrhea, depression, tremors, fever, seizures and potentially death.

XYLITOL: This is a commonly used artificial sweetener found in many products including sugar free gum, toothpaste, candy as well as some baked goods. Xylitol causes insulin to be released by the pancreas. Excess insulin causes low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Symptoms include: vomiting, lethargy, lack of coordination.Eventually it can lead to recumbency (leaning against something for support,part of a lack of coordination/lethargy) and seizures. Elevated liver enzymes and liver failure can be observed within just a few days of toxic exposure to xylitol.

SUGAR: Just like in humans, sugary foods can cause hyperactivity, dental issues, obesity and diabetes.

Part II will provide a list of other household items as well as miscellaneous stuff that dogs sometimes get into that could potentially cause health problems.

 

        

what do you do if one or both dogs is not well socialized? Or if a first encounter didn't "go so well"? Just because the dogs got off on the wrong paw, doesn't necessarily mean all is lost. It may still be possible to create a comfortable coexistence. Keep in mind that dogs are individuals and have personalities that include likes and dislikes. Not all dogs will get along famously. Just because you love that dog's daddy, doesn't automatically mean that your dog will love his dog ... << MORE >>

The forecast calls for scattered, severe thunderstorms with a great deal of cloud-to-ground lightning. Whether or not you personally like a good storm, you feel a lump in your throat knowing that Teddy is going to be very upset. Whenever the rains come, Teddy turns from his normal sweet, calm, well behaved pooch into an anxious, terrified dog who does things he would never ordinarily do.

As the storm approaches, Teddy begins to pace the house, pant and get very clingy to the humans that are around. He nearly trips his person as he tries to maintain himself right between her legs as she walks from room to room. If the human sits at a table or desk, Teddy is quick to try to squeeze under the desk and under his human's legs. You may find he's drooling excessively or digging at the floor, a rug or his bed like he's trying to create a den he can crawl into. Or, you may suddenly realize that you haven't seen Teddy in quite a while and search the house only to find him hiding: under furniture, in a closet, in the bathtub, in a room that he knows he is not allowed in. When he sees you, he looks at you with imploring eyes that seem to beg, "Make it stop. Make the Thunder Monster go away!!! Pleeeeeeaaaaase........" He may begin to pant upon seeing you and then begin the clingy behavior described earlier.

All of these are classic anxiety/stress signals that dogs display when they have a fear of thunder or storms. Many people are surprised at the sudden onset of this fear in a dog they've had since puppyhood. A lot of puppies, mine included, seem to find storms interesting and even exciting for their first year, only to suddenly get the canine memo that they are supposed to be afraid of this natural wonder. Suddenly, they begin displaying all of these signs that you thought you might have avoided with this pup.

An extremely common issue that many, many dog owners have to face is "How do I deal with Teddy during a storm? My heart breaks to see him so scared. All I want to do is sit with him and reassure him and hold him and tell him it's OK and it'll all be over soon." This is absolutely the right thing to do with our young children who are afraid of storms. Unfortunately, it's absolutely the WRONG thing to do with Teddy.

Dogs read our reassurance as praise. If they are showing any or all of the above signs of stress and we comfort them verbally, "It's OK, Teddy. It's just thunder. It can't hurt you..." or physically by petting/stroking/holding/hugging them, we are actually reinforcing their behavior. We are unwittingly telling them that their reaction is the correct reaction to the circumstances. By doing this, we are making it much more likely that Teddy will freak out next time there's a storm, and possibly more intensely than he is this time. Our efforts to calm them and reassure them will actually escalate their response to the Thunder Monster in the future.

So how do we help Teddy overcome his fear?

There are a couple of things we can do, and a combination of both is the best way to manage his fear.

DESENSITIZATION
The first step is to desensitize Teddy to the noise of thunder. Thunder is loud and sporadic with no rhyme or reason as to when it will suddenly be there. Even the flashes of lightning only tell us it's coming; it doesn't tell us how quickly it will be here, nor how loud it will be.

Dogs may learn to associate changes in barometric pressure and ozone levels with impending storms. Unfortunately, we cannot easily address these issues in our homes. But we can address the noise of thunder itself.

To desensitize your dog to the noise of rain and thunder, you will need a CD player that has a continuous loop feature and one or two CDs of thunderstorms that run at least one hour. It's important that the CDs do not have music overlapping the rain and thunder. These should be straight thunderstorms, preferably with a few really good, sudden, loud thunderclaps. Play a CD at the absolute lowest volume the CD player has. You should have to put your ear directly up to the speaker to hear the rain/thunder. Put the CD player somewhere fairly central to the house so that the dog can hear it from most anywhere. Put the CD player on continuous loop and allow it to play for a full 24 hours at this volume.

Every 24 hours you will nudge the volume up a little. Perhaps only half a step if you are able. As long as the dog is not reacting to it - completely ignoring it, you are doing great! If, after several days and several nudges in volume, you find that when you go, say, from volume level 4 to 5, your dog begins to show signs of stress/anxiety at the noise, bring the volume back to level 3. That's right, two full steps back. Leave it at this level for 48 hours, then try to increase the volume at a slower pace. Instead of going from 3 to 3 1/2, try going from 3 to just barely more than 3 - if your volume knob allows you to make such small adjustments. The goal is to get the CD playing at the top volume available on your player for 24 hours without any reaction from your dog.

You may want to switch the CD every 3rd day so that the dog doesn't just learn the pattern that every hour or every 90 minutes there's a loud noise and then it's softer again for a while.

If your dog can live with the noise on the CD at full volume and not react to it, he will then be less likely to react to the natural noise of a real storm. It's not a cure-all and there's other work that will need to be done, but it's one step in helping Teddy overcome his fear.

DO NOT CODDLE/REINFORCE BEHAVIOR
If he is reacting to the noise of the CD player (or a real storm if one comes through) do not speak sweetly to him, do not pet/stroke/hold him. These behaviors from us will reinforce for him that his reaction is the correct reaction and make him more likely to be anxious in the future. The better choice is to ignore Teddy when he paces through the house panting and trying to create a glue-like bond to your lower legs. If he decides to hide under some furniture, or in a closet, bathtub or seldom used room - just ignore him. Pretend it's not happening.

If it's necessary to move him or interact with him, give him an easy command that he can do and then you can praise him for doing the command. Call him with a happy, chipper, "Teddy, come!" and then give him a treat for coming to you. Or, "Teddy, sit," to get him out from under your feet. Praise him with a treat for sitting like a gentleman.

DISTRACT/REDIRECT
When you begin the desensitization with the CD, be sure to get in at least 5 minutes every day of training and 5 minutes every day of game play - in the house where he can hear the CD player. Use these opportunities to create happy, fun times with Teddy where he is getting a lot of positive attention and treats and praise. Training can be simple - going through his already learned commands, or more complex - teaching him new commands or tricks. Play should be his favorite games (in my house that's catch/chase with a racquetball). You can even intermix the training with the game whereby you play the game for a couple minutes, and then tell Teddy to 'sit' and 'stay.' Then you count to 10 and toss the toy, telling him "Teddy, go get it!" Provide big praise when he does his commands well and gets really involved in his game.

If you have begun to learn the CD and can anticipate when a particularly loud thunderclap is going to happen, use this to your advantage. Put Teddy in a 'sit/stay' command just before the thunder and wait for it to hit. Then, just as the noise comes, start the game again, or praise him for such a good stay.

You will do this same process during an actual storm. Use the lightning as your guide to when the thunder will come. The more focused Teddy is on obeying a command or on his favorite game during the noisy parts, the less he will react to the noise. Treat him and praise him when he does well. Be extremely proud of him when he shows no reaction to the storm.

What you are doing is distracting him from his fear and creating a new association for him. Up until now, Teddy has associated all the signs of a storm with fear and anxiety. He has learned that when these things happen, he is to be afraid. By distracting him, he is forgetting (even momentarily) to be afraid. Despite his best efforts, Teddy is actually having fun. This is the process of redirecting his behavior. We are creating a new association for Teddy that fun things happen when there is a storm overhead.

It will not be necessary to play/train for the entire duration of the storm. That would be exhausting. But, if you can do some play or training (or both) during the first 10 minutes of the storm, and then some reinforcing play/training say, every 60-90 minutes throughout the storm, you will be teaching Teddy that storms are things to be enjoyed because he has fun during a storm.

PRAISE CALM AND RELAXED BODY LANGUAGE
In between play/training throughout the storm, you should only interact with Teddy if he is being calm. If he is lying near you and calm - no tension in his body, no reaction other than an ear twitch, to a thunderclap, tell him he's doing right. Tell him quietly, "Good job, Teddy." Don't get worked up in your praise during these relaxed moments or you will get Teddy's energy level worked up as well. Your praise should match his energy; if he is calm and relaxed, so should be your praise.

If you can get a meal time in during a storm, that's a great opportunity to reinforce that good things happen. Call him to you, put him in a 'sit-stay,' put his bowl down and then tell him "OK." Eating during a storm will certainly distract him. Hang out with him during these meals. If he does not flinch away from his bowl when a big thunderclap rolls through, praise him calmly, "Good boy, Teddy. You're my brave little man." If he does flinch, just ignore the behavior and wait for him to begin eating again. If he is too scared to return to his bowl, toss him a kibble and tell him, "Keep eating." Once his face is back in his bowl, praise him with a very quiet, "Good boy."

RETRAINING EVERY WET SEASON
Since most places do not get thunderstorms year round, it will likely be necessary to do this retraining at the start of the season each year. But if you do both the desensitization and the distract/redirect exercises, Teddy will be much calmer overall throughout the season. It may never be a complete recovery and he may continue to startle when there is a particularly loud thunderclap, but that's normal. Even I jump when one happens so close it makes the windows rattle...

Hopefully with consistent training and redirection from you, both you and Teddy will get to enjoy the wonder of a good thunderstorm.

        

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There are a couple of tricks to teaching your dog to walk nicely on a leash and they do not include using choke chains or pinch collars.

Necessary tools for training a dog to walk nicely on a leash:
1. Collar - nylon or leather, properly fitted
2. Leash - nylon or leather. 4-foot or 6-foot
3. Treats or favorite toy
4. Heaps of praise
5. Piles of paitence

The first efforts should be made with a regular nylon or leather collar fitted properly on the dog's neck. A collar fits properly when you can slip two fingers between the collar and the neck. By being snug like this, you avoid the mistake many owners make of leaving the collar too loose, allowing the dog to slip right out of the collar by backing up. By ensuring that you can slide just two fingers (if you're a very large person with large fingers and/or you're dealing with a very small dog, then one finger is good) between the neck and the collar, you allow the dog to swallow easily and when he scratches, the collar will spin around his neck. The two-finger rule keeps the collar loose enough to be comfortable and snug enough to be secure.

Do not begin training a dog to walk nicely on a leash with a retractable leash. If your dog currently pulls on the leash during a walk, and you give him the space and distance provided by a retractable leash, you will encourage his tendency to pull. He will simply move all the way to the end of the leash (usually about 16 feet) and then pull just as hard, which actually means you have much less control over him. In the beginning stages of learning to walk nicely on a leash, it is important that the dog be close to you and learn to focus on you so that they can take their cue as to when and where to move from you.

So, you have your dog's nylon or leather collar properly fitted and on. You have a 4-foot or 6-foot nylon or leather leash attached to his collar. You are ready to go! Or are you? Make sure you have some treats with you or a favorite toy. You will use these things to get your dog's attention and to help him to focus on you during the walk and not focus with his nose to the ground, pulling you along as if you weren't even there.

OK, to start: Ideally your dog already knows the command "sit." Use this to your advantage. When you get the leash ready, or even before you get the leash if your dog gets very excited by the presence of the leash, tell Socks to "sit." Once Socks is sitting, put his leash on the collar. Do not make a big deal out of this as you do not want to get him riled and pulling you before you've even reached the door. Simply attach the leash without a word. Once you've done this, position the dog on the side of you that you wish him to walk. I will,for discussion purposes have the dog placed on my left side. If you want the dog on your right, then simply reverse the hands in which you hold the various items as I describe them here. Position Socks in a "sit" on your left side. Hold his leash in your RIGHT hand. That's correct - Socks is on your left and the leash is in your RIGHT hand (the leash should be in front of you, not behind you). In your left hand, the hand near Socks, you will have a few tasty morsels of food or his favorite toy. Keep your left hand at your side. Pretend there is a pin holding your left wrist to your left pant seam. This is the best spot for your hand. In this position, your dog can smell what's in your hand without having to jump and without you having to bend over. If you hold your hand in front of you, the dog will be a step or two in front of you. If you hold your hand behind you or out/away from your body, your dog will be behind you or pulling away from you - increasing his distance from you. You want your dog to be near you and focused on you. Right now we're getting him focused on your hand. He can sniff and even lick your hand, but do not offer him a treat during this phase. Stand next to Socks and wait until you are certain that he's calm. Once he's calm you can tell him your command to walk with you. Some options are "Let's go" "Follow" "Walk with me" or "walk." I am specifically not using the command "heel" here because that is a specific type of walking that we will get to after Socks has learned to simply walk without dragging you down the street.

When Socks is calm, you will tell him "Let's go" as you begin to take your first step. It's important that your commands occur as you move. If you stand perfectly still and tell Socks, "let's go" what is he supposed to think you mean. If you are moving forward and say "let's go" he is likely to follow you simply as a reaction to your movement and because he is attached to you by the leash. This is how we begin to associate for him that the words "let's go" mean 'move forward with me.' When you open the door, you should be moving through the door first as this will help Socks understand that he should be looking to you for direction. Also, moving through doorways first is a signal in the doggie world as to who is in charge. If your dog leads you out of the house, then your dog is going to lead you on the walk as well. If, when you open the door, he tries to charge through it, tell him "no sir." Take a few steps back into the house so that he has to move back to you. Stand at the door and put him in a proper sit next to you. Open the door. Stand still with him in a sit at the door and just wait calmly until he relaxes. This may take several minutes. Be patient. Your aim in this is not the walk itself, but the training of how to walk. You may not make it very far in the first several walks. Train when you have at least an hour to work with Socks. Take a few deep, cleansing breaths and think calming thoughts. Your calm energy will feed directly down the leash and to your dog. When he stops fidgeting and trying to get up, when he surrenders to sitting quietly and calmly at the open door, take a step forward as you tell him "let's go." Take your time closing and locking the door just as you normally would. Do not rush the process or you will get Socks worked up again. You may need to start all over again with a sit that lasts a few minutes just outside the now closed door before you can begin to actually move.

Once outside and walking, try to maintain a normal walking pace. Do not move super slow or significantly faster than you would normally like to be walking. Socks needs to learn to move at your pace. As you walk, you should praise him after a few steps of moving nicely with you. If he is walking nicely - not pulling - you should praise a lot. Praise can be almost continual if need be so that you can really drive home for him that he's doing what you are asking. In the beginning you will offer him a treat every 4 steps or so. Once he starts to get the hang of it, offer him a treat every 15th or 20th step, then every 50th pace, then just once in a while. Continue the verbal praise throughout.

IMPORTANT: When you offer Socks his treat for walking nicely, be sure that you do it while moving at your normal walking pace. If you stop to give him the treat, then he will learn that when he stops he gets a treat. This will result in a dog that takes a few steps and stops. That will be a very slow-going walk. If you give him a treat while walking at a normal pace, he will associate the treat with the nice forward movement he is making.

Throughout the walk there should be slack in the leash. Think of the leash as your emergency break, not as your reign. If the dog is focused on you and paying attention to your movement, then your movement will tell him where to go next (left, right, turn around, back up, stop). The leash is there just in case he tries to chase something, or is suddenly in the way of something and you need to move him unexpectedly. The leash is there because the law says we must have control over our dogs at all times while in public and that's appropriate. But the walk should be a united effort and you should not have any tension in your leash at all. In fact, if you find you are unable to train without holding the leash tight, try tying it through your belt loops. Leave it loose enough that when your dog is standing next to you there is a nice U shape to the leash - a bit of slack between the connection to you and the attachment to your dog. Walk him that way and see if he finds it easier to do.

If Socks does start to pull on the leash, simply stop moving. Stand completely still. Become a tree and plant your feet firmly in place. Tell Socks, "Not it" or "No sir/ma'am" whatever command you want to use to tell him he has done something wrong. You are not trying to punish him, simply make it clear that he has made the wrong choice. You will then help him to make the right choice. How?

While standing still, tell Socks in a very sweet voice, "Socks, by me." and show him a treat. Keep the treat in your left hand (the hand on the side where you want the dog). Bend at the waist if you need and hold the treat as close as you can to Socks' nose, but DO NOT LET HIM HAVE THE TREAT!!!! Slowly move your hand with the treat in it in a big semi-circle. You are going to lead Socks by the nose away from you, slightly behind you and then back to position one  - by your side and ready to walk. Once he is back in the right position and calm, tell him "Good boy. Let's walk" and start moving forward again.

If he begins to take a step or two in front of you, but he is not yet actually pulling the leash, you can tell him, "easy" or "slow" and give a very quick jerk on the leash. This should be a wrist-flick. You are not to pull the leash back toward you as the force of you pulling will only cause Socks to pull harder in the forward direction. This is a very fast and brief jerk on the leash either in an upward motion or to the side (toward you). You are not jerking back and you are not pulling back. The purpose of this is to break his concentration and remind him he should be focused on you. Continue to praise and periodically treat him when he is doing well.

Be sure that you do not allow him to pull you along. As soon as there is tension on the leash, you stop and plant yourself firmly in place. Wait for him to calm on his own and return to you, or use the "by me" technique to bring him back to your side. Only when he is calm and by your side does he get the reward of forward movement.

Remember, to a dog, the walk itself is reward enough. Dogs like to walk. They like to move and sniff and see things. They like to investigate. Standing still does not provide much opportunity for investigating. If they want to move forward, they must do so politely. Most dogs who get regular daily practice at walking on a leash, will learn quite quickly that they only get the joy of forward movement when they stay near their human and periodically look to their human for direction.

If your dog does well for 4 or 5 steps and then routinely tries to run ahead, you can practice by changing directions frequently. If Socks never knows where you're going to go next and you are changing directions and speed (from normal to slow to jogging to slow to normal) randomly every handful of steps, Socks will be forced to pay more attention to you lest he get stepped on or dragged along.

If Socks stops to sniff something, it's OK for you to give a tug on the leash to get him moving again. It is not OK for him to give a tug on the leash to get you moving again. If you want to stop and chat with a neighbor, Socks should remain calm and near you, not trying to get you moving again.

Whenever you do come to a stop, you can tell Socks to "sit." After many, many repetitions, Socks should begin to sit automatically every time you stop. This is ideal so that if you do stop to speak with a neighbor, or if you're at the local pet store and want to read the label on a product, Socks will know that since you are not moving, he should be sitting. If he is sitting, he is not pulling on the leash.

Practice crossing streets with Socks. Whenever you are going to cross a street, even if there are no cars coming, stop at the curb and make sure he sits first. Ideally try to time it so that there are cars coming. Stop at the curb and tell Socks to "sit." As the car approaches, tell Socks, "Wait" or "Car" or whatever you'd like. Wait for the car to pass. Then tell him "Let's cross." I do not know for certain that it will work with every dog, but some dogs will make the association with crossing the street that they should wait for cars to pass first. This can help save their lives should they get out while off leash.

Walks should be made up of two parts: walking and sniffing/exploring/investigating. How you divide up this time is somewhat dependent on Socks' potty habits. If he potties at the beginning of the walk, you will need to begin the walk with some sniffing time either on your property or just off your property so that he can tend to that business. If he prefers to potty in the middle of a walk or he waits until it's clear that the walk is over, then you can begin with walking straight away.

Not everyone has time to take their dog out for 30-60 minute walks 2 or 3 times per day. Our lives are just too hectic, and while we'd love to be able to give our dogs that much exercise and have that much quality time with our pups, it's often just not possible. So the timing of your walking/exploring will need to be adjusted for your circumstances. Also, very little dogs (miniatures and tea cups) are not going to go as far as quickly as larger dogs. Instead of using minutes, I will use distances as a guideline. You should have Socks walk nicely with you for one or two residential blocks. This is walking with his head high, and moving at a comfortable pace with you. He is focused on forward motion and looking to you for direction. Once the two of you have walked comfortably a block or two, give him a couple minutes to explore. You can set your sights on a particular mailbox or tree, or an empty lot if there's one near by. Walk to this location and give him some freedom by telling him "free." If you are not using a retractable leash, you can simply step onto the grass and allow him to move. During this portion of the walk, you will follow him around, within reason. After 2-5 minutes (however long you have available to you), tell Socks, "Let's go." and start the walk again. Ideally you will repeat the process at least once more - away from the house. Then on the return trip, you can walk halfway back to the house, stop for a brief investigation and then return home. If you are walking around the block instead of out and back, you can do the first two walk/sniff sections in the first half of the distance and then double the length of the walk time between sniffs on the back half of the walk.

Once you get back to your property, allow him to sniff around before bringing him back inside. Once inside, you can avoid the I've-returned-home-from-an-awesome-outing frenzy by immediately giving him something specific to do such as a drink of water or an ice cube if it's hot out. If Socks will spend a couple minutes licking at and eating an ice cube, then he will calm from that outing energy before he has a chance to spazz out and you will find he is calm and relaxed without much effort on your part.

A NOTE ABOUT HEELING
Heeling is the specific placement of your dog to your side. When in a proper 'heel' Sock's shoulder should always be in line with your knee. This is different from walking nicely in that it is much more rigid in placement. When walking nicely, it is OK if the dog is a half pace ahead or behind, so long as there is no tension on the leash and so long as Socks looks to you periodically for direction. In heeling, there is no room for this half-pace off placement. He must have his shoulder in line with the knee nearest him. Also, part of "heel" is the process of taking up residence in this position beside you  - ready to walk. The actual command "heel" is usually taught as the movement from where ever the dog is (possibly sitting in front of you and facing you) around your right side, behind your back and taking up a seated position at your left side. Many handlers will often use "Heel up" to get the dog in place and "Heel" to start the dog walking.

For most pet owners who simply want to be able to enjoy a nice walk with their dog, heeling is not necessary. Simply walking nicely on a leash is sufficient.

A NOTE ON RETRACTABLE LEASHES
Retractable leashes are nice because they can allow your dog a little extra freedom of movement while still being attached to you. Once your dog consistently walks nicely on a leash, you can upgrade to a retractable leash. They come in 10-foot, 16-foot and 26-foot lengths. During the actual walking part of the walk, you should keep the leash locked down to a standard 4-6 foot length so that Socks is restricted and so that there remains some slack in the leash. Once you get to an area where a little bit of freedom is an option - an open field, a grassy area, etc., you can release the lock and tell Socks, "Free." This way he will learn that he has some freedom to move around. This allows you to stand still and stay off the wet grass, or you can stay in the shade while Socks is exploring a bit for just the right potty spot. After he has had some freedom for a few minutes, call him to you, shorten the leash and lock it in at the 4- or 6-foot length and tell Socks, "Let's walk." He will learn quickly that a reward for walking nicely with you is that at some point you will tell him "free" and give him a chance to sniff and explore.

A NOTE ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF COLLARS AND HARNESSES
Most dogs will learn to walk very nicely just using their regular nylon or leather collar. Some dogs are particularly determined, or the owner for whatever reason does not feel they have sufficient control over the dog. There are some options available. My personal favorites are the Gentle Lead Face Collar and the Gentle Lead Harness.

The Gentle Lead Face Collar works much like a horse bridle. If the dog pulls ahead, the collar pulls his head so that he is suddenly looking over his shoulder. If he pulls very hard, he will end up turning himself 180 degrees and face you.  It has a loop that goes around the dog's nose, up under the eyes and a collar that snaps snugly behind his ears. This product comes with a CD-ROM to show exactly how to get the right fit. The collar part should be just behind the ears, not low on the neck. It should be snug enough that you can barely squeeze one finger between the collar and his head. The face part should fit around his face, near his eyes, but not rubbing/irritating his eyes. The adjustment should be snug under his chin. The line from the face loop and the line from the collar part should make a nice V shape. This provides a secure fit without irritating the dog. The CD-ROM also has chapters to show various ways of getting the dog acclimated to wearing a face collar.

The Gentle Lead Harness is not like the traditional harness styles. Traditional harness styles have the leash attachment on the dog's back. The Gentle Lead Harness has the leash attachment on the dog's chest. This allows it to work much like the face collar. If the dog pulls, the harness will tug on the dog's shoulder a little. This will cause him to turn completely around and face you if he pulls hard enough. Many dogs who have difficulty acclimating to the face collar, or have a short enough snout that a proper fit is difficult or impossible to achieve with the face collar, do quite well with the harness. Both of the Gentle Lead products work very well. Most dogs will stop pulling instantly and walk nicer for you. But, it is not the ideal way to train the dog to walk in that they are not choosing to walk nicely with you by their own motivation. A dog who walks with you because they want to walk with you is a dog that sees you as their leader. These collars are not harmful and I have used them. But if you can teach the dog to walk with you because they want to follow you, all the better.

Pinch collars are often used with large dogs or dogs that pull exceedingly hard. Mostly I see these collars on so-called bully breeds or used by owners who have no clear understanding of how to lead their dogs. Pinch collars can be useful with certain dogs - especially those trained in police work or protection. If a dog is trained to attack, they are often less sensitive physically and require something like a pinch collar to be effective. However, it is important that when one uses a pinch collar, it must be fitted properly. If it is too loose it can cause serious damage to the dog or be completely ineffectual. If it is too tight it can cause serious damage to the dog. And if it is used improperly it can cause serious damage to the dog. A pinch collar works by applying pressure that feels vaguely similar to that of another dog's bite. A type of correction a dog would get from another dog. But most people are used to the concept of choke chains and they are used to pulling on leads and chokers and they want to pull on a pinch collar as well. This is EXACTLY WRONG. A pinch collar is meant to tighten as the dog pulls forward. The dog's own movement will correct it as the collar tightens and when the dog stops moving forward, or moves back toward you, the collar relaxes and so does the correction. If we pull on it, we are creating a correction that can be much to hard, and can actually cause serious trauma to the trachea.

Choke Chains can be put on correctly or incorrectly. When the dog is going to walk on your left, you should hold the choker so that it is in the shape of the letter P while you are facing the dog. Put the collar on in this position. Then when the dog is on your left and you give a quick tug to correct, it will tighten slightly and then relax when you let up on the pressure. Put the collar on incorrectly and it will not release once you've pulled on it. This can be confusing to the dog and dangerous. Choke chains are not about choking the dog. They are about very quick and very brief corrections. In fact, it is more about the noise of the choker than the actual physical sensation of it that corrects the dog. They can be useful, but like the pincher collar, one should consult a professional for instruction to proper use before using it for training.

Neither pinch collars nor choke chains are meant to be worn 24/7. These collars should only be put on for training/walking and the dog should be supervised at all times while wearing one of these collars. An unsupervised dog wearing a choke chain or pinch collar can accidentally get the collar caught on something and in their effort to free themselves can literally strangle to death. Do not put the dog tags on a choke chain or pinch collar and declare that to be your dog's collar. Tags should go on an every-day collar that is nylon or leather and flat or rolled. These collars fit snugly and are significantly less likely to get caught on anything.

Traditional harnesses are great if your dog does not pull you or if you have a very small dog with a sensitive trachea/throat. You can teach a dog to walk nicely with a traditional harness, but if you find that even your teeny chihuahua is pulling on a traditional harness, the Gentle Lead makes a petite size.

        

In part I we discussed how nutrition plays a role in potty habits. In part II, I went through the basic steps to successfully potty train your dog. In this section I will talk about the various products that are helpful in the process and explain how they work. I also go into further detail about the process of successful potty training.

HOW TO GET FROM AN ENTIRE FLOOR COVERED WITH POTTY PADS DOWN TO JUST ONE OR TWO PADS
In part II I recommended using a small space such as a bathroom or laundry room or playpen and cover the entire floor (except where the bed is located) with potty pads so that puppy could not miss and therefore could not make a mistake. But at some point, you want to be able to downsize this potty spot to just one or two pads.

You will have the entire space lined for at least 3 weeks. During this time you will notice that Fido usually goes in the same one or two spots. Typically this will be as far as he can get from his bed/living space. At the end of 3 weeks, when you see him consistently going in the same one or two places every time he uses the pads, you can begin to wean down the pads. Begin by removing the pad nearest his bed. This leaves his bed, one small area of exposed floor and the rest of the floor is still covered with potty pads. Leave it at this stage for one week. Every week that he does not have an accident on the exposed floor you can remove another pad (the next closest to his bed) until you are down to just one or two pads where Fido always goes.

Some dogs will not pee and poop on the same pad. So you may need to leave two pads out for him. Change the pads as often as needed. If 50% or more of the pad has been used, replace it. If he poops in one corner of the pad and you can remove that poop, leaving 80% of the pad still clean, that's OK. but if he urinates right in the middle of the pad and he can no longer get all 4 feet on the pad without stepping on a wet spot, replace it. Dogs will not usually go in exactly the same spot twice. So pay attention and determine if there is room for Fido to comfortably position himself to potty on the pad and if there is enough space on the pad to absorb what he is leaving.

During the weaning process, if Fido has an accident on the exposed floor, simply back up to having the entire floor lined with potty pads for 2 weeks and then begin again.

Once Fido has successfully pottied only on his pads with exposed floor for 3 weeks, you can begin to expand his home space. This can happen by using baby gates and such. If he is in a bathroom, perhaps give him access to the bathroom and the hallway, but not the rest of the house. If he is successful for 4 weeks with the added space, you can increase it to include another room. Do this a bit at a time. If you go from one small bathroom to an entire 3 bedroom house in one step, you will have accidents.

Remember potty training Fido takes as much time and patience as potty training a child. There will be setbacks. It's part of the learning process. If you are prepared for it and respond appropriately (scolding when caught, not scolding when found later, and always cleaning thoroughly with appropriate products), you will eventually have a full potty trained dog.

POTTY PADS FOR THE DOG WHO WILL EVENTUALLY POTTY OUTSIDE ONLY
When puppies are little it's often easier, and even necessary, to use potty pads some of the time. Especially if you must leave them confined while you're gone for hours at a time at work. If you intend for your dog to potty outside as his primary potty spot, but he is still a little puppy and clearly needs to use potty pads when you're gone for long periods of time or over night, there is a solution. I overcome the potential for Fido to be a dual pottier (inside and outside) by using the potty pads the way parents use a babysitter.

In my house, the potty pads were only used when I was not available to take my pup outside. If I was home and awake, I made sure to take him outside. First thing in the morning, after meals, when I got home, during play, just before bed and whenever I saw he was signaling that he was about to go, I quickly escorted him outside. I quietly encouraged him to go, waited while he did and included a very quiet "good potty" to further associate the label with the activity and praised him when he was done. He only used potty pads when I had to leave him unattended. If I left the house, he was confined with potty pads.  If I was asleep for the night, he was confined with potty pads. If I was in the shower, he was confined with potty pads. So in this way, he only ever had the potty pads when I wasn't there to take him out. He learned to head toward the door when I was home and we were able to successfully remove potty pads from his world.

Now, I must admit, my house has a dog door that leads to a fenced-in back yard. Once he learned how to get through the dog door, potty training was nearly complete because he had ready access to get outside, and instinctively he prefers to potty outside over his play area inside. We had one accident right after replacing the carpet. It smelled new and felt different and it confused him. One correction was enough to make clear that this new carpet was no more an OK potty spot than the old carpet.

POTTY PADS
This is clearly the most obvious tool to start with. What are they? How do they work? Why spend money on potty pads when I already have a newspaper at home?

Potty pads are square pieces of material. The back is made of a plastic, non-leaking liner. This liner helps to protect your floors from your pup's mess. The top layer is a cotton-feeling material that is similar in appearance and texture to human baby diapers. Almost all potty pads come with a built in attractant. Typically the attractant smells to the dog like urine as this will make the pad smell like a potty spot and draw the dog to the area for the purpose of going potty. Rest assured, it does not stink like urine to the human nose.

Some pads are scented with a grass smell - to smell more like outside where the dog may be more used to going. This is particularly good for emergencies when you may not be able to allow a dog who normally potties outside to have access to the outdoors. It could also be useful if your dog is ill or has had a surgical procedure and must be kept confined. If, however, you're just training a puppy who has never had access (or very limited access) to the outside for the purpose of potty, you will be more successful with the pads scented like urine rather than grass.

There are lots of brands of potty pads that you can use and they come at various price levels. The least expensive may not have any attractant, which means you may need to purchase a separate product (Potty Training Aid) to spray on the center of the pad. For a little more money, you can get the pads with the built-in attractant. The least expensive brands also have limited absorbency, which increases the potential for leakage if there's a large deposit or more than one before the pad is changed. One brand, Jump Start, has adhesive strips on two of the 4 sides. I found them to be quite useful as I could overlap the pads and use the sticky to help hold them all together, creating one large area that was less likely to have open spaces or gaps. Jump Start is a bit more expensive because of this added feature. Several brands also use the same technology as human baby diapers with the lock-away moisture core. These products have a chemical on their 2nd or 3rd layer that turns the moisture from urine into a gel, which helps to contain larger or multiple messes and keeps it dry to the touch should puppy decide to also lay in this area.

I highly recommend against using newspaper for three main reasons. First, the ink will smear on the floor when it gets wet and could stain your floor. Second, newspapers fall apart when wet which further makes cleanup difficult and a little bit gross.. Third, and potentially most important, Fido will not differentiate between paper you put down for him and paper (possibly important papers) that you still need. If you have the Sunday paper on the floor next to the couch as you read through it, Fido may see this stack and think, "Finally! I don't have to leave the room to go!" If you have bills or other important papers that happen to end up on the floor for some reason, you run the same risk.

POTTY PAD TRAYS AND FRAMES
There is a potty pad frame that literally creates a hard plastic frame around the pad that helps to keep it in place. It is just a frame and does nothing to ensure Fido's potty stays on the pad and not the floor.

There is a potty pad tray that I quite like. It is a hard plastic tray on which you lay the potty pad. There is a second piece that goes on top of the potty pad (just along the outside edges -framing). The potty pad is effectively sandwiched between the frame and the tray. The edges are round so that if Fido is right near the edge, the liquid will be encouraged onto the pad/tray. Because the tray is solid, even if there is an exceptionally large deposit, any leakage is contained on the frame and not on the floor.

Both of these products are useful also for the dog that likes to dig at or tear up the potty pad. it will not eliminate that behavior, but it will help to hold the pad still and usable. The tray also creates a solid place for the potty should Puppy tear up the pad a bit.

POTTY TRAINING AIDS
There is a product called Potty Training Aid. This is the artificial urine attractant found in most potty pads. If you find that you are having trouble getting Fido to potty on the pad, or if you are outside and want to encourage his using the bathroom in a particular area, you can spray this to help create the smell of potty spot for him.

There is a product by Simple Solution called Pee Post. This is a plastic post that you can stick into the ground where you want Fido to potty outside. It has the same attractant as Potty Training Aid spray, but will last at the site for quite a bit longer. Very useful if you are trying to designate one specific area as the potty spot outside.

There are other products such as No Go! and No Stay! which are designed to repel your dog. How effective these products are depends on the dog. Not all dogs are repelled by the smell. You will need to let your dog sniff the open bottle while you watch him. If he seems curious or un-phased, it will not work for you. If he moves away and won't allow you to bring it to his nose a second time, then you may have luck with it.

CLEANING PRODUCTS
There are countless products out there that declare they will eliminate pet elimination odor. I have found a couple that work well and a few that routinely get returned. Here I will discuss the ones that work well. At the bottom of this entry I will have an "avoid" section.
My two favorite products are PetZyme and Simple Solution. These two products both have a nonpathogenic (friendly) bacteria that eats the enzymes in urine and feces that cause them to smell like urine and feces. This bacteria literally eats the odor. Others suggest they use oxidization or "natural enzymes" to eliminate odor, but I have not had much success with them.

Both PetZyme and Simple Solution contain mild surfactants (stain removers) as well. For that reason, you will want to test the material in question in a discreet area to be sure there is no color change or damage. Assuming it is safe to use on your floor, it can be used on hard floors, wood, laminate and carpet. If the soiled area is carpet, blot up the mess as much as possible. Then spray the area to the with the cleaning product. Saturate the carpet in this area so that the product gets all the way to the backing. This ensures that all the urine will be contacted by the cleaning agent. Let the product sit for 20 minutes and then blot up the excess moisture. Let the area air dry for a couple days. If it is hard floor, wipe up the mess and spray the area thoroughly with the product. Leave it to air dry. This allows the bacteria a chance to break down the enzymes that cause the smell.

This is important. Using typical household cleaning products or others that do not contain the bacteria, you will not thoroughly eliminate the odor. It is not enough that our poor-sniffing human noses no longer smell potty. A dot's sense of smell is something like 100,000 times better than ours. We need to be certain that it doesn't smell like a potty spot to him.

BLACK LIGHTS
If you do not own a black light, you can get one for a reasonable price. You can conduct your own CSI investigation. If, after dark, you turn off all the lights and run the black light over the area of concern (between 4-6 inches above the floor) you will be able to see just where to spray because urine will glow fluorescent yellow. Feces will look like a black smudge. After you know where to spray and have sprayed, let the area air dry for 2 days. Then run the black light over the area again. You should see a significant shrinkage of area. You may need to treat an area more than once to get it all. The black light can be very helpful in ensuring that your cleanup was complete.

DOG DOORS
If you have a fenced-in yard and can install a dog door, that is an ideal situation. You can open the door during the day and allow your dog free access to get out to potty. You can close it and secure it at night. I have used a dog door large enough for a 60-lb dog to get through (large enough for a full grown woman of average weight to get through) in 3 separate houses (including one in Los Angeles) and have never seen anything go through the door other than the resident dog/s and invited canine friends. I have always made sure to purchase ones that had a door I could slip in from the inside and lock in place with a pin-lock. This way when I close it at night, I feel secure that cannot be opened from the outside.

DOG DOOR BELLS
There are several options here from bells that hang from the door knob by ribbon to products that live on the floor for your dog to step on. These can be placed right at the door and you can train your dog to alert you by sounding the bell so you can let him out.

this link will take you to a page with a few alternatives.   http://tinyurl.com/p5kvcb

To train Fido to use these bells is fairly easy. When you take him to the door to go out, take his paw and move it to step on the pad (or brush the bells hanging from the door). As you do this, tell him "Potty time." Then open the door and take him out. Be sure to label the behavior while he is going to further associate for him that this is what "potty" means. Every time you take him to the door, have him make the noise. You will have to mold the behavior several times (possibly as little as a half dozen or as many as several dozen) before he begins to learn how to do it himself.

Your dog may find it easier to nose the bell rather than step on it. That's OK too. Don't use too much force to get him to nose the pad on the floor. You may need to do it several times and then try to get him to do it.

After you feel that he is anticipating the touch, you can stop molding the behavior and simply ask him to do it. Give him a moment to think it through and figure it out. If he does, big praise and open the door. If he doesn't after a few seconds, then help him. Eventually he will do it at your command without you having to physically help him. Once he can do it when you are standing there with him and tell him "go potty?" he is likely to have made the connection that this is how to get out. Then, lead him over to the door but do not give the command. Wait for him to do it himself. If he doesn't after several seconds and you know he has to go, then give the command. If he does do it without the command, big praise and open the door. He will likely surprise you at some point by going and ringing the bell when you're not even in the room. This is a great accomplishment.

CAVEAT: Only have him ring the bell when it's time to go outside specifically for potty time. If you're taking him for a walk, or just letting him out to run around or you're going for a car ride, DO NOT USE THE BELL. The point of the bell is for him to tell you he needs to potty. If you use the bell every time Fido is going to go through the door, you will teach him that he can ask to go out whenever he wants and he will ask a lot.

Some of these bells have a pad that can be placed outside as well, so he can ask to come back in when he's ready.

PLAYPENS, CRATES AND BABY GATES
Crates can be useful for potty training so long as they are sized correctly for the dog. If you are using a crate that is too large for the dog, you will undermind your efforts to potty train. My favorite crates to use are I-Crate and Select. These are wire crates and they come with a moveable divider. The divider panel can be placed anywhere in the crate to limit the space availabl to the dog. This is great because you can buy a crate that will be the right size for an adult dog who is fully potty trained, but limit the space to what is approrpiate to your dog at his particular stage of training. This is much more cost effective in the long run, especially if you have a young puppy who will grow into a large dog. If you buy a crate sized for a 10-week old lab, you will need to buy a new crate every month until he's full grown. If you buy the wire crate with the divider panel, you can buy one crate that will be comfortable for him when he's 80 lbs, but can be sized to fit him at his young age now.

Playpens are a favorite of mine. There are many brands and designs avaialable. Kennel-Aire is one I like quite a lot. it's made of metal and has 8 panels. Each hinge can be turned 360 degrees, allowing you to fold panels on themselves to make a smaller space if necessary. This much movement also allows you to configure it in many different shapes to best suit your needs and space available. Each panel is 24" wide creating 16 sq. feet of floor space when expanded fully. One panel has a door in it, which allows you to give Fido freedom to go in and out of th playpen when you are there to supervise him. This way he can take himself to his potty spot during play because he'll have access to it. It is held closed by leash snaps. The whole unit folds flat (roughly 6" thick) to store under a bed or in a closet. This playpen comes in 3 height sizes: 24", 36" and 48" high.

Baby gates can be very useful when you are enlarging the space Fido has access to, while keeping parts of the house off limits. You can get anything from simple pressure-mount gates to hard-installs that hang from the wall. They have them these days to fit traditional doorways as well as more modern open floor plans. My favorites are pressure-mounted for ease of moving, and have a gate built into the gate. This allows you to put it in place and leave it there. You can open and close the gate for your passage without having to completely move the gate every time you want to pass through that area.

AVOID

• Doggie Diapers for the purpose of potty training. Ignore the packaging that suggests they are useful for this. They are not. Dog diapers are meant for females in heat or either males or females with incontinence issues (not the same thing as 'not potty trained'). Putting diapers on a puppy will NOT teach puppy to "hold it." It WILL teach puppy to live in her mess. It WILL teach puppy that potty stays with her no matter where she goes and so no matter where she is, it must be an OK potty spot.
  
• Products to avoid include crates that are too large for your puppy, as explained above.
• Cleaning products that do not contain the nonpathogenic bacteria. I have had little success and heard many complaints about Nature's Miracle other products that suggest they use oxidization and "natural enzymes" to eliminate odors.
• Ammonia-based cleaning products. Urine contains ammonia. If you use a household cleaner that contains ammonia, you will be effectively making the entire area smell like an acceptable potty spot to Fido.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
If after reading all of three sections, you still have questions about potty training, please feel free to write to me and I will do my best to answer your questions. Trust that if you still have a question, someone else has the same question.

You can send questions to
training@gooddog-dogtraining.com

Thanks for reading.

        

<< MORE >>

In the last entry I discussed nutrition and how it plays a role in your dog's potty habits. Now I will walk you through the basics of how to actually potty train your puppy (or older dog).

First decide where your pooch is going to potty. Indoors on a potty pad
or outside? If outside, in a specific area of the yard or does she have
free roam of the yard to potty wherever she see fit? If you are
training for an indoor potty spot, pick the area where you want the
potty pads to live. Ideally this will be in a small room ...<< MORE >>

Potty training a new pup or an older dog may seem like an enormous undertaking, but when you break it down you'll find that anyone can successfully teach their canine friend where the "right" spot is and how to let you know when it's time to go.

DOG'S PERSPECTIVE:
Dogs instinctively do not want to potty where they live. In the wild "where they live" consists of the nest that they make by turning circles and digging out an area that is large enough for them to lay down on comfortably. If a dog in the wild needs to potty, they will get up from this nest, move a few feet away, potty and return to their nest. They have effectively not messed in their home.

In our world, the home is several hundred times larger than any home a dog would have on their own. It is therefore necessary to teach the dog that is it not enough to simply move away from their bed or favorite play spot, but that they need to go to a specific spot (either on a potty pad in the house, or outside) to potty. This can only be done in baby steps. Below and in subsequent blogs I will walk you through exactly how to teach your puppy (or older dog) to potty where you want them to.

NUTRITION:
Believe it or not, what we put into our dogs plays a big role in what comes out of our dogs. A healthy, well balanced diet is best. When it comes to dog food, you really do get what you pay for. When you look at the nutritional analysis and see that product A (sold for $18 for 40 lbs) contains 20% minimum protein and product B (sold for $40 for 30 lbs) contains 20% minimum protein, you probably think to yourself: "They both have the same nutritional value, but product A is way nicer on my pocketbook, so I will buy that one!" It's a no-brainer, right? Wrong. You cannot base your decision solely on the nutritional analysis as this can be extremely misleading. If the protein is entirely made up of soya and wheat gluten, then there is a lot of product in the food that your dog will have difficulty digesting (using) and little if any actual meat protein which is what your dog is designed to digest effectively. 

Why am I bringing this up here? Because if you feed your dog a low quality food that contains lots of fillers and other ingredients that your dog cannot digest easily, if at all, then you will end up feeding your dog a lot more in the long run due to lack of nutrition in each meal. Also, the more filler and other non-useable ingredients in the food, the more poop you have to clean up. Poop resulting from a low quality diet tends to be large, more frequent and very stinky.

If, on the other hand, you feed a dog food that has no fillers and a quality meat based protein, then you will reduce the overall amount of food you have to feed your dog in order for them to have proper nutrition. You will also reduce the size, frequency and aroma of the poop. This is something we can all live with.

So, how do you determine if a food is high quality or not? Read the ingredient list. The items are listed in order of prevalence in the food starting with the ingredient that makes up the largest part of the food and working down to the item that is only just a little bit of the overall product. You should be most concerned with the first 5 ingredients.

The first ingredient should be a meat protein. Meat proteins include chicken, lamb, fish, beef, and venison. It may say it is a "meal" such as Lamb meal. This is OK. A meal is created when they squeeze out all of the water content, leaving behind a concentrated form of the ingredient. So the difference between Lamb and Lamb meal is that the lamb meal is a more concentrated version of the lamb in its orginal form. (Avoid byproduct. If the ingredient list says chicken byproduct meal this could understandably be confusing. What is that? It is a concentrated form of all the byproduct  from the bird - feathers, feet, beak - stuff that has very little nutritional value). There is at least one very well known product that has been around forever whose ONLY "meat protein source" is chicken byproduct meal and it is the 5th ingredient down!

The second ingredient should be a whole grain such as brown rice, brewers rice or whole grain sorghum. These are packed full of nutrients.

You will find variations in the ordering of ingredients. You may find a list that reads, "Lamb, lamb meal, brown rice..." or "Lamb meal, brown rice, lamb..." So long as the first 5 ingredients are protein and whole grains (and that first ingredient is protein) you are doing well.

AVOID: corn meal* and wheat meal* as these are mostly filler with little nutritional value and are also two of the most common allergens for dogs.

*The nutritonal part of corn and wheat is the gluten - the protein. If it is whole ground corn or corn gluten meal (same for wheat) it is higher quality than just straight corn meal or wheat meal.

PORTION SIZE:
Read the label on the food you are using. There is a guide that will tell you how much to feed your dog based on their age and weight. The information you see on the label is a DAILY allowance, NOT a per-meal allowance. Portions are based on a standard 8 oz cup. You should take the listed portion and split in half or thirds depending on how often you feed your dog.

FOOD AND WATER SCHEDULE:
Allow your dog 10 minutes to eat each meal. This is a guideline. If at the end of 10 minutes, Fido is happily munching away, let him finish his food. If, on the other hand, he has wandered away and is occupied doing something else, pick up the food and DO NOT OFFER IT AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT MEAL. This will quickly teach Fido that he should eat when food is presented or risk going hungry. Provide plenty of clean, fresh water for Fido to drink while he is eating. If he finishes the bowl of water, refill it and allow him to keep driniking until he decides he is done. Try to make meal times at roughly the same time every day. By creating a routine schedule of when he gets to eat and drink, you will be helping Fido's body develop an internal schedule for when he needs to piddle and poop.

NOTE ON WATER:
It is not necessary to leave water available 24 hours per day. Let Fido drink his fill of water during his meals. If you are home with him, you can offer him water every 2 hours or so. If you must leave for more than 2 hours, you can put out a bowl with some ice cubes in it. Fido can lick at the ice, chew the ice (that's a fun game!) or drink the melted ice. This will allow Fido to stay hydrated while keeping him from gulping down an entire bowl of water in one shot. If he takes it in slowly, his body has a chance to process it and will allow him to hold his bladder for a longer time.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE SO FAR:
If you know when the food/water goes in, you will have a much better idea of when it will need to come out. So create a food and water schedule for your furry friend. It will help them learn to hold it and to anticipate when they will be allowed to go.