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Animal House & Company, Inc.

114 S Sporting Hill Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
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SERVING DOGS IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 10 YEARS




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DOGGIE TRIVIA ...

Two dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic. They escaped on early lifeboats carrying so few people that no one objected. Miss Margaret Hays of New York brought her Pomeranian with her in lifeboat No.7, while Henry Sleeper Harper of the publishing family boarded boat No.3 with his Pekinese, Sun Yat Sen.
  • For more dog trivia, visit the following website:
    Comedy Zone

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LIGHTEN UP ....

On the last day of kindergarten, all the children brought presents for their teacher.

The florist's son handed the teacher a gift. She shook it, held it up and said, "I bet I know what it is ... some flowers!"

"That's right!" shouted the little boy.

Then the candy storeowner's daughter handed the teacher a gift. The teacher held it up, shook it and said, "I bet I know what it is ... it's a box of candy!"

"That's right!" shouted the little girl.

The next gift was from the liquor storeowner's son. The teacher held it up and noticed that it was leaking. She touched a drop with her finger and tasted it. "Is it wine?" she asked.

"No," the boy answered.

The teacher touched another drop to her tongue. "Is it champagne?" she asked.

"No," the boy answered.

Finally, the teacher said, "I give up. What is it?"

"A puppy!" the boy replied.

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DID YOU KNOW ....
Shedding Hair Cannot Be Prevented By Medication or Nutritional Supplements

Products that promise to stop shedding are misleading. Special sprays, shampoos, and nutritional supplements are advertised but none are recommended. There is no substance currently known to stop the normal and desirable turnover of a pet's coat. Applied topically, such a product could even be harmful if it irritates the skin or triggers an allergic reaction. In the oral form, there is no regulation of ingredients yielding unfounded promises.

Normal hair growth and replacement occurs cyclically. In most dog and cat breeds, hair grows and normally falls out, or sheds, about every 180 days. Normal hair loss does not occur all at once so that the skin remains uniformly covered. Seasonal peaks of shedding typically occur in the spring and fall. Warm weather triggers thinning when hair is no longer required to conserve body heat. In the fall, hair follicles again respond to seasonal hormonal changes that stimulate more rapid turnover and growth in preparation for the winter.

The coat of pets that spend time outdoors often becomes more dense compared to those that remain indoors. In Nordic dog breeds like the Alaskan Malamute, for example, the hair grows in two layers. The longer outer coat overlays a short, dense layer of hair that is cottony in quality. This "undercoat" provides additional insulation in severe winter cold. In the spring, the dense undercoat frequently seems to be shedding in clumps.

Some pets shed very little and others hardly shed at all. Airedales and Poodles, for example, show little hair loss but still require periodic professional grooming to rejuvenate the coat. The Chinese Crested hairless variety is practically bare and has virtually nothing to shed.

This article was taken from No More Myths, Real Facts to Answer Common Misbeliefs About Pet Problems by Stefanie Schwartz, DVM.

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FIRE SAFETY DRILL
Portions of this article taken from Dog Fancy Magazine

If you had a house fire, would your dog know what to do? The high-pitched wail of a smoke alarm can frighten a dog. Some will panic and hide, which would be fatal in a real fire. Be proactive - teach your dog to safely exit your home when it hears the smoke alarm.

When the smoke alarm sounds, call to your dog (or, if necessary, go to it), and encourage it to follow you outdoors, giving several more treats and lots of praise. This helps the dog to learn the behavior of exiting the house when the fire alarm sounds, rather than panicking and hiding somewhere inside the house.

Have the dog wait outside while you go back in to silence the alarm. Then return to your dog giving another treat and allowing it back into the house.

At first your dog may hesitate and act confused, but it will get the idea quickly if you keep an upbeat attitude and give great treats. Once the dog catches on, try speeding-up the exit time - remember you're practicing for an emergency in which every second counts.

Some sensitive smoke detectors beep when you bake frozen pizza or toast a bagel too dark, providing frequent opportunities for spontaneous fire drills. You can trigger less sensitive alarms with smoke from an incense stick or a blown-out candle.

    Tips:

  • Keep a leash by the door so that during an emergency you can grab it on your way out and leash your dog as soon as you're both outside.
  • To prevent your dog from getting lost during a fire, make sure it wears a collar with tags at all times. Or keep it attached to the leash by the door so you can quickly grab it on your way out.
  • Use dog doors only if they lead immediately into a fenced area.

If you do not want to rehearse fire drills with your dog, at least give the subject some thought. What would you, your family and pets do in the event of a fire?

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COPROPHAGIA - POOP EATING

Coprophagia is the technical term for the eating of feces by an animal. It is a common complaint of owners to their veterinarian.

If you are so inclined, here are a few more definitions:
  • Autocoprophagia: an animal eating its own feces
  • Intraspecific coprophagia: an animal eating feces from another animal within its own species.
  • Interspecific coprophagia: an animal eating feces from another animal of another species.

In all my research on the subject, the same theme ran true - No one knows for sure why dogs do this. There are, however, several theories:
  • It's instinctive.
    - Mothers will eat the puppies' feces (& urine) during the first few weeks of life to keep the whelping box clean.
    - Many adult wild dog species must consume feces during trying times in their environment to survive.
    - Submissive dogs may consume the feces of one or more of the dominant dogs in the same household.
    - Protection in the wild .. removing their scent so predators cannot locate them.
  • Nutritional deficiency.
  • Boredom.
  • It tastes good to them.
  • Modern commercial diets are loaded with nutrition that will not be 100% digested on the first passage. This is especially true of cat feces.
  • Mocking the owners behavior in 'picking-up' feces.
  • Attention getting behavior on the part of the dog, especially if it can engage the owner in a game (keep-away, chase me, bet you can't catch me). Even if no 'game' is involved, the owner tends to reprimand the dog, therefore, paying attention to the dog.
  • Hunger. Dogs that are fed once a day may be hungry and find the feces fills them up between meals.

TREATMENT

Before venturing on any path of self-prescribed treatment, make a visit to your veterinarian to rule-out any possible medical problems.

With that said, there are a number of suggestions discovered in my research. It must be pointed out, however, that all sources stated that there is no real cure. Some things work for some dogs ... and some things don't work for any dogs. Perhaps if you can determine the reason your dog eats poop, the better chance you may have of stopping the behavior.
  • All sources agreed that the only sure way to stop the behavior is to immediately pick-up the feces or to keep the dog away from the supply (such as a cat's litter box).
  • Vitamin supplements.
  • Meat tenderizer (Accent) on the dog's food to change the taste of the stool when it is passed. (Comment from a reader: "People should not use meat tenderizer on your dog's food as this is a horrendous raw tissue irritant!! It is designed to break down raw meat tissue, i.e. mouth, esophagus, stomach, etc., in a live animal. I have heard that MSG, (Accent, which you named ...)is helpful. Personally, I tried it and didn't get anywhere. Plus, the sodium content is through the roof.")
  • Forbid. This is a powdered supplement added to the dog's food. It is thought that this makes the feces taste bad, however, note that it must be applied to the food of the dog whose feces is being eaten and it can only be given to dogs. Veterinary prescription is required.
  • Deter. This is a pill given to a dog with its food. It works in the same manner as Forbid, however, a prescriptions not required to purchase it. (Comment from reader: "I have had excellent results using Deter, which they sell at Petsmart and such. No real results unless I doubled the dosage (which they suggest) and used it for an entire month. This can get quite expensive in a big dog, but it does work.")
  • Bad taste put on the feces - like hot sauce.
  • Ignoring the behavior .... if your dog is seeking attention from the behavior.
  • Other additives to food. Homeopathic treatments, pumpkin seeds, breath mints, papaya, anise seed, and pineapple.
  • Muzzle the dog.
  • Positive reinforcement. To break the habit cycle, give the dog a command as it is getting ready to eat the feces and then reward the correct behavior.
  • Wait. Many dogs, especially if younger, will grow out of the behavior.
  • Combination of treatments. A combination of reinforcing desired behaviors and picking-up the feces.

There are lots of suggestions out there with lots of varying results. Some of the sources even contradicted each other. One claims a diet high in fat is the way to go while another source stated a low fat diet. Essentially, coprophagia is a natural behavior in dogs. Since dogs have to live with people, it becomes an issue.

For more information, visit the following web sites;

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© 2009 Animal House & Company, Inc.