EVERYDAY DOGCARE

“Make a fist.” How often do we hear people tell their preschooler to close their hand into a fist when the youngster wants to pet a dog they don’t know? The belief is that making a fist is less aggressive than going straight to petting and less threatening than an open hand. Also, the thinking goes, making a fist gives the dog an opportunity to get to know the person by sniffing them before there’s any actual body contact.

It seems like common sense. A disaster occurs—a hurricane or fire or perhaps a chemical spill—and you put your dog in the car and get as far away as you can. But what if you become separated from your pet? What if you’re going to be removed from your home for days or weeks? How much food and water should you have on hand for the dog?

Q: Our sweet 13- to 14-year-old mixed breed rescue has some hearing loss, osteoarthritis, and early kidney disease. She is, however, active and happy, and her kidney disease is so far managed with a special kidney diet. But formerly a dog who rarely barked, she has begun to bark at me impatiently when I am preparing her special treats (kidney kibble in a dog toy) and in general has begun to vocalize more often. We are amused by this change rather than annoyed, but wonder about the cause. Is she barking because of hearing loss, needing to be sure she’s heard? Is she less patient because of her age? Or could this be an early sign of dementia?

The Food and Drug Administration says that because tuna is relatively high in the toxic metal mercury, people should limit their consumption to three servings a week—8 to 12 ounces altogether. But what about dogs? Should their tuna intake have a limit, too? Yes.

What dog lover doesn’t enjoy the sight of an exuberant pet’s vigorously wagging tail? The thing is, if the tail keeps smacking against walls, furniture, or other hard surfaces, the skin can break open at the tip. It bleeds, often with blood spraying all over. It’s also painful—and difficult to heal. Worse, it’s apt to keep recurring. Every time the wound scabs over, it easily opens up the next time the tail goes thumping against a firm surface. “We see cases like this a couple of times a month,” says Tufts emergency and critical care veterinarian Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, who tends to cases at our Foster Hospital for Small Animals.

Looking for a new type of environmental enrichment for your dog? Consider enrolling your pet in the Dog Scouts of America, an organization where canines can earn merit badges for mastering such skills as agility and “nose work.” The organization also stresses the importance of humane education, positive training (punishment-based training is not allowed), and community involvement. For instance, some troops have hosted fundraisers to purchase Kevlar vests for K9 officers and animal-size oxygen masks for local fire departments.

Most dogs are easy enough to get a pill into, even on a regular basis if need be. You simply make a “meatball” out of some wet dog food or something else soft, like deli meat or cheese, and your dog will end up reminding you about his medication after a while. You just have to make sure with the veterinarian that whatever food you use to wrap the pill doesn’t contain ingredients that are bad for the condition you’re treating.

Ingestion of a single penny minted after 1982 is enough to kill a dog weighing fewer than 50 pounds. That’s because pennies minted after that year have a copper coating but are almost 98 percent zinc, which is highly toxic to dogs. Lest you think zinc poisoning is uncommon, the Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) reports more than 4,000 cases of zinc toxicity every year. Pennies are usually the cause. But dogs, being the indiscriminate eaters they are, also swallow other zinc-containing items, including batteries, staples, nuts and bolts, zippers, board game pieces, jewelry….

Sure, you may love the look of a gleaming hardwood or tile floor, but perhaps your dog equates stepping onto such a surface with the way one might see a treacherous foray onto the ice in slippery shoes.

Your dog is scared to death of the vacuum cleaner, but you assume she’ll get over it once she has seen you use it a few times. She won’t. If your dog has a specific fear, the only way to help her get past it is to expose her gradually to whatever she’s afraid of. In the case of a vacuum cleaner, that might mean keeping it out in the open for a while and letting her sniff it when she wants to, then perhaps moving to vacuuming in a room that’s far from where she generally hangs out and keeping the door closed while you do so.
If your pet is afraid of other dogs, walk her where you’re not likely to see any—or at least very few, and at a distance. Arrange a short introduction with a sweet, gentle dog who doesn’t engage in any roughhousing. Throw your dog and the other one treats and speak in encouraging tones, removing your pet from the situation if she gets too upset. Then try again another day.

Why would a dog yell at the mail carrier day after day, even though the postal worker always comes at the exact same time and does the exact same thing at your front door? Why do some dogs take their food far from their bowl to eat, while others lick you for far longer than can comfortably be tolerated? Truth be told, they have a canine rationale for all their behaviors, and if you know it, you won’t find their actions so strange, or annoying.

Q: My dog—a 13-pound terrier mix—loves a particular brand of food, and that’s what I feed her. But this month, I will be traveling with her to Italy for two weeks, and, of course, I cannot feed her the preferred brand for that period.
I’m wondering if freeze-dried food would be a suitable substitute, or if that would be too drastic a change. What might you recommend? Thank you for your consideration.
Gordon Shumaker
Woodbury Minnesota