Q. We just adopted a 7 year old maltese chihuahua mix and his teeth and breath are disgusting. The vet said they could clean them for about $450!
Is there anything else we could do? I've been brushing his teeth everyday now and they do seem to be getting a bit better. I also heard that feeding them raw bones make dogs teeth white and healthy. What type of animal bones/meat should I get and where can I purchase them?
Also, what type of dog kibble would you recommend?
Thanks!
Is there anything else we could do? I've been brushing his teeth everyday now and they do seem to be getting a bit better. I also heard that feeding them raw bones make dogs teeth white and healthy. What type of animal bones/meat should I get and where can I purchase them?
Also, what type of dog kibble would you recommend?
Thanks!
A. I never brush my dogs teeth, they are raw fed and the diet takes care of that for me.
Kibble has no teeth cleaning benefits, if it did our pets dental health wouldn't be as bad as it is.
If you want to feed kibble feed a high quality one, Innova, Solid Gold, and Wellness are a few. You can find out the quality of a dog food by going to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Raw meaty bones can be given a few times a week, or daily even if your dogs main diet is kibble. For a dog your size turkey necks, chicken thighs, chicken feet, things along those lines would be good. You can find them in the meats section at your local grocery store. Avoid products with added solutions though, it'll say on the label. Also don't feed raw and kibble in the same meal. They should be fed a few hours apart as they digest at different rates and this can lead to tummy upset.
Bones to avoid include anything cooked, and the large weight bearing bones of mammals such as cows, pigs etc.
If you want more information on feeding raw feel free to email me.
http://www.rawfed.com
Rawhides also do nothing for dental health. They leave a nasty film on the teeth. Not only that they are a risk for intestinal blockage as they are not digestable. Many brands of rawhides are also treated with nasty chemicals.
*Also wanted to say Bindi the dog in my avatar had teeth as brown as her coat when she was started on raw. The vet was recommending yearly dentals for her. A week into raw there was a huge improvement, now months later her teeth are as white as this page.
Here are some pictures of rawfed vs. kibble fed teeth, these are of a cat but the same applies to dogs. http://www.rawfed.com/dental.html
Kibble has no teeth cleaning benefits, if it did our pets dental health wouldn't be as bad as it is.
If you want to feed kibble feed a high quality one, Innova, Solid Gold, and Wellness are a few. You can find out the quality of a dog food by going to http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Raw meaty bones can be given a few times a week, or daily even if your dogs main diet is kibble. For a dog your size turkey necks, chicken thighs, chicken feet, things along those lines would be good. You can find them in the meats section at your local grocery store. Avoid products with added solutions though, it'll say on the label. Also don't feed raw and kibble in the same meal. They should be fed a few hours apart as they digest at different rates and this can lead to tummy upset.
Bones to avoid include anything cooked, and the large weight bearing bones of mammals such as cows, pigs etc.
If you want more information on feeding raw feel free to email me.
http://www.rawfed.com
Rawhides also do nothing for dental health. They leave a nasty film on the teeth. Not only that they are a risk for intestinal blockage as they are not digestable. Many brands of rawhides are also treated with nasty chemicals.
*Also wanted to say Bindi the dog in my avatar had teeth as brown as her coat when she was started on raw. The vet was recommending yearly dentals for her. A week into raw there was a huge improvement, now months later her teeth are as white as this page.
Here are some pictures of rawfed vs. kibble fed teeth, these are of a cat but the same applies to dogs. http://www.rawfed.com/dental.html
Are dogs who eat raw beef neckbones at risk for perforated intestines?
Q. I've read dogs who eat chicken and turkey can get perforated intestines but what about if they eat beef bones? Could it do the same, or does that only happen with chicken and turkey because those bones are sharp? Help please?
A. RAW chicken and turkey bones are probably the safest bones you can feed BUT they should be covered in meat and large enough that the dog needs to work for his meal. Cut, bare bones are more likely to cause issues than meat convered ones.
Beef bones are usually too dense to be considered a good bone for a dog. Those laerge shin and marrow bones are more likely to wear teeth away than clean them. The only beef bones I would feed would be meaty ribs.
Before I knew better, we gave our previous dog a large marrow dog every week 'to keep her teeth clean'. She ended up with tiny tooth stumps as every single tooth in her head had worn away. And she still had to have teeth removed from periodontal disease!!
Beef bones are usually too dense to be considered a good bone for a dog. Those laerge shin and marrow bones are more likely to wear teeth away than clean them. The only beef bones I would feed would be meaty ribs.
Before I knew better, we gave our previous dog a large marrow dog every week 'to keep her teeth clean'. She ended up with tiny tooth stumps as every single tooth in her head had worn away. And she still had to have teeth removed from periodontal disease!!
what exactly happens when a dog eats a cooked turkey bone?
Q. my dog got into the trash and ate some of the turkey carcass, now what? what do i do? what will happen to her? and if she has perforated her insides, what signs do i look for and how long will it take for symptoms to appear?
A. Cooked poultry bones often splinter, and can cause perforation. The signs of this would be vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, fever, and pain. You dog shows stomach pain by walking or sitting like he's all hunched up. If she got enough fat, this could cause pancreatitis, which would have similar symptoms. Yes, give her rice to provide some "padding" to those sharp bones. There is no treatment unless your dog becomes ill. She may vomit once or twice to empty her stomach, and may have some diarrhea tomorrow, but any persistent vomiting or diarrhea, or any other sign of illness should take you directly to the vet.
How can i show my dog that he is showing a negative behavior?
Q. Sometimes my dog steal something from the garbage, or a shoe or something else and he hides under a bed or table. It is difficult to get it back. I wonder what I am able to do to show him that what he is doing is not tolerable and should not be continued?
A. There are only two main principles for dog-friendly training. Give something to get more of a behavior you want. Take something away to stop a behavior you don't like.
Positive Reinforcement (+R): If you want your dog to repeat a behavior more frequently, reward that behavior in some way.
Negative Punishment (-P): If you want your dog to repeat a behavior less frequently, remove any reward or perceived award for the behavior.
Think of positive and negative in the addition/subtraction sense. The counterparts to +R and -P are negative reinforcement (take away an aversive - something painful or unpleasant to the dog - as a reward) and positive punishment (present the dog with something painful or unpleasant for doing something you do not like). "Positive training" usually uses positive reinforcement and negative punishment exclusively, or very rarely uses the other two techniques, and even then with aversives that are not painful, just unpleasant (like time-outs or startling noises). At Ahimsa Dog Training, we do not consider slip chains (choke chains) or prong collars to be part of "positive training", although some other trainers do. What they don't know is that a combination of aversive corrections and positive reinforcements has been proven to be the least effective way to teach.
Why go positive? The reason that many trainers prefer to use +R and -P instead of the alternatives is the fact that working with rewards is so much more fun, for the human and the dog, than aversives like choke chains. But does it work? Definitely! Positive trainers have successfully trained all sorts of competition dogs, from obedience to agility to tracking. In fact, clicker trained dogs are usually ready for the obedience ring and agility competitions much faster than dogs trained with leash corrections. Pet dogs everywhere have also benefited from trainers who use these no-force methods.
Let's discuss +R and -P in more detail.
Positive Reinforcement: A reinforcer is anything that your dog likes. Here is a sample list of reinforcers for one of my dogs:
* Cooked turkey
* Natural balance
* Canned cat food
* Cheese
* Toys -- most of all, the frisbee
* Petting by me, but not strangers
* Belly rub
* Freedom to go outside
* Dog Park
* Freedom to jump on the couch or other furniture to be with me
* Chase games - I run away, he chases
* His dinner
* Putting on the leash (if we're inside)
* Praise
* Running an agility course
* Chasing squirrels
* Jumping up to lick my face
* Chicken bones
There are plenty more, but that's enough of a list for now. Not all reinforcers for my dog are things that I want him to have access to, so I have to prevent him from getting them. Not all of the items on this list are always reinforcers. Petting is not reinforcing, even if I do it, if it means he has to wait longer to get the frisbee. It is definitely not reinforcing to have other people pet him. My other dog, however, will do anything in the world if it means that she will get attention from a human, especially children. The moral of the story is to find out what motivates your dog, and what you find acceptable. Sit down and make a list, it really will be useful.
Okay, so now that you have a list of items that your dog will work for, use them to reward your dog for doing what you want. Teach the behavior using a clicker or marker word (see the clicker handout for more information). Once the dog knows what you want, continue to motivate him to do the behavior on cue by using one of the rewards above. If your dog knows the cue, you don't have to reward every single time (praise is still good), but reward occasionally, to keep him hooked on listening to you.
It is important to not use a positive reinforcer as a bribe, but rather as a reward. The dog doesn't see the treat until after she is done. She has to make a leap of faith that there might be a reward in it for her. The dog performs the behavior and *then* she is presented with a treat. The exception is when we use food as a lure, to show the dog how to perform the behavior. As soon as possible, the lure is faded and the treat is then only used to reward.
Negative Punishment: In general, we should set our dogs up for success. If you don't think your dog will respond to your cue, don't give it. Work at a level where the dog will be successful and gradually add distractions or distance or whatever makes the task more difficult for your dog. You can also replace a 'bad' behavior with a good one. To keep your dog from jumping, teach her a solid sit-stay, and any time she looks like she might jump, ask for a sit-stay. Then give her tons of attention.
But sometimes we do need to punish a dog, because she is doing something that is dangerous to herself or just plain irritating to us humans. Positive trainers are not permissive, they just don't
Positive Reinforcement (+R): If you want your dog to repeat a behavior more frequently, reward that behavior in some way.
Negative Punishment (-P): If you want your dog to repeat a behavior less frequently, remove any reward or perceived award for the behavior.
Think of positive and negative in the addition/subtraction sense. The counterparts to +R and -P are negative reinforcement (take away an aversive - something painful or unpleasant to the dog - as a reward) and positive punishment (present the dog with something painful or unpleasant for doing something you do not like). "Positive training" usually uses positive reinforcement and negative punishment exclusively, or very rarely uses the other two techniques, and even then with aversives that are not painful, just unpleasant (like time-outs or startling noises). At Ahimsa Dog Training, we do not consider slip chains (choke chains) or prong collars to be part of "positive training", although some other trainers do. What they don't know is that a combination of aversive corrections and positive reinforcements has been proven to be the least effective way to teach.
Why go positive? The reason that many trainers prefer to use +R and -P instead of the alternatives is the fact that working with rewards is so much more fun, for the human and the dog, than aversives like choke chains. But does it work? Definitely! Positive trainers have successfully trained all sorts of competition dogs, from obedience to agility to tracking. In fact, clicker trained dogs are usually ready for the obedience ring and agility competitions much faster than dogs trained with leash corrections. Pet dogs everywhere have also benefited from trainers who use these no-force methods.
Let's discuss +R and -P in more detail.
Positive Reinforcement: A reinforcer is anything that your dog likes. Here is a sample list of reinforcers for one of my dogs:
* Cooked turkey
* Natural balance
* Canned cat food
* Cheese
* Toys -- most of all, the frisbee
* Petting by me, but not strangers
* Belly rub
* Freedom to go outside
* Dog Park
* Freedom to jump on the couch or other furniture to be with me
* Chase games - I run away, he chases
* His dinner
* Putting on the leash (if we're inside)
* Praise
* Running an agility course
* Chasing squirrels
* Jumping up to lick my face
* Chicken bones
There are plenty more, but that's enough of a list for now. Not all reinforcers for my dog are things that I want him to have access to, so I have to prevent him from getting them. Not all of the items on this list are always reinforcers. Petting is not reinforcing, even if I do it, if it means he has to wait longer to get the frisbee. It is definitely not reinforcing to have other people pet him. My other dog, however, will do anything in the world if it means that she will get attention from a human, especially children. The moral of the story is to find out what motivates your dog, and what you find acceptable. Sit down and make a list, it really will be useful.
Okay, so now that you have a list of items that your dog will work for, use them to reward your dog for doing what you want. Teach the behavior using a clicker or marker word (see the clicker handout for more information). Once the dog knows what you want, continue to motivate him to do the behavior on cue by using one of the rewards above. If your dog knows the cue, you don't have to reward every single time (praise is still good), but reward occasionally, to keep him hooked on listening to you.
It is important to not use a positive reinforcer as a bribe, but rather as a reward. The dog doesn't see the treat until after she is done. She has to make a leap of faith that there might be a reward in it for her. The dog performs the behavior and *then* she is presented with a treat. The exception is when we use food as a lure, to show the dog how to perform the behavior. As soon as possible, the lure is faded and the treat is then only used to reward.
Negative Punishment: In general, we should set our dogs up for success. If you don't think your dog will respond to your cue, don't give it. Work at a level where the dog will be successful and gradually add distractions or distance or whatever makes the task more difficult for your dog. You can also replace a 'bad' behavior with a good one. To keep your dog from jumping, teach her a solid sit-stay, and any time she looks like she might jump, ask for a sit-stay. Then give her tons of attention.
But sometimes we do need to punish a dog, because she is doing something that is dangerous to herself or just plain irritating to us humans. Positive trainers are not permissive, they just don't
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