It is very important to understand that a dog’s mouth is its primary tool for discovery, play, and communication. You can compare the way a dog uses its mouth, with the way humans use their hands. If your dog doesn’t understand that teeth don’t belong on humans at any time, this can become a big problem for you later on. Be vigilant while your dog is young to teach it that chew toys are appropriate, and human hands and clothing are not. Do not encourage rough play that allows a dog’s teeth to come into contact with you, especially if your dog exhibits any type of dominant behavior.

Your dog truly needs to understand that it is at the bottom of the pack in your home. The person that controls the resources will hold the position of top dog. Resources include food, toys, exercise, and attention. Basically your dog should have to work for anything he requires or desires. He will be a lot happier this way. You are not doing Fido any favors by free feeding him and leaving his toys all over the floor.

There is no reason or benefit to being angry, forceful, or physical with your dog.

“A dog owner (who is in no way respected by his dog as his master due to inconsistency and over-permissiveness) who tries to become “top dog” by imitating canine ways of physical domination, by fear conditioning, and punishment-by-force correction will only be able to temporarily dominate his dog as long as the dog feels weaker. However, the dog will immediately express dominant behavior toward smaller and weaker beings, such as children, and enforce his position with his teeth. Such a dog will not respect humans, but only fear them, as long as they are physically stronger. It is a well-known fact that respect cannot be punished into any living being, not even into a dog.” – CW Meisterfeld.

If you have convinced your dog that you are Alpha in a gentle way by controlling the resources this should be sufficient. Please seek professional help if it is not. Obedience classes and ongoing obedience training that is integrated into your daily lifestyle are also excellent ways of achieving the status of top dog. Your dog will learn that pleasing you is fun if you work on a reward system instead of a punishment system. That’s why we call them man’s best friend!

Sometimes it seems like we are still in the “dark ages” of dog ownership in Nova Scotia, but there are more and more dog-friendly professionals on the scene every year. Bob Ottenbrite, of the Lietash Society has been spreading the word for about 30 years now. Feel free to contact me if you are looking for more dog-friendly professionals and resources in Nova Scotia.

Also, please be sure to teach your children how to greet dogs in a safe manner. You may not know it, but our four-footed friends interpret eye contact as a challenge, or an assertion of dominance. Petting strange dogs is not recommended. Ask the owner’s permission, and if there is no owner present it’s probably safer to not approach the dog at all. If you insist on petting a strange dog keep your hands low, and let the dog approach you. Check with the SPCA for more information on bite prevention, as it is part of their education program.

A dog can bring a lot of joy into your household, but please remember that they are not human. They enjoy being a part of your pack, but are a lot happier when they don’t have all the responsibility of running the pack. They are intelligent, hardworking animals that are a lot happier when they have a purpose, even if that’s fetching a ball for you in the back yard.

– Angela Granchelli

Does your dog have a hot spot that never seems to heal? Does he scratch all the time even though your certain he doesn’t have fleas? How about dandruff, cracked pads, runny eyes, etc.? Is he irritable or prone to diarrhea and vomiting?

Maybe Fido has food allergies

It is actually quite common for dogs to be allergic to corn, soy, wheat, or even chicken in some cases. An elimination diet can rule out the culprit if you don’t mind cooking for him for a while.

If you choose to switch commercial foods instead, you will find there are more choices than the traditional Lamb and Rice hypoallergenic formulas these days. Duck and potato, or Beef and Rice for example.

Even if your dog doesn’t have allergies, it’s about time you had a look at the side of that bag of dog food to see exactly what’s in there. You will be amazed at what you find.

You may think premium food is too expensive, but it is an investment in your dog’s health that will pay off in the long run. There is a very good chance that your dog will not be sick as often and you will save considerably in vet bills. If your dog food costs $40 per month, then that is only $1.43 per day. That’s about the price of a large coffee. Surely your dog is worth that. And, if you can’t afford to spend that much on your dog what will you do when he does need to go to the vet?

Dr. Jennifer Bishop of Full Circle Veterinary Alternatives on Portland St. had this to say about nutrition for pets:

“When commercial foods are fed, we recommend foods from companies that do feeding trials, use human grade food ingredients, use natural preservatives, and contribute through research to our understanding of feline and canine nutrition.”

So, what can you do to ensure your pooch is getting the best diet you can provide?

Just avoiding certain ingredients can go a long way to ensuring that your pal lives a longer and healthier life.

If corn is in the first three ingredients, be wary. Corn is difficult for dogs to digest and of no nutritional value to them at all.

Avoid chemical preservatives such as BHT or BHA, propylene glycol, and ethoxyquin. The long-term build-up of these chemicals has not been thoroughly studied and may be harmful.

Instead, look for mixed tocopherols, or vitamins E & C as preservatives.

Ingredients listed as animal by-products are not required to include actual meat. They may consist of organs and parts either not desired, or condemned, for human consumption. Chicken by-product may include intestine, chicken heads, feathers, bone, beaks, and feet.

If the meat source isn’t specified, be very cautious.

Meal is okay, as it’s just dehydrated meat. Again, be sure it has a name. Chicken meal is acceptable for example. Meat meal. Well, what is that anyway? What kind of meat? If it doesn’t specify then it’s probably rendered “mystery meat”. Yuck!

Horrifyingly, tallow and meat meals may contain dead dogs and cats, or road kill that has been processed in rendering plants. The Food and Drug Administration and medical groups such as the American Veterinary Medical Association confirm that pets, on a routine basis, are rendered after they die in animal shelters or are disposed of by health authorities and the end products find their way into commercial pet foods.

Back in the days before commercial dog food was introduced, apparently Fido ate table scraps and lived a lot longer than today. It is a myth that human food is bad for dogs. It just depends on what kind of human food you feed him. No, he shouldn’t be eating donuts and potato chips, but neither should you!

Whether you choose to feed commercial dog food, or cook your own, the same basic ingredients should be used. Proteins (chicken, beef, etc.), carbohydrates (rice, grains, potatoes, etc), and cooked vegetable matter (raw veggies are too hard to digest) are the building blocks for a healthy dog.

Please invest in your dog’s health. You will be rewarded with an active companion that will be around for many years to come…

• Angela Granchelli

Appropriate dog/dog interactions during doggy adolescence ensures a well-adjusted adult dog.

Most people think that puppy classes are all that their dog needs to learn how to interact with other dogs for the rest of their life.

There is a second and very crucial time where your dog requires tons of socialization and appropriate doggy interaction. This is around one and a half years of age. To be sure socialize your dog heavily between the ages of 10-24 months.

Be very wary of allowing your dog to have unpleasant experiences with aggressive dogs during this “doggy teenage phase” or picking up bad behaviors such as resource guarding from other dogs.

It is your job as an owner to set up “playdates” with other friendly dogs and monitor your dog’s interactions closely as these lessons will last a lifetime. Once he is all grown up you will not need to worry so much about monitoring his encounters as he will have a good foundation for reading body language and now to “turn the other cheek” when things don’t go so smoothly.

You certainly don’t have to be too uptight about all this but just be aware that doggy adolescence is a time for testing boundaries, moving out of the wrestle phase and developing a sense of personal space and territory and just generally trying to make their place in the world.

This is also a great time to take a second round of obedience classes to focus their zealous little furbrains on something productive.

You can liken it to how beneficial high school sports are for human teenagers. A time of angst and a time to occupy minds…

Have fun with it. You can never get the time back once it has passed and in your dog’s golden years you will look back fondly on this phase even though you feel like it will never pass now.

– Angela Granchelli