Is your dog's gut, healthy?

Recently, I attended a virtual Pet Health Summit and the information I learned was fascinating. One of the seminars was with Dr. Lu Fenny and Dr. Katie Woodley, both are Holistic Veterinarians and they discussed the importance of our dog's gut health. Your dog's overall health is directly linked to their behavior and I wanted to share this information to help anyone who doesn’t know where to begin healing their dog's gut. These items discussed are directly from the pet health summit seminar I attended and are recommendations given by Dr. Lu Fenny. I am not a veterinarian and am not giving you medical advice. Please consult your veterinarian when considering revising your dog's diet.  

Signs of bad gut health 

-diarrhea or mucus stool 

-large gas production 

-vomiting 

If your dog is showing any of these signs of bad gut health speak to your veterinarian on ways to improve your dog's diet. Here are some facts that were shared by Dr. Lu Fenny about dogs' gut health and ways she recommends to help heal their gut.

Several studies show a direct link between gut health and anxiety in dogs. I will link those studies here (2019) (2020) (2020). It is known that 70 percent of a dog’s body's serotonin production happens in its intestines. Serotonin is the key hormone in regulating mood, learning, and happiness. This helps explain why, if your dog's gut is not functioning properly or is weakened, then this will affect their personality. 

Start with baby steps in the process of healing your dog’s gut. Introducing fresh food like veggies and whole grains while discovering what they like and will tolerate. Try adding more water to their dry food, as well as bone broth. Dr. Katie Woodley recommends when transitioning your dog onto a new diet; add 25% of new food to old food and do this for 3-5 days, then slowly increase the new food. As long as your dog doesn’t have any issues like diarrhea or vomiting. Pre and Probiotics are a good addition to any dog's diet. There are several strains and options. Remember every dog is different so which pre and probiotic your dog will tolerate or benefit from is very individual. So observe your dog's behavior and eliminations when transitioning to a new food. 

Slow and steady is the key, with transitioning your dog's food. When healing the body through Holistic methods, it does take longer because holistic medicine usually heals the root problem. Therefore results are not immediate. So be patient and speak with your veterinarian if you have questions. 

Engagement and why it’s important

The term engagement gets used often in the dog training space, but so often when I am explaining the benefits to my clients; I am often met with the response “I wish I knew about this sooner.” Building engagement with your dog is teaching your dog that listening to you is rewarding. We are building value over you and what you say to your dog. This is such a simple concept and sometimes people think dogs automatically come wired this way. However, that is not true. Dogs need to learn that listening is not only important but it is rewarding for them as well. Dogs that don’t learn this at an early age can develop nuisance behaviors such as leash pulling, incessant barking, and leash reactivity.

Dogs are one of the few animals, besides humans, that make eye contact with other species. This quality has been bred in dogs to establish a stronger connection with their human. However, this trait needs to be encouraged and doesn’t happen automatically. Trainers will encourage this through a variety of different games like “Look At Me”. The “Look At Me” game is when you reward your dog for making eye contact with you, through a reward-based system. One way is to put a treat in front of your dog's nose and bring the treat right between your eyes and as soon as your dog makes eye contact you reward them with that treat. Eventually, adding the cue “Look At Me”. Another way to pay this game is to show your dog that you have a treat or a toy in each hand, hold out your arms in a T, and then cue your dog with the “Look At Me” and when your dog makes eye contact with you instead of looking at your hands for the treat or fun toys, you reward them.

If you have a puppy, another way to build engagement with them is to hand feed them. Hand-feeding has other benefits as well, especially with a puppy. It helps build the bond between you and your puppy as well as help work on your puppy's bite inhibition. Hand-feeding is when instead of putting your dog’s food in a bowl for them to hover over and eat; instead put their food in your hands and feed your puppy one kibble or bite at a time.

Hide and Seek isn’t just for kids. Playing Hide and Seek with your dog while you are walking them or playing with them in the backyard helps condition your dog that you are the reward. You can play this by hiding behind a tree or bush and then calling your dog’s name. When your dog finds you, make exaggerated movements and give them lots of high praise. Playing Hide and Seek is also helpful if you have a dog that likes to run away from you as a game. If you become the object of play; you can condition them to stop the urge to run away from you.

One of the best ways to build engagement between you and your dog is by doing trick training. This is especially helpful if you have a dog that is part of the working breed families. Dogs that are working breeds have a high drive to learn and have a job. By training them to do specific tricks, like “Take a Bow” or “Twirl”; helps fulfill your dog's desire to have a job as well as have fun with you which strengthens your bond.

These are just a few examples of ways to build engagement with your dog. As a dog trainer, when I see dogs with leash pulling behaviors or are highly reactive, more often than not, these dogs have a low level of engagement with their owners. If you’re noticing that your dog isn’t very engaged with you, I recommend contacting a dog trainer or dog behaviorists to help you build that engagement with your dog. You will notice a big difference in your relationship with your dog as they learn to trust and focus more on you.

3 Keys to Successfully Training your Dog

It can be daunting when you first start to look into dog training. There are countless blog posts, articles, TV shows, and YouTube videos to help assist you. All of which seem to have different philosophies and techniques. How do you know where to begin?

I always tell my clients, if there is one thing you take away from our time together it is to remember the 3 keys of dog training. Consistency, Clarity, and Patience.

Consistency: Being consistent is when you repeat an action or process the same way over time.  This consistency builds a pattern for your dog, and dogs are excellent at picking up on patterns. If your dog can count on you every day before their meals to ask them to demonstrate the cues and behaviors they have been taught; those cues and behaviors get easier and more second nature for your dog.  Just like any athlete that wants to compete in a sport, the more they practice the mechanics of that sport the easier and more advanced they will become.

Clarity: We can often take for granted that our dogs understand us so well when they don’t have to ability to speak. It's important to remember that your dog is an animal, living in a human world. Animals can’t communicate the way humans do. Animals rely heavily on body language, tone of voice, and training to understand what humans are trying to communicate. It's important to look at what you are asking of your dog and examine if you are communicating with them clearly. Not just your words but your body language and tone of voice as well. If you are asking your dog to walk calmly beside you in a straight line moving forward, but your head and shoulders are turned to one side (usually looking at your dog or trying to maneuver the leash) that can be a confusing situation for your dog. Your body is telling them to focus in one direction while your words are saying another. This is just an example of how we need to be more aware of the clarity not only in our words but also in our tone of voice and body language. This will help us be clearer in communicating with our dog.

Patience: Training your dog is not a straight linear line towards progress. There will be ebbs and flows during your journey in training your dog. Just like humans, dogs have bad days too. It's important to not get discouraged during these days when you feel your dog is not listening. Remember to have realistic goals and expectations for your dog as well as for yourself during the training process.

By doing these 3 things when training your dog, you will be setting them up for success!

Separation Anxiety Post Pandemic

As the country starts to open back up after the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020; many pet parents may start to notice their dog exhibiting new behaviors. These behaviors may be minor, like whining or barking when you leave the house. Or they can be severe like chewing on baseboards or even escaping the yard. As it often happens; several dog behaviors get lumped into one over-utilized term, separation anxiety. However, true separation anxiety is when a dog experiences true stress when its parent leaves. As I will go over, some of the behaviors we often associate with separation anxiety are learned behaviors that can be addressed with training.

According to VCA true separation anxiety is described as “They become extremely anxious and show distress behaviors such as vocalization, destruction, or house soiling when separated from the owners. Most dogs with separation anxiety try to remain close to their owners, follow them from room to room, and rarely spend time outdoors alone.” If your dog is displaying these behaviors, you should speak with your veterinarian and a dog trainer on how best to address these behaviors. If your dog is fairly independent most of the time and only exhibits anxiety when you get ready to leave the house, you may not be dealing with separation anxiety.

In 2020, your dog became accustomed to you and your family staying home. You started to work from home, the kids got schooled at home and you even worked-out from home. So your dog has picked up on this pattern of the family being in one place. As restaurants and movie theaters open back up, your dog's routine will be adjusted once again. Not all dogs will be able to adjust quickly and seamlessly. Here are some ways you can help your dog ease back into being comfortable with your absence from the house.

Give your dog a Zen Den: Establishing your dog’s area in the house and then being home when your dog is in their designated area can help your dog feel more secure for the times you aren’t around. Oftentimes pet parents only utilize a crate or dog area when they leave. But utilize the crate and/or area when you are home first. So your dog knows that their space is a good, safe area that they can use when they choose.

Recognize your habits: Start to notice what your daily habits are when leaving the house. Do you pick up your keys? Do your keys make a sound? Does this sound trigger your dog’s behavior? When you start to recognize your daily habits around exiting you can start to notice when your dog gets anxious. It may be with a particular object, like keys. Or it may be a specific area, like around the door you leave out of.

Switch-up your routine: Once you have started observing your habits and your dogs' reaction to them; you can narrow down what specific thing is making your dog anxious. If it is your keys; then change when you pick up your keys. Pick up your keys when making your coffee, then set them down and snuggle on the couch with your dog. All your dog knows is that when they hear the jingle of your keys, you leave them. But if you pick up your keys several times throughout the day and then snuggle with them or give them a treat after you pick them up; then you are training your dog that the sound of the keys means 9 times out of 10 something good happens instead of something unwanted. The more you utilize the object of their anxiety differently, your dog will start to develop a different reaction to that object. Dogs are experts in picking up patterns so the more you can associate an object or area that is causing them stress with positive reinforcement, the more they learn to release that stress.

Another way to help reduce the stress of you leaving the house is to not make a big deal out of leaving. We sometimes kiss our dogs a thousand times and tell them how much we love them before heading out, but by emphasizing your departure you could be making their anxiety worse.

Provide enrichment: Sometimes behaviors that are sometimes associated with separation anxiety like chewing objects or barking; are actually because your dog is bored. Working your dogs' mind can help curb these behaviors in some dogs. Kong’s are a fun toy that you can fill with your dogs' kibble or peanut butter and your dog loves working to get those treats. But again, don’t just utilize a kong or enrichment toy when you leave. Use them when you are present first and then you can start to use them when you are heading out of the house.

I hope this article helps you better understand why your dog may be developing some unwanted behaviors and how best to address them when we are officially post-pandemic.

A Dog’s love language

For anyone who has read The Five Love Languages, you know that not everyone speaks the same love language. Everyone expresses and feels love in very different ways. Well, dogs do as well. Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, I thought it would be a great time to go over the ways in which our dogs show us love. Here is a guide to help you interpret your dog’s behaviors and how you can show your love in their language.

Doggie Kisses

Dogs show love through licking as well. This behavior in the canine world is called “all grooming” which is when dogs lick other individuals they are attached to. (Animal Wellness). If they lick your face while you are lying down this is another sign they love you because they may be worried if you are unconscious or sick and by licking you they are checking to make sure you are well.

Lean on Me

Dogs also show us, love, by leaning on us. If you lean on them as well they understand this as a sign of affection. This may not always be at the best time, like when we are cooking dinner or trying to run out the door, but it's important to understand your dog is doing this as a sign of affection, not to be disruptive. 

Velcro Dog

Whether that is snuggling up on the couch with you or following you from room to room. If your dog is following you that is a sign they feel safe and secure with you. You may have noticed when you are snuggling with your dog they let out an audible sigh; that is another sign of love from your dog. It shows contentment as well as a feeling of safety.

Say My Name, Say My Name

One of my favorite ways dogs show their love for us, is by being able to recognize our names. I love hearing from my clients that when they say my name within earshot of their dog, their dog becomes excited! That dog is showing their love for me and anyone else they start to recognize by name.

Have you Herd

Has your dog ever tried to herd you? Maybe you were in another room and your dog tried to lead you to the couch? Herding is a common behavior shown in dogs that shows they feel protective and what to make sure we are safe.

Face Time:

If your dog has ever rubbed their face on yours, you may have already guessed that that behavior was a sign of affection. And you are right! "It's a common way to show affection. By rubbing their face on you, your dog is marking you as theirs” (Insider) Also if your dog looks into your eyes for long periods of time, this is another way they are showing their love. From the time they are puppies, they start to look into their human's eyes, which is a sign of attachment. (Insider)

Now it's your turn to show your dog how you feel through their language. For many human’s our firsts instincts are to kiss and hug their dogs to show affection. However, this may not be the best. Some dogs can view hugging as a threat, you can tell if your dog doesn’t like you hugging them if they display lowering their tails, pulling their ears back, tensing up, or trying to move away. (Animal Wellness)

Dogs really love to be scratched behind their ears. This is a great way for you to show your love to your pup. Research shows that dogs release the love chemical oxytocin and endorphins when they get their ears scratched.

Another idea for showing your dog lots of love is playing with them. If you play with their favorite toy it helps your dog develop social skills, releases energy as well as creating a bond between you and your dog.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and I would love to hear if your dog does any of these behaviors in the comments below.