How to Raise the Perfect Dog (18 page)

If they don’t succeed in bringing us back, it’s a logical next step for them to try to dig themselves out from behind walls if they can’t find us any other way. In
Marley and Me
, John Grogan wrote that Marley’s separation anxiety and fear during thunderstorms became so extreme that he actually made holes in the drywall, digging until his paws bled, trying to get out and find his pack again. The problem was, the Grogans let Marley’s anxiety escalate to the point of no return. You don’t want to wait until your neighbors are calling the apartment manager or homeowners’ association, saying, “That dog’s got to go.” Instead, prepare your dog for such situations by setting up the separation in stages, so it never turns into full-blown anxiety.

To condition Angel out of his separation anxiety, I would practice putting the other dogs in the garage or in the house, leaving him outside alone. Then I’d hide just out of his sight. It would take him a few minutes, but eventually he would start crying. If I waited too much longer, the crying would become screaming, and I didn’t want it to go that far. Instead, I would come back from my hiding place and immediately address his behavior. I stood as far away from him as possible, since eventually I want to be able to be miles away from him, and had a conversation using my “tssst” sound, my body language, and my energy to communicate to him “I don’t agree with your behavior. I want you to relax.” One finger up means “Sit,” and when Angel complied, I would check his energy. At first, even though he was sitting, I saw that he was still in an alert state, yawning. Many people make the mistake of thinking yawning means a dog is relaxed, but puppies often yawn when they are anxious or frustrated by a situation they can’t figure out. I could tell by Angel’s anxious eye contact and his stiff body that he hadn’t relaxed yet, so I stayed where I was until he went into the relaxed state I was seeking. About thirty seconds later, he moved away. I would then go and hide again.

The second time I left Angel alone, after a minute or two he started pacing. Then he started darting to the side of the house. This is typical—he was trying to find a way out. That’s the part of his survival programming that says, “I need to find a way to be part of my family again.” This is why we have to be very patient, and this is why we have to prepare for separation in stages. In this case, I came back out, addressed Angel again, waited, then hid. Each time, I tried to stand a little farther away when I addressed him. Each time I did the exercise, Angel would stay calm a little longer before he became anxious.

I knew I was making progress with Angel after the third time I corrected him. After waiting several minutes and not hearing any whining, I sneaked back into the room and crept toward the window. There was my little schnauzer, stretched out on the patio, resting in the sun with his eyes closed. This was exactly what I wanted. There was no need to get all excited and no need to reward him, because his behavior—being over his anxiety—was a reward in itself. What I do instead when I see such progress in my dogs is to silently thank God for helping me to teach them that I mean no harm when I leave, that it’s not a bad thing, it’s just how we live. For me, prayer increases my own relaxation, so my energy creates a more relaxing environment for my dogs and for my family.

5
YOUR HEALTHY PUPPY

Health Care Basicsm

Cesar stays relaxed while cleaning Mr. President’s jowls

T
his is a book about puppy behavior, not puppy biology, but when you bring any new dog home with you, you are automatically taking responsibility for every aspect of his health and welfare for the rest of his life. That is why preparation and prevention are so important. All it takes is one disease, accident, or injury to bring home the harsh reality of how very expensive caring for a sick animal can be. I’ve faced it myself many times over a lifetime of living with dogs—emergency veterinary bills can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, once we fall in love with an animal, no amount of money is too much for us to spend to save his life or take away his pain. But we can lower the odds of having to go into debt or empty out our savings for the dog we love if we take certain precautions early on.

SELECTING FOR HEALTH

Prevention starts with the choice of how and from whom you get your puppy. Top-notch breeders like the ones who have contributed to this book keep up with the latest research about genetically transmitted defects or illnesses, and they are meticulous about selecting dogs whose parents and grandparents also have clean bills of health. German shepherds, for instance, have a history of genetically transmitted hip problems. To prevent passing this tendency on to the puppies in their lines, Diana and Doug Foster study a comprehensive pedigree database before selecting sires and dams to mate for their Thinschmidt kennels. Diana says,

It’s time-consuming, but it’s really important. It shows you the line breeding, what’s coming up, how many generations, the father, the grandfather, all the way back. We have to be careful not to breed too close. Then we have to study, what did both the lines—the mother and the fathers—produce in the past? If there are any issues like the hips, for example, that’s a red flag. Don’t put that combination together. We breed on the much stricter German standard, where there is a numerical rating system for hip dysplasia, so that’s something else we take into account. It’s actually a science—we don’t just put two dogs together because they both have pretty colors. And a lot of people don’t know that. So when they come to us, and they ask, “Why are your puppies so expensive? I just looked at one that’s half the price, and it looks just as good,” we try to explain to them what goes into creating a dog that’s not only got a great temperament but will have a long, healthy life. They don’t always listen, and will go for the cheaper one. Sometimes it’s a disaster.

If you do buy your puppy from a reputable breeder, that breeder will want to stay in touch with you throughout the puppy’s lifetime and be updated on any health problems that develop. Brooke Walker will even pay for a necropsy on any dogs from her lines if they pass away prematurely, to make sure there weren’t any hidden health problems that may affect future generations of her prize miniature schnauzers.

If you are adopting your puppy from a shelter or rescue organization, try to get as much information as possible about the puppy’s parents or, at the very least, the area from which he was rescued and the general health of the animals there. Make sure the puppy has had a thorough veterinary checkup, and get all the records that exist on any procedures or vaccines he has undergone since he came to the rescue. You can’t ask the puppy, “Did your mom have a tendency toward chronic eye infections?” but the more information you can gather about his past, the better armed you will be if you come up against genetically or environmentally transmitted problems in the future. If you are adopting an older dog from a shelter or rescue, a previous owner or rescuer may have put together important medical information about the dog. Make sure you don’t bring your dog home without asking.

PLANNING FOR VETERINARY COSTS

Keeping complete and thorough records is the first step toward safeguarding your new pet’s health; the next is taking stock of your personal financial situation and planning for the long-term costs associated with owning and caring for a dog. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the average American spends about $350 in medical expenses per dog each year. The American Pet Products Association gives a lower amount, $211, for routine care, but adds $574 a year for surgical costs.
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Either way, it’s a considerable sum.

Most of us don’t want our kids to go without health insurance, because we understand the ramifications an unexpected sickness or accident can have on our family bank accounts. The same situation can occur with a pet. We are all struggling in today’s difficult economy, but I strongly suggest that new dog or puppy owners create a separate savings fund for their pet that is not to be touched except in the case of animal-related medical expenses or emergencies. Of course, your dog doesn’t know or care if you have a bank account in his name, but to my mind, every responsible action we take to protect a dog’s quality of life only raises the level of our calm-assertive energy. When we are relaxed and confident about our ability to care for our dogs, no matter what happens, it only contributes to strengthening our roles as their unshakable pack leaders.

A second option is pet health insurance. I am often asked, “Is pet health insurance a scam?” The answer is no, if you do your research, buy from a reputable company, and have realistic expectations. In fact, many progressive employers, including Google Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and McDonald’s Corporation, have become so impressed with the practicality of pet health insurance, they have begun to offer group policies for their workers who are pet owners.
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Pet health insurance is not intended for basic, routine exams or vaccinations—plan to work those into your regular household budget. The American Animal Hospital Association did a study that showed the majority of pet owners felt comfortably prepared for emergency expenses from $500 to $1,000 but had serious concerns about being able to handle anything higher than that.
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As a result, the AAHA has spent several years working directly with the pet insurance industry to develop smaller-premium, larger-deductible policies. Now that the AAHA and other organizations such as the ASPCA and Humane Society have begun to officially rate and review those corporations offering pet health insurance policies, owners no longer need worry about falling for a potential scam. For a good website comparing what different companies have to offer, check out
http://www.petinsurancereview.com
.

VACCINATIONS

The first journey you will take with your puppy in terms of safeguarding his long-term health will be the experience of getting him through the vaccination process, to make sure he has adequate protection against a host of common canine maladies. Puppies enter this world without any antibodies at all, meaning they have absolutely no preexisting immunity to the many viruses and diseases that lurk in our modern world. Nature, however, has provided a natural buffer for their first few months of life. The rich, thick milk called colostrum that a mother dog secretes right after giving birth contains all her own antibodies and provides a temporary shield to protect her offspring. The amount of natural immunity a puppy retains is usually based on a pup’s birth order and his inborn energy level, since the most assertive nursers get the lion’s share of this limited-offer premium beverage. But the colostrum offers only a temporary protection—every nine days, the pups’ antibody levels drop by half until, at around four months of age, the level is too low to protect them anymore, making them easy targets for parasites and viruses. This is why veterinarians prescribe a series of vaccinations, usually starting at around six to eight weeks of age and continuing until sixteen weeks (four months).

Vaccines are spaced out over three- to four-week intervals for the antibodies to take effect, as well as to protect the puppy’s delicate system from possible side effects. They are also staggered so that the vaccine won’t cancel out the natural antibodies from the colostrum, or vice versa. Never allow a repeat or new vaccine if your puppy was vaccinated less than fourteen days earlier.
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If you have bought your puppy from a breeder, it’s likely that he will already have had at least one set of shots by the time he comes home with you—probably at least one deworming in addition to a DHPP (distemper, infectious hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus) vaccination. Most veterinarians recommend the following protocol.

Dr. Paula Terifaj, owner of Founders Veterinary Clinic in Brea, California, is a veterinarian educated at University of California—Davis, who describes her approach to puppy care as “integrative-holistic” (combining modern Western medicine with nontraditional therapies), with an emphasis on preventive medicine. Having written a book entitled
How to Protect Your Dog from a Vaccine Junkie
, Dr. Terifaj takes a different approach to the puppyhood shot routine. “I’m very conservative when it comes to vaccines,” she states. “I think the earliest a puppy should start a vaccine series is between eight and nine weeks. If we’re starting at eight to nine weeks, they should get revaccinated three to four weeks after that. The last vaccine should be given between twelve and fourteen weeks old. We’re talking about DHP here—rabies is different. Rabies is at four months and then one year. So ideally puppies should receive no more than three series of vaccines. But I tell people to do their own research. So check with your vet or with a few vets.”

When it comes to the vaccination versus overvaccination controversy, I tend to come down on the side of Mother Nature; that is, I want to do all I can to make sure my puppies have full immunity against dangerous diseases, but at the same time, I believe a tendency to overvaccinate has greatly hurt rather than helped many generations of dogs. In my last book,
A Member of the Family
, I chronicle my story of meeting the many learned experts, including premier holistic veterinary pioneer Dr. Marty Goldstein, and reading the convincing studies and research, all of which led me to form this conclusion.

In 2006, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) came down on this side as well. AAHA released a new strategy for vaccinating your dogs, based on years of research supporting the conclusion that overvaccinating dogs contributes to chronic illness, disease, and even death. The new guidelines divided vaccinations into three categories:

• Core: Vaccines that should be given to every dog
  

• Non-Core: Optional vaccines that should be considered only if an individual dog’s lifestyle or risk factors strongly warrant it
  

• Not Recommended: Vaccines not recommended by the AAHA under any circumstances
  

Since a thorough series of vaccines given in puppyhood has now been determined to provide most of a dog’s immunity for life, the AAHA recommends revaccination no more than once every three years. Many of my holistic veterinarian friends think that even three years is far too often to risk exposing your dog to the health risks of overvaccination, since multiple studies have shown that dogs properly immunized in puppyhood maintain lifetime immunity to hepatitis, distemper, and parvovirus.
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A great option for conscientious dog owners is to ask their veterinarian to provide antibody titer testing for distemper, parvo, or rabies, which shows approximately how much disease-fighting immunity is present in your dog’s system at the time the test is given. If your dog has plenty of antibodies, then the titer level will be high—proof that the vaccines have done their job and your dog is protected. With a high titer level, you can assume your dog doesn’t need a vaccine booster, though even a low blood titer doesn’t necessarily mean another vaccine is indicated. For more information about titer testing, contact
www.hemopet.org
.