Having planned, consistent, shared activities with him enhances your dog’s bond with you

No person aside from your parents will love you more than your dog.  No matter what, your dog will always go bonkers the moment you come home.  That love will never be in question, as you are their world.

Like children, dogs thrive best when they have a consistent routine.  Also like children, dogs thrive best with abundant, consistent, shared activities with their parents.  Creating a wealth of shared experiences with your dog deepens his bond with you, keeps him mentally well adjusted, and connects him to you on deeper level.

In this way you learn to read one another’s body language and emotional states.  The dog will adjust his approach with you when knowing exactly how you feel.  From the dog parent’s perspective, you may sense the something is off about your dog, which could signify that he may be sick or injured.

Dogs are animals instinctively bonded to people, but they still intrinsically carry the animal instinct to go out of their way to not exhibit signs of weakness or pain.  All you may notice during times of disease when you have that deep connection with your dog is that something is just not right about him.

We call it the Ain’t Doing Right, aka, ADR appointment, when the pet parents cannot pinpoint what the issue is, but just know something is off about their pet.  We see those appointments all the time and more often than not, we figure out that the pet is not well, whether it be injury or illness.

In other cases, I see the opposite.  Dog parents with busy, distracted, stressful lives that don’t have consistent planned activities with their dogs may not notice their dog is off.  When whatever ails the dog becomes obvious that they bring the dog in to be checked out, it is not uncommon for me to uncover conditions that have been going on for much longer than what was observed.

I will give you an example of this concept with my routine with my own dogs.  Every morning, after letting our two dogs out for a quick pee and then feeding them, my wife Jill and I take them on a 20 minute walk, giving them ample time to explore, sniff, and poop.  Upon returning home from work, we let them out to potty, feed them, then have dinner ourselves. Once the dishes are done, we all enjoy a second leisurely 20 minute evening walk.

We try to consistently set aside Sunday  for activities with the dogs that take them away from our neighborhood. Our area in Florida commonly has dog friendly outdoor craft and art fairs that we bring the dogs to walk along our side while we browse.  The planners of our town did an amazing job setting aside many acres of conservation areas with miles of dog friendly nature trails where we take in nature together, breathe in fresh air, and enjoy some exercise.  These shared experiences are wonderful for us and the dogs.

We manage this consistency despite having very busy and at times stressful lives as well.  I am a full-time practicing veterinarian – a wonderfully rewarding profession, but one that inevitably can become fraught with stress – while having the added stress of being a business owner (I own my veterinary clinic).  Jill is the head surgical tech at the local veterinary eye specialist.  We have two teenagers with lots of activities that we are constantly running around the state of Florida for.  Our set aside dog time is relief from the grind for us and we would not trade our doggy time for the world!

So, if you have not already developed a consistent, shared activity regimen with your dog, try implementing one.  You will likely find that there are great benefits for you as well as the dog.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

When is a dog considered a senior and why is it important to know this?

We must consider the life span of a dog in comparison to ours to understand how much faster they age than we do.  We should also consider the size of the dog when considering the aging process, as smaller dogs generally have longer life spans and larger dogs generally have shorter life spans.  Thus, from a general standpoint, the larger the dog, the faster they age.

Breed must also be considered when evaluating the aging rate of a dog.  Heavily selectively bred dogs such as Boston Terrier, French Bulldog, English Bulldog, and Shar-pei have on average considerably shorter life spans than other breeds in the same size range.  Thus, we can look at the age/breed guidelines to know when our dog has reached his senior years relative to “people years.”

Toy – small breeds: 8-9 years

Medium to large breeds: 7-8 years

Giant breeds: 5-6 years

Small to medium heavily selectively bred dog breeds (including French Bulldogs, Shar-pei, Boston Terrier): 7-8 years

English Bulldogs: 5-6 years

It is important for dog parents to understand the rate at which our dogs age so that we can enact early intervention to nurture their health from a nutritional and medical perspective.  From a nutritional perspective, we need to start looking at transitioning to a senior diet at the appropriate age.  Nutritional needs change in the senior years for dogs much as they change for people.

The aging process itself is very basic.  Throughout the lifetime of an organism, cells constantly die and are replaced via a process of cellular replication call mitosis.  With age, there are increasing mistakes that occur in the replication of the cells that compromise their integrity, which ultimately compromises the integrity of the tissues that they make up.

One the key factors that lead to cellular replication mistakes is the accumulation of free radicals in the body over time.  Thus, senior diets are fortified with extra antioxidants that serve as biological sponges to remove free radicals, which in turn slows the aging process by preserving cells and tissues.

Metabolism slows with age and lean muscle mass becomes harder to maintain with age, favoring greater accumulation of body fat and reduction in lean muscle.  Senior diets are restricted in calories, favor more complex carbohydrates, and a higher percentage of  protein to combat this age-related tendency.

High quality senior diets are fortified with increased soluble and insoluble fiber to promote good gut function, healthy bowel movements, and reduce calories without increasing hunger.  High quality senior diets are also fortified with omega-3-fatty acids, which have strong anti-inflammatory properties.  This helps reduce inflammation in the body, promotes brain health, and helps to maintain healthy joints.  In addition to dietary omega-3-fatty acids, I recommend additional supplementation with a reputable omega-3 fish oil supplement for senior dogs.

From medical perspective, senior dogs at a minimum should have once-a-year general blood work as part of their well care regimen.  However, considering that a dog ages on average 6 times faster than us – and thus ages physiologically 6 years a one-year time span – I advise twice a year blood work as the ideal standard for senior wellness.

Beyond longevity, a comprehensive senior wellness and nutritional program for your dog optimizes the quality of life for however many years we are blessed to have our senior dogs with us.  All the measures outlined in this chapter will maximize longevity to be sure, but more importantly, make life more comfortable for our senior dogs as they continue to age: better mobility, better digestion, more energy, better cognitive ability, better senses, etc.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Exercise is as important to a dog’s mental health, as it is to his physical health

The physical benefits of regular exercise for dogs are numerous. Exercise reduces obesity, supports a robust circulatory and respiratory systems, maintains vigorous joints, and promotes lean muscle mass.  The process of exercise also hones and supports the optimal functions of smell, hearing, vision, and cognitive function.

In enhancing all of these physiological functions, exercise helps to prevent common diseases that we see in dogs, such as congestive heart disease, inflammatory airway disease, obesity, arthritis, musculoskeletal injuries, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney failure, liver disease, and pancreatitis.  I addition to all of these physical health benefits, exercise also enhances optimal mental health for dogs.

In previous chapters, to contribute to optimal mental health, I have discussed giving your dog the right time of day given their crepuscular tendencies, as well as giving them ample time to sniff when walked.  Ample exercise fulfills the trifecta of habits that enhance the mental wellbeing of a dog.

Regular exercise reduces the production of the stress hormone cortisol that is an integral component of the “fight or flight response” that dogs experience when they sense danger.  The result of the production and release of cortisol raises the heartrate, the strength of the cardiac contraction, and increases respiratory rate.  Peripheral circulation reduced, with blood flow directed more toward the brain, lungs, and internal organs to protect and enhance their function.

While cortisol and its physiological effects are a necessary part of the canine’s physiological existence, dogs in living with inflammatory diseases (such as skin allergy, allergic bronchitis, arthritis, etc.) commonly run higher than average cortisol levels.  Other dogs that are prone to stress due to genetic factors, poor past socialization, past neglect or abuse etc., can also run higher than average cortisol levels, keeping the dog at some level of mental and physiological stress all of the time.  By suppressing cortisol production through exercise, we can subsequently offer dogs profound positive impacts on their physical and mental health.

From the neurotransmitter side, exercise stimulates the production of dopamine and serotonin in the brain.  Dopamine is the neurotransmitter associated with feelings of joy and positive excitement.  Consider when a dog greets you when you come home, wags his tail as you scratch him, or goes positively bonkers with excitement when he sees you grab the leash before a walk.  During these times, his happy little brain is coursing with dopamine.

Serotonin is the “well-being” neurotransmitter, present during feelings of contentment.  It is well documented that when a lactating female dog has milk letdown, she releases a pheromone and stimulates serotonin production in her puppys’ brains as they sense it.  This offers them a feeling of peace and contentment that causes them to relax, be drawn to Mom, and feed.  This is so effective that there are commercially available sprays and plug-in diffusers that a contain lab synthesized version of this pheromone that promotes calmness for nervous dogs, or dogs that suffer from specific types of anxieties.

For dogs that suffer from age related cognitive dysfunction, aka,, dog dementia, regular exercise remains a significant component to their treatment regimen.  Since most sufferers of caning cognitive dysfunction are geriatric dogs, due to arthritic concerns that commonly come with age, there is only so much exercise these dogs can tolerate.  Still, I always advise pushing as much exercise as the cognitive dysfunction patient will tolerate for its positive effects on reducing the stress hormone cortisol and enhancing the positive neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.

Cognitive dysfunction causes more distress than just senior moments.  It interferes with sleep/wake cycles and commonly leads to a sundowners like syndrome where sufferers of canine cognitive dysfunction vocalize and pace at night.

Make sure in all life stages, from puppy through old age, that your dog gets a regular dose of exercise each day.  A regimen that necessarily includes consistent exercise will invariably lead to optimal physical health, as well as mental health.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

There is no reason why dogs should still be contracting heartworm disease!

In our day and age, there is no reason why any dog should be contracting heartworm disease.  For decades, heartworm disease has been among the most safely and effectively preventable diseases in dogs, yet we continue to see cases with regularity.

The domestic dog is a definitive host of the heartworm parasite.  Once a dog is infected with heartworm larvae, they will mature to adult worms in 6 months and begin replicating.  Left untreated, the worms will continue to colonize the heart as pictured above.  The end stage of heartworm disease is congestive heart failure, but many dogs succumb to the disease before that from complications such as thromboembolism (clots that form and cut off blood supply to vital organs) or vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels).

Below in bold are false rationales that I commonly hear from dog owners for choosing not to treat their dogs with heartworm preventative medication.  I refute each of these false rationales in italics.

Heartworm prevention medications have chemicals that will harm my dog.

The safety of heartworm preventative medication administration in dogs has been long established since the 1990s.  There are a number of options for heartworm prevention that fall into a general category of compounds called macrocyclic lactones.  These compounds work by paralyzing the neuromuscular system of invertebrate animals – such as worm parasites – causing them to detach and be expelled from the dog.  Macrocyclic lactones do not cause any harm to the neuromuscular apparatus of vertebrate host – in this case the dog – especially at the tiny doses necessary to kill the microscopic infectious heartworm larvae that lead to heartworm. 

My dog is not at risk because he is never around other dogs

Heartworm disease is not spread from one dog to another.  It is spread by an infected mosquito feeding on a dog and inoculating him with microscopic infectious larvae.  Mosquitoes do not needto feed on another dog in order to become a carrier.  Feral cats, bobcats, and wild canids such as coyotes and foxes that mosquitoes readily feed on are all potential carriers of heartworm.  The bottom line is, wherever there are mosquitoes, your dog is at risk for heartworm disease.

If my dog gets heartworm, I will just put him on medication then

With conventional testing, heartworm is not detectable until 6 months after the initial point of infection when the larvae have matured to adult worms.  Adult worms cannot not by killed by macrocyclic lactones, so by this point, preventative medications are ineffective.

Heartworm is treatable, right? Why not just let him be and treat him if he gets heartworm?

Treatment for heartworm is a very involved and expensive process that is also painful for the dog.  The protocol begins with a series of chest x-rays and blood work to rule out any red flags that may negatively affect treatment or affect prognosis.  This is followed by a one-month course of an antibiotic called doxycycline, after which the dog comes in for his first treatment.

Treatment consists of an arsenic-based compound called melarsomine, administered by injection deep into the lumbar muscle. The dog is hospitalized for the day and monitored for adverse effects.

The dog is then discharged to the care of the owner, treated with a steroid, and must be kept confined and calm over the next month.  The dog then returns for the final two injections, each administered in the same manner 24 hours apart.

The injections cause significant discomfort at the injection sites for several days.  Complications could arise from the body’s reaction to the dead worms, thromboembolism, vasculitis, or toxicity from the melarsomine.

With all of these points considered, it simply makes no sense to opt out of treating your dog with a monthly heartworm preventative that has long established safety data and will spare him the morbidity of the disease, the risk of treatment, and the owner the expense and emotional toll of treatment.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Dogs respond to rewards, not punishments

I remember when I was a kid, the traditional way of house training our dogs was to drag them to the spot where they soiled and yell “no!”  Sadly, many others took it further and even spanked the dog.  What we did not know, is that this technique was not only inhumane, but it was also utterly useless.

The dog does not feel any correlation between the punishment and the excrement he is being dragged to face. He may show fear because of the manner in which he is being treated verbally and physically, but the human doing this has not accomplished anything other than instill fear in the dog from the person they most trust.

The next evolution in training was to correct the unwanted behavior (with something negative – prong collars, choke collars, shock collars, verbal scold, etc.), redirect to the acceptable behavior, then reward with praise, and/or treats.  To this day, there are unfortunately still a number of professional trainers that adopt this approach.

While this may achieve direct results, this approach may lead to other issues such as lack of trust, skittishness around people, and even neurotic tendencies.  Thus, even with the reward at the end, once the correct behavior is observed in the dog, it can come at the expense of the dog’s perception of the human-dog bond and even his mental health.

The best trainers follow a reward-based approach to training, where there is redirection from the unwanted behavior, but without the correction.  After redirection to the appropriate behavior is achieved, it is rewarded with praise and treats.  As the dog is rewarded time and again with treats, he learns to associate the preferred behavior in a positive light.  They cease engaging in the unwanted behavior, not because they are punished for it, but because of are rewarded when they exhibit the correct behavior, and they view in a positive light.  In other words, they behave because they want to, not out of fear if they do not.

Of course, the redirect and reward approach requires more patience to achieve results.  However, if you are patient, you will achieve better results, while actually enhancing your bond with your dog and optimizing his mental health; instead of compromising the bond or negatively affecting the dog mentally, as punishment as a training method does.

In a veterinary clinical setting, we need our canine patients to accept some level of restraint in order to properly examine them, take blood samples, take x-rays, and administer treatment.  Rather than force the restraint when they are scared, we always strive for a “less is more” approach, inviting the owner to cradle the patient’s head, pet and comfort, and offer peanut butter or cheese whiz to positively distract them.

What I have learned in the many years I have been practicing veterinary medicine, is that dogs have much longer memories than we give them credit for.  For example, some dogs do not appreciate the intranasal Bordetella vaccine that gets shot up the nostril.  I can’t tell you how many start to show apprehension the moment I approach them with a Bordetella booster a full year later!  Thankfully, they also remember that they will be getting a yummy treat immediately after tolerating the vaccine, which helps to gain forgiveness and regain trust for the moment of unpleasantness.

While a Bordetella vaccine is not punishment, it is an example of a very brief unpleasant experience that many dogs clearly do not forget a full year later.  Thus, next time you may have the impulse to yell at your dog for doing something bad, try instead redirecting away from the behavior and rewarding with a favorite treat when the correct behavior is observed.

I have two behaviors that my dogs engage in that frustrate me.  One is that they are severely triggered by the doorbell or a knock at the front door, especially the UPS or Amazon guy.  They will literally jump the over the couch, charge the door, and bark like lunatics, and never ceasing to startle the heck out of the human occupants of the house.

While the Amazon and UPS guys come and go quickly, the front door trigger can be particularly obnoxious when we have guests, and the dogs are jumping around them and doing figure eights while they are trying to enter the front door.  At the same time, I am not a believer in locking my dogs up in the bedroom or in their crates when I have guests over.  My house is their home as well and I feel it is wrong to socially isolate them for the sake of the human guests who will only be here a short time.  I actually have no tolerance for people who take offense for my dogs being part of the human gathering in their own home.

That stated, it is also not fair to allow my guests to get stampeded by my overly triggered dogs.  As such, I have a readily accessible bag of high value treats for when guests arrive, I redirect my triggered dogs into my bedroom behind a baby gate and give them treats.  Once my guests are settled and the dogs are no longer triggered, I let them out, give them treats again, and let them mingle with my guests.

My dogs’ other frustrating unwanted behavior is relentlessly begging for human food when we are cooking or sitting down to a meal.  Rather than yell at them when they are begging, I again access the high value treats, direct them to their beds (we have one bed for each dog on either end of the dining room), give them a treat for laying down; then after we finish eating, offer them a treat for staying and not begging.  If it is dinner, they are immediately fed after we eat, giving them the ultimate reward for being good while we eat our dinner in peace.

As much as we love our dogs, they can be frustrating, especially when they are young and learning.  We should always be cognizant that yelling at them or exhibiting anything punitive ultimately hurts our cause in seeking appropriate behaviors and can even compromise the human-dog bond.  Try to always direct toward desired behaviors in a positive way and we will get the best out of our dogs!

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Dogs go out of their way to hide pain and illness from their human pet parents

Dogs may be incredibly domesticated animals that through tens of thousands of years of domestication and evolution, have become a lot more like us…but they are still at their core animals that retain many animal instincts.  One of those instincts that commonly fool human dog parents, is their animalistic tendency to hide pain and/or illness.

Consider what animals in general risk if they show signs of pain and weakness.  Life in the wild is not kind, rife with competition, pecking order, bullying and opportunistic predators.  Competition and pecking order are derived from many animals vying for a finite availability of food and resources.

I look no further than my own back yard that is teaming with different species of ducks, watching them all constantly fighting with one another for dibs on my bird feeder.  Usually, it is the biggest and strongest ducks that get that top spot while the smaller/weaker ducks are left out, survival of the fittest on full display.

Although dogs are far more highly evolved than ducks, they too operate with a pecking order of sorts when in group settings.  While their interaction is more complex than that of the ducks in my backyard, you can clearly see who emerges as top dog when in dog park or dog daycare settings.

My dogs regularly go to daycare in a facility called Dogtopia.  They have a webcam where I can tune in and watch my dogs playing and interacting with a sizable group of dogs. Since all of the daycare dogs are thoroughly vetted for dog aggression prior to being allowed full membership, fights rarely occur.  Nonetheless, you can see the competition for the most coveted spots in the room, namely the raised platforms where the most assertive dogs end up claiming (the elevated platforms are the most popular spots).

Thus, dogs have the same programming when it comes to internalizing pain or illness so as not to invite being bullied away from resources.  This presents a problem for their human caretakers because of the difficulty presented to the people that need to notice signs of pain or illness to get them to the vet.

I used the limping dog and the terrible dental disease as examples, because these are common injury/disease presentations that owners do not grasp the pain involved.  Let’s start with the limping dog.

In this case, the dog is so sore that he is shifting weight off the leg even when he is just standing.  I ultimately diagnosed a CCL tear of the knee, CCL being the major stabilizing ligament of the canine knee (equivalent to the ACL in people).   I recommended surgical stabilization.

As commonly occurs, the owner stated that Bruno did not seem to be in any pain.  As always, I let the owner know that his is not limping to be a drama queen, he is limping because he is in pain and can no longer hide it.

Regarding the teeth, the mouth pictured above is a train wreck of dental disease.  I told the owner that there are likely multiple resorptive lesions (pockets of infection and bone loss around tooth root tips) which are not only unhealthy for the patient, but cause severe chronic pain.  The owner reacted with surprise because Chelsea is eating fine and does not seem like she is in pain.  I answered that I will guarantee that Chelsea is suffering silently.

I relayed to the owner that I suffered just one resorptive lesion on one of my incisors that left me in considerable pain, feeling like someone was stabbing me with a knife up the roof of my mouth and up into my eyeball.  You know things are bad when I am on the phone Monday morning begging for an endodontist to give me a root canal.  I could not imagine what a whole mouthful of that would feel like.

This particular dog ended up having 10 resorptive lesions.  We do not routinely do root canals in dogs, most commonly just extracting the diseased teeth.  2 weeks later when the owner brought Chelsea back for re-check, he relayed to me how astounded he was at the change in Chelsea’s peppiness and overall demeanor.  Prior to the dental, she had slowed down, slept more, and the owner just chalked that up to age.  In hindsight, seeing Chelsea’s incredible turn around, her owner realized that she is aging just fine…she was just suffering silently with bad teeth.

So, if your dog is limping, bring him to the vet.  If your dog is off his appetite, not himself, bring him to the vet.  He likely is feeling way worse than he is showing you.  Lastly, engage in regular annual wellness care where we commonly find problems – like dental disease among other things – that your dog is not showing you.  Although he may not let you see, many of these treatable ailments are a hindrance to optimal quality of life and may even shorten lives.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Dogs need ample time to sniff!

If you’re a dog parent you are probably familiar with the constant stopping during walks so they can sniff and you’ll often respond to this by nudging them along.  However, for a dog, a walk fulfills so much more than exercise and going potty – very important needs to be sure – but sniffing is very important for dogs. Your dog’s sense of smell is nothing short of a superpower and their daily sniff routine can help them identify what’s happening in their environment, as well as lower their stress levels.

Getting out for a walk is one of life’s joys and it gives us a chance to experience all the sights and sounds of the great outdoors. As we take in all of these sensory experiences, we often forget that our dogs see the world very differently than we do – and while we are looking at the sights, our dogs are discovering far more about the area by its smells. On routine morning and evening walks, we may just be running late for work, or anxious to get the evening potty done to unwind and eventually go to bed, so we may feel naturally impatient when our dog is stopping frequently to sniff.  Dog parents may get subsequently impatient that while they want to stride off across the countryside or have an active walk around the park to make sure their dog gets their daily exercise; or, they really want them to just potty already!

It’s easy to drag them away thinking they are wasting precious exercise time, human exploration time, or taking too long to potty, but that’s purely because we do not have anything even close to a dog’s sense of smell.  We can’t comprehend just how incredible our dog’s nose is – or that this tremendous ability means that unlike us, they see the world in what I like to call: smell-o-vision.

While they are sniffing, they are learning about the area, who lives there, who has passed by recently, and even what kind of mood they may have been in. All the time they are sniffing, they are processing information about the environment and who and what is in it.

The power of a dog’s sense of smell

It’s easy to see why we don’t understand this. When it comes to sniffing, humans are not even in the same universe. Depending on the breed or type, a dog’s sense of smell can be around 10,000 – 150,000 times better than ours. They possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses compared to a mere six million in ours and the part of their brain that analyses and processes scents is proportionally 30-60 times greater than ours.

These numbers may mean little to us, as we are primarily visual and so we think and process what we see far more than what we smell.  If we created an analogy to sight, the information that we collect gazing a third of a mile away, what a dog can smell is equivalent to more than 3,000 miles away.

This is the reason dogs can detect cancer cells, explosives, drugs, and track and find lost people or animals – all by using the power of their noses and the part of their brain that analyses and processes those scents.

Sniffing has so many benefits for your dog

As dog parents we need to give our dogs ample time to sniff. Most of us know that nothing tires our dog as much as an hour’s physical exercise, but we don’t always recognize that five minutes spent sniffing accomplishes a very similar goal. It’s not just their noses that are working, it’s a large part of their brains that gets exercised as well. For active dogs, or for dogs who start their walks totally out of control and either pulling on the lead in their excitement, or doing zoomies all over the place, time spent sniffing can take the edge off their unfocussed energy.

For worried reactive dogs, sniffing can help them feel more secure, as it gives them ample experience to work out what is out there and whether it needs to be worried about or whether it is safe.

Perhaps more importantly, a chance to sniff fulfils a major part of their sensory needs just as importantly as physical and mental exercises and play does. Sniffing makes them happy and gives them an outlet for their hard-wired natural instincts.

We commonly ignore this vital part of our dogs’ needs because we just don’t understand it.  Compounding this, we may be pressed for time, feel compelled to provide proper exercise because we may not have fenced in back yard.

My own back yard backs up to a lake, providing beautiful views of the water, conservation areas, and wildlife…but my homeowner’s association does not permit homes on the lake to have fenced in yards, to not obstruct the views offered to my neighbors and me.  Thus, my dog’s sole means of exercise is to walk them as often as I can, combined with 2-3 days per week at dog day care.

For the walking part, both my dogs know the different between a brisk walk or running, strictly exercise sessions.  I keep them on my left at all times and between that and the increased pace, they know it is exercise time, not sniff time.  At first, it took a bit of training to give them a gentle nudge when they diverged from the path to sniff, but in just a few sessions they got it.

During the sniff time walks, I give my dogs free reign to be on either side of me and slacken my pace.  During these walks – typically their final evening walk – they are free to sniff away with no resistance from me.  It is amazing, how they can quickly and easily recognize the difference between each type of walk.

Both my fiancé and I work 9 AM – 5 PM, and commonly even longer hours, so we supplement their walk/run/sniff time with 2-3 days a week at dog day care.  At day care, they get to fulfill the best of both worlds, spending the day sniffing and playing with other dogs at their own pace and discretion.

No matter what your recipe as a dog parent may be, be sure to include ample sniff time into their regimen, and always recognize it as an integral component to their overall health.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinarian of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Many dogs fear pets to the head from strangers

Although some dogs tolerate head pets from people they do not know, most instinctively feel uncomfortable when a hand reaches down from above their head. If you scroll through social media, you’ll easily see examples of distressed dogs suffering through pets on the head. To verify how your dog feels, pay attention to your his body language when an unfamiliar person attempts to pet his head. Chances are you’ll observe signs of stress. Signs to look for include:

• Lowering the head or ducking away from the touch
• Walking away
• Pinning back the ears
• Licking their lips
• Yawning
• Showing the whites of the eyes

Preventing Unfamiliar People From Petting Your Dog on the Head

Well intentioned strangers on the sidewalk or visitors to your home may wish to pet your dog on the head. We humans just can’t help ourselves, dogs are just irresistible to many of us. However, you need to advocate for your dog’s well-being. Ask people to pet or scratch your dog on the places you know they enjoy best. For many dogs, the chest, shoulders, chin, or sides of the neck are a safe bet. My favorite approach is to simply have the person kneel, put their hand out not making eye contact with my dog, and give the dog the freedom to sniff the person and feel them out prior to petting.  Once your dog is at ease and free of stress signs, allow the dog lover to pet away.  If the person does not respect your request, don’t hesitate to step in and stop the interaction. Your dog needs to know you have his best interests at heart.

Certain dogs are one dog people that really do not like being pet by anyone but their owner.  If this is the case, be frank with people and tell them that he does not like to be pet.  Not only could allowing a person to pet a dog like this instill fear in the dog, but it could also lead to fear biting.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinary of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.

Try to give your dog the [right] time of day

Some animals are nocturnal by nature, that is, they are most active at night, such as opossums and raccoons.  Other animal like humans, are diurnal by nature, that is, they are most active during the day.  Like the wolf ancestors that they descended from, dogs are neither nocturnal nor diurnal, but crepuscular.

Crepuscular animals are most active in twilight, which is the periods of the day around dusk and dawn.  Also like wolves, to accommodate their lower light preference, they have even evolved a special reflective region of the retina that enhances vision in a lower light setting.  This is why the eyes of wolves and dogs can seem to glow in low light when just small amounts of light reflect off the eyes.

Dogs can be incredibly adaptable and can seem to conform to human preferences in many aspects of life, including the periods when we tend to be most active.  And while it is a dog’s general preference to be the most active in during the twilight periods of the day, it is not necessarily bad for the dog to be active alongside their humans when we generally choose to be the most active.  However, it is wise to always be cognizant of the dog’s innate preference for a crepuscular existence and at least try to meet them part of the way.

From a training perspective, a dog is going to be the most alert, mentally acute, and receptive to learning during the twilight periods of the day.  Therefore, you should aim to plan training sessions around dawn or dusk.  This will enable your dog to get the most out of training sessions and optimally learn.

While for many of us, dawn is a bit on the early side to get up and walk our dogs and play with them, but you should not too much time elapse from dawn to start engaging with your dog.  By their nature, they crave to be most active when the sun is lower, so a good compromise is to be certain let them out and engage with them no later than 60 to 90 minutes after dawn.  While it will be brighter than sunrise, the sun will still be lower in the sky and your dog will far more relish play than he would with the sun much higher in the sky and brighter later in the day.

On the flip side, don’t try to keep your dog active late into the evening, as the dog’s mind and body are seeking rest and winding down the farther they get from dusk.  At the same time, it is good policy to let them out to potty late enough that they will not have to go in the middle of the night, so a good rule of thumb is to have their final walk and potty outside 60 to 90 minutes after dusk.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of his top selling memoir The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to this writing this blog, Dr. Welton also hosts the popular Space Coast Pet Podcast.  He is the CEO and chief attending veterinary of Premier Veterinary Care in Viera, FL.  

Why parasite screening in pets is more important now than ever!

It has always been astounding to me the number of pet owners who decline stool parasite screening as a regular component of the well visit. Statistically I have found that 48 percent of pet owners decline yearly parasite screening despite my assertions that these parasites can be monsters within that not only chip away at the health of the actual patient but could put the human family at risk as well. From a medical perspective , routine parasite screening has always been an essential component to maintaining the health of the animal patient and the human family he resides with . However, now with the emergence of resistant parasites, routine parasite screening has never been more important.

What we refer to using the term “resistant parasite” , is the emergence of parasites that are no longer eradicated using our traditional anti-parasite medications. That is, they have gained genetic resistance to the effectiveness of parasite medications that have previously been effective in treating parasites for years.

Particularly concerning are resistant strains of hookworm that we have been encountering starting here in my home state of Florida, but now spreading throughout the southeastern United States; and it is predicted that eventually those strains will be nationwide. In light of the emergence of these resistant hookworm strain, we find ourselves having to get creative with anti-parasitic cocktails in order to successfully treat them. There is even a strain that infects primarily greyhounds for which there is actually no effective treatment.

So why should pet owners be concerned about this? Hookworm is well-documented to chip away at the health of the Patient either with direct irritation of the bowel and malabsorptive syndrome , but when subclinical (meaning no direct GI symptoms), is known to chip away at the health of the patient by zapping its nutrients and reducing the effectiveness of his immune system. On the human side, hookworm can infect a person and reach a larval stage that can migrate through the skin and cause severe itchiness, discomfort and cause spider web looking lesions on the skin. These type of larvae are called cutaneous larval migrans. I have a family member who contracted this from his puppy that was infected with hookworm and it took several rounds of medication and weeks of discomfort to rid himself of the parasite.

There is also an emergence of resistant strains of giardia, a protozoal parasite that also primarily infects the gut. While giardia remains species specific and the canine and feline versions do not appear to currently have the ability to infect people, the ability for an organism to jump species often starts with the emergence of strains resistant to medication that would normally successfully treat them.

Thankfully, we have new technology at our disposal to not only highly accurately identify the presence of parasites , but can also identify resistant strains. Traditionally, most stool tests relied on a technique where ultimately the main diagnosis is obtained by a technician literally looking under a microscope and looking for eggs produced by certain worm parasites and cysts produced by certain protozoal parasites. These tests had uncomfortably high rates of false negative as high as 25%, but also did not enable us to identify specific strains of parasites. This still served us pretty well given that resistant strains of parasite are only a recent phenomenon, but now knowing that they are among us it is important to know if we are dealing with a resistant strain right out of the gate.

Specifically, instead of relying on the human element of visually searching for parasite components, we now have gastrointestinal PCR testing at our disposal that takes a human element out of the testing and makes it highly accurate. PCR identifies DNA signatures from the individual parasites present in the stool and not only finds the organism but tells us the exact strains so that we know if a patient is infected with a resistant strain; and can therefore get aggressive with the treatment immediately . It costs a bit more than traditional stool parasite screening, but in my opinion given the potential health benefits of catching these parasites strains before they wreak havoc on the health of the patient or put the human family at risk , are priceless.

I recommend that the next time your pet has a yearly well visit , ask your vet about GI PCR parasite testing instead of traditional diagnostic techniques. For a slight uptick in cost you will receive a high level of diagnostic accuracy never-before-seen and if positive, be armed with knowing the exact strain of parasite and therefore the best way to treat it.

Dr. Roger Welton is a practicing veterinarian and highly regarded media personality through a number of topics and platforms. He is the author of The Man In The White Coat: A Veterinarian’s Tail Of Love. In addition to being passionate about integrative veterinary medicine for which he is a globally recognized expert, Dr. Welton was also an accomplished college lacrosse player and remains to this day very involved in the sport.  He is president of Maybeck Animal Hospital , general partner of Grant Animal Clinic, and runs the successful veterinary/animal health  blogs Web-DVM and Dr. Roger’s Holistic Veterinary Care.  Dr. Welton fulfills his passion for lacrosse through his lacrosse and sport blog, The Creator’s Game.