Dog behaviour

Dogs are descended from wolves, right? So, they should eat what wolves eat in the wild, right?  This is the basic tenant believed by those who support a raw diet for their dogs.  This is a highly contentious subject and, one that generates strong views.
A leading proponent of raw diets for dogs is Dr Ian Billinghurst, a vet who promotes the BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food) based on the theory that wolves eat raw meat in the wild so dogs should too.

Unfortunately, his arguments are based on no scientific data, at all. He, and the supporters of BARF argue that wolves don’t eat dry food. That’s true but it ignores that the domesticated dog is long separated from the wolf in evolutionary terms.

Both sides of the argument make spurious claims, making it difficult to decide on which side of the fence to sit.

BARF proponents argue that all commercial diets are inadequate and unhealthy for our dogs. In fact, Billinghurst claims that most degenerative diseases in animals are a direct result of commercial foods. That’s again based on zero clinical research.

A huge range of conditions in dogs are blamed on the horrors of feeding commercial food to them by BARF advocates.

The other side of the argument, discussing the risks of and reasons to avoid raw diets, is put forward

by Brennen McKenzie –  ‘Raw meat and bone diets, it’s enough to make you barf’.   Again, this is not without its’ flaws and unsubstantiated claims.

McKenzie claims that “wolves kept in captivity live longer than wolves in the wild. And what are captive wolves fed? Commercial dog food. Evidence suggests captive wolves fed raw diets suffer from poor nutrition and health. Wild wolves often die because of disease, parasitism and malnutrition.’  Some of this is true – wolves in captivity do, indeed, live longer. However, a review of some of the institutions that keep captive wolves, reveals that they are, generally, fed a raw diet, similar to what they would eat in the wild.  Commercial food is used, sometimes, to supplement the diet.

The assertion that ‘ wild wolves often die because of disease, parasitism and malnutrition’ is plausible. It could be argued that the ‘raw’ meat elements of their diet could be the sources of parasitic and other diseases, contributing to mortality.

BARF proponents argue that commercial food lacks nutritional quality and is unsafe. That’s also wrong — commercial food production is strictly regulated unlike the raw diets, and is based on extensive nutritional research and testing for digestibility and nutritional content.

Commercial dog food is accused by BARF fans of making dogs sick, being indigestible because of grain content, lacking nutrient content and, most crazily, of being made from dead pets! None of these claims are substantiated by research.

Many raw diets have been found to contain pathogens including E.coli and Salmonella which are harmful to our dogs and us. For me, this is the major source of concern.  In my, humble opinion, from a common sense perspective, it seems logical to cook meat before feeding it to our dogs.  Why take risks?

The bones contained in raw diets have been known to cause intestinal obstruction and perforations. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned pet owners against feeding bones to their dogs.

There appears to be no evidence for BARF diets. They are not based on sound research. I would go as far to say that feeding dogs on RAW foods is tantamount to playing Russian roulette with their health.  I am open to this view being challenged when there has been proper clinical research into this area.

This, of course, is a personal opinion based on my medical knowledge gained while serving in the medical branch of the Royal Navy, an understanding of food hygiene and, most importantly, applying some common sense.

Image credits: Shutterstock

Walking with Ziggy again. We met a chap with a 5 year border collie — a lovely dog, if a little lively.

A typical collie, he was focused totally on his ball, to the exclusion of anything else (not a good thing). I would recommend taking the ball for specific periods of play / exercise and, then to put the ball away and allow the dog to socialise with other dogs and people. Dog’s that are fixated on one thing can develop bahavioural problems (this one was showing a little protection aggression — common in dogs fixated like this one).

However, the dog was a nice animal; he just required more informed handling and some additional training.

This is the nub of this piece. The collie’s owner had taken the dog to a trainer and had been told ‘the dog is untrainable’. Wow! Here we have, again, an ‘expert’ who dismisses a dog in such an offhand manner. My advise for anyone that is told this — about turn and get as far away as possible from said ‘trainer’.

Most dogs can be trained — it requires commitment and effort; sometimes it is far from easy. There are too many ‘trainers’ out there that, clearly, aren’t very good.

The owner is now taking advice from another trainer. This one extolls the virtues of the ‘clicker’. However, as with all forms of training, if the clicker is used properly, it can be effective. This chap, clearly, did not really understand how to use it — so, he was clicking at inappropriate times and confusing his dog.

Again, any ‘trainer, worth their salt will take time to make sure an owner understands, fully, how to use any form of training aid. Not to do so is irresponsible and counter-productive.

A thought regarding dog intelligent. We have all heard ‘my dog is very intelligent, more than other dogs…’ — this owner thought his dog was tricky because of it’s higher level of intelligence than other dogs. Well, here’s what research tells us — dogs all have, pretty much, the same level of intelligence. The important point here, is that some dogs (breeds) are easier to train than others, particularly if you focus on training geared to what they have been bred for (Hart et al, 1985; Scott et al, 1971).

Finally, a take home message. When looking for a dog trainer — choose them with care. Ask around, find out what other people think, quiz your trainer about methods, experience and satisfied customers. As for the trainers out there who write dogs of because their skills aren’t up to scratch— ‘shame on you’.

(Hart, B. and Miller, M. (1985). Behavioural profiles of dog breeds: a quantitative approach. JAVMA, 186(11), pp.1175–1180).

Scott, J. and Fuller, J. (1971). Genetics and the social behavior of the dog. Chicago-London.

So, here we are again at Ziggy’s (you should know who she is by now) favourite woodland and water walk. This is where she gets to meet lots of mutts and people, and — she gets to run in the woods and play in the water — pretty much doggie heaven!

After having had a good stomp through the woods, plenty of chasing squirrels in the undergrowth (never get’s anywhere near them), we get to Ziggy’s best place — the doggie water spot. Lots of fun here leaping in and fetching sticks; too exciting for words (barks).

We are joined by a couple of other dogs and their owners — more fun now.

Soon, a large group of people with their dogs arrive — all on the lead (15–20 or so, dogs). One owner comes and stands next to me. She has two beautiful dogs — a ridgeback puppy and a labrador — both on the lead. Both very excited — I suggest letting them of for a romp in the water. She tells me she is out on a group walk — dogs have to be kept on the lead — the walk is under the guidance of a local ‘dog trainer’. She frowns upon letting them off the lead.

Really?

Let me be clear; we are in a fantastic place for dogs. To keep them on the lead is tantamount to cruelty, in my humble opinion. Dogs are social creatures and, deserve to be allowed the chance to do this as much as possible.

Keeping a large group of dogs on a lead is NOT SOCIALISING them — it is stopping them from being a dog!

Quite a few of these dogs were, clearly, excited, some were, obviously distressed — they NEEDED to be of lead and enjoying the fun of playing and interacting with their own kind.

This, unfortunately, is another example of a so called ‘dog training professional’ displaying a breathtaking lack of understanding of what dogs NEED.

A couple of the walkers stayed at the pool while the rest moved on under the ‘guidance’ of their ‘trainer’. These dogs were then let of the lead and, hey presto, their demeanor changed completely — they relaxed, socialised nicely and had a romp in the water with the other dogs.

The take home message here is, group walks are good, but, for goodness sake, if you are in a place where the dogs can be off lead, enjoying their own company — THEY SHOULD BE. Treat ‘professional trainers’ who do not encourage this with caution.

Out on my daily walk with my dog Ziggy, I came across another example on what not to do with your dog.

All dogs need to be given the opportunity (every day) to ‘be a dog’; this means allowing them to socialise properly with people and other dogs, in different environments. Failure to do this amounts, in my view, to a form of cruelty.

We came across, in open woods, and parkland (a form of doggie heaven) a beautiful chocolate labrador and it’s owners. Unfortunately, this dog was on an extending lead (an awful lead that is dangerous and should never be used — the premise that the dog is under control is wrong — it simply can’t run off).

The owners actively restrained this dog, who was extremely excited to see another dog — the owner did not stop, but pressed on. I was going in the same direction and asked them, did they let the dog off the lead — answer — never (the dog was 5 years old!).

Their reasoning — it would run off because it had no recall. Had they tried to train the dog — yes (very briefly) but, it was untrainable. Of course, this is utter rubbish. It is more likely, that this required some effort and, clearly, these owners were not prepared to do it properly.

Let me be clear, all dogs need to be able to meet their, often breed specific, needs. In this case, the dog needs to be allowed to stop and socialise, it needs to be off lead enjoying it’s environment and the company of other dogs.

This dog was like a bottle of pop, full of energy and bouncing around like a lunatic. This is because, the ‘exercise’ it was allowed was woefully inadequate and it was not being socialised.

My message is: If you want a dog, you must be prepared, and willing, to train the dog, understand and meet it’s needs — particularly exercise, socialisation and letting it ‘be a dog’.

So, please think about your life style and whether you can really give a dog the life it DESERVES. If you have any doubts that you can’t — DON’T get a dog. PERIOD.