Pet food labels hard to decipher

April 26, 2011

In this week’s Pet Connection newspaper feature, our own Kim Campbell Thornton gives you the inside story on just what “natural” and “organic” mean on pet food labels.

It sounds great when your dog’s or cat’s food is described as “natural” or “organic,” doesn’t it? It’s easy to imagine happy cows and chickens being raised sustainably on Farmer Jan’s property. The real definitions don’t have anything to do with how farm animals are raised or the quality of the food, though. In the eyes of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the term “natural” does not have an official definition. It simply means that a pet food does not contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials, a trade organization that develops nutrient standards and ingredient definitions for pet foods, says a “natural” food or ingredient is one that is made only from plant, animal or mined sources and is not produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process. Foods described as natural may not contain anything artificial, except in amounts that might occur unavoidably during manufacture. The AAFCO says the term “natural” should be used only to describe products when all of the ingredients — not counting chemically synthesized vitamins, minerals and other trace nutrients — meet this definition.

Get the full scoop here — along with all the news about “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual,” the BIG Bus Tour, and of course, Dr. Marty Becker’s $70,000 shelter prize giveaway, in this week’s Pet Connection!

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Breed profiling: What does it mean for your dog’s health?

While racial profiling is considered taboo, when it comes to our patients, veterinarians profile breeds like there’s no tomorrow.

Sure, knowing the breed helps us predict the behavior we will encounter when we enter the exam room, but where “breed profiling” is most helpful is as it pertains to predicting disease. Show me a senior Saint Bernard and I’ll show you a dog with arthritis. Show me an English Bulldog with normal upper airway anatomy and dinner’s on me!

Such breed-specific knowledge is gleaned from years of practicing veterinary medicine but, more and more, these impressions are becoming evidence-based. The March/April Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine featured an article titled “Mortality in North American Dogs from 1984 to 2004: An Investigation into Age- Size- and Breed-Related Causes of Death.” The data was collected from information provided by veterinary teaching hospitals and recorded in the national Veterinary Medical Database. The cause of death for more than 70,000 dogs and 82 breeds was scrutinized. The categorization went as follows:

which organ system failed (cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, etc.)pathophysiologic process (trauma, infectious disease, cancer, etc.).

For example, if one were to look at all of the Boston Terriers in the study, 22 percent died with neurological symptoms and cancer was the cause of death in 30 percent.

Here are some other tidbits from this study:

Forty percent of Dachshunds die from traumatic neurological disease   (intervertebral disk disease).

That represents a staggering percentage. To have a Doxie is to expect disk disease, but this is generally considered a treatable condition. My assumption is that financial hardship (treatment often requires expensive diagnostics and surgery) and the decision to euthanize are the sad truths behind this high percentage.

The breeds with the highest proportion of deaths caused by heart disease included Newfoundland, Maltese, Chihuahua, Doberman Pinscher, and Fox Terrier.The top five breeds that died as a result of musculoskeletal diseases included Saint Bernard, Great Pyrenees, Irish Wolfhound, Great Dane, and Greyhound.

This makes sense. When such large dogs have a tough time getting around because of sore bones, joints, or muscles, they become management nightmares and hasten the decision to euthanize.

Cancer was the leading cause of death across all breeds within the study population.

Interestingly, the relative frequency of cancer peaked in the age group that included ten-year-old dogs, then declined within the oldest age group. Is the incidence of cancer increasing, or are we getting better at detecting cancer? Or perhaps both?  The answer is not clear, however we feel certain that cancer is commonly inherited within certain breeds (Bernese Mountain Dog, Golden Retriever, Boxer, Bouvier des Flandres) in which approximately half of the population will succumb to the “big C.”

Cancer occurred less commonly in smaller breeds of dogs (Boston Terriers being an exception).Larger breeds more commonly died due to diseases affecting the musculoskeletal or gastrointestinal systems.Traumatic causes of death were equally prevalent among larger and smaller breeds.

So, beyond the simple curiosity factor, how does all of this data help us?

Perhaps it will influence one’s decision-making when adopting a new dog. My current canine family members are both small mutts. Yes, I have to bend over more, but I’d grown weary of getting burned by the heartache that accompanies the diagnosis of cancer.

On a more global scale, this data is key to directing new and ongoing breed-specific research such as looking for ways to prevent musculoskeletal abnormalities in large breed dogs and tracking down the genetic basis for cancer in particular breeds.

Additionally, the information presented in this article serves as justification for veterinarians to recommend more comprehensive early disease-specific screening tests based on breed.

Last, if you share your home and your heart with a Dachshund, this data should entice you to invest some of your hard-earned money in a good pet health insurance policy (one that does not exclude coverage for disk disease in Dachshunds) or a large doggie-piggy bank reserved for medical matters. This way, when your little Doxie “slips a disk” you’ll be able to treat this treatable disease.

Curious about what this article had to say about your dog’s breed? Feel free to ask and we’ll let you know if it was included in the study.

Photo credit: Dunja Oertel

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Houston, we hardly knew you: New Orleans next

The first day of our “Healthy Pets Visit Vets” tour for “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual” is in the rear-view mirror — and I mean that literally, as we’re already more than an hour down I-10 to our next events, in New Orleans. If every day goes as quickly as this one, the tour will be over in no time at all.

For me, though, it started with an eviction. Because of McKenzie, our official tour dog.

See, we booked hotel rooms and meetings through Marriott corporate, and not all the properties take dogs. But the Marriott people wanted the business, and assured us that as part of the BIG Bus Tour, McKenzie would be made to feel welcome at every stop. That promise, unfortunately, didn’t even apply on Day 1.

McKenzie and I had just checked in when the phone rang in the hotel room. “Ms. Spadafori,” said a brusque female voice. “It seems we have a situation. We are a no-pets hotel. You will have to remove the animal from the premises immediately, and we will be charging you to clean the room.”

I tried to explain that the dog had been approved. Failing that, I said that there was no way she was charging me a cleaning fee for a room I’d been in less than an hour. She countered by letting me know that staff was heading my way to toss my ass and the furry ass of “that animal” onto the curb.

Well, boy-howdy, welcome to Houston.

In the end, McKenzie and I spent the night in the rock-star suite on the bus, and today, our tour manager got on the phone and personally started making sure this didn’t happen again. So … most nights McKenzie and I will be in hotel rooms … although I have to say the bus wasn’t at all bad! By the way; I do not recommend the Marriott Courtyard in Katy, TX. That woman was a bitch, and I don’t mean that in the McKenzie- is-one-too kind of way.

With that behind us, things got better. The day started with Arden Moore interviewing Dr. Becker for her show, “Oh Behave!” Then it was the first of our VIP (Veterinary Important Person) luncheons for area veterinarians. From there, it was off to the PETCO, where a friendly crowd waited to have their books signed.

Tonight, Dr. Becker’s friend Emeril Lagasse promised us a very good meal in his restaurant. Then we have our first media interview — “Good Morning, New Orleans” — at 6:14 a.m ET. before the VIP event and the PETCO booksigning.

I knew Dr. Becker would handle everything perfectly, but I wasn’t sure how McKenzie would handle it all. But she was great, too. She has handled everything with good manners and an outgoing attitude, and even happily let Dr. Becker brush her teeth for a TV interview. To keep herself entertained, however, she manged to fish out three tennis balls from under the shelves in the PETCO. Sadly (in her opinion), I bought her only one of her finds.

From somewhere west of New Orleans … more tomorrow.

Top: Dr. Becker is interviewed by KTKR-TV in Houston; above: McKenzie with her found tennis balls in the PETCO in Spring, TX.

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The price of experience in the veterinary ER

Christie and I recently had the start of a discussion about the fact that most veterinary ERs do not have specialists on staff after hours. They seem to be staffed with predominantly recent grads who are general practitioners (obviously there are exceptions; there are lots of seasoned and experienced ER docs out there). But when you need a specialist (for example, a surgeon) in the middle of the night, there are none to be found.

Many ER docs can perform surgery, and they do a very good job in the vast majority of cases. There are some cases, however, that would benefit from someone extensively trained in surgery through a residency program, and who only does surgery. Additionally, there are some owners who are more comfortable with (read: demand) a board-certified surgeon when their pet goes under the knife.

At 3 in the morning.

I think this is something that she and I can take further, but I wanted to poll the tiny and loyal readers of PetConnection to get their take on the issue.

Shift work, especially overnight work, is grueling and unhealthy. There is a reason that most jobs are 9-5, M-F: that is what our bodies have come to expect and can tolerate.

By contrast, a veterinary ER doc or technician can work 16 (in some cases, 24) hours straight with not so much as a pee break. Burnout is an ever-present threat, and the average lifespan of an ER doc is about 4-5 years.

At some point, we tire of the hours, the endless fights over money, the naked carelessness, neglect and outright cruelty that ER work can shove down your throat. Some can subsist on the adrenaline rush, or find a way to partition things so they can continue to function in the ER year after year, but for many, the toll becomes too much and they seek the so-called “cushy” shifts during the day.

One out is to become a specialist. This was the path I chose when the overnights and the  burnout became too much to bear — coupled with the desire to start a family and actually, y’know, be home.  N’stuff.

So, when the specialists have completed their training (which involves a crapton of overnight or on-call work) they typically think to themselves “I’ve paid my dues — hello day shift!”

On-call work also means a loss of freedom for the person doing it as well.  It’s no picnic. Imagine if you were on call tonight. That means no glass of wine with dinner, no relaxing and knowing that the night is yours and no one can bother you.  You are just one pager beep away from dropping everything in the middle and rushing in.

And, coming in in the middle of the night means that your day will almost certainly be craptacular the next day. Can you imagine leaving your family at home in the middle of the night to spend four hours doing surgery, knowing you are going to have a full docket of surgeries the next day, too? It only takes a few times for this to suck the soul and lead to the search for greener pastures.

Somehow, in human medicine, they manage to do it. They have surgeons on call all the time. (Not every specialty does this on-call rotation, though — you would be surprised what they let the green docs and residents do in some specialties). But for MDs there is usually a more spread-out on-call schedule (as there are more of them) and the financial rewards, sad to say, are significantly higher that for veterinarians.

So — what’s your take?

Do you begrudge the poor, tired ER doc’s wish for a simpler daytime existence, knowing that it may mean that there are fewer specialists around in the wee hours? Or are you of the camp that thinks a fully functional clinic should have a line-up of specialists in multiple disciplines a phone call away at all times?

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Houston, Dr. Marty Becker’s BIG Bus Tour is ‘go’ for launch!

It starts today! This afternoon at 1 pm Central Time, if you head over to the Petco at 19507 I-45 North in Spring, Texas, near Houston, you can meet Dr. Becker, Gina, McKenzie (the Official Tour Dog), and check out a seriously tricked out bus. Isn’t that snazzy? Tough to miss on the highway. Or a parking lot. Or really, anywhere.

Houston is just the first leg of the 29-city tour across the continental U.S. to support the release of “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual.” Are they coming to a metropolis near you? The tour schedule is here. Every other important detail you need is at DrMartyBecker.com.

The Big Bus Tour (we’ve just taken to calling it BBT) will do a huge loop of the country, finishing in Dallas in June. Over the next few months, you’ll be hearing from Gina and Dr. Becker here at Pet Connection, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. You should definitely follow the three of them wherever you can on social media.

I’m especially interested in McKenzie‘s take on how things are going on the tour. After all, a flat coated retriever’s perspective isn’t like yours or mine, right? Check her out on Facebook. After today, the bus tour heads to the Petco in New Orleans, then invades Florida before heading up the eastern seaboard.

And if you are in the Houston area and can’t make the event for some incomprehensible reason, tune into KTRK13-TV (local ABC affiliate) — they’ll be there with a live report!

Can a Tibetan Terrier can help cure Parkinson’s? A genetic mutation that signals the early onset of dementia in Tibetan Terriers has the same marker in people, leading to Parkinson’s Disease. That big clue came from research at the University of Missouri.

The disease in Tibetian Terriers is called adult-onset neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL). Within the dogs’ cells in the brain and eye, material that should be “recycled” builds up and interferes with nerve cell function. Due to this buildup, around the age of five years old, the dog begins to exhibit dementia, impaired visual behavior, loss of coordination, and shows unwarranted aggression.

NCL ultimately took the life of Topper, a Tibetian Terrier owned by Lynn Steinhaus of Columbia. Steinhaus said Topper showed increased shyness around age five, and showed a loss of muscle control later. Topper also suffered seizures before he was euthanized in July of 2009. Topper’s DNA was used to further the study.

Now that the genetic marker has been targeted in Tibetan Terriers, dogs with the abnormality can be identified. Next up, Parkinson’s in people. Thanks to Phyllis DeGioia for the link.

Chinese dogs saved from dinner: In China, it’s not unusual for dogs to be consumed by humans. Dogs (and even cats) are considered delicacies. That makes this story from Time Magazine more remarkable.  A truckload was saved by activists who would not be denied.

[H]undreds of dogs were on their way to Chinese restaurants when a suspicious driver swerved his car in front of the truck to stop it. He then alerted activists on his microblog, who gathered 200 strong around the truck. They rendered the vehicle immobile, jamming traffic on the highway.
After a long standoff right outside Beijing, an animal activist group managed to free the dogs by purchasing them for 115,000 yuan ($17,600). Conflicting reports differ on the number of dogs involved, but the Global Times has placed the number as high as 520.

As animal lovers in China become more organized, we could see more incidents like this.

Daytona Beach approves MSN: In a worrisome development, Daytona Beach, Fla. passed a new ordinance requiring pet owners to spay or neuter the their pets. Not just “should,” but “must.” Mandatory spay neuter legislation doesn’t work, as KC Dog Blog showed so eloquently. We’ve been saying it here for years, but Daytona Beach will have to learn the lesson themselves.

Maine’s gone to the dogs, ayuh. The great state of Maine, home of Acadia National Park and the world’s best lobster rolls (trust me, I know whereof I speak), now has a First Dog. Meet Baxter! As they say Downeast, he’s “Finest Kind.”

The face of local rescue: Mary Cvetan sent me this link from the Indiana Gazette, introducing Crystal Collins-Johnson. Starfish to the Sea, Crystal’s rescue organization, is the perfect example of how to make a difference. One at a time is all it takes.

French fertilizer: I can personally testify that although the good people of France love their dogs, oh yes they do, cleaning up after their pets is not always at the top of the priority list. As SFGate reports, there’s a plan in place to address the problem by turning it into valuable fertilizer. Thanks to Susan Fox for the link.

Shoe shopping suggestions: Full disclosure: fashionable shoes are not in my personal sphere of expertise, so feel free to offer your opinions on these creations, called “Miao.” They’re from Kobi-Levi Footwear Design, an Israeli company. I think they’re, well, unique. Not my style, but could they be yours?

Corgi in the ring! I’m almost positive that obedience isn’t supposed to look like this YouTube clip, but maybe the rules are different for Corgis. Thanks to Jill Gibbs for the wonderful clip.

Simon’s Cat returns: Can’t get enough of Simon’s Cat? Me neither. Here’s the latest, Easter style.

I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories.  Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.

Photo credits: Big Bus, Gina Spadafori. Miao, Kobi-Levi.

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Family portrait day: Mother-daughter-daughter together

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Demo dogs set the right example for training

I’ve mentioned in many previous posts that my dogs are demo dogs for me at Kindred Spirits Dog Training so I thought I would talk a little bit about what they do. After all, not all trainers use demo dogs in their classes or training.

After I had been teaching dog training classes for a few years, I re-enrolled in college and began taking some classes. They were not in animal behavior, but human behavior. I specifically wanted to know how to teach adults, so I focused on adult education. One of my professors made a huge impression on me. He was a great teacher, and he said that to teach, the instructor needs to impact people in a way they can’t forget. They need to hear the material being taught, see it, and practice it. The material, no matter what the subject matter, needs to make an impression.

So we try to do that at Kindred Spirits, and one way we can do this is by using our dogs. I know that the dogs make a big impression on people, because most of our returning students will mention what dog I had in class. Recently a woman said, “I took my first class with you 18 years ago. Ursa was your demo dog and she was awesome. Then when we got another dog, we came back to you and you had Dax in class. Now we have a new dog.”

Our demo dogs’ first job is to show what each exercise is. I have my dogs (and my instructors’ dogs) demonstrate the steps of each exercise as it is being taught. They demonstrate it step by step, then we show the finished exercise. When the dogs show off the finished exercise, I then explain how this can be used at home to make life easier with the dog or safer for the dog. When I talk about the finished exercise, I also let Bashir show off. When he’s working off leash in front of the class, he makes a huge impression because to work off leash, he’s ignoring all of the class dogs, as well as all of the other trainer’s dogs. He’s focusing on me and what I’m asking him to do. When he heels off leash, watching me, and ignoring all the distractions, there’s a huge ‘Wow!’ from the class.

Another wow-worthy exercise is the come. When we teach the come, we demonstrate the various steps, explain our philosophy, and then tell the class that their ultimate goal is for their dog to come to them the first time they call, every time they call, no matter what the distractions. We then have six, eight, or ten of the trainers’ dogs sit and wait in front of the class. The trainers then walk about thirty or forty yards away. At a signal, the trainers call their dogs who run past the front of the class (ignoring the class) to go to their owners. It’s always impressive.

I also use our dogs to help establish the students’ expectations. At KS we don’t teach competition. We once did, but found that our joy came in training family dogs.  We want to create well behaved pets who will spend their lifetime in their homes. What I ran in to while doing this was that competition owners had high expectations, but pet owners did not. Therefore, by providing some demonstrations with our dogs we could raise those expectations. We’re saying, in so many words, “yes, your dog CAN do this!” Not all dogs like being a demo dog, though. Kate’s Rottweiler, Gina, has never been happy as a demo dog; she appeared uncomfortable having everyone stare at her. So even though she was praised and rewarded for working in front of the class, when she made it clear she didn’t like it, she wasn’t asked to do it any more. Some dogs love it, though. My Aussies all enjoy it and will vie with each other as to who gets to demo a specific exercise. In fact, they get so good at it I’ve often told classes we could go get coffee and just let the dogs teach the class.

Photos: Top: The Kindred Spirits’ trainers’ dogs. Bottom: Jeff Gross and his German Shepherd, Storm. Photos by Becca Siminou.

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