Swiss Lick Swissies

Herding Class

Monday, November 9th, 2009 | Indigo, Random Stuff | No Comments

Indy and I had a wonderful time this past weekend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (sunny and 70 in November?), which means we spent a lot of time outside. In particular, we had our first ever herding class at Dancing Hearts Holistic Learning Center about an hour south of my area.

Dancing Hearts offers more than just herding, but everything they offer is focused on positive training and feedback, not correction. Our friend David booked an Introductory class for he and Vasey plus Indy and I. The instructor, Kathy, was very easy going and calm, and Indy seemed to take to her right away. (Always a plus in my book.) Actually, we were there a little early to let the sisters play and get rid of the extra energy, but of course they didn’t. We met Kathy’s husband while she was finishing off another class, and he was pretty darn good with the dogs. He just ignored Indy, which made her extremely interested. Go figure…

Our class started by discussing our objectives in the pen. Kathy explained how we would go in with the leashed dog and maneuver around to control where the sheep would go. We also touched on staying calm and focused and how it would affect the dog’s emotions as well. Not a new concept for me having gone through handling classes for the show ring, but it served as a great reminder to get my excitement in check to help Indy calm down. If the dog goes in the pen lunging and barking, they are not going to be able to learn very much.

David and Vasey went in for the first try.

Since we both came with leashes, Kathy suggested we loop the leash just behind the front legs on the chest for a makeshift halter. It allows the handler to apply a little squeeze to the dog, which may help them focus and calm down a bit.

Sheep on the move as Vasey starts to herd.

Moving along.

Vasey really seemed to enjoy herself.

Then Indy and I went in for a turn. As you can see, Indy was also very excited and was pulling. It took me about 5 minutes to get her calm-ish. My forearms are tired.

Indy was happy to move the sheep around while Kathy instructed.

More sheep herding.

While you’re in the intro stages, you want to keep yourself between the dog and the sheep. It’s less stressful for everyone. But I am not used to walking with Indy on my right side.

Each of the teams had two turns in the pen. I think both girl dogs did pretty well. I wasn’t sure if they would at first since they were both very excited to see the sheep. But they both calmed down after a few minutes and got to work.

I definitely think we will be doing it again. And I would very much recommend Dancing Hearts to someone in this area.

Tags: Dancing Hearts Holistic Learning Center, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Indy the Swissy, Swissy

Ethoxyquin

Friday, November 6th, 2009 | Random Stuff | 23 Comments

Ethoxyquin has become quite the topic of discussion with crazy dog people like me of late. It’s been determined that it is contained in quite a few premium food brands, several of which are used by Swissy people. And those Swissies have been doing very well on the food while it has contained ethoxyquin all along.

As some people here may know, both Indy and Gryffin are raw fed while Beowulf is on kibble. We are lucky enough that the kibble we feed (Fromm) is not on the list of foods containing ethoxyquin. But the question still remains…should you switch your dog’s food if it is on the list? Would I if it were me? I can honestly say that if we were feeding Beowulf one of the foods containing it, and he was doing well the entire time, it would be a very tough choice for me.

So, to help you understand why ethoxyquin is such a big deal, Dana Montero, aka the Dog Food Guru, has written today’s guest post.

Ethoxyquin

I have recently been getting a large number of questions regarding a preservative that is sometimes found in commercial dog foods called ethoxyquin or “E”.  I would like to take a moment to try to explain to the readers of this blog what ethoxyquin is, the controversy and facts surrounding it, why we don’t want it in our dogs’ food, and what alternatives there are.  I will also relay my findings after having personally contacted several dog food manufacturers and verified the use (or not, as the case may be) of ethoxyquin as a preservative in their products.

What is ethoxyquin, exactly?

Ethoxyquin was developed 35 years ago as a rubber stabilizer, has been used as a chemical preservative and is regulated by the FDA as a pesticide.  Yes folks, I said pesticide.  Scary huh?  The FDA recognizes that this chemical has toxic side effects and as such has restricted its use in human foods, allowing for only trace amounts (.5 to 5ppm), yet they continue to allow its use in pet foods.  The allowed amount for pet foods is extremely high (150ppm).  Ethoxyquin has been linked to liver and kidney problems, cancer, reproductive issues, behavior problems, hemolytic anemia, stillborn pups, birth defects such as cleft palates, and various skin and coat conditions.  The developer of ethoxyquin, Monsanto, even made sure that warning labels on containers of this chemical warn workers to wear eye and respiratory protection, and to only handle it with gloves.  The container itself features a prominent skull and crossbones sign with the word POISON on it and it is listed as a hazardous chemical by OSHA.  Ethoxyquin has also been linked to seizures.  A mere 10 drops of this substance is enough to cause convulsions, coma and death.

If ethoxyquin is so bad, why is it used in pet foods?

Ethoxyquin remains stable at very high temperatures and protects fats and oils from becoming rancid.  Foods preserved with ethoxyquin have a rather long shelf life and are less expensive to produce than foods using a natural antioxidant as preservatives.  Some pet food manufacturers claim that the US Coast Guard REQUIRES them to use ethoxyquin as a preservative in their fish meals.   This is not accurate – US Coast Guard regulations require that fish meals be preserved with antioxidants, and specifically name ethoxyquin – UNLESS the manufacturer has a special permit to use other antioxidants.

OK – so ethoxyquin is potentially harmful and we don’t want it in our pets’ food. What other alternatives are there?

Vitamin C, citric acid, Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) and Naturox are all safe, natural alternatives.   Naturox is the brand name for a combination of mixed tocopherols (usually Vitamin E), citric acid, vegetable oil and rosemary extract.  The downside to natural preservatives such as those named above is price – they are more expensive to use, and shelf life is shorter.   This means producing more batches of dog food more often.

Does my dog food brand contain ethoxyquin?

Pet food manufacturers are not legally required to list ethoxyquin on their labeling unless they add it themselves during processing.  This means if their suppliers use it on their crude ingredients before delivery to the processing plant, they are not required to list it on the bag. Note that foods containing FISH, SALMON, OCEAN FISH, MENHADEN, HERRING, WHITEFISH, etc are ethoxyquin free, unless otherwise specified on the packaging, as these ingredients are made from fresh fish.  The ingredients that you should be concerned about are fish MEALS (ocean fish meal, herring meal, salmon meal, etc).

I have personally contacted several manufacturers by telephone, fax or email and received responses.  If your brand is not listed below, this means that either I have been unable to reach a representative, have not received a response as yet, or have not yet contacted that particular manufacturer.  Should you have questions about your brand of food and it is not listed below, feel free to contact me via my website and I will work on getting answers for you.

Foods confirmed to be ethoxyquin-free:

Innova
Evo
California Naturals
Blue Buffalo
By Nature
Flint River Ranch
Fromm
Merrick
Petcurean
Timberwolf
Wellness
Orijen
Acana
Nature’s Variety
Life’s Abundance
Halo (Spot’s Stew)
Horizon
Pinnacle
Canine Caviar
Eagle Pack
Evangers
Castor & Pollux
Evolve
Nature’s Logic
Grandma Mae’s
Ziwi Peak
Nature’s Logic

Foods confirmed to use ethoxyquin (should be avoided):

Diamond
Canidae
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul
Solid Gold
Artemis
Taste of the Wild
Iams
Eukanuba
Natural Balance
Hills
Premium Edge
Fosters & Smith
Nutro
Kirkland

When there are foods out there that are free from toxins, why feed food that could potentially harm your dog – when you have a choice?

If you have questions for Dana, they can be posted here and I will make sure she gets them.  You may also contact Dana through her website and she will answer you directly.

This was a rather confusing issue for me up until now.  I hope Dana’s information has provided you with the insight you need to make your decision.

Happy Friday!

Tags: Canine Nutrition, Dog Food Guru, Ethoxyquin

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | Indigo | 1 Comment

Tags: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Swissy

Physical Therapy for Dogs

Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | Random Stuff | No Comments

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but I work for a company that sells (and manufactures) physical therapy equipment, among other things. Normally, our products are used by hospitals, rehab facilities, physical therapists and their clients, and occupational therapists. But Friday, one of my sales reps forwarded me a few pictures of one of family members using one of the products we sell, and I felt compelled to get the story from her. The story is told by her human, so the “I” in this is not me.

Mollie is a 9 year old female wire hair fox terrier who loves to fish. I catch fish off the dock, she jumps in the water after them as I release them. She often gets them. Someone caught a fish and tossed it from a high spot on the pontoon-rather than landing in the water, it hit the dock. Mollie followed the fish-about an 8 foot jump and had a good wipe out on the dock (from the pontoon).

Within 24 hours she could not walk or bear weight on her hind end (the discs had swelled and caused nerve compression). Our wonderful vet/chiro did some adjustments and got her walking again and she is now in the healing stages. She has 3 bulging discs in her mid back and some soft tissue (cartilage and muscle) injuries in her low back/tail area. She is getting much relief from this Chattanooga Vectra Genisys electrical stimulation device-two treatments a day. I do daily massages, she swims in a lap pool for dogs (K9 Hydrotherapy) for her non-weight bearing strengthening on Sunday afternoons and she gets monthly acupuncture.

She is doing so much better-we thought we were going to have to put her down. She still cannot do stairs as this stressed her mid back. She wants to though and she wants to run and jump. We have to be diligent in controlling those activities for about 6 months until she fully heals. We are having ramps built for the couches instead of the dog stairs we have all over the house.

She is also on PhyCox-a natural anti-inflammatory and joint lubricant supplement for dogs (has tumeric, glucosamine, flax seed, etc). This is a great product for any aging doggie.

So that’s Mollie’s story. But you must see the pictures that prompted the inquiry, because they are rather cute.

Mollie looks quite relaxed while getting her electra-stim therapy.

Relaxing enough to fall asleep, which I could do right now just from looking at her.

Thanks for sharing, Cathy! Happy Monday!

Tags: Physical Therapy for Dogs