Tragically, Jim and I finished up the stuffing (aka “nature’s perfect food”) last night. Honestly, if I had stuffing in the house all the time I would . . . Well, let’s just say I would need a new wardrobe. I’m one of those people who has to watch what they eat to maintain a healthy weight, but I’m also aware that it’s not that easy for some people, no matter how hard they try. We know now that it’s not just “calories in, calories out”. It’s when you eat, what kind of bacteria are in your gut, how well you sleep, if you are stressed, and how your metabolism responds to different types of foods. And on and on and on.
And now we know that it’s not that simple for dogs either. For years we’ve heard that surely we should all be able to regulate our dog’s weight, given that we are the only ones with access to the dog food. But thanks to research, described by Dr. Linda Case in her perfectly titled article Do These Genes Make Me Look Fat?, we’ve learned that some Labradors have a modified gene sequence with a deletion called POMC. This causes dogs not just to overeat, but to be excessively motivated to eat. This gene modification was only found in some Labradors and in a few Flat Coated Retrievers (out of 41 breeds tested), and its existence correlated with dogs who were overweight. (I should add that the correlation isn’t perfect: “The POMC deletion was found in 10 out of 15 overweight dogs and in only 2 out of 18 lean dogs.”)
Given the ease of over indulgence of both people and pets over the holidays, this seems like a good entry into strategies to keep our dogs healthy between now and the New Year. As well as relief to the owners of food-crazed Labradors, who must be sick of people saying “You just have to stop spoiling them!” So, for the holiday to come:
HEALTHY SNACKS Having a dog who considers anything smaller than a brick to be edible is a mixed blessing. For us, it means that things like twist ties are banned from the house, because Tootsie vacuums up any object that falls onto the floor, and saying “Leave It” to a deaf dog isn’t very effective. On the plus side, she considers just about anything a valuable treat. It would be easier if her digestive system wasn’t quite so sensitive, but it still helps that we can reinforce and treat her with some healthy alternatives. I like the healthy treat suggestions on the Farmer’s Dog site, which include carrots, celery, apples, cooked pumpkin and squash. There are a lot of great commercial dog treats out there too, but be cautious about overwhelming your dog’s digestive system with something new. Moderation in all things.
Surely these kinds of snacks would be especially useful for people who have Labs that carry the POMC gene deletion, and are always dealing with a dog who is crazed for food. But the fact is that most of us have dogs who love food almost like life itself. And what better reinforcement for a new behavior or better manners with company than food? Yes, play and praise are great, but small pieces of healthy food are ideal when reinforcing a new behavior. This is a great time, before the rest of the holidays, to focus on that one behavior that you can modify to make having visitors, parties or travel more fun with your dog.
FOODS TO AVOID Most of us are well aware of the dangers of feeding chocolate, onions, macadamia nuts and anything with xylitol in it. The xylitol one though is tricky, because it is found in so many products besides gum, including peanut butter, breath mints and toothpaste. Basically, if something says “artificially sweetened” don’t let it anywhere near your dog. This is always trickier over the holidays because there is so much food out that we normally don’t eat, we get out of our usual routines and visitors don’t know to not leave their sugar-free gum out on the counter.
Stuff happens: Maggie thought this cake was great.
Because stuff happens, have the ASPCA animal poison control phone number written down on your refrigerator: 888 426-4435. You may have to pay a consultation fee, but believe me, it’s well worth it. I had to use their services a few New Year’s back when I got distracted saying goodbye to visitors and Maggie ate the better part of a cake with double dark chocolate icing. And my hydrogen peroxide had no effect because I didn’t know that it looses potency even if unopened in your bathroom cabinet. Maggie and I spent all of New Year’s Day at the emergency clinic, which had not exactly been my plan. Needless to say, I buy a new bottle now every six months or so. You can also try baking soda if you have no hydrogen peroxide I’m told, but don’t induce vomiting in anything that might be caustic–best if you have the slightest doubt to call the poison control center.
You will not need this much hydrogen peroxide. Just in case you were worried.
EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE. Those of us who watch our weight know that what and when we eat has more effect on our weight than exercise. However, that doesn’t mean exercise doesn’t help our pets maintain a healthy weight, and it’s good for us and them for so many other reasons. One nutritionist estimated that weight loss is 75% affected by diet and 25% by exercise. As a behaviorist I’d argue that giving your dog both mental and physical exercise is critical to behavioral health. As I’ve written before, I think the ideal exercise for dogs are long walks in natural areas. Off leash is best IF safe, but walking your dog through the woods on a long line is a wonderful thing to do for them. Granted, we can’t always pull that off, and it can get harder during the holidays, but if you can schedule it into your day when things get a little crazy it’ll be great for your dog.
Things can get a bit rough for dogs (and cats) over Christmas and New Years in so many ways, as I write in Five Reasons Why Dogs Become Holiday Grinches. Now is a good time to think through not just your gift list and your holiday travel plans, menus, etc, but also how you are going to keep your dogs healthy and happy. Believe me, they’ll thank you if they could.
I’d love to hear your strategies for a healthy and happy holiday season for your pets. Or your cautionary tales of woe? Equally valuable, right?
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: After 4 snow storms in late October and early November, our temperatures warmed, rain fell, and we were back to the “mudmare” that has been southern Wisconsin for the last year. Thankfully, we got a sifting of snow yesterday and it’ll stay frozen for most of the day. That’ll be especially nice in the confined areas, like through narrow gates, where walking on the “ground” is more like walking on top of a cake with chocolate icing. You squish down 3-4 inches with each step. We’ve put shavings down on some areas, but there’s nothing better than a freeze to harden it up.
And yet, there’s still some color out there, at least there was a few days ago:
Sometimes just from a plastic cone:
From last night: The butter yellow light from the barn always makes me feel warm and cozy, no matter the weather. We’ll leave the light on for you.
Have a great week all. Please send stuffing.
Frances says
We have had a hard white frost in Northern England for the last few days – very beautiful, and the bright sun and blue skies were a welcome change from dank greyness and mud. Pork and chestnut stuffing is my contribution to the Christmas meal this year – along with champagne and other fizz!
I am preparing as best I can for the dogs. The diabetic-friendly fudge I was considering giving was crossed off the list when I discovered that it was made with xylitol, family are well primed about chocolate and mince pies, and I will warn them again that Sophy can’t tolerate turkey (there were unpleasant incidents at several Christmas gatherings before I discovered this). I have canine tummy tablets, bung up paste and cans of sensitive diet ready to pack in case Poppy’s IBS kicks in from the stress, Metacam just in case Sophy puts her back out, and flashing reflective collars so that I can find the dogs in the dark garden. We know exactly where the nice walks are, and I plan to get up and out for an hour while everyone else snoozes. The biggest problem is going to be crackling fires, which Poppy in particular classes as Bangs, but there will be a comfy bed upstairs that she can retreat to when it all gets too much.
Next year Christmas will be with my other sister, on top of a Welsh mountain in the middle of nowhere – we narrowly avoided being snowed in last time. I may need a bigger first aid kit just in case…
Julie Hart says
I had to smile but…. I explained the dog diet to my lovely dog sitters, which included: a small hand full of kibble on a walk for hunting enrichment games and one buscuit before bed. A packet of biscuits lasts two dogs a month and I had four in store. On our return I noticed that the dogs looked well and that Caspar was quite chunky, but the main thing was there well being, they had been happy with our sitters. That night when I went to give the dogs their buscuit, no boxes left! Needless to say, the four months supply had gone in 10 days, a bit of miscommunication and voila, Caspar (after an adult life of always weighing 30K) now weighs 34K🙄 A Diet is underway and I don’t think I am popular, come back sitters….😁
lak says
Yes….I have a dog that is food motivated, great for training! When she was found on the street she was so malnourished she could not hold food down for the first couple of days. They were feeding her 1/2 cup kibble and she would vomit after eating. I rescued her and she put on 5 pounds in a week. The shelter was thrilled! She only ate kibble the first 6 months with me, but then I introduced her to scraps mixed with kibble, and after a ccl rupture and repair I began making her bone broth and mixing with kibble. She loves it. She healed surprisingly fast and well. Leg is 95% what it was originally! However this love of food was hell when walking her in the beginning, every trash can was lunged at like it was a steak. She could snifff out a bagel under a foot of snow! Thank goodness she has almost grown out of this habit. Perhaps with her good diet she just isn’t that ravenously hungry anymore. The vet says she could stand to lose 3-5 pounds, we try, we measure food, walk 2-3 miles 5 days a week at least, but it vacillates down 3 pounds and goes back up. Snacks are apple with a light coat of peanut butter which she loves! Nothing real bad. While staying at my mom’s one weekend her appetite led her to a box of rat poison in the garage, needless to say, thank god someone noticed blue around her mouth, apomorphine induced vomiting, Vitamin K and no activity for a month. She was fine!!! We were lucky. Hence thereafter, no poison on the premises at home or at Mom’s.
Lynda says
You never disappoint! Thank you so much for all the info. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to your family, 2 legs and 4.
Betsy says
Merry Christmas, Trisha! This season I have been keeping track of my 11 month old puppy by using a running tether lead which consists of a nylon belt (for me) and an attached bungee leash (for her). I can keep track of her and it does give her something to do but I am wondering if it might worsen her separation anxiety. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Honey Loring says
I don’t have crazy eaters (poodles,) and I am a Jewish mother (meaning I never ever want to think they didn’t get all they want to eat.) They are all in nice slim shape and this is the plan I have devised. Calories…I look for kibble that is under 300 calories per cup. Nutro has some good ones. Don’t be fooled by something that says “for weight control.” I’ve found that it often is NOT the least caloric. K/cup (kilocalories per cup) is now included on the packaging of dog food; it wasn’t always this way. Many of the “best” kibble food have over 400 calories per cup. I also vary the kibble between 5 or 6 brands – not doing “no grain” because I don’t know where that idea came from and if, in fact, it’s sometimes proving harmful. I feed twice a day, both times all they can eat, which I pick up when they are done i.e. this is not all-day free feeding. The morning meal is just kibble (they usually don’t eat much, but it makes me feel better to know they had the opportunity.) In the evening they get kibble plus homemade dog food, my leftovers, even canned dog food. I know people will cringe when I say they adore Alpo and Pedigree, but I figure if I eat McDonald’s fries once in a while, they can eat Alpo once in a while. My now 10 1/2 year old standard poodle almost died a year and a half ago from liver complications due to bloat. Thank god he pulled through and is quite healthy at this point. He was weak and sad and did not want to eat the prescription dog food. That’s when Alpo saved the day. He ate that and gradually I worked in the kibble and better wet food.
I add the wet food to the kibble—a tablespoon for my maltese/poodle mix and up to 1/3 cup for my standard and moyen poodles. If I want them to gain weight (the moyen was a rescue and underweight when I got her,) I mix it in to encourage more kibble eating. If I want them to not gain any weight, I only add it on top of the dry food. I know this is unorthodox, but it’s what’s works for me.
I thank you so much Tricia, for exposing the myth of the “calories in, calories out” that has been promoted for so long. “The Secret Life of Fat”, an NPR broadcast that led me to the book of the same name, opened my eyes big time.
Trisha says
Ooooh, Betsy, I’d worry too that constant attachment might lead to a need for, uh, constant attachment. I’d drop it out and find other ways of keeping her out of trouble.
Renee says
I wonder if there is a relationship between PICA and this gene modification? Are at least some of the dogs that obsessively consume non-food items just plain hungry all the time?
Last year, when I was transitioning my dog Colby to a different diet, I had a little trouble getting the quantity right. Over a period of weeks, she started to lose weight while eating the recommended amount for her size and activity level. And, during that same time she began to pick up and eat wood chips at the dog park. As she got more and more obsessed with those wood chips, I got more and more concerned. Long story short – once I finally got her on the right amount of food, the wood chip obsession faded away.
I’m not proposing that all dogs with PICA just need a bigger portion size, of course. It just makes me wonder about the genetics behind Pica . . .
Robin says
The Farmers Dog food list is great! One question though – why do they list pumpkin seeds, stems and skin as poisonous? I haven’t found any evidence of this in any research beyond mouth irritation from stem spines, and the risks with moldy food. Am I missing something?
Frances says
Interesting, Renee – although it could simply be hunger, of course. I have found, though, that my dogs have been far less focussed on seeking out rabbit berries and sheep droppings since I started including a reasonable amount of well cooked vegetables in their food. It seems they no longer need the pre-digested version – not that they won’t still grab a mouthful if it is right under their noses, of course!
Trisha says
Good point Frances, tho I feel compelled to add: do be careful about what veggies and each dog’s individual response.
Trisha says
Great question and honestly, I have no idea. Next time I talk to Dr. Case I’ll ask her!
Trisha says
Very interesting Renee, thanks for sharing that about Colby. And great question re PICA, could it really be that simple? That dogs are just starving? Hmmmm… I see a research project waiting for someone to pick it up!
Frances says
Absolutely, Trish – around 5-10% of the recipe by weight, no onion of course, sweet potato for fibre, green beans because they love them, a few brassica leaves from the garden but not too many or the results can be disastrous, and any suitable leftovers from the fridge, cooked with four or five pounds of a balanced meat mix. If the dogs are getting too plump I add a few more green beans and cut back slightly on meat.
Pica would be an interesting area for more research. I remember my mother’s dog would take raw vegetables from the pantry when she was in pup, and sometimes even chew on lumps of coal. Only when she was pregnant, though (this was the 1960s…).
Kat says
We’re still figuring out how many calories our new family member needs now that he’s getting regular exercise both mental and physical. He is a rehome, Family circumstances had changed and with the new dynamics he was spending 8 to 10 hours a day in a kennel. They loved him enough to want better for him and now he’s living the good life with us.
Meet D’Artagnan previously Darth Vader a 130 lb Great Pyrenees who has moved in as if he’s always lived here. He’s 4 years old and has a lovely temperament and nice house manners. He hasn’t had any formal training and like most Pyrenees he’s very independent minded but he’s learning that the fastest way to get what he wants is to do what I want and he’s discovering that figuring out what the human wants him to do is an interesting challenge. https://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/albums/72157711940721658/with/49181032383/
It will be a quiet holiday at home so there won’t be too many opportunities for him to get into dietary mischief. And fortunately he’s not terribly food motivated. Not that he doesn’t like food he just seems to like attention more.
Diane Mattson says
Bridget, who is very food obsessed, has picked up a new quirk. She won’t eat breakfast until its reasonably light out. On dark mornings, she stares moodily at her full bowl refusing to eat. Alarm bells ring! She must be ailing, but away from the kitchen, she’s her usual perky self. Then, as it gets lighter, she gulps her food down, more rapidly than usual, cause breakfast is late! We are in the darkest part of the year, and I’m up early for work. Ahh well, my husband is retired, and can feed her later. Bridget is 11, a little overweight, but not too much. Could use darkness as a diet aid? 🤔😊
Chris from Boise says
Congratulations, D’Artagnan, on your new family. You couldn’t have found a better one! Kat – he’s beautiful in body, and from your description he’s beautiful in soul as well.
Our tales of woe: several years ago, Obi the overachiever went to the emergency vet after eating SIX POUNDS of sourdough bread dough; they made him vomit, then sent him home with instructions to feed him ice cubes for several hours to prevent any remaining yeast from getting too energetic in his warm belly and intestines. A year later he got to spend three nights in ICU after eating 27 liver-flavored Rimadyl plus a lesser assortment of other pain meds for Habi that were on the back of the kitchen counter. He must have cast-iron kidneys, as he emerged from that one unscathed as well. Our wallet was very scathed, and both the financial hit and the scare of almost losing him taught us that the only way to keep him safe was confinement when we weren’t around.
Rowan had no house manners when she came to us as a ranch reject. We have never left her loose alone in the house, but in the first couple of weeks watched her levitate effortlessly onto the dining room table, and a couple of days later onto the kitchen counter. We explained that this was not proper behavior, and she hasn’t been up again, but …
Management is our solution. Obi stays in the back bedroom when we leave, and Rowan, who still has the propensity to gnaw holes in bedspreads and couches, stays in a crate.
Maggie – I would have been right there with you demolishing that cake. It looks fabulous, even with toothmarks!
Trisha says
Congratulations Kat! He is gorgeous, and such a lucky, lucky boy. Can’t wait to hear more about his adventures.
Katja says
Am I the only one with dogs who think I will poison them with the healthy treats listed on Farmers Dog? I tried really hard to introduce them, but with no success at all. I can sneak some cooked green bean in with their food on lucky day.
Trisha says
Ha! I wish. Tootsie would eat anything that any animal of any species would consider food. And I’m including insects. Maggie turned one food item down once, but it was so long ago I don’t remember what it was.
Melanie Hawkes says
Merry Christmas everyone! My Lab Upton spent 2 nights at the vet hospital at the end of November with bloody diarrhea and vomiting, caused by the CPEA bacteria. He came home eating only prime 100 kangaroo and pumpkin meat roll. It’s been slow to getting him back on his normal raw diet but I now know that certain foods can affect his anxiety!
Raw diet has been great for his allergies and weight loss, which has been even better for his joint pain.
Interesting about PICA. My first dog started eating his own pooh (only fresh ones though!). I tried all sorts to stop him but months later I realised he wasn’t getting enough kibble daily. I had an automatic dispenser but turned out it wasn’t giving enough each time. I was new to dogs then so had no idea. I have learnt my lesson and weigh all my dog’s food now!