FAQs and Facts
March 2009 Bagpipes (BCCA)
Linda Aronson, DVM

This month’s column is dedicated to the memory of Lori Fournier, who we lost on February 8, 2009.  We will miss Lori as a good friend and an active champion for Beardies everywhere, but I will miss her also because Lori seems to have saved all my posts over the years to the various Beardie Lists.  Those who know me can attest that I am not the most organized person.  My desk is always buried under a huge pile of notes, books and faxes from people with questions about their animals, and the files of my patients.  I do not save my posts to the lists, after 30 days my out-box empties and they are gone for good unless someone, and Lori could be relied on for this, saves them.  Over the years a new generation of folks joins the lists or senior members suddenly have a Beardie that is exhibiting some symptoms, is diagnosed with a disease or is doing something odd, and they want answers instantly.  Lori would immediately be able to lay her fingers on previous answers and mail them out, and I was saved the bother of rewriting an answer yet again.  Each time I sent up a silent thank you to Lori and far too often failed to actually type my thanks to her.  So thank you Lori for always having my back, for your love and care for the breed and all the help you gave to so many through the years.  I am sure everybody would like to join with me in thanking you.    
The astute among you on reading the above will realize something else.  I do not keep records of my conversations with owners about their dogs, and I do not always remember the details of every Beardie’s health and behavior.  As I get older my memory seems to be failing me, so a quick up-date and preface to jog my memory would be much appreciated.  Thank you.
In honor of my debt to Lori, and in an attempt to be a better person, this month I am presenting some of the questions I get asked both on and off lists most often.  Hopefully, once Glenn puts this column up on the BCCA website with all the other health articles from Bagpipes and the Beardie Bulletin, it will serve as a resource for those seeking answers, but it will never measure up to Lori. 
Some of the questions are composites, names and identifiers have been removed to protect us all.

I have a year-old bearded Collie who is not eating well. I have tried several different kinds of kibbled diets. Usually, he eats well for the first few times after I switch to new food and then stops eating. At the moment he is eating half of his daily recommended diet. Naturally, I am a bit worried. I will really appreciate if you could help me with this. Is there another brand I could try? Or is there something else that might be wrong?

Year old Beardie boys are quite good at living on air, but despite the advertising some kibbles are just not very good quality.  Another thing to remember is that pet food companies want to sell you dog food, so they often recommend you feed more calories than your dog needs.  The best way to tell if he is eating enough is to look at him - and dogs don't starve themselves to the point of death when food is readily available. 

So how does he look?  Is he bright eyed, bushy tailed and full of energy?  Does his coat shine and look lovely?  Is he lean and well muscled with just a light covering of fat on his ribs, or do his bones jut out through a harsh, staring and moth eaten coat?  If he is a happy, healthy dog who is on the lean side, then he is probably getting enough to eat.  If he lacks muscle he may need more work and exercise.  If his coat looks poor and he lacks energy then we have a problem. 

Some dogs don't eat well if they have food allergies.  The food makes them feel sick and so they eat enough to stay alive, but not enough for optimal health.   While most dogs can survive on kibble, even the best kibbles are not providing optimal nutrition.  The best diet for a dog is a carefully researched home prepared diet with plenty of fresh wholesome ingredients and a lot of variety.  Next best is a commercially made frozen raw or dehydrated diet to which you add your own raw meats (including eggs and fish) and bones.  After that would be a good quality canned food, and only then do we come to kibbles.  If a dog does have allergies, grains are the biggest culprits.  Dogs aren't horses, and weren't designed to eat a lot of carbohydrate which is the major ingredient in most kibbles.  If you do feed kibble then the best ones for dogs that might have allergies don't have any grains or yeasts.  The other thing if you suspect allergies and feed kibble is to rotate between a variety of different flavors and even high quality brands.  Contrary to the popular myth dogs like variety in their food every bit as much as we do.  Eating the same thing every day is also more likely to make the dog allergic to that food.

Read the ingredients.  Animal proteins have to be at the top of the ingredient list and the type must be named, no generic "meat," "poultry, "meal" or "by-products."  Look for whole vegetables and fruits (and grains if you go that route).  Avoid pulp, avoid added sweeteners and avoid preservatives other than Vitamin E and C.  Consider top-dressing with some canned meat.  Add fish or salmon oil for coat health.  Give healthy table scraps (not pizza crusts). 

No one dog food is right for every dog.  The best food is useless if the dog doesn't eat it.  For now get sample bags and see what he likes.  When you feed give him his food in a quiet place - like his crate - and leave him with it undisturbed for 20 minutes (less if he has eaten it all).  After that time take away what is left.  You can feed three or four small meals a day if you are around, but give him at least 2.  Some dogs like their kibble soaked in warm water or chicken broth.  Make sure he has plenty of water to help him eat the kibble though, it needs rehydrating. 

I get a lot of questions about Beardies eating non food items, and asking if there is any significance to this.   When it comes to puppies they will chew on just about anything, but there are pups that show distinct preferences.  Some dogs really do seem to prefer paper or cardboard items to something we would consider chewier – like leather or the TV remote or your eye glass case.  Some of the veterinary magazines even have annual contests for practices to present the most unusual items they have removed or found on X-ray.  Underwear is always big, presumably because of all those wonderful smells, but some items leave you scratching your head, like the beer bottles and some are downright dangerous like batteries and cigarette lighters.  Given that dogs can and will eat just about anything management is always best.  I feel it safer to confine dogs when the owner is absent or not actively supervising even as adults but definitely as puppies so that they always get the opportunity to only eat the right things and not develop bad habits and poor taste.  If your dog does have something he shouldn’t what to do?  I am a bit wary of people who trade with their dogs for stolen items on a regular basis.  If you are afraid of getting bitten and the occurrence is rare then it probably doesn’t hurt.  It’s better to train your dog to give balls and dumbbells, then your telephone and ultimately go on to generalize this to items he might want to eat.  The trade method can be dangerous and encourage the dog to take things to trade, and if you aren’t there to make the trade he may chew on them, with sometimes disastrous results.  So train the give and leave it commands sooner rather than later, and make sure you put away anything he might surf for.  If he is rewarded with good stuff on the table or counters he will look for it again.  If it is never there, he’s unlikely to want to prance on the counters and tables unless he can see out of the window better, or be on the same height as you to deliver kisses.  If he swallows something he shouldn’t, do not induce vomiting if it is something caustic or sharp, as it could cause even more damage.  Sharp objects can be coated by feeding 20 or 30 cotton balls soaked in milk – most dogs will consume this remarkably easily.  The output won’t be pleasant, but should avoid lacerating his gut.  If it has been less than an hour since ingestion activated charcoal can help minimize the effect of toxins and caustic substances.  String-like objects are also a particular concern.  Many dogs swallow fishing lines, often with the hook attached.  Resist the urge to pull it back if there is a piece exposed at either end of the dog.  Doing so can pleat up the intestinal tube and result in multiple lacerations, peritonitis and death.  Do seek professional help – for this or any other questionable consumption.

How about that dog eating grass is he doing so because of dietary deficiency?  Studies show that grass and/or other plant material is present in between 2 and 74% of fecal samples from wild canids despite it having next to no nutritional value.  Virtually all (79% or more) domestic dogs eat grass from time to time, yet only about 8 - 22% regularly vomit afterwards – these animals may consume plant material to induce vomiting to relieve pain in the gut especially pancreatic and other intense gut pain.  Few of the grass consumers show signs of illness (8% in one study).  Those dogs showing signs of illness before eating plant matter were more likely to vomit afterwards.  No correlation has been found between diet and grass consumption.  Based on work with chimpanzees it seems that eating plant matter is actually a primitive means of removing worms from a dog’s intestine.  The grass wraps around the worms while at the same time increasing gastric motility.  Young animals tend to consume more plant matter than older animals.  In part this may be because puppies test everything with their mouths, but older animals’ immune systems are also adapted to parasites, and the nutritional stress does less damage to fully grown animals than those in the stages of rapid growth.  While this behavior is normal, do be scrupulous in keeping your Beardie away from chemically treated and toxic plant matter.

One instance in which there may be a nutritional reason for the consumption of non food items is when anemic dogs eat dirt.  If a dog actively seeks and eats earth, check his gums, and better yet have a CBC done.

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I often hear that owners give yogurt to their dogs especially when they are on antibiotics.  Antibiotics kill the good bacteria needed to digest food and make some essential vitamins in the gut, and this can lead to diarrhea.  It is important to replenish the lost good bacteria, and for this there are probiotics.  Even yogurts with live bacteria are not a viable alternative.  The two primary bacteria in live yogurts are not found in the normal dog gut, although they are in people.  Even if the bacteria were appropriate a dog would have to eat three and a half cups of yogurt to introduce effective numbers of bacteria – whereas most people give a tablespoon or so.  Yogurt can produce diarrhea in many dogs too.  Luckily, there are some effective probiotics made specifically for dogs that contain the right bacteria.  These include Forti-Flora, Proviable and Prostora.      

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Thyroid hormones regulate cell function throughout the body.  When levels aren’t optimal the first signs tend to be behavioral.  The standard total T4 test generally doesn’t drop below normal until 2/3rds of the thyroid is afunctional and the dog is seriously ill.  Most cases of hypothyroidism are caused by autoimmune destruction of the thyroid tissue.  Dogs with autoimmune thyroiditis are at increased risk of other glandular autoimmune diseases like Addison’s disease.  Screening dogs for thyroiditis prior to breeding is very important, therefore.  The more information there is on related dogs the better our overall chance of predicting autoimmune disease.  A baseline thyroid disease is good for all dogs, but is especially important in all Beardies showing behavioral problems or that aren’t functioning normally.  Thyroid levels change over the course of a dog’s lifetime, and running a thyroid panel every year or two is good preventative medicine.

So what tests should we run?  For a prebreeding screen many breeders run an OFA thyroid panel which includes free T4 by dialysis, Canine Thyroid Stimulating hormone (cTSH) and thyroglobulin autoantibodies (TGAA).  Most of the laboratories approved by OFA run further thyroid screening tests including Total T4; free and total T3; and T4 and T3 autoantibodies on the sample too.  In general, breeding stock should have free and total T4 and T3 levels in at least the upper 50% of lab normals.  Dogs under 18 months of age also should have thyroid levels in this range for optimal function as they have a higher metabolism than older dogs.  If you suspect low thyroid as a cause of behavioral or other disease I would suggest a panel that includes free and total T3 and T4, TGAA and T3 and T4AA.  I generally refer people to Hemopet ( www.hemopet.com ), as Jean Dodds DVM has been studying thyroid function for a great many years and has an extensive data base that allows her to consider breed and age when assessing thyroid function.  If your dog’s thyroid function is suboptimal brand name veterinary thyroid products such as Soloxine seem to be more effective than generic or human products.  They should be given twice a day at a dose of 0.1 mg/12-15 lbs body weight.  Twice daily dosing is very important, and because dogs absorb thyroxine poorly the pills should be given 30 to 60 minutes before meals to maximize uptake.  If you wish to test thyroid function for a dog already on thyroxine, blood should be drawn 4 to 6 hours after the morning pill when thyroid levels will be maximal, and should be in the upper 50% to 150% of the lab’s normal values.  To evaluate thyroid levels in a dog already on medication, Hemopet’s thyroid 4 profile is sufficient.