Smelly Delights

Bangalore Mirror Bureau | May 4, 2015, 08.35 PM IST

Dogs don't act on the world by handling objects or by eyeballing them, as people might, or by pointing and asking others to act on the object (as the timid might); instead, they bravely stride right up to a new, unknown object, stretch their magnificent snouts within millimeters of it, and take a nice deep sniff," writes Alexandra Horowitz in her book Inside of a Dog. I think this creates the perfect mental image of how our dogs see the world. The power of a dog's nose opens up a whole new world for him that we are barely even aware of. We walk past this world in complete oblivion, while our dogs perceive this whole other world and interact in it too.

I have heard estimates that put a dog's sense of smell anywhere between three thousand to thirty thousand times that of humans. Horowitz estimates that a Beagle's sense of smell may even be millions of times more sensitive than ours. Can you then imagine how much of a dog's brain is dedicated to the olfactory senses.

In her book, The Canine Kingdom of Scent, Anne Lil Kvam explains, "Imagine a beach 1,500 feet long, 150 feet wide and 40 inches deep. On this beach, a dog can find two grains of sand that smell differently. Incredible, isn't it? Dogs I trained in Angola could find land mines hidden fifteen inches under the ground that were placed more than ten years ago. A South African colleague told me of a case where a dog was able to sniff out a mine which turned out to be a hundred feet away from where the dog was. And still we continue to wonder over Rambo's restlessness when a bitch a couple of miles away is in heat."

It's no wonder when our dogs step out for a walk, there is a lot they want to sniff. The outside world is a treasure trove of scents. The scents are not only interesting, but they also contain vital social information for dogs. A dog sniffs the pee of another dog and gathers information including, but not limited to, the age, gender, stress levels, health, frequency of visit and interest in mating. Dogs are highly social animals and social information is very exciting to dogs. Often dogs will pee in response to all the information they gathered from the road - leaving behind a little social signature of their own.

Street dogs often have the luxury of engaging their ever-curious snouts in plenty of sniffing and information gathering. It's the best kind of mental stimulation a dog can get. Our poor companion dogs are deprived of this joy. Whatever scents are left behind, we wipe it clean with disinfectant. While a dog's nose is powerful enough to sniff through it, it's just not so much fun to be sniffing in such strong disinfectants. So they often give up sniffing at home.

That does not mean the scents have to leave their lives. We can reintroduce the scents into their lives by using a little bit of our imagination. Walks are of course great sources for scents. So allow your dog the luxury of plenty of sniffing. 

If your dog is not really sniffing on his walks, it is perhaps due to some old habits that got built in inadvertently. Such dogs need to be encouraged a little. They need to be shown that it's okay to sniff. I do this by carrying a few treats and scattering it on grassy patches or leaf piles encountered on walks.
A dog starts sniffing for the treats and soon enjoys the sniffing even without the treats. I also bring in interesting things from the outside world, for the dogs to sniff - twigs, coconut shells, stones, toys of other dogs etc. We have the luxury of travelling far and wide, at least from our dog's perspective. We can at least bring back smelly souvenirs to brighten their day, can't we? 

Good food for dogs

Bangalore Mirror Bureau | May 18, 2015, 10.45 PM IST

Ayurveda teaches us that the digestive system is the single most important determinant of health and well-being. This principle is very much true for dogs too. Provide the right kind of diet to a dog and you will see several of the behavioural issues and recurring health issues go away. So it is important to understand what a good diet for a dog is.

Packaged dry food or kibble is becoming quite popular these days. Kibble is convenient. However understand the effectiveness of kibble, we need to know something about gut flora. Gut flora is the good bacteria that lives in our digestive tract. If an organism is on a single kind of a diet for extended periods, this gut flora becomes specific to that food and it is incapable of handling change. So every time the dog eats something accidentally, he is at risk of falling sick. Such dogs frequently have constipation or loose stools or vomiting. To prevent this, it's important to introduce variety into a dog's meal. If you are using kibble, selecting a few different brands and rotating between them may be one way to achieve this.

Kibble manufacturers claim that the product is nutritiously balanced. Some of our breakfast cereal make the same claim. But we know that one can never really get all the nutrition required by staying on a breakfast-cereal-and-water diet, all three meals a day, day after day. Apart from being terribly depressing, such a meal could cause deficiencies and toxicities. While convenient, kibble comes with all the trappings of processed food - plenty of preservatives and lack of diversity in food groups.

A mix of a home-cooked meal and high grade gluten-free kibble might be the right mix of wholesomeness and convenience. When cooking at home, do keep a few things in mind. In terms of the protein source, chicken is the best. It is high in tryptophan which gets converted to serotonin and calms the dog down. Gluten-free carbs are preferred. Of these, brown rice is the best, followed by red rice and then white rice. Rice and sweet potato form a good source of carbs and work wonders on stressed and hyper dogs. 

Spinach, red pumpkin and papaya are good to add. Coconut oil, sesame oil, turmeric and curds are power foods that do wonders to health and behaviour. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, onions, strawberries, avocados, chocolates, grapes, raisins and caffeine are absolutely not to be fed. A dog's meal is only complete with big bones (not chicken bones). A good ten-minute chewing session in the morning and evening can take all that stress away. See most behavioural problems vanish with this secret recipe.

If feeding meat is not an option for you, then I will admit that it will be a lot more work. You will need to actively look for protein sources. In particular, tryptophan is what you are looking for. Paneer, cheese, nuts, spinach, drumsticks, amaranth, sesame oil, chickpea and kale are some good sources. The bigger challenge, however, for you will be replacing bones. Rawhide or "fake bones" available at pet shops are a possible replacement. But they rarely elicit the kind of interest a bone does and so it's rare that a dog will chew on it for ten whole minutes at a stretch. Secondly, you need to be aware that these raw hide bones are made of bleached leather.

Work on figuring out the right diet for your dog. Ayurveda and my experience say that if the gut's okay, then all's okay, well, most of the times. 

Post adoption guide

Published: Bangalore Mirror Bureau | May 26th, 2015

Have you made up your mind to get home a dog? Well, then there is something you need to know about moves – dog’s find moves very stressful. Your home may be the most loving home in the world. But your new dog has no way of knowing that. Moving to a new family is so unnatural for a dog that stress hormones – adrenalin and cortisol will be coursing through your dog’s body. You will need to give it some time to leave your dog’s system. During this period you also need to be aware of what to expect. So let’s do a quick run through of what happens when your dog is stressed.

Stress hormones interfere with digestion. So it’s very common for dogs who have just relocated to have digestive trouble. The dog may vomit, have loosies or constipation. Her appetite may be quite poor. There may be acidity and vomiting of frothy bile. Curd rice is soul food for a stressed dog. 

Curds helps sooth the stomach and the rice is a binder for the stools. Carbs also calm dogs down.

Stress also creates a water imbalance in the body. We often sweat when stressed. Dogs don’t sweat. They pee instead. So a stressed dog will pee often and in unusual places. Don’t get upset if your new dog is peeing in odd places. It’s just stress and it will change. Continue taking the dog for toilet breaks after naps and meals.

Stress increases neo-peptides, which reduces immunity. Such dogs may get allergies and infections frequently. Improve a dog’s nutrition and rest. Health will automatically improve.

Stress increases sexual hormones as well. This applies to spayed and neutered dogs too. This can result in irritable dogs and mounting. Mounting is often mistaken for dominance. But if your dog is mounting with no intent to copulate, then it has something to do with heightened stress hormones.

Under the influence of stress hormones oxygen and blood sugar is redirected to the muscles, leaving little behind for the brain. This results in poor ability to learn. This means that a newly adopted dog should not be put in obedience classes. Such dogs need time to relax and recoup. Relaxed dogs are much better students.

In situations of sustained stress the brain cells can start getting damaged. These cells can regenerate as health improves and stress reduces. However while there is damage sustained the social ability of the brain is the first to suffer. So the dog may be asocial to people or dogs or both, depending on the dog’s history.

Stressed dogs can also be hyper vigilant, hyper active and bark a lot. All of this is part of a move and yes moves are indeed quite a burden on dogs. However the good news is that dogs are masters at coping. Given the right environment they quickly cope.

As eager as most of us are to help our new dog settle in, we need to hold back our urge to give the new dog a cuddle and instead give the dog space. Stressed dogs need nothing more than space. While good food and comfortable beds are important, space and time are the key things that is often easy to forget. A good rule of thumb will be to not approach your dog but to let her approach you. Try not to start rushing off to vets, trainers and socialization sessions. Avoid inviting people to see the dog. Lead a low key life for a while. It’s a lifetime of fun ahead of you. Give your dog a few weeks to get used to a life altering change, because that’s exactly what it is.

Handling two dogs

Bangalore Mirror Bureau | May 11, 2015, 11.10 PM IST

It's been strange coincidence that I have been asked the same question multiple times this past week - "How do I handle two dogs in the household?". Managing a multi-dog household starts with picking the right kind of dog to fit into your family. To do this, we first need to understand the dynamic of such a home.

If the new dog is younger than the existing dog, then the older dog can comfortably slip into the role of a mentor. This is the most natural role for an older dog to slip into and hence this transition is the easiest on the older dog. Younger dogs readily accept the role of the mentee if the age gap between the dogs is sufficient. That would be around two to three years. If the younger dog is a teenager (12 - 24 months) or too close in age to the older dog, the younger dog may often question this role, leading to friction. Frictions are known to be more between dogs of the same gender and close in age.

If the age gap between the dogs is too much, the younger dog's enthusiasm and energy may be just a bit too much for the older dog. In such situations, it is important to supervise play between dogs and at the first sign that the older dog is getting tired, provide her the option of some down time. Take the pup away and give the pup something else to do.

The best way to test out if this dynamic is working in your favour is to test it out on neutral ground before bringing home the second dog. Delay the home-coming by a few days if possible to give the dogs opportunities to get to know each other in small doses, get familiar with each other and define their own dynamic. Bringing home the new dog after this makes it a bit smoother on all.

Having picked the right dog for your home, then trust the dog to sort it out. They will take a few days to settle into a rhythm. Give them that space. Do not force one dog on the other. Provide both dogs personal spaces that they can escape to when feeling insecure. Over time, the mentor will help the young one along.
As the younger dog gets over his initial anxiety of re-homing, his naughty side will emerge. That's a great sign. It is an indication that your new dog is finally feeling at home. But it also means that all members in the household will now have more to do, including your older dog. She will now start to define boundaries. It may sometimes lead to mild disciplining. It's all part of the learning.

How then can we differentiate between a fight and a lesson being taught? The differences are subtle and perhaps hard for an untrained eye to tell. It is easier to defuse all tension, without interfering. If you act early, the most effective way to defuse the situation, well before it has turned into a fight, is to create space. We can create space by quickly moving away from the scene. Instead we often move in, interfering and ending up crowding them, rapidly escalating the situation.

Of course, once a fight has broken out, there is no sure-shot, safe way to break up the fight. Hence, it's so critical to ensure that the dogs share a good dynamic and to sense tension early. Thorough knowledge of calming signals can help identify tension and stress in dogs. Observing dog-dog interaction will be your best friend in this regard.