Feeding the gut bugs

My career is less than glamorous when you consider that much of the knowledge from nutritional sciences comes from poop...yes, I said it.  While I always consider my dogs body condition when feeding, I also consider their "poop-condition".  I will specifically alter their diets based on what their poop is doing.

Why?

Well, our large intestines are loaded with bacteria. Some are good and some are not so good.  In my field, we call this environment the microbiota or microflora of the gut.  Keeping this micoflora "happy" and balanced is a key to maintaining digestive processes, immunity, and overall health.  Bet you never thought that all those bugs in your gut contribute to your immunity.  When the delicate balance gets shifted, the result is often an obvious disturbance in fecal consistency. 

There are a few ways to keep those gut bugs happy.  One is with probiotics.  These are actually live organisms, typically inclusive of  bifidobacteria. These are considered the good guys.  The idea is that these bacteria will be consumed and help repopulate the large intestine.  Great idea in concept except they have to survive some harsh environmental challenges such as extremely acidic juices in the stomach, not to mention the digestive enzymes in the small intestine.  That said, some indeed survive to the other side.

Another concept is to find food items that the good guys really like, providing a much more stable environment; therefore, allowing them to grow faster and outcompete the bad guys (such as clostridia). This is how prebiotics work.  The most well studied one for pets and humans is called inulin.  It is actually a long chain sugar in the family of carbohydrates called FOS (fructooligosaccharides).  Inulin is found in large concentrations in chicory root.  I have seen more and more petfoods include chicory root in their formulations.  This is also one of the active ingredients in the popular yogurt product, Activia. 

I don't frequently give my dogs probiotics unless they have been treated with antibiotics.  Antibiotics not only destroy and kill targeted infectious bacteria, they often wreck havoc on the gut microflora as well.  I reserve probiotic products for those instances.  The remainder of the time, my dogs do enjoy their daily Activia right along with me.

The waiting begins!

A very dear friend of mine warned me that breeding was all about "waiting".  I didn't quite get it until now.  Keegan and VIP had a very lovely breeding week, and for the most part, it was quite uneventful and not even too scarey for me.  The love week ended rather abruptly yesterday morning with a growl and a snarl from VIP.  Keegan glanced at me, grabbed a toy, and tore off down the hall.  I giggled at the honesty of their exchange...how we humans can muck up our relationships because we don't say what we mean when we mean it...dogs on the other hand, are quite the experts. We can learn from that I think.  

I now look at VIP, curled up under my desk, and think of the amazement and wonder of life. A truly amazing and beautiful thing.  And so, the waiting begins... 

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

As a nutritionist, my husband would tell you that I am beyond obsessive when it comes to the diets of my dogs.  As we sit at the edge of VIP's conception, I am compelled to talk about the importance of Omega 3 fatty acids.  There are 3 dietary omega 3 fatty acids that include alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)...and you only thought I was going to say "fish oil".  It is actually both EPA and DHA that are found in marine fish oils. 

The benefits of consuming fish oils containing high levels of EPA and DHA are well studied and cited.  These fatty acids are capable of modifying the immune and inflammatory responses in dogs and cats.  In addition, recent research has documented linear responses in puppy trainability when their mother's were supplemented with EPA and DHA (I'm certain Keegan x VIP puppies will be brilliant, but, I will give them all the help I can).  During the last trimester of development, neural tissues in the eye and brain are accumulating DHA at very rapid rates.  This accumulation is necessary for both visual and psychomotor development. 

I am often asked if the omega 3 fatty acid in flaxseed is the same and the answer is, No.  The fatty acid in flaxseed is ALA (yes, it is still an important omega 3); however, flax contains little to no DHA.  Marine fish oils are the best supply of both EPA and DHA.  So, how much do you give your dog?  I prefer to dose fish oil based on body weights and go with the following:

20 mg per pound (dog's weight in pounds) of EPA and 15 mg per pound of DHA.  Most of the over the counter 1,000 mg fish oil capsules contain approximately 30% (300 mg) combined EPA and DHA (yes, you will need to look at the labels).  Some product labels will separate EPA and DHA; however, others will list a combined amount. The EPA will always be slightly higher and likely in the 180 mg range, while DHA will be approximately 120 mg. So, for my toy fox terriers that weigh about 6 Lb, they should ideally consume 120 mg of EPA and 90 mg of DHA daily; therefore, 1/2 of a 1,000 mg fishoil capsule in the AM and 1/2 in the PM would be just about perfect.

Decisions and patience

Deciding to breed Keegan has been a long and thoughtful decision that didn't come without heartache and struggle.   Danny and I have fostered and loved 8 foster dogs in the last year.  Half of them were toy fox terriers.  Currently we have three, and they all came from a commercial breeder.  It's hard to watch our fiesty, jovial little breed suffer from anxiety, stress, and poor socialization.  Fortunately, they have been coming along great and 2 have been adopted and are awaiting transport to their forever home.  Living with, training, and loving Keegan, makes me appreciate everything this breed stands for, and indeed makes me want to conserve those very traits that not only make him the perfect companion and performance dog, but the outstanding Toy Fox Terrier breed. 

They should be lively, fiercly loyal and have the incredible ability to anticipate their owners mood and state.  As descendants of the Smooth Fox Terrier, they continue to have intense hunting drive, yet adapt to every situation that arises.  When it's time to train - they train, when it's time to compete - they compete, when it's time to chill, they do just that.  Nothing is better than being sick with a Toy Fox Terrier as a companion...they will never leave your side.  I have this very dog in Keegan.

The gorgeous girl that Dr. Marsha Shively selected to mate with Keegan is Ch Shively's DJPTC Angel's Miss VIP.  I have enjoyed living with her since last September and admire the very same traits in her that I do in Keegan.  I have been patiently awaiting the perfect timing but we are still a couple days away yet.  It will be a painful couple months for someone that is as impatient as I am. 

Overcoming Obstacles to Earn a MACH!

On Sunday, January 17, 2010 Keegan earned his 20th Double Q, finishing his Master Agility Championship.  It was a very surreal run for us. I'm sure I will remember that course for the rest of my life.  As we ran it, I think I recalled every training issue we'd encountered along our journey.  The 3rd obstacle was the teeter.  I spent over 6 months trying to figure out why Keegan stopped doing the teeter, soon after he earned his AX title.  Come to find out, he hated me in front of him so as long as I stayed behind him or parallel to him, he never refused it again.  Then #5 was the A-frame.  Most of his Novice and Open career we ran around the A-frame and heaven forbid it was ever wet.  As we entered the weave poles at #10, I watched every bounce he made, recalling how he struggled with the bouncing as he got faster...then we hit #11...the dreaded table.  For the last year and half, Keegan had become very defiant about the table.  We tried everything (or so we thought) only to have a special trainer tell me to stop focusing on it so much. Treat it like part of the course and not a separate obstacle.  Slowly but surely, we started to work through it.  I don't think Keegan will ever like the table, but he will do it.  As he reluctantly sat on the table I realized we were so very close...now could I just remember the rest of the course.  The tire was #12 and I can't even remember how many times the little guy ran under tires on courses. We hit the dogwalk at #14 and he flew over it.  As we turned for our final stretch, we hit the chute at #18.  The chute was the obstacle that NQ'd us at the Invitational in 2008 in Round #2.  He made the final 2 jumps quite effortlessly in his typical fashion and I nearly fainted...we'd done it...with well over 1,600 points, the equivalent of an MXJ5, and 20 double Q's.  I think we flew all the way home from Minnesota and I thanked God for giving me such a special dog that taught me how to train and overcome obstacles.

The whole world should have a Sparky

Sparky's mother was a pregnant rescue that came to live with us.  He was one of four darling Rat Terrier puppies and when I took him back to college with me (intending to find him a home), he decided he'd already found his home.  Sparky is the dog that I wish I could share with the World.  I don't think there is a soul on the planet as kind and gentle as him.  When it came to training, there was nothing he wouldn't do for me.  He even played "Toto" in a highschool version of The Wizard of Oz.  Sparky has learned so much with me...therapy work, obedience, rally obedience, agility, even flyball.  Although he is mostly retired, Sparky loves children and on the occasion that I give a child an agility lesson, he is quick to step up and run course after course after course...he won't run them for me anymore...but a child...he's all about that.

Minnie

Although I grew up with dogs, they were typical outdoor farm dogs. My Dad didn't want dogs in the house. I'd always wanted a small dog, and was surrounded by Jack Russell Terriers as it seemed many of our horse showing friends had them. I had started to research the breed and breeders. One of my favorite passtimes was to walk through the mall and look at the puppies in the window of the petstore. Although I always looked, I was so careful never to go in...after all, I did know where those puppies came from and it broke my heart. That day was different though...as I walked by, a tiny little black and white Rat Terrier puppy was pounding at the glass to play with me. I couldn't help but stop and meet her. As I did, I realized she had a cough but it just didn't seem to slow her down any. I knew I couldn't take that puppy home but as I turned to walk out of the store, I heard that pathetic cough and I just couldn't bear to leave her. I had done the thing I swore I'd never do...I bought a petstore puppy. She rapidly acquired the name "Minnie" and it seemed like months before she compltely recovered from her horrible case of kennel cough. Minnie became my best friend. She moved from New Mexico to Iowa, then to Illinois, Nebraska, and finally, back across the river to Iowa as she followed me all the way through college, graduate school and into my new career. She was also the dog that inspired me to start training. I never thought Minnie could be trained...she was shy, dog aggressive, and let's just say she was a little ball of stress. Thanks to some incredible friends and great trainers at the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana, Minnie passed her Canine Good Citizen and even began some rally obedience and agility training and competitions. In 2007, Minnie lost her left eye to a luxated lens. In early 2009 she lost her right eye and was 100% blind. Slowly her emotional and mental health degraded and in September, I had to make the most difficult decision ever...and say good-bye to my beloved little rat terrier. She was 13, and I miss her everyday.

Why Dustcloud?

Think back to watching Charlie Brown...remember that loveable character "Pigpen" and his relentless cloud of dust...it followed him everywhere? My dustcloud comes in the form of some delightful four-legged characters that you will soon meet. They follow me from room to room, fluffing around like dust only to settle on my lap as soon as I sit in my chair. However, if I dare say "let's go train", a weather disturbance erupts like a duststorm in the Southwest. We love to train, we love to compete, and we love to win...leaving the rest in our dust...so there you have it...DUSTCLOUD.