Among the world of terriers, gameness is a trait that is often misunderstood. Working terriers, as the name implies, are dogs who have been selectively bred for working and their work required specific characteristics that allowed them to excel in their tasks. A terrier’s gameness is sometimes still perceived as a negative trait, often related to aggression. In reality, if we take a look back at the history of working terriers we will notice how gameness had nothing to do with aggression and that gameness was actually considered a virtue that helped these tenacious dogs carry on with their tasks.
A Look Back
Working terriers are small dogs with a past of being selectively bred to hunt down burrowing animals. The word terrier indeed derives from the Latin word “terra” which means earth. As agriculture developed in Britain in the 1700s, working terriers were in high demand as they helped farmers get rid of critters who ate their crops, bothered other farm animals and infested their stores. The terrier’s work encompassed fitting through the burrows so the critters could be located. Once located, the terriers would bark and flush them out, and in some cases, even kill them.
Later on, when fox hunting became popular in Britain in the 18th and 19th century, hounds were often used for tracking foxes on foot, but many times the hunt was interrupted when the fox ended up hiding in an underground burrow. This is where the terriers came handy as they would “go to ground” and bolt it free so the hunt could continue.
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During the Industrial Revolution, terriers were also welcomed for their ability to kill rodents which were a major health problem so urban rat control became a new profession. To get rid of the many rats, the bloody sport of rat baiting became popular and owning a ratter dog helped earn a good sum of money from bets. Fortunately, this bloody practice has become illegal in most countries.
A Working Drive
A terrier’s work required a determined and courageous dog willing to fight animals that were often much larger than him in dark, tight places. Fights between the dog and cornered animals weren’t unusual. Animals hunted down often consisted of woodchucks, groundhogs, foxes, rats, raccoon and badgers. In order to succeed in their tasks, terriers had to be capable of tolerating the pain associated with being bitten or scratched and keep going. Pain sensitive and weak specimens were certainly not fit for the job.
Gameness is therefore the strong working drive that allowed these dogs to keep working despite being wet, cold, injured, ill or tired. When other dogs gave up, the terrier kept going which is why many owners today are so pride about their terrier’s “drive” which makes them determined competitors in several canine sports.
“Gameness does not mean aggressiveness. Gameness refers to the ability to continue in the face of adversity, to continue trying no matter how difficult the task becomes.”~D. Caroline Coile
The Terriers Today
While most terriers are used today mostly for companionship, their temperament, energy, swiftness, creativity and gameness are still attractive to many terrier owners who have opened their hearts and homes to these intelligent dogs. It’s important to become aware of the “terrier personality” before committing to these dogs. After many years of selective breeding, the strong instincts of digging, finding and even harassing other animals still remain alive and well. This makes owning terriers quite a different experience (but oh, so intriguing!) from owning the average Labrador or golden retriever!
“Understanding these instincts and working with them, rather than against them, will help us have positive, happy relationships with our terriers.””~Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell
Did you know? Today, owners of terriers can test their terrier’s gameness in fun earth dog trials and the American Working terrier Association even offers a Certificate of Gameness title meant to test a terrier’s natural instincts.
References:
Terrier-centric Dog Training, By Dawn Antoniak-Mitchell, August 1, 2012, Dogwise Publishing
You may sometimes stumble on the term “prompt” especially in dog training circles. What exactly is a prompt, and why is it important to understand its meaning? Let’s first start by taking a look into the etymology of the word”prompt” so to gain a better insight. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary Website, the word prompt derives from the Latin word”promptus” meaning “to bring forth.” In a theatrical sense, the word was used in the past to mean “to assist a speaker with lines.” A prompt is therefore a “hint,” basically some type of aid meant to bring forth and “prompt” a certain behavior making it more likely to happen. A more fancy way to put it is defining a prompt as an antecedent (something that happens prior to a behavior) that evokes a dog to perform a behavior that otherwise is not very likely to occur. The act of using prompts, is known as “prompting“ and it’s not exclusively used in dog training; indeed, it has even been used to teach autistic children!
A Glimpse Behind the Scenes
Some people may watch a dog perform tricks and remark as they watch in awe: ” Wow, I could never get my dog to do such a thing!” The fact is, when somebody looks at an impressive dog trick, they are looking at the finished product of many rehearsals and miss out seeing everything that has happened behind the scenes.
Just as with actors, it takes many reps and the addition of aids (prompts) to “assist the speaker with lines” in the case of an actor or ” to encourage a dog to evoke a behavior” in the case of a dog learning a trick that’s not part of the dog’s normal behavioral repertoire.
When we watch the finished product, whether it’s an actor acting in a movie or a dog performing a trick, we are basically seeing days, weeks or even months of hard work. For more on the processes and procedures behind dog tricks, read “The Secret Behind Dog Tricks.”
Did you know? Because prompting is so helpful in helping a dog or a child succeed, it’s often referred to as “error-less learning.”
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Types of Prompts
This trainer uses a ball to lure the dog to perform behaviors
As seen, the use of prompts are hints, or better aids, meant to increases the likelihood of a behavior. Most prompts come directly from the trainer and there are different categories. What are examples of some prompts in dog training? Several examples are listed in the book “How Dogs Learn” by Mary R. Burch and Jon S. Bailey.
If you encourage your dog to jump over an obstacle by pointing, the pointing hand gesture is a gestural prompt.
If you jump over the obstacle yourself first to show your dog what to do, (might be worthy of trying since turns out dogs are pretty good in mimicking our behaviors a study says) you are using a modeling prompt.
If you simply stand by the obstacle and tell your dog “over” you are using a verbal prompt (but in this case though it’s more likely a cue than a real prompt, explains Jean Donaldson in her book “Oh Behave! Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker)
If you are guiding your dog through the obstacle by using a leash, you are using a physical prompt.
And what about using a treat or tossing a ball to guide the dog over the obstacle? In this case, the treat or ball in dog training is called a “lure” (yes, just as a fishing lure that attracts fish!) and the treat may work as an olfactory prompt and the hand movement that is used to guide the dog may work as an orienting prompt.
“The orienting prompt is developed by training a dog to follow the movement of the hand closely… Also, orienting lures, like a ball or stick, are frequently used to guide the dog into the desired behavior. Once the behavior is mastered, it is then brought under the control of a word cue or gesture while the orienting lure is simultaneously faded out.”~ Steven R. Lindsay
Prompts Getting in the Way
At times, we involuntarily deliver prompts and we aren’t fully aware of them. An example is a person who tells a dog to sit and without noticing it, simultaneously lowers the head downward. The person is not fully aware of the lowered head action, until he watches a video recording of his own behavior or he is told about the head lowering action by a person observing.
It may seem something minor to us, but dogs being masters in reading our body language, readily notice those lowered head motions and pay closely attention to them. So when we reward a dog for sitting upon saying the verbal cue “sit” we may think we’re rewarding the for attending to the verbal cue “sit” while from the dog’s perspective he’s actually attending to our lowered head motion!
The lowered head motion becomes so relevant to the dog that the moment the person becomes aware of it and says “sit” without lowering the head, the dog doesn’t sit because the head lowering movement (the most salient prompt from the dog’s perspective) overshadows the verbal cue.
This is just an example of an unintended prompt insinuating itself in our training sessions without us even noticing. On top of lowering the head, there are many other even more subtle prompts that may be evoking the sitting behavior such as making eye contact, standing in front of the dog (try asking a dog to sit with your back to him, if he doesn’t sit, most likely standing in front of your dog and looking at him is the most relevant prompt).
Before blaming our dogs for poor performances, we should really critically observe what we are doing! This is why it’s important to pay attention when we are training so to avoid unintended prompts to get in the way and gain control. Recording yourself or having a person watch you, is also helpful if you are in doubt.
“Recall that when reinforcement occurs, it reinforces all the antecedent stimuli present and that includes any non-evocative stimuli we might seek to install as the primary cue as well as any prompts we might use and even perhaps unintended but present stimuli.” ~James O’ Heare.
Cleaning up the Act
While prompts are helpful in allowing a dog to succeed, we want to get rid of them quite early in training as they can become quite habit forming, which leads to problematic prompt dependence. After all, if an actor is always readily helped every single time he forgets a line, the actor risks relying on suggestions too much and his performance will significantly lower! Same with dogs.
The term prompt is indeed, as we have seen, used to depict aids that are temporarily used in the initial stages of training. Some people refer to them as crutches, supportive aids that may allow you to float just for the time being of getting acquainted with water until you learn how to swim.
To take training to the next level, it’s important that prompts are replaced with a new permanent cue, which becomes the primary, evocative stimulus once the prompts are faded into less significant forms or extinguished. There are different procedures to use in dog training to fade the reliance on prompts. Here are a couple.
“Since fading is the technology for eliminating the prompt, prompting and fading go hand in hand.”~Pamela Buitrago.
Problems with Food Lures
With dogs, one of the most important prompts to fade right away is the presence of food. If we need to always show a food lure to get a dog to jump over an obstacle, that day we are caught empty handed with no treats, we shouldn’t be surprised if the dog doesn’t jump over!
Some refer to over-reliance on the visual appearance of treats as a form bribery. They say that the food lure becomes a bribe, basically a promise communicating to the dog “Hey dog, you see this treat? If you jump over, you’ll have it!” Paul Owens, the original Dog Whisperer, (yes he was the very first to call himself this way!) in his book “The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training“ writes “A bribe is a lure gone astray.”
But is this really what’s actually happening?
“Unlike luring, which is a precise educational process used to teach a willing puppy and/or novice dog the meaning of the request, we assume bribed individuals know what we want, but simply just don’t want to do it. Thus, bribery is a coercive attempt to corrupt the will of the trainee.”~ Dr. Ian Dunbar
On the other hand, several claim that dogs don’t really go on a strike when they don’t see food (unless perhaps owners are purposely dangling food in their faces to get them to do behaviors they know well). Another possibility of what may be happening is that the presence of food has become the most salient prompt, the most important piece of information telling the dog what to do. Without, it, the dog is lost without the aid, just as a child deprived of arm floaters, has no clue what to do to stay afloat.
Basically, the food lure has become a long-term part of the antecedent cue, explains Kelly Gorman Dunbar on Dog Star Daily. The food is telling the dog exactly what to do and the dog overly depends on it. Regardless of what is truly going on, one thing is for sure we want to prevent this over dependence.
Even puppies can be trained with prompts!
Fading the Food Lure
When we use a food lure to guide a dog into performing a behavior, it’s important to fade the reliance of the food lure. This is done quickly as soon as the dog grasps the physical mechanics of the wanted behavior, through a process known as “fading the food lure.”
If you have been using a food lure under the form of a treat to make your dog sit by guiding the treat from the your dog’s nose over the head and then saying “yes!” and rewarding with a treat the moment his rump touches the floor, after a few reps you want to stop showing that treat.
How do you do this? You simply stop showing the treat. Here’s how.
After a few reps with the treat, you suddenly mix in a rep without the treat by fooling your dog into thinking you had it. Simply keep the treat in your other hand or in your pocket or treat bag, guide your dog to sit using your hand gesture as if you were holding the treat, and when his rear touches the floor, say “yes!”and immediately reward him with the treat from your pocket or treat bag. Your dog may likely think for a split section ” Hey! you just tricked me! Your hand was empty!” but then he’s quickly reassured, “Oh, there it is! That’s cool!”
At the same time, you’re also reassured: “Hey, I can get my dog to sit without a treat in his face! Cool! “Soon, you both learn that dog training can keep on going with no food is in sight. A win-win! On top of that, since your dog is no longer passively following the food, there’s some more active learning going on as the prompting power transfers from the food lure to the hand signal.
Now, it’s time to decide what to do next with hand signal, do you want to stick with it and fade it out a bit or transfer it exclusively to a verbal cue? Or do you wish to use both?
Note: for those who like to use properly conditioned target sticks to train behaviors, they offer the advantage of being a step ahead in the process compared to luring with food in a hand as they are in a sort of way the equivalent of a hand motion without a food lure. As Ken Ramirez states “Luring keeps the animal thinking about the reinforcement or the treat, while targeting gets the animal thinking about the task.”
“In the early stages of training, treats are lures. After the dog knows how to perform a behavior, treats are rewards when given after the fact to reinforce the behavior.” Pat Miller
Prompt Delay Procedure
There’s nothing wrong with using hand signals to train dogs, they can actually be quite impressive to watch as dogs perform behaviors without the trainers saying a word, but people may prefer to stick only to a verbal command.
In this case, the prompting power of the hand signal (gesture prompt) must transfer to the verbal cue. How is this done? Through a process known as “prompt delay procedure.”
This transfer takes a bit of practice as from a dog’s perspective, our body language and movements are more salient than our verbal cues as dogs don’t speak English as a second language! Here’s how to do it.
If you have been using an upward hand gesture to get your dog to sit and your dog reliably responds, you now want to introduce the new verbal cue. Anytime you need to introduce a new verbal cue it must consistently precede the known gestural prompt, so simply, say the verbal cue “sit” right before you perform the hand signal. When your dog’s rear touches the floor, say “yes!” and promptly reward. Repeat this several times.
What we are trying to accomplish is sort of telling the dog “You hear the word “sit?” It’s the same thing as the hand signal.” Through several reps, the dog starts pairing the two and catching on. Because dogs like to anticipate (dog trainers call this “jumping the prompt”), at some point you may notice your dog sitting the moment you say “sit,” even before you perform the hand signal! — but if you wish, you further help your dog by purposely delaying the hand signal after saying “sit” to give your dog time to think and see what happens next.
If your dog sits upon hearing you say “sit,” make sure you follow with an enthusiastic yes! and give two to three treats in a row to inform your dog that “Bingo! You got it right!” When the dog starts reliably sitting upon hearing the verbal cue “sit,” it’s a sign that the evocative power has successfully transferred to the new verbal cue.
Prompt Fading Procedure
For dog owners who would like to continue using a hand gesture to get their dog to sit or perform any other behaviors that were taught through gestures, they may want to make the gestural prompt less and less prominent. How can we gradually reduce the prominence of the prompt?
The way to do this is to make the hand gesture gradually less and less evident. This process is easier than the prompt delay procedure above as we’re not looking at transferring control from gestural prompt to a verbal cue which can be tough for dogs.
Instead, here we are just making the gestural prompt less evident. How do we do this? Through a “prompt fadingprocedure.”
To accomplish this, we simply morph the original hand gesture making it less and less evident. If done gradually enough and through repeated trials, most dogs quickly pick on courtesy of generalization. The dog basically learns to attend to less-specific criteria because it shares some resemblance of the old gesture. So if we were making the dog sit by using a hand gesture starting close to the dog’s nose and then upwards over the head, now we can moving our hand gradually less upwards, then gradually farther away from the nose, until the dog sits with a mere upwards gesture of our hand.
The goal is to make the new gestural prompt less and less similar to its original luring motion and more and more like the final gesture we wish to use. Using this method, you can train your dog to perform behaviors with very subtle gestures. Now call that impressive!
References:
Springer Science+Business Media. “Dogs imitate novel human actions and store them in memory.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 July 2013.
The Science and Technology of Dog Training, by James O’Heare, July 8, 2014, Dogwise Publishing
How Dogs Learn, Mary R. Burch, Jon S. Bailey, Ph, Wiley, May 4, 1999
Oh Behave!: Dogs from Pavlov to Premack to Pinker, By Jean Donaldson, Dogwise Publishing, Apr 1, 2008
Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Adaptation and Learning, By Steven R. Lindsay, April 29, 2013 John Wiley & Sons
The Dog Trainers Resource 2: The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Collection, edited by Mychelle Blake, Dogwise Publishing, Aug 1, 2006
The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training, Paul Owens, Norma Eckroate
Adams Media, Feb 12, 2007
Dog Star Daily, Lures, Rewards and Bribes, retrieved from the web on April 13th, 2016
Positive Perspectives 2: Know Your Dog, Train Your Dog, By Pat Miller, Dogwise Publishing, Sep 15, 2003
Targeting vs. Luring, By Gale Pryor, retrieved from the web on April 13th, 2016
Among the many different gaits dogs may show, the hackney gait is quite distinct and it can even be impressive to watch when carried out by the right breed of dog. In many dog breeds, this gait is actually considered a fault. The term derives from the “hackney horse” a horse breed developed in Great Britain known for its special trot with an exaggerated high knee and hock action courtesy of the flexible joints. In many dog breeds this type of gait is considered a compensatory fault as the dog’s high action of the forelegs is usually carried out to keep their paws out of the way from the back feet, something that shouldn’t normally happen. A hackney gait may also be problematic in a dog bred for moving efficiently in the field as it would tire a dog quickly and waste energy since there’s more upward motion involved than a far-reaching gait. So today’s trivia question is:
In what dog breed is a hackney gait desirable?
A The German shepherd
B The Rottweiler
C: The Miniature Fox terrier
D: The Miniature pinscher
The correct answer is: Drum roll please…
The correct answer is: D, the miniature pinscher
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A min pin in action
What the Standard Says
According to the American Kennel Club, the miniature pinscher must show a “hackney-like action” with a “high-stepping, reaching, free and easy gait in which the front leg moves straight forward and in front of the body and the foot bends at the wrist. “As the dog moves with this gait, he drives smoothly and strongly from the rear with his head and tail carried high.
The gait is a characteristic of the breed and brings together the many appealing features such as the gracefully curved neck, the tail set high and the clean and sloping shoulders with moderate angulation so to allow the hackney-like action.
They say a picture is worth 100 words, but a video is worth 1000, so watch the min pins in action as they “hackney” through the ring.
Watch the Min Pins in Action!
An Important Note
While the gait in the min pin is similar to the hackney gait in the hackney horse, it’s important to make a distinction. According to the Miniature Pinscher Club of America, the hackney action in the min pin should be limited to front movement only.
The high “hock action”of the rear legs is therefore limited to horses, as in the min pin, the exaggerated “lift” of rear legs would be ultimately too inefficient especially considering that the breed standard calls for a smooth action.
The King of Toys
Owners of this breed may notice the hackney action as the dog prances around proudly, almost as if “strutting his stuff,” in a “look at me!” fashion, after finding a toy or perhaps capturing a rodent. In the ring, these dogs can put up quite an impressive show with the flashy front movement gait. Overall, this gait reflects the proud, alert and spirited dynamite personality of this breed and it provides a glimpse as to why these dogs are often referred to as the “King of Toys!” For these reasons many min pin owners refer to their dogs as “a big dog in a small package.”
Did you know? While the min pin closely resembles a doberman, he’s not a miniature doberman. According to Miniature Pinscher Club of America, the Miniature Pinscher is actually older as it wasn’t until 1890 that Louis Doberman bred his first Dobie.
References:
American Kennel Club, Official Standard of the Miniature Pinscher, retrieved from the web on April 12th, 2016.
Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Gait, retrieved from the web on April 12th, 2016
Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Miniature Pinschers ..but were afraid to ask! retrieved from the web on April 12th, 2016
Just like us, dogs have several lymph nodes in their bodies, and just like us, they are prone to getting them inflamed or infected in certain circumstances which leads to their enlargement. Becoming aware of your dog’s lymph nodes can help you understand early signs of trouble so that you can report them promptly to your vet. Just as women are often instructed to perform breast self-exams, it’s not a bad idea for dog owners to get accustomed to how their dogs feel so they can readily recognize any suspicious lumps and bumps. So today, the dog’s lymph nodes will be the star of the day, so let’s see what they have to tell us!
Introducing the Dog’s Lymph Nodes
Hello, it’s your dog’s lymph nodes talking! We are special bean-shaped structures that are distributed on your dog’s body in various places. While we are scattered around in many places, we are mostly concentrated in clusters mostly found around your dog’s neck area, armpit area and inguinal area. You don’t normally feel us or perhaps you barely feels us when you pet your dog, which is a good thing! The fact that you barely feel us though doesn’t make us insignificant; rather, it’s an important sign that we are doing a very good job! As for size, expect us to be typically less than 1/2 inch in length on average, but the size really ultimately depends on the type of dog you are dealing with. Oh, and if you ever hear somebody calling us “lymph glands,” consider that’s incorrect. Unlike glands, we don’t secrete any substances!
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We are part of your dog’s lymphatic system, an extensive drainage network composed by several thin tubes (lymphatic vessels) which carry lymph, a colorless watery fluid that is similar to plasma. Where does this fluid come from? Basically, lymph fluid leaks out into surrounding tissues from your dog’s circulatory system. Oh, but don’t worry about this leakage! This is perfectly normal. After collecting lymph fluid and then sending it through us, the lymphatic system then returns this lymph fluid to the circulatory system. This is a good thing. If the lymphatic system didn’t return that fluid, it would quickly build up in the dog’s body’s tissues causing swelling.
We Act Like Filters
While your dog’s liver and kidneys do a good job in filtering and getting rid of toxicity, us lymph nodes are responsible for filtering and removing any germs, foreign particles, fungi or damaged cells. You see, when the lymph fluid passes through us, it’s our job to filter it before it’s returned to the bloodstream. With the help of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, white blood cells responsible for fighting infections by attacking with specific antibodies, and macrophages, special white blood cells that engulf and digest any foreign substances, we are able to rid the lymph fluid of anything that shouldn’t be there so that when the lymph fluid is returned to the circulatory system, it’s as pure as it can be!
When Things go Wrong
As mentioned, you should barely detect us at all, but sometimes when we encounter something in the lymph fluid that shouldn’t be there, we will put up a fight. This causes us to swell up, which means that we are battling and trying to do our job the best we can. When we swell up, the condition is known as “lymphoadenopathy” which literally means enlargement of the lymph gland. Along with us becoming enlarged, we may cause other symptoms in dogs secondary to our enlargement such as problems swallowing when we we swell in the neck area, difficulty moving when when swell by the armpit, constipation when we swell by the inguinal area. When we swell, it’s important to consult with a vet to identify what is causing us to swell up in the first place.
An Infection
If we are swollen because of an inflammation or infection, the condition is medically known as “lymphoadenitis. ” Depending on which of us is inflamed, it’s often a tell-tale sign of something going on locally. For instance, if the lymph nodes by your dog’s neck are enlarged, it could be due to a sore throat, if the lymph nodes by the dog’s leg are enlarged it could be due to an infection in the dog’s foot. Why do we enlarge? In this case, we must blame the immune system’s response which involves the multiplication of lymphocytes and the arrival of macrophages, but this is all good as it’s our way of putting up a fight. Luckily, in these cases, once the inflammation or infection has been cleared, the lymph nodes should return to their normal size.
Cancer
While our job is to rid the lymph fluid from any foreign particles and other things that shouldn’t be there, cancer cells may sometimes infiltrate and wreck havoc. Where are the cancer cells coming from? In some cases, the cancer starts within us directly. Basically, what happens is that our lymphocytes become cancerous. It may sound ironic that these cells which are meant to be a line of defense, become cancerous, but unfortunately any cells in nearly any part of your dog’s body can become cancerous. When this happens, lymphoma, a cancer caused by the growth of abnormal lymphocytes occurs and this causes us to swell.
“When the numbers of cancerous lymphocytes increase, they form swellings. One of the most common areas that these cancer cells accumulate are in the normal lymph nodes themselves, increasing the size of these normal structures.” ~Dr. Demian Dressler
The Bottom Line
As seen, we are quite important as we filter out all the bad guys! When we get enlarged this may be a sign of many conditions such as viral, bacterial infections, primary immune disorders, tick born diseases, reaction to vaccinations and cancer. For this reason, it’s important to check us out every now and then just to be on the safe side! Because many of us are located close to the surface of the dog’s body, we can be felt through the skin, and can be readily detected when we enlarge. Where should dog owners should check in particular? Veterinarian Dr. Demian Dressler suggests feeling under your dog’s lower jaw just where it connects with the neck area, in the front part of the shoulder area, by the back of the thigh, by the armpit and by the groin where the thigh connects with the abdomen. To see the exact location of certain lymph nodes in dogs that can be easily detected when enlarged, click here or watch the video below for a demo by Dr. Sara. You can also ask your vet to show you.
I hope this has helped you understand us better!
Yours dearly,
Your dog’s lymph glands
References:
Pet Education, Lymphadenitis, Lymphadenopathy & Swollen Lymph Nodes in Dogs, by Dr. Race Foster, retrieved from the Web on April 11th, 2016.
Pet Education, Lymphatic System, Anatomy and Function, retrieved from the Web on April 11th, 2016.
Dog Cancer Blog, Signs of Dog Lymph Node Cancer, by Dr. Demian Dressler, retrieved from the Web on April 11th, 2016
Clinical Anatomy & Physiology for Veterinary Technicians, Thomas Colville DVM, Joanna M. Bassert VMD, Mosby Inc. St Louis, MO, 2002
Have you ever looked at your hands and feet and compared them to your dogs’? If so, perhaps one of the most prominent contrasting features you may notice is that your hands and feet have five fingers and five toes (that makes you pentadactyl, by the way), whereas, your average dog has only four functional toes. Also, the fingers and toes of your hands and feet are quite long, while your dog’s toes instead are quite short, why is that? For sure, “Mother Nature” must have known what she was doing as she was weighing out the pros and cons of having toes. She then made her final verdict that less was better than more.
“Five is a common number for digital division among vertebrates; and our own hands and feet present these digits in a high degree of perfection.” ~Felter, 1912
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A Matter of Speed
If we look at the toes of many animals, we may notice that the general standard is to have five toes at the end of a limb. Humans have 5 toes and so do bears, primates, weasels, bats, and several types of reptiles and birds. Some animals such as dogs, foxes, wolves and coyotes though have though four fully functional toes instead of five. What do these four-toed animals have in common? Fossil evidence shows that animals that show a loss of digits are for the most part animals who were required to maintain high speeds for long distances, explains John Buckwalter, Emeritus of Biology at Alfred State College. Such animals are known as “cursorial animals” and they are distinguished for their long limbs, shortened digits and reduced number of toes. Dogs for example have four toes instead of five, and horses (cursorial grazers) have only one (the hoof is simply the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit).
The Recipe for Running
In order to become swift runners, a change in basic physiology was necessary so several speed adaptations were necessary. While us humans and bears are plantigrades, meaning that we place our whole foot on the ground with a rolling heel-to-toe action, dogs are digitigrades, meaning that they only walk on their digits, a quality that makes them faster and quieter runners as their heels are not required to touch the ground, explains Stanley Coren, in the book “Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know.”
This means that the bones of the dog’s wrist (carpals), palm (metacarpals), sole (metatarsals) and ankle (tarsals) are kept off the ground. We therefore make a mistake when we compare our dog’s paws with our hands and feet. In reality, we are mainly looking at their toes as seen in these illustrations. Basically, the bones that correspond to our wrists and ankles are set much higher than we would think which explains why many people often confuse the dog’s ankles (tarsal, hock) for the dog’s knee (stifle). However, this doesn’t answer our question:”why do dogs have only four toes?”
” What evolution did to dogs was to rock their legs forward so that their heel would no longer touch the ground. In so doing they became a digitigrade species, meaning that they walk on their digits.” Stanley Coren
Loss of Weight
In us humans, our extra digit, the thumb, played a very important role in our evolution allowing us to manipulate things, but why would a cursorial animal do better with less toes? Dogs didn’t rely much on their digits to manipulate things, but there’s likely an additional reason for having four toes: it’s likely an issue of weight. An extra toe may weigh just a few ounces, but its extra weight on the foot may ultimately have an impact when it’s carried along for the ride as an animal runs to catch his dinner or runs for his life. So evolution decided that it was in the dog’s best interest to not have a fully developed 1st digit, which is the equivalent of our thumb. Reduced weight is also a plausible explanation also as to why a dog’s legs has concentrated muscle mass at the top, while at the bottom the legs get more slender with a lighter foot. “An increase in limb length adds to stride length, whereas reduction in limb weight especially distally, enhances stride rate.”says S. M. Kisia in the book “Vertebrates: Structures and Functions.”
“Members of the dog family (canids) have small feet, with usually four digits in contact with the ground. The small size and weight of their limbs requires less energy to move, allowing them to run more efficiently.”~ John Buckwalter,
A Vestigial Remnant….
It would be wrong though to say that the dog has totally lost his fifth toe. In reality, that extra digit is still there but it’s just reduced. You may stumble on it if you take a look at your dog’s foreleg and notice a claw that’s located higher up which doesn’t normally touch the ground as the other toes.
That claw is known as the “dewclaw“and it’s a remnant of that original fifth digit dogs used to have in the past. In technical terms, it’s a vestigial structure, meaning that it has lost its original function and therefore has atrophied.
Note: If you don’t see this fifth digit on your dog’s front feet it likely was removed shortly after birth to give the dog a cleaner look or to prevent it from getting caught on things.
“Dewclaws are vestigial remnants of a fifth digit that was reduced in the process of evolution.”~John Buckwalter
With a Purpose
It would be also wrong to say that a dog’s dewclaws have completely lost their functionality. Turns out, contrary to what we may have heard, those dewclaws at times actually touch the ground, but because it happens when dogs run at high speeds we hardly notice it. Christine Zink, a veterinarian working with canine athletes, has found that those dewclaws that many people chop off and think of them as useless appendages, actually help prevent torque on the leg especially when the dog is galloping and making tight turns, as often seen in canine sports. Without the dewclaw, there are risks that leg may twist which over time can lead to problems such as carpal arthritis and other injuries to the dog’s elbow, shoulder and toes!
Did you know? Some dog breeds (like the Great Pyrenees or Briard for example) have one or even two dewclaws on their rear feet as well!
References:
MadSci Network, Why do dogs have dewclaws? and why are they only in the front?John Buckwalter, retrieved from the web on April 10th, 2o16.
Do Dogs Dream?: Nearly Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know” by Stanley Coren, W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (July 16, 2012)
Evolutionary Biology 8/e by Dr. B. S. Tomar, Dr. S. P. Singh. Edition. 9th Revised Edition
It may sound quite ironic and surprising that the same ear drops purposely crafted to help a dog recover from an ear ailment, would cause a dog to go deaf, but the risks are real for certain dogs. There are certain ear medications that are known for being “ototoxic” which means that they are toxic to the ear and can negatively affect a dog or person’s sense of hearing. Learning more about these ear drops and potential side effects is important so to recognize early signs of trouble and readily report them to the vet.
Ototoxic Effects in Dogs
As seen in the introduction, the term ototoxicity simply means “toxic to the ear.” How can ears drops be toxic to a dog’s ear? While the process is still not completely well understood, it’s likely a matter of the drugs causing damage to the hair cells in the dog’s inner ear or damage to the nerves responsible for sending a dog’s hearing and balancing information from the dog’s inner ear to his brain.
Depending on what part of the ear is affected, the ototoxicity may be referred to in different ways. When the coclea (the hearing apparatus) is affected causing hearing loss, it’s referred to as cochleotoxicity. When the vestibular-coclear nerve is instead affected causing balance problems, it’s known as vestibulotoxicity.
Ototoxicity therefore may cause a dog’s hearing and sense of balance to be negatively affected. The drug’s ototoxic effect may be temporary (and thus reversible as the drug leaves the body) or permanent.
What Happens Exactly?
When a dog normally hears and moves around, the special hair cells located in the dog’s cochlea and the vestibular areas of the inner ear, bend with sound vibrations and movements, thus, relaying information about sounds and movement to the dog’s brain.
When these hair cells are damaged, they no longer work as they’re supposed to, thus, communication is broken and the dog may no longer hear well and his balance function may be affected.
While hearing problems may not be too noticeable, balance problems are known for causing trouble walking, circling, eye jerking movements, tilted head, nausea and vomiting.
When hearing loss takes place, the signs may not be noticeable at first as the dog’s ability to sense high frequencies is firstly affected, therefore the first signs of hearing loss may become only more noticeable perhaps weeks after treatment.
“High frequencies are affected first, slowing recognition of the toxicity, which may appear at a delay of weeks after treatment has been discontinued.” ~Merck Veterinary Manual
Ototoxic Dog Ear Drops
Several ear drops containing aminoglycoside antibiotics can be ototoxic in both humans and pets. These drugs are often used to treat different types of bacterial infections and they are mostly administered by injection or topically, directly into the ear under ear drops and ointments.
Technically, all routes of administration may cause ototoxic side effects. Ear drops that may cause hearing and balance problems (or even both) in dogs include those containing the following aminoglycoside antibiotics:
Note: a few dog owners report hearing loss in dogs using Oti-pak E (Enrofloxacin + Ketoconazole + Triamcinolone) In this case, the hearing loss may be due to the fact that the wax packing clogs the ears as they are meant to slowly melt over 7 to 10 days. Generally the hear loss goes back to normal within 2 weeks but may take even up to 6 weeks, but there are some dog owners reporting that their dogs never gained their hearing back.
“While all aminoglycoside antibiotics can damage auditory and vestibular receptors, streptomycin and gentomycin have their greatest effects on the vestibular system, whereas, neomycin, kanamycin, tobramycin, and amikacin sulfate produce more damage to the auditory peripheral receptors.” ~ K. G. Braund, Veterinary Neurological Consulting
Addressing the Ototoxic Effects
What should dog owners do if they notice signs of ototoxicity in their dogs after inserting ear drops? A prompt call to the vet is imperative. The ototoxic drug should be stopped, but deafness may be permanent, claims Jared B. Galle, a board-certified veterinarian specializing in neurology. There are chances though that certain supplements may be helpful to reduce the toxic effects, something worthy of discussing with the vet. Generally, if the hearing loss can be reversed, it tends to come back in 1 to 2 weeks, but there have been reports of sometimes taking up to 6 weeks.
“Supplementation of various antioxidants has been demonstrated to attenuate ototoxicity induced by aminoglycosides.” 1
Did you know? Subtle hearing loss in dogs is often not readily recognized by dog owners because dogs are capable of compensating with their other senses.
Some Final Thoughts from Veterinary Practice News, about giving a head’s up to dog owners:
“When dispensing Otomax or a generic equivalent, “Be sure to inform owners of the possible, be it rare, occurrence of deafness associated with this product. It usually is transient, but it can be permanent.”~Dr. Paul Bloom
Disclaimer: this article is not to be used as a substitute for professional veterinary advice. If your dog is showing symptoms after using ear drops, consult with your vet at once.
Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2012 Nov; 42(6): 1259–1271, Published online 2012 Oct 10. doi:
2) Merck Veterinary Manual, Aminoglycosides, retrieved from the web on April 9th, 2016
3) Clinical Neurology in Small Animals – Localization, Diagnosis and Treatment, K.G. Braund (Ed.) Publisher: International Veterinary Information Service (www.ivis.org), Ithaca, New York, USA
Veterinary Practice News, Strategies For Battling Cat & Dog Ear Infections, retrieved from the web on April 9th, 2016
Dogs have surely some fascinating histories behind them, and dog breeds who bear the name of people have quite some intriguing stories to tell us. There are a handful of dog breeds who were named after people and it’s interesting taking a glimpse back into their past to discover how they got their breed names in the first place. How many dog breeds which are named after somebody of relevance can you count? We found several dog breed named after a real person and have compiled a list.
1) The Doberman
Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann of Apolda is credited for creating the Doberman pinscher breed. His project started around 1890 just after the Franco-Prussian war. What inspired him to create this dog breed? The fact that he was a tax collector and also a dog fancier who worked the night shift for the Public Dog Shelter of Apolda, Germany. Because his door-to-door job of collecting taxes in bandit-infested areas was quite risky, he found a need for an elite partner under the form of a canine guardian. His dream started to materialize courtesy of having access to a wide gene pool to experiment with over the years. His goal was to create the perfect dog, a combination of intelligence, strength and loyalty and he got very close to it when he obtained a large version of a terrier.
While Louis Dobermann was very meticulous in his breeding program, selecting only the best specimens, good record keeping was his weakness, leaving us now wondering what breeds were used. After his death in 1894, his legacy was passed on to Otto Goeller, who owned “Von Thurigen Kennels” and who named the breed Doberman pinscher (pinscher is the German word for terrier) in his honor, but half a century later, the word “pinscher was dropped, as no longer deemed appropriate.
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2) Jack Russell/Parson Russell Terrier
Reverend John “Jack’ Russell from Devonshire, England, was an enthusiastic dog breeder and avid fox hunter who is credited for developing the Parson Russell terrier dog breed. His passion for dogs and hunting was inherited from his father who took him along hunting sprees with a pack of hounds ever since he was a child. When he was studying in Oxford, he was impressed by a female terrier owned by a milkman so he persuaded the milkman to sell him the dog. This little white terrier with tan spots over the eyes, ears and tip of the tail, soon she became the foundation stock for the Parson Russell terrier breed. The short and strong legs of Parsons made them perfect for digging and hunting down foxes who had “gone to earth” getting them out of their holes so that the hounds could continue their chase. In 1875, the Fox terrier club was formed and Rev. John Russell was one of the founder members. Unfortunately, after his death, the breed underwent significant changes making it quite unrecognizable when compared to Reverend Russell’s original specimens.
3) The Boykin Spaniel
The history of the Boykin spaniel starts with a delighting encounter taking place in the early 1900s. Banker Alexander L. White was walking home when a stray spaniel started following him. It was love at first sight and the banker decided to bring him home. White called the dog “Dumpy” and after noticing this dog’s strong predisposition for retrieving, he decided to send him off to Lemuel Whitaker Boykin, a friend and hunting partner living in Camden, South Carolina. Boykin transformed this little dog into a superb hunting companion who hunted turkey and waterfowl. Dumpy went from being a stray to being the foundation stock for the Boykin spaniel breed. Since the area around Camden was a resort area, it didn’t take that long for people to fall in love with this breed, so the breed spread quickly across the United States.
4) Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
As the name implies, this breed derives from King Charles II who had developed a deep love for dogs that he inherited from his dad, King Charles I of England. It always seemed like everywhere he went, he always had some spaniels trotting alongside. His love for these dogs was so much that he even mandated a decree that they were to even be allowed in the Houses of Parliament! In particular, the king had a weak spot for a special line of white and chestnut spaniels he once saw at Blenheim Palace, specimens bred by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. After the death of King Charles, the breed’s popularity steadily decreased, and specimens were bred with short-faced dog breeds causing a quite drastic change from the original dogs. Many attempts were made to bring back the original specimens back to life, so much that in 1926, Roswell Eldridge offered a prize for the best specimens and the breed started again closely resembling its original precursors.
5) The Gordon Setter
This Scottish breed gains its name from Alexander, the 4th Duke of Gordon who owned a kennel of setters at the Gordon Castle, near Fochabers in the United Kingdom. These dogs were initially referred to as as “Black and tan setters,” but there is some evidence that back then, the dogs bred by Alexander the 4th Duke of Gordon was mostly tri-coloured with black, white and tan coats, rather than black and tan. However, the duke had a preference for the black and tan specimens and therefore it appears like he selectively bred for this coat color. Still as of today though, occasionally, some specimens show a white patch of hair on their chest area which may be a relic of their earlier ancestors. After a decline following the death of Alexander, the 4th Duke of Gordon and the 5th Duke of Gordon, the breed was then revived by the 6th Duke of Gordon. The breed was given the name “Gordon setter” by the Kennel Club in 1924, in honor of the 4th Duke of Gordon and his dedication.
6) The Plott Hound
This dog breed is named after the Plott family who migrated from Germany to the United State in 1750 and brought along their Hanoverian hounds. The family established in the English colony of North Carolina. The Hanoverian hounds were remarkable dogs with the stamina and gameness needed for boar hunting. However, there were no local boar to hunt in the area the Plott family established, so they decided to convert these dogs for bear hunting.
Soon, voice spread about the remarkable abilities of these dogs. A hunter even traveled from Georgia to check these dogs out for himself and was so impressed that he borrowed a stud dog to breed with his line of “leopard spotted bear dogs.” In 1780, the Plott dogs became property of of Henry Plott.
Did you know? The Dandie Dinmont terrier is named after the character Dandie Dinmont, a jolly farmer in the Novel Guy Mannering novel by Sir Walter Scott
References:
Janice Biniok. “The Doberman Pinscher“. Ed. TFH Publications Inc, 2009. ISBN 9780793842537. P. 7
Retrievers are gun dogs with a history of being selectively bred to retrieve game for their hunters. One of the main qualities retrievers were required to have in order to be effective hunting partners was what is known as a”soft mouth.” Along with a soft mouth, retriever dogs are known for being equipped with a strong predisposition for learning and carrying out a variety of tasks, qualities that make them very adept for disability assistance work. Popular retrieving dog breeds include Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, Chesapeake bay retrievers and the Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers.
Hunter’s Best Friend
As the name implies, retrievers were responsible for retrieving downed birds and returning them to the hunter. This may sound easier said than done.
In order to retrieve, a good retriever must look upwards for incoming birds and memorize exactly where each bird falls once shot. Some very well trained retrievers are even capable of following the direction of the gun barrel so they can gain a better insight of where to expect the birds to fall.
Not always retrievers are capable of seeing where the downed birds fall. In such cases, they are required to perform a “blind retrieve.” This means that in order to find the downed birds, the dogs will have to follow their handler’s directions given through hand, voice or whistle commands with precision from a distance.
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Once the retriever finds the downed bird, he can deliver the bird by dropping it at the hunter’s feet or he may “retrieve to hand” which means he’ll drop the bird directly into the hunter’s hand. Training a retriever to retrieve to hand offers the advantage of minimizing the chances that an injured bird may escape.
Understanding the Soft Mouth
When a dog is carrying a bird, there are high chances that his teeth may ruin the meat. Retrievers are known for having the distinct feature of picking up the bird gently and delivering the bird without damage, something that could only be accomplished by carrying it with a soft mouth, without biting into it.
Dogs who bite into the meat are known for having a “hard mouth.”
A dog who carries the bird with a hard mouth means the meat risks being inedible and not fit for the table. For this reason, having a “hard mouth” is considered a serious fault in a retrieving dog, almost to the extent of a gun dog being fearful of the noises of gun shots. While a hard-mouthed dog can be trained to develop a softer mouth, having a naturally inclined soft-mouthed retriever is certainly a great advantage that hunters eagerly look for in their prospective retrieving dogs.
“A wooden obedience dumbbell will last years when used with a soft-mouthed dog.” ~M. Christine Zink DVM
Nature or Nurture?
There are many claims of goldens and Labs having such a soft mouth that they can carry a raw egg in their mouth, without cracking the shell, but not all retrievers are blessed with such a talent.
So is having a soft mouth something that’s inherited or is it a learned behavior?
As with many other behaviors, there’s likely a learned component at play mixed in with inherited tendencies toward bite inhibition. It’s ultimately a mix of many factors such as the age when the pup leaves the litter, its upbringing and the genes the dogs are born with.
We know that the normal predatory motor pattern sequence in wolves entails orienting, eye stalking, chasing, grab biting, kill biting, dissecting and eating. In our domesticated dogs (who shouldn’t be really compared to wolves), this pattern has substantially changed with some parts being enhanced and others remaining dormant.
A border collie, for instance, eye stalks and the sequences stop short (hopefully!) after chasing as grab biting sheep legs would be a big problem! In retrievers, the pattern as well stops short at grab biting (hopefully!) as consuming the bird would mean big trouble for a prospective retrieving dog!
“On one hand, we have the wolf whose predatory motor patterns have never changed because they need them intact in order to survive. On the other hand we have our domestic dogs of different breeds with dormant or hyperthrophied motor patterns that have been influenced by breeders whether of pet companion dogs or working dogs.”~ Barry Eaton
Fixing a Hard Mouth
Sadly, there are many suggestions to train a soft mouth using aversion-based training methods.
Some of the most horrid and even dangerous entail placing barbed wire or nails into dummies so the dog feels discomfort or pain when he bites hard.
This is meant to teach the dog to think that a dead bird might hurt if they bite down on it, but these methods along with the use of shock collars risk causing dogs to be become reluctant to pick anything with their mouths and their natural mouthing and retrieving instincts may be suppressed due to fear.
Teaching a dog to develop a soft mouth is something that should ideally take place when the dog is a puppy (prior to 5 months old!) by providing feedback when they bite too hard.
Bite inhibition training teaches the puppies to be gentle with human skin, but for a gun dog, it’s also important to learn how to carry things gently, yet firmly in the mouth. There are several ways to train soft mouths using gentle methods as an alternative to forced-fetching.
Force-Free Methods For Softer Mouths
Gun dogs (and really any dog!) should never be punished for picking up items nor should items be pulled out of their mouths. Doing so, will cause a dog to bite harder on the object and want to play “keep away,” or perhaps. the dog may even become possessive or reluctant to pick up anything with the mouth. It’s best to teach how drop and trade instead.
Several trainers of retrievers suggest avoiding squeaky toys as dogs may develop a hard mouth due to the reward of hearing the squeaky sound upon biting hard.
Some trainers also discourage rough tugging games, but some others claim that the dogs can be taught the difference between working on birds and playing with toys.
Some dogs (especially the younger ones) may become hard-mouthed initially when they are mostly excited. Letting these dogs burn off some steam and excitement with some bumper retrieving before being sent to retrieve real birds may help.
Some dogs may become slightly more hard-mouthed when they retrieve too many bigger and tougher birds (eg. ducks) too often, and then after a while, they are sent to retrieve smaller birds (like quails.) It’s a good idea to switch types of birds every now and then.
Practice having your retriever retrieve raw eggs or tomatoes, lavishly praising when delivered with no teeth marks!
Did you know? While many retrievers are no longer being used to retrieve downed birds, a soft mouth tendency comes handy when training service dogs. Just imagine the advantage of a person in a wheel chair dropping a credit card and having the dog retrieve it gently without scratching it or adding any teeth marks!
References:
Peak Performance EBook: Coaching the Canine Athlete, By Canine Sports Productions, First published: Nov 15, 1997
Dominance in Dogs, By Barry Eaton, Dogwise Publishing (January 3, 2011)
The term achondroplasia is used to depict dogs who have bones that do not grow to normal size, causing them to be of a disproportionate short stature leading to what is known as “achondroplastic dwarfism.” Achondroplasia is considered a genetic condition, meaning that it’s passed down from a generation to another. As much as this disorder may appear problematic up to the point of being crippling in severe cases, achondroplasia is actually encouraged in certain breeds of dogs and is even in their breed standard.
A Lesson in Etymology
To better understand anchondroplasia, let’s first start off by taking a look at the history of the word. The “a” in this case is used to mean “not.” The word “chondro“comes from the ancient Greek word, khóndros, which means cartilage, and the word “plasia” which means growth. Put all these words together and you get “a condition where there is no cartilage growth,”or to word it even better, “a condition where there is deficient growth of cartilage.” How does this happen though?
A Glimpse at the Process
When a puppy is developing in the womb, its skeleton is made of a flexible material known as hyaline cartilage. Only later, as the puppy develops, its cartilage will transform into bone, through a process known as ossification. When puppies have a mutation in the gene responsible for converting cartilage to bone, this results in shorter bones, a peculiarity that is readily noticeable soon after birth. In particular, the effect is most noticeable in the bones of the legs which appear shortened. This is why the term micromelic (meaning short limbs) acondroplasia is often used. On top of appearing shortened, the legs may appear deformed with bowed forelimbs.
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Desirable in Certain Breeds…
As mentioned, achondroplasia is acceptable, up to the point of desirable, in certain dogs breeds. In these dog breeds, the achondroplasia isn’t fruit of an accidental breeding, but it’s actually wanted and purposely encouraged. In many dog breeds, it’s even written in the breed standards. What dog breeds are traditionally classified as being “achondroplastic?” Here is a brief list of some common achondroplastic dog breeds:
Basset Hounds
Welsh Corgi
Dachshund
Skye terrier
“Some breeds of dogs have been bred through the selective encouragement of achondroplasia to achieve short limbs, such as the Dachshund, Skye Terrier and Welsh Corgi.” ~Vetary
Achondroplasia in German shepherd
Undesirable in Others.
While achondroplasia is desirable in certain dogs breeds, in some others it’s not in the breed standard and it’s considered a serious genetic fault. In this case though, it would be more correct to say that these dog breeds suffer from “chondrodysplasia.” In this case, if we look at the etymology, we will notice the the word “chondro” again coming from the ancient Greek word, khóndros, which means cartilage, while the word dysplasia comes from the Ancient Greek dys-, meaning “bad” and plasis, meaning “growth.”: Put these words together and you have a bad, or better, “abnormal development of the cartilage.”
In what dog breeds is this highly undesirable? In many, but it’s considered particularly problematic in Alaskan Malamutes, Scottish deer hounds, Karelian Bear Dogs, Norwegian elk hounds, Great Pyrenees, German shepherds. The condition in these dogs may not be readily detectable at birth, but signs may manifest later on when the affected dogs show shortened limbs compared to other dogs of the same breed and age. In severe cases, these alterations may cause a crippling effect, but in less severe cases there may be no associated clinical problems. Fortunately, in the negatively affected breeds, the alterations appear to be due to autosomal recessive inheritance, making them slightly less likely (which is why we don’t see it quite as often); whereas, in the dog breeds where it’s desirable by standard, it’s a matter of dominant inheritance.
“Professor Hannes Lohi’s research group at the University of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center has identified a mutation in ITGA10 gene, causing chondrodysplasia in two dog breeds, the Norwegian Elkhound and the Karelian Bear Dog.” ~Science News
Advantages of Short Legs
Why would certain dog breeds be purposely bred to have short legs? It turns out, short legs may have provided several benefits in a dog’s past as working partners. For instance, in the dachshund, those short legs and long backs allowed these dogs to easily fit in tight spaces so they could effectively flush out burrowing animals. In the basset hound, those short legs helped these dogs follow scent without getting too far as hunters followed on foot. In the corgi, those short legs helped these herding dogs effectively duck from kicking hooves, explains Caroline Coile in an article for Vet Street.
References:
Vet Street, Short on Leg, Long on Love: Learn About The Dwarf Dog Breeds, by Caroline Coile, retrieved from the web on April 6th, 2016.
The University of Sydney, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Disorder Achondroplasia, retrieved from the web on April 6th, 2016.
Canine Inherited Disorders Database, Osteochondrodysplasia – skeletal dwarfism, retrieved from the web on April 6th, 2016.
Helsingin yliopisto (University of Helsinki). “New dwarfism mutation identified in dogs.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2013
Among the many skin problems dogs may develop in their lifetime, some may be quite peculiar and the sensation of feeling bubbles under a dog’s skin must be certainly one of them. Dog owners report that when they press on their dog’s skin if feels as if they were touching air bubbles causing crackling, popping noises. Some compare the noise upon touching their dog’s skin to the noise produced by bubble wrap, Rice Krispies or a piece of crinkly tissue paper. What is going on with the skin of these dogs? Surprisingly, these symptoms are tell-tale signs of a specific condition in dogs. Can you guess what’s the name of this peculiar disorder?
A Bubbling dermatitis
B Crinkled skin disorder
C Subcutaneous emphysema
D Canine cracking disease
The correct answer is:
The correct answer is C, Subcutaneous Emphysema
A Lesson in Etymology
What exactly is subcutaneous emphysema in dogs? We can get a clue from taking a lesson in etymology. If we take a look at the name of this condition, we will notice that subcutaneous means “beneath the surface layer of the skin” while emphysema means “a condition where air is abnormally present within the body tissues.” Dogs owners who report feeling bubbles under their dog’s skin are therefore correct in their descriptions, there is indeed air trapped between the layers of the dog’s skin. So this brings us to the next question: how does the air get trapped under the skin in the first place? There are three ways this can happen.
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“When you press on the skin you can hear and feel a layer of popping crunching tissue just beneath the skin.” ~Dr. Krista Magnifico
1) From Outside the Body
Generally, in this case, the air gains access under the layers of a dog’s skin through a traumatic opening in the skin deriving from a cut, puncture wound or bite. What happens is that the skin is pulled away from its subcutaneous tissue, and if there is a hole somewhere, air gets trapped between those skin layers, explains Dr, Magnifico. Generally, if there is not infection present and the wound appears to be healing well, the air is absorbed naturally after a few days.
2) From Inside the Body
There are instances where the air gathers under the skin from underlying trauma to the dog’s trachea, chest, bronchi or lung. A penetrating trauma to the dog’s chest for example may cause air to escape the lungs and reach the subcutaneous tissue of the chest wall. Air escaping the body in this way can be due to being hit by a car or sustaining injuries from a bad fall where a broken rib penetrates the lung.
In some cases, air may escape and cause subcutaneous emphysema following a surgical procedure. In this case, trauma to the dog’s trachea from an endotracheal tube (eg. overblown cuff, sharp edge of tube) may be a culprit. In this case, the swelling of the skin occurs by the neck region and may extend to the trunk of the body and may be seen as early as a couple of days following intubation, according to Blue Pearl Vet. When air is leaking from inside the body, an x-ray can help determine the source of the problem.
3) From Bacteria
At times, the bubbles aren’t actually caused by the presence of air, but from the presence of gas. This is something though that happens quite rarely when there is a gas producing bacterial infection, explains veterinarian Dr. Dan. Basically what is happening is that a serious bacterial infection is causing gas to accumulate under the skin, causing the crackling noises. Affected dogs require strong antibiotics to combat the infection.
Signs of Problems
Generally, the first signs of problems tend to appear three to seven days after the dog sustains some type of puncture wound or injury. Affected dogs may develop swelling in the affected area and some dogs may feel pain when they move. As mentioned, dog owners report feeling a characteristic crackling, tissue paper or Rice Krispies type feel when they touch their dog’s skin, a phenomenon known medically as “subcutaneous crepitation.” When there is a lot of air leaking into the skin, affected dogs may develop considerable facial swelling. When the swelling affects the neck, the dog may develop voice changes and he may have trouble breathing. These dogs require immediate veterinary attention.
Removing the Bubbles
Generally, subcutaneous emphysema is not typically dangerous in and of itself, but its symptoms may be associated with serious conditions such as lung problems as explained above. Seeing the vet is important so to rule out these conditions. If a dog appears to have trouble breathing and wheezing, he should be seeing the emergency vet at once. Treatment for subcutaneous emphysema varies based on severity. In mild cases, nothing may be done considering that small amounts of air are usually reabsorbed by the body.
If the dog is painful, treatment consists of removing the air from under the skin when it’s painful. This can be accomplished through the use of needles that aspirate the air or skin incisions. It’s sort of “deflating a dog” almost as one would do with an air mattress, remarks veterinary blogger TJ. When there is a bacterial infection, strong antibiotics are needed; whereas, in the case of trauma to the chest, trachea, bronchi or lungs treatments varies based on the cause.
“The crackling could just be air trapped under the skin from a puncture wound but we also have to worry about some type of damage to the lungs which could be life threatening.” Dr. Jen
Disclaimer: this article is not meant to be used as a substitute for professional veterinary advice. If your dog has developed a crackling noise under the skin, see your vet promptly for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
References:
Vet Info: Subcutaneous Emphysema in Dogs, retrieved from the web on April 5th, 2016
Blue Pearl Vet, The Air is where? Subcutaneous Emphysema, retrieved from the web on April 5th, 2016
Diary of a Real Life Veterinarian, The tissue paper that hides under your skin. Subcutaneous Emphysema. by Dr. Magnifico, retrieved from the web on April 5th, 2016
A Look Back
The Terriers Today
Did you know? Because prompting is so helpful in helping a dog or a child succeed, it’s often referred to as “error-less learning.”
