Mast Cell Tumors in Dogs

Quick Facts at a Glance

20-25% of all skin/subcutaneous tumors in dogs are mast cell tumors (MCT)
10-15% of canine MCT are clinically indistinguishable from subcutaneous lipomas (fatty tumors)
Definitive diagnosis of MCT cannot be made without cytologic (aspirate) or histologic (biopsy) evaluation of the lesion
Behavior of individual MCTs is difficult to predict but should always be considered aggressive until proven otherwise
MCT of the perineal and inguinal regions tend to behave more aggressively than their tumor grade would predict
Most dogs with MCT have a normal CBC(complete blood count)
20% of dogs with MCT will have multiple primary tumors in their lifetime
Aggressive surgical resection remains the cornerstone of treatment

What are the clinical features?

Mast cell tumors in dogs occur primarily as either a skin or subcutaneous mass. It is important to remember that mast cell tumors are extremely variable in their clinical presentation. They can resemble any other type of skin or subcutaneous tumor, both benign (i.e. lipoma) and malignant. Most canine MCT are solitary although multiple primary tumors develop in 20% of patients. Approximately 50% of canine MCT are located on the trunk and perineum, 40% on the extremities and 10% on the head and neck.

Regional lymphadenopathy (lymph node enlargement) may occur when high-grade mast cell tumors metastasize (spread) to draining lymph nodes. Hepatomegaly (liver enlargement) and splenomegaly (spleen enlargement) are features of advanced stage, metastatic MCT. Malignant mast cells may be detected in the blood and bone marrow of dogs with advanced stage disease.

Cytology vs. histopathology?
The diagnosis of MCT is often made simply with cytologic evaluation of a fine needle aspirate of the mass. Although cytology may allow us to confirm the diagnosis, it provides little prognostic information. Histopathology (biopsy) allows us to grade the tumor so we can predict biologic behavior and make appropriate treatment recommendations.

• 
  Survival Times of Dogs After Surgery Based on Histologic Grade
  Grade                                    #of Dogs                        Alive 6 Months Post-Surgery  
  I                                               39                                           77% 
  II                                              30                                           45% 
  III                                             45                                           13%
  
  
  Surgery: 3cm margins!!!
  
  The most frustrating feature of MCT is how aggressively they can behave, regardless of their gross appearance and histologic grade. MCT are notorious for their invasive nature and tendency to extend far beyond visible margins. If 2-3 cm surgical margins, both lateral and deep, are not obtained then chances are good that the tumor will not be adequately excised. While it may be difficult to remove 2-3 cm deep margins in a patient without much body fat, removing a layer of muscle below the tumor is advised. A surgical margin of a couple of millimeters is not adequate. When surgical margins are very close, a second surgery should be recommended as soon as possible. It is impossible to comment on completeness of surgical excision and predict biologic behavior of mast cell tumors without histopathologic evaluation of the entire tumor.
  
  Depending on where the tumor is located, it may not be possible to obtain 3 cm surgical margins (i.e. leg). In those cases, it is appropriate to perform a “debulking” surgery followed immediately by radiation therapy. Radiation therapy in this setting can be highly effective at achieving long-term local control. Depending on the situation, chemotherapy may be recommended in conjunction with or in lieu of radiation therapy. Administration of prednisone alone (1mg/kg every 24 hours) for 5-7 days prior to surgery may result in sufficient reduction of the tumor mass and associated inflammation thereby increasing success of surgery.
  
  What about lymph nodes?
  Whenever possible, the draining lymph nodes (lymph nodes in close proximity) should be biopsied or excised for histopathologic analysis, regardless of gross appearance and tumor grade. The presence of lymph node metastasis worsens the prognosis and necessitates treatment with chemotherapy.
  
  When is it essential to stage the patient with mast cell tumor?
  Diagnostic tests performed in the staging of MCTs include cytology or biopsy of the draining lymph node, abdominal ultrasound with ultrasound guided aspirate and cytology of the spleen and liver, bone marrow aspirate and cytology, complete blood count (CBC) and chest radiographs. Although the staging process can provide us with essential information, we are very limited by the low sensitivity of these diagnostic tests. In the case of a grade I or low grade II MCT that has been completely excised with wide surgical margins, it is unlikely that metastasis has occurred. Early metastasis would not likely be detected during the staging process.
  
  Staging is essential prior to undergoing an extensive or expensive treatment procedure (i.e. amputation or radiation therapy). Staging is also recommended for any grade III or high-grade II MCT, even if completely excised with wide margins. Histologic evaluation of draining lymph nodes is preferred over cytology in this situation.
  
  Radiation therapy
  Mast cell tumors are generally very sensitive to radiation. Radiation is most effective at achieving long-term (greater than 5 years) tumor control when it is delivered to microscopic disease, grade 2 intermediate or lower and in a well-defined radiation field. Radiation therapy can be used to control local disease after incomplete resection of high-grade 2 or grade 3 MCT. The size of the tumor prior to surgical resection has great impact on the effectiveness of radiation.
  
  Chemotherapy: When to treat?
  As with any cancer, chemotherapy for the treatment of MCT is most effective when combined with other treatment modalities or used early in the course of the disease. Chemotherapy will not be helpful in the treatment of a large mast cell tumor that cannot be excised and has become resistant to prednisone therapy. Chemotherapy is appropriate when tumor cells extend to surgical margins and a second surgery and radiation therapy are not feasible treatment options. Chemotherapy is recommended in all cases with lymph node involvement. Chemotherapy is recommended for all patients with high-grade II or grade III MCT, even when the tumor is excised with wide margins.
  
  Prednisone, vinblastine and lomustine are used in combination to obtain the best results with minimal side effects. Adjuvant chemotherapy results in survival times of greater than 2 years in patients with high-grade II MCT with metastasis to regional lymph nodes, that have been treated with aggressive surgical resection resulting in complete resection and are negative for visceral (organ, i.e. spleen) metastasis. Chemotherapy is not of much benefit when staging confirms systemic metastasis.

Determine a Dog's Age in Human Years

OverviewDogs age more rapidly than humans, with an average lifespan of about 14 years, depending on the dog's size, health and lifestyle. While many people calculate a dog's age in human years by multiplying their actual age in years by seven, this isn't correct because a dog ages more rapidly in his early years than his later ones. Most breeds age at the same pace for the first five years of life, but smaller ones age more slowly than larger ones after this age and can live almost twice as long in some cases.

Step 1Estimate your dog's age if you don't know exactly when your dog was born. A dog's age usually can be determined by the state of his teeth. A puppy gets all of his baby teeth by 8 weeks of age and permanent ones by 7 months, according to WebMD. A dog 1 to 2 years old has little tartar buildup, and a dog up to 5 years old has some wear and yellowing of the teeth. Dogs over 5 years old may have serious tartar buildup and dental disease. Senior dogs, over 10, may also show signs of graying fur, cataracts and joint disease.

Step 2Determine if your dog's size is considered small, medium or large. Small dogs weigh less than 20 pounds, medium dogs range between 21 and 50 pounds and large dogs are over 50 pounds in size. While most dogs age at the same rate until they reach 5 years old, after this age, larger breeds age more rapidly than smaller ones, affecting the calculation of the dog's age in human years.

Step 3Calculate the approximate human age of your puppy by multiplying the age in months by 2 for puppies up to 5 months old. Puppies age very rapidly during their first year of life, especially during these first 5 months, a rate of growth which decreases as the dog approaches his first year of life.

Multiply the age in months by 1.5 for puppies from 6 months old to 8 months old to account for the decreased rate of aging.

Multiply the age in months by 1.25 for puppies from 9 months old to 1 year old. A 1-year-old dog's age in human years is approximately 15 years old, and the dog ages 3/4 of a human year for each month after that until the dog reaches 2 years old, or approximately 24 years old in human years. This figure is the same for all sizes and breeds.

Step 4Subtract 2 from the dog's age in years and multiply the remainder by 4 for dogs over 2 years old and under 5 years old. Add 24 to this number to determine the age in human years. This figure is the same for all sizes and breeds up to 5 years old.

For example, to determine the human age of a 4-year-old dog, you would subtract 2 from 4, which would leave you with 2 as the remainder. Multiply this number by 4, which would give you 8. Add 24 to 8 to get 32, which is a 4-year-old dog's age in human years.

Step 5Subtract 5 from the dog's age in years for dogs over 5 years old. For small breeds of dogs, multiply the remainder by 4 and add it to 36. For medium-sized breeds, multiply the remainder by 5 and add it to 36.

For large breeds, multiply the remainder by 6 and add it to 36. Note that large breeds of dogs over 15 years old age about 27 human years between 15 and 16 years old in dog years due to their larger bone structure, which can lead to joint and other health issues.

Keeping Your Dog Healthy

The dog health guide offers simple and practical advice for many common canine symptoms and illnesses. It is written by dog lovers, researchers and vets who understand that while there is no substitute for a Veterinarian, there are often simple things that can be done at home to help.

We believe that every dog owner needs to be an advocate for their dog's health. This means knowing the facts so that when faced with any kind of canine disease, you can have a productive conversation with your Veterinarian.

Our thinking on different illnesses is based on the common sense advice of dog owners and information from leading Veterinary authorities. Check back often since every week we will be updating and adding information on another canine disease.

Here's some quick links to the most common dog health conditions according to dog health insurance companies:

• Dog Skin Allergies
• Dog Ear Infections
• Dog Stomach Upsets
• Dog Bladder Infections
• Canine Benign Tumors
• Canine Arthritis
• Dog Leg Sprains
• Dog Eye Infections
• Dog Diarrhea (canine enteritis)
• Canine Hypothyroidism

Always be aware of any changes in your dog's behavior or habits as these can be early warning signs of dog disease. In particular, if you spot any of the following canine health problems, be sure to call your veterinarian:

• Persistent Dog Diarrhea or Vomiting
• Problems breathing
• Lameness, limping or softness that persists
• Dog cough that does not go away
• Any type of bleeding or discharge
• Low energy levels or lethargy
• Dog skin conditions that do not heal, or show pus and blood, or skin welling and lumps
• Poor appetite, avoidance of food
• Weight loss
• Collapse

We try and provide home remedies wherever possible, and never intend for the advice to be a substitute for a medical professional that knows your dog's breed and health. Whether discussing rice for diarrhea or treating arthritis in dogs, you'll hopefully find our approach helpful. The Dog Health Guide also tries to focus on specific dog symptoms such as canine cough and then helps you determine if the cough is due to canine kennel cough, coccidiosis dogs, or canine parasites such as heartworm or roundworm. We also suggest sites that can help to educate our readers such as this resource on dog grooming.

Please write to us with your suggestions and ideas or if you didn't find the information you were looking for.

All suggestions will be reviewed by our editors and posted for the benefit of our readers. Also, please send pictures of your dog. We'd love to meet him or her.

The information in Dog-Health-Guide.org is not intended to replace the advice of a Veterinarian or other Pet Health Professional.

Care For a Dog's Dry Skin

If your dog is itchy and has dry, flaky skin accompanied by bumps, scabs, pimples and patches of thinning hair, he might have seborrhea (dandruff). Bathing him every other day with warm water and a medicated shampoo containing sulfur or salicylic acid may help. You can also use an after-bath rinse or moisturizing spray containing colloidal oatmeal, glycerin, fatty acids or urea

Your dog's condition might be caused by poor nutrition. Many commercial dog foods lack essential fatty acids and vitamins such as A, E and B-3 (niacin) . Try a higher-quality dog food or talk to a veterinarian about supplements specifically for healthy skin and coat.

Frequent bathing can cause dry skin. Bathe your dog as little as possible, using a moisturizing shampoo made especially for dogs. Human shampoo is too harsh for dogs because our skin has a different pH [source:  Brushing your dog regularly will help him stay clean and stimulate his skin to produce moisturizing oils

You can also try the following home remedies to relieve your dog's dry skin problem:
Add olive oil to his food two or three times a week.
Bathe your dog in a warm water and oatmeal solution.
Apply teat tree oil, fish oil, calendula extract or vitamin E (all available in health food stores) to his skin.
Make sure your dog is well hydrated by providing him with more water, fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, or by adding water to his dry dog food

If nothing helps, or if your dog's skin condition worsens, see a veterinarian to rule out other causes for his dry skin, like mange, infection or ringworm. It may be necessary to treat your dog with prescription medication

Top ten Smartest Dog Breeds In The World

What are the smartest dog breeds in the world? We all love our dogs, and most of us believe our own dog must be the smartest ever. But is your dog's breed known as one of the smartest? We've compiled a list of the top 10 most intelligent dogs ever. If your dog isn't on this list, don't despair. Because sometimes, having a dog with very high intelligence can have its drawbacks. For example, if a highly intelligent dog is left at home alone all day, they can get bored and become destructive and/or neurotic. On the other hand, a dog with limited intelligence can be left at home all day, and not even realize you’re gone until a few minutes before you arrive home! Note: This list should not be confused with the top 10 easiest to train dog breeds.

#10 Australian Cattle Dog

The Australian Cattle Dog is a very active breed. They need to be exercised on a regular basis, both mentally and physically. As they were originally bred to herd in cattle in Australia (hence the name), they are freethinking, resourceful, and very protective of their property, including people!

Australian Cattle Dog:

When Australian ranchers required a herding dog to help control the half-wild cattle and sheep, they set out to breed one. The process began in the 1830's when a stockman named Timmins crossed a Smithfield (a tough but noisy working breed) with a Dingo. Further crosses with Collies and Dalmations produced the Australian Cattle Dog, a breed posessing stamina, reliability, and uncanny intelligence (The are one of the easiest to train and top 10 most intelligent dogs). The Australian Cattle Dog was also developed to be a strong biting dog, one able to drive wild cattle over long distances. Its speckled coat camouflages it when nipping at the bovine's legs. Protecting its master's family and home is a responsibility the Australian Cattle Dog takes as seriously as squiring cattle.

Average Lifespan Of The Australian Cattle Dog: 12-15 years.
Average Weight: 33-51 lbs. Inherited Health Disorders:

Eyes:

PPM (Persistant Pupillary Membrane).
Retinal Dysplasia (Detachment): A type of retinal deformation.
Malformed Eye Tunic (Scleral Ectasia): A thinning of the sclera or cornea, usually seen in Collies and related breeds. The condition on its own is not serious, but it is usually associated with more serious eye diseases

Do We Love Our Dogs More than People

Americans have fallen in love with their dogs. We have dog walkers, dog groomers, dog parks and dog-friendly hotels. We buy organic dog food, put our pets on puppy Prozac and dress them up in costumes for Halloween. In the last 15 years, the amount of money spent on pets in the U.S. jumped from $17 billion to $43 billion. The role of dogs has changed, and journalist Michael Schaffer decided to find out why. Schaffer talks to TIME about his new book, One Nation Under Dog, and what he has discovered about our sudden need to treat our pets like children. (See pictures of a real-life hotel for dogs.)
How did you get interested in the topic?
Well, I got a dog. When my wife and I adopted him we vowed never to dress him in outfits or treat him like our child. But our dog turned out to have separation anxiety. He had come from a shelter and was very nervous and when we left the house. He'd bark all the time and our neighbors hated it. So we went to the vet and he said, "Oh yeah, he has separation anxiety. There's a pill for that." My family thought this was the most incredible thing. Some of them have dogs and they looked at us as if we were these ridiculous, overindulgent spendthrifts. To me this said something. Sometime between when they had pets and now the definition of "normal" had changed pretty rapidly. When normal changes that fast it means something interesting is going on.
What do you think that our attachments to our pets say about our society?I was continually amazed by how you can find so many controversies, obsessions and trends of our society that played out in the world of pets. For example, pet food has changed in a lot of the same ways that human food has changed — towards healthy, organic stuff — and pet-training has become as common as sending your kid to driver's ed. There are these huge philosophical battles over whether dog-training should be done in an authoritarian way or a soft rewarding-good-behavior sort of way that mirrors the culture wars in politics. (See pictures of Presidential First Dogs.)
You write in your book that a larger number of single people and childless couples have pets than ever before. Why is that?
In the last 30 to 40 years, two-career couples have become the norm. People are marrying later and divorcing more frequently. They work longer hours than they ever had before and they have longer commutes. The number of pets started to boom right around the same time that these trends began to take off. This suggests that people are leaning on pets to fill the gap in social support mechanisms that earlier might have come from their families or tight-knit neighborhoods. This is why single people or childless couples might want to get a pet. There's just a lot more of those folks right now and they have the wherewithal financially to do so. In turn they've sort of spurred a whole industry of dog walkers and pet sitters because if you don't have a homemaker who is home with the dog all day, you need help caring for your dog. (See more at PeoplePets.com.)
Have our lifestyles changed our dogs' lifestyles?The fact that our time away from home over the last generation has increased so much definitely changes things. There has been this incredible creativity in designing chew toys for dogs. They have these elaborate toys with hidden treats inside of them, and the dog has to figure out how to reach them. It's like a Baby Einstein toy but for a dog. The goal is not just to get the dog to chew on something, but to occupy its physical and mental energy during your very long absence.
What was the most surprising aspect of the pet industry that you discovered? I went to a pet-loss bereavement group. It was conducted by a full-time employed veterinary social worker who worked in a veterinary hospital. First of all, I was amazed that profession even existed, and then I found out that she went to a conference with fellow veterinary social workers, so there must be a lot of them out there. I sat in on a meeting and I have to admit that I had my moments of thinking, "Oh boy, these people really need to get a life." But for the most part, the meetings were very moving. These people were devastated. As a magazine and newspaper reporter I covered wars and murders, and yet still I was pretty affected by the grief that the people in that room felt, the attachments they had to their animals and the sense of loss that they endured.
You talked a bit about commercial dog-breeding and puppy mills. If you walk into a pet store, what is the chance that you're going to encounter dogs from a puppy mill?
Very high. Reputable breeders wont sell to pet stores. The thing to remember is that puppy mills aren't illegal. The term refers to mass breeding facilities and that is perfectly legal. Mass breeders typically sell to pet stores.
Have people stopped pampering their pets now that we're in a recession?There are two things going on right now. First, when it comes to decisions about money and pets, the number of people who don't have a choice increases. People's houses get foreclosed and they have to rent somewhere and the landlord doesn't take pets — well, they don't have a choice anymore. Similarly, at vet hospitals when the vet says, "Listen we can do this procedure that might save your animal but it will cost $8,000." More people are saying, "Well I don't have $8,000." But for people who do still have a choice, you're seeing a willingness to scrimp and save for themselves before they demote their animals. Over the last generation a lot of people have promoted their pets to the status of honorary child —they call them "Fur babies."
Is it just me or is everyone giving their dog a human name?There's a list of the most common names among policy-holders for pet insurance and the most popular dog names are Jake and Chloe and Bella — they're very similar to the names in my daughter's preschool. They're not the kind of names you'd find in dog cartoons. There are no Spots or Fidos. I think that speaks to what's going on and how we view pets as a part of the family. If you look at older descriptions of dogs on headstones at pet cemeteries, they say things like, "Here lies Fido, a loyal servant." By the mid-20th century it's, "Here lies Fido, my best friend." And nowadays you can go to online tributes to deceased pets and people write things like "Here is Jake, my baby."
Does this over-pampering apply to other pets as well?Most of the creativity has mostly been towards dogs because they have more variables. Going out in public is a big thing; people with cats don't really do that. So that's why there is a lot more action in the dog-accessories market, but I think it applies across the spectrum. I don't know that any of this speaks badly of us. What we now consider normal — all-natural pet food, expensive veterinary procedures — was just a little while ago considered as excessive and silly as dressing your dog up in a little tuxedo. The first professional journal for feline medicine was only established in the late 1960s. Before that if you went to vet school they didn't teach you about cats, really. Now 40 years later we're doing feline kidney transplants. So the measure of what is ridiculous is a very moving target. And it tends to be moving in one direction, which is up.

Can Dogs Love

IF YOU WANT TO CAUSE A COMMOTION IN ANY PSYCHOLOGY department or any other place where animal and human behaviour is studied, all that you have to do is to claim that your dog loves you. Skeptics, critics, and even some ardent supporters will pour out into the halls to argue the pros and cons of that statement.
Among the skeptics you will find the veterinarian Fred Metzger, of Pennsylvania State University, who claims that dogs probably don't feel love in the typical way humans do. Dogs make investments in human beings because it works for them. They have something to gain from putting so-called emotions out there. Metzger believes that dogs "love" us only as long as we continue to reward their behaviours with treats and attention.
For most dog owners, however, there is little doubt that dogs can truly love people. Take the story of Rocky and Rita from the Finger Lakes region of New York State, near Rochester.

Rocky was a solid 65-pound Boxer, classically colored with a chestnut brown coat and a white blaze on his chest. At the time of this story, Rocky was three years old and Rita was his eleven-year-old companion. Rocky had been given to Rita when he was ten weeks old, and she immediately bonded with him, petting him, handfeeding him, teaching him basic commands, and letting him sleep on her bed. Whenever she was not in school, the two were always together and within touching distance. The family would often fondly refer to the pair as "R and R."
Rita was a relatively timid and shy girl, and as the dog grew in stature he brought her a sense of security. When Rocky was next to her she felt confident enough to meet new people and to go to unfamiliar places. Rocky took on the roles, not only of friend and confidant, but also of defender.
When encountering strangers, he would often deliberately stand in front of Rita, as a sort of protective barrier. He seemed to be without fear, such as once when Rita was about to enter a store and two large men dressed in biker outfits burst out of the door, yelling at the shopkeeper and nearly knocking Rita over. Rocky rushed forward, putting himself between the frightened girl and the two threatening men. He braced himself and gave a low rumbling growl that carried such menace that the men backed off and gave the child and her guardian a wide berth.
There was, however, one flaw in Rocky's armour. It was a fear of water that was so extreme that it was almost pathological. Boxers are not strong swimmers in any event, and are often shy of the water. However, Rocky's fears stemmed from his puppyhood, when, at the age of seven weeks, he was sold to a family with an adolescent child. The boy had emotional problems and acted as if the attention bestowed on the new puppy somehow meant that he was less important. In a jealous rage, he put the puppy in a pillow case, knotted the top and threw it into a lake. Fortunately, the boy's father saw the incident and managed to retrieve the terrified puppy before it drowned. He scolded the boy and returned to the house. The next day the horrified parent saw his son standing waist-deep in the lake trying to drown the struggling puppy by holding him under water. This time Rocky was rescued and returned to the breeder for his own safety.
These early traumas made water the only thing that Rocky truly feared. When he came close to a body of water, he would try to pull back and seemed emotionally distressed. When Rita would go swimming in the lake, he would pace along the shore trembling and whimpering. He would watch her intently and would not relax until she returned to dry land.
One late afternoon, Rita's mother took R and R to an upscale shopping area. It was located along the edge of a lake and featured a short wooden boardwalk which was built along the shore over a sharp embankment that was 20 or 30 feet above the surface of the water. Rita was clomping along the boardwalk, enjoying the way the sounds of her footsteps were amplified by the wooden structure. It was then that a boy on a bicycle skidded on the damp wooden surface, hitting Rita at an angle which propelled her through an open section of the guard rail. She let out a shriek of pain and fear as she hurled outward and down, hitting the water face down, and then floating there unmoving.
Rita's mother was at the entrance of a store a hundred feet or so away. She rushed to the railing shouting for help. Rocky was already there, looking at the water, trembling in fear, and making sounds that seemed to be a combination of barks,whimpers, and yelps all rolled into one.
We can never know what went through that dog's mind as he stood looking at the water-the one thing that truly terrified him and that had nearly taken his life twice. Now here was a frightening body of water that seemed about to harm his little mistress. Whatever he was thinking, his love for Rita seemed to overpower his fear and he leapt out through the same open space in the rail and plunged into the water.
One can thank the genetic programming that allowed the dog to swim without any prior practice, and he immediately went to Rita and grabbed her by a shoulder strap on her dress. This caused her to roll over so that her face was out of the water and she gagged and coughed. Despite her dazed state she reached out and managed to cinch her hand in Rocky's collar, while the dog struggled to swim toward the shore. Fortunately the water was calm, they were not far from shore, and Rocky quickly reached a depth where his feet were on solid ground. He dragged Rita until her head was completely out of the water, and then stood beside her, licking her face, while he continued to tremble and whine. It would be several minutes before human rescuers would make it down the steep rocky embankment, and had it not been for Rocky, they surely would have arrived too late.
Rita and her family believe that it was only the big dog's love of the little girl that caused him to take what he must have considered a life-threatening action. This certainly casts doubt on Dr. Metzger's theory that dogs don't love us but act only out of self-interest. Why should Rocky behave in a way that he certainly felt would risk his life? Surely, if he was evaluating the costs and benefits of his actions then he would have known that, even in Rita's absence, the rest of the family would be around to feed him and take care of needs.
Marc Bekoff, a behavioural biologist at the University of Colorado, has a different interpretation. He notes that dogs are social animals. All social animals need emotions, in part as a means of communication-for instance you need to know to back off if another animal is growling. More importantly, however, emotions keep the social group together and motivate individuals to protect and support each other. Bekoff concludes that strong emotion is one of the foundations of social behaviour and is the basis of the connection between individuals in any social group, whether it is a pack, a family or just a couple in love.
Recent research has even identified some of the chemicals associated with feelings of love in humans. These include hormones such as oxytocin, which seems to help people form emotional bonds with each other. One of the triggers that causes oxytocin to be released is gentle physical touching, such as stroking. Dogs also produce oxytocin, and one of our common ways of interacting with dogs is to gently pet them, an action that probably releases this hormone associated with bonding. If dogs as social animals have an evolutionary need for close emotional ties, and they have the chemical mechanisms associated with loving, it makes sense to assume that they are capable of love, as we are.
Rocky's fear of the water was absolute, and never did abate. He continued to avoid it for the rest of his life and no one ever saw him so much as place a foot in the lake again. No one, at least not Rita or her family, ever doubted his love for her. He lived long enough to see an event occur which would not have happened had he not cared for her as much as he did. When Rita graduated from high school, she posed for a photo in her cap and gown. Beside her sat a now much older Boxer. The smiling girl had an arm around the dog, and her hand was cinched in his collar, as it was the day that Rocky unambiguously showed her just how much he loved her. ■

Do Dogs Love People More Than They Love Other Dogs?

Our domestic dogs are not wolves, and some interesting evidence about the difference between dogs and wolves comes from the way that they form attachments with other living beings. It may well be the case that we have selectively bred dogs to love humans more than they love animals of their own species. I use the word "love" even though psychologists and behavioral biologists tend to shy away from the word, and prefer terms like "attachment" or "bonding". Many scientists have the feeling that the word "love" is reserved for poets and songwriters, rather than hard-nosed researchers. Furthermore, a number of researchers who accept love as a valid feeling to reference to humans, still have doubts as to whether dogs can actually experience that same emotion.

As is often the case, we are often led to wrong conclusions about the nature of dog behavior based upon observations of captive wolves. Over the past half century it has become common place to assume that since dogs were likely domesticated from wolves that we get a clearer and undistorted look at the natural behavioral predispositions of dogs by looking at what wolves do. Thus it is well known that wolves that are isolated from other members of their pack become anxious. If they are in unfamiliar settings they seem to draw comfort from having members of their pack around them. Furthermore, wolves seldom form close attachments to their human captors. From this people have assumed that dogs naturally bond with other canines, and their attachment to people is secondary.

I recently rediscovered a research report that had been published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology by a research team headed by Michael Hennessey of Wright State University, along with some scientists from Ohio State University (David Tuber, Suzanne Sanders and Julia Miller). This study shows just how domesticated our pet dogs have become and how their orientation seems to have shifted more towards humans than to other dogs.

The animals involved in this research were eight mixed breed dogs who were 7 to 9 years of age. They had been living as littermate pairs in kennels since they were eight weeks old. All these dogs had been fully socialized when they were young and were quite comfortable around people. They were being looked after by one caretaker who, at least as far as the dogs were concerned, was their owner. The important factor for us is that when the experiment began these kennel mates had not been separated from each other (even for a few minutes) over the previous two years, and had seldom been apart during their entire lifetimes.

To test their attachment to each other, one member of each pair was removed from the kennel for four hours and the remaining animal was observed. If you take a puppy away from its litter mates it will usually whimper and act distressed until it is reunited with its litter mates, however these adult dogs, when left alone in their kennel, did not show any evidence of anxiety. They rarely barked or paced, and the level of thestress hormone, cortisol, in their blood didn't change as a result of their separation from their kennel mate. This was true as long as the remaining dog was left in its familiar pen.

The situation was quite different when the dogs were placed alone in an unfamiliar kennel. Now they clearly showed signs of unease and apprehension. They became agitated and their stress hormone level went up by more than 50 percent. The most important finding is that this increase in anxiety happened whether the dog was alone or if it had been moved to the unfamiliar place in the company of its kennel mate. In this unfamiliar place the dogs did not interact very much, and did not seem to draw comfort from the presence of their usual partner as shown by the level of stress hormone in their blood.

The situation was quite different, however, when their human caretaker sat quietly with each dog in this new and strange situation. Under these circumstances the dog would stay close to the human and would try to get him to interact and make contact. In response to this comfort-seeking behavior, the caretaker would briefly stroke the dog. This interaction with a human seemed to be enough to reduce the dogs level of anxiety almost completely. This was verified by the fact that the stress hormone level remained very close to normal in the presence of the person.

The conclusion that one can draw from this is that these dogs were behaving as if they had a stronger bond with their human caretaker then with their brother or sister, despite the fact that they been in the company of that dog for all of their lives. This was true even though these dogs have not led the same kind of living experience as a pet dog has, and therefore have not had continued intimate contact that pet dogs have with their human owners.

If we are to draw any comparison between dogs and wolves based on this research, it would be to note that dogs, like wolves, do have territories, at least in the sense that they feel most comfortable when they are in familiar places. We know that in the wild, wolves can move to new places without any rise in their stress levels, as long as they are in the company of members of their pack. The same is true of dogs, however it appears that the most significant pack member is likely to be a human (usually the dog's owner) and not another individual of its own species. For most dogs their owner has been a constant feature in their lives since they were puppies. It appears that we not only bred dogs to accept dogs and humans as relevant social partners, but to view humans as being more significant socially than other canines.

This has important implications for when dogs are being re-homed. Shelters often feel that dogs who have lived together in pairs must only be adopted out to a new home which is willing to take both dogs. If we extrapolate from the present research this seems like an unnecessary practice, as long as the home to which each dog is going has an individual human that the dog can bond with. Fortunately research has shown that dogs can quickly bond with a new human being based upon only a few minutes of friendly attention over a couple of days.

Dogs are not wolves. We now have data that suggests that we have selectively bred the domestic dog so that it is strongly biased to love humans (or at least one human) more strongly than it loves other dogs.

Tips for a Female Dog in Heat

 Personality-wise there is really nothing different from a female dog and a male dog. You've got your dominant and aggressive female dogs just like you do males, and vice versa you've got your submissive and calm female dogs just like males. So when deciding if you want a male or female dog, your main concerns in terms of differences will typically be the dog's size, as females are generally smaller than males (not always but generally), and whether or not you want to get the female spayed.

Although, I personally think that unless you have the intent of breeding, you should get your dog spayed or neutered because it is overall healthier for the dog and you prevent unwanted pregnancies, but it is always up to you, the pet owner, as to what you want to do.

If you have decided upon a female dog, you'll probably want to brush up on some information about dogs coming into heat and what all a spay involves.

 

Commonly Asked Questions About a Female Dog's Heat Cycle

• When will my female dog have her first heat cycle?Generally, a female dog will come into her first heat sometime between the age of 6 months and 24 months.A lot of the time when your female dog comes into her first heat will depend on the dog's breed. Typically, small dog breeds come into first heat sooner than larger dog breeds.

• How long will my dog's heat last?Typically, heat will last an average of 18 to 24 days.

• How often with my dog go into heat? Dogs typically go into heat once every 5-8 months, so about twice a year. Although, this will vary per dog. Smaller dogs can go into heat sooner than larger dogs.

• What are the first signs of my dog going into heat?The first sign of your dog starting her heat cycle is a swollen vulva and bloody discharge from the vulva.And, for the first week or so, the female dog will attract the attention of male dogs but she usually won't allow them to mount her. After the first week or so, she will actively court male dogs and will allow them to mount her. At this stage, he vulva may become slightly smaller and she may not have as much discharge or have a clear discharge instead of bloody, but she'll still be in heat and can still become pregnant.

• I thought my dog was over her heat, but she is having bloody discharge again and it's only been a few weeks? Typically, when your dog has her first heat, it will be a "split heat" in which she will develop a swollen vulva and have bloody discharge but she won't actually ovulate (release eggs) or let male dogs mount her. But about 2 to 6 weeks later you'll probably notice that she's in heat again; this is your dog's first real full heat cycle.

• Will my elderly dog go into heat? Older female dogs do not go through menopause, but after 7 years, your dog's heat cycle will get further and further a part.

Dealing With a Female Dog in Heat

 First off, if your female dog is an indoor dog, you'll probably want to purchase a dog diaper, whether that be the dog diapers with the disposable liners or the washable dog diapers. Otherwise, you'll have blood spots all over your carpet, tiles, or wood floors. You can find the diap diapers in sizes from extra small to large, and sometimes extra large.

Next, you want to make sure that you keep your female away from male dogs, which means that if your female dog is an outdoor dog, you want to make sure that she is properly pinned and no dog can get in or out of your yard. I would actually recommend bringing the dog in the house or in an enclosed outdoor patio until her heat cycle is complete.

For indoor dogs, you want to make sure that all doors and windows are shut all the time and you keep any unneutered male dogs that you may have away from the female.

You can consider applying a little dab of menthol rub under the female's tail to disguise the heat just a little and to stop potential suitors. You can also use the menthol rub on your male dogs by putting a dab on the male's nose to make the female's scent.

Sometimes you can mask the smell by giving your female chlorophyll tablets. Just remember to ask your vet for the exact dosage before you give your dog any medicines.

Try to keep her as calm as you can, which means avoid overly strenuous play, but make sure that you still dote attention on her in a more calming manner such as brushes and massages.

And, of course consider spaying your female dog. Check out my hub Spaying Your Female Dog so that you know and understand when you should spay your dog, why you should spay your dog, the process of spaying your dog, and the risks of spaying your dog. Remember that by spaying your dog will reduce the risk of breast cancer in the future. You want to aim at before her first heat, but since you're reading this, I'm assuming your dog is already experiencing her heat cycle, so you want to shoot for after her first heat and before her second, otherwise the risks of breast cancer are the same as a dog who was never spayed at all.

If the dog is older than 2, you can still reduce severe health risks, as long as he dog is less than 5 years old. After 5, an unspayed dog has greatly increased odds of developing a uterine infection, which can be fatal if not caught early. The treatment is surgery to remove the uterus
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the Heat Cycle of Female Dogs

Understanding a female's heat cycle can help you prepare for a breeding or prevent an unwanted litter. Find out how the cycle works and how to spot when a female is coming into season.

The Heat Cycle

1.Fertility

When a female comes into "heat" or "season," her body is preparing for breeding and the possibility of producing a litter. According to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, the cycle is broken into stages.

 

• Proestrus - This stage typically lasts about nine days, and it's marked by an increase in a female's estrogen level. She won't be receptive to a male's advances just yet, but she will show many of the signs of heat listed below.
• Estrus - During this stage which also lasts about nine days, estrogen levels drop while progesterone levels rise. The female will begin ovulating during this stage, which means a series of eggs will be released from her ovaries and become available for fertilization. She will now begin to be receptive to a male's attempts to breed her.
• Diestrus - This stage lasts about two months. Progesterone levels are still elevated, but the female will no longer be receptive to a male's attempts to breed with her.
• Anestrus - This is the resting stage that lasts until the female comes into heat again.

Age When Heat Commences
While it is not a hard rule, most females come into their first heat cycle around six months of age, although some females wait as long 12 to 18 months old. Very large breed females may begin cycling as late as 24 months old.

Frequency of Cycles
While many females will hold to a fairly steady schedule of coming into season about every six months, it can vary. Some girls will only come into heat once year, while others may even come into season every four months. However, these "extra" seasons are not always fertile. Once a female has her first season, you can track subsequent cycles to determine what her natural pattern will be.

Signs a Female Is in Heat
Common signs that you can expect to see when a female is in season include:
Mood change - Some females show a change in mood shortly before their season commences, and they may even act a bit touchy. Think of it as the doggie equivalent of PMS.
Swollen nipples - Sometimes, but not always, the nipples and breasts will swell slightly. This can also be a sign of a phantom pregnancy, when a female may begin to show signs of being pregnant even if she's not. So, watch if this happens, but it usually resolves itself in a few weeks after the cycle ends.
Sudden interest from males - Males are great early warning detectors and can smell the change in a female's hormones before she fully comes into heat.
Swollen vulva - The vulva can show some swelling, but it is quite variable, some girls hardly swell at all, while others swell up like a golf ball.
Tail flagging - When a female is ready to be bred, she'll usually stand quite still while the male investigates her vulva. She'll hold her own tail up and wag it side to side to make sure he catches the scent.
Blood discharge - This is usually the surest indicator the heat cycle has begun, with a pinkish red-colored discharge the first week that usually turns to a tannish color during the fertile period, and then changes back to a reddish color before gradually stopping altogether. Some females keep themselves extremely clean, and it may be difficult to tell if they are in season at all.

Caring for Your Female While She's in Heat
Caring for your female while she's in heat is relatively simple.
Keep a close eye on her. This is mainly to protect her from an unwanted breeding because males can detect the scent of a female in heat from some distance away, and they'll travel from blocks away to find her.
Be extra patient and gentle with her. She may feel a little under the weather during the proestrus stage.
Avoid bathing her until she completely stops discharging. That way you can figure her cervix is closed again, and she'll be less likely to develop a vaginal/uterine infection from the bath water.
If you've determined your female's regular heat cycle pattern and you intend to breed her, have her checked for brucellosis prior to her next heat cycle, and request that the stud dog owner has the male checked as well. Brucellosis is a bacterial infection that is sexually transmitted between males and females, and it can cause infertility in both sexes.
Always Good to Know

You may never breed your female, but it's still a good idea to have a basic understanding of heat cycles so you know what she's going through. If you want to eliminate all possibility that she'll ever have a litter, you can ask your veterinarian to spay her for you. That way you'll never have to deal with her heat cycle again.