Health & Wellness Archives • Three Dogs Training

Sprayed by Skunks in Montana

To help your dog avoid being sprayed by skunks, have a handful of distance commands to keep your dog from getting into skunk trouble.

I recently received a question about a dog who keeps getting sprayed by skunks in Montana.

Our dog keeps getting sprayed by skunks. She’s a terrier mix and loves looking in culvert pipes and exploring. We live in the country in Montana and there is so much a curious dog can get into trouble with. She used to not come when we called her. But we’ve been training her with treats and she’s gotten much better at coming when we call. We hate to have to keep her on a leash when we go for walks. Can you make any suggestions?

Thank you, Jennifer

If you enjoy walking your dogs off leash, it’s important to have a handful of distance commands.

The recall or “come” command is at the top of this list. It is the most common in terms of getting your dog back to you and out of harms way.

A “leave-it” at a distance is almost as important. Start by teaching “leave-it” close enough to you so you can reinforce it with praise and rewards. The command is solid when your dog turns away from whatever they have found to get their reward from you.

All of the commands listed here will have to be rewarded with food in the learning stages, and then intermittently forever depending on the dog and the surroundings.

“Sit” or “down” at a distance will allow you to freeze your dog in place for a second or two while you figure things out, or the danger (i.e. skunk, etc.) passes. These could be used anywhere or anytime you need to simply put your dog into a holding position. You will need to be able to reliably request these commands when your dog is close to you. Then you can start to request them at distances farther away from you until you can lock your dog down matter how far away they are.

Some dogs do better with a “stop” command at a distance rather than “sit” or “down.” If they can “stop” their action, but can’t follow other commands in the heat of the moment, that’s fine. Essentially the “stop” command like the “sit” and “down” halt all actions until you tell your dog to do something else.

“Sit,” “down,” and “stop” all have to be trained when you are near your dog so you can easily reward them. Then you can start using a long leash, ten feet, fifteen feet, etc. With this, you can begin to increase the distance you ask your dog to preform these commands. Once your dog is reliable at longer distances, they are ready for off leash work.

Hopefully these ideas will allow you to help your dog avoid getting sprayed by skunks in or out of Montana.

As for Dante – well…

He loved skunks!

Hope that helps and remember, there is just something that dogs LOVE about skunks so keep that skunk wash handy.

Encounters with Skunks, and a Face-full of Skunk Spray

When you don’t have access to fancy skunk wash, here’s a homemade recipe we’ve been using for years.

Of the five dogs who lived with me in the log house in the woods, only one of them had encounters with skunks. Dante was skunked more than a half-a-dozen times. He was always on the look-out for skunks. And when he caught the sent of one, he was gone in a flash. Then back home with a face-full of skunk spray.

I will never know why Dante was so attracted to skunks. He always seemed so happy when he got back home. I have noticed that puppy breath smells oddly similar to mild skunk spray. Just sayin’.

We tried many things to clean Dante when he would have his encounters with skunks. And then happened upon this homemade Skunk Wash formula. It seemed to work as well as pet-store-bought solutions. But it’s made out of ingredients nearly everyone has in their pantry or can get quickly at the grocery store. So, if you find your dog with a face-full of skunk spray and you don’t have special skunk wash, try this…

Skunk Wash Formula

1 quart (4 cups) of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

1/2 cup of Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)

1 teaspoon of liquid soap

Mix together to make a shampoo for your furry pal.

Rinse well to remove the shampoo from the fur after vigorously shampooing.

You may need to double or triple this recipe depending on the weight of your dog.

dog in a bathtub after encounters with skunks — Dante in tub after one of his encounters with skunks

The ASPCA has some additional tips on dogs and skunks.

Here are some training tips to help you can prevent skunking. See Sprayed by Skunks in Montana.

But in the meantime, be prepared. Most dogs who get skunked are repeat offenders.

😫

Slow your dog’s Speed Eating!

Slow your dog’s speed eating with enrichment and training.

Snuffle mat for enrichment and to slow her speed eating

A question came to my attention the other day.

Our puppy’s been with us for two weeks now and the speed at which she eats is starting to get out of control. She’s a breed that’s prone to bloat so we know we need to slow our dog’s speed eating. But we tried putting half of her food in her bowl at first and then the second half later but she just wolfs it down just as fast no matter how much we give her. Help!

It is a problem if a dog eats too quickly because swallowed air can lead to bloat and gastric torsion which can be huge medical emergencies.

On the other hand, your puppy is telling us that she’s extremely food-motivated – which will make training her as she grows up that much easier once we slow down her speed eating.

First, some of your pup’s kibble should be wetted with water and allowed to absorb some of that water before it is given to her. This should slow her down a bit.

But then…

There’s a two-word answer to this problem: Puzzle Toys to slow her speed eating.

By delivering some of your puppy’s meantime kibble in a puzzle toy you’ll not only slow down your dog’s speed eating but you’ll also be providing her significant amounts of cognitive stimulation as she has to figure out (and work at) getting her food out of the toy. ENRICHMENT!

There are puzzles toys that deliver food as the dog manipulates them like the Twist ‘n Treat, Atomic Treat Ball, Tricky Treat Ball, Tornado, Snuffle Ball, and others.

We used a few of these to slow our speed eating goofy black LabMix, Porthos. After two bouts of bloat, he spent the rest of his life eating at least 50% of all his meals from on of these puzzle toys.

There are also other great products like snuffle mats, lick mats, the old fashioned Kong, snuffle balls, and snuffle bowls. Some snuffle mats can get pretty elaborate. I choose the simple snuffle bowl for my current dog, but you can go nuts with the variety of puzzle products.

I have one client who puts her dog’s snuffle mat into a box and lets the dog rip the box open to get to the snuffle mat.

In addition to puzzle toys, a good way to slow down the speed of your puppy’s eating is to set aside a portion of her kibble and use it as training treats. She’ll not only eat as slowly as you’d like by you setting the pace of the training session, but you’ll also get a head start on using solid positive reinforcement training techniques to help her become a great dog.

Bottom line… Make it Fun!!!

“A Dog Named Boo” Discussion on Dog-Eared with Lisa Davis

Lisa Davis MPH generously invited me to talk with her about A Dog Named Boo, How One Dog and One Woman Rescued Each Other – and the Lives They Transformed Along the Way

Lisa Davis brings her twenty-five years of health experience and her love of dogs together in her PodCast “Dog-Eared” to interview authors of dog related books, memoirs like A Dog Named Boo and other advice and inspirational dog-related titles.

Check out Dog-Eared and enjoy.

Bad Xylitol, Bad…

Did I mention Xylitol is bad???

It can be in candy, gum (a lot of gum), chewable vitamins, supplements, peanut butter, substitutes for sugar, and even sold in a container that looks like honey as a honey substitute.

So many products like this one below have xylitol listed only in the fine print.

In this label, xylitol is very high on the list…

Read every one of the ingredients in the products you have around the house AND especially items you will be giving you dog.

Remember ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. In other words – biggest first. Xylitol is very high on the list for this product.

Others have done a great job of outlining the toxicity of xylitol in dogs. Here are some excepts from the veterinarian professionals:

Preventive Vet’s article “My Dog Ate Xylitol,” includes some of these warnings:

Dogs rapidly and almost completely absorb xylitol.

Ingestion of greater than 0.1g/kg can result in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)…greater than 0.5 g/kg may result in acute liver failure.

Xylitol can cause low blood sugar within thirty minutes after ingestion… but may not show initial symptoms for twelve hours…
Preventive Vet, Dr. Beth Turner

Twelve hours is a long time to wait for symptoms to appear for a poison that acts this quickly.

So, if you think your dog has ingested xylitol – call the vet or poison control hotline immediately. A lot of irreversible damage can occur quickly.

VCA Animal Hospitals article “Xylitol Poisoning in Dogs,” includes some of these warnings:

The most common source of xylitol poisoning that Pet Poison Helpline gets calls about comes from sugar-free gum, although cases of xylitol poisoning from other sources such as supplements and baked goods are on the rise. In 2020, Pet Poison Helpline had 5,846 calls involving dogs ingesting xylitol!
VCA Animal Hospitals, Dr,’s Renee Schmid and Ahna Brutlag

Xylitol is too dangerous, too quickly toxic, and too easy to miss.

Reading the label of everything that comes into your house can help you avert tragedy.

Then… research online ahead of time so you know who to call if you suspect your dog has ingested xylitol. Don’t wait until time is running out.

Here is the website and phone number (888) 426-4435) for the ASPCA Poison Control. There may be a charge.