Puppies Archives • Three Dogs Training

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.

Beautiful Play in Central Park

Pax’e and her friend Ruby taking a breather…

On this remarkably comfortable summer morning Pax’e and her new friend Ruby ran, tumbled, chased, and mouth wrestled to their hearts content.

Occasionally Pax’e would chase another dog, but back she would come to Ruby. It was a good long time of this tumbling until they were wet and tired enough to take a breather and pose for their picture. Maybe you can see how soggy they are.

Perhaps the sixteen-week-old Standard Poodle Ruby inspired Pax’e’s mothering instincts, or maybe Ruby is just a great playmate.

Thanks to Ruby’s human, Karen, for the picture!

Let the puppy Play!!!

If puppies have plenty of proper toys to play with, it is easy to teach them to ‘leave-it’ and ‘drop-it’ and tell them “all done” when it comes to the items we don’t want them chewing.

Puppies need to play. Like our human children, their job during development is PLAY!

Don’t limit their toys.

Instead, expand their horizons because they need to explore and chew in order to learn what is and is not appropriate.

Because of this, we can use this play to teach them how to leave their toys, drop them, ignore them, and hopefully not guard them. And, we can prevent them finding toys like boots, shoes, socks, etc.

If they have plenty of proper toys to play with, it is easy to teach them to ‘leave-it’ and ‘drop-it’ and tell them “all done” when it comes to the items we don’t want them chewing.

Pax’e is a nine week old AussieDoodle.

In teaching her to tug at my sock, she learns that commands can be fun. She learns socks are boring. And, while she may have wanted to tug with that sock instead of giving it up at first, the ‘drop-it’ command worked.

It’s never too early to start teaching, playing, having fun, and building your relationship with your pup.

Over the next several weeks/months Pax’e’s training exploits will be showcased. Sometimes with success and sometimes, maybe not.

Regardless of success, it will always be a learning process.

Little Carlito’s Need Brought Together Unlikely Collaborators.

Carlito is a lucky little dog, who shared his luck with the Tanglewood community by bringing them together for a common cause.

The story of “A Dog Named Boo, The Underdog with a Heart of Gold,” very simply put, is about a dog in need, who then turns around to help others. Little Carlito’s story is about a dog whose need brings together some unlikely collaborators – a superstar cellist, a world renowned conductor, a Berkshire’s valedictorian just starting college, and 13,924 concert goes.

I know Carlito and his humans, Mary and David, from the training classes I teach. When they said they’d be missing class to go up to Tanglewood, I thought it was for a holiday. Little did I know David is a highly esteemed conductor who first led the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in 1968 (shows what I know).

When the four-month-old Havanese puppy ran in fear from a smoke alarm that went off in the house where Mary and David were staying, everyone feared the worst. How could the twelve-pound Carlito avoid cars, coyotes, or getting hopelessly lost in the woods of Tanglewood?

Enter Yo-Yo Ma — for years a good friend and mentee of David Zinman (human of Carlito).

According to ‘The Berkshire Eagle,’ When Yo-Yo Ma appeared on stage after his concert, it was not for an encore, instead the famed cellist sought the help of the Tanglewood audience of 13,924 to find Little Carlito.

Leaflets were printed and stuck under windshield wipers, motorists stopped anyone they saw running, walking, or sitting on a front porch telling everyone to be on the lookout for Carlito.

Grace Ellrodt (the valedictorian) was one of those joggers who was tipped off by a passing driver. Just before dusk, she spotted the little puppy in a busy intersection on Cliffwood Street near Triangle Park in Lenox and returned him to Mary and David Zinman.

Carlito is a lucky little dog, who shared his luck with the Tanglewood community by bringing them together for a common cause.

While this all happened last August, it seemed like the story of a little puppy who brought so many people from so many different walks of life together is just the kind of sentiment for this time of year as we look to turn ourselves over to new hopes and ask ourselves, ‘how can we make 2018 a little better?’

Ask Carlito.

The Three Colors of Goldens

Recently I was able to wrangle three Golden Retriever puppies to compare and contrast their differing colors.

For some time, I have noticed Golden Retrievers are turning up in some very different colors.

Until now I have not had all three colors in the same class.

However, in a recent Basic class I was able to wrangle three Golden Retriever puppies to compare and contrast their differing colors.

Notice (from left to right) Tucker-the-Cream, Redgie-the-Red, and of course Willow-the-Golden.

My question is, in the future will we be looking at a true color split in this breed like we see with Labs? Will we be making similar designations for Goldens just like we do for Labs?

Chocolate Lab
Red Golden
Yellow (I prefer Vanilla) Lab
Cream Golden
Black Lab
Golden Golden

We will probably have to wait a decade or two before we know how this is going to turn out.

But in the meantime, here is some three-colored Golden-puppy play.

Enjoy!