Many people believe it is healthy to give dogs bones because it is “natural”. It is true that in the wild, dogs will eat bones. Although I believe we should generally try to match their natural diet to maintain optimum health, there are some things that are “natural” but yet are not safe… and bones fall in this category. So, this week’s tip is a list of the Top 10 Reasons to Avoid Feeding Bones to Your Pet:

1. Broken teeth. Broken teeth can be very painful. The most common cause of broken teeth is eating bones.
2. Mouth or tongue injuries. Sharp points can cut the tongue or mouth.
3. Bone may get lodged around teeth. This may occur especially with bones that have a hole in them.
4. Bone may get stuck in the esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that food travels through to reach the stomach. Serious damage to the esophagus can prevent your dog from ever swallowing normally again.
5. Bone may get stuck in the windpipe. This can be deadly.
6. Bone may get stuck in the stomach. Sometimes the bone makes it to the stomach OK, but then cannot pass out of the stomach requiring surgery to remove it.
7. Bone may get stuck in the intestines. If this happens, emergency surgery will be necessary.
8. Bones can cause constipation. If the bone reaches the last part of the digestive tract, the colon, sharp pieces can cause pain when defecating. This can cause your pet to “hold it in” leading to constipation.
9. Severe bleeding from the rectum. Even if the bone passes, it can irritate the colon causing rectal bleeding.
10. Peritonitis. If the bone punctures through any part of the digestive tract, bacteria can get into the inside of the belly causing peritonitis, a very serious, life-threatening condition.

In most pets, completely eliminating thunderstorm anxiety simply is not possible. However, a variety of options are available to control the anxiety and make your pet happier.

• Altering Your Pet’s Environment: when you know a storm is approaching, placing your pet in a room that blocks out the noise of the thunder, wind, etc. can significantly reduce anxiety. For example, a bathroom with the window blocked and some type of “white noise” (such as a radio, television, fan, etc) can help block out the sounds of the impending storm. Keep in mind that pets have an incredible ability to detect a storm long before you can (by detecting wind, rain, and changes in barometric pressure), so in order to be effective, altering your pet’s environment must be done 1-2 hours before the storm arrives.
• Pheromones (plug-in diffusers and collars, such as DAP or Feliway): pheromones have a calming effect on dogs and cats helping to reduce anxieties. By themselves, they probably will not completely control anxiety, but together with other options, they can be helpful.
• All Natural Supplements: Certain supplements have helped some of my clients control their pet’s anxiety. The two most common are Rescue Remedy (made by Bach) and Anxiety TFLN (made by HomeoPet).
• Behavioral Modification: Mild anxieties can improve without any treatment. The biggest mistake we see is pets picking up on their owner’s anxiety. In other words, pet owners often become anxious or stressed when they know a storm is approaching because they are worried about their pet. Their pet picks up on this anxiety causing their anxiety level to rise long before the storm approaches. Also, some pet owners show visible signs of stress after the storm has already arrived causing their pet’s stress level to worsen. Remember that your pets are very in tune to your mood, so remaining calm and acting like the storm is “no big deal” is often the best way to support your pet. Never punish your pet for showing signs of anxiety as this will frequently make her anxiety worse. Anxiety can be reduced in some pets by a process called desensitization where your pet is exposed to recorded sounds of thunderstorms repeatedly until it no longer fazes him. Be careful with this approach as it can make the fear worse with some dogs. It is best to use this technique only on dogs with mild anxiety. A common question we get is, “Should I reassure my pet by petting him or should I try to ignore the anxiety?” This is a difficult one to answer and depends more on the severity of the anxiety. Mild anxieties can sometimes be ignored. There is a possibility that lavishing your pet with praise to calm him down may actually provide positive reinforcement to your pet for displaying the anxiety symptoms possibly making them worse. However, anything more than a mild anxiety will probably require some reassurance from you. Just try not to overdo the praise and attention. Again, the goal is to act like the storm is “no big deal.”
• Chest Wraps: Thundershirts are a more recent invention to help control pet anxieties. The theory behind these “shirts” is that they apply mild pressure to the pet’s body making your pet feel more secure. Feedback from our clients has been mixed with the Thundershirt. Some say it helped a lot; some say it did not help at all. The most common response we have received is that it helped to reduce their pet’s anxiety but did not eliminate it.
• Medication: Although medication is an effective option, it is best to use only on pets with more than mild anxiety. There are a variety of different medications, and which one is used depends on the severity of your pet’s anxiety. Also, some pets will require a combination of two different medications, rather than just one drug.

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