Doggie no-nos
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Our border collie has gotten injured several times over the last few months. Every time she gets hurt, she is chasing a wild animal on the hill behind our property. She has gotten into fights with skunks, possums, and even a porcupine. We didn’t realize when we got her as a puppy that she would become a dog that attacks wild animals and gets into repeat scuffles all the time. I am worried about her and was wondering if this is normal behavior for a dog or is there something wrong with her? Also I should let you know she is great around other dogs and doesn’t so much as even bark. It is only when she goes out in the back yard that these incidents take place. What are your thoughts on this? How can we keep her out of situations like this without penning her up? – ML, Sonoma
Dear ML: Border collies are a wonderful breed of dog that have uncanny abilities and instincts that make them popular pets in homes and as herding animals on farms. It sounds like your dog is a wonderful pet but a switch goes on when she is out in the more wild terrain at your house. I do not think she needs to be “penned up” but I would recommend you keep her inside more hours of the day and consider putting a loud bell on her when you do let her out. Another solution may be for you to fence off your property to divide the recreational areas from the wild property above: if she can’t gain access to the area where the wild animals lurk, she won’t be getting into scuffles any more. I realize this is just a mechanical separation, but it would be better to change her surroundings and alter her lifestyle than to try and correct years of breeding and instincts. It is probably a simple protective instinct that makes her go into a predatory phase when she sees a possum or skunk.
Border collies are excellent at what they do, but I know of a few cases where the dogs have trouble separating “work from play.” I have one client in particular who owns and enjoys small herds of both goats and sheep. She is also the mother of seven children under the age of 10. The two border collies in her house do very well with the livestock, but they also take turns “herding” the children when they are all out playing in the back yard. I know this sounds amazing, but the dogs actually surround the large group of kids (several of whom are toddlers) and use their noses to gently “push” a wandering child back to the rest of the group while they are outside playing. This type of remarkable multi-tasking is not unusual for the breed. Your pet has a very strong predatory sense and is going after these animals in order to protect you and your family. I recommend you try the things I mentioned and please let me know if you need more advice
In addition, I want to recommend that with the presence of several wild animals in your vicinity, and skunks in particular, I would urge you to have your pet vaccinated for Leptospirosis. This is a spirochete bacteria that is spread in the feces and urine of skunks and other wild animals. The bacteria are zoonotic so it makes sense to consider including this in your dog’s core vaccine schedule. – Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Please tell your readers about the dangers of feeding candy and chocolate to a dog. Our dog Suzi passed away last year eating a whole bag of candy with the wrappers. We knew it was because she ate so much Halloween candy that she got violently ill. The doctor told us her pancreas got infected and agreed it was most likely due to the sweets. It has been nearly a year, and our new puppy is never going to get any treats at all except for the ones made for dogs. We will never forget that day a year ago or how bad we felt when Suzy was in the hospital. Please tell your patients about this so they can be extra careful. – Ms. Amelie F, Petaluma
Dear Ms. Amelie: I’m so sorry about the loss of your Suzi and I appreciate your desire to warn others and prevent this from happening to their pets. Candy and treats are indeed very dangerous to pets – the chocolate contains an ingredient that is harsh on their liver and is very difficult to metabolize. In addition, many candies are high in fat which can cause a big shock to the pancreas and lead to a life threatening illness called pancreatitis.
Not only is Halloween a time for caution with pets, but so is Thanksgiving. Pets are often very susceptible to eating human foods such as turkey and gravy. There is a big surge in pancreatitis cases following festive holidays where families tend to gather for feasts. Although you learned a painful lesson about this disease, it has made you more cautious and probably a much better pet owner. Hopefully, after reading this column, people will be less apt to feed scraps to their pets or leave any candy or other human food in a place where the dog can get into it. And readers should also know to seek veterinary assistance quickly after they notice their pet has eaten something questionable; don’t wait until a pet becomes sick with vomiting or anorexia or diarrhea. Pancreatitis, as you know too well, can become very dangerous very quickly. All my best thoughts go out to you and your family, and your new puppy. I’m glad you have used this unfortunate experience to bring this problem to light. Kudos to you. – Dr. F
