October 2011

Next Meeting — October 17th, 7:00pm at Allied Gardens Recreation Center Dog Daze Deadline: the 3rd of the month.

Send Dog Daze contributions to Audrey Austin • Send information for the calendar to Bruce Barnett

Hard to TrainBy Suzanne Clothier

From the Pasanita Obedience Club Newsletter

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A look at “difficult to train” breeds and the reality of what shapes these ca-

nine minds.

Imagine two balloons hanging over your dog’s head. One balloon asks “why?” as in, “Why should I heel/stay/come/retrieve/jump?” The other asks “Why not?” As in, “Why not chew the shoe, walk over here, eat your sandwich?”

I believe that these two questions (along with the answers received) constitute the primary inquiries that shape a dog’s rela-tionship with his humans. To the extent that we are able to provide satisfactory answers to those simple questions, an ex-traordinary amount of information can be communicated between ourselves and our dogs. But there is, inevitably a catch. The answers that we think are satisfactory may fail to satisfy the dog. And being a dog, he turns away from us and gets on with his life while we fumble for more appropriate re-sponses.

In a deliciously ironic twist, our deliber-ate selection for certain behavioral traits in purebred dogs has led to the development of breeds who, more strenuously than oth-ers, insist on interesting, well thought out answers to the two primary life questions. For example, a Border Collie might ask “Why?” and be perfectly satisfied with an answer of “Because I told you to.” Driven by a nearly insatiable desire to do any-thing—even busy work—a Border Collie questions no further. On the other hand, a Siberian Husky receiving such an answer

might simply cock his head and gaze at his handler with barely contained amusement. (Every Siberian worth his salt knows that “Because I told you to” is not an acceptable answer.) And the dialogue begins.

HANDLER: You should do this because you love me.

SIBERIAN: (truthfully) Love is a feeling, not a reason.

HANDLER: (a bit pompous) It is impor-tant that you do this.

SIBERIAN: (with great wisdom) Humans give importance to the wrong things.

HANDLER: (getting angry) If you don’t do this, I’ll punish you.

SIBERIAN: (with dignity) Then I may have no choice but to comply. But I can choose not to trust or like you.

HANDLER: (calmer, trying another ap-proach) I’ll make it fun for you.

SIBERIAN: (interested) how much fun?HANDLER: So much fun that you’ll beg

for more!

SIBERIAN: On that basis, I’ll try it. But remember, I’m easily bored. This better be good.

Now if the handler was trying to get this Si-berian to run, the dialogue would be much different:

HANDLER: I want you to run like the wind.

SIBERIAN: I’m already gone.At one of my seminars, a handler present-ed her dog with this complaint: “She just won’t stop sniffing the ground while we’re heeling, and I’m tired of being embarrassed in the obedience ring. I just don’t under-stand why she does this. What can I do to stop her from sniffing?” Looking down at her dog, I had a hard time not laughing. It was a Bloodhound, behaving precisely as generations of selective breeding insisted that she behave. When I asked why she was so determined to put advanced obedience titles on this dog, the handler responded, “Well, very few Bloodhounds do well in obedience. So, I’m going to do it with this dog.

Technically speaking, all of the obedience exercises were within the dog’s physical and mental abilities. The trick, of course, was in the training approach. Whatever the approach being used, it obviously failed to answer the dog’s very legitimate question of “Why?” (Or, perhaps more accurately in this case, “Why not sniff?”) And until the handler came up with a better answer, the dog was going to continue doing what she

Happy Halloween!

Dog Daze is a monthly puublication of All Breed Obedience Club Inc., a non- profit obedience club serving San Diego County. Articles which appear in this paper do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the subject matter by ABOCI. Articles may be quoted, provided credit is given to the author and Dog Daze. Subscription rate for non members is $15.00.

ABOCI Class Info: (619) 287-2211Dog Daze EditorAudrey Austin(619) 966-9977audreyaustin@cox.net

ABOCI OfficersDavid Smelser, President (760) 643-9469

Judy Ekdahl, Vice President (619) 593-6219

Audrey Austin, Secretary (619) 966-9977

Sarah Ball, Treasurer (619) 248-4701

Board MembersVickie Hill (619) 561-6085

Cathy Colley (619) 442-2322

Calendar EditorBruce Barnettbcbarnett@cox.net

Dog Daze PublisherKathy UptonCell (858) 837-1151uptonkathy@san.rr.com

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Hard to Train... (continued from page 1)

enjoyed doing – sniffing the ground.

Here’s a basic formula for one cause of training problems.

The greater the distance X is from Z, the more you will have to explain Y:

X = desired behaviorZ = genetically programmed behaviorY = Why?

In other words, it’s not difficult to get a re-triever to retrieve, a herding dog to herd or a Siberian to run. But you better have some pretty good answers when you send a Mas-tiff or a Greyhound out to retrieve a duck in icy waters.

There are three basic qualities that make a dog “easy to train.”1. Intelligence (which I define as the dog’s

awareness of and curiosity about his world),

2. Willingness (the dog’s desire to interact socially with other beings, and

3. Confidence (physically, emotionally and intellectually).

Now, to be sure, a good many of the “dif-ficult to train” breeds possess these quali-ties in generous measure. Add in the con-siderable athletic ability of many “difficult to train” breeds, and you have, in theory, a dog who can learn to do almost anything. Of course, the less a dog possesses of these three basic qualities, the more difficult it becomes to adequately answer “Why? And “Why not?” The dull witted, shy/timid or highly independent dog simply may not care much for your answer.

There are three other qualities which impact training:1. Sense of humor (what dogs find tremen-

dously funny is not always what tickles the human on the other end of the lead).

2. Boredom threshold (often much lower than humans imagine).

3. Selectively bred behaviors which are not always in alignment with human behaviors or in keeping with our train-ing goals—thus the Bloodhound in the obedience ring!

Each breed is a unique blend of these six characteristics by varying proportions. The “easy” breeds are characterized by high

boredom thresholds—they are willing to repeat even relatively meaningless tasks for long periods—and a range of selec-tively bred behaviors which are either very broad or particularly well suited to the various tasks of obedience or agility ring. The “tough” breeds are characterized by low boredom thresholds and a fairly nar-row spectrum of selectively bred behav-iors. Handlers who are successful with the “tough” breeds are creative handlers who are willing and able to make training fun, interesting, and relevant to the dog. They can answer “Why?” and “Why not?” with great clarity, humor and respect for what makes that breed unique.

As with any breed, successful training of the “difficult” breeds begins with a relation-ship of mutual trust and affection. There is also a degree of intimacy involved—you must know the dog for who he is. Not what you hope he will become, but who he is at any given moment in your journey togeth-er. What amuses him? Does he like exuber-ant praise or games or treats? What does he consider a reward? What worries him? Delights him? How does he learn—in in-tuitive leaps, or seamless progression or in small chunks that are struggles to master? Whether Siberian or Schnauzer, there is no single recipe for training success except this: intimate knowledge of the individual dog and of yourself.

In our pack of seven dogs, we have seven vastly different minds. For example, my husband’s Golden, Molson, is willing to work hard, even if the handler’s mind is not totally on the training process. But teaching her new tricks is difficult. She believes, for reasons we cannot fathom, that each suc-cessfully mastered step is the whole trick, and is momentarily frustrated when we ask for a bit more, like a slightly higher or lon-ger wave of her paw. So, we train slowly, in small chunks, and often intersperse her old tricks to offer her some relief. “This I know how to do!” Food is a powerful motivator for this dog.

In contrast, Grizzly, our youngest German Shepherd makes intuitive leaps, is highly creative and often generalizes his knowl-edge to fit new situations. He is not easily frustrated but he requires that we are as

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enthusiastic and focused as he is. Halfhearted training gets halfhearted responses from Griz-zly. While motivated by food, he loves to re-trieve and roughhouse, so games with toys and sessions of tag are powerful rewards for him.

In a world of trainers who often prefer dogs who don’t ask many questions, dogs who bend easily to the control and demands of rather ar-bitrary rules and regulations, there are far too many breeds who have a reputation of being stubborn, tough to train, willful. What this of-ten means is that this “difficult dog” is an in-telligent dog who asks too many questions for the average trainer. Such a canine mind is not automatically compliant, and comes equipped with its own view of the world and its own definitions of what constitutes meaningful, en-joyable activities. This is not to say these dogs are not willing—one of the great charms of these breeds is their keen interest in life and in people. If given the right answers to “Why?” and “Why not?” many of these dogs can be not just agreeable but downright brilliant in the execution of a task.

There are breeds who “carry” their handlers, politely ignoring human failings while carry-ing out the assigned task with style. By and large, the “difficult breed” dog comes just half way, standing his ground in confidence, with a glint of humor in his eye, waiting for the handler to match him stride for stride. Seek-ing precision? Then you, these dogs often in-sist, must also be precise. Fun on your terms? Then you must also learn to have fun on the dog’s terms. Is it enthusiasm you see? Then you must not only find a way to make learning and performing enjoyable, and you must also give yourself 100% to the task—the “tough to train” dog works well in a team, but he will only pull his share of the load.

(With thanks to Bonnie Blair for pointing out that dogs also ask “Why not?”)FF

Hard to Train... (cont. from page 2) When Dogs Fly: Safe Travel with Petsby Paul Lasley and Elizabeth Harryman

From Westways MagazineQ: We’re about to take our first trip with our Lhasa Apso. What do we need to do to keep her safe when we’re traveling?For more than 16 years, our miniature poodle, Charlemagne, flew with us in air-planes and rode with us in cars. On road trips, he’d put his head out the window and relish the breeze blowing his apricot-colored ears. Little did we know we were endangering him and ourselves.

“Let’s say you have a golden retriever,” says pet safety expert Christina Selter. “They weigh, on average, 65 pounds. If you were to slam on your brakes or have an accident at 35 mph, an untethered 60 pound dog would become a powerful projectile. That force flying through the vehicle could severely injure your pas-sengers and you.”

Luckily, Charlemagne always arrived in good shape, but since his death some years ago, we’ve researched how to travel safely with pets. Here are some things we’ve learned.

Car Travel. On road trips, secure your pet within your vehicle.

Put a smaller animal in a pet carrier and secure it with a seat belt.

Larger dogs can use a travel harness with a tether sys-tem. “The tether fastens onto the vehicles’ D-rings, like a child’s safety seat does,” says Selter, who tests and reviews pet safety products at BarkBuckleUp.com. “You just clip it on.”

Bring water and food for your pet, and stop every couple of hours—at rest areas if possible—to walk your dog.

Air Travel.You must make a reservation for your pet and pay applicable fees, typically about $100 -$200 per flight. Most airlines allow a certain num-ber of pets in each cabin, so if your pet is small enough, it can ride with you in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. Your pet must remain inside for the entire flight. When going through security, put the carrier through the x-ray machine and either carry your pet through the metal detector or let it walk through.

If your pet and its carrier weigh 20 pounds or more, it must fly as cargo. “Make sure you have a carrier ap-proved by your airline,” Selter says. “Take your pet’s leash off so that it doesn’t get tangled.” Place a dish filled with ice inside, your pet can lick the ice and drink the water as the ice melts. And attach identification—for you and your pet—on the inside and outside of the carrier. We always wrote “this side up” with an arrow on the outside of Charlemagne’s carrying case.

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Finally, watch the weather. Pets aren’t al-lowed to travel as cargo if temperatures are too high or too low (thresholds vary by air-line). Cargo compartments aren’t tempera-ture controlled like the cabin is, and pets have died on planes waiting to take off in extreme temperatures.

General precautions. Before you depart on any trip, make sure your pet has all its current shots, such as a rabies vaccination. And have your veterinar-ian implant a microchip ID, about the size of a grain of rice, between your pet’s shoul-der blades. If your pet gets lost or stolen, the chip gives you a better chance of finding it. Also, we don’t recommend tranquilizing your pets, but if you consider it, check with your veterinarian first.

Last but not least, take some practice runs, Selter says. Introduce your furry family members to vehicles gradually, and make some rehearsal drives to the airport. “Let them get used to all the crazy sounds and the commotion,” Selzer says. “Then when they arrive at the airport for their trip, they’ll be calmer because they already know all those big jet sounds.”

Editor’s comment: I’m sure most of you know all these rules of traveling with

your pet, but I thought it never hurts to review them and think about them if you are going to travel with your pet. —Audrey FF

Safe Travel... (continued from page 3) September MinutesThere are no minutes for the September meeting. There were only four members present, so no business could be conducted.

Treasurer’s report: Checking account: $4823.13 . Savings account: $7560.75

Attention: There will be a nice surprise at the next meeting. You have to come to find out what it is. That is all I can tell you.

Audrey Austin, Secretary FF

September BragsTOBY KRAUS and wonder dog, CODY, earned their first

leg in Utility at the Santa Ana trial under Judge Alvin Eng. They took home that first place blue ribbon. Way to go, Toby and Cody!

MIMI LORIÉ sent this brag., “My little Australian Shep-herd ‘ARTI’ (Alegre Artemis Lady of Mystery, CDRN URo1) finished her RA (Rally Advanced) with a second place ribbon on Saturday, Sept. 3rd. at Cabrillo KC in Val-ley Center. She finished her title in three straight shows—2 Silver Bay, 1 Ca-brillo, with two 2nd place ribbons and one 3rd place. She is such a fun little dog to work with. So now it is on to the fall shows to work on her Rally Excellent and her Graduate Novice titles.” Great job, Mimi and Artimus! Keep up the terrific work.

MACH TITLES: A Master Agility Champion is the agility equivalent of an obe-dience OTCH, and just as hard to get. Some agility handlers might say, harder. But in both cases they are not easily earned. Two club members finished their MACH titles this month and both dogs hold obedience titles as well..

JOANNE HUNT and her awesome GABLE flew to a fabulous finish. They are a great team.

BOBBIE SEVIER guided her lovely Golden, MADDUX, through that final course, making it look easy. Maddox is such a special dog. FF

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Get Real: Fight Frustrations by Adjusting Your Expectationsby Patricia B. McConnell, PhD

Excerpted from Bark Magazine, April/May 2010

It was week number four of exercise restrictions for Willie, my adolescent

Border Collie. “No exercise beyond a slow walk, no jumping up and no playing for six weeks,” said the veterinarian, or else Willie’s injured shoulder may never heal. “Either keep him on a leash or re-strict him to crate rest.”

Right. “Crate rest” is a phrase used only by someone who has never had a young, high-energy dog. In this fantasy, once in-side a crate, a dog’s only alternative is to be motionless and snooze. The real-ity is astoundingly different. A dog can, in fact, be phenomenally active inside a small crate. Unless they’re sedated, crated dogs can still flip, spin, leap and thrash; on-leash, they can do the same in the blink of an eye.

I had a lot more control of Will when he was on-leash, so when I was home, I spent most of my time attached to a young, healthy, adolescent Border Col-lie. Who was pretty much not supposed to move.

Will actually did amazingly well. He learned new tricks that gave him lots of mental exercise, and was reinforced for stretching his leg as a part of his physical rehabilitation. He lay politely beside me on the living room floor for hours on end in the evenings. Over all, it went surpris-ingly smoothly.

But inevitably, there was a day—a day when I was tired and Willie was full of himself and the two of us were sick of being attached like conjoined twins. Wil-lie couldn’t settle down in his crate, and he couldn’t relax beside me. I didn’t have the energy to teach him a new trick, and it was becoming increasingly clear that neither one of us was having a good time. He was bored. I was exhausted from try-ing to keep a young dog from doing what young dogs do and worrying that one wrong move would destroy four weeks of hard work.

When my partner, Jim, walked in the door that evening, I quietly said—jaws

clenched and lips tight—“Would you take the spawn of Satan into another room for a few minutes while I poke pencils in my eyes?” I said it calmly, but inside, I was seething with frustration.

Who, on occasion, isn’t frustrated by their dog? Who hasn’t felt words we know we’ll regret gathering like storm clouds in the back of our throats? Isn’t frustration a predictable part of living with others, whether two-legged or four? No matter how wonderful dogs are, there are times in our close relationship with them in which one of us is frustrated by the other. I can’t speak for dogs, but here are some thoughts for us humans about what seems to be a predictable conse-quence of living together.

Given the inevitability of frustration, it’s a good idea to acknowledge that it happens to everyone. I’d love to see it addressed in puppy classes, and every trainer working one-on-one with clients could talk about it. If it’s just you and your own dog, then perhaps this will help you during the darker moments of the human-animal bond.I suspect that the most common cause of frustration is unrealistic expectations. The “Lassie syndrome,” trainers call it, after the canine television star who ap-peared to understand long, compound

sentences and never once peed on the rug. Somewhere, sometime, we creat-ed in this country a cultural belief that good dogs come with the desire to please above all else, and can read our minds and understand our language. We need to grasp that this is an unrealistic fantasy, because unrealistic expectations, com-mon as they are, lead to anger and frus-tration. On rare occasions, this can be a good thing—I owe my 15 years of life with Lassie, a very special dog, to a man who adopted her from a shelter and re-turned her the next morning because she chewed his belt in half while he was at work all day. He thought this was an im-possible behavioral problem. I thought she was just being a dog.

Dogs actually do have “minds of their own.” Also good to note: dogs jump up on visitors because they are dogs and are trying to get close to your mouth to greet you properly (not because they haven’t accepted you as the “alpha”), they chew on whatever they can until you teach them differently, they fart, they eat poop and kitty litter, and they think walking side-by-side through the neighborhood is boring.

People want to influence the behavior of everything around them, including their pets, and often become angry when they can’t. In my experience, people most often get frustrated with dogs because they can’t get them to do something—like coming when called, or they can’t get them to stop doing something—like barking at the neighbors. I suspect that’s why television shows that wrap up seri-ous behavioral problems in 30 minutes are so satisfying. “Look! Just a few sim-ple tricks and you can get your dog to do anything you want!”

This is where books, articles, trainers and training classes can do so much good. They help us with humane meth-ods to teach dogs to do what we ask, as well as show us how to stop problematic behavior (a less common aspect of dog-

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training-class curricula). However, even in the best of circumstances, frustration is going to show up on occasion, isn’t it? All the better, then, to be prepared for it. The following are some of my favorite coping mechanisms.

SARCASM. Ah, thank goodness dogs can’t speak our language. At least, not much of it. That’s why you can say, with a cheerful lilt to your voice, “I hate every hair on your head,” and have your dog wag from the shoulders back and grin at you like a fool. Two caveats here: you re-ally do have to say it in a happy voice and you need to ensure that the people around you understand you’re just teas-ing.

DEEP BREATHS. Of course, cheerfully expressing hateful thoughts only works if you are only moderately aggravated. For frustration closer to rage than irri-tation, try training yourself to stop and take several deep breaths. It may sound trite, but many a relationship has been ruined by words or actions that burst out like floodwater through an old dam, ir-reparably damaging relationships. Anger management advice always starts with STOP, and then take a few breaths. An-

ger is a primitive emotion that begs for action, and unless you’re under physical attack, action may be the worst possible response.

LAUGHTER. Who said you can’t laugh at your dog? I have burst out laughing

around my dogs—not always feeling amused, truth be told—in response to garbage strewn on the kitchen floor, or—my per-sonal favorite—to a dog showing up slathered in green, skunky fox poop just as six people arrive for a dinner party. Laugh-ter, even if you are seeth-ing as you start to produce it, has an amazing abil-ity to lighten your mood. It allows you to stop and remind yourself that she’s a dog, after all, and isn’t purposefully trying to make your life more dif-ficult.

TIME-OUTS. Everyone knows that “time-outs” are just as useful for par-

ents as they are for children, and the same goes for you and your dog. I don’t see “time-outs” listed as one of the rea-sons to crate-train a dog, but as a person who thought she was patient until she had seven dogs in the house, I strongly suggest you either teach your dog to be happy in a crate or in a room with a closed door. Later, you can ask yourself why your dog did what she did, and what you can do to prevent it in the future.

FORGIVENESS. Last, but definitely not least, forgive yourself for the times you aren’t exactly who you want to be. Not long ago, I began my day by stepping barefoot into a puddle of diarrhea on the living room rug. It turns out that small circles

of brown were everywhere, a three-room extravaganza of liquid poop. I yelled out “S---!” I didn’t intend to be so literal, but the word did clearly summarize my feel-ings and provide an accurate description of the problem in one syllable. How-ever, I yelled it, loudly and angrily, and then saw Willie cowering in the kitchen, tongue flicking and big-eyed. I wasn’t mad at him, or at Lassie either—how could I be mad at a dog for being sick? I was just mad at having poop on my foot and having to clean three rooms before I even started my day. But my expression of anger scared Willie so much (thank-fully, not Lassie, who was mostly deaf) that I felt guilty for raising my voice. That’s what I get for having sound-sen-sitive Border Collies. I’m only human—we all are—and we just need to do the best we can. Willie recovered, I cleaned up the house and life went on. (And while you’re at it, don’t forget to forgive your dog for her most recent transgres-sion. Your other friends may not chew up your cell phone or roll in cow poop, but they’re not perfect either.)...

I’m ready. The next time my foot lands in cold, stinky poop, I’m going to laugh like a loon. FF

Get Real... (continued from page 5)

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All About Titer Testsby D. Caroline Copile. PHDfrom Dog World magazine

Blood testing for antibodies might help owners avoid over-vaccinating

their dogs.

Vaccinations save lives, but over-vacci-nation can cost lives or, at least, imperil them.

In the early years of vaccinations, their work as lifesavers was heralded. The race was on to find more vaccines to pre-vent more diseases. Currently, we have vaccines against 18 different diseases in dogs. Although difficult to prove, it’s now highly suspected that over-vaccina-tion (vaccinating too frequently or giving too many vaccines) contributes to immu-nologic problems, including immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, chronic allergies, asthma and polyarthritis. But refusing all vaccinations, as advocated by some breeders, is not the answer. In-stead, we should be more selective about which vaccinations are given and how often they are repeated. That choice be-gins in puppyhood.

The American Animal Hospital Associa-tion has made the selection of vaccina-tions easier by dividing them into core, non-core and not-recommended. Core vaccinations are those recommended for all dogs: rabies, parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis. All puppies should receive these core vaccinations between 6 and 16 weeks of age, at three-to-four week inter-vals. The first vaccination against parvo-virus, distemper and hepatitis (using the CAV-2 vaccine) should be given between 6 to 8 weeks of age, a second dose be-tween 9 and 11 weeks, and a third dose from 12 to 14 weeks. Rabies vaccination is given between 12 and 16 weeks of age.

When is it enough? Vaccinating more frequently than three-to-four-week intervals does not boost immunity; in fact, vaccinating too soon after an earlier vaccination can render the second one ineffective. Puppies receive multiple vaccinations not because they have an additive effect, but because vac-cines are ineffective on puppies that still

have maternally derived immunity from antibodies they receive from their dam’s first milk. Vaccinations are repeated so that they can catch the puppy at a time when its maternally derived antibodies have dwindled to a level at which vac-cinations can be effective, yet leave the puppy vulnerable to disease for as little time as possible.

But how can you be certain the puppy is effectively immunized? Most puppies vaccinated with properly handled vac-cines per the AAHA schedule are im-mune to those vaccinated diseases. But puppies of some breeds, most notably the Doberman Pinscher and Rottweiler (and, according to some sources, the American Pit Bull Terrier, German Shepherd Dog, Labrador Retriever, and even black-and-tan dogs in general)—and their crossbreeds—are more likely to require additional vaccinations to mount an ad-equate immune response to parvovirus. Nobody knows why, but some vacci-nated puppies of these breeds succumb to parvo because their owners assumed they were effectively vaccinated when they weren’t.

One solution is to continue to vaccinate puppies from these at-risk groups for longer, until 22 weeks of age or more. But with the caveat against over-vacci-nation, many owners balk at this option because puppies that have sufficient im-munity continue to receive unnecessary vaccinations. If only there were some way to gauge if a puppy was effectively vaccinated. There is: vaccination titers.

Titer tutorial.A titer is a measurement of how much antibody to a certain disease agent, such as a virus, is present in the blood. The measurement is expressed as a ratio. Such as 1:2. or 1:64. The higher the sec-ond number, the larger the number of antibodies present. So what’s the magic number? Unfortunately, the cut-off is not so black and white. That, added to the expense and time involved in send-ing blood to testing laboratories, has tra-ditionally made titer testing less popular than simply revaccinating.

But recent in-house titer tests have made testing affordable, timely and capable of yielding clearer results. These tests are available for parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis. Titer tests allow the veterinar-ian to assess maternal antibody levels to ensure puppies are adequately pro-tected shortly after birth, to follow the decline of antibody levels to better esti-mate when a vaccination will be effec-tive, and to check antibody levels after vaccination in hard-to-immunize breeds. The latter should be checked between 14 days and 21 days after the last vaccina-tion because the immune system might take that long to complete in response to the vaccination. Note that the test doesn’t discriminate between maternally derived antibodies and those from vaccination, so don’t assume a young puppy with a high titer needs no more vaccinations un-less the titer was previously low.

Duration of immunity.Associated with the quest for fewer vac-cines is the question of how often dogs must be revaccinated with boosters. In the early days of canine vaccine science, nobody knew how long a vaccine would protect against disease. The first vac-cines for canine distemper were tested in 1950s. When dogs were tested one year after vaccination, about one-third of the dogs had antibody titers that were con-sidered too low to be protective. This led

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to the first recommendation of annual re-vaccination.

As early as 1961, Dr. S. Piercy wrote in the Veterinary Record that although ti-ters would be the scientific way to check if dogs needed revaccination, own-ers would likely balk at what it entails: paying for titer testing, waiting for the results, then revisiting the veterinarian and paying for the booster should one be required. As a matter of expediency, yearly boosters were advised. This has been the prevailing practice until the last few years.

Vaccine advancements and limitations.Vaccines have improved since those ear-ly days, and titer tests and disease-chal-lenge tests (in which a vaccinated dog is exposed to a disease) have indicated that most vaccines impart immunity for sev-eral years, and possibly for the life of the dog. The AAHA revised its guidelines in 2003 to recommend that boosters be given every three years instead of annu-ally. But some owners believe this is still too often. Can titer tests be used to tell them when their dog is “low” on antibod-ies? Probably not, but they can be useful nonetheless. A positive titer test can tell you that the dog has sufficient immunity, but a negative test in an adult doesn’t necessarily mean the dog has insufficient immunity.

This is because antibodies rise shortly af-ter being exposed to a disease (or vacci-nation for that disease). But the immune system is complex; it doesn’t just flood the body with antibodies forever. When the disease agent is no longer threaten-ing, the number of antibodies gradually declines, and the titer test results would reflect this. But that doesn’t mean the dog has lost immunity. The immune system has “memory cells” that retain the ability to recognize invaders the dog has previously been exposed to (or vac-cinated against), and quickly produce the proper type of antibodies against it. Ti-ters don’t measure memory cells, so the fact that a dog has a low titer months or even years after vaccination doesn’t nec-essarily mean it has lost its immunity.

That doesn’t mean your dog never needs boosters. Rabies boosters are mandated by law in most states every three years, or, in a few states, every year—despite the fact that the rabies vaccination al-most certainly lasts far longer. The risks to human health are considered to out-weigh the risks of repeated vaccination. In some hardship cases (in which the dog’s health makes vaccination especial-ly risky), titers might be acceptable. But again, a low titer might not indicate lack of immunity. Some other vaccines, no-tably those against bacterial infections, such as leptospirosis and bordetella,

might induce immunity for only a year or less, and must be repeated to maintain immunity.

Custom immunity.Vaccination is a medical procedure, and as such, is not a one-size-fits-all under-taking. Titer-testing makes tailoring vac-cinations to individuals possible, and al-though it might not provide the perfect answer for adult dogs, it can prevent some puppies from being vaccinated too much, and others from being unprotect-ed.

Dr. Caroline Coile, PhD. Is a breeder, owner and handler of top-winning Salu-kis.

Yes or No to nosodes? Some breeders do not approve of any conventional vaccines and instead ad-vocate nosodes, homeopathic prepara-tions from disease body fluid in which the final product is so diluted that none of the original fluids remain. However, antibody titers do not increase after no-sodes are administered, and no scien-tific evidence shows that nosodes impart immunity. Dogs relying on nosodes for immunity are more likely protected by “herd immunity,” that is relying on being surrounded by vaccinated dogs that don’t carry disease. Even many veterinarians who advocate alternative medicine are uncomfortable relying on nosodes for protection.

Titer Tutorial... (continued from page 7)

9

U-Fli Flyball Tournament 10/1/2011 Fast Fourward RamonaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/1/2011 Info: http://www.flyball.com/fastfourward/

U-Fli Flyball Tournament 10/2/2011 Catchers on the Fly RamonaClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/1/2011 Info: www.catchersonthefly.org

AKC Agility Trials 10/1/2011 10/2/2011 Aztec Dob. Pinscher Club of SD Naval Training Center, San DiegoClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/14/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

Obedience & Rally Show & Go 10/8/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Community ParkClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 8:30 a.m. to noon

NADAC Agility Trials 10/8/2011 10/9/2011 Agility Club of San Diego San DiegoClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/30/2011 Info: Bonnie Bailey, kcbailey2@cox.net

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 10/16/2011 Obedience Club of SD County Markim Pet Resort, San DiegoClosing date (blank=N/A): 9/28/2011 Info: Barbara J. Scott, 441 Las Flores Ter., San Diego, CA 92114-5410

General Meeting 10/17/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Recreation CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 10/22/2011 10/23/2011 Hidden Valley Obedience Club HVOC Training Grounds, EscondidoClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/5/2011 Info: Scotty Maloney, 9606 Benavente St., San Diego, CA 92129-3004

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 10/29/2011 Kennel Club of Riverside Lake Perris St. Rec. Area, PerrisClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/12/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 10/30/2011 Pasanita Obedience Club Brookside Park, PasadenaClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/12/2011 Info: Sharon Licciardi, 38513 12th St. E, Palmdale, CA 93550-3933

CPE Agility Trials 11/5/2011 11/6/2011 Ups 'N Downs Agility Club Valley CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/26/2011 Info: www.ups-n-downs.org

AKC Agility Trials 11/12/2011 11/13/2011 Orange Coast Rhod. Ridge. Club NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 10/26/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

Obedience & Rally Show & Go 11/19/2011 Hidden Valley Obedience Club HVOC Training Grounds, EscondidoClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: 9 a.m. to noon

NADAC Agility Trials 11/19/2011 11/20/2011 Ups 'N Downs Agility Club Valley CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: www.ups-n-downs.org

General Meeting 11/21/2011 All Breed Obedience Club Allied Gardens Recreation CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): Info: Meeting starts at 7 p.m.

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/2/2011 12/3/2011 Yuma Kennel Club Yuma County Fairgrounds, Yuma, AZClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/16/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/4/2011 12/5/2011 Imperial Valley Kennel Club Yuma County Fairgrounds, Yuma, AZClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/16/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/9/2011 Shoreline Dog Fanciers Assn. Costa MesaClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/23/2011 Info: Onofrio: www.onofrio.com

AKC Agility Trials 12/10/2011 12/11/2011 Golden Retriever Club of SD Co. NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/23/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/16/2011 Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Long Beach Convention CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/30/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/17/2011 Los Encinos Kennel Club Long Beach Convention CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/30/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 12/18/2011 Long Beach Kennel Club Long Beach Convention CenterClosing date (blank=N/A): 11/30/2011 Info: Bradshaw: www.jbradshaw.com

AKC Agility Trials 12/30/2011 12/31 & 1/1 SW Rottweiler Club of San Diego NTC Promenade, Point LomaClosing date (blank=N/A): 12/14/2011 Info: Lynda Tjarks: www.lyndatjarksagility.com

AKC Obedience & Rally Trials 1/6/2012 1/7 & 1/8 Kennel Club of Palm Springs IndioClosing date (blank=N/A): 12/21/2011 Info: Bradshaw: Information to come

Calendar of Dog EventsEVENT TYPE DATE(S) Addl. Day? CLUB

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