Some dog myths all bark and no bite

Dr. William K. Fauks
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND May 13, 2008 10:49 am

— We’ve all heard dog myths throughout our lives — you’ve no doubt quoted some of them many times. It’s funny how, after thousands of repetitions, a myth, or snippet of conventional wisdom, tends to take on a life of its own. Some are pretty well on target and some aren’t. Which are fact, which are fiction? Let’s check out a few of them here.
• You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Paula Reid, a doctorate in applied animal behavior, sums this one up by stating: “I view older dogs the same way I view elderly people — they are certainly capable of learning for their entire lives and they can be as quick-witted as a youngster. But elderly people can become set in their ways about some things, and dogs are like that, too. It’s not that old dogs can’t learn, it’s more that old habits are hard to break. But their learning capabilities are certainly intact.”
• Dogs age seven years for every human year. Yes and no. The age gap between dogs and people may start out with youngsters at about seven years to one, but that shortens during the dog’s lifetime to more like four or five years to one human year in later life.
• A cold, wet nose indicates good health. Pretty much true. A dry, hot nose often signals illness or fever.
• A female dog should go through at least one heat cycle before being spayed. Not true. Best time for neutering either sex is five to seven months.
• Shaving a dog helps them stay cool in the summer. If your long-haired dog is covered with matted hair, sure, it will help. But normally a dog’s coat helps to protect and insulate him from extremes of heat and cold. Dogs sweat from their foot pads and via the respiratory tract, so shaving the average, normal, healthy dog won’t help much in cooling them down according to the veterinary community.
• Dogs eat grass because they’re sick. Dogs frequently eat grass (the green stuff) — most commonly because they have low-grade indigestion or gastritis. This often induces vomiting, which can relieve the gastric symptoms. This appears to be a normal basic behavior and is not of concern unless consumption is excessive. Being carnivorous animals, grass is not digestible by the canine, and in excessive amounts can act as hostile foreign material in the G.I. tract.

DR. WILLIAM K. FAUKS is a retired Oklahoma City veterinarian. If you have any questions regarding the health of your pet, please write to “Ask a Vet,” at 3142 Venice Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73112, or e-mail bfauks1@aol.com.