The Good Dog Pod – Details, episodes & analysis

Dr. Julie Cecere reviews some common causes of infertility in brood females and discusses the importance of checking both the male and female prior to breeding, in addition to guidance on nutrition and fitness.

Watch the video version of this webinar here.

Growth is a challenging life stage. Understanding how key nutrients can support healthy growth and lifelong health helps to ensure puppies get off to a good start in life. It is essential to provide puppies with specific nutrients for healthy immunity, brain development and gastrointestinal health during development. Listen to Dr. Catherine Lenox, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition) explain everything you need to know.

The website that Dr. Lenox references is: www.purinainstitute.com/centresquare

Watch the video version of this presentation here.

Dr. Fran Smith dives into the everyday medications that can be potentially harmful to a canine pregnancy, and help breeders learn how to provide the best treatment for a pregnant dam that has the lowest risk for her fetuses.

This episode is an audio version of a webinar. Click here to view the video presentation.

This is part 2 of a webinar we did with Dr. James Serpell, world-renowned leading canine behaviorist and co-creator of C-BARQ, and veterinary specialist, Vet of the Year, Dr. Chris Zink, DVM. Listen to the experts discuss how breeders can use C-BARQ to breed for behavior as well as recent research on the effects of early spay/neuter.

Director at PennVet’s Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, co-creator of C-BARQ (vetapps.vet.upenn.edu/cbarq/), author of The Domestic Dog, founder of the International Society for Anthrozoology, committed to the scientific study of human-animal interactions, Professor of Animal Ethics & Welfare at UPenn, and has published many studies and articles on canine behavior, health, and welfare.

Vet of the Year, award-winning author, has put over 125 titles, Co-Founder of Avidog-Zink Ventures, and expert in canine sports medicine and rehab (instrumental in establishing this as the newest specialty in veterinary medicine).

In this special episode, we adapted a webinar we did with Dr. James Serpell, world-renowned leading canine behaviorist and co-creator of C-BARQ, and veterinary specialist, Vet of the Year, Dr. Chris Zink, DVM. Listen to the experts discuss how breeders can use C-BARQ to breed for behavior as well as recent research on the effects of early spay/neuter.

Director at PennVet’s Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, co-creator of C-BARQ (vetapps.vet.upenn.edu/cbarq/), author of The Domestic Dog, founder of the International Society for Anthrozoology, committed to the scientific study of human-animal interactions, Professor of Animal Ethics & Welfare at UPenn, and has published many studies and articles on canine behavior, health, and welfare.

Vet of the Year, award-winning author, has put over 125 titles, Co-Founder of Avidog-Zink Ventures, and expert in canine sports medicine and rehab (instrumental in establishing this as the newest specialty in veterinary medicine).

This is a rebroadcasting of an episode that originally aired July 22nd, 2020.

The two most common problems with fertility are timing (with respect to the female) and having good quality semen that’s delivered into the uterus. Another problem that’s becoming increasingly important is the nutrition of the bitch and stud dog.

About Dr. Greer: Dr. Greer is a renowned author, speaker, veterinarian, and canine reproduction specialist. In addition to being the Director of Veterinary Services at Revival Animal Health, she is on the board of the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, American Veterinary Medical Law Association, and the Society for Theriogenology.

Laura and Marty start by discussing the importance of nutrition - what people feed their dogs, how they feed, and what consequences those factors can have on the success of a breeding.

There is likely a nutritional component to the quality of a stud dog’s semen in addition to fertility and the female - this is something that hasn’t been very explored, but is becoming more evident.

They then talk about the importance of progesterone timing and how using frozen vs fresh semen interacts with that.

There’s a narrow window of time during which the puppies need to come out - they also discuss the downsides of reverse progesterone testing (done at the end of pregnancy).

Last, they discuss the importance of having your bitch in good physical condition - fit but not too lean. You also want your bitch to have good dental health. Overall, you want your dog to be in top notch shape for breeding.

In this installment of the Breeder to Breeder series, Laura, Susan, and Gayle talk about what breeders can do to resuscitate puppies that seem to be fading.

The first thing you need to know is how to identify when a recently-born puppy may be in trouble. Healthy, naturally-born puppies should be rigid (not soft), and should weigh more than they look. Puppies that aren’t moving or making any sounds should be concerning - while there are variations between breeds, most newborns will be making noises and moving to find their mother. If you’re concerned about a puppy, it’s important to act immediately - in fact, it’s always best to take action rather than to wait when it comes to newborn puppies. 

When whelping, breeders are with their puppies 24/7. Susan and Gayle list some of the essential items they have with them during the entire process - from white towels to blow dryers. They also list some accessible alternatives that are great options for breeders without a lot of existing equipment.

If you’re dealing with a puppy that is still a bit limp, or a puppy that hasn’t fully cleared its lungs yet, you can gently compress and uncompress the puppy’s body with your hands (almost like puppy yoga) while angling the puppy downward. This can get the remaining fluid out of the lungs.

When assessing your puppies, checking their heartbeat is key. Puppies that don’t have a heartbeat after 15 minutes often will not make it, so it’s important to constantly monitor puppies that you’re concerned about. 

Listen to the episode for more tips on resuscitating puppies.

Laura Reeves, Susan Patterson, and Gayle Watkins begin the Breeder to Breeder series with one of the toughest topics in breeding: stillborn puppies. 

Gayle begins the discussion by reviewing a study that was published in 2019, analyzing data from 2,500 whelpings. The biggest takeaway from the study is that stillborn puppies are common in dogs, and breeders should be prepared for this. Among the dogs studied (in this case, larger breed dogs), litters with 5-8 puppies had the lowest rate of stillborn puppies. Litters with fewer than 5 actually had the highest rate, with large litters also having high instances of stillborn puppies.

The three birthing methods that have statistically the same stillborn rates are: natural whelpings with no dystocia, planned c-sections, and natural whelpings that might have uterine problems but that are resolved with calcium alone. Birthing methods that are problematic with regards to stillborn rates are: emergency c-sections (especially when oxytocin is used) as well as using mechanical manipulation to get the puppies out.

Susan gives a rundown of how to give your dogs oral calcium supplements, which can help alleviate some whelping-related issues and decrease the chance of stillborn puppies. She then follows up with situations in which using oxytocin can be useful during the whelping process.

Gayle continues her summary of the study, describing how the time in between puppies being born is correlated with the rate of stillborn puppies - the conventional wisdom of 2 hours between puppies may be too long! If you find yourself at 45 minutes between puppies, it may be in your interest to give your dog calcium. Susan also recommends regularly feeding your bitch (Susan does this through a syringe) while they are in active labor to help them maintain their energy.

Continue listening for tips on tools and techniques you can use to help ease your bitch through the process of labor!

Laura is joined by a couple of canine fitness coaches, Kristin Sandstede and Dixie Rae Sick, to discuss some fitness games and exercises that are great to do indoors.

Kristin is a professional dog trainer and owns Big Moose Dog Training. When people think of dog exercises, their minds often go to cardio-focused activities such as running, playing fetch, agility, and so on. While high-cardio exercise is important for dogs, it’s important to spend time on mental exercises. Whether it’s obedience or learning new tricks, mental exercises can tire out your dog just as well (if not better) than physical exercises.

A great way to exercise your dog’s brain is to use food puzzles during meal time. This will keep the dog occupied while you can multitask on other things, while also stimulating your dog’s brain. There are lots of other interactive toys that are great at exercising your dogs; try some out and see what your dog likes!

Kristin goes on to talk about different ways you can condition your dog to keep them physically fit. By regularly having your dog perform certain stretches and exercises, you can decrease the risk of injury.

Next, Laura chats with Dixie to get some ideas on effective exercises we can do with our dogs. The first idea that comes to mind for most people is walking. Walking your dog on a gentle incline is great at working certain groups of muscles - going both uphill and downhill. Another idea is to train your dog in going from a stand to a down, and from a down to a stand. This works the dog’s core which helps with balance and can prevent future injuries.

Listen to the full episode to get some more exercise ideas from Dixie!

This week, Laura is joined by Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, JD to discuss the prevalence of obesity in dogs. In the US, having overweight dogs has become more and more common, thus shifting the public perception of what a dog should look like. Many owners overfeed their dogs because of their love for them - their dog is hungry, so why not continue to feed them? In reality, over-feeding and under-exercising dogs can lead to many health problems, and a shorter lifespan.

Laura and Dr. Greer discuss some ways to continue feeding your dog more, while decreasing their calorie intake: replacing their typical food and treats with fruits and veggies, or giving them ice cubes to munch on are all great low-calorie substitutions.

Dr. Greer goes on to explain how you can assess your dog's weight just with your eyes and hands, making sure to check that your dog's body conforms to the relevant breed standard.