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Where Did The Phrase “The Dog Ate My Homework” Come From?

Dogs are known as man’s best friend. Dogs keep us safe, are hard workers … and can provide a handy excuse in a pinch. Maybe that’s why versions of the classic expression the dog ate my homework have been around for hundreds of years.

Today, the dog ate my homework is used as a stock example of the kind of silly excuses schoolchildren give for why their work isn’t finished. Very rarely do people say, “the dog ate my homework” and expect it to be taken literally; they use the expression as an example of a typically flimsy excuse.

So where did the phrase come from?

Forrest Wickman, a writer for Slate , describes the legend of the 6th-century Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise as the alleged first recorded “the dog ate my homework” story. According to the tale, Saint Ciarán had a tame young fox that would take his writings to his master for him. One day, the fox grew up and decided to eat the leather strap binding the writings together instead. Still, this tale is more Garden-of-Eden parable and less terrible schoolchild excuse.

The notion that dogs will eat just about anything, including paper, turns up in lots of stories over the centuries. An example comes from The Humors of Whist , published in 1808 in Sporting Magazine . In the story, the players are sitting around playing cards when one of them remarks that their companion would have lost the game had the dog not eaten the losing card. Good boy.

Some attribute the creation of the dog ate my homework to a joke that was going around at the beginning of the 20th century. In a tale found as far back as an 1894 memoir by Anglican priest Samuel Reynolds Hole, a preacher gives a shortened version of a sermon because a dog got into his study and ate some of the pages he had written. However, the clerk loved it because they had been wanting the preacher to shorten his sermons for years.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the first example of the dog ate my homework excuse in print can be found in a speech given by retiring headmaster James Bewsher in 1929 and published in the Manchester Guardian : “It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework.” The way this comment is phrased suggests that the whole dog ate my homework story had been around for some time before it was put in print.

When was the word homework created?

But in order for a dog to eat homework specifically, homework had to be invented (oh, and how we wish it hadn’t been). True, the word homework , as in what we call today housework , appears as early as 1653. But homework , as in school exercises to be done at home, isn’t found until 1852. Once we had homework , it was only a matter of time before the dog was accused of eating it.

How we use this phrase now

No matter the origin, sometime in the 1950s, the expression became set as the dog ate my homework . This inspired any number of riffs on the theme, like my cow ate my homework or my brother ate my homework . In the 1960s, the dog ate my homework continued to gain popularity. The expression popped up a couple times in politics over the years, like when President Reagan said to reporters in 1988, “I had hoped that we had marked the end of the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ era of Congressional budgetry … but it was not to be.”

It seems unlikely that the dog ate my homework was ever used consistently or frequently by actual schoolchildren. In fact, it’s the unlikeliness of the story that makes it so funny and absurd as a joke. Instead, teachers and authority figures appear to have cited the dog ate my homework many times over the years as such a bad excuse they can’t believe students are really using it.

In the 21st century, students don’t spend as much time working with physical pen and paper as they once did. That may contribute to the decline in the use of the phrase. So, maybe soon we’ll see a new equally absurd phrase pop up. Come on Zoomers, you’ve got this.

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The SECRET to a Trained Dog: Homework & Consistency

Our furry companions bring joy and love into our lives, but just like humans, dogs have their quirks, and sometimes those quirks can turn into behavioral issues. Whether it's incessant barking, leash pulling, or separation anxiety, the good news is that most behavioral problems can be eliminated with training. The key to success? Homework, Consistency, time and lots of it.

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY: Imagine you're taking a college class, and the professor assigns homework every week. Neglecting those assignments will put you on a path to failure, and it's unlikely you'll achieve success in that course . The same concept applies to dog training, consistency is the key to success. Here's why:

Reinforcing New Habits: Similar to humans, dogs grasp concepts through repetition. Maintaining consistency in your dog's training enables your furry companion to comprehend expectations and anticipate actions, creating a smoother experience in our human-centric world.

Building Trust: Dogs thrive when they follow a routine; when your interactions with your dog are predictable, it instills a sense of security, diminishes anxiety, and minimizes stress.

Patience and Persistence: Behavioral transformations don't occur instantaneously; it may take your dog anywhere from 21 to 27 days to form a new habit. Achieving noticeable changes in your dog's behavior demands consistent practice and unwavering patience.

DOING YOUR HOMEWORK IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS: Now that you know the importance of consistency, let's delve into the practical aspect - homework. In dog training, your trainer will assign homework, comprising exercises to be practiced with your dog at least twice a day between lessons. These training sessions are instrumental in molding your dog's behavior.

Practice Makes Perfect: If you're working on cues like "Attention " "sit," or "touch," daily practice is imperative for your success in training your dog. Practicing these behaviors consistently reinforces good behavior.

Addressing Problem Behaviors: If your dog has behavioral issues like separation anxiety or reactivity your homework will involve exercises meant to help desensitization exercises or counter-conditioning . It's these daily efforts that can lead to long-term change.

Maintaining a Structured Routine: Establishing daily schedules for meals, bathroom breaks, training, and exercise imparts a sense of security to your dog as they anticipate what and when things will happen. Predictability in our actions results in more predictable dog behavior. This consistency in various aspects reduces anxiety and encourages positive behavior.

Positive Reinforcement: Using reward-based training has been scientifically proven to be more effective than aversive methods of training. Regularly reinforcing your dogs good behavior with high value rewards during traininig sessions motivates your dog to continue behaving well.

Transforming your dog's behavior through consistency and doing your homework is a journey, not a destination. Be patient and recognize that setbacks can occur and thats okay, when they do, stay consistent and if you get frustrated its okay to stop and try again later. For any inquiries or assistance with dog training, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call us at 301-231-1907. You can also visit our sign-up page at Best Buddy Dog Trainer Sign-Up if you need help with training your dog. We're here to help!

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My Dog Ate My Homework: How to Correct Unwanted Dog Behavior

Sometime throughout your life you may have heard (or possibly used) the old expression, “the dog ate my homework.” Hopefully, you haven’t had to actually deal with your four-legged friend using your work assignment as a midday snack. If they are exhibiting unwanted behavior like chewing on things that aren’t theirs, we can help.

Dogs, especially puppies, are delicate animals that need to feel loved, safe, and secure within our homes. When our furry friends do something we don’t like, the last thing we want to do is try to correct the behavior in a way that makes them feel confused or scared. Luckily, there are plenty of positive ways to address and correct your dog’s behavior that won’t cause unnecessary stress for you or your pooch.

Identifying Bad Behavior

Before you can correct your dog’s bad habits, you need to be able to identify what is and is not bad behavior. Though some “bad” behaviors are common characteristics of all dogs, the problem arises when the action becomes excessive, damaging, or unwelcome.

Common bad habits that may need to be addressed include:

• Excessive barking
• Biting and/or nipping

It is important to remember that a lot of factors can impact a dog’s behavior. Their breed, age, medical history, and past experiences all shape how they act and how they may respond to training. There are also many different reasons why your dog may act out that range from separation anxiety to sheer boredom .

Is your dog acting out because they are seeking attention? Or maybe they are just unfamiliar with a new situation and that makes them anxious. It is helpful to identify potential causes of behavior problems to help better understand what training they may need.

No matter the reason for the misdeeds, it’s important to stop undesirable behavior before it becomes part of your dog’s normal routine. Luckily, there are a few methods you can use to address and correct bad behavior that when executed properly, can help most dogs curb their harmful habits.

Preventing Bad Behavior

Once you have identified your dog’s bad behavior, you can begin to formulate a plan to address and correct the troublesome trait. The most important factor to remember is that punishment is not the answer. Instead, use positive reward-based correction and training to teach your dog that good things happen when they do what you ask.

Corrections Instead of Punishments

Corrections are used to help your pup learn right from wrong. The purpose of a correction is to demonstrate a fact to your dog, while gaining the ability to understand, and reduce, unwanted behaviors. We all make mistakes, but it’s important to teach our dogs to avoid the behaviors we don’t want, and to encourage them with the behaviors we do want. This makes for a happy home for both pup and pup parent.

Several behavioral corrections can be used to train your pooch the right and safe way. Two of the more popular correction methods are withholding a reward and reprimanding.

Withholding a Reward

During your training sessions, try giving your dog commands and reward them with some delicious Bil-Jac Little Jacs Training Treats  for the right behavior and withhold the treat if they do any unwanted dog behavior.

By repeating this exercise several times with your pooch, they will start to understand that they are only rewarded for doing the thing you want them to do. This form of training will help your dog create a positive association with good behaviors, which is much more effective than punishing a dog for bad behavior.

In contrast, withholding a reward when he or she doesn’t follow direction will teach your furry friend to avoid that behavior in the future. For some pups, withholding a reward is all they need to correct their bad dog behavior.

Reprimanding the Puppy

When withholding a reward isn’t enough, sometimes it makes sense to reprimand your puppy. This may sound intimidating, but reprimanding your puppy is not about scaring them or hurting your four-legged friend. Instead, it is simply creating a learning moment your dog can recognize as out of the norm to help signal something is not right.

Giving a simple but firm ‘NO!’ with a finger point or a brief leash tug is enough to alert your pup that they need to make an adjustment. By doing this, and withholding a reward, your dog should learn to adjust their behavior fairly quickly.

Redirection

Another way to correct unwanted dog behavior is through redirection. A lot of behavior that we as pet parents deem as “bad” is oftentimes just instinctive habits our pup can’t fully turn off. Chewing, barking, and digging are all habits that come naturally to our dogs, so it may be impossible to fully stop these behaviors. What we can do, however, is redirect our dog’s attention to less damaging activities when these “bad” behaviors occur.

If your dog is chewing, digging, jumping, or exhibiting a behavior you don’t like, offer them their favorite chew toy, play a few rounds of tug, or take them for a jog around the block. Sometimes even some basic exercise can help burn off steam and distract them from their initial bad actions.

S ocialization

When it comes to correcting unwanted dog behavior, socialization goes a long way.

Sometimes our furry friends act up because they are anxious, confused, or scared. When you regularly socialize your pup , they become more accustomed to different sounds, smells, and new sensations. These new experiences help your dog learn how to relax in unfamiliar situations, and in turn they are less likely to overreact or exhibit bad behavior like barking, jumping, biting, and chasing when caught off guard.

Work With a Trainer

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out what our dog’s need. Luckily, dog trainers are a great resource to lean on when we aren’t sure how to help our furry friends. Professional Animal Trainer and TV Show Host Joel Silverman is a phenomenal source of information when it comes to raising, training , and caring for dogs of all ages. When asked about curbing bad behavior, Silverman offers some helpful advice to keep in mind:

“If you can catch a dog right when he’s starting to dig or chew and say, ‘knock it off,’ now you’re sending a message the dog can understand,” Silverman explains. “A verbal correction combined with preventative training, which is not giving the dog the opportunity to be in that situation, is how you get rid of those problems.”

Ultimately, the most important thing to do when you want to correct unwanted dog behavior is to remember that practice makes perfect. Dogs are smart and social animals and want to please their dog parents, so regularly reinforcing good behavior will help them stay consistent. Plus, training your pup and using corrections is a great way to build your bond and ensure a healthy and happy home for the whole family.

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Strange News

Can the dog still eat your homework.

It may be the best known bad excuse for being unprepared: "The Dog Ate My Homework." But where does the phrase come from and how has it changed over the years? Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with Forrest Wickman, a reporter with Slate Magazine , who has the answers.

Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

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Why Do We Say “The Dog Ate My Homework”?

The history of the delinquent schoolchild’s favorite excuse..

Did this sad Lab eat your homework?

iStockphoto.

Viacom announced on Monday that Mitt Romney had declined to appear on Nickelodeon’s Kids Pick the President special this year, citing time constraints. President Obama’s camp pounced on Romney’s decision, saying, “Kids demand details … ‘The dog ate my homework’ just doesn’t cut it when you’re running for president. ” When did “my dog ate my homework” become known as schoolchildren’s favorite excuse?

The 1970s. Delinquent schoolchildren and adults have been blaming their shortcomings on their pets for more than a century, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that “my dog ate my homework” came to be considered the No. 1 likely story. One of the first sad sacks who was said to blame his dog for his own ill-preparedness was a priest. In this anecdote, which appeared as early as 1905, a clergyman pulls his clerk aside after a service to ask him whether his sermon seemed long enough. The clerk assures him that it was very nice, “just the right length,” and the priest is relieved. “I am very glad to hear you say that,” he says, “because just before I started to come here my dog got hold of my sermon and ate some of the leaves .” The story was repeated again and again . The first citation of the excuse in the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1929 article from the Manchester Guardian , which reads, “It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework.” In Bel Kaufman’s best-selling 1965 novel Up the Down Staircase , a list of students’ excuses for not having their homework includes “ My dog went on my homework ” and “ My dog chewed it up .” Even in 1965, however, it was still just another excuse.

“My dog ate my homework” became known as the quintessential far-fetched excuse in the next decade, when the phrase was used over and over . In a 1976 account of the Watergate tapes, E.C. Kennedy describes listening to President Nixon “ working on the greatest American excuse since the dog ate my homework .” A 1977 article from Alaska’s Daily News-Miner describes the difficulty students faced in coming up with a new excuse since “ ‘My dog ate my term paper’ is no longer acceptable .”

The excuse was alluded to more and more throughout the 1980s. A 1982 Time magazine column on excuses suggested that “The dog ate my homework is a favorite with schoolchildren,” while a 1987 New York Times column about how students were starting to blame malfunctioning computers and printers quoted one teacher as saying she recently received “ a note from a student’s mother saying the dog ate his homework .” Even the president picked up on the trend: When Congress pushed spending approval to the last minute in 1988, Ronald Reagan complained to reporters, “ I had hoped that we had marked the end of the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ era of Congressional budgetry … but it was not to be .” It was all over television, with references to the excuse on shows like The Simpsons and Full House . By 1989, the narrator of Saved by the Bell theme was singing, “ And the dog ate all my homework last night .”

The phrase continued to grow more popular. Between 1990 and 2000, the New York Times wrote articles with headlines such as “ Beyond ‘Dog Ate My Homework’ ” and “ Homework Help Sites (Or, the Dog Ate My U.R.L.) ,” while The New Yorker described one criminal’s accounts of his wrongdoings as having “a decided my-dog-ate-my-homework quality.” Children’s books tried to capitalize on the trend with titles like A Dinosaur Ate My Homework , Aliens Ate My Homework , Godzilla Ate My Homework , and My Teacher Ate My Homework , daring to use the term to promote reading and education. Such titles have continued into the 2000s, but in recent years the phrase seems to finally be losing steam .

Bonus Explainer: An Obama spokesperson also said, “ It’s no surprise Romney decided to play hookey .” Why do we call cutting school “playing hookey”? To play hookey began as an Americanism in the 19 th century. The earliest known citation comes from 1848, from John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms , where it was said to mean “to play truant” and noted to be “ a term used among schoolboys, chiefly in the State of New York .” Word historians usually suggest that it’s from to hook it meaning to run away , a term as old as the Revolutionary War. However, others have proposed that it might derive from the Dutch expression hoekje spelen , the Dutch expression for “hide and seek”—especially since playing hooky emerged in New York during a time when it had a larger Dutch population.

Got a question about today’s news?  Ask the Explainer .

Explainer thanks Barry Popik, Jesse Sheidlower of the Oxford English Dictionary, and Ben Zimmer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com .

The Dog Ate My Homework!

Top 5 funniest student excuses.

The Survey Says

Everyone knows that a great teacher embraces creativity and encourages it in each and every student. Many students learn this lesson quite well but unfortunately, illustrate their mastery when pressed about homework not being completed or projects left undone.

The excuse “the dog ate my homework” probably dates to the Paleolithic era when a creative student met the first dog. Poor canines have been blamed for academic failures for the next 15,000 years. While the excuse continues to be an old favorite, students today have applied their creativity to parents, families, other pets and now of course technology.

ESGI and ThinkFives polled hundreds of teachers to solicit the funniest or most creative excuses they have heard in their classrooms. These are actual excuses used by students and shared with ThinkFives.

It’s My Parents!

• My mom punished me by not letting me do it.
• My mother said “Jesus is coming soon so we better go to church instead of doing homework.”
• My mama fell through the porch.
• My dad didn’t do it.
• My nanny drove over my science project and the fruit flies just didn’t make it.

There’s an Animal or Sibling Involved

• My cat peed on my homework.
• A duck flew into the house and grabbed it with the Rice Krispies.
• My little brother hid it too well during hide and seek.
• My baby sister ate it because she still doesn’t know what food is.
• My brother was farting all night and I couldn’t be in my room. That’s where my computer is.

Darn that Technology 

• Our Internet does not work unless the sun is shining.
• My mom locked me in the bathroom until I would take a shower and there was no wifi in there.
• I thought I was using the copier but it was the shredder.
• I dropped my iPad in the toilet.
• My Chromebook is sick. It has a virus.

Understandable Issues

• It was International Pancake Day- free pancakes at the IHOP.
• I had a potty battle and I lost!
• I had to get my hair done
• I didn’t want to add to your workload.
• My friend is failing so I gave it to him to use.
• It was raining.
• My brain left my body for a bit.
• I didn’t have time because I had to play with my PlayStation.
• I didn’t want “Sally” to be the only one that didn’t have her homework today.
• I kept thinking about bubblegum.

What’s a Funny Excuse You’ve Heard?

Share this:

For the reason their laptop wasn’t charged for class today a student said, “We don’t have outlets at home.” When in fact I know he does.🙄😂#middleschoolers #alwaysforthelaugh

There’s always an excuse! I don’t get it. Doing my homework when I was a kid wasn’t an option! 🙄

I have to admit: “My Chromebook is sick. It has a virus.” was a very clever one. Wow, such creativity there! Really impressed!

“I seriously had full intentions of doing my homework, but then, I remembered how important you said sleep was.”

I didn’t do it because it was too easy for me..

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Barkshop / Dog Ate My Homework

Dog Ate My Homework

The excuse that keeps on excusing.

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Product Info

Homework disappear from your trapper keeper? With this Dog Ate My Homework toy, you know who's to blame! This Bark & Co Original is made from two squeaker-stuffed sheets of crinkly fabric line ruled sheets stitched together instead of stapled. Each sheet is printed with your dog's best attempts to show their work (dog math is really hard). The two-page construction makes this toy perfect for flapping and thrashing around, just like a real History essay the night before it's due!

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• 5 Stars 34 Reviews
• 4 Stars 12 Reviews
• 3 Stars 10 Reviews
• 2 Stars 7 Reviews
• 1 Star 12 Reviews

Dog's Favorite Toy

This is my dogs absolute favorite toy. She's ripped the "pages" apart into two toys but she's never been able to get the squeaker out of the one page and the crinkley page is still noisy enough for her. They are both so stained up though that no amount of washing will ever clean them and I'd love it if this product came back in stock so I could by a few more replacements for when the pages become too dirty and illegible.

Hello Tara! Thank you so much for taking the time to review the Dog Ate My Homework toy! We're glad that your pup enjoyed it! So sorry that the toy wasn't tough enough that it got defeated! We understand that you'd want this toy back in stock, please keep an eye out for an email from us so we can help further!

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Pet Owners Are Sharing Photos of Their Dogs Being Pawsome Study Buddies

I ask my students to send me photos of their dogs doing class work. It’s an under-appreciated photography genre. pic.twitter.com/oxXFicXmue — Marie-Amélie George (@ProfMAGeorge) April 15, 2020

“My dog ate my homework” is a classic (but not very believable) excuse if you’ve ever failed to hand in a school assignment on time. However, it’s unfair to let our fluffy friends take the blame. And if this Twitter conversation is anything to go by, dogs are the ones who are actually trying to help us get our work done on time. Legal scholar and historian at Wake Forest Law school Marie-Amélie George recently asked her students to send her photos of their dogs doing classwork, and the results are brilliant.

George posted a photo of an adorable pup sitting up attentively, “reading” a book, with the caption, “I ask my students to send me photos of their dogs doing class work. It’s an under-appreciated photography genre.” Soon, the Twitter thread started filling up with photos of all sorts of studious pups. Some have their heads in books, others are wearing glasses (it makes them look smart), and others are captured taking a short study nap. Even cats are pictured cramming—but let’s face it, typically aloof felines probably won’t show up to the exam.

Scroll down to check out some of the most studious dogs on Twitter . Want to see more pawsonal assistants?  There's a “ Dogs Working From Home ” Instagram account, dedicated to our furry coworkers.

Legal scholar and historian Marie-Amélie George asked her students to send photos of their dogs doing classwork, sparking a stream of photo replies.

pic.twitter.com/GLsZZBYo9E — Libby Adler (@libby_adler) April 15, 2020

pic.twitter.com/1Sc0UcH3LE — Ozymandias (@CapSavage24) April 16, 2020

pic.twitter.com/0ArP1B98yy — Chloé Nurik (@Chloe_Nurik) April 16, 2020

Who knew dogs could be so studious!?

pic.twitter.com/o1O7BOQz18 — JP Hackworth (@HackworthJp) April 16, 2020

pic.twitter.com/pNpUzIX3za — Dizy Walton (@DizyWalton) April 16, 2020

pic.twitter.com/JjNYi3h5jA — Angela (@AngD11) April 16, 2020

He has his own work area…. A bit small though. pic.twitter.com/AxT505vgob — Ryan Sorensen (@ryanoss123) April 16, 2020

Einstein taking a break from studying Art History pic.twitter.com/pzeFNyiZDf — Kathryn (@NoWeHaventMet) April 16, 2020

pic.twitter.com/FoJL8NVEXk — Naomi Farley (@BronxNaomi) April 16, 2020

Maybe the “dog ate my homework” excuse is true in this case.

Sandy took off with my son’s math homework. Not quite the same…. pic.twitter.com/pGKL8Z8KI0 — Melissa (@melissaboose) April 16, 2020

Even cats are pictured with their heads in books.

This is Louie, he likes to Attend class and lead discussions on my behalf! pic.twitter.com/fXR0an9Sqp — Roxanna Ast ، ركسانا (@RoxannaA66) April 16, 2020

Same. pic.twitter.com/7rt9hQjC3e — FedUpAmerican (@CantLetItbe) April 17, 2020

Cats only check your work w a disapproving gaze. pic.twitter.com/zmWXmF7QeK — 0000 1000 0110 0111 0101 0011 0000 1001 (@CJHicks15) April 16, 2020

Can confirm: pic.twitter.com/we4jJljoOg — Melpaca (@MellishMel) April 16, 2020

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The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts

Can Dogs Have Apples?

My dog is not eating, dog food for sensitive stomachs, is liver good for dogs, why do dogs wag their tails, addressing common dog behavioral issues, why do dogs suck on blankets, how quickly do dogs learn, how to teach a dog her name, how to teach a dog to come when called, how to start training your dog, treating a red rash on a dog’s belly, can a dog have a mole, does my dog have pneumonia, what are the different types of assistance dogs, the best dog scratch pads for fear-free nail trims, the 4 best chew-proof dog beds, do you know how to play with your dog, do your homework, research pays off as a dedicated owner helps his dog outlive her diagnosis..

by C. C. Holland

For Walt Cooper and his yellow Labrador Retriever, Sandy, a little sneezing turned into a big health problem. But by embracing a holistic approach that included both traditional veterinary medicine and a naturopathic element, Cooper has managed to extend his companion’s lease on life and keep her as happy and healthy as possible.

Walt Cooper, 60, a radio programmer living in Liverpool, New York, has shared his life with dogs for many years, but has a special affinity for yellow Labs. Sandy, his third yellow Lab, has been his beloved companion since late 1992, when he got her as a pup.

“She’s like talking to a human being,” says Cooper. “We’re very bonded. She has great enthusiasm.”

As a conscientious owner, Cooper was quick to notice when Sandy, then 10, began sneezing in June of 2003; occasionally, the discharge would have a bloody tinge. Instead of a simple foxtail or other foreign object in her nose, Cooper’s veterinarian discovered a mass in one of Sandy’s nasal cavities. The preliminary diagnosis was hemangioma, which is a benign lump formed by dilated small blood vessels in the skin. Although they’re not normally considered dangerous, Cooper agreed to a biopsy – just in case.

The pathology report came back with encouraging news, confirming the mass as benign. But Cooper had a gut feeling that he couldn’t ignore, and he decided to seek a second opinion for his beloved dog at the nearby Cornell University Hospital for Animals. “As we were getting this report, we thought we’d better get into Cornell just in case,” he says.

Cooper and Sandy made an appointment with Cornell’s oncology department, and agreed to a CT scan, blood tests, and additional biopsies. “They took 10 or 12 samples, and then we had a problem because (her left) eye became filled with blood because of the procedure,” says Cooper. “So she was in pretty bad shape at Cornell.”

Then came the kicker. The veterinarians at Cornell gave Cooper a revised diagnosis: Rather than a benign hemangioma, they said, Sandy was suffering from hemangioendo-thelioma – a rare type of cancer. Even worse, the CT scan revealed it was spreading into adjacent tissues.

“Hemangioendothelioma is an unusual diagnosis,” says Blaise Burke, DVM, a resident in radiation and medical oncology at Cornell’s veterinary hospital and Sandy’s primary clinician. “The most common types of tumors in dogs in the nasal cavity are adenocarcinomas. I don’t believe such a thing as hemangioendothelioma (in the nose) has ever been reported in the literature.”

Because of the proximity of the mass to Sandy’s eyes and brain and the fact that it was already spreading, attempting to excise the tumor wasn’t an option. Instead, Dr. Burke prescribed a course of radiation treatment – and he warned Cooper that Sandy’s future might be grim.

“This is a tumor with a rather poor prognosis, (with) a median survival time of around three months,” explains Dr. Burke. Cooper was told Sandy might have 8 to 12 weeks left to live at best.

Cooper agreed to let Sandy undergo radiation therapy in an effort to slow the spread of the tumor. However, after five of the six procedures were completed, he discontinued the treatment due to concern over some serious side effects.

“Her eye hemorrhaged, there were ulcers in her mouth . . . it was bad,” says Cooper. Sandy also developed conjunctivitis in response to the radiation. In the space of a couple of months, Sandy went from a happy, healthy dog to a cancer patient who was taking steroids, several types of antibiotic drugs, and painkillers.

Research begins In an effort to help combat the effects of some of the drugs, Cooper began looking into some nutritional options. Sandy had already been on some basic supplements to help with her arthritis, including a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement, so Cooper wasn’t a stranger to the idea and knew where to start.

“I figured the first thing was to get good bacteria back into the body, because of the antibiotics, so I started with yogurt and cottage cheese,” he said. Then he stumbled across some information about turmeric (also known as curcumin), a spice used in many curries; some studies had found turmeric reduced tumor size. He figured, since the conventional veterinary treatment options for the cancer were nearly exhausted – additional rounds of radiation therapy were not recommended – why not try this? After checking things out thoroughly, he added turmeric to Sandy’s diet as well. Soon, Cooper became an avid researcher.

“I started talking to different people and reading different publications; I didn’t just go off and just do stuff (indiscriminately),” he said. “I would have to hear it in triplicate, from at least three sources, and also for canines, and make sure everything was right.”

Cooper looked up medical studies, read articles from journals and magazines (including WDJ), visited Web sites, and experimented with mixing different additives and supplements into Sandy’s diet. Her daily rations soon included things like flax seed oil, milk thistle extract, MSM, Ester-C, garlic, digestive enzymes, and a host of other supplements (see sidebar). Cooper’s goal: “To keep the immune system working as well as possible.”

Keeping Sandy happy The approach appears to have paid off. “She’s lasted this long, we’ve been lucky,” says Cooper. “They said if she made it to Labor Day (2003), she’d be lucky.”

As of April 2004, Sandy is still battling eye problems and occasional nosebleeds, but she is active and happy. “She’s about 60 pounds, no fat, has a nice waistline, good teeth, her eyes are doing pretty good, and her appetite’s good,” says Cooper.

Walt maintains that a regular exercise regimen has also contributed to Sandy’s good spirits and thus, her robust immune system. “We play ball 10 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night, plus walking, so she stays in top physical shape,” he says. “Even when she was quite ill and feeling bad, a little ball-playing would perk her up, even if we were just rolling the ball for her a short distance in the house.”

Sandy’s veterinarians are also pleased with her condition.

“We’ve seen Sandy quite a bit, and we’ve all been really pleasantly surprised at how long she’s been going, given the kind of tumor and its location,” says Dr. Burke. “I think she’s looking pretty, she has good energy, good appetite, and her quality of life – in spite of her disease – is pretty good.”

On his own Dr. Burke credits Sandy’s state of health, at least in part, to her radiation treatments. But he doesn’t know about Sandy’s steady diet of supplements, because Cooper hasn’t shared that information with him.

“I didn’t really think about it,” says Cooper, when asked why. “With most vets, if you tell them you’re using supplements, they’ll just say if it works, it works. Most vets I know don’t really mention anything alternative medicine all that often, unless they’re into that sort of thing.”

But wasn’t he concerned about possible interactions with her medical therapy? “When I started, given the seriousness of the diagnosis, they offered very little hope that she would live very long. And I just wanted to do anything I could to reduce the side effects of the medications she was on. Plus, it gave me something more that I could do for her. Honestly, I didn’t know that much about all of it when I started. But it was so successful – from the beginning, she did better than they predicted she would – that I got more and more into it, and started researching all sorts of things,” says Cooper. “I didn’t know that much when I started, but I sure know a lot now.”

As a general rule, it’s not a good idea to use herbs or an extensive supplement regimen without your veterinarian’s blessing, or at least his knowledge. Unless an owner is very knowledgeable about dosages, expected effects, possible side effects, potential drug interactions, the ways that the herbs or supplements can affect the drug dosages, etc., he could unwittingly cause a problem that neither he (nor the unsuspecting veterinarian) would be able to address appropriately.

This is where the assistance of a holistic veterinarian can be a huge asset. Many dog owners utilize the services of a conventional practitioner for emergency and/or primary care and diagnosis, and a holistic practitioner for advice about alternative or complementary treatments. At least one member of your dog’s healthcare “team” should be experienced and knowledgable about nutritional supplements and herbal treatments. (See “Coordinating Care,” WDJ May 2002.)

Walt researches the supplements and herbs he administers as well as the vet-prescribed drugs very thoroughly, watches his dog like a hawk, and feels confident that he could detect signs of a problem and take appropriate steps. Again, in most cases, if the dog’s primary care veterinarian uses only conventional medicine and is unsympathetic, uninterested, or even opposed to the use of adjunctive complementary therapies, an owner should consult with another veterinarian who is familiar with both the complementary and conventional regimes the dog will receive.

In Cooper’s case, extraordinary research was the name of the game. Cooper relies on scientific studies that he finds online, information from reputable publications and Web sites, and consultations with veterinary clinicians – and he warns anyone interested that it’s hard work.

“For anyone getting into this, you really have to read up on things,” he says. “Go to the Internet and download any (scientific study) abstracts you can get. Check everything out. I’d have to verify something two or three times before I’d give it to my dog, and then have to figure out the amount.”

Nothing better than vigilance Another important part of Sandy’s success has been her owner’s unfailing ability to observe the slightest change in her condition or frame of mind. Cooper is quick to note any changes in Sandy’s demeanor and behavior and take action as soon as possible. For example, he recently discontinued many supplements – all the ones that can thin the blood – after she had some bloody discharge following sneezing. Also, he doesn’t hesitate to check in with his veterinarians, or whisk Sandy into the clinic if he sees anything awry.

Despite being unaware of the nutritional components of Sandy’s care, Dr. Burke recognizes that Cooper is the type of owner who’s willing to do anything it takes to improve his dog’s situation.

“Walt seems very diligent about watching her for any changes, and he will be quick to bring them to our attention,” says Dr. Burke. “I think his goals are to keep her comfortable and as happy as he can keep her for as long as possible. He’s really taken good care of her and it’s been a real pleasure to work with him.”

Beyond expectations There’s no way of knowing the state of Sandy’s cancer without conducting another CT scan or chest X-rays, and Cooper has opted not to do that thus far, based both on expense and the fact that even if tests show the cancer has spread, there’s nothing more medically that can be done. But he is encouraged by the results he’s seen so far.

“Every time I’ve gotten to a roadblock and have exhausted everything I’ve read, somehow, somewhere, I either pick up an article or come up with something else that can help,” he says. “I call Sandy the comeback kid, because every time I think we’re at the end, something good happens.”

Holistic dog care means using everything at your disposal: attentive dog care, quick action, conventional veterinary medicine, high-tech innovations, alternative and complementary medicine where applicable, and sympathetic, sensitive nursing with the dog’s preferences and quality of life foremost in mind. We admit that this takes an extraordinary owner.

Walt Cooper embodies this description perfectly. But he brushes any such compliments off. “I’d do just about anything for this dog,” he says.

-C.C. Holland is a freelance writer in Oakland, California, and regular contributor to WDJ.

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Introduction

The dog’s scientific name is Canis familiaris . It is related to the coyote . Dogs are also related to wolves , foxes , and jackals .

Where Dogs Live

Physical Features and Breeds

Apart from these common features, dogs come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. Dogs that have similar sizes, looks, and behaviors make up groups called breeds. There are more than 400 different breeds of dog. Many dogs are combinations of different breeds. They are known as mutts. Some dogs are combinations of particular breeds. For example, a Labradoodle is a combination of a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. Some of the most popular breeds are Beagles, Boxers, Bulldogs, Collies, Dachshunds, Dalmatians, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Bull Terriers, Poodles, Pugs, Rottweilers, Scottish Terriers, Shih Tzus, Siberian Huskies, and Yorkshire Terriers.

Different breeds range from very small to very large. A Chihuahua may weigh only 1 pound (0.5 kilogram) and stand about 5 inches (13 centimeters) high. A Great Dane may weigh 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and stand about 30 inches (76 centimeters) high.

Dogs are carnivores, which means that they eat meat. Pet dogs eat dog food made with meat products. Wild dogs hunt animals.

Dogs claim territory and mark it as their own. They do this by urinating and rubbing their scent on things. But dogs also like to be around people and other dogs. People can even train dogs to obey simple commands.

Dogs make many sounds, including barks, howls, and growls. They also use movements to communicate. For example, when a dog wags its tail, it is happy. If it shows its teeth and growls, it is making a threat.

A female dog gives birth to a litter of puppies about two months after mating. A litter contains two to 12 puppies. Newborn puppies are blind and deaf. They depend on their mother for her milk and protection. Puppies become more independent when they are three or four months old. Dogs live for 10 to 15 years.

Dogs and Humans

Dogs have been with humans since prehistoric times. The ancient Egyptians thought dogs were holy. The ancient Romans kept watchdogs. In the palaces of ancient China, people kept small dogs in the sleeves of their robes.

Over the years, people developed different breeds of dog for different purposes. Toy dogs, including the poodle and the pug, were meant to be pets. Other dogs were meant to do certain jobs. The cocker spaniel and other sporting dogs helped people to hunt birds. The beagle and other hounds hunted animals. The Siberian husky pulled sleds. Sheepdogs herded farm animals. Terriers caught rodents. Some of these dogs are now mainly pets. Others still do their traditional jobs.

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Fun fact: John Steinbeck’s dog ate the first draft of Of Mice and Men .

“The dog ate my homework” is, perhaps, the oldest excuse in the book. But it really happened to John Steinbeck! His dog, Toby, apparently ate half of the first manuscript of Of Mice and Men .

On this very day, May 27, 1936, he wrote :

Minor tragedy stalked. My setter pup, left alone one night, made confetti of about half of my manuscript book. Two months work to do over again. It set me back. There was no other draft. I was pretty mad, but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically. I didn’t want to ruin a good dog for a manuscript I’m not sure is good at all. He only got an ordinary spanking … I’m not sure Toby didn’t know what he was doing when he ate the first draft. I have promoted Toby-dog to be a lieutenant-colonel in charge of literature.

Dog lover that he was, at least he was in good humor about it! (Maybe the moral here is: if your first draft gets destroyed, don’t  terrier self up about it!)

As for Toby, maybe he really was trying to tell his owner that the first draft was  ruff and he didn’t want Steinbeck to setter for it. Or he was hounding him to finish the thing, already! Maybe he just didn’t like that Lennie accidentally killed that innocent dog in the book.

Or maybe Toby somehow knew that later in life, John Steinbeck would go on to write a travelogue with his other dog, a poodle named Charley.

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Our St. Petersburg location is conveniently located near the 38th Ave N. exit off I-275 and is a perfect spot for anyone living downtown or using the highway to commute to and from Tampa. This facility features 10,000 sq feet of play space,  early and late pickup times, s’paw and grooming services, and fast pick up and drop off.  We’ve also installed medical-grade HVAC systems that produce 100% fresh, outside filtered air at all times into the facility. With over 10 years of experience in pet care, your pups will be in amazing hands and have the best day ever at Paws ‘n’ Rec. 

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Paws ‘n’ Rec is an exclusive, membership-based doggy daycare adventure and overnight dog boarding facility. Paws ‘n’ Rec offers two types of memberships – Daycare Adventure Memberships for pups who need daytime care, and Hotel Memberships for pups who join us for overnight stays. Check out our doggy daycare, grooming, spa, and adventure services for your pet!

What our customers are barking about...

I will be dropping my 2 dogs off tomorrow for 6 days of boarding (for the 1st time) and for once I don’t feel crippled by anxiety about leaving them. The staff made me feel so comfortable during their consultation and have been very …

Thank you so much fur taking the time to leave us five stars, Hailey! We're absolutely thrilled to paw-ty it up with Nala and Zuko during their very fur-st boarding stay with us! It was such a joy getting to know them on their evaluation day—they truly had a blast! We can’t wait to spoil your fur babies throughout their adventures here and continue creating a cozy, fun-filled home away from home for them. We’re so glad you had a paw-sitive experience with our crew and appreciate you checking out our facility. Welcome to the PNR family—we’re su-paw excited to have you all join the fun!

Paws n Rec is a great dog daycare! The staff is so friendly. Chester is excited to go every time!

Thank you so much fur the five stars, Victoria! Chester has truly melted our hearts with his gorgeous golden locks and su-paw handsome face! He fits right into our Goldie Crew and loves being around all his fur-iends. We're paw-sitively thrilled to see Chester again soon fur his next adventure!

I highly recommend Paws n Rec! I had never boarded my dog before using them & she never had so much fun. She didn’t want to leave when I went to pick her up. The staff is really friendly also.

Thank you so much fur the five stars, Sam! We had a blast adventuring with Fiona and the PNR Squad couldn't get enough of your adorable girl. We can't wait to see her again soon for more adventures!