Thunderstorm Phobia

Thunderstorm and other noise phobias are a common behavior problem I’m called on to address, and are very treatable. They’re also one of the problems that I find owners to be much less concerned about then they should be, despite the very real risk they pose to dogs. Here’s the take-home message: if your dog has a noise phobia, it is inhumane not to address it. Let’s talk about how to do so.

Noise phobias often develop later in a dog’s life, with the majority of the cases I see becoming critical between the ages of 4-8 years. Once a dog begins to display noise sensitivity, this issue tends to continue worsening until it’s addressed. Dogs become more and more sensitized to the noise, sometimes also becoming concerned about other triggers that they associate with that noise, such as grey skies, lightning, rain, or changes in barometric pressure.

Noise phobic dogs may pace, pant, whine, tremble, attempt to escape, or hide. Many of these dogs choose to hide in bathrooms, often wedging themselves behind the toilet. Some dogs become much more clingy, wanting to be held. Regardless of the exact behaviors they exhibit, these dogs are suffering.

How we treat thunderstorm phobia will depend on many factors, including the severity of the dog’s anxiety, the ability of the owner to carry out behavior modification plans, whether or not we’re currently in thunderstorm season, and the dog’s living environment. The individualized plan I put together often includes multiple facets. Here are a few of the more common treatment options that can help:

Dog Appeasing Pheromone: Sold under the brand name Comfort Zone, this is a synthetic version of a comforting pheromone that mother dogs release while puppies are nursing. It is available in diffuser, spray, or collar forms, with the diffuser being the most helpful option for most of my clients. This pheromone can help to reduce mild anxiety in some dogs, although it doesn’t work for every case. Usually clients who report success with this don’t notice a huge difference initially, but report that when the diffuser runs out after about 4 weeks they realize that it had been helping.

Thundershirts or Anxiety Wraps: these special wraps work on pressure, fitting very snugly around the dog’s body. Some clients have also used snug t-shirts with similar success. While not the miracle cure that most people hope for, these can again be helpful for some dogs with mild anxiety. They work on the premise that deep pressure can help calm the nervous system – much the same way that swaddling an infant or using a hug vest for a child with autism can be helpful. Be aware that some dogs shut down when wearing these garments. While a dog who has shut down may appear calm, they are not in a positive mental state and the shirt is likely doing more harm than good. If your dog refuses to move or to eat treats while wearing the thundershirt, it is not the correct tool for him, regardless of how “calm” he may appear to be.

Through a Dog’s Ear Music: This special music is designed to have a physiological calming effect based on bioacoustical research. Before using it during thunderstorms, we play it for several weeks during times when the dog is calm and relaxed to further associate the music with pleasant feelings. Playing it during the beginning of a storm may help some dogs to become less panicked.

Changing the Association: regardless of which of the other therapies we use, this behavior modification is absolutely necessary. The basic premise is simple: thunder predicts good things for your dog. How we implement it is highly individual. Some dogs enjoy having their frisbee tossed after each rumble of thunder, while others learn that thunder makes pieces of chicken and cheese rain from above. (By the way, these exercises aren’t a bad idea to do even if your dog doesn’t currently exhibit noise issues, since they can also be preventative.)

Medication: a truly panicked dog cannot learn, so treatment of thunder phobia often involves the use of medication. There are many different anxiety medications available, and teaming up with a vet who is knowledgable about the different choices is critical for success. Please note that acepromazine, a medication that some vets still prescribe, is never an appropriate choice in cases of anxiety or aggression. An appropriate anxiety medication should not knock your dog out, but rather should simply cut through the anxiety so that he can begin making new associations.

Anxiety medication puts dogs who are too distressed to learn into a state where they can do so. Oftentimes medication in these cases is only temporary, and can be weaned off once the other treatments have done their job. Some clients are resistant to the idea of using anxiety medication. It’s important to remember that anxiety oftentimes has a physical cause, and treating your dog with anxiety medication is no different than treating a heart condition with beta blockers or diabetes with insulin.

Other Treatment Options: As I mentioned before, treatment of thunder phobia is highly individual. Some of my clients have benefitted from other treatments, such as TTouch massage, essential oils, mat or crate training, soothing praise from their owner, tug sessions, relaxation training, setting up a safe room, and the like.

The good news about thunderstorm phobias is how very treatable they are. Like any other training, the sooner the behavior issue is addressed, the faster the behavior modification goes. A dog who’s just starting to show some mild concern will be much more easily treated than a dog who panics and squeezes himself under the toilet while trembling violently, although the latter can absolutely be helped. Contact us to set up a private training consultation if your dog shows signs of thunder phobia.

Next week we’ll share a case study of a severely thunderstorm phobic dog. In the meantime, does your dog show any signs of anxiety during storms? What helps him the most? Did you do any preventative work with your puppy or newly adopted dog to prevent storm anxiety? Please share your stories in the comments below!

Stuffing Kongs Quickly

Kongs and other puzzle toys are great enrichment tools. They provide oh-so-necessary mental exercise and are a simple way to improve your dog’s life. Here’s how I make Kong-prep easy for myself so that my dogs always have fresh frozen Kongs ready at a moment’s notice.

1. Gather all of the clean toys you’d like to stuff. You’ll need multiple puzzle toys for this. Ask your local pet business if you can receive a quantity discount for ordering a number of toys at once to support small business! If that’s not feasible in your area, there are also great deals available online. I prefer Kong toys, as they’ve historically been the most durable and easiest to clean/stuff (also pictured: Premier’s Linkables and Twist ‘n Treat toys).

2. Assemble your ingredients. I like to stuff both moist and dry food in my dogs’ Kongs. Place the moist ingredients in a ziploc baggie and cut the bottom corner off to make a homemade pastry bag in order to save on time. This time around I used a mixture of canned dog food, canned pumpkin, and baby food. Dry ingredients included kibble, a few dog treats that were left in the bottoms of packages, baby carrots which were old and a little bendy, and cheddar cheese that was one day past its expiration date and needed to be used up.

3. Place toys in a glass with the large hole facing up and begin filling them. The glass will hold the toy in place while you stuff it. Alternate wet and dry layers until the toy is full, finishing with a wet layer. Place the Kong toy in your freezer (small quantities can be placed in the freezer door, or larger quantities can be kept in a bin in the main compartment of the freezer).

4. Pull out a frozen Kong toy whenever you need one! Unexpected visitors, grooming time, and crate confinement are all times when my dogs may receive Kongs. Make sure to consider the amount of food your dog received from his Kong when you feed him so that he stays slim.

Do you have any tips to make Kong-stuffing go more quickly? Please share them here!

Kong Stuffing 101

Last week we introduced the Kong toy as a great tool to provide mental exercise. Food- and treat-stuffed Kongs are excellent enrichment! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Dogs who are fed kibble can have the kibble stuffed into a Kong toy which is hung from a tree branch or other sturdy object (have the bigger hole in the Kong facing upward), so that the dog must leap into the air and knock at the Kong to release his meal.

Alternatively, kibble can be mixed with just a spoonful of canned food, yogurt, cottage cheese, or other healthy “wet” food and spooned into the Kong, then the entire Kong can be placed in the freezer. The dog must then work extra hard to remove her frozen meal when the Kong is delivered. Multiple Kong toys can be stuffed with the dog’s meal portions and hidden throughout the house, so that the dog must spend his day hunting down and “dissecting” his Kong-kills.

Dogs who like to destroy or chew things can have their energy harnessed into a positive outlet by sealing Kong toys inside paper bags or cardboard boxes, although you will have a shredded mess to clean up later on (and such dogs may be better served by crate training to prevent destruction). A machine that dispenses four Kongs randomly during a period of four or eight hours was available for sale for a short period of time, and may still be found for sale by a diligent buyer.

Crated dogs especially need the mental enrichment provided by a Kong toy during their confinement. My dogs run into their crates in the morning and wait impatiently for me to leave, because they know their Kong goodies will not be delivered until I’m ready to head out for the day. Frozen Kongs make my dogs extra eager for me to go and make the crates into a positive place to spend the day. Dogs who are not yet entirely comfortable with the idea of a crate can be encouraged to spend time in an open crate by tying a stuffed Kong toy at the back of the crate (make sure to supervise your dog while doing this, but do not try to lock him or her in: your goal is to create positive associations with the kennel, not trick your dog into getting trapped).

Dogs who are fed raw, home cooked, or canned diets can get even more enjoyment out of getting their food from a Kong. This is because these diets usually contain much more moisture, which makes them ideal for freezing.

Melted cheese can be another great addition to a kong toy. A Kong can be filled with a small amount of cheese along with some kibble or other dry tidbits, placed in a microwave-safe cup, and heated in the microwave until the cheese melts. Allow plenty of time to cool before giving it to your dog, or place directly in the freezer for an especially tough-to-remove treat.

Many dogs are reluctant to work at a Kong toy at first, especially if the toys are packed in such a way that food is difficult to remove. For these dogs, try layering the Kong toy to make it especially rewarding to work on. Simply alternate layers of wet food with layers of dry tidbits, then serve to the dog directly (without freezing). After just a small amount of licking to swallow the wet layer of food, the dog will reach a dry layer. This will make a bunch of treats suddenly fall out of the Kong. Jackpot! Usually this dry layer jackpot is enough to renew the dog’s interest in the Kong, and he will soon begin licking and slurping at the next layer. After just a few moments, another dry layer will appear, and so on.

When using “wet” or moist food in the Kong toy, there are lots of options, so be creative. For dogs who are not used to rich foods, use common sense in introducing new foods and start with small amounts to be sure your dog tolerates it. Some ideas to try include canned food (both dog and cat food), meat flavoured baby food, rice, potatoes, cream cheese (use low fat varieties for most dogs), cheese whiz, peanut butter, Braunschweiger (this is very rich so a little goes a long way), leftover cooked veggies (gooey veggies such as cooked spinach or squash are especially great), tuna, raw ground meat such as hamburger or ground pork, cooked ground meat, canned fish such as salmon or Jack Mackeral, gravy, beef or chicken broth, oatmeal, yogurt, and cottage cheese.

Dry tidbits are even easier to experiment with. Try various types of dog or cat kibble and treats, small pieces of pepperoni or lunch meat, strings of string cheese, cheerios or other breakfast cereal, bread crumbs, croutons, beef sticks, or healthy leftovers from your meals.

For dogs who have become really talented at “destuffing” a Kong toy, use a dry dog biscuit that is slightly bigger around than the large opening of your dog’s Kong toy. Bend the toy by squeezing it so that the hole lengthens in one directions, allowing you to slip the biscuit into the Kong. Once you stop squeezing the sides of the toy, the biscuit will be “stuck” inside the Kong and will not fall out easily. At this point the only way for your dog to get the biscuit loose will be to either break the biscuit into smaller pieces (which can be done by biting down hard on the Kong or by throwing the toy about the room), or by licking at the treat until it becomes soggy and crumbles apart. Be prepared to help your dog remove the tightly lodged biscuit using a pair of pliers if it proves too difficult and is driving your dog nuts!

Do you have a favorite Kong stuffing trick or recipe? Share it in the comments below!

A Case for Kongs

If every dog in the world could be given one toy, I think the Kong would be the way to go. A Kong toy is shaped somewhat like a rounded rubber pyramid with a hollow center. Kongs have three chewing “levels” – red for beginners, black for tough chewers, and blue Kongs, which are the toughest level and are available only through veterinarians because they are radio opaque (which means they will show up on an x-ray if the dog swallows them). There are also special, softer Kongs made for puppies or senior dogs. These Kong toys have a marbled appearance, with white mixed into the pink, blue, or purple color.

Kong toys are extremely durable, which means they can go from the microwave to the freezer to the dishwasher and back again without breaking down. They stand up well to almost every dog, provided you choose the right size and hardness level for your dog’s tenacity of chewing. Kong toys bounce erratically when thrown and provide a great chew toy.

The thing that puts a Kong toy head and tails above the competition, though, is their hollow center. Kong toys can be stuffed with an amazing variety of food items. This is a great source for mental exercise! For dogs who are left home alone all day, consider throwing out your dog’s food bowl and feeding solely from Kong toys.

There are certainly other brands of toys that resemble Kongs available, but the Kong is the “original” toy and is the one that seems to work best for most dogs. There is one Kong knock-off on the market which may be of interest to some people though, and that is the “Squirrel Dude” toy manufactured by Premier/PetSafe. This tough purple toy (yes, it resembles a squirrel) improves on the Kong design by adding four small rubber prongs which line the inside of the toy’s hole. These prongs make it much harder to get food back out of a Squirrel Dude toy once you’ve stuffed it in. A Squirrel Dude toy is not for a beginner to puzzle stuffing, but can provide a nice challenge to dogs for whom a Kong toy no longer gives any challenge. The Squirrel Dude toys can be further customized by lopping off one or more of the rubber prongs with a sharp pair of scissors, so that you can adjust the toy’s level of difficulty.

To clean your dog’s Kongs out, use the cleaning brushes that can be used for baby bottles, or just scrub around inside the opening with your fingers. Kongs are dishwasher safe, but be warned that tightly lodged food can easily sneak through an entire dishwashing cycle. Make sure your dog’s Kongs are cleaned regularly to prevent food from spoiling.

Next week we’ll discuss Kong stuffing options, as well as other games to play with these toys.

Do you use Kong toys for your dog? Please share your favorite Kong stuffing recipes, games, or other tips and tricks in the comments below!

Tuna Brownies

This is one of our favorite treat recipes. Use these treats for dogs, cats, or ferrets.

Ingredients:

• 4 6-oz cans tuna
• 1 c water drained from tuna
• 12 T scrambled egg
• 1 c cornmeal
• 2 c whole wheat flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Run the tuna and egg through a food processor (or chop into very fine pieces) and combine with the water. Add cornmeal and flour and blend to form a dough. Knead into a ball and roll out to about 1/4″ thick on a cookie sheet. Set empty bowl on floor to be licked out. Bake for 20 minutes, allow to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces with a pizza cutter. Refrigerate, freeze, or feed immediately.

Crate Training 101

Crate training is an incredibly useful management tool, and nearly every professional dog trainer makes use of crates at one point or another. Crates can help with potty training, prevent an untrained dog from engaging in destructive or annoying behavior, and keep adolescent dogs from harassing cats, older dogs, or other household pets during the day. Even well-behaved dogs benefit from crates, as they serve as a safe and comfortable ”home base” for the dog to relax in. Crate-trained dogs are easier to travel with, as they are more comfortable in new surroundings when they get to bring their “bedroom” with. If your dog ever needs to stay overnight at a boarding kennel or at the veterinarian’s office, he will be less stressed if he’s already used to being crated.

When introducing a dog or puppy to their crate, it’s important to do so positively so that they make pleasant associations with it. Never shove your dog into a crate or “trick” him by bribing him to go in and then slamming the door on him. If your dog already has unpleasant associations with the crate, start with a different kind of crate than he’s seen before (wire VS plastic) and go slow, or give us a call for one-on-one help.

Start off by propping the crate door open and leaving some tasty treats, such as chunks of cheese or hot dog, right inside the door. Drop treats into the crate periodically. Praise your dog warmly when he goes into the crate to eat the treats, and ignore him when he’s not in the crate. When he goes into the crate to eat his treats, drop several additional treats into the crate to let him know you’re pleased that he’s hanging out there.

Once he’s going in and out of the crate happily to eat the treats, prepare an extra-special long-lasting treat, such as a Kong stuffed with peanut butter or a raw meaty bone from the butcher. Show him the treat and let him get excited about it. When he’s really keen, toss the treat into the crate and close the door, locking him outside of the crate (and away from his special treat). After a few moments, when he’s very anxious to get to the good stuff, open the crate door and let him go in to eat it. Close the door and sit by his crate, reading a book. Before he’s done with his special prize, open the crate door back up. If he wants to come out of the crate, that’s just fine… but his special treat has to stay inside.

Below are more tips to help your dog love his crate:

• Always feed your dog in his crate. It doesn’t matter whether you shut the door or not, but his bowl should be delivered in his kennel.
• When he’s not looking throughout the day, hide special treats or toys in the crate. Make him think it’s a Magic Food Place!
• Teach him a special cue for going into his crate. Some cute ideas include “go to your room,” “skedaddle,” “get in your house,” “go to your box,” or “nap time!” Always use a cheerful, pleasant tone of voice.
• If your dog is barking or whining in his crate and you don’t think he needs to go to the bathroom, ignore him. Only open the crate door when he’s quiet. Especially barky dogs may do better if their crate is covered by a blanket.
• Don’t let the crate predict your absense, especially if your dog is a little worried about being left alone. Sometimes use the crate when you’re home.
• It’s fine to use the crate when your dog needs to cool down (such as an overexcited puppy nipping), but don’t use it as punishment. Never drag your dog to his crate in anger.
• Let your dog be with you! Make sure the crate isn’t isolated away from the rest of your family. For young puppies, try to find space for the crate right in your bedroom. Even older dogs should be crated nearby. Find an out-of-the-way spot out of the main lines of travel where your dog can still be near you. No one likes to be banished into solitary confinement.
• When leaving your dog in his crate for the day, always leave him with something to keep him busy, such as part of his breakfast in a Kong toy. Consider leaving quiet music or a fan playing for white noise. Don’t crate in visually stimulating areas, such as by windows.
• Never crate a dog longer than he can hold his bladder or bowels. If you think your dog won’t be able to “hold it” the entire time you’re gone, make use of a long-term confinement area such as a mudroom or ex-pen with a dedicated potty area.

Do you use a crate for your dog? What does she or he think of it? Share your crating questions and stories in the comments below!

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday

This picture is making the rounds on Facebook right now, and it made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt. I hope you enjoyed it too. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Busting Myths About the Gentle Leader

Earlier we talked about why I use and recommend the Gentle Leader head collar. There are quite a few myths out there about it, so let’s explore those now. Some people say that it’s inhumane. They say that dogs hate it. I frequently hear that it’s dangerous, since a dog could injure his neck while wearing it. All of these statements are untrue.

Let’s start with the accusation that the Gentle Leader is inhumane. In order to be inhumane, a device must cause pain or injury or it must be frightening to the subject. The Gentle Leader does not cause pain in dogs any more than a regular horse halter hurts horses. There are no sharp prongs that dig into the dog, nor are there electric shock currents to zap him. It doe not frighten the dog with sudden jerks, jabs, sprays, or noises. It works on simple leverage, much like any of the front-attach harnesses. When a dog pulls on the Gentle Leader, he finds his head guided around in a circle so that he ends up looking back at his handler.

Next, the risk of injury. This accusation always strikes me as funny, since when my dog injured her neck and upper back, the veterinary chiropractor specifically recommended that I use a Gentle Leader on her to minimize the chance of re-injury. Layla was actually paralyzed for a short while due to 2 herniated discs, and the risk of re-injury (including becoming paralyzed again) was unknown. My vet was concerned that a standard collar or harness would put pressure on her injured discs, especially if she lunged or jerked on the leash suddenly, and didn’t want her to wear either one.

People who claim that the Gentle Leader can injure a dog usually express concern about a whiplash-type injury to the neck if the dog hits the end of the leash quickly or with great force. They say that the Gentle Leader will snap the dog’s neck. This ignores simple physics. If a dog hits the end of the leash while wearing the Gentle Leader, it will start to turn him towards you. If he has a lot of force behind his lunge, that force will flow through all of his body, turning him further towards you. This means that a dog walking to the end of the leash may just be turned slightly towards you, with his body still facing the direction he was going, while a dog lunging to the end of the leash will end up with his entire body facing you. I believe the risk of injury to actually be less with a Gentle Leader, since in a standard collar the dog would receive a harsh jerk to his sensitive throat at the end of a lunge.

Here’s the truth: the Premier company and the co-inventor of the Gentle Leader, Dr. R.K. Anderson, have investigated numerous claims of neck/whiplash injury caused by the Gentle Leader since it was first put on the market, and have never been able to confirm a single case. If the Gentle Leader was hurting dogs, we would know by now. It’s just not happening.

Lastly, we come to the claim that dogs hate the Gentle Leader. This is most often due to incorrect fit. If the back neck strap is not adjusted snugly enough, it will slide around and annoy the dog. This may also cause the nose band to be adjusted too tightly, which is restrictive and will also annoy the dog. If your dog doesn’t like his Gentle Leader, check the fit! You should only be able to fit one finger under the neck strap, and the nose band should be as loose as it can go without coming off.

I can tell you that in 8 years of professional training with thousands of dogs, I have only found 2 dogs who I felt were too upset by the Gentle Leader to use it. Both dogs were Pit Bull types, and one ended up having an infected tooth. The other one had some scars on his face and was generally wary about having his face touched, so likely had some past history of pain there.

It’s true that dogs often need to adjust to the Gentle Leader. However, in my experience, dogs don’t paw at a Gentle Leader any longer or more violently than puppies paw at their very first collar or harness. I find that this adjustment process goes incredibly quickly and is just not a problem. Simply associating the Gentle Leader with pleasant things for 1-2 days will usually do the trick.

I hope this helps to clear up all of the common misconceptions about this great training tool! Like any tool, the goal should be to only use the Gentle Leader while training, then transition away from it. Have you heard any of these myths before? What training tools have you found to be the most successful when working with your dog? I look forward to hearing from you!

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday

Easy Cheese cans can provide a portable, high-value treat. The contents can also shoot across a room and onto the ceiling if punctured (such as by a dog tooth). Make sure to keep any cheese cans out of reach of your dog!

What’s the biggest mess your dog has ever made? Tell us in the comments!

The “Human Food” Myth

We frequently hear it in training class: “I won’t give my dog any human food.” Let’s explore this common misconception.

Human food, or dog treats? You decide! (Photo credit: Flickr)

There are two reasons most people abstain from feeding their dog “people food:” health and behavior. We’ll explore both.

For starters, let’s talk about behavior issues that could be caused by feeding your dog anything but commercial dog treats. Many people worry that if they start feeding their dog “human” food, the dog will begin begging or stealing food. This is a legitimate concern: these behaviors are very upsetting to many people. However, it’s frankly not a problem.

Dogs beg or steal food because they’ve been rewarded for it, pure and simple. This is a management issue. This is not an issue that is caused by your treat choice. If you never feed your dog from the table or counter, your dog will not associate the chicken you use at training class with the same stuff you cook for your family. That said, if you slip up once and sneak a piece of food to your dog during dinnertime, he’s not likely to soon forget that, and you may have a begging problem for a long time afterwards! A similar rule applies for food stealing: if your dog steals food off your counter once, he’s likely to do so again. Keep your counters clean until you know your dog has been trained well enough not to counter surf.

What about health issues? First of all, there is no such thing as “people food” and “dog food.” Food is food. There aren’t separate farms out there raising chickens for dogs to eat and chickens for people to eat. The only thing separating most dog food from most human food is the quality of the ingredients: dog food and treats often contains waste products of the human food industry.

Read the ingredient label of your dog’s favorite treats, and you will [hopefully!] see ingredients such as chicken, beef, or lamb. You may also see other ingredients like wheat flour, corn gluten meal, corn syrup, or soy protein isolate. Here’s a secret: the only difference between the chicken in your dog’s favorite treats and the chicken breasts you can buy at the grocery store is the quality and price. The chicken that goes into dog treats is usually quite poor quality, and you’ll often pay much more per pound for commercial dog treats than you would for plain chicken. As an added bonus, the plain chicken you buy at the grocery store doesn’t have all that extra junk (corn gluten meal, corn syrup, etc) mixed in with it. It’s actually healthier for your dog than the commercial treats.

So, why does your dog’s stomach get upset when you give him “real” food? There are two things that are likely to upset his system: variety when he’s not used to it, and too much fat.

Imagine you never ate anything but McDonald’s cheeseburgers for an entire year. Let’s say that’s what you have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for 365 days. Then, on the 366th day, let’s say you have a nice steak and salad for dinner. What do you think your system would do? You’d probably have an upset stomach. This can happen to dogs, too. If they never eat anything but the same kibble, day in and day out for years, their systems may overreact when they get fed something different. If this sounds like your dog, it’s a simple fix: begin introducing variety in very small amounts. Once a dog is used to eating variety, upset stomachs are rare.

Too much fat can be the other culprit for an upset stomach, and this is again quite easy to avoid. I usually use whatever meat is on sale at the grocery store for training treats, making sure to select leaner cuts. I bake the meat, then rinse off any fat with cool water before cutting it up. By avoiding fatty meats (such as pork or turkey) and rinsing off extra fat, I create my own healthy training treats inexpensively. Even expensive meats, such as lamb, are often much cheaper per pound than a bag of commercial dog treats!

Do you feed your dog “people food” in training, and what are his favorite treats? Do you make home-made treats for him, or do you rely on commercial dog treats? We want to hear from you! Please comment below.