User talk:Aarmst10

This user is a student editor in Wikipedia:Wiki_Ed/University_of_Guelph/Pet_Nutrition_(Fall).
Student assignments should always be carried out using a course page set up by the instructor. It is usually best to develop assignments in your sandbox. After evaluation, the additions may go on to become a Wikipedia article or be published in an existing article.

Welcome![edit]

Hello, Aarmst10, and welcome to Wikipedia! My name is Ian and I work with the Wiki Education Foundation; I help support students who are editing as part of a class assignment.

I hope you enjoy editing here. If you haven't already done so, please check out the student training library, which introduces you to editing and Wikipedia's core principles. You may also want to check out the Teahouse, a community of Wikipedia editors dedicated to helping new users. Below are some resources to help you get started editing.

Handouts
Choosing an article to edit Editing an article • Add images to articles Citing sources on Wikipedia
Additional Resources
You can find answers to many student questions on our Q&A site, ask.wikiedu.org

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 02:27, 17 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Reply[edit]

Just as an addition to that as an afterthought, what do you think about after giving some brief background on odors in dogs in general that we split up our sections of the article into: skin and coat, dental, and gastrointestinal? That way we could describe under each how odors are caused and reduced in each.

Aarmst10 (talk) 01:06, 1 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry; So I was hoping to work with the existing wikipedia page titled 'Dog Odor'. It would give some background information on my topic of odor reduction in dogs for my assignment. Then my group members and I, who have done research on the nutritional aspect of odor prevention, can add what we know (or add pieces from the existing page to our article). So our article could be kind of split into a general section on causes of dog odor, and then we would add a more detailed section covering specifically the nutritional aspect.

Hope that makes more sense; what do you think about the feasibility of that? Aarmst10 (talk)

I'm having a hard time understanding what sort of article you want to create. Can you share with me some of the key sources you plan to work from? Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 23:09, 29 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This seems reasonable. Make sure that you can find enough information in high-quality, scholarly sources. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 20:42, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, definitely. Also just as an additional question, what if we try to merge our dietary information on dog odor reduction with the existing 'dog odor' wikipedia page, and the author doesn't want us to make changes. How does that work? In others words, will there be anything preventing us from merging our nutritional information regarding odor reduction onto that page? Aarmst10 (talk) 01:35, 4 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Feedback[edit]

Nice work on your draft. Some feedback

Copyedit your work. References go after punctuation, not before, and there shouldn't be a space in front of the reference.
Instead of "odor reduction", you might consider "odor management"
If you can think of better terms than "natural" and "unnatural" dog odors, you should change the wording of the dog odor article. It seems to me that bad breath caused by gum disease isn't unnatural, though it may reflect health issues.

Draft:Odor_reduction_dogs#Dental

Bacterial populations may accumulate in the oral cavity of the animal, causing gingivitis and tartar (calculus) build-up.[1] The effects of gingivitis include odors, reduced feed intake, and bleeding and sensitivity of the gums.[2] These oral bacteria metabolize the saliva, epithelial cells, and food residues in the mouth to produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSC), which cause malodorous gasses such as hydrogen sulfide.[2] The production of VSC's also contributes to plaque formation, which in turn leads to increased odor production through provision of an anaerobic environment for bacteria to flourish.[2] Periodontal disease, one of the most common dental problems found in canines, results in potential losses of teeth, discomfort, formation of ulcers, and reduction of gums, and an overall production of odors.[1] Feeding wet canned foods, as well as minimal teeth brushing, also increases the likelihood of accumulating plaque on the teeth.[1] Healthy teeth and gums decreases a dog's likelihood of bad breath, thus reducing odor production.

This probably belongs in the Dog_odor#Unnatural_sources_of_odor_on_pet_dogs section of the dog odor article.

Feeding a dry food-based diet supports healthy teeth and gums, due to the kibbles' compositions of nutrients, and physical structures. For instance, the ingredients calcium carbonate and dicalcium phosphate are beneficial for healthy teeth due to the presence of calcium and phosphorus in these compounds.[3] As well, glucosamine is essential for teeth reparation and bone health, [4] and vitamin D is important for supporting teeth strength and structure.[4] Mechanical cleaning of the teeth has associations with the shape and size of the individual kibbles. For instance, crude fiber aids in the mechanical cleansing of teeth and gum maintenance due to its flexible fibre matrix, which increases the duration of time spent chewing and therefore the removal of plaque residues[5]. According to a published 2016 study by Hennet and colleagues, increasing kibble diameter by 50% has an associated reduction of 42% on tartar levels of teeth.[6] This study also found that coating the kibbles in an anti-calculus agent such as sodium tripolyphosphate further induces a 55% tartar reduction.[6] Polyphosphates reduce the secretion of calcium in the saliva, and thus the likelihood of tartar formation.[2] Feeding of tough dog treats to pets that are able to chew them also reduces the likelihood of tartar formation and gingivitis, and therefore odor production.[2] Through inclusion of large kibbles, and hard dog treats, the amount of thorough chewing that occurs is increased, thus promoting physical removal of plaques.[2] Additionally, the food or treat antimicrobial additives chlorhexidine digluconate and chlorhexidine acetate also reduce odor, plaque accumulation, and gingivitis.[2] The compound epigallocatechin gallate (a polyphenol found in green tea) combats the pathological bacteria in the mouth, reducing the production of malodours.[2] Oils from sources such as lavender, rosemary, and eucalyptus also contribute to odor reduction, by inhibiting the release of VSC's.[2] The addition of these ingredients and nutrients in dental diets reduces the likelihood of oral diseases and tartar accumulation, and thus odor production as a result.

The would go in a new section, but I recommend you call it "odor management" rather than "odor reduction", since it's a more general term. Ideally you'd add some general statements about odor management under that section header, and then create a subheader for "dental".

I'd do the same thing for the "Skin and coat" section. Split the first and second paragraph of each section apart, and probably for the "Gastrointestinal" section.

Does this make sense? Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 17:52, 21 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]