DEAR READERS: Some animal shelters and animal holding facilities still provide insufficient or no exercise for incarcerated dogs. Veterinary clinical researchers have documented the benefit of an exercise regimen to dogs living a sedentary life and suffering from chronic diarrhea. Turn these findings around, and it indicates that dogs who receive regular exercise are more likely to enjoy better health than those who are confined, as in an in-home dog crate, commercial kennels, animal shelter or research laboratory cage.

From behavioral observations of my own dogs, they will pass a few stools when let outdoors in the morning to urinate, but only when they are setting off for a long, fast walk do they fully empty their bowels. Living a sedentary life, rarely aroused and often being trained to evacuate inside -- especially when living in high-rise apartments or confined in a cage or pen -- could well lead to longer retention times of fecal material prior to evacuation with resultant inflammation of the bowels. Physical activity may also help improve circulation and help alleviate and prevent lymphangiectasia, the accumulation of lymph in the bowels seen in some forms of canine inflammatory bowel disease.

Considering the multiple stressors to which dogs taken to animal shelter and rescue facilities are exposed, this veterinary report on the health benefit of exercise for dogs supports what should be a standard policy of providing all dogs with regular brisk walks, ideally twice daily for 15 to 20 minutes. Those under quarantine should be taken to enclosed areas for walks unless medically contraindicated. Safety harnesses are preferable for dogs not used to wearing a collar and those who are fearful or likely to pull and injure their necks and throats. Walking on a leash also socializes dogs to their handlers and is a time to train them to comply with basic commands, which will enhance their adoptability. Walking with a sociable “buddy dog” used to being leashed can help shy dogs accept and eventually enjoy walks while leashed.

Dogs out of quarantine also benefit from being placed in small, compatible play groups in recognition of the benefits of physical activity and social and emotional stimulation. Running stimulates the release of “feel-good” and anti-inflammatory neurochemicals. Many shelters are also adopting group housing for dogs, which, along with regular walks and one-on-one and group human interaction, enhance their adaptability and adoptability.

Private and municipal animal shelters that do not make such provisions and are not open to public assessment of standard animal care procedures may be in violation of state and federal anti-cruelty laws. They are also violating the conditional responsibility of properly caring for animals that the public has entrusted to them.

My thanks to animal protection advocate Helena Servis of St. Louis for bringing this issue to my attention.

DEAR DR. FOX: Max is a 9 1/2-year-old female domestic shorthair cat I adopted from the Arlington Animal Welfare League when she was 6 months old.

She has never liked car travel. During the five-minute drive to my vet (while she is in a cat carrier), she meows loudly with anxiety. I once took her to my beach house 2 1/2 hours away, and it was clear by the nonstop loud meowing noise and her stress level that she hated it. Fortunately, on the trip back home, she was a bit better and was fairly quiet, but kept her tongue moving in and out, breathing shallowly, indicating how stressful it was for her.

I am retiring and moving first to a nearby apartment for four months, then to Clearwater, Florida, and taking Max on the flight in her carrier on my lap. I am nervous about how loud and stressed she may get in the airport and especially on the flight.

I have asked my vet several times about how to keep her calm during the trip and have gotten different answers. One said that “kitty Xanax” would work well. The next time I asked, one vet said a Benadryl-type substance should be used.

I would really like your advice on how best to help keep my Max as comfortable and relaxed as possible on the plane. -- B.K., Falls Church, Virginia

DEAR B.K.: Traveling with cats (and dogs) can be facilitated by having them get used to sleeping and eating in an airline-approved carrier that will be used later for travel.

In your instance, I think it best to let your cat spend a short while (10 to 15 minutes) in the container she will by flying in once or twice a day for a few days. She will soon learn that there is nothing to fear in the carrier and that she will soon be released. Offer her favorite treats while she is being confined. I am opposed to giving animals any medications for travel other than anti-nausea (ginger or Dramamine).

A few drops of oil of lavender or a spritz with a cat pheromone product like Feliway on a blanket or pad given to that cat to lie on in transit may help calm her.

Medications like Xanax and Benadryl can make animals fearful in strange places because they are more vulnerable and have less control, especially as the medication wears off. They are especially useless for long flights since they will wear off and can put animals at risk if they panic while feeling drug-disoriented.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 8-month-old kitten has recently been diagnosed with feline leukemia virus (FeLV), which has spread to his bone marrow.

We adopted him at our local animal shelter when he was 4 months old. We brought him into our home with our 7-year-old cat who we had adopted two years ago from the same shelter. She has tested negative for FeLV and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) several times, so we are assuming that our new guy was born with FeLV. He now has monthly checkup appointments at the vet and is on daily doses of prednisone.

I have two questions for you:

1. As the FeLV has spread to the bone marrow, what are the expectations for years of life left? Is there anything beyond steroid treatment we should be doing to improve his chances or extend his life?

2. Our older cat was never vaccinated for FeLV. She has since been tested again and is negative. She was immediately vaccinated and subsequently received her booster, during which time she was separated from her brother. We have now reintroduced them for quality of life purposes. Are we putting her at undue risk by allowing them to be together? Are there strategies we can employ to reduce her chances of contracting the virus?

Any insight you can share would be most appreciated. -- D.P., Washington, D.C.

DEAR D.P.: Cats are susceptible to a variety of virus infections, some contracted prenatally, others very early in life.

Those with certain infections, such as feline herpes, do well keeping the infection suppressed so long as their immune systems function well and they are no subjected to stress. Your young cat may cope with the feline leukemia virus infection so long as he is not unduly stressed, as by frequent trips to the vet; so arrange for in-home visits if possible.

Avoid boarding and separation from his family. Also avoid additional vaccinations and anti-flea drugs, which can wreak havoc with the immune system and trigger a flare-up of the infection. Good nutrition is essential, ideally some raw or freeze-dried cat foods, or my home-prepared diet, posted on my website.

DEAR DR.FOX: My 9-year-old spayed female yellow Labrador has been very itchy all her life. We had her tested for allergies when she was 2, and she tested positive for many food and environmental allergies. We can control the food allergies, and we give her allergy shots for 12 of her environmental allergies. She still gets so itchy by July and August that we can't even touch her or give her a belly rub because she goes into a scratching frenzy. Several summers I have had to give her prescription pills from my veterinarian, which can be quite costly.

This spring, I read in the newspaper about the benefit of local honey for people with seasonal allergies. I checked online to see if honey would be safe for dogs, and decided to try giving one teaspoon a day on her dry food. She loves it, and licks the spoon, but even better, within two days, her itching was gone. She got through July without itching, and I'm hoping she will get through the rest of the summer and fall without constantly scratching. Maybe some of your readers' itchy dogs could benefit from this cheap but effective remedy. It must be locally produced honey, which is available at local farmers markets and even some supermarkets. -- G.M., Jackson, New Jersey

DEAR G.M.: I have been advocating giving dogs local honey or bee pollen for decades to help stop seasonal allergies. Many thanks for confirming what some of my critics have said disparaging words about. Such treatment can indeed be highly effective, but of course it is not a panacea, since there are other causes of itchy skin in dogs, which call for different treatments.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)

DEAR READERS: I have long been railing against what has become a standard practice in many animal shelters: intimidating a newly arrived dog when he or she is eating by pushing a stuffed glove that looks like a hand on the end of a stick at the poor animal. This is done to elicit “food-guarding aggression,” and dogs who growl and snarl are likely to be killed. Other temperament tests are also of questionable value, considering the situation and state of most dogs in unfamiliar and stressful conditions.

"No better than flipping a coin: Reconsidering canine behavior evaluations in animal shelters,” an article by veterinarians Gary J. Patronek and Janice Bradley published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, has urged animal shelters to stop such tests:

“Shelters already screen from adoption obviously dangerous dogs during the intake process. Subsequent provocative testing of the general population of shelter dogs is predicated on an assumption of risk that is far in excess of existing data and relies on assumptions about dog behavior that may not be supportable. We suggest that instead of striving to bring out the worst in dogs in the stressful and transitional environment of a shelter and devoting scarce resources to inherently flawed formal evaluations that do not increase public safety, it may be far better for dogs, shelters and communities if effort spent on frequently misleading testing was instead spent in maximizing opportunities to interact with dogs in normal and enjoyable ways that mirror what they are expected to do once adopted (e.g., walking, socializing with people, playgroups with other dogs, games, training). In conjunction with a thorough and objective intake history when available, these more natural types of assessment activities will help identify any additional dogs whose behavior may be of concern. Engaging in the normal repertoire of activities familiar to pet dogs has the additional benefit of enriching dogs' lives and minimizing the adverse effect of being relinquished and confined to a shelter, will be more indicative of the typical personality and behavior of dogs, and may help make dogs better candidates for adoption.”

I would urge shelters to also practice group housing wherever possible, keeping adoptable dogs in compatible groups and avoiding single caging.

DEAR DR. FOX: HELP! I am at my wits' end. I have an 11-year-old male tabby cat. His weight is in normal range, health is good (I take him to the vet for checkups, plus anything else not routine) and appetite is good, but he started spraying in the house about two years ago, mostly in corners of stairwells and rooms.

I got him and his littermate sister when they were 8 weeks old. They have always been indoor cats, but when this started, my vet said, "What you have here is a tiger in a cage,” and said I should let him out to roam the neighborhood. My cat usually goes out in the evenings and comes in when called. He’s brought us a few mice.

He and his sister don’t get along anymore, though they used to. The mostly ignore each other, but sometimes will hiss and attack.

My husband was diagnosed with cancer approximately two years ago, when this spraying started, and I can’t help but wonder if this has contributed to the problem, as the household was in a lot of turmoil at the time.

I have tried everything -- drugs from the vet, Feliway, sprays, etc. -- but he continues to spray. There are three litter boxes indoors, and one outside, which he does use. He is very skittish and afraid, but he has always been this way. -- E.D., Potomac, Maryland

DEAR E.D.: Certainly a home in turmoil can upset cats, and spray-marking and house soiling are not uncommon reactions. What is important in your case is the fact that your cat still sprayed inside the house after you followed the vet's advice and let him out. I would never have recommended this, but many vets do. This probably makes things worse with outdoor cat fights and bites, bringing home fleas and other more serious potential health problems, as I document in the article “Releasing Cats to Live Outdoors” on my website, DrFoxVet.net.

Frankly, I find it ethically unprofessional for veterinarians to suggest such "outdoor therapy" for indoor cats who start to spray, a suggestion widely made in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. Letting the cat out could mean cat fights, death by automobile or a cat who comes home and sprays inside the home because he is insecure and needs to mark his territory.

There are other reasons why cats spray, and many effective treatments including pheromones, behavior changes, mood- and anxiety-modifying drugs and activities other than letting the cat run free. For your cat, I would have the veterinarian rule out stress-related cystitis and possibly stones or calculi before consulting with an animal behavioral therapist.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.net.)