Dr. Marty Becker

Universal uClick

Less than one in five pet owners are successful in giving medications to their pets as directed by their veterinarians. It's difficult to give medication to an animal who absolutely doesn't want it, so a lot of prescriptions end up in the cupboard (or on the floor) rather than in the pet.

Are you in the majority when it comes to pill problems? If so, read on.

When you let your pet sense that you're reluctant to give medication, and then you reward her for resisting by letting her off the hook, you actually are teaching her that medication is bad, scary or otherwise unpleasant -- and that she can get away with refusing to take it. And that means your pet is progressively less likely to get the medication she needs to get or stay well.

You can turn things around by admitting that you need help. You may just need a lesson in pilling your pet, or you might need another plan entirely.

Many pet lovers are unaware that there are alternatives to bad-tasting pills. Your veterinarian may be about to provide you with medications that are in meat-flavored tablets that seem like a munchy, not a medication. Many parasite-control and pain medications, and even antibiotics, are available in these tasty formulations. Or you may not have to give medication at all, as in the case of Convenia -- an antibiotic given as an injection at the veterinarian's that lasts up to two weeks.

If you're being given a medication that's not offered in a chewable or injectable form, you may find that a compounding pharmacy can help. These pharmacies mix medications into savory liquids or pastes that pets will lap up eagerly, or into transdermal medications that can be applied inside the ear. With any of these alternatives, your veterinarian will be able to help, so ask!

But even plain old pill-popping can be made easier. Most pet owners are familiar with tricks such as hiding a pill in a bit of meat or peanut butter, which works for many pets, but not all. I like to recommend Greenies Pill Pockets, which make it easy to stuff the pill into a yummy treat, or pill guns that pop the medication safely past the teeth, over the tongue and straight into your pet's throat. Both may be available from your veterinarian, or can be purchased from pet-supply retailers.

When you're hiding the pill, try using three treats to fool your pet. (Think of the street game of three shells and one ball.) The first bit of cheese or treat has no medication and is called "the promise." The second contains the medication and is called "the dead." The last treat also contains nothing and is called "the chaser." Work quickly and stay enthusiastic, and your pet will be more likely to stay in the game until the medication is swallowed.

Whatever you do, don't give up. If your pet doesn't get medication as prescribed, you're wasting money and risking your pet's health. Your veterinarian wants your pet to get the medication as often and as long as it's been recommended. If you can't do that, ask for help -- there's plenty of it out there.

Q&A

Nail trimming

better at home

Q: Our veterinarian retired and sold his practice to two young women. They seem to be good veterinarians, and they do love animals. But one thing that surprised us: They don't want to cut our dog's nails. -- via e-mail

Our old vet used to do that on request. I've never liked trimming nails, and all dogs hate it, so it seems better for the vet to do it. Our new vet says it's better for us to do it. Why? -- via e-mail

A: Dog owners hate trimming their pets' nails. So they put it off. And then they botch it, which means the dog pitches a fit, there's blood everywhere and there is no way on God's green earth they are ever going to do that again.

So they figure their veterinarian will do it. Once a year.

Every veterinarian has seen dogs with nails so long the dog can barely walk, or with dewclaws -- the nails that are the equivalent of a thumb in dogs, but up their leg and not very useful -- so long that they loop around and dig into the flesh. Ouch!

But here's the problem with dumping the problem on your veterinarian: Your dog will hate your veterinarian for the pain she or her staff has had to dole out. Since your veterinarian will have to cut way back to make you happy, that means she'll have to make your dog hurt and bleed. This is not a good way to build a positive relationship, and it may make your dog so vet-phobic over time that he'll be horribly stressed out when he really needs help.

A better solution: Learn to do nails at home after seeing it done by your veterinarian, a tech or a groomer, and do them often. Your dog won't be hurt, and your veterinarian won't become his enemy.

One exception to this rule: If your pet is scheduled for a procedure that requires anesthesia, such as a dental visit, your veterinarian may be OK with "quicking" the nails while your pet's unconscious. Your pet's paws will still hurt, but he won't blame the veterinarian or the techs for it. And once the quick recedes, you can keep them short more easily. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com.

THE BUZZ

Children must be

watched with dogs

-- Children under the age of 5 left unattended with a dog have the highest chance of being bit. A study conducted by the University of Colorado, Denver looked at data of 537 dog-bite cases from 2003 to 2008. Children under 5 accounted for 68 percent of dog-bite cases, and most of the bites were by a familiar dog. About half the bites came from the family dog, 15 percent were a neighbor's dog, 13 percent were a friend's dog and 10 percent were from a relative's dog. In about half the attacks, the child provoked the bite, either by petting or playing with the dog too forcefully, surprising the animal, or falling or stepping on it.

-- While dog parks seem like they've been around forever, the idea of setting aside a public space for off-leash recreation is actually only about a generation old. The first official dog park opened in 1979 in Berkeley, Calif. The idea was a popular one, with more than a thousand dog parks now in use across the United States.

-- Livability.com has come out with another of those lists ranking cities for their pet-related amenities. The website says Portland, Ore., is the best place to have a pet, taking into account dog-friendly parks and trails, active animal welfare groups, high-quality veterinary care and a large number of pet supply stores. After Portland, the top cities are: Colorado Springs, Colo.; Rocky Mount, N.C.; Boulder, Colo.; Santa Cruz, Calif.; Eugene, Ore.; Asheville, N.C.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Louisville, Ky.

-- The shortage of veterinarians practicing large-animal medicine promises only to get worse. A survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association found that only 2 percent of graduating veterinary students in 2010 planned to enter practice with large, non-pet animals. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "Good Morning America" and "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Gina Spadafori. The two are also the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Dr. Becker can also be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker.

Dr. Marty Becker

Universal uClick

Does your dog have the basics -- food, water, shelter and veterinary care -- but never does anything but sit around? Pretend your house is an exhibit at the zoo. You wouldn't want visitors to come by, look at your dog inactive and bored, and think, "Oh, that poor thing!" would you?

A dog's body is made for motion -- as a hunter and a scavenger -- and thanks to centuries of selective breeding, also for countless physical tasks in the service of humankind. If you want to see it for yourself, just watch for your dog's prey drive. They all have it, though it's buried deeper in some dogs than others. Everything about a dog is designed to see and go after potential prey: the way his eyes focus, the way his nerves are routed, the way he's on his feet and after that squirrel, tennis ball or the opening of the treat drawer, or the movement toward the door for a walk before even the dog himself seems to fully process what's going on.

An animal with that strong an instinct to take off running wants and needs exercise to be happy and healthy -- no matter how cushy his spot is on the couch.

Get your dog back to his roots: He needs to move, to work, to play and to prey to be healthy and happy. Movement helps a dog shed excess pounds as well as behavior problems. And keeping him active is good for you: Studies show you'll be more likely to be more fit as well, and you and your dog will be more tightly bonded.

Long before the canine family tree was split by human intervention into such diverse branches as the Irish setter, the bulldog, the Alaskan malamute and the Yorkshire terrier (and all combinations thereof), feral dogs spent their waking hours using their wits and their bodies to search for food. Sometimes they hunted and sometimes they scavenged, but they were on the move, working for the next meal to keep them alive. When humans came into the picture, many kinds of dog became even more active. The majority of breeds worldwide were developed through selective breeding to help hunters and farmers get and protect their own food supplies. All the retrievers, hounds, terriers, setters, shepherds and collies of the world are a testament to these work-dogs, who are born with a drive to earn their keep by working alongside their owners.

Exercising your dog is a responsibility, right up there with providing him with food, water, shelter and veterinary care. Without an adequate outlet for their energy, even sweet, easygoing dogs can quickly develop a trifecta of serious issues: bad behavior brought on by boredom, excess weight and potentially significant health problems.

The best exercise for any dog is something that engages both body and mind. These activities can help your dog prove to you the tenet all veterinarians hold dear: A tired dog is a happy dog.

You can start with something simple, or dedicate your life to training and competing with your dog -- it doesn't matter, as long as you start. As the saying goes, "Every journey starts with a single step," which is why there's a natural place to begin. Walking! What are you waiting for? Grab a leash and hit the road with your dog!

Q&A

Slowing down

dog who wolfs

Q: We got our dog from a rescue group. I know she was starved by her previous owners because she inhales her meals. Do you have any idea how to slow down the vacuum act? -- via e-mail

A: Your pet's history may have nothing to do with the behavior. The instinct to eat as much as possible, as fast as possible, is so strong in some breeds (and some individual dogs), that they can make themselves ill with their rate of consumption. These are dogs who will "counter surf" and "garbage dive" for any scrap of food they can scrounge.

Labrador retrievers, beagles, bassets, cocker spaniels, corgis, dachshunds and pugs, as well as mixes with these breeds in the family tree, are among the dogs I think of as prone to wolfing. Not coincidentally, these are also the dogs who most often lumber into my veterinary office looking as if they need to lose a pound or 10.

Eating too quickly is a bigger problem than just eating too much: Wolfing can lead to excessive gassiness and possibly contributes to a life-threatening emergency commonly known as bloat, where a dog's stomach enlarges and twists, requiring a fast surgical response in a bid for survival.

To slow down a wolfer, choose a couple of smooth stones (make sure they are too big for your dog to swallow), wash them, and put them in your dog's dish with his food. Arrange the food so the dog will have to move things around to get to his meal -- thus making him take his time. You can also find bowls designed to make eating more time-consuming, such as the Brake-Fast bowl that makes eating more difficult, or Le Bistro food dispensers that slow the rate of food availability.

You can also try using food puzzles (toys that make a dog work to get food out), or even scatter your dog's meal in the grass or on the vinyl flooring and let him "graze." -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com.

THE BUZZ

Shelter statistics

show adoption bump

-- Dog and cat adoptions have increased while the number of pets given up has decreased. According to Pethealth Inc.'s look at the numbers from 850 animal welfare groups across the U.S. and Canada, the relinquishment of dogs declined 5 percent; 6 percent for cats. The killing of pets for population control decreased 10 percent for cats and 7 percent for dogs. Despite the struggling economy, adoptions rose slightly: Cat adoptions increased 3 percent in September 2010 over the same month a year ago; dog adoptions were up 2 percent. The company collects data from shelters that use its PetPoint software system.

-- Full moon madness? A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association looked at emergency room intake over an 11-year period and found that emergency room visits increased 23 percent for cats and 28 percent for dogs during a full moon period.

-- The harder a mouse has to work for a treat, the more rewarding the animal finds the activity. According to Scientific American, mice were trained to press one of two levers that would dispense different flavors of sugar water. One of the levers was increased in difficulty, up to 15 times the effort to pull than the other lever. The mice preferred whichever water they worked the hardest to get. They seemed to think it was tastier as well, which was gauged by the rate of consumption.

-- African dwarf frogs carrying salmonella have sickened at least 113 people, most of them children under 10, with a median age of 5, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The frogs have been traced back to a single breeding facility that houses 800,000 to 1 million frogs. Experts strongly suggest pet frogs not be kept around children. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "Good Morning America" and "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Gina Spadafori. The two are also the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Dr. Becker can also be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker.

Dr. Tony Johnson

As pets take on a more important role in our lives, they are increasingly a part of our holiday festivities.

I love the holidays, but emergency veterinarians like me definitely see more pets in our ERs as people cook, bake and visit their way toward the new year. I hope this information helps keep your pet safe during all the fun.

-- Plants: Some folks think that their pet being anywhere within a three-block radius of a poinsettia will cause Mr. Whiskers to spontaneously explode, but you can rest assured that this is not the case. Yes, if eaten in sufficient quantities, the poinsettia can cause a mild and usually temporary stomach and intestinal upset, but this is more of a risk for your carpet than it is for your pet.

On the other hand, among the plants that do pose a hazard are mistletoe (causes more serious gastrointestinal and potential heart issues) and lilies (which can cause lethal kidney failure in cats at very small amounts).

-- Chocolate: If your 95-pound Great Pyrenees eats two M&M's, he's going to be fine, trust me. It takes quite a bit of milk chocolate to cause problems -- somewhere around one pound of chocolate for 30 to 40 pounds of body weight.

Remember, though, that dark chocolate is worse, and baking chocolate is even more toxic than dark chocolate. So if you are cooking with chocolate this season, save it for the revelers and not the retrievers.

-- Other food: Vomiting and diarrhea are common after eating too much food that's meant to be served to human guests, and this can trigger a serious condition called pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas -- the same gland that makes digestive enzymes as well as insulin. When the pancreas becomes inflamed, it releases enzymes and begins digesting itself -- a serious and painful condition that often requires hospitalization.

Keep pets confined during any holiday parties, or make sure guests (especially kids) know not to give treats to your pets. Dogs have been known to drag an entire turkey off the counter when the owner's back is turned, so make sure you're aware of their whereabouts during meal preparation.

If you do want to include your pet in the meal and fun, stick to a bit of lean turkey and low- or no-fat veggies (no onions, though -- these can cause problems for dogs).

-- Tinsel: This stringy, silvery and not-at-all-edible stuff can get twisted up in the intestinal tract (usually in cats -- proof that feline smarts only go so far) and cause real problems. Keep it above cat-level on the tree and definitely consider not using it at all.

-- Alcohol: Talk about a buzzkill! First, I am telling you that chocolate and food are no-no's for pets, and now I am warning about drinking, too. But it's warranted, so don't get your Doberman drunk. Make sure that all the boozy party leftovers are well out of reach, and that no lampshade-wearing guests try to give your pug a mug of beer. No one wants to see a basset hound with a hangover -- it's just too sad.

-- The open door: People come and go more during the holidays than at other times of year, and all that traffic can lead to plenty of opportunities for escape. We see many pets who make a break for freedom when Uncle Floyd comes a-callin' with his special tuna surprise. Dogs and cats can dart out the door without anyone noticing, and there's a whole big world of hurt just waiting for them out that door.

Make sure that pets are safely put away when you are expecting guests, and take a nightly head count to make sure that all the furry family members are accounted for before turning in for your visions of sugar plums.

Happy holidays to you and yours! Here's hoping you have a safe and sane season, and all family members make it through safely, no matter how many legs they have. And that if you see an ER doc like me, it's socially, not professionally.

Dr. Tony Johnson, an emergency and critical care specialist and a member of the PetConnection advisory team, is a clinical assistant professor at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Q&A

Good fences make

for safer dogs

Q: I am moving to a new home that doesn't have a fence, and I can't afford to change that anytime soon. I've heard that pouring ammonia around the perimeter will keep the dogs in their place, but does it really work? -- N.L., via e-mail

A: Ammonia won't work. Your dogs won't like the smell, but it won't slow them down for a second in their hurry to explore their new neighborhood.

Secure fencing is the only long-term solution. In the short term, you'll need to take them out on leashes, put them on tethers or place them in runs.

Tethering is not a good long-term solution, so please don't even consider it as a permanent fix to your problem. Dogs do not do well when tied up; some even learn aggressive behaviors that lead to attacks on anyone (especially children) wandering into the animals' reach. Tethering has other hazards, too. Your dogs can tangle up their lines and become unable to reach food, water or shade, or loose dogs can attack them. For these reasons, I recommend tethering for short periods at a time, and always under supervision. And remember: Never use a choke-chain collar with a tether. It's too easy for a dog to strangle himself.

Ready-made dog runs can be found for a couple hundred dollars, snd even less if you are able to find one secondhand. These will keep your dogs safe during their potty breaks.

Since I know someone will write to recommend electronic fences (systems that give dogs a shock when they near the perimeter of a property), let me say I don't recommend them. While they may keep an animal on the property, they won't protect a pet from other animals, pet thieves or harassment by neighborhood kids.

And that's if the fences are working perfectly -- as with any piece of equipment, these systems can be improperly installed or can malfunction, allowing your pet to escape or be shocked without respite. Finally, a very strong-willed dog will sometimes choose to take the shock to get out of the yard with enough temptation (such as a squirrel), but he won't choose to do so to get back in.

Real fences are always the best choice for safely and securely containing a dog, and if that's not possible, keeping your dog inside and leash-walking for exercise and relief is the next best thing. -- Gina Spadafori

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com.

THE BUZZ

Microchips help

cats go home again

-- Many lost pet cats are presumed to be strays, a presumption that almost eliminates the chances of a reunion, even if the animal lands in a shelter. A study by researchers at Ohio State looking at data from 53 shelters in 23 states suggests that the biggest change to this sorry statistic is the use of microchip identification. According to the research, the return-to-owner rate for cats was 20 times higher -- and two-and-a-half times higher for dogs -- for microchipped pets compared to rates of return for all stray cats and dogs that had entered the shelters. When a pet had a microchip, owners were located almost three-quarters of the time. When owners couldn't be found, it was usually because the pet's information hadn't been updated within the chip registry.

-- Seagulls carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their bodies, causing concern that the birds are spreading so-called "super bugs." Portuguese researchers believe migratory birds are spreading the bacteria through their droppings, probably after picking them up while sifting through human garbage. Similar antibiotic-resistant bacteria have also been found on other scavenger animals. Healthy people are usually not affected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but the risk is severe for those who are immunocompromised.

-- The world's longest and tallest cat is a Savannah cat, with individuals more than 18 inches tall and almost 42 inches inches long. The Savannah is the offspring of the African serval and the domestic house cat. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "Good Morning America" and "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Gina Spadafori. The two are also the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Dr. Becker can also be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker.