Even as public health experts report with alarm that human weight averages are increasing, veterinarians have long been worried about the same trend in our pets.

Dogs and cats are getting larger for the same reasons that people are: too much food and not enough exercise.

And obesity in pets causes a lot of the same problems it does in people. An overweight pet is prone to a host of related issues, including diabetes, joint, ligament and tendon difficulties, and breathing and heart challenges. Overweight cats can even develop skin problems from not being able to groom themselves properly. The overall impact on comfort and longevity can be dire.

But the truth is that it's not as difficult to trim down pets as it might be to fight your own battles with the bulge. What pets eat depends on what we give them. And although we might groan at the thought of exercise, our pets are always up for a brisk walk, a game of fetch or some play with a toy on a string. They love to move, especially if we're moving with them.

Simply put: There's no excuse for an overweight pet. Especially not today, with veterinarians well-armed not only with advice but with special foods that can help you trim the excess from your pet. These products were well-represented at the North American Veterinary Conference, which recently wrapped up its 25th annual convention for veterinarians in Orlando, Fla.

Healthy pets have some padding on them, but a little padding is plenty. Rub your hands over the ribs of your dog or cat. The skin should move easily back and forth, and you should be able to feel the ribs. Your pet should have a definable "waist" at the bottom of the rib cage. Take a look from the side: If your pet looks pregnant, he's fat.

Crash diets aren't good for pets, especially not for fat cats, who can develop a fatal liver problem if forced to reduce too quickly. A pet doesn't get fat overnight, and he shouldn't be forced to change course any more rapidly. What you'll need to do is change your pet's eating and exercise habits gradually. Your veterinarian is your partner and resource in this lifestyle change, so enlist her aid early.

Carve out some time out in your schedule to walk your dog or play with your cat -- three times a week, at least, daily if possible. Exercise has an added bonus: In addition to keeping your pet healthy, regular activity helps to correct many behavior problems caused by boredom.

Whatever regimen you and your veterinarian decide on, be determined to stick to it. Get out of the habit of expressing love for your pets by constantly offering treats, and use lower-fat treats such as carrots when you do hand over the goodies. And remember that exercise is good for you both.

Yes, it'll be hard in the beginning, what with those begging eyes and all. But don't give in. Your pet's life will be happier and longer if he's kept fit. And yours will be, too.

Q&A

Ask questions before

breeding your pet

Q: I bought a poodle, and I would like to get into breeding. Can she be bred on her first heat, and how many times in a row can I breed her? She's a great pet and I know her puppies will be popular. -- via e-mail

A: Before I answer your questions, I have some questions for you to think about:

Has this dog been certified clear of genetic defects? Does she have a stellar temperament -- friendly, calm and trainable? Is she a good example of her breed in terms of her appearance? Can you say the same of the stud dog?

Do you have money set aside for routine prenatal veterinary care and puppy care, and even more money at the ready if something goes wrong with the dog or the puppies? Are you prepared for the dog's death as a result of pregnancy or the rigors of giving birth? What about the risk of cancer or deadly infection common in unspayed dogs -- are you willing to lose her to these diseases?

Will you have a waiting list of responsible, prescreened homes for her puppies before they're born? Are you prepared to spend countless hours caring for and socializing the puppies in the first seven weeks of their lives? Will you be willing to take back any puppy you sell no matter what, no matter when?

If you cannot answer "yes" to each of these questions, then your dog should not be bred at all. Reputable, responsible breeders rarely breed a female more than twice before spaying her, and many of the promising dogs they have are not bred at all because they are not of breeding quality in terms of health, temperament and (in some breeds) working ability. These breeders also take lifetime responsibility for any dog that they bring into the world.

I realize those are not the simple answers you wanted, but the responsible breeding of dogs is about more than mechanics of reproduction. -- Gina Spadafori

THE BUZZ

Tabby cats come

in many colors

-- "Tabby" is a general term for striped cats, and tabbies come in many colors and patterns -- more than 40 varieties in all. Red tabbies seem to have a special following and mythology, perhaps because in male cats, the red-orange gene is almost always connected with tabby markings, while among females, red-orange cats can be tabbies, tortoiseshells or calicoes. (About one calico in 3,000 is male, but he's not your usual male, in that he carries an extra "X" chromosome.)

Tabbies can be further distinguished by differences in the patterns of their stripes. For example, a spotted tabby has gaps in the striping pattern, making the dark color appear as spots. The most recognizable is probably the "mackerel" tabby, with parallel lines placed like the ribs of a fish -- hence the name. All tabby cats carry a special mark in common, an "M" on the top of their heads.

-- A dog's heart normally beats between 70 to 180 times per minute, with little dogs having a faster heart rate. A puppy will also have a faster pulse -- up to 220 beats per minute. You can take your dog's pulse at home, by the way, but not by putting your fingertips on your dog's wrist, as you would with a person. Instead, check the heart rate in one of two places:

Choice 1: Put your hand over your dog's left side, behind the front leg. You'll feel the heart pulsing beneath your fingers (if you can't, you might talk to your veterinarian about getting some of the fat off your dog).

Choice 2: Put your fingertips on the femoral artery, on the inside of the leg just where it meets the body, right in the middle. (It's a pretty big blood vessel, so you shouldn't have any problem finding it.)

Either way, count the beats while 15 seconds click off your watch. Multiply by four to get the BPM, or beats per minute. Do it when your dog is healthy and relaxed, so you'll know what's normal. --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.

By Mikkel Becker

Do you click with your pet?

No, I'm not talking about getting along well, although I sure hope that you do. When I say "click," I mean a training technique that's easy and fun for all.

Clicker training is a no-force technique that works on animals of all sizes, ages and abilities. And that's also true of the people who would administer clicker training, since it doesn't require strength or much coordination on the part of the trainer.

A clicker is a small plastic box that fits in the palm of your hand. You press down on the metal strip inside the housing and quickly release it -- click-click!

The clicker itself doesn't have any magic powers. What it provides is timing -- it allows a trainer working with a pet who understands the game to let the animal know the behavior he's doing right now is the one that's being rewarded. And that means the behavior will be repeated. The clicking noise becomes a reward because in the early stages of training, the sound is linked to the delivery of something a pet wants, usually a tiny but yummy treat.

Does this sound familiar? Like from a psychology class, perhaps? It should ring a bell, because the underlying principal of clicker training is scientific and is called "operant conditioning" (Pavlov's drooling dogs, and all). But you can be excused if you don't want to know the ins and outs of the science and just want to cut to the chase.

After all, your pet is just as eager as you are to get to the good part, too.

You start by teaching your pet that a click means a treat. Pick a time when your pet isn't sleeping (though, not just after a meal) and is a little hungry (a couple of hours before a meal). Choose a relatively small, quiet place you can work without too many distractions, and prepare a pouch or bowl of tiny, yummy treats (diced hot dogs are popular, as are pieces of cheese or chicken). For the next few minutes, click and treat. One click, one treat. Again and again and again. Eventually your pet will show you he understands that the sound means food. For example, he may look immediately to the source of the treats after hearing the click.

When that happens, you're on to the next stage. But wait until your next session, because clicker training works best with a couple of short sessions -- less than 10 minutes -- every day.

When you're all set up again, sit quietly with your clicker and treats -- and wait. Your pet should start volunteering behaviors, everything from sitting to pawing to wandering in a circle. When your pet chooses one you like, click, treat and wait again. Your pet will initially be confused but should eventually offer the behavior again. Be patient! When that moment comes, click, treat and wait, again.

Say you clicked your pet a couple of times because he finally got bored and sat. Soon your pet will sit to test his theory that sitting means a click-treat. When that happens, click and "jackpot" him with a handful of treats. When the pattern is firmly established, you can then give it a name ("sit") and make the food reward more random to strengthen it (this is the principal that keeps you pulling a slot machine handle).

In future sessions you'll move on from the "sit" that your pet knows, waiting for more behaviors to click, treat and name, as you build your pet's repertoire of commands. More complicated behaviors are trained by "chaining" -- training in pieces and putting them together.

One more thing: Never punish your pet for not getting it right. Clicker training is all about the payoff, and once you get it mastered, there's no end to the things you can teach your pet to do.

(Pet Connection team member Mikkel Becker, Dr. Marty Becker's daughter, is a dog-trainer in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She is a graduate of the San Francisco SPCA's prestigious dog-training academy.)

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Q&A

Indoor rabbits

make great pets

Q: My daughter is getting a rabbit, and she wants to keep it in a cage in her bedroom. She says it can use a litter box. My husband wants to build a hutch outside. What do you advise? -- via e-mail

A: I don't know how old your daughter is, but she has clearly done her homework. Rabbits bloom with proper care and gentle attention, providing endless amounts of quiet companionship punctuated by short periods of delightful silliness. 



As for litter boxes, score another one for your daughter. Rabbits usually aren't perfect about their use -- a pellet here and there will testify to that, but it's easily cleaned up -- but they can and do use a box for most of their messes. 



Shelters and rescue groups always have a great selection and should be the place to shop for a bunny. Better yet, get two: Rabbits love the company and can often be adopted in pairs, already bonded. 


Visit the site of the House Rabbit Society (Rabbit.org) for the best information on caring for these pets. Here's a cheat sheet to get you started:

-- Housing. Your rabbit will need a home base of a small pen or large cage with food, water, toys and a litter box. Use a plain cat box filled with a shallow layer of recycled paper or wood pellets for the box, covered with a layer of fresh grass hay. You don't scoop a rabbit box -- you change it completely, every day. Provide broken woven baskets, cardboard boxes and other items for play and chewing.

-- Nutrition. Fresh water needs to be available at all times. While commercial pellets are fine, it's just as easy and often less expensive to feed your rabbit yourself. Grass hay (cheaper by the bale if you have a dry space to store it) should always be available, complemented by an array of green vegetables, from broccoli to kale to mustard greens to carrots with their tops on.

-- Health care. Get your rabbit spayed or neutered. In addition to keeping your rabbit from reproducing, you'll have a better pet. Unaltered rabbits can have behavior problems such as aggression and urine spraying. Your rabbit also will need a wellness check, just as a cat or dog would, and a good rabbit vet will help you catch little health problems before they become big ones. -- Gina Spadafori

THE BUZZ

Cornell vet makes

students dummy up

-- To teach veterinary students to handle emergency situations without harming a pet in critical condition, the first-ever sophisticated critical care dog dummy with a software program has been developed by a veterinarian at Cornell University. Speakers and actuators within the dummy send out heart and lung signals, and a pulse can actually be felt. A balloon-like structure with air mimics breathing. The system monitors blood oxygen monitoring, blood pressure and EKG as well. Dr. Dan Fletcher, a professor at the Cornell veterinary school who teaches emergency medicine, noticed that students would freeze when first handling a critically ill pet. The dog dummy responds like a living, breathing critical pet, providing an environment in which students can learn, as well as make and learn from mistakes.

-- The average cost for a veterinary visit in 2009 was $203, according to the American Pet Products Association.

-- Of the more than 150 dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club, 13 commonly get ear crops, 48 have docked tails, and 11 have both cropping and docking. Ear crops seem more likely to disappear as a common practice sooner, as fewer pet owners choose to have their puppies' ears sliced into an upright posture, and fewer veterinarians will perform the procedure. The American Veterinary Medical Association opposes ear cropping and tail docking when done solely for cosmetic purposes and has encouraged the elimination of these procedures from breed standards.-- 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.

We're still sorting through our New Year's resolutions, most of which seem to involve our pets (walk them more, brush their teeth more often). As we swing into the new year for real, we thought we'd share some information from two of our favorites of the books we've written together, "BowWow" and "MeowWow" (both from HCI).

Don't bite the man who names you: A handful of breeds were named for people. Louis Dobermann, a German tax collector in the mid-19th century, developed the elegant and protective breed that bears his name. Another is the Parson Russell terrier –- more commonly known as the Jack Russell -- named after the Rev. John Russell, a Victorian-era clergyman with a fondness for hunting terriers.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was named after King Charles II, although centuries after his death. There's also the Gordon setter, named after the Duke of Gordon.

An All-American Cat: The Maine Coon cat is an American original. This hardy, long-haired breed was developed as an all-purpose, all-weather New England farm cat and companion. The markings for which the breed is best known -- a distinctively marked tabby -- leaves the cat with a fluffy tail that somewhat resembles the tail of a raccoon.

Despite the persistent idea that the large cat came about because of mating with raccoons ... well, hate to ruin a good story, but it's just not true. Nor is the idea of that the cat developed from matings with North American bobcats. Maine Coon cats are all cat, and a lot of cat, for all that.

White can be a fright: Not all white cats are deaf, but it's certainly not uncommon. White cats with blue eyes are more likely to be deaf than white cats with eyes of any other color. As protected indoor cats, however, a deaf cat can still be a wonderful pet.

Just say "Aaaaahhhh!": All dogs have pink tongues, with two notable exceptions: the Chow Chow and the Chinese Shar Pei -- breeds with tongues variously described as purple, black or blue-black. Both breeds originated in China, and Shar Pei (the name in Chinese refers to "shark skin") was in the 1970s described as the rarest breed in the world -- a distinction lost long ago as the breed has become more popular.

Cats who chitter-chatter: Chattering is an involuntary reaction of a cat who sees something she wants very badly -- a fluttering bird or a feline enemy -- but can't get to for some reason, such as being on one side of the window when the bird or other cat is visible on the other.

If the keyed-up cat could pop her knuckles or chew gum to let out that extra energy, she would. By the way, a cat that's wound up is probably best left alone. A little redirected aggression could leave you with some nasty claw tracks on your arm! Sometimes when it comes to cats, it's best to keep your distance.

Beware ... watch out ... don't enter: The phrase "Beware of dog" is so old that its Latin equivalent -- cave canem -- has been found on signs in Roman ruins. The word "watch dog" isn't quite as old, but it has been around a long, long time. The first known mention of it? By Shakepeare, in "The Tempest."

We'll share more tidbits in the months ahead. We're both chronic savers of interesting pet facts, and we have files of our best clippings for future books.

Q&A

'Learn to earn'

teaches manners

Q: I have a golden retriever who's almost 2 years old. She's a loving dog, but she's just too hyper. I know big dogs take time to mature, but she's so big and strong that I'm afraid she's going to knock one of us down. She doesn't mean to be bad, but she just doesn't think. We can't afford professional training right now. Can you help? -- via e-mail

A: Yes, retrievers are often slow to mature, but you don't have to put up with bad manners in the meantime. More exercise is a must -- a tired dog is a good dog -- but you also need to lay the foundation for good behavior by showing your dog with every interaction that she has to earn what she wants.

This "learning by earning" starts with the basics of dog obedience -- sit and stay. Chances are your dog already knows these commands. If not, check out a class (group classes aren't expensive), a book or a video (try the library for free) to help you to teach her. Once your dog understands and performs these behaviors more or less on command, you're going to use them to reinforce your authority, gently but persistently.

Ask your dog to sit before you put her leash on for a walk; to sit before you pet her (which will also keep her from jumping up) or before you throw a toy for her to fetch; to sit and stay when her bowl is placed before her, and hold that position until released; to sit and stay before the door is opened; to sit and stay before being let out of the car into the park, and so on.

Be patient. Your dog will soon catch on as long as you're consistent in insisting on her good behavior before good things come her way.

No sit, no reward, no discussion.

The real beauty is what's happening deep down. Without raising your voice, jerking a leash, spanking or otherwise roughly handling your dog, you've made it clear to her that there are household rules that must be followed. And that's going to make everything else about living with and training your dog easier. -- Gina Spadafori

THE BUZZ

Pet population

trends to canine

-- Cats or dogs? Forty-three million American families owned at least one dog in 2007, the latest year statistics were available, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. That accounted for 37.2 percent of American households. About 37.5 million families owned at least one cat in the same year, or 32.4 percent of households.

-- Dogs with arthritis can increase their mobility by performing certain exercises. Australian researchers found that walking uphill and climbing over small obstacles can help dogs develop increased flexibility.

-- Locusts and cockroaches hold chemicals in their brains with anti-microbial properties that are strong enough to kill up to 90 percent of drug-resistant bacteria without harming human cells. The insects' brains likely have developed their anti-microbial compounds as a way to survive in the dirty, infectious conditions in which they live. Scientists hope the findings can be used to create new antibiotics to attack severe infections in humans.

-- A genetic test is available to indicate whether a racehorse would do best at short-, medium- or long-distance racing. Research teams have isolated the myostatin gene -- a crucial indicator of athletic ability in Thoroughbred horses. Japanese researchers further found that the characteristics of the area surrounding the myostatin gene are also linked to athletic ability, which further suggests what racing followers have known all along -- that racing performance and athletic ability are hereditary traits. -- 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.