CHECK THE SHELTER FOR PERFECT PETS: TWO INDOOR RABBITS

When Easter draws near, you can be sure of an increase in sales of chocolate and rabbits. And while it won't hurt you much to buy chocolate on a whim, I'd rather you pass on buying a bunny on impulse.

But if you're ready for a surprisingly special pet, wait a few weeks, check the shelters and pick a pair. They do well in multiples -- after they're altered, of course -- and you'll find wonderful rabbits ready for re-homing in the weeks after Easter.

Never thought of a rabbit as an indoor pet for adults? You're missing out! Once liberated from the confinement of a backyard "hutch" and provided with a safe and secure indoor environment, bunnies really shine as pets. They're playful and adorably willful, trainable and even amenable to using a litter box.

Care is surprisingly easy, and very affordable. Here's how to keep your rabbit healthy:

-- Housing. Your rabbit will need a home base of a small pen or large cage with food, water and a litter box. Rabbits do well with a plain cat box filled with a shallow layer of recycled paper pellets, covered with a layer of fresh grass hay. You don't scoop a rabbit box -- you change it completely, every day. (The ingredients you toss are great for your compost pile.)

-- Nutrition. Fresh water needs to be available at all times. For food, skip the store-bought pellet route and feed your rabbit a variety of fresh leafy veggies and an unlimited supply of fresh grass hay. If you do go with pellets, your rabbit should still get as much fresh grass hay as he wants. Treat your rabbit, too: Bunnies love little bits of fruits, roots and leafy greens. (If you have storage space, hay is cheaper by the bale and lasts for many weeks in a cool, dry location.)

-- Health care. Check with your local rabbit rescue group for the names of veterinarians who are known to be good with rabbits. 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 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.

-- Exercise and play. Make sure your rabbit is allowed time outside the cage or pen every day. If you can't manage letting your rabbit roam at will indoors, block off a single rabbit-proofed room. A secure, supervised area outside is fine as well, but don't leave your rabbit unattended. Rabbits can be scared literally to death by cats, dogs and even jays and crows. Because some rabbits can be chewers, you'll want to make sure that any rabbit-friendly area has electrical cords tucked away, and deny access to the legs of nice furniture and the corners of good carpets.

-- Rabbits love toys. Cat toys, dog toys, hard-plastic baby toys and even the cardboard tubes from inside toilet paper and paper towel rolls are fun for rabbits. Cardboard boxes stuffed with hay and treats are also fun for bunnies.

I had a trio of pet rabbits for a few years -- Turbo, Annie and Velocity. I still miss them, and will be looking to adopt a pair later this spring. I encourage you to join me, and make this spring a good one for former Easter bunnies.

Q&A

'Tough love' works

with finicky dogs

Q: My little dog is so finicky. Plain kibble just isn't good enough. I have to keep doctoring it up, adding leftovers, cheese and more. And then he gets bored with that, so I have to add something else. What's the solution? -- via email

A: Before you do anything, you have to be sure you're not dealing with an underlying health problem. Pets who are suffering from chronic disease or pain will often stop eating. Unless and until you get your pet to the veterinarian, you won't make any progress -- and your pet may well get worse.

It's also worth noting that if a dog who normally eats well won't eat what's in the dish, you need to trust his instincts. Feed something else, even if it's cottage cheese and rice for the night, and call the company (contact information is on the label). You may be offering a food that has been or should be recalled.

But if both your dog and the food check out as fine, you need to teach your dog to eat what's offered. Provide a quiet place to eat with no distractions, and no competition from other pets. A small room with a baby gate across it is fine, or use a pet crate if your dog is comfortable inside one. Put the food down and leave your dog alone for 20 to 30 minutes. Then pick up the food, eaten or not, say nothing and give your pet no food until the next scheduled feeding. Repeat at every meal: a quiet space, a set time for eating and remove the remainder.

Don't worry if he misses a meal, or even a day or two worth of meals. He won't starve. Above all: Do not, do not, do not give treats between meals, nor add those "goodies" to the meals after she turns up her nose. Do make sure fresh water is always available, though. I doubt it will take more than a couple of days for your dog to learn to eat promptly the food that's set down in front of him.

Note: Don't ever try this on a finicky cat. Cutting off a cat's food supply abruptly can trigger a potentially fatal liver disease. If your cat's not eating, don't wait: See your veterinarian. -- Gina Spadafori

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

THE BUZZ

A dog's mouth isn't

truly all that clean

-- The idea that a dog's saliva has healing powers dates all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, whose physicians believed it to be an antidote for poisoning. Modern medicine doesn't look kindly on such theories, especially when the things a dog eats and licks get taken into account. So if you have a wound, try some antiseptic spray and a Band-Aid instead.

Why do dogs seem so interested in sniffing or licking wounds? One reason is that the serum that leaks from an open sore is sweet.

-- Tired of cats on the counter? Keep kitties from going airborne by covering the off-limits areas with double-sided tape, aluminum foil or upside-down carpet runners. Cats don't like it when their paws stick to something. They also dislike the sound and feel of aluminum foil, and find the knobs on the carpet runners uncomfortable.

You can also try cookie pans filled with water, or spraying bath towels with pet repellent and covering the affected areas. The advantage of these approaches is that they work whether you're around or not. Plus they set up the cat to choose to make the proper response -- staying off the counter -- on his own. You should also provide them with safe and approved places to climb, such as a sturdy cat tree. If a cat can't look down on us, he just can't be happy.

-- An ideal weight for most cats is 8 to 12 pounds. Even the larger breeds of cat rarely exceed 15 pounds, with the exception of a few relatively rare breeds. -- Mikkel Becker and Dr. Marty 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 affiliated with Vetstreet.com and 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.

'OLD DOG VESTIBULAR DISEASE' NOT AS AWFUL AS IT SOUNDS

When my 15-year-old Sheltie collapsed in the yard, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to lose him that night. That's because I knew there was a good chance that what he had was something called "Old Dog Vestibular disease" -- and that chances were good that he'd be fine after a visit to my veterinarian.

Which is not to say I was nonchalant about having a dog who couldn't stand without falling over. After all, Drew has been a "hospice dog" since last summer, when he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. Since then, though, he has been happily toddling along with daily doses of subcutaneous fluids, which I give him from IV bags that I hang from my dining-room chandelier.

But back to ODV ... or, if you will, a doggy stroke.

"There are few conditions veterinarians see with some regularity that really scare the pants off pet owners, but most veterinarians don't see them as major problems," said Dr. Tony Johnson, clinical professor of emergency and critical care at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. "One of these is indeed Old Dog Vestibular disease."

Dr. Johnson is a friend and Pet Connection colleague, which is why I already knew that Drew might be fine. The board-certified emergency specialist had previously written about ODV for a book project that I edited, so I knew about the sudden onset symptoms that include a loss of balance, head tilt and vomiting attributed to something akin to motion sickness. To the dog with ODV, the world appears to be spinning, explained Dr. Johnson, which makes everyone feel a little queasy.

As soon as I got Drew to the hospital, our own veterinary team started eliminating other, more dire possibilities. In Drew's case, that meant a blood test for his kidney values (fine) and a check of his blood pressure (also fine). Because of his nausea, he was sent home with something to settle his stomach. That, and the tincture of time.

"The real cause of ODV has eluded science," said Dr. Johnson. "It may be a mini-stroke, like a TIA (transient ischemic attack) in people."

Less than a day after his initial collapse, Drew was able to stand a little and was interested in begging for a little toast. (He got what he wanted, of course.) In the majority of ODV dogs, most symptoms resolve within a couple of weeks, said Dr. Johnson, although TLC is necessary while the pets are getting better.

Some dogs need help getting out into the yard to relieve themselves, and some will also need to be hand-fed for a while. For those dogs who don't get better -- about a quarter of suspected ODV cases, says Dr. Johnson -- the true problem is typically a brain tumor.

While only an MRI would rule out that problem -- and I didn't opt for Drew to have one -- it'll be a while before I know if my little old dog will be back to what was normal for him before. In the meantime, he'll get all the TLC he needs -- along with the daily fluids he has had for months to keep his aging kidneys going.

With any luck, he'll be around and feeling just fine for his 16th birthday.

Q&A

Little dogs can be

hard to house-train

Q: Why are small dogs so difficult to house-train? I've never been able to make our little Chihuahua mix reliable and I've read that's common. -- M.A., via e-mail

A: Small dogs can indeed be difficult to house-train, for a couple different reasons. One of the major problems is inconsistency on the part of the owner. A lot of people with small dogs decide it's just as easy to clean up a little mess now and then instead of working on a big training problem.

But little dogs can be house-trained. Toy breed expert Darlene Arden says you have to start by looking at things from a little dog's point of view.

For example, you have to make sure your dog feels safe in the outdoor spot you've chosen for him. "You need to find that one very safe spot for them," says Arden, adding that it's important to keep the grass short so the dog doesn't feel as if he's hacking through a jungle.

Despite the special challenges a small dog presents, Arden says house-training is possible. Once your dog has a safe spot, you can teach him to use it with the aid of a schedule, praise and a dedication to consistency.

"Feed on a schedule," says Arden. "You must take your dog out after he eats, after play, after any kind of stimulation. Take a special treat and your happiest voice to the special spot. The moment the puppy's feet hit the ground, get excited." When the deed is done, says Arden, praise to the heavens and deliver the treat.

Limiting a dog's range in the house helps, too. "I'm a firm believer in crate-training -- as a tool, not a punishment," says Arden. "A crate keeps a dog out of trouble when you can't watch him."

Mistakes are part of the learning process and should never be punished. "If you see the dog starting to go in the house, pick him up and run him to that special spot," says Arden, and praise him when he finishes up outside. -- Gina Spadafori

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

THE BUZZ

Tabby stripes top

all feline markings

-- "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 in 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: He carries an extra "X" chromosome.) Red tabby males are often called "ginger toms" with great affection.

Tabbies can be further distinguished by differences in the pattern of their stripes. 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.

The word "Tabby," by the way, is thought to come from the "Atabi," the name of an ancient silk with a striped pattern.

-- As laws get passed to prevent distracted driving, don't be surprised to see seat belts for pets becoming law in more places. Securing a pet in a vehicle makes sense all around. A loose animal in the car can cause an accident by distracting the driver. In an accident, or even if the driver has to stop suddenly, a pet can hurt himself or other passengers.

For cats and dogs, crates -- secured to the floor or to a safety belt for small pets -- are perfect for travel. They keep pets in place and allow for transport straight into the veterinary office for scaredy-cats or nervous dogs.

For dogs, a variety of safety harnesses have become available in recent years. Many of these snap right into existing seat-belt buckles, and some double as harnesses for walks. -- Mikkel Becker and Dr. Marty 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 affiliated with Vetstreet.com and 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.