EVEN 'EASY' SPECIES CAN BE HIGH-MAINTENANCE PETS.

After years of dreaming, planning and preparing, I moved onto a small piece of country property where I could have more -- and more kinds -- of animals than were previously allowed in my old suburban neighborhood. My horses live with me now, and I have added more pet chickens. Goats? Maybe. But one kind of pet I haven't had since my beloved little parrot, Eddie, died a few years back is on my list again.

Parrots aren't like other pets. They're wickedly smart, relatively high-maintenance, very messy and exceptionally long-lived. I'm going to think long and hard before making the plunge, and not just because many kinds of parrots are likely to outlive me now.

I will go slowly mostly because I know that when it comes to parrots, too many people get in over their heads, choosing a pet who's too large, too loud, too expensive and, ultimately, too much to handle. I know which species are too much for me. But even the easier ones? I'm still thinking.

Parrots are wonderful pets, although they are much more work than many people realize. Before you fall in love with a parrot who's not a good fit for you, consider a few species that may fit the bill better.

-- Cockatiels: When properly raised and socialized, these popular pets like to snuggle and be petted. If you've seen only the gray bird with orange patches, you may be surprised at how many cockatiel color and pattern variations are available these days. Some cockatiels learn to talk, but many are better at whistling.

-- Budgies: Because of their small price tag and easy availability, budgerigars (commonly, but improperly, known as "parakeets") are often treated as throwaway pets -- easily purchased, easily disposed of and easily replaced. This attitude keeps people from valuing these birds for their affectionate personality. Some budgies even become very good talkers, albeit with tiny little voices. Budgies are commonly found in two varieties: the narrow American and the huskier English. Many budgies can be tamed by gentle, patient handling and can bond closely with their human companions.

-- Lovebirds: When hand-raised and socialized, lovebirds enjoy being handled. They're very affectionate, not overly loud and are capable of picking up a few phrases. The peach-faced lovebird is the most common, and this species also comes in many interesting color mutations. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to keep them in pairs.

-- Poicephalus: These small parrots are an easygoing bunch. Of the species available as pets, the Senegal is probably the most common, a handsome little bird with a gray head, green back and wings, and yellow-orange underside. Poicephalus parrots are known for their small size -- a little bigger than a cockatiel -- and affectionate personalities. They're not the best talkers, but some will pick up a few phrases.

-- Pionus: Not as flashy as other midsized parrots, the pionus is often overlooked. But what it lacks in bright colors it makes up for with a winning personality. Several varieties of pionus are available as pets, all small enough to be easy to keep and handle. Their personalities are considered among the most sedate of all parrots, and they're not excessively loud.

Those are my top five, but there are other "starter birds" to consider. Among them are the Pyrrhura conure (such as the green-cheeked), the Quaker or monk parakeet (where legal), and the lilac-crowned or other smaller Amazons. And, yes, I'm thinking about another caique, like Eddie. Finally, the tiny and colorful parrotlet deserves consideration, too.

I'll be thinking about it for a few months longer, and in the end I may decide never to have a parrot again. But I will always yearn for the cleverness and the quirkiness these special pets bring to any home.

Q&A

Don't teach puppies

to jump over gates

Q: How can I limit my border collie pup to a room where there are no doors? There's only a baby gate, which she can jump over. -- via e-mail

A: When I have puppies or foster dogs in the house, I use an extra-tall gate to make sure they learn from the start that they can't get over the barrier. The problem with most gates is that for large puppies or dogs, or especially agile ones like yours, the common 29- or 30-inch barrier is no barrier at all.

Sometimes people make the mistake of adding height in increments, starting with a standard gate, then getting one just a little higher, and then higher still. This sometimes has the effect of training a dog to jump higher and higher. That's why I prefer to start with a tall gate.

Several companies now make pet barriers that are as much as 44 inches high. Your dog may be agile, but he'd have to have springs for legs to get over a gate that tall. Other gates are designed to accommodate additional panels to increase height on a standard gate. Internet and catalog retailers are probably your best bet to find the widest selection. -- Gina Spadafori

Q: My 12-year-old cat is having a problem keeping weight on. Should I add oil to her diet? She's very active so I don't think she needs to see the vet. -- via Facebook

A: Your cat needs to be checked out by your veterinarian. Although your letter is pretty lean on specifics, in general, when an older cat seems to have high levels of energy but is steadily losing weight, the culprit is often a malfunctioning thyroid gland. This overabundance of the hormone is called hyperthyroidism. The average age at diagnosis is 13, making your cat right in the target area.

When a cat produces too much thyroid hormone, the animal's metabolic rate soars to the point where he can burn off more than half of his body weight. If thyroid production is not checked, cardiac and liver problems develop, and the cat can die.

The good news is that the problem is treatable, allowing a cat to regain full health and expect a normal life span. Your veterinarian will be able to discuss treatment options if this is indeed what's going on with your cat. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Spay, neuter, adopt:

It's kitten season

-- Kitten season is no myth, and proof lies in the writhing bundles of kittens in animal shelters this time of year. The feline reproductive season runs from winter solstice to autumnal equinox. The amount of daylight turns the cat's reproductive cycles on and off. That means in December, unspayed females start coming into heat, and usually they will be pregnant by the middle of January. A 60-day pregnancy means that cats will give birth around March 15 or so. The first wave of litters will come to shelters shortly thereafter. While some promising new developments will offer more forms of sterilization in the near future, for now, spay-neuter to reduce the birth rate and aggressive shelter marketing to increase adoptions are key to preventing the tragic killing of unwanted kittens and cats.

-- Dog breed identification tests appear to have improved since their introduction in 2007, and more improvements are on the way. But an article by the Veterinary Information Network's news service (news.vin.com) suggests it's unwise to rely on the tests for anything more than novelty and satisfying curiosity. While some breeds, such as the boxer, are relatively easy to ID by DNA, other breeds are nearly impossible to identify at this time.

-- The development of feline-friendly veterinary practices has shown in a pilot program to improve access to veterinary care for cats -- and to make cat owners more comfortable about bringing cats in for preventive care they need. In the recent Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the pioneering CATalyst Council reported a 5 percent improvement in visits for veterinary practices that had participated in a feline-friendly makeover involving staff education, cat-relaxing examination strategies and even such physical changes as cats-only waiting areas. -- Gina Spadafori

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.

MODERN DOG SPORTS MAKE ELITE ATHLETES OUT OF MAN'S BEST FRIEND

Playing with a dog used to mean a game of tug-of-war or fetch. These days, canine sports are organized and televised, and top competitors have fans like any top athlete. Agility, dock diving, flyball, freestyle, obedience, tracking, hunt tests and more -- there's an activity for every dog. I've tried almost all of them, and not been good at any one of them. (I'm not very athletic!) But my dogs and I have always had a great time. Here's a look at four of the dog sports that are most welcoming to newbies:

Agility: A canine obstacle course with jumps, A-frames, teeter-totters, open and closed tunnels, weave poles and dog walks (like the balance beam in a gymnastics competition). Agility trials test physical skill, control, patience and teamwork, and demonstrate canine athleticism, versatility and speed.

Racing against the clock, dogs directed by their handlers must navigate a challenging course. In each of five height divisions, the winner is the dog with the fastest time and a run free of faults, such as knocking over the bar of a jump or missing the contact zone when coming off an obstacle. Any breed or mix can compete in agility, but medium-size dogs who are quick and nimble usually do best.

Dock Diving: Splash! For some dogs, there's nothing more fun than running and jumping into a body of water, whether it's a swimming pool, a pond, a lake or the ocean. Not surprisingly, that love of water has been channeled into competition. It's called dock diving, and it's one of the wettest, wildest dog games around.

Dogs in the Big Air event go for distance. The dog with the longest jump off the end of a dock is the winner. In heats known as waves, each dog runs down the dock, the owner throws a toy out over the water, and the dog jumps in after it. The distance he jumps is measured at the point where the base of his tail hits the water.

If you say "Jump!" and your dog asks "How high?" Extreme Vertical might be his game. In this event, the dog races down the dock, then leaps up to grab a bumper suspended 10 feet above the water. The winner is the dog with the highest measured jump.

Flyball: This simple relay race involves four hurdles and a tennis ball. Two teams race each other over a 51-foot course lined with four jumps. At the end of the course is a spring-loaded box that ejects a tennis ball when the dog steps on a trigger. Catching the tennis ball in his mouth, the dog races back over the hurdles, crossing the starting line before the next dog begins. The first team to run without errors wins.

Speedy dogs and dogs who love to retrieve excel at this game, but any dog can play, as long as he can learn to jump a hurdle and retrieve a tennis ball. Large or small, dogs of all breeds and mixes can compete together.

Freestyle: Nicknamed "the tail-wagging sport," canine freestyle (also known as musical freestyle or heelwork to music) is a choreographed routine set to music that incorporates elements of traditional canine obedience exercises and the equine sport of dressage.

Almost any dog with a love of the limelight can do freestyle. Freestyle builds on a dog's natural moves such as spins, rolls, jumps and bows. Dogs learn to spin in different directions, to jump through or into their partner's arms, to bow before a waltz, to place their paws on an arm or on their partner's back. For two-legged team members, it helps to have rhythm and an understanding of choreography. But even if you don't, freestyle is a great way to have fun with a dog right in your own backyard, or to find a better dance partner than your spouse.

A simple Internet search will hook you up with classes in your area. What are you waiting for? It's time to play!

Q&A

How to treat a

dog who stinks

Q: Our dog has been "skunked" twice this year already. Is there anything that can get the smell off him fast? -- via email

A: Forget tomato juice. If your pet ever gets skunked, the most effective de-stinking recipe is one you make fresh, from ingredients that you should keep on hand.

The recipe: Take 1 quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, such as Ivory. Mix and immediately apply to the stinky pet. Rinse thoroughly with clean tap water.

The key is to mix the ingredients immediately before applying them to your pet. The chemical reaction bonds with the molecules that produce the smell and neutralizes them.

Use a washcloth to work carefully around your dog's eyes and ears. And don't even think of storing any leftover solution. The chemical reaction of the combined ingredients cannot be contained -- so just throw the leftovers away. -- Gina Spadafori

Q: To put it bluntly, our dog stinks. We've tried all kinds of products, and nothing works. Is there something we can feed him that will help? -- via email

A: If you're constantly wincing at your pet's objectionable odor, you need to make an appointment with your veterinarian. Bad breath can be a sign of rotting teeth or gums, and smelly ears are often a result of infections. An overall bad smell may indicate skin problems.

Don't ignore these warning signs. Disease can make your pet miserable and shorten his life. Stinky pets aren't normal. Proper diagnosis and treatment by a veterinarian can improve your pet's quality of life -- and your life, as well, by keeping your pet sweet-smelling. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

'Dirty' pets helping

kids grow up healthy

-- For a healthier child, get a pet -- or at least let your baby be around one. In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers found that kids who spent time around dogs and cats during their first year of life were healthier and got fewer ear infections and needed fewer courses of antibiotics than little ones who led animal-free lives. Other studies have suggested that childhood exposure to animals leads to fewer allergies. These studies suggest that the pets -- and the dirt that rides in on them -- challenge the immune system and set up good defenses for life.

-- DVM360.com reports that new surgical procedures, such as laparoscopy, are changing the ways U.S. veterinarians spay dogs and cats. Traditionally, a spay meant the complete removal of the reproductive system, but now more veterinarians are removing just the ovaries. The procedure, especially when performed non-invasively, means less pain and a faster healing time. Such ovariectomies have been widely practiced in Europe for many years.

-- Cats are able to squeeze through spaces that seem narrower than they are because they don't have a rigid collarbone to block their way through nooks and crannies. Once they can get their head and shoulders through, their sleek bodies present no further obstacle. -- Gina Spadafori

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.

TAKE A MID-SUMMER BREAK WITH SOME PET-RELATED TRIVIA

Books don't always sell in direct relationship to how much their authors love them. Sometimes that's for reasons outside of our control (such as the pet care book that came out just before Sept. 11, 2001), but there's often no reason for it at all.

Two of our books, "bowWOW!: Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales, and Trivia Even Your Dog Won't Know" and its feline companion, "meowWOW!" (HCI, 2007), remain our little, almost-forgotten favorites: bright, fun and interesting, with illustrations by Molly Pearce so wonderful that we have them framed in our offices. We loved researching and writing these two books. Some fun facts we found:

-- Dogs have been taxed for centuries, but the idea of a tag to signify that a dog was "licensed" seems to date to the late 19th century, when Cincinnati started issuing tags on an annual basis, and other cities and states soon followed suit. Although wooden tags for soldiers were used in the U.S. Civil War to help identify the injured and the dead, it wasn't until World War I that American soldiers got metal tags as standard issue. The resemblance between the tags of soldiers and of dogs (along with a good dollop of droll military humor) soon had the men calling them "dog tags" -- a term that sticks to this day.

-- The cat has one up on the lion: Cats purr, but lions cannot. (On the flip side: Lions roar, which cats can't.) No big cat can get his motor running the way our household kitties can, purring constantly as effortlessly as breathing, both in and out. Tigers can rumble a tiger-sized purr-like sound, but on the exhale only.

-- All dogs have pink tongues, with two notable exceptions: the Chow Chow and the Chinese Shar-Pei, both breeds with tongues variously described as "purple," "black" or "blue-black." Black spots on tongues are common in many dogs, and are not necessarily an indication that there's a Chow Chow or Shar-Pei in the gene pool, however.

-- Most cats have five toes on their front paws, but only four of them hit the ground. The fifth toe is found on the inside of the front paw. This "dewclaw" is the feline equivalent of our thumb, and it's used for grasping prey and climbing trees. Any number of toes over the norm (usually an extra one or two, but occasionally as many as three or four) makes a cat polydactyl, which means "many fingers." Polydactylism is a dominant genetic trait, which means just one polydactyl parent is enough to make a litter of polydactyl kittens.

-- Helen Keller, the blind and deaf woman whose triumph over her disabilities made her an international sensation, was the first American to own an Akita.

-- Cats can hear nearly three times more frequencies than humans can. For you technical types, a cat's hearing stops at 80 kilohertz, a dog's at 45 kHz, and a human's at a pathetic 20 kHz. Because cats can rotate their ears and focus each ear independently, they also can hear well from all directions. A cat can rotate its outer ear to locate a sound -- such as the sound of a mouse's footsteps trying to sneak by -- 10 times faster than a dog.

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

-- Cats' heads come in three basic shapes: round, such as on the fluffy Persians; triangular, such as on the sleek, show-bred Siamese and other so-called "Oriental" breeds; and rectangular, such as on the burly Maine Coon. Most random-bred cats tend more toward the triangular head, albeit a less-extreme version than on the show-quality Siamese.

-- One final one, just for summer: The "dog days" of summer have nothing to do with dogs and everything to do with the brightest star in the night sky: Sirius, the constellation also known as the "dog star" that's highly visible during some of the hottest weeks of the year.

Q&A

Not all fruits and

veggies good for pets

Q: We feed our dog raw carrots. She loves them, but are they good for her? -- via Facebook

A: Raw vegetables and fruits are a wonderful treat. I often recommend carrots and apple slices as a substitute for commercial treats, especially for dogs who are pudgy. (Another easy weight-loss trick involving vegetables: Substitute thawed frozen green beans for part of your dog's daily food ration. They'll make your pet feel full without adding much in the way of calories.)

Not all fruits and vegetables are good for your pet, though, and some may even be toxic. The absolute no-nos include raisins and grapes, onions and many nuts. When in doubt, ask your veterinarian or visit the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center online (ASPCA.com/APPC). -- Dr. Marty Becker

Q: Can I give my dog garlic to control fleas? I don't want to put dangerous chemicals on him. -- via Facebook

A: There's no scientific evidence that garlic (or brewer's yeast, which I'm also often asked about) will control fleas. And since garlic in its natural form can be toxic, don't give it to your dog.

The best advice I can offer is to ask your veterinarian for one of the topical products that controls fleas. These products are considered safe when used as directed on healthy pets. And when you consider the problems caused by an out-of-control parasite problem for both pets AND people, the risk-benefit factor becomes even greater on the side of modern preventives.

There are some "natural strategies" that can help, and you should try them whether you use topical veterinary-recommended products or not. Wash your pet's bedding and vacuum pet areas frequently to remove eggs and developing fleas. This will interrupt the life cycle of these parasites and drop the number of adult pests you'll have to deal with. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Helping shelter cats

survive ringworm

-- Ringworm is often fatal to cats in shelters -- not because the fungal disease is deadly, but because many shelters kill pets with even mild diseases to prevent the spread of infectious conditions. Veterinary dermatologist Dr. Karen Moriello, clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, is working to change that. She has established a protocol to detect and treat ringworm in cats that is being used in shelters across the country, saving countless feline lives.

-- Equine veterinarian Dr. Kent Allen of Middleburg, Va., filled in TheHorse.com on his role as technical delegate to the London Olympics. His job includes following 90 pages of veterinary guidelines for competitors in Olympic equestrian events, working with a team of veterinarians to keep the horses healthy (and pulling them from competition if they're not) and making sure everyone is playing fair, with no unapproved performance-enhancing substances. "It's not a slap on the hand and a fine anymore," said Dr. Allen of the strict anti-doping policy. "It's getting to be more like [the anti-doping policies for] the athletes in other sports."

-- The nonprofit Rural Area Veterinary Services provides veterinary care to pet owners who don't have access, either due to their rural location or financial situation. Sometimes working in MASH-like conditions, volunteer veterinarians, veterinary technicians and others provide help to nearly 9,000 animals a year. The care ranges from routine preventive medicine, such as spay-neuter, vaccines and parasite control, to treatment for serious injuries and disease. Donations are always needed to fund operations: ruralareavet.org. -- Gina Spadafori

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.