EXERCISE THERAPY: TIRED DOGS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE WELL-MANNERED

The joke in dog training these days is that when you get two trainers together, the only thing they'll agree on is that a third trainer is doing it wrong.

But there's something else that the fiercest advocate of a no-punishment training approach will find in common with the trainer who believes that a dog's actions need consequences: They'll both agree that your dog is likely not getting enough exercise, and that sedentary lives are at the root of a lot of canine behavior problems.

Look at the big, active dogs we adore, such as the Labrador retriever and the German shepherd. You don't have to go far down the popularity list to find other active breeds, such as the always-in-motion dog commonly known as the Jack Russell terrier. Factor in the countless retriever, shepherd, husky, hound and terrier mixes, and you have a lot of dogs whose genetics have prepared them to work nonstop for hours at a time.

Instead, many of them spend their lives in small, boring backyards. To burn off all that natural energy, they're busy barking, digging and chewing.

If you're thinking of getting a dog, think very seriously about what breed or mix you want and whether you can provide an active dog with the exercise he needs. If you can't honestly say that your dog will get 30 minutes of heart-thumping aerobic exercise at least three to four days a week -- daily is better -- then you really ought to reconsider those breeds and mixes.

Fortunately, there are alternatives. All dogs love and need their exercise, but not all dogs will misbehave if they don't get a ton of it. Consider dogs of breeds or mixes that are content with less exercise. For large dogs, consider adopting a retired racing greyhound, a dog known as the "30 mph couch potato." Many of the pug-nosed breeds are also touted for their couch-potato ways, but beware: that's because they're often born with compromised respiratory systems, with health problems to match.

Many small breeds are easy in the exercise department, and they're well worth considering because it's not as difficult to exercise a small dog with short legs. A Yorkie, pug or corgi can get good exercise in a small yard or on a brisk walk, but remember that even short legs won't get you off the hook with the most active and tough-minded breeds of terrier. These dogs need as much regular cardio as their bigger, more powerful relatives.

What if you already have an active breed of dog? I know the answer to this one, having shared my life with retrievers from high-drive hunting lines for almost 20 years. Keeping them exercised is a big part of my life. There's always a tennis ball in my truck, and I know all the safe and legal places to throw it, especially those that involve bodies of water.

So get out that leash. Find that tennis ball. Scope out the nearest pond. And make some time to get your dog moving a half-hour a day, every day. Your dog will be happier and healthier, and so will you.

As for those behavior problems, you'll find they're easier to fix if your dog isn't frantically looking for a place to direct all that energy. Ask your veterinarian for a trainer or behaviorist who can help.

Q&A

Adopting declawed cat

better than declawing

Q: I am thinking of adopting a cat or kitten, but shelters won't let me if I plan to declaw. I've always done it, and I've always provided a good home for life for my cats. Can I just lie on the forms? -- via Facebook

A: No. If you absolutely, positively have no tolerance for scratching, adopt a cat who has already been declawed rather than take home a kitten or cat with the intent to declaw. If you fall in love with a cat or kitten with claws, you can teach him to keep his claws off what you don't want scratched.

The best investment you can make for your pet's enjoyment -- and your furniture's preservation -- is a cat tree.

You can make a cat tree even more appealing by playing games with your cat on the tree and by petting and praising him for scratching there. Some cats may enjoy having fresh catnip rubbed onto the cat tree as added enticement.

Cat trees aren't the only options. Add other approved places for your cat to scratch, such as vertical or horizontal posts, scratching trays filled with corrugated cardboard or scratching pads hung from doorknobs. Experiment to see what your cat likes best.

Once you have approved scratching areas in place, make the places your cat shouldn't be clawing unattractive by putting double-sided patches (such as Sticky Paws) or tape on the furniture. Cats hate to touch anything sticky, and anything mounted sticky-side out will discourage scratching.

Start with your scratching alternative near the problem area. Your cat may shift his attention to the scratching post or tree and away from your furniture. Offer praise and treats for good behavior.

Once your cat understands what the scratching post is for, you can slowly move it to the part of the room where you'd like it. Leave the sticky deterrent on the furniture during the transition and be patient. -- Dr. Marty Becker

THE BUZZ

Check your young dog

for retained baby teeth

-- Puppies have 28 sharp little deciduous teeth that are eventually replaced with 42 permanent ones. Sometimes, baby teeth are retained after the adult ones come in, a situation that can cause many problems, including the misalignment of permanent teeth, incorrect development of the jaw and infections. Baby teeth that refuse to fall out on their own may need to be removed by your veterinarian.

-- Cats can get acne. Although most classic feline acne cases occur in cats who are simply not good chin groomers, there are other possibilities, including mites, ringworm and allergies. You'll need the help of your veterinarian to get your cat's chin cleared up. The area needs to be kept washed, at the very least, and resist the urge to squeeze any blemishes. You may also get prescription creams and pills. Since some cases are caused by an allergy to plastic, your veterinarian will probably also recommend switching to ceramic or stainless steel food and water dishes, and keeping them scrupulously clean.

-- Scientists from the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center say the parasite that causes the dangerous disease toxoplasmosis is more common that previously feared. The eggs of the parasite are found in raw meat and cat feces. The researchers did not go so far as to suggest that owning a cat puts a person at higher risk, but they did encourage keeping children out of public sandboxes, gardening with gloves and following safety recommendations in handling meat or cleaning the litter box. -- Dr. Marty Becker and 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.

THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING ABOUT YOUR DOG MAY BE HIS NOSE

Is there anything a dog can't use his nose to figure out? Dogs have long been used to sniff out escaped cons and missing children (think bloodhounds), dinner (think spaniels, retrievers and hounds), and even truffles (think poodles).

But in recent years, trainers have come up with all kinds of new ways to use a dog's extraordinary sense of smell. Here are a few you may know -- and a few more we bet you did not:

-- Drugs. Dogs can be trained to sniff out all kinds of illegal drugs, finding them not only on people but also in massive cargo containers, long-haul trucks and school lockers.

-- Plant matter. Since fresh fruits and vegetables can carry insects and diseases that have the potential to cause great damage to agriculture, dogs are used to detect foodstuffs in the luggage of travelers coming through customs. Dogs are also used to sniff out invasive plants in fields, so they can be eradicated before they take hold.

-- Insects. Termites? No problem. Dogs are also being used to detect the resurgence of bedbugs in big cities.

-- Mold. It's not just the mold that bedevils homeowners, but also the mold that puts the vines at wineries at risk from the spread of disease.

-- Explosives. Meetings of important public officials would be hard to imagine without the diligent work of bomb-sniffing dogs. To take it a bit further, dogs are even being taught to sniff out cellphones that could be used to detonate a bomb.

-- Cows in heat. A lot of money depends on being able to artificially inseminate a cow without wasting time guessing when she's ready. While a bull could tell, he's not always available, as his contribution usually arrives on the scene frozen. A dog can tell when the cow is most fertile, although it's a good bet the dog couldn't care less.

-- Cancer. While cancer detection is still in the trial stage, it's looking pretty promising that dogs can spot a malignancy. Someday your doctor may order up a "lab test" and mean Labrador!

-- Chemicals. Dogs have been known to look for items as varied as mercury and the components of potentially pirated DVDs. They've also been used to detect the presence of fire accelerants in cases where arson is suspected.

While most of us tend to think scent work is the near-exclusive province of a handful of breeds -- bloodhounds, German shepherds and maybe a Labrador retriever here and there -- in fact, a wide range of breeds and mixes is trained to detect various scents. Because of their fine noses and friendly dispositions, beagles are used to work airports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and any manner of mixed breeds -- lucky dogs pulled from shelters -- have been used for other kinds of detection work.

Because all dogs have keen noses filled with many more scent receptors than we humans have, a dog's future doing nose work relies more on enthusiasm, reliability and trainability than on the common canine ability to tell one scent from another.

Q&A

Cat's rubbing about

more than affection

Q: Why are cats so eager to rub up against us? -- via Facebook

A: When a cat rubs against a person, it's a sign of friendliness and affection. But rubbing also performs a very important feline function: scent-marking.

Cats want everything in the world to smell as they do, and they spend their lives trying to accomplish that feat. When cats rub against people or furniture, they're depositing sebum from sebaceous glands on their heads to spread their own trademark scent on what -- or whom -- they're bumping.

That's the most "people approved" form of scent-marking in cats, but there are others. When cats claw, they're not only keeping the tips of their claws razor-sharp, but they're also depositing scent from glands in the paws. When they lick themselves -- or you -- they're putting scent-impregnated saliva all over. Smelling right to a cat is so important that they'll even start grooming themselves after being petted, to cover your scent with their own.

The least popular form of scent-marking -- from a human point of view, anyway -- is urine-spraying. Although many cat lovers believe this to be a litter box avoidance issue, in fact it's a completely separate behavior.

A cat squats when urinating in a box. A cat scent-marking with urine stands, backs up to the object he's intending to mark, twitches his raised tail and lets it fly. Although urine-spraying is commonly a problem of unneutered males, cats of both genders -- neutered or not -- have been known to indulge in this messy, smelly habit. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

No problem telling

the girls from boys

-- In most species of parrots kept as pets, the only way to tell males from females is with a DNA test or surgical sexing. That's not the case with the Eclectus parrot: Males are a vivid Kelly green, while females sport feathers of bright red and royal blue.

-- Scientists at Cornell University have discovered the mutation that turns a benign intestinal virus into a cat-killer. In identifying the mutation that turns feline enteric coronavirus into feline infectious peritonitis, the research team's work may lead to accurate diagnostics and effective treatments for FIP, which is typically fatal. Led by virologist Dr. Gary Whittaker of the university's College of Veterinary Medicine, the discovery may also lead to effective treatments for related diseases that affect people.

-- Cats are able to squeeze through narrow spaces because they don't have a rigid collarbone to block their way. A cat's whiskers -- super-sensitive, specialized hairs -- spread roughly as wide as a cat does, helping the animal to judge which nooks and crannies are worth trying. But whiskers don't grow longer as a cat gets wider, which can lead some corpulent cats into sticky situations. -- Dr. Marty Becker and 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.

CHOOSING TO END AN ANIMAL'S SUFFERING IS A FINAL ACT OF LOVE

It's the question every pet lover dreads, the one for which there's often no easy answer: "When is the right time to say goodbye?"

Choosing to end a pet's life is the hardest decision we make when it comes to our pets, and we can tell you from decades of experience that it's a decision that never gets any easier. Your veterinarian will offer you advice and support, and friends and family can offer you sympathy, but no one can make the decision for you. When you live with an elderly or terminally ill pet, you look in your pet's eyes every morning and wonder if you're doing what's best.

Everyone makes the decision a little differently. Some pet lovers do not wait until their pet's discomfort becomes chronic, untreatable pain, and they choose euthanasia much sooner than others would. Some owners use an animal's appetite as the guide -- when an old or ill animal cannot be tempted into eating, they reason, he has lost most interest in life. And some owners wait until there's no doubt the time is at hand -- and later wonder if they delayed a bit too long.

There's no absolute rule, and every method for deciding is right for some pets and some owners at some times. You do the best you can, and then you try to put the decision behind you and deal with the grief.

The incredible advances in veterinary medicine in the past couple of decades have made the decisions even more difficult for many people. Not too long ago, the best you could do for a seriously ill pet was to make her comfortable until that wasn't possible anymore. Nowadays, nearly every advantage of human medicine -- from chemotherapy to pacemakers to advanced pain relief -- is available to our pets.

But the addition of high-level care shouldn't change much when it comes to easing suffering: If you can have a realistic expectation that a course of treatment will improve your pet's life -- rather than simply prolong it -- then those options should be considered. But you must also ask yourself: Am I doing right by my pet, or am I just holding on because I can't bear to say goodbye?

If it's the latter, you know what decision you have to make.

Many people are surprised at the powerful emotions that erupt after a pet's death, and they can be embarrassed by their grief. Often, we don't realize we're grieving not only for the pet we loved, but also for the special time the animal represented and the ties to other people in our lives. The death of a cat who was a gift as a kitten from a friend who has died, for example, may trigger bittersweet memories of the other love lost.

Taking care of yourself is important when dealing with pet loss. Some people -- the "It's just a pet" crowd -- won't understand the loss and may shrug off grief over a pet's death as foolish. I find that the company of other animal lovers is very important. Seek them out to share your feelings, and don't be shy about getting professional help to get you through a difficult time.

Choosing to end a pet's suffering is a final act of love and nothing less. Knowing that your decisions are guided by that love is what helps us all through the sad and lonely time of losing a cherished animal companion.

SIDEBAR

Finding help when you need it

You're not alone in losing a pet, and many resources are out there to help you cope with your emotions during a difficult time. Some veterinary schools offer pet-loss support lines staffed by volunteer veterinary students, and the website PetHobbyist.com offers a pet-loss chat every night of the year, which is staffed with volunteer moderators and attended by other pet lovers.

Q&A

Halter problems?

Try a harness

Q: I've heard that head halters can cause serious injuries if used incorrectly. A too-abrupt tug could jerk a dog's head, causing neck or spinal injuries, couldn't it? -- S.T., via email

A: Anything's possible, which is why I don't recommend using a head halter with one of those long, reel-type leashes. The force of a running dog hitting the end of a 30-foot line does have the potential to cause injury. And if you want an eye-opener, do an Internet search for "retractable leash injuries" for some cautions on their use. People and pets have been seriously injured with retractable leashes, which is why I don't recommend them at all.

But in truth, just about every piece of canine equipment has the potential for problems if used incorrectly. Slip-chain collars can choke a dog or injure his neck. Breakaway collars, designed to release a dog who's caught on something, can result in a dog being off-leash when it's least safe, such as next to a busy street. Head halters can jerk a dog's head around, and people have lost fingers to retractable leashes.

One of the more benign pieces of dog gear is the front-clip harness. There are a few different ones on the market now, and they all work on the same theory: When the leash is clipped to the front of the harness (as opposed to the top center of the back), a dog's own forward momentum is used to keep him from pulling. Watch for fit and wear: An improperly fitted harness can rub a dog raw.

It's important to remember that a front-clip harness does not teach your dog to keep the leash slack. If you switch back to a collar, your dog will pull again. The best long-term strategy is to get a trainer's help to instill good leash manners for life. -- Gina Spadafori

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

THE BUZZ

No concerns over

pet microchip ID

-- Veterinary experts say there is no evidence that cancer is a problem in microchipped pets. More than 14 million-plus microchips have been implanted with only four cases in question. That's a fraction of the number of pets who have been returned to their owners because of an identifying microchip.

-- Mister Ed, the talking horse of the 1960s television show, is buried under a wild cherry tree near Tulsa, Okla. The palomino lived to the ripe old age of 33.

-- Aging cats can develop a feline form of Alzheimer's disease. Some 28 percent of pet cats aged 11 to 14 years develop at least one age-related behavior problem, and this increases to more than 50 percent for cats over the age of 15. Experts suggest that a good diet, mental stimulation and companionship can reduce the risk of dementia in both humans and cats. -- Dr. Marty Becker and 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.