How to take the fear -- yours and your pet’s -- out of pet dentistry

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

My parents have a 12-year-old toy poodle named Spike whom they love dearly. Spike is as cute as he can be, but boy, does he have bad breath. My dad won’t get his teeth cleaned, though, because that means putting him under anesthesia, and he’s afraid Spike will die.

That’s a common fear. Many places try to counter it by offering non-anesthetic dental cleanings. In other words, they scrape the visible plaque and tartar off the teeth. And it’s not like the recent dental cleaning I had, which involved lying back in a comfy chair and watching Anthony Bourdain eat his way through Sicily. Pets must be restrained during the process, which can be distressing for them, or even cause injury if they squirm at the wrong moment and are accidentally jabbed with a sharp scaling device.

Pet dentals are done under anesthesia for many reasons. The aforementioned squirming, for one. Anesthesia ensures that pets remain still and don’t experience fear, pain or discomfort during the procedure. Besides reduced pain and stress for pets, anesthesia allows the veterinarian to better perform a complete examination of the mouth, clean tooth surfaces thoroughly, get beneath the gumline where bacteria hide, and take X-rays of teeth to ensure no damage or infection is lurking.

By the numbers, anesthesia is a low-risk procedure. The risk of death associated with general anesthesia in both healthy and sick dogs and cats is approximately 1 in 500, says Bruno H. Pypendop, DVM, a professor and veterinary anesthesiology specialist at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. In the case of healthy animals, the risk drops to 1 in 2,000.

“Many factors have improved anesthesia safety over the years,” Dr. Pypendop says. “These likely include drugs with more consistent and predictable effects, better knowledge of the effects of drugs on vital function, better ability to monitor and therefore prevent or treat abnormalities and better pre-anesthetic screening.”

Your pet won’t have the option to watch Animal Planet while he’s worked on, but pre-anesthetic blood work ensures that he doesn’t have any underlying health conditions that could be affected by anesthesia. Monitoring of blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, body temperature and other vital signs during the procedure helps all pets stay safe and comfortable.

“More advanced equipment for monitoring pets during anesthesia allows for thorough assessment of the pet’s status during the procedure,” says Cheryl Blaze, assistant professor of anesthesia at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. “There has also been increased emphasis on continuing education training for technicians to increase their skills.”

Sedation beforehand, in the form of drugs such as trazodone or gabapentin, help him relax before the procedure, and a local nerve block minimizes pain if extractions are necessary. Long-acting medications provide pain relief after the procedure.

Why the assortment of drugs? Pain travels the body through multiple pathways and involves different neurotransmitters and receptors. Using a combination of medications, known as multimodal pain management, ensures that as many routes of pain to the brain as possible are blocked.

If your pet is a senior or has health problems, your veterinarian may consult a specialist in anesthesiology about the best ways to minimize risk and manage pain.

“Even older animals can be safely anesthetized when a thorough pre-anesthetic evaluation and dedicated monitoring during anesthesia are consistently done,” Dr. Blaze says.

Ask to see a practice’s anesthetic safety record. There is always some risk when a pet (or person) goes under anesthesia, but advanced anesthesia drugs and techniques used help to ensure that all goes well.

Q&A

Does aspirin help

pets with pain?

Q: Is it OK to give my pet aspirin if he’s feeling sore or stiff?

A: I don’t recommend it. In an acute pain situation, a veterinarian may prescribe aspirin for a dog, or you may know someone whose dog or cat is taking aspirin, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea for your pet.

For an explanation of aspirin’s risks, as well as when it might be used, I turned to Tina Wismer, DVM, a veterinary toxicology specialist and medical director at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

She says aspirin can be problematic in pets who are on medications that could interact with the aspirin and increase the risk of side effects.

“Long-term, we like to go with medications that are a little safer and that tend to have fewer side effects,” Dr. Wismer says.

Vomiting is the most common side effect of aspirin seen in dogs. Stomach ulcers are a potential but less common side effect. Dogs who break into a bottle of aspirin and swallow a lot of tablets run the risk of liver failure and seizures.

Cats are more sensitive to aspirin than dogs because they don’t metabolize it as quickly, but it does have at least one beneficial use for them.

“In cats, the most common use for aspirin is actually heart problems, and veterinarians prescribe aspirin for its anti-platelet effect -- basically, so your cat doesn’t get blood clots,” Dr. Wismer says. “But the dosing in cats is very different, and they only get a dose every couple of days.”

Any time you want to give your pet an aspirin, check with your veterinarian first for two reasons: to make sure you’re giving the correct dose and to make sure it’s indicated for what’s ailing your pet. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Cats have preferred

paw, study says

-- Take a look at your cat next the time he or she is reaching for a toy or patting your face to wake you up. Which paw is being used? A study of 44 cats at Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland, found that female cats tend to be right-pawed and males left-pawed. Does it really matter? Surprisingly, the information may help you determine how your cat deals with stress. Researcher Deborah Wells, Ph.D., says limb preference might be a useful indicator of vulnerability to stress. “Ambilateral animals with no preference for one side or the other and those that are more inclined to left-limb dominance seem more flighty and susceptible to poor welfare than those who lean more heavily toward right limb use,” she says.

-- Nearly 80,000 people have signed an online petition to urge that pet food become an approved purchase with food stamps, reports Caitlin Dewey in The Washington Post. The rationale? People on a fixed income often share their own food with their pets, meaning they don’t get enough to eat and their pets may not be getting a balanced diet. Supporters say it would save money by keeping pets out of shelters. The change would require Congressional action, so don’t expect to see it any time soon.

-- Flying through Canada’s Calgary International Airport? Feeling frazzled? Keep an eye out for a tabby named Taz wearing a red vest emblazoned with the words “Pet Me.” Taz is one of a team of pet therapy cats and dogs who visit the airport regularly to provide snuggles and stress reduction to passengers and employees as they wait in long lines or deal with flight delays. Some 50 airports in North America have therapy pets patrolling the premises, including Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver and San Jose, California. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

Canine influenza viruses continue to spread

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

The city of San Francisco and the province of Ontario, Canada, are the two latest areas where canine flu is making an appearance. The virulent respiratory disease has hopscotched the continent, with only four states remaining free of it: Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and North Dakota. Where it lands depends in large part on how social and mobile dogs are in particular areas.

“Dogs that travel are at risk, and dogs exposed to dogs who travel are at risk,” says veterinarian Cynda Crawford, a canine flu expert at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Other dogs who are vulnerable are service dogs, police dogs, show or competition dogs, shelter dogs and dogs who visit dog parks, groomers or boarding kennels on a regular basis.

The two strains of canine influenza, H3N2 and H3N8, can infect dogs at any time of year, not just winter. Although she hasn’t seen many cases of the flu in her own practice, internal medicine specialist Lawren Durocher-Babek, medical director at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Hillsborough, New Jersey, says the flu seems to be worse in midwinter as well as late summer and into fall.

“However, it can be seen at any time of year, so it should always be on our radar,” she says.

If you’ve seen in the news that humans are being hit hard by the H3N2 flu virus and then you see that dogs also get H3N2, you may be concerned that you could catch the flu from your dog. Fortunately, that’s not possible, says virologist Edward Dubovi, a professor in the department of population medicine and diagnostic sciences at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York.

Think of influenza viruses as automobile types, he says. A brand of sedans, pickup trucks and convertibles may all be made by the same manufacturer, but they all have different profiles and accessories. Flu viruses are the same way: There are H3N2 human viruses, H3N2 pig viruses, H3N2 dog viruses and H3N2 avian viruses.

Dogs do not transmit canine influenza to humans, but in at least one instance, cats in an Indiana shelter acquired H3N2 canine flu from dogs. Cats can also transmit influenza to each other. And although it is rare, your dog or cat may pick up human influenza virus from you.

“Pet owners sick with the flu should take care to avoid possible transmission to their pets,” says Dr. Christiane V. Loehr, a veterinary pathologist and associate professor at Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine.

Suspect that your dog has the flu because he’s coughing, sneezing and feverish? Don’t just walk him into your veterinarian’s lobby, where he could spread the infection to other pets. Alert your veterinarian beforehand so your pet can be examined in the car or taken to an isolation area through another door.

Dogs diagnosed with canine flu should be isolated from other pets for longer than you might think: at least 21 days, and perhaps even a month. Wash your hands thoroughly after caring for a dog with the flu before interacting with other animals. Disinfect dishes and bedding separately, too.

If your dog is one of those at risk -- a social butterfly or a road warrior -- or has physical characteristics such as a flat face or narrow nostrils that could make it difficult for him to breathe in the event of a respiratory ailment, consider getting him vaccinated for canine flu. Because it hasn’t been around for very long in the grand scheme of things, not many dogs have been exposed to it, so they lack natural immunity.

“The vaccine may not stop a dog from getting the flu, but it has been shown to decrease severity of signs and shedding (of the virus),” Dr. Durocher-Babek says.

Q&A

Why does cat

shred belly fur?

Q: My 11-year-old male cat keeps licking all the fur off his belly. I’ve tried Apoquel and Cerenia, my vet did an abdominal ultrasound and the cat is now on dexamethasone, but nothing helps. Any ideas? -- via email

A: “Fur mowing,” as this behavior is sometimes called, is usually caused by an underlying health condition such as hyperthyroidism, allergies (or some other itchy skin disease) or parasites. But sometimes it is behavioral in nature. You don’t say what type of cat you have, but Siamese and related breeds are most commonly affected by compulsive disorders that manifest through excessive licking and hair loss.

This condition, known as psychogenic alopecia -- or more simply, overgrooming -- can be a kind of compulsive disorder. The licking behavior may cause the brain to release natural painkillers called endorphins that relieve the cat’s anxiety.

If your vet has ruled out all possible medical conditions, including neurological diseases that may cause pain, discomfort or changes in sensation, you may want to seek the advice of a veterinary behaviorist who can help you discover what’s causing your cat’s stress or anxiety. Often, it’s the addition of a new family member -- a baby in the home, for instance -- or conflicts with other pets.

Depending on the cause, a behaviorist may suggest reintroducing pets in the household to each other and building more positive associations between them, providing a more consistent routine (or going back to the cat’s previous routine if that is what has changed), or making the cat’s environment more interesting with food puzzles, a window perch or tall climbing post with a view, or more playtime or attention. Some cats may benefit from anti-anxiety medication combined with behavior and environmental modification if the veterinary behaviorist determines that the cat’s behavior is related to fear, anxiety or stress. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Go ahead:

Clean your floor

-- You may have seen a post on Facebook or other social media sites recently suggesting that Swiffer WetJet Cleaning Solution can cause liver failure in pets. Not so, according to veterinarian Beth Malinich, who practices at Animal Hospital of Fairview Park in Cleveland. In an interview with News 5 Cleveland, Dr. Malinich said that a pet walking across a wet floor was unlikely to be exposed to enough toxin of anything to become ill from it, especially once the substance has dried. The rumor has been going around for a while. It was debunked in 2004 by hoax-busting website Snopes.com. Veterinary toxicologists at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also issued a statement saying that the substances in question -- propylene glycol n-propyl ether and propylene glycol n-butyl ether -- are safe ingredients at levels used in cleaning products and do not cause kidney or liver failure.

-- If your pet needs surgery and the cost is beyond your means, check to see if there’s a veterinary school in the area with a program to help pets in need. At the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, a community surgery service program allows senior-year veterinary students to perform spay/neuter surgery, removal of small masses, bladder stone removal and other procedures -- under supervision -- at a discount. Pets helped by the UC Davis program include shelter animals and owned animals.

-- Did you know that cats have built-in sunglasses? Instead of having round pupils like humans, a cat’s eyes reduce the pupils to vertical slits. This gives cats precise control over the amount of light that reaches their eyes, enabling them to zoom in on prey. And because a cat’s eyelids close at right angles to the vertical pupil, cats can reduce the amount of light even further by bringing their eyelids closer together. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

How to make introductions that promote friendship, not conflict

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

My dog Harper thinks cats are to chase. She’s the first of our dogs who didn’t grow up with a cat in the household. I introduced her to our neighbor’s cat when she was a young puppy, but unfortunately, I didn’t have easy access to other cats she could meet, and she never learned to live compatibly with them.

That’s a problem when we visit friends and family with cats. Harper growls and barks when she sees them, and she wants nothing more than to chase them away. I keep warning her that one of these days we will have a cat again ourselves, so she had better prepare herself for the idea.

The idea that cats and dogs don’t get along is a common belief -- Harper certainly believes it -- but it’s not necessarily true. According to a survey by the American Pet Products Association, 46 percent of households with pets have multiple types of animals. Cats and dogs are the most common combination, found in 32 percent of pet-owning households.

There is always the potential for conflict between two -- or three, if you count the humans in the mix -- species who have differing habits and communication styles, but pets living together can become good friends. I’ve seen it with our previous pets and those of people I know. In homes where the humans are away all day, a dog and cat can keep each other company and often play and sleep together, groom each other, and team up to get in trouble. If you’re introducing a pet of a different species into your family, the following tips can help the meeting go smoothly and, ideally, a friendship develop.

Introduce them first by scent, not sight. Isolate a new cat in a small room for a few days with everything he needs: food, water, litter box, toys. His scent will drift out to your dog, and the cat can get used to your dog’s scent as well. After two or three days, let the cat explore the house while the dog is in the yard or on a walk with someone else.

Maintain control. It’s never a good idea to just turn animals loose and hope for the best. That’s a recipe for fear, anxiety and stress on the part of all involved. Have your dog on a leash, and make sure your cat has an escape route.

“Having ample getaway spaces for cats, such as tall cat trees or gates with a cutout that the cats fits through but not the dog, is essential,” says Mikkel Becker, lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets and co-author of the upcoming book "From Fearful to Fear Free."

A dragline attached to a harness can help to prevent bolt-and-chase sequences during the settling-in period, Becker says. Until you’re sure pets are getting along, supervise interactions and separate them when you’re not around.

Hand out treats liberally to both parties. This worked well with Harper recently when we were visiting family with cats. She was rewarded every time she looked away from the cat as well as for not growling or barking. You want both pets to think that being in the presence of the other is a good thing.

Dog trainer Liz Palika has fostered many litters of kittens with the aid of her English shepherds. Her best piece of advice in one word? Patience.

“A friendship between a dog and a cat cannot be forced,” she says. “Let them gradually get to know each other and provide safe places where they can get away from each other.”

Q&A

Storms send cat

running for shelter

Q: I have an 11-year-old female domestic shorthair cat. In the past year, she has started behaving strangely when it storms. Instead of wanting to stay indoors when it begins to rain heavily with high wind, lightning and thunder, she yowls desperately and scratches at the door to get out. She won’t let up until I let her out, and she disappears until the storm is over. -- via email

A: Like dogs, cats can develop storm phobias, but we usually don’t notice it as much because cats tend to just hide under the bed when they are scared. And storm phobias can build up over time. Your cat may always have been afraid during storms, but her fear has now built up to the point that she is desperate to escape the frightening conditions. It may also be that sometime during the past year, something occurred during a storm that frightened her, and now she wants to make sure whatever it was doesn’t happen again. She may also have a hidey-hole outdoors where she feels safe.

You can try several things to help your cat relax and stay indoors the next time there’s a storm. Prepare a small, dark, cozy place where she can retreat, such as a closet or guest bath. Spray a synthetic feline pheromone in the area to help attract and comfort your cat.

The snug fit of a Thundershirt can give a comforting hug. The gentle pressure relieves anxiety in some pets. Pay attention to weather reports so you can put it on well before a storm hits.

Relaxing music composed especially for cats may help. An internet search will lead you to “calming,” “relaxing” or “sleep” music for cats.

Finally, you can ask your veterinarian about medications you can give when you know a storm is coming. That may help your cat relax enough to stay indoors. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker

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

THE BUZZ

AKC adds two

breeds to roster

-- Two breeds have joined the roster of AKC-recognized dogs: the Nederlandse kooikerhondje in the Sporting Group and the grand basset griffon vendeen in the Hound Group. The kooiker (coy-ker), as he’s known for short, is a medium-size dog created in the Netherlands to corral ducks for hunters. The 20- to 30-pound dogs have a medium-length red-and-white coat and a moderate activity level. The GBGV is a low-slung scenthound who is friendly with other dogs and has a high activity level. The grand weighs 40 to 45 pounds and has a personality described as comical but stubborn.

-- Cat trivia? We have it. For instance, did you know that a cat’s sense of smell is about 14 times greater than that of a human? Cats either roar (big cats) or purr (smaller wildcats and domestic cats). No cat can do both. Your housecat can run up to 30 miles per hour -- faster than any Olympic track star -- but can maintain that speed for only a few seconds. A cat’s coat can tell you where and when his ancestors hunted: Cats with light, solid-colored coats evolved to hunt in grasslands, while cats with spotted coats were forest dwellers, hunting at dawn and dusk.

-- If you thought it was hard to give your dog or cat medication, think again. Even snakes need a treat to take their medicine. Denver’s KCNC-TV reported that an 18-year-old king cobra’s lymphosarcoma, which in snakes affects the scales, was in remission after chemotherapy. To “pill” the 13-foot-long snake, Denver Zoo Associate Veterinarian Betsy Stringer consulted a veterinary oncologist at Colorado State University. They came up with plan to insert a chemo pill in the throat of the snake’s supper -- a dead rat. The cobra took a “treated” rat every three weeks for five months. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. They are affiliated with Vetstreet.com and are the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Joining them is dog trainer and behavior consultant Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.