Recording your pet’s life from beginning to end can help you answer questions, solve problems and build a relationship

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

When you find a diary, are you tempted to read it? Do you keep a diary yourself, under lock and key? Diaries feature in some of the world’s most famous literature, social history, fiction and children’s books: Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl.” The diary of Samuel Pepys. “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” “Harriet the Spy.” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”

Diaries bring history to life, store secrets, record lives. They can make for fascinating reading. But they can also make for fascinating writing, especially if they focus on your best friend: your dog, cat, bird or other pet. It’s not just in Nancy Drew mysteries that a diary is filled with clues.

Susannah Charleson is a K-9 search and rescue handler and author of “Where the Lost Dogs Go: A Story of Love, Search, and the Power of Reunion.” She spoke last month at the K-9 Sport Scent Work Conference in Palm Springs, California. While her topic was the importance of logs for search and rescue handlers, she also touched on how keeping a log can make a difference in the health, confidence and success of any dog-human team -- including the partnership between people and their companion dogs. And there’s no reason to leave out cats, birds, rabbits, horses or other pets. Anyone can benefit from tracing the story of their relationship with an animal.

“I think for pet owners it’s invaluable,” she says. “If you’re doing any kind of training, even just to be a good companion animal, it’s all coming fast -- the dog is new, the training is new, how the dog views the world versus how we view the world is completely different.”

When you keep a diary and document the changes you see in your pet and yourself, you are capturing the journey of your developing friendship, as well as making observations that can help you solve behavior problems and identify health issues before they become serious.

Bringing a record to your veterinarian or behaviorist of when a behavior began and how frequently it occurs can be the first step in solving a problem.

Some owners track daily blood sugar curves and insulin doses for diabetic pets, delivery of medication, occurrence of seizures, and pets’ eating habits or weight.

People who participate in dog sports log trials and practice sessions to track their progress.

“Log entries allow you to start seeing a pattern and learning about your dog,” Charleson says. “They assist in self-evaluation. You’ve got all these beautiful signals that can tell you where your strengths and weaknesses are and find areas where you can improve, where your dog can improve and where you can improve together.”

Keeping track of a pet’s life can be done with a paper journal, on computer apps or social media, or on a calendar. I have a pile of calendars that I can’t bear to throw away because they record so many of the events of my dogs’ lives. Supplement diaries with photos and videos.

At the end of a pet’s life, a diary is a way to look back at the journey you and your pet have shared. The memories can help to heal grief and establish a foundation for the next partnership.

“When a career or life ends, logs trace the journey that you and a dog have shared,” Charleson says. “Logs tell a story. They trace the arc of our understanding and our ability as separate entities and together. They’re a history of the earliest days that we might forget. Write it all down. You’ll have a wealth of information to learn from, and at the end of a life, those words may save you.”

Q&A

Do kittens need

socialization?

Q: Do kittens have the same type of socialization period as puppies?

A: They do, but it starts even earlier and doesn’t last as long. My colleague Nicholas Dodman, a veterinary behaviorist and emeritus professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, says the social period in kittens is between weeks 2 and 7.

During those early weeks, kittens soak up knowledge of everything around them, that clever kitty brain making new neural connections daily to generate learning and behavior. Kittens who see, hear, smell and experience many different people, animals, sights and sounds during this sensitive period grow up to be sociable, smart and curious.

Young kittens need to have many different positive experiences with children, friendly dogs and cats, people of all ages and appearances, common household sounds such as vacuum cleaners and blenders, car rides, being transported comfortably and safely in a carrier, and visiting the veterinarian. In an ideal world, they haven’t had any bad experiences with those things, and they don’t have preconceived ideas about what to expect from such experiences.

Limiting fear during this impressionable time is also important to a kitten’s development. A normal amount of fear is valuable because it helps kittens to avoid things that might hurt them, but protecting them from aversive experiences can help them to have more fulfilling lives as adult cats because they are more calm in the face of new experiences.

When young kittens encounter these things in a positive way during the socialization period, their brains store the good memories and help the kittens develop resiliency if they later have negative experiences with, say, dogs or scary noises. The neural connections their brains make during this period is how they become well-rounded, adaptable cats.

You can learn more about feline development at FearFreeHappyHomes.com. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Cold plasma aids

pet skin problems

-- Veterinarians at Cummings Veterinary Medical Center in North Grafton, Massachusetts, are using cold plasma to treat animals with superficial skin infections, benign skin growths, chronic wounds that won’t heal and more. The treatment -- performed with a penlike device that streams the nonthermal ionized gas to the targeted area -- is harmless to normal cells but kills such pathogens as viruses, bacteria and fungi. According to veterinary dermatologist Ramon Almela, an assistant professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the bluish stream of cold plasma feels like air blowing on the skin, so no sedation or anesthesia is required.

-- Chasing geese, sharing community safety tips, sitting in on meetings and greeting members of the public are among the duties of two new crew members at the United States Coast Guard station in Marquette, Michigan. Thor and Loki, a pair of 2-year-old Labrador-vizsla crosses adopted from pet rescue group UPAWS, embarked on their careers as Coast Guard mascots when a “station dog” position was created to help support staff morale. After meeting the cute pair, crew members decided they couldn’t separate them and “hired” them both. The two are now social media stars on the station’s Facebook page as well as popular community ambassadors.

-- While you may have purchased antifreeze that contains a bittering agent to deter pets from lapping it up, it’s not a foolproof way to prevent your dog or cat from licking the toxic substance. First, it’s still toxic if your pet ingests it, and it takes only a small amount to harm your pet. Second, you don’t have any control over the type of antifreeze used by your neighbors. If you suspect that your pet has ingested antifreeze, get him to a veterinary hospital immediately. It’s not the time to take a wait-and-see approach. -- 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, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets 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.

Regular grooming is an easy way to make pets happy and healthy

Andrews McMeel Syndication

There are few things that make a veterinarian happier than walking into an exam room to see a pet who's squeaky clean and perfectly groomed. That's because it's a sign of a pet owner who's paying attention to all aspects of preventive pet care and overall comfort.

How important is grooming to your pet's comfort? Consider a simple mat, so easy to overlook. Have you ever had your hair in a ponytail that was just a little too tight? A mat can feel the same way to your dog -- a constant pull on the skin. Try to imagine those all over your body, and you have a good idea how uncomfortable an ungroomed coat can be.

Your dog need never know what a mat feels like if you keep him brushed and combed -- but that's just the start of the health benefits. Regular grooming allows you to look for lumps, bumps and injuries, while clearing such things as tangles and ticks from his coat. Follow up with your veterinarian on any questionable masses you find, and you may detect cancer early enough to save your pet's life.

For shorthaired breeds, keeping the skin and coat in good shape is easy. Run your hands over him daily, brush over him weekly -- and that's it.

For other breeds, grooming is a little more involved. Breeds such as collies, chows, keeshonden and Alaskan malamutes are "double-coated," which means they have a downy undercoat underneath harsher long hair. The down can mat like a layer of felt against the skin if left untended. To prevent this, divide the coat into small sections and brush against the grain from the skin outward, working from head to tail, section by section. A tip: You can keep these long-haired dogs clipped short to keep grooming easier -- and you'll be rewarded with a dog who sheds the least of all, owing to the longer grow-and-shed cycle of long hair.

Silky-coated dogs such as Afghan hounds, cocker spaniels and Maltese also need constant brushing to keep tangles from forming. As with the double-coated dogs, work with small sections at a time, brushing from the skin outward, then comb back into place with the grain for a glossy, finished look. Coats of this type require so much attention that having a groomer keep the dogs trimmed to a medium length is often more practical.

Curly and wiry coats, such as those on poodles and terriers, need to be brushed weekly, working against the grain and then with it. Curly coats need to be clipped every six weeks; wiry ones, two or three times a year. (But clipping every six weeks will keep your terrier looking sharper.) A good professional groomer, along with your veterinarian, can be a dog's best friend.

Good grooming is about more than keeping your pet looking beautiful and smelling clean, although those are certainly pleasant payoffs. Regular grooming relaxes the dog who's used to it, and it becomes a special time shared between you both. A coat free of mats, burrs and tangles, and skin free of fleas and ticks, are as comfortable to your dog as clean clothes fresh from the wash are to you. It just makes you feel good, and the effect is the same for your pet.

Some added benefit for you: Giving your dog a tummy rub after every session is sure to relax you (and your dog, of course) and ease the stress of your day.

Q&A

Houseplants can make

chewing cats very sick

Q: I'm tired of shredded houseplants! Can you suggest plants that our two cats won't chew on?

A: We'd rather you satisfy your cats' desire to chew by offering safe plants for their pleasure, while removing all toxic foliage and cat-proofing the plants you want left alone.

Many common houseplants can make your cats ill, and a few can be deadly. Among the most dangerous are dieffenbachia, lily of the valley and philodendron. Various ivies and yews can be troublesome, too, and the bulbs of plants popular for "forcing" into early indoor bloom -- such as amaryllis, daffodils and tulips -- can cause problems for the cat who likes to dig and chew.

The Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA.org/apcc) maintains a list of problem plants, and you should also be able to find such lists in most basic cat-care books. Check your household inventory against the "bad plant" list, and replace any dangerous plants with safer ones.

Indulge your pets by keeping planters of sprouting grasses growing in an accessible place for nibbling. Special blends of seeds for cats are available in pet stores and specialty shops, or you can purchase rye or wheat grass seeds at the nursery. Catnip, too, is something that's always better when fresh, as is valerian. While not all cats react to the pleasures of these plants, those who do will appreciate your keeping it in-house and using fresh cuttings to recharge cat posts, trees and toys.

When your cats have their own plants, you can work on keeping them away from yours. Plants on the ground or on low tables are the easiest targets, so make your houseplants less accessible to the bored and wandering cat. Put plants up high, or better yet -- hang them.

For the plants you can't move out of harm's way, make them less appealing by coating them with something your cats find disagreeable. Cat-discouragers include bitter apple, a nasty-tasting substance available at any pet-supply store, or Tabasco sauce from any grocery store. Whenever you find what your cat doesn't like, keep reapplying it to reinforce the point.

Pot your plants in heavy, wide-bottomed containers, and cover the soil of the problem plants with rough, decorative rock to end digging. Foil, waxed paper and double-sided tape are also effective digging deterrents, albeit less attractive ones. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Powerful beaks give

parrots big leverage

-- The beaks of most parrots are remarkably well-designed for one of their most important tasks: cracking, crushing, prying or otherwise destroying the protective coatings around many of the foods they like to eat. Beaks should not be given routine trims: Overgrowth of the beak is frequently a sign of illness, such as liver disease or malnutrition. Any bird whose beak seems to be too long needs to see a veterinarian expert in avian medicine to determine the cause of the problem and treat it accordingly.

-- Viagra (sildenafil) is used for more than what it's most famous for. In veterinary medicine, the drug may be prescribed for severe pulmonary hypertension -- high blood pressure in the lungs.

-- Dealing with hairballs -- fur ingested as a cat grooms himself, then vomited back up in clumps -- is a normal part of living with a cat. Canned or fresh pureed pumpkin -- not pumpkin pie filling -- is a good way to increase the fiber in your cat's diet to help the hair work its way through your cat's digestive system. Many cats enjoy a teaspoon of pumpkin daily if it's mixed with something yummy, such as canned food or the water from a can of tuna or clams. Daily brushing can help prevent hairballs as well, by reducing the amount of hair a cat swallows. -- Dr. Marty 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, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets 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.

What to know about caring for your pet’s teeth: myths and reality

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Healthy teeth are important to your dog. They help him to enjoy meals and treats, chew on toys and retrieve sticks and balls. While those fangs may gleam in a new puppy, it doesn’t take long for oral health to go south and start causing problems.

One of the biggest complaints people have about their pets is stinky breath. “That smell!” they say. “It could knock over a water buffalo.”

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. I’m here to bust some bad-breath myths and share with you the secrets to getting rid of it -- and better, preventing it altogether.

Myth 1: All pets have bad breath. Not true! Pet bad breath happens when teeth aren’t clean. (Think how your breath would smell if you never brushed your teeth.) That bad breath is a sign that your pet’s teeth and gums are on the road to infection and disease. By the time they’re 3 years old, most dogs and cats have periodontitis, so early prevention is key. Hound halitosis and feline foul breath can also be caused by problems of the upper digestive tract, so getting a checkup from your veterinarian is important.

Myth 2: Feeding dry food or giving chew toys or dental treats keep teeth clean. It’s true that dry food and chewing on rope bones or toys with ridges can have an abrasive effect, but not enough to keep your pet’s teeth free of the plaque and tartar that cause bad breath and lead to periodontal disease.

Myth 3: It’s safer and just as effective to schedule your pet for a non-anesthesia cleaning than one done under anesthesia. That nasty brown tartar can be scraped off with dental tools, but your pet isn’t going to sit still for having her gums probed with sharp instruments. And below the gumline is where dental disease lurks, invisible without the help of dental X-rays and a thorough exam done on a non-squirming pet. Schedule a professional veterinary cleaning performed under anesthesia at least annually to keep dental disease at bay.

Myth 4: It’s impossible to prevent pet dental disease. Not true! You can take a number of steps to keep your dog or cat’s pearly whites clean and healthy.

I promised to tell you the secret to preventing or getting rid of pet bad breath. Whether you start with a puppy or kitten or commit to it for an adult animal, brushing teeth daily is the No. 1 thing you can do to remove soft, sticky plaque and prevent buildup of ugly brown tartar. Brushing daily is the gold standard for prevention of periodontal disease, but even brushing once or twice a week helps.

It’s a money-saver, too. The more frequently you brush your pet’s teeth, the more likely you are to prevent plaque, tartar and periodontal disease. Use a toothbrush and toothpaste made especially for dogs. A brush with a triangular head helps you to get at back teeth, but you can also use a finger brush, which may be best for small dogs or for cats.

Although you might like him to have minty-fresh breath, your pet will prefer chicken- or beef-flavored toothpaste. Sharing your toothpaste with him can give him an upset stomach.

Providing pets with dental chews is helpful as well. Some chews are infused with enzymes that help fight plaque or contain nutrients that may help to reduce inflammation. A new combo of a triple-enzyme toothpaste with dental chews called Bark Bright takes a lot of chewing to finish, which increases plaque-busting enzyme activity -- as much as 60% to 80% efficacy. It’s available Feb. 26 online and at Target and CVS.

Medicated dental rinses from your veterinarian can add an extra punch to your pet’s oral care plan by making it more difficult for plaque to glom onto teeth.

Q&A

Do female cats

urine mark?

Q: Why does my cat spray? I thought females didn’t do that!

A: Surprise, surprise! Spraying is a normal feline behavior, for females as well as males. Spraying is all about marking territory. It’s the way cats express the warning, “Don’t invade my territory!” It’s also a way of marking territory as their own as well as comforting themselves in a stressful situation by making their surroundings smell like, well, themselves.

You can tell the difference between spraying and normal urination by observing the cat’s posture. Squatting to pee is normal urination. A cat who is spraying stands with tail up and vibrating, raises and lowers his back paws as if he’s on tippy-toes, and shoots a stream of urine straight back.

Urine sprayed onto a vertical surface such as a wall or door is a sign of scent marking, or territorial marking. Most cats who mark vertically don’t have a medical problem. You can almost always chalk up the behavior to a cat’s desire to communicate something, either to you or to other cats in the house. Cat pee is designed to stick on trees in all weather for as long as three weeks, so it’s powerful stuff. Cats can direct their urine very accurately, so the pee is exactly where they want it to be and smells exactly how they want it to smell. Someday, we will be able to identify the particular pheromone that the cat leaves with the urine and that will tell us if he is scared, frustrated, terrorized by another cat or in pain.

Unneutered males are the worst offenders, but it’s not unusual for neutered males and some females to scent mark. Neutering before 6 months of age -- which is a good time to surgically alter a cat -- sometimes helps to prevent scent marking, but not always. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Helping human and

pet abuse victims

-- Texas A&M veterinary students and faculty are collaborating to foster pets who are victims of domestic violence and spread the word to veterinary professionals and the public about the connection between domestic violence and animal abuse. “Eighty-five percent of women entering shelters reported their partner had threatened, injured or killed a family pet,” says Alyssa Felton, a third-year veterinary student and outreach chair of Aggies Fostering Hope. Animals are fostered at the veterinary school while owners are aided in finding pet-friendly shelter. Donors cover the cost of pet medical care. For more information, or to donate, visit facebook.com/AggiesFosteringHope or email aggiesfosteringhope@cvm.tamu.edu.

-- A lime-green puppy was the surprise delivery by Gypsy, a white shepherd in North Carolina. She gave birth earlier this month to eight puppies, and the fourth one, named Hulk, came out green, likely the result of meconium-stained liquid from inside the birth sac that occurred during Gypsy’s pregnancy. The startling color won’t remain; Hulk’s fur has already started to fade to a more pastel shade, and he should eventually be a normal light-colored dog. Gypsy’s owner, Shana Stamey, says Hulk is growing quickly, like his namesake, and has the superpower of an “aggressive appetite.”

-- Does your pet like to chill to some music while you’re away (or even while you’re home)? Spotify can help. The music-streaming business has playlists and a podcast aimed especially at pets. Playlists are curated for different species, including hamsters and iguanas. Music can help to mask sounds such as trash trucks or sirens that may disturb pets. Podcasts contain human voices and environmental sounds such as rain in addition to music. Our imaginary hamster Baxter’s playlist included “Jump to the Beat” by Stacy Lattisaw, Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” and Bryan Ferry’s “Let’s Stick 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, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets 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.