7 of the best dog and cat books to read this summer

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

You’ve created a sourdough starter and baked bread until you don’t have any more friends to give loaves to. You’ve planted a garden. You’ve learned how to knit. You’ve binged “Aggretsuko,” “Bodyguard” and “Chef’s Table.” You’ve watched “Hamilton” three times. Isn’t it time you settled down with a great book? Here’s what to read, whether your jam is mysteries, cats, photography or dogs of war.

Most military working dogs, aka combat assault dogs, remain anonymous throughout their careers, but one broke out from the pack after participating in a high-level operation. Millions know the name of Cairo, the Belgian Malinois who took part in SEAL Team Operation Neptune Spear, which ended in the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden in 2011. In “No Ordinary Dog: My Partner From the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid” (St. Martin’s Press), Cairo’s handler Will Chesney and writer Joe Layden tell the story of Chesney and Cairo’s training and careers -- as well as their love story. (Let’s call it what it is.) The action-packed tale begins with Chesney’s journey to become a SEAL, how his love of dogs led him to a role as a handler when dogs began to become valued SEAL Team members, their perilous work in Afghanistan, and how injuries separated them and brought them back together. No one should miss this story, so for kids there is “Warrior Dog: The True Story of a Navy SEAL and His Fearless Canine Partner,” adapted for young readers.

Mystery writer Laurien Berenson continues her Melanie Travis series with “Game of Dog Bones” (Kensington Books), in which the standard poodle owner/schoolteacher and her family head to New York City to watch poodle maven Aunt Peg achieve the dream of a lifetime: judging the Non-Sporting Group at Westminster. But the occasion is marred afterward when Aunt Peg’s nemesis, Victor Durbin, is found dead. Turns out he had a lot of enemies, for a number of good reasons. Travis seeks to nose out the killer before Aunt Peg is charged with Durbin’s murder.

I’ve long thought of myself as a terrible photographer. I took an incomplete in the subject in my college journalism program, and only the advent of smartphones improved my ability to take good pictures -- I even won an award with one of them! But thanks to Andrew Marttila’s new book “How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats” (Running Press Adult), I think I could finally advance from halfway decent snapshots of my pets with a phone camera to actually being able to operate a digital SLR and get great animal shots, both at home and on trips. Even if you’re not that interested in photography, you’ll enjoy the photos of adorable kittens and cats, but if you really want to take better pictures of your cats, this fun and practical guide will show you how.

Cat lovers will also want to check out three more books about their favorite four-footers. “Catlady: A Love Letter to Women and Their Cats” (Prestel), by Leah Reena Goren, features illustrated essays illuminating the ways cats have influenced the lives or careers of women, the friendships between women and cats, and how cats help make a home.

In “Decoding Your Cat” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), veterinary behaviorists have pulled together a guide to why cats do the things they do -- with information that may surprise and educate even those who consider themselves cat experts.

The third edition of “Cats for Dummies” (For Dummies) by Gina Spadafori, Dr. Lauren Demos and Dr. Paul Pion updates a classic with a new chapter on enrichment for indoor cats, including information on catios; a new chapter on helping community cats, including kitten fostering; and all new and updated medical material.

Finally, in “One Hundred Dogs and Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles and a Journey into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues” (Pegasus Books), Cara Sue Achterberg goes on an inspiring road trip to rural shelters and rescues seeking an answer to the unending stream of foster dogs that come to her door.

Q&A

Ear mites affect

dogs and cats

Q: Do dogs get ear mites? How are they treated?

A: We tend to associate ear mites with cats, but dogs (and ferrets) can and do get them, especially as puppies. Ear mites (Otodectes cynotis) are tiny parasites that are highly contagious and easily transmitted from animal to animal. Luckily, humans don’t get them.

The classic sign -- besides frantic scratching at the ears or shaking of the head -- is an accumulation of dark, waxy debris that resembles coffee grounds inside the ears. The ear canals may look red or inflamed. If ear mites are left to do their itchy work -- feeding on epidermal skin cells -- without treatment, pets can develop raw skin or hair loss around the ears, often complicated by a bacterial infection.

If you had a pet with ear mites back in the bad old days, you might remember having to put drops in the ears daily for a month to get rid of them. You’d have also done the same for all the other dogs and cats in the household to prevent the mites from jumping ship to another host -- or moving to another part of the body, such as the base of the tail, until it was safe for them to recolonize the ear. Nowadays we typically give the ears a good cleaning out, and treat puppies or kittens who are old enough with a topical systemic antiparasite medication such as those used against heartworms, fleas or ticks. While some of these products might not be labeled for mites, they are known to have off-label efficacy against them.

So the good news is that ear mites are much easier to treat than they used to be; the bad news is that it’s still a must to treat all the pets in the household to prevent their spread. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Check cans for

cat food recall

-- If your cat eats Natural Balance Ultra Premium Chicken & Liver Pate Formula canned food, check the bottom of the can to see if it belongs to a recently recalled lot that contained elevated levels of choline chloride. Look for the retail UPC code 2363353227, lot code 9217803 and best-by date of Aug. 4, 2021. If you have any cans matching these descriptions, stop feeding the food and return remaining cans to the seller for a refund. Health concerns associated with excess choline chloride (a vitaminlike substance) include nausea, drooling, diarrhea, vomiting and more severe signs such as tremors, irregular heartbeat and difficulty breathing. To report adverse reactions, call 888-569-6828 or email info@naturalbalanceinc.com.

-- There are four Belgian herding breeds. You may be familiar with the Tervuren, the Malinois and the sheepdog, but the fourth and rarest member of the family, the Laekenois (“lak-in-wah”), is gaining recognition in the United States. The medium-size dog has prick ears; a wiry coat in red, fawn or gray; and a protective, devoted nature. Laekenois are highly active and smart. They weigh 45 to 65 pounds and typically live 10 to 12 years.

-- Florida pets can now be protected under restraining orders in domestic violence cases. In one study, as many as 71% of female pet owners reported that their abuser threatened, harmed or killed a family pet. Judges can grant temporary exclusive possession of a pet to the person requesting a protective order. Abusers can be ordered to stay away from animals named in protective orders and can be criminally charged if they disobey. Thirty-five states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, offer pets this protection. States with no pet protections are Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah. -- 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.

Shelters used the pandemic shutdown time to improve living areas for cats

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

What a difference a door can make! A portal, a little round doorway between two small cages, separates a shelter cat’s eating and sleeping areas from litter box spaces. When already stressed cats have more space and less odor to contend with, they stay happier and healthier. And happy, healthy cats are more likely to be adopted quickly.

“Multiple studies have looked at the effect of poor housing on cats and have linked it to a high incidence of stress-related illness, particularly upper respiratory infections,” says Dr. Julie Levy, Fran Marino Endowed Professor of Shelter Medicine Education at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. “Shelters frequently assume this condition is simply being spread from cat to cat like the flu, but what’s really happening is the cats are so stressed out, they become ill.”

Dr. Levy is a co-founder of the Million Cat Challenge, an initiative launched in 2014 with the goal of saving the lives of 1 million shelter cats over the next five years. After exceeding the goal in only four years, the Challenge looked for other ways to help shelter cats. The pandemic offered them the perfect opportunity to help upgrade shelter cat housing, a program they called Portalmania 2020.

With the help of sponsors, Portalmania raised enough money to place 2,685 portals in 82 shelters that applied for the grants.

“This will be a game changer for us and for the cats we care for,” says Monica Wylie, executive director of Animal Friends of the Valleys in Riverside, California. “With this setup, we will be able to reduce the likelihood of stress-induced illness and euthanasia for our feline friends.”

Portals are also important for feline emotional and mental well-being. We all know how finicky cats are when it comes to cleanliness. They have a keen sense of smell -- as good as or better than that of dogs -- and they don’t want to have to hang out next to or on top of a stinky litter box. Anything that protects their sensitive noses from the odor of urine and feces -- especially while they’re eating or resting -- contributes to their emotional health and is an important part of providing them with adequate care in the shelter.

Another 4,835 requested portals have not yet been funded. Sponsor Shor-Line is matching all donations made through GreaterGood.org’s Jackson Galaxy Project at bit.ly/3gKwJ93. That match will bring the cost of purchasing and installing portals to $40, half the normal $80 cost. Other supporters of the initiative include the Joanie Bernard Foundation, the Banfield Foundation, ASPCA Northern Tier Shelter Initiative, Petfinder, Virox Technologies, The Dave and Cheryl Duffield Foundation, Team Shelter USA and the Ontario Shelter Medicine Association.

While many cats found foster and adoptive homes as shelters scurried to find caretakers for them during shutdowns, some are still being brought to shelters, especially as more communities open back up. Access to cages with portals will help those cats better adjust to their surroundings until they can get into a home.

“As a veterinarian, little did I imagine that one of our most powerful tools to keep cats healthy and save their lives would turn out to be basically a round hole between two cages,” says Dr. Kate Hurley, director of the University of California, Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program and co-founder of the Million Cat Challenge. “By reducing stress and keeping cats’ living spaces clean and separate from their toilet area, portals turn out to be one of the very most important things we can do to keep cats safe and happy and help them get out the shelter door quickly into their forever home.”

Q&A

What to do with a

problem like diarrhea

Q: My dog frequently has diarrhea, and the vet and I can’t figure out why. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. What can we do?

A: It’s often tough to figure out what’s causing diarrhea. Loose stools can occur when pets get into the garbage, eat something toxic or eat too much. It can also happen when their regular food changes suddenly, as a result of internal parasites, or because they have a foreign body obstruction. Diarrhea can signal certain diseases, and it can be a sign of stress.

Because there’s such a wide range of potential causes, it’s something you want to get checked out. But if you and your veterinarian have ruled out medical causes and your dog still has diarrhea on a regular basis, it’s possible that something is stressing him out or that he has a super-sensitive stomach. He may also have an imbalance in his gut microbiome: the collection of bacteria and other microorganisms that normally live in the body and serve a beneficial purpose, aiding in digestion, metabolism, immune function and even brain health.

Do some detective work. Have there been any changes in your household routine that could have upset your dog? Call the company that makes his food and ask if ingredients have changed recently.

You can also try to enhance the gut microbiome with probiotics and prebiotics, which can help to rebalance intestinal flora. Your veterinarian can recommend some. I have had success with a prebioticlike product called DoggyStat. It stops diarrhea in a nonpharmaceutical way and can be a good fit for dogs whose bowels seize up in stressful situations such as going to the veterinarian, groomer or boarding kennel. Full disclosure: I’m a member of their advisory team.

Most important: When in doubt, call your veterinarian. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Spending on pets

rises higher

-- Pet parents spend more on food and treats than any other category, with 2019 sales reaching $36.9 billion, according to the American Pet Products Association. Contributing to increased sales were pet food mix-ins and toppers and subscription pet food delivery programs. The second-highest category was veterinary care and product sales, at $29.3 billion. Spending on supplies, live animals and over-the-counter medications reached $19.2 billion last year. The live-animal category included only fish, reptiles, birds and other small animals -- not dogs, cats or horses. Finally, pet owners spent $10.3 billion on services such as boarding, grooming, pet health insurance, training, pet sitting and dog walking.

-- Help me, Rhonda. That’s what Santa Barbara, California, firefighters are singing to their new emotional support dog. Rhonda, the first dog to be hired for this job at the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, can recognize signs of agitation, anxiety and stress and is trained to interrupt those signs with affection. Her job is important for firefighters, who must deal with emotionally challenging situations and face depression and post-traumatic stress disorder at rates five times higher than the general population. Having an emotional support dog can help them carry on during stressful times -- like California’s upcoming fire season.

-- The pleasant and sociable English coonhound, also known as the American English coonhound, descends from dogs of the type kept by George Washington and other Virginia planters, originally to hunt foxes. Those early Virginia hounds were brought from England, hence the “English” part of the name. Their voice is described as a “good hound bawl,” so be prepared for them to “talk.” They aren’t typically nuisance barkers, though. The large, handsome hounds have smooth coats that come in redtick, bluetick, tricolor with ticking, white and red, white and black, and white and lemon. -- 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.

Dogs put their noses to work to learn how to identify and detect the COVID-19 virus

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

If there’s anything most people know about dogs, it’s that they have an incredible sense of smell. We’ve put their sensitive noses -- which have up to 300 million scent receptors compared to our measly 6 million or so -- to work sniffing out drugs, explosives, truffles, cancer, turtle eggs, jaguar scat and contraband fruits, plants and meats. Now they’re busy learning a new odor: the COVID-19 virus. Researchers around the world are working with dogs to find the best ways for them to aid testing and diagnosis.

In France, scientists have volunteers working up a sweat. Body fluids such as urine, tears, saliva and perspiration contain volatile organic compounds that contribute to body odor. At Ecole Nationale Veterinaire in Alfort, as well as the University of Corsica and the French-Lebanese University of Beirut, researchers gathered samples of armpit sweat and trained 18 dogs, mostly Belgian Malinois, to see if they could sniff out a difference in the sweat of patients who tested positive for the virus and those who didn’t.

“We did not know if there was any specific odor to the virus,” says Dominique Grandjean, DMV, Ph.D., a professor at ENV and lead author of the as-yet-unpublished study detailing the findings. “Now we know that there is one.” He explained that dogs smell catabolites related to the action or replication of the virus that escape the body through the sweat.

Interestingly, every dog alerted on two samples from patients who were negative for the virus. A week later, those patients had come down with the disease. If those types of alerts are replicated, it may be that the dogs could serve as an early warning system.

Training dogs to detect the virus is more difficult than training them to detect cancers. For the virus, they had to rely on PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which are not fully reliable, especially if they are negative, Dr. Grandjean says. “We need to train the dogs on both positive and negative samples.”

Veterinary and human medicine researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland have trained dogs to differentiate the urine samples of COVID-19 patients from those of healthy people. Their goal now is to identify the specific substance the dogs are smelling in the urine of patients, determine how long the odor lasts after recovery, and retest the dogs’ abilities in a randomized double-blind setting with a larger number of patient samples.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, already known for training medical scent detection dogs, began a pilot training program in April to teach eight dogs to discriminate between samples of urine or saliva from patients who were positive for COVID-19 and individuals who tested negative for the virus. Currently, the study has been paused because of a delay in COVID sample collection, says communications coordinator John M. Donges in an email. But once the dogs learn the odor and their ability has been documented in a laboratory setting, it’s hoped that their olfactory abilities could help to reduce community spread of the disease.

That could happen several ways. Disease-control experts at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, working with Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University, are looking at whether dogs can learn to detect the odor of coronavirus even in people who don’t show symptoms. If so, trained dogs could be deployed at airports and other entry points in the United Kingdom, helping to screen up to 250 people per hour quickly and noninvasively. Trained dogs could also screen people at sports events or other large gatherings, or in schools, nursing or retirement homes, or hospitals.

Q&A

Signs of IBD

not always clear

Q: My vet thinks my cat has inflammatory bowel disease. Why doesn’t she know for sure, and what can you tell me about it?

A: IBD, as it’s known for short, is one of those diseases that’s difficult to diagnose, because the signs -- vomiting, diarrhea, changes in appetite, weight loss, drinking more water and urinating more frequently -- are commonly seen in other diseases as well. And those signs may come and go for no apparent reason.

There’s not a simple test your vet can give and say “Yes, your cat definitely has IBD.” It’s more of a process of elimination -- ruling out all the other possibilities. That can involve testing for parasites and foreign bodies, changing the diet to see if the cat has food allergies or intolerances, checking fecal samples for bacterial infections, ultrasound to look for thickening of intestinal walls or enlarged lymph nodes, and bloodwork and biopsies.

The goal of treatment is to reduce the inflammation causing your cat’s discomfort, restock the gut with healthy “bugs,” and possibly to suppress an overactive immune system. Depending on the signs, that might mean changing the food to something highly digestible and low in fat; adding certain vitamins, prebiotics, probiotics or other supplements; prescribing a broad-spectrum antibiotic; or giving a course of corticosteroids to help calm the immune system and reduce inflammation. Corticosteroids can predispose cats to developing insulin resistance or diabetes, so careful monitoring is important.

Once the diagnosis is made and treatment begins, your cat may have a good prognosis. A lot depends on how far along the disease is by the time it’s diagnosed, how compliant the cat is about receiving medication and how well the body responds to treatment. Be sure to ask your veterinarian about possible side effects to watch for. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

The dogs most at

risk for heatstroke

-- Dogs at greatest risk of heatstroke are seniors, overweight dogs or those with smushed faces. A study of more than 900,000 dogs, published last month in Scientific Reports, found that chow chows, bulldogs, French bulldogs and pugs, as well as dogs 12 or older, were more likely to experience heat-related illness. Dogs with flat faces have constricted upper airways, so it’s more difficult for them to cool themselves by panting. Dogs who are people-pleasers -- think golden retrievers and English springer spaniels -- may overheat because they work too hard and too long without stopping. Senior dogs may have heart or lung conditions that make them vulnerable to heatstroke. Watch for excessive panting, glassy eyes, skin that’s hot to the touch and loss of coordination, and take steps to cool your dog immediately if you see them. Get your dog to the veterinarian ASAP if she collapses or has trouble breathing.

-- Should you -- can you -- clicker-train your ferret, bunny, chicken, guinea pig or other pocket pet? Yes, and yes! Benefits include building confidence, having a pet who comes when called (especially great when your hamster has disappeared into the sofa cushions), fun interactions for both of you, building a stronger bond between you and easier handling at the vet clinic. Before you begin, know your species. Bunnies and hamsters, for instance, may be timid, so go slow and give them time to get used to the new activity.

-- G.I. Joe, a homing pigeon who served in the United States Army Pigeon Service, made a 20-mile flight in 20 minutes, delivering a message that saved the lives of more than 100 troops in World War II. He was presented with the Dickin Medal -- the equivalent for animals of the Victoria Cross or Medal of Honor -- for gallantry. -- 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.