Eleven ways to cope with copious shedding

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

It’s October, and that means you are probably in the middle of fall -- the season of flurries and “furricanes” as double-coated dogs shed their summer coats so their winter coats can come in thick and heavy. Even if you don’t live in Alaska or Maine, your Alaskan malamute, Bernese mountain dog, Great Pyrenees, Norwegian elkhound or pretty much any dog with a thick, furry coat will go through this seasonal shedding process, making your life furrier in the process. And don’t think you are home-free if you have a short-haired dog. Labrador retrievers, beagles, pugs and puggles are also among the dogs who shed like nervous Chihuahuas this time of year.

Seasonal shedding, known to the dognoscenti as “blowing coat,” usually begins in September and completes its mission to layer your home, clothes and belongings in fur by November -- just in time for the holidays. (Maybe you can collect it to weave scarves and socks for loved ones?)

People new to double-coated dogs are sometimes stunned by the amount of hair that comes off their pets. Ankle-deep in dustpuppies, they call their veterinarians, wondering if their dog has a skin disease.

Nope, it’s normal. The good news is that it doesn’t last forever (it just seems that way). The better news? You can take steps to help relieve your dog of fur faster. The following tips can help you get through it, sense of humor and sanity intact.

-- Brush daily to remove dead hair.

-- Brush outdoors to keep hair in your home to a minimum.

-- Invest in fur-removal tools: wire slicker brushes, undercoat rakes, shedding blades, Furminators, hound gloves and Zoom Grooms are just a few of the options available.

-- Go easy. With tools such as Furminators, you can become so enthusiastic at the amount of hair that’s coming out that the next thing you know, your dog is bald. Don’t go there.

-- Go to the experts. If you purchased your dog from a breeder, ask about the best grooming tools to use on your dog. For instance, hound gloves, grooming mitts and Zoom Grooms work best on shorthaired dogs. A professional groomer can also give good advice (and take much of the labor off your hands).

For dogs with big, thick coats, pro groomer Julie Ellingson of Sacramento, California, uses a slicker, comb, de-shedding shampoo and conditioner, silicone brushing spray, a Mighty Wind high-velocity dryer and “a liberal yet scientific application of elbow grease.”

-- Draw a warm bath for your dog. That helps to release loose coat. A warm bath every two weeks for her collies encourages dead hair to let go, says Rosemary George of Virginia. Follow the bath with conditioner, and then blow-dry, brushing your dog thoroughly to remove loosened hair and undercoat. For best results, be sure your dog is dry all the way down to the skin.

-- Between baths and brushings, pull out your trusty lint roller and go over your dog with it to remove small amounts of loose hair.

-- Buy a good vacuum cleaner, one that won’t balk at sucking up all that fur. Better, choose one with an attachment, such as an upholstery tool, that allows you to vacuum your dog. If they are introduced to it at a young age and aren’t fearful of the loud noise, many dogs enjoy the feel of being vacuumed. Introduce him to the experience slowly so he doesn’t feel as if he’s being attacked.

-- Ask your veterinarian about fatty acid supplements. They may help to reduce the volume of shedding.

-- De-fur furniture and carpets with a rubber dishwashing glove, hound glove or squeegee. You can find pet hair lifters, lint removers or similar items online or at pet supply stores.

-- Most important, relax. Every fashionista knows dog hair is a neutral.

Q&A

Hair-raising query

about cat fur

Q: Why do cats shed so much hair when they go to the vet?

A: That’s a fascinating phenomenon. They’re just sitting there on the exam table and you pet them and wads of fur come off in your hand. What’s up with that? Your cat’s fur, literally.

When cats get scared, they get goosebumps, just like us. But instead of manifesting as bumps on the skin, the feline physiological reaction is hair-raising, so to speak. Goosebumps occur in humans and apes as a result of stress and have the purpose of making them appear bigger and more frightening in the face of a threat. In cats, piloerection, as this vestigial reflex is known, results in raised fur to make the animal look more fearsome in the face of a stethoscope wielded by a strange veterinarian.

The phenomenon occurs when tiny muscles called arrector pili are stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system -- responsible for the famous fight-or-flight response -- causing them to contract. The arrector pili are located at the base of each hair -- so there are a lot of them -- and when they contract, the hairs are pulled erect. As an intimidation display, it works pretty well.

But then what happens? Lots of that raised fur comes out. That’s because certain of the hairs were already primed to be released. These telogen hairs are in the resting phase of the growth cycle, meaning they are about to be shed anyway. The anxiety caused by a vet visit or car ride or whatever has sent your cat into a tizzy simply accelerates the process, causing your cat to drop fur in an attempt to lighten his body’s load so he can make a run for it. Fortunately, the sudden hair loss isn’t harmful -- in fact, it’s perfectly normal. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Dogs at risk for

Chagas disease

-- As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with our dogs -- heartworms, ticks, fleas -- now they are at risk from “kissing bugs.” The blood-sucking insects, found primarily in the southern United States and into Mexico, Central America and South America, seek out animals on which they can feed, including dogs, birds, reptiles and, yes, humans. Dogs can become infected with what’s known as Chagas disease when they are exposed to the bugs’ feces or when they eat the bugs. The potentially fatal disease affects the heart and other organs. According to Sarah Hamer, DVM, at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine, approximately 60 percent of kissing bugs in Texas are infected with the disease-causing parasite. To help prevent infection, keep dogs indoors at night, seal cracks and gaps around doors and windows, and keep pet areas clean and bug-free.

-- Who is that masked cat? It’s not just Siamese and other pointed felines that can hide behind a facial mask. Bicolor cats -- a pattern also known as piebald -- have white fur and fur of another color or pattern. Depending on the spotting genes they have, some may sport what are known as “mask-and-mantle” and “black-mask” patterns. Mask-and-mantle cats resemble superheroes, with a colored “mask” and color over the back that looks like a cape. Black-mask cats look just the way the name sounds: They have a mask of black over the head.

-- When immunizing pets, don’t forget ferrets and other exotics. They are as susceptible to influenza, distemper and rabies as dogs and cats. Vaccines are not readily available for exotics, but they may be used off-label at a veterinarian’s discretion. Consider your exotic’s exposure to other animals when discussing the issue with your veterinarian. -- 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.

Animals with jobs are tired of staying home, too, though some are able to work remotely

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Basil is bored.

Turns out that even cats are out of work because of COVID-19. The orange tabby, who in the past has appeared in Bissell vacuum commercials and made frequent therapy visits to nursing homes and hospitals, has been grounded since the pandemic started, and it’s getting to her.

“Production on movies and commercials is at a standstill,” says Tina Parkhurst of Beaverton, Oregon, who lives with Basil and manages the cat’s career. She and Basil make only rare facility visits now -- carefully coordinated to keep everyone, including Basil and Parkhurst’s other cats, safe.

“It’s tough, because cats can’t transmit the virus to humans, but they can get it and give it to other cats, which could stand my entire herd on its ear if I’m not careful,” she says.

Basil just wants to be back on the job. She tries to follow Parkhurst out of the house and waits outside the shower, knowing that if she gets a bath, a facility visit is coming up. “She’s more calm, more attentive, just better behaved overall,” Parkhurst says. “It’s like she thinks that if she’s on her best behavior, she’ll get to go back to her peeps and kids at the hospital.”

Summer is a social media influencer and lifestyle blogger at sparklecat.com. The Somali cat (the longhaired variety of an Abyssinian) still posts about her daily life, but modeling catwear, making appearances at cat shows and other events, going on photo shoots, making therapy visits at hospitals and auditioning for television and movies are all on hold.

“With the pandemic, all this has ground to a halt,” says Janiss Garza of Los Angeles, Summer’s personal assistant, stylist and bodyguard.

Like Basil, Summer is bored staying at home.

“She is a busy cat by nature, and it’s been kind of difficult keeping her occupied since she is so used to traveling and being the center of attention,” Garza says.

Other animals are used to working from home. Belinda, a New Zealand white rabbit, is a spokesbunny for Small Pet Select in Pittsburgh. She writes a weekly blog, “Belinda Says Hay,” and posts on social media every Tuesday and Friday.

“I write about my life at home and as a remote worker for a pet food company,” she responds in an email (typed by her roommate Mary Cvetan). In her latest blog post, she shared her concerns about her friends on the West Coast -- including Abigail, the other rabbit writer on the team, who lives in California.

Even animals with more outdoorsy jobs have been affected. Lola, a 7-year-old dingo, is a canine ambassador at Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education & Experience Center in Naples, Florida, but she doesn’t have many people to greet these days. The sanctuary used to welcome 20 to 30 community groups per month, but the pandemic put a halt to community education and outreach events until recently, says Deanna Deppen, Lola’s handler and executive director of the sanctuary.

But training and enrichment keep Lola and Deppen busy. Lola is trained as a search and rescue dog -- a job for which she’s well-suited, thanks to her problem-solving ability and independent nature. To maintain their status, she and Deppen must complete continuing education courses and annual testing.

“National certifications require dogs to identify different types of human remains” and differentiate them from animal remains, Deppen says. “Test areas include vehicles, buildings, fields and woods. Dogs must pass all sectors and identify ‘negative’ areas with no remains in double-blind scenarios.”

But there’s good news for some working pets. At least seven airports, including ones in Philadelphia; Reno, Nevada; and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, have recently allowed therapy animal teams to come back to work. Here’s hoping other animal employees are back on the job soon.

Q&A

Cleanliness is

next to catliness

Q: How often should I clean my cat’s litter box?

A: If you’re referring to scooping poop and urine clumps, the answer is daily -- at a minimum. Cats are like the rest of us: They prefer a clean bathroom instead of a stinky, unflushed toilet. Your cat will appreciate your keeping her personal potty area clean. It’s a good idea to scoop the box any time you notice it has been used. That’s why we recommend uncovered litter boxes: They ensure you notice right away that the box needs to be cleaned. And covered boxes hold odors in, which can make them unattractive to cats.

Add new litter as needed. That can vary from cat to cat. Some cats like a deep bed of litter, while others have a “less is more” attitude. It can also depend on the type of litter. Usually, 2 to 3 inches is a good depth for clay litter, or 3 to 4 inches for clumping litter. Stick to unscented kinds; cats have very sensitive noses and they may not like the smell of scented litter.

If you’re referring to the actual litter box, we recommend dumping litter in the trash and cleaning the box every one to two weeks. Use hot water, a mild, unscented dishwashing soap and a brush dedicated to that purpose. Never use ammonia, bleach or pine-scented cleansers, all of which can repel or be toxic to your cat. Dry thoroughly and then add new litter. Clean the litter scoop, too, and store it in a plastic bag or hard-sided plastic container.

Keeping the box clean not only keeps your cat happy, it also helps to keep her healthy. A clean litter box, especially in a multicat home, is less likely to harbor bacteria, viruses or parasites. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Learn a new

language: dog

-- Ever wish your dog could talk to you? He’s doing it all the time, but using body language instead of words. Artist and dog lover Lili Chin, whose illustrations have appeared in books, museum exhibits and dog-bite prevention campaigns, recognized the need for a dog body language guide -- a canine phrasebook of sorts. “Doggie Language: A Dog Lover’s Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend” (Summersdale) contains illustrations and explanations of what dogs are saying when they tilt their heads, yawn, blink their eyes, grin, lick their lips, and more. The book helps readers look at the “whole dog” to interpret posture, tail movement, facial expressions, eye and ear signals, and what it means when a dog has “the zoomies” or offers a kiss.

-- Dogs and cats with osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease, may signal the condition by limping, hesitating to jump on or off furniture or go up or down stairs, reducing their activity level, or appearing slow or stiff when they stand up or lie down. If you suspect your pet has osteoarthritis, take her to the veterinarian for an exam. A number of medications and therapies are available to reduce pain and improve mobility. Checklists of signs are available at zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist (dogs) and zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist-cat (cats).

-- One of the requirements on a pet food label is a nutritional adequacy statement. It tells you whether a food is appropriate for a puppy or kitten or for an adult animal, for instance. Young animals need high levels of nutrients to fuel their rapid growth, but adult dogs or cats with normal activity levels don’t need those extra calories or nutrients. A nutritional adequacy statement says which life stage the food is meant for, whether that’s “growth” or “maintenance.” An “all life stages” food can be fed to any animal. -- 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.

Here’s the real scoop on preventing and managing pain in pets

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Raise your hand if you believe pets who have undergone surgery shouldn’t receive pain relief afterward because they’ll be too active, possibly injuring themselves or tearing their stitches. Believe it or not, people still disseminate that idea.

We’re here to tell you it’s not true. It’s one of many misconceptions about pet pain management that just won’t die. What we do know is that untreated acute pain can delay healing and have lifelong implications for a pet’s physical and emotional well-being. Here are some myths -- and the reality -- on pet pain and its relief and management from three of the nation’s top experts on the subject.

MYTH: That doesn’t hurt me, so it will not hurt you. The experience of pain is different for everyone. Each of us -- and each of our dogs, cats, birds and other animals -- experience pain as individuals, with individual thresholds and sensitivities and in a different context, says Ralph C. Harvey, DVM, a specialist in veterinary anesthesia and analgesia in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A related -- and misguided -- belief is that nonhuman animals and nonverbal humans don’t perceive pain. Think 3-day-old puppies getting their tails docked, livestock enduring castration or newborn baby boys undergoing circumcision -- all with no anesthesia or pain relief. Those long-lasting myths have delivered “a world of hurt” over the centuries and into the present day, Dr. Harvey says.

MYTH: My pet isn’t in pain because he doesn’t cry out. Vocalization is a sign of acute pain, not chronic pain, says Michael Petty, DVM, a certified veterinary pain management expert and owner of Arbor Pointe Veterinary Hospital and the Animal Pain Center in Canton, Michigan. Your pet might not make noise about painful arthritis, but sleeping more and moving less are signs you shouldn’t ignore. With appropriate medication or other management, your senior pet can still enjoy play and walks.

MYTH: Pain medication can be unsafe. That’s both true and not true. “There is no such thing as a safe medication at any dose,” Dr. Petty says. “Heck, a dozen marathoners die each year from drinking too much water. But a careful assessment of comorbidities (other diseases or conditions that exist in addition to what’s causing pain) and proper monitoring makes most pain meds safe.”

MYTH: Pain relief is expensive. No matter how tight your budget, there are things you can do to relieve a pet’s pain. “Weight loss costs nothing,” Dr. Petty says. “A 10 percent drop in weight can have an effect similar to giving an NSAID. Directed exercises and massage given at home cost time, but no money.”

MYTH: A painful experience today is just that -- a painful experience today; it won’t stick with animals. Not so, says Robin Downing, DVM. In addition to being a specialist in pain management, sports medicine and rehabilitation, and the hospital director of the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management in Windsor, Colorado, Dr. Downing also holds a master’s degree in clinical bioethics.

Pain is a multidimensional experience, she says. It’s physiologic, meaning animals feel it in their tissues; emotional, because there’s a component of suffering; and cognitive, meaning they assimilate and remember the experience of pain.

“They certainly can and do anticipate and fear pain,” she says. “If they have a bad pain experience today, it will stick with them and provide a worse and more difficult-to-manage pain experience next time.”

MYTH: Pets will get over pain on their own. Proper management is key. The longer acute pain goes untreated, the more severe its effects. Untreated pain can cause animals -- and humans -- to develop greater sensitivity to pain. Called hyperalgesia, this condition occurs when changes to specific nerve receptors in the body develop an overactive response to pain. What happens is that less and less stimulation is required for pain to occur. That’s why it’s important for pain to be treated and managed from the beginning.

Q&A

Fishy medicine?

You bet!

Q: I saw a Facebook post recently about a fish being treated at a veterinary clinic. Why? How?

A: Hey, fish need veterinary care, too. People love them and develop relationships with them -- really! -- and fish can develop health problems that require veterinary care, just like any other animal. Fish can be examined, treated with medication, and even undergo surgery.

Fish should see the veterinarian when they lose their appetite, have their fins tightly clamped against their body, hide or spend time in a different part of the tank than where they usually hang out, don’t seem to be swimming normally, display rapid gill movements, or turn rapidly to the side, causing their scales to flash. Other possible signs of illness are a bloated appearance, spots or discoloration on the body, or ragged fins.

A common reason fish get sick is poor water quality. Just as you scoop a cat’s litter box, clean your bird’s cage or wash your dog’s bedding, you also need to perform similar “housekeeping” for fish. Each species has special environmental needs as far as saline concentration, pH levels, water temperature and cleanliness. All of those things need to be monitored, and partial water changes made regularly, to ensure that fish stay healthy.

Fish can also develop bacterial, viral or parasitic infections. To diagnose these, a veterinarian may perform a fecal test, skin -- er, scale -- scraping, or even a gill or fin biopsy to examine cell samples microscopically. Infections can occur when new fish are added to a tank, which is why it’s important to quarantine them first to make sure they’re healthy, just as you would before bringing in a new bird or cat, for instance.

If your fish needs to see a veterinarian, you can seek out a veterinary fish expert at fishvets.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?id=30. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

In dog food,

aroma is all

-- What smells do dogs love? Food chemistry experts have identified key aroma compounds in dog foods that have dogs licking their chops. A pilot study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, involved feeding six adult beagles each of six foods, one at a time, and determining how much the dogs ate. The dogs had the greatest preferences for three of the foods. Using mass spectrometry, the researchers isolated 12 volatile aroma molecules that correlated either positively or negatively with the dogs’ intake. They found that dogs preferred food containing a molecule that humans associate with an unpleasant, fatty odor, along with molecules that smell sulfury, roasted, smoky and meaty. With further testing of greater numbers of dogs and different breeds, dog food manufacturers may one day cook up a real canine feast.

-- Cats aren’t finicky, exactly. The reason they’re so particular about what they eat is because they learn as kittens to recognize certain textures, flavors and smells as “food” and others as “not food.” That’s why it can be difficult to get them to switch once you find a brand or flavor they like. They’re also fussy when it comes to crumbs. While your dog might lick up every last bit off his plate, a cat will generally walk away when only crumbs are left.

-- Leapin’ lizards! It’s not just a catchphrase. The tails of red-headed agama lizards from sub-Saharan Africa allow them to balance themselves, and to adjust their bodies’ angles mid-leap to make successful landings. And leaping geckos can right themselves when falling by swinging their tails, in much the same way as a cat, and they have sticky hairs on their toes that allow them to stick to surfaces quickly. -- 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.