Hair color for pets is popular, but is it safe? Here’s what to know

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Every few months someone posts a photo or video on social media of a pet whose tail, ears or entire coat has been dyed with colors not seen in nature. Perhaps they are adorned with purple leopard spots or green tiger stripes, or dotted with pastel hearts -- just to name just a few of the dazzling designs that creative groomers and pet lovers think up to give their animals. Invariably, it starts a flame war between people who think it’s cruel and those who think it’s harmless fun.

Why do people do it? Reasons range from prettying pets up for holidays, therapy visits or shelter adoptions; giving them a unique appearance so they’ll be less likely to be stolen; and, yes, just for fun.

“I understand the concern that people have seeing dyed dogs,” says dog groomer Gabriel Feitosa in San Diego, who has been creatively grooming dogs for 18 years. “It comes from a place of love for the animals, and if I had no idea how this was done, I would probably also be concerned.”

Among the dogs Feitosa has transformed with color are therapy dogs who visit children’s facilities and hospitals and shelter dogs who need a little extra attention. “At the shelter, we focused on big dogs and the older ones that are constantly overlooked, and I think it gave them a second chance to find a forever home,” Feitosa says. “All the transformed pups got adopted right away.”

Whether you’re considering hair color for your dog, cat, bunny, guinea pig or horse, or you think your pet’s hair is perfect as-is, here’s what to know.

Use products made specifically for pets. Never use hair color made for humans on pets, especially products that contain peroxide, ammonia or bleach, says veterinary dermatologist Wayne Rosenkrantz at Animal Dermatology Group in Tustin, California: “They can irritate eyes and cause contact reactions or burn the skin and damage hair.”

Veterinarian Diane Walker, who practices at Blueberry Creek Veterinary Hospital in Perth, Ontario, Canada, advises being aware of the potential for allergic reactions and using products that aren’t heavily scented, which could be annoying to pets or elicit negative reactions from other animals.

Creative grooming is best for pets who enjoy being pampered and have learned from an early age to remain still and calm while being brushed, combed, shampooed or trimmed.

“You would need a dog who is very low-reactivity and is used to grooming, and who doesn't have reactive doggy friends,” Dr. Walker says.

Whether applying color at home or having it done by a professional pet groomer, expect the process to take 30 to 40 minutes. “We apply the dyes onto the fur, and it has to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing,” Feitosa says.

The nontoxic dyes developed for pets are colored stains, and they work best on white or light-colored dogs.

Plenty of YouTube videos show people coloring their pets at home, and it can be done safely with patience and the right products, but Feitosa notes some reasons to consider seeking out a professional.

“A dog’s unexpected sudden move might make the dye job not so pretty, and once it’s done, you’ll have to live with it for a couple of months or trim the hair off,” he says. “A professional will also know how the vibrancy of each color will come out in different areas of your dog. For example, ears and tail usually come out in different tones using the same dye due to the oily nature of the ears.”

Make sure products are labeled for pets, and don’t let pets lick them during application, even if they’re labeled nontoxic.

Choose gentle semi-permanent dyes and color-depositing shampoos for animals who may be more sensitive, such as cats, rabbits and guinea pigs.

Q&A

Keep cat teeth

from drilling you

Q: My cat nailed me with her teeth recently, and I got a bad infection! How can I prevent future bites?

A: Ouch! Cat bites are not only painful, they are scary, having the potential of becoming infected within hours. Any time a cat bites, it’s essential to clean the wound with soap and water and see a doctor immediately.

Let’s hope this was a one-time occurrence. If you know why the bite occurred -- for instance, you pet your cat for too long or on an area where she doesn’t like being touched, such as the belly -- don’t do that again. But if you live with a bitey kitty, here are some tips to help you avoid those razor-sharp fangs.

-- Respect your cat's limits. Many cat bites are the result of pushing an interaction just seconds too long. Signs a cat is getting edgy include tail swishing, crouching, ears rotated back or lowered, dilated pupils and hair standing on end. Tune in and end an interaction before your cat reaches her breaking point.

-- Freeze! If your cat does go after you, think fast to prevent serious injury. First, if you are holding her, let go. Second, don't move. Your cat's instincts are to fight until she wins, and lack of movement tells her you're not a threat anymore.

-- Get yourself to a doctor. Because cats carry bacteria on their claws, a high percentage of scratches become infected. If you get scratched or bitten, you'll likely need antibiotics to heal. Better to head things off at the pass by calling your doctor sooner rather than later. Cat scratches and bites can lead to nasty infections, disease and even hospitalization. Here’s more on cat bites: fearfreehappyhomes.com/how-to-treat-and-prevent-cat-bites.

If the situation doesn't improve, ask your veterinarian for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Socialization

news you can use

-- Would pandemic pets be more prone to separation anxiety? That was a big question after people started returning to the office instead of working at home. Based on anecdotal evidence, experts aren’t seeing a significant increase in canine separation anxiety, according to veterinary behaviorists Valarie Tynes and Laurie Bergman, who addressed the concern during a Jan. 15 presentation at the Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Florida. It’s more important, they said, for veterinarians to talk to new owners about the importance of socialization for a puppy’s mental and emotional development. If your vet doesn’t bring it up, ask! You can learn more here: fearfreehappyhomes.com/new-puppy-socialization-starts-now.

-- A study published last October in the Journal of Neuroscience (jneurosci.org/content/40/43/8396) looked at the similarities and differences in how dogs and humans process facial recognition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers mapped the brains of canine and human study participants as they were shown images of people and animals. They found that humans focused first on expression while dogs focused first on species. Veterinary behaviorist Laurie Bergman spoke about the study at VMX, explaining that dogs recognize human head shape and canine head shape. “Anything that disrupts that outline can cause alarm,” she says. Perhaps that’s why some dogs are startled when they see people wearing hats. Just in case, ensure that young puppies have positive encounters with multiple people wearing different types of headgear or carrying umbrellas.

-- Between the ages of 4 weeks and 14 weeks, a kitten’s brain has its greatest capacity for learning and memory. Choose a kitten raised in a home where they have become used to household sounds and being petted or held by people. Kittens who aren’t handled or are handled very little before they are 10 weeks old are more likely to be fearful. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts. Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker is founder of the Fear Free organization, co-founder of VetScoop.com and author of many best-selling pet care books. Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning journalist and author who has been writing about animals since 1985. Mikkel Becker is a behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/Kim.CampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

It’s Pet Poison Awareness Month. Find out what to do if your pet is exposed to something toxic

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Rose chewed up a bottle of eye drops. Momo ate a silica gel packet labeled “Do not ingest.” Fizz ate a pack of sugar-free gum. Sophie ate a brownie. Polly ate a Flintstones chewable vitamin.

Dogs will try anything at least once -- and it’s not always easy to know whether a trip to the veterinarian is warranted.

That’s when it’s a good idea to call a pet poison hotline. Here’s what to know.

-- When to call. If you think your pet has gotten into something, don’t take a wait-and-see attitude. Renal failure can occur before you realize something’s wrong. Calling first can save you a trip to the vet or alert you to a serious situation.

Calling before you get to the clinic can also speed up things for your veterinarian. The poison control hotline will already have a case number set up for you, and your veterinarian or the emergency clinic can call back as often as needed at no additional charge. Remember that although veterinarians are well-trained in pet health care, they aren’t experts on all the poisons that can affect pets. That’s where veterinary toxicologists come in.

“Poison control will guide the treating veterinarian through treating the case and any complications that might arise,” says licensed veterinary technician Colleen Clemett.

-- What to have on hand. When you call, the poison control staff will need to know the following: pet age, weight, medical conditions, medication they’re on, what you know or think they got into and how much they may have ingested. You may be asked about behavior or symptoms, such as staggering or vomiting, or whether they could have been exposed to fertilizers, insecticides, snail bait or mouse, rat or gopher poisons. Having the packaging or container on hand is helpful, as Nancy Kerns discovered.

When a dog she was fostering ingested most of the contents of a bottle of prescription medication for a previous dog who had died, Kerns called the ASPCA poison control hotline. They helped walk her through the math of how many pills were remaining in the bottle and how many could have been in the bottle based on the date the prescription was picked up and the date of death of the dog who had previously been taking it. They determined that the foster dog did indeed need to get to the ER as quickly as possible, then helped the vet staff calculate the dosage of medication needed to reduce his blood pressure, which had spiked from the drug he had taken.

-- What not to do. It’s a common myth that vomiting should be induced if a pet ingests something toxic. It depends on the substance, as well as other factors, notes A.J. Jeffers, DVM, consulting toxicologist for the ASPCA, speaking on the ASPCA’s myths in toxicology podcast (aspcaanimalpoisoncontrolcenter.libsyn.com/2022/05) last May. Inducing vomiting is a bad idea if pets are brachycephalic (has a short nose, such as a bulldog, pug or Persian cat); have recently had surgery that required stitches; have heart disease or seizure disorders; or have swallowed sharp objects or caustic substances.

When you are advised to induce vomiting, it’s best to use a fresh, unopened bottle of hydrogen peroxide, Clemett says. That’s because once opened and exposed to air, hydrogen peroxide eventually breaks down to just plain water. A fresh bottle will do the best job at bubbling in the stomach, causing your pet to vomit, she says. Have a needleless syringe on hand as well to administer the hydrogen peroxide. The poison control staff can guide you if you’re not sure how to do it or how much to use.

-- Cost. There’s a fee, generally $75 to $85 (which covers follow-up calls as well). Have your credit card ready.

-- Money-saving tip. If you have pet health insurance or your pet’s microchip is registered, a poison control call may be covered or discounted. Check your policy.

Q&A

Ensure the return

of your lost cat

Q: My cat lives strictly indoors. Does she really need to be microchipped or, for that matter, wear a collar and tag?

A: Short answer: Yes! It’s all too common for indoor cats to escape accidentally. Workers can leave a door open, or the door can close but not latch, allowing a curious cat to push it open. It’s amazing how quickly they can slip through an open door, become frightened and disappear.

A collar and tags are the first line of defense. They’re visible, and someone who finds your cat can look at them to get your phone number or address and contact you. We put our last name (not the cat’s name) on the collar, as well as our cellphone number. If there’s room, we include a work phone number or a landline.

But collars and tags can come off. With the feline ability to squeeze through tight spaces, it’s important to use a breakaway collar that will come off easily so your cat doesn’t get hung up on something and choke.

A microchip is the second line of defense if a cat gets out and is lost. Even if a collar and tag have come off, a microchip is permanent identification that can’t be removed. A microchip is tiny, about the size of a grain of rice. It lasts a cat’s lifetime and never needs recharging or replacement.

A microchip is implanted by your veterinarian, injected beneath the skin between the shoulder blades. This is often done when the cat or kitten is being spayed or neutered, but no sedation or anesthesia is required. The microchip emits a signal when activated by a scanning device, available at most veterinary clinics and shelters. Then you can be notified that your cat has been found. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Celebrate pets,

working dogs

-- This month, celebrate canine veterans, puppies and cats. Military working dogs -- K-9 veterans -- serve as sentries, scouts and messengers; detect mines and explosives; seek out injured people; and search tunnels. Observe National K-9 Veterans Day on March 13 by sharing stories celebrating military dogs on social media. National Puppy Day on March 23 recognizes the love, laughter and licks we get from puppies. Give your puppy -- even if he’s all grown up -- a special treat to celebrate. And on March 28, show a little respect to your cat; after all, it’s Respect Your Cat Day. A new catnip-stuffed toy or a heated bed could be just the ticket to let your cats know just how much you love and respect them.

-- It’s not just your dog who needs heartworm protection. Cats and ferrets can be infected with the deadly parasites, too. Dogs can take monthly preventive to ensure that the worms don’t travel through their bloodstream and take up residence in the heart. No FDA-approved preventive product is available for cats, so protecting them from mosquitoes is important. The same is true for ferrets. Prevention includes using screens to keep mosquitoes out of your house, not leaving standing water outdoors where mosquitoes can breed, and changing pet water bowls frequently. Ask your veterinarian about other ways to protect pets from mosquitoes.

-- Many animal-related words in the English language lend color to our conversations. Two of our favorites refer to the way a dog’s appearance is applied to other objects. One of these terms is “dog-eared,” in use since about 1650, a description of a turned-down book page, folded over like a dog’s ear. A lovely wildflower, the dogtooth violet (Erythronium dens-canis), takes its name from long petals tapering to a point, which resemble a dog’s canine teeth, or fangs. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts. Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker is founder of the Fear Free organization, co-founder of VetScoop.com and author of many best-selling pet care books. Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning journalist and author who has been writing about animals since 1985. Mikkel Becker is a behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/Kim.CampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

Can your dog dig up a luxury item for your dinner? Truffle hunting is a popular pastime

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

A truffle hunt was our favorite day of a recent trip to Italy. Hiking beautiful countryside with dogs, then eating delicious scrambled eggs and soft, young Pecorino Romano cheese with a freshly found truffle shaved over the top: What could be better?

But you don’t have to travel to Europe to go truffle hunting. You can teach your own dog to hunt for the treasured tubers, and depending on where you live, you may well be successful.

Truffles are found in the Pacific Northwest -- which ranges from northern California into British Columbia -- and from the southern United States into Ontario. As with most scenting activities, any dog can learn, although professional truffle hunters seek certain qualities in their dogs.

At Truffle Hill in Australia -- Australia is a primary producer of truffles -- truffle hunter Adrian Mielke looks for dogs with high drive and stamina who are food-motivated and don’t mind searching in wet and cold conditions -- cool, moist air holds scent closer to the ground.

“In our experience, the best breeds are Labradors or kelpies, but many mixed ‘hybrid’ breeds have been very successful,” he says. Other dogs with good scenting skills include beagles, German shorthaired pointers, spaniels or other retrieving or hunting dogs.

At Black Truffle Lodge in Italy’s Umbria region, where we went on our hunt, Mac (more formally known as Nathan McMillan Ryde, co-owner of the lodge with his wife, Francesca Chiacchiarini) says truffle dogs are started as puppies simply by playing fetch with them to encouraging their retrieving instinct. Gradually, the ball is switched for an egg-shaped plastic container with holes, which can hold the truffle and disseminate its scent while protecting it from destruction by rambunctious puppies. Mac and truffle hunter Luca like using dogs who are a blend of springer spaniel, English setter and pointer. Later, young dogs in training go out with more experienced dogs to learn the secrets of truffle location.

What if you don’t live in an area where truffles are found? Your dog can still learn, thanks to online training courses and the availability of truffles by mail or from your local gourmet store.

And you don’t need a fancy dog such as a Lagotto Romagnolo, considered by some to be the Lamborghini of truffle dogs, thanks to their Italian heritage and traditional use in truffle hunting.

Washington state-based truffle hunter and dog trainer Kristin Rosenbach offers lessons in person or online (wagnificentk9.com). She’s had clients succeed with many different breeds and mixes, including a Vizsla, a Staffordshire bull terrier, flat-coated retrievers, an Anatolian mix and a papillon. Her own dogs are two border collies, a Shetland sheepdog and a Belgian tervuren, the first of their breeds to truffle hunt in the Pacific Northwest.

“Honestly, the only requirement is that someone has a good relationship with their dog,” she says.

As with any detection dog training, positive reinforcement coupled with scent association is key. Your dog should view hunting as a game with plenty of tasty rewards (not the truffles, though) or other desirable incentives, such as play with a favorite toy.

Rosenbach’s top tips for training dogs to find truffles are to use real truffles (not truffle oil), train outdoors and move the truffle underground as soon as possible. During training, she recommends staying away from truffle-producing locations, counterintuitive as that may seem. That allows you to control as many variables as possible so you can set up your dog for success.

Once a team in training is proficient at a mock truffle hunt -- a blind hunt in a forest that Rosenbach knows does not produce truffles -- she takes them out for a forest lesson.

Truffles are being cultivated and discovered in many new areas, so your dog could surprise you once trained.

“I suspect truffles are growing in a lot more places than we think they are, and that's just because there aren't enough of us out there looking,” Rosenbach says.

Q&A

Can my parrot

get avian flu?

Q: I keep hearing about avian flu. Do I need to worry that my parrot could get it? What about my neighbor’s chickens?

A: I went to my colleague Brian Speer, an avian specialist, for the answer to your question. The good news is that indoor companion birds like your parrot are at substantially less risk of exposure. On the other hand, backyard chickens, pet ducks or parrots or peafowl who live outdoors could be exposed to migrating waterfowl and shorebirds carrying the virus.

Common-sense vigilance is important, Speer says. In zoos and many waterfowl collections, birds are being brought indoors until it’s known that the virus isn’t in the wild bird population. And veterinarians who treat birds are being extremely cautious about the birds they allow into their clinics. For instance, if a client calls and says, “I went out to my chicken flock and 18 out of 30 are dead suddenly, and four more are sick and dying. Can I bring one in who’s still alive?” the answer is going to be no.

“We do a lot of careful screening because we do not want to put existing hospitalized patients at risk,” Speer says.

Signs of HPAI -- highly pathogenic avian influenza -- include the rapid onset of serious respiratory and neurologic problems, with the bird quickly progressing to death. The University of Minnesota Extension provides good information for backyard poultry owners: bit.ly/3xmd5K9.

Be pathogenic-aware but not pathogenic-paranoid. If your bird has been sneezing for four weeks, that’s not HPAI. Could your dog get it? Not really.

Don’t bring home sick birds, and don’t feed wild birds. You don’t want them congregating in your area as that increases the potential for exposure.

“It’s not an easy scenario right now,” Speer says. “You don’t want to go overboard, and you don’t want to be too casual about it, either.” -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

THE BUZZ

Search dogs help

in Syria, Turkey

-- Dog and handler teams from around the world converged on Turkey and Syria earlier this month to help find survivors from two devastating earthquakes. They included six specially trained dogs from Los Angeles County; the International Urban Search and Rescue Team from Fairfax, Virginia; and rescue teams with dogs from Britain, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Libya, Mexico, Poland, Switzerland and Taiwan. Other organizations are helping the animals of Syria and Turkey. They include Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Cats in Syria, a nonprofit rescue and sanctuary that houses more than 1,800 cats; International Fund for Animal Welfare, which is partnering with Ernesto’s; and Pets in Turkey, a Swiss organization that aids stray animals.

-- How smart are cockatoos? Smart enough to craft and use tools, according to a study (bit.ly/3lyRNX1) of 10 adult Goffin’s cockatoos observed using their beaks to fashion wooden tools to extract seeds from tropical fruit known as sea mango. This behavior demonstrates the ability to not only make tools but also to use them to perform high-precision tasks. The opportunistic avian foragers from Indonesia solved problems -- such as how to break into that tasty fruit -- by creating and using tools as wedges, cutters and spoons, researchers report, putting them at the same level as specialized tool users such as New Caledonian crows or the great apes.

-- Cats have four favorite places they prefer being petted. If you want to make your cat happy, rub gently beneath his chin, scratch the base of the ears, rub the cheek area behind the whiskers, and scratch the base of the tail. Why these areas? They’re where a cat’s scent glands are concentrated. When you rub those areas, you’re helping your cat to spread his scent around, which in turn makes him feel happy and content. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts. Veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker is founder of the Fear Free organization, co-founder of VetScoop.com and author of many best-selling pet care books. Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning journalist and author who has been writing about animals since 1985. Mikkel Becker is a behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/Kim.CampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.