All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

How to make the time spent with your dog really count

Pet Connection

Making sure we spend enough time with our pets can be hard, especially if we’re working long hours. My daughter, professional trainer Mikkel Becker, has some suggestions for a reader:

Q: I have a new job, and it’s requiring me to work a lot more hours. What are some ways that I can still spend quality time with my dog and help keep him from getting bored?

A: You are so right to realize that your dog needs more activity and interaction than just sleeping all day and a quick walk when you get home. Mental and physical stimulation are important to a pet’s well-being. Fortunately, there are lots of great ways you can enrich your dog’s environment and keep his brain and body active both when you’re home and when you’re away.

  • Give him something to listen to. Leave on a classical music station to provide calming sounds. He might also enjoy the sounds and voices on a nature or travel channel.
  • Put his brain cells to work with puzzle toys. Fill one with treats or even with his daily allotment of dry food so that he spends his day “hunting” for food.
  • Use some of your time with him to teach some new tricks. Any dog can learn new things, not just puppies and young adults, and the activity is a good physical and mental workout. If you’re really ambitious, you can save yourself some time and effort in the long run by teaching him to pick up and put away his toys.
  • Don’t rush through walks. Let him spend a few minutes here and there sniffing at whatever he finds interesting. You can check your email while he checks his pee-mail.
  • Really “be” with your dog while you walk. If you’re wearing headphones, you’re not interacting. Talk to him — dogs love the sound of our voices — and watch his reaction to things as you walk. You’ll learn more about him, and you’ll be more aware of your surroundings and any approaching animals or people who could cause problems.

Read more, including memorializing lost pets, in this week’s Pet Connection.

Is a clinical trial right for your cat?

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

A reader asks how to evaluate placing a cat into a clinical trial:

Q: My cat has an injection-site sarcoma, and I’m thinking of enrolling him in a clinical study that will look at a new way to deliver chemotherapy. What are some things I should consider?

A: Clinical trials have resulted in better treatments, improved survival of pets and new ways to predict the success of treatments, but there’s a lot to consider. First, talk to your veterinarian. Ask how the treatment your cat is or will be receiving differs from the treatment being investigated. Your veterinarian should be able to tell you if participation in the study will have a positive or negative effect on your cat’s quality of life, as well as other pros and cons of the study.

The study’s research coordinator can tell you if there are any costs to enrolling in the study (usually not), what treatments and aftercare your cat will receive, the type of results you may expect and what the potential side effects of the treatment might be. Your veterinarian and the research coordinator can help you decide whether the potential benefits outweigh the potential side effects.

Cancer can be painful, even if it’s being treated. Make sure your cat will receive pain medication during the study. That should be standard in any clinical trial.

Some clinical trials are placebo-controlled, meaning that some pets get the treatment and some receive a placebo (inert substance). If this study is placebo-controlled and your cat is in the placebo group, ask if he would be eligible afterward to receive the treatment being investigated.

A major factor is your cat’s temperament. Is he a laid-back kitty or one who’s easily stressed? How will he react to having to go in for treatment?

Finally, you should be free to remove your cat from the study at any time if you think that’s best for him.

Having this information will help you and your veterinarian decide if participation in the clinical trial will benefit your cat.

 

Read more, including what to do about pets left in hot cars, in this week’s Pet Connection!

2 things I hate to see in pets out in public

Veterinary Medicine

I imagine respiratory therapists are upset when they see somebody outside a restaurant chain smoking, and that dentists cringe when they see somebody with a mega-sized sugary drink.

That’s true for veterinarians, too. And here are the two things that really bother me when I see them in pets out in public:

1. Limping. I was at a veterinary conference in San Diego a few years ago. My wife and I saw a well-dressed couple with expensive watches and jewelry walking – dragging, really – a Corgi who seemed to be so painful in the hips and knees he could barely walk.

At an intersection I introduced myself, and asked if the dog was being treated for arthritis. They said, “No, he’s just getting old and is doing fine.”

I persisted, pointing out what I could see as a veterinarian, and saying we have lots of things that can provide relief and really improve his quality of life today, like joint diets, new-generation anti-inflammatories, laser treatment, stem cells, and more.

They just shook their heads with a look that said “mind your own business,” and turned away dragging the dog behind them.

If you have a dog who limps, or a cat who has trouble climbing, grooming, or using the litter box, please, please, please take him or her to your veterinarian. Chances are very good there’s a happier, healthier life awaiting your pet!

2. Skin on fire. I’ll see stoic pets, happily pulling at the leash and wagging their tails even though it looks like they went through a forest fire and were burned. Patches of hair are gone, the skin is red and angry, the dog wants to scratch, chew, or bite at the extreme irritation that’s driving them crazy.

What would you do if you had a problem like this with your hair and scalp? You’d head to a dermatologist so fast the papers would rustle on the kitchen counter on your way out the door!

People need to know that most pet skin problems can be diagnosed and successfully treated, with regular bathing, antibiotics, or therapies like the powerful new drug, Apoquel, that’s providing near-instant relief for pets who have suffered for years.

Do the right thing. If your pet is suffering, slowing down, or showing signs something’s hurting, take him or her to the vet. Get a diagnosis and start a successful treatment. You’ll be returning a portion of what you pet has given you over the years.

An ounce of prevention can keep pet costs down

This and That

All pet owners know our beloved animals give us benefits that can’t be measured in money. What can be measured in money is what we spend caring for their health.

This can be especially tough if the economy swings downward or you personally face a fiscal crisis. No one wants to be in position where cost makes keeping a pet impossible. Fortunately, there are some easy steps you can take that will help keep your pet healthy and keep your veterinary bills low:

  • Take your pet to the vet for preventive care. An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure! A yearly veterinary check (twice yearly for senior pets) can catch costly health problems before they become serious.
  • Keep your pet at a healthy weight. Measuring your pet’s food and helping them get regular exercise will prevent unhealthy — and expensive — weight gain.
  • Make sure your house is safe from poison. Some risks, like pesticides or medications, are obvious. Others are less obvious, but just as deadly. Products sweetened with xylitol, which can be in anything from gum to peanut butter, can cause catastrophic illness or death. Keeping those items away from your pet will help you save an emergency vet visit fee.

The best way to keep your pets healthy and keep your wallet full is to head off potential problems before they happen!

 

Microchips: A call home for a pet without a cellphone

This and That,
We almost lost our QT before he was even ours, as he fought for his life during the shelter distemper outbreak that took the lives of two of his littermates. Once we got him through that, we wanted to do everything we could to protect him — so we had him microchipped.

Today is Check the Chip Day, and along with our friends at Embrace Pet Insurance — whose Wellness Rewards Plan covered QT’s microchip! — I’m urging you to do one of these two things:

  1. If your pet isn’t chipped yet, get it done. Not a week goes by I don’t read about a pet improbably reunited with his or her family thanks to a microchip. Don’t put it off!
  2. If your pet is already chipped, please take the time to make sure the information at the registry is up to date, and ask your vet or local shelter to scan your pet to make sure the chip is still readable.

Teresa and I are so grateful our little guy made it. We can’t imagine our lives without him. And thanks to his microchip, we hope we’ll never have to!

Want to learn more about microchipping? Visit the AVMA’s Check the Chip Day website. And remember, there’s no waiting period on the Wellness plan; you can get your pet chipped and sign up on the same day!