All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

Dog dewclaws: What are they good for? You might be surprised!

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

While some breeders remove them from puppies, for most dogs, dewclaws — those thumb-like “toes” on the sides of your dog’s front legs — actually do serve a purpose. This is what I told a reader who asked about them.

Q: Why do dogs have dewclaws? I’m talking to a breeder about a puppy, and she says the dewclaws will be removed. Is it better to remove them or keep them?

A: Dewclaws are small thumb-like appendages that, if a dog has them, are found high on the inside of each paw (on the carpal, or wrist, of the front leg). Certain breeds are distinctive for having double dewclaws on each hind leg. They include the Beauceron, briard, great Pyrenees and Icelandic sheepdog.

The dewclaws are often referred to as vestigial appendages, meaning they no longer serve a purpose, but many dog owners would beg to differ on that subject. Dogs haven’t taken to texting yet (give them time), but they use their dewclaws to grasp and manipulate items such as bones and toys, grip ice or other surfaces to pull themselves out of water, and gently scratch an itchy eye. Dogs doing agility may grasp the sides of the teeter with their dewclaws to steady themselves. And canine speedsters such as whippets and border collies use their dewclaws to corner like race cars.

Now some breeders remove the dewclaws because they don’t see any use for them, and because it can be a painful, bloody mess if your dog tears his dewclaw. Dewclaws that stick out, instead of being tight to the paw, can get caught in carpeting or brush or when dogs go after prey such as lizards in rock piles. Usually the dewclaws are removed when puppies are only a few days old. While painful, it’s not an especially traumatic event, as it would be later in life.

For dogs that do the dew, it’s important to trim the claws regularly to help prevent tearing and the possibility of the dewclaw growing into the footpad.

Read more, including all about therapy cats, in this week’s Pet Connection!

Expert tips on dealing with your dog’s fear of thunderstorms

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine, ,

Thunderstorm season is almost here, and hundreds of thousands of dog owners are facing it with dread. What can be done about a dog’s fear of thunder and lightning? I asked my trainer daughter, Mikkel Becker, to respond.

Q: It’s thunderstorm season, and my 3-year-old Australian shepherd has become so afraid of the noise that he tries to jump out the window. I’m really afraid he’s going to hurt himself. He has never seemed afraid of storms before. Is there anything that can be done?

A: Many dogs are fearful of the sound of thunder — and possibly the accompanying lightning flashes, loud wind, and changes in ozone levels and barometric pressure. Research has found that herding breeds like your Aussie seem to be more prone to this type of fear. In these breeds, at least, the fear may have a genetic component.

Signs of this type of fear usually begin with barking, seeking attention (pawing at people, for instance) and pacing. The signs can swiftly escalate to trembling, panting, howling, destructiveness and attempts to escape, even if that means jumping through a window or chewing through a door.

Those early signs can be subtle. People might not notice them, or they think their dog will outgrow the fear as he matures or becomes used to thunderstorms.

Unfortunately, repeated exposure simply makes the problem worse. If you notice that your dog is fearful during storms, talk to your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary behaviorist right away. Medication in the very early stages with drugs that help to reduce panic can make the fear easier to manage, but it’s essential to give it before the storm starts. Often, the best solution is medication combined with snug-fitting shirts and capes, which have a soothing effect, and canine ear muffs and eye shades, which help to limit the dog’s exposure to the frightening phenomena. It can also be helpful to teach your dog to go to a place where he feels secure. That can be a closet, a crate lined with a towel or blanket (keep the door open), or a bathroom or bathtub. — Mikkel Becker

Read more, including spring pet tips, in this week’s Pet Connection!

Why your small dog sounds like she’s choking to death

Veterinary Medicine

Over my almost four-decade veterinary career, I’ve seen hundreds of small dogs who made a sound like they were going to choke to death. I’ve also owned a couple who would make a “honking sound” including a current one, our little canine cocktail Quixote. The culprit is something called “collapsing trachea.”

Found with equal severity in males and females, collapsing trachea can occur in puppies as a heredity problem. This condition is one that usually worsens with age, and is worse when a pet is overweight or obese or has conditions that affect normal breathing (such as allergies).

A normal trachea is like a radiator hose or reinforced garden hose with regularly spaced rings of cartilage that keep the airway open, and a common diameter from the upper airways to the lungs. In collapsing trachea, one of more of the cartilage rings are weak, the trachea becomes flat, and respiration becomes very difficult. For an analogy, think of having your nose held shut, having to breathe through a straw, and now somebody pinches the straw flat. You got it. Shortness of breath and its companion, panic, come quickly.

Most affected dogs can breathe normally some or most of the time, but the trachea collapses when the pet is vigorously exercising or gets excited (company at the door?). More than once I’ve had a pet get nervous at the veterinary hospital, have her trachea collapse, and then pass out from a lack of oxygen. When that happens, it takes everyone’s breath away!

Most of the time we encourage the pet owner to have the pet lose weight. We will prescribe a cough suppressant if the hacking and honking is really bad, and occasionally refer to a very skilled surgeon for surgery to strengthen the collapsing area of the trachea.

Your cat is breathing with her mouth open. It is heart disease?

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine,

A reader wants to know what it means that her cat is breathing with an open mouth and seems disinterested in play. Here’s what I told her.

Q: My ragdoll cat has been breathing with his mouth open, and he doesn’t seem to want to play very much. Do you think he’s just getting older — he’s 9 years old — or should I take him to see the vet?

A: If you have an emergency veterinary clinic in your town, you should get your cat in right away. Don’t delay! His signs could indicate congestive heart failure from a disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Besides lethargy, decreased activity and open-mouthed breathing (usually after excitement or exercise), other signs include rapid or labored breathing or weakness or paralysis in the hind legs. A heart murmur is another indicator. Sometimes cats don’t show any signs — that is, not until they collapse or even die suddenly.

Called HCM for short, this is the most common type of heart disease we see in cats. It causes the heart muscle to thicken, known as cardiac hypertrophy. The result is that it’s it more difficult for blood to enter the heart’s chamber and be pumped back out to the body.

We don’t know what causes HCM, but certain breeds such as Maine coons and ragdolls have a genetic mutation for the disease. Other breeds that are predisposed to HCM include Norwegian forest cats, Persians, Devon and Cornish rexes, and sphynxes, but it affects random-bred cats, too.

Cats of any age or gender can be diagnosed with HCM, but middle-aged males seem to be more commonly affected.

Medications are available that can slow the heart rate, help relax the pumping chambers and prevent fluid from building up in the lungs. Follow-up exams are important for cats on medication so the dosage can be adjusted as needed. With care, it’s not unusual for cats to live for months or even years after diagnosis.

Breaking: Canadian Veterinary Medical Association issues statement opposing declawing of cats

News, , ,

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association today issued a statement opposing the declawing of cats, a stronger position than they’ve taken previously.

From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has strengthened its stand against declawing domestic cats, saying the practice causes unnecessary and avoidable pain.

“It is evident that felines suffer needlessly when undergoing this surgery as an elective measure,” Dr. Troy Bourque, the association’s president, said Wednesday.

“The CVMA views this surgery as unacceptable as it offers no advantage to the feline and the lack of scientific evidence leaves us unable to predict the likelihood of long-term behavioural and physical negative side-effects.”

The association is sending the new guideline on what it calls “non-therapeutic partial digital amputation” to its 7,000 members across Canada. It also hopes to raise public awareness to reduce demand for the procedure.

I applaud my colleagues in Canada for this statement, and hope we’ll soon see a similar toughening of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s stance, which weakly discourages  declawing but stops well short of opposing the practice.