All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

Cat looking up

How to know if your cat needs to see the vet (because he won’t tell you!)

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Does your cat need to see the veterinarian?

He may not show obvious signs of illness, but you should take him in if you notice the following changes in appearance or behavior:

  • Discharge from eyes or nose
  • Change in eye color
  • Loss of appetite for more than a day
  • Unusual or excessive vocalizations
  • Blood in the litter box
  • Urinating outside the litter box, especially if the stain has a pinkish tinge, indicating blood
  • Unusually high activity levels
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Excessive vomiting
  • Unusual thirst or urination
  • Hiding for prolonged periods

Read more, including tips on going camping with your dogs, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

Gracie and me

A veterinarian’s letter to Delta about their ban on service dogs who they say are ‘pit bulls’

This and That,

I’ve flown almost 5 million miles on Delta, and this week I sent a letter to them protesting their ban on service dogs they say are “pit bulls.” This ban is not based in science and it puts an unfair burden on people with disabilities. I strongly oppose this policy and hope Delta will reconsider it.

Dear Delta,

I’m in the top 1% of Delta flyers in miles traveled per year. I’m at your highest level, Diamond Medallion, and have flown almost 5 million miles on Delta.

I was the resident veterinarian on Good Morning America for 17 years, and am the only veterinary member of Core Team Oz on the Dr. Oz Show. I’m the author of 25 books including three New York Times bestsellers, and I write a weekly syndicated pet feature. I’ve also been the proud parent of pit bulls, and along with almost all veterinarians, love to see them as patients.

And I’m deeply disappointed to learn that you’ve chosen to ban legitimate service dogs simply because of myths and prejudices about the way they look.

Along with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), I know that there’s no scientific basis for this policy, and that:

  1. Statistically, breed “is not predictive of the risk of aggressive behavior.” Instead, the AVMA says, dogs should be evaluated individually.
  2. Breed identification based on looks is notoriously inaccurate. Study after study shows that even veterinarians and shelter workers have a terrible success rate at identifying breed in dogs based on their appearance. Behavior should be evaluated individually, not on how a dog looks.
  3. Dogs usually bite because they’re afraid, not because of breed. Owner behavior and how the dog is housed are also important triggers of aggressive behavior.
  4. Areas that impose breed bans don’t see a decrease in dog bites or dog aggression as a result. In fact, many communities have seen an increase in these incidents, and have subsequently repealed the bans.

Please reconsider this policy. People with disabilities have the legal right to access for themselves and their trained service dogs, and you have no right to let foundationless prejudice based on a dog’s looks override that right.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marty Becker

Sweet sad dog

Low thyroid in dogs: What you need to know

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine,

Low thyroid, or hypothyroidism, can cause troubling symptoms in dogs who suffer from the condition. Here’s how I explained it to a reader.

Q: My dog has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. What can you tell me about this disease?

A: Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of certain important hormones. Usually it develops when thyroid glands become inflamed (thyroiditis) or when the glands atrophy with age.

In most cases, the body’s immune system reacts by attacking and destroying thyroid gland cells, a condition called autoimmune thyroiditis. This causes thyroid glands to be less able to produce and secrete their hormones, leading to progressive and irreversible damage. The body’s metabolic rate drops, and dogs may gain weight or lose hair. We often see autoimmune thyroiditis in Doberman pinschers, beagles, golden retrievers and Akitas, but any dog can be affected.

It affects less than 1 percent of the canine population, but that still makes it the most common endocrine disease in dogs. It’s a concern in more than 70 breeds as well as in mixed breeds.

Hypothyroidism is challenging to diagnose and can be missed or mistaken for other disorders. That’s because it has a wide range of variable symptoms that are also seen in other diseases. Figuring out what’s going on requires a complete physical exam combined with several diagnostic tests and knowledge of other factors such as breed idiosyncrasies and illnesses and drugs that can influence test results.

Just a few of the common signs are thinning hair on both sides of the body or on the tail; skin that becomes dark, scaly or greasy; unusually heavy shedding; and lethargy. Dogs may feel cold all the time and seek out warm spots. Weight gain is one of the signs that may be overlooked because people associate it with aging instead of possible disease. The good news is that once diagnosed, hypothyroidism can be managed with a synthetic form of thyroid hormone given orally twice a day for the rest of the dog’s life.

Read more, including the best animal books to read this summer, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

Why do dogs lick us? The answer could save your life!

Pet Connection

A reader asked about one of the mysteries of the universe: Why do dogs like to lick us? There are multiple reasons for this behavior, including one that might save your life!

Q: My dog is constantly licking me. She likes to lick my legs, my hands, my face — any place she can get to. Why do dogs do this?

A: Dogs do love to lick us, for lots of different reasons. One is that our skin is salty. If we’ve been perspiring, we taste even better, so you may notice that your dog loves to lick you even more in the summertime. I’m not sure why, but the scent or taste of lotion or sunscreen also seems to encourage dogs to lick. And dogs just love the scent of us — stinky feet and all.

Another reason dogs love to lick us is because we give them attention when they do. Whether we laugh at the tickling sensation or push them away because we don’t want them to ingest sunscreen or that medicated gel we just applied, it makes them happy because we’ve taken notice of them and petted or spoken to them. In a dog’s world, not much is better than that.

The one thing that might be better for a dog is getting a treat, and licking us can be a way of saying, “Hey, over here! How about a bite of what you’re having?” Pups lick mom in hopes of a meal, and maybe grown dogs hope it will work on us, too.

Dogs also get a physiological “feel good” sensation from licking. The action releases hormones called endorphins that serve a stress-relieving function and help the dog feel comfortable or contented.

One fascinating reason dogs may lick humans is because they detect a health problem such as low blood sugar. In a survey of 212 dog owners with Type 1 diabetes, 49.2 percent said their dogs licked them when they were experiencing dangerously low blood sugar levels.

Read more, including updates on airline pet policies, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

 

Fear Free vet visit

A veterinarian’s regrets

This and That

We have a family motto that sits atop a bulletin board we’ve called the “Becker Brag Board” since the first pre-school pictures and photos were push-pinned into place. The Becker Motto (which hasn’t been changed in over 30-years) reads:

Live for today…

Plan for tomorrow…

No regrets…

I know it seems cool or knee-jerk to say, “I wouldn’t have changed a thing in my life,” and I know I’ve said it in the past. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to grip with a lot of things I regret and would go back and change if I could.

Personally, I would have stuck up for the underdog in school more, reached out more quickly and fully to the new kid in school, have treated women with more respect when dating in high school and college, and taken more things to the Lord in the spirit of “They will be done,” not “My will be done.”

Professionally, here are my biggest regrets:

  1. Nurses. I wish from the beginning of practice that I would have seen veterinary nurses (technicians) as the single biggest allied part of practicing great medicine (both physical and emotional well-being) rather than a glorified extra set of hands.
  1. Pain. I so regret all of the animals who were literally paralyzed with pain after orthopedic surgery, major dental procedures, after injuries, arthritis, on and on. In the early years we didn’t have very effective products, but even when that changed, I didn’t fully embrace multi-modal pain management for all pets in pain for many ears.
  1. Cosmetic surgery. I used to do ear crops and tail docks. I regret every one. Deeply regret.
  1. Convenience euthanasia. Thirty or 40 years ago, somebody could call a veterinary practice, ask how much to euthanize a dog/cat, the receptionist would quote a price, and that was that. I’m now fully horrified by this, and wish I’d spoken up – loudly – and advocated triple-time to find the pet a new home instead.
  1. Emotional wellbeing of animals. This in now my primary mission in life: To look at how we can reduce fear, anxiety and stress, not just for pets, but for all animals ranging from dogs, cats, birds and reptiles, to horses, cattle, chickens, pigs, and beasts of burden in developing countries. I always cared about the animals I treated, but I also wanted to rush them through a difficult or uncomfortable exam as fast as I could, to “get ‘er done” and “get ‘em home.” I now know I was harming them and perpetuating fear, anxiety, and stress at the vet. I deeply regret that, and am spending the rest of my career making up for it.

I’m sure I’m not the only one with regrets about the pets in my life. What are yours?