All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

Getting ahead of your dog’ motion sickness

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Does your dog get car sick? This problem is more complicated than you might think. Here’s how I explained it to a reader.

Q: We’re going on a road trip next month. We’d like to bring our dog, but she gets carsick. Do you have any tips to help her be more comfortable?

A: Motion sickness is no fun for anyone, including pets. It occurs when the semicircular canals and other parts of the inner ear that control balance become overstimulated. Pets with severe motion sickness can start to experience nausea just at the sight of a car.

Luckily, there are several things you can try to help ease your pet’s queasy feeling. For mild signs, offer a couple of gingersnap cookies beforehand (check the ingredient list to make sure they aren’t sweetened with xylitol). Transport the pet on an empty stomach, especially if you’ll be driving all day.

Natural supplements such as Anxitane can help relieve signs of anxiety and in turn help to relieve physical signs of motion sickness. Pets with severe motion sickness can benefit from prescription medications such as Cerenia, for nausea, and Xanax, for anxiety. Spritz the car and the carrier with canine calming pheromones, such as Adaptil.

For long-term improvement, try desensitization techniques to help her enjoy car rides. Start by doing something she likes near the car, such as playing catch or practicing tricks and getting rewarded. When she’s comfortable being near the car, put treats inside to encourage her to stick her head in or get in on her own. Give more treats and praise. Have your dog be in the car for a couple of minutes while it sits in the driveway. Repeat. When she’s OK with that, start the car, back up and then pull back into the driveway. Then go for a short ride down the street. During each step, give lots of great treats to help her associate the car with good things.

Read more, including all about canine cognitive dysfunction, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

 

cow

A veterinarian’s Father’s Day reflection: Facing a family legacy of depression and suicide

This and That

Father’s Day is a conflicted day for me in many ways. I love being a father and grandfather; my daughter, Mikkel, my son, Lex, and my granddaughter, Reagan, are such beloved parts of my soul I can only be humbled with gratitude to have them in my life. I pray for them and thank God for them daily.

But talking about my own father, Bob, isn’t so simple.

I’ve written about my family history of depression and suicide, and that includes my father. He suffered from both alcoholism and bipolar disorder, and constantly went on and off his medication throughout his life. My mother and all of us kids were targets of his unpredictable mood swings and heavy drinking.

He would drive dangerously, curse and smash things in the house, and throw heavy objects.

And yet: He was generous with those in need. I never once saw him treat any animal on our farm or in our family with anything but a soft touch and voice. He always called out the vet to care for our farm animals, even an aging dairy cow who almost any rancher would have deemed “not worth it.” Our dogs were house dogs when not a single other family in our farm community would have dreamed of such a thing.

I’d go so far as to say that the animals were all that kept my father stable in his dark times, although in the end he took his own life.

So today on Father’s Day, I want to honor the good in him, and pray that the cycle of mental illness and suicide will be broken at last in our family. I wish for everyone who is struggling with their own darkness to find the comfort and help my father never did.

God bless you all, and if you’re reading this and suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts of any sort, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-TALK; 800-273-8255; suicidepreventionlifeline.org). It’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No matter what problems you are dealing with, people on the other end of the line will help you find a reason to keep living.

Cats beat dogs when it comes to sniffing out scents

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

A cat’s sense of smell is 15 times stronger than that of a human. Cats may even have a better sense of smell than dogs, with better ability to discriminate among more scents, although they probably won’t be doing search and rescue or bomb detection anytime soon.

It’s no wonder, then, that cats dislike strong-scented litter, potpourri and other things that people think smell good.

One of the scents that cats especially dislike is citrus, so avoid using air fresheners, detergents (especially for cat bedding), shampoos and other products that have lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit scents.

Read more, including how to cope with severe noise phobias in dogs, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

 

cat in lap

Newly discovered cat virus may unlock secrets of liver disease, cancer

Veterinary Medicine

A newly identified cat virus may help protect cats from liver disease and cancer — and may help people, too.

The study, funded by Morris Animal Foundation, was conducted at the University of Sydney and its results were published in the most recent issue of the journal Viruses. The researchers identified a type of virus known as a hepadnavirus, which typically causes liver disease, in blood from a cat who died of lymphoma (a type of cancer).

Surprisingly, the researchers were then able to find that same virus in stored blood from other cats. Ten percent of cats with FIV had the virus, but it was found in just 3.2 percent of FIV-negative cats.

There is no risk to humans from this feline virus.

From the study report:

“The importance of this finding cannot be overstated,” said Dr. Kelly Diehl, Senior Scientific and Communications Adviser at Morris Animal Foundation. “Finding a new virus responsible for disease is the first step in developing a vaccine to prevent infection. It’s especially exciting if the vaccine could prevent a future cancer from developing in immunocompromised or other vulnerable cats.”

For those of you who enjoy reading scientific studies, the entire text is available, free, at the link below.

Mahdis Aghazadeh, Mang Shi, Vanessa Barrs, Alicia McLuckie, Scott Lindsay, Barbara Jameson, Bronte Hampson, Edward Holmes, Julia Beatty. A Novel Hepadnavirus Identified in an Immunocompromised Domestic Cat in Australia. Viruses, 2018; 10 (5): 269 DOI: 10.3390/v10050269

Happy Dog in car. Bichon Frise Dog wears Hot Pink Goggles and enjoys a ride in a pedal car.

Sunglasses for dogs aren’t just a fashion statement

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Are sunglasses for dogs a fashion statement or a necessity? A little bit of both, it turns out.

Dogs who spend a lot of time on boats, running through brushy areas, or hanging their heads out the car window need protection from flying debris, sand, prickly foliage, and sun glare.

Other dogs who can benefit from pet eyewear are those with large, protruding eyeballs such as Boston Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, French Bulldogs, and Pugs, as well as search-and-rescue or military working dogs in dry, sandy environments. They can be prone to corneal ulcerations and recurrent conjunctivitis.

Read more, including all about behavior modification in dogs, in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.