All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

Why dogs mark and what to do about it

Pet Connection

What can cause a dog to start marking in the house? That was the question I got from a reader, and I teamed up with my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to answer.

Q: Last year I adopted a 9-year-old chocolate Lab who was badly neglected and has permanent limited mobility. He joined my pack of two female Jack Russell terriers and my 13-year-old catahoula hound. Both males are neutered. After about two months, both males started marking the furniture. Now I think it may be only my old dog marking.

When I find urine, I’ve done everything from yelling to speaking calmly to not saying anything when cleaning the area. I have used every kind of cleaner I can find, have given my hound extra attention to make him feel loved and put diapers on him. Do you have any other recommendations? 

A: It may seem as if the behavior is related to the new dog, but there’s a good chance it may not be. Our No. 1 piece of advice is to take the dogs to your veterinarian to rule out health problems that may be causing the behavior.

Often, dogs appear healthy, but if they don’t feel good, breaking housetraining or marking objects may be the only way they have to get their message across. Also, both of your males are seniors; problems with arthritis, cognitive dysfunction, kidney disease or other health issues could be contributing to their behavior.

If your dogs get a clean bill of health, the first thing to do is to make sure you know which dog is marking. Consider setting up an inexpensive video camera in the area where marking occurs to identify who’s doing what and when.

“Try to create opportunities for them to not soil in the house,” says Kathryn Primm, DVM, who often sees behavior issues in her practice. That may mean taking them out more often, rewarding them at the moment you see them potty outdoors and restarting the housetraining process as if they were puppies.

Read more, including the challenges of caring for pets when you’re ill, in this week’s Pet Connection!

Video: Cori the swim dog makes a splash helping special needs children stay safe in the water

Healing Power of Pets,

Drowning is the number one cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4, but this rate is higher for children with special needs, including autism. For that reason, safety swim classes are something parents often seek out. But what if your child is terrified of the water, and experiences such severe stress he or she can’t overcome it to learn?

You work with a trained swim dog, of course. A dog just like Cori.

Even with his mother, this little boy couldn’t stop crying and screaming when in the water. But his cries turned to laughter and kisses when Cori joined him in the pool, and soon he was playing and paddling with Cori.

This is Cori’s life work: Helping special needs children overcome their fear of the water. And Cori does this work at no cost to special needs families. Good dog, Cori!

Learn more about Cori, her services, and her “big sister,” Ricochet the SURFice dog, here.

Aspirin for pet pain: Good idea, or bad?

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Is aspirin safe to give pets for their pain? That’s the question a reader had for me. The short answer is no; here’s why.

Q: Is it OK to give my pet aspirin if he’s feeling sore or stiff?

A: I don’t recommend it. In an acute pain situation, a veterinarian may prescribe aspirin for a dog, or you may know someone whose dog or cat is taking aspirin, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea for your pet.

For an explanation of aspirin’s risks, as well as when it might be used, I turned to Tina Wismer, DVM, a veterinary toxicology specialist and medical director at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

She says aspirin can be problematic in pets who are on medications that could interact with the aspirin and increase the risk of side effects.

“Long-term, we like to go with medications that are a little safer and that tend to have fewer side effects,” Dr. Wismer says.

Vomiting is the most common side effect of aspirin seen in dogs. Stomach ulcers are a potential but less common side effect. Dogs who break into a bottle of aspirin and swallow a lot of tablets run the risk of liver failure and seizures.

Cats are more sensitive to aspirin than dogs because they don’t metabolize it as quickly, but it does have at least one beneficial use for them.

“In cats, the most common use for aspirin is actually heart problems, and veterinarians prescribe aspirin for its anti-platelet effect — basically, so your cat doesn’t get blood clots,” Dr. Wismer says. “But the dosing in cats is very different, and they only get a dose every couple of days.”

Any time you want to give your pet an aspirin, check with your veterinarian first for two reasons: to make sure you’re giving the correct dose and to make sure it’s indicated for what’s ailing your pet.

Read more, including about a pet dental dilemma, in this week’s Pet Connection!

What happens when cat-haters volunteer at a cat adoption cafe?

Healing Power of Pets,

How many people who say they hate cats just don’t know cats?

A while ago, Buzzfeed sent two self-professed cat haters to volunteer at a cat adoption cafe. I give you one guess what happened: Each of them fell in love with a cat. This emotional transformation demonstrated the power specifically of the cat, of course, but also of something else, and that’s the reason I’m writing about this.

If you watch this video, what you’ll see is the birth of the intense bond that exists between people and pets. It was unexpected. It was probably unwanted. And it was undeniable. It actually made the hairs on my arm stand up.

Spend a few minutes getting to know these two people and the cats who changed their whole view of the feline species. I guarantee you’ll be as moved as I was!

 

Oh, and because some people think anyone who shares a Buzzfeed video is doing it for money, I have no relationship with Buzzfeed at all. I just shared this video because I loved it.

green eyed cat

When cats lick all the hair off their bellies

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Compulsive licking and chewing can be incredibly tough to resolve in a pet. This cat owner wrote asking for information and advice, and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, and I teamed up to help.

Q: My 11-year-old male cat keeps licking all the fur off his belly. I’ve tried Apoquel and Cerenia, my vet did an abdominal ultrasound and the cat is now on dexamethasone, but nothing helps. Any ideas? 

A: “Fur mowing,” as this behavior is sometimes called, is usually caused by an underlying health condition such as hyperthyroidism, allergies (or some other itchy skin disease) or parasites. But sometimes it is behavioral in nature. You don’t say what type of cat you have, but Siamese and related breeds are most commonly affected by compulsive disorders that manifest through excessive licking and hair loss.

This condition, known as psychogenic alopecia — or more simply, overgrooming — can be a kind of compulsive disorder. The licking behavior may cause the brain to release natural painkillers called endorphins that relieve the cat’s anxiety.

If your vet has ruled out all possible medical conditions, including neurological diseases that may cause pain, discomfort or changes in sensation, you may want to seek the advice of a veterinary behaviorist who can help you discover what’s causing your cat’s stress or anxiety. Often, it’s the addition of a new family member — a baby in the home, for instance — or conflicts with other pets.

Depending on the cause, a behaviorist may suggest reintroducing pets in the household to each other and building more positive associations between them, providing a more consistent routine (or going back to the cat’s previous routine if that is what has changed), or making the cat’s environment more interesting with food puzzles, a window perch or tall climbing post with a view, or more playtime or attention. Some cats may benefit from anti-anxiety medication combined with behavior and environmental modification if the veterinary behaviorist determines that the cat’s behavior is related to fear, anxiety or stress.

Read more, including news about the current canine influenza outbreak, in this week’s Pet Connection!