Our Dr. Becker returns to ‘The Doctor Oz Show’ to share pet-people safety tips
By Pet Connection Staff
November 4, 2009
We promised you details about Thursday’s edition of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and here they are. Check your local listings for channel and time.
Our Dr. Marty Becker is a member of Core Team Oz, and on Thursday America’s Veterinarian and Dr. Oz are sharing information about the diseases your pet has that you can get. They’ll let you know who is most at risk — the very young or very old, along with the immunosuppressed.
Rather than just talk about the scary stuff that could happen, they’ll offer preventive solutions that go beyond washing your hands and using a pooper scooper. Did you know that MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) is eight times more likely to occur in homes with cats, and that it can ping-pong back and forth between pets and people? They’ll talk about why that happens. They’ll also provide information about why you shouldn’t let your pet lick you in the mouth (no matter how much fun it is for both of you), why parasite control for the four-footers benefits our health, and skin infections (ringworm anyone?).
And for those of us who forget to do poop patrol at least every other day (we know who we are) Dr. Becker will remind us why that’s important.
Both doctors have a simple solution: Get rid of the risk and keep the pet! We know that the health benefits of having a pet far outweigh the risks.
On Dec. 3, Dr. Becker will be back for another visit to Oz, taping a segment on what to do in a pet health emergency. Pet Connection blogger and Purdue U vet school emergency and critical care expert Dr. Tony Johnson provided the background to make sure only the latest and greatest information is offered.
We’ll let you know when the next can’t-miss segment will air!
“And for those of us who forget to do poop patrol at least every other day (we know who we are) Dr. Becker will remind us why that’s important.”
Last year I had two dogs with Giardia and I had to be so careful. Always wore shoes myself inside and of course outside, cleaned paws after each dog went outside, bleached water on potty areas, limited dog’s access to wet damp areas of lawn and dirt. It just about wore me out, but I learned a valuable lesson about cleaning up the poop, which I do now twice a day. I think we got infected from a new puppy of mine that had lived on a ranch and the owners let the little young litter mates go out into the fields to play where they were exposed to farm yard pooh and the Giardia - just a guess. Of course it was winter and that just made the transfer likelihood worse. I did get my situation under control though and this year hope the problem is permanently solved. My vets keeps reminding me on what I need to do to keep such things under control cleaning up pooh and keeping the dogs paw pads clean is just the beginning. I’m interested in what Dr. Becker has to say on the subject.
Comment by Snoopys Friend — November 4, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
I am a believer in picking up dog pooh twice a day. It is always amazing to see mounds of pooh in back yards and the poor dogs stepping over the filth which must put a damper on their fun and the fun people can have too - no one likes a yard full of pooh. My vet encourages me to wash my dogs feet before they come inside too - good idea!
Comment by Snoopys Friend — November 4, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
I would like to know can pets catch our flues..
example H1N1
Comment by Patricia — November 10, 2009 @ 9:58 am
Patricia: The AVMA has a page of information that’s well worth checking out.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 10, 2009 @ 11:20 am