pet connection

Imagine the story: Dashing television veterinarian, jetting from one coast to the other for appearances in New York City, hobnob with the stars, eat fine cuisine, do some high-end shopping for the grandchild, then jet back to a luxury hotel on a lake before spending a day at a world-class specialty practice and then the next, scouting locations for a new television show.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Let me tell you what really happened.

I love living at Almost Heaven Ranch, but convenient to an airport it’s not. So I spent the night before my 6 a.m. departure at a hotel in Spokane, then boarded a flight to New York City, with a plane change in Minnesota, where I caught sight of them using SafePaws de-icer on the jetways — good for you, Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport!

That was the last of the good news for a while, though, because I spent most of the day not feeling very well. I’d describe the problem in gory detail, but I’m going to guess that even those who like to talk obsessively about their dogs’ and cats’ every bowel movements don’t feel quite the same about those of their own species.

I landed in New York and was at ABC’s Times Square Studios first thing in the morning, where I took a lot of “behind the scenes” photos that I posted here — including this one of anchors Sam Champion, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Juju Chang, getting ready for a wide shot.

But you know how sometimes you get bumped from a flight because it’s overbooked? That happens in television, too. So although we filmed my segment on winter safety for pets, we got bumped from Wednesday’s live show. I’m not sure the folks in New York City realize this with the storm there now, but winter really is coming to an end. That’s why I’m sure the GMA producers will get on the segment on the air soon — and I’ll give everyone a heads up when to look for it.

After that, we filmed two additional segments, one for “The Pet Doctor” series on ABC’s affiliated channels and one for “GMA Health” on separation anxiety in pets. The separation anxiety one went live almost as soon as we recorded it, and you can catch it by clicking here or on the image at the top of this post.

At that point I had to head back to my hotel room for some radio interviews. The upside: The Millennium Broadway Hotel has a great view of the Art Deco Chrysler Building. (This is a view Jay Gavron, who does all the PetConnection design work, would love. See his poster of the building here. Wonderfully talented, isn’t he?)

The further upside: My stomach was feeling fine, so after the interviews I decided to stuff it as full as possible with greasy, delicious food from Virgil’s, the best barbecue place I’ve ever eaten, bar none — and I’ve eaten at the top-rated barbecue places in Texas, South Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City and Atlanta. This is their “Pig Out Platter,” chicken, ribs, brisket, pork and Texas links, served with cold Franzishaner wheat beer and sides of baked beans and mac-n- cheese.

Then I took a little stroll to the Times Square Toys R Us to do some shopping for my granddaughter Reagan, and immortalize Pet Vet Barbie for you all.

I was supposed to fly back to Spokane the next morning and meet Teresa at the beautiful Coeur d’ Alene Resort, one of our favorite places. The next day, Thursday, I was scheduled for a full day of work at the Lakewood Animal Hospital, also in Coeur d’ Alene.

The travel gods had other plans. My flight home was delayed for hours due to a computer problem at La Guardia. When I got to Minneapolis to change flights, Teresa phoned and told me we had been upgraded to the 3,000 square foot penthouse suite, featuring a glass-bottomed rooftop swimming pool, Japanese soaking tub, two fireplaces and a Jacuzzi. They’d even thrown in a big basket of wine, cheese, fruit and candy.

If you think that meant my luck had turned, you’d be wrong. The travel gods weren’t finished messing with me yet, and I missed my connecting flight.

While Teresa snuggled under a goose down comforter and fell asleep with the sound of Lake Couer d’Alene in her ears, I was being put up in an airport Ramada Inn, listening to the couple next door fight and, well, let’s just say “not-fight” all night long while I tried to drown them out with the Olympics on television.

While Teresa was nibbling fruit and sipping wine, I was putting tap water in a plastic-wrapped glass. While she was soaking in the Jacuzzi, I was trying to coax a trickle of warm water out of the nozzle in a shower so tiny it could have been designed for a submarine. And while she paddled in the heated rooftop pool and gazed out at the beautiful lake, I had a terrific view of the snow-filled Ramada swimming pool.

I finally arrived in Spokane the next day, too late to get to work at the hospital but still in time for some snuggling with my beautiful wife in our luxury suite. Unfortunately, my luggage didn’t make the last leg of the journey with me, and I spent the afternoon at an airport hotel instead, waiting for my bag to come on a later flight.

In the meantime, I’d posted a link to the separation anxiety clip from GMA Health on my Facebook page, and I’ve been bombarded with questions about it. It’s a little hard to do veterinary research on an iPhone (try it sometime; you’ll see), so I shot the questions to my good friend and colleague, and one of the smartest guys I know, top veterinary behavior specialist Dr. Gary Landsberg BSc, DVM, MRCVS, DACVB, dipECVBM-CA of North Toronto Animal Clinic in Thornhill, Ontario, who very kindly took the time to respond to the questions for me. He did a better job than I’d have done — I owe you, buddy!

So today, while I’m out scouting locations for a possible new television show, enjoy the question and answer session on separation anxiety with Dr. Landsberg (it’s under the jump!), and the next time I announce I’m going out of town, will somebody please, please stop me?

Question: My 2yr old female Wheaten goes thru what I thought was seperation anxiety until seeing this, now I don’t know. When we go to leave (she is in kitchen & we leave thru a pet gate) she jumps & barks & cries & will nip at my husband. She will also do this if ANYONE leaves our home. We will give her a treat & make her sit, so we can exit, but she’ll gobble the treat & then go thru her antics. What is the issue, what can we do?

Dr. Landsberg: Anxiety at the time of departure could be due to separation anxiety, but the diagnosis needs to be made by the behaviors and emotional state of the pet after everyone leaves. Is the pet anxious, vocalizing, pacing, eliminating, destructive, etc.?

A video or webcam may be necessay to properly assess, and a behaviorist consultation might be best to help confirm the diagnosis and give you a proper treatment plan.

On the other hand, dogs can be anxious and conflicted when people leave. They can be confused and excited as to whether they might be able to accompany you, or fearful and anxious about you leaving them alone. In short, it’s hard to classify all dogs with a “diagnosis” because each dog and each case is an individual.

In addiiton to getting a diagnosis, training the dog how to behave before you leave is essential. Getting your dog to settle behind that gate for gradually longer periods of time should be your first step. Give favoured lasting toys as rewards (e.g. stuffed Kongs, chew toys) and practice departing and returning while your pet is occupied. Don’t begin the training when you have to leave for the day – start on days where you can practice training your dog to settle with toys behind its gate while you are in the room and leave the room.

If you can’t accomplish this while at home, its not going to work when you go out. I also often use a head halter to train these dogs so that they more immediately respond to your commands and so that you can teach her to settle while people come and go.

Question: What about kitties? Since my oldest had surgery several months ago he will not stop scratching the area. If I don’t keep the area covered (with a doggie sweater) He will scratch until he bleeds.

Dr. Landsberg: Although this might now be a behavioral habit, it’s likely that there is still some pain or itchiness in the area that causes the cat to continue to scratch. Therefore work with your veterinarian to insure that the area is entirely healed before taking off the sweater, and rule out the possibility of underlying pain or itchiness, which may have to be treated as well.

From a behavioral standpoint save the cat’s food, treats or favored toys and play sessions until the sweater comes off, and then keep the cat occupied and focused on these toys. Bandaging the feet or plastic nail covers might also be useful for a transition, but none of these can help until the medical problems are fully resolved.

Question: Can any of these products (ie, the medications discussed in the GMA Health segment by Dr. Becker) be used daily for a dog that goes charging through the house and barking when someone walks by or if a car pulls up or the doorbell rings? Or if my husband goes out the door?

Dr. Landsberg: Any time the dog is anxious or engaging in an appropriate behavior, the goal is to train a proper behavior that replaces the undesirable behavior and to insure a positive association with the event. Therefore indeed any treat or favoured toy can be used to get the dog to focus and reinforce the dog for desirable behaviors when someone comes to the home.

However, it’s not usually as simple as just giving your dog a toy or treat each time someone walks by or comes to the door. You need to also do some training to get your dog to settle and focus so that it will take the rewards. ‘

We also begin our training with controlled situations where we can insure success (set up to succeed) so that, for example, your dog is wearing a leash and head halter, you invite someone to the home, and when they come to the door, you use your commands, head halter and rewards to train what is desirable. Often we even start the training with family members just leaving the home and coming back in so that we are prepared and the dog is not too worked up

Question: I just watched it~ I went right away to the Reconcile website. I wish they also made this for cats. I thin we need to put Snowflake (our DSH cat) on something…probably prozac. He pees on anything important to me. Like my couch or silk curtains or my son’s pj’s he left on bathroom floor. Arghh. It has been going on for two years and my husband has had it…I will go ask my local vet if they can prescribe something for Snowflake. I wonder if they will use Reconcile off label for my cat?

Dr. Landsberg: If your veterinarian determines that your cat might benefit from these drugs they can be used cautiously in cats, even though they are not licensed for their use. However, first you need a diagnosis to determine if the drug has any use for your cat’s problem and then, if indicated, your veterinarian can review what we know about potential uses and side effects of these drugs in cats.

The problem with urinating is that it may be on familiar items, but unless the cat backs up, quivers its tail and sprays urine on vertical surfaces it’s not likely a marking behavior and it may not be related to anxiety.

In fact many times it’s an avoidance of the kitty litter or box or area where it is placed or a pet that prefers to use other locations. These situations can also arise if there is a dog or cat in the house preventing your pet from getting to the litter or when there has been a bladder or bowel disease that makes the cat fearful of returning to its box.

Work with your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist to find out why your cat is soiling and you will either find that drugs are not the answer or that drugs may help, in which case they can be dispensed with proper precautions and warnings.

Photos: Tanya Rivero and Dr. Marty Becker/GMA Health

Sam Champion, Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Juju Chang, getting ready for a wide shot. Photo: Dr. Marty Becker

Pig Out Platter at Virgil’s Barbecue in New York City. Photo: Dr. Marty Becker.

Travel troubles, Ramada Inn, and Coeur d’Alene Resort photos by Dr. Marty Becker. More photos can be found here.