pet connection

Gina dissing puppy Faith? It’s true (and in a good cause)… just check out this week’s Pet Connection feature:

Puppies are overrated. I say that after spending the last six months working on raising one who’s still a work in progress. Faith is a darling, bright retriever who is as good a puppy as anyone could ever hope for. I love her! But after piddle puddles, chewed headphones and all the normal silliness and mess that go along with raising a puppy, I’m reminded why most of the dogs who’ve ended up as part of my family have come into my home as adults.

October is Adopt-a-Dog month, and that also reminds me why, when people with a lot on their plates ask me about getting a puppy, I encourage them to consider a grown dog instead. Chosen carefully, an adult dog will be well past puppy foolishness and may have had some basic obedience training. Unlike puppies, who need constant monitoring, an adult dog should be able to be left alone while a family is at work or school after a much shorter period of training and re-adjustment.

For today’s time-crunched households, there’s no better deal than a good adult dog. But getting the right one is a little more difficult than going down to the shelter and picking out the cutest one.

Our Dr. Marty Becker has a few thoughts on obesity in pet parrots:

Is your parrot fat? Life with little activity while in a cage with an all-you-can-eat buffet has many birds overweight and struggling with health problems. Poor food choices — too many seeds, processed or otherwise fatty foods — also pack the pounds on.

Amazon parrots, large cockatoos, cockatiels and budgies seem more prone to obesity than other species of pet birds. Some of the signs of obesity in birds include:

• The presence of rolls of fat around the abdomen and hip areas, along with cleavage on the abdomen or breast area.

• Visible fat under the skin. The skin of most normal pet birds is typically very thin and quite transparent. When the skin is wet with rubbing alcohol, you should be able to see dark pink or red muscle underneath. In overweight birds, you see yellowish fat instead.

• Breathing difficulty, such as labored breathing, especially after physical exertion.

• Heat intolerance, shown by excessive wing drooping or open-mouthed breathing in a hot environment.

• Overgrown upper beaks. Some birds will grow their upper beaks excessively long if they have obesity and fatty liver disease problems. This is particularly true in Amazon parrots and budgies.

If you suspect your bird is fat — and especially if you already know your bird is fat — see your veterinarian right away for nutritional counseling and other ways to attack the problem. Long-term obesity and a poor diet is a major cause of joint problems and heart disease in birds in middle age.

Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or see it just how we send it to our client newspapers in this PDF file.

Our Dr. Marty Becker will be visiting Sacramento for an event at the VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center on Sunday, Oct. 18. His talk will focus on what pets do for us. He calls it “The Bond,” and there’s plenty of peer-reviewed evidence of all the ways that having pets makes our own lives better. Come find out!

Dr. Becker and PetConnection executive editor Gina Spadafori will also be signing copies of their latest best-sellers, “The Ultimate Cat-Lover” and “The Ultimate Dog-Lover.” The VCA folks will have free refreshments and tours of the facility.

The schedule:

2-3 p.m.: Tours of the VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center. Free refreshments.

3-5 p.m.: Hear Dr. Becker and get your book signed. Bring your own copies of his books or buy them there.

The VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center is at 9801 Old Winery Place, Sacramento 95827. Phone: 916-362-3111

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What’s the most important purchase any new parrot owner can make? A cage. From Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori in this week’s Pet Connection feature:

The cage is where your parrot will spend time when you’re not home, when the family is sleeping, or when you can’t pay attention to your pet.

The first rule of caging: Buy the biggest cage you can afford. Forget the generic categorizations you’ll find in pet stores. Those descriptions represent the minimum size to consider — a better bet is at least one size bigger. For a cockatiel, get a cage for a small parrot. The bigger, the better, always, as long as the bar spacing isn’t so big that your pet could escape.

Dimensions are important, too. Tall and narrow cages may look nice, but they force birds to fly more like a helicopter than in the style that comes naturally for them. Parrots like to fly horizontally as well as climb up and down in their cages, so a cage should be wide enough to accommodate both activities.

Metal is generally the best material for a cage. Wood is too hard to clean and usually won’t stand up to the abuse parrots can give out, and some manufacturers are experimenting with acrylics. But while these components can make attractive housing for your pet, they may not offer enough social interaction to keep a bird happy.

Do Dalmatians deserve their reputation as “hyper”? Gina says no, but that doesn’t mean they’re the right breed for everyone:

For an active family with time to train and exercise an active breed, a well-bred Dalmatian can be an excellent companion. If the breed’s a bad fit for your family — or if you get a dog from a source that doesn’t breed for good health and temperament — you’re in for trouble.

Remember that every breed is perfect for someone, and no breed is perfect for everyone. Even a well-bred Dalmatian is going to be too high-energy for many homes. These dogs were developed to run with carriages for hours, so it’s no surprise they’re going to be very unhappy without exercise. (On the plus side: They’re great companions for runners.) Unhappy high-energy dogs dig, bark, chew and generally drive their owners crazy.

Dalmatians also have a high potential for deafness and other health problems if the pup comes from a source looking to capitalize on the breed’s popularity, which rises every time the Dalmatian gets another burst of movie-related publicity. The Dalmatian is indeed a breed to investigate thoroughly before adopting — but honestly, aren’t they all?

For more information, visit the Web site of the Dalmatian Club of America.

Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or see it just how we send it to our client newspapers in this PDF file.

It’s not just people who get a new spring in our steps at the first hint of fall in the air. So do our pets. But there’s more to getting our animals ready for cold weather than enjoying the change of season. From Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori in this week’s Pet Connection feature:

Every year at this time we seem to get a little extra bounce in our step, and our pets do, too. But even as we’re enjoying the brisk beauty of fall, we need to remember it means winter is around the corner, and with it, an awareness of seasonal challenges for our pets.

That’s why we’re focusing here on how to enjoy the season, but also how to prepare pets for what’s to come next — winter.

The weather — heat in the summer, cold in the winter — is certainly important to outdoor pets. We don’t agree with the practice of keeping dogs and cats outdoors all their lives — these pets are often lonely and bored, and are more likely to be suffering from physical neglect.

That said, we realize some people won’t bring animals in the house, no matter what. If you’re one of those people, you must provide adequate outdoor shelter. And the time to review your pet’s shelter is now.

And don’t forget that just as the leaves turn in the fall, many dogs begin the furry equivalent and begin “The Big Fall Shed.” Fortunately, Gina’s got tips on how to handle it.

In “The Buzz,” Dr. Becker and Mikkel Becker Shannon point out that dogs and trucks don’t mix:

At least 100,000 dogs are estimated to die each year by falling or jumping from the back of pickup truck beds. If a dog survives a fall, broken bones, joint injuries and severe abrasions are the most common injuries, according to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. To protect pets, WSU veterinarians recommend putting a shell on the pickup, or having your dog ride inside a crate strapped down securely. Tethering a dog isn’t considered much of an improvement from allowing him to ride loose — there’s just too much risk to the pet.

Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or see it just how we send it to our client newspapers in this PDF file.

A scent that a person would find disgusting, a dog finds divine. From Dr. Marty Becker in this week’s Pet Connection feature:

Early one morning, I glanced out the kitchen window and noticed Sirloin gnawing on something black and furry. At first I thought it was just one of his toys, but then I walked out to investigate. As I approached, Sirloin abandoned his snack and raced over to greet me, wiggling with delight. He jumped up and gave me a wet kiss like a hormonally supercharged teenager. While this type of greeting was routine, this time his breath was — shall we say? — revolting. I knew the smell: skunk.

Sirloin retrieved his newest chew toy. It was a rotten skunk carcass teeming with maggots. Let me tell you, it was enough to turn even the cast-iron stomach of this veteran veterinarian.

As I retreated in disgust, Sirloin followed me, with a thought bubble above his head that seemed to read: “Aren’t ya proud of me, Dad? Isn’t this just the neatest thing I’ve ever brought home?” Sirloin, of course, didn’t think the dead skunk stunk; to him it was just another sample of Ken-nelle No. 5.

In “The Buzz,” Dr. Becker and Mikkel Becker Shannon reveal what might turn out to be the secret behind canine tail chasing:

Dogs may be able to blame their tail-chasing habit on high cholesterol levels, according to a study published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice and reported in Veterinary Economics. Turkish researchers found that dogs who didn’t chase their tails had lower levels of cholesterol than the tail-chasers did. Dogs may chase their tails because the high cholesterol levels have blocked the flow of brain hormones controlling mood and behavior. The study suggests that an increase in exercise could help lower the tail-chasing.

Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week!