How to distinguish science from propaganda… and how to know what side your veterinarian is on

My name is Heather James and I am a Veterinarian at the Sechelt Animal Hospital.  You don’t have to hide it from me anymore.  I know you will go home and google select words from the discussion we had in the exam room today.  I know you will likely talk to your neighbour, or hairdresser, or banker, or coworker, about it as well.  That’s OK.

I also know that when I have trouble with my car, my house, or even my own health, I have heard advice from all sorts of sources that are likely not the best option, yet I have still considered their advice to be potentially valuable.

What I am going to tell you is the honest truth.  Your vet (at least myself and the other associates I work with) really like telling the truth, and they do it because they actually care about you and your pet.  We act as an “agent” to come between the science and yourself, and help you choose exactly what is going to help your pet.  Sometimes we have to be creative and consider logistical and financial challenges as well, but that’s a whole different realm of discussion.  Your Veterinarian went to school for a long time to learn how to read research articles, be able to challenge them appropriately with questions, and ethically apply them to their patients.  Doing this sort of thing is hard.  As someone who has read many research articles, and also written some (my summers between university were as a clinical researcher), it’s some of the driest and most complicated reading one will ever do, and something I will never expect my clients to do.  These studies involve everything from vaccines, to surgical techniques, to nutrition, to new findings on diseases, etc…

The best part of these scientific articles is the discussion portion. It always involves the clinical relevance, the significance of the data, and the LIMITATIONS of the study.  Yes, us nerdy, high-powered, scientific type-A personalities also publish our limitations.  That’s because it’s our duty.  We owe it to every patient, to which that research applies, to mention these limitations. Us nerdy, high-powered, scientific type-A personalities also like to pick apart studies, so it’s a way for the published author to avoid embarrassment.

Now I’m going to flip the switch over to what I call the “propaganda”.  These are the ads for cat food that show the cat jumping over the moon over a field of blueberries.  These are the cheesy pharmaceutical commercials with no cited data, just good photography.  These are the salespeople who distribute anecdotal and warm-and-fuzzy “data”, published to look professional (and riddled with buzzwords).  These are 95% of the content of the google searches.  And sometimes, these are the people giving you advice on the street.  Example: I could give you advice about fixing your car.  I fixed my car a couple of times, and I googled it.  You could take my advice (don’t, I’m a vet, not a mechanic), and it might go well, or I might cost you your car.  Really, the advice I should be giving about cars is: “sounds like you should talk to a mechanic”, and if I was to speak like a true scientist I would say “you can listen to me but my limitations in this task are plentiful…”.

The propaganda will never explain the limitations of their claims.  They will rarely show you the “data”.  They will rarely even have support of an expert for you to use as a resource.  I challenge you to look for these things when seeking what is right for your pet.

This is where your vet comes in.  If your vet is good, they can distinguish the science from the propaganda, and they can apply it to your situation.  Just because there’s a protocol for “cats with diabetes”, does not mean that that applies 100% to you.  Your vet will recognize that your cat is not just a cat (he/she’s your baby!), you also have another cat with no issues, you have a busy life and need to work silly hours, and that you’re terrified of needles.  They will put all of the science together, adjust it accordingly to your circumstances, explain the plan and limitations, and follow through with you as long as your cat is alive.

Our vets hold our clients to a high standard.  We expect our clients to listen to what we say, do what we say, feed how much they need to, and follow-up according to our recommendations.  My request for you is to hold us to a high standard.  Hold the pet food companies, pharmaceutical companies, and natural/holistic suppliers to the same high standard.  What you need from us is: truth, transparency, accountability, access to information when needed, consideration of your special circumstances, and follow through.

My mission statement in my career is: “It’s my privilege as a scientist to understand that I could be wrong, but my duty as a human being to try my hardest to do the best for my patients, and to pay attention to new ideas as they come.”

Thank you to every pet and pet parent who challenges me on a daily basis.  You make me a better doctor.

The B-Word...

~By: Lisa Horne, RAHT

A little while ago, I wrote a blog entry on the joys and benefits of corn, and today, I’d like to tackle another icky ingredient…the “B” word.   Like corn, it’s also become a bad word in the world of pet nutrition, despite the fact that it’s actually a great source of nutrients that cuts down on waste: By-Products.

            When people see that there are *gasp* by-products in their pet’s food, the assumption is that they are the parts of the animal that are low-quality and inedible, like feathers, hair, hooves, and the pre-poo that lives in the intestinal tract.  It’s commonly believed that these ingredients are not just gross, but that they are not nutritious and are used as cheap fillers.  After all, you would never eat by-products, so your pet shouldn’t either, right?

            Actually, by-products are simply the parts of the animal that we find “icky”.  They are ingredients that are produced, or left-over, after some other product or ingredient is made; by-products are made of the non-rendered, clean parts of a slaughtered animal, NOT including feathers, hair, hide, hooves, or intestinal contents.  By-products are actually more nutritious than muscle meat, and are more common than you think in your own diet.

            It’s commonly believed that animals in the wild eat the more appealing muscle meat first, and only if they’re starving will they eat the organs.  Actually, this is false.  The wild canine and feline relatives of our domestic buddies eat the organ meats and intestines first, saving the skeletal muscle and bones for last.   Muscle meat, which is the source of all of our delicious and visually appealing chicken breasts and beef tenderloins, is a great source of protein and amino acids, but is actually deficient in many other nutrients, including calcium, vitamin A, iron, fatty acids, and antioxidants.  By-products not only provide protein and amino acids, but are quite nutritiously rich in other nutrients that cannot be provided by muscle meat alone; liver, for example, provides vitamin A and iron, and bone marrow and bones provide calcium, fatty acids, and antioxidants.  Other organs like the kidneys, heart, spleen, lungs, brain, intestines, thyroid glands, tongues, testicles, etc, (collectively called “offal”) can all be put under the by-product category.  They are not only nutritious by themselves, but the nutrients they provide complement the nutrients in the rest of the animal; thus, eating by-products AND muscle meat provides a more complete nutritional profile (to be entirely complete, your pet needs non-meat sources of nutrition too, but I’ll write about those later.)  I’ll just reiterate again that by-products do NOT include hooves, hair, feathers, hide, or intestinal contents; these parts are indeed not digestible, and are considered “low-quality”. (There are some exceptions to this rule, the Anallergenic diet being one of them, but, again, this will be discussed in a different blog entry) 

            “That’s all well and good” you say, “but all those parts of the animal are disgusting! I wouldn’t be caught dead eating something like that, so I will certainly not feed it to my fancy Fifi!”  I’d be willing to bet money that not only have you eaten by-products, but you’ve enjoyed them as well!  Ever had hot dogs?  Gravy?  Haggis?  Sweetbreads?  Eggs?  Jello?  Broth?  Steak and kidney pie?  Liver and onions?  All of these food items are by-products or made with by-products, and they are just the tip of the iceberg.  One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten was traditionally prepared haggis while I was travelling in Scotland.  Yes, when I found out what it was I was kind of grossed out, but my level of “grossed out” was out-done by its deliciousness, so I kept eating it.

            In fact, there’s a huge dietary movement going on in the human culinary world called “Nose to Tail Eating” aimed at encouraging people to consume the whole animal, not just the muscle meat.  This is not only nutritionally better for you, but cuts down on waste; if you eat meat, then it only makes sense to eat the whole creature, not just the pretty bits.  Why let it go to waste if the only reason is that we find those parts “icky”?  When you get a tray of boneless skinless chicken breasts at the market, you should wonder where the rest of the animal went.  This applies to your pet food as well; if you don’t fancy the idea of eating a tongue, heart, or a pair of testicles simply because the idea seems noxious to you, why let those parts go to waste when you have a four legged friend who is only too happy to benefit from it?  There are several delicacies served up in fancy expensive restaurants all over the world that are made from by-products: foie gras (force fed fatty goose liver), caviar (fish roe), pate (mashed up organs, usually liver) and sweetbreads (thyroid glands) are very pricey items at upscale restaurants, but they are made of what many consider to be the junk parts of the animal. 

            An aversion to eating organ meat and bone is totally up to the individual; the thought of eating liver or kidneys makes me feel sick to my stomach, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t nutritious.  I think most vegetables are unappealing too, but that doesn’t stop them from being good for me.  What we have to remember, is that the collective problem with by-products is simply a PERSONAL aversion, not a scientifically or nutritionally based one.  I say again: there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with these parts of the animal!  The by-products of slaughtered animals are considered visually undesirable and/or have strong flavours or textures that many find unappealing, therefore they get labeled as “low-quality” or “not human-grade”, and when those labels are applied, they give the impression that by-products are a really bad thing.

            Fergus Henderson, author of the cook book “The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating”, offers up this little pearl of wisdom, which I can’t help but agree with: "If you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing."  If you don’t want to go out and eat offal, that’s fine, that’s your personal choice, but those are perfectly good parts that shouldn’t go to waste.  By-products in pet food provide an nutritionally dense and biologically appropriate alternative to wasting half of our meat sources.

             

Pet Grief

~By: Lisa Horne, RAHT


         
          Grab your tissues, this might be a tear-jerker!
 
          If you ask anyone in the veterinary community if pets grieve, they will say, “Definitely, yes.”  This is often met with skepticism; after all, the prevailing opinion is that pets live in the moment and are not burdened with feelings or emotions that are tied up with past events.  If their grief is acknowledged, it’s usually grief associated with the loss of an owner, but what about another pet?  Do pets grieve over the death of other pets? 

Three weeks ago, Veleda, my angry but very loved rabbit, passed away suddenly.  I wrote a whole article about her quite some time ago, so for now I’ll just say that despite all the damage she did over the years, despite her sassy-pants and non-cuddly behavior, I miss her a lot.  I was actually surprised at how much the death of my somewhat scary rabbit hurt.  After she died I started thinking about a Pet Loss and Grief Counseling seminar I went to back in February, and of ways to get through the grief and achieve my “new normal”.  It wasn’t very long before I realized that Patience, my cat, was grieving more than I was.

          When I got Patience, I already had Veleda, and I was concerned about bringing a cat home to an angry bunny, not so much because the carnivore might decide to hunt the prey, but because the rabbit might seriously injure the new cat!  Thankfully, Patience was not only gentle and easy-going, but she was more than happy to accept a rabbit as the undisputed boss of the house.  Within 15 minutes of meeting, Veleda and Patience were snuggling like old friends.  They played together, slept together, and even tried to eat together (Veleda liked to eat chicken and Patience’s Dental diet…weird, I know…)   

         
          When Veleda died, Patience started acting strangely.  She was being unusually vocal and pacing in front of Veleda’s place, and it wasn’t until I got up to grab Patience that I realized that my sleeping bunny wasn’t breathing.  After wrapping Veleda in a fleece blanket and taking her to the clinic, I got home to find Patience sitting in Veleda’s cage.  For several days after that, Patience would sit in Veleda’s place for an hour or so, and then walk around the house looking in all the usual rabbit spots.  When she couldn’t find her bunny, she’d go back and sit in Veleda’s cage again, waiting for her friend to come and kick her out like she always did. 
 

          For the first time EVER, my little cat-pig stopped eating.  She showed no interest in her food for 2 days until I broke down and got her a can of j/d to tempt her to eat.  After that, she started eating again, but she continued the search for her best friend. 

          About a week and a half ago, I was finally ready to dismantle Veleda’s place and put it all away.  Patience was still doing her daily search, but she was doing it more infrequently, and was spending less time waiting in the cage, so I figured we were both ready to let go of the last little bit of our beloved bunny.  After putting the cage and toys away, sweeping up the last of the rabbit hair, and washing her blankets, I thought that Patience would go back to her old self.  Instead, I came back from work one day to find her sitting where the cage used to be; she wouldn’t budge until it was time for dinner.

          How do you help your pet get through the grieving process, especially when you are grieving yourself?  Other than extra cuddles for my already very affectionate cat, I wasn’t really sure, so I took a look through my Pet Loss and Grief Counseling course material to find some answers. 

          Some of the tips, I’d already put into place, including spoiling Patience with some special “forbidden” canned food.  Leaving the deceased’s belongings around the house for a few more days is very beneficial for both you and your pet.  It allows us to let go slowly, and at our own pace, and for your pets, it allows the scent of the deceased to linger and fade naturally.  In other words, instead of the deceased pet just disappearing one day, it’s more gradual, and easier to come to terms with.  When Patience would return to Veleda’s cage after her search, the first thing she did was to sniff around, especially where Veleda’s body had been, and then lie down in the best smelling spot.  I think that when she couldn’t find her best friend, being around her scent was helping her cope.

          After I put all of the rabbit stuff away, and Patience was still hanging out where the cage used to be, I decided to get a small bed for her and put it where the Veleda’s cage used to be.  Right away Patience got on the bed, settled in, and dubbed it her new favourite spot.  I don’t know if it will last, but for now, I think it’s just a good spot for her to go when she misses her friend.

          The only thing that was Veleda’s that I kept out was a fabric cube that sat underneath the scratching post.  I bought it originally for Patience when I first got her, but from day one Veleda claimed it as hers.  It was one of her favourite places to sleep, and after I got Lemon (my dog) Veleda would lurk in the darkest corner or the cube and wait for Lemon to walk by so that she could jump out and scare the poor dog.  It was the only game she played with Lemon, and she enjoyed it immensely; Lemon never liked it much, but it was funny to watch.  Up until last week, Patience has never put so much as a whisker into that cube, but once again, I think she’s found comfort by being in a spot that is saturated with Veleda’s scent and hair.  Patience goes into the cube, and just sits for a little bit, staring out the windows, and when she’s ready for a nap, she moves over to her special bed.

          There is no doubt in my mind that Patience is in mourning for her bunny buddy, and that she feels lonely without her.  The grieving process is never easy and it’s hard to know what you need in order to move forward, but it’s especially hard when you can’t ask your fellow mourner what would help them.  Like all of us, pets need to take their grief day by day, and they need their humans to help them get by. 

          One of my co-workers kindly thought to clip a lock of Veleda’s mane for me to keep.  My plan is to put that lock of hair with Veleda’s ashes, or in a frame with her pawprints, but for now, I’ve put that lock of hair in a small knitted envelope (for lack of a better word) for Patience who hugs it when she’s sleeping, and who carries it from her bed to the cube and back again when she’s awake.  It won’t stay in there forever, just until Patience is ready to finally let go; when I start to see her leaving it in one spot, or when she no longer hugs it for naps, I’ll take it out and use it for my original plans.  Until then, she’ll continue her daily search, and I’ll continue to provide the extra cuddles when she needs them (and she’ll do the same for me).

            (Original Veleda article: http://secheltanimalhospitalstankreport.blogspot.ca/2012/01/i-have-worst-rabbit-in-history-of.html)
              (Original Pet Loss and Grief article: http://secheltanimalhospitalstankreport.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pet-loss-and-grief.html)

Too Hot to Trot!

~By: Lisa Horne, with the title written by Keri Craig :)

It’s a beautiful sunny day.  A breeze is softly blowing, the sky is blue and clear, your frisky Fido is over-the-top excited for the adventures ahead, and (best of all) you don’t have to work!  It’s a perfect day for…

Wait for it…

BURNING YOUR DOG’S FEET!!

Not what you expected, right?  After all, when you set out to have some fun on a hot, sunny day, it’s perfectly natural to want to take your dog with you to share in the good times.  Many people think it is cruel NOT to take your pooch with you everywhere you go when it’s your day off, and most times, I would agree.  However, when we’re in the midst of summer, the pavement and gravel roads we walk can cause some serious damage to your pooch’s paws.

                                                    

 

 

The tender tootsies pictured above belong to a dog who went on a 10km run.  With 2km left to go, she simply stopped, lay down, and refused to move; the person with her had to carry her for the last 2 km.  This was quite strange because she’s gone on 10 km runs before and hasn’t had any problem keeping up (in fact, she’s usually ahead of everybody else!)  Usually when she goes on these runs, it’s in the afternoon or evening, and it’s through a wooded area on a root trail, but this time it was a little different.  She was taken out in the middle of the day on a gravel trail that had very little shade.  It sounds like a small difference, but in the hottest part of the day, that gravel is not only abrasive, but can burn a dog’s feet; this goes for pavement and asphalt as well.  The loose tan coloured part of the pads (ie, the dead skin) initially presented as very large blisters, and once they burst, they revealed the raw and bleeding pink flesh underneath; this was followed by about 10 days of bed rest, cool hibitaine soaks, and pain control before this dog was back in full form.   

Burns are not always obvious when they happen.  In the case of the above dog, her feet looked fine for the first 24 hours, and it wasn’t until the day after that the blisters became obvious.  Other signs to look for are limping, refusal to walk, excessive licking of the feet, and pads that are darker than normal or that are missing some skin; dogs with pink feet may have pads that look more red than pink.   

If you notice any of these signs while you are out, the first think you should do is keep the foot and pads cool and clean by flushing with cool water, or using a cool compress.  Keep the dog off of the affected feet as much as possible by carrying him/her; if this isn’t possible, get the dog off of the hot surface, and onto a grassy area.   At the first available chance, your dog should go see the vet; your vet will look for signs of deeper burns, assess the possibility of infection, and provide you with a gentle cleanser to keep the feet clean, as well as antibiotics and pain medication (if needed).  Your dog’s tongue MUST be kept away from the sore spots, so the Cone of Shame (or the Funnel of Love, if you prefer to call it that) is your best way to do this; bandaging the feet is also an option, but it is difficult to maintain because bandages on burns must be changed every 12 hours. 

So, what’s the best way to avoid this kind of thing?  After all, you don’t want to keep your dog indoors all summer; that’s not only not fun for the dog, but it’s not fun for you!  One of the best things about summer is all the things you get to do outside, and if you can do them with your best quadruped, they’re even better!

It’s all about choosing the right time and place.  Going out during the hottest part of the day is probably not a good idea, but if you take Fido out first thing in the morning, and again later in the evening, you can avoid hurting your dog’s feet.  If the only time you have to take your pooch out is high noon, then stay away from gravel and asphalt roads and take him/her to a grassy park, a shaded root trail, or to a lake or the ocean so they can keep both their bodies and their paws at a comfortable temperature.  Be mindful of hot surfaces, like the metal on a boat dock or a truck bed, and take steps to either avoid those surfaces, or make them more tolerable; walk on the shady side of the street, or bring a wet refrigerated towel with you when you go boating to cover the hot metal surfaces your dog might walk on.  The sand on the beach can also be extremely hot, so maybe take your dog to a shady lake with grassy shores instead. 

By making the right decisions, and considering the weather ahead of time, you and your dog can enjoy a full, fun summer, without the interruption of an injury and the resulting recovery.

 

My dog, Lemon, enjoying a sunny day at Trout Lake

 

 

 

Pet First Aid Kit

At long last summer is here! That means you and your pet are becoming more active, you meet more pets out in the street, and the wild animals are out in full force.  Summer is lots of fun, but with all that extra activity, and all those extra animals that you and your pet may run into, the chances of injury increase; that’s why it’s very handy to have  a pet first aid kit either with you, or close to you (ie, in a car) at all times.  If you have one, not only will you be prepared if your own pet gets injured, but you can help other people’s pets, as well as strays and wildlife, if needed.

Before I get into the list, I’d just like to mention that a first aid kit is NOT a substitute for veterinary care; it contains materials that will help keep you and your pet as stable and safe as possible while en route to a veterinary clinic.  Also, I highly recommend taking a pet first aid course so that you know how to use the materials in your First Aid Kit properly.

What you need:

1)Bandage ScissorsàThese scissors have blunted tips which are important because they won’t stab into your pet if your hand happens to slip.  These are not just for bandages; they could be used to cut branches, leashes, seatbelts, or whatever your pet might get stuck on.

2)Tweezers and Tick Twisters

3)Bandage MaterialsàThis includes gauze, Telfa pads, 1” medical tape, roll gauze, and Vetrap.  Gauze is great for absorbing fluids, like blood, but it will stick to the wound if you leave it on, so if you have to bandage something, use Telfa pads.  Telfa pads are absorbent like gauze, but they won’t stick to the wound.

4)Latex Exam GlovesàOr, nitrile gloves if you are allergic to latex.  These gloves not only keep your pet’s wounds free from your germs, but they also protect your hands from your pet’s germs.

5)Rectal Thermometer and LubricantàThermometers are especially important in the summer because heat stroke becomes much more prevalent.  I specify rectal here, because you want to make sure the thermometer has a bendy, soft tip so that it is more comfortable for your pet.  Make sure to coat the tip in lubricant before using it; Vaseline works fine, or you can get small individual packets of a water based lube.  The normal temperature for dogs is between 37.5-39 degrees Celsius; the normal temperature for cats  is between 38-38 degrees Celsius.  Keep a chart of “normals” in your kit as well; after all, if you don’t know what “normal” is, you won’t be able to recognize “abnormal.”

6)Chlorhexidine WipesàThese wipes will help clean the affected area.  I don’t recommend using alcohol wipes because they can really sting, and hydrogen peroxide actually destroys cells, so obviously that’s not something you want to be using on a wound or incision site.

7)Self-activating hot and cold packsàUseful for hyperthermia, and hypothermia.  Be careful not to place the hot pack directly against your pet, because you don’t want to cause burns; have a small towel in your kit to wrap the packs in.

8)Large blanket or Thick TowelàThis is a multi-functional thing that you should not do without! You can dry off wet pets, restrain the angry ones, and use as a stretcher or sling to help you carry the ones who have decreased mobility.

9)Sterile SalineàThis can be used as a flush for both wounds, and eyes.

10)DiphenhydramineàCommonly known as Benedryl, this is a must have for minor allergic reactions, like facial swelling, stemming (most commonly) from bee and wasp stings; take a look at the medicinal ingredients to make sure that Diphenhydramine is the only active ingredient, and take a look at the non-medicinal ingredients to make sure there's no xylitol.  Make sure you are dosing it properly! This means you want to give 2mg per kg of body weight (it’s handy to have a calculator in your kit for figuring this out).  If you see no improvement (or if the condition worsens) in 30 minutes, then you can give another dose.  If there is still no change, see your vet.  For example, let’s say your dog weighs 15kg.  This means that he would need 30mg of Diphenhydramine (2mg/kg X 15kg=30mg).  Then you would take a look at your Diphenhydramine bottle to figure out how many mg are in each pill.  Often it’s 25mg/pill, so you would give your dog 1 pill (30mg / 25mg/pill=1.2, rounded down, to 1 pill).  ***IMPORTANT NOTE: If the allergic reaction your pet is having is causing vomiting, or difficulty breathing, DO NOT TRY AND GIVE IT A PILL!! Take it to the vet IMMEDIATELY***If you have given Diphenhydramine to your pet, remember to tell your vet how much you have already given***

11)Muzzles and LeashesàEven the friendliest, best behaved pet on the planet will bite when it is scared and in pain.  Have both cat and dog muzzles on hand, because it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.  Your safety is important, too.  Many dogs that have been injured are also frightened, so having a leash on hand is helpful for catching and keeping dogs who may run away from you; don’t use leashes on cats because they will strangle themselves to death trying to escape, use your big blanket or thick towel to catch them instead.

12)Flashlight and extra batteries

13)Cotton swabs

14)Noose LeashàThis is a great way to catch dogs that have no collar.  Do not use this on cats, because they will strangle themselves trying to get out of it.

15)List of phone numbersàThis list should include numbers for your regular vet, emergency vet, animal control, and local SPCA.

16)FortifloraàThis is a lovely little probiotic for when your pooch or kitty has some gastrointestinal upset.  If the symptoms has been going on for longer than 24 hours, bring it your pet into your vet’s office for an exam; if your pet is having diarrhea, bring a sample of that in too, for an analysis.

17)Emergency meds (if your pet needs them)àSome pets are on long term medication to manage their conditions.  Keep some stock in your First Aid Kit in case you run out, or in case you have an emergency.  For example, many people whose pets have epilepsy, have Diazepam on hand just in case their pet has a big seizure.

Boredom and Your Pet (Or: I was going to give you a pig, but I didn't want to boar you...)

~By: Lisa Horne, RAHT

            I just got back from a wild and crazy weekend.  My best friend’s bachelorette party included (among other things) dancing, a late night, and 3 hours at the gun range.  I had a ridiculous amount of fun, but I’m not 19 anymore, and my mind and body can’t bounce back from a lack of sleep and all that punishment like it used to.  As a result, I arrived back home on the Coast extremely tired, and extremely sore, with a whole bunch of laundry to do.  All I wanted to do was to curl up on the couch with some heating pads on my arms and legs, have an eight hour “nap”, wake up, eat, then go to bed for the night.  Lemon, my 10 month old puppy, had other ideas.  She was so excited that we were home, and that it was a beautiful day out, because that usually means a hike, swimming in the ocean, or at the very least, a quick game of fetch at the park.  After all, we hadn’t done much in the last week because I was running around doing some last minute shopping and planning for the party.  She kept bringing toy after toy to the couch, and I couldn’t even throw them for her because my arms were so sore.  Then she decided that jumping on me to start a wrestling match was a good idea, but that didn’t work because I just got angry (mostly because I couldn’t even defend myself at the time).  She looked at me with exasperation in her eyes, heaved a dramatic sigh of frustration, then ran off to chase the cat, to get smacked around by the rabbit, and to grab a few of my socks because that is guaranteed to get me up and chasing her. 

                Now most people would be kicking her outside by this point, but the truth is, I felt bad for her.  After all, I have books, movies, and TV to keep me occupied when I’m in need of a lazy day, but no matter how many toys Lemon has, they are just not entertaining for her unless I’m playing too.  She’s an excellent puppy, but even excellent puppies start to go a little crazy when they’re bored, and after 3 or 4 days of little interaction with me, and even less activity, I really couldn’t blame her for acting out a little. 

Try this experiment: Ask a toddler to lie very still in a room by himself for 8 hours with no games, no books, no TV, and no human interaction.  When you get home, tell the child that he can walk outside for 10 minutes, but then it’s back inside for the night.  Sounds ridiculous, right?  Not only would most people classify that as negligent parenting, but that kid would be bat-crap crazy.  Yet this is often exactly what we ask of our pets, and the resulting boredom can cause emotional stress, as well as both behavioural and health issues in many dogs and cats.      

                How many times have you come home to find that your dog has destroyed a piece of your furniture, a wall, or your clothing?  How many times have you come home to have your cat pounce at you from behind a door to shred your ankles?  Have you come home to a dug up yard, or had a neighbor march over to complain about that damn dog barking all the time?  Maybe your pet is just bored.  When dogs chew and dig, and when cats scratch, we are quick to label those activities as “destructive behaviors”, whereas in reality, they are natural, boredom-alleviating behaviours for our four-legged family members.  Maybe Fido has been chewing on the same Kong for weeks, and has decided that he needs to chew on something else to add a little variety to his life, so he chooses that fun looking chair leg.  Maybe Fluffy has itch to stalk, chase, and kill something, and the only opportunity she gets is when you come home, and those moving legs and feet yours are just too tempting to resist. 

The point is, next time your pet does something damaging, take a step back and think about why that may have happened.  The vast majority of pets are not vindictive creatures; they do not do these things for revenge, or to get back at you for putting one less kibble in the bowl than usual, or for being 5 minutes late to clean the litter box.  Idle time is huge source of mental and emotional stress, and that may result in them doing whatever they can to alleviate that feeling of boredom.   Even if your pets are the best behaved things on the planet, boredom can still affect their health.  Many pets, especially cats, overeat when they are bored, simply because it’s something to do. Obesity is a major problem among our pets, as well as ourselves, and can cause other diseases like diabetes and osteoarthritis.

So what can you do to keep your pets entertained?  If you have a dog, you’ve probably been told that they need at least two 20 minute walks per day, and while that is certainly true, that shouldn’t be the only thing you do with your pooch.  When I come home from a long day at work, and I just don’t feel like walking, I take Lemon to the park and throw the ball for her for 15 minutes; she still gets the exercise she needs, and it’s less work for me when I’m feeling tired.  Learning a new trick or game is another way to keep your buddy entertained; the mental stimulation and the chance to interact with you more is an excellent way to keep Fido feeling sharp.  Don’t have time for more walks or to teach new tricks? Try toys like Puzzle Cubes; these toys enable you to put food or treats in different compartments, and your dog has to figure out how to get them out.  It’s analogous to when we sit down to do a crossword or put a puzzle together; it’s not physically active, but it keeps our minds occupied, and the Puzzle Cubes do the same for your pooch.  “Hang on a second,” you say, “My Frufru has at least 20 toys and she doesn’t play with ANY of them!”  Just like children, dogs can get overwhelmed and overstimulated by having too many toys at once.  Instead of just leaving them all out and letting Frufru pick which one she feels like playing with, put them all away, and take out one or two different ones every day.  If you keep rotating through the toys, it’s like Frufru's getting a “new” one every single day, and that’s more likely to keep her occupied.

All this is well and good for dogs, but what about cats?  I’m a huge advocate for keeping cats indoors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t teach it tricks, use puzzle cubes, or take them for walks.  You most certainly can leash train a cat, although I wouldn’t advise walking it around the block or anything, just in case you run into some dogs that are not cat friendly.  Instead, walk it around your backyard or up and down your driveway; this gets your indoor kitty some much needed exercise, and gives it a chance to explore.  I often put my cat on leash for a jaunt around the yard, and she enjoys it immensely, although usually she elects not to walk, and instead just lays down in a cushy patch of grass and sun; you may not think that laying around outside is any different than laying around inside, but the different surroundings provide her with some mental stimulation and a change of scenery can do wonders (anyone who takes a vacation to somewhere nice will tell you the exact same thing).  Cat toys are an endless source of amusement for both you and your cat; toys like cat dancers, laser pointers, and even wadded up newspaper, tap into your feline’s natural predatory instincts, and if you teach them to play-hunt those toys instead of you, you will both be much happier creatures.  When you are at work, you can still keep your cat’s mental faculties stimulated by spraying catnip on the scratching post every once in a while, and by leaving boxes out so your cat can play hide n’ seek n’ stalk n’ hunt while you are away.  Also, similar to the dogs, puzzle cube toys and toy rotations keep the boredom at bay.  Many people even make a screened outdoor play area on their porch so that their indoor-only kitty, can still go outside and get some fresh air and new scenery whenever they feel like it.

Even if you do every single thing I’ve listed here, there is one toy (for both cats and dogs) that they simply should not go a day without: You.  At the end of the day, no matter how many toys, boxes, puzzle cubes, outdoor areas, or walks they have, the time they have to interact with you directly is precious.  Remember that when you leave your home, you get to interact with co-workers, customers, friends, and family; your pet has nothing and no one to interact with, except perhaps other pets.   I cannot stress the importance of “Play” for both you and your pet; it is relaxing, fun, and increases the bond between you and your beast.  Even if you are bone-tired, you can still sit on the floor and throw a ball, wrestle, or click on the laser pointer and watch your pet’s eyes light up.  For most pets, even the Puzzle Cubes, with their splendiferous reward of food, is nothing compared to playing with their loved ones.

As for Lemon, my housemate was kind enough to take her for a long run; she came back exhausted, and happy.  I should note that I did feel a twinge of guilt.  I was so tired and sore that I just couldn’t find it in me to play with her, even a little bit, but even though she was just as tired as I was after her run, she still brought me her favourite toy and made the effort to play with me before she passed out for the night.        

 

 

The Truth About Dog Kisses

We’ve all heard the line “dog kisses are healing” at some point or another.  The truth is, as therapeutic as it is to have a dog by our side when we are sick or injured, a dog’s tongue is not a medical device.  Some people don’t like being licked, and some people love it; that’s personal preference.  A few years ago, a discovery was made at the University of Florida where they isolated a protein in the saliva of mice called nerve growth factor.  Following this discovery, they found that nerve growth factor (purified and isolated), when applied to wounds, resulted in faster healing times.  There were many conclusions drawn, but the most publicized was “dog kisses heal wounds”.

While I rarely get offended when my patients lick me during appointments, I will never advocate the use of dog saliva as a healing agent.  Firstly, if you were to base your argument on this study, you’d have to have pure isolated nerve growth factor from MOUSE saliva.  I’m not sure where you get that.  Secondly, there have been no studies that actually link dog, cat or human saliva (complete with all its non-nerve growth factor ingredients) to better wound healing.  Thirdly, dog saliva can be potentially pathogenic.   If you still need another great reason not to impregnate a wound with saliva: we live in a lovely world with readily available soap and water.

The dangers in dog saliva are abundant and variable.  They can range from parasites to bacteria to viruses .  If you cultured the saliva of a dog, you would be able to isolate many bacteria populations.  Some of these are pathogenic, some not.  In the case of a normal immune barrier (intact skin and a good immune system) these bacteria are unlikely to cause disease.  In the case of an open wound, or a person with a less competent immune system (the very young, the elderly, people on certain medical therapies), these bacteria can infect a wound.  Aside from the bacteria, it is possible for dogs to pass parasites, perhaps the most common being giardia (“beaver fever”) and roundworms.  Roundworms in particular can result in visceral migration throughout the body (this is one of the main reasons why we recommend internal parasite control programs aka dewormer).  It is highly unlikely for rabies to be present in a dog’s saliva if they are up to date on vaccination and haven’t been exposed to rabies, but licking open wounds is just as dangerous as a bite if a pet had rabies.  These problems are not common, but still possible. 

The best thing you can do to prevent any of these diseases from being transmitted is to wash your hands.  It is also a great idea to discuss your situation with your veterinarian to know what is best for your family.  In medical school, physicians study humans, but in veterinary school veterinarians study animals and public health, so they are the best to discuss this with.

So, as far as cleaning your wounds go, my advice would be the following: If you have a competent immune system, no access to fresh water or soap, and you can’t find a mouse, I suppose a dog kiss would be an OK last resort, but as soon as you get home, I’d wash with soap and water.

Dr. Heather James

P.S.  One of my favourite resources for finding out about common dangers to us from our pets is from Dr. Scott Weese and the University of Guelph.  You can access his website at www.wormsandgermsblog.com