August 2012

This week a client came to our veterinary clinic here in Pickering with a dog they rescued. A big thank you to them for rescuing this very cute and good dog. However, there were subtle signs that the owners were not picking up that the dog was fear aggressive. Canine aggression is the most common reason for dogs being euthanized or relinquished to shelters. Therefore, this week I wanted to present some body language cues that dogs give us all the time that we may not recognize, but are important to know to keep us and our pets safe. People and dogs do not speak the same language, so understanding the behavioural basis of dog bites is an important step toward prevention.

1. Yawning is a sign of stress. Anxious dogs will display signs such as yawning, lip-smacking, panting, big eyes and dilated pupils, pinning their ears back or turning their head to avoid eye contact. Some dogs will simply “freeze”. They are more likely to bite in this situation.
2. A dog’s way of saying “STOP” can be rolling onto its back. If you approach a dog to interact with it and it rolls onto its back, this is the dog telling you to walk away. However, if the dog approached you and then rolled onto its back, it is looking to play. Watch body language. If the dog is stiff and tense, don’t touch it. If its relaxed and wiggling around, then play is OK.
3. Just because the tail is wagging doesn’t mean the dog is friendly.  Dogs can wag their tail as a sign of fear, stress or from happiness and a tail-wagging dog can still bite. Watch body language again. An excitedly tail-wagging dog that greets you when you get home from work may stand completely still except for wagging its tail when approached by an unfamiliar person. You should not assume the dog is friendly in the latter situation.
4. Dogs don’t always want to befriend strangers. When guests are meeting an unfamiliar dog, the best approach is “no touch, no talk, and no eye contact”. Let the dog approach you and even then do not assume that all is going to be OK.
5. Let sleeping dogs lie, or resting dogs. If a dog is sleeping and then startled, it is more likely to bite defensively and quickly. What is more confusing is when your dog is awake but growls when approached or touched.  This can be referred to as “resource guarding”, the resource being the bed the dog is laying on or the couch. The dog may feel “trapped” by you approaching it, with no place to go. Put yourself in your dog’s position. I know when I’m half asleep on the couch and I get nudged and told to go to bed, I get pretty cranky myself.
6. Do not pull, push or nudge a dog to move it. Again, if you ask a resting dog to move and it doesn’t, the automatic response is to nudge or pull the dog. The dog’s response could be to growl, snap or bite (again, I would). It is safer to use a verbal cue and better yet, to lure it with a treat. Long term success is assured using positive reinforcement  (chocolate works for me).
7. Do not teach a dog to relinquish a possession by unexpectedly taking it away. When a dog has something in its possession and all of a sudden it is removed, it makes no sense to them. The first time they may be surprised, but they may become defensive of their belongings in the future. If you take something away, make sure you give your dog something else it is allowed to have.
8. Always supervise your dog around young children. Never leave your dog unsupervised with children or vice versa. Bites happen quickly so it’s not enough for a parent to be nearby. If there is any distractions i.e. phone or dinner preparations, the dog should be securely separated. Baby gates are wonderful tools.

No matter how much a dog is loved, the relationship with its family will be jeopardized if the dog bites someone. Aggressive behaviour cannot be cured, but it can be minimized or sometimes prevented by following the above mentioned principles.

Again, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to talk to your veterinarian.

All the best, Dr. Fulop.

Source Article: Clinician’s Brief, May 2011.

Veterinarian Blog 2012
Amberlea Animal Hospital serving Durham, Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby, Scarborough, and the GTA

Dogs and cats are as important to owners as are siblings and parents. Those relationships can provide a protective mechanism, as pet owners are both physically and emotionally healthier than their non-pet owning peers, according to 3 studies that have been conducted. Pet owners were found to do better in several well-being measures (eg. Self-esteem, exercise/fitness level, loneliness) and individual-difference measures (e.g. More conscientious, more extroverted, less fearful and less preoccupied).

I know when I come home after a long hard day, and Yukon and Charley greet me at the door I feel 100% better — my stress just melts away looking at those beautiful faces.

Think of your pets as friends with benefits.

All the best, Dr. Fulop.

Yukon and Charley greeting Dr. Fulop at the front door.

Source article: J Pers Soc Psychol 101:1239-1252, 2011.

Veterinarian Blog 2012
Amberlea Animal Hospital serving Durham, Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby, Scarborough, and the GTA

Last week’s blog talked about cats and what to feed them, so this week I thought I would talk about how to keep your pets trim. We humans aren’t the only ones battling weight issues – so are our pets. I hope these tips will help your pets stay trim. As with people, always consult with your veterinarian before starting a diet for your pet.

1. Count calories – the feeding guides on pet food bags are formulated for adult, intact cats and dogs (not spayed or neutered). Based on this you could be feeding 20-30% too much, especially if you have an older pet. As your veterinarian how many calories you pet should be taking in each day to maintain a healthy weight. A guide is to take your pet’s weight and divide it by 2.2, multiply this by 30 and add 70.
2. Measure meals – use a proper measuring cup to properly measure out the amount to fee your pet. Studies show that giving as few as 10 extra kibbles a day can add up to a pound of weight gain per year for indoor cats and small dogs. Once you calculate out how much to feed your pet, divide this amount into 2-3 meals per day. This will help stimulate their metabolism to burn off the calories.
3. Treats – if you want to feed treats, make sure they are good treats. Too many treats are full of sugar and fats. Try and find treats that are low calorie and sugar free. Make sure you consider the calories of the treats when calculating out how many calories your pet should be eating per day. As few as 30 extra calories per day can mean an extra 3 or more pounds in a year. Your pet won’t know the difference between getting the whole treat or just part of a treat. So break up the treat into pieces and consider only giving half.
4. Vegetables – sliced apples, bananas, carrots, green beans, broccoli and celery can be fed as treats. Stay away from onion and garlic – they are toxic. For cats, try some tuna or salmon.
5. Supplements – omega 3 fatty acids, found in fish oils, have been proven to help prevent numerous diseases because of their anti-oxidant effect. They also have anti-inflammatory properties. Almost every pet and people can benefit from taking these. L-carnitine has been shown to help with weight loss and promote lean muscle mass. Again, always consult with your veterinarian before starting supplements.
6. Strive for health – 20-30 minutes of brisk walking helps boost immune function in dogs. This also improves cardiovascular health and may reduce some behavioural problems. This is also true for people – well maybe not the behavioural problems. Cats should also be exercised at least 5-15minutes a day. Try a laser pointer or scrunching up paper into a ball, or some remote controlled toy. You could also place a treat (a good treat) up your staircase so that your cat has to work to get its reward.
7. Watch those carbs – as last week’s blog stated, our domesticated cats need protein from meats in order to obtain essential nutrients. So based on this, we like to see our cats eating canned food because they are high in protein. A high protein, low carbohydrate diet helps prevent obesity and since obesity can predispose cats to Diabetes Mellitus, we are also lessening the chance of diabetes. Look for a low or no-grain option with a protein source as the first ingredient.

Remember to keep track of our clinic cat Amber’s weight loss on facebook.

I hope this helps. All the best, Dr. Fulop.

Veterinarian Blog 2012
Amberlea Animal Hospital serving Durham, Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby, Scarborough, and the GTA

source article: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2012/01/seven-secrets-to-keep-your-pet-trim/

Last week’s blog on my thoughts about preventive veterinary care for dogs and cats sparked a lot questions this week particularly from my cat owners. I love seeing owners getting involved in preventive veterinary health care for their pets, and hopefully we will see more cats in for those yearly physical exams.

I think with all the recent “scares” with certain pet foods (see “In Vet News” for food recalls), a lot of the questions were about what they should feed their cats. I read a great veterinary article recently on this very question. Here are my recommendations based on my experience and the information in the article.

If we think of our “wild” cats, they are meat eaters or carnivores. So are our domesticated cats. They need protein from meats in order to obtain essential nutrients. So based on this, we like to see our cats eating canned food because they are high in protein. A high protein, low carbohydrate diet helps prevent obesity and since obesity can predispose cats to Diabetes Mellitus, we are also lessening the chance of diabetes.

The best time to consider nutrition is at the kitten stage. Feeding a combination of wet food and kibble is OK, but some cats really do get addicted to kibble. It gives them a sugar high.

So what is a low carb diet? Typically low carb means less than 10% carbohydrate. If your cat is a little overweight, it is important to feed a low carb, high protein diet sooner than later (get ready Amber). That’s why the diabetic diets are formulated that way and why it’s recommended to feed canned food to a diabetic cat.

Our clinic cat Amber is getting a little overweight and needs to eat canned food.

And if you have an older cat you can get them to switch over to a canned diet by slowly transitioning them onto the new diet – this can take up to 1 month. Recommendations are to mix 25% of the new diet with 75% of the old for 1 week, then go 50:50 for 1 week, then 75% new and 25% old for 1 week, and then onto the new diet by week 4.

This is another reason to stress preventive health care, as discussed in last week’s blog. The earlier we can catch something the quicker we can try and turn things around. Talk to your veterinarian about any concerns you may have. Consider examinations on senior pets twice yearly and get the blood work done – that’s the only way we can get a picture of true internal health. Really consider feeding your cats canned food.

I hope this helps. All the best, Dr. Fulop.

Veterinarian Blog 2012
Amberlea Animal Hospital serving Durham, Pickering, Ajax, and Whitby, Scarborough, and the GTA