THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210045
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Long : 159 lines
BEFORE YOU offer FiFi another chocolate iced brownie, before you douse Rover with used motor oil to rid him of fleas, or before you give Tabby a dose of Tylenol to ease her in-heat cramps, read what four local veterinarians have to say about pet owners killing their pets with kindness.
``Generally, most people really care about their pets and try to do right by them,'' Dr. Ed Tudor said. ``Most mistakes people make from a medical point of view are really well-intentioned acts.''
Tudor practices at his Franklin Animal Hospital in downtown Franklin. The biggest problem he sees are pets, especially dogs, who are injured in traffic because they are allowed to run free.
``In the rural areas especially, it is looked upon as inhumane to confine a dog,'' he said. ``What happens is the dog ends up gone all the time and almost always ends up getting hit by a car.''
DR. CINDY ADAIR, who, with her veterinarian husband, Dr. Allan Adair, practices at the Animal Medical Center in Virginia Beach, urges the same type of precaution with cats. ``Cats are better off inside,'' she said. ``When they run, there is a much greater risk of feline leukemia and feline AIDS. which come from bites or through breeding.''
Tudor urges moderation in dealing with a pet, just as in dealing with a child. ``Remember that a dog has the mentality of a 7-year-old child,'' he said. ``Dogs and cats, but dogs in particular, are creatures of habit and tend to be really one way or another about things.''
FEEDING YOUR DOG from the table, for instance, can lead to trouble when the dog develops a real appetite for your fried chicken or rare roast beef and refuses to eat the dog food that is nutritionally balanced for canines. ``Over a period of time, the dog eats mostly meat, and an all-meat diet is very bad,'' Tudor cautioned.
Most people tend to overfeed their pets anyway, said Dr. Alfred Brooks of the Chesapeake Animal Hospital in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake. ``In cats and dogs, 25 percent to 30 percent are overweight,'' he said. ``Too much rich people food can also cause vomiting and diarrhea.''
Bones, a traditional canine treat, can be a real hazard. Most pet lovers know that chicken and pork bones can shatter dangerously but may not realize that steak bones are not a good idea either.
``They can tear up the intestinal tract,'' Adair said. ``Or we end up removing fragments from the dog's stomach.''
Even dog biscuits should be given in moderation. ``They are very high-calorie and can cause weight problems,'' Brooks said.
DR. DURBIN DONOHUE, owner of the Churchland Animal Hospital in Portsmouth, added a warning about giving milk to dogs.
``Milk is not that good, and although 90 percent of the dogs will not have a reaction, the other 10 percent will, particularly puppies,'' and develop diarrhea, Donohue said.
Adair knows from a friend's personal experience that chocolate can be deadly to dogs in large doses. The friend's pooch got into and consumed a box of chocolates and died as a result. Theobromide, a chemical related to caffeine and found in chocolate, is toxic to dogs.
Although it is difficult to say how much is too much, Adair said that, as a rule, an ounce of chocolate per pound of the dog's weight can be a lethal dose.
Many pet owners run into serious, but avoidable, problems when they try to doctor their pets using human medications or folk remedies.
Adair has seen cases where concerned owners hear their cat wailing while she is in heat and, assuming that she is having painful cramps, dose her with Tylenol.
``That can often be fatal to cats and ferrets and dangerous for dogs, too,'' Adair said. ``With dogs, ibuprofin can cause kidney failure, pancreatis or, at the very least, vomiting and diarrhea.''
Adair and the other three vets have seen cases where pets have been drenched in used motor oil, a folk remedy for fleas and mange that is both irritating and ineffective.
Brooks has also treated hunting dogs whose feet were dipped repeatedly in kerosene to toughen the paws. ``It may not be dangerous but it's probably painful, and the paw usually becomes irritated between the pads,'' he said.
``I see a lot of people who don't read the labels on flea products and so they use adult products on puppies or dog brands on cats,'' Adair said, adding that many of the products are not interchangeable.
For general bathing, Tudor recommends that people use a good quality pet shampoo rather than routinely using the family shampoo on the animal.
``The pet shampoos are pH balanced for the pet,'' he said. ``Human shampoos can dry their coat out, and they don't address the parasite issue.''
Heartworm medication is a necessity year round in the Hampton Roads, something Donohue has found many people do not understand, as well as the importance of adjusting the heartworm medication dosage in relation to a growing dog's changing weight.
Donohue also cautions pet owners about over-the-counter de-wormers. ``They can be ineffective and, in some cases, toxic,'' he said.
With warm weather finally coming, many pet owners love to take their dogs to the beach, the park or the local Little League field. But is it really a treat for the dog?
``Taking your dog to the beach early in the morning or in the evening is no problem if they are leashed and you clean up after them,'' Brooks said. ``But on the hot afternoon when the beach is crowded, it is a problem.
``The sand is itchy, the dogs overheat and most of them look pretty miserable.''
Taking dogs to festivals, fairs, ball games and similar events is generally not a good idea either. ``They are really people places, and the noise and crowds might frighten the dog,'' Brooks said.
FOR SOME DOGS, holiday fireworks can be a nightmare, too. The best thing to do, Brooks said, is to keep pets inside and stay with them if possible. For those dogs that really go crazy, Brooks recommended getting a light tranquilizer from your vet.
Brooks also noted that in Chesapeake it is illegal to transport dogs in the back of an open pickup truck and that it is not a good idea anywhere.
``If there is an accident, there is no protection for the animal, and they usually break something when they are thrown from the truck,'' he said.
There is also a problem with the truck bed's getting hot and the dog's eyes becoming irritated from foreign particles blown into them by the wind.
Tudor recommends that if dogs are being transported in the back of an open truck, the owner should use special restraints that are available to keep the dog on a short leash while in the truck bed.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT efforts pet owners can make for their animal is to have them spayed or neutered. ``Female dogs do not need to have several litters to be fulfilled,'' Adair said. She recommends spaying before the first heat.
``Breast cancer is more common in dogs and cats than in humans,'' Adair said. ``If they are spayed before their first heat, the chances of them ever getting breast cancer are very close to zero. After two heats or more, there is no reduced risk.'' [The following article appeared as a side bar to this story:] OVERHEATED CARS CAN IMPERIL PETS
PET LOVERS may be aware of the dangers of leaving their pets closed in the car on a hot day, but they often do not realize how quickly a car can overheat, causing heat prostration or heat stroke for the animals trapped inside.
There are very few days of the year in this area when it is a safe thing to do, says Dr. Cindy Adair, veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center in Virginia Beach.
``You need to try to judge when you are comfortable in the car with the windows shut and no air conditioning,'' she said.
``People tend not to think ahead with their dogs and leaving them in the car,'' said Dr. Ed Tudor, veterinarian at the Franklin Animal Hospital.
He added that people will put their dogs in the car for a quick run to the convenience store. They may find a bargain in the store and stop to chat and return to the car to find a dangerously overheated pet.
``It takes only about 20 minutes for a car to heat up to 120 degrees,'' warned Dr. Alfred Brooks, veterinarian at the Chesapeake Animal Hospital. ``Some breeds, especially the short-nosed dogs like boxers and bulldogs, are more prone to heat prostration.''
Brooks added another warning. Your animal can lock you out of your own vehicle, if you have left the keys in the car and the dog happens to hit the door lock button. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by ERIC THINGSTAD
Virginia Beach veterinarians Allan and Cindy Adair and their
children, Cassie, left, and Tess, care for a variety of pets at
their home.
by CNB