The Pet Pundit

Category Archives: Pets

Mar 01 0 comments

Cats, Dogs, Pets

Xylitol and a major pet emergency

When Tarin Goodnight, a student at Texas State University, ran to the store, she didn’t expect to come back home to a pet emergency. But during the short time she was away, her then 18-month-old Chihuahua, Carmen, had jumped onto her desk and eaten four pieces of nicotine gum, leaving the paper wrappers as the only evidence of her misdeed.

The daughter of a veterinarian, Goodnight reacted quickly. “I remember my dad telling me that if you give a dog some hydrogen peroxide they will throw up,” she says. Goodnight gave her puppy two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide. Carmen vomited in the car en route to the emergency pet clinic. “There were little chunks of gum in the vomit,” says Goodnight. “I was relieved.”

But turns out, nicotine poisoning was just the beginning of Carmen’s agony: She also had ingested xylitol, an artificial sweetener found in many products, including nicotine gum, sugar-free gum, mints and chewable vitamins, to name a few. While xylitol consumption is considered safe for people, dogs that ingest xylitol can develop life-threatening symptoms rather quickly, including liver failure, bleeding and clotting disorders and sudden hypoglycemia.

Rushed from the emergency hospital in New Braunfels, Texas, to a hospital in San Antonio, Carmen spent four days in critical condition. Doctors monitored her glucose levels and hooked her up to IV fluids to flush her system. For Goodnight, it was a huge relief when Carmen was allowed to go home four days later. But veterinarians warned that her dog would remain at risk of sudden liver failure for several weeks.

“I have never worried so much,” says Goodnight. “I think we were just lucky that I found her so quickly and knew what to do. She definitely consumed a lethal dose, and the vomiting might have helped get some of it out of her system quickly.”

Indeed, if Goodnight had come home later or if Carmen had swallowed the wrappers, Goodnight might not have known what happened until the first signs of nicotine poisoning, which is generally hyperactivity — a difficult symptom to detect in a young Chihuahua.

But here’s another big “if”: If Goodnight had not had pet health insurance, would she have been able to pay the emergency vet bill? With a dad as a vet, my guess is yes. But her dad, David Goodnight, DVM, and president and CFO of PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance headquartered in San Antonio, helped her even more. When she got Carmen, he got her an accident and illness pet health insurance policy for the dog.

“As a vet in private practice for 19 years, I have seen many pet emergencies,” he said. “I can take care of Carmen’s preventive care, but I am not the doctor Tarin would need in an emergency. I wanted her to have the resources to care for her dog and for money not to be an issue.”

Goodnight loved the gift. She only had to pay $500 of the $1,500 vet bill.

Pet health insurance has become worthwhile protection for both dog and cat owners who want help with preventive care or to safeguard their pets from economic euthanasia. In talking about PurinaCare Pet Health Insurance, Dr. Goodnight notes that premiums are less expensive for cats. Of course, they are. What cat in its right mind would even consider chewing gum?

Feb 22 0 comments

Cats, Dogs, Pets

Bella beats Max for six years in a row

Max ruled the top spot in the list of the top 10 most popular dog names.

But Veterinary Pet Insurance crunched the numbers on its more than 475,000 insured pets to determine 2009’s most common pet names, and Bella beat out Max by more than 400 dogs.

Max may have slipped in the polls with dog lovers, but that name still rules No. 1 in the cat world. Tigger dropped four spots to No. 7 for cat names, while Bella jumped five spots to No. 3 in 2009. The newcomer Angel edged in at No. 10, bumping Charlie from this year’s list. Sorry, Charlie.

Here’s the list of the most popular pet names for 2009: Dogs: Bella, Max, Bailey, Lucy, Molly, Buddy, Maggie, Daisy, Chloe and Sophie. Cats: Max, Chloe, Bella, Oliver, Tiger, Smokey, Tigger, Lucy, Shadow and Angel. What about wacky names? That list includes Blue Man Chew, Fuzzbucket and Sergeant Pickles.

Feb 17 0 comments

Dogs, Pets

Dogs don’t listen? Here’s why

Letters about “stubborn dogs” that don’t seem to listen flood my e-mail. Margie G. says, “Whenever we go for walks, I say my dog’s name, but she doesn’t turn her head to look at me.”

Gina says she must ask her dog to “sit” several times before her dog will even think about complying. “What am I doing wrong and how can I get Allie to sit on the first request?”

R. Rogers says that his dog responds to the stay command, but only for a second. “As soon as I turn my head, my dog is up and about again.”
Does this sound like your dog?

While the desire to please varies among breeds, most of the problem is not with a “stubborn dog” but with a pet owner who might foster indifference with less-than-assertive tones and a failure to see the command followed through on the first request.

For example, the other day, I witnessed a friend asking her dog to “sit,” except she said, “You are getting underfoot, Buttons; either go away or sit.” Of course, Buttons did neither because Buttons didn’t hear a clear request. My friend returned to her cooking. A few minutes later, Buttons was underfoot again. This time, she said, “I thought I asked you to go away. All right, sit. Sit, Buttons. Sit. I said sit.”

Buttons started to “sit,” but then my friend turned her back again before Buttons obeyed the less-than-clear request. Did she want Buttons to go away or sit? I wasn’t even sure what Buttons should do at this point. Buttons looked bewildered.

Dogs that ignore commands have either learned not to comply on the first request or can’t figure out the request because their pet owner is not clear.

As with any learned behavior, repetition is key — but only with the number of times you practice and succeed, not the number of times you say “sit” in one request.

What should my friend, as well as Gina and R. Rogers, have done? All should have said “sit” or “stay” once in a confident tone and then gently helped their dogs to comply by moving a treat over their head or down to the floor to get them to sit or stay.
As soon as their dog complies, they should acknowledge the obedient behavior with a “good dog” response or treat. They should never turn their backs until their dogs have complied with the request. And all requests should be concise and easy to understand.

As for Margie G., she needs to walk her dog, call her dog’s name once and give her a treat only when she turns her head to respond. If she doesn’t turn her head, then stop walking and stand without saying a word until she turns her head to see what’s going on. Then say, “good dog,” give a treat and walk again.

Repeat this process during the walk. Once the dog knows there are treats, she will turn her head every time you say her name. Eventually, this behavior will become ingrained and you won’t need treats to get the desired results.

Dogs listen best to pet owners who know how to communicate with dogs.

Jan 06 0 comments

Dogs, Pets

Can dogs watch TV?

A reader says her mom’s dog Jack watches TV. “He actually follows objects as they move across the screen and loves animal shows and sports shows that my dad turns on,” she says. “Is this really possible?”

Many people say their dogs watch TV and it seems they really are following some of the action on the little screen. What Jack is doing is following the movement on the screen — a moving animal or ball that grabs his attention. I am not sure dogs know exactly what they are looking at, but my beloved dog Brinkley used to follow the basketball across the court and a baseball when it was hit to the outfield. Since balls were his favorite toys, I tend to believe he knew what he was watching, since he was jumping at the screen trying to catch the balls.

Sound captivates a dog too, especially when it’s an animal sound, like a dog barking or whining. But most dogs can tell the difference between a real animal and a TV animal since there is no “smell” to go along with it.

Jan 04 0 comments

Cats, Pets

Why do some cats “knead” and some do not?

Cats may knead or "make biscuits" for a variety of reasons. (Source: Wikipedia.com)

Kittens knead their paws on the belly of their mother to stimulate milk production. Because this action brings immediate rewards and comfort, it’s not unusual for cats to continue this behavior with their human loved ones as adults. When a cat kneads your belly, he feels emotionally secure and happy. In fact, the action is likely to be accompanied by purring, right?

Felines also have scent glands on the bottom of their feet, so a cat may “knead” to gently mark his territory. Some cats grow out of the behavior, but most people report that their cats knead, or “make biscuits” as it is sometimes referred to, on a regular basis.