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Story at-a-glance Coprophagia is a disgusting but extremely common behavior in pets, especially dogs. Believe it or not, there is actually one stage in a female dog’s or cat’s life when coprophagia is expected. An underlying medical problem or dietary deficiency can cause a dog to develop coprophagia. When the activity is long-standing and behavioral in nature, it can be difficult to extinguish. There are several steps you can take to curb your pet’s poop-eating behavior.
Story at-a-glance Wall-to-wall carpeting isn’t the best choice of flooring for most households with pets. Tile, vinyl, laminates and other hard surfaces are better options. Floor mats at entrances to the home are essential for trapping messes before they spread throughout the house. Some types of upholstered furniture work better than others in homes with pets … do you know what they are? Consider replacing curtains and drapes with window coverings that don’t attract pet hair and aren’t a temptation for kitties who love to climb. Implement these handy tips and tricks for maintaining a clean, fresh home every day of the year.
Story at-a-glance Non-professional dental scaling (NPDS) for pets is becoming increasingly popular, however it is a purely cosmetic procedure that doesn’t address any dental problems below the gum line. A truly thorough oral exam and cleaning can’t be accomplished on a pet who is awake. 16
Anesthesia is an important component to a thorough dental exam, and should be used for most dental procedures performed on your pet. Pet owners worried about putting their animals ‘under’ can arm themselves with the latest information and advice about safe veterinary anesthesia. At-home dental care is also very important to your pet’s oral health.
Story at-a-glance
A new study reveals there are certain factors that impact your dog’s behavior during walks. These include age, sex, size, whether a leash is used, and whether you are a male or female dog walker.
You probably know your dog lives to sniff other dogs during walks, but do you know what types of dogs are most likely to play together? Opposite sex dogs were more apt to play than two or more males together, and dogs tend to play with others of the same size.
Many leashed dogs exhibit threatening behavior while their off-leash counterparts do not. This may be the result of frustration, as dogs have innate greeting behaviors they can’t express when on a leash.
There are many factors that create dog-to-dog aggression on walks, including use of a leash, training, spaying or neutering, and the owner’s gender and emotions.
A calm, pleasant walk with your dog starts with you. Don’t walk your dog when you’re feeling anxious or angry. Make a conscious effort to view fellow dog walkers as friends vs. foes, and make it a practice to smile or exchange a few friendly words with passersby whenever you’re out with your pet.
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The study was published in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy*. “We found no scientific basis to the claim hypoallergenic dogs have less allergen,” says Christine Cole Johnson, Ph.D., MPH, chair of Henry Ford's Department of Public Health Sciences and co-author of the study. Still, she had good news for kids exposed to dogs. She adds: “Based on previous allergy studies conducted here at Henry Ford, exposure to a dog early in life provides protection against dog allergy development. But the idea that you can buy a certain breed of dog and think it will cause less allergy problems for a person already dogallergic is not borne out by our study.” This is believed to be the first time researchers measured environmental allergen associated with hypoallergenic dogs. Previous studies analyzed hair samples from only a handful of dogs in a small number of breeds. Henry Ford researchers analyzed dust samples collected from 173 homes one month after a newborn was brought home. The dust samples were collected from the carpet or floor in the baby’s bedroom and analyzed for the dog allergen Can f 1. Only homes with one dog were involved in the study. Sixty dog breeds were involved in the study, 11 of which are considered hypoallergenic dogs. Based on claims of hypoallergenic breeds (blindly repeated from web site to web site), dogs were classified as hypoallergenic using one of four “schemes” based on their breed for comparing allergen levels. * Scheme A compared purebred hypoallergenic dogs to purebred non-hypoallergenic dogs. * Scheme B compared purebred and mixed breed dogs with at least one hypoallergenic parent to purebred non-hypoallergenic dogs. * Scheme C compared purebred and mixed breed dogs with at least one hypoallergenic parent to purebred and mixed breed dogs with no known hypoallergenic component.
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* And scheme D compared only purebred dogs identified as hypoallergenic by the American Kennel Club to all other dogs. These breeds include: Chinese Crested, Giant Schnauzer, Irish Water Spaniel, Kerry Blue Terrier, Maltese, Miniature Schnauzer, Miniature Poodle, Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Portugese Water Dog, Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, Standard Schnauzer and Xoloitzcuintli. You’ve never heard of the Xoloitzcuintli (aka “Xolo”)? It is a rare, ancient, hairless Mexican dog breed. Anyway our researchers found that the four schemes yielded no significant differences in allergen levels between hypoallergenic dogs and non-hypoallergenic dogs. In homes where the dog was not allowed in the baby’s bedroom, the allergen level for hypoallergenic dogs was slightly higher compared to allergen levels of non-hypoallergenic dogs. Bottom line: parents should not rely on dog breeds classified as hypoallergenic.
Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ * Reference: CE Nicholas et al. “Dog allergen levels in homes with hypoallergenic compared with nonhypoallergenic dogs.” American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy, Volume 25, Number 4, July/August 2011, pp. 252-256. If you have a strong interest in this topic, you can find the entire article for free at
To find out the most recent and accurate information about lepto, I interviewed Carrie White, a Board-certified internist at the world-famous Animal Medical Center (aka the AMC) in New York City. She graduated from the Tufts vet school (Massachusetts), did an internship in Connecticut and a medicine residency at the AMC. What does a veterinary internist do? Small animal veterinary internists treat various diseases in dogs and cats, including diseases of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, endocrine and hematologic systems. 19
What is lepto? Leptospirosis is an infectious disease that can affect many species, including dogs and humans. “Lepto” is caused by a bacteria called a spirochete. It is a “zoonotic” disease, ie a disease that can be passed between animals and people. Why do we hear more and more about it? There has been an increase in overall cases of leptospirosis worldwide. This is likely due to the urbanization of rural areas, and increased contact with wildlife species, which act as reservoir hosts for leptospirosis. Some of these species include raccoons, skunks, opossums, voles and rodents. Historically, leptospirosis was thought to only affect large-breed dogs living in rural settings. However, dogs who live exclusively in cities are now being diagnosed with leptospirosis. Up to 90% of rats in inner cities carry and shed leptospirosis in their urine, which can act as a mode of exposure for dogs in urban environments. What causes lepto? Leptospires a bacteria that live in and are spread from reservoir host to incidental host through urine. They are transmitted between animals by direct or indirect contact with contaminated soil, water, and surfaces. The spirochetes are unable to multiply outside the host, but they are able to survive for a long time (weeks to months) in water and soil. Leptospires readily penetrate mucous membranes, abraded or even intact skin. Is there more risk in specific areas of the US? Leptospirosis is an epidemic of worldwide proportion, with the most cases in humans reported in Hawaii, the South Atlantic Gulf and Pacific coastal states. In the veterinary field, most canine cases in the US are reported in the midwest, south-central states, and the northwest. These are areas of high rainfall and flooding. Is it a threat year-round? Leptospirosis is a threat year-round, although most cases are diagnosed from July to December (which tend to be months of highest rainfall). There is a correlation between the number of canine cases of leptospirosis and rainfall 3 months prior to diagnosis.
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How would my dog get lepto? Dogs most often become infected with leptospirosis by either drinking or swimming in contaminated water sources. Those are most often lakes or streams, but they can actually be any water source including rain puddles. What would the disease do to my dog? Leptospirosis most often affects the kidneys and/or the liver. In severe cases, this can lead to kidneys and/or liver failure. Symptoms of leptospirosis infection range widely from very mild, such as increased thirst and urination, to end-stage kidney or liver failure. What would I notice if my dog got lepto? Infected dogs may show nonspecific symptoms, such as lethargy, weakness or fever. Gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting or diarrhea), altered thirst or urinary habits (either increased or decreased), bleeding from the nose or in the urine or stool, jaundice (yellow skin or eyes), coughing or difficulty breathing, and rarely neurologic symptoms (such as seizures) may also be present. The exact type of lepto bacteria (called a serovar, similar to a serotype), and the specific immune response of an individual patient, may influence the signs that manifest with leptospirosis infection. How can my vet diagnose lepto? The gold standard for leptospirosis diagnosis is a blood test, called the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). This test must be submitted to specific labs that offer this testing. The results can sometimes take approximately 1 week to return. There is also a polymerase chain reaction test (PCR), which can be run on either a blood or a urine sample. It also must be submitted to specific labs. Unfortunately, at this time, there isn’t a test for leptospirosis that can be run at your family vet’s practice and give rapid results. "Lepto:” horrible disease, easy prevention (part 2) We continue our discussion about leptospirosis with Dr. Carrie White, a Board-certified internist at the world-famous Animal Medical Center (aka the AMC) in New York City. She graduated from the Tufts vet school (Massachusetts), did an internship in Connecticut and a medicine residency at the AMC. 21
What is the treatment for lepto? The first line of defense is an antibiotic, given 3-4 weeks. Critically ill patients may require hospitalization and intensive care, such as IV fluids, anti-vomiting drugs, antacids and blood transfusions. In cases of severe kidney failure, hemodialysis may be necessary. What is the outcome after treatment? The prognosis for dogs with lepto depends on the signs and which organs are affected. However, early diagnosis and proper treatment will improve outcome. About 80 to 90% of dogs do well if they are diagnosed and treated early. Which type of bacteria (or serovar) is present is also important. Dogs with serovar “pomona” might have a worse outcome, with only 50% of dogs with “pomona”being discharged from the hospital compared to 80% of dogs with all other serovars, such as “grippotyphosa." Can I catch lepto from my dog? Leptospirosis is transmitted through the urine, so the only way that it can be transmitted directly from a dog to its owner, is through infected urine entering the bloodstream of the owner (either by mouth or through a wound in the skin). However, human owners can become infected with lepto by swimming in contaminated water sources that infected their dog (such as swimming in a contaminated lake or stream). Drinking water contamined with infected urine could lead to the same results. Certain human occupations and recreational activities carry a higher risk of leptospirosis infection, including veterinary or kennel work, farming, gardening, and swimming. Is lepto preventable? Leptospirosis infection can be prevented by vaccination. Leptospirosis vaccines exist for dogs that protect against serovars canicola, icterohemorrhagiae, pomona and grippotyphosa. Additionally, trying to minimize exposure of dogs to potentially contaminated water sources may help to decrease the risk of leptospirosis infection. I would also suggest removing animal pests (eg rodents) and draining areas of standing water. I heard that there are many side-effects with the lepto vaccine... In the past, vaccinating dogs (in particular, small dogs) for leptospirosis carried an increased risk for vaccine reactions. This is likely because previously available leptospirosis vaccines contained bacterins (ie the whole bacteria), which cause an intense vaccine reaction. 22
These days, the newer vaccines are “subunit” vaccines, ie they only contain the outer envelope or the protein of the spirochete. A gigantic vaccine study, which looked at over 1 million vaccinated dogs, showed NO increase in the complications after giving the lepto vaccine. So what do you recommend I do right now to protect my dog? It is recommended to vaccinate all dogs who are at risk for leptospirosis preventively, to decrease their chance of infection. Historically, only “high risk” patients were vaccinated for leptospirosis, such as dogs who have easy access to lakes or rivers. However, given the increased number of patients with leptospirosis in cities, the definition of “high risk” patients has come to include any dog with access to any standing water source (including rain puddles in New York City). What do you think every pet owner should know? Every dog owner should be aware of leptospirosis; not only for the sake of their pets, but for their own health. They should know what it is, how it is transmitted, and signs that could suggest leptospirosis infection. They should also know that they can play an active role in minimizing the risk of infection in their pets by vaccinating them. Are there any myths or urban legends you would like to clarify? It is a myth that vaccinating a dog with a leptospirosis vaccine will cause the disease, or will lead to the shedding of leptospires.
Story at-a-glance
The ideal time to start housetraining your puppy is when she reaches 8.5 weeks of age.
By 8.5 weeks, most puppies’ brains are developed enough to begin learning to eliminate outside at appropriate times.
Crate training is an excellent tool for housetraining dogs.
The whole crating experience must be a consistently positive one for your puppy.
Successful housetraining involves establishing verbal potty cues and reinforcing desired behavior.
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