Ask the Doctor

For this article, I felt it would be a good idea to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that are presented to me during this time of year.  As we enjoy the warmer tempters and more time outside, our pets spend more time outside with us.  More exercise and more exposure to the environment can present a multitude of issues and concerns.  I will present a few questions and answers here, but I continue to welcome all of your individual questions and will try to answer as many as possible. 

My dog becomes very upset during thunderstorms.  Is there anything I can do to help make him calmer? 

The fear of load noises is common in dogs and some cats, and get worse as they age.  While we may no know the exact cause of why animals are so sensitive, there are many reasons why our pets respond negatively to thunderstorms.  First, the loud noise is scary to some animals, and your pet can hear it at a much greater distance than we humans can.  With their early audio warning of an approaching storm, most storm-phobic dogs eventually start reacting long before it arrives.  Second, some believe electricity in the air may play a major role in a dog’s phobia to storms.  Third, the smell of the air changes when a storm approaches, and your dog’s keen sense of smell can detect it early.  Lastly, the drop in barometric pressure can excite your dog since most pets are more sensitive to pressure changes than humans.  The combination of these other factors can cause your pet to become excited and anxious as the incoming storm.

 Next, we as per owners cause more anxiety by becoming nervous and stressed during a storm.  These emotions can be felt by our pets.  It is important to be upbeat and confident and show this with your words and actions.   It is important not to be impatient or pitying with your touch or voice.  Many dogs feel “rewarded” for fearful behavior if you pet and praise them when they are fearful.  Rewarding this behavior will increase the likelihood of this behavior becoming more common.  It is important to give your pets rewards when they are happy and confident, both during a storm and in everyday training.  This promotes positive training that will help both you and your pet in other aspects of daily life.  Also, remember that fear of noises can be contagious between pets so it is important to handle the fearful pet and other pets carefully.

 Some other tricks that I would suggest trying, include seeking a quiet, dark area for your pet, one, which they choose for themselves, or choosing one for them.  Some areas include basements, bathrooms, closets and crates left in secluded areas of your house.  Use of a DAP diffuser which is being used for anxious and fearful pets can be used to help calm your pet.  The use of a training CD that includes loud noises can be helpful to both puppies and adult dogs.  It is suggested that your start the volume at a very low level and slowly increase the volume during each training session until it is a normal listening volume.  Recently, I have seen success in some dogs using a blanket to cover them.  It acts like a “security blanket” and can cause a calming feeling in your pet.  It is important to not overheat your pet under a blanket and do not force them to use a blanket if they are not comfortable with it. 

Lastly, if all these suggestions fail, I would recommend talking with your veterinarian about the use of anti-anxiety medications for the entire storm season or possibly year round.  It is important to note, that these medications can take a few weeks to take effect.  Some also suggest taking a sedative during a storm but the unpredictability of storms makes it difficult to use a sedative effectively when needed. 

In conclusion, don’t take thunderstorm phobia lightly, even if the problem seems minor in your dog.  Handled badly by humans, it will get worse and dogs have been known to jump through glass windows during storms.  Some dogs will throw up when it storms, and many dogs have fled fenced yards.  This is a major problem that calls for intelligent handling at the first sign.  Treat storms as a routine part of life, nothing to fear, and even perhaps an occasion for special times.  Do these things before your dog even shows signs of a phobia, and perhaps you will never experience a serious case.

 Why does my dog eat dirt from my plants and garden? 

There a few reasons why most dogs will eat dirt.  First, some of the fertilizers use organic material which smells good and will attract your pet.  There may also be other dog or cat feces, dead rodents or even rotting fish in the soil.  Second, some animals will eat soil because of boredom and during digging.  Third, some dogs may have some mineral or vitamin deficiencies.  This is especially true for those owners who do not provide a balanced nutritious diet.  Lastly, your pet may eat dirt to help with an upset stomach, similar to those pets that eat grass.  Eating dirt can be a sign of disease, so I would recommend that if your pet is regularly ingests dirt, see your veterinarian for an exam. 

Why does my dog dig, and what can I do to stop this behavior?

 Unfortunately, there is not a quick fix to digging since most of the time this can be a symptom of something else, or it can be completely instinctual.  Some dogs were born to dig, some to it to help cool off in the cooler ground, some do it out of boredom, while others just enjoy digging.  It is also important to remember that throughout history humans have encouraged digging by selecting a breed of dog that has this trait of digging up rodents and other prey from underground tunnels.  Actually, the terrier, the most popular breed for digging, got its name from the Latin word for earth, terra.

 So even though digging is a very natural behavior and therefore hard to discourage, it can be done if you are patient and consist ant with your training.  Some things that may help:

Exercise to help burn off excess energy, which may be used for digging.

Making sure your pet has enough toys and activities in the yard to keep them busy.

Filling in the holes they dig, placing chicken wire under the topsoil.

Keeping your pets nails trimmed short so that your pet does not feel the need to file their nails by digging.  (Shorter nails also make it more difficult to dig).

 My dog eats his own feces.  I have heard of other dogs eating other animal’s feces.  Is this dangerous, and how do I stop it?

Coprophagy or eating feces can be caused by a number of reasons including vitamin deficiency, anxiety, boredom, submissive/dominant behaviors and even hunger.  Ingesting other animal’s feces can infect your pet with various parasites and disease.  Some tips which may help stop this behavior include cleaning up the feces of your own pet, increasing the frequency of his meals, increased exercise and playtime with your pet, and with the counseling of your veterinarian, adding something to your pets food which can make feces taste bad.  Also, when walking your dog, use a leach and in some cases a muzzle to prevent him from ingesting feces.

 My dog keeps causing burn marks by urinating on my lawn.  Is there anything I can do to stop this?

 There are many pills and liquids on the market that claim to prevent your dog’s urine from burning your grass.  I would recommend talking to your veterinarian before using any of these products.  But there are a few things that can be tried before medicating your dog, such as training your dog to use a designated area of your yard to urinate and defecate.  You can dilute your pet’s urine by feeding them some canned food or moistening dry food with warm water before feeding.  Watering the urination spots within 8 hours to help offset the burn marks and use grass that is more tolerant to urine effects, such as Fescue, perennial ryegrass.  Kentucky Bluegrass and Bermuda are very sensitive grasses.