Leonita
Baltimore, MD

Routine stomach tacking (technically known as gastropexy) is recommended by some vets for young members of certain breeds of dogs. The purpose of this surgery is to prevent a syndrome called bloat.

Bloat is one of the most terrible things that can happen to a dog. The stomach becomes twisted inside the abdomen, and then hyper-extends with gas. Blood flow through the body is compromised. The dog suffers intense agony. Without emergency surgery almost all bloated dogs die within 12 hours. Large numbers of affected animals die even with surgery. The surgery (and several days of ICU care that must occur during recovery) is phenomenally expensive. The recovery from surgery is long and painful.

Any dog, regardless of breed, age, or gender can suffer from bloat at any time. However, the syndrome is most common in deep chested breeds of dogs such as Great Danes, Standard Poodles and Labrador Retrievers. Bloat is most common in older dogs. Females suffer from the syndrome more often than males. Dogs suffer bloat most often at night, and the syndrome tends to occur with increased frequency in dogs who have visited groomers, boarding facilities, or, egad, veterinarians earlier in the day.

Make no mistake: bloat is just about the worst thing that can happen to a dog. Stomach tacking does reduce (but not completely eliminate) the possibility of bloat.

This brings up a question that has caused a great deal of debate among veterinarians: should young healthy members of high risk breeds such as Great Danes and Standard Poodles undergo stomach tacking in order to prevent the syndrome?

No consensus has been reached on the matter. However, most vets I know (myself included) would vote no. Putting a dog through a major surgery in order to prevent a problem that may never happen is probably not in the dog’s best interest. Bloat is horrible, but thankfully it is not very common.

However, I should point out that there is plenty of room for argument on this matter. Plenty of reasonable, thoughtful vets may disagree with my position.

Ideally I would perform stomach tacking only on dogs who were certain to bloat in the future and not perform the procedure on those who wouldn’t. Of course, if I could predict the future in that way I wouldn’t waste my time performing surgeries. I’d pick a few stocks and lotto numbers and retire in luxury.

Leonita, I would not recommend tacking your dog’s stomach. But I think you should visit a few more vets and get third, fourth, and fifth opinions on the matter. Neither my word, nor the word of your original vet should be taken as absolute.

Photo: This X-ray is very bad news. It shows bloat. By Joel Mills.

Amy

I agree that the steroid injection probably caused the symptoms you describe. Steroids are very useful medicines in many situations. In some instances (such as when there is a risk of shock), steroids can be life saving.

However, steroids are very powerful medications. They can cause many side effects. Panting, restlessness, trembling, and increased urination are among the most common.

The side effects should wear off as the medicine clears from your dog’s system. This may take several days.

I think you should talk to your vet more about why the steroid injection was administered. Steroid injections are not routine during spay surgeries. If your dog was at risk of shock, you should try to learn more about why that happened–shock is a very rare (and serious) development during routine surgeries. Was the problem something that might occur again in the future if she is anesthetized? Might there be complications from the problem as your dog matures? For the sake of your dog, you need to know the answers to these questions.

Dana
Montgomery, AL

Many folks joke about “kitty bulimia”. Cats with this syndrome eat large meals and then promptly vomit. They may then be hungry again.

The syndrome looks just like bulimia in humans. But it isn’t actually bulimia. True bulimia has not been documented in cats.

Cats who vomit frequently almost always have a medical condition that causes vomiting. Such medical conditions include inflammatory (aka infiltrative) bowel disease, food intolerance, infestation with parasites, liver problems, kidney problems, glandular conditions such as thyroid disease, intestinal conditions, and tumors in the abdomen.

Stress can cause predisposed cats (and humans) to vomit. This is probably why Snickers vomits when he is upset. I doubt that Snickers vomits purposefully in order to punish you. Vomiting is very unpleasant, and the activity punishes the individual who vomits more than the individual who has to clean it up.

A change in diet to something easily digestible (a so-called sensitive stomach formula) may help with the problem. But the best thing would be a trip to the vet for tests that may give insight into why Snickers is so predisposed to throwing up.

Marilyn
Ajijic, Mexico

Your dog’s health almost certainly does not require him to be vaccinated every year. The schedule you describe probably constitutes over vaccination.

But I don’t know that for sure. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows the frequency of vaccination that will protect your dog from rabies. Rabies vaccines are required by law in most places. Depending upon location, vaccination schedules vary from one year to three years. Some groups are working to extend legally mandated rabies vaccination intervals to seven years. All of these schedules are based on human convenience — we can easily measure years on the calendar. However, a year (or three years, or seven years) is nothing special to a dog’s immune system.

Every dog’s response to rabies vaccination is unique. Every dog therefore should have a unique vaccination schedule.

But that is not going to happen any time soon. Governments determine vaccination schedules. And governments don’t care very much about dogs. They care first and foremost about people.

Around 50,000 people worldwide die from rabies each year. Dogs are the main vector of human rabies. That is why many places legally require rabies vaccinations in dogs.

Remember, however, that 100% of dogs who catch rabies die. Rabies vaccines certainly can save dogs’ lives.

Developing countries such as Mexico with large numbers of stray dogs have relatively high rates of rabies. Vaccination is recommended more frequently in these areas.

Your dog probably does not need to be vaccinated annually against rabies in order to be protected from the disease. But if local law requires annual vaccination, I recommend that you follow the law.

Although I don’t know exactly how often your dog needs rabies vaccines, I do know that I wouldn’t want to end up in a Mexican prison. Conditions in those facilities are famously bad. I imagine that a Mexican animal shelter would be even worse. And that is where your dog could end up if he doesn’t get his rabies vaccine — assuming that unvaccinated dogs in your area aren’t summarily shot or poisoned.

Whether or not annual vaccination is over vaccination, pragmatically speaking you have no real choice. You should obey the law.

Photo: Ltshears.

Donna
Russellville, AR

I suspect your dog has both a skin infection (with bacteria and possibly yeast) and allergies.

Itchy skin is the hallmark of allergies in dogs. Malodorous skin is often a sign of a skin infection.

Dogs can be allergic to many things. Fleas are the number one cause of allergies in canine companions. If your dog isn’t already on a good flea preventative I would recommend that you start one regardless of whether she has a visible flea infestation.

Food allergies also can cause skin problems in pets. Duck and potato diets are hypoallergenic, but your dog may be a rare reactor to a protein in her food. You therefore could consider switching to a different hypoallergenic diet.

Finally, environmental allergens can cause symptoms like you describe. Dogs can be allergic to pollen, mold spores, dust mites, cockroaches, chemicals, detergents, cats, and even humans. Preventing exposure to these allergens can be difficult. Allergy testing is required to identify these allergies.

Once the skin is weakened by allergies, bacteria and yeast can proliferate exuberantly, leading to a skin infection with an unpleasant odor. Skin infections exacerbate itching and baldness.

Bacterial infections respond to antibiotics. Yeast infections can be diagnosed with a non-invasive test called skin cytology, and can be treated with anti-fungal agents. You should talk to your vet about an antibiotic trial and skin cytology.

Finally, although your dog’s problems truly sound like a combination of allergies and skin infection, remember that other things could be going on. Certain parasitic infestations and auto-immune diseases may cause similar symptoms.

Click the links in this article for more information on any of the highlighted subjects.

Lee
Stuart, FL

A heart murmur is a description of how the heart sounds when a veterinarian listens to it. The presence or absence of a heart murmur does not always correlate with the presence or absence of heart disease.

A heart murmur signifies turbulent flow of blood through the heart. Under normal circumstances blood flows through the heart smoothly and soundlessly. In animals with heart murmurs the blood does not flow as smoothly, and this causes a shushing noise that is called a heart murmur.

Blood flowing through the heart is similar to water flowing through a hose. A kink or irregularity in the hose can lead to a shushing noise as the water flows through. Any irregularity in the structure of the heart or the flow of blood through the heart causes a similar shushing noise.

Heart murmurs come in two broad categories: non-pathological and pathological. Non-pathological heart murmurs are caused by benign hereditary or developmental anomalies and other harmless irregularities in the structure (but not the function) of the heart.

Pathological heart murmurs are caused by leaky valves, irregularities in heart muscle structure, or anatomical irregularities that compromise heart function.

Animals like MidgeyGirl that develop heart murmurs at a young age often have non-pathological murmurs. Animals that develop heart murmurs late in life most often have pathological heart conditions.

However, there is absolutely no way to tell whether a murmur is pathological or non-pathological simply by listening to it. Diagnostic tests are needed to determine whether disease exists and whether medications are necessary.

A combination of chest X-rays and ultrasound of the heart (known as echocardiography) almost always reveals whether heart pathology is present. Basic blood tests (and a special blood test called pro-BNP) also are useful.

I recommend that your vet perform these tests on MidgeyGirl. Hopefully the results will put your mind at ease.

Go to my website for more information on heart disease in pets.
Cats: http://drbarchas.com/feline_heart_disease
Dogs: http://drbarchas.com/canine_heart_disease

Photo: Lola’s heart looks good!

shannon
Middletown, Ohio

Overbites are very common in cats. Usually they are harmless. Cats are lucky to be less superficial than humans–cosmetic trivialities like overbites don’t lead to social ostracism or low self esteem.

Severe overbites can be more than a cosmetic problem. In some cases the teeth of the lower jaw can grow into the tissue of the upper jaw. This can lead to painful infections or areas of chronic inflammation (irritation).

The areas of chronic inflammation can look just like tumors. True tumors are extremely rare in the mouths of two-year-old cats.

I therefore wonder whether your cat actually has a tumor. It sounds more likely that a wayward tooth is causing chronic inflammation that looks like a tumor. I suspect that dental work (specifically, extraction of teeth that are growing improperly) might remove the source of inflammation and solve the problem permanently.

I agree that it is too soon to give up on your cat. Some local SPCAs have veterinary hospitals that offer discounted services to needy individuals. If such a facility is available in your area perhaps your cat can benefit from a procedure that will allow her to live a normal life.

Photo: no sign of an overbite on Ben.

Paoline
Atlanta, GA

You don’t mention how old your dog is. If he is less than two years old, I am guessing that puppy mange is causing the bald spots.

Yes, I know, your dog twice tested negative for mange. But the test for puppy mange (which is caused by a mite called Demodex) occasionally yields false negatives. The test involves scraping the skin with a scalpel blade. This process harvests skin (and any parasites contained within the skin) from the affected area. The harvested sample is scanned under a microscope. If Demodex organisms are seen, the diagnosis is clear. If none are seen, then one of two things could be going on: either puppy mange isn’t causing the spots, or no Demodex organisms happened to be present in the area that was scraped.

Puppy mange most commonly causes patchy baldness without skin irritation (the spots generally aren’t red or itchy). The spots most commonly occur on the face. In my experience Pit Bulls are extremely susceptible to the syndrome.

If your dog’s spots aren’t bothering him and they aren’t coalescing to take over his face, I recommend that you try to wait it out. Almost every dog outgrows the problem by two years of age.

For more information on the syndrome, go to my website:

http://drbarchas.com/demodex

Photo: no sign of puppy mange on Tank.

Joann
Ridge, NY

Do your dog’s feet by any chance smell like corn chips? I am guessing that you are experiencing the infamous syndrome that Dogster folks refer to as Frito feet (click the link to see what I have written on the subject before).

Dogs’ feet have areas of reduced air circulation. The spaces between the toes on the top of the feet and between the pads on the bottom of the feet are most prone to this. The reduced air circulation in these areas allows more moisture to build up in these spots than elsewhere on the body.

Bacteria and yeast grow in slightly greater numbers in these humid areas. The bacteria and especially the yeast give off a slight odor that causes the characteristic smell of Frito feet.

The overwhelming majority of dogs with Frito feet do not have pathological infections. The syndrome is harmless. Eliminating the odor is very difficult, but it also isn’t necessary.

If your dog’s foot odor is truly offensive you should have a vet check him out to confirm that the skin is healthy and that something else isn’t going on. But I’m guessing that nothing’s wrong.

Nancy
Goodyear, AZ

You illustrate in your question the reason why I never try to guess how big a puppy will be when full grown. This is especially true of non-purebred dogs. Dogs are like people. Some grow early, and others grow late. Either can be normal, and this makes it devilishly hard to guess how big a puppy will be when it is an adult.

The tallest person in a sixth grade class may be among the shortest of the cohort during high school graduation. And the shortest person in the sixth grade could be among the tallest in the twelfth. In general I refrain from speculating on the final size that I expect juveniles of any species to reach.

But your question was about feeding. How much should a dog (or cat, or human) eat? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that one. Different lifestyles, activity levels, and baseline metabolisms all come into play. The type of food eaten is important, too. Active dogs that eat low calorie food need to eat large amounts in order to survive. Sedentary indoor cats that eat calorically dense diets can get by on close to nothing.

Formulas exist to calculate energy needs for pets. I haven’t used them in years, but I do recall that they involve body mass to the 3/4 power. I also recall, vividly, that the formulas are useless. They make great theory, but real life is more complicated–and at the same time more simple.

I recommend that you feed your pet the amount of food necessary to grow, thrive, and maintain a healthy body weight. That may sound obvious, but it is true. The only method that truly works in my experience is trial and error. If your pet is overweight, feed him less. If your pet is underweight, growing or training for the Iditarod, feed him more. Tinker until you get it right.

Two meals daily is the standard for dogs in the United States, but this rule isn’t set in stone. Some animals, most notably small breed puppies, should be fed more often (young Yorkshire Terrier and Chihuahua puppies should be fed at least four times each day to prevent low blood sugar). I have some patients that eat three square meals every day. Others eat only one (although I generally don’t recommend one meal each day due to an anthropomorphic opposition to going 23 1/2 hours without food).

For most pets the number of meals fed doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as the total amount of food offered. Your dog, as you mention, is “solid”. To me it sounds like you’re doing things right.

Photo: Pogo’s weight looks fine.