Dog Has a Taste for Sand, Surf...and Salt Water?
Transcript for:
Dog Has a Taste for Sand, Surf...and Salt Water? MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:17:38
Welcome back to "The Animal House." I'm Sam Litzinger with Dr. Gary Weitzman, the chief executive officer of the Washington Animal Rescue League. This week has gone to the dogs. Dr. Gary will answer questions about our canine companions, but we want to hear about pets of all types, cats, birds, even pigs. Have we had -- we haven't had any pig questions.
DR. GARY WEITZMAN
12:17:54
We must have had a pig question.
LITZINGER
12:17:55
But not recently. Somebody needs to...
WEITZMAN
12:17:56
No. We needs pigs.
LITZINGER
12:17:57
Yeah. (laugh) "The Animal House" needs pigs. Our telephone number is 1-877-610-3647. Telephone number is 1-877-610-3647. You can send us an email at animalhouse@wamu.org, plus you can see our animal of the day at facebook.com/wamuanimalhouse. I never get it right, so...
WEITZMAN
12:18:19
No. No. They don't tell you...
LITZINGER
12:18:21
Our listeners are smarter fortunately than I am so that they get this taken care of. Let's take a telephone call if we can. This is Bruce. Bruce, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House," question for Dr. Gary?
BRUCE
12:18:31
I do. This is about Kaylie, our six-year-old female Springer Spaniel who enjoyed a recent trip to the Outer Banks.
WEITZMAN
12:18:37
Oh, lucky girl. Hopefully not during the hurricane.
BRUCE
12:18:41
We were evacuated, but...
WEITZMAN
12:18:42
Yeah.
BRUCE
12:18:42
...we had five good days and she had five good days. She's a real water dog.
WEITZMAN
12:18:46
Yeah.
BRUCE
12:18:46
She enjoys play time in the surf, only she gets a little bit of intestinal disfortitude. She…
WEITZMAN
12:18:51
Oh, okay. That's a very good term.
LITZINGER
12:18:53
He's writing that down, Bruce.
WEITZMAN
12:18:54
I like that. I'm gonna use that.
LITZINGER
12:18:56
He's using that from now on, Intestinal disfortitude. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:18:57
Yeah. You should do that too, Sam with a Beagle in the house.
LITZINGER
12:19:01
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:19:01
Yeah.
BRUCE
12:19:03
My question is kind of twofold. Even though I tried to tell her to leave it, a command that she does understand normally...
WEITZMAN
12:19:07
Good, okay.
BRUCE
12:19:08
...but I think there's just too much going on for that to work with her. But the first question is really why doesn't she just -- when she drinks the salt water, go yuck, that's disgusting, I don't want that.
WEITZMAN
12:19:17
Oh, so the intestinal disfortitude -- I'm gonna say that about four more times before we're done (laugh) , is that -- that's from her drinking salt water at the beach?
BRUCE
12:19:24
Yeah. Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:19:25
Oh, okay. I thought she was going, you know, looking for crabs or something else.
BRUCE
12:19:28
She did that once.
WEITZMAN
12:19:28
Yeah.
BRUCE
12:19:29
But no, this is just from drinking too much water. She was playing around in the surf and having a great time and body surfing, but drinking and gulping...
WEITZMAN
12:19:36
Has that happened -- this -- I feel like Soupy Sales on "20 Questions." What was that game show, something -- "What's My Line?"
LITZINGER
12:19:42
"What's My Line?"
WEITZMAN
12:19:42
Something like that, yeah. Way, way, way, way back.
LITZINGER
12:19:44
You're a veterinarian, you've already given that one away.
WEITZMAN
12:19:46
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. But what is -- how often does she do this?
BRUCE
12:19:49
Pretty much immediately after she was in the surf.
WEITZMAN
12:19:51
Oh, okay. And she repeats it? She keeps doing, doesn't seem to learn?
BRUCE
12:19:53
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:19:54
Ah, that's your question, okay. So I'm probably the only one, including all of our listeners, that didn't pick up that that was the question. But that is interesting, because most animals, even from, you know, from insects on up, realize that, you know, you don't eat the poisonous Monarch Butterfly, you know, you don't go and eat the Praying Mantis, things like that. And they usually learn genetically and species wide right away.
WEITZMAN
12:20:15
And you're not talking about a dog that really is as food motivated as let's say a Beagle or a Lab, and then you can sort of understand that they would continue to drink. But when there's something as noxious as it is to everybody in the animal kingdom, including us, usually they learn pretty quickly. I don't know what Kaylie's thinking but, you know, you're the first one to ever in my 20 plus years of doing this to ever ask how to stop their dog from drinking the ocean.
BRUCE
12:20:40
She doesn't throw up immediately. I mean, it's probably about 20 minutes afterward.
WEITZMAN
12:20:44
Oh, okay. So...
BRUCE
12:20:45
So there isn't that causal connection for her.
WEITZMAN
12:20:47
Okay. Poor girl. Okay.
BRUCE
12:20:48
But I just don't get why she doesn't go, yuck, it's salty and disgusting.
WEITZMAN
12:20:52
Yeah. Yeah. We always joke about what dogs actually think is salty and disgusting isn't necessarily what we would define that way.
BRUCE
12:20:58
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:20:59
The ocean usually is pretty broad. Everybody -- nobody drinks that, you know, unless there's, you know, you're stuck on an Alfred Hitchcock movie or something like that. The only thing I can say is, you're not going to be able to put bowls in front of her and then say, okay, here's clear water and here's sea water, and don't drink the sea water, and look what happens to you. And she's not gonna have a more immediate effect than she's already having, and for the diarrhea. Dogs could care less about that, but the vomiting is usually enough of a noxious stimuli.
WEITZMAN
12:21:24
But I would say your only hope really is to do what you've already said you're doing, to really teach a good recall command, a good leave it, and it's not gonna work. It's really not. (laugh) I mean, that's the reality of it. But I think that's your best bet. To me, doing something like this is very much like dogs in the city going -- or anywhere that there's something terrible outside, you know, here we've got, you know, all sorts of garbage things and, you know, so every now and then you'll find sidewalks that there's chicken bones which my dog, Betty, she's like a heat-seeking missile if there's an old chicken bone somewhere.
WEITZMAN
12:21:54
So it's really important for all of us to teach a really good off command, and it sounds, Bruce, like you've already done that. I don't know if you're gonna be able to get this girl's attention when surf is up, you know...
BRUCE
12:22:03
Yeah, exactly.
WEITZMAN
12:22:04
...and get her attention. But, you know, that's the other part too that you ought to be looking at. So besides just the recall and the off or leave it command, you need the command to get her attention. So you need the look at me command, and that's the first thing that all of us should teach our dogs so that they can be prepared for what the next command is.
WEITZMAN
12:22:20
But again, here's the reality. I mean, chicken of the sea for her right now, the sea water, she's not gonna necessarily pay attention to you because you're yelling it, you know, against the wind of the surf and everything else...
BRUCE
12:22:31
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:22:32
...and the Disneyworld that you brought her to. So I think that's unfortunately your only choice is either don't bring her, or accept that she's gonna drink a little bit of this and don't get in the car within an hour of, you know, of drinking.
BRUCE
12:22:42
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:22:42
You know, you don't want the clean up. But then really get that leave it command going for her, and maybe with that command you need to get something in your hand that's gonna get her attention, you know, some really good pieces of hot dog or whatever else, so you can really reinforce leave it. But except for focus on you and leave it, there's really no other way you're gonna convince her to not to drink that when she's out there playing.
BRUCE
12:23:00
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:23:00
And I think it'd be a pity not to bring her.
LITZINGER
12:23:01
Right, because she's obviously enjoying herself even though she's having some...
WEITZMAN
12:23:03
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
BRUCE
12:23:04
She loves it. All right.
LITZINGER
12:23:05
...what was that phrase again that you liked, Bruce? (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:23:07
I loved it.
LITZINGER
12:23:09
Intestinal disfortitude.
WEITZMAN
12:23:11
Disfortitude.
LITZINGER
12:23:12
Thanks very much, Bruce.
WEITZMAN
12:23:13
Good luck. (laugh)
LITZINGER
12:23:14
1-877-610-3647 is our telephone number. Our email address is animalhouse@wamu.org.
WEITZMAN
12:23:21
I wonder if you can have other kinds of disfortitude. I suppose you can.
LITZINGER
12:23:23
I guess we could make up any words we want.
WEITZMAN
12:23:25
Let's see.
LITZINGER
12:23:26
Let's take a telephone call from Lyndsey. Lyndsey, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
LYNDSEY
12:23:30
Hi. Yes, I do have a question. I just got a new puppy this summer, his name is Rafa. He's a Coton de Tulear.
WEITZMAN
12:23:38
Oh, okay.
LITZINGER
12:23:39
Wait a minute. I gotta stop you there, Lyndsey. What is a Coton de Tulear, please?
LYNDSEY
12:23:43
I -- it sounds very fancy. I have no idea.
WEITZMAN
12:23:45
It does. That's so they can make them expensive, and they do. (laugh)
LYNDSEY
12:23:49
Yeah. He's not a...
LITZINGER
12:23:49
Well, that's wonderful.
LYNDSEY
12:23:50
He doesn't look as fancy as he sounds.
LITZINGER
12:23:52
What does he actually look like?
LYNDSEY
12:23:54
He's very fluffy, he's black and white. He's just a little fluff ball.
WEITZMAN
12:23:58
They're adorable. They really are. You know, we've actually had a few in the shelter over the last five years. It's interesting. But so are you bonded, do you like this little guy?
LYNDSEY
12:24:06
Oh, of course.
WEITZMAN
12:24:07
Okay.
LYNDSEY
12:24:07
Very bonded. I've been crate training him while I've been at work this summer and, you know, normally people complain about their pet separation anxiety issues, but I think mine might actually be worse than his, and I just -- I feel so guilty when I leave him.
WEITZMAN
12:24:20
Oh, no. Are you chewing at the wood work and breaking out the screen windows?
LYNDSEY
12:24:25
No. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:24:26
Okay. At least yours is less violent than a dog's is, I hope.
LYNDSEY
12:24:30
No. You know, I just feel so guilty leaving him there all day, and I was wondering if you had any tips.
WEITZMAN
12:24:35
Okay, yeah. So -- okay. How old is he now?
LYNDSEY
12:24:38
He's about four months old.
WEITZMAN
12:24:39
Oh he's a baby.
LYNDSEY
12:24:40
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:24:40
He's very young.
LYNDSEY
12:24:41
He's just a baby, yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:24:42
Okay. Well, no wonder you're attached, he's your baby. You know, we all do, we -- we joke about it, we hope that we have full lives that are really well-balanced but, you know, the dogs -- our dogs and cats are really important members of the family, and it is hard to leave them, you know. I'm really lucky because we actually built our shelter so that staff could bring their animals in, and we've got somebody who brings in her cat. All of us bring in our dogs if we can.
WEITZMAN
12:25:04
We completely avoided the separation anxiety thing. But, I mean, I totally understand what you're talking about. You spent the whole summer, you know, raising this little pup. What has changed where you aren't gonna have the contact with him anymore? Are you just -- you're done housebreaking him and you're keeping him in the crate while you're at work?
LYNDSEY
12:25:20
Yeah. I'm kind of exploring different options as far as crates go. I thought about getting him a pen or something so that he had more space.
WEITZMAN
12:25:28
Right. Right.
LYNDSEY
12:25:29
But he's pretty well house trained. I'm just worried about him getting into trouble.
WEITZMAN
12:25:31
Oh, yeah. Yeah. You can't -- he's too young to really give him the full run of the house. But, you know, what you should do is do it in stages and eventually, you know, none of our dogs really, unless there's an intractable problem, none of our dogs really have to stay in crates as they get older. You know, some of them graduate really quickly, some don't. The little dogs, the little breeds like your Coton may take a little longer, but you should probably keep that crate, but maybe block off the kitchen and put his bed in it and see if you can trust him in there.
WEITZMAN
12:25:57
Bring up all the wires, unplug everything. The bigger thing is your guilt and your feelings of disattachment. If we can say disfortitude, we can say disattachment, and have you at work when he's at home. And I think, you know, one thing that really helps all of us is get a dog walker. I really can't stress it enough, and I know it's expensive, but if you can't do it every day, even just one day a week, you know, these guys...
LYNDSEY
12:26:18
Yeah. I'm lucky I get to go home in the middle of the day and take him for a walk.
WEITZMAN
12:26:21
Oh, fantastic, okay. Oh, and even with the home visit, you're still feeling...
LYNDSEY
12:26:24
Yeah. I know.
WEITZMAN
12:26:25
Oh, okay.
LITZINGER
12:26:27
See, this is the problem. It's not the dog's separation...
WEITZMAN
12:26:28
I know. I know.
LITZINGER
12:26:29
...it's Lyndsey's separation.
LYNDSEY
12:26:30
No, it's me. It's all me.
WEITZMAN
12:26:30
Yeah. Yeah, I know. I know. I was thinking, you know, (unintelligible) your guilt by having a dog walker, but you're already Lyndsey the dog walker.
LITZINGER
12:26:37
And Lyndsey, is the dog okay when you get home? I mean, he hasn't destroyed anything, or...
LYNDSEY
12:26:40
I mean, he's pretty good at making me feel guilty. He gets very excited and cries, but…
WEITZMAN
12:26:45
Oh, don't fall for the guilt, they play that up. Yeah. Don't fall for that. Time heals all wounds, and it really does, and I think eventually you'll get used to be being back at work and not home with him all the time. But if you're coming home at lunch, that's perfect.
LITZINGER
12:26:56
But if at work, Lyndsey, you feel separation anxiety, you can call Dr. Gary and he will talk you through it. (laugh) Here's another thing, could you get like a little camera for your computer or something that would keep...
WEITZMAN
12:27:06
Yeah. You could -- yeah.
LITZINGER
12:27:07
...keep an eye...
WEITZMAN
12:27:07
(word?) dog.
LYNDSEY
12:27:09
That sounds awfully intense. (laugh)
WEITZMAN
12:27:12
Especially if the camera is aimed right into the crate. That's gonna be a very boring TV show, I'm afraid.
LITZINGER
12:27:16
Well, just to keep an eye on him if you're worried about him. But anyway, see if -- see how things go I guess is Dr. Gary's advice for a few more weeks, and then if you're still feeling separation anxiety, then call us back.
WEITZMAN
12:27:26
Right. Right.
LYNDSEY
12:27:26
Okay. All right. Thank you so much.
WEITZMAN
12:27:28
Good luck.
LITZINGER
12:27:29
1-877-610-3647 is our telephone number, and our email, which all the emails are piling up, and I will get to them, or Gary will, honestly, at animalhouse@wamu.org is the way to get in touch with us via email. Let's take a quick telephone call if we can from Kate. Kate, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
KATE
12:27:47
I have a 14-year-old Border Collie Australian Shepherd mutt named Simba.
WEITZMAN
12:27:52
Ah, good.
KATE
12:27:53
And he's obviously getting very old. My question is what to expect as he ages, and if there's anything we can do to help him...
WEITZMAN
12:28:00
Oh, yeah.
KATE
12:28:01
...age a little more gracefully.
WEITZMAN
12:28:02
Yeah. Have you had him since he was puppy?
KATE
12:28:04
Yes.
WEITZMAN
12:28:04
Ah, don't you hate that?
KATE
12:28:05
Yeah, I know. I've had him since I was nine.
WEITZMAN
12:28:07
Yeah. Oh, really? Okay. It is amazing, but yeah, it's good to ask those questions, because it used to be we'd have dogs and cats living to -- well, let's just talk about dogs right now, but, you know, eight or nine, that was good. And now, that's the biggest tragedy in the world. Fourteen is great, but I'm always hoping for 17. I had a Shepherd mix and she lived to be almost 17 years old and that was great.
WEITZMAN
12:28:27
So -- and Sam knows, he's got an elderly dog too. It does take a lot out of you. I mean, they really do age, and arthritis is one thing, and thankfully there are a lot of great medications out there that your vet will prescribe for you if she's having problems. You know this already, I'm sure. But, you know, the things that we're gonna all look forward to as we hit that age, and that is arthritis, hearing loss, vision loss, appetite decreased a little bit in a lot of cases, but some dogs don't know that it's supposed to happen that way, and it's basically all of those, and then, of course, obviously as you get older, you know, we look at the kidneys and liver and worried about cancers and all the things that we're all worried about for us too.
WEITZMAN
12:29:02
A lot of dogs don't know that they're supposed to complain to us so that we understand when something doesn't feel great. You know, nobody knows your dog better than you do, and when you're on that walk, you know how far she can go and she knows that she wants to please you until her last day. And I think the biggest thing is just partner with your veterinarian and talk about, okay, what should I look for when the dog gets older, but really, honestly, it's all those things. Every year, get an exam with your vet and a blood test so that you can keep on top of that.
LITZINGER
12:29:28
And Kate, quick question from me, is Simba on any medication now?
KATE
12:29:32
He is. He's on Bufferin, the -- our vet prescribed Bufferin for him. He's got a little bit of arthritis in his back legs.
WEITZMAN
12:29:38
Okay.
KATE
12:29:39
And then we're giving him Doggone pain pills, DPPs.
WEITZMAN
12:29:42
Oh, Doggone pain pills.
LITZINGER
12:29:43
You know those?
KATE
12:29:44
And they're actually -- they're amazing, but we're just starting to have problems with him actually swallowing the pills and taking them.
WEITZMAN
12:29:49
Ah, okay.
KATE
12:29:49
He was fine before, so we kind of switch up. Sometimes we'll put it in the little pill pockets, and then, you know, at some point he won't want to eat those, so we'll stick them in little pieces of hot dog.
WEITZMAN
12:29:57
Yeah. Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:29:58
Are those over-the-counter by the way, Kate, or does your vet prescribe the Doggone -- I haven't heard of those.
WEITZMAN
12:30:02
I haven't heard of it either.
KATE
12:30:04
I get them online. They're actually amazing.
WEITZMAN
12:30:06
Okay. That's great. I imagine it's something like glucosamine or something holistic that's in there, but that's a good idea. And if you aren't using that, that's great for arthritis too.
KATE
12:30:15
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:30:15
You know, any of the homeopathics, so glucosamine and MSN and M rather, and all those things your vet can help you if you can't find it.
KATE
12:30:23
Okay. That's...
WEITZMAN
12:30:24
Well, you're doing the right thing, and then some more advanced medication than Bufferin out now if you -- if things get any, you know, more progressive, so -- and your vet can help you with that (word?) or any of those drugs.
LITZINGER
12:30:34
Good dog it sounds like, Simba.
WEITZMAN
12:30:35
Yeah.
KATE
12:30:36
He's a good dog.
LITZINGER
12:30:37
Thanks very much Kate, much appreciated.
KATE
12:30:39
Thank you so much.
LITZINGER
12:30:40
Dr. Gary Weitzman will return later in the program will more informative responses to your phone calls and your emails. In a few minutes, author, John Bradshaw, shares his wealth of experience with man's best friend and insights from his new book "Dog Sense" in "The Animal House."
MS. KAREN MUNSON
12:31:10
Hi, I'm "Animal House" producer, Karen Munson, and here are a few of the stories that caught our eye this week. Livestock were not immune from the effects of Hurricane Irene. In upstate New York, two dairy operations owned by the Cabot cheese creamery cooperative lost 120 cows that were swept away by flood waters. For information about protecting livestock during this hurricane season, please contact your local Department of Agriculture.
MS. KAREN MUNSON
12:31:32
Now, on a lighter note, talk about the luck of the Irish. One lobster had his life saved because his shell is blue. The lucky lobster with the extraordinary hue has become a tourist attraction in Country Clare, Ireland. It's estimated that only one in three million lobsters is blue because of a rare genetic defect. And in Minnesota, a police officer pulled over two stepsisters, age six and seven, clad only in pajamas as they were walking a goat at 11:30 at night.
MS. KAREN MUNSON
12:31:57
Now, everything seemed to be going according to plan for the two sisters, until they told the police that the goat lived in their bedroom closet. Well, it turns out mom and dad had taken the sisters to the zoo earlier that day for a party where the intrepid girls hatched their plan to free the goat. Officials say they still don't know how the children did it.
MS. KAREN MUNSON
12:32:14
And finally, Honeybun the Pomeranian, the mascot at a jewelry store in Georgia, recently dined on $10,000 worth of diamonds when his owner wasn't looking. The store got the diamonds back, the dog is fine about a day later, but we won't report on how. For more information about these stories, including a glorious picture of the blue lobster, visit wamuanimalhouse.org.
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