Dr. Gustavson practices on Whidbey Island at Penn Cove Veterinary Clinic. A small animal general practitioner, he graduated from Washington State University as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1998.  An island resident, Dr. Gustavson has graciously agreed to provide periodic columns for WAIF. His columns are for informational purposes only. Please consult your pet's veterinarian with any medical concerns. 

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR!
 By Lark Gustavson, DVM

Too often, a rumor or misinformation leads pet owners to make a wrong decision or neglect to get appropriate treatment for their cat or dog.  Dr. Gustavson responds to some common misconceptions:

• I won't spay (neuter) my dog.  I know it will lead to weight gain/change in behavior … or… every female needs to go through one heat cycle or have one litter of puppies.
  
  His Answer: Most dogs do not have a significant change in behavior after neutering.  The main behavior changes seen are positive:  less roaming behavior, no heat signs in females, and less aggression around in-heat females.  As far as the thought that females need to have at least one heat cycle, the experimental evidence has not borne this out.  Females have dramatically lower risk of mammary carcinoma (breast cancer) when spayed before their first heat.  This risk goes up with each subsequent heat cycle.  Females that are spayed also do not get uterine infections, uterine or ovarian cancer, or cystic ovaries.  The benefits of neutering early definitely outweigh the risks, as well as helping the very real societal problem of overcrowded shelters and unwanted animals.
• Bottom dragging means my pet has worms.
  
  His Answer: If fact, many conditions can lead to bottom dragging.  Impacted anal glands are probably the most common condition we see that causes this symptom.  These organs are analogous to a skunk's scents glands, and have a similarly potent smell.  In some dogs these glands do no empty properly, and need to be expressed.  Your veterinarian can readily evaluate the anal area to check for this problem.
• My dog gets worms from eating horse manure/rabbit droppings. 
  
  His Answer: There are very few parasites that can actually pass from an herbivore to an omnivore/carnivore through the feces.  One of the major reasons is that most worms are highly adapted to their host species, and are not readily adaptable to live in alternate conditions.  The biggest parasite we see passed between rodents or rabbits and dogs is tapeworms, and that is obtained through eating the meat of an infected rodent or rabbit, not the feces.  In fact there is evidence dogs have obtained this habit from their ancestors.  Wolves in the wild are known to eat the feces of the large herbivores they hunt.  The theory is that they obtain vitamins and fiber from this not so savory snack.

• Flea collars and flea bombs are good ways to get rid of a flea problem. 
  
  His Answer: These technologies have certainly been mainstays of flea control for many years.  They are also reasons why people often have treatment failure.  Flea collars tend not to provide great control of flea infestations for several reasons.  One is that the concentration of the chemicals in the collar wane in concentration the further from the collar you get on the animal.  So you get great flea control on the neck, and poor control on the tail.  Unfortunately the fleas on the back end can still reproduce, and drop eggs throughout the environment.  Flea bombs address the environmental aspect of flea control.  Up to 90% of the flea population in a given environment is off the animal, in the form of eggs, larvae, and pupae.  The problem tends to be bang for the buck.  Flea bombs put a large amount of toxic chemicals into the environment, and do not address the fleas off the animal in the outside environment, or the fleas on the animals themselves.  Your veterinarian can help design a flea control plan that can address all of these problems.

• My dog doesn't have fleas. 
  
  His Answer: Fleas can be notoriously difficult to find.  Also, not all animals itch when they have fleas.  The itching is actually a result of an allergy to fleas, not the flea bite itself.  Cats less commonly have flea allergies, so itching is an especially unreliable way to detect flea infestation in cats.  Often animals come into our office with fleas that the owners had no idea were there.  This is the reason behind the use of flea medications even when fleas are not seen.

• My cat can't have fleas because it's an indoor-only cat.
  
  His Answer: Certainly indoor cats have a lower exposure risk to fleas than outdoor cats do.  Indoor cats, however, often get visitors.  Animal visitors are the biggest risk factors, bringing along their flea companions.  These companions can then drop many flea eggs, leading to fleas hatching out within a few weeks.  An indoor cat then makes a very suitable host for these parasites.

• That odd cough means my dog has something stuck in its throat or is choking.
  
  

• His Answer: It is true that choking can lead to coughing and throat irritation.  Unfortunately a more common reason we see for coughing in dogs is a condition known as kennel cough.  The causative organism is known as Bordatella.  It is highly contagious to other dogs, and like a cold passes when groups get together.  It is a treatable condition, and vaccines do exist for prevention.  The dog needs to be seen right away if you see a sudden onset of coughing.
• If my dog/cat's ears are bothering her, it means she has ear mites.
  
  His Answer: Certainly ear mites can be a problem, but are not as common as other types of ear problems.  We commonly see yeast infections, bacterial infections and allergic skin diseases that lead to itchy ears.  Seasonally in the hot dry months we see “foxtails” or grass seeds in the ears of animals.  An animal with an itchy ear should be evaluated by a veterinarian to get the animal on the right track medication or treatment plan.  The longer one waits, the more chances of a chronic problem developing that would be much more difficult to treat.
• My dog/cat has an injured eye.  I'd like to use some eye drops I have at home.
  
  His Answer: Due to the nature of eye injuries and infections, medications have to be tailored specifically to the individual.  If there is a physical injury to the eye, in fact the wrong medication could cause the eye to rupture or go blind.  Consult with your veterinarian before any eye medication is given.

• My dog doesn't have a behavior problem.  It's just that he's the dominant dog in the household.
  
  His Answer: Behavior problems have many causes, and not all involve dominance.  Certain shows such as the Dog Whisperer portray ideas not accepted by the veterinary behavior community.  Just as every human behavior problem isn't ADHD or depression, dog behavior problems come in various forms.  They can be caused by medical problems, such as diabetes or dementia.  They can be a result of neglect or abuse from previous experiences.  They can be a result of human expectations that are not realistic for an animal of a different species.  The high complexity of these problems has led to a postgraduate veterinary specialty in Behavior.  These veterinarians spend an additional 4 years after graduating from veterinary school studying for their very rigorous board exams.  If your dog has a serious problem, especially with aggression, it needs to be treated quickly and with extreme care for public protection purposes.

• The best thing to give a cat is milk or cream.
  
  His Answer: Although cats do like to drink milk, past 12 weeks of age or so they lose the ability to digest lactose.  This manifests itself like lactose intolerance in people, in the form of diarrhea, gas, and upset stomachs.  A little extra cream also tends to add weight around the middle, much as it does in us!
• When my dog is sick, I feed him eggs. 
  
  His Answer: Eggs are not bad to feed animals, but must be used judiciously.  Raw eggs are a bacterial risk, the same as it is for us, and are not recommended.  Cooked eggs are higher in fat, and for most upset stomach's a lower fat diet is actually preferred.  The other concern I would have is that there is a more serious medical condition, that may require further diagnostics or treatment, which we are delaying by trying eggs first.
• I'm going to try this food/medication/treatment because the clerk at the pet store said it's good. 
  
  His Answer: We have had to “fix” many problems created by expert advice of people who are not experts.  Many people who work at the pet stores do not have any training in animal health.  Although many have learned through life experiences in dealing with their own animals, they do not have the experience or education that a veterinarian would have.  It can be the difference between children learning from their peers versus a parent or teacher.  This is what we are trained to do.
• The best food for dogs is a raw-food diet, because this is the diet ancestral dogs ate.
  
  His Answer: There is much controversy about raw food diets.  There are some definite downsides to raw food diets.  The first is food poisoning risk.  Cooking helps kill bacteria, and pathogens such as Salmonella, E. Coli and Campylobacter affect animals as well as people.  Many of these diets also pose a risk in the form of under-processed bone chunks big enough to lead to intestinal blockage.  The other issue is that they tend to run on the high side of calcium and protein levels, better for growing dogs than mature dogs.  This is especially true with modern dogs' more sedentary urban lifestyle.  For the majority of modern dogs, a well-formulated dry or canned food is the best nutrition, and the best way to live a long and healthy life.