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Caregiver Information -
Diseases & Disorders

Learn more about your pet's diseases and other conditions by reading Ask the Vet’s Pets letters below. For help with other pet care topics, click on Preventive Care and Toxins & Other Hazards .

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Diseases & Disorders

Deaf dog training
Cat arthritis
Cherry eye
Collapsing trachea
Heart murmur
Cardiomyopathy
Intervertebral disc disease

Deaf Dog Training

Dear Daisy Dog: We are thinking about adopting a Dalmatian, but we’re concerned because the dog is deaf. Is it possible to train a deaf dog?

Daisy Responds: We dogs communicate with each other through body language. Very rarely do I use my voice, and then it is only to repeat what I’ve already communicated through my body posture, tail, ears and facial expression.
      When my mom taught me obedience, she used vocal commands and hand signals at the same time. I can assure you, the hand signals were easier to learn.
      Join an obedience training group and learn the hand signals for come, sit, down, stay and so on. Buy an American Sign Language book and teach your dog the signs for car, walk, potty and other important words.
      Be sure his identification tag includes not just your address and phone number, but also the word "deaf."
      Get his attention in the house by stomping your foot on the floor. When he’s out in the yard (be sure it’s fenced), call him with a flashlight.
      For more information on training a deaf dog, go to http://www.deafdogs.org/training/ .
      October is Adopt-a-Dog Month. Celebrate by giving this dog the chance to show you what a wonderful family member he can be.

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Cat Arthritis

Dear Christopher Cat: Dexter, our ancient cat, no longer jumps onto the bed. He barely can crawl onto the couch, and he has trouble climbing the steps. Do cats develop arthritis? How can we help him?

Christopher Responds: Yes, older cats, like humans and dogs, can develop arthritis, often called degenerative joint disease by veterinarians.
      Treatment options are many – but not perfect. If Dexter is overweight, help him lose the excess to ease the burden on his joints and back.
      Start him on a glucosamine-chondroitin product like Cosequin for Cats, available without a prescription. It will protect his joint cartilage, nourish joint fluid and provide a mild anti-inflammatory effect.
      Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are controversial because of their longer duration of action and higher risk of side effects in cats than dogs.
      The veterinary drug companies are developing NSAIDs that may be safer for cats, but until they merit Food and Drug Administration approval, talk with your veterinarian about the advisability of giving Dexter an NSAID approved for dogs.
      Steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, such as prednisolone, may provide some help, but they generally are not prescribed for prolonged periods because of the high risk of side effects, including diabetes.
      Other options are acupuncture and pain relievers that have no anti-inflammatory effect.
      Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, kills cats, so don’t give Dexter any pain reliever that contains acetaminophen.

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Cherry Eye

Dear Daisy Dog: My cocker spaniel has a cherry eye. How did she get it, and how is it best treated?

Daisy Responds: Cherry eye is the common name for prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid. I’ve never had it, but some of my friends have, so I can explain it to you.
      We dogs have a third eyelid for extra protection. You’ve probably seen it as a smooth, white sheet creeping up from the bottom inner corner of the eye when we’re falling asleep.
      This third eyelid, called the nictitans, contains a tear gland that produces almost half the eye’s tears. The other tear gland is at the opposite corner of the eye.
      In certain breeds of dogs, like cocker spaniels, beagles and Boston terriers, the gland sometimes isn’t well anchored, and it pops out of position, or prolapses.
      When it does, it looks like a small, bumpy cherry at the inner corner of the eye. My friends tell me it’s not painful.
      Treating the cherry eye with an antibiotic-steroid eye ointment helps temporarily, but the treatment of choice is to surgically tack the tear gland back into position. On rare occasions, it pops out again, and surgery must be repeated.
      Some veterinarians cut the gland off, but dogs treated this way are at risk of developing dry eye from insufficient tear production. Unfortunately, breeds predisposed to cherry eye are also at risk for dry eye, even if they haven’t had cherry eye surgery.

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Collapsing Trachea

Dear Daisy Dog: Mattie, our toy poodle, has been coughing a lot. Our veterinarian diagnosed collapsing trachea. Would you explain this disease and its treatment?

Daisy Responds: Collapsing trachea is marked by a dry, honking cough, especially during times of excitement and when dogs pull against their collars.
      The disease is most common in small-breed, overweight, middle-aged to older dogs.
      I am a svelte standard poodle, the largest of the poodle varieties, so it’s not a disease I have to worry about.
      My healthy trachea, or windpipe, is a tube composed of strong cartilage rings, each with a small gap bridged by muscle tissue.
      Mattie’s cartilage rings are abnormally soft, so when she breaths hard, the rings flatten, the gap widens and the stretched muscle protrudes into her trachea.
      This narrows the inside of her trachea and causes the characteristic honking cough.
      To minimize the cough, Mattie should switch from a collar to a harness that puts no outside pressure on her trachea.
      If Mattie is one of the many overweight poodles I see when I’m out walking, she should lose weight, because fat inside the chest pushes on the trachea.
      Medications typically prescribed for dogs with collapsing trachea include cough suppressants, bronchodilators and antibiotics when an infection occurs.
      If you smoke, do so outside, away from Mattie. Indoors, the particles in smoke settle to the level where Mattie undoubtedly spends her time – between the couch and the floor – where they can irritate an already compromised trachea.
      Most dogs do well with this approach, but if it’s not effective for Mattie, your veterinarian may suggest surgery.

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Cardiomyopathy

Dear Christopher Cat: My cat was at the vet's last week for his annual physical. My vet said she heard a couple of "dropped" heartbeats. She didn't hear any heart murmurs and couldn't find anything else wrong. Is this something to worry about?

Dear Reader: Your cat may have cardiomyopathy, a group of heart (cardio) muscle (myo) diseases (pathy).
      The most common is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in which the muscular wall of the heart becomes thickened. It may get so thick internally that the chamber cannot hold enough blood to adequately nourish the body on each beat. And a thickened heart muscle does not beat as forcefully.
      Another type, dilated cardiomyopathy, is associated with thinning of the heart muscle wall. It rarely occurs now that cat food is fortified with sufficient taurine (an amino acid) to meet cats' relatively high needs. This is why my mom won't let me steal Daisy’s dog food.
      Cardiomyopathy changes the shape and thickness of the heart walls as well as the conduction of electrical impulses through the heart. These electrical impulses, measured on an electrocardiogram (EKG), signal the heart to beat.
      Dropped or skipped beats occur when the electrical signal is not conducted through the heart correctly. They may result from cardiomyopathy, other kinds of heart problems, or even from disorders which originate outside the heart.
      Ask your veterinarian for a referral to a veterinary cardiologist who can do an EKG and an echocardiogram (to look inside the heart at the walls and valves) to diagnose the problem. Only then can effective treatment be initiated.

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Intervertebral Disc Disease

Dear Daisy Dog: My 5-year-old dachshund periodically gets muscle spasms. Is there anything I can do for him?

Daisy Responds: If the muscle spasms are along his back, he may have intervertebral disc (IVD) disease.
      Between the vertebrae (the bones of the spine) are discs that act like cushions. As the discs age, they break down and sometimes bulge against the spinal cord.
      The resulting pressure on the spinal cord causes pain and decreased function.
      Depending on the severity, clinical signs may include back spasms and pain (like you humans feel with a pinched nerve), reluctance to walk, arched back, scuffing the hind feet, weakness, wobbly hind legs, bladder or bowel problems, or even paralysis of the hind legs.
      IVD disease can attack any breed but targets dachshunds most frequently. Other breeds commonly affected are the basset hound, beagle, Pekingese and cocker spaniel.
      While most dogs with IVD disease begin to show signs in middle age, dachshunds often are affected earlier, usually at three to six years of age. Onset may be gradual or abrupt.
      It’s important to have your veterinarian determine the cause of your dachshund’s muscle spasms. Then your vet can recommend treatment, which may include medications, acupuncture or surgery to relieve your dog’s pain and muscle spasms.

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Heart Murmur

Dear Daisy Dog: The vet told us that Ginger, our 10-year-old toy poodle, has a heart murmur and needs an echocardiogram. What exactly is a heart murmur?

Daisy Responds: I developed one at about the same age, so I can explain it to you.
      When a veterinarian listens to a pet’s heart with a stethoscope, each heart beat sounds like a word with two syllables: lub-dup. Any additional sound is a murmur.
      Often it’s a lub-swish-dup murmur like mine. Sometimes the murmur sounds like a musical tone. Rarely, it can sound like a noisy machine shop.
      Those murmurs are caused by turbulent blood flow or blood moving in an abnormal direction, like leaking backward through a faulty valve instead of flowing forward.
      When the cause is a heart malformation, the murmur is usually heard in puppyhood. Murmurs acquired later in life, like Ginger’s, are often due to changes in the heart valves or walls of the heart.
      Non-cardiac problems, such as anemia and dehydration, also can cause transient heart murmurs.
      The echocardiogram will allow the veterinarian to peer inside Ginger’s heart, determine the cause of the murmur, and start appropriate medications.
      The right heart medicines will lengthen Ginger’s life and diminish the signs of heart disease, including coughing, breathing difficulty and lack of energy.

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