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Paws & Claws

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas. She lives in Blacksburg now, and answers local pet owners' questions every week in The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com.

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Q Over the holidays my 9-year-old dog developed pancreatitis. We had always fed him treats from the turkey and ham with no problem, but not this year. He is now on a weight-control dog food. What treats can he have? Also I have been giving him canola oil for his dry skin. Is this too much fat for his system?

A Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas and can be either acute or chronic. In the acute form, provided it is treated promptly, it should have no lasting effects. Acute pancreatitis is most common in middle-age to older dogs and more often in females and overweight dogs.

Among the various causes of pancreatitis can be a sudden excess of a high-fat diet, as in the holiday turkey and ham leftovers.

Treatment consists of withholding solid food for a few days, followed by a bland diet for at least a week. Weight reduction is important if the dog is overweight. Avoid high-fat diets, and don't give him fatty treats. Try making treats using whole-wheat bread that has been baked in the oven until dry and broken into small pieces spread with a tiny amount of Marmite -- a fat-free spread rich in B vitamins -- to make it palatable. The majority of dogs love this. Marmite can be found in grocery stores.

I would stop the canola oil until you see how your dog is doing on the new diet. Oils containing cis-linoleic acid are best for dry coats. These include safflower, sunflower and flaxseed oils. For small dogs, give no more than one teaspoonful. Medium-size dogs can have two teaspoonfuls and large dogs up to one tablespoonful. Be guided by your veterinarian when or if to start the oil supplement again.

Q I have a problem with my two light-colored toy poodles. The fur around their behinds is discolored brown where they lick. Both dogs have been examined by a vet and are very healthy. Could it be a vitamin deficiency?

A This is not an uncommon problem in light-colored dogs that do a lot of licking. It is also seen in light-colored toy breeds that have excess tear production.

They get dark staining in the coat below the eyes. I suspect your poodles are just very clean and do a lot of cleanup licking after they have urinated. The staining is due to the composition of their saliva, which contains porphyrins. This varies from dog to dog. Porphyrins are harmless pigmented compounds thus causing the staining.

There is no simple solution to the problem. Traditionally, a course of tetracycline antibiotics has helped as a short-term solution, but the staining returns when the treatment is stopped. Changing the pH of the urine by adding vitamin C to the diet to make it more acidic has helped in some cases because female dogs' urine is normally alkaline.

Washing the area with a solution of one part baby shampoo to 10 parts warm water can reduce the amount of discoloration. If done consistently over time, this should either eliminate or at least reduce the staining. There is a commercial product available at pet stores called "Crystal Eye" that claims to help to remove the stains.

Q Our basset hound drools so much when I am cooking that it collects in a pool around his feet, and when he shakes it flies all over the place. Is this normal?

A All dogs drool. It is just that dogs with fleshy lips such as St. Bernards, bloodhounds and boxers seem to drool a lot. Their lips are designed in such a way that saliva collects in the mouth and they spill as much as they swallow. The smell of cooking activates the salivary glands to make more saliva in anticipation of food, hence the pool of saliva.