COMMENTARY: David Roen...Where do pets fit into human relationships?

I attended a three-day veterinary continuing education conference in Santa Barbara last weekend and stayed in the home of my cousin. Her two sons and their families were also visiting. Her daughter-in-law, Sarah, when she found out I was a veterinarian and wrote this column, had a suggestion for a topic.

She and her husband, Erik, attended premarital counseling a few years ago. Sarah said things were going fine until the topic of pets came up. Dogs had always been part of Sarah's family. Her dog always slept on her bed with her. In Erik's family dogs always stayed outside. The minister, as this controversy developed, quietly reached out to a framed picture on his desk and turned it around so the newlyweds-to-be could both see it. It was a picture of one of the minister's dogs that had died 15 years ago. Erik knew he would have to compromise and Claudia, an aged yellow lab, quickly grew accustomed to her place sleeping in the bedroom, but not on the bed.

It is important to iron things like this out before committing to a lifetime together. What may seem a small irritation may, like a pebble in your shoe, eventually become intolerable. But a pet may also be part of the "glue" that holds a marriage together. I vaguely remember a popular country and western song (incontrovertible evidence for sure) from about 50 years ago about a couple splitting up. The song recounted how they divided all the possessions amicably until it came to the dog. Neither was willing to relinquish custody. They reconciled.

There were a couple of topics in the conference that may be of interest to pet owners.

A very common problem in older dogs, especially spayed females, is urinary incontinence. After a long deep snooze, the dog will wake up with a puddle of urine behind her. Many of these dogs, well house-trained for years, seem quite embarrassed about their accident. We used to treat this with estrogen pills. It was usually very effective but then fell out of favor because it carried a risk of serious bone marrow suppression. For years the "drug of choice" has been either phenylpropanolamine or ephedrine. It has to be given twice a day and can cause or worsen high blood pressure in dogs.

Dr. Lappin, a professor of veterinary medicine at Colorado State, now uses estrogen pills for dogs. He says it does a better job controlling the incontinence, also improves vaginal mucosal health, is safer and has fewer side effects than the other drugs, and it may only need to be given once every week or two. (He says to cause signs of bone marrow suppression they had to give it every day for 200 days.) There are probably other opinions about this and you should discuss it with your veterinarian.

The other speaker, Dr. Oswald, talked quite a bit about coughing dogs. There are many diseases that can cause a cough and it is important to get an accurate diagnosis first. For symptomatic relief dextromethorphan, in many nonprescription human cough medicines, is sometimes recommended. He says this rarely works. After using it for the cough I've had for the past three weeks I think I agree. He said the human prescription drugs that many veterinarians prescribe for dogs are very safe and effective.

Pulmonary hypertension is an uncommon cause of coughing in dogs. Dr. Oswald said they have had some success treating this with Viagra. Maybe so, but I'm not sure I want to start writing prescriptions for Viagra for dogs.

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Roen is a Clarkston veterinarian. He may be contacted at jazzvet@cableone.net.