Posts by drjeffnichol

Question: I show mini dachshunds and have a bald tail which urgently needs some hair. He did have folliculitis and follicular hyperplasia, which were treated with cortisone and antibiotics and…

Question: We have a smart, beautiful 5-month-old collie. He has the bad habit of always wanting his mouth on us, usually biting. He’s not mean at all. It just seems…

Last in a series Right away, after Atticus and Tandy were separated in different parts of the house, everybody relaxed and exhaled. There had been plenty of smack downs but,…

Third in a series A healthy canine brain is programmed to communicate with body signals and occasionally words like, “Grr!” Knock down, drag out fights in the wild can happen…

Second in a series Can’t We All Just Get Along? Veterinary behaviorists treat a lot of aggression between family dogs. Tandy and Atticus had already endured multiple mutual maulings without…

First in a series
Quizzes are fun when I know the answers.  Fights between family dogs are caused by:

a) Dominance
b) Resource guarding
c) Jealousy
d) Bad juju
e) Sometimes a) and/or b)

I stole a few minutes between appointments to call the hospital phone number Greg Trujillo had given me. I’d committed to updating him on Sadie. I drummed my fingers on…

Third in a series Lying semiconscious in the hot summer sun had driven big, fuzzy, and black-haired Sadie’s temperature into heat stroke territory. Her seizuring ratcheted it to 105. I…

Second in a series – There were no cell phones or GPS in the early ‘80s. I had no idea where Susan and Greg Trujillo lived but not to worry.

First in a series Lots of the pets I’ve treated have lived with horses, cattle, chickens, and goats. And flies. So many flies that fly paper, fly traps, and fly…

Question: My 7 year old Australian Shepherd is difficult to take out in public. If someone walks too close, she will jump up at them with mouth open and has…

Teach Avoidance without Electric Shock Question: I need information on humane rattlesnake “proofing” techniques for dogs. It seems to me that keeping your dog on leash would be a better…

Third in a series Our pets have good lives: a comfy bed, 3 squares, and flat screen TV. But they aren’t little people in furry suits. Beneath that cuddly exterior…

Second in a series “Alita”, the spaniel mix on the treatment table, wore the expression of a dog who knew she needed help while wishing she were anywhere but in…

First in a series It was about 8 in the evening. I was juggling one appointment after the next, along with sick pets who needed to be worked into the…

Question: We have a 12 year old German Shepherd female who started chewing on her tail! She sits on it between her back legs and chews until the hair is chewed…

Question: My 1 1/2 year old yellow Lab poops and pees in the house, sometimes after being taken outside multiple times and doing nothing out there. She knows she’s not…

Question:
I have a 3 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He has been getting aggressive towards my other two dogs about his food.

Last in a series
Birds are rather different than mammals; it’s more than feathers vs. hair. Like us, it takes a male and a female to reproduce but their sex organs are internal.

Early in my career my veterinary clinic had a feed store as a next-door neighbor. Being a backyard poultry farmer, I visited often for chicks (baby chickens, that is) and…

Limping is a strong clue, but a dog who’s not prone to drama may just get up more slowly or try turning back on leash walks. Arthritic cats might quit…

Third in a series Jan and Marty enjoyed watching the hot air balloons drift over their Corrales home but Koko’s arrival changed that and a whole lot more. This wigged-out…

Second in a series “Little Dog” had matted fur and a dangling leg but he was in otherwise good shape, for a 20# canine street urchin. The damage was long…

First in a series Frustrations come with every job. I’ve been lucky. Problems that have risked baldness, you know – tearing out my hair – have been followed by good…

Question: I have a 55# pit mix, Molly, with food guarding. I have pet gates set up for feeding to avoid conflict but recently the gate got left open. Molly…

Last in a series Jamie’s mandatory retirement from obedience competition at age 11 was followed by an acting gig, appearing in the Albuquerque Little Theatre production “Of Mice & Men”,…

Third in a series When Jeff and Cathy Robb brought their first collie puppy to me for vaccinations, back in the early 80s, I remember proselytizing on the benefits of…

Second in a series When Amos rolled Jamie, prepped and sleeping, into surgery I was already scrubbed, gowned, and gloved. I remember standing in front of the x-ray view box…

First in a series We were just wrapping up a routine day of limping, itching, and diarrhea (ah, my patients, not me) when Jamie arrived. She’d been frolicking in the…

Question: We adopted “Peaches” from Animal Humane 9 weeks ago. She is a 5 year old Australian cattle dog mix. She has escaped 4 times, like playing, but won’t come…

Question: My bulldog is 9 years old and losing hair. Her skin is dry and it smells bad. Her ears have gooey junk in them and they stink too. Is…

Question: “Sage”, our female Lab mix, began to urinate on the bed during the night. She was diagnosed with a bladder infection, given antibiotics, and the problem disappeared. It reoccurred…

Last in a series Fear is a miserable emotion. It happens in-the-moment, before there is time to think. And it can be dangerous. Whether a threat is real or imagined…

Third in a series Which of these statements is true? (a) Some dogs try to dominate their people and need us to keep them in line. (b) Dominance behavior among…

Second in a series Remember what happened to Stimpy, the ankle biter? He was alpha rolled and pinned to change his behavior but, call me crazy, I’ve never known bullying…

First in a series Folks like you and I are tethered to our pets by an emotional commitment to their well-being. If they have symptoms from any body part, including…

Question: I am worried that my inside Chihuahuas and my Pug/Pekingese dogs eat rocks and if the rocks will hurt them? How can I stop them from eating the rocks?…

Question: As a 76 year old single woman I have adopted a wonderful sheltie/shepherd mix female, very active 15 week old puppy. Arthritis and age have begun to make 2…

Last in a series
Ignore bad behavior? Am I crazy? Sally and Raymond, like a lot of us, loved their dog like a little person in a furry suit. In many ways, that’s healthy for pets and for us but different species have different behavioral genetics.

Fourth in a series
By calling Brandi and rewarding her with a treat Sally was able to preempt this big hound’s fear-driven assaults on Raymond. Her good man could now walk around the house without igniting a barrage of canine invective and hostility. Our patient had become somewhat more manageable but her people were getting tired of constant constable duty.

Third in a series – I felt bad for Raymond, assaulted through no fault of his own, but it was Brandi the big hound who spent nearly every waking moment on the edge of hysteria. She watched Raymond with one eye, anticipating that this kindly Dr. Jekyll’s might transform into the murderous Mr. Hyde at any moment. But there was more going on in that confused canine cabeza.

Second in a series If a saber toothed tiger is charging at you, an adrenalin surge is well justified. But Brandi, the 3 year old hound recently adopted by Sally…

First in a series Multiple choice: Dogs adopted as adults, who are aggressive toward the man in the home: (a) Were previously mistreated by a male (b) Are jealous, wanting…

Question: I am perplexed as to what type of aggression “Barley” has. He has tried to bite both my husband and I when we tried to lead him by the…

Last in a series Most of us would rather file our knuckles with a cheese grater than face surgery but “Chase,” the full-body itching Old English sheepdog, was running out…

Fourth in a series It was time to address Chase’s rear. Beyond her side scratching, paw licking, and head rubbing, she was a serious scooter on her painful derriere. I…

Third in a series We’d put an end to those ear infections, whatever it took, but unless we controlled Chase’s scratching and rubbing, the population of normal organisms in her…

Second in a series Miss Manners did a fine job of holding “Chase” on the exam table. After evaluating this big shaggy dog’s skin I examined her teeth and gums.…

Click graphic to open a larger version as a pdf   Don’t be surprised by reactive aggression. If a dog even begins showing the body signals from this text book…

First in a series Poking my head into the reception room, my gaze fell on a nicely groomed Old English Sheepdog – my next patient. As I invited her and…

Last in a series When anybody feels trapped and panicked there’s an adrenaline surge that can trigger fight or flight, and maybe a bite. Avoid the whole debacle. Dogs who…

Third in a series Fear is the driving force in nearly all dog bites to humans. Really? Fear of a toddler or preschooler? Don’t bother trying to apply human logic…

Second in a series I was not scarred for life when Buster the Boston bit me but it was certainly an eye-opener on canine and human behavior. All 4 parents…

First in a series Visiting the Grahams was always exciting although, in retrospect, it was pretty ordinary. Kenny Graham was a funny kid, the same age as my big sister…

Retrievers can retrieve tennis balls until exhaustion. An Australian shepherd might herd you until you hide in a closet. At the Western Veterinary Conference last month I attended presentations on…

Question: l have a 17 year old Pomeranian. She is in heat and no, l never had her fixed. She is bleeding way more than usual. It’s not bright red…

Last in a series I’m residency trained in veterinary behavior medicine; I have no business venturing into the brains of humans. But, in this case, I did it anyway. Looking…

Fifth in a series Who doesn’t love reunions? Princess needed to stay quiet the day after her open chest surgery but she and her family had never been happier. They…

Third in a series The term free air may conjure filling stations of old, where you could pull up to the compressor and inflate your tires. Free air in a…

Dementia is Best Treated Early & Thoroughly Question: My sweet dog and best friend, Isaac, was diagnosed with Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome. I watched your video on CDS, and it meant…

Question: I have an adorable rescue named Quinn who does not like other dogs. He is good with people but he wants to attack every dog he sees. I put…

“Bizzi” panicked with any handling – especially her paws. Her nails could only be trimmed under anesthesia. She got lucky when she was adopted by a credentialed dog trainer who…

Question: I have a female mini dachshund who is 8 months old. She’s been chewing the spaghetti irrigation tubes in the yard to pieces! I thought she was doing it…

A Head Halter is a Great Leadership tool Question: I read the post on your facebook page about the Pyrenees/Anatolian shepherd and felt an instant kinship! Our 1 year old…