Subscriber Archive

Bad Guts, Lucky to be Alive

March 18, 2024
woman grey poodle

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 lay pellets. I lived the life of North valley chic. The only thing missing was the chic. This was the pre-emergency clinic era; veterinarians handled calls at all hours, day or night. If you had an associate doctor you could rotate nights and weekends. At my place, I was it. It was a weeknight around 10:30; I was just snuggling into bed after a long day when my pager beeped on the cramped bedside table right next to my head. (Remember pagers?) An 11 year old miniature poodle had survived an argument with a German shepherd. The female voice on the phone was distraught, jabbering. She told me that her little dog, “John”, had intestines hanging outside his abdomen. Desperately…

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Puppy Obedience Training DIY

March 18, 2024
puppy training

Dogs who are happy to follow instructions are a pleasure to have as your best friend. But a lot of them just aren’t clear on the concept. Spare the frustration.

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Big Drinking, Bad Hair Cat

March 11, 2024
old cat

Question: I have a 15 year old male cat about 7 kg. In the last 8 months his fur has been falling out in small chunks. He has not been licking or scratching himself. He has a very good appetite. He is drinking much more water than usual and urinates a lot. He has bad breath. The veterinarian checked his mouth and teeth. They did some tests and said he is OK. I do not know if a thyroid test was done. Dr. Nichol: Your cat is not OK; he actually should be licking himself at least some of the time. Those rows of barbs on the surface of his tongue are good at pulling loose dead hair and skin flakes. Hunks of fur falling off suggests no grooming. He had been well-coifed. Why is he neglecting his appearance now? Halitosis is more than just poor form on a first…

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Where is the Cat?

March 11, 2024

Do you see a fuzzy white cat? The correct answer, for this invisible kitty, is no. He’s hiding, not because he is afraid, although that can be a very good reason. This is my cat, Gaston. He’s being invisible because he is a cat. They need to hide and view the world without anyone being the wiser. Solitude is essential for them, at least some of the time. If your kitty spends most or all of its time indoors be sure to provide multiple hide boxes at various heights in different rooms. You will give the gift of choice. We want that. Our cats need feline-specific choices.

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Bitter Pill for Pain? It just got Better

March 4, 2024
german shepherd

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 jumping onto the counter or their cavorting may have lost its youthful flourish. Some kitties start making unpleasant deposits because it’s gotten painful climbing into the litter pan. Arthritis lasts a lifetime. Oral medications like Rimadyl for dogs and Metacam for cats often help. And most pets do fine but there can be adverse effects including stomach and intestinal damage and injury to the kidneys or liver. There are new treatments that are safer and often better for chronic joint pain. Librela for dogs and Solensia for cats are monthly injections of a monoclonal antibody that inhibits a substance, called nerve growth factor, that’s released by damaged cells in arthritic joints. Most pets feel better within 7-28 days. Side effects…

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Puppy crazy, jumpy, nippy mouthy

March 4, 2024
dog biting

Have you thrown a can of pennies? How about yelling and jerking? A different home? You’re breakin’ my heart. It can be much easier and a lot more fun.

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Don’t Let a Good Kitten Go Bad

February 26, 2024
kitten

House soiling, fighting, furniture damage – you don’t want it. A great cat’s life is not a random event. Good behavior starts with a healthy structure.

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Dog Parks – the Good the Bad & the Ugly

February 19, 2024
dogs playing

Running and playing with other dogs is good exercise and fun for everybody – unless your dog or someone else’s reacts badly. Should puppies go too?

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Airborne Monstrosities – High Anxiety

February 12, 2024
Koko

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 adolescent Labradoodle became terrified of the backyard sky. She’d been blessed with an idyllic puppyhood, the best food and a loving family, so she couldn’t blame her mother. Koko also fixated on window reflections with growing terror. Dogs on TV, who she thought were running at her, scared her witless. Even when not suffering an adrenaline surge she desperately needed to be with her people, nudging and following, sometimes mounting their legs as a displacement behavior. She just didn’t know what else to do with herself. Are we having fun yet? Koko’s brain, like everybody’s, is the most complex organ in the body. It seemed stable when she was a kid but its neural circuits, driven by her genetics, shifted…

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