Subscriber Archive
First in a series The soft female voice on the phone told a poignant story. She wasn’t calling about her own pet but for her 83 year old mother and her cat. “Cougar”, age 10, was inflicting wounds on the person who loved and cared for him. Emotional conflicts like this always affect me. Good relationships that take a bad turn can break hearts. Cougar hadn’t always been a biter but now he was causing Mary Beth pain and putting her at risk of serious infection. When she adopted him as a kitten they had a yard where Cougar engaged his predatory nature by stalking and pouncing on bugs and lizards who’d shown the audacity to venture into his territory. With his mind stimulated by his environment and his energy invested in chasing helpless creatures Cougar ended each day, beer in hand, snuggling with Mary Beth as she quietly cussed…
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Elderly cats, like 15 year old Tony Nichol, named by my young sons for the cereal box tiger, are prone to diminishing appetites and weight loss. Dental disease, common in older kitties, makes eating painful. A reality for all feline seniors is gradual onset kidney failure, often accompanied by nausea; feeling queasy is not consistent with a healthy appetite. Cancer is another consideration with older poor eaters. Diagnosing and treating the cause is essential. But beyond myriad internal disorders, many older cats get fussier about the temperature of their food. A paper published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior researched cats aged 8-14 years that were tested with food of a gravy-type consistency at temperatures of 43, 70, and 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Guess which was preferred? You guessed it: the warmth of freshly killed prey. Tony had me worried. He was eating poorly and losing weight. Canned food, microwaved to…
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Young Mick (now 15 weeks old) has been practicing his recalls. We started with a little tug using a short leash. Now he comes reliably from longer distances but we still use a long line. It’s easy for people to hope for reliability too soon. That would frustrate everybody. Instead, you can prevent a failure by using a leash every time until your dog’s recalls are pretty darn good (they get better but are never really 100% reliable). No one is perfect, including Mick Nichol. He always gets a treat, praise, and most importantly a hug and a kiss for getting it right.
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Find out who won Question: What do I do when this 9 week old puppy growls at the kids when they want to pick her up? She lives to crawl on them and lick their faces but when she runs around like crazy and they try to catch her and pick her up, she growls. It’s like she’s saying “Hey, leave me alone, I’m on a mission here.” The first time it happened they quickly let her go and she felt like she won! Dr. Nichol: Anybody who has raised kids and dogs knows that they are wild and unpredictable at times. When the children chased your young puppy, she may have first signaled them that she needed space but the kids, not schooled in canine body signaling, didn’t notice. So the puppy growled to get some distance. She was scared but no crime was committed. When your puppy perceived…
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Some dogs hate to be groomed. But a hungry dog can earn tasty treats while lying still for gentle brushing. Sitting on the floor, rather than leaning over, will help reduce nervousness. Start out slow, keep sessions short, and maintain the food flow. With young Mick we wait until he’s sleepy. If he gets antsy the dog biscuits stop and the brush gets stowed. There’s no point in struggling.
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Fourth in a series Set her Up for Safety Ruby, our Doberman patient who was no longer impaled by an elm stick and having finished relieving herself outside, endured yet another thorough exam. Her vitals were normal, her heart rate and rhythm strong, her abdomen only slightly tender. After our long night I remember Amos, barely awake by this time, muttering, “Holy smoke, doc, this dog might actually make it.” Hoping to bolster his confidence I replied with my most nonchalant delivery, “Don’t be ridiculous, Amos, of course she will.” We would maintain generous doses of antibiotics and keep this girl moving but, of course, there were no guarantees. Shortly after I called Charley with a status report she arrived with coffee and breakfast burritos. I explained that we weren’t out of the woods. Then she bent to snuggle her good dog. Ruby’s immediate wiggle and tail wag gave my…
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13 week old Mick is not too young to learn basic skills. Dogs are programmed to earn resources like food and attention from their leaders. Mick already knows how to sit on command. I showed him the treat, backed up a few feet, and then told him, “Mick, Come!”. A little tug on the leash can set his brain and body into motion. You can back up several steps as your puppy comes toward you. As soon as he/she arrives reinforce with the resource (food) and share your delight by telling that pupster how good he/she is. Touching (petting and a kiss) are actually the most potent rewards. Repeat the process hundreds of times but never repeat a command. You want your dog to always be watching and listening for a chance to earn good things.
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Third in a series Would dedication be enough? I knew when double checking my repairs of Ruby’s internal injuries that they were secure but it was her high risk of post operative infection that scared the daylights out of me. We had already administered IV antibiotics and, on our way out, irrigated her deep Doberman chest and abdomen with copious quantities of warm saline. My conversation with Charley, Ruby’s committed person, had been brief. As Amos and I carefully carried our trauma patient from her car I quickly explained that the outcome was uncertain. We got the go-ahead to do whatever was necessary. That level of commitment provided an extra jolt of motivation. We had to get this dog out alive. Constant updates on Ruby’s vital signs during surgery were reassuring, helping to keep my blood pressure in check. As soon as the last skin staple was placed I inserted…
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A dog racing through an open door can knock people down and risk him getting loose. Mick is learning to sit at the door and wait for the “OK”. As he catches on we have him wait a little longer and sit a little further from the door. He has fun with this new game because he earns a pet and a “good boy”. He also earns access to the other side of the door. Everybody wins.
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