Subscriber Archive
Cooperation Earns Food Question: My wonderful, elderly Ellie (13 years) is difficult to work with when she has an ear infection, eye infection or other medical problem. She wiggles and I cannot properly medicate her. She’s not above taking a nip at me. There are no muzzles for Shih Tzu’s because they have no snout. When I take her to the veterinarian, it takes me holding her front legs, an assistant holding her snout and body down (making it difficult for her to breathe). It’s most disturbing to me and Ellie. Dr. Nichol: You and Ellie are not alone. A recent study showed that 78% of dogs suffer from anxiety and fear in the veterinary clinic. Never mind that no one intends to harm them. When restrained, many of them are overwhelmed with a desperate need to escape. Some are so panicked that they become defensive aggressive. And they don’t…
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The doctors, staff, and volunteers at Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department do what it takes for the homeless pets they treat but post-operative recovery is sometimes harder than the procedure itself. It can be tough on everybody. My work with the Placencia Humane Society in Belize put my skills to the test. We came well equipped for field medicine thanks in large part to my readers. Donations included electric clippers, an otoscope, and cash for vaccines, heartworm prevention, and antibiotics. Most Belizeans are pretty stoic in their acceptance of the bugs, hurricanes and floods visited upon the one-room wooden houses on stilts many of them call home. One afternoon a frantic local resident came to us for help with his 85# dog named Tequila. She had jumped off the porch, landing chest-down on a small stump. As we lifted her off the bare metal bed of the pickup truck I heard…
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Buds, bulbs, leaves, seeds and chocolate Easter eggs: What could go wrong?
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Be Careful this Easter Everybody loves springtime flowers and plants but some buds, bulbs, leaves, and seeds can be unsafe for our pets. Swallowing any plant material can cause a dog or cat to vomit or have diarrhea so the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has provided a list of potentially dangerous plants. If you suspect a plant problem with a pet, contact your veterinarian or the 24-hour emergency poison hotline at 1-888-426-4435. Here are some common plants your pets should avoid. Don’t try to teach them what not to chew and why; just keep them safely separated. Lilies are highly toxic to cats. Eating even small amounts may cause severe kidney damage. Amaryllis are popular around Easter but sampling any part of it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypersalivation, decreased appetite, lethargy, and tremors in cats and dogs. All parts of the sago palm, a common landscaping plant,…
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Dogs who barely controlled their home-alone angst before COVID, may spiral into destruction, barking, soiling, and escape attempts.
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Foil Foliage Filching Question: I have a rabbit living in my front yard and eating the leaves off my evergreen shrubs that are about 30 years old. He’s eaten all of the bottom leaves and I see him standing trying to reach the upper leaves. I have tried shooing him away every time I see him to no avail. I don’t want to hurt him and want to know a safe way to get rid of him. I can tell he’s a wild rabbit and not a store bought rabbit; he runs very fast when I approach him. I called a pest control company and they charge over $100. Dr. Nichol: Why, that wascally wabbit! I think you need to contact Elmer Fudd for this job, although he was never very good at pest control. To help send this rabbit packing, with kindness, I contacted Dr. Danny Levenson of the…
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Does your dog fling himself at you? At visitors? Is he all over you like a cheap suit when you’re trying to relax? Establish boundaries with kindness – and get the message across.
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Feel Better; Sleep Well Question: My cat will be fast asleep, then she wakes up suddenly and flies out of the spot she was in and acts very terrified. Is she having night terrors? Dr. Nichol: Your cat may be having a sleep disturbance but we don’t want tunnel vision. Her terror, as she is jerked out of a restful slumber, tells us that her brain is reacting with intense emotion but the real issue may be somewhere else in her body. Pain can come from almost anywhere. Cats with allergies may be startled by an intense itch. Whether deeply asleep or just sitting quietly they can suddenly bolt from the room as though shot from cannon. A stab of pain from an arthritic joint or an abdominal cramp may be jolting your kitty out of an otherwise gentle cat nap. This isn’t peaceful; she needs to feel safe. The…
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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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