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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 these have cleared up, but needs to get the coat back urgently. No fungus or mites, as have treated in case, and is a fit healthy dog otherwise. Could you tell me about the Rogaine treatment? I have really tried everything. Dr. Nichol: You have a bald tail? Ahem. Shouldn’t that be, well, you know, private? I’m a veterinarian so I know something about this, on pets anyway. Let’s go down that path. I’m glad you haven’t tried minoxidil (Rogaine). If you were to apply it to any part of this pupster, you should expect him to lick it off and suffer poisoning similar to having eaten it directly out of the can. Symptoms would include vomiting, low blood pressure,…

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 that biting or mouthing is his favorite way of communicating and playing. We don’t like it. It hurts. We are expecting a grandchild in a couple of months and we can’t have the puppy biting the baby. Dr. Nichol: Your puppy is enjoying you much as he would another puppy. He’s an active young hellion, play-fighting with the nearest warm body because he has no one of his ilk for mutual mouthing and slobbering. Reprimands would be pointless. There are people who believe that since it’s the puppy’s mouth that causing trouble they should hit him on the mouth. Please don’t do that; you would only damage your good relationship while teaching the little guy nothing of value. It’s the…

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, so far, no perforated pets. Sylvia and Jason were committed to doing whatever was necessary; I was cautiously optimistic. Tandy’s anxiety disorder needed research – based behavior modification. Her brain’s neurochemical imbalances also required treatment. I started her on an antianxiety medication called Reconcile, the canine-approved chewable fluoxetine. Her folks reported her much calmer about 4 weeks later. She was no longer spooked by little noises. Rather than her head-on-a-swivel during leash walks, she was sniffing and investigating while happily tail wagging. She was now ready to learn. Competition between Tandy and Atticus had to end. Never, for the rest of their lives, could they be together in the same room with food of any kind. Until they were consistently…

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 but they’re uncommon. Nobody has to take it. If you get seriously bullied you can get the heck outa Dodge. But, confined by the walls and a fence of their loving human domicile, neither Tandy nor Atticus could escape each other. There was another wrinkle: From my observations, and a lot more information gathering from Jason and Sylvia, I came to learn that Tandy also struggled with a significant anxiety disorder. When circumstances weren’t just right, her agitation escalated fast. Watching Sylvia cook, and waiting and hoping to snag a hot chicken leg, her low-life underlying Atticus foolishly made physical contact with the chef. Tandy’s tenuous grip on impulse control instantly evaporated. She attacked. Hearing this story, you can bet…