Weekly article archive

The following questions and answers have appeared in my weekly column in the Albuquerque Journal since July, 1996. Each week a new one is added. You'll find information on the physical and behavioral maladies of dogs and cats and a few other species too. I invite you to use the search feature to find the specific answer that you and your pet need.

Intense Fear PTSD in Dogs

Severe reactions, nightmares, escape attempts; even aggression can indicate PTSD in dogs. Harsh training methods or physical trauma can provoke this lifelong disorder. There is help for this tough problem.

Bald Tail Embarrassment

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…

Biting puppy causing people pain

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…

Cats Slowing with Age

Chronic Pain can Lurk. Find out how to locate it and fix it.

Sneezing cats need real help

Question: We have a 10 year old cat named Mary. She has been sneezing for almost 2 years. We can find no correlation nor cause for this. We tried chlorpheniramine…

Elderly Pet Confusion

Normal Aging? Dementia? Barking, pacing, clingy, soiling? Older dogs and cats who cry, act lost, and stare at walls are not normal. We can help but our best improvements are…

No more tears? It ain’t easy

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,…

Foxtails: That’s Tails, not Tales

Aggressive grass awns invade the bodies of dogs and cats.

Why fight if a hard stare would send the message?

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…