Question 1:
"please have you any idea why my staff go,s along the floor in the weirdest position to scratch his backside?? he,s been wormed and the vet say,s his glands are not blocked ..and belive you me...my butch didnt like the way she found out....yuk.. i would be grateful if you could help me..Maureen from liverpool."

Answer:
When they scoot their bottom, it's generally tapeworms (which may not show up on a worm check), allergies, or full anal glands. Even though your baby has been dewormed, there are only a few medications which completely remove tapeworms AND even though your vet checked her glands and they were empty, she may have expressed them on her own. Good luck

Question 2:
"I've had my carpet cleaned twice and each time it happens the foul fragrance of dog urine seeps from this one section of the hall. I've blocked it off, so I know my dog isn't repeatedly peeing there. but is there any hope that the odor will dissipate on its own? I'm renting so I can't rip up the carpet and start anew...although I would like to.

Answer:
There is no hope that the odor will dissipate on its own. If you are renting I would try an enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. It is sold at many pet stores. Good luck!

Question 3:
"I think my dog is fat. actually, I know my dog is fat, how can I make her healthy. she is old and refuses to move...even to pee. I'd like my dog to have a hot body for the summer and to be able to walk across my apartment complex without passing out." -- sugar in the suburbs

Answer:
If she is old, she may have some arthritis making her reluctant to get up. If this is the case, I would recommend a glucosamine supplementation, like synovi G3's sold at many pet stores. As far as the weight condition, exercise and a fat restrictive diet are probably all that is needed, but being older, you may want to have her thyroid levels checked. Thanks for your question!

Question 4:
"My dog is constantly scratching and itching. I have checked her, sprayed her with flea spray, bathed her with oatmeal, bombed my house and yard and I can't find a single flea. I'm scared because now she has started eating off the hair around her nipples and paws after scratching them. Now her skin is red. I really can't afford a vet visit, but I am concerned. Is my dog going to die?." -- Itchy in Irving

Answer:
This time of year, it is most likely allergies. It would be best to have her examined, but if you can't afford it, you may want to try benedryl at 1mg per pound of body weight. This means that a 25lb dog would receive one human 25mg capsule twice daily. Thanks "Itchy in Irving".

Question 5:
"My dog loves to jump up on people whenever she meets them. She gets uber-excited. What can I do aside from yelling at her to make her calm down? Should I mention that she's steroidal and she injured someone's testicles in one of her fits of excitement."
Desperate in Dallas

Answer:
OUCH!! Here's some advice:
For many dogs, jumping up on people is part of their greeting routine. Often, owners have tried to discourage this behavior using methods such as squeezing the front feet, stepping on the dog's toes, or kneeing the dog in the chest. Yet the behavior continues. For some dogs these techniques provide an uncomfortable but acceptable form of attention. For others, the technique leads to increasing anxiety as people arrive at the door, and conflict behaviors such as circling or urine leaking can develop since the pet is motivated to greet as well as avoid.
Therefore in both cases the problem is gradually being further aggravated. If that is the case with your dog, then it is important to think about what might be motivating the dog to jump up and what is the reinforcement for the behavior continuing, and to avoid exposure until you can gain sufficient control with verbal commands, head halter training or both.

Usually the motivation for the jumping up behavior is to greet people.
Many dogs like to greet "face to face", like they do with their canine counterparts. Some people, however, find this objectionable. Dogs that jump up can also cause injury or scare the visitor. The visitor's reaction to the dog (whether it be fear or retaliation) would then serve to make the dog anxious about further visitors coming to the home. In addition, strong punitive responses when people enter the home can create anxiety and could make the dog aggressive as he anticipates that people entering the home create an aversive situation for him.
Correction therefore must not be directed at punishing the problem, but rather at finding a means of teaching the dog an appropriate greeting behavior. This usually is a sit/stay, which can then be rewarded with food and attention. Once the dog has perfected this at the doorway, when there are no people coming or going, its time to begin practicing with family members, before progressing to familiar visitors and then to greeting new people arriving at the home. Make the dog sit and stay when people arrive and give the dog the special training treat. If the dog gets up, then put him back in the sit and try again until the dog remains sitting through the arrival. Often placing a "treat jar" by the front door with a bell on it will help. Once the dog associates the bell on the jar with a treat, and a treat with a sit/stay, the dog will be more likely to perform the task.

Another way to train this behavior, if you feel that you have sufficient control, is to set up visitors to come to your home. You will likely have the best control of your dog if you use a head collar and a leash for this exercise. Have the first person come to the door. Instruct your dog to 'sit' and 'stay'. Then, let the visitor in. Hopefully, with some effort, you will get your dog to continue to sit. Have the person enter, give a treat and sit down. After five minutes, have them leave by the back door, come to the front and enter again. This second entry should go easier as your dog will have just seen the person. If you can repeat this 4-6 times for each visitor, the dog will have plenty of opportunity to learn the new task.

Once you understand the motivation, and have trained a new task, you need to be sure you have identified all the reinforcement for the behavior. If the dog succeeds in getting any attention for the jumping behavior, then the dog will continue to jump. Attention includes petting, pushing away, (which resembles play behavior), and even mild reprimands, all of which can be reinforcing for a dog that really wants attention. To change this behavior you need to remove ALL reinforcement. This may mean that you do not look, speak, touch or interact with the dog IN ANY WAY when it jumps on you. Walk by the dog, give a command such as 'sit', but do not interact with the dog. Alternately, you could try a disruptive stimulus to see if you can disrupt the behavior just as it begins.

To use disruption for jumping up, you need to be able to QUICKLY AND HUMANELY interrupt the behavior. This is often best done with some type of device that makes a loud noise. Shaker cans, ultrasonic trainers, rape alarms, and air horns, all make loud noises that will often startle the dog. As soon as the dog hesitates, you need to give the dog an alternative command so that the dog can do the proper thing, and then reward the dog with praise. So, as you administer the noise, you say "SIT" and when the dog sits you reward it with praise and food treats if available. Many dogs soon learn that, to avoid the noise, they need to sit and will do so to greet you. Then have the person leave, and re-enter the home. Use the device and command if the dog does not immediately sit, and a "good sit" and reward as soon as the dog does sit. Continue to have the person leave and re-enter until the dog sits for its reward without hesitating. Another efficient but costly means of immediate interruption is to use a citronella spray collar. Bark activated collars are useful if the dog also barks as people arrive at the door. Alternately a remote collar can be used to interrupt the jumping and reinforce the desirable response (e.g. sitting).

Another method that is consistently successful at deterring and preventing the jumping up is to leave a leash and head halter on the dog during greeting. All it takes is stepping on the leash or a quick sharp pull to prevent or disrupt the jumping up. Again, be certain to reward non-jumping behavior.

Some people like to allow the dog to jump up on them at certain times.
You must never allow the dog to choose the time or the dog will continue to do this behavior whenever it is in the mood, and could learn to greet all people in the same uncontrolled manner. Therefore, if you enjoy this type of greeting first teach your dog to settle and relax for greetings and then teach your dog a command "give me a hug" or "come up here".
This way, you have the behavior under verbal control and you decide when the dog will be allowed to jump up.

Question 6:
"Why do dogs have better eyesight and smell then other pets and people?"

Answer:
Dogs don't see the same way humans do. Dogs have a wider field of view and a better ability to detect motion at the horizon. A dog can recognize moving objects nearly half a mile (1 km) away. But if those objects remain still, the dog may not notice them. This is very helpful in hunting fast moving prey. Dogs don't see color very well. The ability to see color depends on the number and type of color-sensitive cells -- called cones -- in the eye. The human eye has more cones, and more kinds of cones, than a dog's eye does. So we can perceive more colors than a dog can. But dogs' eyes outdo ours when it comes to rods. Rods are cells that help dogs (and us) see in dim light. Dogs may not see color very well, but they can see in the dark much better than we can. Dogs can smell up to 10,000 times better than humans. A dog's nose works the same way, but its 200 million or so scent receptors make it much more sensitive than the human nose. The longer the dog's nose, the more scent receptors it has and the better it can smell. Dogs with the best sense of smell, such as beagles and bloodhounds, sometimes called "scenthounds," have long snouts that house a complicated network of tissues, mucus, and scent receptors that enable a dog to recognize its favorite smells.

Question 7:
"I have a schnauzer who lives inside but spends time out in the backyard via the doggie door. I noticed recently that he was crunching on something outside, when I went ot look it was dried up feces!!!!!! yuck!!!! why do dogs do that???, I've tried to scoop the backyard more often to discourage him from doing it. Could there be something wrong with him????..................Susan from Cedar Hill"

Answer:
Eating feces, called coprophagy, is fairly common in dogs and puppies. There are a number of reasons dogs do this, from cleaning up after themselves to boredom. Very seldom, but possible is a nutritional deficiency. Ir your dog is not nutritionally deficient by having them on a good quality food or taking vitamins supplements, there is a supplemental powder that you can add to your pets food to make the feces very bitter tasting and hopefully break your dog's distasteful habit. This powder is called "Forbid".

Question 8:
"i have a 13 year old dog, he has lost some teeth and has bad breath, i have tryed everything, tell me what to do, and he also seems like he may have arthitis, the other day he acted like he was shaking. help in plano, tx."

Answer:
Well, first of all, it sounds like your dog has periodontal disease. Bacteria within the plaque on your dog's teeth will cause bad breath, swollen gums, and eventually tooth loss. I would have your veterinarian check your pet's mouth and gums for infections. They will probably recommend a teeth cleaning followed by dental hygiene products. While you're there have them check your pet for arthritis. There are several good arthritis products available now that do a wonderful job controlling the pain and discomfort. If you want to start your dog on something at home, I would recommend a good glucosamine/chondrotin supplement available at most pet stores. Thanks, and good luck!