Your Dog Questions Answered!
Have you ever had dog questions you couldn't answer, or felt like you were at the end of your leash wondering... "What's wrong with my dog?"
Or, perhaps less severe than your dog growing a couple extra heads, maybe you've had medical issues or dog training problems that you can't figure out on your own...Fun and fuzzy as dogs are, they do have their moments where you feel more like locking them in a closetthan giving them gifts! Dog ownership is a big responsibility and it can be a real test of patienceand love - a test that teaches you much about yourself as you learn to care for another being, day in and day out.Times can be especially trying as you incorporate your first dog into your already busy lifestyle. The purpose of this section is to help new and experienced dog owners cope with the inevitable dog questions that arise when they are coping with dog behavior or health problems. If you have a questionthat you've been wondering about, fill out this form below and I (as well as future visitors, hopefully!) will do my best to answer!
Have A Dog Training or Medical Question That You Just Can't Figure Out?
I've been getting lots of questions via email from dog owners wanting more information about specific situations their dogs are experiencing.
People are asking about everything from dog medical problems to dog training questions.
I thought I would put up a form here, so you could ask your questions on this page, and other users could chime in with their own experiences. I'll answer too, with whatever information I can dig up for you! But remember, I'm not a vet...
If you have a question
that you've been wondering about, please fill out the form below and I will do my best to answer.
I would be happy to research the answer to your question and let you in on what I find!
Here Are Questions From Other People...
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Please take a few moments to see what others are asking (we may already have a question similar to yours...)
Perhaps you will be able to "pay it forward" and answer somebody else's question, too!
Thanks for submitting your dog question in the form above.You will be notified when it is posted on the site! Please be sure to check back and also try to answer other people's questions if you see something that looks intriguing! In the meantime, you can enter your name and email address below where the most interesting or perplexing questions and answers will be highlighted! (Plus lots of other fun dog stories, training tips, and more!)
I'm starting the list of dog questions and answers with the answers to questions that I've personallyencountered raising my own dog, Kera. We're all learning here, and I welcome your dog questions or answers, too! Medical Dog QuestionsDog Question: My dog is licking her paw excessively. It's turning all red, I'm worried that it's infected, what should I do?A: First of all, great job being observant and noticing your pet was having a problem. Since dogscan't tell us when they feel bad, it's important that we monitor their behavior and appearance so wecan catch early signs if something starts to go wrong. The red color you see may simply be due to her saliva staining the area (similar to the brown stainingyou notice on some dogs (especially white dogs) beards and from tear tracks near their eyes). Try toinspect the area to find out what is wrong and whether veterinary care is needed. First, get your dog relaxed, and thoroughly examine her foot. Look for ticks, burrs, scabs or other signs of trauma or irritation. Gently handle her toes and flex the joints, looking for signs of unusualsensitivity or pain. If you find a cut or foreign material, clean and treat the area so that it will notbecome infected. Try to distract the dog with a ball or toy when she starts licking the area so she won't continue to irritate it. If you can't find anything obviously wrong with the area, look at her other paws and the rest of her bodyis she licking and scratching other places, too? If so, this may indicate a skin allergy or irritationthat your vet will be able to help you treat. Usually if the licking is confined to only one foot, itdoes not indicate a skin problem, but if it is on more than one foot, an allergy is likely. Another good idea is to feel the dogs legs to check for signs of swelling or pain elsewhere in the leg.Gently run your hand down her leg (one good leg and one bad leg) squeezing lightly to detect heat orswollen areas. Last month I noticed my dog Kera had been licking her front paw quite a bit for a week or two and it wasgetting red. I was worried that it was infected and didn't know what to do. I took her to the vetwho said that she couldn't find anything wrong with the foot. Her best guess was that Kera had experiencedan "initial insult" to her foot some time ago and had started licking it then. (My theory is she got someice-melting chemicals stuck in between her toes during one of our snows last winter.) At this pointthere was nothing left to bother the paw, but Kera had perhaps developed a habit of licking it, and perhapsthe licking made it raw and itchy, which of course promoted further licking. The doctor gave us someCortisone cream to relieve the itching and instructed me to try to prevent Kera from licking her paw outof boredom. The problem seems to have cleared up nicely and the redness is fading away from her paw along with myworry. I felt a little silly taking Kera in when nothing serious was wrong with her foot, but when it comesto the health of your dog, it's usually better to be safe than sorry, and catching problems in their earlystages generally means they're much easier to treat than they are if left undetected for longer periods of time. Behavioral Dog QuestionsDog Question: There was a loud noise in my house last night and it woke my dog up and she started runningall over! Afterwords, I noticed a wet spot on the carpet that smelled awful! It wasn't urine... what was it?A: Most likely the smell was caused by the dog emptying her anal glands. All dogs have two small analglands on either side of their anus. These glands are filled with a odiferous liquid which is secretedwhen a dog eliminates, thus marking the dogs territory. It is also this liquid that dogs smell whenthey great each other by sniffing under the tail. When a dog is frightened, stressed or disturbed, it may inadvertently empty these anal glands. Do notpunish your dog for doing this, as the behaviour is brought on by stress, and discipline will onlyworsen the dog's emotional condition. Simply calm your dog and clean up the area. This behavior is not an indication of poor socialization, orlack of potty training, it's simply a physiological fear response. If this happens to your dog a lot, he maybe very fearful or timid. If so, your best recourse is to gradually and calmly introduce him to a varietyof moderately challenging activities so that he can build his confidence and feel safe in a variety of newand potentially intimidating environments.
The best way to get your dog questions answered is to send them to me using our contact form. I can't reply to everyone individually, but the responses I do send out will come via ournewsletter, Dog Lover's Digest! Join today. Join Dog Lovers Digest!
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