Sometimes Euthanasia Is the Appropriate Choice

For ways to help your cat recover and need less (or no) insulin, read "Your Cat" (St. Martin's Press, 2007) by feline specialist Elizabeth Hodgkins. She used to be the head vet for Hill's Science Diet but has radically changed her views on manufactured pet foods. At the very least, you should transition your cat onto a moist, canned cat food that is primarily meat, ideally organic and not filled with wheat gluten and soy protein. Your cat might protest, because dry foods are addictive.

Dear Dr. Fox:

We have a 10-month-old white shepherd mix who chews everything.

She gets lots of attention from us and loves to go for rides in the car. We walk her two to five miles a day and play with her. She also plays with our other dogs and has lots of chew toys, which she gnaws apart. We give her marrowbones at night. No matter how much exercise or how many things we give her to chew, she keeps chewing things that she shouldn't: seat belts in the car, shoes, mattresses, mats, dog bedding, blankets and chairs and just about anything she can get her jaws on. These incidents usually occur when we are at work or early in the morning. She has even chewed on an outdoor electrical wire and had to be treated for that. We try to be vigilant and keep things away from her.

-- K.F.

Falls Church

I had a dog just like yours, a rescued dog from India, and it took almost 10 years for it to almost grow out of this same vice of obsessive oral compulsion. It is maddening, costly and, as you have noted, dangerous.

Consider your dog's motivation or the possible causes: boredom, a need for oral stimulation (teething), digestive tract irritation, worms, hunger due to nutrient-deficient diet, separation anxiety, prior psychological trauma, abandonment or starvation and even tonsillitis. Knowing the motivation is half the cure. Consult with an animal-behavior specialist after your dog has seen the vet and had a full checkup.

Muzzling, crating for brief periods and aversive conditioning might help break this vice, as might a short course of Valerian treatment, provided the vet gives a clean bill of health. When your dog is alone, give it safe chews such as a beef marrow soup bone or a rubber toy stuffed with peanut butter. Good luck!

Dear Dr. Fox:

We just wanted to share how we handled our dog's separation anxiety. When our (now deceased) Lab-collie mix Honey was a tiny pup, she would howl whenever we would leave her.

Her trainer recommended giving her a hollow marrowbone from a pet store and filling it with peanut butter in each end. She would be so busy with her "work bone," as I called it, that she never howled again. It was especially helpful while she was being crate-trained. I continued this until she was an old dog.

In later years, when we traveled and would stop overnight at a motel, as soon as the television was turned on, she would hop onto the bed, cross her front paws and watch TV.

So instead of drugs, a bit of distraction therapy might be the answer.

-- K.D.O.

Bainbridge, Ohio

Thanks for the reminder. The trick is to get the dog to associate your leaving with being given a treat. This peanut-butter remedy works well for many dogs. Others are happy having a TV or radio on while they are left alone.

Leaving a dog in a crate all day is not the answer and no way to treat a dog. Those who do should leave a marrowbone stuffed with peanut butter to keep their dog occupied after they have been left alone. Crates don't need to be eliminated, however -- leave the door open. Many dogs like a crate as a free-access den that gives them a sense of security rather than imprisonment.

Michael W. Fox, author of a newsletter and books on animal care, welfare and rights, is a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior. More pet care information is available at Dr. Fox's Web site,http://www.doctormwfox.org. Write to Dr. Fox at United Feature Syndicate, 200 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.

Copyright 2008, United Feature Syndicate Inc.