Caging your dog may cause odd behaviors

Tag : pet cleaning

Q: We are a retired couple in our 80s and have a Japanese Chin thatwe rescued  he is the delight of our lives. However, he hasseveral habits that we cannot break him of:
1) He will urinate and defecate in his cage. He will also eat hisown feces. This is not constant, but will happen once or twice amonth. He is taken for a quarter-mile walk three times a day and isout in our fenced-in yard at least five to six times a day.
2) If someone is at the front door, he will bark annoyingly.
We rescued him when he was 1 1/2, and he is now 2 years old. Atfirst, he was extremely shy around people, but is becoming moreused to strangers. We allow him to be around when we have family orfriends visiting, and he is now OK with being petted. Any advicewould be appreciated.
A.J.O., Naples, Fla.
A: It seems that your patience and good care have helped your dogbecome more trusting and sociable.
But why the cage? Such confinement is probably stressful, hence theurination and occasional defecation. He most likely eats his stoolsbecause that's his way of cleaning up his own mess.
I advise against cage confinement. A better alternative would be anopen cage lined with a blanket that can serve as a secure den thatyour dog may enjoy.
The annoying barking might be reduced by aversive noiseconditioning: Give your dog a command of "quiet," and shake a tincan of coins or keys close to the dog. Then praise the dog whenquiet, ideally pre-trained to "sit" as well.
A dog-training clicker available at pet stores might work well, butwhen I tried it on one of my dogs, Batman, he was absolutelypetrified!
Q: I have been using your recipe to feed my dog for some time now.It is so healthful that he's probably in better shape than I am.And it smells delicious!
In a recent article, you mentioned adding a vitamin, occasionally.Do they really need that on top of the calcium, wheat germ,brewer's yeast, garlic, vinegar, carrots and sweet potato? I havefaith in your wisdom, so if you say it's needed, I'll add it.
We have a Finnish Spitz, an unusual dog to have been found by thepound, roaming in our semirural county. He is gorgeous!
K.J., Hendersonville, N.C.
A: As you will see on my Web site ( www.doctormwfox.org ), I have modified both my dog and cat recipes in the light ofadvances in veterinary clinical nutrition. Some dogs have adversereactions to garlic and wheat germ. I have dropped all cerealgrains for cats, and reduced the amount for less-active dogs.
I advise a daily multivitamin and multimineral tablet or capsule(from a good brand) of human daily supplement: half a human capsulefor a 50-pound dog. For animals with digestive problems, allergiesor old-age issues, daily probiotics and enzymes can do wonders.
Q: Five years ago, I adopted a 6-month-old male kitten from a localshelter. He was very sweet when he was "in jail," but as soon as hewas neutered and I could bring him home, I knew there was an issue.
His meanness was his way of handling stress. A little more than ayear ago, he went into a cat rage  he had reached his stresslimit. This was all new to me  so I did some research and decidedto try Feliway.
I use the dispenser and keep it plugged in all day. This has workedwonders for him and us. I was going to have him put down, butFeliway saved his life. He is still a bit cranky, but he'sdefinitely manageable.
We also have a female cat, and Feliway has no influence on her, butthe male calms down immediately within minutes of plugging thedispenser in. Maybe this will help other cat owners with similarissues.
T.C., Clovis, Calif.
A: I am glad that the pheromone Feliway helped your cat feel moresecure and turned him from an attack cat to a lap cat.
French veterinary researchers recognized the profound behavioraland psychological effects of certain body odors called pheromones,and they developed this product.
I would appreciate hearing from other readers about theirexperiences using Feliway on their cats with various behavioralproblems.
There is an equivalent pheromone product available for use in dogssuffering from such conditions as separation anxiety, the pheromonebeing like the scent around a mother dog's teats.
Q: I have been feeding my two 4-year-old Maltese-poodle mixes,Sonny and Cher (14 and 8 pounds), your fresh-food recipe for 1-1/2years. Their conditions have dramatically improved, and we'll nevergo back to commercial food. The benefits are truly worth the littleextra trouble to make the food once a week.
Not only do my dogs completely enjoy their new food; they can'twait to eat. Their feces are no longer constantly wet, the darkdischarge from their eyes is much less, and their fur has muchbetter texture. They don't have odors anymore and are much easierto groom, as they used to be matted terribly and hated to begroomed).
I have also discontinued giving the dogs the once-a-month fleamedicine, and neither I nor the dog groomer has seen evidence offlea or tick infestation. I don't know whether this is because ofthe ingredients in the food or their better overall health.
Until recently, we were supplementing with a small amount of drydog food in the middle of the day because we were concerned aboutkeeping their teeth clean. We switched to giving them beefmarrowbones, as our grocery store now sells them. I boil them andremove the messy marrow. We give these to them in the middle of theday and then take them away after an hour or so, and they lovethem. Thanks for all of the beneficial advice.
K. & B.J., Alexandria, Va.
A: Thanks for confirming the health benefits of good nutrition thatpeople witness often so dramatically in their dogs and cats whentaken off manufactured junk pet foods. Hence my advocacy ofhome-prepared cat and dog foods that consist primarily ofwhole-food ingredients, ideally organically certified.
Raw beef marrowbones (scalded to kill surface bacteria) are theonly bones dogs should be given to safely clean their teeth as theyenjoy gnawing. Do not cook for long or they will become dangerouslybrittle. A few dogs are obsessive bone gnawers and can damage theirteeth, so I advise a five- to 10-minute bone chew daily or a saferubber chew toy (like a Kong product) that, when stuffed withpeanut butter, can relieve dogs' boredom and separation anxiety.
Q: I love your column and advice (which is usually great). However,as a feral-cat caretaker and advocate for more than 10 years, Ifelt compelled to write to educate you and your readers.
Your recent advice to a query involving a free-roaming feral catwas to call Animal Control to trap and get the cat into a moreresponsible home is, unfortunately, just not realistic.
Millions of healthy, adoptable cats are killed in our shelters eachyear due to overpopulation. Feral cats are killed almostimmediately, usually in the trap they arrive in. The only humanesolution is TNR (trap, neuter, return). Once the cat is fixed,rabies-vaccinated and ear-tipped for identification purposes, thenuisance behavior stops. A feeding station should be set up in anout-of-sight location.
Dr. Fox, you could educate so many people. It is my mission to makeit a more humane world for these forgotten felines. For moreinformation, please go to www.alleycatallies.org .
T.B., Naples, Fla.
A: I respect your concern and passion. Doing good feels good, as Iknow too well as an animal-rights advocate; but what feels good maynot always be the best thing to do.
The TNR that you and many other cat lovers and protectors advocateis extremely controversial. It is no panacea for the plight ofhomeless, lost and feral (gone wild) cats. It can be extremelydetrimental to indigenous wildlife. I would only endorse TNR,coupled with regular monitoring and daily supplemental feeding, forferal-cat populations living where humans have created a rodentoverpopulation and related public-health problems, as in warehousedistricts. A healthy, well-managed, "working" group of TNR cats isappropriate biological warfare in my mind, like using guard dogs toprotect sheep from coyotes. But I am wholly opposed to TNR projectsthat return cats to the wild.
Readers can write to Dr. Fox, Asbury Park Press, 3601 Route 66,Neptune NJ 07754. Mail will be forwarded to Dr. Fox. His Web siteis

www.doctormwfox.org .