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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:54 am Post subject:

we have a 2 yr. old dashound and he has tendency to urinate only on my side of the bed on my pillow, what would be causeing this behavior?

Expert's Answers:

It sounds like your dog maybe claiming dominance over you. Does the dog have competition?Are you giving your dog a lots of attention? The dog maybe trying to get your attention which he/she definitely can do by soiling the pillow.
If it has just started happening, a trip to your vet to rule out anything medical maybe important.
Debby Williams
Veterinary Services Manager, Erie County SPCA

I agree that a trip to the vet may be in line. However, urine marking is typically not a sign of dominance in dogs. It results from stress. Your dog may be marking your pillow as a means of keeping his scent next to yours or if there is another animal present, he is claiming that territory as his since he does not want the other animals on the bed. I would observe him carefully and not permit him on the bed if you are not there with him.

Pia Silvani, CPDT-KA, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare enter

I agree completely with the recommended trip to your veterinarian to rule out medical problems and with keeping the dog off the bed 100% when you can't supervise (and possibly completely if he can't behave appropriately when up there). I also think you are going to need a completely new pillow and possibly a new mattress. This may sound extreme, but IMHO lots of peeing in dogs is triggered by the smell of previous pee, whether that is their own pee or the pee of another dog. If this problem has persisted for a long period of time, you probably have a lot of accumulated pee smell in this area (which is unfortunate on several levels Sad

). As a first step, you could invest in a large bottle of enzyme-based odor neutralizer (like Nature's Miracle) and try pouring it onto the mattress and/or pillow. My rule of thumb is that you want to use an amount of neutralizing liquid approximately equal to the amount of pee that has been in the area. Note that the same enzyme-based liquid can also be added to the bleach or fabric softener dispenser of your washer when you are washing the bedding to ensure that it permeates all surfaces. That may work for you, but if not (i.e., you or the dog can still smell any urine at all), you may need to replace the mattress. If you don't take sufficient steps to completely eliminate the smell of previous "accidents", my experience suggest that attempts to re-housetrain your dog will likely fail.

P.S. Investing in waterproof mattress pads for every mattress pad in your house is usually a smart move for anyone who lives with lots of pets, just to avoid having to replace mattresses for this kind of reason. Protect-A-Bed makes a great one that isn't slippery or noisy at all --- and you can get it from amazon.com.

Good luck!!

Sarah Babcock
Chief of Education and Training
Richmond SPCA

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:55 am Post subject:

I have a 1 year old Lab mix who is constantly chasing my cats and they hide in their little room all the time cause their scared of him cause occassionaly he's jumped on them and pinned them down. He's fine with the ferrets. Is there any way to stop this.

Expert's Answers:

Hi Stacey, Yes, you can certainly suppress this behavior and eliminate it from your dogs repertoire. The key is not to allow the dog to practice the behavior. Chasing is very self-reinforcing for dogs. Basically, it is innately reinforcin. When I work with dogs and cats, I put the dog on a very strict training program, making sure the dog can recall off any distraction. The dog must also be crated to give the cats time to wander. Lastly, the dog should be wearing a drag line so you can stop him from chasing the cats. Supervision is critical. You can begin by having the cat in a carrier and permit the dog to be close (not too close) to the cat. Call the dog off the carrier and reward him with something he never gets but LOVES! He needs to understand that coming to you is worth his while. Also, if he retrieves, I reward with a retrieve since I am putting the dog in chase mode, but chasin after the correct object. Hope this gives you a starting point.
Pia Silvani, CPDT, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:56 am Post subject:

my dog (lab/australian shepherd mix) that i adopted six months ago is a wonderful guy- we've been taking him to training and he's doing great. however, he is very possessive of food/toys/bones, etc, to other dogs and members of our family. he will growl and even bite to get whatever he thinks is his. how can we help him with this?

Expert's Answers:

Hi Annie,

This is quite serious. I prefer not to give advice on aggression cases without getting a very detailed history. My suggestion is to find a local behaviorist in your area who is certified and trained to handle aggression cases, using reward-based methods based on science. Good luck!
Pia Silvani CPDT, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ

Emphatically agree with Pia's suggestion that you find a behaviorist to help with this behavior and one who uses "reward-based methods based on science". What won't work is to simply correct the dog for growling or snapping, so be very careful of listening to the advice of folks who suggest that you go that route. There is a good book on the subject of resource guarding called "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson, just in case you would like to read more about what a science-based approach might look like.

Good luck!!

Sarah Babcock
Chief of Education and Training
Richmond SPCA

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:57 am Post subject:

How do I get my dogs to stop barking at every person that walks by on our sidewalk? They are both Lhasa Apso's, a known guardian breed but their barking is obnoxious! Smile

Thanks!

Expert's Answers:

Hi Lisa. Yes, barking certainly is obnoxious, I agree. Barking is a means of canine communication and typically not a nuisance until it gets out of hand. If you cannot stop your dogs from barking on cue, then it is a nuisance. Dogs should bark to warn. They can be better than an alarm system. Yet, they should silence themselves when told. First, you should not give your dogs access to the triggers that cause the dogs to bark. Secondly, teach your dogs what quiet means. You can do this by ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door. Allow them to bark. Wait for silence. Tell them "YES" and reward with a treat. You may need to do this separate and apart at first. Continue on. Once the dog hears the bell, barks once or twice and is silent, say "Quiet." You are pairing up the behavior with a word. Shouting quiet before the dog understands what it means is useless. You are now building a reinforcement history for silencing themself when told. Once the dog learns that it gets rewarded for being quiet, randomly reward. Good luck!
Pia Silvani, CPDT, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:00 am Post subject:

I live in a condo and my dog barks like crazy and runs to the door when other dogs walk by in the hallway. She is a 3yr. old puggle. How can I break her of this habit? Most times, she's already half way to the door and barking like mad before I can get to her to say no.

How do I get my dogs to stop barking at every person that walks by on our sidewalk? They are both Lhasa Apso's, a known guardian breed but their barking is obnoxious! Smile

Thanks!

Expert's Answers:

Hi Barb,
See my post to the previous question on barking. The only difference for you is that the triggers are not visible but sound-related. You need to pair up the sound of person walkng by with a good recall off the door. Therefore, have a friend (a really good one!) walk by the door. BEFORE your dog begins to bark, call her to you and reward her for coming. Do not permit her to run back to the door to give her last two cents. Eventually, she should listen for a person, run to you in hopes of getting a treat. That is when you know you can randomly reward. Good luck!
Pia Silvani, CPDT, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:26 pm Post subject: Puppy mill rescue question

Hi!

In April 2009, my husband and I adopted a havanese from a rescue that had saved the dog from a puppy mill in Kansas. When we got him, he was about 11 months old. He started out very skittish and would not come to anyone (although he followed our bichon around like his shadow). Over time, he has learned that people can be ok, treats are awesome, and a belly rub is heaven. He comes to me and greets me without any problems and sleeps in bed with us. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my husband. Bintur, the havanese rescue, is skittish and runs away, barks, and keeps his distance from my husband even to this day. The only exception is when we are laying in bed and once in a while Bintur will get brave and give a kiss or accept a belly rub from my husband. My husband absolutely loves dogs and has never done anything to make Bintur fear him. Bintur usually takes a few hours before he will trust someone enough to let them get close but he eventually does allow it. We have put the dogs in a pet resort during a weekend trip and by the second day Bintur was sitting on one of the handlers laps. It has become very disheartening for my husband because he just wants to enjoy playing and petting Bintur as much as our bichon Asbury. Can you help us figure out why Bintur is so skittish of my husband only?

Thank you,

Erin

Expert's Answers:

Erin,
Thanks for your question. I had a similar case with a dog that was semi-feral (had been raised up to the age of 10 weeks by two very capable dogs that have been living in a local park, raising litters in a fox den for the last 3 years!). At any rate, I think with many of the mill dogs, given their lack of "normal" interaction with a multitude of people and limited exposure, that when in homes, men are often more threatening, even if they are not doing anything to provoke or instill fear (as far as we can tell) in the dog.

But why? Well, we could guess:
1. lack of exposure/early socialization
2. "bad" experiences with men
3. who knows!

I simply think some dogs are threatened by men, as they are taller, have deeper voices, smell of testosterone, etc.

I think what happens in the evening when your husband comes to bed, is that once he lays down he is truly in a vulnerable position, and when he is on his back, your dog may feel confident enough to approach, investigate and interact with him. This is exactly what my client experienced when her husband came to bed too.

I guess where I'd take a look is at the dynamic. In some cases, the more we "react" to our dogs (even in a positive way), the more pressure we may put on them. And if our dogs are looking to us to figure out how to respond, one thing I would ask you is, "How do you react or do you react when my dog is barking at my husband?" What do you do when this happens?

If you have tried to comfort the little guy, in an attempt to have him stop barking, this may just provide a little back up for him (and usually doesn't teach him to be less likely to bark at your husband).

Have you tried 100% ignoring this? It can be challenging, but I'd give it a try. That means no talking to, touching, looking at, etc. In fact, you may want to see what happens if you get up and leave the room when your dog begins barking at your husband.

If the dog is attempting to guard or protect/defend you, start to take a look at when the barking is happening- is it when your husband approaches you or walks near you?

In regard to confidence building, I think many dogs (especially mill dogs), benefit from very passive interactions in "training". How? I'd perhaps start to wait for the dog to offer voluntary eye contact to get all sorts of things-to go outside, to be walked, to be fed, etc.

If you too take on these types of routine exercises, you may also alleviate some stress for the dog as well, (especially in cases where the dog may be protecting/defending you). Many dogs that are inadvertently put in such a position, almost instantly make progress once we begin to alleviate their stress.

Also, if your husband is doing any "heavy lifting" or working hard to win your dog over, I'd take a break. Often we try really hard to win a dog over, and many people try to touch or interact with a dog, lean over it giving the dog direct eye contact. Oy! All these things in terms of dog body language are universals signals for, "please don't come any closer." They are threatening even if they are not meant to me. So, take a look at what he has been trying.

Again, I would recommend that he interact with the little guy in a very passive way, by waiting for eye contact to earn "life rewards"- things that the dog loves to do- tugging, sniffing, playing find it games (tossing treats). Tugging can be a great confidence builder too!

Good luck!
Leigh Siegfried
Missiondog.com
Opbarks.com

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:50 pm Post subject:

Hello, and thank you for moderating this forum! It comes at a good time for me and my "family". (Please excuse the not-so-pretty details to follow).

Recently, my partner had to move out of state for his job, and because I work long hours and have a long commute, he took our 9-month old female Olde English Bulldogge with him. He works a split shift and has a very short commute, so has been spending a lot of time with our puppy. He got a pet-friendly apartment on the third floor but takes her on walks several times a day. She does her business normally during the walks. However, about 2 weeks ago (about 1 1/2 after the move), my boyfriend woke up to find that she defecated all over the bedroom. This is very unlike her - we had a very easy time house training. While he was cleaning, she did the same thing in her crate, and then on the balcony (where she started vomiting). The vet found nothing wrong with her. She spent the night at the vet's, and didn't have any accidents. A few days after coming home, though, she started having the same type of accidents. When he called me last Saturday, he had just taken her for a walk where she was able to do her business but then came into the house and had diarrhea on the living room floor.

I know it's hard for my partner to deal with this - he's all by himself and I'm sure it's frustrating - so I'd like to help him find a solution to the problem (so he doesn't end up giving our puppy away!). I will join him in June, but until then, what can we do to help solve this problem?

Thank you in advance for your help!!!!

Expert's Answers:

Oh dear. Poor dog! Poor all of you! Obviously, this is stress related since the vet has given a clean bill of health. While I am not a veteriarian, I cannot recommend medication. You may want to talk to your vet about putting your dog on an anti-anxiety medication. If you are not in favor of meds, there are a few holistic approaches that have worked nicely for dogs that are stressed. You can purchase a DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) collar on line. This has had very positive affects on many dogs. The dog would wear it as a regular collar. Lavender also has a calming affect on dogs. I put drops of pure lavender on the dog's collar which has helped. Talk to your vet about Melatonin as well. Lastly, Google "anxiety wrap." We have used these on dogs with thunder phobia and the results were amazing. Good luck.
Pia Silvani, CPDT, Director of Training and Behavior, St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Madison, NJ

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:20 pm Post subject:

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:21 pm Post subject:

I have 10 cats, plus one foster kitten right now. I have one cat in particular that is destroying my house. There are 2 different doorways, one spot on the carpet, and he's started a spot near the wall in the basement where I just got brand new carpet in January. I have used squirt bottles, foil, double sided tape, No Scratch spray, Feliway spray and plug ins, the nail caps on several different occasions, applied by both myself and my vet, he has scratchers of all sizes, shapes, materials, etc. I've put scratchers over top of it, beside it, sprayed his other scratchers with catnip. Used the motion activated air spray, a scat mat. Nothing is working and I'm totally at my wits end. I paid a lot of money for my carpet. None of my other cats do this. I clip his nails regularly. I really don't know what else to do. Its making me hate him, as bad as that sounds. I came home tonight to find a mound of carpet scratched up downstairs, with all the little plastic strings all over the place. I cried. I admit it. I've always been the one who says I don't put my material posessions before my animals, but when they start destroying things I saved for a long time for, and paid a lot of money for, it gets to mee. Someone please help me before I strangle him.

New carpet downstairs

Corner of spare bathroom door

Corner of my bedroom door. Notice also whats hes doing to the actual door. But doors can be touched up or replaced very cheaply. Carpet cannot.

In the doorway of the spare bedroom

Expert's Answers:

I completely understand your frustration. You sound very knowledgeable and committed to your cats. You have tried many of the things most of us experts would recommend. One thing I would ask is if you committed to each of these fixes for at least two weeks before moving on to the next one. In our frustration, we sometimes bounce from solution attempt to solution attempt without giving the cat a chance to acclimate to the new scenario and respond appropriately.

Is the cat scratching at the doorways when confined to the space? If that is the case, he may need to be confined in a place without carpet -- or in a cattery cage-- when not supervised, to break the habit. Again, I would try one of these options for two weeks and then when allowing him back in the carpeted areas, I would place something over the spots he is most drawn to (plastic carpet runners, a box, maybe even place a citrus-smelling air freshener in the area or some other odor repellant) and watch him like a hawk. When introducing him back in the space, I'd offer new toys or a window perch or something else that might hold his attention. Maybe provide a dry food dispensing toy. This should do the trick if the problem is boredom.

What else might it be? Frustration, stress from the number of cats in the household, lack of exercise or mental stimulation, heck he might even be trying to get to something below the floorboards. Your household is very complicated due to the number of cats you have. Your best bet to save your carpeting and your sanity as well as your relationship with the cat is to bring in an applied animal behaviorist who can take a complete history, see your set-up and design a behavior modification protocol specifically for your situation.

I wish you the best with this frustrating situation.

Jacque Schultz, MA CPDT-KA
ASPCA Community Initiatives

Thank you! He scratches at the doorways from outside of the rooms. My bedroom is kept closed because I have a cat in there who does not get along with other cats. The spare bathroom and spare bedroom are kept closed just out of convenience of not having to clean those rooms and keeps the cat hair out. I did try everything that I did for a number of weeks, as well as attempting them again. I used spray catnip, which he loved, but he still went back to the carpet.
I don't think its stress from other cats. He is one of the most social cats in my house, and is the first to greet new foster kittens AND puppies, and there is never so much as a hiss from him. He is immediately playing with them like they lived there forever. Because of the locations of the scratching, I can only assume its because the doors are closed and he wants in. Nothing much I can do about my bedroom, but I can open the spare bathroom door and see if that helps. I have a new condo on order from Amazon.com that should be here in a few days, and just got one last week that is bigger. My house is going to look like a cat playground. lol

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:48 am Post subject:

sorry to ask 2 questions, I forgot one other thing, my neutered male also has an obsession with licking me... not himself, but me. usually my face. I have tried everything I can think of to get him to stop, even put bitter spray on my face. a kiss once and awhile is fine, but he licks til its raw, especially when im sleeping. any suggestions? its kinda annoying Sad

thank you for your time!!

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:49 am Post subject:

What are the best ways to deal with anxiety aggression?? We have come a long with our adopted pit mix, but still have some things to work out. Vet trips are the worst!

Expert's Answers:

Hi there -- more info needed -- details about the issue(s)? Most aggression cases require taking a very long history. Have you ever worked with a professional trainer/behaviorist/vet on this problem and what did they recommend?

Liz Marsden
MissionDog.com

I agree with Liz on this. Aggression is a serious issue and there is no cookbook recipe when dealing with this behavior. Typically, when I work with dogs that are exhibiting aggressive behaviors, the consultation takes 2 hours to get enough history to understand the problem.

Pia Silvani
Director of Training and Behavior
www.sthuberts.org

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:50 am Post subject:

Hi - thanks for helping! I have a similar issue to Bonnie Briel Griffin - my 5 year old cat used to go in the litter box with no problem. She now will use the box to urinate but will not use the box for excrement. She goes on a bath mat that is near the litter box. I've also tried changing litters, boxes, etc. I had her checked at the Vet and its not a biological issue - they told me it was psychological.

Expert's Answers:

Good for you for trying all the things you have tried so far!! You mention that you have tried changing boxes, but I wonder about box size. In my experience, this is the biggest problem when the cat uses the litter box for one thing, but not another. It may be that your cat needs to move around more during the pooping (as opposed to the peeing) process and the box you have now doesn't provide enough room. It may also be that your cat has developed a “substrate preference” for fabric surfaces (i.e., the bath mat) over litter products while pooping, which is not uncommon. Can you pick up all throw rugs and towels for some period of time, just so your cat doesn’t continue to rehearse the unwanted behavior? It might be that without a bath mat "option", the litter box will become the bathroom-of-choice once again. I would also experiment with the depth of the litter in the box. Most cat owners add litter until it "looks" about right to us, which means that the amount probably varies week to week --- but lots of cats are very finicky about how deep it is. I think that most cats like less litter and we humans tend to like more, possibly because it means we don't have to add litter as often. Confused

If you can possibly add a second box right next to the first one, and put less litter in one of the boxes, the cat should tell you quite quickly which one he prefers.

Good luck --- and keep us posted.

Sarah Babcock
Chief of Education and Training
Richmond SPCA

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:51 am Post subject:

My dog pees on our patio and anything that we put on it. He did not start doing this though until we stained the concrete. How can I get him to stop? And why did he start this only after the concrete staining?

Expert's Answers:

Is he lifting his leg "marking" the floor or just objects on the patio -- furniture? My first guess (and it's just a guess) if he is lifting his leg, is that the concrete staining smells weird and/or the patio seems like some new place that he has to "claim" -- do other dogs/animals passing by have access to this patio? I don't know what's in concrete stain but you could always do an experiment and stain something else with it -- a pile of bricks way out in the yard and see if he's attracted to that too. Is the stuff on the patio new or is it the same furniture etc that was always there?

As with all behavior problems the solution is to 1. Prevent the animal from practicing the old behavior (don't give him free access to the patio unless you are right there so you can interrupt the peeing when it happens in front of you) and 2. Reinforce the animal for doing something else (i.e get very generous with reinforcing peeing where you want it to happen) -- a few delicious treats after every appropriately-location pee would really help him choose where to go!

Does that help?

Liz Marsden
MissionDog.com

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:52 am Post subject:

How do I get my cat to go to the bathroom In the litter box instead of crouching the opposite way so he goes to the bathroom out of the litter box?

Expert's Answers:

He may need a larger size litterbox or you could try a covered litterbox. Not all litter boxes work for each cat. Some cats even like their separate litterboxes for urination and another for defecation. You may need to experiment in litterbox size and shapes.Do not give up!
Has there been a type of litter change or has he always done this? Is the box scooped everyday? He may not like the smell so is attempting to use the box but doesn't want to be near it. Some cats do not like the litter used.
Medical problems should be ruled out first but you may find your answers by the clues your cat is leaving.

Debby Williams
Veterinary Services Manager
Erie County SPCA

I encourage our clients to not buy litterboxes in the cat section of their local store. Many of todays cats are way too large for the traditional boxes sold. Use large plastic storage boxes with 6-8 inch sides. This will also prevent the male cats from peeing over the side.

Dr. Grant Gugisberg
Parkview Cat Clinic

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:53 am Post subject:

We adopted a beautiful 10 months Golden Retreiver a year ago in the Montreal's SPCA. We are very happy with our adoptee! He is part of the familly! The only concerns we have is concerning the skin problems he has, like Hot spots, like ear mites, otits etc.. I always had dog like labs, and I was lucky to no problems.. But what can we do to reduce the incidents of skin issues? It is almost every month we have to see the vet... Thank you

Expert's Answers:

Some dogs seems to be blessed with exceptional health while others are prone to every allergen and parasite. First, discuss your dog's diet with your vet. He may have food sensitivities that are making him prone to itchiness and other skin conditions. Many vets have a limited knowledge of nutrition, so you may need to see a veterinary nutritionist or one who specializes in pet allergies or dermatology. A change in diet and supplements like omega-3 fatty acid may be of considerable help.

Also discuss your grooming protocol with your vet. Some conditions are helped by frequent baths with special shampoos or cleaning with medicated wipes, while other conditions are actually made worse by too-frequent cleansing.

Jacque Schultz, MA CPDT-KA
ASPCA Community Initiatives

Hi There,

Always hard to give a diagnosis (even preliminary) without seeing the patient, but from your post I would certainly have skin allergies fairly high on my list of things that could be causing the repeat problems you are seeing with your dog.

Allergies in dogs can generally be broken down into two main categories - allergies to things they are inhaling (such as pollen or ragweed; this is known as "atopy") or allergies to things that they are eating (more intuitively called "food allergies"). Somewhat unlike the case in people with similar allergies in people, dogs manifest these allergies in the form of skin problems. Generally they are pretty itchy - which may include outright scratching, as well as licking or chewing their paws and rubbing their face and ears on the couch or carpet. The skin inflammation leads to secondary problems, like superficial bacterial infections, hot spots, repeat ear infections, sometimes --rear end-- gland infections. While these secondary problems or symptoms are often what gets noticed and can usually be cleared up with appropriate treatment, they tend to recur if the underlying allergic issue(s) are not addressed.

I would encourage you to speak with your regular vet and consider pursuing a referral to a veterinary dermatologist, but here is a very brief Dog Allergies 101:

Dogs can be atopic, food allergic, or (for an unlucky few) both. Because dogs with atopy are frequently allergic to pollens and grasses, they often have a seasonality to their symptoms but can show signs all year long if they are allergic to something that is always in the environment (like dust mites). Treatment of atopy centers around reducing exposure to the allergens, symptomatic treatment, and/or immunotherapy "allergy shots" like people often require. Some dogs have relatively mild, seasonal symptoms and can be managed with bathing and medications (like omega 3 fatty acids and antihistamines with the occasional use of steroids), while other dogs have more severe symptoms or suffer year round and really benefit from the allergy shots. The only way to truly diagnose atopy and determine what a dog is allergic to is to perform skin testing (again, like in people), and these results can be used to determine what to put in the allergy shots.

For food allergies, diagnosis and treatment go hand in hand, and most vets will try to definitely rule out a food allergy before pursuing things like skin testing. Because dogs can be allergic to even tiny amounts of the offending food stuff, your vet will want to get a very detailed dietary history for you dog - including the ingredient lists for all the foods and treats you regularly give him/her. Food allergies are diagnosed through something called an "elimination trial" or a "novel protein diet trial" - your vet will suggest a diet made of ingredients that your dog has not been regularly exposed to, and you feed that diet (and here's the hard part - only that diet!) for a period of 4-12 weeks. Dogs with a food allergy to something that they were previously eating will improve with the diet change, and if you go back to feeding the old diet (although people seldom want to go this final step!) their clinical signs will recur. Once you get the diagnosis, treatment is straightforward - don't let the dog eat what he/she is allergic too. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever lived with a dog knows - that is easier said than done!

Chronic skin issues can be tricky to diagnose and deal with a real source of frustration for you and discomfort for your dog, and a veterinarian with special training will be most equipped to handle a case like this.

Hope that is helpful,
Dr. Stephanie Janeczko
Medical Director
Animal Care & Control of New York City

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