A reader has a not-uncommon problem: A sofa-eating puppy. I asked my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to help her out with some tips. Q: My 4-month-old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy ate my sofa. Literally! What can I do? I can’t afford to buy much more new furniture. A: Congratulations — you have a normal puppy! That’s […]

A reader wants to know why her cat is vomiting all the time, but hesitated about all the tests her veterinarian wanted to run. Here are my thoughts. Q: My cat has been vomiting a lot, and my veterinarian wants to run all kinds of tests to figure out the cause. Is that really necessary? […]

A reader asked if vitamin D supplementation was good for dogs as well as humans. The answer is maybe. Here’s what I told her. Q: If vitamin D supplementation is beneficial for humans, can it benefit dogs, too? A: That’s a great question! Researchers at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine published a study in […]

A reader wrote asking me what to do about her cat, who has been hissing and twitching her tail when strangers come into the home. I asked my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to share her thoughts. Q: My cat is aggressive to people who come into our home, whether it’s workers or guests. She crouches, […]

While some breeders remove them from puppies, for most dogs, dewclaws — those thumb-like “toes” on the sides of your dog’s front legs — actually do serve a purpose. This is what I told a reader who asked about them. Q: Why do dogs have dewclaws? I’m talking to a breeder about a puppy, and […]