A Facebook follower asked me about this particularly sticky pet problem. Here’s my advice! Q: Help! My border collie got pine tree sap in her fur. How do I get it out? A: When it comes to sticky things in fur, there are a lot of different recommended remedies for removal. For instance, creamy peanut […]

Because destructiveness in pets can have a medical as well as behavioral side, I teamed up with my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to help this reader out with her rampaging cat. Q: My cat lives to tear up my stuff. She’s always scratching the furniture, eating houseplants and knocking things off shelves. She’s 2 years […]

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, and my writing partner, Kim Campbell Thornton, shared the story of her recently-lost and much-loved adopted dog, Gemma, in our Pet Connection feature this week: Last month we lost our little Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, Gemma, to cancer. She was probably 16 or 17 years old, so she had a […]

Cats who mark the house with urine present a huge problem to even the most loving owners. When a reader recently wrote asking me about this behavior, I asked my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to help explain. Q: My cat is spraying in the house. It feels like he’s trying to protect us from the […]

Some dogs will eat anything, but it’s the rare dog who can turn down the tasty treat that is cat food. A reader asked me if that’s okay. Q: My 9-year-old cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and needs to eat a special canned food twice a day. When that food comes out, my dog […]