Q: My 10-year-old half-yellow lab, half-German Shepherd chasescats. Ever since I got her from the Kanawha/Charleston HumaneAssociation, she has been chasing my cats. When I walk her to go doher business, she chases the stray cats, too. Now they are afraid ofher and so are my cats. What should I do?
A: Unfortunately to some dogs, the cat is the other white meat.Your question brings up a few good points. First of all, I like tohear of a 10-year-old dog still interested in the thrill of the chaseinstead of the comfort of the couch. Second, because she is from thehumane association (good for you for opening your home to a needypet) she may have been behaving this way long before she came to livewith you.
Dogs like to chase, whether it is cars, mailmen, cats or theintruder from their territory. The problem lies in the fact that theprey always runs away. (Are you getting a vision of the meter manleaping your fence in a single bound?) This creates confidence inyour dog that she is successful and will be successful each time shechases something. She is learning this behavior and getting positivereinforcement; a hard habit to break.
My best advice to you would be never to let your dog loose in theneighborhood to terrorize the cats; she is a known cat chaser. As faras your own cats go, I do not recommend trying to condition the dogwith positive reinforcement to like the cats, for example, by doingsupervised get-togethers. This would be too stressful for the cat andowner both.
The golden rule of cats is never, ever upset the cat. As we allknow, cats hold a grudge and owners are always the victims. What youcan try to do in the home is to create safe places for your cats.Allow them to be above the dog or in areas that the dog can't get to,like cabinets, garages and rooms. Most importantly, make sure youspend time with the cats without the dog present to reinforce yourbond with them and give them some peaceful relaxing time. Lastly,take heart, your problem is very common. My beloved Nehlen enjoys agood lap through the kitchen in hot pursuit of a flying furball atleast once daily.
Q: My dog's tongue has become discolored. It looks like a piece ofliver. Any ideas? There are no other symptoms, but I did take her tothe vet a day ago and he put her on antibiotics for a urinary tractinfection.
A: Veterinarians always notice oral pigment. There are two classesusually: abnormal and normal pigment. Yellow, white or blue pigmentsin the oral cavity are abnormal and should raise a red flag in yourmind. Pink is the normal pigment for gums and tongue, unless your dogis a chow or a chow-mix whose normal oral pigment is blue-black. Theylike to be difficult.
A liver-colored tongue is definitely an abnormality and is areflection of how the circulatory system is doing. Because the tongueis such a vascular muscle, even small changes in the ability of bloodcells to carry oxygen will be readily visible to us by its pigment.
One condition that can cause a muddy-red color is hyperthermia, ora high fever. We see this sometimes in greyhounds in warmer months orafter a race when their body temperatures can go as high has 104degrees F. To determine if hyperthermia is the cause, take your dog'stemperature rectally; normal temperatures for a dog are between 99degrees and 102.5 degrees F. Antibiotics are the treatment for mostfevers, so it sounds like your vet was right on.
Your question brings up a good point: examine all areas of yourpet critically, including opening her mouth. Even a small detail liketongue color can be a great clue to help determine what is going oninside your companion.
