DOG HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Say mites, and many people think mange, a highly contagious disease often referred to as scabies or sarcoptic mange. Caused by a species of mite known as Sarcoptes scabiei, it occurs when the microscopic animals burrow through a dogs skin, causing severe itching and irritation. Treatment consists of oral and/or topical drugs that kill the mites, with the dog perhaps being dipped in a medicated shampoo. Ongoing treatment over the course of several weeks is critical, as the drugs kill only living mites, not eggs that havent hatched yet. The eggs need to mature so the continued drug administration can take care of that next generation of mites, too.

Great Dane mix Menace had survived myriad allergies, gastrointestinal problems, mange, bloat, and a blockage in his intestine but kept going. In his later years, says his owner, Cathy Sutton of Franklin, Massachusetts, his back end was giving out. He started to lose control of his bowel. And his neck always had a huge strain on it and was tight all the time because he was compensating with his front end for his weakened back end. When he was 12 years old everybody told me that was as long as he was going to live.

I know Ive told you guys a couple of times already that our shiba inu Rosie takes a drug called Proin twice every single day. It increases the tone of the sphincter in her bladder so she doesnt dribble urine in the house by accident. Normally, we have no problem getting it into her. We call out, Rosie, Franklin, its time for your meds! and both dogs come running, Rosie to get the pill wrapped in a tight little wad of American cheese and Franklin just for the tiny wad of cheese. (There aint no way Im not gettin in on some of that, he told us early on.)

Several months ago you published an article that talked about a medicine called pimobendan that could stave off the symptoms of congestive heart failure and thereby keep a dog with that condition healthier for a longer period of time. I have a 12-year-old beagle, Chewy, in that situation. She has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure because she has a heart murmur and an enlarged heart but does not yet have major symptoms of the disease - not really any weakness, difficulty breathing, severe loss of appetite, or cough.

I have just gotten a Great Dane puppy, eight weeks old, and the vet said I should feed her food for large-breed puppies because it has less calcium for its calories than food for smaller puppies. I said, You mean more calcium, right? because a big dog like a Great Dane needs more calcium to build bigger bones. But the vet insisted that food for large-breed puppies has less calcium. How can that be?

Tufts veterinary nutritionist Deborah Linder, DVM, DACVN, doesnt just counsel people who have to make sure their household pets dont eat each others food. She has to contend with plate-sharing issues among the animals in her own home. I have a dog and two cats, she says, and everybody wants to eat everybody elses food, but they all have different medical diseases and have to be on separate diets. Yet they all have to be fed at the same time or they get very upset and go around howling.

Poor little Scottish terrier Newt was barley two months old and had been in his new home only a few weeks when, according to his owner, Jackie Strom, he kind of rolled over on his back, his arms and legs going. His eyes were sort of in the back of his head, and he lost control of his bowels. It probably didnt last much more than a minute or so.

My dog has always liked to squeeze himself into tight spaces to hang out - under the dining room table, between the couch and the wall, the bed and the wall, even on a shelf in the basement when I go down to do laundry. What is that about? Should I be concerned?

My dog is now almost a year old and absolutely loves to go in the water. There is a saltwater bay near our house that leads to the ocean, and nothing makes him happier than to splash around in it, and even swim in it. He grins from ear to ear. But should I be bathing him after each wet excursion? After all, water in a bay - or even in a stream or river - carries its own bacteria and other pathogens and may not be perfectly harmless. Also, I wonder if the salt in the water is prone to making the skin under his coat too dry. Please tell me the verdict on how often to bathe a dog who enjoys the ocean, lakes, ponds, or streams? I certainly wouldnt go into the water without bathing afterwards.

Say cancer, and what comes to mind is not a mad rush to the emergency room to avoid imminent death but, rather, a slow-growing problem with gradual deterioration. However, some dogs (and people) with cancer often feel perfectly fine and exhibit no symptoms and therefore go undiagnosed - until a catastrophic emergency occurs.

Is there an age when female dogs no longer go into heat, a sort of doggie menopause? I am asking because I just adopted two dogs who have not been spayed. One is 10, and the other is 5.

When pitbull mix Brooklyn came to live with Rochelle Lucas and Aaron Roylance at the ripe age of 9, he tipped the scales somewhere between 90 and 95 pounds. The vet said, he cannot stay at this weight, Ms. Lucas recalls. Thats going to be really hard on his joints."