DOG OWNERSHIP

Can littermates recognize their siblings that they havent seen in a long time? My dog and his four littermates are all from Tennessee but ended up in New England and were adopted out to different families by the time they were 12 weeks old. Now they are five, and three of us owners got together for a meet-up recently. We thought the dogs would be ecstatic to see each other again, but while they certainly had a good time horsing around together, they did not appear to have an affinity for each other that was any greater than their affinity for other dogs they have come to know and get along with. At the same time, I have read about littermates so thrilled to see each other again after having been separated for a long time that youd think they were on one of those TV shows where adoptees try to find their birth families. Whats the answer?

Frances Fineberg of Oviedo, Florida, is worried for her two-year-old golden retriever, Amos, and for good reason. He hates going in the car, but the Fineberg family is about to take him on a vacation that involves an 8-hour road trip. They cant board him while they are away because he is a service dog. Ms. Fineberg believes its not the heat of the car thats causing the problem.

Wolves are raised by their mothers and fathers until they are two years old. Not so, dogs. Their mothers are done with them at weaning, around the time a puppy is about 8 weeks of age. Perhaps thats why theres such a high mortality rate among pups not living as pets; more than 80 percent of dogs die in their first year of life without human care. But not to worry - there appears to be an across-species evolutionary process at work that helps helpless, newly motherless puppies get adopted into human homes. It involves a young dogs peak adorableness.

My town has a Facebook page where people go to post announcements or ask questions. When I said on it that I was writing an article on what to do if a big dog attacks a little dog and asked if anyone had stories to share, the responses started flying. A particularly dramatic one came from Todd Alvey, whose 40-pound mixed breed was attacked by two dogs who must have weighed 100 pounds each, he says.

Who among us hasnt felt at least a twinge of guilt when leaving the house to go shopping and watched the beseeching, or even forlorn, look of a dog about to be left alone? Wouldnt it be great, you might think to yourself, if stores would just loosen their policies so your well-behaved pet could come along with you?

First the bad news. The geographic distribution of ticks that can infect dogs (and people) with Lyme disease is spreading. The Northeast has had the problem from the outset, and no area of the U.S. is completely Lyme disease-free, but the Companion Animal Parasite Control Council now says theres going to be an increase this year, with Lyme disease making its way to areas that have not been of particular concern, like the Midwest and the Southeast.

We are about to make a big move across the country, and I am concerned about the emotional well being of my six-year-old American Eskimo dog, Bibi, who has never known any other home. Whats the best way to help her make the transition?

My 11-year-old Lab mix was having trouble breathing, so I took him to the vet, who diagnosed pneumonia. But now the doctor is saying he has to have an operation to correct some trouble in his voice box, which caused the difficulty breathing in the first place and also led to the pneumonia. Does that make any sense? How could a problem with the voice box lead to labored breathing or pneumonia? I have gone to this vet for years but now fear she is trying to bilk me.

Exceedingly few people die from dog bites or other types of canine attacks. In fact, very few people die because of altercations with animals of any kind. In a study released in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine this year, researchers combing data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention found that during the eight years spanning 2008 to 2015, only about 200 people a year died from unfortunate interactions with animals. Farm animals like horses, cows, and pigs, along with other mammals that included cats and raccoons, were responsible for the most deaths to people - 72 per year. Next came deaths from venomous animals - not snakes so much but, rather, hornets, wasps, and bees. They resulted in an average of 60 deaths each year.

Plan a trip to Bavaria, and perhaps visions of Hansel and Gretel-style houses, Black Forest Cake, and cuckoo clocks will dance in your head. But dachshunds?

Cant think of new fun things to do with your dog this summer? Why not take her to Barnes & Noble with you? Or Macys? Or Tiffanys, for a little bling?

Consider how you would feel if you believed yourself to be alone and then suddenly felt a hand on your back. Or if you didnt see any cars coming and stepped into the road, not having heard an auto screeching toward you from just around the corner. Thats how it is for deaf dogs, either because they were born that way or lost their hearing over time.