EVERYDAY DOGCARE

Watch just a few episodes of House Hunters on HGTV, and youll start hearing a particular refrain repeated by the shows narrator from one episode to the next: On the couples must-have list, a big back yard for Max [or Bella, or Trixie]. Thats right. Along with a double vanity in the master bathroom ensuite, open-concept living with no wall between kitchen and family room, and proximity to downtown, young couples spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on their first home together are making clear that adequate space for the dog to play outdoors is a non-negotiable. In fact, one in three pet-owning clients will refuse to make an offer on a house because it is not ideal for their animal, according to real estate agents responding to a survey by the National Association of Realtors.

My 13-year-old Labrador, Bear, has been a faithful companion all the way through. He is on three different medications for arthritis, and we need to boost him into the back of our Suburban (he refuses to use a ramp), but he is still doing okay. The one problem is that for about the last 10 months now, he will frequently get up from lying down and head for the door, pooping all the way. It doesnt happen every day, but it happens often enough. Bear weighs about 110 pounds. Our local vet has no clue as to the cause but has recommended Neutricks, a drug for dementia, as a potential solution. I have also been advised to try acupuncture and cold laser therapy. Bear is the best dog we have ever had, and I feel I owe him the opportunity to solve this problem before taking that final step. Do you have any advice for resolving this issue?

Dogs might not sport flip flops to get from the hot sand to the ocean waves or to get across the blacktop of a steaming parking lot. But there is summer footwear for their tender soles as well as our own. There are also a number of other items meant to keep dogs safe and comfortable in the summer sun, many of them mimicking products we use to protect ourselves. Here are five of the most important ones.

Here is a CBC for a recent patient of Tufts Cummings School veterinarian Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM - a two-year-old Labrador retriever named Harry. Normally, she says, the CBC is a starting place for figuring out whats wrong. It tells the doctor what tests have to be ordered next as clues to the problem unfold. For this particular dog, there are a lot of abnormal numbers, making it seem like a diagnosis might get complicated. But in this case, Dr. Rozanski comments, the extremely high white blood cell count (as seen on the first line of numbers), along with the fact that on a blood smear almost all the normal white blood cells were replaced with blasts -immature, uncharacterized cells - led straight to the diagnosis of leukemia. Low red blood cell count also supported the diagnosis of leukemia. Leukemias are always in the bone marrow, decreasing the production of red cells as well as platelets.

Most cruise lines do not allow dogs unless they are service animals, and for good reason. Theres no good place for them to play on the ships, no place to relieve themselves, strict health codes that would be hard to stick to with dogs aboard, and laws about quarantining depending on the ports of call visited by the ocean liners. One exception, and only one, is Cunard Cruise Lines Queen Mary II, which sails between New York and Southampton, England. The dogs on that boat are treated in style - with fleece blankets, a complimentary portrait with you, and a kennel master who takes care of walks, indoor play time, and clean-up.

Neighbors had been seeing signs of abuse for a while. Just a couple of nights before the arrest, in fact, one man had witnessed the Everett, Massachusetts, resident hitting his 10-month-old pit bull with a stick. Others had seen him kicking the puppy and stomping on him. Some had tried to step in at times, asking if the dog was okay, only to be shooed away.

Its no secret that former President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush are dog people, as evidenced by Mrs. Bushs ghostwriting of her dog Millies autobiography. So it only makes sense that the couple lives in the very dog-friendly coastal Maine town of Kennebunkport, where shops, outdoor recreation, and events are designed for the enjoyment of dogs and people alike.

The 147 homes and penthouses of Scarlett Place Condominiums on Baltimores Inner Harbor offer fabulous views, 24-hour front desk staff, a pool, fitness center, and rents for a two-bedroom unit climbing to nearly $3,000 a month. What they dont want to be offering any longer are grounds dotted with dog waste. The condo board is serious enough about the infractions that it is considering replacing surveillance cameras with DNA tests.

Tufts professor emeritus and animal behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, was once at a professional meeting of veterinarians and other dog professionals, when one of the speakers asked how many of the 200 or so people in the room let their dogs sleep in their bedroom with them. Every single hand went up. When the speaker went on to ask how many let their dogs onto the bed with them, 75 percent of the hands remained raised.

In the best of all possible worlds, if you have a dog at home, you will be home, too. Or a second dog will be there so the two can keep each other company. Granted, a lot of adult dogs can deal with the boredom, loneliness, and frustration of having no one to interact with all day, but it doesnt mean they like it. And it certainly isnt good for their physical or mental health to lie around with no outlet for their considerable energy or mental acuity and curiosity. As The Pets Hotel, an Australian doggie daycare business explains, dogs are not nocturnal animals. While they are naturally crepuscular, meaning that they have a penchant for activity at dawn and dusk, they also like to spend a fair amount of daylight hours engaged in physical activity and exploration and interaction with their environment - and with other living beings.

Like you, Dr. Stephanie Borns-Weil, the Head of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic, will find out by reaching the end of this sentence that she has won a prestigious award from the Dog Writers Association of America. Its for an article we published in the September 2016 issue. If you go to our website, www.tuftsyourdog.com, and type Words That Wound into the search bar, it will come up as one of the choices.

My 11-year-old retriever-Bernese mix, Charlie, always used to walk forward in a normal fashion. But lately, Ive been noticing that he waddles from side to side as he moves forward, kind of swinging his back in the process. It looks cute, to tell you the truth, and he doesnt seem distressed in any way. Is this a normal part of aging? Ive seen other dogs waddle, too.