Dear Cathy,
I recently adopted a dog from a rescue environment. He was in a foster home. He’s 3 to 5 years old and a Maltese-poodle mix. He’s very sweet, lovable and kisses all the time. The problem is, he becomes very aggressive if someone comes in the house. He has to be restrained. At the dog park, he is very sociable with other dogs, but he bit the male owner of another dog. He goes ballistic whenever there’s a car or truck nearby.
Can this aggressiveness be controlled? I have recently purchased a muzzle and a shock collar, which I am hesitant to use.
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Would obedience training help?
– Linda, Montauk, New York
Dear Linda,
This behavior didn’t start with you, so call the rescue group to get more history on him. The group should have some insight on his behavior and be willing to help you find resources to address his needs.
It sounds like he overstimulates easily and needs to meet people and be introduced to new environments much more slowly. Use a Gentle Leader or haltie collar when you are out for better control and nix the dog park and other public spaces for now.
Begin training at home by getting a metal dog kennel and keeping him in the crate so he can meet new visitors from a safe place. Leave him in the kennel the first time he meets someone new. The second time that person comes over, leave him in the crate until he settles down. When you let him out, put him on a leash so he can’t run over to the person. If he overreacts, put him back in the kennel.
Over time, he should get used to the new person and be able to be let out of the crate a little sooner each time.
Do not use a shock collar as it can sometimes make an easily reactive dog more reactive. Instead, put a pheromone collar on him and plug in pheromones around the home to create a less stimulating environment.
Obedience work is fine because it builds a bond between the two of you, but also consult a dog trainer, preferably a female, who specializes with overreactive dogs and uses only positive reinforcement techniques to help dogs learn.
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He may never be great at the dog park, but with time, patience and training, you can greatly reduce his reactivity around people.
Dear Cathy,
I have a large female cat about 13- to 15 years old. She seems to be throwing up quite often. I feed her canned food along with some dry food, plus a small amount of dry treats each morning before I go to work. What she throws up mostly seems to be chunks of either the dry food or treats and some hairballs as she is not a short-hair breed.
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Any suggestions as to what I can do to eliminate the vomiting? I rarely give her any table scraps, but she likes to lick pancake syrup, butter and eggs (off plates). I avoid giving her milk.
– Roger, Rio Rico, Arizona
Dear Roger,
Don’t let her eat or lick plates because human food can make her sick. Kudos on not giving her milk because that can give cats diarrhea. Do give her a hairball product to aid in the passage of hairballs and brush her a lot to reduce the excess fur that could be ingested.
If the problem is not hairballs, she may have developed a food allergy. Your vet can recommend a specialized cat food for six to eight weeks so you can make that determination. If it’s not hairballs or food allergies making her throw up, then your vet may need to test her for other illnesses.
Dear Cathy,
My wife Pam and I wonder if you have training books on the market? If so, through what website?
– Larry, North Las Vegas, Nevada
Dear Larry,
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I don’t have any dog training books. You might search for “dog training” and my name on the Internet and find a few past columns with dog training advice. I am happy, however, to recommend two dog training books, “Getting Started: Clicker Training for Your Dog” by Karen Pryor and “Clicker Training with Your Dog” by Peggy Tillman. I often suggest using a clicker or reward word when training a dog because once a dog learns what the clicker or reward word means, training goes much faster.
Let me know how clicker training works with your dog.
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Send your pet questions, stories and tips to [email protected]. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.
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