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Sometimes my dog moves her paws when she's sleeping. She does a paddling motion like she's trying to run and she makes little sounds. It looks like she's dream…
Stories by Rhonda Owen
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We go to the lake a lot during the summer. Now we have a new dog, a mixed-breed from a local rescue group. Osgood is midsize, about 36 pounds. We hope he's a s…
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I was trimming matted hair on my cat's neck and accidentally cut off a couple of whiskers. Will they grow back? I feel awful about it even though it didn't see…
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We need some advice. We have taken in a little Heinz 57 that's about 3 years old. She strayed from home about a month ago and it took almost a week before we c…
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We found a box turtle living in our backyard and my kids want to keep it for a pet. I don't want a turtle in the house, but am open to some sort of outdoor arr…
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As we cruise through the end of May, here are some tips and tidbits from the living-with-pets grab bag.
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My dog, Mollie, got an ugly sore spot on the top of one leg. She rubbed against the door frame and constantly licked and scratched the spot. The veterinarian s…
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What can I do to make my short-haired cat shed less? I got a short-haired cat thinking that she wouldn't shed as much as a long-haired one, but I was wrong. I …
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For years now, I have used raised bowls for my dogs' food and water because I heard this decreases the risk of bloat. Last week, I read that using these raised…
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Are there any benefits to giving probiotics to my cat? Are they safe? I want to make sure my cat is as healthy as she can be.
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Spring's in full swing, which means the reappearance of pests that fly, crawl, hop, buzz and bite our pets. Last week's column addressed how to deal with ticks…
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I've found a couple of ticks this year -- one on me and one on my dog. I found the first tick on me in early March. Does the fact that we had almost no winter …
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I have a cat and we are thinking of adopting a dog from a rescue group. Is there a way to know if a dog will get along with or tolerate a cat? We don't want to…
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I took my dog out to the dog park recently. While she ran around with some dogs, I listened to the other people talking about kinds of dog training. I don't re…
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Our cat, Claude, has started displaying odd behaviors. He wanders around the house at night and makes a lot of noise moaning and meowing. Sometimes he stands i…
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I have two small dogs and one cat so I am always fighting pet hair in my house. I have hardwood floors and there always seem to be dust bunnies made of cat and…
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Dogs and cats may not always be the best of friends, but having both in your home or on your farm can successfully keep mice and other "pest rodents" away, a U…
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I want to take my 6-month-old puppy to a puppy day care. What do I need to know when I'm trying to pick one?
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I read your column about cats and hair mats. I brush my dog's hair every couple of days to keep it from matting, so my question isn't about that. I'm curious a…
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My mom and dad have a sweet dog that they got from a shelter. Kelly is a mixed breed. He gets along well with everyone, but he ducks his head and kind of moves…
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Many of the questions I receive from readers are related to litter box problems, with the majority concerning cats that begin to inexplicably go in places othe…
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My house cat is approximately 10 years old. She has recently stopped urinating in her litter box and has chosen a rug at our back door. I bought a new litter b…
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This might be a weird question, but I want to know if my dog needs more calories in cold weather than he does in warm weather. Even though we haven't had much …
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My kitten is nearly 3 months old and still has baby teeth. When will she start getting adult teeth? What happens to the baby teeth then?
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When we're out walking, my dog sniffs everything along the way. Sometimes he'll smell something, then rub his head on the ground where he was sniffing. Once he…
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With only 11 days left before Christmas, you've no doubt completed your shopping. Or not. But even if you're almost finished, there could still be one or two h…
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I have a sweet-natured male cat that is about 2 1/2 years old. He is smart, friendly to strangers and an all-around great cat. Sometimes when I walk away from …
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We have a new puppy that's pretty big. He's supposed to grow to weigh as much as 75 pounds. We also have a smaller dog that we adopted when she was a puppy. We…
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Just in time for Thanksgiving and the weeks of feasting to follow, here are a few seasonal helpers for pet owners.
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There is a fish tank in my daughter's classroom at her elementary school that she likes a lot. Now she wants us to get her some fish for pets. Any suggestions?…
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I need some advice on giving pills to cats. I am having to give them to my cat for a couple of weeks and it's not going well. When I can get her mouth open and…
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Thank you for your column about fall hazards for dogs and cats. I would like to suggest that you add antifreeze to the list of poisons people need to be carefu…
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Here's a bit of seasonal advice and news for our furry family members.
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We're going to adopt a rescue cat, but are trying to decide if we want a kitten or an older cat. We're really open to just about any kind of cat, but need some…
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As most of us know, mobile apps aren't just for playing games, watching videos and tracking imaginary creatures. Apps can put helpful -- and possibly lifesavin…
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I adopted a male cat, Walter, last month. Walter is a wonderful cat, but he gets weird when I rub his belly. He rolls over and shows his belly like he wants to…
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A dog on our block is outside in his yard a lot and he barks all the time. My wife said he barks because he's bored and she can tell because it's a slow, stead…
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Bookshelves in stores and libraries are filled with self-help books addressing human problems, but there also are a fair number of books devoted to explaining …
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My dog gets obsessed with toys with squeakers in them. She has ripped apart stuffed toys to find the squeaker thing. Why does she do this? Sometimes she chews …
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Sometimes it feels like guilt goes hand in hand with having a pet. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect pet parents, beating ourselves up when w…
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Why is it important for my dog to have blood tests during his annual exam? Why does he need a blood test even when he's obviously healthy?
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We had a stray cat adopt us recently. When cleaning her up, we noticed she had a sore place on her skin that she had been biting and licking. We washed it and …
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My dog Berry is 13 years old and I think she's losing her hearing. Or she might have lost it already. She doesn't seem to hear me when I talk to her. She still…
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I have an elderly tabby cat named Sammy and his appetite hasn't been too good lately. I have tried to check his teeth and they look OK. I wonder if he's not ea…
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We do small-dog fostering for a local pound and we currently have a 1-year-old Chiweenie. We've had her almost a week. The issue is crating her. If we crate he…
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We love to take pictures of our rescued hound, Ginger, but we're not very good at it. Any tips? She's really a cutie pie.
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I have two male cats -- Ragnar and Loki -- that I adopted from my city's animal shelter. They have quickly become the light of my life. The litter box situatio…
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Here's a grab bag of pet information to ponder as you relax and retreat from the summer heat.
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Summertime in Arkansas and the mosquitoes are buzzing. They're buzzing and biting -- people and pets. With that in mind, it seems an opportune time to revisit …
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We're having our cat spayed in a couple of weeks. After our other pets were fixed, they wore those big funnel-shaped collars to keep them from biting their sti…
