Kareen L

We finally rescued a stray dog that my family had been watching for a while. She'd been roaming their cabin community for over a month. When she fell in love with our kids and followed them home, we took the chance to win her trust with some food and belly rubs, and snuck a collar and leash onto her. She came home with us when we left the cabin yesterday.

She's already proving to be a fiercely loyal dog, protective of the kids, and willing to do what we say as far as she understands it. Her tendency to gently herd the kids automatically had me looking toward working breeds to try to discover what kind of dog she is.

She is pure white, with the physical stature of an Australian Cattle Dog. An elaborate mutt? Or is she some breed I haven't thought of? Any help you can give, any breed suggestions you might have, would be appreciated.

Ever since I can recall, I have gotten what I can only describe as stabbing pains in my lungs. They make it impossible to draw a breath for what feels like an eternity. It's never long enough to make me lose consciousness, but always long enough to make me start panicking. They hit at just about every time of the day, except during sleep, and during all manner of activity/inactivity.

What causes them? And most importantly, is there a way to prevent them?

My son has asked 'Santa' for an 'eyeball pet'. He says it's a toy eyeball with arms and legs that floats in a tube and makes funny noises. I'm at a loss as to what on earth he's talking about. If it brings an item to mind for anyone else, please let me know what it is he's asking for! Thanks, and have a Merry Christmas.

My dog is an obsessive overgroomer. She has eczema on her paws, and I'm considering trying the 'paw balm' for her. Does anyone know how safe it is?

I could make my brittle tonight if I can use chopped natural almonds, but all the recipes call for blanched. Will the batch be ruined if I use natural?

We've really never used a lot of grooming products or fussed much over our dog. She's always been a really laid back, healthy, clean dog. Some eczema is really all we've had to deal with. While looking through the grooming section today (I was after conditioner), I found 'paw balm', I can't remember the brand, but it seemed to be a teatree based balm, similar to bag balm. We live in Northern Canada, and the dog has eczema the worst on her paws. Will this help? Is it okay for an obsessive groomer like her?

Does anyone know of a brand of unscented leave in conditioner for dogs? The only stuff I can get my hands on is for froofy little lap dogs, and is scented like baby powder. Ugh. Dogs shouldn't smell like baby powder. As soon as she goes outside and gets damp, the smell is revolting. It's so perfumed that I think MY leave in would be better for her.

My family went away for ten days this fall, and a neighbor was taking care of my nine year old cat for us. When we came back, I was shocked. He looked like he'd been starved the whole ten days. But, being an avid mouser who really doesn't eat much dry food, it seemed odd that he'd gotten so skinny.

The neighbor came over, and told me she'd been concerned with his ravenous appettite and drop in weight, and so she'd brought him into her house to watch him and feed him some Thanksgiving turkey. That was when it became apparent that a tape worm was the issue. The cat was taken the next day to the vet, given the dewormer, and all traces of worm are gone. This was Oct.11.

My cat has yet to return to normal. A once avid mouser, he no longer wants to go outside. He seems to have lost all lust for life. Is this normal? Can I expect him to bounce back to normal?

I've asked this question before, but, I'm hoping new people might have new insights.

Please only answer the question. Any posts regarding rabbit care or responsibilty are not needed, and are a waste of your energy.

The vet wants to run a full blood panel on my dog (nine years old) to see if there is an underlying cause of her newly diagnosed hypothyroidism. Does anyone know what some of the more likely culprits are?

I can ask questions, but for some reason, Yahoo thinks I've answered too many, despite me not having answered any in ages.

My dog was diagnosed today with hypothyroidism. Medication is required, and I totally get that. With older dogs, you have to expect meds at some point for one thing or another. But, the vet also wants to run more expensive tests. He says that it's necessary to rule out other possibilities. Is it really necessary? Or is he just fishing for more money?

Has anyone here had any experience in harness training older cats? In the spring, my indepent old mouser is going to have to move with us to the city. Because we don't know yet what our future neighborhood will be like, Im thinking it may be a good idea to harness train him just in case. He's always had free range, but because of injuries, and his age, I don't trust him to be loose in the city. Any advice on how to go about getting an old independent cat like him to accept being harnessed, would be appreciated.

Right now my family has one incredible dog, and a truly wonderful cat. But, due to health problems and a busy life in general, keeping up with the constant pet fur is getting to be too much. Once these pets are gone (they are both nine years old and really showing it), I'm thinking that a rabbit is our best choice of pet. Is there much difference between the different breeds? Which is best for a busy family?

I've won 6 "best answers" in a row now, and the only reason is because no one votes once a question goes to voting. So, all it takes is to vote for your own answer, and it considers you to be best.

No matter who I say it to, people laugh at me when I tell them that I think my dog is allergic to people. She is a wonderfully mannered dog, everyone loves her and asks where they can get a dog like her (any SPCA dog needing love will do!). Everytime she plays with people though, the sneezing starts. She can't stop sneezing until she finds a quiet corner and rests. Am I crazy? Is this allergies, or is there another explanation for what's been going on?