BAD BEHAVIOR

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Some other more serious problems may result in chronic diarrhea, such as an inflammation of the colon with micro abscesses (granulomas) or tumor cells (lymphomas). Various bacteria (Salmonella, Clostridium) are also capable of causing diarrhea. Impactions of different areas of the horse's large intestine, particularly the cecum or fermenting chamber, may result in colic or severe abdominal pain, and in diarrhea. Your veterinarian can perform a thorough physical and rectal exam to help determine if any of these conditions are present. A parasite count or bacterial culture of the manure can check for infectious agents.

In an older animal, some routine blood chemistry profiles can be run to check for liver or kidney disease, both of which can contribute to diarrhea. I would suggest a thorough exam and a few of these simple, inexpensive tests before choosing feed additives or arbitrary remedies to resolve this gastrointestinal problem.

SAD STATISTIC:
In 1990 alone, approximately 10 million dogs and 8 million cats were euthanized at animal shelters in the U.S.

Dear Andrea:

We recently bought a six-month-old Labrador retriever for our young son to grow with. She's now chewing the house to shreds, from carpets to curtains to slippers to shoes. HELP!

-Louise Palmer
Binghamton, New York

Dear Louise:

Chewing is a normal canine behavior. Dogs use their mouths like we use our hands for grasping food, gaining information about the environment, relieving boredom, and reducing tension. Chewing is also an important adaptive behavior that protects the animal from entrapment. Besides all this, for puppies at least, it appears to be great fun. However, chewing becomes an unwanted act in a domestic environment, especially when a valued object is damaged.

There are many reasons why dogs chew. Some are quite obvious, such as the gingival irritation that motivates a teething puppy. Your dog should have most if not all of its permanent teeth in by six months of age, so I would anticipate that this is not her problem. Certain dogs chew aggressively because it invites attention from the owner, like a tug-of-war game. Think about it for a minute: Can we really expect a puppy to differentiate between a towel used to tease it into play and curtains fluttering in the breeze?

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