There are two different types of elephants, Asian and African. Up until my visit to Have Trunk Will Travel, I could never tell the difference. But Kari Johnson gave me a fool-proof method. Now I can’t believe I couldn’t distinguish between the two in the past. Asian elephants have a humped back whereas African elephants have a sway back. You probably also notice from the photos that Asian elephants have shorter trunks, wider legs, and their leg does not taper much above the foot. Asian elephants have a bilobed forehead whereas Africans have domed head. ElephantsHTWT3-19-09-31326 ElephantsHTWT3-19-09-31326 Asian elephants have a

Easter is typically a time when families come together and participate in numerous traditions. For some this means going to church. For others the focal point is the Easter egg hunt and Easter baskets. But for one little dog representing a not-so-unusual case, it involved some Cadbury chocolates and a veterinary visit. It was the day after Easter, and while his owners were out, Chico the scrappy fox terrier was planning an hour of mischief. Finally, his chance had come to examine the previous day’s delivery. One by one he plucked the morsels from their bright yellow baskets. It was

Jan30PhoebeChickens I went through the picture in my head. Chicken number one climbs up the ladder onto a one-foot-wide platform, makes a 180-degree turn and tightropes across a narrow bridge to a second platform, where it pecks a tethered ping-pong ball, sending the ball in an arc around its post. The chicken then turns 180 degrees and negotiates a second ladder back down to ground level, where it encounters a yellow bowling pin and a blue bowling pin in random arrangement. It knocks the yellow one down first and then the blue one. Chicken number two grasps a loop tied

Question: Dr. Yin, I was wondering if you could offer some advice about dogs mounting other dogs. I have a 10 yr. old fixed Standard Poodle who gets very excited when he greets another dog and he ends up mounting the other dog. Male, female, big dog, small dog – it doesn’t matter. I would just like to know why he does this, and how can I stop it. Thanks for your time. Pennie Answer: Pennie, you’re not alone. Many neutered dogs perform this embarrassing social faux-“paw”, not because they’re being amorous or trying to dominate, but because they are

Question: The neighborhood feline has made our yard his personal litter box. We have to remove kitty poop almost every day and have unsuccessfully tried spraying the affected areas with a mixture of water and bleach to deter the fellow. Do you have any suggestions ? H. Wong of Contra Costa Answer: Whether it’s neighborhood dogs leaving landmines for your walking pleasure or cats graffittiing your house with their pungent yellow perfume, other people’s pets-and their owners who fail to manage them responsibly-can be annoying. Often it starts as a minor irritation—an occasional cleanup in your rose garden or a

“The client, an elderly couple, had a 6-year-old male, neutered Rhodesian Ridgeback that was aggressive to dogs” describes Dr. Jennie Jamtgaard, an applied animal behavior consultant and behavior instructor at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. “They had watched Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan and seen Millan place aggressive dogs in with his group of dogs and then hold them down on their sides or back if they were aggressive. So they brought their dog to the dog park and basically flooded him [immersed him in the aggression-inducing situation].” Not surprisingly, they didn’t get far. “The female owner was trying