Question: Our 5-year-old Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier presents as a furry, lovable and inviting dog while he sits waiting outside the cafe for me to finish my morning latte. Trouble is, he’s taken to growling and barking at some well-meaning types, especially those who come on too enthusiastically. It’s like they invade his space. This behavior is slowly starting to accelerate. What would be the best approach short of hanging a sign on him saying “Beware, looks can be deceiving”? — San Francisco Answer: You nailed the problem on the head. While Fido might be carefree and confident with you alongside,

Being a pet columnist or a blogger is sort of like teaching 5th grade. Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, someone asks a question like this: “Dear Dr. Yin: Do you think it is possible that a great deal of behavioral problems in dogs may be due to constipation?” My academically honed intuition—as well as the fact that a friend had suggested I check my e-mail—told me to examine the sender’s name carefully. Just as I suspected. It was a message from my running-club friend thinly disguised under his dog’s name. Knowing that this friend was

In the first two blogs, we covered the benefits as well as the steps for carrying out this impulse control and leadership developing program. If you’ve started or are thinking about starting this program you may have some specific questions. Here are answers to the most common of those questions. For a step-by-step photo-illustrated version of this program, view Perfect Puppy in 7 Days. What if my dog is not “motivated” for his food? He’ll eat it out of his bowl when he feels like it, but he’s not hungry when I want to use food for training. Dogs who get their

Question: We have a five month old kitten who can’t seem to get the hang of using the cat door. Our other cats use the door and I’m sure he sees them, but he doesn’t seem to learn by imitation. Any suggestions? Answer: A kitty door is a simple contraption that many cats learn to use right off the bat, but others don’t know what to make of the flappy barrier. While some cats are actually afraid of the odd swinging contraption, others are just too polite to shove their way through. In either case, the solution is straight forward.

A reader once asked me, “My cat is an avid hunter, and in our area there appears to be a plentiful supply of rats and mice. He was bringing me samples on a daily basis and I had to export the live ones and bury the dead ones. I now partially closed the cat door so that he could get out but not in. However, this leaves him out at night and there seems to be creatures out there that could hunt him. Do you have any suggestions for what I should do? Can I program him to leave his

Question: I have a 17-month-old Labrador Retriever who has a very bad habit. When I let her out in the backyard, she bites off the watering jets of our irrigation system. Worse, if I leave her out for a long time (over five minutes), she gets at the main irrigation hoses and she has chewed right through them. This is a nightmare in terms of repairs, costs and loss of function. Can you offer any advice? Answer: Like furniture scratching problems in cats, one strategy for curbing the destruction here is to direct the behavior at a more appropriate object,