Pet care: Foreign feline is fueling dog’s fears

Third in a sequence.

Newt did perfectly on his anti-stress medication. He was inform, happier and participating in with a new puppy dog, but there was no home run. He continued to douse the property when his people ended up out of sight, albeit rather less typically. He surely experienced from separation stress, but I was still missing one thing.

We desired to collect intelligence on Newt’s routines when his people were being away from him. Drones? They’d only trigger paranoia. So, I advised Anna and Tom to order a home surveillance method, these kinds of as a Nest Cam. Of course, this was an invasion of Newt’s privateness. We assured him that his insider secrets, some of them, anyway, ended up protected. I swear. Watching the video clip, I realized right absent that we were on to some thing.

The Wonderful Dane mix and older golden retriever snoozed on the home furnishings. And there, in the corner of the display screen, was Newt pacing. I watched him move slowly and gradually from the dwelling room to the sliding glass door and quit for a gander. Following scanning the garden, he strolled more than to the wall and hiked his leg to launch a generous stream.

I was straight away reminded of a remark Anna had manufactured earlier about how hard it experienced been to get Newt to exit through the sliding door. He would choose treatment of business enterprise on leash walks, but hardly ever in their yard. So I asked, “Do creatures take a look at outside?” To which, she and Tom replied in unison, “Oh, there’s the big fat black cat.” Tom defined that Newt was “driven definitely mad” when he spied this beast boldly sauntering further than his achieve. Sightings were being consistently adopted by a anxiety-pushed indoor whiz.

It turned out that Tom and Anna beloved cats as significantly as canines, but, for the reason that Newt barked and growled at all kitties, besides their sole feline pet, they doted on this stray who dropped by many periods a working day. Did they feed him? Oh, guaranteed, in prodigious portions. Newt was stricken not only with separation anxiety, but also a worry of international felines.

Upcoming 7 days: Not in my backyard.

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Dr. Jeff Nichol is a residency-trained veterinary behaviorist. He delivers consultations in person and in teams by means of Zoom (505-792-5131). Each week, he shares a blog and a online video to assistance bring out the best in animals and their men and women. Sign up at no charge at drjeffnichol.com. Article pet queries on fb.com/drjeffnichol or by mail to 4000 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109.