Marian asks:
Cn u help? My son needs to re-home his 7year old neutered cross breed medium sized dog, another family member has offered to take him however she has a golden Labrador, 2 yrs old, not neutered. neither dog is aggressive but they have not met yet. any ideas as to how they may get along and how we facilitate this in the best way possible?

Marian,
I’d take both of them to a neutral area for a first meeting and have them leashed. When I helped someone re-home a Golden Retriever in a home that already had two older Goldens, we had all three dogs come out leashed to meet in her driveway a few times. Then, she went to the new home and settled right in.

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I had a very worrying question from a reader today:

How do i know if my dog has rabies?

Many people think that rabies is something that kind of went out with Old Yeller. It isn’t. This summer, my neighbor had a raccoon with rabies on her porch. Feral cats and stray dogs can also really cause problems with rabies.

There is a list of symptoms, including the classic foaming at the mouth and odd behavior. However, if you suspect your dog has been exposed to rabies, you should get to your veterinarian immediately, even if there are no symptoms. This is especially essential if your dog is not up to date on shots.

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A reader asks:

Two weeks ago we adopted a 6 year old female border collie/spaniel mix from our local animal shelter. A month before the new dog came along we had to put our 12 year old english setter down. My husband and I thought another dog would be company for our other dog, a 12 year old female springer/brittany mix. Both dogs have been spayed. Recently these two have gotten into some nasty fights. It seems like these altercations happen when they are in close proximity of each other. My husband and I have a difficult time breaking them up and we’re wondering if there’s something we can do to stop the fighting. Both are very nice dogs and it’s only at these trying times that we wonder if we made the right decision to bring another dog into our house. Help!

It sounds like the new dog wants to become the dominant member of the pack. It can take time for them to adjust and figure out who is the alpha dog. You may need to be sure you are sending out signals that you are the ones in charge by eating first, going through doorways first, etc., which can reduce their need to worry about dominance. Also, see if the shelter is willing to offer some assistance or knows of a local behaviorist that can help you. They want things to work out as much as you do.

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