DEAR DR. FOX: I am writing about our dog Patch, a 6-year-old cockapoo who weighs around 20 pounds.

Just over five years ago, she was tested for allergies that have resulted in an injection every 21 days. She is allergic to a number of things: certain weeds, trees, dust mites, molds and insects. The allergy serum is Liquid Gold by Varl. Patch gnawed and licked her paws excessively and scratched herself often.

I want to confirm what the veterinarian has assured me: The long-term use of the injections will not pose a health risk to my dog. Some friends have suggested that I could just give her Benadryl instead, but I wonder about its long-term effects as well.

I also have a question about episodes of vomiting that occur in the early morning (4 to 7 a.m.) and always as a yellowish (acidic?) bile. It happens two or three times a week, and Patch lets my husband or me know when it's coming. I can hear her stomach gurgling at these times and have noticed that if I give her something to eat (usually a treat since it's too early for her first meal) and massage her belly, the urge to throw up will sometimes pass.

I wonder if this is a sign of something serious, or if it is a matter of just keeping food in her belly. She eats Chef Michael's dry food mixed with Chef Michael's canned or chopped-up turkey or chicken twice a day. She is a somewhat picky eater. Earlier in her life I tried a number of organic or specialized dog foods, but she would not eat.

As far as her treats go, she receives a variety ranging from Milk-Bone MarO Snacks, Milk-Bone Mini's Flavor Snacks, Grand Champ Beef and Liver Snacks, PureBites Freeze Dried Beef Liver and PureBites Freeze Dried Chicken. After reading in the news about questions raised concerning the chicken jerky treats made with poultry from China, we stopped giving them to her.

I would appreciate any insight or suggestions you may have. -- P.B., Ashton, Md.

DEAR P.B.: Why are so many dogs (and children) suffering from multiple allergies that reflect a serious immune system dysfunction?

There are many factors to consider, from genetic/breed susceptibility to environmental, especially in-home chemicals, cleaners, detergents, synthetic fragrances and dust mites, from various food ingredients to exposure to pollen. Repeated vaccinations and anti-flea and -tick drugs must also be considered.

Which of the above possible contributing factors can you control? Many, indeed. Become a detective. Your home could be a toxic chemical environment.

Let your dog sleep on hot-water-only laundered cotton sheets. Give her three shampoos, spaced three to four weeks apart, with Selsun Blue medicated shampoo. Stop all treats, and have your veterinarian start your dog on a home-prepared elimination diet -- along with probiotics -- to help determine which food ingredients may be problematic for your dog. In addition, her kidney, pancreatic and liver functions need to be evaluated.

DEAR DR. FOX: First, thank you for your advice and books regarding cats and diet. About seven years ago, we adopted a young cat from the shelter who had what seemed to be a bowel disorder. Whenever he would use the litter box, we would find blood in his stool in addition to blood around the house. The vet suggested shots of cortisone, but this never worked. After reading what you had to say, we changed his food and he has been healthy ever since.

We have another cat who is about 9 years old. For the past few months, he has started to urinate on our basement floor. We are good about keeping the litter boxes cleaned and changed. We bought a black light to see if there was old urine in the basement that might be confusing him, but there was not. Since this has become such a problem, we no longer let the cats in the basement and have boxes now on the first floor. He does not do this on other floors of the house, only the basement. We prefer to have the boxes in the basement.

Do you have any thoughts on this? He seems happy, and we are very confused and frustrated by this. We've let him downstairs a few times since checking with the black light, and he will go on the floor while we are watching. -- C.P., St. Louis

DEAR C.P.: It would be helpful to readers if you could write back and let me know what food your first cat was being fed that was associated with his bowel problem and what dietary change brought him back to health.

As for your other cat who has a fixation on urinating on the basement floor: If the floor is covered with some form of matting, the surface may be a trigger. Certain textures are attractants for some cats, especially beanbag chairs, shag rugs and rubbery bed covers. Plain cement may contain earthy odors that can act as a trigger, since cats normally evacuate in the wild on the soil, usually digging a small pit, then covering over their excrement.

A penetrating enzyme cleaner may help, or you could try applying epoxy resin or a waterproof sealant.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: My 17 1/2-year-old West Highland terrier-mix has an odd problem, and my vet does not know what causes it.

As she is about to go out, as soon as she gets to the door, she backs up a bit and shakes her head from side to side -- sometimes her body shakes, too. However, when she is indoors at night, she has no problems.

The vet says she has no eye issues. She does have arthritis in her hips. Her appetite is good.

Last night at about 2:30 a.m., I heard her scratching a wartlike thing on her leg. When I went to put some medicine on it, she jumped up from her bed and went down the hall to the back door to go out. I let her out, and she had no shaking problems. But when she came back in, she paced back and forth between the bedroom and back door for an hour before I was able to lay her down on her bed. I stroked her neck until she fell asleep. She slept until about 9 this morning.

She did not have the shakes this morning. She ate a healthy amount of food, then laid down on her bed, getting up only for toilet or water.

I have medication for her warts and pain pills for her arthritis -- both are vet prescriptions. I hope you will have answers for me. My vet hasn't made any suggestion as to what her shaking problem is. -- B.M., Camp Springs, Md.

DEAR B.M.: In part because dogs and cats enjoy longer lives than in the past, we see more of them with age-related neurological and cognitive problems, including dementia.

Try giving your dog up to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, a few drops of fish oil (working up to 1 tablespoon) and one human multivitamin and multimineral supplement mixed in with her food per day. Discuss with your veterinarian supplements such as Resveratrol, Effac (esterified fatty acid complex), SAMe and choline, and also the potential benefits of various herbs such as ginkgo biloba, gotu kola and Asian ginseng.

A few drops of essential oil of lavender on a bandanna around her neck may help calm her -- anxiety is a signal aspect of canine dementia. Alternatively, valerian or Xanax should be discussed with your veterinarian. Prescribing the drug Selegiline can also be beneficial for old dogs like yours, but it needs careful monitoring.

DEAR DR. FOX: We recently moved our house and belongings 1/4 mile away from where we were before. Henry, our black 8-year-old cat, keeps crossing a busy road to return to his old home.

We've kept him inside the past several weeks, but this is not ideal. He often wakes up at 4 or 5 a.m. and starts yowling -- either for food or to use the outdoor facilities. (He has always used a litter box as a last resort.)

A neighbor loaned us a harness so I could let him out on our back patio and acclimate to his new surroundings. He slipped out of it, but I think this has potential if I can fasten it better without him strangling.

Any ideas? He spent only 20 to 30 percent of his time outdoors at the old house. -- R.B., Columbia, Md.

DEAR R.B.: Many cats do what yours is doing -- returning to the former home for reasons best known to cats. Some have journeyed incredible distances.

I applaud you for trying a cat harness, but it must be fitted properly to prevent escape. Since he enjoys the outdoors, a cat house or gazebo fitted with a covered litter box and shelter, plus a tree branch or cat gym to climb and laze on may satisfy his outdoor cravings.

You may want to consider adopting a healthy, easygoing cat of his approximate age and size -- perhaps a spayed female rather than a neutered male. Such companionship may turn him into a stay-at-home cat. The new cat should, of course, be strictly an indoor cat unless you have an outdoor enclosure for both of them.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: My 7-year-old Lhasa apso, M.C. Fraggle, has had seizures since he was 2. They happened at least once a month, though often more frequently. Many were dreadful and lasted an hour or more, leaving him whimpering and unable to walk.

My veterinarian finally prescribed phenobarbital, despite the risk of side effects, since his quality of life was so bad. One day M.C. Fraggle had a fever of 106 degrees. I took him to the emergency clinic and spent $1,500 for one night of intensive care and several tests. The tests showed a low white blood cell count, allowing an infection to run rampant. The most logical diagnosis was lymphoma.

I was despondent. Even if I could write another four-figure check for chemotherapy, I knew it would keep him alive for only a few months, and a second treatment is rarely effective in dogs.

However, on our way out of the clinic, the doctor stopped us and suggested that I discontinue the phenobarbital. She'd been hitting the books and discovered that sometimes phenobarbital impairs the production of white blood cells. Within a week, his white blood cells were back to normal.

Three weeks later, the seizures returned. At this point, our doctor (who, for practical reasons too complicated to explain, lives 3,000 miles away) assumed authority and said we were going to try something that she had read about: putting our dog on a grain-free diet. Within a month, the seizures became shorter, milder and more rare. Nine months later, they stopped, and he hasn't had one since March 2012.

I feed him a diet of one part ground turkey mixed with two parts assorted canned vegetables, including pumpkin, carrots and beets. When I'm done cooking it, I mix in the water because I know it's where all the vitamins and minerals end up. I add fish oil, CoQ-10, vitamin D and SpiruGreen. -- G.F., Derwood, Md.

DEAR G.F.: Your letter is one of the stars that helps shine a light on a long-ignored diet-related connection with an all-too-common canine affliction: epilepsy.

Genetics can also play a role, and there are other reasons dogs develop seizures -- from adverse vaccine reaction to calcium deficiency and brain infection.

Spend time in a specialty pet store and check out the increasing number of grain-free canned and dry dog foods sold. It seems that some pet food manufacturers are aware of the problems some dogs and cats face consuming grains and cheap protein substitutes such as soy. I like to believe that the book I co-authored with two other veterinarians, "Not Fit for a Dog," has contributed to this revolution in ingredient formulation and nutritional quality. But, as we document, the pet food industries (like the human food and beverage industries) have a long way to go. The key, of course, is educating consumers to make informed choices in the marketplace.

DEAR DR. FOX: I know this is not a pet question, but I would like an answer because it is indirectly related to how we treat animals in society. You write about ethics and bioethics, and as one who supports animal rights, I would like your definition of these terms to see how they fit in with animals' rights to humane treatment and proper veterinary care when they need it. Is there any hope for animals in these violent times and in a society that condones animal exploitation and suffering? -- H.L., St. Louis

DEAR H.L.: Everyone should support animal rights if we are to make any claim that our society is civilized. My e-book, "Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals," digs deep into this issue and sets out an agenda that needs to be addressed if we are to see any progress as a civil society.

To answer your specific question: Ethics is the science of impartially examining moral choices and the consequences of beliefs and actions to ensure the greater good and protect the rights of others. Bioethics, as I have written in my book "Bringing Life to Ethics," broadens the scope of moral concern and human responsibility by considering how our beliefs, attitudes and actions affect all living beings and the environment. It should be part of the curriculum from grade school on.

When I opened my local newspaper here in Minnesota and saw a photo lauding an 11-year-old girl beside the deer she killed, I felt the schizoid nature of our culture and species and mourned the loss of empathy, ethics and compassion in these times, as well as the slaughter of innocence, human and nonhuman.

The world was shocked by the Dec. 14 shooting and killing of 20 children and six teachers in a school in Newtown, Conn. I was profoundly saddened because it is a symptom of a violent society, a cultural dystopia that fosters alienation, hopelessness, despair, hatred and rage. These emotional reactions can be sparked by mental illness, bullying, ridicule, unemployment, believing one's life has no future and a multitude of other factors. Since 1982, there have been 62 mass killings with firearms in the U.S. according to Mother Jones magazine -- and they are happening more frequently.

It is not simply an issue of better gun control, but of self-control, of children developing empathy and respect for one another and for all living beings and the natural environment. Many sociopaths and psychopaths have a childhood history of animal cruelty and destructive behaviors that indicates a lack of empathy. So long as we deny the violent, dark side inherent in our species, we will see neither understanding nor self-control and will continue to bring suffering into the world.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)