DEAR DR. FOX: We're having a behavioral problem with our 3-year-old Airedale terrier. She came from a litter in Arkansas when she was just 7 weeks old. She's our third Airedale, so we feel we have a good grip on what their personalities are like. She was raised with love, affection, discipline and a huge 1 1/2-acre yard to enjoy. She's been through obedience training and passed with no problem. (OK, maybe a little stubbornness -- but what Airedale isn't stubborn?)

However, within the past few months, Lola has begun acting afraid or threatened by people she's known all her life -- my son, my mother, my grandchildren and neighbors -- who she's always greeted with nothing but a wagging tail and wet kisses. She'll greet them at the door, but when they try to pet her or say hello, she gives low growls and leaves the room. Her entire demeanor changes. It's especially upsetting to my mother. Lola used to greet her, but now runs and stands behind me or runs to her bed. Sometimes she allows my son to approach her -- he always holds out his hand for her to smell first -- but after a few minutes, she gives that low, guttural growl and backs away.

There are only two things we can think of that may have caused this change: We kenneled her in June of last year, for eight days. She's been kenneled before in the same place without a problem -- there are now new owners, but the previous owners still lived on-site, and Lola was familiar with them. Also, my son has moved back home with his Boston terrier. Both dogs were well acquainted with each other, and interacted so well together that we felt it was OK to have the Boston come live here. We don't see any signs of aggression toward him; it's only certain people Lola has known all her life. I'd appreciate any thoughts you can give us. -- D.L., Asbury Park, New Jersey

DEAR D.L.: Sometimes one never gets to identify the cause of a dog's apparent change in behavior, such as your dog's evident fear of people. I would guess that there was some traumatic event at the boarding facility, and your poor dog has post-traumatic stress disorder.

First, I would have your attending veterinarian do a full physical, checking the eyes for any signs of disease and ruling out hypothyroid disease, which can afflict younger dogs. This affliction is all too prevalent, and it can cause sudden changes in temperament. Check your records regarding your dog's booster vaccinations and anti-flea drugs, especially those given just before boarding. These can cause problems, the latter affecting liver enzymes and brain function. Some dogs get terrified when treated with an external anti-flea drug.

Try supplements such as 5-htp to elevate brain serotonin, plus lightly cooked or raw ground turkey as the main dietary protein. Also, the supplement L-theanine, as in PetzLife's product @Eaze, may be beneficial.

If these measures do not improve her condition in three to four weeks, couple them with a prescription of Xanax (alprazolam) or Valium. Let me know the outcome.

DEAR DR. FOX: I wanted to mention, after reading the article about the limping beagle, the benefits of feeding whole sardines.

My 13-year-old shepherd suffers from arthritis in his knees -- his hips are OK. I have been feeding him five to six whole sardines with daily meals. (I get them online. Shipping is a little costly, but with anything frozen, there is extra cost.) The difference I've seen in the past year has been fantastic. The addition of this natural source of fish oils to his diet has done wonders.

I believe this advice is valuable enough to pass along. Thanks for the great guidance. -- D.C., Winston-Salem, North Carolina

DEAR D.C.: Thanks for sharing your experience of the benefits of fish oils for an arthritic old dog. It's good for similarly afflicted cats and people.

The smaller the fish, the better -- big fish (who eat little fish) concentrate more harmful pollutants, such as mercury, in their tissues, and fat-soluble pesticides and other chemical contaminants of human industry, notably dioxins, are in their oils. Cheap fish oils, especially from farmed rather than wild salmon, are potentially more harmful than beneficial as a food supplement for humans and other animals.

(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.)

DEAR DR. FOX: I have been a dog trainer and behavior consultant for over 20 years and am certified by five dog-training organizations.

I am writing a book on puppy socialization for owners. I am researching the Bio Sensor program by Dr. Carmen Battaglia and have found that it is controversial, with some sources saying that there is no data to back up the claims. One example can be found at border-wars.com/2012/02/bio-sensor-is-bad-science-the-failure-of-super-dog.html.

Your name has come up in the discussion, and I am wondering if you could comment on the method. -- C.W., Los Angeles

DEAR C.W.: While I was an associate professor of psychology at Washington University and having my Ph.D. dissertation ("Integrative Development of Brain and Behavior in the Dog") published by the University of Chicago Press, the United States Army Veterinary Corps contacted me as a civilian advisor. They wanted help improving the in-field performance and well-being of their military dogs serving in Vietnam and being raised and trained at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. Although opposed to the war, I was concerned about both the dogs and the troops.

The German shepherd dogs that I saw initially were kennel-confined and shy, and in dire need of social and environmental enrichment -- remedies that I helped initiate. Their offspring were given various forms of sensory and social stimulation during their first weeks of life. These were based in large part on procedures and findings detailed in my dissertation and summarized in my book "Understanding Your Dog."

I worked with Col. M.W. Castleberry and his staff to set up what we decided to call the "Superdog Project." One officer, Dr. Jeff Lynn, worked closely with me and earned a master's degree from the Washington University department of psychology by detailing and evaluating this project, which was indeed a success.

It has disturbed me that various individuals have made claims to having developed or being involved in the Superdog Project, though I had no professional relationship with them and they never cited my original work on the beneficial effects of early brain and sensory stimulation in puppies. I see them as trying to capitalize on my work -- work that I did for no remuneration, and with the only purpose of helping improve the adaptability and performance of these military dogs under the stresses of combat, and saving a few soldiers' lives in the process.

So long as American forces continue to operate in foreign countries with military dogs, I would like to see better protective footwear and protective vests (including cooling vests) and goggles provided as needed for the dogs. Additionally, suitable local dogs, better adapted to the area's climate and diseases, could be trained for military use and then brought back to the U.S. after service for adoption.

DEAR DR. FOX: Our sweet, blue-eyed, half-Siamese 9-year-old cat has a vomiting problem. She gulps her food down in desperation and then vomits. Sometimes she has a hairball; usually it's because she eats so fast. We have been scrupulous with her food and feed her a wet, high-protein diet. When we feed her in the garage, we let her relax awhile before letting her back into the house.

When we adopted her from the shelter, she was quite thin, and we knew that she had been abandoned. We thought that with time, she would adapt to frequent small feedings and a very loving home. This has become very troubling, as we've had to clean up her vomiting episodes on the couch and even on our bed. -- A.S., Ashland, Oregon

DEAR A.S.: This is an all-too-common problem in cats with many causes, and therefore solutions.

Eating too fast is one possible cause; therefore, cats do better being fed very small meals four to five times daily, rather than twice, or -- cat forbid! -- once daily. Some vets advise placing a couple of golf balls in the food to slow down the rate of ingestion. Chilled food from the fridge may trigger vomiting, and most especially food allergy and additives like carrageenan in canned cat food, which should be prohibited. Try my home-prepared food recipe, which you can find at DrFoxVet.com.

Also, check out some of the new freeze-dried cat foods, which must be soaked briefly before feeding.

(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.)

DEAR DR. FOX: Our 6-year-old female tortie cat is showing some disturbing behavior.

We got her three years ago from the Humane Society, and she was just fine up until recently. The first incident was while she was fast asleep; she leaped up, almost knocked the lamp over and wouldn't go back to her normal sleeping blanket for quite a while. She acted like something startled or scared her. Since then, she has had several of these sudden leaping incidents, and the vet said it might be that she is getting a shock. It has been very dry lately. Now she will leap up like this, whether on our lap or elsewhere, and there is no indication of a shock. She has done this several times, her eyes totally black, and it takes a while for her to settle down. We are very concerned about this and don't know what to do.

She is a totally indoor cat, and she has three people in our household who adore and spoil her. She eats good-quality cat food. I hope this may help you figure out what's going on with her! We are worried. -- B.F., Wahpeton, North Dakota

DEAR B.F.: This condition in cats is not unusual when they are relaxing, going into deep sleep and suddenly experience a pain impulse or abnormal brain activity.

The latter may be a kind of seizure, sometimes associated with feline hyperesthesia, which may be helped by giving your cat supplements such as melatonin, tryptophan, L-theanine and taurine. The former could arise from sudden arthritic pain and associated muscle spasms, impacted anal glands or other pain-producing conditions.

Discuss these options with your veterinarian or a feline specialist in your area, and be sure you are not applying any anti-tick and flea drugs on your cat, which can cause a host of problems, or on any dog in your home with whom the cat makes contact. Let me know how this turns out after more detective work.

INCREDIBLE CAT JOURNEY

From South Carolina to Southern California, Kevin, an orange tabby cat, traveled unnoticed until he was discovered in the trailer of a truck during a cargo inspection. Kevin, who escaped in 2013, was taken to Riverside County Animal Services' shelter in Blythe, California, where workers gave him food and water and found his microchip. The information was up to date, and Kevin has been safely reunited with his owener.

DOG MIRACLE IN MEXICO?

A truly incredible saga of street dogs coming to the funeral of Margarita Suarez in Cuernavaca, Mexico, was reported on "Good Morning America" last month. In this report, "Pack of Stray Dogs Stand Guard at Animal Lover's Funeral," the truly crazy thing is not that the funeral home operators had never seen anything like this, but that the street dogs that Margarita actually cared for during her lifetime -- along with many cats -- were not from Cuernavaca at all. They were instead from her hometown of Merida, more than 830 miles away.

Did these mourning dogs travel all the way from Merida as a group and arrive at the same time, which I consider improbable? Or were these some local dogs who knew that this animal-caring woman was someone to mourn because they had a remote-sense connection with the dogs and other animals in Merida? I call this realm of emotional connectedness the empathosphere, which linked these dogs of Cuernavaca with the dogs in Merida. My book "Animals and Nature First" gives supportive documentation of other instances of this metaphysical phenomenon.

(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.)