DEAR DR. FOX: For the past two weeks, I have been dog-sitting for my son's 10-year-old boxer, Rocco.

For the past year or so, Rocco has had a swallowing problem that keeps getting worse. He has seen his regular vet and two specialists. I was told it has to do with his esophagus: As he eats, he chokes and regurgitates bile. It's not pleasant to clean up, but it must be terrifying for our beloved Rocco.

I have been cooking him ground turkey, vegetables and brown rice. He gobbles it down with no difficulty. He wasn't drinking much water prior to his new diet, but now you can't keep his water bowl full. Bowel movements are healthy, and his energy level is on the rebound.

We are all so happy to see his health coming around and would like your input on this new diet and if you would suggest any supplements that would help our dear pet.

Even though I am pet-free, I still enjoy reading your advice in our local paper, always passing on tidbits I get from your column. -- W.R.G., Estero, Florida

DEAR W.R.G.: I congratulate you on confirming that the kind of food you prepared for this poor dog essentially cured him of his esophageal dysphagia. This is fairly common in older dogs, and many would be helped by your dog food -- moist, palatable and not "gluey" or too dry. It's simply easier to swallow, especially for dogs with neurodegenerative disease of the pharynx and swallowing mechanism. Dry mouth, brachycephaly (short muzzles) and acid reflux damaging the esophagus are contributory factors. Feeding dysphagic dogs your kind of food from elevated food and water bowls, so they do not have to swallow with their heads low to the ground, can give much relief.

DEAR DR. FOX: My brother Larry is a musician, and he frequently practices with a four-piece band and for his solo act, too. Whenever he plays a CD with steel guitar music on it, his cat closes her eyes, sits there and seems to be smiling. She appears to be listening to and enjoying the music, especially Buddy Emmons' instrumental version of "Nightlife." She does not do this when other music is being played.

Is it possible that this 10-year-old cat is actually listening to and enjoying that particular music? Could she think that the music might be some kind of cat choir or something? Or is she simply off her rocker? I thought you and your readers might get a kick out of this, as some consider cats to be special gifts from God. -- T.W., Yadkinville, North Carolina

DEAR T.W.: Many animal species enjoy various kinds of music. Our two feral cats both sat in front of loudspeakers when they heard Gregorian chants for the first time. One of my research wolves (featured in my book "The Soul Of The Wolf") would howl in perfect harmony with my shakuhachi flute playing.

Animals' evident enjoyment of various kinds of music, and their enjoinment vocally and in movements, affirm their capacity for aesthetic experience. Many deny this capacity, as well as animals' empathetic sensibility and rights. As human history informs, the world would probably be a better place without such denial. Those who believe in a higher power will appreciate philosopher Meister Eckhart's contention, "every creature is a word of God."

DEAR DR. FOX: I am 92 years old, and I have had dog and cat pets for many years as my kids grew up. And it raises a question that may sound silly to you, but I just have to ask: As you have noticed, I'm sure, dogs and cats won't eat unless they're hungry. You just can't force them.

Watching TV commercials for pet foods, I have long wondered how they get these dogs and cats to gobble up the advertised pet food. My conclusion: They must not feed the animals for a day or two to get them so hungry, especially cats. And I'll bet they have a bunch of dogs and cats because they can't be sure just one will act right.

Have you or people at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ever investigated the making of these commercials? -- B.B., Manchester, Missouri

DEAR B.B.: I wonder if people half your age are as perceptive as you!

I agree with you absolutely that the dogs and cats used in TV commercials promoting manufactured pet foods shown ravenously gobbling up the food must have been deprived of food for some time to have such an appetite. Or else they have some compulsive eating disorder!

Of course, the advertisements' intent is to imply that the food is irresistibly delicious; but only fools are so deceived.

Animals are exploited in many ways, and their suffering (severe in some instances, as in ritual slaughter and the millions confined in factory farms and puppy mills) must be opposed by all and outlawed.

(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.net.)

DEAR DR. FOX: We adopted a solid white, blue-eyed, 7-month-old Turkish angora cat from the local shelter. Although the vet had examined Mr. Pink, there was no indication on his record that he was deaf.

Mr. Pink is now 1 1/2 years old and has begun jumping on kitchen counters and other high surfaces. He has even knocked pottery off bookshelves.

The challenge is that we can't use auditory cues to modify his behavior. We try hand signals, but he stays in place until we walk directly over to him, at which point he scampers away. Goodness knows what he does when we are not home.

Someone is home with him all but about three hours a day. We groom him nightly, he has lots of toys and he has his own perch on which he sleeps periodically. How do we break this awful habit, absent our ability to use auditory cues? -- V.T.P., Ashland, Oregon

DEAR V.T.P.: Try a couple more high perches or cushioned shelves by windows with bird feeders outside -- or get another easygoing cat. Your cat is probably bored to death. Engage in interactive games with a laser light, wand or fishing-pole lure. As he gets older, he will be less curious and exploratory, so do not despair!

Some more insights about animals' perception and cognition come from two readers:

DEAR DR. FOX: Our daughter's dog, a pit bull-boxer mix, has never paid any attention to photographs, images on television or even in the mirror. However, when he was much younger, he would stare at, stalk and bark at two of our neighbors' lawn ornaments -- one a black cat and the other a ceramic gnome. Neither is more than about 8 inches high. -- E.J., Silver Spring, Maryland

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 2-year-old Sheltie who is interested in the TV when certain images appear or she hears a dog bark. Not remarkable, as I have in the past had other Shelties who noticed animals on TV -- even if they were animals the dog would never encounter in real life, such as alligators or monkeys. And they loved looking at the Westminster dog show.

Recently, Lexie (our current dog) stared at a nearby bookcase and started a low growl while sitting on the couch next to me. A picture of two of my long-gone Shelties had captured her attention. She moved closer to get a better look and stayed there for a couple of minutes.

She is the first dog I have ever had who showed any interest in still pictures. -- C.C., Alexandria, Virginia

OUR ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS: THE MOMENTS OF TRUTH PROJECT

What right do humans have to exploit other animals? Where does that right come from, and what are the limits, if any? What duties or obligations do we have in our relationships with our dogs, cats and other animals, domesticated and wild?

Follow and support Caroline Kraus and her Moments of Truth Project (momentsoftruthproject.com) documentary film as she travels across the United States, asking these and other relevant questions of people who live, work with and care for animals.

Is there an overriding consensus, and what are the reasons why people respond very differently to these questions, which in part examine our character, culture and future?

The viewing and discussion of this kind of documentary should be part of every school curriculum and will be of interest to all who work with, profit from and care for animals. To see the interview with me, visit momentsoftruthproject.com/dr-michael-fox/

(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.net.)

DEAR READERS: Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, which contains the active ingredient glyphosate, recently designated a possible carcinogen, is absorbed by genetically modified crops that have been engineered to be resistant to the weed killer. Most corn, soy, sugar beet, cotton and canola produced in the United States are genetically modified, as is much imported rice. My concerns about this herbicide getting into the food chain for both humans and animals have been recently confirmed.

Research scientist Dr. Anthony Samsel of Deerfield, New Hampshire, has shared some of his findings prior to his scientific report being published. Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the Environmental Protection Agency-accepted method of analysis, he found levels of glyphosate ranging from 0.022 to 0.30 milligrams per kilogram in cat and dog foods. Brands evaluated include Purina, Friskies, Iams, 9 Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Rachael Ray.

According to Dr. Samsel, the pet food industry "adds NaNO2 (sodium nitrite) to some pet foods as a preservative. This is very common, and, in the presence of glyphosate, is deadly. Glyphosate reacts continuously over time with NO2 and produces N-Nitrosoglyphosate, which is a nasty carcinogen, along with phosphonic acids AMPA and MAMPA. Another scary scenario is nitrite (NO2) formation from nitric oxide (NO), which reacts with glyphosate, resulting in N-Nitrosoglyphosate. This is another reason why this stuff needs to be immediately pulled from the market."

The peer-reviewed research article by Drs. Samsel and Seneff, "Glyphosate, Pathways to Modern Diseases IV: Cancer and Related Pathologies," which includes these findings, will be published this month in a special issue of The Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry. Samsel launched a GoFundMe site with the GMO Free News to help raise money for research: gofundme.com/xrp4h9g.

As per my review of GMOs in pet foods posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net, several health conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, allergies and skin and organ problems, may arise as a consequence of GMOs being included in the animals' food.

DEAR DR. FOX: My friend has multiple cats and, therefore, lots of cat toys. We were at her house, and my daughter picked up a wand with a long cord and a squeaky mouse on the end. I guess it is a common cat toy, but not having cats, we've never seen one before. She started playing with it, and our 7-year-old Yorkie, Cooper, went crazy! We bought one for our house immediately, and he plays with it several times a day. We chide ourselves for not realizing sooner that we were going against his natural instincts in trying to get him to play with us in "normal" ways. We'd always had Labradors before our Yorkie, so we bought him tiny tennis balls and tried to get him to fetch. No deal. He'd chase it, but never bring it back.

Once we introduced the cat toy, we quickly realized that his instinct is to chase rodents, and a toy that promotes that is going to be the trick. We run around the house trailing this "rat" on a string, and he chases us with passion bordering on obsession. It is some serious exercise for us all. We fling the squeaky toy under the furniture so he can burrow for it, and eventually we let him pounce on the rat and chew it for a minute or two so he feels successful.

This toy has been so much fun for us and our little dog; we can't believe we didn't discover it sooner. We've always wanted to engage with him on a physical level but didn't know how. Cooper is a great lap dog, but we all wanted to play with him. My daughter says he looks happier and healthier ever since we got his toy.

I hope this inspires other terrier owners to explore different types of toys; we wasted seven years by skipping the cat aisle at the pet store. -- R.C., Washington, D.C.

DEAR R.C.: Thanks for reminding all dog caregivers that different dogs need different toys, and as a result, so many poor dogs are bored and lack playful stimulation for their minds and bodies. Be sure the toys are nontoxic and not likely to break and be swallowed, causing internal injury. Yorkies are little hunters indeed, and a mouselike squeaky toy could be a trigger for great fun for them.

DEAR DR. FOX: We have three dogs and one cat. The dogs sleep as long as we do, but the cat used to wake up at about 6 a.m., walk on my body and lay on my chest, purring. If I closed the bedroom door, he scratched the door and meowed until I let him in. We had an old kennel from the dogs, and I recently put the cat's tepee-type bed in it with an old blanket he likes, along with some food and water. I put him in there, and he sleeps all night. He likes it so much he goes in his "house" way before we go to bed. We now have a happy cat and happy owners. -- T.T., Silver Spring, Maryland

DEAR T.T.: Thanks for sharing your solution! This may not work for all cats, but many readers with early-rising cats may find your solution an effective remedy. Be sure to play with your cat before bed.

(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.net.)