DEAR DR. FOX: My healthy 14-month-old Rottweiler developed a hacking cough, which I thought indicated that she had something stuck in her throat. I took her to my vet, and the vet gave her an antibiotic and some cough tabs.

My dog attends a well-run day care facility twice a week. Thirteen days ago, I boarded her there for two nights (I provided the food). On the same day, I gave her a chewable Heartgard after having her test negative for heartworms. The day care owner reports no other dogs with a cough.

Since I am dubious of almost any medication other than herbal for my companion animals or myself, I am now wondering if there might be a connection between the heartworm medication and the cough. I hate giving her an antibiotic.

The cough seems somewhat better after two days of medication. -- C.S., Hendersonville, North Carolina

DEAR C.S.: I doubt there is any connection between the Heartgard and the cough -- unless your dog already had heartworms and the medication is killing them and their remains are getting into the pulmonary circulation. A blood test must always be done before ever giving such preventive medication to be sure the dog is not already infested.

Since your dog is improving on the antibiotic, you should continue the full course of treatment. When that is done, load your dog with probiotics to help recover a healthy bacterial population in the digestive system.

There are lungworm parasites that can cause respiratory problems in dogs after consuming infective earthworms and snails, which should not be permitted, and in rare instances an inhaled grass seed can cause acute respiratory distress.

The stress of boarding and probably barking a lot can make dogs more prone to picking up any bacterial or viral infection from other dogs in the facility.

FOR DOGS' SAKE, GET RID OF THE LAWNS!

Agriculture should not take all the blame for chemical fertilizers and pesticides harming water quality. What MUST be addressed in suburbia is the lawns, soaked in chemicals by homeowners and lawn "treatment" companies that "fertilize" and kill "weeds" with various chemicals that the rains, lawn sprinklers and irrigation systems flush into ground and surface waters, which we eventually drink or that evaporate into the clouds and come back down in the rain.

From my perspective as a veterinarian and from my early memories that make me mourn the loss of night bugs and wildflowers along the highways and byways, I can only shake my head in disbelief. The golden springs of flowering dandelions, so nutritious, packed with vitamins, minerals and enzymes and with multiple phytochemicals with properties that can cure certain cancers and improve liver and kidney function, if not the workings of our brains, is a call to arms rather than to reverence and celebration. They are, along with other "invasive" herbs and wildflowers, rooted out or sprayed with herbicides that cause or aggravate the very maladies that the dandelions' leaves and roots, and essences of other wild plants, can cure!

What more to say except that children play on these lawns and sprayed park land, sidewalks and playing fields, where susceptible dogs like the Scottish terrier are likely to develop cancer of the bladder and others, cancer of the lymphatic system.

Some may wonder where the bees and butterflies have gone. Others will not care or remember. Where I live in suburban Minnesota, few homeowners have turned their lawns into rain gardens, milkweed havens and flowering meadows. Every evening we hear the sound of lawn mowers and weed wackers before the smoky stench of outdoor barbecues, converting animal flesh into tasty carcinogens, rises to pollute the gloaming. Then the street and yard lights come on to obliterate the stars, and in a twinkling of recall, I see no more fireflies in the gloom.

But beyond a sense of pending doom, I see a glimmer of hope in the scintillating semaphore of vibrant colors from the wings of the birds and butterflies among our weeds and falling linden trees that speak the universal language of the heart. This war on "weeds" (like other wars triggered by generally unfounded fears, an adversarial and arrogant state of mind and distorted perception) must end, along with our collective ignorance and indifference to all that lives and gives.

(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: After losing my 15 1/2-year-old wheaten terrier last November, I got another one who is 4 1/2 months old now.

I am unsure as to when to neuter him. I've always done it at 6 months with my other dogs, but my breeder said it's better to wait a year. I asked my vet, and he said there is some controversy. I have also heard that it would be more beneficial to his health to wait as long as possible.

Since I would need to make an appointment soon if I decide on 6 months, I would very much appreciate your view on this. -- C.M., Middletown, New Jersey

DEAR C.M.: I would wait until your young dog is around 12 months of age, since early neutering may have developmental consequences affecting growth and metabolism. It may also contribute to the high incidence of Cushing's disease later in life. The jury is still out on deciding the best age to neuter male dogs -- if at all.

The emphasis on spaying and neutering all dogs to help control overpopulation, a critical issue in most communities in the past, is now over with more responsible ownership and people not letting their dogs roam the neighborhood and breed freely, as in decades past. But not all people can be trusted -- look at those communities where people let their unsterilized cats roam free. I was shocked to see on TV a tabby cat (with collar) being let outside from 10 Downing St., the residence of Britain's prime minister! Such a laissez faire attitude, or unquestioned cultural tradition, is highly irresponsible. Most shelters still insist that all adopted dogs and cats be sterilized.

Neutering or spaying German shepherds before they reach the age of 1 is associated with a threefold higher risk of joint disorders, researchers report in Veterinary Medicine and Science. The study examined records from 1,170 dogs, finding 21 percent of males neutered before 1 year of age had joint disorders, compared with 7 percent of intact males. Sixteen percent of females spayed early later developed joint disease, compared with 5 percent of intact females. "Simply delaying the spay/neuter until the dog is a year old can markedly reduce the chance of a joint disorder," said University of California at Davis veterinarian and lead author Benjamin Hart.

DEAR DR. FOX: The attacks you are experiencing from feral cat advocates leads me to ask if it is they, rather than the cats, that need the distemper shots!

My wife owns a house in Ocean Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The town has a convoluted animal control policy, where you must call the police, who then call the Long Branch animal control officer, who then may or may not turn the cat over to the local Humane Society, with whom the county has a contract. It is benign neglect, which I'm sure saves the township money.

This results in a couple of my neighbors leaving food out for several feral cats who are neither part of a supervised colony, nor have any shelter. The raccoons and possums feed on their porches in broad daylight. My yard is always rife with cat feces, dead birds and mice.

Cape May and Seaside Heights, New Jersey, are the scenes of a continuing battle between the beach feral cat advocates and the piping plover protectors. How well- meaning people cannot see the cruelty to both the cats and to wildlife that a feral program presents is upsetting to me.

Again, thank you for being a voice of reason in this highly emotional argument. -- M.D., Bradley Beach and Ocean Township, New Jersey

DEAR M.D: I appreciate your support on the feral cat issue where compassion and reason do not sufficiently prevail, allowing misguided altruism to spread in a vacuum of rescue-syndrome, pro-life sentimentality.

I have great respect and concern for feral cats and an abiding affection for those whom my wife, Deanna, and I have trapped and socialized.

Without strict enforcement of municipal ordinances, prohibiting the roaming of owned cats and the neutering of same, this problem is never going to be resolved.

GENETICS AND OBESITY

Overweight or obese Labrador and flat-coated retrievers might be that way because of a defective or deleted pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene, which plays a role in appetite regulation and helps the body sense stored fat levels, according to scientists at Cambridge University, England. Initial research suggest that some people might have a similar genetic deficiency.

(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: My dog might have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the vet wants to put him on a prescription diet for three weeks. He has been eating raw since we got him in January. I would really rather not give him kibble again, especially not one whose first ingredient is corn. Here is my dilemma in more detail:

My dog is an almost 3-year-old mutt (he looks like a shepherd) who weighs about 27.5 pounds. We have had him since January and have been feeding him raw ground beef and chicken livers/hearts/necks and cooked sweet potato. Over the past three to four weeks, his stool has been irregular -- mainly with the presence of mucus; it's sometimes soft, and he's had diarrhea, dark stool and a possible small amount of blood in his feces. It has been very inconsistent. Besides the irregular stools, he seems absolutely fine -- normal behavior, appetite and water intake. A giardia test was negative. A blood test looking for the presence of something that would indicate IBD was also negative. The vet still thinks it's IBD, and the plan is to change to a prescription diet. If that works, then we'll leave it at that and possibly transition to other food. If not, then vet wants to biopsy for IBD.

I appreciate that the vet wants to start with diet before jumping to meds or more invasive testing. However, I would prefer not to put him on the prescription food with the first ingredient listed as corn that contains other ingredients that I would prefer not to feed my dog. The food he's supposed to go on, starting today or ASAP, is Hill's I/D. At the same time, I respect our vet, and part of me says I should just go along with this temporary diet to see if he improves and transition to something else after the three weeks.

So my options are to a) just go along with the special diet that I don't really agree with or feel is the healthiest option, or b) find an alternative more wholesome, natural or homemade diet that would also help ease digestive problems, hopefully with approval from the vet. What would you do? -- R.G., Ridgefield, Connecticut

DEAR R.G.: Some dogs do not thrive as well as others on a raw food diet. It often helps these dogs to lightly cook the food and provide digestive enzymes and probiotics. Transition your dog to my home-prepared recipe (posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net), and let me know how he fares. It has helped many dogs avoid costly and unpalatable, if not dubious, prescription diets. Keep me posted.

R.G. RESPONDS: I have been feeding my dog your recipe with turkey for the past week, and his stool is back to normal! My fingers are still crossed that it continues this way, but I feel confident in the decision to avoid the "poop in a bag," as my mom called it, from the vet. I can't thank you enough for your help.

STOP DECLAWING CATS! WILL NEW YORK BE THE FIRST STATE TO BAN DECLAWING?

Some New York veterinarians are lobbying for the state to ban feline declawing, saying the practice is unnecessary and harmful. Other veterinarians, including the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, oppose the ban, noting that declawing may be the only way to prevent euthanasia in some situations. The society argues that the decision to declaw should be made between an owner and his or her veterinarian, not by lawmakers.

Declawing is illegal in some countries and certain U.S. cities, but no states have banned the procedure. For details on this unwarranted, avoidable and inhumane practice of routinely declawing cats, see my article at DrFoxVet.net.

To support New Jersey's Anti-Declaw Bill A3899, go to change.org/p/support-new-jersey-s-anti-declaw-bill-a3899-singleton.

(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.)