DEAR READERS: On Feb. 3, The New York Times reported, the “Agriculture Department has removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws. ... A spokeswoman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service would not say if the removal was temporary or permanent in the new Trump administration. The information is used by advocacy groups and other members of the public to look up information on commercial dog and horse breeders, some of whom have had a history of abuse. The reports included lists of animal welfare violations at those facilities and also at animal testing labs, and whether those violations have been corrected.”

This unconscionable action by the Trump administration to protect vested interests, regardless of animal suffering, which parallels the dismembering of the Environmental Protection Agency, is an assault on civil society. It is yet another regrettable affirmation of my book "Inhumane Society: The American Way of Exploiting Animals."

I just signed the petition, “Tell the USDA to stop hiding animal cruelty from American taxpayers.” I think this is important. Will you sign it, too?

Here’s the link: https://goo.gl/F2jhNK.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just got an 8-week-old golden retriever, and I have a couple of questions. I would really like to make his food but am not sure of the following:

-- Should the recipe be changed at all for puppies? I thought large-breed puppies should maybe have a different formula.

-- How often and how much should I feed my puppy?

My sister makes your dog food recipe for her senior lab, and it works great. -- M.B., Miami

DEAR M.B.: After a puppy has been weaned and is eating solid food, I advise giving the pup a variety of different kinds of food with different ingredients. Every three to four days, offer him a different main protein such as eggs, then chicken, then cottage cheese, along with various fruits, vegetables and a small quantity of whole grains such as brown rice, amaranth and quinoa. My home-prepared diet includes this consideration. It is not so much that variety is the spice of life as food variety early in life can help reduce the chances of food allergies and intolerance later in life, possibly by increasing the diversity of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system -- the "microbiome."

I would also advise feeding your dog various manufactured dog foods high in protein that are either frozen or freeze-dried. Your pup should be fed four times daily, essentially giving him as much as he will eat to the point of satiation, then measuring out the approximate amount for each serving, increasing the amount as the pup grows. Weigh the pup every week to be sure there is weight gain. It is important for some breeds such as Labrador pups to eat a lower-calorie diet because of the breed's genetic propensity for obesity and subsequent joint and other related health problems later in life.

After 4 months of age, feed your dog three meals a day, and between 6 months and 1 year -- or when the dog is fully grown, based on his breed -- lower it to two meals daily. Large dogs and those with deep chests should be fed three smaller meals daily and never exercised after eating. Older dogs with poorer digestion do better on three small meals a day or 2 1/2 plus digestive enzymes.

DEAR DR. FOX: I just read the letter about the poodle who sneaks into the carpeted bedroom to urinate.

My rescued border collie mix has had this problem in two different homes. Each time, I solved the issue by feeding her next several meals in the area where she had urinated. Feeding her in that part of the house helped her understand that it was part of her living space and not an area where she could relieve herself.

I highly recommend giving this a try. -- B.K., Takoma Park, Maryland

DEAR B.K.: Your suggestion makes eminent sense to me. Getting into a dog's mind calls for close observation before trying some behavior modification strategy.

Many dogs have the cognitive abilities of a relatively mature human but the emotional intelligence of a 3- to 5-year-old child (with some exceptions with highly attentive and empathetic dogs that surpass many adult humans), and a much more variable verbal comprehension. Also, their motivation and attentiveness can vary greatly. So what may work in modifying the behavior of one dog may not succeed with another.

Especially important is remembering that what we say when we talk to our dogs is not always as important as how we say it -- I call this the emotional tone. Yet it is amazing how dogs do keep attuned to our conversations and can pick up specific words and short sentences. Example: If I use the words “go out” or “ready” in general conversation with other people, our attentive, newly adopted dog Kota jumps up, ready to go for a walk; she has learned that it is walk time when I say, “Kota, are you ready to go out?”

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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: Ultra-low doses of the widely used herbicide glyphosate, when fed to rats, is linked to an increased likelihood of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a recently published study in the journal Nature. A lead author of the study, Michael Antoniou, Ph.D., stated that the findings are “very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of (glyphosate) consumption over the long-term and a serious disease.” The findings point to the growing need to eliminate the widespread use of this herbicide, as it has already been implicated in endocrine disruption, reproductive effects, and kidney and liver damage. (Read the study at nature.com/articles/srep39328.)

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease can be caused by several factors, along with often-associated acute and chronic pancreatitis seen frequently by veterinarians in companion animal practice. Many pet owners have contacted me concerning the abnormalities in their animals' liver enzyme levels, which the attending veterinarians cannot explain. Maybe we have the explanation now -- the biologically inappropriate inclusion of genetically modified corn, soy and beet, all resistant to and containing this herbicide, along with glyphosate-sprayed dry wheat and imported GMO rice, used by most pet food manufacturers.

When all the dots are connected, and considering the ubiquitous presence of glyphosate even in human amniotic fluids, this endocrine-disrupting probable carcinogen may prove to be a major factor associated with intestinal dysbiosis, allergies, autoimmune diseases, metabolic syndrome and the obesity epidemic in people and their cats and dogs.

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a 7-year-old cat, Sophie, who is affectionate and good-natured all day -- except at mealtimes.

About three years ago, our vet told us that Sophie was much too heavy for her health and that we should cut back on her dry food. We did so, and she lost a significant amount of weight and is now much healthier. However, starting about a year ago, she began demanding food the moment we woke up in the morning with loud, wailing howls. Even if we do not respond to her for an hour as we go about our morning routine, she continues to howl and scratch and bite our feet and ankles, especially when we are in the kitchen (where she is fed). Once we feed her, she subsides until the evening at about 4:30 or 5, when the demanding howling, biting and scratching begin again until we do the evening feeding. She also tries to forage for other food on the counters and tabletops, even though we never, ever feed table scraps and have always been consistent about a no-counter-and-tabletop rule.

What can we do to help Sophie? We have a second cat, her sister from the same litter, Maggie, who has none of these behavioral issues (and was not heavy at all). -- J.B., St. Louis

DEAR J.B.: Many cats do improve in terms of losing excess weight when given less (or no) dry cat food high in starches and gluten. Corn and wheat gluten may interfere with nutrient absorption in the gut, and along with the intestinal bacteria "microbiome" population changing to process starches (and being harmed by herbicide residues in the grains and soy), could lead to the cat being hungry and wanting to eat more. Also, neutering and being less active may contribute to weight gain and the development of the metabolic syndrome.

Some cats adapt better than others to having grains in their diet and do not gain weight. Of the two formerly feral cats in our home fed the same diet and the same amount, one kept a normal weight, and the other became fatter and fatter and was always hungry.

In your cat’s case, if you are feeding her only twice daily, this could be an aggravating problem in terms of between-meal hunger developing. Four small meals daily is a better feeding regimen for most cats. Adding some dietary fiber, such as a half-teaspoon of soaked psyllium husks or chia seeds, may help the cat feel fuller and more satisfied. Your cat may improve after transitioning to a raw-food diet or part-raw and part-canned -- with no cereals or soy ingredients. My home-prepared cat food diet (posted on my website, DrFoxVet.net) may also help, and there is useful information on the website feline-nutrition.org.

If Sophie is ravenous and losing weight, a veterinary checkup is required, hyperthyroidism being one consideration.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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: In this season of protests, I have been increasingly troubled by people taking one or more dogs to crowded, loud and chaotic venues, where humans are so densely packed that movement is severely restricted.

My adult daughter and I recently attended the Women's March in Washington, D.C., and as attendance built at the pre-march rally, we found ourselves all but trapped in an incredibly tight crowd. As we attempted to sidle our way to the street (a process that took about 90 minutes), I was startled to see a woman struggling to make her way into the central area being led by two plump, elderly dogs, whose withers were no higher than my knee.

I was distressed that the dogs were subjected to such conditions, and I told the lady it was a bad idea, to which she took bitter exception. I have since noticed many people bringing their dogs to similar -- admittedly less densely packed, but still very loud and stressful -- events. It seems that their pets are treated less as companions than fashion accessories, which troubles me very much.

What is your guidance regarding bringing dogs to crowded public events? -- E.L., Rockville, Maryland

DEAR E.L.: I appreciate your concern about people taking dogs to public demonstrations. There are likely to be more protests in the near future, and outbreaks of unpredictable violence in some demonstrations of public outrage, with agitators bent on causing mayhem to discredit the legitimacy of protesters. I witnessed just this at the anti-World Trade Organization demonstration that I joined and spoke at in Seattle in 1999. You can even see a photo on the cover of my book "Bringing Life to Ethics: Global Bioethics for a Humane Society."

People do take offense when confronted about how they are treating their animals, especially the suggestion that they are exposing them to unnecessary stress. It is regrettable that most public demonstrations are still limited to the degree that they are generally human-centered, and not embracing all life and the environment. Bringing dogs to a predictably massive gathering of people is grossly irresponsible, self-indulgent and confirms this lack of vision and scope of concern. All life matters, and Earth justice and animal rights should have equal representation.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have three cats and a new chair. Cat No. 1 noticed it first and started scratching the side. I covered it with a throw blanket, and the cat settled down on it, staying there and getting up only to eat and use the litter box.

After two days, cat No. 2 moved to claim it. She is my loving bedmate, but she has chosen the chair over me. Cat No. 3 dared to try out the chair when No. 2 was away. No. 2 was very upset, running around sideways with a bushy tail. Now cat No. 2 is queen of the chair again.

What is going on? Is there catnip woven into the chair, or is it a game of who is the alpha female? -- C.H., Washington, D.C.

DEAR C.H.: Late German ethologist Professor Paul Leyhausen described this cat behavior as place- or situation-dominance. Cats in groups do not have a relatively clear-cut dominance hierarchy like the kind seen in wolves and dogs, who have a social order to reduce conflict. Rather, cats tend to maintain a different social order, which is based on their relatively less social and more solitary behavior in the wild. This is based on selecting their own resting places and learning quickly to obey the rule of respecting each other's favored places to avoid conflict.

Additionally, cats in the wild will patrol their territories on different time schedules to avoid accidental face-to-face confrontation, which could lead to injurious fights. The more insights the science of ethology provides, the better we may be able to understand and control our own aggressive and territorial behaviors, as Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz offers in his seminal book "On Aggression." This would be a good read for some of our politicians today!

DOG FOOD RECALL

On New Year’s Eve 2016, three pugs became ill, and one died; these incidents are believed to be linked to Evanger's Dog and Cat Food. Lab results provided by the pet owner show the pet food contained pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals.

Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food is now voluntarily recalling specific lots of its Hunk of Beef product because of a potential contaminant (pentobarbital).

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 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.)