by Dr. Howard A. Mintzer

Q. Jennifer A. from East Fishkill writes:

When my puppy Fred was young he loved to ride in the car and we could take him anywhere. Now that he is two years old, even a simple trip to the store causes him to shake drool and sometimes get sick. Is there anything I can do to get him to like the car again?

A.

Jennifer, this is not an uncommon problem. About one quarter of the dogs I see do not ride well. It seems to be a combination of fear and motion sickness that affects these dogs. More car rides when they are young will sometimes help prevent a dog from developing bad car habits. Once they are adult it is very hard to get them used to the car again. If you are going on a long trip, we have tranquilizers which both calm your pet and prevent motion sickness. However since these drugs will sedate your pet for up to 8 hours, they are not practical for a short drive, a trip say under 2 hours. Here is a method for reducing car anxiety and motion sickness that I have used with some degree of success. It involves a method that psychologists call "behavior modification."

Today, put some treats into your pocket (my wife uses pieces of cheese) and take Fred into the car and place him where he usually sits. Talk to him in a gentle reassuring tone and if he is calm or when he calms down give him his treat and reward him with lots of praise and hugging. After about 5 minutes take him out of the car and reward him again. Tomorrow do the same but stay in the car for about 10 minutes, again rewarding him if he stays calm. On the next day do the same and after you have rewarded Fred's good behavior, turn the engine on. Keep hugging and rewarding Fred as long as he stays calm. If he gets nervous don't pay any attention to him until he calms down. It is really important that you don't pay any attention to him when he is nervous because your attention rewards his bad behavior and you don't want to reward behavior that you don't want repeated. After about 5 minutes turn off the engine, take Fred out and reward him again. Repeat this day's lesson again on the following day, this time spending 10 minutes in the car with the engine running. On the following day do all the above and drive the car about 10 feet. It is sometimes helpful to have someone else in the car when you do this so that you can hug and reward Fred while your friend drives. In the days and weeks that follow continue to modify Fred's behavior with longer and longer car rides, 30 seconds, one minute, five minutes, fifteen minutes, etc. The second Fred gets nervous, stop the car and pay no attention to him until he calms down. When he is calm reward him as before.

If you persevere at this task you have a very good chance of making Fred into the kind of dog who enjoys car rides. I must warn you though, I have two large, hairy dogs that love to ride in the car so much that they will go with me anywhere. Unfortunately with all that hair on the back seat, I don't have so many humans who enjoy riding in my car...oh well!

Q. Sally J. of Rhinebeck asks:

My cat's nails are so long that he is constantly getting them stuck in the carpet. I'd really like to cut them myself but I've heard that it is difficult to do and I could make my cat's nails bleed. What should I do?

A.

It is really not too difficult to cut your cat's nails though it often is a two person job. It's important to have the right tool. You need to go to the pet store and pick up a cat toenail clipper. Don't get the big one that is made for dogs as I don't find it works as well with cats. Next have a friend hold your cat on a slippery surface. As hard as it is to get a cat to stay still for a nail clip, it will be twice as hard on a surface (such as carpet) where your kitty can dig her nails in and run away from you.

Once kitty is calm press on the pad under the toe to extend the nail so that you can see it well. Look at where the nail hooks down. If you look above this point you may be able to see a pink area. That is where the blood supply to the nail is and where you do not want to cut. If you're still with me at this point, cut off the hook with the nail clipper. If everything goes well, continue on to the other nails. If you do make a toenail bleed (and it takes an effort to cut a nail back that far to make it bleed) don't worry. A cat will only lose a drop or two of blood from an improperly cut nail. If this happens and you still feel like continuing, only clip the very tips of the remaining nails. As you become more confident you can clip the nails back further.

If this description doesn't make you feel confident about trimming your cat's nails, try bringing your cat into your veterinarian. Ask your vet or his technician to show you how to trim them. Perhaps he can trim one side and you can do the other side while he watches. The next time your cat needs a nail trim, you'll be able to do it right at home all by yourself.