Ask Dr. Paola- Help! My Dog’s Won’t Stop Barking! (February 23, 2026) – Dogster

Welcome to our “Ask Dr. Paola” sequence, the place each Monday we deliver knowledgeable recommendation straight from Dr. Paola Cuevas (MVZ) to assist our readers higher perceive their canine’s well being and well-being.

Whether or not you’re a brand new pet dad or mum or a seasoned canine lover, Dr. Paola is right here to offer solutions to your most urgent questions. From vitamin suggestions and preventive care to troubleshooting widespread behavioral points, Dr. Paola is able to supply insights that may preserve your furry buddy joyful and wholesome. Keep tuned for knowledgeable steerage on a spread of matters that matter most to you and your canine, so you can also make knowledgeable choices and supply the very best care on your canine companion. ‎Have‎ a ‎question? Send it in here!

Assist! I Wish to Change My Pet’s Canine Meals!

“Cher is a 9-month-old feminine Shih Tzu pet. She is presently consuming Royal Canin pet meals moist and dry. I’m contemplating transitioning her to Diamond Pure small-breed grownup dry meals. My thought is that the Diamond Pure model is inexpensive and appears to have related substances. I’m asking on your recommendation on this Diamond Naturals model vs Royal Canin. Thanks upfront on your recommendation.“  – Alan

Hello Alan.

That is a crucial and particularly reasonable query, as a result of many pet mother and father ponder whether the distinction between manufacturers displays science or just advertising energy. Bigger firms like Royal Canin put money into feeding trials, make use of veterinary vitamin professionals, and consider how canine carry out on their diets over time somewhat than relying solely on calculated nutrient profiles. That degree of testing and high quality management requires important monetary assets, which is why it’s extra widespread amongst giant producers. On the similar time, you will need to acknowledge that a lot of the analysis within the pet meals business is company-funded, so whereas it offers helpful details about security, digestibility, and efficiency, it’s not the identical as impartial scientific analysis.

Smaller or mid-size manufacturers, together with Diamond Naturals, sometimes formulate diets to fulfill established nutrient requirements utilizing laboratory evaluation and formulation software program. This method is appropriate and meets regulatory necessities, and plenty of canine preserve good well being on these meals. A useful method to clarify this to pet mother and father is to think about two medicines that meet security requirements. One has extra inside testing behind it, whereas the opposite is developed to fulfill the required specs with much less in-house scientific analysis. Each can work, and neither method mechanically ensures superior long-term well being outcomes for each canine.

From a broader dietary perspective, it is usually useful to step again and see the larger image. Each Royal Canin and Diamond Naturals are extruded kibble, or canned wet food, that means they’re extremely processed and depend on artificial vitamins to switch what’s misplaced throughout manufacturing. If the purpose is to maneuver past evaluating manufacturers throughout the similar processing class, a significant enchancment in dietary high quality comes from lowering processing altogether. Full and balanced, gently cooked, fresh diets present vitamins in a extra pure and bioavailable kind, extra like complete meals than packaged cereal, and commercially ready choices make this method sensible whereas avoiding the dietary imbalances that usually happen with home-cooked recipes. Finally, crucial measure of any weight loss plan is the canine’s general well being, physique situation, digestion, and long-term well-being.

Regards,

Dr. Paola

Assist! Can Meals Have an effect on Conduct?

“Can canine meals have an effect on a canine’s hormones? I’ve an 8-year-old lab combine who has develop into extra testy, and his penis will elongate, and he needs to hump objects. Chief has been neutered for over 7 years. The one change to his weight loss plan is that I’ve began including some moist pet food to his weight loss plan for selection. Might that be influencing his habits? He’s one in every of 3 canine who’ve all been round for six years. His habits is making a tense setting for all.“ – Sophia

Expensive ​​Sophia,

I perceive how annoying this transformation can really feel in a beforehand secure family. Generally, business canine meals, together with moist meals, don’t include hormones and usually are not identified to affect reproductive hormone ranges or set off sexual habits. The bulbus glandis, the traditional swelling on the base of the penis, can enlarge with arousal, pleasure, anxiousness, and even social pressure, and this could occur in neutered males as a result of the habits just isn’t pushed solely by testosterone. Mounting in neutered canine is usually a communication habits somewhat than a sexual one, very similar to an individual pacing or fidgeting when emotionally overstimulated.

When a neutered grownup abruptly turns into extra testy or begins mounting, the commonest causes are elevated stress, adjustments in social dynamics, ache, medical discomfort, cognitive getting old, or elevated arousal ranges, somewhat than weight loss plan. Even small environmental shifts, refined pressure between canine, adjustments in routine, or underlying medical points akin to urinary discomfort, pores and skin irritation, or endocrine disease like hypothyroidism can decrease a canine’s emotional threshold. At eight years previous, it is usually sensible to think about a medical analysis, since habits adjustments in mature canine typically have a bodily part. The brand new moist meals is unlikely to have an effect on hormones, but when the addition will increase calorie intake or palatability, it may contribute to increased vitality or arousal in some people.

As a result of the habits is creating pressure within the group, early intervention is necessary. Managing arousal by elevated psychological enrichment, structured train, and calmly interrupting mounting earlier than escalation may also help, however a veterinary examination needs to be step one to rule out medical causes. Consider this case much less as a hormonal surge and extra as your canine’s emotional stress valve opening, and the purpose is to determine what’s growing that inside stress so the family can return to a relaxed, balanced state. Good luck!

Dr. Paola

Assist! I Canine Gained’t Cease Barking!

“I’ve 2 Hanesse. Benthic and Shelby. We simply moved into an condominium, and each canine are barking on a regular basis. What barking machine would work for each canine? They’re 9 years previous.“ – Susan

Hello Susan,

When barking will increase after a transfer, the habits is often pushed by stress and uncertainty somewhat than disobedience. Your canine are adjusting to a brand new setting stuffed with unfamiliar sounds, neighbors, and adjustments in routine, so they’re reacting like delicate alarm methods that haven’t but discovered what’s regular. At 9 years previous, main adjustments can really feel particularly overwhelming, so the best method is to assist them really feel safe and decrease their general stress degree, somewhat than focusing solely on stopping the noise.

A really useful basis on this scenario is a calming pheromone diffuser, akin to Adaptil Calm House Diffuser. These launch an artificial model of the pure calming pheromone produced by mom canine and might scale back stress-related behaviors, together with extreme barking. Consider it as turning down the amount on their emotional alarm system so on a regular basis condominium sounds really feel much less threatening. Most houses discover enchancment inside one to 2 weeks. This works finest alongside predictable routines, every day train, enrichment, and background noise like a fan or white noise to soften hallway or neighbor sounds.

Earlier than selecting a barking machine, you will need to know that many instruments, particularly shock or harsh automatic ultrasonic systems, can improve anxiousness and make barking worse over time, significantly in delicate or older canine. If you would like a tool, the most secure choices are humane handheld or collar-based ultrasonic or vibration trainers that interrupt the barking with out ache. These work finest when the barking is triggered by particular occasions somewhat than fixed anxiousness. Timing is important. The interrupter needs to be used proper because the barking begins, and the second your canine pause, calmly reward the quiet so that they be taught that calm habits is what earns consideration. Computerized room gadgets are sometimes unreliable in flats as a result of partitions, echoes, and a number of canine can set off them unpredictably. It helps to think about these instruments as a quick pause button, not an answer, whereas the actual progress comes from lowering triggers, constructing enrichment, and instructing that quiet brings good issues. I hope this helps.

Dr. Paola