DEAR DR. FOX: I have a miniature poodle who is almost 5 years old. His name is Oliver. Earlier this year, we noticed that Oliver engages in fly biting (biting at the air like there is a fly nearby).

It seems more prevalent in the evening and lasts only a short time. We are usually able to distract him out of it.

Oliver is still very playful, and while he is engaged in retrieving a ball there is never any sign of fly biting. In January we took him to our vet who examined him, did a full blood panel and deemed him healthy. Our vet suggested we do nothing at this point.

I have done some reading about fly biting, which says this behavior is associated with epilepsy and is called a focal seizure. About two months ago we saw an increase in the fly biting, so I contacted our vet who told me that there is increasing evidence linking fly biting to gastrointestinal disease, which Oliver apparently has. When he was a puppy, I'd find green bile in his crate just about every morning, and he never seemed to want to eat.

Oliver's eyes have been checked, and no floaters were found. I really don't know what to do. I am so afraid he will have a massive seizure in the middle of the night and I will not be able to help him.

I have stopped using Frontline and HeartGuard this month. I'm using products made from natural ingredients. The vet put Oliver on Royal Canin dog food. A natural food storeowner told me today that Oliver's original diet of Instinct was a far superior food to Royal Canin.

Oliver is a play machine, has a wonderful disposition, is gentle almost to a fault and is happy as a lark. Please help me -- even if it's just to tell me to take the advice of my vet and do nothing. -- A.C.

DEAR A.C.: It is possible that corn or some other ingredient (soy, wheat or food dye) could be triggering these neurological symptoms. Before trying a psychotropic medication to increase brain serotonin levels, which can help dogs with obsessive-compulsive disorder, address the possible gut inflammation issue with a meat, fish, fruit and vegetable diet for your dog. I'd try home-prepared or fresh-frozen foods. A drop or two of lavender oil on a bandanna around his neck could be calming, as well as some organic freeze-dried turkey treats. PetzLife has an effective herbal product, @Ease, with calming ingredients that do not cause drowsiness.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a 1 1/2-year-old miniature poodle. He's an exceptionally good dog -- very smart and trained in obedience.

He sleeps in the bed with me and licks my face to wake me up in the morning. After he goes out, he eats breakfast and then proceeds to lie across my stomach and take each finger in his mouth and suck on it. Then he nudges me for the other hand. When he's done, he rolls up in a ball and goes back to sleep.

Why does he do this? He's very oral, according to his trainer (one of the best in the country) and food-driven. Is this something I should be concerned about? It really doesn't bother me. -- J.R., Marlboro, N.J.

DEAR J.R.: Perhaps your little dog was given milk from a bottle when he was a little puppy because his mother wasn't producing enough milk, or perhaps he was a runt and needed extra care. This could explain why he sucks on your hand. Alternatively, he just likes to lick your hands and, in the process, has realized that fingers are suckable, which for him and other dogs is a pleasurable, comforting experience.

I see nothing to worry about. This behavior seems like a special ritual before he naps, and I would not disrupt it. Just be sure he has a healthy mouth and that you thoroughly wash your hands afterward.

POOP SCOOP: FECAL MICROBIOTA TRANSPLANTS APPROVED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT

I know that several readers have been shocked and skeptical when I alluded to veterinarians giving dogs and cats enemas containing fecal material from healthy animals as a way of treating a variety of chronic intestinal problems. Cattle, goat and sheep farmers have been applying this concept for centuries, transplanting the cud bolus of healthy animals, which they gave orally to unthrifty young animals.

Now the Food and Drug Administration, in an unprecedented short timespan, has approved fecal microbial transplants given via colonoscope, a procedure pioneered by a handful of gastroenterologists and infectious disease specialists. It can help people suffering from Crohn's disease, colitis and the intractable diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile, usually getting donor bacteria from a healthy family member. Recent research has also discovered that changing the gut flora can alter behavior and mood.

(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.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: We have a 9-year-old female beagle. The vet says she is healthy, but the problem is that she often drops her rear end and sometimes lets out a cry. The vet tells us her anal glands are fine, but there's a flap of skin over her female parts that gets infected, and this is the cause. It's painful for her because she can't reach the source.

We've had her on anti-infection medicine, and that cleared the infection up, but it comes back. The vet recommended surgery to remove the flap. The price will be from $1,200 to $1,800. Thank you for any advice you can give us. -- M.C.B., Forked River, N.J.

DEAR M.C.B.: This is a common problem in some female dogs as they get older and put on weight, in part because they have been spayed. With our own dog, we would wipe her posterior with a disposable baby wipe containing soothing aloe vera and lavender, available in the infant care section of drug stores. I would try this for four to six weeks, applying the wipes three to four times a day.

If this does not prove effective, seek a second opinion and price quote for the surgery, since the quote you have given is exorbitant.

DEAR DR. FOX: On Sept. 19, 2013, I brought a tame domestic cat, whom I had been caring for, to the SPCA in Cincinnati. I specifically told their intake person that Inky was tame, not feral (although she had a clipped ear), and of her specific circumstance -- my neighbor, who had been caring for Inky, moved and relinquished care to me to see if I could find Inky a home, or, if not, to bring her to the SPCA.

Instead of even trying to find her a home, the SPCA called Ohio Alley Cat Resource Group (OAR) to pick up the cat and abandon her, in violation of Ohio Revised Code 959.01. My name and address were provided to OAR; therefore, both organizations are responsible for abandoning the cat.

I was not advised that Inky had been abandoned back at my house or that I should resume feeding her; I was only contacted by OAR five days later, in order to chide me for taking the cat in "where she would be killed," not to alert me to care for her.

Forcing people to deal with cats that they do not want around their homes and pushing shelters to reject cats results in these cats being trapped, drowned, shot and poisoned, often suffering disease, injury, starvation, thirst and cold for months instead of being humanely put down.

No one is ever happy about having to euthanize a healthy animal, but until the cat overpopulation can be reduced so that every cat can be placed into a loving home, this is, sadly, the way things are. -- J.M, Cincinnati

DEAR J.M.: I think many people who care for cats will appreciate your letter sharing your experiences with the tip of the feral and free-roaming cat iceberg and the mess that purportedly well-intentioned organizations are making of this controversial issue.

Yours is not the only state where adoptable cats who were feral/living free were simply put back where they originally came from rather than being given the chance of in-shelter adoption. Some purportedly "no-kill" shelters are a sham and a scam, and, along with some of the larger animal protection organizations, need to consider the wellbeing of animals first and public image second. As I show in my book, "Animals & Nature First," animal rights and humane ethics do not preclude euthanasia.

We all need to be open to new ideas, alternatives and opportunities to make progress in animal protection and not be hampered by lack of vision and accountability for the consequences of rigid policies and inappropriate actions.

(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.com.)

DEAR READERS: Humans, like other animals, have so-called mirror neurons in their brains that instantly process the emotional state of another deciphered through their facial expressions, vocalizations and body language. This happens to facilitate communication and appropriate action/reaction.

When signals of distress and suffering are processed, empathetic concern is evoked, as is fear. Sociopaths and psychopaths may respectively feel nothing or some perverse pleasure. Empathetic concern, which can include sympathy, outrage, remorse, anger, guilt and disbelief, can lead to denial or appropriate action to help, save, protect and defend by direct action.

While the print and TV media increasingly limit public exposure to extreme human suffering, there are even greater limits imposed, at least in America, on showing documented cruelties and suffering of animals. Ironically, some newspapers -- including my local edition -- have no qualms publishing photographs of a 12-year-old girl with a deer she had shot and a wildlife biology student grinning with a wolf he had shot draped around his shoulders. This establishes a culturally accepted norm, but images of animal suffering and cruelty -- of animals in traps, in factory livestock and fur farms, puppy mills and slaughterhouses -- are rarely shown by the mass media. We should ask why, and who is protecting whom.

Censorship of animal cruelty and suffering by the mass media parallels the atrocious record of state and federal law enforcement agencies of anti-cruelty laws. Janelle Dixon, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Animal Humane Society, recently reported how her organization spent $225,000 caring for dogs from a puppy mill, while the operator of this commercial dog breeding operation received a charge of a year's probation, a 90-day suspended jail sentence and a $50 fine.

Clearly, America must wipe its mirror clean when it comes to animal and human suffering caused by how, as a culture, we choose to do our business. And the media must begin to act responsibly rather than entertain, distract and continue to promote consumerism and biased information.

DEAR DR. FOX: Regarding the dog from St. Louis with recurrent bowel problems: My Angel is an 11-year-old miniature poodle. When she was around 4, she developed recurrent gastroenteritis with diarrhea. We treated her with antibiotics, and she would be OK for while. Then the diarrhea would return. When we saw blood in her stool, the vet did blood tests, which showed abnormal blood proteins. Her liver and kidney functions were normal. An ACTH-stimulating test was performed, which showed no adrenal response, indicating Addison's disease.

She has received oral prednisone ever since from monthly long-acting steroid injections. She has not had a single bout of diarrhea since. She is on a regular diet and is happy, healthy and energetic. The only thing I have to watch is her diet, since she is always hungry and drinks a lot of water -- side effects of the prednisone. If the St. Louis dog has not had blood tests to look for other organ system problems, I would suggest that they be done. -- E.S., St. Louis

DEAR E.S.: I very much appreciate receiving letters from readers offering additional considerations about some of the health problems that I have addressed in my column.

I am glad that your veterinarian ran additional tests on your then-young dog and diagnosed the basic cause of the diarrhea. Cardinal signs of Addison's disease, such as weakness; weight and hair loss; dark, bloody stools; vomiting; thirst; anorexia; and depression were not described by the person with the Labrador suffering from diarrhea. But your letter serves to alert dog owners, especially those whose dogs show any of these symptoms, which tend to wax and wane with Addison's disease, but can escalate into sudden collapse.

This may be an autoimmune disease, which essentially shuts down the adrenal glands from producing some essential body-regulating hormones (glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids).

This disease can develop in young adult dogs, especially females of any breed. Certain breeds, such as poodles, Great Danes, West Highland white terriers, bearded collies, basset hounds and rottweilers, may have increased risk. Some veterinarians have implicated adverse vaccination reactions and possibly hormonal imbalances after spaying as contributing factors. Fortunately, this disease (also seen in cats and originally identified in humans, as you have discovered) is not difficult to diagnose, and with careful monitoring of replacement hormone treatment, animals can enjoy a good quality of life for many years.

(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.com.)