DEAR DR. FOX: One of my mini dachshunds (who just turned 4) has had two seizures eight weeks apart.

Our vet is thinking it was the Comfortis flea medicine, or maybe Heartgard, as the second seizure took place one hour after giving him these two meds.

Is there anything out there that is natural and less harmful for heartworm and fleas, or is there anything you would suggest for the heartworm prevention? My vet is saying Revolution all-in-one treatment. Ours are indoor dogs who get one morning walk on no grass and who are never in kennels. -- D.D., Naples, Florida

DEAR D.D.: This is some of what the manufacturers state on their Comfortis website:

"For dogs: The most common adverse reaction reported is vomiting. Other adverse reactions reported in decreasing order of frequency are: depression/lethargy, decreased appetite, incoordination, diarrhea, itching, trembling, excessive salivation and seizures. ... Following concomitant extra-label use of Ivermectin with Comfortis, some dogs have experienced the following clinical signs: trembling/twitching, salivation/ drooling, seizures, incoordination, excessive dilation of pupils, blindness and disorientation. ... Use with caution in breeding females and dogs with pre-existing epilepsy".

Clearly, your dog had an adverse reaction to these drugs. Check my website for my review of safe methods of dealing with fleas. Low-dose Heartgard (ivermectin) to prevent heartworms should be given only after a blood test has determined that the dog is not already infected. In states where there are winters too cold for mosquitoes that transmit heartworm, the preventive drug need not be given year-round.

I know of no other safe preventive. This drug is not safe for some breeds, such as collies, when given at a high dose, as for treatment for mange.

DEAR DR. FOX: I read your column today about dog owners letting their pets urinate in public. How does this apply to service dogs? This is a rare occurrence with my husband's dog, but it recently happened after he was leaving the hospital after five or six hours of being there. The dog was allowed no water after his dinnertime, and he did his business at home before they left. Is a blind person expected to clean up after the dog?

My second question involves the same dog. He is 4 years old and is a great service dog. We recently got a mini pig, and the German shepherd is scared to death of it! We have had the pig four months. Any advice you can give would be appreciated. -- R.S., Asheville, North Carolina

DEAR R.S.: I am very much aware of the stress often imposed on guide dogs, especially when they are older and develop kidney problems and need more water, because my wife and I took in Quincy, her brother's guide dog, when he was retired from devoted service. They are indeed trained not to evacuate until given vocal command, and the situation that you describe calls for an understanding public. Of course your husband cannot be expected to clean up after his dog.

Some dogs are spooked by pigs, not being used to their behavior, scent and ways they communicate. Give the dog time, and get a harness for the pig and take them both for walks together. Let the dog see the pig play with toys and then try to engage the dog.

Good luck!

(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: My cat had vomiting and diarrhea and received extensive and expensive testing and medication with no permanent cure in spite of also being fed only prescription canned food.

I finally realized that the problem was the excessive liquid content of the canned cat food. After opening the cans, pouring out the excess liquid and allowing the contents to dry out by leaving the opened can in the refrigerator for a day before using it, I greatly reduced the liquid content of the food. The result was a permanent cure of my cat's vomiting and diarrhea problem -- without further use of medications.

I recently found out that a friend had the same problems with his cat as a result of excess liquid in prescription canned cat food, and she cured him in the same way. -- R.P., Matawan, New Jersey

DEAR R.P.: Your diligence on behalf of your cat should benefit many other cats and their owners.

It is time for a big wake-up call and a demand for pet food industry accountability. The suffering of uncounted cats and the anguish and financial and emotional costs to their human caregivers associated with various ingredients and deficiencies is criminal.

Clearly, your poor cat was either allergic or hypersensitive to and intolerant of one or more ingredients in the "gravy" -- not simply, as you contend, to the "excessive liquid content." All cats need liquid!

Check my website (DrFoxVet.com) for information on one "gravy-making" additive, carrageenan, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea and trigger symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. This disease leads many veterinarians to prescribe risky corticosteroids and even anesthetize sick cats to do intestinal biopsies to make a diagnosis and rule out cancer.

There may also be Red No. 3 dye (erythrosine), which is still used in some canned cat and dog foods. It may cause cancer and can disrupt normal thyroid gland function.

DEAR DR. FOX: In your column, I recently read about a cat not drinking water and thought I would offer a suggestion: My cat won't drink water from a dish placed next to his food bowl.

My cat growing up would drink the water left in the bottom of the bathtub, so we started putting her water bowl on the side of the tub. My current cat started drinking water from a short glass I had for myself on my nightstand. So that is where her water bowl is now.

Some cats are just picky about where their food and water are located. I discovered my cat does not like deep bowls for her food and water. She would take her wet food out of the bowl and put it on the floor to eat it, making a mess. I don't think she likes her whiskers touching the sides of the bowl. I now put her food on plates or wide, low-sided dishes. Her water bowl is deep and wide, so her whiskers don't touch the sides. It must be filled to the top, and she lets me know when it isn't!

Sometimes, feeding and drinking issues are as simple as location and container type. -- D.F., Fargo, North Dakota

DEAR D.F.: Your observations may help many readers who have cats who do not like to drink by their food bowls and who prefer to avoid contact with the sides of their drinking bowls with their whiskers (vibrissae).

Wide glasses or ceramic bowls are best, in my opinion. Metal bowls can trigger a static electrical discharge, especially indoors in winter with synthetic carpeting, which can go through the vibrissa on the lips and under the chin and shock the cat. Plastic food and water bowls may be safer in this regard, but they can be toxic. Some cats with skin lesions on their lips and chins have improved when their plastic food and water containers are replaced with glass or ceramic.

DOG BOOK REVIEW

"The Life and Love of Dogs" by Lewis Blackwell. The enormous book (almost 5 pounds) is published by Abrams, and printed in China. The odor (from chemicals used to show selected fine photos of dogs by various photographers) is nauseating, and it's possibly toxic and environmentally harmful.

This book is a sophomoric rehash of what others have written about dogs and their origins, behavior, human bond and future (with varying degrees of scientific credibility), infused with a "feel-good" sentimentalism about dogs. This does not translate into eloquent prose from one who has reflected deeply on the nature of dogs and their relationships with us over the millennia, nor does it inspire to help improve the care and well-being of dogs world-wide, especially the abused, neglected, homeless, abandoned and feral. The dichotomy in the title between the "Love of Dogs" (presumably for us) and of our purported love for them, which can lead to an almost fetish obsession to breed dogs with genetic deformities and to keep old dogs alive at all costs, regardless of their suffering, is swept away by this shallow sentimentalism and is not addressed in this book.

I, therefore, do not recommend this book as an authoritative and inspiring book for people to purchase and, in the process, support a side of the publishing industry that must become extinct. Its evident ecological impact, sacrificing trees and other raw materials as well as fossil fuels in the manufacture and shipping of these kinds of books that do not use recycled materials, is not worth the content. The book uses potentially harmful chemicals rather than certified nontoxic inks for reasons of questionable value beyond profit margins.

(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: I recently inherited a 15-year-old active and healthy Himalayan cat. She has always had a thin area of fur on the base of her tail, under her belly and between her legs.

After we got her, it got worse. She is never allowed outside and neither she nor my other cat have fleas. I took her to an allergy vet, who suggested I put her on Atopica. I don't know if I could administer the kind made for cats without her choking, so she gets a very small amount of the kind for dogs, since she's only 7 1/2 pounds.

Without expensive testing, we have concluded it is environmental. My husband is in the nursery business, and our yard is full of blooming trees and plants, which he brings into the house on his person. Atopica has worked well except for about a month in the summer when she gets a little breakout on the base of her tail.

Do you have any suggestions as an alternative? I am concerned about long-term side effects. I've been told if I take her off of Atopica, her condition could become much worse than it was before. I'd hate to have a Himalayan cat with no fur. -- D.E., Lake Worth, Florida

DEAR D.E.: The active ingredient in Atopica is an immune system-modulating drug, cyclosporine, which has proven beneficial for cats and dogs suffering from dermatitis or skin problems that are termed "atopic" because the exact cause has not been identified and corrected -- such as a flea-bite hypersensitivity or food allergy.

I believe that many cases of atopic dermatitis have a food ingredient genesis, and as I have posted in my columns and on my website, many pet food manufacturers continue to be negligent in providing accurate ingredient labeling. Pork or chicken, for example, could be in a cat food that indicates on the label that rabbit is the sole animal protein ingredient. Other ingredients such as rice (especially from brewer's grains), soy and corn, all of which have no place in cat foods, could be the dermatitis or inflammatory bowel disease trigger.

Many veterinarians are finding that animals with skin problems get rapid relief and recovery when provided omega-3 fatty acid supplements, such as in canned sardines in water, wild salmon and fish oil for cats. Add the supplement to the cat's food, beginning with just a drop. For cats allergic to fish (which can also cause dermatitis), there is a source of omega-3 fatty acids in capsule form from algae.

Try out this kind of supplement and also my home-prepared cat food recipe (DrFoxVet.com). After four to six weeks, see how your old cat responds when the dose of Atopica is reduced, ideally under the eye of your cat's veterinarian.

MORE PET FOOD AND TREAT RECALLS

-- BRAVO RAW FOOD RECALLS: On Sept. 26, 2014, Bravo of Manchester, Connecticut, announced that it is recalling select lots of Bravo Turkey and Chicken pet foods for dogs and cats because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.

The recalled product was distributed nationwide beginning on Nov. 14, 2013. More information on the Bravo recall can be found at bravopetfoods.com or by calling 866-922-9222.

-- JAKKS PACIFIC KONG AUSSIE STICKS RECALL: On Sept. 25, 2014, JAKKS Pacific of Walnut, California, announced a recall of its Kong Aussie Sticks dog treats due to possible contamination with mold.

The recalled product was sold only at PetSmart. You may contact JAKKS Pacific at 877-875-2557. Kong can be reached at 303-216-2626.

(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.)