Q&A

Corgi, Teddy, Pomeranian, Pug, Bichon, Labrador, Golden Retriever, Samoyed, Border Collie and German Shepherd top the list. Small breeds are easier for beginners; large breeds like Labs and Goldens are gentle and trainable.

Signs include abdominal pain, lethargy, bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. The most acute form damages the intestines and lowers white cells, often killing the cat within 24 hours.

Cats do not menstruate, but they do go into heat. Unlike dogs, they do not bleed from the vulva; instead they show vocalizing, restlessness, inappropriate urination and interest in mates.

A pregnant guppy's belly swells noticeably and the dark gravid spot near the anus darkens. She may become unusually active or, conversely, hide in a corner and stop eating.

White-foam vomit can signal spoiled food, a foreign object, hairballs or gastroenteritis. Medication is usually not advised until the cause is known, since a vomiting cat will just throw the medicine back up.

Tap water left out for only one night is still not safe for fish because the chlorine has not fully dissipated. Proper preparation takes at least three days of standing or a full day of sunlight.

Pomeranians are lively and easily distracted, so use treats as lures and reward each success. Assist manually at first, correct misbehavior firmly but without physical punishment, and praise often.

Sex is judged from the tail, the plastron and overall coloration. Males have thicker, longer tails set farther from the body and a slightly concave belly; females are shorter-tailed with a flatter belly.

Canine parvovirus presents in two forms — enteric and myocardial. The enteric form starts with lethargy, poor appetite, drowsiness, and fever, then progresses to soft stools, diarrhea, and vomiting with foul-smelling, soy-sauce- or rotten-tomato-colored watery stool. The myocardial form often shows no warning signs and can be fatal within hours.

Black spots on a dog's skin are usually harmless — they often appear with age as normal pigment deposits (age spots) from metabolic changes. They can also follow a skin infection that damaged the hair follicles, in which case the marks typically fade over time, or result from sunburn in short-coated dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors.