Dear Matthew: I'm having trouble teaching my 1-year-old Siberian husky to walk with a leash on. He constantly fights me, and I end up dragging him when we go outside. Although this is building plenty of muscles in my arms, it's also wearing me out.
Is there anything I can do to help him overcome his leash phobia -- Tired in Oklahoma
Dear Tired: Believe it or not, all dogs are not born knowing how to walk on leashes. Just as you have to get a horse used to wearing a saddle, you have to allow time for most dogs to adjust to wearing a leash.
The best way to go through this adjustment period is to attach the leash to your pet and let him wander around your house, dragging it behind him. Don't let him out of your sight, since a leash could possibly choke him if he were to get it tangled up in furniture.
After a couple of days of this, try picking up the leash and holding it while following your dog around -- let him "walk" you, in effect. Once he seems comfortable with this, you can turn the tables and begin leading him around. By this time, he should be comfortable enough with the leash to not fight you as much.
Remember, you should never assume that your pet knows something you haven't trained him to do. You might as well expect a 2-year-old child to solve quadratic equations.
Dear Matthew: This is going to sound like a strange question, but I could really use an answer. To put it simply, my 5-year-old tabby drools a lot.
It usually happens when I'm petting him -- all of a sudden, I'll notice that he's left a wet spot on my couch or (yech!) I get some on my hand. I find it annoying, and my friends won't stop teasing my cat about it.
Is this a common problem? Is there anything I can do to make him stop? Other than this, my cat is perfectly healthy and normal. -- Sick of Spit
Dear Sick of Spit: Haven't you ever fallen asleep on your couch, only to wake up and find that you've been drooling a bit, too? Basically, it's the same principle working with your cat.
If this problem only arises when you're petting your cat, his drooling problem is probably due to relaxation and contentment on his part. Unfortunately, there really isn't any way to solve this, except to be sure and keep a paper towel or two within close reach.
If your cat seems to be drooling at other times too, there's a chance he may have a problem with his gums or teeth. I'd recommend taking your pet to the veterinarian and having him checked out -- he may need to have his teeth cleaned, or it could be a more serious problem.
In your case, however, I think the drooling is just a slobbery form of love. And tell your friends to get off the cat's case.
Dear Matthew: I recently brought home a dachshund puppy, and she won't stop misbehaving. She's destroying lots of stuff in my house, and when I try to discipline her with a quick smack on her nose, she snaps at me.
Why can't my new puppy behave like my last one did? Did I just get a bad seed, or do most dachshunds act this way? -- Louise in Santa Monica, Calif.
Dear Louise: I think you may be the bad seed, if you insist on hitting a little puppy that doesn't know any better. You're making the same mistake as the earlier letter writer: expecting a young dog to know things you haven't trained it to do. I'd recommend you take a deep breath and start trying to see the situation a little more clearly.
First of all, your puppy is probably teething right now, which will make her a bit more edgy and short-tempered. That's also the likely reason she's chewing on anything she can reach -- she's in a lot of pain, and the chewing makes her feel better.
More generally, why on Earth would you expect a new puppy to "behave" if the only training you're giving her is a smack on the nose when she violates a rule she doesn't even know exists?
Negative punishment is always counterproductive -- it's only going to make your pet more foul-tempered and increase the likelihood that she'll bite you or someone you know.
If you want to have a well-behaved dog, you're going to have to put in the time and effort necessary to train her properly. Buy a book or enroll in classes, and you'll have taken a good first step toward solving your problem.
Matthew Margolis is the host of "Woof! It's a Dog's Life," a dog-instruction series airing every Saturday on your local PBS station. Read all of Matthew Margolis' columns at the Creators Syndicate Website http://www.creators.com, and visit him at http://www.matthewmargolis.com. Write him at 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.