Dr. Rachele Baker Answers Your Questions Free In Her Exciting New Blog Feature "Ask The Vet"

Online, July 15, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Dr. Rachele Baker is a small animal veterinarian in southern California with over twelve years of experience. She regularly attends veterinary continuing education conventions and meetings in order to stay current with the best practices within the veterinary profession.

She is offering a new feature on her blog called Ask The Vet. After subscribing to her blog with your email address, you will be able to send in questions with the Contact form on her site. Dr. Baker will be selecting two questions to answer on her blog each week.

Here are the first four blog posts on Dr. Baker's Ask The Vet:

Ask The Vet: My Neighbor's Cat Keeps Running Into My Garage:

By Rachele Baker, DVM - Question: Erin says she is having a problem with her neighbor's cat running into her garage every time she opens the garage door. Sometimes the cat gets trapped in her garage all night. Erin wants to know how she can keep her neighbor's cat out of her garage short of never opening the garage door?

Ask The Vet: My Dog's Stomach Is Swollen and Her Tail Is Between Her Legs:

By Rachele Baker, DVM - Question: Prudence writes: I have a ten-year-old spayed female black labrador retriever. Her stomach seems to have swollen and she has her tail tucked under her rear end. She has difficulty moving her rear end up and down and she walks gingerly. What do you think this might be?

Ask The Vet: My Dog's Ears Are Hot and He Licks His Paws A Lot:

By Rachele Baker, DVM - Question: Ali writes: I have a four-year-old neutered male lab. Recently I was told by my vet to feed him a hypoallergenic pet food as his ears are quite hot. He doesn't appear to have ear mites or an ear infection. He is full of bounce and vigour as normal. He scratches and rubs his ears occasionally, but not in a way which is excessive or distressing to him. His ears don't even look red, but they do feel extremely hot inside. He is otherwise healthy and as full of life and energy as always!

I have noticed that he seems to be licking his paws a lot too. His paws look fine. Maybe he is just cleaning the moisture or dirt off them.

I suppose my question is, can diet cause his ears to be hot? Will a hypoallergenic diet fix it? I was surprised when the vet suggested the hypoallergenic diet. I expected some kind of drops or something.

Ask The Vet: What About Invisible Fences For Dogs?

By Rachele Baker, DVM - Question: Ali writes: Many of my friends with large gardens (backyards) have electric dog fences to prevent their dogs escaping. It's the wire you bury in the ground and the dog wears a collar which delivers a shock if he goes too near. They are very popular here. My dog gets out all the time and it has been suggested that I get one to keep him in but I don't like the sound of it. I know they aren't always effective anyway. Some dogs will risk it to get out and have their fun - mine being one of them I feel!

What is a veterinarian's view of this? Does it do any psychological damage? Is there a better alternative in your view? Are there any products that you recommend?

Subscribe to Dr. Baker's blog and join in with your questions! For more information, please visit Dr. Baker's website.

Dr. Baker is preparing to write a series of short books about medical problems in dogs and cats entitled My Virtual Veterinarian. The first book will address Allergies in Dogs: How Can You Stop the Scratching and Chewing?

In Dr. Baker's blog, she is writing a series of articles entitled Ten Simple Ways To Keep Your Pet Healthy. The first article is now available on her website: Tip #1: Feed Your Pet A High Quality Food.