Question: I just bought a house and have noticed my 9 year old lab is scratching at the carpet when I am gone. I had the carpets shampooed and have painted everything in the house so I can't imagine he would be able to smell the dogs that used to live there. I don't really want to resort to putting him in a crate while I am gone. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Here are some suggestions to help you:

1. Dogs have a very keen sense of smell. While your newly shampooed rugs may look and smell clean to you, they may require cleaning with a special pet odor reducing enzyme cleaner to completely eliminate any faint odor from previous pets that your dog can still smell. A carpet cleaning service could provide you with more information.
2. Moving to a new house is stressful for both owners and pets, so your dog may still be adjusting. To reduce your dog'sstress, we suggest additional exercise, attention from owners, grooming and playtime and better nutrition.  Your dog may just need some extra time and love during this transition period.
   More about Dog Exercise, Dog Grooming, Dog Nutrition
3. Separation Anxiety combined with new house stress could be causing the problem, if the dog scratches the carpet only while you are out. You can learn more about Dog Separation Anxiety and how to reduce it at Dog Separation Anxiety. Again, additional exercise, attention, grooming, playtime and better nutrition will help.
4. If using the crate seems too limiting for your dog considerusing gates on doorways to prevent the dog from entering carpeted rooms. Consider confining the dog to a kitchen, mudroom or basement with no carpeting.
5. Provide fun new toys for your dog to play with while you're gone. Chew toys are especially helpful because chewing relieves stress and is entertaining for dogs. Toys in which you hide a treat are also helpful.

Good luck with your dog and your new house. Please let us know about his carpet scratching behavior in a few weeks!

Question: I have a 7 year old female dog who has always been great with other dogs. Within the past year we adopted a male 1 year old dog who was great with her but afraid of people. The two dogs got along great most of the time. Then the 1 year old male was hit by a car. Within the past month, we rescued another male dog who is 4 months old. He loves everyone. My 7 year old dog is not bonding with him. (it's been 1 1/2 weeks) Are we expecting too much too soon? What are some good tips? Thank you.

Answer: Introducing a new puppy or any new pet is stressful for pet owners, as well as the new and resident pets. It is likely to take more than a week or two for them to adjust, especially if your resident dog is still missing her other friend.