Answer: Bottom line: Clip your dogs. Keep in mind, however, that your husband might have some underlying reason for not shearing them. The thing about the German shepherd is something that I usually discount. I feel it is more an owner perception than a real problem with the dog.

Most owners incidentally report to me that their dogs love to get rid of that old coat for the summer and seem to enjoy being clipped. Also, you could compromise and instead of clipping the dogs down to their skin, use a guard on the clipper and cut the hair down to ½ inch or so. I do agree with your husband that you need be very careful that shaved dogs are not exposed to excessive direct sunlight and potential sunburn.

Question:I have a 10-year-old Lab, a Senior Hunter. We primarily hunt ducks and geese on the Texas coast. He is a great dog in fine shape. He runs one to three miles most days year-around and during duck season we get out an average of once a week.

This year he started slowing down. He limps some mornings on his front leg. Everything is fine once he gets warmed up. I'm about to drive up to the Texas Panhandle to hunt ducks and geese in the mornings and pheasant the rest of the day. It's a two-day marathon.

I'm just wondering if I should be prepared with something to ease the expected pain he will be in on the second day of our trip and on the way home. We have done this for about six years in a row and when we get home he pretty much is immobile for a couple of days. This year will likely be worse than ever for him. Should I give him aspirin or ask my vet for a prescription for something else? --CL

Answer: There are currently available several new drugs for pain and anti-inflammatory relief in the dog. Most of these are similar to human compounds and fall into either the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory or synthetic opioid class of drugs. These drugs are given either singly or in various combinations, depending on the severity and cause of the pain.

I suspect you are assuming that this dog has a problem with arthritis but have not had the lameness worked up by your veterinarian. I would suggest you do this before starting any pain med program. In a dog this age several things could be causing the lameness, including fungal infection, tumors, degenerative osteoarthritis, or chronic injury. I would encourage you to get a good geriatric physical for this dog and then have your veterinarian prescribe appropriate therapy.

As always I can be reached at htholcombdvm@qwest.net.