A. Your dog may be acting "depressed" if you have had changes in the household lately — a new pet, a new baby, those sorts of things. In that case, he may just be taking time to adjust.

If he is not neutered, that can also contribute. Being unneutered at his age may be causing him not to eat as much as you think he should. Around puberty, unneutered males don't think about anything except their hormones.

Or it may be that his growth is slowing down and he does not have the appetite he once had. The best way to tell if he is getting enough to eat is to weigh him weekly — usually your vet will let you stop in and do this on his scale. He should be maintaining or gaining weight at this age — if he is losing weight your vet may want to pursue some further diagnostics.

Q. My mother has a small puppy. The problem is my mom lives about six hours north of here, and was told by the veterinarian in her area the puppy may have a liver shunt and needs to have a specific diagnostic test. They don't have access to this type of equipment in her town.

I have contacted veterinarians in the Bay Area, and they told me they need to have her brought here. They would test her one day and do the surgery the next day depending on what they find. It would be at least $2,000.

She is reluctant to let us travel with the puppy. Does this seem to be a fair price and are there any clinics closer to where she lives?

A. It's very difficult to estimate how much any surgery will cost, or even if surgery is necessary, without examining your mother's dog.

Unfortunately, because of where she lives, she probably will have to travel to a specialty clinic if her dog does indeed have a liver shunt. You may want to contact the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis for a referral. They have an excellent teaching hospital, although they generally charge the same rates as other surgical clinics.

Their phone number is (530) 752-1393. But they may also know of veterinary clinics with the ability to treat this condition closer to her area.

Q. Could I have gotten ringworm from my dog? My German shepherd likes to lick me. I now have a rash that itches on my wrist. It started as a series of small pimples in a circle, and then turned into a ring of flaking, itching skin. The area now has two new bumps. Is this ringworm? How do I treat this condition?

A. I would recommend you see your doctor about your rash.

It is not possible for your dog to give you ringworm by licking you. Ringworm is not actually a worm, it is a fungus. The fungus is ubiquitous in our environment, usually found in dirt.

However, if your dog has been diagnosed with ringworm by your veterinarian, the spores can be transferred to you by close contact with his fur.

Q. Our new kitten has a lot of fingernails. She has six or seven on each paw. The shelter said it wasn't uncommon for a cat to have extra toes and it wouldn't cause her any problems. But they are very long and a couple are growing back into her pads. Is this normal?

A. What you have is a "polydactyl" cat, and while not uncommon, it is a genetic trait, and more typically found on felines from the East Coast instead of the West Coast. Some people quite fancy polydactyl cats. It's an unusual trait that gives cats and kittens the appearance of wearing big, fluffy mittens.

You do need to take care, though, to ensure that the nails are clipped regularly. While her "normal" nails might wear properly just from activity, often the extra nails are placed in such a way that they don't hit the ground, and thus grow too long. That is what is happening with your kitten.

You must regularly clip at least her extra nails so they don't injure her and cause an infection. Regularly clipping your kitten's nails now will make it easier to do when she is older, and also will save you from some nasty scratches during her adolescence.