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Paws & Claws

Jill Bowen has practiced veterinary medicine in England and Texas. She lives in Blacksburg now, and answers local pet owners' questions every week in The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com.

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• Halloween is not a treat for most pets

Q Do Tibetan mastiff dogs make good family pets? We live in an isolated area with three small children and my husband is sometimes away overnight. This makes me a little nervous.

A Tibetan mastiff dogs were bred specifically to protect property. Their original purpose was to protect Buddhist monasteries at night, as well as the tents and yak herds of the nomadic tribes in the Himalayas.

Tibetan mastiffs were also bred to bark to keep marauders away because they guarded the compound. They have a deep and fearsome bark that, if you have no close neighbors is fine, but they are definitely not recommended for apartments or the suburbs.

Like all giant dog breeds, Tibetan mastiffs need early socialization and training. Obedience training can be a challenge because these dogs have a very independent nature. They are happy to protect you, but not very obedient unless they understand the reason for the command. Commands such as sit are taught and obeyed relatively easily, but the command "come" is often ignored because most Tibetan mastiffs have their own agenda.

These dogs are excellent at protecting their own family's children, but they can be aggressive with visiting children, especially if the play becomes somewhat rough.

Tibetan mastiffs have a long, thick double coat that requires weekly brushing. They shed heavily for a few weeks in the spring and need daily grooming at this time. In hot weather it is important to keep them cool and in low humidity to prevent heatstroke.

This is not the breed for the first-time dog owner because it is very important for the owner to establish who is the pack leader from the beginning, especially because the males of this breed will weigh up to 160 pounds when fully grown and adult females are only a little lighter at 120 pounds. Living with such a strong-willed, assertive dog can be a challenge.

Q I am told that cats cannot taste sugar. If so, why does my Maine coon cat like to eat frosted flakes? He always cries to lick my cereal bowl.

A A cat's taste buds are found in special areas (papillae) on the rear surface of the tongue. There are several different types, and the papillae associated with sugars are either missing or present in extremely few numbers.

Cats cannot taste sweet items nearly as well as people do, although it is now thought that some cats may possibly be able to taste sugars to a slight degree. As cats are carnivores, there was no need for special taste buds to detect sugars. Instead, cats have specialized taste buds that can detect tiny differences in the proteins in their food.

This is important in detecting whether the food is fresh or starting to deteriorate. The sense of taste is linked to the sense of smell. If the food does not smell good, a cat will probably refuse to try it. The shape and feel of the food is also important to many cats.

Commercial cat food makers learned that the shape of the dry food coupled with the smell is important when it came to palatability. Researchers have found that cats much prefer canned food to be at room temperature rather than straight from the fridge. Warm cat food releases more aromas and therefore smells better. Perhaps your cat is attracted to the feel of the frosted flakes as much as the taste.

Q My Labrador leaves nose prints all over our sliding glass door, both inside and out, as she waits to be let in or out. Do you have a magic formula for removing them? The various commercial products I have tried don't seem to do a good job.

A I use undiluted white vinegar from the grocery store. Apply the vinegar on a paper towel followed by polishing the glass with newspaper.