Most fruit is safe in moderation as a treat for dogs

Q: My dachshund loves fruit! She will beg for just about any fruit that we have in the fridge — her favorite is apples and melon and bananas. I thought that since dogs were carnivores they did not like fruit and I was worried that giving it to her would be harmful in some manner? — Bob Nolan, Las Vegas

A: The ancestor of the dog is the wolf and a wolf is an obligate carnivore and always must have meat to survive. However, in the process of domestication from wolf to dog we also changed the dog into an omnivorous mammal that can digest meat, fruit and vegetables like a bear or a raccoon.

Fruit for your dog to snack on as a treat is fine as long as it is just a treat. The only caution is to stay away from grapes and raisins; grapes can be toxic to dogs.

Q: I am hoping you can help me identify a small dark-colored bird about the size of a canary. My neighbor put in some bamboo, and a large flock of these birds congregate in the bamboo starting about an hour before dusk and begin to chirp. (He is removing it in the spring as it turned out to be an invasive species.) The sound is very similar to the chirp of a parakeet. They continue to chirp until it is really dark. At this time of year when bird sounds are seldom heard it is really delightful to listen to. I live across the street from an industrial park and we do not have many birds here. Do you know what kind of bird it is? — Jennifer Small, Allentown, Pennsylvania

A: Those birds are sparrows — not our native sparrows but an English sparrow that was introduced to North America from Europe many years ago. They are sparrows in name only. They are more closely related to the weaver finches that we keep as pets and like the bamboo are considered an invasive species.

They are very successful as they all work together to ensure the survival of each one and since there is safety in numbers at night they cooperate by bunching together in a low group of shrubs. They all chirp together to confirm each bird’s status in the group.

Do not worry about them when your neighbor gets rid of the bamboo — in spring the flock splits into pairs to breed and by next winter the new flock will find another thicket to sleep in at night.

Q: My daughter won a goldfish in the school fair and fell in love with it, so we bought him a 20-gallon tank to live in with a filter and two more goldfish companions to keep him or her company and all three fish seem to be just fine. However, we keep the room the tank is in on the cooler side, so we went to the pet store to buy a heater for the tank and they seem quite expensive. We read that goldfish can do fine in cool water, will her fish be OK without a heater? — Gwen Thomson, Baltimore

A: I want to congratulate you on providing that little fish your daughter won with a proper home. Too many of these carnival fish languish away in small bowls until they die a horrible death.

You do not need a heated tank for goldfish, they will do just fine in cool water as long as it is properly filtered. Goldfish are pretty messy and even though you do have a filter on the tank, the fish would appreciate it if you changed two gallons of the tank water each week in addition to the other care you are giving them.