Dog goes running when stoves comes on

• Reprints

Q. I have a 5-year-old mini female dachshund named Maddie. Whenever I cook or use the stove, she gets extremely agitated. She will run upstairs, hide and shiver, or she wants to go out and refuses to come back come in. She can tell when I put the stove on by the timer, because of the beeping sound it makes and the fan on the microwave is the absolute worst. We don’t know what to do to help her anxiety.

A. Our dogs are among the most sentient creatures on earth. Maddie reacts to the ticking of the timer, the buzz of the fan on the microwave, the low drone of the stove. Stand beside the turned-off stove and wordlessly put down a goody for her. Do this again and again. As she munches and grows calmer, you can start acculturating her to the timer and the microwave. As you help her overcome her fears, your dog will begin to cook with more confidence.

Q. I read your column every time I see it, even though I do not own a dog. However, an answer you gave about a dog this morning hit home. I adopted a cat from the animal shelter a year ago. I took her because they told me she had been in that cage for 10 months and was probably not adoptable.

When she wants attention, she will come within arm’s length and lets me scratch her around her head or down her back. If I pick her up she is rigid. This bothered me until I read in your column about the Havanese dog adopted from a puppy mill who feared being picked up and held.

A. Hearing from a “cat person” makes Dog Lady feel as if she’s done her job for all creatures great and small. Our companion animals need our tolerance, our kindness and our attention. Many come to us from shelters with phobias and occasional bizarre and annoying behavior. We may never know their back stories but we can provide them with new beginnings and live with them peaceably, hoping their fears ease over time.