Joan Morris

1 week ago | mercedsunstar.com | Joan Morris

DEAR JOAN: Our 8-year-old male Australian shepherd, Bodie, has started a new behavior. We have a privacy screen and child's gate to keep him and his big brother, a border collie, in the living area with us. Bodie now breaks through the privacy screen during the middle of the night, slams on the child's gate to bring it down, and then runs upstairs to wait outside our room. We haven't been able to detect any triggers that would cause this behavior.

1 week ago | sanluisobispo.com | Joan Morris

DEAR JOAN: Our 8-year-old male Australian shepherd, Bodie, has started a new behavior. We have a privacy screen and child's gate to keep him and his big brother, a border collie, in the living area with us. Bodie now breaks through the privacy screen during the middle of the night, slams on the child's gate to bring it down, and then runs upstairs to wait outside our room. We haven't been able to detect any triggers that would cause this behavior.

2 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Joan Morris

DEAR JOAN: What is the right time to remove a nest from a nest box after the nestlings have fledged? I removed an abandoned nest last year that had four unhatched bluebird eggs. A new family built a nest and there were two babies. They are now gone and I’ve noticed other birds flying to the nest. Should I remove the nest so another family can start anew, or just leave it?

3 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Joan Morris

DEAR JOAN: It’s 10 p.m. and my always indoor cat, Butter, is growling at the screen door in my bedroom. I turn on the outside light and see two huge raccoons in the yard. Suddenly the kitty turns on me and claws my leg with both paws, leaving deep puncture wounds, then he jumps up on the bed and falls asleep, as is his normal pattern.

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Joan Morris

Share DEAR JOAN: I have had success with a fake dead crow in the past, not so with this single bird. I don’t know if it’s a he or her, but there does not appear to be any others flying around with it. I first saw it trying to bite off the ceramic bird on the side of my bird watering plate. I put out the dead crow, but there was no difference. It sat right next to the fake crow at the dish, still trying to bite off the ceramic bird.