How far would you go to help an animal? Would you run into traffic? Would you adopt a homeless animal literally dumped on your desk at work? Would you stay up an entire night looking for an escaped cat? Meet my husband. He has done all of these.

Here's the latest chapter of his good Samaritan story: On Wednesday morning, after seeing our son off on the school bus, he saw a dog dart out into a busy street. He ran out after it, and seeing it had no collar, he herded the dog to our yard. The hair on the dog's neck was flattened, so he had worn a collar earlier. We posted an item on Craigslist that morning and put up fliers around our neighborhood in the evening. On Thursday, the dog's owners contacted us. Phew! (Our cats are breathing a sigh of relief as well, I can assure you. This incident will go on the List of Grievances that they keep.)

I'm using this example to remind pet owners to not only affix ID tags with a phone number to their pets' collars, but to ensure the collars fit snugly! A tag can't help your pet if your pet isn't wearing it. And it will save your neighbors time and trouble trying to reunite you with your pet.

Leroy, a 3-year-old goldendoodle, was medicated and had his neck shaved after he had a reaction to a topical flea-prevention medication. Photo by Jean Lange-Mollmann

This post originally ran on Tails of Seattle pet blog on June 8, 2011.

A reader sent us a note about her 3-year goldendoodle, named Leroy. To help prevent fleas, his owners purchased an over-the-counter, topical flea-control medication and administered it on the top of the dog's neck as indicated on the package. The next day Leroy was noticeably uncomfortable and having trouble staying still. Within a week, the dog had developed bloody lesions on the neck site and was clearly in pain. They took him to the vet, and he had to be sedated so the flea-control medication could be scrubbed off. The dog was put on antibiotics, pain killers and steroids, his owners said, and he recovered in about two weeks.

Veterinarian Jeffrey F. Duke, left, and Christina Karimi-Naser, a vet technician, below, from Pilchuck Veterinary hospital in Snohomish answer today's questions about flea control.

Question: Are any over-the-counter flea-prevention meds safe on dogs and cats? Are they species-specific? Do dog products only work on dogs and cat products on cats?

Answer: There are a multitude of over-the-counter flea products available for dogs and cats. Most, however, are insecticides (a type of pesticide) that can be toxic for your dog or cat.

Pesticides are designed to damage the nerve system of insects, and will have a similar effect on mammals, sometimes leading to convulsions and seizures. Less serious toxicities may be seen, such as vomiting, diarrhea and weakness.

Cats tend to be much more sensitive to pesticides. By far, the worst reaction we see is when a product intended for use in dogs is applied -- even in small amounts -- to cats. These pets often arrive at our emergency facility unconscious, hyperthermic and having seizures, and end up in intensive care, sometimes for days, to recover.

Fortunately, effective flea control has evolved greatly over the years, and we now can avoid using pesticides on our pets, in our homes and in our yards. Michael Dryden, the world authority on flea biology and control, goes so far as to say that "all modern flea control methods involve interfering with flea reproduction."

Cooper, a 9-year-old chocolate lab, doesn't usually run away.

That's why his owners were surprised he dug under a fence to escape from their North Seattle home Thursday night — and that he was already being returned to them by the time they knew he was missing.

Thanks to a pet tag linked to an online profile with Cooper's information, owners Todd and Stephanie Gowing got a call while they were running errands and were reunited with the escape artist just 20 minutes later.

"We were both very surprised and happy with that, that we got the call," Todd Gowing said.

The Gowings had received the Link tags, produced by Issaquah-based PetHub, from a relative about a year ago for Cooper and his brother, Abram, a German shepherd/Labrador mix who is usually the troublemaker of the duo.

The tags have a QR code — the barcode-like symbol that can be scanned with a smartphone to load a website — and an address for an individualized Web page, which the owner can update as needed. It's like a Facebook profile for your pet, says PetHub founder Tom Arnold, a place to store and share information about an animal.

PetHub didn't really start selling its tags until this January. That's when it sold 10,000 in three days through a deal with Groupon, the online deal site, though they made some sales and handed out test tags before that.

Winning multiple awards, including a Dog Fancy magazine Editor's Choice Award in December, helped get the word out. The company, which is financed primarily by Arnold and his family and has one angel investor, sold roughly 30,000 tags in the first quarter this year.

The focus is on information such as how to contact the owner and which medications the animal needs, but Arnold joked that allowing owners to "friend" other pets and make play dates for their animals could be possible in the future.

On Monday, tags will also have a hotline to call, where operators can help connect those who find a missing animal with the owners. While tags sold before Monday don't have the number, the websites do.

That's how Cooper was reunited with his owners. The man who found him 20 blocks north of the jail break scanned the QR code on Cooper's tag, and called the hotline number listed online. The call center then contacted the Gowings to facilitate the reunion.

Arnold said having the hotline printed on the tag will help people without smartphones, and can facilitate privacy, if owners don't want their personal phone number posted online.

PetHub sells the basic tag and service for $12.95 through its website, and licenses the software to several other companies that produce their own tags. The tags can be used for cats and some other pets.

More comprehensive plans have additional services, including a map showing where someone's smartphone scanned a pet's tag or the ability to send a lost pet's profile information to local shelters.

Other companies with QR tags have emerged, but not with those features, the company says.

The highest level includes a $3,000 insurance plan, in case a pet is injured while lost.

Arnold has an account himself, for his 18-month-old Newfoundland and Australian Shepherd mix, Ullr. When he travels abroad on PetHub business, his pet sitter posts photos of the Norse God's furry namesake on the profile.

The purpose is more safety than social for the Gowings; having Cooper home safe makes them glad they got the tags.

"It turns out that it's really great that we did," Todd Gowing said.

Diamond Pet Foods is voluntarily recalling another type of dog food because of potential exposure to salmonella, according to The Associated Press.

The recall, announced Friday, applies to samples, 6-pound bags and 18-pound bags of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured Aug. 26, 2011. The product was distributed in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

Missouri-based Diamond Pet Foods has issued a massive recall of dog food made at its Gaston, S.C., after salmonella was found at the facility.

Other brands that have been recalled include, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul; Country Value; Diamond; Diamond Naturals; Premium Edge; Professional; 4Health; Kirkland Signature products, Costco's private label; and Taste of the Wild. Natural Balance Pet Foods, Candide Pet Foods, Solid Gold Health Products for Pets and WellPet LLC have also issued voluntary recalls, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The latest recall -- of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food -- covers the following production codes and best-before dates:

-- DSL0801, 26-Aug-2012

-- DSL0801, 27-Sept-2012

-- DSL0801, 18-Oct-2012

-- DSL0801 (samples)

The pet festival season is off and running. Here's a roundup of the big events and some helpful tips.

If we missed your event, send us an email about it at tailsofseattle@seattletimes.com.

MAY

Petpalooza
May 19, Game Farm Park, Auburn. The Dog Trot 3K and 5K start 9:30 a.m. The pet parade is at noon. Other activities include a petting zoo, Skyhoundz Disc Dog Championships, demonstrations of dog sports, pony rides, pet contests, vendors and giveaways.
http://www.auburnwa.gov/petpalooza

JUNE

Emerald City Reptile Expo
June 2-3, Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Education, conservation and resource fair, adoptions,vendors and a chance to meet reptiles up close.
http://www.emeraldcityreptileexpo.com/

Mutt March
June 2-3, McCollum Park, South Snohomish County. There's 5K dog walk, Puget Sound DockDogs Spring Training Clinic, Northwest DockDogs Club Challenge, flying disc dogs, cancer talk with Q&A session, costume contest, scavenger hunt and pet adoptions.
http://www.k9muttmarch.org/

Kitsap Humane Society PetsWalk
June 9, Kitsap County Fairgrounds. Benefit walk, vendor fair, costume and talent contests, adoptable pets, agility demonstrations and microchip ID clinic.
http://www.kitsap-humane.org/petswalk-2012

Furry 5K Fun Run & Walk
June 10, Seward Park, Seattle. The benefit run/walk event includes entertainment and a pet expo.
http://www.furry5k.com/

Doggie Olympic Games
June 15-16, Long Beach. Friday's events include activities for pups too young (dogs must be at least 4 months old to take part in even the puppy activities) or too old for Saturday's games. The games include I've Got Rhythm Musical Sit, Peanut Butter Lick, Doggie Dash, Luciano Pavarotti Commemorative Sing-off, Nadia Comaneci Agility, Babe Ruth Obedience Baseball and Filla Fuller Brush Shedding.
http://doggieolympicgames.com/

It's a busy weekend for pets and those that love animals. There's a craft show, auctions, a plant sale and benefit walk.

Plant Sale & Pet Adoption: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, 3809 46th Ave. S.W., West Seattle, Furry Faces Foundation. Vegetables, ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals for sale. Proceeds benefit the animal programs called Oliver's Fund and It's Hip to Be Snipped. Rescue organizations will be at the event with adoptable dogs and cats.

Fur Ball Auction & Dinner: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19, The Westin, 600 Bellevue Way N.E., Bellevue. Homeward Pet Adoption Center's biggest fundraiser supports the no-kill, nonprofit animal shelter in Woodinville. In addition to its rescue and adoption work, the shelter offers low-cost spay and neuter clinic and a pet food bank. Tickets are available at www.homewardpet.org/auction or by calling 425-488-4444, extension 406.

Arfs and Crafts: through 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19, Art Stop/LeRoy Jewelers, 940 Broadway, Tacoma. Bid on creative gifts and wares by local artists. Event benefits programs of Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound.

Bark for Life: 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19, Asbery Field, Sixth Street and Union Avenue, Marysville. This noncompetitive walk for dogs and their owners benefits the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer. This is one of several Bark for Life events in Washington. For more about Bark for Life and to find an event near you, go to http://www.relayforlife.org/learn/relayforeveryone/barkforlife.

Bark and Bid: 5-9 p.m. Saturday, May 19, Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma. Charity auction and dinner benefits the Prison Pet Partnership Program at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor which trains rescue animals to be service dogs.

For more May pet events including details about Saturday's Cool City Pets in Seattle and Petpalooza in Auburn, click here.

Got a pet event? Please send information to tailsofseattle@seatttletimes.com.

Kathy Sdao, an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist in Tacoma, pictured above with her dog Effie, answers today's question.

Question: A couple who are expecting their first baby soon have a 3-year-old out-of-control Lab. The dog won't obey commands, jumps, barks and demands to stand between the wife and anyone else. Family members say the couple are very protective of the dog and attribute his bad behavior to his being "a puppy." Is there a correlation between people raising well-behaved dogs and raising well-behaved children?

Answer: Darned if I know. But my latest mantra is "Everyone behaves" - inspired by that perennially popular book "Everyone Poops" (first shown to me at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium by my boss, the curator of mammals).

All animals behave; it's how human and non-human creatures create effects in the world. So if you understand a few basic principles of animal learning and you develop some simple skills to apply them, you'll be effective at modifying the behavior of dogs or dolphins or daughters (or sons).

As my mentor Karen Pryor famously said, "If it has a brain stem and eats, you can train it."

Karen was talking specifically about clicker training, a practical powerful way to implement positive training in everyday life.

The thought of using this animal-training methodology to raise well-behaved kids is off-putting to many parents, though. So, when used with humans, it's referred to as TAGteaching. (TAG is an acronym for "Teaching with Acoustical Guidance.)

The surprising thing is that the whether we are TAGteaching young kids or training exuberant Labradors, the approach is the same. The only difference is that we've all had experience at being a kid, whereas we know next to nothing about being a dog.

FYI for behavior junkies: The 38th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International® will be held in Seattle May 25-29, 2012, at the Washington State Convention Center. Included will be 466 posters, 256 panels and symposia, 77 papers, 38 invited addresses, 7 invited tutorials, 57 business meetings, 17 reunions, 23 special events, 133 Expo posters, and 92 workshops. Whew!

Kathy Sdao

Kathy Sdao, an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist in Tacoma, has trained dolphins at the University of Hawaii and for the U.S. Navy and was a whale- and walrus-trainer at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium . Since 1998, Kathy has owned Bright Spot Dog Training, which provides behavior-modification services for pet owners. She teaches about a dozen workshops annually, for trainers around the world. Her first book, "Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace", was published this year.

Do you have a question about pet behavior? Ask now! We'll pose some of your questions to a local trainer in an upcoming post.

Read earlier Q&A columns here.

Kathy Sdao, an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist in Tacoma, pictured above with her dog Effie, answers this week's question.

Question: A young couple adopted a dog as a 1-year-old. The dog has some obvious separation-anxiety issues, but is a sweet animal. The couple have discovered, by taking the dog on walks, that he doesn't like kids. He growls and acts aggressive. The couple want to start a family and are concerned about the dog harming a baby or toddler or their child's friends. What advice can you give the owners?

Answer: Good news. This is one pair of prospective parents not in denial about the possible risk their dog poses to kids.

All dogs - young or old, sweet or shy, big or small - can bite. And all young kids behave unpredictably at times. So even if this dog behaved like Lassie on walks when kids were nearby, I'd urge the couple to learn everything they can about dog body-language, proper socialization, positive training and humane confinement options.

That said, I'd bet good money that this young dog's unpleasant behavior on leash around kids isn't an indication he doesn't like them. More likely, he's ignorant. Or intimidated. Or both.

The dog probably has spent little time interacting with young humans in situations that create good will: ones where his owners have ensured the dog will develop pleasant associations (i.e., the presence of kids = treat, play, praise) and have given the dog some control over his proximity to the kids.

Instead, the leash has limited the dog's behavioral choices. While a leash is necessary on public walks, it doesn't provide the ideal opportunity for learning fluent, nuanced social skills, unless the owners are careful to prevent it from getting taut and to avoid using it to deliver punishment (i.e., leash pops or "corrections").

The presence of a leash may actually set up the dog for inappropriate socialization attempts. Owners may compel the dog to get closer to kids than the dog prefers.