Dear Heloise: I read your letter about dog collars. Years ago, I also had a dog get its tooth caught in another dog's collar — an adjustable collar — with the second dog turning blue as the collar tightened before I got them apart. I immediately switched to regular collars, and two weeks later, the same thing happened, except the second dog was unconscious before I got the two dogs apart.

I don't believe this happened because of loose collars, but because dogs like to play bite other dogs at the neck. So I removed all collars from my dogs and microchipped them.

This same thing also has happened to quite a few of my clients' dogs. I now recommend microchips for identification and harnesses for walks. Halters can be worn at all times. Safety collars also exist that break away when caught on something but can be made to be secure when walking. — C.T. Glenn, DVM, via e-mail

Microchipping is very important, and collars, too, but those can be a safety concern in some situations. A small dog belonging to one of my assistants was outside on the deck. She noticed that he was there a long time and seemed distressed. She checked on him and found that his dog tags had slipped between the wood planks. Thank goodness she checked! Now she always takes his collar off when he goes into the fenced backyard, as many people do.

P.S.: Be sure your dog is microchipped if you remove a collar with tags. — Heloise

Dear Readers: Betty Tilly of Hawley, Texas, sent a photo of Pom Pom, Pebbles and Lady, her three white poodles, dancing for a treat. They look cute as can be! — Heloise

Dear Heloise: Loading my dishwasher, I was having a lot of trouble keeping my golden retriever, Tequila, from licking the dirty dishes. I turned away for only a moment when her collar tags got caught in the dishwasher rack.

She panicked and ran through the house, pulling the loaded dishwasher rack with her. Dodging the flying dirty and broken dishes, I finally caught her. She was just fine, but my house was a disaster! She never came near the dishwasher again! — Artie Schulte, Omaha, Neb.

Dear Heloise: To get rid of bats roosting on an overhang by the front door, I turned on our outside lights and left them on for 24 hours a day for a week. Hooray! The bats found another place. — Frani Anderson, St. Peter, Minn.

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