DR. WALLACE: I married my high school sweetheart at the age of 18, and now at the young age of 20, I just found out that I'm pregnant! We are expecting our first child this summer.

My mother is an office receptionist at a local hospital and she told me that one of the nurses pointed out to her that I should be careful to get enough folic acid supplementation during my pregnancy. Apparently, this is important to ensure the best odds of a healthy baby. Do you agree with this? Should I be taking some sort of supplements? — Expecting Mother-to-Be, via email

EXPECTING MOTHER-TO-BE: I am not a medical doctor, so the first thing I advise you to do is to speak openly and completely with your family doctor about this topic.

I do agree that this appears to be a very important topic, since demands for folate increase during pregnancy because it is required for growth and development of the fetus.

Folate can be obtained via diet or supplements. Dietary folate is a naturally occurring nutrient found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, legumes, egg yolk, liver and citrus fruit. On the other hand, folic acid is a synthetic dietary supplement that is present in artificially enriched foods and pharmaceutical vitamins.

Do your best to study this topic and have a full and thorough conversation with your medical professional. I trust you can make good decisions for you and your child via the guidance you'll be receiving from your doctor.

WHICH PET IS SMARTER AND BETTER?

DR. WALLACE: I'm a boy who is 15 years old and I have two sisters who are 13 and 11. I have a pet dog, and my two sisters share a pet cat that they both love very much.

My dog is well behaved, and I trained him to do certain things. The cat, however, just lies around the house and doesn't seem to do much at all, but she does like sleeping on their bed at night.

Recently, we had an argument about which pet is smarter. I say that dogs are smarter than cats, but both of my sisters think that cats are smarter than dogs because they will not listen to a human being tell them what to do!

My dog will do tricks and he even knows when I'm about to take him out for a walk. Whenever I pick up the leash off of my dresser, he runs to the front door because he knows we're going to go outside.

Which animal is smarter, a dog or a cat? And what pet do you feel is the best one for a teenager to have? — Dog Owner, via email

DOG OWNER: I personally like them both, and when my children were young they were similar to the dynamic that you currently are experiencing in your household. My son always liked to have pet dogs, whereas my daughter has been fond of cats her entire life.

I feel that each of these animals are highly intelligent and that they navigate their lives in very unique and different ways when it comes to demonstrating just how smart and clever they can each be.

As a young boy, I also preferred having a dog, but I got to know cats well during my daughter's childhood. I consider you and both of your sisters to be very lucky, since your parents have allowed you to enjoy pets in your home.

Pets teach us many important lessons like responsibility and scheduling. I'm sure you know all about how important it is for a dog to be able to go outside when it needs to, and just how much a walk means to this animal. Hopefully, you and your sisters will enjoy your wonderful pets for many years to come.

And for the record, I'm going to say that whichever pet to have as a teen is a personal preference, since they are both excellent, and it's a tie when it comes to which of these two pets is smarter.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: ThiloBecker at Pixabay