DR. WALLACE: I'm a female college student, and I have a relatively new boyfriend who lives near the campus but is not a student here. He is actually not a student at any university. He claims to have a really good job, but he's been evasive on who his employer is. He always seems to have plenty of money, and I'll admit he takes me out to several nice restaurants and events, and he always pays all the monetary expenses for our time out together.

Recently, I've had this vague feeling that he may be obtaining some of his money from dishonest or even illegal sources. Part of the reason I feel this way is that a few older guys he apparently either works with or for are constantly making him schlep different things for them, sometimes at a moment's notice. They will send him to the store for something or have him run an errand for them immediately. He always does what is asked of him, even if he has to apologize to me and take off right away, like if we had just made plans to spend time together.

I obviously don't have any direct proof, but I will admit that I have an uneasy feeling. I haven't seen or heard him do anything illegal, and I of course have done nothing wrong myself. Also, he's mentioned to me several times that he came from a very poor and broken family that he could never rely on. Should I continue to potentially be worried, or should I simply relax and enjoy the fact that he has the means to take us out to nice places whenever he does have free time? — He's Elusive About His Work, via email

HE'S ELUSIVE ABOUT HIS WORK: Certainly having a significant other who is unwilling to tell you the source of his income is definitely a red flag.

Think about if the roles were reversed between the two of you. Could you imagine a scenario in which you would be uncomfortable talking to him or disclosing to him how you were making your money? Yes, for now you can continue to look the other way and enjoy the fruits of his spoils, but you know deep down you'd feel much more comfortable if you could have a heart-to-heart discussion with him and he would promise to be honest with you, for better or worse.

My advice is to continue to seek the answers to the questions you posed. At some point, he is likely to relent at least partially in terms of telling you what's going on. From there, you can make your own decisions, and hopefully they will be good ones.

MY DOG GOES INTO A FUNK AFTER EVERY BATH

DR. WALLACE: I recently rescued a dog from a local shelter, and he's been a fantastic dog for me so far. They told me he was about 5 years old already when I adopted him. He quickly became attached to me and has been very loyal, almost as if he's appreciative that I bailed him out of the situation that he was in!

However, there's one thing about my dog that baffles me. I like to bathe him once a week and have chosen Saturday mornings to be the best time for me to go through the 30-minute process. He's a big dog (about 70 pounds), so it's quite a chore to get him in and out of the tub in order to bathe him properly. He absolutely despises the whole bathing process, and when it's finally over, he will literally sulk! By that, I mean that he will avoid me and literally do his best to ignore me for the entire day, sometimes stretching into the late afternoon or even early evening. A couple of times after his bath, I even picked up the car keys to invite him to go in the car with me, but he would simply look at me and then look back down and lie down to rest! Normally he would leap forward and run to get a ride in my car.

It's almost as if he's pouting and mad at me for putting him through that entire bathing process. I've never heard of such a thing as pouting by a dog before, so do you have any suggestions? What I can do about this difficult situation I'm presently dealing with regarding my new dog? I've had him a little over two months now. — Bath Time Is Demoralizing for Both of Us, via email

BATH TIME IS DEMORALIZING FOR BOTH OF US: I similarly have never heard of such a thing, as most dogs have short memories and can switch mental gears quickly. Almost every dog a few hours after being bathed would jump at the opportunity to follow shaking keys into an outing in a car. The fact that your dog won't do this as he normally would is beyond puzzling.

I suggest that you speak to a couple of local veterinarian offices and see if you can garner any input from them. In the meantime, my advice would be to not bathe your dog first thing in the morning on a Saturday. Instead, perhaps try to bathe your dog in the very late afternoon or early evening on whatever day of the week is best for you. This way, if your dog continues to "pout," he will hopefully be ready to go to bed soon anyhow. If you dry him properly and keep him warm enough, hopefully he will sleep off his frustration and awaken the next morning ready to start a fresh day with a clean slate as far as your previous "bathing transgressions" are concerned!

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.

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