Q: Our nine-month-old boxer puppy chewed all of the bark off our plum tree. Is there anything we can do to save this tree?

A: I don’t have good news. If the bark has been removed completely around the trunk, the tree will die due to the girdling. Most of the tubes that carry water and nutrients back and forth in the tree are right under the bark, in the cambium layer. If the tubes in your tree are severed, nothing can help the plum. Plant another one and wrap chicken wire loosely around the trunk to deter the puppy.