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I recently picked up a magazine at my local CVS called, Inside Your Dog’s Mind, not expecting to find much besides some great photos, but I was pleasantly surprised. The very first article was How to Make Your Dog Happy, by Dr. Zazie Todd and was excerpted from her fabulous book Wag, The Science of Making Your Dog Happy.* 

Among the other interesting articles were a couple on the canine sense of smell, a guide to body language from Lili Chin’s book, Doggie Language, preparing for the death of a beloved pet, and one I found particularly interesting, Wired for Warmth, about a genetic component to friendliness that our dogs have, and share with us!

The article interviews Princeton evolutionary biologist Bridgett vonHoldt PhD, who has found a genetic complex in dogs that is “akin to the Williams genetic syndrome in humans, […]

The ever informative Whole Dog Journal arrived this past week packed with great information about dog bites, scabies, how to pick up your dog, toothpaste and fleas. Those yucky purveyors of disease (including bubonic plague, tapeworms, and typhus to name but three…) are a real menace to you and to your dog’s health. If you see a flea on your dog, you need to act quickly to eradicate the problem, as one flea can quickly become thousands! Here’s how Dr. Eileen Fatcheric, (veterinarian and author of the article on fleas) describes the life cycle of the flea:

The adult fleas you see on your dog are not the biggest issue. They make up less than 5% of the problem. The more important 95% lives in your home environment in the form of adult fleas and pre-adult flea stages (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Each adult […]

“I don’t understand why Bruno doesn’t like the puppy. I thought he’d welcome a new playmate.”

I hear this lament from clients who are saddened, confused, and sometimes unnerved or scared by the reaction that their current dog has over the addition of a new dog, especially a puppy. Certain that their dog, “who loves other dogs” would enthusiastically embrace the addition of another dog, they can’t understand what went wrong.

In the June 2021 edition of The Whole Dog Journal, Kathy Callahan, CPDT-KA has five tips for introducing a new puppy to your older dog. She reminds us that a puppy is not a full grown dog, and while your dog may indeed enjoy other adult dogs, Bruno may not be all that enthusiastic about having a biting, climbing, toy stealing, toddler, who totally disrupts his normal routine, takes up his peoples’ time, and is there 24/7! When […]

A link to this opinion piece in the Washington Post, about people rehoming the pets they got during the pandemic, popped into my twitter feed this week. At Your Family Dog podcast, we found this subject to be so important that we covered it twice: Wrestling With Rehoming, and Rehoming: Sometimes It Is The Best Option.

It’s all too easy to assume that those who relinquish an animal are heartless, selfish individuals who, if they are so willing to abandon it, don’t deserve the companionship of a pet. But, before you jump on that moral high horse, named I would never do that!, remember that you do not know all the facts of the situation, nor do you have to live with that particular animal on a daily basis.

Rehoming a pet is not easy. I have been training dogs for eighteen years […]

Last night around 11 pm I opened the front door of our cottage to let Zuzu, the Flat Coated Retriever, and Clementine, our Clumber Spaniel, out one last time before bed. 99.9% of the time, this three minute ritual consists of them trotting out, doing their duty, and coming right back inside. Needless to say, last night was the .1% exception to this rule. Before I get to that .1%, however, I should probably mention that I had minor surgery on my right foot this week and though I can walk, I am not able to run or move quickly. This, as you will see, is an important element in the story.

So, to continue…

When I opened the door, instead of sauntering to the grass, Zuzu took off like a heat seeking missile into the night. Clementine was still meandering her way up the […]