Do you understand what your vet is saying to you when talking about your dog? Are you too embarrassed to ask him what he means when you don’t? The following terms are heard frequently be dog owners because they are common. And, for that reason, I think vets sometimes forget that their client may not know what they mean – especially if you are a new dog owner. Abscess Common enough, an abscess is the accumulation of pus underneath the … Read more

If you have a dog that does not like to have his nails trimmed, you may start dreading the chore just as much as he does. Dogs that are sensitive to being touched; don’t like the pressure of the clipper; the noise of a dremel, etc.; can be almost impossible to nail trim. In fact, some owners have to resort to taking their dog to the vet to be sedated in order to keep their nails down. It is vital … Read more

You are looking for a dog. Your friends have told you heart-warming tales about adopting a shelter dog so you have decided that’s the route for you. What your friends left out, however, is the months it can take to find a dog at a shelter. You see one online you like, it’s already been adopted. You call about a dog and you find out there is already a waiting list. Feeling a bit frustrated, you finally decide to just … Read more

Of all the doggy myths, urban legends, and wives’ tales I have heard throughout my life, I think this is the one that still gets the most debate. I hear people saying, “Don’t teach your pit bull to tug, he’ll attack you.” Or “if you let your dog win at tug, he will think he is more dominant than you.” Then again, my dog trainer friends who do agility use it as a foundation for their training, teaching their eight … Read more

For a lot of dogs, there does not seem to be anything more fun than chasing a kitty. They are fast and they are furry, what more could a dog want in a toy? In fact, if your cat did not run, most likely your dog would not find him as interesting, but since they’re instinct is to run from the dog, it becomes a great game to your dog and a nightmare for the cat. Whether your dog is chasing your … Read more

I hear it all the time as a dog trainer. “My dog pooped on the (fill in the blank) because he was made I (left him at home, brought home a cat, etc).” Why Do We Think That? It’s human nature to want to anthropomorphize our pets. When we get home and see whatever is it that she has done, the first thing we notice is that she has “that look” on her face. You know the one – head … Read more

The common belief is that if a dog is eating grass, their stomach must be upset. And sometimes dogs do vomit after eating vegetation. However, what about those dogs that just seem to “graze”? Recently, with the new spring grass, two of my shelties have become sheep – eating up the grass like candy with no vomiting. So, I decided to research why and went to the experts for the answers. Here’s what they said. Fresh Spring Greens Although dogs … Read more

You’ve done your homework, trained your dog “exactly” the way the instructor told you to and yet, his responses to you are spotty at best. You call him stubborn, stupid, and a bunch of other not-so-nice names as you throw the dog training handbook out the window and decide you have the World’s only “untrainable” dog. But did you know, YOU could be the reason your dog is not responding a hundred, ninety, even seventy percent of the time? What … Read more