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Lots of dogs eat grass, but why do they do it? Sometimes they eat and swallow it while other times they seem to just grab and spit it out or chew and spit it out. No one knows for sure exactly why dogs snack on grass, but there are some theories. So, here are some explanations on why your dog might be eating grass. 5 Potential Reasons for Why Dogs Eat Grass: THEORY #1 – Your Dog Feels Ill It … Read more
How Do I Pick A Good Dog Food? You know what they say assuming does, right? Sadly, I think, in some cases, it is true. One might think that it was safe to assume that dog food labels represent what they contain. One may also think the ingredients are listed in descending order from the most important down. I used to think that I could make decisions about my dogs’ nutrition based on the food labels because I felt comfortable … Read more
iHeartDogs is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. No one can deny that dogs love to eat. They eat what we feed them and anything else that they can find that seems edible to them. Dogs can eat items that we all consider food items and then they eat things that we do not consider food items (but they do) like cat poop, their own … Read more
Many people can seamlessly add a new dog to their family. Others have dogs that flourish in a single-pet environment. Each dog is an individual, but there are certain breed-associated characteristics that can affect how they relate to one another. Having been selectively bred for these characteristics over multiple generations, some breeds are more dog-friendly than others. As with humans, canine personalities tend to be the result of nature and nurture. If you are considering adding a dog to your … Read more
Pet insurance is not like human health insurance. It is designed to give you peace of mind by helping you prepare for the costs of large medical issues. Subscribers pay a monthly premium (prices vary depending on plan and company) instead of being surprised by a major illness or injury. It is like a safety net to catch you when you fall. It is certainly nice to have in an event where price is the last thing that you want … Read more
Got a puppy? Wonder just when he is going to stop growing? It’s a common question that veterinarians receive. When people adopt dogs from shelters and rescues as puppies, they usually do not know what breeds make up the dog. (the fact is, no one can guess with good accuracy either, see Think You Know A Pit Bull When You See it, So Did We….) People like to plan and even though it usually doesn’t matter because they already love … Read more
Anyone who cuddles a dog knows that sometimes there are unpleasant aromas associated with them. We are all familiar with the terms “dog breath” and “smell like a dog.” Not all smells will be helped by bathing. Some of them come from actual health issues and it is important to know the difference because one needs a bath (or 3) and the others will require medical intervention. Odors that will respond to bathing are things like rolling in stinky stuff … Read more
Ticks are creepy and crawly and look enough like spiders to make me and my staff cringe. They are not just repulsive, they also carry some pretty serious diseases. That’s why we should have all pets on a tick control product that helps prevent an infestation. But even the best protected dog can get an occasional tick. If you find one, you should remove it quickly because the longer a tick remains attached to the skin, the greater the chances … Read more
All dogs need to be cleaned sometimes, and some more than others! Because humans bathe frequently and take good hygiene for granted, we may think that baths are not particularly important or difficult, but there are some things that you should know when it comes to canine cleansing. 1. All shampoos are not created equal. Consumer advocates have published blog posts that declare that the human shampoo market is just a scam and that all shampoos are the same. It … Read more
Recent headlines about the threat of Zika virus have hit the news and social media. Scary stories about people getting sick have caught people’s attention. Even though it is in the headlines now, Zika virus is not new. It has been found in monkeys and apes since the 1940s. Usually disease in nonhuman primates is mild with only a transient fever, but the humans affected by Zika virus are much more significantly affected. Since the discussion has included monkeys and apes, … Read more
At some point during your Boxer’s life, he/she will need some type of surgery. Because of Boxers’ genetic predisposition to skin tumors, your dog will likely require more than one mass removal during his/her adulthood. There may be other times that your Boxer needs surgery. If it is not an emergency, one can question if the procedure is worth the risk. But just how risky is anesthesia for Boxers? The definition of anesthesia is a temporary loss of feeling or … Read more
Chihuahuas are popular pets the world over. What’s not to love? They are super cute, fun, portable friends! Chihuahuas have their own unique personalities and as a breed they have some unique qualities too. If you love a Chihuahua, there are some important things you can do to make sure your furry friend lives long and well. Hack #1 – Cover Me with Love: Personal Protection Equipment Some of us are familiar with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is required … Read more
Anyone who has been around a dog knows that dogs communicate with their tails. Low wagging tails indicate submission. Relaxed waving tails can indicate relaxation and happiness. A stiff and high, slowly waving tail can indicate alertness or aggression. A friendly, wagging tail makes us smile and improves our bond with our dogs. Communication is an obvious function of your dog’s tail. But dogs may depend on their tails as part of their locomotion as well, just like scientists think … Read more
We love our dogs and want to take the best care of them, but we have to keep in mind that they belong to a different species than we do. Many of their features are very dissimilar from ours. We all remember as kids being warned that we should “wash behind our ears”. How about dogs? How often should their ears be cleaned? A healthy dog that spends most of her time indoors, may not require routine ear cleaning and … Read more
Thump, thump, thump. Jingle, jingle, jingle. These are not the sounds of Santa Claus and his reindeer. These are the familiar sounds of an itchy dog. Itching, also called pruritis, is triggered by nerves in the skin. Anything that makes the itch nerves fire can create itching. Scratching dogs can drive us crazy! We just want to make it stop! The first step to solving the problem is trying to figure out why your dog is itching. Related: 4 Best … Read more
Do you have an older dog? Are you noticing changes in him/her? The most important thing that you can know is that aging is not an illness and there are things we can do to help dogs deal with some of the common age associated disorders. Joint issues are often age-associated troubles. Arthritis is a joint problem so extremely common that it gets overlooked and left untreated. Any living thing with bones and joints can get arthritis. More correctly called … Read more
Sleep is necessary for us all. Sleep allows our bodies to rest and regenerate and dogs are no different. Healing can occur during rest times and our brains and bodies need to reset during the inactive times that we sleep. Studies also show that there is a relationship between sleep and learning. 1 We know that sleep is important for ourselves and our dogs, so we would like to know how to tell if our dog is sleeping well. There are … Read more
You have the squeaky toy behind your back and you are squeezing it and trying to appear bewildered. Each time it squeaks, your dog responds by tilting his head and you melt. We take pictures of dogs doing this and it never fails to make us say, “Awwwwww.” Let’s face it: we are one endearing head tilt away from being wrapped around that little paw! It is super cute when you say something to your dog and he adorably tilts … Read more
Everyone wants a shortcut. We love “hacks” and tips. Articles about ways to maximize your cell phone or organize your closet are shared wildly. To me, the best hacks are the ones that help your dog. Great Danes have at least one unique issue that need some hacking. Gastric dilitation-volvulus (GDV) is one of the most catastrophic issues for Great Danes. GDV is a life threatening issue that occurs when a dog’s stomach bloats and then twists on itself. Even … Read more
Does your dog like to cuddle or be very close to you? Does she seem to always want to climb in your lap? It seems like a part of who your dog is, but have you ever thought about why? Walk on the Wild Side Dogs know that they are a part of the animal world. Because they are descended from wild dogs, they are geared for survival. Their survival can depend on the other members of their pack or family. … Read more
All living things need to move. It is a fundamental of life science that “form follows function”. It is a scientific way of saying “use it or lose it”. Walking your dog is a great idea for you both. But what if you want to walk and your dog doesn’t? First, make sure that there is no medical reason that your dog refuses to walk. Diseases, like heart problems or arthritis, (among others) can make your dog reluctant to go … Read more
Cheese is a favorite of a lot of humans. We love it and many of us keep it in our refrigerators almost all the time. We also love our dogs and like making them happy by sharing whatever we enjoy with them. We care about our dogs enough to know that we are responsible for keeping them safe, too. We humans can read labels and learn about food items to make educated choices while our dogs trust us enough to … Read more
We know what our dogs’ feet look like. Most dogs have 5 toes on the front feet and 4 toes on the rear feet. People may already know that the toes on the side of the front feet that do not touch the ground are called dewclaws, but if they do not touch the ground to help with locomotion, then why are they there at all? Of course, dogs are members of the class Mammalia, with humans and many of … Read more
Dogs can be allergic to things in the air, just like people. In people, this is commonly called “hay fever”, but it is not characterized by fever and it is not usually from hay either! Actually, hay fever is more accurately termed atopic dermatitis, which just means that the skin is inflamed in response to an antigen that is inhaled. Makes a little more sense when you call it what it is, huh? It might help to know a little … Read more
Does your dog wake you at night barking at some imagined threat? Mine does. I turn on lights and look all over, only to find nothing. Does she really hear something? Is she overreacting? Does everyone’s dog do this? Why DO dogs bark? Since we are not dogs, it is hard to imagine what it is like to be nonverbal. Dogs use body language to communicate to other dogs, but have found it useful to become somewhat verbal in order … Read more
Marking behavior in a pet dog is a frustrating, but fairly natural behavior among dogs. There are many reasons for marking behavior, but no matter how natural it is, if your dog is marking inside your home, it is a problem. First, you have to decide if the behavior is actually intended to be a communication for your dog. Since you cannot ask your dog if he peed on something as a signal, you need your vet to help. A … Read more
It’s a picture that we all know: you stand up and so does your dog. You head to the bathroom and so does your dog. You move toward the door and there is your dog, right with you every step of the way. Does your dog watch you constantly and follow you everywhere you go? Have you ever wondered why? Thankfully, there are many explanations for these bizarre actions. Why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere? Every dog is unique. … Read more
Does your dog ever act aggressively? Does he attack people? Bite you? These outbursts can be embarrassing and dangerous. In order to keep yourself safe and restore peace to your environment, you must try to know the cause. Most acts of aggression actually result from fear. A truly aggressive, dominant dog is unusual, but fear-based reactions are very common. It is important for the safety of everyone that you know the difference. Dogs have evolved with humans and certain traits … Read more
We see dogs all around and it is easy to notice that some of them seem to have boundless energy, while others are more laid back. Some dog breeds are selectively bred to be high energy. If you consider the job for which the breed was developed, you can probably surmise the use for an energetic nature. Herding breeds can be pretty wound up. They instinctively seek to herd people and other animals and sometimes can be frustrated by our … Read more
You can bet that during your dog’s lifetime, he/she will need some type of surgery. Whether is to be spayed or neutered or it is to remove a skin tumor, anesthesia is a part of our world today and as a society, we are fortunate that anesthesia exists. Otherwise, many of us would not even be here to read this. Without surgical intervention, many of my patients would have been lost. The definition of anesthesia is a temporary loss of … Read more
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