DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOR

When the Dog is Afraid to 
Be Groomed

Mike O’Hallaron of Frontenac, Missouri, is distraught. “We have a 7-year-old goldendoodle named Princess who has always been petrified of getting bathed,” he writes....

Why Won’t He Just Come When I Tell Him To?

For just about everything you teach your dog to do, you’re supposed to praise him after he gets it right. With “Come,” it’s important...

Why Dogs Sniff Our Groins — and How to Stop It

One reason dogs sniff our groins is that the area is right in front of them at nose level. They don’t have to jump...

Why Has the Dog Started Pulling Garbage from the Trash Can?

Seemingly out of nowhere, your dog starts going into the trash can and pulling everything out. What’s going on? To get to the bottom...

One of the Most Important Words to Teach Your Dog: Wait!

One way to get your dog to wait is to cue him to “Sit,” which is the very first word many dogs are taught....

Therapy Dogs in Funeral Homes

While some people may consider a funeral service or a viewing to be an inappropriate venue for a dog, more and more funeral homes...

When Your Male Dog Urinates Like a Girl

You know how it works. Male dogs lift a leg to urinate; females squat. But sometimes a male dog squats to void urine as...

What’s In a Name? (A Lot, Actually)

Duchess, Lassie, Champ, and Spot are out. Lucy, Maggie, Max, and Charlie are in. Why the shift in the names we give our dogs?...

Authoritative Versus Authoritarian

Many of us have high expectations of our dogs, but how we respond to them when they follow through successfully makes all the difference...

Now Coming to Your Home: An Indoor Obstacle Course For Your Dog

The temperature outside has plummeted, and neither you nor your dog feels like being outside for very long. Or the temperature outside has skyrocketed,...

Are You Fluent in the Language 
of Canine Stress?

Sure, you know that if your dog tucks her tail between her legs, she’s feeling terribly afraid, or at least extremely uncomfortable. It’s a...

Taking it in the knee

Q: My dog pokes her nose into my knee when we’re out walking and I stop to talk with someone, or when she decides...