A Hair Dryer to Suit Your Dog
If you bathe your dog at home and are more than a little acquainted with sopping towels, shake-offs that spray water everywhere, and several hours of wet-dog smell, there’s a solution. Use a hair dryer designed just for dogs that comes with adjustable temperature and air volume settings as well attachments to fluff and dry […]
‘Lost Dog’ Scams
Your dog has gotten loose. You put up signs all over the neighborhood in addition to posting pictures of your pet with your contact information on social media in hopes of reaching a larger set of people who might have seen her or would be willing to keep an eye out. Someone finally calls you […]
Better Tooth Brushing
If you already brush your dog’s teeth once a day, you’re way ahead of the curve. Too many people don’t, and it paves the way for gum disease that can both eventually make a dog lose teeth and contribute to or complicate serious diseases. That’s because bacteria in a mouth that never gets cleaned can […]
Therapy Dogs Improve Life — and Academic Skills — On College
Yale Law School, Oberlin College, Tufts University…many college campuses have or have had therapy dogs to help students adjust to the stresses of campus life, and new research suggests it works. When Washington State University followed more than 300 undergraduate students enrolled either in stress-reduction workshops and lectures or a program to pet dogs as […]
Why Chewing Sticks Is a Bad Idea
We’ve all seen dogs who are perennial stick chewers. No sooner do they get outside than they pick up a stick and start chomping on it. It may seem harmless, but it’s not. If your dog is a regular stick chewer, you should teach him to “leave it” or “drop it” on cue or, if […]
They’re Being Polite, Not Disrespectful
Two common dog behaviors may annoy some people, but they’re actually a dog’s way of showing respect and making it clear that she is not looking for trouble. Approaching you in a banana-shaped arc. When you’re at the dog park and it’s time to go home, you might be frustrated when you call your pet […]
Odious Odors
Given their interest in getting a close-up smell of undefinable substances and mystery piles outdoors, one would think dogs are happy with just about any odor their noses detect. But they actually have strong dislikes for certain scents, including several we commonly use in our homes. And some of those aromas may also create problems, […]
Veterinary Visits By Video
Back in December 2019, before anyone had ever heard the term “social distancing,” telemedicine remained largely at the margins of veterinary care. The concept...
Dear Doctor: Shaving caused a problem
Q. My dog had to be shaved around the neck area because he had so many burrs, and there was no other way to remove them. But now he has developed a spot in the shaved area that is about the size of a quarter and just keeps getting redder. And he has become very […]
A Room of One’s Own
Call it the canine version of a man cave or a she shed. A dog views a crate as a place to retreat to when he or she wants to get away from the action and just relax a while. The desire for a crate, or den, is so embedded in canine DNA that many […]
Service Dog or Emotional Support Animal?
The Department of Transportation has announced that emotional support animals will no longer be treated the same as service dogs on commercial flights. That means airlines no longer have to let them fly for free. And furthermore, they must be stowed in a carrier under the seat rather than sit with the human passengers, or, […]
The Sling’s the Thing
When you reach for the leash, do you find your dog’s eyes conveying an emphatic “yes!” but his body leaning toward “no?” Has his...