A while back I had a client’s dog staying with us for board & train. As I was attempting to play with Deuce and Rio and our friendly visitor, I realized that the lab is running hard after the “sacred” orange ball. Deuce and Rio are also running and now I am worried that the…
A while back I had a dog named Roxie for board & train. I was teaching her how to use the doggie door that will give her access to our back area to go eliminate, sun herself, and just take a walk of some sort. We try the doggie door by having my dogs coming…
Giving the dogs food-dispensing toys early in the mornings is a nice way to get in some needed mental stimulation. Deuce thinks that every cool toy has his name written on it – actually carved onto it. He can express his preference for certain toys, like the wobbling pin for example, by chiming in with…
I am at home waiting for a home delivery. The home delivery people had called ahead of time as requested and now both dogs are in my office in their crates. I hear a knock on the front door and in unison with my “come in” I hear Rio barking. Ah, she probably wonders: who…
Our dogs do not shake our hand or hug us when they want to say hi. Instead, they jump on us because they want to access our faces and mouths. This goes way back to their wolf past. Wolves regurgitate food to give to their pups so pups learn to lick their parent’s mouth to…
I was called to a case where a large dog weighing 50lbs had killed a smaller dog weighing only 10 lbs. The details of what happened were somewhat sketchy since my client was not there to witness the event. As best I could, I gathered information from third parties to try and understand what happened….
At some point or another, we all want to know why our dog is doing this or that behavior. Perhaps we are just curious and want to know. However, most of the time we want to know because we would rather our dog stop doing the behavior in question. Under these circumstances, the “why” question…
For some unknown reason Deuce’s guarding of certain objects, such as his precious ball, has gone up in frequency. I noticed just the other night that he began to vocalize in his typical high-pitched tone when he was lying on the couch next to me as Rio was cruising by. For the most part, when…
One of the most difficult cases to resolve in my experience are cases that involved at home dog / dog conflicts. The motivation(s) behind the conflicts or fights can at times be difficult to parcel out. In addition, these kinds of situations require constant and competent supervision by those living with the dogs. One (still)…
Dogs are incredibly social beings that thrive as companion animals. Isolation, for this reason, is very hard on most dogs and as such a welfare issue for the dog. Isolation is hard on dogs at all stages but is extremely difficult on young puppies. We can for sure make the lives of “outside dogs” more…