In my entire career as a vet, I’ve only been suckered into adopting two pets. The first was Meggie, a Scottie puppy with a neuromuscular disorder called Scottie cramps. The disorder caused her to randomly walk like a broken down robot. She was probably the easiest pet I’ve trained due to her general good nature and the fact that I got her when she was pretty young. The second was the Jonesy, the Jack Russell Terrier, my current dog. He was and still is the worst Jack Russell Terrier, and for that matter, the worst dog I’ve ever trained. To

The dogs pose in front of Sam Elliot’s store (the black lab). I remember in high school math class thinking, math wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the word problems. Now, as an adult, I think, if you can’t do the word problems, which represent math in real life, you don’t really know math. Similarly, with dog training classes, it’s great when dogs know how to sit, and heel and focus on their owners in the controlled class environment but what they really need is to be able to do those things in real world. That is, it’s

Lucy at 8 weeks of age. When we last left off, I’d dropped Lucy, the 8 week old Australian Cattle dog with my parents after taking a week to train her through the puppy learn to earn program at my house. Before I brought her down, she seemed virtually perfect. She would automatically sit to be petted, to get her leash on, to go out the door, to have her toy tossed, and even when she greeted guests, including young toddlers. She could fetch and would chew on appropriate toys. And she could walk on leash in heel position and come when called

The Holiday Season is always filled with unexpected expenses. Like monsoons in Manilla, you never know exactly when and how one’s going to hit. Will it be more gift-giving than planned or higher heating costs than last year? Well, if you’re an out-of-luck pet owner, it could be a surprise veterinary bill, because believe it or not, the season to be jolly also doubles as the season for Spot to visit the vet-on emergency. If you think about it for a second the reasoning is clear. The house, usually just a ho-hum array of couches, chairs and tables, suddenly becomes

This is a common problem that many new puppy owners have. And it’s made worse when they let the whining puppy out because then the pup quickly learns that whining works and now, can whine for hours on end. If you can get her to understand that being calm and controlling her emotions is what gives her access to you, you’ll have a puppy who can quietly sleep in her closed crate whenever you want!

Question: HELP!!! I have 2 dogs, an 8 year old purebred black lab, and a 5 year old lab mix named Bernie. We also have 2 lovely boys ages 5 and 3. Recently Bernie has demonstrated aggression toward our 3 year old, granted the actions are always ALWAYS after our 3 year old has been rolling on him, but I’m not sure what to do. Bernie is a good dog, but I’m finding myself unsure if he should stay in our house… Our 8 year old lab is the most mild mannered dog I’ve ever seen (when it comes to