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

Question: My 8 week old puppy won’t sleep in her cage and when ever she is in it she whines even if I’m still beside her and nobody can sleep what should we do? Answer: Brittany, it’s a good thing that you’re asking now rather than waiting several more months when the behavior is even Read More

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

“Six-Week-Old Girl Dies After Mauled By Family Dog,” the headlines blared. The LA County Sheriff’s Department reported the familiar scenario. A family member had left the baby unattended on a bed for a few minutes and returned to find her head encased in the dog’s mouth. Sounds shocking, but this isn’t the first time an infant has fallen prey to the family pet. According to the Center for Disease Control (1997), of the 279 dog bite-related fatalities in the US that occurred between 1979 and 1994, most involved children younger than ten years of age, with infants making up a

Last week when lecturing at a seminar with Sarah Kalnajs, I watched an interesting video that Sarah showed. When her friend who had a history of cluster headaches was visiting her, Sarah’s dogs performed an unusual behavior. Typically they would hang back instead of interacting with the visitor but in this case they climbed onto his lap and kept licking his face, especially in the area of his right eye. At the time her friend did not have a headache but 10 minutes later he felt one coming on. As it was starting to occur, he warned that the dogs might