To some people, the death of a pet or even the decision to euthanize seems just another complication of day-to-day life. To others, the loss of an animal companion can lead to overwhelming grief. Says Betty Carmack, author of Grieving the Death of a Pet, “People often say they grieved more for their animal’s death than they did for a spouse, parent, child, or sibling, and they seem a bit surprised by that. But when they say it in a support-group situation, other people are nodding their heads in understanding.” “Our relationship with animals is sometimes very different from our

My Australian Cattledog, Zoe, was pretty cute, but when it came to brain power, she was no match for her little blue neighbor —a common scrub jay. This three inch tall feathered sneak has her number. Every day, he would lie in wait and then steal bits of her coveted meal right from under her nose. Here’s how it would happen: It’s breakfast or dinner and Mr. Scrub Jay knows. He hears the call of dog food rattling in Zoe’s food-dispensing toy. She’s carefully sucking the kibbles up as they dribble out onto the ground, but he’s sure she’ll soon

Question: Our 5-year-old Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier presents as a furry, lovable and inviting dog while he sits waiting outside the cafe for me to finish my morning latte. Trouble is, he’s taken to growling and barking at some well-meaning types, especially those who come on too enthusiastically. It’s like they invade his space. This behavior is slowly starting to accelerate. What would be the best approach short of hanging a sign on him saying “Beware, looks can be deceiving”? — San Francisco Answer: You nailed the problem on the head. While Fido might be carefree and confident with you alongside,

Being a pet columnist or a blogger is sort of like teaching 5th grade. Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, someone asks a question like this: “Dear Dr. Yin: Do you think it is possible that a great deal of behavioral problems in dogs may be due to constipation?” My academically honed intuition—as well as the fact that a friend had suggested I check my e-mail—told me to examine the sender’s name carefully. Just as I suspected. It was a message from my running-club friend thinly disguised under his dog’s name. Knowing that this friend was

Traditionally, dog classes focus on basic exercises like training dogs to sit, lie down, stand, come, and heel on command. While these may be important tasks for dogs to learn, dog training can and should include a more global approach. For instance, the dog may know how to sit or to walk next to their owner in class, but if they haven’t learned to actually focus on their owner, they won’t be able to perform these behaviors in the presence of every-day distractions. Furthermore, positive reinforcement classes often give adequate rewards for desired behavior, but without also training the dog

Readers will frequently ask me questions like, “My dog chases my cat, what do I do?” or, “My dog goes after my chickens so he can’t be outside. How do I stop it?”  I’m always surprised at the timing of these questions because they tend to occur right after I’ve explained in detail how to train your dog to be calm and relaxed around other dogs instead of barking, lunging at, or attacking them. Why am I so surprised? Although the problems and their answers may seem unique, they are actually just the same problem in disguise.  If your dog