Subscribe

The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts

Dog's don't sweat the way that humans do, so electrolytes for dogs have a narrow use case and can even be harmful.

Does My Dog Need Electrolytes?

Humans and dogs have different needs for hydration and electrolyte balance. Most healthy dogs do not require added electrolytes in their diet under normal circumstances. Understanding how dogs regulate their hydration and when electrolyte supplementation is truly needed can help you make informed decisions, especially during times of illness or extreme exertion.
A dog water bottle helps keep your hiking buddy hydrated and healthy on long hikes.

Best Dog Water Bottles for Hikes

You need to stay hydrated while hiking, and so does your dog! Giving your dog plenty of water while hitting the trails will ensure they stay cool and avoid heatstroke, especially in the hot summer months. That’s where portable dog water bottles come in. A dedicated dog water bottle will make it easy to carry your pup’s water and make it easier to offer them a drink more frequently.
Alpha dog training stems from a misunderstanding about dog social groups, and has done immense damage.

Why Alpha Dog Training is Outdated

Outdated practices and philosophies of dog training, such as dominance training or the need to be the “alpha” pack leader persist, despite being debunked by modern science. Let’s take a brief look into the history of dog training to understand where practices like alpha dog training originated.
Burrs on dogs can be painful as well as uncomfortable and require some care to remove.

How to Remove Burrs from Your Dog’s Coat

If you live where plants produce spikey seeds that cling to a dog’s hair, you’ve probably encountered burrs. These seed or fruit pods with tiny barbs, hooks, or sharp spines can be difficult to remove, but the right equipment will simplify the task.
Balanced dog training is not an ideal mix between positive and aversive conditioning as the negatives outweighs the positive.

Why Balanced Dog Training Isn’t Recommended

The term “balanced dog training” is often misunderstood to mean taking a holistic approach to teaching dogs. However, in the dog training world “balanced” refers to the use of both aversive and non-aversive training methods. A growing body of research is showing that dogs trained using aversive techniques (e.g. leash jerks with a choke or prong collar, shock delivery through e-collars, hitting or yelling at the dog) experience poorer welfare both within and outside the training context compared to dogs trained with reward-based (positive reinforcement) methods.
There are a variety of treat pouches available to dog owners. Which is the best dog treat pouch depends on whether you're hiking, walking, or training.

The 5 Best Dog Treat Pouches for Training, Hiking, and Dog Walks

Whether you have a nervous pup who needs lots of counter-conditioning or you just want to keep your dog’s recall sharp, carrying treats with you in a dog treat pouch is vital. You never know when a training opportunity will arise, and one of the best ways to positively reinforce your dog is with a tasty snack. We tested five popular options and came up with the best dog treat pouches and bags for hiking, training, and more. Read on for how we tested and our top picks:
Foxtails are an annual hazard for dogs along the west coast of the United States.

The Deadly Foxtail: What to Know as a Dog Owner

The U.S. is home to three species of foxtails: yellow foxtail, green foxtail, and giant foxtail. It doesn’t grow in some lucky parts of the country—namely Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia—but can be found in the rest of the U.S.
Goat milk can be good for young dogs who have the enzymes needed to process it. However, older dogs may struggle with the lactose.

Is Goat Milk Good for Dogs?

Goat milk has gained popularity among dog owners as a superfood that is a natural source of nutrients and digestive support. It’s true that goat milk contains vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, but is it really a good choice for adult dogs?
There are ways to safely carry dogs whether they are large or small.

How to Safely Lift and Carry a Dog

The ability to pick up a large dog requires more than just strength. You need to use the proper technique, understand canine anatomy, and pay careful attention to your large dog’s comfort and safety.
MSM for dogs is a supplement that can help dogs maintain their joint health as they age.

MSM for Dogs

MSM is methylsulfonylmethane, a naturally occurring compound of sulfur, carbon, and oxygen it is is included in most dog arthritis supplements for good reason. It works and has research backing up its use.
There are a range of tools available for getting mats out of a dog's hair.

How to Get Mats Out of Dog Hair

An abundance of grooming tools flood the market for dogs who battle hair mats. I urge you to do your due diligence if you prefer to handle much of your dog’s grooming yourself. All tools are not right for all dogs, making research and listening to user reviews very important. Also important, as you will see here, is keeping up with mats and grooming.
Adequan for dogs helps senior dogs manage osteoarthritis.

Adequan for Dogs

Adequan is an injectable medication for the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs. It is a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD), meaning it can reverse some of the damage that occurs in arthritic joints.
Nystagmus in dogs is rapid eye movement that is closely associated with vestibular disease in dogs.

Nystagmus in Dogs

If your dog’s eyes are rapidly moving, seeming uncontrolled, your dog may be suffering from nystagmus. It’s usually part of vestibular disease, which is common in older dogs.
Verbal cues aren't the only aren't the only cues dogs will react to. Dog sign language provides visual cues for dogs to respond to.

Using Dog Sign Language in Training

Do you use hand signals to communicate with your dog? You should! When dogs know both hand signals and verbal cues, they are far more likely to respond to the hand signal than a verbal cue. A study published in Animal Cognition shows that “while dogs respond to both gestural and verbal requests, gestures are more salient than words.”

Latest Blog

Informing? Or Selling?

A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”