When Senior Dogs Act Like Grumpy Old Men
My senior dog, Otto, is nearly 13 years old. He often acts like a big grump around any puppies or foster dogs I have...
Beware of Service Dog Scams Targeting the Vulnerable
I am certain that if you have a child with a chronic and particularly challenging medical condition or behavioral disorder that cannot be readily...
Are You And Your Dogs Prepared For Emergencies?
I was really hoping to not write this post this year. But here we go again: There are wildfires in my neighborhood, and in...
Breeding Dogs for Health, Not Looks
To anyone who has been involved in shelter or rescue work, the idea of intentionally breeding mixed-breed dogs, or even unregistered purebred dogs, seems...
Guilt
We often read discussions of whether dogs experience guilt; we’ve published a few, too. But here is a twist I don’t think I’ve ever...
Interested in Fostering? Protect Your Foster Dog – And Your Heart
In the April 2020 issue, we published an article by WDJ Training Editor Pat Miller, CCBC-KA, CPDT-KA, about fostering dogs and puppies. Pat has...
Howling Good Fun
My sister and her husband used to live down the street from a fire station. At least 10 times a day (often many more),...
Using Shock Collars for Dog Training – Is It Ok?
There is a trainer I know who posts a lot of short videos of her own dogs and dogs owned by clients of her...
Pet Adoptions in the Time of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Do any of you work in a veterinarian’s office or shelter? If so, what are the words that you wish you could forbid people...
Preparing Your Fireworks-Phobic Dog for July 4th
The July 4 holiday is almost upon us – a source of distress for many dogs, with its days and days of popping and...
Happy Gotcha Day, Otto
I adopted Otto from my local shelter on June 16, 2008. He was an estimated 7 months old when I met him. He had...
Volunteering with a therapy dog? Look out for fake registries.
I love the idea of therapy dogs – that is, dogs who have a special affinity for humans, who love nothing more than to...
Latest Blog
A Fish Story
What’s worse than a skunked dog? A dog who has rolled in a long-dead, rotten salmon carcass. Rolled in it at length, luxuriously, with relish while ignoring the calls and whistles of her foster provider—even after being abandoned by the other dogs, who did heed their owners’ calls.