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I strive to be a good dog—I mean, a good dog owner. But recently, I was stuck between being a responsible dog owner and being responsible for my dogs’ well being, and I broke a leash law in order to protect my dogs. And I got yelled at, a couple of times.

I am sure this is tiresome, having me write one of these every year, but it seems to come up frequently here in northern California. We have a fire burning close by, and neighborhood after neighborhood has been evacuated today as the fire has progressed, close and closer to my house.

WDJ’s authors have previously cited a widely reported statistic: 80% of dogs over the age of 3 years have active dental disease. The odds have finally caught up with me and Boone.

I’m generally a fan of places or experiences that dog owners can enjoy with their well behaved dogs—but not so much when it’s with other people’s unruly, reactive, or loud dogs. Couple any of that with owners who make no effort to limit their dogs’ intrusion into other people’s space or hampering wait-staff, and any progress that has been made to include dogs goes out the window.

Most people aren’t interested in learning theory and the timing of the dopamine release and whether a dog is intentionally signaling aggression when his hair stands up—but I am fascinated by all of those things and can’t even resist telling you right here and right now that he’s not!

Two training accomplishments above all others are the most pleasurable for me—and thus the most important for me to work on with my dogs: a tack-sharp recall and the ability to walk on leash without pulling.

Life with dogs has ups and downs, and I thought I’d share some of the recent happy and sad outcomes to some of the stories I’ve shared with you this year, starting with the most recent and going back in time.

Most of the dogs in the U.S. are overweight, their owners don’t know it, and their veterinarians don’t feel comfortable talking to their clients about it.

Boone lunged toward the ball first – but he’s not a good catcher – so the ball bounced past me toward a steel and stone side-table, with Boone in pursuit. He pursued so hard, he smashed his face right into the edge of the steel table.

Viagra or sildenafil is a treatment for the conditions known as megaesophagus, a condition that causes dogs to regurgitate their food. It is a bit awkward picking it up at the pharmacy.

Tobacco and carrots are not good for deworming a dog. This and other advice that you get from online forums and message groups is probably best discarded in favor of advice from a reputable source.

The best alternative I’ve ever seen to rehoming dogs through shelters is called a home-to-home model. A new and ideal name for what rescue groups have been doing forever.