Editorial

We have long advised puppy owners to have their vet run a vaccine titer test" a few weeks after the series of "puppy shots" were completed. In our view

Recently, an acquaintance posted some pictures of her dog on Facebook. The dog is super cute, but I couldn't help but notice that something was wrong: the little dog's hair was completely absent from his chest, neck, top of his head, and paws. Hey

Every so often, I remember to make space at the bottom of this page to print WDJ's mission statement – mostly to help new readers understand where we're coming from. Long-time readers don't need to see it in every issue; it hasn't changed since it was written, some 17 years ago. Our overall goal is to offer owners well-researched information about training methods, diets, and healthcare practices that give maximally benefit dogs with a minimum of harm. To that end, we embrace and recommend both home-prepared (the ideal) and the best of commercial diets, conventional veterinary medicine and complementary and alternative treatments. (We don't advocate training that hurts or scares dogs; so much for our balance" on that point.)"

My husband and I were lounging on our sofa the other night, when we both became aware of an odd background noise that didn’t fit into the movie we were watching at all – a sort of growly, snorty, buzzy sound. We looked at each other for a moment, puzzled, before he reached for the remote and paused the movie so we could listen and identify the source of the noise. It was our dog, Otto, sound asleep on a thick dog bed next to the couch, and snoring like a hibernating bear. Or an oncoming train. It was loud!

I recently read about an owner whose middle-aged dog had never been vaccinated, given antibiotics or heartworm preventatives, received a flea or tick treatment, neutered, or microchipped. He eats a species-appropriate diet (based on raw meat and bones, prey-model). He’s pure! So pure, in fact, that he allegedly has never received chlorinated or fluoridated water. His owner is apparently under the impression these things will help the dog live forever.

Last month, in this space, I mentioned a big Labrador I was working with at my local shelter. (That’s him on the back cover, only it doesn’t look like him, because he’s squinting in happiness with his giant rawhide bone, and he has nice big eyes, not piggy squinty eyes. But anyway.) The handsome boy, estimated at about 18 months old, came into the shelter as a stray, picked up by animal control. He lingered in the isolation ward for a couple of weeks; despite his good looks and sweet disposition, no one came looking for him.

Many of us have lottery dreams, whether or not we actually buy lottery tickets. I've long said that if I won the lottery, I'd fund some sort of free spay/neuter program. Depending on the size of the payout, I'd open free veterinary clinics for people who couldn't otherwise afford routine care for their pets.

This issue has a loose theme of responsible ownership. Trainer and occasional breeder Heather Houlahan discusses the ethical sourcing of purpose-bred puppies. Breeder (and breed rescue coordinator) Denise Flaim offers sage advice about helping a new adult dog smoothly settle into your home. And trainer and WDJ Training Editor Pat Miller offers helpful information about what to do in the painful event that it’s necessary to re-home a dog. I’ll jump in with my most critical advice: Do NOT lose your new dog.

Allow me to take a moment to thank anyone and everyone who participates in or supports the rescue movement. I had an experience recently with some rescue folks whose efforts on behalf of a dog I am trying to help brought me quite literally to tears. I’m amazed at their commitment on behalf of a dog they haven’t even met yet, on the word of some stranger who says it’s a nice dog who deserves some extra help. It’s astonishing.

My mom met her best friend when she was in high school, and they remained close friends until my mom’s death in 2002. They met their husbands-to-be at about the same time, married within a year of each other, had a similar number of kids. They arranged for their two families to spend a lot of time together, and all of us kids became friends, too. As we matured, we grew closer to our moms’ best friends than we were to our genetic aunts.

After experiencing a collar-related near-fatality (see facing page), I’ve been checking every dog I know, to be sure their collars are equipped with quick-release buckles. Suddenly, I’m a safety nut, which is interesting, because I’m more commonly accused of putting my dogs at risk (because I often walk with them off-leash on trails).

Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and automated news feeds set up to email reports to me any time there is pet food-related news, I hear about pet food recalls almost weekly. But I don’t worry about most of them – because most of them have to do with contamination with a bacteria called Salmonella, and I’m not convinced that this is a serious concern for dogs. It’s also not a concern for anyone who washes their hands after handling Salmonella-contaminated food or dishes, and keeps said dishes away from babies or toddlers.