No one likes to talk about it, but dogs are routinely and intentionally abused. Who does this? How are these dogs abused? How can you tell if a dog is abused?

In an earlier article, 3 Words I Wish Dog Owners and Dog Trainers Wouldn’t Use, I identified 3 words that make me cringe a little bit when I hear them: “alpha, pack and dominant”. As a postscript to that article, I identify 6 more cringe-worthy words below that need to be removed from the world’s canine vocabulary.

Greyhound dogs, a breed that can be polarizing. Almost all of the Greyhounds that you see as pets came from the racetrack. They ended up at a Greyhound rescue organization because they either retired from racing at four to six years of age or because they never made the cut and therefore can be very young.

Barking is a completely natural behavior for dogs, but humans don’t always appreciate it. What many people don’t know is that the act of barking can be a self-rewarding behavior for dogs – thus we need to get it under control as it typically only gets worse.

In the 30-second video below you see Winston, a client's English Bulldog. Winston was brought to me with the owner stating that Winston was showing aggressive and compulsive behaviors (i.e., OCD in humans).

We all have things that people do that make us crazy. For example, some of us can’t tolerate it when people put on makeup in a public place (that one doesn’t bother me), others find it disgusting when restaurant employees don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom (that one bothers me), and there are those who come unglued when people crack their knuckles (I’m neutral on that one).

Do you ever wonder if dogs have emotions like humans? Do you sometimes stop to consider what motivates dogs? Are their emotions and motivations similar to ours? This is the short techie answer to those questions: Applied Behavior Analysis states that dogs’ behavior is learned through external stimuli.

It is my utmost hope that everyone reading this article understands that the title of this article is tongue-in-cheek. Let me explain what inspired me to title an article this way. I recently spent a number of days with my 10-month-old grandson. Anyone who has spent time around 10-month-olds knows they can certainly be cranky from time to time.

In your mind’s eye, I want you to imagine that you are sitting next to a passenger on an airplane who is really afraid of flying (known as aviophobia - maybe this is you). I’m talking sweating, trembling, fast breathing, death grip on the armrest, etc. If you’re a relaxed flier, sitting next to someone like this can really be annoying.

I was looking through an expansive dog breed reference recently and found some things that bothered me - and should bother you too. The information I’m referring to is found on a smartphone app that documents over 500 breeds; there are many of these types of apps. I never take the information in encyclopedic dog breed references too seriously for three reasons.

I recently received the following email from a lady asking about my dog behavior consultant services. “I have an energetic 1 year-old male Mini Australian shepherd. Overall he is an okay puppy, but he is aggressive toward other dogs…”

Do you know what your dog is telling you when he or she greets you with a long and low stretch? Watch the 60-second video below to find out!

I first saw “Knickers” about two years ago. She is an Australian Shepherd and was 1.5 years old at that time. She had been in three homes before her current adopters, Joseph and Gail, brought her home.

How can you use distance to modify your dog’s behavior? This 60-second video will give you some insight.

In one form or another, I am frequently asked some version of this question, “My dog and cat do not get along; can this be fixed?” Just like with so many issues involving animal behavior, the answer can be thorny. Let me explain some basics about dog-cat interactions.

A question I'm asked all the time is whether dogs protect their owners. Get the answer in this 60-second video.