Five years ago I had an extremely challenging canine behavior case that I will never forget. Of the thousands of dog cases I’ve been involved in, this one rises above all others. Not because of the dog, but because of the people involved. It was an amazing learning experience for everyone…me included.

Dogs fall into one of three groups when making a visit to the veterinarian’s office: 1. Despite the pokes and prods, this group doesn’t mind veterinarian visits and actually enjoys all the attention. 2. This group doesn’t enjoy it but puts up with all of the unwanted fuss. 3. This group of dogs simply panics at the vet; they act aggressively, tremble, or shut down.

There’s not a day that goes by without someone asking me what the best dog breed is. My smart-aleck answer is usually, “whatever breeds of dogs I currently own as my personal pets.” The real answer is not so simple, however. I’m going to challenge you in this short article to think differently about what kind of dog breed you might consider for your next dog.

Sales of CBD oil products for pets are up 400% in the last couple of years and continue to grow. Many dog owners are using these products in an attempt to address behavior issues in their dogs. But, is CBD oil an effective way to treat behavior issues in dogs? Let’s explore this question further.

What do I mean when I say a dog is “losing it”? I’m talking about when dogs go over threshold. “Threshold” is a term that defines the start of panic in a dog. Dogs go over threshold when they bark or show other aggressive behaviors to: unfamiliar humans or dogs, sudden loud noises, visitors at the front door, moving vehicles, etc.

In July of 2018 the FDA released a report that appeared to show a correlation between grain-free dog foods (also called limited ingredient diet dog foods) and the canine heart disease known as DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy). One of the theories is that these foods are deficient in taurine, an amino acid that is necessary for heart health.

Does your dog have behavior issues you want to address but don’t know where to start? Should you seek the assistance of a dog trainer or a certified behavior consultant? Do you know the difference between the two and how to determine which is right for you?

Your dog is constantly talking to you through his body language. His canine body language communication is quite sophisticated and we, as humans, are getting better at understanding it. But, if he could talk to you in the same way that you talk to humans, what would he tell you?

There are many frequently repeated falsehoods about dog behavior that most people assume are true. Below are 10 of those myths I hear regularly.

Haley (not her real name) was brought to me with escalating human aggression issues. She was a 1-1/2 year-old gorgeous black Labrador retriever when I first met with the owners. She was a great family pet according to the owners and they loved her like a family member. Haley started showing signs of aggression toward humans around eight months of age and things were getting progressively worse - especially lately.

You have two eyelids per eye and I have two eyelids per eye - an upper eyelid and a lower eyelid. Your dog, like all dogs, has three eyelids per eye. You may not have known this because normally we don’t observe these eyelids in action. This third eyelid is called the nictitating membrane; it’s also called a haw. It’s found in birds, reptiles and some other mammals (e.g., camels) too.

The title of this article is a question I am asked in one form or another almost every day. “Can my anxiety make my dog more nervous?” The short answer to this question is an undeniable “yes”.

As much as we love dogs, they do sometimes bite humans. I really hate when that happens because it hurts a lot, even when small dogs bite. Know that most dog bites can be avoided, but not all. Here are some quick general tips to help you reduce the chance of being a casualty of the business end of an angry dog.

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.