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Activities & Enrichment Dogs Life at Home

Want to Communicate Better with Your Dog? Understand How They Learn

Article

Reading Time: 5 minutes Pet caretakers often relate to their dogs in a manner that’s most closely akin to a parent-child relationship. However, while we may view our dogs as our “fur kids,” in day-to-day living it’s likely we’ll encounter ongoing reminders of just how much “dog” they actually are. It’s there, in the contrast of who we expect […]

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Training & Grooming Veterinary Care

Chin Rest Challenge: How to Use This Cooperative Care Behavior

Article

dog resting chin

Reading Time: 4 minutes The concept of cooperative care is a simple one: teach pets behaviors that will allow them to willingly participate in their own health and grooming care. When they do, brushing and combing, injections, pill-giving and more are easier on everyone—especially your dog. The chin rest is one such behavior and it has many applications. Here’s […]

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Dogs

How Dogs Eat Is as Important as What They Eat. Feed Their Brain as Well as Their Belly

Article

Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s been said that you are what you eat. But perhaps when applied to dogs, it’s more accurate to say, “You are how you eat.” The way dogs are fed, starting in the formative time of puppyhood, has monumental effects on their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing and has power to change their internal state […]

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Dogs Holidays Uncategorized

Sound Off! What to Do When Your Pet is Frightened by Thunder, Fireworks, or Other Noises

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Crack! Boom! Whizz! Pop! Loud and sudden sounds are the bane of dogs and their people. Dogs are startled by loud, unexpected sounds and can develop debilitating fears related to them. People hate seeing their dogs frightened and trembling in response to thunder and lightning; the whizzing, flaring lights, and explosions of fireworks; or the […]

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Dogs Fears & Anxieties Training & Grooming

What SNL Doesn’t Get About Dogs

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Comedy and fear are two sides of the same coin, but not when dogs are involved. What we’d change about Saturday Night Live’s dog show skit.

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Dogs Life at Home New Pets Shelters & Fostering

Bringing a New Dog Home: Successful Adoption Habits

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes You have an adorable new puppy or just adopted a sweetheart of a dog from a shelter or rescue group. You can’t wait to spoil him or her rotten, right? Loving on a new pup is mandatory, sure, but it’s also important to provide him with a structured environment from day one. Setting clear expectations […]

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Dogs Life at Home

Kids and Pets: How to Develop That Best-Friend Relationship

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes Kids and pets go together like peanut butter and jelly. I should know. Our Pugs were my daughter Reagan’s best friends from the time she was born. Her canine “brothers” were there to greet her when we brought her home from the hospital, and it was no surprise that Reagan’s first word was a bark! […]

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Cats Dogs Life at Home Other Senior Pets

Love and Loss: Helping Children Grieve When a Pet Dies

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes My 10-year-old daughter Reagan has experienced a lot of pet loss in the past year. Our 12-year-old black Pug, Willy, died suddenly and unexpectedly while my husband and I were out of the country, leaving Reagan and my mother Teresa to face his loss together. Then my parents’ 16-year-old canine cocktail Quixote passed away. At […]

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Dogs Life at Home Training & Grooming

How to House Train Your Puppy the Fear Free Way

Article

Reading Time: 5 minutes This article was authored by Marty Becker, DVM, and Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CTC When a new puppy joins your family, you have a great opportunity to ensure she’ll grow up to be a confident, healthy dog. Central to that goal is helping her understand where she can and can’t go to […]

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Activities & Enrichment Dogs Training & Grooming Travel & Safety

Dog Meets Muzzle: How to Make the Introduction

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes Just like people, dogs want to feel safe and happy. The emotionally protective practices employed through Fear Free help to keep animals calm and comfortable throughout care and prevent them from feeling a need to escalate to a bite. But as much as we plan and try to protect our precious pooches, the truth is […]