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Cats Dogs Life at Home Other

Ways You and Your Pet Show Love to Each Other

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes We love our dogs and cats. Mine are as much members of the family as my wife and children and my granddaughter Reagan. But do they love us back? I think so, and I think they show us that love—and we show it to them–in myriad ways individual to each pet and person. Body language […]

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Cats Dogs Other Training & Grooming Veterinary Care

Pet Experiencing Dental Pain? How to Know and What to Do About It

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes When Animal Control picked up a little stray Poodle that I’d later adopt, she was a mess. Among a host of health issues, Peach was missing 18 teeth and needed another seven extractions. So we’re protective of her remaining teeth, which my husband and I affectionately call “chompers.” But the other day, I gave her […]

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Cats Dogs Fears & Anxieties Life at Home Other

Dressing Up Your Pet May Be Surprisingly Useful

Article

Reading Time: 5 minutes The idea of dressing up your pet may seem silly, eccentric, or just something novel to do for a couple of moments during the holiday season. But putting clothes on your dog or cat, and acclimating them to it, may be useful for a number of reasons. Take, for instance, the situation Paula G. found […]

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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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Activities & Enrichment Dogs Life at Home Training & Grooming Travel & Safety

Keeping Dogs Safe on Walks

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes My dog Rio, a friendly Lab mix and former therapy dog, has been attacked numerous times over the years by other dogs – both leashed and unleashed. Once, we even had a dog jump out a car window to try to bite Rio. Panicked, I screamed while Rio defended himself before the owner came running […]

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Activities & Enrichment Dogs Life at Home

Fitness Resolutions Go to the Dogs

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes Is getting—and staying—in shape one of your New Year’s resolutions? Include your dogs, too; it’s good for their physical and mental health. But before you haul them out on a five-mile run, talk to your veterinarian about their current condition and the best ways to make sure they don’t suffer from weekend warrior syndrome—the aches […]

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Activities & Enrichment Cats Dogs Life at Home Other

Gulp! Why Some Pets Gobble Their Food

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes When Karma-Kat showed up on our back patio, the 8-month-old kitten had been on his own for some time. Starved for attention, and for food, he ate anything and everything. Karma chewed through the dog food bag to munch kibble and practiced snatch-and-grab attacks to gobble food from our dinner plates. Our last dog, Magic […]

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Dogs Life at Home Veterinary Care

Meet Max the Dental Dog

Article

Reading Time: 4 minutes Going to the dentist usually ranks low in popularity for most people. The sound of the drill and the anticipation of pain are two main reasons. But people are flocking to the Dr. Carole Ann Boyd dental office in Dallas from as far away as Palm Springs, California, and New York City. Two reasons: Dr. […]

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Dogs Life at Home New Pets

Am I Too Old to Get a Dog?

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the first articles I ever wrote was called “A Pet for Your Parents.” I’m sure I wrote about all the right things, but now the shoe is on the other foot. Now I am the old person. Now I can tell the story in a much more personal way. Some people feel it’s […]

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Cats Dogs Other Veterinary Care

Ways to Thank Your Veterinarian–and Why It Means So Much

Article

Reading Time: 3 minutes My pets are part of my family, so I’m extremely grateful to the veterinary teams that help us through sickness and health. Typically, I’ll drop off a holiday card with bottles of wine before their party or a giant popcorn tin, though once I brought a box of chocolates without realizing it could accidentally poison […]