Woodrow on the Bench
It’s hard to imagine that a book chronicling the last months of a beloved dog’s life could be anything other than heartbreakingly sad. But...
How Not to Choose a Dog
It’s easy to go to a shelter and fall in love with a little white dog that has fluffy curls, or a beautiful merle...
Words Can Harm Your Dog
You know the jingle, “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words can never harm me.” It doesn’t apply when it comes to...
How Long is Too Long to Leave Your Dog Home Alone?
Search engine results tell you it’s safe to leave your dog home for 4 hours, but perhaps your gut instinct tells you otherwise. Your...
The Greatest Choking Hazard
Any number of objects can become stuck in your dog’s windpipe or at the back of his throat and create a choking hazard —...
For Giant-Breed Puppies, Less — Not More — Calcium
It would appear to make sense that a dog such as a Great Dane or Saint Bernard, or even a Labrador retriever, needs a...
Its Their Eyebrows That Make Us Love Them
You know that sad, wistful, puppy dog look our pets often get when theyre trying to communicate their needs to us, the way they make their eyes look bigger and more baby-like? Researchers reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences have just discovered that dogs can achieve that look because of a small muscle above each of their eyes that allows them to intensely raise their inner eyebrows. Thats all it takes to bring out the nurturer in us.
A Good Death
One of the sad parts of our work is walking over to the clinic from our offices and seeing someone sitting outside on a...
Why Chewing Sticks Is a Bad Idea
We’ve all seen dogs who are perennial stick chewers. No sooner do they get outside than they pick up a stick and start chomping...
They’re Being Polite, Not Disrespectful
Two common dog behaviors may annoy some people, but they’re actually a dog’s way of showing respect and making it clear that she is...
Dear Doctor: Bed sharing not working
Q. We thought we’d enjoy having our dog sleep in the bed with us, and we were fine with it when he was a...
A Dog’s Life After the Pandemic
As COVID-19 made most of us shut-ins to some degree, the dogs who live with us have enjoyed more of our company. And it...