Puppies
To Bite or not to Bite: Teaching Puppies to Bite Safely
Peggy Adams Myers, CCS The initial phone intake with a client whose dog has bitten and done damage can be emotionally charged. What caused their beloved pet to lash out like that? Are they going to be sued? And if it was the owner who was bitten, how will this affect their future relationship? Of [...]
Adopting a Fearful Puppy
Carly Davis, CPDT A while ago, I wrote a blog titled Questions to Ask Before Adopting a Dog or Puppy about the adoption process, and things to consider when you’re trying to find the right dog for your home. At the time, I was searching for a dog, which I have finally found. From the [...]
What to Look For In A Puppy Class
Greta Kaplan, CPDT, CDBC I teach puppy classes. It’s a weird category, and people have different expectations from a class called “puppy class” or “puppy kindergarten.” If you take my flyball class, you expect to be taught how to do flyball and help teach your dog to do flyball. If you take a class in [...]
Tips For Dog Owners
Dog Park Safety Tips
Miles Bensky, BA, CTC Ideally, dog parks are urban oases where dog lovers can get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. A place for owners to converge to spend time with their free-running canine companions. A place where dogs get a chance to run around and socialize while owners watch and chat [...]
Adoption Counseling
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT At Companion Animal Solutions, we offer Adoption Counseling for people interested in adding a puppy or dog to their family. I’ve been honored to assist many clients in making their home a forever home for a dog but to be honest, prospective owners don’t avail themselves of this service as often [...]
Introducing Dogs to Other Dogs
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT-KA First impressions count. This is as true for dogs as it is for us. Taking some time to think through how to introduce dogs appropriately can mean the difference between dogs learning to be friends or ending up in a situation where you’re trying to overcome distrust and fear when the [...]
Helping Dogs with Noise Phobia
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT-KA If your dog suffers from noise phobia, you know that it is a serious condition. Dogs don’t just “get over” noise phobia with time and enough exposure. In fact, we have documented cases where dogs got continually worse over time and even began generalizing their fear to other stimuli. An example [...]
Pet Health
Tricky Treats: Avoiding a toxic food scare
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT When Halloween rolls around, informed pet owners know to keep chocolate far from the reach of inquiring muzzles. Less commonly understood, however, are the dangers associated with different forms of chocolate, or the many other poisonous foods that may be lurking, disguised as common human treats! While the size, weight, and [...]
Don’t Touch Me There!
Louisa Beal, DVM Mario, a West Highland White Terrier had snapped at a two year old girl. If Mario couldn’t be trusted around children, his owners would have to get rid of him. The knee jerk response to this would be to try to modify the behavior of the dog. Mario’s behavior is definitely unacceptable. [...]
Rehabilitation Therapy for Dogs
Christine Hibbard, CTC, CPDT-KA Many of the medical treatments that have been available to human patients are more commonly becoming available for our pets. In fact, some research being done at veterinary schools like Purdue and research centers in veterinary oncology are furthering human research and treatments. When I got curious about water therapy and [...]
Bite for Bite: Examining the Link Between Nutrition & Your Pet’s Behavior
Molly Grim, B.A. We’ve all felt it: The late-afternoon energy crash between lunch and a second cup of coffee, or the on-edge irritability that preceeds that hours-overdue dinner. As humans, we know that food is a vital tool in stabilizing our mood and energy levels, and for maintaining overall health. Providing all the necessary brain [...]
