The usual symptom for separation anxiety is destructive behavior: a dog may chew on things in the house, turn over furniture, use the restroom inside the house where he or she knows it’s not allowed, and bark excessively. And for most dogs these behaviors can be curbed, although it is a difficult behavior to change…
Dog teeth do require some regular maintenance. In fact, it’s important, for a dog’s long-term dental health, to have his or her teeth cleaned routinely. No, you don’t need to keep to the same human-type rigorous routine of twice-daily brushings and once-daily flossing, but you do need to keep to some type of regular schedule;…
Depending on the circumstances dog barking is both a welcome or unwelcome sound. A dog is going to bark for any number of reasons; it’s a dog’s way of communicating. A dog may bark when he or she is excited—happy or nervous—or when he or she is acting on protective instincts. But not always is…
All dogs have a natural tendency to jump up on people. It’s their way of saying hello. We’re taller than the dog and they want to jump up to greet us, to get our attention. It’s a habit that begins at a very early age in a dog’s life. But it’s also a habit that…
There are five different types of dog coats: smooth coat, double coat, wire coat, long coat, and curly coat. Each coat type will have its own grooming needs. And here’s a few grooming tips for each type. Smooth Coat Breeds This type of coat does not need daily grooming. But when you do groom the…
Pets and kids are well matched. Pets are fun for kids and kids are fun for—most—pets. Time spent with a pet can provide a child with the type of inimitable experience that he or she will hopefully carry all through his or her adulthood. But there are reasons to be cautious: pets don’t always understand…
Did you know that you need to exercise your dog, at minimum, thirty minutes of exercise each and every day? Does your dog get thirty minutes? There are some signs when your dog isn’t getting his or her daily exercise. First, you may notice naughty doggie behaviors such as chewing, barking, whining, etc. When this…
Your dog’s coat, regardless of its breed, will need some maintenance with a brush. Even designer breeds, those breeds which have a very low incidence of shedding, still need maintenance. Regardless of shedding, a dog can still get tangles in its coat, dirt and grass can accumulate, etc. A brush will both clean the dog’s…
This summer parts of Montana had an explosion of doggy illness, or more specifically, what vets around Montana believe to be a form of canine influenza. Gallatin county, especially, had dogs getting sick with symptoms that vets at first called a form of kennel cough, symptoms that progressed to the more severe condition of pneumonia,…
Leash training your dog can be very important for both the health and safety of you, your dog, and everyone else. Sometimes people treat their dogs like contemporaries, and they walk the sidewalks, streets, and trails without much consideration for a leash. And in certain circumstances that’s fine: dog parks, some recreational trails, places outside…