Impulse Control

dogs who display this syndrome can excel at "jobs" requiring activity and/or quick responses

You contemplate taking your dog for a walk with mixed emotions. You love the idea of going for a companionable stroll through the neighborhood together, but it's a major hassle to get out the door. When you pick up his leash he becomes the Tasmanian Devil – body slamming you, racing around the foyer, and bouncing off the plate glass door with such intensity you're afraid he'll crash right through it.

Dogs bark for many reasons, but the overall reason is communication. You may just want to know how to stop your dog from barking,...

Teaching your dog to focus on you (on cue!) is a vitally useful skill – and not that difficult if you follow our step-by-step directions. If you’ve ever watched an obedience competition and marveled at the dogs who gaze intently at their handlers’ faces throughout the entire test, never once breaking eye contact, you know exactly what we’re talking about.

The perfect storm, canine edition: Combine one dog who is accustomed to and prefers spending time outdoors; a spate of hot, dry weather; a lush, productive garden full of herbs and tomato plants growing in raised boxes full of expensive, loamy soil and moistened three times daily by an automatic drip system. What do you get? Holes dug in the garden and an irate husband! Our new dog, Otto, nearly made himself quite unwelcome on his second day in our home. Every time I turned around, I'd find him digging in any place we'd recently watered, including the lawn, a flowerbed in front of the house, underneath a gorgeous hydrangea bush that's already hard-pressed to survive our hot summers, and, most seriously, the vegetable beds in back. Can't you train this dog not to dig?" my husband implored. But this wasn't a training issue; I've been trained enough by Pat Miller and our other contributing trainer/writers to recognize a management situation when I see it!"

Garbage-raiding, counter-surfing, barking at passers-by ... How do you train your dog to stop his bad behavior? Often, the answer isn’t a matter of training at all!

Responsible service-dog handlers aim to keep their dogs as inconspicuous as possible, and are quick to take corrective action if the dog's behavior becomes problematic. When they don't, businesses are legally allowed to ask the handler to remove the dog. While many business owners are afraid to exercise this right, not doing so has created significant problems for the disability community.

Dogs rolling on their backs is adorable. Repeated rolling though can be a sign of excessive itchiness that might need veterinary care. Dogs also have a habit of rolling in things their owner's might not care to smell or wash out of their fur.

that he fails to drink! Then

between three and six months of age. While the baby teeth are shedding and the adult teeth are erupting

You've no doubt heard the phrase fighting like cats and dogs." The media likes to play up stories about personality differences between "cat lovers" and "dog lovers

Anorexia, bulimia, and weird pregnancy cravings are common in humans, but did you know dogs have eating disorders, too?