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WDJ Writers Recognized by Dog Writers Association

I want to congratulate WDJ's long-time contributor, dog trainer/writer Stephanie Colman, for winning a Maxwell award from the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA), for her article, "Service, Please," which ran in WDJ's July 2015 issue. The award is named in honor of the late Maxwell Riddle, who co-founded the DWAA. The awards were announced on February 14, at the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City at the DWAA's annual awards banquet, held prior to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

Making Weighty Decisions for Our Dogs

Using optical coherence tomography, the technicians were able to get images of the interior of Odins cornea. They observed that a tear or bubble has formed between the corneal endothelial layer and the next layer upward (outward), the Desemets membrane.

The Healing Power of Dogs (and cats)

I woke up with a headache on Sunday morning – a migraine. I get a couple per month; they are not completely unpredictable. But I had planned one getting a lot of things done, so I was a bit stubborn. I got dressed, took some medication, and tried to start the day anyway. I fed the dogs, cats, and chickens, had a little breakfast . . . and then had to go back to bed.

Dog Parks Are Dangerous!

Puppies and young adolescent dogs certainly benefit from the opportunity to run, socialize, and play with other playful dogs. But taking an inexperienced adolescent to a dog park is something else I would never recommend. There are too many playground bullies at dog parks – dogs who get a little charge out of creaming new kids" at the park."

Must (at Least) Like Dogs

My grandson Liam doesn’t really like dogs all that much. Maybe that’s too strong; he’s more or less indifferent to dogs, though this attitude...
two dogs in water

How Do You Keep Dogs Cool in the Summer?

It’s officially HOT in the northern Sacramento Valley where I live. These are more or less normal temperatures for July in this part of...

Tattoo You!

Volunteering at my local shelter this past weekend, I was photographing a cute senior Chihuahua (in an effort to better represent him on the shelter website) when I noticed something on his tummy. At first I thought it was discolored for a health reason. But when another volunteer and I rolled him over for a closer look, I could see that he was tattooed. As we stretched him in such a way to reveal the whole tattoo, I was in the process of telling my fellow volunteer that this was once a common practice – that before identification microchips became common, dogs were sometimes tattooed with the owner’s driver’s license number or phone number. But then we decoded the message. It looked like this...

Dr. Taylor

In the upcoming April issue of Whole Dog Journal, new contributor Cynthia Foley discusses 10 tips for senior dog care" - things that you can do to help your senior stay healthy longer! She quotes a couple of our favorite veterinary sources
dog jumping at tree

Boone & The Squirrel: Recall When Your Dog is Distracted

Dog trainers like to say that our dogs do what works for them. The thought behind that concept is that dogs are extraordinarily good...
dog looking sleepy

When Your Dog Hurts, What Should You Do?

A few weeks ago I shared that my 14-year-old mixed-breed, Otto, was showing signs of age-related dementia. He’s also showing more discomfort related to...

A Pet Owner’s Worst Nightmare: Fire

I’m dog-sitting Chaco, the last little foster dog I found a home for. I got a call from her new owner the other morning. “Of course!” I replied, “What’s up?” Her voice broke as she answered, “My house burned down yesterday!”

Latest Blog

Parallels between Force-Free Training and Gentle Parenting

Both gentle parenting and force-free training emphasize empathy for the living being you're responsible for, and patience with their behavior as their core tenet.