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Anyone who has ever volunteered in animal rescue can relate: You vow to take a break. Maybe your circumstances have changed in a way...

There is a trainer I know who posts a lot of short videos of her own dogs and dogs owned by clients of her...

I know it’s low-hanging fruit to criticize people for misuse of retractable leashes – but there are an awful lot of first-time dog owners...

Boone lunged toward the ball first – but he’s not a good catcher – so the ball bounced past me toward a steel and stone side-table, with Boone in pursuit. He pursued so hard, he smashed his face right into the edge of the steel table.

I was in a chain pet supply store the other day, looking for a higher-quality food for some foster dogs from my local shelter who are a little chubby. For this reason, I was looking for a product that was not too high in fat.I was a bit surprised to realize that grain-free foods have sort of taken over the shelves in the section of the store where the higher-quality foods are stocked. Many of the companies whose products appear in the "natural/holistic" or "premium" section seem to offer only grain-free foods. I had to go through several aisles before I found a product from a company that I like offering a food that contained grain and had a lower fat content.

WDJ began publication in 1998, and we began reviewing dog food that year. There were very few products that met our early selection criteria - perhaps half a dozen - but we listed all that we could find.

I was in favor of the "teaching people to fish" approach to the reviews. I thought it was more important to teach dog owners how to read a dog food label so they could tell the difference between the really good ones and the ones with really attractive labels. My boss disagreed; he was in the "give people a fish" camp. He said, "Nancy, I know you are a writer, but trust me when I say that when it comes to this sort of thing, many people will never read your article; they just want the list of foods we approve of."

I have the privilege (and responsibility) of dog-sitting two of the pups from my most recent foster litter – for a whole week! –...

If you like dogs, it’s just a pleasure to pet them, boop their snoots, and smoosh their jowls. However, not all dogs are as into being petted as their owners would like. We need to learn to respect their boundaries and enjoy the time they deign to be petted.

I’m generally a fan of places or experiences that dog owners can enjoy with their well behaved dogs—but not so much when it’s with other people’s unruly, reactive, or loud dogs. Couple any of that with owners who make no effort to limit their dogs’ intrusion into other people’s space or hampering wait-staff, and any progress that has been made to include dogs goes out the window.

I just found the ideal dog park. It's in Grass Valley, California, in a gorgeous public park called Condon Park. It's large, and set in a forested setting, with tall pines overhead, and the footing is thick with pine needles. It has two separate areas, with a smaller section (but still quite good-sized) reserved for small and shy" dogs. I love that the folks who set it up did not specify small dogs only. What do you do when you have a dog who needs to really run and romp and get tired

On Saturday, I attended a training session conducted by the North Valley Animal Disaster Group (NVADG), as part of my increased interest in improving any future local disaster response. This session was about handling dogs and cats in an emergency - something I got a lot of experience with when volunteering in the emergency evacuation shelters during the Camp Fire disaster. And it was held at the shelter where I have been volunteering for the past decade, so that was fun.

My son was lucky enough to land his first job out of college working for a company that allows employees to bring their dogs to work. The company has about 140 employees, and my son tells me that on any given day, about a dozen or so dogs can be found around the office.