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Why am I just learning about this now? Apparently, some years ago, the ASPCA and Petfinder.com founded November as “Adopt a Senior Pet” month....

wholedogjournal_blog

My “very mixed-breed” dog, Otto, turned 12 years old at some point in the past couple of months. For a big dog (currently 72 pounds),...

I can't remember if I've written about this before, but if I haven't, I should have. How many of you have electric windows in your car? If you do, and your dog can reach the window, you should always press the LOCK button on the electric windows. I could end this reminder right here.

I am fostering a hound - and can I just ask right now what it is about hounds? Why do they get into on everything you don't want them to? So many of them are so smart, so agile - and fortunately, so sweet, because you want to wring their necks one minute, and the next, you want to hug them for an hour. But this hound I am fostering, even with a harness and seat belt, she manages to step on the buttons on the arm rest in my car.

If you think veterinary fees have gone up recently, you’re correct. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows pet services have risen 60% over the last 10 years—and over 7% in just the last year.

It’s a funny thing: No matter how badly I want to place a foster dog or foster puppy, no matter how much time and...

Readers, dog owners, can I ask you a question? Or, actually, a few related questions: If you had to put a dollar figure on it, what would...

My one-year-old dog Woody is maturing into a WDJ model, which is great for me; his ability to quickly learn a new behavior and to stand patiently in place while I change lenses or something gives me an additional option when I need to illustrate something for the magazine, or for a newsletter I sometimes produce (as a volunteer for my local shelter). Plus, he has a nice short coat; when I've had to take photos of collars or harnesses on a dog in the past, I've always had to borrow a friend's (untrained and/or inexperienced) dog rather than use my professional model, nine-year-old Otto, because it's hard to see gear on a fluffy or fuzzy dog model!However, everyone I know is giving me flack about it! Friends, acquaintances, and even Facebook "fans" of WDJ are commenting about the plethora of Woody pics in the magazine lately (Woody modeled with a lot of items for a "gift guide" in the December issue). I've heard "I miss Otto!" from any number of people.

Otto on the day I brought him home. He was estimated to be about 7 months old. He was about 40 pounds at the time, and I thought he might not get much bigger. But he's still rocking his adult weight of 70.0 pounds.üThe view from my computer chair is dominated by a giant photo of Otto (complete with his adoption date); photos of my previous heart-dog, the darling Rupert; and a photo of my horse best friend, my companion from childhood through young adulthood. I really should have a photo of my son up there, too, shouldn't I?

Last month, my sister-in-law and my almost-13-year-old niece, Ava, spent two weeks in France, visiting my sister-in-law’s mother and stepfather, who live in Paris....

What does riding horses have to do with dogs? You can condition a horse to pull (and race) against you pulling on the reins during a ride the same way dogs can be conditioned to pull against leashes on a walk.

My stepson and daughter-in-law have a son, who will be three years old in May. Their whole family moved to my town a year ago, so I've been spending a lot of time in my new role as Nana. When my own son was about the same age as my grandson, my mother accomplished the lion's share of his potty-training over the course of a single weekend, using M&Ms as rewards for going in the potty." So I feel a certain amount of responsibility to "pay it forward" to my stepson and his wife