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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...

Yesterday, I had a long list of things that I needed to do and had committed to doing - things for myself, my job, my husband, a friend, and the shelter where I volunteer. The list was so long that just contemplating it made me feel tired.Not even on my list, but in the back of my mind, was the knowledge that the dogs haven't been out for a good long run in days and days. Nine-year-old Otto can cope with that; while he loves going out for off-leash runs, his behavior doesn't really change if he doesn't have that opportunity.But Otto's counter-point is one-year-old Woody, whose behavior gets increasingly gravity-defying with each day that goes by without a run. The carpet runners in my hall start piling up at either end, as he finds he can no longer walk through the house; he has to dash down the hall and slide into the room at either end. He starts greeting guests with airs above the ground. Wooden things (like the redwood bench on my deck) start getting chewed anew.

If you have flown anywhere lately, you are likely aware that there are many dogs flying with their owners these days

If I’m going on a walk with dogs (my dogs or anyone else’s!) I pretty much always bring a bait bag and treats along—though I am also prone to putting freeze-dried treats in my coat, vest, and/or pants pockets, and have lost more than a few pockets and garments that way.

Many of us have identified certain ingredients that we don’t want to see in our dogs’ food. Sometimes we have good evidence for this, such...

My friend Leonora, owner of tiny Samson (my dog Woody’s BFF), is starting to search for a second dog. It’s been over a year...

Viagra or sildenafil is a treatment for the conditions known as megaesophagus, a condition that causes dogs to regurgitate their food. It is a bit awkward picking it up at the pharmacy.

We recommend that dog owners switch foods frequently. Many food makers suggest switching foods slowly, by replacing a small amount of the dog's old food with a new food and slowly increasing the percentage of new food over a week or two. If you feed more than one type of food per day to your dog, and switch frequently, you will likely find that these slow switch" schedules are completely unnecessary. Why? Because dogs who eat a varied diet are already accustomed to a variety of foods; their bodies are already making a nice mélange of digestive enzymes that support the sort of mixed population of microbes needed to break down all sorts of foods. It's only when you have been feeding only one type of food for a long time that you need to be so slow in introducing a new type of food."

I am certain that if you have a child with a chronic and particularly challenging medical condition or behavioral disorder that cannot be readily...

According to a news release from the American Kennel Club (AKC), more French Bulldogs were registered with the organization than any other breed of...

What’s worse than a skunked dog? A dog who has rolled in a long-dead, rotten salmon carcass. Rolled in it at length, luxuriously, with relish while ignoring the calls and whistles of her foster provider—even after being abandoned by the other dogs, who did heed their owners’ calls.

The last time my senior dog, Otto, had a wellness examination, our veterinarian recommended that I start giving him a medication that treats arthritis...