Puppies

Pyometra in dogs is a life threatening infection of a dog's uterus, most often in un-spayed dogs. It can rarely occur in spayed dogs too.

For the past few weeks, as I have been working on this issue, I have also been promoting my latest batch of foster puppies...

Did you know that the best way to teach a puppy to walk politely on a leash is to not use a leash? If you think that sounds like an inscrutable Buddhist koan, fear not - you are not alone. It's far more common to see people either dragging their puppies around, or being dragged around by their puppies, than it is to see a calm, happy puppy trotting along by her owner's side.

Yelling or chasing your puppy to get him to drop something dangerous is not the best choice. Here are some better strategies to stop a puppy from chewing something he’s “stolen.”

The age you can bathe a puppy literally depends upon how dirty he is.

Why do puppies chew? They chew to explore the world, and to relieve the pain and irritation of teething. But they also chew because it's a natural, normal activity for all canines, young and old. While puppies do eventually grow up and get past the stage where they feel compelled to put their teeth on everything they see, mature dogs also need to chew to exercise their jaws, massage their gums, clean their teeth, and to relieve stress and boredom.

Most puppies are crate-trained with relative ease. Remember that the crate should be just large enough for your pup to stand up, turn around,...

Most service-dog organizations rely heavily on volunteers to welcome the organization's puppies into their homes – and hearts – for more than a year, during which time the volunteers are responsible for teaching basic obedience, impeccable house manners, and how to be confident and calm in a variety of public settings. Socialization is a huge part of raising any dog, but it's especially important when the dog is destined for a career spent largely away from home. When it comes to socializing a puppy, how you do it matters – a lot!

Is your once cute, cuddly, and well-behaved pup suddenly acting out? Is your dog ignoring you, taking off if he sees something interesting, and chewing on everything in sight? Did his once perfect sit

Dogs who are confident, comfortable, and safe in public are made, not born. Here’s how to socialize your new puppy – or provide remedial socialization for the dog who missed his best chance to learn these critical lessons. By the time a pup is weaned at 7-8 weeks, he should already have a positive worldview programmed into his little puppy brain.

A primary concern of all responsible puppy owners is housetraining. Nothing gets old as quickly as cleaning up piles of puppy poop and puddles of puppy pee. An effective management and training program that prevents accidents is key to successful housetraining (see “Getting Off to the Best Start”), but even the most dedicated puppy owner is likely to slip up and allow at least one mistake. Of course, when that happens, we clean and scrub and remove all traces of urine and feces. We work on two levels: we want the carpet to look good again, and we want the smell of the dog’s mistake to disappear.

The dog must be physically mature before you stop feeding puppy food.