It’s the white elephant in the room whenever there is a Mastiff, St. Bernard or Bloodhound present. Owners of these breeds – and other loose-lipped dogs – typically carry a rag or handkerchief tucked into a pocket or purse for on-site damage control. The walls of their homes are coated with scrubbable paint. Their furniture is upholstered in forgiving fabrics. Their clothes are machine washable. I’m talking, of course, about Drool. There are two kinds of drool. The drop or t

I always ask my clients to let their dog greet me at the front door they way they would with any other guest. I like to see how a dog reacts to the arrival of a stranger on his home turf; it tells me a lot about the dog’s temperament and standing in the house. If I could describe the greetings I have received over the years in a poem, here then is an ode to the exuberance of dogs at the door: How do I greet thee? Let me count the ways. I greet thee by body-checking you at ful

Labradors are mouths on legs. Not all Labs put everything in their mouths, and there are undeniably other dogs that will ingest anything and everything. But Labs are notorious for considering the sidewalk to be their own personal buffet. There is a scale of ingestion by Lab color: Eats 80% of stationary objects = Black Labs Eats 90% of stationary + dead objects = Yellow Labs Eats 110% of stationary + dead + moving objects = Chocolate Labs Moses is a 9 month old Chocolate Lab.

On any given day, Pretzel is both a sweetheart and the terror of the neighborhood. Pretzel is a Cockapoo with two owners. One of Pretzel’s owners – let’s call her Debbie – adores Pretzel. The dog is in her lap whenever she sits down. Pretzel follows her throughout the house, even when she is in the bathroom. Debbie swears that she and Pretzel have a very special bond, that they communicate with each other without words, that they are soulmates. Pretzel’s other owner – Dave –

I can hear you groan already. Please, you say, not another pitful puppy mill story. Bear with me. You can read this one without a box of tissues, because this one is going to have a happy ending. We fostered a 2 year old Bichon Frise, courtesy of Waggin’ Tails Pet Rescue, that we named Patsy Cline (any country music fans?). She was a breeding female at a Pennsylvania puppy mill. She was caged around the clock, never walked on the grass, wasn’t even given a name. Patsy was bro

I confess that I do things for my dogs that some people (NOT the people who own dogs themselves, of course) would regard with a critical...

In this post, and the next two, I will address the three C’s of being a good dog owner: Calm, Confidence, and Consistency. What does it...

One of the charming attributes of dogs, besides soulful eyes and adorable bellies, is their effervescent, heartfelt greetings. You could...

One of my clients cannot speak. She recently adopted a two year old Shepherd mix named Glinda. Glinda has a tendency to see an open door...

In a perfect world, Maisie’s owners would have no social life. Maisie, a six year old Boxer mix, is content to hang out in her newly...

Some dog owners think that training their dog is a formal enterprise that involves attending classes, walking in an ordered circle apace...

Boxer mix Tammy is so afraid of folding chairs that she refuses to go out the back door when the chairs are there. Earlier in the summer,...

You would think, okay, its a staircase, no biggie. But your dog has other ideas. I’ll give you some examples: Elliott, a Bassett Hound,...

Here’s a MadLib for you. Replace the word “child” in the following paragraph with the word “dog.” My child goes to school. My child has a...