Home »
Articles posted by Marilia Domingos Dogs and bones seemingly go together like peanut butter and jelly; but, are bones really a healthy snack for our dogs? A growing number of veterinarians are warning pet owners to avoid giving their pets bones as treats due to the potentially harmful implications they have for sensitive digestive tracts. Listed below are the many types of bones available to dogs and whether or not they are safe. Cooked Bones Cooked bones, particularly poultry bones, are never recommended for a dog because they become brittle during the cooking process, leading to an increased chance of splintering. Bone fragments cause numerous issues for dogs, including abrasions in the mouth and throat, vomiting, intestinal obstruction, constipation, diarrhea, and perforations in the intestinal tract, which can be deadly. Rawhide Bones A common treat for a dog is the rawhide bone, which can be purchased at any pet store and is comprised of...
Continue reading » Food/TreatsNo Comment As any dog owner can attest, canine introductions can be stressful situations. If the introduction goes well, the two dogs will become playmates and pals; a bad introduction, however, can be extremely dangerous for both dog and owner. What many pet owners do not realize is that the outcome of the introduction is highly dependent on how the owners handle their dogs. Listed below are tips for safely introducing two dogs. Neutral Territory The first step in introducing two unfamiliar dogs is to find neutral territory. A top mistake among pet owners is to attempt to bring a new dog into another dog’s space, such as the home or yard, and expect no problems to occur. Dogs are naturally territorial animals, and even the most submissive pet may feel the need to protect its home and family. The best place to introduce two dogs is in a nearby park or...
Continue reading » BehaviorNo Comment This is extremely common. Most dogs are afraid of the vet and this happens due to a number of reasons. Unfortunately, the vast majority of veterinarian professionals have had little or no education on dog behavior. As a consequence, they fail to notice the subtle signs of fear and stress that end up escalating into aggression a few months later. Everything starts to fall apart right at the first visit, when the dog is still a young puppy. The first time he goes to the vet, he feels scared and uncomfortable; then, he is taken into a room where a strange person touches him and invades his personal space. That weird person places a thermometer in his booty, opens his mouth, grabs his ears and, in the end, stabs a needle into his skin! By the time the puppy is leaving, he already hates the vet. I mean, who wouldn’t?...
Continue reading » PlanningNo Comment Does he really? What makes you say that? “Well, he’s the pack leader because he walks in front of me, he growls when I get near his food bowl and he refuses to get off the couch when I tell him to.” Or maybe you can say “He’s the pack leader because German Shepherds are dominant dogs.” The answers may be very different and varied since no one really knows what a dominant dog is. In fact, every single person would give me a totally different answer if asked them to define dominance. What is a dominant dog, after all? Does your dog fit into that category? First of all, the dominance theory is just a myth. Why? Well, due to several factors. The dominance theory came up after a succession of occurrences and ideas that were wrongly applied and extrapolated. First mistake: people observed wolves living in captivity and...
Continue reading » BehaviorNo Comment Dogs can act strange, sometimes. They hump pillows, they eat their own poop and they chase their own tails. We may look at them and wonder if they’re normal. “Are dogs supposed to do that? Is my dog normal?” Well, a “yes” or “no” answer may not be adequate when it comes to explaining dog behavior. Some behaviors are quite normal whilst others may be the result of a problem. In order to understand which behaviors are normal and which aren’t, we need to make sure we have the correct definition of “normal”. A behavior is considered normal when it offers the animal who displays it an evolutionary and adaptive advantage; when it allows the animal to cope and deal (in a more effective way) with its surroundings. However, when such behavior is used in an inadequate situation, intensity or frequency and it jeopardizes the animal’s ability to maintain his...
Continue reading » BehaviorNo Comment Yes, he can! In fact, raw food has been growing in popularity during the last years. You’ve probably heard of the BARF diet. BARF, which stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, is a diet that combines raw meat, vegetables, fruits and bones. According to its creators, the aim of this diet is to “maximize the health, longevity, and reproductive capacity of pets and, by doing so, minimize the need for veterinary intervention.” Simply put, raw food diets try to mimic the diet that the species’ ancestors had on the wild, which includes muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meat, and vegetable ingredients. For example, in a particular BARF formula one can find chicken meat, offal, liver, kidneys, heart, tripe and bones, broccoli, spinach, celery, carrot, cayenne pepper, apple, pear, grapefruit, eggs, kelp and alfalfa. The formula can also be supplemented with cod liver oil, vitamin E, zinc and manganese. One of...
Continue reading » Dog Health, Food/TreatsNo Comment Dogs go through a few different sensitive periods during their lifetime, when it comes to their physical and behavioral development. Some of these periods are quite important, due to the impact they’ll have on the dog’s personality and behavioral health. We can identify nine different phases; in this article, we’ll discuss some of the particularities of each of them. Phase One The first phase is the fetal period. This includes the development of the fetus up to parturition. During this period, the puppy will be influenced by the mother’s experiences. If she’s exposed to high levels of stress, the puppies will be prone to develop anxiety and fear. It is also during the fetal period that the male’s brains will go through a masculinization process, due to the production of testosterone. This will make them more likely to exhibit typical male behaviors such as urine marking, roaming, inter-male aggression and...
Continue reading » Behavior, Dog Health, PlanningNo Comment Some dogs look like authentic kangaroos. They jump at everyone! If you just got home from an extremely intensive workout at the gym, you probably wouldn’t mind to have your dog jumping on you. You’re going to shower anyway so a bit of dog hair and drool won’t hurt. However, if you’re an 80 year old lady, who suffers from painful arthritis and can easily break a bone just by sneezing, things are very different, especially if your dog is a half-a-ton Great Dane. Most dogs will begin to jump at people when they’re puppies. They are small sized and they try their best to stay a little bit closer to their owners. Also, they’re just so happy to see them! They get so excited they end up jumping on them when they walk through the front door. And who wouldn’t like to be welcomed by a tiny, happy puppy?...
Continue reading » BehaviorNo Comment Puppies bite. In fact, sometimes we may even wonder whether we’ve adopted a baby crocodile instead of a dog. After a week with our new puppy, our hands are marked, our clothes are filled with wholes and our minds are desperate! Does this mean we’ve adopted an aggressive dog? Will he bite people in the future? The truth is, this is a perfectly normal behavior for puppies. Just like human babies, they discover the world with their mouths. Since their mouths are filled with tiny, pointy, sharp teeth, it hurts. If it didn’t hurt, they would miss the opportunity to learn an extremely important life lesson: bite inhibition. Imagine the following scenario: two young puppies are happily playing with each other. They nibble, mouth and bite each other. All of the sudden, one of the puppies enthusiastically bites his sister; she yells and moves away from him. The young puppy...
Continue reading » Behavior, PlanningNo Comment Now-a-days, it is as easy to find a dog trainer, as it is to find a McDonald’s. They’re everywhere and the number of dog behavior related professionals keeps growing. We can find Facebook pages, websites, ads on the local newspaper and several business cards being displayed at veterinary clinics and hospitals. Since the prevalence of behavioral problems in dogs seems to be increasing, this could be a good thing. When the demand increases, so should the offer. However, the problem lies on the lack of legislation and certification when it comes to animal behavior professionals. Dog training isn’t a regulated profession. Legally, it doesn’t exist. As a consequence, anyone can wake up in the morning and decide to start working as a dog trainer; no one will force you to study, to become a certified professional or to be evaluated. And, unfortunately, most dog trainers aren’t adequately educated professionals and...
Continue reading » Planning, TrainingNo Comment 
