Training

(Photo Credit: Meleva Steiert) I asked a friend recently if she kisses her dogs. She’s a big-hearted dog lover and regularly rescues and fosters animals in her suburban, Los Angeles home. She told me that she does kiss some of them, but others were not receptive, and one in particular would probably become violent if

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) Important: The following is meant to provide a general overview of dog-dog aggression. If you’re dealing with an aggressive dog, seek help from a reputable behaviorist. Dog aggression toward other dogs is a very serious matter. Until your dog is successfully treated, keep them a safe distance from all other dogs — “safe

(Picture Credit: Geraint Rowland Photography/Getty Images) Just like there are certain people in the neighborhood you would rather avoid on your daily commute — you know that Mrs. Jones will keep you talking for hours!–there are also certain dogs that your dog may not be completely happy about interacting with. While you keep your head

(Picture Credit: Grant Faint/Getty Images) Does your dog lean on you? Most dog parents have experienced a pooch leaning on their legs at least once in their lives. Your dog simply sits or stands next to you and casually leans the bulk of their weight against your calf. Or maybe they flop over on you

(Picture Credit: Amanda) I started researching the topic of separation anxiety in dogs because my day job will be bringing our department back to the office soon, and my work-from-home days for the last few months have looked like this: My dog, Leia, and I have been loving all this together time. Almost every waking

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) Noise anxiety in dogs is a phobia or strong feeling of fear around loud noises, like sounds from fireworks or thunderstorms. It can result in many anxious behaviors or even cause dogs to bolt out of fear and get lost. When young children hear a scary noise at night, they often

(Picture Credit: Ekaterina Nosenko/Getty Images) Dogs may try to escape from their homes and bolt for many reasons. Maybe your pooch regularly runs past you when you open your front door, or maybe they try to dig under or climb over the backyard fence. At best, the problem is a nuisance. At worst, it can

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) We love coming home to our dogs. No one is more excited to see us and shower us with love as soon as we walk in the door. Our pups can sometimes barely contain their excitement! Unfortunately, that can become a problem. Many of our dogs show that high energy and

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) When it comes to leash training your dog, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Puppies aren’t born knowing how to walk on a leash, and new owners need to work with their puppies–or even full-grown, adopted dogs–to make sure they are safe and obedient on their walks. Does your

(Picture Credit: Wicki58/Getty Images) Introducing your pet to new people may be exciting and fun. For dogs, however, it can be stressful if they aren’t used to seeing new faces. They may go into “stranger danger” mode and cower behind you or run away. Even worse, they may lash out with aggressive behavior. It’s best

(Photo Credit: Shutterstock) Housetraining can be a daunting task for new pet parents. You may have a routine in place during the day to make it go more smoothly, but what about during the night? Luckily for humans, dogs and puppies don’t need to pee as often at night, so you don’t need to wake

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) Growling is one of the many ways dogs communicate, and it’s important for humans who interact with dogs to understand what it means and the proper way to react. You might be surprised by your own natural ability to interpret growling. In a study on humans’ ability to understand dog growls,

(Picture Credit: Maya Karkalicheva/Getty Images) The more you can be around for your puppy to take them in and out for bathroom breaks, the more quickly they’ll pick up on their housetraining. But what if you can’t be there during the day? Or you’ve got a young puppy still vulnerable to catching diseases in public places

(Picture Credit: Memitina/Getty Images) Few things can put a damper on the joy of bringing a new puppy into your home than unwanted accidents. If you are looking for ways to housetrain your puppy, you are not alone. There are lots of ways to potty train your new puppy, and the good news is your

(Picture Credit: foodandwinephotography/Getty Images) Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday, March 8th in 2020 at 2:00am. Remember to “spring forward” and set your clocks! For humans, the skipped hour when Daylight Saving Time begins might just mean we miss out on an hour of sleep. But for dogs, the effects can be very different. Animals

(Picture Credit: dageldog/Getty Images) Dogs and chickens getting along may seem counterintuitive. After all, aren’t dogs related to animals that eat chickens? However, like most domesticated animals, dogs and chickens can get along if their humans train them well and carefully introduce them to each other. While pet parents should absolutely take precautions to prevent

If your neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking, it can go beyond a minor annoyance. A barking dog who doesn’t belong to you can disrupt your sleep, ruin your peace of mind, or become a headache-inducing nuisance. It can even cause your dogs to misbehave as the constant barking becomes a distraction, and you might find

(Picture Credit: Busybee-CR/Getty Images) Training your young pup takes patience and hard work. Quite often, it isn’t all that bad, especially if your dog is a breed that’s more naturally eager to please. But there are some dog breeds that might just test the limits of your patience while you’re trying to train them. And

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) Do you have a velcro dog? Dogs are pack animals, and you are your pack’s leader. It’s natural for your dog to want to follow you. While some dogs follow their owners everywhere they go out of sheer love, sometimes the reason why dogs stick to their owners like velcro is

(Picture Credit: Westend61/Getty Images) Picking your pooch’s name is probably one of the first things you’d do as a pet parent. Over time, it’s easy to give additional nicknames, adding “boo” or “patootie” or other cutesy titles. After all, it’s hard not to give your baby a cute baby nickname, right? However, new research suggests

(Photo Credit: Shutterstock) Dogs do plenty of cute things, but there are few behaviors more adorable than the head tilt. I make plenty of strange noises around my pups just to see if they’ll tilt their heads to the side in a quizzical look of confusion. Sometimes new toys and games can get dogs to

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) It’s hard not to break down in tears when you watch a video of a dog reuniting with their beloved human after going without seeing them for months, or even years, on end. Maybe you’ve watched some videos of soldiers returning home to pups who greet them with emotional breakdowns after

(Picture Credit: Wavetop/Getty Images) Perhaps one of the most daunting tasks for first-time puppy adopters is housetraining. But experienced dog parents know that our canine friends can learn where to go potty surprisingly quickly, especially if you know how to teach them properly. The keys to rock-solid housetraining are to start the day your pup

(Picture Credit: Krista Kumpf) Do you want a dog who’s friendly and trustworthy around both people and other dogs? You might think all you need to do is adopt the right breed, and your job is done. But how you care for your canine–and socialization training in particular–plays a big role in how they respond

(Picture Credit: Gonalo Barriga/Getty Images) If you go to the dog park you’ll see a wide variety of human and dog interactions and parenting styles. Some people are more attentive. Meanwhile, others sit in the shade, talking on the phone or reading a book, barely paying attention to their dog. Which type of pet parent

This is Joe. He looks like an angel, and he is, but he has extreme separation anxiety. (Picture Credit: Patty Parker) Many of us pet parents have one or more dogs who suffer from separation anxiety to varying degrees. I have a rescue dog, named Joe, who spent the last seven years of his life

(Picture Credit: Getty Images) The positions dogs sleep in, the way they twitch or move, and the amount of time they spend napping can reveal a lot about how they’re feeling. Sleeping habits can give clues about a dog’s health and happiness that you can interpret if you know what to look for. Of course,