Russell and Ivy. Congratulation to both of you! On the left it is Ivy as little pup coming home from a shelter in Shreveport. On the right side Ivy has grown into a beautiful attentive dog. I want to take this opportunity to thanks all of you that participated and all the beautiful comments on the site. If you did not win this time … we have another contest starting in a few days wit...

The APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) has declared January “Dog Training Month”. I think this is awesome. So many dogs each year are abandoned in shelters because their owners were not able to cope with their behavior or did not realize the money and energy needed to raise a healthy, well balanced dog. In the spirit of January Dog Training Month, I will be giving away a $100.00 g...

… He Just Does Not Like Being Alone She came in as a foster dog. A friend of mine had to make the difficult decision to find a better home for her. She could no longer take care of Bear.  She had rescued her a few years ago. She was skin and bones back then and quite a hand full.  Escape artist, she would roam the neighborhood, not coming back when called and barked her head off while alon...

The real question is not if your dog can get on the couch That is really a personal choice. It is up to you to decide if your furry friend is allowed on the furniture or not. If you think keeping your dog off the furniture is going to help you establish your  “alpha role”, think twice. The notion of “alpha dog” had been misunderstood for a long time. Research and scientist...

All I Want for Christmas is a Dog Most dog experts will say that Christmas is the worst time to bring a dog in your family. In many ways they are right.  A dog needs your time and attention and you probably do not have that much available around the Holidays. On the other hand if the little fur ball caught your heart at the shelter, with a  bit of organization it could work out very well. Five T...

How to Help An Dog Anxious Through A Stormy Night, High Wind or Lightening She had only been with us a short while and we were still getting use to each other.  Bear was always so quiet.  At night she would not make a move until morning.  But tonight she was pacing, panting and had only one thing in mind bolting out of the door. She was obviously in distress and it took me a little...

Personally, I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have a dog to care for. Since I was a young girl, dogs have been my constant companion. I’m embarrassed to say however, that as a young child I really had no clue how to really care for my pets. It’s no wonder that my first dog Sasha ran away. Between my constant tugging and annoying behaviors and being alone much of the day tim...

How to Train Your Pup When He Gets Anxious Staying Alone It’s inevitable. When you brought home your new puppy, you spent every waking moment with her. Petting, hugging, kissing and caressing, playing, pushing, feeding and training. Then it is back to real life. You have to go to work. Rather chocking for your pup. You come home to a disaster or maybe you can hear your pooch before you even ente...

Reading Your Dog’s Body Language – The  Key To Communicate and Understand Each Other. There are ways for us to read into our dog’s minds.  Dogs have a language and express themselves with their body. To read a dog’s body language takes a little bit of experience but once you are familiar with common dog behaviors, you will be able to: Better understand your own pooch. Read situ...

First Build Your  Dog’s Confidence My childhood dog was a shelty-husky mix named Max. Badly abused and beaten, he was fearful of just about everything and anyone. He used to shake if someone new tried to go near him, never mind pet him. When we first adopted him, we worked with a dog therapist to gain his trust and help make Max’s world a bit more bearable for him. One of the key ...