Shelter Dog Meal Donation Count:
Does your dog like to cuddle or be very close to you? Does she seem to always want to climb in your lap? It seems like a part of who your dog is, but have you ever thought about why? Walk on the Wild Side Dogs know that they are a part of the animal world. Because they are descended from wild dogs, they are geared for survival. Their survival can depend on the other members of their pack or family. … Read more
All living things need to move. It is a fundamental of life science that “form follows function”. It is a scientific way of saying “use it or lose it”. Walking your dog is a great idea for you both. But what if you want to walk and your dog doesn’t? First, make sure that there is no medical reason that your dog refuses to walk. Diseases, like heart problems or arthritis, (among others) can make your dog reluctant to go … Read more
Cheese is a favorite of a lot of humans. We love it and many of us keep it in our refrigerators almost all the time. We also love our dogs and like making them happy by sharing whatever we enjoy with them. We care about our dogs enough to know that we are responsible for keeping them safe, too. We humans can read labels and learn about food items to make educated choices while our dogs trust us enough to … Read more
We know what our dogs’ feet look like. Most dogs have 5 toes on the front feet and 4 toes on the rear feet. People may already know that the toes on the side of the front feet that do not touch the ground are called dewclaws, but if they do not touch the ground to help with locomotion, then why are they there at all? Of course, dogs are members of the class Mammalia, with humans and many of … Read more
Dogs can be allergic to things in the air, just like people. In people, this is commonly called “hay fever”, but it is not characterized by fever and it is not usually from hay either! Actually, hay fever is more accurately termed atopic dermatitis, which just means that the skin is inflamed in response to an antigen that is inhaled. Makes a little more sense when you call it what it is, huh? It might help to know a little … Read more
Does your dog wake you at night barking at some imagined threat? Mine does. I turn on lights and look all over, only to find nothing. Does she really hear something? Is she overreacting? Does everyone’s dog do this? Why DO dogs bark? Since we are not dogs, it is hard to imagine what it is like to be nonverbal. Dogs use body language to communicate to other dogs, but have found it useful to become somewhat verbal in order … Read more
Marking behavior in a pet dog is a frustrating, but fairly natural behavior among dogs. There are many reasons for marking behavior, but no matter how natural it is, if your dog is marking inside your home, it is a problem. First, you have to decide if the behavior is actually intended to be a communication for your dog. Since you cannot ask your dog if he peed on something as a signal, you need your vet to help. A … Read more
It’s a picture that we all know: you stand up and so does your dog. You head to the bathroom and so does your dog. You move toward the door and there is your dog, right with you every step of the way. Does your dog watch you constantly and follow you everywhere you go? Have you ever wondered why? Thankfully, there are many explanations for these bizarre actions. Why Does My Dog Follow Me Everywhere? Every dog is unique. … Read more
We see dogs all around and it is easy to notice that some of them seem to have boundless energy, while others are more laid back. Some dog breeds are selectively bred to be high energy. If you consider the job for which the breed was developed, you can probably surmise the use for an energetic nature. Herding breeds can be pretty wound up. They instinctively seek to herd people and other animals and sometimes can be frustrated by our … Read more
You can bet that during your dog’s lifetime, he/she will need some type of surgery. Whether is to be spayed or neutered or it is to remove a skin tumor, anesthesia is a part of our world today and as a society, we are fortunate that anesthesia exists. Otherwise, many of us would not even be here to read this. Without surgical intervention, many of my patients would have been lost. The definition of anesthesia is a temporary loss of … Read more
iHeartDogs is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Have you ever come home to find your trashcan turned over and bits of garbage all over the kitchen? You are not alone. Maybe you try to train your dog to stay away from the trash, but he just never seems to completely learn. He might avoid it while you are there, but you still come home to a … Read more
Allergies are very common. Lots of people are allergic to lots of things. Unfortunately, dogs are among those things. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, almost 3 out of 10 people have animal allergies. There are proteins (allergens) present in dogs’ saliva, urine, and dander (dead skin cells) that stimulate an allergic person’s immune system, just like a real threat might. It is important to understand a little bit about how allergies work. Every day, one’s immune … Read more
There is some buzz about joint care supplements. People are intrigued by an opportunity to circumvent or augment the usual recommendations and drawn by the lure of alternative (non-traditional) options. In the past, veterinarians have been skeptical of complementary medicine, but joint supplements containing ingredients like glucosamine, chondroitin and others have science backing their effectiveness. Good Things Come to Those Who… Supplement? Studies have indicated that ingredients like glucosamine and chondroitin (and others) can reduce the inflammation in canine patients … Read more
There is some buzz about joint care supplements. People are intrigued by an opportunity to circumvent or augment the usual recommendations and drawn by the lure of alternative (non-traditional) options. In the past, veterinarians have been skeptical of complementary medicine, but joint supplements containing ingredients like glucosamine, chondroitin and others have science backing their effectiveness. Good Things Come to Those Who… Supplement? Studies have indicated that ingredients like glucosamine and chondroitin (and others) can reduce the inflammation in canine patients … Read more
Boxers are beautiful, expressive and friendly. Their nubby tails seem to always be wagging. Unfortunately, they do seem to be predisposed to certain issues, of which all owners should be aware. Certain diseases seem to crop up more often in certain types of dogs. These are known as breed associated disorders. Each type of dog has its own list, but many of the issues are shared by multiple breeds, and very few of these types of issues are exclusive to … Read more
Great Danes are gorgeous and remarkable. They are stoic and kind. However, they do seem to be predisposed to certain issues, of which owners should be aware. Certain diseases seem to crop up more often in certain types of dogs. These are known as breed associated disorders. Each type of dog has its own list, but many of the issues are shared by multiple breeds and very few of these types of issues are exclusive to a single breed. Great … Read more
We know that many creatures are certainly attuned to their surroundings and other subtle cues that humans might miss. It’s been suggested that dogs can detect a lot of things, like hidden cancers and impending seizures in patients with epilepsy. People also report that they notice changes in their dogs when a storm rolls in, but can dogs tell when there’s going to be a storm? We would love to have our dogs help us anticipate and plan for severe … Read more
Some dogs seem to love to chew and the object of their chewing destruction can sometimes be our shoes. Let’s face it… we play our part in their shoe fetish because it is so easy to leave shoes lying around where dogs can get them. But why do dogs do this? Chewing is normal behavior for dogs. Since dogs have evolved as scavengers, dogs have learned never to waste resources. This is the reason dogs will eat and chew items … Read more
Every dog lover knows the smell. If you blindfolded us and tested us, we could all pick out the smell of “wet dog”. It is a fairly distinctive scent, even for our noses which are really quite feeble among the noses of the animal world. So why do dogs stink when they are wet? The answer lies partly in the way noses work. In a nutshell, mammalian olfaction (the ability to smell) is a complex interaction between scent molecules and receptors … Read more
Our dogs’ noses are visible to us (and often in our faces). We can easily note any changes in something that is so apparent to us and vets often get asked about warm and dry noses. In the past, people have said that a dry and warm nose means that a dog is ill. Dogs are not like humans in the way their bodies manage heat and moisture. Your dog cannot sweat in the way that you think of perspiration. … Read more
Mounting behavior in our dogs is embarrassing to us because we automatically feel uncomfortable with the sexual connotations. But to animals, this is just another behavior in a long list of behaviors, like barking, staring, or laying back ears. These motions are an expression, like our words. There are words that we choose not to use because they carry embarrassing or emotional stigmas, but your dog does not have the same cultural norms or expectations in the way he expresses … Read more
Many of us love chocolate, and our dogs may seem interested in the tasty treat they see us eating. Our dogs can smell it (even better than we can) and they see us indulge. But they do not know that chocolate can make them very ill, or could even be fatal. There are two ingredients toxic to dogs in chocolate, theobromine and caffeine. Caffeine can cause tremors, increased heart rate, and other cardiovascular side effects. Theobromine is actually the more … Read more
We hear a lot of press about supplements. Some people think that they are a useless waste of money and some people think that they are a miracle panacea. Certainly wise and discretionary use of supplements has been shown to assist in many disease processes. Fatty acids are thought to improve inflammation and even slow the progression of joint disease in dogs. There is likely even a benefit to using them as a preventive agent or to slow the onset … Read more
Anyone who spends time with dogs knows that they can act jealous. Dogs can act jealous or protective over items or people. It can become a big problem when the object of the jealousy is a spouse. This type of jealousy is damaging to the bonds between both people and dogs. For human beings, jealousy is thought to be a complex emotional and cognitive response. Some have said that jealousy is too intricate for dogs to feel, but most dog … Read more
Dog owners make lots of decisions for their dogs, from what they eat to how much they sleep. We all have the same joys and the same concerns. We are also all human and we love to find out the “easy way” to do things. We want to know secrets and tips and that is how the term “hack” was born. There are a few easy hacks that you can do to make your dog’s life easier and better… maybe even … Read more
Chihuahuas are extremely popular. They are all the fun of a bigger dog rolled up into a portable package! When our ancestors were breeding to get these tiny canines, some problems came along for the ride. Every breed has its issues. These are known as breed associated disorders. Chihuahuas are no different. Like many distinctive breeds, many of their problems came along with their specific characteristics. Very few of these types of issues are exclusive to a single breed. Three … Read more
[IHD_Article-Above] We know the scenario. You have a snack and your dog is watching you expectantly, even though you know she just ate. It makes you wonder if you are feeding her enough or maybe it was someone else’s job to feed her today and they have forgotten. The sound of candy wrappers will summon your dog like nothing else. Someone who did not know would swear he was starving, but you know he is not. Why does your dog … Read more
Siberian Huskies are energetic, fun, and sociable dogs. They are typically very healthy and interested in anything that you are. Certain diseases and disorders seem to crop up more frequently in particular breeds of dogs, known as breed associated disorders. Each type of dog has its own list, but many of the issues are shared by multiple breeds, and very few are exclusive to a single breed. Here are a few things that Husky owners should know about. 1. Skin … Read more
We all love our dogs from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tails, but dogs’ butts are not usually the topic of dinnertime conversation. A dog’s anus and the surrounding area (called the perineum) are not what we think of first when we think of our dog, but there are some important things that all dog owners need to know about their dog’s butt. Butt It’s About Multitasking A dog’s butt is more than just a … Read more
There are two camps of people in the world, dog people and… everyone else! I am only kidding, but there are people that think dogs are “only animals” and do not need all that we provide them with. For those people I have a thought: our dogs are not wolves and not even wild animals at all. We have taken them into human society and they have adapted to it. This process is domestication. Domestic pets, especially indoor dwelling ones … Read more
Some dogs really hate the mail man. We humans know that the mail must be delivered and that there must be someone to do it. We are grateful for the delivery and often wish that our dogs would feel the same. Some delivery people carry dog treats for the dogs along their route and not all dogs seem to hate them, but many do. The ones that do hate delivery people seem to really hate them fervently. To get to … Read more
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