Special Dog Features

For small dogs like these and their discriminating owners, only the most specialized care will do.

While dogs aren’t capable of resolving anything, December 31st is a good time to take stock of ways to help your dog become healthier and happier.

"When pet owners go out to run errands, the majority of them leave their dogs alone in the kitchen, which is the No. 1 place dogs accidentally start fires," says American Kennel Club (AKC) spokeswoman Lisa Peterson. "Not many pet owners realize that their pet can actually be the cause of a devastating fire."

There are many ways therapy dogs can help treat people of all ages in a wide range of settings who may have any number of physical or mental health difficulties.

When Lena Harris got pregnant with her second child, her German shepherd, Guinness, started acting overly attentive and clingy, as if he’d sniffed out the forthcoming addition to the pack.

June 25th is Take Your Dog to Work Day, designed to raise awareness about dog adoption. After all, your co-workers will surely want dogs of their own after meeting your pal.

Murphy, a chocolate Lab and pit bull mix who was rescued from an animal shelter, is now one of the country?s top doggy dock divers.

If you live with a shedding, dirt-digging pooch, keeping your house clean can seem like a challenge mightier than teaching an old dog a new trick.

Hiking with dogs takes some planning and thought. Make sure you keep your hike from turning into a misadventure.

An estimated 73 million dogs live in the United States, and each dog produces an average of 274 pounds of waste a year.

There used to be no place like home for a dog when the family went away. But these days, there’s a place that might be even better than home.

You may love your four-legged friend, but you probably don’t love its smells and stains. It’s a fact of pet-owning life that dogs tread in dirt, can leave bad-smelling hairs all over your home, and sometimes use carpets and furniture as a toilet.

Did you know that animal shelters often have holiday wish lists? For example, the Evanston, Ill., municipal animal shelter is so reliant on donations of funds, food and supplies that its fundraising arm has started an online wish list asking for items. On that list are cotton rope toys, fleece throws for kennels, food and treats, and then some items you might not consider when donating to an animal shelter.

When Lisa Cook, a lecturer at the University of Central Florida, heads home to New Jersey for the holidays, she leaves behind a beloved family member: Stella, Cook’s Australian cattle dog, boards at an Orlando veterinary hospital.

I never saw them coming. I was chatting in a park with a friend while his two boxers played with my golden retriever, Allie. The next minute, I felt myself being hit from behind by all three dogs, catapulting me backwards and causing me to hit my head on the ground where I landed. Still, I felt alright. After a minute or two of lying on the ground and checking to make sure I hadn’t broken any bones, I stood up without assistance and drove Allie and myself home.

When Gerard Hanson of New York City planned a road trip to visit a friend in Maine, he was excited to bring his puppy, Charles, along. But the trip did not go smoothly. "Charles got carsick," explains Hanson. "Then my friend didn’t want me leaving him at his house alone for more than an hour or two, so my plans for different activities were more or less ruined."

Most people take a long time to choose their career path. Rebecca Rose, author of Career Choices for Veterinary Technicians: Opportunities for Animal Lovers (AAHA Press 2009), on the other hand, hit the ground running after she left school. "My mother worked for a veterinarian in the early 1970s," says Rose. "I can remember helping her with the animals after school. When I was in high school, I researched my career options, and becoming a veterinary technician was the most appealing option."

If you share food with your beloved dog, make room in your bed for the happy tail wagger or allow a face lick or two, you’re not alone.

Houses where there are pets don’t generally sell as well as houses where there aren’t. Some people are scared of animals or simply don’t like them. Even if they do like animals and even if they have pets of their own, many homebuyers don’t want to buy a home from someone who has a pet in the house.

Air travel of animals is heavily controlled by Federal and State laws, but also by the individual airlines themselves. You must research each airline’s requirements before traveling, and familiarize yourself with the general rules of air travel with animals.