Care

As a trainer and behavior consultant, I am always ready to provide all sorts of helpful information and internet links on the subject of bringing home a new baby to meet the dog. But I can honestly say that I never considered the emotional and hormonal component of the new mom and how it would affect her relationship with her pets.

As you may know, because for months I've talked about almost nothing else, I've been on a puppy-fostering jag since November. My shelter has a hard time with keeping large litters of puppies clean, warm, dry, and healthy, particularly in the winter; I guess that's true for many if not most shelters. So I've been taking on one litter after another, starting with my first-ever foster-fail pup Woody, who was one of nine puppies; then a litter of six Chihuahua/terrier-mixes, all boys; another litter of nine cattle dog/pit-mixes, all adorably freckled; and I'm at the tail end (no pun intended) of a litter of seven German Shepherd/hound/who-knows-what-mixes. Playing with and caring for the pups has been fun, challenging, messy, expensive, and interesting! But here is the latest thing I've been fascinated with: the people who come to adopt a puppy – and end up walking out, or at least trying to walk out, with two.

Since 1985, the International Herb Association has announced its Herb of the Year during National Herb Week, which this year is May 1 through 7. The IHA has just published Capsicum: Herb of the Year 2016, a book that reviews chili peppers and their growing conditions and uses, and the organization helps garden centers and herb farms promote its featured plant.

Wags Hotel in Sacramento

Don Hanson, owner of Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor, Maine, and Allison Bennett of Warms Hearts, Cold Noses, in North Hatley, Quebec, helped me compile this list of tips – ways to make boarding your dog a good experience for everyone involved, and to help clarify why kennel operators have the rules they do. …

If I were to choose two words to summarize how to live harmoniously with dogs in apartment buildings it would be with consideration." It really is no different than how we should strive to treat our neighbors even when pets are not involved. For example

All I could hear was the buzz of a thousand bees as I parted my way through a deep thicket of Heracleum lanatum, a tall, broad-leaved member of the parsley family commonly known as cow parsnip." The big

Let's get this out of the way first: Nobody, it seems, likes to do" dog nails. Not you

enables a cat to quickly escape unwanted attention from a dog – faster and safer than jumping over the gate.

We gathered nine high-end, medium and large dog beds that were marketed as orthopedic

The secret to happy chewing is variety. Be creative… think rubber, plastic, rope, wood, body parts (pizzles, pig ears, cow ears, chicken feet, chicken necks), fuzzy things, leather things, carrots, oranges, and more. There are advantages and disadvantages to each – they can all break, splinter, shred, be ingested – so it pays to have a chat with your vet about what to watch for when you choose your chews. …

Tinctures are liquid extracts that preserve the medicinal properties of the fresh or dried herbs they contain. Alcohol is the most widely used tincture solvent because it extracts fats, resins, waxes, most alkaloids, some volatile oils, and other plant components, which it preserves indefinitely. Vegetable glycerin, a sweet, syrupy liquid, dissolves mucilage, vitamins, and minerals but does not dissolve resinous or oily plant constituents. Apple cider vinegar does not break down plant constituents as effectively…