Lifestyle

We purchased the three most popular ball-throwing machines that will shoot out tennis balls, and have been flinging balls all over town to compare the features of these expensive machines. Your dog can play fetch all by himself with each of these products – that is, after you set one up, turn it on, and have taught him to drop his ball into the hopper that each product has positioned on the top.

The whole world is aware that we love to buy stuff for our pets; more than $70 billion was spent by U.S. owners on their pets last year. But we have to say that a lot of that spending was a waste! There are tons of cutesy, low-quality products out there that fail to deliver any real benefit to either dogs or their handlers. That's where we can help, with five pages of top-quality stuff that you and your dog will truly enjoy.

Well, it's happened: I have reached the age where I look forward to Social Security payments arriving in my bank account every month. With that significant milestone comes some new perspectives on life with dogs as a senior citizen. Not the least of these is the sobering realization that I have a finite number of dogs left to share my life with, making each one an even greater treasure.

but finds it even more rewarding to teach their owners how to build a better relationship with their canine family members

The patients who interacted closely with the dogs were six times more likely to become MRSA carriers than those who did not interact closely. But when the dogs were decolonized, the close-interaction group's risk for becoming MRSA carriers was no different from the group of patients who did not interact closely with the dogs.

For many of us who love dogs, our canine family members are a lot like potato chips - we can't have just one. There...

Moving to a new house regardless of whether it's down the street or across the country is stressful for anyone, but for dogs it can be especially confusing and upsetting. I just moved my three dogs (ages 16 years to 21 months, 10 pounds to 100 pounds) from New York City to Portland, Oregon. The move has been a bit hectic, but my biggest priority has been creating stability and consistency for my dogs.

Thinking of taking a road trip with your dog? Road trips can be a lot of fun and are a great way to see...

When you use a dog walking app service, you are inviting a stranger into your home who you have not vetted. You are handing your four-legged family member, with all his or her unique quirks, to a well-intentioned dog lover who most likely does not have the requisite education and training to keep your dog safe by understanding body language, recognizing early warning signs, knowing how to avoid incident, and what to do should something go wrong. This puts your dog at greater risk.

Selecting good dog jackets for winter can be as overwhelming as deciding what food to feed your dog or what type of collar or harness to...

Five types of dog-to-dog supervision, from left to right (or from 1 to 4 stars): No adult supervising dogs; Adult present but distracted; Reacting after the dogs are too close; Having a plan, being prepared; Fully present, adult supervision

In past articles in WDJ, I have advised people who are thinking about adopting a new dog to develop a list of attributes that they must have, would like to have, would prefer not to have, and really do not want at all – and then to use these lists as search criteria. And yet, here we were, not really sure of what we were looking for. Another herding breed? We already have a Kelpie, so maybe, or maybe not. A Bonnie-type terrier-mix? Maybe, but they didn't seem easy to come by.