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Lifting Your Dog

1.Place both hands briefly, gently, on either side of your dog's spine, and then feed him a treat.2.Gradually move your hand down and under your dog's ribcage on the far side, touching and feeding him a treat several times at each step.3.Gradually move your other hand around the front of your dog's chest to his opposite shoulder, touching and feeding him several times at each step.4.Put light pressure on your dog with both hands, gradually hugging him toward you, and then feed him a treat.5.Gradually increase pressure, feeding him treats several times at each step.6.Hug your dog against your chest, lifting upward slightly; release and treat.7.Gradually increase the amount of lift pressure until you are picking him up, giving him a treat several times at each step.

A Kelpie For The Millers

My husband and I agreed that we'd like another Australian Kelpie. Both of our two prior Kelpie girls were exceptional dogs, and we're hoping for a repeat experience. Kelpies are rare enough that we know that haunting our local shelters for one is pretty futile. Given our sheltering background, the subject of purchasing from a breeder never came up.

How to Prevent a Bad Adoption

For the first time in several decades, my husband and I are actively seeking a dog to adopt. With our family pack at a long-time low of three dogs, all seniors, it's time to add a younger set of paws, but now that neither of us works at a shelter, it's not as easy to trip over a dog who speaks to our hearts. We now find ourselves having to actively look for one – a unique position for us, but one in which most normal, non-shelter/rescue humans are quite likely to find themselves. Having experienced in recent years an exponential increase in clients who adopted inappropriate dogs with significant problem behaviors – dogs who should never have been released by the shelter or rescue group – I know all too well how rocky the path to adoption can be these days. So, we're taking the advice we'd give to anyone else in our situation in order to prevent a regrettable adoption.

High-Tech Dogs

My Border Collie Duncan solves all 10 of his interactive puzzles within five minutes; it takes me longer than that to fill them with treats! So when CleverPet announced its Kickstarter campaign for the development of a next-generation pet-learning console, I signed right up. Thirteen-year-old Duncan has pretty severe arthritis so I'm constantly searching for low-activity ways to engage him. This eagerly anticipated device features three durable yet sensitive touch pads that interactively light up and are designed to be touched by a dog's nose or paw, triggering food to be dispensed. CleverPet adjusts learning levels based on your dog's performance, which can be monitored through the website and an app-based program.

A Healing Coat

the author's 9-year-old agility dog

How to Create Just a Little More Physical Space Between You and Your Dog...

you can direct her out of your way by having her follow your hand with her nose.üStart teaching Off" with a tossed-treat lure; then

Dog Gear of the Year 2015

CO
(720) 341-6376
aromis.co

Note: The Aromis website has terrific information on why diffusers are the ideal way to dispense therapeutic essential oils in your home

Courthouse Support Dogs

His real name is Blake, but his nickname is Batman – a handsome gentleman, ready to swoop in on a moment's notice to fight crime in his own special way. Blake is a gorgeous, three-year-old Labrador Retriever employed as a courthouse dog for the Pima County Attorney's Office in Tucson, Arizona. Trained by Assistance Dogs of the West (ADW), and partnered with victim advocate Colleen Phelan, Blake provides support to victims and witnesses of crime as they navigate the vagaries of the judicial process.

5 Things To Do If You Witness Animal Abuse

I assume that most Whole Dog Journal readers are as upset as I am when I see someone treating a dog badly. What should you do when you see someone being rough with their dog? Hard as it may be, I urge you to be calm and take several deep breaths before you act. Then . . .

The Healing Power of Dogs

prior to her diagnosis with end stage renal disease. Williams was an avid bodybuilder

The First Year in the Life and Training of a Hearing-Alert Service Dog

Meet Lulu. Lulu is a Havanese-mix puppy, just about a year old. In many ways she is a typical adolescent pup: outgoing, social, and full of enthusiasm for life. But there is something special about Lulu. She is in training to be a service dog. When Lulu is fully trained, she will be a hearing-alert dog for her human companion, Sara Walsh.

Can Dogs Really Detect Cancer in Humans?

The dog's nose is an amazing organ, with abilities and features far superior to our own in many ways. First are the physical adaptations of the nose itself. The inside of the dog's nose is lined with many folds of tissue (called the olfactory epithelium), which in turn contain hundreds of millions of olfactory receptors, specialized cells responsible for detecting odors. Because of the increased surface area caused by these folds, the dog's nose contains a ridiculously high number of receptor cells when compared to the human nose; on average, the dog has about 220 million, while our noses harbor a paltry 5 million. This difference contributes to the dog's ability to detect almost impossibly minute concentrations of compounds, by some estimates in concentrations as low as parts per trillion.

Latest Blog

Accepting Your Dog

Years ago, I had high hopes for participating in dock diving sport with my now-9-year-old dog, Woody. But it turned out that my high-jumping, strong-swimming dog absolutely hates getting water in his ears!