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Two stunning standard poodles, one pure white, the other charcoal gray, were wandering loose on Santa Cruz’s Seacliff Beach in early June, not far from a busy road. Jeff, the concerned citizen who corralled the dogs, was dismayed to find they had no tags, so he was unable to return them to their home. He put a “Dogs Found” ad in the newspaper and kept the dogs for three days, sure that someone would be looking for such wonderful animals, but no one called. With some ambivalence, he loaded them into his car and delivered them to the nearby Santa Cruz SPCA. They are obviously well-loved dogs, he reassured himself. They will be safe; the owner will come for them.

a dog trainer and animal behavior specialist from Beverly Hills

We have two female dogs: a five year old Newfoundland and a two-year-old Shih Tzu. They are rivals. They both like to chew on rawhide bones, even if I give them the exact same kind. As soon as the Newf gets up off of her “place” the Shih Tzu goes and steals her bone. Then the Newf wants the Shih Tzu’s bone! This occurs even if the Shih Tzu has a very small bone. Another annoying behavior is that the Shih Tzu barks in a very threatening way whenever the Newf barks to be let back in the house. The Newf goes outside frequently to enjoy the air, so this is very annoying. We would like the Newf to be the Alpha dog. What can we do to keep her position?

I was so excited to read your article concerning urinary incontinence in the spayed female. For the first time in many years of owning spayed females, I have a Labrador who at four years of age had symptoms of this problem. Not wanting to use hormone replacement therapy, I looked for an herbal combination containing the best herbs for menopause in women. I have been using “Women’s Menocaps” from Wise Woman Herbals for over a year now, two capsules a day. They contain dong quai, burdock, black cohosh, motherwort and licorice.

Let's get one thing straight: A dog's gotta chew what a dog's gotta chew. Dogs chew to exercise their jaws, to clean their teeth and gums, and to relieve boredom. It's a completely instinctive and healthful activity. Once upon a time, dogs chewed happily on bones that were left over from our meals. However, this age-old practice has slowly changed as humans have come to rely (largely) on processed foods. Today, few home kitchens provide a steady supply of bones to the household dog. As our eating habits changed, so have our perceptions of food safety.

With temperatures in the 90s and 100s in recent weeks, Whole Dog Journal decided it was a perfect time to test products designed to keep canines cool during the dog days of summer. We found a number of products that utilize the same technology: polymer crystals that absorb several times their weight in water, then release the water over a period of several days. The evaporation of the water creates the cooling effect.

I don’t want to admit that I am lazy – but I am very busy – and dog baths sometimes have a way of slipping toward the bottom of the priority list. I have occasionally picked up one or more of the several “dry shampoo” or “waterless bath” products on the shelves of my local pet supply store and contemplated trying them out. I always told myself that they had to be too good to be true, and placed them back on the shelves. So when Whole Dog Journal decided to test these dog cleaning and coat conditioner products, I leaped at the chance, only to confirm what I had suspected all along.

If your dogs are fighting, and are causing severe damage to each other – or one dog is causing severe damage to another – I’m sorry to say that you are dealing with the most difficult of all canine behavior problems, the one with the worst possible prognosis. Your options are extremely limited, because the treatment really should have happened when the dog was 4 1/2 months old, which is when dogs normally learn bite inhibition.

Regarding your recent article on vaccination - thank you for confirming my belief that its the excessive challenging of the dog’s immune system that is responsible for so many auto-immune disorders. I am a non-practicing LVT in New York state and I have three dogs, two of whom have autoimmune disorders. I used to vaccinate religiously, and even brought the vaccines home to administer them.

When Emma, a German Shepherd mix with magnificent, mule deer ears, jumps out of the car after being driven home from a particularly hard run on the trails or mucky outing at the beach, she immediately trots into the bathroom and waits for her bath. During her soaping and rinsing, her owner sings and tells her stories. Cheeky squirrels are given a run for their money by fleet, wily dogs. Cats are put firmly in their place by commanding, resourceful dogs, and humans are rescued from various perils by brave and sagacious dogs (all the dogs bear a striking resemblance to Emma, of course).

This is just a quick note to let you know how delighted I am with Whole Dog Journal. I have ordered and received all the back issues, and am still working my way through them. (I already have a holistic veterinarian and use veterinary chiropractic services occasionally.) I also faithfully cook for by two blessedly healthy dogs. I have been following the discussions on dog training with great interest, and am now curious: How are service dogs trained? How are the dogs in government service (customs, drugs) trained?

I own two beautiful Rottweilers, a male and a female. They are uncle and niece. I’ve had the male from birth; he’s now four years old, has the most outstanding personality, and his temperament is excellent. He gets along with everyone, he’s obedience trained, and there just isn’t enough I could say about him. A couple of years ago I decided to purchase his niece, a neutered female. She is also obedience trained. Initially, the two got along as if it were meant to be.