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

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

It's been said before, but every time I have experienced the loss of one of my dogs, or have witnessed someone else's, I think to myself: That this is the price of all that love we have for our dogs, and all the love and joy we've received from our dogs. If it seems too much to bear, well, remember that the amount of pain we are going to feel is directly related to the love. Those heart dogs" – the companions we love as much as life itself? Well

or adult maintenance only?)."

In more than 30 years as a veterinarian, I have heard of a number of accounts similar to Jill Breitner's pet euthanasia horror stories. In my career, though, I have dedicated my practice to using only low-stress techniques, especially at the end of life. This is the art of euthanasia.

The companies that appear on the Whole Dog Journal “Approved Foods” list offer products that meet Whole Dog Journal's basic dog food selection criteria: they contain good ingredients, they don’t contain any “red flag” ingredients, and their makers are reasonably transparent about their manufacturing and formulation. This dog food list is a start – meant to give you examples of companies with better-quality products than those found in grocery and big-box stores, and lower-end pet supply stores. The list purposely contains products that range in quality and cost, from “wildly expensive” to “not cheap.” Inexpensive foods will not meet our selection criteria, because it’s impossible to make a low-cost dog food that contains superior ingredients.

It's fortunate that there are many positive training options for our dogs today! Increasingly, people are choosing to extend their dogs' education past classes in good manners, and I strongly advocate following up those basic classes with a tricks class! Learning even just a few basic tricks is fun for you, your dog, and your potential audience! And while the benefits to you and your dog are many, I will describe my top five.

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.

While we know you don't want to hear it, your senior dog needs a twice-yearly veterinary well-visit. There are many health issues that can be treated if detected early

Cooper, my service-dog-in-training, trotted briskly at the side of my power wheelchair as we headed to the veterinary clinic, a mile from home. He was overdue for a routine dental cleaning, and my regular veterinary clinic was not within rolling distance. I decided to take a chance on a new vet, since it was just a standard dental cleaning. I dropped him off and rolled back home, relieved that I was finally able to afford the procedure.

One potential hazard of fostering dogs, when you already own dogs, is that your dogs become stressed or unhappy about the foster dogs, who often need remedial training and lessons in basic good dog manners. Other dogs enjoy having canine company, even if the visitors are ill-mannered. While my dog Otto is currently the latter, I think that when he’s a senior dog, I will have to forego fostering for a time. I suspect that…

It's fairly common for dogs to be placed for adoption with a caveat that there should be no cats