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I've fostered a dog or puppy from the shelter six or seven times since I've had Otto – and he's been a huge help in the fostering process. He models good behavior. He responds immediately to cues and in the process, shows the other dogs how to earn rewards. He comes immediately when called, in such an enthusiastic manner, that the other dog comes running toward me, too, just to see what the excitement is all about (and then of course everyone gets treats, which helps install the roots of a nice recall in the foster dog, too). Otto puts up with their playful behavior, plays a bit with them himself, but also enforces polite canine behavior. He won't, for example, tolerate a puppy climbing all over him, jumping on him – or even picking on Tito the Chihuahua. He steps in with authority and firmness and says (with an audible growl and some impressive snarling), No way

Here is Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Dog Foods List for 2012. In addition to our list of this year's top dry dog foods we show you how to interpret the ingredient list on a dog food label, what ingredients are best, what the "best by" date really means, what to expect from a manufacturer's customer service department as well as ways to determine which of our top foods is best for your dog. Every year, new manufacturers enter the dog food market and established manufacturers come out with new formulations. Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Dog Food List analyzes each to determine which foods belong in the top tier of quality.

A recent headline for an article on petfoodindustry.com read, “Thank goodness for the humanization of pets.” The article discussed how industry sales data and recent surveys of pet owners suggest that pet foods that are made to appeal to human appetites are responsible for most of the growth in the industry.

I saw a news item over the weekend announcing that my state’s governor (California’s Jerry Brown) signed “Molly’s Bill” (AB 258), exempting certain dogs from the rabies vaccine requirement. Dogs whose lives would be endangered by the vaccination “due to disease or other considerations that a veterinarian can verify and document” -- as determined by a licensed veterinarian on an annual basis – now have a legal means of avoiding vaccination against rabies. California is the 14th state to sign such a bill into law.

The stars backstage at my local shelter are the six Basset puppies (and their doting mama) that the staff saved from coccidiosis (an illness caused by a nasty single-celled parasite). A guy brought the two-week-old litter to the shelter, signing over the whole lot, saying “they were just pooping too much.” Well, they were pooping so much because they had diarrhea; one puppy died within minutes of arrival. But our brilliant vet tech whipped into action and saved those dang puppies – mama, poop, and all. And they have just gotten cuter and cuter and cuter.

Bringing a baby or toddler (or even grade school-aged kids) into a dog park is the inappropriate human behavior I most deplore. When our kids were about 8 years old, a friend took my son, his twin boys, and their dog to the dog park – and then left them all there together while he drove someplace to get coffee. When he got back to the park, he was alarmed to see an ambulance in the dog park parking lot . . . and then horrified to see that the EMTs were gathered around one of his sons, while the other two boys stood by with frightened expressions. It turns out that the boys were playing (and probably completely absorbed in their own world) when one of them got flattened – knocked to the ground, hard – by a dog who was running by with a pack of big, boisterous dogs. Mike was okay, but he had the wind knocked out of him (and he has asthma anyway), so when it appeared that he couldn’t breathe, and the nearby dog owners learned that the boys were there without a parent, someone called 911.

When Erin Sullivan’s employer offered her a promotion and relocation to Orlando from Baltimore, she jumped at the chance to leave the cold behind in favor of the Sunshine State. Little did she know that her excitement would soon be quashed as she attempted to find a rental home – and subsequently, renter’s insurance – that would accept her, her Pit Bull, and two Pit Bull-mixes. Stories of breed discrimination by insurance companies (and rental property owners) abound as insurance companies increasingly refuse to write homeowner’s and renter’s policies for people who own breeds of dogs that the insurance industry considers to be “dangerous.” Many opponents argue that the industry’s decisions are based on faulty assumptions and improper use of dog bite statistics.

Whole Dog Journal readers have learned how to identify the best commercial foods when they shop for their dogs. But whether you feed dry kibble or canned food, even the best commercial diets can be improved with the addition of appropriate fresh foods. Keep the following things in mind when adding fresh foods to your dog's diet.

Your dog is limping and you don’t know why, so you take him to your veterinarian. The vet pushes, pulls, and palpates and announces that your dog probably has torn ligaments in his knee. She says that he needs surgery, and she can take care of that. While you love your dog’s vet, you’re just not sure that you agree, and you’re also unsure whether surgery is the route you want to take. You feel uncomfortable thinking the thought, but wonder what another veterinarian might recommend.

Behavior issues, from simple good manners infractions to the more concerning problems of phobias and aggression, appear in dogs both large and small. But while training to modify behavior issues might look the same regardless of size, in other respects, the bigger the dog, the bigger the problem. When a Dachshund has a lapse in housetraining, the cleanup process is significantly easier than if an Irish Wolfhound has an accident. If a Havanese frantically jumps up on your elderly Aunt Tilly, the collateral damage is less than if a Great Dane does the same. And if a Yorkie is terrified of riding in the car and refuses to get in for an emergency trip to the vet, he can be picked up and placed inside – not so when a Newfoundland steadfastly refuses.

About a year ago, I became acutely aware of the fact that there are increasing numbers of animal “rescue” organizations that are doing anything but “rescuing” animals. I’m not talking about real rescue operations, where animals are well cared-for, the facility does not take on more animals than it can support in a healthy fashion, and the organization has a well-established and successful method of finding permanent homes for its charges.

Fat has more than twice the calories per gram of protein or carbs, so the amount you feed should be limited. Fat, however, is also what satisfies the appetite best. A diet that is too low in fat will leave your dog feeling hungry all the time, making it harder for you to stick to the diet plan and potentially leading to food-stealing or even poop-eating. It’s better to feed a diet with moderate fat and reduce the portion size as needed rather than feeding a low-fat diet.