Dogs in General

Should Your Dog Wear a Winter Coat? Short Answer—Probably Yes.

Different breeds have different tolerances to cold. Northern dogs (like Huskies and Malamutes) and Labradors have developed special physiological adaptations for coping with the cold. But many other breeds and individual dogs benefit from an extra warming layer in cold weather including: 

• Dogs with insufficient fat stores to keep them warm
• Short-haired dogs and/or breeds accustomed to warm temps
• Immune-compromised dogs
• Older dogs, especially those in poor health

In short, … Read More

Dog hair. Everywhere.

This is one day’s worth of dog hair in one room. Granted, this is shedding season. But, truthfully, pretty much all year is shedding season.

If you must have a clean house and clean clothes, you do not want a dog.

For dog lovers, the trade-off in love and joy received is worth the less than pristine house and clothes.… Read More

Wink is fast approaching his 13th birthday and someone was asking how old that was in human years, since, for a Cavalier, anything over 8 years old is considered impressive.

The old rule of thumb was to simply multiply the dog age by 7 to get the equivalent human age. Not so anymore. They’ve figured out a more precise formula through factoring DNA changes over time. Though the general rule that bigger dogs age faster than smaller dogs still … Read More

Midwestern Pet Foods company expands voluntary recall of dry food products.

After more than 70 dogs died and 80 others became ill, possibly from ingesting fatal levels of a toxin that is produced by mold, Midwestern Pet Foods is conducting a recall, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Pet parents: do not feed the recalled products to your pets or any other animals.

Destroy the products in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them. Wash and … Read More