We got the results back from Belle’s minor surgery this past Monday. The skin growth was benign. Yay! Now she has a few stitches, but she has been doing well and is not scratching or biting at them. She licks them occasionally, but I’m trying to keep an eye on that and prevent her from […]
Change in My Dog’s Behavior, Urinary Tract Infection or Old Age?
I just got back from the veterinarian’s office.Today was Belle’s 6-month check-up and Bordetella vaccination.She got checked for heartworms – none present! And she also got her fecal exam and annual exam. I asked my vet about the unusual skin growth on her stomach. He looked it over and said that although it didn’t look […]
What do you do when you find a skin growth on your dog?
Grooming your dog is a good time to look for any problems with their skin, nails, ears, and teeth. Belle, like most dogs, will hide any injury as best as she can. Only because I wrestle with her and bathe her regularly have I found things that were bothering or hurting her. Recently, while rubbing […]
A Southern Dog in the Snow?
So what’s a dog used to the weather of the deep south do when it snows? Apparently, if it’s Belle, she tiptoes through it trying to keep from touching as much of it as she can. One of my friends owns a black lab who is about a year old. She liked the snow and […]
Bissell Little Green Machine Review: Removing dog hair and cleaning the dirt from furniture
Being part beagle, Belle loves to get dirty. It’s instinctual, something that dogs do to hide their scent. Although Belle spends time outdoors when the weather is nice, she also spends a lot of time indoors with me. I have hardwood flooring throughout the house. I once had an area rug in the living room, […]
Dealing with loose dogs not on a leash
My town has a leash law. I think it’s relatively new, but we do have one. Now that doesn’t mean that everyone keeps their dog under control. As a matter of fact, it’s not uncommon for me to have an encounter with a strange dog when I’m walking Belle. Now if you’ve been reading this […]
How to Pick a Dog Kennel: Finding a Good Boarding Facility for Your Dog
For those of us who travel a lot, it’s important to have a good boarding kennel picked out for your dog long before you are ready to leave your dog in their care. Although a lot of people like to leave their dogs at home and have friends or family come to care for and […]
The Canine Escape Artist: How My Dog Escaped Her Pen
Since Belle was an outdoor dog before I became her owner, she really likes to spend time out-of-doors. We built a nice large pen for her outside using welded wire fencing that connects to metal posts. We built a wooden gate that could swing open and shut with a latch at the top to keep […]
Refreshing Your Dog Training Skills
Just like humans, dogs are prone to forgetting things, or even testing boundaries. Thus, it is important to refresh your dog’s training “memory.” Dogs that respond to a given command for a long period of time can suddenly start acting like they don’t know what the command means. For example, it took me quite a […]
Dog Collar Identification (ID) Tags
Our town has a new ID tag law. You are to register your dog each year with the Humane Society who provides an ID tag for your dog. Now, I already had a hanging identification tag for my dog that I had bought online and she also wore her rabies tag. Add a third tag […]