A Dog Recovery Suit Is a Medical Garment

A dog recovery suit, sometimes referred to as dog surgical recovery suits, are form-fitting bodysuits designed to cover various parts of a dog’s body, like a onesie for humans. “These medical garments are typically made from lightweight, breathable fabrics that protect surgical sites, wounds, or skin conditions while allowing the dog to move naturally,” says Joanne Fernandez-Lopez, DVM, director of veterinary affairs at ABCs Puppy Zs, a breeder in Coppell, Texas.

Fernadez-Lopez says recovery suits provide several benefits over traditional collars and cones. “Unlike cones that can bump into furniture and doorways, recovery suits allow dogs to navigate their environment more easily. Many dogs find bodysuits less distressing than cones, as they maintain normal peripheral vision and movement.”

Why a Dog Recovery Suit

Dog recovery suits are not only more fashionable than those bulky collars, they also serve as almost a second skin and offer these benefits:

• Fewer infections. By preventing dogs from licking or biting at wounds, recovery suits significantly reduce the risk of infections. This is especially important for surgical incisions and skin irritations.
• Better wound protection. A clean and well-protected environment created by a recovery suit can facilitate faster healing. It prevents dirt and other irritants from reaching the wound. Using a dog recovery suit after neutering or spaying is particularly common.
• Canine comfort. Recovery suits can help alleviate discomfort and anxiety for dogs recovering from procedures or injuries. The protective layer can provide a sense of security.
• Protects sutures. For surgical procedures that involve stitches or staples, a recovery suit can help prevent them from being pulled or dislodged.
• Wider coverage. Dogs can develop allergies and skin conditions such as dermatitis, and just as with humans, they can bring itchy, irritated skin. A recovery suit can help prevent them from scratching and further aggravating the condition.
• Better healing. A dog recovery suit can also keep your dog away from hot spots, those circular areas of inflamed skin that can become infected, and allow them time to heal.

Suited for More Than Surgical Recovery

Beyond post-surgery and other medical conditions, recovery suits serve multiple purposes, according to Dr. Fernandez-Lopez.

• Easing anxiety: “The gentle pressure can have a calming effect, like anxiety wraps useful during thunderstorms or fireworks,” she said, “They can also help reduce excessive barking and nervous behaviors.”
• Alternative to diapers: Recovery suits can also help older dogs suffering from bladder control issues and offer protection for female dogs during heat cycles.
• Regulating temperature: Dog recovery suits also offer protection from sun exposure, provide warmth for short-haired breeds, and offer post-grooming protection, according to Dr. Fernandez-Lopez.

Choosing the Right Recovery Suit

The best recovery suit for your dog will depend on their size, the nature of their injury or medical condition, and your pet’s comfort level. A variety of styles are available, including full-body suits, body wraps, sleeves protect one particular leg, and undershirts. (Be sure you purchase two surgery recovery suits for your dog, because you will need one for her to wear while the other is being washed and dried.)

When choosing a recovery suit, consider these options:

1. Pick a size that allows the suit to fit snugly but comfortably, without restricting his movement.
2. Look for a breathable, washable lightweight material to prevent your dog from getting too hot or experiencing any discomfort.
3. Ease of pottying. Choose a suit designed to provide adequate coverage for the affected area while allowing for your dog’s needs, such as eating, drinking, and openings for bathroom breaks.

Note: Those with smaller dogs may be able to do a makeshift surgery recovery suit made out of a child’s onesie or even a makeshift T-shirt wrap for coverage. But, by and large, these improvised coverages will fail your dog’s teeth and persistent testing. With surgery suits for dogs starting at around $25, they’re truly the better bargain with far fewer accidents.

Dog Surgery Recovery Suits at a Glance

Note: Prices and sizes may vary.

Suitical Recovery Suit
Notable features: Its unique design allows for full mobility and comfort.
Benefits: Protects wounds, prevents licking, and allows for normal activities like eating and drinking.
Price: $28 and up

Shed Defender Recovery Onesie
Notable features: Its lightweight, breathable fabric and calming design.
Benefits: Protects wounds, reduces anxiety, and promotes healing.
Price: $30 and up

Calm Paws Calming Recovery Vest
Notable features: Its calming design and gentle pressure points.
Benefits: Protects wounds, reduces anxiety, and promotes relaxation.
Price: $30 and up

AmazonBasics Recovery Suit
Notable features: Its affordability and basic functionality.
Benefits: Provides basic protection for wounds and prevents licking.
Price: $25 and up

Surgi Snuggly
Notable features: Their wide size range and comfortable, stretchy fabric.
Benefits: Protects wounds, prevents licking and chewing, lightweight and breathable, allows for full body coverage in various sizes.
Price: $30 and up

BellyGuard – After Surgery Dog Recovery Onesie
Notable features: Its unique design that features a built-in sanitary pouch for female dogs.
Benefits: Protects wounds, prevents licking and scratching, built-in sanitary pouch for female dogs, comfortable and breathable fabric.
Price: $40 and up

VetMedWear Recovery Suit
Notable features: Its focus on veterinarian-recommended features and durability.
Benefits: Protects wounds, prevents licking and scratching, veterinarian-approved design, durable and washable fabric.
Price: $48 and up

ZenPet ZenDog Anxiety Vest & Recovery Suit
Notable features: Dual-purpose design; soft, flexible fabric and easy step-in design.
Benefits: Effective for both recovery and anxiety
Price: $39 and up

Medical Pet Shirt
Notable features: Cotton-based fabric; strong seam construction
Benefits: Available in multiple styles for different recovery and other needs.
Price: $28 and up

Medipaw Dog Surgery Suit   
Notable features: Two-piece design for bathroom breaks. Removable bottoms can be left off if this area does not require protection.
Benefits Protects wounds, prevents licking/scratching

The post When to Choose a Dog Recovery Suit appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Here are five ways to help smooth the transition:

1. Ease Into Things

When you first get home, do a little on-leash exploring of the yard and give your dog an opportunity to relieve herself outside. It’s understandable that humans in the household—especially kids—will be excited but aim for calm introductions and don’t smother your dog with affection. You know your dog will be your new best friend, but your dog is just trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Introduce her to canine housemates slowly and be prepared to separate dogs as necessary if your new dog looks overwhelmed by the interaction. Provide a comfortable spot to rest and respect the area as her personal space.

While you may ultimately want to change your dog’s diet, we recommend waiting until she’s a little more settled before introducing dietary changes. Speaking of diet, don’t be alarmed if she’s refusing treats and picks at meals or isn’t eating in those first couple of days—especially if she’s visibly nervous. Don’t make a big deal of it (that can make things worse!) and know that a healthy dog won’t starve herself.

2. Establish a Routine and Clear Expectations

Routines are comforting for the predictability they provide. Feed and take your dog out on a schedule to help set your dog up for housetraining success. Even if she’s older, or you’ve been told she’s housetrained, it’s best to approach the situation as though she’s a young puppy: closely supervise and take her out often!

Set clear expectations from the beginning. If you don’t want your dog on the couch, don’t invite her up as a special treat in the first week home because she looks sad and you think she needs a cuddle. (If she’s initiating a cuddle session, go for it! Just do it in a dog-friendly area.)

3. Train as a Bonding Opportunity

As you navigate your initial weeks together, reward generously if practicing simple obedience behaviors like sit or responding to her name—and anytime she’s doing something you like: lying calmly at your feet, not jumping on the counter when you’re in the kitchen, etc. Teach her you’re an endless source of good things.

Experiment a little to see what your dog likes best. Try different treats. Try different toys. Try different types of petting. Let yourself be a little silly and see how she responds. Be careful not to overdo it, especially in the beginning. It’s easy to come on a little too strong and accidentally overwhelm a dog we’re trying to connect with. Don’t get discouraged if your best attempts to connect seem to fall flat, especially within the first several months of the new relationship. You’re still getting to know each other!

Attending a well-run group training class is also great for bonding. If scheduling allows, I like to let dogs settle in for those first three weeks before joining a class. Schedules don’t always work out that way though, so if you’re attending sooner, be willing to adjust your expectations accordingly. That might mean you and your dog sit together and watch class more than you actively participate for the first week or so. That’s OK, it’s still a shared experience and an opportunity for you to learn more about what your dog needs to feel safe and relaxed.

4. Have Safety Precautions in Place

We recommend arriving prepared with a collar and ID tag as you pick up your new dog. I like to use nylon or cloth martingale collars for their limited-slip feature that allows the collar to tighten enough to not slip over the dog’s head—especially if they get happen to get spooked while on-leash—but not continue to constrict around the neck like a choke chain.

If your dog has already been microchipped, make sure to update the contact information. If your new dog has not been microchipped, have that done at a wellness visit with your vet.

If you have a fenced yard, be cautious about leaving your new dog outside unsupervised during the initial adjustment period. Many dogs who land in shelters or rescue facilities ended up as strays because of their escape-artist tendencies!

5. Be Patient!

Remember that all dogs are individuals with unique needs and different quirks. The time spent supporting your dog as she adjusts to her new home is an important part of getting to know each other, and it will help build a strong foundation for a wonderful life together.

The post Welcome Home: 5 Ways To Help a Dog Adjust to a New Home appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Countless studies also show that dogs can detect certain diseases like Parkinson’s and SARS-CoV-2, along with the onset of conditions such as seizures, low or high blood sugar in diabetics, and migraines. Now, mounting evidence suggests that dogs can also play a part in detecting human cancer.

But how is it that dogs can detect illness—specifically cancers—simply through scent?

The Scent of Disease

It all goes back to the makeup of the human body. Our bodies, along with almost everything else in our environment, emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a medley of organic chemicals that vaporize at room temperature and disperse in the air. Human beings continuously emit hundreds of VOCs through normal biological and physiological processes, such as when we ingest food or by the breakdown of certain bacteria in our bodies (for instance, the odor produced by sweat).[ii]

It was Hippocrates who, around 450 BCE, first identified several disease-specific odors in urine and sputum. But it took until the beginning of the 19^th century before scientists began investigating the link between human odors and disease, and discovered that disease-related VOCs can diffuse throughout the tissue and be expelled in breath, feces, vaginal secretions, skin, sweat, urine, and blood.[iii]^,4 By the second half of the 20^th  century, gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy were being used to separate VOCs and identify cancer-specific substances in these human excretions.[iv]

How Dogs Sense Cancer

Then dogs entered the scene. The first known instance of a dog being able to detect cancer came in 1989, when two British dermatologists reported on how a patient’s dog repeatedly sniffed at a lump on her leg, even through her clothing, eventually prompting the woman to see her doctor. The lump turned out to be malignant melanoma.[v]

At first, scientists were skeptical, treating this anecdote for what it was: an anecdote. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that their interest began to overcome their skepticism, when additional studies validated earlier suspicions that dogs could indeed sniff out cancer. This included a 2004 experimental study which found that dogs’ ability to detect bladder cancer in urine was greater than would be expected by chance alone. Further, much to the researchers’ surprise, the dogs kept identifying the urine of one healthy participant as being positive for cancer. Concerned, the person’s doctor ordered additional tests and found that this “healthy” individual in fact had very early-stage kidney cancer.[vi]

In 2006, the first of what were to become dozens of high-quality, double-blind studies was published. (In a double-blind study, neither the dogs nor their handlers know which samples are cancerous.) In this first study, breath samples were taken from 55 lung cancer patients and 31 breast cancer patients. Specialized instruments were unable to detect anything in these patients’ exhaled breath . . . and yet dogs identified 99 percent of the lung cancers and between 88 and 98 percent of the breast cancers.[vii]

In the intervening years, an increasing number of studies have investigated the ability of dogs to accurately detect lung, breast, ovarian, bladder, and prostate cancer.[viii] For instance, in 2021, a British research team held a clinical trial with 246 patients ranging in age from 45 to 80 years, 41 of whom had been diagnosed with various stages of lung cancer. (The remainder were healthy individuals with no history of cancer.) In combined test results of both breath and urine, the dog correctly identified 40 of 41 cancer samples.[ix]

That same year, a multi-national team of scientists demonstrated that dogs can be trained to detect the most aggressive and lethal form of prostate cancer from VOCs.

The Dog’s Role in Early Cancer Diagnosis

Speaking of the prostate cancer study, Dr. Claire Guest, Chief Scientific Officer of Medical Detection Dogs said, “This study showed that a dog’s nose could hold the key to an urgently needed, more accurate, and non-invasive method of early prostate cancer diagnosis.”[x]

The need for accurate, early diagnosis of all cancers is equally urgent. Cancer is the second major cause of death worldwide. According to the National Cancer Institute, by 2040, the worldwide number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to almost 30 million, and the number of cancer-related deaths to more than 15 million.[xi] Early diagnosis is the single most effective way to reduce the risks associated with cancer and enable cancer victims to have the best chance for successful treatment and survival.[xii]

Despite all the strides that have been made over the last 40 years in the fight against cancer, early detection and intervention efforts are still lacking. The dog’s nose is playing an important role in the attempt to identify cancer earlier, once again proving that a dog is indeed a human’s best friend.

[i] Kokocińska-Kusiak, Agata et al. “Canine Olfaction: Physiology, Behavior, and Possibilities for Practical Applications.” Animals Journal, 11(8), 2463. August 21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082463 (from National Library of Medicine Pub Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8388720/)

[ii] Irga, Peter. J et al. “Volatile organic compounds emitted by humans indoors– A review on the measurement, test conditions, and analysis techniques.” Building and Environment Volume 255, May 1, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111442 (Accessed through ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132324002841#bib29 )

[iii] Bauër, Pierre, PhD et al. “Remote Medical Scent Detection of Cancer and Infectious Diseases With Dogs and Rats: A Systematic Review” Integrative Cancer Therapies, Volume 21; January-December 2022. (Accessed through Sage Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15347354221140516 )

[iv] Shirasu, Mika, and Touhara, Kazushige. “The scent of disease: volatile organic compounds of the human body related to disease and disorder.” The Journal of Biochemistry, Volume 150, Issue 3, September 2011. https://doi.org/10.1093/jb/mvr090

[v] Williams, Hywel, and Pembroke, Andres Pembroke. “Sniffer Dogs in the Melanoma Clinic?” The Lancet, Volume 333, Issue 8640, 1989. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(89)92257-5 (Referenced in “Man’s best friend and potent medical ally.” International Myeloma Foundation. Oct 12, 2017. https://www.myeloma.org/blog/dr-duries/mans-best-friend-potent-medical-ally )

[vi] Willis, Carolyn M. et al.  “Olfactory detection of human bladder cancer by dogs: proof of principle study.” British Medical Journal,  329(7468):712. Sept 25, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.329.7468.712. (Accessed through National Library of Medicine, PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC518893/

[vii] McCulloch, M. et al. “Diagnostic accuracy of canine scent detection in early-and late-stage lung and breast cancers.”  Integrative Cancer Therapies, Vol 5, No 1: March 2006. (Accessed through Sage Publications. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=2a5c48717cb83d95afde982af8059deef9f4f1b9  )

[viii] Guest, Claire et al. “Feasibility of integrating canine olfaction with chemical and microbial profiling of urine to detect lethal prostate cancer.” PLOS ONE. February 17, 2021. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0245530&nocache

[ix] Feil, C., et al. “Sniffer dogs can identify lung cancer patients from breath and urine samples.” BMC Cancer 21, 917 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-021-08651-5

[x] Guest, Claire. loc sit

[xi] No author given. “Cancer Statistics.” National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. May 9, 2024. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics

[xii] No author given. “Promoting cancer early diagnosis.” World Health Organization. No date given. https://www.who.int/activities/promoting-cancer-early-diagnosis

The post Can Dogs Smell Cancer? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

“We had to move from California to Massachusetts,” Shear says. “At first, we thought we would drive them in our car, but we realized it was just too far. We don’t like long-distance driving.”

They decided to fly, but their dogs were too large to fit in the plane’s cabin, and the couple didn’t want them to fly in the cargo hold.

So, they tried to find a reputable dog transport service. “It was really stressful,” Townley says. “We looked for weeks to find people we could rely on that offered a reasonable service at a reasonable price.”

They interviewed a couple of pet moving services, but after some quick internet sleuthing, they discovered horror stories. A dog died from heat exhaustion while in the care of one company they spoke to, and a driver for another was facing charges for causing a hit-and-run accident.

“It’s scary because, to us, our dogs are family,” Shear says. “I feel like we dodged a couple of bullets by taking the initiative to do some research.”

How do you find a trustworthy dog moving company? It’s essential first to understand how the system works.

The Rules of the Road

Anyone hired to transport, handle, or hold dogs in connection with their trip must register with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a carrier or handler. This includes large pet transportation services with multiple vehicles and employees as well as individual drivers with a van who operate their own pet moving companies.

However, the registration process doesn’t include animal or transport competency tests, criminal background searches, or driving history checks. Commercial driver’s licenses are not required; neither is knowing pet CPR, first aid, or having dog handling skills.

As part of the registration process, companies agree to obey the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which sets regulations and standards for transporting and handling dogs. There are rules about feeding, housing, sanitation, ensuring dogs have adequate and secure crates, proper ventilation, and common-sense procedures like keeping aggressive dogs away from other animals.

But animal welfare experts say they are concerned about gaps in the regulations. “They only require carriers to clean urine and feces once every 24 hours, provide water once every 12 hours, and there are no required rest (bathroom) breaks for dogs,” says Morgan Boutilier, an attorney with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Unless a transporter gets pulled over by police or a major problem occurs, like a breakdown or a sick dog, no one outside the company may know what happens during a road trip.

The rules do allow the USDA to conduct unannounced inspections of companies’ facilities and take action if the businesses violate the AWA. You can check a pet transporter’s inspection and violation history and verify they’re registered on the agency’s website.

Though the USDA accepts and investigates complaints about pet transportation services, the feds don’t post those complaints–or even the number of complaints a company has–online. To find that out, you must submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which can take 20 days to get a response and that response may not contain the information you need.

Growing Need for Safe Ground Dog Transport Services

Some in the pet transport business are calling for improvement in the industry, government regulation, and ways to make it easier for pet parents to find qualified movers to take their animals on the road.

“There are reputable companies, but the onus is on the individual that will be trusting their beloved pet family member to a transporter,” says Elizabeth Schuette, president and CEO of The Ark at JFK, a pet transportation company.

Schuette is also on the Animal Transportation Association (ATA) board of directors and a member of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA). Both professional organizations have standards and ongoing education for pet movers. IPATA has strict requirements for active members, including providing proof of their insurance, letters of recommendation, and taking a proficiency test.

But Schuette says she’d like trade groups to create special requirements and certifications specifically for companies transporting dogs by ground. These pet movers are in high demand because airlines are increasing restrictions on dogs flying in the cabin, and many dogs can’t tolerate flying in the cargo hold due to their breed (like brachycephalic dogs), behavior, health, and safety concerns.

“There’s a whole new business opportunity in ground transportation for pets, and it’s really a fledgling market,” Schuette says. “There’s a lot that goes into it and if you did engage a ground transporter, you could be confident that if they had these certifications, you were putting your dog in safe hands.”

Dog Transport Service Cost

If you do an internet search for pet transportation companies, you’ll see large and small businesses and brokers who offer your dog moving needs to different drivers who bid on giving your pup a lift.

Some movers use their own cars, others rent vehicles or mini-vans, and some have corporate fleets.

Many companies offer group or shared transports with other dogs. The price is often based on the size of your dog, their medical or behavioral needs, and length of the journey. Shared rides range from about $700 to $3000. Usually, these movers run weekly or monthly routes and pick up and drop off your dog along the way.

Some businesses offer private transport for your dog, which might cost from $1.75 to $3.00 or more per mile, depending on the services you request.

“If someone doesn’t want their dogs around other dogs, or they feel their dog is aggressive and can’t be with others, they ask us if we could just send an individual to pick up their dog and drive them,” says Mogeb Alomari, who owns Animal Logistics pet transport services.

Alomari’s company offers group and private rides. He drove Shear and Townley’s dogs across the country in the couple’s car as they flew to Massachusetts.

He tries to cater to his customers’ needs and offers relocation services for military members, rescue groups, breeders, and VIPs.

“We have athletes, we have celebrities, and usually their managers contact us and say, ‘During the off-season, they’re moving back to North Carolina,'” Alomari says. “I’d say that would cost anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 depending on how many dogs and what the client wants. Some say, ‘I want you to rent an Airbnb every night and stay with my dogs.’ So, we have to factor all this in.”

Is Your Dog Right for a Road Trip?

Before hiring any pet transporter, you need to ask yourself tough questions, starting with: Is your dog the transporting kind?

It’s important to be brutally honest with any mover you interview and tell them about your pooch’s quirks:

• Has your dog bitten or snapped at anyone? What were the circumstances?
• How does your dog react to being handled by strangers?
• Does your dog have health problems? Or anxiety?
• Does your dog get car sick?
• Is your dog fearful or a flight risk?
• How is your dog in a crate?
• Does your dog get along with other dogs?

You want to avert disaster and not put your dog or a driver at risk.

“We do a full evaluation of the client, a behavioral assessment of the dog, and make sure we have the right driver lined up to make the trip,” Alomari says. “There’s a lot that goes into making a trip successful.”

Before your dog goes on transport, they’ll need proof of a current rabies vaccination, an exam, and health certificate from a veterinarian.

Many transporters also recommend that dogs be up to date on parvo, distemper, leptospirosis, and kennel cough vaccinations. Your dog will be out of their usual environment and might be exposed to other animals during the trip, even stopping at rest areas to relieve themselves. Some states your dog travels through may also have specific vaccine requirements.

Make sure your dog is microchipped and your contact information with the chip company is up to date.

How to Choose a Pet Moving Service

To choose the right pet moving service, put on your pet detective hat and jump online. Ensure any company you consider is registered with the USDA and check out their violation history and inspection history. Google the company’s name and see what you can find. Search the Better Business Bureau’s website and even social media for complaints.

Check the ATA and IPATA listings of members who provide ground transport.

Once you contact a company, ask lots of questions. “Ask what their safety record is when it comes to driving? What is their contingency plan if a breakdown happens? Or their AC goes out? They need a plan in place. If someone says, ‘I can’t afford to fix this,’ or ‘I’ll call a tow truck,’ that’s what leads to disasters happening on the road with people’s pets,” Alomari says.

Other questions to ask a pet moving company:

• What kind of vehicle would be used for your dog’s trip?
• Is the vehicle climate-controlled?
• Is there a fire and CO detector in larger-sized vehicles or trailers?
• How often do they check on the dogs?
• How often do they offer dogs food and water?
• How often do they walk the dogs, and where?
• What dog-handling experience do the drivers have?
• What is the process for removing animals from their travel crate for relief purposes or an overnight stay?
• Is the transporter experienced in controlling that environment?
• How long is each driver behind the wheel?
• Where and when will the drivers sleep?
• Will the dogs ever be unattended?
• Do the handlers know dog CPR and first aid?
• What is the dog-to-handler ratio?
• Do they have liability insurance if something happens on the trip?

Shear and Townley hired Alomari to drive their dogs to Massachusetts only after an extensive interview process in which they asked many questions.

Emma and Skylar arrived safely on the East Coast the same day the couple’s flight landed. They say their dogs had the road trip of a lifetime traveling with Alomari and staying at hotels along the way.

They’re so relieved their story has a happy ending; they did their research, and trusted their instincts.

“The fact that anybody with a van can do this, whether or not they have the competency and the capacity to get your animals somewhere safely, means you have to do your homework,” Shear says. “It’s better to regret that you put too much time into the vetting than to regret that you did not.”

The post Hitting the Road: How to Choose a Dog Ground Transport Service appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

How to Tell How Old My Dog Is

When it comes to estimating how old a dog is, puppies are the easiest to age, because their bodies change in predictable ways on a monthly and even weekly basis. Adolescent dogs, usually recognizable by their lanky, slightly awkward appearance, are also fairly easy to guess ages for.

Adult and senior dogs are more difficult to determine age, both because there are fewer physical changes at these life stages and because different breeds and individual dogs can age at drastically different rates. For example, the average 10-year-old Chihuahua is in her prime, while the average 10-year-old Great Dane is geriatric.

Overall, there are five categories you can use to estimate your dog’s age: teeth, eyes, body condition, coat, and activity level.

How to Tell a Dog’s Age by Teeth

Here is a general timeline that most dogs’ teeth follow:

• Newborn puppies have no teeth.
• Sharp deciduous teeth (baby teeth) erupt between 2 and 8 weeks of age.
• Deciduous teeth start to fall out around 4 months old.
• By 6 or 7 months, all adult teeth are fully erupted and pearly white.
• 18 months to 2 years of age, the teeth start to show signs of wear and mild staining.
• Between 3 and 5 years, almost all dogs have some calculus buildup on the teeth.
• Between 5 and 10 years, teeth become more worn down.
• By 10 years of age, many dogs have significant calculus buildup and may show other signs of dental disease, including bad breath, gingivitis, and missing teeth.

Keep in mind that there are many things that can change how an individual dog’s teeth wear. Just like humans, some dogs are prone to building up plaque and calculus while others naturally retain healthy teeth (for example, Chihuahuas and Dachshunds are notorious for having nasty teeth even at a young age). Dental care such as feeding dental chews, brushing the teeth regularly with an enzymatic toothpaste, and periodic dental cleanings by a veterinarian will slow the progression of dental disease and give teeth a new lease on life.

Chronic chewers who like to gnaw on tennis balls, bones, rocks, or fences will wear their teeth down significantly faster than dogs who don’t do these things, and are also more likely to have broken and missing teeth.

How to Tell a Dog’s Age by Eyes

Very young puppies typically have a bluish cast to their irises which fades as they get older and their eyes turn to their adult color (usually a shade of brown, but sometimes true blue or other hues).

Young adult dogs will usually have clear, bright eyes and excellent vision both in bright light and in the dark.

Age-related changes to dogs’ eyes typically start around 7 years of age, but this can vary widely. Most dogs will develop changes in the lenses of the eyes which give the pupils a slightly hazy or cloudy appearance. This is called lenticular sclerosis, and will get more pronounced with age. Thankfully it does not significantly impact the dog’s vision.

Many senior dogs will start to show poorer vision at night and in poorly lit areas around 10-12 years old. This can be due to general aging changes in the eyes or due to a problem with the eyes.

While cataracts are most common in older dogs, they aren’t a great tool for determining how old a dog is since they can appear at any age. Juvenile cataracts are a hereditary disorder that causes puppies to develop cataracts. Most genetic cataracts show up later in life. Cataracts can also form after an injury of the eye or secondary to diabetes. Cataracts do impair vision, and can eventually cause complete blindness in one or both eyes. Small cataracts require a veterinarian or veterinary ophthalmologist to diagnose, but advanced cataracts will be clearly visible to the naked eye as white discs in the pupil.

How to Tell a Dog’s Age by Body Condition

Puppies under six months of age are typically very loosey-goosey and uncoordinated. If you look at an x-ray of these guys, there are huge gaps between their bones. These fill in over time as your puppy grows and produces more bone.

Adolescent dogs are more coordinated and have better stamina, but still typically have a lanky appearance. They are starting to develop muscles on the neck, chest, shoulders, and thighs, but mostly seem to grow longer and taller.

Growth plates can also help estimate how old a younger dog is. These typically close between 12 and 24 months of age depending on your dog’s breed(s) and size. Most medium-sized dogs will be fully grown at around 18 months of age, while toy breeds are closer to 12 months and giant breeds closer to 24 months. Your veterinarian can see on x-rays if your puppy’s growth plates have closed or if they are still open, indicating that she still has growing to do.

Adult dogs aged 2-8 years typically have good to excellent muscle tone and don’t change much physically unless ill or injured.

As a dog tips into being a senior between 8-12 years of age, she will gradually show muscle loss. This can become pronounced over time. The timing of these changes will depend on your dog’s breed, size, and how well her body was treated through life.

How to Tell a Dog’s Age by Coat

Puppies under 10 months of age usually have a soft, cottony puppy coat. Most breeds do a dramatic shed and coat change from 9-12 months where they start to grow in their adult coat (this is more pronounced in dogs with long or double coats).

Adolescents and young adults may have a rangier appearance, with their full adult coat coming in by 3 or 4 years of age. A healthy adult coat should be bright and vibrant, with texture varying by breed or mix.

Senior dogs often have a duller, more brittle coat.

Greying of the muzzle, head, and paws is another indication of age. However, some breeds, genetic lines, and even individual dogs will grey faster or slower than others. My dog who lived to almost 17 had barely any grey at all on her black face!

How to Tell a Dog’s Age by Activity Level

Puppies under about 8 months old typically play hard and then nap hard while adolescent dogs (7-24 months) are high energy, always wanting to play or do something new. They also can be very creative about entertaining themselves when bored.

The energy level of adult dogs will vary depending on your dog’s breed(s) and personality. In general, adult dogs are willing and able to engage in long walks or other activities with their people but can also settle for a rainy day on the couch. As a dog becomes a senior between 8 and 12 years of age, she will start to tire more easily and sleep more.

Genetic Age

If you are really curious about how old your rescue dog is, you can submit a genetic test!

Embark offers a Dog Age Test that uses a cheek swab to determine your dog’s approximate age and birthday. This test looks at the methylation of your dog’s DNA. Methylation is an epigenetic marker that changes predictably over time, allowing us to get a ballpark idea of when a dog was born.

There are also blood tests that measure the length of the telomeres on your dog’s chromosomes to determine approximate age. Telomeres are protective caps that get shorter as your dog ages.

None of these tests are exact, because individuals age at different rates based on their genetics, lifestyle, and life experiences. But they can be a fun way to get an idea of how old your dog is, especially if you are a science nerd!

The post How Old is My Dog? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Costume Parties for Dogs

Some dogs—Pugs, we’re looking at you—think dressing up is a blast, while others prefer to prance around in their birthday suit, or maybe a bandana if they’re feeling formal. The trick is to know where your dog falls on the costume continuum. Here’s what to consider when choosing Halloween costumes for dogs:

• Fit comes first. A happy Halloween dog needs to feel at ease in a costume. No matter how cute, avoid costumes that restrict vision, hearing, breathing, or movement. Skip costumes with buttons, bows, or fringe that can be chewed off and swallowed. Straps should be easily adjustable without catching on fur or dragging on the ground. A costume that glows in the dark or has reflective strips is a plus.
• Condition costume comfort. Don’t buy a costume the day before Halloween and expect your dog to take to it immediately. Start practicing putting it on a week or two beforehand, rewarding T-Rex or Twyla with treats and praise as you go and gradually increasing the length of time it stays on. Try it on them several times beforehand until getting it on is second nature for both of you by the time a party or pet costume parade rolls around.
• Watch for discomfort. Plenty of dogs love to strut their stuff in a costume, reveling in the attention it brings, but others aren’t fans, and it shows. Signs your dog isn’t having a good time include ears laid back, lowered head and tail, dilated pupils, and pawing to remove it. Don’t force the issue if your dog hates wearing a costume. That’s no fun for either of you. They’ll look just as cute in a pumpkin-themed bandana or even their own gorgeous fur coat.
• Photo op. Pets don’t have to wear costumes for long periods for you to get some great shots for social. Trade some treats for a short photo session and then let them go back to wearing their own fur suits.

What About Your Own Costume?

Your dog may be weirded out if you suddenly appear as Beetlejuice or Wednesday Addams. Let them watch you put on and take off the costume a couple of times—give treats as you do so—and become used to seeing you walk around the house in your new guise, especially if it involves a mask. My dog Harper freaked out every time I put on a mask, even one of those half masks on a stick, so if your dog doesn’t like masks either, try offering favorite treats or toys while wearing one to help develop a pleasant association with it, avoid staring at your pet while wearing it, or don’t wear it in their presence.

Dogs and Spooky Décor

Halloween is a great opportunity to practice conditioning your dog to giant inflatable decorations—because they’ll show up again in November and December. Other elements of spooky season your dog should become accustomed to are strobe lights, jack-o-lanterns, hanging decorations, glow-in-the-dark skulls, and electronic voices that emanate from scary figures when people—or dogs—walk by.

Hand out a favorite treat, toss a ball, or offer a game of tug as you introduce your dog to the new items in the home or yard. When puppy Harper was wary of approaching a large stack of trash bags containing grass cuttings, I sat on them, talked to her calmly, and tossed treats until she was ready to approach on her own. You can do something similar with a large inflatable or hanging figure. Don’t startle your dog by unexpectedly inflating it or dropping it down from a tree.

Gradually introduce other decorative items and use the same techniques to accustom your dog to their presence. Most dogs will adjust quickly after initially startling at the new object, but if they don’t, be patient in conditioning them.

Halloween Dog Safety Tips

Sweets, trick or treating, Houdini escapes, and candle flames are just a few of the Halloween hazards dogs face. Here are some Halloween pet safety tips to keep in mind:

Keep your dog choco-lonely. Most of us know that chocolate can have adverse effects on dogs. Gorging on candy, chocolate or otherwise, isn’t good for them. To avoid a canine bellyache, vomiting, diarrhea, or worse, place all candy well out of reach, even if your dog is a good boy or girl who would never! Sweets can tempt anyone beyond all reason.

Dogs who do find candy often swallow it whole, wrappers and all. If you’re lucky, they’ll just poop out gold foil for a few days, but wrappers can serve as linear foreign bodies that may block or damage the intestinal tract, causing serious problems that require surgical intervention. Be aware of signs of obstruction which include:

• Vomiting (abdominal heaving and production of partially digested food or other matter, often associated with obstruction of stomach or small intestine)
• Regurgitation (food isn’t swallowed and rolls back out of the mouth—seen with esophageal obstruction)
• Diarrhea
• Lethargy (listless, doesn’t seem to feel well)
• Appetite loss (especially in dogs who normally love to eat)

Read labels or ask about ingredients, even on foods that might seem harmless. Some candy, mints, gum, and peanut butter, along with sugar-free cookies, cakes, or other baked goods may contain a sugar substitute called xylitol (also seen on labels as birch sugar). It’s great for people who can’t have sugar, but deadly to dogs, causing a dangerous drop in blood glucose levels. Take dogs to the veterinarian or pet ER immediately if they eat anything containing xylitol.

Dogs may also try to snack on decorations such as fake eyeballs, cobwebs, glow sticks, and potpourri, to name just a few. If you have a dog whose mission in life is to taste-test everything they come across, place these items judiciously. All can pose a risk to your dog if ingested.

Having a party? Set out a bowl of pet-friendly treats for guests to give. Ask them to stick to those and not give your dog anything else.

Prevent escapes. After Independence Day, Halloween is the second most common time of year for pets to escape their homes. And that’s not surprising, given the number of times doors open and close for trick-or-treaters. Consider setting up a treat station in the yard so your dog doesn’t have a chance to slip out the door. You can also place a pet gate at the front door to prevent your dog from running out. Keep a bowl of small dog treats nearby, too, so you can reward your dog for good behavior when people are at the door.

Taking dogs trick-or-treating with the kids can be a fun twist on their regular walk, but it’s an opportunity for them to run off if they’re startled by a gaggle of ghosties and ghoulies. Be sure they have a good recall and are wearing a reflective vest or flashing collar or leash, as well as their normal identification tags and a microchip. Also consider going earlier in the evening, while there’s still some light.

Not all dogs are social animals or enjoy the sight of strange and wonderful beings—i.e., trick-or-treaters. If costumed revelers coming to the door are likely to make your dog howl in fear, set them up in an interior room away from the commotion with some treats and a favorite chew toy.

Fun Halloween Activities With Dogs

Besides putting them in costume, taking dogs trick-or-treating with you and the kids, or having them as costumed sidekicks at the door while you hand out candy, there are other fun ways to include dogs in the holiday. You can:

• Visit a pumpkin patch.
• Participate in a pet costume parade or contest if your dog has nice manners and enjoys attention.
• Make homemade pumpkin dog treats.
• Play treat hide and seek, placing treats around the house for your pet to find.
• Share slices of apple spread with peanut butter, squeeze cheese, or plain yogurt.
• Bob for treats.

Finally, if neither of you are fans of Halloween happenings, there’s nothing wrong with turning out the lights, snuggling on the sofa together, bowl of popcorn at hand, and streaming Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and Hotel Transylvania.

The post Halloween Pet Safety appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

While the cost of dog ownership can vary significantly depending on factors such as the dog’s breed, size, age, and lifestyle, there are various expenses associated with owning a dog you can anticipate, helping you make an informed decision about how and what dog you add to your family.

“Prospective dog owners should prepare for both initial and ongoing monthly expenses when budgeting for dog ownership. Plan for an initial budget of approximately $400 to over $4,000, depending on whether you adopt or purchase a dog from breeder,” says Dr. Bethany Hsia, a veterinarian and co-founder of CodaPet, a startup that supports a network of veterinarians providing at-home end-of-life pet care services.

“On a recurring monthly basis, a pet parent can expect costs of about $100 to over $400, factoring in food, basic veterinary care, grooming, training, insurance and potential pet sitting/boarding services,” says Dr. Hsia.

While we recommend pet insurance, as the cost of veterinary services is high and getting higher, at the very least you should, “set aside an emergency fund specifically for unexpected veterinary expenses that could arise due to accidents or illnesses,” says Dr. Hsia.

Initial Costs for Dog Owners

Adoption and breeder fees can vary greatly depending on the breed and the path you take. Adoption fees at shelters can range from $50 to $500, while purebred puppies from reputable breeders can cost anywhere from $1,500 to over $10,000.

Spaying and neutering costs typically ranging from $100 to $500, depending on your location and the sex of your dog. If you adopt a dog, many of these expenses may have been paid by the original owner or are covered by the shelter or rescue organization.

Additional starting costs include:

• Initial veterinary check-up and vaccinations. Plan on spending $200 to $400 for the first vet visit, which will include a checkup and essential vaccinations like rabies, distemper, parvovirus, and bordetella. Microchipping your dog is a vital safety measure and typically costs $50 to $75. Again, if you are adopting, some of those expenses may be covered.
• Basic supplies. A dog bed, water and food bowls, toys, a leash and collar, and a crate or kennel are $150 to $550. Basic supplies such as a dog bed can range from $30 to $150, water bowls run $10 to $30, toys cost $10 to $50, a leash and collar can range from $20 to $40, and a crate will cost $50 to $250.

Monthly Costs of Owning a Dog

Average monthly costs can be tough to estimate. They certainly include a veterinarian, food, and preventative medications, training. Depending on you, however, there can be a lot more on the monthly tab. Consider:

• Veterinary care. Routine veterinary care (regular check-ups, vaccinations) average about $200 to $400 annually or approximately $17 to $33 monthly. Unexpected health issues can dramatically increase this cost. Consider pet insurance for your dog, which can help offset these costs. Costs will vary depending on your dog’s breed, age, and overall health.
• Choosing high-quality food appropriate for your dog’s breed, age, and activity level is essential. Expect to spend anywhere from $30 to $100 per month on dog food, depending on the size and breed of your dog.
• Preventative medications. Heartworm prevention medication and flea and tick control are essential to keep your dog healthy. These medications typically cost $50-$100 per month.
• Investing in obedience training can lead to a happier and more well-adjusted dog. Group classes typically cost $50 to $100 per session, while private training can cost between $100 to $200 for a series of training sessions, with ongoing training or behavior consultations potentially adding another monthly expense of around $20 to $100.
• Costs depend on the breed; basic grooming services can range from $30 to $90 every four to eight weeks, totaling about $15 to $45 monthly.
• Pet insurance. Pet insurance premiums typically range from $20 to over $100 per month depending on coverage levels and the dog’s age and breed. The sooner you insure your dog, the better.
• Pet sitters or boarding. If you travel frequently or live alone without family in the area, pet sitting services can cost around $25 to $50 per day, while boarding facilities may charge between $30 to $100 per night.

Life With Dogs Happens

While it’s impossible to pinpoint the precise monthly and annual costs of owning a dog, according to an often-cited study of 1,200 pets owners and 100 veterinarians by Synchrony, the yearly cost of dog ownership is between $1,270 and $2,803 with lifetime cost of caring for a dog between $20,000 to $55,000.

Life happens, and our pets are a part of our lives. Unexpected illnesses or injuries can quickly lead to hefty vet bills.

While the financial responsibility is significant, the rewards of dog ownership are immeasurable. The companionship and joy a dog bring can enrich your life in countless ways. You can’t put a price on unconditional love.

The post How Much Does It Cost to Own a Dog? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

And science is catching up to what we experience every day! Studies prove that dogs can understand our words and facial expressions. Some of this understanding is learned over time through life experience or intentional training, but some of it is innate.

Exactly how much dogs understand what we say and do can be difficult to measure, but we are starting to see more complex studies that are looking at how dogs interpret more abstract concepts, and even how they can learn to use language to “talk” back to us.

Can Dogs Understand Humans?

Absolutely. Dogs definitely learn the meaning of individual words and phrases (such as objects, names of people or other pets, and verbal cues that indicate a behavior or action), and understand our tone, facial expressions, and body language such as pointing.

For example, pointing at a toy and saying, “Get it!” uses several different types of communication. Your dog has likely already been taught that “get it” means to grab a toy and bring it to you. The presence of a toy in the room backs up that understanding, and by pointing, you are indicating which toy you want retrieved.

Most of our communication with our dogs is made up of these mixed-media interactions. Over time, this can develop into a unique “language” shared only between you and your dog—your unique relationship with your dog, from your experiences together to your knowledge of her breed and upbringing, all come together to form the human-animal bond and your ability to communicate with each other.

While there is overlap between many dog-human pairs, there are also things that only make sense to specific duos. For example, many dogs have been taught the cue “sit.” If you walk up to a strange dog and say, “Sit,” the dog will probably respond in kind. But your dog may also know something that other dogs don’t. For example, my dog has learned that three taps means to move to a different spot on the bed. If I tapped a strange dog, odds are he would think I didn’t know how to pet properly.

And it isn’t just context that allows our dogs to understand what we are saying. One study looked an MRI imaging of dogs’ brains when they were shown an object and a person said either the name of the object or something else (for example, held up a ball but said, “bowl”). The same parts of the brain lit up in dogs when shown a mismatched pair as happens with humans! The dogs clearly recognized when a familiar object was paired with the wrong but still familiar word.

Talking Buttons for Dogs

The development of talking buttons has been a fun evolution in how dogs understand humans and communicate back. The idea originally came from a series of buttons used to help children learn language.

You can teach your dog a word or phrase, and then record it onto a button and teach the dog to press the button. For example, your dog might press, “Outside,” when she needs to go out to pee. Or she might press, “Hungry” to request a treat.

Talking buttons have become popular all over the world, and some dogs have made amazing connections when communicating with their people. As dogs learn more words, their people add additional buttons to their boards.

A study just published in August 2024 used button boards to show that dogs know the meaning of the words without any context clues being given. For example, many of us ask our dogs if they want to go for a walk as we stand up and head for the door. Our dogs could be responding to the word “walk,” but could also just be responding to our body language indicating that we are heading outside and want the dog to come with. This study broke that down.

For the study, each dog’s button boards were covered so the experimenter didn’t know which one they were pressing. The experimenter then pressed a button and stayed still, while a second experimenter recorded what the dog did in response. The dogs responded appropriately to both words that indicated playtime (by grabbing a toy) or going outside (headed toward the door).

Do as I Do

Another innovative means of communicating with your dog is the “Do as I Do” method. Trainers who use Do as I Do teach their dogs to mimic their movements. This is called social learning because the dog is learning to perform a behavior by watching their person do it first.

Researchers in Italy have done several studies with dogs trained to Do as I Do, including one that compared how quickly and well dogs learned a new task through either shaping (clicker training) or Do as I Do. The task for this study was opening the sliding door of a cabinet. Handlers using shaping would gradually shape the dog to touch and then move the cabinet door, while the handlers using Do as I Do would demonstrate opening the door and then ask the dogs to, “Do it!” The dogs who knew Do as I Do were able to master the behavior faster, and had good memory of how to do it 24 hours later, even in a new location.

Limitations of Speech When Communicating With Dogs

While dogs can understand humans to a point, there are limits. Once we get into full sentences and abstract concepts, things seem to break down for our canine companions.

Dogs have been shown to know the difference between a familiar spoken language and nonsense words, and the difference between different languages. A few dogs can learn basic syntax, or the arrangement of words to change meaning. For example, your dog may be able to understand instructions like, “Take the ball to Peter,” or “Bring the elephant to the chair.”

Another concept that dogs seem to struggle with is learning the name of something that they can’t see by observing a human talking about it. A small trial with four dogs placed different toys in buckets so that the dogs couldn’t see them, and then each dog’s owner looked in a bucket and said the name of the item several times. Then the buckets were dumped so the dogs could see all of the toys briefly. The toys were then placed in another room and the dogs were asked to fetch the named toy. It didn’t go particularly well, though one dog may have been figuring out the game.

So while your dog probably won’t be debating philosophy with you any time soon, some genius pups may understand a little more than the average dog.

How Many Words Do Dogs Understand?

We don’t have any controlled studies evaluating how many words dogs can learn, but we do have lots of anecdotal reports. You have probably heard of Rico the Border Collie who knew over 200 words, and Chaser the Border Collie who knew over 1000 words!

Researchers collected information on how many words people’s dogs knew via an online survey. This study found that on average, dogs know the meaning of 89 words. Owners who participated in the study felt that their dogs understood at least 15 words, with the most accomplished dog in the group knowing 215 words. Herding breed dogs (like those overachieving Border Collies) and toy-companion breeds generally had the most extensive vocabularies.

Body Language is Where It’s At

Dog language is mostly made up of body language. And they read our body language very well.

Dogs understand human facial expressions quite well, especially the basics of a friendly expression versus an angry or threatening one. The more time a dog spends interacting with humans, the better she gets at reading emotional expressions. Dogs are especially good at reading the faces of people they know well, but they can also read other people’s expressions. Even free-roaming stray dogs read human expressions and then use that information to make decisions.

As well as expressions, dogs also understand our posture and many of our gestures, like pointing.

Unfortunately, humans are not as good at reading dog body language. Countless videos online show dogs giving signals that they are uncomfortable, and the humans continuing what they were doing anyway. In many cases the person is hugging the dog or petting her too forcefully.

Some dogs do come to enjoy hugs from their owners and close human friends, but many dogs do not understand nor enjoy this type of contact. Consider how you would feel if a stranger just walked up to you and hugged you tight. You would probably feel confused, stressed, and trapped. The dog only gets more distressed when her signals of being nervous are ignored.

Dogs show many of the same signs of stress as we do—tense posture, dilated pupils, rapid breathing, and either extreme stillness or constant fidgeting. A happy, relaxed dog, on the other hand, will show loose body posture and a happy wagging tail.

Other Ways to Communicate With Your Dog

Use your imagination to come up with other ways to communicate with your dog—and vice versa!

Most of my dogs ask to come back inside from the yard by barking. But my youngest dog, Bruni, preferred to smash the door. To save both her growing elbows and my door, I taught her to press a doorbell at dog nose height to ask to come in. Now I can get things done in the house while she plays outside, and then when she’s ready to come in, she rings her doorbell.

As our dogs age, we may need to come up with ways other than spoken words to communicate. When I start to notice signs of hearing loss in my older dogs, I start teaching them to come to a blinking light. When the dogs are out in the yard at bedtime, I flick the lights three times, then call them in. This basic pairing teaches the dog that flicking lights equals “come.” By the time my senior dog’s hearing is gone completely, she already understands the light system to call her in.

And don’t overlook body language and signals. The “slow blink” is a well-know calming signal for dogs. If your dog seems a little stressed and you want to reassure her, make eye contact and then slowly blink. This signals to her that everything is okay and you are relaxed enough to take your eyes off the situation. When working with a stressed dog who doesn’t know you, you can make her feel more at ease by angling your body to the side and making sure your posture is loose. This helps her to feel less pressure and less threatened.

Bottom Line

Dogs really can understand humans quite a bit, from body language and facial expressions to words and phrases and our vocal tones. But while a few talented dogs may learn to understand some more complex syntax, most dogs tap out when you get to complete sentences and abstract concepts.

The post How Much Do Dogs Understand Humans? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Fast CAT–short for fast coursing ability test–can be an excellent activity for dogs like Dashi who love the act of chasing, and it’s an extremely beginner-friendly dog sport that doesn’t require much training. If your pup is obsessed with the flirt pole or just needs an appropriate outlet for their prey drive, look into trying AKC Fast CAT.

What is Fast CAT?

At its core, Fast CAT is a type of lure coursing sport. During Fast CAT tests, dogs run a timed 100-meter dash chasing a lure (a plastic bag or other piece of plastic) on a moving line down a fenced-in course. Dogs are released by one person at the beginning of the course and caught at the end of the course by another. They accumulate points towards titles based on a formula that takes into account the dog’s height and speed, and even get ranked against other dogs in their breed.

How to Get Started in AKC Fast CAT

Fast CAT has the fewest barriers to entry of almost any dog sport. As an instinct-based sport, many dogs who like to chase will be able to enter an event and start accumulating points and titles with little to no practice. There are just a few rules all participants must follow:

• Your dog must have an AKC registration number, or if your dog is a mixed-breed, an AKC PAL number.
• Your dog must be over 12 months of age to do an official run. Some clubs will allow puppy bumps (a shortened course length) or fun runs for younger dogs, but these don’t count towards title points.
• Your dog must be physically sound. Fast CAT organizers will have you trot your dog down and back when you check into a test to make sure your dog isn’t limping and is moving normally.
• If you have an intact female, she can’t be in heat at the time of the run. Fast CAT organizers will ask you to do a “tissue test” wipe when checking in to make sure your bitch isn’t in season.

How to Find and Enter Fast CAT Events

The easiest way to find Fast CAT tests near you is to use the AKC Event Search tool. Once you’re on the event search page, just click on “performance events”, then select Fast CAT. You can then filter upcoming events by date, state, and more criteria. Once you’ve found an event you’re interested in, click on “View Complete Event Details,” and you’ll get information like the host club’s website, the event chair, the Fast CAT contact person, and more.

AKC’s Event Search doesn’t always give you a direct link to enter Fast CAT tests. You’ll sometimes need to do some extra digging to find the actual event through a club website, or you may need to email the contact person listed for more information. In addition to AKC Event Search, joining Facebook groups related to dog sports can be a good way to find out about upcoming Fast CAT tests. Fast CAT is often held in conjunction with all-breed dog shows too, so check out the premium lists of any upcoming dog shows in your area to see if Fast CAT will be offered.

Many Fast CAT organizers offer discounted pre-entry if you register for runs ahead of time. In terms of cost, fun runs or puppy bumps are usually around $10, and pre-registration for real runs can run between $20-$35 per run depending on the area and the lure operator. Day-of registration is sometimes available too but is often more expensive than the pre-registration cost.

Tips for Your First Fast CAT Event

If you know someone who can release your dog for you at the start line, ask them to come along! Oftentimes, it’s recommended that the dog’s owner be the one to catch them at the end of a Fast CAT run, so they sprint fast to get to you. Event staff usually have an extra person on hand to help release dogs, but if your dog isn’t comfortable with strangers handling them, it may be less stressful to have someone they know release them.

The Fast CAT environment can be overstimulating for some dogs. Many dogs bark and get over excited when they see the lure, so it’s best to wait for your dog’s turn away from the actual course. It’s a good idea to bring a crate and some kind of crate cover so you can give your dog some space away from the commotion.

Lastly, make sure to warm your dog up before her run! You wouldn’t want to do a 100-meter dash right after waking up from a nap, so walk your dog around, jog a bit, or do some canine conditioning exercises to get her ready to run her fastest.

How to Calculate Fast CAT Points

Once your dog has run her first Fast CAT dash, you’ll probably want to see how fast she ran and how many points she earned. To get the miles per hour calculation, divide 204.54 by your dog’s run time. To calculate points, multiply that number by your dog’s handicap. Handicap depends on height and is intended to even the playing field for dogs of all sizes. For dogs under 12” at the withers, the handicap is 2, for dogs between 12” and 18”, the handicap is 1.5. Sorry large dogs, any dog over 18” at the shoulder has a handicap of 1, meaning their score won’t change due to their height.

For example, my Collie’s most recent run time was 9.72 seconds. When I divide 204.54 by 9.74, I get 21.04, which is her MPH. She’s over 18” at the shoulder, so I’ll multiply that by 1, which leaves me with the same number. That means she earned 21.04 points for her 9.72 second run.

Once your dog starts accumulating points, you can aim to start collecting titles (which often come with fun ribbons and rosettes). Here’s the lineup of Fast CAT titles and the respective points needed to achieve them:

• BCAT: 150 points
• DCAT: 500 points
• FCAT: 1000 points

FCAT2, FCAT 3, etc: Dogs can gain additional FCAT levels with every additional 500 points earned

The post How To Get Started in Fast CAT, the Best Sport for Speedy Dogs appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

My husband and I recently put into play a longstanding plan to spend several months exploring Europe—and of course that meant taking our dog Sparkles along. Here’s what we learned about how to travel with a dog internationally, from planning to pitfalls, and how to avoid the latter. It’s not easy or inexpensive, but if you’re planning to stay for more than a month or to make a permanent move, it’s worth the effort.

Before you make travel reservations and start packing your bags, take into account the following 9 factors:

• Destination(s) and how to get there
• Size of dog and carrier
• Pet travel documents
• Packing for your pet
• Food and medication
• Where to stay
• Dog-friendly activities
• Finding a pet sitter when necessary
• Getting back home

Doing research ahead of time, especially on the first four items, will save you a lot of anxiety and, potentially, money.

I See London, I See France

Where you’re going plays a huge role in determining your mode of travel. If you’ve been dreaming of taking your dog to Great Britain and have heard that there’s no longer a six-month quarantine, that doesn’t mean that taking your dog there will be a walk in Hyde Park. Britain has strict guidelines for pet entry. On flights to the United Kingdom, pets may not fly in the cabin but must be transported in cargo. The only exceptions are specific types of assistance or service dogs. (Those requirements aren’t addressed in this article, but more information is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/travel-with-assistance-dogs-transport-companies-and-routes.)

You can only enter the UK directly with your dog if you’re traveling by private jet, including pet-friendly carriers such as Bark Air, or crossing the pond on the ocean liner Queen Mary 2, which has popular pet kennels that are generally booked a year or more in advance.

Start planning now if an Atlantic crossing is the way you want to go. Even though I knew our timeline wouldn’t allow for it, I looked into it just to see how it works. Travelers must reserve a cabin for a specific date first and then call to see if a pet kennel is available. If not, they’ll be placed on a waiting list and contacted when a spot is available. Flexibility is essential. Getting a pet spot can take up to two years or it can happen very quickly if someone cancels a reservation.

How to Travel With a Dog By Plane

Unless you have a NetJets membership, private jet charters are usually put together with a group of other pet lovers who also want to get to the UK or other destinations without flying their pets in cargo. To find potential charters, usually to the EU or UK, look for Facebook groups such as Chartered Air Travel With Pets. Finding the right charter that works for your destination and dog, not to mention budget, can take months of planning.

Bark Air has a regular schedule of flights to London and Paris and is planning to add other European destinations. It’s pricey, with flights from $8,000 and up each way, but there are no limitations on dog size. (They fly cats, too, if they’re in a carrier and vouched for by an accompanying dog.) Luggage weight is limited, so if you’re a couple or larger family planning a long stay, it makes sense for one person and pets to fly Bark Air or another charter flight, while the others fly commercial with the remaining bags.

For most people, including us, the easiest and most cost-effective way to take a small dog to the UK is to take a commercial flight to France, the Netherlands, or the Republic of Ireland—an EU member—with dog in cabin and then take a ferry or use a pet transport service through the Channel Tunnel, nicknamed the Chunnel.

Size Matters When Travelling With a Dog

Once you make your own flight reservations, call immediately to make one for your dog as well.

Most commercial airlines limit the number of pets on board per flight as well as the animals’ size and weight. Pet fees range from $100 to $200 or more each way and sometimes each leg.

At 13 pounds, Sparkles is well under most airline pet weight limits. Air France limits in-cabin dogs to 8 kilograms, or 17.6 pounds. On American Airlines, the combined weight of carrier and pet can’t exceed 20 pounds. Delta recommends checking aircraft dimensions to make sure a carrier will fit comfortably beneath the seat in front of you. They suggest maximum dimensions of 18 inches by 11 inches by 11 inches, which work for most aircraft types. A soft-sided carrier can be compacted on the top and sides to ensure a fit.

Whatever airline you choose, get weight and carrier size requirements directly from its website, not from blogs or random Facebook commenters. Print a copy, bring it with you, and document any phone conversations beforehand with airline employees in case there’s an issue at check-in.

Airlines require that dogs be able to comfortably stand up and turn around inside the closed carrier. Sparkles was happy to do that at home with the enticement of a treat. Fortunately, she didn’t have to demonstrate at check-in. In 20-plus years of flying with Cavaliers, we’ve never had a gate agent ask to weigh a dog or measure a carrier, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

We flew Air Canada from Los Angeles via Montreal to Toulouse, France, and expected to be in premium economy, but their planes aren’t configured to allow pet carriers in that section, so we upgraded to business class. Even that had drawbacks. With Sparkles in a carrier at my feet, it wasn’t possible to recline the seat very much and a shelf underneath the seat in front of me meant that her soft-sided carrier tended to slide forward on takeoff or whenever she moved inside it. Dogs are supposed to remain in the carrier during the entire flight, but overnight, flight attendants turned a blind eye to it being open so she could spread out more.

Documents Needed for Travelling Internationally With Your Dog

Pets need passports, too. Find requirements for specific countries at the website for the USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service. Use the dropdown menu at the bottom of the page to select your destination and determine what your dog needs to obtain a health certificate for travel. Minimum requirements are an up-to-date rabies vaccination given at least 21 days prior to travel and a 15-digit ISO-compatible microchip for identification. Some countries such as Japan require additional testing, such as bloodwork for a rabies titer test, plus a seven-month waiting period before the dog can enter the country.

The health certificate paperwork must be completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by the USDA within 10 days of travel. You can find a list of accredited veterinarians in your area on the APHIS website. Completed health certificates can be submitted to the USDA online or overnighted via Federal Express or UPS. Include an overnight return envelope to get the health certificate returned quickly in time for your trip.

If you are sending the completed paperwork to the USDA, don’t forget to include the printed rabies certificate (even though the vaccination is documented on the paperwork the veterinarian has completed) and the USDA fee of $38 to endorse the health certificate. We didn’t realize the rabies certificate needed to be included or that there was an additional fee, and it caused us an anxious couple of days as we worked with the USDA representative to get the certificate and payment to them. We were fortunate they alerted us immediately that our package wasn’t complete.

Fees for completing the health certificate can range from $30 to $50 (plus the normal cost of the veterinary visit/exam) to $750 or more. We paid $360 for Sparkles’ health certificate. Join Facebook groups such as Animal Health Certificates, Traveling With Dogs, or Travelling With Dogs in Europe/The United Kingdom to get an idea of how much fees can vary and recommendations for veterinarians who charge reasonable rates.

Bear in mind that if you are traveling to the EU and then plan to go to the UK, as we did, you will need to get an EU pet passport once you arrive in an EU country or get health certificates for both the EU and the UK and travel to the UK within 10 days from the date your dog’s health certificate is endorsed.

An EU pet passport makes it easier to travel with your dog between the EU and the UK, but it’s not always easy to get. Veterinarians in some countries such as Ireland and Belgium tend to be more willing than others to provide them. Those in France, Spain, and Portugal may require you to have an in-country address. We were fortunate to find one in France who did not make that a requirement, but we were prepared to drive to Belgium if necessary. If I had realized sooner that Ireland was an option, we might have gone that route. To find a French veterinarian, Google, Google Translate, and email were my friends.

Le Pet Express, the pet transport company we used to get from Calais, France, to the UK was invaluable in reviewing the pet passport to make sure it had been completed, dated, and stamped correctly by the veterinarian. We sent photos of the passport pages and they responded quickly as to whether they would pass inspection at the border. We had to have it redone before they were satisfied, resulting in a smooth experience. On the plus side, the veterinary fees were reasonable: $65 for the exam and passport, plus another $18 to redo the passport.

The final veterinary hurdle was a tapeworm (echinococcus) treatment required by the UK before Sparkles could enter. It had to be administered by a veterinarian at least 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before arrival and recorded in the pet passport or animal health certificate.

What to Pack for Your Dog

Here are the basics:

• Food, treats and medication
• A soft mat for a bed
• Comb, brush or other necessary grooming tools
• Poop bags
• Wipes for cleaning
• Copies of your dog’s prescriptions

We bring a sheet to throw over furniture. Sparkles isn’t into toys, but your dog may have a favorite that should come along. Since we were going to have a car, we also brought her stroller for hot days, crowded areas, or very long walks, and her Sleepypod car seat.

As far as food, we learned during our research that importing meat-based pet food into the EU or UK was not permitted, but fish-based food was okay. Now, nobody checked Sparkles’ suitcase (yes, she had her own) to see what was in it, but to be on the safe side, we switched her to a fish-based food a month or so before departure. Once we arrived, we searched pet supply stores for foods that were similar to the freeze-dried, turkey-based food she had been eating at home. We found an assortment, especially in the UK, and she readily ate what was provided without any stomach upset.

Dog-Friendly Lodging, Restaurants, and Activities

Whether you’re staying in hotels or homes, it’s easy to find pet-friendly lodging using website filters. Always confirm before you commit.

It’s almost impossible to find restaurants that don’t allow pets, although there are a few. Sparkles went with us for dim sum in Bordeaux, traditional French in St. Emilion, and pubs in the UK. Like most of the other dogs we saw, she hung out beneath the table, sleeping or watching the passing parade. (Okay, we sneaked bites to her once in a while.)

You won’t be able to take your dog inside museums or stately homes or chateaux, but the grounds are often dog friendly. We take turns going inside, with the other person walking Sparkles or hanging out at a café with a coffee or glass of wine. Our best day was at Marble Hill, just outside London, which had vast lawns and river paths where dogs could safely walk and play off leash.

On occasion, you may need a pet sitter. When we were going to be gone all day on a tour of World War II sites in Normandy, we checked Rover to find a local pet sitter. If that hadn’t worked out, I would have skipped the tour and explored Bayeux on my own with Sparkles.

Getting Your Dog Back Home

Just before we flew to France, the Centers for Disease Control changed the entry requirements for pets returning to the United States. If you have been only in rabies-free or low-risk areas like EU member countries and the UK, complete a free Dog Import Form online. The emailed receipt can be stored on your phone. Present it on return if asked for it. You can find out more on the CDC’s website.

Bon voyage!

The post Traveling Internationally With Your Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

The Austin, Texas, couple are foster superheroes—they’ve given a temporary home to more than 552 dogs in need. Their animal rescue journey started 12 years ago when Amy saw a desperate social media plea from a nearby shelter begging for fosters.

“The shelter was overflowing with dogs,” Aaron says. “They were going to have to start euthanizing for space purposes. We love our dogs so much that Amy said, ‘We need to save a life.'”

Amy drove to the shelter and returned with Molly, a kind-eyed, floppy-eared, quite adorable Shepherd mix. “Molly was already in the euthanasia room when Amy got her out,” Aaron says.

Fostering is one way to help during the current animal shelter crisis. By taking a dog out of a shelter and fostering, you may even save another dog’s life by freeing up kennel space in a facility.

Since Molly, the Gelfands have fostered senior and adult dogs and specialize in helping pregnant dogs and caring for puppies.

“If we didn’t foster, another 40 to 70 dogs and puppies would die every year because that is what comes through our house on average,” Aaron says. “Texas shelters are always in crisis.”

Nationwide Animal Shelter Crisis

Typically, Texas shelters are always jam-packed, but right now, the Lone Star State facilities aren’t the only ones in crisis. A perfect storm has hit the animal rescue world, and many shelters nationwide are bursting at the seams.

“We’re way over the normal capacity we’ve seen in the past,” says Nina Thompson, director of public relations at the San Diego Humane Society. “We have a large amount of dogs coming in who are stray and not being picked up by their owners.”

Best Friends Animal Society says that more than 207,000 adoptable shelter dogs were euthanized last year. Some shelters have lines of people stretching down the block to surrender their dogs; other facilities are so full they’re turning away animals.

Experts all have theories about why: the rising cost of food, supplies, and veterinary care, the housing crisis, a lack of pet-friendly rental homes, and families who adopted pandemic pups and now don’t have time for a dog.

On top of all of this, adoption rates plummeted.

“When adoptions are slow, shelters fill up,” says Brent Toellner, senior director of lifesaving programs at Best Friends Animal Society.

According to Best Friends, in 2023, nearly 2.5 million dogs in the U.S. ended up in animal shelters, the highest number in the last few years.

“Some shelter staffs are struggling because they’re having to unnecessarily kill dogs and cats on a regular basis due to lack of space,” Toellner says. “Nobody gets into animal welfare because they want to kill healthy animals, yet that’s where a lot of shelters are right now.”

How to Help with the Animal Shelter Crisis

You can also be a lifesaving superhero by simply volunteering for an animal welfare organization. You can work in person or remotely from your laptop. “Different people have different skills,” Aaron says. “The thing to remember is shelters and rescues need help.”

Here are just some of the ways you can get involved:

Driving Dogs

The Gelfands are also volunteer rescue transporters. They pick dogs up from shelters and drive them to animal hospitals or other foster homes.

Flying Dogs

Many private pilots fly dogs from a shelter in one area to another region or even across the country, where a rescue group, adopter, or foster parent is waiting to give the pups a second chance.

Volunteering for a Shelter

There are many potential roles at most animal shelters, like walking dogs, cleaning kennels, taking cute pictures of dogs, writing their adoption bios, or greeting visitors. “Having someone to tell adopters what the process is or help introduce dogs to people are great volunteer opportunities,” Toellner says.

Volunteering for a Rescue

Contact local rescue groups and ask what help they need. Adoption coordinators are one example of a popular rescue (and shelter) role. These matchmakers work with adopters to pair them with a dog they hopefully fall in love with.

Spending Quality Time on Social Media

If you’re a social media whiz, use your skills to save lives. Shelters and rescues need volunteers to make cute videos and posts of dogs. “Even sharing an adoption profile on your social media pages might reach a different audience and end with an adoption,” Thompson says.

Fundraising

There likely isn’t a shelter or rescue that couldn’t use more donations. Food, supplies, and money are the keys to keeping the doors open. Organizations need savvy volunteers to help them apply for grants or hold in-person and online fundraisers.

Donating

Have some extra cash you’d like to give to a good cause? Find a shelter or rescue group whose work impresses you or a dog with medical needs that speaks to your heart and donate. Veterinary care is one of the most significant expenses organizations face. If you give to a nonprofit organization, donations are tax-deductible. (Depending on your tax situation.)

Starting a Pet Food Bank

Work with your community to organize and encourage people to donate pet food and supplies to dog and cat parents struggling to feed and care for their animals. This might also help keep pets from being surrendered to shelters. Check to see if an existing pet food bank in your area could use assistance.

Starting a Rescue

Now, this isn’t for the faint of heart. Animal rescuers say if they had to explain “how to start a dog rescue,” they’d warn you that running one is rewarding yet heartbreaking, even exhausting. It’s time-consuming—think emergencies, midnight phone calls, and struggling to pay the bills. Try volunteering with a group, learn the ropes, and then decide if starting a rescue is for you. (Which typically also involves applying to be a nonprofit.)

Spaying and Neutering Your Dogs

It can’t be said enough: Spay and neuter your dogs. One brief encounter between an unneutered male dog out looking for love with an unspayed female dog can result in a dozen unexpected puppies. “We have people coming to our doors with unwanted litters who are overwhelmed and can’t care for them,” Thompson says.

Adopting a Dog

Adoption is key to achieving the goal of no more homeless pets.

“Make adopting your first option,” Toellner says. “Every day you wait just increases the number of animals at risk.”

And you might be surprised by what you can find at local shelters.

“All the dogs that you may associate with having to go to a breeder are now at our shelter,” Thompson says. “We have a Doodle. We have a French Bulldog. We have a Golden Retriever. And if you think you can’t get a puppy at the shelter, we have 185.”

Fostering a Dog

Oh yes, here we are back at fostering, one of the top ways you can help during this animal shelter crisis.

Let’s break this down a bit more: fostering can be an hour, a day, a weekend, a week-long, or a months-long gig. Many shelters and rescues pay for all the dog’s veterinary care and supplies.

“We can learn so much about a dog in a foster home that we can’t in the shelter because the shelter is so unnatural for them,” Thompson says. “When you foster, you expose that dog to a new network. You might walk that dog in your neighborhood, and somebody falls in love with that dog and adopts.”

Yet that adoption part—the thought of saying an emotional goodbye to a foster dog often keeps people from fostering—they worry they would become too attached to a dog and heartbroken when they left.

Many rescues allow you to adopt your foster dog. But the Gelfands say if someone else adopts your foster, it doesn’t mean having to say farewell forever.

The couple created a private social media page to stay in touch with adopters of their foster dogs. Their new families share pictures, videos, and heartwarming stories of how much the dogs mean to them—and they’re so thankful the Gelfands played such a vital role in saving their dogs’ lives.

“You can love them and still be happy when they find their forever homes,” Aaron says. “One of our mama dogs got adopted by our next-door neighbor who lost her husband to cancer, and that dog has been her lifeline. We get to create these happily ever afters for people.”

The post How You Can Help With the Animal Shelter Crisis appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

We also live in an area that gets scorchingly hot during the summer. The pavement is often a burn hazard and, even with dog shoes, the temperature can make it unsafe for us to do much outdoors after about 10 a.m. Once again, this leads to sitting in the house with a bored dog who just want to do something fun. Fortunately, there are a lot of quick and relatively simple ways to entertain (and exercise) a dog without leaving the house.

How To Exercise Your Dog Indoors

Getting a good workout without being able to go outside isn’t always easy, but it can be done. If you live in an apartment building with hallways or a house with enough space, grab the leash and go on an indoor walk. It may feel silly, but being able to move will help keep your dog entertained. If possible, consider hiding treats or toys around the house for him to sniff out while you walk.

Exercises like puppy pushups are also a good option for burning off some excess energy without leaving the house. They can also be done in shorter sessions during work breaks. A popular training class exercise, puppy pushups are not only a physical workout but will help sharpen up basic cues as well. For those not already familiar, here are the steps to complete a puppy pushup:

1. Make sure you have a reward on hand such as treats or a favorite toy.
2. Cue your dog to sit.
3. As soon as he sits, cue him to lay down.
4. When his belly touches the floor, cue him to sit again.
5. Cue a stand.
6. Ask for one more sit.
7. Reward and repeat.
8. Bonus: For an added bit of fun, you can turn on some music and give the cues in time with the beat.

In addition to puppy pushups, I regularly set up obstacle courses around the house for my dog. I typically use plastic cones and bars to create low jumps and run agility tunnels down the hallway, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Even asking your dog to do figure-eights around a couple of chairs and crawl under a broom propped between the couch and coffee table can be good fun and good exercise. The trick with indoor obstacle courses is to build them with an eye toward safety. If your dog will be running or jumping inside, make sure he won’t encounter any slippery surfaces and isn’t in danger of crashing into anything if he jumps too enthusiastically or can’t slow down quickly.

As always with exercise, make sure your dog is physically capable of the activity before asking him to participate. If you aren’t sure your dog is up for a particular type of exercise, check with your veterinarian.

Games To Play With Your Dog In the House

Whether it’s a simple game of tug or a more elaborate round of find-it, playing with your dog is one of the best ways to keep them entertained when stuck in the house. There are so many good games to play with your dog indoors. Some of my favorites include:

• Hide-and-seek: Sneak away when your dog isn’t looking, find a hiding spot, then call him enthusiastically. When he comes to find you, praise him and reward him with a treat or toy. If your dog hasn’t played before, pick easy hiding spots to start—such as stepping out of the room just beyond view. Gradually increase the difficulty as he begins to understand the game.
• Find it: Start by hiding a treat in the palm of one hand, close both hands, and hold them out to your dog. When he noses the hand with the treat in it, praise him and let him have the treat. From there, make it more challenging by hiding a treat under a cup and letting him search for it among several similar cups.
• Tug: While little explanation is needed for how to play—human and dog each grab one end of a toy and pull—there are few rules to keep the game from getting out of hand. Most importantly, tug is an ‘invitation only’ game. Your dog should understand that it’s only okay to tug on things when you initiate it. He should also have a solid ‘release’ cue and let go of the toy the moment you ask. As for health and safety considerations, tugging should always be done sideways, not up-and-down, to help prevent spinal injuries and should be kept gentle for puppies, elderly dogs, or those with relevant medical conditions. For more on how to safely set up a game of tug, see “Eight Rules for Playing Tug of War With Your Dog.”

Mental Stimulation Toys for Dogs

Interactive puzzle toys are a great way to provide some mental stimulation for your dog without leaving the house. While such toys often require supervision and assistance (particularly if the dog is inexperienced with puzzles), most dogs find a good mental workout to be rewarding—and exhausting! As discussed in “The Best Dog Puzzle Toys,” it may take a few tries with different toys to figure out the right difficulty level for your dog.

Similarly, snuffle mats, lick mats, and other food dispensing toys can very useful methods of doggy entertainment. My young terrier will happily spend up to 20 minutes engaged with her snuffle mat. If I have a meeting or just need some time without her “help” writing articles, I’ll set the mat out next to my desk and fill it with half a cup or so of her dry kibble. As a bonus, she often falls asleep after she’s done.

Don’t Forget About Training

Whether you are working from home or just stuck indoors with a bored dog, a few quick training sessions throughout the day can go a long way to entertaining your dog (and you!). A good session doesn’t need to be longer than 5 or 10 minutes to be effective. A short round of heelwork down the hallway or down-stays during lunch can make a big difference in both training progress and preventing boredom at home.

Online dog training classes are another way to keep engaged and discover new ways to work with your dog if leaving the house isn’t a good option. I spent the last heatwave teaching my dog to walk with me—her front feet on top of my feet—with the help of an online tricks class. It was great fun for us both and resulted in a really cute behavior.

As always when it comes to training, don’t forget to have fun! If the usual routine is feeling dull, consider teaching your dog a new trick.

The post How To Entertain Your Dog at Home appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.