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Videos of dogs chasing their tails may have people laughing on YouTube, but tail-chasing may be nothing to laugh at. Here’s what I told a reader. Q: Why do dogs chase their tails? A: A search on YouTube turns up thousands of videos of dogs chasing their tails. Usually we laugh when we see dogs […]

Some dogs who won’t eat just need a little time to feel better, but there are many times when eating is essential to their health and recovery. Here are some tips to get them to chow down when they don’t want to. Q: My dog is sick, and he has lost his appetite. Do you […]

Is your puppy part shark? I asked my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to tackle this reader’s question about how to stop her puppy’s out of control mouthing. Q: Our new puppy’s nickname is Jaws. Even though we give her lots of chew toys, which she likes, she bites our hands and feet — hard. We […]

I doubt I’d get any disagreement for saying 2020 won’t go down in history as anyone’s favorite year. This year has been difficult, unpleasant, incomprehensible, disappointing, and often painful. I write this as my wife’s 95-year-old mother and 72-year-old disabled brother are suffering from COVID. I struggle to find gratitude. And yet my many blessings […]

There are three common reasons pets have behavior problems, but their humans often misunderstand them. Here’s what’s going on. Q: How can I better understand my pet? She often misbehaves or seems angry, and I’m never sure why. A: When I work with clients, I see three common causes of problem behaviors in dogs and […]