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Dog Blog

A blog for dog lovers

The Ancient Dogs: An Overview by Dennis FallonDecember 3

We all know that dog’s evolved from wolves. In only a few thousands of years, the dog has gone from the savage wolf to our peaceful companion and faithful sidekick. But let’s take a look back farther. Before the Labrador or the Pekingese, before Pit Bulls and toy poodles. Back even before the wolf or coyote, to a time on planet earth when giant animals and strange looking creatures ran the show, and our ancestors were furry little monkey-things high in the trees. After all, where did wolf’s ancestors come from? What did the first dogs really look like? Below, we take a simple and straightforward look at some of the ancient dog subfamilies that populated the earth for millions of years.

Hesperocyonines

Deep in the past, say around 40 million years ago, the dog was just beginning. The true carnivores of the mammal family were arriving on planet earth, and the dog was among the earliest. Hesperocyon was a tiny beginning of things to come. Looking more like a weasel (and not much bigger), this early relative of the dog had a large, bushy tail and thin, fox-like body. With it’s pointy face, which was a cross between a greyhound, a wolf and a ferret, the Hesperocyon was one of the two major dog families (being part of the group of early dogs known as hesperocyonines).
Though anything we know about the hesperocyon is speculation–after all, scientist can only make educated guesses as to what fossils mean–these animals would have probably been commun

Helping Your Dog win Friends and Influence PeopleNovember 30

When you have a dog, just like when you have a child, you want him to do well in the world. You want him to be smart, well-behaved, and successful at being a dog. Though your dog most likely has what it takes to be all of these things, he’ll have a lot more luck if he gets the right guidance from you. You don’t want your dog to be ostracized, do you? You want him to fit in with the better social circles and be able to hold his own among show dogs and working dogs alike. For this you need to be his guide, his champion, and his most ardent supporter.

* Train your dog! No matter how the old saying goes, you can teach a dog tricks at any age, and you can teach him the basic commands. If you have adopted a puppy, start teaching him the basics at about 4 months of age. Throw in a lot of self-esteem helpers such as “you are magnificent!”, “Donald Trump’s dog has nothing on you!” or “Paris Hilton called and said she wants to carry you around instead of that useless Chihuahua.” If your dog is older when you adopt him, you may have to help him unlearn some things and then work on building up his ego while you show him the ropes.

* Be Fashion Conscious. Would you go out in public wearing something that is laughingly out of style? Of course not. Keep fashion in mind when i

Top 10 Health Tips for Your DogNovember 21

When you bring a dog into your family, you are taking on a serious responsibility. This creature will depend on you for food, shelter and love. You will also be responsible for making sure that your dog is as healthy as he can be at any given time. Some people, however, feel better if they have a guideline to follow so that they can be sure not to miss any crucial aspects of keeping their dog healthy.

1. Dog food – It can be tempting to simply buy what’s on sale each time you go shopping for dog food, but this is never recommended. Your dog’s digestive system can be upset by constantly changing his food. What you want to do is start with a good, high-quality food, and if your dog seems to like it and tolerate it well, stick with it. There may come a time when you need to change your dog’s diet, such as if he develops some kind of medical condition or as he ages, but this should always be done under your veterinarian’s supervision.

2. Diet – A general guideline is to feed your dog 1 ½ cups of food for every twenty pounds of his ideal weight. For example, if your dog’s ideal weight is 60 lbs, then you should feed him 4 ½ cups of food per day. Don’t feed him according to his actual weight; if he is overweight you would be feeding him too much and if he is

The Good Life – Staying with Your Dog in a Hotel or MotelNovember 18

If you love being with your dog and consider him an integral part of your family, then you’d probably like him with you when you go on an extended trip. A two week trip overseas wouldn’t be a good time to try to take your dog, and neither would a visit to stay with a friend or relative who is allergic to dogs. However, if you’re going to be driving somewhere and staying in a hotel or motel, it could be a great time to take your dog. You can probably assume that he will be all for the idea too.

It should go without saying (but it’ll be said anyway) that you should never assume that a hotel or motel will accept dogs. Arriving at the hotel you’ve booked for two weeks and finding out that your pooch isn’t welcome can really put a damper on what started out as a great trip. Weeks before your trip, choose some hotels and motels that you find suitable in the area that you’ll be visiting and contact each one. You might be able to save yourself some time by going to www.officialpethotels.com. This helpful website lists pet-friendly hotels in areas all over the country. Make a list of hotels and motels that allow pets, then call them and ask about their pet policies. Some will have stipulations such as only dogs under a certain size. There may be an

Top 5 Reasons that Dogs go to the VetNovember 17

We’ve all heard the stories and seen the television shows about amazing vet surgeries and heroic vets doing their best to save dying animals, much to the tearful thanks of owners everywhere. But the reality of caring for dogs and their problems is much different. For most owners and vets , the same old troubles crop up again and again, no matter the breed. So what problems exactly do American vets see all the time? What’s the day in-day out routine, and how can we, as dog owners, stay out of the vet’s office?

To help with our canine quandary, we skipped the Wikipedia and Google searches and went straight to a real, live vet: Jesse Fallon, MS, DDM, who practices in Southwest Virginia. What we found were problems that ranged from the irresponsible to the deadly, the painful to the plain. From the most common to the least, are the top five troubles we bother our vets with:

1. Dog Allergies:
That’s right, your sneezing and scratching dog may not just be making noise–these symptoms may be the sign of a real allergic reaction in the home.

“Pollen, dust mites or food, it’s very similar to people allergies,“ said Fallon, “the symptoms manifest as itchy skin. Dogs can be allergic to anything, including the same things that people are allergic to.”

This common problem proves to be a tricky one, though. “It’s a hard disease to diagnose and treat, though we usually treat for the itchiness,” he said, “You can do