Educational Articles
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Dogs often steal objects to play with them or to get someone to chase them. Stealing thus becomes rewarding to the dog. Supervision to prevent stealing is the best strategy. It is important to refrain from chasing your dog to retrieve stolen goods. Dogs can be trained to give back stolen items.
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What is normal and what is not? The answer is: when the behavior is harmless or just annoying, it is probably normal. When the behavior is destructive, disruptive, or places people or other pets at risk, it is not normal. Addressing the problems early, before they become ingrained, is the best hope for avoiding future problems. Dogs will be dogs, but people are still ultimately responsible for them.
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On your marks, get set, go! Dogs running, jumping, catching balls, making razor sharp turns, and racing to a finish line; that's the canine sport of flyball.
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Dogs love to run. Dogs love to jump. Dogs love to swim. If your dog likes to do all three, why not investigate the relatively-new canine sport of Dock Diving?
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Field trials focus on team-hunting and allow humans and their pet dogs to rekindle their hunting instincts in a fun, competitive format.
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Dogs dig for a variety of reasons. It may be done to accomplish a goal that, to a dog, is reasonable, but it can also be a sign of an underlying behavior disorder. This handout describes the most common causes of destructive digging and methods that can be used to manage it.
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This handout discusses the causes and potential treatments for excess gas (flatus or flatulence) in dogs. Factors such as diet, speed of eating, exercise and foods to avoid are highlighted.
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The relationship between people and their dogs is an unconditional bond where dogs understand more about us than previously thought. They know how to read our feelings and respond appropriately to either help us or celebrate with us. A combination of visual, auditory, and even scent cues help them put together a full picture of our current emotional state.
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Periodontal disease is the most common problem affecting dogs of all age groups. The importance of daily dental home care cannot be overemphasized. Nutrition can contribute to preventing periodontal disease and gingivitis.
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Ear canal tumors are abnormal growths that can develop from any part of the ear canal (the skin, the glands of the skin that produce earwax and oil, and the underlying connective tissues, muscles, and bones). Initially, these tumors may appear as one or more pink, white, or purple nodular masses in the ear canal. If benign, they may grow to a certain size and may or may not be problematic. If malignant, they may grow, ulcerate (break open) and bleed, and nearly always become infected, causing recurrent or chronic ear infections. The treatment of choice for ear canal tumors is surgical excision.
