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Military Dogs to be Honored with National Monument

Military service dogs make a unique and valuable contribution to the units to which they’re assigned. Now, Yahoo News reports, they’re getting their own national monument in honor of their service. The United States Working Dog Teams National Monument is meant to commemorate and honor every military dog that’s served since World War II (so pups like Sergeant Stubby get nothing? Military dogs might not have been very common until World War II, but canines have had a place in our combat since the Seminole Wars). It won’t stand on the National Mall in DC, or in the capital at … Continue reading →

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – May 20 – 26, 2012

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Each week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review gives you a quick summary of all of the blogs that appeared here in the past seven days. This makes it easier for you to find the blogs you missed and the ones that you didn’t have time to read when they first went up. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on May 21, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, MD that was released on May 14, 2012. The episode is called “Should We Diagnose Kids Pre-Psychotic?” Dr. Gupta discusses the changes … Continue reading →

Animals Can Feel Empathy

2011 was the year of animal empathy. Two studies released this year, one at the beginning, the other at the end, have taken steps to prove that animals can feel sorry both for humans and for each other. The first report, covered by Discovery News, explains why some scientists now think dogs feel empathy for humans. Karine Silva and Liliana Sousa of the Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute studied how dogs react to humans in distress. Dog owners will agree that their canines certainly respond to their owners when the latter are in distress. But is that true empathy, or … Continue reading →

Managing Smart Dogs

Smart is often a selling point for dogs. There are certain breeds, especially those known for herding, that are generally considered the cream of the clever canine crop. Thus if you want an intelligent dog it might not be too hard to seek one out, but there are some things you need to know before adopting a brainy companion. Pet site ZooToo has some tips. The most important thing to consider first is that smart doesn’t necessarily mean easy. We think that it will; we think how nice it will be to have a dog that can fetch slippers and … Continue reading →

Setting Expectations for Dog Training

Do we expect too much from our dogs? Sometimes we think that dogs should jump to obey our orders, and many dog owners soon find out that perhaps we’re not viewing dogs and how we train them in the right way. Pet website ZooToo has an overview of how the dog training process works, explaining why many of us might be going about training in the wrong way. What’s always important to remember, especially when bringing a new dog home, is that there will be a honeymoon period but that period will end. New dogs, especially ones from shelters, brought … Continue reading →

Police Dogs in Danger

I love watching working animals. As hard as it might be for me to remain professional around a seeing-eye dog, for example, who shouldn’t be petted while it works, I love to observe the first-hand proof of the deep bond that can exist between humans and animals. Pets are such multi-faceted friends and family members, keeping us company and aiding us in real ways as we go through life. That’s why I’m so horrified to read a story on Yahoo! News about the New Orleans Police Department closing their K-9 unit. The dogs didn’t do anything wrong. It was their … Continue reading →

Another Pet Food Recall

Sadly, it seems that every so often at the pets blog we have to share the news of another pet food recall. We like to make sure we report this important information, but it feels like it’s a topic we have to cover far too often (in my opinion, at all is too much, but at least the companies are being safe in letting us know when there’s a possible contamination). This time around, the Los Angeles Times announces that companies Feline’s Pride, United Pet Group, and Merrick Pet Care are issuing voluntary recalls of some of their products due … Continue reading →

Dogs and Toddlers: The Uncanny Similarities

Today I’m going to explore something I discovered when I adopted my dog: how much having a dog is like having a toddler. At first, I thought the similarities were just due to the young age of both subjects, but now that my dog’s aged to canine adulthood, I’ve learned that isn’t true. Nope, dogs and toddlers just really are alike. Don’t believe me? I’ve compiled the main similarities into a handy list. 1. You have to clean up their poop. And other unpleasant messes. For the first few years of your baby’s life, you have to wash and dispose … Continue reading →

Cats and Dogs Really Can Get Along

They’re as universal an example of opposites as up and down, day and night, right and left. Even the line “cats and dogs getting along” is sometimes used as a turn of phrase for unbelievable events. Thus there’s an idea out there that one has to be either a cat person or a dog person. One can’t love both equally, or one certainly can’t have both as pets without inviting a fur-flying frenzy into the home. At best they’ll get along by avoiding each other for the most part, and at worst they’ll need to be separated. Except that simply … Continue reading →

My Mini Zoo – New Pet Blogger Intro

As a new pet blogger here at Families.com I felt I should write an introduction post and share the story of my mini-zoo with everyone. I’ve had pets ever since I could remember. In fact, none of my homes have felt complete unless there was at least one four-legged furry critter running around. About ten years ago this love for all things feathered, furry or finned hit a high point. My second daughter worked at Petsmart at the time so she always had some tale of woe about a guinea pig, hamster, snake, fish, or other animal that had been … Continue reading →