Pet Wellness Advocate
You Don’t Have to Feel Bad for the Turkeys This Year Those of us who are not vegans or vegetarians can still have misgivings about the way animals are raised for food in this country. We’d like to be able to choose humanely raised animals in the food chain, which isn’t always easy. The Humane... Read more »
Is that the ‘Look of Love’ in Your Dog’s Eyes? You know how some dog trainers caution to never look a dog directly in the eye --- that it can be threatening or intimidating or send a negative message along those lines? And might even incite a dog to go after you? Now this may... Read more »
What Do You Think About Paid Leave for a Sick Pet?! An article in the New York Times recently told of a woman who works at Sapienza University in Rome who asked for paid time off because her 12-year-old English setter needed surgery. “My dogs are my family, I had to be there for her,”... Read more »
The Best (and Last) Dog Bowl You’ll Ever Buy I had a “light bulb” moment recently about the cleanest, most comfortable and healthy way to feed my dogs --- one of those “Ah duh!” moments where you hit your forehead with the bottom of your palm and say, “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!”... Read more »
Are Dogs Wolves? The conversation has been going on for years about whether dogs are basically governed by the qualities of their distant ancestors, the wolf. There have been lively debates about whether the chihuahua under someone’s arm retains any of the instincts, abilities and natural tendencies of the wolf in his genetic background. Dog... Read more »
Do You Want Your Public Radio Station to carry DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too)? We had some wonderful news this week: DOG TALK® has joined the programming on Saturday mornings at 10 AM on a lovely new public radio station in upstate New York: WCSQ-LP 105.9 FM, known on air as "Radio Cobleskill." They are... Read more »
Did You Need Yet Another Reason Not to Buy a Puppy from a Pet Store? Pet Store Puppies Represent a Chain of Suffering By now I hope we’re all clear on the immorality of purchasing puppies from pet stores. All the puppies in any pet store have been procured through a series of transactions, beginning... Read more »
The Scoop On Grain-Free Dog Food “Grain-free” is often a distorted concept in pet food, even though some dog owners believe that pet food identified this way is of special value. “Grain-free” pet foods were developed and marketed in response to what people were seeking, perhaps as part of a human dietary trend to avoid... Read more »
Is Whisker Fatigue in Cats Really a ‘Thing?’ This article in the New York Times about kitties having “whisker fatigue” during eating may sound a bit new-agey, but does a wonderful job of acknowledge the sensitivity of a cat’s whiskers --- and the insult to our cats when we ask them to eat out of... Read more »
Horsing Around With Your Dog! One of the topics on this week’s Dog Talk® was a lively conversation I had with Marc Bekoff, the dog expert and educator, who has written too many impressive animal-oriented books to list! Marc is a fun and modest gentleman --- despite his PhD and many accomplishments --- and he likes... Read more »