Dog Blog

“How long do I have to give him the food treats?” Positive reinforcement based dog training is fabulous for dogs and people -- solving problems, building skills, enriching relationships. The most commonly used reinforcer is food-- it's powerful, quick to deliver, and we have to feed them anyway!

Repelling fleas and ticks is important to prevent short- and long-term health problems, from uncomfortable itching to life-threatening chronic disease. Natural flea and tick repellents include citrus juice and geranium oil. Adding natural pest predators, like nematode worms, to your backyard will reduce pest populations. Bathing your pet, using a flea comb and inspecting your pet for ticks are also important.

It's the moment every dog owner dreads. Your dog is accidentally off leash, and headed towards the street. You wish you had put in more time working on the “come”. You resolve to do that…. if only. But what to do right now, right this second?

Flea and tick the season is already underway in some areas of the U.S. Before you take all the dire warnings to heart and run out to buy every chemical pest control product you can get your hands on, keep this in mind -- controlling fleas and ticks is a simple recipe with just 3 ingredients: keeping your pet pest-free, keeping your home pest-free, and keeping your yard pest-free. With planning and diligence, you can accomplish those three things with all natural - not chemical - pest control methods. And if you do encounter a situation where the use of chemical agents is unavoidable, there are ways to minimize the damage these products can cause. By Dr. Becker