Dog behavior Archive

Art Appreciation

This morning while Richard and I sipped our first cups in the kitchen we heard a faint whining in the living room – a whine that preceded a growl that preceded a single, surprising bark that startled us both.  This was very unusual, as Willie is the most silent of dogs – the Marcel Marceau
Category: Dog

The Sopranos

What is it about meeting a puppy that makes people who usually speak in normal and reasonable tones suddenly begin to squeal and squeak?  What is it that makes people interacting with a small, young dog head for the highest reaches of their vocal register – and even beyond, into falsetto? I’ve observed this many
Category: Dog

Slaughterhouse Daycare

Each night at bedtime, Richard or I gather up the plush toys, chew toys, and marrow bones Willie has strewn throughout the house during the day.  We toss them all back into his crate in the kitchen to keep Willie company for the night — and to keep him occupied in case he wakes before
Category: Dog

Big Thing, Small Package

How could something so small inspire a love so big?  As Willie dozes on my lap I run my fingers through his shaggy coat, my hands over his small body.  I count his ribs, I study the various textures of his snout, and I test all the ways his little joints move.  Willie is completely
Category: Dog

Play Date

Friends joined us for lunch yesterday and brought along their little rescue mutt, a Jack Russell terrier mix named Mr. Chips.  We’d been looking forward to this play date for weeks – meeting the charming and portable Mr. Chips had, after all, led directly to our deciding to adopt Willie. As I set the table
Category: Dog

One in a Million

I didn’t know it was possible to be so in love, to be so smitten — so besotted — with a dog.  But my affection for our little rescue mutt, Willie, grows by the day.  His attachment to me is clear – he thinks I’m a rock star — but while his instincts about me
Category: Dog

The Beat Goes On

On my twice-daily walks with Willie I strive to maintain a brisk and consistent pace.  The first few days were pretty taxing on me – especially walking uphill – but I’ve acclimated to this new routine we share and look forward to these walks almost as much as Willie. Almost. But even when I’m not
Category: Dog

Long Story Short

Willie was placed on a course of the antibiotic doxycycline and a monthly dose of immiticide, or heartworm preventive.  He had no arsenic injection and required no period of confinement because this treatment eliminated any complications from dead worms breaking apart and traveling through Willie’s circulatory or respiratory systems.  And while I still wasn’t comfortable
Category: Dog

The Doctor Will See You Now

I never intended to be this earnest or specific, never expected to offer any advice whatsoever about dogs, but my rescue mutt and I are going through something in real time that I think is worth sharing.  Willie has been diagnosed with parasitic heartworms – a highly preventable, dangerous, and potentially fatal infection.  And I
Category: Dog

Continuing Ed

So — no doubt about it — Willie has heartworms, and the news is heartbreaking and frightening.  How many worms? How big are they?  There’s no way to know without an expensive echocardiogram – or an autopsy — but one things is certain: Willie needs to be treated, and soon. I know the Internet will
Category: Dog