Next time your dog does something great, celebrate with a high five! It's easy and fun to teach your canine companion this cute trick. Choose a quiet, distraction-free area for training and have an ample supply of small and soft, yet still yummy, treats. Examples of “high-value” treats for dogs include chopped up hot dogs […]

Breeders have a lot to observe when they have a new litter: health, structure, and temperament. And Labrador Retriever breeder Debby Kay keeps close tabs on another factor she considers crucial — how the pups use their noses. Kay has been a pioneer in scent-detection work for more than 40 years. Many of her Chilbrook […]

Jean Nagle, of Jangle Havanese, has lived in the Fort Myers area of Florida since 2005. Her first breed was the Australian Shepherd, and she showed them for many years. While raising her family, she took a break from dog showing, but when her children were grown, she was ready to come back to it. […]

  I smelled the stench before I saw her, sort of like a landfill on a 92-degree day. A mottled gray and once-white shaggy blur ran down the hall into my arms, and I was in love, no matter what my nose told me. This cuter-than-a-teddy-bear puppy had darted into my boyfriend’s office when he […]

  A high school stadium, three sets of bleachers, and one Q-tip dipped in the scent of birch. Finding that tiny swab, planted somewhere in the arena, seemed an impossible task to Suzanne LeRoy, as she and her Border Collie, Rain, faced their first nose work competition. “It was a huge area to search,” the […]

  A phone call from a puppy buyer delivered news to Darlene Stewart that no breeder wants to receive. Their beloved family pet had been ill. The Beagle male was having recurring urinary tract infections that did not respond to antibiotics. Stewart’s thoughts immediately went to the dog’s grandmother that she had lost to bladder […]

  Long before Dagger entered the world, his life had been planned. The Labrador Retriever was born at the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) headquarters in California, the son of a carefully selected dam and sire, screened for excellent temperament and health. At 8 weeks, he headed to the East Coast to spend his first […]

Chesapeake Bay Retriever Sienna Bay Watermark Dirk DM DS TKN TKI CGC, shows off one of his tricks that helped earn him the new AKC Intermediate Trick Dog title. Eleven-year-old Kya has had an impressive career that includes a conformation championship and rally titles. Being a veteran has limited some of her activities, but that […]

Socializing puppies has traditionally been considered the responsibility of the new owner. We instruct them to take the puppy to classes and make sure they are exposed to a variety of people and situations. But more research shows that encouraging a stable temperament can start even before puppies are born. Breeders can do a lot […]

Your puppy or new adult dog does not enter your home knowing his new name. The word that you keep tossing out to him will become familiar eventually. But you can speed up the process by playing a fun and easy game to help your dog associate his name as a positive sound. To play […]