Surviving Your Dog’s Adolescence

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com

Much like in humans, your dog will go through an adolescent phase and this period can be fraught with difficulty. Dogs will enter their adolescent period at around 6 months old, and exit between 18 months and 2 years of age. Smaller dogs tend to mature more quickly, larger dogs more slowly. During this time you may feel like your dog has forgotten everything they learned in puppy class. You are not imagining it. There is physiological evidence that neural synapses are breaking and reforming at a very high rate. Previously attentive pups will start to ignore you and non-chewers will become destructive maniacs.

What you Should Really be Teaching Your Puppy

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

Whenever someone gets a new puppy or dog, they are often eager to teach “the basics.”  So everyone starts in on the same things; sit, lie down, shake, stay in front of the food bowl, etc. While these are all valuable skills for your new puppy or dog to know, they definitely do not need to be at the top of the list.

Teaching your dogs cues like sit or down, are obedience skills. The premise being that whenever you give a specific cue, your dog responds with the correct position. Responding to cues is important, but what is more important is your dogs general behavior.

January is Train Your Dog Month

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) is hosting the 5th annual “Train Your Dog Month” in January 2015. The goal is to encourage people to work with their dogs and this years focus is on basic training.

Boarding Your Dog

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of the busiest travel times in the United States, and inevitably people with dogs need to find someone to take care of Fido while they are out of town.

If you can’t take your dog with you, the next best option is to have a family member or friend either take your dog to their house, or come and stay at your house. Being in their own environment, or with someone familiar, is definitely the best option for your dog. But sometimes that isn’t possible and you need to find a boarding facility.

Surviving the Holidays

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

The holidays are a great time for feast and family, but we all know sometimes having visitors can be stressful. The last thing you need is conflict between your dogs and your guests. Here are some tips to keep everyone happy.

I Don’t Like Dogs, What Should I Do?

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

This is the dog article for people who don’t like dogs, or are afraid of dogs, or just don’t want to be bothered by a dog at the moment. If you live in greater Arlington, which is very dog-friendly, navigating a walk to the Metro without coming into contact with a dog can be a challenge.

The Scoop on Dry Food

By Laura Sharkey
Originally published on ArlNow.com 

The dog food market has exploded. There is almost an endless variety of dry dog food options, making it more difficult to determine what the best option is for your dog. Here are some tips to help you make an educated decision.

Bottom line, do what works – If your dog is healthy and fit on whatever food you are feeding him or her, there is probably no need to make a change. A couple of ways to determine if things are going well is to evaluate the results: you need to check the poop. If you dog is pooping more than twice a day, or if your dog is not producing solid formed stool, you may need to reevaluate what you are feeding.