Dogs are so attuned to our behavior. They gaze lovingly into our eyes, they know our moods, and they can even follow our pointing gestures. They read us so well; we sometimes assume they want nothing more than to make us happy. But that's not the whole picture. Yes, your dog is interested in what […]

One of the most amazing things about dogs is their intense interest in humans. Compared to other animals, dogs have an uncanny ability to read our emotions, understand our gestures, and cooperate with us. But not every dog shows the same degree of human-centered focus. Some breeds are more independent than others, and even within […]

Does your dog understand you better than you understand him? Or do you have a good grasp of what your dog is trying to say? Dog owners spend a great deal of time and effort training their dogs to understand humans, but they don't always put the same energy into learning the language of their […]

Think about which hand you write with or how you hold your fork. Are you a righty or a lefty? Now think about your dog. It may surprise you to learn that, just like humans favor using their right or left hand, many dogs show a preference for using one paw over the other. Because […]

Including your dog in festive holiday celebrations is all part of the fun of the season; however, your dog might not be feeling the same holiday spirit as you. At the end of the year, things don't look, sound, or even smell like they usually do, and that can cause canine confusion and anxiety. Problem […]

  Self-awareness is the ability to think about yourself as an individual and to realize that you are separate from others around you – to have a sense of self. It's considered a prerequisite to understanding that others might have different feelings or thoughts than you do. This is a key part of being human, […]

How much do you think your dog remembers about the day-to-day events in his life? Is his memory as good as yours, or is he only living in the moment? The ability to recall personal events and specific moments is known as "episodic memory," and it's up for debate whether dogs possess this type of […]

Dogs that live in the big city face different challenges from those that live in the country or suburbs. Heavy traffic, large crowds, and using public transit all require special skills and an unflappable attitude. Not to mention, every walk can hold new surprises, like an encounter with a bike messenger or a passing throng […]

At first glance, Razzberry the Bichon Frise and Henry the Spinone Italiano don’t appear to have much in common: Razzberry is a toaster-sized ball of snowy white hair with an unnatural hostility to leather footwear. Laidback Henry, by contrast, looks like the famous big dog Benji and swoons at the sight of beef jerky or pigeons. But what these […]

One crisp fall morning in 1967, Anne H. Bowes arrived at the Ox Ridge Hunt Club in Connecticut to find that the polo field where she always rode her horse was engulfed in a sea of yellow-and-white-striped tents. The dog-show bug bit her that day – hard – and the following February Bowes found herself […]