One reason why celebrity dog trainers and other self-appointed “experts” are so quick to tell you what your dog is thinking or feeling is this: it’s difficult to prove them wrong. As you may have noticed, dogs can’t communicate verbally. So they’re never going to explicitly tell us what’s going on inside their heads. Instead, […]
Perhaps you’ve heard a little Mexican-American fella with a meticulously coiffed goatee and rollerblades tell you that the three fundaments of successfully managing unwanted canine behaviors are “exercise, discipline, and affection — in that order.” Well, if you’re reading this blog, chances are that you’re a bit more skeptical than the average bear. If you’re […]
In addition to the tremendous physical benefits that exercise provides your dog and the psychological benefits that YOU will enjoy from providing care to your loving companion, there’s another reason you should feel compelled to provide your dog with daily exercise: She is psychologically hard-wired to enjoy it.
For a doggie-centric lesson on why you shouldn’t always trust advice given by “experts” (be they of the self-appointed or certified variety), try this easy three-step exercise: 1. Google “canine personality types”; 2. Record the number of different (and inconsistent) canine personality-type paradigms that are discussed in just the top-three search results; and 3. Record […]
You want to make your dog “happy,” right? Of course you do. Maybe you buy my argument that, due to the emotional bonds that you’ve developed to your dog, it’s in your self-interest to do so. Or maybe you’ve got another justification. And maybe you agree with me that most humans know precious little about […]
We prove what we want to prove, and the real difficulty is to know what we want to prove. – Emile Auguste Chartier Is today the first time you’ve thought that your dog would be happier and healthier if she lost some weight? Probably not. If you’ve read this blog before (somewhat unlikely) or if […]
Regardless of whether you call yourself an “owner,” a “guardian,” or simply a “friend,” in your quest to be the best human possible to your cohabitating canine companion, one of the most challenging obstacles you will confront will also be one of the most adorable: Your dog’s longing, sorrowful, expectant gaze.
This essay is a continuation of our exploration of the value of canine exercise. In Part One, we discussed the health and welfare benefits of exercise for both you and your dog. Now we turn our attention to pet owners and examine the degree to which, in light of those benefits, they should feel compelled to […]
Is it so intuitive that dogs need (or even want) exercise? We don’t worry ourselves with seeing to it that our pet fish swim laps every morning. Pastured animals don’t run laps around their fields. And, to casual observers, many dogs seem perfectly content to lounge lazily on a couch all day. Even if we […]
2011 Pet Blogger Challenge As part of its on-going effort to raise awareness about the importance of pet fitness, health, and wellness topics, Varsity Pets is proud to announce that we have joined the Second Annual Pet Blogger Challenge. The Pet Blogger Challenge is an initiative through which pet industry bloggers candidly expose their goals, […]
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