What are they trying to say?
Dogs bark for different reasons – it is one of their forms of communication, after all, and if you listen closely enough, you will find that your dog exhibits different kinds of barks for different occasions.  The guarded “woo woo woo!” when there’s somebody on the street outside your house or when they hear a noise they feel is out of place.  The high-pitched and frantic “Arf! Arf!” that pierces through your eardrum when they are stressed about your vacuuming.  And the drone and demanding “WOOF!”  as they stare right at you while you’re working on your email as they try to tell you “pay attention to ME!”  In either situation, the dog is trying to communicate something to you that he feels is important.  Since he can’t just speak to us in our language and tell us exactly what that is, he speaks to us in his language (that we sometimes don’t understand).  But there’s a way to bridge this communication barrier.

Well, we’ve finally started settling into our new life here in Pooler, Georgia – at least, as much as we can after 2 weeks!  In the past week and a half since we left New York, we’ve unloaded the three PODS we packed prior to our leaving (two for our home and one for my husband’s office), I’ve finished painting two more bedrooms, we are getting to know all the associates at the local WalMart and Home Depot (to which we’ve visited every day thus far), and our three animals are adjusting even better than we had hoped (my husband’s cat Abby, who is known for being antisocial, has been spending much more time in the “common” areas of our new home and not just in her happy room)...

​​While dogs have extremely strong senses of smell and hearing, their sense of sight is also important in helping them live a healthy and well-rounded life.

“When it comes to ocular issues, you should never take a ‘wait and see’ approach, because that ‘wait and see’ approach could be detrimental to the health of your dog's eyes, and your dog’s overall quality of life,” explains Dr. Selzner.  "Even if you have leftover medications (either prescription or over the-counter) from a previous eye issue or from another dog, you should NEVER begin treating your pet’s eyes without first discussing the case with your veterinarian."  Dr. Selzner continues, “Using an inappropriate medication or supplement to treat an eye problem can potentially make the problem much worse.  If an ocular problem is noted after hours, please contact your local veterinary emergency clinic.”   ​

For many of us, the holidays are a time for gatherings, decorations, celebrating and imbibing.  These same things that make the holidays fun (albeit sometimes stressful) for us, however, can become easily overwhelming to our dogs.  To make the season merry and bright for all, follow these tips and you’ll soon be skiing smoothly right into the New Year…