Top 5 Magazines for Dog Lovers

By Langley Cornwell

There are many dog magazines available today, and the mix is interesting. Some are just traditional ink and paper publications with no online presence, some have traditional and online offerings and some are simply online magazines/blogs. So whichever way you like to receive your information, there’s a dog magazine for you.

In this lineup I’ve only included general dog magazines. If you’re looking for a breed-specific magazine, there are plenty to choose from. Here are five dog magazines that I think are worth reading.

Best Friends Magazine 

A publication from the respected Best Friend’s Animal Society —the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary— this general-interest animal magazine is as impressive as the organization itself. The bi-monthly publication is filled with important information, tips and advice, heartwarming stories and beautiful photographs. This is a subscription-based magazine that you’ll receive for making a nominal donation to Best Friends. What I love about this magazine and this organization is that all of the proceeds from the publication support the animals at the Sanctuary. Further, it helps Best Friends’ mission to reach a time when there are no more homeless pets. That’s a mission I can stand behind.

Modern Dog Magazine

With a strong online presence as well as a thriving traditional publication, Modern Dog magazine reaches the masses. They tout themselves as the best dog magazine ever and I know people who say the same thing. This truly is a lifestyle magazine with charming features, health and wellness articles and advice from veterinarians, dog trainers and behaviorists. There are DIY craft projects as well as reviews of the myriad dog-targeted products. They get a lot of celebrities and their dogs as cover models. The blog-style online magazine is a go-to for many animal lovers.    

The Bark

Another online and traditional offering, Bark magazine is written for people whose motto is “Dog is my co-pilot.” Topics in each issue include dog culture and community, wellness, behavior, recreation and travel, and art and literature. What strikes me about this magazine is its modern, hip attitude. It seems as if they are talking to a new generation of dog lovers, and I like that. The archives are deep and the information extensive. This is a good general dog magazine that covers the gambit.

Dog Fancy Magazine

It seems to me that Dog Fancy Magazine is primarily focused on pedigreed dogs, and covers some dog show type issues. The Dog Writers Association of America named this traditional publication the Best All-Breed Magazine. With monthly distribution, Dog Fancy is known as a dependable and informational publication that features in-depth breed profiles, a Best Behavior section, and important tips and how-to instructions on dog training and behavior. A reader’s favorite is the Checkup section, where readers can send in their questions, which will be answered by top veterinarians. Each issue also has a centerfold poster of a featured breed, and the images are stunning.

Dogster

I have to include the online magazine/blog called Dogster in this lineup. The voice of this site is warm and interactive, with plenty of space devoted to Q & A’s as well as an entire community section. They also have the ever popular lifestyle, product review, health and wellness, and behavior and training sections. One of the things I like about Dogster is their friendly and humorous presentation; the information is delivered in an upbeat, heartfelt manner. As an online magazine, they also have the opportunity to include videos and reader photos.

It’s easy to satisfy your craving for cute dog photos and interesting anecdotes, tips and suggestions and all things dog-related. Did I miss any of the good ones? What is your favorite dog magazine?

Top photo by Vivian Chen
Middle photo courtesy of Modern Dog 
Bottom photo by Spacecat

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Top 5 Cat Friendly Dogs

By Langley Cornwell

In the past, I’ve only shared my home with dogs – and those dogs had little to no interaction with cats. On those unfortunate occasions when they did interact with cats, it usually turned out poorly for me. It would invariably happen when I was walking both dogs at once and a cat would saunter across our path, glancing slyly at us with a gleam in its eye. My big dogs would take off on cue, lunging on the leashes like sled dogs, and it would take every ounce of my might not to do a face plant right on the pavement.

Experiences like these made me marvel at dogs that got along with cats. I thought that “those dogs” were rare and wondrous, that their humans must have worked long and hard to get them comfortable with “the opposite” species. At that time, in my mind dogs and cats were like day and night or black and white – they were opposites. Then I met my husband, a Real Man Who Loves Cats. When we decided it was time to add to our family, we went to the shelter and came back with a dog and a cat.

Our dog and cat have formed a tight interspecies bond; they are good friends. With appropriate socialization, most dogs and cats can live together harmoniously. Some breeds seem to be more accepting of feline friends than others, however. Here are five dog breeds that are recognized as being cat-friendly:

Golden and Labrador Retrievers

Big, happy and athletic, retrievers love everybody. Known for their devoted and obedient nature, retrievers are easy to socialize with other dogs and with cats. Many households that have retrievers also have cats, proving that size doesn’t matter.

Chihuahuas

Chihuahuas are known for their self-reliant, confident personalities. Even though they are fearless, they seem to have a soft spot for felines. In fact, Chihuahuas and cats seem to genuinely enjoy one another, often seeking each other out.

Boston Terriers

The lively Boston Terrier is a cat-friendly dog. Their intellect and determination make them easy to train, so if your cat is the type that likes to have plenty of personal space, this dog breed may be a good addition to the family. They will likely develop a mutual respect, at the very least.

Maltese

Charming and good-looking, Maltese are smart dogs that love to please. Because they’re fast learners, even if your cat cant figure out that running away will cause dogs to chase him, the Maltese can be trained to ignore the cat. These dogs are naturally gentle-natured, so they are excellent companions to cats.

Cocker Spaniels 

Cocker Spaniels catch on to things quickly, and readily obey their human companions. Most will happily cuddle with anything, human or feline, within paw’s length. Good for households with an existing cat, this breed seems to have a penchant for smaller creatures.

These are just a few of the many breeds known to connect well with cats. Generally speaking, dog breeds that are said to be intelligent and have a good temperament usually adapt to new experiences more easily and coexist more harmoniously with cats and other animals.

Even so, the relationship between a dog and a cat will vary depending on each animal’s personalities, social skills, past experiences and a variety of other factors. With very few exceptions, almost any dog can learn to be cat-friendly if he’s gradually and lovingly socialized, preferably at a young age. Plenty of patience and CANIDAE Grain Free Pure Heaven Biscuits worked for us.

Do you have interspecies friendships in your home? If so, did it happen immediately, or did the animals take time to warm up to one another?

Top photo by Pete Markham
Middle photo by Aviva West
Bottom photo by CavinB

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Doggone Safe Member with Training Success Story on TV

Congratulations to Be a Tree Presenter and dog behavior consultant, Melissa Millett for her role as host and trainer on the cable TV show "Doggy House Calls". Melissa visits the homes of families to help improve the behaviour of wayward pooches. Melissa teaches the owners how to use positive reinforcement-based clicker training to teach the dog the desired behaviours. Here is a link to a show segment in which a frightened  and aggressive dog learns to be less fearful and hence non-aggressive towards other dogs.

Doggy House Calls Episode

The owner explains that it required a consistent effort and that the training and vigilance are ongoing, but the results are well-worth it to have a happy and safe dog. The owner noted that the dog is calmer and safer around kids now as well. This is a terrific side effect of the training and provides a demonstration of the fact that training leads to a safer more well-adjusted dog. We can see from this example that the dog is a much happier and calmer now that she is not frightened by other dogs.

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Doggone Safe a Top 3 Finalist in the CLASSY Awards

The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the USA, recognizing the most outstanding philanthropic achievements by charities, businesses and individuals nationwide.

More than 2,000 nominations were submitted to StayClassy for consideration. After a vetting process, StayClassy posted each nomination as an article on the CLASSY Awards Achievements Blog (www.stayclassy.org/stories) to put a national spotlight on amazing philanthropic stories. Doggone Safe rallied their supporters to generate at least 100 Facebook ‘Likes’ on their article to qualify them for the judging round. Out of thousands of nominations, the judges narrowed the list down to the Top 25 most inspiring and impactful in each category. Doggone Safe is a finalist in the category: Most Effective Awareness Campaign.

After a period of public voting Doggone Safe has emerged as a top 3 finalist for its efforts with the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge. The winners will be decided on the basis of judging by a panel plus the public voting results and will be recognized live on-stage at the Oscars-style CLASSY Awards ceremony in San Diego on September 17th.

Thanks to Our Supporters!

A huge thank you goes to all our supporters who voted for us and to all the Be a Tree presenters who participated in the International Dog Bite Prevention Challenge and helped to educate over 16,000 kids in one week about safety around dogs.

A Charitable Event to Remember

The 3rd Annual CLASSY Awards competition will culminate at a red-carpet awards ceremony on Saturday, September 17 in San Diego, California. It will feature celebrity appearances, chart-topping music talent, nonprofit and technology leaders, and thousands of CLASSY Awards supporters. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be donated to support the charitable efforts of the 12 National CLASSY Awards Winners.

This year’s CLASSY Awards weekend will also feature the CLASSY Collaborative, a day-long networking event on Friday, September 16 at the W Hotel San Diego. Participants will have the opportunity to meet, mingle and share ideas with some of the foremost leaders in philanthropy, technology, innovation, and entertainment.

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Top 10 Poison Dangers for Dogs

By Langley Cornwell

It’s that time again. Spring is upon us, and my neighbors are fertilizing their lawns and spraying all kinds of insecticides to kill bugs. It always makes me nervous when they’re poisoning up their adjacent yard; I’m sure some of the toxic chemicals migrate over into our space. To educate myself, I consulted the Pet Poison Helpline and saw that they have an updated list of potential poisons in our homes and yards.

The Pet Poison Helpline is a valuable resource for pet people. They log every call they get, and each year they examine their records to determine what type of poisons garnered the most calls. So even though we’ve written other articles here on the CANIDAE RPO blog about the plants, foods or chemicals that can be hazardous to your pet, as a responsible pet owner it’s good to stay updated on the subject. With that in mind, here are the most common dangers for dogs, listed in order of the frequency of calls into the helpline. Interestingly, the list starts with food items because food accounted for the highest number of poisoning calls.

1.  Foods, especially xylitol, chocolate and grapes/raisins

Xylitol is getting a lot of attention lately because of claims that tout its health benefits, including reducing the risk of tooth decay. Many sugarless gums and candies now contain xylitol, and this sweetener is dangerous to dogs. Even a small amount ingested by your pup can result in a potentially fatal drop in blood sugar or even liver failure.

Most of us know that chocolate is toxic to dogs. The chemical in chocolate that makes it dangerous for dogs is theobromine, which is a relative of caffeine. The darker, bitter chocolates are the most dangerous. The fact that raisins and grapes are toxic foods for dogs isn’t as widely known. Be cautious; if a dog eats raisins or grapes it can result in kidney failure.

2.  Insecticides 

If it can kill insects, it can kill other things. Ingestion of insecticides and pesticides were the second most common call to the helpline. What I didn’t know is that one of the most dangerous ingredients is organophosphate (e.g., disulfoton) which is often found in rose-care products. This toxic chemical can be fatal to dogs, even when ingested in small amounts, so rose gardeners please take note.

Even though spot-applied flea and tick treatments work well for dogs, you have to be extremely careful if you are a mixed-species household because they can be very toxic to cats. Read the labels carefully and look out for products that contain pyrethrins or pyrethroids, which are a derivative of the Chrysanthemum flower. These chemicals are severely toxic if directly applied or ingested by cats.

3.  Mouse and rat poisons

Another case of the obvious; if it kills rodents it can kill other things. There are a variety of chemicals in mouse and rat poisons, all with diverse active ingredients and different types of action. Therefore all of them, regardless of what the packaging claims, are potentially poisonous to dogs. They can cause severe vomiting, internal bleeding, brain swelling or kidney failure. Furthermore, if your pets eat a mouse or rat that was poisoned by rodenticides, it can cause what’s called relay toxicity, meaning they can be poisoned via the dead animal.

4.  Human ibuprofen and naproxen pain relief drugs

Common NSAID pain relief drugs, which include Advil, Aleve and Motrin, can cause severe problems to dogs when ingested. These pain relievers can cause your pet stomach and intestinal ulcers as well as potential kidney failure. You should never treat your pet with human drugs of any sort without consulting your veterinarian.

5.  Common household cleaners 

Powerful cleaning products carry the highest risk to animals due to their corrosive properties. These household cleaners include rust removers, toilet bowel cleaners, calcium/lime removers and drain cleaners. And remember, just because a cleaner claims to be “natural,” it’s not necessarily safe. With all household cleaners, it’s better to err on the side of caution and keep them all out of your pet’s reach.

6.  Human antidepressant drugs

Of all the prescription drugs, antidepressants account for the highest number of emergency calls into the helpline. When ingested, these drugs can cause neurological problems in dogs like high levels of agitation, sedation, tremors and seizures. Please keep all human medications away from your pets.

7.  Fertilizers

The Pet Poison Helpline says that some fertilizers are fairly safe, but I still keep my dogs away from them. Apparently, certain organic fertilizers that contain iron, blood meal, bone meal and feather meal may be especially appealing to dogs. Consuming large quantities can cause severe pancreatitis or even bind together in the stomach and obstruct the gastrointestinal tract.

8.  Human acetaminophen drugs and cough/cold medications

Considerable amounts of acetaminophen (Tylenol) can lead to severe liver failure in dogs. Cat people should be doubly cautions about acetaminophen because it poses a more significant threat – one Tylenol can be fatal to felines.

9.  Human amphetamine drugs 

Drugs that are used to treat ADD and ADHD, like Adderall and Concerta, contain strong stimulants. The smallest amount ingested by a dog can cause life-threatening heart problems, tremors, seizures and elevated body temperatures and heart problems.

10.  Veterinary pain relievers 

Rimadyl is a veterinary-specific, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is often prescribed by veterinarians for inflammation, osteoarthritis and pain management for dogs. Be careful, though. Over ingestion can result in severe gastric ulceration and acute kidney failure in dogs.

Top photo by Crystal Rolfe
Bottom photo by Tony Alter

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