Since we were children, purveyors of folk wisdom have been telling us that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” For the most part, they’ve been right. In dogs, as in primates and humans, impaired learning and memory functions correlate with aging. It’s a sad but true fact that as we grow older our […]
Last month, the Varsity Pets braintrust took a road-trip to Charleston, SC to watch a Varsity Pets-sponsored canine athlete compete at the Southeast Wildlife Exposition. We had an absolute blast. When we returned, we wrote about our experience in Charleston for our friends at GoPetFriendly.com. If you’re interested in learning more about this amazing city […]
The majority of the content that we publish at the Optimal Dog is informational in nature. We identify an interesting health or fitness question, we research and think about it, and we regurgitate our conclusions. You, our readers, read the answers and, perhaps, learn some new information. And, sometimes, that’s it. In those cases, you […]
How did you choose your dog’s food? Did you look critically at theories about the food eaten by her ancestors and make your best-reasoned judgment about what she evolved to eat? Did you sift through data and crunch numbers to determine how many daily calories she needs? Did you unearth studies that link certain ingredients […]
This article was written by Chris Redenbach CDBC, CBCC-KA, a certified dog behavior consultant and owner of the Balanced Dog, a canine training service based in Atlanta, Georgia. To learn more about Coach Chris, please visit our “Contributing Authors” page. Obesity and Heartbreak My mother loved her dog intensely. I gave Eco, a Bouvier des Flandres, to […]
It’s Valentine’s Day — another holiday that dogs don’t understand. Of course, they don’t need to possess a fully-developed concept of a holiday in order to feel comfort or excitement when we shower them with love, affection, and gifts. But if there is someone important in your life whose concept of Valentine’s Day is a bit […]
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 […]
No profit grows where is no pleasure taken; in brief, sir, study what you most affect. — William Shakespeare If your overweight dog is ever going to get back into shape, you’ll have to play several different (but equally critical) roles throughout the process. On one level, you’re going to be a general. This one […]
First of all, if you’re at all interested in this topic, you really ought to check out Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma, my book about the science (and business) of canine health and obesity. If you don’t think it’s the most honest, rigorous, in-depth, and all-around helpful book you’ve ever read on the topic, I’ll refund 100% of […]
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.