First, I want to remind everyone that some things that are so cute when you have a puppy, are not so cute when they are grown! Begging is one of those behaviors.
You know how cute it seems when a puppy begs for attention, food, or other goodies from their human? Keep in mind how not cute that will be when they are no longer fuzzy little fur balls. Like when they are 100 pound adults, begging for that Big Mac you barely have time to woof down before working from home for the next couple hours so that you still meet your deadline at work tomorrow when you just walk in the door after a grueling 12 or 14 hour day at the office. (Not that yours truly would have ever done that 
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Last September, a reader adopted what they think is a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix puppy from a rescue at approximately eight weeks of age. Throughout most of her puppyhood, she had a very timid personality, and she was always extra cautious of people and inanimate objects, but she was always very playful with and intrigued by other dogs. Now, the family is starting to notice some behavior at 1 ½ years old that is disturbing to them. 
For prospective and new parents of a West Highland Terrier, also know as a “Westie.” Westies are one of those little breeds that makes you thankful they are small in size. Those guys have a whole LOT of attitude in that LITTLE body! Despite their small stature, they can make wonderful watch dogs. A parent that wants to adopt a Westie better bring a strong will to the table. The last thing anyone wants is for a Westie to be in control.
The first thing I have to say is “Congratulations” on the expansion of your family, and I wish to extend a special thank you for choosing to have a dog of that breed. I have always said that pit bulls are not born bad, they are just raised that way.
Over the holidays, many families across America became new and loving homes for puppies. A friend of 
First, I want to give a little background on what good salespuppies retrievers can be. One time, Mom told me a story about this man who was trying to sell an old car. He had a “FOR SALE” sign with his phone number on the car, but no one ever walked over or called to take a look at it. Undeterred, he had a stroke of genius to drive traffic! My doggie mom, Autumn, had recently had a litter of puppies. There were eight of them and of course, like all retriever pups, they were beautiful and wonderfully cute. The man took some pictures of the puppies he borrowed, and he put the pictures all over his old car, and he placed an ad in the local car classified with a picture of one of the puppies in the driver’s seat. The pictures of the pups brought much needed attention to his car, and he made the sale at the asking price within days. It is true that retrievers can sell just about anything. 
Earlier this month, a reader e-mailed me about a problem she was having with her Springer Spaniel puppy. Basically, anytime her puppy saw her, she would get so excited that she could not contain herself, and she would pee wherever she stood, sat, etc. This seems like a pretty cut and dry case of submissive urination, but there are some steps we need to take to rule out other potential issues.
The big day is getting closer and everyone is thrilled about Santa, especially Tax. He has been on Santa Watch since December 26th of last year. Today, I want to talk about a proper Christmas gift. As you know, I have been tracking gift ideas for your pet over on the right from my Twitter friends. I am happy to suggest to you some very nice gifts that you may buy for your friends, as well. An electric pencil sharpener, a gift card to their favorite restaurant, movie tickets, money, Elvis’ Christmas Album, a toaster, some perfume, a clock, a nice picture frame, socks… I could go on and on. But, most importantly, I want to tell people about one thing that should never be considered as a gift, a dog or a cat! We are not gifts, we are family. 
