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One of the most important things we can do with a new puppy, I learned, is to socialize him. And I nearly broke into a cold sweat when I read that the age a pup needs to be socialized is from about 3 weeks until 16 weeks, and after that the window is shut, permanently. Oh my gosh!  What if I blow it. Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right? I'm cute, right? Why do I need anything else? If we expose our puppies during this time to a wide variety of sights, sounds, smells, people and other dogs, we can help them learn not to be fearful or anxious when faced with something new. Well-socialized dogs are less likely to react with fear or aggression. I must admit I think often about what Petey's temperament will be like when he's older. Sure, he's adorable now, and funny and sweet and playful. But what about when he is a puppy adolescent? And adult? I feel a huge responsibility to do everything I can to help ensure Petey is a friendly and happy and well behaved dog, and one wh

Have you ever wanted to take better pictures with your dog? But your dog gets distracted and is looking everywhere but the camera? Have you ever thought you could get a good picture, if only you could stick your dog's favorite toy on top of the phone? Well, that's the theory behind the Pooch Selfie! Smile!   Chewy.com sent us a Pooch Selfie smartphone attachment so we could try for ourselves. Basically, it's a clip that snaps onto your smartphone or phone case, and easily holds a tennis ball. (retail $12.99). You can insert your own tennis ball if this one gets demolished! I don't know what they did to this tennis ball, but Ernest went crazy! All he wanted to do was to EAT TENNIS BALL NOW! He is generally a mellow dog, so his excitement surprised me. Tastes good to me, Mom. You wanted a picture of my canines, didn't you? Petey didn't even seem to notice the ball at first, but when he did, he took a nibble. With his miniscule puppy attention span, nothing keeps

Even before we brought home new puppy Petey, our first thought was how would we make sure it goes well between him and Ernest? "I'm so cute. How could anyone not adore me?" Ernest is almost 9 years old. Petey was almost 9 weeks old. Would they like each other? Would Pete be too much for Ernest? Would Ernest be too rough on Petey? The first thing we did was walk them together in a neutral area. Ernest gets along well with other dogs so I didn't feel too concerned that he'd have a problem. He and the puppy walked well, mostly doing their own thing. Then we let them loose in the fenced yard together. When all went well we brought them inside. Luckily Ernest is a very mellow older guy. In the house, we supervise all interactions. At first Ernest was mildly interested, then he seemed to say, "Okay, he's small, he's cute I guess...now take him back." The puppy enjoyed following Ernest around and biting his tail. Sometimes we interpreted Ernest's

Something exciting is happening at The Writer's Dog...Friday I asked you to guess what it might be. Some of you guessed that I was under contract for a new series of dog books, and that my first book is being made into a movie. Wow I'd love that! Both of those would be awesome but it's not happening (yet!). Others guessed that Ernest got his TDI (therapy dog) certificate. Not yet, but he will be attending classes and  heading toward that goal. So the correct answer is.... Petey in a bucket We got a puppy! Can you believe it? As you know we've been adopting senior dogs, and sadly, in March we lost both Ike and Kelly. Then two months ago we adopted 8 1/2 year old Ernest. He's an awesome sweet boy and we sure got lucky when our rescue group found him for us. Then, something totally surprising happened! We got a wonderful opportunity to bring an adorable golden retriever puppy into the family and...well, Ernest now has a little brother. Our first day together. Family po