It's no secret, we love to travel with our dogs. However, traveling with a pet isn’t always easy. Frequent potty stops, transporting pets, food and water, finding dog-friendly restaurants or overnight accommodations and coping with nervous pets can sometimes make it all a discouraging ordeal. Over the years. we have found some ways to take the stress out of traveling with dogs and  make our dogs comfortable with the travel experience.

So before you decide to leave your pet at home, take a look at these nifty travel accessories! They make vacationing with pets anything but difficult, leaving you and your pet with more time to focus on having fun.

 Right now is the best time in the Valley to experience the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. I love all the wonderful hiking trails we have in the area. I find that a lot of people feel that many of our trails are too challenging. Desert trails are rocky and hard to maneuver.  I set out to find some easier trails in the area, that would be perfect for anyone. I still wanted them to be in the desert, so my family could experience the beauty of the Sonoran Desert, but without all the rocky trails and steep inclines.

In this article I would like to share some of my favorite trails to experience the Sonoran Desert. I selected  trails almost anyone can walk and enjoy. Several of these trails are barrier free, which makes them wheelchair accessible, and therefore also perfect for young families with children in strollers.

I believe the most important travel preparation you can make is to ensure your dog is comfortable in unfamiliar places and feels safe wherever you take him, because he has learned to trust you. 
Here are a few exercises you should do with your dog, prior to taking him on vacation. These training exercises expose your dog to some unfamiliar places and in the process teach him to rely on you for guidance and safety.

We just got some snow in the high country of Arizona and many valley residents are eager to take a day trip to go for a winter hike in the snow. If you like us, this will mean bringing your dogs.

I thought this may be a good time to offer up a few winter travel tips for dog owners. These are mostly related to taking your dogs out during cold winter weather and are meant to help those who will travel into areas with snow and ice.

Does your dog misbehave on-leash? Is he lunging and frantically barking at other dogs, people, or even cars?

Many dog owners struggle with reactive behavior in their dogs. They are frustrated and anxious because their dog misbehaves on-leash. They walk their dogs at odd hours of the day to ensure they won't meet anyone or they may even avoid taking their dogs out for a walk.

What many dog owners don't realize is that reactive behavior in dogs is not always aggressive.  In many cases, reactive behavior comes out of insecurity or can be caused by hyper-excitement.

With the Thanksgiving Holiday approaching, I thought I'd share one of my favorite dog treat recipes:
Thanksgiving Treats! The recipe is taken from my Canine Recipe Book:  "Chew On This"

Every day I see Facebook posts on lost pets - and it breaks my heart. Thank goodness many dog owners now have their pets micro-chipped and most pets wear a collar with their owner's cellphone number on it. These two things can make sure that someone can contact the owner when a pet is lost, found and hopefully gets back home safely.

Few people know that you can teach your dog two very important lessons that most likely will prevent the dog from getting lost in the first place. The first lesson is: “Open doors don't mean run through it”, the second: “the safest place is with your owner”. In this blog article, I want to cover the first lesson in more depth with you. 

Many dog owners dream about taking their dogs on day trips or vacations. This article shares our top things your dog needs to know before you take him on adventures

With the upcoming 4th of July Holiday, I thought, I share these tips for keeping your pet calm and safe during fireworks.

For many pets the loud noises and the smell of fireworks are very frightening and statistically there is a huge increase in lost pets during this time of year. Even pets that usually won't run from home can get so panicked that they run away.

Image credit: Flickr

A few months back we had to say good-bye to our beloved friend Jaeger.

Jaeger was one of the kindest souls I have ever met. He helped us with so many foster dogs and in our dog training. But most of all, he brought so much joy and happiness into our daily lives. He was my companion for 13 years. Words cannot express what he meant to me and my husband. He will be forever missed.

Having to say good-bye is never easy, and deciding on whether or not to help your pet across the Rainbow Bridge is a hard and very difficult decision to make. I chose to share our experience with At-Home Euthanasia with you, in the hopes that it may offer some help, when the time comes for your pet to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Summer is here in Arizona and it's time to prepare for the hot days. So how do you keep your pooches entertained in the hot summer weather? In this article, I want to share my favorite summer items with you. They make the hot days fun and help exercise your dog, so he doesn't develop any unwanted behaviors.  We take our dogs out to the lakes or on creek hikes.

Over the years I have found there are certain items that are must-haves when hiking with dogs. In this post I want to share 5 items I feel are essential to have with me when I go hiking with my pets.

If you read my blog or follow my YouTube Channel, you know I love hiking with my dogs. We live in Arizona and hiking in the Sonoran Desert means we could come across rattlesnakes anytime of the year, although summer encounters are more likely. Knowing basic rattlesnake bite safety could end up saving my pet’s life. In this blog I want to share with you what I  learned about what to do immediately after a pet is bitten.

A rattlesnake bite is frightening and can be one of the most dangerous situations you may face with your pet. Not only do you need to know what to do in the moments after a bite, but you also need to act fast to save your pet’s life. Being prepared ahead of time may ensure that you act in a way that helps your pet in this emergency.

The list contains the main things veterinarians suggest you do immediately after the bite occurred and also lists some DON'Ts - things that are widely believed to be useful, but that veterinarians do not recommend.

Recently one of my friends ask if they could teach their dog not to pee every time a stranger comes into the home. Since submissive urination is a fearful behavior, I told my friend he needed to recondition the dog so that the dog would associate strangers coming to his home as a positive experience.

A dog that pees when she gets attention is likely a shy dog, that gets excited and/or intimidated when people come into her space. Most of the time people that love dogs want to pet them immediately and give them lots of verbal attention, like: “Oh, you are so cute. Come over here. You don’t have to be afraid, I like dogs!” They keep going after the dog, trying to pet her. Since the dog is in a submissive state and likely excited for all the attention, she will crouch down and squeeze her body to make herself smaller and in the process might pee a little, or even a lot. Now there will likely be some verbal exclamation from either the dog owner or the guest: “Oh no, she peed on the floor!” and some excited hustle about cleaning it up quickly. The dog senses that she has done something wrong and associates this greeting ritual with a state of anxiety and confusion.

Guest Blog by Jackie Lambert

Hi, we are ‘that couple with four dogs,’ otherwise known as Jackie and Mark. We took early retirement to travel when we were made redundant in our early 50s. Once we were no longer slaves to long hours, we decided to get a dog, but ended up with four; our cuddly Cavapoos Kai, Rosie, Ruby and Lani.Our pooches are our constant companions and since one of our passions is skiing, we take our pups on piste; that is, they accompany us for our snowy seasons in Monte Rosa, a hidden gem in the Italian Alps.

We love our dogs and take them with us wherever we go, whenever possible. I am always looking for more dog-friendly adventures, so you can imagine my excitement, when I saw some pictures of Melissa  rock-climbing with her dog, Hero. I just had to find out more about them!

Melissa embodies the term "if I can't bring my dog, I'm not going." She has found dog-friendly activities that are not only unique but also challenging. Melissa horseback rides, paddle boards and rock-climbs with her dog and both participate in dog events like dog survivals and canicross.

Read more about these unique activities........

Apollo is super excited to get these "Chocolate" covered dog biscuits I just made. Of course, they are not dipped in real chocolate, because dogs can't have chocolate. It's one of those forbitten foods for dogs. These homemade dog biscuits are made with carob, a naturally sweet chocolate substitute that is safe for dogs to eat.