Accurate, timely, and inspiring news & resources for dog lovers
Champion of My Heart
An Award-Winning Dog Site by Roxanne Hawn
Champion of My Heart launched in April 2007.
Forget DOG YEARS. That’s an EON AGO in publishing.
We’re kinda famous for a few popular resources!
Canine Relaxation Protocol Audio Files
The relaxation protocol is considered baseline work for serious behavior modification training, but many people use it for more everyday purposes for dogs of all ages.
Adverse Vaccine Reaction Archives
Lilly, the original canine heroine of Champion of My Heart, died December 17, 2013, following a 23-month fight for her life — after she suffered a severe adverse rabies vaccine reaction.
Heart Dog: Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate
With such great love comes epic grief after your Heart Dog dies. Even if you’ve experienced pet loss before, life without your canine soul mate is much harder. Typical grief advice isn’t enough.
Champion of My Heart Origins
TL/DR version: Dogs often earn “championships” of all kinds in a variety of dog sports and other competitive venues. For many, including probably my dogs, that’s unlikely … and yet … they remain the champions of my heart.
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Recent Articles
- Book Review of The Hill by Leif Lathrop
Needed to do something different for about 1,000 reasons this week, so here’s an entirely off topic book review of The Hill by Leif Lathrop. It truly is an uplifting (and sometimes heart-pounding) story about the 6-man high school football team he coaches. It’s truly cinematic in scope and a fun read for anyone who already loves or wants to learn about life, community, and football in a small town. Lathrop is an accomplished artist (as seen recently on a 3-minute segment aired on CBS Evening News), fellow Colorado author, and a former semi-pro football coach. He also happens to be a high school classmate of mine and the leading man in another friend and classmate’s life. - How Much Do Dogs Cost Over a Lifetime ?
Some new data from Synchrony / Care Credit sheds light on how much dogs cost over a lifetime. The survey also summarizes where people now cut back due to the rising costs for everything dogs need. I always think these estimates are way, WAY low, but let’s take a look at the results of the 2025 Pet Lifetime of Care Study (with 1,541 dog owners responding to the online survey). - Hypothyroidism in Dogs and False-Positive Tests
A study published in 2024 set up blind, independent case reviews with 3 different board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialists to gauge the likelihood of dogs actually being hypothyroid based on routine blood test results that found low total T4. The premise is that overdiagnosis of hypothyroidism in dogs is possible. Here’s what those specialists thought. - Study into Common Tummy Meds for Puppies
A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in June 2025 looked at the effects of giving healthy puppies a combination of metronidazole-sulfadimethoxine. This study into common tummy meds for puppies found some not great outcomes in markers of intestinal health. - Dog Urinalysis
Especially as dogs get older, I’ve always been in the camp that says, “Why not run routine tests, just to see?” Asking for a dog urinalysis is a good example. Why not check? Way better to catch anything early. Yet, with veterinary costs rising and other financial challenges for many people, including me, I (unfortunately) now take a harder look at my budget than I did earlier. I dug around in my dog files to remind myself how much a canine urinalysis test costs now versus then. Spoiler alert, the cost has nearly doubled. Honestly, it’s tempting to scale back, and I still might, but let’s look at some of the things we might miss if we skip doing urinalysis on a dog, of any age. - 5 New Breeds Added to When to Spay or Neuter Research
The research I first wrote about in 2021 that offered recommendations on when to spay or neuter 35 dog breeds has expanded to include recommendations for 5 more breeds — German Short/Wirehaired Pointer, Mastiff, Newfoundland, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Siberian Husky. Let’s take a look at the details for these new breeds. - Terrible Advice About Affording Veterinary Care
Petsmart Charities released results of a new survey recently that shows a majority of people (52%) struggle with affording veterinary care. Everyone is talking about it, as you’ve likely seen. I will probably write about it in more detail soon, but I wanted to share my thoughts (rant) about some terrible advice I saw from an e-newsletter and website for veterinary professionals. I won’t name it here, but I will say that I, myself, would not respond well or feel good about their ideas of how veterinary teams should pre-ask about paying for veterinary care or handle times when people feel worried about paying for recommended veterinary care. It’s cringe-worthy, IMHO. - License for Rattlesnake Vaccine for Dogs Yanked
So, this is interesting. It turns out that the USDA pulled the license for the rattlesnake vaccine for dogs. That means it will soon no longer be available to veterinarians, just as rattlesnake season ramps up this spring (2025). Here’s what we know. - Fun Dog Book for Kids
Author Jeff Pawlecki contacted me a while back, asking me to review his fun book for kids called The Three Terrier Tales on the Farm – Barking Up a New Adventure. He lives on a farm in Ohio, with family that includes people and several species of animals. The book is cute and pretty funny. If you know young readers who like terriers, it’s perfect for their bookshelves!
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