graphic that reads -- when your heart dog dies reflections 10 years later. It's pink with black text and a pink felt heart in the middle

When your heart dog dies, it leaves you gutted in ways words can’t truly describe. I sliced myself open to write Heart Dog: Surviving the Loss of Your Canine Soul Mate while still absolutely devastated by the death of our original canine heroine Lilly. All of this sites content between 2007 and 2013, and a little beyond, tell her stories. So, with the 10 anniversary of her death coming up this weekend, I guess it’s time to reflect. To offset the sad parts, don’t miss the photos and videos at the very end of our latest fosters.

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all new dog anxiety supplement from brave paws

hanks to our longtime leadership in the dog media world, I get to be one of the first to tell you about a dog anxiety supplement with new-to-market active ingredients from Brave Paws. Plus, for a limited time, fans and friends of Champion of My Heart are the ONLY ONES getting access to $10 off with an exclusive coupon code (HOLIDAY10), just for us. I look forward to trying Brave Paws for Tori’s stress and sickness in the car. I hope you’ll keep reading to learn more possible uses for separation anxiety, veterinary visits, thunderstorms, fireworks, car trips, or other ongoing dog stress concerns. Just in time for preventing holiday worries in dogs.

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Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex graphic main

For now, I’m not going to attempt to write extensively about the weird (and maybe new / maybe not new) Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) cases all over the news that result in sometimes quick and dangerous pneumonia. Sure, it’s in my wheelhouse, but it’s also an fluid situation. I really do not want to add to the hype and drama. Instead, here are some recommendations on reputable places to get updated and accurate information, specifically for your community.

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pet loss guided meditation main graphic with copy of Heart Dog book and a steaming cup of cocoa that's heart-shaped

Wow! The holidays pose extra hardships on grieving hearts. I decided to create a pet loss guided meditation to help those hurting this time of year due to the loss of their beloved pets. It’s less than 10 minutes long, and I hope it helps ease the heartbreak. I plan to create more of these in the future, but this is a start. This post explains the structure of the meditation. Scroll to the bottom for the video / audio you can use to ground yourself in love.

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nw2 results illustration mind map

In September 2023, Clover attended her fifth NW2 competition. We did not earn a title that day, again. The challenge of nosework, unlike other dog sports, is that the first couple of titles require perfection all in a single day. You don’t get the build toward titles until later. For NW1, it’s 4 searches (with 1 hide each) in a single day. Clover did that on her first try. And, she *nearly did it on her first try at NW2. But, here we find ourselves, without that elusive 5 perfect searches in a single day … yet … because the searches are harder and can feature multiple hides. Here’s how things went. Don’t miss the video of us searching at the bottom of the page!

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Can I Give My Dog Dramamine main graphic

Thanks to access to better tools that analyze big data I now know that people ask questions like this: Can I Give My Dog Dramamine: Is It Safe? So, let’s take a look. Remember, we went through a LOT of options for Tori’s epic car sickness. We have a solution that sort of works, but she still struggles. In some cases, dramamine is NOT safe for certain dogs.

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mistakes dog owners make page graphic

Rather than mistakes dog owners make, maybe I should call this … the dumbest things I ever did when it comes to dogs. Granted, most of them happened when I was much younger and less experienced with being responsible for 100% of my dogs’ care. Get ready to laugh (or be horrified).

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shelter dog behavior after adoption main graphic -- photo of the top of the first page of a new study published in Aug 2023

A study done by researchers from the veterinary school at Ohio State University and published in August 2023, looked at shelter dog behavior after adoption at 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days. The results look interesting, including how adoptions and data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and such affected outcomes and perspectives.

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sulfa drug sensitivity in dogs main graphic

Sulfa drug sensitivity in dogs often makes us think about Doberman Pinschers, but they are not the only breed potentially affected by sulfonamide medications. Let’s look at theories on causes and common symptoms. Don’t miss the gorgeous photo of a pal’s Doberman.

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