Jim’s Corner

Hi! I’m Jim Malone, General Manager of Marketing and Sales for American Animal Health, here to help you with your pet handling problems. After 30 years in the pet industry, you can bet I’ve gathered some knowledge of dogs and cats and how we can expect them to behave.
I’m not a veterinarian, so if you have a medical problem click on our “ask the vet” button. If your pet has a few quirks in his personality, which make him difficult to live with, I might be your man!

Last Christmas, a good buddy of mine and a real dog lover, invited a couple of us in for snacks and football. Before we settled down to talk, he locked his big chocolate lab in the garage. “Why’d you do that?” I asked. “Plays too rough when he gets excited.” he answered. “Tug-of-war and wrestling games were fine when he was a pup, but now he could hurt somebody.”

Sure, it’s an old story. Wrestling used to be great fun for both of them. The man enjoyed it when his dog fought back. He encourage him with praise and rewarded him for his efforts. But, things change, now the dog is confused by the man’s anger, and struggles harder to win back the praise his feisty behavior used to bring.

The moral of the story, of course, is ‘be careful what you teach’, it may come back to bite you. Rough play is dangerous, especially when there are children around. Locking the dog away for the protection of guests is a temporary solution, at best. Retraining, probably by a professional, is called for at this point.

Back to basics, SIT, DOWN, STAY, HEEL, FETCH, this is the type of training which will never get you or your dog in trouble.
It is also a good idea to provide any dog with a refuge to which he can escape when children get too rough with him. Ear and tail pulling, pushing, poking can trigger a bite response, even with a well-trained, gentle animal.
Lickables Travel-Ease can also be a big help during the holiday season. A few tasty licks a hour or two before the arrival of guests will help keep your dog or puppy relaxed. A great remedy for car-sickness, separation anxiety or boarding woes, as well!