Blog - Dr. Marty Becker

Blog

From pet health tips to ideas on fighting boredom and loneliness in pets, you can learn how to make your pets' lives better here.

Military dog mourns on grave of fallen Marine

Monday, Apr 14th, 2014 | By Dr. Marty Becker

A military working dog lies on the grave of a fallen Marine. What was the story behind the photo? When I saw this image on Pinterest today, it affected me so deeply I researched the story behind it. In 2006, U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Adam Leigh Cann, age 23, died in a suicide bombing attack […]

Read more »

The peanut butter cure: Helping a shelter dog learn to trust

Sunday, Apr 13th, 2014 | By Dr. Marty Becker

Can peanut butter help save a dog’s life? Combined with love and determination, the answer is yes. I’m in Boston, where I am speaking on ‘Creating Fear Free Visits for Pets’ at the Canine Behavior Conference at Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine. I was walking down Boylston St. when I saw this young man asking […]

Read more »

Join veterinarians and oppose horse soring

Saturday, Apr 12th, 2014 | By Dr. Marty Becker

If you’ve never heard of the practice known as ‘horse soring,’ there are a lot of horses who wish they never had, either. Soring is the practice of applying caustic, blistering substances, chains, and other forms of pain, often severe, to get Tennessee Walking Horses to lift their legs up high when moving. This gait […]

Read more »

Teach your dog that beggars never win

Tuesday, Apr 1st, 2014 | By Dr. Marty Becker

Tips to stop your dog from begging at the table from my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, in this week’s Pet Connection: Make the dinner table a dog-free zone. Teach your dog to go to his bed, a mat or his crate when meals are served. It’s a great opportunity for him to practice a long […]

Read more »

Gardeners with pets need to think ‘dogscaping’

Friday, Mar 28th, 2014 | By Dr. Marty Becker

Is it possible to have pets and a nice garden? Yes, says my friend, dog trainer and writer Liz Palika, in a guest column for this week’s Pet Connection: As ice and snow melt and mud takes their place, the promise of spring appears with tiny green leaves on the trees. Nurseries begin stocking flowers […]

Read more »