At 2 days post-op after TPLO surgery for a torn ACL, we took Tenor home from the pet hospital. 

Dr. Beckman said that he was healing faster than most dogs, and he was also putting more weight on his leg sooner than most.

I think Tenor paid the price for that extra weight on his leg in those first days post-op, because his leg and ankle swelled up like an over-stuffed balloon just moments after we got him home.

Here's a little about our dog's recovery from TPLO surgery, as well as the stories of other dogs who've been through it.

You know it’s not healthy for people to eat too fast, and that’s also true for dogs. The same uncomfortable things can happen -- like gas, bloating, choking, even vomiting (nothing fun about that!). 

If your pooch is a gulper, the partitioned dog food bowl by DogPause might be the solution you’re looking for.

It's a fun way to get your dog to eat more slowly!

Our dog, Tenor, has such a thick and luscious coat of fur. (He's part Black Lab, part Great Pyrenees, but he mostly just looks like your average Labrador Retriever.)

His skin and coat weren't always in such great shape, though. In fact, a few months ago he had dry, flaky, itchy skin so bad that we thought he had an incurable skin disease!

Here's what the vet recommended. And it worked like a charm!

Many of you know that I've been honing my skills in the kitchen lately, and experimenting with a lot of new recipes -- including Rachel Ray's.

Well, it turns out she has quite a collection of dog-friendly recipes, too!

I haven't tried any of them myself yet, but I have to say... I think my dog would be quite pudgy if I served up all of the delicious treats that Rachel Ray lists in her Pet Archives.

For me, it all started with a free copy of Dog's Life, a free 4-color magazine subscription from Beneful.

On the back of my first issue of Dog's Life was a $2.00 coupon good on any size bag of Beneful dog food.

I used that coupon at my local Target. And my dog has been hooked on Beneful ever since.

This happened to me not too long ago...

On a car ride with our dog one Saturday afternoon, Jim went into a pet store to buy some dog treats -- while Destin and I waited in the car.

When Jim returned, I opened up the dog treat box (eager to share a couple of treats with the dog who had been "such a good boy" on this extra-long car ride) only to discover dozens of tiny gnats and insect-looking bugs hopping in and around the treats inside the box! (These were hard dog treats in a box, not the moist & meaty kind that require a stay-fresh sealed bag.)

Never before this had we ever stopped to think that dog food and dog treats do expire just like human foods do. (Shame on us.)

The date on this particular box of treats was several months past.

Since I talk so much about Kongs here on this website... and how much my dogs have enjoyed Kong toys all through the years... and how much of a lifesaver those one-of-a-kind dog cones are...

I thought I'd share the Kong Company's letter to dog owners regarding Kong treats and the recent pet food scare.

I was in Walmart yesterday and I noticed a sign in front of the IAMS dog food on the shelf there.

It was bright green (so it stood out, even if you weren't looking at the IAMS food on the shelf) and it covered the main points of the IAMS promise, plus this:

All IAMS dry dog and cat foods on store shelves today can be fed with confidence. None of these products contains wheat gluten, identified as the contaminated ingredient in the Menu Foods recall."

This sign from the IAMS company stuck in my head, and when I got home I looked up the IAMS company online and found you can get a free 4 lb. bag of IAMS dog food.

Here are the details...

Good news: This page is updated daily!

So now you'll be one of the first to know the next time there's a recall on pet food or dog treats.

It's easier to stay on top of things if you only have to check one place to find all of the latest recalls -- any time, day or night, today or in the future. Wouldn't you agree?

Here's what you need to know...

Kong toys are all the rage (we own 16 of them... 2 dogs!). And dogs can have hours of fun trying to get the good stuff out of their Kong toys.

But cleaning them isn't quite so fun.

Here's what I do... works like a charm for me!