Meet Howser. Doggie Howser. Get it?

He's an adorable soft-coated wheaten terrier, one of the new students in the puppy kindergarten class at Smarty Paws. Trainer MaryKay Grahn has moved into her fantastic new indoor location in northwest Las Vegas. There's room for agility (we had our first class of the season Monday night) and obedience classes to take place at the same time. We enjoyed watching the younger pupils go through the basics.

Good TV or Doggie Abuse?

Squirting a dog in the face with lemon juice? To try and teach him to look angry on command? Seriously?!
Apparently, we weren't the only ones with mixed feelings about the television show "Greatest American Dog." In fact, we gave up watching just a few episode in, uncomfortable with some of the actions of the owners. It turns out we missed a particularly disturbing episode. Read more about it in the San Francisco Chronicle's excellent Your Whole Pet column.

Kittens Welcome at MIT!

In Episode #144 of The Petcast, we talked about a pet-friendly dorm in upstate New York. Turns out, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has also opened its doors to students' pets. Take minute for this terrific Boston Globe piece, and don't skip the video!