My name is Julia Levitt, founder of In Harmony Dog Training. I like to think of myself as “Miss Manners” for dogs! I help people learn to have a lovely pet to live in their home and I’m available to help your dog be a better canine citizen.

Julia Levitt and In Harmony Dog Training periodically hold Doggie Meet and Greets—an opportunity for your dog to learn basic skills for meeting and interacting with other dogs.

Some common concerns about dog behavior:

• Does my dog leap in happiness at my friends at the door? Do they then recoil ?
• Does my dog bark incessantly? When I come in or go out ?  At the mailman? Or just for fun?
• Does my dog drag me down the street when we go for a walk?

These and many other of your questions will be addressed in our new Ann Arbor Animal Hospital Blog. Please feel free to ask any and every question you have about your beloved pooch and I’ll try to address your question in my next column!

Question of the Week:
I’ve gotten everybody special gifts for the Holidays. Is there anything special I should get for my dog?

Answer:
Holidays have been with us for the last 3 weeks with 2 more weeks of festivities. To us humans this is a time of excitement—greeting friends, seeing long-lost family and travel. What does all of this mean to you four legged buddy?

Dogs thrive on routine. When the holidays arrive all sorts of unwanted and “unroutine” behaviors from us humans appear. In our happiness of the Holidays sometimes our pets don’t get first or even second priority.

What to do to make Holidays as stress-free for both you and your pet?

• Keep a routine as close as possible to your daily activities. Sounds hard.. not really. Stick to your morning routine just as if you are leaving for work in the morning (i.e. Pooch goes into the crate—maintain that.)
• Treats have a way of finding their way to a cute furry face that is sitting strategically under the person who drops the most food. Pooch should be crated during meal times. Holidays are for humans, not dogs. Giving your dog rich treats they are not used to spells one thing—and it ain’t pretty. Cooked bones are out! Remember—they splinter.
• Decorated trees: do you smell pee? Take pooch out regularly. Remember during all of the excitement that they still have to be let out. Your dog will be excited too, and to release a bit of this energy, a good brisk walk will help!

My holiday wish for all of you is to live in harmony with your four legged friend!
—Julia