Dog Star Park

A practical guide to helping your dog cope with thunderstorm, firework, and loud-noise phobia: symptoms, creating a safe haven, desensitization, and when to consult your veterinarian.

You walk your dog for an hour a day, feed him twice, play with him for a while… and even so, when you get home, you find the chewed sofa, the shredded cushions or a rug torn to shreds.

If this sounds familiar, take a breath: the problem is not that your dog is destructive or lazy. It's that he's bored.

The science of canine behavior is clear: dogs need to use their brains as much as —or more than— their legs. Physical exercise tires the body for a while; mental stimulation tires them for real and in a lasting way. A dog that works his nose, solves problems and discovers new things ends the day pleasantly exhausted… and happy.

For decades, dog training was based on dominance: “the dog must know who is in charge”. But neuroscience changed everything. Today we know that positive reinforcement is not only more ethical, but significantly more effective in the long term. Dogs trained with positive methods learn faster, retain what they have learned better and, above all, develop a stronger and more secure bond with their humans.

Your dog scratches non-stop, gets ear infections over and over again and loses hair in patches. You've changed kibble three times and nothing improves. If you're reading this, you probably already suspect the same thing as millions of owners: could it be a food allergy?

Food allergies in dogs are frustrating, difficult to diagnose and often confused with environmental allergies. But there is a clear protocol to find out for sure. In this guide we explain the difference between allergy and intolerance, which ingredients are the most suspicious, how to recognise the symptoms and, above all, how to apply the elimination diet step by step to discover what disagrees with your dog.

You come home and find the door frame chewed, a shredded cushion and your neighbour complaining about the barking. No, your dog isn't holding a grudge against you or has suddenly turned “bad”. It could be suffering from separation anxiety, one of the most common —and most misunderstood— behavioural disorders in urban dogs. In this guide we explain what it really is, how to tell it apart from simple boredom and, most importantly, how to help your dog feel safe even when you're not at home.

Does your dog get tense when it sees another dog? Or does it get so excited that you can't control it? Both cases have a solution. Socialization isn't a luxury or a whim: it's a fundamental need for the well-being of your four-legged companion. And no, it isn't something you only do when they're puppies.

Environmental enrichment is any modification to your dog's environment that increases their physical and psychological well-being. It's not about having more toys (although that helps). It's about giving them opportunities to behave like a dog: sniffing, solving, chewing, exploring, playing, and making decisions.

And the best part: you don't need to leave the house to put it into practice. With a little creativity and everyday objects, you can transform your dog's boredom into a life full of interesting stimuli.

There is an uncomfortable silence after an earthquake. Dust still hangs in the air, debris smoulders, and the world seems to have stopped. Then, amid that silence, two sounds are heard: the scrape of rescuers' boots on broken concrete, and a deeper, more primal sound: the rhythmic panting of a search and rescue dog.

This article is a tribute to them. To the four-legged heroes.

Complete guide on separation anxiety in dogs: how to identify it, understand it and treat it with a step-by-step desensitisation protocol, strategies to break departure cues, and when to seek professional help.