Does your pooch bury his head into your side every time it thunders out? Does he dive under the bed whenever rain starts to fall? From your point of view, this may seem like cute and endearing behavior, but it's a sign that your dog is terrified of storms. Some owners are willing to simply put up with symptoms of storm phobias like hiding, trembling, whining, drooling, and pacing. In more severe cases, however, panicking dogs have been known to chew furniture, tear drapes, break windows, and more during thunderstorms.

You Know Your Pet; Don't Wait to Call the Vet. This time of year our four-legged friends are spending more time outside with their humans doing all kinds of fun family things; hanging at the baseball field, roaming the sidelines of the lacrosse field, helping out at the boatyard, and walking the beach. Some dogs like to have their nose to the ground the whole time, while some like to stick their nose up high in the air to catch all the exciting smells as they drift by. I know now that the most disciplined dog can be tempted by a random object lying on the ground.

Some people mistakenly believe that shaving or severely clipping their golden is a wonderful way to keep the dog cool and comfortable in warm weather. What they don't realize is that they're actually putting the dog at greater risk of health problems like skin cancer. Here's why:

A golden's coat is made up of two parts -- the long and smooth outer coat and the soft and fuzzy under coat. These two layers work together to protect the skin from sun, heat, cold and moisture. The fur acts as an insulator BOTH against the heat and cold.

It's 82 degrees and sunny in North Andover, MA, which is common in July and August, but did I mention it is March? Spring officially began two days ago, and the temps have been incredible. I love the heat, so for me I'm fine rolling right into Summer.

Don't forget to get the sunscreen out for both you and your dog. Although they do not sunburn as easily as people, dogs can suffer from sunburn. Most often, dogs sustain a superficial partial thickness burn. Only the top layer of skin is involved.

It's that time of year again in New England when I brace myself for the inevitable - hauling the boat and saying goodbye to the warm weather. Add on the holiday stress that creeps in from now to the new year, and you run the risk of high blood pressure. I found that you might not need to put in a lot of effort to keep your blood pressure in the healthy range. Hang out with your pet for 45 minutes. This can be a day or a week, whatever you can squeeze in. When two groups of stressed-out, hypertensive stockbrokers were prescribed either medication, or meds plus an adopted dog or cat, the pet owners had a greater reduction in blood pressure.

Hanging out on your boat may sometimes feel like the perfect oasis in a hectic world, but chances are, you can’t get to the dock every time you feel the need for some relaxation. Work, school, home maintenance and sports can get in the way of getting out on the water. So make your own oasis. “Quiet time is restorative, both physically and mentally,” says Cindy Edwards, a professor of psychology at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We are ultimately more productive when we’ve had time to clear the deck mentally and start refreshed.

Marley and Misty got their Leptospirosis vaccines today. Although they do most of their swimming in the ocean, Marley especially, is notorious for finding dirty swimming holes in the most unlikely places. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection of dogs, and infects dogs when abraded skin or mucous membranes come into contact with the urine of an infected animal. The most common way that this disease is transmitted (to dogs or to people) is through coming in contact with infected water sources such as ponds, lakes, and rivers.