Steve Dale

Touted as reaching more pet owners than any other pet journalist, Steve Dale is the author of the twice weekly syndicated newspaper column "My Pet World" (Tribune Media Services). He's also the host of syndicated radio programs Steve Dale's Pet World, The Pet Minute with Steve Dale, and Pet Central, at WGN Radio, Chicago. Steve is a contributing editor at USA Weekend and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer, Pets Part of the Family on PBS, several Animal Planet Shows, Fox News Channel, and Balance TV (Canada). He's been quoted in dozens of newspaper and magazine stories, including the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Redbook. He's certified as a Behavior Consultant by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, and the recipient of many awards including the prestigious AVMA Humane Award.

• The Cats That Moved Indoors
  I just moved into a new apartment and I have two cats. They used to be indoor/outdoor, but now I am keeping them in at all times. One of the cats is obviously upset with the new arrangement. He will pee on anything that is thrown on the floor –clothes, newspaper, and bathmat – as soon as it is down. The litter box is always clean and he is otherwise a very happy little guy. Any suggestions?
• The Lonely Back Yard Dog
  My husband and I adopted Benny, a 1 to 2 year old black lab mix about 6 weeks ago from a rescue. He's responding so well to obedience training, but we have one issue that has us stumped. At home, if Benny is outside and we are inside (or vise versa) and there is a closed door between us or he can no longer see us through the glass patio door, he has a barking fit. If we do not let him in or out, he will start digging and chewing on literally everything. We've tried ignoring him, meeting him at the door with "no bark", giving him a squirt of water, reclosing the door, etc., but he just escalates. What's going on here? It may be helpful to know that Benny seems to be quite comfortable with sleeping (at night) and spending the day (while we are at work) in a kennel that is large enough for him to stand, stretch and move about a bit. Benny gets a 1.5 mile walk in the morning before we leave, a game of fetch & training in the evenings and is "part of the family" hanging out with us when we are home. It would be nice to let him have some outdoor time rather than be in the kennel if we need to run an errand on the weekend or just have him outside of the house for a few minutes. By no means are we trying to make him a "lonely back yard dog." We were successful at breaking his habit of barking at the fence at neighbor's dogs with "no bark" and a squirt of water.
• Indoor Doggie Piddle
  My two Jack Russell’s for the last several months have been urinating and "marking" in the house at no specific place in particular. We try to let them outside at least every two hours but they still continue to "mark" when the opportunity arises. They are not from the same litter but both came from a rescue. Both are fixed. The male is almost 13 years old, is a bit larger than the female and was with us about five years before we brought in our female who is now about 8 years old. Our female is the alpha from her litter and is forever challenging our male. But, when push comes to shove, he always wins out given his size and strength. We now have them both in doggie diapers when in the house but they always try to take them off and when successful or without diaper, manage to sneak off and "mark" when we're not watching. Any advice on how to correct this problem?