How to tell if your dog has dog flu, and 7 other facts

In 2015, a newly-seen strain of dog flu shut down doggy day cares and left pet parks empty in Chicago.

The H3N2, largely seen in Asia, sickened hundreds of dogs in Chicago and made its way across the country. 

Now it's in Florida. 

University of Florida vets say they are caring for a dozen confirmed cases of H3N2 dog flu, with six more cases pending test results. 

How do I tell if my dog has the H3N2 dog flu? What does H3N2 dog flu do to my dog? And should I get the vaccine? We try to answer some of your questions.

7 ways dogs are the prescription for PTSD, heart health, more

May is National Pet Month!

Seems like the perfect month to celebrate the Human-Animal Bond. And why the science says a pet is a great prescription for better human health. They even have a whole commercial for this medication.

Thongs, couches and light bulbs: Crazy things dogs will eat

Lulu once ate (or tried to eat) a burrito full of ants.

I was walking her in my old apartment complex. Now normally, I try to keep a weather eye out to make sure Lulu doesn't get anything she's not supposed to. But I missed this burrito. She grabbed it before I had the chance. And then she dropped it, scrunched up her nose and pawed at her mouth as a million ants poured out of the wrap.

I wish I could say that ended her habit of grabbing things off the sidewalk.

Now, we've all heard of dogs eating crazy things. Lulu and Jasmine have never really strayed from food, and cat poop -- including cat poop left by outdoor cats. SO GROSS!

I remember a story about a beagle in the Tampa area that ate money. 

This dog apparently ate stone -- 109 stones, to be precise! Vets have the Xrays to prove it! 

Sometimes dogs eat strange things because of a mineral deficiency, or pica. But some experts think dogs mouth objects out of curiosity. It may be a behavioral issue too. Here's some more info on that from VetStreet.

I asked our friends on Facebook and Twitter what the weird items their dogs ate were. And here are some of the responses.

Global Pet Expo: 9 dog products to watch in 2017

Another Global Pet Expo is in the books. We stumbled through over 7 miles of pet products over three days in March. Over 1,100 companies showed off thousands of products for dogs, cats, reptiles, fish, hamsters, birds, chickens, and more. 

Here are 9 of our favorite dog products from Global Pet Expo -- broken up into six trending product areas to watch in 2017.

NEED TO KNOW: We did not get any compensation for this post. We did receive product samples, but all opinions here are our own.

Natural Balance's quality: How good ingredients make good dog food #WeBelieveinNB

We've been talking about Natural Balance® for the last few months. We like the food for its Limited Ingredient Diets, its Buy With Confidence™ guarantee and its commitment to making sure you get the right food for your dog through its Nutritional Experts.

But here's another reason we love Natural Balance -- the premium quality ingredients.

This post is sponsored by Natural Balance and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping to share our thoughts about why we believe in Natural Balance as a quality food for our (dog(s) or cat(s), Life With Beagle only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Natural Balance is not responsible for the content of this article. 

3 treat feeders to exercise a dog's body, mind

With Lulu still recovering from her cranial cruciate ligament surgery, strengthening her hind leg is important.

We've always used treat feeders to keep them busy, but they've taken on a new importance: physical exercise.

So here are our three favorites.

DISCLAIMER: I've received these feeders for free to review, but Life With Beagle received no payment for this post. All thoughts are our own.

How teaching my dog to swim helped her recover from surgery

Raise a virtual paw if your dog won't swim.

If you have a beagle, the answer is most likely yes.

I'm not sure why beagles seem to distrust water, but in my completely unscientific, anecdotal research, I've found most beagle owners can't even get their beagle to stand in a kiddie pool, let alone go for a swim.

But after Lulu's cruciate ligament tear and surgery, I decided I had to do something to help her recover faster. So despite my misgivings (I flat out told them I didn't think it would work!), I took Lulu for a swim.