Since the beginning of May, Ann Arbor Animal Hospital has been pulling ticks off dogs, and sharing tick adventures of ourselves and families. We expect this tick bloom to last from mid April through early July. Walking our family dog Maddie in Saginaw Forest, a University of Michigan property west of Ann Arbor on the north side of Liberty Road, has resulted in ticks on the dog, ticks crawling on the car seats, and ticks scampering on my hat and ears and attached to me.

The grooming facility in our building, Groom and Go, has been removing many ticks from dogs coming for grooming. Ticks can and do attach to cats, but my experience so far this year is seeing ticks on dogs only.

Lorrie Shaw | Contributor

Have you captured your pet taking advantage of all that the outdoors has to offer? Why not submit a favorite photo of your pet?

Any pet or animal in the family is welcome in the slideshow we feature each Friday.

Photo courtesy of zazzle.com

Editor's note: National Dog Bite Prevention Week is May 19 - 25. Click here to read a post from Monday on preventing dog bite incidents, which includes a comprehensive guide from the American Veterinary Medical Assocation.

“I’ve done everything right!” my client Jane sobbed. “I‘ve taken the puppy to be socialized. I go to dog parks. Nothing seems to work.”

Jane’s puppy was now a dog — a rather large dog. The problem? Erratic biting.

Let’s start at the beginning. The puppy, Max, was the shyest one in the litter. Jane felt sorry for him when she went to pick out a puppy. She felt sure that she could “bring the puppy out of its shell” with a lot of TLC.

Next step — Jane takes the puppy to puppy class. At puppy class, Max always hid behind a chair. When another puppy approached him to play, Max would cower.

As difficult as it can be for big-hearted owners, shy puppies must be taught to sit at your side — not to cower behind you. Sitting at your side builds the puppy’s confidence. If an overly-rambunctious puppy approaches the shy puppy, you can block the rambunctious puppy with your body.

Many puppies come to class with fear or shyness, just like Max. But most often, to the happiness of not only puppy’s owner but the supportive class mates, the puppy comes out of its shell.

Next came the dog park. Jane was convinced Max could romp and play with other small pups. She was happy to chat with her friends at the dog park, but her inattention left Max defenseless, and soon the snapping began. Why? Max was fearful. He needed to build up his confidence.

Photo courtesy of Brandi Truesdell

Therapy laser treatments use a high powered laser to direct electromagnetic energy into cells in a non-invasive way. This helps promote healing, reduces inflammation and reduces pain without drugs and with quick results.

There are many disease that can benefit from therapy laser. Almost any painful or inflammatory condition can be treated to some degree. Some of the common condition we treat in our veterinary patients are wounds, infections, hot spots, lick granulomas, cystitis, disc disease, joint disease, arthritis, hip dysplasia, sinusitis, periodontal disease, gingivitis, and surgical incisions.

Flickr photo by Hunter Desportes

If you've ever been bitten by a dog, you don't forget it. It usually happens so fast that it leaves you stunned.

May 19-25, 2013 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, so it seems fitting to kick off this week with the topic.

The following statistics speak to me clearly:

Dog bites are highly preventable, and it comes down to humans (both kids and adults) understanding what facilitates them and how to best deal with a dog who bites.

These incidents happen in all sorts of scenarios.

He's not unlike many members of his species; he can be a lot of things, but dull is not one of them. We have definitely had our difficulties over the years, with his habit of letting out his wailing meows just before the crack of dawn, destroying things in the house and plenty of other things.

Let's just say that we've come to understand each other over time and learned to compromise (in the latter case, I mean me). It's like any relationship, right?

Lorrie Shaw / Contributor

For so many of us, our lives have come to encompass our pets. Co-existing with companion animals means a lot of things — how we care for them, the toys that they need and the important area of nutrition.

As Kelly Swanson, a University of Illinois animal sciences researcher tells it, when it comes to pet food, sustainability should be paramount.

But how realistic is the prospect? Swanson, who with The Nutro Co. (they produce pet food brands like Natural Choice & Ultra), propose that this area of sharing life with a pet can easily be made more sustainable.

Lorrie Shaw | Contributor

Have you captured your pet taking advantage of all that the outdoors has to offer? Why not submit a favorite photo of your pet?

Any pet or animal in the family is welcome in the slideshow we feature each Friday.