Connecting with your dog is more than attaching the leash and going for a walk together. Attention must be paid.

When I first got my Pug, she was reactive to everything: dogs, people, cars, the sound of birds. She’s better now, but one thing she still barks at is kind of funny: people who are looking at their phone. I have to wonder if I haven’t been able to break her of this because it drives me crazy too – especially when that person is simultaneously walking their dog.

The car salesman would not stop talking about cupholders. “This model features seven cupholders! That’s one cupholder for each person! More cupholders than our leading competitor!” he exclaimed.

The destruction was everywhere. Shredded furniture. Bent window blinds. Gnawed baseboards. Scattered throughout the house were shreds of random papers, from magazines to bills. The area rugs reeked of urine. As I took all this in, the distraught woman pointed at her leather couch, which featured a giant, ragged hole in the once-plump cushion.

Is your puppy part shark? I asked my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker, to tackle this reader’s question about how to stop her puppy’s out of control mouthing.

National Mutt Day encourages us to embrace, save and celebrate mixed breed dogs twice a year on July 31st and December 2nd.