my biggest new-owner mistake

Kitty is almost 8 now and I still feel bad about the first year. I gave him a bath every week because I thought a clean dog means a healthy dog. The vet said once a month is plenty. His skin got dry and flaky and he kept scratching his ears. It took months to fix.

I also fed him table scraps at dinner because he looked at me so sad. Don't do that. Half of our vet visits in the first year were about his stomach.

Biggest lesson: ask the vet before you change something, even if it seems like common sense.