I enjoy reading nonfiction and watching documentaries. But there are some books and videos I will avoid watching or stop watching, they are too upsetting to me. It won't matter how important someone tells me the information I'd be gaining is or how artfully it is presented. There are award-winning films I have not watched because I know how they end; me feeling bad. Berate ...
At a large dog event I watched with some disgust and much dismay, as people who probably really care about their dogs handled them with all I can label was "disrespect." Dogs were being dragged around on leashes, being reprimanded and jerked for spending too much time (typically measurable in seconds) looking at or sniffing something, not responding to cues fast enough and being left ...
At my first appointment with a new dentist after I moved to Vermont I asked if he'd like me to have my charts sent from my previous dentist. His reply was, "I don't need them, I have your mouth." Everything he needed to know about my teeth was in front of him. When we begin to work with fearful dogs it's not uncommon for us ...
Guess what these dogs are looking forward to getting? From the comments I've been hearing and the stuff I've been reading on the internet one would be inclined to think that the use of food in training poses great problems or risks. I cannot think of one conversation I've had with a trainer who laments that their clients reinforce behaviors with food too ...
It seems that many of us go through our lives trying to make something better or fix something that we hold responsible for our troubles. Years ago I was traveling with a couple of friends. One an ex-housemate who I enjoyed and laughed with, the other, his girlfriend was a friend only the most superficial of ways. We worked at the same place and we ...
I stood in front of the copy machine, not so silently cursing the manufacturer, the store where I purchased it, and the salesman who recommended it. The darn thing wasn't working. I pressed the number of copies button, hit the start button and nothing. It didn't work and if that wasn't bad enough, after setting it up I was going to have to pack it ...
Sunny gets to decide where he feels most comfortable around people. One of the reasons I go on like a broken record about the importance of using reward based training methods that have been designed based on the evidence available garnered through the study of animal behavior and research is because working with fearful dogs can be so darn challenging. So challenging that ...
Every now and then a Cesar Millan fan will find my blog and do their darndest to convince me of the error of my ways and assessment of his. I have to give them credit for their efforts. They are right to accuse me of moderating many of their comments. I didn't always but I decided that he has gotten enough airtime without my blog ...
Anyone who has lived with and cared about a dog has experienced moments when they are looking at a dog and wondering what the heck is going on. A trainer friend shared a story with me about a client's dog who had started barking, at seemingly random times, at the refrigerator. We had been griping about the reasons some vets or trainers come up with ...
Play time with other dogs can be a perk at a boarding facility. Living with a dog with fear based behavior challenges impacts our lives in many ways and the freedom to be away from home for more than 8 hours can be among them. A couple of the options available for our dogs' care when we need to be away are; someone ...
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