The other day I heard some barking in my backyard. I live in a very unique neighborhood. In the small block that I live on, there are about fifteen houses. Out of all those houses, my family is the only one that owns dogs. Nowhere else in America will you see fifteen houses in a […]
On Edge: Dog Obedience and Children
Today, I thought I’d write a post about a news item that’s been on my mind lately. If you hadn’t heard, it was recently in the news that the Obama family’s dog bit a teenage girl in the face. The story, as I’ve heard it, is that the girl got in the dog’s face and […]
Bonus Round: More About the Collateral Effect
In today’s post, I want to talk about something that I’ve brushed on before and want to explain in more depth. It’s called the “collateral effect.” The “collateral effect” is a term that I use frequently. It simply refers to the common trend that when we satisfy one need in a dog, other behaviors that […]
Stuff, Stuff, Stuff: Filling Our Dogs’ Lives
Before I begin this post, I’d like to offer the disclaimer that I sincerely hope to not offend anyone. What I’m about to write is simply an observation I’ve made in my work. Over the years I’ve found that the most experienced “dog people”—whose who train dogs, handle dogs, or simply spend a lot of […]