I just arrived in Atlanta, and am about to settle in, go over my seminar for tomorrow and then watch some foolish movie that does nothing but entertain me and put me to sleep. But I wanted to write about a magazine that I just can't get enough of--Scientific American Mind. If you are interested in behavior, both your own and your dog's, this is a fascinating magazine. It's true it helps to be fascinated by behavior and the brain (I guess that's obvious), and that to some it will be far afield from canine behavior.. but that's what I love about behavior... it is such an eclectic field. Here are just some of the pages I have marked for further review (and future blogs, articles or book sections....) in the Oct/Nov issue: p 10: Researchers at the Zhejiang University in China found that Read More
APDT, Tales of Two Species
Eeeeps, I was all set to settle in and enjoy writing more about our relationships with pets (and answers to your great questions) and then life got in the way. You know, in that "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" kind of way. I like to say that "today didn't turn out to be the video tape I thought I rented." Nothing bad about today, except the feeling that we all have on occasion that there is simply not enough time in the next two weeks to do what absolutely has to be done. I do want to talk more about society, pets and animals though... sometime soon. (And thank you for your generous comments about Calling All Pets. They are very, very appreciated.) So I write with a bit of an apology... I'm overwhelmed with doing wonderful stuff (at least I sure hope it turns Read More
Are Pets Important 2, Wood work in Fall
I have read your excellent comments with great interest, thank you all so much for writing. I do agree that in many ways it is far too simplistic to sort the world into two groups as I did in my earlier post. I suspect that it's easy to oversimplify when you are frustrated, and truth be told, I was feeling a bit frustrated when I wrote last week. Part of that stemmed from recently hearing what I believe has been meant as a compliment to Calling All Pets. Several times I've heard people say that Calling All Pets is a good show for Wisconsin Public Radio because "it brings in people who wouldn't normally listen to pubic radio." This presupposes that the show's listeners are different than most listeners of public radio. Does that mean that most people who listen to public radio are not Read More
Lambs and Apples, Crates and Dogs
Another gorgeous fall day. Willie and I get to move the lamb flock through the woods every morning. The lambs stay the day in the 'orchard pasture,' so called because it's full of wild apple trees, and the ewe flock gets to forage in the big, open pasture at the top of the hill. They all chomp on fallen apples all the day long, (they know the sound of a fallen apple; they run toward the tree when they hear the 'plunk'!) It is wonderful to have real work for Will, he has blossomed this year especially since he's had to split the lambs from the ewes and load animals into the truck. Rather than "practice," this is real work and I think he knows it. I am far less concerned with him doing things exactly right than I am getting the job done, especially when splitting out the lambs or loading Read More
Sweden and Norway
I'm sitting in the lobby of the old Fredheim Hotel in Flam, Norway. It's at the base of an endless fjord on the west coast of Norway. Gorgeous. I'm here because last weekend I presented a two day seminar in Tomalilla, Sweden (toe-ma-lee-lah... it's really lovely to say!), hosted by Natasja and Daniel Atterbom. (eeeps, I may have spelled their name wrong. apologies if so.) Natasja and her friend Malvini could not have been more gracious hosts, and the people who attended were an absolute delight. It was truly a joy to speak there, and to meet so many people in Sweden who love their dogs so much. I've learned Sweden is much like the states, in that "getting dominance" over your dog is still terribly popular. But the people who attended the seminar were knowledgeable and delightful. I Read More