Not going to write much, am a bit tuckered from doing an all day seminar at Happy Tails in Portland and an evening speech at Planet Dog in Portland, Maine. Both events were hosted by great folks and had educated, informed audiences that were a joy to work with. The talk at Planet Dog was on play (appropriate for a company that makes dog toys, hey?) and reminded me how interesting play is to biologists. It's common in many species, it's dangerous and injurious and no one really knows what makes it worth all the risks. Especially relevant to our relationship to dogs is our mutual love of "object play," which is not very common in most species. There are exceptions, (river otters, etc.), but few species are as obsessed as dogs and people are about balls, frisbees, etc. I'm inspired for my Read More
Archives for June 2009
Fear in Dogs and In-Utero Experience
I'm working on a column for Bark right now about the ontogeny of fear in dogs. The editors, Claudia and Cameron (the editors of Bark), adopted two sisters from a rescue organization down south. The girls are litter mates who might be BC/terrier X beagle crosses. Both came under socialized and shy, but one (Kit) has rapidly come out of her shell, while the other (Holly) is still profoundly fearful of any kind of novel event. Leaving the house is a trauma for her, as is the appearance of any object that she's not expecting. (Claudia's purse fell off a chair and Holly refused to go anywhere near it, even though it blocked her access to her favorite area of the house. Meanwhile, Kit jumped over it and continued on her way.) Claudia's question to me, and the motivation for the column, is "What Read More
Eat Your Veggies (Tell That to Your Dogs!)
Here's support for those of us who feed veggies to our dogs from a study in JAVMA (Vol 227, No. 1, July 1, 2006). My great Chinese medicine DVM vet, Dr. Jody Bearman, looked it up for me after we talked about diet and health the last time she came out to treat Will and Lassie. In brief, the study looked at the prevalence of a certain type of cancer in, admittedly, just one breed of dog--Scottish Terriers, and found that the consumption of green leafy, and yellow-orange vegetables at least 3 times a week correlated with lower rates of urinary bladder carcinomas. Now... this is just a correlation, not proof of causation. Additionally, it's one type of cancer, in one breed of dog. However, given the overwhelming evidence in human health and nutrition that colorful vegetables are rich in Read More
Help with Podcast!
Work on the podcast is progressing. I'm waiting to hear the first version of the pilot that we recorded last week, and am on pins and needles about it. How will it sound? Are my answers (to some of your GREAT questions!) helpful? Interesting? How about the format? By the way, we decided to go with another voice, that of my new partner in crime, Buzz Kemper. He's the co-owner of Audio for the Arts, and sole owner of a great voice, lots of recording and podcast experience and a terrific sense of humor. He's not a behavior or training expert, but that's part of why I think he'll be a great presence on the show... keeping me honest and adding a fresh voice to the mix. (And yes, to loyal Calling All Pets listeners, I do miss Larry, and I will continue to miss him, but he's full to the brim with Read More
Willie Rocks, Lassie Gives Me a Scare
I took Will to a friend's to work him on different sheep in a new environment. I'm getting to the point where he and I don't have too much more we can do at home. My small flock is so tame that Will has to be within a few feet of them to move them, unless I split out a few and force them away from the main flock. Then they are flightier (and more challenging), and I'll do that more and more, but don't like to stress the ewes and lambs too much when the lambs are young. Either way, it's still the same sheep in the same place, and Will needs to learn how to work lots of different types of sheep in different places. (So do I!) We are used to working in first gear, when most sheep work in done in 4th. I wish I could show you a video of how he did. We were at a gorgeous farm where Will has Read More