Archives for January 2016

I just spent a few days in The Big Apple, and not surprisingly found myself watching dogs and their people on the sidewalks of New York City. Here are the two things that I noticed first: One, many of the dogs had on coats. Lots and lots of coats. Granted, it was a tad nippy on my first day because of the wind, but even when the wind died down and it was in the 30's, many of the dogs were still in jackets. Not much to say about that, except it’s rare to see dogs in jackets here in Wisconsin, even in cities where the dogs live in apartments. Could this be as much about fashion as function? No idea. I'm curious to hear from those of you who live in cities. That said, this is a dog (seen at the dog park by the Museum of Natural History) who definitely need a coat! (Maybe one size smaller? If Read More

I've never liked the sound of the word "blog." It sounds like something one should have removed at a doctor's office. ("Is that blog bothering you again?") That said, what I do like is the interchange between the readers of this particular blog. I've noted before how often I am struck by the insight and compassion that is expressed on a weekly basis here. Not to mention the stories/lessons/mysteries generated by your dogs. Regular readers and I have learned so much from them. I got to thinking about how close I feel to some of the dogs that we often hear about, and wishing that I had a visual image to match with the name. Thus inspired, I reached out to a number of regular readers, and asked if they'd be kind enough to send photos of their dogs. Many responded, and I had a grand old Read More

Recently I watched someone walking his dog close to my office in Black Earth. Every ten feet or so the dog tried to stop to sniff the ground, and every time she did, the man at the other end of the leash pulled her forward so that he could continue walking. Ah, the canine-primate disconnect, which never fails to appear if we just pay attention. I wrote an entire book about this, The Other End of the Leash, and yet I’m still discovering ways in which we struggle to merge our ethological needs. Primates love to walk, at least, terrestrial ones like humans do. Not only that, but we like to walk side-by-side with our friends, to face the world together and exchange the news of the day. While we’re walking we spend a lot of energy looking around—enjoying the view and noting what has changed Read More

This seems like a good question to begin a new year together in our inquiry about human/animal relationships. I've been engaged, as so many others are at this time of year, in writing out my goals for 2016. Some are personal, some are professional, and many, not surprisingly, relate to my dogs. I spent a lot of time last week thinking about my hopes and plans for them: Maggie--more comfortable around dogs who, shockingly, are not Border Collies, Willie--a sound body all year long, even if I have to retire him for herding [I do], Tootsie--a final solution to her tummy and UT problems). As I was pondering how to accomplish all that yesterday, I sat at the table in the dining room, all the better to both write and keep my eye on Willie and Maggie. They needed watching because they were Read More