Growing up in the 1960's, girls like me were advised to "play hard to get." (I notice now that the phrase was not "be hard to get," but "play hard to get." Sigh.) This, we were told, would make us more attractive to boys. I had no trouble with this in high school, because the only thing I wanted to play at was being around horses, and the only boy interested in my skinny, gawky body was a Physics nerd who thought it was cool that I kicked ass in algebra. We went to Prom together and shook hands after it was over. As awful as the "hard to get" advice sounds to me now, the fact is that scarcity, or its allusion, makes anything more valuable. Female Redpolls, plain brown birds with a tiny red cap, get ooohs and aaahs when they appear here in Southern Wisconsin, because they are rare. The Read More
Archives for 2020
Biology of Dogs: Book Review
I've been looking forward to receiving my copy of Tim Lewis's new book, The Biology of Dogs: From Gonads Through Guts to Ganglia for a few weeks now, given all the buzz it has generated. And wow. I have not been disappointed. Lewis is a professor of biology at the University of St. Thomas (MN), lives with two sheep-herding Border Collies and "hovers on the edges of the dog agility and canine freestyle worlds with his wife who competes in and teaches these sports." So he's got the chops: Solid science and two feet firmly planted in dog poop and hairy couches. He's also a wonderful writer. Here's from the Introduction: ( Somewhere in the book he asks us if we've read it and pleads with us to do so: "It's the best part.".) "While I would never say this in public nor personally admit to Read More
Love. In the Time of Now.
This post is all above love, because if those of us in the U.S. ever needed to focus on it now, it's this week. I'm channeling love all I can this week. Love of my smart, soccer-focused, flannel-wearing, literal-minded, outdoor-loving, perfect-eyebrowed, kindest-man-ever husband. Love of my funny, irreverent and always-there-when-you-need them friends and family. Love of flowers, in all their impermanent beauty. Love of my fantasy of making Beef Wellington someday. Love of Portmeirion's Botanic Garden china, especially my teacup with Lathyrus Odoratus (Sweet Pea) painted on it. And of course, of course. My love of dogs. I've written extensively about my love of dogs--our love of dogs--and their love for us. Here's a passage about Luke from the Afterward in The Other End of the Leash, Read More
Treat Everyone Like a Dog: My New Best Book Ever
Looking for some good news? Well here it is: Dr. Karen London's new book, Treat Everyone Like a Dog, is out, and it's fantastic. Here's what Ken Ramirez says about it--"My only complaint: I wish I had written it!" When Ken says that, it's time to pay attention. Here's from the Foreward that I was honored to write: "You know how you think of the perfect thing to say when it's too late? Perhaps while driving home from a meeting, or while soaping up in the shower? That's me, and I know I'm not alone. Perhaps it's you too. But it's not Dr. Karen London, who has the quickest wit of anyone I know, and can be counted on to say the perfect thing, at exactly the right time. And she's done it again, because this is a book of perfect things, things that will make your life oh-so-much better Read More
Bewilderbeasts, My Favorite New Podcast
Croatian Bomb Sniffing Bees? (Note the logo!) Bovine Booties? Hilarious penguin poop? How about the cow who gave us public libraries? Interested? I am. No surprise to anyone, I'm an animal lover who is fascinated by animal behavior. I've learned that most dog lovers are too--I used to include videos and stories about a range of species in my seminars on dog behavior, and was gratified to learn that people loved it. The all time favorite might have been my video comparing human and chimpanzee behavior. (The comparison being part of my motivation for writing The Other End of the Leash.) It occurred to me, right before walking out to a huge crowd at an early APDT conference, that the scenes of chimpanzees having sex, given that I was illustrating how similar our behavior was, might have Read More
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 11
- Next Page »