This is a repost of an article I wrote in 2014 (July 7) about the motivation behind barking. Since it's been five years, and since barking plays such an important part of our experience with dogs, I thought it would be fun to repeat it. I've done some minor updating, but the post still focuses on the age old question Why Do Dogs Bark? Seems like the answer should be simple, right? But, it gets a bit complicated when you start to think it through, including the reminder that adult wolves rarely bark, adolescent wolves bark more often, and that barking is energetically expensive and therefore has a "cost".From July 7, 2014:Have you seen the stage play, Sylvia, in which a man brings a stray dog home from the park and adopts it? The dog is always played by a woman, who often barks at Read More

       Oh dear. I fear that this is going to be one of the "self-help" pieces in which the author begins by talking about how bad she is at doing something (we'll call it X), and then tells you why it's so important to do it. It might end with the author seeing the light, as should we all, and is now doing X with consistency and dedication.Oh, wait, it's not going to be like that because I can't say that I'm now doing X with "consistency and dedication". But I can say I'm a little better at it than I've been in the past, and I'm trying to do better. And it does feel good.Solve for X? In my case it's making notes about my progress training Maggie to work sheep in a competitive trial context. I do take notes on how things are going, what I learned at a clinic, etc, and always Read More

Monday's question (6/3/19), about what we can tell about a dog from a photo, had a fantastic response from you. So grateful! (Also true on Facebook, (199 comments at the moment!)Most people thought that the dog looked somewhat anxious, worried or unsure, but the comments varied tremendously from relaxed, about to bolt, or worried about an owner who might be having a heart attack. (That might sound silly out of context, but their point was that the dog was worried about something, perhaps related to the owners, given how sensitive GSDs are to their owners.)Here's today's question: What about this dog? Same dog of course, and same photo, I just "deleted" his eyebrows.Compare that to the original photo:Does the "eyebrow" deletion change one's interpretation of this Read More

Here's a question for you, related to my talk ("Lost in Translation") at the Vashon Art Center on Vashon Island this coming Saturday. It's all part of the Vashon Island Championship Sheepdog Trial that Jim and I will be attending on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.What does this dog's face tell us, if anything, about 1) His internal state and 2) His next behavior? A point I'll make in more depth at the talk is that those are two very different things, although of course they are related.I'll read your answers with great interest and respond as much as I can in between speechifying, packing, etc etc. Full disclosure, I had planned to post on a different topic today, but the article needs several more hours of work and I need to spend more time on my talk on Vashon Island. I take Read More

Memorial Day. The beginning of summer. Picnics. Brat fests and beer. (Okay, in the Midwest.) But I can never forget the reason for the title.I'm all on board about loving holidays and relaxing with friends and family. But I have to confess that, in some way, this is my least favorite holiday, given that it is in memory of so much suffering and sacrifice. But because of that, I also think it's our most important holiday. Every Memorial Day I take some time by myself to honor those who have served our country--male, female, human, canine.My heartfelt thank you to those of you who serve; I am of the opinion that we don't begin to do enough for veterans and the families of those who have died in wars. If you've been in the service, please write in and tell us whatever you'd like us Read More