Not much time to write, sitting at Barnes and Noble to latch onto their wireless internet connection, but thought some of you might enjoy some of the photos we've taken of the wildlife here (around Naples, not at B & N!). It's pretty much bird heaven here, even though it is colder here than since the ice age. Between fund raising events for The Brody Project (both smashing successes, thanks to the organizers and to the generous people of the area), Jim and I have soaked up some of the animals in the mangrove swamps and the beaches. We've watched river otters playing in a mangrove swamp, dolphins arcing through the waves in the sea while we ate breakfast, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets (with feathery white plumes, black legs and yellow feet -- they look like Dr. Suess animals), White Ibis, Read More

I've loved our discussion about the "Right Stuff," and how every dog has its own talents. I think that is never more true than when asking a dog to do Animal Assisted Therapy. AAT is on my mind now, because I've just finished working on a speech I'll be doing in Naples, Florida to raise funds for a worthwhile cause, The Brody Project. I'll be dining with donors this Wednesday, Jan 6, and speaking on Thursday, Jan 7th on "The Power of Pets." The Brody Project does AAT at Moorings Park Continuing Care Retirement Community and if you are in the area, I'd love it if you came up and said hi. I also just finished a chapter for a new book by Audrey Fine, the silver-back of AAT, on what caretakers of assistance dogs need to know. And here's the bottom line: They need to know if their dog is Read More

Pippy Tay didn't look much like a purebred Border Collie; I'd bet money that most shelters would have described her as a BC/Labrador cross. She was big, almost 60 pounds, as long as a table, and had a large, square head that had Labrador written all over it. But she was a Border Collie, the daughter of one of the top trial dogs in the country, and she had an outrun around sheep to break your heart. Early in her training I visited a handler's farm in Iowa, to get a lesson and work her in a new area. Unlike my little farm, the land was perfect for long outruns, where you could send your dog from the top of a rise, watch them run a semi-circle through a sweeping valley below, and gather the sheep from as far away as you wanted. We trudged to the top of the hill, and Doug said: "Go ahead, Read More

May all of us savor what we have, and not let what we don't have interfere with our gratitude. May all of our dogs, cats, horses, birds, ferrets, rabbits, sheep, cows (etc) live the best life they can, secure in knowledge of how much we love them. May the people who abuse animals, whether through fear or ignorance, learn the joy of a relationship built on kindness and understanding. May the four pounds I've put on in the last few days melt away, somehow, magically, whilst I continue to savor the joys of consumption. Wishing you love, relaxation and oxytocin-filled contentment over the holidays. I'll be back posting next week. Here are a few scenes from the farm, inside and out: (anyone for a picnic on the picnic table?) xx Read More

Trainers and behaviorists can all tell stories about the calls they get around the holidays. Those of you who are trainers can no doubt tell some of your own. (I'd love to hear them!) Not uncommonly, we hear "Aunt Polly is coming tomorrow and she hates dogs and I have seven of them and they've never been alone in a room or in a crate and I can't board them and I was wondering if you could tell me what to do." (Answer: Pack dogs into car, drive elsewhere, leave note on front door for Aunt Polly that you've been abducted by aliens?) From the other side of the equation, I've heard lots of dog lovers struggle over what to do when company comes and their dog doesn't do well with visitors. One holiday season, years ago, I had five "do I have to kill my dog cases?," all serious bites to Read More