One of the most enjoyable parts of doing seminars around the world is talking to people from a variety of countries about their countries' and culture's attitude and regulations regarding dogs. A group of us got to talking in Edinburgh about the dog-related laws of their own countries, and what a range of regulations we found. In Sweden dogs are allowed off leash in many areas, but must be "under control." (Very sensible!) I was told when I was in Sweden that keeping a dog in a crate was illegal--any Swedes want to confirm or deny? Sweden has very strict animal welfare laws that also apply to domestic pets. For example, all indoor animals must be able to see out a "sunny window." This is especially interesting to me, given that I've advised many a client to keep their dogs AWAY from Read More
Part Wild: Book Review and Ode to Dog-ness
You know I love Willie; sometimes I think almost too much. But I've never loved him more than I have this morning, after finishing the book, Part Wild, by Ceiridwen Terrill. Willie is a dog. Inyo, the focus of Part Wild, is a wolf-dog who Ceiridwen adopted as a puppy. The book is a brutally honest testament to the differences between dogs and wolves. I can't think of anything I've read lately that made me more grateful to have dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, as domesticated animals, in my life. Fair warning: It's not always a happy story, as wolf-dog stories often aren't. Ceiridwen gets herself a wolf-dog pup for all the wrong reasons--primarily to protect herself from an abusive ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. She makes a lot of bad decisions, both related to boyfriends and Inyo, and Read More
Animal Rapture
No time to write much; I am sitting in a stairwell right after the seminar.. (what a WONDERFUL group of people to talk with!)-- no internet access in the room, castles not being designed for high speed internet. The seminar was a great experience for me, truly a lovely, lovely group of people. Thanks Action 4 Dogs for bringing us over. I may be off line for several days, but here are a few photos of our experience at the Falconry Center at Dalhousie Castle outside of Edinburgh. The birds are carefully trained to fly to the arms of visitors rather than the staff, so you can go out, hold up your arm (leather covered of course) and watch a hawk (Common Buzzard) and Eagle Owl fly 100 yards from a tree perch to your arm. It is a RUSH beyond belief. I could have done it all day. Here are Read More
A New Book: Dog Sense by John Bradshaw
There is a new book that just hit the book shelves, John Bradshaw's Dog Sense. I just started reading it and think it is a book with a lot of value. Here's a summary from the back of the book of some of its messages: "Don't be an Alpha," "Dogs can feel love but not guilt," "Avoid punishment," "Look beyond breed," Respect your dog's sense." All good, absolutely. The question, of course, is what does the book add to the conversation, there being a good number of books on the market that say the same thing. Here's something, from just the first chapter that I think makes the book worthwhile: Bradshaw begins with a valuable discussion about the genetics of canids and the derivation of the domestic dog. I love his inclusion of the entire group of canids (not just grey wolves) and his Read More
Inbreeding in Dogs Part II
Wow. What an interesting and informative set of comments in response to my last post, thank you so much for taking the time to write; I have learned a great deal just from reading some of your comments. I wish I had a couple of days to do nothing but research this topic. (But here's the good news: I WILL have time this summer once the new booklet is out, and I'm going to use that time to learn more and substantially revise the section on behavior and genetics in the Advanced Canine Behavior Seminar this October.) I could write for hours too on this topic, but I'll summarize some of my own thoughts here, in hopes that this important discussion continues. Let me address the issue of inbreeding from two perspectives: 1) the resultant lack of genetic diversity caused by inbreeding and 2) Read More
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