Now that winter is here, it seems like a good time to talk about some good books and DVDs to keep us busy during those long, dark evenings. Here are a few books and DVDs that I've enjoyed, some dog related, some not. AWAY TO ME DVD: First, check out the trailer for a new DVD that has just come out, Away to Me! Anyone who works sheepdogs or likes to watch them will be interested in this video. I got to see the entire thing before it was finished, and it has some of the best scenes of close up interactions between dogs and range ewes I have ever seen. it follows three handlers as they compete in the well-known Soldier Hollow Classic sheepdog trial in Utah. Here's the movie's website where you can order it. UNLOCKING THE ANIMAL MIND, is a great book by Franklin McMillan. Subtitled How Read More
Autonomy & Domestic Dogs
How much autonomy does your dog have? Willie's work with sheep is what motivates me to ask this question. As I mentioned earlier, Willie and I attended a sheepdog clinic 2 weeks ago with Patrick Shannahan, and the big take away for us was that, too often, Willie looks to me to tell him what to do while working sheep. It's not that he doesn't know what to do himself, he's just in the habit of being dependent upon me to tell him before he takes action on his own. This was not a complete surprise to me, but I didn't realize what a significant issue it was until I worked with Patrick. I think I know why this has happened: First, Willie is a naturally biddable dog and dependent dog. I chose him over his 7-week old brother because Willie seemed to care deeply about where I was and what I Read More
Can Dogs Tell Stories: The Answer
Recently I asked the question, "Can Dogs Tell Stories?" I didn't mean stories in the sense of fictions we tell children to help them go to sleep at night, or novels about sexy spies, but stories as internal narratives that describe the "who, what and where" of an event in the past. In other words, can a dog have thoughts like "The last time I came to this dog park a big, dark dog ran up to me and play bowed and we had so much fun running around together." Readers, as usual, had some truly thoughtful answers to the question, and if you haven't read them I encourage you to do so. It turns out that many others have been pondering this question for quite a while, and I thought you'd be interested in what they have to say. Not surprisingly, given the complexity of this issue, there is not Read More
Willie and Tongue Flicks and What it All Means
As if any of us REALLY knows "what it all means," right? But thank you for your interesting and thoughtful comments about the previous post's video of Willie and the "Get Back" signal. They were great. I'll cut to the chase about my own interpretation. Here's the data: Willie tongue flicks when I ask him to back away from somewhere or something he wants to go toward: the outside of the house, into the car, or toward the toy. All of these have been taught using lots and lots of reinforcement with food and play and "life rewards," like going outside after I say "Get Back" or getting the toy as soon as he backs up (But I don't reinforce every single response every single time once he has a cue down pat. That would be unnecessary in my opinion, not to mention completely impractical.) But Read More
Helping a Dog Through a Loss
This is Part II of our case study about helping a dog after a loss (see August 24th blog for Part I). As usual, many of you came up with insightful and helpful comments. I benefit from your thoughtfulness every day, and I thank you for it. If you are interested in this topic, either personally or professionally, I encourage you to read the first post about Dogs Grieving as well as the comments. Here are some of my thoughts and comments about the most important things to do if a dog is behaving as though he is grieving a loss: 1. ACCEPTANCE. Easiest to say, hardest to do. By "acceptance" I mean accepting that you couldn't prevent the death or disappearance of another, and that you can't 'fix' the pain that your living dog may be going through. If your dog is truly grieving (and I Read More
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