It thundered last week during a rain storm, and it reminded me how much trouble a storm can be in the life of a dog (and for those of us who love them.) Since thunder season is approaching, this seems like a good time to talk about one of the oft-repeated, and ever-so-inaccurate pieces of advice handed out to dog owners: "You mustn't pet your dog if he runs to you because he is afraid of thunder." That's just wrong. Totally and completely and utterly wrong, but it has gathered gravitas, as things often do, because it has been repeated over and over again. There are several reasons why that advice is wrong, here's one of them: Fear is designed to be aversive, that's why it is an effective way of affecting behavior and keeping animals out of trouble when they encounter something that might Read More
Talking to Journalists about Dog Parks
Oh my. An article just came out in the Sunday Wisconsin State Journal about dog parks, full of information about how to read dog language to prevent potential problems between dogs. The author, Chris Martell, spent a long time with me, gathering photographs (thank you to all who have sent me photos to use for education!), getting clear on what signals meant what.... All that is greatly appreciated. She even checked the accuracy of quotes with me, something many journalists don't do. But when I read "..McConnell says many dog owners--no matter how much they love their pets -- are clueless when it comes to body language," I winced. Ouch. "Clueless." That sounds horrible. Did I say that? The truth is, many dog owners are not very good at reading body language from dogs.. but "clueless?" Read More
What are You Grateful For? and… House Training Dogs
Every morning I start my day writing a list of things that I am grateful for. Sometimes they are big things (Jim, my dogs, opportunities to learn, grow and improve relationships between people and animals) and sometimes they are small (the plaintive Wooo Heee song of courting Chickadees, the deep, purple blue of the first spring flowers). This morning I surprised myself, by adding: I am grateful that none of my dogs potty in the house. House training and elimination control is like health, isn't it? If everything is fine, you don't really think about it much. But when it's not, it can be overwhelming. I went through two years living with old dogs who simply couldn't control themselves. Pippy Tay lost control of her anus in her last year of life (at age 15) and I picked up poop at least Read More
Authentic Happiness; New Lambs
I re-read Seligman's Authentic Happiness this weekend. Ever read it? Seligman is one of the American Psychologists who decided to focus on mental health rather than mental illness, and yeah for him I say. I'm writing about it here because it got me thinking about our happiness and our dogs. In the book, Seligman asks us to determine our "signature strengths," and suggests that the road to happiness is to do what you are good at and what you love. (He has a questionnaire in the book to help you decide your strengths. Mine include Curiousity and Love of Learning. I'm not saying what my weaknesses are!) So here's my question related to dogs: Is that true of our dogs as well? Is their happiness, at least in part, related to having an opportunity to do what they love and what they are good Read More
The Importance of an Emergency Stop; Fetching a Tree
A few nights ago I took the dogs out for their last potty around 10 pm, and things didn't go quite as planned. Instead of walking sleepily out of the house to his favorite place to pee, Will took one step into the fresh air and hurtled like a bullet into the dark behind the house. In a second, no more, I heard a cacophony of snarls, screams and growls. I knew instantly what it was: the local raccoon was raiding the bird feeder behind the house. I was sure this was the problem, since the big garbage can full of grain for the sheep had been raided for a few nights in a row until Jim got creative with bungi cords. The only critter big and strong enough to pry off a metal garbage can lid is a raccoon, and every year one trades wits with us over who gets to eat the grain, so I was sure that's Read More
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