Tall Two Leg Female can't write today, because she is busy arranging for my very special birthday party. If it is anywhere around Is It Time for Dinner Yet? time, then I am getting the attention that I so deserve as you read this. I am sorry that Tall Two Leg Female and Tall Two Leg Fuzz Face Male did not ask all of you. I do not understand why not. I think you should be here to rub my belly. Here is what I sent out the Two Legs I was allowed to invite: Dear Two Leg: Please don't tell anyone I'm writing this but I turn fifteen years old on December 7th. I think everyone should come and pay attention to ME that day but Tall Two Leg Female and Tall Two Leg Fuzz Face Male are leaving AGAIN that weekend and I think they'd better be here to keep Willie in his place. I want you to come and Read More
Do Dogs Know When We’re Sick?
Boy is this going to be short. Stomach flu. Not good. Will spare you all details, but been sick (as a dog? where did that expression come from?) Been sick for 3 days, huge snow storm kept friends out, me in. Jim, my wonderful guy, just took the afternoon off to come out with saltine crackers and ginger ale for me. Heaven. Wanted to write about the seminar in Des Moines, the participants and hosts were so wonderful. Stay tuned, don't have much vertical time in me yet... BUT here's the question: All of Monday and Tuesday, when I was flat on my back, young BC Willie never once brought me a toy to throw for him. To say that's atypical is understating the matter. Oh sure, he'll stop when you say "Enough" but he'll try again in a half hour or so. But he never tried, ever for 2 1/2 days. Why? Read More
Are Males and Females Different to Train Part 2
Well, so far there have been 40 comments on this question, and what interesting ones they have been. I'm going to summarize what folks have said so far (and also am sending this question out to a list of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists and some professional trainers in different fields. If you are on any lists you think might be appropriate, please send this question out and ask them to comment. . . ) I am SO interested in the comments so far. Of course, you can read the comments for yourself, but here are some trends. (Keep in mind that this question was not sent out as a survey, so not everyone answered the same question.) 11 people explicitly said that other factors like age, personality and training were far more relevant than sex (or simply, "No: one is no easier to train Read More
The Human/Animal Bond, Can Dogs Get Angry?
I'm just back from the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. I was one of several speakers discussing the Human/Animal Bond at NIH's STEP Forum, a monthly meeting for all NIH staff designed to educate staff about issues relating to science in the public health. It was very much worth the travel; the talks given by zoo-anthropologist Dr. James Serpell, Dr. Sandra Barker and Dr. Joan Esnayra were each worth the trip alone. Dr. Serpell discussed historical and cross-cultural aspects of the human-animal bond, and dispelled the myths that "pets" are only luxuries indulged in by industrial societies and that people who love animals do so from some social pathology that prevents them from "normal" relationships with other people. His books In the Company of Animals and The Domestic Read More
Boys, Girls and Forever Dogs
I am fascinated by your posts about differences in training with male and female dogs (or not.) I'll keep reading, and in a few weeks I'll summarize what you've all said on another post. But just to add to the fire, I want to ask another question about male and female dogs, but this time about the sex of your "forever" dog. Here's the question: If you have, or have ever had, a one-in-a-million dog, a dog who who you think of as our soul mate or your "forever dog," was he or she the same sex as you, or the opposite? Again, I'm not saying nothing til I hear from you. A related question is: do you think you have a different social relationship with same sex and different sex dogs? Does sex have any role in how you feel about dogs? I will tell you some thoughts of mine about this one: It Read More
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