Yesterday something happened with Willie that reminded me of something most of us already know. . . the fact that our dogs are continually trying, often desperately, to communicate with us. They can't use words, they don't write letters and, thank god, they can't twitter. But they live in constant contact with members of another species, a species that can either ignore their efforts, or fine tune their abilities to translate what their dog is trying to "say." Here's what happened with Willie: Lassie, Will and I had just finished a lovely country walk with friends (two and four-legged) and were chatting outside of the house of the mutual friend who owns the property. Picture: three people talking outside of the house, three dogs at their feet, and Willie, the 4th dog, hanging out, Read More
Who Should Treat Behavior Problems in Dogs & Cats?
Thanks to those to of you who have commented on this issue. It is such an important one, and I value the conversation we are having. For what it's worth, here's what I think: First off, I think that the most important factors related to who is qualified to treat a behavioral problem is their KNOWLEDGE and ABILITY, not their degrees or credentials. I am not dismissing the value of credentials, believe me, I busted my tail for my Ph.D. and I am very proud of it. I have tremendous respect for others with advanced credentials, and describe some of the vets that I work with as walking on water. I also add CAAB after my name with pride, just as I have tremendous respect for DVMs who are Board Certified in Behavior. But that said, who do you want helping you rehab a rescue dog who growls at Read More
Trisha on Larry Meiller Monday June 22nd
I almost forgot to mention that I get to see Larry Meiller (my co-host on the public radio show, now cancelled, Calling All Pets, for those of you who don't know him) this coming Monday. I'll be on his show from 11 to 11:45 and it'll be lovely to work with him again and talk to folks in Wisconsin about their animals. Meanwhile, back at the farm: Last night we had two house-shaking thunderstorms, no sleep for me and the dogs and hard work for the surge protector which was crying pitiously when I went downstairs at 3 am. Man it can be interesting to live in the midwest! We got about 3 inches at the farm, no damage that I can see, except the poor flowers took a beating. Last night I took the dogs for a walk about a mile from the farm. I'd say a good time was had by all, but Willie is Read More
Willie Rocks, Lassie Gives Me a Scare
I took Will to a friend's to work him on different sheep in a new environment. I'm getting to the point where he and I don't have too much more we can do at home. My small flock is so tame that Will has to be within a few feet of them to move them, unless I split out a few and force them away from the main flock. Then they are flightier (and more challenging), and I'll do that more and more, but don't like to stress the ewes and lambs too much when the lambs are young. Either way, it's still the same sheep in the same place, and Will needs to learn how to work lots of different types of sheep in different places. (So do I!) We are used to working in first gear, when most sheep work in done in 4th. I wish I could show you a video of how he did. We were at a gorgeous farm where Will has Read More
More Wackadoo Medicine for Dogs
I promised I'd write about the last alternative treatment that I use for my dogs: homeopathic medicine. I'm totally comfortable with someone calling this wackadoo and weirdo, because even I am not comfortable with the explanation given by proponents of the treatment. I'm fine with the first part, in which preparations are given that are believed to cause a diminished version of the very symptoms you are trying to treat. This is much like the vaccination principle in allopathic medicine, and I have no problem with it. It's the second part that loses me, in which the preparation is so heavily diluted that in some cases, there are virtually no molecules left of the original substance. It was explained to me that it works because the energy field around the water molecules has been changed. Oh Read More
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