No, seriously. And so do you. No kidding. I'm so interested this, a relatively new discovery about what's called the Enteric Nervous System, that I wanted to write about it today. I'll get back to emotions in dogs soon, but I'm in the Oh Wow phase of this information, and wanted to share it. (Granted, this is not new information to the researchers who have been studying what's called the ENS for decades, but the information does seem to be leaking out slowly. No pun on 'leaky gut syndrome' intended...) Here's the deal, and here's how it relates to our dogs and their behavior. It turns out that there is a vast network of neurons--that's right--neurons--in your intestines. 100 million of them. Of course, your brain has 100 BILLION, but still, that's impressive. Neurons were supposed to Read More
See you in Orlando!
Eeeps, where'd the day go? I was going to write about the emotion of disgust, but it'll have to wait til tomorrow. But before the day is over I wanted to remind you that the Early Registration for the Jan 7-8 seminar I'm doing with Kathy Sdao is over tonight at midnight. I'm doing a new day-long seminar on Canine Communication: communication of all kinds between dogs, from dogs to people, and from people to dogs. Lots of it is interactive: you'll be working like a dog searching for scents (sort of!), interpreting visual signals, and translating dog vocalizations. I'll be adding in all the new research that relates to communication, so if you want to up your understanding of all things dog, you definitely want to come. It's in Orlando, Florida too... not a bad place to be in January, and Read More
TOOT TOOT TOOTSIE, HELLO!
Here's TOOTSIE! Also known as: Little Bit, Mini Me and my favorite, Mop of the Woods. There's a new kid on the block, or at the farm I should say. Meet Tootsie, a 7 year old King Charles Cavalier who was rescued by Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue from an Amish Puppy Mill, after the owners had used her up. Her mouth and ears were horribly infected; she had twenty teeth extracted. She also was fat as a tick, so you couldn't say she was starving. She weighed 22 lbs (now she weighs 15 and is still a bit overweight). And what, you might ask, is a Cavalier doing at Redstart Farm? Doesn't every farm need a Cavalier? (What, you think we farmers don't have laps?) Seriously, there is logic to all this. Here's a brief version of the back story: If you have been following the blog for Read More
Cat Talk and Cats Talking
If you're in the area, I hope to see you on Thursday night at the Wisconsin Humane Society for a fund raiser and talk, "Dogs Have Owners, but Cats Have Staff." I don't get asked to talk about feline behavior as much as I'd like to, so this is a special treat for me. I find it interesting that although cat lovers love their cats dearly, in general, as a group, they tend to be less likely to read books about their behavior or go to talks about cat behavior. However, I hear that almost 150 people are signed up, so join me and others to celebrate all things feline. Willie and I were reminded of the importance of reading feline postures and expressions just a few days ago. We were visiting my yoga teacher Scott Anderson, to get some exercises for Willie (more on that later!), and Scott's 2 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
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