Wheeeee, the new 1/2 day seminar on play that I did in California a few weeks ago is out now on DVD, thanks to lots of hard work by Alta at Tawzer Videos. You can learn more about Dog Play on my website, but here's the summary: The seminar focused on three aspects of canine play: 1) The Natural History of Play: What IS play after all? Who plays and Why? (Those questions turn out to be much more complicated than you might think and have all kinds of interesting implications for us and our dogs!) 2) Play Between Dogs: What do we know about the development of play in dogs? The seminar includes new research out of Barbara Smut's lab in Michigan about the development of play in dogs and what is "natural" and what is not. It also includes an in-depth discussion, with lots of videos, about Read More
Behavior Modification versus Management
The seminar in Arroyo Grande was great fun; the hosts at Gentle Touch Pet Training could not have been kinder, more supportive or better organized. The afternoon half day session on Play was a joy--and all that work creating a new seminar felt well worth it by the end of the day. During the Play Seminar and the Dog-Dog Reactivity sessions I got lots of questions from the audience, some of which I was able to answer that day, but some of which I didn't get to. I thought I'd address some now, since there were some great ones that I thought deserved an answer. One written question related to dogs who are over reactive when they see other dogs: "Is there ever a point where you give up on behavior modification and recommend strict management only?" Good question, yes? And the answer is YES Read More
Off to Play with Play in Dogs
I can't write much, I've been deep in preparation for the new seminars I'm doing in Arroyo Grande at Gentle Touch Pet Training this Sunday and we're leaving for the airport in a few hours. Predictably, we are in the usual flurry of last minute packing, house sprucing and training of new house sitter. As much as I hate leaving Lassie and Will (I'm sorry Lassie, I'll be back soon, I promise), I am truly looking forward to this trip. Both 1/2 day seminars should be great fun. The half day Play Play Play seminar is completely new, and I can't wait to present it. (And will be available as a DVD sometime soon, I'll keep you posted!) I am also, admittedly, relieved that I've got it finished, at least until I decide to tweak it some more on Saturday. (These things are never finished, are they?!) Read More
Hi from Portland
Not going to write much, am a bit tuckered from doing an all day seminar at Happy Tails in Portland and an evening speech at Planet Dog in Portland, Maine. Both events were hosted by great folks and had educated, informed audiences that were a joy to work with. The talk at Planet Dog was on play (appropriate for a company that makes dog toys, hey?) and reminded me how interesting play is to biologists. It's common in many species, it's dangerous and injurious and no one really knows what makes it worth all the risks. Especially relevant to our relationship to dogs is our mutual love of "object play," which is not very common in most species. There are exceptions, (river otters, etc.), but few species are as obsessed as dogs and people are about balls, frisbees, etc. I'm inspired for my Read More
Willie versus Redford, Round Two; “Power” in Herding Dogs
This morning I tried to get a good photo of Redford confronting Will, but failed miserably. That's great news... I couldn't get the photo because every time Will walked within twenty feet of Redford, the ram turned and walked away. I did take a few photos, but my battery died so I can't upload them for you. I'll send some before the end of the week, of Will and sheep, and hopefully, of Snickers new lambs, if she ever, finally, gives birth. (We are calling her Explodo-Ewe at the moment.) Truffle's little white lamb is filling out like a champ. He's got all the milk to himself and is growing like crazy. He has started what I call "popcorn" play, which is pretty much like it sounds. First there is a lamb standing still, then there's a lamb leaping straight up into the air. Except in Read More
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