At the risk of being self-serving, I wanted to let you know that the Second Edition of Feisty Fido is now available. Little did Karen London and I know, when we took a look at the first version before reprinting it, how much time we'd end up spending revising it. True confession: when a few months ago I re-read the first version, written in 2001, I thought, "Oh my, it is truly time to revise this!." (Karen had the same response that I did, and, as usual, we were "on the same page" about it, so to speak.) I do think that the booklet has helped a lot of people and a lot of dogs, and that makes me happy, but I am even happier to have an updated, revised, updated and lovingly, tweaked new version available. For those of you who know the book, here are the primary differences: 1) There is a Read More
Willie gets in over his head
Well, I can't tell you that last night went smoothly, but my Willie boy tried his best and ended up learning a lot about working sheep last night. (We went to a good friends, Peg, who has a lot more sheep and a lot more land than I do and is extremely generous with her time.) First, Will and I drove a flock of about 35 sheep into a pen at the end of a long field, and then turned and walked 40 yards in the other direction, where Peg had brought out a group of 5 or 6 ewes about 250 yards away. I waited until I was sure Willie had seen them, and then sent him "Come Bye" (clockwise). He began correctly, but then stopped part way there and looked back at the flock he had just worked (who were behind him and me both). I said Come Bye again, and he started right but again slowed and looked back. Read More
Feisty Fido, Prompts and Lures in Dog Training, Advanced Canine Behavior DVD
Karen London and I are revising Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash Aggressive Dog, and I find myself fascinated by how perspectives and techniques change over time. We're not changing the essence of the booklet, far from it, but there are a few things that are being modified because of our experiences and gains in knowledge since we wrote it. Most of the booklet will remain the same--especially the emphasis on teaching an incompatible behavior when a dog barks, lunges or behaves problematically toward another dog while on a walk. But we are modifying some of the advice, and I'm interested in your experiences related to our recommendations. First off, we are putting less emphasis on the importance of teaching "Watch" to mean "turn and look at me UNTIL I RELEASE YOU." For those of you not 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
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
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