I’ve been a bit vague here about the goals of my training with Frankie — so much so that my friend Mary, over at Dancing Dog Blog, assumed in a comment here that I was attempting to get Frankie to cease humping his houseguests. I can see where she might have gotten that impression. I…
The Friday Five: Dog Crating
It wasn’t until about 30 years ago that people started putting their dogs into crates to transport them to shows and, eventually, to keep them from doing damage at home. Other countries find crating barbaric, but it’s become standard practice in the United States, sanctioned by all types of trainers. Is crating merely for human…
Mutt-er’s Day Greetings
Not everyone is a mother. Nor does everyone still have one. Chances are good, though, that if you’re reading this blog you share your life with a creature that fulfills the stereotypical motherly roles celebrated on this day: acceptance of your flaws and unconditional love. So this photo essay is dedicated to those who might…
The Friday Five: In Defense of Kibble
This week I asked the question: Is it okay to make kibble the basis of your dog’s diet? I noted that advocates of raw feeding, home cooking, and other diets would argue that it isn’t. But kibble sure is convenient. After doing the research and giving the issue some thought, here’s how I saw it.…
Training Tuesday: What Is Dog Training For, Anyway?
For many, the term “dog training” has become synonymous with parlor tricks: Sit, stay, roll over, shake, play dead, hand me a beer… They’re fun and they can definitely be part of any training program. Who doesn’t want to impress their friends — especially dogless ones who are always bragging about how smart their kids…
Canine Cognitive Dysfunction: A Vet Explains
When my best friend’s dog, Archie, was diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, I promised Clare I would find out all I could about the syndrome. I turned to Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM, for assistance — mostly because she has written extensively on the topic (see the “Related Reading” section, below) but also because she’s a…
The Friday Five: Is Kibble Ok?
The topic for this week came to me, ironically, from an article that I couldn’t argue against. Kenzo_KW at Twitter.com, who helped with last week’s topic, suggested that his pal Jana Rade send me a piece of hers to use as a jumping off point for this week’s inquiry. Problem is, I agree with everything…
The Friday Five: Vasectomy vs Neutering
As promised, the results of the research on the question posed on Sunday: Should vets reconsider vasectomy for male dogs instead of neutering (castration)? This subject turned out to be very complex but limiting my links to five helped me narrow its scope somewhat. So did not trying to master all the medical literature. Note:…
Training Tuesdays
I’ve been talking the talk about dog training for a long time, emphasizing its importance in such posts as What Is Dog Training & Why Do It? But, aside from an early small dog class that involved a choke collar (more on which later), I haven’t been walking the walk. My plans to start training …
Introducing: The Friday Five
I consider myself pretty self-motivated. You have to be when you’re a freelancer, what with needing to find work and finish it in order to eat and pay the bills. Still, I tend not to pursue topics that interest me just for the sake of education. Law and Order re-runs and mystery novels exert an…