Your dog is relaxing. Suddenly your dog hears you moving. The immediate reaction is to find your face and perk up its ears. That look is a great sign that you are on the right track. You can know that your dog is tuned in. Your dog’s instinct is to pay attention to what you are doing and/or to what… read more →
With all the attention on the family violence NFL players have inflicted on their wives, girl friends, and kids, we shouldn’t forget the family dogs. No doubt, lurking beneath the surface there are many dogs being abused by football bullies. We just don’t see that side of the evil. It is easy to overlook the silent suffering that millions of… read more →
The more we connect with our dogs, the more we need to be aware of separation anxiety. Several years ago, I was on a tough schedule and had to be away at work for long hours. Each morning I would give my dog a biscuit, as I left for the day. Like most dogs, he loved biscuits. My reasoning was… read more →
There are heated arguments on both sides of this issue. A 2008 article in the journal Genetics sheds some light on the question. Investigators studied 148 breeds, looking for markers that might control behavioral stereotypes: herding, pointing, excitability, boldness, and trainability. Using dogs showing extreme examples of these characteristics they were able to tentatively identify the associated genes. More significant… read more →