It is now mid-summer and heat, humidity, and thunderstorms are rolling through our region. This is not the best time for dogs – particularly those with thunderstorm phobia. But what is it about thunderstorms that bothers storm phobic dogs so much and why is it so hard to persuade many of them that the sky is not falling?

The obvious answer to the first part of this question is sound – the sound of thunder – but whether fear of thunder is the primary reinforcer of storm phobia or a secondary one is not absolutely clear. Other events that occur during storms - lightning, darkening skies, wind noise, rain, changes in barometric pressure and changes in static electric fields - are also involved in storm phobia. Clearly storm phobia is, or at least becomes, a composite fear – which is why desensitization to the sound of thunder by means of tape recordings usually doesn’t work.

"If only my dog lived longer..." We hear it all the time, especially from people whose dogs are nearing the end of their years, whether it's seven or 14.   Some people swear they'll never get another dog, because their best friend is gone.  I certainly agree that it's very sad, often much sadder than the loss of a friend or even a family member.   This is probably because we don't hold back on our love for our dogs, and they don't hold back on us - like small children, dogs aren't ambivalent about their loves, their fears, or even their hates (one of my dogs hates the dog in the office next door, and has for years and years).  

But I'm not sure I want my dogs to live as long as me...or even double their alloted time.  Just think, if dogs lived to be 30....

What methods do you use…relatively few prospective clients ask this, and when they do you can’t be certain exactly what they are hoping for. When an owner asks me, “what methods do you use?” – I ask back, “how much experience do you have with dog training, and what are your goals with your dog?” Some think they want harsh methods to ensure an “obedient” dog; some want reassurance that a gentle method will be used while others want to do the training “just like I did with my first dog twenty-five years ago”. However, the training of dogs has changed dramatically in the last twenty years, along with the perception of a dog’s place in the home, and the standards of training itself.

Clickers, steel slip chains, prong collars, no-pull harnesses….dog whisperers, communicators, leaders, companions. What’s an owner to do?

Here in Oregon, we like to camp. The biggest reason for this is the vast amount of outdoor beauty available to us in this state. You can camp at the coast, in the woods, on the high desert, or in the mountains. We have lakes, rivers and streams, miles of ancient lava flows, magical sea-side mountains said to still contain never-found treasure, and wildlife that ranges from the tiny chipmunk to the bear to the impressive Elk.

Last week we decided to venture out to the Willamette National Forest. I don’t care where in the world you live, this is a place worth visiting! We recently bought a new tent-camper and wanted to try it out. This is the kind of camper that is solid on the bottom half and a tent pops up on top of it. Our camper has two double beds and a twin bed, so we had to choose a couple of our dogs to go along, both to take up some space and keep us warm in the chilly evening mountain air.