This weekend I was lucky enough to score some farm-fresh, organic eggs from pasture-raised chickens. They are delightful! For me, opening the egg carton to behold the soft palate of pastel-colored eggs of different shapes and sizes was akin to opening a treasure chest. Not to mention the thought of the rich, golden goodness that is waiting inside. Farm eggs look at taste nothing like store-bought factory eggs or even “free-range” eggs produced in giant industrial barns under deplorable conditions. They are more nutritious than industrially produced eggs too.

The woman who gave me the eggs mentioned that a visiting family member would not eat these fabulous gems. The colors and variety in size and shape freaked her out. The eggs were... dirty! They had just come out from underneath the chickens after all. This visitor went on to explain that she would only eat white eggs with an ink stamp of approval from whatever “farm”.

Does your dog ride shotgun? The idea of “dog as copilot” has always been very attractive to me. I love the visual of (in my case) a woman and her dog, riding side-by-side taking on the world! (Okay, more likely taking on daily errands such as picking up the dry cleaning or a trip to the market, but you get the picture.)

Ever since I was a young twenty-something living in the big city of Chicago, having my dog in the car with me, taking him (and eventually them, as dogs DO magically multiply) everywhere I went, made me feel safe and not alone.

How does the hullabaloo over the new changes at Facebook relate to dog behavior, you ask? Well, it’s simple. People don’t like change. They like things to stay the same, tried and true. The inherent problem with this is that things are constantly changing, everything from Facebook, to one’s age, and to even your dog’s behavior at home and while out-and-about. Sometimes that change is for the better, and sometimes, not so much.

A dog’s behavior, is always in motion, it’s fluid, it’s responsive to the environment and the daily feedback it receives. And not just from you!

Just like a drop of water can begin the erosion of earth that eventually produces the Grand Canyon, your dog’s behavior is shaped in tiny increments by every moment in time, every interaction.

Ah, the dog walk... Is it an exercise in obedience training? An existential meditation? Or merely a convenient way to exercise both man and beast?

Today, as most days, I managed all three.

It’s hot outside today. Well, hot for Berkeley. While I was out walking Dune earlier he lagged behind a bit more than usual, taking extra long to sniff and urine-mark I’m guessing because of the heat.

I found it a tad annoying. I pondered my irritation (the meditation part), and realized it was partly because I like to go at a good clip (the exercise part), but also because, you see, I prefer to exert my “leadership” on our walks from behind. I like my dogs to be out in front of me, where I can see them. It’s a much safer vantage point and doesn’t require me to multitask or treat each hike as though I were a performer at a theatre in the round.

Well, I’ve taken a summer hiatus and then some, but school’s back in session and, after resolving a few tech problems (thanks Super Mario!) my bum is back in my office chair, often with a bulldog backup as well!

I’ve got lots of irons in the fire and plenty of things to tell you about, so expect to hear from me on a more regular basis from here on out. There are new projects, new creatures, old projects revived, and an upcoming new look for Dog Star Daily.

I’d like to start by telling you a bit about my new role as a contributing editor at Animal Cafe. I’m so pleased to join these folks! I’ll be covering training and behavior topics in my monthly podcast. However, there are new podcasts every Monday, on a broad range of animal-related topics, from nutrition to travel, so the site is quite an interesting resource.

Fun times ahead! Today will be a big media day here at Dog Star Daily headquarters, and for us that also means it’s a family affair. Ian got home at midnight last night for a brief, 48-hour respite before heading out to give yet another seminar. (He’s gone Wednesday through Sunday most weeks this spring so it will be good to have dinner with him and Jamie and catch up tonight.)

I’m filming a local TV segment on the origin of Open Paw this morning, and then Jamie is coming by to record more episodes of iWoofs. By the way, if you have any questions you’d like us to address in our podcasts, please get in touch via our Dog Star Daily Facebook Page. We love hearing from you.

I’m in Marrakesh, Morocco right now. It’s been quite the cultural experience and has got me thinking… Yesterday, while walking in the Medina I saw a guy with a monkey on leash. It upset me. This poor monkey was alternately doing back flips (without being cued) and sitting looking at his owner while holding one end of his leash, near his collar, in his hand.

I thought, “Poor monkey, trapped like that, he looks like a slave.” But then I thought, “What’s so different about this situation than the typical dog on a leash scenario I see everyday back at home?”

I guess one could argue that a monkey is a wild animal, not domesticated, and that, in-and-of-itself makes it a less palatable situation. I’m sure that was part of what bothered me. But also, for me, it was the fact that the monkey had to be kept there next to the man by force. That’s what the collar and leash symbolized to me, an unbalanced relationship.

Hugo and I recently participated in a NACSW NW1 trial. I hate to say it, but I was nervous. Why? Besides the usual pre-competition jitters, I also felt a bit under-prepared.

Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t entered prematurely, Hugo most certainly had been taught the necessary skills to succeed, but that was a long time ago, and we hadn’t been keeping up our practices recently and I felt he was a bit rusty.

As the trial date neared I started to balk, and thought perhaps I was being hasty. Perhaps we should pull out and I should up my training regiment over the next few months and then enter again over the summer.

Ah, it’s a lazy weekend morning and you’ve decided to take your pooch for a stroll to the local café to sit and sip and watch the world go by. You sit down at a sidewalk table and your peaceful morning plan is shattered because your dog is darting towards passersby of the canine sort and ruining what should be an idyllic moment just hanging out with your dog.