I have high blood pressure.

When this was discovered a few years ago my doctor did what any doctor would do: she prescribed medication that lowered my pressure. This addressed the symptom, but didn't really fix the problem. The problem was too much time on the computer with a sandwich in one hand and my scintillating opinions in the other, and not enough time with no food in either hand while actually doing something.

You can twist perceptions / Reality won’t budge / You can raise objections / I will be the judge / And the jury - Rush, “Show Me Don’t Tell Me”

Have you ever seen Patricia McConnell’s blog? Every week she mixes useful training information, her thoughts on behavior, and some fun snippets of information about her farm. It’s what I want my blog to be when it (and I) grow up.

We enjoy an unprecedented ability to share information with people literally all over the world. With what has become pretty much a standard cell phone and a free account on too many web sites to name (without writing an, ahem, unbelievably loooong blog post) one can share words, pictures, and even video containing useful information.

Or not so useful information.

Because what we have we, as a community, used it to do?

I am home sick, too sick even to handle editing the most demanding entry in the choosing-a-dog series I started. So, it's time to clean out the camera roll in the iPhone.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: “We thought we would get a smaller dog because he would be easier.” It’s even funnier if you’re in the room with a Jack Russell Terrier or a Chihuahua.

Last week I wrote about making the decision to either adopt a rescue or purchase a dog from a breeder. The next decision is whether or not to get a puppy. (It’s possible to get a purebred adult dog from several places, so choosing one does not preclude the other.)

Choosing a dog can be tough, whether you are an experienced dog person or a potential first time dog owner. There are both ethical and practical implications. During the next few weeks I am going to go over these issues and provide you with some advice and homework (for when you are looking.)

I’ll confess right now that I find a lot of novels about dogs a bit tedious. The “dog enters a person’s life and teaches him/her about life, love, and how to laugh” formula has got to be one of most shopworn stories around. So when I picked up my review copy of Pukka: the Pup After Merle by Ted Kerasote, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It sat in the “to be read” pile for a much longer time than it should have, and that was a huge mistake. I should have started it the minute it arrived.

In 1961 Stanley Milgram conducted his famous experiment. Subjects were led to believe that they were "teachers" and were administering shocks to other volunteers ("learners" — some with heart conditions) for each wrong answer in a memory test. As the test progressed the voltage was gradually increased to 450 volts, and with each increase the "learners" would protest more and more loudly, pounding on walls and screaming in pain. At the same time, the experimenter would urge the "teacher" to continue. Depending on how far the "teacher" was willing to go, the "learner" would eventually stop responding.

I’m in a bit of a funk, so maybe I shouldn’t be posting, especially about this. On the other hand, submitting to the urge to rant might prevent the writer’s block I fell into last October.

There has also been an uptick of comments the past few weeks on some of my old Cesar Millan articles on Dog Spelled Forward, including a few examples of my favorite formula: “It’s only a show!” and “It’s a shame you’re so closed-minded!” — often in the same comment, which I find hilarious. Am I supposed to take the show seriously or not? Pick one!

Is there a relationship between diet and behavior? Many people seem convinced that this is the case, and it's not hard to find some pretty bold assertions regarding how some diets will cure all woes, while others, or at least some ingredients, are to be avoided.

I did some searching, and the scientific evidence is sparse and rather frustrating.