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Your Dog's Brain Is a Rain Forest

Edie Jarolim  |  Tue, 11/16/2010 - 05:32

When I take Frankie, my small terrier mix, out for a walk, he tends to avoid contact with other people and other dogs. “He’s shy,” I tell fellow dog walkers who want to approach, and often add, “But you should see him at home. He’s king of his domain, happy and brave.”

Of course dogs behave differently in different situations. So why do I feel compelled to draw various strangers’ attention to Frankie’s at-home personality? It’s because I, like many others, carry around a notion in my head of the ideal dog -- outgoing (but not too much), friendly, playful, obedient -- and consider any deviation from it embarrassing.

I never really thought much about it until recently, but we also carry around similar notions of the ideal human. "Your Brain is a Rain Forest," a fascinating article by Thomas Armstrong, puts it like this:

 

Tag Team Fetch During Indian Summer DIP

Rachel Friedman  |  Wed, 11/10/2010 - 15:57

DIPs have proven to be such an amazing experience since launching them back in the beginning of the summer. Not only have I had the pleasure to watch dogs learn social skills or get their mojo back, but it's been a great exposure to more and more nuanced awareness of dog/dog social skills that endlessly fascinate me. This week has been a glorious burst of Indian Summer after a surprising couple of inches of heavy, wet snow just four days ago. Today at DIP we had 9 dogs, nearly a full house -- Trip and Bean, Bosco My Training Project, visiting boarding guests Zin and Jackie, and visiting dogs Bella & Tango, Rio and Poker. All but Bosco are adult dogs ranging from 1 to 10 years old. Medium to XL, males and females, sporty and spicy!

 

Throwing Away the Box

Nicole Wilde  |  Wed, 11/10/2010 - 10:18

Trainers and owners alike are taught that there are specific ways to solve canine behavior problems. But one method, regardless of how scientifically sound or effective, won’t work for every dog. Sometimes it’s necessary to think outside the box; and sometimes, it comes to throwing the box away altogether.

 

APDT 2010 - The Joys of Networking

Jeff Silverman  |  Tue, 11/09/2010 - 10:19

Like several other DSD bloggers, I thought that the recent 2010 APDT conference (my 10th) was one of the best ever.  We had great attendance and some wonderful speakers that I’d never seen before.  The many hands-on workshops filled up early and generated tons of enthusiasm.  My only complaint was the number of time slots that forced me to choose between 2 or 3 “must-see” presentations.  APDT raised the quality of the official program to a whole new level this year, but my favorite part of conference was the same as always:  hanging out with other trainers. 

 

2010 APDT Conference - The Year of the Puppies

Laurie C Willia...  |  Mon, 11/08/2010 - 00:39

As the saying goes, the third time's the charm.  The Association of Pet Dog Trainers conference in Atlanta last month was the third one I've attended.  With the ever changing location, venue, topics and speakers, by design every conference is certainly unique, but there was something about this conference that made it stand apart from the others.  Now I could start with the obvious.  This was the first conference I've attended since being elected to the APDT Board of Directors.  It was also the first time I've been a speaker and presenter.  But still, there was something else that made this one different.  It was the the emphasis on puppies. 

 

Two Tantalizing Tingles I Took Home from APDT* 2010

Deborah Flick  |  Sun, 11/07/2010 - 18:55

I want more! That’s how I felt at the close of the best APDT (Awesome Phenomenal Dog Training) Conference ever. Most multi-day confabs leave me feeling satiated. But APDT was different. It whetted my appetite for more, which explains why I’m nearly two weeks late in sharing some highlights with you.

“Suzanne Clothier is doing a three-day workshop on fearful and reactive dogs next week-end. (October 30) I’ll pick you up at the Albany airport and we can go together,” Debbie Jacobs (fearfuldogs.com) suggested to me on Monday, the day after the conference. I had returned home from Atlanta in the wee hours of that Monday morning. That’s nuts! I thought. So soon. So expensive. So fast.

 

Pet Pharm

Dr. Nicholas H....  |  Thu, 11/04/2010 - 12:11

Today is November 4th, 2010. That date jogged my memory because it is the day that Ian Dunbar and I will feature in "Pet Pharm" a one-hour Canadian national broadcast (CBC).

The two of us are pitted against each other in an anti- versus pro-behavior modifying drug duel. That’s the way TV likes to do things; one says one thing and the other says another. That’s called controversy and it’s good for ratings. In fact, Ian has (rarely) resorted to behavior modifying drugs to treat dogs with certain conditions and has referred (again rarely) some cases to UC Davis, where they may well be prescribed drugs. And although it may come as a surprise to some, I do not always resort to behavior modifying drugs and am a big proponent of positive training, including Ian’s centerpiece training technique, lure and reward.

 

Separation Anxiety: A View from Both Sides

Nicole Wilde  |  Wed, 11/03/2010 - 07:49

Canine behavior specialists know that separation anxiety can be a challenging behavior problem to “fix” due to the level of owner compliance and commitment required, and because of the nature of the problem itself. I’ve worked with a large number of dogs with separation issues over the years, and have been able to help in the majority of cases. But never did I truly understand what owners are living with until I adopted Sierra.

 

Snapshot : Why Canine Nose Work Is So Cool

Kelly Gorman Dunbar  |  Tue, 11/02/2010 - 08:13

Never have I seen an activity that benefits such a wide variety of dogs, and by wide variety I mean just about every dog on the planet and their owners too. Nose work teaches people to appreciate their dog's innate olfactory and hunting skills. It allows dogs to be dogs and it's really a beautiful thing. I've extolled the virtues of fun nose work for dogs over on the fab local mag Bay Woof, but it bears repeating so here's the link to the article. Sniff, sniff hooray!

 

Advocacy Overdrive: Addressing the Opposition - Facts Trump Feelings

Drayton Michaels  |  Fri, 10/29/2010 - 14:37

Sad as it is there is still a segment of our society that has a prejudice against Pit Bulls. Despite the CDC, respected animal behaviorists and even the Department of Justice all saying that there is no need to ban dogs, some people persist in their xenophobic ways towards “pit bulls”.

To quote Bill Maher the host of Real Time with Bill Maher “It is not a debate when you have scientists debating non scientists”. He was speaking about global warming, but it could just as easily have been about dogs. This is not a debate; it is science trying to get the uneducated masses to see how unwarranted their fears about dogs are.

 

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