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A Music Video That's Gone To The Dogs

Kelly Gorman Dunbar | Mon, 09/20/2010 - 11:47

Remember the OK Go video that featured the guys in the band doing a synchronized dance on treadmills? It was super-creative and a huge hit internationally. Well, the guys have outdone themselves with their latest release, the video for the song “White Knuckles” features a dozen dogs (mixed and purebred) and, to my infinite glee, one goat. It’s a cornucopia of canine capers! The dogs rock it!

The Big Picture

Gillian Ridgeway | Mon, 09/20/2010 - 08:03

The general consensus is that if we get it all done quickly and efficiently the end result will be a lot better. That if we spend a few months cramming in all they need to know, that they will be the smartest pooch on the block. Yes, that is the consensus of many new puppy parents. The more we train them the better they will be but getting to the end of the journey is not that simple.

Actually, getting to the end of the journey for some dog enthusiasts can leave them high and dry. While dogs and their people can always learn new and interesting activities, techniques and skills, there may come a time when the only way to invest more time in training your dog is to get another dog!

When liver doesn't cut it

Leah Roberts | Fri, 09/17/2010 - 16:35

Most of the time when positive reinforcement-based trainers talk about rewarding behavior we are referring to using food. Since most dogs love to eat, and an edible tidbit is very easy to work with, food is the most commonly offered reinforcement.

My Contribution to Cesar Millan's New Book

Dr. Ian Dunbar | Thu, 09/16/2010 - 15:05

Cesar Millan’s new book — Cesar’s Rules — features a number of trainers describing a variety of reward-based dog training techniques. The book is both comprehensive and representative with chapters on history of training and learning theory (Bob Bailey), training dogs for TV and film (Mark Harden), off-leash lure/reward training (myself), gentle physical prompting (Martin Deeley), and cancer detection dogs at The Pine Street Clinic. Cesar Millan’s name and fame now showcase reward-based training techniques of other trainers to the dog-owning public. It’s kind of like a vestigial book version of Dog Star Daily’s America’s Dog Trainer.

dog at playground, dog and frog, dog playing

Four Ways to Improve Your Canine ‘Greeting Intelligence’

Deborah Flick | Thu, 09/16/2010 - 08:19

Hello everyone! Greetings are on my mind. This is my first post for Dog Star Daily. I’m so delighted Kelly asked me to join the Dog Star team, and I’m humbled to be in the company of so many stellar dog bloggers.

Some days are bad hair days; yesterday was graceless greeting day. Sadie and I were out and about running errands, and in the late afternoon she accompanied me to a meeting where dogs were welcomed. Twice Sadie, my shy four-year-old Standard Poodle, was taken aback by dogs behaving like, well, dogs. But it’s the clueless humans with whom I have the bone to pick.

The Onset of Adolescence and Aggression

Dr. Ian Dunbar | Wed, 09/15/2010 - 10:25

A little ditty about how to deal with the changes that occur in doggy adolescence ("what happened to my sweet, obedient puppy?") and how to prevent these minor bumps in the road from becoming major roadblocks to living with, and enjoying, a solid, social, adult dog.

This is just an hors d'oeurve of what's on the menu of my latest seminar series, check out my 2010/2011 appearance schedule if you'd like to take a bigger bite!

Labs love to find poison ivy and share it.

They Give and They Give (or, how to get poison ivy from a dog)

Leslie Fisher | Mon, 09/13/2010 - 18:35

Anyone living with a dog knows they just keep on giving: boundless affection, furry hugs and doggy kisses, undivided loyalty and the list goes on……. However, we can also be recipients of that which is not desired. That which is not desired is also freely given and shared. This week I have been the victim of undesired sharing from the labbies. There is no pinpointing the culprit; it may have been only one, or, perhaps all three.

Good Old Dog

Dr. Nicholas H.... | Mon, 09/13/2010 - 08:51

This post is just to let y’all know about a forthcoming book created with input from the faculty of Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The book, called Good old Dog, deals with everything you or your clients would ever need to know about caring for an older dog.

Chapters include Old IS Not a Condition, How to Make Sure You’re Choosing the Right Diet, Protecting Joints Stops Pain, The Price of Aging Gracefully, Might the Changes You are Seeing Be Dementia? End of Life Decisions … and so on.

Did you know that there is no legal meaning for “senior” dog food? Did you know that diets billed as senior may contain more or fewer calories per cup than regular food so your dog may lose or gain weight when switched? Did you know that having rotten teeth can make a dog more irritable and aggressive and that a dental “prophy” can reverse the bad mood? Or how about the fact that doggy Alzheimer’s disease can be slowed down or reversed in some cases?

Muzzles Vlog: Can Dogs learn to Like Wearing Them?

Chirag Patel | Sun, 09/12/2010 - 17:19

See blog below that goes along with this Vlog.

Chirag

Muzzles Blog to go along with the Vlog

Chirag Patel | Sun, 09/12/2010 - 17:17

Please watch my Vlog that goes along with this blog.

Muzzles can be an emotional piece of dog training/behaviour management equipment for many owners, trainers and animal behaviour professionals. However, I feel that the muzzle is a piece of equipment which is overlooked by many owners.