The Dog Blog

Hi all!

Occasionally I get emails from both established and new companies asking for pet professionals (trainers, groomers, rescue professionals, pet sitters, veterinarians and veterinary technicians, etc.) to test new dog training products - including but not limited to:  treats, food, harnesses, collars, toys, backpacks, etc.

While I am generally happy to help these companies out with feedback on a great (or dismal) new product, I would also like to help manufacturers get new products into the hands of pet pros for testings both pre- and post-product launch.

I am sure I am not the only positive training nerd/pet professional who is willing to help these companies develop new products which will directly improve the training and living relationships between dogs and the people who love them. 

Think the puppy I’ve been posting pictures of in this series looks sweet and innocent?  You should have seen him with the very fresh raw deer leg that a friend gave us last Thursday.  I’d been feeding Chaos from Kongs and handling him while he ate, but I wasn’t doing a lot of hand feeding outside of training sessions like I should have been.  That all changed when the deer leg turned him into a snarling little demon-pup.  I promised to write about mistakes in doing this blog and there will be some today. 

With the holidays rapidly approaching, keep in mind that your stress and changes in routine can have an impact on your dog's behavior.  They may "act out" if they sense our frustrations and the typical attempts to get our attention fail. This can be avoided by maintaining some of your daily routines, like mealtime and a long walk.  In addition to keeping things “normal” for Fido, also try to make sure he has a quiet retreat, like a bedroom or his crate, just in case he wants to get away from your niece who wants to play dress up or Uncle Fred’s cigars.

First it was the business section. Now my hallowed Sunday New York Times has gone and sullied the front page of the STYLES section with more of that press that Mr. Milan, he of the Dog Whisperer fame, seems to garner -- this time crediting him with Child Whispering!

To his credit Mr. Milan never does not formally or publicly opine about teaching child rearing -- focusing on his dog training methods of discipline and his trinity of Exercise, Discipline and Affection equals happiness and the gist of the article a few weeks ago -- keeps him plenty busy.