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Love ya, but your dog is driving me nuts!

Laurie C Willia... | Mon, 08/17/2009 - 08:51

The other day, a friend asked me what's the nicest, most tactful way to tell his good friend that her dog is driving him nuts. He says her dogs are very badly behaved, completely out of control, are terrible beggars, and even jump in his lap and try to steal his food when they're sitting at the dinner table. And yet his friend does nothing. It's getting so bad he really doesn't want to visit her anymore, but he really likes his friend and doesn't want to hurt her feelings. In this case, I definitely consider myself fortunate to be in a position where people not only expect but pay me to tell them when their dogs need training. But what about someone who isn't a dog trainer? How should he or she handle this delicate situation? Darn, if ever there was an occasion for a Hallmark card, this is it! I really don't see this as much different than instances where you don't like a friend's spouse or significant other, kids,

Vick on 60 Minutes - What do you think? (and youtube links if you haven't seen it)

Steve Dale | Mon, 08/17/2009 - 05:08

What do think about what Vick said? It sounded promising, but these days I can't help but be skeptical of anything forwarded by the HSUS, and obviously I'm skeptical about Vick. We'll see.

Vick on '60 Mintes' on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWCVaIR3fO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al1vS_GKAcE

My Honor Student Just Bit Your Honor Student

Eric Goebelbecker | Sun, 08/16/2009 - 21:42

(My intention is to post here on Wednesdays, but this is going to be a nutty week, so here goes.)

"That's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average." If you're a fan of Garrison Keillor and "A Prairie Home Companion" like I am, you've heard that wrap up to the "news" many times.

Based on recent reports about Dr. Stanley Coren, you may be convinced it's time to update that line to something like "That's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are at least as smart as the dogs."

Steve Dale's Pet World on the Radio on Saturday - Aug. 15

Steve Dale | Sat, 08/15/2009 - 07:25

So, what do you do when you find a stray or feral kitten? Or an entire colony of feral cats? Dave DeFuniak, executive director of Tree House Humane Society and Meg Martino of the Chicago Stray Cat Coalition discusses TNR on Steve Dale's Pet World, Saturday at 2 p.m. cst on www.wlsam.com or WLS 890 AM on the radio. Some say TNR only perpetuates problems, I strongly disagree - I believe TNR does work, and in the long run is best for stray and feral cats as well as songbirds. This broadcast radio...I also host On Demand radio at WLS...

You can bookmark my On Demand radio shows here http://wlsam.com/sectional.asp?id=33547.

Michael Vick - chance to become a real hero

Steve Dale | Fri, 08/14/2009 - 16:55

Can Michael Vick actually tun out to be a hero? I think so. Here's an op-ed piece I wrote for my syndicated newspaer column...Listen, I don't know how it will turn out, but I do believe Vick has the chance of a lifetime:

http://www.stevedalepetworld.com/print-archive/tribune-media-services/weekly-features/418-michael-vicks-chance-of-a-lifetime

what do you think?

My First Post (well my first in three years)...but my new BLOG HOME

Steve Dale | Fri, 08/14/2009 - 16:32

I am thrilled that Dr. Ian and Kelly Dunbar - I call them the first family of dog training....asked me to post here.

After many years of blogging at my old radio home, I think this is the perfect place to land on all fours.

Personally, after hosting "Pet Central" on the air for 12 years, I moved over to WLS Radio - number one in town, 50,000 watt giant radio station...I love that. My boss is a dog lover too! In fact, we had a meeting to discuss me moving to WLS, and we met at the dog park. My show on-air airs Saturdays at 2 pm. You can hear it anywhere in the world: www.wlsam.com as it is streamed live.

I sought to a new place for my BLOG - so here it will be!!

2009 - The Year Of Empathy

Shannon McKay | Thu, 08/13/2009 - 00:43

I am very lucky to have a wonderful bunch of dogs that are all friendly, biddable, low maintenance and easy to manage. Of course they weren’t born like that, but having raised them I have been able to “practice what I preach” – the end result being really nice dogs.

I recently gave a home to an 80kg rescue dog with issues. Wow. What an eye opener. I have found it very tiresome to cope with him despite his massive progress over the last week. It has made me wonder how utterly horrible this situation must be for a person with less experience.

Photo credit: mccun934 on Flicker. CC by 2

That was no dog. That was Jabba the Hutt.

Eric Goebelbecker | Tue, 08/11/2009 - 20:05

When I was a young teen, before the fact that my mother worked for the police department was to come in handy a few times, I would occasionally do some babysitting. I wasn't too fond of it, but comic books didn't pay for themselves and the paper route money only went so far.

There was one family that I didn't mind babysitting for. The Brandenburgs had something called a "video tape recorder" and Mr. Brandenburg had well-connected friends. So I was able to see - on a television(!) - Star Wars. There were a few other movies, and even a videotaped Kiss concert, but seeing Star Wars - on a television! - was a Big Deal in 1978. (My first experience with letterboxing...but I digress.)

Market Norms versus Social Norms

Nicole S. Silvers | Thu, 08/06/2009 - 10:10

Dan Ariely's book "Predictably Irrational" is a fascinating one for those of us interested in behavior. (He also offers a fascinating podcast called "Arming the Donkeys" where he interviews researchers about their work and a riveting blog at http://www.predictablyirrational.com)

In Chapter 4 of this book, "The Cost of Social Norms", he explores the effect on humans of assigning a market value to social norm behaviors.

He examines the results of a study done by Gneezy and Rustichini there is a Israeli day care whose students are picked up by their parents at the end of the day. Inevitably, there are some students whose parents pick them up late. The staff, understandably taxed by having to wait with the students instead of going home themselves, attempt to curb the late-arrival behavior by instituting a fee for late pick-up.

Debarking, Defanging, Disarming: “Because We Can” Isn’t Good Enough!

Nicole Wilde | Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:26

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about “solutions” chosen by dog owners to address canine behavior problems. They include debarking, defanging (removing the canines), and “disarming,” which involves filing down teeth by 4mm and blunting the incisors. Debarking is, of course, aimed at curbing nuisance barking, while the other two are meant to deal with biting problems.

While these practices are normally considered measures of last resort, they are also sometimes chosen as “easier” alternatives over trainer-recommended behavior modification protocols that require time and effort. Shame on anyone who would rather mutilate a dog than make the effort to understand and help his “best friend.”