20 The Mimi Effect

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There was a beagle in the UC Berkeley dog behavior study named after Ian’s first wife (Jamie’s mom), Mimi.  Mimi the beagle was central to more than one incident that would profoundly shape Ian’s understanding of dog behavior and temperament.  It revealed just how fundamentally a dog’s temperament could be changed, especially confronted with the power of the pack.  It also led Ian to develop the notion of subliminal bite stimuli, the idea that there can be multiple factors that lead to a sudden explosion of dog aggression.  Finally, as a cognitive psychologist Mimi the person provided an incredibly valuable perspective that was instrumental in the development of modern pet dog training, as popularized by Ian and SIRIUS Puppy Training.