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People near food bowls ROCK!
Last week I wrote about how common it is for people to actually create food aggressive dogs by trying to get the dog used to people taking the food bowl away. What people thought was proper socialization, was actually causing their dog's aggressive behavior. That...
read moreHappy Gotcha Day Rio!!
One year ago, I was living in a studio apartment in Westchester County, NY, I had a really good full-time job as a community educator, and Shayne was my only companion (and other than work, she was pretty much with me all the time). For over a year and a half, I...
read moreHappy (almost) Gotcha Day Rio!!!
Rio's Gotcha Day is on Sunday and I will be posting a special post for him. I wanted to post a photo tribute to my little man a day in advance but since I will be competing at a winter frisbee competition, Arctic Air Games, on Saturday, I'm pushing the photos a day...
read moreFocus, it doesn't just happen…
Focus, it doesn't just happen... "Wow, she must really love you!" "She never takes her eyes off you." "It's like nothing else exists but you." "He is just so focused on your every move." I get comments like these all the time from people. I also hear: "My dog is so...
read moreIt's Not Bribery!
“You know those cookie or clicker trainers, they are just bribing their dogs to obey the commands. Once the dogs leave the house or there is no food, they are out of control. My dog knows he has to comply or he gets a swat at a distance (she then brandishes...
read moreNo dog-park, no problem!
Like alluded to previously, I don't tend to frequent dog parks. They can be incredibly unpredictable and somewhat risky; since neither of my dogs are particularly great dog-park dogs I largely avoid them. It really isn't the end of the world not frequenting dog...
read moreOh, I wasn't finished with my food yet…
Imagine for a moment that you are at a restaurant and you are eating your favorite dinner after a long day at work. You've just had a chance to take a few bites of the main entree and your two side dishes, when suddenly, the waitress returns and snatches the plate...
read moreThe art of making friends…
Today Shayne, Rio and I met up with a friend and four of her dogs for a nice walk together. Shayne, again, absolutely blew me away with her social skills (though I still use those terms loosely). My friend brought three really social dogs (Kobi, Potter, and Spencer)...
read moreNew Things for the New Year
I am totally and completely against resolutions... I don't think I have ever even made a resolution. Perhaps it's simply an issue with the word resolution and my never ending conflict with semantics. Given that some 80% of resolutions are broken within a month of...
read moreYay she growled!!
Way back in the summer of 2006 I adopted a 10 month old red Border Collie Mix. Shayne, as she would become to be known, was a very underweight terrified dog. I was made aware when I adopted her that she was food aggressive but other than being timid, she did okay on...
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