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Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke, Obi Wan in Millennium Falcon

Fly Casual: The Importance of Posture, and its Rewards

    What does the Millennium Falcon have to do with aggressive dogs? Read on.
    What does the Millennium Falcon have to do with aggressive dogs? Read on.

    Body language is really important. When dealing with species that don’t use English, it’s really, really important.

    Trainers who work with a lot of fearful, aggressive, or fear-aggressive dogs soon learn not only to read dogs’ body language, but to communicate effectively with their own. I often enter a home containing a dog who isn’t really sure he wants me there, and my first priority is to convince him that I mean no harm.

    There are three ways to do this, and two of them are dangerous.

    Social, Civil, and Savvy: Training & Socializing Puppies to Become the Best Possible Dogs

    Don’t Socialize the Dog!

      That title is a typo, right? A professional dog trainer would never advocate against socialization, would she? Well, maybe!

      Laura & Shakespeare

      On Fear-Aggression and Leadership

        stressed Malinois
        stressed Malinois, image from FIRED UP, FRANTIC, AND FREAKED OUT

        World’s shortest CIA blog post, just because I was just surprised by my own succinct summary in an email I was writing.

        I don’t use “leadership” or social hierarchy to work with fear-aggression; they’re generally not related. A child may love and respect his mother, but still find the dentist chair a scary experience. We need to teach him how to view the dentist, not his mother.

        Time — and dogs — can be saved by focusing on the real issue.

        Training Dinosaurs: Watching Jurassic Park

          Jurassic Park (film score)
          (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

          Remember a little film called Jurassic Park? It was recently re-released in 3D. I had forgotten that it first came out 20 years ago; it’s fun to re-watch it with my older, behavior-savvy eyes.

          I went to the theater with Alena (also blogging regularly here), and as it was a late-night showing and we were the only patrons in the theater, we could indulge in a little chat as we watched.

          Doberman Laev (and her brain) in prey mode

          The Snake Kit Pays Off!

            Doberman Laev (and her brain) in prey mode
            Laev (and her brain) in prey mode

            Longtime readers may remember that Laev is a weeeee bit predatory, and I have an annual springtime mission to keep her from killing my snakes as they come out of hibernation. I even wrote about one year’s “Snake Kit” and how I was handling her.

            Well, a few minutes ago I was at the computer when I heard the telltale bark from outside. Laev had found and cornered a snake, the first of the year (our spring has been rather inhospitable thus far). I jumped from my chair, snatched the french fries left over from my Elevation Burger lunch — I knew I’d moderated myself for a reason — and ran out the front door.

            Interview with a 5-year-old… Doberman

              Remember a few years ago when the “interview with a 5-year-old” meme was running about social media? People asked their little kids questions about their mothers.

              Well, I don’t have kids, so I obliged with an interview with Laevatein. And after totally forgetting it, I just stumbled across it again, so here it is.