Five Reasons That Dogs Become Holiday Grinches
(This is a post from a few years ago, but it is so important that I thought it was worth posting again. I'd write a new one, but, well, everything I want to say is here, so I've posted it again. I'd love your feedback, stories, etc., on what works (or doesn't work), for you.) No doubt there are lots of dogs out there who love the holidays. New chew toys! Pieces of ham or turkey dropped onto the floor! But I guarantee you that many dogs are not a fan of holidays, especially Christmas and New Year's. Here are five reasons why: I. The Dreaded Christmas Photograph. Posing for family photographs is about as fun for some dogs as it is for three-year old children. Don’t believe me? Check Read More
Fido Phone Home?
What does your dog do when you aren't home? Sleep? Gaze out the window longing for the sexy little Lhaso across the street? Or, relevant to today's post, does he wish he could call and talk to you wherever you are? Maybe a quick text? That's the premise of a study that NYT journalist Christine Chung told me about, (not the texting part!) in which a device was designed to let dogs call their owners and see them on a screen. You can read about it here, in an article titled "Forming the Dog Internet". I'm stretching it by calling it a study, because it involved one dog, and one person. The bulk of the work, the real experiment I'd say, was done trying to create a device that Read More
Do Privileges Affect Behavior?
In my last post I mentioned that Skip was being given couch privileges, but he didn't feel quite comfortable up there when first allowed. Here's the photo I took several weeks ago: It's pretty clear who was the most comfortable. This photograph, along with a post on my Facebook page, led to some comments about when dogs are allowed "privileges" like access to the couch, and when they aren't. At the risk of resuming a conversation everyone else is done with, I've found myself thinking about the issues of "privilege," "fairness," and whether getting to sleep up on a couch might influence the relationships between household dogs. First, let me tackle some thoughts I have on the Read More