Is This What Government Is For?

Now the Government wants competence tests before you can be a dog owner.

When is this going to STOP?!!! Government like this is tyranny.

Operant Conditioning Fails Again

A lot of dog trainers have been watching the SeaWorld story (killer whale kills trainer) with interest. There has been a raging argument within the training world regarding the efficacy of so-called "purely positive", "cruelty free", training, focusing on operant conditioning and clickers. I have stated again and again that the theory of operant conditioning is obsolete, a truncated, limited, myopic view of behavior. And this incident proves it once again. Training animals is more than something as simple as putting a quarter in the machine and getting your candy bar.

I work with dangerous dogs on a regular basis. Many are treated quite well, and still end up dangerous. Why is that? I know, and so do a lot of more common sense trainers.

New Breeds Joining AKC

They are the Leonberger, the Boykin spaniel, Icelandic sheepdog, Redbone and Blue Tick coonhounds and the Cane Corso.

Cool stuff. Except for the Leonberger, these aren't "new" breeds at all... some are pretty well established, just not very well known.

Ban Dogs Or Banish Criminals?

Gang members 'used ferocious dogs to attack four teenagers before stabbing a boy to death'.

Gang members used dogs and weapons to kill. They wouldn't be having these kinds of problems if they'd legalize guns and self defense in Britain, and start putting these losers away for life instead of cushy prison sentences. You can bet the dogs will be sentenced to death and the criminals will be out in a couple of years to kill again. This was animal abuse by these thugs.