Have Some Fun With Your Dog!

As a professional dog trainer, I'm often suggesting ideas to my students. One of those suggestions regards fun things you can do with your dog.

A dog is more than a walking carpet that you feed a couple of times a day.

Discover what you can do with your dog, and do it!

Dog Food Recall

Dick Van Patten's "Natural Balanced" Dog food has recalled some of its product over concerns about salmonella.

Animal Cruelty Syndrome?

I'm wary of creating new psychological disorders since they can create new classes of those with legally protected "disabilities". That being said, is there a justification for defining "Animal Cruelty Syndrome"? I do know this: that people who will abuse animals have something seriously wrong going on in their heads, and can cause a whole lot harm to animals and people. It's something that has attracted the attention of law enforcement, animal welfare activists, and the psycholocial community.

Hard Decisions

A man died trying to save his dog from drowning in a canal. These situations are always hard, and it's easy to say what you would or wouldn't do if you were faced with the same crisis. My rule in advance is always people safety first, animal safety second. This man had a wife (no mention if he had kids). They were relying on him, too. Sometimes you have to do hard things in life. What would you do in this situation?

Sick Pets And No Money

When people have to choose between medical care for their pets and survival, then the pet is put down. That's the truth and tragedy of this ongoing recession.

Cesar Millan Getting Divorced

Not good news. I hate divorce, yet I've been divorced. It really sucks. I wish both of them well.

Fat Dog Seized By Government

Council officials have seized a morbidly obese Bull Terrier from its owner and sent it to a "fat camp".

I'm not sure how I feel about this, from a legal standpoint. In my opinion, overfeeding a dog to the point it is suffering like this is clearly abuse. I support using the law to save abused animals. On the other hand, does this kind of thing set a precedent for other seizures of animals for reasons that aren't so serious? I just don't know. So, I guess I'll just wait and see...

Be Wise When Pooping Your Pup

Here's another story of someone who allegedly went bonkers and shot someone because they let their pup poop on their prized lawn. First off, if you have a dog, be as inconspicuous as possible when pottying your dog, and pick up after your dog. Second, if you are a nut about your yard and you don't want people pooping their pets in your yard, instead of packing a pistol, why not just build a fence? We all have to get along in this world, and nothing was worth the death of a human being over this kind of thing.

Marmaduke Movie

Here we go again. The new Marmaduke Movie comes out in theaters on June 4th. And once again, you can bet that people will go out and buy Great Danes without thinking about what they are getting into. Great Danes are a LOT of dog, not only in size but in cost and in terms of behavior. These were dogs designed to tackle big game. A number of years ago, I heard of two Great Danes attacking and mauling a black bear... Think about that some time. Danes aren't always good with other dogs, and you definitely don't want to get two of the same sex in the same home. Further, you MUST go to a reputable breeder, not a pet store or backyard breeder. With health problems galore, there are also dangerous behavioral instabilities that come along with certain colors, especially the merles.

That being said, I like the breed and have trained a number of them. But, they are not for the casual, impulse buyer. I already anticipate hearing stories of these dogs filling the shelters in about a year from now.

New Dog Web Page

I have been working for months on a new dog training web page. It features a lot of new content, a more user friendly look and navigation profile, and a new shopping cart. You can now order online lessons, dog food, and a variety of dog supplies. And there is a ton of other new stuff coming.

Check it out: Sam The Dog Trainer.com

Don't Feed Dogs Bones!

I've told numerous people that it is a mistake to give dogs bones from your dinner plate. They aren't the same as the ones you get from a pet store, nor are they similar to the bones a wolf would gnaw on in the wild. And sure enough, here is a warning from no less than the FDA confirming the same.'

Hat Tip: Dogster.com

City Bans Dogs From Park = Bans Dogs From City

A city in Britain has banned all dogs from all parks. At the same time, there are animal welfare laws in Britain making it mandatory for dogs to get walks. Isn't socialism wonderful? Isn't it time to just leave people alone?

Stress Negatively Affects Your Dog

Many people don't factor in household stress when considering why their dogs are misbehaving. Divorce, strife, overly busy families, overly stretched finances, irregular hours, kids going every which way, noise, and so forth don't contribute to a happy dog.

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.

Man Fed Kittens To Pit Bull & Filmed It

A man has been jailed for tearing the head off a kitten in front of his family. Te Ahu Aaron Mankelow, 31, pleaded guilty to five charges of wilful cruelty to animals after he recorded himself on a cellphone tipping out five kittens from a box for his dog, and urging his dog to eat them.

Go To Jail, you bastard

One More Reason To Hate Venezuela

They have banned pit bulls. The new law excluded banning animal sacrifice for religious purposes; there has been a huge increase in animal sacrifice because of religions such as Santeria.

Dog Bans Don't Work, But Politicians Keep Trying

Vicious dog breeds could be subject to an import ban and neutering policy in order to wipe them out in Denmark. The fourteen breeds considered dangerous by the committee include: Pit Bull Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentine, Tosa Inu, Boerboel, Kangal, the Central Asian, Caucaisna and South Russian varieties of Ovcharka, Tornjak and Sarplaninac.

There is a reason why there is a Bill of Rights amending the US Constitution... because government always keeps trying to accumulate more power over individuals over time. The Soviet Union had laws against pretty much everything. Same with North Korea today. Would you want to live in a place like that? More laws don't make a better society. Dog breed bans do not make the public safer, just like gun bans don't make the public safer. They have dangerous dog bans and gun bans in England. Has that made England safer? No. London is a mad house these days. It is illegal to defend yourself, and you are more likely to end up dead or in prison if you do defend yourself or someone else there. They've turned into a country of pussies.