Sick

When I die, so does my dog: Some pet owners take animals to their graves. Some simply don't want to be buried alone, while others fear no one will take care of the critters

Happy Thanksgiving! Watch your dog today with guests. Domestic violence is higher on holidays because of alcohol consumption, dogs get in the way and get abused

Three significant factors contributing to dog attacks: lack of prudent management of a dog; substance abuse; & dogs with underlying unresolved medical problems

I'm at a public event today. Saw WAY too many untrained dogs dragging their owners along. They need training: http://www.samthedogtrainer.com

Hero Dog, Target, Killed By Animal Control

A dog, named Target, credited with saving the lives of 50 US soldiers in Iraq has been killed by a Pinal County, AZ employee. The employee has been put on administrative leave.

I am no fan of animal control. I have seen plenty of abuses over the years. Animal Control is the rump end of the police force of a city, with all the police powers of a cop but without the training, skills, aptitude or organization in place to ensure the Constitutional rights of dog owner. I've seen animal control fight for inhumane dog laws, such as in Seattle, causing the deaths of untold dogs for frivilous reasons, just to raise more funds for the city in terms of fees and increasing the power base of petty city managers and increasing the number of employees who are now beholden to the city for their jobs. I've seen animal control fight in the courts to put a dog to death, even after the dog's owner was deemed innocent of any legal violation, just to prove a point that animal control should have the right to do whatever they damn well please with the dogs they seize. I've seen dogs seized off owner's property without a warrant, to be put down for doing nothing that would cause any harm to anyone. I've seen dogs in animal control left to lay in their own feces, and covered in flies. And you can bet this isn't the only dog that has been "accidentally" put to death like this at an animal control facility.

There are some accidents that are the result of the randomness of nature. Those are forgiveable. Then there are accidents that are the result of people doing things they know, or should know, they shouldn't be doing. Those second kind are what I feel happened here, by all accounts I've read over the past day. In my opinion, in private industry, that kind of foolishness should be a firing offense, both for the employees who did it, and for the head of animal control. But, this isn't private industry. There should be an investigation. Procedures should be rewritten. A board of outside supervisors should be established to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Employees re-evaluated for competence and training. And heads should roll. I'm pissed.

Pulling On A Leash?

If your dog pulls so hard on a leash that it continually coughs... YOUR DOG IS NOT TRAINED! Go get some lessons from a good dog trainer. I just hate seeing this kind of thing. And there's no need for it. And it isn't good for the dog's neck.

Border Collie

I'm currently training a Border Collie in Advanced Obedience. It's really quite enjoyable working with this breed and seeing them just "get" what you are teaching. It's a no brainer. That doesn't mean this is the ideal breed for everyone, and you really need to get to know this breed before you get one to be sure this is what you want. Every breed has strengths and weaknesses, and that's true of Border Collies.

How To Spoil A Dog

Read my latest article on this common dog behavior problem: Spoiling

Dog Training In Phoenix, AZ

Here are the locations in which I do most of my dog training. It has been quite a switch, moving from Seattle several years ago to here. I love training dogs here, but there are some significant differences in how I now operate. Take a look at the following articles:

Locations Serviced: Ahwatukee, Anthem, Avondale, Buckeye, Cave Creek, Chandler, Chandler Heights, DC Ranch, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Laveen, Litchfield Park, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Peoria, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Sun City, Sun Lakes, Surprise, Tempe, Tolleson

10 Foolish Things People Do With Dogs

1.) Foolish Training: Wrong trainer, wrong class, unscientific training, no reasonable goals, no maintenance training, not training at all, method bias, not taking obedience to off leash control.
2.) Foolish Dog Selection: Wrong breed, not considering all the factors of ownership, not enough research, purchase more on looks than traits, wrong pup from litter or shelter or breeder.
3.) Foolish Feeding: table scraps, obesity, fad diets, improper puppy feeding, improper elderly feeding, not using medical diets when prescribed by vet, let dog eat garbage, give chocolate (poisonous) to dog, allowing dog to eat or lick things off the ground.
4.) Foolish Situations: bought a dog, but should own a dog; kids don’t treat dog properly, bought dog as a gift for someone else; don’t have enough time for the dog; got a dog just before having a baby and don’t have time for dog; not physically capable of managing dog; dog doesn’t match your living situation (your apartment doesn’t allow dog ownership); person you live with doesn’t like dogs; marry someone who doesn’t like dogs; dog can’t act mannerly in situation so gets in trouble or bites someone
5.) Foolish Leadership: bought a dog for a kid (kids are not mature enough to manage a dog); “master” isn’t the master; different commands for every person; unfair demands of dog; no set rules for household; dog doesn’t have a master at all
6.) Foolish Supervision: peeing and pooping problems in the home; chewing problems; not on lead in public; not having a fenced yard; not in crate when not supervised as a pup; dog overheats in summer and freezes in winter because of inadequate housing and supervision; not being careful of goofy neighbors.
7.) Foolish Breeder/ Breeding: stupid place to buy your dog (pet store, puppy mill breeder, backyard breeder); breed own dog when you don’t know what you are doing (and produce unwanted, unhealthy or unstable dogs); no reasonable health care of pups and parents; breeding just for looks and not working ability and stability as a pet; no temperament testing of breeding stock; breeding younger dogs instead of older dogs (should collect semen and breed dogs if still healthy after 10 years old to eliminate many genetic diseases)
8.) Foolish Safety: dog in back of pickup truck; play with children unsupervised; tied out to pole; not vaccinated; let run loose in neighborhood; rough play; letting strangers hurt your dog; tying dog outside of store unsupervised; not knowing natural hazards around you
9.) Foolish Aggression: no proper training and supervision; not knowing what causes dogs to bite; not knowing the law; not knowing enough about the breed you own; not knowing enough about other dogs you meet; teasing a dog; messing with a dog you don’t know; rough play; rough treatment; bad breeding.
10.) Foolish Politics: animal rights folks want to ban domesticated dog ownership; “claw and bite” laws; unfair “menacing” laws; opposing tail docking and ear cropping in some breeds; breed bans; pit bull and other breed biases; poorly written “vicious dog” ordinances and insurance prohibitions; hiking bans; travel bans; unfair self protection laws for humans and dogs; overly restrictive leash laws; uninformed candidates running for office or in office; unreasonable animal control policies; not caring when you see an injustice concerning dogs; reactionary laws and actions after dog biting incidents that don’t relate to the average dog owner; being uninvolved in dog issues

UPDATED: Buying A Dog / Choosing A Breeder

Every once in a while, I do an update on one of my articles. If you are looking to buy or adopt a dog, you should read this first.

Today is a good day to train your dog!

Training Owners to Train Dogs

If I can't understand a dog owner's personal situation, and get to know them, I can't get their dogs to behave them properly.

Animal Neglect

Case study of two dogs that are neglected by their owners... and there's nothing we can do about it.

Anger Has No Place In Dog Training

This article is a case study regarding anger. Dog training doesn't go so well if you get angry with your dog.

Another Dog Attack That Didn't Have To Happen

A man was handing out fliers, door to door, for a restaurant. Instead of leaving them at the gate of one house, he entered the gate and was attacked by the owner's pit bulls and severely injured. The owner had a Beware of Dog sign, which the man couldn't read. Here's my opinion...

Look, I hate it that this man was injured. I'm not a violent person. I don't ever want someone to be hurt. But, it's just stupid to enter into someone's property, past a gate, without permission. You can be shot. You can be attacked by their dogs. That's life. It sucks, but people and dogs do things to protect themselves from intruders, such as install gates, post warning signs, and getting dogs. Everyone knows this. Thus, this guy did something stupid and paid the price of his stupidity. And so did the owner since one of the attacking dogs died in the custody of animal control.

My only suggestions for the owner in the future would be to put a lock on your gate (though I've posted stories of people climbing fences and being attacked by dogs, so even that isn't fool proof), and posting a No Trespassing sign, to increase the legal cost to the intruder for entering without permission. My suggestions to those who would pass out fliers... stay on public property, and don't enter private property without permission. Sorry this guy got hurt, but there's no way to legislate IQ or wisdom. Do stupid things, pay the price.

Antisocial Dogs

Not all dogs are safe to pet. I am amazed at the number of people who get bitten when petting dogs they don't know. I never do this. I take time to get to know a dog, and for the dog to get to know me, before I start petting any dog. Dogs don't just bite out of fear. Some are socially aggressive. Here are more thoughts on this topic.

Do You Need A Personal Protection Or Guard Dog?

Are you buying a dog to protect you from criminals? Better read this article!

So, You Want To Be A Dog Whisperer?

A lot of people want to know what a "dog whisperer" is, and how you become one. This article explains what it means and what it takes.

Cancer Propensity By Breed Of Dog

Is your dog at high risk for getting cancer? Trupanion pet insurance released a study today that might help answer that question. Cancer-related pet insurance claims were most common in German shepherds, golden retrievers, rottweilers and doberman pinschers

Strange. There doesn't seem to be a common thread here regarding which dogs get cancer and which ones don't, except maybe based on the past popularity of the breed.