Animals Unfolded

No one likes to hear negative things about their dog's behavior, not to mention their own when it comes to engaging with their pet. When our pets behave in a way that is less-than-ideal in a social setting (namely with other dogs), it usually doesn't slip through our radar to some degree, though we hope that it has in the eyes of others. Some social offenses are negligible, even funny. Others are, well, quite telling with regard to how our ongoing training is going. But let's face it: some of us share life with dogs that just never get the hang of navigating some social situations, so it's understood that we need to pick our battles, right? Picking our battles is something we can easily do when in the midst of other folks and their dogs, too. I find that just as with everything else, there's no shortage of opinions when it comes to how a canine should behave or how their said human ought to handle a situation, and often it doesn't seem to matter how muc...

Yesterday, I read this article by Eric Goebelbecker , owner of Dog Spelled Forward . Eric is a certified dog trainer in Bergen County, New Jersey area. His thoughts on dog parks made perfect sense to me, and is why I do not participate in the whole dog park thing in my business. I find that some dog owners can't even control their dogs on a walk - especially in the city. Some mean well, I think, hover they lack the ability to be able to read their dogs' body language, and sometimes have not mastered basic training and commands with their dog. I worry about the whole movement toward not getting dogs vaccinated, too. I understand some folks' reasons for not doing so - (health reasons, prior reaction, age) - but generally those dogs are not in a more 'public' setting and there is much less of a chance of spreading disease. What are your thoughts on dog parks ? What is your experience? Lorrie Shaw is a pet blogger, a regular contributor to AnnArbor.com and owner of P...