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Why do people get certain types of dogs, dogs who were bred to have very strong behavioral tendencies, and then try everything they can to discourage those behaviors?

I'm talking about people who want a small dog but hate barking, German Shepherd Dog lovers who despair of their dog's predatory urges, and fans of Vizslas or Weimaraners who don't have time to run their dogs enough to make them tired. I'm talking about hound owners who go bananas when their dogs bay, and Australian Shepherd owners who hire trainers to try to make sure their dogs don't try to herd or nip the neighbor's active, outdoor children.

Why isn't there a roadmap for treating cancer? It seems like there ought to be a database, with every type of cancer for every companion animal species, with lists of what therapies have been tried and the success rate of each, with the side effects listed... And then you could just select the course of treatment that's had the best results with the least side effects - and feel good about your choices.
But in my experience with cancer, you almost never feel great about the choices that you make. Even when treatment is successful, most people I've known with cancer, and most pet owners who have had their pets treated for cancer, have been left with niggling doubts.

I've been working with Pat Miller for the past 17 years. She's had an article in all but one issue of WDJ in that span of time – and that one issue that was published without an article from her was my mistake, not due to her missing a deadline. She's a gifted trainer, a lifelong learner who continues to read research articles and pay attention to new discoveries in animal behavior and animal cognition, and she has a consistent, calm, compassionate voice that advocates for well-reasoned training methods applied with kindness and patience. I met Pat when she wrote some articles for the publication I worked for prior to WDJ, a little magazine called The Whole Horse Journal! She wrote an article about clicker training for horses with extreme fear-based behaviors, and used her off-the-track Thoroughbred mare as a model for the article. When our publisher asked me to be the founding editor of WDJ, and I was rounding up writers to form the nucleus of our core contributors, someone mentioned to me that Pat, whom I knew only as that clicker horse trainer

There is an article on the WDJ website right now about recalls that is available to subscribers and nonsubscribers alike. I'm glad it's available to anyone who is interested, because it contains information that I wish every dog owner would read and embrace. It's by trainer Lisa Lyle Waggoner, and it's about how to build a consistent rocket recall" response in from your dog. I've used the exercises described in the article over the years with my dogs

The more time I spend with dogs (my own and particularly other people's), the more I think that promoting a dog's self-control is the most valuable thing we can do to make him more enjoyable to be around, while preserving both his dignity and individuality. That sounds like a lot of new-age mish-mash, so let me explain.I don't like it when dogs jump up in greeting, or crash into me when playing with each other. It makes being with them unpleasant – to me, anyway, and maybe some of you. Making a lot of rough physical contact with us doesn't seem to bother many dogs, probably because it's something that many dogs do among themselves.Also, I don't want to have to struggle with my dogs physically, ever. I shouldn't have to drag a dog somewhere he doesn't want to go or physically restrain one from doing something he really wants to run toward or check out.

I'm the owner of two middle-aged dogs. I'm also a friend to many people with senior dogs with serious medical conditions. I've started worrying about my middle-aged dogs, especially Otto, my 70-pound wonder mutt / heart dog." (Small dogs live longer

This summer is FLYING by. There is so much to do. But there's one task right under my nose that hasn't been getting done, that HAS to get rolling: socializing Mommy

It's very difficult for those of us who always scoop our dogs' poop to understand those who don't. I honestly have never heard anyone defend their habit of looking the other way (and then walking the other way!) when their dog defecates somewhere he or she shouldn't - such as on a public sidewalk, on someone else's lawn, or outside of a hotel - and I really just can't imagine what such a person is thinking when they do this.

One shouldn't watch the latest videos from the Center for Pet Safety (CPS) on a full stomach. Even though NO ACTUAL DOGS ARE HARMED in the videos, watching a few of them may make you feel ill. The videos are the product of the CPS's latest round of testing safety restraint systems for dogs who are passengers in our cars. The CPS, you may remember, is the nonprofit organization prominently featured in WDJ's January 2015 article, Restraining Order

I've said it before and I will say it again: There is nothing as valuable as a best dog friend" (BDF?) for your dog – particularly when you have a young

I own two dogs. One is Otto, my heart dog. He's a largish mutt, about 7 years old, well-trained, well-behaved, and well-socialized. He serves very effectively as a watchdog, letting us know when anyone enters our front gate – and when UPS has a package for us. Or anyone else on our street. Barring his suspicion of UPS, he's a joy to live with.The second dog I own is Tito, also about 7 years old. He's a probable Chihuahua-mix, having been purchased (by a relative) as a purported purebred puppy from a likely puppy mill. His start in life was a little rough, and he bounced from one relative's home to another, picking up issues" along the way. But he's an astute observer of behavior

The dog shown here is half Bloodhound, half Border Collie. I was skeptical, too. Bloodhound I can see. But I don't see a trace of Border Collie. Then I learned her story. Indy was an accident" – the product of two purebreds owned by a family who actually breeds and shows Border Collies and Bloodhounds. I wouldn't have guessed that a fan of one of those breeds would also possess the other