Editorial

I've been using my friend Christine as a model for our training articles lately. She has lots of dog-handling experience, looks great in photos, has two very large dogs that we can use (and have) for the photo shoots, and isn't fazed by anything I ask her to do for the photos.

In the May 2015 issue, you'll find the first installment of what is planned as a regular column in WDJ: Pet Food Profile. I've had the privilege of touring lots of dog food manufacturing plants over the years, and have learned a lot in the process. I'd like to start sharing more information about the companies I've been invited to visit, and try to describe what makes each company unique from the others. Who owns these companies? How large are they, compared to their rivals? What is their mission, their identity? Where do they make their products? Where are the products sold, and how are they marketed?

Have you experienced that moment when your family has been reduced for whatever reason from multiple dogs to just one, and you keep thinking you need to check the back door to let someone or other back inside? You get used to the rolling thunder of dog paws and canine vocalizations when the doorbell rings, and a circus-like amount of hubbub first thing in the morning when you head to the door to let the pets out – and then suddenly there is just one calm dog, politely following you around. It's weird, but at the moment, given that I've only loaned out my second dog (not lost him), I'm enjoying it.

A few weeks ago, in preparation for writing WDJ's annual dry-dog-food review (which starts on the next page), we asked readers on our Facebook page what they most wanted to know about dry dog food. We received a lot of good questions, including a great many that revealed a common depth of interest in (and confusion about) feeding dogs. We were somewhat disappointed, however, by the number of people who took the opportunity to criticize dry dog food of any quality – the whole concept of kibble. More than one person asked, Why would anyone feed such an inappropriate diet to a dog they loved?" "

Wow! It's the start of WDJ's 18th year of publication. Sorry to sound like a cliche, but where did the time go? When I was hired to edit the inaugural edition of the magazine in early 1998, I had an extensive history of editing horse magazines; I told my new boss flat out, I don't know that much about dogs!" Of course

Okay, readers, it's confession time. I'm about to tell you something that I haven't ever confessed in these pages, not even hinted at it in 17 years: I once was so pig-ignorant about dog care that I allowed my dog – my best friend at the time, my stalwart, beloved Border Collie Rupert, to develop heartworm disease. It's true, and deeply painful to think about now.

I suspect I'm not alone in having a childhood filled with dogs as my primary companions and emotional security blankets" – I'll bet that an awful lot of you experienced that

I often dog-sit for friends and relatives. It's easy for me, because I have all sorts of dog gear, food, treats, and chews laying around. Also, my own home and the house down the block where I have my office are both securely fenced (and well-outfitted with crates and dog beds of various sizes). Plus, if the dogs are fidgety and in need of exercise and stimulation, I can grab my camera, load the dogs into my car, and head out to a nearby open space area to run them on trails or allow them to swim in the river – and any good pictures I get, or interesting experiences I have with the dogs, are helpful to my job!

You may not be aware that WDJ is more than just a printed publication: it's also available to subscribers in a digital form. (To read it online, subscribers simply register for access. Then they can read current issues before they are available in print, and follow links given in articles to back issues and articles.) The WDJ website also contains a blog, where I (and sometimes, guest bloggers) post more personal stories and topics for discussion. It's a place where we can discuss more intimate, emotional, moral, spiritual, and even judgemental ideas and opinions relating to our relationships with dogs.

One of my biggest pet peeves with most dog owners and parents? When the authority figure (owner or parent) more or less constantly says, No!" (as in

This happens all the time: People ask me what I do, and I answer, I edit a dog magazine." About 70 percent of the time

Last month in this space, I mentioned that my son's puppy (Cole, now 7 or 8 months old) had presumably received all the puppy shots" a puppy his age would ordinarily receive