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I have a wonderful neighbor who says, “Dogs LOVE me. I’m good with dogs.” I’ve been gently instructing her that she is good with “dog” (ie. HER dog) and that HER dog absolutely loves her – but, that she doesn’t quite know as much about other dogs as she thinks she does … So far, she still isn’t completely convinced – but she’s, thankfully, finally starting to listen to me.

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Years ago, we had a friend who lived on a farm. He & his wife ended up acquiring & attempting to care for well-over 100 dogs, cats, horses, etc.; and, while their hearts were in the right place – their ability to deal with the volume of animals they’d acquired, were not.

To their credit, they attempted to obtain veterinary care for, and rehome, as many of the animals (many of which were either feral, or had been “dumped” at their farm) as possible. However, rather than seek help for their situation, and believing that many of these animals would be euthanized – they errantly decided to keep trying to help. Eventually, the situation grew exponentially larger than their time, abilities, resources, emotions or finances could afford. Ultimately, many of the animals in their care, died, anyway – and several of neighbors called the authorities to report the stench, and the emaciated and/or dead animals on their property.

While it was primarily his very tender-hearted wife who was responsible for taking in most of the animals – he was just as complicit as she; so our friends pled “no contest” to 107 counts of animal cruelty.

Animal hoarding cases turns just about everyone’s stomachs … but because I actually knew a couple who was involved in such a case – I now have a better understanding of “how” these things begin & multiply over time. This, by no means, is justification for our friends’ actions – and while it did give me a more personal look into how these situations can occur – it still doesn’t make it easier to emotionally deal with.

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Just watching the eyes on one of the dogs and thinking this is a recipe for disaster.

One of my best friends daughters has a Pitty. One day my friend showed me a video of her (then) year old grandson crawling all over the dogs bed. Eventually the dog got up & left … My friend was absolutely beaming with delight, and she & her daughter just thought this was “the cutest darned thing ever” … I politely but carefully warned her that allowing the grandbaby to crawl all over the dogs bed was a really bad idea – as was allowing the child to play with the dog toys, or crawl over toward the dog food/water dishes, etc. That I didn’t want to sound the alarm bells – but what I saw in the video was a stressed-out pup. Well, she wasn’t pleased. She informed me that her daughter “was right there the entire time” and that the dog was as gentle as they come. I pointed her toward some YouTube videos of other peoples whose children were doing the same thing, and the devastating consequences that occurred as a result … that those parents were also “right there,” videoing the kids & the dog(s) when the incidents occurred. I also told her about the Corgi that killed a 7 yo boy a few years ago … After that, her daughter moved the dog outside. But, they don’t train or spend quality time with the dog, and are clueless about dog behavior – and apparently don’t believe it’s necessary to teach their child (now children) about respect for animals. They continually anthropomorphize their dogs behavior … so, I’ve had several careful conversations with my friend about this. Thankfully, she’s starting to really listen a little more carefully – but oy vey …

We have some people in our life group (from church) who have Australian Shepherds and allow their grandkids to get in the dogs faces, “ride” or rough-house with the dogs, etc. I tried to talk carefully to them about their dogs & grandkids and respect … and was told, “we’ve had Aussie’s for 25 years, I think we know what we’re doing.”

Well, that’s a pretty dangerous mindset to have, and I hear it all the time. But, at the beginning & ending of every single day, a dog is an animal. Respect their animalness.

Unfortunately, certain types people simply refuse to listen because they always know more than the trainer …

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This is something I put on my IG & FB pages a couple of months ago, after signing the petition. I just had this conversation with my neighbor today who thought eCollars were disgusting. She, like so many others, do not understand what an important tool eCollars are in a competent dog trainer’s hands.

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Happy 4th Birthday Stormy! 🎂

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Leo, thanks for asking this question. I’ve often wondered about (what we’d termed) the “helicopter” tail. Our dog Zoey used that particular tail movement when we picked her up after surgery. Have never seen the water pump tail that you described, but my husband has on their beagle, Radar.

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I really appreciate your perspective Art.

And, frankly … I’m not sure that I’d want to hear what Lacey would have to say about me on any given day. She’d likely just remind me that, while she loves me, I’m really nothing more than her own private human pinata …🤷‍♀️😆

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Foundation Style Goose Training? 🤣
My husband said they had the same type of geese. Are they Toulouse Geese?

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Isn’t this list great? I stumbled across this list a couple of weeks ago and posted it on FB & IG. It’s extremely comprehensive.

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Trying very hard not allow any knee-jerks to dictate my emotions. I had to watch the video again – just to clarify in my mind whether or not the K9 officer released the dog intentionally, and not because of a poor hand grip, or because he was running & nearly tripping …

The OHP officer clearly stated, “do not release the dog,” at least twice. But, the dog was released – then after correcting the dog for running the wrong direction, the K9 officer ran back & pointed to the suspect for the dog to attack. When the dog attacked the (already surrendered) suspect, the K9 officer was told “get the dog,” but his response was, instead, to tackle the suspect.

We have no idea what was going on in the K9 officers head during this incident. The whole thing, to me, looked more like a poorly executed training exercise (without the benefit of a bite suit for the suspect). I am *not* justifying the officers actions. From my perspective he should be reprimanded. Perhaps law enforcement just isn’t the color of his (employment) parachute … At any rate, this was very bad day for everyone involved, and I’m extremely grateful that this young man did not wind up in a body bag.

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I always figured that the helicopter tail on Zoey was her, “you came back for me … you really came back for ME!” (we got her at 9 months old, and she’d already been in 3 homes & 3 shelters). Surprisingly, I’ve actually never actually seen the helicopter tail on Lacey – but we’ve also had her since she was 10 or 11 weeks old.

Anxious to read the article Allie posted. Maybe it will give us both a little insight. 🙂

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Thanks for posting this article. I’ve often wondered about some of the tail movements that Leo was asking about.

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So the workbook is good? I looked up the book (yes, pricey) and found the workbook & wondered if you can use it without the book, itself.

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My husband said they had the Toulouse geese.
Named one of them “Spike.”
Spike had a attitude.

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Per my husband … geese have “attitudes.”