Rollo, a medium-sized piebald mix-breed, was Jack London's playful childhood companion, and taught him that dogs feel "instinct, sensation, and emotion, and are capable of simple reasoning." In his essay "The Other Animals", London credits Rollo with inspiring him to look deeper for the possibilities in dogs, and helped form the basis for his classics Call of … Continue reading Rollo, Jack London’s inspiration.
It is Better to Know: Long Live Pie!
My wife and I adopted two female cats at the same time, Sweety-Pie and Lopsy. Though they looked alike, and got along well, they were not related, and were both female strays from different cities in western Washington. They were both around four years old. On the drive home we changed their names to “Pie” … Continue reading It is Better to Know: Long Live Pie!
Reward-Based, Positive Reinforcement, and Clicker-Training
Clicker-trained dogs like Iggy tend to be very attentive. History and Theory: Lures, Rewards, Whistles, Clickers Contemporary, reward-based animal training has its roots in marine-mammal training. During the mid-twentieth century, people began trying to train captive dolphins and orcas using negative reinforcement, or coercion methods, just as people had been training dogs and horses. … Continue reading Reward-Based, Positive Reinforcement, and Clicker-Training
Potty About Pets: Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum
It has been my habit for ten years now to participate in on-line forums. It is part of a recurring process: gain a new interest, read all I can at the public library, buy a book or two at Village Books or a used bookstore, peruse all the established websites, then sift through forums on … Continue reading Potty About Pets: Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum
Unsolicited Solicitation
Poll: Do dogs feel love?
Polling is now closed. Results: Descarte was right; animals are not sentient beings: 1 Gertrude was right; animals recognize others, so are sentient: 9 It is more complicated than that/undecided: 2 What I found interesting about this post was that it had ~80 views, but only 12 people voted. When Rene Descarte posited "I think, … Continue reading Poll: Do dogs feel love?
My Bullmastiff Pooped in My Bed
It is tempting to pretend nothing unexpected or unfortunate ever occurs with my dogs. I proclaim now, with no little modesty or humility, this is not the actual fact: if I have any expertise, or at least some small familiarity, with the care, feeding, and training of dogs, it has led me to understand unexpected … Continue reading My Bullmastiff Pooped in My Bed
Sidecar Sidekick
Chris Larson has been my friend for over twenty years, and while I do not see him often, it is always interesting to hear what he is doing. Chris has a special excitement about life. In preparing this article, and reflecting on my friendship with Chris, I realized that I have never known him to … Continue reading Sidecar Sidekick
The Family That Plays Together…
St. Guinefort the Heretic
Guinefort was a French greyhound who lived in the 12th century. By the 13th century, The Inquisitor Etienne de Bourbon discovered a sort of cult that had grown up around the dog's legend. Inquisitor Etienne died in 1268. This is from a modern translation of Anecdotes historiques…d'Étienne de Bourbon: “…I made inquiries and at last heard that … Continue reading St. Guinefort the Heretic
The Dog Guy 