Oh Behave!

Some flea and tick control products may do serious harm to pets and possibly to humans. On March 17, 2010, the EPA issued a report on flea and tick treatments and urged consumers to be extra careful when using them. The agency announced plans to develop stricter testing and evaluation standards for these products, new restrictions on product use, and better warning and labeling requirements.

The EPA’s report follows an alarming increase in adverse pet reactions to flea and tick treatments. Continue Reading

A new client dog who I’ll call Misty is very fearful girl with multiple fear triggers. Misty has growled, snarled and lunged at people in certain situations but hasn’t bitten anyone. Misty’s human definitely has her hands full. “I don’t want her to be the type of dog that bites,” she said when we first met.

I know what the woman meant but I explained to her that actually, all dogs are “the type of dog that bites.” Given the right circumstances any dog can bite. Continue Reading

Sometimes in the midst of group training classes, I wonder if anyone’s taking in anything that I’m saying. It’s been a welcome surprise to learn that in the Teaching Love & Compassion (TLC) program – an anti-violence humane education class in which I teach kids to train shelter dogs – the kids really have been paying attention to the stuff I say in training class.

Here are a few sound training tips my TLC students have shared with reporters and one another: Continue Reading