Long-Dangerous Tails

AKC Recommendations for Changes to Obedience Regulations

It is not accidental that we have been calling them Martians for years

Russia says it is ahead in race to put man on Mars

 

A lot to think about in here…

Think Again: Will the Humanities Save Us?Stanley Fish

The humanities are of no use — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Dog Trainer’s Trainer
While Cesar Millan is dazzling TV audiences, Ian Dunbar has been quietly gaining the respect of the people who really count — other dog experts

Chances are you’ve heard of Cesar Millan, Hollywood’s famous dog whisperer. Chances are you haven’t heard of Ian Dunbar, soft-spoken Northern California behaviorist. That, however, is about to change. And when it does, dogs and dog owners everywhere will be having a ball.

In recent years, Cesar Millan has taken the world by a storm, starring in National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer, pumping out books and DVDs, appearing on talk shows, even offering to buy fans their very own doggie treadmills. Millan’s philosophy? We, as humans, must act as dominant pack leaders; our dogs must behave as submissive followers.

For the full story go to:

http://dogtime.com/cesar-millan-and-ian-dunbar.html

The Trouble with Cesar
While television star Cesar Millan is credited with placing dog training on the public radar, the field’s most respected behaviorists and trainers are concerned that many of Millan’s ideas are unfounded. As for his methods? A few are downright harmful.

Putting your dog in his place
Cesar’s way: Dogs assume either a dominant or submissive role in their “pack.” If he doesn’t get off the couch when you ask him to, it’s your dog’s way of telling you that he’s dominant and you’re submissive.

Why he’s way off: The notion of a rigid pack hierarchy with fixed roles between humans and dogs is largely a myth. Dogs are most likely to do what we humans ask when they clearly understand what we want - not as a sign of submission. Patricia McConnell explains: “So many issues - sitting on the couch, coming when called - have nothing to do with social status, any more than how you do on a math exam reflects your social status. A dog who doesn’t sit when you ask him to sit - in most cases - simply doesn’t understand what you want.”

The truth: In groups of canines, roles among individual members are both fluid and give-and-take.

Treating fear with fear
Cesar’s way: You can “cure” a dog’s fear by overwhelming him with the very stimulus that terrifies him.

Why he’s way off: Imagine treating a human’s acrophobia by dangling him over the edge of a skyscraper. This technique, called “flooding,” actually leads to further psychological trauma in the form of learned helplessness: An animal learns that resistance is futile - his spirit is broken and he ceases to assert himself.

Trish King, Director of the Animal Behavior & Training Department at the Marin Humane Society observes: “In some of his shows, Cesar tells the owner how ‘calm and submissive’ a dog is, when to me, the dog looks shut down and fearful.”

The truth: It may take weeks or months for your dog to truly overcome deep-rooted fear - and setbacks along the way are to be expected.

For more examples go to:

http://dogtime.com/cesar-millan-and-ian-dunbar.html

Yet another example of nice writing, not to mention a place worth visiting….

My Manhattan: Epiphanies in a Medieval Courtyard
By HOLLAND COTTER
The Cloisters, while barely changing at all, has changed a lot for me over the years, becoming a more complicated and contemplative experience.

It is so nice to come across someone who still reads for the sheer pleasure–and is able to share it with the rest of us.

Editorial Observer: Life, Love and the Pleasures of Literature in Barsetshire
By VERLYN KLINKENBORG
You read Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own.

Absolutely fascinating–and maybe we are doing this with all sorts of other studies, including our own work?

In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm
By JOHN TIERNEY

I’d like to wish you a happy New Year, but I’m afraid I have a different sort of prediction.

You’re in for very bad weather. In 2008, your television will bring you image after frightening image of natural havoc

I have never heard of William Kent Krueger or his Cork O’Connor Mysteries.  I grabbed this book because I saw the title and picked it up thinking, Thunder Bay?  The Thunder Bay up the North Shore?  Yep the one and only.  Well, how could I not enjoy this book, set in the Iron Range and the North Shore of Minnesota and Ontario.  It was fun to hear the names of towns I haven’t heard for so long, Aurora, Brandywine, Tofte, Grand Marias, and others.  Readers were treated to a bit of Thunder Bay history a new name for two old towns Port Arthur and Fort William.

Aside from the sentimental attraction I had for the setting of this story, I really enjoyed this book.  I found myself thinking about the story line when I wasn’t reading and making time to get back to the book to find out the rest of the story. 

Krueger did a great job capturing the personality of Northern Minnesotans and Chippewa/Ojibwa Indians. It was very real and not affected. I will be going back and catching up on the other Cork O’Connor mysteries.  Ah yes that does bring up a point, a better name would have been, Lars Larson or Eric Nelson, Sven Johannsen, etc., many more Scandinavians then Irish up North.  At least Cork’s wife Jo is Scandinavian.