Saturday Fix (7/28/2012) - Merle

By Christy Hess

The book that I am currently reading "Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog" by Ted Kerasote really got me thinking. The book shows the great interaction between man and dog. 


From Amazon: "While on a camping trip, Ted Kerasote met a dog—a Labrador mix—who was living on his own in the wild. They became attached to each other, and Kerasote decided to name the dog Merle and bring him home. There, he realized that Merle’s native intelligence would be diminished by living exclusively in the human world. He put a dog door in his house so Merle could live both outside and in.


A deeply touching portrait of a remarkable dog and his relationship with the author, Merle’s Door explores the issues that all animals and their human companions face as their lives intertwine, bringing to bear the latest research into animal consciousness and behavior as well as insights into the origins and evolution of the human-dog partnership. Merle showed Kerasote how dogs might live if they were allowed to make more of their own decisions, and Kerasote suggests how these lessons can be applied universally."

If you want to understand your dogs perspective on things and figure out how he/she learns in our world, get this book. It is amazing at how Ted reads his dog's reactions to the world and to his person. The next time you scold or praise your dog, after reading this book, I have become more sensitive to what my body language is saying. Dogs gather so much information just from our body language, so don't be surprised when the dog misinterprets what you are saying. Your body language may just be expressing the bad day at work, and the dog is not sure how the mood applies to him/her. The great thing about Ted is that he tries a training method, and when it doesn't work, he tries to think of why it doesn't work and what else he can try.

Puppies are great at expressing their moods with body language. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Loving the grass

Classic puppy play bow!

Watching and ready for some fun!

The interaction and love between dogs is amazing to me.

Awww come on play with me!

If you look at the ears one of these dogs is curious and one is reserved. 

Am I cute or what?

Puppy play bow with a ball - what a playful puppy.

Please be kind and patient with your puppy - they are trying their best to understand you the best way they know how.

Friday Fix - Sibling Rivalry (5/25/2012)

By Christy Hess

What a week!! Am writing this blog from a coffee shop because my husband severed the internet cable as he was trying to seed the yard.

So the topic of this week's blog is raising siblings.

I have border collie brothers (now 9 years old). Having siblings always seemed like a great idea. They stimulate each other and keep themselves company. They could also imitate the good characteristics of each other and will be able to do everything together. I never have to worry about another dog picking on them at the dog park, because they are a pack, watching out and protecting each other.

They are great, however recently I have found that they are "arguing" more and more often. I wanted to let other sibling adopters know my mistakes so they can avoid them.

I found that I was totally the problem. I was disturbing the hierarchical balance by rushing to protect the Brody from being “bullied” or “picked on”, granting him liberties, such as being petted first, which Cody (the alpha) considered his due. Brody now feels emboldened enough to challenge Cody. We need to understand that dogs have their own set of social rules, whereas we humans just want democracy and now that I am honoring the hierarchy the balance is back in order in our home.

Hope you enjoy some of my favorite sibling pics:

One of these pups is a bit camera shy,

These two even run the same,

Great family photo

True nature is then displayed

Really having siblings is a joy - but you do have to make sure that you follow dog rules.