Editorial

I've been using my friend Christine as a model for our training articles lately. She has lots of dog-handling experience, looks great in photos, has two very large dogs that we can use (and have) for the photo shoots, and isn't fazed by anything I ask her to do for the photos.

In the May 2015 issue, you'll find the first installment of what is planned as a regular column in WDJ: Pet Food Profile. I've had the privilege of touring lots of dog food manufacturing plants over the years, and have learned a lot in the process. I'd like to start sharing more information about the companies I've been invited to visit, and try to describe what makes each company unique from the others. Who owns these companies? How large are they, compared to their rivals? What is their mission, their identity? Where do they make their products? Where are the products sold, and how are they marketed?

Have you experienced that moment when your family has been reduced for whatever reason from multiple dogs to just one, and you keep thinking you need to check the back door to let someone or other back inside? You get used to the rolling thunder of dog paws and canine vocalizations when the doorbell rings, and a circus-like amount of hubbub first thing in the morning when you head to the door to let the pets out – and then suddenly there is just one calm dog, politely following you around. It's weird, but at the moment, given that I've only loaned out my second dog (not lost him), I'm enjoying it.

A few weeks ago, in preparation for writing WDJ's annual dry-dog-food review (which starts on the next page), we asked readers on our Facebook page what they most wanted to know about dry dog food. We received a lot of good questions, including a great many that revealed a common depth of interest in (and confusion about) feeding dogs. We were somewhat disappointed, however, by the number of people who took the opportunity to criticize dry dog food of any quality – the whole concept of kibble. More than one person asked, Why would anyone feed such an inappropriate diet to a dog they loved?" "

We have long advised puppy owners to have their vet run a vaccine titer test" a few weeks after the series of "puppy shots" were completed. In our view

Allow me to take a moment to thank anyone and everyone who participates in or supports the rescue movement. I had an experience recently with some rescue folks whose efforts on behalf of a dog I am trying to help brought me quite literally to tears. I’m amazed at their commitment on behalf of a dog they haven’t even met yet, on the word of some stranger who says it’s a nice dog who deserves some extra help. It’s astonishing.

Cowboys are typically laconic, but I never forgot the one-word summation of the well-known reined cowhorse trainer in reference to a colt I was working with many years ago. He watched closely as I put the colt through his paces: walk, trot, lope, reverse directions, and smoothly slide to a stop. I was pleased with the colt’s work that day; he was willing yet relaxed, engaged, and seemed appreciative of the strokes I gave his glistening coat as we walked over to the rail to talk to my trainer acquaintance. “What did you think of him?” I asked. The far more experienced horseman squinted and paused before he responded. “Useful,” he drawled. I must have looked disappointed, because after a moment, the trainer elaborated. “Yep, he looks useful . . . . That’s a damn fine colt.”

Every so often, a little flame war will erupt in WDJ’s Letters to the Editor, comment section on the WDJ website, or WDJ’s Facebook page. People will get mad. Other people will try to humor (or correct!) the angry ones. Some subscribers will cancel their subscriptions; others will pledge their support in the face of these tribulations and buy subscriptions for their friends.

I volunteer for my local animal shelter. I serve on the Board of Directors. I help the shelter staff with their newsletter. I’m in the process of putting together a volunteer’s manual, so we can get all the dog-walkers on the same page in terms of handling the dogs. But they recently tossed me a hot potato: Leading a two-hour tour of the shelter for kids from the local YMCA. I thought to myself, “Kids, dogs? What’s the problem?” Sure, I said. I’ll do it. I had only a slight misgiving when the woman who last ran the tour did a little tap dance of joy upon hearing she didn’t have to do it this time.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback about two newer features in Whole Dog Journal. The first is “Action Plan” - the column that appears opposite this page, which features five things that an owner can do to solve any given dog behavior problem. The second is “Canine News You Can Use.” Our annual dry dog food review, published each February, is such a monster that it ate the space for these two columns in last month’s issue, but they have reappeared this month. We did give the “Good Sports” column this month off, but author/trainer Terry Long will be back in the next issue with an installment on the sport of competitive herding.

About five years ago, my then-next-door neighbors decided to get a dog, and not just any dog. They’d spent years dreaming about and planning for the day they’d have both a landlord who allowed dogs and the time to spend with a dog. Now they had both, and they wanted to get a miniature Poodle, preferably female, and “apricot” colored. And they wanted to know if I knew any Poodle breeders.

on the CBS website