Editorial

by Nancy Kerns Criticizing an organization that accomplishes good things on behalf of beings with no resources with which to help themselves – why would I want to do that? Actually, I hadn’t meant to – yet. In the February issue, I mentioned that it had come to my attention that someone in the pet food industry was spreading a rumor that WDJ and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were somehow in alliance.…

In favor of toning down critical rhetoric.

and his vision is not all that great

He . . . he wouldn't have jumped . . . would he? I could only nod and pat the earth beside me

if you are really desperate to read something from a past issue right away

mental

Dogs, like people, do better when they have something to do. It might be play or it might be work – I’m not sure dogs differentiate between those things. An Australian Shepherd catches a flying Frisbee, and a German Shepherd police dog catches a crook. Both exude a sense of satisfaction for doing their “jobs” well, and both are pleased with the loving pat and hearty, “Good dog!” they receive.

Most of us were exposed to “If,” the famous poem by Rudyard Kipling, when we were in high school. If you weren’t required to read it in a literature course, you probably saw it on a poster on a childhood friend’s bedroom wall.

Recently, I attended the annual conference for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Our lead writer on training, Pat Miller, has been an active member of the Association for some time, and the founder of the organization, Dr. Ian Dunbar, has been a generous contributor to Whole Dog Journal. Both Pat and Ian have encouraged me to attend the conference; they said it would be right up Whole Dog Journal’s alley.