In the few weeks since the November 5th election, I’ve been thinking a lot about who we are as a society, especially since we are so painfully divided, and it was not lost on me how much the dog training industry is a microcosm of that society.

When we hear the term “Freeloader”, it conjures  up images of someone who wants something for nothing. The Popeye cartoon character, Wimpy, was a freeloader, always asking for a hamburger that he promised to pay for on Tuesday, which he never did.

Back in the day, as in way, way, back, TV and comic book heroes usually wore masks to disguise themselves. As the Lone Ranger road off into the sunset on his trusty steed, someone always asked, “Who was that masked man?” And then there was Superman who didn’t need a mask because his eye glasses were a total face changer!

My heart still bleeding from the painful loss of my Bully mix, Fanny a few months ago,  I decided that the remedy was to take in a foster dog to help heal; that is a story for another time, so as always, I will digress…

I was raised by a mom who was a bit of a worry wort; actually she seemed like a certifiable lunatic, if I’m being honest. She saw danger at every turn and when you’re only 5 years old, it changes your perception of what should have been an idyllic Disney-movie life and instead turned it into a horror show always looking for monsters hiding in the closet.

I was devastated when I got the news that my Freddie had cancer and a slim chance of surviving. He was my heart dog and the thought of losing him was more than I could absorb because life gives you only one heart dog.

In her seminal book, Don’t Shoot The Dog, Karen Pryor wrote that while you could just shoot your dog, there are other ways of changing its behavior and that applies to other animals in your life, including your spouse!

I decided after adding up all the money I had recently put into my 20 year old car, it was time to consider replacing old Susan, as she was called. She didn’t have many miles so I justified keeping her, however, sadly it was time to let her go.

Spring is here! The long awaited time of the year when we have longer daylight hours as our clocks “spring ahead”. Spring plants are resilient as they rise up through clumps of hardened earth, and best of all we get to look at winter in our rearview mirrors!

I can’t imagine anyone entering a race to go as slowly as possible because for one, it’s counterintuitive and two, we as a society have become used to having things quickly, so much in fact, that we no longer have patience; after all we can get same day delivery from Amazon, instant oatmeal, meals in minutes with our microwaves, and let’s not forget the drive-through or curbside pick up at some restaurants, pharmacies and other retail stores.

Those of a certain age may remember seeing the movie, Mary Poppins and hearing the iconic voice of Julie Andrews singing, “A Spoonful of Sugar”, and as we know from the lyrics:  

The end is near!

Yes, a grim thought, but it’s all relative. The end of what? If it’s the end of the day, the week or the month, it doesn’t sound so ominous.

“There’s a sucker born every minute.” That quote, while often credited to PT Barnum, has not been verified, however, other sources mention that in the late 1800s this catch-phrase was mostly associated with gamblers and con artists.

A while back, a friend discussed her teenage son’s worrisome behavior saying that he couldn’t get up on time to get to school, was having difficulty focusing on the homework, and was overall lazy, not to mention moody and ill-tempered, especially with the family. While my friend assumed much of this was typical teenage growing pains, she also confessed that she punished him for his bad behavior.

I vaguely remember that day when I was a Junior in high school and the dress code ended. What I do recall so vividly was the following day when students, who just one day prior had been primly dressed, arrived to school leaving behind any traces of the early 60s simple and ordered lifestyle.

When you turn on the news and hear that certain members of a political party are claiming that the 2020 insurrection was actually a bunch of citizens touring the Capitol, you just gotta wonder if this was an excerpt from The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!

There’s an old joke about the guy who comes across “something” on the sidewalk so he decides to conduct an in depth scientific study:

Every Thanksgiving, it seems we are bombarded with messages about people not having a turkey on the holiday. Don’t get me wrong, this is real, and considering that we are one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, it’s unimaginable that people go to bed hungry on Thanksgiving or any day!

There was a time when zoos housed wild animals in cages and or other small enclosures for the public to view. Fortunately times have changed for the better and anyone who has visited a modern zoo will see that enclosures have been replaced with habitats that are modeled from actual environments where the particular species lived in the wild.

Yes, you read that correctly, and I’ll bet you’re probably wondering what dieting has to do with dog training, so as usual, I will digress…