Last week I paid a visit to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.  As you can probably guess from the videos below, it wasn’t a trip that I’ll soon forget.

I was invited by Lt. Michael Barnhill, one of the most energetic and hard-working human beings that you’ll find anywhere.  Lt. Barnhill manages a team of six dog/handler tandems, five of which are dual-purpose patrol/narcotics teams and one of which focuses exclusively on explosives detection.  They help keep the peace in a busy suburban community located to the southwest of Atlanta. Read More

Perhaps you’ve heard a little Mexican-American fella with a meticulously coiffed goatee and rollerblades tell you that the three fundaments of successfully managing unwanted canine behaviors are “exercise, discipline, and affection — in that order.”

Well, if you’re reading this blog, chances are that you’re a bit more skeptical than the average bear.  If you’re anything like our authors, you’re not so inclined to accept the advice of self-styled “experts” without first understanding the evidentiary basis for their advice.

Maybe, despite his fame, success, and undeniable charm, you won’t blindly accept Mr. Millan’s opinion that exercise is a critical part of managing unwanted canine behaviors.  (If this is the case, you’re in pretty good company.  To say that the veterinary and animal behaviorist communities “have issues” with Mr. Millan is to grossly understate the severity of their criticism of him.  Check out these links, which are really just the tip of the iceberg on the subject.) Read More

Should You Feel Compelled to Exercise Your Dog?

This essay is a continuation of our exploration of the value of canine exercise.  In Part One, we discussed the health and welfare benefits of exercise for both you and your dog.  Now we turn our attention to pet owners and examine the degree to which, in light of those benefits, they should feel compelled to provide their dogs with adequate daily exercise.

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Is it so intuitive that dogs need (or even want) exercise?

"No pain, no gain."

We don’t worry ourselves with seeing to it that our pet fish swim laps every morning.  Pastured animals don’t run laps around their fields.  And, to casual observers, many dogs seem perfectly content to lounge lazily on a couch all day.

Even if we accept that dogs want or need exercise, is it so clear that we, their owners and handlers, need to shoulder that burden?  Maybe in a perfect world we could spend time exercising our pets, but only after all of our personal desires have been adequately satisfied.  We are their “masters,” after all.

Well, here’s our formal position: that’s all nonsense.  When it comes to exercising dogs, we believe in two fundamental principles: (1) most dogs both want and need adequate exercise to live their fullest and happiest lives and (2) their owners and handlers are responsible for meeting those needs and desires.

Don’t agree?  Great, read on.  We’ll cover the first proposition in today’s article and the second one shortly.  We think our positions are supported by reasonable assumptions, empirical evidence, and solid logic.  If you disagree please leave a comment and give public voice to our disagreement. Read More