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

You want to make your dog “happy,” right?

Of course you do.  Maybe you buy my argument that, due to the emotional bonds that you’ve developed to your dog, it’s in your self-interest to do so.  Or maybe you’ve got another justification.

And maybe you agree with me that most humans know precious little about how their dogs perceive and experience the world (i.e., whether their dogs are happy).  Or maybe you don’t.

But if you live with a dog — if you feed him, give him shelter, take him for walks, buy him toys, finance his expensive medical procedures, scratch his belly, and let him sleep in your bed — you’d have a hard time making the case that you simply don’t care about “making him happy.”

So here’s the $64,000 Question: What does that mean? Read More