If you have been around Basenjis, you know how smart they are. But Australian Shepherds have plenty of smarts themselves! Here is what happened when the Basenji wanted a toy…

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Here’s a great book if you have kids and dogs, or if you have one and are considering getting the other! Since young children get bitten by their family dogs at an amazing rate — the book points out that half of all children under 14 have been bitten by a dog –  if you are going to have both, it will take some managing of the situation.  Living with Kids and Dogs Without Losing Your Mind is a great tool to help you out. Read the rest of this entry

Have you ever had this misunderstanding of what your dog is thinking?

Dogs have a different sense of time from people. They live essentially in the present. We have to go to workshops or read books to learn how to live in the present, as our minds are so full of past and future… So picture this:

A person (of either gender)  comes home after being out for several hours. There are remnants of chewed pillow strewn all over the living room, and the dog slinks away from the person.

“Look how guilty he is acting!” storms the person. “He knows he should not have chewed up that pillow! BAD DOG!”

Is that how the scenario would play out in your house? My husband Kelly and I had a chance to live a variation on this one some months ago. But it went differently… Read the rest of this entry

I’ve been thinking about dog rescue lately, ever since I read and blogged about A Small Furry Prayer. Well, last night we watched a poignant 60 Minutes program about the large numbers of homeless families with children.  The program didn’t really touch on dogs, but many shelters are overwhelmed with dogs being given up as people lose their homes. So this morning, with dogs needing homes still on my mind, I did some websurfing. We are not ourselves in a position to add another dog at present, as our 13-year-old LarryDog would hate sharing attention with a newcomer.

I didn’t go to Best Friends this time. It’s a nationally-known animal shelter Read the rest of this entry