Children and the High Drive Dog

Due to several life changes in recent months, I have been remiss in writing here. Now that things have settled a bit at home, I’m happy to be back to writing again!

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I recently received an email from a colleague out of state, in a quandary over a client who was looking at euthanizing their one-year-old Border collie due to incidents of nipping. They currently have four children, and the dog is nervous, and has nipped people on several occasions. From my understanding, based on the email thread that was sent to me, the dog has not caused any serious damage, and all bites where on a Level 2 of Ian Dunbar

Motivation, Part 2: Play!

I was out with my 2-1/2 year old the other day, walking across a big open space when two other small children ran by her. She immediately forgot about me and started to chase the other girls. As I watched her in surprise, I was reminded of a similar incident that I observed with a friend several years ago, as she was running her dog along an agility course. The dog was running perfectly, following every cue, until a low-flying crow crossed her path. As if caught on a hook, she instantly forgot her handler and followed the crow as it flew to the other side of the field. She only stopped because there was a fence at the end.

I know how much people hate it when we compare children to dogs, yet we are constantly reminded of how similar their reactions can be.