Can’t Fix What’s Not Broken — It’s such an interesting word … fix. More often than not I hear it used in the context of repairing or mending something that’s broken (I have to fix that flat tire). If you look at how Merriam Webster defines it, that meaning comes pretty far down on the list…

How a Not-So-Chance Encounter Landed a Message Her name, quietly spoken as she stretched into her morning; wide-set, deep brown eyes blinking slowly into the rays of sunrise coming across the horizon, came as a whisper that landed in my heart. Patience. My name is Patience. She and her partner…

When I read stories like this one, my heart breaks and my blood boils — usually at the same time. For those of you who skipped the link (as so many do) here’s the gist: The young pup, not much bigger than a loaf of bread, would play with Tania’s…

So many of us spend a good portion of our childhood striving to be grown up. It’s all those dreaded questions: What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to study in college? You know, all those delightful questions that require kids start thinking…

Why Replacing Real Connection is a Lousy Idea I’m all for technology. Hell, I worked for 22 years in Silicon Valley. Never mind that I didn’t like it all that much — the people were neat, the travel was fun and it sure was fascinating having a front row seat…

Simple Choice. Complex Results Engage or avoid. It’s how my first serious dog behavior mentor opened our session. Well, actually first he said “red pill or blue pill”, but not long after he began giving me scenarios — various situations in which people are out in the world with their…

Why Wolves Aren’t “Packs” — and Neither Are We A few years ago a friend gifted me a wonderful book. Among Wolves — it’s almost entirely based on the research and field notes of Gordon Haber — researcher and advocate/activist for the wolves of Denali National Park. The book was…

In the work I do with people and their dogs there is one thing that never gets easier. That moment when the dog’s time on this earth is done and they get to be escorted to what most of you may know. It’s the #RainbowBridge. It is a lot of…

When I began my more focused and formal path to becoming a dog behavior analyst and educator I found a teacher whose work was focused on dogs that had no hope. He was, in recovery parlance, the last house on the block for these dogs. They were, more often than…