(Picture is two Ahimsa clients with their Portuguese Water Dog, Rico.)

Bo Obama, the Portuguese Water Dog, seems to be enjoying his new home in the White House.  The Obama puppy’s big debut is Tuesday (tomorrow) but the press has already leaked his story.

And who wouldn’t enjoy being the First Dog, with two kids to love on you and great parents? When we were there for the inauguration, Jill and I checked out the size of that yard. Any dog in the DC area (heck, even a dog in Seattle) would be happy to have such a big space!

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The Seattle area has had their share of puppy mill busts, including the recent one in Snohomish County that is inundating Seattle with little rescue dogs and some big ones, too.

Tomorrow (March 27) ABC’s Nightline is doing a big expose on puppy mills. I haven’t seen it, but I imagine it’s terrible and gruesome and will make you wonder why animals have put up with us for so long.
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The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Science has released a pilot study that found that 1/4 of dogs trained with punishment/pinning/growling were likely to respond with aggression, versus almost no aggressive behavior that resulted from methods like the ones we use at Ahimsa.

Yes, you read that correctly. Methods that have the goal of dominating the aggressive dog with force were likely to cause aggression toward the owner and other people or dogs, rather than preventing it.
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I (Grisha) had a blast being interviewed on the Doggie Chronicles radio show just after New Year’s.  They asked me to talk about the Pooch Puzzler (formerly the “Dog Puzzler”), Kibble Nibble, and other products in our store, as well as the classes at Ahimsa. Click here to see their website and listen to the show! (Or download the MP3 version.)

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel

“Positive” dog trainers throughout the Puget Sound can now celebrate a victory of science and learning over sensational TV.

Because Cesar Millan was coming to Seattle for Seattle Dog Winterfest, KOMO’s Problem Solvers began looking into the global controversy surrounding the methods used on the Dog Whisperer TV show. I was fortunate to able coordinate with the reporter and contribute to the story by providing details and Seattle-area contacts. They interviewed me, but my passion had me tongue-tied, so they didn’t end up airing it. Oh well…I have since thought of several quick sound bites!
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The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior would like to let you know that Dominance – the idea that we need to overcome our dogs by force, lest they try to take over our homes, is outdated and leads to inhumane training.

Here’s some info from their Position Statement on Dominance issued in December, 2008:

“AVSAB is concerned with the recent re-emergence of dominance theory and forcing dogs and other animals into submission as a means of preventing and correcting behavior problems. For decades, some traditional animal training has relied on dominance theory and has assumed that animals misbehave primarily because they are striving for higher rank. This idea often leads trainers to believe that force or coercion must be used to modify these undesirable behaviors.”
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua opened in movie theaters this weekend. Chihuahua lovers everywhere have flocked to see it. People in the dog business have mixed feelings when we see dog movies. The dog-lover part of our personality is glad to see an oh-so-cute dog movie. The part of us that cares about the dogs cringes, because we know that the next thing that will happen is that people will be getting Chihuahuas, Dalmations, etc. for their children and then promptly returning them to the shelter when they turn out to be less fun than the movie actors. Yes, those dogs are actors! Even Chihuahuas can act!

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My dog was featured in an interview of Ellen Taft, a woman who wants to ban pit bulls and many other breeds as service dogs. My dog has a big head and looks like a pit bull, though she’s actually a Boxer mix, possibly with Greyhound. Ellen Taft definitely has it out for pit bull type dogs, but also mentioned that, among other breeds, Greyhounds shouldn’t be service dogs because, and I quote, “A Greyhound is a very, very stupid dog. It was trained for one purpose, it was trained to run.”

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Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has an annual Best of the City issue. As the founder of Ahimsa Dog Training, I was featured as the “Trailblazer” in Seattle Met. Fox chose three of the Trailblazers to feature on their morning show and interviewed me with my dogs at the training center in Seattle. (The dogs are Sagan – Boxer mix, Peanut – border collie / whippet, & Spoon – border collie / hound). Click here to see the Fox “Best of the Best” Interview. The video is sometimes broken, and refreshing the Fox website seems to help.

There’s a big 3D picture in the Seattle Metropolitan magazine (page 96). Thanks again to the puppy class students for putting up with the photo shoot!

The AKC reported 30 dog thefts for January-March 2008, compared to 10 in the entire year for 2007.

I don’t know the rest of the trend (maybe 2007 was a really low year?) but the AKC is worried and so am I.

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It’s official. The “Dog Whisperer” TV show uses outdated, inhumane dog training methods. I’m so happy to have found out that it’s not just me, or the many, many dog trainers that I know – in Seattle and around the world – that think the Dog Whisperer show has done more harm than good.
Everyone has been so afraid to say anything possibly libelous, but it’s just the truth, and we need to stop hurting these dogs.The American Humane Association, founded in 1887, officially announced late last summer that they found the techniques on the “Dog Whisperer” inhumane, and stated that the National Geographic Channel should take Cesar Millan’s show off of the air as soon as possible. (more…)

CityDog Magazine had it’s annual readership poll for TopDog in various categories. In 2006, we were voted TopDog in the Dog Trainer/Behaviorist category. In 2007, CityDog wrote that we were a “close second” to a facility in Woodinville. When I asked my clients for suggestions for what to say about Ahimsa getting the most votes of any dog training facility in Seattle proper, here’s what one of them wrote: (more…)

I could have used the headline that others used, “Pit Bulls maul sleeping woman…” but I think the more important detail here is how this happened. It’s not the breed, it’s the fool who chained them up outside. Yes, some pit bulls are dog aggressive. And yes, they are powerful. But I have seen dogs of all breeds that are aggressive to dogs and to people. And “Pit Bull” isn’t even a breed, it’s a description of several breeds of dog. When a pit bull gets into trouble, “Pit Bull” is in the headline. When it’s a labrador retriever, like the mauling of that woman in France who got face surgery, they don’t usually even bother stating the breed.

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The Seattle Dog Play Classifieds have made news twice lately. They were featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine’s “Best of the City” issue, July 2007) and in the Seattle Times (”It’s a Dog Meet Dog World,” August 2006)

In the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds, you just list your dog or search for friends, based on play style, age, location, etc. The service is completely free and is used by dogs, puppies, and their humans throughout the Puget Sound. It’s open to the public, not just students of Ahimsa Dog Training.

I originally created this service as a way to find play friends for my own dog, and it worked! I’m glad to have a chance to help other dogs find friends, too!

Click here to visit the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds.

A visit with friends turned tragic when a child approached a family dog with a bone. You hear about this sort of thing all of the time, but too often, people “correct” the dog by telling it not to growl, rather than changing the emotionally charge of the situation. Now the dog is still angry or fearful, but it’s been told not to growl at people any more. Then we get the Silent Biter – the dog who shows no warning before biting. (more…)

I was interviewed by Susan Paynter at the Seattle PI about what’s new and interesting in the dog world. Click here to read the article. Wilson is now taking classes at Ahimsa.

This was one of the few times that I felt well-represented by a news article, probably because I was interviewed for a good amount of time and Susan had a chance to see what we do in person. Still, it’s rare, and I’m grateful!