After I recorded and edited this, I seriously considered deleting it because I knew that, in spite of my best efforts to avoid it, some people would choose to misinterpret my words. For the record, I do not consider all resource-guarding or all displaced or redirected aggression normal. As always, it depends on the circumstances, and that requires an awareness of what’s going on relative to any dogs and humans involved. In that context and like all other behaviors, sometimes these behaviors are normal and sometimes they’re pathological. The trick is to avoid taking a one-size-fits-all approach simply because
Read more →This week a chance encounter with two young male deer who dropped by to sample the buffet of apples and hosta on either side of my driveway caused my thoughts to meander about what enabled them to do that. To set the scene, here’s the old apple tree in front of my house. While it looks like its left side is smoldering, that’s the smoke coming from the chimney that 40-degree morning. The apple part of the buffet is to the left of the driveway although sometimes the deer (and other critters) carry the apples to the lawn to
Read more →Below are actual photos taken by the resident forensic specialist who just happened to be on the scene before the alarm was given and the evidence destroyed.
Read more →Those who have seen me know that on a 1-10 voluptuous scale, I rank about a 2 at most. Years ago I worked with a woman whose figure would have made Renoir weep for joy and we used to compare notes about our experiences with clothing labeled, “One size fits all”. Although many people found such garments fit them perfectly, they typically fit me with all the style of a cadaver bag and her like a sausage casing. If we wanted something to fit perfectly, we either had to ferret out those few brands whose sizes did fit us,
Read more →The soft rushing sound in the background of the segment that opens and closes this podcast is the sound of the river. In spite of the cause of it—i.e., an abnormal amount of rain this spring and summer—I still love that sound. It’s the fact that I can hear it from my bedroom along with the wildlife and the wind in the white pines above my house that’s kept me from putting in the air conditioner so far this summer.
Read more →Here’s a picture of the subject of this podcast hiding out following another favorite game of his, Bash the Poppies. (See results in the lower right of the picture.) I tried to get a picture of him engaging in an extension of the Cleopatra Game called Rowing Down the Nile, during which he propels himself from one end of his rug roll to the other. So far His Royal Catness has limited this part of the game to the rug in my office. Smart cat…
Read more →This podcast was triggered by multiple reports of some recent research that proved dogs could remember events that occurred in the past. Admittedly this came as no surprise to anyone who ever lived with a dog. Nonetheless, the idea that dogs lived in the moment has permeated psychology for decades. And the belief spilled over into the forms of training that originated within psychology. Simultaneously—and I admit what intrigued me even more—was that while some researchers use this phrase to signal the limited mental capacity of canines, countless humans seek to achieve this same state because of all the
Read more →As mentioned in the last blog, you can click here to learn about Your Brain on Nature by Eva M. Selhub MD and Alan C. Logan ND, the book that’s triggered a lot of my current thoughts about nature and those who dwell in it as it affects human health and behavior. On the one hand I rejoice that all the benefits of nature are finally gaining the attention they deserve and even scientifically proven for those who require such proof. On the other, it bothers me that the animate beings that comprise nature almost inevitably will be reduced
Read more →Although many species of animals engage in ritualistic behaviors, we humans seem to be especially good at it. As long as we impose these on other humans who speak the same language and share the same culture, they pose few problems. But when we impose those rituals on those for whom these make no sense, then we create problems for those others as well as ourselves. This podcast explores the evolution of a natural command that benefited humans and their dogs into a more ritualistic one that emphasizes control. The difference in the human-canine relationship signaled by this change
Read more →Even though I recorded this podcast several days after the last one, my peonies were still in bloom. However, I was unaware until I edited this one what a persistent and powerful memory trigger the scent of those flowers are for me.
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