Category Archives: Dogs

Interpreting the Amazon oracle

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For some reason, the Amazon sales rank of Outwitting Dogs has been bobbing along above the 10,000 mark for several days.

Since it fluctuates hourly your results may vary, but as I write this, it’s hit 2,357 which is damn near champagne-worthy. Not that my champagne standards are all that stringent. Okay, okay, it’s not even close to champagne-worthy, it’s 11:00 on a Sunday night already, sheesh.

But still. What in Tarnation is Going On?

Has there been a print review somewhere that hasn’t been picked up by Google’s crawler yet?

Anyone have any idea?

This kind of thing doesn’t just happen. This book, The Impatient Gardener, is number 100 in Amazon’s Home and Garden ranking and it’s at 2300 right now. A couple more copies of Outwitting sell, and it’s . . . it’s made a List.

(Actually, it’s already made one list. The Dogwise Top 10 for 2005, but I didn’t find that out until the day before yesterday.) (So I didn’t even get a chance to wonder whether that was champagne-worthy.)

Seriously, if anyone reading this has an idea of what might have raised the book’s profile in the last few days, drop me a comment or an email! Thanks!

Closer to Vivi?

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Champion Bohem C’est La, aka Vivi, the whippet that escaped from her crate at the JFK airport right after the Westminster dog show, has been spotted in Flushing. More than once.

There’s now a Newsday blog dedicated to all things Vivi. It’s got some interesting information, including why they can’t use a tranquilizer gun to catch her (low stores of body fat on this breed make her potentially too sensitive to barbiturates — unlike coyotes!) and why a sight hound on the run may be harder to catch than a dog of another breed.

Dog book news

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Over the weekend, I finished reviewing the page proofs for 101 Dog Training Tips, which is coming out in June.

The book is substantially different from Outwitting Dogs, which I co-wrote with Terry Ryan, a professional trainer. Tips is shorter — 12,000 words — and includes 50 photos, most of which I took myself. Outwitting Dogs came in at around 90,000 words, if I remember correctly.

So I was a bit taken aback when I read my publisher’s description of the new book. They’ve made it sound like it’s a comprehensive training book. It’s not. It’s . . . tips. Sigh. Outwitting Dogs is a comprehensive training book. Tips, on the other hand, is something you’d pick up when you need just a quick idea, or to brush up on your training. It’s more like a checklist. A good checklist, mind you ;-)

It’s funny to feel uneasy and excited at the same time. I’ll be awfully happy when I am actually holding a bound copy in my hand. I remember the thrill when my copies of Outwitting Dogs got here, and somehow, I don’t think that thrill ever goes away.

Dog sense

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After someone gets bitten by a dog — especially if the incident is a lurid one — communities often demand their lawmakers act. Sometimes, legislators respond by outlawing certain breeds of dog within their jurisdiction. But is that a wise tactic? Probably not. Here’s a post I put up on the subject; it has a link to a New Yorker story on the subject by Malcolm Gladwell, who writes that the strongest predictor that a dog will become dangerous is not the dog’s breed, but the choices and behavior of the dog’s owner.

Now Oregon has passed legislation that apparently avoids banning breeds, while strengthening penalties for people whose dogs bite someone. This is the only article that I can find on it, though, so I’m not sure what the law’s exact wording is. If anyone knows more, drop me a link by email or in the comments, okay? Thanks :-)

Pet tricks: good and good for you

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Pat, at Doggiewoggie.com, found an article on Kentucky.com (reprint from Newsday) about teaching your dog or cat to do tricks.

If you’ve read up on dog training, you’ve probably heard the new adage “a tired dog is a good dog.” And it’s certainly true that if you find a way to burn off some of your dog’s energy, he’s less likely to get into serious mischief. (Especially with a puppy. Phew!)

But some trainers today argue that how you tire out a dog is also important. Prolonged, hard physical stimulation — such as a frenetic afternoon in a dog park — may actually raise levels of a dog’s stress hormones, with potentially negative consequences for his behavior and ability to learn (not to mention his health).

Instead, you should find activities that combine more gentle physical activity with engaging mental work — like teaching your dog to do tricks.

Teaching your dog tricks may have other benefits as well, such as helping her learn how to learn, and to look to you for reinforcement.

There are a number of books on teaching tricks. Although it’s a general dog training book, Outwitting Dogs, the book I co-wrote, has a section on tricks. Many trainers offer tricks classes. Here in Rochester, for instance, Cindy Harrison offers a great tricks class.

Which brings me to the last point about working on tricks. It’s fun! We can sometimes get overly serious with dog training, but with tricks, it’s easy to just chill out and enjoy our dogs. Hey, who knows, maybe we even become better trainers in the process ;-)

UPDATE: please also take a peek at my new book, 101 Dog Training Tips.

Watch where you walk

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Neglected wiring beneath city streets poses an electrocution threat to dogs, and sometimes people, as detailed in this LA Times article (registration required):

During the snowy months of late winter, when salt mixes with slush, electric current escaping through uninsulated wires can be conducted up to the street through manholes, streetlights, service boxes, grates or cracks in the sidewalk.

Because dogs’ pads make contact with the ground, they can feel shocks that people don’t. They might react by yelping or avoiding certain spots on the sidewalk. One veterinarian quoted in the article has seen dogs with burns on their pads.

Two years ago, a woman was killed while walking her dogs in the East Village. Many other people have received nasty shocks.

This blogger has re-published an AP story that gives more, including a bit about what municipalities and power companies are doing to address the so-called “stray voltage” issue. (NYC and Boston are the riskiest cities, btw.)

More info and links on Daily Slope and Feministe.

The LA Times piece mentions says there are blogs that post information about known hotspots, but I haven’t been able to find them . . .

I swear I don’t know this person

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Stopped by Amazon this morning, and someone has posted a new review for Outwitting Dogs.

A week or so ago, the subject of Amazon reviews came up on a Yahoo list I’m on, and someone said that they generally ignore 5-star reviews. The reasoning is that no book is perfect, and if someone says so, they have to be a friend of the writer. A shill.

Well, I do not know this person. Maybe she knows Terry (the book is a collaboration; Terry Ryan, my co-writer, is a professional dog trainer) but the book’s been out for a year and as far as I know Terry hasn’t asked anybody to post an Amazon review for her. (I haven’t either. Call me a wimp but I’m descended from a long line of Methodist ministers. Somehow I just can’t get the words “would you fake a nice Amazon review for me?” out of my mouth. And my day job is PR. I should be cynical and conniving. Thanks a lot, Grandpa, wherever you are.)

So anyway, I’m reading the review, and maybe I’m a little short of sleep, but it made me teary. This person loved the book. Really really loved it. The writing, the organization, the content, the attitude . . .

It was a nice, warm, pat on the back and I am deeply grateful for it. So citywulf, wherever you are, thank you. Thank you so much.

I’m going to go write some more, now.