The lifestyle magazine for modern dogs and their companions WINTER 2010/11
The Great Dog Park Battle One community’s
Just what is your dog trying to tell you?
Decoding canine body language
fight for off-leash space
Dogs+Grief
Saving Aggressive Dogs
Handling Grief in a Pack
Boredom Busters!
Meet the Staffordshire Bull Terrier
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Enrich your dog’s life with smart dog toys
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Instant Solutions to Leash Tugging
OUR ULTIMATE GIFT GUIDE 5 WAYS TO CALM YOUR DOG ROBERT DOWNEY JR’S LATEST LOVE AFFAIR FOSTERING DOGS DOOR DARTING & NUISANCE BARKING WIN 10
Food Allergies 101
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Brandi Williams with Bella, Paris, Charlie & Pierre
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WINTER 2010/11
VOL 9
NO 4
115
54
PHOTO YOGA DOGZ
FEATURES 34
Dogs of Thunder Saving dangerous dogs.
46
Due Notice Celebrity trainer Mark Harden on coercing cooperation from spiders, on-set mishaps, and Robert Downey Jr.’s latest love affair.
BY MELISSA BARR
52
My Dog Tulip A love story.
BY ROSE FROSEK
60
How Dogs Respond to Death The risk of love is loss.
BY STANLEY COREN
66
Outta Sight! Dogs with disabilities? No way. These visionchallenged pups are dogs with amazing abilities.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY LINDSEY DONOVAN
88
One Woman’s Junk is an Animal Shelter’s Treasure Brandi Williams gives us The Daily Buzz on how a pile of old towels led her to a new life.
BY MARY-JO DIONNE
94
Just What is My Dog Trying to Tell Me? Decoding your dog’s body language.
BY SUE ALEXANDER
PAINTING HEATHER LAHAISE
BY STEVE DUNO
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102
The Smallest Act of Kindness So many dogs, so many ways to volunteer.
BY COREY VAN’T HAAFF
106
The Great Ohio Dog Park Battle Where public space, dogs, and bordering private property intersect, a lawsuit ensues.
110
A Foster Story: Taking a Chance on Chance One plucky (and, some might say, a tad persnickety) paraplegic Pekingese’s journey to his happily ever after.
116
How I Met My Dog Winners of our “How I Met My Dog” short story contest unveiled.
BY JAKE MCGEE
BY SARA LIMA
THE GOODS 54
Our Ultimutt Gift Guide Best bets under $25, $50, $100, and $250+, plus great gifts for kids.
144
Boredom Busters! Enriching Dog Toys Rain, sleet, snow has you reluctant to set foot outdoors? Entertain your dog indoors!
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Perfect Pairs Winners of our Modern Dog lookalike contest.
25
Pup Profiles Meet this issue’s selection of super, smiling dogs!
31
Sweet Charity From toy drives to animal sanctuaries in need of supplies, four super organizations worth helping out.
BREED PROFILE
40
We’re Giving it Away! Enter to win three months’ worth of great giveaways.
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Dogs and Kids Trainer Colleen Safford on how to stop your dog from chasing and nipping children.
50
DIY Eat Rachael Ray shares a delish, quick, and healthy recipe to enjoy with your pup. Plus, give a dog a bone with Polka Dog Bakery’s Peanut Butter Crunch recipe.
93
Five Quick Tips to Stop Your Dog From Pulling on Leash Trainer Inger Martens offers instant solutions to leash tugging.
115
Art Attack Profile in style. Heather Lahaise’s resonant paintings pair realistic portraiture with modern, minimalist backgrounds.
PHOTO LUCAS ZAREBINSKI
Stuff We Love Modern Dog staffers’ picks of the litter.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier The right staff. BY MARIAN BUECHERT
BODY AND SOUL 72
Butt-toning Dog Walking Shoes Convalesce in Comfort Three-legged Dog Resource Dry That Dog; 5 Super Products for Seniors
74
Surviving the Holidays
76
The Doctor’s In The common canine cold, cataracts VS cloudy eyes, plus natural supplements and heart disease.
78
Seeing the Light Education for Change Pet Cause
80
Food Allergies 101 Nothing to sneeze at: food allergies in dogs.
BY ELIZABETH PASK AND LAURA SCOTT
REGULAR FEATURES 6 Editor’s Letter 8 Contributors 10 Our Readers Write 14 The Scoop 22 Calendar of Events 44 Smile! Photo Contest 134 Marketplace
COVER LOOK TV personality and rescue proponent Brandi Williams with her four rescue dogs, Bella, a Chihuahua/Pug, Paris, a Chihuahua/Dachshund, fuzzy mixedbreed Charlie, and Pierre, a Chihuahua. Photographed by Brian B. Hayes
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BY MARNI WEDIN
120 Door Darting Trainer Nicole Wilde offers advice for Houdini-like hounds. 120
What to do if your dog barks. And barks. And barks. Trainer Sue Alexander on how to handle excessive nuisance barking.
122
Five Ways to Calm a Hyperactive Dog Trainer Teoti Anderson on how to calm a hyperactive dog.
125 Connie’s Book Club Curl up with a good dog and a good book. Editor-in- Chief Connie Wilson’s selection of fantastic winter reads. 129
Ask Dog Lady Dog Lady delved into your most dogged dilemmas.
BY MONICA COLLINS
59 In USA: MODERN DOG (ISSN 1703-812X) Volume 9, Issue 4. Published quarterly by Modern Dog Inc. at 142 Churchill Drive, Newington, CT 06111-4003. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and additional offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Modern Dog, PO Box 310402, Newington, CT 06131-0402.
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M U T T S © 2009 P A T R I C K M C D O N N E L L
PHOTO LINDSEY DONOVAN
German Shorthaired Pointers (I love hound-type dogs like my Kaya girl). I’ll keep you posted as to how the search progresses through my blog on Modern Dog’s website. While you’re there, be sure to enter our exciting new giveaways at moderndogmagazine.com/ giveaways. This issue marks the debut of our new, super sweepstakes of cool products for you and your dog. There will be three months’ worth of weekly winners, so be sure to enter. Flip to page 40 to see all the awesome products up for grabs. t’s been a year now since I said goodbye to my dog, Kaya. Also in this issue is a ton of indispensible advice for—to take At 16 years of age, her body gave up on her and I did the a page from Oprah—living your best life…with your dog, of hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, help my dear friend leave course. For tackling on-lead pulling and barking to calming a this world. The void she left in my life hyperactive dog, check out the advice from was devastating. Friends and family our acclaimed behaviourists. We also delve told me that the pain would lessen with time, into causes and cures for food allergies (p thoughtfully suggesting getting another dog to 80), screen My Dog Tulip (p 52), announce help. But I just couldn’t go there. As a matter the winners of our How I Met My Dog writof fact, I wasn’t sure that I would ever get ing contest, and introduce you to inspiring another dog. How could I put myself through volunteers and organizations making a difthat kind of pain again? ference (p 31). And then there’s our annual It wasn’t until recently, while thinking ultimate gift guide for dogs and dog lovers: about how time zooms by, the seasons seemwe’ve rounded up the coolest products at ingly melting one into the other, that I realevery price point for all the favourite canines ized just how much I missed those daily and dog people on your list! “Millions of people who otherwise walks we took together. Kaya forced me to If inclement winter weather leaves your would be completely lost in their minds and in endless past and be active, which sometimes seemed like a dog short on walks and a little down in the future concerns are taken back by chore—that is, until we got outside, together dumps, turn to page 144 for ways to entertheir dog or cat into the witnessing nature’s majesty, from breathtain your dog indoors with our round-up of present moment, again and again, taking sunrises and sunsets to the hush of enriching dog toys. Get a glimpse into the and reminded of the joy of Being.” morning’s calm, a storm’s brute force, or life of a professional animal trainer (p 46) on simply spring’s first snow drops pushing the set of Due Date, the new comedy starFrom Guardians of Being (New World Library; 2009) through frost-crusted earth, always awering Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galifinakis, and inspiring and humbling. Time slowed while a sweet little French Bulldog, read our very walking with Kaya, giving me a better focus own Sara Lima’s account of her road to foson what is truly important in life. It was this recollection of our tering, and so much more—everything you need, in fact for celwalks together that made me realize I’m ready to welcome another ebrating the holiday season and starting the new year off right. dog into my life, though I haven’t yet decided who that dog will be. I’ve always had big dogs (as Kaya was) and with three or four pintsized dogs in the office, a big dog would certainly balance things out, but I’m keeping an open mind, as I believe when I find the right dog, big or small, I’ll just know. With so many dogs in shelters awaiting their forever homes, my new dog will be a rescue and I’ve already been on petfinder. Constance Wilson com searching such breeds as Dachshunds, Springer Spaniels, and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Live Area
Live Area
C O N TRIBUT OR S WINTER 2010/11
•
VOL 9
NO 4
Publisher
Modern Dog Inc.
With this issue, celebrity dog trainer and behavioural expert Inger Martens joins our Fab Five team of trainers. Inger has twenty-plus years of training Hollywood’s A list and their pups. Her BA in Mass Communications and Human Psychology helped her create unique training tips for dog guardians, which she now shares with us. She is an author, television and radio personality, and was dubbed “Best Dog Trainer in L.A.” by Los Angeles Magazine. Inger is currently excited to announce her multimedia online resource for dog owners, pawsforaminute.com. Turn to page 93 to read her debut column in which she tackles on-lead pulling.
Editor-in-Chief
Connie Wilson Editor
Jennifer Nosek Contributing Editor
Marian Buechert Creative Director
Jennifer Nosek
Circulation Manager
Jessica Nosek
Publication Clerks Supervisor
Omar Duran Rojas
Design & Production
Carolyn Howse
Design & Production Assistant
Maxine Matishak
Sales & Marketing
Annica Tong, Lillian Wei, Sara Lima Editorial Assistant
Karin Maxey
Accounting and Subscription Services Assistant
Celine Benipayo
Author and pet behaviorist Steve Duno has trained thousands of pets and their owners. His eighteen books address a wide variety of topics, including breed-specific behavior, environmental enrichment, basic obedience training, trick training, behaviour modification, and nutrition. Steve’s new memoir, Last Dog On The Hill (St. Martin’s, 2010), tells the story of Lou, his legendary, heroic dog who assisted him in rehabilitating many last-chance dogs with aggression problems. A former school teacher, Steve lives in Seattle, WA, with his family, his ditzy Shepherd-mix Flavio, and Rico, his mixed-breed tornado. Read Steve’s contribution to this issue, “Dogs of Thunder,” in which he recounts his amazing tale of turning around a Bull Mastiff with a serious attitude problem, on page 34.
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Controller
Laura Scott, a regular Modern Dog con-
Cecilia de Roca Chan
tributor, is an animal nutritionist with a keen interest in pet nutrition. She holds a BSc in Animal Biology and an MSc in Animal Nutrition from the University of Guelph. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in a number of dog sports, such as obedience, agility, conformation, and tracking with her Golden Retriever, Trevi. In this issue, Laura and her co-writer, Elizabeth Pask, break down food allergies—what causes them, how to assess whether your dog is suffering from food allergies and, if so, which foods are the culprit, as well as how to manage the problem (page 80).
Web Consultant
Dave Egan
Tech Consultant
Mario Rea
Donations Program Liaison
Jessica Nosek
Okanagan Representative
Jytte Wilson
Subscription inquiries call (800) 417-6289 Advertising inquiries call (866) 734-3131 In Canada: MODERN DOG (ISSN 1703-812X) Volume 9, Issue 4. Published quarterly by Modern Dog Inc. at Suite 202–343 Railway St, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 1A4 POSTMASTER: send address changes to Modern Dog, Suite 202–343 Railway St, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 1A4 In USA: MODERN DOG (ISSN 1703-812X) Volume 9, Issue 4. Published quarterly by Modern Dog Inc. at 142 Churchill Drive, Newington, CT 06111-4003. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and additional offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Modern Dog, PO Box 310402, Newington, CT 06131-0402. PHONE
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The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, images, photographs or other materials. By accepting and publishing advertising the publisher in no way recommends, guarantees or endorses the quality of services or products within those advertisements. Copyright 2010/2011 by Modern Dog Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, including the Internet or photocopying without the written permission of the Publisher. Modern Dog and its logotype are the trademarks of Modern Dog Inc. One-year subscription prices: Canada $18CAD, U.S.A. $15USD, foreign $45USD. Subscription orders and customer service inquiries should be sent to Modern Dog Subscription Services, Suite 202–343 Railway St, Vancouver, BC Canada V6A 1A4
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