Via Jim Henley, who has an adorable new pup, this TED presentation with Ian Dunbar is well worth your time:
Good stuff.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.
Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.
My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.
Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll
Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!
fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)
Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!
“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly
Nothing worth doing is easy.
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.
I don’t recall signing up for living in a dystopian sci-fi novel.
Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.
One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.
We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.
A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.
Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.
If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.
Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity
Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.
Bark louder, little dog.
We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.
Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.
Everything is totally normal and fine!!!
shortstop
Man, I need something — maybe this is it. Our dog just hit the 24-30-month-old period in which behavior changes (hers — not us changing our reactions to her behavior) can be rampant. All of a sudden she doesn’t want to walk. At all. We live in a huge city and she has to walk if she’s going to pee or poop. Got a call in to the trainer, but welcome any help in the meantime.
JK
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) http://www.ted.com is one of the greatest ideas since sliced bread.
Anyone who hasn’t heard of TED should browse their website. All of their lectures are extremely informative and illuminating. If you like TED, you should check out http://www.poptech.com and thelasthope.org/talks.html.
Other great sites for lectures and presentaions more general and less technology oriented are http://fora.tv and the http://www.booktv.org (the companion website to BookTV, the best idea in the history of television programming)
JK
TED (Technology Entertainment Design) is a treasure trove of great information
Other great sites for fascinating lectures and presentations
http://www.booktv.org
http://www.poptech.com
http://fora.tv
thelasthope.org/talks.html
Mike Furlan
Sad.
The implications of his failure with the dog he worked with for a long time, which was then euthanized are entirely lost on him.
He is right, except when he isn’t.
MattR
Mike Furlan – You are making assumptions about the success or failure of Dr Dunbar’s treatment with respect to that dog as well as the ultimate reason that it was put down.
The next-to-last samurai
Don’t overlook the obvious cause–try to find out if walking has become painful for her. if that’s not it, is it possible something along the usual route frightened her? Have you tried a different route? Don’t be ashamed to coax her along with goodies until things calm down, or to pick her up and carry her if you have to (one hopes she isn’t a Great Dane). Be persistent and gentle–it is unlikely she is being deliberately annoying, so coo about what a good doggy she is even if all she does on her own is take 1 step. Good luck!
Ked
Isn’t TED that awful United Airlines discount domestic service? Got stuck on one of their flights into Vegas a couple years ago. Bleah.
Shinobi
It’s so nice to hear sensible dog training advice. If one more person tells me I need to be my dog’s Alpha I’m going to become their Alpha.
Shinobi
@Mike Furlan: You’ve got to be kidding me right? Dogs are regularly euthanized for merely making snapping motions at people during temperament tests. The fact that he even agreed to attempt to help the dog likely was what kept that dog alive. Unfortunately some dogs just cannot be fixed due to poor breeding or abuse.
The next-to-last samurai
Thank you, Shinobi! Put in a good word w/the Tunchinator for me.
shortstop
Thanks, next-to-last. We don’t think it’s physical pain, as she’s young and energetic and plays exuberantly at home and at the dog park. Our best guess is that she’s newly afraid/taken aback by certain loud noises, although there doesn’t seem to be any discernible pattern — sometimes garbage trucks freak her out, for example, and other times she doesn’t even seem to notice them. Sometimes she just stops and refuses to move and we can’t identify any stimulus at all that’s causing it. Varying the route helps some, but not always.
Yes, of course we’re always gentle with her. We know that dogs don’t do this stuff because of stubbornness; their minds don’t work like that. Just trying to get at the root of what’s suddenly bothering her. How I wish she could tell me!
MarkusB
Wow, this is great. TED is great. Thanks, John, and JK, also.
HRA
As I was watching the video, Tiki (15 months old) was behind me chewing on his hard plastic toy ring. I had given him a quick look and that’s what I saw him doing. Then towards the end of the video the chewing sounded different. He was chewing my throw rug around the edges.
Basically, that’s the problem we have with him – he likes chewing what he shouldn’t chew.
Shortstop: We walk Tiki around our large yard. He loves the back yard where he can chase squirrels, bunnies and birds. He will stop and refuse to move if we are in front near the street. He seems to want to prolong the outside experience and to wait for the attention he will get from any other passerby with dog or kids.
If you have a park nearby, trying it out for her walk may be helpful.
Gina
Would that my husband were easier to train than my Rottie.
We’re starting the process toward adopting another Rottie, our other male died recently, complications from diabetes, and some weird neurological stuff led us to euthanize. My other Rottie guy, Mo (who’s been in pet pics here) was subdued and clingy for a couple of weeks, now he’s wanting us to play with him, but like a dog would. Like, “I have a great bone here, don’t you just want to jump on my head and wrestle for it???” Um, no…
I miss having dogs rip-roaring around the house, moving furniture around, knocking holes in drywall. It’s like a real-life Animal House, minus the drinking. Keeps me young :-)
Mike Furlan
Mike Furlan
jimbob
Good gawd. This vid and thread is why dog-owners shouldn’t own dogs.
Much the same as most people should not have kids.
I “have” neither, yet I am well-loved by dogs and children alike. Much like Hitler was, so I’ve read ‘though I have nothing against certain ethnic types and don’t want to rule the world.
I’m quite content to ruin my own life, thank you very much.
The next-to-last samurai
Well, it would be sort of pointless to go through life beating up people who do agree.
geemoney
@shortstop: As I am sure you know, that is one of the classic fear periods for young dogs. From what I remember, that should be about the last one. There’s not much to do but to reassure them. Like another poster said, just constant encouragement, and working with them through the things that are scaring them. The hardest thing is to make sure that you react the right way when they are confronted with what they don’t like and begin to react negatively.
shortstop
Thanks, guys. It’s helpful to remember that this is just a stage…I have horrible visions of her living a fear-filled life, but this will almost certainly pass. We’ll take it one step at a time.
Capri
I used to volunteer at my kids’ primary school in the library. The school used a positive technique to guide behavior as their guiding philosophy. When I first heard that I thought it was a complete load of crap. But, low and behold, the first class came in for library time. 20 unguided rockets also known as 2nd graders charged into the library. The librarian said it was story time, which got them to come over in her general vicinity. She started by ignoring all the talking, pushing, shoving, and other junk that 90% of the class was doing and commented on the one or two kids who were doing what they were supposed to. “Lisa is sitting quietly ready to listen to the story.” Within 20 seconds the entire class was sitting quietly too. It was amazing. Plus, this happened class period after class period day after day- it was not a fluke.
I did the same myself and got similar results. One time at a resturant two of my kids were crabbing at each other and fighting over something. I ignored them and commented that Kid 3 was sitting quietly in her chair and behaving like one should in public. The other 2 immediately did the same.
Guess I’m saying don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Mike Furlan
Capri
No form of training/discipline always works. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever use it. Not sure what that has to do with outliers – euthanized or otherwise.
The nice thing (or not) about being a parent is that there’s almost always another chance as you’re living with the child and will no doubt be in a similar situation to the one that set a kids off in the near future.
Mike Furlan
Seth
First, Ian Dunbar is frequently a jerk. Some people are like that.
That said, dog training as practiced by most people is based on punishment. Cesar Milan is purely punishment based. Frequently, our personal interactions are the same way – ignore the good, punish the bad. But the vast majority of the time the techniques Ian talks about are more effective with fewer side effects. There’s scientific research to back this up. Why focus on the rare cases when most people are doing it wrong on the common cases? It strikes me as similar to the ticking time bomb argument – arguing from the exceptional case.