Part-time Dogs in a Full-time World
By Robert Forto, PhD
At Denver Dog Works we train people how to become dog trainers. We train them to become the best dog trainers in the world in my opinion, and in doing so we teach our students how to think outside the box and defend their position on a variety of topics. This past week we were discussing Dog Law and I asked my students to search for an interesting story with a legal angle in regards to dogs. One of my students, Christena Pastoor, found an interesting article on renting dogs and we talked about it for the whole three hour session. I found it such an intriguing concept as did everyone in the room. I even posted the question on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter and got an overwhelming response. So I decided it write about it on my blog and talk about it on my radio show this week, The Dog Doctor Radio Show heard weekly on Http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor. I welcome your feedback and your comments because this is a topic that is worth exploring.
There was an article written in September by Kathy McManus on the Internet that has really peaked my interest. It was titled: Renting a Dog Barking Up the Wrong Tree? about a service that is offered in New York City, Los Angeles and London where you can “rent” a dog. Yes folk, renting your best…err…temporary friend. You can lease them by the day from a company called Flexpet.
While this is not a new concept as upscale hotels have lent dogs to guests over the years, Flexpet is making a business out of renting dogs. It is not cheap either. According to the company’s website there is a $99.00 administration charge, a $99.00 monthly membership fee, a mandatory $150.00 training fee and orientation lesson and then the customer can rent as many dog day afternoons as desired for a $45.00 fee for day.
Flexpet says that all of their dogs—many of which are from animal shelters—wear GPS tracking collars with temperature sensors and feed “holistic dog food” and all have stable temperaments and between two and five years old. But of course there are many critics over this practice as they see it as promotion of dogs as accessories. If you are a frequent listener of The Dog Doctor Radio Show we often talk about what we call “Paris Hilton Dogs” the small dogs that are carried in purses and adorned with bejeweled collars—of course no disrespect to Ms. Hilton—we see these dogs as more of a fashion accessory than a pet. I mean when did we decide as a society that we should carry our dogs around in handbags? What would our forbearers think from 20,000 years ago when we first added dogs to our lives?
Flexpet is not without controversy of course. The company is banned in Boston after the City Council passed an ordinance making dog letting illegal. “To rent a dog just seems wrong,” said one legislator. “I’m not for legislating morality, but it just seems like cruel and unusual treatment of a poor, defenseless animal.” In the editorial pages in Boston they took issue with what they saw as people “who want the comfort of a pet, but not the full-time responsibility.”
So just who rents a pet? I would assume people that travel a lot, people who live in apartment buildings or high-rises or places that do not allow pets, people that have family members who may not like dogs in the house or people like Sarah Stevenson who moved from the U.K. to New York. “It’s been difficult for me to meet people because everyone in New York just kind of goes about their business,” Stevenson lamented. But when she is out walking a rented pooch named Oliver, “It becomes a nice way to meet people.”
My trainer, Christena Pastoor had plenty to say about this subject. “In terms of legality I can see how municipalities would allow a dog rental business to operate as long as the company can sufficiently prove quality care of their dogs while at their facility and through a screening process of the renters and their homes.” Mrs. Pastoor, who researched Flexpet thoroughly for her project on Dog Law also said, “According to their (Flexpet) website , they provide vet checks every three months, fit every dog with a GPS collar and require all renters to attend mandatory training sessions before taking a dog.”
Of course there are other concerns than the legal ones. Dogs are pack animals that thrive on routine and security. Renting dogs to any number of people for short periods of time does not provide the consistency that they need to thrive. While Flexpet asserts that these dogs do not live in kennels and they stay with a primary caregiver when not being “rented” there is still a constant flux with different dogs at “home” and ever-changing renters. Dogs can become stressed when they do not have a consistent environment and behavior problems are likely to ensue.
According to Mrs. Pastoor, putting a cash value on time spent with a dog automatically makes the dog a commodity in the eye of the renter. It also creates the risk of the dog simply being viewed as an accessory. Dogs are living beings and should be valued as such, not as an accessory that makes people more noticeable.
Of course, many people cannot take the care of a dog on full-time, however there are many other positive outlets for fulfilling a person’s desire for canine companionship. Shelters and rescue organizations are in desperate need for people to walk dogs and spend time socializing them. All dogs in shelters can benefit dramatically from socialization, which may in turn help then find a new home. Fostering a dog is also an option. Many, if not all, shelters are filled to capacity and of course fostering takes a greater time commitment than renting, but it is not a “permanent dog”. Or if a person cannot find time to volunteer to foster, or work at a shelter, maybe they could find friends or neighbors who would be willing to have them spend quality time with their dog that they might not be able to give themselves. As you may know that the number one cause of behavior problems in dogs in lack of exercise and positive stimulation and that is why most dogs end up in a shelter situation in the first place.
I have a little bit of a different spin on it. Of course I love dogs. They are my passion and my livelihood and I cannot understand just how this business of renting dogs is not only morally irresponsible but financially irresponsible as well, but what about people that volunteer for programs such as Big Brothers or Big Sisters? I am sure they do that to “give back” or to enrich a young child’s life. But doesn’t that work the same if you are “renting” a dog? Also what about dogs that suffer from what I call “kennel craziness”, that is dogs that are in a kennel situation and through lack of positive stimulation or people contact begin to pace and bark and spin, very similar to people in correctional institutions. Even a psychologist counters that people that want to borrow a dog usually just want some companionship. “It may be a short bond,” he said, “but it’s a real bond.”
What do you think? Should people rent dogs? Listen to our show this Saturday, 4/18/09 and call in to our studio and tell us your opinion. Our studio number is (646)727-2978 or you can reach us anytime by email at train@denverdogworks.com
Written in conjunction with Christena Pastoor, Student at Denver Dog Works
Citation: Katy McManus’ 9/24/09 article: Renting a Dog: Barking Up the Wrong Tree?
__________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director for Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto also hosts The Dog Doctor Radio Show weekly from his training center. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
A Dog Named DASY
A Dog Named DASY
By Robert Forto, PhD
I am sure you have heard. Maybe you haven’t because the national media has not picked up this story and I don’t know why because it is a national outrage. All it took was a gunshot in the middle of the night for former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell to spring to action. You see, he can’t sleep. He is afraid of the dark from the atrocities of what happened to him in the war on terror in Afghanistan. Luttrell was the lone survivor of a dramatic battle in the war torn country in 2005. And when he heard the gunshots outside his house on April, 1, 2009 his training took over and Luttrell began a sweep of the house.
First, Luttrell checked on his mother with his gun drawn and told her to stay put until he came back to get her then he bolted for his front door. He then swept the yard and he found his beloved Labrador Retriever dead in a ditch with a head wound from a .357 magnum. He also saw car lights and heard people laughing--but we will get to that in a minute. You see, the Labrador Retriever was not just a dog, she was a service dog to help Luttrell recover from his own wounds both physically and mentally. Her name was DASY, named after Luttrell’s Navy SEAL team comrades. They all died in the fight one night in Afghanistan where Luttrell was the lone survivor.
“I could tell she tried to get away because there was a blood trail,” Luttrell recalled on a phone interview on Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Show. “When I saw she was dead, the only thing that popped in my head was, I’ve got to take these guys out,” Luttrell said.
In the middle of the night with his service dog dead and hearing laughter in the distance, Luttrell who had just been released from the hospital after another round of agonizing surgeries to mend a bad back, crawled under a fence and sneaked up on four strangers in a car who apparently killed DASY on a whim, for pure sport, for fun! Luttrell said they were unmindful and oblivious as he raised his 9-mm pistol from about two hundred feet away and he had one of them dead in his sights.
Their car pulled away and Luttrell did not fire. It took all he had not to pull the trigger. He was trained to kill. He was the best of the best that the United States Military has to offer but he held back.
Instead, Luttrell jumped into his truck and sped, sometimes over 100 miles per hour, after them through four counties in rural Texas staying in contact with each county’s dispatcher as he sped through the night intent on catching the thugs that murdered his service dog, DASY. Luttrell recalled telling the 911 operator, “You need to get somebody out here before I catch them, I’m going to kill them.”
The killing of such a special dog for the former SEAL played right into Luttrell’s deep wounds. The four-year old Labrador was given to him upon his return from the war to help him heal and return to somewhat of a normal life. Luttrell named the dog DASY after his fallen comrades. The acronym was for his SEAL team members lost in a bloody fight in which they were far outnumbered by Taliban fighters. Luttrell escaped death that night and was taken hostage by the Taliban fighters and worked over pretty good. The enemy then took him to a cave and he touted them to kill him but they did not. He was ready to die for his country that he was trained to fight for. Luttrell wrote a book about the experience, The Lone Survivor and it is a national best seller.
Back to the Chase
Luttrell finally caught up to the murders of his service dog at a police road block and was stopped by the Onalaska Police Department. He exited his truck and approached the men and asked, “Which one of you guys killed my dog?” and then the assailants started talking smack saying that they would get him when they get out of jail.
So far, two of them have been charged with felonies but there is little doubt they will serve much time as the law looks at a dog as “just a dog” in these kinds of cases. Probably just six months in a county jail is all.
In what turns out to be a related story, at least five other dogs have been killed in recent months in the area and they could be linked to Luttrell’s case as well. It looks like these thugs were just killing dogs for fun.
No matter what you think about the war and the politics that follow, Marcus Luttrell loves his country and his comrades that died fighting for our freedom. Luttrell doesn’t want to be a hero. He wants to just be a man, a man that loves his country, and a man that is just trying to take care of his family.
What these people did to DASY was despicable and makes me sick when I think about it. When I heard Marcus speak on The Glenn Beck Show this past week I sat in my truck crying my eyes out. How could people kill a dog in cold blood like that and then laugh about it? How could they take something so near and dear to someone and murder it in cold blood?
Marcus Luttrell is angry and he has every right to be. “They didn’t just kill a dog, they killed a member of my family, she was like my sister,” Luttrell said on the Glenn Beck interview.
DASY was part of his family, but also she was his service dog, a dog specially trained to help Marcus cope with his experiences and be able to live his life again, as a man, not a SEAL embattled in a war.
Denver Dog Works called the producers of The Glenn Beck Show and offered to donate another service dog to Marcus Luttrell, as did hundreds of others. Denver Dog Works trains service dogs for a multitude of tasks including mobility and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which I am sure that Marcus suffers from. If you know of anyone that may be in need of a dog like this or would just like to talk to someone that understands, we can help.
God Bless Marcus Luttrell and his family, and God Bless the United States of America because if it wasn’t for people like Marcus Luttrell this world might be a totally different place.
___________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and is the host of a weekly radio show, The Dog Doctor Radio Show. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
By Robert Forto, PhD
I am sure you have heard. Maybe you haven’t because the national media has not picked up this story and I don’t know why because it is a national outrage. All it took was a gunshot in the middle of the night for former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell to spring to action. You see, he can’t sleep. He is afraid of the dark from the atrocities of what happened to him in the war on terror in Afghanistan. Luttrell was the lone survivor of a dramatic battle in the war torn country in 2005. And when he heard the gunshots outside his house on April, 1, 2009 his training took over and Luttrell began a sweep of the house.
First, Luttrell checked on his mother with his gun drawn and told her to stay put until he came back to get her then he bolted for his front door. He then swept the yard and he found his beloved Labrador Retriever dead in a ditch with a head wound from a .357 magnum. He also saw car lights and heard people laughing--but we will get to that in a minute. You see, the Labrador Retriever was not just a dog, she was a service dog to help Luttrell recover from his own wounds both physically and mentally. Her name was DASY, named after Luttrell’s Navy SEAL team comrades. They all died in the fight one night in Afghanistan where Luttrell was the lone survivor.
“I could tell she tried to get away because there was a blood trail,” Luttrell recalled on a phone interview on Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Show. “When I saw she was dead, the only thing that popped in my head was, I’ve got to take these guys out,” Luttrell said.
In the middle of the night with his service dog dead and hearing laughter in the distance, Luttrell who had just been released from the hospital after another round of agonizing surgeries to mend a bad back, crawled under a fence and sneaked up on four strangers in a car who apparently killed DASY on a whim, for pure sport, for fun! Luttrell said they were unmindful and oblivious as he raised his 9-mm pistol from about two hundred feet away and he had one of them dead in his sights.
Their car pulled away and Luttrell did not fire. It took all he had not to pull the trigger. He was trained to kill. He was the best of the best that the United States Military has to offer but he held back.
Instead, Luttrell jumped into his truck and sped, sometimes over 100 miles per hour, after them through four counties in rural Texas staying in contact with each county’s dispatcher as he sped through the night intent on catching the thugs that murdered his service dog, DASY. Luttrell recalled telling the 911 operator, “You need to get somebody out here before I catch them, I’m going to kill them.”
The killing of such a special dog for the former SEAL played right into Luttrell’s deep wounds. The four-year old Labrador was given to him upon his return from the war to help him heal and return to somewhat of a normal life. Luttrell named the dog DASY after his fallen comrades. The acronym was for his SEAL team members lost in a bloody fight in which they were far outnumbered by Taliban fighters. Luttrell escaped death that night and was taken hostage by the Taliban fighters and worked over pretty good. The enemy then took him to a cave and he touted them to kill him but they did not. He was ready to die for his country that he was trained to fight for. Luttrell wrote a book about the experience, The Lone Survivor and it is a national best seller.
Back to the Chase
Luttrell finally caught up to the murders of his service dog at a police road block and was stopped by the Onalaska Police Department. He exited his truck and approached the men and asked, “Which one of you guys killed my dog?” and then the assailants started talking smack saying that they would get him when they get out of jail.
So far, two of them have been charged with felonies but there is little doubt they will serve much time as the law looks at a dog as “just a dog” in these kinds of cases. Probably just six months in a county jail is all.
In what turns out to be a related story, at least five other dogs have been killed in recent months in the area and they could be linked to Luttrell’s case as well. It looks like these thugs were just killing dogs for fun.
No matter what you think about the war and the politics that follow, Marcus Luttrell loves his country and his comrades that died fighting for our freedom. Luttrell doesn’t want to be a hero. He wants to just be a man, a man that loves his country, and a man that is just trying to take care of his family.
What these people did to DASY was despicable and makes me sick when I think about it. When I heard Marcus speak on The Glenn Beck Show this past week I sat in my truck crying my eyes out. How could people kill a dog in cold blood like that and then laugh about it? How could they take something so near and dear to someone and murder it in cold blood?
Marcus Luttrell is angry and he has every right to be. “They didn’t just kill a dog, they killed a member of my family, she was like my sister,” Luttrell said on the Glenn Beck interview.
DASY was part of his family, but also she was his service dog, a dog specially trained to help Marcus cope with his experiences and be able to live his life again, as a man, not a SEAL embattled in a war.
Denver Dog Works called the producers of The Glenn Beck Show and offered to donate another service dog to Marcus Luttrell, as did hundreds of others. Denver Dog Works trains service dogs for a multitude of tasks including mobility and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which I am sure that Marcus suffers from. If you know of anyone that may be in need of a dog like this or would just like to talk to someone that understands, we can help.
God Bless Marcus Luttrell and his family, and God Bless the United States of America because if it wasn’t for people like Marcus Luttrell this world might be a totally different place.
___________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and is the host of a weekly radio show, The Dog Doctor Radio Show. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The President’s New Pooch
By Robert Forto, PhD
Well folks its is official! President Obama has finally chosen a dog for the White House and First Family, a Portuguese Water Dog. After much anticipation and speculation, the President’s choice is a good one in my opinion. The Portuguese Water Dog (commonly referred to as a P.W.D.) is a good family dog that works is suited well for an active family and with children.
By Robert Forto, PhD
Well folks its is official! President Obama has finally chosen a dog for the White House and First Family, a Portuguese Water Dog. After much anticipation and speculation, the President’s choice is a good one in my opinion. The Portuguese Water Dog (commonly referred to as a P.W.D.) is a good family dog that works is suited well for an active family and with children.
The P.W.D. has been in the news recently and one has a local and a Denver Dog Works connection actually. Talk about six degrees of separation! Rock’O is a P.W.D. that is is trained by a local service dog organization to alert a young child to peanut allergies. Dr. Robert Forto acted as a consultant for awhile in 2008 to Angel Service Dogs, the organization that helped place Rock’O. Denver Dog Works also trains service dogs for children with autism and they can be reached through their website at http://www.denverdogworks.com.
The Portuguese Water dog has been known for centuries along Portugal’s coast and prized for its strength, spirit and soundness. The P.W.D. is a loyal worker and companion. This dog is of medium-sized and is robust, the breed possesses a waterproof coat and the ability to swim all day. Its coat can be curly or wavy and is black, white, or brown, or combinations of black or brown with white. The P.W.D. is also hypo-allergenic and this will help because the President’s daughter, Malia (10,) who has allergies. The dog will require a good deal of grooming. Who will brush the dog regularly? Malia or her younger sister, Sasha who is seven, or maybe the President himself?
Referred to as the Cao de Agua (dog of water) in its native Portugal, the Portuguese Water Dog was bred to accompany fisherman on their boats. An exceptional swimmer and diver, the breed retrieved broken nets, dove for fish, carried messages between boats and to shore, and guarded the boat for his master in foreign ports. The breed started disappearing in the early 20th century when technology made his daily job somewhat obsolete, but Dr. Vasco Bensuade, a wealthy Portuguese shipping magnate and dog fancier, saved the breed.
Is This the Right Breed for You (or the First Family)?
The P.W.D. is an athletic, active breed and the requires daily vigorous exercise. He is very intelligent and responds well to obedience training. His profuse coat is hypoallergenic, but requires regular maintenance. It may be kept in the lion clip (the coat on the hindquarters and muzzle are clipped to the skin) or the retriever clip (the entire coat is clipped to one inch in length and follows the outline of the dog). The P.W.D.is of average size: from 35 to 60 pounds and 17 to 23 inches tall at the withers. He is would excel as a fisherman’s working companion or family pet. Do the Obama’s fish?
The Obama’s have narrowed down a few names for their new puppy. They are Buddy, Fala, Laddie Boy, Checkers, Millie and Barney. Evidently the pup is a rescue. Ordinarily this dogs cost around $2,000.
Temperament
In terms of training and temperament, the First Family will have their hands full in my opinion. The Portuguese Water Dog is an animal of spirited disposition, self-willed, brave, and very resistant to fatigue. A dog of exceptional intelligence and a loyal companion, it obeys its master with facility and apparent pleasure. It is obedient with those who look after it or with those for whom it works. This will make training the new pup necessary in order for proper adjustment and socialization.
My only question is will the new pup have a security escort? The secret service dogs are Belgian Malanois, from Holland they can be quite sociable. Will they get to romp and play together on White House lawn or will it be all work and no play for the ever vigilant Secret Service (and their dogs)?
_________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor Radio Show at http://www.dogdoctorradio.com Dr. Forto an be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
Citation: Http://www.akc.org, Http://www.chron.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
How to Spot the Best (and Worst) Dog Trainers
How to Spot the Best (and Worst) Dog Trainers
By Robert Forto, PhD
My name is Dr. Robert Forto and I am the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. I also host a weekly radio show called The Dog Doctor Radio Show every Saturday at 9:30 am. Our canine training school is much different than what you may be used to or what you have researched on the Internet. We truly do have the best trainers and we train the rest. We are the only school in Colorado that teaches people how to become expert canine trainers and behavior therapists and our reputation is backed by the simple formula that you can become a dog trainer by learning the ropes from books and television shows and struggling in your career forever, or you can learn the skill-set to become a fully competent trainer and have a very successful training school for not only your clients, but you as well. This article will focus on both the client and their dog, but also the person wanting to do this as a career. I have done it for nineteen years and can happily say this is the best job in the world. I am sure I will get in trouble from my competition in saying what I say in this article but that is okay. I welcome the dialogue. The proof is in the pudding and sometimes you just have to stir the pot.
It is all about the law of averages and beating the odds. Read on and I will explain.
Many average dog trainers teach average group classes, charge you an average price and have average knowledge and skills about dogs, dog training, dog behavior and canine psychology. Most owners do not know better or who do not really care about these facts, and they just settle with such trainers and end up with average results or even worse—NO RESULTS—in training their dogs! In contrast, the trainers I will be describing in this article are not your average dog trainers at all and are known to beat the odds.
So who emerges from the pack? There is an amazing energy and spirit about these individuals which you will notice right away that goes far beyond dog training. In fact, they know it is much more than dealing with dogs, and this is where I will open your eyes to the traits and qualities of the smartest and the most successful dog experts in the business. Because of their knowledge, skill and persona, they are not only making it--but making it with class and integrity. Again, don’t forget that I am referring to the smartest, so you don’t think that they just got lucky for being at the right place, at the right time or by meeting the right person. Even if that was the case for a few to some degree, before you know it, they took over and kept on paddling on their own.
One fact is, and please do not let this discourage you, but you will soon find out that these trainers make only the top one percent of the dog experts in the industry.
In my years of dealing with different trainers, I have known of those who enjoy fine wine and fancy dinners with the rich and famous. I have known those who have gone from groomer to national television persona and have big contracts and sponsorships. I have also known of trainers who only taught group classes and struggled for years. I have known of those who did not care much for going to the next level and settled for just being a part-timer, and of course I have also known of the ones who were very successful, but yet very miserable mentally. These folks, no matter how much money and success came their way, it was never enough. They simply wanted all the business. To them, the glass was always half empty. You could try reassuring them by saying, “Don’t worry. There are enough dogs for all of us and you cannot win them all, nor do you really want to.” These trainers would hear it, but it would not register. Some bombard the search engines with numerous websites and want to eat the whole pizza on their own. You know what the bad thing is about eating the whole pizza by yourself? It’s definitely not healthy for you in the long run! You share, and you shall receive. That’s how the universe works. It is a funny thing about the dog training business. It is such a closed society. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. Why would you distance your peers and their knowledge just because you perceive them as a threat? It seems to me that you should welcome the competition and the additional resources afforded to you by your fellow trainers. I am sure you could teach them something and they could you as well.
The ones who stand out from the others are truly unique in every aspect you can think of. These individuals love what they do. This is why it's so hard to get a hold of them. They are too busy making a difference and often have a waiting list. They are busy teaching, training, running seminars, and promoting themselves, their products, and marketing their businesses. Sometimes it is training others to follow in their footsteps and carry on the torch.
The bottom line is, they get out there and love to be noticed for their message and their mission. I guess what I am trying to say is that dog experts are not any different than the rest of us. Through the years I have noticed that sometimes this simply comes down to hiring the best expert money can buy. The cheapest is rarely the best. Think about other trends in your life. Do you go to a “shade tree mechanic” because they are inexpensive and offer no warranty, or do you go to the repair shop that stands behind their work and have been in business for three generations? I have also learned a lot from the worst-of-the-worst. After all, this is where you learn what NOT to do. After studying those who were considered to be the real deal, I have noticed that they all came from a totally different class and mentality and it's no wonder why their success rate was so hard to ignore. When I put these trainers through the test, they all possessed these ten qualities about them:
1. These trainers care about you, your dog and their reputation
2. Their training method is backed by common sense not just the training fad of the day or what is popular on T.V.
3. These trainers pay attention to details.
4. You will not end up with a “half trained” dog.
5. These trainers’ methods work off leash and at a distance.
6. These trainers will train all dogs not just German Shepherds or Labradors
7. Your dog’s age never matters.
8. These trainers’ method is firm and kind.
9. These trainers let you experiment with different training techniques and tools. They don’t sell you a head halter, shock collar or books you must buy.
10. These trainers rarely give up on you or your dog.
I will explain these qualities on my radio show this week. Tune in and give us a call. If you are reading this article after the episode has aired, no worries. You can download it anytime at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor or on iTunes by searching Dog Doctor in the podcast section.
We at Denver Dog Works follow this mantra listed above. We are all certified in canine training and we love our jobs. We work with each client individually and we show results. We welcome you to speak to as many trainers and schools that you can. Ask questions and check their references. Are they the ones that just want your business or do they want to retain you as a client? A client that they can work with over the long haul. A client that will come to your school over and over again. A client that will recommend you to their peers. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?
Give us a call. We offer an initial no-cost evaluation and we can show you why we have the best and train the rest. We can be reached anytime at 303-752-2818 or through our website.
_________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor Radio show every Saturday live at Denver Dog Works. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
By Robert Forto, PhD
My name is Dr. Robert Forto and I am the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. I also host a weekly radio show called The Dog Doctor Radio Show every Saturday at 9:30 am. Our canine training school is much different than what you may be used to or what you have researched on the Internet. We truly do have the best trainers and we train the rest. We are the only school in Colorado that teaches people how to become expert canine trainers and behavior therapists and our reputation is backed by the simple formula that you can become a dog trainer by learning the ropes from books and television shows and struggling in your career forever, or you can learn the skill-set to become a fully competent trainer and have a very successful training school for not only your clients, but you as well. This article will focus on both the client and their dog, but also the person wanting to do this as a career. I have done it for nineteen years and can happily say this is the best job in the world. I am sure I will get in trouble from my competition in saying what I say in this article but that is okay. I welcome the dialogue. The proof is in the pudding and sometimes you just have to stir the pot.
It is all about the law of averages and beating the odds. Read on and I will explain.
Many average dog trainers teach average group classes, charge you an average price and have average knowledge and skills about dogs, dog training, dog behavior and canine psychology. Most owners do not know better or who do not really care about these facts, and they just settle with such trainers and end up with average results or even worse—NO RESULTS—in training their dogs! In contrast, the trainers I will be describing in this article are not your average dog trainers at all and are known to beat the odds.
So who emerges from the pack? There is an amazing energy and spirit about these individuals which you will notice right away that goes far beyond dog training. In fact, they know it is much more than dealing with dogs, and this is where I will open your eyes to the traits and qualities of the smartest and the most successful dog experts in the business. Because of their knowledge, skill and persona, they are not only making it--but making it with class and integrity. Again, don’t forget that I am referring to the smartest, so you don’t think that they just got lucky for being at the right place, at the right time or by meeting the right person. Even if that was the case for a few to some degree, before you know it, they took over and kept on paddling on their own.
One fact is, and please do not let this discourage you, but you will soon find out that these trainers make only the top one percent of the dog experts in the industry.
In my years of dealing with different trainers, I have known of those who enjoy fine wine and fancy dinners with the rich and famous. I have known those who have gone from groomer to national television persona and have big contracts and sponsorships. I have also known of trainers who only taught group classes and struggled for years. I have known of those who did not care much for going to the next level and settled for just being a part-timer, and of course I have also known of the ones who were very successful, but yet very miserable mentally. These folks, no matter how much money and success came their way, it was never enough. They simply wanted all the business. To them, the glass was always half empty. You could try reassuring them by saying, “Don’t worry. There are enough dogs for all of us and you cannot win them all, nor do you really want to.” These trainers would hear it, but it would not register. Some bombard the search engines with numerous websites and want to eat the whole pizza on their own. You know what the bad thing is about eating the whole pizza by yourself? It’s definitely not healthy for you in the long run! You share, and you shall receive. That’s how the universe works. It is a funny thing about the dog training business. It is such a closed society. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. Why would you distance your peers and their knowledge just because you perceive them as a threat? It seems to me that you should welcome the competition and the additional resources afforded to you by your fellow trainers. I am sure you could teach them something and they could you as well.
The ones who stand out from the others are truly unique in every aspect you can think of. These individuals love what they do. This is why it's so hard to get a hold of them. They are too busy making a difference and often have a waiting list. They are busy teaching, training, running seminars, and promoting themselves, their products, and marketing their businesses. Sometimes it is training others to follow in their footsteps and carry on the torch.
The bottom line is, they get out there and love to be noticed for their message and their mission. I guess what I am trying to say is that dog experts are not any different than the rest of us. Through the years I have noticed that sometimes this simply comes down to hiring the best expert money can buy. The cheapest is rarely the best. Think about other trends in your life. Do you go to a “shade tree mechanic” because they are inexpensive and offer no warranty, or do you go to the repair shop that stands behind their work and have been in business for three generations? I have also learned a lot from the worst-of-the-worst. After all, this is where you learn what NOT to do. After studying those who were considered to be the real deal, I have noticed that they all came from a totally different class and mentality and it's no wonder why their success rate was so hard to ignore. When I put these trainers through the test, they all possessed these ten qualities about them:
1. These trainers care about you, your dog and their reputation
2. Their training method is backed by common sense not just the training fad of the day or what is popular on T.V.
3. These trainers pay attention to details.
4. You will not end up with a “half trained” dog.
5. These trainers’ methods work off leash and at a distance.
6. These trainers will train all dogs not just German Shepherds or Labradors
7. Your dog’s age never matters.
8. These trainers’ method is firm and kind.
9. These trainers let you experiment with different training techniques and tools. They don’t sell you a head halter, shock collar or books you must buy.
10. These trainers rarely give up on you or your dog.
I will explain these qualities on my radio show this week. Tune in and give us a call. If you are reading this article after the episode has aired, no worries. You can download it anytime at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor or on iTunes by searching Dog Doctor in the podcast section.
We at Denver Dog Works follow this mantra listed above. We are all certified in canine training and we love our jobs. We work with each client individually and we show results. We welcome you to speak to as many trainers and schools that you can. Ask questions and check their references. Are they the ones that just want your business or do they want to retain you as a client? A client that they can work with over the long haul. A client that will come to your school over and over again. A client that will recommend you to their peers. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?
Give us a call. We offer an initial no-cost evaluation and we can show you why we have the best and train the rest. We can be reached anytime at 303-752-2818 or through our website.
_________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado and hosts a weekly radio show The Dog Doctor Radio show every Saturday live at Denver Dog Works. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dog Parks: Does Denver Need More?
Dog Parks: Does Denver Need More?
"Why I don't Recommend Them"
By Robert Forto, PhD
"Why I don't Recommend Them"
By Robert Forto, PhD
I have been a canine behaviorist for the past nineteen years and I have to go on the record and state that I do not like dog parks. I think they are an accident waiting to happen. Many people, especially in Denver, Colorado love these parks and they think they are a tranquil place for their dogs to run, romp, and play with other dogs.
After dealing with aggressive and violent dogs my entire career this is the furthest from the truth. I deal with aggressive dogs every day. It is my specialty. While it may be true that many, and maybe most, dogs will do fine at the dog park, with little if no incidents of a problem, you are just bidding your time. A dog park is not a natural place for dogs to be.
In the news this week, the city of Denver (Colorado) is trying to devise a plan to increase the number of dog parks. There are seven in the city right now and they cannot keep up with the rising demand of dog owners and having a place for their furry friends to run off leash. This is only going to lead to disaster!
If I may quote an article placed on CBS4’s website: “So many people have dogs. I think it’s a good place for bringing dogs,” one owner said on the website. “People who live downtown have dogs in small apartments. They bring them to the dog parks and they learn a lot of necessary stuff from other dogs like how to play, you know when to be rough or when not to.”
Are these people crazy! This couldn’t be farther from the truth! I published this article about this same time last year in the Rocky Mountain News’ Your Hub section and I received an overwhelming response from readers agreeing with what I said.
So I encourage you to read this article from the perspective of the dog, not an owner that needs their dog to have a place to “play”. I welcome all comments and of course criticism. But in my opinion, dog parks, especially more of them, are a bad idea.
The Dangers of Dog Parks
Almost daily I get a call or an email from someone telling me about the problems they have with their dog because they think he is aggressive, or a story about how their dog was attacked when they were on walks or running loose at a local dog park. I have even addressed this problem and have a class that meets on Saturdays. I call it my Growl Class. You would be surprised of how many people have signed up for it. Not just owners with Colorado’s classified banned breeds. We've had everything from miniature poodles to Old English sheep dogs.
People ask me how to deal with overly aggressive dogs that belong to other owners. They ask me to show them how to handle their dog so that they can "teach" someone at the dog park how to handle their dogs. They ask me questions about their own dog not trying to stick up for or defend themselves when they are approached by an aggressive dog. Many people have watched television shows and they were told that the dogs need to work it out for themselves. I say--so far from the truth!
The concept of dog parks was well intended but not a researched enough idea by the local, state, and city governments. The idea of a park is to bring people and families closer together-not to build internal strife and conflict that sometimes resembles doggie gang warfare! Many dog parks allow dogs to run off-leash in lush acreage of surrounding utopia--what a disaster. The main problem stems from people who just do not understand canine pack structure. The City Council's that set up these open space wonderlands are politician's not canine handlers--they should have consulted an expert. What it equals is that the dogs in these parks are out of control. Too often as well, the owners are completely oblivious as to what their dog is doing at the dog park. The owners are often observed using cell phones or doing other things that distract them from monitoring their own dogs' actions.
The average dog owner does not take the time to understand, much less install, pack structure. They do not know how strong the pack instincts are in their family pets. These drives can, and often do, click into high gear when a dog is taken into a park with strange dogs. I meet with people every day that come into my training center and they say that this dog is the alpha dog because he is the male, or he is older, or he is stronger, or he is my favorite. Canine pack behavior is a very complex dynamic that should not be under-estimated. I spent the better part of my career studying pack structure with a team of thirty-five Siberian husky sled dogs. I lived and slept with these dogs. I became a part of their pack. I learned many life lessons from them. The most important one: do not under estimate at dog's potential—ever.
When a new dog comes into a park that other dogs visit every day the new visitor is often seen as an intruder into "the personal territory" of the regular visitor. More often than not they are not seen as a new found friend. This often leads to either territorial aggression, dominance aggression or fear aggression. Instincts kick in and pandemonium develops. Owners are running and screaming towards their dogs, a fight breaks out and the utopia is now in chaos. Someone inevitably gets hurt.
DOG PACKS in the PARK
When a group of dogs, three or more, are allowed to run together in an area where there are no strong pack leaders (human pack leaders), they instinctively try to establish a rank order, or pecking order. If there are several dogs that want to assume a certain rank within this new pack there are often problems. Too often, this results in dog fights to determine what rank a dog will assume.
It is a mistake to assume that every dog in the park is a well-mannered, well-trained pet. Just because its playing with other dogs does not mean that it will play with your dog. The issue of rank has already been settled with these other dogs and the game may be going according to their rules. Your dog will not know the rules and can easily get into trouble. Too often when a fight breaks out between your dog and the leader of this pack the other dogs in the pack will also jump in and go after your dog.
The vast majority of dogs do not want to be pack leaders. They are perfectly happy with their owners assuming the position of leader. As such these dogs expect their pack leader--their owner-- to protect them. That's why these dogs will run to their owner when they fell threatened by another dog. When an owner does not protect his dog the dog is in conflict and loses confidence. When the owner ignores the perceived threat their dogs often move into fight or flight.
When you stop to think about it, normal people would never expect their young children to fight adults that were threatening their home. So why do people expect their young dogs to show aggression to older dogs? In most cases, the owners simply lack the understanding of pack drive and dog training. People get caught in the trap of thinking they have a German Shepherd from working police bloodlines and it should be tough!! Well, it doesn't work that way.
When new owners assume the position of pack leader and they do everything right when their pup is young the dog will grow up to be a confident adult dog. When owners drop the pack structure ball their dogs grow up to be dogs with aggressive issues (either overly aggressive or fearful). This is the primary focus of my work and why my aggression management classes are so successful. Canine training is not about training the dog. It is about educating the owner. I have been known to say that dog training is 90% people and 10% dog. I wholeheartedly believe that. I have conducted many seminars called "Leader of the Pack" and there is a weekly show on cable that promotes "Be a Pack Leader." But do you really know what that means? Do you know how much work, how much time and energy, how much of a commitment it is going to take to give you that empowerment? Being a pack leader to your dog can not, and should not, be compartmentalized in a 30-minute program where the magic of television makes everything alright.
Dog fights are scary business. They could literally mean life and death. I am sure you have heard the horror stories. Is this something that you are ready for? I have been bit hundreds of times--often by the cutest dogs in the neighborhood. I have respect for all dogs. And I make it my business to earn theirs. Aggressive dogs need to be dealt with by a professional. Not an arm-chair quarterback at a dog park shouting "leave it!" because they read a book, or watched a show or attended a chain store puppy class.
My Growl class is a course out of necessity. People love their dogs and they love the outdoors. But dog parks are a plethora of chaos. Research shows that three out of four dogs are not trained. My definition of training has always been: "Control for you, routine for your dog". If you have a dog that needs work with aggression. If you would like to better understand canine pack structure or if you are tired of your dog getting into fights at the dog park give me a call and we'll talk about it.
_____________________
Robert Forto, PhD is the training director for Denver Dog Works in Colorado and the host of a weekly radio show, The Dog Doctor Radio Show. He specializes in canine aggression. Please check out his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com/. He can be reached anytime at 303-752-2818.
Citation: http://www.CBS4denver.com March 23, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Training Your Dog in the Midst of Chaos
Training Your Dog in the Midst of Chaos
By Robert Forto, PhD
Are you tired of the endless stream of negativity, stress and confusion created by the chaos? I don't care if you are talking about the economy, job, boss, colleague, your dog, or anything else. Thriving in chaos is a decision not to get sucked into a negative spiral. The choice is personal responsibility. There are ten considerations that are vital to thriving in chaos and training your dog in the midst of it. Denver Dog Works is known to have the best trainers in the world and we can train the rest. This is why:
1. Communication. I wrote an entire doctorate dissertation on communicating with dogs and I like to think I am an expert on the subject. I have spent a great deal of my life in the company of dogs and I am a better communicator for it. Are you?
In your personal life do you paraphrase to clarify what you hear? Do you read between the lines or guess a person's intent? Do you ask questions and continue to promote dialogue into a topic? Do you make conversations more about you and less about them?
A dog is such a simple soul. He needs a few rules; some exercise, an education, a balanced diet, a place to rest his weary head, and the companionship of a loving master to make him feel secure and happy. These are important ingredients for preventing dog problems. In communicating with him your tone of voice, your posture, your attitude, your understanding will speak eloquently to him. Above all, remember his mother; be fair, be firm, correct him when necessary, forgive him rapidly and love him well. Don't you wish it was that easy to communicate with people?
2. Flexibility. In these ever changing times where everyone is asking for a bailout or a handout you have to be ready at a moment's notice to shift your thinking and stay open to change.
In training your dog, continue to grow your skills, ask your trainer for additional tasks to work on until your next lesson, and be prepared to work through the challenges.
When Obama was campaigning he preached change, change, change. I haven't seen it yet. Have you? But I have had to become more flexible because of this proposed change in my business and personal life. I have become a flexible thinker. Have you?
3. Empowerment. Dump the entitlement attitude and empower yourself to make a change. Nobody owes you anything, either at work, at home or in dog training. You do owe to yourself to be accountable for your every choice and every outcome.
While I am sure I will get in trouble for saying this from a fellow trainer or dog owner, people come to my school all the time and say that they went to a big-box-pet store and the trainer there was awful, or they didn't teach them anything and their dog is worse now than it was before they started. Is that really true? No. The big-box-pet stores offer a method of training that may or may not fit into every pet owners lifestyle or training goals. But they are good at what they do, and what they do best is socialization. If you want more from your dog training classes sign up for private lessons and let the trainer work with you in developing a program to suit your needs. Don't blame anyone for your transgressions or your lack of practice with your dog. Your dog does not have ESP and neither does your trainer. It takes practice to make perfect and practice takes effort.
4. Responsiveness. To be proactive in today's society you must learn to respond quickly to changes in your daily activities. Reacting is simply knee-jerking, while responding involves learned skills, helping you make decisions more quickly. Never waste time and energy complaining.
When I am teaching people how to become certified canine instructors we discuss what I call the passive method: "Maybe it will go away." Maybe it would not. "Maybe he'll outgrow it." "Maybe he would not." Even if he will, it is a rather poor way to handle a dog problem. How many couches can you afford to lose waiting for him to outgrow the chewing stage? Some dogs left uncorrected, chew their way from birth to senility, but any dog can learn to be happy chewing a bone once he learns the no-no's from the yes-yeses. This method does not work in our daily lives and most certainly does not work in training your dog. Be proactive and tackle that next challenge, no matter what it is, and respond!
5. Learning. You should always support and promote lifelong learning. Train yourself (and your dog) to be a learner by using books, tapes, training classes and other programs to enrich your lives. There is no greater satisfaction that learning something new and applying that knowledge in our daily lives. What was the last thing that you learned and how to you apply it today?
6. Innovate. Find different and better ways to solve problems. Learn how to become more creative by visiting your library or searching the Internet. In your quest in training your dog there are so many different and innovative techniques you can use to work through problems and training dilemmas. We at Denver Dog Works are all experts in learning theory and curriculum innovation. We take the most up to date methods and test them daily to see if what you saw on that National Geographic show really works and if we find that they do, or more importantly, don't, we pass that along to our clients.
7. Cutting Back. In our daily lives we are all looking for ways to cut back on expenses and spending such as travel and entertainment. We are holding off buying new cars, appliances, and clothes. But did you know that Americans spend more on their pets that music, movies and video games combined? While I am not suggesting that you don't pamper your pet. I am sure you do. I do splurge on occasion with mine. Use your money wisely and enroll in a dog training program that will give you a good return on your investment. Basic obedience, while a necessity to most, can save you thousands of dollars if your dog thinks your Italian leather couch is a chew toy, or a sports program such as agility or fly ball will provide you with endless hours of low cost fun for your family and your dog.
8. Energy. Stay enthusiastic and forward thinking. Make work fun and exciting. Allow negative discussion but respond with, "What is the worst thing that can happen?" Times are tough. We all know that. Many people have lost their jobs, their retirement, their 401K, and everything else. As a small business owner I am feeling the fear of this economy but I am not letting me get me down. I am taking advantage of this time to start new marketing programs and training classes. Did you know that the businesses that made it through the great depression of the 1930's did not sit back and have a wait and see attitude? They went for it and challenged the normal way of thinking.
In terms of dog training and energy; make your training fun with your dog. Dog training classes are very affordable and allow you to get out of the drudge of the day-to-day stressors and make a difference in you and your dog's relationship and bond and it just might bring your family closer together as well.
9. Accountability. You should be a role model for others by taking responsibility for every decision that you make. Know that you always have three choices: take it, leave it, or change it. So challenge yourself by asking, "So, what's the plan?" If you are a Denver Bronco fan I am sure you know that our quarterback is not only being a cry baby and asking for a trade because he doesn't like the coach but it also shows that he has no accountability for his actions. In terms of dog training: do you want to be the owner who's dog is always getting into fights at the dog park or who jumps on your friends and family when they come over for dinner? No? Then make a choice and change that behavior and enroll in a dog training class or two.
10. Goals. In your daily life you must have a clear account of your goals and keep them in mind at all times. You will not be able to thrive in the chaotic time if you do not have clear objectives. The same goes with dog training. Often we hear from a client that they want their dog to perform at a certain level in a brief period of time and often that is not possible. There are T.V. shows on that fuel this obsession. We are an immediate gratification culture. We want it all and we want it now. That is not just not possible in dog training, or anything else in life for that matter.
So I encourage you, go out there and make a difference. Go out there and change somebody's life for the better. Make your business better if you are an entrepreneur or your company better if you are an employee. Make your dog happier by giving him the greatest gift of all: training. Yes, times are tough but don't let the chaos change your lives. Go out and empower change because we can't wait for someone else to do it.
__________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the host of The Dog Doctor Radio Show and is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
By Robert Forto, PhD
Are you tired of the endless stream of negativity, stress and confusion created by the chaos? I don't care if you are talking about the economy, job, boss, colleague, your dog, or anything else. Thriving in chaos is a decision not to get sucked into a negative spiral. The choice is personal responsibility. There are ten considerations that are vital to thriving in chaos and training your dog in the midst of it. Denver Dog Works is known to have the best trainers in the world and we can train the rest. This is why:
1. Communication. I wrote an entire doctorate dissertation on communicating with dogs and I like to think I am an expert on the subject. I have spent a great deal of my life in the company of dogs and I am a better communicator for it. Are you?
In your personal life do you paraphrase to clarify what you hear? Do you read between the lines or guess a person's intent? Do you ask questions and continue to promote dialogue into a topic? Do you make conversations more about you and less about them?
A dog is such a simple soul. He needs a few rules; some exercise, an education, a balanced diet, a place to rest his weary head, and the companionship of a loving master to make him feel secure and happy. These are important ingredients for preventing dog problems. In communicating with him your tone of voice, your posture, your attitude, your understanding will speak eloquently to him. Above all, remember his mother; be fair, be firm, correct him when necessary, forgive him rapidly and love him well. Don't you wish it was that easy to communicate with people?
2. Flexibility. In these ever changing times where everyone is asking for a bailout or a handout you have to be ready at a moment's notice to shift your thinking and stay open to change.
In training your dog, continue to grow your skills, ask your trainer for additional tasks to work on until your next lesson, and be prepared to work through the challenges.
When Obama was campaigning he preached change, change, change. I haven't seen it yet. Have you? But I have had to become more flexible because of this proposed change in my business and personal life. I have become a flexible thinker. Have you?
3. Empowerment. Dump the entitlement attitude and empower yourself to make a change. Nobody owes you anything, either at work, at home or in dog training. You do owe to yourself to be accountable for your every choice and every outcome.
While I am sure I will get in trouble for saying this from a fellow trainer or dog owner, people come to my school all the time and say that they went to a big-box-pet store and the trainer there was awful, or they didn't teach them anything and their dog is worse now than it was before they started. Is that really true? No. The big-box-pet stores offer a method of training that may or may not fit into every pet owners lifestyle or training goals. But they are good at what they do, and what they do best is socialization. If you want more from your dog training classes sign up for private lessons and let the trainer work with you in developing a program to suit your needs. Don't blame anyone for your transgressions or your lack of practice with your dog. Your dog does not have ESP and neither does your trainer. It takes practice to make perfect and practice takes effort.
4. Responsiveness. To be proactive in today's society you must learn to respond quickly to changes in your daily activities. Reacting is simply knee-jerking, while responding involves learned skills, helping you make decisions more quickly. Never waste time and energy complaining.
When I am teaching people how to become certified canine instructors we discuss what I call the passive method: "Maybe it will go away." Maybe it would not. "Maybe he'll outgrow it." "Maybe he would not." Even if he will, it is a rather poor way to handle a dog problem. How many couches can you afford to lose waiting for him to outgrow the chewing stage? Some dogs left uncorrected, chew their way from birth to senility, but any dog can learn to be happy chewing a bone once he learns the no-no's from the yes-yeses. This method does not work in our daily lives and most certainly does not work in training your dog. Be proactive and tackle that next challenge, no matter what it is, and respond!
5. Learning. You should always support and promote lifelong learning. Train yourself (and your dog) to be a learner by using books, tapes, training classes and other programs to enrich your lives. There is no greater satisfaction that learning something new and applying that knowledge in our daily lives. What was the last thing that you learned and how to you apply it today?
6. Innovate. Find different and better ways to solve problems. Learn how to become more creative by visiting your library or searching the Internet. In your quest in training your dog there are so many different and innovative techniques you can use to work through problems and training dilemmas. We at Denver Dog Works are all experts in learning theory and curriculum innovation. We take the most up to date methods and test them daily to see if what you saw on that National Geographic show really works and if we find that they do, or more importantly, don't, we pass that along to our clients.
7. Cutting Back. In our daily lives we are all looking for ways to cut back on expenses and spending such as travel and entertainment. We are holding off buying new cars, appliances, and clothes. But did you know that Americans spend more on their pets that music, movies and video games combined? While I am not suggesting that you don't pamper your pet. I am sure you do. I do splurge on occasion with mine. Use your money wisely and enroll in a dog training program that will give you a good return on your investment. Basic obedience, while a necessity to most, can save you thousands of dollars if your dog thinks your Italian leather couch is a chew toy, or a sports program such as agility or fly ball will provide you with endless hours of low cost fun for your family and your dog.
8. Energy. Stay enthusiastic and forward thinking. Make work fun and exciting. Allow negative discussion but respond with, "What is the worst thing that can happen?" Times are tough. We all know that. Many people have lost their jobs, their retirement, their 401K, and everything else. As a small business owner I am feeling the fear of this economy but I am not letting me get me down. I am taking advantage of this time to start new marketing programs and training classes. Did you know that the businesses that made it through the great depression of the 1930's did not sit back and have a wait and see attitude? They went for it and challenged the normal way of thinking.
In terms of dog training and energy; make your training fun with your dog. Dog training classes are very affordable and allow you to get out of the drudge of the day-to-day stressors and make a difference in you and your dog's relationship and bond and it just might bring your family closer together as well.
9. Accountability. You should be a role model for others by taking responsibility for every decision that you make. Know that you always have three choices: take it, leave it, or change it. So challenge yourself by asking, "So, what's the plan?" If you are a Denver Bronco fan I am sure you know that our quarterback is not only being a cry baby and asking for a trade because he doesn't like the coach but it also shows that he has no accountability for his actions. In terms of dog training: do you want to be the owner who's dog is always getting into fights at the dog park or who jumps on your friends and family when they come over for dinner? No? Then make a choice and change that behavior and enroll in a dog training class or two.
10. Goals. In your daily life you must have a clear account of your goals and keep them in mind at all times. You will not be able to thrive in the chaotic time if you do not have clear objectives. The same goes with dog training. Often we hear from a client that they want their dog to perform at a certain level in a brief period of time and often that is not possible. There are T.V. shows on that fuel this obsession. We are an immediate gratification culture. We want it all and we want it now. That is not just not possible in dog training, or anything else in life for that matter.
So I encourage you, go out there and make a difference. Go out there and change somebody's life for the better. Make your business better if you are an entrepreneur or your company better if you are an employee. Make your dog happier by giving him the greatest gift of all: training. Yes, times are tough but don't let the chaos change your lives. Go out and empower change because we can't wait for someone else to do it.
__________________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the host of The Dog Doctor Radio Show and is the training director of Denver Dog Works and The Ineka Project in Colorado. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sport Racing
Sport Racing
By Robert Forto, PhD
This Saturday, March, 7th marks the official start of this year’s Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. The Dog Doctor Radio Show hosted by Dr. Robert Forto and presented by Denver Dog Works in Colorado is hosting a show on the sport of dog sledding and the Iditarod. A special announcement is also being made by Dr. Robert Forto of his intentions to run the Iditarod in 2013. Dr. Robert Forto has been a professional musher since 1990 and had to “retire” from dog sledding for a while when “life got in the way” and he had to follow his wife to Denver when she transferred jobs.
“I encourage all of you to listen to this very special airing of the Dog Doctor Radio Show; it will be a show you won’t want to miss! This article is a segment from my doctorate dissertation titled Chasing the Dream: A History of Human-Canine Communication in the Sport of Dog Sledding. This is a sport that is my passion in life,” says Dr. Forto
The Dog Doctor Radio Show can be downloaded from iTunes or by visiting: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor
Sport Racing
The Beginning
Dog racing began long before the invention of the sled. It goes back to when men first began to use dogs to pull small burdens by a simple leather thong. At that juncture in history a strange phenomenon began to unfold. Man discovered that the dogs are fiercely competitive in the hunt, but are not naturally competitive in a race against time to reach a given point. They will compete to catch a rabbit or other small game, but without incentive of the hunt they merely played at running.
However, once a dog is hitched to any burden with a man behind him, for some reason the dog acquires the competitive spirit to race. When the dogs are harnessed to a sled, they become frantic if another team passes them on the trail—but only when a man is with them.
The annuals of history are replete with indications that primitive man raced dogs against each other—if only one dog against another, dragging burdens by leather thongs around their necks. Every early record of encounters with Native Alaskans mentions dogs, and many allude to the racing of them.
The first race in continental North America was held at the St. Paul Winter Carnival in Minnesota in the early 1900’s. In this area, the fur trade was big business and dogs were used more extensively as the Native Americans began to be involved in commerce, and required transportation of more than just their supplies and their belonging. Then later on, the transportation route between St. Paul, Minnesota and Winnipeg, Canada eventually developed into a race event, the St. Paul Winter Carnival Race, that was made famous in the early 1990’s Disney movie, “Iron Will.”
In Alaska the gold rush brought a lot of people and a lot of international attention to the North. The books of Jack London and the poems of Robert Service made the gold rush in the Yukon, or on the Yukon River and in the Klondike famous. Dogs figured predominately in these literary works. The stories of Buck in The Call of the Wild and White Fang were read by hundreds of thousands of people at the time, and they are still best sellers in some areas.
When the gold rush moved on to Nome, Alaska, many miners and prospectors moved with it. One of those people was Scotty Allan, who had come originally from Scotland as a trainer and handler of horses. When he went to Canada and the Klondike, he got into mushing dogs for a living. When he later went to Nome, he got a job with a mercantile hardware company called The Darling. Darling was the owner’s name, and Allan transported supplies from Nome to the outlying camps using Darling’s sled dogs.
In the American West cities had begun to imagine that they needed to be doing something more, they needed to become cities where children could be raised and people were decent. In the West they would probably have an opera, build an opera house, and start to invite opera companies to come and perform. It was vastly different in Alaska.
All Alaska Sweepstakes
In Nome, Alaska the idea was to develop a kennel club, and races for kids first of all were organized. After a while, they decided they needed a major event like the Kentucky Derby, which would be a social event as much as a sporting event. One of the attorneys in town was from Kentucky, and he and the people of Nome hit on the idea of having a long distance sled dog race, which became the Alaska Sweepstakes. For the first years of the race Scotty Allan was the winner and, if not the winner, he was one of the contenders. Later on there were a number of people who had heard about dogs in Siberia which were claimed to be faster or to have better endurance. Several expeditions brought dogs from Siberia over to Alaska. A lot of them were inbred with the native Alaskan dogs. Some of the people continued to race the dogs that were already there in Alaska, which were crosses between hunting dogs and whatever dogs the gold rush had brought. They did recognize, though, that those dogs from Siberia were a little bit different.
The Alaska Sweepstakes fast became a big media event. As the attention of the world was sometimes drawn to the gold rush in Nome, these races caught the imagination of the journalists, writers and the public who read the newspapers. As the news spread, some of these dogs made it south to California as early as 1914, and some of them were used in races started by the new mushing enthusiasts. Most likely, in 1914 or 1915, races were begun in The Pas, Manitoba and other places that had seasonal snow.
A lot of these races were related to using these dogs as working animals, and of the dogs spent most of their careers working in harness, hauling supplies and people around. Then for a short period every winter and spring, these dog drivers would participate in the races, which was their claim to fame; but racing was not the dogs’ full time profession.
Racing in The “Lower 48”
Then in 1925 came the diphtheria serum run. It brought a lot more attention to the dogs resulting in a statue in Central Park, New York of one of the leaders, Balto. Leonhard Seppala claimed it was Togo who deserved the credit though. But at the time dog mushing had spread across North America, and very soon, there were races in New England and in the western states—California, Idaho, and in The Pas, Manitoba. But racing in Alaska was still a big time event.
In the 1920’s, the famous were Leonhard Seppala and a French Canadian named Emile St. Godard. They had different types of dogs. Seppala had the dogs that would later become known as Siberians, although they were not called Siberians at the time, but he was not concerned with registering them. St. Godard had a cross of the native husky type dogs and long-legged coursing dogs like greyhounds and stagehounds. The mushers would load their dogs into box car trains in The Pas and the mushers in New England would load their dogs and travel to The Pas, and they would all go to race in Ashton, Idaho in a race that was to become the Great American Dog Derby.
At this point dog mushing was on a roll. There was an exhibition sled dog race at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1932. There were major races with a lot of publicity throughout North America. Companies, or a company’s owner with a fair amount of money sponsored many of the teams of that day. A man from Chicago who would come up on vacation to The Pas area sponsored St. Godard. He used to tell St. Godard that he was in the meat packing business. Later on there were some people who claimed that he was actually in the Mafia, and describing his profession as a meat packer was one way of putting it.
Although mushing was popular, there were some in New England who felt there was just not enough activity. They thought it would be a lot simpler to award prizes to the dogs without having to race them, so they created two breeds, which they called the Siberian Husky and the Malamute. Rather than determining which dogs were the best because of their racing performance, they would just write down on a piece of paper a breed standard and award prizes because the dogs looked like they ought to be good. This was the foundation of the breed clubs for both dogs, and they continue to this day under the umbrella of the American Kennel Club.
There is at least one account of a breeder/musher named Eva “Short” Seeley who went through her kennel and picked out dogs and decided arbitrarily that this dog was going to be a Siberian Husky, and that dog is going to be a Malamute. Supposedly, some of the Siberians and Malamutes were in the same litter. Fortunately, in Alaska and other parts of the country where dogs were still being used for working, people did not pay any attention to that. Leonhard Seppala did not either for long. He went on for a while breeding white dogs, but then he decided on another type of dog. This had some consequences. In the next twenty years dog mushing did go into a decline. World War II had something to do with it. There were some uses for dogs during the war, but on a large scale, mushing activities in North America, even after the war ended.
Then the races were restarted in Alaska, along with some in New England. They were restarted in The Pas in the early fifties after a delay related to the war. It was a slow period in the sport, and the hope of its revival, because of national and international publicity in the 1920’s and 30’s and the participation in the Winter Olympics, did not happen.
In the early seventies there was a feeling among some people that the big event or the big part of the sport that needed to be saved in order for the sport to survive was open class mushing. During that time a lot of people were saying that they had to have a lot more participation in the open class; they have got to have more people involved so that they can have more open teams. Many people did not get involved because they were not ready to make the kind of commitment it takes to have thirty or forty dogs in their yard. There were a lot of obstacles in those days, and if a musher was not willing to make the commitment, their efforts would often be fruitless. It was those mushers who did make the commitment, who dedicated themselves to dog mushing, who gave up other professions to be dog mushers even through it was not very profitable, may have sustained or saved the sport.
The Iditarod
Many mushers in the 1960’s big ambition was to win the North American or the Rendezvous, which were the biggest mushing events in the world. It was their thought that if they could become famous, they could make a career out of that. Most of these mushers failed to make ends meet. Then in 1973, the Iditarod started. Some of those same mushers scoffed at it and said that mushers would never make it to Nome. They said, the race was never going to be anything. But it immediately became an event, because in a sense, it was a throwback race. It inspired people like the early dog races did. It was more of what the general public imagined dog sledding should be—that is working together with the dogs for long periods of time. When the Iditarod came along it immediately went into the forefront of the sport, and it helped to publicize the sport and bring people back into it.
A Sled Dog in Every State and Europe
About the same time inflation hit an all time high in the United States, the price of gasoline skyrocketed and dog food prices went up. People could not afford to travel anymore. In the 1980’s some other races came on and expanded the sport. The John Beargrease Marathon in Minnesota and the Alpirod in Europe are just two. Again the naysayers had their reservations. Many were opposed to the idea of racing in Europe saying it was a lot of nonsense, that mushing originated in North America and was going to stay in North America, and nobody was going to claim our glory. What was true is that new ideas were being developed in Europe, and that is still true. If a person was to look through a European sled dog publication, they would see all kinds of crazy ideas, and equipment and things that which have not been developed here in North America.
The Alpirod, the first big stage race in a long time, was a European invention. Maybe North Americans were just a bit too inflexible. We in North America have not thought of ways to promote the sport, and that is still true today.
When the Alpirod ended, because some big political and economic problems in France, it really did not make a big impact. There were other races that started. People in Europe were training dogs races and continue to do so because that is the way they enjoy working with their dogs. People in the United States and Canada, who may have planned to run the Alpirod, had to redirect their efforts, and focused on some new races like the rejuvenated The Pas race and The Yukon Quest. The races in Alaska continued to grow as well.
Today there are many races held throughout the winter months in the United States, as long as there is enough snow. Some notable races are the Race to the Sky in Montana, The UP-200 in Michigan, the Triple Crown races in Colorado, The International Pedigree Stage Stop Race and Atta-Boy 300 stage races in Wyoming and Oregon. Sprint and middle distance races are held each year in Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Wisconsin and various other cold weather locales.
The future of the sport is very bright. A lot of people are running dogs, people are out having fun—recreational mushers who race small teams are the base of the sport today. Their common thread is they like the outdoors and they like to work with their dogs. Many a recreational mushers run dogs in winter carnivals and events put on by hundreds of breed and sled dog clubs throughout North America and Canada. Racing is being done in countries like Australia and Chilé, were they use three-wheeled carts instead of sleds. And as an added bonus the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports was formed with the sole purpose of getting the sport of dog sledding back into the Olympics. There is resurgence in making the Siberian a dual-purpose working dog, on the trail and in the show ring. These areas are where this researcher’s interest truly lie and is the purpose of this dissertation.
Summary
In summary, mushing has been popular for many hundreds of years. Events like the Alaskan Sweepstakes, the Nome diphtheria epidemic and later the establishments of the Iditarod have all contributed to its lure. Mushing has also been aversely affected to some degree or another by such circumstances as were presented in World War II. In spite of setbacks, the sport of mushing has been able to rebound and flourish today and is in fact becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
_____________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the host of a weekly show The Dog Doctor Radio Show it can be heard at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
By Robert Forto, PhD
This Saturday, March, 7th marks the official start of this year’s Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. The Dog Doctor Radio Show hosted by Dr. Robert Forto and presented by Denver Dog Works in Colorado is hosting a show on the sport of dog sledding and the Iditarod. A special announcement is also being made by Dr. Robert Forto of his intentions to run the Iditarod in 2013. Dr. Robert Forto has been a professional musher since 1990 and had to “retire” from dog sledding for a while when “life got in the way” and he had to follow his wife to Denver when she transferred jobs.
“I encourage all of you to listen to this very special airing of the Dog Doctor Radio Show; it will be a show you won’t want to miss! This article is a segment from my doctorate dissertation titled Chasing the Dream: A History of Human-Canine Communication in the Sport of Dog Sledding. This is a sport that is my passion in life,” says Dr. Forto
The Dog Doctor Radio Show can be downloaded from iTunes or by visiting: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor
Sport Racing
The Beginning
Dog racing began long before the invention of the sled. It goes back to when men first began to use dogs to pull small burdens by a simple leather thong. At that juncture in history a strange phenomenon began to unfold. Man discovered that the dogs are fiercely competitive in the hunt, but are not naturally competitive in a race against time to reach a given point. They will compete to catch a rabbit or other small game, but without incentive of the hunt they merely played at running.
However, once a dog is hitched to any burden with a man behind him, for some reason the dog acquires the competitive spirit to race. When the dogs are harnessed to a sled, they become frantic if another team passes them on the trail—but only when a man is with them.
The annuals of history are replete with indications that primitive man raced dogs against each other—if only one dog against another, dragging burdens by leather thongs around their necks. Every early record of encounters with Native Alaskans mentions dogs, and many allude to the racing of them.
The first race in continental North America was held at the St. Paul Winter Carnival in Minnesota in the early 1900’s. In this area, the fur trade was big business and dogs were used more extensively as the Native Americans began to be involved in commerce, and required transportation of more than just their supplies and their belonging. Then later on, the transportation route between St. Paul, Minnesota and Winnipeg, Canada eventually developed into a race event, the St. Paul Winter Carnival Race, that was made famous in the early 1990’s Disney movie, “Iron Will.”
In Alaska the gold rush brought a lot of people and a lot of international attention to the North. The books of Jack London and the poems of Robert Service made the gold rush in the Yukon, or on the Yukon River and in the Klondike famous. Dogs figured predominately in these literary works. The stories of Buck in The Call of the Wild and White Fang were read by hundreds of thousands of people at the time, and they are still best sellers in some areas.
When the gold rush moved on to Nome, Alaska, many miners and prospectors moved with it. One of those people was Scotty Allan, who had come originally from Scotland as a trainer and handler of horses. When he went to Canada and the Klondike, he got into mushing dogs for a living. When he later went to Nome, he got a job with a mercantile hardware company called The Darling. Darling was the owner’s name, and Allan transported supplies from Nome to the outlying camps using Darling’s sled dogs.
In the American West cities had begun to imagine that they needed to be doing something more, they needed to become cities where children could be raised and people were decent. In the West they would probably have an opera, build an opera house, and start to invite opera companies to come and perform. It was vastly different in Alaska.
All Alaska Sweepstakes
In Nome, Alaska the idea was to develop a kennel club, and races for kids first of all were organized. After a while, they decided they needed a major event like the Kentucky Derby, which would be a social event as much as a sporting event. One of the attorneys in town was from Kentucky, and he and the people of Nome hit on the idea of having a long distance sled dog race, which became the Alaska Sweepstakes. For the first years of the race Scotty Allan was the winner and, if not the winner, he was one of the contenders. Later on there were a number of people who had heard about dogs in Siberia which were claimed to be faster or to have better endurance. Several expeditions brought dogs from Siberia over to Alaska. A lot of them were inbred with the native Alaskan dogs. Some of the people continued to race the dogs that were already there in Alaska, which were crosses between hunting dogs and whatever dogs the gold rush had brought. They did recognize, though, that those dogs from Siberia were a little bit different.
The Alaska Sweepstakes fast became a big media event. As the attention of the world was sometimes drawn to the gold rush in Nome, these races caught the imagination of the journalists, writers and the public who read the newspapers. As the news spread, some of these dogs made it south to California as early as 1914, and some of them were used in races started by the new mushing enthusiasts. Most likely, in 1914 or 1915, races were begun in The Pas, Manitoba and other places that had seasonal snow.
A lot of these races were related to using these dogs as working animals, and of the dogs spent most of their careers working in harness, hauling supplies and people around. Then for a short period every winter and spring, these dog drivers would participate in the races, which was their claim to fame; but racing was not the dogs’ full time profession.
Racing in The “Lower 48”
Then in 1925 came the diphtheria serum run. It brought a lot more attention to the dogs resulting in a statue in Central Park, New York of one of the leaders, Balto. Leonhard Seppala claimed it was Togo who deserved the credit though. But at the time dog mushing had spread across North America, and very soon, there were races in New England and in the western states—California, Idaho, and in The Pas, Manitoba. But racing in Alaska was still a big time event.
In the 1920’s, the famous were Leonhard Seppala and a French Canadian named Emile St. Godard. They had different types of dogs. Seppala had the dogs that would later become known as Siberians, although they were not called Siberians at the time, but he was not concerned with registering them. St. Godard had a cross of the native husky type dogs and long-legged coursing dogs like greyhounds and stagehounds. The mushers would load their dogs into box car trains in The Pas and the mushers in New England would load their dogs and travel to The Pas, and they would all go to race in Ashton, Idaho in a race that was to become the Great American Dog Derby.
At this point dog mushing was on a roll. There was an exhibition sled dog race at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1932. There were major races with a lot of publicity throughout North America. Companies, or a company’s owner with a fair amount of money sponsored many of the teams of that day. A man from Chicago who would come up on vacation to The Pas area sponsored St. Godard. He used to tell St. Godard that he was in the meat packing business. Later on there were some people who claimed that he was actually in the Mafia, and describing his profession as a meat packer was one way of putting it.
Although mushing was popular, there were some in New England who felt there was just not enough activity. They thought it would be a lot simpler to award prizes to the dogs without having to race them, so they created two breeds, which they called the Siberian Husky and the Malamute. Rather than determining which dogs were the best because of their racing performance, they would just write down on a piece of paper a breed standard and award prizes because the dogs looked like they ought to be good. This was the foundation of the breed clubs for both dogs, and they continue to this day under the umbrella of the American Kennel Club.
There is at least one account of a breeder/musher named Eva “Short” Seeley who went through her kennel and picked out dogs and decided arbitrarily that this dog was going to be a Siberian Husky, and that dog is going to be a Malamute. Supposedly, some of the Siberians and Malamutes were in the same litter. Fortunately, in Alaska and other parts of the country where dogs were still being used for working, people did not pay any attention to that. Leonhard Seppala did not either for long. He went on for a while breeding white dogs, but then he decided on another type of dog. This had some consequences. In the next twenty years dog mushing did go into a decline. World War II had something to do with it. There were some uses for dogs during the war, but on a large scale, mushing activities in North America, even after the war ended.
Then the races were restarted in Alaska, along with some in New England. They were restarted in The Pas in the early fifties after a delay related to the war. It was a slow period in the sport, and the hope of its revival, because of national and international publicity in the 1920’s and 30’s and the participation in the Winter Olympics, did not happen.
In the early seventies there was a feeling among some people that the big event or the big part of the sport that needed to be saved in order for the sport to survive was open class mushing. During that time a lot of people were saying that they had to have a lot more participation in the open class; they have got to have more people involved so that they can have more open teams. Many people did not get involved because they were not ready to make the kind of commitment it takes to have thirty or forty dogs in their yard. There were a lot of obstacles in those days, and if a musher was not willing to make the commitment, their efforts would often be fruitless. It was those mushers who did make the commitment, who dedicated themselves to dog mushing, who gave up other professions to be dog mushers even through it was not very profitable, may have sustained or saved the sport.
The Iditarod
Many mushers in the 1960’s big ambition was to win the North American or the Rendezvous, which were the biggest mushing events in the world. It was their thought that if they could become famous, they could make a career out of that. Most of these mushers failed to make ends meet. Then in 1973, the Iditarod started. Some of those same mushers scoffed at it and said that mushers would never make it to Nome. They said, the race was never going to be anything. But it immediately became an event, because in a sense, it was a throwback race. It inspired people like the early dog races did. It was more of what the general public imagined dog sledding should be—that is working together with the dogs for long periods of time. When the Iditarod came along it immediately went into the forefront of the sport, and it helped to publicize the sport and bring people back into it.
A Sled Dog in Every State and Europe
About the same time inflation hit an all time high in the United States, the price of gasoline skyrocketed and dog food prices went up. People could not afford to travel anymore. In the 1980’s some other races came on and expanded the sport. The John Beargrease Marathon in Minnesota and the Alpirod in Europe are just two. Again the naysayers had their reservations. Many were opposed to the idea of racing in Europe saying it was a lot of nonsense, that mushing originated in North America and was going to stay in North America, and nobody was going to claim our glory. What was true is that new ideas were being developed in Europe, and that is still true. If a person was to look through a European sled dog publication, they would see all kinds of crazy ideas, and equipment and things that which have not been developed here in North America.
The Alpirod, the first big stage race in a long time, was a European invention. Maybe North Americans were just a bit too inflexible. We in North America have not thought of ways to promote the sport, and that is still true today.
When the Alpirod ended, because some big political and economic problems in France, it really did not make a big impact. There were other races that started. People in Europe were training dogs races and continue to do so because that is the way they enjoy working with their dogs. People in the United States and Canada, who may have planned to run the Alpirod, had to redirect their efforts, and focused on some new races like the rejuvenated The Pas race and The Yukon Quest. The races in Alaska continued to grow as well.
Today there are many races held throughout the winter months in the United States, as long as there is enough snow. Some notable races are the Race to the Sky in Montana, The UP-200 in Michigan, the Triple Crown races in Colorado, The International Pedigree Stage Stop Race and Atta-Boy 300 stage races in Wyoming and Oregon. Sprint and middle distance races are held each year in Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Wisconsin and various other cold weather locales.
The future of the sport is very bright. A lot of people are running dogs, people are out having fun—recreational mushers who race small teams are the base of the sport today. Their common thread is they like the outdoors and they like to work with their dogs. Many a recreational mushers run dogs in winter carnivals and events put on by hundreds of breed and sled dog clubs throughout North America and Canada. Racing is being done in countries like Australia and Chilé, were they use three-wheeled carts instead of sleds. And as an added bonus the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports was formed with the sole purpose of getting the sport of dog sledding back into the Olympics. There is resurgence in making the Siberian a dual-purpose working dog, on the trail and in the show ring. These areas are where this researcher’s interest truly lie and is the purpose of this dissertation.
Summary
In summary, mushing has been popular for many hundreds of years. Events like the Alaskan Sweepstakes, the Nome diphtheria epidemic and later the establishments of the Iditarod have all contributed to its lure. Mushing has also been aversely affected to some degree or another by such circumstances as were presented in World War II. In spite of setbacks, the sport of mushing has been able to rebound and flourish today and is in fact becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
_____________________
Dr. Robert Forto is the host of a weekly show The Dog Doctor Radio Show it can be heard at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dogdoctor. Dr. Forto can be reached through his website at http://www.denverdogworks.com
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