The Dog days of summer

Haven't posted in a few days as I have been tied up with our new puppy and I have to say I missed it. As hesitant as I was about starting a blog, I find that it's something that I now look forward to as an outlet and as a regular part of my daily routine. Besides pee breaks, walks and rescuing my couch from biting, I have spent the last few days reading Cesar Milan's book "Cesar's Way" in hopes of gaining insight into the craziness that I have self-inflicted by bringing a dog into my life. For those of you familiar with Cesar's show "The Dog Whisperer" the book's main focus reiterates Cesar's mainstays of dog handling, being a calm-assertive leader for your dog and providing him with an outlet for his energy through the tried and true dog walk. He also describes in great detail about how we as humans create the behavioral "issues" that our dogs have by the way in which we interact with them, more specifically he points out the root of all problems for most American dog owners is that we humanize our pets. 

Reflecting back on my previous pets over the years I can now see easily where I went wrong and what behaviors I encouraged in my dog through humanization. I can't help but wonder what it is about dogs that make us behave in this manner. While it is true that in more recent years dogs have become a huge part of pop culture and in some cases even the latest designer accessories, historically we as Americans have always held our furry four-legged friends in high regard. Check out this Time magazine article for further proof, it seems that even the great leaders of our nation can't help but humanize man's best friend. Perhaps we simply need to start thinking of our canine companions less as friends and more as the animals that they instinctually crave to be, and if that seems impossible maybe we should consider what it is that compels us to bring a dog into our lives in the first place.