News: Demand Grows for Phsychiatric Service Dogs

It's common knowledge that dogs can be trained to give people who are blind a greater degree of independence. But it may come as a surprise to learn that dogs are increasingly being used in the field of psychiatry -- in essence, seeing eye dogs for the mind. ideastream®'s Eric Wellman reports.

Baron, a brown labrador retriever dons a vest and leads Tracy Corso into an Oberlin supermarket. Eight years ago, Corso wasn’t able to leave her house let alone go shopping. She suffers from severe post traumatic stress disorder, having survived physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents. Read More

Our Thanksgiving Adventure

Shiloh and I chose to spend Thanksgiving (for my International readers who may or may not be familiar with this American Holiday) with my parents and some friends. I decided to take the train instead of driving, because the last time I drove up for Thanksgiving I got stuck halfway back because they closed the freeway due to incredibly heavy snows! Due the busy holiday Amtrak added buses to get people to Portland, so Shiloh and I took a bus partway and were supposed to be on an actual train (See Tails of Trains for details on taking a train for the first time with a service dog or service dog in training) for the rest of the journey.  Due to the chaos created by the increase in traffic for the holiday, what should have been a two hour bus ride with an hour layover in Portland turned into a four hour ride.  Amtrak had made plans for another long distance bus company to take the passengers on the late buses north; sadly, the did not include Shiloh and I in their plans (despite the fact I have called them 48 hours in advance to let them know about my reasonable accommodation requirements). So then, beleiving I would have to stay in Portland overnight (since that's what the Amtrak operator told me) I called my parents. They then got on the phone with Amtrak and started to raise hell. By the time I actually pulled into the station I had five staff looking for me!
I told them I need to take, myself and my dog to the restroom and find something to eat --as I had planned to eat on the train--. They told me they would have an accessible taxi drive me the rest of the way to Tacoma! By the time all was said and done Shiloh and I arrived in Tacoma two and a half hours later than we should have. We travelled by foot, city, bus and taxi. Moral of the story be prepared for anything when you travel and always carry at least two days worth of food for your service dog as you never know what will happen!

Book Review: Bark Magazine What Dogs Know and How They know It

Alexandra Horowitz, The Canine Mindseeker

What do dogs know and how do they know it?

By Claudia Kawczynska

We talk with Alexandra Horowitz, assistant professor of psychology at Barnard College, about her new book, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. This engrossing work is inspired by Horowitz’s experiences with her dog, Pumpernickel, and draws upon her own and others’ research in the field of canine cognition. This book expands our understanding of the nature of dogs and provides a channel to seeing and “smelling” the world from a dog’s point of view.
Bark: Your fascinating new book, Inside of a Dog, begins with a discussion of canine “umwelt.” Can you tell us more about umwelt and how it might affect our understanding of our dogs?
Read More (I'm still reading myself but I wanted to get it up here for you all)

Preparing your Service Dog/Service Dog in Training for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be a wonderful time if you are prepared. I invite all of you to read and add your experiences and suggestions through comments.

Thanksgiving: A Time for Family, Friends, Training, and Caution