[tioga]

Not a philippic speech, but a good recommendation. Just read Robert Crais' book Suspect. ..... .....the book is about a trained Marine dog named Maggie who's handler died while Maggie was wounded in Afghanistan. After her recovery, she is donated to the LAPD where a wounded police officer spots her and wants her for his K-9 partner. They were both scarred and wounded and nearly died. It was fascinating. Some chapters were from Maggie's POV. With a new puppy in the house I enjoyed it.

One tip from the K-9 instructor in the book was to pet the dog from the head to her tail...I tried that and my puppy insisted on getting up on my lap and really responds to the petting. She licks me and gazes up at me when I pet her like that. There must be something to it. The trainer in the books says it's how the mother dog groomed the puppies and they like it. Really worked with my dog.

All in all, he is a great story teller despite the dog tips.

[Texan5]

I’ll have to check that out-thanks! I stroke my dog and cats both like that-a vet told me about it when we got our Chow, and we did not want him to become dangerous at home, like guard dog breeds can be without the proper attention and handling.

[SoothingDave]

I don’t think I understand. How else would I pet an animal, tail to head? That really makes the cat mad when you mess up their fur like that.