news-record.com

In tomorrow's Life section, there's a story about Cesar Millan, aka the "Dog Whisperer," launching a new magazine. To me, this man knows everything about dogs, and no one can tell me any differently. I have his first book and have read it front to back. I plan on reading it again, now that I've had Greta and Cassie for a few years, to see what I did wrong and how I can correct those mistakes.

In tomorrow's story, it outlines some of the things you'll find in the new magazine, called Cesar's Way. Here's an excerpt from the story: "In a section called Tips & Whispers, the magazine offers the yappiest apps for your iPhone and debunks some dog myths such as this one: A wagging tail is a sign of a happy dog. Fact: Not necessarily. A wagging tail can be a sign of affection. But it can also be a sign of competitive dominance.”

When I read that, I immediately thought of Greta. When we take her into a situation where there are a lot of other dogs, say at a dog park, sometimes we encounter problems. I'm always watching her tail, and it's always wagging, so I think, "She's happy, she's playing." But then a situation might get a little tense with another dog. Greta is very dominant. And when she encounters another dominant dog, well, they might not be BFFs.

After I read that, I started thinking back to all the dogs we've had over to our yard for doggy playdates. There were never incidents with any of those dogs. But none of those dogs were dominant. Greta was queen every time. The only times we've had issues with her were at a dog park and more recently at the Burlington Dogsplash. There were dogs everywhere, playing, having fun, including Greta. And without notice, two happy, tail-wagging dogs were growling.

I thank Cesar for giving me this knowledge now, that a wagging tail isn't always the sign of a happy dog. But now I need him to come help me fix this competitive dominance issue. Hmm.