Deb D’Andrea, Nederland.  I always enjoy learning new things about my dogs, how to interact with them, things to do with them and ways to enrich our lives together. In previous articles I’ve shared some links, like Dognition (https://www.dognition.com/) where questions are answered regarding dogs’ cognitive abilities through a series of exercises. There is a fee to have you and your dog ‘play’ Dognition online; and your results are added to the other canine citizen scientist results who have participated. From this research, fascinating results are published reflecting the cognitive ability of our beloved canines; canines that are part of our everyday lives versus a pre-selected study group.

A new resource I’ve run across is iSpeakDog (http://www.ispeakdog.org/), a fantastic site filled with amazing information on how to understand your dog, their body language, behavior and various ways to work with them through an issue you may be experiencing. Under their “All About Dogs” category, not only do they have links to discussions around aggression, food stealing, separation anxiety, and how dogs learn; but also, an awesome “Body Language Gallery” with pictures associated with a “Happy, Confident, Comfortable Face,” “Distressed, Scared, Insecure Face,” and much more, including videos of a distressed and non-distressed dog barking. Definitely a treasure trove of information for dog lovers and for people who want to understand more about how dogs speak to us through various facial signals, body language and vocals.

I like iSpeakDog’s straightforward approach to understanding your dog by asking three questions: “1. What is the dog doing? 2. What is the dog’s body language? 3. What is going on?” Through these three simple questions, they offer ways to help understand exactly what your dog is trying to communicate to you and ways to work through undesired behaviors.

I hope you enjoy this website and spend time reading their information to help better understand your dog.

Till next time. Deb D’Andrea, founder of 4TheLuvOfDogz & the Caribou Dog Ranch is recognized by the State of Colorado as a Certified Canine Massage Therapist and visits your home or Vet to work with your dog. Canine Agility may be offered at the Caribou Dog Ranch in 2017 if there is interest. Deb currently has limited availability for new Petz Nanny Clients; and she bakes up fresh dog treats & doggy birthday cakes per order. For information contact Deb at 720-675-7078 or email: info@4theluvofdogz.com.