books like mine – Kari Neumeyer

My Top Five

I was asked to write a list of my five favorite dog books for a website fittingly called Shepherd. Have a look. It’s hard to narrow down my favorites to just five, but these are ones I recommend all the time.

An Inspiring New Dog Food Pyramid

This month’s Positive Pet Training Blog Hop theme is mentors and inspiration. If you’ve read Bark and Lunge (and I recommend you do!), you know I have a complicated history with trainers. The first few gave very bad advice. Then we met a positive reinforcement trainer who changed our lives by helping save Isis fromContinue reading “An Inspiring New Dog Food Pyramid”

Looking ridiculous doesn’t make us unconventional

The theme for this month’s Positive Pet Training Blog Hop is Unconventional Training. Even though I look strange squealing “cheesy” at my dog when strangers walk, run, ride, or roll past us, I don’t think my String Cheese Method is unconventional at all. Reward-based training, to me, is the most basic, obvious method of trainingContinue reading “Looking ridiculous doesn’t make us unconventional”

Writing outside with wifi and dogs

I am so close to finishing my novel, Fight Like a Lady. And by finishing, I mean writing an ending so I can go back and revise the hell out of the beginning and middle. The climactic scene involves a gun, so you can imagine how much I felt like working on it whenContinue reading “Writing outside with wifi and dogs”

That stupid Pack Leader myth

The dog world is having the hardest time freeing itself from the pervasive myth of Dominance Theory. Not even positive trainers get it right all the time. The first reward-based training class I took began like this: The trainer explained that all our dogs’ problems began at home. “Does this sound familiar to anyone? Your dog free-feeds, meaning he eatsContinue reading “That stupid Pack Leader myth”

Top 6 Dog Books for Veterans Day

I was reminded how much respect and gratitude people in this country have for veterans when I went to Disney World last month with Rob’s dad, a career Navy man. When he wore his Retired Navy hat, total strangers thanked him for his service all day long, sometimes bringing a tear to his eye. Today,Continue reading “Top 6 Dog Books for Veterans Day”

How to respond to a stolen photo on the internet

While scrolling through Instagram this morning, I discovered a 2007 picture of my very own baby girl, Isis, three and a half months old, with a soccer ball in her mouth. Normally I would be thrilled that The German Shepherd World reposted my photo, since that’s entirely what the feed does. Except… I’ve never shared this picture on Instagram,Continue reading “How to respond to a stolen photo on the internet”

When you know better, you do better

I accidentally posted the perfect blog last week for this month’s Positive Pet Training Blog Hop theme: Improvements/Successes. If you haven’t read Leo vs. the Track Team, check it out after you read this one, and be sure to hop on down the Linky List of my fellow bloggers. To continue on the theme of Improving asContinue reading “When you know better, you do better”

U is for Understood

The best part of publishing Isis’s story, Bark and Lunge, has been getting feedback from other dog owners who relate to our experience. Some fellow dog-bloggers have been very kind to review the book on their sites, and I’ve excerpted their reviews on my Media page. Last week, I commented on this great post byContinue reading “U is for Understood”

J is for Job

I’ve often heard that dogs need jobs. A bored dog is a destructive dog. A tired dog is a well-behaved dog. Full disclosure: Leo and Mia live lives of leisure. I’ve tried finding a career path for Leo. We’ve done Rally-O, nose work, jogging. We have agility equipment in the backyard. Leo will do theContinue reading “J is for Job”