Welcome to Trainerdan.com!

As a dog trainer, I'm used to hearing myself talk and express strong opinions.  Like the dog training industry as a whole, however, my opinions are also always evolving to take into account new science and new experiences.  Expressing opinions out loud is very different than blogging about them online.  When you say something verbally you can always lie and deny it later.  Once something is online it remains there forever, even if you delete the original post.  For that reason I have a small request to ask of you, my readers.  Please understand that what I say here reflects only my own opinion and only at one particular moment in time.  If it seems, then, that I am without strong convictions, I would ask you to consider the value of holding onto an opinion so hard that you won't entertain any evidence that suggests you might be wrong.  I am proud to be open-minded.

That said, I do have certain unshakeable beliefs.  I believe in the humane treatment of animals.  I believe that dogs and cats (among other animals) have thoughts and feelings that are as valuable and worthy of moral consideration as are those of humans.    I believe that how you treat animals says a lot about you as a person.  It is my strong, considered opinion that science is bearing out my beliefs with every new study of animal cognition.  But even if there was no scientific research at all, I would trust my own intuition- what I feel whenever I look into the eyes of my own dogs and cats.  They may not be human but they have humanity.


It is from this perspective that I look forward to blogging about dog-and-cat-related issues.  From the highs and lows of living with companion animals to the pressing issues at the forefront of behavioral science, I will hopefully entertain and inform you.  I will also likely rant once in a while, so please bear with me.  I feel one coming on soon about folks who drive with small animals riding on their laps...

Stay tuned for more posts and feel free to post your own strongly held convictions in our forum. The site is still under construction so there is much more to come!

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