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The Westminster Dog Show has taken Manhattan (one victim pictured above) and to quote Miss Holly Golightly, “I must say, the mind reels.”

I am laying low, lest an innocent meander in Central Park finds me dragged into the events downtown (unlikely though this may be barring the introduction of a proficiency in sparerib eating component, a low-grade fever of paranoia is the biggest tool in the thinking dog’s survival kit).  For those interested, The New York Times in an ongoing effort to make the Gray Lady sustainable (alas, the plight of most newspapers today) has exhaustive coverage of the show here.

Dear Readers:

I come to you contrite and, if I were to allow my canine nature full play, with my tail firmly between my legs.  While it is not in said position at the moment, neither can I coax it into anything more than an anemic wag.

I find myself emerging from more than 40 days in the wilderness having been first ambushed by the holidays and then driven into my cozy corner by the frigid doldrums of January.

I had been faithful to my daily posting for several months (and, by the way, to almost resisting the extra spare ribs thrown my direction by fate and my owner).  If I were one for excuses, I could point to the challenges of assisting my human collaborators with the finishing touches on A Dog At Sea –but enough with the excuses since it is impossible to imagine a Charles Dickens or Anthoy Trollope (both such fearsomely prolific scribblers) being incapable of a daily post and the finishing of a novel.  After all, it was Trollope who scrolled out a solid 30 to 45 pages in a morning before heading off to work at the Post Office where among other things he invented the Post Box.

Again, I return contrite, with the aim of weighing in thrice-weekly, and also with some news.

First, a thank you to Rhapsody in Books who has cited both my books and this blog (and in doing so helped nudge me out of my corner to face February).   Here is that link It is a most worthy website.

Second, apparently February is “Dog Month” in New York City with events like light suppers in honor of dogs and their owners and, of course, the Westminster Kennel Club Annual Dog Show.  Here is that article.  Needless to say, I will be avoiding these events like the plague.

Third, J.F. Englert was recently interviewed by Milan-based, Italian national magazine, L’Espresso about Yours Truly and the books.  In honor of this occasion (and Italy’s enthusiastic embrace of my misadventures), I paste above the Italian cover for A Dog Among Diplomats.  Forgive my vanity, but I think I look smashing attired by the Italians.

Molte grazie, Grazie tanto, Grazie infinite,

Sincerely,

Randolph

A snowy day in Manhattan with the prospect of a White Christmas very probable.  Here’s some more good news for chastened times, an article about a woman discovering a new career with dogs.

In reading of the recent controversy around the conducting of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony “Resurrection” here in New York, the blog of one of the outspoken members of the Philharmonic was mentioned, a one David Finlayson.  I visited and was surprised and delighted to discover a most excellent link to what I believe is a photographic record of a dog run(s) here in Manhattan.

The biting, frolicking and general mayhem –as well as the fairly sophisticated city dog hygiene and grooming– are all there in the photographs and for those of my non-Manhattan readers who have only imagined the dog run culture from my books, these photos by this talented musician (and photographer) should be enlightening.  I urge a look (the photo above is, I believe, of a New York dog run but not a Finlayson).  One additional bit of trivia, according to a New York Times article, Mr. Finlayson recently married a woman he met as part of a group who congregated with their dogs in Central Park.  Indeed, if Mr. Finlayson reads this blog, he has just earned himself two copies of my books (please contact us Mr. Finlayson).

Here is the link.

In case you don’t know what to do with your money and are afraid that your Pekingnese may suffer injuries after tumbling from a too high bed…Now there are dog stairs.  Here is the article from The Wall Street Journal:

Without fanfare or marketing, the bedding industry has been raising the altitude of its products, satisfying customer preferences for ever-thicker mattresses. Yet that preference is creating a hazard for a tall bed’s shortest occupant: the dog.

Anecdotally, veterinarians across the country report among house dogs a rise in such disorders as elbow and shoulder arthritis, hip dysplasia and degenerative disk disease. As the lifespan of pets rises thanks to better food and medicine, the old dog that once leapt with abandon now hesitates on the edge of bed — or jumps and hurts itself.

Little dogs like the Pekingese are soaring off of high beds without fear. “For a little dog to take a flying leap off a bed that’s five to six times higher than he stands is an act of courage, and a recipe for injury,” says Stephen Crane, an academic animal doctor and diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

The peril is too new to have generated peer-reviewed veterinary research. But the problem is evident in the white-hot popularity of a relatively new product: pet stairs, specifically designed to lead Fido from bed to floor by land rather than air.

Pet stairs are one of the fastest-growing categories at national pet retailers such as Drs. Foster & Smith Inc., which offers five models ranging from $40 to $170. Vermont-based Orvis, the upscale outdoors retailer, launched its first pet staircase four years ago and now carries four, including a $200 carpet-and-hardwood model. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. offers a $64 variety, while a Web site called Puppy Stairs offers a range of models, from a bare-bones version for $77 to a designer model swathed in heavy-duty foam and washable upholstered covers in decorator fabrics for $535.

CONTINUED HERE

A group of scientists in Austria confirms what we have long suspected.  Please be fair to your charges.  As for Yours Truly with an apartment devoid of snacks and Harry not considering my stomach on this frigid Manhattan night, I feel a strike coming on.  Here is the New York Times link and article below:

With Treats, Dogs Seem to Know What’s Fair

To the list of the qualities of dogs — enthusiastic and steadfast come to mind — can be added another. That pooch of yours, researchers say, may be envious.

Scientists in Austria report in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that a dog may stop obeying a command if it sees that another dog is getting a better deal.

In this way dogs may be showing a sensitivity that is similar to, although perhaps more primitive than, that shown by chimpanzees and some monkeys. Until now those primates were the only nonhumans to show what is called “inequity aversion” in the absence of a reward.

The finding may come as no surprise to some dog owners, and it didn’t completely surprise Friederike Range, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna who led the study.

“We have a dog at home,” she said, “and I know how jealous she is of different people and situations.”

The study tried to quantify the behavior by using well-trained dogs that readily offer a paw on command. The researchers used two dogs side by side but treated them differently, giving one a better reward (sausage) and the other a lesser one (bread) when the paw was given, or giving one dog no reward at all.

They found that the quality of the reward made little difference. But in the case in which one dog got no treat at all, that dog became less and less inclined to obey the command.

Apologies for not returning to my post sooner, but apparently there is some ingredient in turkey that acts as a soporific and I have been sluggish since Thursday.  I have only just now managed to nose my way back onto the Internet and appropriately found this tidbit on regulations that if instituted would whisk the owners of most Labrador retrievers and the fellow above to jail for failing to curb their  gargantuan appetites by means of the strictest of diets.  Let us hope that the nanny state remains at bay at least until the over feedings and dropped delectables of the holidays is complete.
Here is that story.

Yours Truly is preparing himself for the national feast with a fast which will prevent posting tomorrow because of low blood sugar then there will be the feast itself which will preclude posting because of a Labrador’s power to focus on the matter at hand.  Above is an authentic re-enactment of that first Thanksgiving.  Safe travels and prodigious eating to all!  I will return to my post on Friday if all delectables have been successfully digested.

Ah, the unlikely has happened: dog shoots man.  Here is the story (if the shooter wasn’t a Labrador I’d have my doubts about its innocent intentions):

PORTLAND, Ore. —  Henry Marcum has nothing but kind words for the dog that shot his 23-year-old son this weekend.

I would add to the following five “tips”, the following: “6. Feed your dog amply and repeat as necessary. A human cannot possibly appreciate the role of stomach in the life of a dog, especially if that dog is a Labrador retriever in which case an empty stomach can be genuinely disruptive to pleasant relations between species.”

No matter his size or breed, any dog will bite under the right circumstances, so it’s up to owners to take steps to keep their dog under control.  Some tips, from the American Kennel Association.

1. Research dog breeds before you bring one into your home. Some need considerable training and exercise if you’re going to keep them under control. Do you have the time and commitment they’ll require?

2. Don’t let your dog run free. Keep your dog on a leash when in public. Keep him behind a secure fence at home. Sure, an electronic fence might keep your dog in your yard, but how will you keep people and their pets away?

3. Socialize your dog. Start socializing him from Day One so he’s not uneasy with strangers. Even loving dogs may bite when they feel threatened.

4. Train your dog. He needs to respond to basic commands like  “sit,” “down,” “stay,” “heel,” and “come.” He needs to drop toys on command so you don’t have to reach into his mouth to get a toy. Play non-aggressive games like fetch rather than with games that will teach him bad habits like tug-of-war.

5. Do not set your dog up for failure. Be cautious when introducing your dog to new situations, avoid situations where he might be teased, and remove him if there are signs he’s uncomfortable.

(source http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/pets/top5/6122623.html)