When you take your dog’s photograph or bend over to pet him you might notice that your dog turns its head away from you.  Your dog also does this at times when other dogs approach.  This is not a random meaningless motion, it’s a signal. I’ll explain what your dog is saying through this gesture.

K-9 Police dogs and their handlers, assist law enforcement by searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, finding crime scene evidence, and apprehending people targeted by the police.   What does it takes for a dog to become police dog and what is it like to work with a K-9?  My guest today, is Steve Pearson, a former police officer and SWAT commander and owner and trainer at Performance Kennels Inc. a company that selects, and trains patrol, narcotic and explosive detector dogs for law enforcement. He tells on-the-job stories, and describes why German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois make such good detection dogs.

Then, how do you identify if your dog’s barking is about boredom or frustration? What can you do to address the problem and stop the barking? I’ll explain this and tell you the story of how my family inadvertently caused my beagle to bark continually.

Please check out the blog that accompanies this podcast, at www.raisingyourpaws.com.  There you will find articles that expand on the shows, photos and video’s all about raising your four-legged family members.

Resource for the story about a dog’s head turning:  "On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals” by Turid Rugaas.

Performance Kennels, Inc. Website.

Performance Kennels, Inc. Facebook page.

Resource for the story about frustration barking: “Barking, The Sound of a Language” by Turid Rugaas.

For a list of which podcast episodes explain how to identify and solve other kinds of barking, see the blog for episode, number 41 at www.raisingyourpaws.com.