Doggie diaries: The story of Rosie and Sophie Getting pointers from TV’s Dog Whisperer

Annie and I were watching The Dog Whisperer tonight — and so were the dogs. The show stars a dog trainer — Cesar Milan — who takes difficult cases and rehabilitates them, taking dogs that might otherwise be put down and making them into the kind of family members we all hope our dogs will be.

Our dogs, which have run of the house, do have some behavioral issues — we’ve lost a couch and numerous shoes — but they are pretty good for nine-month-old pups.

Even so, there remains much more that we could be doing — as our dog trainer has pointed out. We need to be more consistent, need to stay in control and show that we are in charge. None of this is easy, especially after long days at work. But we have to make the effort.

In any case, we noticed as we watched that we weren’t the only ones in the house fixated on what was happening on the screen. Rosie and Sophie were engrossed in the show, as well. Maybe they’ll pick up some pointers.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet