Modern Dog magazine | the best dog magazine ever

April 8, 2013 by Steve Duno

What it would look like if we could see the way dogs smell? Would it be like a Scottish moor, hazed and thick, with ghosts and temptation? Would it look like a map of the land, the boundaries defined by ancient treaty- an ambling, acrid line of scent separating what is yours from what is mine? Would it be good to know what the neighbors down the street are having for dinner, or merely a nagging temptation?

And what of sight? A less colorful world for sure, but what meat eater

Bark!

March 10, 2013 by Steve Duno

Two doors down lives a neighbor with a gaggle of dogs- bigs, mediums, squeakers- a lot of dogs in a big dog yard, the whole outside fenced in, gravel and dirt, trails worn down into the earth like primeval bison paths chiseled into the Great Plains. Outside dogs, 20 hours a day, brought inside later than I bed down and put out earlier than I rise, probably not full-on house dogs eight months out of the year due to the wet Seattle Falls, Winters, Springs, early Summers, mud and dog stink,

Steve Duno, Dogma, Barking

Breed-O-Rama

February 14, 2013 by Steve Duno

I watched the Westminster Dog show the other night. Though I do not breed or show, I still find it loads of fun to watch. But I couldn’t help noticing that there seem to be more and more breeds that I know little or nothing about. As the co-author of one of the first breed-

Pet Peeves

January 14, 2013 by Steve Duno

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, so in order to purge, I need to whine a bit about a few things that bug me:

The Tao of Dog Nail

December 12, 2012 by Steve Duno

Imagine if, each time you tried to trim your nails, you ran the risk of losing a pint of blood. What strange biology, this “quick-” aptly named I think for how easily they are cut, how rapidly they bleed, and how fast your dog runs away the moment you take out the clippers.

Cat Dogs

November 13, 2012 by Steve Duno

Over the years I’ve come to accept the quiet feud going on between dog lovers and cat lovers, an almost ideological disparity that borders on the political (please let’s not start that again). Dog lovers point to the canine’s loyalty, adaptability, trainability, and willingness to please, while cat lovers insist that the feline’s love of independence, it’s autonomy, its wild mystery– these are traits to

Dog and Pony Act

October 21, 2012 by Steve Duno

Dogs and horses fascinate me. Both pack (or herd) animals, both full of bluster and libido, both wedded to a hierarchical style of group think. Bombastic, loyal, athletic, with real personalities, likes and dislikes. And, both have nearly immeasurable histories with us, which helped to shape and define our own culture. Really, where would we be without them?

But there are fundamental differences. Horses are herbivorous prey animals, while dogs are carnivorous predators. Horses

5 Owner Bones to Pick

September 17, 2012 by Steve Duno

Here are my five current nitpicks about dog owners:

PORK

NEWSFLASH: When you consistently feed your dog much more food and treats than she needs (not wants), SHE GETS BIG. And the most bizarre thing is that owners just don't see it. Let me ask: how can you not see the calluses on your dog's belly?

I'm constantly amazed at how many overweight dogs I see these days, as opposed to twenty years ago, when you usually had to search retirement homes and butcher shops to find a

Baked

August 15, 2012 by Steve Duno

Here in Seattle, we've pretty much escaped the heat wave that the rest of the country has been suffering through. So, when I took big, fifteen year-old Flavio with me to a radio station interview last week, I made sure that he would be in the car for as little time as possible, even though the temperature was only a pleasant 72 or so.

On the way home, I stopped for two minutes to drop off a DVD rental. Flavio lay in the back, panting a bit- something he does now due to the slow

Dog Park Revelations

July 6, 2012 by Steve Duno

I often take my pit/shepherd mix Rico to Magnuson Park in Seattle, where the city maintains one of the nicest off-leash dog parks around. With a square front field of several acres and a winding, half-mile gravel path down to a doggy beach, it's a place where most dogs can stretch their legs, work out social issues, have a nice swim or run, and tire themselves out. I love going, not only to tire out the tireless Rico, but to watch dog behavior in action. Unlike some indoor doggy daycares or Read more...