Interesting interview with a dog trainer and author

Modern Farmer: So you’re blurbed as “the Mark Twain of dog writers” on the cover of your new book.

Donald McCaig: Well, any dog writer who has a sense of humor gets that title. They’re generally sort of a humorless bunch.

MF: Really?

DM: It’s a little like theological disputes. There really isn’t a whole lot of difference between the Baptists and the Presbyterians, but don’t tell either one of them that. Well, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between people who use nothing but clicker training and people who use correction methods — but don’t tell either one of them that. Boy, they get mad at each other. I mean real mad, to the point of just one shade this side of libelous. It’s a funny world.

MF: What does having a working animal teach you about being a person?

DM: One of the differences between pets and working animals is that sometimes the working animal is right and you’re wrong. That’s a big difference.