A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

GOOD DOG

Program 09-04-12-B

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Something's going on with America's dogs. For one thing, they're moving in with us. Forget the backyard dog house – last year, some 47 percent of dog owners reported that their canines slept on the bed with them. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Michael Schaffer. He's been investigating the new dog-friendly America. And we'll get a visit from the Dog Whisperer: Cesar Millan talks about being pack leader.

SEGMENT 1:

Michael Schaffer is the author of "One Nation under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Puppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food." He tells Anne Strainchamps he didn't want to be one of THOSE people who take excessive care of their pets, but found himself realizing that the line between normal and extreme has made a major shift in our culture in the last fifteen years. Pound puppies like Schaffer's St. Bernard, Murphy, are the big winners and Schaffer thinks it's a good thing. Also, psychologist Stanley Coren tells Jim Fleming how the modern dog developed and why they have such an important place in people's lives. Coren's latest book is "The Modern Dog: A Joyful Exploration of How We Live with Dogs Today."

SEGMENT 2:

The Dog Whisperer comes calling! Cesar Millan, author of "A Member of the Family: Cesar Millan's Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog," tells Steve Paulson that dogs need exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. He talks about being a pack leader and eliciting a calm submissive state in your animals. Also, Temple Grandin, co-author (with Catherine Johnson) of "Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals" tells Steve Paulson she worries about pets in our modern society; critiques Cesar Millan's techniques as being appropriate only for large unrelated packs of dogs; and opposes the breeding of so-called criminal dogs.

SEGMENT 3:

Maureen Adams tells Jim Fleming about the dogs who were the companions and inspiration of some of our greatest women writers. Her book is "Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte."

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-04-12-B.

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Books & CDs:

Michael Schaffer, One Nation under Dog: Adventures in the New World of Prozac-Popping Pupppies, Dog-Park Politics, and Organic Pet Food (Henry Holt)
Temple Grandin & Catherine Johnson, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Cesar Millan, A Member of the Family: Cesar Millan’s Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog (Harmony Books)
Stanley Coren, The Modern Dog: A Joyful Exploration of How We Live with Dogs Today (Free Press)
Maureen Adams, Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte (Ballantine Books)

Music:

• After Schaffer: Old Dogs Bill Staines "Old Dogs" Tr. 1 Red House Records RHR CD 208 CX 5127
  
• After Coren: Elvis Presley "Hound Dog" Tr. 3 from Elvis 30 #1 Hits RCA 07863 68079-2 (Liebert/Stoller ASCAP)
  
• Option 1: Bill Staines Tr. 13 "Andies's Air" Tr. 13 Red House Records RHR CD 208 CX 5127
  
• After Millan: Pete Seeger "Old Blue" from American Favorite Ballads, Vol 3. Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40152 Tr 25 CX 4035
  
• After Grandin: Patti Page "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" from Patti Page: Golden Hits (Island Def Jam Music Group)
  
• After Adams: "Who Let the Dogs Out?" Baha Men from CD Who Let the Dogs Out? Capitol Records
  

Distribution dates: week of 04/12/2009 - hour 2 click HERE for timings and cues

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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