What Shamu taught me about a Happy Marriage

I mentioned earlier that I have read a lot of dog training books. My neighbor ( a dog trainer ) loaned me this book. It started as a Modern Love essay that eventually became the most emailed nytimes story of the year. The book details the author's year with the students at a renowned school for professional animal trainers. The lesson she learned was basically reward the behavior you want and ignore the behavior you don't. There is never a no. There is a 'how about this other, better thing over here?' There is silence, praise, reward, and redirection never resistance. The tai chi of relationships.

Here is a pic our dog to be: