Happy Festivus!

Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23. It was created by writer  Dan O’Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show Seinfeld as part of a comical storyline on the show. The holiday’s celebration, as shown on Seinfeld, includes an unadorned  aluminum “Festivus pole,” practices […]

Pets as Therapists

This is an entry in a series of posts about dog law. The subject of dog law is often misunderstood and I hope by providing education to dog owners that it is not just he said, she said, in regards to the rights of our canine companions. The topic today is about canines assisting in […]

The principles of learning and behavior: Variables

Variables In a laboratory setting learning is studied by conducting tightly controlled experiments.  Variables in experiments are defined as “…any factor that changes, or can be changed.”  There are three primary types of variables: 1. Dependent 2. Independent 3. Intervening Dependent Variables are the variables that researchers are likely to be most interested in; often […]

31 Days of Horror: Day 24 Movie: Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)

Every year we have a tradition in the Forto house where we celebrate the greatest month of the year, October, with scare your socks off, hide under the covers, turn on all the lights, sleep with one eye open, fright fest, movie marathon every night of the month! We call it 31 Days of Horror. […]

31 Days of Horror: Day 17 Movie: The Amityville Horror (1979)

Every year we have a tradition in the Forto house where we celebrate the greatest month of the year, October, with scare your socks off, hide under the covers, turn on all the lights, sleep with one eye open, fright fest, movie marathon every night of the month! We call it 31 Days of Horror. […]

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: October 5, 2010

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: October 5, 2010 I was sitting here listening to an interview that I conducted with my daughter, Nicole, that was 12 at the time and soon realized that this is what dreams are about. While I am here in Alaska doing my best to follow my own dreams I […]

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: Where’s Your Sense of Adventure

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: Where’s Your Sense of Adventure “Where’s our sense of adventure, young, man?” is a common phrase you will hear up here in Alaska. My response, “Well, sir, it is in my back pocket.” I am quickly learning that moving to the Great White North can only be parlayed with […]

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life

The Future Home of Iditarod Dreams: What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life A lot can be said about the ebb and flow of life. Some believe in fate and some believe in destiny. Some think we have a higher purpose while others say that everything is already planned. There is a huge debate […]

Give a Dog a Bone, Just Dont Take it Away!

Give a Dog a Bone, Just Don’t Take it Away! By Robert Forto, PhD As a canine behaviorist at Denver Dog Works I see a lot of dog problems. I deal primarily with canine aggression and nothing can be more frightening than a dog that is possessive. I had a client whose dog was so […]

Influential Dog Trainers and Their Contributions-Part 4

Influential Dog Trainers and their Contributions-Part 4 Over the past several weeks I have posted articles on those individuals that contributed to the dog training world in one way or another and shaped this industry into what it is today. While there are many different “styles” of dog training, much of the principles and techniques […]