Having arrived in 2012, an era projected in science fiction movies decades ago, I find myself both amazed and shocked by turns at what has actually come to pass. In an era where managing my diabetes no longer means an early death and the Internet puts with worlds knowledge at my fingertips, people still believe that aggressive behaviour in dogs is breed specific and that electronic shock collars are a good idea to manage a dog’s behaviour.

Is your dog smart? I know both my dogs are. I think if you ask any dog owner, they would have dozens of stories to show how clever their canine companions can be. Our dogs seem to have some pretty amazing abilities from being able to work out how to steal an appetizer from the table while we’re not looking to knowing when it’s time to for dinner even before we do. And that’s just the stuff they pick up on their own.