Hi folks, or rather buongiorno tutti,

I had better explain. I have just had a haircut. Not that unusual, and some would say after Movember that the less hair on me the better. But enough of that - I am still hurt by some of the less than flattering remarks...

I found a barber's shop here in Geelong called Tony's, so of course I went there. You have to be loyal to your name tribe. It turns out Tony is an elderly Italian gentleman, and his shop was like stepping back into 1940's Milan or something.

"Volare" was playing on the CD player, and there were old bottles of lotions and potions that would never make it through customs these days. In fact, the haircut is also from that era now. Note to self - buy haircream... I even had one eyebrow trimmed (why only the one I do not know but he had a cut throat razor so I wasn't going to ask too many questions).

Here's the point - while I was waiting my turn I was skimming through a gardening magazine. It was that or a gossip glamour rag that seemed out of place in a gent's barber. 

Anyway, I spotted, in among the tips for getting the most out of your hibiscus, an advert for dog tranquillisers. It was saying that dogs can suffer from stress and that these drugs can help. They are even recommended by "the world's greatest dog training company" (their words). This same company I remember recommends shaking a can of stones at a dog while it is barking. One client who did this with no success was told that she had "put the wrong kind of stones in it"...

What annoys me is that the list of problems they said could be "cured" with drugs was almost all to do with separation anxiety in dogs - which is a common problem that is really easy to solve WITHOUT resorting to drugging the poor animal. In fact at least half of the symptoms are described in my FREE Separation Anxiety report available at www.stopdogseparationanxiety.com.

Of course, we know that the recent trend in diagnosing people with depression, and the subsequent dispensing of drugs, is the latest thing, and you can't help but wonder what motivate$ the$e companie$ to di$pen$e them (after over 10 years working in the health service I have an insight into the world of dispensing).

If your dog is showing signs of stress, it is because it cannot cope with the responsibility of looking after its family in a world it cannot comprehend. The solution? Change it's mind about who is the leader, and it can be done calmly, gently and without any gadgets, whether external or internal.

Rant over, now I have a sudden craving for pizza... Ciao, Antonio

P.S. Try to listen to this without smiling at least a little bit...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JEQIQmQa-c