The Dog Behavior Institute Blog

Book Review: “Puppy Brain” by Kerry Nichols
By and large, I loved this book. Nichols masterfully weaved anecdotes with advice and recommendations for puppy rearing. She began with her personal history and transition to becoming a breeder, addressing the ethics of dog breeding and how it fits into a world where there are so many homeless dogs out there in need of a safe place to land. The book included descriptions of a puppy’s developmental milestones from conception through day 56 of their furry lives; how to prepare for bringing a puppy home, and how to promote the development of those happy, healthy, resilient dogs described on the book jacket. I’ll tackle my impressions of each of these sections in turn and highlight areas that, as a dog lover, guardian, and professional, I was delighted and relieved to see included. I’ll also point out areas where my own practice and philosophy differ from the author.

Interview with Ezri Silverberg on Breeding Windsprites
Hi all! Stephanie here. Earlier this year I had the delightful opportunity to interview Ezri Silverberg, KPA-CTP, CBCC-KA of Aspara Windsprites. I first met Ezri when Kerby was a baby puppy and I was looking for playdates with friendly dogs and puppies nearby. Ran introduced us and Ezri happened to have a puppy playgroup with some recent puppies and other friends’ puppies that we were able to join a few times. It was a joy to see Kerby get to romp and play and to learn about Ezri’s process as a breeder. Fast forward to last year when Ezri started offering a mentorship program that Ran joined to learn more about raising puppies with science. Ran raved about how much they learned and what a valuable experience it was. Given how much we have both learned about breeding and raising puppies from Ezri, we knew we had to interview her for the blog this year.