Below is the speech he made to the jury.

“Gentlemen of the jury, the best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son and daughter that he has reared with loving care may become ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he may lose. It flies away from him when he may need it most. Man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees and do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our head.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his DOG. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground,where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wing and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast into the cold, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard him against danger, and to fight against his enemies. When the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws and his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.”

-Senator George G. Vest, 1870.”

 The suit was for $200.00, but following this appeal, the jury, after 2 minutes of deliberation, assessed the damages at $500.00, after asking the judge if the defendant could not be punished by imprisonment or not be dealt with more harshly.

 I have experienced similar things myself since I no longer represent Lassie as his owner/trainer. What keeps my spirits strong is my eleven year old collie and my 5 year old cairn terrier.  I hope Senator Vest’s speech helps people rethink leaving their best friend behind, as one day a dog could be the one to see them through these times!

 Till Next Time,

Bob

     Karl and I grew up in the same generation of Hollywood dog trainers. In fact, we occasionally reciprocated with animals and jobs, such as the time that Karl used my white German Shepherd as a body double in They Only Kill Their Masters. We first met in 1962 on the set of the Daniel Boone television series, starring Fess Parker. Karl worked with his dog, Bearheart.
     Karl apprenticed under Frank Inn, who had apprenticed under my father, Rudd Weatherwax. During the Lassie series hiatus that year, Frank called Dad and told him that he had a young trainer who needed help with a dog. Dad gave the job to me, and the two of us young’uns hit it off. Dad saw Karl’s potential and knew he had the right stuff to become an excellent trainer. Over the years, Karl and I worked together on some projects, including a few Lassie episodes, the television series Run Joe Run, and the movie Return from Witch Mountain.
     Karl’s forte was action-packed movies with macho dogs. He liked those breeds and those stories. Typical of this kind of credit were They Only Kill Their Masters, The Doberman Gang, Cujo, Cat’s Eye, The Amityville Horror, and Miller’s Crossing. But Karl’s strengths weren’t only displayed in blood-and-guts suspenseful films. He enjoyed family action films as well and brought joy and laughter as well as sympathetic tears through his work on WonTonTon: The Dog That Saved Hollywood, Stand By Me, the first Beethoven, and the two Babe movies.
     Karl’s kennel set-up was similar to many of the well-respected Hollywood dog trainers. The kennel was on home turf. There may have been plenty of dogs outside, but there were always a fair number in the house with Karl’s family. Karl prided himself on being a good family man – a good husband to his wife Eileen for 40-some years and a good father to his son Karl Jr. and daughter Theresa. Just as with my family, dogs were the Miller family business for generations. Karl’s daughter has the same kind of golden touch with animals. Theresa has been in Europe for more than a decade working with German Shepherds on television.
     Karl’s favorite dog was “Scruffy”. He was a natural, like my “O.J.”, who had the kind of look that producers and directors liked as well as the attitude and intelligence that made canine acting look simple, even at its most complicated. Before Karl became ill with the cancer that took his life, he and I were interviewed extensively for the documentary Hollywood’s Top Dogs, which was recently aired on Animal Planet.
     Karl and I were good friends throughout our adult years and professional careers. We traded stories, talked about our dogs, and shared memories of the great ones in our line of work. I spoke at Karl’s memorial service, eulogizing him as always giving 100% to every dog and every job. He also gave 100% to his friendships, and I can attest to that.

The Internet and e-mail are great inventions, but this new system of communication has its weaknesses. As I sit in front of my computer answering e-mails, especially about dog training and dog behavior questions, I’ve come to the conclusion that e-mailing just is not effective. There can be so many variables and so many details that I must know in order to really help someone with their questions about training and behavioral problems. Even with many e-mails going back and forth, I can’t get to the intricate part or be specific. I have to give general information, because I don’t know the cause of the problem so that I can teach you how to get your dog to do what you want.

I have much more success with one-on-one conversations, so I’m starting a new service called Telephone Time with Bob. Until we can figure out how to hook up a two-way camera where I can see you with your dog and you can see me, the next best way is to use the phone.

While its much more effective for training sessions to be done in person, at least you and I can talk about what works and what doesn’t work with your dogs. I can ask you questions and get instant feedback so we can quickly get to the problem and the solution, because each dog and each person have their own relationship and their own individual behaviors.

Here are some of the topics I hope to cover with you, for instance, the puppy stage. How you start a dog off can depend on the kind of dog you want. Also, what kind or breed of dog is right for you and do you want a dog that will be very close to you as a companion or do you want a dog to protect your house or property?

My forte is with the dog you love as your pet and whom you want to teach a few tricks to for fun or to impress your friends. Or maybe your little partner has a few bad habits that are a problem because he or she is not trained the right way to be your little gentleman or lady.

As an entertainment industry dog trainer, I’ve taught dogs to do just about everything, always starting with a foundation of basic obedience commands. My father and I always wanted our dogs to be heroes in the movies, not villains. I don’t teach aggressive behavior. There were times when a dog had to appear to be aggressive, and we created the allusion without teaching a dog to act against its nature. We never wanted anyone to be afraid of a particular breed or create fear in a dog. The work of police dogs and those trained for protection work in the real world have an important place, but these dogs are rarely pets in the average family household.

My goal is to reach the typical dog lovers and owners who need some training guidelines or whose dog has developed some behavioral problems. I look forward to talking with YOU about your specific needs and questions. I’ll do the best I can to help you.

Thanks for coming online. Talk to you soon on the phone!

I recently was contacted by TMZ, asking for a comment on a
celebrity dog adoption news story. It got me thinking more
about the human/animal bond and the adoption process. 
I want to talk about the importance of that bond first.
 
You have to understand the way I was brought up. Being
around dogs and taking care of them was our way of life. My
half-brother and my sister and I were all born into this mix
of family lifestyle and professional business atmosphere. All
I knew from the earliest years of my life was that dogs were
the best teachers I ever had. My experience was the same
with just about every person I’ve ever met and talked with.
 
A child – boy or girl – learns all the positive values there
are in life from a pet dog: empathy, respect, loyalty, love,
responsibility, and companionship. Your parents and
school teachers can try to instill these qualities in you,
and you may learn from your friends or from
institutions such as the Scouts or athletic team
participation. But at the most basic one-on-one level,
children and dogs together accomplish something
spontaneous and innocent that serves a whole lifetime.
 
Note that I use the term “child”, not youth, not
teenager, not adolescent. I make that differentiation
because one of the issues of the celebrity dog adoption
story involved the regulation set by this particular
rescue organization that it would not allow a family with
children under 14 to adopt a dog. 14! Let’s stop to think
about the average 14 year old. He or she doesn’t have
the free time of a younger child, the time needed to
bond with a dog and make it your best friend.
 
At 14, most teens are well into puberty with their
interests on sports, techno-toys, fashion, the opposite
sex – not to mention the load of homework that middle
school and high school demands and easily takes
precedence over a new dog in the house. Sure, some
14 year olds make the time and take the time; a dog
isn’t just a novelty. But for many 14 year olds, the
influence that a relationship with a dog can have is far
less meaningful if your time is already occupied with
school, extracurricular activities, and social friendships.
 
Before you think I’m totally one-sided on this point, let
me also say that very young children and some very
small breeds of dogs as well as certain dominant canine
personalities aren’t a good combination. I always
recommend that people take the time to study the
various breeds as well as spending time with mixed
breeds.
 
It’s a win/win situation for the dog entering a home and
the family welcoming the dog when you don’t act on
impulse because a puppy is cute or a dog has such a sad
expression or the one spinning in circles makes you
laugh. Those aren’t good reasons to obtain a dog. The
life long commitment you make to a dog must be made
with intelligence and wisdom as well as sympathy and
a desire to do a good deed. 
 
It’s hard to turn away from a dog, knowing it needs a
home. So I acknowledge the organizations that must
set rules and procedures and criteria for placing needy
dogs into good homes. Somebody has to be thinking
logically and for the successful outcome of the purchase
or adoption. Rules are important for the safety of the
dog as well as the safety of mhuman family members.
 
But I do disagree with an inflexible policy of no
adoptions into homes with children in elementary
school or younger.  More important is matching the
right type of dog to the family with young children.
That can be done by these same organizations
working with adopting families. Isn’t it a matter of
common sense to create an environment where the
responsible parent is involved with the bonding process?
The temperament and size of the dog is key along with the
prior experience the family
has had with dogs plus the age of any children in the family.
 
Isn’t it common sense  to create an environment where a
child learns valuable lessons of character that will carry all
through life? What better way than with the right dog for
that child who is capable of learning and ready to
demonstrate tender loving care? I can’t imagine waiting
until I was 14 to have my first encounter with a dog.
 
I think back again to when I was a child. Not only in my
own life but just about every book I read and certainly just
about every movie I saw had a boy and a dog or a girl and a
 dog in it. Just think about “Lassie Come Home”!
One reason it was such a success as a short story, novel,
and movie was because the whole family could identify with
the enduring love between a child and a faithful dog.
 
I also remember John Wayne. The first professional dog
training job I had on my own, not working for or with my
dad, was for a John Wayne movie entitled “Big Jake”. My
dad also worked with him on “Hondo”.  Everyone knows
that his preference was to be called “Duke”.  It was a
nickname he had from childhood on. His family’s dog was an
Airedale terrier named “Duke”. The dog and young John
went everywhere together in their small town of
Glendale, California. All the locals who knew the family
starting calling John “Big Duke” and the dog “Little Duke”.
The nickname stuck, and John Wayne kept it for life in
honor of his childhood best friend. Now that’s the positive
power of the human/animal bond.
 
As I knew “Duke” in the entertainment industry, I found
him to be a man of integrity and honesty, very
straightforward. I have to attribute his character in part
to his relationship with “Little Duke” and the influence the
dog had on his life. What kind of man might he have been
had he never had a dog or been around one until he was 14?
I doubt he would have been the screen idol we all looked up
to. That close boyhood relationship with his canine pal could
have been just that thing that gave him his ability to portray
heroic characters.
 
Not too long ago, I saw a survey about prison statistics.
According to this survey, 80% of inmates never had a dog
as a child. The bond between a child and a dog creates an
impact unlike any other. One of the most successful prison
programs for rehabilitation has been the kind that allows
inmates to care for and be responsible for a dog. For the first
time in their lives, they discover the goodness in themselves,
the ability to empathize, to think beyond their own needs.
They grow and improve as human beings. It’s an amazing
process to see the change.
 
When I was growing up in the 1940s and ’50s, all my friends
had dogs. I believe children should be exposed to dogs at an
early age. It gives us humans the tools to grow up right.
It sure taught me right from wrong.
 
I’ll end this blog with a little story about “Pal” – the first
“Lassie” – and me. I was about five years old and got it in
my mind that pine cones would make an ideal missile to
throw at the dog. As usual Pal was in the yard, baby-sitting
me. I didn’t have a clue that my father was in the house,
watching us. There I was, aiming to hit the dog and
probably managed to get him a couple of times. Pal gave
me a moment to figure out that what I was doing wasn’t
the smartest thing in the world. When I didn’t come to my
senses, he came straight at me, knocked me down, and
snarled just enough to make me stop and think. My dad
came out of the house and looked down at me, sprawled on
the ground. He said, “I knew the dog would teach you a
lessen when he got tired of you.” Dad didn’t have to
discipline me; Pal had taught me all I needed to know and
remember. I never threw anything at any animal ever again.

I love my dogs and want to give them the best care possible. Part of that care includes their diet, which is important both to everyday health and longevity

There’s a saying that if you live long enough, you’ll see everything. I can attest to that. As a young child, I remember my dad feeding all of our dogs what nowadays would be called a home-prepared raw diet. He practiced two rules when it came to fixing meals for the dogs: 1) complete nutrition and 2) economy. One wasn’t the opposite of the other
by any means

My dad followed what his dad did on the ranch in New Mexico where seven children were raised as well as 450 Angora goats. Everything had a use back then, and on my dad’s property, which included a farm as well as the kennel, nothing was wasted. Chickens, goats, greens – you name it, we had it! And what we had, the dogs had

We all know that dogs are derived from wolves. Just look at their teeth, and you’ll realize that they’re basically carnivorous. Wolves don’t roast their meat over a fire pit. They eat their prey raw. Occasionally, my parents would create a stew and cook it for the dogs. But the usual fare started with raw meat.

Dad also knew that the first part of a kill a wild animal would go for is the intestines and stomach where the greens were being digested. Dogs need some complex carbohydrates along with meat, but they’re not inclined to graze for them as cows and sheep do. To accommodate this part of the diet, Dad would add some greens to the meat, along with eggs, eggshells for additional calcium, and goat’s milk as well. My dad called this natural formula “the basic meal”, which supplied all our
dogs with what they needed for strength, energy, quick reflexes, great coats, and sparkling eyes

Today, people have begun to realize the value of a simpler, more natural approach to feeding dogs, where they have ultimate control over the major ingredients as well as the minor ones. They can add whatever supplements are suited to their specific breed and the needs of their specific dogs. They can adjust the ratio between protein and carbohydrates. They can choose their protein source and therefore the quantity of fat too.

I’ve never been happier with a diet than I am now, since I started feeding BRAVO raw diets to my Collie and my Skye terrier. I thought they were in good shape before, but the significant difference I see in both dogs – their behavior as well as their physicality – is nothing short of amazing. Laddie is noticeably more agile, more alert, and actually frisky. Throttle, the little guy, who already had an abundance of energy, is a non-stop whirlwind out in the yard and ready to play and learn. I’ve also started Throttle on BRAVO’s salmon oil to improve his
conditioning. I can already see his body shape and his hair texture improve.

Some people still subscribe to feeding dry kibble because they think it’s so easy to deal with. But for some dogs – especially those with deep chests – a meal of dry kibble followed by a bowl of water can lead to a condition called bloat and torsion in which the kibble swells within a dog’s stomach. The stomach then twists, the blood supply is cut off, toxins build up in organs, and , if not caught in time, death may occur. For people who have no other choice than to feed kibble, I recommend moistening it with chicken broth, letting it stand so that the
volumizing effect takes place before the dog ingests the food.

In the past, when I have fed kibble, I put the measured cups of kibble in a stainless steel bowl and add enough chicken broth to moisten and soak into the kibble. I stir it and let it sit for 45 minutes before giving it to a dog.

I also don’t subscribe to the practice of free feeding, especially if you want to control weight gain. Normally I feed an actual meat meal of BRAVO or my dad’s basic meal in the evening because I believe it insures that a dog will rest better over night. In the morning, my dogs start off the day with a raw, natural turkey neck. It does a great job of exercising a dog’s jaw and also keeps the teeth free of plaque.

That’s an extra bonus of offering a dog a raw bone – malleable and completely digestible – like a turkey neck or chicken neck. You’ll never again have to anesthetize your dog for teeth scaling!

And what discussion of dog practices and habits would be complete without mentioning what goes on at the rear end? That’s the other surprise of feeding a home-prepared or raw diet. The food is actually absorbed. Nutrients are actually doing the dog some good. You’ll be able to tell by the amount of bowel movement that emerges, a fraction of what your dog produces on other diets and formulas.
 
It is true that everything old is new again. What dog owners used to feed their dogs for hundreds of years obviously kept the species alive and thriving. Going back to the basics, with the added knowledge of what science proves works well, allows us to feed our dogs better and smarter than ever before. If you love your dog, you’ll take the time and effort to find the right diet.

So let’s talk about food and nutrition. What works for your dog and why? Send me an e-mail at bob@weatherwaxtraineddogs.com, (or click “Comments” belog if you’re reading this from the blog site) and we’ll put your
comments up on the next nutrition blog.

Listen up, lassie.net….

I was a kid when Truman was President, but  I always loved the sign on his desk: “The buck stops here.” Believe it or not, I know how to use metaphors and I know how to define words. Oh yeah, and I know how to write my own blogs…Let’s  start with “the buck”. Money – greed – profiteering. There’s a difference between making an honest buck from an honest day’s work and profiting from someone else’s lifelong labor. When it comes to the history of Lassie and the use of talent to create something of value and endurance, the only ones who can lay claim to that are my father and myself. We did the work, every bit of it. We did it ourselves with no outsiders or pretend insiders. Sure, there were moments of glory and recognition. But if you think that it was all or even mostly sunglasses and autographs, you’re in more of a fantasy world than even I can imagine. MOST of it was old-fashioned blood, sweat, and tears – what no one ever sees behind the scenes, in the quiet of a kennel, the endless hours of training and practice, the risky hours when life starts and when it ends.  Were you there when Pal needed surgery? In those days, the vets didn’t give us the Elizabethan collars that keep a dog from going after its stitches. My sister and I took shifts sitting with Pal – day and night – to keep him occupied and his teeth away from the stitches. My family EARNED what we made for every minute of every hour of every week, month and year. Did we ever overwork our dogs for our own benefit or anybody else’s? NEVER. The dogs came first – always did and always will. Did our families gain and suffer for it? Yes – both. Do I own up to that? Yes. Sure, my father was successful and famous. But, as they say, at what price? I saw how he changed from the pressure of Lassie’s success and the pressure to create a dynasty at the same or higher levels of excellence. I saw him when he was completely broken-hearted after the puppy he thought would be the greatest Lassie yet – who he trained in his lap from babyhood – leaped into his arms and landed there dead from a trapped air bubble in his lungs. I know how it marked me from an early age, falling in love with puppies that didn’t make it, having to nurse the old dogs in their last days. Do you think I enjoyed the days and nights I wasresponsible for the dog who had distemper? Someone had brought a sick dog to our kennel, and it hit one of our collies hard. At age 12, I nursed that dog in my bedroom. I carried all 80 pounds of him downstairs so he could relieve himself. I stood him up and held him, and then I carried him back up. I held him when the vet gave him his penicillin shots. And I’ll never forget the look the dog gave me one day when he saw the vet take out a different syringe. The dog knew what was happening, and it killed me but I held him while he took his last breath. I was the one who had to carry his body, covered in a blanket, downstairs for the last time. I was the one who had to take the shovel and dig the grave. I was the one who laid him to rest. This was my childhood and my adulthood over and over again. Were you there to help me? Were you there to have your hopes raised and dashed when a litter didn’t turn out or there were still births to deal with? Were you there to help me put down the old mutts and the old Lassies who couldn’t die by themselves buthad no quality of life left? Where you there for the hardships thatconstantly wore my father and me down, making us wonder why and how we carried on? No, you weren’t there, but the dogs were. The dogs we bred and were responsible for. The dogs we worked and cherished for each one’s talent. The dogs we loved. The dogs we lived for. The dogs who gave the world such great joy. The dogs who infused us with passion for our craft. The dogs whose deaths filled us with deep private pain.Now let’s look at your contribution, where and when you came into the picture. You came to me at an in between time; I was busy working, the Lassie fan club manager had retired, and theadvantages of computer technology were becoming obvious(something I knew nothing about but knew could be good forLassie). You came along just in time to take advantage of the cakewalk – the good times. You presented a plan to revitalize the fan club and give Lassie a web presence. Sounded good. Looked good. You volunteered. I said okay. Did I buy something from you? No. Did you buy something from me? No. Did you buy your way into my business or my personal life? No. Did I expect you to be decent dedicated people, as all Lassie fans have seemed to be? Yes. Did I give you access to the information and material you needed to handle the fan club and set up the web site? Yes. Did I get in your way when you included your own collie collectibles among the licensed Lassie merchandise? No. Did we have a friendlybusiness relationship? Yes. Would I even call it a personal friendship? Yes. Were you there to help when I had problems on the job? Yes, and I was very grateful. Did you make a difference in helping to show the power of a fan base? Absolutely.Did you profit by all this? You bet you did. You could tell people you were connected to a star. You could say the only way to reach the star was through you. You took full advantage of the growing power of the Web and the Internet to establish yourself as the direct line to me and my dog. Was that really true? Only partially. There was always the superior presence of a corporate licensor and the protective presence of my attorney. Did you dare think yourself on a par with them? You dared. In reality were you? Of course not. You were there to serve as intermediaries between the fans and the dog. Did you have to accompany Lassie and me on personal appearances? No! Did you do so because you wanted to be there? Yes. Was it helpful to have a booth of Lassie merchandise that you could run as a complementary venture? Sure. Was it necessary or mandatory? No. Did you get off on being part of a Lassie entourage? I know you did. Did it feed your ego and your sense of self? Again, I know it did. Did you feel important?  Everyone who has had to deal with you and your website knows the answer to that one.

Welcome to Weatherwax Trained Dogs  and my blog page.
To start the conversation, let me say WELCOME ALL DOG
LOVERS. If we have nothing else in common, we have our
fascination, our love, and the best kind of addiction through
our appreciation for dogs. While my father, my uncles, and
I have trained dogs primarily for the entertainment industry,
in every case we were also training dogs to be true
companions – the ultimate expression of the human/animal
bond. The same training methods my father developed are
ones that can be applied to any companion dog who is
treated as a member of the family.

Sharing my own training knowledge and experience is
something I can offer to anyone with a question,
a comment, and a dog. That is my personal and
professional commitment to you through this website, this
blog, and eventually telephone consultations.

More than ever, American families have taken dogs into
their homes, making them real members of the household.
It may be hard to remember,  but dogs aren’t born with
manners. Just as we send our children to school and to
play, we must also school and civilize our dogs. The
techniques I can suggest make active use of a dog’s
intelligence and teach dogs to fulfill their potential to be
responsive, alert, loyal companions.

So bring on your situations, your unusual circumstances,
 even your basic questions. There is an answer to every
problem; sometimes the best way to start is to realize a
solution is right at hand. I’ve had experience with just about
 every breed there is. We can talk about every purebred
from Anatolians to Yorkies and every combination of mutt.
We can talk about behavior, training, tricks, commands,
the use of the human voice, and the sensitivity of the hand
through the collar and leash.

I look forward to hearing from you. Consider the ball
rolled to you….