Every month, writing something for this space is the last thing I do before I send the final pages to print. This month, as I scanned the proofs one last time, I felt especially proud of what WDJ has to offer.
Our contributors are not just writers who accept random assignments, research the topic, and then summarize what they learned. Instead, they are true experts who are experienced with, knowledgeable, and passionate about dogs and dog care. Our training and behavior writers are long-time dog trainers, and our health articles are written by veterinarians, groomers, and holistic healthcare providers. Represented in these pages is a wealth of knowledge about dogs, acquired through some of the best universities in the country and decades of experience raising, training, rescuing, fostering, and working and competing with dogs.
I’m particularly excited to welcome a new contributor to WDJ: Dr. Mary Cope, a newly minted PhD (Animal Nutrition, University of Georgia), who currently works as a companion animal nutritionist with a pet food consulting company. In addition to her doctorate, Cope has a Professional Animal Scientist (PAS) certification with a specialization in companion animals. She’s also an experienced dog owner, who competes with her rescue dog and Smooth Collie in AKC agility, Fast CAT, and herding events. I’ve been corresponding with Dr. Cope about canine nutrition for some time, while eagerly waiting for her to put the final polish on obtaining these impressive credentials so she’d have time to write some nutrition-related articles for us. She sent a few contributions to me recently – the first of which (“Diets for Small Dogs”) appears this month – and all I can say is, “Thank dog you’re here!” Her work is informative and concise, and I look forward to bringing her deep knowledge of canine nutrition to our readers.
One advantage of having such well-qualified writers is that, when I (or someone I know) has a unique problem with a dog – whether it’s health-related or behavior-based – the odds are good that at least one of our contributors has experienced the same thing, is familiar with the remedy for the problem, and willing to write up a report about it. Or, if they don’t have direct experience, they know who to reach out to for the latest research, treatment, or behavior-modification protocol. And then you (and I) get to benefit from their experience and expertise. I appreciate them so much!
