Growing up, my favorite place in the entire world was my grandparents' farm, where they trained Hungarian hunting dogs to compete in gun dog competitions and kennel club shows. (They've even had a pup win the Sporting Group title at the Westminster Dog Show!) There was absolutely nothing better as a kid than running free in the paddock with 10 dogs zooming all around, living out their puppiest dreams. Plus, watching their dogs bring home blue ribbons and trophies, I grew a deep appreciation for how intelligent and hard-working our canine companions can be, and how important it is to listen to and observe what they are telling us through body language, verbal cues, and other dog behavior that helps us understand each other. Although our dogs at home were never quite as well-trained as my grandparents' dogs, we always had two of our own to love and play with after their professional careers were over. Today I am a proud dog mom to a Husky, Catahoula, Pitty mutt!