I'm a freelance director/producer who travels too much to have a dog of my own. So doing this lets me help another keep a dog, while fulfilling the longing I have to own one again! I got my first dog at 7, was taught by my father (who grew up farming/ranching as a child) how to care for, train, and relate to a dog: I let them be *dogs,* and to be the best dogs they can be. I don't pretend dogs are people; they have a different mode of interaction; they are part of a human-dog pack. Most misbehaving has to do with instincts and separation anxiety. Routine exercise, company, and play for them are like sunshine for a plant. Give them that, show them care... and they repay you 100 times over for it.