Today, the farm is an ice scape, ice and snow frozen almost into a rink, hard ice over everything, it is difficult even to walk a few steps. The roads are clear, and I’ll have no trouble getting to my radio show “Talking To Animals,” on WBTNAM1370 today, Wednesday, from one to three p.m.  You can live stream the program here or download a free app like Simple Radio.

Another snowstorm to follow the broadcast, of course.

The broadcast will also be re-aired tonight between 8 and 10 p.m.

Today, I plan to begin a long-running dialogue on the minds of dogs, covering topics I’ve been thinking about and writing about for years. What do we know about how dogs think? What do we know about what they think?

Do dogs have consciousness, and how can we learn about their consciousness, given that they are alien beings and can’t tell us what they are thinking and feeling. How do dogs communicate with one another? How can we best communicate with them?

I’ll also discuss whether the smartest dog always makes the best pet, and what trainers suggest about training the not-so-smart dogs, and the smart ones.

I’ve been poring through books and research studies this week in the hope I can add some light to these questions. I don’t pretend to have the answers – some of these things are not yet knowable to the human mind.

I will be exploring these subjects on my blog as well, as I have already begun to do. I very much want to hear from you, dog and animal lovers and readers of the blog: 866 – 406 – 9286 or 802 442 1010. The program works only insofar as you participate. It is your show, you make or break it. That’s what community radio is all about.

But we have learned a lot and we do know a lot. I am open to spiritual interpretations of dogs lives but I also respect science and the protocols of research. I give science a lot of weight in these discussions, even though many people are busy re-making dogs into the companions they need and want, into soul mates and mystics. I can’t say there is no truth to many of these theories – how could I know that? – but I want the program to be useful and to reflect what the best minds in the field know about dogs, not just what I know. I try not to talk out of my butt.

Lots of good stuff to talk about, we hope to be both thoughtful and useful. And civil, always civil. This is not the place for angry screamers and rigid ideologues.

So tune in, I think it will be an interesting broadcast, we will talk about things very few animal programs discuss. Call 802 442 1010 or 866 406 9286. Or e-mail me, [email protected], before during or after the show.