Susan McCullough has been a professional writer for 30-plus years, but didn’t start focusing on dogs until 1996, when an overzealous Sheltie attacked and shredded a message that had been faxed to Susan’s office. Instead of merely telling the sender “My dog ate your fax,” Susan decided to see seek expert advice about how to share an office with one’s animal companion. She turned that advice into an article for a national pet magazine, and she’s been writing about dog behavior and care ever since.
Susan’s articles have appeared in Family Circle, The Washington Post, Dog Fancy, Dogs USA, AKC Gazette, AKC Family Dog, Petside.com, The Dog Daily and the Popular Dogs series, among others. Her books include the best-selling Housetraining For Dummies; Senior Dogs For Dummies and Beagles For Dummies (all, Wiley). She is a five-time winner of the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) Maxwell Award for excellence in writing about dogs.
Susan doesn’t confine her interest in dogs merely to writing about the canine species. She’s also worked directly with renowned trainer and behavioral consultant Pat Miller, one of the leading proponents of positive reinforcement training in the United States. Her work with Ms. Miller involved not only assisting with basic training classes, but also with behavioral assessments of shelter dogs and one-on-one consultations with guardians of dogs who have behavioral problems.
Although the Sheltie who prompted Susan to begin writing about dogs has passed away, today an irrepressible, larger-than-life Golden Retriever named Allie provides ample inspiration for Susan’s current work. Together, Susan and Allie live with Susan’s husband, Stan Chappell, and (when she’s home from college), their daughter, Julie Chappell, in Vienna, VA. Visit Susan’s own blog at http://thealliechronicles.blogspot.com, and follow her on Twitter @soozmcc.
Susan McCullough has been a professional writer for 30-plus years, but didn't start focusing on dogs until 1996, when an overzealous Sheltie attacked and shredded a message that had been faxed to Susan's office. Instead of merely telling the sender "My dog ate your fax," Susan decided to see seek expert advice about how to share an office with one's animal companion. She turned that advice into an article for a national pet magazine, and she's been writing about dog behavior and care ever since.
