The day after Thanksgiving, when many still have pots and pans soaking, is a good time to share this video of Lilly putting away her dog toys. You’ll notice that she holds them down with her foot. That’s because she often puts her toys away with such enthusiasm that they fly out of the basket. No reward for that, so Lilly learned to make sure they stay put. Therefore, the foot bonus action became part of the dog trick.
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Happy Thanksgiving. To celebrate this festive occasion, we have two videos to share. The first shows Lilly howling on cue. The second shows Lilly “laughing.” This noise has been isolated by researchers and deemed dog laughter.
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In today’s backstory video, Lilly — our intrepid dog — learns to SIT-STAY atop a small sled while being pulled along in the snow of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Clearly, she finds it very, very funny. Read the rest of this entry »
Starting in spring 2009, life around here got increasingly complicated with medical / health worries and looming grief on several fronts. The changes to my daily reality often feel beyond grim. I wade through life with a conscious bubble of gratitude around me. Yet, while tossing and turning the other night, I compiled a list of things I miss.
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Sometimes I capture images of Lilly that reveal a sliver of her soul. She is the most earnest, sincere, and focused dog I’ve ever known. Observe. (I posted 3 of these photos to our Champion of My Heart Facebook fan page last week, but the others are debuting here.) Which one is your favorite?
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The fact that Lilly lets me trim all of her toenails in a single sitting each week remains one of my greatest dog training victories. We call it Turkey for Toenails, but these days we typically use cheese. Alas, once in a while, I botch things and cause Lilly to bleed. It turns out dewclaws really gush.
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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Musings | Posted on 20-10-2011
I’ve been lucky enough to interview Dr. Sophia Yin several times for dog behavior and dog training articles. If you’re looking for detailed, science-based information on dog training and dog behavior, her site is a great place to look … especially if your dog interacts with kids at all … and you want to prevent accidental dog bites.
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Lilly got her staples out a week ago Wednesday. That part went fine, but Lilly had a little trouble in the parking lot and in the reception area before taking refuge in our own exam room. Every day is different when you live with a fearful dog … even when she has xanax in her system.
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Lilly, our intrepid canine heroine, is picky when it comes to toys she’ll fetch. However, she also remains connoisseur of the silliest sticks imaginable. Often she’d rather play with little more than a piece of mulch than the fanciest fetch toy out there. These photos tell that story.
Lilly takes FETCH seriously … as you’ll see.
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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 06-10-2011
Our dog blogging and dog training friend KB from Romping and Rolling in the Rockies recently posted a quote that got me thinking. Have you heard the term “heart dog”? Well, it makes me wonder … what happens before and after your heart dog experience? And, what is a heart dog, anyway?
“It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.” — Unknown
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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Back Story, Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 30-09-2011
Just a week. That’s all I had to survive between learning Lilly’s lump needed to come out and finding out it was nothing scary. I tried not to worry too much, but clearly I did. My body, in revolt, said, “Oh, @#$@ no!”
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If you missed the news from late last week, the lump our veterinarian surgically removed from Lilly’s neck was BENIGN … and kind of a weird one, called a canine adnexal nevus (or fiboradnexal hamartoma). Not scary, just strange.
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Maybe letting Lilly sleep in “the big bed” with us Tuesday night telegraphed that something was up. Maybe my ability to keep my worries to myself failed … because Lilly shook so hard with fear that the dog scale at the veterinary hospital sounded like an 18-wheeler going over a cattle grate.
It broke my heart, causing big, rolling tears to pour off my face and into Lilly’s fur as I tried to tell her that everything was going to be OK.
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If you missed our Champion of My Heart notes via Twitter and Facebook last Friday, let’s catch up. Our veterinarian is doing surgery today to remove a small, hard lump from Lilly’s neck. It might be a mast cell tumor (cancer).
Based on research that I did in 2008 for a cancer article in Rocky Mountain Dog magazine, I know that mast cell tumors are #3 in the top five most common cancers dogs get.
Facing what might be the next in a long series of worries stretching back more than two years, I’m both realistic and hopeful. Lilly is a healthy, strong girl.
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A bear of a month means desperate measures of togetherness. Found this sight while racing around to put on pants so that I could drive down the mountain to check on my mom.
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