Our decision to return Lilly to the full dose of her anxiety medications came in part from her escalated treatment of Ginko. Lately, she has been acting like Gandolf.
The Angry Birds craze reached our rural, smart-phone-lacking abode. Dog toys. We’re talking Angry Birds dog toys today. And, thanks to Hartz … we have 6 dog toys to give away for the holidays. Read the rest of this entry »
Taking a week “off” is relative, of course, meaning mostly not owing drafts to clients. Other demands of life continue. HOWEVER, Lilly and I ventured to Boulder for dog training class with our dog trainer Gigi Moss … for the first time this year. I’ll tell you how it went tomorrow. Today? A video showing just how much Lilly loves her dog trainer.
As promised, some agility humor for our dog training friends who already have earned or aspire to earn a Master Agility Champion title (MACH) with their dogs. Meet Chaos, a nationally ranked Labrador Retriever who TWICE had to earn her 20th and final double-Q to get her MACH #5. All this … at the age of 10.
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.
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.
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 »
As a special Thanksgiving week event, we’ll be posting a few of our favorite videos of Lilly, our canine heroine, each day. Whether you’re seeing them for the first time (welcome, new readers) or get the chance to enjoy these reruns, we send our best holiday wishes. Today, Lilly on her home agility course.
Lilly and I made a little video blog entry for your Friday. It made us laugh, and we hope it brightens your day too. Have a great weekend. P.S. You can see this year’s crop circles in the background.
RC Pet Products, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, sent me this terrific dog pack to try out with Lilly. I love it. Lilly? Not so much.
The girls of Champion of My Heart first “met” Ecco D’Oro, a passionate Spinone Italiano (Italian pointer) with a penchant for stealing underwear and snorkeling in the koi pond, when we reviewed Ecco’s human grandma’s book about a Native American artist named Quincy Tahoma.
"It's exhausting being this handsome."
The truth? We were a little sad that we were not the first dog-based book reviewers on the scene.
Since then, however, we’ve made friends via the blog, via email, and on Facebook with Ecco and his many, many dog friends … who collectively put the “Power of the Paw” into action every day through both virtual and real community efforts.
Thanks to everyone who shared our Kissing Booth Dog Video last week. As promised, here is a behind-the-scenes look and answers to the most-asked questions.
Here is the video we promised. Lilly’s newest and (we think) funniest one to date. If you agree, please share far and wide … and let’s see if we can get it to go truly VIRAL.
Since we have no herding news of our own, after a long lapse in lessons due to non-stop work and family demands, today Champion of of My Heart looks at how someone else uses some clicker training in a herding context.
Herding is often taught using mostly pressure and “corrections.” And, when you ask about how clicker training might fit into the process, you’ll hear some grumbling about things like:
So, when our pal Anna from Happy Healthy Pup, who recently relocated from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Atlanta, Georgia, suggested I talk to Astrid Smith from A Dog’s Journey … well, I sent and email and got on the phone.
Oh, it’s Monday alright. I made a few decisions these last 3 days (you know, like spending time with my hubby, pups, and family) that sends me into a new week behind on pretty much everything. Yes, I had some coffee (rare for me), but I thought we’d share a little Lilly-style mojo.
So … if you are feeling:
Then, Lilly and I send you our very best wishes for strength, patience, grace, and productivity via this new video showing … Enthusiasm Border Collie Style.
