Real-Time Dog Training: A Rant

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Rant | Posted on 10-03-2010

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Last Friday on Twitter, I posted a Mini-Rant that prompted a few people to ask what on earth had happened. There is NO way to tell that particular story in 140 characters, so here is the full-sized rant.

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Dog Pedicure Smackdown

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings, Dog Photo | Posted on 09-03-2010

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Thanks to diligence on my part, Lilly is MUCH better about the toenail thing than Ginko. I take the tiniest bit off of each of her nails once a week, both so that they don’t get too long and so that she never gets out of practice with this grooming task. We jokingly call it Turkey for Toenails, but most times I use cheese instead. One toe, one hunk of cheese. It’s a good trade.

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Another Study in Canine Body Language & Play

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Socialization Video, Dog Video, Dog Video Gallery | Posted on 03-03-2010

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I shot a little video earlier this week of Lilly and Ginko playing chase and jaw wrestling games. For those who know Lilly’s noisy play style and stunted social skills, I’ll ask you to pay attention to how quiet this particular play session is. Ginko does many things to ensure Lilly continues to play, which is very smart and polite of him, I think.

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Dog Training Jackpot Gone Wrong

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings, Dog Whine | Posted on 01-03-2010

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Saturday, I caught up on my dog grooming duties. Most weeks that means Lilly and only Lilly, but I decided I’d attempt to trim Ginko’s front toenails. With a muzzle and enough cheese, I can occasionally get him to cooperate. Just as I imagined myself drafting a victory blog post, our celebratory dog training jackpot went terribly wrong.

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Dog Training: Power or Pride?

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 23-02-2010

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Some days, my brain buzzes with larger, more philosophical sides to dog training. In part, this happens because of items I see in dog world news such as this dog training summit. At some point soon, I may rant a bit on that very topic since I’m not shy about the fact that I’m no fan of “He Who Shall Not Be Named.” But, today, I wanted to share a distinction I think will help.

Answer me this: When your dog responds to cues or offers default behaviors or just generally behaves like a civilized canine citizen, do you feel a sense of power or pride?

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How Many Dogs Does It Take

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 18-02-2010

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Based on discussions with my dog writer & dog blogger friends, I’ve began to wonder … just how many dogs does it take before you (or anyone) truly knows anything about anything when it comes to dogs.

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Bonk!

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 17-02-2010

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A lack of attention and concentration resulted in a comedy of errors, involving laundry, a game of fetch, and a somewhat famous border collie girl who spins when she gets excited.

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What Dogs Expect

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 16-02-2010

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Ginko and Lilly express their expectations differently. The more I ponder yesterday’s Signs Point to Yes, the more I realize that the disparity in their responses to disappointment or anticipation reflect their formal (and not so formal) dog training.

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Signs Point to Yes

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Life, Dog Musings | Posted on 15-02-2010

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Last Friday, I accidentally pulled a terrible trick on my sweet Lilly. I rushed around in the morning before an entire day of eldercare efforts, and I didn’t realize what Lilly assumed based on various visual clues until I stepped toward the front door to leave.

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Weekly Training Update (Feb 12)

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Posted by Roxanne Hawn | Posted in Dog Training, Dog Training Update, Dog Training Update, Dogs on Drugs | Posted on 12-02-2010

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I have no Katie news to share because our little social event got postponed last Sunday due to weather. It snowed. Not snowpocalypse or snowmaggedon kind of snow, but enough snow to keep Katie’s new family from coming up the canyon. BUT, I did manage to take Lilly to class last week. It wasn’t ideal, but here is our report.

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