Author: Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related. I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

Hot News | Info-Share

ACL Injury Prevention

News reports tout the Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) warm-up program that researchers tested on women soccer players. This routine, which takes about 20 minutes 3 times per week, greatly reduced ACL injuries in these women athletes. While an agility run with your dog takes less time than a soccer game, I suspect the routine makes sense canine agility handlers too. In fact, it seems quite similar to the Human Agility Training classes that Lori Hansen teaches. Her DVD is available from Clean Run and on Amazon. Lori focuses on running …

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Entirely Off Topic

Kill the Whistler (a holiday essay)

I originally wrote this essay for a charity holiday book that never got off the ground. I might be able to sell it somewhere, sometime … if the way-ahead-of-schedule life of holiday pieces ever sinks in. But, for now, I’ll take a break from our usual Friday training updates and do my best to entertain you with my own brand of holiday charm. This essay is based on actual events from a couple years ago. …

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Entirely Off Topic

Realities of Being a Freelance Writer

I really do NOT mean to be an off-topic Magoo, but I wanted to share these items to give you (my loyal readers) some insight into my career. And, be sure to watch for the Border Collie on the cover of National Lampoon in the music video by Bill Dyszel. The second item explains 5 Myths of Freelancing. It’s written by a writer I “know” through an online community. Her name is Jen Miller. …

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Dog Photo

Princess of Pillow Mountain

Lilly’s wintertime routine includes sacking out on the bed upstairs after dinner. Over the weekend, this is what I found. I give you Lilly Elizabeth, the crowned princess of pillow mountain. God save the border collies. …

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Dog Photo | Musings

More Neighborhood Canine Visitors

At times, in the winter months, our solar-powered gate opener poops out. Sometimes, there isn’t enough sun to charge it. Sometimes, the bitter cold drains the battery. That means on very rare occasions it’s left open, which means the dogs are stuck inside. On such a day recently, I was busy working in my office … when two dogs ran past my window. I knew mine where in, so even though one dog was clearly black and white, the sight didn’t throw me too much. Indeed, it was Riley (a bc) and Kenai (a husky, possibly husky mix) running past. …

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Entirely Off Topic

Christmas Cookie Recipes (wine cookies, pizzelles)

Fellow writer and blogger, Charmian Christie over at Christie’s Corner (a food blog) recently posted a great ginger cookie recipe. She wondered aloud about holiday cookies we cannot live without. My answer? Wine cookies and pizzelles. It’s snowy and very cold (below zero) here today. It’s a perfect chance to make cookies. So, here’s a little lesson on how to make a couple traditional Italian cookies. Full credit to my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and my aunties who taught me to cook. …

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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Weekly Training Update (Dec 12)

Due to weather constraints and limited availability of dogs as training partners, much of Lilly’s work is being done in public. In a typical week, I only go to town once, so I’ve begun (again) taking Lilly with me when I run errands. We, then, take a walk on a popular trail and sometimes through downtown Golden as our training ground and as her reward for tagging along. We often have runners pass us or come up from behind. The same with bikes. We also see a fair number of dogs (both on and off leash) and many …

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Musings

Sneak Attack

Sometimes when I write, which is my honest-to-goodness career, the real world recedes and I live entirely in my head. The only sounds I hear all day long are my thoughts and the keyboard. Every hour or two, I shake myself out of this work-focused stupor to get a snack or whatever. Last week, I shuffled into the master bedroom in search of a tissue. Lilly, who apparently had been waiting for me to rouse, ambushed me with a high-flying kissing fit. …

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Musings

Is that a pitchfork in my *butt, or …

After a prolonged autumn, winter has come to the Rocky Mountains. More often than not recently, it’s cold, snowing, and (worst of all) windy. Last Friday, I performed an accidental science experiment that pits 40-year-old writer who sits all day against wind chills well below zero. Perhaps the gusty conditions upset Lilly, which we learned last summer can freak out fearful dogs. Perhaps she’s already tired of being cooped up for winter. Either way, she was fussy — whining, squeaking, pacing. I finally relented, bundled up, and headed outside to play ball around 4 pm, just …

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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Weekly Training Update (Dec 5)

Until last week, Lilly and I had not gone to a group class since June 22. That’s 5 long months of slogging through our behavior modification work alone. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, however, I had major turkey on the brain, so we braved the drive to Boulder and joined some long-time compatriots for a group class/hike. Here’s how it went. …

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