It’s finally starting to warm up around here. Summer, it seems, may have finally arrived. And, that means … Lilly is losing her winter undercoat. I knew the winter was rough (cold,
windy, long), but the extent of hair she’s losing, tells me that her little body knew it too. …
Seriously. I’m putting my foot down. Lilly and I have a
veterinary appointment this morning, and I’m asking for them to draw
blood according to exacting standards, and I’m shipping the blood to
Dr. Jean Dodds at Hemopet in California for detailed thyroid testing. She’s considered by many to be the ONE WHO KNOWS when it comes to
canine hypothyroidism. …
I’ve met many really neat people through Lilly. There are several with whom I’d love to enjoy a more social relationship. But, here the catch. Most are too busy training and trialing to
ever accept an invite. And it’s hard to be buddies with people who can’t seem to squeeze you in … ever. Or, who almost never answer their phones. So, while all this training builds canine
relationships (or at least strives to), I’m beginning to think it just might hamper human relationships, except in situations where everyone is at a dog event anyway. …
I hate flexible leashes. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Based on the pretty common sight of these leashes in the hands of what I’d deem as clueless (or lazy) people, I’ve concluded
that the less you truly know about dogs, the more you probably like flexi-leashes. Those of us with fearful or reactive dogs, know all too well the sound of one reeling full-out and fast. If you are
like me, you likely cringe when that zzzzrrrrr noise is followed by the clattering, skidding, scraping sound of the reel part bouncing down the sidewalk after popping loose from someone’s …
No. You didn’t miss an election. In addition to being the Champion of My Heart, I’ve also decided to embrace Lilly’s latest role as the Mayor of Shutdown Town. And as her chief of
staff, it’s my job to pay attention to her cues, not mine. …
It intrigues me that when people see Lilly and I training in public they invariably ask, “How old is she?” They assume Lilly is a pup. I
quickly dispel the myth that training is a limited-time endeavor for us, but I often also see people watching us struggle — when something scares Lilly, and I’m helping her work through it or
at least move on without hurting herself in an attempt to flee. (On the off chance the lady near the BBQ behind the Golden Hotel is reading this, it was the BBQ lid slamming. That’s what scared
…
I’ve written a fair amount about canine nutrition in my career. I even went to a weekend-long international conference a few years ago with a couple hundred specialists in dog
allergies. I learned a ton about the role of the digestive system in causing and treating allergies from contact, inhaled or eaten sources. I like to think I’m fairly versed in what’s good about dog
foods. …
We had another sad training day on Sunday. Lilly spent most of the class in total shutdown mode. I have a theory on why, but who knows. It is what is is. …
The same day that Lilly played with Pitsch, our Borzoi friend Katie graduated from her first obedience class. She came in third overall with a score of 183 out of 200, which is
tremendous (not to be breed prejudiced) for a sight hound. She came over with her parents (Pat and Bear) so celebrate and to show off her cool new trick (jumping through a hoop). As I’ve said before,
there is something about Katie that Lilly really likes. She treats Katie in a different way than she even treats Ginko. Compare these videos I shot to those I posted …
We haven’t worked with Pitsch, Lilly’s “Control Unleashed” training buddy for a couple months because he and his mom Betsy were busy trialing. Gotta say, he’s been on FIRE. We’re
waiting for the official list, but it looks like Pitsch cracked the list of top 25 Aussies. We’re hoping to see his name in the top 10. How neat is that? … said the girl with the dog who won’t get
up off the ground.
…
