It’s a miracle. For the first time in what feels like forever, it did NOT snow on a Sunday. So, Lilly and I went to our group pet obedience class with Gigi. Maybe it was the sunshine.
Maybe it was the squirrels in the trees. But, we had a great day. I mean GREAT! …
I’m beginning to think that all this dog training is warping my expectations about how people should behave. When I cue Lilly, I expect that it be done right away. If not, I shrug, give
her the “Well?” face and wait. Generally, she complies within about 15 seconds. Other people? Not so much. …
Recently, I received a plea for help from a colleague with a dog dilemma. Just a week before her daughter’s wedding, the groom’s mother suggested putting down the couple’s disobedient
dog. A trainer had been called, and after meeting said dog, supported the idea of his death. Shake your head with me, kids, because the story gets more absurd. …
Three words: It snowed AGAIN. That means no class AGAIN. Lilly and I feel cooped up this winter. It’s driving us both batty. So, I have just a couple things to report. …
Way back when we were looking for a second dog, the prime concern was Ginko. His needs outranked anything. We needed a dog small enough not to re-injury Ginko’s two blown knees that
we’d spent a small fortune to fix surgically. We also, however, needed a dog big enough for Ginko to play with without hurting. He’s a strong, muscular 68 pounds or so. It’s a good thing Lilly is
tough as nails because last week Ginko accidently body slammed her. …
A while back, I wrote about the the case of a dog named Rolo. Last week, he
avoided a death sentence at his hearing. He was found guilty of running at large and being a dangerous dog, but a day later the judge did not feel that he is a clear and present danger to the
community and did not uphold the euthanasia order. So after 6 months, 2 weeks and 5 days, Rolo got out of doggie jail. There are many conditions his owner must meet in the coming weeks and years,
but it’s better than …
One day last week, a lone coyote hung out behind our house all day long. It poked around. It hunted. It slept. I began to worry something had happened to its pack, based on the way it
kept looking around. …
Noise of the modern world is akin to second-hand cigarette smoke. It poses a danger to us and our dogs, according to
the authors of “Through a Dog’s Ear: How to Use Sound to Improve the Health and Behavior of Your Canine Companion.” Just released March 1, the book makes the argument that many of the behavior
problems we now see in dogs (and possibly some health ones too) come from the stress of noise in their world. The collaboration between a psychoacoustics experts (Joshua Leeds), a veterinary
neurologist (Susan Wagner, DVM, MS, DACVIM), and a concert pianist (Lisa Spector, …
Lilly had another training date with Pitsch last Saturday. She did well playing and doing flatwork with him nearby. She might have even been a tad less bossy than last time. Maybe it
helped that they were playing with his frisbee and not her ball. Things were going so well, in fact, we decided to try a little agility on our home course. Bad idea. …
I originally pitched and sold this magazine article about 18 months ago. The idea sold right away. I researched and wrote it. I even got paid (quite well, actually), but it never ever
got published by the big-name magazine that bought it. So, I recently asked for and got my copyright back. Now, I could try to sell it somewhere else and maybe I will, but for now, all of you will
have to be my audience for a piece on the growth of new agility handlers 40 and 50+. I even wrote different versions of the story, using quotes …
