Ginko Loves Green Grass
I tried getting Ginko to do his one and only trick on camera last week. Instead, he chose to do this. If all those dog body language books are right, then this clip shows unadulterated joy. …
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Weekly Training Update (Aug 14)
Since I’m on a streak of
avoiding real life as much as possiblehealthy and completely normal coping these days, Lilly and I went to class on Wednesday … even though it was scorching hot. We hadn’t been to class in 6 weeks. It was a new park location we did not know. She did NOT do particularly well. … -
Another Video Study: Dogs at Play
During the summer, Lilly and Ginko ONLY play like this after it cools off. In fact, once Ginko turns into a wild monkey we know the temperature has finally dropped. I’ll call your attention to a few things. …
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Surgery Update
Just a quick note of thanks for your good wishes and prayers. My sister’s surgery went well. Because they started about 2 hours late and her post-op pain was significant, they ended up keeping her overnight. Yep. We live in a world where a mastectomy is considered an OUTpatient procedure. BUT, they transferred her over to the main hospital around 7 pm Monday night. She went home Tuesday afternoon and is dozing well in between doses of pain meds. …
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Surgery Vigil
I’m headed out soon to sit vigil during my sister’s mastectomy. If you could throw a spare good thought our way today, the girls of Champion of My Heart would much appreciate it. …
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Snake Update
On our walk up to the road to get today’s mail, we spotted our bridge snake friend sunning himself on the rocks. Neither Lilly or Ginko noticed him because we were playing fetch on our way out. On the way back, I told Ginko it was dinnertime, and I asked Lilly to SIDE (which means cross in front of me and move to the other heel side). Once we got both pups in the house, happily eating dinner, Tom went back out to see if the bull snake seemed OK, after Lilly winged him into the pasture on …
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Sunday Snake Encounter
You will NOT believe what Lilly did Sunday. We headed out for our usual 3-mile walk, and as habit dictates, Lilly ran to the edge of our bridge to “look” at the snakes who live in the rocks. We’ve had big bull snakes living in there forever, and Lilly likes to look at them, sniff them, etc. Sure … sometimes, she gets excited and barks at them, but usually it’s an amicable-enough thing.
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Weekly Training Update (July 31)
We haven’t had much time for formal training lately, but Lilly and I caught up with Tom at a motorcycle swap meet Sunday morning as a little outing. Lilly did really well. …
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Coping Strategies
Again, you have my apologies for the missing posts and general absence lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about how best to handle stress and worry when it comes in relentless waves for months on end. (My childhood friend’s mom died very soon after a cancer diagnosis. My mom fell again this week. My sis meets with the surgeon Friday.) This being a grown-up thing is often for the birds. So, should you find yourself mired in non-stop drama of any variety, here is my best coping advice. …
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Weekly Training Update (July 10)
With medical dramas — human and canine alike — coming at me from all directions these days, I feel woefully behind on our training updates from our new behavior modification plan to continue counter-conditioning Lilly’s fears and retraining a few scenarios where she ramps up her nerves. Here is a recap that I hope does some justice to our efforts so far. …