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.

  • The Beauty of Being Deliberate

    Lilly and I spent the better part of the weekend hanging out together outside. Even a border collie as intense as Lilly, eventually loses her sense of self consciousness when we’re just bumming around for hours on end. You see, having one of us around outside can be a novelty at first, but as time goes by, Lilly resorts to her natural behavior. And, I LOVE watching her just be herself. Sometimes, it’s super sweet to see her poking around. Other times, I realize just how smart she really is. …

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    Weekly Training Update (March 20)

    Thursday went sideways on me after Lilly suffered tummy upset … all … over … the … house, while I was on the phone. After spot cleaning and later a total house disinfection, as well as baths for both dogs because while you’re soaked you might as well wash both of them, I found myself woefully behind on nearly everything. Today went a bit better in terms of productivity. Still, this dog-girl needs a weekend like you would NOT believe. BUT … I owe you an update. Here is goes. …

  • The History of Dog Toys

    Below is a link to another really neat piece I wrote for the American Kennel Club on the history of dog toys. In addition to interviewing toy designers, I talked at length with professors of American material culture, who study the everyday things we own as a way of understanding our lives and beliefs. It includes a timeline of when various dog toys were introduced. I was shocked, for example, that Nylabone launched in 1955 and Kong in 1976. …

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    The Million Dollar Question

    Over the weekend, Holly posed a very keen question about the ongoing Katie saga. She asked, “I guess my question would be … not can you give Katie a home, but should
    you.”     That, dear readers, is the issue, isn’t it? It keeps me up at night, which considering I’m still getting over being quite sick, is not good for my health — physical, emotional, or otherwise. To explore this dilemma, I pose the following imaginary adoption interview. …

  • A Tiny Agility Victory

    You have my apologies for being so far off our primary topic lately. After all, isn’t my objective to see if some day, somehow, Lilly might actually be a competitive agility dog? Well, I’ve actually accepted that won’t happen, but I do want her to be a confident, well-trained, agility-minded girl in her daily life that more and more includes being around more dogs. I point only to the distractions from the outside world, the dog world, the work world as my excuse for all the craziness lately. Seriously. How much can one girl think about/worry about before her head …

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    More Dog Introduction Observations

    After Katie panicked inside our house, during yesterday’s visit, we did more in-and-out games to build her confidence for coming inside. I showed her all over the house, but she seemed particularly fearful of the basement, so we did not go down there. BUT, we struggled with two things when she was inside: 1) She would not lay down and relax. Period. and 2) Anytime Lilly showed any bossy or resource guarding behaviors (usually over me or Tom), Katie responded with invitations to play. …