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

Lilly and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Last Sunday, we got the sad news that Lilly’s best friend Katie needs a new home. Without bogging down in the details, suffice it to say that Katie’s own shyness/fear issues have impacted her bonds at home. Our hearts immediately turned toward heroism. Where better, we thought, for Katie to live than with US? Lilly loves her. We love her. She thinks we’re pretty neat, too. She often watches us play in the pasture, looking longingly over from her front corner perch. So, despite our rule of being a 2-dog house, we started figuring out a solution. Sadly, …

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Musings

Nap Negotiations

Despite the continuing onslaught of germs, I’m actually up and working this morning on a relatively normal schedule since I have an interview at 9:30 am for my next Healthypet Magazine article, so Lilly and Ginko are jockeying for standby nap positions. I just watched the most interesting negotiation between them. …

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Musings

Missive from Germ Girl

So, the germs are still hanging on, which means I’m working as much as I can muster, then sleeping. Sometimes that means 3 hours up, 1 hour down. Then, there are days like today, when I’m up for about an hour, then down for 2-3. I don’t get this sick very often — maybe every 3-4 years, so Lilly has only seen me down for the count like this maybe once before. And, she’s not liking it. …

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Hot News

Please Stand By

I’m beyond sick with some crazy winter virus. No energy to write anything. Hope to be back to normal later this week. …

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Dog Training Update | Dogs on Drugs

Weekly Training Update (Feb 13)

We continued to use public training moments as our proving ground this week. Here’s how our first hike of the season went.
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Info-Share

The Rise in Veterinary Spending & The Current Economy

I wrote a piece last week on the recession’s impact on veterinary medicine. In my research to help quantify things, I found some interesting data. For example, between 1980 and 2005, what people spend on veterinary services virtually doubled in real dollars. That means, even with adjustments for inflation, pet owners are spending about 100% more per year. And, for the “best clients,” who routinely take pets to the doctor (aka … you and me), it’s actually 124% of what it used to be. …

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Musings

On Dirty Windows and Protecting Mommy

After I shot the photos from yesterday’s post, I sat in the sun myself. Suddenly, Lilly came to my defense from what appears to her as bugs crawling on my back. Turns out, they were shadows from spots on the glass door. (TMI, perhaps, on my window cleaning efforts.)
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Dog Photo | Musings

Mirrored Motion (Dogs at Peace)

In our continuing efforts to notice dog language based on what we learned from Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide by Brenda Aloff, I shot these two photos of the dogs sitting inside one of our sliding doors in the sun. Both looked at me, then looked away in unison. I love these pics of my golden-eyed pair, sharing a dog bed in the sun.
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Dog Musings

Good Veterinary Partnerships?

I need your help! I’m doing research on good pet care partnerships. I know it’s different for everyone, but I should be able to distill some key characteristics from your comments and stories. To prime the idea pump, consider these questions:
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Dog Gripe

Whine, Whine, Whine

Squeak, squeak, squeak. Whine, whine, whine. That’s all I’ve been hearing for several weeks now. Lilly has a new attention-getting ploy. She goes and cries to Ginko, which frustrates him, so then he barks. Ginko never bothers me unless he really needs something, so at first, I’d go running to see what was up. VOILA! Lesson learned. Lilly figured out that fussing to Ginko garners attention (from both of us). STINKER! …

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