Dog Brag

As I’ve mentioned, Lilly’s recall at home has suffered of late, especially if she thinks she has to come inside. The problem got worse over the summer, but we seem to have turned a
corner. …

After having a dalmatian that could not be trusted loose in the house alone until she was about 8 years old, I’ve alwasy been a little leery of leaving the dogs to run free when we’re
gone (which isn’t very often since we both work at home so much of the time). But, I had to be out of the office all day yesterday, and Tom was gone in the afternoon. He decided to leave both Ginko
and Lilly loose in the house. …

Because I live in the boonies, my copy hasn’t come in the mail yet, but for those of you who get Clean Run, check out my article in the Sept 07 issue on help for the spatially inept.
It’s my first (of I hope many) pieces for the magazine. If you’re checking out the blog for the first time after reading that article, welcome. …

Last Sunday, Lilly had her best training day in months. She was spot on PERFECT. She worked hard at her advanced obedience class (not agility). She interacted nicely with a couple of strange dogs (through the fence at the dog park, but still!). She did not snark at one single dog.

The one and only time Lilly did the competition-sized teeter I nearly cried with joy. It was a fluke that’s yet to be repeated. So, months of endless frustration followed those brief moments of happiness. Here’s how it happened …

Once I got Lilly out of the car at her first official obedience class, I had a hard time convincing her to get up off the ground. Once I got her off the ground, she didn’t want to go into the building. Once I got her in the building, she hid under my chair and bared her teeth (in fear) at anything that moved. She was about 9 months old, and things looked dismal.