Ginko reigns as the undisputed sofa captain at Chez Champion of My Heart, but last week, in preparation for holiday guests, I washed and hung out the garage sale comforters that typically cover our
furniture while Tom did a thorough upholstery cleaning. That meant our big boy suffered an entire day without piloting the love seat. Check out our ghetto scat mat (as Elayne at Days of Speed is fond of calling homemade solutions). Two words: Bubble Wrap …
Amid the rampant belt-tightening, dogs fair better than human friends and even family in the holiday shopping rush. Human hangers-on and family gift obligations get the heave-ho, but dogs? Well, they
remain KEEPERS even in tough economic times. Or, so says, an article in yesterday’s New York Times (Fewer Gifts and Frills …) …
An industry expert told me while I researched the history of dog toys that plush toys always
outsell other kinds of dog toys — by far. It has less to do with relative usefulness in a dog’s life and more to do with likely impulse buys by the girls who shop for dog toys. (And, let’s face
it, in the dog arena, the consumer is definitely a woman.) I got to thinking about this factoid while sewing back together a bunch of plush toys who’ve seen better …
For his birthday this year, Tom’s mom made a photo album of his childhood snapshots. Featured prominently on the title page is this gem of Tom (approximately age 8), a few sunflowers, a huge tomato
and a border collie (named Shep, who was actually Tom’s brother’s dog). …
Last week, Ginko cuddled up to Tom on the sofa and sacked out. While *that* isn’t unusual, the fact that he did it with a toy firmly wedged in his mouth was. …
I joke pretty often about having the best coworkers. Canine ones, that is. They don’t gossip. They don’t take part in office politics. They don’t criticize my work. Sure, they do interrupt me. They
are noisy when I’m trying to do phone interviews. They do occasionally smell bad. But, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. They do require, however, some foot- and rolling-chair-related caution. So, I constantly Mind the Snout. …
Even as the weather turns colder, we have a hard time keeping Lilly inside. Any time a door opens, she slips out like a little canine ninja. The difference,
compared to summer, is that we have less trouble getting her to come inside. So, she’s in. She’s out. She’s in. She’s out. One of her favorite things to do is “help” me hang out laundry. She
makes it pay off by convincing me to toss sticks while I …
As you likely heard on TV and from other Colorado bloggers, it snowed for three solid days last week and resulted in about three feet of snow around here. Unfortunately, the storm coincided with my first real week of work (after nonstop family medical drama) in a while, so Lilly found herself feeling more than cooped up. So, for your amusement, I present to top two signs your border collie has cabin fever. …
Last week Tom took a trip with friends to Moab, Utah, to explore sections of the Kokopelli Trail. This time he rode a motorcycle, but on previous trips he covered major sections on a mountain bike. He knows the area well and loves it. As much as we miss him, who could deny their favorite boy a much-needed getaway? These photos show how nearly unreal the whole area is. And, since we’ve had about enough of the real world around here lately, I thought I’d share. …
Allow me, please, a brag. In just a few clicker sessions, Lilly learned a new trick we call CLEAN UP. We were inspired by this video of a ridgeback putting away his toys. Lilly got the idea in just one session, but she tossed the toys into the basket with such oomph that they bounced out, which was against the rules. She caught on fast, though, and began holding the toys down with one paw, which is just about the cutest thing. …
