Dog Life

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    More on our media debut

    As I mentioned last week, Lilly and I got invited to take part in a media thing. It’s partly because of the blog, but it’s mostly because of my contacts from years of working for
    national humane and veterinary organizations. The media campaign, called Power of Paws, promotes the benefits of pet ownership. It’s being
    done by a firm in NYC for Del Monte, which owns Milkbone and a bunch of other brands. The primary use for these videos and interviews is online, but the extensive release I had to sign says they can
    use our audio and …

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    What’s your mantra?

    While wallowing last week over setbacks, I posted a plea elsewhere for ideas on what to do when you get discouraged. My question … How do you keep your spirits up? The discussion
    included the concept of mantras. I’ve been using a couple phrases in my head relating to work. (Remember, I get things stuck in my internal audio easily.) So … I figured how about one for training?
    Here’s what I wrote. What do you tell yourself? …

  • See … it is a big deal (warning …. sad)

    Recently, I wrote about Lilly getting herself stuck inside a trash bag and later
    cereal bag. I found it very upsetting, but some people I know played down the danger as if Lilly could have gotten herself unstuck, if I hadn’t found her. As this sad example shows,
    that’s not necessarily the case. The following cautionary tale comes out of another online agility community. It came with permission to cross-post, so here it is: …

  • Hmmm … Stick.

    I had to toss her the stick and quick snap the picture to get this shot. She would NOT for the life of me hold the darn thing while I took aim with the camera. As you can see, this is a
    much loved stick. Perhaps the caption should read, “If I close my eyes and bite down really hard, maybe Mommy will stop taking pictures of me.” …

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    Decisions, decisions

    I’m waiting for confirmation of date & time, but I’ve been invited to be interviewed on video (with Lilly) for an upcoming PR campaign for a big-name dog product. In addition to working
    on Lilly sitting nicely next to me while I talk, I’m trying to narrow down possible stories to tell or themes to address. I have some ideas of what I’d like to say, but sometimes I think it’s easier
    for others to see such narrative threads. So, if you had to sum up our strengths or the most compelling examples of our partnership, what would you pick …

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    Lilly’s first off-leash hike

    Lilly and I often hike alone on the trails near our house. Due traffic of hikers with dogs, mountain bikers with a need for speed, and the preponderance of horse riders, I keep Lilly on
    leash. Even when we don’t see another person or dog, there’s always a chance of coming across a rattle snake, a coyote, a fox, a herd of deer or elk, or the dreaded mountain lion. So, I personally
    prefer to keep Lilly close. Plus … frankly, it’s park rules to do so. However, there are spots on private land owned by neighbors where traffic and …