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? …
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: …
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.” …
In hopes of increasing our blog profile and of growing readership, I’m registering Champion of My Heart with Technorati. The registration process requires me to post a note and include
some link programming. So here it goes.
I did a silly thing, but I could not help myself. I bought a fancy-ass leather collar and matching leather leash for Lilly. So much of what’s out there bores me, but this line of
high-end stuff really caught my eye at that pet expo over the weekend. …
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 …
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 …
One year ago yesterday, Lilly and I began our blogging career. Many thanks to all of you loyal visitors and subscribers (including the oodles of you who read but do not comment). I can
see through my stats that our page views are growing … sometimes well over 200 a day (across the blog, not just that day’s entries). I think that’s pretty good for a young blog. I really hope to
see that continue to increase this year. …
My latest piece for HealthyPet magazine is getting noticed. How fun is that? In addition to the 3 million people who will see it in first run, we got a request last week from the
Papillon Club of America to reprint it in their newsletter. Plus, I got permission from the publisher for my big-picture trainer (Gigi) to give copies to her puppy K and beginning obedience students.
…
During these not-yet warm, spring-still-winter days, I open the back of my car so that Lilly has access to her crate, if she prefers. It gives her a dry spot, out of the wind, to survey
the valley for a bit while I’m hard at work inside. Until last week, I always thought it was a nice, safe thing to do. …
