Recently, I received a plea for help from a colleague with a dog dilemma. Just a week before her daughter’s wedding, the groom’s mother suggested putting down the couple’s disobedient
dog. A trainer had been called, and after meeting said dog, supported the idea of his death. Shake your head with me, kids, because the story gets more absurd. …
Way back when we were looking for a second dog, the prime concern was Ginko. His needs outranked anything. We needed a dog small enough not to re-injury Ginko’s two blown knees that
we’d spent a small fortune to fix surgically. We also, however, needed a dog big enough for Ginko to play with without hurting. He’s a strong, muscular 68 pounds or so. It’s a good thing Lilly is
tough as nails because last week Ginko accidently body slammed her. …
A while back, I wrote about the the case of a dog named Rolo. Last week, he
avoided a death sentence at his hearing. He was found guilty of running at large and being a dangerous dog, but a day later the judge did not feel that he is a clear and present danger to the
community and did not uphold the euthanasia order. So after 6 months, 2 weeks and 5 days, Rolo got out of doggie jail. There are many conditions his owner must meet in the coming weeks and years,
but it’s better than …
One day last week, a lone coyote hung out behind our house all day long. It poked around. It hunted. It slept. I began to worry something had happened to its pack, based on the way it
kept looking around. …
Noise of the modern world is akin to second-hand cigarette smoke. It poses a danger to us and our dogs, according to
the authors of “Through a Dog’s Ear: How to Use Sound to Improve the Health and Behavior of Your Canine Companion.” Just released March 1, the book makes the argument that many of the behavior
problems we now see in dogs (and possibly some health ones too) come from the stress of noise in their world. The collaboration between a psychoacoustics experts (Joshua Leeds), a veterinary
neurologist (Susan Wagner, DVM, MS, DACVIM), and a concert pianist (Lisa Spector, …
Lilly had another training date with Pitsch last Saturday. She did well playing and doing flatwork with him nearby. She might have even been a tad less bossy than last time. Maybe it
helped that they were playing with his frisbee and not her ball. Things were going so well, in fact, we decided to try a little agility on our home course. Bad idea. …
Stemming from my mini-rant last week, I went looking online for that funny leash about
being a B****. Apparently there are many more in that product line. Some are suggestive, so browse at your own risk. …
I get a bunch of dog stuff catalogs. Here are some new t-shirts in the latest In The Company of Dogs catalog that really cracked me up. The links below take you to the ordering page, if
you want to check it out. …
Last week, while walking Lilly in town, a poodle crossed our path in a bad way. We came through the encounter just fine, but it made me worry about how many people truly have no clue
what’s at the end of their leash. …
Do you remember that moment? The first time you saw your dog. Do you remember what it was that made you think, “That’s the one”?
I wish I could tell you what it was exactly that attracted me to Lilly. I look and look and look at this photo the humane society posted online. And, I try to remember that moment, but I can’t. …
