One of us is a B—-
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. …
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The first time I saw her face
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. …
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Dog registration fees more than double
Recently, my county dog license renewal forms arrived in the mail. Much to my surprise the fees went up — WAY up. I kid you not. It now costs more to license my dogs than it does to
register my car each year. I’m pretty sure my dogs have less of an impact on the county than my car. … -
Bloop!
I’m not sure how she does it, but Lilly can get her tongue way up my nose or deep in my ear in a flash during any of her many kissing fits. Out of the blue, she feels the need to
express her LOVE for me with a flurry of relentless kissing. I’m kind of a little person, so it’s not like my nose and ears are chasms, but she can still fire her tongue right in there.
Ready? Aim. Bloop! Recently, while watching her intently play with a narrow Kong that I’d stuffed with peanut butter and … -
Distraction overload: ducks, squirrels, rabbits
At Sunday’s class at an outdoor park/path along Boulder Creek, Lilly did remarkably well considering the amount of human traffic, including bikes, scooters, and skateboards. And, she
even did OK at first when she noticed the wildlife in the area. … -
Hard work vs hard to train
Last week, I found myself a bit in a wad after someone who doesn’t know dogs at all said Lilly is “hard to train.” She said it like it was a statement of fact, like she was simply
reiterating something I’ve said myself. I quickly clarified my point, which is this. The training work I’m doing with Lilly is hard. It’s hard for me to learn. It’s hard for me to stick to long-term.
It’s hard for me to understand entirely these very detailed (bordering on PhD-level) strategies. Lilly, however, is a breeze to train simply because she’s so smart. … -
A nice surprise
Since I had to take Ginko down to the doctor today for follow-up blood tests to check his thyroid levels after 2 months on the new dosage, I went ahead and drug him around with me while
I ran a few errands. The snow and cold have kept us fairly cooped up, so once I’m off the mountain, I’d best get a few things done. From our outing, I have two happy things to report.
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Happy Try Again Day
New Year’s Day hoopla bores me. All the hopes, all the resolutions, feel too much like a mate who acts like an @#$@# all year long and thinks flowers on Valentine’s Day or diamonds at
Xmas makes up for it. I don’t buy it. But, it’s not that I don’t believe in new beginnings or new goals. I simply think that every day is a fresh start … for that matter so is every hour, every
minute. … -
Tips for playing fetch in the snow
It finally stopped snowing here around 10 pm last night, so we got off the mountain today after plowing the driveway. The canyon was snow-packed and icy for sure, but not terrible. We
got Ginny home safely, but we did NOT do any after-xmas shopping … other than to pick up some bags of wood stove pellets since another storm is coming tonight into tomorrow. … -
Ginko’s igloo and other tales
While sorting through some archived photos, I came across this one of Ginko from March 2003. We’d had an incredible blizzard that dumped like 5-6 feet of snow very quickly. We were
stranded at home for about a week. That’s how long it took to clear our football-field-long driveway. …