Saturday afternoon winds kept me indoors when Lilly and I returned from our usual round of errands and in-town walk. It was warm, enough, however for the pups to poke around outside
alone. I left the tailgate down and Lilly’s crate open since she enjoys sitting up high and watching the world go by in our little valley. Just before dinnertime, Ginko came to the door and asked to
come in, but he was alone. I assumed Lilly slept happily in her crate. I was wrong. …
Early last summer, I mused about zingers I could use when people say weird things to me
about Lilly or my training methods. Well, maybe it’s the warmish weather, but it’s happening again. …
Back in January, our blog-pal Cedarfield wrote about a goal-related dilemma. Here’s a link to that
discussion. I’ve been thinking about my own goal problem, which is different from hers.
…
As I mentioned Feb 29, Lilly shutdown doing agility at home with our new pal
Pitsch watching. I waited a couple of days to take her out on her home course for fear of solidifying the negative association with her home equipment. I’m happy to report no problems. She
continues to happily run agility at home, as long as no one is watching. Or, perhaps, I should say as long as no DOGS are watching. …
I know today’s post should be about something GREEN, but a woman here in CO recently got in trouble for turning her poodle pink. The Boulder Valley Humane Society, where we adopted
Lilly, received calls of concern about the pink dog. They made a site visit and delivered a warning. When investigators returned a month or so later, the white poodle was still pink. They issued a
$1,000 fine. The case is going to court. …
I’m beginning to think that all this dog training is warping my expectations about how people should behave. When I cue Lilly, I expect that it be done right away. If not, I shrug, give
her the “Well?” face and wait. Generally, she complies within about 15 seconds. Other people? Not so much. …
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. …
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. …
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. …
Sometimes I still pretend like Lilly and I will compete someday. I know it’s rather unlikely, but I have a good imagination. Heck sometimes I play whole scenarios in my head, where
Lilly earns some huge title. My friends are there. Everyone is cheering. Lilly gets a big ribbon. And, I get to say, “See, I knew she could do it.” I’m like the Walter Mitty of handling. I admit it.
But, the make-believe keeps me going. So, here’s my latest idea …
…
