In an attempt to make the pre-holiday cleaning bonanza last as long as possible, I began using a squeegee on our glass doors after each shower. To me, that daily minute trumps the eons it takes to
battle well-water residue later. While I try really hard not to squeak the darn thing, Lilly hates the sliding noise just as much. She barks. Ginko barks, and suddenly everyone in the house knows
Mommy is out of the shower. …
A revelation sprouted from the non-stop stress here at Chez Champion of My Heart. An insight into panic and frustration and fearful dogs poked me square in the noggin when I unexpectedly flipped out
recently and saw the parallels to what life is often like for dear, sensitive Lilly. You know how I sometimes gripe about how Lilly’s behavior flashes and catches me off guard? Well, these days, I
feel something similar come over me, and I never see it coming. Maybe that’s how it is for Lilly, too.
…
Since we have virtually no time for “real” dog training these days, I’ve taken to making even everyday things … like Lilly following me around as I attempt to keep the house somewhat in order …
into a working thing. OK, maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better, but Lilly seems to enjoy doing what I ask, even if she would do those things anyway. …
On one of many nights I attempted to sleep somewhere other than where Tom was, I had the luxury of Lilly joining me. When either of us is sick, we use various bedrooms to avoid as much as possible
passing the germs along. I had a doozy of a cold last week (clearly the stress wore me down), so I coughed, sneezed, and snorted my way through several nights. So, we let our poor neglected pups
sleep loose (rather than in their crates), and Lilly picked me as her cuddling companion. …
Lilly has figured out that certain getting-dressed routines mean various things that may or may not involve her having any fun. The other day in my mad dash to get out of the house and deal with
eldercare issues, I found her glued to one spot, just looking out the window. At first, I couldn’t figure out what she saw. When I realized a bunny had caught her attention, I figured a little border
collie obsession wasn’t a bad thing for her with me being so busy. …
Back in the mid-1990s, when I was on staff at the American Animal Hospital Association, I helped with logistics for the big annual veterinary
conference. Think of it like throwing some 50 special events every day for thousands of your closest colleagues in a strange city for four straight days. It is exhausting. The exhibit hall was
always one of big draws, with oodles of free schwag and other tantalizing things to get people into the various booths, where the oh-so-charming sales folks could work their magic. …
My friend and colleague Susan McCullough over at The Allie Chronicles
sent me this link today. It’s a blog post from Patricia McConnell that addresses the
underlying theme of Champion of My Heart: What do you do, how do you feel when a dog you hoped would do X (insert expectation) can’t, won’t, or doesn’t like to do X? …
A couple weeks ago, I popped by a craft event at the Grange. (Rural people know. Others can look it up.) And, I would have snapped up
one particular item pairing, if the knitter had had something in Lilly’s size. Ready … ? This person had hand-knitted dog sweaters with matching hats for dog moms. It’s silly, but way cute. I
would love to have a little matching thing for us girls to wear for photo ops and such. …
Ginko reigns as the undisputed sofa captain at Chez Champion of My Heart, but last week, in preparation for holiday guests, I washed and hung out the garage sale comforters that typically cover our
furniture while Tom did a thorough upholstery cleaning. That meant our big boy suffered an entire day without piloting the love seat. Check out our ghetto scat mat (as Elayne at Days of Speed is fond of calling homemade solutions). Two words: Bubble Wrap …
Most nights, Lilly and Ginko sleep in the basement in their hard-sided crates. The temperature down there stays around 55 degrees year-round. Even on the crazy-coldest nights, like we’ve had over
recent weeks, it stays steady. We treat them a bit like birds in that we cover their crates at night with some insulated drapes I once made for our dining room. As an experiment, I used my greenhouse
thermometer that’s capable of showing temps both inside the crates and in the basement overall. Here are the results. …
