After I rescinded my top dog toy pick for the 2009 holiday season because the plastic was too
hard and noisy, I went with the Busy Buddy Twist ‘n Treat from
Premier instead, as Lilly’s main gift. It came last week, and I’m sad to say it is WAY too easy, even at the hardest setting. The
kibble literally pours out. Help?! …
Amid the rampant belt-tightening, dogs fair better than human friends and even family in the holiday shopping rush. Human hangers-on and family gift obligations get the heave-ho, but dogs? Well, they
remain KEEPERS even in tough economic times. Or, so says, an article in yesterday’s New York Times (Fewer Gifts and Frills …) …
An industry expert told me while I researched the history of dog toys that plush toys always
outsell other kinds of dog toys — by far. It has less to do with relative usefulness in a dog’s life and more to do with likely impulse buys by the girls who shop for dog toys. (And, let’s face
it, in the dog arena, the consumer is definitely a woman.) I got to thinking about this factoid while sewing back together a bunch of plush toys who’ve seen better …
When Elayne over at Days of Speed asked about Lilly’s favorite ball, which is apparently all the rage in Chicago, I confidently told
her where to find them, how I usually buy several at a time. Yet, I find myself in a small panic. Our local grocery store no longer has these Flexi-Foam balls, which are the ONLY ones Lilly likes. Oh, the trauma. …
For his birthday this year, Tom’s mom made a photo album of his childhood snapshots. Featured prominently on the title page is this gem of Tom (approximately age 8), a few sunflowers, a huge tomato
and a border collie (named Shep, who was actually Tom’s brother’s dog). …
Last week, Ginko cuddled up to Tom on the sofa and sacked out. While *that* isn’t unusual, the fact that he did it with a toy firmly wedged in his mouth was. …
I joke pretty often about having the best coworkers. Canine ones, that is. They don’t gossip. They don’t take part in office politics. They don’t criticize my work. Sure, they do interrupt me. They
are noisy when I’m trying to do phone interviews. They do occasionally smell bad. But, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. They do require, however, some foot- and rolling-chair-related caution. So, I constantly Mind the Snout. …
Wow! What a roller coaster of a week this has been. Suffice it to say that all emotional extremes have now be exhausted, which is indeed exhausting. So, I only
have a couple little training notes to share about our CLEAN UP trick work.
Somehow, I’d forgotten that Lilly needs more mental work in the winter than at other times. It has been quite cold, and I have been quite busy, so she needs time to think …
It’s easy to see how well dogs sense time and pick up on routines — especially about food-related events. For example, we become very popular about an hour before
mealtime. It’s kind of funny and sweet, except when the time change messed everything up. The good news is that the time change fixed Ginko’s recent wake-up-early problems. The bad news is that
poor Lilly is just exhausted come nighttime. My sweetie practically begs to go to bed these …
On another remarkably warm Sunday afternoon, we again made time for class. While Lilly did not stay calm from start to finish, she bounced back better than she
would have in the past from seeing lots of new dogs and from firecrackers. Yes, firecrackers in @#$@ November. Still, I ended up with a fat lip, after Lilly decided to jump her jitters out when
I wasn’t looking. Rather than face photos that reveal Lilly’s mood by ear position …
