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. …
I’m not sure this counts as a real training update since the ONLY thing Lilly and Ginko are learning these days is to handle us being busy, gone, worried all the time. I really wish I could write
about the terrible things going on right now, but there are many reasons I cannot. So, please just know that we continue to need a constant flood of good wishes and mojo for pretty much everyone in
our family. Those of us, under this roof, are mostly fine, if you don’t count bouts of crying, winter cold germs, unending/unimaginable stress …
Last week, before the most recent eldercare emergency cropped up, I did a bunch of research into housing and care solutions for my mom and her husband (another long, stressful story). Since many of
you may find yourself in similar situations someday, I thought I might offer a couple helpful ideas. …
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 …
Lilly and I went to our last class of the year on Wednesday. And, I’m sad to say she had a rough time. It all started with a young, standard poodle who came charging at us (in play) right off the
bat. We tried walking away, but Lilly ended up having to engage. She did fine at first with a relatively calm (yet stiff) sniff, but when the dog didn’t go away, Lilly decided to show her teeth and
snark. …
I’m not sure this counts as a real training update, but Lilly learned to wear a sweater this week. I’m not big on dressing dogs up, but the seriously frigid temps here this week dictated otherwise.
It turns out that it worked a bit like those fancy dog anxiety wraps. Lilly seemed pretty happy and pretty mellow in her sweater. She looks
cute too. …
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 …
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 …
This is another thing I came across on Twitter. It’s a site called I’m Tired Of … that sells a bunch of different bracelets (made from recycled tires) and t-shirts that help promote various causes. They donate some
of the proceeds to charities. In addition rallying against diseases (like breast cancer, diabetes, etc.) and cultural issues such as discrimination, they have some that say
I took Lilly to class for the first time in seven weeks on Sunday. She did great, even though we did not know the majority of dogs and many of them were young and somewhat wild. She did snark at one dog whose self-control is still under construction, but that’s no surprise. This pup was straining at the end of the leash, hopping around and looking right at Lilly. …
