Mountain dog goes to town

Musings

Lilly and I ventured to a high-use public park in Denver over the
weekend to visit some friends from out of town. Since I often
lament Lilly’s reactions to various stimuli, I must say that she
took the park and all its hubbub in stride. Imagine a dog who lives
in a pretty quiet rural community going to the big city. If she
were typing today, I suspect she’d have amusing thoughts on the
things she saw. What might a smart, sensitive dog like Lilly
believe when she sees a group of grown people bashing an
alligator-shaped pinata with a …

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Lap of luxury

Dog Photo

I allow my dogs up on the furniture. I know some people don’t, but
I do. Strategies for preventing too much dogification include
putting comforters bought at garage sales on the sofas and using
extra flat sheets as a top sheet over the duvet on the bed. Still,
I buy dog beds. I cannot help myself. …

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Anatomy of a meltdown

Musings

Just as certain people instantly make my blood boil, certain dogs
simply get Lilly’s goat. And, not to put too fine a point on it, I
think their handlers know it. So that’s part of it. The second
part, however, comes when handlers behave as if Lilly is the only
dog with a problem. …

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Oh, the places she’ll hide

Back Story

Once upon a time, when Lilly was still an evasive pup, she got lost right here at home. We looked high and low but did not see her smiling face anywhere. We checked all over but saw no tiny black butt sticking up from an under-construction hole. We drove the neighborhood, calling her name, to no avail. …

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Ground control to …

Dog Photo

Now that the wild meadow grasses have gone to seed, it’s time to trim the pastures. It’s both a fire mitigation as well as a see-the-snakes-better tactic. This year, Tom decided to do reverse crop circles. The strategy lets us keep areas natural with wildflowers and so that the wildlife have a place to bed down come winter. But, it’s apparently causing quite a stir in our rural valley. …

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Loose dog rant

Dog Gripe

I’ve given up taking Lilly for long walks in our rural neighborhood. It’s a safety issue, and I simply cannot take it anymore. Too many unsocialized, untrained, territorial dogs wander unsupervised from nearby homes. Then again, there’s wandering and pursuing. …

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Agility and the escape artist

Back Story

Subtitle — what can happen when a border collie gets bored. As a youngster, Lilly did not get into typical puppy trouble. She did not chew anything up. She did not have potty accidents in the house. She did not fuss much at all. Instead, she went looking for adventure. …

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The parrot who hates me

Entirely Off Topic

Over the weekend, we babysat a parrot. Despite early success at befriending him, it turns out the bird hates me. It sounds silly, I know, but it really hurt my feelings. After all, I’m pretty good with smart, sensitive animals, right?
…

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Bathtub game pays off (sort of)

Back Story

My friend Linda jokes that when you have dogs, you never pee alone. That’s pretty much true around here, so I’ve taken to asking for a variety of behaviors. If Lilly is going to follow me into the bathroom, she might as well entertain me. …

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