Ginko, The Hero!
Ginko is a doggone, five-star, full-fledged HERO! This morning, he protected Lilly from a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike mere feet from the back of the house. I’m still shaking, and it’s been a few hours since it happened.
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Weekly Training Update (July 16)
I know. I know. The headline ONLY works if I’m actually updating you every week on our dog training progress. But, I’ve already reported this week on a couple breakthroughs with the scary kitchen window and the thing about NOT coming inside only in the summer, only at night. So, today … just a quick note about Lilly’s first trip to the Farmer’s Market this summer.
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Another Breakthrough: Summertime Fears
While we’re on a roll, let me add that we seem to have overcome Lilly’s fears of coming inside the house, only at night and only in the summer. It has been one of the most puzzling of her fears over the years.
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The Scary Kitchen Window: An Update
Past experiences tell us that the window over the kitchen sink terrifies Lilly. Over time, we isolated it as a sound issue. I tried, tried, tried to counter-condition it via the Relaxation Protocol and by only opening it a little bit while Lilly ate meals in the kitchen. Then, to be honest, I sort of gave up.
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Fearful Dog Action Plan
Once in a while, everyone gets stuck. Maybe it’s stress. Maybe fear. Maybe illness, in ourselves (or those around us). When friends face what we called “stress lock” back in my college days, I typically tell them this: “Action is always better than inaction.” In other words, do something … anything … to make progress, no matter how small.
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When Pets & Your Sweetie Collide
My piece for WebMD called Your Partner vs. Your Pet went live earlier this week. Since there doesn’t seem to be a place to discuss over there, I’m posting a link here so that we can chat a bit about it. So, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you the story of Gilbert, the dog we gave up.
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Girls Hiking
Saturday, we stepped away from real life for just a bit to take our first hike of the season. Lilly isn’t quite as good as KB’s labs at posing for photos upon chosen peaks or rock outcroppings, but she tries.
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Dog Training: When You Fade Too Late
After Memorial Day Weekend, I prepared to amaze you with a new video of Lilly showing off her trick called BALANCE. It’s essentially where she sits up like a chipmunk. It’s actually an old trick, but over the long weekend she suddenly could pop up from a seated position without any help from me.
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Weekly Training Update (June 4)
I know I should rename this much-overdue dog training report something like Monthly Training Update since the whole weekly concept fell to the gutter of real life. We’ve been otherwise occupied in a million ways. So, I’m sorry we haven’t had much to report. However …
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Visitors and Fetch
A few weeks ago, one of Tom’s friends dropped by to chat. The boys stood out front for their conclave, and Lilly decided that Tom’s friend was her newest, very best friend. That’s quite a breakthrough for my fearful girl.