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Of Brick Walls and Petty Tyrants

/ Cait and Me, My Favorites / By / 44 Comments

Cait came home complaining yet again about one of her teachers. Being familiar with this teacher, I knew that her complaint was more than legitimate. The rant started as soon as she walked in the door from the school bus.

She launched in, “Mom, she’s incoherent when she’s giving directions. Nobody understands her!”

I didn’t even have to ask who she was talking about. Knowing the litany, I joined in on the next refrain, “She won’t even answer questions when … Read More

Donaldson and Dunbar Take On Dominance (and Dog Whisperers)

/ Dog Training, Dogs in General / By / 4 Comments

If you’re sick of hearing ccchhhhhtttttt, you’ll be happy to know that Dogwise is offering this DVD by Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth viewing.

Here’s the blurb and link from Dogwise:

Many trainers today find themselves facing questions and comments from clients like “Why don’t you do it the way that guy on TV does it? I think my dog is being dominant and he needs to be shown who is boss.”

… Read More

The Call

/ Cait and Me / By / 13 Comments

I remember how, as soon as the phone rang, as soon as I heard my brother’s voice, I knew my father had had a heart attack. Don’t ask me how I knew (because the call was in the middle of the day), but I knew. I woke my then 2 year old daughter from her nap, threw her in the car and started the race to my parents’ house.

And I knew when I got the call in the car … Read More

The Morning Bus Stop: Part 2 – Or How to Get Your Dogs to Stop Barking

/ Dog Training, Dogs in General, My Dogs and Me / By / 19 Comments

To continue on the Bus Stop theme, I thought I’d share how I got my dogs to stop barking like maniacs every time the bus rounded the corner. But first a little background on how I came upon the solution:

I have a friend who I aspire to be when I grow up. She is a retired Ph.D. psychologist and is well into her second career as a dog trainer. In my opinion, she ranks as one of the top … Read More

The Morning Bus Stop

/ Cait and Me / By / 15 Comments

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For those of you who don’t have kids in middle school or high school yet, and are wondering why we need Daylight Savings Time — this is the reason. This picture was taken with a flash. Without, you’d see nothing but pitch black.

Which is why I wait with Cait with a flashlight until I see the lights of the bus coming around the bend. She’s not afraid of the dark. It’s what’s in the dark… It’s the bats still … Read More

Respecting the Emotional Lives of Animals

/ Cait and Me, Nature / By / 3 Comments

Whales-online.org offers this podcast with Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society. The interviewer and Marc discuss his new book Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect. Marc’s book considers the full spectrum of topics relating to animals in the human world including animal sentience and animal emotions.

From the Whales-online.org site: “Marc explains that the difference between … Read More

Take It From the Top

/ Cait and Me, Nature / By / 10 Comments

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This is the view from the top of Owl’s Head, one of Lake Placid’s shorter hikes — just over 2 miles up and back.

Cait and I were heading back after a long weekend at my mother’s (Andrew stayed home to get in the last of some golfing, while watching the dogs). Just as we were about to pass the road that led to the trail head, we looked at each other.

“Mom?” Cait nodded to the entrance.

“Sure,” I … Read More

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