While much of my work centers around spiritual teaching and inner exploration, my dogs are the ones who keep my feet firmly on the earth. Off the meditation cushion and out of the classroom, I’m just a regular person who is entirely devoted to her dogs. Here, you’ll find stories, lessons, and everyday moments from the journey of loving, learning from, and sharing life with four-legged companions. Just real life, dust bunnies, and unconditional love.
Cait has been pretty lucky with her teachers so far; they’ve all been good for her. This year is her luckiest yet. She has a teacher who loves the outdoors as much as she loves teaching kids. Every year, this teacher takes her class to the Nature Trails as part of her science unit. She uses nature to help bring science alive.
Today, for the second of several trips, Cait’s class spent an hour hiking through the woods, observing and … Read More
One of the last books I read just before Caitlin was born, almost eleven years ago now, was Larry McMurtry’s Buffalo Girls . How do I know that for certain? Because in that book is the chorus to the song, Buffalo Girls. It goes:
Buf-falo Girls won’t you come out to-night,
come out to-night, come out tonight,
Buf-falo Girls won’t you come out to-night,
and dance by the light of the moon.
And why would that chorus be memorable … Read More
Like dogs, I find that people fall into two main categories–those who look down and those who look up. By down I mean looking at what’s in front of us–the earthly things. By up I mean looking at what’s up in the sky–the vision of things happening overhead.
Like Graidy, who, as part bird dog, instinctively looks up to find movement (as contrasted by Kiera, my herder, who instinctively looks down and around for movement) I’ve always been drawn to … Read More
We got a new dog about three months ago. He’s six months old now. Isn’t he gorgeous?
What? You think he looks like a cat?
Rub those eyes one more time, please, because I’m telling you Finnegan is a dog — through and through. So what that Mother Nature screwed up and put him in a cat’s body; he knows he was meant to be a dog, shoulda been a dog, is a dog in his own mind.
He follows … Read More
Okay, I have to say it. I don’t like Cesar Millan’s training methods. He’s set dog training back about 20 years.
The Alpha Roll?! Come on, really. And I don’t know of any good trainer who would EVER say, “Don’t try this at home.” Then what’s the point, I ask you? Showmanship, ego, and money. That’s the point.
It’s not that Millan is wholly without merit. There are some training techniques that even Millan doesn’t have to turn into an … Read More
From the Mail Bag: I’d love to hear more about your coyotes, S.B., a reader writes in. She goes on to ask: Have you always had them nearby? When did you start having the coyote dreams? Have they taken over your area or are they remaining a stable population? I am fascinated by the relationship you and Kiera have with them!
Dear S.B.: The first time I heard or saw them was the night I was looking at Magic’s … Read More
Along with my stepson, Colin (the other handy person in our family), I built this swing-set for Cait several years ago. I sketched the plan, figured out the lumber list, got the materials home, and Colin and I had the whole thing built in a day. Andrew, who isn’t especially handy with tools, and Cait, who was four at the time, were very helpful go-fers. It has stood in sturdy stead all these years.
We built it because Cait had … Read More
This is my beloved Kiera. The original. She was tall and lanky for a Sheltie, and was often mistaken for a Miniature Collie. She had a grace, intelligence, and serenity about her that drew people to her like a magnet.…