Kiera, Graidy, Wink and Me
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
A cup of tea shared in front of the fire, with animals near (Finnegan is keeping my spot warm on the chair next to Graidy). With the late October chill in the air, the woodstove’s rosy glow draws us all closer, helping to get us ready for winter’s simpler pleasures.
Thanks everyone for the well wishes; the writing is going well. I took a break from it this morning to finish putting my garden to bed, which gave me a chance to reflect on the past growing season.
Each year, I try a few new seeds. This year I planted Hokkaido Stella Blue squash and Dave Four-O-Seven quinoa. The squash has been a big hit –it’s sweet and buttery, and hardy. I’d go so far as to say it’s the … Read More
Actually, I don’t really know how old Graidy is. When we got him out of rescue, the vet guesstimated him at a year old, and since we’ve had him for three years as of today, that makes him fourish.
When I think about all the reasons why I love this dog, I guess this post from nearly a year ago would sum it up.
Angels Come in Many Forms
Early this morning, at 2 a.m., I was awoken by incessant … Read More
At dinner, Kiera lies by my chair while we eat. She likes to monitor my eating, as she knows she gets my leftovers when I’m done. If I take too long, she starts “talking” to tell me to hurry up.
Andrew finally gets annoyed and wants me to discipline her to get her to stop being pushy. So I remember Suzanne Clothier’s time-out lesson where you remove the dog from where you are for a few moments to essentially help … Read More
From the mail bag: Kevin writes, I love dogs and live with a partner who doesn’t. She merely tolerates them because she loves me. I’m wondering how you and Andrew work out ways to keep everybody happy.
Dear Kevin: I was born with an affinity for dogs, and was permitted to have dogs from an early age. Andrew was never allowed to have pets growing up. So he’s never had the experience of being changed by a dog’s love. I … Read More
Back when Finn was just a little thing (now he’s almost as big as Graidy), he followed Kiera everywhere and wanted to do everything she did. Including using the dog door.
He never quite figured it out and got stuck a couple of times half way in and half way out. Kiera would push him back in with her nose.
Now that he’s a big guy, he’d give anything to get to go out. But we have too many wild
Magic has been on my mind a lot recently, as I help a friend who is trying to help her dog with some aggression issues. Fortunately for her and her dog, it’s not a neurological problem, as Magic’s was. With some consistency and strong, clear boundaries, I think they’ll both be fine.
Even while I can say I’ve finally gotten over the “what if’s” and the “if only’s” with Magic, I haven’t gotten over him. This quote pretty much sums … Read More
