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My Dogs and Me

Kiera, Graidy, Wink and Me

Chocolate Danger Chart for Dogs

/ Dogs in General, My Dogs and Me / By / 7 Comments

Hopefully, everyone knows that small amounts of certain kinds of chocolate (especially the dark chocolates) can kill your dog.

Jo, a reader, had a heart-stopping day when one of her dogs got into a box of chocolates. She found this National Geographic Chocolate Chart which lists different kinds of chocolates and lets you determine by your dog’s weight whether you need to rush your dog to the vet or let nature take its course.

To change the weight to what … Read More

An Evening Walk

/ Cait and Me, My Dogs and Me, Nature / By / 13 Comments

Sometimes the day races by before I get a chance to get outside. Kiera doesn’t care what time of day it is, she just wants to make sure that, at some point, we get in our three mile walk. You see, Kiera has taken it upon herself to act as my personal fitness trainer. She doesn’t care whether I want to go or not — in her mind, not going is not an option. In the past eight years, we’ve … Read More

No Hurries, No Worries.

/ Dog Training, My Dogs and Me / By / 14 Comments

It’s been a loooooong time coming. Three years, to be exact.

Border Collie

Graidy loves to run — lives to run. And, for years, was happy doing laps around our fenced three acres. But, recently, he’s been interested in expanding his horizons, and has acquired a new favorite running buddy — Andrew. (I’m too slow for him. But with Kiera getting older, I’m just right for her. We’re bringing up the rear.) As you can see, Graidy is still learning how to … 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

Last of the Harvest — and Kiera

/ My Dogs and Me / By / 17 Comments

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

Happy Fourth, Graidy

/ My Dogs and Me / By / 8 Comments

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

Training “Quiet” the Brilliant Aussie Way

/ Dog Training, Funnies, My Dogs and Me, My Favorites / By / 24 Comments

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

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