A Year of Firsts
Time flies when you’re having fun. And Cait has been having loads of fun with her little boy. Hard to believe he’s one year old!
Our very first meeting.
Wink (then named Casey) was a little shy and oh so tiny.… Read More
Search Results for: graidy
Life Not Crazy Enough for Ya? Add a Third Dog.
I think it was John Lennon who said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Well “life” sure has been happenin’ around here. Not least of which is that I’ve somehow been roped into adding a third dog to our crew.
It all started when Cait began making serious noise again about wanting her own little dog (emphasis on little). Having zero interest in adding a third dog, I told her to take it up … Read More
Longest Day of the Year
The summer solstice is the day of maximum sunlight hours, bringing the longest day and shortest night of the year.
I’d like to think we put it to maximum use.
As usual, Graidy greeted me at 4:50 a.m.by jumping up on the bed and licking my face until I woke up. Next to me on the floor, was Kiera on her dog bed. Finn was perched on the open window sill, twitching at every birdsong. The furry contingent and I … Read More
A Writing Life
I haven’t needed an alarm clock for years now, because I have two furry ones. Today, it’s 4:10 AM, a little early even for me. Graidy usually has the decency to wait until about 5:00 AM before rousing me out of bed. (Another quality people should be aware of when getting high energy/herding dogs is that they’re ready to go at the crack of dawn–literally. ) Fortunately, I like to get up early to write, in the quiet, when everyone … Read More
Dog Chew Treats — Safe or Unsafe
All puppies and most grown dogs have a need to chew. While both Kiera and Graidy were chewers as puppies, Kiera could take or leave a bone or chewie now. Graidy still lives for them; he needs to chew. Perhaps your dog falls somewhere in the middle. Regardless, no doubt, at some point we’ve all bought our dogs a treat or chew toy. Who doesn’t like to treat their dogs occassionally? But did you know that the very treat you’re … Read More
When Should You Start Training Your Puppy
Every encounter we have with our dogs is a training session– whether we know it or not.
So I start training consciously right from the very first day I get my puppy home. This keeps me focused on my behavior and interactions with my puppy, as well as hers with me. Doing so makes it less likely for an unwanted behavior to get very far before I can nip it in the bud. Good communication and redirection are key.
For … Read More
Will You Pulleeease Get Off the Computer
I’m working late on a deadline. It’s way past this crew’s bedtime. They’ve been patiently waiting, curled around my feet. And then not so patiently waiting, moving toward the stairs.
When that didn’t get me to follow, they parked themselves halfway between me and the stairs as a hint, alternating between loud sighs and glares.
Finnegan finally decided to take matters into his own hands. Previously lying snuggled up next to Graidy (they’re inseparable), he determined that walking on the … Read More
No Hurries, No Worries.
It’s been a loooooong time coming. Three years, to be exact.
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