It’s the weekend. The corgi is bored. I am otherwise engaged. She is standing, staring at me, willing spontaneous adventure to begin. “Zora, go find William.” She turns tail and determinedly trots off through the house to find her other…
Don’t Take Good for Granted
With all of the millions of behavior choices available to our dogs in any given instance, it never ceases to amaze how frequently the behaviors they chose are ones that are pretty darn wonderful. That isn’t to discount the moments…
Into the Abyss
Imagine you’re on a hike with a friend. It’s your first time on this mountain. You and your friend are hiking along and the trail now brings you to a cliff. Your friend keeps walking toward it, you slow down…
Buy In
Last night I taught an agility workshop, kicking off the start of agility lessons here. It was a nice small group of competitors preparing for this weekend’s trial. I had a lovely time with them all and we had good…
Snow Day Survival Strategies
This winter our weather patterns have been a tad unusual for sure. As a result the panic calls have been coming in March instead of the more typical January. The panic calls that occur often like clockwork about 2-3 days…
It’s in the Tone!
“It has to do with your tone of voice! Dogs respond to the tone not the words!” How many times have you heard that in the past? I’ve heard it many times. Most often in reference to the way a…
Freestyle Shaping
Materials: 1 kitchen chair 1 bored corgi in need of entertainment Handful of dog kibble or small treats 1 tired human 1 comfortable sitting place for tired human preferably warm and with cozy blankets Goal: entertain corgi in silliness and…
Role Models
This morning we joined a friend and her 5 month old lab pup on a walk. He’s a fun, bouncy pup. At that age where social graces are often a quite bit of a struggle. Observing him shift from in…
Strong Opinions
Tom can be a very opinionated fellow. Makes what he wants very well known. Amazing how one so silent, can be so clear. Take for example today’s walk. There is a small couple block neighborhood about a mile up the…
Agility Trial Routines
I’m a rather routine, predictable person. I find routines comforting and reassuring. I like having plans. It’s harder to get lost, lose things and be forgetful when life is orchestrated with many patterns. It’s no surprise I have any number…