Often times life for dogs involves a fair amount of “hurry up and wait.” Waiting for meals to get prepared, walks to happen, car rides to end, owners to return home, balls to be thrown, for neighbors to stop chatting…
More than One Way
In any activity humans are passionate or invested in you’re going to get strong opinions. Expressions of the way things have, or should, or must be done. Dog agility is no different. Yet many, likely majority, of those expressions are…
Alternative Agility equipment descriptions
Inspired by this awesome think outside the box exchange: “That waffle thing” Me, with confusion, “I have no idea what you are talking about…” “That waffle thing on the stand, there are two of them with a stick across…” A…
Connection
Connection: the relationship of a person, thing or behavior to something or someone else. Connection is an all the rage buzz word in the current world of dog training. In years past the word instead was “Attention”. Attention: the act…
He’s in My Spot
By Tom Doesn’t he know he’s in my spot? The guy human who lives with us. Doesn’t he know? Why is he still home!? And still in my spot?! I tried to shove him out. I tried to sit on…
Showing up to class
I’m always impressed when week after week, reliably, people and their dogs show up for classes. Have practiced homework. Have even just managed to get themselves out the door to come to lessons. Let alone to be on time, to…
Teaching Dogs ‘The Basics’
The other day during a lesson with a long time client who has a new puppy she asked me, so when do we start teaching The Basics and how long will they take? I looked at her blankly. The Basics?…
Learning Styles
What’s your dog’s learning style? What’s yours? Do you ever think about those factors before taking a class or training your dog? I’ve learned over the years, many people don’t. I used to ask each and every one of my…
2 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back
I’ve been mulling over this since the news of Delta Airlines new service dog policy broke. Reading people’s comments, organizations responses. Thinking. Saddened. Frustrated. Really. On Sunday, when getting my husband an ice cream in a shop we’d never before…
A Perfect Kind of Day
Fall is really one of my favorite seasons. Depending on the year it can be a toss up between fall and spring for me. I find the season change mentally refreshing (physically, ugh, my body hates season change, but mentally…