Last week I received a topic suggestion from a blog reader who has a reactive dog. What in heaven's name does one do about dogs who are off leash, while you are responsibly walking your dog on leash in "on leash only" areas, and yet some goofball dog runs up to your own and ruins all your hard work for the day/week/month? Argh, I feel her pain. After years of working with Willie's reactivity when he was young, I can instantly recall the feeling of helplessness and horror as some dog comes barreling toward your own. I've written a lot about this, (see "Aggression Toward Other Dogs" in the Learning Center) but I thought this was a good time to revisit the topic. It's such a common problem and affects a multitude of dog owners. Besides finding myself thinking a lot Read More
Oh Willie. Bad News, Good News. Bad News. BEST News.
Good news: Willie is back home from 4 days at the emergency clinic. We are happier to have him home than words can express. Bad news: Early Tuesday afternoon I returned home to find Willie vomiting violently (that’s the only way I can describe it) and barely able to walk. I rushed him to my vet, Dr. John Dally, who did an Xray, found nothing and agreed that this is urgent. He directed us to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Middleton, about an hour away. Thus began a 24-hour nightmare of tests and IV support for an increasingly weak dog. The first ultrasound reading and test results showed no sign of an obstruction or pancreatitis. One vet suggested lymphoma based on the view of the liver. An expert oncologist reviewed the results later that night and saw no sign of that, but still had Read More
Mexico, Tampa, Oh My.
I’m just back from the Association of Writers and Writing Program conference in Tampa, FL, and I’m stumped for words to describe the panel I participated in. Best approximation = Powerful. Stunning. Brilliant. Here's the description of the panel in which I was honored to be included: About Grief, Trauma, Loss: The Facing, the Writing, and the Healing. (Wendy Barker Moderator, Patricia McConnell, Joel Peckham, Cynthia Hogue , Emmy Pérez) A reading by poets and prose memoirists who have confronted past traumas ranging from sudden, violent deaths of family members to sexual and medical abuse. Each of these writers, who are at various stages in their careers, will also briefly discuss how the writing process itself, followed by publishing, giving readings, and speaking to a variety of Read More
Any New Research on Alternative/Adjunctive/Wackadoo Medicine?
Recently I felt a cold coming on. You know the feeling. You're not sick yet, but experience tells you that something is not right. Maybe you have a mild headache or a scratchy throat. I tend to get the headache and an overall feeling of an alien invasion. It's almost as though I can sense the viral particles trying to inject themselves into my cells. About to go on a trip, the last thing I needed was to get sick. So I opened up my medicine cabinet and took several homeopathic preparations to help me fight it off. That got me to wondering about what research has been done lately on the efficacy of what's called "alternative" or "adjunctive" or "holistic" medicine, including acupuncture, chinese herbs and homeopathic medicine. Also known, as one reader said in reaction to a Read More
Excerpt from The Education of Will
Oh my, the paperback version of The Education of Will comes out February 27th. It's hard to imagine that one year ago the hardcover came out after five and a half years of work (not to mention lots of therapy!). I love the new version (new cover, new subtitle), hope you do too. As many of you know, the book is about how a dog named Will taught me that will power is not enough to heal you when you are broken. As hard as it was working with Willie in our first years together, I owe him so much. Here's an excerpt from page 120 in the paperback: I felt sick to my stomach. How could I even think about not keeping Willie? The dog who moaned when he pressed his head against my neck; whose happy face could only be described as radiant. When Read More
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