Here's an interesting video for you to analyze. Katie and I were taping one of my favorite signals, "Get Back." I use it in a variety of contexts, and can't imagine life without it. You can see some of the ways I use the cue on the video below, and I'll talk more later, if you'd like, about why I love the cue so very much. After we taped, Katie and I were watching the video and I said "Oh wow, did you see how he [---] right after [---] happens? (Fill in the blanks!) And so, that's your assignment (should you decide to accept it Agent 99): Watch this video and tell us what we might have found interesting in it. I'm giving no more instructions than that... Who knows then what you might find that we didn't! I'll jump in early next week (and will answer comments sooner) about what we Read More
Barbie & Willie, Mad Dogs and Englishmen
I originally called this post "Barbie's Not Always a Nice Girl," but then I thought about what the title would look like on Google and the kind of people who'd click on it. Hmm, not really my "brand," as they say. I thought though, that you'd be interested in yet another interaction between Barbie, my cantankerous, lead ewe and Willie. Barbie, as you may recall, is the only sheep who has ever seriously challenged Willie. She won a few times when she had three-week old lambs this spring, literally chasing Willie away, her anvil-like head down and ready to bash Willie into the ground. He ran away like a frightened chipmunk, because Barbie was serious, and because we all know she can be a witch, and because well, he's just not the bravest dog in the world. That's partly why I love him so Read More
The Ten-Year Anniversary of OEL
I was recently reminded that my first national book, The Other End of the Leash, was published in June of 2002, ten years ago (thank you Lisa). Wow. Ten years. It feels like a long time, and it feels like the years have flown by. Time is like that. There's something about big blocks of time and anniversaries--10 years, 25 years--that helps us to step out of our busy lives and look at the big picture. This feels especially relevant to me now as I work on a memoir. I find myself asking what parts of the book still resonate most for me, and what aspects of the book most relate to what I want to say in the memoir. At the moment there are two things that stand out the most: how understanding the world as best we can from a dog's perspective enriches our relationship, and how dogs are such a Read More
MeMe Gets Skunked; Kitten Update
Here's an interesting case for you: A good friend has a lab cross, MeMe, who was badly skunked a few nights ago. This appeared to be a direct hit to the eyes, the poor dog was rolling desperately on the ground, gagging repeatedly and batting at her eyes. MeMe got medical care and appears to have recovered, but here's her owner's question: When Debby found her, she cringed and cowered, "belly nearly scraping the ground, eyes averted and tail down." Debby said she looked like she was afraid she was about to be hit, although that has never, ever happened. (Okay, it's not like I live inside the dog's collar, but I know Debby, and believe me, she'd no more hit a dog than I would.) Debby was not scolding MeMe in anyway, but MeMe still had her head and tail down in the positions that people Read More
Helping Feral Kittens
Happy Day! The first kitten just went to her new home. OJ, the little orange and white female, is going to a good friend and yoga coach, Scott Anderson and his wife Collette. They both adore cats and have moved heaven and earth for them if the need arises (think the feline version of Willie's surgery and year long rehab). I am still all oxytocin-y about the whole thing. Here's Scott and the little girl right before they went home: In hopes it is helpful to others, here are some things I've done (so far anyway, this adventure is far from over) and some things I've learned along the way: CAPTURING: It was clear early on that taming the kittens so that they let me catch them in the barn was not going to happen. If you want to start socializing kittens when they Read More
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 20
- Next Page »