I know this has nothing to do with dog training or behavior, but may I mention how relieved I am that Barbie FINALLY had her lambs? I just happened into the barn a few minutes after she had her first, and was there while she had little ram lamb number two: Here they are about 20 minutes after the first one was born, perhaps 5-7 after the second. Here's the first attempt to stand from lamb #2, about 10-15 minutes after its birth: MEANWHILE, also on the farm: Poor Willie is bored silly, I'm working all the time or traveling to visit my ailing relative, and he can't work sheep, play with toys except on a limited basis or run around outside. Poor Willie; I do keep reminding myself that this too shall pass. I wish I could tell him that. (But thanks for the comments from Read More
Archives for April 2011
Willie’s Exercises & Honoring Your Dog
This video tape of me and Willie doing his exercises reminds me how important it is to "honor your dog." (I think that is originally Kathy Sdao's phrase, and I just love it.) The video shows us doing two exercises, "Flex" and "Paw," both designed to strengthen his shoulders before the surgery. We first began doing one set of 10 reps each with very short durations, about 2 seconds max, and have worked our way up to 10 seconds duration for the first set and 5-6 seconds for the second set. But the therapist warned me to watch for signs that we were pushing it too far, and those showed up recently, which we caught on video. Watch the video first, then I'll tell you more about it. It's a little under three minutes. We cut out about 30 seconds just to keep it short, I'll describe more about Read More
A Great Laugh: Dogs Finding Nirvana
My posts will be a bit shorter and perhaps less frequent in the next few weeks, but I couldn't resist passing on a blog post from Bark Magazine that gave me the best laugh of the week. It's about a reported (so yes, this is a story about a story about a story) who read that a dog sold in China for 1.5 millions dollars and reminded us that the dog, a Tibetan Mastiff, is believed to be the reincarnation of a Tibetan monk. I suspect I laughed especially loudly because, like many, I can get truly silly when I'm tired and 2) I go on and off the meditation wagon like a five-week old puppy in and out of a whelping pen (I'm currently back on it, but someone better tie me up to keep me there). The Bark blog was written by my colleague (and co-author); here it is: Karen London's Bark Read More