Ever wondered why the Green Bay Packer's colors are green and gold? Well, I never did until I began noticing that the entire world seems to turn green and gold in early fall in Wisconsin. I doubt that's the reason they picked those colors, but it sure is fitting because around here, the Packer colors show up at the same time that the world cloaks itself in the same hues. It's remarkable how much of the out of doors is green and gold right now, so much so that I can't exaggerate it. (Or, in the words of Ryan Lochte, "over exaggerate".) The entire natural world does indeed seem to be an explosion of green and gold. I've mentioned it to several people now, and every one of them listens, then comes back later and says "You're right!" Everything is green and gold! This Read More
Archives for 2016
Small Dogs, Big Dogs. Love Both? Or Not?
I was going to title this Size Matters? But then, well . . . you know. But today's question IS about size, and whether a dog's size influences your interest or attraction to it. Full disclosure: I grew up in a dog-loving family that gravitated toward medium to large-size dogs. Comments were made by my parents and friends about small dogs that weren't particularly positive. "Yappy," my father called them. According to one relative, "Rug rats" weren't even "real" dogs, that distinction being reserved for Labradors and German shepherds. Then, early in my career, I began volunteering at dog training classes, and eventually began my own training and behavior consulting business. And lo and behold, I discovered that the smartest dog in one class was the Miniature poodle, and that the Cairn Read More
Six Words to Summarize Your Dog
I've been proofing the typeset pages of my memoir this week, which includes several sections about my Lassie, and her death six years ago. As I read through the pages, trying so very hard to concentrate on spelling and grammar, I had to stop, overwhelmed as I was for the deep sense of loss I still feel when I think about Lassie. Six years she's been gone, and I still miss her. Deeply. Perhaps because she is the last dog of mine to die in my arms. Perhaps because she was one of those special dogs whose life was so pure she seemed almost otherworldly. I don't know. I just know that as much as I love Willie, Maggie and Tootsie--and I love them more than I will ever be able to express--I still miss my Lassie girl. In honor of her, and of all the dogs we love so much it hurts, here Read More
Guilty Pleasures: Animal Shows that are So Bad They’re Great
Woe is me. Jim and I missed one of our favorite television shows last week because our recording schedule got knocked out by a storm. The show is Zoo, shown on CBS in the states. The program's premise is that a chemical company created a mutation that has caused animals to be 1) more intelligent and 2) viciously aggressive toward people. Not said is the fact that it has apparently made people much LESS intelligent. The characters on the show make one foolish, okay. . . stupid decision after another, and the fact that they are still alive would have Darwin rolling in his grave. The show is just flat awful, but so awful that Jim and I have begun to look forward to hooting on the couch when it comes on. The ridiculousness of the show is never ending. Example: An evil military man has come Read More
Conditioning a Dog to a Muzzle
Awhile ago I saw a small dog hit by a car, whose occupant drove away as if nothing had happened. The little white dog lay on his side, stunned and bleeding. It was clear when I got close that the dog's leg was broken and he needed to get to a veterinary clinic right away. When I moved my hand toward him he panicked and tried to bite me; a reasonable reaction given how painful being moved must have been. I had anticipated that might happen, so I had reached out him cautiously. At the first sign of an active set of teeth, I ran back to the car for something that would allow me to transport him safely. I had a leash and towel in the car, and so I attached the leash to his collar, and used the length of the leash to bind his mouth. We were in the middle of a busy street, so I moved him as Read More
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