It's all back on the farm today--I've got to start working on getting the word out about my memoir and working on my talks in Mexico City and Philadelphia. Maybe I'll see you there? MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Winter comes and goes, like a hummingbird flitting in, darting out. One day it's snowy and cold, the next it's sunny and in the high 40's. Saturday was balmy--we took the dogs on a long walk in a friend's woods and they came home sopping with black mud. On Sunday the ground was frozen, but not too slippery, so their friend Remus was able to come play. He belongs to Janna Light, a Karen Pryor Academy graduate and owner of Paws and Effect pet sitting business, and Remus instantly became one of Willie and Maggie's best friends. Is there anything more joyful than watching dogs Read More
Archives for January 2018
Rub A Dub Dub, Willie’s in the Tub
One of my current goals is to put more videos on the blog and in Facebook. I'm working on iMovie, which I have to admit seems anti-intuitive to me. But while I do that, here's a quick YouTube video of Willie and the bath tub. I took a simple video on my iPhone and although he doesn't actually get a bath, it does show how easy it is to bathe a dog using positive reinforcement. Notice that he is staying in the tub of his own choice (although I do say "stay there babe" at one point). What I want to illustrate is how important it is to go step by step. Here are the steps I used to teach Willie to voluntarily jump into the tub and get a bath: 1. Armed with lots of small, great treats, I first palced them on the edge of the bathtub, perhaps 2-3 times, and let Willie eat them up. Then I put Read More
What’s for Dinner? New Research on Dog Food.
I spend a great deal of time thinking about food. I wake up and think, "What's for dinner?" This isn't totally crazy, because Jim and I have much of our food stored away in a freezer the size of a live cow, and it needs to be defrosted before it is cooked (the food, not the cow). Besides, I love to cook. I, sigh, especially love to bake and so of course am a dedicated fan of The Great British Baking Show. However, as much as I love making bread and perfecting pie crusts, I do spend time trying to create a balance of meals that focus on nutrition, taste, environmental health, and the welfare of any animals involved. I'm pretty sure that our dogs are uninterested in how food is prepared or what's contained in it. At present both the Border Collies are enjoying poopsickles, when they can Read More
New Cover! Education of Will Paperback Coming Soon
The paperback version of The Education of Will is coming out next month (release date is February 27th) and I'm thrilled with the new cover. You might remember that I wasn't a big fan of the hardcover's photo, even though Willie's exuberant face always makes me smile. I LOVE the new cover... more fitting for a memoir I believe, and a favorite photo of mine to boot. (Don't tell anyone, but that's Maggie working sheep, not Willie.) Just as good is the new subtitle, Healing a Dog, Facing My Fears, Reclaiming My Life. Subtitles can be brutally hard to write, and I am grateful for the time that the book's new editor, Peter Borland, took with me to wordsmith a new subtitle. (Who knew you could even use a new subtitle?) This is a good time to thank all the people who have made writing the Read More
New Year’s Resolutions 2018
I've heard it said that New Year's Resolutions are To Do Lists for the first week in January. Yup, we all know the statistics about the unsuccessful nature of New Year's resolutions. With that in mind, and added to what I've learned by reading my private journals for the last 30 years, (lots of gratitude for Jim, dogs, farm, and friends--interspersed with innumerable mentions of losing weight, eating better, teaching the dogs more tricks and working less), here are my 2018 New Year's Resolutions: Resolution 1. Running a business, answering 200-300 emails a day, etc, will now be defined as PLAY. Slothing on the couch, walking the dogs, working sheep, cooking and gardening will now be defined as WORK. Thus, my first resolution is to WORK MORE, and PLAY LESS. Resolution 2. Nails. About Read More