Some of you might have read my September 29th post about Maggie and her unfortunate adventure with a ZZ plant. To briefly recap: I brought a new plant home, called a ZZ plant, or Zamioculcas zamiifolia. While we were out, Maggie ate prodigious quantities of it, threw up mountains of vomit all over our just-professionally…

Last week a good friend asked if we could introduce their dog to another at our place, given that is the ideal neutral place in which dogs are safe off leash inside a small pasture. I said of course, and all went well. Our friend’s dog, a doodle, was a bit cautious at first, but…

Are you a dog trainer or behaviorist? Are you a veterinarian? Oh wait, do you just love dogs, have dogs, or care deeply about dogs? Then, honestly, get this book. It’s sort of like the sunrise and the sunset worked together t0 create the best day ever. Kathy Callahan, of PupStart, is an expert, no…

Jim and I spent several days enjoying family, beaches, and unexpected discoveries in Cape Cod last week. Granddaughter Taylor asked to spend her 18th birthday there, and in spite of warnings about how crowded it is in summer, we had a great time. First of all, Cape Cod looks, uh, exactly how I imagined. Lots…

I would be excited about lessons tomorrow with the GOAT sheepdog trainer/handler  Scott Glen, but the fact is it’s so hot and humid I know that Skip will only be able to work for very short periods of time. Like just a few minutes. I also just a pulled him from a new trial I…

Love Has No Age Limit is now available in audio. Wheeee! My co-author, Karen London, and I are deeply grateful for how it has been welcomed by shelters, rescues, and adopters. This booklet, about bringing home an adolescent or mature dog rather than a puppy, has sold almost 150,000 copies and was called “A one-of-a-kind…

Happiness can be elusive. I first added a variety of phrases starting with “especially when . . . ,” but decided that those four words were enough. No one can be happy all the time, but who doesn’t want to be happy at least part of every day? Surely the same is true of our…

Skip, aka Fabio, aka Mr. Wonderful, has pannus, a “progressive inflammatory immune mediated disease of the cornea,” which leads to blindness if not treated every day for the rest of a dog’s life. It’s especially common in German shepherds, greyhounds, and border collies, and is believed to be genetically mediated. The good news (besides the…

I’m reposting “Take a Bow for Teaching a Play Bow” from September, 2019 (because, well, see “Meanwhile” below). But I’m glad I found it, because I would love to start a conversation along the lines of: “If you could only teach your dog one “trick,” what would it be? Of course, that brings up the…

I thought it would be good to start with just plain gorgeousness from our trip last week to Washington DC for the 80th birthday of a dear friend. These next two photos are from the other-wordly gardens at Hillwood Estate and Gardens. Walking through the gardens felt like falling into some Alice-in-Wonderland-like exuberance of color…

I may, (paws crossed), have a happy story to tell you about a “need-to-be-rescued dog,” but I’ll wait on that until I have more to report. (Please cross your paws; and no, we won’t be the ones taking it!) Meanwhile, I’m thinking a lot the last few days about house training a dog who has…

A few weeks ago Maggie, aka Princess Margaret, came back after a play session with a tiny limp. Well, damn, I thought, I hope this isn’t serious. Her limp disappeared the next day, and play sessions with Skip and her favorite toy were back on the agenda after one more day of “just to be…

I’m looking forward to giving a talk in Madison on April 5th about comparisons between dogs and wolves (alongside a much-anticipated talk about wolves in Wisconsin by expert Adrian Wydeven). The photograph above came to mind while I was thinking about what to say. That’s me and Ayla at Wolf Park in Indiana. It’s pretty clear…

You know how they say “All’s well that ends well?” But, what if it’s the opposite? We all know that what happens last has a disproportionate amount of impact, and I regret to say that our vacation in Arizona, had, uh, some low points. But after I whine, I’ll get to remind myself of the…

I love giving dogs choices, including when it’s related things I want/need them to do. Here’s an example of the “Premack Principle,” which says that “more probable behaviors act to reinforce less probable behaviors.” Most probable because that’s what the dog/cat/child/iguana wants to do, so it’s the perfect reinforcement, right? My version is a variant–the…

I need some solace today (dogs are fine!), before I jump into action. While cuddling with Jim this morning, talking about our day, I realized I just didn’t have it in me to write a content-heavy post right now. Jim, bless him, knowing I’d mentioned earlier I needed to cut down the 15,787 photos on…

  January is “Divorce Month.” Who knew. I got divorced from my two practice husbands in other months, but it does make sense that January, the month of darkness, sugar withdrawal, and dashed expectations of holiday cheer, would be a prime candidate for the dissolution of marriages. When I was seeing clients, some of my…

                                       “The meaning of life is just to be alive.                                               It is so plain and so obvious and so simple.”            Alan Watts. But, of course, it’s not so simple, at least to most of us. Perhaps especially this time…

    Pondering about what to write in this week’s post, I thought: I know! I’ll write an article about what dogs REALLY want for Christmas. Deep from within my dusty, cobwebbed brain, a thought emerged, like smoke arising from smoldering embers. Have I ever written about that in the past? Oh, she said, having…

The commercial aspects of the holidays can be off-putting, but I still love the focus on family and friends. And gifting too — when it’s a thoughtful expression of love. That’s why there are at least 15 books sitting close by my desk, either already wrapped or awaiting decoration, to be sent to dear family…

This is me and Tag, a Great Pryenees at the Dane County Humane Society who was looking for a home. (Note: Since this was taken, he’s found a great one!) (Second Note: It almost killed me to not adopt him myself–not physically possible for me right now. Damn!) Tag and I schmoozed together to help…

We need a little extra comfort, sometimes, don’t we? I find myself in that situation now, and am especially grateful not just for Jim, but also for Maggie and Skip. They are both super cuddly dogs, and moment by moment, I take comfort from the touch of their fur, the rhythm of their beating hearts.…

We all need beautiful things right now! And good news too? Yes, yes, and yes! Internal medicine veterinarian Dr. Bates did an ultrasound on Maggie and says: “No kidney disease!” Yes, her kidneys are older (she turns 12 in January), and I’ll do all I can to take care of them, but no “kidney diets”…

Whoopee! Although big time publishing moves at the speed of a cautious sloth, I can finally announce that my mystery novel has a publisher! I am over the moon that Kensington Books Publishing, New York, New York, has taken my book. It feels like they will be a perfect fit. Kensington is an “indie,” or…

Recently I was on Zazie Todd’s brilliant Bark! Fest podcast series, talking about The Education of Will, and trauma in people and dogs. A participant asked an important question, based on having been seriously traumatized herself after her dog was attacked by another: How do you recover from that kind of trauma? It can be…

Can we all just retire from everything else and read dog/animal-related books for the next few weeks? No? Me either. But still, so many new great books out there! Here are some I am excited about, in no particular order: Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or  Reactive Dog, by Zazie Todd is…

I’m continuing my tradition of “little labor on Labor Day,” and so am posting a pot pourri of pictures in hopes you will enjoy them. I’m writing this as Jim drives us back from the WWWSDA Midwest Championship Sheepdog Trial outside of Hudson, WI. Skip and I didn’t run, but both dogs got to work…

One of my greatest pleasures is getting to know loyal blog readers. Bonus: Their dogs! Laura Lauteret (Laura L now) has commented often for several years, and many of us had heavy hearts when we learned that her beloved guide dog, Seamus, died of hemangiosarcoma four years ago. What a joy to meet her new…

I loved Jennifer Holland’s book, Dog Smart: Life-Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence, so much that I asked her if we could talk more about it sometime. Jennifer is one of those great adventurers, fueled by grit and curiosity, who scuba dives with sharks, and camps with Indigenous people in Papua New Guinea. She is the…

I’m just back from a “Writer’s Retreat” organized by the Madison Writer’s Studio. It was a glorious three days, full of inspiration, support, and teachings about the craft of writing. I’m grateful to Jim for holding down the fort, and for Susanna Daniel and Michelle Wildgen, the forces behind the MWS, for organizing such a…

Well, you can’t say it’s been dull. First, to get this out of the way, because I’ve never learned to be comfortable with this kind of thing: There’s a big “Everything on Sale!” bonanza going on at patriciamcconnell.com. I’m posting this earlier than usual because the sale is over at midnight (eastern) on Monday. I…

A few weeks ago Skip and I were in a trial when it was in the high 80’s and humid. Very little breeze. In short, awful. Of course, I was worried about Skip, given his bad heart, and wouldn’t have run him if the course hadn’t been a short one. I got him in the…

Lately there has been an increase, in my area anyway, in “Board and Train” businesses (B & T). You give them your dog for one, two, or three weeks, and get back a dog who is . . . what? Much better behaved? Perfect on leash walks, never jumps up, and only barks on cue?…

Ah, the irony. I had planned to repost a piece about helping to prevent or treat thunder phobia, and then ended up in the cellar last Tuesday night after the TV weather dude said, not quite in these words, “There’s a tornado moving toward your house, it just hasn’t touched down yet.” We are not…

I’ve been to a lot of dog-related seminars, and, at every one, the female/male ratio is something like 90/10. Or 95/5. I thought it would be different at the Im-PECK-able seminar put on by K9 Behavior Consortium, thinking of all the guys I’ve run into over the years with law enforcement dogs, especially drug and…

I was working on a post this morning (It begins: “I may be an idiot for bringing this up, but I can’t help myself . . .”), and then a dental adventure took up too much time and energy, so I’ll post it next week. Promise. So, it’s all about spring and the farm today.…

Well, how fun was that? Last weekend I was at the “Im-PECK-able Training Seminar” put on by Craig Schultz and Sally Dickinson for the K9 Behavior Consortium in Manassas, VA. I went primarily to learn more about sniffer dogs for my next mystery novel (wheeeee!), but reveled in spending time with some great dogs, and…

Skip ran in our first trial last weekend, and while watching the video to figure out how the heck he got a shed (the only really good one of the trial), I realized what a great opportunity it was to play the “Sharpen Our Observation Skills” game. I’ll never forget my first day of Ethology…

I recently had a great talk with Emily Priestley, the author of Urban Sheepdogs. I reviewed her book a few weeks ago, and although I noted some issues, I am a big fan of her attempt to help people understand that the behavior of their border collies or cattle dogs is not a mystery or…

Last week a dear friend brought her teenage Bernedoodle, Leo, over to meet Skip and Maggie. Leo was like Sheldon at a Comic Con Convention (can you tell I’ve been watching Big Bang Theory?)–all enthusiasm and no social finesse. This is Maggie after he tried to mount her head. (Please supply caption.) In spite of…

                  I don’t pretend to be able to keep up with all the dog/animal behavior books being published right now, but two books got my attention this week that I thought you might find interesting. In some ways, they couldn’t be much different from each other. Who’s…

We’re just back from a week in Jamaica. Good to go, good to be home. Usually winter trips around here are motivated by a desire to escape the cold. Not this time, I think it was in the 50’s when we left. We basically had about two weeks of real winter–very cold, lots of snow–but…

I just read a fascinating article in the Royal Society Open Journal  finding that dark-eyed dogs were rated friendlier and less mature than light-eyed dogs by people viewing photos of just their eyes and muzzle. It included dogs of multiple breeds, whose images had eyes that had been both darkened and lightened (toward yellow, not…

  Continuing my ability to relate just about everything in the world to dog training, I offer you some thoughts about how good editing is like good dog training.  For example, here is a typical editing progression, starting with:              “I really think that dog is too hot to keep working.” Eeeps, delete the “really”:…

First, and most importantly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Of course, we all know, it’s really just another day, the “year” concept being an arbitrary construction of our brain’s need for order. But, hey: “Just another day?” Maybe there’s no such thing. Not “just another day,” but HOLY S___!, WE GET ANOTHER DAY!!!! 2023 has not been…

While feeling a bit reflective, and thinking about what to write today, I went into the archives to see what I’d written this month ten years ago. I ran into this post, which I’d forgotten about, and decided it deserved to come out of moth balls, like some Christmas tree decorations stashed in the back…

  I know. Really, I do. There are many downsides to the commercialization of the winter holiday season. We all know that they are-too focused on material things, leading to too much stuff in the world for the environment, and too hard on folks who can’t afford food much less gifts. I’m always resistant to…

Ever since I got Skip, three and a half years ago, he has turned preferentially toward me to his left, even if to the right is shorter. If I call him when I am at six o’clock, and he is facing three, he turns to his left and runs 3/4 of the way around the…

Feeling a tad raw today. A combination of the untold suffering in the world, worries about the future (mine, yours, our country’s, humanity), and recovering from facial surgery on an eyelid–just a small carcinoma, but eyelid surgery is not to be recommended. Nor is anesthesia during reconstructive surgery when you have CFS and POTS symptoms.…

  A reader told us he’d repeatedly read that “dogs need a job.” Such advice is not hard to find, including on the AKC site, “How to Give Your Dog Jobs.“ Our reader then asked: Do they? Really? Ah, good question. Before we all try to send our border collies to coding school and turn…