The Other End of the Leash

Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, has made a lifelong commitment to improving the relationship between people and animals.

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Off to Recharge My Batteries

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I hope you are enjoying spring (or fall?) right now. Hopefully, when you read this, I’ll be in the garden, the woods, the pasture or the kitchen. I’m taking the rest of May off to recharge my batteries. The book tour for The Education of Will was a time I will never forget, full of inspiration and passion and commitment and love. I am overwhelmed with gratitude about the reception of the book–thank you from the bottom of my  heart to all of you who have responded to my memoir with such grace and support.

I find, however, that I am spent. Taking my own advice (always the hardest advice to take, yes?), I will be recharging my batteries for the rest of May. I’ll still read and post your comments, and cherish them as always, but please forgive me for only commenting on occasion until I come back in early June. My plan was to hike for hours with the dogs, work Maggie every day to take our sheep herding skills to another level, and garden garden garden. An injured knee has changed my plans (right after Maggie recovered from her three months off because of her injured knee) , but I’ll still enjoy the time and space to savor the things I love.

I have written blogs through early June to keep up the conversation, so I’m not leaving you, just staying off line as much as I can manage, and reveling in spring in the green hills of Wisconsin.

MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Speaking of spring, it’s busting out all over.

 

Maggie is free!  I may be limping around now, but so far (paws crossed please!), Maggie’s recovery is going great. She’s finally allowed to play full bore with Willie, although still not for very long. Is there anything that makes me happier than watching dogs play together joyfully?

 

Comments

  4. You have always been so wise and generous with your readers. You are now learning to be wise and generous with yourself. A very good example for many of us. Wishing you much rest, peace, and calm.

  5. Your book is wonderful and has been a source of inspiration for me. So glad you are taking time off to recharge and also heal your knee … very sorry about the knee. Have fun, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Thank you for your posts!

  6. Congratulations on finishing a successful bit exhausting book tour. I so admired your vulnerability at the Arcadia reading. If you are out and about pick up the May issue of Voice of the River Valley. My column on page 6 is about your book. Read by at least 3000 people probably lots more. Hope your knee heals quickly.

  7. Enjoy your vaca, even if the knee injury has changed your plans. And no, there is nothing more enjoyable than watching dogs play!

    Thank you again for being so generous with your time, knowledge, skill, and your personal journey. And sharing your fur-family with us!

    (I was so shocked to read in your memoir the tragedy in your early life and was reminded of something Dr. Pam Reid said in seminar ~15 years ago: a study determined what created the most fear in dogs was something unexpected falling from above them. Now I notice and read more articles about early trauma and how it affects the brain in humans and canines.)

    Be well and be happy!

    lee

  9. Enjoy your time off.
    Sending pawsitive energy & strength.
    May your knee injury mend swiftly.

    Gentle nose nudges,
    CEO Olivia

  10. I’m glad for you that you’ll be taking this time for yourself! We saw you in Novato, CA and I tried to picture you giving talk after talk in city after city about your healing journey and felt exhausted for you!!

    And just a note about my reading of The Education of Will: I’m not quite through, but am loving it…and I have to let you know that progress with my super-reactive border collie boy has taken a huge step forward by adding the tool you described of parking with him near a busy park full of people and dogs and doing some desensitization and counter-conditioning from inside the car! I’d been working with him outside on leash in the park, but often had trouble keeping the cookies coming while we also worked to avoid close encounters. The addition of doing this work from the safety of my car has added a lot of great practice and seems to have brought him to a new level of confidence and success!!! Thank you so much for all you have done for dogs and people alike!!

  11. Good for you! I am always glad to see people, and especially women, taking care of themselves. Your book was wonderful; I so enjoyed it. Now I need to see what else you have written and get into those. BTW The Puppy Primer is also excellent guide for someone who has not had a puppy in many many years. I am so glad to see the changes in how to best facilitate the human – dog bonding and training.
    Best of May.

  12. I applaud your stamina and your decision to recharge…. I confess, I always wondered how you fit everything in!! This will give me a chance to catch up on reading your books (new and old) Your wisdom is so generously shared that it will continue to reverberate while you are enjoying spring! You will be missed! By the way, most of my doggie facebook groups recommend Turmeric Golden Paste for the inflammation that goes with a knee injury… just a thought.

  13. Lovely tulips, great news on recovery a d thrilled to hear of your sel-care!!
    Happy Spring!

  14. Rest, relax, enjoy…(hope you don’t read this for sometime, CUZ YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RESTING!)

  15. Have a great rest and renewal time! Don’t we live in a great space to do that.

  16. Ppg 133. “…bonds sheepdog handlers together like victims of a natural disaster…”
    I read this as I am settled in the trailer with my 3 border collies, awaiting a three day agility trial. It struck me as exactly how I feel while running my dogs and cheering my friends’ dogs on. I laughed out loud, waking my dogs, then re read it to fully enjoy the passage.

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