Sit. Stay. Read.
obsessed with dogs
Let’s talk about crazy dogs, shall we? You guys know me, so you know I say “crazy” with tremendous love in my heart. I’m talking about dogs like Cooper: high-energy dogs, smart dogs, creative dogs who come up with their owns methods of entertainment when they’re under-exercised or under-stimulated… Cooper runs. A lot. He does …
We have a… joke? saying?… for this mode Cooper gets in. He totally blacks out. He won’t listen. He won’t calm down. He won’t stop. He won’t come or sit or stay. He. just. won’t. We say (in his voice, of course), “Cooper isn’t here right now. Please leave a message, and he’ll get back …
Sometimes the universe just smacks you on the head. Before we proceed, can I ask you a quick favor? Can you read this archived post–it’s super short–or take a speedy glance? Trust me. You’ll see. I’ll wait… Did you glance at it? Thanks! OK. Now, that was from two years, one month, and one day ago. …
In 2010, we faced an icy winter. Our backyard was a slick sheet, and the sidewalks were a slippery, salty mess. The dogs were going bonkers, so I put together this list of 10 ways to tire out your dogs indoors. After a few years of working through that list each winter, we landed in Louisiana …
Before we moved to Louisiana, I obsessed researched like crazy, read everything I could find, and talked to people with combined households about introducing dogs and cats. Emmett, Lucas, and Cooper had almost no experience with cats, and Newt had no experience with dogs. The one factor that I thought would work in our favor …
Let’s set the scene: It was Tuesday night around 8 pm. The warehouse where the agility classes are held was cold and dank. I was tired and grumpy, and I think that rubbed off on Cooper. We were in a bad spot already because the poor guy had the pants scared off of him when …
Cooper and I started a pre-agility class a few weeks ago. The idea for the course is to establish the foundations you need before you can really get into agility. Fool that I am, I thought we’d nail the class – after all, he’s smart and we have a great relationship. Well, it hasn’t quite …
Yesterday, Cooper took his first ever one-on-one class with a fab trainer. It was a make-up class from a Click-a-Trick session we missed, and it was awesome to see him flourish with that individual attention… awesome enough that I signed up for four more one-on-ones! We train a lot. Constantly, sort of. When we’re out …
A week ago today, Cooper and I left Indy for our trip to BlogPaws. I tried to prepare him as much as possible, but honestly… I had no idea what to expect from him. It was his first real trip away from home and away from Emmett and Lucas. It was his first time going …
Today, we’re switching our cable, internet, and phone service provider. The tech is supposed to be here soon (I mean, the huge window of time they give starts soon), and I’m a little terrified that something is going to go wrong. Sigh. But we’ll be disconnected for a big part of the day. And, of …
I chatter to Emmett and Lucas all day long. A lot of what I say to them has created an odd set of routines. For instance, they tend to follow me around the house. So when I’m in the office and I say “I’m going to refill my coffee,” they know I’ll be coming right …
When we lived in DC, Emmett and Lucas had very busy social lives. They went to the park for 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening. We took them to Petsmart or to friends’ houses for puppy play dates on the weekends. They went to a doggy birthday party with all …
Can you believe it’s almost May? I don’t know where this year has gone, though I’m so happy to finally have the windows in our house open. It was time to bring in a little fresh air! You know that old saying (I think it was supposed to be about children): Give ’em an inch, …
Currently, Lucas is one tired dog: And so is Emmett: I love when the boys are this tired because I can get so much work done, but this level of exhaustion is nearly impossible to achieve with two fun-loving, energetic dogs. But since Thursday, we’ve kept them incredibly busy. So here are my fool-proof 10 …
Last week, Emmett worked as a therapy dog at a city-sponsored expo on volunteering, a children’s program at a residential hospital, and as a reading partner at the public library. By the time we got to the library on Saturday, he was wiped out and spend his “shift” dozing with his head in the kids’ …
As I wrote earlier in the week, we’re having some trouble with self-rewarding behaviors. With Emmett it’s the counter-surfing, and we’re working out the technology to do a little Skype-scare with him. In the meantime, we have a similar, but totally different, situation with Lucas. As far as Lucas is concerned, nothing bad has happened …
Emmett and Lucas do wonderfully with the clicker. Emmett has been able to learn a number of tricks, and we’ve overcome a lot of Lucas’ troublesome behaviors using the clicker and slices of American cheese. But, unfortunately, both boys have a couple of very troublesome behaviors that the clicker has not been able to address… …
Emmett has an extremely solid default sit. Early on, we taught him to sit at the door, sit for his food, sit for a treat, sit, sit, sit. It’s a wonderful default behavior. It’s reliable to the extent that when he’s out doing his therapy work, I can count on him having his butt parked …
Whew! What a whirlwind few days! It started out on Friday with Emmett and I visiting three kindergarten classes. That means lots and lots and lots of 5- and 6-year-olds! Emmett did spectacularly, patiently sitting while 75 grubby hands patted him, giving the occasional high five, and demonstrating how easy it is for boys and …
Separation anxiety is a contentious topic. Often, what’s described as separation anxiety is simply boredom or bad manners or a combination of both. With Lucas and Emmett, while they both displayed similar behaviors when we left the house, with Emmett is was full-blown separation anxiety. With Lucas it was mostly that he was an ass. …
We returned Otto to my parents this past weekend. If nothing else, the week of dogsitting followed by a 90-minute drive up north proved that if we were to adopt a third dog, we need a bigger car, even if the dog is as small as Otto. After Otto’s visit, Lucas needed a bath. From …
Have you ever had a training session that just dissolves into laughter? You just have to stop working because you can’t stop laughing? Meanwhile, you dog is staring at you like you’re a raving lunatic? I taught the boys to “wave hi” using the clicker. Since they both already knew “high five,” I started with …
