I for sure love my dogs, all of them, past and present. But love is a funny thing. For me it is how my dogs make me feel when I am around them. Sometimes it is an easy love, where our personalities and energies mesh so perfectly it feels seamless, as one. Other times, well it…
Tag: Franny
Living with an Actively Dying Dog
Death, a conversation about it, the word itself, or a thought, use to be hard for me, really hard. I use to call it my life’s lesson, to understand that in death there is completion in the circle of life. It is the finality of it, death is not a side effect, it cannot be…
my cautious, fearful, Ocean – part 1
In August 2002, someone told me about a litter of pups, border collie/aussie crosses, that were for sale. $45, they needed to go fast! I called the family and made a time to go out and see the puppies. It wasn’t hell, but it wasn’t good either. When I pulled up, the adult dogs came…
my lost boy
We all have our own way of grieving. We all take the time we need, or should learn to do so. We all have different hearts, feelings, and emotions that dictate how we will handle loss. Or not handle it. For me, I’m historically knocked to my knees, no matter how prepared I think I…
walking the Grande Dames
How do you know when your teaching, training, and/or work has paid off with your dogs? How do you know when there is an understanding of a concept, or a behavior, important to the success of your team? How do you know when you and your dog have a mutual understanding, a relationship, a healthy…
why I love treibball!
Last year, the spring of 2011, I kept hearing about this new dog sport from Germany, something about urban herding, balls, goal keeping, etc. Everyone was spelling and pronouncing it a bit differently, lots of different opinions were floating around, good and bad, and I couldn’t seem to obtain clear information. In all honesty I…
Dogs that take, Dogs that give, and those waiting to …
I hear on the daily – my dog loves to please me, my dog is so loyal, or conversely I wish my dog was more loyal, I wish he wanted to please me. Personally and professionally, I’ve always found this a bit odd. Simply from the stand point of slavishness, is that even a word?…
what is your dogs barometer for safety when out and about?
Franny, my forever teacher. Since I have four dogs, I tend to walk them singly or in pairs. I want to enjoy my walks as much as my dogs, so I choose to do multiple walks, and take a bit longer to do so. And I like when we can all be successful. All four…
our Dog Gym – the final stages!
An awesome Sunday to be sure! We were set to go hiking and swimming this weekend for our dogs birthday’s, but Franny was having a Grandma moment and didn’t really want to get out of her rocking chair. So on Saturday we had a Spa Day instead, baths, brushing, nails, massages, garden hang time, and…
multiple dog households and conflict
When I was pregnant with my second child, and the due date was nearing, I asked a very dear friend of mine, who was the mother of five, how do you avoid sibling rivalry? You see, I grew up in a household with four sisters, this was important for me. My dear friend took a…
Nancy Tanner 