A miscellany of thoughts about dogs, cats, writing, life in the Ozarks, & occasional book reviews
It's taken more than a year, but we are now officially a clicker-happy household! If you've been following the blog you may remember that Sasha panicked at the sound of just about any loud or unusual noise. Clickers, in particular, left her cowering in fear, which presented more than a few challenges during obedience class.. When …
Continue reading News from the training trenches
It's been a mild winter here in the Ozarks, with temps fluctuating between single-digit bone chilling cold to spring-like days when we traded parkas for tee shirts. Green sprouts appeared in the garden a month ahead of schedule and daffodils splashed color across the late winter landscape. We settled in the Ozarks 22 years ago after decades of living …
Continue reading Winter Fun and Safety
I’m editing scenes from Dangerous Deeds in which my protagonist Maggie Porter is leading a Good Dog! class to help owners and their dog prepare for their Canine Good Citizen test. I first wrote those scenes before Sasha came into my life, so I had to rely on information from the AKC, training blogs, and YouTube videos. And …
Continue reading It’s a Dog-Meet-Dog World
Just when I think we're making progress in our preparations for the AKC's Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certification, something happens that has me reevaluating my process. From our first days together I knew I couldn't apply the same training methods I'd used years ago with my spaniel Alix. For one thing, Alix was just six weeks …
For seventeen years after losing my beloved spaniel Alix, I didn't believe I had enough heart left to offer another dog. Then a year ago, a volunteer sent me this photo of a dog surrendered to a rural county sheriff's office: I took one look at that sweet—and oh, so frightened—dog, and put everything on hold …
Continue reading One Joyful Year!