A miscellany of thoughts about dogs, cats, writing, life in the Ozarks, & occasional book reviews
This morning's temperature hovered at zero and the wind chill of -7 or colder motivated Sasha to set a new speed record in the yard. With brutal cold predicted for days to come, I'm going to be smart and substitute indoor work for our daily neighborhood walks. Fortunately, Sasha enjoys any sort of training time. …
Continue reading Winter Fun and Games
Monday morning walks can be a challenge, and today was no exception. Sasha was on high alert right from the start, with barks aplenty at anything and everything that moved. The incessant wind gusts didn't help, either; this is one dog who does not appreciate leaves and dust swirling around her face. She was already …
Continue reading A Day To Remember
We've been working on our own version of the 'engage-disengage' game. (If you want the longer explanation with examples of the engage-disengage game, read my post titled Look at her now! ) Today, Sasha added her own twist. Once Sasha disengages from barking at an approaching dog, I verbally "click" and treat. Ironically, we haven't encountered many …
Continue reading Outsmarted by a Sheltie
When Sasha first came to us last year, she was terrified of loud noises (clickers at obedience class frightened her senseless), anxious around strangers (men in particular), had no leash skills to speak of, and tended to be very vocal around other dogs. And judging from the condition of her coat and skin, grooming was an unknown …
Continue reading Look at her now!
Sasha is officially three years old today! When we registered Sasha with the AKC via their Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) program, we opted to rely on the veterinarian's estimate of her age because the details of her life before she came to us are largely unknown. We chose July 4th for her "official" birthday and she's …