In the world of dog training, a dog that chases balls, bikes, cats, or a dog that tugs with power and determination a dog with a high-prey drive. Trainers even speak about their preference for having such a dog as a competitor in a myriad of sports or even just as their pet companion. Now…
As I have previously written, we are smack in the middle of Rio’s recovery. She needs to wear a cast for 4 for more weeks. She cannot lick, or worse, chew on it at all. The recommendations are for her to wear a really cumbersome Elizabethan collar all the time to prevent her from doing the…
As I am writing this I am sitting next to my two dogs. They are both lying down, but Rio unfortunately is wearing one of those very cumbersome Elizabethan collars. She just underwent surgery a week ago and we are looking at to 8 -10 weeks of lying low with little in the form of…
The rave these days is for dogs to have about the same amount of extra-curriculum activities as kids of affluent families. Don’t get me wrong, providing engagement to our dog is a very good thing. However, this is where one size does not fit all. I am discussing with some folks their dog’s daily schedule. …
We are on our regular walk with the dogs. One of the things that we do while hiking with them is practicing coming when called. If we want reliability, we must practice. If we want reliability, we must also pay the dog. Deuce is really, really reliable at recall, and that makes me smile with…
Deuce and I are at our weekly sheepherding lesson, something we have done for the past five years. Yes, it has been five years and we are still learning, getting frustrated and reassessing (okay, I am re-assessing) how to make improvements. Sheepherding is a lot like signing in that having talent really makes things easier…
There is something called “learned irrelevance” and if you live with dogs you have experienced this my friends. You have also experienced the opposite: your dog realizing that what is happening at the moment is frankly quite relevant to them. Learned irrelevance refers to our dogs becoming keen observers of circumstance that mean nothing relevant from…
I am not much of a sport fan which means I do not watch the Super Bowl so I miss out on all the flashy ads and the mid-point entertainment. However, one of my brothers did send me a jaw-dropping performance of Border collies doing a disc (Frisbee) routine. Wow, I thought, how can they…
We have had a lot of commotion these past few weeks with a very lengthy board & train, followed by a very short break in action to then me leaving town and having again more commotion with a friend staying at my home with her pup. Back from my trip and now resuming our routines,…
On this particular day, I am accompanying John on his regular hikes with our dogs. Rio is dashing from tree to tree. From scent to scent oblivious of the world around her. I call her. Nada! I know better than to keep calling her, but I also take notice that this girl needs a refreshing…