The Less Adoptable Dog If Chérie, our foster pup, had found herself in a shelter making tough decisions about how to use their resources, she would not have made it out alive. She had a few strikes against her. Chérie was in heat, necessitating a more challenging spaying surgery feared everyone and everything and was nearly […]
The Puppiness Project – You’re Gonna Stink; Do It Anyway
Gretchen Rubin wrote in The Happiness Project about the year she spent “test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy.” The Puppiness Project is my attempt to learn the same from Honey, my Golden Retriever, and Chérie, our visiting Foster Pup. Learning Dog Tricks Honey will […]
Fostering Dogs – It’s About the Love, Not the Loss
[This post has its own soundtrack. Let it play in the background.] Falling in Love Again Do you remember the first time you fell in love? You were happy just to sit and think about the object of your affections. And when he walked into the room, your world lit up. Who wouldn’t want that […]
We’re All the Same When We Love a Dog
When I was in high school, we didn’t have the World Wide Web to send shocking, funny, or touching video to the four corners of the earth. But some things became viral anyway. The video below, from 1981, is one of them. I did not see the original show on which Jimmy Stewart read his […]
Supporting Change for Companion Animals
I’ve changed a lot since I first brought Agatha and Christie home from the Philadelphia SPCA in 1991. Yes, I’m fatter and older. But not just that. I’ve learned so much about building a relationship with my dog. It’s made living with dogs one of the most satisfying aspects of my life. But the reason […]
The Puppiness Project – Don’t Push Too Fast
Gretchen Rubin wrote in The Happiness Project about the year she spent “test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy.” The Puppiness Project is my attempt to learn the same from Honey, my Golden Retriever, and Chérie, our visiting Foster Pup. Going at the Dog’s Pace […]
Don’t Take Bad Dog Training Advice
Of course you would never rub your puppy’s nose in his poop when he has an accident. And what kind of craziness is it to swat a dog for getting into the trash? What about that dog training advice that might be good—for someone else? But it’s perfectly awful for you. And how do you […]
Dog Loves Fish, In a Good Way
This reminded me of Honey greeting some of the neighborhood cats. And it’s making me reconsider what I thought I knew about fish. Does your dog have any interspecies friendships?
Do You Just Love Dogs? Or Do You Respect Them?
When my dog Shadow died (she’s gracing the blog header), I did some kooky things. Every morning, I’d say out loud, “I miss Shadow.” I looked through hundreds of blurry pictures we had taken of her. And I spontaneously burst into tears throughout the day. But the one thing I most wanted to do, I […]
The Puppiness Project – Let Go of Expectations
Gretchen Rubin wrote in The Happiness Project about the year she spent “test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy.” The Puppiness Project is my attempt to learn the same from Honey, my Golden Retriever, and Chérie, our visiting Foster Pup. Maybe She Will; Maybe She […]