Last week, I talked about how Nala’s sweetness, smartness, and sensitivity is a blessing and a curse. It’s easy to be glad that she’s so sensitive when Nala is sympathetically cuddling me when I have a migraine. It’s harder when I’m worrying that adding a collar grab to her recall will poison the cue because she’s so … More Sensitive Dogs II: Games for Body Pressure
More than once, following Fit Dog Friday posts, I’ve seen Emma and her mom of My GBGV Life tell me and Kimberly of Keep the Tail Wagging that as our dogs get in the habit of daily walks and runs, none of us will be able to imagine life without them. I admit, I have been a little skeptical! … More Frustrated Fit Dog
Sweet, smart, and sensitive. They’re great traits in a dog, right? But if you’ve lived with a sweet, smart, sensitive dog before, and particularly if you’re kind of a pushy training nerd like me, you might know that that isn’t the whole story. Sensitive dogs can really challenge us as trainers, and they freak out … More On Sensitive Dogs
A week in the life of a fittening dog: Nala’s Gotcha Day was last weekend, so, among other indulgences, we went on two really lovely hikes with her. During one of her creek swimming ventures, Nala found an extremely excellent stick at the water’s edge. She even retrieved it! Well, mostly. This may not seem … More Bits and bobs
Nala is new to swimming. As important as keeping her back and head out of the water usually is, occasionally she just has to duck her head in and chomp at the water. This is part of the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop! Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view this Linky … More Swimming is Serious Business
It’s been a week of weird encounters for a certain wonderful dog and I. Last week, a terrier. Just hanging out in a front yard–not necessarily its own. It looked like an Australian silky terrier, but that seems improbable–it was probably just a Yorkie with unusual coloring. Anyway, it saw us across the street and … More Close Encounters
Sometimes, as has been the case lately, life gets in the way of my desire to spend all of my time stomping around in the woods with Nala. When that happens, we get our exercise together by going running! What better time, then, to tell you about the items and behaviors we find most useful … More 5 Things for Running with your Dog
Nala’s first Gotcha Day is on Saturday, so what better time for a throwback? This is a picture of the very first time that Nala ever got up onto the couch with me. It was about a week after we had brought her home. She was very, very sweet and cautious during that initial “honeymoon … More Throwback Thursday
When I saw this month’s positive pet training hop topic–success, strengths, and improvements–I got all in a kerfuffle. Honestly, guys, I’m not that great of a trainer. Most of my successes with Nala have been in the area of classical conditioning, and I can only tell you guys about so many situations where I stuffed … More On Disbelief, Splitting, and Not Killing a Critter: Positive Pet Training Blog Hop
nala the wonder dog 