(Not at All) Wordless Wednesday; From Shelter to Home

Last May as part of my volunteer work for Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control (MACC) I handled Damon, a pitbull mix up for adoption at the shelter, for Mayor’s Field Day 2014. He was so stinkin’ cute and so great with the kids. One family took a particular interest in him, both children and…

Happy Fourth ‘Gotcha Day’ Jack

Four years ago today my life changed. A lot. Daniel and I drove to Kingston Springs after work to pick up Jack the Border Collie. He hesitated a few moments before trying the stairs up the porch to the front door. But quickly decided a few steps couldn’t stop him from exploring his new home.…

Clicker Work With Damon

Damon’s my little clicker training rock star. He just gets it and enjoys it. He picks out the behavior I’m clicking within 2-3 repetitions. Amazing. I have to say I thought Jack would take to it better than Jade or Damon. Was I ever wrong. Jack gets it, but for some reason doesn’t seem to…

Make Lemonade, But Don’t Squirt It On My Dog

Have you ever been part of an online conversation with strangers with a common interest and someone posts something so offensive you think that maybe you really don’t have a common interest after all? Yeah, that happened today. There are several dog sports I really enjoy watching, learning about, and training for, even though I’m…

An Accidental Border Collie-ist and the Dog Who Changed Everything

every once in a while a dog comes into your life and changes everything If you have a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram friend who has a dog, you’ve likely seen that quote before. I have no idea who said it first. Definitely not original with me. But on February 15, 2011 I experienced it. That…

Clicker Training

Less than a week ago I enrolled in Karen Pryor Academy’s Dog Trainer Foundation course. Wow! It’s awesome. I’m learning so much, and I’m still in the first unit. I’m trying very hard to take my time, go through the material slowly. But it’s hard. I want to gulp it all in. I’m not working with…

Putting Elbow Grease to a Dream

For a couple of years I’ve harbored a secret dream to delve deeper into dog behavior and learning. I’m fascinated by how dogs learn, and how they communicate with humans, especially when humans take the time to try to understand. I’m fascinated by watching how very quickly dogs respond when that communication goes both ways…

Nose Work Rocks

Nose work completely and totally rocks. I mean it. There’s just nothing like watching a dog use his nose to solve a puzzle. A puzzle that we puny humans can’t solve. We can just stand and be awed. I read yesterday on Arson Dogs that dogs can detect  scents in parts per quintillion. Yeah, that’s parts. per.…

Nose Work Practice

Set up a Nose Work run for Jack tonight. Decided it was time to stop being such a slacker.  Jack completely surprised me. Figured he would be pretty rusty, but nope. He rocked it like a boss! I set 4 hides: 2 birch, 1 anise, and 1 clove. The one I though would give him…

Dog Training: Not For The Faint Of Heart

Dog training. Fun? Frustrating? Exciting? Maddening? Joyous? Exhausting? All of the above? Yes, and then some.  I’ll be honest. After Monday night’s Reactive Rover class with Jade I was ready to give up, ready to admit I suck at dog training, ready to shout to the world that I’ll never have another dog training success. …