Dog training Archive
Training Wheels
Willie is now nearly eight months old. A perfect time, I’m told, to begin training. This pup is smart and friendly and affectionate. He walks beautifully on a leash, he cooperates during sink baths, and he doesn’t chew things he’s not supposed to. But he seems to forget his name when he’s off-leash in our
Category: Dog
Lost Dog
It was a busy morning. Richard and I were working on deadline when a friend dropped by for coffee. Excited, Willie ran a few laps around us and around the dining table as Richard opened the pantry door to retrieve something to serve our guest. Just then, the phone rang with a business call, and
Category: Dog
Defiant Doggie
“Willie, come.” The sun is rising, and I’m crouched down beside the front door holding Willie’s harness and leash. It’s time for our morning walk, which will be followed by breakfast – both his and mine. Willie stands just beyond my reach, looking at me. Why does he hesitate, holding himself apart? Does he object
Category: Dog
Nights in Rodanthe
Willie’s first significant road trip involved ten hours in the car on the way to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. With the consent of my friends, I brought him with me on a week-long writing retreat where Willie shared a beach cottage with the five of us. Willie snoozed on my lap or on the
Category: Dog
Dog Bed
I was leaving for a week-long writing retreat that Sunday, an annual January ritual with a handful of writer friends. We drive ten hours to a beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and hunker down for several consecutive days of writing and camaraderie, of family meals and chilly, early morning beach walks. After dinner
Category: Dog
Play Date
Friends joined us for lunch yesterday and brought along their little rescue mutt, a Jack Russell terrier mix named Mr. Chips. We’d been looking forward to this play date for weeks – meeting the charming and portable Mr. Chips had, after all, led directly to our deciding to adopt Willie. As I set the table
Category: Dog
Charcoal Junkie
I walk into the small pet supply store with Willie on a short lead, still searching for a simple black sweater to replace the one he lost a few weeks back on our very first off-lead walk in the woods. The pretty young sales clerk shows me a line of canine outerwear but I’m distracted
Category: Dog
The Voice
Willie hardly makes a sound. He doesn’t whine, and he doesn’t bark, though he communicates with me a great deal through eye contact, body posture, and tail wagging. His basic states of being are: happy (to see me); excited (to go for a walk or to eat); contented (after a walk or a meal); and
Category: Dog
Salty Dog
I neglected to post this entry while our Hudson Valley winter was in full force…but decided this was my chance since we had yet another dusting of snow last night (yes, on April 16!) # # # It snowed again last night, obliterating all the paths I shoveled after Sunday’s storm. I looked out the
Category: Dog
Saddle Up & Move ‘Em Out
Each morning before our walk I get Willie into a harness. I do this so I can attach his lead to the harness rings between his shoulder blades – an alternative to attaching it to his collar, which would put stress on his neck. We’ve been through a few different harnesses; he hated the one
Category: Dog