Author Archive
A Pizzle By Any Other Name
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and dogs gotta chew. A lot. Chewing things occupies a large portion of Willie’s day. In fact, most of what Willie does in a normal day can be assigned to one of just four categories: Sleeping, Walking, Chewing, and Everything Else. From the beginning, we made sure we had
Category: Dog
The Call of the Wild
The morning after our first significant snowfall, Willie’s world was covered in cold, white powder ten inches deep. I shoveled pathways around the house and out to the studio, then came back to let Willie outside. He stepped out the door onto a path the width of a shovel blade, a wall of snow on
Category: Dog
Hail Cesar
I don’t watch much TV and I’d never seen Cesar Millan’s show “Dog Whisperer,” but Mutts4Rescue strongly suggested reading his book, “Cesar’s Way,” in preparation for adopting a dog. Now, I’ve shared long stretches of my life with two other dogs, but I’d been “dogless” for several years and thought a refresher would be a
Category: Dog
A World of Turds
I never noticed before just how many turds cover the face of the earth, but my dog Willie seeks out every one. By some mysterious criteria known only to Willie, the turds divide themselves into three categories: turds to sniff, turds to roll in, or turds to eat. On our twice-daily walks I have now
Category: Dog
GQ Doggie
Chad, the fit and burly owner of my gym has not stopped ribbing me about Willie’s size — a running joke that I have sacrificed or somehow compromised my masculinity by choosing a small dog. And since it’s actually Chad’s job to challenge me, it seems natural that our conversations during my training sessions sometimes
Category: Dog
New Routine
The sun is coming up, and though I’m am early riser, it is not my habit to leave the house at this hour – especially when it’s 27 degrees. Still, here I am lacing up my shoes to go for another brisk, 30-minute pre-breakfast walk with my new dog. That brown-eyed, ten-pound creature
Category: Dog
First Day Home
I don’t know quite what I expected from this first day with our new dog, but I certainly hadn’t expected it to feel quite this… peaceful. This pup is calm and gentle and friendly; he leash-walked like a pro, he cooperated during his first sink bath, and he hasn’t made a peep yet – not
Category: Dog
“Gotcha” Day
Today’s the day Richard and I finally get to meet our new pup and bring him home.
Category: Dog
Things to Buy…
Here’s a partial shopping list I brought with us to PetSmart the night before “Gotcha Day” – the day we were to pick up our new dog: • Crate with padded liner • Warming pad • Leash and harness (Tony says Voyager or Four Paws) • Fish oil (add to food?)
Category: Dog
Foster Mom
I spoke at length with Keri, our (almost) new pup’s foster mom and adoption coordinator in Louisiana. Keri had lots of advice for me and had answers to all my questions. I scrambled to take notes and keep up with her. “Now barking and whining is all about attention and it’s best to deal with
Category: Dog