We ask our performance dogs to cope with a lot of things that qualify as “hard stuff for dogs.” Being calm while another dog runs full speed through an agility course, waiting quietly in a small cage while the world buzzes around them, and staying focused on their human while other dogs and people come … More Puppies and Emotional Maturity

Irish wolfhounds are incredible. To be amongst them is to be transported into a Dr. Suess-ian realm of impossible creatures. Sitting on the lawn surrounded by sprawling sighthounds I half-expect to see star-bellied sneetches in the distance. Haphazard hair, soggy beards, legs as thick as trees; I burry my face in the heaving ribs of … More Electing to Consider the Dog

I was on the phone with a friend listening to her recount something that had happened at agility class. A dog in class was running up to jump setters and the “judge” (instructor) and they decided to “fix” it. The ring crew were armed with spray bottles, and the dog was given a squirt of … More Leaving: A Simple Power

Today would have been Kelso’s 16th birthday. He lived 14 good years, and I wasn’t about to let him live any bad ones, so I celebrate today without his physical presence. Though his body is gone, his legacy lives. When you have a dog so special, they are everywhere, always. When I first heard of … More Mutual Memoirs

There is a concept in nutrition called “balance over time.” It means that we don’t have to eat three perfectly balanced meals a day so long as we achieve balance over the course of a week, or month. Nutrition is a funky science; not everyone agrees with this concept. I adhere to this principle in feeding … More Balance is a Verb