Author Archives: Elina Halonen

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how much of our interactions with dogs and “customs” around dog training are built on the assumption that a dog is interested in and motivated by food. When that isn’t the case, you have to think much, much harder and often dig deep for empathy when nothing seems to workContinue reading “When you have a food-ambivalent dog”

Leaving aside whatever views you might have on the show or the dog trainer in question, this is a good illustration what can happen when people get a dog “for the family”. Watch the video by clicking the image – it’s on Facebook and can’t be embedded. I’ve spent the past 6 weeks cleaning upContinue reading “Loving a dog is more than just feelings”

We have been caring for a lovely 1 year old spaniel recently on behalf of her breeder who is my friend. She is the sweetest dog you can imagine, and we absolutely adore her but unfortunately Lady Grace is not a fan so we are helping to find a forever home for her. I’ve hadContinue reading “If in doubt, don’t get a dog!”

I wanted to write this because these thoughts have been circulating in my head for months – often haunting me on Thursday nights after practice – in the hope that it would make me feel better but now that I’ve laid out all the reasons why, I’m less certain why it’s a good idea toContinue reading “What I wish my agility teachers knew”

It feels like there are a lot of rules we’ve internalised as dog owners and sometimes it’s good to question them. For example, I have mixed feelings about Grace’s love of balls. On the one hand, I hear a voice in my head telling me I’m supposed to remove things that a dog feels stronglyContinue reading “The blurry line in love of balls”