Author Archives: Elina Halonen

What I wish my agility teachers knew

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 toContinueContinue reading “What I wish my agility teachers knew”

Some thoughts on joint health and dog development

I had a conversation with someone* a few months ago about dog joints, structure, movement and breeding spaniels, and during the conversation we had a hypothesis about why there are more joint problems today. Hypothesis 1: In the past hunting spaniels like cockers and springers (in the UK) would have been removed from the geneContinueContinue reading “Some thoughts on joint health and dog development”

The blurry line in love of balls

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 stronglyContinueContinue reading “The blurry line in love of balls”

Every little helps when it comes to self-control

I recently met a lot of dogs of the same breed as Grace, and many of them reminded me of a younger version of her – a much more impatient one! So I wrote something for our breed’s Facebook group and thought I’d share it here too in case it’s useful for someone. Learning that theyContinueContinue reading “Every little helps when it comes to self-control”

The existential worry of living with and loving dogs

These are pictures taken of Nell a month before she first got sick – she looks like she is in great shape and health, or at least I had thought I had every reason to assume she was. The Saturday before her vet appointment on a Wednesday she’d done an energetic 2h walk including lotsContinueContinue reading “The existential worry of living with and loving dogs”

For the love of rabbit balls

“Find someone who looks at you like Grace looks at a rabbit ball.” I wish I’d discovered the joys of game dummies and balls years ago – they are one of the best things I’ve ever bought for my dogs. The idea might seem a bit disgusting but… the look on the dog’s face makesContinueContinue reading “For the love of rabbit balls”

Quick notes on THAT study about genetics and personality

In the days since the study hit the popular press, I’ve found myself writing the same things over and over in various social media discussions. While I really want to write about this properly, I know myself well enough to admit I may never get around to the meticulously crafted long-form post… So, considering that,ContinueContinue reading “Quick notes on THAT study about genetics and personality”

Talking with dogs

Lots of people are currently excited about the buzzers that allow dogs to “speak”. I tried them a year ago but couldn’t persuade my dogs to use them because they already had effective ways to communicate about their most typical needs or desires.Also, the buzzers are great but you have to take them everywhere ifContinueContinue reading “Talking with dogs”