Dogs have taught me to become a much more patient person – progress is gradual, skills are learned in small increments, and some days, you just have to let it go with a shrug. But if you persist and just keep doing small things every day (or every 3 days!), one day you’ll realise youContinue reading “The path to a “well-trained dog” is paved with tiny tiles”
Category Archives: Musings
The priceless gift of resilience
Yesterday we had a car problem on the motorway between Den Haag and Amsterdam and had to call the recovery services to check it out. You can’t sit in the car, so we had to entertain ourselves on the grassy area by the road. It was an odd situation so I did some bits ofContinue reading “The priceless gift of resilience”
Much ado about retractables
Controversial POV: I’m a HUGE fan of flexis – so much so that I wish there was a 10 metre one in small, but unfortunately 8m is the longest that they make. I even walk my dog with a flexi AND a collar. In short, I’m one of those people who the Dog Internet lovesContinue reading “Much ado about retractables”
Teaching my dog to ask for safety
We had an unusual walk today after a dog briefly harassed Grace – I was shoving unruly poop bags back into my waist bag for a few seconds when it happened so I didn’t see how it started, just that Grace squealed. It’s very rare that Grace is shaken by something but this time sheContinue reading “Teaching my dog to ask for safety”
When you have a food-ambivalent dog
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”
Loving a dog is more than just feelings
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”
If in doubt, don’t get a dog!
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!”
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 toContinue 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 geneContinue 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 stronglyContinue reading “The blurry line in love of balls”
BusyDoggie 