Talisman & Totem SportDogs

Overnight we went from the longest, hottest and rainiest summer ever to Winter!!! WTF as they say in New England???!!! Just another Autumn day...hahaha! I caved and turned on the heat when it was below freezing with wind chills. It will go back up to near 60F today, so off it goes, but I no longer care about being "hearty" or is it "hardy".  Rain this week has taken down much of the blazing foliage, but planning to take the afternoon off and go hiking in the White Mountains. Still need to do shorter, puppy appropriate hikes-but a few hours is all I need to recharge in general. Avoiding the leaf peeping crowds is paramount! When we hike, I love seeing almost no one. That is what is sacred about the forest. I like people, but breathing in quiet air in the middle of the woods, does a lot for your spirit.  Even as the days get shorter and the temps drop, this time of year is when I finally have some time. Work is still busy this year for Fall, but finally at a m...

Puppies are incredibly cute, thank god! They also can wear us out and confuse the hell out of us, as they start to grow up. By 16 weeks my plan is to have a strong, loving bond with a pup, a good recall, lots of games where toys and ME are fun & rewarding and they have begun foundation for life stuff like sits/downs/stays and fun stuff like how do my back feet work, climbing rocks while on baby hikes, wobble boards, tricks, we LOVE Kids!, riding in the car everywhere, etc. etc. I socialize the hell out of my pups, they still naturally go through wonky phases. Usually around 16 weeks, the world begins to change as they enter the alternative universe of the Puppy Juvenile period. Everyone talks about how teenage dogs 6+ months and up can be a challenge. I feel like the minute their ears start flying around, teeth falling out and eyes zeroing in on the horizon, is the beginning of a more challenging stage.  As much as I love my puppies, my mantra is often "t...

Life tends to happen in circles, ever notice that? Just when you think you have finished something, you are back at the beginning or setting off on a new endeavour, or working at fixing something.  We all create patterns in our behaviour, both good and bad. Dedication and perserverance, also known as LUCK, helps us along the way. After, some crushing losses I stopped writing. I had nothing to say, my heart was completely broken and scattered in shreds on the wind. It has taken several years to feel almost normal. Some people ask for help, others close shop and retreat into their shells. The waves of grief still crash down at times, but the undertow no longer takes me out to sea. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and new beginnings, right back at the end of what is a new circle of LIFE. You can keep circling back onto sadness, or you can choose to find beauty and joy in tiny or big moments, in each day. Hiking feeds my soul, the woods are a place of beauty. The ocean al...

Puppy notes: I started to write this, to remind myself with some notes, as I waited for pups to be born. My Ffire was due in two weeks or so, give or take. She delivered 6 gorgeous pups this past weekend-4 boys, 2 girls.  As reminder of how I raise pups...need to write some of it down, but really do tailor it to the pups as I see them grow and react. The experience of knowing dogs and empathetically observing, is crucially helpful in raising pups. I often wing it in raising pups, by adding new things or having access to different experiences, at different times of year. Thunderstorms are wonderful, but so is snow, grass versus ice, smelling flowers versus icy wind, walking in the woods versus the beach, all different at different times of the year. I am far from methodical, but do have a method! I know I can always learn more, and really should probably be more specific to remind me of my timeline, even if my methods are not methodical :). These are things I have done for ...

I started thinking about this topic of sportsmanship today and in the last few weeks, as it is always interesting to me to watch not just dogs, but how humans behave. But, also how humans behave with their dogs, in the context of sports. Yeah I'm usually all interested in dog behavior only, but in the context of dogs, our sports-personship (or lack thereof) totally relates. All of this relates to a Good Sport to their dogs too.  What does it mean to be a Good Sport? Is it the one who always smiles at you after a run, even if they don't have a comment? Or, the person who makes a point of saying something nice to you, even if they are 10 times better of a handler or trainer or competitor than you are? Is being a Good Sport clapping and cheering for everyone, not just your friends or people you think are important?  A Good Sport to me will praise their dog the same as they exit the ring, even if a bar came down. Does the dog "know" they took a bar? doubtful-especiall...

Kindness, caring for their young and nurturing (epimeletic behavior) is an instinctive reaction in most social species. Fear and anger (defense) are also instinctive reactions. Fight vs flight is how people and animals (dogs) deal with adversity, by advance or retreat.  Fooling around or indecisive behavior is also a coping mechanism. In some dogs, they learn to "lie" by using submissive behavior to manipulate the outcome of something they may find unpleasant, or not want to do. Like the dog who doesn't want to get in the car because they associate with puking, general yuck or other baddies-they may flip on their backs and pee, but take their collar and depending on the dog-you may see flight (attempt to flee) or fight (bite) response. Dogs don't plan to lie with their behavior, they are just doing what works for them. In people that are liars, submissive behavior or manipulating situations, is often more subtle. Words may ring true to a point, but actions speak l...