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Cute dogs offering behavior in hopes of treats in the exam room.

Pay Big, Reap Big

    I had the opportunity to compare our husbandry behavior training with two species, as I both took my dogs to the vet for their annuals and I went to the ophthalmologist for my semi-annual.

    I’ve written about managing my own behavior at the eye doctor before, and it’s gotten a lot easier, actually. I know how to avoid the disturbing images, I know how to manage myself for the routine examinations, and for the most part the staff is not aware that I even have an issue.

    Until something new happens, like taking an image of my tear ducts for the first time, and once I was comfortably settled in the frame and awaiting a photograph a tech picked up a large plastic hook and pushed it toward my eye.

    Peace out, see ya! I was out of that frame and away from that new gadget fast enough to startle her.

    No Bones on the Couch

      We rearranged some furniture this week to make room for an event, and I guess it was enough to make someone wonder if the house rules had changed. (Hint: they hadn’t.)

      I looked up from my computer to see that Undómiel had brought a recreational bone onto the chair with her. The dogs are certainly allowed on the chair — in fact, that particular chair has stayed specifically because it is a favorite dog chair! — but they are not allowed to bring chews with them. This keep the furniture clean and prevents any accidental damage by chewing the bit of comforter which had wrapped around the end of a bone, as may have happened once.

      The Best Dog Bed (Not a Sponsored Post!)

        I’ve raved to friends about this before, but now it’s earned a spot on the blog. And no, I’m not getting any kickback from this!

        I’ve had Big Shrimpy dog beds for a long time, nearly two decades, and I’ve been consistently impressed with their durability. There are four Big Shrimpy beds in my house right now, and most of them date back a good ten years or so. But one finally succumbed to wear, when Undómiel got enthusiastic in her bed-fluffing after ten years of wear, and the cover wore through.

        Two different Batman Batmobile toys on a wooden table

        Bringing Back Batman

          ClickerExpoOh my gosh, you guys.

          Back in January (it’s early April as I write this), I arrived at ClickerExpo and found that one of my favorite stupid props had not made the journey with me. I have a Batman toy from an old McDonald’s Happy Meal merchandising tie-in which I use in a silly-but-pithy demo about setting criteria and knowing when I’ll click during a shaping session. I like silly props; I think we can often absorb a concept better if we step out of familiar territory and experience something in a new way. But Batman had not come with me to sunny southern California, either because he’d fallen out of my bag or had been misplaced or just because the bright weather was not conducive to his usual dark brooding about crime and dead parents.

          Flying — and Arriving — With Your Dog

            You may have heard about the young dog dying after a United flight attendant insisted that it be placed in an overhead bin. And then just a day later, a family flying United went to claim their elderly German Shepherd at their arrival in Kansas — and found only a Great Dane someone else was missing. Their German Shepherd had been accidentally sent to Japan.

            There is enough outrage over these incidents, as there should be, that I do not need to repeat it here. What I want to do is share how pet owners can prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.

            Labrador on Klimb platform and Doberman sitting beside, both hopeful

            Nail Trim: Making It A Choice Makes It An Easy Choice

              I made a mistake yesterday. I went to a drawer in the kitchen. Not just any drawer, it’s the not-a-junk drawer, where I keep among other things the dogs’ nail trimmers.

              As I opened the drawer, two dogs materialized behind me, sitting politely with ears forward and eyes bright. So of course I had to get the trimmers out.

              Black Labrador holding big bone and standing on frozen pond

              Keeping Warm in Winter

                The temperature has been climbing all day and we’ve now broken 0 degrees F! (-18 C) so I thought I’d share some of our cold weather activity and precautions.

                I don’t keep my dogs inside, as they love to play in the yard, but they definitely get to come inside when they ask. Undómiel has a lovely coat styled after a horse rug which keeps her warm in these temperatures, since she has a slick coat and no body fat to speak of. I usually coat her below 20 degrees F, unless it’s just a quick toilet trip. Penny usually gets to choose if she wants an extra layer, because she’s a Labrador and doesn’t always notice that it’s cold.

                Sir Didymus and Ambrosius, from The Labyrinth

                Working Service Dogs at DragonCon

                  My friend Emilia sent me photos of this great PSA at Dragon Con this year. Dragon Con is an enormous pop culture convention annually in Atlanta, GA, with attendance of about 80,000 guests. They have a lot of service dogs working at the convention.

                  Because many people still don’t know how to let service dogs do their job without interference, Dragon Con posted a PSA on their internal feeds so that attendees with service dogs could enjoy the event as much as everyone else.

                  Total Solar Eclipse with fiery corona around the moon, astronomical event, space sky image.

                  Pet Safety During the Eclipse

                    Total Solar Eclipse with fiery corona around the moon, astronomical event, space sky image.

                    Originally written for 2017, and now updated for 2024.

                    I’ve already seen some chatter on social media about pet safety during the Great American Eclipse, and some of it has been quite off-base. So let’s talk about safety!

                    First, unless you’ve been living in a cave (perhaps a reasonable choice, given the recent socio-political climate), you’ve probably heard about the eclipse predicted for August 21, 2017 April 8, 2024. This will be a total solar eclipse, particularly notable for many Americans for its convenient path of travel right through the center of the continental US.