Two different Batman Batmobile toys on a wooden table

Bringing Back Batman

Oh 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.

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.

black lab puppy seated at edge of cliff, looking over river gorge

Clicker Expo and After

This entry is part 12 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

What a week! Mindy and I traveled to Clicker Expo in Norfolk, Virginia, and because I didn’t want to fly her, we drove. It wasn’t a bad drive, about 12 hours, and I broke it up into two days with a bit of hiking each way.

“Not a Real Service Dog”

On the way down, we had our first access trouble ever, when Mindy and I were ejected from a hotel after we were checked in due to her not being a “real service dog.”

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Labrador!

This entry is part 2 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

We made it! We’re home! And it was an impressive trip. But first, a little background.

A New Face

This entry is part 1 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

So I have an announcement to make… There’s a puppy here.

I know, I know, it’s really soon. Really soon. And, that’s a retriever face. But stay with me for just a moment.

I’d been thinking about raising a service puppy for months, actually. Guide Dogs for the Blind has opened a puppy program for KPA CTPs specifically, and I’d been kicking around the idea. I had finally decided against it, though, with my dogs being ill and not particularly retriever fans.

Shakespeare’s Last Week

This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series Cancer & the Fight

Today a friend bid goodbye to her dog. And today I made the awful appointment to end Shakespeare’s days with us.

I have much to be grateful for. He was given as little as 3 weeks to live when diagnosed, and today marks the 7th week. He’s positively ancient for his breed; if I had his pedigree, he could have received a longevity award nearly 4 years ago, and aside from the cancer he’s physically in better shape than other Dobermans I’ve seen his age. And despite all that I’ve read and heard about the horrid pain of bone cancer, Shakespeare seems to be in fairly little discomfort, which is an answer to prayer.

But that makes it hard, too. He’s not in severe pain. He’s still enjoying his life, chilling on the couch or sunning himself in our early autumn weather. How can I take that away from him?