Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes “CAN HE HAVE CHICKEN?” I yelled, projecting over the commotion of the terrier barking and growling at me. He was safely behind a baby gate, something I had arranged ahead of time with my client. This was our first meeting. “SURE!” the client yelled back. I tossed a piece of freeze-dried chicken over the baby […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes The last year of my cat’s life was a nightmare rollercoaster. Sebastian was battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. He lost his appetite, and I became obsessed with feeding him. I tried every brand of food, cooked for him, and checked his food bowl a dozen times daily to monitor how much he was eating. Finally, […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Bring up the subject of dog parks to a group of dog trainers and watch their heads explode. You’ll get a slew of opinions, most unfavorable. While I confess I have occasionally rolled my eyes at the topic, I don’t hate dog parks. They can be a good place for some dogs to run off […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes “The monster must DIE!” At least, that’s what I imagined the Chow mix was thinking as she launched herself at the vacuum cleaner, growling and snapping as if she were taking on a zombie horde. I cued the owner to shut off the machine. “You’re right,” I nodded. “She hates the vacuum cleaner.” Now that […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Boing! Boing! The Boxer puppy was bouncing all over the place, her wiggly butt somehow defying physics and going in different directions at once. “We take her for three walks a day!” her owner complained. “She’s never tired!” Taking your dog for a walk is great for mental enrichment, but to truly exercise your energetic […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two seconds into the lesson and I already knew I was going to like this client. She had a treat bag clipped to her waist, loaded with yummy bites. She also had a clicker on a lanyard around her neck and had already been practicing with it. She was eager to begin training her two […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was training a client and her dog outside in her neighborhood when a scruffy dog happily approached us. There was no owner in sight. I slipped a spare leash on him and checked his collar. Luckily, “Fred” had an ID tag. I called the number. “Hello,” I said when a woman answered. “I found […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes The car salesman would not stop talking about cupholders. “This model features seven cupholders! That’s one cupholder for each person! More cupholders than our leading competitor!” he exclaimed. I sighed, a little impatiently. I needed a van for a specific purpose, and it wasn’t drinking. “I don’t care about cupholders,” I explained. “Just please hold […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes The destruction was everywhere. Shredded furniture. Bent window blinds. Gnawed baseboards. Scattered throughout the house were shreds of random papers, from magazines to bills. The area rugs reeked of urine. As I took all this in, the distraught woman pointed at her leather couch, which featured a giant, ragged hole in the once-plump cushion. “He […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes The doorbell rang. Rudy the Miniature Schnauzer erupted into a frenzy of barking. He ran to the door and back to his parents, back and forth, with increasing urgency. At times, his bark reached such a high pitch, you were certain it physically penetrated your brain. Even after his folks had retrieved a package and […]