How many routines do you have in your life that involve your dogs? I can think of seven daily habits  at our house. My point is that dogs have a very well-developed sense of what time it is, relative to what you are going to do for them!

At our house, here are the routines. Read the rest of this entry

If you have been around Basenjis, you know how smart they are. But Australian Shepherds have plenty of smarts themselves! Here is what happened when the Basenji wanted a toy…

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Have you ever had this misunderstanding of what your dog is thinking?

Dogs have a different sense of time from people. They live essentially in the present. We have to go to workshops or read books to learn how to live in the present, as our minds are so full of past and future… So picture this:

A person (of either gender)  comes home after being out for several hours. There are remnants of chewed pillow strewn all over the living room, and the dog slinks away from the person.

“Look how guilty he is acting!” storms the person. “He knows he should not have chewed up that pillow! BAD DOG!”

Is that how the scenario would play out in your house? My husband Kelly and I had a chance to live a variation on this one some months ago. But it went differently… Read the rest of this entry

Our logo dog, LarryDog, is 13, actually 13 and a half. Of all the dogs we have had, only one has lived longer than Larry. Not that he is showing any signs of quitting! He still barks enthusiastically at anything that might possibly warrant it. He still loves us with all his heart.

If you have an aging dog, you probably know the combination of celebration and poignancy that I feel. I have also developed a few habits to adjust to his changes. LarryDog can’t see as well or  hear as well as he used to. We don’t let him run loose anywhere except in our yard. We don’t want to have to get his attention if a car were to come down the street.  Just in case, though, I am getting him used to my touching him on his back, to have another way to get his attention. Read the rest of this entry