Remembering Lily Tiger Lily January 16, 2002 – July 7, 2017 It’s taken me some time to write Lily’s obituary post. I don’t know if I’ve been avoiding it because it’s just too hard to write it or if I think it needs to be perfect. But enough is enough. So here goes, imperfections and all… Lily […]
Living with Old Dogs: Lily’s Cliffhanger
Living with old dogs…it’s an adventure, to put it kindly. A rollercoaster, even. I’ve been sharing more of my old dog stories lately. It’s what my life is like these days. I’m thankful for Schooner because while he’s middle aged (4 is getting up there for some Great Danes), he’s still playful and agile. So my […]
Personal Life. Business Life. It All Blends Together Sometimes.
Personal life. Business life. It all blends together sometimes. Most readers of the Smart Dog U blog know that I own Smart Dog University, a one-woman dog training business. Like most micro business owners, I do it all: accounting, marketing, admin, teaching, email, blogging, training, well, you get the picture. In addition to the business, […]
Lily’s Milestone: 15th Birthday
Lily’s Milestone 15th Birthday A long time ago, I made this sweet thing promise she’d give me 15 years. Earlier this week, she made good on that promise. The sweetest girl turned 15 on Sunday/Monday. (The date is in question because I have it January 15 on one of my calendars, and January 16 on […]
For the Love of an Old Dog
I’ll do almost anything for the sake of my dogs. This year, I’m giving up something I love dearly: raising service dogs. When we started raising puppies for service work back in 2001, I was a newlywed. I’d never owned a puppy ever and was a relative newcomer to the organized, specific training required of […]
Train Your Dog Without a Clicker
I hear it a lot: “Do I HAVE to use the clicker?” While I highly suggest using the clicker, nothing says it’s a requirement to teach your dog. However, what makes the clicker a useful tool is that it: sounds the same every time carries no emotion — every click is the same doesn’t need […]
Lily’s Cancer Update
Our sweetest old girl, Lily, was diagnosed with myxosarcoma a couple months ago. She’ll be 13 next week and I debated about whether to put her through surgery given her age. When I talked frankly with my veterinarian about it, he reminded me that she was overall a very healthy older dog — no arthritis, mobility […]
Teach Your Old Dog New Tricks (Video)
Old dogs love learning and training. If you have an older dog, one of the best things you can do for her is to keep her mind sharp. Older dogs are great learners! Think about it: they aren’t as wild as puppies (remember this early video from Levi?), they usually already have the basics down, […]