Tag Archives: good dog

My old home town goes (back) to the dogs

Posted on December 17, 2011 by annieriecken

I went to college in Santa Cruz, California. A few years after I left, the city fathers banned dogs from the Pacific Garden Mall. The Mall is the town’s main shopping street and there used to be a lot of … Continue reading →

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“It’s a car, what do you do for a car?”

Posted on December 5, 2011 by annieriecken

Chico has learned to associate certain things that he used to be afraid of with treats. In doing that, he has learned to substitute behaviors I want for ones I don’t. Here’s an example. In the beginning, his fear of … Continue reading →

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Dog friendly

Posted on December 2, 2011 by annieriecken

Chico came into my life as a very reactive dog. Anything that he didn’t understand made him lose his cool and because there were a lot of things he didn’t understand, he lost his cool a lot. One of my … Continue reading →

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Walk with a view

Posted on November 23, 2011 by annieriecken

Last weekend I had the fun job of tending Julie’s dogs while she went out of town. White Mountain Agility sits on 90 acres, much of it in conservation, at the edge of an even larger piece of protected land. … Continue reading →

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One lucky dog

Posted on November 21, 2011 by annieriecken

Chico, Dakota and I went for a ride this morning. As usual, Chico did his own thing; running about off in the woods, but not far away. At the end of the ride I saw something sticking up out of … Continue reading →

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Dog and pony show

Posted on November 18, 2011 by annieriecken

I don’t own, but get to ride whenever I like, a horse named Dakota who lives in my town. His owner has had a hip replacement and she hasn’t ridden for years, but she’s had Dakota all his life and … Continue reading →

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The dog I was dealt

Posted on October 24, 2011 by annieriecken

Before he lived with me, Chico had at least three other homes. A family in the Washington, DC area gave him to the Humane Society for adoption and I’m not sure how long he was there before my sister’s family … Continue reading →

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The last five minutes

Posted on October 21, 2011 by annieriecken

Our first lesson with Julie was on a cold January morning. After two-plus hours, I had a whole new tool kit of dog management tools to master, a list of things to work on, and a fried brain. I opened … Continue reading →

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