RESILIENCE

RESILIENCE

nor·mal adjective Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. In our most difficult months, weeks, days, hours, I would sometimes think about how things might’ve been different for Oz and I. If we had been dealt a different deck of cards, if things were...
Roller coaster

Roller coaster

Backslides in any type of dog training can be difficult. Frustrating. Demoralizing. Heart-breaking. And the more difficult the problem, the more difficult the backslide becomes. The more progress you make, the harsher the backslide feels. I know this all too well. In...
From long line to no line

From long line to no line

Want to hike your dog off-leash, but have too many worries to do so? I used to be the same. Some people can unclip the leash without too much thought or anxiety, but after one of my dogs disappeared for three hours, that wasn’t me. But about a year later, Oz wiggled...
Sh*t happens

Sh*t happens

I am still in the process of shedding my need to be Oz’s superwoman, who can shelter him from everything in the world that might ever upset him. I am letting go of my overly-vigilant self who gave me literal stress pains. I am letting go of my invisible Oz-sized...