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...
Skip The Waiting Room

Skip The Waiting Room

If you dog has any feelings about the vet that aren’t warm and fuzzy—it’s time to change up your vet visit routine. Before Oz’s anxiety disorder started to really rear it’s head, for each dog’s vet appointment, I would always sit and wait in my vet’s waiting room, as...
Ode to a blue dog

Ode to a blue dog

An ode to the blue dog who started it all. He was the first one to teach me the joy in a behavioral challenge. The first one to teach me that a dog who throws off your expectations can sometimes be the best thing that can happen to you. He was the dog that first...
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...