I think the answer to the above question is: EXTREMELY —  If you are entering your dog in the Westminster Dog Show. PROBABLY —  If you are training your dog in agility, bird hunting, or some other specialized skill. POSSIBLY —  If you are looking […]

This is a big, big question, and one that is receiving more and more study and attention as time goes by. Learning more about how our planetary co-habitants perceive and understand their environment offers us humans invaluable information for moving forward both scientifically and sociologically. […]

I can’t swear to the “wise” part, but I can definitely attest to the “happy, healthy” part of the above title. My long-haired Chihuahua puppy, Frida, is 7 months old now, and she is the happiest little soul alive . . . and marvelously healthy. […]

Just about every animal lover these days has one or more rescues. Be they canine, feline, or equine — and sometimes feathered and finned as well — there are more and more rescued animals being taken into forever homes every day.  Go online and you […]

You just haven’t lived if you’ve never dressed a Chihuahua. Having had only large-breed dogs for years now, I surprised myself last fall by adopting an adorable 2-year-old Chiweenie (a Chihuahua/Dachscund mix), Tucker,  from the local humane society here in Santa Fe. THEN, I downright […]

I think this is one of, if not THE, hardest things about having animals in your life. Watching as they grow old and then going through the end-of-life vigil with them. And of course it applies to all animals, not just dogs. It is such […]

WEEKEND POSTS ARE DEDICATED TO HEALTH AND HEALING. SINCE THIS IS MY 100TH POST ON THIS BLOG, IT SEEMED FITTING TO DEDICATE IT TO MY “HEART DOG” BEN, WHO DIED MANY YEARS AGO AT 14 AFTER LIVING AN AMAZINGLY HEALTHY LIFE. TO BEN, WHO STILL […]

A lot of people seem to think that if you can talk to an animal then you can make it do anything you want — kind of like a puppet on a string. They want us animal communicators to talk their dog out of eating […]

“Every profession has something to be thankful for. Ours is that Chihuahuas don’t come in the size of Great Danes.” Thus proclaimed the veterinarian for whom I worked in my early 20’s as he wrestled with the tiny terror on the table — a teacup […]

That’s what a good friend calls Frida, my long-haired Chihuahua puppy who is now 4+ months old. I don’t know about you, but I had never even HEARD of a long-haired Chihuahua when I met Frida, who was then just a 5-week old ball of […]