365 days ago, I started a blog. I had no agenda, except to create a "diary" of the process of raising my new puppy, Lyra. I had no intention of posting every week. I had no intention of using my blog as a soapbox; a chance to talk about whatever thoughts, feelings, or ideas were in my head. I had no intention of bringing up controversial subjects. I was simply going to train my dog. Publicly.
Yet, in the process of watching dogs, people and training, I found myself unable to hold back - so much unhappiness in people or dogs that did not need to be there. I began to write...and I was amazed to see that by far and away the most popular blogs were the ones where I simply expressed my thoughts.
It appears that trainers want to evaluate what they are doing, why they are doing it, and whether it is the best approach for their dog. For me, it simply doesn't get much better than that.
In one year, this blog logged 175,000 views; that is staggering in my mind. People are reading, thinking and maybe talking to each other about some rather important topics in dog training.
Starting on Sept 11th, the one year anniversary of this blog, I will repost the most read blogs from the past year. To give you an idea of where I came from and who I am, I am also reprinting my very first blog post.
Thank you for your support, comments, and disagreements. I've thoroughly enjoyed this journey into writing.
Edit: Aug 5th - Sensing a pattern here? I'm apologizing again, but this time I'll provide an explanation. I am going back through all of my blogs, all 452 or so of them, and tagging each one individually with the topics found within that blog, so that if you have a training question you are trying to address, you will be able to do so by searching the tags. For example, if you're struggling with your retrieve over high jump, you could search "retrieve over high jump" and all of those blogs with that topic would come up. Unfortunately, if I inadvertently tag a post that is a draft then I am likely to publish it by accident. I will try to be more careful!
Denise
What happened to the Chihuahua mix you were training?
Brito? He’s here – doing fine!
Don’t stop, please ….. I really enjoy reading your blogs, particularly your own personal take on things; always thought provoking, often educational ! Thank you …..
Thank you, Denise! I have shared several of the blogs you’ve posted over the past year as conversation starters with friends and co-workers. You have more of an impact than you can imagine!
How did Lyra end up doing in obedience competition? After all that thorough preparation using modern methods I would imagine she got her OTCH way earlier than your previous dogs.
I haven’t shown any dog in six or seven years. I have a new puppy and am looking at a new sport – my interest in AKC is just not there anymore and Lyra doesn’t have the temperament I need for protection sports. I’m hoping the puppy will have what I need.