Lesson 50: A dog’s guide to surviving the post-Thanksgiving purge — Thanksgiving is over, and for many dogs, it was a day to be thankful. In the U.S., it’s a holiday focused on eating — something we dogs are experts at. The trouble is, when humans wake up the next day with that overindulgence hangover, their thoughts drift to unhappy places. …

These four words helped me relate to my daughter. Maybe they can help you relate to your child, too. — It can be difficult sometimes to find ways to talk with our children. As parents, we spend much of our time talking to our children, telling them what to do or not to do. They’ve heard all the speeches before; they know that movie by heart. Kim is my youngest…

Lesson 41: Choosing the right canine gift wrap — They say it’s the thought that counts when giving presents, and nowhere is the thought more apparent than in the wrapping. I love to unwrap presents. It doesn’t matter whether the present is for me or not. I don’t even care what’s inside. Just cover a box and give it…

Maybe a good small boat and a quiet lake are all you really need — One sunny Saturday afternoon found me trailering my O’Day 192, a nineteen-foot sailboat, to a nearby lake for an afternoon sail and an overnight stay. The lake was an hour’s drive away, so I passed the time with Jimmy Buffett crooning on the car stereo and the windows rolled down…

Lesson 49: Seize the helm and change tack — Every sailor knows it’s bad luck to start a voyage on a Friday. Or really, any day that ends in a ‘Y,’ but what did I know? It was my first time on a sailboat. I had my new life jacket on, pink with white polka dots. It was a…

Lesson 48: Three things you probably never knew about squirrels — Squirrels are great fun to chase any time of the year, but I see them most in the fall when they’re busy gathering and hiding food for winter. Their coats are lighter this time of year, their bodies turning silver-grey and their faces changing from buffy-brown to white. Last week…

Lesson 47: Training your vacation landlords — Recently, I spent a week living with John and Diane, friends of my humans who abandoned me for a “vacation.” Why anyone would want a vacation without their primary source of entertainment, puppy licks, and tissue pulp, is beyond me. But, off they went, and behind I stayed. John and…

Lesson 46: A dog’s view on the change of seasons — I love the fall. Everything changes: the smells, the lights, the colors, the temperatures, even the time. I have a human who says, “Oh yes, I get to sleep an extra hour.” But I have a puppy bladder that says, “Oh no, don’t even think about it.” I love the…

Lesson 45: Murder, Mystery, and Mouse Droppings — It was a restless night. We had been to the village square the night before to join the Halloween festivities, and I wore my ghost costume. I was a scary apparition but hardly the invincible Iron Man I had wanted to be. …