Dogs, Blogs, and Me

I have been wanting to create a blog for awhile now.  I want to help, inspire, influence, and educate others.  I have high hopes that this blog will assist me with that goal.  So, as a dear friend suggested, I am JUMPING into blogging.   

A bit about myself:  I am a lover of all things DOG.  I was fortunate to grow up in a very dog-friendly home.  My mom (and best friend) began training our dogs when I was very young.  A passion was ignited and I became her lil helper.  It began by us taking them to group obedience classes, then to shows, then we were running classes of our own.  We worked our dogs in obedience rings, in herding pastures, in agility courses, and in crowded woods doing search and rescue.  It was a tail-wagging good childhood and I learned invaluable lessons about loyalty, teamwork, compassion, inspiration, and education. 

Eventually, I went off to college and worked as dog trainer to make ends meet.  Then it was on to law school.  My schedule as law student was grueling and I spent most of my free time taking my pack to dog parks and beaches or working at a local rescue facility.  I met my husband at the dog park.  We were regulars (understanding the importance of socialization and excercise required for happy, well-adjusted dogs).  Needless to say, we hit it off and we became a blended family...him, me, our 4 dogs (Trey, Champ, Nicholi, Deelilah) and our 2 cats (Murray and Hugo). 

I picked up the hobby of knitting along the way and my love for yarn, knitting needles, and finely created works of art has blossomed. 

Next, we expanded our family and had our darling daughter, Teddy.  As she grew through the stages of infancy and toddlerhood, I found myself applying countless dog training techniques to my parenting regimine.  Turns out, dogs and children are very similar.   And my idea for a blog was born.

A bit about my blog:   As I began to notice myself using dog training techniques on my daughter, I saw how comical it was...and yet how beneficial it was.  I intend to discuss the similaries I have seen, to share the techniques I apply, and the laughter that comes from sharing my home with 2-legged and 4-legged kids, and perhaps my love of knitting.  So here goes: like a knitted project (taking individual strands of yarn and weaving them into a beautiful piece of art), I inted to interweave my love of dogs, family, knitting and education into this blog.