www.TheWillaWoman.com

Denise said... You are even more famous than that, my dear. Go to http://www.blogher.org and click the health & wellness topic on the left side of the page. Then, look for Year of the Dog. :-) 12:00 PM The WillaWoman said... Wow, you're right! Here's the actual post: http://blogher.org/node/1084 Here's the comment: "Finally, my favorite service dog blog, The WillaWoman. She never wanted a dog, until she became disabled. She's training her third service dog and she's amazing. She shares dog training tips, fantastic dog anecdotes, tips for dealing with disability and more. I think I want to be The WillaWoman when I grow up." ................... I never realized I made BlogHer! This is such a wonderful comment. Kewl!

I Googled myself today. Here's what I found. I found this post on someone else's blog , someone I don't even know: Dogs, much cooler than technology. At least I think they are. The Willawomen is in the process of training a service dog named Frankie and blogging it. Interestingly enough Willawomen was not a dog person, well, not prior to suffering a disability. It should be interesting seeing how things develop between the two of them. Check it out. Kewl! Then I found this here : listening to: Willawoman, Crazy (Make Me Crazy remix) don't know willawoman? go forth and hear . she trains service dogs too Then this : So what did end up in the blogroll? Mostly interesting writing, or a sense of humor similar to my own. Sometimes I was caught up by a view of life in another country. Sometimes it was a way of life alien but not unfamiliar to me (Check out Willawoman as an example). Each weblog I added was, at least at the time I read it, both familiar enough without...

An older male [chimpanzee] named McGregor was paralyzed from the waist down and dragged himself around the camp using his arms. Jane Goodall writes in In The Shadow Of Man : "One of the most tragic things about the whole tragic affair was the reaction of the chimps to the stricken paralyzed male." McGregor was menaced by the male chimps and was beaten by one of them. Others kept well away from him. Goodall watched a group of chimps grooming each other in a tree, grooming being the primary means of chimp socialization. She writes that McGregor "dragged himself from his nest... and in short stages began the long journey to join the others. When at last he reached the tree... he pulled himself up until he was close to two grooming males. With a loud grunt of pleasure he reached a hand toward them in greeting. But even before he made contact they both had swung quickly away and without a backward glance started grooming on the far side of the tree. For a full two mi...

Lassie Reportedly Helps Rescue Farmer, 90 SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - In a case of life imitating fiction, a 13-month-old cattle dog named "Lassie" helped to rescue its injured master after he fell from a horse in eastern Australia, a media report said Tuesday. George Crowther, a 90-year-old farmer from Queensland state, broke his pelvis when he was pitched from a bucking horse and his foot became caught in the reins, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Crowther's dog, Lassie, came to the rescue, snuggling in next to Crowther to keep him warm. When darkness fell, Crowther's wife came searching in the woods with a flashlight, but couldn't hear his feeble cries. "The dog ran to her and she said 'Where's George?" Crowther told the ABC. "And she (Lassie) toddled off, leading my wife to where I was. And the rest, of course, is history." Crowther was recovering in hospital Tuesday after having 37 screws inserted into his pelvis and hip.

True Love is when: You go away on a weekend trip You have to board one of your Service Dogs at the kennel cause you have two Service Dogs and can only take one on the trip When you return, you pick up the boarded Service Dog from the kennel It's raining and cold But you feel guilty So you don a hoodie and a rain coat and gloves, get on your scooter, and take that Service Dog for a walk In the rain Did I mention it was cold?

When you drop a piece of food on the floor, does your dog go for it like it was the last piece of food it'll ever eat? Does your dog hover around the kitchen while you cook waiting for your clumsy hands (sorry, that's me) to drop a snack destined for your dog's mouth? What if it wasn't edible food you dropped? What if it was your blood pressure medication? What if it was your pain meds? What if it was your crack? (hey, someone out there might drop some crack, ok?) One of the most life-saving commands you can teach your dog is the "Leave It" command. First off, let's be clear as to what "Leave It" means: it means nose and mouth off the object and leave it alone. It means they can't sniff or eat the object. I even go so far as to sometimes have it mean "don't even look" at the object. To teach the command, you are mainly going to setup the condition: Go to a park or a parking lot with your dog on leash. Use a slip collar, or i...

I looked around my house today and realized there have been many ways I have modified my life, house, car, wheelchair to make living easier. I thought I'd list them here to give some ideas, and to give others something to think about. Shower chair and hand-rail in shower Hand-rails in commode rooms Extra "shower" controls built into my tub (I sit and "shower" in the tub) Extension shower head - to get the water pressure closer to my head since I'm sitting Babywipes - great for when you don't have enough energy to shower Short stool in front of sink in master bathroom Three tall, lightweight, metal stools (WalMart) in kitchen One short, lightweight metal stool for traveling (also use as travel shower chair) Laptop by bed for very bad days Two drawers of flatware at opposite ends of kitchen Drinking cups next to fridge Short stool in pantry with dog food - to sit and feed dogs Hand controls in car Wheelchair carrier mounted to rear bumper of car Cup holde...

Welp, today is an FLS day for me. Not surprising after my two very productive shopping trips (see here and here ) and a day at the range on Tuesday. Even though I Feel Like Sh*t today, I wanted to explain that it doesn't mean that I'm depressed or feel bad mentally at all. It just means that it's a PPD (Pain Pill Day), and that I'm probably dressed in sweats, and that I have no energy to do much of anything. There are PPD's where I don't FLS. And that's a good thing. It means that I can take my pain pills and still function. But on an FLS day, unfortunately there's no drug for body fatigue. Maybe crack. But crack is whack. Oy.

I bought fruit. I bought a few shirts. I bought 9mm ammunition. I heart Walmart.

Cat Calls 911 to Help Owner, Police Say COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Police aren't sure how else to explain it. But when an officer walked into an apartment Thursday night to answer a 911 call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room floor. The cat's owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the ground near his bed having fallen out of his wheelchair. Rosheisen said his cat, Tommy, must have hit the right buttons to call 911. "I know it sounds kind of weird," Officer Patrick Daugherty said, unsuccessfully searching for some other explanation. Rosheisen said he couldn't get up because of pain from osteoporosis and ministrokes that disrupt his balance. He also wasn't wearing his medical-alert necklace and couldn't reach a cord above his pillow that alerts paramedics that he needs help. Daugherty said police received a 911 call from Rosheisen's apartment, but there was no one on the phone. Police called back to make sure everything was OK, ...

I have a new favorite store: TJ Max Not because they have great prices. Not because they have a very eclectic selection of goods. Not because they have a large selection of clothing. Not because they have hidden treasures. Not because I spent a bunch of $$ there yesterday. Did I mention they have great prices? But because they have no rugs! A Wheeler's Paradise!

Gad, I love Cesar Millan. You know, The Dog Whisperer dude? His show is on The National Geographic channel. Almost worth upgrading your cable package just so you can watch his show. He uses the same types of training methods I use and the same tools. He's not a proponent of Clicker Training (a.k.a. operant conditioning or as I call it... The Pavlovian Training Method). He uses prong or slip collars where appropriate, and he uses pack discipline. I like him because he's all about pack behavior and the humans role in it. It's fun to watch the looks on his client's faces when he tells them that it's not the dogs fault, it's theirs. Fun stuff!

There are two primary things that I wish prospective new dog owners would realize before choosing their dog. They are: That all breeds are different and each breed has it's own influence on dog behavior. The supreme importance of Pack Behavior and the humans role within the pack. I've provided some links for each of these items below. The more a dog owner knows about their dog's breed (or mix of breeds) and about pack behavior, the easier it will be for that dog owner to evaluate a puppy/dog before bringing it home. The simpler it will be for that dog owner to assimilate the new puppy/dog into their family. And the easier it will be to train, solve behavior problems, and to have an overall good doggie living in their house. Making a Breed Choice links FAQ's on lots of different dog breeds Choosing A Dog Choosing the breed that's right for you Breed selection: One size doesn't fit all Dog Personality Profiler - a test to help you choose a breed Another test to ...

I just got off the phone with my bestest friend in Houston, Miss Kathy Lee! She rocks... we're a lot alike and a lot not alike, and we get along famously! (happy now, girl?!) Anyway, she was frantic on this call. Her young neighbor just got a 3 month old puppy from the pound that was supposed to be a lab/terrier-mix but turns out to be a lab/chow-mix. And it seems to have all the bad traits of the chow, including aggression. The pup has actually bitten her neighbor on the lip and has exhibited aggression towards her children. Time for an immediate intervention by.... The WillaWoman! Here's the advice I gave to Kathy Lee to give to her neighbor: First, the dog is now considered to be "on probation". Pack leadership MUST be established by the parents and then the kids. Subordination Exercises MUST be started immediately. Here's a couple of links for Subordination Exercises: Subordination [This link has "Exercise 4 - Subordinate Position" (see below)] ...

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This weekend I had some very fun guests, including my prodigy Lara and her pup Jack (the Boston Terrier). The kewlest part of our visit was when Lara started giving dog training advice to another of my visitors. Ahh, the passing of the torch!