Julia P., Author at ThatMutt.com

At the beginning of July I have a tradition of writing a letter to Baxter to celebrate his Gotcha Day. However, this year it’s a letter of goodbye. Baxter died at the end of May. I can’t write this letter without talking about another death that I haven’t shared here yet. My husband, Matt, died …

Dog owners know that it doesn’t matter what time of year it is or what the weather is like. Dogs need to go out and get some exercise. For some dogs and their people, the answer of what to do in the winter is skijoring. Skijoring—“ski driving” in Norwegian—involves a person on skis being pulled …

Throughout this series on dog sports, there has been one question that I’ve asked all of the handlers and dog owners: “How important is basic obedience in your sport?” When it comes to the sport of rally obedience, there’s no question. Obedience—at an advanced, not basic level—is critical. About rally obedience Rally, or rally obedience, …

Who’s looking forward to running at top speed down a dock and leaping into the water this summer? If you feel you’re too old for that sort of thing, remember how you felt when you did it as a child? That excitement, joy and energy are all part of the sport of dock diving—for dogs. …

Have you ever tried hurdles? Running along a track and leaping over a standing bar every few strides? I remember a few hurdles attempts from high school gym class. I wanted to be graceful and coordinated and fast. Every so often I’d find the rhythm, but mostly it was just all-round awkward. Watching dogs at …

You may be familiar with the story. A pit bull that no one wanted. With dedicated owners finds his calling as a disc dog and becomes a national champion in the sport, as well as an ambassador for his breed. This is the story of Wallace. Today, I’m excited to kick off a new series …