November 23, 2009 Sophia Yin, DVM, MS In my entire career as a vet, I’ve only been suckered into adopting two pets. The first was Meggie, a Scottie puppy with a neuromuscular disorder called Scottie cramps. The disorder caused her to randomly walk like a broken down robot. She was probably the easiest pet I’ve trained due to her general good nature and the fact that I got her when she... [Read more]
The dogs pose in front of Sam Elliot's store (the black lab) Sunday November 22, 2009 by Sophia Yin, DVM I remember in highschool math class thinking, math wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the word problems. Now, as an adult, I think, if you can’t do the word problems, which represent math in real life, you don’t really know math. Similarly, with dog training classes,... [Read more]
Lucy at 8 weeks of age Nov 22, 2009 By Dr. Sophia Yin When we last left off, I’d dropped Lucy, the 8 week old Australian Cattledog with my parents after taking a week to train her through the puppy learn to earn program at my house. Before I brought her down, she seemed virtually perfect. She would automatically sit to be petted, to get her leash on, to go out the door, to have her toy... [Read more]
Day 4 of my trip to Indonesia (Sept 2009) Dolphin Encounter Today we went dolphin watching at Lovina beach in Bali; I give the trip mixed reviews. First, we had to ride out further than expected to get to deeper waters in hopes of seeing dolphins. This was actually okay because we enjoyed the ride and the scenery. But instead of seeing the horizon or having a postcard view of the coast we saw a brown... [Read more]
Day 4 of my Indonesia Trip (Sept 2009) One fact that’s wonderful about dogs is that whether they’re a pampered pet from America, a trained competition dog in Germany, or a street dog in Bali, the language is the same. So no matter where I go, I know I’ll be able to communicate with them. On the morning of our first full day in Bali, while my friend Asri and her family and I are... [Read more]
Sophia’s Indonesia Trip — Day 3 (Sept 2009) Bali dog searching for food Today we’ve arrived on Bali, an island described as Paradise and one also known for having many stray dogs. Virtually all developing countries have many stray dogs and the dog population is a good reminder of how dogs co-evolved alongside man. That is, while a common idea is that humans purposefully domesticated... [Read more]
Day 2 of My Trip to Indonesia by Sophia Yin It’s day 2 of my trip to Indonesia and today I visit Asri’s brother’s family. They have a puppy named Cream Puff that the breeder sold to them as a poodle. At 8 weeks it was hard to tell, but now that she’s 5 months old, it’s clear, she’s probably more like a “moodle” (maltese-poodle mix). Elisa, Asri’s... [Read more]
In some cultures it's bad luck cause injury to a cat My Trip to Indonesia: Day 1 (Sept 2009) It’s the first day of my last-minute vacation trip to Indonesia-only the second actual vacation I’ve taken in 15 years. A few weeks ago, out of the blue, my college roommate Asri who had just received her U.S. citizenship emailed me. “Sophia, I’m going to Indonesia to visit my... [Read more]
Jonesy getting a reward at the end of the teeter By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS September 11, 2009 It was 100• F here today but that didn’t stop us from going to our foundations agility class. Or as I call it “Jonesy time.” Here’s Jonesy on the teeter. Over two years ago when he was 10 months of age and had been lliving with me for several months, I took several private lessons... [Read more]
By Sophia Yin, DVM, MS August 7, 2009 For anyone watching, you’ve probably noticed some blog silence on my part. No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth; rather, I bought my dad a puppy, which means that, although it’s his, I’m quite busy. Busier than he is, in fact. If you’d asked me a year ago what I’d be doing this summer, I guarantee I would not have guessed I’d be training... [Read more]
