July 15, 2016 | We Love
Happy 1st Birthday Hazel!
Our sweet pup, Hazelnut, is a year old today. Time flies! Continue Reading >
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July 13, 2016 | We Learn
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4 Tips for Traveling in a Car With Your Dog
Getting to travel with your dog can be a fun experience! When you get ready to leave for your vacation or road adventure, there are a few necessary steps to making sure that travel will be comfortable and safe for your dog. Continue Reading >
July 11, 2016 | We Learn
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3 Things to Know About Crate Training
Many professional dog trainers and veterinarians recommend crate training as a means of efficiently housebreaking a puppy, but many new puppy owners fear that “caging” their new dog is mean or cruel. In reality, dogs have always been den animals; they enjoy having a small, cozy place of their own and in a household setting a crate serves as a puppy’s personal den. Continue Reading >
July 11, 2016 | We Love
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Snowball-A Personal Story
Snowball is a 13 year old Bichon Frise, Bay Area born and raised. He has lived through the roughest times of the Bay Area sports woes in the mid-2000s, but has relished the success of the San Francisco 49ers and Giants as well as the Golden State Warriors. Continue Reading >
July 8, 2016 | We Learn
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Picking Your Dog Trainer
Picking a pet trainer to help teach you and your dog how to reliably communicate with one another can be an arduous experience. Continue Reading >
July 6, 2016 | We Care
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Love Languages-A Personal Story
I'm teaching my partner Apollo's love language, "Play with him! Ask him to jump and play ball; he'll go crazy and love it." Continue Reading >
July 4, 2016 | We Love
Learning to Parent from Parents-a 4th of July Story
My husband and I (and our dogs) just spent the weekend with my parents (and their dogs), celebrating the 4th. The 4th, our Independence Day, also happens to be their wedding anniversary-this year celebrating 29 years. Continue Reading >
July 1, 2016 | We Learn
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Summer Dog Lovin’ Spots in the East Bay
A dog may be man’s best friend, but summertime is a dog’s. I mean-think about it, tall grass to run around in, beach days and Frisbee catch, Summer critters emerging just waiting to be chased. Continue Reading >
June 30, 2016 | We Learn
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10 Tips and Tricks for Canine Camping
From evaluating the situation to scooping poop, here are "10 Tips and Tricks for Canine Camping." Continue Reading >
June 27, 2016 | We Care
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Our Dog Bailey Knew Our Son Was About To Be Born!
In 2008, my husband and I purchased our first home and one of the things we were most excited about was adding a dog to our little family. Continue Reading >
June 26, 2016 | We Learn
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Crazy Horse, the Lakota Warrior, and his Coyote
Most people have heard of Crazy Horse, the great Lakota warrior, but many people are unaware that Crazy Horse had a dog (as the story goes!). Continue Reading >
June 23, 2016 | We Love
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Never Expect, When Adopting a Shelter Dog
Two weeks after moving into my new house I was at the pet shelter looking for a dog. I hadn’t had a dog in years, my parents would be staying with me for the next year or two, I thought now more than ever was the right time. Continue Reading >
June 21, 2016 | We Learn
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Keeping Pets Cool During Summer
Once the weather starts to get better, summer can be a favorite time of year for pets. Continue Reading >
June 21, 2016 | We Care
A New Beginning
My last notice was about big changes here at Barkswell. After tonight's post, I will be including THREE weekly posts from guest bloggers-dog lovers, dog owners, trainers, tipsters, and plainly kick-butt AMAZING people, just like you. Continue Reading >
May 10, 2016 | We Care
Furbabies and Motherhood
There was a lot of hullabaloo around Mother’s Day yesterday. Continue Reading >
April 22, 2016 | We Care
The Big World of Hazel
So....life is productive, the crazy beautiful kind. I have no complaints. And that is largely because my life is full of joyful beings that love with abandon. Continue Reading >
April 5, 2016 | We Care
Harness the Power
We've been discussing family safety lately, having just gotten a new "family" rig and what consistently comes up is how we keep the pups safe if a car crash occurred. Continue Reading >
March 15, 2016 | We Love
Stranger Danger
Did you know that stranger danger is real? Like, paralyzingly real? Continue Reading >
March 7, 2016 | We Love
The Times They Are A-Changin’
With a new pup around, Wes and Barn are settling in like pros but there are rare times when they wish the old order held fast. Continue Reading >
February 18, 2016 | We Love
For the Love of Toys
As a child, I used to play with graph paper-designing my future homes with wrap around porches. I also made forts with sheets and pillows. Continue Reading >
January 31, 2016 | We Care
A New Year: Learning and Loving It
Hello all, I can't begin to explain the comings and goings of the last two months without first saying there was a wedding and a honeymoon, which basically excuses me not having written a post in almost two months, right? Continue Reading >
December 10, 2015 | We Love
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
The heater is on, layers upon layers of clothes are in full swing, and the pups are cuddling up. Continue Reading >
November 17, 2015 | We Love
‘Tis The Season
Dear Reader, the last few weeks have been a veritable swampland of Non profit events-the season is among us and it has taken me away from these posts (which I deeply regret). Continue Reading >
October 22, 2015 | We Care
Multi-state Travels
Have you ever traveled with your pups? Like, really traveled-over many miles and state borders and maybe over some mountains and past lakes, seeing deer and buffalo and Egrets and everything in between? Continue Reading >
October 6, 2015 | We Love
The Sum of Two Weeks
"Hi! One of us peed on the couch while daddy wasn't looking when putting away the fence, and then ran upstairs to try and poop in the guest bathroom, and trailed poop down the stairs as daddy took me outside..." Continue Reading >
September 25, 2015 | We Love
A Long Road
Puppy training is tiring, has anyone ever told you that? It is. It's about consistency AND encouragement, and a whole lot of patience which can seem in short supply when you're so very very tired. Continue Reading >
September 17, 2015 | We Love
Goodbye and Hello
As the fostering saga continued this last week, we made the fateful decision to adopt half of the fostered duo. Continue Reading >
September 8, 2015 | We Love
Puppy Breath
We are now into week three of fostering and it has it fallen into a beautiful ebb and flow of playing, eating, going number one and number two, and sleeping...sleeping everywhere. Continue Reading >
September 1, 2015 | We Love
Soul Stretch
Last week we celebrated National Dog Day, almost by accident. My fiance and I have been tired, a bit worn down with life activities-mostly wedding planning, work, and all the small things that add up in between. Continue Reading >
August 25, 2015 | We Love
Fence Patrol
We are a pretty habitual household: morning and evening romps at the dogpark, 5:30 am and pm feedings, morning cuddles for Wes, evening cuddles for Barn... Continue Reading >
August 18, 2015 | We Love
Lying Here, Thinking
Barnaby and I spend a lot of time together. In the kitchen, he waits for every half ounce of scrap he can get, just beneath and between my feet. Continue Reading >
August 11, 2015 | We Care
The Beginning of Something Special
I started Barkswell because I want to help build a safe community for dogs and their owners, both online (as a resource for learning and sharing) and in the real world (for people to actually connect). Continue Reading >
August 3, 2015 | We Love
A Marble Here, A Fissure There
My parents have a home that has a lovely pool. That pool was a whopping 80 degrees this weekend, so we enjoyed it with abandon. Continue Reading >
July 28, 2015 | We Love
3.9 Million-Please Adopt.
Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed post-this weekend was amazingly busy. I celebrated another birthday and in the best way possible-with my best friends (both two-legged and four-legged)! Continue Reading >
July 21, 2015 | We Love
All I Wanted This Week
July 13, 2015 | We Love
The Day That Puppies Ruled and Other Vignettes
I am going to work my way backwards through my amazing dog-filled week. Continue Reading >
July 6, 2015 | We Love
The Good Kind of Exhausted
I had a four day weekend from work, which meant a lot of time catching up on chores around the house and some extra special time with the pups. Continue Reading >
June 29, 2015 | We Love
R&R and Rawr
I love weekends. I get to pretend that I will get to sleep late, or at the very least compensate with a nap. Continue Reading >
June 22, 2015 | We Care
The Village
I traveled to the East Coast this weekend for a wedding (My fiancé’s cousin) and, although we have been traveling a lot lately, I leave my home and my animal loves knowing that they are in good hands. Continue Reading >
June 15, 2015 | We Love
The Good, The Bad, and Those Too Stubborn For Their Own Good
I have two dogs that are very good boys. They are loving and like to play: They love to cuddle and wrestle with me in equal measure. But some days, like Sunday, they lose their friggin’ minds. Continue Reading >
June 8, 2015 | We Care
The Montana Difference
I spent the better part of this last week in Montana-it was an unexpected journey but I have to say, in many ways, it was just what I needed. Continue Reading >
June 1, 2015 | We Love
The Meaning of It All
“Family” can be a can of worms. The relationships that work, the relationships that don’t, the ones you so badly want fixed, and the ones that are so past repair you can do nothing but move on. Continue Reading >
May 25, 2015 | We Care
Baggage of the Poop Kind
In the side pocket of my purse, the inner pocket of my clutch, folded in my business card carrier... Continue Reading >
May 22, 2015 | We Love
Barnaby, Oh Barnaby!
I have a much more complicated relationship with Barnaby, a rescue from Family Dog, than I do with Wes. In some ways, he is a mirror to parts of my soul. Continue Reading >
May 13, 2015 | We Love
Ode to Wesley
I have this deep rooted affection for Wes, my little man. I remember the day I found him, or better yet-the day he found me. Continue Reading >
April 28, 2015 | We Care
The Rescue Option
I am a big believer in the rescue. Much like human adoption, there are so many animals that need homes. Continue Reading >
April 27, 2015 | We Love
We Bark
Barking kills me. My entry way is a tunnel that reverberates sound like nothing I have experienced. My former roommate had a sweetheart of a dog but his bark was like a boom cannon. Continue Reading >
April 23, 2015 | We Love
Playtime!
There are tons and tons and more tons of dogs in San Francisco. The good, the bad, and the ugly of dogs is seen in each dog park microsystem-some parks attract large dogs, noisy dogs, small dogs... Continue Reading >
April 22, 2015 | We Love
Routine is for the Dogs
I am a creature of habit, and apparently so are my pups. They like early mornings, and early nights. Continue Reading >
April 21, 2015 | We Love
Going To The Birds
I have birds on the brain today. You cooing and (literally) crappy things! Both Barnaby and Wesley have a love-hate relationship with the birds in our neighborhood. Continue Reading >
April 20, 2015 | We Love
Welcome and Introductions
Offering some brevity, and knowing that this is the beginning of a long journey of dog mommyhood, I’ll give you a little insight into each of my loves now... Continue Reading >
