Hi! My name is Kona.  Mom Rose, a T1D, and Dad Paul, a T2D, love me SO SO SO MUCH and I love them SO MUCH SO too!

I’m a mini Goldendoodle and weigh about 25 pounds.  I turned one on Thanksgiving Day, 2019 and my humans are very thankful for me…most of the time. Lol!  Sometimes they forget I am still a puppy and I just can’t help myself when I get a little too rambunctious (but it’s cute, right???).  But I’m learning and have been to puppy classes … though I didn’t really like my classmates.  I’m kinda shy.

I’m really smart (my poodle part) and so loyal and loving (like ALL Goldens) and I hope to become a Diabetes Alert Dog when I settle down a bit.  Mom reads the training books to me but I’m just not interested – blah blah – yet!

I was soooo excited about my first Christmas in my fabulous home … truly a high point in my life!  A dog at the dog park told me we all get presents under the Christmas tree!  I was hoping for a new Kong and liver treats.  My parents kept telling me to leave the tree alone … but I was SO curious!!!  And it all smelled so different!  And like I said…I’m still a puppy. My Christmas wishes came true … SO HAPPY!  Can’t hardly wait for next Christmas!

Training humans isn’t easy. They are truly a work-in-progress! Love, Kona  🐶

Kona posing on the table                A boating adventure

Ready for Christmas   On the road in Arizona  The Gaze

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PLEASE share your stories and your pets and how they make D life better!  Just email me your tales (tails) and photos to: joanne@thesavvydiabetic.com

How to Talk to Your Dog … and why you should was written by Kate Mooney for Medium/Forge, 13 January 2020. 

I talk to my dog incessantly. I work from home, so we hang out all the time. I’ll send an email, fire off a tweet, write two words of a story — you know, work — and then casually glance over at her and inquire, “Do you love your mom?!” When I can’t stop obsessing over something dumb, I tell her, Dr. Dog, all about it. Then, like any sane person would, I ventriloquize her in the high-pitched, yet world-weary tone I’ve assigned to her. (“Hmmm… okay” would probably be her tagline).

I’m far from the only human to talk to their pet; this tendency to anthropomorphize our animal companions (and even inanimate objects we hold dear, like our phones, cars, or guitars) is practically second nature. The habit combats loneliness, and some research suggests it’s even a sign of intelligence. (Great news!) But the fact remains that this conversation is somewhat one-sided.

Or is it? Most dog owners will swear that their dogs do respond to what they say. Although the average dog can understand roughly 165 words, it’s likely that body language and tone matter much more than the actual content of what you’re saying. They’re really reading your emotional affect, according to the psychologist Stanley Coren, the author of How to Speak Dog. Talking to your dog can be therapeutic, so it really is good for you.

 

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