Many of us have dogs in Ajijic. We have dogs because we love animals and because we love their company, their unconditional love and their willingness to protect us.
Few of us, however, really know what our dogs need to live a happy and balanced life.
The other day as I was happily channel surfing I came upon “The Dog Whisperer” on the National Geographic Channel. I was immediately drawn in by Cesar Millan’s calm and assertive way of handling dogs without yelling at them but quietly letting them know with authority what was required of them.
I subsequently borrowed a book from my friend that she had bought in Canada and one of my daughter’s and myself set about learning everything we could from this wonderful man from Mexico who now lives in Los Angles.
He has as few basic rules. He rehabilitates dogs and he trains their owners. First you have to look at your dog as an animal, then a dog, then the breed and then the name. Every dog wants a pack leader to follow to be in a happy and balanced state but if no pack leader steps up they will fill this void although it does not make them or their owners happy.
The ideal state for a pack leader (which should be you) is calm/assertive and the ideal state for your dog should be calm/submissive. He teaches you how to attain this peaceful (more…)

Federal agents went in to the Crown Casino Ajijic in Plaza Ajijic on Friday, January 22nd to carry out a court-ordered raid which lasted more than six hours

A press release from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) said the investigators confiscated equipment and materials from the betting parlor and also took 16 employees and 9 clients to the PGR headquarters in Guadalajara for questioning in regards to probable violations of the General Law on Games and Raffles.

Allegedly the business was opened without proper permits from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Gobernacion).

The detainees were held in custody for about 17 hours before being released on bonds posted by the casino’s operators.

Evidently, agents allowed a number of foreign clients to freely leave the casino to avoid the possibility of violating their individual rights.

Included in the evidence collected by authorities were 65 electronic betting machines, 23 packages containing 3,298 magnetic cards used for playing the machines and 57,533 pesos in cash found in the till, as well as an (more…)

This morning I was enjoying a leisurely morning at Yoly’s Beauty Parlor (manicure, pedicure and hair) when I overhead a man talking about wanting to move to Mexico from Durango, Colorado but was having difficulties in convincing his wife to make the move.

I totally related to this as it took 10 years for my husband to talk me into making the move from Toronto 15 years ago.

As I have often said, I wish he had found the right words sooner as I have enjoyed every minute of every day since arriving in 1994.

This is not uncommon as many couples are not always on the same page as one party or the other is dragging their feet.

There are many reasons for this. Fear of the unknown is at the top of the list along with fear of language challenges.

Also leaving family, children and grandchildren, aging parents, homes lived in for many years and familiar surroundings give many pause.

I understand and have experienced all of these doubts along with the worry of raising our children (then 10 and 12) here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

Two things finally pushed me into agreeing with my husband to make the move. First was the coldest winter in Canada for over 50 years and second, the huge increase in our real estate taxes we were about to face.

It was my husband’s mother who put to rest of my fears about my children by telling me (more…)

There has been a lot of chatter about crime in Ajijic, Lake Chapala. I would like to try and give you some perspective on this subject.

We have lived in Ajijic, Lake Chapala for over 15 years. We hail from Toronto, Canada and when we were there I would not let my children go the Mac’s Milk store across the street on their own.

From the time we arrived in Ajijic, Lake Chapala our children have run free and I have never worried about their safety.

This is a community where church and family are the most important values and no one is going to hurt your children.

Obviously, there is going to be some crime as the ex-pats, for the most part, are wealthier than the Mexican locals. Having said that, the crime is largely one of theft of people wanting to feed their families and is usually non-violent.

Coming from a major metropolitan city we find the crime here very inconsequential and if (more…)

On Monday I was on my way to the Nueva Posada for a drink with my friend when I noticed a number of members of the army armed with rifles milling around the carretera and the libremiento in front of Walmart.

They were slowing down the traffic as we went by and then encouraging us to carry on which I did smartly.

This is not the first time we have seen the army here in Ajiic and I will explain why they are here as I know there presence has unnerved some people.

I think Michael Eager of the Nueva Posada explained it best and I will quote him:

“They have periodic and roving teams of soldiers working all over Mexico. They set up roadblocks and randomly pull over cars and trucks. They are looking for guns and drugs. This is a common practice and it has been very successful in the war against drugs and gun runners. If you were to drive to the border on any major highway you would mostly pass through 4 to 5 of these types of roadblocks. (more…)

There have a lot of headlines lately in the newspapers about Mexico being an unsafe place to travel to. Now the news networks and cable stations have jumped on the “do not go to Mexico” bandwagon.

Recently, I a happy to report, the Ministers of Travel in the US and Canada both have said that it is indeed safe to travel to Mexico.

I have been coming to Mexico for nine years before we moved here in l994. Largely we traveled to the coastal cities of Cancun, Acapulco, Puerta Vallerta and Ixtapa. We never had an incident of any kind causing concern. Other than, perhaps, too much sun bathing.

Although it is true there is some unrest in some border towns between the US and Mexico you might be interested in knowing 99% of the guns used on the Mexican side are imported by the thousands from the United States of America by Americans. Perhaps if these people stopped shipping guns for profit things might well settle down. (more…)

If you are worried about security in Ajijic, Lake Chapala. Don’t. We are quite safe here.

There are many gated communities and others with security guards. Of course there is some crime but it is usually non-violent and rarely anyone is hurt.

The crime is usually theft. We have been here for over 14 years and can happily report only one incident where our barking dogs took care of the intruder. When people are away they often have their maid or gardener keep an eye on their house and the best defense is a barking dog. It is quite safe to walk the streets at night. (more…)