Saturday, June 30, 2007

I qualified for USDAA nationals!

We are finally home! It's been a long day. I'm tired and irritable, but it's not hampering my ability to relish in the day!

We had five runs today - that's a lot, but we had a great time.

Snooker - Our first run was Masters Snooker. Mum decided when she walked the course that we may just be able to try for our first Super Q. That would mean that we would have to do four reds instead of three and we would need to go for at least two sevens. She plotted out a nice flowing course. I took off and was nearly the fastest I've ever been in a trail. Great! We got through all four reds and the two sevens, then we started on the 2-7 sequence. We were going great! Then on the last seven, Mum put me in the wrong tunnel entrance, so no Super Q - but we got a nice Q! Mum was super proud.

Gamblers - Our second run was gamblers, wow what a tough gamble! The gamble had a tunnel entrance right at the line, then the tunnel turned left - then Mum had to give me a turn (to the right) and out to take the jump, teeter and jump going toward the right. We started off great, ran out of time a little in our plan, but Mum bolted for the gamble tunnel entrance. When I came out of the tunnel, she gave me the turn and out and I did it!!!! She go so excited, she forgot to tell me out jump, but I took the teeter and she was giving me all kinds of good boys! So we bolted to the finish. NQ, but, wow, Mum was impressed with my going out like that, I got lots of chicken after that run.

Standard - By our third run it was starting to get pretty hot. Mum and I ran standard with no faults, but we were over time. So Mum made some plans to keep me motivated and cool for the next runs.

Steeplechase - Mum put my cool coat on me before we ran Steeplechase. We entered because I need one more Q to qualify for nationals. We had a clean run, but I still wasn't fast enough to make the Q. So Mum altered her plan to keep me cool for our next run.

Grand Prix - Mum pretty much gave me a bath before our run on this event. We, again, entered Grand Prix, because I only need one more Q to qualify for nationals. We ran well and clean, a bit faster that my two previous runs. I was over by 1.5 secs. But it was still enough to qualify and get 3rd Place! Yippee!!!

I QUALIFIED FOR the 2007 USDAA NATIONALS!!!!!!

Just to put it in perspective. I started agility training when I was 11 months old in June of 2005. Before that, Mum didn't even think about agility with me - she had never done it before. One of her friends mentioned that I may be good at it, so she signed me up for a class. We took two classes - 6 weeks each, then started with our present trainer taking private lessons, which suited me much better than the class format.

We trained until early November when I got attacked by some dogs and had to have surgery. Six weeks after my dog attack (I was healing very well and quickly) Mum entered me in my first trial - that was December 31, 2005. So, 25 months to nearly the day I started training, I have qualified for Nationals.

This so rocks and we are incredibly excited, thanks for letting us share are good news! We sure wouldn't be where we are without our friends, trainers and teachers.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Off to a trial!

We're off to a USDAA trial this weekend. Very excited to be able to run again, we've been off trialing for a couple of weeks. Wish us luck, K?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Free stuff!

I'm always looking for Freebies - free sticks, free food droppings when Mum cleans the kitchen counter, free treats from Mum's buds at agility trials.

There's a website, called thatfreebiesite.com, where you can find access to all kinds of free stuff from coupons, maps, product samples, pedometers, markers, stuff for little kids - all kinds of fun and useful stuff.

I was particularly interested in the pet section, of course! So I went there immediately. When I visited they had a link to a new puppy kit and a couple of other interesting items. I wasn't interested in any of the free food samples, 'cause I'm REAL picky about what I eat, but they had other pet offers available.

We picked up a couple of coupons in the coupon section - always looking for ways to save money. And we explored the business section and may up for a few paper samples to try out. We're gonna keep checking back to see if there are other items we can get for free as their site updates.

The neat part about this freebie site is that the links go directly to the offering company and you don't have to sign up for anything, wow! That's easy. Some of the companies with the offers may have you sign up or take a survey, but it's still easier than other freebie sites.

Tillman is featured in an IPhone commercial!

Way to go Tillman!

Tillman, the skateboarding dog, hit the big time! He is featured in an IPhone commercial. Unless you've had your head in the sand, the IPhone is one of the biggest tech talks around these days. It's great to see that they are promoting it featuring a very talented pup!

See Tillman's commercial here!

And if you'd like to see Tillman in action, here you go!

Featured again!

Well those folks at BlogsWeLuv - luv me, and I luv them too! They have a great project going on now - entitled 10 Questions Revealed. The project asks bloggers to send in information about their blog and blogging, why they like it, what their pet peeves are, what they've learned from blogging and more! It's really cool to read everyone's answers.

Well, they were brave enough to let a dog participate and today I was featured in the 10 Questions Revealed. Read more about my blogging adventures and why I do it.

The brains behind BlogsWeLuv are Tish and Mike - be sure and check out their blogs - The Kat House and Ordinary Folk.

And, if you haven't heard about Blogathon 2007 it is an annual event in which bloggers unite to raise money for their favorite charities. Both Tish and Mike will be hanging out for the full 24 hours, drinking Red Bull, posting blog reviews, and raising awareness for our cause. So don't forget to drop by.

The dangers of blue-green algae!

Watch out dogs - there my be danger in the lakes and ponds you like to swim in!

Deaths have been reported of dogs ingesting amounts of water that contain blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and harmful algal blooms.

When some blooms occur in water bodies, exposure to the blue-green algae and their toxins can pose risks to humans, pets, livestock and wildlife. Exposure may occur by ingestion, dermal contact, and aspiration or inhalation.

Here are some links for more information - be careful out there!

Information about blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and harmful algal blooms.
Algal Poisoning information from the Merck Veterinary manual.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Great training with Jen Pinder!

Just got back from our four hour workshop with Jen Pinder. Wow, was that fun!

First about the weather. This was outside at the home of Trainer J, using one of her rings. We had been concerned about the weather for days because it had been in the 90's and very humid. Well, we got lucky. It was about 80 degrees, humid at first, then it started drizzling and cooled off. Ah rain, I love to run in the rain!

Jen had us each run about 4-15 obstacles runs within the four hours. After each dog/handler ran she would critique that run individually and personally, and then discuss some the highlights with the group - which I liked a lot. Each one of us has varied styles, speeds and sizes, so we all had different things to learn. We learned a lot from our runs and from the others runs, as well.

Here are some of the highlights --

1. Pulling through a discrimination, instead of Mum front crossing me to keep the speed. That was something we really wanted to practice on and Jen's tips were great.

She talked about giving the dog lateral motion cues. Example: if you have a jump that leads right into the left side of the tunnel, but you want the dog to go in the left side - just as the dog has committed to the jump, you run laterally toward the right side of the tunnel, as in shaping a V.

We did this a couple of times in our four runs and it worked great - nice thing is that Mum and I have done this before without really realizing that's what we were doing. Now we can be more consistent with our discriminations utilizing this method!

2. Having Mum back up when she really wanted to pull me in (to keep me focused and away from another obstacle or to wrap around a jump) and then go on. This worked great! Loved it and kept me totally focused on where I was going. The key to this, Jen said, is to back up toward where you want the dog to go.

3. Lead out two jumps at the start with Mum facing me from the middle of the second jump. This would have worked great for us if I wasn't sitting near people, or if it was one of the first runs of the day when I am lots faster.

I've had a few problems coming off my stays, on the starts and on the table. So Mum and I are going to work on that with OK's (release) and treats. The great things about this method of leading out is that it told me exactly where I was supposed to go, instead of having to really read Mum and make decisions which can slow me down.

4. Sometimes during runs I am real fast and sometimes I am a little slower. Jen recommended Mum cue in on my speed capabilities before each run and walk the course accordingly. What Mum has been doing is walking a course for fast me and for when I'm a little slower and making the decision on how she will be handling me when she sees my speed at the start.

Well that's made for a few times where Mum had hesitated and slowed me down. So she's gonna work on that. I'm still pretty young, and as I get older and more confident my speeds are becoming more consistent. So that will help us both if that continues.

5. Jen also talked about driving to the next obstacle. That's something that Mum and I do - sometimes, but not always. So we can work on that too.

6. We also picked up a tip that will be great for Gracie's focus. When Mum uses a tug and treat with Gracie, instead of just opening up tug for the treat and giving it to Gracie, she's going to show Gracie the treats in the tug, back up some and give her a treat, back up and give her a treat. This will really get the focus on the fact that the treat is coming from Mum and makes Gracie focus before she gets the treat.

Overall it was a great seminar. We had a blast and learned a lot. We'll put some of these new tips to work this weekend at the trial. Can't wait!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

SAGLE, Idaho -- Charlie the black lab drove his owner's car into the Pend Oreille River.

This is from Local6.com.
As Mark Ewing walked home this week after returning from picking up a pizza, Charlie jumped into the car through an open window, and apparently knocked the vehicle into gear."He somehow got the car into neutral," Ewing said.

"My car just went boom, down an incline and into the drink."Ewing could only watch as his Chevy Impala sank into the river. No dummy, Charlie jumped out of the window as the car went downhill.

"There's nothing weirder than looking at your car cruising down your driveway when you're not in it and seeing your dog jump out and then watching your car go splash," Ewing said.

Actually, things got a little weirder when the tow truck driver showed up. Before the driver dove into the water to hook the car up to his truck, he asked Ewing to hold his dentures.

"My car's in the drink, I've got dentures in my hand and this guy Keith ... goes swimming," Ewing noted.
Charlie seems pretty talented, but someone needs to teach him to use the break! So glad everyone is OK, whew!

I need a vacation!

All these agility trials and practice, work, laying around, hot weather, herding birds, keeping Gracie in line, short walks around the neighborhood, barking at the Dyson - I need a break, a vacation!

I'd love to rent a nice little place in a nice quite area where I could have easy access to the beach and surf to run, have fun and get my paws wet; neat trails to hike, smell and chase some critters; stay up late and get up early; have dinner at an outdoor cafe, take in the sights and local folks. Ahhhh, sounds wonderful.

But with all the pups needing help in the Lake Tahoe area, maybe we should check out some Lake Tahoe vacation rentals and see if they have a place to rent - then we could have 'working vaca' and help some of the families out there with their pups? Hmmmm.....I like that idea better.

Feeding time!

Now this could make feeding time more fun??????

Back up!

With my Mum's business and our website, and all the communication and documents for the businesses we do everyday, we can't be too careful. It would be terrible to lose everything, especially my puppy vids and pics!

We have two computers and a back up drive. But recently our laptop went on the fritz and left us with less back up. It was a process for us to get back up and running and we lost a day or more. So, we're thinking of looking into other back up alternatives including Online Storage.

IBackup.com offers an online storage account that has a feature of a local drive on your computer allowing you to easily drag-n-drop, open, edit and save files in your online backup account as if they were on your local computer. And you can backup and restore interactively or schedule regular online backups.

PC Magazine lists IBackup as the top online file sharing and backup service provider in its November 2006 issue article on a dozen ways to boost small business.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The first annual Dogs' Aye View 10K fundraiser!

One of our best blogging buddies, Gomer and Opie at Dog's Aye View, are celebrating their blogging anniversary and 10,000th blog visitor by giving back to the people who helped rescue them. Wow, what a great idea!

And we are writing about it here so you can participate!
  • For every visitor to their blog over the next 10 days (from Tuesday, June 26 till Friday, July 6), their dogmom is going to donate 10 cents to Friends For Life Animal Sanctuary, where she adopted Gomer and Opie!
  • But wait, there's more! She's going to donate another 10 cents for everyone that posts a comment to their blog ... about anything ... to Southwest Metro Animal Rescue, located in Chaska where they live, since they have the same no-kill philosophy about domesticated animals.
  • But wait, there's more! If you tell them in your comment that you also clicked the purple button (upper left side of their blog, under our picture - or this link The Animal Rescue Site) on their blog to help feed shelter animals - then she's going to donate another 10 cents to each of these fine organizations -- Friends For Life, SWMAR and The Animal Rescue Site.
  • And, if you post a blurb and a link on your blog that tells everybody and links back to them - then she's going to donate a whole dollar to the animal rescue group of your choice if you email her the information.
Wowser - now that's an offer I can't refuse! We hope you will participate too and help the pups in need. Visit their site for more info!!!

Thanks Dogs' Aye View - we salute you for this fabulous undertaking.

New toy!

On my birthday Mum gave me, among other things, a new toy!

I get lots of toys at agility events, but Mum keeps them hidden from me until special days. I know, it's horrible. But if she gave me all those toys, I'd be spoiled! Can't have that.

But yesterday was a very special day - my birthday!

Here I am with my new Zanie....

Wait I see Gracie has a toy, hmmmm....

Hmmm....(plotting strategy).......

Got it......now for the surgical removal of the squeaker (my favorite part).....

Hey, back off chickie!


Heeeeee.......

Monday, June 25, 2007

Watch out for those fireworks!

It's fireworks season - for some that's good, for others it can be their worst nightmare!

I have to say that I'm not afraid of fireworks, or thunderstorms, or other similar booming types of noises. And luckily for our family, neither is Gracie, or even Wolfie and Wiggy, the resident cats.

But lots of dogs are terrified of these big boomers. Last year was a perfect example....

One of our fellow agility competitors went home after the trial and let her dog out to do his business. Well, just then a neighbor set off a firework, and all heck broke loose. The pup scaled a 10 foot fence and was gone in a shot. It all happened very quickly.

The next day, 20-30 of the folks competing at the trial, took their dogs that were trained at tracking and spent the entire day looking for the pup. Later that night, the pup was found on a nice ladies porch, collapsed from the night and day ordeal. Luckily, he got home and only suffered some paw rawness. But it was very scary.

So pups out there? Take care this firework season. We sure wouldn't want anything to happen to ya! And, even though we aren't afraid of all that stuff, we still take precautions - 'cause you just never know what could happen.

If you need more information here are some great articles, with tips on keeping your pet safe, noise desensitization training, what to do and not to do, and more. And be sure and wear your ID, you just never know what can happen!

From the Human Society of the United States:

A Standard Run!

The weekend of June 8-10, we had an AKC trial north of here in Lebanon. Our friend was gracious enough to film us on a NICE camera - rather than our poor quality little digital thingamajig. We got them today and we are so grateful!

Here is the day I got the double Q! Thought I seemed a little slower than usual, but we liked the runs. All that fast down on the table stuff we did this winter when I had my cast seems to be paying off. And, Mum's been working a lot on keeping her arms from moving around so much, it's better- she just gets as excited as I do! Hope you enjoy.

AKC Exec B Standard 6-9-2007



AKC Exec B JWW 6-9-2007

It's a dog's life!

We hope you will really enjoy our new Squidoo lens - It's a Dog's Life!

Me and my sister Gracie, live a pretty doggone good life. And we want to help pass that way of life on to everyone we meet!

We eat, we sleep, we play, we laugh and smile, we work, and most importantly, we love! Our new lens shares our "It's a Dog's Life" attitude and way of living life.

It's my birthday today!

Yippee, it's my birthday!

We don't have anything real special planned, just lots of lovin', some exercise, a little agility in the backyard - and I think Mum may have gotten me a surprise package for later today.

I just can't believe I'm three and Mum can't either. Time really does fly - good thing I can't herd that like I do birds, BOL!

I have now spent 33 months, 990 days, 23,740 hours, 1.425,600 minutes, and 85,526,000 seconds with my Mum - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

In honor of my birthday, my Mum made this video! Hope you enjoy.

And here is a big Happy Birthday to all the other pups born on June 25th! Hope you have a good one!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Tagging mania!

Well it's tagging mania around here! Huma B~ tagged me!

There are four simple rules:

1. Each player starts with seven random facts/habits about themselves. (oh, do I have seven more, well, how doesn't?)
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their seven things as well as these rules.
3. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog.
4. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Seven Random Facts About Me:

1-I run faster in agility when it's raining.
2-One of my favorite pass times in the summer is chasing June Bugs!
3-I'm turning gray and I'm only three!
4-I love to sleep on my back with all my paws in the air.
5-Gracie bugs me sometimes.
6-After I get wet, I run to the couch, roll around and start snorting like crazy.
7-I secretly wish we would move to the country....

I pick seven blogs:

1-Spencer
2-The Dog Couch
3-The Wild Kingdom
4-Pencil Portraits
5-PattySays
6-DogLoversCafe
7-Bark 'N' Blog

Okay there are my seven!

We got tagged!

Casey and Peanut tagged us!

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Here are 7 random facts/habits:

1. I turn three tomorrow!

2. I have a bad habit of herding birds.

3. Besides my BC sis, Gracie, I have two other brothers Wolfie and Wiggy, the cats!

4. I've been blogging since I was a pup in 2004.

5. Mum and I take a nap everyday on her bed, I love her bed!

6. I've had a lot of injuries in my short life - dislocated toe, dog attack, stung by a bee, and a broken paw.

7. My favorite treat is Zukes!

Now we shall tag my new friends:

TipTail

Dog-e-tail

FrogLogDogBlog

Opy

The Kat House

Life with a Newf

One Dog and Two Birds




Saturday, June 23, 2007

We won the Blog of the Day Award!

We are very honored to win the Blog of the Day Award! Thank you so much!

Blog Of The Day Awards Winner

New Squidoo lens for our blog - Rescue Me!

As a companion site to our blog, we made a new Squidoo lens for Rescue Me!

It features mine and Gracie's rescue tails, great sources of information on adopting and rescuing pups in need, tear jerking videos of the life of dogs in shelters and foster homes, and ideas on how you can help, too!

Check it out!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Working on gettin' noticed!

The first one did it's job and got us noticed. We were featured by three blogs and got lots of traffic over the past few days, so we thought we'd do it again. We're always looking for ways to earn more profits - so that 10% we donate can grow and grow to help the rescue pups.

We were told about this one from Barrett Laurie, fellow dog lover, at Huma~B. Thanks for letting us know!

========= Copy and Paste below this line ==========
Instructions:

1.) Copy and paste the matrix of “ViralPosties” below, courtesy of Steve from MISfan.

2.) Substitute the Host Tag and one of the “ViralPosties” in the matrix with the URL of one of your Category plus Post Title.

3.) When you get a ping back from someone that has your link in one of their “ViralPosties”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Tag’s anchor text (automatically the associated link will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “ViralPosties” below.

4.) Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow fast.

Host Tag: It's Party Time!

1.
Contest- Spread the MIS specification word and win $200CAD
2.
Entertainment - Does Hollywood lost some of it’s imagination?
3.
Current Events-Mike Bloomberg ... Recovering Republican
4.
2008 Election-Hypocrites
5.
It's Party Time!
6.
Meet Pete!
7. ViralPosties
8. ViralPosties
9. ViralPosties
10.ViralPosties
11.ViralPosties
12.ViralPosties
13.ViralPosties
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Important: Once I get a ping back from you (I promise to do the best I can), I will add your anchor text and the associated link you designate as “Host Tag” here, replacing one of the “ViralPosties” from the matrix above. As more and more bloggers copy and paste this matrix, the more backlinks you will have with your anchor text. If everybody who copy and paste from your blog does the same, pretty soon this will spread and go viral. So, the sooner you participate, the more links with anchor text you will receive.

There it is folks. This should help you improve your Technorati ranking, SERP and Google PR. Please leave comment here if you have copied from this matrix so that I can add you just in case your ping-back didn’t reach me. It should be easier to track now.

======== Copy and Paste from Above this line ========

AKC releases info on mixed breed survey!

In February and March of this year the American Kennel Club conducted a survey of purebred dog fanciers of the possibility of allowing mixed breeds to compete in AKC companion events.

The American Kennel Club presented the results of their mixed breed survey at the quarterly delegate meeting on June 11, 2007.

Here is a link to the report given at the delegates meeting on June 11th.

Workout with Tiffin!

Our good MySpace friend, Tiffin, has come out with a new workout video!

Tiffin, is a bearded collie and hails from London. She does agility, just like me! So, she has to keep in shape. Thanks Tiffin for this great video - I'm feelin' the burn!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Mark your calendars for the 2008 AKC National Agility Championships!

2008 AKC National Agility Championship
March 28, 29, 30, 2008

The 2008 AKC National Agility Championship will be held March 28 - March 30, 2008 at the Ford Truck Arena and Mustang Arena at Expo Square in Tulsa Oklahoma. Hotel information will be available soon, there are many in the area. Plan to attend now. Please contact Sharon Anderson, Director of Agility (sxa@akc.org) if you are willing to volunteer to work at this exciting 3-day event.

Dogs will be eligible to enter this event if they earn at least 6 Double Q's and 400 MACH points from the Regular Excellent B Standard and Jumpers With Weaves classes during the qualifying period of December 1, 2006 through and including November 30, 2007. Exhibitors should keep track of any double qualifying scores and MACH points earned during this time period.

Watch here for more info.

Thank you BlogsWeLuv!

Wowser! It's been a big day for us! First a review from dog-e-tail.com, then my "Fun Things to do With Your Dog" Wiki was featured on the front page of WikiFido, now Tish and Mike at BlogsWeLuv have reviewed my Rescue Me blog!

Check out my review. And while you are there visit some of the other blogs they are giving luv to - there is some interesting stuff out there, even if you aren't a dog.

Thank you so much Tish and Mike! We love your blogs - The Kat House and Ordinary Folk and look forward to reading much more.....

Our 'Fun Things to do With Your Dog' Wiki is featured on Wikifido!

If you've never visited WikiFido, you are in for treat - at least if you're a dog or dog lover!

We contribute content to WikiFido and are a moderators for the Dog Sports section. We enjoy sharing information and spreading the wealth we've gathered over the past couple of years.

Check out WikiFido when you have some time, you'll be glad you did. And to see us featured, click here soon 'cause they do a great job of rotating content. And when you're there, stop by my Wiki and give me a good Woof!

Feature a pet in need on your site or blog!

Petfinder.com has a great module that you can customize to allow you to feature a pet in need on your blog or website! Check it out.

Don't forget - tomorrow is Take Your Dog To Work Day!

Tomorrow is a big day for us dogs! Some of us get to go to work!

June 22nd is Take Your Dog to Work Day!

We go to work everyday here at JohannTheDog.com. We're updating the website, posting to our blogs - JohannTheDog and Rescue Me - and updating our site pages on Squidoo, Wikifido, Hub, Dogster, CafePress and many others. So everyday is Take Your Dog to Work Day at our place.

Pet Sitters International, the TYDTWDay sponsor believes that through TYDTWDay, people without dogs will see the loving bond their co-workers have with their pets and will consider adopting orphaned pets for their own.

Studies show that pets in the workplace boost employee morale, productivity and even sales! TYDTWDay is a great public relations opportunity and lots of fun. Participation in TYDTWDay helps save the lives of homeless shelter animals in your area and around the world!

Thousands of dogs will be gracing the workforce tomorrow - hopefully! Learn more about Take Your Dog to Work Day put on by Pet Sitters International, and the ins and outs and do's and don'ts, and listen to this podcast to give you some tips for the big day.

Make it a fun, safe and peaceful day, K?

10 warning signs of canine cancer!

We found this list on RedDogDiary: A Dogumentary and thought it important to post. If you notice any of these signs in your dog, please see a vet as soon as possible. As with humans, the sooner cancer is detected, the better the odds of survival.

AVMA’s 10 Warning Signs of Canine Cancer
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
Sores that do not heal
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
Offensive odor
Difficulty eating or swallowing
Hesitation to exercise or loss of stamina
Persistent lameness or stiffness
Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

For more information visit Land of Pure Gold.

I am the bridge!

Lora from It’s a Dog’s Life and our good new friends at TipTail.com posted this great poem the other day. We wanted to share it with you too!

I am the bridge
Between what was and what can be.
I am the pathway to a new life
I am made of mush,
Because my heart melted when I saw you, Matted and sore, limping, depressed, Lonely, unwanted, afraid to love.
For one little time you are mine.
I will feed you with my own hand
I will love you with my whole heart.
I will make you whole.
I am made of steel.
Because when the time comes,
When you are well, and sleek
When your eyes shine
And your tail wags with joy
Then comes the hard part.
I will let you go – not without a tear,
But without a regret.
For you are safe forever – A new dog needs me now.

~ Diane Morgan

Thanks dog-e-tail.com!

Wow, what a nice thing to do!

Our friends at dog-e-tail.com featured me and our new Rescue Me blog on their site! You can see the post here.

Be sure and check out their site, K? They have some great info, including a really cool post on puppy names; cause you're gonna need that when you rescue one of our fine pups.

Thanks dog-e-tail.com!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Always on the look out!

Mum and I are always on the look out for new dog products to add to our website - JohannTheDog.com.

Masterseek is a global search engine providing quick and free access to company profiles, contact information and descriptions of products and services from more than 45 million companies in 75 countries.

A great way for us to find all kinds of new dog products and services.

Peace of mind!

Many of you know that I have had my share of 'accidents' in my short three years of life - dislocated toe, attacked by dogs, broken metacarpal, oh yeah and a nasty bee sting that hampered my breathing. But those days are long gone!!!!

One thing that Mum did when she adopted me was get me a health insurance policy. Yep, that's right, health insurance. When I was just four months old, I had a problem with car sickness. One day, Mum took me to the pet store for some socialization and I got sick in the car. Well getting sick in the car is bad enough, but when Mum saw what came out of me she was shocked - bits of toys in a rainbow of colors, mulch, and more. Even though she watched me like a hawk day in and day out, she had no idea I was swallowing all those things.

She knew she had to be more diligent - and she also knew that if I got 'clogged up' she wasn't so sure she would be able to financially handle a $2,000 operation to get my insides fixed. That night she signed me up for health insurance, just in case. Thank goodness I didn't need an intestinal clean up, but that insurance has sure come in handy over the past two years.

Mum works on her own - runs two companies, mine and hers. So she isn't on any company's health insurance plan. She has to find her own. She's on a good plan now, but is always looking for sites that can keep her in the loop and occasionally update her on a wide variety of Health Insurance Quotes. 'Cause you never know when you may find a better deal, right?

It's party time!

It's summer time and that means party time, right?

Lots of folks have been searching the Internet about how to throw a great pup party - we've seen the results on our Throw a Great Dog Party lens on Squidoo.com. It's been getting a lot of traffic lately.

So, we thought we'd post a link here for you! The lens has all kinds of great info on planning your party, party themes, invitations, goodie bags, resources, dog games, food and lots more!

Mum's pretty good at planning parties. And back on September 3rd, 2005, she threw me the best Gotcha Day party in the history of the Universe. Yep, that's right, the Universe! And you can see and read about everything that happened right here.

Lots of folks asked her, how did she do it? So she put together this party planning checklist, and then created a great page on my website - JohannTheDog.com - with all kinds of dog party supplies, invitations, pup gift ideas, healthy dog cakes, dog treats, goodie bag items, and even gifts for the human host or hostess.

You can have a safe and fun party for your pup!

Our friend has a new book out!

Our good friend, Mary Marshall is a nationally renowned healer and intuitive. She has assisted trainers in pinpointing the causes of behavior and performance problems, guided owners in finding lost pets, and aided owners and veterinarians in targeting health problems in all types of animals.

Mary has facilitated emotional healing in animal/owner relationships and provided messages from deceased pets to grieving owners. She teaches beginning- and advanced-level animal communication. And now she has a new book!

This is the first book to bring together the art of intuitive communication with animals, multi-level healing and inspriation for all creatures, and the wisdom of a real-life Medicine Horse.

We're pretty proud of Mary - she's been a good friend to me and my sis Gracie and helped us through a few things. Good for you Mary - looking forward to reading the book!

Click here to get the new book!



Fun training last night!

The heat finally broke (temporarily) and both Gracie and I got in some great practice at our training class last night. We missed last week, because Mum had to work - so we were raring to go!

You'll remember Gracie is working on focus issues. So Mum took our big bag of toys to practice. She pulled out one toy after another with no interest from Gracie. Then, she pulled out one of our new sheep skin tugs. Dog, Gracie went wild! So Mum used it as a reward at the end of her runs, and a teaser if she started to run off. Worked great!

Gracie ran really well last night - did her weaves, contacts, nice jumping. Only a couple of knocked bars. And that tug got her speed up so much that Mum couldn't keep up. So it's on to distance work with Gracie. Mum worked with me on distance using my fetch game. But Gracie doesn't play fetch, so Mum's going to have to do some research and thinking to plan out a strategy to teach Gracie distance. But that's the fun part, right?

Then it was my turn. Why do I always have to be second? Anyway, we had a new dog visiting and training with us. I was a bit taken by this dog - it had a lot of drive and I go nuts sometimes when dogs with drive are running. Needless to say I barked a lot!

Then I got to run. Mum thought she'd try out some new stuff with me. The first experiment - layer a jump. Well I did it pretty well, even though Mum got her commands out late. But my speed was good, even though I ran wide. Our trainer warned us about doing layering too much, it could ruin my great serpentines. So we'll watch that.

We ran another sequence, tire to tunnel (sending me out to find the entrance on my own), then two jumps to the dog walk, front cross into another tunnel entrance....The neat part about this sequence is that Mum could work on 'gamble' stuff with the tire and tunnel entrance. Trainer said we probably made the dog walk contact for AKC, but we better do it over and make sure we'll make it for USDAA - since the contact zones are smaller.Oops! So, we redid.

Then we experimented with a really difficult weave entrance. The first time, I missed it; but the second time, Mum lined me up better and we made it. There were several ways to handle this entrance, so experimented some more.

It may be surprising but Mum has never rear crossed the weave entrance with me. When needed, she's been killing herself getting to places to with me to avoid a rear on the weaves. So tonight we decided it would be a good idea to practice it. We did it a couple of times. First time, Mum had a brain fart and totally forgot what she was doing. But the second time, we did it great. Although I think we need more practice on that before using it in competition.

Lately Mum has been micro-managing me in the weaves again to get my speed up. Well, she forget that I HATE THAT! So she's backed off on my entrance and started sending me again - but catches up to me to treat lure me faster through them. Works for me!

Overall it was a great time at practice. I'll be missing practice next week, because we have the workshop/seminar with Jen Pinder on Thursday and then a USDAA trial on Saturday and Sunday. But Mum says Gracie gets to go to practice. Can you say jealous!!!!

The heat is on!

With temperatures rising, there are many dangers for us dogs - hot cars, heatstroke, burned pads, and more. Here are some great links to help educate about all the potential dangers. Check them out and pass them to your friends and family!

Cool ideas for hot dogs
Flyers on the dangers of heat stroke
Simon Cowell speaks out for 'Hot Dogs'
Dog's in hot cars
Dogs in pickup trucks
What is heat stroke and how can you prevent it and treat it

Take care out there!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Maggie fights cancer and continues her therapy work!

Now here is a great story!

Despite a bout with cancer, Maggie the therapy dog from Shrewsbury is back on the job.

She had to stop chemotherapy last October because of side effects. Since then, Mike her owner has been giving Maggie natural supplements, to boost her immune system, along with heavy doses of love and positive thinking.

Check out the full story and see the video here!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Woo Hoo! We're gonna do a seminar with Jen Pinder!

We're getting pretty excited about the the weekend of the 30th. On the weekend we are doing another USDAA trial, and on Thursday before we are attending an agility workshop with Jen Pinder.

Jen was a member of the 2003 and 2004 AKC World Cup Agility Team. She is a full-time dog agility trainer who teaches lessons locally in Lapeer MI, just outside of Detroit. She also travels around the country giving agility seminars and workshops. Jen has been a core instructor at Susan Garrett's Say Yes dog agility camps for the past 4 years and has recently taught at both Clean Run Camp, PowerPaws and BARK Agility Camp.

She was originally introduced to the sport of agility in 1992 with her female boxer. She is a 5 time semi-finalist for the USDAA Grand Prix and a 4 time finalist in the USDAA Grand Prix. She has made it to the finals with both her Border Collies: Ajax and Static, and her Jack Russell Terrier Divot. In 2001, she took 3rd in the Grand Prix, 2nd at AKC Nationals, and was on the 1st place team at the USDAA Team competition with her Border Collie, Static.

Jen's main focus, both with her dogs and others, is to build a strong relationship with the dog and then to work on agility handling. Her emphasis on building a solid foundation in jumping, contacts and attention contributes to her success in agility today.

We are SOOOOO looking forward to this workshop! Yeah!

We want to meet new buds!

We want to meet new buds! And since we just moved our domain name, it’s good to get on some link trains. This is ViralTags, where we all link together. I’ve added my link and inserted the code for everyone else involved. If you want to join up, copy and past below into a blog post.

Instructions:

1.) Copy and paste the matrix of “ViralTags” below courtesy of Founders Cafe.

2.) Substitute the Host Tag and one of the “Viral Tags” in the matrix with your anchor text of choice with your blog’s URL. Please keep anchor text to a max of 3 words to keep the matrix size manageable.

3.) When you get a ping back from someone that has your link in one of their “Viral Tags”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Tag’s anchor text (automatically the associated link will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “Viral Tags” below.

4.) Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow virally.


Host Tag: JohannTheDog

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| Jehzlau Concepts | Blogging News & Reviews | Google4Google | Money Stocks HD | Speedcat Hollydale | laketrees | Nakanampucha | Motiveless Crime | Coffee Milk | The Broken Bow | ViralTags | Reyna Elena | We are Family | ViralTags | Get Rich From Home | earn money blog | My Lucky Day | Syafrizal | Ineptuser | MarketingforBeginners | Extra Income Online | Paradise Philippines | Pinoy Guitar BT | Music@Misya | MeL | The Poor Mouth | Creationist's Fantasy | MeL-o | The Sankey Stories | Ronan O'Brien | Fun Web Development | She Rambles On | Wildheart's Works | Wired PR Works | Web Industry Blog | Monkey Wong | PantherModerns | And She Writes | Blogging Blog Writer | Coffee,Tea,Baabooo | An Anonymous Journal | Electronica Music | Siyete | Blank Canvas | Letters From The Soul | Isagani X, Medical Asst. | A Day in the Life | The Auto Writer | Walking-Speedcat Hollydale | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags | ViralTags |

Important: Once I get a ping back from you, I will add your anchor text and the associated link you designate as “Host Tag” here, replacing one of the “ViralTags” from the matrix above. As more and more bloggers copy and paste this matrix, the more backlinks you will have with your anchor text. If everybody who copy and paste from your blog does the same, pretty soon this will spread and go viral. So, the sooner you participate, the more links with anchor text you will receive.

==========Copy and Paste from Above this line==========

It's hot!

It's been really hot here. Thank goodness we didn't have to trial in this heat this weekend - it reached 92 degrees in the shade, YIKES!

So we have been spending time outside in the early morning, and the late evening. Mum and I have been working on my teeter and faster weaves. And Gracie and Mum have been working on focus with agility in the yard. And oh, yeah, I've gotten some bird herding in too!

No trial this coming weekend. But we have practice on Tuesday this week - looking forward to that and looks like it may be a bit cooler tomorrow.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

We started a new blog!

I'm Johann and I'm a rescue!

And, I am a very fortunate pup - have a great family, a great career, great hobbies - a pup just couldn't ask for more. So, we have been working steadily to give back, through our website, through SixDegrees.org, and other ways.

We thought a great way to give back would be to start another blog that highlights pups in need; pup in rescues and shelters throughout the country. So we started a new blog


Be sure and check it out - 'cause we will be featuring a new pup in need every day of the week. And there are great links to all kinds of rescue organizations - purebred and All-American - throughout the country.

Be sure and grab one of our chicklets to post on your site or blog and link to Rescue Me, we know it will help a pup in need.

I have another twin!

As some of you know I've been on a search for my birth brother - see here's a pic. I'm on the left, with my brother - we were named Ben and Jerry at the shelter. No luck finding my brother yet, but....

There is another dog in town that is a bit bigger than me, but looks a whole lot like me! I was very fortunate to meet this young lass and get to be her best bud. See this is me and Cosmo on the right! We have a lot of fun together.

Just this weekend, we got an email. Seems I have another twin! Yep, that's right! And she lives in California!

Meet Ramp - a rescue just like me. She really likes her dad because he found her as a stray.

Ramp showed up at his office on January 3, 2005. His office is next to the on-ramp for Humboldt Hill Road and State Highway 101, near Eureka, CA. Hence the name “Ramp.” He took her home and contacted the local humane society and placed a lost and found add in the paper.

Fortunately for Ramp's dad and Ramp, no one called so she decided to make her home with him. At that time Ramp was about nine months old. That’s what the vet lady said so her birthday should be in April 2004.

Much to her dad’s surprise, Ramp wasn’t house broken. How was she to know there are things you can’t do in a house? Then, after a few months her dad decided she needed a brother. Her Mom and dad saw an add in the paper for Australian Shepherd puppies and next thing you know, she has a brother named Rocky. They get along great.

People say she is a McNabb. And her favorite thing to do is run, go to the beach, and chase and catch balls. She's not very good at returning them, though. Drives her dad crazy.

Thanks for writing to us Ramp. So great to hear from pups out there that read our blog, and that are my twins! Aren't we good looking! BOL!

Watch out for grass seed!

Summer is here, and along with it comes the dreaded grass seed problems that are notorious for clogging up the waiting rooms in veterinary practices around the country.

Grass seeds come in various forms, but all have their damaging effects and should be taken seriously. Their bristly arrow-like fibres allow them to cling with ease onto your dogs hair, while the pointed shape makes it easy for them to dive deeper and deeper, eventually reach and then penetrating the skin. Such examples of grass seeds include burdock, foxtail, speargrasses, buzzard grasses, and feathergrasses.

Why are grass seeds such a problem? Read more!

Thank you DaleEu for the photo!

Saturday, June 16, 2007

We have a new domain name!

Yep, we finally did it and got our own subdomain name. And, it was very easy to redirect our Blogger blog to the new subdomain! Yeah!

So if you need to update your links here is the address:

http://blog.johannthedog.com

And, if you need a chicklet:



Thursday, June 14, 2007

A poem - about me??? Yeah!

We have a really good friend who likes to write poetry in their spare time. And they wrote one about me! Isn't that cool! Here it is:

My name is Johannthedog.com
Ask anyone they say, I’m the bomb
I have loads of energy and personality
And I go for the win in performing agility

I like the practices more than the trials
At practice we have more fun, it’s all smiles
At the main event, the stage is tense
All the dogs are gawking and run into the fence

The ‘flying things’ up in the sky
Distract and attract me, I’m not sure why
How do they stay up over my head all the time
I jump and jump but I don’t stay up any time

I have a sister and Mom that live in my house
There are two cats here too, but not one mouse
Gracie isn’t really my sister by birth
We were adopted and ready to go to work

I’m the most hyper of all my roomies
They stand way back when I get the zoomies
I snap at Gracie when she does bad things
Not even I can hold it when that doorbell rings

I don’t know why Mom thinks they came to see her
They came to see me, now get the beverages served
If you just did everything my way all the time
It would be more peaceful here, it would be fine

Gracie likes the sprinkler and eats her poop
She is just not refined and so uncouth
I’m more classy and petite in form
My coat is sharp and Gracie’s looks worn

She’s good company and I’m glad she came
But sometimes I want her to play another game
I’m on the Internet too and I’ve won awards
I like the celebrity train---All Aboard!!

Thursday Meme - Petfinder.com!

It's Thursday - and time for.........the Thursday Meme!

We've chosen to review one of our absolute favorite sites - Petfinder.com! Gracie and I were both found on Petfinder.com. Can you imagine....if they didn't exist, I may not be living with my Mum.

About Petfinder.com

Petfinder is an an online and searchable database of animals throughout the country that are in need of homes. The site has a directory of nearly 10,000 animal shelters and rescue organizations that have home pages on the site to showcase their available pets.

You can search for just the right pet to be your new best friend! And find local rescue, charity and adoption events in your area. They also have a classified section for everything pet, and a great library of information to help you take better care of your pet.

How Mum Found Me

Back in 2004, I was found, along with my four brothers and sisters and my birth Mom by the Southside Animal Shelter. They took me in, fed me and got me needed health care. I stayed there in a pen with my birth family until my new Mum found me.

One day Mum told me she woke up and said to herself 'I want a dog!' She had been working from home for several years and thought it was a good time to get a dog to do things with. She knew about Petfinder, so she went to the website in August of 2004 and started looking around.

Her friends told her that it would be a good idea to get a puppy, since she already had two cats. And it would be an easier transition for the cats and the pup if the pup was younger.

She logged into Petfinder every day, entered baby and her location, and up popped photos and descriptions of all the pups that were available in the area. Mum logged in every day for about three weeks. Then on September 2nd, 2004, Mum was doing her regular search and up popped a photo of me and my brother! Wow, she said!

See that's us! I'm on the left. They had named us Ben and Jerry!

Mum called the Southside Animal Shelter to see if we were still available and we were! So she zoomed right down to the southside of town and asked to see us. First they handed Mum my brother. He was an all black dog and they are much more difficult to get adopted because of their stigma. But he wiggled a whole lot in Mum's arms. So she asked to see me! Well I settled right into Mum's arms, and I have stayed there - or at least really close by - ever since.

We've been in contact with Petfinder and the Southside Animal Shelter many times over the years. As a matter of fact, one day last February the nice folks at Petfinder called Mum and asked if I wanted to be one of their Happy Tails! You bet! They interviewed us - you can read more about it here! Then, just recently, a donation was made to the Southside Animal Shelter on our behalf and the nice folks there featured us in their newsletter. We are a Happy Tail, for sure!

How Mum found Gracie

In the Spring of 2006 - I had been competing in agility for about 4 months and Mum's business started to get busy. I was bored out of my gourd! So Mum thought it would be a good idea to get me a playmate.

Since the family pass time is agility, she thought it important to get another dog that would like and want to do agility. So what did she do? Yep, she got on Petfinder.com. At the same time she talked with Border Collie rescue organizations. Then on March 2nd, she found a little BC pup on Petfinder that was down in Seymour. (See that's Gracie in her Petfinder photo!)

So she lined it up that we could meet this pup, take it back to the training center for her to take a look at the equipment and see if there was interest. Well, turned out that pup was very interested in the equipment - so much so, she pooped and peed all over it!!! BOL!!!! And the best part is that she took all my testiness.

So we called the vet's office where she was staying after being rescued form a hoarder situation and told them - we're taking her and thanks for taking such good care of her till we found her!!! We named her Gracie - partly because she 'graced' the agility ring, and partly for Gracie Williams the composer.

We're grateful for Petfinder

We are very grateful that Petfinder.com exists to help folks find their new best friends. They work very hard to help pets in need. And when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans they worked day and night for months to help those pets be reunited with their families.

And Joan Banks with Petfinder has recently written a book - a compilation of Happy Tails - a sampling of the thousands of sad, happy, inspirational, heartwarming, and rewarding stories of pets who have found new homes through Petfinder.

Thanks Petfinder - for helping me find my forever home!!!!



Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Awww - we can dream!

Mum and I started our website - JohannTheDog.com - initially for fun, for us and our buds, and to see if we could build a website.

Then someone told us about affiliate marketing. Well, we were spending a lot of time searching the Internet to find just the right gear, food, supplies, and more for both of us, and for our active lifestyle. The idea of affiliate marketing and putting all our favorite dog gear on one site really appealed to us - and to lots of dog folks that we talked to.

After some research, we added the shopping section of our site so that we could easily find what we liked and and what we heard other active pup families would like, so that a very wide variety of products would be visible and available all from one Internet location. Sure makes searching a whole lot easier. And we hear from our customers that they think so too!

But, Mum and I have a dream - to someday move our JohannTheDog.com affiliate site to a site that sells product directly. But, as we all know, that means inventory, warehousing, shipping/receiving, and a total revamp of our website to include shopping cart software, oh, and well money! We're not quite ready for that.

We're currently toying around with the idea of offering just a few products directly that would supplement what is currently on the site. In that case we still would need shopping cart functionality on our website. So, occasionally we look into solutions that offer such a service. Today we looked at AShop Commerce which offers a total solution - website design, ecommerce software, and even affiliate solutions. They will be someone to consider as we continue to dream........awwww, dream.......

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

We had fun this weekend!

I had a blast this weekend. Went to the Hoosier Kennel Club AKC trial. It was a three day-er, so I had many nice opportunities to run. Love that!

Friday it was really hot and muggy for this time of year. We're just not quite used to that yet. We had both runs in the morning - Standard and JWW. Mum's not sure what was going on - the heat, first day jitters or what - but I was slower than usual. And it was unexpected by Mum. She was handling me like she usually does and I refused a jump, rest of the run went well. In JWW, someone warned us that there was a BIG smell behind the tunnel. So Mum was prepared. But what she wasn't prepared for was that I would go into the tunnel and come out the entrance to go around and sniff that BIG smell. She called me goofy for that one! Well, no Q for Friday.

But Saturday was a whole different story. What a difference a day makes! I was fast and ran very well. We got another Double Q, yeah! Both Standard and JWW had nice flowing courses, so I got to get my speed up, when I could. The Standard run had a difficult dogwalk/weave/jump discrimination off the table - but we made it right into the weaves with no problem. And we got big cheers on our JWW run, which was cool! I got big treats after those runs, I'll tell ya!

Sunday we arrived at the trial and looked at the courses. Wow the Standard was a toughie. Had three difficult discriminations - dogwalk/tunnel, frame/tunnel, tire/teeter. That course ate up many a dog, I'll tell ya. And it was very twisty turny. Mum has learned over some time, how to keep me motivated on such a course with 'out' jumps, and go, go, goes on the open parts. She was only really worried about the frame/tunnel discrimination and the rear-on-the-flat to the chute after the aframe, since we hadn't done a rear-on-the-flat for months. We made the dogwalk/tunnel discrimination, but didn't make the frame/tunnel. But we did a great rear-on-the-flat to the chute - I impressed Mum with that one. And I kept my speed up, despite all the turns. So Mum and I were pretty happy with our showing on that course!

On our next JWW run, I was sniffing at the start (at least we didn't loose time on that with electronic timers, ha!). Mum finally got me going and I bolted off the start - four jumps to the tunnel. Then it was two jumps to another tunnel and I stopped in there to sniff again. Mum got to the exit of the tunnel this time and called me through - took 4-5 secs, but I finally came out. Then Mum pushed me through the rest of the course as fast as she could. She said I was taking those jumps faster than she had seen in a long time. So we ended up Q'ing that run, even with a few secs to spare. Whew! So Mum ended up being happy with that run too - although we gotta work on the sniffing thing.

We also discovered a new thing on Friday and Saturday. I didn't want to come off the table. So on Sunday, Mum stayed with me at the table and told me what a good boy I am during the count. I bolted off that table on Sunday. Mum was glad we got that worked out.

Gracie was kind of jealous this weekend that I got to run and she didn't. So Mum took her around to meet some new people and dogs - she loved that! And Mum has been working with her as close to the rings as possible with sits, downs, looks, turns and such. On Sunday, people told them how focused Gracie was on Mum - oh if only they knew! Mum's hoping that Gracie can do a run or two at an upcoming trial. But they may do another Show N Go soon. And the local training center has open practice now, so they may go there occasionally.

Overall we were pretty pleased with a 50% Q rate for the weekend. And with the speed on Saturday and Sunday - as well as the fact that Friday's slowness only lasted one day. We're up to 4 DQ's and 125 MACH points - 6 Q's toward our MXJ and 5 Q's toward our MX. We are really happy with that!

We're off for two weekends. We'll have to miss practice this week because of Mum's work - drat it all! But she's got some plans for us to work on in the backyard over the next two weeks, since we haven't been doing much of that lately.

Dogagilityphotos.com took some photos this weekend. We may get one of them - what do you think, should we buy it? Here's the link!
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