Friday, June 27, 2008

I want to check you for ticks!

Well, the ticks are just everywhere! Every time we are out of our yard, Mum has to check me over for ticks. I guess it's not too bad, since she gives me a little massage at the same time. Looking around the Internet the other day, and found this little fun ditty! Enjoy...


And if you need more info on dogs and ticks, check out my previous post!

101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers!

Mum and I are really lucky. We get to spend all the time together, work together building our pet businesses and marketing business, meet new pet lovers, and spend all our time doing what we love.

Want to turn your passion of working with pets into a career? Check out 101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers, a new book that helps you know what you need about starting and succeeding in a pet business of your own.

The book outlines careers such as pet photographer, pet party host, dog groomer, greeting card maker, masseuse, doggie daycare owner, pet sitter, pet product inventory and manufacturer and many more. And shares info on how to get started, what you need to begin your new career, how to market, start up costs and much more.

We enjoyed perusing the book, got a few great tips for our clients, and even dreamed of starting yet another pet business of our own!

101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers

101 Best Businesses for Pet Lovers

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Practice today!

There is nothing better than starting off your birthday with some agility practice! And that's just what Gracie and I did this morning.

Gracie ran most of the hour, because Mum wanted to give me a little break from agility this week since we've been trialing so much. And next week with two seminars and regionals, I'm gonna be busy.

Gracie's training is really coming along. A few weeks ago we needed to join classes, since our private hour was just the day before trials and Mum doesn't like us doing too much practice the day before. The first few times Gracie was in classes she wasn't focused at all, and she was kind of slow for her usual. Gracie also got that virus that's been going around and just didn't feel good.

But the past two weeks she's done really, really well. We think there are a few reasons for that...
  • She's over the virus and feels loads better.
  • Gracie is stubborn and tries all the time to get away with stuff with Mum. So Mum has taken a more demanding stance with the Gracester lately and it's really working. She doesn't get by with any little thing, anymore; and always has to do what Mum asks of her. And she has to be with Mum, all the time...either laying by her side when Mum is working, or playing with Mum in the backyard, or having Mum feed her dinner, or relaxing on the couch when we watch a little TV.
  • Also Mum and Gracie have been doing little sessions of agility a lot more. 10 minutes in the morning with weaves, 10 minutes later in the day with jumps and sends to the tunnel...other days they just go out and play chase, tug, or whatever Mum decides. They race to targets and work on quick releases. They do really short sessions about 2-3 times per day and have loads of fun. And Gracie's big reward is chasing the water from the hose - her favorite.
  • Mum's goal is for Gracie to get in her stubborn head that she and Mum are a team, whether it's with agility, playing, or just hanging with the pack. Running agility is not an individual sport...it's a team sport!
Over the past two weeks, Gracie has come to love, love, love being around Mum...she follows her everywhere, always wants to know what she's doing - just like I have always done.

So then...here's a bit about how much better Gracie is at agility practice because of all this. (Well, at least we think these are why.)
  • If Gracie does get distracted and tries to go see something else on the course, Mum quickly calls her and she's been coming right back.
  • She is way speedier running the sequences now.
  • Only once or twice in the past two weeks has Gracie not bolted off the startline to run with Mum.
  • Gracie is working more at a distance, and Mum is now able to get her timing down better with Gracie to let her know what to do earlier.
  • Gracie wants to do her weaves so fast she's missing some poles in the middle...she's hitting her shoulders on the poles too and it's confusing her. But she's starting to really get the weaves, and the entrance. It will take her some time to figure out how to move her body the speed she wants and still get the poles, Mum thinks. And Mum is willing to take the time for her to get it.
  • Gracie's biggest run off place in a course was after a long stretch of jumps (or other obstacles) and then she had to turn, like in an arc. Gracie would just keep going straight. But now that she and Mum are communicating better now. Mum can hang back when the turn is coming, and say...Grace, Grace, Grace...while Mum turns her body and Gracie has been taking the arc of jumps like a pro. This is a huge breakthrough with the Gracester.
Now that Mum and Gracie are communicating better, and Gracie is running at training more like she would at trails (speedy, speedy, speedy), Mum can hopefully get some good practice done with Gracie now. And teach her some more advanced stuff! Yeah!

So what did I get to do at agility practice? I got to watch them do all these great sequences. I was wacko wild to run myself watching all the other pups. So then Mum set some bars in the other ring, and I barked at her the entire time - it's my turn, it's my turn. She took me over there to run, and what did I do? I sniffed the ground (just like last weekend!). Oh, Mum didn't like that at all, picked me right up and took me back to where I was waiting before. Then she took Gracie over there to run. Can you believe it?

Well, I got the clue right away. So after they ran, Mum came over and got me, and not only was I speedy, speedy, speedy, I got a really nice gamble that included a jump, tunnel, then a serpentine, then I ran a long series of jumps into a pinwheel. I almost always hate pinwheels, they can be slow, but I was speedy throughout itl, and went right into the weaves, bop, bop, bopping along! Mum was impressed!

Then, after everyone in the class started to disperse, our Trainer said we could do a whole course. So we did! I was fast, accurate, made all my contacts, did the weaves fast, and made it through just in time before we had a huge downpour! What fun!

Today is my birthday!

Yep, today is my birthday! I am now four years old in dog years, and 32 years in human years. Guess that means I'm officially an adult now!

Since my Birthday falls on a Wednesday this year, Mum says I'll have to wait for some special stuff planned for me this weekend. We've got too much work during the week. But she did promise me a little surprise tonight! I can hardly wait!

Around the dog blog-o-sphere!

It's time for....Around the dog blog-o-sphere...great dog stuff all over the Internet.

According to a study in the June 1, 2008, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, we don't have to worry about drinking that tap water. Tap water, the study suggests, doesn't cause bladder cancer in dogs. That's what they say...Mum says if she doesn't drink tap water, I shouldn't drink tap water! It's better to play it safe, she says.

A Labrador retriever named Jake lived up to his name last week when he plucked his 12-year-old owner out of the Platte River, near North Bend.

You've only got till the end of the month to enter the Pawlimpics! So get your sport on and send in your pics!

Mum and I have been working on a new Squidoo lens about Deaf Dogs. It's not finished yet, but we found an interesting article from our Twitter friend, Rosanna Hart, about training tips for deaf dogs!


In the fall of 2004 documentary filmmaker Shane MacDougall decided to chronicle the surprisingly cut throat world of competitive dachshunds for two years. The result is 'Wiener Takes All.' Screenings of the dogumentary are criss-crossing the country! Be sure and see if there's one near you!

Our friends, Miley and Guiness' Mum is attending a Chris Zink seminar this week and is sharing some great info she is learning about structure, gait and fitness of agility dogs. Check it out! And be sure and stop back, I think she may have more in the next day or so.

If you've been following Animal Planet's 'Groomer Has It', they are down to two groomers and this coming Saturday will crown the top dog (groomer, that is). Last week Jorge was booted out, and he talks about the entire experience of being on a reality show on his blog.

ScienceNOW has an article just released that outlines a new study, indicating that several behaviors and physical characteristics are specific to regions of canine DNA, and points to the possibility that canine characteristics may be hard-wired in dogs' genes.

If you've ever read my blog, you know how much I love sheep and would like to get into sheep herding. Well, maybe someday. In the meantime, I've been checking out some dog blogs of pups that are really into sheep and sheep herding. Here's one we've been reading lately - Shoofly Farm, Life at the farm with 7 Border Collies and a bunch of sheep!

Ever wonder what it's like to be a guide dog? Check out Puppy In Training, A Guide Dog Puppy Raiser’s Blog To Raising Dogs And Puppies. And don't miss their post on the Puppy Trials, a competition for upcoming Guide Dogs! If you'd like to learn more about Guide Dogs, click here!

Can't get enough of sheep herding? Check out this pup at the Bluegrass Classic, how that's sheep herding!


Want a challenge? Check out THAT MUTT's 30 day challenges, and see if it makes a difference.

My friend, Gunner, has a great blog where he blogs about life and dogs, news, tips and lots more at Urban Pets Dog Blog....it's a not to be missed blog, IMHO! Thanks Gunner for such great stuff! You Rock!

I'm a fortunate pup, I don't need any bridesmaid gifts, or BarkDay gifts. Want to get me a little BarkDay pressie? How about making a donation to your local no-kill shelter in your name instead? I'd love that, and so would the pups needing a furever home.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Mum, Gracie and I are in Dog Fancy Magazine!

A couple of months ago, Mum and I were interviewed by a writer from Dog Fancy Magazine for a special premier issue of Dog Fancy's Natural Dog. And it came out this month!

The article, in the August 2008 issue, is by Tom Barthel, a master gardener and freelance writer that specializes in pet and gardening topics. The article is entitled, "10 Steps to a Greener Home." Check it out!


The issue should be on the Dog Fancy website pretty soon, but in the meantime you can click on the slide show to read the article.

And for more information about Raising a Green Dog, visit my blog and Squidoo lens on the topic!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Weekend trial recap!

We are back and rested up a little from the three day AKC trial this weekend. And we had fun!

But I have to tell ya, like Mum always says, I run lots better when my sis Gracie is there to cheer me on. Gracie didn't get to go to the trial this weekend. And I missed her!

Being indoors out of the weather was great, but it was still hot in the building, the floor was nice, soft and cushy. But as Mum will tell ya, there were little pieces of white tape all over the floor that held my attention pretty much throughout the weekend. I just wasn't myself most of my runs, even though I had a few great moments.

You can see my runs in the vid below. And you'll also see in one of them, Mum pulled me from my jumpers run for checking out those pieces of tape. But I was a little comic relief for some folks. They couldn't believe I could be right up to a jump and still not knock a bar, goofy me!

Mum had to work hard to keep my attention throughout almost all the courses. And my weaves weren't anywhere near where they usually are. Overall, we got three Q's, but our times stunk. We kept our spirits up, had as much fun as we usually do, and did the best we could with the situation.

The courses were nice, people nice, judges nice. We spent time with a couple of my best buds, Willow and Simba. And we got to see a couple of our friends get their MACHs on the very last day with a couple of DQ's which was great. We want to be sure and thank the folks that video taped us - thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here are a couple of courses from the weekend. The first one is JWW from Sunday.

We got to the site just as the really big dogs were running, and heard loads of cheering going on. We found out that everyone was cheering if the dogs made the #6 tunnel entrance and then again if they ran clean. There was a lot more cheering going on than I would have expected.

Once Mum got to walk the course she saw it was a difficult tunnel entrance, even for small dogs. Some small dogs did front crosses before 6 and ended up directing their dog into the 13. Mum decided to trust me, head her toes right for the tunnel and keep her arm low and bowl me in. It worked great! I sniffed at something coming out of 13, but Mum helped me keep my momentum going so we didn't NQ, and then I ran pretty much full out on 16-20, Mum was racing me to the end.

This course is Standard from Friday. Mum liked this course, even though this is the one I pulled out of the weaves. Mum decided to run with me pretty much from the start, since there were a lot of kids in the stands next to the dog walk and she didn't want me jumping off the middle. It worked pretty well - I was tentative but kept pretty focused. Then she treated 3-5 pretty much as a straight line as possible by staying on the inside and it worked really well. I've been leaving the table late when Mum has been running with me from the table lately, so she decided to lead out pretty far - it worked better. But we've got to work on that more. And my teeter wasn't my latest faster teeter. Gracie just wasn't there to scream me on! Dang it!


For those of you that saw the vid a few days ago of our practice, know that I just wasn't myself this weekend. We are really glad that our next trial is outdoors on grass and Gracie can go, even though it will be hot, I just run better in that situation, right now. Hope you enjoy the vids!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Trial info from Friday and other stuff!

We got back really late from the trial yesterday. Not sure why it took so long to run just Exec AKC, but it sure did.

The lights went out in the building for about 20 minutes, it was warm even though it was air conditioned, there were kids everywhere (which scare me a bit, btw), no food for Mum all day, my dinner was delayed by three hours...we left at 11:30 and got home at 7:30.

Crating space was extremely limited, we were packed in there like sardines while waiting for our runs. Gracie had to stay home since there was no extra crating space...so Mum called our wonderful neighbor to let her out, feed her dinner with the kitties, and play with her a bit, at about 5:00 PM. Thank dog, we have our terrific neighbor to help us out sometimes.

We didn't Q in Standard, although most of my run was really speedy. Right off the start I had to do a dog walk that was really close to all the kids in the stands...I made it through without launching off the dogwalk 'cause Mum made sure I paid attention to her. Whew!!!! But I popped my weaves really bad, so no Q.

I Q'd in Jumpers, but we left before seeing the results. I was speedy on parts, but my weaves were tentative. We'll have to see what today brings to know more about why. But I think Mum was hovering a bit.

Today the kids won't be there and we'll have the entire building for the trial. Should be a lot better, and we shouldn't have to be there so late.

Gracie was really happy to see us when we got home. And we really missed her!

---------------

On a few other topics...the article that Mum, Gracie and I were interviewed for about dog car safety was picked up by lots of other online news sites. We've had bunches of new visitors to our blog in the past 24 hours and we want to welcome them and thank them for stopping by!

And for the shameless plug - don't forget to visit our main website - JohannTheDog.com - where you can find really cool stuff for really cool dogs, K? We're in the process of completely redoing the site, so this may be one of the last times you see our crude first website!

We're going to have some big news to share next week. Something we knew was coming, that we got in the mail last week, and something you'll be seeing in all the pet stores in a week or two!!! So stand by.

Gracie and I are signed up with a couple of top trainers for seminars in a couple of weeks - Stuart Mah for me, and Mary Ellen Barry for Gracie. Pending their OK, we hope to have lots to blog about on what we learn at their seminars. Should be really fun and we're looking forward to working with these top handlers.

OK, time for us to get ready for the trial today. Hope all of you have a great weekend, and we look forward to reading up on everyone's antics come Monday!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Mum, Gracie and I are mentioned on WXII12.com, talking about dog car safety!

Mum was interviewed the other day by WXII12.com for an article they were doing on Pet Car Safety! The article was posted on their website this morning....check it out.

Pets Need Seat Belts Too, Expert Says

By: Darlene Dunn, Staff writer
Leslie May was traveling along Interstate 70 with her shelties from Dayton, Ohio to Indianapolis after a dog agility trial when vehicles in front of her suddenly started to break.

"Cars were skidding out in front of us, so I went into the berm, and so did the car in front of us," May said. "The dogs were in the car, and I didn’t want anyone to rear-end me."

May collided with the car in front of her, but she and her dogs, Johann and Gracie, were virtually unscathed. Johann suffered bruised ribs.

"If they were not buckled in, I don't know what would have happened," she said. "The dogs would have been flying."

May, who is in her 40s, believes she is a responsible pet parent who restrains her pets when they are riding in her vehicle. After the accident, she started blogging about various pet issues in Johann's voice at her blog.

According to Bark Buckle Up, a pet safety advocacy organization, pet travel has increased 300 percent since 2005, while the use of pet restraints is about 2 percent, so it is crucial to spread the word about the importance of restraining pets when traveling. June is also pet safety month.

Christina Selter, founder of Bark Buckle Up, said there are three reasons why it is imperative that pet parents restrain pets when traveling.

No. 1 is so that the pet does not distract the driver. No. 2 is so that the pet does not get injured in an accident or hurt the driver or passengers. No. 3 is so that first responders, such as police officers and firefighters, can respond appropriately.
Read more...

And don't forget to check out my Squidoo lens on Dog Car Safety!!!

Gracie's video featured on FetchDog!

We've been Twitter friends with Theo, one of the main dog employees at FetchDog for a while now. We sure enjoy Twittering away!

Well today, Theo and the gang at FetchDog featured Gracie's wacky water vid on their Sit. Stay. Watch. blog! How cool is that? Thanks, Theo and the gang!

Do you know about FetchDog? If you don't you should! FetchDog began as the dream of a bunch of dog-crazy friends with a common complaint—why was there no great place online to shop for our dogs or to connect with dog experts and other dog lovers?

Not only can you find great dog products (including environmentally friendly and safe items) at FetchDog, but you can read some great blogs including Glenn Close's Lively Licks, and Sit. Stay. Watch., a fun vid blog. And you can visit their breed center and resource library for some great info!

We see that right now they are having a great deal going on...15% off orders of $100 or more! So stop by and see all the great products, their charitable work, and don't forget to bark at Theo!

Agiltiy brain buster!

Here's an agility brain buster we found on a forum this morning...give it a try!

The four people in this puzzle all competed in different classes of dog agility at a recent competition. The competitions all required the dogs to run over jumps, through tunnels and various other obstacles in the quickest time possible. Each had a different result - one came first, one third, one fourth and one ninth. All four dogs were each of a different breed.

1. If Tiff finished first then Terry finished fourth.
2. If Terry finished fourth then Jago is a collie otherwise Jago is not a collie.
3. If Jane competed in the Senior class then she finished third.
4. If Jane competed in Novice then she finished fourth.
5. The dog that finished ninth was an Alsatian. This was either Jago, in which case Jago competed in the Elementary class, or this was Kelly, in which case Terry handled Kelly.
6. Mark won Starters.
7. If Mark's dog is called Patti then Patti is a Labrador otherwise Patti is a collie.
8. Ruth's dog is called Jago.
9. If Jago finished fourth then she competed in the Novice class otherwise she competed in the Senior class.
10. If Patti finished first then Terry's dog is an Alsatian otherwise Terry's dog is a collie.
11. If Jane's dog is a Doberman then Jane finished fourth otherwise Jane finished third.

Can you work out who handled which dog, at what level each competed, the place each finished in and the breed of each dog? Maybe you need corporate performance management software to help, or here is some help to keep up with all the categories:

Handler's Names: Jane, Mark, Ruth and Terry
Dog's Names: Tiff, Patti, Jago and Kelly
Breed: Alsatian, Collie, Labrador and Doberman
Level: Starters, Elementary, Novice or Senior

If you want to check your answer...click here!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Dog Agility Masters Team shirt!

Mum and I have been working on and designing our DAM team shirt for USDAA Regionals coming up July 4th weekend. All of us are rescue dogs, so we worked together and came up with the team name "Rescues to the Res-Q!"

I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think?

Mum and I have a three day AKC Trial starting tomorrow through the weekend. The facility is indoor, air conditioned, on really nice soccer turf that's cushy, and it's only 5 minutes from our house. We're going to give it our all! Wish us luck!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Product Review: DogPause bowl!

The nice folks at DogPause sent us a couple of their new DogPause Bowls the other day for us to test out!

These bowls are specifically designed to slow down a dog's eating to prevent common problems that can occur with eating to fast and not taking the time to chew - things like gas, vomiting, gagging, and bloat. Gracie is a very vigorous eater, so it was good to use the bowl to help slow her down.

Mum really liked that they were very cool looking bowls, all with nice rounded edges that wouldn't harm us. And she liked that they are way easy to clean.

You'll see in the vid that both of us had a little fun eating from the bowl, exploring each of the four sections frequently, until all was devoured.

Mum thinks it slowed down the time it took both of us to eat, she liked that, especially since Gracie is getting over a virus and has a sensitive tummy. But the bowl would be great to slow her down all the time.

We all really liked the bowls. There is only one thing that Mum would like to suggest to the folks at DogPause - we'd love a version in stainless steel. Stainless steel or porcelain are so much more safer and healthier for us pups! We sure hope they take our suggestion!

And thanks DogPause, we had fun trying out our new bowls. And we love the fact that you contribute and support a couple of pup rescues in your area. Mum's going to keep the bowls for our agility trial travels, since Gracie gets even more exuberant with her food when we travel! And she's going to try it out with my kittie bro, Wolfie, he is a very enthusiastic eater and sometimes throws up his food after he eats, silly kitty!

This flashlight is cool!

We definitely want one of these, it's cool, eco friendly, and fun...it's a shake LED flashlight. It doesn't require batteries or wires, you just shake it for one minute and it's powered up for 30 minutes. And they say it's bright (powered by 2 super bright white LEDs). They say it's waterproof too.

This flashlight would be pawsome for agility trials. Sometimes we get there pretty darn early and need to find something in the car. This would be perfect.

And look, it was featured in Oprah's magazine, and if you visit the site you'll see it's getting good reviews. Oh and did I mention that I saw today that it's on sale! Cool!

Aflac Outdoor Games!

Looks like the Outdoor Games are coming back (well sort of) with a new sponsor, Aflac! The dates are set, June 27 – 29, 2008 at South Commons in Columbus, Georgia.

The agility lineup isn't set yet, so if you'd like to give it a go, they are looking for a few good dogs! We'd love to participate, but even though I'm not nearly as speedy as some of the top national level dogs, I have my moments sometimes, and a highly competitive environment could just bring it out in me. Well...maybe not. And Georgia is just a bit too far for us to travel right now, with the current competition schedule we have going. Ahhh, we can dream for someday, right?

Here's a bit of info from their website...
The Aflac Outdoor Games is a 3-day event providing families and friends an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. The inaugural event is scheduled for June 27 – 29, 2008 at South Commons in Columbus, GA. As part of the Aflac Outdoor Games, Columbus will be host to the nationally televised STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series Collegiate and Professional Championships. For more information about STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS®, please visit STIHLTIMBERSPORTS.com.

The Series is comprised of eight competitive events that challenge competitors in the arenas of strength, endurance, stamina, tool skill and agility. The events include Hot Saw, Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Standing Chop, Single Buck Saw, Speed Climb, Springboard and the Boom Run. The Aflac Outdoor Games has contracted with STIHL® to bring both the Collegiate and Professional Championships of the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series to Columbus in 2008 and 2009. This event will be broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPNU bringing national exposure to the region.

In addition to the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series, the Aflac Outdoor Games will be host to a National and Local Bar-B-Que cooking contest presented by Piggly Wiggly, dockdogs, Agility Dogs, and many more outdoor activities.

Setting up a blog!

I remember the day well when Mum and I got our own domain and moved our blog there. It wasn't easy! It took almost all day to figure everything out. And our host wasn't the easiest to work with. But eventually we navigated the maze and made it work.

We sure wish we would have been able to read these cpanel tutorials, they would have been very helpful through the process.

Mum and I were extreme newbies then. Thankfully we're learning all the time and can now help our clients set up blogs of all types. Practice makes perfect, right?

Gracie had fun yesterday!

Mum was bailing out our kiddie pool to clean it yesterday and since Gracie is feeling a little better, she helped!

Playing with water is Gracie's absolute favorite thing in the entire world. And she can get some big air! Hmmmm....Maybe Mum needs to take a big ole squirt gun to agility practice!

As you can tell, I didn't like them having so much fun together!

Coupons!

If you are always looking for coupons for when you go shopping online, like us...we found a new coupon site that you may want to check out!

We saw Coupon Codes for Dick's Sporting Goods (one of our favorite stores), Target, Best Buy, Petco and more! Sure wish we would have had that coupon for Best Buy when we got our Micro SD card for our new phone....drat it all.

And we also found an entire Natural and Organic section of online coupon codes on this site. We'll definitely be checking that out! And you can sign up for a email newsletter from their site to keep up to date. Cool.

A little training this weekend!

Gracie is starting to get back to her old ornery self, I think(?) that's good! That virus really knocked her down for a few days.

So now that she's feeling better, we got in a little agility practice in the backyard this weekend. It was getting pretty hot, even at 9:00 AM. But we still had fun!

Mum noticed in my last trial vids after she got the CAT6 cables all hooked up, that I was running kind of 'hump backed.' But after the chiro adjustment last Thursday, I sure wasn't running that way this weekend! And I was pretty fired up to practice, I even tugged a lot!

Gracie had been missing her weave poles lately...poles in the middle and pulling out at 10. But after her chiro adjustment on Thursday too and a little resting up...she started doing her weaves really well again! She missed I think one time on Sunday, the rest she did great!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The weekend plans!

No trial this weekend, darn it! But we do have some plans.

Mum and I are continuing to help Gracie get better, she's still a little under the weather. And really needs to get her goofy smile back.

We're also going to clean, clean and more clean. We've gotten behind on that activity, with all the trials lately. And now that our Rover is fixed we've got to get all the mud out of it from last weekend.

Gotta do some grocery shopping, and make a quick trip to the pet store for supplies. And Mum wants to get a Micro SD card for our new phone, so it can hold more music and pics.

We hope if the weather holds out we can get in a little agility practice in the backyard, and then cool off in the kiddie pool. After all the rain, it's full, full, full!

We really need to get busy working on the new JohannTheDog.com website, and catch up on reading our buds blogs - we've really be remiss in that!!!! Hey Mum, get those blogs up so I can catch up on my friends, K?

There's bills to pay, and clients to bill. But luckily we don't have to check on any debt consolidation loans, BOL!

Mum has to finish mowing the Back 40 of our property. She's managed to keep up the front and back, but the way back is so much harder to mow. It's way past time. And then we've got to get in some hiking on Sunday morning. Gracie's health permitting. It's just been way too long for a good hike!

So what are you all up to this weekend - over 15.5" hopefully! Have a great one, K? And then come and tell us all about what you did!

Today is Flag Day!

Today is Flag Day, a day to honor our Stars and Stripes! We put out our Flag today, how about you?

My GrandMum would be proud of me for talking about Flag Day today. She was a connoisseur of Flag-dom and taught US Flag etiquette to all the local Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops in the area, when Mum was young.

According to USFlag.org, there is quite a long history to Flag Day. They say...
Inspired by three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
And for you history buffs, they also say this about the evolution of the US Flag...
No one knows with absolute certainty who designed the first stars and stripes or who made it. Congressman Francis Hopkinson seems most likely to have designed it, and few historians believe that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first one.
Here are some fun Flag facts:

Take your dog to work day is this coming Friday!

Friday, June 20th, is Take Your Dog To Work Day!!!!

Gracie and I are a lucky couple of pups. We get to go to work with our Mum everyday of the week. Coming this Friday some lucky pups will be joining us in going to work with their paw parents!

We have lots of jobs at work helping our Mum. We help update our blogs - The Days of Johann, Rescue Me, and Raise A Green Dog. We update and put new products on our dog store website. We test new doggie products for folks that send them to us, and we even have Mum read us books that publishers and authors want us to review.

Being the herding breeds that we are, Gracie and I love to work. Sometimes we even help Mum with stuff relating to keeping our home running, like cleaning, talking with mortgage lenders since we've been thinking about moving, and we even help Mum with some of our marketing consulting clients. We have fun everyday at work, and we know that we help Mum all throughout the day, just by being there to support her.

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 all over the country!

Stop by and visit the Take Your Dog to Work website, learn more, enter a great "at work" photo contest, listen to the "Gotta Take Your Dog to Work" song, check out the top 10 list of things to convince your boss to participate in TYDTWDay, see the top 10 dog friendly companies, view the list of 7 successful ways to have a great TYDTWDay, and more!

Thousands of dogs will be gracing the workforce on Friday - hopefully! Be sure to make it a fun, safe and peaceful day, K?

Not too long ago, Paul Frank Industries invited Cesar Milan to help the out with all the dogs in their office...check it out!


And here are the Purina offices, where it's take your dog to work day everyday!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Around the Internet!

Want to have some fun with photos? Check out this quick and easy photo editor, and get your warp on!

Have you ever wondered what pups are in the Guinness Book of World Records? Check this out and see a few for free, including the pup that has the World record for holding the most tennis balls in his mouth!

Did you know that the Great American Backyard Campout is coming June 28th? That's when kids (and pups) of all ages take to the backyard for a night of fun, camping and hopefully s'mores!

If you live in Australia, you most certainly know the dangers of the Cane toad, a toxic green jumper that, if consumed, can kill a dog in as little as 20 minutes. Check out The Mutts blog and read about one pups encounter with the little green guy and how he survived!

Chase has one of the greatest jobs, and one many dogs would covet! He's the designated bat-retriever for the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team.

Summer Camp goes to the dogs! Oh, I would love to do this; go to Summer Camp with my Mum and have a week's worth of fun. If you're in the Wisconsin area, check out Dog Days of Wisconsin, in New Jersey visit Camp Barking Hills, and here are lots more camps to check out!

I know it's Summer, but it's a great time to get a deal on some Winter gear. Here's a site that has not only some great equestrian clothing, but also a great horse blanket for dogs at an amazing price.

It's time to get rid of that Winter coat - we recommend the Furminator to help your pup beat some of that Summer heat! CLICK here to see all three sizes.

What's one way Gracie and I keep cool in the heat? We have a kiddie pool. That's right and we got it at one of those 'not to be named' super stores, since they are about the only ones who have them around here. But we love our kiddie pool. Get one for yourself or your pups and beat the heat! Just make sure to get the hard plastic kind, K?

The SPCA for Monterey County is opening a Pet Food Bank for pet owners who are faced with giving up their pets because they can no longer afford to feed them. This new program reduces the risk of families being forced to give up their beloved pets because they can’t afford to feed them. Read more...

Those of you who know me, know I'm not a fan of dog parks - you just never know about the dogs in the park, or what can happen at any given moment. And things can turn seriously dangerous at the blink of an eye. Here's one more reason why dog parks aren't a good idea.

It's Summer and that means outdoor party time - maybe a costume party?

I'm the kind of pup that's always ready for a good party! Maybe it's a party to honor one of my friends getting their big agility title? Maybe a Gotcha Day, or birthday? Maybe it's a fun costume party?

Anytime is a great time to party with your pup. Just ask me - I had the best and biggest doggie party ever for my first Gotcha Day. There were about 30 pups, and 20 humans, food, custom cakes for the pups and the humans, games, prizes, goodie bags for two and four leggers, and lot of cool presents. You can visit my Squidoo lens on dog parties and see lots more about my fun day.

We think a costume party would be a really fun theme for a dog party. I'd like to go as a Rocket (hoping to get that super sonic speed back on the agility course). When Gracie wakes up from her nap, I'll ask her what pet costumes she may want to consider.

With the 4th of July coming up, we're sure that lots of pups of all sizes and shapes will be donning their patriot garb costumes for all the community parades.

What you wear at a costume party says a lot about you. We'd love to know what you'd wear at your next costume party. Tell us!

Dogs in politics!

With the Presidential election looming, we thought it would be fun to do a little research about dogs in politics.

Seems they have not only played a very key role in the life of Presidents and their families, but they've played a key role in policy, as well.

And we wanted to get a vote going to see if we can predict who the next Presidential pet will be living at the White House come next term.

So check it out - it's my Dog in Politics Squidoo lens. Trot on over and cast your vote!

Dogfessions!

All kinds of dogs and dog lovers are making confessions these days. Do you have a confession to make? Then head on over to Dogfessions and take a load off. All kinds of pups are doing it. And if you don't have a confession to make, you'll have some fun reading the others, fur sure!

I have a confession to make!

I have an addiction, to my Mum.


Trip to the vet yesterday for both Gracie and me!

Gracie and I went to the vet yesterday. Mum wanted us both to get Chiro adjustments and Gracie hasn't been feeling too well lately. She had the Big D and hasn't been as active as usual.

She had a rough couple of nights, getting up every two hours to have to do the Big D. And she was panting a lot as well, poor pup.

So off to the Vet we went. Auntie B (who is our Vet) said that I really needed an adjustment. My shoulder and my hip were both out. When she adjusted my shoulder there was a big pop! That's the pop Mum hears sometimes when I do the downward facing dog stretch.

Gracie's back was a little sore so she got an adjustment too. We think that that is why she's been doing funky weaves lately. Gracie had some tests done, blood, urine and stool. And they found that her white cell count was low, low, low...indicative of a virus. So she is taking it easy today and her diet is of the bland variety for the next 2-4 days - a little chicken, rice, yogurt, organic baby food and the like. Today she seems even more lethargic, so we are giving her lots of lovin'.

And I'm supposed to take it easy too after my big chiro adjustment. We're not minding taking it a little easy these few days, 'cause it's been in the 90's some and just too hot to get the zoomies until about 10:00 PM.

Sometimes I wonder if stress gets to Gracie. She's had a quite a few stress related illnesses since she's come to live with us. Maybe she should try out The Stresseraser. Something new we read about the other day. The Stresseraser helps you reduce stress by monitoring your deep breathing. All natural and they say, very effective. And I think Mum could use some of this Stress Eraser stuff now and again. Sure couldn't hurt?

We're all for reduced stress, and I'm sure it would keep us happier and healthier. How about you?

Loving tricks!

If you visit here now and again, you know how much my sis Gracie and I love learning tricks. They are fun, we get treats, and we can really impress our friends.

But what we like most about learning new stuff is the time we get to spend with our Mum - learning, doing, and playing!

Even though we are always learning new tricks throughout the year, we do and learn tricks more in the Winter when it's way too cold to spend time outside, and in the Summer when it's way too hot.

Now that's it's coming up on hot times, we decided to put together a Squidoo lens that can help you learn how you and your pup can have fun learning new tricks. So check it out!

Here's one of our favorites vids from the lens...a 10 week old Lab pup, who already knows loads of tricks!

Checking the backends!

Us dogs are pretty good at checking other dogs out. We stiff the backend and we can tell a lot about where the other dog has been, what he's been eating/drinking, how healthy he/she is, and what they've been up to.

As a human, don't you sometimes wish you could get to know people better the same way? Well, maybe just as easily anyway. 'Cause as humans I would expect some or a few of the people you work with, that live down the street and that you may encounter in your days have something to hide.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could find out info on them quickly and easily. Some folks do this by doing a Background Check on the person they want to know more about. And lots of employers do a Criminal Background Check on the individuals they are looking to hire. Doing a Criminal Check can help them make more informed hiring decisions I would expect.

But I still say us pups have the right idea...sniffing butts can tell you so much about another dog. That's why it's the first thing we do when we greet a new pup! Don't you think that humans would be able to get along better with other humans if they followed our lead?

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

We got a new Palm Centro!

Mum and I got a new Palm Centro the other day, and absolutely love it! And the price was soooooo right with our upgrade.

It has an MP3 player, camera, little vid capabilities; it syncs with our calendar, contacts and tasks; has web and email capabilities; we Twitter with it, blog with it and oh, yeah, it's a phone too! We're still figuring everything out on it. But if you want to see it - check this out - we got the red one!

Moving?

Some of our friends have asked recently if we're going to move, since we've talked about it previously. We'll that's the big question! We're still trying to decide - where, when, how and all that good moving decision stuff.

One of the big things holding Mum back is the real estate market, it stinks. Although a few houses in our neighborhood have sold and there's been some interest in others at the price set. But it's still risky. And the other thing that's holding Mum back is packing stuff up, and dealing with Movers. She absolutely hates packing. Although using Moving Companies, could be very helpful. Maybe they could pack for us?

Over the course of her life Mum has lived in six different cities, and about 12 different apartments or houses. She has moving phobia now. Doesn't even want to think about making all the arrangements, worrying about selling the house, finding a new house. Well, you know! It's not fun. But maybe a Moving Company will help in her decision, we could call and get a free quote and go from there.

And she'd like to get rid of some of our stuff before we would move. And wouldn't you know it the day that the neighborhood had a garage sale, we were off doing agility - which is way more fun anyway.

So we are still deciding, ideas are brewing, but nothing firm yet.

Heat wave warning: Keeping cool dogs out of hot cars!

It's really hot out there! And you know what that means, right? Yep, time to watch out for dogs in hot cars.

Be sure and visit my Squidoo Lens - Keeping cool dogs out of hot cars! to learn more and get ideas on how you can spread the word.

An Animal Protection Institute study shows that even moderately warm temperatures outside can quickly lead to deadly temperatures inside a closed car. So be careful K? And help spread the word! Here's what you can do!
Be safe out there!

DVR Alert: Greatest American Dog premieres July 10th!

Set your DVR's! The new reality show, 'Greatest American Dog' comes to CBS on July 10th at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

Teams of dogs and owners across the nation will compete for the title of 'Greatest American Dog.' Owners and their pets will live together and compete against each other in games that put the owner's ability to train their dogs to the test.

The show will be hosted by zoologist Jarod Miller, and canine critics Wendy Diamond, Allan Reznik and Victoria Stilwell will serve as the judges. The winning team will walk away with a $250,000 cash prize.

The agility dog among the competitors is Star, who owns Bill of Flint, Texas. They competed in 2003 at the USDAA Nationals.

Meet all the contestants:

Weather update , gardening, and sunglasses!

Storms have been moving across Indiana, nearly every other day or so the past week and a half. Just last night I think we got over 5 inches of rain...our kiddie pool is almost full of water and it was dry when the storm started.

It's been so bad for some people, check out this flooding near Seymour, Indiana. That's where Gracie came from the hoarder, and eventually the vet that took her in until we found her. We're pretty sure their office is under water. We hope all the animals are safe down there.

We've see some footage on the news of folks wading through waist high water, carrying their pups and kitties to safety. We've been trying to find out how the shelters in the area are coping, but haven't found a lot. Although we know of one shelter in Martinsville that had to evacuate their shelter. I'm sure that rescue and shelter organizations in the area are in need of supplies and help. If you live around these areas, please consider taking the shelters some food, towels and other supplies that you can spare.

Some are calling this the 100 year flood. Although about three years ago, we had flooding in our city, and they called that the 100 year flood. Wonder how many 100 year flood you can have? That year, even our house was near the flooding. Although we were all lucky that the retention ponds, as full as they were, didn't spill into our homes - but they came close!

We've been lucky and stayed out of danger, and all this rain has made our garden grow like wildfire. Check out some of the plants in our yard right now...

This is a bouquet of our Peonies, they are gone now, but made an amazing centerpiece in our family room for a week or so.

These are three hydrangea plants that have just taken over and are about ready to bloom.

Here's the white sage that I like to destroy when my neighbor comes to the fence to say hi, so far so good!

This is an Anthony Waterer Spirea, and we have about five around the house. Mum just loves the pink color and they bloom on and off all Summer. They were being taken over by Aphids, but Mum sprayed a garlic mixture on them and their gone now. Now the Ladybugs can manage the rest of them.

This is our Lavender. It started out as two plants a couple of years ago, but has grow into one. Loads of blooms this year. It's already smells amazing! Maybe Mum can make a Lavender wand again this year!

Today the sun is going to shine they say, but it's still going to be hot. The tropical front that's been hovering over us for the past week or so is finally expected to move out today and tomorrow. Now that the sun is coming out, Mum's going to have to consider some designer sunglasses! Maybe she'll get some nine west sunglasses, or a pair of kate spade sunglasses. Or maybe she'll check out some other brands of sunglasses. Mum needs them, 'cause she's been squinting a lot at agility trials lately. She can't wear them while we run, but she could between our runs! Gotta save that sight, right?

Hope all of you that are getting storms too are making it through safe and sound. We read and heard that a tornado touched down near Dana Pike's home up in Illinois. Thank dog they are all safe and sound. How scary!!!!!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Weekend trial recap!

If you've read the updates, you know the outcome! Not a bad weekend for agility, I'd say.

We got hot, wet, muddy, sunburned (well, Mum did, anyway), and tired. But we had loads of fun. Mum thinks I may be getting a bit used to the heat, which is great.

It all started with us leaving for the trial on Friday early morning. We got there and scoped out a great shaded spot. Despite the high 80's and humidity, we kept pretty cool back at our crating area.

This was the Hoosier Kennel Club AKC agility trial, which we always attend since it's so close. We started with STD, a pretty fun course. I wasn't my fastest by any means with the heat, but it was a nice run with some good speed in parts. (You can see the run in the vids below). Mum thought I was showing a little more confidence, getting more and more at each trial. She's happy with that and was happy with the run.

Our second run for the day, JWW, was a nice course. Mum really liked this one because she could do more rear crosses with me, which I'm liking more and am faster with. And she got to use the 'run out from the weaves' training trick we've been doing at practice to get my weaves speedier. I worked those weaves very independently, and had pretty good speed, despite the fact they were uphill.

So we finished the day with a real nice DQ. That was our 16th DQ toward our MACH and we finished out the day with 24 MACH points, which was great.

We got to spend some time with some good friends. We hung back near our crating area, talked, had lunch, and lots of fun. It was good to have our crating buddies back. They've been away for awhile, and we're really happy they are back.

On Saturday morning we left home for the trial while it was raining, thundering and lightening. Not a promising start to the day. But the radar looked like it was going to end in a couple of hours so we headed out. Little did we know that the storm system was going to continue to redevelop over and over.

And it ended up creating the worst flood ever in Indiana. Luckily we escaped all that flooding, but points south of us are still under water and having a rough time.

We finally got to run at about 11:30 after a huge downpour. We didn't get any vids of our runs that day because we wanted to keep our camera dry. After that big last downpour, I was 2 dogs in. When I ran there were puddles up to my elbows that we had to run through. Mum was splashing me as she ran through over her ankle sized puddles. We ran clean in STD, but not good enough for a Q, unfortunately. Normally I don't mind at all running in the rain, as a matter of fact I get speedier. But with Mum splashing me it was just too weird. Mum was happy with the last half of my run, I looked happy and fairly speedy, even though I was very wet and muddy.

After that we ran JWW. The course had drained of most of the water by the time I ran, but there were still some puddles. Mum planned her course so she hoped she wouldn't splash me. I ran pretty well and would have Q'd if I wouldn't have taken an off course tunnel. So we were happy with the run.

But we were super glad to get home. Mum took me out to the kiddie pool and cleaned me up. She washed our crate pads, and her clothes, see how muddy they are! Too funny! It took Mum three washings to get her shorts clean.

Mum rubbed me down that night, iced me, gave me a Traumeel pill and rubbed a little Traumeel on a spot that was super tight near my iliopsoas muscle. It felt real good. She was a bit worried since running in that mud, and sinking, makes the run twice as much work. And I was kind of sore.

But we woke up the next morning and Mum started loading up the car. When she opened the car door, this awful smell came out. What was it? Dog poo? It smelled horrible. Then she realized she had left her muddy, wet shoes in the car overnight and they really stunk. A nice fragrant mix of dead fish, wet worm poo, and, oh my, who knows what else! She took them out, put them outside, and aired out the car, then we headed out to the trial site again.

Mum had definitely decided if the course was still muddy, she would be pulled us from the competition. There's just no reason I need to be put through that again, just after a muscle pull.

But by the time we were up the course had dried up a lot and the dog's path was not bad at all. So we ran. And dog, are we glad we did!

First I have to tell you about these courses and the judge. We really like the judge that put together Sunday's courses, but we have had loads of trouble Q'ing on his courses in the past. Actually, we have never Q'd on his courses, ever. We've teased him and his wife (who is also an AKC judge) about the fact that we can't Q on his courses. And we all enjoy joking around about that fact.

So going into STD we were hoping for the best. And the judges wife was scribing so we gave her a big smile as we went into the ring. It was a real nice course and we liked it a lot. No big surprises, good open areas for some speed. We ran and ended up in 5th place. Not my best speed, but not bad for 87 degrees, sun and humidity.

About an hour later it was time for my JWW course. Mum got me out, stretched me with cookie stretches and more. I visited my pee spot, and we headed over to the ring. We tried to keep under a shade tent near the ring. Mum asked me "what else ya got?" Which now makes me bark like crazy and gets me all riled up. When Gracie, who was about 150 yards away, heard me bark, she started a screaming fit. I barked more and started looking for the Gracester. I barked, she screamed, I barked and she screamed more. But we were up in two dogs, so there wasn't anything to do but run!

So we ran our friend's JWW course and wow, was it tricky! Gracie had done her cheerleading job, so I started of nice and speedy, did my weaves pretty well and Mum got to do the run out from the weaves training thing again.

It's the JWW course below, and the last one on the vid. It's kind of difficult to see in the vid, but it's very twistie turnie on the last half of the course. Mum sent me out to the triple, so she could run her fastest to get in a front cross before the tunnel, very tricky entrance that many, many big dogs missed. But sending me out, got her there in time.

After our run we got big congrats from the judge and his wife. We finally Q'd on his courses!!! Yeah! And we got a DQ to boot, with some nice MACH points.

So we ended the week on a nice little high. I'm not quite sure I'm totally back, but I'm getting there, fur sure. Mum would still like to see some more speed, and more confidence, but we're closing in.

We got home about 3:00 PM on Sunday, rested up, and then I was raring to go again. But Mum made me stay inside, gave me a Traumeel pill just in case. And Gracie and I waited till it was later in the day and cooler to get our zoomies on.

What a fun weekend!

We both have training on Wednesday this week, weather permitting. Gracie is really hoping we have practice this week, she's getting so jealous!!!! At least Mum mowed the backyard today, so we could get our weaves back up. Our next trial is about 5 minutes from our house, a three day AKC trial...and the best part is it's indoors on nice soccer flooring in air conditioning! Yeah!

Here are a few of the courses from the weekend:

And here are all the vids we got (thanks to Cody's Mum), all Q's, can you believe it?

Sunday, June 08, 2008

What a difference ANOTHER day makes!

We're back from the trial, a bit rested, fed and ready to play again. Here's a quick update and then I'll let you know all the good and gory details of the entire 3-day trial tomorrow.

The course was still pretty muddy when we got to the trial site this morning. We asked if they were going to move the ring - no; put down some shavings - no. So Mum waited to walk the course before 16" to finally decide if we were going to run. After Saturday's mess and the extra work I had to do to run in the mess, she wasn't going to put me though that two days in a row.

But during as the big dog's ran before our 6" walk through, the course had dried up pretty darn well, and the dog's path looked good to Mum, so we ran. And I ran pretty darn well, pretty confident and got a nice Q and 5th place!

Then we ran JWW about an hour later. By this time it was about 87 degrees and full sun, and humidity. Pretty sticky. But something was in the air for me today and I ran my Jumpers course really well. Even the judge yelled out "Nice Run!" after our run - which was super special to us. Good enough for another Q and 3rd place! So we got another DQ! I think (we have to tally up to know for sure) but this may be our 18th DQ so far.

Tomorrow we'll have more info, course maps, pics and vids, as soon as Mum works on our Linksys router.

Mum and I were really happy with the day. Had loads of fun, even though it was pretty hot. Hope you all had a great weekend!!!
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