Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Trying out the Nina Ottosson Dog Box!

Hey...remember when Mum helped me learn to fetch my little furry toy and put it in a box? Well....that was just the first step!

I got so good at 'fetching' and 'putting' that Mum finally felt I could handle the Nina Ottosson Dog Box that was sent to us free by the nice folks at PetPDC.com (that's where we wholesale purchase the Nina Ottosson toys that we sell on JohannTheDog Direct) to test out.

So here's how it went...first Mum taught me to 'fetch and put' in a little box that little furry toy, because I am absolutely mad about that little thing. So mad about it that I will carry it around with me all day if Mum let's me.

Then she just translated my 'fetch and put' commands to the little wooden peg and Dog Box from Nina Ottosson. The Dog Box is pretty cool...you put a few treats in the box, then the goal is for me to put the peg in the box through the opening and it bumps the place where the treats are, so when I put the peg in the box, treats fall out. There are three graduated levels of openings you can slide into the box (you'll see in the video).

We're just at stage one and two, where I can put the peg (large or small one) in the larger and mid-sized whole, but I haven't mastered putting the pegs through the small whole yet. And Mum can't yet put the treats in the box, because I am more interested in getting the treats in the box, then putting the pegs in first...but we'll get there. Right now she's giving me the treats where they eject.

You'll see in the middle of the vid that Mum threw the peg and it hit the fireplace and made a big noise! Kinda scared me a little, so we had to work through that little scared stuff. I got a little confused, but we worked through it! Then, she decided to throw the peg and make the noise again...didn't scare me a bit that time.

So here's the vid of me learning the Dog Box, hope you like it!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Here's a fun little challenge!

This coming March 27, 2010 at 8:30 PM your local time, no matter what city or country you live in is Earth Hour!

What is Earth Hour? It's a time when people from all over the World come together to bring a call to action on climate change by doing something quite simple - turning off their lights for one hour.

Last year we participated in Earth Hour. And we taught Gracie how to turn off the lights so she could ceremoniously ring in Earth Hour at our house.

Now Gracie has the job of turning off all the lights in the house and in the garage (that's where are car is kept). Gracie does it so well and controlled now, we don't even have to look into an auto insurance quote, BOL!!!

So here's a little challenge for ya! Why not have your pawrents teach you to turn off the lights and participate in Earth Hour with us and the thousands and thousands of other families across the globe!

Here are a couple of vids that may help you get started. The first one is a video of Gracie turning off the lights from the wall switch. The second one is Gracie learning to turn off the light from a foot switch (which you can get at any local hardware store).




The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations. Learn more about how Earth Hour began, what they've accomplished, and what is in store for 2010.

So what are you waiting for, get trickin'!!!! And let us know how you do, post a link to your YouTube url in the comments. We'd love to see how you do!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Had so much fun at the photo shoot!!!

Remember I shared with you that I was going to be doing a photo shoot as part of The Photo Book Projects to help raise $$ for rescue/shelter dogs?

Well we did it Friday morning, and it was so much fun!!!

The day started very early at 6:00 AM with me getting the dreaded bath. OK, I didn't want Mum to post this, but here I am getting my bath. Oh the shame!!!! But it is for a good cause, right? At least I don't have adult cystic acne, BOL!!! This is the only and I mean only time you will ever see me in the middle of getting this kind of cruel and unusual treatment, believe me!




I had to have my bath early, because I won't let Mum blow dry me, hate that machine. So I had to air dry and it was very humid on Friday, and you know how long it takes Shelties to dry, even ones with less dense coats like me. The photo shoot started at 9:00 AM and I was still drying till about 9:30 AM. So we got started kinda late.

During the wait time, Mum found some cool stuff for me to play with. We were at a little room above a veterinary business owned by a friend of ours (haven't found out yet if it was OK to mentioned them). In the room upstairs (which local folks will know about) they do agility classes up there. So there was lots of agility stuff to play with, even though it was all put away. Mum immediately spotted the skateboard, which I am sure they use to help get new pups interested and having fun on moving things.




Mum immediately started working with me to interact with it. Dang, I loved that thing from the start! Jumped right on and wheeled across the room with Mum laughing all the way. What fun! I gotta get me one of these!!!!!

We started the photo shoot, and Mum worked with me doing tricks and stuff while Melissa McDaniel, the photography, shot away. I did sits, head tilts, stands, begs, lie downs, roll overs, twhirls/turns, and lots more.

Then fur fun...Melissa wanted me to get on the skateboard, which I gladly obliged, and then we found a mini teeter, which we worked into the shots too. Then after we were all done, Melissa was gracious enough to get some pics of just me and Mum. We can't wait to see them all!!! Hopefully we'll be able to share just a quick few with you sometime soon. And of course you can purchase the book!!!




The book is 15% off the $50.00 cover price right now, so it's $42.50, and $12.75 of that will go to my shelter if you click this link. Cools huh?

What a fun, fun day. Long one for me, but Mum was so proud! She said, I worked like a true pro from 9:00 AM until Noon. And then when I got home, I got my zoomie on of course!

Friday, January 22, 2010

How you can help the humans and animals in Haiti!

Lots of folks have been asking us how they can help the humans and the animals in Haiti.

Here are the some key ways:

The American Red Cross is accepting donations by phone for human relief. You can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross's efforts, or call 1-800-Redcross or 1-800-257-7575. Visit their Web site to find out more.

There is an organization that has been formed specifically to organize efforts to help the animals in Haiti. It's called the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), comprised of several organizations that are taking donations and helping with the relief efforts of the thousands of farm and companion animals on the island.

By donating to any one of these three organization, you can help the animals of Haiti:

Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
American Humane

You can also donate to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) who have deployed many dog/handler search and rescue teams to help with funds needed in the search and rescue efforts in Haiti.

Are thoughts and doggie prayers are with all of those affected by this terrible tragedy.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Squirrel!!!!!

Yep, it's that time again...time to appreciate Squirrels, because today is Squirrel Appreciation Day!

Being dogs, we certainly know how to appreciate the little brown dudes, right? They are so prolific, sometimes I think the steal people's enzyte, BOL!!!

But did you think about these things when you think about squirrels?

There are lots and lots of different kinds of squirrels, some are albino and some even fly.
They are featured in some fun online games (mostly involving gather nuts :) (Go play!)
You gotta watch out if you live in Russia. They may seek revenge.
And if you decide to give chase, watch out it could be dangerous!
They fight, they water ski, they sing and dance, they are featured in commercials.
And they can tackle some pretty complicated obstacles courses.

What I think I admire about them most is their never-give-it-upness, even when confronted with massive obstacles, and even when they need the help of humans to get by. Enjoy!


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I'm gonna be a part of The Photo Book Projects to help raise money for rescues!

Last year, we met a really cool photographer on Twitter, Melissa McDaniel.

Melissa a a great photographer, and lucky for us,  she's a big proponent of rescue. So she decided to try to do some good by educating people about shelter dogs, through her art.

Melissa is traveling the country, taking photos of rescue and deaf dogs all over the US in an effort to put together two beautiful photography books with the goal of raising  $300,000 for animal rescue groups around the country through her book's shelter/rescue affiliate program for The Photo Book Projects.

Here first two books are:

RESCUED IN AMERICA - which will include moving photos and stories of dogs who were rescued from shelters or adopted from rescue groups, and lucky enough to find their forever homes. Over 50 dogs will be photographed from all across the U.S. will be profiled for this book.

DEAF DOGS - which tells the truth about deaf dogs, dispelling the many myths that surround deaf dogs and cause thousands of them to be euthanized every year, through photos and stories of inspirational animals who never let their handicap hold them back. Over 50 deaf dogs from the U.S. and Canada will be photographed for this book. 

And guess what? Yep, on Friday, Melissa will be here in Indiana to photograph me to be included in the RESCUES IN AMERICA book! I can hardly wait.

This will be my first every professional type of photo shoot, so Mum is just a tad bit nervous. Our good friends up at the Noblesville Square Animal Clinic, who have a super great room above their practice where they do some agility training, have graciously donated their space for us to get our photog on. Guess if I don't do well, there's always Kansas City job search, BOL!

We've talked with my former shelter, the Southside Animal Shelter, and they are going to be selling the books through The Photo Book Projects affiliate program. If you'd like to purchase a book, click here so that my former shelter, The Southside Animal Shelter, will get $12.75 of the purchase price per book to help the pups and kitties!

If you pre-order the books before the June 1st release date you also receive 15% off your order of $50, so the book would cost you $42.50, and $12.75 will go to the SSASI.

Melissa has two more spots open for The Photo Book Projects if you'd like to enter her contest to be one of the super cool rescue or deaf dogs in the books. Here are all the details.

Now the important stuff....guess I'll be getting a bath on Friday!

Look what Mum found cleaning up her office!

Mum was doing a major, and I mean major, cleaning job on our office on Sunday. And she got all the files and books ready for 2010, a good start on our tax stuff ready for our accountant for 2009. She had stuff all over the floor, sorting and piling and filing away.

I wasn't much interested in all that stuff, but I kept a small eye on her as she worked....until.....




...she got out my agility ribbons, I totally got off my keister to check them all out. Mum's been bad, she had some of them in a nice box for safe keeping, but didn't have all of them boxed up and just stuffed in the cabinet. So she checked for accutane reviews, (just kidding, BOL!), then headed off to the garage to find a nice protective box to put them all in, and of course leave room for a few more ;)




Here I am inspecting each and every one of the ribbons Mum and I worked so hard for. I can't wait till we're doing agility again!!!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Are those calming signals you see?

Meeting a video camera can be a lot like meeting another dog...well, it can be in my case anyway!

When Mum was editing my 'up close and personal video' back a few months ago, she was struck by all the calming signals I was giving the camera.

Remember the book by Turid Rugass - Calming Signals? It's one of the first books Mum read about dogs and added to her library. Very interesting info on dog body language and behavior, but especially information on how dogs communicate to work together, play together and get along together.

Norwegian dog trainer and behaviorist Turid Rugaas is a noted expert on canine body language, notably “calming signals,” which are signals dogs use to avoid conflict, invite play, and communicate a wide range of information to other dogs and people. Turid says from her website..."these are the dogs’ attempt to defuse situations that otherwise might result in fights or aggression. The dogs have about 30 calming signals, perhaps even more. Some of these signals are used by most dogs, while other dogs have an incredibly rich ´vocabulary´. It varies from dog to dog."

Turid also says...."that while dogs utilize some signals for warnings (like growling or teeth baring) they use calming signals much more to communicate with each other." And if humans learn what those signals are, and understand and work with their pups on early and proper socialization, they can communicate even more effectively with, us dogs, as well as better understand what we are communicating around other dogs.

So what are these calming signals?

They are movements dogs make like...licking lips, looking away with just the eyes or turning the head to the side, yawning, walking slowly, sniffing the ground, blinking, tail wags and more.

Turid explains on her website, "when a dog is displaying calming signals it means that he is friendly and wants to avoid a conflict. It’s only natural that (another dog) wants to greet a dog with these signals. And in the same way (that dog) keeps (their) distance to those who act more threatening....The calming signals do not mean that dogs want to be left alone, they mean that dogs wish to avoid conflicts."

Mum isn't an expert on calming signals but she's learning and thought she saw me display a lot of them in the video. So she wanted to get a couple of folks that are more knowledgeable to provide their opinion on the video and my signals, too.

So we sent it off to two friends of ours, April Johnson, who has been studying calming signals and dog communication for a while now, and another friend of ours, Astrid Smith, PDT, CDT, who is an experienced instructor, who we met on Facebook, and have admired for her positive methods and techniques. These two generous people provided some further insight beyond Mum's scope of knowledge, and we'd like to thank them for their help!

So here's the video...take a look and see how many calming signals you see. We've indicated some of the more obvious, but there are other similar ones throughout the video. And big, big thanks to April and Astrid for helping me out with this interesting experiment!

Enjoy!!!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Another great video from Silvia Trkman - must share!!!

Now that I can 'fetch' and 'put'...wonder if Mum has any of these tricks up my paw next!

Check this out, another fantastic video from Silvia Trkman and the LaBuBi team :)


First it's put a toy in a box, then it's let Mum take it easy on the heated mattress pads while I fold the laundry. Hey, I want to do my part, BOL!!! Game on!

If you haven't yet, be sure and visit bookmrak her website, and subscribe to her YouTube Channel! You will get lots and lots of inspiration, fur sure!

More snow fun!

The snow is melting and we are coming out of the nearly two week deep freeze, yeah!!! So before the snow all goes away, I wanted to show some more snow pics :)

Believe it or not, there is some yucky stuff to be found even in the snow. Rollin' it, yeah!!



Haaa...haaaa...Gracie trying to lick me to death, but she's gotta catch me first!



Just the beginning of wrestlemania!



Going in for the death grip...



Oh, she comes up fighting and tries a right hook!



Ahha...catch me if you can Gracie! Zoomie time!



It sure was great to get out there and get some sirius exercise now that the weather is warmer. Guess even Mum won't have to look into a phosphacore review, 'cause she an around with us a lot!!!

It's still a little too muddy to go hiking, but we can at least get on the five mile walking path now. And the best part is the weatherman says the temps are going to be in the 40's or close to it for the next 10 days, woo hoo!!!

Exercise, here I come!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Around the dog agility blog-o-sphere!

Big news this week from both the AKC and USDAA:

AKC

The AKC released a letter on Jan 15th stating..."We are pleased to inform you of a decision made by the AKC Board at the January 11, 2010 meeting, which will enhance the AKC Canine Partners program. This exciting new program allows mixed breed dog owners to list their dogs and participate in AKC Agility, Obedience and Rally events starting April 1, 2010.

While each club’s participation in the AKC Canine Partners program will remain voluntary, clubs may now choose to allow mixed breed participation at any AKC Agility, Obedience or Rally event. Mixed breeds will compete in the same classes and earn the same titles as their purebred counterparts...."

Read more...

USDAA

2010 USDAA Cynosport World Games Location and Dates info posted on USDAA site, January 15, 2010 states..."First step confirmed for relocation of Cynosport World Games.

We are pleased to announce that we have received a Letter of Commitment from the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville to host the Cynosport World Games on October 13 - 17, 2010. Options are also being offered for 2011 and/or 2012...."

More info...

USDAA also annouced the "rebirth of the Spring Festival of Dog Agility® in an all new concept on Easter Weekend, stating...

"With the introduction of a new concept by clubs in the mid-atlantic region of the U.S., a new concept has evolved that is to resurrect the Spring Festival of Dog Agility®. What began as a single event has evolved into a multi-club, dual location, first ever simulcast event over the Internet.

On April 2-4, 2010, clubs in the Mid-Atlantic Region will join forces to offer The Mid-Atlantic Showcase in a three-day extravaganza, and in South Central Texas Hill Country Agility & Bexar Regional Agility Team will join forces to offer The Hill Country Agility Showcase, in what will climax with competitors in both locations running head-to-head across some 1,500 miles via the Internet on USDAA.com, competing for prizes and top honors.

The two events are operating under the banner of the Spring Festival of Dog Agility®, and with success, more clubs will be provided the opportunity to become part of the simulcast event in future years...."

More info...

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The prizes are just about out the door!

Doggone! That's a lotta loot!

Mum and I have spent the past two weeks, finishing up all the loose ends for Johann's Howling Howliday Giveaway.

All the goodies are finally in, so we started putting together the prize packs. We sent notices and info to all the winners, thank you notes to all the sponsors and contributors, thank you notes to everyone who entered and donated to my former shelter - the Southside Animal Shelter.

If you haven't donated yet, please, please consider sharing a few bucks to these pups in need, and ask your friends and family who voted fur ya. We still haven't reached our goal of $500, and if everyone who voted would donate just a few $$, we'd certainly reach our goal!. Here's the link! http://firstgiving.com/johannthedog

Here I am inspecting all the prize packs and helping Mum pack the boxes....after all this work Mum and I are gonna have to click here to find a good multivitamin, BOL!




Doggone, there are gonna be some super happy pups come next week!



A big, big thanks to everyone who pawticipated in the giveaway this year - the amazing sponsors and contributors, the pups and pawrents who entered, and the donors to my shelter.

We sure had fun!!! Maybe we'll even do it again next year, who knows :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

New Video on Demand training vids from Clean Run!

This is cool!

Clean Run just announced they are offering 12 training videos in Video on Demand format all within prices ranging from $9.95 (for most) to $14.95 (depending upon the number of DVD's included in the original set).

The titles currently include: (more will be added later)
  • Advanced Jumping: (Susan Salo)
  • Contacts—Bridging the Gap Between Training & Competition
  • Dream Weaves
  • Go the Distance Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
  • In FOCUS Beginning Obstacle Skills
  • In FOCUS Crying for Control
  • In FOCUS Foundation Work
  • In FOCUS Need for Speed
  • Making Reinforcement Fun
  • Puppy Jumping
  • The Pre-Sports Puppy

See all the titles here! The VOD purchase allows you full access to the 'online' video for 14 days after you begin to play the program.

You can't download the video, but watch it directly from the website, as you can pause, fast forward, rewind, and start and stop the video on your computer.

Great alternative to being able to enjoy and learn from these DVDs at a much higher cost, and you save on shipping too!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Some cool products we dug up!

We sniffed out some new and pawsome products - great stuff we wanted to share for agility fanatics like me, or for pups that just want to have fun!

Check these out....

Wanna keep your pup busy? Here's a new interactive toy we dug up, The Pooch Ball. It bounces, rolls, is big enough for a regular size tennis ball, and may just entertain your pup for hours!



Remember we talked about the Thundershirt? We've been getting quite a few emails about how pups are being helped with with anxiety, and thunder/lightening/fireworks fears using the Thundershirt! Now we've got it in Rugby Blue. Check it out.



Oh....I definitely want one of these! The Ready Treat Remote-controlled Reward System. A great tool for teaching contacts, go outs, independent obstacle performance and more. It's super compact, and takes any kind of treat, and less expensive than the Manners Minder.



Tires can be dangerous for us pups. Here's a great product - a BreakAway Tire Jump, the ultimate in tire jump safety. If your dog accidentally hits the tire, it will break apart at the base of the tire, then self heal with powerful magnets located within the tire itself. You can purchase just the tire, or the entire tire jump, at a reasonable price, great for practice.



You know how much I'm a proponent of Exercise Ball work to keep in shape, especially in the Winter months. Dr. Debbie Gross Saunders has come out with a sequel DVD to help you learn more about Exercise Ball work and utilizing it to help your dog. Check out the new Get on the Ball Two DVD.



And last but not least...here's a great tool to help you and your dog learn and master jumping techniques. And if you're not quite ready to invest the money for the One Jump, Two Jump DVD and want of a more detailed explanation of the program to help you make your decision? Clean Run has taken the 63-page PDF file that's included on the disc free of charge when you purchase the One Jump, Two Jump DVD and we have turned it into a printed training workbook. Only 19.95.



We've got a whole lotta people looking for dog treadmills to combat cabin fever. If you've got a large (or small) dog, this is a great one to choose - the PetZen. It's quiet, portable, has incline adjustments and comes in three sizes. (Remember a human treadmill won't work for larger dogs!)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Trying to stay sane!

Ok, I admit it, I'm getting tired of the cold! Thank dog we hear it may warm up a bit this week.

Mum's been trying to help both me and Gracie stay occupied and having fun through this almost two week deep freeze.

And I bet lots of pups around the country are having troubles coming up with ideas.

So we blogged today over at Raise A Green Dog, lots of links and ideas on "What's a green dog to do on a too cold winter's day? Play...indoors that is!" Head on over and check it out.

And if you're small, or have a lot of space, here's an idea, BOL!!!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Winter snow fun!

We got a little snow the past few days...about 6 or so inches, best guess. It's been very cold here too, in the teen's for well over a week. But we managed to get in a little snow fun!

Here's Gracie and me getting our snow zoomies on...



A little snow foraging never hurt any dog...



And of course a little wrestling goes a long way...



I'll tell ya, when Gracie gets going you better watch out and look into some cheap car insurance...



Chasing my sis is one of my fav passtimes, her's too :)



Covered in the stuff...white looks good on black, don't ya think? BOL!!!



When it snows a lot, and gets really cold, it's very quiet outside...I can hear dogs barking miles away. And of course I have to respond!



Off to play some more! See ya!


Friday, January 08, 2010

Want!!!

When Mum was picking up some raw food and chicken necks for me a week or two ago, she was talking with the supplier and he told us about chicken feet, and how they are a pawsome treat!

So we did a little searching on the Internet to see what all the fuss was about and look what we found! A sheltie eating raw chicken feet! (BTW, that's Wolfie, who is sporting a super nice sheltie tuxedo shirt don't ya think? And he also has the same name as my kittie bro, fate I say!)


Now that's all I've been barking about. So Mum promised to get me some the next time she picks up some of our food and chicken/duck necks. I can hardly wait!!!

Will keep you posted on how I like 'em.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Click....how fast are you?

This is fun!!! An interesting little game that gauges how fast your reactions are. See if you can beat me and Mum after we tried it out a few times. We got to 0.2106 seconds on average.




Thought this would also be a good gauge to see how accurate your clicking (with clicker training) may be, too! And thanks to Karen Pryor for pointing this game out on Facebook.

We got a bit of a new look!

Being a working dog and all, I get bored if I'm not busy all the time. Good thing Mum is the same way, BOL!!!

So, last weekend, Mum and I put our paws to the keyboard and gave my website - JohannTheDog.com - a bit of a new look!!!

Stop on over and give it a look-see, and check out all the new gear we added too! Hope you like it!


Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Around the dog agility blog-o-sphere!

From Internationally renowned competitors, Greg and Laura Derrett, UK agility comes to the US - UK Agility International! Information from their website discussed their goal "to continually strive for the betterment of agility competition and training for all dogs. (They) also aim to provide trials at which all competitors - whether they are weekend ‘just-wanna-have-fun-with-my-dog’ enthusiasts or die-hard professional agility competitors – are catered for."

What are the differences? Here's a few...
  • UKI features European style courses.
  • Most trials will have 4+ classes per dog each day.
  • A points-based system to move up through the Levels: Winning classes will progress you quicker, clean rounds will also allow progression.
  • Two systems to progress through: International Program – consists of classes from standard Agility, Jumping & Fun Games Classes (including Snooker, Gamblers, Power & Speed, Snakes & Ladders) and; Speed Stakes Program - consists of classes that are smooth, flowing courses made up of jumps and pipe tunnels only.
  • Two Jump Height Options - Regular Jump Height for regular competition dogs, and Select Jump Option for older dogs, dogs recovering from injury, or breeds that may find the Regular heights too challenging. (Discussion is ongoing regarding jump height cut-offs). Clean Run is conducting a survey to try to gather information to see if there is a more equitable/accurate way of measuring dogs to determine what height they should jump in agility. Click here to take the survey. You can take the survey for each of your dogs, just close your browser and reload the page via the link.
  • Lower and safer A-frame height matching international standards 5’7” (FCI & all GB organizations)
  • Up contacts are not judged on any of the contact equipment.
  • No triple jumps just ascending doubles
  • The UKI home office handles all trial entries and trial processing.
Sanctioned matches are currently scheduled beginning January 10th and through March (to date) in CA, NY, TX, OK, WI and more.

The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge comes to Whistler BC Canada this coming January 8-9, 2010, and featured the following events:

Incredible Avalanche Rescue, Incredible Skijoring, Incredible Dual Course Slalom Racing (30 weave pole, down and back), Incredible Freestyle Flying Disc, Incredible Agility, and the Cross-Country “Paw and Pole” demo ski race. Watch the promo..






Check this out - 16" final at the 2009 AKC Invitational. Dartfish overlay of Luka (Pyrenean Shepherd) and Nika (Australian Shepherd).

Want to quickly and easily complete those AKC trial entries online? Check out Oaklines.

Another cool overlay...this time of Solar and Maverick in the 2009 GP Finals 26"






Viki's channel on YouTube has a bunch of videos from the FCI Agility World Championships.

Reminder on rules for AKC's new event - Time 2 Beat. And be sure and become familiar with the new AKC rules taking affect in January, 2010 (check the inserts).

1. Mixed Breed Classes - Changes to agility (and obedience and rally) regulations adding classes and titles for mixed breed dogs were approved by the AKC Board of Directors at their April meeting. They go into full effect April 1, 2010 and are detailed in the yellow insert. Note that the AKC Board voted to waive the usual prior notice requirement for this topic.

2. New TQX Title - Agility regulation changes creating the TQX title were put before the AKC Board in May and approved at their next meeting in July. They are described in the green insert and go into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

3. Jump Height Cards - Agility regulation changes regarding jump height cards were put before the AKC Board in August and approved at their next meeting in October.
Per the pink insert to the regulations these go into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

No announcement yet on location for USDAA World Agility Championships - Cynosport. Will keep you posted.

We've tried to gather info on upcoming regionals for USDAA...here's what we have so fai (if you have any further info...leave it in the comments and we'll edit the post, thanks!):

SE Regional, June 4-6, 2010, Perry, GA
SW Regional, July 3–5, 2010, Prunedale, CA
SC Regional, August 13-15, Fort Worth, TX
RM Regional, June 18-20, 2010, UT
NE (Unknown at this time)
NW Regional, July 9-11, 2010, Auburn, WA
NC - Date TBD, Possible dates (September 10-12 or May 7-9) Rochester Hills, MI

Monday, January 04, 2010

Our Agility and Dog calendars are all updated for 2010!

Did you know that this month is Walk Your Pet Month and Train Your Dog Month? Or that January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day? Now you can keep ahead of the pack on all kinds of days about dogs and events with Johann's Google Calendars.

This past week we completely updated our Squidoo lens and our Google Calendar to add in all the special days that honor dogs in 2010. And, we updated our Google Calendar adding in the major agility competitions that will be taking place this year throughout the world (may want to check into some motorhome insurance, if you're gonna be traveling to all these great trials :). We also added these events that will be broadcast on TV in the US ; as well as all the other great TV programs, DVDs, and theatrical releases we find that focus on dogs.



So if you want to add these days to your Google Calendar, it's pretty easy. Just click on the link for the appropriate calendar. You will be able to add the calendar dates to your Feed Reader, add to your own Google Calendar and Home Page, or download for inputting into your MS Outlook calendar.

Agility Event Calendar - lists major agility events throughout the World and TV broadcasts in the US.

Days Honoring Dogs - Days of the year that recognize and honor dogs (with a little squirrel and cat thrown in :)

Dog related TV Programs and Movies - Programs on television about dogs, as well as movies about dogs playing in theaters or being released on DVD.

You can also view the calendar on my website, or on Facebook.

Now you can keep up with all the action and events! Enjoy!!!
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