The Days of Johann - an agility dog!

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Travelling to visit friends!
2007-10-03 11:50:00
We don't visit and stay over with friends much. We're kind of a hand full in the house and other folks aren't really used to that kind of activity. It can be stressful for them and we totally understand that. We even kind of get on Mum's nerve sometimes.And Mum absolutely won't leave us with someone else. Not after what happened last November!But the sad part is because of this my Mum doesn't get to see her Mum very much. She lives in a special home for Alzheimer's patients down in Louisville. Maybe when agility calms down a bit for the season, Mum can take a quick day trip down there to see her. She'd like that. We'd stay home and be good doggies.I'll tell ya, it's a good thing Grandma doesn't live all the way to New York in a Queens assisted living facility. That would be way, way too far.Note: This is a sponsored post.
More About: Friends , Travelling , Visit

Halloween is just around the corner, don't forget your pup!
2007-10-02 20:47:00
Halloween is just around the corner!From pawties, to trick or treating, to dressing up and visiting your local pet store or taking in an event, we've got everything you need at JohannTheDog to help you out. From costumes and treats, to toys and planning a party with all the goodies and games.Check out our Squidoo lens on how to Throw a great Howl-o-ween Pup Pawty!Download our party planning guide and checklist.Visit our website where you can get all kinds of Halloween gear and goodies.And get a great deal and use coupon code: FRANKEN5 -- Get 5% off orders $65 or more this Halloween!
More About: Corner , Halloween , Ween , The Corner , Allo

Hair transplant!
2007-10-02 20:22:00
A few weeks ago, Mum noticed I had white hairs growing on my front left leg. Just a few, in a clump. And she thought, what is that! She pretty much figured out right away, duh, that it was where the cast I had on my leg, rubbed me raw. And the hair was just coming in all white.That has happened to me before. When I got attacked by those 8 dogs a couple of years ago, I got these really odd white hairs in various places over my body. Mum remembered those were the places where I had puncture wounds from the dog's biting me. (Dog, I was so lucky I made it through that attack).Now I have heard about hair transplants and wonder if they could do anything with me? Could they put black fur in where I have white ones?Note: This is a sponsored post.
More About: Hair , Tran

Weekend agility!
2007-10-02 02:34:00
We had a great time at the Terre Haute Kennel Club Agility trail this weekend. Fun runs, fun friends and some ribbons, woo hoo!Started out at about 6:00 AM on Saturday for the drive. Which, can I just say, I hate that part of agility. Riding in the car has never been one of my favorite things, but I put up with it 'cause it gets me to agility.Got there about 8:00 AM and they started Fast class at 9:00. We didn't enter fast, so we didn't end up running until 11:00 AM.Started out with JWW, and it was a good course. A couple of places for potential off courses, but Mum decided she'd just run like heck. And it worked. Ended up a little wide in areas, which we need to work on; and the weaves were still kind of slow (we're in rigorous training on that, now), but good enough to end up with 2nd place. The course seemed really tight on times, so we didn't end up on very many MACH points, but we were pretty happy.Here's the run:Then is was time for Standard. Again, pretty good course. ...
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October is Adopt A Shelter Dog month!
2007-10-01 13:08:00
On September 3, 2004, I was adopted from the Southside Animal Shelter here in Indianapolis, and boy am I glad they rescued me so my Mum could fine me! I just don't know what my life would be like if there weren't folks like the good two-leggers at the Southside Animal Shelter working so hard, day in and day out.In honor of Adopt a Shelter Dog Mont h , we want to bring attention to all the great shelters and the people who work so hard for us pups throughout the US and the World, to get us 'off the streets' and out of really bad situations to help us find wonderful, loving homes. Their work is hard work, sometimes fun, oftentimes not. But they work, tirelessly, day in and day out to help pups in need find their forever homes. They give of their time, energy, money and their hearts; and we thank them for all that they do. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.We also want to honor all the folks doing wonderful thing on the Internet to work in conjunction with these shelters ...
More About: October

FCI Dog Agility World Championships
2007-09-30 03:00:00
This weekend the 2007 FCI Dog Agility World Cham pionships are being held in Hamar, Norway. These are the best of the world!!There are some amazing runs going on over there. Be sure and check out some of the action:All the news and results - as they are happening from the official website!Great vids, news and results from Eric Larson!Be sure and check out the USA large dog team as they wrapped up the Silver today!
More About: World Championships

What your pup's age?
2007-09-28 16:51:00
One of best buds suggested that we make a Squidoo lens on how to find out how old your pup is in human years. So what did we do? Yep, we made one!In the course of making the lens we included some vids of pups from ages 1 through 18; guess who was the vid representing age 8? Yep, our very own buddy Spencer!We also found this really cool vid of a pup from the age of 7 weeks to 6 months that we thought you would enjoy! And don't forget to check out my lens "How Young is Your Dog?"

Blogging against animal abuse!
2007-09-28 02:40:00
Today is Bloggers United Against Abuse Day. There is so much abuse in the world today for 2 and 4-leggers, we really don't know where to begin. For now, we choose to blog for the animals - my species, my kind.I have been a victim of abuse. It was almost a year ago. Even though those that abused me when I was away from my Mum, still to this day do not believe what they did was abuse, I am sure. Just as I am sure it happens with others every day of every year. But it happened, and it was.There are far too many much more severe cases of abuse that happen every day, than what happened to me. I was the lucky one. What it did was make me think, make me more aware, make me become more educated, and make me, my Mum and my sister Gracie, want to help however we can.To honor what I went through last November and for all of those that suffer every day, my loving sister, Gracie created a SixDegrees.org AIM page to support the Animal Legal Defense Fund. It was and is a way for all of our family...
More About: Blogging

Be a green dog!
2007-09-26 14:50:00
With nearly 62 million dogs in households throughout the US, you can bet your pups are leaving their paws prints on the environment. So what can you do? Help your dog go green!By purchasing environmentally responsible pup products, utilizing environmentally safe household cleaners, and by taking other sustainable measures, you can have a healthier and happier pup, and help the environment at the same time!Visit my new Squidoo lens on Raising a Green Dog! It's packed full of information on how you and your pup can go green, be healthier and happier and help the environment at the same time!

A different search engine?
2007-09-26 14:30:00
We were searching around today and found out about a new search engine with a bit of a difference. You input your search term and it searches the main search engines, then it allows users to vote for their favorite websites. It's kind of a personalized social networking search engine with user-ranked results.Of course I went right in a searched for my favorite thing - dog agility. My Squidoo lens appeared on the front page, which I love. And I saw all my other favorite sites and started right in voting on them. Kind of a Digg meets Google. Interesting, click here to try sproose.
More About: Search , Search Engine , Engine , Diff

Well, duh! There are ear thermometers!
2007-09-25 19:52:00
The nice folks over at my shelter, the Southside Animal Shelter, barked in this morning to tell me and Mum about the ear thermometer. Duh!!!!Mum didn't have one of these handy things available for Gracie the other day, but you can bet we are gonna have one in the mail pretty darn soon. That just seems so much more comfortable, and I bet loads easier for one person to handle taking pet temps with this handy, dandy, and reasonably priced device.Check it out, wouldn't that be a great thing to add to your pet first aid kit.
More About: Meter , Well , Thermometer

Toys and toxins!
2007-09-25 17:24:00
Clare, over at Dog Topics, has been keeping information posted on her blog about dog toys coming from China, suspected high levels of toxins and heavy metals, and the affects this could have on us pups.You need to paw on over there when you get the chance and keep up-to-date. She has really great info! Thanks Clare for keeping a watchful eye on this growing concern.
More About: Toys , Toxins

Taking the temperature!
2007-09-25 12:20:00
The other day, Gracie came down with a real runny nose. It was clear fluid, not gunky or greeny (yuck!). So Mum didn't worry too much - 'cause gunky and green can mean an infection.There was only one thing that happened in the days before that Mum thought could have affected Gracie's nose. Mum put down new organic fertilizer (with blood meal) and it smelled pretty good to Gracie. She really didn't eat it, 'cause the pellets were very small and Mum watered it in real well. But she still sniffed a lot and our best guess is it irritated her nose for the day.One thing that Mum did to see if she had an infection causing her runny nose was to take her temperature. I have to tell ya, Mum's never taken our temperature before, and has only watched as our vet has done it. But she decided it was time to learn and did some research on the Internet. She also got our rectal thermometer out of our trusty first aid kit that she takes everywhere with us. And a little packet of lubricant to mak...
More About: Temperature , Taking , Temp

Chute pic!
2007-09-24 23:08:00
When Mum and I were at the trail this weekend there were a couple of companies taking photos. Mum loves going to look at the photos, mostly because she sees things that went on in our runs, that she can't see when she's running me. And because she just loves looking at me, BOL!!!This was an interesting pic. During our Standard run on Friday (when we got the big MX) there were two jumps coming out of a tunnel, from one jump to the next was a 90 degree turn and then the chute was right there. Mum remembers me almost blowing past the chute, but taking a quick, quick turn and making it in the chute, just in time.What she didn't see, however, was how I came out of the chute. And the fact that I didn't hesitate one iota going on to the next jump and a 90 degree turn into the weaves. So when she saw this pic, she was pretty surprised. It's not the usual way I come out of the chute, halfway going over on my side. But she loved the intensity, and the fact that it didn't hurt me, whew!!...
More About: Chute

Communicating!
2007-09-24 23:00:00
Since Mum's a marketing consultant to technology companies she's always reading about local technology companies. She was reading recently about a tech company in town that does some pretty stuff.It's called Vontoo voice messaging. Vontoo helps you create, send, and track voice messages to people who want to hear from you, like customers that have opted in to receiving news and other types of communications. It doesn't require the additional purchase of software or hardware to use the technology. And I would expect it to be a little more efficient than email and more personal in some ways. I also like the fact that it is permission based and satisfies and follows the national and local Do-Not-Call regulations.Vontoo is working with the Boston Celtics to help them increase game attendance. And it seems to be working as described on their site.This would be such a cool thing to occasionally send some woofs to our JohannTheDog.com customers. Maybe use it to wish them Happy Holidays...

This week is National Dog Week and National Deaf Awareness Week!
2007-09-24 12:39:00
This week is National Dog Week and National Deaf Awareness Week. In honor of these weeks we are bringing you some information about a really great organization - the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund.Meet Cookie! Cookie is an absolutely precious boy that is looking for his forever home. He is very well socialized, well mannered and knows several hand commands. Cookie knows hand commands for come, sit, stay, good boy, wrong, potty and go on. He loves to take rides in the car as well. Cookie is great off leash. He understands to check in if he gets a certain distance away. He would be a great agility or flyball dog as he is very motivated.Why does Cookie need to know hand commands? Because he is nearly or completely deaf in both ears. He is currently being cared for by the nice folks at Companion Animal Network in Dallas, Texas. And is listed through the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund who provides education and funding for the purpose of improving and/or saving the lives of deaf dogs. Th...
More About: Waren , Rene

NQ's and pushing progress!
2007-09-24 12:30:00
We are back from the three day trial, and boy are we beat! Driving four hours each day kind of took a toll on all three of us - Mum, me and Gracie! But we still had a blast, met some new friends, spent some time with current friends, and got to do my favorite thing - agility!Today we are taking it easy, and Mum is spending loads of time in the chair with the computer, working to earn more of that money stuff.After Friday's spectacular showing, we totally went downhill from there. We ran Saturday Standard and JWW, and Sunday Standard and JWW, and not one Q. Some interesting stuff happened - I started pulling out of my weaves at the 10th pole, then I got a little spooked on the dog walk, and I completely ignored a jump on our last JWW run. Mum says, since she has started really pushing me out there, we got a little off our cues, and I was a little surprised at the change in Mum's way of pushing me out there.One time when I pulled out of the weaves, I just looked up at her like WHAT...
More About: Progress , Push

It's Dogs in Politics Day!
2007-09-23 22:10:00
Today is Dogs in Politic s Day, and we thought we'd share some interesting information and facts about dogs in the political arena. Because, one wise man once said..."If you wanta friend in Washington, get a dog."—President Harry S TrumanDogs have been around politics, probably as long as there have been politics, which is forever, right? You may remember this famous shot of President Franklin D. Roosevelt with his dog Fala, taking a quick ride around Hyde Park. (Photo by George Skadding, Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images)Roosevelt owned at least 7 dogs: a German Shepherd (Major), 2 Scotch Terriers (Meggie and Fala), Llewellyn Setter (Winks), English Sheepdog (Tiny), Great Dane (President), and Mastiff (Blaze).But the most famous of the pup class was Fala, given to the President by his cousin, Margaret Suckley, the star of an MGM Hollywood movie about the typical day of a dog in the White House. Fala also became an honorary army private, and received this honor by contrib...
More About: S Day

Today is One Web Day!
2007-09-23 01:57:00
Today, September 22 marks the 1st anniversary of One Web Day - A day for people throughout the world to celebrate the World Wide Web and how it connects us all.I am celebrating One Web Day today by sending this BIG THANK YOU HUG to all my pup and two-legger friends out there throughout the World. Thanks for being my friend, thanks for supporting me and my efforts, thanks for being on the Internet so I could meet you and share our lives together. Don't know what I would do without ya and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you!You too can support One Web Day by talking about the affect the Internet has had on your life, by posting and sharing information, photos, and/or videos; emailing your friends and family, searching for information to improve your life and other ways, K?
More About: Today

Wowser! Big News!
2007-09-22 03:01:00
We're back from the trail today, And we have amazing news! We left today about 10:30 AM to drive over to Ohio for the trial, got there about 12:30. My first run was JWW and the course looked pretty good, Mum said. Nice place for those nice rear crosses we worked on last week.Mum set me up facing the tunnel, then it was four jumps with a rear to a jump and tunnel going left, then two straight jumps to the weaves, then a hard right to three more jumps and a rear (to the right) to six jumps in a row.Despite the fact that I was kind of wide on one of the rears and got near taking the tunnel the second time, our run was good! And we got a Q, so that got me and Mum my MXJ! Yippeee!!!Then Mum looked at the Standard course and thought, oh, no - may not get that DQ today or that MX, 'cause what she saw was something she hadn't seen yet, a macaroni tunnel with both ends with the Frame right in the middle - yep, you heard me a tunnel on either side of the frame, right up against it. And gue...
More About: News , Big News

I'm a giant squid!
2007-09-20 12:29:00
Woo Hoo! I'm a Giant Squid !Not too long ago, Squidoo was having a bit of a contest. Those that had 50 really good Squidoo lenses done by a certain date were to possibly be named a Giant Squid!And yesterday they let everyone who made it know. And I made it!For those of you who don't know, Squidoo is a great site where you can create pages on any subject (or person) you want, and share in the profits that your lenses make! We're not making a huge amount of money, but it sure is great to have a little extra dough for agility, and to add to our pot to donate to dog shelters and rescues. 'Cause what we do it for all JohannTheDog related income, is donate 10% of the profits. Now that we're a giant Squid, we hope we'll be taking in a little more.If you'd like to see all my lenses, visit my lensography!

Celebrity!
2007-09-19 12:30:00
Celebrities are always in the news. Neil Crespi on Squidoo even talks about celebrities. What are they up to, who likes whom, who got arrested today.Henry Kissinger once said, "the nice thing about being a celebrity is that, if you bore people, they think it's their fault." BOL!A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. A famous definition of celebrity comes from the cultural theorist Daniel Boorstin. In his book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, he cynically describes celebrities as people well known for their “well-knowness”.Well that got me wondering....if I was a celebrity what would they write about me? Here are my top ten:I'm sure they would say that I'm smaller than they thought.And that I needed to loose a lb., or so, or that I was too thin, Ha!They would say I was cute, fur sure! (Think I have a big head?)Surely they would say I was gossipy, because I'm always telling on my sis, Gracie...
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Can you say agility?
2007-09-19 12:28:00
It's only Wednesday and already I'm thinking about the weekend!Awww, agility, one of my favorite words in the entire universe, well accept my Mum's of course. We've been training this week on Sunday and on Tuesday at our trainers house.Sunday, our trainer was at the regionals and needed us to tend to her sheepies. I just love to tend to the sheepies. And sooo want to know when Mum is going to get me on sheep again. All I got to do though was admire them at a distance and through the fence. But even with that, I had 'em moving, you betcha!Training has been going well. Mum says I've been super speedy, and it feels like she's handling yet another dog. It's been cooler around here lately and I just love that cool weather. We haven't had a trial in a few weeks, and have to say we are really looking forward to the next six weekends in a row.This weekend, we are off to Ohio for three days. We'll be driving back and forth, 'cause we have to get back on the horse (as they say) aft...
More About: Agility

Keepin' Mum in shape!
2007-09-19 00:25:00
Since Mum's been thinking so much about keeping me in good physical shape, she's also been thinking about how she can keep herself in good shape.Since she runs me, she has to run pretty hard. And now that Gracie is keeping her speed up in both practice and competition, Mum needs to be in the best shape possible. Running two dogs, is a whole other ball game than running just one.So as part of my training plan, she's working in activities that she can do with me (and Gracie), and also looking into some weight loss tips just to make sure she doesn't put any lbs. on this Winter. Luckily she's in pretty decent shape and just has to watch herself when her activity declines, eating more fruits and veggies, cutting back on the indulgences, that type of thing.Hey agility handlers? What do you do to keep in shape?Note: This is a sponsored post.
More About: Shape

Dog blood donors save lives!
2007-09-18 12:15:00
Have you ever wondered how all those pups that need lifesaving procedures get the blood they need during surgery? We wondered about that, so we did a new Squidoo lens on dog blood donors, those saved by blood donation, and how the whole process works to get those pups the blood they need.Check it out and see how you may be able to donate blood at your local blood bank or blood drive.
More About: Blood , Lives , Save , Dono

Pushing....well, older!
2007-09-18 12:13:00
Mum's birthday is coming up next month, and she's getting older! Remind you, she's not that old yet, but it's just close enough that she thinks about the big numbers sometimes.Hopefully it's true that 40 is the new 20 and 50 is the new 30, she'd like that. She has told me though that she wouldn't want to go back to 20 or 30 for any reason, whatsoever! She likes her life now, has much more experience, and thinks a lot differently about life than she did when she was 30. Risk? We'll take it. Fear, not in our vocabulary. Wherever life takes us, is where we want to go; but hopefully the direction would take advantage of our talents!She does look in the mirror now and then, and isn't that happy about the age thing showing more and more on her. Lots of people think about doing some stuff and having Beverly Hills plastic surgery done. It may be for some folks, but not for my Mum. I like her just as she is.Note: This is a sponsored post.
More About: Well , Push

For the serious canine athlete!
2007-09-17 12:26:00
Since my serious injuries, Mum has been thinking a lot about how to keep me in tip top shape for agility. And she's been talking with folks about putting together a training program for me, especially since Winter is just around the corner.She's been doing a lot of research on the Internet, looking for information on strengthening, conditioning, stretching, nutrition and other subjects related to keeping the me fit. What she found was pretty amazing; a whole bunch of articles on keeping us pup athletes at our best.To organize it all and to share it with folks, she put together a Squidoo lens, just for the canine athlete. It lists all kinds of info from training and gait analysis, conditioning, and nutrition, to available related books, dvd's, injury prevention and lots of other articles.This lens is for the serious canine athlete. So all you agility, flyball, disc dog, schutzund, earth dog, and other sporting canines, check it out. We're sure you'll find some great info. And if...
More About: Athlete , Cani

AKC December events!
2007-09-17 12:23:00
The AKC Agility Invitational, AKC/Eukanuba National Championship and the National Obedience Invitational will be here before you know it. They will be held in Long Beach, CA, December 1-2.Only the top five agility dogs in each of the AKC recognized breeds are invited to the agility invitational. A few of our buds that we train and trial with were invited this year, including Buster Brown, one of the top ranked Am Staffs in the country in both AKC and USDAA.I can't wait to see how they all do and hear all about their trip, runs and the fun they had. I will be sure to direct them to this California travel blog, so they can get to know the area more, and find some fun stuff to do when they have some free time - if they have some free time!Note: This is a sponsored post.
More About: Events

Dog days!
2007-09-16 12:26:00
Ever wonder how I remember all those dog days and holidays? One late night, I scoured the Internet and found just about all the days honoring us pups that I could find. Then I did two things:1. Put together a Squidoo lens about days devoted to dogs,2. And I added all those days and events to a public Google Calendar.If you would like to add these wonderful days earmarked just for us pups to your Google Calendar, just click here, login, then do a search in the public calendars for 'days honoring dogs'. It should pop right up and you can add it to your calendar!
More About: Days

Hair of the dog!
2007-09-16 12:19:00
The other day Gracie, Mum and I were watching TV and this commercial came on the talking about hair replacement. It got me to thinking... after my experience getting attacked by those dogs a couple of years ago, I've had a bald spot on my back. It's where they took a big chunk out of me and when it healed the hair never grew back.I bet all kinds of people don't have hair for loads of reasons. Because they are older, because they got sick or had an accident, or because they genetically lost or never had their hair. And I bet they feel like I do, a bit self conscious, at times. I am lucky, cause I have kind of long hair and I can do a 'comb over' and no one sees my bald spot, but humans just don't have the luxury.So we went in search for more info about hair and found these sites:Dave Berry talks about hair restoration and how his dog's spit may just be the cure!Hair restoration in New JerseyAll about hairless dogs - think they are self conscious?An interesting site that talks ...