The Days of Johann - an agility dog!

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Kate and Gin give it their all!
2008-06-03 23:07:00
Sadly, Kate and Gin didn't win Britain's Got Talent this past Saturday (they were overtaken by dancer and winner George Sampson). But they sure gave it their all! Watch their grand finale performance!
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The sounds a dog makes!
2008-06-03 23:00:00
Mum and I were over at Dog Topics the other day and saw this great post. It's about understanding basic emotions communicated by other species.They found a cool little test over at Discovery News that you can take to test your knowledge of dog language. You won't even need extra ram for your dog to want in on the quiz too!It says that dogs are the easiest to try this out on, since canines have lived with us for thousands of years and have sort of figured us humans out, just as we have learned more about them. Now keep in mind that some people are more in tune with their inner Dr. Doolittle than others.Get on over there and see how much you know about dog language!
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Higher education!
2008-06-03 22:49:00
I remember when I first started agility training. I was about a year old, just a kid really. And Mum thought I needed a job, very badly! She was right...all dogs need jobs.We went through three different trainers before we found the one that was right for us. (They are all great and we love them, and thank them often for taking us in). And it wasn't all that easy getting into the second and third trainer. It wasn't just call them up and join a class. Our second trainer wanted to interview me and Mum in a private meeting before letting us join a class. Our third and present trainer, who we think is great, by the way, gave us a little quiz on our first day and took us on a recommendation of another trainer.So getting into school is not an easy task even for a dog. Humans have to go through the same thing when they are looking for their higher education, don't they? They have to write admission essays to the colleges they would like to attend, and I expect that that is no easy task....
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Tracking Wiggy!
2008-06-02 22:50:00
I promised there was something big (other than dog agility, of course) that happened this weekend. Well, here it is!On Saturday night when we got home from the trial and we had rested up a bit, Mum let Gracie and Me, and my kittie bro, Wiggy out in the yard to play.Wiggy has been super good this year about staying in the fence. So much so that Mum has given him some independence, letting him be out there on his own with us for time periods (with Mum watching from the window of course). And, to Mum's amazement he has not jumped the fence once.Well, Saturday night was a different story. Mum admits she took her eye off Wiggy from the window for about 5 minutes to go and run something out to the car for the next day's trip, and what happened? You guessed it, Wiggy jumped the fence. And Mum didn't discover it for about 5 minutes, which in kittie time means you can make it about three houses away.Mum looked around the neighborhood, down three house, up three house, the backside of the ...
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We're back!
2008-06-02 14:06:00
We're back from the AKC trial and have good and interesting stuff to report.Here I am in my travel crate after a nice run on Saturday.It was a long weekend driving back and forth to Dayton. We do pretty well, until the day after, which is today. Today Mum is exhausted, sunburned, and kind of sore. I'm a little tired and really happy to be home. Gracie is tired too - what a great dog agility cheerleader she is at trials lately! Traveling is a lot of work, but we didn't have to stay in any cheap hotels!Everyone over in Ohio this weekend was really nice, friendly, supportive and fun to be with. Thanks to the Gem City Agility Club for a great trial. We tented with some folks from Cincinnati and had lots of fun cheering them on. One of them will be our DAM teammate this coming July at the USDAA regionals. We got to talking a little about our team shirts and Mum is going to come up with a little design for the shirts that we'll wear at the event. That will be so much fun!We buddied up...
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I don't think my kittie bros would put up with this Rat Agility thing!
2008-06-02 14:00:00
It's rat agility, and it's real!They have their own equipment, rules, competitions, and more. Here's some info from their website:Rat Agility is much like dog or cat agility only the equipment is rat sized. Fancy or Pet Rats are very affectionate and intelligent animals. They are as far removed from their wild cousins as a wolf is from a dog. Rats can be taught tasks, tricks and behaviors. More and more people are keeping rats as pets so Rat Agility just makes sense. And, (smiling as I write) the equipment for rats is easier to transport and is easier to build and store then the equipment for dogs and cats.I have found, over and over, with many different ratties I have trained to do Rat Agility, that the animals love the equipment, the tasks and the fuss made over them for doing it as well as any treats they may receive....but mostly they love spending time and interacting with their trainer.
More About: Thing , Kittie , Bros

Our style!
2008-06-02 13:59:00
Every dog has a style, right? Some may be foo foo, some may be punk (we actually have a punk rock dog friend), some may be girly, some manly.And I have a personal style - it's rugged, easy going, laid back, casual, and easy to clean. If Mum buys me anything that I have to wear, it has a purpose. Like my cool coat to keep me cool at agility trials, or my Ruff Wear coat if it's super cold outside.Mum has a personal style too - causual and it has to be easy to clean with all of us pups and kitties around the house. Dockers are one of her favorite brands. As a matter of fact she wore Dockers shorts this weekend at our agility trial. She likes the easy care, good fit, and look of their clothing.Dockers is having a big contest to find the best commercial. If you enter the Dockers contest and win, you could see your spot on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! You've got your own style, why not make your own Dockers commercial and submit it for your chance to win big in the next Dockers cont...
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Agility trial playlist!
2008-05-30 14:25:00
We're off to the agility trial in a couple of hours, but first we wanted to share this.Mum started making playlists for our IPod and car CD player for when we go to agility trials. You know, something to get us in the mood for winning, confidence, focus, motivation and fun!So here's our current playlist...Tubthumping - ChumbawambaWhat a Wonderful World - Louis ArmstrongPride and Joy - Stevie Ray VaughanNight and Day - The TemptationsWild, Wild Life - Talking HeadsIt's Love - King's XI Can See For Miles - The WhoBeautiful Stranger - MadonnaLearn to Fly - Foo FightersIt's My Life - Bon JoviToo Marvelous for Words - Frank SinatraQuestion - Moody BluesHero - Chad KroegerThe Best is Yet to Come - Nancy WilsonTimes Like These - Foo FightersBring Me to Life - EvanescenceI Am A Rock - Simon and GarfunkelThe Good Life - Tony BennettMama Told Me Not to Come - SterophonicsBridge over Troubled Water - Simon and GarfunkelThunderball - Tom JonesWith Arms Wide Open - CreedBaba O'Riley - The ...
More About: Playlist , Trial , Agility

Leaving in the morning for more agility fun!
2008-05-30 00:34:00
We'll be leaving in the morning for a three day AKC trial near Dayton, Ohio! We're driving back and forth to actually save money. They will be long, fun days.Our goals? Keep it fast, bolt the start, weave speedy! Q's? That would be super nice, but not the most important thing right now...Gracie's going with us for moral support, she is the best cheerleader!We'll report back as soon as we can. Hope you all have a terrific weekend.
More About: Morning , Agility , In The Morning , Leaving

I've been tagged!
2008-05-29 03:14:00
My good friends Levi and Cooper tagged me!So here's how the game goes. Each player that is tagged answers a set of questions about themselves. At the end of the blog entry, the player tags 4 or 5 other dogs to play. Then they post their names and go to their blogs and leave a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to come read your blog for the rules and quiz. After answering the questions, you then go back to the person who tagged you and let them know you posted your answered the quiz.1) What was I doing 10 years ago?Wow, 10 years ago, I wasn't even a sparkle in my Mum's eye! As a matter of fact I don't even think that Mum was a sparkle in GrandMum's eye, BOL!2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (well since today is almost over, I'm gonna do tomorrow).Wake up, do my business, and eat a hearty bfast.Load up in the car for the ride to the agility trialRun two runs in AKC - one standard and one jumpers with weavesHopefully Q in both!!!! (Wo...
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We had practice today!
2008-05-28 22:19:00
Gracie and I got to go to agility practice again today. Usually we have a private lesson for an hour on Thursday mornings, but since we have a three day trial this weekend, we moved to classes on Wednesday for those weeks we have 3-dayers.I got to go first this weekend - take that Gracie!!! We worked on some sequences, no full courses. Our goal was to have more focus from Mum (she's been a bit spacey in running me lately), and her working me tighter, and of course, fast running, bolting the start line, and fast weaves.And we accomplished all of them. Being in a class is really fun sometimes, all those dogs running before me get me all wound up. Nearly every sequence run, I bolted off the start line. Mum's been doing a couple of things for that. First, she leads out when I'm wound up and I'll bolt easily...secondly, if she has to run with me because there is a turn coming soon after the start, she stays with me in a running position, and then she says GO!!!! And it's working on ...
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Kate and Gin make it through to the finals of Britain's Got Talent!
2008-05-27 12:49:00
Kate and Gin wowed 'em enough in the Semi-Final of Britain's Got Talent to make it into the Finals this Saturday night. From their website...Signature was voted through to the final on public vote alone. It was then up to the judges to pick between the two acts which have gained the next highest amounts of votes. Those acts are Kate & Gin and Dean Wilson. Here is the final results show!Piers gives his verdict first. "When I said this is going to be tough, this is what I meant. The act I want to see in Saturday's final is Dean. Simon says, "I like originality and I love animals. It goes to Kate and Gin. Amanda is torn, but eventually says, "I'm not going to break two hearts, I'm putting through Kate and Gin".Therefore, Kate and Gin, as well as Signature, progress through to the final on Saturday night.Go Kate and Gin!!!!!
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This Memorial Day we honor the dogs of war!
2008-05-26 14:01:00
This is USMC Sargeant Stubby, hero and veteran of WWI, and perhaps the most decorated War Dog in history.In 1916, the United States was deep in a conflict that changed the world. A time of innocence and idealism would collapse in the face of WWI. As areas of sporting events, education and otherwise peaceful intentions were pressed into service by the military, a group of students participated in military training in Yale Field and were joined by a charming, happy Bull Terrier, one we would quickly identify as a Pit Bull today.Stubby, as he came to be known for his chunky body and good sense of humor, was an endearing mascot and treasured companion, so when the young men were reassigned to Newport News for final training before deployment, they couldn't abandon him.It is difficult to say how many soldiers returned home due to Stubby's alerts over gas attacks (he could smell the gas in time for the soldiers to get their masks on) or when he identified and captured...
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A Dog Among Diplomats!
2008-05-26 13:30:00
More Summer reading ideas for dog lovers...A Dog among Diplomatsby J. F. EnglertHe reads Proust. Surfs the net. Is the soul of diplomacy.And when it comes to solving crime,Randolph is the dog for the job.Poetry-loving, bon vivant dog detective Randolf returns (after A Dog About Town) for another installment of the Bull Moose Dog Run mysteries.Imogen-mistress of Randolf, heiress of a mining fortune and partner to artist Harry, has disappeared, upsetting Randolf and Harry alike. Detective Peter Davis informs Harry that Imogen has been implicated in the murder of a foreign diplomat, whose body is discovered at one of Manhattan's last boarding houses in red heart-laden boxer shorts, with an open parachute on his back and pictures of a scantily clad Imogen by his side.To find out more, Labrador Randolf goes undercover at the U.N. as therapy dog to a diplomat with the blues and keeps Harry in the loop by various ingenious methods. Englert's droll mix of mystery, philosophical musing abo...

Cannes goes to the dogs!
2008-05-26 13:10:00
The contribution of dogs to film is being recognized Internationally, with the addition of The Palm Dog award, presented at Cannes . This year marks the 8th year the award has been presented at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.Past winners include Mops, Marie Antoinette's dog in Sophia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette' in 2006, and Bruno in the 2005 Mongolian film "The Cave of the Yellow Dog".This year's winner is a mutt named Lucy, whose owner gets arrested for stealing dog food while on a road trip to Alaska in the film 'Wendy and Lucy' by Kelly Reichardt."The film's got everything -- dog food, the dog pound and the dogged determination of a down and out," said Rose, a journalist who every year is joined by leading British film critics at Cannes to pick the best screen mutt.Check out this vid of the history of the Palm Dog award!
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Banks have gone to the dogs!
2008-05-26 13:00:00
We were watching the tube the other night and saw an interesting commercial for WaMu. They bill themselves as the bank with a difference - informal, friendly and fun.Their commercial shows a tough guy that seems to have over drafted his account. But with WaMu free checking he has auto overdraft and consequently has no worries! This tough guys idea of no worries is....we'll watch the vid and you'll see!WaMu has many services that we they say are different than other banks, including free checking, overdraft services, Savings Accounts, online banking services, credit cards, investment services and for small business bankers like me and Mum, they have some free services for small businesses as well. No more nickel and diming on those business accounts.Pups are becoming very popular for advertising services other than thosefor pets. Take the famous beer commercials, or the infamous VW commercial featuring the quivering JR. Dogs are taking over the advertising world and pitching every...
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Gidget and the Sex in the City gals!
2008-05-26 12:59:00
Unless you've been living in a doggie den, you've no doubt heard about the new Sex In The City movie opening in theaters in a few days.Along with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, there's another girl hitting the New York streets with the Sex in the City gals. It's Gidget, a star in her own right. Gidget plays Samantha's pup in the movie, and some say steals the show!Here she is with Kim Cattrall doing a scene from the movie on Rodeo Drive - raw footage alert.Gidget has been acting with a wide variety of stars. Check out some of her work!
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Green Dog logo ideas!
2008-05-25 01:40:00
We were checking out an interesting logo creation site that helps you create a really fun and easy logo design that you can use for any purpose - business, non-profit, personal, and even for blogs.Creating the logo and subsequent business card were pretty easy. You can choose from a wide variety of clip art, and fonts, select your color, resize and more. It makes it very easy to brand all your marketing materials.We created this one as a test for our Raise A Green Dog Blog, and I think it came out pretty well!
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Geese away!
2008-05-24 19:07:00
I so want to do this! Working with my Mum, and herding geese at golf courses, sounds like a great job for a herding breed like me.I think if I learned a few herding techniques, I just may be pretty good at this. With a nice life insurance quote, I could be good to go, 'cause some geese can be pretty nasty. Add to that, there are about five golf courses within 20 minutes of our home. And there are no geese away dogs around here.Don't you think it looks like fun!

Blooms everywhere!
2008-05-23 15:10:00
It's a great time of year in our backyard garden, lots of plants are blooming. We wanted to share some of them with you!This is Mum's favorite shrub, a white bridal wreath spirea...Here I am running near the purple phlox, and another one of Mum's favorites on the left, the Candytuft...And this is our clematis, it's the first year it's bloomed and Mum paid attention this year to train it up the fence. It should look great come summer...Mum and her other dog friends love gardening. Which makes me wonder...do dogs and gardening go together?

Mum's favorite movies!
2008-05-23 14:44:00
Warning, warning: This is not dog related!We are super excited about a new movie coming out from M. Night Shyamalan, entitled "The Happening." He is one of Mum's all time favorite movie writers/directors. We love curling up on the couch, watching Signs, and The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.Well, he's back! The Happening will be in theaters on June 13th! Check this out...
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Agility practice today!
2008-05-22 21:46:00
Gracie and I had agility practice this morning. Bright and early, a very nice weather day to run agility.Mum started with Gracie again, doggone it! Why does she do this to me, I can't stand when Gracie gets to go first. And I make sure everyone knows it. You can hear me barking and whining all the way over to the pig farm a mile away from our practice field. (Oh, and dog did those pigs smell good today, whew!)Gracie did really well, she's even getting some distance from Mum on jumps. She made all her contacts today (Mum led out so it would help her some). She was a bit unfocused at times, especially coming out of tunnels. So Mum needs to get her attention more there. But then she went to the weaves and wouldn't do them - just like she wouldn't do them in our back yard the other day. Mum and Gracie tried a few more times and our trainer couldn't believe Gracie was missing her weaves either and thought that maybe she was hurting some and that's why she didn't want to weave.So M...
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Another summer read idea!
2008-05-22 12:45:00
Here's another summer read idea!Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry DarlingtonIt was absurd. It was foolhardy. And it was glorious. When they retired, Terry Darlington and his somewhat saner wife Monica—together with their dog, a whippet named Jim—chucked their earthbound life and set out in an utterly unseaworthy sixty-foot canal narrowboat across the notoriously treacherous English Channel and down to the South of France.Aboard the Phyllis May, you’ll dive through six-foot waves in the Channel and be swept down the terrible Rhône. You’ll meet the French nobody meets—poets, captains, scholars, madmen; they all want to know the couple on the painted boat and their narrow dog. You’ll visit the France nobody knows—the backwaters of Flanders, the canals beneath Paris, and the forbidden routes to the wine-dark Mediterranean Sea. Aliens, trolls, gongoozlers, killer fish, and the walking dead all stand between our two-person, one-whippet crew and their goal: the ancient, ma...
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What an overactive imagination can do!
2008-05-22 12:43:00
If you've got 17 minutes to spare, check out this movie - The Invisible Dog. Very Stephen King-esque! Scary!!!!!
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Back from the trial!
2008-04-07 15:51:00
We are back from the trial! A little tired but feeling pretty good. Can you say, 'Double DQ'!This is me with my loot from the trial. Got four Q ribbons, two DQ ribbons and a gift for each Q - so Mum got me and Gracie a few toys and a new travel food/water bowl!Our drive over on Saturday morning was kind of a knuckle biter. There was an amazing amount of fog, nearly the entire three hour drive. Kind of scary for Mum, but we made it without too much stress. It took us a little longer to get there, but we got there in plenty of time to run.Overall my runs were kind of slow. My first run was good, but the rest just weren't up to where I was running last fall. But we'll get there - it's probably gonna take some time for me to get back where I was after my injury.My first run (Standard) was at about 10:00 AM. Mum was kind of nervous, not sure how I would run, since my muscle pull. But I did great! We ended up with a Q and about 8th place out of 37 16"ers, which we felt really good ab...
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Getting ready for the big weekend!
2008-04-05 00:25:00
Mum has been busy working away today, and getting ready for us to be gone most of the weekend. She's packed the car, got our treat bags ready, travel crates all secured in the car. We'll be leaving about 5:00 AM to get there by 8:00 AM.I'll run two runs and then we've decided we're driving back and forth. Hopefully, we'll get home at a decent hour and then wake up on Sunday and do all the fun all over again. We are super excited. Haven't been in a trial since I pulled my muscle back in January.Hope everypup and two-legger has a really great weekend! Can't wait to hear what you all have been up to.Woofs, Johann
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Don't forget to watch Oprah today - it's too important to miss!
2008-04-04 20:54:00
Just about an hour, here in EST, before Oprah does her show investigating puppy mills. Be sure and watch, tell everyone you know to watch, spread the word - this report is too important to miss.Visit Oprah's website for more information on Lisa Ling's investigation into puppy mills by clicking here. We also encourage you to send her an email, and thank her for bringing this important topic to her millions of viewers. This may be the widest audience ever to be reached with this issue - just think what an impact it could have.She also has links some great information:Resources to help you fight back against puppy millsWhat you need to know before getting a puppyThe truth about animal shelters and responsible breeders Learn how to find a good breeder
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Practice today and other musings!
2008-04-04 00:06:00
Gracie and I got to go to practice today. Yeah! Dog, did we have fun. We had a private which was pawsome, because we got to work on some great stuff. For me, we worked on tighter turns, my dog walk (I've been bailing recently), weave speed and a few, somewhat complicated, jumping maneuvers. Mum was pretty pleased with how I performed.Gracie did really, really well. Her focus was a little off today, but she did great. Her weaves are really speedy - she's wanting to do them so fast she's been missing some poles lately. We're not worried, she'll get them - we just want to keep her speed and enjoyed up. She worked on her dog walk too (she's been bailing, also), and she worked on her teeter and focus. We came away with some homework - which we absolutely love.Got the big 'comeback' (again) trial this weekend. An AKC trial in Columbus, Ohio. Running on dirt in a horse barn - which I absolutely love. Mum's a little nervous, I'm ready!We're gonna meet up with a fellow dog blogger...
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Basset agility!
2008-04-04 00:02:00
Now here's something you don't see everyday! A Basset doing agility. Way to go!
More About: Agility

It's almost blooming time!
2008-04-03 23:51:00
When my Mum moved in to our house back in 2000, there was absolutely no landscaping.Over the years Mum has attempted her version of backyard landscaping and I think she's made some really good choices! There is almost always something blooming in our yard throughout the growing months.Mum favorite plant is just about to bloom - Forsythia. We have two of them on the south side of the corners of the house. They are just amazing shrubs with amazing yellow color. The first shrub to bloom for the year.Mum's favorite thing is go out and cut them just before the buds pop open, and put them in a humongous vase to display in our office. Then she has about two weeks to enjoy them. It's about time to go out there and trim them. Maybe this weekend. We'll be sure and get a nice pic to show you!
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