FitDog Friday...The First Of Its Kind!

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful week! So, today is the very first FitDog Friday Blog hop (woohoo)! "What's that" you might ask?!

My friends over at Peggy's Pet Place and SlimDoggy have come together to bring awareness to the health and happiness of all my canine friends! Did you realize that more than 52% of dogs are overweight or obese, according to the 2012 National Pet Obesity Survey?! That's an insane number, isn't it?! Well, just like humans, that number can definitely change...and who knows, perhaps a simple blog hop might tip the scale (to the left, not right...hehehe)!! ;-)

Here are a few fun facts:

• Wild dogs spend 80% of their day hunting and scavenging!
• Domestic dogs have been "working" alongside humans for thousands of years!
• Stray dogs and cats can travel between 20 and 30 miles, in a single day! 
• Destruction, hyperactivity, and unloved behaviors can be attributed to boredom and lack of exercise!

Via AfricaFreak

Wowee, honestly, I can't believe that our cousins are so physically active and, I'm guessing, fit! :-D BUT, if you are like me and prefer to spend most of your day curled up on the couch then running on a treadmill, have no fear! To be a perfectly fit and happy pup, you don't need to spend practically all day exercising...depending on your size and breed, most dogs need between 30 minutes and 2 hours worth of physical activity each day! Phew! Just remember, that's every day...not, when it's convenient or when there isn't anything good on TV or when the weather is nice! ;-)

So, what kind of exercise should you be doing? Well, it really depends on who you are, as a pup! :-D Hehe, could I answer a little more ambiguously?!

Here are a few suggestions and activities that I prefer to do:

Hike

Walk - Urban or Country

Visit the Dog Park

Play Ball - Fetch

Take Obedience, aka Mentally Exhausting Classes

Swim

Compete/Participate in Dog Sports & Agility

I love to be out and about and exercise, so these are just a few of the types of activities that I participate in! What about you guys? ;-)

I'm a big fan of doing what you enjoy...so, if that means that you love to play hide & go seek, well then, go for it! Are you a nose dog? Make a game out of finding different objects or treats (like my buddies Reilly and Denny) in boxes! How about a great stick game, like my buddy Goose?!  Or maybe you love running with your Mom and Dad...take a look at Murphy and Stanley! 

If you love what you are doing, then it won't feel like a chore or like exercise! ;-D

Thanks for hopping along the FitDog Friday trail guys...and if you want to participate (nutrition, exercise, anything health related), make sure that you check out Peggy and SlimDoggy!!

Have a great day everyone and make sure that you get a little fresh air and exercise!!

Another Class Down...

Happy Sunday/Monday Everyone!!

I hope that you all had an incredible weekend and Saint Patrick's Day!! :-D

Domeek abandoned me this afternoon and went to an Irish pub in San Francisco to celebrate the drinkable holiday! Something about no dogs allowed, I say "pft!" to that though!!! ;-)

It was my last Intermediate agility class today! WooHoo, another one under the belt! We ran through three different courses...one was short, but the other two were pretty darn long and had directional changes!

Domeek and I were able to run through the weave poles again and by the time that class was over, I was actually understanding that they are pretty much like a jump but just placed in a different way! ;-D I was going through from left to right, all by myself!! Oh Yeah!!

So, now we have almost an entire month off before we can start advanced agility! I know, a super duper long time, but we can sign up for "Drop In" agility on Saturdays where there are courses already set up and we can just run through them! So, just in case our memories aren't very good, Domeek and I will do this (at least) a couple of times before advanced starts! :-D

Miss Rachel told us that we need to start thinking about our goals for the coming months though. Our school doesn't have enough space for the really big contact equipment, so if we have plans to do competitions (even if it's just for fun) we need to go to other locations with space! Luckily there are a couple of different schools that are about 45 minutes to an hour away...a little inconvenient, but not a terrible distance, especially on weekends.

via Life and Times of Team Whisner

One of the schools is called Morgan Hill Dog Sports, this one has a huge outdoor arena for all the agility training and Miss Rachel teaches here too! The other is called Java Dog Training Center in Fremont, they currently have an indoor space in Redwood City but they will be closing this location at the end of the month (boo!).

via Java Dog

We still haven't decided what our ultimate goals are...Domeek is debating about the idea of competing since I enjoy the challenges, but we still have a lot to work on before...so we will take Advanced Agility and see what Miss Rachel thinks afterwards! Either way, I think that after the advanced class is over, we will move on to the larger facilities for lots more challenges and fun fun fun!!!

Ok, that's our update for this week! Have a great Monday everyone!! :-D

Cousin Time

Happy Monday Everyone!!

It's a beautiful sunshiny start to the week, so I hope that you are all enjoying yourselves! :-D

This weekend I got to hang out with my cousin, Pippi!! We haven't hung out for a couple of months, so it was pawesome to catch up with the girl!

We started out at the Redwood Shores dog park...but there were a bunch of yappy small dogs on my side and practically no one on her side, so I trotted over to the large dog section and played with a her and a cool labradoodle! Then we took a walk on the levees!

Mid way through our walk, Pippi and I decided that we were far too exhausted to move one step more...so we both hurumphed on the grass and refused to move! ;-) Aunty Nilla said that Pippi was way too big to be picked up, so we had to suck it up and keep on walking! Pft! But a trip to Starbucks definitely helped (and a lick of whip cream didn't hurt either!)!!

Miss Rachel introduced the A-Frame in agility class on Sunday...luckily it was only a practice one, so it wasn't too steep (phew!)! All us pups got this one really quickly and even understood the whole "two paws on, two paws off" premise!! My friend, Millie the doodle, is going to be an A-Frame superstar apparently, cause she gets sooooo much speed and propel-ion! :-D Go Girl!!

We spent a lot of time on the weave poles too...hm, I've decided that I don't really like them. To begin with, I didn't understand how to enter the poles (this is almost rectified), but now I'll do one or two poles and then walk on the outside of the rest of them. Domeek thinks that it's 50-50 problem with me and her...she needs to speed up and give better directions and I need to pay more attention and keep my nose forward. We just need more practice, I think!! Any weave pole agility tips?!

We have two more intermediate classes left, but I can only make one, cause of our Napa trip! ;-D In April we'll begin advanced agility! WooHoo!!!

Have a great day everyone!

Weekend Catch-Up Time

Happy Sunday Evening Everyone!!

I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend! :-D And, perhaps, are watching the Academy Awards as I type (I'd just like to ask what the lady who won Best Make-Up thought when she dressed for the Oscars? Hehehe!)!

This weekend was an awfully busy couple of days for me...I started off on Friday, going to the doggie park where I met up with an old puppy friend of mine, Summit, who is a miniature Australian shepherd. I haven't seen him in a few months, so it was great running around and wrestling with him!! :-D Then we met another mini called Mondo, who absolutely adored me, so all three of us went nuts around the park!! We must have spent two and a half hours at the park, personally not enough time in our minds! ;-) Hehe!

On Saturday, Auntie Nilla and her family came over and helped Domeek and I fix up the backyard and patio area! There were so many people in the house, I couldn't even count them all (um, ok...there were 6...but that's a huge number!) They weeded and then painted the concrete and garage, of course, I supervised and barked at everyone! :-D They wouldn't have gotten anywhere with out little old me! ;-)

Then this morning, we went to Holbrook Palmer Park to check out all of the cherry blossoms that are blooming super early this year! :-D

Sorry for the bad, shaky camera photos...I was yanking on the leash! ;-)

There are always tons of great smells at this park, so I love coming here!!

This afternoon was my first Intermediate Agility class too!! Oh man, I was kind of nervous cause it's been a few weeks since doing any kind of agility training...but we immediately did a few hurdles then the table and voila, I fell right back into it! :-D

Hessie, Millie, and Zoe were all there too, along with a couple of new dogs from Miss Rachel's other classes at different schools, including: a huge, white fluffy dog called Michael, a golden retriever who's name escapes me, and an Australian Shepherd called Teddy. A couple of the newbies were a bit nervous, but everyone kicked agility tush! :-D

This week we learned the weaving poles...um, these are challenging to say the least! There's a specific way that you have to go in and out of them, which was a bit weird to pick up...but they were pretty fun and I got tons of treats! Hehehe! Then we learned a different way to do the hurdles; instead of going in a straight line or adding a curve, we did them in a serpentine arrangement...meaning that I had to follow an S pattern without Domeek running me through them, she just directed me with her arms! I excelled at this one! ;-) Oh Yeah!

By the end of the class we were combing 12 different stations including the table, hurdles, dog walk, hoop, and tunnel! :-D Man, were we all super exhausted by the end!!

So, I'm napping while Domeek watches the Oscars!

Well, there you go...you are all caught up on my busy weekend! I hope that you have all had a great time too...see you tomorrow! :-D

Ramps and Sunshine

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful week! :-D

I've been enjoying spending time in the sunshine (not to brag with all my snow covered friends listening in), at the puppy park, and at agility class!

On Sunday we added another pawesome station in the mix...the Dog Walk! This one was seriously weird looking, but all us pups kicked that walk's tush!

Apparently we are very lucky pups, because the one we have at school can be lowered to teach new dogs how to correctly use it before making it super tall (and scary!). ;-) Once we learnt how to use the walk, Miss Rachel set up a course with curved lines, the dog walk, a whole bunch of hurdles, and the table! It was soooooo much fun!

While I was in line waiting, I got super impatient, and just kept on barking...hehehe! Miss Rachel laughed and just said that I wanted to earn a Gold Star! ;-)

All of us are doing super well in class too! Miss Rachel keeps on saying that she has to remind us and herself that agility is a hard sport and that not all classes take to it so easily! Hehehe! I'm super sad that next week is our last class, but Domeek has already promised me that we are moving on to Continuing Agility! :-D

A little sunshine for my friends!? ;-)

Well, while I chew on this awesome stick, you all have a great rest of the day! :-D

Take care everyone!

Hurdles, Hoops, Tunnels...Oh My!

Well, my third agility class has come and gone...and I realize that it's kind of sad that we only have two more before the end of the series! :-/

I've been really enjoying hanging out with my new friends, learning lots of new things, and running through the courses!

This was our set up this evening! You see that hoop/hurdle looking thing...well, that was our new station!

To begin with, we warmed up by jumping a few hurdles and then landed on the table. After doing this twice, we moved over to the new hoop and just hung out with it (meaning that we started slow). Once everyone successfully hopped through it, Miss Rachel added it to the line up. Unfortunately, lots of us pups decided that the hoop was a bit weird and instead of going through it, almost all of us went around instead. Hehehe! It took me a couple of attempts and lots of treats before I was running through it too!

We are always off leash now when doing the course and we are almost always perfectly well behaved, but during this photo the standard poodle, Hess, decided to go absolutely insane. It was hilarious! She not only completely ignored the course and the treats, but she also ignored her Mom, Dad, and Miss Rachel! Instead, she chose to eventually run over to one of our other classmates and start a snuffle...hehehe! Eventually she was caught though and the fun stopped! Boo!

I was totally behaving well when we had to wait! ;-) Just look at that sit-stay! Oooo Ooo Ooo, way in the back of this photo is Miss Millie, aka Murphy's doppelganger!! I know, you probably can't see her too much!

We finished class by introducing the tunnel! Apparently lots of dogs get scared of the tunnel because they don't like the floor texture or the large dogs don't like the tunnel touching their backs or it's too dark for them. But I'm happy to report that all of us had positive experiences with it (me especially, Miss Rachel thinks it's because I'm a terrier and aren't scared of anything...hehehe, Domeek thought that I would be terrified too though)! Next week, we are going to be opening it all the way and adding it to the course! Exciting times!

After class we went to PetsMart to buy num nums! Weeeeeee...that's how I roll! ;-)

Alright everyone, I'm exhausted after class...so it's off to bed for me! Oh, please meet Mr. Octopus, he's my newest toy care of BarkBox! ;-)

Have a great Monday everyone!!

Studying and Dressing Up?

Happy Monday and Tuesday Everyone!!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful day! :-D

Well, as you all remember, Sunday afternoon I had my second agility class. I was soooooo excited to get in the car and drive to school! I knew exactly where we were going! 

Domeek and I were a bit worried though considering that we weren't very good students last week, we kind of pushed our homework to the side. ;-) We did practice our straight and curved lines a couple of days, but the table was another story! 

Before class started, I got to hang out with Pepper, Millie, and Hugo, which was so much fun! We discussed class, agility strategies, and our treat satisfaction! ;-) 

Then when we finally got inside, we noticed that the hurdles or jumps were all set up! OMD, we're jumping? To begin with, Miss Rachel made us all take off the bars, so that we could just get used to the poles and stepping across them. It took quite a few minutes for me to get used to doing this, especially since the humans weren't able to cue us...we again had to figure it out on our own! I decided that what Domeek wanted me to do, was to sit and look at her...and look at her...and look at her...then bark in frustration as to why I wasn't getting a treat! Grrrrr...ruff!!!!! 

Then, I glanced down at the hurdle and voila...cheese was thrown on the other side of the jump! WooHoo!! Cheese!!! Well, needless to say, once I figured out that looking, stepping, or hopping on the other side of the jump meant treat, I was easily going from one side to the other! :-D Then, once we all were happily going across the hurdles, the whole class started walking around the room going through all of the hurdles! We were doing an awesome dance!! 

Then the bars were placed in the hurdles, first at the bottom rail, then at the second, and then more when my classmates were succeeding! :-D I was jumping 8 inches by the end of class!! Oh yeah baby! That's pretty darn high, when you aren't much taller! My classmates' parents were all giggling when, a couple of times, I got stuck in the middle of the bar cause I didn't jump big enough...it's cause their pups are all easily double my height or more! 

By the end of class, Miss Rachel had set up three jumps, in a straight line, that we had to go over and then end on the table...the first time, I flat out refused to get on the table...then I chilled out and watched that the other dogs weren't eaten by the evil table! The last run through the course, Miss Rachel had us all put in a sit-stay, then we were unclipped from our leashes, and then we went through the course leash free! Domeek was worried that I might run off and sniff my classmates or go and mark something, but I ran through the course and landed on the table full of nummies...Miss Rachel (and Domeek) was soooooo proud of me and all of my friends!! :-D PASS!! Hehehe!

This week we have to work on jumps (but with broom sticks on the floor), landing on something like a table, walking in straight and curved lines, and working on sit-stay's with our parents turning their backs on us and walking away! Eeek! 

But, as Domeek said yesterday, I had an epiphany during class last night...I finally figured out that agility class is fun, exciting, and delicious! She hopes that I continue with my enthusiasm for the rest of the class! I think I might!! ;-)

So, there you all go! Class Number 2 - Success!! :-D

What's up with the Dressing Up part of today's post title, you ask? 

Well, today (January 14th) is National Dress Your Pet Up Day...did you all wear something? I had to wear a jacket when I went outside to do my business, but other than that...nope, I certainly did not participate! :-P I don't like clothes, so unless it's freezing outside, I like to hang in the buff! Hehehe!

Have a great day everyone!!

Bay Area Pet Expo

Oh my dog, I don't think that I have ever been as tired as I am...right now!

If you all remember, today was my very first trip to the Bay Area Pet Expo! We left home around 11 am and traveled down to the San Jose fairgrounds. Domeek wanted me to take my pet stroller, just in case I got overwhelmed by all of the people and animals or got tired, but I told her that I was a big pup and didn't need a silly stroller! Man, that was a silly thought! The facility was massive and there were easily over 800 people and who knows how many pets in the two buildings!

I have literally never seen that many beings in one place...ever! You'd all be very proud of me though, I was soooooo well behaved, well mannered, and polite! :-D Yeah dogs!

On my way...woohoo!

There were about 75 different vendors and almost 25 different rescue groups there today; I'm pretty sure that I met 75% of them all too! ;-)

Let's see...the people/pets that you all would be interested in:

I met Preston and his Mom, Rachel, from PrestonSpeaks.com! Preston was busy being the happy and impressive spokesdog for Dog/CatTipper and the Expo, so I didn't get a big chance to chat to him, but his Mom talked with me, Auntie Nilla, and Domeek for a really long time! We liked her a ton! :-D

Borrowed off of Preston's Facebook page...I didn't grab a photo of him!

We entered a raffle to win that really pawesome doggie chair on the left, it's not really my style (you know, being a man dog), but I figure my cousin Pippi or some other rescue pup might like it if I'm lucky to win! :-) There were a ton of raffles going on at almost every vendor's stall! Whoa!

Then, we met Dave Kendrick and Janet Fullwood from DogTrekker, which is an incredible travel website that focuses on hotels, restaurants, activities, and trails in the Northern California/Nevada area that happily accept pets! What's awesome about their company is that they have actually been able to change the mind of some places that were previously not pet friendly!! Dave was telling us about the Skunk Train on the Mendocino coast: apparently they had had a biting incident about 10 years ago so stopped accepting dogs on their trains without being muzzled and in a carrier, he let them know that this was unacceptable if they wanted to be featured on DogTrekker! So now, they allow all dogs, not matter the size or breed, on their trains without any restrictions (except for being leashed)!!! Woowee!! Keep up the pawesome work guys! I would seriously suggest checking their website out if you live or are visiting these areas, they also have a wonderful newsletter that I subscribe to!

We also met the wonderful people of Life + Dog magazine! Oh, they were incredibly nice and super happy to hear that we love looking at and reading their awesome magazine! They gave us the latest two copies of their mag, which was so cool since I haven't read them yet!

Last, but definitely not least, we met with the amazing people from Blue Buffalo dog food and treats! Surprise, surprise, they fell in love with me! I know, of course they did! :-D Auntie Nilla had never heard of them before, so they were ecstatic to share their ideas and philosophy with her! As I'm sure most of you know, Blue Buffalo is made with only the finest and pure ingredients that the World has to offer! They don't fill us up with nasty by-products, instead their first ingredient is always real chicken, lamb, or fish! :-D They loaded us up with samples and treats (that I fell in LOVE with, Domeek is planning on using them tomorrow during agility class)!!

Sadly, I wasn't around or able to hear any of the talks going on (even the one with Shorty and Hercules) at the Expo, but the ones listed in their pamphlet sounded amazing including: obedience challenges, reptiles, rodents, horses, dog sports, rescue FAQ's...you name it, they discussed it! :-D I did see quite a few of their demonstrations and dog sport sessions though!

I was really interested in watching the agility demonstrations!! We saw four pups going through this area, a couple were pros and then a couple were pups that were just starting out! It was so cool seeing them jump, run, and tunnel...I almost wanted to run on the green and follow them! ;-)

Ok, really bad photo (hehe) sorry!

We saw some of the nose work introductory classes that were being offered! All the pups that were joining in were super smart, they only needed a few minutes before they were sniffing through all the boxes trying to find the treat! :-D Nummy! Domeek asked if I wanted to join in, but I told her I was too darn tired!! Urg!

Oh man, I just need a few minutes to rest my eye lids...snore, snore, put the camera away Domeek!!

Then it was off to the Dock Diving area, where I saw a TON of labs from Splash Dogs! They were absolutely insane! All they wanted to do was run, jump, and dive into the water! People, it was freezing out there today (ignore the kid in the shorts, what was his parents thinking?)!! But needless to say, it was so fun watching their excitement! There was this one younger pup, who every time he went to dive, ran at full speed to the edge, came to a full and complete stop at the end, and then stepped into the water instead of jumping and diving! Hehehe! We all kept giggling! :-D

All in all, even after getting stepped on a few times, getting sniffed to high heaven by hundred of dogs, and being out for hours...I had the greatest time today!! :-D If this expo travels to your area, I highly, highly, highly recommend going and checking out all of the wonderful vendors and rescue groups in your area!! You won't be sorry!!

As you can tell, the day wore me out completely!! I'm still trying to recuperate, 3 hours later...

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!!