Show report UKC Ribbons

This was taken at the end of our UKC show at the DKC. We were all very tired but Tucker got first place and his title in Rally ! Momma was happy even though she didn't look like it.

Wow instead of bow wow

Hey Devoted Readers - I'm experimentin' with creative greetings- please, let me know how I'm doing and offer constructive suggestions please. I just had to share somethin' with you all. It'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside even if you're all warm and fuzzy outside too. My moms just got back from goin' to see a movie - they don't do that very often - maybe once or twice a year so you know it must be a real special movie. Well, I think they said it was about cats and dogs, so I guess it was real special since dogs was in it. Mom told me it was about one poor cat that lost all it's fur- I don't know how- but this cat wanted to make all the humans hate dogs so they would love cats! How tainted is that logic as my momma would put it. I just would say it was a stupid idea. You are never gonna get humans to dislike let alone hate dogs. Now I know there are some folks that aren't particularly fond of us but they don't hate us. There are some that are scared of us cause 1- they have never met us or 2- they had a bad experience one time with a dog that wasn't as friendly as I am. See, I have the disposition of a therapy dog. I think everybody in the Black Dog Club could be a therapy dog but  some don't want to and that 's okay. I am what our trainin' book calls a social butterfly. I don't spook easy so I don't get too stressed out in most situations. Anyway, back to the movie, a certain select group of doggie and kitty agents had to stop this one cat with the stupid idea. The whole moral of the story was that cats and dogs do get along. DUH ! I live with fivecats myself!
What was really neat is that after they got home fom the movie momma started readin' her Delta Society trainin' book. Teddy's momma said she wanted us to start trainin' by the middle part of September.  That aint far off. Momma was readin' parts of it to me about how dogs go into all sorts of places and help people or kids. They help them do some kinds of physical therapy (like helpin' somebody to get better use of their arms by pettin'me). We help people that don't look so good and are shy about it cause we don't care what anybody looks like we just like people in general. The book said we help lower blood pressure -whatever that is- and we help people to relax, get in a better mood and relax. According to the book we can even give somebody a feeling of accomplishment ( I think that means that they think they can do somethin') by brushin'  us or even givin' us some water. As she read all this to me I just thought Wow, that sure is a lot for a bow wow - I know we can and do a whole lot more that just what she read but if you want to get the biggest bang for your doggie cookie odds are you'll get a lot of love from a dog. It don't matter if your dog has a pedigree like all of us. It just matters that you love them and take good care of them so they can take care of you. I'm goin' for a little manni pedi in the mornin' so my nails don't give me touble next weekend when I jump. Maybe momma will spring for a hot tub soak or a facial too.... I promise detailed reporting on the events comin' up next week if I could broadcast live I would but momma hasn't figured out how to do that yet.
Thanks a million gazillion for readin'

New voices

Hey Again,
I am so excited my mom just figured out how to let my other classmates and their moms post to our blog (or at least I hope she did). I had a good weekend ! Me and my brother played but the best part was Sunday night. I sat at momma's feet after supper and I must have had my pitiful face on cause momma came down off the chair and sat on the floor with me and rubbed my belly. Well, she says this is really the special part cause I decided she looked like she needed to play basketball. I got up and went to my room and drug out my full size basketball. Momma called and called me cause she didn't know where I went just that I got up and left her. It's not like I can yell through the house like she can that I'm comin' right back especially with a basketball in my mouth. Have you ever tried to carry a basketball in your mouth? I don't have hands just paws that I need for walkin' so I just had to let her keep callin' me. I got back to her and she was so surprised that I brought that ball to her she had to play with me then! We played and played till I was tired.
I really hope my classmates post soon, I love going to class with them and I'm so happy that we are all best friends. We are a pack in doggie speak. We are going into more trainin' cause we have so many competitions comin' up and I really want to win cause I wanna see what you get when you win. Mom says it isn't any different than how much she loves me now and she says it's all in fun but I think I wanna see what it feels like. I think we're gonna have a party either way but I'll tell you more about that later !
Thanks for reading!

Feelin' good

Hey Everybody,
I just wanted to share a good feeling with you. Momma says it one of those "spontaneous karmic gifts" whatever that means. Sometimes between her psychological mumbo jumbo talk and when she gets all meaning of life on me I can't tell if she's even speakin' English cause I know it ain't dog. She was watchin' me and my brother this mornin'. See it wasn't hot outside yet and the dew was still in the grass, and I asked her real nice if we could run around a little so she let us out cause she had just finished cuttin' the grass and it smelled so good. Well, after we sniffed everything in the yard and left no square inch that we hadn't investigated, I looked at Alex (my brother) and said LET'S GO! We ran several circles real fast all over the yard. See I am kinda short which can be a good thing when you run circles cause the lower you are the better you can corner. I ran some really sharp turns and my brother wiped out and fell over me. He knocked me down and I rolled over and over in the fresh grass. Boy is that fun! I also like to hit him when I get to runnin' real fast and knock him down then we roll together. We also like to chest bump - that mean we run at each other and when we get together we stand up and bump out chests together. Momma always smiles when we run and play in the yard. She yells at us to stop eatin' the grass but sometimes it tastes good and it provides us with some daily fiber or at least that's what the commercials are always talkin' about on TV. Momma gave me a bath on our deck when I was done cause I was already wet and had grass stickin' to me. I love to get wet and since the weather is so hot I dry pretty fast. My favorite part of my bath though is when I get to roll in the towels. When I was just a little puppy Momma used to play with me after my bath. She would tickle me and rub me and let me grab the towels. She put them over my head like one of those pictures of Russian women. She made my baths really fun and I still love them! I think mom enjoys watchin' us play and run around cause she knows we are happy. I am so glad I have a yard to do that in now. In our old house we always had to wear a leash cause we didn't have a fenced in yard yet and since I lived in the city we had to always be on a leash to walk. It's the law and I  didn't want to get arrested - think that means they take me away and put me in somthin' called the pound- I don't know what that is but it don't sound good..... Anyway watchin' us play makes momma happy and maybe you all should get a dog if you don't have one but if you do just watch them play or play with 'em cause it's good for you both according to momma's psychological studies -whatever they are. All I need to know is that I'm happy and momma is happy when we play. I think it lowers her blood pressure- once again I don't know what that is but it must be a good thing cause I hear it a lot on commercials and it puts her in a better mood. I think every dog is a gift to society cause if everybody had a dog to make them happy then maybe they'd quit tryin' to find other junk like they advertise on all those i"nfo mercials" to make 'em happy. Anyway, I thought I'd share what happened this mornin' and brighten everybody's day!
Thanks for readin' !

Why train your dog?

Hey again everybody !
I thought I'd stop and explain a little somethin' about why we do what we do and how I got started. You see it's different for all of us but the main thing that keeps us trainin' and goin' to class is because we love it SO much! Our moms just see it all over us. I'll explain that later in the entry too.
See, I was picked out not just because I was so darned cute that my momma's just couldn't leave without me but because I come from a long genetic line ( I think that means what my folks come from and their folks etc...) of dogs that have been therapy dogs and I had the best temperament (my sweet lovin' personality of  which I am famous for) to grow into a therapy dog. My moms had visited this real bad place called a puppy mill before they got to my birth momma's place (otherwise known as a breeder - not sure I like that term). Well, when we all got home my mom called the  Lab rescue people for help and reported that bad place. The rescue people kept callin' momma and tellin' her what to do and who to call to get those bad folks in trouble. The police and sheriff's got involved and do you know they shut those bad people down and helped take those dogs away to find better homes. It took about two weeks and momma thought we were never gonna get that place stopped but she just couldn't give up and the rescue people kept tellin'  her she was the dog's only hope! As a thank you, the Lab people helped recommend us to my teacher Sandra ( who had no openings in her classes). They called and talked to her then told mom to call her. She talked to us right off and told us to come to her puppy class since I was just a little puppy. She was really good cause just by talkin' to momma over the phone, she had momma followin' her directions right off. Anyway, Sandra's class was fun right from the start. I got to meet all the other little puppies and we got to learn what they call basic commands like how to sit, lie down and walkin' on a leash without pullin' ( I still have trouble with that one when I get excited). The next class I took was the CGC. That stands for Canine Good Citizen and it's hard but you know if a dog gets that, some insurance company's will give a discount - I don't know what insurance or a discount is but it's real good cause it made my mom happy. Also if somebody has what they call an aggressive breed ( like a German Shepard or Doberman) - I don't agree with that label cause I think you can make any dog mean, but those insurance company's will only insure a house if the owner of the puppy gets a CGC on their dog. Some people have had to get it or they'll be canceled- and that's real bad. It took me a couple of times to pass the CGC but I did it and momma framed my certificate in a silver frame and put it in her office. That's more than she's done with her stuff she earned  so I know she's real proud of me! After I got my CGC we took a little break but momma realized that I was just not as happy as when I was in class. You see when I'm in class workin' on our exercises my tail just wags and wags. I lift my head and pay attention to what mom tells me. I just glow with happiness ! At least that's how momma puts it when she gets sentimental and stuff. We are workin' on AKC and UKC obedience right now but we also spent about a year trainin' in Rally obedience. Momma says Rally is like dancin' with your dog cause of all the fancy turns and moves. I like it cause there's so much to do I don't get bored and sniff the mats. Mom hates it when that happens but I just can't help it - there's so much to sniff and so little time!
Anyway, the main point is that the trainin' helps to really bond the person and their dog cause they are both workin' together. Momma says it also "helps to keep her in the moment". I think she means it kinda helps her not get bored and sniff the mat too. She expalins that when she trains me that's all she thinks about is me and what we are doin' - however you put it, trainin' is good ! Okay so I gave you all a little about how I got started and why I'm still trainin'. For more information you can look up the AKC or the UKC and they will tell you all kinds of stuff.
Boy ! that was a lot of tellin' I did in this post but it really was life changin' for all of us so I wanted to share it in hopes it will help ya'll too.
Thanks so much for readin' and I'll post more real soon!

Busy Days

Hey again,
I sure am sorry for not posting anything new for so long but I have been SO busy trainin'. You see, a lot of us from the Black Dog Club are going to compete in this UKC (that's short for United Kennel Club) show at the end of the month. Our mom's got together and decided that since we weren't going on the road 'til cooler weather, we would compete locally (that means right here - my mom had to explain cause I thought all shows meant we had to go on vacation- but she said I could compete right here). I asked her if I could pretend I was the only dog, so I would get to sleep with her and eat oatmeal cookies in bed like vacation; but she said it would be a little different since we had to go home and we can't just kick my dumb brother out for a weekend. Ooops. I think I digressed again. Anyway as I was explainin' we have been trainin' two nights at Sandra's, one is class then one night is what mom calls practice. It means we really work like at a show. In class everybody learns and tries stuff but in practice we try to simulate (pretend like ) we are showin'. Class is hard cause it covers new stuff and practice is hard cause we try to get stuff right and look good doin' it. The best part of both is we get treats! Teddy's momma brought us all duck jerky and that stuff is SO good. We all love the duck jerky and use it for special stuff like shows  but my momma found salmon treats at my favorite doggie stuff store. These smell so good- people say they stink but I think they are heaven ! Anyway we all like 'em so much they decided that we're gonna use them for shows and only just a little in class so they stay special. I think it's just cause they don't want to smell like fish all the time. When they have the treats their hands and clothes get the good smell all over. I like it when they use the jerky and the salmon cause it is kinda like surf and fly? it is usually surf and turf but ducks don't care about grass. I think the treats are like heaven but moms don't seem to have our good taste cause they said it stinks- you know to each his or her own.... you just can't account for taste - whatever that means.
Joy went to a show recently and she qualified ( I think it means she's gonna get a big ribbon soon) in two of the shows she did. That's real good cause I haven't qualified once and I've been to three shows. Momma says it's okay - that if this stuff was easy everybody would do it and then we wouldn't have to work so hard. Joy is real smart and is often picked to be demo dog in class. I got picked once cause I'll let little kids pet me. Sandra (our teacher and the best one I have ever known) knocked on my head, she pulled my lips out and messed with my ears then she told the class not to let kids do that stuff to their dogs. She knew she could do it with me cause my mom started gettin'  me used to stuff like that since I was a little puppy so that I can work with her as a therapy dog.   She did work with kids that are Autistic - I don't know what that means but they squeal sometimes and it's real loud. It's okay though cause mom's there and she told me they were just excited. I like workin' with her but I really like the shows and the ring. I wag my tail and try real hard to pay attention. It's really hard cause you're in a new place with new smells and sounds and other dogs and other people and I feel it is my sworn duty as a Black Dog Club member to greet everybody dog and human so that they know we are friendly but momma keeps remindin' me that I don't have to do it all for the whole group. Maybe I  should let them come to me if they want. I've been tryin' to do that real hard but you know I just can't help it that I feel like I should be friendly and say hey to strangers so they aren't strangers any more they're friends. I'm not sure I buy what mom says about some dogs not wantin'  to meet new dogs cause I just can't imagine not wantin' to meet everybody! "So many dogs, people and smells so little time" that's my mottoe.......
Anyway I just want ya'll to know that I'll try to be better about bloggin' on a regular basis and I'll try real hard to get the others in our group to join in too cause it's FUN

Thanks for readin'

More Dog Days

Hey Everybody !

You know it sure was a pretty day today but it was HOT ! Now yesterday, you heard me caution everybody about hot weather but I  didn't tell you another ouchy thing we go through kinda just like ya'll humans do. Please be aware of where you are walking us on our daily walks in the summer. I will assume that everybody goes on at least one walk a day or gets to really run and play in their fenced in yards with their humans.Now look, humans get to wear sneakers or flip flops what have you when ya'll are walkin' on black pavement. When you don't have on shoes, you move really fast and even invent some brand new dance steps. Personally, I think that's how most of the dancin' on those music videos get started but once again I digress. If the pavement is too hot for you it is too hot for us too.Just cause our paws may seem to be  kinda rough and leathery, they still have feeling in them. How hard would it be to look for a little shade for us both? If we can't find shade can we walk on a light colored sidewalk? Okay, that's just my quick reminder. Now for some fun stuff! Don't forget we love puppy Popsicles! You call 'em ice cubes but for us they are SO good on a hot summer day and you know that's a great way to keep us hydrated ( keep us from dryin' out).Other good treats are fresh peaches and frozen bananas too. See the bananas are a good source of somethin' they call potassium and that keeps us from gettin' muscle cramps just like they help you. I make it my personal habit to eat a half of a banana every mornin' with my dry kibble. It's kinda like you havin' fruit on your corn flakes.Okay, that's all for today because I have had a really busy day and need a nap before supper. Thinkin' on it I might need one after supper too. Hmmmm....I'm just a little black dog you know.
Take good care of each other and thanks for readin'