Winter in Chicagoland

Ya know, I can't understand why people live around here. Summers are hot, humid, and uncomfortable. I can live with that because of hoses, and baby pools full of water. It's the winters that I hate. The last two days have been absolutely NO FUN. We had rain, sleet, and ice first. Today there was snow. Tomorrow they say it will be terribly cold, like below zero cold. I don't like to go out when it's like that. My feet get frozen on the ice when I try to go potty. I slip on the ice. It just sucks.
Christmas is only a few days away. Maybe it will warm up...?

Happy Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday! You betcha! All that food! Leftover turkey, pumpkin pie (yes, last year I ate a whole one), sweet potatoes, ham, I love it all. Thanksgiving is every dogs dream.

Thanksgiving is also a time to remind ourselves of all the wonderful things in our lives. I am thankful for my family, both human and canine. I am thankful that I am able to play the games I love, agility and sheep. I am thankful that I have friends and fans who keep in touch with me throughout the year. I am thankful for the people in the nursing home that take good care of my grandpa, Leroy. I am thankful for each and every day.

I wish you all the best Thanksgiving ever

Pressing Issues of State

So, Barrak Obama won the election. He has a huge job ahead of him, with the economy, Iraq, energy, health care, and corruption to worry about for the next four or more years. However, the most pressing issue facing him right now is the Presidential dog. He made one big promise while he was running for the office. He told his daughters that they could have a puppy. Uh , Oh! I think Dad has a campaign promise to keep. The big question is, What kind of dog will live in the White House? One of the girls is allergic, so there is a little problem. Here is my prediction. He will either get them some kind of Doodle, Poodle, or a Bichon. I won't bet any money on it though. I DO know it won't be an Australian Cattle Dog.

The Human Election

Well, all I hear these days is talk about the election that is going on in a couple of weeks. My humans are reading a lot, watching TV, and listening to the radio. So many issues that affect us all.

The presidential electon doesn't matter to me as much as the local stuff does. There is a lot of legislation concerning dogs in the communities across the country.

There are lots of places where they want to mandate spay and neuter for all dogs. I feel that would be a big mistake. Good people would have a more difficult time breeding quality litters and the puppy mills would be breeding dogs with health problems. The truly bad people would still be breeding "accidents." Dogs will still end up in shelters because their owners put them there (too much work, behavior problems, can't potty train, etc.)

There are also people out there that don't want Pitt Bulls around. Hey, some very nice dogs happen to be Pitt Bulls. It's the people that are bad, not the dogs. The dogs can't help it if their owners don't want to spend the time involved with training their dog. You know what they say, "If you don't give a dog a job to do, he will invent his own fun. His fun is not your idea of fun, so TRAIN your dog." If thye ban Pitt Bulls, and Rottwielers, and Dobermans, and Mastiffs, then what's next? Cattle Dogs (because they are sometimes nippy)? Then Border Collies? Then Beagles? Then sooner or later, all dogs? You get my drift.

I want to know John McCain's opinion of anti-dog legislation. I want to know what O'Bama thinks about dog issues. Personally, I don't trust either of them. It's like the lyrics of my all time favorite song "Meet the new boss. The same as the old boss.... I get on my knees and pray, we won't get fooled again!"

On My Soap Box Again (and my High Horse)

OK! I have a pet peeve. I really have a problem with you humans out there that think dogs are supposed to be fat. Even though I am a lean, mean, jumping machine, there are a lot of dogs out there that have a hard time walking, let alone jumping. Why, just yesterday, at the store where my mom works, there was this Belgian Shepherd (beautiful dogs, by the way). The poor girl was waddling down the isles of the store. She looked like she was a very old dog. When my mom asked how old the dog was, the proud owners said she was five years old. My canine heart went out to my furry friend as her people loaded their cart with two giant boxes of Milk Bones.

Unlike humans, dogs don't choose to be fat. Their owners make them that way. Dogs are being killed with human "kindness." Dogs suffer the same illnesses associated with obesity as humans do. Dogs are dying from diabetes and heart disease at alarming rates. Dogs suffer from bone and joint problems due to the stress from excess weight. Dogs are dying much too young simply because their owners overfeed them. Do you know that more than 1/3 of the dogs in the United States are overweight to obese?

Please, please, people, do what you can to keep your dogs healthy. Feed your dogs on a schedule. Measure the amount of food at each feeding. Don't leave uneaten food out for us to snack on all day long. Tale tje bpw; away after about 15 minutes. Don't feed us table scraps as part of our daily diet. Limit the treats. Ditch the biscuits in favor of baby carrots, peices of apple, and small peices of meat. Also remember that treats are just that, only as rewards for good behaviors, and used during training. Treats are not supposed to be a daily part of the diet. Give us plenty of exercise like chasing balls or frisbees, every day (just a walk isn't enough). Play with us instead of giving treats, we like that better anyway.

Climbing off my soapbox now, but still on my high horse!

I am a Good Boy

My momma, Beth, Racer, and I went to an agility trial yesterday. It was another AKC event. I ran three runs, Standard, Jumpers with Weaves, and FAST (that's a game). I ran FAST first. I listened to Mom, did everything exactly as she planned and Guess What! I not only qualified, but I finished with 64 points and Third Place!!! Not only that, it was my Novice FAST title (NF). I was so excited about it that I forgot to qualify in the other two runs. Mom says that's OK though, because the mistakes were hers, not mine. I was a good boy all day, at least that's what she believes. I'll let her keep thinking that, because she gave me those yummy salmon treats all day. She didn't train me in the yard either today. She made Racer work. He was NOT a good boy. Ha, Ha, the Cattle Dog wins again!

A Surprise

Well, I guess I must have touched the yellow at least five times because something exciting came in the mail. It was a USDAA title for Standard Agility (Starters). I didn't even know I was close to getting that one. My momma is in complete shock over that one. She even bought me some yummy fishy treats for it (she says they have Omega 3s).

Hey Kinka, I tried Flyball. It was fun, but the team wanted the BCs, not me. Moe has lots of Flyball points. She is retired now, but she tells me she thinks she can still do it. Mom won't let her anymore. Something about being old and getting hurt. Moe says she is like fine wine, excellent at 12 and getting better.

I have also done a little Rally O. You will have fun with that. So will your momma. Lots of clicks and treats involved with that. My kind of sport!

August Already

Time flies when you're having fun. At least that's what they tell me.

I was at an agility trial yesterday. I was a bad boy for most of it. I didn't put my feet in the yellow part of the Dogwalk, or A-Frame. I don't know what the big deal is. I don't like yellow. I don't want to touch it. And guess what? At a trial, my momma can't make me touch it either. Ha, Ha, I win!

I do love to jump though. I did a Jumpers course (USDAA, no weaves) in 22 seconds. I did not get first place though. Some dumb Border Collies actually finished in 17 seconds, so they beat me (but not by much).

My momma says that tomorrow we are going start retraining my contacts. I think I'll go hide somewhere right now!

The Last Dog Blogger?

I am a lonely guy. I am the only dog that still blogs. Roo, where are you? Kinka, we don't know what you are up to. I miss my friends.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July again. The Border Collies hate fireworks. I don't care one way or another. The Fourth is a day when my mom doesn't have to work, so she will laze around the house with me and the BCs. I think she said she was going to be in a parade, but not me. I don't care for that kind of stuff anyway.

I've Been too Busy

Wow! I haven't posted anything for a very long time. I've been so busy being Zip the Wonder Dog, and all.

I have been doing agility! Last weekend, we ran in a USDAA trial. Yeah! I'm still in Starters, but that's not really my fault. My mom couldn't walk very well for a while. Well, now she's back, better than ever! Anyway, I did three runs, Gamblers, Standard, and Jumpers. I qualified in all three, fourth place in all three. No mistakes, no wrong courses, no refusals, no barking or biting. I was such a good boy!

In two weeks, I will be running in an AKC trial. I can't wait! Agility is so much fun for dogs, especially this dog.

I also have been visiting the nursing home every Tuesday. They all love me there. I get so many treats.

April, Taxes, and Other Things

OK, so I've been very bad at blogging lately. It's not my fault. It's very hard for a dog use the computer all by himself. I have to have some human help here, and the human has been very, very lazy. So here I am, at last.

It's already April. It is a great month. No more below zero days, more sunshine, birds and bunnies to chase, terriffic. April is also the month for taxes. My humans hate taxes. They say they should keep their money because there is never enough of it. My humans also don't get a whole lot back after they file their taxes, either. They are complaining about high prices at the gas pump, at the grocery store, and lack of pay raises to go along with the newer high prices. I think it sucks to be a human. Much better to be a dog. We don't have to pay for anything. Of course, we don't have any money either, as we don't get paid for the work we do.

Now, the big question is, who will be our next president? Will they fix our problems? Taxes? Education? Gas prices? Health care? Iraq? Afganistan? Does a dog care? You betcha! What happens with the humans affects what happens with the dogs. Now, who will I endorse? I don't know, yet. I really don't like any of the three that are running right now. I think there should be a Cattle Dog running for President. I would definately vote for him.

Same Old, Same Old

I did a big agility trial two weekends ago. It was one that was in conjunction with the International Kennel Club Dog Show. I was too excited to qualify, but I had fun, and got lots of free samples from the booths. Mom also got herself a little stuffed Cattle Dog toy. It has a double mask like my girlfriend, Roo. How often do you find a toy Cattle Dog? Not very.

I said I would recap the election. Well, by now you all know how politics is going in our country, so I guess I don't need to say much. From a dogs point of view, all the humans are pretty much the same. More taxes and less money for agility trials. My vote is for the person who will bring us more sheep and more agility trials, for less money. Oh yeah, and more dried sweet potatoes, and more liver treats.

February in the Midwest

Nothing but snow out there! So boring for us dogs. Too messy to play with the sheep. Too cold to play agility in the yard or to go to Loretta's barn. Well, at least Mom is cooking. We get to help clean up the floor. She also dehydrated some chicken for all of us. That was WONDERFUL!

Next Tuesday is "Super Tuesday" here in Illinois. Look for my ideas on Politics next week, when I recap the election.

First Post for 2008

I have been slacking lately. I haven't been on the computer very much. Well, it wasn't working for a couple of weeks there. My mom was checking her email from her cell phone.
Racer and I did another agility trial over the New Years weekend. My mom judged two days, then we showed for the next two days. It was my first time in Excellent. I was all excited, and wound up. I really wanted to show my stuff. In my excitement, however, I forgot that I was supposed to watch and listen to my mom. I tried, but she kept getting in my way. What is a boy supposed to do? I ran around the jumps, because I couldn't jump through her. Then there was the table thing. I am also very partial to the see- saw. When I get confused, I like to go there. It's the funnest thing. It bangs really loud! I usually get lots of cookies when I go there, too.
My family is doing well. Tubbs is becoming a lot more confident, even plays with some toys now. Rookie is starting to like agility. Moe puts the B in witch. Iggy still likes to eat poop. Barney likes to bark. All is right with the world.