Hi,
I am Spud.  I was a good friend of Zip, the Wonder Dog for the six years that I lived with him.  My friend passed away on Halloween at the age of 15 years and 11 months.  I miss him a lot, as do the rest of the dogs in our house.  I decided to take over his blog and to keep posting my opinions about agility and dog training, if I find things I would like to share.  I have a woman's point of view, and I may not be as funny as he was, but I will certainly try.

I keep forgetting I have this blog. I used to post all the time. I wonder if I have any readers left or if they have left me. I hear that Roo, my old friend, might be having puppies. I hope that's true.

There have been lots of changes in my life and in my. We have two new dogs. We have bud, I think she's a border collie, and Elvis who really is a border collie. Spud is now ayear and a half.  Elvis is 9 months old.  They are both crazy! Elvis broke is me in January and now he gets to go on the treadmill everyday to get it fixed. He may never walk normally again which makes my mom very sad. She really wanted to do agility with him, but now it seems like that might have to be shelved. Spud hates other dogs, so agility might be out for her too. both of them like to work sheep though, so that makes it all good.

I hope I still have some readers to check in here from time to time. I miss hearing from my good friends Kinka and Roo. They are both big girls now.

I think my mom might be taking over this blog to talk about her dog training stuff. It depends on how many readers I still have. Let me hear from you. I hope you all are doing great! I love you all!

Zip the Wonder Dog: Internationalization

Zip the Wonder Dog: Internationalization

Internationalization

I have decided to add my two cents about the subject of Internationalization in Agility. This seems to be a topic that is very controversial, especially among people who compete in AKC agility.

Ever since I started learning the sport, I have been training those elememts considered "international," serpentines, threadles, back side jumps, slice jumps, etc. These things are not new, we have seen them in various forms in other venues for years. If they are on a course in competition or not shouldn't upset people all that much. As we are training  so much differently now than we were in the '90s, it is a given that the challenges should become more difficult, and the courses should be more than a bunch of obstacles in a figure eight.

What I am concerned with is the ever increasing need for speed and the expectation that all dogs should be able to make World Team times. More and more dogs are going to chiropractors for "adjustments," massages, or pain meds than ever before. There is much concern about the safety of the equipment. Is it really the equipment or is it the faster speeds, tighter turns, cutting corners, and careless handling that are causing these injuries?  I believe it is the human factor, and the need to win that is contributing to this.

Most of the competitors in the US are not going to compete anywhere else than near their home, maybe traveling to a show occasionally. These are the people that are the bread and butter of the sport. Most just want to have fun with their dogs and friends on the weekend. Let's keep agility user friendly for everyone.

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything, and I probably have no readers anyway, but I thought I would post anyway. Lots of things have happened since my last entry.

Life is very short. We have friends in our lives. We love them. They are part of us. Then we lose them. Life goes on without them. We think of them, remember them, and love them still, even though they are no longer with us.

We lost Moe last September. She was my good friend. I played with her. She was a lot of fun. The house isn't the same without her.

In December we got a new family member. Her name is Spud. She is another Border Collie, but is a smooth coated one. The jury is still out, the the house is noisier again!

I hope you all are well, and I hope I still have some fans out there.

Cashiering

Ok, so I forgot to mention that my mom was transferred to the Lansing store last fall. She is the dog trainer again, and also cashiers for a few hours each day. The fun thing is that when she brings me to work with her, I get to be at the register with her. This is great fun because all the customers that come to her, give me cookies. They like to see me do my tricks. When I do, they give me cookies, lots of cookies! I don't have to work very hard and the cookies just keep coming. I couldn't ask for a better deal than that.

Long Time

Good Grief. It's been a very long time since I've posted. Probably because there's nothing really new in my life. Mom is working hard. Dad is working hard. Beth is working hard. There has been little time to lay around and enjoy the easy life.

I got my AX title in April with a placement and everything. I got a couple of First Place ribbons in March. No agility trials recently. Mom works weekends and has no money for entries. I don't think I care much anyway. I have taken up tracking when Dad had days off. I like tracking. I get to use my nose and find hot dogs along the way. It's all good. I hope some of my friends will stumble across my blogspot and comment, so I know you are still my buddies

I'm Back

Wow, I haven't been here since July. Lots has happened. My mom is the pet training instructor at a new store, well it's new for her. She has better hours, so she can enter shows again. Racer and Belle (and Beth) have come to live with us, so now there are eight canines all in one house. Not good for me because now we are on the "Doggie Rotation Plan."

I hope all my fans are well. Please keep in touch with me

July Fourth weekend

It's July Third, and all our neighbors are blowing off fireworks. I don't mind, but Moe, Barney, Tubbs, and Belle won't come out of their crate. Happens every year. The neighbors will be blowing those things off until after Labor Day. Just love it!

Notice, I said Belle. Yes, that's right Beth moved back home, after being on her own for almost nine years. She brought Belle and Racer home with her. That leaves us with eight, count them, eight dogs in our house. Not to mention two Cockatiels, and a rabbit, and two parakeets. Yes, our house is now a flippin' zoo. Thank goodness my mom works at Petsmart!

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Lots of busy stuff going on at my house.

I am a Big Blue Raspberry

Well, I went to the groomers. I was shedding a lot and getting hair everywhere. I spent the whole day at the grooming salon while my mom was at work. They brushed me before my bath. They brushed me again after my bath. They cleaned my ears. The brushed my teeth. They ground my nails down into saydust. THEN they did it. The dreaded moment where they sprayed me with that stuff. They called it colonge. I call it YUK. It made me sneeze. Now I smell like a big raspberry. I am so embarrased.

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

What a boring, dreary, week! Mud, rain, more mud, and more rain. I have been in the house and not able to do agility or even play ball because everything is wet and muddy in our yard. We can't play with the sheep either because of all the mud. What a waste of a perfectly good week! Well, gotta go. It's naptime again

Spring has Sprung

well, here it is, April again. I have been lax in my posting because my mom is very lazy about blogging. We have been playing in the yard and having fun.

I got my Canine Good Citizen certificate last month. I was a very good boy. So good in face that now Mom wants to enter me in an Obedience trial. Can you imagine that? Me, doing Obedience. We'll have to see about that.

Rookie got his Novice Standard and Novice Jumpers titles last weekend. He is starting to be a very good agility dog. Sometimes he even looks better than me, if that's possible. Watch! He will get his Excellent titles way before me. I don't seem to be able to qualify, even if I am a good boy.

Anyway, I would like to hear from my friends, if I still have any.

Positive Reinforcement

It's almost Spring and people are getting out with their dogs. It's time for training, playing, and socializing.

I was clicker trained. So were my friends, Tubbs, Rookie, Iggy and Moe(she's sound sensitive, so her clicker is a ball point pen). Barney has never been trained, nor has he needed to be. Positive Reinforcement training in a nutshell is rewarding the stuff that is right, and redirecting or ignoring the behavior that is not right. You show the dog what you want, but do not punish the incorrect behavior. No prong collar ever for me, and I am a great leash walker. I also know how to heel for Obedience (I personally hate Obedience). I have never had aversive corrections, no shake cans, no throw chains, no squirt bottles. That doesn't mean there are no rules at my house. No, my mom works on the NILIF (nothing in life is free) plan. I have to work for what I want. I know who is in charge of all the food and all the toys (not me, darn it).

There are many good websites about Positive Reinforcement training. Google it and check them out. Your dogs will be better for it.

It's been a While

So, my mom teaches this agility class on Monday mornings. It's a nice little class, kinda of like a club. Well, there's this lady in the class with a German Shepherd. She has some issues, like she thinks the Shepherd is wonderful, and a perfect angel. He's NOT. He hates other dogs and is aggressive toward people. They have been making progress and we have had no problems in our class. She started another class on another morning today and guess what! Her dog bit someone. Yes, bit, right in the stomach, blood and everything.

I'm so tired of hearing stuff like this.

People, please train your dogs in a positive way, you will avoid many problems

It's 2009

I haven't posted for a while. I've been too bored to write. Nothing much going on right now. Yesterday, Rookie, Racer, and I went to an agility trial at McCook, IL. I did OK. Nothing to brag about, but no qualifying scores. Rookie got a Second Place in Novice FAST, and Racer qualified, too. I was in Open FAST. I didn't get enough points, even though I did the send. My other runs weren't bad, but you know, I have this thing about yellow. I also knock bars when I get excited. That's OK. One of these days...

I hope all my friends have a wonderful 2009.

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!