Wednesday, August 15, 2007

As Seen in Modern Dog Magazine!!


Check out the Fall issue of Modern Dog Magazine...my human mom's artwork will be featured in it!!!

Here is a shot of a painting my human did of me! You can check out more of her work at www.popdogpress.com.

Enjoy!

Spotlight Sport: Agilty


With the AAC Nationals this weekend in Ontario, Agility is our Spotlight Sport!

Agility is a sport in which a handler (human) directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for time and accuracy. The course is different for every race, created by the judges at the tournament. Handler and dog must have a cohesive relationship as the dog is instructed to go through the course through the handler's signals and body language. Off leash control is a must!

It is an exciting sport to watch, and requires great teamwork. Some of the obstacles seen on an agility course are:

The A-Frame
Tunnel or Chute
Tire
Weave Poles
Jumps
Teeter

There are various games within Agility that a dog can compete in.

Standard
, follows the dog through the designed course, usually 15-20 obstacles must be completed in a predetermined order.

Gamblers
is a course where the team will start the course, and at designated time frame the team has a certain amount of time to complete obstacles for points. So the Handler decides which obstacles are most important to gain the most points in the time alloted.

The best part: ANY dog can compete! They have height classes, so any pup from Pomeranian to Great Dane can be an agility star!!

I'm hoping to begin my agility training this fall. I'll keep you all posted on my experiences!

For more information check out these agility organizations:
AAC - Agility Association of Canada
NADAC - North American Dog Agility Council
USDAA - United States Dog Agility Association
CKC - Canadian Kennel Club

[source + photo credit]

Tip of the Day! Don't Forget Your Flashlight!

Don't go hiking at night with a black dog and no flashlight!

My human and her friend took me for a hike last night around 8:00pm. Still pretty light out...but deep into the woods...it. got. dark. fast.

No flashlight, I totally vanish against the black of night. She said thank goodness for the jingling tags on my collar...so she could put my leash back on me!

We did meet up with a cool German Sheppard pup named Moose! We zoomied for about 10 minutes in the dark, then we had to head back.