Cuteness Alert!

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UPDATE! On Flood Victim Nancy Punches

As I posted back in December, beloved Foxhound breeder, Nancy Punches narrowly survived the massive floods in Washington State. Here is an update, courtesy of The American Foxhound Club.
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Nancy is doing good. She is still in the hospital but they have moved her to another room and she has a room mate so she is not alone. There had been reports of a foxhound found on sat, however this was not true, however there is good news there was a live foxhound found and rescued and airlifted out with Nancy. Nancy just didn't remember it. It was found in her front yard buried up to his neck in mud. He has been vetted and is doing fine and is staying with a close friend of Nancy's and mine Sarah Ann. She is also keeping the puppies.

Sarah Ann is a Dalmatian Breeder from Washington State and she also owns a foxhound from Nancy. So the puppies are in good hands. On a sad note...... Sarah Ann went to Nancy's house on sat and found 7 dogs that had died in the house and 8 that had died in the kennel. There are few more unaccounted for but at this time we all feel that they too have perished. Please keep Nancy in your prayers.
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Thanks for your continued support and interest in this story.
FYI: The puppies are named: Faith, Moses, Noah and Spirit. We wish Nancy and the puppies well!

Sink or Swim?

SWIM!! Can you believe it!! Dead of winter! BOL! I can't say I "loved" it..but all the pups were so cool!! At least the pool was warm!

I met LOTS of Labs (they are cuckoo for the water!!), a Shepherd, a NS Duck Toller, 2 JRT's and the coolest pup was a Bulldog puppy named Juice!! In his bright yellow life jacket, and he was such a good swimmer!!! Every human fell in love with him!! BOL!

I don't think I'll ever have a sports career as a DockDog..but I'm now on the honorary "Fun Police" crew!! (all the dogs that don't like to jump..we still go to the events and make sure everyone/pup is, well, you know - having fun!) The leader of the fun police is Spencer, a fun little Jack Russell.

*photos to follow...a DD member who is also a photographer was taking pics and promised to post them on her website!*

UPDATE: Visit the Ontario Dock Dogs website to see the photos! Under "Fun Swim", focus on photos 1, 2, 10 and 20 to see me and HM in all my glory! Also..image 18 is of Juice...isn't he cute!

Cool Runnings

Haliburton Highlands Dogsled Derby is being held this weekend, and there's one cool team making waves! Damion Robb from the Jamaican Dogsled Team continues to break barriers and buck trends that folks from the Caribbean don't enjoy winter sports! (I really like this, as both my pawrents roots are Caribbean-based!)

They train mostly on dryland, in Jamaica, with strays they rescue from "death row". Then during the race season, they move to colder climates and work with their snow dog team mates. To meet the dogs...visit their site here.

Paws up to this very cool team!!

If you want to help support the team, visit their website to purchase their documentary, Sun Dogs. Proceeds go to team training and the JSPCA (Jamaican SPCA).

All Wet...

Tomorrow's the day...the dreaded "fun swim".

I'll let you all know how it goes! *gulp*

Is Your Computer Screen Dirty??

BOL! Click HERE to clean it!

Happy Friday!

Fighting BSL to Save Puppy

From the Toronto Star today:
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A pit bull puppy in Mississauga has won a five-week stay of execution, while his owner contests the charges, in one of the first challenges to Ontario's ban on the breed.

The 10-month-old dog, named Rambo, was caught by animal control officers on Christmas Day after he ran away from the back yard of his owner, Gabriela Nowakowska.

The puppy was born after a province-wide ban on new pit bulls took effect Aug. 29, 2005. By law, the city must put the dog down.

According to the Dog Owners' Liability Act, pit bulls born more than 90 days after the ban took effect must be put down.

"It's so sad that a simple thing like your dog escaping can mean your dog is killed," said King, spokesperson for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada, part of a coalition that protested the ban. "It's incredibly heartbreaking for the people forced to live with the consequences of a bad law."

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Details of the ban

When did the amended Dog Owners' Liability Act take effect?

Aug. 29, 2005.

Which breeds are banned?

Pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and any other dog with traits "substantially similar" to those breeds.

What are the terms of the ban?

The legislation prohibits the ownership, transfer, import, breeding and abandonment of pit bulls.

Dogs that belonged to an Ontario resident when the ban took effect, or were born within 90 days after the ban, are allowed but must be spayed or neutered and muzzled in public. ("Public" includes everything but the owner's property.) The muzzle must be strong enough to prevent the dog from biting through but can't hinder the dog's ability to breathe, see, pant or drink.

The dogs may not be trained to fight and must be kept on a leash shorter than 1.8 meters.

What happens if you break the law?

The dog will be confiscated and euthanized.

The owner could face: up to six months in jail; a maximum fine of $10,000 ($60,000 for corporations); a court order to compensate a victim.
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For more info on BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) visit the Dog Legislation Council of Canada.

Building a Great Foundation!

Well, I wrapped up my Agility Foundation course yesterday, and WOW was it ever great!

We did our first mini sequence, and I TOTALLY ROCKED IT! HM was very proud of me and our teacher Brandi was too! We had to go over two jumps, then through the tunnel.

We practiced weaves again, and we're doing channels to help us get used to it, and I had no problems with it this week!

I was very confident on the teeter too! (it was just stationary on the ground...) But it's great practice for the Dog Walk too!

I can't wait, the next round of classes starts in two weeks!
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PLUS!! After HM tries to get me to swim next week, I get to go to a real agility trial!! Brandi is competing with her dogs Soshi and Zona in the same area that our swim session will be!!! So pop over to her blog and wish her luck!!

Even Dogs Have Bad Days!

Now every pup knows I’m full of energy and love to put HM through her paces! I love to run around and go crazy, especially when I’m at the park with my pals. HM has recently been looking into pet insurance for me. When one loves zoomie's and agility as much as I do, anything could happen and my pawrents want to protect me the best they can. Even my buddy Johann and my best girl Denali have experienced some recent health issues that have landed them at the vets office. Pet insurance is a pawesome way they can get dog insurance just for me!

They’ve been comparing pet insurance on a few websites, including About Your Money. That site is a good comparison website so they don’t have to do more work than necessary to find me the best policy! You can even compare car insurance too. You know I ride in style when I'm off on my adventures and my pawrents want all bases covered.

Pet insurance is important for every dog because vet appointments can get pricey, and isn't it better to spend that money on treats for us??

Bulldog cracks the Top Ten

First time in over 70 years, the Bulldog cracks the Top Ten most popular breeds in the US.
Did you make the list?

10. Bulldog

9. Shih Tzu

8. Poodle

7. Dachshund

6. Boxer

5. Beagle

4. Golden Retriever

3. German Shepherd

2. Yorkshire Terrier

1. Labrador Retriever
HM says we didn't crack the Top Ten cause we're the best kept secret in the dog world! BOL!

[source/photo credits]

Who Loves Snow??

Bailey does!!! This is one of the cutest dog video's I've seen. It's Bailey the Unknown Reindeer! BOL! Enjoy!

What was she thinking???

Oh.My.Dog.

HM has really done it this time. She was all excited coming home to tell me she planned a really cool play date for me. Yaaay! Right??

The play date is to go SWIMMING!! The Ontario DockDogs club is having a fun swim in 2 weeks for members.

HM thought it would be "fun" to let me get comfortable with water again. She's determined to get me to jump off the stupid dock. I won't do it! I don't mind going to sniff some new butts and make new friends...but no way am I going in.

Here's a shot of me last year, in my stupid life jacket. Do I look impressed?

Here's video of the #1 DockDog in Canada, Diesel. His owner, Heather McLeod tried to help HM get me off the dock last summer. Hrmpf. Not cool. But whatever, Diesel is a pretty sick dock jumper.

Best Sunday! (ie: Dog Tired)

Well, the day started off great! AGILITY!! Whoot whoot!

I had a great class, we even had an extra half hour of class! I practiced the Bang Game (on the teeter), weaves, and one of my favourites: TUNNEL!

My instructor had her new puppy Brix there too! Soooo cute!!

If that wasn't enough...I got to go to Westney today for a play date with Denali!!

I also met 2 German Shepherds, 2 Golden Retrievers and a Boston Terrier. We all had sooo much fun!!

I'm pretty pooped now...off to snuggle under the covers.

Human Mom's first article published!

Big news! HM is very excited today! She is the co-ordinator for the Breedlines section in Dogs In Canada magazine for the Canadian Manchester Terrier Club and her first article has been published! Breedlines is a monthly feature that showcase articles of interest from breed clubs in Canada. She will be publishing articles every other month, all about Manchester Terriers!

If you have access to it, pick up the January issue!

Agility Countdown: 4 days to go!!!

Yaaaayyyy!!!! First class of 2008 is THIS SUNDAY!! I've missed agility! I've missed my teacher, Brandi!

I've been practicing the tunnel (we have a small one at home), my targets, table and jumps (over HM's legs)!!

Oh agility, how I've missed you!

Great new Toy!

My pal Gibbon sent me a great new toy for Christmas! It's a stuffed stocking that squeaks! I just LOVE it!! Thanks Gibby!!

Winter Hike!

Sooo pawesome! HM and I went on a pawesome hike yesterday! Since our camera is still dead...she took video and photos on her cell phone. Sorry for the quality.

We went to our usual spot, Greenwood, but we explored new territory yesterday. We hiked and did a bit of trail running in the snow for an hour! Phew...we were pooped!

Check out pics of my new coat!

Product Review: PAWZitive Therapy!

Since the temperature is rapidly dropping where I live and the snow, ice and salt seems to be accumulating, like many dogs, my paws are feeling it!

It was a blog entry by my pal Johann that set my human mom in motion! He barked about having sensitive paws to the snow and cold, and now wears booties to protect his paws.

While my own paws seem to stand up fine in the cold temperatures, it's the increase in salt and walking in deep snow that has started to bother me, and dry out the pads on my paws. When the snow gets caked in between my toes I pull up my paw and hobble until my human helps clear it out.

So off to the store she went last night in search for a solution. She found it.

NuHemp's PAWZitive Therapy stick!

This roll-on stick is great! It's all natural, yes, made of hemp and did a great job of protecting the pads on my paws last night! She just rubbed it on my pads, and off we went. I walked in deep snow, the cold sidewalk, complete with slush and salt and I didn't raise my paws once! She did the same thing this morning, and I was just fine!

"A convenient way to provide year-round soothing, moisturizing relief for cracked pads and skin abrasions in addition to shielded protection from ice, salt and rough surfaces. The benefits of EFA’s, and especially GLA, for healthy skin makes hemp seed oil a highly effective skin care additive. Hemp oil contains an unusually high concentration of EFA’s, making it an ideal natural ingredient for treating dry skin and abrasions. Hemp’s lipid constituents allow it to permeate through intact skin to nourish cells directly while also carrying therapeutic substances with it into the skin. More than 75% of its fatty acids are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (EFA’s). These impart excellent emollient, lubricating, moisturing and protection properties to the pads of both cats and dogs."

So if you are not ready to don the boots just yet, try one of many conditioning and protection sticks out on the market!

New Sister?

Ahhhh, a boy can dream...but check out my buddy MJ's blog..they are fostering a girl who is either a German Pinscher or a Manchester mix (her tail is docked and her fur is kinda chocolatey black).

She lives in British Columbia, which is on the west coast of Canada.


My human is going to help spread the word and find her a good home. She sounds just like me, very active and full of energy. So if you or someone you know is interested, just drop MJ a line at her blog!