Agility Weekend

It was a very busy weekend for me. I had lots of dogs and cats to look after, my dad and his wife arrive to help with the daycare and Coulee and I had entered an event at Go! Dog! Go!'s agility trial. Thankfully we were only in 1 event as I don't think I could have managed any more than that.

I'll post more about the daycare tomorrow - we got the floors done in the daycare area! It looks awesome. For now, I'll show you some of the dogs doing what they do best on the agility field. I didn't get many pictures of people and dogs from my classes because I wasn't able to spend much time watching. :(

Soccer Anyone?

Today Beacon was full of energy. She was racing around the backyard trying to coax me into chasing her but then she spotted her soccer ball and started chasing it around and trying to pick it up. I couldn't believe it when she finally succeeded.

Heavyweights

This weekend I walked my biggest dog to date. Zeus is a mere 120 lbs. Just look at that cute face!

And that isn't all...I also walked his mother Sam, only 100 lbs, at the same time.

Needless to say, my biceps got a workout. They were both very well behaved (thank goodness!). But even better than that, they were very cuddly. I quite like cuddly dogs but the temperature was up above 30 degrees and having one huge Rottweiler cuddled up against my left leg, and the other one cuddled up against my right, wasn't very comfortable. Hopefully I'll get to walk them when it is -30 C. I think I'll appreciate their cuddles a little more then!

Hot, Tired and Thirsty

What do you do when you are too hot and tired to even stand but you still want to drink?

Great Invention

I might be a little behind the times but I just discovered these....

They are soft treats for cats with little holes in them where you can pop a pill. I think they just might be the best invention ever! No more wrestling with your cat to get them to take a pill, they just take it enthusiastically from your hand. These were purchased from a vet's office so if you are looking for them, that is probably the best place to start.

Daycare Details

I thought I'd fill you in a bit on the doggie daycare. The building is actually 4,000 square feet. 1/4 will be used for office space and a grooming area (we will be offering basic grooming probably on a part-time basis to start but the details still need to be worked out). 1/2 the space will the the actual play area for the dogs. This area will either be one big play area, 2 smaller play areas or 3 smaller play areas depending on the number and personalities of the dogs there. The remaining space will be used for storage, washing machine and dryer, stove (for treats) and a few kennels. The kennels will have a number of uses:

1. For dogs that need to eat


2. For dogs that need a break from the action


3. For dogs that are not friendly enough for group play. We will be accepting dogs that aren't very socialized. These dogs will be kept seperate from the other dogs and played with individually.

There is currently about 900 square feet of outdoor play area but I hope to expand this. Most of our outdoor space is taken up with "parking" but I'm hoping to eventually convince the city that we don't need so many spaces and that the area would be much better used as a play area. This would make the outdoor play area closer to 3,000 square feet

You can find out about pricing, etc. on the new website . The site still needs a few minor tweaks and some more photos added but I figured we might as well put it up. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Sarah Novak for all her creative genius! I love the logo and I love the look of the website. Not only is she very talented creatively, she is also very talented with dogs. She has 3 dogs that all compete in agility, among other things, and she has her own agility company, Go! Dog! Go!. Be sure to check it out! They are hosting an agility competition on July 28 and 29th here in Lethbridge so come out and watch. It will be a lot of fun.

Step One

We've started work on the daycare!

Well maybe "we" isn't quite the right word to use. This weekend, while I was hanging out in Nelson, BC with my family, Men in White Painters did a great job of painting the play area of the daycare. I was a little worried the yellow would be overwhelming but the black bottom has really helped to tame it.

This is what it looked like before...

This is what it looks like now...

Much better, don't you agree?

Sing for your Supper

It is nice to look after a pet that you can actually carry on a conversation with... although, we never seem to get past the introduction. Charlie loves to say "Hi" over and over again.

He will also whistle up a storm, especially if you've given him a tasty bit of apple or raspberry.

Room for Two

We recently had the pleasure of meeting two very active miniature pinschers.

Zak

and Kazien.

They were a pleasure to walk - they didn't pull, they didn't get tangled and they didn't stop and sniff every single thing. They managed to get rid of huge quantities of "waste", but we won't go into that here. (Who knew such little dogs could have that much in them!)

The best thing about these two was that they loved to cuddle. They have even figured out a system so that they can both be on your lap at once. One hops and sits, and then the other one hops up and half stands over the one sitting. This way, they can both be receiving cuddles at the same time and you can be comfortable....kind of.

Daycare News

I'm almost afraid to mention it, in case I jinx it but....The daycare is definitely going to happen! I just found out today that I got official approval from the City. Yippee!!!!

It will be at 242 12 St. N (right near Save On Foods and M&M Meats) and we are working towards an August 13 opening date.

I'll definitely keep you posted with information as things move along.

Telling Time

What do you think...can dogs tell time?

I recently read an article that talked about a dog that loved to sing along with certain radio program theme songs. The dog not only started to recognize the lead up to the program, but the owner claimed the dog would start to get excited right around the time the radio program was about to start, even if the radio was off. The dog would not only know when his favorite daily program was on, but when a once a week program was set to start. So not only could he tell the time but he also knew what day of the week it was.

The article caused me to reflect on the behaviour of the one dog I know best...Coulee. She definitely knows when it is time to eat. She seems to know when Marlin gets home from work. She knows when it is time to get up in the mornings (but she definitely hasn't figured out that weekends are for sleeping in!) Does this mean she can tell time? All of these can be explained by her "Tummy Clock". She is fed shortly after we get up in the mornings and shortly after Marlin gets home. So maybe when her tummy starts to feel empty, she knows it is time to get up or wait by the door, as opposed to actually knowing by the sun, or whatever.

But that theory doesn't explain Charlie. Charlie is a dog I walk every Tuesday and Thursday. He knows the days and times when I arrive. You could argue that it is his owner's routine that lets him know when I'm going to get there but his owner is retired and her days are anything but routine. He is often reminding her of my visit, before she has even realized it is almost time. He some times comes up to her, swats her with a paw and starts to whine. Other days he sits at the window waiting for me to drive up. He doesn't do this on Mondays, Saturdays or any other days other than Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm not sure how to expain that!