• 23Aug

  Whatcha Got?

  Interesting and Funny 2 Comments

  This is a question I ask almost every day, regarding my co-workers lunches.  They ask me what I have, too.  It’s human nature to see what everyone’s eating!

  My dogs are the same way.  If I give Quick a biscuit, and Nova a liver treat, there’s a definite ‘whatcha got?’ look exchanged.  And jealousy. I avoid this scenario at any cost!  They start milling around me, wagging their entire bodies and pressing up against me like 80lb cats.  It’s not as fun as it sounds.  Especially when they start bouncing.

  What’ve you got?  What kind of food do you feed your dog?  These days it seems everyone has an opinion on what’s the best thing to feed dogs, and I for one am lost!  I feed a high-quality kibble, and my dogs do fine.  I give freeze-dried treats, or real-food treats like apple, potato, or cheese. What do you think is best? Do you like raw food? (if you feed raw, tell me how you feel about the new Delta therapy dog ruling, please? I don’t understand.) Dehydrated? Are you like me and spend hours researching kibbles that are best for your dogs?

  

  Tags: controversial, dog products, dog safety & health

• 05Aug

  Horror of Heartworm

  Interesting and Funny No Comments

  I have a friend who works in a vet clinic. She’s a good friend to have, she helps me know when to run screaming to the vet, or just tell the dog they’re being a drama queen. She’s also great for helping me read dog food labels… which is a whole ‘nother blog entry on its’ own.

  Yesterday we met for lunch, and after a few minutes chatting she paused and said ‘Hey, your dogs are on heartworm medication, right?’

  I told her no, since I test them yearly and believed that to be sufficient.

  She nodded and said “You might want to get them on it.” It turns out she’d had nearly an entire kennel of seventeen dogs test positive for heartworm about twenty five miles from where I live! That’s a lot of dogs mosquitoes could have bitten and became carriers for.

  I beat feet to my vet to request a test and get them their medication, and they’ll be taking it throughout this season. Heartworm scares me. Please be aware of it in your pets! All it takes is one positive animal to infect an entire neighborhood of loved pets and companions.

  For more information about heartworm, go here, and talk to your vet. Don’t delay!

  

  Tags: dog safety & health

• 28Jul

  Underwater Agility

  Interesting and Funny 3 Comments

  Please don’t try this one at home! When I saw it though, I just said ‘wow’.

  

  Tags: videos

• 14Jul

  Blowing Bubbles

  Dog Agility Training, Interesting and Funny 5 Comments

  I can’t have a puppy pool in my yard according to the rules. That’s disappointing, and downright heartbreaking when my hose-phobic dogs are both lying flat on their sides in the 97-degree shade, puffing like little locomotives. It’s too hot to run. It’s too hot to play. It’s too hot to even want to eat!

  I solved that problem with my good friend, under-the-bed storage Tupperware! I filled it with water and then the dogs started to play! It’s not nearly big enough for them to wade in, but they stand in it up to their ankles and the look of relief is adorable.

  Quick is not satisfied with standing in the water. He has to dig in it, and blow bubbles. He loves to blow bubbles! He blows them, runs around the yard at full speed, and then comes back to blow more!

  Heres’ a video link to training your dog to blow bubbles. I’m lucky- Quick does it naturally! I could put a cue to it, but I’m not sure I want to.  Can your dog blow bubbles?  What does your dog like to do in water?

  Are you new to the Agility Fusion Blog?
  If so, welcome!  Here you will enjoy daily tips and interesting news on the subject of agility, dog ownership, and life!  Not only that, but every month we have a contest to win a gift certificate or an obstacle!  Become a member today!  Simply enter your email address here.  You will then be able  to participate in the contests, and will get priority notification of contests and other AgilityFusion news. How fun is that!  Click here for more info. and to sign up.

  

  Tags: dog training, simply funny, videos

• 09Jun

  Addictive? No!

  Interesting and Funny 14 Comments

  What do you mean, it’s addictive?

  That’s what I say as I clutch my cup of extra strong tea and eat my piece of chocolate in the mornings.  Addictive? No. Addicted? Not me!

  Same goes for agility.  You know you’re (not) addicted to agility when:

  • Money is really not much of an object.  You can save to buy what you need (because you do need twelve weave poles…if not two sets of twelve!) and while you’re saving, you have a picture of it on your desktop, to remind yourself.  You have no money for anything else.

  • When you see a row of parking poles, or sticks, or trees, or bushes… or a mental image… you feel the need to weave through it and otherwise practice your handling skills- with or without your dog.

  • When your car has obstacles, leashes, treat bags and kennels in it and you’re okay with it.

  • When you decide another dog isn’t a bad idea- twice the fun, right? And this time you can start with a puppy…

  • Your firewood makes great jump wings or balancing obstacles.

  • So do your potted plants!!!

  • You know unequivocally how high your dog should be jumping in every organization you frequent.

  • You can find your records easier now- never know when you need them for trial entry or class entry!

  • You devote more time to picking treats for your dogs than you do picking snacks for yourself.

  • You probably devote more time to picking out dog food than your own menu planning.

  • Your eyes light up when you meet someone at a festival who praises your dog and complains about their ‘high energy dog, just don’t know what to do…’ a potential convert!!!

  • You suddenly find your dog is the best company you’ve ever had, and you want to spend more and more time with them.

  • You have fifty billion clickers.  You might not use them- but you DO have them.

  I have all the symptoms above- and more.  But I’m not addicted.

  I can handle it.

  Are you new to the Agility Fusion Blog?
  If so, welcome!  Here you will enjoy daily tips and interesting news on the subject of agility, dog ownership, and life!  Not only that, but every month we have a contest to win a gift certificate or an obstacle!  Become a member today!  Simply enter your email address here.  You will then be able  to participate in the contests, and will get priority notification of contests and other AgilityFusion news. How fun is that!  Click here for more info. and to sign up.

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility competing, agility training, simply funny

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