www.5stardog.com

Dog trainer files lawsuit after being bit (North Platte Bulletin)

Dog Training — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A North Platte dog trainer is seeking $11,857.90 in medical bills after a two-year-old Rottweiler bit her in the face. Rena Blackwell, owner of R’Dogs Obedience and Agility Center, filed the lawsuit in Lincoln County District Court Oct. 2.

Putin's dog trials Russian GPS - Sydney Morning Herald

dog - Google News — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sydney Morning Herald

Putin's dog trials Russian GPS
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 11 hours ago
Guide dog ... Vladimir Putin watches his pet Labrador, Koni, in a trial of Russia's emerging satellite navigation system. Russia's satellite navigation ...
Video: Russia's Putin Tests Tracking Device on Dog AssociatedPress
Puntin’s dog collared by satnav Reg Hardware
If you can't trust the Russians, who can you trust? 24 Hours Vancouver
all 25 news articles

The OTHER Pups :o)

LAB TAILS — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With how much attention we've focused on the Elsie/Ridge litter here over the past four weeks, it would be easy to forget about Kenya, Pinot, and Tuc -- our three older pups. :o)

The big dogs (Ridge, Elsie, and our OTHER pups) are getting less attention while we have a litter in the house (of course, and it shows in some of their training lapses!), but we're working hard to make sure they still feel loved, needed, and a part of things. All said, they've been remarkably upbeat and patient. They seem to know the little ones need our time.

They still, however, enjoy us when they have us. Here's what they're up to these days:

KENYA: Kenya is now 27 months old, and we're still waiting on the results from her OFA evaluation, but all looks well (my fault... I thought Don had sent them three weeks ago, but he hadn't, thinking I had, so her x-rays went out later than I told you all originally). Kenya is shaping up to be an ideal retriever (we couldn't be more pleased!): gorgeous on conformation/breed standard; intelligent; eager to train; obedient; strong retrieve; energetic; eager for praise; loving, wiggly, and super-people-oriented. :o) She's just terrific and has so much potential (people keep telling us we should compete her, but I just don't think I can deal with the show politics and petty jealousies of some of the local groups here). I wish I could invest more time in her.

In any case, here she is training with Don yesterday:

PINOT: The Pinot Squirt, at 14 months old, is the pup we kept from last year's Elsie/Ridge litter, and she's looking every bit the leggy adolescent Kenya and Elsie looked at this age (she's no longer a "squirt"). She's just SO eager to please and train and retrieve and has become incredibly athletic. Her favorite thing in all the world is to train with DH (she thrives on 1:1 and is bent on getting praise however she can!):

This is Pinot breaking her sit when Don gives her the "okay" to retrieve the dummy (she sits there and quivers until he tells her "okay" and then bolts -- you can see how fast she takes off!):

DH does sometimes still have to hold her to get her to stay put until his release, but she has absolutely no trouble staying focused:

Such a good girl she is. I'd love to be doing more with her, especially along the lines of agility (she's just so fast and skilled athletically). It's just going to have to wait a bit, though. Can you believe she's over a year old already! Where in the world did that year go?

And then there's TUC:

He's just five months old now, and working out really nicely. Oh yes, indeed, he is still King Imp of all Imps, but what a wonderful little boy he's turning out to be. He, too, loves to train with DH (and me, too, of course):

He's even giving Kenya a run for the title of Wiggle-Butt-Extraordinaire (what a happy-go-lucky pup he is)!

Papa Ridge (7 yo) and Momma Elsie (3.5 yo) also get in on the act, Elsie much more slowly now that she's got full teats swinging from her belly. But you hear enough about them.

I thought you might like an update on the other "kids" for a change.

:o)

In the meantime, the pups are well -- becoming more like real puppies every day (and pooing like them, too!). Now we're into the extremely busy stage of puppy-rearing. But it's also the most fun.

The difficult part of all of this for me is learning how to balance my time: how much should I spend with the pups? how much with the older dogs? how much with DH? how much on the phone with my human kidlets? how much time with my 85 yo widowed mom: how much with my in-the-middle-of-a-divorce twin-sister? how much with friends? how much on my volunteer work in the church? how much on just staying on top of laundry and meals and dishes and cleaning? And then there's the question of working, to boot (I've got to seriously start writing for publication again - we really need me to generate income). There's only one of me and only so many hours in a day. And this version of me (at 48) doesn't possess the same vim and vigor as the twenty-something version of me did.

I'm still not balancing it all the way should. I guess I could say I'm still a work in progress when it comes to investing my time. I just wish I could figure it out for good. But life keeps changing! Aaargh.

And I guess that's just the way of it. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy and invest in the pups while we have them. And figure out the rest another time. :o)

Sounds like a plan. For now anyway. ;o)

'Til next time,
Joan

Sled dogs? Think ’super dogs’

Pet Connection Blog — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists studying sled dogs have come away marveling at their abilities. From Discovery:

Alaskan huskies that participate in the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race must run 1,100 miles while enduring heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit and winds up to 60 miles per hour, all of which earn the hearty canines status as the world’s premier ultra-endurance animal athletes.

How do they do it? New research suggests the canines are superior to most other mammals, including humans, in at least three key areas: They are unusually adept at adapting to exercise, they have superior aerobic capacity and are unusually efficient in using food as fuel.

Here’s the rest. In one of our books, “Why Do Dogs Drink From the Toilet?,” we asked the Iditarod’s top vet how the pads of these great athletes can stand the abuse. They get some help from booties, but pretty much they’re just tough, toes to tail.

Dachshund Dream Team!

Google Blog Search: dog news — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We went to Memphis for the U-FLI Flyball Championships which were held on Saturday and Sunday. The Friday before, there was a Dream Team Challenge tournament. You could put any combination of dogs together, and our team "Dash Hounds" ...

Quick check in to say hello...

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I just read a bunch of posts to kind of catch up. Some day my kids (and Olive) will leave me more time to post.

Anyway...here's our update:

Gregory is about 3 1/2yrs now and is fully potty trained. He loves nursery school and tomorrow has his first field trip. I was all giddy filling out his very first "permission slip". It was kind of silly, since I'm the one driving him and I'll be there, too LOL So far I'm not loving 3. He's so flipping difficult. Ugh. By the end of the day I'm burnt toast. He's a handful.

Erin is 14 months, running all over the place and is full of attitude. She has 5 teeth and is in the process of cutting 5 more...all at the same time. She's not talking yet. Says bubble...but only says it because she can lol gog is dog. And that's it. She's just awesome. A very independant young lady who very much wants to be one of the big kids.

ETA: I forgot to add Erin's biggest update....she uses the potty!!!!! The girl can't talk but she uses the potty. She's not trained by any stretch of the imagination, but if we're home or somewhere that she has easy access to a potty, she uses it. HER choice, I don't even offer. She points to the bathroom and goes "EH?" while jumping up and down. Not too bad for a 33 weeker!

Olive...anyone care for her update? She's 5 1/2yrs now, hasn't been to agility in forever...like since bedrest hit with my Erin pregnancy. She's gained a bit of weight and is starting to turn white. She's mellowed out quite a bit but she'll always be that "spunky monkey" that she's so well known as. She's a thief and she hords things. Drives me nuts. She's going to "boot camp" over T-day...she'll be staying w/ our trainer for 10 days. Sweet!

Okay...that's it. I'm actually pretty darn sick at the moment and should probably try to sleep while the kids are asleep.

A major puller

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

My 6 month old Lab puppy Logan is pulling me like crazy the older he gets. I bought him from someone who had originally bought him from a breeder, he had him since he was a wee baby until up around 13 weeks, when I got him. He started his leash training, and, he must have done it wrong or let Logan run the show because he pulls me to kingdom come and its been really hard to train him to stop.
I started with a martingale, and that only worked for so long, then I moved to a halti, which also doesn't work, and now we're on a choke chain, and it works, but he still tests me regardless. How long will it take for him to realize that he's not allowed to pull? We work on it every day but he's having a real hard time understanding why he has to heel and that he can't take the lead and pull me down the road like he's a sled dog.
He's already been through training classes, he passed everything else perfectly, but leash walking is the only thing he's done rather bad on. Is it my fault? The previous owners fault? Both our faults? No one's fault? lol

Any advice?

Dog park closed for maintenance - Arizona Republic

dog - Google News — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Dog park closed for maintenance
Arizona Republic, AZ - 36 minutes ago
The Surprise Community Dog Park, 15930 N. Bullard Ave., will be closed through Oct. 22 for turf overseeding and routine maintenance. ...

Dog-Friendly Travel Blog

Bark Blog — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Like to travel with your dog? Then you should check out Car Go Dogs. I drive all over the Midwest competing with my dogs in agility trials, so I'm always looking for dog-friendly vehicle info, accessories and travel tips. It's nice to find all these things in one spot!

Julia Kamysz Lane

Goes crazy when other dogs are around.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is really becoming a problem now because my boyfriend has moved into an apartment where almost everyone has dogs. She constantly barks at other dogs and then pulls very hard to get to the other dogs. The hair stands up on her back sometimes when she does this. She has never attacked another dog or anything like that. In fact, before when my boyfriend and I would take her to dog parks, she was afraid of other dogs and would run back to my boyfriend and I. It would take her a while to warm up to the other dogs, but then after a few minutes, she would play.

I took her outside today and someone had two dogs out. Before we went outside, she started barking, like she knew already that they were outside. When I opened the door, she proceeded to pull me up the stairs, against cement which cut my arm up and my pointer finger is bruised and swollen. I had the gentle leader on her at the time and she usually doesn't pull very hard when she has it on. Does anyone have any pointers on helping her not bark at other dogs and not to pull my boyfriend and I to other dogs?

Boomer and Dylan's(foster) fun time at the dog park!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"I will eat you Mr. puggle."

Dylan takin on Uma.

Boomer looking handsome.

Boomer doing what he does best... digging! :tapfoot:

"What mom?!?! I wasn't doing anything!" Notice the mud on his nose. :floor

Best Buds!

The only dog I know that can sleep at the dog park. :pound:

"Life is good."

Dog park land 'unsuitable for housing' - The Canberra Times

dog - Google News — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Dog park land 'unsuitable for housing'
The Canberra Times, Australia - 4 hours ago
BY MEGAN DOHERTY Land next to Lake Tuggeranong now being converted into a $220000 off-the-leash dog park is not suitable for residential development, ...

"Greatest American Dog"'s Bill and Star talk reality TV - Chicago Tribune

dog - Google News — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

"Greatest American Dog"'s Bill and Star talk reality TV
Chicago Tribune, United States - 4 hours ago
Or the guy who is known on the fishing tournament and dog agility circuits as a cutup, but a tough and serious competitor. Of the 12 handler/dog teams, ...

GERMAN SHEPHERDS AKC

K9Stud.com - Puppies for Sale — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

World Class Champion Show German Imported Lines. Deep Rich Black/Tans Black/Reds Sables. Excellent Champion Pedigrees. Bred for Intelligence Disposition Confirmation Show Agility Tracking Protection Family Loyal Loving Protective. Bred to top AKC Breed Standards. Ready for loving homes. Socialized inside with family/children/dogs/cats/turtle outside with family/dogs/horses. Call Cindy at 435-590-5966 of vonmullshepherds@yahoo.com

imagine that, a club I fit into

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So I've been wanting a pup since I went away to college and after trying years to talk my wife into a rotty, we negotiated and got a lab. Jordyn has since completely suckered us in and she's turned into a full time hobby with training and playing.

I'll have some posts for this board so figured I'd do the proper intro thing. Jordyn is now 8 months, still working through puppy-hood. We've found her love of the water and starting work on retrieving so it's a fun time.

Here are a couple of pics from the dog park we've found with some nice doggy docks for swimming fun.

Attached Images

City to fund dog park in Locust Point - Baltimore Sun

dog - Google News — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

City to fund dog park in Locust Point
Baltimore Sun, United States - 19 hours ago
By Annie Linskey Mayor Sheila Dixon plans to announce today that the city is spending $150000 to design and build a dog park in Latrobe Park, a grassy field ...
Bad Economy Not Discouraging Some Real Estate Developers ABC2 News
all 2 news articles

County dog park may open by end of year - Indianapolis Star

dog - Google News — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

County dog park may open by end of year
Indianapolis Star, United States - 5 hours ago
Owners who pay for a park membership will receive a key fob or a magnetized swipe card for entry and dogs will wear brightly colored tags. ...
Paw Pounder aids humane society Indianapolis Star
all 3 news articles

Flyball tournament this weekend!

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Yep it's that time again! Jubilee is several thousand points from her next title since she has her master's so we are just looking for a weekend of good clean racing. It is in Lakeland, Florida...our usual spot lol. Jubilee is on two teams running second in both and passing two tremendous border collies at start. The nice thing about that is that these dogs are fast (running at 4.2 and 4.8 seconds) and are super consistent which enables me to refine my passing down to the hundreth of a second:D. We are going to be busy that's for sure. She no longer seems to be ill so keep your fingers crossed there lol.

Senator, Sled Dog Champs, 'Hobo Jim' Testify at Stevens Trial - ABC News

dog - Google News — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Washington Post

Senator, Sled Dog Champs, 'Hobo Jim' Testify at Stevens Trial
ABC News - 2 hours ago
The other witnesses appeared to side with Stevens on the disputed value he reported for a sled dog he was given. Inouye, the leadoff defense witness, ...
Reporter's Notebook: Defense Team's Witnesses Enliven Stevens Trial FOXNews
E-mails kept Stevens informed of progress Anchorage Daily News (subscription)
Democratic Sen. Inouye defends integrity of Ted Stevens Rock Hill Herald
The Associated Press
all 2,188 news articles

The Softer Side of Bonham

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Being Bonham's mommy I know that he is a big mush ball of love and sweetness, but sometimes it can be hard for other people to see his softer side because he get sooo excited and happy to see people and other dogs. This is especially true when he is compared to Ms. Kenzie, who greets all newcomers with a sweet smile and her wiggle dance.

Last night the pups and I were out for our evening walk at a nearby dog park, and we bumped into one of the regulars there, Teresa. Teresa is an incredible woman, who works at the local animal shelter and will go above and beyond with all the dogs taking them to the park for their daily walks and socialization. Last night she had a greyhound with her named Stardust, a 5 year old retired racing dog whose new owner surrendered him to the shelter earlier in the week due to losing his home to foreclosure.

Stardust was such a sweet boy and Teresa said the poor little guy has been having a tough time adjusting to the shelter, and is very anxious and nervous most of the time. We continued on our walk together, Stardust on leash, and Bonham and Kenzie off leash. For the next 45 minutes, Bonham would not leave Stardust's side, looking up every so often to give him a kiss. They both trotted along together and it was apparent through Stardust's body language that he was, slowly but surely, beginning to relax. Teresa said it was remarkable how Bonham became so attuned to Stardust so quickly upon meeting him. She said that it is one of the key traits of therapy dogs and said she thinks B would be a great dog for therapy work. It truly made my night that someone was able to see what I see in my little boy!

Sorry for the long story, and thanks for reading! :D

Tails of the Dog Park

Pets Articles At iSnare.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Goody Beagle here You don't know me unless you have read my book Dog Park Diary: the social round of Goody Beagle It's about my visits to my dog park and who I meet there and all the things we smell...

2010 might go to the (sled) <b>dogs</b>

Google Blog Search: dog news — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There won't be any female ski jumpers at the 2010 Olympics, but there could be sled dog racing. Now, before the ski jumpers or rabble-rousers in gender-equity circles start barking, it's not what it looks like, even if the optics of ...

Workday, Inc.: More Than 30 Companies Live on Workday

Market Wire - Full Feed — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

WALNUT CREEK, CA (MARKET WIRE) More than 30 customers are now live on Workday's on-demand Human Capital Management and Financial Management solutions. Workday customers are typically live in a matter of weeks or months, far faster than traditional, on-premise systems. Companies ranging from mid-sized business to the Fortune 500 continue to select Workday's on-demand services for dramatically lower total cost of ownership compared to on-premise systems. In addition, Workday offers new levels of agility, usability and integration capabilities -- all without expensive upgrades and maintenance.

Political Chews: Win A Toy!

Dogster For The Love of Dog Blog — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Wonky Bonkers contest was so much fun, and we had so many great answers. Unfortunately, not every Dogster could be a winner. Many pups were left toyless.

So, when the fine folks at Fat Cat offered up some political toys for a giveaway I couldn’t refuse.

The folks at Bamboo have come up with Political Animals, toys that look like the candidates. For your chewing pleasure.

North Hills, Calif. - So…the race is on for the White House. But Fat Cat’s got some home-grown candidates of its own that will be seen campaigning all over the country! And who knows… some of ‘em may even end up in the White House! (Well, most likely on the floor, but who’s counting?).

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Political Animals^TM from Fat Cat, Inc. Ok, this is who you think it is. The dogs have voted and the folks at Fat Cat have listened! With firm stances on planting more trees to wee on, building more dog parks and increased tax breaks on kibble, we’ve given our dogs the chance to chomp the vote in our next election!

The contest is not political, it’s all about the toys. I’m not looking to find out who you’re voting for. I don’t need to know why you like, or dislike, a candidate.

All I want to know is if you won, would you choose to chew a toy that looks like the candidate you would or wouldn’t vote for? Leave your answer, in the comment section, and I will choose 4 winners at random on Friday, October 10. Gook luck!

Two (unrelated) questions: counter-surfing and water obsession

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hi - I just found this forum and this is my first post. I have an 11-month old chocolate labrador (Boomer) that I love to pieces, but he has a couple little behavioral things I would like to fix:

1. The Counter-Surfing.

I've been correcting him for jumping up and licking things on the kitchen counter for MONTHS, but it seems to do nothing other than make him sneak off into the kitchen and do it when I'm not watching. The problem is, even if I try to sneak up on him and catch him in the act, he hears me coming and gets down before I can correct him. I also tried spraying bitter apple on the sides of the countertop, but to no effect. Is there anything else I can try? It's seriously driving me nuts because he does it all the time.

2. The Water Obsession

True to his breed, Boomer's absolute favorite activity is swimming at the local dog park and he goes about three times a week. He loves the water and jumps in to fetch the toy I throw for him with such gusto that I'm thinking about getting him into dock diving. While I think his love of the water is really cool (I've never had a dog that liked to swim), he loves it so much that he becomes velcro dog at the park. He sticks by me like glue waiting for me to throw his toy and refuses to socialize with the other dogs. I even try to hide his toy and be very boring in hopes he'll become interested in playing with the other dogs, but he just sits down in front of me and whines because he wants to play fetch in the water.

Any advice would really be appreciated!

Ultra-Endurance Competitors: Lessons From Sled Dogs In The Iditarod

ScienceDaily Headlines — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Racing sled dogs are best known for their "mushing" each March during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the world's longest sled race. They are the premier ultra-endurance competitors, covering 1,100 miles from Anchorage to Nome, AK, sometimes in just nine days. It is unclear how they can keep running despite heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as 40°F, and winds up to 60 mph. An expert explains what he has discovered thus far.

Busy Busy Sophie

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sophie started her flyball class yesterday and agility today

Flyball: she enjoys anything requiring her to jump, run and tennis balls so she is having a blast. Working on her recall with distractions...so far so good especially when I have a treat:rolleyes:

Agility: tunnel is a hit or miss with her. :o:First three times no prob next three didn't want to. First teeny jump was nothing for her. She walked right over it. ;) Recall was also pretty good even though distraction was a lot less so I figured we would have no prob.:D

And we are working on flat collar walking and no pulling in both classes which will be helpful with her therapy work later :D

haha ok that is all just wanted to share what we have been up to:o:

City considering 40 new dog parks - Toronto Star

dog - Google News — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

City considering 40 new dog parks
Toronto Star,  Canada - 2 hours ago
The city is considering about 40 new sites for off-leash dog parks, most of them downtown, according to Parks Department officials. ...

City Council to consider final approval of dog park - Post-Bulletin

dog - Google News — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

City Council to consider final approval of dog park
Post-Bulletin, MN - 47 minutes ago
By Karen Colbenson Final approval from the city council is needed before a southwest Austin location can be designated as a dog park. ...
Board wants a dog park Austin Herald
all 2 news articles

Emptoris, Inc.: For Achieving Greater Agility and Bottom-Line Savings, Global 2000 Companies Are Honored

Market Wire - Full Feed — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

BURLINGTON, MA (MARKET WIRE) Emptoris, a leading provider of enterprise supply and contract management software, today announced the winners of the inaugural Emptoris Customer Awards Program. The Emptoris Awards recognize the achievements of Global 2000 companies in the areas of innovation, adoption and creating bottom-line value with supply and contract management software. Eight leading Global 2000 companies were recognized for their accomplishments, including GlaxoSmithKline, Syngenta and UnitedHealthcare. The awards were presented at a special ceremony at the Emptoris Empower 2008 Conference on Cape Cod,

www.5stardog.com

Dog trainer files lawsuit after being bit (North Platte Bulletin)

Putin&#39;s dog trials Russian GPS - Sydney Morning Herald

The OTHER Pups :o)

Sled dogs? Think ’super dogs’

Dachshund Dream Team!

Quick check in to say hello...

A major puller

Dog park closed for maintenance - Arizona Republic

Dog-Friendly Travel Blog

Goes crazy when other dogs are around.

Boomer and Dylan's(foster) fun time at the dog park!

Dog park land &#39;unsuitable for housing&#39; - The Canberra Times

&quot;Greatest American Dog&quot;&#39;s Bill and Star talk reality TV - Chicago Tribune

GERMAN SHEPHERDS AKC

imagine that, a club I fit into

City to fund dog park in Locust Point - Baltimore Sun

County dog park may open by end of year - Indianapolis Star

Flyball tournament this weekend!

Senator, Sled Dog Champs, &#39;Hobo Jim&#39; Testify at Stevens Trial - ABC News

The Softer Side of Bonham

Tails of the Dog Park

2010 might go to the (sled) <b>dogs</b>

Workday, Inc.: More Than 30 Companies Live on Workday

Political Chews: Win A Toy!

Two (unrelated) questions: counter-surfing and water obsession

Ultra-Endurance Competitors: Lessons From Sled Dogs In The Iditarod

Busy Busy Sophie

City considering 40 new dog parks - Toronto Star

City Council to consider final approval of dog park - Post-Bulletin

Emptoris, Inc.: For Achieving Greater Agility and Bottom-Line Savings, Global 2000 Companies Are Honored

Putin's dog trials Russian GPS - Sydney Morning Herald

Dog park land 'unsuitable for housing' - The Canberra Times

"Greatest American Dog"'s Bill and Star talk reality TV - Chicago Tribune

Senator, Sled Dog Champs, 'Hobo Jim' Testify at Stevens Trial - ABC News