2018 Highlights
Accepted an invitation to judge the first-ever AKC Trick Dog competition at the AKC National Championships in Orlando in Dec. 2018. This is the largest dog show in the Americas. Performing for our record library audience of over 600 people in a single day. The morning show alone had 384 in attendance! It was also… Continue reading 2018 Highlights
2017 Highlights
Highlights of 2017 included: Performing at the American Kennel Club (AKC) National Championship in Orlando, FL (with some of our act featured on Animal Planet’s 3-hour special on New Year’s Day 2018) Performing at the Eukanuba Performance Games in Wilmington, OH Performing on stage for 2,200 at the Overture Center in Madison, WI Performing for… Continue reading 2017 Highlights
Evolution of a $7,855 indoor/outdoor kennel
When I bought my 1967 ranch house in 2012, sight-unseen, I wasn’t even aware it had a walk-out basement on one end. After buying the house, I had the yard fenced for $7000, of which about $1000 was used to extend along the side of the house where the walk-out basement exited. Issue #1: Savvy… Continue reading Evolution of a $7,855 indoor/outdoor kennel
Copper’s expense list (so far!)
People who have only bought dogs from breeders may not realize that rescue dogs are often more expensive (though well worth the cost!) than a dog from a top rate sports breeder. Rescue dogs may have more medical costs, need more time in training classes, and also have all the many expenses of any new… Continue reading Copper’s expense list (so far!)
Copper earns two “Trick Dog” titles
A few days ago, four weeks after her adoption, I realized that Copper knew nearly enough “stuff” to earn both her Novice and Intermediate Trick Dog titles from DMWYD. These titles are going to be recognized by AKC starting in May, so I thought it would be fun to apply for them. My mom witnessed… Continue reading Copper earns two “Trick Dog” titles
Copper’s amazing adventures: Week 2
Copper had a very full second week post-adoption. After all, after spending her first 7 months as a stray in rural KY, she has a lot of catching up to do before she has a sports career or performs on stage. This week included everything from hiking through the “wilderness” and tracking lessons… to visiting… Continue reading Copper’s amazing adventures: Week 2
Copper’s first week post-adoption
Copper has had a very exciting first week. We spent about 80% of our training time teaching her how to use food-dispensing toys and getting her to relax in her crate enough to enjoy them and stop the extended shrieking. She is doing great, and today was her first day without a single bark during… Continue reading Copper’s first week post-adoption
Copper’s rescue story
I put together a timeline for Copper’s discovery and adoption. To do this, I talked to people at the local rescue, the shelter she was pulled from in KY, and an apt. near where she was found in KY, which gave me contact info that enabled me to speak at length with the kindly home-owner… Continue reading Copper’s rescue story
Dash wows the crowds at Madison’ Overture Center [VIDEO]
Last Saturday, Feb. 18 2017, Dash performed as one of the opening acts for the silent film series at Madison’s $200 million Overture Center. This film series, called “Duck Soup,” has been running for about forty years and features three films a year with live organ accompaniment on their 1928 Barton pipe organ. Sometimes, they… Continue reading Dash wows the crowds at Madison’ Overture Center [VIDEO]
Dash ends 2016 as #8 fastest Papillon in his AKC jump height
Just 9 months after Dash’s hip dislocation and 5 months after my knee replacement, we resumed agility in late October, 2016. We had not done a single competition in about a year. We qualified that day in both runs with 3rd places, for Dash’s #12 double-qualifier (QQ) toward his Master Agility Championship (MACH) title. After… Continue reading Dash ends 2016 as #8 fastest Papillon in his AKC jump height
Jonathan Offi’s workshop, “The Art of Canine Frisbee”
This was a disc dog workshop I attended over the weekend. It wasn’t technically an “animal act,” but it did include a demo, so I’m going to blog it anyway. I reviewed Jonathan’s disc dog show at the Wisconsin State Fair last summer, and eagerly awaited his disc dogging workshop. Though Jonathan lives in the… Continue reading Jonathan Offi’s workshop, “The Art of Canine Frisbee”
Dash’s E.D. Locke Library performance in the news
There was a nice story about Dash today in the McFarland Thistle newspaper. Reporter Amber Gerber did a terrific job. She came to our home to record an interview, and then came to the library performance for Martin Luther King Jr. Day a few days later to see Dash in action and get the cute… Continue reading Dash’s E.D. Locke Library performance in the news
Our new business cards
Today we had a fun lunchtime visit from a McFarland Thistle newspaper about Dash’s career as a library performer. She’s also going to come take some pictures of his performance at the E.D. Locke Public Library next week. Just before she came, our new batch of business cards arrived. And after work today, we braved… Continue reading Our new business cards
The greatest dog trick trainer you have never heard of: Ray Nicholus & his dog, Jackie
I’m a fan of dog trick videos from the past and present and have watched over a thousand of them, including many vintage clips from the early 1900s. I always get teary to see footage of vintage dogs doing amazing tricks where neither dog nor trainer is credited–now totally lost to history. I’m going to… Continue reading The greatest dog trick trainer you have never heard of: Ray Nicholus & his dog, Jackie
Introducing Dash’s new skit, “Circus Story” [VIDEO]
On Dec. 2nd, Dash performed his second year-end show with Dead Man’s Carnival, the largest variety show in the Midwest. I decided to debut the skit we’re preparing for our Feb. 18, 2017 performance at Overture Center (Madison), even though I didn’t quite know how long each section would take and hadn’t finished editing the… Continue reading Introducing Dash’s new skit, “Circus Story” [VIDEO]
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Dash & Copper: Circus Dogs 