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
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
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
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!)
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 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 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
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
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]
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
Dash & Copper: Circus Dogs 