More Snow!

The snow just ain't stopping here! This last storm we got about 3.5". Tony doesn't like it as much when half his leg is covered with snow! I also have to carry him over the salted areas, because the city doesn't use pet-safe salt. He stopped mid walk once to lick at his paws.

Here are some pictures of the snow around my apartment, and Tony in it.





A video of Tony not quite having the best time in the snow. He was ready to go back inside and ran to the door right after this video. I'm thinking I might get him booties, but I have a feeling he would just rip them off. Humm.

Merry Christmas - Tony Style!

A few weeks ago we went to a local animal rescue center to get Tony's picture taken with Santa. All the proceeds go to their shelter, so I know my money went to a good cause. It's not the shelter I got him from, but it's one of the best in KC.

He was a little scared of the Santa at first, did a little barking and looked scared... but all I had to do was mention the magic word "treat" and his ears perked right up!

We are very excited to escape Kansas City and the ridiculously freezing temperatures on Tuesday for our flight to San Diego. We'll be there for a nice long 10 days.

Happy Holidays!

Agility Practice

I took a video camera to our agility practice today so I could capture some of the obstacles that Tony can do in an agility course. In this video you will see him do:
hoops
jump
dog walk (I call it "walk it" in commands)
hoop
weave polls (for learning purposes we have orange gates up so they know which way to go)
tunnel
teeter

Tony is still a little weary of the teeter, because it moves while he is on it. His first instinct is to "bail" - which you will see him do twice before I lure him with treats to stay on it.

The yellow painted areas on the ends of the dog walk and the teeter are the contact areas. In a competition the dog must put a paw in each of these areas or they will be docked points. In practice we aim for them to get all 4 paws in the yellow so that they get used to doing the obstacles that way, which leads to them more likely to make contacts in a competition.

Over the tunnel in the video you will notice another obstacle that isn't being used in this particular course. That is called the A-frame and it too has contacts.

Tony is usually really fast and zips through the course, but I took this video at the end of the class so he was a bit tired. He also knew where the treats were before the dog walk, so he stops to check out if he could sneak one. What can I say, he is treat driven!

Enjoy!

First Snow

It was the weekend after Thanksgiving, and KCMO had it's first snow. I thought I would capture some pictures of it to share with you all.





This Friday I went to an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. Here are some shots of me in my sweater vest masterpiece.