Thursday, June 30, 2011

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Went to obedience class last night

Me and "scratchy" went to Emporia last night for his weekly class. It's always a good time since it's outside, in the park with lots of dogs and kids playing. There are plenty of picnic tables which gives us a good place to work on back, jump, up and under. The playground area has a nice see-saw and a climbing platform.

The obedience classes are put on by the Humane Society of the Flint Hills. You can find out all about them here: http://www.humanesocietyflinthills.org


Sunday, June 26, 2011

Fun day at the lake!

TBG here,

Ansel is completely wiped out (meaning very...very tired) and cannot post about his adventure at the lake today. I'll try to describe it as well as Ansel would.

We started the day at 8:30am with Deb and I skiing and Ansel watching. It's so funny how he will follow us as we ski back and forth across the wake! Once we had finished our runs, we anchored close to shore and let Ansel get his fun time.







Here's a video of Ansel patiently waiting for his turn.




We also had some friends come out and had a lot of fun teaching them to ski. The youngest to ski today was 7 years old! No pictures of the little ones skiing, but here's one of them tubing.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

We won, we won!!!!

Deb was reading the local paper yesterday and saw that we (Kansas City Chapter of CCI) won first place in our group for the Washunga Days Parade!! I knew we would kick some tail. All of us pups performed really well during the parade even with all the noise and distractions. There will be $100 heading to the Chapter for our efforts!

Here are a few videos TBG took during the parade. The first one gives you an idea on the noise level.







Sunday, June 19, 2011

Another fun day at the lake!

The big parade is over so I thought I needed some fun time. I convinced TBG and Deb to go to the lake today. Have I mentioned how much fun swimming is??

Deb went skiing first and that was fun to watch. I sat next to TBG and watched her go back and forth across the wake...she's pretty good at that!

Then we went to a calmer spot away from the other boaters so we could swim. There is nothing finer than to be on the water with a full can of tennis balls!

Here are some pics.

Me and the old man



Me chasing the tennis ball



Who doesn't love a wet dog?



After all the fun, I told Deb I needed to "hurry". They tried to get me to do that in the water, but I was...Hey, I'm not doing that where I swim! So Deb and I went to shore to take care of business. Sadly, Deb slipped on a rock, uhhh BOULDER and busted up her shin. We made it back to the boat and TBG applied some first aid and all was well.




Here are some videos that Deb took of me and Mark playing in the water. By the end, both of us were wore out. TBG was pretty funny when he couldn't get back on the boat!!



Saturday, June 18, 2011

WOW!! What a day

Washunga Days in Council Grove....parade, playtime, lunch, and an hour-long demo!

Words cannot express the amount of action today; you just had to be there! We were up by 6am and in town by 8:30am. TBG's good friend let us borrow his big van so we could haul all the dogs and humans together. First on the agenda was parking the van at the end of the parade route so we wouldn't have to walk back. We then stopped at a small park close to the parade starting point and waited for the rest of my gang to arrive.

TBG headed out to meet Chloe, Lassiter and the new pups; Orella and Clark. The humans decided it would be best for the young pups to abstain from the parade and they got to hang out with my most favorite Doc at the Vet Clinic.

Once the pups were taken care of, we all gathered at our spot for the parade. Talk about distractions....we had goats, horses, fire trucks, antique cars, mini motorcycles, floats of all kinds and wait for it...a Corndog!

Here are some pics. I call this a "Dual-A-Corn"



How come he gets to eat before the parade??



And you probably thought I was joking about the Corndog huh?



Here we are at the start of the parade



Our figure 8 drill



Here's Winslow hogging the limelight!



We finished up the parade and headed out to my house for a little R&R. Well, we did get some puppy playtime in first!! It sure was HOT today.



Nap Time! Clark wasn't quite ready to nap, but the rest of us were!







After our rest (and the humans' lunch), we went back into Council Grove for a demo/presentation in the middle of town.

Deb and I went first and had the crowd RIVETED!





Winslow went next and WOW'd them with advanced commands!



Then it was Putnam's turn and he showed the crowd how the "Gentle Leader" works



Me and Winslow did a little tag team presenting




Last pup up was Raj. He got to do some very special work today and made a new friend in the process. Raj really wanted to go home with him, but Linda and Debbie said he was not quite ready...maybe some day.






Lastly, Winslow and I each took turns with our new friend.






So...to wrap up the day, I had a blast with my buddies from Kansas City, had lots of fun meeting new people and being in the parade and hopefully we passed on some good information about who we are and what we love to do. Who knows, maybe someone in the crowd today will one day have a relative of mine as a forever companion...wouldn't that be grand!

Friday, June 17, 2011

June CCI chapter meeting

Had our monthly meeting in Kansas City last night and after the humans finished eating and talking, we got down to the "real" business. We headed outside and had our final "precision drill team" practice before the big parade in Council Grove Saturday.

The humans were pretty confused at the start, but Chloe straightened them out and we finally started to look competent!

I had our official "photographer" (TBG) take a few pics of the practice.

Here's our group "sit"



Group "shake"



Lassiter mugging for the camera!



Lassiter and Raj at the lead



Chloe Putnam and Moi'



Raj showing off with a "bow" (TBG, why do I not know this one?....Hmmmmmm??)



Our figure 8





We were told that we looked really good (once we got the humans up to speed!) Can't wait for Saturday!!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

More work

Spent the day Friday at K-State again. Deb had a 2 hr long meeting where I was expected to stay in an "under". Needless to say, I was as quiet as a mouse on a cold winter's night! Deb was quite happy with me and as soon as we got home I got to stretch the ole' legs chasing tennis balls. I just love those little yellow critters!

Got up this morning and we went into town (Council Grove) to make our plans for the big parade next Saturday at Washunga Days. We got our meeting places all figured out and mapped for the KC folks and then took a break at the new coffee house downtown. I didn't get a donut, but I did get a nice cool drink of water.



Afterwards we stopped at the Bank, the "Boutique" and the Dollar Store, then headed back home. Fun day today!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Back to work

Spent yesterday at K-State with Deb. Got to work on my distractability and commands. We also stopped by Body First to see TBG's brother. That's always a good pitstop...they love me there!

After the long day at work we headed home and once there the humans were talking about going to the lake. Woo hoooo, I love the lake. I was gett'n pretty anxious and really looking forward to some cool water swimming. As they are about to head out the door I hear "Ansel...kennel" Awwww man....come on....I can't go???

Well, needless to say, I spent the next 2 hours in here



while they went and played.






Sure you footed, old man. It's not fair I tell ya.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

It's not all work no play...afternoon at the Lake

Finally got the boat prepped after sitting through the long, cold winter and decided it was hot enough for a test ride. We decided not to do any skiing, but just spend some "Ansel" time on the water.

He took back to the water instantly and was ready for some tennis ball retrieving.





It was pretty funny when he asked to ski...I didn't even know the rope was in the boat!



Deb sure is gonna miss her puppy!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Uh, Seriously?

This is what they offer in the vending machine at K-State? Don't they see how offensive this is to some of us?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

TBG turned 50 yesterday!

I knew he was old, but never dreamed he was THAT OLD!!

Deb and I met up with him and his friends yesterday at the track (Heartland Park Topeka). He was there with his Mustang for some road course fun.

Here I am trying to mind meld with him to go faster!



He came in for a break and I thought it was my turn to go out, but TBG's friend Dean muscled his way into the passenger seat. Next time.....



Deb and I left the track and went to pick up the food and cake. We got back and totally surprised The Big Guy! I barked out over the intercom that we were having a party and everyone was invited. The corner workers, EMTs and other track workers all came in along with the drivers. Friends and family showed up too. I was especially happy to see Raj and his peeps show up--all the way from KC! People who couldn't make it were given the "suggestion" to call, text or email TBG between 5-7pm. His phone was busy! We all wished TBG a happy 50th.



Here are a couple of his gifts.

M&M's with his goofy mug printed on them



A couple Gator items from Jeb's buddy Kodiak. I am soo gonna use that scratcher!




and here's a shot of TBG talking to his friend Arnd as he was calling from Germany!!



The "OLD" guy was pretty happy and I think Deb and I did a great job planning and implementing the party.


and for those that are gearheads as well as dog lovers, here's some in-car video of "grandpa" out on the track.