Agility is SUPER fun!

Hi! It's Cinnamon ;-)

I am sorry I was absent from this blog for a while. But, it doesn't mean that I was sick or anything. As Mint wanted to write posts, I let him do so.

Time flies! The first month of the year has finished already! This week we had the first training night of the year at our dog training club, Manukau Dog Training Club, where Mint and I practise dancing.

Well today's post is not about dancing. It's about Agility.

As the title indicates, I have been enjoying Agility so much! This year I have been to two Agility competitions and got three 2nd place ribbons ;-)

It's been seven years since I first started learning Agility, but I have never enjoyed the sport as much as I do now. I have always loved running and jumping, but I had often felt stressed at Agility shows, because Mum always got nervous before my runs and there were other dogs near me around the ring. But, I don't get stressed any more as Mum doesn't get nervous any more. Both Mum and I have learned to enjoy the moment ;-)

Previously Mum always tried to keep my attention on her before my runs and she didn't let me put my nose to the ground. But, now she doesn't mind me doing anything as far as I am happy. She doesn't even try to interrupt me if I start barking from excitement before my runs. (Yes, I get aroused when I know that I am running soon.) Because she doesn't interrupt me, I can focus on my upcoming run. And, if I am focused, I don't care about other dogs.

I hope Mint enjoys Agility more than he does now. He is getting better but he is still often unfocused in the ring. I know he can run fast, but he somehow doesn't try his best to run fast in the Agility ring. At least his start on his runs has improved since Mum started guiding him to the start line by doing some dance moves, which prevents him from getting nervous. All he has to learn to do is believe in himself and be confident!!

By the way, at an Agility show in Tokoroa last month, all the five Beagles currently actively competing in Agility in New Zealand got together! It was a very nice reunion!! All the other three Beagles are more advanced than us. I am very proud of them as a fellow Agility Beagle!!

From Left Bella, Barry, Halo, Mint, and Cinnamon

I can't wait for the next Agility show!!

Cinnamon loves playing with a puppy

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Today, after seeing a physiotherapist, I visited my friend, Solace the Miniature Poodle, who lives near the clinic, and met this adorable puppy, Bear, there. He is a eight-month-old Shih Tzu.

As you may know, I am not good at playing with other dogs, and that's why Mum started training me seriously six years ago. Recently I have been able to control myself much better in encounters with other dogs on our walks, but I still can't help but bark at other dogs sometimes, especially when they suddenly appear in front of me. But, I am usually better with puppies perhaps because they are non-threatening.

Bear was one of those non-threatening puppies. I didn't need to bark at him whatever he did to me. In fact he kissed me a lot and sniffed my bottom a lot. He even hamped me! But, strangely I found them enjoyable!

These photos are a proof!

Anyway I really enjoyed playing with him. I hope I can meet him again soon! Hope he doesn't mind playing with a middle-aged lady like me.

R.I.P. my dearest boyfriend, Mango!

I am heartbroken!!

My dearest boyfriend, Mango the Relentlessly Huge, has crossed the rainbow bridge! 

 

He has always been a good friend of mine, since shortly after I started blogging three years ago.

Mango had a warm heart as big as his relentlessly huge body. He always cheered me up when I was struggling and was always happy for me when I achieved something. He even took me to a Dream Date, which I will never forget!

My thoughts are with his family. (I can't imagine how shocked and sad his family must be.)


R.I.P. Mango.


P.S.
If you meet Cookie there, assure him that we are all doing well.

Pets Picnic in The Park 2012

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

A week after SPCA Devonport Dog Parade I told you about in my last post, Mint and I did another dog dancing demonstration at Humane Society Pets Picnic in The Park in One Tree Hill Domain.

Actually I did demos in the same event last year and the year before, and the one I did two years ago was my first ever dog dancing demonstration in public!

This time I invited our friends Kurosawa the Retradoodle and Marvi and Milia the Chipoos over to see our dancing for the first time.

Well, this demonstration turned out to be in one of the hardest conditions I had ever experienced. For one, there were a couple of families having a picnic lunch just by the ring. (You know it's so hard for Beagles to ignore food especialy when they are off leash!!) Also, as soon as Mum put my stool in the centre of the ring as a preparation, many kids started coming into the ring to play with the stool. To our relief there were no kids in the ring, when Mum and I were called into the ring for my dance performance, but just when we stood at the starting position near my stool, a toddler wandered into the ring and SAT on my stool with some food in his hand!! He stayed sitting there for a while, so we had to wait until his mum came and took him out of the ring!

After the little human was taken out of the ring, my music finally started. But, my stool smelled so nice that I couldn't concentrate on my performance. I just couldn't help checking the smell of my stool several times during my routine...

Again Mint did a little better than I did. But, again he was so eager to jump that he was jumping when he was not supposed to! Why can't he stay on the ground!?

In our dance demonstration our colleague Fletcher the Border Collie also performed. Because there were only three of us in our team this time, Fletcher did two routines, of which I especially loved his limbo dance routine. It was so unique and cool!

Well, Mum didn't really want to show you videos of our performance this time, because we both made many mistakes in our routines. But, who cares!! I don't mind showing a video of me making mistakes :-)

After our dance demonstration, many competitions took place. Mum didn't plan to enter us to any of these competitions, but, encouraged by Fletcher's human, she entered both of us to the Best Quick Trick Contest, and I won with my handstanding trick and Mint got placed the second with his jumping rope trick!!

Sorry we don't have any videos of us doing our tricks in the competition. But, here you can see how happy we were, having got prizes! (Our prizes were in the red bag Mum is carrying in the photo.)

After the Best Quick Trick Contest, there was the Potato Race, where humans run holding their dog's lead and a spoon with a potato on it with ONE hand, and our friend Kurosawa and his mum won it!! Well done, the Team Kurosawa!!

Our first canine guests

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Today we had the first canine guests after we moved to our current house last March.

Mint and I were really excited when we saw my friends coming into the backyard, along with a adorable human pup.

We had met the doggies before, so we had no problem getting on well with them. Millia, a young Chihuahua and Toy Poodle cross, was a little shy and kept hiding behind her Mum at first, but, after a few hours, she also joined us to play together.

Now let me introduce our friends.

This is Kurosawa, Kuro in short. He is Golden Retriever and Poodle cross. About a year ago, we went on a weekend trip to Rotorua together. He is so obedient that his human doesn't need a lead or treat when she wants him to do something. I am sure he will do wonderfully if he competes in Obedience.

These are Marvi and Millia, Chihuahua and Toy Poodle cross. They are so little and cute that, wherever they go, they attract lots of attention and many people come to pat them, asking what breed they are.

After we had a short play session, our friends went out with their humans and our mum, leaving us behind at home. They came back about two hours later with lots of yummies. It turned out that they had been to Clevedon Village Farmers Market. But, why were we left behind? Mum says that we wouldn't have behaved if we had been there as there were many dogs as well as a wide variety of food, but nobody knows! I might have behaved well!

When they returned, Kurosawa told me that he had met a horse, ponies and even an alpaca at the market!! He also told me that the alpaca was all black just like himself and wearing a nice scarf.

Back at our house, humans had lunch that they had bought at the market. The food - seafood paella, antipasto, Hungarian Twisters, Churros, organic apple juice, and more - smelt so yummy that I watched closely to get any scrap dropped from the table. But, to my disappointment, nothing dropped...

After humans finished their lunch, we did some photoshooting and agility, followed by a walk together.

It was a great weekend!! I hope to meet the friends for another play date soon!

Playdate with Lexi and Jasper the Great Danes

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Today we are enjoying summery weather, but until yesterday one question everyone in New Zealand had in mind was "Where has summer gone?"

Since the New Year's day, I hadn't seen the sun much. Having lots of rain every day didn't seem like such a bad thing for my Mum, as she didn't have to water her tomato plants and the grass didn't turn brown like it usually does in summer. But, that was a big problem for us! Lots of rain means shorter than usual walks for us. Nevertheless, we were lucky, because many of my friends sometimes couldn't go out for walks at all, as chances for walks were limited for their humans who don't work from home like our humans do.

However, fortunately it was not raining when Mint and I met up with our big friends Lexi and Jasper the Great Danes at one of our favorite parks, Auckland Botanic Gardens, last week. This park is a wonderful place for doggies and their owners. Although dogs have to be on leash in most areas of the park, there is one off-leash dog exercise area. In on-leash areas humans can enjoy browsing a huge variety of plants and trees in well-designed landscapes, while doggies can enjoy many different smells, including familiar smells, exotic smells, and intriguing smells. When we had a walk with Lexi and Jasper, we had a great time finding new smells as usual.

By the way, do you wonder how we play with such big buddies like Great Danes? No worries! I have had a wonderful Dane friend, Honey, since I was a puppy. So, I am used to Great Danes at least. As for Mint, he seems to have some difficulty in understanding the size difference. He has never been hesitant in front of big friends. So, look at this! He was trying to hump this big guy who we met on the walk, as well as our big friends Lexi and Jasper!

This big black dog looks puzzled, but Mint doesn't take any notice of it. *

Hey, Jasper, what are you doing? Have you found anything interesting? *

Let's see what Jasper has found (Jasper has already lost interest and walked away)

We never fail to do our job, sniffing!!

Mint fetches a ball only because ... *

... he can get some treat every time. *

Mint, behave yourself, at least in front of our friends! *

I am a big sister, so I need to watch what Mint is doing. *

We posed together for the camera after a great walk :-)  *

*) Courtesy of Lexi and Jasper's human

After the walk, our humans wanted to have a cup of coffee in the outdoor area of a cafe in the Visitor Centre (Dogs are not allowed in all areas under the roof), but all tables in the outdoor area had been taken by visitors with dogs. So, instead, they sat on a bench in a different area to have a chat before going home.

We had a wonderful time with Lexi and Jasper! I hope we can meet up with them again soon!!