by Ryan Krogh | on January 21st, 2011 | in Features, Media, Tidbits, Time Wasters
In three weeks, I’m bringing home a new pup—a yellow lab (girl) from Wildrose Kennels, in Oxford, Mississippi. Crates, water bowls, beds, food, insurance: that’s all been a cinch compared to coming up with a good name. Everyone I ask (and trust me, it’s been just about everyone) has a different opinion about what and how I should name my new girl. Considering that I’ll say her name something like 30,000 times over the course of her life, it’s a big decision. And I want it to have some sort of meaning. As a kid growing up in North Dakota, we named pets in one of three ways: after literary or movie characters, after flowers or trees, or after one of the booze bottles we found discarded in my uncle’s defunct chicken coop. (One notable stray was named 99 Bananas.)
The other dilemma: Which one to pick?
But now when I mention that I’m getting a dog, people give me nothing but different answers and conflicting advice: name it a human name (“it’s original because it’s a human name”), a southern name (“because she’s from the south”), a southwest name, (“you live in Santa Fe, after all”). The only way to settle it, I’ve decided, is by a handy poll, below. I’ve included my childhood methods and offers that may work. And I’ve offered some names that I like, too. But the question remains: what’s the best method for naming your new dog.
—Ryan Krogh
by Grayson Schaffer | on March 23rd, 2010 | in Features, Time Wasters
Not exactly a training tip for this week, but we had a lot of fun figuring out how to strap a camera onto Cooper without having it bounce around.
by Grayson Schaffer | on December 2nd, 2009 | in Features, Media, Time Wasters
This one’s a chain of the first half of a retrieve, a drop it, and a go lie down. Getting him to reliably hit the bin with the can is the only thing that takes some time. To shape that behavior, I used a clicker, put the bin next to him, and clicked any time the can touched the bin. Then click for the can actually landing in the bin. Once he had that skill down, it was just a matter of adding the retrieve and the down to either end.
Danger hits the bin
by Sue Barns | on October 30th, 2009 | in Features, Media, Time Wasters
Hey, it's Halloween
Links to some of my favorite clicker training videos and people:
http://www.youtube.com/user/supernaturalbc2008
http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup
http://www.youtube.com/group/traininglevels
http://www.youtube.com/user/kpct
http://www.youtube.com/user/LeslieMcDevitt
http://www.nerdbook.com/sophia/movies.html
by Chance Googling | on October 7th, 2009 | in Media, Time Wasters
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Bo Obama left the Pres a little present in the aisle on Air Force One. Enjoy.
by Chance Googling | on September 1st, 2009 | in Time Wasters
Her name was Chanel. She was 21, or 147 in dog years. AP story, here.
by Chance Googling | on July 16th, 2009 | in Time Wasters
From the New York Times, here.
IT’S getting more expensive to take Fifi on vacation. Airlines may be raising the price of in-flight food and checked luggage, but pet owners say the fees for flying with their furry friends are getting out of control.
A number of airlines — including Alaska, American, JetBlue, US Airways and Virgin America — raised their pet fees by about $20 or more in the last year or so, and now charge $100 each way to take a pet on a flight. Continental, Midwest and United now charge $125 to bring a pet onboard, up from $100 previously.
Expect to pay even more to check in larger pets as luggage. Those fees now range from $300 round trip on American to $500 on United. It goes even higher for international flights.
by Chance Googling | on July 7th, 2009 | in Time Wasters
Found this on New Scientist, this morning. Dogs apparently sniff each other to see who’s been eating lately and then figure out where the food is based on where that dog has just been. Pretty clever.
by Walker Parks | on June 24th, 2009 | in Features, Time Wasters
The fourth annual Loews Surf Dog Competition took place at Loews Coronado Bay Resort last weekend. The event raised approximately $15,000 for the Modest Needs Foundation.
And the winners are …
Category One: Small surf dogs 40 pounds and under
1st Place: Buddy, a Jack Russell Terrier. Owner is Bruce Hooker.
2nd Place: Abbie Girl, an Australian Kelpie. Owner is Michael Uy.
3rd Place: Kia, a Russell Terrier. Owner is Rene Bruce.
Category Two: Large surf dogs 41 pounds and over
1st Place: Kalani, a Golden Retriever. Owner is Andra Lew.
2nd Place: Stanley, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Owner is Craig Haverstick.
3rd Place: Louie, a Labrador. Owner is Karl Eberhardt.
Category Three: Teams (surf dogs and humans surfing together)
1st Place: Zoey, a Jack Russell Terrier, and his owners Scott and Tyler Chandler.
2nd Place: Booda, a mix, and owner Sydney Lovelace.3rd Place: Dude, a Basset/Beagle mix, and owner Barb Ayers.
Judges:
Mayor Pro Tempore Lorie Bragg of Imperial Beach
Teevan McManus, Owner of Coronado Surfing Academy
Melissa Fitzgerald, Director of Finance at Loews Coronado Bay Resort
Each dog and team had three waves (or chances) to impress the judges and was scored on confidence level, length of ride and overall ability to “grip it and rip it.”
A short video from the competition aired on the Today show. Photographer Dana Niebert covered the competition and has a lot of great photos from the event on his web site!
by Chance Googling | on June 22nd, 2009 | in Time Wasters
by Chance Googling | on June 12th, 2009 | in Time Wasters
In which Will Farrell delivers the classic send-up of puppy training videos.
by Chance Googling | on May 20th, 2009 | in Time Wasters
Yep, the former Atlanta Falcons QB and dog-fighting ringleader left prison today. Here’s the slideshow the Times ran last year on Best Friends Animal Society, the Kanab, Utah, kennel that took 22 of Vick’s dogs in for rehabilitation.